Sorry about the wait.

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Spoilers: Pegasus

Chapter 17- The Good Doctor

--

Battlestar Galactica, BSG-75

Gaius Baltar was bored. The president had caught him arguing with his Six; of course, to her it looked like he was just shouting at thin air. She had forced him to take a day off. Now he was pacing in the middle of a sparely furnished room, all by himself. Unless you counted Six.

"She won't let me into my lab, she won't let me do any research. She won't let me get out of this room. She even locked the frakking hatch!"

It was true. After his argument with Six, the President had used a couple of her bodyguards to haul him down to this unused compartment of the Battlestar and locked the door from the outside.

"This is very rude! I'm the Vice President, for the Gods' sakes! I deserve better treatment than this! I have half a mind to file a complaint!"

If Six were a person, she would have closed her eyes and covered her ears. After all, he had been ranting like this for almost half an hour.

"Patience, Gaius. God's plan for you is being put into motion. Offer Him your love and you will be saved."

He started banging his head into a wall. "More rubbish about your God. Great. Is he going to come along and make everything better? Roslin has it in for me, I tell you. She does!"

A small smile graced Six's face. "You should close your eyes, Gaius."

He looked at her like she was crazy. "I should do what?"

At that moment the hatch popped open a bit and a flash grenade was thrown in the room, the light blinding him when it exploded. He didn't see the Marine who grabbed him by the left arm and spun him to the ground, before putting a pair of handcuffs on him. As he was dragged away by the Marines, kicking and screaming, Six followed them, unseen by everyone. Well, Gaius did ask for some excitement.

--

Colonial One

Daala's shuttle arrived a few moments after Marines were dispatched to get Dr. Baltar. He listened to her short introduction and summary of the past few months. He supposed that they would probably find out more about this "Empire" she kept talking about. Lt. Gaeta would be ecstatic about pouring over some of the data they would give. He listened while Laura and Daala fenced with words for a while. Daala was completely ignoring both him and Cain. He had a feeling that Daala would deal with him later.

"Admiral, I am a bit confused why you are here." Laura said. "It seems to me that all you want to do is get back to your galaxy.

"That's true," Daala responded, "But we need replacement parts to fix our computer. Your civilization doesn't have advanced enough technology to repair our ship. But this Earth of yours, it could be more advanced. So it looks like we may need your help."

A couple minutes later, in the middle of a conversation, Laura let out a small gasp and sank into her chair. Bill was at her side in a instant.

"Are you alright, Madame President?"

She nodded. "It's just the…"

She trailed off, realizing that both Cain and Daala were unaware of her cancer, and that it was probably best that way. She inwardly cursed herself. A month ago she wouldn't have made a slip up like that. Maybe the cancer was going to her brain already.

Daala's eyes bored into her. "The what, Madame President?"

Bill was pleased to see that Daala had better manners then Cain (at least she addressed Laura by her title), but had a feeling that they should not find out quite yet.

Laura knew they'd find out sooner or later, so what the hell, why not tell them now? Only the Gods knew how long she had to live.

"I have breast cancer. I have less then a month to live."

The statement took Cain by surprise, and it was almost enough to make her regret how she had treated Roslin earlier. Well, not quite almost.

Daala looked curious. "This cancer, it's a disease, right?"

Laura nodded. "Yes, yes it is."

"We have something called Bacta. It is used to heal wounds, but it can cure almost anything. It might be able to cure your cancer."

Laura felt a surge of hope. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have to be the dying leader. Maybe she could survive, have a future…assuming the Cylons didn't kill them all.

Laura cleared her throat. "I would very much appreciate looking in to this Bacta. However, there is a pressing matter at hand: Captain Apollo."

She saw Bill tense, and her heart ached for him. He didn't deserve this. After all they had been through, a Cylon for a son? She remembered right before the attacks, calling him Captain Apollo. It did have a nice ring to it.

"Right." Daala said. "Your son, or what ever he is, should be arriving momentarily. One of our shuttles picked them up."

Right on cue, they heard the hiss of a ship docking with Colonial One.

Two Stormtroopers marched out. Then came the Apollos, each with a restraining collar affixed their throats, similar to the one that had been used on Sharon Valerii whenever she was moved across the ship. The Lee he recognized gave him a weak smile. "Hi dad."

The other Apollo just looked confused.

"We picked him up," Daala said, gesturing to the scarred Apollo, "less than a week ago. He appeared with the Olympic Carrier, which is being quarantined due to the fact that you say that you've destroyed it. He said that he had been holding Cylon Raiders off of the Carrier before he met up with us, but when we looked at his gun cam videos were doubtful. The Cylons could have hit him at any time, but they didn't. His flying was horrible, and his academy records indicated that he was a ace. We scanned him, but the detector results were inconclusive.. It's like parts of him are human and parts aren't. The one that came from you ship scanned as normal." Something about that seemed familiar to Bill, but he couldn't place it.

Bill looked from one Lee to the next. He spoke the Lee he knew first.

"What do you say?"

The Galactica's CAG shrugged. "I have no idea. I was in my Viper when I saw his face. My ship got disabled shortly after he opened fire on me."

"And you?" he asked to the scarred Apollo.

He gave a sigh of resignation. "I'm a Cylon, and so is he." He said, indicating the Lee that Adama called his son.

Daala shook her head. "No he's not. The one from Galactica scanned completely negative on him. Our scientists think that it could be possible that-"

Bill tuned her out. Piecing someone together...

"Raptor Talon." he muttered.

All heads swung around to face him.

"What?"

Adama sighed. "Operation Raptor Talon. That's the answer."

--

"Operation Raptor Talon took place on the last day of the First Cylon War. I was based of the Galactica. We went in with the first Columbia. Our objective was a 'ice planet'. Intelligence said it might contain a Cylon Superweapon. They had multiple Raider wings and Basestars waiting for us. The Columbia took three full missile salvos. She went down with all hands. I was in my Viper, and I perused two Raiders into the planet's atmosphere. I took them out, but crashed on the surface. There was a building there, and I went inside it. There were Colonials in there, civilians from a Gemonese freighter. There was some kind of laboratory. They had been taking the people apart, seeing what was inside of them, putting them back together again. They said they had been taken, one by one, they could here the screams…I tried to get them out. But the building started to shake, and they told me to run. When I got outside I saw the structure lifting off. It was actually some kind of Basestar, one we had never seen before. I radioed up to Galactica to tell them to stop the ship. They told me that the Cylons had just signed the Armistice. The ship got away."

He turned to the scarred Apollo. "Is that what you are? Something assembled from pieces of people?"

He shook his head. "I'm a Cylon, and so is he."

Daala sighed. They were getting nowhere. He was obviously sticking to his story. "This is ridiculous. Commander Adama, it has come to my attention that you have a Cylon on your ship."

Adama blinked. How did she know that? He was starting to feel uncomfortable. "I do."

"We need to find out what is going on. I have two prisoners on my ship. I will see what I can find out from them. Cain insists on having in part of this, so she will send an integrator to your ship. Once we get to the bottom of this we can talk about our next move. And I will look into getting Bacta treatments for President Roslin. This meeting is over."

With that, she walked back to her shuttle. The two troopers followed, using the collars to move the Apollos into the shuttle after her.

--

Battlestar Galactica, BSG-75

Gaius paced around his cell. They still hadn't told him why he was being held, but he wasn't happy about it. Six kept trying to get him to relax, but nothing would solicit a response from him. Exasperated, she walked over to him and slapped him on the face.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You need to calm down, Gaius. They're coming for you. Only God can save you."

"Oh yes, He'll save me. Of course."

The Marine on the other side of the cell banged on the cell bars. "Quiet in there!"

"Gaius, they know about us before the attacks. They're going to kill you. You said it earlier, Roslin has it in for you."

This wasn't exactly true, but she figured it was what Baltar would want to hear.

Gaius did not have the reaction Six had expected. Instead of freaking out, he remained calm.

"Do you have a plan?" he whispered.

"Of course. This will hurt."

He looked at her, not comprehending what she meant until she grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him against the wall. Gaius cried out in pain. The Marine immediately unlocked the cell and dashed in to see what had happed. Six walked up behind the Marine and grabbed his neck, twisting it violently to the left. The sound of his neck snapping was as loud as a like a gunshot in the enclosed area of the brig. Even though he had been mostly focusing on his own pain, Gaius had seen Six kill the unfortunate Marine. He felt a surge of elation. Six was real. He wasn't just imagining her. He wasn't crazy!

Six, who always knew what he was thinking, smirked. She wouldn't go as far as to say he wasn't crazy.

Six bent down to retrieve the Marine's gun. She pressed it into Gaius' hand.

"We have to go no, Gaius. The people still believe in you. Once we get off this ship, I know how to help you."

"And how am I supposed to get off this ship? I can't fly!"

"Don't worry. I can."

--

Imperial Destroyer Gorgon

"You have got to be kidding me."

Daala had been working in her quarters when Kretas had come in to deliver the bad new about Baltar.

"No joke. They found one Marine dead in the brig, neck snapped. Two more and a mechanic who must have gotten in the way, all shot. One Marine missing. One Raptor pilot, skull bashed in. The Raptor managed to dock with the ship called Cloud Nine. No sign of Baltar."

"Did he have help?"

"Undoubtedly. He's never had any military training. The guard was a good foot taller than him, and had over a hundred pounds on him. The gun wounds were all headshots, and the pilot's head was so bashed in that it would take multiple blows from some extremely heavy object. No, he had help, possibly Cylon. The worst part is, he's still technically the Vice President. A call has been put in to all ships, and searches are being initiated, but the people love him. And they're not particularly found of us or Cain, especially after rumors started circulating that she wanted to scrap all the civilian ships for spare parts. Something has to be done, and fast."

Daala though about that for a moment. Then she stood up. Let's go to the bridge. Send a warning to Adama and Cain that we will be powering up weapons for maintenance. Make sure all ion cannon battaries are in the green, and stand by to fire."

--

Astral Queen

The prison ship was the absolute last place Gaius had ever wanted to be in the fleet (except the wrong side of an airlock). But he did fell a bit more safe with the man in front of him.

"It's very good to see you, Mr. Zarek."

Tom Zarek, freedom fighter or terrorist, gave him one of his most disarming smiles.

"Please, call me Tom."

"Thank you for helping me…Tom."

It was no secret that Zarek and Roslin had a falling out after Kobol. When Adama had come back for her she had immediately forgotten about Zarek. Zarek wanted power, but Roslin did not offer any.

"Don't mention it. I've hear rumors about your escape. If they're true, we could have a problem on our hands. If you killed Adama's men then he'll never stop hunting you."

Gaius shivered as he remembered his escape. Six had handed him the gun. She had held his hands and helped him pull the trigger, killing two Marines from long range. Then they had run into a crew member. He was going for an alarm when six had took the gun from him and shot the crew member in the back of the head. Gaius was doubting his sanity. How could she hold a gun? She had shot anther Marine, but had brought him with them on the Raptor. They shoved him out into space. He was quite impressed when she told him her plan. Make it look like he had a Marine help him, and that that Marine went into hiding afterwards. Six had killed the Raptor pilot, hitting him so hard with the but of the gun that the metal actually bent. She had used the right transponder codes and declared an emergency. Once on Cloud Nine she had got him onto a cargo shuttle re-supplying the Astral Queen.

"I didn't kill anyone. A solider who didn't believe any of Roslin's lies helped me escape. When some of Adama's men tried to stop me he had to kill them. I don't know where he is now; he thought it was better for no-one to know."

Zarek nodded. "You can't stay on this ship for long. It'll be one of the first places they look. Don't worry though. You'll come out of this, and if we play this right, you'll be more powerful then you ever could have imagined."

--

Imperial Star Destroyer Gorgon

The bridge was bustling with activity when Daala stepped into it. It had finally been repaired, and looked almost as good as new. She had trained the bridge officers not to snap to attention whenever she entered. She loathed ship commanders who made the crew do that. It was a egotistical display which only wasted time. She walked to the gunnery officer's station.

"Guns, identify the smallest ship in the fleet."

The officer punched a few buttons and a small ship apraed on the screen. "The Jewel of Gemenon, carriers approximately eighty passengers, no military."

"Good. Open a channel to all ships."

"Aye, sir."

Daala picked up a comlink, checked to make sure it was broadcasting on all frequencies, and spoke.

"This is Admiral Daala aboard the Star Destroyer Gorgon. Gaius Baltar is hiding somewhere within this fleet. As the people of this fleet have been uncooperative in helping the search, it is time for a different tactic. We have the Jewel of Gemenon targeted right now. We will disable it shortly. The military will have one hour to evacuate it before we destroy it. We will then move on to the next largest vessel and repeat this process. This will continue until Baltar is turned in dead or alive, or there are no more ships remaining. Any ship trying to interfere with our operations will be destroyed with no further warning. Daala out."

She clicked off the comlink and set it down on her station. "XO." She said.

Kretas snapped to attention. "Sir."

"Sound general quarters. Warm up all batteries, there is a chance that one of the Battlestars might try to interfere. Launch a fighter screen."

He saluted. "Yes sir."

"Weapons," she said, "fire all ion cannons at the Jewel. Keep up the barrage for thirty seconds. I want that ship so fried that they can't repair it."

"Yes sir."

--

Battlestar Galactica, BSG-75

"Helm, up thirty, all ahead full." Colonel Tigh had started barking orders as soon Daala's message had came over the speakers in the CIC. "Mr. Gaeta, sound action stations."

"Belay that order."

Saul looked at his friend in surprise. "Bill, we have to do something. She's going to blow up one of our fraking ships!"

"And what do we do? Get blown out of space? Face it, Saul. We can't take on that thing. Not without Cain. Maybe not even with her. The best thing we can do is prep Raptors to evacuate that ship. But we do have to do something. The Jewel of Gemenon is small enough that we can evacuate it. But this can't go on for ever."

He turned to Dee. "Petty officer, get my a line to Pegasus Actual."

--

Battlestar Pegasus, BSG-62

"Baltar does need to be found, Commander."

Cain could sense Adama's frustration on the other end. "The fleet wants Gaius Baltar. There's rumors that some are pushing for him to be a candidate for the presidency. They're not going to give him up. The longer she does this the more the citizens will resent the military. The fleet will be torn apart."

Cain considered what he was saying. She couldn't care less about the citizens of the fleet, or finding Earth. All she cared about was striking the Cylons when and where ever she could.

"Commander, even if I wanted to stop her, what would you suggest I do? She could take us out long before we could ever get a firing solution, and I'm sure that she could take command of the Basestar whenever she wants. Maybe this will get him out of hiding."

"The number of passengers the Jewel carries can be put on other ships. But what happens when she does this to the next ship? And then to the next?"

Cain sighed. "I'm getting tired of debating this with you. If you want to talk to her, fine. Pegasus out."

--

Imperial Star Destroyer Gorgon

On the hull of the Gorgon, turrets shifted in their mounts and lined up on the Jewel. It was such a small target that a few bolts missed on the first wave, but that didn't make a difference. For thirty seconds blue-white energy poured into the Jewel. The amount of energy blew out every electronic system on the ship, the explosions killing seven crew members. A few unlucky passengers who considered themselves fortunate enough to have seats with a view got electrocuted by the sheer energy.

Then, as quickly as it had started, it had finished. Raptors from the Galactica had scrambled to evacuate passengers on the Jewel; Cain had refused to "waist valuable Tylium" rescuing the civilians. They had gotten all the civilians out within half an hour. Meanwhile, Adama had managed to get a line to Daala.

--

Imperial Star Destroyer Gorgon

"Commander Adama, Baltar is a traitor to your race. This is not something I often say, but I do need your help to find Earth. And I will not tolerate a traitor with access to a nuclear weapon somewhere in this fleet. Have you forgotten that he killed six of your men?"

"I have not forgotten that five of my men are dead. And Baltar did not kill them. Our investigator on our ship, Sgt. Hadrian, thinks that another Marine may have helped him escape. It is possible that he is innocent of those murder charges."

"But he is guilty of the genocide of your race."

"And what proof do you have of that? Data you found on a Cylon ship that could have been planted? It's not hard facts. Even if you believe it, even if I believe it, if Cain believes it, if the President believes it, if the people of the fleet don't, than there will be a revolt if he is tried for treason. I know you think that your way will get him out of hiding. It won't. The people will just grow more and more resentful of the military. Without the people you won't find Earth. So far you've killed ten people. They'll forgive you for that. But not if you continue. Let Baltar do what he wants, and in the meantime look for the nuke. It won't be as hard to find."

Daala thought about that for a second. "Hold for one minute."

She muted the comm and motioned for Kretas to come over. Unknown to Adama, Cain had called a few minutes earlier with a suggestion of her own. Cain had suggested targeting Cloud Nine with the Gorgon's turbolasers. Cain had felt that the loss of over two thousand people would immediately get Baltar turned in. She had been considering Cain's proposal, but Adama's actually made sense.

Kretas walked over. "Yes?"

"You heard the conversation?"

He nodded. He had been listening in. "What do you think, Admiral?"

"I'm actually tempted to go with Adama's suggestion. It made more sense then Cain's, or maybe more then mine."

Kretas nodded. "He does have a point. Ad I can't help but wonder. It seems like he would make-"

"A better Admiral than Cain?" Daala finished. Kretas nodded. "She's prone to fits of violence when diplomacy would work better."

"We might just have to do something about that someday."

She nodded, and then picked up the comm and turned it back on. "Commander Adama, we have considered your request and decided that it is the most logical course of action. We will stand down, and dispatch teams to search for the warhead. In the meantime, I'm sending an interrogator to see what my Cylon prisoners can find out about Capitan Adama. As you know, Cain should be sending one of her interrogators over. She felt that your crew had become too emotionally attached to the Cylon prisoner, and she thinks that her man will produce results. I'll contact you when we find out more. Daala out."

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