BSG fan fic "Carry Me Home" (4/6)
This is part four, set during "He That Believeth in Me." Adama tells Gaeta something he really doesn't want to hear.
Title: Carry Me Home
Chapter Four: Orders
Rating: K+
Word Count: 700
The Admiral’s quarters were as dim as ever and more cluttered than ever before. The Admiral himself sat behind the desk with his uniform unbuttoned, running his hand through a day’s worth of stubble as he studied the week’s reports.
Felix came to attention before the desk. “You wanted to talk to me, sir?”
Adama looked up wearily. “Sit down, Mr. Gaeta.”
Felix hesitantly sat.
Adama leaned forward, his broad shoulders hunched. “I have a mission for you. It’s classified and highly dangerous.”
Felix took a breath. Those weren’t words the average CIC officer heard too often. “Classified?”
“I’m refurbishing a ship and trying to put together a crew. Its mission is to scout the outlying systems looking for evidence of Earth that we might have missed.”
Felix kept his face carefully blank. “What about the work I’ve been doing on the Eye of Jupiter map?”
The Old Man nodded absently. “Good work-solid work. The bulk of the fleet will continue to follow those coordinates and rendezvous with the Demetrius in one month’s time.”
“The Demetrius? That’s a sewage treatment ship!”
“Which is why it probably won’t be missed. She may stink, but the ship’s got a good engine and a much longer range than the Raptors.”
“So, what, we’re just supposed to go chase our tails for a month in a latrine ship and then . . .” Adama’s glare stopped him. Felix took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Though he had a sinking feeling he knew what the answer would be, he had to ask “And who will be commanding this . . . classified mission?”
The Old Man looked down at his desk, where he was cleaning his glasses with a white handkerchief. “Kara Thrace will command.”
Felix looked away and tugged angrily at the worn sleeves of his threadbare uniform. His voice was tight. “I thought it was decided that Captain Thrace’s . . . beliefs concerning Earth were suspect.”
“Suspect maybe. Invalid, no. Mr. Gaeta, if there’s a chance-even the slightest chance-that she’s telling the truth, we can’t afford not to believe her.”
I can. It’s on the tip of his tongue. Felix stops himself in the nick of time. “Has the President signed off on this . . . mission?”
“I have President Roslin’s full support in military issues.”
Felix almost rolled his eyes. “You really think this will work? You think Starbuck can get a crew to follow her after everything-“
Again, Adama’s glare stops him in his tracks. “I think that you wear a uniform, Mr. Gaeta. As such, I expect you to go where you’re ordered to go, follow who you’re ordered to follow.”
Felix tried to force the anger down. He really did. But somehow, he couldn’t let Adama just kick him off the Galactica so easily. “May I say something, sir?”
The Admiral put his spectacles aside. “Shoot.”
Felix swallowed. “You’ve lost perspective. You’re letting your personal feelings for Captain Thrace blind you to threat she poses to this ship and her crew.” Felix couldn’t quite believe he’d said it. He resisted the urge to screw his eyes shut as he waited for the hammer to fall.
Adama stared at him, his face inscrutable. Felix met his gaze as steadily as he could. It was the Admiral who looked away. “Maybe I have lost perspective. In that case, it’s a good thing I have you.”
Felix blinked. “Please don’t mock me, sir.”
“I’m serious, Lieutenant. Commanders need good officers who will tell them when they’ve lost sight of the mission. That’s why you’re going on the Demetrius.” Adama pulled a folder from his top drawer and offered it to Felix. “The rest of the crew is made up of pilots, mostly. Kara trained quite a few of them herself. I’m trusting them to follow her lead. I’m trusting you to remember the mission parameters and remind her to toe the line. Helo is going as XO, but he needs to know that he can count on someone in the crew. Are you that man, Mr. Gaeta?”
Felix sighed as he stared at the file in his hands. “I’ll do my best. Sir.”
TBC
Chapter 5