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Post by Amy81 on Mar 3, 2006 12:10:55 GMT -6
"For real?" Amy asked. "That actually happened?"
Brie nodded. "Yes. No fooling."
"Well" Amy said, "Thanks. It helps make me feel like less of a freak. And I'd like to read that report myself. I remember the cold cell, at least being there. But everything after that is more or less a blank."
"I'll get you a copy" Brie promised.
"Thanks. It'll help me fill in some of the blanks. Now the things that happened before the cold cell I remember pretty clearly. I got winged by a purple cylon, and got nearly strangled by one while hanging over an elevator shaft. Then it gets hazy, but I remember coming to in Baltar's cruiser. I've never been near anyone so out and out evil in my entire life." She smiled. "Lazant got the last word in on him though. Pulled a great trick on him. And I didn't agree with Lazant then, but I sort of do now. There's no way we'd have made it back taking Baltar with us."
Amy smiled at the thought. "Which just proves I guess that Lazant is a bigger jerk than Baltar is, only less evil. Slightly less anyway." Her smile went away. "And I still don't appreciate him not untieing me until after he'd marooned Baltar. Just another way of making sure he was in charge I guess. I'll bet he would have kept me tied up if he thought he could have gotten away with it."
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Post by Brie on Mar 3, 2006 14:08:38 GMT -6
Brie thought for a micron. “On second thought, I’d like for you to make your report before you see what Lazant said. Maybe you could read about what happened after the cold cell, but not before. When you feel up to it I’ll take care of it.”
“Why?” Amy asked.
“Well,” Brie explained with a sigh, “there are some discrepancies between what Lazant and Astraea said. Personally I think that Astraea’s imagination......increased while she was in captivity, from what Lazant told me she thought that the whole thing was a Cylon trick. But she has friends in high places who also hate Lazant, so since you remember what happened, it would be best to have it in your own words.”
“Okay,” Amy agreed.
“I ran into Baltar on the mission as well,” Brie continued. “Not face to face, but on a couple of different monitors. Seeing his face take up an entire wall...”
“Creepy, isn’t he?”
Brie nodded. “He asked me to join him.” She visibly shivered. “So did Pierce. He wanted me to take the seal and help him run his new society. See, it’s that older men thing again. They’re not to be trusted.”
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Post by Amy81 on Mar 4, 2006 20:15:40 GMT -6
"See" Amy said, "You are such a respected leader, everyone wants you to join their side, even the creeps! And it's not altogether fair to lump all older men into such a category. For the most part, I've found Charybdis to be a kind, loving, caring man. I don't know what the future holds for him and me, but if it doesn't work out half the fault will be mine."
"Now Lazant on the other hand" Amy went on, "he just plain out gives guys a bad name in my book. I swear he didn't miss a chance to belittle me. I don't know if it's women in general or me in particular, but we wasted more time butting heads. And Baltar jumped right onto the bandwagon. He got his shots in too. Of all the people to be stuck trying to survive with. Deke was the only level headed one there, and he died saving my life."
"That detail isn't in the records" Brie said. "Only that he fell down the elevator shaft while you and he were retriving a cylon head."
Amy nodded. "It was my fault we had to go back in the first place. But Deke went with me as cover. And we were surprised by the purple cylons. They shot more accurately than any centurion I've ever heard about. And I had the head, and I was hanging over the side of the shaft when the roof of the bay collapsed. I thought we were all dead, but then a damaged centurion reached out and grabbed me by the neck. I was just hanging there, dying, when Deke came out of nowhere. He was hurt too..."
Amy began to tear up at the memory. Brie put an arm around her for comfort.
"He was hurt" Amy continued, "but he clubbed the centurion, trying to get him to let me go. But the centurion reached around and pushed Deke into the shaft. I heard him hit the bottom..." Amy shook her head. "And I knew I was dead. I would have been, but the centurion shut down as it started squeezing my neck again. If Deke hadn't hit it, damaged it more like he did, I'd have died hanging there."
"Lazant reported coming up the elevator and cutting you loose" Brie said. "He performed CPR on you."
Amy pretended to gag, managing a smile. "Thanks, but I didn't need to know that!"
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Post by Amy81 on Mar 5, 2006 9:11:08 GMT -6
"Yeah, just as well you don't remember that" Brie said smiling. "What is the next thing you remember?"
Amy thought back. "Being on the cruiser with Baltar. He'd somehow marooned Lazant, and he was trying to take me to his baseship. He'd have made it too, if he'd known that the area was clear of vipers. With the base off line, he didn't know for sure and couldn't risk a message."
"He had you tied up then?" Brie asked.
Amy shook her head. "No. He tied me up after I clubbed him."
Brie smiled. "You clubbed him?"
"Yup. He didn't expect me to wake up. But I did. I wasn't steady enough on my feet though. I passed out myself after knocking him out. When I woke up again, he'd already been awake and tied me up. You've talked to him. You know what he's like. I was so afraid of what was going to happen to me on his baseship. And it turns out I got away from him only to be captured on a baseship anyway." She shook her head at the irony. "Some days you can't win I guess."
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Post by Brie on Mar 6, 2006 13:41:07 GMT -6
"Yeah, I've had a few of those days myself lately," Brie replied. "Just so you know, Amy, I wanted to look for you myself, but I was wounded. My elbow was broken and I also had this nice little gash right here..." Brie pulled back her hair and showed Amy the scar at her hairline. "Frack, the past few sectars I've ended up with more scars...but anyway, Lazant was just about the only one who wasn't injured. I don't even think he had any dirt on his uniform. That's why I sent him. And he was wrong to try to take over your command, but that's Lazant. But it was my first inclination to look for you myself."
"I understand," Amy said sincerely.
"So...what happened next?"
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Post by Amy81 on Mar 7, 2006 7:20:25 GMT -6
Amy managed a laugh. "I wish you had been able to look instead of Lazant. We wouldn't have argued, wasted time... But that's war for you, huh? Besides, I know some warriors who think battle scars are incredibly sexy."
"Would you stop!" Brie laughed.
Amy smiled. "Never! But let's see... What happened next... I woke up, and Baltar had me tied up. He'd wanted to take me to his baseship, but while we were both knocked out the cruiser took some scanner damage. He couldn't find the baseship, and didn't want to risk sending out a call for it. So he had turned us around and was going back to the base."
"Why?" Brie asked. "He'd just escaped from there."
Amy nodded. "But he'd gotten a call from the base. A centurion reported that repairs were underway. But it was Lazant doing the reporting. Trying to trick him. And it worked."
"Yes" Brie said. "I remember. Lazant really played up that part in his report."
"He does deserve credit" Amy said. "Even I have to admit it was pretty close to brilliant. And the look on Baltar's face after we docked, when he opened the door and found himself staring at Lazant and the business end of a cylon rifle... priceless!"
They both laughed. "But then he and I disagreed on what to do" Amy went on. "I really wanted Baltar brought back as a prisoner, but Lazant disagreed. He wouldn't even consider my opinion. And since I was tied up and he wasn't about to untie me, I could only watch as he got his revenge and marooned Baltar." She shook her head. "I still think it's a mistake. Imagine having Baltar here as a prisoner. Think of what it would have done for morale!" She thought about it for a moment. "So, is my story still matching up with his?"
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Post by Brie on Mar 7, 2006 9:41:26 GMT -6
"I told you, I'll let you read his report after you've officially filed yours," Brie replied. She wasn't going to say that Lazant hadn't even mentioned Baltar in this part of his report. She had a feeling that she knew his motives, which were as complex as he was. She was going to have to find time to have a nice long chat with him. "I will tell you this much. He had some really nice things to say about you."
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Post by Amy81 on Mar 8, 2006 12:59:34 GMT -6
"Get the frack out" Amy blurted before she could stop herself. "I mean..."
"I know what you mean" Brie replied. "Surprised?"
"Yeah" Amy replied. Then she thought a moment. "Oh, wait, I get it."
"Get what?"
"Lazant thought I was dead. No wonder he was speaking nicely of me, if that's what he was doing."
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Post by Brie on Mar 8, 2006 14:55:18 GMT -6
"I know you can't stand Lazant and I understand why," Brie said quickly, "but that's not what happened. He could have used the report to make himself seem like a superhero, especially since, like you said, at the time no one knew whether or not you'd survive. He wouldn't have said anything good unless he really meant it. I know you won't believe me, but it is possible to get on his good side."
"I didn't know he had one," Amy commented.
"It's in there," Brie said with a grin, "just really well hidden. I get along with him well enough, and he actually has respect for me. Plus he did volunteer for the mission, even though he's not even a member of Gold Squadron. He knew that his experience could come in handy and it did. He was invaluable to me."
"He was a pain in my..."
"Yeah, I know," Brie said. "But you both made it back, and you're both going to be fine."
"Deke's not," Amy added sadly.
“The first time you lose people under your command is the hardest,” Brie said. “And so you know, because of Deke’s injuries it was determined that he probably wouldn’t have survived, even if you had made it back to the Pylos. Deke died a hero, and I think that’s what he always deep down wanted.”
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Post by Amy81 on Mar 8, 2006 17:40:26 GMT -6
"It didn't seem that way at the time" Amy recalled. "He was about the only thing keeping Lazant and I from really going at it a few times. He knew when to chime in and keep us from getting too angry with each other. And he was more worried about my injuries than his own. And he was the only one who was willing to go back up with me for that stupid cylon head. I didn't see Lazant volunteer to help me. He seemed as disgusted as Baltar that I'd left it behind."
"The head was that important?" Brie asked.
"Oh yeah" Amy replied. "Only Baltar didn't tell me to bring it. Everyone dropped everything and jumped on the elevator when it started moving that first time. Then he got mad at me when I didn't have it when he needed it again. He said some pretty nasty things about me and Lazant just stood there, not saying anything. Like he agreed that it was my fault. I'm sure he put all that in his report." She paused. "But tell me, what did he have to say that was good?"
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