Okay, yes I did feel bad for leaving you dangling at the end of the last chapter. Hopefully the wait wasn't too painful. This is a longer chapter and still not quite how I wanted it but I didn't want to keep you in suspense because I was afraid you might hurt me (Charming-Storm screamed and TurboNerd yelled "No!"). Although, you should be warned, the ending of this one is just as bad as the last one...(evil laughter) Thanks for reading and all the EXCELLENT reviews!! You all rock!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all belongs to Ron Moore and Sci-fi ect. But if I did own, muwhahahaha, think of the Adama and Roslin scenes…
Kara Thrace felt the stinging of hot metal on her back as she slowly opened her eyes. Her arms were sprawled out in front of her from the force of the blast. Charred pieces of metal still smoldered an angry red color on the floor in front of her. With a stifled groan she propped herself up onto one elbow. There was a shallow but long cut down her right forearm. She inhaled deeply and blinked twice to clear the smoke from her mind. Maybe the smoke was inside the corridor. She wasn't sure which. Pain, was the first coherent thought she had. I can't breath was the second.
Kara rolled over on her side and saw the old man. His back was facing her but she could tell by the movement of his shoulders he was recovering from the blast. Stumbling to her feet amidst the smoke and bruises Kara leaned on the side of the corridor for balance. Once standing she saw the Admiral remove his arm from the waist of President Laura Roslin. The three of them had hit the floor hard a moment ago and Kara was sure the old man had instinctively sheltered Roslin from the blast.
The Admiral's eyes blinked open and he looked up at Kara.
"Are you alright Captain?" He questioned, his voice choking on the smoke in the room.
"Fine," Kara said as she touched her fingers to her lips. She ignored the sudden stinging of her lower lip and the blood she saw on her finger tips.
"You?" she asked.
Admiral Adama nodded as he sat up slowly. Before either could said anything more Roslin came to with a jerk and a small gasp.
"Madame President," Kara heard Adama gently whisper.
Roslin's head shifted suddenly away from Adama. The president closed her eyes tightly and Kara could have sworn she saw tears. Roslin was not one to cry, although, Kara had never seen her in such an intense and dangerous situation, so maybe the older woman was just wimpy. From what Kara had seen of Roslin, like playing hardball with the cylons and making dangerous visits to Kobol, wimpy was not a word she would picked for the president. She dropped her shoulders along with the thought and began to examine their situation.
Adama drew her attention as he started to stand. His head moved just enough for Kara to see Laura Roslin's left hand. She could not stop the startled grimace that escaped her lips. Adama immediately followed Kara gaze. Roslin's behavior suddenly made sense. Her hand was pinned to the wall by the remaining fragments of a small metal rod. The rusty charred metal had blown through the middle of Roslin's hand and wedged itself into the wall.
"Oh, frak me," Kara muttered.
Adama gave Kara a single look that said everything she needed to know. They would have to get Roslin free, and fast. Smoke was filling the room, and from the constant rumbling Kara guessed the explosion had made the tunnels through the underbelly of Galactica unstable.
With surprising speed and agility Adama moved on the other side of Roslin and placed a finger under her chin drawing her eyes to his. Kara followed his unspoken order by kneeing next to Laura's hand.
Laura, er, the President, Kara reminded herself. Something about the quaint, school teacher persona Roslin emanated made Kara feel like they should be on a first name basis. But, she'd throw you out the airlock in a second if she thought you were a cylon. She'd probably airlock you if you called her Laura, Kara thought with a smirk as she contemplated a way to get Roslin's hand free.
If she pulled the hand away at the angle the metal had pierced it then it should come lose relatively easy. But, Kara thought with an involuntary wince, it's gonna hurt like hell.
"It's funny Laura," Kara heard Adama's soothing voice above the rumble of the ship, "I thought our adventures were over after the demise of Admiral Cain, but it seems you just can't stay out of trouble."
Though the comment was meant to lighten the mood, Kara could hear the strain in the old man's voice. He was worried. Whether about Roslin, the ship, the explosion, or getting to safety, Kara wasn't sure. She had to focus.
"Well," Laura began. Kara was amazed the woman had so much calm clarity in her voice for everything that had just happened.
"I wouldn't want you getting bored with—"
One swift hard movement was all it took for Kara to rip Roslin's hand away from the metal rod. Instead of finishing the sentence Roslin growled into Adama's shoulder. Blood seeped from Roslin's hand to the dirty burnt pant leg of Kara's uniform. Not letting the gruesomeness get to her, Kara tore a strip off her uniform and wrapped Roslin's hand tightly to stop the bleeding.
As she worked her eyes stung with the smoke growing ever thicker in the air. The sound of Roslin's stifled cries of pain tore at her sympathies. Kara knew if had been in the Presidents situation outright screaming and cussing to high heaven would have filled the corridors.
Kara looked up at Adama once she had finished the makeshift bandage. Adama had one arm wrapped around Roslin's shoulder and his cheek was touching her forehead. Roslin's other hand gripped at the fabric of Adama's uniform just above his shoulder. Despite the situation, Kara lifted an eyebrow in amusement. Surely Adama would have taken care of any injured officer the same way…although, he might not have held them so tightly. The old man certainly was chummy with the President, but that was information Kara stored away to ponder after they lived through this experience.
"We have to get moving," Adama said, still holding Roslin but give Kara an intense stare, "this section is unstable."
Kara wasn't about to argue with him. He knew Galactica better than anyone. The Viper pilot stood up and walked to the bulkhead door at the other end of the room. She laid her palm flat against it.
"Ouch, frak," she cursed under her breath and shook her had.
The door was hot. There was probably a blazing fire behind it. She drew her gaze to the other end of the corridor. They certainly couldn't go back the way they had come. The explosion damaged the other hatch to near ruin.
Kara blew on her hand as she walked back to try and take some of the sting out, although, after what Roslin had just been through she wasn't about to complain about her hand injury.
She knelt down beside her two companions. Roslin now had her eyes closed and her head was leaning back against the wall. Her good hand was on her forehead. Kara made eye contact with Adama.
"Only one way out, that's up," Kara said, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. Adama drew in a deep breath and shifted his gaze back to Roslin.
"Laura, we have to crawl through the ventilation ducts to get out before they open this entire section to put the fires out or before the fire gets us," Adama explained slowly.
Kara watched Roslin swallow hard. Her hand fell from her forehead and she opened her eyes. There was strength behind them that for some reason, always caught Kara by surprise.
"Then I suggest we get a move on before our asses are ablaze," Roslin said lifting her eyebrows.
Kara couldn't help but let a laugh tumble out of her mouth at the unexpected joke. Adama looked at Kara with what she thought was almost a smirk. He quickly stood up, reminding them all of the severity of the situation. He helped Roslin to her feet and as he was doing so Kara ventured a few steps in front of them to the ladder that lead up to the ventilation ducts.
She touched the metal on the ladder slowly and with one finger. Kara Thrace was not one to do the same dumb thing twice. The metal ladder was hot but nothing like the bulkhead. She climbed up a few steps and winced when the cut on her arm scrapped against a lose piece of wiring.
Once at the top she pushed on the panel above her head. It didn't budge. She pushed harder and then began pounding on it with her fist.
"Stupid…" she said and punched it, "fraking…" she continued with another punch. This time the panel loosened and before Kara knew what was happening it was falling through the air. She heard a soft yelp of surprise come from Roslin at the bottom of the ladder. When she looked down her eyes met with an un-amused scowl from Adama.
"Sorry," Kara yelled, and then mumbled to herself, "Okay, stupid thing number two done by Kara Thrace today."
She hoisted herself up into the vent. Heat was visibly soaking through the crawl space. With another effort she edged along the vent to where she could see the waves of heat began. Her hand rested on the metal for a moment before she decided it was not hot enough to detour them from their only escape route. She backed up across the open vent and stuck her head through.
"It looks okay but it won't be for long," she said.
Adama and Roslin were standing side by side very close together with all too serious expressions straining their faces. Kara couldn't help but smile at how, well, kinda cute they looked.
Roslin began the climb first, which was slow going since she had the use of only one hand. Kara noticed that blood had already soaked through the bandage. Roslin needed to get to the medical bay as soon as possible. Adama must have thought so also because he climbed up the ladder very hot on Roslin's heels.
Kara waited to begin moving until she was sure Roslin had made it up the ladder. When a mane of brownish hair finally appeared Kara saw for the first time the President of the Twelve Colonies looked like crap. Her hair was messed up and she had a number of scratches and cuts on her face. Kara suddenly wondered if she looked that crappy… If she did she was secretly glad Apollo wasn't around. But that was the only reason she was glad Apollo wasn't around. She forced Lee far from her thoughts. There was a rift between them she didn't like to think about. Unfortunately, every time she thought about Lee she thought about the rift...
"Are you okay?" Kara asked, letting the genuine concern she felt cover her face like a blanket and break her away from her current train of thought.
"At the present moment my answer to that is yes and hurry up," Roslin quickly answered and flicked her hand in the direction Kara was to go.
Not having to be told twice Kara began crawling along the vent. Only after a few minutes she began sweating with the intense heat that was leaking into the vents from the corridor below. She heard Roslin begin violently coughing and stopped.
"Keep going," Roslin choked out. Kara cocked her head to one side and obeyed the order. Nope, definitely not wimpy, she thought.
Smoke blurred Kara's eyes but the air seemed to detoxify as they moved further along. The heat had steadily increased by the time Kara reached the next panel. With a fist she pounded on it with more force than she had before. This time there was no one below to hit on the head.
"Come on," Kara yelled said as if the panel was alive and had the soul purpose of irritating her. When it still wouldn't fall out of place Kara crawled over the top of it and then turned over. With the heel of her boot she assaulted the silver slice of metal with all strength. The metal bent and twisted out of shape but still didn't come lose.
"It's stuck," Kara said to Roslin, who was leaning against the side of the vent with her injured hand pressed to her chest.
"Or something's blocking it," Kara said more to herself than anyone.
She made eye contact with Roslin. Although Laura Roslin was not a large woman by any sense, she was not small. Her presence and visage filled the four by four compartment with little room around the edges. To Kara's disbelief and wonder, Bill Adama somehow managed to climb on top of, or next to, or around the president. Kara was not sure how it could be described. Not only that, Kara wasn't quite sure why he would want to do that…correction, she was hoping his reason for doing so wasn't the first one to crossed her mind.
If Kara was surprised then, judging by the open jawed wide eyed stare Adama was receiving, Roslin was shocked. Perhaps it was the smoke, but Roslin couldn't manage to say anything. In mustering the ability to question the old man's actions Kara didn't have much luck either.
"Could you hurry please," Adama growled, obviously not as comfortable with the situation as Kara might have thought. Her eyebrows squeezed together at the astonishing sight. Roslin made a sort of mumbling sound.
"Oh, I see, yes, that is rather hot," she said.
At first Kara was not sure what Roslin was reacting too, but when both Roslin and Adama inched forward swiftly the Viper pilot finally understood. The heat from the corridor was burning their feet. Adama had moved forward to avoid being burned. Whew, that's a relief, Kara couldn't help thinking. She suddenly wondered if Lee had ever felt any undercurrents between Adama and Roslin. Lee again…she pushed the thought away.
"What did you think I was doing," Adama deadpanned while looking right at Roslin. The three of them burst out laughing, though Kara could tell Roslin was hiding her discomfort. While they laughed Kara began frantically kicking the panel again. She managed to contort the metal even more but still not enough to pry it open.
"Move to the next section," Adama ordered, the humor completely gone from his voice.
He and Roslin both looked like they were in pain, maybe for more reasons than just the physical. Kara stored yet another thought away in her mind and rolled over. On her hands and knees again she quickly crawled through the next ventilation corridor. Again she felt the heat increasing. There was a curve in the tunnel and when Kara rounded the corner only one word popped out of her mouth.
"Frak."
This was not their lucky day. In front of her, Kara could see dented collapsed metal cutting off their only escape route.
"What's wrong?" Roslin's unwavering voice echoed in the enclosed space. Obviously Kara's behind was blocking the President from seeing the dilemma in front of them.
Instead of answering Kara crept on hands and knees closer to the cave in. Upon closer inspection she could see the light from the other side flicker through a small hole close to one side of the vent. By no means was it large enough for her to squeeze through but at the moment Kara was grateful for any glimmer of hope. The heat was again starting to seep into the less smoky air and Kara felt the condensation on her skin. She craned her neck over her shoulder.
"We might be able to prop it up," she explained as she saw Roslin's head appear from around her behind. In any other circumstance Kara might have dared a 'the president in is the perfect position to kiss my butt' comment. In an act of great restraint she held her tongue.
The older woman nodded and Kara could tell the fatigue of her injury combined with the less than pleasant environment was draining her energy. Hell, it was draining Kara's energy. But, Kara reminded herself, Laura Roslin was a lot tougher than she looked. Besides, Kara still thought of her own self as near invincible. They were going to live through this. That was a fact.
With a grunt yanked lose a piece of metal pipe running along the top of the vent. Hissing filled the vent once the pipe had been dislodged from it function carrying some type of gas or air throughout the engine room. With a grimace Kara briefly hoped it was air and not gas. When no explosion occurred Kara rolled over and, this time careful not to hit Roslin in the head with the other end, wedged the pipe into the opening. Both her hands wrapped around the rough grainy texture of the black pipe and she used all her weight to push down. The collapsed section lifted an inch. She lifted her weight from the pipe and looked up at Roslin who reached out ready to help.
"No offense Madame President but I would feel a lot better if the Admiral—"
Roslin released her hold on the pipe.
"None taken," she replied and pressed herself as close to the wall as she could get. Kara shifted her eyes to the old man, who was already climbing over the top of Roslin again. Just as Adama reached out to take the end of the pipe there was a violent jolt that Kara felt run all through the engine room. She lost her grip on the pipe which smacked her in the face before she could get clear.
The jolt rumbled away until only faint vibrations could be felt dying off into the distance. Kara rubbed her aching jaw and glanced over to make sure her companions were alright. She saw the old man place a hand softly on the President's shoulder. Roslin clutched her injured hand to her chest as her face fought to hide the pain. The rumbling this time happened right behind Kara's back. She heard rather than saw the tunnel collapse even more.
"We better hurry," she said, almost feeling like a guilty outsider for interrupting Roslin and Adama's 'moment.' Since when the hell does the old man have 'moments' with the President? Kara wondered to herself. She didn't have time to further question as Adama was leaning on the pipe and opening the tunnel wider.
On frayed nerves Kara waited and watched as the passage blocking their way grew wider with Adama's efforts. With one hand flat against the wall and the other on the floor near the opening Kara was ready to spring into action the moment she thought she could fit through. Adama forced the pipe nearly to the floor before Kara darted through the tunnel with the grace of a feline. She bit her lip as her back scrapped against the top of the collapsed metal. As soon as her feet cleared the debris another jolt shook the engine room. The tunnel collapsed completely behind her. Kara could only stare in shock for a moment at what was almost her final resting place.
"Are you through?" she heard Adama shout. She couldn't help but be touched by the obvious concern in his voice.
"Piece of cake," she replied, her voice more sure than she was.
"Can you get through?" Kara shouted at the wall of assorted metal and wire. She waited. Faint voices rose and then died out. She heard metal scrapping metal and then silence.
"No," Adama answered his voice stone. "You'll have to go back around and see if you can open the panel behind us."
Kara didn't like the sound of that. It wasn't the danger she minded, she relished danger, but with the temperature rising Adama and Roslin were likely to cook in the vent like chicken strips in aluminum foil over a hot camp fire. Kara hesitated before moving, hoping and wishing a brilliant alternative plan would smack her in the face like the pipe had.
"Captain, I need not remind you that the life of the President of the Twelve Colonies depends on you," Adama said. Kara knew the old man was trying to get her to move and stop waiting for an alternative.
"Yes, sir," she replied.
Kara didn't care so much about the well being of Roslin but she would be damned if she would let anything happen to the old man. She owed that much to Lee. She owed that much to herself. With a deep sigh into the smoky air Kara began the endeavor to save the leaders of humanity.