Fic: Tin Soldiers
Title: Tin Soldiers
Author: kappamaki33
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nine was reacting the way he would in the world he’d been training for. Well, perhaps that was a good thing, his response being so instinctual, he comforted himself.
Characters/Pairings: Pegasus!Felix, Three, Gina, Galactica!Cavil, Boomer, Galactica!Felix
Notes: Monster 'verse, which is an AU where Cylon model Nine is none other than Felix, and Felixes are posted on both Galactica and Pegasus. For my alphabet meme prompt, N is for Newcomer, Galactica!Felix and Pegasus!Felix. I have one more fic in this 'verse left in me, I think.
Tin Soldiers
Nine stood at attention as the Three addressed them all. Heels together, toes out so his feet made a perfect forty-five-degree angle. Back straight, shoulders back, chin up, eyes forward and level. He was proud of his perfect mimicry of a human soldier, even if pride fell outside his parameters. Sinful, all the others but his line and the Ones would have called it. Maybe it was the posture itself that created the feeling, he mused.
“I know you have all heard this more times than you care to count, considering how long you have been training. But in light of the importance of the mission and the enormity of the sacrifices we are asking you to make, we feel it necessary to ensure that you all go into this with your eyes open, and to provide you with one last chance to withdraw.” The Three’s voice was measured, calm, but her eyes flitted to the Eight and the other Nine at the end of Nine’s row.
“Still covering our existential asses,” the One beside Nine muttered under his breath.
Nine would have smirked, but his training had taught him impassivity. His reaction didn’t matter among his brothers and sisters, but it would be foolish to stop practicing now, this close to deployment.
The Three continued, “Do not think that we question your ability to succeed. We know you have trained arduously, and we of course do not question your loyalty. But going deep under cover, living among humans as one of them for years... As necessary as it is to our goal, we recognize that we are asking so much of you.”
“Get on with it,” the Six standing on Nine’s other side grumbled. In some ways, he envied her assignment. Even though she was his partner for the mission, her assumed persona was so much looser than his. Easier, freer. Not to mention, she got to live in a posh condo on the shores of Scorpia for two years, while he had nothing better than a junior officer’s narrow rack to look forward to. But Nine was honored to be chosen for such a difficult assignment. There was that unbidden pride again.
The Six received her wish. The Three cleared her throat and moved on to the part they had all been waiting for. “Company Alpha, assigned to Fleet Central Command.” Obvious choice, Nine thought as he looked at the six-person team. He heard the One murmur a surprised “huh” beside him, though. Each Company knew its own assignment-there would be no way to train otherwise-but this was the first time they’d heard the assignments of other teams. Even Nine felt a small thrill at seeing this aspect of the plan take shape before them.
“Company Beta, Admiral Royce and the Ares. Company Gamma, Admiral McQuillen and the Berengaria. Company Delta, Admiral Cain and the Pegasus.”
A Two sullied Nine and the Six’s moment in the limelight. “Why are we sending a team for Cain?” the Two asked. “The Pegasus poses no unique threats, and unlike the other battlestar captains we are targeting, Cain did not fight in the Great War.”
Nine’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance despite himself. How dare the Two speak out of turn-wait, no. The Two wasn’t out of turn, not here among the Cylon. Nine was reacting the way he would in the world he’d been training for. Well, perhaps that was a good thing, his response being so instinctual, he comforted himself.
“True, but she does not sneer at the idea of a continued Cylon threat the way her contemporaries do,” the Three responded. “More importantly, she was from a village from which we collected subjects for Project A-39. We have no way of knowing how much she saw, or how likely it is that she may suspect that Cylons have taken human-like form since the Great War. If there are no further concerns,” she paused for a moment, “then, Team Epsilon, Commander Adama and the Galactica.”
That elicited an audible gasp from the crowd. The Three pushed on, naming off teams for softer, less troublesome targets, but the One beside Nine grinned from that announcement onwards.
The meeting ended as most did: once all was said that the crowd was interested in, individuals spoke softly to one another, broke off from the group, milled around or left the room. The Three tried to close the meeting with a benediction expressing the Cylon race’s gratitude for their sacrifices again, but the gathering was over minutes before then.
Only Nine had stood at attention until the Three formally dismissed the group. He was gratified to see the Six still waiting beside him, lips quirking.
“Oh, you’re good,” she said. She held out her hand. “I’m glad to be working with you...” She waited expectantly.
“Lieutenant Felix Andrews,” he said. The name was on the dogtags that had rested over his heart for weeks, but it was the first time he’d said his name out loud. It felt odd on his tongue. “As I with you...”
“Gina Inviere,” she supplied.
“‘Ms. Resurrection.’ Daring choice.” Stupid choice, Felix thought to himself.
She smiled. “Only if I were living on Gemenon. You’d be amazed at how little natives of each Colony know about the histories and ancient languages of the others.”
Felix forced a smile. “Well then, best of luck, Ms. Inviere. See you in two years.”
“In the meantime, have fun on the Pegasus.” She winked as she left. Rather unsettling, she was.
“As if your name isn’t a little superstitious, too, ‘Lucky,’” the One said from behind him. Felix was surprised the One was still there. It looked like he was sneering, but Felix knew that was his model’s default expression for amusement.
Felix decided to cut to the chase. Ones usually appreciated that. “How did you ever get you and your little experiments assigned to a post as important as Galactica?”
The One grinned. Ones had long ago decided that pride was well within their operating parameters. Thus, harmless gloating was not uncommon. “Our brothers and sisters are very interested in seeing the sleeper programming succeed. It could make so many problems internal to Cylon society vanish.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. Felix swallowed and decided the One’s snap was far more ominous than Gina’s wink. “But it has to be tested under truly difficult conditions. Plus, I can always get the job done by myself if my guinea pigs can’t. Well, the Five is scheduled to be there for the end, too, but that was mostly to make the Fives feel important.”
Just then, the Eight and the Nine from the end of the row approached tentatively, holding hands in a way that reminded Felix of human children. The One’s voice when he addressed the two certainly reinforced that feeling. “What can I do for you?”
“We just wanted to thank you,” the Eight said. “Thank you for giving us this chance to prove ourselves, and to serve our brothers and sisters.”
The Nine was a mirror-image of Felix, of course, but the differences between them in bearing and general aura, for lack of a better word, were startling. It was even harder to believe that this Nine could become a human soldier just as thoroughly as Felix was with a simple download and programming tweak.
The Nine said, “When I started to have the visions-the...feelings, when I realized I was Defective, of course I was devastated. But to not only avoid boxing, to actually be able to do something so important, so useful...”
Felix suppressed his disdain as the Nine blinked back tears. Defectives did tend toward over-emotionalism, and he could understand why these two were so happy to be saved from the proverbial junk heap. Still, it grated. For the first time, Felix wondered if it was jealousy rather than annoyance-jealousy for his brother remembering things from the time they had all agreed to forget, even if they were mere nonsensical snatches, even if they were horrors...
Felix shook himself. Ridiculous. He shifted his body into parade rest, and the sensation centered his mind.
The One was looking at Felix. The One narrowed his eyes for a moment, but then he turned to the Eight and the Nine and brought his hands to their cheeks. “I’m so glad to hear it. And really, you have no idea how vital your contribution is. We’re all very proud of you.”
The Eight and the Nine nodded-bowed? no, couldn’t be, not a Cylon-and retreated down a side corridor, together but no longer holding hands. The One still looked at Felix oddly, like he was weighing and measuring him for...something. It was dangerous to have a One look at you like that. Time to unbalance him a bit, then.
As Felix watched the Eight’s and the Nine’s receding forms, he asked off-handedly, “So, are you frakking them?”
The One frowned. “Why would you think that?”
Felix shrugged. “I don’t know, programming two pretty subordinates to have an inexplicable but inexorable desire to spread their legs for old chaplains who have a thing for fedoras...seems like it would be right up your alley.”
The One examined him for a moment. “No,” he answered finally. “They’ll be lucid when I interact with them to give them orders.” He pulled a small wooden elephant out of his pocket, as if that explained something. “Layering programming on top of those lucid periods would jeopardize the whole experiment. And I know you may not believe it, but the experiment is far more important to me than anything else, even sex.”
Years later, Felix would think back on that conversation and realize what he had missed, but at the time, the One’s follow-up wicked smile distracted him. “Now, if it somehow turns out that the programming only works if I frak them, I’ll perform my duty vigorously,” he joked.
And like all Ones, this One used humor as a feint to get Felix’s guard down, so he could attack from a different direction. “But I’m surprised at your concern, Lieutenant Andrews. That sounded far more like you chastising me for violating human sexual mores, not Cylon ones. You almost had me worried you were going native for a moment.” The One’s tone was light and casual, but Felix heard the threat. “I’m choosing their names for them, you know. The Eight and the Nine. I think I’ll call him ‘Felix’ as well.”
Felix didn’t understand what was going on, but he did know that having the One associate him with a Defective like that, even a potentially heroic one, was most certainly not a compliment. He kept his military posture and impassive gaze intact, though. “Don’t you think that’s a risk, two of us with the same name, and both in the military? It’s already enough of a risk that we share the same face.”
The One waved the objection away with his hand. “Hardly a risk at all, when being afraid of technology for so long has put the Colonials so far behind. Funny, how this entire invasion plan never would have worked if they’d simply implemented networked facial recognition software and figured out there were far too many people with the same eight faces, huh? Plus, I’ll give him a different last name.”
Felix knew that as smart as he was, he wasn’t devious enough to win a battle of wits against a One, and definitely not this One. It was time to cut his losses. “Best of luck to you and your protégés,” he said, extending his hand to the One.
The One’s grasp was a little too hard. “Likewise. And don’t worry, I’ll do my best not to let your pretty face and ass distract me from my mission. I mean his, but, you know. Same difference. I don’t envy you, being completely alone among the humans for two years, though. Hey! Maybe my Felix could be your pen pal. Not that he’ll remember he’s a Cylon, but you will.”
Felix refused to give the One the satisfaction of showing he’d unsettled him. “Thanks, but not necessary. I won’t forget.”
The One smiled and patted his hand, then let go. “Of course not. Of course not,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.
Author: kappamaki33
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nine was reacting the way he would in the world he’d been training for. Well, perhaps that was a good thing, his response being so instinctual, he comforted himself.
Characters/Pairings: Pegasus!Felix, Three, Gina, Galactica!Cavil, Boomer, Galactica!Felix
Notes: Monster 'verse, which is an AU where Cylon model Nine is none other than Felix, and Felixes are posted on both Galactica and Pegasus. For my alphabet meme prompt, N is for Newcomer, Galactica!Felix and Pegasus!Felix. I have one more fic in this 'verse left in me, I think.
Tin Soldiers
Nine stood at attention as the Three addressed them all. Heels together, toes out so his feet made a perfect forty-five-degree angle. Back straight, shoulders back, chin up, eyes forward and level. He was proud of his perfect mimicry of a human soldier, even if pride fell outside his parameters. Sinful, all the others but his line and the Ones would have called it. Maybe it was the posture itself that created the feeling, he mused.
“I know you have all heard this more times than you care to count, considering how long you have been training. But in light of the importance of the mission and the enormity of the sacrifices we are asking you to make, we feel it necessary to ensure that you all go into this with your eyes open, and to provide you with one last chance to withdraw.” The Three’s voice was measured, calm, but her eyes flitted to the Eight and the other Nine at the end of Nine’s row.
“Still covering our existential asses,” the One beside Nine muttered under his breath.
Nine would have smirked, but his training had taught him impassivity. His reaction didn’t matter among his brothers and sisters, but it would be foolish to stop practicing now, this close to deployment.
The Three continued, “Do not think that we question your ability to succeed. We know you have trained arduously, and we of course do not question your loyalty. But going deep under cover, living among humans as one of them for years... As necessary as it is to our goal, we recognize that we are asking so much of you.”
“Get on with it,” the Six standing on Nine’s other side grumbled. In some ways, he envied her assignment. Even though she was his partner for the mission, her assumed persona was so much looser than his. Easier, freer. Not to mention, she got to live in a posh condo on the shores of Scorpia for two years, while he had nothing better than a junior officer’s narrow rack to look forward to. But Nine was honored to be chosen for such a difficult assignment. There was that unbidden pride again.
The Six received her wish. The Three cleared her throat and moved on to the part they had all been waiting for. “Company Alpha, assigned to Fleet Central Command.” Obvious choice, Nine thought as he looked at the six-person team. He heard the One murmur a surprised “huh” beside him, though. Each Company knew its own assignment-there would be no way to train otherwise-but this was the first time they’d heard the assignments of other teams. Even Nine felt a small thrill at seeing this aspect of the plan take shape before them.
“Company Beta, Admiral Royce and the Ares. Company Gamma, Admiral McQuillen and the Berengaria. Company Delta, Admiral Cain and the Pegasus.”
A Two sullied Nine and the Six’s moment in the limelight. “Why are we sending a team for Cain?” the Two asked. “The Pegasus poses no unique threats, and unlike the other battlestar captains we are targeting, Cain did not fight in the Great War.”
Nine’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance despite himself. How dare the Two speak out of turn-wait, no. The Two wasn’t out of turn, not here among the Cylon. Nine was reacting the way he would in the world he’d been training for. Well, perhaps that was a good thing, his response being so instinctual, he comforted himself.
“True, but she does not sneer at the idea of a continued Cylon threat the way her contemporaries do,” the Three responded. “More importantly, she was from a village from which we collected subjects for Project A-39. We have no way of knowing how much she saw, or how likely it is that she may suspect that Cylons have taken human-like form since the Great War. If there are no further concerns,” she paused for a moment, “then, Team Epsilon, Commander Adama and the Galactica.”
That elicited an audible gasp from the crowd. The Three pushed on, naming off teams for softer, less troublesome targets, but the One beside Nine grinned from that announcement onwards.
The meeting ended as most did: once all was said that the crowd was interested in, individuals spoke softly to one another, broke off from the group, milled around or left the room. The Three tried to close the meeting with a benediction expressing the Cylon race’s gratitude for their sacrifices again, but the gathering was over minutes before then.
Only Nine had stood at attention until the Three formally dismissed the group. He was gratified to see the Six still waiting beside him, lips quirking.
“Oh, you’re good,” she said. She held out her hand. “I’m glad to be working with you...” She waited expectantly.
“Lieutenant Felix Andrews,” he said. The name was on the dogtags that had rested over his heart for weeks, but it was the first time he’d said his name out loud. It felt odd on his tongue. “As I with you...”
“Gina Inviere,” she supplied.
“‘Ms. Resurrection.’ Daring choice.” Stupid choice, Felix thought to himself.
She smiled. “Only if I were living on Gemenon. You’d be amazed at how little natives of each Colony know about the histories and ancient languages of the others.”
Felix forced a smile. “Well then, best of luck, Ms. Inviere. See you in two years.”
“In the meantime, have fun on the Pegasus.” She winked as she left. Rather unsettling, she was.
“As if your name isn’t a little superstitious, too, ‘Lucky,’” the One said from behind him. Felix was surprised the One was still there. It looked like he was sneering, but Felix knew that was his model’s default expression for amusement.
Felix decided to cut to the chase. Ones usually appreciated that. “How did you ever get you and your little experiments assigned to a post as important as Galactica?”
The One grinned. Ones had long ago decided that pride was well within their operating parameters. Thus, harmless gloating was not uncommon. “Our brothers and sisters are very interested in seeing the sleeper programming succeed. It could make so many problems internal to Cylon society vanish.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. Felix swallowed and decided the One’s snap was far more ominous than Gina’s wink. “But it has to be tested under truly difficult conditions. Plus, I can always get the job done by myself if my guinea pigs can’t. Well, the Five is scheduled to be there for the end, too, but that was mostly to make the Fives feel important.”
Just then, the Eight and the Nine from the end of the row approached tentatively, holding hands in a way that reminded Felix of human children. The One’s voice when he addressed the two certainly reinforced that feeling. “What can I do for you?”
“We just wanted to thank you,” the Eight said. “Thank you for giving us this chance to prove ourselves, and to serve our brothers and sisters.”
The Nine was a mirror-image of Felix, of course, but the differences between them in bearing and general aura, for lack of a better word, were startling. It was even harder to believe that this Nine could become a human soldier just as thoroughly as Felix was with a simple download and programming tweak.
The Nine said, “When I started to have the visions-the...feelings, when I realized I was Defective, of course I was devastated. But to not only avoid boxing, to actually be able to do something so important, so useful...”
Felix suppressed his disdain as the Nine blinked back tears. Defectives did tend toward over-emotionalism, and he could understand why these two were so happy to be saved from the proverbial junk heap. Still, it grated. For the first time, Felix wondered if it was jealousy rather than annoyance-jealousy for his brother remembering things from the time they had all agreed to forget, even if they were mere nonsensical snatches, even if they were horrors...
Felix shook himself. Ridiculous. He shifted his body into parade rest, and the sensation centered his mind.
The One was looking at Felix. The One narrowed his eyes for a moment, but then he turned to the Eight and the Nine and brought his hands to their cheeks. “I’m so glad to hear it. And really, you have no idea how vital your contribution is. We’re all very proud of you.”
The Eight and the Nine nodded-bowed? no, couldn’t be, not a Cylon-and retreated down a side corridor, together but no longer holding hands. The One still looked at Felix oddly, like he was weighing and measuring him for...something. It was dangerous to have a One look at you like that. Time to unbalance him a bit, then.
As Felix watched the Eight’s and the Nine’s receding forms, he asked off-handedly, “So, are you frakking them?”
The One frowned. “Why would you think that?”
Felix shrugged. “I don’t know, programming two pretty subordinates to have an inexplicable but inexorable desire to spread their legs for old chaplains who have a thing for fedoras...seems like it would be right up your alley.”
The One examined him for a moment. “No,” he answered finally. “They’ll be lucid when I interact with them to give them orders.” He pulled a small wooden elephant out of his pocket, as if that explained something. “Layering programming on top of those lucid periods would jeopardize the whole experiment. And I know you may not believe it, but the experiment is far more important to me than anything else, even sex.”
Years later, Felix would think back on that conversation and realize what he had missed, but at the time, the One’s follow-up wicked smile distracted him. “Now, if it somehow turns out that the programming only works if I frak them, I’ll perform my duty vigorously,” he joked.
And like all Ones, this One used humor as a feint to get Felix’s guard down, so he could attack from a different direction. “But I’m surprised at your concern, Lieutenant Andrews. That sounded far more like you chastising me for violating human sexual mores, not Cylon ones. You almost had me worried you were going native for a moment.” The One’s tone was light and casual, but Felix heard the threat. “I’m choosing their names for them, you know. The Eight and the Nine. I think I’ll call him ‘Felix’ as well.”
Felix didn’t understand what was going on, but he did know that having the One associate him with a Defective like that, even a potentially heroic one, was most certainly not a compliment. He kept his military posture and impassive gaze intact, though. “Don’t you think that’s a risk, two of us with the same name, and both in the military? It’s already enough of a risk that we share the same face.”
The One waved the objection away with his hand. “Hardly a risk at all, when being afraid of technology for so long has put the Colonials so far behind. Funny, how this entire invasion plan never would have worked if they’d simply implemented networked facial recognition software and figured out there were far too many people with the same eight faces, huh? Plus, I’ll give him a different last name.”
Felix knew that as smart as he was, he wasn’t devious enough to win a battle of wits against a One, and definitely not this One. It was time to cut his losses. “Best of luck to you and your protégés,” he said, extending his hand to the One.
The One’s grasp was a little too hard. “Likewise. And don’t worry, I’ll do my best not to let your pretty face and ass distract me from my mission. I mean his, but, you know. Same difference. I don’t envy you, being completely alone among the humans for two years, though. Hey! Maybe my Felix could be your pen pal. Not that he’ll remember he’s a Cylon, but you will.”
Felix refused to give the One the satisfaction of showing he’d unsettled him. “Thanks, but not necessary. I won’t forget.”
The One smiled and patted his hand, then let go. “Of course not. Of course not,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.