Chapter 28JJ - The Interview

[Col. Charybdis]

"You’ve never had any faith in me.” Those words were cold. She was angry and disappointed. I guess I couldn't argue with her. I hadn't been there for her when she was going through her worst times. But I still thought deep down, that she had it all wrong. But that was just like her. She was very stubborn and if she disagreed with you that was that, she was right and you were wrong. End of story.

"Well, I guess you have you me all figured out, don't you? But I guess you're good at that. Putting people exactly where you want them despite their own lives, despite what they say. That's fine, if it makes you happy.

Look, Brie, I'm really sorry for what happened to you, I mean that and we may never speak again after this, but what did you want me to do? Lie for you in that tribunal? I never thought you would ask that of anyone. Life is full of felgercarb and you should know, you've had enough of it lately. Some things don't turn out like we would like them to but we have to accept it and move on. I love Amy but I'm never going to spend my life with her either now. Other people are hurting too, Brie. But what gets me is the fact that love can be put on trial and made to be responsible for death and destruction. When goodness can now be looked at as something trivial and something that gets in the way."

Brie had sat there motionless while I was speaking, but she finally interjected, "Goodness? You didn't even come to see me."

"I did come to see you when they put you in the brig, but Abby and Elmer were there so I let them see you first. Then I found out that Astraea and Amy were being brought back and...one thing just spiraled into another. And then Elmer..." I stopped to think about that. Nothing had been resolved with his death yet. But I was right in the middle of it. I continued, "then Elmer committed suicide in my turboflush and..."

"What?" came Brie's response.

I guess she hadn't heard about that part. "It's a long story. He hadn't heard that Amy had been brought back and..." my voice just trailed off. "Look, you can't put all this on my shoulders. You've done just the same, Brie. Back when you faked your breakdown. Putting those who cared about you in that position. What the frack has gone on with everyone around here?"

I had had it. That was it. There wasn't anything more I could do or give...to anyone. I had had enough. It finally hit me like a ton a bricks, right there, right then.

Brie wouldn't even look at me at this point. I knew that any semblance of a friendship we had ever shared was over...

[Brie]

“I faked the breakdown to protect you,” Brie reminded Charybdis. “Don’t tell me that you could take care of yourself, that’s what Turner thought and they murdered him.” She paused, running over what Charybdis had said in her mind. “I never asked you to lie at the tribunal, and I never expected you to. I DID think that you would come to see me afterwards, and you didn’t. That’s that. You were busy. Whatever. Yeah, you did stop by when I first returned from the Galactica, but once again, that was about Amy. I didn’t know about Elmer, every time I’ve asked how he died the subject gets changed, so I’m sorry about that. But you know I think you hit it when you just mentioned Astraea. I’ve always felt that you blamed me for her death.”

Charybdis stared blankly at Brie. “Astraea is alive, Brie. She’s the prisoner that Lazant and Amy returned with.”

“What?” Brie was speechless for several microns. “Astraea’s alive? And no one bothered to tell me? It didn’t dawn on anyone that after all these yahrens that would be something that I would want...” Brie’s voice faded. The monitors started to beep loudly.

Doctor Ellis rushed into the room. “Out of my way, Colonel, she’s having a heart attack.” Charybdis took a step back. “Move, now! In fact, I would advise you to leave.” Doctor Ellis closed the curtain around Brie.

[Col. Charybdis]

Doc BKJ appeared at my side. She quickly took me out and ushered me into her office. "What was happening?" I asked.

"Apparently her vitals shot upward so fast that her heart gave out. She went into cardiac arrest. But I'm amazed that she was so weak. We were getting ready for her to undergo surgery soon."

"Will she survive?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know. Dr. Ellis is the best at cardiology. If anyone is in good hands, it's in his. But what's amazing is that we were pretty sure that Brie was strong enough to undergo the surgery. I guess she wasn't what with all she had been through. Just what were you two discussing in there?"

"Just...recent events. I mentioned something about Lt. Astraea being brought back and she sounded as if she didn't know. That's when she got excited and she just went, like that..."

"Some things were being introduced slowly so she could understand everything that had happened. That was one of those things that we hadn't gotten around to telling her. But in a way, Charybdis, because you had that little chat with her, you may have saved her life. She would never have survived that surgery."

"Huh, some comfort. Her life is saved just she could lose it by having a heart attack." Life could be ironic...

[Brie]

Doctor Ellis made a few notations on Brie’s chart before heading to Doc Bkj’s office. He knocked and walked right in. He didn’t even look at Colonel Charybdis. “She’s stable,” he said calmly. “Just a little bit of a scare, it could have been a lot worse. I’ve sedated her, she needs to rest to get her strength back. I’ve moved the surgery on her leg back a cycle.”

“You’re still going through with it?” Bkj asked, obviously surprised.

“If I don’t operate soon, it will heal incorrectly on its own and she’ll lose the use of her leg,” Ellis replied. “Ever try telling a warrior that they’ll never walk again? Believe me, she’d take the risk. And it’s a small risk at that.”

“But her heart...”

“I’m sorry,” Ellis said sarcastically, “I wasn’t aware that YOU were the cardio expert in this room. As I said before, it was just a scare. She needs to rest and be allowed,” he looked at Charybdis for the first time, “only visitors who won’t add to her stress level. And of course I’ll be keeping a close watch on her. It’s simple surgery, possible with a local anesthetic, and it shouldn’t last more than a centar or so. But it needs to be done. Excuse me, I have more patients to see.” He left as quickly as he had entered.

Doc Bkj shook her head. “It’s amazing to me that a man who is an expert on the human heart doesn’t seem to have one himself.”

[Amy81]

Abby sat relaxing as best she could as the shuttle approached the agroship. She'd kept her vidscreen off, preferring to enjoy the silence, or as much as there could be with the constant rumble and whine of the ship's engines.

She looked out the window from time to time, and her heart began to race when she spotted the great domes of the agroship looming in the distance. It was home. Her home. But so much had changed. It seemed like a hundred yahrens ago that she'd left the ship with Elmer on a part run that turned into so much more.

She was alone now, and it was frightening to think about. And here she'd thought that it was what she wanted. But not like this. She'd never wanted it like this. Not only was she alone, but the agro ship was in shambles and needed a steadying hand, her hand. She still wasn't sure if she was up to it. Any of it.

The shuttle pulled into the landing bay, and Abby felt the bumps as the ship made contact with the deck and came to a stop. With a sigh Abby stood up and made her way to the door. It was a moment she'd feel better about when it was over with. Returning to the quarters she's shared with Elmer, and where together they'd raised Amy...

She walked down the ramp and turned toward the corridor leading to the resident's quarters. Suddenly a voice broke her contemplation.

"There you are!"

She looked up to see where the voice was coming from. She recognized the woman, and nearly started to smile with recognition. But then she noticed the woman's expression.

"There you are!" the woman repeated. She was up to Abby now, and slapped her so hard, so unexpectedly, that Abby staggered from the blow. She dropped her things and held a hand up to where she'd been hit.

The woman closed the gap between them again, and got in Abby's face. "You liar. You worthless rotten lying daggit. It was all a lie. All of it! And I was her godmother for lord's sake! How could you, Abby? How could you?"

Abby was speechless. Was the fleet going mad? "I--I-- Em? Wh-what...?"

"It was all over IFB. It's true isn't it? They wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. Oh, lords Abby. Tell me it isn't true!" Em was starting to tear up now, her anger dissolving into grief.

"All over..." Abby stammered, her face still stinging. "What was all over IFB?"

"That you didn't have Amy! She's not really your daughter, is she?"

[Brie]

“This is Zerra, reporting live for the IFB. Please forgive the interruption, we will return to our regularly scheduled programming in a centon or two. But as promised, we’re staying on top of our late-breaking story. I have in my hands an official statement from none other than Major Brie herself, which I shall now read in its entirety.”

'To the people of the fleet;

‘There have been some questions brought up as to the paternity of Captain Amy. Let me assure you that Amy is indeed Abby and Elmer’s daughter. As you may have heard, I was kidnapped by Major Pierce and held prisoner on the Agro Ship. He was trying to take over the fleet. After we secured the bridge, a group of us went searching for the bomb that he had placed somewhere on the ship. We ran into some of the Agro Ship workers who, in part because of incorrect information reported by the IFB, thought that I was working WITH Pierce, not against him. No matter how hard I tried to convince them that I wasn’t they wouldn’t listen. They kept mentioning Amy, so I made up a story about being her biological mother to get them on my side. They believed me, and with their help we found the bomb and destroyed it safely in space.

‘I apologize to the good people of the Agro Ship for lying to you. I never meant to play on your emotions. As her Commanding Officer I, too, realize what a special person Captain Amy is. But we were in a situation where I would have said just about anything to get you to listen to me. I apologize to Abighiá as well. I can’t even imagine how difficult things have been for you, and I’m sorry if I’ve in some way made them worse.

‘To the rest of the fleet, I was indeed quarantined when I was seventeen because I contracted Mercurian Leprosy. I have the scars to prove it. It’s a terrible disease, one that took the lives of nearly 100 people before Doctor Salik found a cure. I’m sure there’s information on it in the archives, but please, don’t let your young children see the pictures. They won’t be pretty.

‘I also want to comment on the court-martial that I went through. I would like here and now to publicly thank Commander Apollo for what he did. Yes, some people would say that he used me, but I am more than happy to have played a part in stopping a madman. I’m writing this from my hospital bed, but I would have gladly died to stop Pierce. I want there to be no ill will from anyone, especially the warriors of Gold Squadron. We’re called upon to protect the fleet, and whether it’s from the Cylons or from some other demented form of evil, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. And believe me, Pierce was evil.

‘I think that’s about all that I have to say at the micron. Maybe when I’ve been medically cleared Zerra and I will sit down for a chat, but it won’t be live, because I don’t like the way that she treated Commander Apollo. After all that he’s done for us, he deserves nothing but our respect.

‘May the Lords of Kobol bless us all.

‘Major Brie
Commanding Gold Squadron
Battlestar Callisto.’

“I have also been informed that Major Brie has just suffered a heart attack. Unconfirmed reports state that Colonel Charybdis was visiting her at the time. Once again we’ll pass along more information as it becomes available. Keeping you informed this is Zerra, reporting for the IFB. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.”

[Col. Charybdis]

Doc BKJ and I watched the IFB report in her office. Things just kept getting stranger and stranger...

"Thank, Doc. Tell Brie that I'm sorry. She won't ever have to worry about me anymore." With that, I headed for the bridge. I had to meet with Sheba...

[Brie]

After Charybdis left Doc Bkj started to study Brie’s file more closely. The heart attack just made no sense. Brie seemed to be fine and recovering nicely just centons before it happened. Doc locked her door before starting to run some tests herself on the latest sample of Brie’s blood. There had to be an answer somewhere.

While she waited Doc reread the events over the past few sectars. It confirmed what she already knew, that Amy and Lazant, along with Astraea, had returned well before Brie was kidnapped by Pierce. No wonder Brie had been so upset, everyone had just forgotten to tell her. It still shouldn’t have caused a heart attack.

There was a slight beep, informing Doc that some of the test results were in. She picked up the readout. “It can’t be...”

[Col. Charybdis]

I immediately headed for Sheba's war room. Once inside, I saw her sitting on the far side of the table looking at some readouts. "Colonel, how are you holding up?" she asked.

"Commander, permission to speak freely," I asked formally. Although I normally needn't have asked something like that, I needed to this time.

She knew something was wrong. "Of course, Charybdis. What is it?"

"Commander, I have to know one thing. Did you know about the trial and this whole sordid affair that Commander Apollo put in action?"

Sheba's eyes dropped a bit as if to think about what to say. She looked up and stated, "Yes. Since most of what occurred happened onboard the Callisto, I had to OK his plan and see that everything was conducted acccordingly."

My heart sank to its lowest depths. I did not want to hear that. I had hoped. One last bit of decency left in humanity. But it was not to be.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Commander. I see that my faith in the institution known as the Colonial Military and in some elements of humanity have been shaken to their core."

This was it. The final straw. It had to be done. I continued.

"Commander Sheba, it is with great regret that I cannot continue in my present condition aboard the Callisto given all that has transpired in recent events. Therefore, I hereby tender my resignation of my commission as an officer in the Colonial Military and relinquish my duties as Second in Command of the Callisto effective immediately."

[Brie]

Doc Bkj had hoped that she would be able to quietly slip into Brie’s room without disturbing her. She had been sleeping since the heart attack, and sleep was what Brie needed more than anything. Doc tiptoed over to her friend’s bedside. “Doc?” Brie said, opening her eyes partway.

“Yeah, Brie, it’s me,” Bkj replied.

Brie tried to stretch. “How am I doing?”

“You tell me. Any discomfort?”

“Not anymore,” Brie said. “I felt before like a viper landed on my chest. What happened?”

Bkj paused. Brie wasn’t officially her patient in the matter at hand, but she had also been Brie’s doctor for yahrens. “You had a heart attack, a minor one,” Doc lied. It had been anything but minor. “But you’re stable now.”

“Oh,” Brie responded. “Where’s Charybdis?”

“He had to leave. He wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry, and that he’ll be back again once Doctor Ellis allows him to visit.” She was lying again, that wasn’t quite the message that Charybdis had wanted delivered.

“Oh,” Brie repeated. “We’ll work it out, we always do.”

“Hey Brie, can I ask you a personal question?” Doc wanted to know.

“Anything,” Brie replied. Now that the sedative was wearing off she was feeling a lot more alert.

Doc tried to phrase her question carefully. She didn’t want to add to Brie’s stress level. “It’s been a while since Turner’s file was closed. Are you seeing anyone?”

Brie shook her head. “No. Why?”

“So you haven’t...” Doc raised her eyebrows.

“No!” Brie said, realizing what Bkj was asking.

Doc smiled. “I didn’t think so. Problem is that I found an unlabeled blood sample. Someone with your blood type is pregnant, so I’m just checking with the women that I know before having to go into the databanks.” It was another lie, but one that Brie seemed to believe. “Speaking of which, while I’m here I need a fresh sample.”

Brie held out her arm. “If you guys keep this up I’m going to need another transfusion!”

Doc laughed as she drew the blood. “We’ll try to make sure that doesn’t happen. I hear Gold Squadron has returned, if I see Skyler you want me to send him in?”

Brie grinned. “Yeah, I’d really like to see him.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Doc walked to the door. “Try to...”

“I know, I know, get some rest,” Brie said.

Doc mentioned something to the blackshirts, then walked back to her office. It was starting to look like someone had switched Brie’s blood sample. Whether by accident or on purpose Bkj had no idea.