A Message from God

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Author's Note: During the last part of LDYB2 I kept asking myself the question: Why have the Cylons landed, why did they decide to occupy and not merely to obliterate? I didn't buy the idea of peaceful reconciliation of differences for a minute but they must have had some reason. This idea played around in my mind for ages and eventually it developed a life of its own and became this story. I know nothing about what is in store for season three so I'm sure this is totally AU but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Please let me know what you think as there is more written and I'll post it if people like this first part. A very long note, I know. Sorry.

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Laura Roslin spent the night after the Cylon invasion huddled in her school tent surrounded by terrified children. Uncertain about what was happening she did not feel comfortable about trying to get them home. She did not feel comfortable about the entire situation. Why had the Cylons landed, why had they not just attacked from space? Why was everyone still alive? What had happened to the Battlestars and the fleet?

For the first time in a long time Roslin regretted being out of the political loop. After Baltar's election she had deliberately distanced herself from that world, unable to watch that odious little man destroy all her hard work. But now, as she sat in the dark, scared and confused, she reflected that maybe she should have kept a closer eye on things, should have installed some informers in Baltar's staff. At least then she would know what was going on.

The night passed slowly, filled with strange noises and bright lights, but the following day started early. Just after dawn Roslin was awakened from a light doze by a loud voice, obviously being transmitted over some sort of PA system.

"Attention residents of New Caprica. Attention residents of New Caprica. President Baltar has an announcement. Please give it your full attention." Roslin recognised Gaeta, despite the noticeable quaver in the young man's voice. She wondered if, right now, he was regretting his unremitting support of Baltar. After a brief pause the PA system kicked in again, this time broadcasting the voice of the President of the Colonies.

"Good Morning. I have a brief statement to make. As of yesterday at 1700 hours the government of New Caprica is in the hands of the…the Cylons. But, be assured, they are not here to harm but to help. It is their wish to put the recent conflict behind us and to this end it has been decided that I will remain President, advised by a council of Cylons. As the Cylons are unarguably our evolutionary superiors this will serve only to better our life on New Caprica. However, I must add a caveat to this welcome promise. I am sure that many among you are unsure of the Cylons' intentions and I must ask that you do not allow any such feelings to lead you to take any rash actions that may inhibit the peaceful communion of our two races. Such rash acts will be severely punished for the good of everyone. Subversion will not be tolerated, can not be tolerated if we wish to live in peace and harmony. We understand that these changes will require a lot of adjustments and to make things easier a night time curfew is now in effect. All citizens must remain in their accommodations after sunset. It is anticipated that these restrictions will only last a few days, to provide time for adjustment and to prevent ill-advised actions by any misguided members of our community. Thank-You kindly for your attention. Any further communications that become necessary will be broad cast in the same fashion. Good Day."

Roslin sat stunned and horrified. She had never liked Baltar, had always distrusted him but this…this was worse than she had ever expected, even from him. She read between the lines of his speech and what she saw was not pretty. As a history teacher she knew only too well what would happen next. First martial law then prison camps, interrogations, disappearances, and, knowing the Cylons, some kind of Eugenics programme. Roslin couldn't stop the tears that began to stream down her face as the future of humanity appeared in front of her as clearly as if she was already living it. One of the youngest children reached up and wiped the tears from her face.

"Don't cry, miss. Please don't cry." The sound of his worried voice brought Roslin crashing back to the here and now and she instantly felt ashamed at having frightened the children. She wiped the tears away and plastered a smile on her face.

"Right, who's ready to go home?" The children all leapt to their feet and grabbed their coats. The older ones looked slightly concerned still and Roslin hastened to reassure them, to make up for the damage her tears had done.

"Don't worry, everybody. You heard the President, everything is fine. The war is over." The youngest children paid her no heed as they struggled in to coats and gloves but the older ones nodded, happy once more. Except for one. Sally Jenkins walked over to Roslin and looked up with serious brown eyes.

"Are the Cylons our friends now? Are they really here to help us?" Roslin looked down at her pupil and smiled, her heart breaking. For the first time in her life Laura Roslin lied to a child.

"Yes, honey. You don't need to worry." Sally's face remained serious, but then Roslin had never seen the girl smile. Roslin turned away, unable to meet those serious, wary eyes any longer. She bustled the children out of the school tent and herded them all to their respective homes, handing them over to grateful, frantic parents. Sally and five others she returned to the orphanage tent. Sally grasped her hand and refused to let go.

"Please don't leave me here, Miss Roslin. I'm afraid." Roslin forced a gentle smile.

"Honey, you heard the president. Everything's…"

"I think the president is a liar. I think the Cylons are bad. Only bad people would kill my mom and dad." Roslin looked down and had to fight to hold back tears. She couldn't think of anything to say to that. In the end she simply pried her hand free of Sally's and passed the child over to Sven Krause, one of the carers. She stood and watched as he walked the young girl into the tent, talking soothingly to her the whole time. Sally looked back once and Roslin had to turn away from the pleading in her face.

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Roslin spent the rest of the day walking around the settlement trying to ease the fears of the residents. It was hard to do, however, when she shared most of their fears herself. By late afternoon she had made her way to almost every tent and was starting to worry that she had seen none of Galactica's crew. During her time as president she had had enough experience with the military to know how they thought and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would be holed up somewhere planning something. She also knew that whatever it was they were planning would get people killed. Baltar was right about one thing: now was not the time for rash actions. Now was the time for lying low, for watching and listening. But that wasn't how the military mind thought – they'd been hit and they'd want to hit back. Roslin returned to her tent at sundown and prayed that nobody would do anything before she had a chance to speak to them, before she had a chance to explain to them why, this time, discretion was the better part of valour.

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Starbuck crept through the darkness, moving from shadow to shadow to avoid detection. She cursed softly as she tripped on a tent peg. This was hell. Worse than hell. She'd returned to her tent after the dramatic arrival of the Cylons only to find that one of them had gotten there before her. Leoben had been sitting on a chair beside Anders's bed chatting companionably.

Starbuck had acted before she thought, drawing her illegal, military issue pistol and shooting the Cylon twice in the head before he had even moved. Then she had begun cursing, using words even she usually avoided. She knew she had created a major problem for herself, one of these days she would start thinking before she acted.

She had dragged a confused Anders out of bed and had hauled him to Tigh's tent, knowing that Tigh could be trusted to give her husband an alibi, to swear the younger man had been with him all afternoon.

Then she had run into the forest, spending an uncomfortable night up a tree. The following morning she had listened to Baltar's speech which had carried clearly through the early morning air. She had cursed almost the whole way through it, seeing it for what is was – the surrender speech of a defeated power. She had spent the rest of the day exploring the region around the settlement, something she hadn't bothered doing before.

She had remembered Cally mentioning some caves that the young mechanic had helped survey and, at around noon, Starbuck had found them. A quick look around found them to be extensive and seemingly stable. She had decided that they would do for her purposes. Anders would be as comfortable here as anywhere else and it would serve as an adequate base for the resistance that she had promised the chief, especially if Cally's other findings were correct.

Starbuck had waited for nightfall before she headed back to the settlement. That had seemed like a good idea at the time. But now, in the dark, she was starting to question the wisdom of her decision. In some ways she stood out even more than she would have during the day when at least there would have been crowds to hide herself in. Creeping around in the dark like this, she had realised, made her very presence suspicious. Starbuck ruefully reflected that she had a lot to learn about guerrilla warfare. She was tempted to return to the forest and postpone the retrieval of Anders and the meeting with Tigh until the following day but in the end she decided that she had come so far she might as well continue.

Stopping briefly to get her bearings Starbuck was startled to hear sobs coming from inside one of the closest tents. She began to move quietly away but then she realised that the sounds were coming from a child and that no-one appeared to be making any attempt at comfort. Quickly Starbuck traced the sounds to a large tent which she noticed, with shock, was the one used by the former president to house her school. She hesitated momentarily before entering, nervous about what awaited her in a tent that should have been deserted. As soon as she entered she saw a small figure sitting huddled over one of the desks. She moved quickly over to the child and spoke gently.

"Honey, what are you doing here? You should be at home." The child – Starbuck realised it was a girl – jumped and began to sob harder, knocking over her chair in her haste to get away. Starbuck raised a hand and grabbed the girl's arm. Noise wasn't good.

"Hush. I'm not going to hurt you. You need to be quiet, we don't want to be found here." The sobbing continued and Starbuck began to panic. They were going to be found for sure if this noise kept up.

"Be quiet, please, honey." Then Starbuck realised that this child must be one of Roslin's pupils and that maybe she could use that fact.

"Hey, kid, are you looking for Miss Roslin? I'm her friend you know. My name's Starbuck. I knew Miss Roslin when we were all living in space." The sobs decreased in volume and Starbuck sensed that she had the child's attention.

"Yeah, I used to work for her. I was a pilot on the Galactica. Do you know the Galactica? It's a really big ship with lots of people on it. We were all friends of the President, uh, Miss Roslin." The sobs stopped entirely and the little girl spoke, louder than Starbuck would have liked.

"Will you take me to Miss Roslin? I thought she'd be here."

"You came here looking for her?"

"Yes. I told her I didn't want to be left there. I knew the Cylons were bad."

"You were right about that, kiddo. But I can't take you to Roslin. I have things I need to do. You'll have to…"

"I want to go to Miss Roslin! I won't go with you. I want to go to Miss Roslin!" Starbuck had had very little to do with children in her life but she recognised the warning signs of a tantrum.

"Okay, Okay. Miss Roslin's tent isn't far from here. I'll take you. But you need to be absolutely silent. No talking. Or the Cylons will find us and then we'll be in trouble. Okay?"

"Okay." Starbuck nodded and took the girl's hand. Together they crept to the tent door. Starbuck peeped out to make sure the coast was clear before slipping out into the night, keeping the now silent young girl close to her side.