Exorcism
Title: Exorcism, by rap541
Summary: The mutiny is over and the Admiral has to deal with what happened.
Characters: Adama, Gaeta, Zarek
Rating: PG
Original Fic: Abrade, http://community.livejournal.com/gaeta_squee/298299.html, Author GeekByNight
Author notes: I always liked this fic. I was glad Geekbynight put it up to work with.
“We need to look at our priorities, Mr. Gaeta.” Zarek said it dismissively.
“The Galactica is secure,” Gaeta said patiently. Zarek was stalling, he could see that. “In order to re-establish the colonial government, we have to get a Quorum elected.” Since you murdered the previous Quorum was unsaid. He had expected bloodshed, it was a mutiny after all, but at every turn Zarek had made it worse. They were allies, but it was becoming clear to him that Zarek didn’t intend to keep his promises concerning the government.
“That will come,” Zarek said. He stood up. Gaeta followed, struggling not to wince. “Don’t look so worried, Felix. Elections will come in time, but right now there’s so many other issues. Supply for example. That reminds me, did John deliver your… medical prescription? I hate to have to check up on our loyal people but considering how scarce certain things are, I wanted to make sure it was delivered.” He smiled but his eyes flashed coldly. “With so many things in short supply, it’s a priority of mine to make sure you have what you need, Felix. After all, we’re in this together. Right now the government seems to be functioning well as is… perhaps elections need to be a more long term goal. Why don’t we both think on it?”
Gaeta didn’t nod. He waited until the hatch door closed to limp to the desk and pick up the small package. He opened it, and looked at the needles. It was a threat, of course. Cottle had already restricted how much morfa he could have, that had been before the mutiny. Cottle had already been blunt, phantom limb pain was mostly mental after the wound was fully healed and pain medication was too addictive to hand out for a mental condition. He had recommended several possible treatment options but between the Raptor and the mutiny, it had just been easier to dose with morfa to get through the rough spots. Was he an addict?
Zarek was banking on it. Felix had worried about that possibility before. Zarek wanted power, for the sake of having it, and a new Quorum would restrict him. He understood the unspoken threat. Cottle wasn’t going to give him any morfa, not without a new injury. Zarek in contrast was having a week’s worth of morfa couriered over despite the total disarray of the civilian government. If he pushed Zarek for elections, Zarek was going to cut him off.
He supposed that his hands shaking and his mouth going dry at the very idea meant that he was an addict.
“Is that why you killed me?”
He looked up. And blinked. Bill Adama was standing there. “You’re dead,” he said. “You’re dead and this is just a hallucination. You’re not here.”
“I am dead,” Adama agreed. “And I am here, Mr. Gaeta.” He pointed to the packet of needles and morfa. “Is that what I died over? I don’t know why you bothered with a trial if this was all about you getting high. You‘re a frakking addict.”
“I’m not an addict! You got a trial because you deserved one under the Articles of the Twelve Colonies! I could have just shot you in the head in the CIC! I could have dragged you down to the airlock and kicked the crap out of you before I tossed you out to die the way your best pals did to me, without a trial! You let it all go to hell and you didn’t give a damn what the people wanted!” Felix realized suddenly that he was shouting. He lowered his voice. “I tried to make you see reason. I never wanted to kill you… But it had to be done. The whole point was to restore the law.”
Adama laughed. “Gods you really do think that, don’t you?” He stopped laughing after a moment. “I shouldn’t laugh. It’s just another indication that I failed you.” He shrugged and took a seat on the leather sofa. “Does that admission shock you, Mr. Gaeta?”
“Yes. You spit in my face at the trial and said I was a gutless coward that shamed the uniform as your last words.” Tigh had been worse, the Cylon bastard had almost broken free from the guards before he was shot, but Adama had been more cutting.
Adama leaned back on the couch. “You were having me shot. Most people aren’t happy about that. But I did fail you, Felix.” He gestured expansively. “You’re a naïve dumbass.”
Felix picked up the needles. “Thank you.” His hands shook more. It had been almost eight hours since his last shot and no doubt hallucinating Bill Adama calling him names. “Are you done?”
“Oh forgive me, *Admiral*,” Adama stood up and strode over to the desk. “Am I interrupting your *fix*?”
“What do you care?” Felix shot back. “I’m just a naïve dumbass. And your precious Cylon ally already made let me in on how naïve and stupid I am.” A shot would make him go away, he thought. It would make the burning stop.
In a flash, Adama slapped him across the face. “I *failed* you. I’m sorry. But you will listen to me. You’re the admiral now. You can’t afford to be naïve. You can’t afford to think the best of people. And… you can’t afford to be an addict.”
“I’m not an addict.” He set the needles down, and crossed his arms to stop the shaking.
Adama put his hand on the packet of needles. “You’re listening. Good. Now get your head out of your ass. Don’t be naïve about Tom Zarek. You went to him because he was the vice president. Ignore everything you learned in high school civics, Felix. He’s not interested in rebuilding the colonial government. He wants power for the sake of having it. He’s using you. He thinks you’re too naïve to see what a snake he is. He wants you to be an addict, so he can control you. He’s already made the threat. Look inside and ask yourself. You did this to restore the government. Do you honestly believe Tom Zarek will ever allow it?”
After a long moment, Felix shook his head. Tom was too in love with the power already. Murdering the Quorum had removed any obstacle, any restraint. Tom only called him Admiral Gaeta when it couldn’t be avoided, over the loudspeaker and in the CIC.
“You’re his last obstacle. He knows that. I was never able to catch him, not in a way that I could prove. I could never catch him red handed.” Adama touched the needles again but didn’t try to take them away. “You lost trust in me, Felix. That was my fault and I am sorry. But don’t lose trust in what you know is right. You’re the Admiral now.” He pushed the needles towards Felix. “Be the Admiral.”
Felix picked up the needles. Then, making a decision, he walked to the intercom and made a call. In seconds, Colonel Allison strode in. Narcho had stood by him, like a rock. It had been easy to rely on him, and it didn’t escape him, that sudden glance and drawing back when Narcho saw what was in his hands.
“What did you need, Felix?” Narcho asked. Felix almost flinched at the familiarity until he realized Narcho didn’t know. Narcho didn’t know that Bill Adama was there.
He held out the packet of needles and drugs. “President Zarek brought me a little gift but I think we’d all be better served if this was delivered to Dr. Cottle.”
Narcho took it. Felix tried to ignore the relief on the man’s face. “That’s a good idea, sir,” Noel said carefully. “I’d… been meaning to talk to you about this, Felix. I was worried. We’ve all been under a lot of strain, you more than anyone, but this stuff… it can catch up on you… mess you up.” He smiled suddenly. “But I knew… I knew you’d do the right thing, Felix. I’ll have this taken down to sickbay.” He stepped to the hatch door and then looked back. “Just to be careful, sir, I think it would be best if you kept a low profile for the next two or three days. I’ll keep President Zarek over on Colonial One.” With a quick nod, Narcho left.
Adama looked at him, as if seeing him for the first time. “What now?”
“Now,” Felix said carefully, because he was already beginning to feel nauseous, “I have to find a way to catch Tom Zarek out. Because he’s never going to let go of the power.”
~*~
“No, Tom, that’s not acceptable. Lee Adama and Paula Schaffer have an excellent plan to reestablish the civilian government.” It was a genuinely clever and fair idea, to have each ship have a Quorum delegate and remove the entire business of prior colonial affiliations. It also made elections easier to manage, and Tom was opposed because it would end the martial law and essential dictatorship he held over the civilians. And Zarek was incensed, Felix could see it. Good. That meant his plan would work. He let his hands shake, and made a show of covering it.
The real shakes had stopped days ago. “Martial law needs to end and it can’t end until a new Quorum is established.”
Zarek’s eyes lit up. He smiled, and Felix was struck by how the man looked like a snake eying prey. “Felix…” Tom said easily. “Don’t test me on this. You control the military. I control the civilians. I’m the president and I am in control and I am not reforming the Quorum until I choose to. If you disagree, there will be consequences for you.”
“What sort of consequences?” Felix asked. Behind Zarek, Bill Adama stood, his arms crossed, as if waiting.
Zarek waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t make me say it, Felix.”
Felix leaned back in his chair. Time for Tom to take the bait. “I think you need to, Mr. President. Otherwise I’ll have you arrested for violating the Articles of Colonization.”
After a long moment, Zarek laughed. “Gods, you really are this naïve, aren’t you? Felix, I made you. You wouldn’t be Admiral without me, and I can break you. Do you really think I can’t control you?”
“How will you be controlling me, Mr. Zarek?” It was working. He faked a body tremor.
“You’re an addict and until you play ball with me, there won’t be any more special morfa deliveries. You’re already showing signs of withdrawal. As soon as you get worse, I will get on the wireless and let everyone know you’re incompetent because of drug use.”
“As you’ve said, I control the military.” He almost smiled. Zarek was a lot like Gaius Baltar, he had a tendency to let his arrogance get in the way of good sense. “Call me an addict all you want, I’m in command of this ship.”
“Until I have you taken out,” Zarek hissed. “You’re a tool, Felix, and once you get in my way, I can and will have you eliminated, with no one the wiser. You think your crew is loyal? They’re mutineers and all it takes is one disgruntled crewman and suddenly Admiral Gaeta is dead from an overdose.”
“So if I don’t let you run the civilian government as you like, you’ll have me discredited and killed, am I following this correctly?” Felix asked.
“That’s the stick, Felix.” Now Zarek leaned back. “The carrot is that I keep quiet about your little problem and continue to supply you with what you need. This doesn’t have to be so unpleasant… Admiral Gaeta.”
It worked, Felix thought tiredly. Zarek had given him exactly what he needed. “Unfortunately it does, Mr. Zarek. You’re under arrest.” Louder, he called, “You can come out now.” He smiled as Narcho, Hoshi, and Racetrack stepped out of the bathroom they had been hiding in.
Narcho stepped forward. “Tom Zarek, you are under arrest for attempted blackmail and making threats of death against a duly appointed military commander.” He grinned maliciously. “Since we’re under martial law, that makes it treason.”
“Treason has death by firing squad,” Racetrack added helpfully.
Zarek stood up angrily and was only stopped by the handguns that Hoshi and Racetrack suddenly raised. “You can’t do this. The door was closed, they didn’t hear anything and they’re your friends anyway so they’d lie for you. You don’t have any proof.”
Felix rolled his eyes as he stood up. “Tom, did it ever occur to you that people change? I’m not that naïve.” He opened up the desk drawer where he had hidden the recording devices. “At your trial, which will be later today as we have no civilian authority to turn you over to, the conversation we just had, where you threatened to blackmail me and kill me will be played over the fleet wireless. Between you and I, I doubt you’ll be found innocent but you will get a trial per the Articles of Colonization.” He nodded to the three officers. “Get him out of here, and let Mr. Adama and Ms. Schaffer know that I would like to see them about their plan to re-establish the Quorum.”
Tom looked at him with utter defeat in his eyes as Narcho and Hoshi grabbed him by the arms while Racetrack held a gun on him. Felix waited until they were gone to sit down. He looked at Admiral Adama, who was still standing there with his arms crossed. “Well,” he said to the apparition, “by this time tomorrow, Tom Zarek will be dead and the government will be back in the hands of the people.”
Adama nodded. “And the people know that the Admiral meant what he said about restoring the rule of law.” He walked over and put his hand on Felix’s shoulder. Felix was stunned by how he felt the old man’s hand and how the pain in his leg suddenly disappeared. “Felix,” the old man whispered. “I forgive you. You did good today.”
Felix closed his eyes and let the relief wash over him. When he opened them again, Adama was gone. He had a feeling the old man wouldn’t be back.
Summary: The mutiny is over and the Admiral has to deal with what happened.
Characters: Adama, Gaeta, Zarek
Rating: PG
Original Fic: Abrade, http://community.livejournal.com/gaeta_squee/298299.html, Author GeekByNight
Author notes: I always liked this fic. I was glad Geekbynight put it up to work with.
“We need to look at our priorities, Mr. Gaeta.” Zarek said it dismissively.
“The Galactica is secure,” Gaeta said patiently. Zarek was stalling, he could see that. “In order to re-establish the colonial government, we have to get a Quorum elected.” Since you murdered the previous Quorum was unsaid. He had expected bloodshed, it was a mutiny after all, but at every turn Zarek had made it worse. They were allies, but it was becoming clear to him that Zarek didn’t intend to keep his promises concerning the government.
“That will come,” Zarek said. He stood up. Gaeta followed, struggling not to wince. “Don’t look so worried, Felix. Elections will come in time, but right now there’s so many other issues. Supply for example. That reminds me, did John deliver your… medical prescription? I hate to have to check up on our loyal people but considering how scarce certain things are, I wanted to make sure it was delivered.” He smiled but his eyes flashed coldly. “With so many things in short supply, it’s a priority of mine to make sure you have what you need, Felix. After all, we’re in this together. Right now the government seems to be functioning well as is… perhaps elections need to be a more long term goal. Why don’t we both think on it?”
Gaeta didn’t nod. He waited until the hatch door closed to limp to the desk and pick up the small package. He opened it, and looked at the needles. It was a threat, of course. Cottle had already restricted how much morfa he could have, that had been before the mutiny. Cottle had already been blunt, phantom limb pain was mostly mental after the wound was fully healed and pain medication was too addictive to hand out for a mental condition. He had recommended several possible treatment options but between the Raptor and the mutiny, it had just been easier to dose with morfa to get through the rough spots. Was he an addict?
Zarek was banking on it. Felix had worried about that possibility before. Zarek wanted power, for the sake of having it, and a new Quorum would restrict him. He understood the unspoken threat. Cottle wasn’t going to give him any morfa, not without a new injury. Zarek in contrast was having a week’s worth of morfa couriered over despite the total disarray of the civilian government. If he pushed Zarek for elections, Zarek was going to cut him off.
He supposed that his hands shaking and his mouth going dry at the very idea meant that he was an addict.
“Is that why you killed me?”
He looked up. And blinked. Bill Adama was standing there. “You’re dead,” he said. “You’re dead and this is just a hallucination. You’re not here.”
“I am dead,” Adama agreed. “And I am here, Mr. Gaeta.” He pointed to the packet of needles and morfa. “Is that what I died over? I don’t know why you bothered with a trial if this was all about you getting high. You‘re a frakking addict.”
“I’m not an addict! You got a trial because you deserved one under the Articles of the Twelve Colonies! I could have just shot you in the head in the CIC! I could have dragged you down to the airlock and kicked the crap out of you before I tossed you out to die the way your best pals did to me, without a trial! You let it all go to hell and you didn’t give a damn what the people wanted!” Felix realized suddenly that he was shouting. He lowered his voice. “I tried to make you see reason. I never wanted to kill you… But it had to be done. The whole point was to restore the law.”
Adama laughed. “Gods you really do think that, don’t you?” He stopped laughing after a moment. “I shouldn’t laugh. It’s just another indication that I failed you.” He shrugged and took a seat on the leather sofa. “Does that admission shock you, Mr. Gaeta?”
“Yes. You spit in my face at the trial and said I was a gutless coward that shamed the uniform as your last words.” Tigh had been worse, the Cylon bastard had almost broken free from the guards before he was shot, but Adama had been more cutting.
Adama leaned back on the couch. “You were having me shot. Most people aren’t happy about that. But I did fail you, Felix.” He gestured expansively. “You’re a naïve dumbass.”
Felix picked up the needles. “Thank you.” His hands shook more. It had been almost eight hours since his last shot and no doubt hallucinating Bill Adama calling him names. “Are you done?”
“Oh forgive me, *Admiral*,” Adama stood up and strode over to the desk. “Am I interrupting your *fix*?”
“What do you care?” Felix shot back. “I’m just a naïve dumbass. And your precious Cylon ally already made let me in on how naïve and stupid I am.” A shot would make him go away, he thought. It would make the burning stop.
In a flash, Adama slapped him across the face. “I *failed* you. I’m sorry. But you will listen to me. You’re the admiral now. You can’t afford to be naïve. You can’t afford to think the best of people. And… you can’t afford to be an addict.”
“I’m not an addict.” He set the needles down, and crossed his arms to stop the shaking.
Adama put his hand on the packet of needles. “You’re listening. Good. Now get your head out of your ass. Don’t be naïve about Tom Zarek. You went to him because he was the vice president. Ignore everything you learned in high school civics, Felix. He’s not interested in rebuilding the colonial government. He wants power for the sake of having it. He’s using you. He thinks you’re too naïve to see what a snake he is. He wants you to be an addict, so he can control you. He’s already made the threat. Look inside and ask yourself. You did this to restore the government. Do you honestly believe Tom Zarek will ever allow it?”
After a long moment, Felix shook his head. Tom was too in love with the power already. Murdering the Quorum had removed any obstacle, any restraint. Tom only called him Admiral Gaeta when it couldn’t be avoided, over the loudspeaker and in the CIC.
“You’re his last obstacle. He knows that. I was never able to catch him, not in a way that I could prove. I could never catch him red handed.” Adama touched the needles again but didn’t try to take them away. “You lost trust in me, Felix. That was my fault and I am sorry. But don’t lose trust in what you know is right. You’re the Admiral now.” He pushed the needles towards Felix. “Be the Admiral.”
Felix picked up the needles. Then, making a decision, he walked to the intercom and made a call. In seconds, Colonel Allison strode in. Narcho had stood by him, like a rock. It had been easy to rely on him, and it didn’t escape him, that sudden glance and drawing back when Narcho saw what was in his hands.
“What did you need, Felix?” Narcho asked. Felix almost flinched at the familiarity until he realized Narcho didn’t know. Narcho didn’t know that Bill Adama was there.
He held out the packet of needles and drugs. “President Zarek brought me a little gift but I think we’d all be better served if this was delivered to Dr. Cottle.”
Narcho took it. Felix tried to ignore the relief on the man’s face. “That’s a good idea, sir,” Noel said carefully. “I’d… been meaning to talk to you about this, Felix. I was worried. We’ve all been under a lot of strain, you more than anyone, but this stuff… it can catch up on you… mess you up.” He smiled suddenly. “But I knew… I knew you’d do the right thing, Felix. I’ll have this taken down to sickbay.” He stepped to the hatch door and then looked back. “Just to be careful, sir, I think it would be best if you kept a low profile for the next two or three days. I’ll keep President Zarek over on Colonial One.” With a quick nod, Narcho left.
Adama looked at him, as if seeing him for the first time. “What now?”
“Now,” Felix said carefully, because he was already beginning to feel nauseous, “I have to find a way to catch Tom Zarek out. Because he’s never going to let go of the power.”
~*~
“No, Tom, that’s not acceptable. Lee Adama and Paula Schaffer have an excellent plan to reestablish the civilian government.” It was a genuinely clever and fair idea, to have each ship have a Quorum delegate and remove the entire business of prior colonial affiliations. It also made elections easier to manage, and Tom was opposed because it would end the martial law and essential dictatorship he held over the civilians. And Zarek was incensed, Felix could see it. Good. That meant his plan would work. He let his hands shake, and made a show of covering it.
The real shakes had stopped days ago. “Martial law needs to end and it can’t end until a new Quorum is established.”
Zarek’s eyes lit up. He smiled, and Felix was struck by how the man looked like a snake eying prey. “Felix…” Tom said easily. “Don’t test me on this. You control the military. I control the civilians. I’m the president and I am in control and I am not reforming the Quorum until I choose to. If you disagree, there will be consequences for you.”
“What sort of consequences?” Felix asked. Behind Zarek, Bill Adama stood, his arms crossed, as if waiting.
Zarek waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t make me say it, Felix.”
Felix leaned back in his chair. Time for Tom to take the bait. “I think you need to, Mr. President. Otherwise I’ll have you arrested for violating the Articles of Colonization.”
After a long moment, Zarek laughed. “Gods, you really are this naïve, aren’t you? Felix, I made you. You wouldn’t be Admiral without me, and I can break you. Do you really think I can’t control you?”
“How will you be controlling me, Mr. Zarek?” It was working. He faked a body tremor.
“You’re an addict and until you play ball with me, there won’t be any more special morfa deliveries. You’re already showing signs of withdrawal. As soon as you get worse, I will get on the wireless and let everyone know you’re incompetent because of drug use.”
“As you’ve said, I control the military.” He almost smiled. Zarek was a lot like Gaius Baltar, he had a tendency to let his arrogance get in the way of good sense. “Call me an addict all you want, I’m in command of this ship.”
“Until I have you taken out,” Zarek hissed. “You’re a tool, Felix, and once you get in my way, I can and will have you eliminated, with no one the wiser. You think your crew is loyal? They’re mutineers and all it takes is one disgruntled crewman and suddenly Admiral Gaeta is dead from an overdose.”
“So if I don’t let you run the civilian government as you like, you’ll have me discredited and killed, am I following this correctly?” Felix asked.
“That’s the stick, Felix.” Now Zarek leaned back. “The carrot is that I keep quiet about your little problem and continue to supply you with what you need. This doesn’t have to be so unpleasant… Admiral Gaeta.”
It worked, Felix thought tiredly. Zarek had given him exactly what he needed. “Unfortunately it does, Mr. Zarek. You’re under arrest.” Louder, he called, “You can come out now.” He smiled as Narcho, Hoshi, and Racetrack stepped out of the bathroom they had been hiding in.
Narcho stepped forward. “Tom Zarek, you are under arrest for attempted blackmail and making threats of death against a duly appointed military commander.” He grinned maliciously. “Since we’re under martial law, that makes it treason.”
“Treason has death by firing squad,” Racetrack added helpfully.
Zarek stood up angrily and was only stopped by the handguns that Hoshi and Racetrack suddenly raised. “You can’t do this. The door was closed, they didn’t hear anything and they’re your friends anyway so they’d lie for you. You don’t have any proof.”
Felix rolled his eyes as he stood up. “Tom, did it ever occur to you that people change? I’m not that naïve.” He opened up the desk drawer where he had hidden the recording devices. “At your trial, which will be later today as we have no civilian authority to turn you over to, the conversation we just had, where you threatened to blackmail me and kill me will be played over the fleet wireless. Between you and I, I doubt you’ll be found innocent but you will get a trial per the Articles of Colonization.” He nodded to the three officers. “Get him out of here, and let Mr. Adama and Ms. Schaffer know that I would like to see them about their plan to re-establish the Quorum.”
Tom looked at him with utter defeat in his eyes as Narcho and Hoshi grabbed him by the arms while Racetrack held a gun on him. Felix waited until they were gone to sit down. He looked at Admiral Adama, who was still standing there with his arms crossed. “Well,” he said to the apparition, “by this time tomorrow, Tom Zarek will be dead and the government will be back in the hands of the people.”
Adama nodded. “And the people know that the Admiral meant what he said about restoring the rule of law.” He walked over and put his hand on Felix’s shoulder. Felix was stunned by how he felt the old man’s hand and how the pain in his leg suddenly disappeared. “Felix,” the old man whispered. “I forgive you. You did good today.”
Felix closed his eyes and let the relief wash over him. When he opened them again, Adama was gone. He had a feeling the old man wouldn’t be back.