Laura Roslin honestly believed that she would be alive the day they reached Earth, and she was. When the first group from Galactica set foot on the northeastern continent, she insisted on going along. Kneeling with the group in prayer, she thanked the gods for their safe arrival.
The unmistakable surge from a ship-jump woke her. She reached for the glass of water at her bedside. She thought after all of these years traveling with the fleet that she would become accustomed to the movements in space but a full night's sleep was something she hadn't mastered since that day in Caprica.
Heady from the vivid dream, Laura swore she could still smell the moist earth. She could see where the colony would plant their crops. She could see children playing outside of a makeshift school. She saw herself reading by a lake while a calm breeze ruffled the surface of the water.
Laura saw all of these things in her dreams, and she knew she would be alive to see Earth.
And she was. Two days later, Adama called her to his quarters on Galactica. "Madam President, I'm recommending a change in plans," he said.
"What is it, Bill?"
"It would appear that the Cylons have already been here," he said. "This is what's left of Earth."
She took the pictures from Adama. The photos from the first passes over Earth showed no chance of settlement. A frozen wasteland covered the entire planet; there would be no schools here.
"How did this happen?" she said. Her heart shut down long enough to regain her command composure.
"It appears that Earth's outer atmosphere and gravitational proportion were destroyed by some sort of weapon," he said.
"How can you know for sure the Cylons were here?" she asked.
"We're sure." He pointed to a low-flying shot of a Raider partially buried in snow. "We think they're long gone. There isn't any other trace of them... for now," he said.
"Recommendations?" she asked.
"There is another planet just a bit further up. It looks like it used to be gaseous but the change in Earth's atmosphere and gravitational structure seems to have had a larger impact throughout this galaxy," he said. "In short, it looks promising."
"All right," she said. "Does anyone else know this is Earth?" She refused to let her hands shake as she indicated the pictures.
"Standard recon, as far as the pilots know," he said. She nodded.
They opened the first school on "Earth" three months later. Laura declined to lead the prayer.