Curtain call

Chapter 4

His father had mentioned - warned - that Baltar had answered the phone. Baltar was still here and it didn't look like he had plans to leave.

"If it pleases her majesty, I should like to remain. Observe the changing of the guard as it were." Baltar offered a sweeping bow as he said it. As he raised his head, he had a look in his eyes that Lee couldn't quite place.

"Mmm." Not quite completely recovered from the fit they had found her in, the President giggled as she nodded her acquiescence.

Lee stared as she rose to move past him. When she stumbled and grabbed his arm to steady herself, he told himself it was her still ongoing fit of laughter that made her stagger. Her lips met his ear as she pulled him closer to half whisper, half giggle to him. "When I'm dead, whatever you do, don't let him alone with the body."

Looking for some explanation, Lee tilted his head to meet her eyes, but his father already had her in his grasp, guiding her to a spot at the table.

Once they were all settled and seated – as always his father between Lee and the President - skipping the pleasantries, Lampkin started right in. "I think people will get behind the idea of representation by ship instead of by colony easily enough. In my opinion, the hard sell is going to be Lee as Vice President and eventual President.

"Lee is the only surviving Quorum member." His father pointed out.

"Yeah about that –" Romo started to say something, but then seemed to think better of it. " –Let's get back to that part in a minute and for the moment focus on a few other facts. Like that he's an Adama and he was never actually elected by anyone."

"I was never elected either and look how that turned out." The President responded dryly as she shifted in her seat. Despite the concessions they had made for her, she seemed to be having trouble getting comfortable.

Lampkin smiled unpleasantly at her. "That's cute. No really, that's cute. Being snide that's always so helpful."

Lee noticed his father seemed to be in a hurry. "Let's move this along."

Romo tipped his head in a gesture of acquiescence before starting again. "Everyone please try to remember as I speak that I am on your side and I know this not to be true, but I am trying to give you the view from another perspective. While I agree Lee is the right choice, the only choice – I'll remind you all he was my choice first – he is still an Adama. Thanks to the manifesto written by a certain person in this room –"

Lee's eyes flicked to Baltar who didn't even have the decency to look ashamed. He didn't seem to have reacted to the words at all. All he did was continue to stare at the President with that look that Lee couldn't decipher. As Lee brought his own gaze back to the still speaking Lampkin, he could tell by the narrowing of Romo's eyes and the way they darted back and forth from Baltar to the President that Lampkin was seeing it too.

"- it may not sit very well with some people to have one Adama in charge of the military and another heading up the government."

"Lee won't be heading the government." His father interjected. "Laura will still be the President. The office of the vice president will just be taking on more duties for the time being. People will have plenty of time to adjust to the transition."

"No doubt." There was an edge to Lampkin's response that Lee suspected he – as the one to have had the most dealings with Romo - was the only one to detect.

"The President might want to consider moving back to Colonial One for a time." Lampkin suggested.

"No." was the immediate response from his father.

"It would show a more healthy division between –"

"I said no. What's next?"

"Admiral –"

"- The President is restarting her doloxan treatments this afternoon. She will be remaining aboard the Galactica. End of discussion."

"Would Madam President care to chime in?" Eyes locked on Lee's father, Romo paused, waiting for a response from the President.

None came.

Noticing the break, they all turned to look - Lee leaning forward to see past his father.

Her eyes were closed. She was asleep.

Feeling embarrassed and for some reason he couldn't explain angry, Lee looked away as he prodded her sharply, if only verbally. "Madam President."

"Mmm. Sorry, I was just resting my eyes. Keep going."

"We're done here. The President is tired."

"Bill, I'm fine. Continue."

Lee listened to his father – himself sounding tired – try and fail to persuade her. "Laura, you're tired. It's been a rough few days. We can pick this up later."

"I'm fine." She insisted. "You were saying?"

Lee looked to his father. At his nod, he continued. "We will need to address the people's concerns."

"Don't think I didn't see that." She scolded them both.

"Are you planning a fleet wide address to announce this?" Lampkin asked the question, but allowed no time for a response. "Because I think how you go about making the announcement is going to be very important. I think it key that the Admiral not be in attendance." As an after thought, he added. "Oh and no marines."

Said Admiral was quick to counter. "The President doesn't go anywhere without a marine detail."

After the Quorum, Zarek had had slaughtered any of the President's very loyal personal guard that had the misfortune to be aboard Colonial One.

Lee watched Romo's eyes keep shifting from Baltar to the President. What wondered Lee was Lampkin seeing that Lee wasn't?

Lampkin spoke slowly and deliberately as if he were selecting each of his words carefully.

"The last time most of the people of this fleet saw Laura Roslin was during the broadcast of Baltar's trial. She was vibrant and healthy. Since then she's spent most of her time sequestered on Galactica. She relocated – was relocated – it all looks the same from the outside of the Galactica."

Entirely unsure of what it was that Lampkin was trying to say, Lee just stared at him. When none of the others seemed to pick up on it either, Lampkin tried again.

"Before the start of the mutiny - right before the start of the mutiny - some rumors began circulating around the fleet – no doubt started by Tom Zarek, but that's neither here nor there at the moment. The rumors concerned whether or not the sudden decline in the President's health might be being caused by something other than the return of her cancer."

"What are you getting at?" His father demanded.

"I fear that … some people may see this as a plot against President Roslin. That she may be being coerced."

A grunt was his father's only response.

"There are people who may see it as quite the coincidence that Lee, your son, was the only Quorum member to survive the massacre on Colonial One. It was a bit fortuitous – wouldn't you agree?"

"What?" Lee couldn't help but feel more than a little blindsided. Despite all the hours he and Lampkin had put in together drafting a plan for a Quorum based by ship, this was the first he was hearing of any of this. "What are you implying? I survived because I wasn't on board. As soon as I saw Zarek on Colonial One I knew right away that something wasn't right. There was no way that my father would have let him out of the brig after the stunt he pulled with the tylium ship."

"So you knew something was wrong, but you left."

"Yes." Lee admitted.

"Did you tell anyone?" Romo asked. "That something was wrong?"

"I tried calling my father from Colonial One but Gaeta wouldn't put through my call. That's why I left Colonial One - to get to Galactica to warn my father."

"Before leaving did you tell anyone on Colonial One that something was wrong?"

"I … I ..." Lee stuttered trying to remember the exact sequence of events.

Unwilling to wait, Lampkin went forward. "So you left Colonial One right before a couple of Galactica's marines went in and started massacring people? As I said fortuitous."

"I don't care for what you're suggesting." Lee shot back angrily. "As soon as I landed on Galactica I had a gun stuck in my face – several in fact. If it wasn't for Kara, I would be dead."

"But you're not. And here you are getting quite the promotion. From a nobody to a seat on the Quorum to Vice President in just a few short months? Ever thought about writing a book yourself, Lee? Maybe offer up some career advice for the rest of us? Because you always seem to get the promotions. Exactly how many more experienced, better qualified people did you leapfrog to go from flyboy to commanding your very own battlestar?"

Words escaping him, Lee shook his head in disgust not just at Lampkin, but at his father and the President, neither of which seemed to have anything to say to defend him.

"Of course a tell all book might not be such a good idea. Now's not exactly the time to be reminding people about what happened the last time daddy gave you the keys to the car."

Changing tack completely, Lampkin went on. "Zarek was popular. Zarek was always popular. The Admiral here may not have liked him or trusted him, but clearly other people did – including people in this room when it suited their needs. "

Lampkin pointed at Lee. "You were pretty buddy buddy with him not so long ago. Wasn't Zarek the one who got you appointed to the Quorum vacancy?" And she -" Though his gaze was still on Lee, Lampkin gestured to the President "- she went on quite the jolly holiday with him to Kobol."

Lee sputtered, but could make no words come out.

Lampkin had no such problems. "Zarek had a way of ingratiating himself with people, people who count. It's how he almost got elected to the Vice Presidency instead of Baltar the first go around. And I have to wonder if that's why or part of why we never went through all the bother of a trial for Zarek, Admiral."

Lee was glad to see Lampkin finally turn his penetrating gaze elsewhere.

"That you feared he would once again manage to prove too slippery to be pinned."

His father finally spoke. "There was a court-marshal."

"Really?" Lampkin asked. "I must have missed that. When was that exactly? Because I can't seem to recall being called in to testify. Must have slipped my mind."

"Given the overwhelming evidence your testimony wasn't necessary."

"I see." Lampkin nodded. "And the bit with the jury? Was that unnecessary too? Because I don't seem to recall seeing any ship captains gadding about either."

His father tugged at the bottom of his worn uniform tunic, straightening it. "As a flag officer in a time of war I am authorized to serve as the sole magistrate."

"That's fine for Gaeta, but Zarek was a civilian." Lampkin pointed out.

"The President signed an order authorizing a tribunal of six to try Zarek for his crimes."

Lee found it quite fitting that Zarek's own execution had been authorized by the same type of secret tribunal that Zarek had used on the collaborators from New Caprica.

"Justice." Grimacing, Lampkin shook his head and proclaimed. "It's all just window dressing to you people isn't it?"

"Sorry, I'm a little unclear here." Lee admitted. "So are you suggesting that my father and I staged our own coup after Zarek's or that there was no mutiny? Because the President addressed the fleet during the mutiny! She spoke out against Gaeta and Zarek, in support of my father using Baltar's wireless transmitter and again from the raptor she used to escape. And hours later everyone heard her arguing with Zarek on the comm. It was an unsecured line!"

Romo pointed out some of the particulars. "Addresses she made from aboard a cylon baseship – the same baseship which had already kidnapped her once."

"She didn't address the fleet from the cylon baseship the first time." Pointing at Baltar, Lee corrected him. "She did it from his little love nest."

Lee still wasn't sure why it was that Baltar was here. The other man had said not a word since they had sat down. All he did was stare at the President.

"Really?" Lampkin feigned surprise. "See I didn't realize that because my transmitter doesn't tell me where transmissions are coming from. It just transmits them.

"What I'm saying -" Lampkin continued. "- is that there has been, is now, and always will be a great deal of confusion for the people outside of Galactica about exactly what goes on aboard this ship.

"Only ten ships followed the President's directive to shut down their FTL drives. Did Gaeta have twenty-five ships that were willing to jump with him? Or were the captains of twenty-five ships scared witless? There was a lot of confusion and the general order is for ships to always keep their FTL drives spooled up and ready, but I think we have to consider the possibility of another revolt when this goes public. There are going to be people who see this as another military coup. Madam President, you will have to be the one to make the announcement. Have you considered what I suggested earlier - making the announcement from Colonial One?"

As he spoke, Lampkin had been doing his usual grandstanding. Finally pausing to allow the President to answer, Lampkin looked to her. Lee saw him grimace.

The President had been uncharacteristically quiet in all this. Taking his eyes off of Lampkin, Lee discovered why.

Motioning for everyone else to pack up and leave, his father spoke quietly so as not to disturb her. "It's been a long couple of days. We can meet again tomorrow to finish this discussion and get a formal press release prepared."

"Of course. The events of the last few days would take a lot out of anyone." Romo readily agreed in words, but the scrapping sound he made as he found what had to be one of the few inches of metal decking not covered in rugs and pushed his chair back to stand caused her to jerk awake. Removing her glasses, the President rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.

His father shot Lampkin a dark look for his lack of consideration but as he turned to the President everything about him softened.

"We're going to meet again in a few days to finish this."

She shook her head. "Keep going. We finish this now." Her tone left no room for question.

His father tried anyway. He moved to her side and helped her to her feet. "Laura –"

"We finish it now!"

Romo kept his gaze on the President as he spoke. "Let's just have a few more minutes, can we? Let's set up a press conference for today. For right now. It doesn't have to be anything too long or fancy. The President can read a prepared statement. Maybe take a question or two and then turn the event over to Lee for further questions. I'll draft the press statement myself. The President can read it over, make any changes she likes."

Lampkin said it again. "Let's just have a few more minutes."

When his father didn't argue, the others returned to their seats – Lampkin a bit too eagerly, but the President did not. Leaving her glasses behind, she left the table. Both turning in their seats to do so, Lee and his father watched her take a seat on the couch behind them instead.

With the change in seating arrangement, Lampkin's eyes could finally stop shifting. Sitting across from the two Adamas, his view of the President was obscured. Only Baltar - seated to the side - was left with a still clear line of sight to the President.

Lampkin's pen was hurriedly scritch scratching across the paper.

"I'll put a call in to tell the press to be prepared for a press conference shortly." Lee offered.

"That's good. That's a good idea." Lampkin was addressing Lee, but every time he glanced up – which was all too often - he looked at Baltar.

"How soon do you think you'll have something?"

"Soon." Lampkin assured him. "I'm just jotting down a few things for the President to say. A couple of talking points – if you will. She'll do her bit and then we throw you to the wolv-."

With a look of frustration, Lampkin threw his pen onto the table.

"What?" Lee asked. Lee turned to follow Lampkin's gaze in time to see a second tear escape and follow down the trail of the first one down Baltar's face.

As it had been throughout the whole meeting, Baltar's gaze was fixed in the direction of the President. Lee turned to follow his gaze.

"Are you sure you are up for this, Laura?" Still looking at the papers before him, his father called to her a second time. "Laura?"

His father was still facing away from her. "Let's do this in a few days. She needs to rest before her doloxan treatment."

Closing the folder on his sheaf of papers, the Admiral turned in his chair. "Laura?"

His voice was quieter full of apprehension as he saw what Lee saw – her eyes were open staring ahead.

He called her name again. "Laura?" Stumbling from his chair, he moved toward her and lowered himself to be kneeling before her. His hand trembled as he ran his fingers along the side of her face.

"Laura." Again he spoke her name, but this time there was no question in it – just disappointment and sorrow. Slowly, his hand rose upwards to close her eyes.

Still kneeling, he laid his head in her lap. "Oh Laura!"

tbc