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Entry tags:
fic: BSG, Shock to the System, PG13, Kara Thrace
disclaimer: not mine
rating: PG13, disturbing images, violence, implied mindfrakkery
characters: Kara Thrace, Sharon Valerii, Leoben Conoy (references Kara/Sam)
genre: gen, angst
set: pre-Occupation, this is the setup we didn't see.
length: 1700+
notes: This was actually finished, it just needed tweaking, and I think I'd dropped it off the face of the planet for a while due to being squicked out by part of it. That said, it's, uh, not so squicky? It was inspired by an episode of Forensic Files, though, and I suspect that link was what had gotten me.
Shock to the System
by ALC Punk!
When the Cylons came to New Caprica, Kara was among the first to be arrested and shoved into a cell. It didn't really come as a surprise. She was an officer of the colonial fleet, and D'Anna Biers, Sharon Valerii and Leoben Conoy could all recognize her on sight. Thankfully, Sam wasn't arrested, and she spared a thought for him, hoping he'd continue taking Doc's advice and stay the frak in bed.
If the idiot made himself sicker while she was incarcerated, she'd kick his ass.
The block of cells were a makeshift affair, not quite tents, but not a real building. Sitting on the floor at the back, waiting, Kara could hear the toasters building. The sound of steel being broken and re-ordered made her bones ache, as though the high-pitched noises were digging into them.
Centurions bring her water and food, a tasteless mush that was probably good for her. Briefly, she wondered if it was drugged, then shrugged. If it was, it wouldn't matter anyway.
She'd need her strength if she was going to help Sam when he got off his sick ass and broke her out.
Or maybe Tigh and Chief would get together and work on it. Right now, though, they were probably all playing nice, thanks to Baltar and his little surrender order.
Surrender to the Cylons. Like that wasn't some stupid bullshit and the idiot they'd elected for a president shouldn't know better. Kara eventually got tired of sitting and got up to pace, counting the steps of her cell until that bored her, too.
It wasn't like being on Galactica where she could joke with the marines or make comments about the lack of service.
After twenty revolutions, she dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups.
It was something to do to pass the time, even if it gave her time to think. Up, down, up--feel that strain a little, Kara? You've been getting soft in your little tent. Even if you can chase Sam around the entire city of New Caprica, you're still not in the shape you were before.
Down, up--
Shoving that thought away, she concentrated on the burn in her muscles until it was enough and she stopped, forehead lowered, smelling the sweat and dirt and trying to formulate a plan.
The next Cylon through the door. She could grab them, take their side-arm and fire at the centurions.
But the next Cylon was Boomer.
Kara got up, balancing on the balls of her feet and watching, waiting for a moment to strike.
"Starbuck," Boomer said, her voice not happy, and eyes looking worried. "Look, I, I--" She stopped and just looked at Kara for a moment, then said, her voice soft, "This is the end for us, isn't it."
Boomer was not her Boomer, not Helo's Sharon, the woman--Cylon--who was still locked in a cell on Galactica. Kara let her lips form into a sneer, "Aw. Does the robot want a friend? Well, here's a news flash, Sharon. You helped murder billions of my people. And you shot--"
"I know what I did," Boomer snapped, her eyes flashing. "I've accepted it, Kara. The question is, can you accept that we are individuals, that there is more to us than this?"
He's just afraid that his soul won't -- Kara shoved the memory back into its box, and shrugged, "I guess."
"Good. Fine."
Impasse. For a minute or two, the women simply looked at each other. Kara gaged her chances of getting past Boomer, of escaping into the night and rejoining her husband in the resistance. It hadn't started, of course, it was simply a nebulous feeling--fight 'em until we can't--but she knew he would have ideas. Tigh would have ideas, if the Colonel pulled his face out of a bottle.
"Starbuck, I didn't come to fight, I came to get you out of here. Leoben--" She paused and looked away, her eyes dark with something that wasn't anger.
The emotion was one Kara had seen in her own eyes, once or twice. Fear. She moved towards Boomer, "Then let's quit the talking and get the frak out of here." She didn't want to think about Leoben, didn't want to know that he had something special planned for her.
Gods. She should have killed the bastard with her bare hands that first hour she was interrogating him.
"You always were such a bitch, Starbuck."
Kara started to laugh.
The gunshot was loud in the tiny cell, and the look in Sharon's eyes was one of surprise and pain.
Reacting by reflex, Kara lunged forward, catching the younger woman (Cylon), and felt her knees slam into the hard-packed dirt. "Boomer. Shit--" She grabbed her hair, pulling her up so she could see if her eyes were registering anything.
They weren't.
Shit.
Kara shoved to her feet, dropping Boomer's body and heading for the door and freedom. She had to get out of here, she could taste it at the back of her throat. The smell of blood and gunpowder burning into her sinuses. She couldn't concentrate on who could have shot Boomer, on the why.
Out.
She slammed into Leoben before she registered his presence.
"Hello, Kara."
Kara tried to pull away and he let her, spinning her and shoving her up against the wall an instant later. He was hot at her back, pressing up against her and laughing softly.
"Let me go, you asshole," she snapped, struggling.
"Not just yet, Kara. God has a plan for you, as he does for me." His breath was hot on the back of her neck for an instant before he pulled back slightly.
"What the frak ever," she snarled.
He grabbed her head, yanking a hood or a bag over her face, pulling it down and drawing the string tight around her neck. It smelled old and musty, almost choking her. "This will all seem like a dream," he mused as his hands locked on her wrists and he stepped back. "Now move."
Kara fought him until she was tired of falling and bruising her knees and elbows. He was careful to keep her from injuring herself too badly, but he didn't try to shoot her, and she could never get close enough to start feeling for his gun. The taste of Boomer's blood was still at the back of her throat when something heavy and metal slammed closed.
"There." Leoben pulled her away from the wall she'd leaned against and pulled the hood off.
A metal gate, the bars far too sturdy for Kara's liking, blocked the end of the corridor. A solid wall the other. Kara darted looks between them, feeling her shoulders slump a little.
"In here, Kara," Leoben murmured, pressing his hand against the small of her back as he moved her into the open doorway.
She could still smell the paint they must have used on the walls. Standing at the top of the stairs, a sick feeling of dread slid through her. Her apartment in Delphi had never looked all that clean, but she could imagine what it might once have been, before she'd gotten hold of it and fought the rats for space.
"Home sweet home," said Leoben.
No. No it frakking wasn't. Sam was--Kara clung to the thought of Sam as she turned into Leoben and grabbed him. He was actually surprised as she shoved him down the stairs. But the surprise wouldn't last long, even as his neck snapped sideways, his body landing at an awkward angle.
Kara moved back into the corridor, testing the bars on the gate, rattling at the lock and trying to lift it. Definitely solid. She opened her mouth and started shouting, calling for Boomer or any frakking Cylons in the vicinity.
A door on the other side of the gate opened and Leoben stepped out. He shook his head at her, sighing, "Kara. That was uncalled-for."
"Frak you."
He stopped on the other side of the gate and tilted his head, "You're imagining that someone will find you and save you, but no one knows where you are. And your husband is dead." He held up a torn pyramid jersey, and Kara felt her gut clench as she recognized the neatly-mended rip that Sam had sewn one night. There was blood on the material, staining it with dark blotches. "He fought a little harder than I'd expected, of course."
"You're lying."
"Am I?" Leoben smiled and dropped the jersey, reaching through the bars to touch her cheek.
She jerked backwards away from him.
"I suppose you'll find out soon enough," he said, his voice hard. Then he turned and went back down the corridor, leaving her there with the smell of blood and stone, burnt metal from the construction, and paint.
-
Sharon woke in a rush, gasping and feeling that she would never get used to being killed.
"Oh, good." A hand touched her cheek and Caprica was looking down at her, eyes dark with worry. "What happened?"
"Leoben--" she coughed, remembering the feel of the bullet as it seared through her skin. Then nothing, except Starbuck's hands catching her. "I went--"
"Do not meddle with his plans, Sharon," Caprica said. She pulled her hand from Boomer's cheek, almost looking frightened, "He is closer to God. He understands his plan better than we do. It is not for us--"
"But, Starbuck--"
"God has a plan for her."
Sharon didn't think she believed in God all that much. "He killed me."
"There's nothing you can do about it," Caprica laughed softly, the sound not amused. "I started the cycle of violence, he is merely perpetuating it."
The implicit threat tightened Boomer's stomach and she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and feeling exposed. "Then there is nothing I can do to stop what he's doing."
"None."
"She loves a human, not a Cylon," Sharon whispered. But she didn't feel all that convinced, not anymore. Maybe Sam Anders had given back the dog tag, maybe he'd died. Maybe, maybe, maybe it didn't matter in the end. Kara didn't believe in her anymore.
The betrayal cut deep.
"Shhh." Caprica stroked her hair, "God has a plan for us, Sharon. We just have to see it."
The words stayed with her, as did the pain of her second death. A week later, when Sam Anders, coughing horribly and looking awful, asked her about his wife, begged her for news of Kara Thrace, Sharon pretended she'd never met either of them.
-f-
Final notes:
The episode of Forensic Files is one where a woman is camping with her SO, and a crazy asshole kills him and drags her off. He brainwashes her to the point she believes SHE killed her SO and that the sex was consensual. There was some interesting psychology stuff about brainwashing, how it takes a shock to get it started--this exploded in my head. (also, there's logistical issues, since there WAS NO JAIL BLOCK HOUSE WHEN THE CYLONS ARRIVED)
That episode still squicks me out.
And, no, I AM NOT IMPLYING THAT LEOBEN RAPED KARA.
Amusingly, I've also given Sharon another reason to join Cavil, adding to the list of times I've fanwanked out her motivation. Something the show never fucking bothered with.
rating: PG13, disturbing images, violence, implied mindfrakkery
characters: Kara Thrace, Sharon Valerii, Leoben Conoy (references Kara/Sam)
genre: gen, angst
set: pre-Occupation, this is the setup we didn't see.
length: 1700+
notes: This was actually finished, it just needed tweaking, and I think I'd dropped it off the face of the planet for a while due to being squicked out by part of it. That said, it's, uh, not so squicky? It was inspired by an episode of Forensic Files, though, and I suspect that link was what had gotten me.
Shock to the System
by ALC Punk!
When the Cylons came to New Caprica, Kara was among the first to be arrested and shoved into a cell. It didn't really come as a surprise. She was an officer of the colonial fleet, and D'Anna Biers, Sharon Valerii and Leoben Conoy could all recognize her on sight. Thankfully, Sam wasn't arrested, and she spared a thought for him, hoping he'd continue taking Doc's advice and stay the frak in bed.
If the idiot made himself sicker while she was incarcerated, she'd kick his ass.
The block of cells were a makeshift affair, not quite tents, but not a real building. Sitting on the floor at the back, waiting, Kara could hear the toasters building. The sound of steel being broken and re-ordered made her bones ache, as though the high-pitched noises were digging into them.
Centurions bring her water and food, a tasteless mush that was probably good for her. Briefly, she wondered if it was drugged, then shrugged. If it was, it wouldn't matter anyway.
She'd need her strength if she was going to help Sam when he got off his sick ass and broke her out.
Or maybe Tigh and Chief would get together and work on it. Right now, though, they were probably all playing nice, thanks to Baltar and his little surrender order.
Surrender to the Cylons. Like that wasn't some stupid bullshit and the idiot they'd elected for a president shouldn't know better. Kara eventually got tired of sitting and got up to pace, counting the steps of her cell until that bored her, too.
It wasn't like being on Galactica where she could joke with the marines or make comments about the lack of service.
After twenty revolutions, she dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups.
It was something to do to pass the time, even if it gave her time to think. Up, down, up--feel that strain a little, Kara? You've been getting soft in your little tent. Even if you can chase Sam around the entire city of New Caprica, you're still not in the shape you were before.
Down, up--
Shoving that thought away, she concentrated on the burn in her muscles until it was enough and she stopped, forehead lowered, smelling the sweat and dirt and trying to formulate a plan.
The next Cylon through the door. She could grab them, take their side-arm and fire at the centurions.
But the next Cylon was Boomer.
Kara got up, balancing on the balls of her feet and watching, waiting for a moment to strike.
"Starbuck," Boomer said, her voice not happy, and eyes looking worried. "Look, I, I--" She stopped and just looked at Kara for a moment, then said, her voice soft, "This is the end for us, isn't it."
Boomer was not her Boomer, not Helo's Sharon, the woman--Cylon--who was still locked in a cell on Galactica. Kara let her lips form into a sneer, "Aw. Does the robot want a friend? Well, here's a news flash, Sharon. You helped murder billions of my people. And you shot--"
"I know what I did," Boomer snapped, her eyes flashing. "I've accepted it, Kara. The question is, can you accept that we are individuals, that there is more to us than this?"
He's just afraid that his soul won't -- Kara shoved the memory back into its box, and shrugged, "I guess."
"Good. Fine."
Impasse. For a minute or two, the women simply looked at each other. Kara gaged her chances of getting past Boomer, of escaping into the night and rejoining her husband in the resistance. It hadn't started, of course, it was simply a nebulous feeling--fight 'em until we can't--but she knew he would have ideas. Tigh would have ideas, if the Colonel pulled his face out of a bottle.
"Starbuck, I didn't come to fight, I came to get you out of here. Leoben--" She paused and looked away, her eyes dark with something that wasn't anger.
The emotion was one Kara had seen in her own eyes, once or twice. Fear. She moved towards Boomer, "Then let's quit the talking and get the frak out of here." She didn't want to think about Leoben, didn't want to know that he had something special planned for her.
Gods. She should have killed the bastard with her bare hands that first hour she was interrogating him.
"You always were such a bitch, Starbuck."
Kara started to laugh.
The gunshot was loud in the tiny cell, and the look in Sharon's eyes was one of surprise and pain.
Reacting by reflex, Kara lunged forward, catching the younger woman (Cylon), and felt her knees slam into the hard-packed dirt. "Boomer. Shit--" She grabbed her hair, pulling her up so she could see if her eyes were registering anything.
They weren't.
Shit.
Kara shoved to her feet, dropping Boomer's body and heading for the door and freedom. She had to get out of here, she could taste it at the back of her throat. The smell of blood and gunpowder burning into her sinuses. She couldn't concentrate on who could have shot Boomer, on the why.
Out.
She slammed into Leoben before she registered his presence.
"Hello, Kara."
Kara tried to pull away and he let her, spinning her and shoving her up against the wall an instant later. He was hot at her back, pressing up against her and laughing softly.
"Let me go, you asshole," she snapped, struggling.
"Not just yet, Kara. God has a plan for you, as he does for me." His breath was hot on the back of her neck for an instant before he pulled back slightly.
"What the frak ever," she snarled.
He grabbed her head, yanking a hood or a bag over her face, pulling it down and drawing the string tight around her neck. It smelled old and musty, almost choking her. "This will all seem like a dream," he mused as his hands locked on her wrists and he stepped back. "Now move."
Kara fought him until she was tired of falling and bruising her knees and elbows. He was careful to keep her from injuring herself too badly, but he didn't try to shoot her, and she could never get close enough to start feeling for his gun. The taste of Boomer's blood was still at the back of her throat when something heavy and metal slammed closed.
"There." Leoben pulled her away from the wall she'd leaned against and pulled the hood off.
A metal gate, the bars far too sturdy for Kara's liking, blocked the end of the corridor. A solid wall the other. Kara darted looks between them, feeling her shoulders slump a little.
"In here, Kara," Leoben murmured, pressing his hand against the small of her back as he moved her into the open doorway.
She could still smell the paint they must have used on the walls. Standing at the top of the stairs, a sick feeling of dread slid through her. Her apartment in Delphi had never looked all that clean, but she could imagine what it might once have been, before she'd gotten hold of it and fought the rats for space.
"Home sweet home," said Leoben.
No. No it frakking wasn't. Sam was--Kara clung to the thought of Sam as she turned into Leoben and grabbed him. He was actually surprised as she shoved him down the stairs. But the surprise wouldn't last long, even as his neck snapped sideways, his body landing at an awkward angle.
Kara moved back into the corridor, testing the bars on the gate, rattling at the lock and trying to lift it. Definitely solid. She opened her mouth and started shouting, calling for Boomer or any frakking Cylons in the vicinity.
A door on the other side of the gate opened and Leoben stepped out. He shook his head at her, sighing, "Kara. That was uncalled-for."
"Frak you."
He stopped on the other side of the gate and tilted his head, "You're imagining that someone will find you and save you, but no one knows where you are. And your husband is dead." He held up a torn pyramid jersey, and Kara felt her gut clench as she recognized the neatly-mended rip that Sam had sewn one night. There was blood on the material, staining it with dark blotches. "He fought a little harder than I'd expected, of course."
"You're lying."
"Am I?" Leoben smiled and dropped the jersey, reaching through the bars to touch her cheek.
She jerked backwards away from him.
"I suppose you'll find out soon enough," he said, his voice hard. Then he turned and went back down the corridor, leaving her there with the smell of blood and stone, burnt metal from the construction, and paint.
-
Sharon woke in a rush, gasping and feeling that she would never get used to being killed.
"Oh, good." A hand touched her cheek and Caprica was looking down at her, eyes dark with worry. "What happened?"
"Leoben--" she coughed, remembering the feel of the bullet as it seared through her skin. Then nothing, except Starbuck's hands catching her. "I went--"
"Do not meddle with his plans, Sharon," Caprica said. She pulled her hand from Boomer's cheek, almost looking frightened, "He is closer to God. He understands his plan better than we do. It is not for us--"
"But, Starbuck--"
"God has a plan for her."
Sharon didn't think she believed in God all that much. "He killed me."
"There's nothing you can do about it," Caprica laughed softly, the sound not amused. "I started the cycle of violence, he is merely perpetuating it."
The implicit threat tightened Boomer's stomach and she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and feeling exposed. "Then there is nothing I can do to stop what he's doing."
"None."
"She loves a human, not a Cylon," Sharon whispered. But she didn't feel all that convinced, not anymore. Maybe Sam Anders had given back the dog tag, maybe he'd died. Maybe, maybe, maybe it didn't matter in the end. Kara didn't believe in her anymore.
The betrayal cut deep.
"Shhh." Caprica stroked her hair, "God has a plan for us, Sharon. We just have to see it."
The words stayed with her, as did the pain of her second death. A week later, when Sam Anders, coughing horribly and looking awful, asked her about his wife, begged her for news of Kara Thrace, Sharon pretended she'd never met either of them.
-f-
Final notes:
The episode of Forensic Files is one where a woman is camping with her SO, and a crazy asshole kills him and drags her off. He brainwashes her to the point she believes SHE killed her SO and that the sex was consensual. There was some interesting psychology stuff about brainwashing, how it takes a shock to get it started--this exploded in my head. (also, there's logistical issues, since there WAS NO JAIL BLOCK HOUSE WHEN THE CYLONS ARRIVED)
That episode still squicks me out.
And, no, I AM NOT IMPLYING THAT LEOBEN RAPED KARA.
Amusingly, I've also given Sharon another reason to join Cavil, adding to the list of times I've fanwanked out her motivation. Something the show never fucking bothered with.
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I've also always wondered if the Cylons gave Sam medication.
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Maybe? Maybe not. Sam was young and strong, like Cottle said. He survived.
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I liked the added note of her doubt about Sam Anders--and then lying to him when she does see him.
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Thank you =)
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This is lovely though. Harsh and sad, but lovely. All the little bits of Boomer that must've died on New Caprica to have turned her into what we saw in season three, and I loved this glimpse inside her mind.
Also loved the set-up to Kara's situation in season four, and seeing what led to the Kara we saw in season three. <3
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Why can't everyone love Boomer the way I do? ;)
I DO NOT KNOW. I <3 Boomer, even when she is doing stupid things that make no sense. Sigh.
Season three is just awful for giving us enough Boomer. A few scenes like this (one confrontation with Cally isn't enough, dammit) would have helped go a long way--also, a conversation between her and Cavil, so it made their association make sense... argh.
seeing what led to the Kara we saw in season three
Heh. I just refuse to accept that it was easy for Leoben to break her. That there wasn't something near the beginning (and I don't mean rape, because that's one of the things I don't think would ever have worked) to shock her a little and make her just that little more uncertain about whether she'd be able to escape.
And he totally told her Sam (and maybe Chief and Ellen and Tigh, too) was dead.
Thank you =)
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Ahem. Rambling.
Thank you! I really really REALLY wish we had gotten to see how Kara was captured/turned over to Leoben. And I refuse to believe that gigantic building went up in a day.
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The one thing that this made me think primarily was "Fuck... New Caprica sucked..." I stumbled across this just as I looked out my window and saw how cold and grey it was and thought Hmn, looks like New Caprica out there... and then this happened.
Anyways, really great. Oh Boomer.... OH Boomer... Nothing goes right for her... ever.
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Cold and grey, and there was probably SOME sunlight, but... It wasn't exactly a warm area. I think it was Gaeta who said it would be barely habitable.
Thank you!
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Though I've always presumed the Cylons merely took over some New Cap building and made it into a detention center, not that they built it when they arrived. UB talks about a groundbreaking, and it makes sense that Baltar's suckitude would've gotten exactly one building up in a whole year.
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JesusBaltar was president... ;]Sometimes, I think of how awesome the Boomer stuff would have been, and then I kick things.
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I don't think he physically ever touched her--not outside defending himself and probably hauling her there. Because it's the waiting that would get to Kara more. If he's hitting her, shoving her around, she knows how to deal with that.