This chapter marks the end of the miniseries, at last! I've had so much fun writing this :D I'm not planning to take a break for the time being, so you can expect the beginning of season 1 in a few weeks, as usual.
Thanks again for the reviews, follows and favourites!
And thanks to Jules for being my lovely beta. Enjoy!
You may not end up where you thought you were going, but you will always end up where you were meant to be.
::::::::::
By the time Laura stepped back onto the deck with Billy and Val, most of the attendants were already there. They had saved a spot for her between the commander and the colonel, while her aide and daughter gathered with the press behind the rows of officers, and the sudden lack of civilian company made her feel uneasy. This was his ship. His crew. His people. Mourning their losses in front of a president not many knew had been married to William Adama once. She felt like an intruder.
Lee had found Kara and they had settled together a row behind, waiting for the service to begin without striking a conversation. But as Laura made her entrance, Kara's gaze followed her walk with interest; she couldn't pinpoint why that woman was so familiar to her. She had already been briefed— the secretary of education turned president by being on Galactica at the right time, but that wasn't it. Lee noticed her unrest from the corner of his eyes and was about to ask her when she said, "I've seen her before."
Lee frowned. "Of course you have. At Zak's funeral," he replied, barely glancing at her before standing back to attention and looking straight ahead. "She's Laura Roslin, my mother."
Kara's face went blank as she connected the dots; she kind of recalled Zak telling her once about his mother being a secretary for Adar's government. He had never introduced them, though. And now that Lee mentioned it— she did remember seeing her fiance's mom at the service, clutching a colonial flag in her arms with a faraway look in her eyes, perhaps lost in a memory as she stared down at the coffin without looking. She tried to take a second glimpse at the woman from where she stood and failed, but the color of her hair brought back memories... She forced herself to snap out of it.
"So, Mamma Adama is president now?" she whispered after a beat. "Guess the Old Man's not thrilled about it, huh."
Lee shook his head. "To put it mildly."
Starbuck's sardonic expression was short-lived, as she realized it was yet another person that had been part of Zak's life and therefore, another person she was keeping the truth from. What she had done for him. Lee sensed her tensing and gently bumped his shoulder against hers in reassurance, making Kara nod her agreement. She knew it wasn't as bad as not telling the commander. She was frakked either way, that wasn't new.
Elosha began the rites by addressing the crowd, and the pilots straightened back on their spots just like the rest of the crew. The service went on and the somber mood settled in, and that was enough for Kara to shove the president back into the least of her worries; the priestess' prayer washed over her like a much needed balm.
"With heavy hearts, we lift up their bodies to you, oh Lords of Kobol, in the knowledge that you will take from them their burdens and give them life eternal. We also pray that you look upon us now with mercy and love just as you did upon our forefathers many years ago." The priestess spoke calmly, soothing the wounded crew with her words with the reassurance that this, Gods willing, was not the end. "Just as you led us from Kobol and found the twelve worlds, so now we hope and pray that you will lead to a new home, where we may begin life anew. So say we all."
"So say we all," the crowd echoed. Yet Bill's voice was louder than anyone else's, and Laura looked at him in surprise as he took a step forward, turning to face them all right in front of her. She saw determination in his eyes, a feeling that was so familiar but also very different from their earlier argument about leaving Ragnar. "So say we all," he repeated, this time even louder. The crew mumbled a response and he paced a couple of steps before shouting at them again, eliciting a proper response from them in true military fashion. Laura didn't take part in it, choosing instead to watch the commander as he repeated a prayer for the Gods he didn't even believe in.
"Are they the lucky ones? That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" he asked as he walked over to the platform, his deep voice being carried through the room. His stern appearance and strong expression gave the audience a sense of awe as they stared at him. "We're a long way from home. We've jumped way beyond the red line, into uncharted space. Limited supplies. Limited fuel. No allies. And now, no hope?" He questioned her, his, and their fears aloud and the crowd stilled, standing uncomfortably under Bill's scrutinizing gaze; nobody seemed willing to admit the reality of their situation besides him.
"Maybe it would have been better if we'd all died quickly, back in the Colonies with our families, instead of dying out here slowly in the emptiness of dark space." Laura squinted slightly, the rest of her face impassive as she heard him but wondering inside what the frak was he doing exactly. Still, she knew Bill was a soldier at heart and every action he chose had a purpose, she just couldn't see it yet. "Where shall we go? What shall we do?" The crowd remained silent, shocked by the hard, brutal truth he spoke of and Laura supposed more than one had to thank their military training for not breaking down and weeping right there.
"'Life here began out there.' Those are the first words of the sacred scrolls. And they were told to us by the Lords of Kobol, many countless centuries ago. And they made it perfectly clear that we are not alone in the universe," he continued, giving one last glance across the hangar before turning to the priestess. Again, nobody dared to move. "Elosha. There's a thirteenth colony of humankind, is there not?"
"Yes, the scrolls tell us a thirteenth tribe left Kobol in the early days. They travelled far and made their home upon a planet called Earth, which circled a distant and unknown star," Elosha answered in a calm tone, yet her confusion was clear by the way she gazed at him.
And suddenly Laura knew. She understood what he was about to do and almost grinned as she recognized the brilliant tactical move he was about to lay in front of them.
"It's not unknown. I know where it is! Earth." He savored the word triumphantly. "The most guarded secret we have. The location was only known by the senior commanders of the Fleet, and we dare not share it with the public. Not while there was a Cylon threat upon us. For now we have a refuge to go to, a refuge that the Cylons know nothing about!" Whispers grew behind her ears, among the officers full of disbelief and wonder. And Laura merely stood there, her eyes fixed on him and her composure unyielding as she heard the words she knew were far from true.
"It won't be an easy journey. It will be long and arduous. But I promise you one thing: on the memory of those lying before you, we shall find it. And Earth will become our new home. So say we all!" Bill walked back as he chanted, and this time his officers followed accordingly one, two, three times; the fourth time being answered by the priestess alone. "Dismissed."
Then, applause erupted everywhere— the crowd celebrated the unbelievable turn of events as fear and hopelessness were shoved aside. Laura had never seen them as cheerful as then in the time since the decommissioning ceremony, so she stood on her spot, forcing a well-practiced politician's smile as she clenched her hands together even tighter while the commander walked past her and into the crowd.
Once he was out of her view, she licked her lips and crossed her arms as she looked ahead, intent on finding a place on the wall where she couldn't figure out a single face of those besides her. She dared not to look at the people cheering behind her— and hoped for her own sanity that her children's voices were not among the ones she heard. It was wrong on many levels, but it was also imperative; giving hope, false or not, would keep them away from despair. And so, she just chose to take part of the burden in the gigantic lie the crew now held inside their hearts without question, well aware Bill wasn't the only one sugar-coating the harsh future ahead of them.
::::::::::
The galley had sent his request —noodles, of course— promptly, and the feeling of warm food in his mouth elicited a growl of approval from deep inside his chest. Little over a full day had elapsed since the decommissioning ceremony, but it seemed an eternity longer.
So he finally had some time to eat a proper meal after the service and clean up his quarters for a bit. Several books were out of his bookcase, which was no longer needed as he wasn't leaving Galactica anymore; Bill marveled at the irony that he had been delaying the packing of his quarters for days, and now he didn't need to reorganize it all again.
But he barely had sat down and gotten a mouthful of noodles when he heard a knock at the hatch, and he tried to chew it down quickly to grant access. The entrance opened before that, though, yet Laura still didn't make her way inside. "Come in," he said at last and she did— slowly and looking at her surroundings, as if expecting something else entirely. It took Bill a couple of seconds to realize she had anticipated to see Carolanne there with him, and took a deep, awkward breath. He was indeed due to visit her, now that the danger had passed.
Laura took a seat at the other end of the couch, not waiting for an invitation this time. And knew her instincts were correct —she didn't need one— when Bill flashed a fleeting smile towards her before finishing the bite.
She studied him in the meantime, finally tilting her head at his gaze full of curiosity. "You made it all up," she said simply. Her tone held no accusation as she quirked the corners of her mouth into a discreet smirk. "There is no Earth." She waited for his answer but he merely stared back, so it was her who conceded as she elaborated, "President Adar and I once spoke about the legends surrounding Earth. He knew nothing about a secret location regarding Earth, and if the president knew nothing about it, what are the chances you do?"
He bit down a remark about how of course she had spoken to Adar before admitting, "You're right. There is no Earth." He had seen it in her eyes, from the moment he had opened his mouth: Laura had been aware of the lie since then. "It's all a legend."
"Then, why?"
"Because," he sighed as he took a couple of books from the table and placed them on top of a third one, resigning himself not to eat the rest of the meal soon. "It's not enough to live, you have to have something to live for." He then looked back at Laura. "Let it be Earth."
She hummed. How long could they keep that charade? Whatever the answer, it was worth trying. "They'll never forgive us," she pointed out calmly, and Bill's heart beat louder inside his chest as he heard the word 'we'. They hadn't been a we in so long, that the idea that this was not his burden alone, that Laura was willing to share it despite everything, that she'd keep his secret from the fleet made him more grateful than words could say.
"Maybe," he agreed in a low tone, watching the slight changes in her features. He remembered the lovely smile he used to elicit from her and for a moment, illuminated by the dim light of his quarters, he wanted nothing more than to have that again. To have her again. "But in the meantime, I've given all of us a fighting chance to survive. And isn't that what you said was the most important thing, the survival of the human race?" he said, and her eyes went soft as she heard him.
"And there I was, thinking you didn't listen to me," she teased him, a gentle smile now dancing on her lips. Bill felt a shiver run down his spine; it was so close to his memories that, if only...
But he settled for a glance towards her and flashed a sheepish grin as he confessed, "Not that I wanted to, but I did."
Laura hummed again and shook her head as she lowered her sight to the table, clearly not surprised but still amused. She had been down all possible roads with Bill Adama, and yet life had found a way to create a new one now. One that, she was sure, would not be easy... She raised her eyes again and found him staring back, the blueness of his gaze behind his glasses completely mesmerizing. She inhaled deeply and licked her lips without noticing, her teeth sinking for a fleeting second against her lower lip as she lost herself in the comfortable sensation of his company. But as soon as she caught him lowering his gaze to her mouth, Laura got on her feet and crossed her arms uncomfortably as Bill cleared his throat, letting whatever that was pass by.
"Who else knows?" she asked then, her voice reverting into a more professional tone.
"Not a soul," he confirmed.
"Alright, I'll keep your secret. We should work together," she stated, and then took a slow breath as she chose her next words carefully. "There's a whole, breathing city out there, encased in a collection of ships. There are children, families, hospitals, refineries, botanical cruises, luxury liners, transport freighters... everything left of our civilization."
"And they need a government," Bill finished for her. He had said some things —believed her unable to carry on with the task—, but his doubts came from a logical place. He knew Laura had been capable of dealing with many things in her past, but, who would have been ready for any of this? Bill had been at war before, and while it didn't give him full understanding of their new situation, it had to count for something.
"A civilian government run by the president of the colonies, yes," she agreed with caution.
Yet during the last war, the colonies had come together under the articles of colonization and a single president, and Bill had to remember that. Furthermore, she was probably the most qualified person left. "We should work together," he repeated her words as he nodded, and Laura knew it was as much of an acknowledgment of her presidency as she was going to get for the time being. "Military decisions stay with me, though," he added as he stood up as well and began placing the buttons from his jacket back into their holes.
She froze at his words. It would be unprecedented for her to agree, but she had no one else to replace him with if she didn't; she doubted Saul Tigh had left his drinking problem behind, and the commander's crew was nothing if not loyal to him. Besides, she didn't want to replace him— she knew most of Bill's qualities and flaws, which gave her clues about how to deal with him. If she was to cede to a balance of power, he was the best choice for it. So she mirrored his gesture by nodding too, sealing the deal.
There was just one last detail she needed to address after the truce they had settled for, then: the press was going to have a field trip once they learned about their marriage. She knew she was better at compartmentalization than he was, a fact she had proven to herself daily when she worked for a man she had been having an affair with for years. Laura had never let Adar personalize their working relationship, and she prayed for the same clarity with Bill in the tenuous balance they were about to embark into. "We can't let work get personal. We'll need to separate the president and the commander from our children's parents."
"We will," he assured her. The calmness in his tone gave her pause— he knew the stakes. He knew the risks. She was not alone in her worries.
"Alright." Bill offered his hand and the gesture felt like a reminder of their goodbye after the decommissioning, except it now meant the exact opposite: an agreement in order to deal with the problems ahead of them— the Cylon threat, fifty thousand humans out there, Lee, Val, all that was left.
She uncrossed her arms and took it as she looked into his eyes— and found understanding in them. Laura did not retract her hand, nor did Bill; the contact lingered longer than usual, the warm skin second only to the warmth in their gazes. The future promised to bring more challenges, but they would face them head on.
Together.