Borrowed Time (4/5)
Title: Borrowed Time
Author: Raina
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Spoilers: up to the end of “Home” Part 2
Summary: Every night Lee dies in his dreams…or are they much more than just dreams?
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters; I just enjoy making them suffer
Notes: AU that takes place during “Home” Parts 1 and 2.
Thanks to Ysrith for providing beta duties.
Feedback makes me happy. ;)
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Part1
Part2
Part3
Kara stands at the podium in the Ready Room, giving her daily briefing. Usually she would hate the boring drudgery of hours spent writing up schedules and reports, and then yet even more time spent talking about them. She normally would have given it a half-assed effort and left it at that, but now, keeping busy is a preferable alternative to thinking about other things.
She finishes her very thorough and professional briefing and nods to Hotdog when he indicates that he has a question.
“Where’s Apollo been? We know that it’s classified and all, but is he on a top-secret mission or what?”
“If you already know it’s classified, then why are you asking?” She silently congratulates herself on keeping her voice perfectly steady.
“And what’s up with you?” Kat chimes in. “You’ve been so professional lately.” Then she cringes at the implied insult.
But Kara doesn’t even notice, or if she does, she doesn’t care. She’s got much bigger things occupying her mind at the moment.
She ends the briefing before her emotions get the better of her.
“Dismissed.”
***
President Roslin, Adama, Tigh, and Elosha sit in one of Galactica’s planning rooms.
“Are you crazy? Wanting to bring a bunch of civvies on a military op. Haven’t you done enough damage already?” Tigh grumbles, glaring at President Roslin.
“As the President of the Colonies, I am going on this mission.” Laura Roslin’s voice leaves no room for argument.
“And,” she adds, “we need to bring Elosha along in order to find the Tomb. She’s gone over the Scriptures extensively with Sharon, and they’ve figured out approximately where it is. But we still need her expertise along to guide us.”
Tigh just balks incredulously as Adama considers this.
“If we bring an additional six marines, that should be enough to guard them.”
“Have you lost your frakking mind, Bill?” Tigh demands.
“I don’t like it either, Saul, but she’s right.”
“Next thing you know, she’ll be telling us that she wants to bring the two Cylons along as well.”
“Actually, I was just about to bring that up,” President Roslin admits sheepishly, glancing at Elosha.
“’The Archer will shoot the Arrow into the Tomb and point the way to the Promised Land,’” she quotes. “It’s from the Delphic Scroll, and I’ve discussed that passage extensively with Sharon. We both agree that the Archer is Lee Adama, or at least the Cylon copy of him.”
“You want me to take a Cylon on an already dangerous mission on the word of another Cylon?” This time it’s Adama’s turn to look incredulous as Tigh just stares.
“Commander, the Scriptures have been accurate so far. And the Scriptures say that we need the Archer to open the Tomb of Athena and point the way to Earth. If we want to find Earth and save what remains of humanity, we must do what the Scriptures say,” President Roslin points out logically.
“What do we have, if not faith and hope?” Elosha points out.
“We’ve gone this far on faith, I suppose. Might as well go all the way,” Adama concedes.
“You might as well be handing us to the Cylons on a platter! Bringing a bunch of civvies and a Cylon,” Tigh points out.
“We’ll make sure that he’s watched carefully at all times, and that he’s shackled. There’s not much he can do with a gun trained on him, shackles, and a broken hand.”
Tigh just shakes his head.
“Thank you, Commander.” President Roslin smiles faintly.
“Don’t thank me yet. We still have to get this op planned and completed. Pre-mission brief begins at 0800. Thank you all.”
***
They step out of the Raptor and onto the lush green grass of Kobol. The air is still, too still, as if all other living creatures have gone into hiding. That, combined with the fog, lends the meadow a sinister feeling. But despite this, Lee pauses and takes a deep breath, savouring the first taste of fresh air that he’s had in months.
“Move.” The marine behind him shoves him roughly with the point of his gun and he stumbles out of the Raptor and onto the lush grass. He wants so badly to reach down and touch the grass, real grass, but his hands - the left broken and bandaged - are securely fastened in heavy-duty cuffs and the two marines behind him have their guns trained on his back.
Kara follows behind him, trying her hardest not to look at the spectre of her dead friend. Instead, she looks up at the sky and down at the earth, savouring the smells of a truly living planet for the first time in months.
Adama steps slowly out of the Raptor, not even noticing the world around him. Instead, all of his attention is focused on his son, or at least the Cylon masquerading as his son. He’s torn between wanting to grab his gun and shoot him, or wanting to tell him everything that he had never told Lee while he was actually alive. He had been furious at the Cylons - at this Cylon - for killing his son, but then he had found out that Lee had died in a flight accident, just like his brother, all because he had pushed them to become pilots. All because of him.
I want to make things right with him. But he’s not really my son, or is he? My son died two years ago, but the Cylon believes that he’s my son, and has all of his memories. If I make things right with him, will I be honouring or dishonouring my son’s memory? What would Lee think?
Behind him, Elosha, President Roslin, Billy, and six more marines all slowly file out of the Raptor, pausing to smell the fresh air and gaze at the sky. After briefly enjoying the scenery, they all quickly file into formation and focus on the task at hand.
The beginning of the trek, before they get into the mountains, is relatively easy. Rain has just fallen, so the grass squelches under their feet as they walk, but aside from that, there are no other sounds.
Adama breaks the silence when he falls into step behind Lee and speaks to him for the first time since the truth came out.
“He died hating me,” he states, knowing it as truth.
“Yes. But I don’t hate you, for all it’s worth.” He looks at Adama as he says this, searching his face for a sign of acknowledgement.
“It’s worth something, I suppose,” Adama admits before he quickly turns and moves away.
They soon reach the base of the hills, then stop to rest before they tackle the rugged, slippery terrain.
As Lee sits down on a relatively flat rock, with a marine hovering nearby, Kara approaches. At a gesture from her, the marine reluctantly moves out of hearing range, allowing them some privacy.
“So I lost both of the men I love in flight accidents, within weeks of each other. The Gods must have a twisted sense of humour.” She looks down at her hands, and the ring on her thumb.
“I suppose.”
So she loved him. I wonder if she loves me now, or just sees me as a mockery of the person she did love.
“How much do you remember? I mean, I read in the briefing notes that you remember everything: his childhood, academy exploits, and all that. But what about the feelings and stuff?”
“I remember everything. I remember how jealous I was when I found out that you were engaged to Zak, and how much it hurt when Zak died. I know that I actually didn’t feel any of that, but it feels like I did. If that makes any sense; I’m still trying to make sense of it myself, having these memories and this identity that’s not really mine.”
“Yeah I suppose it does, in a mildly creepy kind of way.” She smiles faintly, trying to mask her unease.
Suddenly, their peaceful reprieve is interrupted by a spray of bullets and gasps of pain as two marines are efficiently gunned down by a group of Cylons up in the hills. Then chaos erupts.
“Take cover!”
“Frak! Where’s my gun?”
“Elosha, watch out!”
Elosha gasps and goes down as a bullet takes her in the chest.
“Run!” Billy grabs President Roslin from where she stands, momentarily frozen over the body of the priestess. They dive for cover under some heavy brush, the sounds of gunfire and shouting erupting all around them.
“Ammo!”
“You go, I’ll cover!”
“Move!”
“Get down!”
Meanwhile, Lee hides under a ledge, wanting to grab a gun and help, but unable to move his good hand, which is trapped in the cuffs. Suddenly, he spots a Cylon aiming at President Roslin.
“Madam President!”
Lee can only shout futiley as a bullet speeds towards her, then Billy dives on top of her, pushing her out of harm’s way and gasping as the bullet hits him in the side.
Four more marines are killed before the gunfire finally stops. Then it is quiet once more.
In the aftermath of the chaos, no one notices as Lee pockets the keys and a gun off of one of the dead marines.
***
Adama gently pulls Billy’s body off of President Roslin, who is frozen in a mask of terror and grief.
"’And Zeus warned the leaders of the twelve tribes that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood,’" she quotes, voice trembling even as she tries to be strong.
The bodies of Elosha, Billy, and six marines are laid out and temporarily covered.
“We’ll come back for them later and then give them a proper funeral aboard Galactica. We leave no one behind.” Adama places his hand on Laura Roslin’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly as she struggles to hold it together.
“Is the cost worth it?” she asks no one in particular.
“Only time will tell,” Adama says as he moves away to start the climb up into the rugged terrain.
Lee trails along behind the main group, two new guards at his back. He thinks that he should be more upset over so many deaths, but his mind is oddly blank.
The rain falls steadily, and soon they are all soaking wet, chilled to the bone, and panting heavily from the rough climb. Losing many of their comrades has also taken its toll on everyone, reflected by the fact that they are only talking when necessary.
Hours later, they arrive at a plateau in the hills, where a large rocky out-crop looms in front of them. Stepping closer, Adama can see a door in the mossy rock face.
“Is this it?”
“I think so,” President Roslin confirms, glancing at her wet copy of the Book of Pythia.
“I can’t find the frakking keyhole, because having an obvious keyhole would just be too logical, wouldn’t it?” Kara grumbles in frustration after several minutes of trying to find somewhere to insert the Arrow.
“Has anyone tried just pushing?” President Roslin helpfully inquires.
Why don’t we just try then? Reynolds, Frye, come here.” Adama and the two marines position themselves to shoulder the door open. The men throw their weight against the door and, to their surprise, it slowly slides open, revealing a large chamber within.
“So if the Arrow didn’t open the Tomb, what does it do?” Kara wonders.
“The Scriptures say that you need the Arrow to find the map.” President Roslin walks in behind Kara.
As they all walk into the Tomb of Athena, they can make out a ring of broken statues within.
“I recognize the statues. There’s Aerilon the Ram, Picon the Fish: these are the icons of the Twelve Tribes. This is the Birthplace of the Colonies.” Kara reverently touches the statues.
Everyone is too busy gazing at the statues to notice Lee take the set of keys out of his pocket.
“Sagittaron the Archer. And he’s missing something.” President Roslin points to the statue of the archer, bow drawn but empty.
Kara steps forward and places the Arrow into the upraised bow, and suddenly they are plunged into darkness.
Then they are standing in a grassy field. Adama, Kara, Reynolds, and Frye all whip around, guns drawn defensively, but they are alone in the starlit field.
“Where the frak are we?”
“We must still be in the Tomb of Athena.” President Roslin gazes around in wonder, noticing the large megaliths looming before them. “These patterns on the rocks were on the original flags of the Twelve Colonies, back when they were still called by their ancient names: Aries, Pisces, Cancer….” She turns around the circle, naming them all in succession.
“This is the map to Earth,” Adama realizes. “But which constellation is Earth in?”
“We’re standing on it,” Kara whispers, face glowing with amazement. “The Scriptures say that when the thirteenth tribe landed on Earth, they looked up into the heavens and saw their twelve brothers.”
“But where can you look into the sky and see all of these constellations?” President Roslin inquires as she gazes up at the sky.
“I don’t know,” Kara concedes sadly.
“I recognize that nebula in Scorpio, it’s astral body M8, but it’s a long way from here.” Adama points to the Scorpio constellation.
As everyone smiles in the realization that they now have a direction to go in, Lee just stares intently at the sky.
“Now how do we get out of here?” Kara wonders.
“That’s a good question,” Adama mutters as he stares up at the nebula.
Then suddenly they are back in the circle of statues in the Tomb.
Before anyone can react, Reynolds and Frye are shot down in quick succession and Adama finds himself staring down the barrel of Lee’s gun.
Author: Raina
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Spoilers: up to the end of “Home” Part 2
Summary: Every night Lee dies in his dreams…or are they much more than just dreams?
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters; I just enjoy making them suffer
Notes: AU that takes place during “Home” Parts 1 and 2.
Thanks to Ysrith for providing beta duties.
Feedback makes me happy. ;)
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Part1
Part2
Part3
Kara stands at the podium in the Ready Room, giving her daily briefing. Usually she would hate the boring drudgery of hours spent writing up schedules and reports, and then yet even more time spent talking about them. She normally would have given it a half-assed effort and left it at that, but now, keeping busy is a preferable alternative to thinking about other things.
She finishes her very thorough and professional briefing and nods to Hotdog when he indicates that he has a question.
“Where’s Apollo been? We know that it’s classified and all, but is he on a top-secret mission or what?”
“If you already know it’s classified, then why are you asking?” She silently congratulates herself on keeping her voice perfectly steady.
“And what’s up with you?” Kat chimes in. “You’ve been so professional lately.” Then she cringes at the implied insult.
But Kara doesn’t even notice, or if she does, she doesn’t care. She’s got much bigger things occupying her mind at the moment.
She ends the briefing before her emotions get the better of her.
“Dismissed.”
***
President Roslin, Adama, Tigh, and Elosha sit in one of Galactica’s planning rooms.
“Are you crazy? Wanting to bring a bunch of civvies on a military op. Haven’t you done enough damage already?” Tigh grumbles, glaring at President Roslin.
“As the President of the Colonies, I am going on this mission.” Laura Roslin’s voice leaves no room for argument.
“And,” she adds, “we need to bring Elosha along in order to find the Tomb. She’s gone over the Scriptures extensively with Sharon, and they’ve figured out approximately where it is. But we still need her expertise along to guide us.”
Tigh just balks incredulously as Adama considers this.
“If we bring an additional six marines, that should be enough to guard them.”
“Have you lost your frakking mind, Bill?” Tigh demands.
“I don’t like it either, Saul, but she’s right.”
“Next thing you know, she’ll be telling us that she wants to bring the two Cylons along as well.”
“Actually, I was just about to bring that up,” President Roslin admits sheepishly, glancing at Elosha.
“’The Archer will shoot the Arrow into the Tomb and point the way to the Promised Land,’” she quotes. “It’s from the Delphic Scroll, and I’ve discussed that passage extensively with Sharon. We both agree that the Archer is Lee Adama, or at least the Cylon copy of him.”
“You want me to take a Cylon on an already dangerous mission on the word of another Cylon?” This time it’s Adama’s turn to look incredulous as Tigh just stares.
“Commander, the Scriptures have been accurate so far. And the Scriptures say that we need the Archer to open the Tomb of Athena and point the way to Earth. If we want to find Earth and save what remains of humanity, we must do what the Scriptures say,” President Roslin points out logically.
“What do we have, if not faith and hope?” Elosha points out.
“We’ve gone this far on faith, I suppose. Might as well go all the way,” Adama concedes.
“You might as well be handing us to the Cylons on a platter! Bringing a bunch of civvies and a Cylon,” Tigh points out.
“We’ll make sure that he’s watched carefully at all times, and that he’s shackled. There’s not much he can do with a gun trained on him, shackles, and a broken hand.”
Tigh just shakes his head.
“Thank you, Commander.” President Roslin smiles faintly.
“Don’t thank me yet. We still have to get this op planned and completed. Pre-mission brief begins at 0800. Thank you all.”
***
They step out of the Raptor and onto the lush green grass of Kobol. The air is still, too still, as if all other living creatures have gone into hiding. That, combined with the fog, lends the meadow a sinister feeling. But despite this, Lee pauses and takes a deep breath, savouring the first taste of fresh air that he’s had in months.
“Move.” The marine behind him shoves him roughly with the point of his gun and he stumbles out of the Raptor and onto the lush grass. He wants so badly to reach down and touch the grass, real grass, but his hands - the left broken and bandaged - are securely fastened in heavy-duty cuffs and the two marines behind him have their guns trained on his back.
Kara follows behind him, trying her hardest not to look at the spectre of her dead friend. Instead, she looks up at the sky and down at the earth, savouring the smells of a truly living planet for the first time in months.
Adama steps slowly out of the Raptor, not even noticing the world around him. Instead, all of his attention is focused on his son, or at least the Cylon masquerading as his son. He’s torn between wanting to grab his gun and shoot him, or wanting to tell him everything that he had never told Lee while he was actually alive. He had been furious at the Cylons - at this Cylon - for killing his son, but then he had found out that Lee had died in a flight accident, just like his brother, all because he had pushed them to become pilots. All because of him.
I want to make things right with him. But he’s not really my son, or is he? My son died two years ago, but the Cylon believes that he’s my son, and has all of his memories. If I make things right with him, will I be honouring or dishonouring my son’s memory? What would Lee think?
Behind him, Elosha, President Roslin, Billy, and six more marines all slowly file out of the Raptor, pausing to smell the fresh air and gaze at the sky. After briefly enjoying the scenery, they all quickly file into formation and focus on the task at hand.
The beginning of the trek, before they get into the mountains, is relatively easy. Rain has just fallen, so the grass squelches under their feet as they walk, but aside from that, there are no other sounds.
Adama breaks the silence when he falls into step behind Lee and speaks to him for the first time since the truth came out.
“He died hating me,” he states, knowing it as truth.
“Yes. But I don’t hate you, for all it’s worth.” He looks at Adama as he says this, searching his face for a sign of acknowledgement.
“It’s worth something, I suppose,” Adama admits before he quickly turns and moves away.
They soon reach the base of the hills, then stop to rest before they tackle the rugged, slippery terrain.
As Lee sits down on a relatively flat rock, with a marine hovering nearby, Kara approaches. At a gesture from her, the marine reluctantly moves out of hearing range, allowing them some privacy.
“So I lost both of the men I love in flight accidents, within weeks of each other. The Gods must have a twisted sense of humour.” She looks down at her hands, and the ring on her thumb.
“I suppose.”
So she loved him. I wonder if she loves me now, or just sees me as a mockery of the person she did love.
“How much do you remember? I mean, I read in the briefing notes that you remember everything: his childhood, academy exploits, and all that. But what about the feelings and stuff?”
“I remember everything. I remember how jealous I was when I found out that you were engaged to Zak, and how much it hurt when Zak died. I know that I actually didn’t feel any of that, but it feels like I did. If that makes any sense; I’m still trying to make sense of it myself, having these memories and this identity that’s not really mine.”
“Yeah I suppose it does, in a mildly creepy kind of way.” She smiles faintly, trying to mask her unease.
Suddenly, their peaceful reprieve is interrupted by a spray of bullets and gasps of pain as two marines are efficiently gunned down by a group of Cylons up in the hills. Then chaos erupts.
“Take cover!”
“Frak! Where’s my gun?”
“Elosha, watch out!”
Elosha gasps and goes down as a bullet takes her in the chest.
“Run!” Billy grabs President Roslin from where she stands, momentarily frozen over the body of the priestess. They dive for cover under some heavy brush, the sounds of gunfire and shouting erupting all around them.
“Ammo!”
“You go, I’ll cover!”
“Move!”
“Get down!”
Meanwhile, Lee hides under a ledge, wanting to grab a gun and help, but unable to move his good hand, which is trapped in the cuffs. Suddenly, he spots a Cylon aiming at President Roslin.
“Madam President!”
Lee can only shout futiley as a bullet speeds towards her, then Billy dives on top of her, pushing her out of harm’s way and gasping as the bullet hits him in the side.
Four more marines are killed before the gunfire finally stops. Then it is quiet once more.
In the aftermath of the chaos, no one notices as Lee pockets the keys and a gun off of one of the dead marines.
***
Adama gently pulls Billy’s body off of President Roslin, who is frozen in a mask of terror and grief.
"’And Zeus warned the leaders of the twelve tribes that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood,’" she quotes, voice trembling even as she tries to be strong.
The bodies of Elosha, Billy, and six marines are laid out and temporarily covered.
“We’ll come back for them later and then give them a proper funeral aboard Galactica. We leave no one behind.” Adama places his hand on Laura Roslin’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly as she struggles to hold it together.
“Is the cost worth it?” she asks no one in particular.
“Only time will tell,” Adama says as he moves away to start the climb up into the rugged terrain.
Lee trails along behind the main group, two new guards at his back. He thinks that he should be more upset over so many deaths, but his mind is oddly blank.
The rain falls steadily, and soon they are all soaking wet, chilled to the bone, and panting heavily from the rough climb. Losing many of their comrades has also taken its toll on everyone, reflected by the fact that they are only talking when necessary.
Hours later, they arrive at a plateau in the hills, where a large rocky out-crop looms in front of them. Stepping closer, Adama can see a door in the mossy rock face.
“Is this it?”
“I think so,” President Roslin confirms, glancing at her wet copy of the Book of Pythia.
“I can’t find the frakking keyhole, because having an obvious keyhole would just be too logical, wouldn’t it?” Kara grumbles in frustration after several minutes of trying to find somewhere to insert the Arrow.
“Has anyone tried just pushing?” President Roslin helpfully inquires.
Why don’t we just try then? Reynolds, Frye, come here.” Adama and the two marines position themselves to shoulder the door open. The men throw their weight against the door and, to their surprise, it slowly slides open, revealing a large chamber within.
“So if the Arrow didn’t open the Tomb, what does it do?” Kara wonders.
“The Scriptures say that you need the Arrow to find the map.” President Roslin walks in behind Kara.
As they all walk into the Tomb of Athena, they can make out a ring of broken statues within.
“I recognize the statues. There’s Aerilon the Ram, Picon the Fish: these are the icons of the Twelve Tribes. This is the Birthplace of the Colonies.” Kara reverently touches the statues.
Everyone is too busy gazing at the statues to notice Lee take the set of keys out of his pocket.
“Sagittaron the Archer. And he’s missing something.” President Roslin points to the statue of the archer, bow drawn but empty.
Kara steps forward and places the Arrow into the upraised bow, and suddenly they are plunged into darkness.
Then they are standing in a grassy field. Adama, Kara, Reynolds, and Frye all whip around, guns drawn defensively, but they are alone in the starlit field.
“Where the frak are we?”
“We must still be in the Tomb of Athena.” President Roslin gazes around in wonder, noticing the large megaliths looming before them. “These patterns on the rocks were on the original flags of the Twelve Colonies, back when they were still called by their ancient names: Aries, Pisces, Cancer….” She turns around the circle, naming them all in succession.
“This is the map to Earth,” Adama realizes. “But which constellation is Earth in?”
“We’re standing on it,” Kara whispers, face glowing with amazement. “The Scriptures say that when the thirteenth tribe landed on Earth, they looked up into the heavens and saw their twelve brothers.”
“But where can you look into the sky and see all of these constellations?” President Roslin inquires as she gazes up at the sky.
“I don’t know,” Kara concedes sadly.
“I recognize that nebula in Scorpio, it’s astral body M8, but it’s a long way from here.” Adama points to the Scorpio constellation.
As everyone smiles in the realization that they now have a direction to go in, Lee just stares intently at the sky.
“Now how do we get out of here?” Kara wonders.
“That’s a good question,” Adama mutters as he stares up at the nebula.
Then suddenly they are back in the circle of statues in the Tomb.
Before anyone can react, Reynolds and Frye are shot down in quick succession and Adama finds himself staring down the barrel of Lee’s gun.