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He sits back in his seat and looks up at me. I can't read his face and can't help squirming. I know he's disappointed in me but I'm ready to defend my actions. Someone had to do it even if he doesn't want to see that.
Finally, he stands and crosses to my side of the desk. He circles me before stopping in front of me. His voice is low and intense. "There will be no more. Is that understood."
It's not a question but an order. I snap to attention and nod. "Yes, Sir."
He continues to study me and I see the first flickers of anger. "I am well aware that your kangaroo courts were fully sanctioned by Tom Zarek, but how dare you presume to murder people on my ship."
I match his tone, military discipline be damned. "It wasn't murder. It was justice."
He steps closer and bares his teeth. "Justice is not six people in a room who decide to take the law into their own hands."
I glare down at him. "They were guilty, Bill!"
"Who gave you the right to play judge, jury, and executioner," he challenges.
"The President of the Colonies, Tom Zarek."
His eyes narrow. "Don't hide behind him. You were out for vengeance, not justice. Tell me, did you enjoy throwing people out of an airlock?"
We stand there. Part of me wants to hug him, let his very presence soothe me as it always has, and the other part thinks that's just another betrayal of Ellen. "Yes, I did!" I yell. "Someone had to make the guilty pay. Gods know you and Laura Roslin weren't doing anything about the collaborators," I say with as much venom as I can.
He closes his eyes briefly. When he opens them again, they're hard as ice and his voice has an edge.. "You didn't give us much of a chance. I wonder if you even realize that killing those people didn't make you feel any better." He pauses. "What if you executed an innocent person? What then? Or did you even consider the possibility? In any case, President Roslin has countermanded that order and there will be no more."
//They're all guilty!// I want to scream. I clench my teeth together. She wouldn't punish any more of that Cylon loving scum. Ellen paid for her collaboration with her life while the rest will get off free. Damn them! "Understood."
He turns his back on me and I almost reach out to him. I want to, but I can't, can't let myself have that comfort. I don't deserve it. Instead, I ball my hand into a fist and leave it at my side. He goes back to his seat, sinks down, and looks down at his interrupted paperwork. "Dismissed," he snaps without another glance at me.
I salute. "Yes, Sir." I turn on my heel and march out, wondering if we'll ever be able to forgive each other.