Hopefully the next few days will be filled with updates. This story did take a while to get off the ground so thanks for sticking with it! Your reviews are the best! They make me laugh and think (scary, I know). Reviewers, you rock! Thank you!
Disclaimer: Oh, woe is me, I don't own them (Ron Moore and Sci-fi do)…but if I did, watch out world, muwhahaha
The Life Station was unusually quite. As Adama entered, he didn't hear the clanking of metal or swishing of blankets. From the doorway he couldn't see any patients, only neat made beds. A few of Cottle's medical staff passed Bill with a nod and then disappeared behind curtains or around beds. Adama had to wait for a few minutes before Dr. Cottle finally appeared. He had a half burned cigarette dangling out of his mouth and he was grumbling orders to one of his staff as he looked at papers inside a manila file folder.
"What brings you here?" he said, without looking up at Bill.
"Something Tigh showed me last night. Ellen's journal from New Caprica," Bill said, gaining the scrutinizing gaze of the doctor.
Without another word Dr. Cottle directed Bill to a more private part of the Life Station and told the young medical assistant to give him a minute.
"Doctor patient confidentiality, Admiral, I can't say anything," Cottle grumbled.
Bill lowered his gaze and tried to hide his smile. If Cottle really intended on keeping the information to himself the old doctor wouldn't have lead Bill somewhere they could talk. He just needed a little coaxing.
"I'm not asking as the Admiral, I'm asking as Bill," he replied.
Cottle puffed on his cigarette and seemed like he hadn't heard anything Bill said.
"I saw a lot of patients on New Caprica during the cylon rule. Those that came out of the camps had many of the same symptoms. Cracked rib, broken fingers, cuts and gashes and emotional damage. Tigh lost his eye," Cottle explained finally drawing his eyes back up.
"What did they do to her?" Bill demanded. He had to know…no matter what the cost.
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New Caprica
Cylon Occupation
Six couldn't help but feel trapped inside the faded cement walls of the detention center and she wasn't the one bound by ankles and wrists in the reclining chair. There was something about the hollowness of the room, the single bright light reflecting off the walls that made Six force herself not to shiver.
"Now, Ms. Roslin, I don't want to have to use force but you know I will," Cavil's voice echoed in the room.
"All I want are a few names, not all names, just a few," Cavil repeated, leaning down close to Laura Roslin's ear.
If Six could have given into her desires, she would have turned her eyes away. As it was, Three was staring her down. Three already thought she was a human sympathizer.
Out of need for appearance sake she forced her eyes on the scene before her. Laura Roslin unflinchingly stared Cavil down with one hand in a tight fist and her body tense with anger. She might be known to airlock the odd cylon, but Six couldn't fault her guts in the face of danger. Cavil had already broken her index finger in an attempt to get names and he was about to do it again.
"Frak you," the once President of the Colonies politely told Cavil.
Six held in a smile. None of the other cylons dared talk to Cavil like that. Slowly, Cavil turned his head to the two women standing behind him. He was not pleased. The feeling of helplessness Six felt made her chest tight. She was unsure why she felt the need to stop Cavil. Laura Roslin had never been anything but a pain in her side. Known to Six only as the frank, rude and unpleasant ex-president, as Cavil was discovering.
Cavil turned his head back around and sighed.
"Do you honestly believe you are going to lead the people to Earth?" He asked as he brushed his hand over hers.
Six thought the human expression 'making my skin crawl' could be applied to Roslin at the present moment.
"You're Gods aren't real. You worship in vain. You're prophecies aren't real. You're not the savior of humanity. You're just a crazy old woman."
As he spoke he took hold of her middle finger. Six clenched her jaw in anticipation of the pain Cavil was about to inflict.
"What harm can it do, to tell me a few names? Every one of your people think you're crazy anyway, they won't blame you for what you give away," Cavil tried again, "What have you got to lose? You don't have any friends, your colleagues, the Admiral, jumped away and left you to suffer. You don't even have enough constituents to help you win an election against a sniveling excuse for a human being."
That comment got on Six's nerves no matter how she tried to rationalize it. Baltar had his faults, but just because his loyalties were torn did not give Cavil the right to insult him.
"And most importantly you don't have any children, that precious gift of life. No children to live for, to raise. You know, we cylons, we appreciate life, we appreciate children. But you? You're a selfish, heartless, childless sinner. You know, when you think about it, you're a murder of humanity too. Your choice not to have children killed off your species the very same way we did. Oh, maybe a bit slower, perhaps, but you are just as guilty of genocide. So, you see, you already have blood on your hands, giving me a name won't change the fact you're a murder, but it might save your childless life," Cavil taunted.
The words stung Six's ears bitterly. She chanced to look at Roslin and saw the woman was fighting to hold back tears. With a deep breath Six calmed herself and prayed Roslin didn't break before Six could get her out of the detention center.
Something, intuition perhaps, was telling her Roslin still had a part to play in the greater scheme of things and if Cavil broke her spirit now, all might be ruined.
"Oh, I'm sorry, perhaps you didn't hear me the first time, I said fra—" Laura began in her politician tone but before she finished Cavil broke a second finger.
Roslin cried out in pain and at the sound of it Six had to turn her head away.
"You know, Ms. Roslin, I'm the nice cylon. If I let Doral or Leobon in here they aren't going to be so gentle with you. Now, come on, give me a name," Cavil coaxed.
Three must have seen Six turn away because she rounded the chair and took a fist full of Roslin's hair in her hand.
"Give him a frakking name," she yelled.
Still Roslin resisted.
"I thought you said these drugs would make her talk," Cavil said to Three.
"I already gave her the highest dosage we dare, unless we don't care if we kill her," Three whispered back.
Six couldn't take anymore of it.
"Then why don't you do like Gaius said we would and let her go!" Six demanded.
She drew the gaze of both her comrades. Then Three and Cavil exchanged glances.
"Take the shackles off," Six ordered, her eyes sending spears at her colleagues.
Three undid the latches on Roslin's wrists and ankles. Cavil moved to the door. For a brief moment Six actually believe they had seen reason.
"Our friend Doral here has been itching for some payback ever since you left him to rot on Ragnar," Cavil said, opening the door and letting Doral step in.
Six folded her arms and marched out of the room. How could they be so irrational? Why was she so concerned about the fate of Roslin? Six stormed down the hallway as mad at herself as with her hard headed associates. She stopped when she heard Three calling after her.
"What's the matter?" Three asked when she finally caught up.
Six wasn't sure of the real reason for her feelings. Explaining it was just a feeling wouldn't have the impact on Three Six needed, so she thought up something she hoped would seem logical.
"If you kill her, we will never achieve what we want to on this planet. All of the humans will hate us, and Roslin will become a martyr in their history books," Six stated.
D'anna seemed to take her words into consideration, which at least, was a step in the right direction.
"She airlocked Cavil and Leobon without a moment's hesitation. Turnabout is fair play," Three said and strutted away.
In Three's language, that meant she wasn't going to stop until she got a name or Roslin was killed. Six couldn't let Laura Roslin die. As much as she wanted to turn a blind eye, God was telling her to do something. She turned and hurried back to the cell.
When Six opened the rusted metal door a flood a guilt washed over her. She had left Roslin alone with Doral for too long. Her hesitation carried a price.
"Get up!" Doral yelled at the woman on the floor.
He gave Laura a hard kick to the stomach when she didn't respond. Six tightened her hand into a fist.
"Not so tough without your airlock, are you?" Doral mocked as he pulled her hair to make her lift her face to look at him.
With a menacing scowl he slapped her across the cheek, leaving a bruise and deep cut. Six let the door slam shut behind her gaining Doral's attention.
"Cavil needs you," she ordered.
She was so angry that lying came naturally. In the back of her mind, however, she questioned her own determination to help Laura Roslin. Given everything that had happened, it made no sense.
"Now?" Doral responded, his menacing scowl melting into a confused wide eyed stare that annoyed Six.
She responded with an impatient glare and with a shrug he obeyed her orders. When Six approached Roslin she saw how much physical damage Doral had managed to inflict in the short amount of time. Roslin was barely conscience but that was probably a good thing, since she might not have let Six help her otherwise.
Getting Roslin out of the detention center was going to be a trick. There were copies and centurions around ever turn. Six knew if she could get Roslin outside the rest of her comrades wouldn't worry about trying to pick her back up again. At least, they wouldn't try to kill her in the same way.
With an arm around her shoulder, Six carried Laura down the hallway. Each step was a struggle. Six was tempted to hoist Roslin over her shoulder but decided against it. If they got caught as they were, Six might be able to come up with a valid explanation. With Roslin dangling over her shoulder like a rag doll the other models would know something was wrong. Each step became increasingly difficult for Roslin forcing Six to slow their hurried pace. Six knew the drugs would make Roslin totally incoherent in a matter of hours and then there would be no hope of escape.
Roslin must have finally grasped what was happening because she tried to untangle her arm from Six's shoulder and hobble away.
"Oh, no you don't," Six said, dragging Roslin against her will down the hall, "I am going to haul your sorry ass out of here and you're going to let me."
Roslin must have comprehended, though she didn't say anything, she started once again moving in the direction Six was dragging her.
Hope tingled Six's senses as they neared the exit but faded with the metal click of a centurion drawing closer. As fast as she could Six shoved Roslin into a nearly by storage closet hoping the jolt hadn't added to the woman's injuries. Just as the centurion rounded the corner Six leaned causally against the wall. Six watched the centurion pass without even a pause. With grace and speed Six opening the closet and gently helped Roslin out. The human grimaced but didn't fight anymore. The exit to the military issue vehicles was just ahead.
A few more difficult steps found them inside the large garage with their pick of transportation.
Caprica Six thought they where going to make it, until a model Eight, Boomer, stepped out from behind one of the trucks.
"What are you doing?" Boomer asked, her hand flying to her weapon.
"Exactly what it looks like. Help me, or don't, but hurry up and decide," Six said, leaning Roslin against the side of one of the trucks.
There was some sort of strange and powerful connection between Six and Roslin. Six hoped Boomer could feel it enough to let them go.
"I'll help," Boomer stated. "But only because killing her will kill more of us and delay our goal."
Six smiled and climbed into the back of the truck with Roslin. Something strange was going on, and Six was not going to let another moment pass while she sat idly by. Now was the time for action.
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Life Station
Present
"I just told you what her condition was," Cottle stated with a grumble.
Bill narrowed his eyes, shutting out everything in the life station except its resident doctor.
"Cracked rib, broken fingers, cuts and gashes and emotional damage," Cottle repeated, "I don't know much about the last part. When Ellen came to get me the President was pretty out of it. Mumbling all kinds of things. From what I gathered, Baltar came to see her asked her a few questions and let her go. The cylons weren't so kind. D'anna and Cavil put her under some kind of drug, I found it in a lot in patients exiting the camps. They did the same to Tigh. They were both very visible targets. The cylons wanted to make an example of her…see what you get for standing against us. Both Tigh and Laura showed a brave face, kept hope alive. No one even knew what happened to Laura. Her scares were easier to conceal.
"When I asked her about it she said what they did to her was no worse than what they did to anyone else. Only difference is, Tigh and many of the others talked about it, joked even, and got over it. I'm no psychologist but I think she's still struggling. No solider should have to go through what they went through, let alone a civilian….," Cottle trailed in a gruff hushed tone.
The worry in Cottle's voice was more apparent than normal. The fact Cottle so easily told Bill everything was enough to worry him. He found he was hurt by the information in more ways than one. Laura had lied to his face. Lied flat out when she said she told him everything that happened on New Caprica had been documented in her journal. Maybe she didn't want a more intimate relationship after all. Maybe, if he confronted her with the subject and agreed to something more she would pull back. In that moment, he decided he was going to call her bluff.
He turned to leave but Cottle stopped him.
"Bill, you might also want to know," he began, getting the last puff from his cigarette, "…the cylon in the brig, she's the one that dropped Laura off. From what I gathered from Ellen, seemed like the cylon wasn't supposed to be helping."
Cottle tossed his cigarette down and smashed it with his foot.
"Thank you, Doctor," Bill said.
With a forced half smile he turned and walked out of the life station in search of Laura.