FIC: Convergence, 1/1, PG
Title: Convergence
Author: Tara Keezer
Rating: PG
Fandoms: due South/Battlestar Galactica crossover
Notes: Up until now, I’ve sort of been keeping pace with BSG canon. This is the point at which I ignore future episodes and go off into my own la-la land. There are minor S3 spoilers, but these have more to do with Cylon backstory than they do with the current story arcs. Wish me luck, eh? 1,000 words.
~*~*~
It’s not difficult for Brother Cavil to find Leoben. He has, of late, taken to meditating to the babblings of the hybrid, something Cavil can barely tolerate. The words it spits out in an endless stream of inconsequential nattering disturb him, though he doesn’t understand why. The hybrid is as much a Cylon as any of them, so its speech, whether it has meaning or not, should be as comfortable and familiar as the pulse of centurions or the prophesying of the Leobens or the greed of the D’Annas.
trajectory course followed eye ... followed ... jupiter’s eye watches watches watches ... liaison to ... course correction noted consulate duties ... responsibilities assumed ...
Cavil suppresses a shudder and says, “We’ve had word.”
“Benton is awake,” Leoben answers. He smiles without opening his eyes. “The hybrid knew. She’s been talking about it for the last two days.”
“The hybrid has no gender.” It’s an old protest and one Cavil knows will be ignored.
“Has she found a teacher?”
This is the main reason Cavil sought out Leoben. “Sharon believes so. She said the rabbi is intrigued and willing to speak with you.”
“Does he understand where he’ll have to go?”
“I don’t like the idea of telling him beforehand,” Cavil says as he paces. He keeps Leoben between him and the hybrid, which continues to spout nonsense.
“We’ve agreed not to repeat our failures with the Colonies.” Leoben stands up and turns to face Cavil, putting his hand on Cavil’s shoulder to stop him from pacing. “Earth is part of God’s plan for us, and we must approach it with care.”
“The Fleet will be on its way as soon as Fraser passes on our message to Adama.”
Leoben smiles. “I doubt it.”
“You don’t honestly believe he can stop them from coming.”
“Benton has the capacity to do so,” Leoben says. “How else could I have been persuaded away from a vision I once believed to be true?”
Impatient, Cavil shakes off Leoben’s hand and starts pacing again. “How do you know your original vision wasn’t true? How do you know the one you’ve convinced us to follow isn’t false?”
“The hybrids agree with me.” Leoben speaks gently, but his tone doesn’t soothe Cavil in the slightest.
“The hybrids are insane.”
“So was I, Brother Cavil,” Leoben reminds him. “I would be still, if Benton hadn’t spoken to me, hadn’t dispelled my confusion and anger.”
Cavil stops pacing, because Leoben is absolutely correct in this. After he’d stabbed the human so unexpectedly, there had been considerable debate over whether or not to put this particular Leoben into permanent storage. After three months in his self-imposed stasis, Leoben emerged a changed Cylon, one whose words held weight with the others, because Leoben had long stared at the brink of madness then turned away, becoming whole and complete in the process.
At least, that's the current interpretation favored by the Cylons. Cavil is inclined to believe that Leoben has exchanged one form of insanity for another, especially with his insistence that Cylons and humans must become a single population if they’re ever to break the wheel and move forward. The notion of unity disgusts Cavil. He believes the universe will be a better place once humanity is finally eradicated, but this is an unpopular opinion these days, and Cavil knows better than to express it out loud.
With nothing else to say on the subject, Cavil returns to an earlier topic and says, “I’ll have Sharon tell the rabbi what to expect.”
Leoben smiles, and the bright joy of it is enough to soften Cavil’s heart for a moment. “Thank you, Brother Cavil.”
When Leoben’s smile fades away, so too does Cavil’s optimism. “You’re sure this is what we need - a holy man?”
“A rabbi is, first and foremost, a teacher,” Leoben says. “After the errors we’ve made, don’t you think we need one?”
~~
Leoben moves quickly through the base ship, for once, not taking the time or trouble to project. His excitement is too great for that, and when he finds Cavil, he catches him up in a wholly gleeful hug.
Cavil is not amused.
“Would you stop that? Anyone might think you’re human.”
“Benton is speaking,” Leoben says, his smile broad and easy.
“We should move our ships into position.” Cavil is tense.
Leoben knows that this aspect of their mission bothers Cavil, not because they’re protecting the humans of Earth from Colonial contamination, but because they’re protecting humans at all. Cavil doesn’t like the idea that humans and Cylons are ultimately destined to merge into a unified population, though he does admit to the sensibility of it. Cylon reproduction is proving to be impossible to move forward without genetic contributions from humanity.
“It would be best.”
“You brother thinks it’s unnecessary,” Cavil says. The challenge is expected. Leoben has seen it taking place a hundred times on a hundred different base ships.
“My brother sees Benton through the eyes of the saved and believes him capable of anything,” Leoben says, unperturbed. “It might have been better to allow Leoben one last meeting with him before leaving him behind.”
“And what would that have accomplished?”
“Perhaps nothing. Or perhaps everything.” The conversation becomes unexpectedly painful for Leoben. He knows it was necessary to give Benton over to the Colonial Fleet, but he misses him, misses the smooth curve of Benton’s back, misses the deep tones of his voice, misses his passion.
“The rabbi will be with Leoben in another day,” Cavil says, unhappy with Leoben’s demands. “Once he’s aboard, we’ll quarantine Earth’s solar system to prevent the Fleet from getting through.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as we have word of how Benton handles the Admiral.”
~~
Fraser sits before Admiral Adama, feeling an utter traitor, both to Earth and to humanity in general. They won’t like what he has to say, and they may well jail him.
He thinks it might be just as well if they do.
Author: Tara Keezer
Rating: PG
Fandoms: due South/Battlestar Galactica crossover
Notes: Up until now, I’ve sort of been keeping pace with BSG canon. This is the point at which I ignore future episodes and go off into my own la-la land. There are minor S3 spoilers, but these have more to do with Cylon backstory than they do with the current story arcs. Wish me luck, eh? 1,000 words.
~*~*~
It’s not difficult for Brother Cavil to find Leoben. He has, of late, taken to meditating to the babblings of the hybrid, something Cavil can barely tolerate. The words it spits out in an endless stream of inconsequential nattering disturb him, though he doesn’t understand why. The hybrid is as much a Cylon as any of them, so its speech, whether it has meaning or not, should be as comfortable and familiar as the pulse of centurions or the prophesying of the Leobens or the greed of the D’Annas.
trajectory course followed eye ... followed ... jupiter’s eye watches watches watches ... liaison to ... course correction noted consulate duties ... responsibilities assumed ...
Cavil suppresses a shudder and says, “We’ve had word.”
“Benton is awake,” Leoben answers. He smiles without opening his eyes. “The hybrid knew. She’s been talking about it for the last two days.”
“The hybrid has no gender.” It’s an old protest and one Cavil knows will be ignored.
“Has she found a teacher?”
This is the main reason Cavil sought out Leoben. “Sharon believes so. She said the rabbi is intrigued and willing to speak with you.”
“Does he understand where he’ll have to go?”
“I don’t like the idea of telling him beforehand,” Cavil says as he paces. He keeps Leoben between him and the hybrid, which continues to spout nonsense.
“We’ve agreed not to repeat our failures with the Colonies.” Leoben stands up and turns to face Cavil, putting his hand on Cavil’s shoulder to stop him from pacing. “Earth is part of God’s plan for us, and we must approach it with care.”
“The Fleet will be on its way as soon as Fraser passes on our message to Adama.”
Leoben smiles. “I doubt it.”
“You don’t honestly believe he can stop them from coming.”
“Benton has the capacity to do so,” Leoben says. “How else could I have been persuaded away from a vision I once believed to be true?”
Impatient, Cavil shakes off Leoben’s hand and starts pacing again. “How do you know your original vision wasn’t true? How do you know the one you’ve convinced us to follow isn’t false?”
“The hybrids agree with me.” Leoben speaks gently, but his tone doesn’t soothe Cavil in the slightest.
“The hybrids are insane.”
“So was I, Brother Cavil,” Leoben reminds him. “I would be still, if Benton hadn’t spoken to me, hadn’t dispelled my confusion and anger.”
Cavil stops pacing, because Leoben is absolutely correct in this. After he’d stabbed the human so unexpectedly, there had been considerable debate over whether or not to put this particular Leoben into permanent storage. After three months in his self-imposed stasis, Leoben emerged a changed Cylon, one whose words held weight with the others, because Leoben had long stared at the brink of madness then turned away, becoming whole and complete in the process.
At least, that's the current interpretation favored by the Cylons. Cavil is inclined to believe that Leoben has exchanged one form of insanity for another, especially with his insistence that Cylons and humans must become a single population if they’re ever to break the wheel and move forward. The notion of unity disgusts Cavil. He believes the universe will be a better place once humanity is finally eradicated, but this is an unpopular opinion these days, and Cavil knows better than to express it out loud.
With nothing else to say on the subject, Cavil returns to an earlier topic and says, “I’ll have Sharon tell the rabbi what to expect.”
Leoben smiles, and the bright joy of it is enough to soften Cavil’s heart for a moment. “Thank you, Brother Cavil.”
When Leoben’s smile fades away, so too does Cavil’s optimism. “You’re sure this is what we need - a holy man?”
“A rabbi is, first and foremost, a teacher,” Leoben says. “After the errors we’ve made, don’t you think we need one?”
~~
Leoben moves quickly through the base ship, for once, not taking the time or trouble to project. His excitement is too great for that, and when he finds Cavil, he catches him up in a wholly gleeful hug.
Cavil is not amused.
“Would you stop that? Anyone might think you’re human.”
“Benton is speaking,” Leoben says, his smile broad and easy.
“We should move our ships into position.” Cavil is tense.
Leoben knows that this aspect of their mission bothers Cavil, not because they’re protecting the humans of Earth from Colonial contamination, but because they’re protecting humans at all. Cavil doesn’t like the idea that humans and Cylons are ultimately destined to merge into a unified population, though he does admit to the sensibility of it. Cylon reproduction is proving to be impossible to move forward without genetic contributions from humanity.
“It would be best.”
“You brother thinks it’s unnecessary,” Cavil says. The challenge is expected. Leoben has seen it taking place a hundred times on a hundred different base ships.
“My brother sees Benton through the eyes of the saved and believes him capable of anything,” Leoben says, unperturbed. “It might have been better to allow Leoben one last meeting with him before leaving him behind.”
“And what would that have accomplished?”
“Perhaps nothing. Or perhaps everything.” The conversation becomes unexpectedly painful for Leoben. He knows it was necessary to give Benton over to the Colonial Fleet, but he misses him, misses the smooth curve of Benton’s back, misses the deep tones of his voice, misses his passion.
“The rabbi will be with Leoben in another day,” Cavil says, unhappy with Leoben’s demands. “Once he’s aboard, we’ll quarantine Earth’s solar system to prevent the Fleet from getting through.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as we have word of how Benton handles the Admiral.”
~~
Fraser sits before Admiral Adama, feeling an utter traitor, both to Earth and to humanity in general. They won’t like what he has to say, and they may well jail him.
He thinks it might be just as well if they do.