Chapter 28JJ - The Interview

[Col. Charybdis]

I arrived at the Med Lab. I immediately went to talk with Brie but there were guards posted at her door.

"I'm sorry, Colonel. Strict orders from the doctor that Major Brie is to have no visitors" one of them said.

As I was about to speak, Doc BKJ came out of her office. "Colonel, I've been expecting you to show up soon. What with all the news. But you of all people should know that medical conditions outweigh any personal considerations," she raised an eyebrow.

At that moment, Commander Apollo came into the Med Lab. He came over and spoke to Doc BKJ. "Doctor, I need to see Major Brie, immediately." He had a very stern look.

I didn't know what to think about Commander Apollo. If what he said was true, it was his idea that they play with people's lives. I had thought that of all people, it would be Apollo to go against something like that. But here it was in it's plain, ugly truth.

Doc BKJ escorted the Commander over to Brie's room. I guess having more rank would solve all problems. But I understood. In fact, soon having a military rank wouldn't matter at all to me anymore...

[Brie]

The door to Brie’s room opened. “Major, are you awake?”

Brie recognized Commander Apollo’s voice. “Yes, Sir. Come in.”

“Mind if I turn on the lights?” Apollo asked.

“Go right ahead.” Brie noticed on her heart rate monitor that her pulse had risen slightly. She wasn’t surprised, she was dreading this conversation. The lights came on and the door was closed. “I saw the interview, Sir. Thanks for trying to clear my name.”

“It’s my fault that your name needed clearing,” Commander Apollo replied. “I thought the interview went pretty well, until...”

Brie took a deep breath. “It’s true, Sir.”

Apollo approached Brie’s hospital bed. “You’re Amy’s mother?”

Brie shook her head. “No, ABBY is Amy’s mother. Being an adoptive father I’m sure that’s something that you understand. But I did give birth to her. That’s the real reason I never finished the pre-Academy program.”

“I can’t believe it.” Apollo did his best to remain calm, he didn’t want to upset Brie and get kicked out of her room, but he was bothered by the fact that this was finally coming out, after all these yahrens. “I helped decide who would be in that program. We weren’t sure that placing one girl in the middle of all those boys was a good idea, but you scored higher than any of them on the placement exam...was the father also in the program?”

“I...” Brie paused for several microns, “I didn’t know who the father was.”

“What?” Apollo tried to control his anger, but he felt like he was going to explode. That was the last thing he had expected to hear from Brie. “Everything told us that you were 100% military minded. I can’t believe that you would choose...”

“It wasn’t by choice, Sir.” Brie raised her voice slightly. “I was given no choice whatsoever.”

Apollo looked bewildered. “What are you saying?”

Brie looked down, not able to look at the fleet’s commander. “Please, Sir, don’t make me say it.”

[Brie]

Commander Apollo sat on the edge of Brie’s bed. “What happened, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Brie still couldn’t look at him. “I thought I was doing a good deed. There was this guy who was drunk. He could hardly walk, so I helped him.” She paused, after all the yahrens it was still difficult to talk about. “He was stronger than I was.”

“Did you tell anyone?” Apollo asked.

“Not then,” Brie replied. “A little over a sectar later I discovered that I was pregnant. The first couple of microns I was thrilled, something wonderful had come from my horrific experience. It was like I was doing my part to make sure the Cylons would never totally win. But then reality hit. I was 17, single, and hoping to become a warrior. I was orphaned when I was three, I couldn’t do the same thing to my child. So I went and talked to one of my instructors. I had already decided to put the baby up for adoption, my instructor had just heard about a couple on the Agro Ship that wanted to have a child but couldn’t. She made all the arrangements. I ‘caught’ the skin disease that was going around and went into quarantine. Only a couple of people ever knew that I was pregnant. Amy was born on the Agro Ship and Abby and Elmer raised her as their own.”

“Did you ever think of going through official channels?” Apollo wanted to know.

“I was still a civilian minor at the time,” Brie replied. “I hadn’t even entered the Academy yet. But I did go through official channels, Sir. The instructor who help me so much was your sister.”

Apollo stared blankly at Brie. “Athena?”

Brie nodded. “She was the daughter of the wisest man who ever lived, I was sure that she would know what to do. She buried the records so deep that no one would ever know what had happened. Then life went on. I never spoke of it again until I told Turner. Of course when Amy later joined Gold Squadron, I contacted Colonel Athena immediately. She told me that Amy had requested Gold Squadron, and to see if it worked out. If it didn’t, she could be transferred. But I never thought of Amy as being my daughter, so there wasn’t any problem. We did become friends, but it wasn’t because of biology. And it’s not like there’s no precedence for family members serving in the same squadron.”

Commander Apollo was thinking for several microns. “Now that it’s out in the open, how do you want to deal with it?”

“I need to talk to Abby,” Brie answered. “Amy is her daughter, it’s her choice. But she’s gone back to the Agro Ship, so until I talk to her, I’m just going to deny everything. The only reason I said anything on the Agro Ship was because they wanted payback for what they thought I had done to Amy, they thought I didn’t care about her. It sort of slipped out. But if I survived I planned on telling everyone later that it was a lie to save my life, and I’m going to keep saying that. I’ll deny it to anyone else who asks me. Not Commander Sheba, of course, but everyone else. According to my medical records I’ve never had a child, according to Abby’s records she has, and nowhere in Amy’s file does it ever mention her being adopted.” Brie chuckled. “I remember when Amy ‘introduced’ me to her parents. All three of us were able to act like we had never met before. I think that deep down Elmer had convinced himself that Amy WAS their biological child. He always referred to her as being of ‘his blood.’ It’s a shame that he’s gone. How did he die?”

Commander Apollo cleared his throat. “I don’t know all the details about that, I think it’s still under investigation.” He stood and headed towards the door.

“Sir?” Brie called. He turned back around. “I just want you to know that I don’t blame you for what happened with Pierce. I would have done ANYTHING to stop him, and to prove that Turner was murdered. So, thank you.”

Commander Apollo was surprised to be hearing gratitude for almost ruining someone’s life. “And thank you, Major, for being honest with me. I hear you have another surgery scheduled, so try to get some rest.”

“”I will, Sir.”

[Brie]

There were several microns of silence before the door opened again. Doc Bkj entered the room. “Brie, are you okay?”

Brie nodded. “Yeah. I told the commander the whole story. We’re going to stick with the status quo, what it says in our files. Adoption records are sealed, so it’s really none of anyone’s business.”

“Do you need to talk?” Doc asked.

“No,” Brie replied, shaking her head. “I came to terms with what was done to me yahrens ago, and that hasn’t changed.”

“What was done to you...” Doc Bkj repeated. “Were you...?” Brie nodded. “Oh. That explains a lot.”

“Don’t worry, Doc, I’m fine,” Brie told her friend. “But I don’t think I’m going to get much rest, so if anybody else wants to stop by, it’s fine with me.”

“Okay,” Doc said, “I’ll let your Blackshirt friends know. But we’ll be keeping a close watch on your numbers.”

“They’re not my friends,” Brie called as the door closed again.

[Brie]

Alone in her room, Brie was slightly surprised. The restriction for visitors had been lifted, but no one had yet to show. She could only imagine what people were thinking of her after Commander Apollo’s IFB interview. She decided to try to stop the rumors before they spread any further. With a great deal of effort and discomfort, she was able to open the drawer of the table next to her bed. She pulled out a pen and paper. She thought for a few microns, and then wrote down exactly what was on her mind.

When she was satisfied with what she had written, Brie waited for Enoch to look in her window, which he seemed to do every five microns. She motioned for him to come in. “I need a favor,” she told him.

“Anything, Ma’am,” Enoch replied.

“I need this delivered to Zerra at the IFB right away,” Brie said.

“But I’m supposed to be guarding you...” Enoch protested.

Brie was ready for his argument. “Jared can handle it alone for a few centons. And the quicker the true story gets out, the quicker everyone will stop talking about it, and the quicker I won’t need guarding anymore. Right?”

“If you say so, Major,” Enoch said. “I’ll take it to her right away.”

“Thank you,” Brie replied. “The sooner this mess gets cleared up, the happier everyone will be.”

[JustinB]

Right after leaving Brie, I made my way to my quarters. I saw that I had a message so I sat don to look at it. It blew me away, another new recruit for Black Squadron. I went to the Black Squadron roster and added Ensign Kaneli to it.

I made a note to interview Ensign Kaneli at the first available opportunity. My mind swung back to Brie as I took a bite out of some fruit I had in my room. The sweet juice of the fruit gave me a good feeling. After it was eaten, I went to the turbo flush, then went to bed. I was able to sleep knowing Brie was no longer a convicted criminal and back where she belonged. But one thing which surprised me was Brie's reaction to Zerra broadcasting that Amy was her daughter. It only lasted a micron or two as I fell into a deep sleep.

[Col. Charybdis]

I came out of the young Ensign's room in Med Lab. After seeing Commander Apollo go in to see Brie, I thought I would make some rounds of say hi to some of the wounded Warriors, nothing like keeping up morale. They were all so young, it seemed. They were vibrant and made good warriors. They weren't jaded yet like some of us old veterans...

I saw that Brie's room was only guarded by one security man. I swallowed hard and headed for the door. Right before I got there, another blackshirt came out of her room and left with a note in his hand.

I walked up and said matter of factly, "I'm going in to visit Major Brie." "Yes, sir" came the quick response. I was a bit surprised that now they were going to let people in to see her, so I took a deep breath and walked in...

[Brie]

The door opened once again. Brie wasn’t surprised to see Colonel Charybdis walk in. He couldn’t be bothered to visit her after her conviction, but once Amy was mentioned she had expected him to come running. He seemed slightly uncomfortable about being there, confirming in her mind what she had figured out in the brig, their friendship wasn’t what she had once thought that it was. “Why don’t you come in?” Brie suggested at last. “I don’t think we should be shouting this conversation across the room.”

Charybdis walked in, making sure the door was closed first. “Brie, how are you?”

“They tell me I’ll survive,” Brie replied coldly. “There’s another surgery scheduled, but it’s minor.” She waited a couple of microns. “Before we say anything else I need to know, is this a conversation between two people who have known each other for yahrens, or am I speaking to a superior officer? Because the last thing I want is to be court-martialed, again.”

“Oh come on, Brie, don’t be like that,” Charybdis said. “We’ve been friends for yahrens.”

Brie started to laugh, then quickly placed a hand on her side. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts too much. So now we’re friends? I had a lot of time to think when I was in the brig, and I learned a lot about friendship. Friends are people who stick with you no matter how bad the circumstances. Skyler is my friend, Justin is my friend, Lazant is even my friend. But you and me? The only reason that I can think of that you and I ever called each other friends is because of Turner. I’ll admit that you two were, but I think enough time has passed that we can drop the charade.”

“Brie, you’re not being fair,” Charybdis told her. “I was going to come see you, but I was busy.”

Brie almost laughed again. “That’s really funny, because I wasn’t. I had all the time in the universe. You didn’t even send a message. But let’s cut the felgercarb, Colonel. We both know that’s not what you’re here to talk to me about. You want to know about Amy, if the IFB report is true.”

Charybdis paused. Brie was obviously upset with him, unfairly he thought, but he did want to know. “Is it?” he asked at last.

“Of course not,” Brie replied. “The workers on the Agro Ship were trying to kill me, partly because another false IFB report that said I was working with Pierce. They’re very protective of Amy, she’s one of their own. I knew that there was a bomb somewhere on the ship, so I made up a lie to make them listen to me and so we could work together to find the bomb. I was going to tell them the truth later, but I passed out.”

“You and Amy are the same rare blood type,” Charybdis pointed out. “She doesn’t match Abby or Elmer.”

“I’m also the same blood type as Boleman,” Brie replied quickly, “but I didn’t give birth to him either. Why is it so easy for you to believe that I was fooling around when I was 17, but it doesn’t dawn on you that maybe Abby was unfaithful? But I think that’s a big part of our problem. You’re always more than willing to think the worst about me. You believed that I was crazy when I said that Turner was murdered, you bought the whole nervous breakdown, you’ve second-guessed me on every squadron decision that I’ve ever made. You’ve never had any faith in me.” Brie took a deep breath. She expected one of the doctors to show up at any micron and lecture her about the need to relax.

[Skyler]

Skyler landed his Viper, jumped down and threw his helmet to the crew chief.

"Major, how did it go?"

"Its Captain now, didn't you hear Micklin?"

"Doesn't matter flyboy, Capt, Maj. All the same to me." Micklin answered back, chewing on a half smoked fumarello

Skyler shook his head and headed towards the lifestation.....

[Brie]

Enoch quickly made his way to the IFB’s Callisto office. If Captain Urdea found out that he had left his post, he would probably get into a lot of trouble. Then again, Captain Urdea had told him to do whatever it took to make Brie happy, within reason, of course. As he walked, Enoch wondered if this fell “within reason.”

Although he had been assigned to the Callisto for a couple of yahrens, he had never before been to the IFB office. He knew that there was a much larger studio and office space set up on the Galactica. There was also a complete ship that was devoted almost entirely to the IFB, it’s where most of their programming was produced. In some ways it seemed like a waste to Enoch to use a whole ship that way, but he understood. The IFB was important to keep boredom at bay.

Enoch opened the door and walked in. There was a young, blond woman sitting at the desk. “May I help you?”

Absentmindedly Enoch brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I need to see Zerra. I have a message from Major Brie.”

“I’d be more than happy to...”

“Major Brie asked me to give it to Zerra myself.” Enoch was embellishing the truth a little bit, but he wanted to make sure that Zerra received the note. He had been tempted to read it himself along the way but had talked himself out of it.

“One micron.” The pretty young woman disappeared, only to return a centon later. “Right this way.”

Enoch followed her to Zerra’s temporary dressing room. At first he didn’t recognize the reporter, she was shorter than he had expected and older as well. “I’m Zerra,” she started, holding out a hand. “And you are?”

“Officer Enoch, Callisto Security,” he replied, shaking her hand.

Zerra smiled. “Yes, I remember seeing you at Brie’s Tribunal. It’s nice to meet you. I understand that you have a message for me?”

“Oh, yeah.” Enoch handed Zerra the sealed envelope. “It’s from Major Brie.”

“Thank you.” Zerra smiled again. “Have you seen her?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Enoch replied. “Brie and I have become very good friends.”

“Maybe I could interview you,” Zerra suggested. “You could update everyone on how she’s doing.”

Enoch started to blush. Once again he brushed the hair out of his eyes. “Oh no, Ma’am. Not without permission. Besides, I need to be getting back to work.”

“Well thank you for stopping by,” Zerra said. “It was nice meeting you, Officer Enoch.”

“You too, Ma’am.” Zerra waited until Enoch had left the room before anxiously ripping open the envelope.