BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
DEPARTURES
The moment mankind has been waiting for since the end of the Earth-Cylon War has arrived. The two largest Battlestars ever built are about to lead a fleet of ships from Earth back to The Twelve Colonies.Note: This is Part Two in the "Back To The Colonies" series. Comments are always welcome. Enjoy!PROLOGUE
October 29th, 2044, Richmond, Virginia
Admiral Kara Thrace-Bond was in her bedroom at the Bond household in Richmond. She had two weeks off before reporting back to Australia in preparation for the launching of a fleet of fifty-six ships that would be sailing back to the Twelve Colonies in December. She wasn't relaxing; she was studying on her computer, at her desk, taking notes on the latest information that UED had sent her.
The proving run of her ship, the Battlestar Laura Roslin had been a great success, with ship and crew performing far above her expectations. The finale of the proving cruise had been an all-out simulated battle between the Roslin and Lee Adama's ship, the Battlestar William Adama. The two gargantuan Colonial Class Battlestars-the largest Battlestars ever constructed, would be the anchor of the fleet that would head to The Colonies.
Kara had been in San Diego since the Roslin touched back down in Australia about forty-five days before. UED had scheduled her for some vacation time after the debrief. But this was a "working" vacation, and there was very little of the "vacation" part involved.
By reckoning on Earth, she had just turned fifty years old. She was only twenty-two years younger than both her adoptive parents. Reaching fifty had been a bit of a downer for her but with Human Beings living longer, healthier lives, there was a good chance she could have another fifty in front of her.
Around 7:30 pm, there was a knock on her door. She looked at her watch, surprised at how late in the day it was, "Come in?"
Her father, former American President Justin Bond, peeked around the door with a smile, "Hey, Admiral, you need a break?"
A warm, broad smile lit up Starbuck's face, "Why yes, as a matter of fact Mr. President, I do!", she chuckled, "pull up that chair next to me." Even after all these years of first serving with him as his UED Liaison when he was President of The United States, and afterward when he and Judy Bond had adopted her, all the way to this moment, she was still in awe of the man.
Justin Bond grabbed the other chair and sat backward in it, with his arms on the back, and chin on his arms. The former American Commander-In-Chief was seventy-one years old, having been in the forefront of U.S and world politics for the last quarter century. He had been the steadying voice of the planet both when Galactica had arrived at Earth in 2022, and again in 2027 during the Earth-Cylon war.
In 2043, UED had offered him, and he had accepted, the post of Governor of the first United Earth Defense deep space mission. The first mission was to set sail in just under four months for The Twelve Colonies.
But he almost hadn't lived to see that day approaching.
Nine months earlier, he had been critically wounded in a terrorist attack spearheaded by Noel "Narcho" Alison and Diana "Hardball" Seelix in Sioux City, the Capital of the tiny nation of New Caprica, that sat in the middle of the American heartland. He had suffered a broken left arm in an explosion that had claimed the life of New Caprican President Brendan Costanza, and later that day had been shot in the right clavicle, just above his lung by Diana Seelix.
Alison had been shot and killed by a Sioux City Police Officer on that day. As for Diana Seelix, she had been tried and convicted for her part in the plot. She was now floating for eternity somewhere in space.
Even with modern medicine and advances in surgical methods, it had taken him three months to fully regain use of both his arms and was still undergoing some physical therapy. But there was no way in Heaven he wasn't going to The Colonies.
The soon-to-be Governor had named Admiral Caprica Baltar to be the military Commander of his flagship. She had put together the CIC crew in the last few months. Like himself, Caprica had been seriously injured in the terrorist attacks that January, although her injuries hadn't been as severe, and had fully recovered by the end of March. Her husband, Doctor Gaius Baltar would lead the team of scientists on the fleet. His primary mission would be to determine the state of the planets some twenty seven years after the Holocaust, and to gauge the health of the people still on those worlds.
Part of the journey would take place over areas and space not covered by the fleet all those years ago, and if there were any phenomena of unknown origin on their journey, they would study those as much as possible.
"What's the latest from UED?", he inquired of his daughter.
"They're adjusting our course out of the Solar System a little. Hoshi says the navigators think it'll save us a bit of time leaving the system. Other than that, not a lot dad", she said, putting her notebook and pen down on her computer desk.
"I know the drill, babe", he said with a wry smile, "I'm doing the same thing. I get updates almost every day now on some tinkering or another with what the law will be when we sail; food allocations; updated passenger lists for the civilian part of the fleet." He sighed just as his daughter did.
"In other words-bureaucracy?", Kara said with a wink.
The former President chuckled, "I'll bet even the Cavil's had to deal with bureaucracy of one kind or another", he offered, "you can't run a government without it, unfortunately."
"Have you made a decision on which Deep Space Explorer will be your Flagship?" The Deep Space Explorer vessels would serve as the platforms for government, recreation, the arts, and diplomacy once they arrived at The Colonies. For every Battlestar that sailed, three Deep Space Explorers would accompany them.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have", he sat up in the chair for a moment. The soon-to-be-fleet Governor had six ships to choose from and UED had allowed him to name the first-ever fleet of DSE's. "I'm going to use the King as my ship", he said, referring to the Deep Space Explorer Martin Luther King, Jr. "I can't think of a better man to honor on a mission to help humanity."
Kara had learned a lot about American history since her parents had adopted her back in 2027, and she was now well-versed in the history of one of the two nations in which she had citizenship, "Hear, hear", she said approvingly, "I think I have a dream is a perfect description of what we're going to do."
"I'll have to remember that, sweetie, when I make the farewell speech", making a mental note of what Kara had said. And he would remember it.
"Want a drink, dad?", Kara asked. She had a small mini-fridge in the corner of her room, "I've got some Pepsi in there."
"Sure, toss me one, Kara", he said with a smile. "Something stronger would be nice, but I'll take that, thank you very much."
Kara grabbed two out of the refrigerator and handed one to her dad, and they both twisted their tops off. Admiral Thrace paused for a moment, then looked up at her father, "Dad, it's going to be so hard leaving Nick and Abby behind", she said in a quiet voice, "I'm dreading that part of this."
"I know, honey, so are your mother and I", he said with more than a little sadness on his face, "They backed our decision a hundred percent, but it's got to be killing them."
Kara got up and turned her chair around backward, and inched hers until it touched the back of her father's chair. She put her right hand on his forearm, "Of course they did. They weren't going to say 'no', and we both know that", she sighed again, "And the truth is if our places were reversed and they were going we wouldn't have stood in their way."
"True", he conceded, "I hadn't thought of it quite like that", he said, grabbing his daughter's hand. "But like you, I'm not looking forward to leaving them."
They both took several swigs from their drinks and quietly sat next to one another. After a few minutes, the former President spoke up, "Hey, why don't you come downstairs and grab some dinner with me?", he inquired, "Your mom won't be back from Florida till late tonight, and I could use the company."
"Why not", she said in mock disappointment, which made her father chuckle."It sure as hell beats having my nose buried in this computer.
The two of them got up and headed downstairs. As they reached the kitchen, Starbuck put one arm around her father, "I'm glad you and mom are going, though", she smiled, "I couldn't bear leaving my entire family behind."
"I'm glad we're going, too", he said, kissing her on top of the head and squeezing her, "and I think we're gonna make more than a little history while we're out there."
Kara's face lit up with a smile, "You bet we well, dad", and they clinked their bottles together.
