FIC: A Lot to Live Up To (Part 2)
May. 8th, 2009 10:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lls_mutantTitle: A Lot to Live Up To, Part 2
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lls_mutant
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dee and Hoshi
Pairings: Dee/Lee, eventual Hoshi/Gaeta, and past Hoshi/Narcho in the background.
Summary: Hoshi might not be happy about Dee being XO, but he does know the Pegasus.
Spoilers: Eventually through the end, but this part just through the New Caprica arc
Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome betatrovia!
Part 1.
"It was good to see you," Helo said, hugging her goodbye.
"It was good to see you, too," Dee said. "I wish I could get back here more, but then it looks like I'm favoring Galactica over Pegasus, and we can't have that." She rolled her eyes.
"But Galactica is better than Pegasus," Helo said, with mock wide-eyed innocence. She batted him, laughing. "Don't worry, Dee. People understand that you have ties here. Besides, you're not XO here. You don't need to keep your distance from everyone."
Dee sighed. "I know. But I'm still…" she shut her mouth firmly, even as Helo raised his eyebrows in an invitation for her to continue. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't complain."
"Talking to a friend isn't complaining," Helo pointed out. "If it is, that's all I've done the entire time that you've been here- complain about Sharon still being in the brig."
Dee smiled and patted his arm. "It's different," was all she could say. "I'll see if I can talk to the Admiral," she heard herself saying.
"Thank you," Helo said. "I know he'll change his mind when he's good and ready to change his mind, but…"
"But," Dee agreed with a smile that hid her distaste. Intellectually, she knew that this was not the same Sharon Valarii that had shot the Admiral. But the memories were still sharp and clear. But Helo was Helo, and he had a way of making people believe in the best possible outcome. She hugged him once more, and then boarded the Raptor headed back to the Pegasus.
"Have a good visit?" Narcho asked as he began the preflight check.
"It wasn't a visit," Dee said. "I had business here."
"Didn't say you didn't," Narcho said, glancing upwards and flicking a switch. "But I'm not stupid, Lieutenant. I know you've got friends here, too. Nothing wrong with that. It's not like it used to be, when we all had friends outside the military."
"Yeah. I guess so," Dee said. She looked wistfully out the front window of the Raptor to where Helo was moving back into the Galactica. She'd been on the Pegasus for a month, and she still felt like a complete outsider.
It was just herself and Narcho, so she slipped up into the co-pilot's seat. "So how's the attempt at a motorcycle coming along?" she asked, shooting in the dark as to how he really spent his spare time on the hangar deck.
Narcho paused, looked to the side and grinned at her. "You're not going to tell the Commander."
"No," Dee laughed.
"For something that I'm cobbling together out of the worst spare parts I can manage, it's not doing too badly," he said. He fiddled with a lever. "I could use a hand, though."
"I don't know much about motorcycles."
"I'll teach you."
That was the point when Dee realized that Narcho was feeling much like she was. A lot of the pilots had mustered and settled on New Caprica, and the crews that were left were small. "You can't find anyone else?" she asked cautiously. "Stinger?"
"He's… busy. He's got a girl." Narcho looked away. "Besides, Stinger can fly and he can do tactics, but he's shit when it comes to the actual machinery. He'd probably electrocute himself."
"Yeah," Dee laughed. "Yeah, sure," she said finally. "I'd like that."
Narcho grinned at her. "Me, too."
***
The first stop Dee had to make when she was back on the Pegasus was the brig. When she got there, Hoshi was lying on the cot, staring up at the ceiling.
"Lieutenant," she said sharply.
Hoshi turned his head. Any other crewman would have jerked to his feet by now, but he just turned his head. "Yes?" he drawled.
Dee stared at him, exasperated. "Are you trying to stay in the brig?" she demanded. "First disobeying an order-"
"It was a stupid order," Hoshi interrupted, finally sitting up. His eyes flashed with impatience. "You can't reroute the power from the weapons grid that way; you'll leave the ECM generators insufficiently powered. This is a Mercury class battlestar, not an antique like the Galactica."
"You're not in here for disagreeing with me," Dee said. "You're in here for deliberately disobeying an order."
"Don't see much of a difference," Hoshi said stubbornly.
"Really," Dee drawled. "You know," she said finally, "brig time isn't going to look good in your file when I finally do pop out that baby that you're so ready for me to have." She crossed her arms and stared him down. "There's not a whole lot of opportunity left for advancement in the military, is there? And as the years go on, there's going to be less and less."
"What do you care?" Hoshi demanded. "If I want to frak my career over, what's it matter to you, anyway?"
"It doesn't," Dee said primly. "But what does matter to me is running this ship. Now listen. I'm sick of having my Communications Officer in the brig, and I'm sick of how you're getting there. If you earn yourself three more days of brig time in the next month, you're eligible for a dishonorable discharge. If the Cylons were after us, everyone would look the other way. But they're not. So unless you want to settle on New Caprica, and I'm guessing you don't want to, you'll cool it."
Hoshi made a face. "I'll be good," he said mockingly. "Are we done with the lecture?"
Dee nodded and entered the code. "We're done," she said as the brig door opened up. "Get back to work."
He left, but right as he was going to leave the brig he turned around. "I mean it about the ECM generators," he told her. "If you leave them powerless, we're going to be in bad shape if the Cylons ever find us again. I know everyone says they won't, but I won't bet the Pegasus on it." He touched the nearby wall gently. "This ship is my home, Lieutenant. Don't frak it up."
Dee inclined her head in a nod. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she said with as much dignity as she could put into her voice. "I'll take it into advisement."
***
"I took another look at the schematics," Dee told Lee later that night, "and we did miscalculate. Rerouting that circuit does drain the power from the ECM generators, and if the Cylons find us again-"
"The Cylons aren't going to find us again, Dee," Lee interrupted wearily.
Dee bit her lip. "I know that," she said carefully. "But it is our job to believe they will. And if the Cylons do find us, then we won't have time to put the circuit back and reinstate the generators, especially as it takes a few minutes to be fully online. I hate to say it, but I think Hoshi's right about this one."
Lee finally looked up. "You think Hoshi's right?" he laughed. "Well, I should take it based on that alone."
"Maybe you should," Dee said seriously.
"I'm joking, Dee. We're rerouting the power because of the tylium supply. We've got enough to keep the ships in the air for the next five years, but barely. We have to be selective and use as little power as possible in order to conserve what we've got. And the communications and nav systems are harder to get back online than the ECMs."
"But the Cylons-"
"The Cylons aren't going to find us, Dee." He repeated it resignedly. "And even if they did, we're two battlestars, not an entire Fleet. We're no fighting force." He threw a pen onto the table irritably. "We're a lighthouse, until the Beast here gets decommissioned."
"Lee-"
"Dee, it's over, okay? All that matters is getting New Caprica going and getting the people the resources they need."
"But if we had the tylium…" Dee rifled through the papers. "Look. Gaeta sent a report up just yesterday. There's so much debris around here, they were able to find tylium in some of it. It's not much, but it would help, and if we could keep the generators online-"
"I keep telling you, the ECMs are only good for deflecting nuclear weapons, and for that to be at all applicable there needs to be a nuclear attack."
"Which there will be if-"
"You know what? Fine!" Lee threw his hands up in the air. "If you can get Baltar to mine tylium and get us up to this level-" he tapped a figure, "then we can keep the generators online, okay?"
"Thank you." Dee bit down the scowl and forced a smile instead. "And in five years, when the Cylons haven't attacked, you can say you told me so, okay?"
Lee smiled at her. "Okay," he said. He moved over and kissed her forehead. "And believe me, I will."
***
Getting Baltar to agree to mine tylium probably wouldn't be easy, but fortunately, Dee had more sense than to try talking to Baltar.
"They've had the operation up for a week now," Felix told her, his voice alive with static over the comm unit. "That one was easy, given that we have tylium miners and refiners. But your problem is going to be convincing them that the military gets dibs."
"What do you mean?" Dee asked.
"Dee, you've got nothing to trade. No food, no-"
"We've got medical supplies and military protection."
"They're Sagittarons."
"Oh."
"I've softened them up for you, but I think they need to actually deal with the people who need the tylium. I've told them you can probably work something out as far as trading clothing rations or food rations- we can juggle what's being sent up to you from some of the others so that you've got something of value to give the Sagittarons."
"You don't have any non-Sagittarons mining?"
"Not tylium." He was thoughtful for a moment. "When you take a pass at them, talk to Xeno Fenner. He's the foreman on the ship, and I think he'll be the most approachable. It's easy to get forget the past few years down here," he said. "But I'll bet it's a lot harder when you're up there."
"Probably," Dee said grimly. She looked around at the CIC. Even though it wasn't the same one she'd served on, she could see where glass had shattered and where repairs had been made. She could see the past months on the faces of the men and women serving. Felix was right; it was impossible to forget the Cylons here. No wonder Hoshi had gotten to her. "Thanks, Felix."
"Any time. When are you coming down?"
"As soon as Lee gives me the clearance. Should be this afternoon."
"All right." She could almost see him consulting his schedule. "Listen, I can meet your Raptor when you land and take you over to their setup. I might even be able to stay if I can get some of this other stuff finished up first."
"Great." Dee thought she really wouldn't have minded if Hoshi had gone down to be Baltar's Chief of Staff and Felix had stayed on to be Watch Officer up here, although there were a million reasons that that would never have happened. "I'll see you this afternoon."
***
"You want me to take who?" Dee demanded.
"Look," Lee said, walking with her to the Raptor, "you and Hoshi are the ones who feel that this needs to be done. So you two can deal with it together."
"And then we can learn how wrong we were about each other, and learn the value of teamwork and how to work together, right?" Dee said sarcastically.
Lee stopped. "Dee," he said, taking her by the shoulders, "I know Hoshi has been giving you a hard time that you don't deserve. But I really disagree with the both of you that we need to have these generators up. I wouldn't be able to argue it persuasively." He sighed. "Besides, the both of you are Sagittaron. You know how to talk to these people."
Dee debated taking offense, but decided not to. Lee didn't mean it like that, and he did look tired and strained. "All right," she said. "But if I drag back a dead body, I don't get brig time."
Lee laughed. "If you drag back a dead body, I'm not crossing you," he said. "I'll take that as my lesson."
"Good," she said primly. "You should."
To her relief, Narcho was waiting by the Raptor bound for New Caprica. At least she had him on her side. He smiled and waved, but something about it seemed off. She turned around and realized he hadn't been waving at her at all, but at Hoshi, who had entered the hangar deck several yards behind them.
"Good luck," Lee said, kissing her quickly. "I'll see you later."
Dee smiled at him, and then headed towards the Raptor, where Narcho and Hoshi were already talking.
"If I can get my hands on a fuel cell, I should be able to get her going," Narcho was saying. "It will take some doing, but-"
"But that's never stopped you before," Hoshi finished with a smirk. "Do you have anything you can trade for a fuel cell?"
"A few cubits, sexual favors, internal organs…. Lieutenant," he said, spotting Dee walking towards them and snapping to attention. Hoshi saluted as well, but after a deliberate pause. Dee decided to ignore it for the moment.
"Let's go," she said with a heavy sigh.
Hoshi immediately commandeered the co-pilot's seat as they climbed into the Raptor. Narcho glanced at Dee and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Have you been down to the surface much, Lieutenant?" he asked her formally as he launched the Raptor.
"No, I've been keeping busy up here."
"Busy," Hoshi said dryly.
"Well, when my Communications Officer is in the brig, someone has to fill in the gaps," Dee said crossly.
"That would explain why my station was all screwed up today. That's what happens when a jumped-up NCO takes over an officer's position."
"Funny, isn't it?" Dee asked Narcho, "that on Galactica an NCO handles Communications but on Pegasus it takes someone who's been through the Academy? Says something about the intelligence of the NCOs."
"Or that the controls of the Galactica are so simple a monkey could direct the calls."
"All right, kids, stop it or I'll turn this Raptor around," Narcho snapped. Dee saw him fix a steely gaze on Hoshi, but he also managed to glance back and glare at her, too. She realized that sticking her tongue out at them would not in any way be considered commanding or professional, and neither would sulking in the back seat like a teenager. She opened her files.
Narcho was the first to clear his throat. "Stinger got time on the pyramid court tomorrow at 1900 hours," she heard him tell Hoshi. "You in?"
"I'll have to see. I might be on watch." He glanced back at Dee, who made a note of it and decided he would be if he decided to make trouble on this mission. "Who all is playing?"
"Easy, Trapdoor, Simmons, Martins, Stinger, Stroud, and me. If you play we can make it four on four."
"Sounds good." They continued talking in low voices, and Dee pulled out the schematics that she'd brought with her and continued rehearsing what she wanted to say to Xeno Fenner. She was able to get through her notes once before the Raptor landed, kicking up dust and shutting down with a few efficient clicks. Narcho opened the door and took off his helmet, and Dee clambered out.
She was relieved to see Felix on the edge of the landing field, waiting for them with a smile and a sheaf of papers in his hand. He waved enthusiastically. "Hello, Lieutenant Tigh," he joked as she approached, giving her a mock salute. His smile was warm, and he pulled her into a quick hug. "How are you?"
"Good," she said brightly, especially because Hoshi and Narcho were close in tow. She turned slightly so she could introduce them. "This is Baltar's Chief of Staff and the former Tactical Officer on Galactica, Felix Gaeta," she told them. "He's been working with Fenner on the ground. Lieutenant Allison and Lieutenant Hoshi," she said, gesturing to each of them in return.
Hoshi smiled at Felix with more charm than Dee had previously suspected him of having. "We've met," he said, still extending his hand.
"Oh yeah, sure, you're Communications on Pegasus," Felix said, shaking Hoshi's hand with an easy, casual smile. "Gods, you've checked out that console, haven't you, Dee?" He sighed longingly. "No wonder they can combine Communications and Tactical into one position. That is one sweet setup you've got there."
"We were even going to upgrade right before the attacks," Hoshi said. "We would have been able to install advanced navigation software that would have made calculating a jump easier-"
"The NAVQUAL package?" Felix asked enviously.
"Yeah. We had the CNP installed, and we would have been the first ship with the NAVQUAL upgrade, but the attacks hit and…" Hoshi shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't have been much use to us anyway, given that it needed to interface with the Colonial Defense Mainframe, but still. It would have been amazing."
They both sighed, and Dee shook her head in exasperation. "Are we done?" she asked them sternly.
Felix snapped himself back. "Sorry," he apologized, both to her and Narcho, who was staring at the pair of them with an abject sort of horror. "Finding someone who gets this stuff in civilian politics is not as easy as you might think."
Narcho blinked in confusion. "Baltar wrote the CNP, from what I've heard."
Felix's expression iced over, but all he said was, "So he did. Shall we go take on Xeno Fenner?" And just like that, the expression was gone. Dee had a bad feeling about that, but Felix was gesturing for them to follow, and this was most definitely not the moment for a heart-to-heart.
New Caprica was still a gray place. Although the fresh air felt good and it was nice to see the sky, everything about the place still seemed gray and drab. And it only looked worse as Felix led them towards the shipyard. "Xeno Fenner's set up shop near the yards," he explained. "Which makes sense. When the Hitei Khan isn't off mining, it's best just to do the refining right here." He pointed to where the Hitei Khan was perched on a small hill, slightly removed from the other ships.
A whistle blew, signaling a break, and people began to emerge from the ship. They were ragged and filthy; refinery workers on a lunch break. They looked at the three officers with clear distaste, and Dee sighed. She understood pacifism, to an extent, although she didn't agree with it. She couldn't understand why anyone would condemn the military after what they'd all been through.
Behind her, she heard Hoshi clear his throat, and Narcho whispered something.
A tall, thin, red-headed man with a hard face was waiting for them. Felix waved, sidestepping a puddle as he led them over. The man Dee assumed to be Fenner had obviously been discussing something with someone Felix whispered was called Cabott, who looked up with irritation when they approached.
"Mr. Fenner," Felix said brightly, extending his hand. "Thanks for meeting with us today. This is Lieutenant Dualla, XO of the Pegasus, Lieutenant Hoshi, and Lieutenant Allison."
"Nice to meet you," Fenner said grudgingly. "But it isn't going to matter, Gaeta. I told you, we're working at capacity as it is. Can't get any more tylium than I'm getting."
"Come on, Xeno," Felix said. "We can work something out. We can increase the food rations or the clothing credits or-"
"Some things can't be bought," Fenner insisted.
"Mr. Fenner," Dee said, with her chin thrust high, "can I take the time to explain the situation to you?"
It was only in a Sagittaron settlement that someone would dare to smile that condescendingly at her. "It's your time to waste," he said with a shrug.
Dee pulled out the charts. "Look," she said, setting them down on the work table. Fenner glanced at them, but Dee noticed Cabott looking intently over his shoulder. "With the tylium you're able to provide us with, we're able to keep the Pegasus in the air, as well as keeping the Vipers and Raptors fueled. But what we can't do is keep some of the important systems up."
"Yeah, I know. Gaeta here was going on about the EMC generators."
"ECM generators," Hoshi jumped in. "Electronic countermeasures. They provide the bulk of the Pegasus's defense against nuclear attack. If the Cylons-"
"The Cylons aren't coming back, or so Baltar's told us," Fenner said. "Even Adama admits that one. They aren't going to find us here. So why should we be keeping you all in your ungodly positions, when you could be down here actually doing some work?"
"I understand your position," Dee said, resisting the urge to grind her teeth together. "I know that the Sacred Scrolls say that violence shall be abhorred. That those who practice it are pariahs and plagues on humanity, that you shall not raise hand nor stick nor weapon to those created by the Gods. But the Cylons, Mr. Fenner, were not created by the Gods. The Cylons are machines, created by humans."
"Not by me. They aren't my problem," Fenner insisted.
"They are if they happen to find us again, Mr. Fenner. Is that really a risk you want to take, leaving us completely undefended?"
He eyed her suspiciously. "I saw that documentary," he said. "The one about the Galactica. You're Sagittaron, aren't you?"
"Yes…" Dee said slowly, drawing the syllable out.
Fenner shook his head. "You should know better."
"I know that without the Galactica and the Pegasus, the human race would have ceased to exist." Dee decided to change tact. "Mr. Gaeta worked up a system that we can trade-"
"It doesn't matter what you trade," Fenner said stubbornly. "Look, I get what the military's done, okay? You know as well as I do what I should have said when you said that the human race would have ceased to exist."
"That maybe that's the Gods' plan, and we should accept it," Hoshi answered, his face stony. Fenner did a double take, but then nodded.
"Exactly. But I look around at all these people, and I can't bring myself to say that. I just can't. So, yeah. I'm grateful to the military. But gratitude doesn't mean I have to stay chained to you all when I know it's wrong, just because you did us a service in the past. You get the tylium to keep the Fleet in the air, and that's it."
Dee was about to say more when Narcho interrupted. "Whose bike is that?" he asked, pointing, as if he hadn't been paying attention at all.
Cabott glanced over to where an old but well maintained motorcycle rested against the side of the Hitei Khan. "It's mine," he said. "I was headed to Leonis for a trip with some friends when the Cylons attacked," he explained. "Hasn't done me much good till now, but now that we're settled, I can bring it on out."
"Can I see her?" Narcho asked, eyes still fixed on the bike.
"Go," Fenner told Cabott, rolling his eyes. "I'll sort this mess out." Narcho went off with Cabott, and Fenner turned back to Dee, Felix, and Hoshi. "Not that there's much left to sort out," he said. "I think we're pretty clear here."
It's easy to get forget the past few years down here. But I'll bet it's a lot harder when you're up there. "Could I get a look at the ship?" Dee asked suddenly.
"What?"
"The Hitei Khan." Dee gestured. "I've never been in it." All three men were looking at her like she'd lost her marbles. "Please," she insisted. "I'd really like to."
"Fine," Fenner said, shrugging. "Come on."
Dee looked at Felix and Hoshi. "Stay out here," she ordered. They both looked perfectly happy to obey. The smell of tylium was overpowering as Dee and Fenner stepped aboard. "How many people work on board?" she asked.
"Full crew for a shift is about one hundred and twenty," he said. "If we do three shifts, it makes it about three hundred sixty."
"Seems like a lot of people for a small space," Dee said.
"That's nothing. Since we had FTL, we took on extra people. At one point we had six hundred and seventy three people on this ship.
"It must have been difficult," Dee said sympathetically.
"There were times you could barely move," Fenner agreed. "We had to limit everything; rations, showers, times people could use the head, space people could use, how much people could have with them… and then a lot of the people who came on board after the attacks had kids with them. And you can imagine how difficult it is for kids on a tylium refinery ship." Dee made a sympathetic noise.
They walked on through the ship, and as Fenner showed her the crew quarters, the work floor, the control rooms, the docking bay, and the dining area, the picture of life on the small ship during the time after the attacks became clearer and clearer. Fenner saw it too, she could see the memories dancing across his face. She deliberately led him down certain roads: How did the children handle it when the Cylons found us? What was it like on this ship that first week, when we jumped every thirty three minutes? Tell me about the prayers people said when they were scared or terrified or didn't know how much longer their lives would last.
Somehow, they ended up sitting across from each other in the mess hall- dining hall, Dee corrected herself sternly. Now that she'd gotten him started, Fenner was hard to stop. He told her about the way the children once huddled together when they heard the announcement Set Condition One throughout the Fleet, but by the end they just kept playing, because they were so used to it. He told her about how in those first few days, he'd had people sick from the feeling of jumping. How people adapted to their tight quarters, limited resources, and unbearable losses. How they'd had seven suicides over the past months, and other deaths as well. As he spoke, she felt the ghosts of those days coming to life around her, and she could see he felt it, too.
They might be safe on New Caprica, but it would take years for the wounds of these months to heal.
"I don't know if I could ever go back to those times," Fenner said. "Watching my people suffer like that, living in that sort of fear…" He shook his head. "The Cylons can't find us again. We can't do it."
"But if they do, we'll have to," Dee said softly. "It's a better option than dying under them. We'll have to be able to run. I know you don't like the military, Xeno. My father didn’t, either. Believe me, when I joined, it wasn't a decision I made lightly. But the Galactica and the Pegasus are what allow the civilians to keep running, to find havens like New Caprica. I know it's not going to happen, but if the Cylons do manage to find us, the Pegasus must not be defenseless, or so is everyone else. Don't let everything you've suffered be for nothing."
Fenner looked around the ship and nodded slowly. "We'll work something out," he agreed finally.
Dee closed her eyes in relief, but kept her smile in check. "Thank you, Mr. Fenner," she said.
"Come on," he said gruffly, standing up, "let's go get Cabott and your boys and discuss the logistics of this."
They went out into the cold, watery sunshine. Felix and Hoshi were bent over the schematics that Dee had brought with her, so deep in computer talk that even Dee only understood about half of what they were saying. And Narcho and Cabott were approaching, grinning and grease-covered.
"Boss," Cabott said when he spotted Fenner, "we can get these guys something, can't we?"
Narcho winked at Dee, and Dee smiled slyly as Fenner looked at Cabott with surprise. "I guess so," Fenner said. "I was coming out here to tell you the same thing."
"Oh my Gods," Dee said quietly as Narcho stepped near her, wearing a triumphant smirk. "You used the motorcycle to win him over, didn't you?"
"And get connections to someone who can hook me up with a fuel cell," Narcho said smugly. "Good day. Shall we rein the geek squad in?" he asked, jerking his thumb at Felix and Hoshi.
Dee stifled a giggle. "I think so." She raised her voice. "Lieutenant Hoshi."
Felix and Hoshi both looked up, eyes wide as if they were surprised at their location, and began putting the schematics away. "Got everything worked out?" Felix asked Fenner and Dee as he came over.
"Yeah," Fenner told Felix, "although I want to talk to you about the logistics of exactly how we're going to make it work. I'm not keen on all of them," he jerked his chin towards the workers, "finding out that we're doing extra work for the military."
"We can make that happen, Mr. Fenner," Felix said smoothly. "Why don't you and I work that out tonight? Come to my office at after the day's shift is over?"
A whistle blew and the workers began moving back towards the Hitei Khan. Fenner nodded. They fixed the time, and then Dee turned with her contingent to leave, a satisfied smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth.
They hadn't gotten far when a handful of mud hit Hoshi's shoulder. Hoshi turned sharply, but to his credit he didn't react any further. He looked determinedly forward and kept walking.
"Hey." The speaker was a man with dirty hands and a wild look in his eyes. "Hey, you. Lieutenant Hoshi."
"Just keep walking," Felix hissed, but Hoshi stopped and turned around at the fact the man actually identified him by name.
"Specialist Macrene," he said slowly.
"Specialist," Macrene said mockingly, spitting on the ground. "I'm no specialist. At least, I never was. I was a frakking systems analyst, and you know it." He stepped up close. "At least until your crew hauled me off the Scylla and put me to work on that damned battlestar."
"Not by my orders," Hoshi said defiantly. Dee glanced over at Felix and Narcho, who were both poised, ready for action. Hoshi's fists were clenched as well. "I had nothing to do with what happened on the Scylla."
"But you didn't stop it, did you?" Macrene demanded. "And you should have. You're one of us."
Hoshi's eyes narrowed. "I am not one of you."
Macrene laughed. "Sure you are. You told me when I came aboard. You're a Sagittaron, and you stood by and let that bitch kill civilians. Civilians." He turned around. "My frakking family was on that ship," he shouted. "My wife and my two girls. And I had to go serve on the Pegasus or they would have been shot, and he just stood there and let it all happen."
"Let's go," Felix said urgently. "Now."
Dee nodded, and Narcho grabbed Hoshi by the arm. "Come on."
"That's right!" Macrene shouted as Narcho pulled Hoshi away. "Run off to the killers and the godless. You will be judged! You will have to pay!"
Hoshi opened his mouth to respond, but Fenner had caught up to them, his face hard and angry. "Macrene!" he shouted. "Whistle's blown. Unless you want your rations docked, you get back to work right now!" He glared menacingly at the man, and Macrene retreated, grumbling on the way. Fenner turned to Hoshi. "Get out of here. Get out of here right now."
Hoshi saluted. "Aye, sir. With pleasure." To Dee's relief, he stomped off. Narcho shot her an inquiring glance, and she gestured with her head to go after him.
"Mr. Fenner," Dee began.
"Don't," Fenner said, still looking angry. "Damn it, I should have thought of that. Not like I haven't heard the story enough times. Poor bastard has been through enough."
"We all have," Dee said firmly, although the thought of what Macrene had apparently been through chilled her to the bone.
Fenner grunted. "You want that tylium," he said, "you don't come around here again," he said. "Let Gaeta here deal with me. I've got my people to think of, just like you've got yours."
"All right," Dee said, extending her hand. "I'll make sure of it."
Fenner measured her with his eyes, and then shook it. "Good. I've got to get back to work. Macrene's going to be useless for the rest of the shift, I'm sure." He turned and left.
Dee looked at Felix. "My Gods…" she began.
"Yeah," Felix agreed. "Come on. Let's catch up to the others."
"Do you think it's true?" Dee asked, as they walked away from the shipyard.
"Of course it's true," Felix said. "We all heard that's what Cain did, and Hoshi was in the CIC when it happened." He shrugged. "Not an easy burden to live with."
Dee thought about what she would have done if Admiral Adama had made the same orders, and sighed. "Yeah. But then, I don’t think there's a person left in the Fleet with completely clean hands."
Felix shrugged, but his silence was deliberate, and Dee inwardly cringed. She'd never told him that she'd helped rig the election, and he'd never told her that he was the one to report it, but they both knew it. Their silence was awkward as they caught up to Hoshi and Narcho.
"I don't know about you guys," Narcho said, looking from them to Hoshi, "but I think I've had about all the excitement I can handle for today."
Hoshi's face was stark white, and he simply nodded. Felix sighed and glanced at his watch. "I need to get back to work anyway," he said. "I'll have to report to Gai- the President about this." He looked at Dee. "At least you got your tylium."
"Right," Dee said, reminding herself it was a triumph, even if it now seemed hollow. "Thanks, Felix. I'll see you the next time I make it down to the surface."
"You're welcome." He looked at Narcho and Hoshi. "Good to see you both again. Take care."
"Come on," Narcho said as Felix left the landing ground. "Let's get going."
They all climbed into the Raptor. Hoshi still looked upset, and for a moment, Dee felt sympathy. But that dissipated the moment Narcho got the Raptor in the air.
"Should have known you'd get the tylium off him," Hoshi said crossly to Dee.
"Somehow, I suspect this is not going to be a compliment," Dee said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sympathetic enough to what just happened to remind you that brig time and extra shifts will be finding their way to you if you continue on with whatever you're going to say."
"You'd better find another eighth for that pyramid game," Hoshi told Narcho, "because I'm curious. What sort of sexual favors did you have to give him to get the tylium, huh?"
"Sexual favors?" Dee demanded, unsure of whether or not to be outraged or to laugh.
"Sure. You went off into that ship alone with Fenner. When you went in, there was no way in hell he was giving us the tylium. When you came out-"
"Hoshi," Narcho said, warningly.
"When you came out, he was more than willing. What did you do, huh? Blow him? Frak him? You must be pretty good at both, given how you got your promotion lying on your back. We all-"
"LOUIS!" Narcho snapped. "Give it the frak up already!"
"Look," Dee said through gritted teeth, because Hoshi was so transparent right now it was laughable, "I know what happened back there bothered you, especially since they're your people. I get it, okay? When I lived on-"
Hoshi snorted. "You think because we're both Sagittarons that you have the first frakking clue about me?"
"I didn't say-"
"Well, let me tell you something, Lieutenant. I left Sagittaron when I was seventeen. I went back once, and it the only reason it wasn't the biggest mistake of my life is because I knew exactly what I was doing. Let's get something straight. I don't miss Sagittaron. I don't regret leaving Sagittaron. And I sure as hell am not sitting here feeling sorry for myself because some Sagittarons don't like the fact I serve in the military. The military did more for me than any Sagittaron ever did. So go back to playing at being XO and prancing around the CIC cockteasing your daddy's boy, and leave me the frak alone!"
Silence filled the Raptor. Dee had to swallow several times before she could trust her voice.
"Lieutenant Allison," she said slowly. "Contact the LSO and tell him to have Marines meet us to escort Lieutenant Hoshi to the brig."
"Yes, sir," Narcho said quietly.
Dee turned to face Hoshi. "I will be taking this up with the Admiral. If I were you, Mr. Hoshi, I'd start packing."
Hoshi paled, but just crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. Dee sat in the back of the Raptor, alarmingly calm.
***
Lee was waiting for them when they docked, along with the Marines. "What happened?" Lee asked, watching as the Marines led Hoshi away.
"I'll give you a full report on that part of it later," Dee said, wondering even as she spoke why she didn't just call the bastard out right there.
Lee nodded. "What about the tylium?" he asked.
Dee smiled. "We got it," she said.
Lee's eyebrows rose. "You're kidding," he said. "You got it?"
"We got it. We talked some sense into Fenner, and Gaeta worked out the logistics. We're getting the extra tylium."
Lee smiled and put an arm around her waist. "Well, I guess you get to be the one to say I told you so tonight," he said. "We should be able to keep those ECM generators you're so worried about online." He rubbed his chin. "I've been thinking about it, and you're right, you know. Thanks for forcing the issue."
Dee glanced at the retreating Marines, watching as they moved towards the brig. "You're welcome."
***
"Hand me the ratchet wrench, will you?" Narcho said.
Dee slid it along the floor and then picked soldering iron back up. She concentrated on the delicate task, sitting on the floor, hunched over the work. She heard Narcho swearing softly as he tightened whatever it was he was tightening.
"Are you really going to discharge Hoshi?" he asked finally.
Dee sighed and put down the iron, stretching to relieve the tension in her shoulders. "I'm impressed," she said, glancing at her watch. "You made it a whole hour without discussing it."
"Yeah, well, it took some effort. And you didn't answer my question."
Dee rubbed her forehead. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "What he said today was the latest in a series of stunts that were over the line."
Narcho nodded. "I know he- frak!" the wrench slipped, and he readjusted. "I know he was way out of line," he agreed, eyes fastened on his work. "And I'm not defending what he said."
"No?"
"No. Look, you did really well there, getting Fenner to agree to giving us the tylium. And I'll tell you, I don't think Tigh or Shaw could have pulled it off. And I sure as hell don't think Hoshi could have pulled it off. That took real diplomacy. I don't know what you said to him-"
"It wasn't anything sexual," Dee inserted dryly.
Narcho looked at her, surprised. "I know that. Frak, Hoshi knows that."
"Yeah." Dee sighed. "That's what I don't get. We all knew he was saying it just to upset me. It's like he wants a discharge."
"More like he couldn't really stop himself. Haven't you ever done that, when you know you shouldn't say something, but you go ahead and say it anyway?"
"More than once," Dee admitted.
"Yeah." Narcho grinned. "I'm pretty good at it myself. But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that whole Sagittaron thing upset him pretty badly."
"I gathered that."
"Why did you pull him along?"
"I didn't. The Commander ordered it. He thought since it was Hoshi who brought up the ECM generators in the first place, he'd be the best one to argue it."
"If they weren't Sagittaron, yeah."
Dee picked up the circuit board she'd been working on and turned it over in her hand. "He said he left home at seventeen," she said. "I know Sagittarons can be pretty judgmental about homosexuality, but-"
"Huh?" Narcho asked.
"Homosexuality. He said something the other day, and I just assumed…" Dee backpedaled a bit. "I mean, he said… "
Narcho laughed. "Oh, Hoshi's queer, all right," he agreed. "It's just that that's got nothing to do with why he left home."
"Really?" That piqued Dee's interest. "Then why did he?"
Narcho shook his head. "Nice try, but I'm not telling. It took a long time for him to even tell me, and he made me swear I wouldn't ever tell anyone. It doesn't matter anyway. If you ever need to know the answer, you'll know it."
"That's one of the more cryptic statements I've ever heard."
"Well, here's to hoping it never makes complete sense. But back to the original subject. Are you really going to discharge him?"
"I don't know," Dee said. "The thing is, the whole bit about the ECM generators… that was him. He's the one who spotted it, he's the one who realized the risk, and even though I don't like how he did it, he's the one who spoke up. And he's right. I hope he never has a chance to prove it, but he is right. And that's what I can't get out of my mind. That if he hadn't said anything, we'd be turning off those generators right now." Dee pushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face. "It makes me wonder… why didn't Adama give him the XO position?"
Narcho rubbed the back of his neck. "Everyone always underestimates Hoshi," he said ruefully. "He's got this way of making you believe he's this nice, soft teddy bear type, sort of meek and gentle. And he is… until you push him up against a wall. And then it's usually too late. Only person I know that never underestimated him was Colonel Belzen."
"And you?" Dee asked.
Narcho laughed. "Are you kidding? I sure as hell made that mistake, and that's why I lost him." He laughed again at Dee's surprise. "Come on. Don't tell me you hadn't figured that part of it out."
"How long ago?"
"Oh, Gods, it's been a few years. But we were together for over two years, and I can tell you, Dee… don't discharge him. Please." Narcho leaned in, suddenly all earnest. "He didn't muster out for a reason, and when you get right down to it, he's as loyal as you're ever going to get to this ship. I'm not saying don't punish him, because he sure as hell deserves it, but don't discharge him."
Dee nodded stiffly. "All right," she said, because it was Narcho that was asking and he was the only one on this ship that had two words to say to her. "But when he gets out of the brig, get him to cool it a little, all right? If he keeps this up, I'm not going to have a choice."
"All right." Narcho extended his hand. "Thanks, Dee."
"You're welcome, Noel." She shook on it, then resumed her soldering. "Do you still love him?"
"Not like that, no. It's been a while, and I've gotten over it." Narcho tightened the last hex screw and sat back to examine his work. "But yeah, he's still one of my best friends. When the whole world is gone, you cling to anything you've got left."
Dee thought of the Galactica and Helo and Felix and Lee. "Yeah," she said with a sigh. "I guess you do."
***
Adama looked over the file and sighed. "I don't want to make this decision."
Dee watched him levelly. "I know what the numbers say, sir. He's earned a dishonorable discharge."
"Numbers don't lie," Adama said neutrally. He looked at her shrewdly. "But that's not what you're going to do, is it?"
"Lieutenant Allison said something to me last night, and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. He said 'When the whole world is gone, you cling to anything you've got left.'"
Adama grunted. "That's a pretty astute statement." He flipped back a page. "But I'm guessing you're not thinking of keeping Lieutenant Hoshi on because you're clinging to him."
"Hardly. But if you look at his file, there's nothing there until Commander Garner. No instances of insubordination, no brig time, not even so much as a reprimand."
"This file's been tampered with."
"What?" Dee leaned forward, and Adama turned the file on his desk so she could see it. There were large blocks of text blacked out, with the initials HC next to them and a date that read shortly after the attacks. "Oh, that," Dee said. "We've found that in almost all of the files on the Pegasus. Cain blacked out almost any information she felt would be irrelevant. It's all background information, former commendations… anything that can't really be used. But disciplinary action wasn't touched. Lee thinks that Cain did it as part of dissociating from her crew, so she could make," Dee felt carefully for the word, "sacrifices," she finally said.
"She was determined to survive," Adama said. His face was steely. "It makes a certain amount of sense."
"But it's not the only way to command," Dee said, looking him squarely in the eye. "I don't want to be like Cain." The words I'd rather be like you hung in the air between them.
Adama acknowledged the unspoken sentiment with a nod. "What is your gut telling you?"
"He said the Pegasus is the only home he's really had his whole adult life. I can't say I don't understand the feeling. I don't know if he deserves it or not, but I almost want to give him one more chance."
Adama smiled. "That's what I'd do."
"Is it, sir?" Adama nodded, and Dee took a deep breath. "Permission to speak freely?"
He considered her for a long moment and then nodded. "Granted."
"Talk to Sharon," she said. His face went stony, and she hurried to finish her thought before he could cut her off, or she could change her mind. "I'm not asking you to forgive her or let her out of the brig, that would be going too far. But maybe she deserves a second chance, too."
"Helo put you up to this."
"Yes," Dee admitted. "But I thought about it, and although I don't really like it, he's got a point."
"She had her second chance," Adama said.
"Sir," Dee said, leaning forward, "Narcho was right. We have to cling to what we can right now. You're willing to overlook what Hoshi did, because the good he's done outweighs the bad. It's what we have to do when there are so few of us left. Please, for Helo's sake, just talk to her. At least once."
Adama looked down at the file on his desk again. "I talk to her, Hoshi walks free, with nothing of this on his record," he agreed. Dee lifted her eyebrows in surprise, and Adama smiled ruefully. "I've only got so many officers left. I'd like to keep them."
"All right," Dee said. "You talk to Sharon and Hoshi stays."
Adama chuckled and extended his hand. "You've got yourself a deal, Lieutenant."
***
When Dee walked into the brig, Hoshi was curled up on the cot. She wasn't sure if he was asleep or not, even when she let herself into the cell and walked around to see his face. He was asleep, and he came awake slowly, rubbing at his eyes. She stood over the cot, arms crossed, watching him with a neutral expression on her face.
"So when do I leave?" he asked, sitting up.
"You don't."
"I don't?" He stared at her, shocked. "You're joking."
"No, I'm not joking." Dee looked down at him. "You have one more chance."
Hoshi rubbed his face, and then looked up at her with naked confusion. "Why?" he asked. "Why are you giving me a second chance?" He darkened to suspicion. "Or is the Admiral?"
"It was my decision," Dee said. "You spoke up about the generators. You had every reason to believe I wouldn't listen, and you spoke up about it regardless. If it had been the Galactica, I would have done the same thing." She fixed him with a glare. "But this is your last chance. I'm not taking any more of your shit."
He stared at her for a long time, and then saluted.
"Aye, sir."
"Now get back to work."
He stood up. "Aye, sir." He looked at her curiously. "Sir, if I can ask… why did you listen to me?"
"Because you were right," Dee said simply. "Being a complete jackass doesn't change that fact. And I don't want this ship to be unprepared, either."
Hoshi nodded, saluted one more time, and headed back to the bridge. Dee closed the cell, and then headed back to her own quarters. By her count, she'd earned a night off.
On to Part 3
Author:
lls_mutantRating: PG-13
Characters: Dee and Hoshi
Pairings: Dee/Lee, eventual Hoshi/Gaeta, and past Hoshi/Narcho in the background.
Summary: Hoshi might not be happy about Dee being XO, but he does know the Pegasus.
Spoilers: Eventually through the end, but this part just through the New Caprica arc
Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome beta
trovia!Part 1.
"It was good to see you," Helo said, hugging her goodbye.
"It was good to see you, too," Dee said. "I wish I could get back here more, but then it looks like I'm favoring Galactica over Pegasus, and we can't have that." She rolled her eyes.
"But Galactica is better than Pegasus," Helo said, with mock wide-eyed innocence. She batted him, laughing. "Don't worry, Dee. People understand that you have ties here. Besides, you're not XO here. You don't need to keep your distance from everyone."
Dee sighed. "I know. But I'm still…" she shut her mouth firmly, even as Helo raised his eyebrows in an invitation for her to continue. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't complain."
"Talking to a friend isn't complaining," Helo pointed out. "If it is, that's all I've done the entire time that you've been here- complain about Sharon still being in the brig."
Dee smiled and patted his arm. "It's different," was all she could say. "I'll see if I can talk to the Admiral," she heard herself saying.
"Thank you," Helo said. "I know he'll change his mind when he's good and ready to change his mind, but…"
"But," Dee agreed with a smile that hid her distaste. Intellectually, she knew that this was not the same Sharon Valarii that had shot the Admiral. But the memories were still sharp and clear. But Helo was Helo, and he had a way of making people believe in the best possible outcome. She hugged him once more, and then boarded the Raptor headed back to the Pegasus.
"Have a good visit?" Narcho asked as he began the preflight check.
"It wasn't a visit," Dee said. "I had business here."
"Didn't say you didn't," Narcho said, glancing upwards and flicking a switch. "But I'm not stupid, Lieutenant. I know you've got friends here, too. Nothing wrong with that. It's not like it used to be, when we all had friends outside the military."
"Yeah. I guess so," Dee said. She looked wistfully out the front window of the Raptor to where Helo was moving back into the Galactica. She'd been on the Pegasus for a month, and she still felt like a complete outsider.
It was just herself and Narcho, so she slipped up into the co-pilot's seat. "So how's the attempt at a motorcycle coming along?" she asked, shooting in the dark as to how he really spent his spare time on the hangar deck.
Narcho paused, looked to the side and grinned at her. "You're not going to tell the Commander."
"No," Dee laughed.
"For something that I'm cobbling together out of the worst spare parts I can manage, it's not doing too badly," he said. He fiddled with a lever. "I could use a hand, though."
"I don't know much about motorcycles."
"I'll teach you."
That was the point when Dee realized that Narcho was feeling much like she was. A lot of the pilots had mustered and settled on New Caprica, and the crews that were left were small. "You can't find anyone else?" she asked cautiously. "Stinger?"
"He's… busy. He's got a girl." Narcho looked away. "Besides, Stinger can fly and he can do tactics, but he's shit when it comes to the actual machinery. He'd probably electrocute himself."
"Yeah," Dee laughed. "Yeah, sure," she said finally. "I'd like that."
Narcho grinned at her. "Me, too."
***
The first stop Dee had to make when she was back on the Pegasus was the brig. When she got there, Hoshi was lying on the cot, staring up at the ceiling.
"Lieutenant," she said sharply.
Hoshi turned his head. Any other crewman would have jerked to his feet by now, but he just turned his head. "Yes?" he drawled.
Dee stared at him, exasperated. "Are you trying to stay in the brig?" she demanded. "First disobeying an order-"
"It was a stupid order," Hoshi interrupted, finally sitting up. His eyes flashed with impatience. "You can't reroute the power from the weapons grid that way; you'll leave the ECM generators insufficiently powered. This is a Mercury class battlestar, not an antique like the Galactica."
"You're not in here for disagreeing with me," Dee said. "You're in here for deliberately disobeying an order."
"Don't see much of a difference," Hoshi said stubbornly.
"Really," Dee drawled. "You know," she said finally, "brig time isn't going to look good in your file when I finally do pop out that baby that you're so ready for me to have." She crossed her arms and stared him down. "There's not a whole lot of opportunity left for advancement in the military, is there? And as the years go on, there's going to be less and less."
"What do you care?" Hoshi demanded. "If I want to frak my career over, what's it matter to you, anyway?"
"It doesn't," Dee said primly. "But what does matter to me is running this ship. Now listen. I'm sick of having my Communications Officer in the brig, and I'm sick of how you're getting there. If you earn yourself three more days of brig time in the next month, you're eligible for a dishonorable discharge. If the Cylons were after us, everyone would look the other way. But they're not. So unless you want to settle on New Caprica, and I'm guessing you don't want to, you'll cool it."
Hoshi made a face. "I'll be good," he said mockingly. "Are we done with the lecture?"
Dee nodded and entered the code. "We're done," she said as the brig door opened up. "Get back to work."
He left, but right as he was going to leave the brig he turned around. "I mean it about the ECM generators," he told her. "If you leave them powerless, we're going to be in bad shape if the Cylons ever find us again. I know everyone says they won't, but I won't bet the Pegasus on it." He touched the nearby wall gently. "This ship is my home, Lieutenant. Don't frak it up."
Dee inclined her head in a nod. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she said with as much dignity as she could put into her voice. "I'll take it into advisement."
***
"I took another look at the schematics," Dee told Lee later that night, "and we did miscalculate. Rerouting that circuit does drain the power from the ECM generators, and if the Cylons find us again-"
"The Cylons aren't going to find us again, Dee," Lee interrupted wearily.
Dee bit her lip. "I know that," she said carefully. "But it is our job to believe they will. And if the Cylons do find us, then we won't have time to put the circuit back and reinstate the generators, especially as it takes a few minutes to be fully online. I hate to say it, but I think Hoshi's right about this one."
Lee finally looked up. "You think Hoshi's right?" he laughed. "Well, I should take it based on that alone."
"Maybe you should," Dee said seriously.
"I'm joking, Dee. We're rerouting the power because of the tylium supply. We've got enough to keep the ships in the air for the next five years, but barely. We have to be selective and use as little power as possible in order to conserve what we've got. And the communications and nav systems are harder to get back online than the ECMs."
"But the Cylons-"
"The Cylons aren't going to find us, Dee." He repeated it resignedly. "And even if they did, we're two battlestars, not an entire Fleet. We're no fighting force." He threw a pen onto the table irritably. "We're a lighthouse, until the Beast here gets decommissioned."
"Lee-"
"Dee, it's over, okay? All that matters is getting New Caprica going and getting the people the resources they need."
"But if we had the tylium…" Dee rifled through the papers. "Look. Gaeta sent a report up just yesterday. There's so much debris around here, they were able to find tylium in some of it. It's not much, but it would help, and if we could keep the generators online-"
"I keep telling you, the ECMs are only good for deflecting nuclear weapons, and for that to be at all applicable there needs to be a nuclear attack."
"Which there will be if-"
"You know what? Fine!" Lee threw his hands up in the air. "If you can get Baltar to mine tylium and get us up to this level-" he tapped a figure, "then we can keep the generators online, okay?"
"Thank you." Dee bit down the scowl and forced a smile instead. "And in five years, when the Cylons haven't attacked, you can say you told me so, okay?"
Lee smiled at her. "Okay," he said. He moved over and kissed her forehead. "And believe me, I will."
***
Getting Baltar to agree to mine tylium probably wouldn't be easy, but fortunately, Dee had more sense than to try talking to Baltar.
"They've had the operation up for a week now," Felix told her, his voice alive with static over the comm unit. "That one was easy, given that we have tylium miners and refiners. But your problem is going to be convincing them that the military gets dibs."
"What do you mean?" Dee asked.
"Dee, you've got nothing to trade. No food, no-"
"We've got medical supplies and military protection."
"They're Sagittarons."
"Oh."
"I've softened them up for you, but I think they need to actually deal with the people who need the tylium. I've told them you can probably work something out as far as trading clothing rations or food rations- we can juggle what's being sent up to you from some of the others so that you've got something of value to give the Sagittarons."
"You don't have any non-Sagittarons mining?"
"Not tylium." He was thoughtful for a moment. "When you take a pass at them, talk to Xeno Fenner. He's the foreman on the ship, and I think he'll be the most approachable. It's easy to get forget the past few years down here," he said. "But I'll bet it's a lot harder when you're up there."
"Probably," Dee said grimly. She looked around at the CIC. Even though it wasn't the same one she'd served on, she could see where glass had shattered and where repairs had been made. She could see the past months on the faces of the men and women serving. Felix was right; it was impossible to forget the Cylons here. No wonder Hoshi had gotten to her. "Thanks, Felix."
"Any time. When are you coming down?"
"As soon as Lee gives me the clearance. Should be this afternoon."
"All right." She could almost see him consulting his schedule. "Listen, I can meet your Raptor when you land and take you over to their setup. I might even be able to stay if I can get some of this other stuff finished up first."
"Great." Dee thought she really wouldn't have minded if Hoshi had gone down to be Baltar's Chief of Staff and Felix had stayed on to be Watch Officer up here, although there were a million reasons that that would never have happened. "I'll see you this afternoon."
***
"You want me to take who?" Dee demanded.
"Look," Lee said, walking with her to the Raptor, "you and Hoshi are the ones who feel that this needs to be done. So you two can deal with it together."
"And then we can learn how wrong we were about each other, and learn the value of teamwork and how to work together, right?" Dee said sarcastically.
Lee stopped. "Dee," he said, taking her by the shoulders, "I know Hoshi has been giving you a hard time that you don't deserve. But I really disagree with the both of you that we need to have these generators up. I wouldn't be able to argue it persuasively." He sighed. "Besides, the both of you are Sagittaron. You know how to talk to these people."
Dee debated taking offense, but decided not to. Lee didn't mean it like that, and he did look tired and strained. "All right," she said. "But if I drag back a dead body, I don't get brig time."
Lee laughed. "If you drag back a dead body, I'm not crossing you," he said. "I'll take that as my lesson."
"Good," she said primly. "You should."
To her relief, Narcho was waiting by the Raptor bound for New Caprica. At least she had him on her side. He smiled and waved, but something about it seemed off. She turned around and realized he hadn't been waving at her at all, but at Hoshi, who had entered the hangar deck several yards behind them.
"Good luck," Lee said, kissing her quickly. "I'll see you later."
Dee smiled at him, and then headed towards the Raptor, where Narcho and Hoshi were already talking.
"If I can get my hands on a fuel cell, I should be able to get her going," Narcho was saying. "It will take some doing, but-"
"But that's never stopped you before," Hoshi finished with a smirk. "Do you have anything you can trade for a fuel cell?"
"A few cubits, sexual favors, internal organs…. Lieutenant," he said, spotting Dee walking towards them and snapping to attention. Hoshi saluted as well, but after a deliberate pause. Dee decided to ignore it for the moment.
"Let's go," she said with a heavy sigh.
Hoshi immediately commandeered the co-pilot's seat as they climbed into the Raptor. Narcho glanced at Dee and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Have you been down to the surface much, Lieutenant?" he asked her formally as he launched the Raptor.
"No, I've been keeping busy up here."
"Busy," Hoshi said dryly.
"Well, when my Communications Officer is in the brig, someone has to fill in the gaps," Dee said crossly.
"That would explain why my station was all screwed up today. That's what happens when a jumped-up NCO takes over an officer's position."
"Funny, isn't it?" Dee asked Narcho, "that on Galactica an NCO handles Communications but on Pegasus it takes someone who's been through the Academy? Says something about the intelligence of the NCOs."
"Or that the controls of the Galactica are so simple a monkey could direct the calls."
"All right, kids, stop it or I'll turn this Raptor around," Narcho snapped. Dee saw him fix a steely gaze on Hoshi, but he also managed to glance back and glare at her, too. She realized that sticking her tongue out at them would not in any way be considered commanding or professional, and neither would sulking in the back seat like a teenager. She opened her files.
Narcho was the first to clear his throat. "Stinger got time on the pyramid court tomorrow at 1900 hours," she heard him tell Hoshi. "You in?"
"I'll have to see. I might be on watch." He glanced back at Dee, who made a note of it and decided he would be if he decided to make trouble on this mission. "Who all is playing?"
"Easy, Trapdoor, Simmons, Martins, Stinger, Stroud, and me. If you play we can make it four on four."
"Sounds good." They continued talking in low voices, and Dee pulled out the schematics that she'd brought with her and continued rehearsing what she wanted to say to Xeno Fenner. She was able to get through her notes once before the Raptor landed, kicking up dust and shutting down with a few efficient clicks. Narcho opened the door and took off his helmet, and Dee clambered out.
She was relieved to see Felix on the edge of the landing field, waiting for them with a smile and a sheaf of papers in his hand. He waved enthusiastically. "Hello, Lieutenant Tigh," he joked as she approached, giving her a mock salute. His smile was warm, and he pulled her into a quick hug. "How are you?"
"Good," she said brightly, especially because Hoshi and Narcho were close in tow. She turned slightly so she could introduce them. "This is Baltar's Chief of Staff and the former Tactical Officer on Galactica, Felix Gaeta," she told them. "He's been working with Fenner on the ground. Lieutenant Allison and Lieutenant Hoshi," she said, gesturing to each of them in return.
Hoshi smiled at Felix with more charm than Dee had previously suspected him of having. "We've met," he said, still extending his hand.
"Oh yeah, sure, you're Communications on Pegasus," Felix said, shaking Hoshi's hand with an easy, casual smile. "Gods, you've checked out that console, haven't you, Dee?" He sighed longingly. "No wonder they can combine Communications and Tactical into one position. That is one sweet setup you've got there."
"We were even going to upgrade right before the attacks," Hoshi said. "We would have been able to install advanced navigation software that would have made calculating a jump easier-"
"The NAVQUAL package?" Felix asked enviously.
"Yeah. We had the CNP installed, and we would have been the first ship with the NAVQUAL upgrade, but the attacks hit and…" Hoshi shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't have been much use to us anyway, given that it needed to interface with the Colonial Defense Mainframe, but still. It would have been amazing."
They both sighed, and Dee shook her head in exasperation. "Are we done?" she asked them sternly.
Felix snapped himself back. "Sorry," he apologized, both to her and Narcho, who was staring at the pair of them with an abject sort of horror. "Finding someone who gets this stuff in civilian politics is not as easy as you might think."
Narcho blinked in confusion. "Baltar wrote the CNP, from what I've heard."
Felix's expression iced over, but all he said was, "So he did. Shall we go take on Xeno Fenner?" And just like that, the expression was gone. Dee had a bad feeling about that, but Felix was gesturing for them to follow, and this was most definitely not the moment for a heart-to-heart.
New Caprica was still a gray place. Although the fresh air felt good and it was nice to see the sky, everything about the place still seemed gray and drab. And it only looked worse as Felix led them towards the shipyard. "Xeno Fenner's set up shop near the yards," he explained. "Which makes sense. When the Hitei Khan isn't off mining, it's best just to do the refining right here." He pointed to where the Hitei Khan was perched on a small hill, slightly removed from the other ships.
A whistle blew, signaling a break, and people began to emerge from the ship. They were ragged and filthy; refinery workers on a lunch break. They looked at the three officers with clear distaste, and Dee sighed. She understood pacifism, to an extent, although she didn't agree with it. She couldn't understand why anyone would condemn the military after what they'd all been through.
Behind her, she heard Hoshi clear his throat, and Narcho whispered something.
A tall, thin, red-headed man with a hard face was waiting for them. Felix waved, sidestepping a puddle as he led them over. The man Dee assumed to be Fenner had obviously been discussing something with someone Felix whispered was called Cabott, who looked up with irritation when they approached.
"Mr. Fenner," Felix said brightly, extending his hand. "Thanks for meeting with us today. This is Lieutenant Dualla, XO of the Pegasus, Lieutenant Hoshi, and Lieutenant Allison."
"Nice to meet you," Fenner said grudgingly. "But it isn't going to matter, Gaeta. I told you, we're working at capacity as it is. Can't get any more tylium than I'm getting."
"Come on, Xeno," Felix said. "We can work something out. We can increase the food rations or the clothing credits or-"
"Some things can't be bought," Fenner insisted.
"Mr. Fenner," Dee said, with her chin thrust high, "can I take the time to explain the situation to you?"
It was only in a Sagittaron settlement that someone would dare to smile that condescendingly at her. "It's your time to waste," he said with a shrug.
Dee pulled out the charts. "Look," she said, setting them down on the work table. Fenner glanced at them, but Dee noticed Cabott looking intently over his shoulder. "With the tylium you're able to provide us with, we're able to keep the Pegasus in the air, as well as keeping the Vipers and Raptors fueled. But what we can't do is keep some of the important systems up."
"Yeah, I know. Gaeta here was going on about the EMC generators."
"ECM generators," Hoshi jumped in. "Electronic countermeasures. They provide the bulk of the Pegasus's defense against nuclear attack. If the Cylons-"
"The Cylons aren't coming back, or so Baltar's told us," Fenner said. "Even Adama admits that one. They aren't going to find us here. So why should we be keeping you all in your ungodly positions, when you could be down here actually doing some work?"
"I understand your position," Dee said, resisting the urge to grind her teeth together. "I know that the Sacred Scrolls say that violence shall be abhorred. That those who practice it are pariahs and plagues on humanity, that you shall not raise hand nor stick nor weapon to those created by the Gods. But the Cylons, Mr. Fenner, were not created by the Gods. The Cylons are machines, created by humans."
"Not by me. They aren't my problem," Fenner insisted.
"They are if they happen to find us again, Mr. Fenner. Is that really a risk you want to take, leaving us completely undefended?"
He eyed her suspiciously. "I saw that documentary," he said. "The one about the Galactica. You're Sagittaron, aren't you?"
"Yes…" Dee said slowly, drawing the syllable out.
Fenner shook his head. "You should know better."
"I know that without the Galactica and the Pegasus, the human race would have ceased to exist." Dee decided to change tact. "Mr. Gaeta worked up a system that we can trade-"
"It doesn't matter what you trade," Fenner said stubbornly. "Look, I get what the military's done, okay? You know as well as I do what I should have said when you said that the human race would have ceased to exist."
"That maybe that's the Gods' plan, and we should accept it," Hoshi answered, his face stony. Fenner did a double take, but then nodded.
"Exactly. But I look around at all these people, and I can't bring myself to say that. I just can't. So, yeah. I'm grateful to the military. But gratitude doesn't mean I have to stay chained to you all when I know it's wrong, just because you did us a service in the past. You get the tylium to keep the Fleet in the air, and that's it."
Dee was about to say more when Narcho interrupted. "Whose bike is that?" he asked, pointing, as if he hadn't been paying attention at all.
Cabott glanced over to where an old but well maintained motorcycle rested against the side of the Hitei Khan. "It's mine," he said. "I was headed to Leonis for a trip with some friends when the Cylons attacked," he explained. "Hasn't done me much good till now, but now that we're settled, I can bring it on out."
"Can I see her?" Narcho asked, eyes still fixed on the bike.
"Go," Fenner told Cabott, rolling his eyes. "I'll sort this mess out." Narcho went off with Cabott, and Fenner turned back to Dee, Felix, and Hoshi. "Not that there's much left to sort out," he said. "I think we're pretty clear here."
It's easy to get forget the past few years down here. But I'll bet it's a lot harder when you're up there. "Could I get a look at the ship?" Dee asked suddenly.
"What?"
"The Hitei Khan." Dee gestured. "I've never been in it." All three men were looking at her like she'd lost her marbles. "Please," she insisted. "I'd really like to."
"Fine," Fenner said, shrugging. "Come on."
Dee looked at Felix and Hoshi. "Stay out here," she ordered. They both looked perfectly happy to obey. The smell of tylium was overpowering as Dee and Fenner stepped aboard. "How many people work on board?" she asked.
"Full crew for a shift is about one hundred and twenty," he said. "If we do three shifts, it makes it about three hundred sixty."
"Seems like a lot of people for a small space," Dee said.
"That's nothing. Since we had FTL, we took on extra people. At one point we had six hundred and seventy three people on this ship.
"It must have been difficult," Dee said sympathetically.
"There were times you could barely move," Fenner agreed. "We had to limit everything; rations, showers, times people could use the head, space people could use, how much people could have with them… and then a lot of the people who came on board after the attacks had kids with them. And you can imagine how difficult it is for kids on a tylium refinery ship." Dee made a sympathetic noise.
They walked on through the ship, and as Fenner showed her the crew quarters, the work floor, the control rooms, the docking bay, and the dining area, the picture of life on the small ship during the time after the attacks became clearer and clearer. Fenner saw it too, she could see the memories dancing across his face. She deliberately led him down certain roads: How did the children handle it when the Cylons found us? What was it like on this ship that first week, when we jumped every thirty three minutes? Tell me about the prayers people said when they were scared or terrified or didn't know how much longer their lives would last.
Somehow, they ended up sitting across from each other in the mess hall- dining hall, Dee corrected herself sternly. Now that she'd gotten him started, Fenner was hard to stop. He told her about the way the children once huddled together when they heard the announcement Set Condition One throughout the Fleet, but by the end they just kept playing, because they were so used to it. He told her about how in those first few days, he'd had people sick from the feeling of jumping. How people adapted to their tight quarters, limited resources, and unbearable losses. How they'd had seven suicides over the past months, and other deaths as well. As he spoke, she felt the ghosts of those days coming to life around her, and she could see he felt it, too.
They might be safe on New Caprica, but it would take years for the wounds of these months to heal.
"I don't know if I could ever go back to those times," Fenner said. "Watching my people suffer like that, living in that sort of fear…" He shook his head. "The Cylons can't find us again. We can't do it."
"But if they do, we'll have to," Dee said softly. "It's a better option than dying under them. We'll have to be able to run. I know you don't like the military, Xeno. My father didn’t, either. Believe me, when I joined, it wasn't a decision I made lightly. But the Galactica and the Pegasus are what allow the civilians to keep running, to find havens like New Caprica. I know it's not going to happen, but if the Cylons do manage to find us, the Pegasus must not be defenseless, or so is everyone else. Don't let everything you've suffered be for nothing."
Fenner looked around the ship and nodded slowly. "We'll work something out," he agreed finally.
Dee closed her eyes in relief, but kept her smile in check. "Thank you, Mr. Fenner," she said.
"Come on," he said gruffly, standing up, "let's go get Cabott and your boys and discuss the logistics of this."
They went out into the cold, watery sunshine. Felix and Hoshi were bent over the schematics that Dee had brought with her, so deep in computer talk that even Dee only understood about half of what they were saying. And Narcho and Cabott were approaching, grinning and grease-covered.
"Boss," Cabott said when he spotted Fenner, "we can get these guys something, can't we?"
Narcho winked at Dee, and Dee smiled slyly as Fenner looked at Cabott with surprise. "I guess so," Fenner said. "I was coming out here to tell you the same thing."
"Oh my Gods," Dee said quietly as Narcho stepped near her, wearing a triumphant smirk. "You used the motorcycle to win him over, didn't you?"
"And get connections to someone who can hook me up with a fuel cell," Narcho said smugly. "Good day. Shall we rein the geek squad in?" he asked, jerking his thumb at Felix and Hoshi.
Dee stifled a giggle. "I think so." She raised her voice. "Lieutenant Hoshi."
Felix and Hoshi both looked up, eyes wide as if they were surprised at their location, and began putting the schematics away. "Got everything worked out?" Felix asked Fenner and Dee as he came over.
"Yeah," Fenner told Felix, "although I want to talk to you about the logistics of exactly how we're going to make it work. I'm not keen on all of them," he jerked his chin towards the workers, "finding out that we're doing extra work for the military."
"We can make that happen, Mr. Fenner," Felix said smoothly. "Why don't you and I work that out tonight? Come to my office at after the day's shift is over?"
A whistle blew and the workers began moving back towards the Hitei Khan. Fenner nodded. They fixed the time, and then Dee turned with her contingent to leave, a satisfied smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth.
They hadn't gotten far when a handful of mud hit Hoshi's shoulder. Hoshi turned sharply, but to his credit he didn't react any further. He looked determinedly forward and kept walking.
"Hey." The speaker was a man with dirty hands and a wild look in his eyes. "Hey, you. Lieutenant Hoshi."
"Just keep walking," Felix hissed, but Hoshi stopped and turned around at the fact the man actually identified him by name.
"Specialist Macrene," he said slowly.
"Specialist," Macrene said mockingly, spitting on the ground. "I'm no specialist. At least, I never was. I was a frakking systems analyst, and you know it." He stepped up close. "At least until your crew hauled me off the Scylla and put me to work on that damned battlestar."
"Not by my orders," Hoshi said defiantly. Dee glanced over at Felix and Narcho, who were both poised, ready for action. Hoshi's fists were clenched as well. "I had nothing to do with what happened on the Scylla."
"But you didn't stop it, did you?" Macrene demanded. "And you should have. You're one of us."
Hoshi's eyes narrowed. "I am not one of you."
Macrene laughed. "Sure you are. You told me when I came aboard. You're a Sagittaron, and you stood by and let that bitch kill civilians. Civilians." He turned around. "My frakking family was on that ship," he shouted. "My wife and my two girls. And I had to go serve on the Pegasus or they would have been shot, and he just stood there and let it all happen."
"Let's go," Felix said urgently. "Now."
Dee nodded, and Narcho grabbed Hoshi by the arm. "Come on."
"That's right!" Macrene shouted as Narcho pulled Hoshi away. "Run off to the killers and the godless. You will be judged! You will have to pay!"
Hoshi opened his mouth to respond, but Fenner had caught up to them, his face hard and angry. "Macrene!" he shouted. "Whistle's blown. Unless you want your rations docked, you get back to work right now!" He glared menacingly at the man, and Macrene retreated, grumbling on the way. Fenner turned to Hoshi. "Get out of here. Get out of here right now."
Hoshi saluted. "Aye, sir. With pleasure." To Dee's relief, he stomped off. Narcho shot her an inquiring glance, and she gestured with her head to go after him.
"Mr. Fenner," Dee began.
"Don't," Fenner said, still looking angry. "Damn it, I should have thought of that. Not like I haven't heard the story enough times. Poor bastard has been through enough."
"We all have," Dee said firmly, although the thought of what Macrene had apparently been through chilled her to the bone.
Fenner grunted. "You want that tylium," he said, "you don't come around here again," he said. "Let Gaeta here deal with me. I've got my people to think of, just like you've got yours."
"All right," Dee said, extending her hand. "I'll make sure of it."
Fenner measured her with his eyes, and then shook it. "Good. I've got to get back to work. Macrene's going to be useless for the rest of the shift, I'm sure." He turned and left.
Dee looked at Felix. "My Gods…" she began.
"Yeah," Felix agreed. "Come on. Let's catch up to the others."
"Do you think it's true?" Dee asked, as they walked away from the shipyard.
"Of course it's true," Felix said. "We all heard that's what Cain did, and Hoshi was in the CIC when it happened." He shrugged. "Not an easy burden to live with."
Dee thought about what she would have done if Admiral Adama had made the same orders, and sighed. "Yeah. But then, I don’t think there's a person left in the Fleet with completely clean hands."
Felix shrugged, but his silence was deliberate, and Dee inwardly cringed. She'd never told him that she'd helped rig the election, and he'd never told her that he was the one to report it, but they both knew it. Their silence was awkward as they caught up to Hoshi and Narcho.
"I don't know about you guys," Narcho said, looking from them to Hoshi, "but I think I've had about all the excitement I can handle for today."
Hoshi's face was stark white, and he simply nodded. Felix sighed and glanced at his watch. "I need to get back to work anyway," he said. "I'll have to report to Gai- the President about this." He looked at Dee. "At least you got your tylium."
"Right," Dee said, reminding herself it was a triumph, even if it now seemed hollow. "Thanks, Felix. I'll see you the next time I make it down to the surface."
"You're welcome." He looked at Narcho and Hoshi. "Good to see you both again. Take care."
"Come on," Narcho said as Felix left the landing ground. "Let's get going."
They all climbed into the Raptor. Hoshi still looked upset, and for a moment, Dee felt sympathy. But that dissipated the moment Narcho got the Raptor in the air.
"Should have known you'd get the tylium off him," Hoshi said crossly to Dee.
"Somehow, I suspect this is not going to be a compliment," Dee said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sympathetic enough to what just happened to remind you that brig time and extra shifts will be finding their way to you if you continue on with whatever you're going to say."
"You'd better find another eighth for that pyramid game," Hoshi told Narcho, "because I'm curious. What sort of sexual favors did you have to give him to get the tylium, huh?"
"Sexual favors?" Dee demanded, unsure of whether or not to be outraged or to laugh.
"Sure. You went off into that ship alone with Fenner. When you went in, there was no way in hell he was giving us the tylium. When you came out-"
"Hoshi," Narcho said, warningly.
"When you came out, he was more than willing. What did you do, huh? Blow him? Frak him? You must be pretty good at both, given how you got your promotion lying on your back. We all-"
"LOUIS!" Narcho snapped. "Give it the frak up already!"
"Look," Dee said through gritted teeth, because Hoshi was so transparent right now it was laughable, "I know what happened back there bothered you, especially since they're your people. I get it, okay? When I lived on-"
Hoshi snorted. "You think because we're both Sagittarons that you have the first frakking clue about me?"
"I didn't say-"
"Well, let me tell you something, Lieutenant. I left Sagittaron when I was seventeen. I went back once, and it the only reason it wasn't the biggest mistake of my life is because I knew exactly what I was doing. Let's get something straight. I don't miss Sagittaron. I don't regret leaving Sagittaron. And I sure as hell am not sitting here feeling sorry for myself because some Sagittarons don't like the fact I serve in the military. The military did more for me than any Sagittaron ever did. So go back to playing at being XO and prancing around the CIC cockteasing your daddy's boy, and leave me the frak alone!"
Silence filled the Raptor. Dee had to swallow several times before she could trust her voice.
"Lieutenant Allison," she said slowly. "Contact the LSO and tell him to have Marines meet us to escort Lieutenant Hoshi to the brig."
"Yes, sir," Narcho said quietly.
Dee turned to face Hoshi. "I will be taking this up with the Admiral. If I were you, Mr. Hoshi, I'd start packing."
Hoshi paled, but just crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. Dee sat in the back of the Raptor, alarmingly calm.
***
Lee was waiting for them when they docked, along with the Marines. "What happened?" Lee asked, watching as the Marines led Hoshi away.
"I'll give you a full report on that part of it later," Dee said, wondering even as she spoke why she didn't just call the bastard out right there.
Lee nodded. "What about the tylium?" he asked.
Dee smiled. "We got it," she said.
Lee's eyebrows rose. "You're kidding," he said. "You got it?"
"We got it. We talked some sense into Fenner, and Gaeta worked out the logistics. We're getting the extra tylium."
Lee smiled and put an arm around her waist. "Well, I guess you get to be the one to say I told you so tonight," he said. "We should be able to keep those ECM generators you're so worried about online." He rubbed his chin. "I've been thinking about it, and you're right, you know. Thanks for forcing the issue."
Dee glanced at the retreating Marines, watching as they moved towards the brig. "You're welcome."
***
"Hand me the ratchet wrench, will you?" Narcho said.
Dee slid it along the floor and then picked soldering iron back up. She concentrated on the delicate task, sitting on the floor, hunched over the work. She heard Narcho swearing softly as he tightened whatever it was he was tightening.
"Are you really going to discharge Hoshi?" he asked finally.
Dee sighed and put down the iron, stretching to relieve the tension in her shoulders. "I'm impressed," she said, glancing at her watch. "You made it a whole hour without discussing it."
"Yeah, well, it took some effort. And you didn't answer my question."
Dee rubbed her forehead. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "What he said today was the latest in a series of stunts that were over the line."
Narcho nodded. "I know he- frak!" the wrench slipped, and he readjusted. "I know he was way out of line," he agreed, eyes fastened on his work. "And I'm not defending what he said."
"No?"
"No. Look, you did really well there, getting Fenner to agree to giving us the tylium. And I'll tell you, I don't think Tigh or Shaw could have pulled it off. And I sure as hell don't think Hoshi could have pulled it off. That took real diplomacy. I don't know what you said to him-"
"It wasn't anything sexual," Dee inserted dryly.
Narcho looked at her, surprised. "I know that. Frak, Hoshi knows that."
"Yeah." Dee sighed. "That's what I don't get. We all knew he was saying it just to upset me. It's like he wants a discharge."
"More like he couldn't really stop himself. Haven't you ever done that, when you know you shouldn't say something, but you go ahead and say it anyway?"
"More than once," Dee admitted.
"Yeah." Narcho grinned. "I'm pretty good at it myself. But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that whole Sagittaron thing upset him pretty badly."
"I gathered that."
"Why did you pull him along?"
"I didn't. The Commander ordered it. He thought since it was Hoshi who brought up the ECM generators in the first place, he'd be the best one to argue it."
"If they weren't Sagittaron, yeah."
Dee picked up the circuit board she'd been working on and turned it over in her hand. "He said he left home at seventeen," she said. "I know Sagittarons can be pretty judgmental about homosexuality, but-"
"Huh?" Narcho asked.
"Homosexuality. He said something the other day, and I just assumed…" Dee backpedaled a bit. "I mean, he said… "
Narcho laughed. "Oh, Hoshi's queer, all right," he agreed. "It's just that that's got nothing to do with why he left home."
"Really?" That piqued Dee's interest. "Then why did he?"
Narcho shook his head. "Nice try, but I'm not telling. It took a long time for him to even tell me, and he made me swear I wouldn't ever tell anyone. It doesn't matter anyway. If you ever need to know the answer, you'll know it."
"That's one of the more cryptic statements I've ever heard."
"Well, here's to hoping it never makes complete sense. But back to the original subject. Are you really going to discharge him?"
"I don't know," Dee said. "The thing is, the whole bit about the ECM generators… that was him. He's the one who spotted it, he's the one who realized the risk, and even though I don't like how he did it, he's the one who spoke up. And he's right. I hope he never has a chance to prove it, but he is right. And that's what I can't get out of my mind. That if he hadn't said anything, we'd be turning off those generators right now." Dee pushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face. "It makes me wonder… why didn't Adama give him the XO position?"
Narcho rubbed the back of his neck. "Everyone always underestimates Hoshi," he said ruefully. "He's got this way of making you believe he's this nice, soft teddy bear type, sort of meek and gentle. And he is… until you push him up against a wall. And then it's usually too late. Only person I know that never underestimated him was Colonel Belzen."
"And you?" Dee asked.
Narcho laughed. "Are you kidding? I sure as hell made that mistake, and that's why I lost him." He laughed again at Dee's surprise. "Come on. Don't tell me you hadn't figured that part of it out."
"How long ago?"
"Oh, Gods, it's been a few years. But we were together for over two years, and I can tell you, Dee… don't discharge him. Please." Narcho leaned in, suddenly all earnest. "He didn't muster out for a reason, and when you get right down to it, he's as loyal as you're ever going to get to this ship. I'm not saying don't punish him, because he sure as hell deserves it, but don't discharge him."
Dee nodded stiffly. "All right," she said, because it was Narcho that was asking and he was the only one on this ship that had two words to say to her. "But when he gets out of the brig, get him to cool it a little, all right? If he keeps this up, I'm not going to have a choice."
"All right." Narcho extended his hand. "Thanks, Dee."
"You're welcome, Noel." She shook on it, then resumed her soldering. "Do you still love him?"
"Not like that, no. It's been a while, and I've gotten over it." Narcho tightened the last hex screw and sat back to examine his work. "But yeah, he's still one of my best friends. When the whole world is gone, you cling to anything you've got left."
Dee thought of the Galactica and Helo and Felix and Lee. "Yeah," she said with a sigh. "I guess you do."
***
Adama looked over the file and sighed. "I don't want to make this decision."
Dee watched him levelly. "I know what the numbers say, sir. He's earned a dishonorable discharge."
"Numbers don't lie," Adama said neutrally. He looked at her shrewdly. "But that's not what you're going to do, is it?"
"Lieutenant Allison said something to me last night, and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. He said 'When the whole world is gone, you cling to anything you've got left.'"
Adama grunted. "That's a pretty astute statement." He flipped back a page. "But I'm guessing you're not thinking of keeping Lieutenant Hoshi on because you're clinging to him."
"Hardly. But if you look at his file, there's nothing there until Commander Garner. No instances of insubordination, no brig time, not even so much as a reprimand."
"This file's been tampered with."
"What?" Dee leaned forward, and Adama turned the file on his desk so she could see it. There were large blocks of text blacked out, with the initials HC next to them and a date that read shortly after the attacks. "Oh, that," Dee said. "We've found that in almost all of the files on the Pegasus. Cain blacked out almost any information she felt would be irrelevant. It's all background information, former commendations… anything that can't really be used. But disciplinary action wasn't touched. Lee thinks that Cain did it as part of dissociating from her crew, so she could make," Dee felt carefully for the word, "sacrifices," she finally said.
"She was determined to survive," Adama said. His face was steely. "It makes a certain amount of sense."
"But it's not the only way to command," Dee said, looking him squarely in the eye. "I don't want to be like Cain." The words I'd rather be like you hung in the air between them.
Adama acknowledged the unspoken sentiment with a nod. "What is your gut telling you?"
"He said the Pegasus is the only home he's really had his whole adult life. I can't say I don't understand the feeling. I don't know if he deserves it or not, but I almost want to give him one more chance."
Adama smiled. "That's what I'd do."
"Is it, sir?" Adama nodded, and Dee took a deep breath. "Permission to speak freely?"
He considered her for a long moment and then nodded. "Granted."
"Talk to Sharon," she said. His face went stony, and she hurried to finish her thought before he could cut her off, or she could change her mind. "I'm not asking you to forgive her or let her out of the brig, that would be going too far. But maybe she deserves a second chance, too."
"Helo put you up to this."
"Yes," Dee admitted. "But I thought about it, and although I don't really like it, he's got a point."
"She had her second chance," Adama said.
"Sir," Dee said, leaning forward, "Narcho was right. We have to cling to what we can right now. You're willing to overlook what Hoshi did, because the good he's done outweighs the bad. It's what we have to do when there are so few of us left. Please, for Helo's sake, just talk to her. At least once."
Adama looked down at the file on his desk again. "I talk to her, Hoshi walks free, with nothing of this on his record," he agreed. Dee lifted her eyebrows in surprise, and Adama smiled ruefully. "I've only got so many officers left. I'd like to keep them."
"All right," Dee said. "You talk to Sharon and Hoshi stays."
Adama chuckled and extended his hand. "You've got yourself a deal, Lieutenant."
***
When Dee walked into the brig, Hoshi was curled up on the cot. She wasn't sure if he was asleep or not, even when she let herself into the cell and walked around to see his face. He was asleep, and he came awake slowly, rubbing at his eyes. She stood over the cot, arms crossed, watching him with a neutral expression on her face.
"So when do I leave?" he asked, sitting up.
"You don't."
"I don't?" He stared at her, shocked. "You're joking."
"No, I'm not joking." Dee looked down at him. "You have one more chance."
Hoshi rubbed his face, and then looked up at her with naked confusion. "Why?" he asked. "Why are you giving me a second chance?" He darkened to suspicion. "Or is the Admiral?"
"It was my decision," Dee said. "You spoke up about the generators. You had every reason to believe I wouldn't listen, and you spoke up about it regardless. If it had been the Galactica, I would have done the same thing." She fixed him with a glare. "But this is your last chance. I'm not taking any more of your shit."
He stared at her for a long time, and then saluted.
"Aye, sir."
"Now get back to work."
He stood up. "Aye, sir." He looked at her curiously. "Sir, if I can ask… why did you listen to me?"
"Because you were right," Dee said simply. "Being a complete jackass doesn't change that fact. And I don't want this ship to be unprepared, either."
Hoshi nodded, saluted one more time, and headed back to the bridge. Dee closed the cell, and then headed back to her own quarters. By her count, she'd earned a night off.
On to Part 3
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Date: 2009-05-09 02:47 am (UTC)I can't wait for the next chapter of this.
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Date: 2009-05-09 03:47 am (UTC)Why Hoshi left home will be a huge plot point later in the fic. You will definitely not be left hanging on that one! (And I think Dee's dying of curiosity herself.)
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Date: 2009-05-09 06:40 am (UTC)I love Dee's diplomatic strategy. Her overall characterization is just perfect. I particularly liked the line where she wanted to scowl and smiled instead.
Your Hoshi intrigues me. I'm eager to see more of him. (You show me yours and I'll show you mine!)
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Date: 2009-05-09 12:15 pm (UTC)I'm glad you're enjoying Dee. For all that Dee's tough, I have to admit she doesn't seem like a ballbuster like Kendra to me. Dee seems like her strategy would be to defuse situations before they got going. And I really wanted her to have a chance to strut her stuff in this, and show that yeah, she was XO for a darn good reason :)
Glad you're enjoying it! :)
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Date: 2009-05-09 11:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-09 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-09 01:42 pm (UTC)Oh, Dee, you are so much awesome. I'm a fan of this random little friendship she has with Noel. And um, his obsession with motorcycles makes me smile
and possibly makes me think of Sirius Black, which only works to his advantage with me.God, did Hoshi start like, decorating the brig? Putting up curtains? Placing pictures of his family on the wall? He sure seems to like it in there. Oh, Louis. What is your secret backstory for leaving Sagittaron? Quickly, become friends with Dee so the rest of us can know!
Also, Louis and Felix geeking out over technobabble made me grin. ♥
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Date: 2009-05-09 02:02 pm (UTC)I, erm, might find that I'm channeling Sirius Black a LOT as I write Noel, I think. Smart, can be a total ass, but extremely loyal to the people he loves, loves motorcycles, comes from a well-off family (although Noel still was on good terms with his family when they died, although I've decided that Sean Allison was his older brother), and probably had pictures of half-naked people on motorcycles all over his teenaged bedroom. >:) I'm loving Noel.
Poor Hoshi's really going through a rough patch, isn't he? Our boy just can't keep his mouth shut around Dee. I almost feel bad for him.
Also, Louis and Felix geeking out over technobabble made me grin. ♥
Heh. This is one of the reasons I could handle not ever really getting any backstory on Gaeta/Hoshi. From what we see in canon, they're two of a kind. (To the point where I'd love to work in a crack from Dee about "is it in the job description that whoever works tactical must be into guys?")
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Date: 2009-05-09 03:37 pm (UTC)I never would've thought I'd like Narcho so much, but he's great. I think I sensed a little Sirius in Narcho, too, but definitely in a good way. Did you mention somewhere that your Narcho muse was insisting on sleeping with Dee? Because although Dee would never cheat, I do see Muse!Narcho's point: he's a helluva lot more fun than Lee.
I really like what you're doing with Lee, though. He's competent and has leadership skills, but you can still feel he's a bit of a prick. He just doesn't have the easy, non-arrogant command style of the elder Adama, nor all that great of a handle on what he needs to be doing to keep from fueling the fires about how Dee got her position, but you never get the feeling that he's doing any of it on purpose. I think you're doing a great job of walking the very thin line between making Lee and Dee's marriage work and yet showing that it's far from an ideal arrangement.
Oh, I also like that Dee is the one who got Adama to first talk to Sharon. It nicely fits back in with how Adama will listen to things from Dee that he wouldn't from anybody else.
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Date: 2009-05-09 06:34 pm (UTC)It will definitely be a while before the Sagittaron backstory comes out, but it is definitely coming. I'm actually really pleased with it, so I can't wait to get there myself.
Did you mention somewhere that your Narcho muse was insisting on sleeping with Dee?
He totally wants to, after Dee's divorce/separation. He keeps reminding me that there's a good 2-3 months in between the two events. I keep reminding him that it would either hurt his relationship with Dee or not work, because I think if Dee was starting to fall in love again, she wouldn't have committed suicide after Earth. HE says that I should go AU, because if I let Dee fall in love with him, then Dee won't kill herself, Felix won't mutiny, and Felix and Hoshi can be happy together, and Felix can be Admiral when Adama goes off and Hoshi can be his XO and they can all live happily ever after on Earth after Narcho beats the shit out of Lee for his "no cities" idea.
The man's got a point. :P
I really like what you're doing with Lee, though. He's competent and has leadership skills, but you can still feel he's a bit of a prick.
Thanks! I was talking to the guy who wrote Visitation for the Echoes of New Caprica manga, and although I wasn't crazy about how he did it, he said something about Lee's state of mind that I TOTALLY agree with, about how angry and frustrated and purposeless Lee feels. And that he's one step away from Paul Blurt, Mall Cop. I haven't seen the movie, but from what I know he's dead on.
It nicely fits back in with how Adama will listen to things from Dee that he wouldn't from anybody else.
::Sigh:: Reasons they should have let Dee do more!!! :)
Thanks so much! :)
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Date: 2009-05-09 09:34 pm (UTC)Go for it! Even though it means my beloved Cylon Roombas won't rise up and take over.
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Date: 2009-05-09 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-10 02:52 am (UTC)More on Narcho and Stinger. There has to be *dirt*. Ummm care to share?
::sigh:: Sadly, there isn't. In this universe, they met when Narcho came aboard the Pegasus. They get along pretty well, and they're pretty much best friends... depending on if either of them is involved with anyone else. Stinger has a bad habit of drifting off when he's involved with a girl (in this case, Easy from the webisodes), thus justifying why we don't see a lot of him right now. Narcho has never been attracted to Stinger, although they totally serve as each others wingmen in bars and picking up members of their preferred sex. (My Narcho goes for smart, sensitive men. HE'D do Lee in a heartbeat.) Stinger didn't really like Narcho getting involved with Hoshi because he couldn't believe Narcho was getting so serious about someone- if the BSG universe has gay marriage, Narcho and Hoshi weren't too far away from taking that step. I did a lot with Stinger and Narcho in The Touch of Your Grace (http://lls-mutant.livejournal.com/217493.html#cutid1), and although that's not the same "universe" (that was my Narcho/Gaeta fic), it's pretty much how I envision their relationship.
Plus, with Narcho, Hoshi, and Felix all being gay/bi (and Cain, because she was a big deal in Hoshi's life), I really have to watch how many other gay characters I put in. It makes sense they all gravitate to each other because both Narcho and Felix have relationships with Hoshi, but I think any more starts getting into one of those "everyone is gay!" universes :)
There's good dirt on Narcho and Hoshi, though >:)
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Date: 2009-05-12 12:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-11 02:57 am (UTC)Dee debated taking offense, but decided not to. Lee didn't mean it like that, and he did look tired and strained. "All right," she said. "But if I drag back a dead body, I don't get brig time."
Lee laughed. "If you drag back a dead body, I'm not crossing you," he said. "I'll take that as my lesson."
First off, that has to be my favorite exhange in the entire thing. Though The "You should know better" line had a good sting to it.
I love the focus on the Sagittarons, I'm always wondering about what things are like in other parts of the fleet (and I feel like one of the few people who actually really liked The Woman King.)
And your character interactions are brilliant as always. Anxiously awaiting more!
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Date: 2009-05-12 07:56 pm (UTC)I love the focus on the Sagittarons, I'm always wondering about what things are like in other parts of the fleet (and I feel like one of the few people who actually really liked The Woman King.)
I'm having a lot of fun with the Sagittaron plotline. I'm almost wishing I could write the Hoshi POV, because something minor happens in the next chapter because he's a Sagittaron, but I don't know if he'd realize it anyway. (Way to be cryptic!) I liked aspects of The Woman King, too- my issue was more with Helo than the general idea. And not even HELO, but the writers insisting that Helo is so righteous. I actually thought it might have been better with Gaeta. (The rewrite of The Woman King so it's Gaeta/Hoshi instead of Helo/Athena is one of the big plot points in my it-could-have-been-Admiral-Dee rant :) )
Thanks! :)
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Date: 2009-05-12 07:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-11 05:14 pm (UTC)"The Cylons aren't going to find us again, Dee," Lee interrupted wearily.
Shut up, Lee! You're the one who was all "run away! run away!!1" when they did find you.
Felix geeking out over Hoshi's setup. HEEE.
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Date: 2009-05-12 08:00 pm (UTC)And interesting that he, of all people, is being so nice to Dee.
I know! I just wanted Dee to have a friend on the Pegasus, and he ended up working out great. He can parcel out info on Hoshi, it makes even more sense that he and Felix eventually become friends if they both have the connection to Dee, and he's fun. But he's insisting on being a more major character than I originally intended. He can be an ass at times, but I like the guy.
Felix geeking out over Hoshi's setup. HEEE.
:) And Hoshi was definitely thinking "Whoa, hottie alert here! Cute, smart, AND he gets computers? Hello, hell with Noel!" Too bad Felix was so hung up on Gaius that he didn't notice :P
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Date: 2009-08-29 12:34 am (UTC)Also loved seeing more of Noel and Gaeta and Hoshi...it makes me wish we'd seen more of them in canon.
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Date: 2009-08-29 06:24 pm (UTC)My biggest regret about them hooking Dee up with Lee in canon was that they didn't do anymore with the Dee-Adama relationship. I always thought that was the most interesting part of Dee's character, that Adama would listen to her, despite the fact she's this relatively young NCO. It said a lot about both of them.
And you will see much, much more of Noel and Gaeta and Hoshi in this fic, to the point where I made this icon :)
Thanks again! :)