Fanfic: A Barter Economy
Title: A Barter Economy
Author: C. Taylor
Word Count: 766
Rating: R
Characters: Boomer, Sharon, Kat, Hot Dog
Date Posted: 8/11/6
Story Timeline: Unknown
Warnings: Contains violence and sexual situations. May not
be appropriate for some readers.
Boomer paces the bars of her cell in the Galactica brig. Her boot
heels resound on the metal plating with each step. She stops at the
foot of the bed and runs her fingers through her long loose hair and
looks at the large mirror across from the cell. She takes off her
leather flight jacket, folds it over the metal railing at the foot
of the bed, and resumes pacing.
The outer door to the brig clangs and then opens. Two marines in
riot gear enter along with another type-eight Cylon. She is
barefoot, with her hair pulled into a pony tail. She is wearing
workout sweats and handcuffs. "Back away from the door" one of the
marines says unnecessarily to Boomer as they open the inner door and
prod the new Cylon into the cell. She turns around and, with a
practiced motion, presents her hands for the marines to remove her
handcuffs before they close the door.
Boomer eyes the other copy of herself skeptically as the marines
leave the room. "Who the frak are you?" She asks.
"I'm Sharon," The other Cylon answers.
"No. I'm Sharon." Boomer asserts.
Sharon tilts her head to the side and says "I'm a different Sharon."
"Yeah," Boomer says as she walks around her copy, looking it
carefully up and down. "I've heard of you. Honestly, I thought
they'd send in Kara with a bucket of water. You must be the warm-up
act."
"They're not bad people, Sharon." Sharon says. "Give them another
chance."
"What the frak are you telling me this for?" Boomer asks as she
stops walking and faces Sharon. She shakes her head slightly and
looks at the outer door where the marines had exited. Boomer looks
back at Sharon and asks, "Is it true that you have my memories?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
"No. Just up to when you shot yourself to try and…"
"But you remember everything up `till then?" Boomer asks with
emphasis. "You remember my training, my missions, shore-leave with
my friends?"
"Yes, all of it," Sharon answers.
Boomer steps into the punch and slams her fist hard into Sharon's
face, knocking her sprawling on the hard metal floor of the cell.
"Then that's for Margaret." Boomer spits the words out
angrily. "What the hell were you doing fraking Helo? You know how
she felt about him."
"Racetrack was your friend, not mine," Sharon explains as she dabs
at the blood coming from her nose with the bottom of her workout
shirt. "Besides, she could never have loved Helo like I do. It was
meant to be... True love... It has to be, we were able to have a
child together."
"Pff," Boomer exhales dismissively. "If love were what it took,
then I'd be popping out little Galens like there's no tomorrow.
They probably just gave you some kind of fertility therapy."
Sharon looks at the closed door to the brig as she
stands. "Speaking of Galen…" she says and closes her fist tight.
Sharon steps into the punch and the image freezes with her fist
inches away from Boomer's face.
Kat leaned back from the video control console in the navigation
planning room and turned to face Lt. Constanza. "That's all you get
for free, `Hot Dog,'" she said.
"How did you get that?" Constanza asked.
"You don't want to know," Kat answered. "Now do we have a deal or
not?"
"I'm not sure," he replied. "I was kind of hoping that they'd… you
know… get along better than that."
"You're a real piece of work, `Wiener Man,'" Kat said as she rolled
her eyes.
"I'm used to hearing that in a different tone," Constanza joked with
a sly grin and a half chewed toothpick sticking out of his mouth.
"It's fifteen minutes long." Kat said, "Trust me, it's worth it for
the imaginative Cylon insults alone."
Constanza looked at the image frozen on the video screen, scratched
his chin, opened his mouth wide and flipped the toothpick end over
end with his tongue.
"It took five marines in riot gear to get them off of each other at
the end." Kat offered, as she spun her chair around to face
Constanza and swung one of her legs up onto the console beside her.
Constanza flicked the toothpick into the trashbin beside the
console. "Okay, Kat, you've got a deal," he said kneeling in front
of Kat's chair and pushing her skirt up with both hands.
Kat leaned back in the chair, slid her hands into Constanza's hair,
and said "You know I don't give change," with a smile.
Author's note: I was intrigued by the idea that "Racetrack" had feelings for "Helo". It gave me the idea for this short fanfic. "Boomer" was very much in love with Chief Tyrol, as Sharon (Caprica Sharon) is likewise with "Helo." Is the difference in the subtle nature of the two characters? Is it just the order they met them? Maybe there’s something else at work. What if "Boomer" might have had feelings for "Helo," too, but out of loyalty to her friend put them away and did not give them a chance to grow, allowing her to meet and fall in love with Tyrol? Sharon had no such obstacle and therefore fell in love with "Helo" straight away. Also, I imagine that "Boomer" might hate some aspects of who she is and injuring Sharon is a way to not only punish Sharon for hurting "Racetrack" but also a way for her to symbolically punish herself for hurting her other friends. By this time Sharon presumably has come to develop her own friendships with some of the Galactica crew and likewise takes "Boomer's" betrayal of them very personally. My idea was only good enough for one scene, so I tacked the ending on as a way to get around having to continue the first part of the story any further. It was a cheap writer's trick, but I think it is fun in its own way. I toyed with the idea of renaming it "A Service Economy" for obvious reasons.
Author: C. Taylor
Word Count: 766
Rating: R
Characters: Boomer, Sharon, Kat, Hot Dog
Date Posted: 8/11/6
Story Timeline: Unknown
Warnings: Contains violence and sexual situations. May not
be appropriate for some readers.
Boomer paces the bars of her cell in the Galactica brig. Her boot
heels resound on the metal plating with each step. She stops at the
foot of the bed and runs her fingers through her long loose hair and
looks at the large mirror across from the cell. She takes off her
leather flight jacket, folds it over the metal railing at the foot
of the bed, and resumes pacing.
The outer door to the brig clangs and then opens. Two marines in
riot gear enter along with another type-eight Cylon. She is
barefoot, with her hair pulled into a pony tail. She is wearing
workout sweats and handcuffs. "Back away from the door" one of the
marines says unnecessarily to Boomer as they open the inner door and
prod the new Cylon into the cell. She turns around and, with a
practiced motion, presents her hands for the marines to remove her
handcuffs before they close the door.
Boomer eyes the other copy of herself skeptically as the marines
leave the room. "Who the frak are you?" She asks.
"I'm Sharon," The other Cylon answers.
"No. I'm Sharon." Boomer asserts.
Sharon tilts her head to the side and says "I'm a different Sharon."
"Yeah," Boomer says as she walks around her copy, looking it
carefully up and down. "I've heard of you. Honestly, I thought
they'd send in Kara with a bucket of water. You must be the warm-up
act."
"They're not bad people, Sharon." Sharon says. "Give them another
chance."
"What the frak are you telling me this for?" Boomer asks as she
stops walking and faces Sharon. She shakes her head slightly and
looks at the outer door where the marines had exited. Boomer looks
back at Sharon and asks, "Is it true that you have my memories?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
"No. Just up to when you shot yourself to try and…"
"But you remember everything up `till then?" Boomer asks with
emphasis. "You remember my training, my missions, shore-leave with
my friends?"
"Yes, all of it," Sharon answers.
Boomer steps into the punch and slams her fist hard into Sharon's
face, knocking her sprawling on the hard metal floor of the cell.
"Then that's for Margaret." Boomer spits the words out
angrily. "What the hell were you doing fraking Helo? You know how
she felt about him."
"Racetrack was your friend, not mine," Sharon explains as she dabs
at the blood coming from her nose with the bottom of her workout
shirt. "Besides, she could never have loved Helo like I do. It was
meant to be... True love... It has to be, we were able to have a
child together."
"Pff," Boomer exhales dismissively. "If love were what it took,
then I'd be popping out little Galens like there's no tomorrow.
They probably just gave you some kind of fertility therapy."
Sharon looks at the closed door to the brig as she
stands. "Speaking of Galen…" she says and closes her fist tight.
Sharon steps into the punch and the image freezes with her fist
inches away from Boomer's face.
Kat leaned back from the video control console in the navigation
planning room and turned to face Lt. Constanza. "That's all you get
for free, `Hot Dog,'" she said.
"How did you get that?" Constanza asked.
"You don't want to know," Kat answered. "Now do we have a deal or
not?"
"I'm not sure," he replied. "I was kind of hoping that they'd… you
know… get along better than that."
"You're a real piece of work, `Wiener Man,'" Kat said as she rolled
her eyes.
"I'm used to hearing that in a different tone," Constanza joked with
a sly grin and a half chewed toothpick sticking out of his mouth.
"It's fifteen minutes long." Kat said, "Trust me, it's worth it for
the imaginative Cylon insults alone."
Constanza looked at the image frozen on the video screen, scratched
his chin, opened his mouth wide and flipped the toothpick end over
end with his tongue.
"It took five marines in riot gear to get them off of each other at
the end." Kat offered, as she spun her chair around to face
Constanza and swung one of her legs up onto the console beside her.
Constanza flicked the toothpick into the trashbin beside the
console. "Okay, Kat, you've got a deal," he said kneeling in front
of Kat's chair and pushing her skirt up with both hands.
Kat leaned back in the chair, slid her hands into Constanza's hair,
and said "You know I don't give change," with a smile.
Author's note: I was intrigued by the idea that "Racetrack" had feelings for "Helo". It gave me the idea for this short fanfic. "Boomer" was very much in love with Chief Tyrol, as Sharon (Caprica Sharon) is likewise with "Helo." Is the difference in the subtle nature of the two characters? Is it just the order they met them? Maybe there’s something else at work. What if "Boomer" might have had feelings for "Helo," too, but out of loyalty to her friend put them away and did not give them a chance to grow, allowing her to meet and fall in love with Tyrol? Sharon had no such obstacle and therefore fell in love with "Helo" straight away. Also, I imagine that "Boomer" might hate some aspects of who she is and injuring Sharon is a way to not only punish Sharon for hurting "Racetrack" but also a way for her to symbolically punish herself for hurting her other friends. By this time Sharon presumably has come to develop her own friendships with some of the Galactica crew and likewise takes "Boomer's" betrayal of them very personally. My idea was only good enough for one scene, so I tacked the ending on as a way to get around having to continue the first part of the story any further. It was a cheap writer's trick, but I think it is fun in its own way. I toyed with the idea of renaming it "A Service Economy" for obvious reasons.