Roslin took a seat inside the small ship the Starfleet people called a runabout. It was very plush compared to a Raptor and a bit bigger. It could comfortably seat twenty and possibly up to fifty if they were crammed in. She let herself smile slightly She was used to considering such things, how many people to shove into a tiny space. With any luck, that part of her life was soon to be over.
The Galactica officers were nervous, she could see that. Nervous but curious, and she supposed that was more than fair. Bill had chosen well, she realized after a moment. Karl Agathon was hardly her favorite officer, and his marriage made her skin crawl, but he was steady and loyal as long as his family was safe. Lt. Dualla was another one Roslin knew primarily for her steadiness. And Lee, of course. That had been a surprising choice for Bill to make but she was fairly certain she had figured out the man's reasoning on all three.
Anastasia Dualla and Felix Gaeta were friends. Close friends, and she had witnessed enough friendly exchanges between Agathon and Gaeta to know that there was friendship there as well. Safe picks in other words, loyal officers who were mature and would behave in a friendly fashion to Felix Gaeta.
Lee was an odd choice. Professional, of course, and while she didn't think he was more than casually friendly with Gaeta, he certainly hadn't been involved in the Circle. He was Bill's son, and it was unspoken between her and Bill that he was worried about the appearance of nepotism. So it was a surprise that he had chosen Lee.
Then again, she wondered if Bill Adama was better at the political game than she had ever given him credit for being. It was risky of her to go to the Starfleet ship, she doubted that anything would happen but it was risky and Vice President Zarek was at an undisclosed position, just in case. She was certain that Captain Picard was aware of that precaution. But… Bill was making a very important statement about trust, sending Lee to the Enterprise. There were exactly three hundred fifty seven families in the fleet, people who had members of their direct family survive the holocaust. Most of those were people who had been traveling with young children. The Adama family was one of four where two biologically related adults had survived. Bill Adama was giving over his son to the captain of the Enterprise and that was a statement of trust that was priceless. It told the Starfleet captain that Adama was willing to try, to extend a hand in trust.
It also, she supposed, was a rather obvious warning.
The runabout lifted off the deck smoothly. It accelerated differently, she could feel that, and judging by the quiet talk between Lee and Agathon, they found it interesting as well. No doubt they were all going to see things that were amazing. She couldn't deny it, underneath the fear and the worry about the people, she savored the childish glee she was feeling. No one had ever told her that having a teaching degree would ever lead to treaty talks with the fabled 13th colony.
She could have brought an aide. She didn't. It was best that she speak with Gaeta alone for a variety of reasons and… There was only one person she wished that she could share the sheer pleasure of the moment, and he was gone. She reached into her small handbag and felt for the ugly ring.
Oh Billy, I wish you were here right now, she thought sadly as she rubbed the debate ring. You deserve to be here.
She let the moment of sadness pass. Billy was gone, and she had no doubt that if there was an afterlife, he was there, happy for all of them. And it wasn't a long enough trip to get lost in thought. Already she could see that they were coming up on the Enterprise.
" They don't have much of a landing area," Lee observed.
The pilot of the runabout, a rugged looking fellow caught the question and looked over his shoulder. " We don't really use runabouts as heavily as you folks do. You'll see when you're on board." The pilot turned to her. " Madame President, the captain will be meeting you and your party when we land. Since this is an informal visit, he felt you would prefer if the normal pomp and circumstance was avoided."
" Yes that would be fine." Particularly since she had no idea what passed for formal greetings with the 13th colony.
" Excellent!" The pilot returned to his duties, " We're going to land in just a moment so if everyone could sit tight?" Roslin found herself intrigued as they came up on the landing deck. It looked open to space, and yet she could see people moving and no one was wearing oxygen gear. She heard all three of the officers whispering in surprise to each other. Some sort of forcefield, she realized as they entered the landing bay, feeling a slight pop as they went through the forcefield and came to a rest on the deck. The pilot cheerfully got up and went to the hatch to open it.
" Let us, Madame President," Lee said. " We're the escort, we should go first."
" No," she said brightly. " This is an informal visit. And there's nothing to be afraid of here." She quickly stepped down the small steps and onto the deck of the Enterprise.
It was impressive. Very white and clean, much the way the Galactica had been when she had first seen it so long ago. The various crew people were bustling about, clearly preparing more supplies and Captain Jean Luc Picard was standing by the runabout, looking very straight and proper. Not so different from Bill Adama, she suspected, but definitely smoother. Beware the inner core of steel, she told herself as he stepped forward to greet her. Picard on the surface was a much more genial man than Adama, but he was also much more of a diplomat.
" President Roslin, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the U.S.S. Enterprise." He smiled pleasantly as he shook her hand. Then he gestured to the three officers who were, Roslin noted with some pride, taking great care to not gawk. It was hard. She already wanted to look over Picard's shoulder at the flash of moving blue at the far end of the landing bay, because she was fairly certain it was a person moving. A person with blue skin.
" Let me introduce the officers for the exchange," she said. " I believe you've met Captain Agathon. This is Lt. Anastasia Dualla, and this is Maj. Lee Adama."
Picard's eyes registered that quickly and inside, Roslin marveled at his control. He understood exactly that Admiral Adama was making a point, a much larger point than merely allowing a politician to expose herself to danger. She wondered suddenly if Picard understood what William Adama would do to him if anything happened to Lee.
Yes, she realized after a moment of looking into his eyes, he knows. Picard shook hands with all three officers, lingering on Lee for a moment. " You must be related to the Admiral," Picard said easily.
" Yes," Lee said. " The Admiral is my father."
Picard nodded, seeming to internalize that for later. " As the three of you will be staying with us for several days, I have had quarters arranged. Commander Troi will escort the three of you there to get settled in. Ms. Roslin, I have a briefing arranged for you, the briefing you requested with Lt. Commander Gaeta. Then I'll be showing you the ship and how a Starfleet vessel functions. I know I only have you for the day, but I was hoping all of you would join me for a meal before Ms. Roslin departs back to the Galactica with our officers this evening."
Lee turned to look at her when Picard mentioned the briefing, but she ignored it. " I think that sounds like a wonderful plan, especially since I won't be staying long."
The briefing roof was much like the rest of the ship, pleasantly and almost decadently appointed in comparison to the vast majority of the ships in the Colonial Fleet. What little she had seen already reminded her of the Cloud Nine. It was a good idea to come, she realized, even without the briefing. Starfleet was wealthy. Wealthy and high minded about itself if she was judging it correctly. Doing the right thing was extremely important to them, and they were bending over backwards to prove it.
Felix Gaeta was there, and he rose when she entered the room. It was odd, seeing such a familiar face in a Starfleet uniform. He wore the yellow colored uniform, as opposed to Picard's red, and she wondered if that was a rank difference or a job difference. He also looked nervous, more than she would have expected. Nervous and pale, as if he hadn't been sleeping, and she wondered about that.
Then again, there was a reason she had wanted to see him, and it wasn't just to get important intelligence.
"Madame President," he said quietly, and then nodded to Picard. " Captain."
Picard nodded back and then turned to her. " I understand," the older man said gently, " that our technology is a concern. This room is often used by foreign dignitaries for private discussion. It is sound proof and there are no listening devices. Starfleet regulation requires that we be able to accord guests with complete privacy in diplomatic situations. I'm sure Mr. Gaeta will assure you on that as well. Mr. Gaeta, I am sure Ms. Roslin has many questions for you. Signal me when you're done." With that the older man left the room.
" He's very charming, in his way," Roslin said as she took a seat at the briefing table. She smiled at Gaeta. " How much trouble are you in, Mr. Gaeta?"
He took a seat opposite her and pulled out one of the ubiquitous computer pads. " I read over the offer. It's very generous, and very fair."
" That's not what I asked you," she said after a moment. That there was trouble was obvious. Gaeta had always been an easy read in some respects. " You told me that you would be in trouble."
He glared at her. " I told you a lot of things, Ms. Roslin. I don't know how badly it's going to go, there's no doubt that I violated my oath to the Federation in order to honor my oath to the Twelve Colonies, but right now, it's my trouble. Not yours. It doesn't have to be your trouble. And it could be." He gestured around the room. " The captain is a good man. I'd heard about him, and it doesn't surprise me that he's captain of the flagship of the fleet, but there have been changes in the last ten years. He seems inclined to just reprimand me, but it's not entirely his decision, and he's only begun to investigate the violations. If anyone thought, for example, that I wasn't just manipulating things by myself, that I had told someone something… that person would also be in trouble. They wouldn't be able to do much, but the Federation could insist on certain changes being made in the civilian government. So that the person who assisted me, if there was such a person, wouldn't be allowed to profit from subverting a Starfleet officer. Do you understand me?"
The question, Roslin wondered, was whether he was throwing himself into the fire merely to protect her, or if his guilt was making him do it. Because he was right about one thing. He was guilty.
The problem was that she was guilty as well, and she was going to have to decide soon whether she let him take all the blame or not. " Yes." She added after a moment. "I'm glad I trusted you."
Gaeta sighed. " You trusted me, because I used your religion against you."
Which, she knew from Picard and Riker's explanation, was one of their society's biggest rules, to not manipulate a society. It had taken years of misery for him to do what he had done, and more than once in the last few months, she had thanked the gods for convincing the man that the right thing wasn't necessarily following the letter of the law. And that meant she had to at least try to help him. Especially since he was taking the fall for all of it.
" For what it's worth, Lt. Gaeta," she said conspiratorially as she leaned over the table, " I never really believed that you were the child born in the shadow of Olympus."
After a moment, he smiled darkly. "That's going to surprise my mother, considering that it's true."
