Part IV
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Quorum. Thank you for your service to your Colonies. We have much work to do now that we are back on the road to Earth. As I did when the first Quorum of twelve was sworn in I draw your attention to the fact that we have no Vice President. This government cannot function properly without one. I hereby ask you to consider Laura Roslin as my nominee for Vice President. May I have a second?"The delegate from Virgon seconds the nomination." Zarek continued "The nominations will remain open for the next thirty minutes."
---
Laura was working tirelessly to find the link between the exodus and the missing people in the fleet. While The President was meeting with the newly elected Quorum of Twelve she and Tory were sifting through mountains of paperwork and files searching for a link. They had been looking for hours and found nothing Laura torn off her glasses. "There nothing here. There has to be I don't understand."
"May be it's just a coincidence?" Tory said as she opened the next file folder.
"There has to be something. These people left the surface with us and they are nowhere to be found. There has to be something."
Tory looked up at her boss. "I think I found it. Do you know what the circle is?"
"In ancient times the circle was a group of peers that would judge those who did wrong." The words died on her lips. "That's what this is a group of people, all resistance leaders, according to this and... Oh my gods." Tory shoved the file towards Laura. "You should read this."
"An executive order to form the circle and a death warrant signed for each person deemed to be a collaborator." Laura was about to be sick when she saw his signature and the list of names—They were the missing people she knew had rejoined the fleet after the exodus from New Caprica. Now she knew they were all dead. "Tory, could you tell the Admiral I need to see him as soon as possible please.""Yes, ma'am."
---
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Quorum nominations for the Vice President are now closed. Those in favor of Laura Roslin becoming Vice President say I." A chorus of I's followed Zarek's direction.
"Those opposed." No one objected.
"Abstentions?" No one abstained.
"Very well, Laura Roslin is hereby appointed to the position of Vice President. Let us move on to the next item on the agenda. I would like to thank all of you for your support while I was in the office of President and I hereby announce my resignation from the post effective in seventy-two hours."Mummers of shock could be heard throughout the room but no one voiced their thoughts. Zarek dismissed the Quorum and stepped down from the podium.
---
Laura sat across from Bill as he looked at what Tory had found. "I wish I could say I told you so."
"You win. I should have expected this from him. I actually wasn't surprised to see his name attached to this. It was the other names that surprised me. Galen, Sam, Saul and Seelix."
"I will be having words with them."
"No Admiral you won't."Adama looked up at her with eyes of steel. "Excuse me."
"We've had enough bloodshed, Bill. All of the people listed in the circle lost something or someone down on New Caprica at the hands of the cylons. They are dealing with their own grief."
"By killing people? Laura they have to be dealt with some other way."
"And I ask you, if we deal with them are we any better than them?"Adama threw down the papers and his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No, I don't suppose we are. What do you suggest we do then?"
"We speak to President Zarek."
----
The shuttle ride to Colonial One was filled with a deadly silence. Laura could tell that Bill would blow at any time. "You have to go in there level headed."
"He authorized the killing of civilians just because they were trying to survive." Laura was unsettled by his comments but understood them nonetheless. She placed a hand over his. "You can't go in there with guns blazing Bill."
"War makes people do things they aren't proud of Laura. I've done things in war that I'm not proud of, but I did it to survive."
"I know. I've done things I'm not proud of either. War does that to people." Laura squeezed his hand tighter. "We will show him our displeasure Bill, but we have to be calm."
---
The moment they walked in calm went out the window. Adama marched up to Zarek and threw the folder of executive orders in his face. "What the hell is this?"
Zarek opened the folder and looked at the top page. He then closed the folder and looked up at the Admiral and Laura Roslin. His demeanor was calm. "It's all perfectly legal. You'll find a signed executive order on file authorizing a secret jury of six men and women to try, sentence, and execute people guilty of extraordinary crimes while collaborating with the enemy in a time of war. There's also a death warrant with my signature for every conviction."
Laura noticed the look in Bill's eyes matched the feeling of anger rising inside her. "Your presidency is a farce. It stops right now."
Zarek smiled smugly. "It will in fact end in less than seventy-two hours."Laura put a calming hand on Adama's arm and turned to Zarek.
"If they're guilty, they'll be tried by a jury of their peers publicly but not by a secret circle of peers."
"They have a jury. But they don't get lawyers. They don't get to showboat for weeks and months on end. They don't get to blame the system and they don't get lasting fame as martyrs or innocent people just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They just disappear. Now, in the gray twilight between the long night of the Occupation and the dawn of a new era, you come into office clean, without their blood on your hands."
The comments made by her soon to be Vice President made her blood boil. "Well, thank you. That's …very poetic. However you have a problem, Mr. President. Everyone by law is entitled to a trial with representation. Everyone. It is not an option to be discarded at the president's whim. Further I will not allow you to represent this government in any way if you continue to engage in further unjust actions. Our deal is null, if you plan on continuing this crusade. Do I make myself clear Mr. President?"
Zarek stared at her for a moment before turning to both Laura and Adama. "You think by making the trials public that you'll find justice?"
Laura walked away from Bill and closer to Zarek. "Yes, I do."
"Come on, Laura. You're not that naive. Let me tell you what's going happen if these cases go to trial. It'll consume this fleet for months, maybe years. People will be lining up to testify against their neighbors. It'll be a circus— entertainment for the mob. And you'll be signing death warrants almost every day. Is that how you want to spend your next term, Laura? As executioner-in-chief?"
"Not at all Mr. President but I will see that the people involved are treated as human beings, citizens of the Colonies, not as animals." Laura turned to Adama and they walked to the door. "Thank you for your time Mr. President, this meeting is over."