Chapter Three: Family Business
Faststar Eurylade
"Sir, we've just received an urgent message from Headquarters," Chad Teuton said as he walked up to the chair that Carlos Gravina occupied.
"Thank you Mr. Teuton," Gravina uttered as he took the message and began to read it.
Attention Eurylade:
Our latest intel reports have confirmed that another target of interest has shown up on Canceron. Alert Major Malka that Odysseus is on the colony and is still considered a target of opportunity.
Gravina looked up from the decoded message, his eyes wide from the revelation of what this meant, Odysseus was on Canceron at the same time they were undertaking the mission to eliminate Drake and Caelie Tolan. Odysseus was considered one of the targets that had been given a top priority, right up there with Lydia Zeresi herself! Odysseus was none other than Rear Admiral Scott Tolan, Malka had tried to execute him on Picon but somehow the mission fell through and thus became a rarity in that she had failed that particular assignment. The whole event was a sore spot for her and was rarely if ever brought up in conversation.
"Send a Priority One message to Major Malka informing her of this development, this could be a coup for us," Gravina said as he thought of the possibility of eliminating the man who was by all rights the legitimate heir to the leadership of the Basileus. Gravina, like Malka, wanted this crime syndicate destroyed once and for all, it was why he so willingly jumped at the MoI's recruitment offer when he was a Raptor pilot on the Orion-class battlestar Stryker.
"Helm; plot a sublight course for Canceron; I want us on-station in case Malka does require our assistance," Gravina ordered as he began to think back to the reason why he wanted the Basileus eliminated. Actually, he could think of three good reasons why he wanted the crime syndicate destroyed: Federico Gravina, Isabella Gravina, and Sonia Gravina. His father and two of his three sisters had died when the restaurant they were eating at in the city of Noa was destroyed by a bomb during the mini-war fought by the factions of the Basileus to decide who would control the syndicate in the wake of Carl Tolan's death. They were simply visiting Canceron for a tour of where his father had fought during the latter days of the Cylon War and were not looking to be blown away in a crime family's civil war.
"Laying in a course for Canceron," Lloyd Allen, one of two helm officers on the Eurylade, said as he pointed the faststar in the direction of the colony.
Aurelius, Old Town Amarna:
Scott Tolan walked into the spacious office and saw her looking out the window at the city outside. She did not turn to acknowledge him just yet; it seemed she was some place other than here.
"Hello Scott, it's good to see you," Lydia Zeresi said as she turned to face her nephew.
"You as well Aunt Lydia," Tolan said as he walked over to where she was standing.
"I know this isn't a social call you're making, but I would like to know how the friends and family are," Lydia said as she sat down and made herself comfortable.
"Em and the kids are doing well; they're staying on Caprica for the time being. It's rumored the Vic and BSG-66 will be amalgamated into the Sixth Fleet and assigned to the defense of either Canceron or Libran," Tolan said as he took one of the seats facing the desk.
"That would be nice, having you here on Canceron instead of Caprica," Zeresi said with a wishful smile as though the thought of having her nephew and his family so close by was incredibly appealing to her.
"Like I said, it's only a rumor. There's no telling where the higher-ups may decide to assign us," Tolan said as he did not want to get her hopes up. Besides, Canceron could be a dangerous place to live, even for a Tolan.
"What about that friend of yours, Bowman isn't it? I hope he's doing well now that he had his own command," Zeresi asked.
"He's setting in nicely, give him time and he'll have his own fingerprints on every part of the Hermes and his crew. He's going to be alright though, I don't worry about him."
"Send him my regards the next time you talk to him, I know it did your uncle good to speak to him at his grandfather's memorial service," Zeresi said as her eyes began to show some of the sadness that she had carried from the loss of her husband over a year and a half ago.
"I will Aunt Lydia, I promise. I wanted to talk to you about Drake and Caelie, I know they have their operation out in Olwin Beach, but I want to know what business they have going on."
"Scott, you know they don't like us meddling in their affairs too much. Besides, what they do for me is quite lucrative. They go a long way towards keeping the Basileus financially viable."
"Of course they do, but I really want to know. I ran into a group who seemed pretty damn determined to get themselves into some kind of trouble, I want to make sure that Drake and Caelie don't do something stupid to bring the Capricans down here to make our lives more uncomfortable than it already is."
Lydia Zeresi seemed to think over for several minutes before she finally seemed to relent. Scott may have relinquished the family the business but he was still just as smart and wise in the ways of organized crime as the great Carl Tolan himself and she smiled momentarily before adding, "They're running a black market human trafficking ring through the docks at Olwin Beach."
"I thought you told me you were going to put an end to that in exchange for my help with the MoI," Tolan said feeling the anger rise up in him but keeping it from showing.
"I promise I will, it's just taking more time to scale the operations back. The MoI hit us hard and we have lost money in areas where we never had that problem in the past," Zeresi said and would have continued but the door opened and in walked Armand Lee.
"Mrs. Zeresi," Lee said as he bowed slightly out of respect to the woman who employed him.
"Mr. Lee, I trust you have a good reason for coming in here like this," Zeresi said as she motioned with her head in the direction of her nephew.
Lee looked at who it was and he allowed a slight smile, "Mr. Tolan, it is always a pleasure to find you back home."
Tolan walked over and gave Lee a handshake, "Armand, I see you are still around doing what you do best."
"Your aunt trusts me to carry out her orders to the best of my abilities; I'm as valuable to her as my father was to your grandfather."
"I see, well it's been a pleasure to see you as always but I'd like to have a word with my aunt without you here," Tolan said as he wondered just what was going on behind the stoic eyes of Armand Lee.
"Of course Mr. Tolan, I'll be waiting outside in the lobby when you're done," Lee said with a curt nod as he left the room.
"Is there more to this visit besides asking about family business?" Zeresi asked.
"Yes there is, I know your hands are in every aspect of the criminal world here but do you really need to keep up the human trafficking business?"
"There's a need for it, and with my power and influence I can make sure it's carried out in a humane fashion."
Tolan shook his head, "We're talking about the kidnapping and selling of humans into slavery, forgive me for not understanding how 'humane' it could possibly be."
"Scott, you know I can't just undo something like this. It'll be seen as a sign of weakness by those who want my position; my life and the lives of all our family could be over as I know it."
"Much like the MoI has done their part to change your life as you know it," Tolan saw the look of sadness in his aunt's eyes and he came up with an idea, "Perhaps I could use some of my contacts to see if I can get the MoI to fall back and give you some room to breathe. Yes I exposed their mini-war against you to the papers but perhaps I can bring some behind-the-scenes pressure to get them to play nice. If you promise to end the human trafficking I can use my contacts to make it happen."
"There are times when you can be so idealistic; this is the way the worlds work. I can't change it anymore than you can change your heritage even if you do hide behind a Battlestar and an Admiral's uniform."
Tolan was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke, "I've spent my whole career walking the line between being a Colonial Fleet officer and a member of the Tolan family. It wasn't until five years ago that I was safe from being pulled in to the affairs of the Basileus. We both know how important family is, and we've both put our necks out on the line for one another. Keep this up and you're going to put me in a position to choose where to put all of my loyalty, and I can assure you it will go to the Colonial Fleet."
"That's not like you; you've always understood the benefits of being under the protection of not only the Basileus but also my personal protection. There's no reason for you to throw that away."
"You weren't the only member of the Tolan family who was targeted by the MoI, unless you didn't know that of course."
"They came after everyone; they'd have probably gone after your mother if she hadn't have died of that heart attack. It's a wonder they haven't targeted Lacey and yourself…they haven't have they?"
"Targeting Lacey makes no sense; she's never done anything involving the family business."
"What about you Scott, were you targeted? When I heard about your car crash on Picon two years ago that was something I was afraid of."
Tolan wanted to say something about it but he realized that ultimately it was not something that was relevant, "Listen, the important thing is that we end this human trafficking ring once and for all. Considering what we've done for each other over the past couple of years I don't think I'm being too unreasonable."
Lydia Zeresi was quiet for some time as she mulled over the offer that had been given to her. After what seemed like an eternity she finally said, "You have a deal."
"Thank you Aunt Lydia," Tolan said as he turned to walk out of the door.
Lydia Zeresi sat there and pondered what had just taken place. Her mind was telling her that she should not have made such a deal, and the cubits lost from the human trafficking side of the Basileus would put a dent in her bottom line. However, as much as she valued money she valued having Scott and Lacey in her life. She may never admit it in public, but she was proud of both them and the way they had turned out. Perhaps in some small way they were going to be able to give the Tolan name a bit of redemption through their actions. It was at least a hope she had.
She turned her attention to a letter that had been delivered from the office of Doctor Nicole Lassus, her private physician. She had recently had blood drawn as part of her annual physical and not long after that she had received the news that she was suffering from a severe form of anemia. The letter contained the copy of the report that she had requested from Doctor Lassus, and it would not be long until she began to undergo treatment for her condition. If it got worse then there would eventually be a new head of the Basileus.
She looked at the picture of her husband Vincent and her daughter Briana. It had been about three years ago that her Briana had been murdered by a man who was discovered to have been a serial killer. 'Bri' left behind a son named Davin and he had stayed with her here in Armarna since that day.
In this moment she was alone and none could see the storm of emotion that was so clearly visible on her face. She looked at the picture of her husband and daughter and quietly said, "I may be seeing the two of you soon."
What would her father think if he saw her now? Carl Tolan had been devastated when her older brother Henry, Scott's father, had died from an acute form of Leukemia. When Andrew, Scott's brother, had been gunned down because of a power grab by DeAndre Trevino it had driven her father further into a depression that he would not come out of. Trevino had been one of Carl Tolan's most trusted lieutenants, and had been placed in charge of the Basileus' operations out of the Anthedon province where Scythia Beach was located at. Tolan kept his mental sharpness in place long enough to exact a terrible retribution against those who had plotted against him and had taken the life of his grandson. It was after this that he had taken to drinking heavily, and that along with the two great personal losses ended his life sooner than most would have expected.
She had taken the reigns of power and held on to them tightly, she had to put aside the woman she once was and become Lydia Zeresi of the Basileus. A part of her felt like she believed her father had felt before the end, that she had gained the whole world but had lost her soul in the process.
Cygnus Medical Center:
"There I told you it wouldn't hurt," J.D. Livingston said after Lacey Tolan had received her Degler Influenza vaccine.
"I never said it would hurt, I got more shots when I was going through my physical and vaccinations to enter the Fleet Academy.
"Well I could have sworn you were going on about being afraid of needles," Livingston said as he tried to think of what she had said.
"No I said it's a good thing I'm not afraid of needles, do I even want to know where your mind is?"
"What about Admiral Tolan, won't he need a vaccination since he was exposed to Melissa?"
Lacey shook her head, "The Fleet inoculates its personnel against all known diseases, so Scott has already received his vaccination."
Before they could speak the door to the room came open and a group of patient transport attendants wheeled in the hospital bed that Melissa Saunders had been moved onto. The young woman had been changed into a hospital gown and had an IV drip running into her arm. She was unconscious, but it was obvious that she was breathing steadily.
A man followed in once the attendants had left, he was an older man with what seemed to be a reserved demeanor.
"Are you the couple who brought her in?" he asked.
"Yes sir, I'm J.D. Livingston and this is Lacey Tolan," Livingston said as the two exchanged handshakes with the doctor.
"I'm Dr. Gordon Wales; I'm the physician in charge of Miss Saunders during her stay here. From the reports Dr. Reiss gave me it's a fortunate thing that the two of you were there to bring her to us. Degler Influenza can be serious if it's not treated right away," Wales turned his attention to Livingston, "You and your girlfriend are welcome to stay here until her parents arrive. She's sedated for the time being, but when she wakes up the nurses will give her some medication to help with her symptoms. We do have rooms for families to stay in here on the hospital grounds, if you two want a room for sleeping just let somebody know."
Wales then turned and left the room, leaving the two of them with the unconscious young woman.
"Girlfriend? Thank you for correcting him on that!" Lacey exclaimed with disbelief.
"You're a girl and you're my friend so why should I have corrected him?" Livingston said as he feigned innocence.
"You honestly expect me to believe that?" Lacey said with a look that left no room as to what she thought about it.
"Don't worry Lace; it's just a temporary thing. Once Melissa's parents are here we'll be officially broken up as a couple...pax?" Livingston said as he extended his hand. In the old tongue of Caprica the word 'Pax' stood for 'peace'.
"Pax, but I'm doing this for Melissa," Lacey said as she shook his hand.
"Pull up a chair and we'll sit, no point in standing around here waiting. Besides, I think it would make you much nicer if you became more comfortable," Livingston said as he pulled a chair out of the corner for Lacey to sit in.
"You keep pulling stunts like that and you'll be lucky to see my 'nice' side again," Lacey said as she sat down in the chair and laid her against the wall to look up at the ceiling.
"How come you're not in the Basileus?" Livingston finally asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"What do you mean?" Lacey asked as she suddenly began to feel tired.
"I always figured that with a crime family like that you would be in there one way or another, yet you and your cousin seem to have little to no taint from it."
"My parents were killed when I was five, they were on the Commonwealth Expressway leaving Hades when this transport truck in front of them lost control and toppled over. My parents were in the wrong place and their car was crushed, the only reason I wasn't with them was because I had been left with my Aunt Lydia and Uncle Vincent in Amarna," Lacey said as she closed her eyes as though she was fighting back a memory that she did not want to have in her mind.
"That's terrible Lace, "Livingston said with genuine sympathy, "How did that affect your life?"
Lacey half smiled, "Aunt Lydia sent me to live with my Aunt Sylvia in Clio, it's a small town on the interior of the continent that she grew up in. Aunt Sylvia also happens to be Scott's mother. She raised me, and Scott became more of my big brother than my first-cousin. I think that's part of why he's so protective when it comes to me, he sees me more like his little sister."
"I see," Livingston said as he thought of the mess his friends would have been in if they had escalated things back on the beach with the Colonial Fleet officer.
"If you're wondering how I ended where I am," Lacey began as though she could read his mind, "Aunt Sylvia was asked to make sure I grew up not wanting to be a part of the Basileus. That wasn't too hard because Scott's older brother, Andrew, was gunned down when he was fourteen by a group of people attempting a power grab within the family."
"That's an impressive story; I mean you could have turned out so differently compared to how you are now. It's like one of those things where a simple decision or one moment could have ripple effects that are seen throughout the years. Do you miss your parents or are you glad things went the way they did?" Livingston asked and was not sure what to expect until he looked over at her and saw that Lacey had in fact fallen asleep in the chair and had probably not heard the first thing he had said.
"Ok, now that just hurts," Livingston said in mock hurt fashion.
He stood up and stretched before walking over to the bed to look at Melissa. She looked as beautiful as ever, albeit she seemed a bit paler than when he had last seen her. He reached out and stroked her cheek, before he knew what he was doing he stopped and looked back to see if Lacey had awaken and was wondering what he was doing.
'It shouldn't matter what she thinks,' Livingston thought to himself but the thought would not leave his head.
He finally turned and left to go see if there was a book or magazine that he could read to pass the time by. There was no telling when Arthur and Louise Saunders would arrive from Caprica.
Olwin Docks, Drake and Caelie Tolan's Base of Operations:
Men's Holding Area:
"Let us out of here, I swear I'll kill you if you don't!" Jarell Cashmere screamed as he threw himself into the door one more time in a futile effort to get it to budge.
"You know that's not going to work," Raymond Sharpe said as he tried to get his friend to stop the futile effort.
"Well at least he's doing something, not just walking around like some damn fool," Garrison Brown said in a not-so-veiled slam against Sharpe.
"I'm taking in the surroundings and trying to find a weak spot. For all we know there could be a way out of here that we just haven't noticed yet," Sharp said as he looked up at the ceiling.
"You do your thing and I'll do mine," Cashmere said as he began to pound on the door once again and screamed to be let out.
"Give it a rest, they're not going to let us out," Sharpe said as he took a seat on a bench.
"I've had enough of you," Cashmere said as he walked over and sucker-punched Sharpe off of bench.
The two men began going at one another in a fist fight that Brown wanted no part of.
"Enough you two," a voice said over the speaker.
"That you again Tolan?" Cashmere said arrogantly demanding an answer as he gave Sharpe a shove to the floor to turn his attention to their captor.
"Correct, now you need to play nice and for the love of the gods stop banging on that door. You're giving me a headache!"
"Then I may just have to keep doing that," Cashmere said as he walked over to the door and began to bang on it again.
"I tried to do it the easy way, now it's got to be done the hard way," Drake Tolan said with a sigh of regret as he turned the intercom off and began to flood the room with a gas designed to render a person unconscious within seconds.
Women's Holding Area:
"How'd they get you?" Megan Jordan asked Azura Balfour.
"I was in my hotel room on Scythia Beach when they broke into my room and took me away. The knocked me out with a drug and carried me to a freight elevator that went all the way to the basement. From there I was loaded into the trunk of a car and brought here," Balfour shivered as she thought of the events of that night and the ones that had taken place since she had arrived here.
"That's crazy, how were they able to get into your room?" Helen Octavia asked.
"I wondered about that, but one day when Drake Tolan came by to 'visit' me he told me that they had bribed several members of the hotel staff to supply a key to my room and simply look the other way."
"What's going to happen to us?" Jessi Payton asked to no one in particular. In the time since they learned of their abduction she had simply stayed curled up in a ball in one of the room's corners.
"We're going to be sold at an auction like cattle to whoever wants to buy us, I was here when they sold a group that been captured before me. The women were going to serve as sex slaves or house servants while the men were looking at a life of physical labor at some illegal mine or business. I had put my ear to the door during the auction and heard the buyers talking among themselves."
"Why weren't you sold?" Megan asked.
"I'm the daughter of a rich family; they could get more from ransoming me. I was told by Caelie that the payment has been received and I'm going on the auction block along with the rest of you."
"Not if I can help it!" Helen said as she began to beat on the door.
The intercom crackled to life, "Seriously, not you too."
There was a hissing sound as the knockout gas began to fill the room.
Cygnus Medical Center:
The door to the room came open suddenly, causing Lacey to jump out of her chair and Livingston to come out of the chair he had dozed off in.
"Cadet Tolan, awake and ready!" Lacey said as she automatically came to attention as though she had just been roused from her bunk at the Fleet Academy.
"At ease soldier, you're not on Picon," Livingston said as he stretched and saw who had come through the door.
It was Arthur and Louise Saunders, looking as though they had grabbed a red-eye transport off of Caprica.
"J.D., thank the Gods you were here for her!" Louise Saunders blubbed as she wrapped her near hysterically waving arms around the young man.
"Yes, thank you so much. If you hadn't been there to get Melissa here…" Arthur Saunders said maintaining his cool although his eyes betrayed his concern as he shook Livingston's hand.
"Is it true that there were those horrible gangsters involved in this?" Louise asked.
"The Basileus of all people, when we heard she was sick we knew they had to have been involved. I was afraid those thugs had poisoned her somehow," Arthur said as he looked down at his daughter.
Livingston looked past the Melissa's parents and at Lacey who was standing in the corner with a look on her face that he found unable to read.
"I had help though," Livingston gestured to Lacey, "This is the woman who actually got Melissa and me here so quickly."
Lacey gave them a small wave, "Lacey Tolan, patient transport and murderous thug."
"About that…" Arthur said but it was too late as Lacey had turned and left the room.
"Should someone go after her?" Louise asked as she stroked her unconscious daughter's head.
"Let's go find her, I think she took a right down the hall," Livingston said and was followed by Arthur.
The two men took off down the hallway, stopping at the nurses' station to find out which way a petite blonde had just recently taken. The two took off and saw a corridor of elevators with a small group waiting to board them once the doors opened.
"Lacey!" Livingston called out. There was no reply so he called her name again and this time she turned to face him. Her face may not have been crimson with rage but her eyes left no doubt that Melissa Saunders' parents had touched a nerve in the worst possible way.
"I'm glad we caught up to you," Livingston said as he walked up to her. He was going to say more but he did not get the chance as Lacey connected with the side of his face with a resounding slap.
"Surprised you didn't punch me," he said as he rubbed the cheek she had slapped.
"The thought crossed my mind but my first thought was to hit you below the belt," Lacey said in a voice that was much calmer than most would have expected.
"Miss Tolan, can we go someplace private and sort out this misunderstanding?" Saunders said as he motioned to a nearby conference room.
"Oh now it's 'Miss Tolan'," Lacey said with a look that was not quite friendly.
"I forgot my manners back there in the Melissa's room, please allow me to talk to you in private so I can apologize," Saunders looked a bit more apologetic this time.
SV Valeriu:
"Major there is a contact off of our aft starboard side that's closing fast," Rae Arison said from her position at the helm of the Valeriu.
"Have you been able to establish its identity?" Major Galit Malka asked.
"It's the Eurylade," Arison said.
"Why is Gravina here?" Malka asked out loud though mainly it was a question for herself.
"There is an incoming call from the Eurylade," James Jarvis said from the communications station, "Lieutenant Gravina wishes to speak with you."
"Alright," Malka said as she picked up the receiver and let Gravina know she was listening.
"Major, we just received a message from Headquarters. Odysseus is on the planet," Gravina said.
"Really, what is he doing here?" Malka wondered, she knew there was a chance he would be here but she was not quite sure how she felt about it.
"Uncertain, but he is still labeled a target that needs to be removed if at all possible," Gravina said as he quoted the message to his commanding officer.
"Thank you Mr. Gravina, hold position on the far side of Crete and wait for orders to send an extraction shuttle," Malka said as she severed the connection.
"Odysseus is on Canceron, I suppose even he has to come home every so often. Are you going to be ok with eliminating him?" Keene Barron asked.
"Of course I am, it's a job that has to be done," Malka said though she was having trouble trying to sound convincing about what she was telling herself.
The doors to the bridge slid open and in walked Dr. Monica Astrid, the Chief Medical Officer of the Eurylade. She was a graduate of the School of Medicine at Rice–Eccles University in Tauron City, Tauron. She was recruited by the Ministry of Intelligence during her freshman year at the university and like the rest of the Eurylade's crew was handpicked by Malka to be part of the crew. She was in her mid-forties and managed to look younger than her age would suggest.
"Dr. Astrid, what can I do for you?" Malka said upon seeing the doctor.
"Major, I'd like to have a word with you in private," Astrid said as she motioned towards the captain's office.
"Very well, Keene let me know if anything happens," Malka said as she followed her into the room.
When the hatch to the office had closed Malka took a seat at the desk while Astrid stood," What is it you need to talk about Doc?"
Astrid hesitated as though she was not sure what to do say but she finally seemed to find her words, "You didn't come by Sickbay like I had asked you to."
"Sorry but we made it to the Valeriu faster than I had intended, when this is over I'll come by and we can get this ritual out of the way," Malka said as though this was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Major you know what can happen if you are not given the dose of Avelin," Astrid said.
"Yes, the MoI's little insurance policy in case I 'go rogue'," Malka said with air quotes for emphasis.
"You know as well as I do why they did that to you, but if you miss your dose of it then you'll get sick at first and then progressively worse until you die," Astrid said with her best physician's voice.
"Thanks to Bledsoe, Shea, and the rest of the Project Lysippe team for putting that into play," Malka said with a trace of bitterness at what had been done to her after the mission five years ago to rescue President Adar's sister and niece.
"They remade you into a different type of agent. You became a weapon for them wield as they saw fit, the last thing they needed was for you to be in a position where they could not control you," Astrid commented in a weak attempt to defend the work of Dr. Stuart Rathbourne, the head of Project Lysippe. Avelin was a drug designed to be administered into Malka's blood stream in order to keep a 'bio-safety mechanism' from engaging. If the drug was not administered every seventy-two hours then Malka would eventually die from a toxin that would be released into her bloodstream.
"Without my permission Doc, I've never felt the same since I woke up from that drug-induced fog those bastards put me in. Maybe when I've rid the Twelve Colonies of the Basileus I can put this behind me. We should be done with this operation in less than a day and then I'll take my dose of Avelin," Malka was resigned to the fact that every seventy-two hours she would need to have this done to keep her alive, in some ways she was like a drug addict who needed a fix to live.
"No need to worry, I brought it onboard from the Eurylade, just come with me to the ship's sickbay and I'll administer it. Keene can keep things under control until the IV drip is done. Before you try to argue, MoI protocol states that as the Chief Medical Officer I have the authority to make you follow my directions."
Malka stood up and straightened her uniform, "Gods knows the MoI does love their protocol."
"You'll hear no argument from me Major, but a protocol is designed in the best interests of everyone. I'm going to up the dose on this one to give you more time on the mission in case something goes wrong," Astrid said as she began to take out the equipment needed.
"Hence the IV drips to give me the larger and more concentrated dose of the Avelin. I really hate feeling like I'm a slave to this," Malka said as she began to get comfortable for the IV, in some ways she was like a drug addict of some sort. It was a feeling of helplessness that came from needing this drug to keep her alive, all because the Ministry of Intelligence brought her back from the brink of death and remade her into this human weapon to unleash on those they felt were deserving. Not for the first time since she had awaken in that sterile while hospital room to find her life would never be the same, she began to wonder if it would have been more merciful for her to have simply died that day on the Sagitarron Liberation Army base when she had elected to stay behind to give the majority of the team she was on the chance to escape.
SV Valeriu, Galley:
"Hey Crawford, how are those burgers coming along?" Duke Lorentson asked.
"Tell you what Duke, you think you can do such a great job you come here and do it yourself. Considering you tend to blow things up though, we don't want a repeat of the König Triangle incident," David Crawford III said.
"Yeah, that had to have been a personal best for you Duke," Stephen Cassin said.
"We didn't have to fire a single shot and we took all those Basileus higher-ups," Lina Balaconis as she took a bite of a salad that Crawford had made for her.
"It was kind of disappointing, but the Major said it was a success and I'm not going to argue with her," Paula McElwain said.
The König Triangle was a group of three closely located cities on Baden, a large island in the southwestern hemisphere of the colony that was considered one of the continents. The cities that made up the Triangle were Lothringen, Elsass, and Von der Tann, and due to their close proximity to each other there was an extensive system of water, sewer, and gas pipes that in effect connected the utilities of the cities together. Galit Malka was able to get a hold of the list of residences and businesses that were controlled by the Basileus, and it was Duke Lorentson she relied on to come up with a set of bombs that would explode the gas lines and cause a series of explosions that would destroy only the places listed. Ultimately it was a mix of detonating these gas lines and sneaking into the buildings to plant explosive devises that would level the respective structures.
"Gods knows if he hadn't have had Oz there we'd have been screwed," Lorentson said as he began to remember the only member of the team that had been lost in the shadow war the Ministry of Intelligence had been fighting against the Basileus.
Osmond "Oz" Porter had been the Eurylade's other Tactical Officer, the other being Carlos Gravina, and he was also trained in various weapons and hand-to-hand combat. He was a popular member of the crew, and was known for being able to lighten most tense situations when they had arrived. His last assignment was in the city of Noa on Canceron. There was a member of the Basileus named Wilson Champlin who served as a lawyer for Lydia Zeresi and also obtained information used to blackmail influential members of the government as well as business owners who did not want to pay protection money to the Basileus.
Porter, Lorentson, and Cassin were assigned to eliminate Champlin and hopefully cripple the operations of the Basileus just a little bit. The plan went off with a hitch and Champlin was killed by a car bomb that Lorentson had been able to install. The problem was that he had his personal security detail with him, and they were not in the car when it exploded. A firefight ensued and while Lorentson and Cassin were able to make to their getaway vehicle, Porter was struck by a bullet in the chest and died almost immediately. MoI Lieutenant John Furse had been assigned to the Eurylade as his replacement, though the crew had yet to full warm up to him and saw him as not being worthy of Porter's place among the crew. Furse was patient however. He knew that in order to be accepted by the close knit crew he had to wait for his opportuinity to prove himself.
"To Oz," Cassin said as he raised a glass of water in salute of their fallen comrade. It would have been some form of booze but Malka had forbidden any alcohol being consumed due to the time-sensitive nature of their mission.
SS Chantrell, Marius Sea, Canceron:
Captain Albert Blackshaw held the binoculars to his eyes and scanned the horizon of the Marius Sea. The tempestuous body of water was surprisingly calm tonight, which made sense as to why the Basileus wanted the delivery done tonight instead of the next day or later on in the month.
"Any sign of them, sir?" Second Officer Lawrence Wallis asked.
"None yet, how's McPake doing?" Blackshaw asked in reference to his Chief Officer.
"She's still in her rack sir, Dr. Trusler says we have to let the virus run its course," Wallis said. Earlier in the day Alexandra McPake had come down with a sort of stomach bug that had left her incapacitated. Making matters worse was that First Officer Sidney Acton had also come down with the same virus.
"What if they don't show?" Wallis asked.
"They'll show, there's a lot of money riding on this deal and I intend to make sure we're well compensated for our troubles here today. I'll give them time to get here, but if they're later than they should be then I'll let the Basileus know that our price for this has doubled," Blackshaw licked his lips as the thought of doubling the amount of cubits he had been promised for delivering these weapons.
Wallis clutched his stomach suddenly, "Permission to go to the head."
Blackshaw waved his hand, "Go before we have to scrub your lunch off the deck!"
The officer left and Blackshaw was alone on the bridge apart from the young man in charge of the helm, not even a rough sea could tame his feeling of satisfaction at what he was going to accomplish today. The thought of the many cubits he would have dance around in his head and made him oblivious to the fact that his helmsman was now looking pale as though he was getting sick. An hour had passed; Blackshaw simply stared out the windows of the bridge at the waves that crested over the bow of his ship. He called out a course correction to the helmsman but heard no reply to it. He turned around and found the man lying on the ground unconscious.
Blackshaw rushed over and felt the young man's neck for a pulse, there was none to be found. He was going to move when he felt the muzzle of a gun pressed against his temple. He was not sure who it was but he never had the chance to ask, a wave of pain came over him and he slipped out of consciousness.
Lawrence Wallis surveyed his handiwork. The crew was incapacitated thanks to the virus that he had distributed throughout the ship. His plan was quite simple, he had secreted the virus into the ship's laundry and it had infected the crew to varying degrees. Now his work was done and he simply needed to wait for the delivery team to arrive with the weapons. He set the ship on an auto-adjusting course, the beautiful thing about automated systems was that one person could theoretically run an entire ship from a console in the bridge and he was doing just that.
He walked over to the communications room and pushed the wireless operator out of the chair that he had slumped over in. Picking up the receiver he checked his watch and realized that his people had of had time to finish their part of the job.
"Hello," the voice on the other end of the receiver said.
"Is the Major available?" Wallis asked.
"She's being tended do by our doctor, I'm in charge for now," the man said.
"Let her know that my work here is done, I'll keep the ship turning in a circle until she arrives with the cargo," Wallis said feeling a sense of pride in his work.
"Good job there Gus, we'll be there as soon as the Major is done with her visit with the Doc," Keene Barron said as he disconnected the connection.
"Not too bad if I do say so myself," Wallis, better known as Gustavus Conyngham, said with a sense of pride. He was an expert in disguise and infiltration, he had a career in the movie industry at one time as an actor and then as a costume/prop master. When his family on Sagitarron had been killed in a terrorist bombing he left his career behind and wound up working for Galit Malka and the MoI.
Olwin Beach Warehouse:
The door to the control room opened and both Drake and Caelie Tolan turned to see who was there.
"Drake, Caelie it's a pleasure to see you as always," Armand Lee said as he walked up and shook hands with Drake before greeting Caelie with a kiss on each cheek.
"You as well Armand, have you lined up our buyers for tonight's auction?" Drake asked.
"Tell me you have some deep-pocketed clients this time," Caelie asked with a hopeful smile.
"That I do, I worked the usual crowd at first but eventually some well-moneyed players came our way. Let's just say there's a gentleman who is willing to pay as many cubits as necessary to get his hands on these girls for both professional and personal reasons."
"Ok, now that statement calls for a name and other nice details!" Drake exclaimed.
"I'll tell you, though it's just between us of course," Lee said even though he was dying to let them in on the deal he had brokered.
"Of course," both Drake and Caelie said in unison.
"Does the name Phillip Nazro ring a bell?" Lee asked.
"The man who owns the Deucalion resort and casino on Scorpia, we stayed there for our honeymoon," Drake said.
"Well Mr. Nazro is willing to offer you two million cubits per girl as payment for the women, I suggest we take them off of the auction block," Lee said.
"I agree, I can gas them again and move them into a shipping container bound for Scorpia," Caelie said as she began to make notes on the transfer of the four women.
"Do that sweetie, and I will arrange the bidding on the three men. You do have buyers for them, right?" Drake asked.
Lee nodded, "Mr. Edmund Brewster of Briareus Mining, Mr. Bladen Dulany of Bushnell Chemicals, and Mr. Claude Bufford of Donathan Pharmaceuticals are willing to pay for our young gentlemen for roles ranging from manual labor to test subjects. I assure you we can fetch a great amount of cubits with this."
Caelie put her arms around Lee in a big hug, "You are the best Armand, and no wonder Aunt Lydia trusts you so much!"
"There's a potential problem to all of this," Lee finally admitted.
"What would that be?" Drake asked.
"Scott Tolan, it seems he's heard of this rather lucrative operation and has managed to convince Mrs. Zeresi to shut this down. My sources tell me that he is currently on his way here. The problem is that with his station in the syndicate he cannot be harmed, so I will have to get creative and find a way to delay him long enough to allow the auction to go through."
"It would be Scott," Drake said in a manner befitting a child receiving bad news.
"Do what you have to do Armand and make sure he can't stop us," Caelie said as she shook her head at the new development that had come their way. On one hand they stood to make a killing in terms of cubits but on the other was that Scott Tolan, Drake's cousin, could easily stop them if he made it to the warehouse.
Cygnus Medical Center:
"Talk," Lacey said as she eyed Livingston and Saunders.
"I've been under investigation the past week and a half, it seems that there are those on Caprica who want to see me brought down for various reasons," Saunders began.
"Why would that have anything to do with me?" Lacey asked, not willing to concede ground to either man.
"I thought somehow the Basileus had poisoned Melissa when she arrived here on the colony. She was fine when she left Caprica. It never crossed my mind that a criminal syndicate could be capable of doing something like what you did for my daughter," Saunders said.
"She caught her illness on Scorpia, according to the doctor it has a long incubation period before a person sees its effects," Livingston interjected before Lacey could say the same thing.
"I see…" Saunder said as he suddenly looked decidedly embarrassed by his actions, "In that case Miss Tolan I want to thank you and offer you my sincerest apology for having offended you."
"I accept, now if you will excuse me I have to get going," Lacey said and began to head for the door.
"If you'd be so kind, I'd like to clear this up with my wife as well and see if she would like to offer you her personal thanks. I know she'll be grateful for the opportunity," Saunders said before Lacey could open the door.
"Very well Mr. Saunders, I'll be happy to do that for you," Lacey said as she let go of the anger she was feeling and decided to let her nice side take over once again.
As the three left the room Livingston put his arm around Lacey, "That wasn't so bad now was it?"
"He apologized to me and I'm willing to forgive him," she said as she pushed his arm away.
"What about me? You seem to have become a bit hostile," he said.
"You've let it be assumed that we're a couple, and back in the room you did not even stand up for me when I was insulted. I think you have to work a bit more to have those strikes erased from your record," Lacey said as she picked up the pace and caught up with Arthur Saunders.
J.D. Livingston was in somewhat unfamiliar territory here and he tried to think of what to do. He turned back to the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Perhaps he could slowly win Lacey over again, all he had to do was visit the hospital's gift shop and buy something for Melissa and her as well.
Lacey wanted to give Melissa's parents some time alone with their daughter; she decided to spend some time in a nearby snack bar located on the floor. Six minutes later she was sitting in the room's dining area at a window seat overlooking the streets of Amarna. She took a bite of her Jupiter-sized Aurora Bar and followed by a drink of the energy beverage she had purchased to help keep her going.
What a day it had been, to think this was supposed to be a relaxing week back home. There was a sound to her left, she turned and saw that Louise Saunders had entered the room.
"Miss Tolan, may I sit down?" she asked.
"Sure, but shouldn't you be with your daughter?" Lacey asked, not in an unfriendly way, but more like she was curious as to why this woman had found her.
"Dr. Wales is in there with her right now and the nurses are taking her vital signs. I thought I'd step out for breather before I went back out there," Louise said as she made herself comfortable in her seat.
"There's a large balcony on the fifth floor you might be interested in, lots of fresh air to be had there," Lacey said hoping there was no bitterness in her voice. In truth she was tired of all the anger she carried with her today and just wanted to avoid another confrontation.
"I'd also like to talk to you about earlier; I guess you know the reputation your family has throughout the Twelve Colonies."
"Yeah, I've been aware of that for as far back as I can remember. It kind of comes with the territory."
"When we read the report that a Tolan had taken Melissa here to this hospital our thought immediately went to the worst-case scenario. My husband is being investigated right now, some baseless charges Adar trumped up for reasons I don't know. It seemed logical to us that he would be willing to use the Basileus to send us a message."
"So I ended up being viewed as the messenger. Listen, I know that being a member of the Tolan family can bring a certain stereotype to a person. I've dealt with it and Scott has dealt with it far longer than I can think of. I've spent my life torn between two worlds."
"I wake up in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. I have a question for you Miss Tolan,"
"First thing though, you can call me Lacey. 'Miss Tolan' has a formality to it that gets old after a while,"
"How have you dealt with being painted with such a broad brush?"
"My philosophy is to never be bullied into silence, never allow myself to be made into a victim, and accept no one's definition of my life. In other words, I define who I am. That's something my cousin Scott told me and I've tried to take it to heart. I've had to swallow my pride quite a bit at the Fleet Academy, but at my core I am still the same person."
"I believe it," Louise said after giving Lacey an appraising look, "you are not what I would have expected from a Tolan."
"That is one of those statements I take as a compliment. I have the last name but the way my aunt raised me made sure that I did not follow in the footsteps of my family."
"You're just not what I would expect of a Tolan," Louise said with a shake of her head as though she could not believe what she was seeing. It was then that she added, "Apparently your cousin is not either. What does Scott do for a living?"
"He's a flag officer in the Colonial Fleet, for the past year he's been the commander of Battlestar Group Sixty-Six. His flagship is the Victorious; they're part of the fleet that protects Caprica. He's the reason I wanted to become a Viper pilot, though I have an honorary uncle who'd have rather I'd have not only gone to Abry Military Academy but also took to flying Raptors."
"For what it's worth, Arthur and I are both terribly sorry for how we acted today. I don't think I can tell you enough how thankful we are that you and your cousin were there for her when she needed you, the both of you will always be welcomed at our house on Caprica. Where is Admiral Tolan at?"
"He's either trying to keep Melissa's friends out of trouble, or they ignored his advice and he's getting them out of trouble. They weren't exactly on the best of behavior when we met them."
"J.D. explained what was happening; Helen Octavia is probably the one at fault for it. That girl seems to relish in stirring up trouble wherever she is, obviously Jarelle was trying to impress her by picking a fight. J.D. told us that he's been here for Melissa and you ever since you arrived at the hospital."
"Is that right?"
"Yes, he told me how he helped to comfort you and keep you from breaking down with worry over Melissa's condition. If there was a man we would pick for her it would be him,"
"He really is something else," Lacey said while secretly wishing she had in fact sent her knee into his groin. She might have felt forgiving before but J.D. Livingston might have a long penance ahead of him.
"I'll go back to Melissa's room, please come by after you're done here," Louise said.
When she was gone Lacey shook her head at the turn of events and began to wonder if J.D. could keep a story straight to save his life.
"Hey Lace!" a voice called out.
'Speak of the devil,' Lacey thought as she looked at Livingston. He was holding his hands behind him back, obviously hiding something.
"J.D., came to console me so I don't lose myself with worrying over Melissa?"
"Ah, I see Louise came and talked to you. I was just doing that for dramatic effect, I thought my delivery was spot-on and she could tell I was making the story up as I went."
"Sweetie, I hate to tell you this but if that was your best acting performance then you won't be onscreen with Neveah Ratliff at any time in the future."
Livingston clutched his heart with while keeping his other hand behind his back, "The fair lady of Canceron wounds me greatly with that!"
"Still not getting any better at it," Lacey said with a serious look on her face like she was a judge on one of those acting competition shows on the television.
"You are just brutal, we really need to talk about your eye for talent," Livingston said with a smile as he walked up to where she sat, "Lace, now I want to close your eyes and be prepared to be surprised."
"I had a friend in high school whose boyfriend did that to her, it did not end well," Lacey said.
"I don't want to know just yet, just believe when I saw that I'm not going to do anything that you'll regret," Livingston said as he flashed a smile that he hoped would get through her defenses.
"Alright, but remember what I said about my two honorary uncles," Lacey said as she closed her eyes and waited for whatever her surprise was.
A few moments later Livingston told her to open her eyes. Lacey did and found she was looking at a basket of roses with a teddy bear in the middle of the arrangement. She spied a card there as well with a message written on it, she picked the card up and read it silently.
'When you're in love you never really know whether your elation comes from the qualities of the one you love, or if it attributes them to her; whether the light which surrounds her like a halo comes from you, from her, or from the meeting of your sparks.'
"It's my way of asking for your forgiveness for me being so thick-headed here today, am I forgiven yet?"
"Yeah but why did you put this card in there?" Lacey asked as she held up the small card with the message on it.
"What?" Livingston asked as he took the card and read what it said, "I can explain…there must have been a mix-up with another order and somehow the cards got switched. Mine was supposed to tell you how sorry I was and that I would give anything for you to forgive me for being an idiot."
"Well I guess I can do that. Mind if I say something to you, J.D.?" Lacey asked.
"Of course you can, what's on your mind?" he responded.
"I understand that you came here to Canceron to spend time with Melissa and perhaps start dating her, yet I sense that you might be feeling something towards me."
Livingston knelt in front of her and took hold of her hands, "I feel something Lace, even if I've tried to deny it. There is a spark between us; I just can't do anything about it right now. Melissa needs us here with her and we can't afford any distractions until she's well again."
"Fair enough, listen J.D. about earlier…I think I was more upset that you were willing to take the safe route. I understand the need to do things the easy way but it's not always a necessity. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"
Livingston gave her hand a squeeze, "Of course I do Lace. Let's go check on Melissa, I heard she's awake now so I'm sure she'll want to thank you in person."
SS Chantrell, Marius Sea, Canceron:
Gustavus Conyngham stood in the control booth at the edge of the Chantrell's landing pad, he had used the auto-piloting system to arrive at a part of the Marius Sea that was calm and had sent a message to the Valeriu informing them of the coordinates to find him at. Now it was night and the light from the three moons helped to illuminate the black sea that was around the freighter.
He checked the watch and saw that it was 21:34, in six minutes the shuttle carrying the team was supposed to arrive. He hit the buttons on the control panel and the lights on the landing pad came on with a strong enough illumination that it would be hard to miss.
So far the mission had gone well, and a part of him was glad to have it over with. It was bad enough having to work his way into the crew and hope his cover story would hold up, dealing with tossing seas and accommodations that were nowhere near as nice as those on the Eurylade was enough to drive a man mad.
The wireless set crackled to life and a voice spoke, "Chantrell this is Bergeson, do you copy?"
Conyngham picked up the receiver, "Bergeson this is Chantrell, all is ready for your arrival."
"Great work Gus, we'll see you when we land," James Jarvis, the helmsman for the Eurylade and Malka's shuttle pilot for this mission, said.
Conyngham waited and soon he saw the distinctive silhouette of the transport shuttle as it glided along the surface of the water. Watching it he swore that Jarvis was going to crash into the hull of the Chantrell when suddenly it shot up just enough to avoid a collision. The shuttle then came to a hover above the landing pad and slowly lowered itself until it touched the deck. The thrusters went off and the shuttle's hatch opened, out stepped the crew that had taken the Valeriu. After the former Marines swept the deck for any sign of a trap one of them radioed that all was clear, it was then that the rest of the crew disembarked with Malka being the last one out.
"Major, welcome aboard the Chantrell, I'm sorry I couldn't have made her look more presentable for you," Conyngham said as she snapped off a salute which she returned.
"Not a problem Gus, you did a damn good job on this assignment. Mr. Jarvis will set a course for Olwin Beach, and Mr. Lorentson will set the explosive he brought along to destroy this ship once we arrive at the docks," Malka said to Conyngham as the rest of the crew went about preparing for the next phase of their journey.
"I have uniforms for us to wear on our trip to the docks, and then we can easily change into our attack gear when we storm the warehouse and eliminate Fabian and Persephone," Conyngham said in reference to the codenames given to Drake and Caelie Tolan.
"There's more," Malka said before adding, "an inside source tells us that Odysseus is in Amarna and may be heading to the warehouse as well."
Conyngham's eyes went wide, "You mean we're going to get another crack at him?"
Malka smiled, "I'm going to get another crack at him, I failed to take him out once but this time I won't hesitate to pull the trigger."
She had failed on Picon, but this time if she had the chance to fire at Scott Tolan she would not hesitate. At least that was what she tried to convince herself of, would she pull the trigger or would that part of her mind once again try to tell her that what she was doing was wrong and something akin to cold-blooded murder.