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Post by Brie on Jun 23, 2006 12:07:52 GMT -6
Brie was alone in her quarters, although she knew that she was being guarded from the outside. Knowing that they might need to check her hands for residue she didn't wash, but she did put on a clean uniform, she could no longer stand the smell of Artus' blood. As she changed she examined her leg, not only was it totally healed but there wasn't even a scar. She neatly folded the dirty uniform and placed it aside. She noticed that she had one message, sent centars earlier.
Major Brie, good news. There is no more poison in your bloodstream. As soon as your PT gives the okay you’ll return to full active duty.
Bkj.
Vaguely remembering hearing a call to the Ready Rooms, Brie tried to check the status of the current mission. She was locked out. She tried to check Amy’s condition, then Artus’. She couldn’t do those either. She realized that she had already lost her security clearance. She sat down at her desk and sighed. She had never felt so devoid of emotion in her life. “He’s alive, but barely,” she heard a voice say. It was a male voice, calm, distinguished, with a slight accent. It was filled with compassion. “Although it would be easiest for you if he died.”
Brie shook her head. “No it wouldn’t. I can’t have Artus’ death on my conscience.”
“Ah yes, conscience,” the voice remarked. “I had forgotten how important that was to you ‘moral types.’ I was merely suggesting that if Artus were to die, your legal problems would be gone. He was seen acting crazy by several witnesses, it will easily be assumed that he turned on you and you were acting out of self-defense. But if you want him to live, say the word. That can be arranged as well.”
“What are you even doing here?” Brie asked. “Without Artus...”
“I’m with you now,” the voice answered. “It’s not the blending that will benefit us both so greatly, but it will do, for now. I‘ve not only healed your leg, but look in the mirror.” Brie took a long look at herself. She looked different, younger. The white hairs that she had given up trying to pluck were gone and the small wrinkles that had been forming around her eyes had diminished. “You had said you felt ‘old.’ Just a token of good faith.”
“Faith?” Brie repeated. “I didn’t think that you dealt in such concepts.”
“You humans put your faith in many different things,” the voice said. “I intend to show you that you need to put yours in me.”
“I’ve already refused you, defied you,” Brie said strongly. “You’re not allowed in my life.”
The voice chuckled. “So ignorant. When you fired that shot, who did you see? It wasn’t Lieutenant Artus’ face that you were seeing, now, was it?”
“No,” Brie mumbled.
“It was Ange, the man who raped you. You fired that shot, not out of some misguided attempt to save Artus or even as self-defense, you fired out of hatred and anger. That allowed me a foothold.”
“You work on hatred and anger?” Brie asked. “And THAT is somehow supposed to benefit me?”
“No,” the voice said quietly. “That’s not it at all. Your hatred for Ange caused you to let your guard down, if only for a micron. I took advantage of the opportunity. That’s all. And now that I’m with you I’ll be able to convince you how our working together will bring so much good to the human race. But it will have to wait, there’s someone here.” There was a knock on the door. Brie stood up and looked through the peephole, Boleman was standing outside with the two guards. “Tell them the truth and they’ll think your crazy,” the voice whispered as Brie reached for the release button. “I’m the only one who can save you.”
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Post by Brie on Jun 24, 2006 10:47:06 GMT -6
"What are you doing here?" Brie asked Boleman as he entered her quarters. "Doc said that Kyla was in labor. You need to be with her."
"The baby was born a couple of centars ago," Boleman told her. "Mother and son are both healthy, happy, and sound asleep. Enoch contacted me. They've been filling me in briefly, but I want to hear if from you. What's going on?"
"Have a seat," Brie suggested. Her eyes wandered around her office. She had it so good, an office, a bedroom, private turboflush facilities. It was a far cry from the cramped quarters that had been assigned to Amy, the room where......she sat down at her desk as Boleman took the seat next to it. “I need to ask. Are you here as a Protector or Opposer? I heard that you were offered the position.”
Boleman smiled. “I wouldn’t be able to oppose a case that you’re involved in, it would be a conflict of interest. So I’m here as Protector if you need one, but also as your friend.”
Brie nodded. “Thanks. Where do you want me to start?”
“How about when you and Lieutenant Artus went to Amy’s quarters?” Boleman suggested. “Why did you take him there?”
Brie thought back. It seemed yahrens ago. “He needed a place to stay, and I didn’t think that the barracks would be a good idea. He was missing for a couple of yahrens and has some pretty big gaps in his memory. I thought that I could help him sort things out. We talked. I filled him in on some of the things he had missed, and he talked a lot about Amy. And I......I guess I misread some of his intentions.”
“Did you feel threatened?” Boleman asked.
“Yes, but not by Artus.” Brie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I flashed back to a time that I really want to forget. And then I shot him.”
“Flashed back to what?” Boleman asked. “Remember, this is just between you and me.”
“I was raped,” Brie said, avoiding eye contact. “When I was seventeen. It was his face that I saw. I thought it was happening again.”
Boleman thought for several microns, a realization hitting him. “So it’s true,” he said at last. “Captain Amy...”
“Is my biological daughter,” Brie replied. “It’s not in my file, not in any of our files. And Boleman, I’d rather spend my life on the Prison Barge then for this to become public knowledge.”
“Why?” Boleman wanted to know. “Previous trauma is a viable defense. Besides, Amy has the right to know.”
“The right to know what?” Brie asked. “That she was conceived during a brutal crime? That her father is a sick, twisted madman? No, Amy can never know the truth.”
“I understand,” Boleman said. “More than you’d think. I’ve legally adopted Kyla’s son. We don’t ever want little Turner to know anything about his natural father.”
“So you can see why...” Brie stopped. “You named the baby Turner?”
“If that’s okay with you,” Boleman replied.
Brie smiled. “Okay? That’s wonderful! I know that Turner would be thrilled. It’s nice to hear some good news for a change. I hope your son likes the name, my Turner always hated it.”
There was another knock on the door. “They must be here to take your statement. Answer the questions truthfully, but don’t give any extra information. I’ll be right here, if you’re not sure just take your cue from me.”
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Post by Brie on Jun 25, 2006 13:40:43 GMT -6
"Don't worry," Brie whispered to Boleman. "I know exactly what needs to be done." She opened the door for a second time. Two men entered, one carrying a recording device, the other several folders and some equipment. The first man held out his hand. "I'm Captain Wode," he said. He didn’t introduce his partner.
Brie held up her hands. “Sorry, I assumed that you might want to check for residue or something.”
The second man placed his things on a chair, picked up a piece of his equipment and immediately started to examine Brie’s hands.
Boleman shook Wode’s hand. “Opposer Boleman. Nice to meet you.”
“Opposer?” Wode looked confused. “This is just a preliminary investigation. We’re no where near filing official charges.”
“Sorry,” Boleman said. “Major Brie is a friend. I’m actually here as her Protector, should she need one.”
“Oh,” was all that Wode had to say.
“Done,” the second man said. “You can wash now, Major.”
Brie left her office but returned half a centon later. “The uniform I was wearing is over there,” she informed them. “I didn’t know if you needed it.”
The second man placed it on top of his pile. “Looks like you’ve been through this before,” Wode observed.
“Not really, at least not like this,” Brie replied. “But you don’t make it to my position without knowing how to be thorough. Now, what can I do for you gentlemen?”
“Well,” Wode began, “we’re with Military Inquiries.”
Brie couldn’t help but notice that he was nervous as he said it. She grinned. “An organization that I haven’t had a whole lot of success with.”
“Let me assure you, Major, that what is past, is past,” Wode said quickly. “But since Lieutenant Artus was shot in a squadron assigned room by his superior officer, it’s been decided that we’ll handle this instead of fleet security.”
“Allegedly shot,” Boleman added quickly.
“Allegedly,” Wode repeated.
"There's nothing alleged about it," Brie mumbled unheard.
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Post by Brie on Jun 26, 2006 10:17:52 GMT -6
Wode looked at the other man, a lieutenant, who handed him a file. “Major, please, have a seat.” Brie once again sat at her desk, Wode cleared off the other chair, placing his partner’s things on the floor, and sat down. Boleman stood behind Brie and the other man sat on the floor, examining the uniform. Wode placed the recording device on the desk and turned it on. “I’m am speaking with Major Brie about the alleged shooting of Lieutenant Artus. This is just an informal discussion. Major, is it true that you had a couple of run-ins with Lieutenant Artus and some members of fleet security in the med lab?”
“I wouldn’t call them run-ins,” Brie started. “I was in a private office, speaking with Captain Amy’s mother, when we were ordered by a voice in the hallway to place our hands up and open the door. A couple of blackkshir...excuse me, security officers were looking for Artus.”
“What did you do?” Wode asked.
“I opened the door and told them to stop waving their sidearms around in the med lab!” Brie exclaimed. “A little while later I saw Artus with the same security officers. They had their weapons drawn. I told them again to put them away and since they didn’t have a reason to hold Artus I took responsibility for him.”
“Where did you take him?” Wode asked.
“To the Gold Squadron Third Officer quarters,” Brie replied. “No one is using them right now and I thought that if he was staying there he might have some peace and quiet, and maybe actually be able to rest.”
“But you didn’t leave,” Wode commented.
“No,” Brie said. “Lieutenant Artus had been missing for a couple of yahrens, he had actually been declared dead. He asked me to fill him in on what he had missed.”
“And you did?”
“Somewhat, I guess,” Brie answered. “I did a lot of the talking at first. I told him about my time in the brig and about Pierce. And we talked about Amy.”
“Captain Amy?” Wode asked. “Gold Squadron’s third officer?”
“Yes,” Brie replied. “Artus and Amy had been close before he disappeared, and he wanted to know what had happened with her.”
“Referring to...”
“Amy is engaged to Colonel Charybdis,” Brie explained. “She’s also pregnant with Charybdis’ child. She had been captured by the Cylons and they experimented on the fetus. Because of their experiments, Amy’s life is in danger and the pregnancy is being terminated, the child could never survive.”
Wode looked at his notes. “At some point Lieutenant Artus left.”
“Yes,” Brie said. She glanced at Boleman, who nodded. “He was upset, and said he was going to go check on Amy’s surgery. After he left I placed a call to Doc Bkj, making sure that security was tightened.”
“Why?” Wode asked.
“I just had a bad feeling,” Brie replied truthfully.
Wode looked at his notes again. “How did that dent get in the Third Officer’s door?”
“I forgot about that,” Brie said. “Hearing what had happened with Amy, Artus grew more and more upset. I guess I also upset him when I said that the men in her life didn’t give her enough credit. He punched the door.”
“And then he left?” Wode asked.
“Yes,” Brie lied. She purposely left out the first incident with “It.” She knew it sounded insane.
“After you talked with Doc Bkj what did you do?” was Wode’s next question.
“I contacted Reverend Mars,” Brie said. “On a personal matter. I hoped that security would find Artus and bring him back. When they didn’t I went looking for him myself.”
“And that’s when you shot him the first time?” Wode wanted to know.
“Yes.”
“What?” Boleman glared at Brie, upset that she neglected to share with him that piece of information.
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Post by Brie on Jun 27, 2006 8:32:06 GMT -6
"When I left the room," Brie explained, "my sidearm was set for stun. When I found Artus he was outside of Amy’s operating room. My automatic reaction was to shoot to stop him. He wasn’t hurt and handled the effects of the stun surprisingly well.”
Wode searched for something in his notes. “You told the officer there that you thought Artus had something to do with Pierce.”
“That was a lie,” Brie admitted. “I knew Artus had nothing to do with that whole mess, he wasn’t even around when it was going on. But I wanted security around Amy to remain heavy and I knew that mentioning Pierce’s name would do it.”
“You also asked for two guards on Lieutenant Artus. Secretly.”
“Yes,” Brie replied. “I didn’t want to chance him trying to get to Amy again."
"Why do you think he wanted to see Amy?" Wode asked.
"This is just speculation," Brie answered, "but I think he thought they were hurting her, not trying to save her life. He was confused."
"So you brought him back to the room," Wode continued. "And that's when he attacked you. You fired in self defense.” He closed the folder. “I think that just about wraps this up. Thank you for your time, Major."
Brie stared blankly at Captain Wode. "Lieutenant Artus never attacked me."
Wode opened the folder and looked at his notes again. "The guards stationed outside said they heard you scream something, then the shot was fired."
"Lieutenant Artus never attacked me," Brie repeated. "But I will freely admit that I shot him, and I'm ready to accept the consequences for my actions."
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Post by Brie on Jun 28, 2006 12:19:10 GMT -6
"Excuse us a micron," Boleman said. He grabbed Brie by the arm and dragged her into the bedroom. "What the frack are you trying to do, get sent to the Prison Barge?"
"Yes!" Brie replied emphatically. "I already told you that."
"I thought you were..." Boleman stopped, at a loss for words.
"Before he disappeared Artus was a great pilot," Brie said calmly. "He may be a bit confused right now, but I'm not pinning this on him. It wasn't his fault."
"I'll have to see how I can spin it," Boleman said at last. "We'd better get back before they have too much time to think about what you said."
Wode approached Brie, recording device in hand, and she and Boleman reentered her office. "One last question, Major. If he hadn't threatened you, just why do you shoot Lieutenant Artus?"
Brie thought for several microns. "There was a crawlon on the wall,” she lied. “Big, ugly sucker. I was aiming at the crawlon, and Artus moved in the way.”
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Post by Brie on Jun 29, 2006 11:15:19 GMT -6
Captain Wode paused for a micron. "You were aiming.....at a crawlon?"
"Yup," Brie replied. She shuddered. "I hate the things."
Wode glanced at his notes another time. "The guards said it sounded like you screamed 'no, not again.' That was because of.....a crawlon?"
"We had a problem with them a few yahrens back," Brie reminded him.
"I vaguely remember," Wode remarked. He dug further into the folder he was holding. "According to your file, you're an expert marksman."
"It's been a while since I've been at the firing range," Brie said, offering no more information.
"Okay." Wode turned off the recorder. His partner gathered his things. "Thank you, Major, for your cooperation. I'm going to recommend that we keep things the way they are for the time being. You'll be confined to quarters, under guard, and relieved of your duties, but I don't think that formal charges are necessary at this time. I'm also going to order a full physical and psychological workup, standard procedure. If there's anything else that you want or...decide to tell me...just contact Military Inquiries. We'll be in touch." Wode and the lieutenant left.
Boleman barely waited until the door was closed. "They're taking it easy on you for now, Brie. Probably because of everything that happened with your last tribunal. But I would bet just about anything that they know that you're hiding something." Boleman stared at Brie. "I think you're hiding something too."
"Look," Brie started, "I already told you what happened. What I haven't mentioned is that Abby, Amy's real mother, was seriously considering telling Amy the truth. Amy looks up to me. If I’m sent to the Prison Barge, well, then maybe Abby will reconsider.”
“If you’re sent to the Prison Barge, you’ll spend the rest of your life in an isolation cell for your own protection," Boleman pointed out.
"A small price to pay to protect my daughter."
"That place is filled with Pierce's followers. More than one inmate would be happy to see you dead." Boleman sighed. "I've got to think. I've never been in a situation quite like this before, with a client who wants to be convicted. I need to check, there’s got to be a precedence...”
“You need to be with Kyla and the baby,” Brie said. “I didn’t ask for a Protector, and I can’t really forget that the last time you got me convicted. So don’t take this the wrong way, my friend, but you’re fired. Go, teach my husband’s namesake up versus down, right versus wrong, good versus evil...” She pushed him slightly towards the door.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Boleman replied, “but as I said, I have research to do. I’ll be back later.”
Brie breathed a sigh of relief when Boleman left. She just wanted to be alone. All alone. But she knew it wasn't about to happen.
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Post by Brie on Jun 30, 2006 9:26:06 GMT -6
Brie entered her bedchamber and dimmed the lights. She sat down on the edge of her bed and waited. She knew that it had to be coming.
“I don’t understand,” the voice said at last. “You were free. All you had to do was say that...what was his name again?...the other one was acting out of anger. They already believed that. Why didn’t you allow them to?”
“Because it would be a lie,” Brie answered. "I’m not going to ruin his career or his life to save myself. And his name is Artus."
“Yes, Artus, that’s it,” the voice said. “Sacrificing yourself for his character, how noble. I should have known."
"There's more to it than that," Brie said.
The voice waited. "Care to share your plans for us?"
"Wait a centon," Brie said. "If you know my thoughts, then you'd know my plan."
"I said I know you, not your thoughts," the voice replied. "At least not yet. Right now I receive tiny glimmers of things, I can tell what's important to you and even see some of your past. But unless you concentrate or want to share, I don't know what you're thinking.”
“That’s good to know,” Brie said. “But since you asked so nicely, I’ll fill you in on my idea. Boleman was right, if I'm sent to the Prison Barge I'll either be placed in isolation or killed. Either way, you'll have no more use for me. Pretty drastic, I realize that, but it’s the only thing I can think of to rid myself of you."
"Why do you assume that our working together would be detrimental?" the voice wanted to know. "Didn't I already show you what benefit I can be?"
Brie paused, trying to figure out what the voice was talking about. "Oh, you mean the changes in my appearance? I may look a couple yahrens younger, but it's nothing that I couldn't have done myself with some hair dye and some moisturizer. Quite honestly, I'm not impressed."
"Your leg is healed," the voice reminded her.
"It would have happened anyway, after a couple more sectons of physical therapy. You'll need to do better than that."
"There are things that I can show you, do for you," the voice said. "There's so much we can accomplish together. You just need to trust me, to allow me to share you fully."
"What about when you first showed yourself to me?" Brie asked. "I may not have succumbed to the pain that you inflicted on me, but I'm not about to forget it."
"I apologize," he said sincerely. "That was a test. It proved to me how strong you are, how good we will be together. But I will make that up to you, I promise."
"How?" Brie asked skeptically.
"I can make this whole legal problem go away for you," the voice informed her. "You won't be going to the Prison Barge, and the blame won’t fall on the other one. He won't even have to die to make it happen. Of course then you'll have to come up with a new plan to rid yourself of me.” The voice laughed. “That one wouldn't have worked anyway. Too bad, we could have had a lot of fun together on the Prison Barge.”
“What are you going to do?” Brie asked. The voice didn’t answer.
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Post by Brie on Jul 1, 2006 10:50:11 GMT -6
Brie closed her eyes, enjoying the momentary silence. "Another mess? Come on, Brie, you can’t expect me to bail you out every time.”
“This one isn’t my fault.” Brie didn’t even have to look up to know that her late husband was standing in front of her. “I was just trying to help.”
“Aren’t you always,” Turner replied. He sat down on the bed next to Brie. “When are you going to stop thinking that you can single-handedly save the universe?"
Brie almost laughed. "I've always been able to before."
"The Prison Barge scheme seems a bit much, even for you," Turner remarked. "What good are you going to do from there? You've dedicated your life to helping the remnants of humanity, it just seems like a really stupid plan."
Brie paused, surprised. Turner had never called her or her ideas stupid before. "You don't understand. It's not just to be rid of the demon. When I shot Artus, I thought it was Ange. I deserve to be punished. I wonder if he did that on purpose, made himself look like Ange so that I would attack."
"He couldn't do that," Turner replied. "But you had just been talking about the rape. Ange was on your mind, and you felt like you were in a similar situation. It was the power of suggestion, that's all."
"How would you know that?" Brie wondered.
"I know a lot of things," Turner answered. "My knowledge of the universe is infinite. But I do have a question for you."
"What?"
"Why do you automatically assume that this is bad?" Turner asked. "You just referred to him as a 'demon.' How do you know that?"
"I..."
"He could prove to be good," Turner continued. "With his knowledge and your body you could bring about the end of the Cylon Empire. He could give you the coordinates to Earth. He could help you to rise to power, above Sheba or even that horrid Apollo. The two of you working together could bring about peace for the human race for the first time in over a millennium!"
"Wait a centon..."
"Think about it, Brie. It could be your name the children sing in their songs. Forget Earth, they could change the name to Planet Brie, or whatever you'd want. Baltar, Pierce, even that self-righteous Charybdis could fall to their knees before you. You could have Amy and your grandchild by your side...”
“WAIT A CENTON!” Brie repeated. She rolled her eyes. “Give me a break, Turner would never talk like that. I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t show yourself to me in the form of my late husband.”
“You’d prefer another form? How about this one?” In front of her eyes Turner changed into Skyler. “Or this one?” Skyler turned into Justin.
“If you’re not going to leave me alone, I’d rather just the voice in my head,” Brie said.
“So be it.” Justin disappeared. “As I said before, I can tell what’s important to you.” The voice was once again ringing in her ears. “You care about both of those men, more than you feel you’re supposed to. But there’s no reason to limit yourself to one man. You can have them both.” “I’m not going to discuss this with you,” Brie said.
“Not now, at least,” the voice said. “The doctors are here for those exams that have been ordered. Just think about what I said. Planet Brie has such a nice ring to it.”
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Post by Brie on Jul 2, 2006 12:34:16 GMT -6
Although Brie was hoping that the physical would be with Doc Bkj, another doctor had been assigned to the case. It was followed by a psychological examination that Brie could have passed in her sleep. The medical staff left, promising to have all results soon.
"That was easy," the voice inside her head commented. "I was actually thinking that you might tell them about me."
"Tell a shrink that I'm hearing voices?" Brie laughed. "No thank you."
"Only one voice, not plural," the voice corrected.
"I already did my time in the Catharsis Center," Brie said. "And I was sane when I was there. No, I’m not going there again, not unless that's the only way to rid myself of you. But see, that wouldn't happen. They'd think I was crazy and 'treat' me for it. Eventually I'd go along with them, say that I imagined you but feel much better now, I'd be released and you'd still be bugging me."
"Bugging you?" The voice had an almost playful quality. "I'm hurt."
Brie changed the subject. "I have a question. Before, when you were doing your lame impersonation of my late husband, you mentioned Pierce. Why? I mean I'm sure the two of you were close friends and that he was your number one fan..."
"A man like Pierce doesn't follow anyone except his own inflated ego," the voice remarked. "But why do you speak in past tense? Surely you must have realized that Pierce is still alive." Brie was silent, not knowing what to say. "Think about it. His followers all committed suicide by drinking poison, but he let himself out an airlock. Why do you think that was? So there would be no body! He left small traces of DNA behind to satisfy security, put on an envirosuit, and was picked up by someone who was waiting for him. He’s had plastic surgery, you’d never recognize him.”
“You’re lying,” Brie mumbled.
“He thinks he’s one of us,” the voice said. “Thinks he’s immortal. An airlock? Please.”
“If he’s still alive, then where is he?” Brie asked.
The voice let out a small laugh. “Join with me and I’ll show you.”
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