Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Thoresine is what I'm going to name their version of Chloroform.
Chapter 9: The cost of freedom
"We have to get her back as soon as possible. The longer she's with them, the more likely it is that they'll kill her," Bill expressed, closing the door behind them.
Saul raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure? They don't have anything on her that everyone else doesn't know about. I understand though if you're worried about the cancer."
"She doesn't have cancer anymore," Bill muttered.
His old friend looked at him incredulously. "Then why would-" he stopped as the realization struck him. "She's the Fifth, isn't she? That's why you're worried."
The usual façade that Bill kept on his face slipped. "Yes."
Bill paced his office as Saul watched him. "You gonna come up with a plan, or wear a hole in your floor?"
The admiral glared at the other man before sitting down. "There has to be a way to get her back. I will not let that terrorist out of the brig."
"She wouldn't let you either. I hate to suggest this Bill, but what about D'Anna and the rebel Cylons?" Saul mentioned.
Bill slammed a fist down on the table. "Are you out of your mind, Saul? If we use the Cylons to rescue her, it'll put people against them that much more. That was what Tory threatened."
Saul shook his head. "It doesn't have to. If they help us save the president, they are keeping the legitimate government in place, and showing their support for us. We'll just have to be careful how we get them aboard the ship."
"I don't know. It might work, or it'll rally more people to Zarek's side. Either way whatever we do, we have to do quickly," Bill stated.
"Got a better plan?" the balding man inquired.
The admiral sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. I wish I could go in shooting first and asking questions later. "Nothing practical."
"We'll get her back, Old Man, one way or another, we'll get her back," Saul promised.
Bill looked back on him, a look of resolve on his face. "Then let's do it. Get D'Anna on the horn."
A few minutes later, Adama had a secure line to D'Anna in his office, with Tigh standing next to him. "Admiral, what is this about? And why hasn't Tory come back to us yet?"
"It seems that she's working with Baltar to kidnap the president," the admiral answered.
"What? This tryst of hers has really gone too far," D'Anna expressed.
"The upside is that since the rest of the fleet hasn't jumped yet, we know they're still on Galactica. The downside is that I'm going to need help to get the president back, but if we ask for your help it may turn people against the Cylons even more," Adama relayed.
"That is quite a problem, Admiral. However, if we help you restore the legitimate government, then it may encourage support for the alliance," she suggested.
Adama considered the idea. "Perhaps this can work. The trouble will be getting you aboard by some other means than the docking bay." Tigh cleared his throat, causing Bill to look up at him. "What is it?"
"I just remembered the aft cargo bay. It hasn't been used in years, but maybe they can dock there," the XO suggested.
The admiral turned back to the phone. "We might have a way after all."
While Bill was speaking to D'Anna, Laura blinked her eyes and sat up on what appeared to be a bench. Her vision cleared as her eyes took in the fence that she appeared to be locked behind. She rubbed her temples at the pounding headache as she stood to obtain a better look at her surroundings.
A small brown-haired woman walked toward her. "Take it easy, Madame President. It takes a minute for the Thoresine to where off."
"It feels like a hangover," Laura admitted. "Where am I?"
"Weapons locker. There's food for you on top of that bucket over there," the woman pointed.
"What's your name?" Laura asked.
"Chelsea. I'm supposed to guard you. Gaius said that no one is to hurt you," the woman mentioned.
Baltar. I should have known he would be behind this. "May I speak with him?" Laura requested.
"I'm sorry. He's a little busy right now, but I can get your aide," Chelsea remarked.
Laura raised an eyebrow. "Tory's here?"
Chelsea nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"I'd like to see her then," Laura stated, sitting back down on the bench as the room began to spin.
"Sure," Chelsea responded, dashing out of the room after making certain that the padlock on the door holding Laura was in place.
She returned quickly with the former aide. "Laura, how are you?"
The president eyed her warily. "That's a funny question coming from you."
"Gaius didn't want you to be uncomfortable," Tory added.
Laura could not resist rolling her eyes. "I have a bad headache, I'm nauseous, and I'm locked in a cage. Aside from that I feel terrific."
Her sardonic comment did not faze Tory. "You wanted to see me."
Taking a deep breath, Laura fought back the wave of nausea. She had yet to touch the food, deciding to wait until after Tory had left, in case the food decided to make a second appearance. "Yes. You claim to have found Nikki Tyrol wandering around in the hall. I didn't think to ask before, but what were you doing in that hall?"
She knows, or she suspects, Tory thought with a mental gulp. "I was at Joe's bar."
"I know about the Cylon meetings. Someone heard you at one of the meetings. Was it Callie? Is that why she died? To keep your secret?" Laura probed.
Tory glared mercilessly at her former boss. "You don't know anything!"
Laura sighed as Tory stormed out of the room. As Chelsea came back, Laura decided to investigate what the cafeteria had contributed. Algae sandwiches did not look too horrible this time, but after taking three bites, she reached for the bucket that the tray had been sitting on and expelled the contents of her stomach. Baltar chose that moment to enter the room.
He grabbed Chelsea by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. "What have you done? I only wanted you to feed her! We need her alive!"
After setting the bucket and the tray aside, Laura stood, leaning on the diagonal metal wall of the cage. "It wasn't the food. I woke up feeling badly. It was probably the Thoresine."
He had the bucket and tray quickly removed, using a marine to aim a gun at Laura so that she would not escape in the few seconds that the door was open. Then she moved back to the bench, sitting down. "Gaius, what is this all about? And how did you manage to replace my marines?"
"A change in leadership. Switching the marines was easy. All it took was Thoresine and a simple change of uniform for a few of my supporters. Don't worry, they're all alive. The admiral is on his way here to make a trade: Tom Zarek for you," Baltar replied.
Laura shook her head. "You got Adama to agree to that?"
Baltar smiled eerily. "You're a better bargaining chip than you think."
"Why are you working with Zarek? He hates Cylons," Laura pointed out.
"He hates you and the admiral more," Baltar stated.
"What did he do, offer you all the New Caprican weed that the Black Market had to offer?" Laura poked.
Baltar glared at her. "He promised that if I helped him, I would be granted immunity throughout the fleet, so that no matter where I am, no matter how many people detest me, I will be protected," Baltar explained.
She crossed her arms in front of her. "And you believed him?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Though Zarek can be… trying at times, he can be very persuasive," Baltar mentioned.
"You're a fool, Gaius. He'll only stab you in the back like he did the last time," Laura reminded.
Baltar scoffed. "Like you and everyone else?"
"I didn't let you die on that baseship," she pointed out.
"And I won't let you die today, so we're even," he retorted.
Laura rubbed her temples again. "Obviously this discussion is going nowhere. I do have one question for you though," she paused to face him. "Did you sleep with Callie Tyrol?"
For a moment his face went white and he stared at her in shock. Then he recovered. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Just answer the question," Laura continued.
"Once," he muttered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to tend to," he said before sauntering out of the room.
While Laura was being kept in the weapons locker, Adama headed to the brig where Zarek was being held. The vice president stood at the admiral entered. "Admiral, what can I do for you today?"
"Shut up. You're coming with me," Adama growled.
"You're just going to airlock me? I thought you didn't stoop to that level," Zarek sneered.
Adama let the guards cuff him. "I don't. Baltar has the president and wants you in exchange."
The guards led Zarek outside of the brig and he, along with the admiral and the guards, began walking through the halls. "I hope you know where we're going," Zarek commented.
"When I agreed to this exchange, Baltar gave me a rendezvous point. We're heading toward one of the storage rooms on the lower decks," the admiral explained. As they kept moving, Zarek did not see D'Anna and a few of the rebel Cylons following.
"I knew you'd agree to it. Of course this won't be the end, you know. You won't be around in a matter of weeks," Zarek stated flippantly.
Adama grabbed one of Zarek's arms in a vice-like grip. "You will not make threats to me on my own ship," he growled quietly. "I see now that you got yourself thrown into Galactica's brig on purpose."
"Very good, Admiral. It was the quickest way to make the hostage plan work," Zarek leered.
"But why team up with Baltar? Isn't your argument that we can't trust the Cylons?" Adama probed.
Zarek chuckled darkly. "Baltar is the slime of the universe, we both know that. I'm only keeping him around because right now he has more mobility than I do. He was able to kidnap her."
"What did you promise him in return for his services?" Adama inquired.
"Immunity anywhere he goes, basically protection in the fleet," Zarek answered.
"A request which you have no intention of actually granting," Adama chimed in.
"That's between me and Baltar," Zarek stated.
They stopped just outside of the door. Adama knocked on it while the guards held Zarek. "Baltar, we have what you want. I'm here to make the trade."
Chelsea opened the door. "Won't you come inside, sir?"
Adama entered with Zarek in tow as he gripped the terrorist's upper arm. D'Anna stood out of sight, moving to a spot next to the doorway. On the far side of the room, Tory stood to the left of Laura, holding a gun to the president's head. Bill's grip on Zarek tightened as he glared at Tory, then at Baltar who stood to the right of Laura. "Just let me go and she goes free," Zarek whispered.
Reluctantly the admiral removed his handcuffs. He walked over to Baltar, but instead of Laura walking back to Bill, Zarek took hold of Laura. "Stop that, I promised she wouldn't be harmed," Baltar scolded the other man.
"I should shoot you myself, but I have far more creative ways of destroying your credibility. Killing you first politically is better than any physical death," Zarek told her, letting her arm go.
She opened her mouth to tell him to go to Hades when D'Anna suddenly entered the room. "I told you not to involve the Cylons," Zarek said to Adama. Then he looked over to the crowd. "Is this the leadership you want? Your leaders allying with your enemies? No matter how enlightened they may seem, they will always be Cylons, and they will always be enemies."
The Cylon leader smirked. "These men have tried to overthrow your legitimate government. The Cylons, to show our desire to work with all of you as allies, have come to retrieve your president as a gesture of good faith."
"Lies. All they ever do is lie. Earth was nothing but a lie," Zarek retorted.
"No. Earth and the planet next to it were markers for somewhere else. We are running recon missions on the healthy planet outside because of Earth," Laura argued.
D'Anna raised the rifle that she had been previously holding straight against her side. "Come on, Gaius. Isn't it time you came back with us?"
Baltar shook his head. "I- I really don't think that's such a good idea-"
"He's not going anywhere with you. He belongs with us," Tory interjected.
The gun fired, striking its target. Tory fell backward onto the floor, dead. "That was for me." Then D'Anna raised the gun, pointing it at Zarek's head. Another bullet hit its target and Zarek fell to the floor, also dead. "And that was for you," she said, speaking to Laura.
"Perhaps I will go with you," Baltar squeaked.
As he made his way down the steps, one of his cult women stood. In her hands she also held a handgun. "You could've had any of us, Gaius. We were willingly yours. Instead you chose Cylons. Only Cylons are good enough for you. Well I'm through with this," she said before firing a bullet aimed at Baltar's heart. Chelsea screamed.
D'Anna gasped, anguish written in her face. As Baltar died, the other cult women descended on the one who had fired like an angry mob. Realizing that she could do nothing for Baltar, D'Anna used the chaos to bring Laura out of the room, to the colonel and the admiral who stood waiting in the hallway. "I didn't want to get in the way of a domestic dispute," D'Anna remarked.
For a brief moment, Laura saw past the sarcasm. "I'm sorry."
The Cylon looked away, muttering quietly, "This wasn't part of the plan."
Tigh used the phone nearby to call Life Station, asking for a medical team in the off chance that Zarek, Tory, or Baltar was not dead.
Looking past Tigh, Laura moved toward Bill. Laura gripped Bill's forearm, leaning into him. Almost as if to catch her, he pulled her into a secure embrace. She grabbed onto his uniform, then slid her arms around his neck. Neither said anything for a few minutes. Then slowly they pulled apart.
He cupped her cheek with his hand. "Laura, are you alright?"
She took a shaky breath. "No, but I will be. Take me home."
While he wrapped an arm around her, she leaned into his side. They had walked for a while before Laura noticed D'Anna. "I'm sorry that you killed one of the Final Five. What are you doing here, by the way?"
"These two," D'Anna nodded toward Tigh and Adama, "asked for my help. As for Tory, she chose her path."
Laura winced, moving a hand from around Bill's waist to rub her temples. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"They used Thoresine to knock me out initially and I'm still getting over the side effects," she explained.
"We'd better get you to Life Station and have Cottle run a blood test to see if there's anything else in your system that doesn't belong there. They might have injected you with something," Bill suggested.
D'Anna stopped walking. "In that case, if you two no longer need me, my sisters and I will return to my ship."
"That's fine. Thank you for your help," the admiral mentioned.
"You're quite welcome. You do realize though that now if I should need a favor, you owe me," the Cylon reminded.
Laura raised an eyebrow. "We will discuss it if and when the need arises."
The team of medics passed them as they walked through the halls. It was then that Laura recognized the marines they had been walking with. "My marines are here! Bill, what happened to them?"
"We found them in the hall near Athena's quarters. They're all fine. Baltar probably used Thoresine on them too," Bill told her.
They passed through the doors of Life Station to see Cottle setting up three beds. "They're probably dead," Bill mentioned. "We saw them shot."
Cottle whipped his head toward the admiral. "You let me be the doctor." Then he spotted Laura. "If they're dead, what are you two doing here? And what the hell is going on out there? All I get is this phone call from Tigh about three people who were shot."
Bill held Laura closer. "Baltar and his group kidnapped the president, wanting to use her as leverage to free Tom Zarek. To make a long story short, Baltar, Zarek, and Tory were all shot. Laura isn't feeling well. They used Thoresine to put her out and I think she should have a blood test to make sure they didn't give her anything else while she was unconscious."
The doctor sighed heavily. "Boy, you sure do make my job complicated, both of you. Sit here. I'll have Ishay get your blood. Now how have you been feeling?"
"I woke up with a bad headache, and then I got sick," she admitted.
Cottle took out a chart and made a couple of notes. "Alright. Now in general, how have you been feeling?"
Laura shrugged. "Tired."
Ishay stopped by to draw Laura's blood as Cottle spoke to the president. "I want you to stay down for the rest of the day. I should have the results of the tests by tomorrow morning."
Laura was dismissed as the three gunshot fatalities were brought in, as well as the cult woman who had been severely beaten. The first three were dead on arrival, but the woman survived. Bill brought Laura back to their quarters. "When is the fleet scheduled to join us?" she asked him.
"In a few hours," he relayed.
She sighed, sinking into the couch. "They'll want me to make a statement about the deaths."
He shook his head. "Let me handle it. I'll tell them when the rest of the fleet jumps."
A small smile sat on her face. "Thank you."
After seeing that she was settled with a cup of tea, he headed back to CIC to finish his shift, and later to make a statement about the recent deaths. "This is Admiral Adama. I address the fleet as well as the civilians, with special attention to the Sagittarians: I regret to inform you on the deaths of Tom Zarek, Gaius Baltar, and Tory Foster. All three were involved in treasonous a scheme to kidnap President Roslin. They were killed as a result of this scheme because they were endangering the president's life. I pass my condolences especially to the Sagittarians. We are sorry for your loss. That is all."
"Lee's gonna have a lot to do at the next Quorum meeting," Saul commented as Bill set the wireless mike down.
"We all will," Bill responded.
That evening Laura and Bill curled up together, letting sleep overtake them. As the curtain of sleep fell over her, Laura dreamed again. It was the same as before, with the Cylons walking their usual routes, all except Laura. Once again the little girl with auburn hair entered the concert room. The others paid no attention to her, all busy with their own lives. In that moment Laura made a decision. She walked over to the girl.
"Mommy!" The girl exclaimed, seeing Laura. She could see a resemblance, if she went by Bill's theory that the girl was a younger version of her. But then as she knelt down to embrace the girl, she noticed the eyes. They were not green, as hers were. Instead they were cobalt-blue, like Bill Adama's eyes.
(A/N: The idea for another docking bay comes from "The Oath")
(My thanks to kywildcat, carolann, McGonagallFan, and Mamabella for reviewing :D)