Battlestar Galactica-04-Rebellion Page 6

  Cassi put her hand to her mouth and started toward the man, but she paused, looking up at Athena, her eyes wide. The man had been reaching toward something at the moment of his death. Not a weapon, but something that Athena at once recognized: a soft toy daggit. A child's toy, now torn and blackened from laser fire. When he had died, the man had been carrying it, or had been trying to get it. Where was his child now? What had happened on this ship?

  The stench was so strong that they all covered their faces.

  Seeing Cassi's fear and grief-filled eyes, Athena wondered what Cassi thought about her and Starbuck—the whole thing—maybe she ought to say something to Cassi. Death was real, all around them, and maybe she'd never get another chance to talk to Cassi, tell her that she didn't resent Cassi's relationship with Starbuck, and she hoped that Cassi wouldn't, but those thoughts were forgotten in a micron.

  They were under attack!

  Cassi ducked, her soft blond hair falling like wings over her face. Athena crouched beside the half-open docking bay doors, firing down the corridor in the direction of the blinding laser flashes, using all her experience and training. Instinctively, she protected Cassi with her body. The others, even exhausted and drained as they were, both men and women, old and young, had spread out, immediately laying down heavy fire without Athena issuing an order.

  Perhaps the dead man had been killed when the guards had been captured. And those guards had not gone without a fight. Athena remembered the last time she'd visited the Rising Star, the luxurious docking bay had been filled with happy, smiling people, visiting for some badly needed R&R. Now she was fighting for her life in a burned-out wreck, the beautiful walls pitted by laser blasts, blackened and destroyed.

  "Put down your weapons!" she cried.

  The only answer was another barrage of laser fire.

  They had no lack of firepower. Arming the civilians had been a necessity as the battles with the Cylons and Chitain had raged. Now, those same weapons were being turned against Athena and the Colonial Warriors. But the opposing fire became sporadic, with long breaks between bluefire blasts. She motioned silently for the others to advance; if they weren't going to respond at all, the rebels would have to be taken out.

  "Run for it!" she heard someone cry. It wasn't on their side—the voice came from down the hall, barely audible over the whining blasts.

  All at once, it was just Athena's force from Galactica firing. Athena raised her hand to stop the fire. She listened; there were footsteps echoing down the hall.

  "After them!" she cried. With a brief look at Cassi, she told the medtech to stay put. Athena led the charge down the corridor.

  Soon, she saw the back of one of the rebels. It looked like a boy, hardly more than twelve yahrens, and he wasn't running very fast. As his long gray cloak swirled, she saw the reason why: He'd been hit.

  The boy stumbled, then went down on one knee, crying out in pain.

  "Don't kill me!" he said, his voice full of fear. As Athena reached him and knelt down, he drew something out of his cloak.

  A Battlestar-issued laser pistol, aimed right at her face.

  His face was thin and pale, but streaked with smoke and dirt. His hand trembled.

  "Don't touch me!" he cried.

  "Give me that," Athena said. She didn't think that she sounded hard or mean, but she saw his eyes widen and his jaw harden.

  "I mean it!" he said. His hand was shaking like he was piloting an out-of-control Viper.

  The others gathered around; the boy was covered. He was desperate, but not stupid. He pointed the pistol at her one final time, then his arm fell limply to his side, and his fingers released its grip—Athena took the weapon. As soon as she touched it, he tried to scramble away, once more crying out.

  "Cassi come quick!" Athena cried. "This boy has been hurt." Athena moved aside to let Cassi look at the boy. He was badly hurt, Athena realized, but tough. He wasn't crying, even though "the enemy" surrounded him. What kind of people, she wondered, would send a boy out like that to fight Colonial Warriors?

  "What's your name?" Cassi asked, kneeling by him and gently examining his wounded leg. It was badly burned, but with Athena's long experience, she knew he'd be all right with the proper treatment, a few sectars' rest, and the proper food. But even with the team there, it wasn't likely he'd get any of that.

  "I won't tell," he said, closing his eyes and shuddering from the pain as Cassi probed his wound.

  "We're here to help everyone," Athena said. "This trouble won't get anybody anywhere, and people will only get hurt."

  "I don't believe you," the boy said.

  Then his face twisted and he almost snarled at Athena. "You killed my brother!" he cried, struggling. For a brief moment, Athena wondered if he'd been one of the kids on the Hestia, but that was impossible; Protea and all the others had suffocated, only centars before.

  Cassi put out her hand, trying to gently calm the boy, but he pulled his shoulders away from her. She looked up at Athena, her eyes confused and full of trepidation.

  "I can't have killed your brother," Athena said. "I don't even know him. We've come…"

  "No!" the boy cried. Again, he tried to struggle to his feet, but the pain held him down as effectively as if the other warriors had gathered around to restrain him. Some of them looked like they wanted to, but Athena didn't know what to make of the boy, and would not see him handled roughly. With a single gesture, she held them all back.

  "My brother died because there wasn't any medicine. There was the big battle, and we all prayed for a healer," the boy said.

  "I'm a healer," Cassi said. "I'm here now."

  "We've brought her," Athena said. "We want to…"

  "Ow!" the boy cried as Cassi probed the grievous wound on his leg as gently as she could.

  "I'm sorry," Cassi said, stroking the dark hair away from his face. The boy's eyes opened and he looked up at Cassi. Athena realized once more how Cassi had the healing gift, because a small smile crossed the boy's face, and he tried to be brave once more.

  "Just let me take care of him," Cassi said, looking up at Athena. "I can get him stabilized; there'll be time for questions later."

  "We don't have time for that," Athena said.

  Cassi's large, bright eyes flashed. She was gentle most of the time, but even Athena had to grant that Cassiopeia had a temper when someone came between her and a patient. And right now, as usual, Athena was acting like a cold-blooded, unsympathetic person.

  "We came here to take care of people," Cassi said.

  "We didn't exactly get the welcome committee," Athena said stubbornly. But she turned and ordered two of the warriors to stay with Cassi and the boy.

  "Get him stable," she told Cassi, trying not to sound too harsh.

  "And you, boy," Athena said, kneeling close to the stubborn child, "You'll talk later. We're going after this rebel Jinkrat."

  The boy's eyes widened. "No!" he cried.

  "What?" Athena asked.

  "You can't," the boy said. "He's my—" and then the boy fell silent. "I don't trust you," he said after a micron. "You killed my brother. I was right there. I saw it."

  "What are you talking about?" Athena demanded, not caring right then that she'd pushed Cassi aside and interrupted her examination.

  The reconnaissance team was all ears, too, but Athena didn't have time to worry about any of the niceties.

  "My—Jinkrat—says you have all the food. He's going to get the Council to get us what's ours, and forget about the warriors and the Galactica."

  "He says that, does he?" Athena turned to face the warriors. She nodded. Now this rebel Jinkrat was in real trouble.

  "Yeah," the boy said. "When…" and again the boy paused, seeming to think for a moment, "When Jinkrat talks, people listen. We don't have anything to eat, and there's no healers." He leaned back against Cassi, his face suddenly white with pain.

  "Does this Jinkrat know who he's dealing with?" Athena asked.

  The boy looked
up at her, nodding. "I know who you are," he said. "I've seen your picture."

  "You do?" Athena asked, sitting back and putting her hands on her knees. This really was some kid.

  "You're Commander Apollo's sister. Commander of the Daedalus! My—Jinkrat—says Apollo's history. He got us into this trouble and he's been taking all the food for himself. He made those people die on that ship—they were on their way here. And Apollo killed my brother. As sure as he put a laser blast into him. And you did, too!"

  "Is that what everyone thinks?" Athena asked.

  "Let him be," Cassi said. "He's becoming unstable with all these questions." She showed Athena the flashing medical analyzer.

  "Cassi, we can't sit around on our astrums chatting. I need information, now!"

  "Athena!" Cassi cried.

  Looking back down at the boy, Athena could hardly believe what she saw. His eyes were closed tight, and it looked like, after everything that had happened, he'd reached the end of his self-control. He was going to break down. He didn't cry, but he opened his eyes wide and reached up toward Athena with a trembling arm.

  "Wait!" he cried. "My name's Koren," he said. "My dad, my dad's a good man. He doesn't want nobody to get hurt. He doesn't want nobody else to die."

  "Lie still, Koren," Cassi said, comforting the boy. "I'm sure your father's a fine man."

  Athena felt rage building up inside. How dare this rebel Jinkrat send a boy like this out to fight? And these lies about Apollo? Convincing the boy that Apollo was responsible for his brother's death—killing the refugees! That was a tragedy—unavoidable—and what was this about stealing food? It reminded her of Baltar—that was something he'd pull.

  Only now it sounded like they had a new enemy to deal with, and he was ruthless, just like Baltar.

  Cassi held Koren close to her and stroked his hair, whispering words of comfort in his ear.

  "You can't do any more, Koren," Athena told him. "None of those things you said are true, but it's not your fault. You've been very brave. I'm proud of you," she said. Koren looked over Cassi's shoulder at Athena. She saw the uncertainty in his tear-filled eyes. He was taking a chance—he didn't know that he could trust Athena—a terrible chance. Looking at his thin face, she wondered how long it had been since he'd had any rations. The whole thing was so twisted, stupid, and evil she had to believe that it was somehow Baltar's doing.

  Apollo should never have let Baltar free.

  "Get a message back to the Galactica and Daedalus about what we've found," Athena ordered one of her team.

  "Please, listen," Koren said.

  Athena turned back.

  "My dad doesn't know I was fighting," he said. "He'll be… he'll be grateful that you helped me."

  "I'm sure he will," Cassi said, continuing to stabilize and treat the boy.

  "Koren, you're only eleven yahrens," Athena said. "Of course your father wouldn't…"

  "I'm twelve!" Koren exclaimed.

  Athena had to force herself not to laugh. This boy reminded her of Boxey! So proud, so heedless of danger, so impulsive.

  "You have to promise not to tell my dad," Koren said.

  "I can't promise to lie, Koren. But we'll get you back to the Galactica for treatment, and have you back here with your dad. By that time, this rebellion will be stopped," Athena said.

  "No!" Koren cried.

  Athena turned to Cassiopeia. "Cassi, get the boy back to the shuttle," she told the medtech. "See that he's comfortable and get him something to eat."

  Koren's face changed in an instant at the thought of having something to eat.

  Athena didn't have much more time to think of him as she gathered the warriors to go after the rebel, Jinkrat. She didn't know what they'd find. The welcoming committee had robbed her team of the element of surprise, but she didn't know any group of ragtag colonists who could stand up to them.

  "Come on," she said to the others. "Let's go find this Jinkrat and put a stop to this."

  The warriors looked between each other.

  "You should call him first," Koren said.

  "What?" Athena said, turning.

  "I can give you the frequency," Koren said.

  "You can?" Athena asked, again fighting back laughter and shaking her head at the boy's naive, but bold, nature.

  "Sure," Koren said. "Jinkrat's my—Jinkrat's my dad!" he blurted. "But you have to promise not tell him that I was fighting. Please?" the boy begged. Athena walked back to the boy, her head spinning.

  "Your… father?" she said slowly.

  "That's right," Koren said. "My dad's a hero. And besides, when he talks, people listen. So you should talk to him!"

  Athena watched the rebel leader as he approached, surrounded by grim-faced and ragged—but heavily armed—men and women.

  His face was worn, heavily lined. A fresh scar snaked across his right cheek. He was tall, but not as tall as Apollo, and slightly more heavily built. She found it hard to judge the man's age, but guessed that he'd been very young when the fleet had fled the Cylon destruction of the twelve colonies. Like the dead man whose hand had been reaching for the toy daggit, Jinkrat wore the fitted jacket of the agriculturalist, but pockets had been added for munitions. Jinkrat bristled with weapons, but he did not wear them as a man who was either comfortable or used to them.

  He wasn't smiling.

  As he approached, the Colonial Warriors stood ready, rifles and pistols aimed at rebel heads and chests.

  The rebels in turn looked ready to fire at a micron's notice.

  "So, you wish to take another son of mine," Jinkrat said. That was his greeting. There was little anger in his voice, more of grief and sadness.

  "No," Athena said. "We came to talk. Cassiopeia is a healer; she has already been…"

  Jinkrat regarded Cassiopeia, and a brief smile crossed his face. "You are of Gemoni," he said to her.

  Cassi's lovely face showed a frown, and then she smiled. "Yes, and you?"

  Jinkrat nodded. "I was an agriculturalist. Before—the trouble," he said.

  "I was not always a healer," Cassi said, but that was all she said. Athena watched as a kind of silent communication passed between the two.

  "I see," Jinkrat said, his voice heavy with sadness and exhaustion. "You do not come exclusively to murder."

  "No!" Athena said. "We wanted to talk. You have hostages. We've got to…"

  "I'll take my boy," Jinkrat said, seemingly uninterested in a word Athena had to offer.

  "He's hurt," Cassi said, stepping forward. "You can see how seriously. We must take him back to the Galactica for treatment. I can't treat him here. This is for Dr. Salik to…"

  "Yes," Jinkrat said curtly. "I see he's in need of a doctor."

  Then he went to Koren's side, brushing through his armed rebels as if they were children, ignoring the hard looks of the Colonial Warriors and their deadly rifles and pistols, kneeling by Koren with not a trace of fear or apprehension.

  "Koren, you have not been honest," Jinkrat said. Koren's face curled up like a burning leaf. His eyes grew damp and his cheeks flared. "No," he said.

  "But…"

  "Butts are what you sit on, Koren," Jinkrat said, and Athena— in no mood for laughter—watched in amazement as a genuine smile crossed the hard-bitten rebel's face and Koren's eyes went wide.

  "I'm sorry, Dad," Koren said.

  Athena started to step forward. Suddenly she was filled with desire to speak up for the boy, who had been brave, and who had told the truth. An honest, good boy—even if he did have a mouth on him. And Athena was burning to discover why this man blamed Apollo and her for the death of his son. Where could this have come from? She had no sense that Jinkrat, even as hard as he seemed, was dishonest or greedy. He had to…

  "I know," Jinkrat said. "I can't punish you now. I must send you with them." Then, he looked up at Athena, his eyes narrowing.

  "Reluctant as I am to trust," he said, voice filled with bitter anger.

  "Koren said something about�
��" Athena said, but Jinkrat interrupted her by standing and straightening his shoulders.

  As if he was a military commander—as imperious as Cain had ever been—he pointed at Athena and said sternly, "You may take my son to the doctor on the Galactica. But I want him returned safely within three days. If not, you will lose your hostages, madam. I promise you that. And you will never reach your security team. They live because I allow it. They are as much my prisoners as the others."

  "Wait," Athena said.

  "No," Jinkrat said. "It is you who must wait. I will tell you now, because you need to understand you are at my mercy: We have planted a bomb aboard the Galactica. In three sectares it will detonate, crippling the Galactica and destroying all that you highborn in command hold dear. Do you understand me? My son must be healed. I place him in the custody of my fellow Gemonese, this healer."

  And he looked toward Cassi, whose eyes were wide, astonished.

  "You don't understand—we've had no choice. We've had to ration food, redirect all fuel to the Viper patrols," Athena said, her heart pounding. A bomb!

  "I know of your 'redirection' of fuel. It cost more than two hundred lives, madam!"

  Athena felt her face grow cold. "I had a dear friend on that ship," she said. "You don't know what you're talking about."

  Jinkrat's face softened, but only a moment. "You will search for the bomb I have planted," he said, his eyes dark and veiled. "You will not find it. You will deliver my son to me, healed; you will meet the demands I have put upon you. You will no longer starve my people. No more will die in space, choking for air. Are we clear, Commander?"

  "You have made a terrible mistake, Jinkrat. We're not your enemy. We're doing everything humanly possible, but there really is no food to give you." As Athena looked at the rebel leader, she realized that although he had great self-control, he was nearly trembling with rage and hatred—aimed at her!

  But Jinkrat had said all that he was going to say to Athena. "Koren," he said, looking toward his son. "Stay strong. Be well. I wait for the moment that we meet again."

  Athena made to follow the rebel leader as he strode back to his group of fighters. The colonials and the rebels glared at each other. Athena stayed the hands of the warriors who were restless, eager to fight. She could tell from the expressions on the rebels that they, too, would have liked to fight it out there in the docking bay. But the force with Jinkrat was already far larger than Athena could have ever pictured. There were hundreds of them, all crowded around.