A/N: Well I'm back again with another chapter, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing, it if you don't like please send me a review, if you do like send me a review. I don't own BSG original or RDM version. Original characters are mine now. Thanks for reading the story and as always this story is posted raw.
When Adama heard the moaning coming from behind the crates he was about to further question Destler but upon seeing a person with its face coming apart and dripping to the metal crates he was left speechless as the creature kept moving forwards on a half destoryed leg. The head exploding into pieces put it into perspective that Adama was not able in a word to do frak all other then run and do what Destler said.
"MOVE!" Erik turned his head to roar at Adama and he pointed to the dock side ramp as it lowered. Grabbing the collar of a marine that was getting too close to one of the Hydra creatures, Erik pushed him away towards the dock ramp while he opened fire. The others ran for the dock side ramp as soon
"TONY LOWER OPEN THE DOORS!" Erik turned away from the stacks and the two dead bodies running for the ramp that had lowered. Running midway up the ramp and stopping he herded the Colonials, Cylons and those that were freshly awakened into the massive cruiser. Turning to shoot one Hydra creature ended up with Erik witnessing two of Adama's marine's being ripped into and killed on the spot. Swinging his rifle around Erik was doing his best to keep the strange creatures that just kept coming and coming at bay.
"Time to go everyone!" The stampeding of feet into the battle cruiser with Erik and the soldiers first awakened finally showing up showed the Admiral and the President the efficacy of a team. However in the process of gathering everyone up the one open ramp that Erik ordered open they lost who was supposed to be commander of the vessel as well as the second in command.
It took no less than forty-five minutes gather everyone into the ship with whatever bags were able to be brought on board. Erik led the Colonials and the Cylons to what served as the bridge. Once they entered the room, Erik turned to look for his CO when he saw someone run up to him with blood on their face he knew that the ones that were in control of the ship were dead.
"Anyone know how to fly a crate?" Adama looked to Erik then looked around before he stepped up. Erik raised an eyebrow as several other from the Colonials as well as those awakened went to stations around a center console table.
"I can, if you do not mind me taking control of this crate."
"She's all yours Admiral. Colonel Tigh how do you propose we get this thing off the ground?" Erik looked around to all the traffic around him as the Admiral and the President of the Colonies stepped up around the main console. Colonel Tigh looked around and stared at his friend with a a smile.
"Actually I think the Admiral has given me an idea, and with the experimental drives which would lead to the Cylons FTL drives, we can jump this beast into space and start the rest of her systems. Though that was the Chief's idea as he built the bird with FTL Drives." Adama and Tigh looked each other over as the Admiral looked around the room to the Chief who's eyebrows raised and he turned around and ran out of the room yelling out he needed all the knuckle draggers and engineers on him.
"Turn on her life-support systems, Mr. Agathon plot a jump for the fleet and get us there. Saul you have a lot of explaining to do. Lieutenant-Commander, once we are in orbit I expect you to sit down and meet with me and explain what the frak is going on here."
Erik nodded as he heard the ship rumble about him before it settled into a steady hum. Laura Roslin was leaning against a console as the Admiral was issuing orders around the CIC. Stepping over to her, there was shaking throughout the ship as the engines activated. It was jarring and if Erik hadn't moved when he did the President of the Colonies would have been on the ground, however she was saved when Erik jumped to her and wrapped an arm around her and grabbed at a railing keeping them from falling to the floor.
"Ready Admiral!" Adama made the call and the people around him grabbed onto something and the entire vessel disappeared with a shockwave and light before reappearing above the entire fleet who looked on at the behemoth of a ship as it steadied itself with its engines firing at full and its systems running at optimal levels.
The entire jump itself was more jarring and unsettling as the artificial gravity kicked in and people who weren't holding onto something landed hard on the floors of the Draugr. Having gripped onto Erik, Laura opened her eyes she felt an arm around her waist and a powerful thumping of a heart under the chest she had her head against. Looking up she saw the soft gaze of what remained of Erik's face before he let her go.
"Are you alright Madame President?"
"I am, thank you Lieutenant-Commander," turning her head she looked around as people were picking themselves up off the ground. Pushing herself away from Erik she went to where there was someone being sat up. It was Admiral Adama, kneeling down beside him Laura wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him before looking around to the others. "Bill, are you alright?"
Erik walked over and knelt down beside the older man and held out his gloved human hand as he nodded his answer to the woman at his side, looking up Adama took the man's hand and was carefully pulled to his feet. The people of the Draugr, time displaced and completely out of their element looked to the Colonials and those with them before they introduced each other to one another.
"I guess you want some answers?"
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After reassuring the fleet that suddenly raised their weapons along-side the rebel base star the crew of the Draugr made themselves at home and went about looking for their quarters. Erik and the initial group that was first woken up were standing in a corner talking amongst themselves, Adama and the others with him talked around a console similar to the one on the Galactica, but it was more of a rectangle and larger. As Adama looked around the CIC he was surprised at how large it actually was and the amount of computers and technology being used, the computers looked brand new, but some of the technology was a combination of Colonial technology with Cylon technology.
Heading over to the group that had been woken up, Adama and President Roslin whom was standing beside the Admiral addressed the group.
"This is very strange, in fact all of this is strange but that is beside the point. I would like to know who the highest ranking officer here is and they will be meeting with me to explain a few things. I am assuming that your military structure is similar to ours?"
Vince stood beside Erik and looked Adama over before sneering at the man, Erik glared at the younger man before he stepped forwards.
"That would depend on how similar your ranking system is to ours. We had three main groups within the military all over the world. The US military system was different from the Canadian Military system because they had a larger force."
"If I were to give you our military ranking system, would you be able to tell us who has the highest rank within your immediate group?"
Erik nodded, after hearing the Admiral list off the ranks Erik's brow raised as he listened to Navy and Army ranks mixed in together. Looking around to the other and seeing Vince's pissed off face he glared at the younger man and pointed a finger at him as Vince was about to open his mouth.
"Don't even say it Vince, military wise I have the senior rank and there is nothing you can do about that. STAT no longer exists despite what you might think, we are in a different time and age and to be honest it's a good thing that they are at least similar in their rank structure. As it is, we have lost the CO and the XO of this thing and we are well out of our depth. Besides as far as I am aware and remember you never made officer rank when they decided who would be a pilot and who would be shipboard Marines. You are the head of the Marine corps on ship so even if you try I still out strip you in rank," Erik turned back to Adama who looked on between the two men and the anger that was flushing the younger man's face. Erik turned and stepped up to Adama.
"I am the most senior officer as I have actually held officer rank, two of them. I was a black ops officer with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, publicly I am acknowledged as Lieutenant-Commander. Either or, it doesn't matter what rank you want to address me at I am the highest ranking here. Second highest here rank wise is Chief Petty Officer NCO I believe. "
"Good enough. You will be coming back to Galactica as soon as we are able to get back." Adama nodded to his marines who looked at Erik taking a step towards the man. However the woman at Adama's side stepped in front of Erik and Adama glaring at the Admiral who shrunk back at the sight. The woman turned to Erik and held out a hand.
"I would like to formally invite you the Battlestar Galactica for a debriefing. Would you like time to change and make yourself more presentable?" Erik raised his remaining eyebrow at the woman and with what was left of his face; smiled.
"I guess I do look like a mess, and yes. If you would allow me to change into my uniform which I believe is here I will gladly meet with you on the Galactica. Tony..." Laura turned back to Adama and stalked over to the man and was speaking to him in harsh yet hushed tones. Tony stepped up to Erik and leaned in close to speak in his ear.
"That man is whipped..."
"Tell me about it... I need you to set up a tank and have the fluid ready to re-sheath my injuries. Also I would like to know how my system is handling a 2000 year cryo-sleep." Tony nodded and left the room as others looked to Erik for orders, Vince had since left to where ever to skulk. After giving the first of the Draugr crew that had been awakened orders the CIC was left semi-empty while the Colonials, Cylons and Erik remained with a few of the operating Draugr crew.
"Before we head to Galactica, I have a few errands to run first. As the CO and XO are dead, it would fall to me to tour the ship and make sure our stuff is in order and I know were the places are on this crate. If you would like a tour I offer the hand to see what exactly this thing is because honestly, my brain is half in the past and half in the future and whatever programming was stuck in my head will be guiding me." The two groups nodded and followed Erik out of the CIC as the main people needed to make sure that systems were working stayed behind. As Erik lead the group he saw flashes of memories and his body jolted as each one spiked through his head. They toured the crew quarters, the rec rooms and gyms, it even seemed to be that they had a pool that was sealed and locked down. Turning a corner there was a bray of sound coming from behind a door, shaking his head Erik looked to the others and went to the door that read 'PENS'. Pushing a button the door opened to an inner and yet artificial farm area.
"Okay, you have to be shitting me..." Erik saw a cow walk on by as a machine in overalls walked by, the colonials raised their weapons as machine stopped and looked at Erik before raising a hand to wave.
"Hey there Lieutenant-Commander, whoa now there..." The Machine actually raised its arms up and stepped away from the guns. Erik reached to the side and pushed a barrel down as he saw another machine chasing a pig down a length of grass or what seemed to be grass.
"Wha... huh? Who are you?" Erik was flabbergasted to the point that a Cylon walked into the 'room' and went up to one of the machines. It was tall, it was a dirty silver but it had a shifting red glow that swept side to side that really put people on edge.
"You are a Cylon..." It was Caprica-Six that circled the machine that was following her every move. Putting their weapons down the machine put its arms down as well and turned its head to Erik.
"Well no duh I'm a Cylon... granted not the same one that decided to bomb the shit out of people, but I'm a Cylon none the less. Who the hell are you?" The Cylons that had joined the Colonials stared at each other as they were in shock. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, you didn't Grimlock, however I think we spooked everyone here, isn't that right Erik?" Erik's head snapped to the side so quickly he thought he gave himself whiplash. He had to shake his head as he saw another machine walk up, but this machine was slimmer and smaller than the other one, and this one was decidedly more female in shape even with its roving eye.
Erik was in complete shock as the machine walked up to him and used a cold finger to close Erik's open jaw. It was the voice that stirred memories for Erik even though he was sure he was dreaming.
"Maria?"
"That's me Erik, or at least a version of me. You can thank 'Patches' and Tony for that one."
"How?"
" 'Lock you can go back to tending to the herd, I'm going to take our guests out for a walk and debrief the man and his friends. Erik, ladies and gentlemen if you will follow me." The machine that had a woman's voice walked past Erik and the group into the hall and heading for what seemed to the main hanger that was teeming with activity machine and human alike.
"Well, I guess now you can see that this crew isn't just all human's, three-quarters of the crew is human having been in suspended animation while the last quarter of the crew are machines. I don't think Erik was aware of this and if he is with you then he is the leading officer aboard and you need to talk to him. That aside, there are about fifty or sixty of us that are based off of actual human beings, some of us are actual brains on hard drives functioning in a machine body. It was us that lead the machines to construct and build this vessel and maintain it, however some of us didn't make it because of the pressure of being a machine and having to teach the other machines how to function.
Strangely, I do not mind being a machine as my own 'death' you can say bothered me and I wanted to live. In Erik's debrief he'll explain our technology as well as what he knows. Just know that this vessel is as its name is undead, anyways I must get back to the 'Pen's, gotta make sure your animals keep on living Erik." With that the machine left with everyone turning to stare at Erik.
"What?" Seeing the looks he was being given he turned around and headed for Tony's lab with his entourage in tow. Pulling his gloves off Erik saw Tony coming at him with a clip board before he put it on a counter and helping Erik pull his tactical vest off and setting it to the side.
"I see you brought a fan following with you Erik, you want them to see you go through this?"
"Go through what?" Kara asked, it was the first time that she had spoken since being on the earth, the entirety of the group turned to her before looking to Lee who just shrugged and pointed back at Erik who was pulling off his boots and shirt.
"Oh, they don't know. Huzzah, I get to teach people about my technology. Erik strip down and get into the tank, you know the drill by now. Everyone, if you will please follow me as we let 'Terminator' boy here get naked and into that tank. I can explain to you what is going on. Oh and Erik, I had someone bring down your dress uniform because I'm sure these guys want to get back to their own ship with you in tow." Tony shuffled the group out of the lower area of Tony's lab and to an observation platform.
Leading the group up Tony explained some of the technology and the machines they had come across, it was said that the AI's were adaptive learning AI's that were created by Tony. The AI's and the programming that were initially held in the bodies of much older Centurions that were almost wiped out. Tony installed his AI program that had incorporations of the older programming; however these AI learned the value of life not just human life either.
The 'Maria' machine was actually one of Tony's ideas to help save the life of one of Erik's closest friends. Maria had been a police officer that had been caught up in a bad accident and Tony caught wind of it. Taking his chance he went and got hold of Maria who had just entered into a coma and took her back to a base where he was doing trial runs of 'cyber-izing' a brain. The Colonials looked at Tony like he was a bit of a mad scientist more so than Gaius Baltar whom was on Galactica.
"Trust me in the end, Maria was very happy and helped me behind the scenes to build AI's that would look at humanity with favor. And I have to say if they have been around as long as we have been sitting as popsicles then they all have developed personalities of their own and probably just as human as the rest of us. Hey Erik you in that tank yet?"
"You've gotta do something the temperature of this stuff, its freezing"Erik's voice was garbled from where he was at, the people on the platform looked over the railing to see Erik floating in a dark blood red liquid. All that was seen of Erik was a hand lying against the glass and a low glow of red somewhere in the liquid.
"Erik will explain this to you later, but what I can tell you is that when Erik was first injured in our time he was working as a crime scene investigator and bomb technician. He was unable to stop a bomb and as a consequence of his inability to stop it in time a door sheared arm off at the shoulder. I was already working in R&D for my government's military to create prosthetics for wounded soldiers to give them another chance at life. However the government were a bunch of greedy pigs that all they are wanted me to make weapons of destruction. I said no and left but not before using what funds I had to create a new arm for Erik.
The liquid he is currently in adheres to the metal sections of Erik's body and becomes human tissue. To make this go faster, there is a second area in his mask that reforms his damaged face and the eyeball covering so that Erik doesn't look like our machine friends back in that farm. He is for all intends and purposes human, so you can get the idea out of your brains that he isn't. What he has are prosthetics because if he didn't than he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. As my brother and my friend, if I could do something for him I would and will; he's walking, he's working and he living life and that is why he is half machine." Tony hit a button on a console and pointed to the tank that Erik was in as it was hit with a jolt of electricity. The liquid tinged to an almost opaque cooked blood color, there was a minor grunt that came over the speakers but other than that Erik was quiet. Standing and looking at a progress bar Tony, Colonials and Cylons watched with a muted interest, as minor Erik's injured body was, for a lack of a better term; fixed.
Tony wandered around the upper observatory taking in the Colonials and Cylons as the two groups were split down the middle and talking amongst each other. There was the apparent distrust between the two, hostility was written on the face of Admiral Adama as he glanced to the Cylons and to the man with the eye patch. The sickly looking woman was leaning against the railing watching whatever progress she could and contributed to the conversation at hand around her. However it was the gentle glances from the Admiral and the light hand over top of hers that Tony wondered what was going on between them.
There was a ding from beside Tony about fifteen minutes later that he looked over at the screen and hit another button. The opaque red liquid started sloshing out from a vent in the tank into a reservoir below the tank. Erik's body and face was revealed to be whole unfortunately for the man; he was naked. Closing the viewing screen up in the observation platform Tony turned to the group and caught their attention again as Erik stepped from the tank cracking his neck before heading to a side room and shutting the door behind him.
After twenty minutes of waiting the group with Tony whipped around as Erik walked into the room cleaned and dressed in a black military dress uniform with a forage cap sitting under his arm. Taking in his appearance the group nodded to the man who gave them a small smile and bowed his head.
"Sorry about the wait, I didn't want to freak out your crew; it's already unsettling enough as it is to see that 2000 years in the future shit has severally changed. Now how about we get to your ship so that we can have that talk?" Seeing the nod, Erik pulled on his forage cap and the two groups left to the hanger were there was a combination of Raptor mixed with some sort of shuttle. Once the shuttle was filled it took off and headed off to the Galactica with Erik standing instead of sitting because there were not enough seats.
Once landed on the Galactica, the group disbursed into smaller group leaving Admiral Adama, President Roslin and Erik heading to quarters that belonged to the Admiral. When Erik entered the quarters expecting it to be a meeting room, it instead was a very homey looking set of quarters that Erik stared at in awe, it was the brown colors that shocked Erik. He had never seen anything as homey and lived as this place and Erik had been well traveled, even his home in Miami when he went back, wasn't as nice as this. From the carpets to the books shelves and what looked to be a solid oak desk with a dark stain it screamed home. Seeing the Admiral settle the President on the brown leather couch he could see the energy leave the woman and she visibly aged before his eyes. It was then he realized that the woman was very sick.
"Madame, if you do not find this intrusive, but may I ask, how long?" The two glanced up to Erik who had since taken his hat back off and settled it under his arm again. Adama looked like he wanted to say something but was prevented from doing so by a hand on his arm. Laura shook her head lightly and gazed at Erik as she settled into a more comfortable position on the couch.
"I do not know, but I have terminal breast cancer. I was cured before but it came back aggressively, I am currently taking treatments to fight it." Erik bowed his head and took a deep breath before leaned against the wall, he was taken to his past and his early adulthood.
"I'm sorry to hear that Madame President… I may not have had it, but I do know what it is like to watch someone with it and go through treatment. You are lucky to have that man at your side." Erik raised his gaze to the two, if there was something Erik was good at it was that during his time in Miami as a Forensics Investigator and Police officer, he could read people and see the details in even the smallest of things.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" This came from Adama who stood up and put himself in front of the woman on the couch causing Erik to smile more.
"You can do what you will Admiral, but I can read people very well. I see the care, the devotion and the love that you have for her. I will see what my CMO can do for her, you may be from the future and may have better technology, but we may have something that hasn't been done yet." There may even be something I can do for you, you don't deserve to die the way you are… the rest of us… well. Erik didn't mention the last comment and kept that thought to himself as he moved away from the wall and stepped up close to the Admiral who stared him in the eyes.
"Why would you do that machine?" Adama was still clearly under the impression that he was a full machine, reaching into his coat Erik pulled a file out and held it out to him. Stepping back and around him Erik walked to what would be considered the living room as he looked down to Laura and putting his forage cap on the coffee table.
"I might as well start this debrief Admiral so that you can get this notion out of your head that I am a machine. In fact as I'm sure you were explained to, I have prosthetics. Sure they make me look like a machine, there are times that I feel like I'm part machine, but then I remember how I got these. I remember the fire and the steel door that was blown off its hinges as it ripped the arm off my body. I remember laying in the hospital when I woke up for the first time wanting to kill myself, I remember all that anger, all the pain and rage because I put myself before someone else in an attempt to save lives," Erik walked around the room and took in the small things from the boat on the dining table, to the book case to even the books and reading the book titles.
"I remember when I lost my right leg, came down to saving the President of the United States. The oval office fight, the pillars that came crashing down on me. The fight with a tank of a monster, and the crippling, crippling pain as someone set off an EMP grenade. I did not wake up from that for about three months. I had to relearn to walk, I had to relearn how to run. I lost my right leg and my hip; my leg was crushed, mush… I was shown the pictures they took at the operation before they had to remove the entirety of my leg. I was lucky to not have bled out as I laid there before they were able to get me out from under the rubble. You will have to forgive me Admiral if I take offense to be called a machine. I gave my life, my body to the military service. I have given everything up to make a difference in the world. Most of all I have done everything in my power to protect everyone that I have ever come across provide they aren't the enemy." Erik watched the anger and rage disappear from behind the Admiral's eyes, the President's eyes were no better as she was wiping the tears away from her face with a hanky. He turned away and walked back to the book case to put some distance between him and the two others in the room.
"There are only two of us that are truly unique. Myself and Alastair Johnson. Johnson is a bit more of unique case than myself, there are very few people with a special DNA type that can take a virus and mutate it to their advantage instead of disadvantage like having a cold and so forth. We were on a mission to take on the Trimurivate at one of their corporate labs, developing some sort of biological virus to raise the dead. It was on our way in that we came across a development lab. There was a shootout in and Johnson was exposed to the mutagenic virus, he is one of the few people that can mutate a virus to his needs and whims. The drawback is that if he gets injured too much or his body reacts badly, the virus will take over and what you saw was just the tip of the iceberg, he typically will kill several people and consume their flesh before he calms down. Unless someone like me or a full machine steps in the way and fights him enough till he is injected with a serum to calm him down." Erik looked at one title of a book that was on the bookcase and pulled it out enough to read the back of it before he put it back and turned to fully face the two, the stoic look on his face softened as he watched Adama sit down on the desk and open the file and look at it fully. When Adama looked back up to him he could finally see the understanding that came across his eyes, the President watched Erik as he kept himself at a distance both physically and emotionally as he recounted the past. When the two met gazes and closed his eyes and bowed his head to her in a sign of respect.
"Lieutenant-Commander, I apologize for my behaviour and my actions. Cylons, both human looking and the machine have left a deep mark in my past. You are truly different and it is my wish that we bury the hatchet and work towards a new future."
Erik watched the man and saw him put down the file and stand going past a bulkhead and loving put a hand on the metal before he looked to the President. Erik's eyebrows furled, blinking once, Erik's vision turned red as a HUD interface was brought up and he scanned around the room. There were micro-fractures and tears all along the walls and the warping of the door. It was then that Erik realized that this ship wouldn't last much longer unless something happened and it could be repaired. Cocking his head to the side Erik's vision cleared back to the human color spectrum.
"Apology accepted… say… what would you say and do if I offered you and your ship a new lease on life?" Erik offered a smile as the two before him looked to each other before back to Erik. A questioning look on both of their faces made Erik smile more.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what would you say to a ship refit and overhaul. The Draugr was designed by your XO and what remains of his counter-parts, the ability to refit and overhaul itself. We have the capacity to do whatever we need to maintain, build and live. It may look like your Galactica but the Draugr is a bit larger than your girl. If you agree to it, I'm sure I can have my crew work on your ship and get her back to her glory days even while moving." This seemed to be almost too good to be true for Adama as he looked at Erik who offered nothing but a sincere smile as he looked around the room. There was something about this man that Adama could not put his hand on but there was no trace of deception in those blue eyes of his however.
"How long would it take and how would you go about it?"
"That Admiral Adama, is why STAT as we previously were known as, is good at their job. Leave the details to me and just trust me. We may have to look for the raw materials for some of the work that we would need to do but we can have this girl up and back into prime shape with about eight months of time and work. The Draugr will provide the Galactica with protection and we can take more passengers and just have a skeleton crew here to run your CIC. A moving overhaul run by the machines of my crew will work round the clock minus the recharge times that they might need if at all. Again let me work the details out and I will give you a report on the rundown of what will happen. And while I'm at it I'll see what I can do for the President."
"I have to ask you Lieutenant-Commander…. Why?" Erik finally moved over to the two of them and knelt down in front of the President giving her a soft smile as she asked him.
"Because like who I am, I believe in second chances, and even third chances in life. And I believe in protecting what's left of the human race and protecting those of whom the Trimurivate might attack and harm. As the worlds have ended, we have seen the fall of humanity twice. Even if the Earth my humans had inhabited before was home to Cylons and nuked twice, it screams the Trimurivate and it means my mission and my job isn't done yet. I refuse to let them even have a chance to come after you people and if it means bringing a ship back to pre-war glory I will."
Standing up, Erik stood beside Adama and while they were the different in height with Erik being 6'2" and Adama being 5'10", but behind Laura's tired gaze was thoughts about the two men in the room as they spoke to each other or rather Erik giving a further debrief. The way that the two stood and talked to each other was similar, Bill had gotten the three of them drinks and was standing leaning against his desk while Erik was leaning against the corner of the bulkhead wall facing Bill. The both of them had crossed ankles, but Erik had one hand in his uniform pocket while taking small sips, against Bill whom was at his desk so he had both his hands on his glass when he wasn't having his own small drinks from his own glass. The only thing that Laura found at the moment remarkably the same between the two men was their eyes. Such strong vibrate blue eyes that could see into the souls of others, you could drown in them if you stared for too long.
As the men talked Laura held her glass of water in her hands and pulled her legs under her as she watched. She wasn't paying attention now as she was too tired, much too tired to give a crap about her position even if she was still labeled as President. As she got lost in her thoughts she let her eyes close and she listened to the voices of the two. Bill's voice was gravelly, deep and warm; Erik's voice for all its roughness, was not quite as gravelly like Bill's but there was a smoky sound to it, as if his voice was damaged in some sort of accident. There was warmth to that voice no doubt about it, but it wasn't as if it was a natural sound. As Laura listened she heard Erik clear his throat a couple of times, and it just confirmed for her that his gravel like voice was due to an injury from the past.
As the two finished up their debrief Erik glanced to the President and lifted a finger to his lips and pointed the woman on the couch as Adama turned to look. A smile graced Adama's features as he set his glass down at the dining room table where he and Erik moved to. Standing up with a grunt he walked over to Laura and pulled the half tipped glass from her hands and put it on the coffee table he was going to go and pick her up when Erik stepped up beside him.
"Let me, you look like you are about to crash and I don't know if your back will take it. Point me where you want her and I'll put her there then I'll take my leave. You both look like you could use some sleep, we can finish this tomorrow." Adama nodded to Erik and pointed to his rack through a small opening, the older man stood and quietly grunted in pain, he wasn't ask young as he used to be. Watching Erik gently gather the woman he loved in his arms and watching him carry her to his rack he would give anything to be around Erik's age. Come to think of it Adama wasn't sure he wanted to believe the age he saw in the file; 42. He didn't believe Erik was a day over 35, but the slight graying of the man's hair said otherwise, seeing that Laura didn't stir from her sleep he saw Erik step back and look over his shoulder before he walked over to him. "I'll let you know what I can for you both as soon as I've talked to a couple of my guys. Have a good night Admiral." Erik went to the coffee table and picked up his forage cap and put it under his arm and heading for the door. Looking over his shoulder once more he opened the door and walked out it as the marine guards nodded to him as he left. Adama went and locked the door to his cabin before he got ready for the night and crawled into his rack pulling Laura closer to him, she snuggled closer to him as he fell asleep.
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Erik had pulled his cap on as soon as he was a few steps away from the cabin, his evening with the Admiral and the President was long and tiring. As he was escorted to the hanger by another Marine he wondered how something like this could happen in the future. Granted before he was put into a tank the world wasn't ready for space exploration, yes they had a space station but it was nothing compared to what he was seeing now. Even 2000 years after he was put into a tank and next woken up but the now Colonel Tigh was in space, from what he remembered the starships that the Cylons had didn't have the jump drives that the ships now had. Yes the Draugr that the first version of the FTL Drives but the Basestar that Erik had seen has a much better version of the FTL drives the Draugr have. Technology as well as fear of some of that technology made Erik sigh as he was led to the Raptor crossed with a Blackhawk Helicopter and he climbed in. The pilot was from the Draugr and he took Erik's orders to return to the Draugr. As they left the Galactica Erik looked out the side of the shuttle he was in and looked at the Galactica and the damage it had to its hull, pulling a pen and some scrap paper he drew a small diagram and marked what he saw was significant damage points on the hull of the ship. Once back on the Draugr Erik stepped out of the shuttle and looked around as several of the original twelve looked to him for some answers.
"We're all good, I have to go back to the Galactica tomorrow after I've had some sleep. You guys go about your business; for the time being I'm acting CO until we can get either get someone that knows what they are doing or Adama wants to keep me here as the CO. I know we have a few of the Galactica crew here helping us, talk to them and see what can be done. I need to go and see Tony and Karin before I hit the hay…" The others nodded and left while Leona stayed behind and looked at Erik who rubbed his eyes.
"You okay Erik?"
"Yeah, just tired… what do you ever see in me Leona?"
"I see someone that gives his all, I see a man that I would do anything to be with. I see a friend and a partner."
"Even though I'm half machine?"
"You being half machine means nothing to me, why are you asking?" Leona stepped up to Erik and rested her hands on his chest running down the front of his uniform before wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her head on his chest listening to his heart.
"You could have anyone else and yet you chose me. I'm a few years older than you and I'm half metal… what did I deserve to have you?" Erik wrapped his arms around the woman running a hand through her black hair, he smiled as she was shorter than him and a wonderful mix of German and Russian beauty.
"You did what no one else did, you saw me for me instead of pitying me for my family history and my heart condition. You pushed me to be better and you protected me when I needed it the most, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you Erik." Erik smiled and rested his nose in Leona's hair and closed his eyes tightening his hold on her.
"You are welcome Leona, anyways I need to go and see Tony and Karin. I have a few things to discuss with the both of them. I'll see you in the cabin?" Erik let Leona go and saw unshed tears in her eyes as she nodded, leaning down he gave her a kiss on her cheek and stepped away leaving the hanger for the medical bay.
Entering the Sick Bay Erik looked around and saw that Karin was ordering around her 'minions'. It seemed as if the cryo sleep didn't affect her one way or another as she was looking over a clipboard and papers calling out around the Sick Bay and getting a response back. Smiling he walked up to the woman and stood beside her with his arms crossed over his chest. When Karin Landing, the Chief Medical Officer turned to look at him she pulled his arms away from his chest and wrapped her own around him.
"Thank you for saving my arse again. I don't know what I would have done about Johnson, it's just each and every time there is something with him, and I can't help but shrink back in fear." Letting go of Erik, Karin gazed up at him and cocked her head to the side seeing a thoughtful look on his face. "What is it?"
"I need to need to know what we have for cancer treatment."
"Well there is standard radiation treatments, the chemotherapy and a few other clinical trials that last I heard helped but were highly aggressive treatments. Then there are the nanos, but as far as nanos that's Tony's business, not mine." Looking around Erik pulled Karin over to a corner and leaned in to quietly speak to her.
"Laura Roslin, President of the Colonials has I'm guessing an upper stage level of breast cancer. She's not looking all that great and I want to help her in any way I can. I don't want to see another one die to that if there is something we can do about it."
"Well, I would need to talk to the CMO of the fleet and have a look at her file, if you are thinking and I have a pretty good feeling about what you are ultimately going to do, I would talk to Tony and ask him about the complications of the nanos." Erik nodded at Karin's assessment and gave her a quick hug and left the older woman to continue on with her work with her 'minions'. Leaving the Sick Bay Erik turned down the hallways leading to one of the most expensive places in the ship. Tony McEllgen, certified genius, designer, scientist, movie and video game lover and his adopted blood brother. He was the man that went to school with him as a child, he was the one that was there when Erik needed help and vice versa, he was the one that gave Erik his life back after the bombing incident and he had his arm at the shoulder sheared off. Not even bothering to knock on the door, Erik entered it to see Tony wheeling around his lab on a swivel chair taking notes of some experiments and then going back to tinker with some sort of robotics.
"Oi, Tony!"
"WHAAAAAAAT?" Erik grinned at Tony's typical greeting as he walked into the lab that was a clutter, but it was Tony's clutter and he knew exactly where things were in the lab and where things were not. With an IQ level that Tony has it was insane how functioning he wasn't without have a previous mental issue.
"I need to chat with you about nanos."
"Yeah, and speaking of nanos I need you in a tank for about three weeks because of the nanos in your system. They didn't take too kindly to your last 2000 years in a tank. I have to take out your current nanos and run them through a repair cycle, if you are not in a tank you will be in pain and your body will start degrading. I may have to take out your current cybernetics and replace your entire system due to the fact you have been immobile for the last 2000 years. We'll see what happens..."
"Tony, just do it. I don't have time or luxury to sit around for however long it's going to take. I'll deal with the pain and degradation as it happens. The crew of Galactica.. I have a feeling will take some time getting used to us and right now I am their only link to them and the past and to what is going in. I need you to also make more nanos if it is possible or split my current load into two." Tony turned from his project and stared at Erik with a shocked face, he put down his clip board and walked up to Erik and stared him in the eye.
"What? Why?" Erik raised his hands up in a surrender position as Tony pushed him against a table. "Do you have a death wish or something? What about Leona and the others. You are the only leader here right now and if we lose you because of some sort of suicide wish you can forget it!"
Erik raised an eyebrow and stepped right up to Tony and glared at him, the anger was there behind his eyes and he fought to keep from cuffing Tony over the top of his head at such a remark.
"You really think that I would go back to that and want to die? Trust me I have no desire to die anytime soon. No this is for someone else. The woman President Laura Roslin has terminal breast cancer and Admiral Adama is getting up there in age, he loves her as much as she loves him. I want to give them both another chance at life. The two of them are the life line to the fleet of ships here; we are just a straggle and tag along Tony. We are their watchdogs and protectors now," Erik stepped away from Tony and walked around him after he watched the man's jaw drop in surprise. It hit him as he remembered the woman leaning against the railing and Adama looking tired and weary.
"If I do this, I don't know how long I will be able to keep you alive, I don't know how long we can keep your organics from dying Erik. I would have to replace the entirety of your prosthetics and you would be out of commission for more than a month. I would have to redesign your arm and leg and power source as well redesign the organics and figure out how to create something more with your DNA instead of the false flesh we've been using." Erik crossed his arms and sighed, he didn't want to involve Leona in this or anyone else but he was the one that was going through this problem. Tony watched as thoughts floated across Erik's face by the expressions on his face even though his head was lowered.
"When would be the last possible moment to put me under?"
"I don't know. If I take the nanos tomorrow I would say maybe 2-3 weeks would be pushing it. I would need at least three weeks to design, build and have the arm, leg, internals, power source done. The organics would be another two to three weeks to research and make. I don't know what else to say, I can let you keep your system now for another week at the most before the nanos fail and you need to be in a tank.
Erik frowned at that thought and sighed, his body was failing him and there was next to nothing for him to other than wait it out till the last possible minute and he was to be carted off and cut up just to be put back like a Frankenstein monster.
"Do it, and I don't want anyone to get wind of this till the last possible minute. If you need Karin's help you can bring her in and if you need another person talk to the CMO of the Galactica, no one else Tony and I mean it. I will deal with the repercussions of this design later. Right now as you said, I'm the only leader that can possibly keep this crate up because I was 'trained' to be the head pilot. Just make sure you and Karin have whatever you need to keep me going until the I absolutely need to be in the tank." Tony nodded sadly and went to a mini fridge pulling out a tray with small vials of a silvery looking fluid. Taking a needle he motioned Erik to sit down and take off his coat. Erik sat down and watched as Tony prepared the injection.
"Unbutton the top three buttons I need to get at your chest were this is going to go." Erik did as Tony asked and looked up as Tony camp up to him pulling aside the shirt poking at an area of Erik's upper right chest area by the shoulder before he pushed the needle into the skin and depressed the plunger. With a grunt Erik closed his eyes and felt the liquid rush around the inside of his body. "This will keep you for two days; you will have to see me again for another dose." Erik nodded as he buttoned up his shirt and put his coat back on heading for the door, and he pulled the scrap paper out of his pocket and he went back to Tony.
"I need you to get Maria and talk to her about a ship to ship refit and overhaul. The Galactica is in some really rough shape. Get all of the machine based crew on this, I want the Galactica back to the way it was an even better as if it was just built. If we have two working warships then we have a better chance of living through this whole damn ordeal and we can figure out what the hell happened after we were put into Cryo-Sleep." Erik put the paper down on the table as Tony picked it up and looked it over before raising an eyebrow at Erik.
"You realize when I saw the outside of that thing, that it's not just the super structure right, its missing parts of the armoured hull while there are still remains of that armoured plating... Get the Admiral to send over the specs for his beast and I'll get Maria to run this, I need to be working on your problem full time if you want to still be in the picture Erik." Erik nodded and patted Tony on the back before he left and went along the halls to his cabin. When he opened his door and he stepped through he looked around and saw his bed or what he assumed was his bed, where these people dug up the identical items or if they were the originals he would never know. Erik's quarter's for the first time that he stepped into them that he realized that this was an exact image of his cabin home on STAT base prior to the first set of nukes going off. So how the hell did his shit get here?
Stepping further into the cabin Erik went to the corner where his bed was and sat down on the edge of the low double-sized futon with the blood red and black bedding. Under it was Leona who was snuggled deep into one of the pillows and his blankets up over her shoulders only revealing the side of her face and her nose. Smiling he let out a soft sigh and stood going to his black mahogany corner desk and putting his hat on it before pulling at his tie and tossing it onto the desk. Stepping into the bathroom Erik stripped down to his shorts and looked at the scars littering his chest, he gently touched them before looking to the scars on the right side of his face including the ever present scar from when he attacked as a teenager to protect Tony. No matter what happened the flesh would always come back as that same scared configuration. Turning on the water to the sink in the Head, Erik washed his face and grabbed at the fresh toothbrush that Leona left to the side for him and proceeded to finish brushing his teeth before he shut the lights off and went to crawl into bed behind Leona and wrapped his arms around her before drifting off.