New Fic: Deja Vu 13/? A/R T
The hatch to the storage locker was barricaded shut. It didn’t take long to gain entrance but when they did the rescue team was in utter shock.
“Dad!” Lee ran up to his father and eased him down on to the deck. He did his best to stop the bleeding. It felt like Sharon and Tigh had shot him all over again. Crimson blood covered his hands and arms.
Laura was frozen, looking at the sight before her. She stumbled back into Corporal Venner’s arms. “Madame President…Madame President…you need to breathe Ma’am. “Oh, Bill, Why? Why would you?”
“Move it! Get out of my fraking way!” Cottle knelt down next to Lee “We’ve got to tie off the blood flow that the only way to save him. “Gods damn it. You want the world to end fine but they are neater ways of doing this.” Cottle and Ishay worked quickly tying off the blood flow. “Okay, people, we are in scoop and run mode as of now, if we don’t get him out of here and back to Galactica RFN he won’t have any chance of survival.”
Lee watched as the med team and the Marines carried the stretcher out the storage locker. “Wait.” Laura spoke the strongest words since they arrived.
“We can’t, every second we wait is a second we loose. We need to go.” Cottle said.
Lee walked up to Laura. “What is it?”
Laura reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair off of Bill’s forehead. “The people on the ship cannot see us carrying him back to the Raptor. It would induce a panic.
“Laura, we don’t have time to discuss this we need to go. Cottle said as he nodded to the Marines.”
Lee put his arms around Laura and tried to reassure her as the walked back with the team. The tears we still trapped in her eyes Lee was sure they would fall later, but no while they were on the Prometheus. Suddenly her body went limp. “Laura.” Lee stopped for a moment and slid down the bulkhead with her. “We have to go, he’s bleeding out.”
“I can’t…go…on, Lee…not without …”
“I know.” Lee stood up and reached down to pick up a broken Laura Roslin.
Shevon caught up with them. She too was in shock. “Is he going to be okay? Is she okay?” Shevon asked looking at the President limp body in Lee’s arms.
“Yes, Shevon, I don’t know how to ever thank you for what you’ve done.” Lee spoke as he carried Laura back to the raptor.
“I didn’t do nearly enough. I ran away to get help and look what happened to him.” She pointed to the bleeding leader and the medical team, stopped in the middle of the corridor trying desperately to stabilize him.
“Clear.” Cottle called and William Adama’s body jolted up off the gurney. “Okay we have him back now, but we need to move.”
Lee held Laura weeping in his arms. She was crumbling again. “Lee you can go beyond this point with the Admiral of the fleet exposed like this?”
“What do you mean?”
A mob could be heard in the distance. The people saw the marines and you. They aren’t happy about you being here. I left before to get supplies for the medical team. I could barely get back. They know you have a very important injured person in your party. There are very influential people on this ship that would like nothing better than to finish the job. They figure out who you’re looking for Lee. You know that if you carry him through this section exposed, someone will surely recognize him. You’re going to have to smuggle him out.”
“Shevon, we don’t have time.”
“Make the time Lee or you will be in the middle of a blood bath. ” Shevon ran ahead and talked to the Marines and ran off again.
Cottle ran back to where Lee was standing shocked. “We can’t wait Son, unless you want to kill him.”
Lee looked down at Laura. “Are you strong enough to stand.”
Laura nodded weakly as Lee put her up against the bulkhead. “Doctor I have no wish to kill him, but Shevon is right.” Do you hear that? The mob could be herd getting closer. They don’t like us Doctor. They would like nothing better than to harm or kill us. This is not a nice section of this ship. It is also the only way back to the hanger deck. I have the President and an injured Admiral of the fleet here. We don’t want the people of the fleet to know he is missing most of all that he is hurt…dare I say,” Lee voice caught as he looking at his father’s near lifeless body, “near death.” Lee turned and pointed to Laura. “I’m sure as hell not going to see her harmed on this mission.”
“ With all do respect, Commander, what the frak do you suggest we do?”
Lee reached out and put a hand on Cottle shoulder. “We have to smuggle him out, you’re going to have to stabilize him. Shevon is finding a place were you can work. Fix him up as best you can?
“For how long? He’s barely alive now?” Cottle through up his hands.
“Long enough to get him on the Raptor.”
“Lee.” Laura looked up at the young man. “How exactly are we going to get him out of here?”
Lee looked back to the President. “Think, Baltar…”
“He’ll never survive!!!” Cottle protested as he caught Lee drift.”
Shevon ran back to the group. Okay, Lee bring him this way.”
Lee nodded and helped the President up and they began to walk. “Doctor, she is giving us a place to prep for the trip. I need you to your best…”
“You’re helping him finish the job!” Cottle said as he stormed away and followed Shevon.
“Madame President I know this is a shock to you but it’s the only way.” Laura looked Lee in the eyes and took hold of his arm. She didn’t say a word to him, but he could see it in her eyes. If his father died because of this she would never forgive him.
“It isn’t the only way.” Her comment was dark and low, almost deadly.
It was crazy he knew but he alternative was to have an angry mob on the other side of the bulkhead kill them all for the simple reason that they didn’t like the establishment.
----
“Come this way. You can work in here.” Shevon led the team in to a storage area where they could work on the Admiral. “Well this is primitive but it will do. Ishay start with the older wounds stitch them up the best you can.”
“Yes Doctor.”
What about the self-inflected wounds?” Laura voice was small as she approached the medical team.
Jack came over to her and led her away from the group. “I have those tied off, but the longer we wait the more likely he is to lose his hands. I’m going to look at the wounds more closely and see what we are dealing with.” Laura nodded and watched Jack return to the medical team.
Lee paced around helpless waiting for the medical team to finish. “Commander.”
Shevon and two marines came up behind them. “This is the best we could do sir.”
“It’ll do. When Cottle is done. Scoop and run.” Lee walked over to the medical team and watched.
“Okay, we better tie this off or he bleed all over the bag, put the Oxygen mask on, let’s put new pressure bandages on the chest, and get him out of here. The Medics and Marines made quick work of loading the Admiral into the body bag “Okay people let’s move. The mob didn’t help the situation; the Marines pushed their way through.
“This is so fraking crazy.” Laura said as Lee and Venner cleared a path for her back to the hanger bay the Medical team on second team of marines following.
“It could be worse, Madame President.” Once the team made it to the flight deck the marines made quick work of getting both the President and Admiral aboard. The medics removed the Admiral from the body bag and returned to work.
“His pressure is dropping, we need to get back to Galactica now if you want him to live. Cottle offered. Laura knelt beside Bill desperate for any type of contact.
“Doctor, I’ve lost the heartbeat “Deliberator and stand by with epee. Madame President I need you to move.”
“Laura…Laura come on.” Lee came back from the co-pilots seat. He put his arms around Laura’s waist and lifted her out of the way of the medical team. “Come on, Laura, sit up here with Racetrack.”
“Clear.”
Lee turned around and watched as Cottle shocked his father. He arced off the deck.
“Galactica, Racetrack.”
“Go ahead, Racetrack.”
“I am declaring a medical emergency. Request permission for priority landing.. We will need trauma teams standing by.”
“Copy and granted the board is green.”
“I have the ball.”
----
By the time the Raptor was in the hanger bay the cat was out of the bag. The fleet and the crew of the Galactica new that the old man was in dire straits again, the medical teams left in a hurry and the old man was now in surgery.
“I failed him Lee I wasn’t there when he needed me most.”
“This is not your fault Madame President.”
“If anything it’s mine.”
“How do you figure that Commander?”
I didn’t get him back here in enough time. Cottle says he could loose partial use of his hands because the artery was tied off for such a long time. His chest wounds look to be infected and there is some damage to his heart because of all the extra movement.”
“Yes, that’s all true and it’s tearing me apart inside, but it is not your fault. It’s not my fault. We can only do what we did. We can only wait.”
Sickbay was buzzing with activity Lee and Laura waited outside the surgical area Lee was afraid for her in all honesty. Laura looked as if she could break at any moment. “I’m not leaving.” Lee squeezed her hand “You don’t have to go through this alone.”
Laura looked in her Captain Apollo’s eyes. “I would expect nothing less from you Captain Apollo.”
“Excuse me Commander.” Lee looked up and came face to face this Corporal Venner.”
“Yes Corporal.”
“Could I have a moment in private sir?”
Lee looked over at the President. “I won’t be gone long.” Lee stood up and walked out into the corridor with the Corporal.
“We finished cleaning out the area on the Prometheus Sir. I found this next to the Admiral’s bag, sir. I wasn’t sure how the President would react. I figured…”
“Let me see it Venner.” Venner handed him a partial blood stained empty ration pack wrapper on the wrapper it said. I’m sorry. I couldn’t be the man you needed.” Bill. Lee blinked back tears. “I trust this will go no farther then us.”
Venner stood at attention. “Yes, sir.”
Lee stuck the paper in his pants pocket before saluting the Corporal “Thank you Venner.” Venner nodded and moved off. Lee returned to sit next the President and continue their vigil.
---
Lee had been quiet for quite some time now. “What did Venner want before?”
Lee came out of his trance, “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I asked you if I needed to know anything about your meeting with Venner?”
“Oh,” Lee sat up straighter and looked into Laura’s eyes. “It was nothing. He just wanted me to know Shevon was safe. We moved her off the Prometheus.
“Oh, I see.” Laura turned and sank back down into the chair, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep.
Lee watched her for a while saying nothing, he put his hand in his pocket and touched the note between his fingers. He had just lied to the President, but it was for her own good.
A short time later Lee was pulled from his thoughts as Jack Cottle walked into the room. He and Laura both stood up and listened as Cottle spoke. “It’s touch and go folks but he is stable. The arteries in both wrists have been repaired and I will be ordering him to talk to some one. He is receiving blood at the moment, and will for the next few hours.”
“Can we see him?” Laura asked.
“You can sit with him but I doubt he’ll be doing a lot of talking.”
Lee walked over next to Laura and took her hand. “Why is that?”
“He’s in a coma son. I’m sorry. It could be the body’s way of repairing itself or it could be for the blood loss. Like I said it’ll be touch and go for a while all we can do is hope.
Laura felt her knees go weak and if it weren’t for Lee and his quick reflexes she would have ended up in a pile on the deck. “Oh Gods…” Lee helped her back to the chair and Cottle knelt down before her.
“We’ve done all we can for him, now it’s up to him.”
---
“Dee and news on the Old man?” Gaeta asked as he walked down into the pit.
“Nothing new, what do you have?”
“Some comm. traffic from Colonial One, it seems that the civilian fleet is getting restless, someone claims that the saw the old man aboard their ship and that he isn’t running the fleet.”
“Frak.”
“Tory is concerned about mass panic. She’s on her way to see the President”
Dualla put the clipboard on the light table. “Mr. Gaeta you have the deck.”
“Aye Sir.”
----
Laura sat next to Bill watching him and holding his hand. “I don’t know why you did what you did, but I forgive you. Come back to me please.”
Lee looked on with tear threatening to fall from his eyes. He felt and hand on his shoulder. “Oh, hi.”
Hi yourself.” Dee snaked her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry to do this now, I just.”
“You don’t have to explain…No one but the President can see anyway.” Lee looked in his wife’s eyes. “What’s the matter?”
“The fleet is in a state panic. They found out the old man was the one missing. They’re panicking. She’s going to have to say something to reassure the fleet.
“Frak. I’ll talk to her.”
“Tory’s on the way with the details.”
“Okay, I'll be up in a bit. I’ll talk to Laura.” Lee kissed Dee and watched her leave sickbay, before he pulled back the curtain by his father’s bed. “Madame President, it seems we have a small problem.”
Laura looked up wiping her eyes. “What is it Commander?”
“It appears that someone go word that the Admiral was missing and is now severely wounded. The fleet is close to mass panic.
“Oh Gods, I’ll have to make a statement. It seems like we just did this.”
“We’ll do it again, no harm. Tory is on her way.”
Laura stood up and straightened her appearance. She bent over and kissed Bill on the forehead. “I’ll be back and you better be awake when I get here.”
Lee smiled and swallowed a laugh. He showed the President out and they headed toward the hanger deck. “I’ll have to go back to Colonial One. I’m afraid I haven’t been much of a President lately. I’ve been rather caught up in my personal life.
“No one is blaming you for that.”
---
Fellow citizens of the fleet, I address you today to reassure you that the fleet is continuing it’s journey as normal. There have been rumors the Admiral Adama has left the fleet, this is not true. The Admiral was however, recently wounded rather severely and is currently in sickbay in critical condition. The fleet is still in good hands but Commander Lee Adama and I, along with the crew of Galactica ask you all to pray for the Admiral’s safe recovery. I will be addressing you again as more information becomes available. Once again, let me assure you that our leadership is enacted and our journey will continue. Thank you and goodnight.
Once Laura got the signal that they were off wireless. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Well done, Madame President.”
“Thank you Commander. Now is Starbuck sure about this first set of coordinates.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Laura stood up and Lee saw her smile for the first in quite a few days. “Well than, let’s go find Earth Commander and hopefully the Cylons won’t follow.”
---
We intercepted a transmission from the Colonial Fleet. It seems that their leadership is breaking down. Admiral Adama appears to be wounded and is not in command. This would be the time to make our move. Cavil did his best to convince the 2’s, 6’s, and 8’s
Do you all agree with Cavil? Sharon asked the Doral, and Simon’s
“We do.”
“We’ll have to confer. “
“They are jumping. Don’t take too long.”
“Follow them for now. You will have our decision with in the hour.”
----
Laura sat next to Bill’s bedside reading aloud she didn’t know why she decided to do this but it made her feel better. She had read somewhere a long time ago that it helped coma patients to hear people talking to them
---
“Fleet prepared to jump Commander.” Dee reported
“Very well, start the clock.”
“Attention on Galactica Jump Clock is running 10,9…”
---
“We agree with you. We will attack on the other side of the jump.
---
“4…3…2…1, Jump.” In a flash Galactica and the fleet appeared one step closer to Earth.
“Jump complete, sir. All ships present and accounted for, Gaeta looked up as the alarms began to go off on his console. Dradis Contact, Cylon basestar. They are launching fighters.”
Lee didn’t miss a beat. “Set condition one. Launch fighters. Get them all up in the air. Send jump coordinates and tell the fleet to jump ASAP.
“Aye.”
Dee picked up the wireless. “Set condition one throughout the ship…this is not a drill. Flight Deck CIC launch vipers.”
“Main battery ready sir.”
“Mr. Hoshi, Fire at will.”
“Ships are jumping in sequence sir, we are spooled up and ready. The last ship is away.” Dee reports.
“Recall all Vipers, Combat landings.”
The vipers hit the deck and Galactica was gone in a flash.
----
“Damage reports please. Dee you have the Con. I’ll be on the flight deck.” Lee left and took the long walk to the flight deck. He arrived to see several of the deckhands working on post flight checks and refueling the birds. Lee climbed down the ladder in search of Chief Tyrol.
“What’s the damage report Chief?”
“It’s minimal Sir, nothing that can’t be fixed. I have a couple of birds that need fuses. We’re working of those now. We’ll have the alerts re-fueled and ready to go. The CAP is back out already.”
“Nice work Chief.” Lee walked out and down the corridor toward the pilots’ ready room.
“Attention on deck, Kat called as the Commander entered the room.
Lee walked up the podium, “as you were. I wanted to come down and tell you all how very proud I am of all of you. Your response to the latest crisis was exactly what this fleet has come to expect. It is what the Admiral expects and what I as your CAG have come to expect. I don’t know why the cylons decided to attack us just now but I can tell you that I doubt it is over. We all know they have reasons for everything they do. However far we are pushed remember your training, trust your instincts. Good hunting. “ Lee stepped down from the podium and out the door. He looked at his watch, if his gut was right they didn’t have much time until the cylons came back for round two.
---
Lee found Laura sitting in the chair with her eyes closed, although he doubted she was actually asleep, given the excitement of the past few minutes. Lee checked the monitors and noticed that his father’s vitals seemed to be improving.
“What’s happening Commander?”
“The cylons launched an attack after the last jump. We’ve jumped to another set of coordinates, but I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time before they find us again.”
Lee sat down on a chair at the other side of the bed. “I think we need a new strategy.”
The klaxon sounded again and Dee voice was soon heard over the intercom. “Set condition one throughout the ship…this is not a drill. Commander Adama report to CIC.”
Lee stood up and started to leave and then turned back. “You’re safe here. I’ll find you when this is over.” He turned around and walked out quickly making his way to the CIC. He looked at his watch and his stomach did a flip. Frak 33 minutes, Lee walked in just after the fight began and from the sound of the box the Colonials were doing well. “How long until all the ships have jumped. “Five minutes, sir.” Lee asked Dee when he came in.
“Mr. Hoshi, train the main battery on the cylon base ship. Let’s see if we can’t give our people a little more cover.”
The Galactica was suddenly rocked by missile fire. “Damage report.”
“Minimal sir. Last ship has jumped away.”
“Recall the vipers. Prepare to jump.”
Dee looked at Lee. “This is just like last time isn’t it. “
“Sure is looking that way. Mr. Gaeta?”
“All vipers aboard.”
“Jump.”
In a flash Galactica was gone and once again back with her fleet. “Jump Complete sir, all ship accounted for.
Very well, Mr. Gaeta, Lieutenant Dualla, set the clock for 33 minutes.”