Responses to Earlier Comments:
War Sage - thanks for the note. You're right. I had it in my head what was happening, but missed getting it out in print.
Thank you Galactica Actual. Good to hear from you again.
Hi DankUser. Thanks for the comments. I've been trying to stick to canon where I can. But, we saw that a supposed "damaged" raider could jump in and out, within the fleet many times before running off. It just seems like it would be difficult not to lose ships to the Cylon attacks. I'm reminded again of WWII history and the wolfpacks of submarines going after the Allied supply fleets.
***All comments are welcome. I'll do my best to respond***
Disclaimer: Please note: I own no part or share in the Battlestar Galactica realm, commercial or otherwise. This story is submitted for entertainment purposes only. Oh, and any similarities to people present or past are purely coincidental.
Reminder: I did not spend time making up non-earth names for BSG things - zip gun, toffee biscuit, warrants, transducers, etc. They are in there as is. I wanted to avoid introducing new terms, explaining them, and potentially causing confusion if/when they are used later without their explanations.
Reckoning
"Commander Garner noted the military campaign ribbon on my chest was 1/16 of an inch off its required location. I wanted to tell him 'My eyes are up here', tho I'm certain I would have suffered grievously as a result."
~Cru's Journal if he had time to keep one.
Previously on Bree's Twin
(From Chapter 12)
Evvie was down on the deck, curled up, with her legs pulled in tight to her chest. Her hands, like Cru's, were restrained behind her back. She buried what she could of her face, into her knees. Evvie let out quiet sobs mixed with moans of pain over her many injuries.
Neither Cru's nor Evvie's wounds were treated. They were allowed to bleed freely and soak into their clothes. Cru's left eye was swollen shut. His shirt lay open and his chest, where it could be seen, had a long slice across it, exposing layers of flesh. He had bruises and cuts from being beaten with a multitude of weapons, Despite all of this, he stood like a mighty oak.
"Step back or the PFC will put you down," said the marine on Cru's left. He was a Corporal. His name was Lundall.
"Corporal, of the two of you, you are senior," said Cru. "When this is done, there will be a reckoning."
The corporal gave the PFC a nod. The PFC struck Cru with his rifle and Cru went down in a heap.
Bree's Twin
Fleet
The Pegasus returned to the fleet with Bree's Twin, Virgon Express, the ailing Argo Navis, and the Edina, Carina, and Hexare. Absent was the Coronis, damaged beyond saving and met with a grievous end.
Cru and the others had escaped. The rest of the fleet, in time, were able to flee, including the Coba which they had seen burning and adrift. The Pegasus and the Galactica had held the Cylons at bay, but the brutal battle was pitched and the wounds were gaping and severe. Bree's Twin and the small allegiance of ships, returned to a broken fleet with many thousands of colonials lost.
Cru joined T-Dog's people on the repairs. He had spent years servicing commercial vessels back on Caprica. There were others with more knowledge than Cru, but not many. The parts inventory aboard the Twin and Pegasus was a savings grace with their constant outflow. Work continued around the clock and twelve days later, all ships were FTL capable with all life support systems back online.
Days later, Commander Garner defied the Admiral's orders and jumped the Pegasus away on a rescue operation that turned into an ambush out to the binary star system.
When the Pegasus returned, Cru was waiting with a small team of marines to board the battlestar and take Garner into custody. Garner would need to face an immediate inquest. Except - he died from vacuum exposure while saving his ship. To his people, he was a hero, but he ignored orders and almost cost all of them their lives. It was Lee Adama who took command of the Pegasus and brought it back safely.
Cru took command of the Pegasus while Lee reported in person to his father. When Lee returned, he wore the pins of a Commander. Cru was there to officially transfer command of the Pegasus to Lee in a short ceremony with the symbolic passing of the flag.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Galactica
Flight Deck
Evvie waited in a conference room with a big window showing much of the hanger bay. A Marine Sergeant in her dress blues uniform sat with her all the while. Evvie's name was known around the fleet. She wasn't a Counselor or one of Roslin's Department Secretaries or even a ship's Captain, but her name was more and more connected with what was important; food and working ship's systems. The Sergeant could have worn her utilities uniform but was told to wear her blues. Evvie's place in the fleet had merited it.
Colonel Tigh dropped by after learning Evvie was there. He chatted for almost half an hour, but the ship's business drew him away. Evvie was noticed by many and word got around that she was connected to Marine Lt. Colonel Cru. Several of the viper and raptor pilots said 'Hello' including Hot Dog, Ginsing, Cat Lady, and Downtown.
Cally Henderson knew who Evvie was. She stopped by with coffee, a toffee biscuit, and a request for any and all available P-88 "Jimmi" in-line transducers. Evvie took the coffee and cookie gratefully. She thought they had more than two hundred of the transducers in their inventory. She would have to check.
After about an hour, a loudspeaker called out the arrival of Raptor 156.
Evvie watched as the Raptor carrying Cru, his Marines, and a marine deserter named Lundall rolled into the staging area. She watched as Lundall stepped down from the raptor with an armed marine on either side. His hands were together, bound in shackles.
"That's him, Ma'am." said the sergeant. Her name was Bowles. "That's Corporal Lundall."
"You called him 'Corporal'," said Evvie as she stood. "He still has his rank?"
"Not for long," said Bowles.
Evvie nodded her understanding. "And, what will happen after that?"
"He's a deserter during a time of war. Execution, maybe."
"Is that typical…for deserters, I mean?"
"It was, during the old war," said Bowles with a shrug. "Things are different now. Who can say what the judgment will be."
Evvie nodded again.
Cru had arranged for Evvie to be there at the specific moment. There was unfinished business. He asked her if she wanted to face the man who attacked her. She said she would.
Lundall had been silent the whole trip over from his place of hiding aboard the passenger liner Epheme. If Cru was looking for paybacks, he thought he might suffer through a beating or two before his appointment with the firing squad.
What Lundall did not expect was a direct face-to-face with Evvie.
"Do you remember me?" said Evvie to Lundall as she stepped before the man.
Lundall knew her as the woman he beat senseless after being told she was a Cylon. He didn't know if she was a Cylon or not. He didn't really care at the time. She was just an excuse to let fly with a whole lot of rage. The worlds had ended. A lot had happened. Deliberate and wanton criminality seemed okay in the chaos.
"I remember you," said Lundall, but he did not look at Evvie.
"You're avoiding my eyes," said Evvie. "Look at me."
Lundall looked up at Evvie, over to Sergeant Bowles, and back to Evvie. He did not reply.
"Will you say nothing to me?" asked Evvie.
Lundall stared at Evvie. Evvie stared back. Her hands shook and she wished she could hide them. She wasn't frightened, not in that way, but she was having a hard time convincing her pounding heart of it.
"Say something," said Evvie. "Say anything."
Lundall opened his mouth to speak but did not. Nothing about the encounter was according to his expectations. He had nothing prepared for this. Instead, he shrugged. "You have a pretty face - much better than that last time."
"Ludall," said Cru in a threatening tone. "Knock it off."
Cru thought about Lundall. The Corporal had assaulted and beaten both him and Evvie while they were restrained and unable to defend or resist. A mob had battered him and Evvie before being given over to Lundall and another marine. Evvie's face was swollen, bruised, and smeared with blood.
"My face is pretty?" Evvie lowered her eyes. "Mr. Lundall, you hit me many times," she whispered. Her voice was barely audible.
"I did," said Lundall but his voice lowered a small amount and there was a note of uncertainty. It was a marked change that meant something.
"And you have no regrets," continued Evvie without looking up. She looked small. Frail. She looked hurt. "No regrets at all…for what you did."
"I…have regrets," said Lundall. "Of course…I do."
In truth, Lundall had practiced in his mind the defiance and the contempt he would throw at anyone who tried to interrogate him - anyone who thought they would break him. He was strong and he would go down fighting, even if he were chained to a wall and he had nothing but words to lash out with. He didn't expect Evvie and he didn't know how to respond.
Evvie paused in silence, which to Lundall was difficult to bear.
"Ma'am-," started Lundall.
"You need to tell me you are sorry," said Evvie suddenly. She looked up at him with surprising resolve. "You need to mean it."
It was Lundall's turn to pause in silence. He looked back at Sergeant Bowles who seemed caught off guard by Evvie. She and Lundall exchanged looks.
Lundall gave a sort of cautious smile. "Okay…"
"You took away my confidence, Mr. Lundall," said Evvie. She put her hands on her hips and stood boldly in front of him. "I got it back, most of it, but it took me months. I don't let people close to me, not really, and I sleep with weapons in my room. You did this to me." Evvie gritted her teeth. "Tell me you're sorry," she said again, "and you need to mean it."
Lundall gave Evvie a hard stare - one of those, "Who the hell do you think you are?" kind of stares. Except, Evvie did not back down.
"Alright, okay, I'm sorry," said Lundall in a sudden change of heart. "I am sorry I did this to you. We lost the colonies, we lost the war, you and the Colonel got a heavy beat-down, and I took my turn at it." Lundall softened then. "I should have been the one who rescued you both - got you clear of the fight, and reconnoitered the SitRep. That's on me. That's my bad."
"Do you mean it?" said Evvie with the same hard stare but maybe not as pointed. "I'll know if you lie to me."
"No, I mean it," said Lundall. "It was a frakked credit-roll on my part."
Evvie looked deep into Lundall's eyes. Her eyes squinted ever so slightly.
"Okay…" she said softly as if some unseen weight was lifted from her. Slowly, she turned and walked back towards the conference room.
"Ma'am," said Lundall, calling after her.
Evvie stopped but did not turn.
"Ma'am will you forgive me?" said Lundall. The question was genuine, mostly. He was a marine after all and there was a certain need for 'ownership' of one's actions, no matter if wrong or right.
"Yes, I forgive you," said Evvie.
The small group watched Evvie enter back into the conference room and sit down.
"She was armed, Lundall," said Cru. "Did you see that?"
"I did," said Lundall. "She had a small caliber zip tucked under the waistband - hidden in her pleats."
Sergeant Bowles looked surprised, looked back towards the conference room, and quickly stepped in that direction.
Bowles did admin work and Lundall did crowd control. Both were useful jobs but hardly interchangeable.
"Sergeant Bowles…," called Cru.
"She'll get it back when she's aboard The Twin," called Bowles over her shoulder.
Cru smiled. Sergeant Bowles messed up for missing the weapon, but no harm was done. He might chide her over it, later.
"I thought she might have tried to kill you," said Cru to Lundall.
"And spare me from the firing squad?" asked Lundall. "Would you let that happen?"
Cru shrugged.
"Is that my fate, Colonel?" said Lundall as he turned to face Cru. "A round to the chest by an old barracks-mate? You'd be the ranking officer in my Court Martial, I expect. I'd come down to your decision."
"Right, my decision," said Cru with a nod, "something of which I do not take lightly." he turned to the nearest Marine. "Take him below."
End of Chapter 33
Author notes while writing:
This one took forever to write. Evvie's personality is tricky - too emotional or too tough and I lose her.
This was a storyline I wanted to get back to because it was such a violent thing that had no response other than Liddy. It ends here with Lundall's fate being left as unknown.
The timing is during the whole "every life is precious" business that Roslin ends up backing. However, the decision on Lundall is a military one.