(no subject)
Title: Excuses
Rating: PG-13...ish
Category: Battlestar Galactica/Heroes crossover
Spoilers/Warnings: Negligible
Author's Note: This is a christmas prezzie for piping_hot! I hope you like it; I've never written anything for BSG (or, technically, Heroes, but then, I've seen all of Heroes), so hopefully I didn't screw anything up and the tone is appropriate? D=
Gaius was having a, ahem, conversation with a very beautiful lady, who happened to not really be there, when an all-too-brief knock sounded at his door. He had barely enough time to pull up his pants before Commander Adama entered his lab.
"Vice-President Baltar," the old man greeted perfunctorily.
"Commander Adama," the aforementioned replied, positioning his crotch behind a microscope.
"I came down here to check on your progress, and to give you some news."
"O-oh? Is that right?" Gaius asked, thinking that maybe he should spend more time thinking of excuses and less time-
"I take it you haven't progressed far. The news, then-you're getting an assistant."
"An assistant?" Gaius repeated, horrified.
"Yes. A young geneticist came forward on one of the civilian vessels; he's a very promising intellectual, despite the farce his father's work turned into."
"An assistant!" Gaius was still stuck on that part. "I don't think-I mean-sure, the help would be good, but really there's not nearly enough space in this little room-"
"You can always convince a few off-duty personnel to move to a larger space," Adama replied, catching Gaius's eyes. He understood; his assistant was to double as a supervisor. Very well, then.
"I see I'm not going to have much choice in the matter; maybe it's for the best. When do I meet him?" he conceded.
"In two hours; I suggest you use the intervening time to prepare an introduction to your research so far."
"Okay," Gaius assented.
-+-+-+-
He did no such thing; instead, he paced about, pulling his fingers through his hair.
"There's no way!" he was saying. "If this geneticist gets involved there's no way I can keep stalling!"
"Then you'll have to distract him somehow," the Cylon woman-Real? Imaginary? Who knew!-told him.
"But how? Surely this man would only volunteer if he was really passionate about his work, and worse if he's trying to make up for his father's mistakes-"
She put a finger on his lips, and he stopped abruptly to look at her with wide, dark eyes. "You're a smart man, Gaius," she said with predatory affection. "You'll figure out a way to make things work."
He smiled bitterly. "What, no trusting in God this time?"
The warmth fell from her face. "What happens between men is none of God's business."
Then the door opened, and he turned to look; when he glanced back, she had gone. Typical.
A flash of bright teeth caught his eye and he saw that, escorted by an impassive armed guard, a young man had entered his domain, his grin wide and friendly as he stepped forward.
"May I help you?" Gaius asked, apprehensively.
"I'm Doctor Mohinder Suresh," the dark-skinned man hastened to answer, speaking with a Caprican accent that probably was as natural as Gaius's own. "I was sent to help you, Vice-President Baltar."
Gaius took a moment to look Mohinder over, feigning deep consideration. The geneticist was not very tall, not even so much as Gaius himself, and very easy on the eyes despite not seeming particularly feminine. He wore no uniform, unlike the now-departing Marine, nor was he wearing a suit such as Gaius's. Instead, he was wearing jeans and a slightly offensive paisley shirt, which Gaius felt inclined to forgive him for. The end effect was that he seemed somewhat vulnerable in the Battlestar, without the protection of the right clothing.
"All right," Gaius said at last, seeing that Mohinder was getting uncomfortable. "And," he added with his most disarming smile, "you may call me Gaius, Dr. Suresh." He reached forward to shake the geneticist's hand warmly, with both of his own.
"Likewise," the doctor agreed quite willingly, "Call me Mohinder."
"Excellent," Gaius commented, taking Mohinder by the shoulders and drawing him into the center of the room, in front of a table full of equipment. His new assistant didn't shy from his touch after his initial surprise, standing steadily under the vice-president's arm, their bodies not quite close enough to be truly intimate. Gaius could smell him: sweat from the hardship of civilian life on the fleet, but underneath that a pleasing scent of leather and mint.
"What do you think?" Gaius inquired, gesturing with a hand at the microscope, the computer, the vials of blood samples; everything else a lab to detect the nearly undetectable may need. He was not without pride for his accomplishments, even if his muse was somewhat dubious.
"What?" Mohinder started, distracted. "Oh, um, it all looks very orderly. I'm afraid I can't say much more about it until I understand the purpose behind it all more closely."
"Okay," Gaius began, and turned towards Mohinder, who unconsciously began to step backwards but then apparently decided that it might be rude-or perhaps that the proximity was preferable.
The computer scientist smiled for ambiguous reasons. "You know about the latest intelligence regarding Cylons, I hope?"
The doctor nodded, and looked for somewhere other than Gaius's eyes to rest his own; he watched as Mohinder glanced down first at the collar of his fine shirt, at his chin, at his lips, and finally back up at his eyes, trapped. Mohinder moistened his lips discreetly. "It's that they have modified the human form to suit their own purposes; is that right, sir-I mean, Gaius?"
Gaius smiled approvingly and patted Mohinder's shoulder, who looked down at his hand with some amount of alarm before the vice-president drew back to stroll around the table. The doctor's relief was palpable.
"Exactly," Gaius was saying. "And unless we can figure out who they are, they can infiltrate our defenses, learn our plans, and possibly kill us all."
"Indeed," Mohinder affirmed, growing more confident. "Which is why we're here."
"Correct. The Cylon operatives appear totally human, and are genetically nearly identical."
Mohinder cocked his head, genuinely interested. "'Nearly identical?' But wouldn't that mean that they're essentially humans raised as Cylons?"
Gaius paused. "No, they have additional, definitively mechanical features. One of the tests we-I-attempted to design for detection purposes was a system of detecting abnormal ions present in humanoid Cylons by exposing blood samples to nuclear radiation. Unfortunately it's a bit slow, and, well, glitchy." Well, it worked perfectly fine, of course, but the consequences of that was were it all went awry, wasn't it?
Mohinder nodded. "And what do you expect me to help you accomplish? If you have a system that works, but needs fine-tuning, isn't that a bit beyond my field of expertise?"
Gaius spread his fingers on the table, leaning over it and a forest of crimson tubes to look at the geneticist. "Not necessarily. Commander Adama seems to feel that you could help me."
His new assistant smiled bitterly, looking down at the equipment on the table. "But you don't."
"That's not what I…" Gaius began passionlessly.
"It's all right, I'm used to it. It will make me all the better for overcoming expectations."
The vice-president shifted uncomfortably. "…Right. I don't, I don't mean that I don't think you're capable," he said with gentleness that surprised even himself. "You said it yourself: you could be the most brilliant geneticist in the fleet but that might not be what we need."
He paused and laughed uncertainly. "You know, you probably are! The most brilliant, that is." Then he fell awkwardly silent.
Mohinder seemed mollified, though, and moved around the table to join him in front of the computer monitor. "Okay, then I'd better start by familiarizing myself with what you've developed so far."
He reached out to jolt the computer awake, and Gaius, having no time to consider a better course of action, shot out a hand to grab Mohinder's. The geneticist, shocked, looked up at him, confused and offended.
Gaius smiled spasmodically, still gripping Mohinder's hand too tightly, trying to think of something to say that would make his action seem reasonable.
Instead, he pulled the geneticist forward, threaded the fingers of his other hand through Mohinder's curly black hair, and kissed him. The young man tried to pull away at first, but then relaxed and wrapped his arms around Gaius's back, returning the kiss enthusiastically, stubble grating against stubble.
Oh, yes, Gaius thought to himself, smirking smugly against Mohinder's lips. I am a genius!
Now if only all of his excuses were this pleasant…
And happy holidays to everyone else as well!
Rating: PG-13...ish
Category: Battlestar Galactica/Heroes crossover
Spoilers/Warnings: Negligible
Author's Note: This is a christmas prezzie for piping_hot! I hope you like it; I've never written anything for BSG (or, technically, Heroes, but then, I've seen all of Heroes), so hopefully I didn't screw anything up and the tone is appropriate? D=
Gaius was having a, ahem, conversation with a very beautiful lady, who happened to not really be there, when an all-too-brief knock sounded at his door. He had barely enough time to pull up his pants before Commander Adama entered his lab.
"Vice-President Baltar," the old man greeted perfunctorily.
"Commander Adama," the aforementioned replied, positioning his crotch behind a microscope.
"I came down here to check on your progress, and to give you some news."
"O-oh? Is that right?" Gaius asked, thinking that maybe he should spend more time thinking of excuses and less time-
"I take it you haven't progressed far. The news, then-you're getting an assistant."
"An assistant?" Gaius repeated, horrified.
"Yes. A young geneticist came forward on one of the civilian vessels; he's a very promising intellectual, despite the farce his father's work turned into."
"An assistant!" Gaius was still stuck on that part. "I don't think-I mean-sure, the help would be good, but really there's not nearly enough space in this little room-"
"You can always convince a few off-duty personnel to move to a larger space," Adama replied, catching Gaius's eyes. He understood; his assistant was to double as a supervisor. Very well, then.
"I see I'm not going to have much choice in the matter; maybe it's for the best. When do I meet him?" he conceded.
"In two hours; I suggest you use the intervening time to prepare an introduction to your research so far."
"Okay," Gaius assented.
-+-+-+-
He did no such thing; instead, he paced about, pulling his fingers through his hair.
"There's no way!" he was saying. "If this geneticist gets involved there's no way I can keep stalling!"
"Then you'll have to distract him somehow," the Cylon woman-Real? Imaginary? Who knew!-told him.
"But how? Surely this man would only volunteer if he was really passionate about his work, and worse if he's trying to make up for his father's mistakes-"
She put a finger on his lips, and he stopped abruptly to look at her with wide, dark eyes. "You're a smart man, Gaius," she said with predatory affection. "You'll figure out a way to make things work."
He smiled bitterly. "What, no trusting in God this time?"
The warmth fell from her face. "What happens between men is none of God's business."
Then the door opened, and he turned to look; when he glanced back, she had gone. Typical.
A flash of bright teeth caught his eye and he saw that, escorted by an impassive armed guard, a young man had entered his domain, his grin wide and friendly as he stepped forward.
"May I help you?" Gaius asked, apprehensively.
"I'm Doctor Mohinder Suresh," the dark-skinned man hastened to answer, speaking with a Caprican accent that probably was as natural as Gaius's own. "I was sent to help you, Vice-President Baltar."
Gaius took a moment to look Mohinder over, feigning deep consideration. The geneticist was not very tall, not even so much as Gaius himself, and very easy on the eyes despite not seeming particularly feminine. He wore no uniform, unlike the now-departing Marine, nor was he wearing a suit such as Gaius's. Instead, he was wearing jeans and a slightly offensive paisley shirt, which Gaius felt inclined to forgive him for. The end effect was that he seemed somewhat vulnerable in the Battlestar, without the protection of the right clothing.
"All right," Gaius said at last, seeing that Mohinder was getting uncomfortable. "And," he added with his most disarming smile, "you may call me Gaius, Dr. Suresh." He reached forward to shake the geneticist's hand warmly, with both of his own.
"Likewise," the doctor agreed quite willingly, "Call me Mohinder."
"Excellent," Gaius commented, taking Mohinder by the shoulders and drawing him into the center of the room, in front of a table full of equipment. His new assistant didn't shy from his touch after his initial surprise, standing steadily under the vice-president's arm, their bodies not quite close enough to be truly intimate. Gaius could smell him: sweat from the hardship of civilian life on the fleet, but underneath that a pleasing scent of leather and mint.
"What do you think?" Gaius inquired, gesturing with a hand at the microscope, the computer, the vials of blood samples; everything else a lab to detect the nearly undetectable may need. He was not without pride for his accomplishments, even if his muse was somewhat dubious.
"What?" Mohinder started, distracted. "Oh, um, it all looks very orderly. I'm afraid I can't say much more about it until I understand the purpose behind it all more closely."
"Okay," Gaius began, and turned towards Mohinder, who unconsciously began to step backwards but then apparently decided that it might be rude-or perhaps that the proximity was preferable.
The computer scientist smiled for ambiguous reasons. "You know about the latest intelligence regarding Cylons, I hope?"
The doctor nodded, and looked for somewhere other than Gaius's eyes to rest his own; he watched as Mohinder glanced down first at the collar of his fine shirt, at his chin, at his lips, and finally back up at his eyes, trapped. Mohinder moistened his lips discreetly. "It's that they have modified the human form to suit their own purposes; is that right, sir-I mean, Gaius?"
Gaius smiled approvingly and patted Mohinder's shoulder, who looked down at his hand with some amount of alarm before the vice-president drew back to stroll around the table. The doctor's relief was palpable.
"Exactly," Gaius was saying. "And unless we can figure out who they are, they can infiltrate our defenses, learn our plans, and possibly kill us all."
"Indeed," Mohinder affirmed, growing more confident. "Which is why we're here."
"Correct. The Cylon operatives appear totally human, and are genetically nearly identical."
Mohinder cocked his head, genuinely interested. "'Nearly identical?' But wouldn't that mean that they're essentially humans raised as Cylons?"
Gaius paused. "No, they have additional, definitively mechanical features. One of the tests we-I-attempted to design for detection purposes was a system of detecting abnormal ions present in humanoid Cylons by exposing blood samples to nuclear radiation. Unfortunately it's a bit slow, and, well, glitchy." Well, it worked perfectly fine, of course, but the consequences of that was were it all went awry, wasn't it?
Mohinder nodded. "And what do you expect me to help you accomplish? If you have a system that works, but needs fine-tuning, isn't that a bit beyond my field of expertise?"
Gaius spread his fingers on the table, leaning over it and a forest of crimson tubes to look at the geneticist. "Not necessarily. Commander Adama seems to feel that you could help me."
His new assistant smiled bitterly, looking down at the equipment on the table. "But you don't."
"That's not what I…" Gaius began passionlessly.
"It's all right, I'm used to it. It will make me all the better for overcoming expectations."
The vice-president shifted uncomfortably. "…Right. I don't, I don't mean that I don't think you're capable," he said with gentleness that surprised even himself. "You said it yourself: you could be the most brilliant geneticist in the fleet but that might not be what we need."
He paused and laughed uncertainly. "You know, you probably are! The most brilliant, that is." Then he fell awkwardly silent.
Mohinder seemed mollified, though, and moved around the table to join him in front of the computer monitor. "Okay, then I'd better start by familiarizing myself with what you've developed so far."
He reached out to jolt the computer awake, and Gaius, having no time to consider a better course of action, shot out a hand to grab Mohinder's. The geneticist, shocked, looked up at him, confused and offended.
Gaius smiled spasmodically, still gripping Mohinder's hand too tightly, trying to think of something to say that would make his action seem reasonable.
Instead, he pulled the geneticist forward, threaded the fingers of his other hand through Mohinder's curly black hair, and kissed him. The young man tried to pull away at first, but then relaxed and wrapped his arms around Gaius's back, returning the kiss enthusiastically, stubble grating against stubble.
Oh, yes, Gaius thought to himself, smirking smugly against Mohinder's lips. I am a genius!
Now if only all of his excuses were this pleasant…
And happy holidays to everyone else as well!