Apparently Cole's plan worked pretty well because no one bothered her for several weeks. Thinking it would be best if she played along with Cole's plan she went out of her way to spend more time with him. They spent several nights simply talking in one office or the other, finally coming to an agreement about where they stood personally. Lauren explained her commitment to Lee, even if he was no longer alive and she stood by that commitment. Cole told her he respected the love she had for him. What he didn't say to her was that even though he still was attracted to her he would keep his distance until she decided the time was right to move on, hopefully to him.
After that she found it easier to be in his presence although he was steadily becoming more arrogant about his command. When she realized that it was due to Admiral Cain's constant pressure to attack the Cylons and destroy them she cut him a bit more slack. Especially after Cain began coming down on her as well. Apparently Lauren's squadrons didn't have as many kills as Cole's did so the Admiral began reassigning Lauren's shift on the attack cycles.
When the change of shifts happened Lauren found her kill count creeping higher and higher, much to the dismay of Chief Laird who was constantly having to repaint the kill markers on her Viper. Lauren suggested simply not doing it but it was one of the things the Admiral had ordered to incite competitiveness. So she relented and told Laird that she'd try to let the paint dry before she racked up more kills.
As she honed her skills in the cockpit she found herself becoming more arrogant about it and that fact bothered her. She didn't want to end up being like the Admiral but she could see no way to avoid it if she wanted to survive. Soon the Admiral was watching her like a hawk and praising the changes she saw. Lauren was sickened by the façade she had to present but if it kept a bullet out of her head she could manage it.
Four months had passed since the attack and the way of life that they had all slipped into was beginning to wear on them all. They were on a constant cycle of attack, jump, repair, seek, attack and soon the days bled into one another. There were only so many card games they could play and with no other source of entertainment around the tempers were once more wearing thin.
Colonel Fisk alleviated some of the tensions by cordoning off a section of the aft deck and building a Pyramid court. They searched all through the supply bins for something that could be used as a decent ball and one of the medical staff suggested making one out of a damaged flight suit. That fit their needs nicely and soon there were regular games running.
Lauren found herself on one of the teams that had formed and she enjoyed playing the game but was also a bit tired of the regular groping she received 'in the name of the game'. She paid most of them back with a sharp elbow or a knee in a painful area, also 'in the name of the game'.
She was walking back to her bunk one night after a game when she was grabbed from behind. Hands covered her eyes and her mouth and her struggling did her no good. She was carried into what she assumed was a storage area because she was shoved down on top of a crate. She heard two men talking in low voices, then one of them left the room. The hatch clanged shut and locked. Lauren had stopped struggling a while ago, hoping to once again lull her attacker into complacency. His hand was still pressed down over her eyes and was soon replaced with a cloth that he tied tightly around her head. Then he tied her hands behind her back and started chuckling to himself.
"Bet you thought you were safe huh chickie? Well Taylor isn't gonna protect you now. Nope, now you're mine. See he let it slip the other day that there really wasn't anything going on between you two so that means you're up for grabs. I tried to ask nicely but you turned me down so now we're gonna do this the hard way."
A chill as cold as deep space settled into Lauren's chest. How was she going to get herself out of this mess? The second guy was probably standing guard outside, no doubt also waiting his turn so there wasn't much hope of a timely intervention. She struggled against her bonds a bit and realized that whatever he'd tied her hands with wasn't as tight as it had been. She worked at it a bit more and soon got the cloth to the point where she could free herself but she kept her hands behind her so he wouldn't think anything was amiss.
She could hear his boots hitting the floor and his zipper being lowered. Waiting patiently for him to get close enough that she could attack him was difficult as her heart raced. When he finally reached for her shirts to pull them up over her head she released her hands and made a grab for where she though his throat would be with one hand and the blindfold with the other. Once she yanked the cloth off her head she was more than primed to defend herself. She'd just spent over an hour pummeling people on the Pyramid court and her team had lost so she was frustrated enough about that. Now this jackass pulled this stunt and her anger boiled over.
She flailed about with her legs, kicking him several times as hard as she could and she swung her fists at his head. She felt several of her punches connect and once she thought she heard a loud crack. As she swung she looked around for a weapon but she saw nothing but a bunch of boxes. Alright then, she'd just defend herself with what she had. Her beating him had made him move backwards to avoid her flying fists and feet so she rose up off the boxes and continued her assault.
Soon she had beaten him down on to the deck where she continued kicking him until he was bloody and begging for mercy. "How does it feel asshole? How do you feel to be the weaker one? Feels real good doesn't it?" She kicked him once more for good measure and spit on him to make her point. Then she walked to the door. When she hauled open the hatch she did indeed find the other man outside the door.
"You'd better get him to sick bay before he bleeds out." she snapped as she walked past the stunned man.
