The Others Stories
By PU4788
Disclaimer: most of the things in here are not my creations and it should stay that way.
Chapter 1: The Return of the Sun.
New Caprica.
The sun was rising. Its ray of warm light creeping thought the curtain and made the two bodies sleeping in the bed glowing like golden statues.
He popped his eyes open but shut them off again when he saw the ray of light. He instinctively tightened his embrace around his companion. Even after a year and a half, he still couldn't get enough of touching her, feeling her skin, her warmth. Those months of separation made him long after her touch. He thought that it was his way of making up for lost time. He wished that this moment could last forever.
"Karl"
He heard she say his name. He ignored her and pretended to be sleeping.
"Karl"
He heard her voice again. So warm. So love. So…Sharon. He felt her body trying to slip away from his embrace. He tightened it.
"Karl!"
An elbow jabbed to his rib, in a playful way of elbowing. He opened his eyes and started to protest. But he saw that she was smiling and put her finger at his lip. He smiled while she leaned over to kiss his forehead. He loves this moment. He loves every single one of it. He felt her get off the bed, going out of the room. And he missed her already, he grinned. He laid there on the bed, letting the sunlight warm him. There's something about sunlight that he like. After spending many days, months, years in the Galactica's artificial light, he thought that he may will never really feeling the warmth of sunlight without worrying about war or losing his life under it again.
He laid there, warming himself in it. But he knew he couldn't just lie there all day. The time was dwindling and he has many things to do this day. He hopped off the bed and going to the bathroom. Halfway through it he stopped and looking at himself in the mirror. He hadn't changed much. After all, it was only a year and a half. But the lacking of his tag made it more real. What made the most impact was his surrounding. This was his, scratched that, their, own bathroom. No more group shower, no more waiting, no more 'in or out'. This was their bathroom and their alone. Even the little thing like the ability to be naked while he was shaving was rang home to him that life is returning to normal.
As normal as it can be.
He got into the kitchen. The smell of cooking bacons and eggs hit his nostril and made his mouth watered. Not to mention his stomach. His eyes darted to the two figures at the table and felt his chest knotted with emotions, again. No matter how many time passed, he knew he'll always feel that way about them. The sight of Hera alone, sitting there, safe and sound on the baby-chair in his kitchen, waiting for her breakfast, would be enough to make him cry. She will always be special, always has a place in his heart. No matter what.
His eyes focused on another figure. So small. So fragile. Liam has his eyes and his look, but he got Sharon's hair, and maybe, hopefully, brain. Then there's Sharon, standing there over the stoves, cooking their breakfast. He looked at three of them together. The scene was so sickeningly domestic, so reminding him of his childhood, and he would never trade all of these for anything.
"Will you eat your breakfast?" Sharon's voice breakthrough his bliss and returning him to the planet. He looked at her and smiled. He picked up the fork and start eating his bacons. Real bacons, made from real meat, and not frozen. He savored the taste and thanked to the gods, Kobol, Cylon or Terrans.
"So, what's the schedule?" Sharon asked him while trying to feed Hera, Liam and herself at the same time. He'd learned long ago not to interfere with her morning ritual.
"Around thirteen-hundred hours, I think" Something would never die, like the soldier in him, or part of it. "But since I have to go to the store to pick up and order stuffs, I think I will have to rush if I want to get there in time"
"So eat your stuffs and rush" She told him, and he did.
After that he kissed them goodbye, and return into the sunlight.
But as Karl Agathon was near New Caprica City, driving in this Terran-made 'automobile', on the left side of the road, his mood got darkened. The City, more likely town, was thriving. It was a success, nothing like the disaster that had been the faraway mess on the former New Caprica. There're buildings, solid and real. Houses, stores, schools, offices, everything that make a city worth its name.
Even that, he hated going there. He could still feel it. The stare, the look, the talk-behind-his-back, it seemed that they had followed him from Galactica to the planet. He felt they were double when he and his family come to the town. And like on Galactica, they ignored them.
And as he was near Government Square, he nearly turned his car back. There's a large group of people gathering there. While it was normal to have a large group of peoples there, it's a square after all, what made him feel very uneasy was that he recognized that group. It's that Gemeneses and their growing supporters/followers. On the edge of the Square were the nervously looking units from New Caprica Police Department and a few men he recognized as the Terran Ground Force, listening to the group that was vigorously denouncing them.
Trying his best to drive as faraway as possible from the Square itself, he was happy to finally park his car near that 'neoclassical' building that housed most of the Terran governmental agencies. He quickly showed his ID to enter the building as soon as possible. Once inside, he felt relatively safe again when he saw many Terrans and Colonials walking hurriedly down the hall. Some visitors like him, some working here. Many Colonials had found their careers as desk clerks, receptionists, janitors or whatever the Terrans outsourcing to them. He recognized many faces from Galactica or Pegasus here too, but as usual, he ignored them. They were among the worst anyway.
He went to the second floor, or the third floor for colonials system. The Terrans have a strange ways of their own and this is one of them. He shook his head. As he entered the office, he recognized one face immediately. He hurried down to her table, relieve that at least he could do this without having to suppress his anger.
"Hi" He said, as the woman looking up at him from her papers.
"Hi" Anastasia Dualla returned his greeting with a warm smile. They didn't know or interact with each other much when they both still onboard the Galactica. When they first met again on the planet, in this same office, he'd felt really awkward, knowing that he's still in contact with Lee and knowing that she knew it. But her friendly, non-hostile manner toward him made him surprise, and grateful. But they didn't become friend or anything, there's this rift that they each couldn't cross to become friend. But at least they felt good about what they have right now.
"How're you?" He asked, and brought his bag to his lap.
"Fine" She answered and handed him a paper. He quickly filled the form.
"And how's the husband doing?"
"Castor's fine. Doing great, really" She received his form and typed them into her computer. There's a silence after his question, minus the sound of the keyboard. But nothing unusual. It was their routine questions anyway.
"The Yellow Form?" He quickly handed her his forms from the bag. She grabbed it and started typing again.
"Nervous?" She looked away from her screen with puzzled eyes. Karl tilted his head to the window that looking down the Government Square. She frowned.
"Fanatic idiots" She snorted. "I think I should ask you more with that question"
He shrugged. "Can't go back without picking stuffs anyway"
She shot him a concerning look. "Just finish your errands and go back home. OK? They think that it might get worse by noon" She handed him back a paper.
"What's this?" He asked.
"A seminar. Next week and be here" She said as he started to stand up. They said goodbye, wishing good health for their other parts. And as he was about to left, she grabbed his hand. "Be careful, Karl" He smiled and waved his hand.
When he left the building, he could see that she was right. The crowd had gotten much bigger and the speeches were becoming more and more violence. He paced quickly to his car, face down, trying his best to blend in with other walkers. And as the topic was turn to the Cylons, he reached his car and sped away.
After that, he just went on his usual business. He drove to Aikawa's, New Caprica largest store. It's owned by Terran so they have more access to much stuff that the colonials operated one didn't have or have to order it with more expensive prices. Many things were simple goods like diapers, paper, stationary equipments, but also many luxurious things like Terran wine, beer and other liquors. After picking up his groceries and supplied and loaded them into his car, he looked at his watch and cursed. It's almost 13.00 and he had to drive to the other side of the city.
The spaceport, if you could call it that, wasn't big or grand like its predecessor on Caprica, but it serve its purpose nonetheless. It'd welcome many officials, and immigrants, to the planet since its beginning of operation. Since there was still a limitation to the Colonials on space-traveling, it was primarily a military zone. And you could see it as you was about to enter the area. Soldiers, fence, checking post, all of it were there. He'd to send in a form for days before he could enter the area. Inside, it was simply a group of buildings with a large field to park spacecrafts, and that's it.
And when they announced that the 13.00 flight had arrived, he felt nervous. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure about this, but he knew he had to. At least they had made peace with each other, and now, ironically, had fallen into the same situation. But that knowledge had done nothing to ease his nervousness. It' just grew when he saw that the passengers had starting to pass by him.
Then he saw him. Even among the crowd, he could see him. The color of the Terrans cadet uniform had made sure of that. Karl just swallowed hard when the young man was finally in front of him. A silence was ensured between the two. Both were feeling awkward to start saying something first. Then Karl made the first move.
"Hi, Lee"
End Chapter