DISCLAIMER: The character's and the universe of the Battlestar Galactica do not belong to me.

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HYBRID by -yannik-

Chapter Nine - HALF-CYLON

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Lee was stunned – he had to admit. Kara got some new details concerning her "mission" from the cylons and she hadn't told him? More than that – she apparently trusted Sam with the news! But that was to be expected, Lee shouldn't have deceived himself, he was her confidant for a moment only, and she turned back to her beloved for support in an instant. At least he didn't need to worry about her and her happiness. She was happy.

That was supposed to be good.

But something was there. Something more. Why was she staring at Dee like this? What did she say? "I spoke to a cylon." Why was she staring at Dee?

And Dee…

Anastasia looked back at Kara, her face hard, defiant. And then she cast a glance at Lee, and for a brief moment he saw guilt and apology in her eyes.

And then he understood.

I spoke to a cylon…

Dee…

That's what Kara wanted to tell him the day before!

"I've never betrayed you" Dee whispered, but he barely heard her through the rage that started rising from his chest, from his pounding wildly heart, through his veins. Blood hummed in his ears with crazy da-dum, da-dum. The woman he loved. The woman he trusted. With everything! Everything! "I've never revealed any of your secrets, any of the Fleet's secrets. I was only here to have your child…"

"Marines!" he called.

"Don't" Kara interrupted, getting up. Lee realized he was standing, he didn't know when he got up, what he was doing, how he was doing it. All happened too fast, too… It was beyond him.

"Leave us alone" he stammered through a clenched teeth, clenched throat.

"Please, Lee. She's my connection to Leoben. She has to live, don't airlock her. Please."

"Is that why you kept it from me?" he gazed at Kara with icing eyes. "How long have you known anyway?"

"Couple of days."

"And you let me believe she was…" he couldn't go on. He couldn't believe.

"I tried Lee. Believe me I tried, but it was too hard. I didn't want to hurt you…"

"Bullshit!"

"Lee…"

"You wanted to keep her safe, because that would help you keep the Pyramid safe" Lee pointed at Sam. "You're going to have it. You win. She won't be airlocked. But the two of you will leave immediately, and leave me to talk to her. Now!"

Kara and Sam didn't hesitate a heart bit. They run out from the Commander's quarters in a matter of seconds. And Lee looked at his former girlfriend. His former XO. His former best friend, and best confidant.

She was sitting there motionless, so small and devastated.

For a second he felt something like a compassion towards her, but then he remembered what she was. And he couldn't sympathize any longer.

>>

Kara and Sam walked silently, but she was acutely aware of the sideways glances he cast from time to time. She knew he wanted to scold her… Damn, she wanted to scold herself! It wasn't supposed to be that way.

When they neared their quarters there was a group of four marines standing at the doorway. She was too stunned to react, but Sam inquired one of them, and learned that those were the Commander's orders. Of course. Safety first.

Coming through the hatch, Kara realized one of the marines was staring straight at her. They were never doing that, usually pretending to be just a piece of equipment, so it made her feel slightly uneasy, especially that his eyes under a helmet seemed familiar. But she had no time to wonder about that, because Sam was already calling her.

"Hey, look at that!" he yelled, and she felt her heart was somewhere in her throat. But his expression was elated.

"What?" she breathed out, too overwhelmed to voice any word aloud.

"Cally just gave birth to a baby boy! That's the message from Tyrol." He waved a piece of paper with clipped corners. "We got to respond. Gee, we got to go over there, to Galactica, visit with them!"

Kara couldn't help but smile, happy for their friends. The baby was born on time, Tyrol was a happy father – his joy came right through his words. They were going to name their boy William. She chuckled – it wouldn't surprise her if every other child in this fleet was named after the great Admiral! That was such a relief after a tough day…

Samuel was already checking the nearest transports to Galactica.

"We can't go right now, Sam" Kara reminded sadly.

"Why not?"

"Well… With all that…" she waved her hand, indicating everything around. And meaning Lee of course. She wasn't sure he'd understand though. He still thought Lee was just her wingman, her colleague, her partner only. Nothing more. He didn't know they were friends once. Close friends. That perhaps she was the only person the Commander could rely on with all this mess he was in right now.

Or maybe she was the person who should stay as far away as possible?

"The cylons?" Sam asked, and Kara needed to focus, to understand what he meant. Oh! not going to Galactica. He thought she thought about cylons. About their plans and her need to be here in case they wanted to start their operation. "Do you think they'd want you to act right now or something? Kara, you can spare yourself a day or two. You can… And you should… Relax. Gods, what they are doing with you!" He came close, and gripped her arms, looking at her intently.

"There's nothing we can do" she whispered.

"This… Dee… She should be interrogated! She should be forced to speak up!"

"It's not easy to interrogate a cylon. Trust me, I know" Kara remembered all too well how hard it was with Leoben. How he was leading her on, playing games, frakking with her head. Mixing lies with truth, truth with lies. They would find nothing through interrogation. "We can only guess."

"And given the info we have so far what can we guess?"

"We don't even know what of that info is true, and what is false. Frak!" She was so frustrated. "Guessing from what we know you could be that hybrid. Or Tyrol" she rose her voice, as her gaze fell on the message resting upon the table. And there she stopped. Tyrol. He'd been having those dreams last year… He'd told her about them one drunken night back on New Caprica.

He'd told her how he and Cally wind up together, because he bit the living shit out of the girl. He'd told her about Brother Cavil – the priest, the cylon who was "helping" him. Who was reassuring him he was not a cylon at all. But what if Tyrol was? Half-cylon. What if Cavil was his father?

"Kara?" Sam asked, noticing her discomfort.

Or what if Tyrol was full cylon, and the baby that had just been born was the hybrid?

That would fit. Dee revealed herself, because they were nearly ready. Because the child was about to be born. Could Tyrol be aware of what he was? Was that why he sent them this message? To get them to Galactica, to take the baby. Could he be a part of this plan?

"Kara, what's going on?"

Was this her paranoia speaking? Was she simply too tired with all those suspicions? They were surrounded by cylons! Dee, Tyrol…

The marine outside the door…

Suddenly she remembered the eyes that seemed too familiar.

Those were the eyes of Simon…

>>

After Lee gave a few necessary orders – the situation turned out to be far more dangerous than he ever suspected, and Kara needed protection – he turned back to the cylon that used to be his lover.

"Were you always…" he asked, fighting the lump in his throat. "Did you always know what you were? Even before the attacks? Or were you activated at some point?"

"I…" Dee started and hesitated.

"You what?"

"I always knew" she picked up, "but I wasn't always here. There was another Number Nine, and she was a sleeper."

"Nine."

"That's my designation."

"So you were switched" Lee asked, and the girl nodded. "When? How?"

She bit her lips and looked at the floor. But she was going to tell him, she was.

She inhaled, and looked up again. "Remember when you were boarded? At Kobol? The centurions were only supposed to drag your attention away from me. They also killed her."

"Frak." Lee needed to hit something. Hit something hard, so it would hurt. So his hand would bleed. He needed pain. Physical. The pain inside his soul was to huge to endure.

"The plan worked" Dee added in a whisper, tormenting him further. "You never noticed."

"Why?" He turned back, and pierced her with his stare. "Why were you switched? Why then?"

Dualla hesitated again. Inhaled, exhaled, inhaled once more. "She was supposed to be activated, but after all the problems we had with activating Eight… Boomer… She was human too long, and her human personality resisted. We were afraid of something alike with this Nine. So we came up with a backup plan."

"Right." Lee nodded.

"I was her link with the rest of our society. Just like one of the Boomers on Caprica was with Boomer here. I had all her memories. I feel I was her… In a way."

"Frak you were."

They both fell silent. Lee was trying to grasp what it all meant, what he was supposed to do. He should airlock her, that was the obvious course of action. That was what they were doing with the cylons. But Kara said "no". The situation they had now was different from any cylon encounter so far…

"Do you hate me?" Dualla's soft whisper startled him.

"Hate you?" He gazed at her. He thought for a moment, and then replied. "I don't hate you. I hate myself that I was so stupid, so blinded, that I let you manipulate me. Frak!" he hit the bulkhead. And his hand hurt, he was afraid he might have actually damaged something. But the pain did not distract him. "Here's what we'll do" he told her. Their eyes met, and her look was hurt, but still defiant. "You'll live, but you'll be in a cell. Like a cylon should. And you will follow with your mission, concerning the hybrid. If Kara says you're what she needs, then that's what you're going to be." The cylon's face hardened, her eyes flashed. "You're going to help Kara get what your colleagues want, and then you will all leave her alone. Is that clear?"

"I was right, saying you still loved her" Dee hissed.

"Is that clear?" Lee repeated louder.

"That's clear. I will help her get the hybrid. You bet I will!" she screamed as well, rising from her chair.

Hate radiated from her. Lee couldn't believe he could love her once. He couldn't believe he trusted her completely not more than an hour ago. He couldn't look at this thing any more…

"But I'm going to need access to the communication post if I'm going to fulfill my mission" she added evenly. "That's how I'll get the instructions from the central command."

"Is that right?" Lee mocked. "Okay then. You'll have limited access to the comm. station in CIC. But I will be watching your every move there, personally." He wanted to dismiss her. He wanted to kick her frakking ass out of this room. But instead he asked: "Who is this hybrid you want?"

She did not respond. She only gritted her teeth and pursed her lips.

"What was your mission really?" he persisted. "Was it about the hybrid from the start, or was it about me? Were you supposed to be close to the Commander's son? The Commander himself? Is that why you started this relationship with me? Because you were programmed to do so?"

The cylon's face softened. And Lee felt something like a pang of regret. That they were so different, that they were enemies. He really was attached to that woman. But she was no longer a woman to him! She was a robot!

"Both" she replied softly.

"Both?"

"I was supposed to be close to you. And I was supposed to be close to the hybrid. Those were my obstacles. Too bad I failed." She bowed her head, looking sincerely dismayed. And then she gazed up, tears welling up in her eyes. "I couldn't make you love me."

Lee sighed, and shook his head. Love. This was about love? "I did love you" he whispered bitterly, convinced about his honesty.

But she knew better than that. "No you didn't." She stepped closer. "We can't understand this, but the cylons need 'love factor' to conceive a child. You and I – we did not conceive a child, so I know my love was not mutual. I know that."

Lee stared at her, trying not to believe her. Trying not to feel compassion. "I'm sorry" he whispered, as if she was a human.

"I failed you" her voice was barely audible and tears fell down her cheeks. "But maybe there is still a chance. Maybe you could have a child with Kara. You love her, and she loved you once as well. I believe she still does…"

"Dee" Lee snickered. "What are you talking about? For one thing – me and Kara do not need a 'love factor' to have a child. We are both human..."

>>

t.b.c.

NOTE: At this point I'd love to know if you know who the hybrid is (well it's pretty obvious now, isn't it?), and when did you first guess it – in one of the earlier chapters (if you could be precise it would make me very happy), in this chapter or maybe you're still not sure. I'd like you to tell me that, because it's my first suspence story, and I want to know if I balanced hints and mystery well.
Will be very greatfull!
-Y-