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Post by Brie on Sept 7, 2005 12:05:15 GMT -6
Boleman took his time walking to see Commander Sheba. He was in no hurry to deliver Kyla’s news. He softly knocked on the office door. “Enter.” Glancing around to make sure no one had followed him, Boleman opened the door and went in. He felt a little bit paranoid, but after living a sham of a sealing for all those yahrens he didn’t trust anyone. “Protector Boleman,” Sheba said pleasantly. “I don’t really have a lot of time at the micron...”
“This will only take a centon,” Boleman replied. “I just came from the med lab, and it’s important.”
“Then please, have a seat,” Sheba gestured to the chairs opposite her desk. Boleman sat down, thinking that it was almost pointless. He wouldn’t be there very long. “Is something wrong? Is it Brie?”
“No,” Boleman replied quickly. “There’s no change with her. It’s actually Kyla.”
“The young med tech that saved Brie’s life,” Sheba stated.
“Yes,” Boleman replied. “She’s...she’s pregnant with Pierce’s child.”
“Oh,” Sheba replied, the ramifications sinking in.
“Doc Bkj has ordered extra security,” Boleman added. “She’s going to have a tough time of it, poor kid. Carrying the son of a monster...”
“How is Kyla?” Sheba asked.
“Doc is treating her for exhaustion,” Boleman said. “Apparently she didn’t even realize that she was pregnant.”
“We need to make sure as few people find out about this as possible,” Sheba said.
“I’m pretty sure Kyla will do as I say,” Boleman replied. “But we need a place for her to lay low for awhile.”
“Were you serious about wanting to transfer from the Galactica?” Sheba asked. Boleman nodded. “Good. There’s an empty suite on the civilian level. It’s a lot smaller than what you’re used to...”
“I’ll take it,” Boleman said quickly.
Sheba paused. “Would you be willing to let Kyla stay with you? At least until the baby is born?”
“You mean take the title of ‘protector’ seriously? Yeah, she can stay with me.”
“Okay, it’s settled.” Sheba pulled something out of her desk. “Here’s your new housing assignment. Keep me up to date on how things are going.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Boleman took the paper, stood, and walked to the door.
“And Boleman,” Sheba called. “Good luck.”
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Post by Brie on Sept 7, 2005 12:39:05 GMT -6
Chip stood up from his hospital bed and tried to get a little bit close to the door’s window. The shackle on his ankle prevented him from getting too good a view. The guards outside paid him no notice, they had no reason to think that he was trying to find out information. They thought, like everyone else, that Chip was having vision problems, caused by the blow to his head. He smiled. He was such a good actor that he should be on General Sickbay! He ran over his plan in his mind. When charged he would plead not guilty, he wouldn’t be convicted because he hadn’t done anything wrong, and then he would hunt down and kill Major JustinB, for it was Justin’s fist that had prevented him from being able to join Master Pierce on the call home. After that he would execute the Widow, as his Master would have wanted him to.
There was some activity outside the door. A large machine was being rolled down the hall. He thought for a micron. He had seen that traitor Kari or Kyla or whatever her name was being taken by gurney to a room in that direction. He knew what that equipment did, it determined the estimated due date and gender of an unborn baby. Chip jumped to the only conclusion possible, Kari/Kyla/whatever was pregnant. Since he knew how possessive Master Pierce had been of his women the baby HAD to be his.
Chip decided that it was time to stop faking sick. He knew that there were other Chosen who had survived, most of them were probably in the brig. They would want to know that their Master was still with him, through his child. There was still hope for the human race.
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Post by Brie on Sept 8, 2005 7:44:35 GMT -6
Chip lied back down on his bed and pretended to be asleep. He would have to time things correctly, he couldn’t let the medical staff figure out that he knew about Pierce’s precious child. After giving it a decent amount of time he opened his eyes and looked around. “Guards!” he screamed. The guards opened the door. “Get the doctor in here. It’s a miracle. I can see clearly again!”
The intern who had been assigned to Chip, whose name Chip never even bothered to try to remember, was there within the centon, shining that annoying little light into Chip’s eyes again. “Everything looks good. We’ll want one more set of x-rays to make sure all the swelling on your brain has gone down. I told you your vision would return to normal.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Chip said with fake sincerity.
“If everything is normal, you’ll be headed to the big,” Doctor Whatshisname reminded him.
“Doctor, that doesn’t matter,” Chip replied. “Your patience and your skills have cured me.”
“I’ll be back for you in a couple of centons, to get you to x-ray,” Doctor Whatshisname said at the door.
Chip lied back on his bed. He knew that there were other Chosen in the brig. He would quickly spread the word that all was not lost for those who had missed the call home.
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Post by Brie on Sept 8, 2005 9:17:37 GMT -6
Boleman arrived at his new quarters and punched in the code. Commander Sheba was right, it was a lot smaller than what he was used to. There was a tiny living area with two chairs, a small desk on the side with a computer, a turbowash room and two miniscule bedrooms. It would do, although he had to remind himself that most people in the fleet didn’t have this kind of luxury. His mind drifted back to the quarters that he had called home for so many yahrens, the Head Chef’s apartment he had shared with Trula on the Galactica. He would send word for someone to send him his belongings, he didn’t want to ever set foot in that space again.
Pleasantly surprised that the computer was already hooked up, Boleman sent a message to Doc Bkj. He informed her that he had carried out the favor that she had asked, and that he would stop by in a couple of centars to check on the patient. He was careful the way that he worded everything, he figured that if the memo was intercepted whoever read it would think he was talking about Brie.
He checked the two bedrooms again. He decided immediately that the “larger” one would go to Kyla. It would be odd, having a pregnant stranger stay with him, but it would somehow work out. The most important thing was keeping Kyla and Pierce’s son safe. He corrected himself in his mind. The most important thing was keeping Kyla and HER son safe. Pierce was totally out of the equation. Boleman turned on his new IFB monitor, sat down in one of his new chairs, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
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Post by Brie on Sept 9, 2005 7:07:21 GMT -6
Kyla opened her eyes. Even in the dark, she immediately recognized the form standing at the bottom of her bed. “I hear we have a miracle coming, my pet.”
Pushing herself up, Kyla tried to stay as far away from him as she could. It didn’t help, he started to walk towards her. “This isn’t possible. You’re dead.”
“You can’t kill a god,” Pierce said with a smile.
“You’re not a god,” Kyla said quickly, her fear growing by the micron. “You’re a madman, with delusions of grandeur. You’re no more a god than I am.”
“You’re carrying my child,” Pierce commented. “That doesn’t make you a god, but it does give you a special place in the grand scheme of things, my pet. And this child, well, he’ll be a deity in his own right.”
“How do you know that it’s a boy?” Kyla asked.
Pierce smiled again. “I am all knowing, my pet. You’d do well to remember that.” He stood right next to the bed. “It’s time.”
“Time for what?” Kyla asked.
“I can’t leave you here,” Pierce replied. “Trust the people who tried to kill me with my child? No, my pet, you’re coming with me.” He effortlessly scooped Kyla up in his arms.
“Nooooo!” Kyla’s own scream woke her up, she realized that it had been a dream. She sat on her bed, put her head in her hands, and started to sob. Life had suddenly become so much more complicated.
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Post by Brie on Sept 9, 2005 7:10:07 GMT -6
Chip didn’t resist the restraints as they prepared to move him to the brig. He was actually looking forward to it. He had known that he had needed to be in the med lab for some reason, and that reason had been revealed to him. Now it was time to spread the good news. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he was sure that somehow his Master would find the way.
A scream came from behind one of the other doors. “What was that?” Chip asked the guard.
“The woman in there is pregnant,” the guard said casually. “I overheard someone say that. It’s probably a hormone thing. You know how women can be.”
Chip smiled and casually glanced towards the room. It was her. His deduction about Kari/Kyla/whatever had been confirmed. “Yeah. Hormones.” He walked silently the rest of the way to the brig, excited about what his Master might have planned next for him.
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Post by Brie on Sept 14, 2005 9:55:36 GMT -6
Chip was processed and taken to an isolation cell in the brig. He didn’t mind that he hadn’t yet been charged with anything, he was in no hurry to have to meet with a protector and have to discuss his future. He was where he wanted to be, on the same ship as his Master’s heir.
Even though he was in a different section, Chip felt like he knew the cell very well. He had spent enough time watching the feed of the Widow when she had been confined. At the time he had hated the duty, but now he understood why it had been assigned to him. Master Pierce had known that Chip would eventually need the information. Master Pierce truly was a god! The cameras set in the hall didn’t concern him much, there was only one that would rotate to look inside his cell from time to time. The two cameras inside the cell were a minor annoyance, but he knew from his former duty where he could stand and hardly be seen. There was no audio with the video feed. He also knew that watching the prisoners in the brig was considered boring work by most Security Officers, they were understaffed and didn’t pay much attention anyway. It had been easy to break the Widow out right under their noses!
The almost total quiet was calming to Chip. He stood by the door, eyes closed, listening to his own breathing. He needed to find other surviving Chosen and spread the good news. Air in, air out. Air in, air out. He heard something, faintly, growing closer. Perhaps an answer to prayer.
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Post by Brie on Sept 15, 2005 11:45:19 GMT -6
At first Chip was slightly disappointed, it was just an old man with a food cart. Chip wasn’t hungry, but he decided he’d take a tray anyway. He needed to keep up his strength, in case his Master needed him. “Come closer, my boy,” the man said. Chip didn’t really feel like talking but did as he was told. “The Caprican sunset is beautiful over the water,” the old man whispered.
Chip could hardly contain his excitement. “But the Sagittarian winds howl all night long.”
“I’m looking for those who have remained faithful to my Master,” the man said, looking straight into Chip’s eyes through the holes in the cell door.
“Always,” Chip replied.
“Pretend you’re choosing your meal,” the man suggested. “My name is...”
“No names,” Chip interrupted. “At least not yet. That’s how Master Pierce wants it. Why didn’t you answer the call home?”
The man looked ashamed. “I was asleep. I have no excuse.”
“Cheer up, old man,” Chip said quickly. “I believe that our Master wanted some of us to stay behind, to continue to carry out his work here in the fleet. Do you know of any other survivors?”
“I’ve been trying to find out,” the man answered. “There are several people being held here, some on the Galactica as well. A few have already been convicted and sent to the Prison Barge. I think they’re trying to keep everyone apart.”
“Probably,” Chip commented. He pointed to some food on the cart, trying to make it appear that’s what they were talking about.
“There are also some who claim to follow my Master,” the man continued, “but seem to think that he hasn’t passed on to the next level of existence. That he hasn’t gone home.”
“Don’t bother with them,” Chip suggested. “We need people who understand Master Pierce’s vision, who aren’t in it just to get women.”
“Speaking of which, there’s another young man, also in an isolation cell, who claims to be faithful, but keeps talking about a warrior named Logan.”
Chip smiled, knowing he was speaking about Comeek. “Tell him that his roommate says hello, and if he does what our Master wants, then maybe he’ll be rewarded with the beautiful Lieutenant.”
“How do we know what our Master wants?” the old man asked.
“He wants us to protect his child,” Chip said calmly.
The old man looked shocked. “His child?”
“Kari, the med tech with the funny eye, is carrying our Master’s child,” Chip informed him. “I think her name is Kari. I overheard this information in the sick bay. It’s up to you to spread the word.”
“I will,” the old man replied. Knowing that they could take no more time, he put some food on a tray and passed it through the slot in the door.
“But tell only those that you KNOW have remained faithful,” Chip said quietly, taking the tray.
“Of course.” The old man turned and walked away. Chip sat down on the bed in his small cell, trying not to smile. He didn’t want to take any chances that the security guards might actually glance at the video feed.
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Post by Brie on Sept 16, 2005 8:52:53 GMT -6
Although they were designed the same way as the regular brig cells, the isolation cells were different. Each was situated within its own area, keeping them apart. The areas were supposedly soundproofed, and although voices were rarely heard, if the prisoners listened carefully enough they could hear things from the other side of the door.
Comeek heard the squeaking of the food cart’s wheels. He always enjoyed talking with the old man. It gave him hope, there were others who had survived. He kept hinting that he would like to find out more information about Lieutenant Logan, but so far the old man just rolled his eyes whenever her name was mentioned. Comeek knew that there had to be a reason that he had survived, he still had a purpose, and every waking centar he asked Master Pierce to give him a sign of what that purpose might be. “Hello, my friend,” he said quietly as the cart rolled closer. “What a dream I had last night. I was on a beach with Logan, and she was dressed in a...”
“Quiet,” the old man said, rolling his eyes. “I have a message for you.”
“For me?” Comeek repeated, confused.
“Your roommate says hello and if you do what our Master wants then maybe you’ll be rewarded with the woman you desire.”
“He’s alive?” Comeek asked, smiling.
“From what I can tell, he was in the sick bay longer than you were,” the man told him. “And he brings wonderful news. A miracle.”
Comeek tried to remain calm. “What kind of news?”
“Kari, the med tech with the funny eye, is pregnant with our Master’s child.”
Remembering the cameras, Comeek forced himself not to gasp. “Master Pierce stays with us through his child. You’re right, it is a miracle.” He thought for a moment. “But I thought her name was Kyla.”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” the old man promised. He passed a food tray through the slot in the door and Comeek took it. “And I’ll continue to spread the word. Keep asking for guidance. We need to know what our Master wants us to do with this information.”
As the old man went through the outer door and the sound of the squeaking wheels grew fainter, Comeek sat down and started to eat. His Master’s baby. Maybe that was why Lieutenant Logan was constantly on is mind. Maybe Master Pierce wanted the two of them to raise his child.
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Post by Brie on Sept 16, 2005 12:37:25 GMT -6
A knock on his door awakened the sleeping Boleman. For a micron he forgot where he was, he wasn’t yet used to his new quarters. He stood up and opened the door. “You’re going to have to be more careful than that,” the man in work clothes told him. “Ever hear of asking who is at the door?” Toolbox in hand, he walked into the small suite.
Boleman had to move out of the way. “Who are you?”
“Just call me Walt,” the man replied. “It’s not my real name, but the uniform already had the nametag, and the nickname kind of stuck.”
Boleman shook his head in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t Commander Sheba tell you?” Walt pulled out a work order. “I’m here to install your new security system. Top of the line, too, you must either be really important or in a lot of trouble.”
Boleman noticed that the message light on his console was blinking. He walked over and glanced at the written message from Commander Sheba, informing him of the new security system. “Do you know who I am?” he asked, wondering if Walt had seen him on the IFB.
“Don’t know, don’t care,” Walk replied. He set to work. At first Boleman thought about helping, but soon realized that he would be in the way. He sat back down in the chair. “My orders say something about a guest. Which bedroom will he be getting?”
“The larger one,” Boleman replied, purposely not correcting the gender mistake. The less number of people who found where Kyla was staying, the better.
For several annoying centons, Walt whistled while he worked. “Done!” he said at last. He handed Boleman a thick paper book.
“What’s this?” Boleman asked.
Walt rolled his eyes. “The manual. Make sure you read it all. You’ll have to do an eye scan to enter. The locks on the front door and the smaller bedroom door will open for you, the two Commanders, and your guest. The other bedroom door will open only for the Commanders and your guest. You’ll have to have him set up his eye scan when he gets here. And don’t forget to do yours as well, otherwise you’ll have to contact Sheba to re-enter your apartment, and I doubt either one of you would want that.”
“How do I set up an eye scan?” Boleman asked.
“It’s all right there,” Walt replied, pointing to the book. “Pages 223-235. Make sure you don’t mess it up, the only one on the Callisto with the power to override it is Commander Sheba.” He opened the door. “Good luck!”
Boleman opened the book as the door closed. “Chapter One,” he read out loud. “Your New Security System, an Introduction.”
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