Deliverance (6/?)
Because sidhe1 is waiting in anticipation for the next chapter...
Title: Deliverance
Author: coexist_love
Rating: MA
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica 2003
Character: General with Roslin/Adama emphasis
Summary: A normal day on among the fleet is disturbed when an unidentified assailant attempts to assassinate President Roslin.
Disclaimer: Not written for money and if I owned Galactica this would have already happened.
Spoilers: Flight of the Pheonix through Epiphanies
Author’s Note: I thought about this while watching Colonial Day and though my setting is very different to begin with it was given further substance by whyoffry and maj_zoidberg444 at LiveJournal and a special thanks to my lovely betas (I had so many ) but in particular whyoffry campmotha and tina_cat
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
The reports from the wireless where streaming in like a river running through the forests on Picon. Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies was gunned down while attending a ceremony on Galactica. There have been conflicting reports as to the extent of her injuries but the latest report suggests that there are three gunshot wounds. We’ve tried to get in touch with Dr. Cottle but he has yet to give us a statement as to the President’s prognosis…
Gaius shut off the wireless as he paced the length of Colonial One. He hyperventilated as he considered the ramifications of Roslin’s death. He knew that she was going to die eventually, the whole bloody fleet knew, but he wasn’t prepared for it now. He thought that maybe he would have a month or two at the most to get ready to take on the role of the President. But time was a luxury he didn’t have anymore.
“God has decided to do this Gaius,” another voice entered the conversation.
“You!” Gaius said. “Why are you doing this?”
“The Cylons haven’t done anything Gauis.”
“Are you sure about that?” Gaius said. “Let me recount everything that you’ve done. First, you nuke the colonies, then you feed me full of this psychotic religious dribble, and now, now you are terminating the current presidency.”
Six stared at him for a moment before slapping him across the face. Gauis allowed his head to hang to the side as he suffered the sting of Six’s forceful fist. “As hard as it may be to believe Gaius, Cylons didn’t cause President Roslin’s cancer and the Cylon’s didn’t make you become Vice President. Not as far as the Colonial government is concerned.”
“And now your god is killing her,” Gaius pleading. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Doctor-“ a voice interjected. Baltar looked away from Six to see Lt. Gaeta standing in the doorway to Colonial One. “Admiral Adama is requesting to see you on Galactica.”
“Yes, yes of course Lieutenant,” Baltar said. “I will be there in a moment.”
“Gaius,” Six said. “Roslin is dying and you better be ready.”
***
It wasn’t too long before Adama made his way back to Life Station where a teary-eyed Billy had pulled up a chair so that he could watch the surgery through the plastic curtain. Bill approached Laura’s aide and taped him on the shoulder. The young man practically jumped out of his seat at the sensation.
“Sorry…” Bill said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. How’s she doing in there?”
“It’s bad,” Billy said. “I heard Cottle say something about her ventricle. It can’t be good.”
“Has he said anything else?” Adama asked.
“No, I think they’re too focused on saving her,” Billy commented.
“Finally found one of the frakking things,” came Cottle’s voice. The spectators’ attention immediately turned to the operation in time to watch Dr. Cottles bloodstained hand place a bullet in a metal bin that a nurse held out. “Little bastard.”
The site of the bullet that had harmed the President made Billy’s stomach churn. Suddenly a wave of nausea overcame him and he vomited on the floor of Life Station. He looked at his boss’s face which was becoming paler by the minute. The doctors’ scrubs where covered in blood, Laura’s blood, as they continued to work in a silent panic to save her.
“Who did this?” Billy asked. Laura had become like a mother to him ever since they had first heard about the nuclear attacks on the colonies. She had guided him, made him her press secretary, she had done everything possible for him and now she was dying.
When Laura had admitted that she was dying, he couldn’t say that he was surprised. She had been acting strange that day. She seemed disinterested, distant. He had wanted to ask her but he knew that it wasn’t his place. That the answer would come in its own time. When she had told him, he was somewhat relieved, he had an answer, a name, for her strange behavior.
When she was locked in the brig a few months ago he tended to her as if her life depended on it. When she started having withdrawals from the Chamalla he watched as she started to lose her mind and he had fought with the officials to get her a supply of Chamalla extract. It broke his heart to hear her mutter these nonsensical phrases. When the corporal offered to get her some Chamalla he could have kissed him.
It wasn’t right for her to die, not like this. Not when her life was already being cut short. She didn’t ask for this. She didn’t ask to be the dying leader in the prophecies, but she indulged them and look where that had gotten her. Of course she had gained strength in her faith but now she was dying for no other reason than people wanting bloodshed.
“We’re going to find who is responsible for this,” Adama said as he looked back at Laura. It was clear that she had several more hours of surgery ahead of her. The machines were continuing to breathe for her and the heart monitors still showed an erratic heartbeat, yet he took comfort in the knowledge that she was alive. He never wanted to see her when she was this bad. He didn’t want his last vision of Laura to be of her connected to machines. He wanted to remember her as the vivacious person that had insisted that they run away from the Cylons on the day of the attack.
He closed his eyes and pictured her when they had danced on Colonial Day. Laura smiled at him with a girlish flare as he offered her a dance that she willingly accepted. They danced slowly to the music, together. They smiled at each other and for a moment the world of fleet politics stood still. She was no longer President of the Colonies and he wasn’t Commander of Galactica. They were just two people sharing a dance.
“We’ll find them,” he promised Billy. “I swear we will.”
***
Adama wasn’t sure how long he had stayed in LifeStation with Billy and the President. An hour? Two? Enough time had passed for Cottle to find one of the two remaining bullets and repair some of the damage done to Laura’s heart. He tried to calculate some of the time in his head but it didn’t matter, his vigil had been interrupted when he was called away to a meeting with Dr. Baltar in one of the rooms commonly reserved for debriefings. He entered to find Dr. Baltar nervously tapping his pen against his notepad and Bill eyed the man with a certain suspicion.
This was the man that was supposed to run the fleet if Laura was out of office. For a moment his mind wandered as to whether or not Zarek would have been a better choice for Vice President. Granted the man was a terrorist but at least he had a sense of self and a view in politics, where as Baltar, well was there a word more insulting than clueless?
“Dr. Baltar,” the Admiral greeted politely as the Vice President shook off his uneasiness and stood up to greet the Commander.
“Commander,” he said. “I am so sorry to hear about the President. Please, tell me, how is she doing?”
“She’s still in surgery,” Adama said.
“Oh,” Gaius said. “I was hoping that her condition would have changed by now.”
“We’re not really here to discuss the President right now,” Adama said as he gestured for the Vice President to take a seat. He sat in the seat across from him and looked at the Vice President with concerned eyes. “We need to talk about who’s going to man her administration while she’s incapacitated…”
Gaius’ mind began to drift off as Adama began explaining the importance of implementing a temporary government. Suddenly Gaius could feel a hand on his shoulder and another head enter his personal space.
“Don’t listen to him,” the voice said. He immediately recognized it as the voice of the Cylon model that he had been dating. “He’ll try to talk you out of it. Get you to resign. Don’t let him. You’re supposed to be in office. It’s part of God’s plan.”
Gaius didn’t answer just turned his attention back to Adama as he continued to explain his point, “By Colonial Law you would be the one to have that power on a temporary basis. At least, until the President recovers.”
“Commander, you can’t keep kidding yourself. The President is dying of cancer. How much longer do you expect her to live?”
Bill was taken aback by the comment. “I don’t expect her to live forever if that’s what you’re asking, but she’s come this far and until she dies the way the Gods deemed she would I’m not going to let anyone else make the decision for her.”
“Commander, would you rather she spend the rest of her life in a coma? Unable to communicate? What kind of life would you be giving her?”
“We don’t know if it’s going to come to that,” Bill said.
“But if it does.”
“Let’s not speculate.”
“What do you plan on doing?” Gaius said. “If it comes to that, how are you going to do? Are you going to sit there and watch her suffer?”
The Commander didn’t have time to answer before the wireless in the room started ringing. He picked the wireless off the wall and put it to his ear. “Commander Adama…” he listened to the speaker on the other side for a minute before he answered. “Okay, Dr. Cottle, we’ll be right there.” He hung up the wireless and turned his attention back to Baltar. “That was Dr.Cottle, he just finished the surgery, and he wants to see us in LifeStation.”
Title: Deliverance
Author: coexist_love
Rating: MA
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica 2003
Character: General with Roslin/Adama emphasis
Summary: A normal day on among the fleet is disturbed when an unidentified assailant attempts to assassinate President Roslin.
Disclaimer: Not written for money and if I owned Galactica this would have already happened.
Spoilers: Flight of the Pheonix through Epiphanies
Author’s Note: I thought about this while watching Colonial Day and though my setting is very different to begin with it was given further substance by whyoffry and maj_zoidberg444 at LiveJournal and a special thanks to my lovely betas (I had so many ) but in particular whyoffry campmotha and tina_cat
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
The reports from the wireless where streaming in like a river running through the forests on Picon. Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies was gunned down while attending a ceremony on Galactica. There have been conflicting reports as to the extent of her injuries but the latest report suggests that there are three gunshot wounds. We’ve tried to get in touch with Dr. Cottle but he has yet to give us a statement as to the President’s prognosis…
Gaius shut off the wireless as he paced the length of Colonial One. He hyperventilated as he considered the ramifications of Roslin’s death. He knew that she was going to die eventually, the whole bloody fleet knew, but he wasn’t prepared for it now. He thought that maybe he would have a month or two at the most to get ready to take on the role of the President. But time was a luxury he didn’t have anymore.
“God has decided to do this Gaius,” another voice entered the conversation.
“You!” Gaius said. “Why are you doing this?”
“The Cylons haven’t done anything Gauis.”
“Are you sure about that?” Gaius said. “Let me recount everything that you’ve done. First, you nuke the colonies, then you feed me full of this psychotic religious dribble, and now, now you are terminating the current presidency.”
Six stared at him for a moment before slapping him across the face. Gauis allowed his head to hang to the side as he suffered the sting of Six’s forceful fist. “As hard as it may be to believe Gaius, Cylons didn’t cause President Roslin’s cancer and the Cylon’s didn’t make you become Vice President. Not as far as the Colonial government is concerned.”
“And now your god is killing her,” Gaius pleading. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Doctor-“ a voice interjected. Baltar looked away from Six to see Lt. Gaeta standing in the doorway to Colonial One. “Admiral Adama is requesting to see you on Galactica.”
“Yes, yes of course Lieutenant,” Baltar said. “I will be there in a moment.”
“Gaius,” Six said. “Roslin is dying and you better be ready.”
***
It wasn’t too long before Adama made his way back to Life Station where a teary-eyed Billy had pulled up a chair so that he could watch the surgery through the plastic curtain. Bill approached Laura’s aide and taped him on the shoulder. The young man practically jumped out of his seat at the sensation.
“Sorry…” Bill said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. How’s she doing in there?”
“It’s bad,” Billy said. “I heard Cottle say something about her ventricle. It can’t be good.”
“Has he said anything else?” Adama asked.
“No, I think they’re too focused on saving her,” Billy commented.
“Finally found one of the frakking things,” came Cottle’s voice. The spectators’ attention immediately turned to the operation in time to watch Dr. Cottles bloodstained hand place a bullet in a metal bin that a nurse held out. “Little bastard.”
The site of the bullet that had harmed the President made Billy’s stomach churn. Suddenly a wave of nausea overcame him and he vomited on the floor of Life Station. He looked at his boss’s face which was becoming paler by the minute. The doctors’ scrubs where covered in blood, Laura’s blood, as they continued to work in a silent panic to save her.
“Who did this?” Billy asked. Laura had become like a mother to him ever since they had first heard about the nuclear attacks on the colonies. She had guided him, made him her press secretary, she had done everything possible for him and now she was dying.
When Laura had admitted that she was dying, he couldn’t say that he was surprised. She had been acting strange that day. She seemed disinterested, distant. He had wanted to ask her but he knew that it wasn’t his place. That the answer would come in its own time. When she had told him, he was somewhat relieved, he had an answer, a name, for her strange behavior.
When she was locked in the brig a few months ago he tended to her as if her life depended on it. When she started having withdrawals from the Chamalla he watched as she started to lose her mind and he had fought with the officials to get her a supply of Chamalla extract. It broke his heart to hear her mutter these nonsensical phrases. When the corporal offered to get her some Chamalla he could have kissed him.
It wasn’t right for her to die, not like this. Not when her life was already being cut short. She didn’t ask for this. She didn’t ask to be the dying leader in the prophecies, but she indulged them and look where that had gotten her. Of course she had gained strength in her faith but now she was dying for no other reason than people wanting bloodshed.
“We’re going to find who is responsible for this,” Adama said as he looked back at Laura. It was clear that she had several more hours of surgery ahead of her. The machines were continuing to breathe for her and the heart monitors still showed an erratic heartbeat, yet he took comfort in the knowledge that she was alive. He never wanted to see her when she was this bad. He didn’t want his last vision of Laura to be of her connected to machines. He wanted to remember her as the vivacious person that had insisted that they run away from the Cylons on the day of the attack.
He closed his eyes and pictured her when they had danced on Colonial Day. Laura smiled at him with a girlish flare as he offered her a dance that she willingly accepted. They danced slowly to the music, together. They smiled at each other and for a moment the world of fleet politics stood still. She was no longer President of the Colonies and he wasn’t Commander of Galactica. They were just two people sharing a dance.
“We’ll find them,” he promised Billy. “I swear we will.”
***
Adama wasn’t sure how long he had stayed in LifeStation with Billy and the President. An hour? Two? Enough time had passed for Cottle to find one of the two remaining bullets and repair some of the damage done to Laura’s heart. He tried to calculate some of the time in his head but it didn’t matter, his vigil had been interrupted when he was called away to a meeting with Dr. Baltar in one of the rooms commonly reserved for debriefings. He entered to find Dr. Baltar nervously tapping his pen against his notepad and Bill eyed the man with a certain suspicion.
This was the man that was supposed to run the fleet if Laura was out of office. For a moment his mind wandered as to whether or not Zarek would have been a better choice for Vice President. Granted the man was a terrorist but at least he had a sense of self and a view in politics, where as Baltar, well was there a word more insulting than clueless?
“Dr. Baltar,” the Admiral greeted politely as the Vice President shook off his uneasiness and stood up to greet the Commander.
“Commander,” he said. “I am so sorry to hear about the President. Please, tell me, how is she doing?”
“She’s still in surgery,” Adama said.
“Oh,” Gaius said. “I was hoping that her condition would have changed by now.”
“We’re not really here to discuss the President right now,” Adama said as he gestured for the Vice President to take a seat. He sat in the seat across from him and looked at the Vice President with concerned eyes. “We need to talk about who’s going to man her administration while she’s incapacitated…”
Gaius’ mind began to drift off as Adama began explaining the importance of implementing a temporary government. Suddenly Gaius could feel a hand on his shoulder and another head enter his personal space.
“Don’t listen to him,” the voice said. He immediately recognized it as the voice of the Cylon model that he had been dating. “He’ll try to talk you out of it. Get you to resign. Don’t let him. You’re supposed to be in office. It’s part of God’s plan.”
Gaius didn’t answer just turned his attention back to Adama as he continued to explain his point, “By Colonial Law you would be the one to have that power on a temporary basis. At least, until the President recovers.”
“Commander, you can’t keep kidding yourself. The President is dying of cancer. How much longer do you expect her to live?”
Bill was taken aback by the comment. “I don’t expect her to live forever if that’s what you’re asking, but she’s come this far and until she dies the way the Gods deemed she would I’m not going to let anyone else make the decision for her.”
“Commander, would you rather she spend the rest of her life in a coma? Unable to communicate? What kind of life would you be giving her?”
“We don’t know if it’s going to come to that,” Bill said.
“But if it does.”
“Let’s not speculate.”
“What do you plan on doing?” Gaius said. “If it comes to that, how are you going to do? Are you going to sit there and watch her suffer?”
The Commander didn’t have time to answer before the wireless in the room started ringing. He picked the wireless off the wall and put it to his ear. “Commander Adama…” he listened to the speaker on the other side for a minute before he answered. “Okay, Dr. Cottle, we’ll be right there.” He hung up the wireless and turned his attention back to Baltar. “That was Dr.Cottle, he just finished the surgery, and he wants to see us in LifeStation.”