Fiction: Splintered into Human Parts
Title: Burning within the Flames - Splintered into Human Parts
Author: HoniBrownHateza
Rating: R (mild sexual situations and naughty language)
Characters: Sharon/Helo with Apollo and Starbuck on the sideline.
Date: December 10, 2005
Spoilers: All episodes through Home, pt. 2
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Sharon and Helo can’t catch a break, not even on the planet of the Gods.
Author’s note: Burning within the Flames is a stand-alone series of short stories chronicling the relationship between Sharon “Boomer” Valerii and Karl “Helo” Agathon. Splintered into Human Parts might not qualify as an actual story.
~~
It was dark in the dense Kobol forest. The planet of the Gods was littered with large trees and the space between them was filled with brushwood and shrubs. Vine and liana tentacles spread out in all directions and the ground was thick with rotten leaves that made the surface feel rubbery beneath his feet.
As an officer in the Colonial Fleet he only viewed nature from the standpoint of necessity. A hollow in the ground was shelter from artillery, high ground gave him an advantage over enemies and a sprawling field of green was dangerous terrain that had to be crossed on the double.
Yeah, don’t expect anybody to get all warm and fuzzy with her anytime soon. She saved my life, but I still wouldn’t turn my back on her.
The words that rankled long in his heart, unexpectedly thundered in his brain. The more he tried to push them to the farthest corners of his mind, the more tenacious they became. The words were a fatal sentence.
“Frak you, Kara Thrace,” he cursed under his breath, not quite willing to admit that he was angrier at himself than he was at his friend.
Wallowing in self-pity wasn’t in his nature and he refused to take part in such an unproductive emotion. Going forward was the only thing he knew how to do. Deep inside though he had to admit that his was a spirit that was always capable of including love and that was seldom a good thing. For most of his adult life, through a series of transient affairs, he’d only played at love. The truth be known, he was a master frak buddy and loving for the moment was practically his calling call. Born to serve and to protect, he’d never placed anyone or anything above his duty.
Then she came into his life and rocked the foundation of his world. Sharon Valerii, a thin graceful beauty gifted with dark eyes that probed and registered everything, filled him to the brim with her essence. The first time they shook hands, a little over two years ago, she sent his soul spiraling into a chasm from which he’d never escaped. Karl C. Agathon, a ladies man if ever there was one, had fallen head over heels in love.
If Sharon had any inkling of his feelings, she never let on. Always a favorite among women, nothing had prepared him for the pain of unrequited love. Working with her day in and day out in the small confines of the Raptor was pure torture. The agony didn’t stop there. Seemingly within days of her arrival, she’d found a lover. In the end, his reputation as a womanizer shielded him from the prying eyes of the Battlestar Galactica crew. Kara, Starbuck, was the lone exception. It had taken her all of ten seconds to figure out he was in over his head.
Mere thoughts of the past made him dizzy. Almost everything in his life now was muddled and confused. It was as if the Gods were testing his faith because a two-month long succession of lies, deceit, manipulation and genuine love had ended with Sharon becoming pregnant with his child. Technically speaking, that wasn’t quite true. The Sharon he’d impregnated was an avatar of the woman he’d loved from afar; yet, his feelings for the new Sharon were deeper and more profound than any he’d ever experienced in his life.
In a perfect universe, it wouldn’t matter that she was a human model Cylon, one of many. One of thousands. But the universe wasn’t perfect and neither was he. Inevitably, this knowledge left room for a small margin of doubt. It was possible his spirit wasn’t meant to shelter so volatile a substance as true love.
The depth of this love gave him a sense of how defenseless human beings really were. For months he’d lived in blissful ignorance with her, never even questioning her existence or their incredible good luck. Love had blinded him to the truth and it had almost cost him life. The only balm for his soul’s hurt was knowing that his decision to spare her life was the right one.
“Helo, they’ve fallen behind again,” Sharon’s calm voice pierced his awareness. “We’re going to be exposed for a few minutes but the Centurions won’t attack again until we reach the Tomb of Athena. Cylons are efficient.”
“They know where it is?” he asked, trying to ignore the pride he heard in her voice. It was a stark reminder that she was a Cylon true and true.
“We all know about the Tomb.”
“That wasn’t the question I asked.”
“You asked the wrong question.” She planted herself at the base of a huge tree that cast its shadow over its own roots, which stretched deep into the enigmatic forest.
When her jet black eyes sought Helo’s, his heart moved as easily as a butterfly to meet that gaze. Inwardly, he shuddered under her sensuous power. Something about the way she looked at him made he believe she could peer deep into his soul and lay bear his deepest secrets.
“You know, Helo, prolonged suffering makes one stupid,” she said, wiping her hands on the red-orange prison garb, “but one made stupid by suffering knows joy when he sees it.”
“Huh?”
“Is there a problem, Lieutenant Agathon?”
“No, Sir,” he replied automatically, turning to face President Laura Roslin. He caught the irritated smile that flickered across her mouth before it turned into a diplomatic one. Only the politician in her made Sharon’s presence tolerable. Her one and only concern was finding the Tomb of Athena and she wouldn’t tolerate anything that hindered the search.
“Don’t waste time. We need a safe place to camp for the night.” Lee Adama’s mask of military impassivity was marred by the small sneer that curled his lips. To say that Apollo hated Sharon was an understatement and Helo did the best he could to keep the two separated.
Quietly, the group fell into a single line behind the Cylon as she threaded her way through the last vestige of dense protection. Eventually they came upon a row of stunted trees that looked like a column of men. Tension rose all around them. The huge trucks of several older trees in the distance could easily conceal their executioners, but Sharon moved as though she were on a field trip.
Humming softly to herself, she led them down a clearly defined path that ran parallel to the low branch of a mountain, which flowed through the forest like waves. The undergrowth where the forest thinned was like a fantastic green cloak spread around them. The foliage wasn’t as thick but they still had to push branches aside to get through.
~~
“How much further?” Helo asked nearly an hour later.
“Farther.”
“What?”
“Farther describes actual distance. Further is more figurative.”
“You're a dictionary now?”
“I'm sorry I'm smarter than you.”
Helo scoffed at the slight. “Well, that's okay. The baby can have your brains as long as he gets my looks.”
“Yeah? That'd be a real blessing for her.” Sharon’s voice was all smiles.
“Her? You know it's a girl?”
Sharon peered over her shoulders, her eyes sparkling. “Yeah.”
It never occurred to him that she’d know the sex of the baby. He still had difficult making a real connection between the pregnancy and the actual embryo. That it was developed enough to have a discernable gender was disconcerting.
“No questions for your pilot, ECO?”
“I’m reflecting.”
“Don’t hurt yourself, babe.”
“What?” Now he was insulted. “What exactly are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything. You’ll never be as smart, as strong or as fast as I am.” Her thin shoulders literally shook with laugher.
“Yeah, but I’m the only guy in the universe who can get you pregnant.”
“You have your uses.”
“Is that so?”
Grinning broadly, Sharon half-turned and moved sideways along the path. “A few things come to mind.”
“Anything vertical or doesn’t require you to be on top?”
She shrugged. “Hmm…I need to give that some thought. It’s not like your relative position to mine will change the fact that you’ll probably never give me sons.”
Helo was happy to concede whatever disagreement they were having right then and there. “Okay. You win. You’re a hellava lot smarter than I am. There. I said it so don’t start telling me things I don’t need to know.”
Pure joy stole across her features as she caressed her still flat abdomen. “You know the drill. XX equals girl. XY equals boy. Sorry, babe, but your little tadpole friends are deficient in Y-chromosomes. The ones you do have are slow and weak, not good swimmers at all.”
“Please uninstall the DNA analyzing program or I’ll never touch you again,” he shot back, trying to salvage what was left of his manly pride. There was nothing else he could do but shake his head in disbelief. Her choice of conversation didn’t vex him as much as her attitude. While it was true she and the other Sharon had the same base personality, that’s where the similarities ended. Without a doubt, the current version was a menace.
“Look Helo,” Apollo said non-too-friendly, “save your musings about the little pink tool room until later. We need to set up camp for tonight. We’re losing visibility.”
Sharon’s face scrunched up in a frown as she slowly moved towards them. “Little pink tool room? What the frak is that supposed to mean?”
Helo quickly moved between the two of them. If Apollo goaded her, their confrontation could lead to the death of one or both of them.
“Where else are you going to assemble and maintain your future appliance?” Lee’s tone was downright nasty. “Sorry, I meant your little pink toaster. You said it was pink, right?”
“It’s a baby you frakking bastard, it’s a baby,” she whispered.
The force behind the words and the stricken look on her face was enough to cut Helo’s heart to pieces in a way he’d never known. All of a sudden, the Cylon was a blur of red-orange motion as she lunged at Galactica’s CAG. With speed born from desperation and adrenaline, Helo managed to snatch her out of the air and restrain her in a bear hug, but it almost wasn’t enough. With terrible strength, her chest heaving up and down in rage, she strained every muscle to free herself.
“Stop it, Sharon! Stop it now or there’ll be bloodshed.” She went rigid in his arms, but he was determined to hold onto her until her heart rate slowed and her breathing came under control.
“I’m all right, Helo. You can let me go.”
“Okay, I’m gonna you go but I need you to walk away.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
He released her and she did exactly what she said she would. Apollo made a sour face behind her back. She must have felt it because she whirled around and shot him a look of pure hatred.
“That was uncalled for, Sir,” Helo said once he was satisfied Sharon was safely neutralized.
“Uncalled for?” Apollo said, his tone condescending. “Let’s get something straight, Helo. It was uncalled for when you fracked that thing. It was uncalled for when you impregnated it, if it’s actually carrying your child. It was uncalled for when you brought it among us and expected us to love it.”
The ECO’s pulse quickened like that of a captured fugitive. “She’s a person, not a thing and she is carrying my child.”
Apollo threw up his hands in mock surrender. “A person?” He sidestepped the larger man and pointed directly at Sharon whose balled fists were jammed inside her pockets.
“That isn’t a person, Helo. It’s a thing. It’s a silicon-based creature. It was made on an assembly line and it was designed to do one thing. To wipe out the human race. Do you honestly believe it’s happy to have your baby? And did it ever occur to you that you’ve endangered our lives by bringing it here?”
“Anytime you want to drop the ranks, Sir.” Helo tried to swallow the rage and let Apollo have his say but it was getting harder with each passing moment. As a precaution, he let his weapon fall to the ground.
“I’m not fighting you over that thing.” Lee placed what could be mistakenly construed as a reassuring hand on Helo’s shoulder. “Listen carefully. It’s a fracking machine, not a human woman. It’s a replication, admittedly a good one. It’s just like us all the way down to the cellular level, but it isn’t one of us. It’s dangerous and it should be destroyed.”
“No.”
“That thing growing inside it is a toaster, a fraking Cylon, a fraking Cylon bastard.” Apollo had barely spit out the last word when a large fist slammed him in the jaw and sent him crashing into the shrubbery.”
“Helo, don’t!” Sharon cried, grabbing him by the arm. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I overreacted. Come, babe, let’s go. Let’s go.”
He was beyond hearing because he was incensed. Lee Adama had a sense of morality that was almost like a disease-self-righteous and judgmental it infected him without his knowledge. Helo didn’t give a damn about his morality because his instincts, both as a man and as a father, were driving him to beat the shit out of his commanding officer.
The other man must have felt the same testosterone-based pull because he bounded to his feet and rushed headlong into the taller man’s stomach, sending them both on a collision course with a large tree trunk. Helo twisted out of the way, leaving Apollo to take the brunt of the impact.
“Gentlemen. You will cease and desist right now.” Roslin’s voice matched the perturbed look on her face.
Helo smacked Apollo one last time for good measure and then shoved him out of the way.
“You’re not setting a good example for the kid,” Sharon said softly, offering her hand.
“Are you okay?” he asked, allowing her to pull him to his feet. She didn’t answer. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder. For a moment, he closed his eyes and caressed the soft skin at the base of her neck. A few more seconds passed before he became conscious of the concentrated glances that were cast in their direction.
Tom Zarek, the terrorist-turned-politician, was among the spectators but he didn’t seem at all disturbed by what had transpired. His face was carefully blank. Starbuck stood an arm’s length away from the president with a big grin on her face.
“Captain Apollo, Lt. Agathon, concentrate on the mission.” Roslin took two steps into Helo’s personal space, forcing Sharon to move aside. “Lieutenant, I know you’re conflicted and you have my sympathy but if you can’t find a way to function under these circumstances, I’ll have Miss Valerii restrained again. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir.” The school teacher voice got him every time.
“Captain Apollo.” She moved closer to Lee. “I trust you’ll exercise better judgment in the future. It isn’t wise to insult a gestating Cylon.”
“Madame President…”
He didn’t have a chance to finish because Sharon abruptly ducked into the woods.
“Sharon?” The ECO braced for something bad.
“Gotta pee, Helo. That’s all.”
“You went an hour ago,” Starbuck pointed out. “Have you sprung a leak?”
“Hormones,” was Sharon’s clipped reply.
Apollo reached for his sidearm and so did Helo.
“Lt. Agathon, see to Miss Valerii. Make sure she doesn’t get lost,” the president said. “You have thirty minutes to pull yourself together. We’ll make camp here tonight.”
“Madame President!” Apollo protested, visibly upset.
“The decision is made, Captain.”
Kara pulled Helo to the side but his eyes were trained on the red-orange jumper. Centurions or not, he didn’t like the idea of her wandering in the woods alone. A couple of Zarek’s men were far too interested in her and killing wasn’t on their minds.
“Karl, you can’t be like this. Give Lee some breathing room. Sharon Valerii shot his father and to some people her copy is as guilty as she is.”
“She isn’t a copy.”
“Well, whatever-”
He cut her off. “Look Kara, I don’t care.”
“She shot Lee’s father right in front of him and the entire CIC. Colonel Tigh was there and so was Dee and Felix Gaeta, our friends, Helo. Our Sharon blew up a basestar and then she returned to Galactica and put two rounds in Commander Adama’s chest.”
“My Sharon didn’t shoot him.”
The blonde sighed and shook her head. “Maybe they’ve sent her to do something worse.”
“Worse? Worse than killing billions of innocent people? Worse than destroying our entire civilization? What the frak can she possibly do to top that, Kara?”
Starbuck wasn’t swayed. “I don’t know but they have a plan and I know she’s a part of it. Deep down inside you know it, too.”
Helo rubbed his temple. A massive headache was brewing. “The other Sharon sabotaged our ship and shot the commander. My Sharon isn’t a sleeper and she makes her own choices.”
Starbuck tried to squeeze his shoulders but he stepped out of her reach. “That’s your heart talking, not your brain. I don’t understand them and neither do you. All we can do is hope we live long enough to find out what the hell they want.”
“The Old Man’s alive, Kara. He’s alive because Sharon couldn’t kill him. Doesn’t that tell you something? She shot him twice in the chest and he survived. She’s a Cylon for Gods sake. She could have blown his head off but she fought the programming.” The pounding in his head took on a new rhythm as he bent over to retrieve the rifle. Sharon had already been gone too long.
“I concede that she was probably a sleeper who malfunctioned and the one you have seems to be in good working order. But don’t ever forget she’s a full-fledged Cylon who hates humans.”
“The baby is half-human, Kara. Do you think she hates her own baby?”
“Is there a baby?”
“What makes you think there isn’t? There was no reason for her to lie to me. She told me about the baby after I shot her. After I cursed her. After I told her I didn’t love her. After I made her sit in the rain all night. Once she got that kid, I was disposable. She could have walked away but she chose not to. Instead, she risked her life over and over again to save mine.”
“She’s playing you, Karl. She’s done it before.”
“Shut up. Just shut up. I’m sick of talking about it.” He reached behind his head to try to massage away the tension that knotted his back and shoulders. “She saved your ass on Caprica and she didn’t have to. If she’d told me you were dead, I would have believed her. Since the Cylons seem to find our fleet at will, they don’t need to put another Sharon on Galactica. And don’t forget, we could have taken the Arrow of Apollo and found earth ourselves."
He grabbed his pack and flung it onto his back. He had to get away from all of them because he needed time to think. The watch beeped again. He had twenty-five minutes left, yet he couldn’t make himself leave just yet. “I wish you had more faith in me, Kara.”
“It’s not you, Karl. It’s her. She’s a Cylon. She can’t be trusted.” Starbuck planted a small kiss on the side of his face and then picked her way through the small crowd of people who were setting up camp. As she neared Apollo, he smiled in triumph.
~~
Helo stumbled through the forest looking for Sharon but his mind was filled with such ugly thoughts he couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t stand it that they treated the mother of his child like crap. Yet, a small part of him understood because he’d done worse things to her. But the thing that hurt him the most was their flagrant mistrust of his judgment. It felt like he was being stabbed in an already open wound.
Without warning, the trees in a new part of the forest became smaller and had narrower trunks. Ants and assorted other critters who’d made their homes in the area were disturbed by his presence. A quick scan of the area showed that the trees beyond were also small, thus, he retreated and soon discovered a path of broken twigs and disturbed leaves.
The path lead to a small clearing that was barely large enough for three people to lie down side by side. Sharon was coiled tightly on a large bounder that was partially embedded in the roots of an old tree. Something about the way she was drawn into herself disturbed him. It wasn’t quite natural and he realized that was one of the things he had to get used to since she no longer pretended to be human.
“Sharon? Are you done?” The watch beeped again. They had twenty minutes.
She unraveled, raised her head and blinked as if dazzled by a bright light. “What?”
“Did you… pee?”
“You should have killed me.” Once again she ignored a direct question.
A tight sensation wove around his heart. “I know,” he said, hunkering down in front of the boulder. “I meant to until I pulled the trigger. It’s a good thing I didn’t or we’d all be dead because if I’d killed you, I would have forfeited my own life. You and the baby,” he said, lightly tracing his fingers across the warm place where his child nestled, “are my only reasons for living.”
Sharon blinked fast, took a deep breath and then stared into his eyes. “There is a baby, Helo. I am pregnant. I’m not lying. You have to believe me. I could never lie about her. She’s ours and she was created from our love.” Tears glistened at the corners of her dark eyes. “She’s alive, just like you, Helo. I can feel it…I can feel you inside me.”
“I know.” With a low grunt, he got to his feet and tugged at her until she was safely tucked in his embrace “I believe you. I’ve always believed you.”
“He called her a toaster, a pink toaster.” Pain made her voice small. “I never dreamed he’d be so cruel.”
“Your people wiped out our civilization, Sharon. Your…sister shot his father. We’re hurting in a way you can’t possibly understand.”
“I do understand,” she said with fierce determination. “I…she…trained with you…served on the same ship. We were all friends. I remember being friends with them...Lee and Kara…I remember loving them.”
Helo stroked her beautiful black hair, which was interwoven with luxurious strands of cinnamon. “Things have changed, Sharon. They might not ever accept us.” In the back of his mind lurked a hope- a hope that one day they’d all find a way to live together in peace again.
“You’ve always been there for me,” she said softly. “But I don’t know why.”
“Isn’t that my job?”
“She loves you. You know that, don’t you?”
Helo frowned and gently brushed his lips across her forehead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The other Sharon. She loves you. Her feelings are different from mine, but it’s love. If she was sent to kill the Old Man, it doesn’t make any sense that she’d wait for so long. I think her feelings for you suppressed her Cylon side. You’ve made me soft and gooey inside…not to mention a little fat.”
“The Chief…”
“…doesn’t make her feel safe and protected. He’s never been able to shelter her from the nightmare that is her Cylon side. You were her safe place, Helo.”
He held her tighter, trying to absorb the impact of the words. “Was she meant…you know…?”
“Was she sent to take advantage of you and steal your DNA? No. They wouldn’t have bothered to put her in the fleet if that was the case. Your track record suggested there were easier ways…”
“Oh.”
Sharon sighed deeply, kissed the bottom of his chin and stepped away from him as if he’d done something wrong. Absently, she toyed with the buttons of the jumper until Helo couldn’t stand it anymore because her nervous habits left a lot to be desired. Gently, his large fingers began systematically freeing her from the offensive prison garment that was never intended to be worn by a female. The buttons undone, he pushed it off her shoulders to reveal a black t-shirt.
A smiled played on the corners of his lips when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. Although she wasn’t gifted in that area, what she had was enough for him. As he maneuvered the material over her slim hips, a surge of desire poured in. Sharon’s soft hands gripped his shoulders as she stepped out of the jumper to reveal lacy blank lingerie which favored seduction more than comfort.
“Lose something down there?”
Helo forced his gaze away and cleared his throat before daring to look her in the face. The distinctiveness of raw lust gleamed in her eyes. “If you’d worn these panties in the fallout shelter, you could have gotten pregnant a lot sooner.”
“Really? My choice of regulation underwear deterred you?” Her voice was strained with need.
Helo tossed the jumper aside and stood up. Clutching her shoulders, he held her tight. Sharon’s very scent throbbed with lust. “Actually, no. Your family fracked it up. You could have had me that morning…the day they took you away.”
“It took you long enough to get the hint,” she said as he placed his right hand on her chin and tipped it back.
“Like you said, I’m nowhere near as smart as you are.” He leaned in to kiss her as his hands, like those of a blind man, roved all over her slender frame. Floating on the passion, he savored the touch of her flesh, the majestic warmth of her. The kiss deepened and his spirits soared like that of a predator on the hunt. His heart beat so fiercely, he thought it would burst through his chest. Suspended in time, nothing mattered but Sharon.
The watch beeped.
”Helo? Helo?” she breathed against his lips.
“Don’t talk.”
“I have to pee…”
“Go ahead, I don’t mind.”
Sharon jerked away from him, her breath was ragged. Sex, in any form, was pretty much the only thing that increased her heart rate. “You know that’s the one thing I can’t do for you. I can’t pee in front of you.”
At least she could admit it now. For weeks, on Caprica, he worried that she never relieved herself because she’d refused to do it while he was awake. He, himself, had no such inhabitions.
Seconds after the beautiful women disappeared behind a tree, the blank panties and t-shirt whizzed by Helo’s head. “Don’t go anywhere, babe. You’d be surprised at what we can do in the next seventeen minutes and nine seconds.”
“Can you manage that without the rain?” he teased, his zipper purring down.
She peeped around the tree and waved him over. “There is one thing, Helo. In order to expedite our pleasure, you need to be on top.”
“By your command.”
Author: HoniBrownHateza
Rating: R (mild sexual situations and naughty language)
Characters: Sharon/Helo with Apollo and Starbuck on the sideline.
Date: December 10, 2005
Spoilers: All episodes through Home, pt. 2
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Sharon and Helo can’t catch a break, not even on the planet of the Gods.
Author’s note: Burning within the Flames is a stand-alone series of short stories chronicling the relationship between Sharon “Boomer” Valerii and Karl “Helo” Agathon. Splintered into Human Parts might not qualify as an actual story.
~~
It was dark in the dense Kobol forest. The planet of the Gods was littered with large trees and the space between them was filled with brushwood and shrubs. Vine and liana tentacles spread out in all directions and the ground was thick with rotten leaves that made the surface feel rubbery beneath his feet.
As an officer in the Colonial Fleet he only viewed nature from the standpoint of necessity. A hollow in the ground was shelter from artillery, high ground gave him an advantage over enemies and a sprawling field of green was dangerous terrain that had to be crossed on the double.
Yeah, don’t expect anybody to get all warm and fuzzy with her anytime soon. She saved my life, but I still wouldn’t turn my back on her.
The words that rankled long in his heart, unexpectedly thundered in his brain. The more he tried to push them to the farthest corners of his mind, the more tenacious they became. The words were a fatal sentence.
“Frak you, Kara Thrace,” he cursed under his breath, not quite willing to admit that he was angrier at himself than he was at his friend.
Wallowing in self-pity wasn’t in his nature and he refused to take part in such an unproductive emotion. Going forward was the only thing he knew how to do. Deep inside though he had to admit that his was a spirit that was always capable of including love and that was seldom a good thing. For most of his adult life, through a series of transient affairs, he’d only played at love. The truth be known, he was a master frak buddy and loving for the moment was practically his calling call. Born to serve and to protect, he’d never placed anyone or anything above his duty.
Then she came into his life and rocked the foundation of his world. Sharon Valerii, a thin graceful beauty gifted with dark eyes that probed and registered everything, filled him to the brim with her essence. The first time they shook hands, a little over two years ago, she sent his soul spiraling into a chasm from which he’d never escaped. Karl C. Agathon, a ladies man if ever there was one, had fallen head over heels in love.
If Sharon had any inkling of his feelings, she never let on. Always a favorite among women, nothing had prepared him for the pain of unrequited love. Working with her day in and day out in the small confines of the Raptor was pure torture. The agony didn’t stop there. Seemingly within days of her arrival, she’d found a lover. In the end, his reputation as a womanizer shielded him from the prying eyes of the Battlestar Galactica crew. Kara, Starbuck, was the lone exception. It had taken her all of ten seconds to figure out he was in over his head.
Mere thoughts of the past made him dizzy. Almost everything in his life now was muddled and confused. It was as if the Gods were testing his faith because a two-month long succession of lies, deceit, manipulation and genuine love had ended with Sharon becoming pregnant with his child. Technically speaking, that wasn’t quite true. The Sharon he’d impregnated was an avatar of the woman he’d loved from afar; yet, his feelings for the new Sharon were deeper and more profound than any he’d ever experienced in his life.
In a perfect universe, it wouldn’t matter that she was a human model Cylon, one of many. One of thousands. But the universe wasn’t perfect and neither was he. Inevitably, this knowledge left room for a small margin of doubt. It was possible his spirit wasn’t meant to shelter so volatile a substance as true love.
The depth of this love gave him a sense of how defenseless human beings really were. For months he’d lived in blissful ignorance with her, never even questioning her existence or their incredible good luck. Love had blinded him to the truth and it had almost cost him life. The only balm for his soul’s hurt was knowing that his decision to spare her life was the right one.
“Helo, they’ve fallen behind again,” Sharon’s calm voice pierced his awareness. “We’re going to be exposed for a few minutes but the Centurions won’t attack again until we reach the Tomb of Athena. Cylons are efficient.”
“They know where it is?” he asked, trying to ignore the pride he heard in her voice. It was a stark reminder that she was a Cylon true and true.
“We all know about the Tomb.”
“That wasn’t the question I asked.”
“You asked the wrong question.” She planted herself at the base of a huge tree that cast its shadow over its own roots, which stretched deep into the enigmatic forest.
When her jet black eyes sought Helo’s, his heart moved as easily as a butterfly to meet that gaze. Inwardly, he shuddered under her sensuous power. Something about the way she looked at him made he believe she could peer deep into his soul and lay bear his deepest secrets.
“You know, Helo, prolonged suffering makes one stupid,” she said, wiping her hands on the red-orange prison garb, “but one made stupid by suffering knows joy when he sees it.”
“Huh?”
“Is there a problem, Lieutenant Agathon?”
“No, Sir,” he replied automatically, turning to face President Laura Roslin. He caught the irritated smile that flickered across her mouth before it turned into a diplomatic one. Only the politician in her made Sharon’s presence tolerable. Her one and only concern was finding the Tomb of Athena and she wouldn’t tolerate anything that hindered the search.
“Don’t waste time. We need a safe place to camp for the night.” Lee Adama’s mask of military impassivity was marred by the small sneer that curled his lips. To say that Apollo hated Sharon was an understatement and Helo did the best he could to keep the two separated.
Quietly, the group fell into a single line behind the Cylon as she threaded her way through the last vestige of dense protection. Eventually they came upon a row of stunted trees that looked like a column of men. Tension rose all around them. The huge trucks of several older trees in the distance could easily conceal their executioners, but Sharon moved as though she were on a field trip.
Humming softly to herself, she led them down a clearly defined path that ran parallel to the low branch of a mountain, which flowed through the forest like waves. The undergrowth where the forest thinned was like a fantastic green cloak spread around them. The foliage wasn’t as thick but they still had to push branches aside to get through.
~~
“How much further?” Helo asked nearly an hour later.
“Farther.”
“What?”
“Farther describes actual distance. Further is more figurative.”
“You're a dictionary now?”
“I'm sorry I'm smarter than you.”
Helo scoffed at the slight. “Well, that's okay. The baby can have your brains as long as he gets my looks.”
“Yeah? That'd be a real blessing for her.” Sharon’s voice was all smiles.
“Her? You know it's a girl?”
Sharon peered over her shoulders, her eyes sparkling. “Yeah.”
It never occurred to him that she’d know the sex of the baby. He still had difficult making a real connection between the pregnancy and the actual embryo. That it was developed enough to have a discernable gender was disconcerting.
“No questions for your pilot, ECO?”
“I’m reflecting.”
“Don’t hurt yourself, babe.”
“What?” Now he was insulted. “What exactly are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything. You’ll never be as smart, as strong or as fast as I am.” Her thin shoulders literally shook with laugher.
“Yeah, but I’m the only guy in the universe who can get you pregnant.”
“You have your uses.”
“Is that so?”
Grinning broadly, Sharon half-turned and moved sideways along the path. “A few things come to mind.”
“Anything vertical or doesn’t require you to be on top?”
She shrugged. “Hmm…I need to give that some thought. It’s not like your relative position to mine will change the fact that you’ll probably never give me sons.”
Helo was happy to concede whatever disagreement they were having right then and there. “Okay. You win. You’re a hellava lot smarter than I am. There. I said it so don’t start telling me things I don’t need to know.”
Pure joy stole across her features as she caressed her still flat abdomen. “You know the drill. XX equals girl. XY equals boy. Sorry, babe, but your little tadpole friends are deficient in Y-chromosomes. The ones you do have are slow and weak, not good swimmers at all.”
“Please uninstall the DNA analyzing program or I’ll never touch you again,” he shot back, trying to salvage what was left of his manly pride. There was nothing else he could do but shake his head in disbelief. Her choice of conversation didn’t vex him as much as her attitude. While it was true she and the other Sharon had the same base personality, that’s where the similarities ended. Without a doubt, the current version was a menace.
“Look Helo,” Apollo said non-too-friendly, “save your musings about the little pink tool room until later. We need to set up camp for tonight. We’re losing visibility.”
Sharon’s face scrunched up in a frown as she slowly moved towards them. “Little pink tool room? What the frak is that supposed to mean?”
Helo quickly moved between the two of them. If Apollo goaded her, their confrontation could lead to the death of one or both of them.
“Where else are you going to assemble and maintain your future appliance?” Lee’s tone was downright nasty. “Sorry, I meant your little pink toaster. You said it was pink, right?”
“It’s a baby you frakking bastard, it’s a baby,” she whispered.
The force behind the words and the stricken look on her face was enough to cut Helo’s heart to pieces in a way he’d never known. All of a sudden, the Cylon was a blur of red-orange motion as she lunged at Galactica’s CAG. With speed born from desperation and adrenaline, Helo managed to snatch her out of the air and restrain her in a bear hug, but it almost wasn’t enough. With terrible strength, her chest heaving up and down in rage, she strained every muscle to free herself.
“Stop it, Sharon! Stop it now or there’ll be bloodshed.” She went rigid in his arms, but he was determined to hold onto her until her heart rate slowed and her breathing came under control.
“I’m all right, Helo. You can let me go.”
“Okay, I’m gonna you go but I need you to walk away.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
He released her and she did exactly what she said she would. Apollo made a sour face behind her back. She must have felt it because she whirled around and shot him a look of pure hatred.
“That was uncalled for, Sir,” Helo said once he was satisfied Sharon was safely neutralized.
“Uncalled for?” Apollo said, his tone condescending. “Let’s get something straight, Helo. It was uncalled for when you fracked that thing. It was uncalled for when you impregnated it, if it’s actually carrying your child. It was uncalled for when you brought it among us and expected us to love it.”
The ECO’s pulse quickened like that of a captured fugitive. “She’s a person, not a thing and she is carrying my child.”
Apollo threw up his hands in mock surrender. “A person?” He sidestepped the larger man and pointed directly at Sharon whose balled fists were jammed inside her pockets.
“That isn’t a person, Helo. It’s a thing. It’s a silicon-based creature. It was made on an assembly line and it was designed to do one thing. To wipe out the human race. Do you honestly believe it’s happy to have your baby? And did it ever occur to you that you’ve endangered our lives by bringing it here?”
“Anytime you want to drop the ranks, Sir.” Helo tried to swallow the rage and let Apollo have his say but it was getting harder with each passing moment. As a precaution, he let his weapon fall to the ground.
“I’m not fighting you over that thing.” Lee placed what could be mistakenly construed as a reassuring hand on Helo’s shoulder. “Listen carefully. It’s a fracking machine, not a human woman. It’s a replication, admittedly a good one. It’s just like us all the way down to the cellular level, but it isn’t one of us. It’s dangerous and it should be destroyed.”
“No.”
“That thing growing inside it is a toaster, a fraking Cylon, a fraking Cylon bastard.” Apollo had barely spit out the last word when a large fist slammed him in the jaw and sent him crashing into the shrubbery.”
“Helo, don’t!” Sharon cried, grabbing him by the arm. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I overreacted. Come, babe, let’s go. Let’s go.”
He was beyond hearing because he was incensed. Lee Adama had a sense of morality that was almost like a disease-self-righteous and judgmental it infected him without his knowledge. Helo didn’t give a damn about his morality because his instincts, both as a man and as a father, were driving him to beat the shit out of his commanding officer.
The other man must have felt the same testosterone-based pull because he bounded to his feet and rushed headlong into the taller man’s stomach, sending them both on a collision course with a large tree trunk. Helo twisted out of the way, leaving Apollo to take the brunt of the impact.
“Gentlemen. You will cease and desist right now.” Roslin’s voice matched the perturbed look on her face.
Helo smacked Apollo one last time for good measure and then shoved him out of the way.
“You’re not setting a good example for the kid,” Sharon said softly, offering her hand.
“Are you okay?” he asked, allowing her to pull him to his feet. She didn’t answer. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder. For a moment, he closed his eyes and caressed the soft skin at the base of her neck. A few more seconds passed before he became conscious of the concentrated glances that were cast in their direction.
Tom Zarek, the terrorist-turned-politician, was among the spectators but he didn’t seem at all disturbed by what had transpired. His face was carefully blank. Starbuck stood an arm’s length away from the president with a big grin on her face.
“Captain Apollo, Lt. Agathon, concentrate on the mission.” Roslin took two steps into Helo’s personal space, forcing Sharon to move aside. “Lieutenant, I know you’re conflicted and you have my sympathy but if you can’t find a way to function under these circumstances, I’ll have Miss Valerii restrained again. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir.” The school teacher voice got him every time.
“Captain Apollo.” She moved closer to Lee. “I trust you’ll exercise better judgment in the future. It isn’t wise to insult a gestating Cylon.”
“Madame President…”
He didn’t have a chance to finish because Sharon abruptly ducked into the woods.
“Sharon?” The ECO braced for something bad.
“Gotta pee, Helo. That’s all.”
“You went an hour ago,” Starbuck pointed out. “Have you sprung a leak?”
“Hormones,” was Sharon’s clipped reply.
Apollo reached for his sidearm and so did Helo.
“Lt. Agathon, see to Miss Valerii. Make sure she doesn’t get lost,” the president said. “You have thirty minutes to pull yourself together. We’ll make camp here tonight.”
“Madame President!” Apollo protested, visibly upset.
“The decision is made, Captain.”
Kara pulled Helo to the side but his eyes were trained on the red-orange jumper. Centurions or not, he didn’t like the idea of her wandering in the woods alone. A couple of Zarek’s men were far too interested in her and killing wasn’t on their minds.
“Karl, you can’t be like this. Give Lee some breathing room. Sharon Valerii shot his father and to some people her copy is as guilty as she is.”
“She isn’t a copy.”
“Well, whatever-”
He cut her off. “Look Kara, I don’t care.”
“She shot Lee’s father right in front of him and the entire CIC. Colonel Tigh was there and so was Dee and Felix Gaeta, our friends, Helo. Our Sharon blew up a basestar and then she returned to Galactica and put two rounds in Commander Adama’s chest.”
“My Sharon didn’t shoot him.”
The blonde sighed and shook her head. “Maybe they’ve sent her to do something worse.”
“Worse? Worse than killing billions of innocent people? Worse than destroying our entire civilization? What the frak can she possibly do to top that, Kara?”
Starbuck wasn’t swayed. “I don’t know but they have a plan and I know she’s a part of it. Deep down inside you know it, too.”
Helo rubbed his temple. A massive headache was brewing. “The other Sharon sabotaged our ship and shot the commander. My Sharon isn’t a sleeper and she makes her own choices.”
Starbuck tried to squeeze his shoulders but he stepped out of her reach. “That’s your heart talking, not your brain. I don’t understand them and neither do you. All we can do is hope we live long enough to find out what the hell they want.”
“The Old Man’s alive, Kara. He’s alive because Sharon couldn’t kill him. Doesn’t that tell you something? She shot him twice in the chest and he survived. She’s a Cylon for Gods sake. She could have blown his head off but she fought the programming.” The pounding in his head took on a new rhythm as he bent over to retrieve the rifle. Sharon had already been gone too long.
“I concede that she was probably a sleeper who malfunctioned and the one you have seems to be in good working order. But don’t ever forget she’s a full-fledged Cylon who hates humans.”
“The baby is half-human, Kara. Do you think she hates her own baby?”
“Is there a baby?”
“What makes you think there isn’t? There was no reason for her to lie to me. She told me about the baby after I shot her. After I cursed her. After I told her I didn’t love her. After I made her sit in the rain all night. Once she got that kid, I was disposable. She could have walked away but she chose not to. Instead, she risked her life over and over again to save mine.”
“She’s playing you, Karl. She’s done it before.”
“Shut up. Just shut up. I’m sick of talking about it.” He reached behind his head to try to massage away the tension that knotted his back and shoulders. “She saved your ass on Caprica and she didn’t have to. If she’d told me you were dead, I would have believed her. Since the Cylons seem to find our fleet at will, they don’t need to put another Sharon on Galactica. And don’t forget, we could have taken the Arrow of Apollo and found earth ourselves."
He grabbed his pack and flung it onto his back. He had to get away from all of them because he needed time to think. The watch beeped again. He had twenty-five minutes left, yet he couldn’t make himself leave just yet. “I wish you had more faith in me, Kara.”
“It’s not you, Karl. It’s her. She’s a Cylon. She can’t be trusted.” Starbuck planted a small kiss on the side of his face and then picked her way through the small crowd of people who were setting up camp. As she neared Apollo, he smiled in triumph.
~~
Helo stumbled through the forest looking for Sharon but his mind was filled with such ugly thoughts he couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t stand it that they treated the mother of his child like crap. Yet, a small part of him understood because he’d done worse things to her. But the thing that hurt him the most was their flagrant mistrust of his judgment. It felt like he was being stabbed in an already open wound.
Without warning, the trees in a new part of the forest became smaller and had narrower trunks. Ants and assorted other critters who’d made their homes in the area were disturbed by his presence. A quick scan of the area showed that the trees beyond were also small, thus, he retreated and soon discovered a path of broken twigs and disturbed leaves.
The path lead to a small clearing that was barely large enough for three people to lie down side by side. Sharon was coiled tightly on a large bounder that was partially embedded in the roots of an old tree. Something about the way she was drawn into herself disturbed him. It wasn’t quite natural and he realized that was one of the things he had to get used to since she no longer pretended to be human.
“Sharon? Are you done?” The watch beeped again. They had twenty minutes.
She unraveled, raised her head and blinked as if dazzled by a bright light. “What?”
“Did you… pee?”
“You should have killed me.” Once again she ignored a direct question.
A tight sensation wove around his heart. “I know,” he said, hunkering down in front of the boulder. “I meant to until I pulled the trigger. It’s a good thing I didn’t or we’d all be dead because if I’d killed you, I would have forfeited my own life. You and the baby,” he said, lightly tracing his fingers across the warm place where his child nestled, “are my only reasons for living.”
Sharon blinked fast, took a deep breath and then stared into his eyes. “There is a baby, Helo. I am pregnant. I’m not lying. You have to believe me. I could never lie about her. She’s ours and she was created from our love.” Tears glistened at the corners of her dark eyes. “She’s alive, just like you, Helo. I can feel it…I can feel you inside me.”
“I know.” With a low grunt, he got to his feet and tugged at her until she was safely tucked in his embrace “I believe you. I’ve always believed you.”
“He called her a toaster, a pink toaster.” Pain made her voice small. “I never dreamed he’d be so cruel.”
“Your people wiped out our civilization, Sharon. Your…sister shot his father. We’re hurting in a way you can’t possibly understand.”
“I do understand,” she said with fierce determination. “I…she…trained with you…served on the same ship. We were all friends. I remember being friends with them...Lee and Kara…I remember loving them.”
Helo stroked her beautiful black hair, which was interwoven with luxurious strands of cinnamon. “Things have changed, Sharon. They might not ever accept us.” In the back of his mind lurked a hope- a hope that one day they’d all find a way to live together in peace again.
“You’ve always been there for me,” she said softly. “But I don’t know why.”
“Isn’t that my job?”
“She loves you. You know that, don’t you?”
Helo frowned and gently brushed his lips across her forehead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The other Sharon. She loves you. Her feelings are different from mine, but it’s love. If she was sent to kill the Old Man, it doesn’t make any sense that she’d wait for so long. I think her feelings for you suppressed her Cylon side. You’ve made me soft and gooey inside…not to mention a little fat.”
“The Chief…”
“…doesn’t make her feel safe and protected. He’s never been able to shelter her from the nightmare that is her Cylon side. You were her safe place, Helo.”
He held her tighter, trying to absorb the impact of the words. “Was she meant…you know…?”
“Was she sent to take advantage of you and steal your DNA? No. They wouldn’t have bothered to put her in the fleet if that was the case. Your track record suggested there were easier ways…”
“Oh.”
Sharon sighed deeply, kissed the bottom of his chin and stepped away from him as if he’d done something wrong. Absently, she toyed with the buttons of the jumper until Helo couldn’t stand it anymore because her nervous habits left a lot to be desired. Gently, his large fingers began systematically freeing her from the offensive prison garment that was never intended to be worn by a female. The buttons undone, he pushed it off her shoulders to reveal a black t-shirt.
A smiled played on the corners of his lips when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. Although she wasn’t gifted in that area, what she had was enough for him. As he maneuvered the material over her slim hips, a surge of desire poured in. Sharon’s soft hands gripped his shoulders as she stepped out of the jumper to reveal lacy blank lingerie which favored seduction more than comfort.
“Lose something down there?”
Helo forced his gaze away and cleared his throat before daring to look her in the face. The distinctiveness of raw lust gleamed in her eyes. “If you’d worn these panties in the fallout shelter, you could have gotten pregnant a lot sooner.”
“Really? My choice of regulation underwear deterred you?” Her voice was strained with need.
Helo tossed the jumper aside and stood up. Clutching her shoulders, he held her tight. Sharon’s very scent throbbed with lust. “Actually, no. Your family fracked it up. You could have had me that morning…the day they took you away.”
“It took you long enough to get the hint,” she said as he placed his right hand on her chin and tipped it back.
“Like you said, I’m nowhere near as smart as you are.” He leaned in to kiss her as his hands, like those of a blind man, roved all over her slender frame. Floating on the passion, he savored the touch of her flesh, the majestic warmth of her. The kiss deepened and his spirits soared like that of a predator on the hunt. His heart beat so fiercely, he thought it would burst through his chest. Suspended in time, nothing mattered but Sharon.
The watch beeped.
”Helo? Helo?” she breathed against his lips.
“Don’t talk.”
“I have to pee…”
“Go ahead, I don’t mind.”
Sharon jerked away from him, her breath was ragged. Sex, in any form, was pretty much the only thing that increased her heart rate. “You know that’s the one thing I can’t do for you. I can’t pee in front of you.”
At least she could admit it now. For weeks, on Caprica, he worried that she never relieved herself because she’d refused to do it while he was awake. He, himself, had no such inhabitions.
Seconds after the beautiful women disappeared behind a tree, the blank panties and t-shirt whizzed by Helo’s head. “Don’t go anywhere, babe. You’d be surprised at what we can do in the next seventeen minutes and nine seconds.”
“Can you manage that without the rain?” he teased, his zipper purring down.
She peeped around the tree and waved him over. “There is one thing, Helo. In order to expedite our pleasure, you need to be on top.”
“By your command.”