Part 1

It was the silence that first warned him something was wrong. It was never this quiet on the Galactica. Regardless of the time of night, there would always be some crew member changing shift, snoring in their rack or even crying out during their nightmares. But now Lee Adama found himself lying in an impenetrable dark. And the unfamiliar silence was thunderous.

His second warning came when he tried to move. His arms were tied behind his back, his legs strung together at the ankles and knees. He called out for help and was surprised when the name he called was Kara's. He didn't have time to analyze his instincts now though for he had been taken by surprise again when he discovered his mouth had been gagged. As the first wave of panic hit him, Lee's military training took over and he let the sensation wash over so that he could clear his mind before assessing the situation. But he discovered it was impossible to think straight: he was weak, more tired than he could ever remember, and he was unable to shake free from the fog that smothered his brain.

Then, the third warning came as he tried to move once more. A jolt of pain shot through his torso, and Lee sank back into the darkness and remembered no more.

When Lee woke again he did not know how long he had been unconscious. Nor could he remember how he had ended up in such a predicament in the first place. Warily, he assessed his limbs by moving them gently within their constraints. Although he felt weaker than ever, the pain from before was gone. But instead of reassuring Lee, this last realization only served to make him more fearful. For how long must he have been held captive in this unknown place if his wounds had already healed. And if the Galactica had not found him by now did this mean they were no longer looking. He thought back to the time when Kara went missing after a viper crash and remembered their desperate search. Back then his father had assured him that, were it Lee missing, he would never give up looking, whatever the cost to the fleet. Lee hoped now that he could trust those words. But then his thoughts went back to Kara, his rebellious, rule breaking, infuriating best friend. Somehow he knew without doubt that she would never leave him here. She would be out there looking for him right now, orders or no orders, and the Gods help any man, woman or cylon that got in her way. Lee let out a small chuckle despite himself, and, as he passed out from weakness once more, he did so with a small smile on his lips.

There was no silence the third time Lee awoke. Shouts and confusion surrounded him. He sensed he was still strapped down, but now seemed to be moving, and there was light, lots of light, blinding his eyes after so long in the darkness. As his eyes adjusted, he recognized armed marines from the Galactica surrounding his gurney. He looked up at the moving ceiling above and saw, to his great relief, that it looked just like the Galactica. He was home.

It took a while for him to find his voice, and when it came the dehydration had rendered it no more than a croaking whisper.

"Hey guys," Lee called, doing his best to be heard above the commotion surrounding him, "am I glad to see you."

He could not have anticipated their reaction. Instead of the welcoming smiles of fellow crewmates he had expected, the marines steadfastly ignored him, some clutching their weapons even harder, a look of hatred on their faces.

"Hey," Lee repeated, a sudden sense of danger making his voice a little stronger this time. "What's going on? I'm on the Galactica, aren't I? What's wrong? Where's Starbuck? Where's my father?"

The gurney stopped abruptly and a marine pressed his gun against Lee's forehead. "Don't you frakking well call him that! You son of a bitch!" the marine cried.

"Put your weapon down Lieutenant!" That was Colonel Tigh's voice, Lee recognized with relief, finally he would get some answers and have this marine charged with insubordination in the process. But his heart sank when Tigh continued, "The corridors to both the sickbay and the brig have been closed off. I want this thing in sickbay right now before anyone else sees it. Is that understood."

The marine lowered his weapon and spat in Lee's face with hatred. Lee couldn't wipe himself clean as his arms were still strapped down to the gurney. Instead he looked around wildly. "Colonel Tigh!" he cried. "What the frak's going on?"

Tigh looked down at him, contempt in his eyes, and responded instead to the offending lieutenant. "Get this frakking toaster out of my sight before I kill him myself."

Lee was in freefall. Terror overwhelmed him as the meaning of Tigh's words sank in.

"What? What did you say? Did you just call me a frakking toaster? No! No!" he cried as the marines shoved him along the corridor once more. "I'm Lee Adama! I'm the CAG on this ship! I'm a frakking human! Where's Starbuck? Where's my father? Take me to my father now!"

His senses reeled as a punch knocked his head sideways. Blood poured from his nose and he turned sideways to spit more blood from his mouth. And that was when he saw it. Saw him. Lee blinked his eyes. He must be seeing things. A man who could be his identical twin was being escorted by armed guards towards the brig. Lee stared. It couldn't be. It couldn't. There was some mistake. There had to be.

But the sight of his double did not disappear however much Lee tried to clear his vision, instead it was brought towards him. As the copy approached, it turned to Lee and spoke sadly, "Tell Kara I'm sorry." And then it was pushed around the corner and was gone.

Lee lay back in the gurney, a combination of the shock and his already weakened state overwhelming him. He shook his head again as the marines continued to push him to the sickbay. This was all a nightmare. A terrible nightmare and he would wake up any second. But an icy sickness hit the pit of his stomach and he knew there was no waking up from this. And, at that moment, all that remained inside him was a single hope, the same hope that had kept him going when he lay in his dark captivity. Kara. She would know he wasn't a cylon. She would save him from this and beat the frak out of Tigh and all those who hadn't believed him in the process.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he was pushed into the sickbay. "Kara," he whispered, as if trying to summon her to him. But when he opened her eyes and she wasn't there, he started to scream. "Kara!" he cried. "Kara, help me! Help me! Kara! Please!"

Dr Cottle arrived and injected something into Lee's arm, doing his best to avoid eye contact as he did so. But Lee didn't care any more, Kara would be on her way, and he continued to scream for her until finally the doctor's sedative took hold and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

But Kara never came.