SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN, PT 4
On the eve of Battlestar Galactica's decommissioning, Dee makes a new friend...
Something to Believe In, Pt 4
About two years later...
Dee entered the head , seeing her friend Specialist Nomi Kimball washing her hands. "Hey."
"Hey there, Dee. What gives?"
"These civvies roaming around all over the place." Dee unzipped her jumpsuit, pulling off the top part. "Colonel Tigh chased a couple of reporters out of C.I.C., so they started griping to the Commander about not being given full access, so they’re being allowed in groups."
Kimball snorted. "Yeah, it’s bad enough that this boat’s being retired... Specialist Mykonos in Engineering already caught a couple visitors wandering around there. I mean, come on! We’re not a museum, yet. Buy a ticket tomorrow!"
As she tied the arms of her suit to her waist and began rinsing off the light sweat around her face and neck, Dee thought about her two years aboard Galactica. When she first arrived, she had been mildly appalled at how antiquated she was, how everything wasn’t networked together, how the hatches kept getting stuck (she had missed a shift one time because she’d been trapped in her bunkroom). The only reasons why she didn’t request a transfer were her sense of duty, and the fact that she was serving under the legendary Commander William Adama. Over time, though, she had grown used to her-Galactica became home. Which was why this invasion was pissing her off even more than she expected.
"So, Kimball, where are you going?"
"I requested a transfer to Picon Command. Desk job."
"You’re kidding!"
"Nope. My Mom’s health is not so great, so I figured that I’ll at least be close to her in case something happens."
Dee thought briefly of her own mother. About six month ago, Sally had sent a message, saying that she had finally divorced her father, and was now living with Aunt Nadine. "I’m going to Virgon. They’re building a new battlestar over there called the Argonaut, so I’m going to have my hands full, learning everything all over again."
"It’s always a process, getting used to a new ship and a new crew. I have to admit though, I’ve been on three other battlestars, but nothing hold a candle to this one."
"I know what you mean."
A mechanic from the Hanger Bay stomped into the head, slamming the hatch behind him. "Motherfrakking tourists!"
Kimball snorted. "What did they do now, Prosna?"
"One motherfrakking idiot almost walked off with our tools! He wanted a souvenier-idiot! He should have broken into the gift shop, gotten a motherfrakking t-shirt or something." He continued mumbling his rant as he went into one of the stalls.
As Dee scrubbed behind her neck, the hatch opened again, but didn’t close it. At the corner of her eye, she saw a tall person, just standing there, gawking. Frak! Another tourist! She felt her ire rise again. I’ve had it! The Commander had warned them to be as courteous as possible, but all she wanted to do was scream for him to get the frak out. She settled for the middle ground.
"In, or out?" she barked sharply.
The figure startled, "Excuse me?"
"Get in, or get out. Shut the hatch!"
"Oh, sorry." The man fumbled with the hatch, pulling it closed behind him.
Dee looked up, glaring at the newcomer. Tall, gawky, wearing a blazer and tie that his mother probably picked out for him. He seemed to be about her age-early twenties-but looked only twelve years old with his clueless expression. He was staring at her, or rather her chest. Not used to seeing a woman in her sports bra are you?...Probably not used to looking at women, period. Ordinarily, having somebody staring at her like that would have been an invitation to bite their head off. But, he was a civvy who didn’t know any better. Better get him out of here before Prosna gives him a black eye. "Where are you trying to be?"
"Uh-" his voice sputtered. "Visitors’ quarters." He dodged a couple of crewmembers coming in. "I’m a visitor", he added quickly.
She started to giggle, trading amused looks with Kimball, watching the man/boy blush. "Huh! Never would have guessed." He was still staring at her. "Never been in a unisex head before?"
"Uh-no, not really."
"Well, there’s not much privacy on a warship. So the first rule is, DON’T STARE." He gave a little jump, pulling his gaze to the floor. "Um, sorry."
She sighed, zipping up her jumpsuit. "C’mon. Let’s get you home."
As she pulled him through the hatch, she saw Kimball shaking her head, stifling a laugh.
*****
"I’m sorry."
"For what?"
"For staring." Dee and Billy Keikeya were walking side by side, almost leisurely. He seemed torn between the urge to ogle her and the need to keep his eyes on the ground. It was kind of cute, in a middle-school sort of way. "I mean, I’ve never been on a battlestar before. It’s...uh...cool."
"So, Mr. Keikeya, what brings you aboard Galactica?"
"Please, call me Billy. I’m the Aide to the Secretary of Education."
She then remembered, she’d spotted him in the corridor earlier, with the P.R. guy in the tacky suit, and an older woman with auburn hair. "How long have you been her aide, Billy?"
"Today’s my first day, actually, so things have been hectic, trying to learn everything on the go."
"I can relate to that. What’s she like?"
"Secretary Roslin? She seems...nice. Kind of reminds me of my mom."
"Really."
"But, I’m just getting to know her. We haven’t really sat down and talked yet. She’s been a little distracted...but I’m sure we’ll hit it off."
"How did you become Aide to the Secretary of Education?"
"Well, I won a Siltzer Prize, and somebody from the Office of the President must have been impressed, I guess. I got a letter about a month later encouraging me to apply."
"Must have been exciting. What was your paper on?"
"Oh, Diplomacy and Leadership Models."
"What about them?"
For the next couple of minutes, Billy went into the intricacies of his thesis, most of which went over her head. But, as he rattled on, she noticed a change in him. Gone was the shy twelve-year old, and in his place was somebody who was dwelling in his element. His posture was straighter, his gestures were more fluid. He actually looked directly into her eye without blushing. From what she could grasp, he seemed to be a man of decisive, strong opinions, with firm ideas about how things should be run...not pie-in-the-sky theories either, like her father (Why am I thinking of him now?). She had to admit, she was a little impressed. He needs to grow up, though.
"I’m sorry, I’m boring you." The awkward man/boy had returned.
"No, not at all. I was just noticing how passionate you were about your ideas."
"Well, yeah, I’ve got my ideas. I want to be able to express them, to influence change for the better. But right now... half the time I feel like a dork."
"Look, when I came aboard Galactica two years ago, I made lots of mistakes, felt like a dork half the time, but after a while I got to settle in, find my place. This is only your first day, Billy. Go easy on yourself. You’ll find your place soon enough."
As they rounded a corner, they heard voices raised in heated debate.
"A computer network would simply make it faster and easier for teachers to be able to teach-"
The Commander cut off Secretary Laura Roslin impatiently. "Let me explain something to you. Many good men and women lost their lives aboard this ship during the Cylon war, because somebody wanted a faster computer to make their lives easier-".
Billy leaned over to Dee, "What’s that about?"
"In the first Cylon war, the Toasters were able to kick our asses at first because they were able to hack into networked computers and turn our own ships and weapons against us. The lack of a network between systems makes hacking a lot harder-doable, but harder."
The Commander suddenly excused himself, leaving Billy’s boss looking bemused.
"Uh, Dee, I’d better..."
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you."
"Bye!" As she made her way back to C.I.C., he waved at her down the corridor, trying to catch a glance of her for as long as he could before Roslin tugged on his sleeve.
*****
It had been a long day. The decommissioning ceremony had gone without a hitch (except for the Commander’s unexpectedly emotional speech about the Cylon War, and how the human race couldn’t just blow off what they created), most of the tourists were gone, and all was quiet. Thank the Gods. She’d taken up this last extra shift, knowing this would be the last time she would be operating this Comm system. In about two hours, she would hit her bunk, get some ‘z’s, pack up her belongings and hop the Raptor transport to Picon Command. After a couple of weeks of specialized training and a little R & R, she would catch a transport to Virgon and the Argonaut. Although she was sad to leave her friends and co-workers, she was eager for a new challenge...
Suddenly, the Comm came alive again. She looked down into the screen and saw the words "PRIORITY ONE". Must be a prank, she thought...She read the entire message...This is definitely a prank...this is a really frakked up prank...She read the message again, and again, and again. This is some practical joke on the Commander, it has to be...
"What’s up, Dee?" Gaeta’s tired face smiled at her over the Comm.
"I...I don’t know what to make of this."
Gaeta noticed that Dee’s coffee-colored skin was turning pale. "Make of what?"
"Read this. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think this is a joke."
He read the message. Unable to speak at first, he almost whispered, "Gods. Oh, Gods! If this is real-" His quickly overcame his shock and quickly made his way to the phone and pressed a button. "C.I.C. to commanding officer..."
It was so unreal...All she could do was stare at the screen...
ATTENTION ALL COLONIAL UNITS. CYLON ATTACK UNDER WAY. THIS IS NO DRILL.
Ch 1 http://jenmay.livejournal.com/3927.html#cutid1
Ch 2 http://jenmay.livejournal.com/4108.html#cutid1
Ch 3 http://jenmay.livejournal.com/4422.html#cutid1