Comment Fic trackking: Pilots secrets
Apr. 4th, 2011 11:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amaliakN_T prompt: Secret
Secret: Hope
Laura Roslin stared up at the tree canopy just outside of her tent, the tinkle of the stars just beyond in the dark Kobol sky. It wasn't raining now, but it was cold, and she had a root digging in her back. Her hands closed around the book of Pythia, cradled to her chest, the words in the bloodstained pages swirling in her head again and again.
With a soft sigh, she sat up, pinching the bridge of her nose as a choking sadness enveloped her. What if all this was wrong, what if all this was for nothing?
She looked out then in the the small camp of tents around her, those who trusted her, followed her here, were counting on her to be right. Her eyes fell on Kara Thrace, the young woman who was now resting against the trunk of a tree. The moonlight was hitting her blonde hair in a way that made it seemed almost glowing. She looked impossibly young right at that moment, and Laura wondered just how much someone like Kara would still follow the delusions of two old people that were simply grasping at a hope. She was putting her life on the line...for what?
Just then Lee...her Captain Apollo...appeared, having apparently just finished his watch. Laura's heart ached thinking about just how much he'd risked up until now. She watched as he stopped beside Lieutenant Thrace watching her for a moment. The moonlight showed face to Laura clearly, and she watched fascinated as it changed. He was tired, yes, worried. But right at this moment, he looked...content. There was a peace about him that she hadn't seen before. His eyes grew soft, and he carefully crouched down beside Kara, his hand hovering just over her hair, as if trying to gain the courage to touch her. He seemed to change his mind and brought his face closer, obscuring from Laura's view just what he was doing.
From where she lay, she could almost believe he was praying.
Then, just as fast as it had happened, he straightened up, still kneeling beside the sleeping lieutenant, but this time shaking her shoulder. Laura watched as Kara's face contorted in displeasure, but Lee was insistent and though Laura couldn't hear them, she could tell that it was time to switch the guard. Kara's answer to that must have been a snarky one, and Lee gave her a long-suffering look, but settled down on the ground right next to Kara. She leaned on him heavily in an exaggerated move to stand up and kicked him lightly as she stood up to go on watch. He grinned smugly and pretended to fall asleep immediately. Kara stomped away, grumbling to herself and Laura suppressed a giggle. She continued to watch closely as Lee adjusted himself on the ground, now occupying the spot that Kara had vacated and saw how his face gained the same calm she'd seen earlier.
He had hope, she realized. And it had everything to do with the young Lieutenant.
Laura settled herself back in her tent, shifting away from the offending root, and stared at the stars again. There was hope.
And that was worth everything.
END
*******SECRET: HOARDING*******
She doesn't know it, but he kept a lot of her stuff when she died.
The photo of them (the three of them, the one with the guilt all over their faces) is in his quarters, sitting neatly on his desk in a small frame that Dee had put it in (more guilt).
But the other things...a Galactica sweatshirt, one that had come from the giftshop that had been destroyed along with the 12 colonies. He'd worn it for the first few weeks on Galactica, but when she got back from Caprica, she'd swiped it from his locker. He'd finally gotten it back.
A pair of earrings (from that night), a black satin shirt, an old baseball cap with a splatter of red paint.
These were kept hidden, tucked away in the corner of his locker.
She didn't know they were there.
END.
****SECRET: WITNESS****
Cally usually didn't like to hang out in the pilots ready room. It was loud and viper jocks tended to not appreciate having knuckledraggers around.
But they were celebrating the success of their homemade brew, and she was damn proud that for once, everyone wanted to come and hang out on the hangardeck. So there she was, drunker than she had been in a long long time, sitting with the big bad Viper jocks at the triad table. She was insane, she knew, because her cards sucked, but she had bet everything she had. Racetrack was giggling across from her, and the Chief was looking very seriously at his cards. Starbuck was cocky as ever as the CAG made a comment about how much she was drinking. A few others, like Sharon, looked on.
"Ok, little Miss Cally, if you're still in," Crashdown was saying to her, his speech slurring and making her giggle. "You're going to have to put up something else."
"Hey!" the Chief began protesting. "Cally is NOT going to strip, man."
"No, no. Nothing like that," Crashdown tried to explain, calming the older man down. "I'm not going to defile your precious Cally."
"Only in your dreams, Crash," Starbuck quipped, and the CAG kicked her chair.
"BUT," Crashdown went on. "I will let her bet....truth or dare."
"Jeez, Crash, what is this, a slumber party?" Racetrack asked as others joined with similar sentiments.
The rotgut was running through her veins, which is the only reason that she managed to make her voice heard over the noise: "DARE!"
There a second of surprised silence as everyone stared at her in shock. "Common, lay down your cards, Crash. I'm feeling lucky tonight!"
She lost, of course.
"Ok, ok, a bet's a bet!" Crash was saying as the rowdiness of the reveal died down. He stared at her very seriously and was doing his best to stay sitting in his chair. "Cally. I dare you to tell us a secret. And not just any secret. A real secret, something that you swore to tell no one else...and only about someone in the room."
The silence was deafening. Cally managed to catch sight of the faces of the people around her. Sharon's face had grown ashen, frozen in place, mid-drink. The Chief was staring hard at Crashdown, probably hoping to be able to shoot laser beams out of his eyes in order to blow his head up. Racetrack cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably. Starbuck was staring right back her, all defiance and bravado, hiding the fear that Cally knew was there. She did know all their secrets, afterall.
Her eyes finally landed on the CAG, his face twitching a bit as he stared at the ground. He lifted his eyes to meet hers just then, their intensity piercing through the alcohol. She remembered how he'd looked a few weeks earlier, how he'd looked at Starbuck when she'd vowed to always love him and be by his side as the gods intended, remembered the way his hand had shaken slightly when signing the legal documents. She thought of the way he'd hugged her, just as she'd finished signing her own name by the witness box.
"Ok, I've got a good one," Cally said, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin. Dropping her voice to stage whisper she said, "You use rolled up socks in your pants, and they're the same ones that you use to sweeten the pot at the triad table."
The exploding chorus of disgust that followed was almost deafening, and had put the cap on the night. The CAG reminded everyone about duty the next day, and slowly the group dispersed.
Cally stood up from the table, swaying on her feet.
"Easy, easy," Cheif said, holding her steady. "Gods, you're a lightweight Cally. It's a good thing you've got the day off tomorrow."
Cally giggled as she tried to straighten up, but her legs gave out from under her and she plunked to the floor. Laughter came out of her in waves, and while she knew she was going to regret this in the morning, she was happy.
"Let me give you a hand with that, Chief," she heard the CAG say, and before she knew it she was being lifted up in the air and carried off across the deck to crew quarters.
She clung to the CAG's neck, noting that he smelled of engine grease and liquor (or was that her?) and before she knew it, she was being placed inside her bunk.
Later, she would blush with embarrassment that the CAG even did that.
Later, she would remember that he'd kissed her forehead and thanked her quietly.
Later, she would remind him that she was always good at keeping secrets.
END.
Secret: Hope
Laura Roslin stared up at the tree canopy just outside of her tent, the tinkle of the stars just beyond in the dark Kobol sky. It wasn't raining now, but it was cold, and she had a root digging in her back. Her hands closed around the book of Pythia, cradled to her chest, the words in the bloodstained pages swirling in her head again and again.
With a soft sigh, she sat up, pinching the bridge of her nose as a choking sadness enveloped her. What if all this was wrong, what if all this was for nothing?
She looked out then in the the small camp of tents around her, those who trusted her, followed her here, were counting on her to be right. Her eyes fell on Kara Thrace, the young woman who was now resting against the trunk of a tree. The moonlight was hitting her blonde hair in a way that made it seemed almost glowing. She looked impossibly young right at that moment, and Laura wondered just how much someone like Kara would still follow the delusions of two old people that were simply grasping at a hope. She was putting her life on the line...for what?
Just then Lee...her Captain Apollo...appeared, having apparently just finished his watch. Laura's heart ached thinking about just how much he'd risked up until now. She watched as he stopped beside Lieutenant Thrace watching her for a moment. The moonlight showed face to Laura clearly, and she watched fascinated as it changed. He was tired, yes, worried. But right at this moment, he looked...content. There was a peace about him that she hadn't seen before. His eyes grew soft, and he carefully crouched down beside Kara, his hand hovering just over her hair, as if trying to gain the courage to touch her. He seemed to change his mind and brought his face closer, obscuring from Laura's view just what he was doing.
From where she lay, she could almost believe he was praying.
Then, just as fast as it had happened, he straightened up, still kneeling beside the sleeping lieutenant, but this time shaking her shoulder. Laura watched as Kara's face contorted in displeasure, but Lee was insistent and though Laura couldn't hear them, she could tell that it was time to switch the guard. Kara's answer to that must have been a snarky one, and Lee gave her a long-suffering look, but settled down on the ground right next to Kara. She leaned on him heavily in an exaggerated move to stand up and kicked him lightly as she stood up to go on watch. He grinned smugly and pretended to fall asleep immediately. Kara stomped away, grumbling to herself and Laura suppressed a giggle. She continued to watch closely as Lee adjusted himself on the ground, now occupying the spot that Kara had vacated and saw how his face gained the same calm she'd seen earlier.
He had hope, she realized. And it had everything to do with the young Lieutenant.
Laura settled herself back in her tent, shifting away from the offending root, and stared at the stars again. There was hope.
And that was worth everything.
END
*******SECRET: HOARDING*******
She doesn't know it, but he kept a lot of her stuff when she died.
The photo of them (the three of them, the one with the guilt all over their faces) is in his quarters, sitting neatly on his desk in a small frame that Dee had put it in (more guilt).
But the other things...a Galactica sweatshirt, one that had come from the giftshop that had been destroyed along with the 12 colonies. He'd worn it for the first few weeks on Galactica, but when she got back from Caprica, she'd swiped it from his locker. He'd finally gotten it back.
A pair of earrings (from that night), a black satin shirt, an old baseball cap with a splatter of red paint.
These were kept hidden, tucked away in the corner of his locker.
She didn't know they were there.
END.
****SECRET: WITNESS****
Cally usually didn't like to hang out in the pilots ready room. It was loud and viper jocks tended to not appreciate having knuckledraggers around.
But they were celebrating the success of their homemade brew, and she was damn proud that for once, everyone wanted to come and hang out on the hangardeck. So there she was, drunker than she had been in a long long time, sitting with the big bad Viper jocks at the triad table. She was insane, she knew, because her cards sucked, but she had bet everything she had. Racetrack was giggling across from her, and the Chief was looking very seriously at his cards. Starbuck was cocky as ever as the CAG made a comment about how much she was drinking. A few others, like Sharon, looked on.
"Ok, little Miss Cally, if you're still in," Crashdown was saying to her, his speech slurring and making her giggle. "You're going to have to put up something else."
"Hey!" the Chief began protesting. "Cally is NOT going to strip, man."
"No, no. Nothing like that," Crashdown tried to explain, calming the older man down. "I'm not going to defile your precious Cally."
"Only in your dreams, Crash," Starbuck quipped, and the CAG kicked her chair.
"BUT," Crashdown went on. "I will let her bet....truth or dare."
"Jeez, Crash, what is this, a slumber party?" Racetrack asked as others joined with similar sentiments.
The rotgut was running through her veins, which is the only reason that she managed to make her voice heard over the noise: "DARE!"
There a second of surprised silence as everyone stared at her in shock. "Common, lay down your cards, Crash. I'm feeling lucky tonight!"
She lost, of course.
"Ok, ok, a bet's a bet!" Crash was saying as the rowdiness of the reveal died down. He stared at her very seriously and was doing his best to stay sitting in his chair. "Cally. I dare you to tell us a secret. And not just any secret. A real secret, something that you swore to tell no one else...and only about someone in the room."
The silence was deafening. Cally managed to catch sight of the faces of the people around her. Sharon's face had grown ashen, frozen in place, mid-drink. The Chief was staring hard at Crashdown, probably hoping to be able to shoot laser beams out of his eyes in order to blow his head up. Racetrack cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably. Starbuck was staring right back her, all defiance and bravado, hiding the fear that Cally knew was there. She did know all their secrets, afterall.
Her eyes finally landed on the CAG, his face twitching a bit as he stared at the ground. He lifted his eyes to meet hers just then, their intensity piercing through the alcohol. She remembered how he'd looked a few weeks earlier, how he'd looked at Starbuck when she'd vowed to always love him and be by his side as the gods intended, remembered the way his hand had shaken slightly when signing the legal documents. She thought of the way he'd hugged her, just as she'd finished signing her own name by the witness box.
"Ok, I've got a good one," Cally said, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin. Dropping her voice to stage whisper she said, "You use rolled up socks in your pants, and they're the same ones that you use to sweeten the pot at the triad table."
The exploding chorus of disgust that followed was almost deafening, and had put the cap on the night. The CAG reminded everyone about duty the next day, and slowly the group dispersed.
Cally stood up from the table, swaying on her feet.
"Easy, easy," Cheif said, holding her steady. "Gods, you're a lightweight Cally. It's a good thing you've got the day off tomorrow."
Cally giggled as she tried to straighten up, but her legs gave out from under her and she plunked to the floor. Laughter came out of her in waves, and while she knew she was going to regret this in the morning, she was happy.
"Let me give you a hand with that, Chief," she heard the CAG say, and before she knew it she was being lifted up in the air and carried off across the deck to crew quarters.
She clung to the CAG's neck, noting that he smelled of engine grease and liquor (or was that her?) and before she knew it, she was being placed inside her bunk.
Later, she would blush with embarrassment that the CAG even did that.
Later, she would remember that he'd kissed her forehead and thanked her quietly.
Later, she would remind him that she was always good at keeping secrets.
END.
