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Okay, so, these ficlets were meant to be part of one long story, but there was a section that was needed to set the scene, and it just didn't come. So, two BSG/Buffy'verse ficlets (both Gaeta centric) and a piece of BSG/Buffy'verse mock scholarship.
And so the last Demons were banished. And the Lady Artemis turned to her children and said ‘You have given me long and faithful service. Go forth and reap the rewards of your work.’ And so the Slayers left, and for a time all was peaceful. But though the Demons were gone, their knowledge was not, and there were, as there have always been, those who would misuse power for their own ends. And the Lady Hectate, who protected the Watchers, those who had trained and guarded the Slayers, went to the Lady Artemis her sister and said, ‘O, my sister, though the Demons have been banished and the Slayers no longer need fight, there are those who would bring them back, and those who would use the magics to steal and torture and kill.’ And the Lady Artemis said, ‘Oh my sister, my Slayers have fought long and hard and well and I have promised that they shall have rest, and I would not break that promise though Zeus my father asked me’ And the Lady Hectate was troubled, for though the Gods are all powerful, she alone among them can see the future, and the consequences of our actions, and she could see that if there was no defence against them, the demons would be brought back, and none could stop them, and what use would her sister’s promises be then? But she did not say this, for of all the Lords and Ladies of Kobol, she was youngest and least, and she knew that the Lady Artemis, for all her wisdom, would not listen to her protests. But she knew that the Watchers, who had ever been under her protection, worked just as well as Slayers, though they had not their powers, and she said, ‘Oh my sister, what if we gave the charge to the Watchers, who have ever been my care, for they will uphold the tenets of magic that have been written since magic was first made out of Chaos.’ And the Lady Artemis agreed to this, and so they called the Watchers to them, and gave them charge of the magics, and of the regulation of the same, and they taught them how to destroy the demons with magic. And furthermore, they decreed that, as long as the Children of Kobol lasted, so should the Watchers, unending, and eternal, ever vigilant in their Sacred duty.
From The First Book of the Watchers, Chapter One, as translated from the original by Marah Atreides
------
"Felix Gaeta, you've been tried and found guilty of crimes against humanity by a circle of your peers, as duly authorized by the President of the Colonies."
And all he can think is no, Gods no, not Zarek because he likes Zarek, he really does, and they spent six months on New Caprica together, doing Baltar’s job, keeping everything going. But it seems that Zarek doesn’t care about that, and why should he, after all, when he was sent to the internment camp and Felix stayed there on Colonial One, making coffee, reading reports and trying to keep New Caprica steady, through Cylons and famine and plague, and oh Gods, he knows there’s something wrong when his mental voice sounds like the voice over for one of the romantic films about the Sagittarion War Lords or the Aerolon Imperators that his sister Polly liked to watch.
But Seelix is going on
"If you have any words to offer in your own defence, now is the time."
And across an ocean of time and space he can hear Tatiana, his sister, cramming for her final exams,
“That every citizen of the colonies has the right to a trial, with fair representation and defence, before a duly selected jury of their peers in a designated court of law”
And his mother
“Everyone has the right to a fair trial. Everyone. It doesn’t matter if they’ve blown up a nursery school on air, they still need a fair trial, and they still deserve someone in their corner, even if all their lawyer can do is say ‘Plead guilty, say you’re sorry, and if you’re lucky you might get parole in 20 years’”
He hasn’t got anyone in his corner. He has nothing, he’s already told Starbuck what he did, and they don’t care. He’s going to die, and he knows it. But he isn’t going to beg. He isn’t going to give them the satisfaction of that. Chief’s asking him to speak but he won’t, he won’t fight a battle he’s already lost. They want blood, they want death and he’s got no choice but to give them that, but they won’t get his dignity. And he tells them so.
"What's the point? I already tried to explain it. I'm not gonna beg."
And then Kara starts kicking him, hard, in the chest and in the stomach, telling him to beg but he won’t, he won’t do that, he’ll just sit, and take it, and wait to die because he knows full well that there is nothing he can do. Then Kara starts talking, about the contact procedures, voice full of disbelief, and, suddenly, Chief pulls her off. Pulls her off and starts talking,
“What did she just say? What did you say to her? Tell me. What did you say to her?"
So he tells them, because Chief seems so desperate to hear it
"There was a yellow dog bowl. It was a signal. It meant there was a message in the garbage dump. I turned it over. It was a signal. And then there was a message in the garbage dump."
Chief cuts his wrists free, starts talking, and Felix can't quite believe what he's hearing
"You were wondering who the source was, Colonel. There's no other way he could've known. He's the only other one that would know about it. He's the reason we know about the death lists. He's the reason I saved Cally. He's the reason we're on this ship. He's the one who gave us the inside information. There's our source, Colonel."
They’re looking at Felix, like they’re waiting for a response, and he can't think, can't do anything, he needs to get out, now.
“I did what I could. I don't know what else I could've done."
And then he stumbles to his feet and leaves, walking first but then running, hard and fast, and into a dark corridor, one of the ones where no one ever goes, except for incredibly keen runners, and he doesn’t stop until he runs into someone.
“Frack, Gaeta,” says Kat, “Watch where you’re going will you?” then she looks at him and her eyes widen and she says,” Gaeta, Felix, what happened?” and she doesn’t give him a chance to answer, just drags him into a little alcove, and sits him on the floor, and gives him a bottle of water, then glares at him until he drinks it. He does.
“Is there anyone I can fetch,” she says, voice more gentle than he’s ever heard it, “Dee, Chief, anyone?” and he knows that she’s trying to be kind, remembering who his friends were, before New Caprica tore everything he had to pieces, and left him nothing but his conscience and his dignity but the irony is overwhelming, and all he can do is lean forwards, wincing at the bruising, and try to stop shaking with a mixture of terrible, terrible hysteria that he absolutely cannot afford. Kat puts her arms round him, clumsily, and holds on. After a while, once he’s stopped shaking, she lets go.
“I need to leave,” she says, “I’ve got CAP.”
She gets to her feet, and hauls him up as well, then walks away. He stays there, leaning against the wall. The corridor is dark and cold, and smells of engine oil, for some reason. The floor is damp, and he’s sure that there are marks on his trousers.
Felix shuts his eyes, and concentrates. It’s the first spell he ever learnt, heat and light, and he could probably manage it with his hands tied behind his back. When he opens them again, there’s a ball of softly glowing light in front of him, emitting a gentle heat. He feels better, knowing that he can still do that. He never even tried on New Caprica. There was no privacy there, and after the Cylons came, it would have been dangerous. He ends the spell, crushes it in his hand, and walks away. He’s quite sure that, somewhere, someone’s got work for him to do.
-----
And so the last Demons were banished. And the Lady Artemis turned to her children and said ‘You have given me long and faithful service. Go forth and reap the rewards of your work.’ And so the Slayers left, and for a time all was peaceful. But though the Demons were gone, their knowledge was not, and there were, as there have always been, those who would misuse power for their own ends. And the Lady Hectate, who protected the Watchers, those who had trained and guarded the Slayers, went to the Lady Artemis her sister and said, ‘O, my sister, though the Demons have been banished and the Slayers no longer need fight, there are those who would bring them back, and those who would use the magics to steal and torture and kill.’ And the Lady Artemis said, ‘Oh my sister, my Slayers have fought long and hard and well and I have promised that they shall have rest, and I would not break that promise though Zeus my father asked me’ And the Lady Hectate was troubled, for though the Gods are all powerful, she alone among them can see the future, and the consequences of our actions, and she could see that if there was no defence against them, the demons would be brought back, and none could stop them, and what use would her sister’s promises be then? But she did not say this, for of all the Lords and Ladies of Kobol, she was youngest and least, and she knew that the Lady Artemis, for all her wisdom, would not listen to her protests. But she knew that the Watchers, who had ever been under her protection, worked just as well as Slayers, though they had not their powers, and she said, ‘Oh my sister, what if we gave the charge to the Watchers, who have ever been my care, for they will uphold the tenets of magic that have been written since magic was first made out of Chaos.’ And the Lady Artemis agreed to this, and so they called the Watchers to them, and gave them charge of the magics, and of the regulation of the same, and they taught them how to destroy the demons with magic. And furthermore, they decreed that, as long as the Children of Kobol lasted, so should the Watchers, unending, and eternal, ever vigilant in their Sacred duty.
From The First Book of the Watchers, Chapter One, as translated from the original by Marah Atreides
------
"Felix Gaeta, you've been tried and found guilty of crimes against humanity by a circle of your peers, as duly authorized by the President of the Colonies."
And all he can think is no, Gods no, not Zarek because he likes Zarek, he really does, and they spent six months on New Caprica together, doing Baltar’s job, keeping everything going. But it seems that Zarek doesn’t care about that, and why should he, after all, when he was sent to the internment camp and Felix stayed there on Colonial One, making coffee, reading reports and trying to keep New Caprica steady, through Cylons and famine and plague, and oh Gods, he knows there’s something wrong when his mental voice sounds like the voice over for one of the romantic films about the Sagittarion War Lords or the Aerolon Imperators that his sister Polly liked to watch.
But Seelix is going on
"If you have any words to offer in your own defence, now is the time."
And across an ocean of time and space he can hear Tatiana, his sister, cramming for her final exams,
“That every citizen of the colonies has the right to a trial, with fair representation and defence, before a duly selected jury of their peers in a designated court of law”
And his mother
“Everyone has the right to a fair trial. Everyone. It doesn’t matter if they’ve blown up a nursery school on air, they still need a fair trial, and they still deserve someone in their corner, even if all their lawyer can do is say ‘Plead guilty, say you’re sorry, and if you’re lucky you might get parole in 20 years’”
He hasn’t got anyone in his corner. He has nothing, he’s already told Starbuck what he did, and they don’t care. He’s going to die, and he knows it. But he isn’t going to beg. He isn’t going to give them the satisfaction of that. Chief’s asking him to speak but he won’t, he won’t fight a battle he’s already lost. They want blood, they want death and he’s got no choice but to give them that, but they won’t get his dignity. And he tells them so.
"What's the point? I already tried to explain it. I'm not gonna beg."
And then Kara starts kicking him, hard, in the chest and in the stomach, telling him to beg but he won’t, he won’t do that, he’ll just sit, and take it, and wait to die because he knows full well that there is nothing he can do. Then Kara starts talking, about the contact procedures, voice full of disbelief, and, suddenly, Chief pulls her off. Pulls her off and starts talking,
“What did she just say? What did you say to her? Tell me. What did you say to her?"
So he tells them, because Chief seems so desperate to hear it
"There was a yellow dog bowl. It was a signal. It meant there was a message in the garbage dump. I turned it over. It was a signal. And then there was a message in the garbage dump."
Chief cuts his wrists free, starts talking, and Felix can't quite believe what he's hearing
"You were wondering who the source was, Colonel. There's no other way he could've known. He's the only other one that would know about it. He's the reason we know about the death lists. He's the reason I saved Cally. He's the reason we're on this ship. He's the one who gave us the inside information. There's our source, Colonel."
They’re looking at Felix, like they’re waiting for a response, and he can't think, can't do anything, he needs to get out, now.
“I did what I could. I don't know what else I could've done."
And then he stumbles to his feet and leaves, walking first but then running, hard and fast, and into a dark corridor, one of the ones where no one ever goes, except for incredibly keen runners, and he doesn’t stop until he runs into someone.
“Frack, Gaeta,” says Kat, “Watch where you’re going will you?” then she looks at him and her eyes widen and she says,” Gaeta, Felix, what happened?” and she doesn’t give him a chance to answer, just drags him into a little alcove, and sits him on the floor, and gives him a bottle of water, then glares at him until he drinks it. He does.
“Is there anyone I can fetch,” she says, voice more gentle than he’s ever heard it, “Dee, Chief, anyone?” and he knows that she’s trying to be kind, remembering who his friends were, before New Caprica tore everything he had to pieces, and left him nothing but his conscience and his dignity but the irony is overwhelming, and all he can do is lean forwards, wincing at the bruising, and try to stop shaking with a mixture of terrible, terrible hysteria that he absolutely cannot afford. Kat puts her arms round him, clumsily, and holds on. After a while, once he’s stopped shaking, she lets go.
“I need to leave,” she says, “I’ve got CAP.”
She gets to her feet, and hauls him up as well, then walks away. He stays there, leaning against the wall. The corridor is dark and cold, and smells of engine oil, for some reason. The floor is damp, and he’s sure that there are marks on his trousers.
Felix shuts his eyes, and concentrates. It’s the first spell he ever learnt, heat and light, and he could probably manage it with his hands tied behind his back. When he opens them again, there’s a ball of softly glowing light in front of him, emitting a gentle heat. He feels better, knowing that he can still do that. He never even tried on New Caprica. There was no privacy there, and after the Cylons came, it would have been dangerous. He ends the spell, crushes it in his hand, and walks away. He’s quite sure that, somewhere, someone’s got work for him to do.
-----
Somewhere behind him, Felix can hear singing. He’s standing in his grandparent’s back garden, on Caprica, the one that stretched down to the stream, and over, almost to the river. He’s standing on the bridge, and his sister Tatiana is next to him, leaning on the rail. She’s wearing a blue dress, and her sandals are lying on the wooden slats between them. He’s dreaming, and he knows it. Tatiana is dead, and rotting, his grandparent’s garden was so near where the bombs hit that its probably so much radioactive dust. This place, and the people who loved it, are all gone.
“You know,” she says finally, “You haven’t done too badly, all things considered.”
“What?”
She moves, so that she’s leaning against him.
“Really, you’ve done quite well.”
“You appear,” he says slowly, “to have missed the part where I collaborated with a despotic regime run by the race who destroyed our home.”
“Yes, but just imagine if you hadn’t. Imagine if you’d not collaborated, and the Cylons had killed you. Your successor probably would have turned the Resistance in, if they’d found out who they were, not given them information.”
She nudges his shoulder with her head.
“You made the best of a bad job, little brother. And that’s all anyone can ask.”
“I helped Baltar get elected.”
“No. He and Zarek did that all on their own. What you did was ensure that the will of the people was carried out. Then, when Baltar asked you to be his assistant you accepted, for which no one can blame you, and when you found out what a crap president was going to be, you didn’t throw in the towel, you did your job, and, quite a lot of the time, his.”
There’s nothing he can say to that. They stand there for a long time, watching the fish swim under the bridge.
“You want him alive,” says his sister in the end, “Baltar, you want him alive to stand his trial, with fair representation and defence, before a duly selected jury of his peers in a designated court of law.”
“Yes,” he says, and in this dream, her formal phrasing doesn’t sound at all odd.
“In that case,” she says, “you’d better wake up.”
And she turns, and flicks his nose.
And he does.
“You know,” she says finally, “You haven’t done too badly, all things considered.”
“What?”
She moves, so that she’s leaning against him.
“Really, you’ve done quite well.”
“You appear,” he says slowly, “to have missed the part where I collaborated with a despotic regime run by the race who destroyed our home.”
“Yes, but just imagine if you hadn’t. Imagine if you’d not collaborated, and the Cylons had killed you. Your successor probably would have turned the Resistance in, if they’d found out who they were, not given them information.”
She nudges his shoulder with her head.
“You made the best of a bad job, little brother. And that’s all anyone can ask.”
“I helped Baltar get elected.”
“No. He and Zarek did that all on their own. What you did was ensure that the will of the people was carried out. Then, when Baltar asked you to be his assistant you accepted, for which no one can blame you, and when you found out what a crap president was going to be, you didn’t throw in the towel, you did your job, and, quite a lot of the time, his.”
There’s nothing he can say to that. They stand there for a long time, watching the fish swim under the bridge.
“You want him alive,” says his sister in the end, “Baltar, you want him alive to stand his trial, with fair representation and defence, before a duly selected jury of his peers in a designated court of law.”
“Yes,” he says, and in this dream, her formal phrasing doesn’t sound at all odd.
“In that case,” she says, “you’d better wake up.”
And she turns, and flicks his nose.
And he does.
