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Post by Amy81 on Apr 21, 2006 6:21:33 GMT -6
Abby didn't want to speak of Em. That betrayal still cut deep. But she'd let it slip that there was more than one, and Brie might be thinking that more men were involved.
"There was someone else" she revealed. "A woman, but I don't think she did anything but take the pictures. I thought I knew her pretty well, but I guess I didn't. You see? It seems that I managed to pick up some enemies too along the way. And the way this woman tells it, I think she enjoyed what was going on more than Ange did. The fact that it was my daughter pleased her no end." She shook her head, still not believing how much Em had detested her all these yahrens while pretending to be a friend.
She had a sudden thought. "Maybe Amy should be told that you are her mom. I'd love to see the look on this woman's face when she learns that Amy isn't really mine. In fact, I have seen that face on her. When the news broke on IFB about you being Amy's mother, E--, uh, this woman thought it was true and was uncontrollably livid with me."
Abby continued with the thought. "I wonder what Ange would do if he knew? It might just kill him with remorse, if he had an ounce of a conscience."
"Of course" she went on, "a little revenge isn't much reason to toy with Amy's feelings. But isn't that what we are doing now? What we've always been doing? While we pretend to know what's best for her?"
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Post by Brie on Apr 21, 2006 10:14:28 GMT -6
"No," Brie said quickly, "that's not what we've been doing. I'll admit that Elmer forcing you to pretend you were the one who was pregnant was a bit much, but besides that the rest has been necessary. The reason I wanted someone else to raise her to begin with was that I never expected to live this long, most warriors don't. I lost my parents when I was three, I couldn't let that happen to her. And now, well, now it's too late. You know Amy, know how sensitive she is. Finding out that she was conceived through violence...she'd blame herself."
"Maybe," Abby said.
"And then we both will have lost her. She'd never trust us again. And then there's Ange..." Brie sighed. "I've had a lot of really terrible things happen in my yahrens, but that was the defining moment of my life. Frack, Abby, he made me...he..." Brie wiped the tears that she hadn't realized had started falling. "You can't let him know, Abby. He doesn't have a conscience, he'd say I asked for it. Promise me you'll never tell anyone about this."
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Post by Amy81 on Apr 21, 2006 19:43:13 GMT -6
Abby took Brie's hands in hers, holding them tightly. So much pain, so many secrets and lies upon lies...
"Then we won't tell him, and we wouldn't tell Amy about Ange" Abby said, "but so much of me wants the lies to end. To start fresh with her. If she feels so close to you and like an orphan to me, it would end her confusion to know the truth, wouldn't it?"
Then it struck her. To tell only half the truth wouldn't be enough. Amy'd want to know who her father was. And to lie, to say it wasn't Ange, wouldn't feel much like telling the truth...
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Post by Brie on Apr 22, 2006 11:00:36 GMT -6
"What lies, Abby?" Brie asked. "You're Amy's mother, I'm not. Plain and simple. The fact that I carried her is really unimportant. I'm not trying to take your place and I never will. I'm satisfied just being her friend." She paused. "You shouldn't be here with me right now, Abby. You should be with your daughter. Unless Charybdis delayed it by doing something stupid like insisting they be sealed right away, the surgery should be starting soon. She needs you."
"What about you?" Abby asked.
Brie slowly pulled her hands away and wiped away a few more tears. "I need a centon or two to get myself together. I have a reputation for being strong, I don't want anyone to see me like this. And we can talk some more later if you want."
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Post by Brie on May 1, 2006 9:29:23 GMT -6
After Abby had left Brie took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. She wiped her eyes again. Amy was about to lose her baby. Amy's baby, Brie's godchild. Brie's grandchild. She hadn’t thought of that before. She just hoped that Amy would be fine. No matter how they tried to hide it it was obvious that the doctors had no clear idea what they were dealing with. Brie reminded herself that Amy would know how to be strong, it was in her genes.
A beep caused Brie to jump. It was her person comm, signaling that she had a message. She went to the computer in the corner. A small smile crossed her face as she realized who it was from.
“Major Brie,
First and most importantly... HAPPY NOVAYARHEN!!! Thought I would forget with everything going on didn't you. ;-)
I sent the status reports from the battle to you by a runner earlier. I had to report to the bridge or I would have stopped them by myself. Have a mission to plan. Can't give details on an unsecured server, but I will fill you in ASAP, I promise. Heading down now to check the status of the Vipers, Gold is in the ready room resting and waiting for the next call. You take care and I want you to know how much I miss you....... I mean, the entire Squadron misses you, with us.... gotta go...
Skyler”
My novayahren? Brie thought. She had forgotten all about it. Wow, that came fast. She read the rest again. Everything going on? She hadn’t received any message from a runner. If he had sent it earlier...Brie shook her head, it didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense anymore.
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Post by Brie on May 2, 2006 8:26:24 GMT -6
The door opened and a medtech entered. Brie automatically assumed that she was there because of Amy. “Major Brie, Doc Bkj would like to see you in her office,” the young woman informed her.
“What about Captain Amy?” Brie asked.
“I think she’s being prepped for her surgery,” the medtech replied. “No more visitors until she’s in recovery.”
“Typical,” Brie muttered, grabbing the walker and leaving for Bkj’s office. They had promised to let her see Amy before the surgery. Arriving at the office, Brie knocked. There was no answer but the door was slightly open, so she let herself in and had a seat. She tapped her fingers nervously on the desk. It was more cluttered than usual. On the corner, under some papers, was a file obviously marked “Confidential.” That seemed strange, an eyes-only file shouldn’t have been left out in an unlocked office. Brie reached for it, intending to hide it better under the papers. She was surprised by what else was written on the outside. Under the large “Confidential” at the top were the words “For Major Brie from Captain Skyler.” Brie flipped it over, it hadn’t been opened. This must be the report that Skyler sent me by runner, Brie thought. Why would Doc have it?
“Oh,” a voice said behind her. Brie jumped, she hadn’t heard Bkj enter the room. “I didn't know you were here already. I need another blood sample..."
"Why do you have this?" Brie asked.
"The sample first," Bkj insisted. Brie rolled up her sleeve and the blood was drawn. "How are you feeling? Any unusual aches and pains, shortness of breath..."
"Come on, Doc," Brie started. "We've been friends a long time. What the frack is going on? Why do you have a report that was meant for me?"
Doc went to the door, handed someone the sample, then closed the door behind her. "I'm worried about your stress level, Brie. There was no one from Gold killed during the battle, I checked myself. So the battle reports can wait."
"Why are you so worried about my stress level?" Brie asked. "I'm recovering from a leg wound. That’s the only thing keeping me from returning to active duty.” She saw the look on Doc’s face. “Isn’t it?”
Doc sighed. “Brie, there’s still a trace amount of the drug that caused your heart attack in your blood stream. There’s a slight chance that you could have another attack. That’s why I want you to stay away from battle plans and anything else that could put you at more risk. The situation with Amy is bad enough.”
“How long will I be at risk?” Brie asked.
“I’m not sure,” Doc replied. “The amount of the poison is getting less with each blood test. If you take it easy, you’ll be fine. And according to your physical therapist your leg won’t be a problem too much longer. You’ll be back on full active duty very soon, I promise. Now if you’ll excuse me...”
Brie sat in Doc’s empty office for several microns, the unopened file in her hand. This cycle just kept getting better and better. She placed the file back under the papers, opened the door and left.
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Post by Brie on May 3, 2006 11:48:44 GMT -6
Brie wandered down the hall and found herself once again in the same room where she had been speaking with Abby. Doc's words echoed through her mind. “Brie, there’s still a trace amount of the drug that caused your heart attack in your blood stream. There’s a slight chance that you could have another attack. That’s why I want you to stay away from battle plans and anything else that could put you at more risk. The situation with Amy is bad enough.” She wasn’t scared to die, she faced death every battle. But she didn’t want it to be because of Pierce. Even after his death Pierce was trying to end her life. It wasn’t fair.
Her thoughts drifted to Amy. That wasn’t fair either. After giving her up for adoption the life that Amy was supposed to live should have been far away from the military and the Cylons. Instead she had been turned into an experiment. “Fracking, fracking Cylons,” she said out loud.
Amy will be fine, stop worrying about her, Brie thought. Think good thoughts. Surely SOMETHING good has happened lately. She almost smiled, her thoughts turning to JustinB. He had survived. Maybe that was the good news that she was looking for.
Without giving herself time to debate, Brie returned to the computer in the corner of the room. “Major JustinB,” she typed, “I’m glad to hear that you’re alright. I myself am recovering well, although I’ll be on light duty for a while. Maybe when you return to the Callisto we can talk.” She thought for a micron, then simply signed it, “Major Brie.” She hit send. She thought that she had overheard that the rescue party had landed on the Rising Star, but since she sent it to his personal communications ID he should receive it where ever he was. She wasn’t sure why it was so important to talk to him and had no idea what she would say, but for some reason it mattered.
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Post by Brie on May 4, 2006 13:39:09 GMT -6
There was a knock on the partially opened door. "Major Brie?" A young girl who couldn't have been more than 14 yahrens old appeared.
"Yes?" Brie replied. "Is it about Captain Amy?"
"No, Ma'am," the girl nervously answered. "I'm sorry...I don't know anything about that. I...I volunteer here a couple of times a secton. I hope to become a doctor someday."
"Good for you," Brie told her. "What can I do for you?"
"I was asked to bring you this," she said, holding up a small envelope. "It's your personal stuff, from when you were here before."
"Thank you," Brie said, taking it from her. She tore open the envelope and took out the only two items, Justin's Black Squadron patch and Skyler's Bronze Cluster. She was surprised at the Bronze Cluster, the last time she remembered seeing it was before she had been in the brig. She had no idea how it ended up in the Sick Bay. “I need to get this back to him.”
“Excuse me?” The young girl looked surprised.
“Oh, sorry, I have a bad habit of talking to myself. Do you have a few centons?” The girl nodded. “Could you do me a favor?” She nodded again. “This actually belongs to Captain Skyler, from Gold Squadron. Could you give it to him, please? It’s his good luck charm.”
“With all that’s been happening, I can understand why you would want him to have it, if it's lucky for him," the girl replied quickly.
With all that's been happening... “Please, make sure that he gets it.”
“Where can I find him?” she asked.
Brie thought for a micron. “Try the Gold Squadron Ready Room, or maybe the launch bay. If you can't find Skyler you could leave it with Lieutenant Logan, she’s trustworthy.”
“I’ll take it right away, Ma’am.” Clutching the Bronze Cluster, the girl disappeared.
“Thanks,” Brie replied, even though the girl had already left. She stared at Justin’s patch for several microns before putting it in her pocket.
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Post by Brie on May 11, 2006 13:34:59 GMT -6
Brie glanced around the room, thinking about her conversation with Abby. So much information, she felt like her head was going to explode! Damn that Ange. What he had done to Brie was bad enough but then Amy...Brie shook her head. And Ange was about to receive a medal, a commendation for doing his job. It made her nauseous just thinking about it.
Noticing that the chair was still askew, Brie’s thoughts turned towards Artus. What was going on with him? She remembered that Artus and Amy had been friends, in fact Amy had even mentioned Artus’ “death” in her volunteer note for the moon mission. Brie left the room, needing to see him. At least it would make her one step closer to reclaiming her squadron.
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