Chapter 28C - The flight home

[Amy81]

Amy tilted her head back and finished the last of the Ambrosia Coolers. She tossed the bottle over her shoulder, but instead of hearing it land, she was surprised to see it run back around to her side and hop back into the empty sixpack carton.

"Woh" Amy said. "What the frack?" She picked up the bottle to find that it was full again. Not to mention the two tiny legs that dangled from the bottom of the bottle...

"I won't argue" she decided aloud, and took a long cool swallow.

"Won't argue about what" a voice to her side asked. It was Charybdis. "About not dreaming me some clothes?" he said. "Well, at least you could dream it a slight bit warmer. This cool air isn't doing anything for my, ah, attributes."

"Relax" Amy said, glancing over to check him over. "Well, maybe it's just that I don't have a full memory of you."

"Yeah, well, you must have a memory of a colonial uniform. Could you dream one for me?"

Amy screwed up her face in concentration. After a moment she said, "No, sorry."

"You have clothes" he pointed out.

"This is what I had on before... before..." she stammered into silence.

Charybdis reached out and touched her arm. "You have to go back."

"Frack you" she replied, pulling away.

"Your arm. The growth is nearly up to your elbow now. If you let it go too far you'll never make it back."

"Who says I want to?" she replied. But she looked down at her arm, seeing the green, vegetable-like growth where once there was skin and bone. Her fingers had stiffened, and small leaves were forming at the tips. "Who says I want to" she repeated, softer this time.

"What's happening around here?" Charybdis asked, looking around at the horizon. The green landscape had begun to change colors. A rainbow seemed to pulse right through the heart of it. The suns rays began to shower on them like glitter.

"I don't know" Amy replied. "I didn't dream any of that up. At least not consciously. Here, have another cooler." She went to reach for one, only to find a fresh six-pack sprinting along on six legs, coming to rest out of her reach. One of the bottles hopped out and trotted over to Charybdis.

Amy shrugged. "Guess you can help yourself" she said.

"Can we talk about your going back?" Charybdis asked as he picked up the cooler.

"Sure" Amy replied as she closed her eyes and tilted her head toward the sun. "Talk all you want." She popped open one eye as she felt the glitter gently coming down. "I need to dream up some sun block I think."

She sat up, concentrating. She held her hand out, expecting a bottle of cream, but found she couldn't quite focus. When she opened her eyes, she found Charybdis ducking for cover. All around them were tiny Vipers, swooping in and around them, blasting away the bits of glitter. Amy's eyes widened for a moment, then she sat back and relaxed again. Not exactly cream, but they would protect her from the sun...

"Take it easy" she said to Charybdis as he peeked out from under his blanket, "They're on our side."

[Astraea]

“No!” Astraea screamed then slammed her hands down onto the control console. She grabbed fistfuls of hair at the top of her head as rage lanced through her. The Cylons had duped her again.

She punched at the harness to release her then the stood to pace the short space behind the pilot seats. “But why?” she asked, hoping to instill logic in place of the anger. “What could you possibly hope to get from me?”

She glanced back at the cockpit door and thought of the other two passengers on the cruiser. “Or do you want something from them?”

She thought about the jump coordinates and wondered if that had been prearranged. She was certain that she was involved in some sort of Cylon experimentation, but she had to wonder if Lazant and Amy were as well.

There had been times in the past when the Cylons had achieved group hallucinations. With all of the subjects in the same room, their spoken words would influence the dreams of the others. The Cylons would monitor them until they had the information that they desired then they would end the experiment.

“Was it the jump coordinates they needed?” she pondered. “Or are they sending us to another basestar?” She rubbed at the back of her neck. They have obviously found a way to cover their tracks, she thought.

She looked out the front windows at the shimmering streaks of the hyper jump and sighed before walking back to the quarters with Amy. She knew that she would eventually discover what the Cylons had in mind for her or her companions, but it really didn’t matter. She was tired of trying to second guess the scenario. She needed a break from all the logic and convoluted thinking.

Astraea didn’t hesitate to pick up one of the makeshift mugs and dip it down into the cold herbal brew. She looked over at Amy resting peacefully and lifted her mug in toast. “I hope I’m as good a conversationalist as you in a centon,” Astraea said then downed the drink.

[Astraea]

Lazant groaned as he came to. At some point he had rolled off of the hard bench and was sprawled out on the floor. He peered out through slits as he worked himself up onto his elbows and discovered he was in a small room with nothing more than two long benches for seating. He was grateful for the standard ambient lighting of the Cylon cruiser. His throbbing head had been what roused him and he moaned again because of it as he stumbled to his feet.

Even though his mind was fuzzy, he was able to piece together what had happened prior to waking up on the floor and he went in search of Amy and Astraea. The thought of the worm berries caused his stomach to churn. “I’ll bet she didn’t get anything else to eat either,” he muttered and was surprised when his mouth started to water.

Lazant swayed slightly as he stood in the doorway and saw Amy asleep just where he had left her. He noticed that Astraea had found a smaller cushioned bench and was curled up in a ball dozing on it. “At least I won’t have to listen to her for awhile,” he said then pushed off the doorway and headed to the cockpit.

He frowned when he saw that they were in hyper jump through the front portals and dropped heavily into the pilot’s seat. “We should already be at Darjeelene,” he said as he checked the instruments. He shifted closer when the readout came up. “How can we be heading toward Quarro?”

He rubbed a hand over his head and tried to recall if he had programmed in the coordinates. “Did I input those before the jump to Darjeelene?” He thought the chances were slim that he had, but he couldn’t think of another explanation. He certainly wouldn’t give the destination to Astraea when he hadn’t even told Amy.

“It doesn’t matter,” he told himself. “We’re on course.” He sighed heavily as he thought about their eminent return. It would be good to be back on the Callisto. Even being underutilized and unrecognized at the Training Academy was preferable to the last few cycles. “Then again, I’ve got an ace in the hole.”

Lazant jumped up with more energy than he thought possible and went in search of the disks he had downloaded. They were safely tucked away right where he had left them along with the box of disks from the extractor. He slipped the disks into his pocket and gave it a pat. It felt safer to have them on his person considering Astraea’s unpredictable behavior.

He left the heavy box in its hiding place and walked back up to the cockpit. He was careful to bolt the door behind him then he inserted one of the disks into the computer before sitting down. The list of names had intrigued him while he had watched the download at the Cylon base and he wanted to have a better look at it before getting back to the fleet.

He ejected the disk when the list didn’t appear and inserted another. It was on the third try that he finally found the list. Baltar had mentioned Turner’s name when he was speaking with Brie and Lazant was curious to know what other names might be familiar to him.

“Open Astraea 1,” he instructed the computer when he saw her name near the top of the list and a secondary file opened. “Whoa,” he breathed out in amazement. It was a detailed account of all of the experiments performed on Astraea while she was on the moon base nearly three yahrens ago. “No wonder she’s psycho.” He glanced at the dates of her stay there and saw she was only on the moon for six sectars before she was transferred to a basestar.

“Computer, open Priority listing,” he instructed. He glanced through the information and saw that Astraea had been telling the truth about being one of the first in line for the extractor. There was even a restriction in her file that she was not to be killed or mentally incapacitated in any way. “I’d say they screwed up on that one.”

He returned to the main list and continued scanning down through the names. The Cylons had them listed according to their own numerical system which didn’t help Lazant at all. He found Turner’s name and ordered it open, but the file was barely more than a footnote especially compared to the length of Astraea’s. “He must not have survived long.”

When he brought up the main list once more, his eyes popped open at the name a little further down. “Lieutenant Hawke?”

[Astraea]

Astraea grudgingly awoke when she heard the sound of Amy moaning. “What’s the matter princess?” she asked sleepily while rubbing at her eyes. She sat up and managed to get focused enough to see that Amy was struggling to turn onto her side. “Is the belt too tight around you?”

She didn’t bother standing completely up before dropping back down at Amy’s side. Astraea loosened the harness around her waist and Amy immediately started to turn. “Hold on there princess,” Astraea said as she grabbed Amy’s shoulder. “You don’t want to turn on that side or you may open that gash again.” She was a bit surprised at the struggle that Amy put up before turning onto the opposite side. “I see you’ve still got a little fight left in ya.”

Astraea glanced around for something to use as a pillow and eventually decided to simply pull the cushion off of one of the chairs. She was checking the underneath of the thin pad for rips when Lazant walked into the room. “Would you look at that,” she insisted as she pointed to the bottom of the cushion. “Made In Cylon. Who would have guessed?”

Lazant shook his head at her as he went in search of the water. “What are you doing now? Looking for loose cubits?”

“Just trying to get your girlfriend comfy,” Astraea replied as she slipped the cushion under Amy’s head. “Apparently she doesn’t like lying on her back.”

He found the pail of water and sniffed at it. “The laser burn is probably bothering her,” he said matter-of-factly.

Astraea stalled from tucking Amy in under the thin blanket to look over at him. “What laser burn?”

Lazant tossed out the contents of one of the metal mugs onto the floor then rinsed it in the water before pulling out a cup to drink. “The one up her back.” Astraea finally straightened and gave him a skeptical look which he was oblivious to while picking through the roots and herbs for something edible. “She wouldn’t let me take a look at it so I don’t know how bad it is.”

Still unsure of whether to believe him or not, Astraea moved the thin sheet aside and pulled up the back of the uniform jacket to see the charred tan material beneath. Astraea sighed heavily and reached for one of the mugs on the nearby table. “There’s nothing we can do about it now.” She touched the mug to Amy’s lips and she responded by taking a sip. “I could have gotten something for it on the planet if you had told me.”

He gave Astraea a censuring look for the tone in her voice. “Did your Cylon friends teach you how to patch up prisoners for torture?” he returned sarcastically then bit into a thick green stem.

She was able to get Amy to drink a little more of the medicinal brew then Astraea unhooked the safety harness around Amy’s waist and worked off the tattered warrior jacket so she could have a better look at the burn. “No, that’s why doctors aren’t put into the extractor.”

Lazant looked over the long, thick stem and, deciding he liked the taste, he took a larger bite. He was tempted to probe about the information in Astraea’s file, but he wasn’t sure how he wanted to use that just yet. He took a long draught of water then another bite of the stem as he watched Astraea undressing Amy. “You know, this would be hot if you both weren’t so annoying.”

The oversized dark brown jacket dangled off the side of Amy’s pallet as Astraea continued to struggle with getting her other arm out. He turned his head slightly to get a better look at the name embroidered onto the lining of the jacket and started to choke. “Here…let…let me help you with that,” he finally managed to say after pounding on his chest.

Astraea was surprised when Lazant suddenly decided to help her, but she wasn’t about to dismiss the extra hand. She was so tired that she didn’t even feel up to commenting on Lazant’s sexist statement. Astraea looked at the long char on the back of Amy’s uniform, but decided not to try to undress her further. It appeared as though the uniform had protected her somewhat, but Astraea didn’t want to take a chance on pulling off skin when there wasn’t anything on board to administer to it.

She reached out for the herbal brew once more and noticed the incredulous look on Lazant’s face as he stared at the jacket lining. “Find something interesting?”

“No!” he said a little too quickly. “I’m…uh…just trying to figure out why the Cylons would keep such a battered Colonial Warrior jacket.”

Warning bells were sounding in Astraea’s head even though she showed no evidence of it while offering Amy another sip of the pain medication. She didn’t need to see the guilty look on his face to know that he was lying. “I would think that the question would be why the Cylons kept Colonial uniforms at all.” She gave him an innocent look anticipating what his reaction would be. “After all, it’s not like a centurion could put one on and blend in with the locals.”

Lazant forced out a laugh as he balled the jacket up, but kept it in his hand. “Yeah, good one.”

Astraea shook her head. He’s not even a good liar. She noticed the way that he rubbed his hand over his stomach and she gave him a broad smile. “By the way, that Lucia Fingers you’re eating? They’re a laxative and you’ve had about ten times the normal recommended dose.” She could see understanding in his eyes as he suddenly started to cramp. “I hope you know where the turbo flush is.”

[Astraea]

It was nearly half a centar later when Lazant returned to the room and Astraea had to chuckle. Even though he walked in with his head held high and his chest puffed out, she could still see the beads of sweat on his forehead. “You don’t have to act like you’re feeling okay when you’re not,” she assured him. “There’s no brass to polish around here.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” Lazant returned in a clip tone and looked for a seat at the other side of the room.

Astraea felt a pang of sympathy for him. The berries had turned his stomach and the Lucia Fingers had cleared out the rest of his system. She shook her head and stood to get him a drink. “You know, the weird thing about the Satarie fruit is that, once you’ve tasted it, you always seem to have a craving for it.” She shot him a look wondering if she should grab him a handful of the berries. “Even if it turns your stomach.”

“Could we please…” he swallowed hard, “not talk about it.”

She smiled broadly as she walked over to him. “Then what shall we talk about flyboy?” She sat the mug down on his table and he held up a hand in refusal. “It’s just water. I can be a bit mean-spirited at times, but I’m not sadistic.”

He peered down into the cup suspiciously. “That’s debatable.”

Astraea chuckled as she walked back over to the table of herbs to stir a new mixture that she had simmering. “So are you going to tell me about the mission that landed you an invite to the Cylon hotel?”

He took a sniff of the cup’s contents. “Why? So you can use it against me later?”

Interesting, she thought. You’re hiding something. “Just trying to pass the time while doing a good deed for a…” she looked him over and shrugged her shoulders, “fellow warrior.”

His suspicions ran rampant as she dipped a mug into the brew and walked toward him. “You don’t really think I’m going to drink anything you give me after what you’ve done to me. Twice!”

“I haven’t done anything to you,” Astraea returned with a smile. “I suggested you take a sip of the Gourt root, but you downed an entire cup and you were the one that picked up the Lucia Fingers. I didn’t give it to you.”

“You could have warned me,” he snarled back.

“I did warn you,” she said sweetly. “Didn’t you make it to the turbo flush in time?”

He chuckled maliciously as he shook his head at her. “It’s going to be interesting to see whose report the commander believes once we get back on board the Callisto.”

“Oh yes. I’m sure Adama will appreciate the creativeness.”

“Ada…” He drew back when she sat the mug down on his table and then nudged it toward him. “Commander Adama has been gone for yahrens. Commander Apollo is the recognized leader of the fleet now unless the council decides to screw things up for everyone. And I wasn’t referring to him. I was speaking of Commander Sheba. She will be the one you have to answer to since you originate from the Callisto.”

“Actually I originate from Picon.”

He ignored the cup as he held her gaze. “I didn’t think that you could remember back that far.” He didn’t even see a flicker in her eyes at having caught her slip. Instead, she walked her fingers across the table to give the cup another nudge.

“Come on. Drink just a sip for Auntie Astraea.”

His eyes narrowed as he dared to lean a little closer to her over the table. “Are you really insane or are you just putting me on?”

“Maybe we’ll both be lucky enough to find that out at our next stop.” She picked up the cup and set it directly in front of him. “If you just drink water you’re going to end up back in the turbo flush. This stuff will correct the imbalance in your system.” She cocked her head to one side. “Or it will kill you. I can’t remember which. Night!”

His mouth was agape as he watched her flounce back over to her temporary bed and curl up into a ball as before. “Certifiable.” He looked down at the cup in front of him then lifted it for a sniff. Just as he decided not to take the chance, his stomach began to cramp once more and he scurried back to the turbo flush.

[Amy81]

Amy couldn't keep her eyes off of the mini viper fighters as they flew around Charybdis and herself, zapping the bits of glitter-sunshine. Charybdis had gotten more comfortable with it as well, coming out from under his blanket to sit with Amy again.

"Know what'd really be cool?" Amy asked.

"Some clothes?" Charybdis replied hopefully.

"Nah" she answered, waving a hand toward the mini viper squadrons. Several had to change course to avoid a collision. "Seeing this at night!" she said excitedly.

With concentration, the whole daylit meadow turned to midnight as Amy thought hard about it. They now could see the little blue turbo trails from the vipers, and tiny explosions of fireworks as they shot out the glitter. "Almost romantic" Amy observed.

"Same could be said for you" Charybdis replied. "I've been sitting here naked for how long now?"

Amy laughed. "My memories have been tampered with you know. I barely remember you. It's like we've just met. I'm not that kind of girl."

"Remembering me naked must give off some kind of clue" Charybdis said, reaching out to touch Amy's shoulder.

"Yeah" Amy said, "Unless you're some kind of perv that I only remember cause you flashed me or something."

Charybdis pulled his hand back. "I'm tired of this dream." He got up, holding the blanket around him. He turned to walk away when suddenly his feet started to leave the ground. "Amy" he snapped, "I'm not amused. Stop with the dreams already!"

He turned to find Amy floating as well. She had a confused expression on her face. "It's not me, Charybdis! Someone must be giving me medication or something!"

Somehow Charybdis managed to do some twisting in mid-air and was able to get a grip on Amy's good arm. Together they floated above the meadow, watching it twist and transform over and over. "How do you know my name if I'm a flasher?" he asked.

Amy didn't answer, but looked down. "You're blanket is slipping", she said.

Charybdis reached down with his free hand to try and keep the blanket around him. "Can we PLEASE discuss you going back now?" he demanded. "The vegetable growth is nearly up to your shoulder now! I'm sure you know what it means if it reaches your head!"

Amy shook free from his grip and began doing backflips in the zero-gravity. "Yup! I know" she replied. "But maybe I just don't care!"

[Astraea]

Astraea walked slowly through the foggy corridors of the luxury ship. It was somehow familiar to her and yet not. She was drawn to the sound of squalling voices off in the distance. As she reached a door at the end of the corridor, she was faced with two snarling man-daggits in red uniforms. Using the rolled up the papers that she had in her hand, she swatted them both on the nose and they scampered away whimpering.

“This is the Council Chamber,” she noted as she turned an ear toward the door. The unnatural screams were coming from inside, but she wasn’t frightened.

The door slid open and, to Astraea’s surprise, the Council room was filled with apes of every description running rampant. President Tigh and Councilor Athena were chasing after them in an attempt to stop the destruction.

“Leave that alone!” Tigh ordered a baboon that was pulling apart the camera equipment which had been set up in the room without anyone’s knowledge. “That’s not yours so stop messing with it.”

“Will you get off of me?” Athena yelled at the small black monkey that was hunching her leg. “I’m not your girlfriend!” She shook the animal loose and walked away, but he chased after her to latch on.

“What’s going on?” Astraea finally managed to ask and Athena looked to her with relief.

“Thank the Lords!” Athena breathed. “Can you get those papers away from that gorilla? He thinks he’s king and he has all the other monkeys riled up.”

Astraea looked at the huge silver gorilla sitting at the head of the Council table randomly grabbing important documents and chewing on them. “How did this happen?”

“No one was watching them and they just took over,” Tigh growled as he pried the orb that was in the center of the table out of a curious chimpanzee’s hands. “We need an entire squadron in here to get everything back.”

When Astraea reached out for the papers that the gorilla mangled, the silver beast bared his teeth and growled. “Come on now,” she coaxed. “Be a good boy and share.” She managed to pull out a few papers and gave them a curious glance when she saw that they had her name on them. “Well, it’s nice to know that you haven’t gotten to my stuff yet,” she told the lumbering giant. “Now what about the rest?”

The gorilla slammed his hand down hard on the table, covering the rest of the papers with his enormous fingers. Drool began to drip through his snarling teeth and Astraea slapped him on the nose. “Stop being such a bully,” she ordered. “Everyone else wants to have a little fun too.”

Pearly white teeth filled her vision as the gaping mouth of the gorilla came toward her and Astraea awoke with a jolt. Her heart hammered in her chest as she looked around the dimly lit room. Amy was still turned on her side and Lazant was sprawled over one of the tables looking a little worse for wear, still determined not to drink the medicinal brew that Astraea had concocted to help.

Astraea breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped a hand over her face. She knew that there was a lesson to be learned from the unusual dream and she pondered over it. “Maybe if everyone would just speak up, something like that wouldn’t happen.” She tucked her arm back under her head and closed her eyes. “Ah, but it’s just a dream,” she whispered.

[Amy81]

"Amy!" Charybdis sounded very worried. "Amy! Things are way out of hand here. You must stop this!" He twirled weightless above the ever changing vistas that spread out below him.

Amy kept up her spinning, going head over heels over and over again. As her head would come around, she'd get glimpses of Charybdis as he spun, franticly trying to keep the blanket around him. To her amazement the blanket itself kept changing, swirling in an endlessly changing tie-dye pattern. "These meds must really be something!" she shouted. "I can't control what's happening anymore!"

"You haven't overdosed I hope" Charybdis shouted.

"Ha!" Amy yelled back, "It might already be too late!"

Charybdis managed another twisting manuever and got close enough to grab hold of Amy again. Now they twirled in unison, the universe now seeming to spin around them. Charybdis fought the sense of vertigo that threatened to overtake him.

"Amy" he said, looking into her eyes, "it's not too late." He grabbed her arm, the one now totally converted to a sort of plant-like growth. "It hasn't reached your head yet. You need to concentrate. Bring this nightmare under control. Fight your way back!"

Amy tried to shake free, but Charybdis held on strong. "Frack you!" she yelled. Charybdis began to twist the arm, and Amy yelled out. "That hurts! Why in hades did I have to dream you up for anyway?"

"Cause I'm all that you have left of the outside!" Charybdis shouted. "You dreamed the one dream of reality that you had because you don't want to leave it. As much as it's going to hurt to go back, you must! You have to see if your life, your memories, what makes you you are still out there."

"Frack you" she repeated, but tears had begun to form in her eyes. She shut her eyes tight. "Fracking frack you." Around them, the universe began to spin more slowly, and Charybdis held on, more gently now, hoping that he'd gotten through somehow, and it wasn't just the meds beginning to wear off.

Amy opened her eyes, and the sight of them chilled Charybdis to the bone, for they had turned green, the same color as the growth on her arm. And even as what he was seeing registered in his mind, he and the universe around him began to fade away. He began to shout out the word "no", but he made no sound, no sound at all...

[Astraea]

Astraea slowly moved a flat strip of metal around in the boiling bucket of soup as she heated it with the plasma torch. She had hesitated to use so much of their water supply to make the potage, but she could hear everyone’s stomach growling when she awoke. They needed something to eat before they all passed out.

She shut off the torch and continued to stir. There was something soothing in the light scraping sound of her makeshift cooking utensils. It was a normalcy that she had missed living in Cylon captivity. She hadn’t particularly liked to cook. In fact, if she were to be honest with herself, she tolerated the necessity of it, but preferred the cooking of anyone else, including the barely passable creations of the Mess Hall.

Amy shifted slightly and caught her attention. Astraea scraped off the flat stirrer and dropped it down onto the table. Wiping her hands off on her increasingly dingy robe, she wandered over to Amy’s side just in time to hear her mumbling.

“Are you talking to me princess?” Astraea asked as she sat down.

When Amy muttered unintelligibly once more and turned slightly over onto her back, Astraea reached up to touch her face. “At least you’re not running a fever,” she commented. She noted Amy’s clammy skin then gently probed around the gash in her scalp. “There’s a little swelling though,” she sighed. “I’m not happy about that, but I don’t have a clue what to do to relieve it or even if I should.”

Amy shifted once more and her arm flopped out from under the tissue thin covers. Astraea took her hand and discovered that it was ice cold. Realization dawned that Amy had probably cut off the circulation to her arm while on her side. “I’ll bet that arm has a few thousand needles in it at the moment.” She adjusted Amy to take the weight off of her shoulder and then used the cushions she had ripped off the chairs to keep Amy from rolling completely onto her back.

“There.” Astraea put her hands in the small of her back to ease the ache as she straightened. “I hope that helps princess. The soup is just about ready and you’re my first customer.”

Astraea walked over to the door where she stood and stared down the corridor. Lazant had disappeared nearly an hour before complaining that the smell of her cooking was upsetting his stomach.

She started to turn back into the room with Amy when a small serving tray propped up against the wall caught her eye. She darted another glance up the corridor then smiled as she impulsively grabbed the tray. “Let’s see how hungry you really are,” she challenged Lazant while she waved the tray in the air to get the enticing aroma to waif through the corridors.

[Astraea]

Lazant’s arm quivered as he held the weighty Cylon sword straight out in a common fencing stance. He had worked up a heavy sweat in only a few centons of practice and he listlessly allowed the tip of the blade drop to the floor. What little he had eaten in the last few cycles Astraea had managed to purge. He had hoped a short workout would take his mind off of his rumbling stomach, but it only punctuated the fact that he was starving.

He dropped down onto one of the metal seats and wiped his face with his discarded shirt before using it to polish the blade. His thoughts drifted to the Callisto and the warm welcome they were sure to receive. At least Brie would be happy to see him.

A smile eased up the corners of his mouth as he thought of the Major. “I wonder what she’s doing right now,” he mused aloud then looked down at his bare stomach when it grumbled in response. “Probably eating.”

He respectfully tucked the sword away before shrugging back into his shirt. He sighed when he noticed a few nicks in the material from polishing the thick blade. “Well, I needed a new shirt anyway. Maybe I’ll hang onto this one as a souvenir. It’s not every day that you take on Baltar and live to tell about it.”

Lazant glanced around quickly as he fastened his shirt at his shoulder to assure himself he was alone. That was one story that he couldn’t share. Omitting Baltar’s involvement in their eventual escape would be minor, but he would have a lot of things to answer for if he revealed the meeting. Not the least of which would be why he let Baltar simply walk away.

His stomach rumbled once more and he realized that there was a new scent in the air. He breathed in deeply and his stomach let out a loud gurgle. “That doesn’t smell like Gourt root.”

He licked at his lips as he debated on whether or not he should suck up his pride. He had been pretty snide with Astraea when she had started cooking even though she assured him that it was a meal and not more medication.

He knew from checking the nav computer previous to his workout that they had several more centars in hyper space before their projected time of arrival in the Quarro system. “That’s a long time to go without a meal,” he told himself.

Lazant tossed around ideas of what to say when he arrived at the somewhat luxurious room nestled in the center of the Cylon cruiser, but by the time he stopped outside the door, his stomach dictated that the direct approach was needed.

He saw Astraea sitting with Amy propped up against her as she slowly fed her the green soup. Lazant cleared his throat and then waited for Astraea to look in his direction. “Do you mind?” he asked tentatively as he gestured to the steaming bucket.

“Help yourself,” Astraea returned. “But, if your stomach is still feeling queasy, you might want to take a shot of that tea I made you first.”

Lazant noticed that Astraea had moved his cup over next to the simmering soup and he waved aside her concern even though his stomach argued. “Oh no. I’m feeling fine. I’ve got a stomach of steal.” He punched himself in the midriff and immediately wished that he hadn’t. Individual muscles started to spasm from the workout and the purging. “I’ll just toss this out and use the cup for the soup.”

He glanced down into the steel cup then up to see that Astraea had turned away. He started to swing the cup to dispense the contents, then hesitated. He looked over at Astraea once more to be sure she wasn’t looking before tossing the brown liquid down his throat in a single gulp.

His stomach lurched as if it was going to expel the medicinal brew, but then the nausea began to subside. He looked down into the empty cup and gave an “hmm” before dipping it into the green potage. “What is this stuff anyway?”

“Just a recipe that I learned from one of the prisoners,” Astraea responded and glanced back over her shoulder at him. “She was one of those religious agro farmers who wouldn’t eat anything other than what she could grow.”

Lazant sniffed at it. “It smells good.” He dared a sip and the warmth soothed his parched throat.

“The lady promised me it was one of those recipes that you can’t screw up.” She gave Amy another sip. “Your girlfriend seems to like it.”

He swallowed a mouthful in a painful lump to refute her comment. “For the last time, she’s not my girlfriend.”

Astraea looked at Amy and then at Lazant. “I wouldn’t be so quick to argue. You could do a lot worse.”

His shoulders dropped as he stared at her. Was there nothing that woman didn’t have an opinion about? “Now what’s that suppose to mean?”

She chuckled at his defensive question. “You’re a touchy one, aren’t you?”

“You’re the one that keeps making those two-sided comments.”

“Okay then, how about a direct question,” she suggested. “How do you know Lieutenant Hawke?”