Title: Faoi Dheireadh
Part: 25
Rating: PG, maybe PG-13 later
Pairing: A/R
Summary: The survivors of the Holocaust have finally reached Earth, but they find out that's not the end of their problems
Beta: Mariel
Note: I do want to thank Vi, Marta, Axelrajr, Moggie, and AlbertG for their expertise. Without their input this story would not be what it is today. Be warned, this takes place sometime near the end of season two. Anything after Epiphanies are conjectures from the author's warped mind. . .

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica and its characters are creations of Glen Larson and copywrited by Universal Studios. I make no money off of this.

Colonial speech: " "
English speech: ' '

Chapter Twenty-five

"There they go," Starbuck commented as the viper escort pealed off and headed back to the fleet. Turning her attention back to what she was doing, she couldn't help but grin when two of the Terran fighters met the raptor and flew around them. They quickly reappeared on either side of them, guiding them to the side of the Terran ship.

'Colonial vessel, this is Goch traffic control. Alter course left 012 degrees, and pitch up 010 degrees.'

"Oh hell, no," she muttered. Turning around she said, "Glennan, get your butt up here!" then turned her attention back to the ever growing ship. Glancing to the side she noticed how one Terran fighter moved slightly forward and rocked from side to side for a moment before settling down. Looking out the other side, that one side slid behind them and out of view.

"Here," she said as she handed Angela a headset as the Terran settled into the co-pilot's seat. "I can't understand a damn thing they're saying."

Angela looked at Starbuck for a moment, not entirely sure why she was up front. Shrugging her shoulders, she put the headset on and caught the last of a message. 'Goch traffic control, this is Lieutenant Glennan. Please repeat your last message.'

'Colonial vessel, this is Goch traffic control. Alter course left 012 degrees, and pitch up 010 degrees.'

Angela looked down to the confusing array of instruments and then to Kara. The viper pilot was looking at her expectantly. I have no idea how to even begin to translate that. 'I am unable to translate that response to the pilot. I request a translator that can talk to the pilot directly.'

'Understood, Lieutenant. Have pilot follow lead Piranha until we can get someone up here to translate.'

'Roger.' Taking a deep breath she then turned to Starbuck and pointed to the lead fighter. "Follow Piranha. Uh. . .talk. . .this. . ." she pointed to the ship in front of them.

Starbuck closed her eyes and shook her head. "I cannot believe this is happening," she muttered.

'Colonial vessel, Goch traffic control. Please relay this message to pilot.'

Angela's eyes widened as she looked frantically around for something to write on. 'Wait one, traffic control. I'm looking for something right now to write it down on.' Not finding anything around her, she indicated with her finger and hand to show she wanted something to write with and on. Starbuck shook her head. 'Shit,' she muttered. 'Traffic control, I don't have anything to use to write down the message to relay it. Do you have a pda with the translation program there?'

'Negative.'

'Damn!" Angela leaned back against the headrest and hit it a couple of times with her head.

"Stop that," Starbuck ordered.

"Thrace, what's going on?" Gaeta asked from his position further back in the raptor.

Starbuck turned to look back and glared, "Unless you can speak Terran better than Glennan, stay out of it."

Gaeta's eyes widened for a moment at Starbuck's apparent insolence. Turning his attention back to Roslin, he shrugged his shoulders while crossing his arms.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Laura asked quietly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I can't. She's in command right now."

'Lieutenant Glennan, this is the XO. I am taking over now.'

"Thank you, sir," Angela answered gratefully as she sat back.

"Colonial vessel, this is Goch traffic control. Lead Piranha will guide you down to the port flight deck."

"It's about damn time," Starbuck muttered. "Frak me. . ." she muttered at the sight now before her.

"What is it, Thrace," Gaeta asked.

Starbuck answered while turning around again, "Their flight deck is on the outside."

"Colonial vessel, when you reach the deck you are to follow the crew's directions to taxi in. The kill signal is the deck hand drawing their hand across their neck."

"Roger," Starbuck answered, clearly relieved that there was finally someone there who knew what they were doing. As they neared, she could see several fighters out on the deck. The crew had on pressure suits that allowed them to move around on the exposed deck fairly easily. As she reached the platform, she noted that there was a fraction of a normal g generated. With the technology she had seen Glennan use, it made her wonder why the Terrans did it this way. Hand signals from the deck crew enabled her to settle the raptor onto the spot ringed with flashing lights. Guided by another crew person, they taxied around and into an opening into the ship. When they stopped, she recognized the signal to kill the engine, and complied. After a few more moments the indicator lights on the control panel informed her that the outside was pressurized and breathable air was being pumped in.

Not knowing exactly what to do, Starbuck kept the raptor in place. When it was safe to open the hatch, the wall before them slid into the ceiling, revealing an extremely busy hanger with fighters everywhere. What caught her attention, though, was the odd sight before her, but slightly off to the side.

"Come," Angela said as she pulled off her headset. Getting up, she squeezed through the somewhat narrow space and moved to the rear section where the DRADIS console was located. The others were in the process of getting the restraints off and standing up. One of the marines pushed his way through the crowd and broke the seal for the door. Once opened, he looked around as he stepped out onto the wing and then dropped to the deck. When he deemed it safe, he turned back to the occupants and nodded. After they were all assembled on the deck, Angela pointed in the direction they were supposed to go; right where the very odd formation was located.

When they neared it, the Terran liaison stopped everyone, then looked to Laura.

"Go," she said as she pointed to the gap between the eight Terran crew members standing in line at attention. On the other side were the senior officers.

"There?" Laura asked.

Angela nodded. "Go," she said as she reached out to nudge her in the right direction.

"You don't have to do that," Laura answered quietly through her teeth. As she took a step, she looked back to see if the others were with her. Glennan was holding them back with an outstretched arm. As she took another stop, everyone snapped their right hands up and saluted. Laura hesitated. Odd, she thought that the Terran and Colonial salutes were the same.

She was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of a shrill whistle, followed by several chirps. Resuming her forward movement, she crossed the threshold of the odd formation just as a series of bells sounded. She never thought to count how many she heard or how many military personnel she passed. were. The whole thing was too much of a ceremony for her tastes. She had grown very fond of the low key Bill kept on the Galactica while she was there. When she reached the last pair of Terrans someone called out a phrase in the odd sounding language.

'President of the Twelve Colonies, arriving.'

"Welcome aboard, Madam President," Captain O'Neill smiled as she reached out a hand. When she accepted it, O'Neill looked over her shoulder to the waiting group and nodded.

Turning around, Laura saw the rest of her entourage come through whatever it was. The Terrans were now just standing at attention.

'Ma'am,' Glennan came up and saluted smartly.

'Good to see you back on board, Lieutenant,' Mair answered with her own salute.

Angela relaxed slightly. 'Thank you, ma'am.'

When Mair glanced off to the side, another whistle sounded and the two rows of Terrans dispersed.

"Captain, what was that for?" Laura indicated the dispersing crew.

Mair gave her a slight smile before answering, "Tradition dictates that we render honors to all leaders no matter where they come from." Turning her attention to Angela, she continued, 'I believe you have things to take care of?'

'Yes, ma'am,' Angela nodded. 'By your leave?'

'Very well.'

Before leaving, Angela glanced toward the Colonials, then turned and started heading for the door that would take her out of the hanger and into the ship itself. The shadow that quickly loomed behind her let her know that she was being followed. Glancing over her shoulder, Angela's eyes widened slightly in surprise when she saw it was Gaeta. At the door, she pulled out the pda and tapped the screen. "No work," she tried to explain.

Gaeta nodded, understanding at least that. "Are you going to get it fixed?" he asked slowly.

Angela hesitated as she puzzled out what he had said, then nodded. Turning around, she grabbed a bar on the door, and brought it up and vertical, then pushed the door open and went through to the other side. When Gaeta followed, she pushed it shut and then brought the bar down again before starting towards the tech department. Like the ships of old, the only way to get to where she needed to go with a minimal amount of time, was through a winding maze of corridors and levels. As Gaeta had when she first arrived on the Galactica, Angela turned back to make sure he was still behind her. 'Sorry, it's the only way,' she commented.

Gaeta shook his head in confusion. Looking around, he now understood exactly what Angela had been dealing with, especially for the last few days. She was now his lifeline, and by this time he was so completely turned around he had no idea where he was on the Terran ship.

She eventually stopped along a corridor that had rows of doors on either side. Turning to him, she held up one finger, then pulled the closest door open. It was dark on the inside. Angela stepped in and flipped a switch, turning on a series of red lights placed strategically around the room. Coming over to the desk, she turned on a single reading light and angled it down to the drawers.

'Angela?' a groggy voice came from deeper inside.

'Go back to sleep, Becky,' Angela said softly as she moved over to the occupied bunk and pulled the curtain closed, blocking out the light.

'K.'

Curious as to what she was doing, and who she was talking too, Gaeta stuck his head inside. From the single lamp and the red glow he could just make out what looked like a couple of bunks in the room. Angela had a desk drawer open and was searching through it as quietly as she could. Every once in a while, she pulled out a component and put it on the desktop. When she was satisfied, she closed the drawer and stood up to look around. Looking back down, she picked up the somewhat small items, then turned the lamp off. He looked around and saw that the lamps were next to the ceiling and that it backlit everything in a red glow. It was enough to see by if the main lights were not on. Reaching the corridor, she flipped off the lights and pulled the door closed quietly. She then turned and showed Gaeta what she had been looking for.

"Work now." From there, she turned and went back down the corridor. Not knowing what to do, Gaeta followed her through another winding path through the ship. When Angela stopped, she turned around and gave him a knowing look and shook her head. 'Now you know,' she commented. Turning back around she moved down one more corridor before entering another room.

'Ferguson, got something for you,' Angela said as she closed in on the nearest desk.

'Glennan! I heard you were off ship. That true?' The burly Scot stood up and moved around to give her a bear hug.

Once they finished their greeting Angela smiled as she handed the malfunctioning pda. 'Yes. It's looking like a long term assignment.'

Taking the small computer, Ferguson nodded. 'Your fault?' he asked while looking to see what was wrong.

'No,' Angela shook her head. 'It was some dumbass who has an over inflated sense of what he's worth. Wiped the hard drive clean.'

'Ouch,'

'Ouch is right,' she answered while handing the instillation discs over. 'I could do this, but I'm afraid I'd screw it up.'

'That's what we're here for.' He sat back down then looked up again. 'Who's your shadow?'

Angela's eyes widened as she turned her attention back to Gaeta. "I sorry," she apologized to him for ignoring him.

"It's all right," he answered clearly. He didn't seem too angry with her for the accidental slight.

'This is the Colonial officer I've been working with. It was much easier when the translation program worked. I think he's a lieutenant, but now I'm not sure.'

'Any reason why?'

'Got a promotion. It seemed important,'

'Well, does he have a name?' Ferguson set the instillation discs down and looked at her expectantly.

Angela rolled her eyes while shaking her head, 'Yes, he does. His name is Felix Gaeta.'

Ferguson narrowed his eyes for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.

'Not, it's not you. It's me! I can't believe I forgot something like that. Actually though. . .they're not used to dealing with people that can't speak their language. That's the really tough part of what I'm doing now.'

Ferguson nodded in sympathy. 'Then I've got just the thing for you. I uploaded the new translation program on an older pda. Seems it works just as good as if it were on the latest model.' Swiveling his chair around, he picked up a slimmer version of her personal unit. While turning back around, he switched the pda on to make sure everything was working properly. 'Here ya go, lassie. I should have yours up and running in about an hour,' he said as he handed the loaner pda over.

'How can I thank you for this?'

'By keeping your new charges in line,' he gave her a big smile, then stood up and saluted.

'I will see you in an hour,' Angela answered the salute. Turning, she showed the working pda to Gaeta. Pulling out the stylus she wrote down, "You have no idea how much this helps."

Gaeta nodded in understanding then looked at the small computer. "I need to meet with Thrace and Agathorn," he said clearly as they exited the tech compartment.

Angela nodded, then looked to see if there was phone capabilities on the loaner. When she didn't find it, she decided to log off and then back on with her own id. When the computer came back online, she checked to see if the call, or at least a walkie-talkie feature was part of the basic features. She smiled when it came up. 'Lovett, this is Glennan.'

'Glennan! What can I do for you?'

'Find two Colonial officers for me.'

'Wait one. . .Found them. Uh, they're in the pilot ready room.'

Angela rolled her eyes. 'Roger. Out.' Turning off the communications program she switched back to the translation. "We will get to Thrace and Agathorn."

"How did you find out?" Gaeta asked, not knowing, but fascinated at what just happened.

'Walkie-talkie,' Angela shrugged her shoulders. 'Ancient technology for us.'

Finally reaching for the pda, Gaeta asked, 'And the pilots?'

Plucking it out of his hands, she answered, "I have issues with them. Don't ask." She went back into the maze of corridors. Gaeta felt the labyrinth was far worse than the Galactica as he followed her once again.

Kara looked around the hanger once the groups had dispersed. She was not entirely alone, Helo had arrived.

"I would have been here earlier, but got turned around. I swear, this place is worse than the Galactica," he commented as he came up to her.

"All you missed was the ceremony welcoming President Roslin on board." She shrugged her shoulders. Looking down, she noticed another translator. "I see you got one, too."

"Yeah, it's been hard, but this makes it easier." He held up the pda.

'Agathorn?'

Helo turned and addressed the pilot who showed up. 'Uh. . .yes?'

The Terran turned his attention back to Kara, then let a slow smile cross his face. Helo swung his eyes towards Kara and noticed she had the same look. "Thank you," she commented as she snatched for the pda.

"What?" Helo turned around in confusion as Starbuck left with the gathering Terran pilots. "Hey! Wait up!" he hurried to catch up with the group.

"Hurry up, got places to go," Starbuck commented then laughed.

He managed to catch up with them just as they moved though one of the airlocks. Helo knew the moment he lost sight of them, he'd be totally lost added to the fact that his language skills were abysmal. Early on, he realized just how difficult the Terran language was to learn. When he caught up to them, he listened to the pilots for a moment as they talked among themselves. When they came to a consensus they looked to one in particular, and she reached out for the pda.

"Helo, I thought the Terran language was smoother than what they're speaking," Kara commented.

"Dunno."

"You are a fighter pilot," the Terran spoke with an accent they were not used to hearing from Glennan.

Starbuck nodded.

"Good. What are you called? They call me Stinger."

Starbuck smiled at the image that created. "Starbuck."

Another one said something to the spokesperson. Nodding, she continued, "Is it true, you have no home?"

Starbuck looked to Helo, not quite sure how to answer the question. "Have they asked you anything like this?"

"Not so far." He ran a hand through his short hair. "I'm not sure how to answer that, or even if we should."

Turning back, she answered carefully, "Not anymore." The Terran's reactions surprised her. They all looked at her in sympathy and understanding.

Kara looked around to the images on the walls then turned her attention back to the pilots. "You're deck is outside. Any reason why?"

"It's always been like that. Don't see any need to change since it works well with us."

Starbuck nodded, still not quite understanding why they did it that way. "What about Glennan? You do know she's with us."

Almost to a fault, all the pilots grinned. "Good, better you than us!"

This is interesting, Kara thought. "Why's that?"

"We can't have any fun when she's around. Some time ago we tried to loosen her up, but it didn't work. It's been hell since then."

Another grabbed the pda and finished, "But it was fun when it happened!"

Before she could ask what they did the door behind the pilots opened, catching Kara's attention. Angela stepped inside with Gaeta trailing behind. The liaison said something in the same guttural language the pilots were that caused them to cringe and scatter in all directions. Soon only the Colonial officers were left in the room. I wonder what it was to get them on her shit list, Kara mused.

Helo grinned at the pilots' reaction. He looked at the woman with Gaeta, "Who's that?"

"The Terran liaison," Kara answered. "So, what were you doing?" she asked as she neared the two newcomers.

"Having my pda fixed," Angela commented. "Ferguson is letting me use this for the time being." She held up the more streamline version.

Helo came up to join the three. His eyes widened when he noticed the different rank pins on Gaeta. "Big changes, sir?" he asked.

"Lots. Fisk is dead and Adama put Tigh in command of the Pegasus."

Helo's eyes widened in surprise. "What happened?"

Gaeta shook his head. "We're not sure at the moment. Admiral Adama has Apollo investigating the issues. That's not the only thing. We have supplies missing, too."

"Nothing seems to go right," Helo shook his head.

"Don't be so maudlin, Helo. Gaeta here is now the officer everyone loves to hate," Kara commented with a smile.

"Thrace, don't," Gaeta answered tiredly. He turned his attention back to Helo, "I'm here to update and expand your orders."

Karl glanced to Kara for a moment, but her attention was on Glennan. The viper pilot was giving her what could only be considered an appraising look. Turning back to Gaeta, he nodded.

"You are to find out who these Terrans are, and why they are here in the first place."

Helo nodded again. "You think they might be. . ."

Gaeta shook his head, "I don't know, but they might know who we are looking for."

"Right, sir."

"There's something else." Gaeta reached up and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket and handed it over.

Unfolding it, Karl quickly read the message and smiled. "Thank you, sir. I'll get this back to you before you leave."

"Good," Gaeta nodded, then commented under his breath, "I swear, it's like a maze here."

Just as the two were leaving, Starbuck called, "How are we going to meet up?"

Gaeta stopped and turned around, "Let the Terrans handle that. They've got a quick and easy way of communicating around the ship."

"Yes, sir," she commented to herself. When the door closed, she turned to Helo, "Do you know where we can find those pilots again?"

Helo shook his head, "I'm not sure, but I might. C'mon."

Mair sighed as she sat down at her desk. Laura had followed her in. The Colonial President glanced around the walls looking at the different artwork, but stopped when she first noticed one of the pieces on the far wall. Turning around, Mair looked to the wall, but didn't see anything unusual.

"Captain, what is that?" Laura asked.

Mair looked back to the wall then to Laura. "I'm sorry, Madam President, but I don't see anything unusual."

Laura shook her head. "Not that, it's the creature in red. What is that?"

Mair narrowed her eyes knowing full well what the Colonial President was asking about. "Oh, that. That is the ship's crest."

Laura slowly moved across the room to the available chairs. "Interesting," she commented.

"Madam President, this ship is a part of a grouping of ships. All Commonwealth countries provide ships, units, or funding to the Terran military. This ship was given by Wales and is named after her most prominent symbol."

"How old is this symbol?" Laura asked, now very interested.

Mair let a ghost of a smile cross her face before answering, "No one knows. Scholars think it dates back to the ancient Greek myth of the griffin, a creature that was half bird half lion."

Laura nodded thoughtfully before changing the subject. "I think you know why I am here."

Mair nodded, "Yes, I do."

"I wanted to apologize in person for Vice President Gaius Baltar's actions. Ever since the Holocaust he has. . ." Laura shook her head, not knowing how to explain the mad scientist.

"You've never mentioned exactly what happened with your Holocaust," Mair said slowly. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine with me."

Laura signed as she sat back. "I don't know where to begin." She knew well enough not to mention the connection they had with the Cylons. "We were in a protracted war that ended forty years ago. Eight months ago, they attacked us and completely overwhelmed our defenses and military. We had a thriving twelve planet economy, what you see out there is what is left."

"And you?"

"Me?" Laura laughed. "I was the most minor cabinet member, but the only one left alive. By default I became president, something I did not want." Laura stopped and realized she was the one doing all the talking. "What about Terra? You know more about the Colonies than we do of your people." Laura crossed her arms.

Mair commented, "What is there to say? We are a world that has over 200 independent countries, but work as a unit to protect ourselves. The United Terran Government is only a symbol, but that is the entity that is shown to the other empires or societies out here in space."

"How do you keep from fighting yourselves?" Laura shook her head.

"I admit, it took a long time. Sad to say, we've had at least three global wars. The second one needed to be fought, though. All the rest were started as petty conflicts, and bruised pride among the leaders."

"I remember you mentioning that very few people can understand me? Is there a reason why?"

"Because English is the dominant language on Terra, but not the one most spoken natively. There are many other languages that are spoken, but none as worldwide. English became dominant at the end of the Second World War, mainly because of the countries that came out on the winning end of that conflict spoke it. Then those very countries rebuilt most, if not all, of the devastated areas, including the countries that came out on the loosing end of it. Everyone was better off in the long run, though some people came to resent that power the winners had over the losers."

Laura nodded, "I can understand how that can come about."

"Now," Mair turned her attention to her monitor. "I talked to Admiral Adama about this. Has he done anything about the pilfering of supplies?"

Laura hesitated before answering, "Yes, he has an officer already investigating it."

"Good, as I told him, this isn't hurting me, it's hurting your people. We also have one more Atlantis class destroyer yet to arrive. She should have been here by now."

Laura's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the name of the last ship to arrive. It was too much of a coincidence for her liking.

Mair held up a finger then activated her comm, 'Harris.'

'Yes, ma'am?'

'Send a message to Admiralty asking about the ETA for that last destroyer.'

'On it.'

'And let me know their answer.'

'Yes, ma'am.'

Mair turned her attention back to Laura, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's all right," Laura smiled, but let her eyes stray to the image on the wall. I wonder if Bill has any books on the ancient Kobol myths, she wondered.

Another tone sounded which made Mair shake her head. "I'm sorry, ma'am," she commented as she reached for the comm again. 'O'Neill.'

'Ma'am, is the meal in 50?'

Mair glanced over to her clock then back to the monitor, 'Affirmative, XO. I want you to contact Glennan and have her report to my at sea cabin in 30, along with the Colonial officer that left with her.'

'Yes, ma'am.'

Mair drummed her fingers on her desk before turning her attention back to Roslin. The Colonial President was looking at her with an amused look. "Madam President, I have scheduled a short tour of the Ddoraig Goch, and then a meal. I do hope the officer that came with you can attend."

Laura nodded, "He should be able. He's also the officer that Lieutenant Glennan has been working with since she came on board."

"Even better," Mair muttered.

"Captain, I had one other officer accompany me. She piloted the raptor here. I would request that she, and possibly our liaison also attend."

Mair thought about the request for a moment then decided that they could come.

TBC...