Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Evelyn is mine. "Hope Has A Place," is by Enya, from billyredocean's montage.
Chapter 34: Silver lining
Before returning to her ship, Mason stopped by CIC to find the admiral, entering not long after the president had left. "I wanted to see for myself what your traveling status was. If your ships can match our higher engine speeds, we should be able to reach Mars in two days. If not, then it'll probably take two weeks," she explained.
One look at love
And you may see
He folded his hands in front of him. "We need a few days to repair things. Have you ever wondered why our ships seem to pop in here and there?"
It weaves a web
Over mystery,
"Actually, I had figured that it was a different sort of engine. Our ships have two engines, one for lower speeds and then one for what some of us call turbo speeds," Mason stated.
All ravelled threads
Can rend apart
Adama glanced at a few more reports on his table and then turned back to her. "We have what we call an FTL drive and when our ships disappear, it's called a jump. We have two sets of coordinates and when the first set is reached, we input the next set and 'jump' over there, so to speak."
The general raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that if I give you the astral coordinates to Mars, you can get there in a few jumps?"
"That's exactly what I'm telling you," Adama stated.
For hope has a place in the lovers heart.
Hope has a place in a lovers heart
"In that case, I can get you the coordinates now. You can repair what you need to and we'll meet you there," Mason suggested. The admiral agreed and she contacted her ship, first receiving the coordinates and then passing them off to one of Adama's crewmen. As she was about to leave CIC, she turned back for a moment. "By the way, Admiral, Major Cottle didn't need any burn cream."
Whispering world,
A sigh of sighs,
Adama tried to answer as stoically as possible. "I take it you helped him with what he did need?"
"Yes," she answered plainly with a smirk.
The ebb and the flow
Of the ocean tides,
Once she had left, Adama returned to the business of trying to orchestrate repairs. As he was on the phone with Tyrol listening to the chief talk about repairs for the Vipers, the admiral heard whispering. He turned to look at his crew, but the whispering had stopped. As he spoke with an engineer, the whispering returned. He hung up the phone and faced his crew, who all wore sober expressions at that point.
One breath, one word
May end or may start
"Would someone kindly tell me what all the whispering is about?" he requested.
Helo stepped forward. "Sir, we're just wondering why Roslin's daughter called you 'Papa.'"
A hope in a place of the lovers heart,
Adama took a deep breath and folded his hands in front of him. "Much as I hate adding to crew gossip, it'll get out of hand if I don't give you the facts. It's complicated, but the best explanation I can give you is that I've… adopted her."
"What about Roslin?" Gaeta dared to ask.
Hope has a place in a lovers heart.
The admiral's usual stoic expression gave way to a smirk, but then the mask was back in place. "That's a story best left for another day, and not to be discussed any further," he paused and looked at the eyes of every man and woman in CIC. "Do I make myself clear?"
There was a collective "Yes, sir."
After two days, the FTL drives were functioning and the ships had been repaired enough to take the jumps. By Mason's coordinates, it would take three jumps to reach Mars. Roslin stood next to Adama in CIC as Dee baby-sat Evie in the admiral's quarters. As the fleet prepared to jump, Roslin crossed her arms, almost impatiently.
Adama looked over at her. "Nervous?"
Look to love
You may dream,
She breathed a sigh. "I little. I never thought we'd get this close to finding a real home. I knew it was the goal, but what happens now?"
And if it should leave
Then give it wings.
"Let's work on getting there first," he reminded.
Her arms relaxed and she rested her hands on the table just before the jump. One of his hands covered hers and it was still there when the room came back into focus. Two more jumps later, they were staring at not only Mason's ship again, but also a brown-green planet. Once red, the terraforming process had caused the color of Mars to change, though the natural oxidation in the soil remained to the extend that the land masses were a reddish brown shade. The oceans, instead of being blue, were a shade of green.
But if such a love
Is meant to be;
Adama had yet to let go of Roslin's hand as Mason contacted them. "Admiral, Madame President, welcome to your new home. I'm glad to see that your method of traveling was successful."
"So are we. It's good to finally be here. Is there any chance that we might be able to visit Earth, even though we can't live there?" Rosin questioned.
Hope is home, and the heart is free.
"Yes. In fact, Earth's new president would like to meet you," Mason told them. After making the two-day journey to Mars, Mason was notified about the election results. Cormac had been arrested and forced to drop out of the running. Vivian Mendoza ran in his place, having already proven her integrity. She had one the election and was looking forward to meeting the interstellar guests.
Under the heavens
We journey far,
As Mason's transmission ended, Adama took both of Roslin's hands in his. "Laura, we finally made it. We brought our people to a good home. I want to share my home with you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
On roads of life
Were the wanderers
Of all the emotions that she could see in his eyes, she noticed the uncertainty. After all they had been through, he was still unsure of her answer. Tears glistened in her eyes as she grinned back. "Yes, Bill. I will marry you."
So let love rise,
So let love depart,
He pulled her closer and their lips met for a sound kiss. Shortly, they heard applause. Both were blushing as they faced his crew. "I trust you all to keep this to yourselves for now," the admiral instructed.
Let hope have a place in the lovers heart
Hope has a place in the lovers heart.
"We will, but it's gonna be a hard secret for you two to keep, especially with that kid calling you, 'Papa,'" Tigh reminded with a smirk.
It would take several weeks to acquire the necessary building materials and construct homes for everyone. While preparations were made, Roslin and Adama were able to meet with President Vivian Mendoza aboard Mason's ship.
Look to love
"Madame President, I'm glad to finally meet you. I can't say that I believe this 'lost tribe' theory of yours, but it is refreshing to meet other humans. Admiral, I trust that you are receiving proper provisions to settle?" Mendoza asked with a polite smile after shaking both their hands.
And you may dream,
"We are, Ma'am. Thank you for your concern," he responded.
And if it should leave
"It is also nice to meet you, Madame President. Do you know yet how Mars is to be represented politically? Also, are we allowed to maintain our own military?" Roslin questioned.
Then give it wings.
Mendoza smiled broadly. "I thought you would ask that. Since your people will be the majority of settlers on Mars, you may keep your own political system. You will be regarded as a country and will be asked to join our United Nations Council, or UNC. It was originally the UN, but we have revised a few things over the centuries. The UNC is a group of people representing the different nations of Earth. Recently we have decided to add our new interstellar colonies as other nations."
"And their military?" Mason pursued.
But if such a love
Mendoza perched on the edge of Mason's desk. As for the military, if you would be willing to share your, what was it… jump drive technology with us, then you are more than welcome to keep your military. It belongs to you and we see no reason to disband it."
Is meant to be;
"You're very kind, Madame President. I have to ask this, when will we be allowed to visit Earth?" Adama inquired.
Hope is home, and the heart is free
"Come now if you like. Some policies are still being arranged. A recent suggestion was brought to my attention, that If one of your people married someone from Earth, then that person could stay on Earth, instead of just visiting," Mendoza replied, noting that Mason was looking away. "Own up to your idea, General. I thought it was a good one. It just needs approval from the World Congress."
"I thought it sounded fair," Mason remarked with a small smile.
Hope is home, and the heart is free.
(My thanks to hadizha, max72, miss mcGonagle, caramelapples, Tchitchina, Ceridwyn2, and LilStrawbaby for reviewing :D)
(A/N: One more chapter to go!)