Chapter 3

When Tom slept, he rarely dreamed. There were images, he supposed; random, vague flashes of light and sound. But his dreams were never concise, nor were they logical enough to remember when he woke up. He seemed to possess the ability to shut his emotions off at night, if only to allow his mind a short rest.

Tonight however, Tom dreamed. He wandered in space, halfway aware that he was asleep. He saw the twelve planets, arranged up in a perfect circle, and remembered all that they had lost. It was not the stabbing grief he had experienced after the attacks; he was too old and weary for that. It was more of a dull ache, a wound that he carried within him, and would carry for the rest of his days. After all this death, he thought, what was the point of living?

The universe was shaking. Tom's body floated like a rag doll as the stars and planets rolled back and forth across the night sky. And then there was sound, great and encompassing, that seemed to emanate from above. There was light as well, in a distant pocket far away.

"Tom! Tom…wake up!"

Tom stirred as hands shook him back and forth. He opened his eyes, blinking in the sudden light, and noticed a chunk of pale blonde hair. Absentmindedly, he reached out and grabbed it.

"Ouch! Tom, what is the matter with you?" A hand slapped him away, and Tom found himself staring into the angry blue eyes of Sarah.

Tom winced apologetically. "Sorry," he muttered.

He pulled himself into a sitting position. Sarah was standing above him, wearing an all-black outfit paired with combat boots. He raised an eyebrow at her change in appearance.

"Going somewhere?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yes…and so are you."

She reached down, grabbed his arm, and hauled him to his feet. He was still a little groggy, and he nearly toppled over as he stood up. She made a noise of disgust, but ducked under his arm and supported his weight.

Tom smiled at her gratefully. She scowled.

"Just make sure you're awake," she said.

Tom opened his mouth to respond, but she wasn't paying any attention to him. Her head was pressed against the wall.

"I thought we were going two days from now-" he began, but she turned on him with a glare so fearsome that that the question died in his throat.

Sarah went back to pressing her ear up against the wall. He wondered what she was doing, as he couldn't hear anything. It occurred to him that the Cylons must have other ways of communicating. They were probably all telepathic. He laughed out loud at the thought.

"You find something amusing?" she asked.

Tom shook his head. Sarah gave an exasperated sigh and stepped towards him.

"You know, I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation," she said, sounding out every word as if speaking to a child. "It's the middle of the night, and you're about to make an escape attempt from a high-security Cylon prison with only a confused machine as your guide. And I'm about to become a traitor to my own people. So, I'd appreciate if you would be quiet for two seconds."

Tom nodded. "Sarah, I wasn't trying to-"

She put a finger to her lips, indicating that he should be silent. Then, she gave one last glance to the wall, and offered him her hand.

"Whatever you do, don't let go of my hand," she said. "Do exactly what I do, and don't make a move without my consent. If you lose track of me, you will die. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Tom whispered, the adrenaline coursing through his body. It was finally happening.

He placed his hand in hers. Her palm was as cool and smooth as his was hot and rough. Sarah leaned forward, opened the door, and they were out.

The hallway was even darker than his cell. He stumbled, pulled along by Sarah's hand. He heard a wailing from above, and he felt a pang of guilt. He should be helping these people. But still, before he could rescue others, he had to rescue himself

Sarah moved, catlike, against the wall. He had to admire her skill. Her black clothing made her blend in with the darkness, while he was all too conspicuous in his prison jumpsuit. She moved gracefully and silently, making hardly a sound.

They walked for a while, and Tom gave up trying to keep track of where they were going. All the hallways seemed to look identical, and it was too dark to see much of anything anyway. Occasionally, he saw the chrome and metal of a Centurion, but Sarah urged him on, and the Centurions ignored them.

"Why don't they react?" Tom muttered under his breath as they passed yet another Centurion.

Sarah smiled. "They don't question us. It would go against their programming."

Tom opened his mouth to respond, but Sarah pulled him into what seemed to be an alcove. She stared at something that he squinted to see in the darkness.

With a jolt, he realized that they had come to a large door. Sarah tried the handle, but it was locked. She bit her lip, and then told him to stand back.

"What are you going to do?" he whispered.

With a deafening crash, Sarah's fist made contact with the door. The wood splintered and cracked, and she hit it again. This time, her fist passed all the way through the door. Tom looked around panicked, expecting to see hordes of Cylons bearing down upon them. But no one came.

Sarah's hand was bloodied rather impressively, but she worked efficiently, using her hands to make a human-sized hole in the door. Then, satisfied with her work, she gestured to the door, intimating that he should come through.

Tom looked at the many splinters in the wood apprehensively, and then at Sarah's bloody hand.

Sarah, is this safe?"

She gave him a look reserved for a particularly disgusting insect.

"Well, New Caprica isn't exactly known for its safe activities, now is it, Tom?" she said, while wiping her hand on her shirt.

Tom cocked his head and looked through the hole. There seemed to be nothing but blackness.

"That doesn't look like the outside," he said.

Sarah shook her head. "We're not going outside, at least not yet. We're making a detour."

She began to climb into the hole. Tom stopped her.

"What kind of detour?"

Sarah smirked. "Your little friend, Laura Roslin, is coming with us. They're keeping her in the most secure part of the building, so we have to go this way."

Tom's face went pale in surprise. Sarah laughed.

"I thought you'd be happy. It's quite a bit of extra effort for me, you know. I hope you appreciate it."

Tom clenched his fists in frustration. "It's not that I don't appreciate it. It's just that you were so vehemently against it before. What changed your mind?"

Sarah inclined her head, and then spoke. "Well, I suppose I work for the Resistance now. So I should be working with their interests in mind. And it is certainly in their interest to have Laura Roslin back."

With a flourish, she turned to enter the hole. Tom stood, watching her.

"Are you coming, or not?"

Tom sighed and rolled up his sleeves. It was going to be a long night.

Laura stared at the wall of her cell. Through the skylight, she could see a faint light. It was sunrise. On Caprica, that had been her favorite time of day. She remembered sitting on her balcony and wondering what the coming day would hold, feeling a sense of hopefulness about the future. But that was a lifetime ago.

She hadn't slept at all during the night. After the Cylon woman had left, she had fallen into a deep sleep, exhausted by the confrontation. When she woke, it was already night. She had entertained herself by making shadows on the wall. Laura had become quite involved in the game, using her hands to make all varieties of shapes and figures. She wondered what the Quorum would think if they could see her now, filthy and bedraggled, reduced to making shadow puppets for entertainment.

She heard the door open, and didn't bother to look up. Laura noticed disinterestedly that there was no sound of clanking metal. It was one of the humanoid Cylons, then. She wondered if they had finally become tired of her evasive answers to their questions and would torture her. A faint smile curved on her lips. Bring it on.

"Laura."

The voice sounded like the silky tones of a Six. She wondered if it was the Six she had talked to before. The one who called herself Sarah.

The Cylon was expecting her to look up, she assumed. Laura kept her eyes steadily trained on the floor.

"Laura." There was a different voice, male. She didn't recognize it as one of the Cylons. In fact, it sounded a bit like… no, it couldn't be. Unable to resist the temptation, she raised her head.

Laura stared in shock. Standing in front of her was Tom Zarek, and beside him was indeed a Six. Her mouth opened in surprise, and she found herself unable to close it. Her mind hummed with dozens of questions, but she merely stared mutely.

Tom grinned. It was his grin, that charming, vaguely arrogant way he had of laughing. But it couldn't be him. It was impossible.

"You should see your face, Laura."

He was laughing at her. Whoever or whatever he was, he was laughing at her. She felt the indignation fill her body.

"Well, excuse me if I'm a bit puzzled." She got to her feet, her eyes flitting from Tom to the Six and back to Tom again.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Tom grinned again. "Why else would we be here, Madame President? We're here to save you."

Laura looked at the Six. When she saw Laura's gaze upon her, the Cylon woman reached out a hand of greeting.

Laura looked at the hand she had extended rather apprehensively. Tom cleared his throat.

"She helped get me out," he said by way of explanation. He noticed Laura's still doubtful expression, and hastily added, "We can trust her."

The Six smiled, and took Laura's hand in hers. She leaned in, and Laura stepped back a pace.

"We met yesterday. My name is Sarah," she said.

Laura tried to make a friendly expression. It appeared to have worked, because Tom relaxed, and the Six smiled again.

There was a rather awkward silence for a few moments, while Laura attempted to process all the information that had been given her.

Tom tapped his wrist. He wasn't wearing a watch, but the implication was clear enough.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think we should get going. We're on an accelerated clock." He glanced at the Cylon. "Sarah and I ran into a bit of trouble with some Centurions, so that set us back a bit."

Laura noticed how casually he spoke her name. Sarah. As if she were a living, breathing person, not a cold, unfeeling machine. It occurred to her how insane this whole situation was. For all she knew, this man in front of her was not Tom Zarek, and this was the first step in the breaking down of her sanity.

Tom and Sarah were both looking at her expectantly. What choice did she have, she thought. This might be her one chance at freedom. Sometimes you have to roll the hard six.

Laura smiled widely at the two of them. Tom looked rather alarmed at her sudden enthusiasm. Feeling rather vindictive, she thought about bursting into a fit of giggles. But she decided against that, as that might unbalance him to the point of incompetence.

She clapped her hands. The sound echoed rather eerily off the walls.

"Show me the way."