Title:Testamentum in procinctu
Rating: Teen
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did.
A/N: Thanks to Kate98 for the wonderful beta

Testamentum in procinctu Latin Roman Law. A will made by a soldier while preparing for battle.

The first time Kara was forced to fill out the form was just after graduation. Her superior officer tracked her down and told her she wouldn't be allowed up in a viper again until she filled one out. So she took all of five minutes to fill out her personal information, list the academy's scholarship fund as her pay beneficiary, and note that the fleet should donate those of her personal belongings that they could to charity, and throw the rest away.

It was mandatory that everyone member of the Colonial fleet file a last will and testament with the fleet headquarters prior to shipping out for their first assignment. Kara figured the fleet had too much other stuff to be worrying then tracking down dead Colonials families and figuring out the distribution of their belongings, but to her it was a reminder of things she didn't want to think about. To Kara it pointed out that she choose a profession where she could die. Not that she was afraid to die, she just didn't want to think about it. What life she had to live she was going to live it her way, and thinking about dying or planning for death just really wasn't her style. It also pointed out that she was alone, and Kara didn't like to think about that either. She had plenty of friends, she never ate alone, always had someone to drink with and play cards with, she just didn't have anyone that she would leave her personal belongings to after her death.

The day they told her class about the rule, they were told they had a choice, they could write their own or fill out a form. The Lieutenant from the Office of Personal Affairs who explained the process to them told them to take a few days and really think about what they wanted to do, as this was a very serious matter.

Kara didn't really own anything or have anyone to leave the little she owned to, so she opted for the form and took one from the Lieutenant on the way out of class. She half read the form as she walked back to her rack. There was a section up top for the usual information, name, serial number, age etc. The next section was for a name of the person you would like to receive your personal belongings left in possession of the fleet and a space for the person to receive any and all pay owed to you by the fleet. The next section a bunch of blank lines to deal with any special requests or other belongings you wanted to give away. The last space on the form was for signing and dating. Kara just threw the form on her bed and joined some friends down the hall in a game of triad, and didn't think about it again until she was forced to fill it out.

The second time she filled out the form was after she got engaged to Zak. She hadn't thought about her form until the day Zak brought his home. Zak told her that he was going to list her as his beneficiary. That's when Kara realized for the first time she finally had someone she could list as her next of kin, someone who would actually want her belongings and care that she was gone. Kara made Zak get her a new form and they filled them out together.

She spent 2 nights in the brig the third time they asked her to fill out the form. In retrospect, she actually felt bad for the ensign who came to see her. He explained ever so nicely that the computerized system had notified them that the beneficiary she listed was now deceased and they would appreciate it if she would name a new one. It didn't help that Kara was on a 3 day bender when the Ensign knocked on her door and politely asked to come in. He even said he "was sorry for her loss, and while he realized this probably wasn't the best time, these things just needed to get done." Kara reacted the only way she knew, she punched him. He ran away and called the MP's on her.

After two days of sobering up in the brig Commander Adama came and sprang her, with new orders for her to report to the Galactica. He didn't say a word about Zak or the form or the Ensign, or the fact he was springing her from the brig, or all the strings he pulled not to get her discharged. He just told her that she was family now, and family looked out for each other.

She filled out the new form with her reassignment paperwork taking the Old Man at his word and listing him as family.

Kara didn't know what made her think of those forms today. Lot of good they were doing in the destroyed fleet headquarters on Picon, all but one Battlestar destroyed. The dead had no personal belongings or pay to distribute, but then again there weren't that many people left to distribute the stuff too. Kara realized, not for the first time, that she was one of the lucky few, she had her family left, if something happened to her there was someone who would care.