Title: Inheritance

Author: PadawanMage

Rating: PG

Summary: Kara Thrace's past has always been murky, even to her. What if someone offered unwelcome enlightenment?

Author's Notes: Not much is known (through canon) about Kara's past, so I'm trying to fill in a little of that. The ships I listed here can be found on the Battlestar Galactica 2003 website here (www.bsg2003.com).

Chapter One

"I wonder what my father would think of me, right now?"

President Laura Roslin was tired as she lay there on the hospital bed. The medical ship, Lenna Dell, boasted state of the art equipment, excellent facilities, and a top-notch staff; The President, however, was not visiting as a government official, but as a patient.

Aside from her personal assistant, only Commander Adama and the doctors on this ship knew of her condition. The doctors said nothing of it because they understood patient-doctor confidence, and the Commander of the Battlestar Galactica said nothing as well due to his 'knowledge' on the whereabouts of the planet Earth.

It'd been only a week since they'd all escaped total destruction at the hands of the Cylons, and since then Laura had been pushing herself to bring some form of order to the remnants of humanity now floating around in their metal homes around them. Unfortunately, her condition could no longer be ignored, so on her first visit to the Dell, she immediately began her treatment. The doctors here were cautiously optimistic, a little different than her now-dead one back on Caprica. Radiation and chemotherapy were now her staple to hopefully combat the lump in her chest. They also gave her a massive increase in vitamins to combat any fatigue she might feel.

But she was still tired.

Who wouldn't be, she thought, when they're trying to kill what's inside my chest just a shade quicker than the rest of me?

Billy Kekieya looked from his PDA in mild surprise. He'd been going over the latest reports from the rest of the fleet with the President when she asked the innocuous question.

"I'm – I'm sorry, Madam President?"

"Billy," she started in weary amusement, "I told you, when we're not in any official setting to let go of the official titles, at least for a little while." A hand picked at the simple hospital garment she wore in bed, and she waved her arm with the IV tube attached. "I hardly think we're in an official setting," she said with a small smile.

Billy's face reddened a bit, but he managed to nod. Neither said anything for a minute or so, until Billy cleared his throat.

"You mentioned your father?"

Laura nodded, and smiled. "Yes. I was just wondering what he might think of me at this moment. He'd probably have a good laugh at my becoming President, especially given what happened between him and my mother. My parents divorced when I was little and it was decided that it would be best that I stay with my father." She sighed. "Even when I was little, we used to have so many talks about – anything: movies, the weather to music. That was one of the things that I loved most about him: he always listened to me when I talked. Even when I went to college, we still made time to catch up on things." Her face grew wistful. "I miss that now. It's not everyday you can find a good listener, especially considering what he did for a living."

"What did he do?" Billy asked.

Laura chuckled. "He was a correctional officer. Worked his way up from men to women and finally working with teens. 'Going from bad to worse' as he put it. So, naturally he'd be used to telling people what to do instead of listening." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Maybe that's why he and my mother never did get along," she mused, then shook her head. "He said he was proud of me when I decided to be a teacher. Every kid I could help to get an education was one less that he had to worry about winding up in prison." Her smile slipped a bit and she grew quiet, deep in thought.

Billy waited for a minute or two. He'd become so engrossed in the story, that he leaned in.

"What happened?"

Laura blinked and turned her head to him, almost forgetting someone was listening to her life's story. She pressed her lips in thought then shrugged. "When President Adar first approached me with an opening in the Ministry of Education, I thought it was a chance of lifetime: to really make a difference in that high a position. My father though, never liked or trusted politicians. He'd seen too many budget cuts affect his correctional facilities. He thought I was selling out, abandoning the people who really mattered."

She sighed deeply and settled deeper into her pillow. "We never spoke again after that."

Billy frowned a little. "What did your mother do?"

Laura grinned self-consciously. "She was a…Governor for our state. She met my father in one of her tours. One thing led to another and they got married a month later. But, after I was born, she focused more and more on work, leaving me more and more with my father. Not that I minded since I did get along with him. I guess I can see now what my father meant about abandoning those who matter." She sat up slowly and Billy helped her reach for a sip of water in a glass. She stared at the glass for a few moments. "Maybe that's why I never married," she said quietly. She took a deep breath and nodded towards Billy. "Let's talk about something else. What else is there?"

Billy tapped a few keys on his PDA, scrolled down the list and, after seeing an entry, shook his head.

"What?" asked Laura.

"It's funny how you mentioned 'correctional facility' a moment back," he said in response. The President narrowed her eyes, looked away, and then looked sharply back at Billy.

"The Astral Queen," she said sharply.

Her assistant nodded. "The captain's not been too helpful about your request for updates on the status of the criminals. His last message still said – in so many words – that, due to the shortage in supplies, it might just a good idea to..."

"No," Laura interrupted. "No, no, no, no. No 'accidental' deaths. They're still human beings, no matter what they've done." She shook her head and took a deep breath. Not only was she trying to help build a society, but now she had to deal with the unfortunate by-products of the previous one. She ran a hand through her hair, not for the first time wondering how long she'd have it while the treatments lasted. Then a thought crossed her mind.

"Billy," she said slowly, "you finished that engineering survey started by Captain Apollo when we first organized the fleet, right?"

A few more taps on the PDA and Billy showed the President the listing. Her eyes scanned down the data.

"Good," she said thoughtfully as she made several highlights to certain entries. She kept scanning down until another list came up. "What's this?" she asked, scrolling down the list

Billy leaned over and glanced at the new information. "Oh – well, since I was doing the survey of the ships, I decided it might be beneficial to also do a preliminary census."

Laura looked through the list and her eyes grew a little at what it consisted of and how they were grouped. "Am I paying you enough?" she asked in frank admiration.

Billy could only grin sheepishly. Laura smiled and handed back the PDA.

"I think it's time you applied more of that diplomacy and public administration that you learned to the Commander of the Galactica."

Billy nodded and headed out the door.

"Oh, and Billy?" Laura called out. He turned and looked back from the doorway. "Say hello to your friend in CIC for me," Laura said, smiling into her drink as she took a sip. Billy's ears turned red, but he said nothing. He opened his mouth to apparently say something, thought better of it, and simply nodded as he left the room.

Laura shook her head ruefully at Billy's departing back.

"Kids," she said with a sigh.

"This is a joke, right?" Colonel Paul Tigh snorted as he handed the PDA back to the President's Assistant.

Billy kept his face impassive, but sighed internally. He'd hoped to meet with Commander Adama personally, but Colonel Tigh said in no uncertain terms, that any and all requests had to go through him. Billy knew that he had the full authority of the President behind him, but it would not do any good to sucker-punch someone like the Colonel with that kind of power. He'd seen first hand what that led to when the President first confronted Colonel Tigh back at the Ragnar Anchorage. He had to present the request as something that would benefit not just the civilians in the fleet, but also the military. Politics was, as someone said, the art of the impossible.

If only he could get the Colonel to stand still while presenting his argument.

Presently, Colonel Tigh walked from station to station of CIC, checking the status of each and signing off on reports. Billy tried to keep pace, but it didn't help that CIC, although large, had very little walking space when packed with personnel. He grimaced as he bumped into yet another crewmember. A glance over at the communications area showed a grinning Dualla, shaking her head at Billy's predicament.

Billy cleared his throat. "Colonel Tigh, this request is not unreasonable. All that the President requests are to have one or two of your pilots, with sufficient security, shuttle people from the Astral Queen to another ship, the Loki."

The Colonel stopped in his tracks and favored him with a raised eyebrow. "Is that all?" he asked sardonically. "Mr. Keikeya, what gave you the impression that Galactica was a limo service? In case you haven't noticed we are very far into uncharted territory. Not only that, a good many of our Vipers are currently grounded due to damage they took in the last fight not just from the Cylons but from the highly unorthodox landings they all made so as to make the Jump with this ship."

He paused to look over a report that was handed him, initialed it and continued walking. "Our people down in the repair bays – not to mention a good number of our pilots - have been working round the clock to try and get as many fighters operational in case we run into anymore nasty surprises." He stopped again and fixed a tired glare on Billy. "Besides, most of the larger craft in the fleet already have shuttlecraft, along with their respective pilots, so why not use them?"

"With all due respect, Colonel," Billy said. "While we might have the logistics to make the changes, we simply do not have the security. We're in the process of setting up even a small police force, but it'll take time. These are hardened criminals and there is the chance they might take over the shuttle. Additionally, Galactica does carry the shuttles with the largest capacity. Am I right in assuming that there is contingent of Colonial Marines aboard?"

Tigh blinked. "Yes," he answered cautiously. "Galactica's always had a small contingent, going all the way back to the first Cylon War."

"Then all that'd be needed are two pilots, at most, with only a few Marines. It wouldn't take that long and with your shuttles it would take at most a few trips. A greater show of force would quell any attempt at a riot. If an attempt is made….well, I would think your pilots – not to mention the Marines – are trained to handle any emergency."

"After all we've been through, I'd say so as well," muttered Tigh, who still looked slightly recalcitrant.

"There is a possible added benefit to your ship as well," Billy offered.

Tigh frowned. "How's that?" Billy took out his PDA, tapped on it a few times and handed it back to the Colonel. "What is this?"

"It's a preliminary survey of the refugees we have in the fleet. While in the process, I was able to scout out some occupations that might be of interest to you." Billy leaned over and highlighted a section for Tigh, whose eyes widened a bit as he scanned down.

"These are - ?"

"Retired Fleet Personnel," Billy said with a nod. "Some of them have worked in such areas as the Picon Shipyards or even aboard other ships, including other Battlestars. I've contacted a few of them and they are more then willing to come to the Galactica and help in any capacity. It would definitely help to bring up the number of personnel you have in the hangar bays, especially after the losses you took on that nuclear strike."

Tigh looked sharply up at Billy. He said nothing for a moment, then looked back at the list and took a deep breath.

"Yes, it would help, wouldn't it?" he said quietly.

"There's also one other thing I'd like to show you, if I may?" Billy said, indicating an empty workstation.

Tigh gave a half-grin. "Oh, there's more?" he asked in gruff amusement. Billy walked over and plugged in a memory card. Several ships in the fleet appeared on the screen with specifications scrolling down on one side.

"Originally Captain Apollo was to do an engineering survey of the ships when we first started gathering outside of Caprica space, but when we got jumped by those Cylons, he never got the chance after the President gave the order to jump to Ragnar."

"I heard about that," mused Tigh. "Leaving behind all those people behind…"

Billy paused briefly from his work. "It wasn't a decision she made lightly, sir," he said quietly, with a hint of defensiveness. "She understood that it had to be made quickly, or else everyone would have been lost."

"I'm not saying that, Mr. Keikeya," Tigh replied softly. Billy looked up and saw the Colonel's features softening a bit. "I merely meant that…I can sympathize with what she had to do." Billy was about to ask what he meant, but the Tigh nodded to the screen. "Go on."

"Oh, well this," he pressed a button, "is the Celestra­, an industrial electronics and repair ship. Any problems with your electronics, in any ship of the fleet, can be fixed here." He touched another button and another ship appeared. "This is the Hephaestus, a foundry ship which produces castings from molten ore. I talked with the Captain and was told they can modify their moldings to manufacture Viper parts. They said it would take a little doing, but it's doable." Another button was touched and two more ships appeared. "The one on the left is the Tauranian, which is a refinery ship for Tylium. We were lucky since it was the last ship Lt. Valerii found before we jumped. The last ship is a mineral ship, which can do planetary surveys and ore extraction of Tylium."

Tigh could only look from the list of personnel in his hand to the ships on the screen. "You – did all this," Tigh waved the PDA, "by yourself?"

Billy flushed a little, and then nodded. "I…really don't sleep that much," he said sheepishly.

Tigh pursed his lips. "Mr. Keikeya, you do realize we would've eventually found out all this information – ships, personnel – by ourselves," he said quietly.

Billy held the Colonel's gaze. "Yes, sir, eventually, you would have."

Tigh said nothing, then shook his head with a chuckle and handed back the PDA. "So, one – maybe two – pilots, one shuttle and a few Marines, all to move some criminals to the Loki?"

Inside, Billy was smiling. "She's a penal ship in her own right and can handle the criminals with her own staff. Plus, the extra space opened up by the Celestra could accommodate more of the refugees, which we could move on our own."

"So, everyone is happy in the end?" Tigh said wryly.

"Exactly."

Tigh was about to say something when his eyes strayed behind Billy's field of view and his countenance dropped like a stone. Frowning, Billy turned and noticed a blonde Viper pilot walking past them. A small smirk tugged on the woman's lips and Tigh's mouth compressed to a thin line as she held his gaze a little while before walking to a station to drop off a report. Billy turned back and to see Tigh, who now had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You said you needed one or two pilots, right?" Billy nodded. Tigh's lips quirked a little as he gazed back at the retreating pilot's back.

"I can think of one off the top of my head."

"That son of a bitch!!" screamed Kara Thrace.

Not for the first time, Lee Adama idly wondered if voices could carry across a vacuum. If so, then every ship they passed in the fleet must have heads turning in their direction.

Unfortunately, wireless had no such limitations.

"Um – please repeat that last, Shuttle two-one-four?" asked a curious Dualla back at the Galactica. Lee, sparing an exasperated glance at Kara, leaned over and toggled the mike.

"Negative, Galactica. It was just static," he replied, hoping they'd leave it at that. There was slight pause on the other end before Galactica's Communication's Officer answered.

"Roger, two-one-four. Have a quiet trip," Dee said. Lee could imagine her shaking her head. Sighing, he switched off communications and looked over at Kara, who looked a little chagrined.

"If you're going to curse out anyone, try and not do it on an open channel?"

"Sorry," she mumbled. "It's just that – I was on my way to start my patrol, when he dumps this on my lap!" Kara shook her head in disgust. "I'd rather be out there," she waved her hand out past the view port, out into the blackness of space. "Me and my Viper, pushing the boundaries, you know?"

"Yeah," Lee said, also losing himself, for a moment, in the view of the cosmos.

"You didn't have to come along," Kara said a little guiltily. "Now you're stuck on this milk run along with me."

Lee shrugged while checking a readout. "I thought you could use the company on this run. From what you told me, this will help everyone in the end. Tyrol 's going to be jumping for joy once we bring in those personnel and any information on when those ships can start making spare parts. Besides, sleep is overrated." He and Kara shared a look and both chuckled. An indicator light went on and Kara leaned over and shut it off.

"We're ten minutes to the Astral Queen," Kara reported. Lee nodded and undid his safety harness.

"I'll go tell our guests."

Kara shook her head and snorted, though for a completely different reason. The last thing Lee saw was his copilot cracking her knuckles.

-Continued-