Fic-We Know Not What We Do: Part 2 - Killing the Undercarriage

[korenap]

Title: Trust Book 1: We Know Not What We Do
Author: korenap
Fandom: Battlestar Galatica
Pairings Gina Inviere/Erin Mathias with Gina/Cain, Athena/Starbuck, het subtext Adama/Roslin
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 6,255 of 43,000
Warnings: Gina did experience rape and torture, there are confrontations with a rapist and non-graphic flashbacks. Mature themes, Sex, Violence, Major character death
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I get nothing but comment.
Previous Chapters: Part One: Killing Time

Part Two: KILLING THE UNDERCARRIAGE




Artist: mammothluv


Part Two: KILLING THE UNDERCARRIAGE

Chapter 4

"Stand alert," Adama ordered. Finding a lone guard sharing a meal with her charge was unacceptable. He would talk to the gunny later. Now he needed to talk to the prisoner.

Gina rose carefully. The admiral had never entered her cell before. His sudden appearance couldn’t mean anything good. She resisted the urge to fidget. She was a Six, damn it. He wouldn't try to throw her out of an airlock without a few more marines, but he could simply shoot her. Death wasn't her worst fear. She was annoyed at the timing. How stupid to feed her before killing her.

Adama looked her in the eye. "I need your help."

Dumbstruck, Gina could only blink.

"You're aware of the problem with our food reserves?" Adama asked.

"Problem?" Gina almost laughed. "I'd like to know what you'd call a catastrophe."

Adama's gaze became a hard glare. "Guess."

Genocide. Gina turned pale. "What do you want from me?"

"The star cluster in front of us emits radiation deadly to humans after limited exposure. Athena confirmed a food source on the other side. She barely made it back. A human would have died."

Gina nodded, thinking she was about to become a radiation experiment.

Adama continued. "We need to take the fleet through. Civilian ships aren't hardened against radiation like military vessels. Their navigation systems will fail, but raptors can guide them through the jump sequences."

"Sounds like a plan," Gina said.

"I'll have to rotate pilots after tours and keep a CAP flying on either side. If I had a dozen Cylon pilots there'd be no problem, but I only have Athena and I can’t send her in again. Then there is you."

Gina listened with growing astonishment.

"Preparing the fleet will take days. We can use that time to give you training to go with your data files. Your participation would set pilots free pilots- and probably save their lives."

Gina's heart pounded. "You want me to fly a Raptor?"

"Yes," Adama said.

Possibilities flashed through her mind, instantly forming into plans. "Fine. Show me to the hangar deck." Gina waved her hand towards the door.

Adama didn’t move. "Are you an idiot?"

"What?" Gina gaped at the insult.

"You want to make a run for it."

Gina glared.

Adama met her look with equal force. "Your people may be trying to find us, but I don’t know where they are and neither do you. The galaxy is far too big for you to find them. You'll run out of fuel and die of starvation, frozen in the middle of nowhere, if you try."

She had to admit he was right. The Cylon fleet could be anywhere around the Galactica's elliptic: forward, back, up, down, left or right, all from an arbitrary orientation. The superiority of the Cylon FTL drives would work against her by increasing the distance variables. And she had no idea where the resurrection ships were.

Cooperating would mean being let out the brig, if only for a few days. She had been in confinement for years. Projections weren't enough to stop the sensation of her sanity slowly eroding away. Doing something to save herself would be so much better. She just needed to convince herself that helping to save the colonial fleet wasn't idiotic.

She had never hated humans before she ended up in the Pegasus brig. Mankind had committed endless atrocities and rejected the one true God. They were a danger to themselves and the Cylons. A mistake in need of correction. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then she went undercover and found humans were both more and less than she expected. It was hard to fake mercurial emotions stemming from depths of feeling when all she had were calculated convictions. Her emotional response increased over time, but didn't come close to matching the unreasoned passions that drove human lives. She was superior. Then she met Helena and her cold clarity disappeared. She could justify all her decisions, if only they hadn't led her here. Somatically she sat on the cot as a memory she had religiously avoided came unbidden.

The Cylon fleet was going to attack. She should be getting the navigation system online, but this was her last chance to be with Helena. It was also the first time the admiral had taken official time off since they'd become lovers. Gina found herself outside Helena's door requesting admittance.

Helena, engrossed in paperwork, barely glanced up as Gina approached. "Aren't you supposed to be working on my ship's computer?" Flushed cheeks betrayed apparent indifference.

Gina stroked the desk as she moved to Helena's side. "Aren't you supposed to be on leave?"

"I'm not wearing my jacket, therefore I'm on leave. You're not." Helena spoke sternly.

Anyone else would have been intimidated. Gina raised her eyebrows and smiled enigmatically. Caressing the table beside Helena's hand, she brought her lips to within an inch of Helena's ear. "I'll work, if you stop."

Helena valiantly fought temptation. "Getting my nav system online is important. I can't tolerate my ship not being able to jump."

"You can still jump." Gina placed a hand on Helena's chest ostensibly to facilitate kneading an ever present sore spot in Helena's shoulder. "You just won't have any idea where you're going."

Helena spoke through a moan. "Actually I'd know where we were going, I just wouldn't know what celestial body we'd end up inside of."

Gina slowed her ministrations and whispered. "We could practice jumping in and out of heavenly bodies." She placed a hand over Helena's eyes. "We could even do it blindly."

Helena chuckled. Gina reached to pull her tanks from their mooring. She let a hand brush the underside of Helena's breast. The other raked back hair back as Gina claimed Helena's ear. A bite before a tongue stroked the captured flesh.

She spun with a growl. Gina laughed as she was lifted off the ground and flung over Helena's shoulder. Helena deposited her on top of the paperwork. "I committed myself to going through every item on this desk." Helena pulled the front of Gina's shirt over her head, then pushed it and Gina's jacket, part way down her arms. "Don't even think of trying to stop me."

Gina smiled triumphantly and focused on how to get Helena's tanks off without using her arms. She had much better things to do than get a sabotaged nav system online. It would take God's will for them to survive without any navigation...

One memory led to a deluge. When Gina, at last, came back to the present, Admiral Adama was seated . Mathias looked like she was fighting the urge to rush to Gina's side.

Gina dropped her eyes, not quite able to let go of the past. "I wasn’t ordered to seduce her," she spoke in a whisper. "She was the least likely person to give a civilian access to anything. Anyone in CIC would have been better. I just wanted her. After the attacks she told me she'd argued with every admiral and politician to break the armistice with an all out assault. She wanted to annihilate us. I got the codes from someone else and set up the ambush the next day. Everyone was happy with me. Helena and my people were thrilled to be able to fight each other. I had termination orders. I knew how she felt, but I waited." Gina coughed a mirthless laugh, "I didn't want to kill her." She lapsed back into silence and continued struggling with her demons.

Adama looked away, giving her at least a semblance of privacy. "That’s what makes us different from machines."

It took Gina a moment to realize the significance his words. She gaped at him then looked. It was too much, being able to touch Mathias, memories of Helena before the attacks, and this- the admiral sitting in her cell, claiming a semblance of kinship with her. Gina peered into his eyes, but found them impenetrable. "Why are you offering me this?"

"To let you make your choice," Adama said.

Gina almost laughed, but it stuck in her throat. "To side with you against my people?"

Adama held her gaze. "To side with us to survive and be given more choices."

"Not much of one now. With all the interference from the star cluster, I'd probably have to die inside a resurrection ship to download." Gina broke eye contact to look at the bars of her cell. "So much for choice."

Adama's voice gentled without losing it's authority. "You chose to help my Gunny stay alive. Everyday you choose not to attack my marines. You've chosen not to kill or be killed many times."

Gina scoffed. "What do I get to choose next, a berth on Cloud Nine surrounded by people who want to kill me?"

"None of us can make the choices we once could. We’re all confined within these ships, with unexpected lives and limited options," Adama paused until Gina looked at him. "You can choose to help us all and change the life you have here."

"And if I say 'No'?" Gina asked.

Adama put up his hands. "Then I go and that’s it."

Gina leaned away from him. "No threats?"

Adama shifted back as well. "Just the same long wait between meals with nothing to do while you're waiting."

Gina looked for signs of desperation, but saw none. "And if I say 'Yes'?"

Adama rested his hands on his knees. "Don’t expect to be released from custody immediately. But we can talk about privileges."

Gina tried not to react to the word 'released'. It was like a carrot being dangled in front of her. "What about curtains? I heard the Eight got some."

Adama upped the ante. "Maybe even a couch."

Gina glanced at Mathias. "And a promise that you won't throw the Gunny out of an airlock."

Adama's eyes and mouth crinkled upward, belying his stern tone. "I wouldn’t go that far."

Gina dug her nails into her leg. This was real. "There’s just one problem left. I've never actually flown a raptor."

Adama stood. "Come with me."

Chapter 5

Still reeling from the changes to her circumstance, Gina scrambled to follow Adama.

"In my quarters at 1800, Gunny."

"Yes, sir," Mathias moved between Adama and Gina.

Fischer gave Mathias an apologetic look as he fell in behind Gina.

Adama led them through the hallways of Galactica. Those who recognized Gina stared with mixtures of disbelief, fear, and flat out hatred. When they arrived at the pilots briefing room, Adama ordered the marines to remain outside until the pilots were dismissed and walked briskly in. After a last look at Mathias, Gina hesitantly followed.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to end up covered in shit." Fischer said as soon as he and Mathias were alone.

"What?"

He raised his hand in defense. "Why didn't you give me a heads up about goin' to make time with Gina?"

Mathias scowled. Fischer was one of her oldest friends and the only one under her command she allowed to speak frankly without request. "I wasn't making time. I delivered her meal. Announcing the cylon prisoner was about to get fed would not have been a good Idea."

"Come on, Gunny. You knew getting close to her could blow up in your face, right?" Fisher asked.

The question gave Mathias pause. "To be honest, I stopped thinking about it a while ago."

"Well, between now and 18:00 would be a good time to start."

""""""""""

The pilots straightened as Admiral Adama entered the room. Respectful silence became angry murmurs when they recognized his companion. Everyone, including the Eight, was staring. Unsure what to do, Gina stepped back against the wall. She furtively glanced around before settling her eyes on the Eight. Athena, she reminded herself. The Cylon sat comfortably amongst the humans, wearing the uniform of a colonial officer. Athena quirked an eyebrow at her and Gina turned to the Admiral. Her mind, however, stayed on Athena...

Gina lay on her cot, hands folded behind her head staring at the ceiling. She had only had a short chat with Mathias at breakfast, but was undisturbed by her going off shift. The release and commissioning of the Eight had gotten the guards used to the idea that Cylons could be more than killers. They were all more comfortable around her, if not overtly friendly. She considered and rejected the idea of being nicer to them. She was far too disturbed that her predictions about the Eight hadn't come true to give up her best outlet for venting frustration.

Gina sat up as someone entered her cell. Eight! She was face to face with another Cylon for the first time in years.

"Ah, Hi," the Eight shuffled nervously. "I’m Sharon, most call me Athena now."

"Hi," Gina replied curtly, thinking how ironic it was that humans had a game called crazy eights, but trusted this one.

Eight moved further in and glanced around. "Well, it looks a lot like my cell."

"Yeah, sure," Gina scoffed. "Please, have a seat on the couch right over there." She waved her hand at one of the walls. "Oh frak! It's not there! Someone must have snatched it during the night!"

The Eight froze for a second as her cheeks flushed. "You know what was in my cell?"

Gina lost the sarcastic lilt, her voice was low and bitter. "I’m not a war hero for humanity, but they do talk to me."

Athena faltered, almost stuttering her response. "Look, if you need something..."

Eights always were the best at looking anguished. Every inane word fueled Gina's rage. "Loyalty from a traitor, how touching."

Athena lifted her hands in defeat. "I know I'm not your favorite person, and I can't imagine living through what you did. But I want you to be okay."

"I'll be okay as soon as I escape. Wanna help? Thought not. Might tarnish your shiny new military buttons." Gina couldn't believe the Eight's gall. Flaunting her place among the humans. She rubbed her forehead, her frustration was like a migraine, constant and stabbing. She looked up and asked with deceptive calm, "Do you like it when we die?"

The Eight's face hardened. "Did you like watching hundreds on the Pegasus die? Or were you disappointed at not being able to watch all twenty billion get annihilated?"

Gina's body shifted like an alley cat as she snarled. "Right now I'd settle for the rest of the Pegasus crew. At least I never have to see that ship again." Pain and anger flashed in the Eight's eyes. Gina's voice was sweet and mocking. "You really should think about it. Wouldn't it feel better if your kills didn't resurrect?"

Eight glared. "Cylons don't always resurrect. You would know. Not me."

Gina lunged. Two guards rushed in, taking far too long to do anything but die had Gina been fighting a human. But she wasn't. The Eight already had her pinned.

"Don't shoot!" Athena yelled. "It's under control. Get out."

"Get off me!" Gina bucked, but couldn't dislodge her.

"I'm sorry. Oh God Six, I'm sorry." Athena pressed her lips to the side of Gina's head. "I can't judge you. No one can. Six. Stop. Look at me. Please."

Gina turned to look at her sister. She stopped fighting. When the grip on her loosened she moved to cover the Eight's lips with her own. The Eight barely hesitated before returning the kiss. Gina groaned as the traitorous hunger for taste and touch moved her body. Both women clung with almost bruising force. The need for air stopped the clash of teeth and tongues. Reclaiming control of her hand, Gina moved it towards Athena's throat. Her mouth drew a line to the Eight's ear, "Get out before I break your neck."

Athena met the threatening hand and laced their fingers. She backed away until their arms were extended. She looked as conflicted as Gina felt. "I'll stay away unless you send for me." It was the first bit of wisdom out of the mouth of the Eight called Athena.

She had not visited again. Gina had not asked for her or anything else. She ignored the voice that told her she was jealous. She did, however, pry information out of the guards about the Eight. Gina began to feel a grudging respect for her sister. However misguided, the Eight on this ship seemed to be the only one that stuck to a conviction like a Six.

Adama's voice filled the room and Gina forced herself to pay attention. "All of you know our situation. The journey through the star cluster and the nebula surrounding it will be treacherous. We must use every resource at our disposal to minimize the risk. Though most of the civilian population will be safe within the Galactica, the survival of the fleet depends, as always, upon you. Do not speak of any mission details in the presence of civilians. They will soon be everywhere but the cockpits of the vipers. I am confident of your ability to succeed. Dismissed."

The pilots filed out of the briefing room, scowling at Gina as they passed. She felt like an insect being inspected. She recognized pilots from the Pegasus. Some glowered as if she'd tortured and raped them, not the other way around. She stared back and most looked away. Narcho and Tarkas didn't. Athena approached without speaking. Her eyes held a mixture of pain, hope and fear. Gina wondered if hers looked the same.

"Racetrack," Adama called out when the room was almost empty. He looked at Gina. She took it as sign to approach. "Captain Edmondson is in command of Galactica’s raptor wing." Racetrack regarded Gina coldly. "Make sure that Gina is able to fly a Raptor in three days,"

"Sir?" Racetrack blinked in surprise.

"Cylons don’t need sleep. Set up a schedule for a 72-hour intensive training."

"Ah...” Racetrack searched for an acceptable response, looking back and forth between the Admiral and the Cylon. "We need all Raptors to transport civilians, sir."

"Combine her instruction with transport flights, use Raptor 626. Gina, keep your helmet on. Any further questions?"

"No, sir." Racetrack had a thousand, but couldn’t ask them now, probably not ever.

"I want a progress report in twelve hours."

"Yes, sir." Was the only response Racetrack could give.

Adama walked away leaving Racetrack and Gina staring warily at each other. Racetrack stepped back to look the Cylon over from head to toe and try to figure out which of her people could be trusted to teach a Cylon to pilot rather than breathe vacuum. Racetrack wanted to trust the Admiral's judgment but, last she'd heard, this Cylon had attacked Athena. She still felt like the enemy. Frak it! She turned on her heel and marched out of the room, waving a hand over her shoulder. "Come on. We need to find a jock smock for you."

"""""""""

"So, you really did it?" Colonel Tigh stood beside Adama at the situation table in CIC.

Adama looked up from the papers in front of him. "Yes."

"The quartermaster's report. They've given a flight suit to the skin job."

Adama nodded.

"It’s a reserve we took from Cougar’s locker after he was shot down." Tigh placed the report on top of the others. "By a skin job in a heavy raider."

The admiral narrowed his eyes, but his XO didn’t cower. Adama spoke in his command hardened voice. "You have the CIC. I have a meeting with the president."

Tigh gathered the paperwork. He'd made it clear what he thought of letting it out and handing it a raptor; he didn't imagine Laura Roslin would feel any different.

Chapter 6

Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies, sat on the couch in Admiral Adama's quarters and slipped off her shoes. "You're convinced this is wise?" Curling her legs under, she peered at him over her glasses, wondering if he'd lost his mind.

"Yeah, I think so," Adama rumbled. He handed Laura a drink and sat down beside her.

Laura took the drink with one hand and pulled off her glasses with the other. Looking intently at Adama, she hoped to dissuade him from his chosen course. "What if she tries to escape or attack a ship?"

"She’s not an idiot. Without exact knowledge of the position of the Cylon fleet there's no chance of finding them. All offensive ordnance has been removed from her ship. We'll have plenty of time to disable or destroy the raptor if she tries anything."

Laura shook her head. "But you can’t be sure that she won’t try."

"If she does we lose a Raptor, but if she doesn't? We may challenge that damned Cylon sense of superiority."

"How does that help us?" Laura struggled to remain calm.

Adama took a sip from his drink. "The Cylons looked at us and judged us unworthy of survival. Everything - the attack on the colonies, the genocide, everything - stems from them thinking they are better than us. They keep finding us. They probably still get information from inside this fleet. I want them to find out that Gina, the Cylon with the greatest reason to hate us, the one our military has hated the most, is working with us. We'll have a Six and an Eight on our side and with luck a few dumbstruck Cylons on theirs." Adama finished his drink and set the empty glass firmly on the table. "They failed miserably at making peace. We succeed and the next time they decide to annihilate us, some of them might disagree. Splitting their unity buys us time. With luck, they stop judging us and start judging themselves."

Laura remained silent for a moment and shook her head. "You’re grasping at straws and taking a great risk by giving that Six even limited freedom and access in hopes of causing some small fracture in their so called society."

"This is our best chance of getting through to Gina and our best chance to get through the nebula. The Cylons aren't snapping at our heels and Gina wants to eat as much as the rest of us." He refilled his glass and took a swig. "If I don't use her, I'll be sending pilots on a suicide mission and we're likely to lose fleet ships with them."

Laura shut her eyes and rested her head against the couch for a moment. She felt like screaming. She couldn't believe he expected her to go along with this. "Bill, Gina got clubbed over the head twice. What makes you think she won't turn against us at the first opportunity?" Exasperated Laura added, "And why didn't you just shoot her over New Caprica? I'm sure she wants to go home."

Adama laughed bitterly. "I thought about it. And don't be sure."

Bill knew this would be the mother of all hard sixes. He checked Laura's eyes. There was still affection under the animosity, like a teacher looking at a beloved but hopelessly errant child. "Gina's cover on the Pegasus was blown when her people sent another Six in with a Centurion boarding party. It appears her fellow Cylons were less than happy the Pegasus survived. She provided us with the most forbidden of all Cylon intelligence so she could commit suicide by prison guard." He took another sip. "According to Athena, suicide without some type of grand martyrdom is a mortal sin in the eyes of their God. The Cylons destroyed twelve planets and murdered fifty billion people just because we have flaws." Adama polished off his drink. "I doubt Gina wants to go home and share her memories."

Laura raised her eyebrow. "What makes you sure she's changed her mind about dying?"

"She's had opportunities to force us to kill her and at least one clear opportunity to escape the brig." He took a deep breath. "She told one of her guards about Centurion weaknesses. We passed that information on to the resistance. It saved your life when you were in front of that firing squad. She's already made her choice. She just doesn't know it. It's in our best interest to help her realize that."

Laura was taken aback by Gina's contribution to her survival, but her time under Cylon occupation wouldn't allow her give in. "Bill, you’re assuming a lot about a prisoner and putting lives at risk. Human lives. We don't have a lot of those to spare. And no one will forgive us if she destroys a ship."

"We take risks every day. But there are risks and there are certainties. And the certainty is that my pilots will die if we don't do this."

Laura leaned back her head and sighed before righting herself. "You need to be right about this or we'll never be able to hold the fleet together."

The Admiral held her gaze. New Caprica had changed her. He had spent a lot of time on a half empty battlestar reflecting on what had changed him. "I gave Starbuck the order to kill Cain and Cain issued orders for Fisk to kill me and my entire command."

Laura gasped. The scope of Cain's ruthlessness, though instantly recognized, continued to astound her. She plopped back against the couch. Adama reached for the bottle, then sunk in next to her.

"Cain was already denying civilians supplies. She wanted to conscript from the fleet. She'd have taken action against anyone unwilling to cooperate. With less than fifty thousand of us left we would have ended up fighting each other." He filled her glass, "The biggest internal threat this fleet has ever seen was resolved by Gina's bullet."

Laura sighed in frustration. "That doesn't mean we should put the fleet at risk with an attempt to integrate her."

Adama sobered, "Laura, every decision Cain made was militarily sound, yet she vilified the military and all of humanity with her orders. That crew became nothing but a bunch of marauding pirates with Gina as their trophy."

"Bill..." Laura started but the Admiral interrupted.

"What they did to that woman was the first crime I was made aware of and I barely reacted. A prisoner on my ship was raped. Two of my men were taken, one was murdered." He swallowed hard. "When I decided the rape and torture of a Cylon wasn't important enough to act upon, I allowed the travesty of Cain's legacy to spread to my ship and kill my officer." He turned to look directly into Roslin's eyes. "How we survive is important Laura. And we have no idea how long it will take to reach Earth or how many times the Cylons will find us before we do. We do know we can not survive an all out battle with the Cylon fleet. We have to shift the game."

Laura gave half a smile. "I still think you’re taking an enormous risk."

Adama squeezed her hand. "I won't betray the trust of the fleet, Laura. This really is our best option."

"You're the most honorable man I know," Laura smirked, "aside from your son." She picked up her untouched glass and downed it. "If I'm forced to resign, you'll have to deal with Zarek and I'll need a place to live." She stretched out on the couch and planted her feet in the admiral's lap. "I won't be pleasant company."

Chapter 7

Erin Mathias walked to the admiral's quarters with a growing sense of fatalism weighting her steps. The last time she'd been called in was a few weeks after the Cylons had arrived at New Caprica. Security had been increased and Gina put on suicide watch. No one was to talk to her for fear of her resurrecting with intelligence on the fleet. They had orders not to kill her under any circumstance. The changes, of course, provided their own information.

During the stress free time of settlement things had grown lax. And she had been the worst offender. Exchanging jokes, comfort and encouragement with the traumatized Cylon had become commonplace. Mathias was uncomfortable with the newly enforced distance, but she had her orders. More importantly she understood the reasons for them. Then she disobeyed them.

Mathias entered Gina's cell with a dinner tray, flanked by two marines.

"Gunny, talk to me. You look awful. You've been exhausted since we jumped."

"I'm sorry, Gina. I can't talk." She turned to go, against protocol. She just couldn't look at Gina without being battered by conflicting emotions.

"Gunny, stop! I know my people found the settlement."

Mathias obeyed. Gina wasn't supposed to know they even had a settlement, let alone that it had been found by the Cylons. Mathias put her command mask firmly in place before facing her.

Gina answered the unasked question. "No regular jumps, not to mention that tan you came back from leave with. It was obvious you'd settled. We jump, everyone stops talking to me and starts cursing Cylons. You don't even play cards anymore. It wasn't hard to figure out."

That relaxed her slightly. She had assumed Gina knew about the settlement though they both pretended she didn't. The woman was anything but stupid. But knowledge of the occupation was dangerous. Could Gina be dropping the pretense of ignorance to fish for information?

Gina leaned forward and clasped her hands. "I also know about the drills."

Apparently she had to get her boot up her unit's asses about guard duty protocol as well as getting them back in shape. "Anything else you think you know?"

Gina hissed. "Don't be so hostile, Mathias. It's not like I have anything to do but obsess over scraps of chatter and try to read lips through the glass. And yes, I know you’re practicing for ground combat against centurions."

Frak! She should have realized isolating Gina would only make everything they feared more likely. She needed to speak to the Old Man. "I can't talk to you right now, Gina."

Gina pleaded with her eyes, but her voice was firm. "I don't want you to talk, I want you to listen."

Mathias was confounded. "What are you going to do, tell us how to fight centurions?"

The muscles in Gina's neck spasmed. She swallowed hard. "Since they'll resurrect and you won't...Yes."

Erin felt her eyes widen as she struggled not to react. "Gina, I'm under strict orders."

Gina snapped. "Shackle me if you don't trust me not to break your neck. Don't you think I'd miss you if you were dead? You and Cottle are the only ones who talk to me like I'm alive.' She waved dismissively at the two marines. "They barely talk to me at all."

"Maybe that's because you're always trying to frak with their heads." This was not good, disobeying orders, snapping at Gina...Get control of yourself Mathias. "Can you tell us anything Sharon hasn’t?"

Gina spoke with confidence. "Sixes work more with centurions, we repair their mechanicals."

Mathias wanted to believe her. "Why would you want to help us win a battle?"

"You can't win against the Cylon fleet." Gina stated flatly. "The best you can do is escape with more people than you lose. I don't want you to die trying to rescue everyone else, Mathias."

Over the last year she had had to remind herself repeatedly that Gina was not really her friend. It appeared she may have been wrong. Gina's mood could turn on a cubit, it might be now or never. "I will have to shackle you. Do you still want to talk to me?"

Gina held out her wrists. "Can we talk without tweedle dee and tweedle dum?"

""""""""""

Last time Mathias had faced the admiral after disobeying orders, she'd had valuable intelligence. She'd gotten away with only a stiff reprimand. Permission had been granted to maintain a cordial relationship with Gina had been granted, but extended conversations had to be approved and conducted under strict protocol. This time she had broken every protocol and had nothing to show for it.

She didn't want to imagine Gina attacking her. Her brain told her she was being painfully naive. There were people Gina wanted to kill. After years of listening to her nightmares, Mathias had thought of killing a few of them herself. It was ironic that she had undoubtedly lost the Old Man's trust just as Gina had gained it. She was probably going to be taking orders from Fischer.

At exactly 1800 hours, she knocked on the Admiral's the door. After a rumbled "Enter", she walked over to his desk and snapped to attention. "Sir, Gunnery Sergeant Mathias reporting as ordered."

Adama rose and invaded her personal space. "You were given permission to remain close to her. Not to give her a chance to walk right out of the brig over your dead body."

"Yes, Sir."

"You are a Marine of the Colonial Fleet," Adama circled her closely.

Though it wasn’t a question, Mathias knew to answer. "Yes, Sir."

"It is your duty to protect the people of this fleet. Are you capable of doing your duty, Gunny?" He continued moving around her. This type of closeness and constant movement made almost all uncomfortable and nervous, Mathias stood firm.

"Yes, Sir."

Adama moved behind the desk and sat down. "At ease, Gunny. Remember that Gina is a prisoner. Do not allow your feelings for her to interfere with your duty."

She wasn't being transferred. "Yes, Sir."

"In the coming days you will be responsible for guarding everyone from the prisoner and the prisoner from everyone else. You cannot afford any lapses in judgment."

Or demoted. "Yes, Sir."

"Keep a two person rotation. Don't crowd her while she's receiving instruction. Remain unobtrusive, we don't want to call attention to her with all the civilians coming to Galactica. Make sure your men and women know that protecting her is as important as protecting everyone else. Though there appear to be no Cylons in the area we don't want her to resurrect with knowledge of our plans. I want immediate incident reports."

Mathias thought her ears were deceiving her. She had expected to be torn apart. She wasn't even being reprimanded. "Yes, Sir."

"Any questions, Gunny?" Adama asked in a tone that left room for none.

Mathias could fill a book with them. "No, sir."

"Good. Dismissed."

Mathias turned on her heel and left. Once outside she inhaled and exhaled fully. She had almost managed to relax when she was struck by Adama's comment about her feelings for Gina.

""""""""""

Bill Adama looked unseeing at the papers on desk. Gina had identified the resurrection ship after Athena had refused, simultaneously providing them with the means to make her death permanent and proving her value as an intelligence asset. Making the decision between prison and the airlock hadn't been easy. Each day she went without killing anyone weighted the scale toward keeping her alive.

He'd feared Cylons were programmed with just a mockery of human emotions. Or maybe that had been his hope. Gina sat trying to glare, but even the sounds of the ship traveling through the pipes made her eyes dart and body to recoil leaving him no doubt of the veracity of cylon emotions. Gina's were genuine enough to get her airlocked to protect his crew and Sharon's weren't much less volatile since Helo's death. She and her baby her baby were at risk. If he airlocked Gina, he could end up without a cylon to question.

Gina wasn't anybody's idea of trustworthy, but she was needy. Galactica was guaranteed to seem friendly by comparison with the Pegasus. Unfortunately he had more and more reason not to trust the only person Gina did- Gaius Baltar. Gunny Mathias entered the brig. Gina's eyes focused on Mathias. The Gunny nodded at the prisoner and Gina took a deep breath and stilled. She had unwittingly won a reprieve.

The bond between them had proven invaluable. Until this morning he had missed the turn the relationship had taken. He had let his gunny loose in a hornet's nest and she had gotten stung. He could not afford to move her away from the queen bee now.

"""""""""""

"Frak!" Racetrack yelled as the Raptor came to a halt with a jolt in Galactica’s port-side hangar. Sitting back she took off her helmet and glared at Gina. "Listen blondie, get it through that CPU you call a brain, pull up the nose and throttle back. Galactica’s gravity field does the rest and you land without shredding the undercarriage." Frustrated, Racetrack pinched the bridge of her nose. It was the third landing Gina had missed. For now the Raptor was still functional, but a few more like this and it wouldn't be.

"Why, thank you," Gina replied with exaggerated sweetness.

"What!?" Racetrack regretted the query as soon as it left her mouth.

Gina replied innocently. "Ten minutes ago I was a stupid toaster. Now I'm 'blondie'." Racetrack glared as Gina smiled suggestively. "I can’t imagine what I'll be to you in another ten minutes."

"Frak you," Racetrack spat as she wormed her way out of the seat.

Gina ogled the Captain. "Is that an offer?"

Racetrack wanted to strangle her. She stormed out of the Raptor instead.

Gina laughed. She had to admit that grumpy behavior aside, the woman had taught her a lot. Too bad she really enjoyed irritating her.

On to Part 3: Killing Cylons