Chapter 13
Jessica followed Lee through the deck of the Astral Queen, trying hard to resist the urge to grab on the edge of his blue uniform jacket and hide behind his broad back. Cally, Dee and Billy trailed behind, led by a hulking prison guard. Jessica rubbed her arms, chilled despite the humid air. A nervous lump was twisting around in her stomach when they made their way through the wide, dim corridors to where the prisoners were held.
Despair, rage, fear, all rolled over her in waves as Jessica scanned the men below held in their cages. She held onto the railing of the upper deck and tried to beat back the emotions bombarding her and focus on filtering out any Cylon agents. "Cylons" She thought, the word coming out of her mouth. She stepped closer to Lee and dropped her voice so only he would hear. "At least five of them."
Lee turned to her. "Are you sure?" He asked, under his breath. The small warm burst, caressing her face. Jessica nodded, her knees a little weak. She spotted them amongst the dozens of cages easily but they were too far to point out to Lee. Jessica heard decide that he would radio the Galactica later.
"Are you sure that's wise?" Jessica asked him. Lee glanced down at her in surprise before remembering that she was able to read his thoughts. She didn't miss the scowl on his face that he tried to mask quickly.
"No choice. We need to get this done first."
"I have a bad feeling about this, Lee. I don't think we should wait." She said clenching her fingers tight to try and control her shivering. A feeling of dread was growing larger inside of her with every moment.
Lee made his request for volunteers and Jessica knew why he was a pilot and and not a politician. Not the most encouraging speech. Straight to the point without the inspiring, encouraging pomp of most speeches.
Jessica and Cally leaned over the edge of the railing to see if any of the prisoners would take the offer.
Silence.
"Come on..." Jessica whispered under her breath. She half hoped that a Cylon stepped out to volunteer so that Lee could shoot him.
Suddenly, at the very back of the room, a cell door slid open and a darkened figure stepped out.
Jessica felt him before she saw him. Uneasiness stirred in her stomach. Rage filled her. His. Rage made all the more dangerous by the sharpness of his mind. Rage and ambition with a focus. She recognized the physical embodiment of dangerous righteousness that was the political prisoner Tom Zarek.
With time, she was now able to focus on one person to read them, despite being in a room with dozens of people. She could tune out the others in the room to focus just on Zarek.
He'd been an idealistic young man who'd signed up to work under President Adar's administration when the president had been newly sworn in. He'd spent five years in service to the country's security task force and had a wife and little boy when the unthinkable happened. A terrorist group Zarek had gone undercover to infiltrate, learned his true identity and took his wife and son hostage. They threatened to kill Zarek's family unless President Adar agreed to call off the mission and let them leave the Sagittarian colony.
Zarek pleaded with the president for his family's lives. Telling him that Adar could simply pretend to back off enough to get Zarek's family back and then hit the terrorists when they developed a false sense of security. But President Adar would not yield. He was not willing to take the risk that they would get another chance if they allowed the terrorists slip from their grasp. He saw the sacrifice of two as opposed to the deaths of millions a small price he was willing to pay.
Tom Zarek was the one who paid the highest price. One of the terrorist groups were apprehended but not before Zarek's family was killed as promised.
Destroyed, Zarek turned his back on the president and all the government stood for, vowing that no organization would ever have control of his or anyone's fate ever again. His message spread quickly and he was soon supported by people of like mind. Tom Zarek earned a reputation as a freedom fighter. He fought for the common man to be freed from what he saw as an oppressive government. He wanted everyone to live free from the dictates of any one governmental body. When speeches and books won him praise and hundreds of followers, Zarek stepped up his campaign to destroy President Adar's government. He attacked. He fought. He threatened. He emulated the very people who killed his family. He took prisoners, bombed buildings and became an epic figure that rivaled the Gods themselves to many people.
"...respectfully decline." Jessica was jolted out of her reading by Zarek's refusal. Lee cursed low behind her, but Jessica felt a surge of relief. She did not want Zarek to be among the volunteers that helped them. One more reason for the people to love him if he agreed. Every time she'd heard about Zarek back home, she got a heavy knot in her stomach. She'd felt angry revulsion for everything he stood for.
When the clanging of metal against the bars and cheering began, Jessica realized that the prisoners had chosen Zarek as their spokesman and were basically telling the Galactica to go frak themselves.
"Ah shit." Cally groaned on the other side of Lee.
"Well, now we're up a frozen creek without an ice pick, huh?" Jessica joked. Lee did not appreciate her attempt at humour.
"I want to talk with him." Lee said turning to one of the three guards.
Jessica again felt the icy grip of dread in the pit of her stomach.
"Now, I know that's not a good idea." Jessica said shaking her head.
"Do it." Lee nodded at the guard.
"Lee, I'm serious. This is a bad idea." She followed behind Lee as the guard led them down the steel stairs to the first level of the prison where the cells were kept. "Hello? Stop ignoring me, Lee!" Jessica insisted rushing to keep up with him. "Forget Zarek, please."
"Zarek's the key to the rest of them. If I can get him to agree, then the others will follow his lead. We need these men, Jess." Lee reminded her.
"Fine, then concentrate your efforts on them. Zarek's only slightly more off his rocker than Doc Genius." Jessica stopped talking when they came to Zarek's cell.
"You're gonna have to wait with the rest of your group." the guard said, blocking her from following Lee into the cell.
"Just wait on the other side of the bars." Lee suggested to her.
"You must be the seer." Zarek said, noticing her.
"Right." She nodded uncomfortably.
"Care to tell my fortune?" He asked, mocking her. He didn't believe for a second that she had any special abilities but word had spread about her throughout the fleet in the past few weeks.
"I could, but I don't talk with terrorists." Jessica shot back.
His mouth curved upwards in a smile that unnerved her. Jessica looked away from him and focused back on Lee who unnerved her in a much more positive way.
Reluctantly, Jessica waited outside of the cell while Lee greeted Zarek.
Lee may have been rather out of his element speaking in large crowds but one on one, Jessica had to admit, he knew how to hold someone's attention.
He admitted to understanding Zarek's motives and though he didn't agree with them, could relate to the passion of Zarek's conviction. Zarek was suitably impressed with Lee's apparent open minded-ness and began to relax into the discussion.
Distracted, Jessica glanced back up to the upper deck where Cally, Billy and Dee were standing in wait. The two guards who had been with them were no where to be found. Jessica frowned, wondering where they'd gone to.
Then the alarms started and the guard next to her was shot point blank in the chest. Jessica let out a shriek of horror when the heavy set man fell against her, pushing her against the bars of Zarek's cell.
Lee shot to his feet when the cell doors began to slide open one by one.
A long arm came around Jessica's middle and lifted her off her feet and began dragging her away.
"Lee!" Jessica screamed when she saw a swarm of prisoners tackle him. He fought at least three of them single-handedly before being knocked unconscious.
As Jessica fought, scratching and kicking while the man who held her dragged her down the row of cells, she distantly understood that her fear of getting on the raptor in the first place had not simply been a fear of reliving her capture by the Cylons, but a warning for this very moment.
Again, Jessica cursed her gift.
A.N: I can't tell ya'll how tickled I am that we're only 13 chapters in and I've got over 30 reviews! You guys are the best!
Mae: (Apollo muse huggies you) He keeps me very happy. (winks) Tired, but happy.
Sweet A.K: You know, I remembered seeing you on lj when you commented on something of mine but I can't for the life of me, remember your user name anymore. Let me know so I can add you to my friends list.
(Apollo muse does a little shaky tushie dance to your song) Thanks so much for your feedback..
Yeah, Lee and Jess are giving each other lessons in denial. (laughs)
Lucky you, we're not getting the new season until January! (coughdownloadscough)
Does YOUR Archie enjoy BSG?(giggles)
Knightlight86: Thank you for your feedback! I'm glad you like Jess. I try to make her relatable and interesting. Lee and Jess are starting to come together despite their best efforts. (smiles) The fates know what they're doing. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!