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Post by Col. Charybdis on Dec 7, 2005 12:28:43 GMT -6
She was quite a woman. No wonder I had fallen in love with her. "Astraea, you will always be a part of my life. I'm just...sorry. For everything."
"It wasn't your fault," she replied. "I wanted to go, remember? Every warrior takes that chance every time they go out there." It was a phrase I had really gotten tired of after seeing so many of those warriors never come back.
"No, that's not it. I got the chance to move on, like it or not. But, you never did. For you, time just stopped at that micron as your whole life was ripped away from everything you had ever known. I never meant to fall in love again. I don't know." She could see I was struggling to put into words what I was thinking, what I was feeling.
I continued. "I met Amy and she was young and vibrant. I let myself feel again. Yes, we got engaged, but I don't think she ever meant to go through with it. We broke up for awhile. But then, right before this last mission. We were together again. We both thought we'd never see each other again."
Astraea could see the hurt in my eyes. "So, how did you leave it with Amy?" she asked.
"My offer to take the seal still stood. She never answered. I wanted to give her something to come back to. But instead, you were the one who brought her back." I was shaking my head in disbelief.
Astraea looked off down the corridor. "And I thought things would be simple once I returned. I guess that was some dream as well." I could see that she was let down. She was saddened again.
"Astraea, like I told you before. I will be here for you, no matter what. Yes, I do love Amy enough to take the seal with her. But, deep down, I have always loved you. I just stored those feelings away knowing that you were never coming back. You will always be a part of my life. I just don't know anything anymore. Amy's condition is stable but I don't know if she will ever be the same again. I don't know if she would ever want to be with me again either. If she ever wakes up, she has to hear that you're here too." Things were pretty complicated to say the least...
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Post by Astraea on Dec 7, 2005 13:05:20 GMT -6
Astraea removed the inches between them and slipped her arms around Charybdis’ waist for a tight embrace. She closed her eyes and gave herself a moment just to hold him. The confession that he had proposed to Amy right before the fateful mission that brought her home was like a knife in her chest. She almost preferred the thought that he had proposed yahrens before, that his relationship with Amy was somehow waning, and yet it touched her that he seemed almost apologetic for living.
She wanted nothing more than to just stand there and forget about the rest of the fleet, but then she steeled all her strength. She had to consider what he was going through. His fiancée was in a coma while a ghost from his past vied for his attentions. She felt a bit ashamed of herself for wanting him as much as she did.
“You know what?” she said as she looked up at him. “This isn’t something that we have to deal with right now.” She gave him a weak smile. “You’ve got your own worries considering Captain Amy’s condition and I still have to get my life back on track. Why don’t we stick to the old adage, ‘first things first’ and see about getting my new quarters arranged. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about the serious stuff when both of us are feeling more up to it.”
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Post by Col. Charybdis on Dec 8, 2005 9:29:05 GMT -6
Hmmm, pragmatic to the end. Of course, that's how Astraea was and one of the things I liked best about her. Amy was flying off the handle most of the time, but Astraea was always pretty calm. It was nice to see that some things did not change.
"How did you get so smart?" I asked her. She laughed, "The Cylons programmed it into me!" she said jokingly. After all she had been through, she could laugh about it.
I saw her in a new light, as if I had never really seen or known her even though we had almost been sealed at one point. Although I never got to ask her before the mission. But now, she had grown in many ways. I was looking forward to getting to know her all over again.
"Alright. First things first. Let's go check out your old office." I took her hand and led her off down the corridor to begin rebuilding her life...
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Post by Astraea on Dec 8, 2005 10:28:50 GMT -6
Astraea’s heart began to pound hard in her chest as she stood outside her old office with Charybdis at her side. She nearly reached out to stop him when he keyed the door to open. Part of her was excited to be standing there, to be about to enter the most familiar place to her in the entire fleet, but part of her was afraid. What if her replacement was there? What would he say to the interruption? How would he react to knowing that Astraea was back and wanted her old job?
She let out a sigh when they were met with only a darkened room. The automated lights came on as they stepped inside and she could see for the first time that her old office was much the same was it was when she left. She slowly walked around the room, running her fingers lightly over her desk. She noted that the monitor had been left up instead of tucked safely away in the desk and she pressed the button for it to slide down for storage.
There were few personal belongings in the room. A vase of flowers had been left until petals were falling to the floor. Assorted books were haphazardly stacked in a small nook in the wall and a pile of data disks had been left in the only available seat other than the desk chair. “It doesn’t look like anyone has been here for awhile.”
She looked over at Charybdis standing by the door. He had been watching her walk around the small room and he gave her a smile. For an instant, she remembered the last time she had seen him standing by the door waiting for her with that smile on his face. She had been running late because she simply hadn’t been able to pull herself away from her history scans. “Do you remember that concert on the Rising Star?”
His smile grew. “I remember racing to the shuttle because you were so engrossed in your work that you lost all track of time.” He leaned his shoulder against the wall. “But I always knew where to find you.”
She chuckled as she looked down at the clutter next to her. “You always said that I should simply move a cot in here, but the room was too small to accommodate it.” She glanced around at the close quarters. “I use to think that this room was smaller than a Cylon cold cell.” She looked back at him with a wiry smile. “It’s not.”
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Post by Col. Charybdis on Dec 8, 2005 10:43:34 GMT -6
Little did she know that I had ordered nothing removed from this room after she had disappeared. No one even really noticed that the office existed anymore. But I did. I would walk by here and enter the room all too often. I would read her writings from the history scans of what the Callisto had going through and I would be right there with her. Through her writings, she never had left me.
That continued even after I had met Amy. I had not wanted to let go. I had brought those flowers some time ago. They were sort of a memorial to her whenever I would be lucky enough to step foot on a planet. I would pick some flowers and bring them up here, no one ever knew. I had also changed the code on the door so no one could enter besides me.
I never dreamed that I would open that door again to let Astraea back in!! There was so much going on inside of me I could not find any words even if I tried for several yahrens. To see her in that room again...there were no words. I wasn't even sure this was still real. Was I dreaming? This couldn't be a sick twisted dream again.
I caught myself quickly as Astraea turned to show me something. It was a small rock that had been stored in a desk drawer. She was so excited about it still being there! "I remember that. You brought that back from that arid planet with the ruins on it. I didn't know what you found so fascinating about a chunk of rock." I teased her about it.
"Oh," she said, "never mind that it could have been traces from the lost 13th tribe. You know I can't get enough of that!" She was downright giddy. She stroked the rock and felt its rough surface. She clutched it harder and I could tell she wanted to get back to her life's work. She would now have that chance once again.
"Well, I hope you find that the office hasn't changed that much. It'll be nice to see you in here again...working just like you always did," I said.
She smiled. "It's almost like I was just here not too long ago. Like nothing ever happened." She continued to look around and to palm some of the books on the shelves. They were there, just as she had left them so many yahrens ago.
"It'll take just a little cleanup and then I'll have this place jumping once again," she said. I was glad. "Great, now I definitely know where I can always find you!" I kidded her.
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Post by Astraea on Dec 8, 2005 12:14:32 GMT -6
Astraea feigned curiosity of the clutter of disks so that she could discreetly wipe away a tear. She noted the labels on a few of the disks and realized that they were some of the research disks she used on a regular basis to keep her facts straight. She glanced through a few others then shook her head. “I always intended on getting these organized, but I’d get distracted by a new project and it would never get done.”
Secure that she had managed to choke back the swell of emotions, she turned back to Charybdis. “I guess that I could start with that, but I would be much more interested in getting a backlog of IFB reports.”
His grin grew. He knew just as well as she did that those disks were going to remain just as they were for a long time to come. “There’s an IFB sub-station here on the Callisto. We could swing by there if you like?”
She waved off the suggestion as she rubbed her thumb over the precious piece of history in her palm. Even if she was deluding herself about the ruins being from the 13th tribe, it was still a reminder of a blissful afternoon that she got to spend with Charybdis scouring the ruins. “I can drop by there myself later after I’ve had the chance to clean up in here a bit.” Astraea glanced around the room once more. Now she really felt like she was home.
“We still have to find out where I’m going to be sleeping,” she said quickly to divert the roller coaster of emotions building once more. “And I’ve got to get in some sim time if I want to get climb back into a Viper.” She glanced at the rock in her hand, then at her desk wondering if she should tuck it back away, but then decided to slip it into her jacket pocket.
She gave Charybdis a long look then stepped over in front of him. She placed her hands on either side of his face and smiled warmly. “Thank you,” she said softly then gave him a quick kiss before slipping her arms around his neck. “Thank you for everything.”
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Post by Col. Charybdis on Dec 8, 2005 12:46:51 GMT -6
She was warm. It felt so good to be holding her. No words were needed. I just kept on holding her tightly. At one moment, I felt as if I would never let go...
I regained composure myself and changed the subject. "Well, then I think you'll be needing this." I flashed a small ID card which held the security code for the office. She took it and smiled at it as if it was more than a key to a door. Perhaps it was a key to her regaining her life again.
"Now, about those sleeping quarters. Let's go see the quartermaster and see what we've got for you, huh?"
Astraea took another look around and was satisfied that this time, she would be returning again to the office in a short while. She took my hand and we left...
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Post by Astraea on Dec 8, 2005 13:57:31 GMT -6
Astraea was glad that Charybdis went with her to the quartermaster’s office. There weren’t many people about, but she could feel the eyes boring into her as she paced the room. She had picked up a sixth sense of when someone was watching her during her captivity, a trait that had saved her life more than once. She glanced around at the men and women. Some of them turned away when she made eye contact while others were openly hostile. One of the men even went so far as to write “Cylon” on a clipboard and held it up for her to see. No one approached her, however. Not with the colonel as her escort.
“I sure hope she doesn’t get assigned to Gold Squadron barracks,” she heard one woman comment not too discreetly.
Astraea looked over and locked eyes with the woman’s companion, a man wearing a warrior’s uniform although she couldn’t make out the squadron insignia. “If she does, I doubt she survives the week.”
Great, Astraea thought. I still need to watch my back even though I’m home. She shook her head at the man. If he thought that she would go to go down without a fight, he would be sadly mistaken. Prison taught nothing if not survival skills.
“Astraea,” Charybdis called out to her then motioned for her to join him at the quartermaster’s desk. He had been oblivious to the exchanges as he tried to find a suitable room for her. “We finally found something in the Gamma section, but it’s not as close to your office as your old quarters.” Charybdis gave her an apologetic look. “It’s not exactly the grand palace either. The available choices are pretty bleak.”
She smiled at him as she moved to his side. “Anything will do. I just need a place to rest my head and I doubt that the pilots in the barracks will be very welcoming.”
He frowned at the comment. “I wouldn’t worry about the other pilots. I’m sure that everyone will be glad to have another body in the flight rotation.”
She glanced at the quartermaster who gave her a disgusted look. It was plain what he thought of her. “I’m sure you’re right,” she returned half-heartedly.
“That one will do,” Charybdis ordered the quartermaster then turned back to Astraea. “But, I know how you like your privacy and there is space available. Besides, you’ll never get any computer time in the barracks.” If there was one thing he knew about Astraea is that she would spend every spare moment working on the computer if she could.
“That’s at the top of my list of things needed,” she confirmed. “That and a stack of blank disks.”
Charybdis signed off on a paper that the quartermaster handed him. “I can take care of that for you too.” He gave her a smile. “I’ll have them sent to your room ASAP.”
Even with the difficulties she knew she had yet to face, everything would be fine as long as Charybdis was there smiling at her. “You always knew how to sweep a girl off her feet,” she teased.
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Post by Col. Charybdis on Dec 9, 2005 12:19:16 GMT -6
Astraea seemed to be in good spirits. I just wondered how she would make the transition back to being one of the Warriors, I worried that others might not like the fact that she was back and in my good graces as second in command of the battlestar. It was the same thing that Amy had faced when we were together. Always being second guessed.
We gathered extra uniforms and such for her quarters and then headed over to check it out.
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Post by Astraea on Dec 9, 2005 13:15:17 GMT -6
Questions were starting to fill Astraea’s head. The historian part of her was pushing its way through, but she was enjoying her time with Charybdis. She knew that he would eventually be called back to the bridge or some other sort of emergency would come up to take him away. She didn’t want to spoil their time together with questions.
They received a few curious glances as they passed through the corridors. Astraea wondered for a moment if they were curious about her or the fact that Charybdis was with her, but it wasn’t long before they reached her new quarters.
Charybdis keyed open the door then let Astraea walk in first. The accommodations weren’t very large. There was barely room for a bed, but there was a small desk and a computer terminal. She was set. “It’s perfect,” she told him.
Charybdis looked around a little distastefully. “Are you sure?” There wasn’t even room enough to add a chair.
Astraea took the uniforms from his arms. “Absolutely,” she assured him then looked around for drawer space. She found it next to the bed and pushed a button to slide out a drawer from the gray wall. “It’s not like I’ll be spending a lot of time here anyway.” She glanced back over her shoulder at him while she straightened out her clothes in the compartment.
“That’s true,” he chuckled. He would lay cubits on the fact that Astraea would be in her old office before the end of the cycle.
She looked at him curiously. “Are your quarters anywhere nearby?”
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