In Those Brief Moments, All I See is Red: Chapter 4
Posting this on LJ now, should probably disclaimer it, right?
Title: In Those Brief Moments, All I See is Red
Author: NightSpank
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Pairing: Kara/Kendra, Kara/Lee
Rating: Overall PG-13 (sex, drinking)
Warnings: Femslash
Summary: Slight AU - Kendra hears the hybrid speak but is rescued off of the baseship at the last moment. (Okay, big huge frakking AU.)
IV.
"My report, sir," Kara stated, setting the closed folder on top of Lee's desk.
Lee glanced up and nodded at her before returning his focus to the report Kendra had handed to him just moments before.
After fidgeting for just a moment, Kara finally let out a rough exhalation and tried to get his attention.
"Lee. Something's going on."
--
Kendra had always figured that once her memory of the mission had returned, things could finally go back to normal. She could continue to be a strict but efficient XO, conducting briefings, helping with the nuggets, just doing her job.
She learned rather quickly after obtaining that memory that it wouldn't be as simple as she wanted it to be.
Seeing the colour red when she closed her eyes, hearning the hybrid's voice when she tried to sleep, feeling like everything was exploding whenever she ran into Kara Thrace... This was the opposite of normal.
There was a practical side of her, too, that knew these words spoken to her, meant for her, held a meaning that no one could understand. Yet, the phrases themselves were grave, dark, with a desperate undertone that she couldn't rationalize. Somehow, Kara Thrace would lead to the destruction of the human race.
Or at least, that was the most obvious interpretation - Herald of the Apocalypse, Harbinger of Death, what else could it all mean?
Her dislike for the Captain was obvious on the surface, but in honesty, it was built on deep respect and understanding. For she, too, had led a rough life and was just as focused and determined. It was their similarities that caused most of their clashes, not their differences. In fact, she was certain that there would some day be a point where they could set that aside, once everything settled down, and they could finally work together as Officers without having the impending shadow of death hanging over them at every turn.
But if Kara Thrace would bring about the end of everything... she had to find a way to stop that from happening.
--
"I don't know what's in her report," Kara defended herself as Lee paced around in his office. "But something's not right with her or with anyone."
"How can you know that?" Lee shot back. "You haven't spoken to her more than once since you brought her back. I have, and she's just fine."
Letting out a frustrated sigh and placing her hands on her hips, Kara launched into a full-blown rant. "You know what your problem is, Lee? It's the same as it always is. You try to be everyone's friend, and you completely ignore when there's something right in front of your face. Maybe you should take a step back and look at Kendra Shaw as a person and as your XO at the same time, not as just one or the other. Because while you know she'll always be damned good at her job, that doesn't mean she’s in a good place otherwise."
He stopped pacing then, and turned to look at her, glaring up at him. "Where's this coming from, Kara?"
"I don't know," she shook her head and admitted. There wasn’t an explanation for any of this, just strange feelings in her mind, a strange pressure in her chest, and a chill whenever they passed each other in the corridors. "And it doesn't matter, anyway. Look through her report again. I don't know what's in there, but maybe you'll find something. I have a group of nuggets who need to learn how to read their fuel gauge, anyway."
As she stalked out of his quarters, her hands shaking with rage, Lee turned his attention back to Kendra's report for the third time, now, reading each of the words both individually and in the context of the sentence, trying to piece together exactly what Kara was implying.
..The baseship's main compartment contained an elderly man hard-wired to the ship via mutiple tubular connections. He spoke what seemed to be nonsense, but his words also had some control over the ship. I detonated the explosive from this location...
His words. She mentioned his words and she interpreted his words, but she never actually provided a transcript of his words from memory. While this would probably be normal for most of his Officers, Kendra Shaw always provided every detail she could remember. Which meant that either she didn't remember what the man had spoken or that she was hiding something.
He reached for the phone, hesitated a moment, but finally called the CIC. "Can you page Captain Thrace to return to the Commander's Quarters after she's finished with the new pilot recruits? Thank you."
--
It was four hours later when Kara was able to tear herself away from the nuggets - a few of which she had already secretly picked out "Dipshit" and "Frakkedup" for their callsigns - and make her way to Lee's quarters, trying not to inwardly gloat at him finally listening to her - Because she was always right, didn't anyone else know that?
"You're right," Lee stated as she stepped in, not even giving her time to close the hatch behind her.
She grinned. "Of course I am." And then pulled the hatch shut roughly before quickly walking over to his desk, leaning over to try to see the report.
After slamming it shut - it was, after all, a confidential mission report, even to the CAG, as it was her Superior Officer, after all - he stated, "She left something out that might be important. I thought about it for a bit, thought about her as both a person and an Officer like you said, and... It's not like her."
She nodded, and then waited for him to continue. When he didn't say anything, she asked, "So, you called me down here to say I'm right. Anything else?"
"Not everything is all about you, Kara," he chuckled.
Grinning, she let herself relax for a moment before she muttered, "Maybe. Maybe not.”
And then, after a moment, her eyes sparkled. “But what if it is?"