Chapter 55
Bittersweet
The Planet
Day 40: Today I met the young scientist Joshua Hoshi with whom my friend Irina Galatova is in love. He is a serious young man, dark-haired and very handsome, quite intelligent and soft-spoken, and of the unshakable opinion that the planet we are exploring was once the home of the vanished Thirteenth Tribe. We had a lively discussion tonight at dinner with some of our team members who think this planet is Kobol, the original home of mankind.
Joshua has been to the ruined city and says that the temple is clearly monotheistic. He even found a place on the high altar that he says (based on the dimensions) could have held the Kobol Stone. He is also in possession of the letter that Dr. Prolmar received from the Gemenese priest who claims he has proof that the planet we now explore was called Eden and was the home of the Thirteenth. I asked him how he obtained it. He smiled and said he borrowed it and that Prolmar had never asked him to return it. He was kind enough to pass it along to me.
Day 48: The foundation of another small wooden structure was found outside the ruined city along what had to once have been a road between the city and a high plateau to the east. High resolution imagery from the Hyperion's cameras shows the ruins of some type of structure on the plateau. I think it was another monotheistic temple, but several others say it was a temple to the sun god Apollo. It would certainly be the perfect place to build such a temple. It is possible, I suppose, that both monotheists and polytheists lived in harmony on the planet. We must try to discover what happened to them.
Unpublished Manuscript (Notes) by Aimee Singh, MD, PhD
.
The jump coordinates that Kevin Abinell had configured brought Kara onto Nereid ten miles downstream from the waterfall where she had left the planet over five months before. The unanimous consensus based on the recon photos had been that upriver near the waterfall there was not enough room to maneuver on exit from the jump. Ten miles downstream the river widened considerably and the rocky cliffs that edged it upstream were replaced by flatter banks and more trees.
Another thing they all agreed on is that there was a huge difference between coming out of an FTL jump in space and coming out of it low on the surface of a planet. A low planet entry was far more dangerous.
Kara realized later that if she'd come out of the jump near the waterfall, she and Zak would have died because she wasn't headed downstream but at an angle toward the riverbank.
Her quick reflexes saved them from going into the trees. She put the Raider into a steep climb and corrected their trajectory. As soon as they had cleared the trees, she turned and plunged downward and was soon skimming along just forty feet above the rushing, tumbling water.
She knew she had scared Zak because he was flattened out on his stomach beside her with both hands over his head. She had to give him credit, though. He hadn't uttered a sound.
"We're cool," she said as they approached the point where the river narrowed. She was now four miles from the waterfall. She climbed again and got them over the part of the mountain that contained the spider-filled tunnel that she and Hunter had walked through twice. On the other side was the small clearing where she would wait for her father, the same clearing where he had taken her and Hunter the day they had left Nereid.
The ship was stable and hovering over the clearing before she took her eyes off the monitors and instruments long enough for a quick glance at her passenger. Zak still had his hands over his head. She nudged him.
"Are you okay?"
"Are we there yet?"
"No. Remember the sequence on the whiteboard. We're in the clearing waiting on my dad. He was jumping ten minutes behind us."
Zak finally lifted his head and looked around. "Is something wrong with the ship? I didn't hear that noise back on Caprica."
Kara smiled. "Nothing is wrong with Sadie. It's raining. You want to tell me about Maggie?"
"There's nothing to tell. We talked. We talked some more. She started seeing somebody while I was still in Sovana…after I sent her that stupid email. She doesn't want to give him up. I'm not okay with that. End of story."
"Crashdown?"
"No. I asked her if it was him. She said she and Crash had gone out a couple of times before he started dating another pilot. They're just friends. I believe her. All she said was the guy she's seeing is not in the military and that he's 'a little older' than she is. She didn't want to give me a name even after I promised I wouldn't do anything stupid."
"Married?" Kara asked skeptically. She could see Maggie dating an older guy, but she couldn't see her compromising her moral code by dating a married one.
"No. He's not married. I asked her that, too. She said she realized things weren't going to work for us when I sent her that email breaking up with her. I told her I wasn't myself when I sent it and that I didn't mean it. She said sometimes things happen for a reason. Apparently she met this guy at some kind of political rally a few days after I sent that stupid email."
"Since when did Maggs start going to political rallies?"
"A couple of months ago. I think it was after she heard the rumor that President Roslin doesn't intend to destroy the Cylons on their homeworld. You know how Maggie feels about the Cylons."
"The same way most of Caprica feels."
Zak propped his chin on his fists. "I really thought she was the one."
"So I guess it's back to hot girls like the twins for you."
"I've got a job to do first on this planet. If I'm lucky maybe afterward I might meet somebody who's right for me the way Maya is right for Hunter and the way you and Lee are right for each other."
"Okay, you don't have to lay it on that thick."
"I'm really sorry about what I said last Saturday night. I'd had too much to drink and you're right. I was hurting. I saw Maya and Hunter and I saw you and Lee and it got to me because I wanted to be with Maggie. I respect your dad. That afternoon after I found my mom dead, your dad sat with me for over an hour. He stayed with me while I was answering questions for that police detective, too. I don't think he's got anything going on with either one of the Cylons. I don't think Laura and my dad have anything going on either."
"I wish there was somebody in the valley I could introduce you to. Unfortunately…"
"I'm not here to meet girls. We're here to free our people and secure the planet."
"But first we've got to assess the situation and get a report ready for Admiral Adama. Then we fire up the little laptop that Kev fixed for us, write everything up, and I take it and jump to the coordinates of the fleet."
"We've got one week to get the job done here. If something happens and you or your dad don't get back to the Galactica, then my dad jumps eight battlestars here and starts taking out Cylon baseships."
"We should be able to find out what's going on in a week, especially if they've started fighting a civil war."
"It looks pretty peaceful here," Zak said.
"Because this is the middle of nowhere for them. The nearest settlement is a hundred miles south of here and the city is a hundred miles to the east. There might be a stray centurion around, but we're in a Raider."
Zak squirmed trying to get more comfortable. "You don't need to remind me."
…
The ten minutes between Kara's jump and their own was the longest ten minutes Lee thought he had ever spent. They had decided on a ten-minute lag because John wanted to make sure that once Kara was on the surface of Nereid, she had plenty of time to get out of the jump zone. A collision between their two ships would end the mission for all of them.
The tension in the cramped cockpit was evident to Lee, but there was no trace of it in John's voice when he announced Kara's jump to those waiting far above them in the Galactica's CIC.
"Sadie is away. Papa Bear is jumping in ten minutes. Countdown commencing now."
The disembodied voice of a communication tech on the Galactica replied. "Roger that Papa Bear. Countdown to jump is ten minutes."
Lee knew that in the atmosphere high above them the Galactica was waiting for them to jump. Within minutes of the Heavy Raider's departure, nine jump keys would be inserted into their slots and the Galactica and eight other battlestars would follow them to predefined coordinates in a sector of interstellar space closely adjoining the Prolmar Sector. It was far away from the Armistice Zone, far away from the part of space that he thought the Cylons would search if something aroused their suspicions. They had to play the odds. Even the Cylons weren't capable of searching every bit of the galaxy around their homeworld. By jumping to an area that was not on any direct path between the two solar systems, the Colonials hoped to minimize any chance of discovery.
To pass the time Lee mentally recited the eight battlestars that would be waiting for Kara to bring them intel about the status of the planet. The Galactica, which now had Admiral Adama on board was the flagship of the invasion fleet. With him would be the Ajax, the Charybdis, the Columbia, the Minoan, the Orion, the Pegasus, the Sylla and the newly outfitted Valkyrie.
Bill had considered the space-worthiness of the ships as well as their ability to carry the twenty thousand Marines that had been chosen for the initial invasion of the planet. The Marines had been divided among the eight ships. Another big part of Bill's decision had simply been his faith in his commanders.
While all battlestars carried a small and permanent contingent of Marines, they had not been designed to carry large numbers of troops. There were other ships in the Colonial forces that were better designed and outfitted for that purpose. But those ships did not have long-range jump drives or the structural integrity to allow installing them. For thousands of years all the wars that the Colonials had fought had been among the twelve planets of their own solar system. Jumping many light years through space had never been a consideration in moving troops…until now. Every bit of extra space on the nine battlestars was being used to house the men and women who would put their lives on the line once the ground fighting started on the surface of Nereid.
"Thirty seconds," John said.
Together he and Lee watched the counter moving in reverse. John repeated Kara's words.
"Galactica this is Papa Bear. Jumping in five."
Then he shut down the communication system that Kevin had recently installed in the Heavy Raider. When the counter reached zero, John minimized horizontal thrusters and engaged the Heavy Raider's jump drive. Immediately he felt the unpleasant sensation that always accompanied a jump. They materialized over the river and he applied maximum vertical thrusters. They were dangerously close to the river bank. He turned the ship enough to get it pointed downriver and slowly brought horizontal thrusters back online. His visibility was hampered by rain running off the canopy.
"Look at that," he said. "One thing we didn't talk about was arriving in the rain."
"Just our luck," Lee echoed. "Do you think Kara…"
"Kara's fine. She'll be waiting for us." He called back to the men and Natasi, "Everybody okay back there?"
Five male voices including Hunter's said, "Yes, sir."
He didn't hear Natasi answer, but decided someone would let him know if she wasn't okay. To lighten their weight and allow them to take more equipment, the Heavy Raider's metal passenger seats, designed for centurions, had been removed and replaced with smaller jump seats made of lightweight plastic. They had apparently come through the rigors of the jump intact.
John turned the Heavy Raider upstream and flew until he reached the waterfall then climbed over and around the side of the mountain. He saw the clearing and the Raider waiting for them.
"There she is," Lee said with relief in his voice.
"Told you," John said. "Now let's get to the valley and get these ships under wraps while we've still got some daylight left."
...
Laura sat at her desk in Marble House and waited. She had told her administrative staff to hold all her calls until further notice. She was waiting for a call from a battlestar, for word from Bill as to whether the mission had gone or not.
For the second time in two months she had asked her Vice President Scott Mickelson to handle the Quorum session that morning. Laura had sat for most of the day trying to look at all the material on her desk that needed her attention. Instead her thoughts were on John and Kara and Lee and the rest of the mission.
She kept remembering the previous night and the phone call she had finally made to her husband. She'd waited, thinking he would call as he often did before Brae went to bed so he could tell their son goodnight, but their son's bedtime had come and gone and still no call. Finally at ten o'clock she had called his mobile phone. He'd answered on the third ring.
Almost immediately he'd said, "I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. I just got back from the boneyard…some last minute preparations. I didn't want to call this late. I was going to take a shower and hit the sack."
"I thought you would call and say goodbye to your son."
"I told him yesterday afternoon that I wouldn't see him for a while. I don't think he's old enough to really understand although he did get his Raptor and show me."
The hurt had bled through in her voice. "You didn't tell me goodbye yesterday. You and Bianca and Rachel left while I was talking to Maya and Hunter."
"I didn't want to interrupt you. I…I wasn't sure it would matter to you."
"Oh, John. How can you say that?" She had heard him take a deep breath and had waited, but he hadn't answered her so she'd finally continued. "Kara and I had a confrontation after you left. Did she tell you?"
"No. We haven't had a chance to talk about anything except our mission. I'm sorry she was disrespectful. She knows I don't want that. She knows I've always wanted the two of you to get along."
"She was right in what she said. She took me to task for the way I've treated you. Then she went to her room and got her things together. She waited long enough to see Maya and Hunter. She kissed Brae and told him she was going to be gone for a while. Then she told Maya she was going to Lee's apartment and walked out." Suddenly Laura's voice had begun to tremble and she had started to cry. "I'm so sorry, John. This is not the way I wanted things to happen."
"Laura," he had said softly, "please don't cry. Please."
She had bitten her lip and had managed to quiet her sobs. "Promise me you'll come back. Promise me."
There had been another long silence. Then he'd said, "Would you do something for me?"
"Of course."
"I'd like for you to call Bianca every couple of days. I'm leaving my phone with her. Dr. Delos has D'Anna on complete bed rest now so Bianca is going to have to help with her and take care of Rachel, too. Natasi was helping a lot with both of them, but she'll be gone tomorrow. Maybe you could ask Bianca if she'll accept some help. I've talked to Brad. He's got no problem with someone coming out to the base for part of the day. He suggested a home health agency. I'll be glad to pay for it. You've still got authorization to my bank accounts."
"I'll be glad to get Bianca some help and it won't be necessary for you to pay for it. I'll take care of it. I'll call her tomorrow and we'll discuss it."
"Thank you. I'm alive because of Bianca and her husband. Anything I can do to help her, I will. Now I need to go, Laura. I'm beat." His voice had softened and she had heard some emotion at last. "Just remember that nothing's changed about the way I feel. I love you. I'll always love you. And God willing, I'll see you and Brae again."
Before he had ended the call, she'd managed to say the words to him that his mother had always said to his father.
"Fair winds and following seas, my love, and please come back to me."
Now she sat at her desk and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. She felt like she'd made so many mistakes with John. She'd let petty feelings of jealousy get in the way of the love they shared. She'd stood by and watched him slowly building a wall between them and she'd let him.
Angrily she banged her fist on her desk. She'd let him. She'd seen the way he was pulling away from her because he thought it was the only way to protect her and her political career…and she'd let him. She should have moved him into Marble House with her the minute his debriefing was over. She should have done whatever it took to make him believe that she still felt about him the same way she had when he'd left the planet the previous November. She shouldn't have let her doubts about his feelings or her initial hurt and anger at what he'd done on Nereid get in the way. When Brae had cut his chin, she should have asked John to come back to Marble House with them and before the evening was over, she should have finished the kiss they had started. She should have taken him to her bed and shown him that she was still his wife in every sense of the word. But she hadn't. And now he was leaving, was probably already gone and it was too late. All she could do was pray that he returned so she could make it up to him.
Her desk phone buzzed causing her to jump. She picked it up and recognized the momentary hollow sound of an incoming scrambled call.
"They've jumped to Nereid," Bill said. "Mission is a go. We'll be leaving in a few minutes."
"You'll get word back to me."
"As soon as I can. You understand that our jump takes us roughly twenty-nine light years away from Caprica. We'll be well out of communication range. I'm taking a smaller ship with a long-range jump drive to keep you informed, but it might be a week or more before we have anything worth reporting. John's team has a week to assess the situation and get the information to me."
"I understand. The gods be with you, Bill. Good hunting."
"Thank you, Laura."
He ended the call and Laura sat feeling numb. She knew that it was pointless for her to try to do anything for the rest of the day. She left her office and told her secretary that she was going upstairs. She gave Billy a slight nod to inform him the mission had left the planet.
When she got off the elevator, she went immediately to her son's room. He and Esmari were on the floor. Braedon was helping her put pieces into one of the big wooden puzzles that he had mastered long ago. Despite his penchant for the occasional tantrum, Brae was incredibly patient with Esmari. When they were together, he'd even reverted to crawling in an attempt to get her to follow him. Esmari could now get up on her hands and knees, but so far she simply rocked back and forth. She hadn't coordinated the hand and knee movements that would allow her to move forward. Brae seemed determined to change that.
"Mamma, look," he said and she praised him and Esmari both. The little girl looked up at her with Hunter's blue eyes and a pair of beautiful long dark eyelashes. She smiled and then looked back at the puzzle. Braedon pointed to one of the empty spaces and Esmari put in a star-shaped piece.
Maya was sitting on the couch with a box of tissues and red eyes. She blew her nose and Laura wondered if she'd been crying all day. Hunter and Maya had spent last night at the apartment in the city. Lee and Kara had gone to Lee's apartment. Laura had told Mrs. Blythe to go home. She had gotten both children into the tub and ready for bed.
Laura sat down on the couch beside Maya and put her arm around her in a gesture of comfort that they both needed. She again looked at her son and the child that Hunter had entrusted to the woman he loved, the woman he had one week earlier made his wife. Maya held out the box of tissues and Laura plucked one and dabbed her own eyes. Through her tears she saw the two children growing up together free from the shadow of war, and she was more firmly convinced than ever that the only way to ensure their future was to forge a lasting peace with their enemy.
...
John took the lead and Kara followed. Skimming the treetops, they headed toward the valley. Their low altitude was what they referred to as flying under the dradis. It meant that their dradis signatures would blend so closely with the wireless waves bouncing back from the planet's surface as to be virtually indistinguishable to the Cylons in the baseships above.
Dr. Rafferty's crew had applied an organic resin compound that contained a carbon polymer to the surface of both ships. It was designed to scatter the broadcast waves, masking their shape and giving them additional stealth capability, but there was nothing that would make them totally invisible to dradis and infrared scans. That's why they wanted to get both ships on the ground, shut down and covered with the camouflage netting. The quicker they cooled off and blended into the landscape of the valley, the better. Even though Kara knew they'd all get soaked covering the ships, the rain would cool them faster.
By the time they reached Hunter's valley, though, the rainstorm had blown over and the setting sun shone under the clouds which served to illuminate the meadow where they had planned to land. It now held a large number of sheep.
"That's not good," Kara said.
"What?" Zak asked.
"Sheep on the airfield."
She watched her father deftly set the Heavy Raider down on the road, the propulsion wash from the vertical thrusters causing the sheep to move back from the fence. Kara set the Raider down a short distance behind the other ship.
"What do we do now?" Zak asked.
"Wait for my father to decide what to do. Mission protocol says we stay in the ship unless told to do otherwise."
…
John unstrapped himself and told Lee to stay put. "If I don't come back very shortly, you follow protocol. Get this ship out of here and jump to the coordinates where your father is waiting. Kara will follow."
Natasi was on her feet waiting for him. "I'll go with you."
Hunter unbuckled the straps and stood. "So will I. They're my people."
He started to tell Natasi to stay put, but then changed his mind and let her follow him and Hunter down the ramp. They hadn't walked far toward the dwellings when they met Targa, Beck, Narcho and Jade.
"Lords of Kobol," Targa said as Hunter greeted his uncles with tight hugs. "Where'd you get them fancy flowered duds?"
Hunter punched his uncle playfully on the arm. "This is camouflage, not flowers."
John grinned as the men shook hands with him. "I told you we'd bring him back, didn't I?"
"Where'd you find Sonja?" Beck asked. "Natalie said she was boxed by the One in the city."
Jade said, "That's not Sonja."
"Is, too," Beck said. "Look at her. She's even wearing that black outfit Sonja likes to wear."
"I know she looks just like her, but it's not Sonja," John said. "Her name is Natasi. We brought her with us from Caprica."
"Is that Kara in the Raider?" Narcho asked.
"Who else? We'll have plenty of time to talk. First things first. We've got to do something with the ships and our usual landing area is full of sheep."
"We brought the sheep down from the higher meadow," Narcho said. "We've been having problems with wolves again."
"So what do we do?" John asked. "We can't leave these ships in the road."
Targa and his brother looked at each other. Beck pointed toward the dwellings. "A mile or so north of here on the other side of the creek is a clearing. It's much smaller than the meadow. Better cover. No grazing animals."
"Yeah," Hunter said. "That's a good place." He turned to John. "Let's go while we've still got some daylight." Then he turned back to his uncles. "We've got five Marines, John's copilot Lee and Kara and Natasi. Think about where we're going to put them."
"We'll get a couple of torches and meet you in the clearing," Beck said.
…
Kara couldn't see what was happening on the road because the Heavy Raider was in the way. She debated getting out of her ship, but knew she would be breaking protocol. If anything went wrong, she was supposed to get the Raider out of there and jump to the location where Admiral Adama was now waiting with his battlestars.
"What's taking so long?" Zak asked.
"Don't know, but we stay put."
She was so antsy she could hardly lie still. Finally she saw her father coming back along the road. He made a motion for her to follow them. In only a few minutes they were airborne again.
They flew low over the meadow, crossed the creek and turned east. In a minute she could tell that he was preparing to put the Heavy Raider down. She circled until he was on the ground and then landed on the other side of a small clearing about eighty feet away. The sun was behind the mountains. The clearing was in deep shade.
She saw the Heavy Raider's ramp go down and her father, Lee and Hunter exit the ship. They were followed by Natasi and the four Marines.
"Now you can spin that wheel and open the hatch," she said to Zak. He wasted no time in doing it.
They all gathered in the area between the two ships and began talking about what to do with their supplies. In only a short time she heard several people coming through the woods. Targa and Beck each carried torches.
The last of the daylight was rapidly fading from the sky. They decided to get their personal gear and come back for the rest of the supplies the next morning. Kara and Zak walked back to the Raider to get their duffel bags. Narcho caught up with them and he and Kara hugged. It was only then that Kara noticed an Eight had tagged along with him. She looked just like Sharon but had a short, shaggy haircut. The Marines, Lee and Hunter had already gotten out the camouflage netting and were spreading it over the Heavy Raider. John was carrying duffel bags off the ship. Zak trotted over to help them.
The two women looked each other up and down.
"Kara, this is Jade," Narcho said.
"So is this your pilot girlfriend?" Jade asked. "The one who flies a Raider as good as a Cylon?"
"She's my pilot friend," Narcho said. "I used to fly as her wingman. Her boyfriend is over there helping the Marines cover the Heavy Raider. John is Kara's father."
"Your father told me he taught you how to fly."
"He did."
Kara climbed up in the Raider and handed out her bag and then Zak's before she closed the hatch and spun the wheel.
"Who is the other man with you?" Jade asked pointing across the clearing toward Zak.
"He's my boyfriend's brother, Zak."
"Does he have a girlfriend?"
"He used to but they broke up. Why? You want me to fix you up with him?"
Jade looked at Narcho. "What does that mean…fix me up?"
Kara answered. "It means do you want me to tell him you think he's cute?"
Jade shrugged. "Maybe I'll look the others over first. They might be cuter."
Kara looked at Narcho. "So you and Jade aren't a couple?"
"We're just friends," he said.
The Marines and Hunter came over with the netting to cover the Raider. Kara, Narcho and Jade moved out of their way. They had practiced doing it enough times on Caprica that it took only a few minutes.
"So how did a Cylon wind up here in the valley?" Kara asked Jade.
"John brought me here so I would learn about humans. I've been here since the funeral of the old woman who died in Settlement Alpha, the one who was taking care of the baby with the big blue eyes."
"Esmari's grandmother, Seléne," Narcho said. "She died."
"My dad told me."
"How's Hunter doing?"
Kara grinned. "He's a newly-married man as of a week ago. He left Esmari with her new mother."
"No kidding. That was fast work. You've only been gone for what…a couple of months?"
"Five months give or take a week. Dad escaped seven weeks ago."
"We know about your dad's escape," Narcho said. "We've had a couple of refugees hiding here in the valley since then. I'm sure one of them is going to be very glad to see your father."
"Who?" Kara asked suspiciously.
Jade answered. "Natalie. Our First Six. She brought her cat and her friend Buddy and three of his friends. The fourth centurion had to get the ship he stole back to the city before it was missed. We don't know what happened to that one. It never came back. Maybe it couldn't get out of the city. Things didn't go so good after your father escaped. Sonja got boxed at the prison and Cavil won't let Leoben come back from the res ship. Our friend Yoshimo got put in prison. Cavil was going to put the doctor in prison, too, but the council talked him out of it since there wouldn't be anyone to treat the sick humans. So the doctor has a centurion with him all the time."
"Damn," Kara said. "My dad is going to hate to hear that."
The Marines and the others had finished covering the Raider with the netting. They headed for the edge of the clearing. Lee motioned for them to follow.
"We need to get moving," Narcho said.
Her father was waiting for them at the tree line. "Everything okay?"
"Fine," Kara said. "Jade's got some news you're not going to be happy to hear."
"Beck's already told me that Natalie and Buddy are here with a few centurions. They're all living in the Hyperion. A third centurion is on a run to the city to find out what's going on. We're all going to stay in the Hyperion tonight. Tomorrow we'll get the supplies from the ships and decide what to do next. Right now we need to get to the village."
They crossed the creek on a wooden footbridge. Kara recognized where they were. It was the place she had found Daniel the first day she'd gone looking for him, the day he'd admitted to her that he was a Cylon.
With Targa and Beck in the lead carrying torches and several of the Marines carrying flashlights, they made their way single file up the narrow path and finally exited the woods near the wooden steps leading to the concealed the entrance of the Hyperion.
Natalie and Buddy were waiting for them at the bottom of the steps. As soon as they saw John, they both walked over and greeted him in a three-way hug.
"That's Natalie," Jade said. "She likes your father but not like a boyfriend."
"What'd she do? Dye her hair dark blond? It's not much of a disguise."
"Her hair has always looked like that."
Natasi left the group and joined John and Natalie. "Hello, sister. It's been a long time."
Natalie's confusion was evident. She looked at John. "How is it that you have this sister Six with you? She went with the Angel of Death to destroy the Colonies."
Natasi smiled slyly. "Did John not tell you? The humans have controlled Caprica since last year. He disappeared during the battle when he destroyed our baseship over Caprica. He killed many thousands of our brothers and sisters. I escaped only because I was in Caprica City at the time. "
Natalie gasped. "Is that true?"
"Thanks, Natasi," John said. "I was going to tell her everything as soon as we got the chance to talk."
"You lied to me," Natalie said.
"No, I just omitted certain facts."
"That's the same thing," Natasi said slyly to her sister. "And you thought you could trust a human."
John turned on her angrily. "You stay the frak out of this." He looked at Buddy. "Will you escort this woman…somewhere so I can talk to Natalie without blabbermouth here butting in every two seconds?"
Buddy stepped over to Natasi and said, "Please come with me."
There was a stunned silence and then John said, "When did you get a voice?"
Buddy answered him. "In the seven weeks and four days since you've been gone, Leonard Markham has given me a voice synthesizer and hooked it to my neural circuits to allow me to speak." Buddy's voice changed and became feminine in tone. "He gave me a voice also."
"Lucy?"
"Yes. It doesn't sound like my voice used to, but it is me." The voice changed back to a masculine one as Buddy addressed Natasi. "Come with me so John can talk to Natalie."
Looking smug and pleased with herself, Natasi ambled back to Hunter and the Marines with Buddy by her side.
"I knew bringing that bitch was a mistake," Kara muttered to Narcho and Jade and Lee who had just joined them.
Jade said, "I'd say your father has some explaining to do for lying to Natalie."
"He didn't lie to her!" Kara said. "He just didn't tell her everything."
Jade shrugged again. "Huh. All humans lie."
"Yeah, well so do Cylons."
Lee said, "Ladies, let's not get off on the wrong foot. We've got to work together."
Jade looked him up and down. "What does that mean? The wrong foot? Which foot is the wrong foot?"
Narcho said, "That's just a human expression. It means let's try to be friends instead of argue."
Zak walked over to them. "Want to introduce me?"
"Gladly," Kara said. "This is Jade. Jade, this is Lee's brother Zak."
Zak smiled at Jade, "You look like you know something about this place. The guys are hungry. Maybe you could show us somewhere we could build a fire and heat some grub while the grownups trade stories."
Narcho said, "Beck stopped by and told Emmalyn you were here. She and Dessa are making bread and stew. It'll be ready soon."
"Emmalyn's bread is the best I've ever tasted," Kara said.
Lee said, "So let's go to Emmalyn's."
Narcho led the way and Zak and Jade followed. Lee took Kara's hand and they began walking up the path with the other four Marines behind them. Bringing up the rear were Buddy and Natasi. It pleased Kara to hear Natasi stumble on the path and Buddy tell her to watch her step and be more careful. In what had to be something of an inside joke, Buddy's voice sounded just like Leonard Markham. Kara snickered.
"What's so funny?" Lee asked.
"Tell you later," Kara said. "I think Natasi has met her match in Buddy."
When they reached Emmalyn's, Dessa rushed out and threw herself into Hunter's arms.
"His sister," Kara said to Lee.
Then Dessa rushed over to Kara and hugged her the same way.
"I told you I'd come back and bring Hunter with me," Kara said.
The greetings and hugs were repeated with Emmalyn who was wiping tears of joy from her eyes. Kara made the introductions for everyone. She had just finished when Emmalyn noticed the ring on Hunter's hand.
"Is this why you didn't bring your daughter back with you?"
Hunter grinned and looked sheepish. "I brought some pictures…of Esmari and my wedding and…"
Targa said, "I get to see them first."
"I'm the oldest," Beck retorted.
"There's plenty for everybody," Hunter said.
Kara grinned. "I think that's why their ship was two hundred pounds overweight. Hunter brought all his wedding pictures."
As they all crowded into Emmalyn's dwelling, Kara glanced at Lee and smiled. Already she was leaving Caprica behind and adjusting to life in the valley. In some ways she felt like she'd never been away.
…
John watched the rest of the mission team head toward the dwellings before he took Natalie's arm and walked over to the wooden steps with her. They sat down side by side.
"I should have told you the whole story before I left, but everything happened so fast on that last day. I just never got a chance."
She sat not speaking. He could feel her hurt. Finally she said, "No more lies. No more omitting. Tell me everything."
John managed to give her the abbreviated version in about fifteen minutes.
"So all of my brothers and sisters who went to the Colonies are dead."
"All except Natasi and an Eight named Sharon and a Leoben that Cavil wiped out his memory. They came to the Colonies to destroy humanity, Natalie. The One who killed your Daniel was their leader. Sharon and Leoben are the only Cylons I ever heard express any regret for their cold-blooded slaughter of billions of innocent humans. I think the murderers got what they deserved. Most of the rest of the humans feel the same way."
"Is that what your soldiers plan to do to us?"
"No. The President of the Colonies wants to form a coalition government with those of you who are willing to live with us in peace. I talked to her about you. She's very anxious to meet you. She wants you to play a part in the transition government."
"You personally spoke with the President of the Colonies?" Natalie asked with disbelief in her voice.
"That's the other thing I failed to mention. She's my wife."
Again there was a long silence. John knew he'd given her a lot to digest so he let her think while he unzipped the top part of his flight suit and slid his arms out of it. The evening was warm and humid and he was starting to sweat in the insulated suit.
She finally asked, "How is D'Anna? Is she in prison?"
"No. She's staying in an apartment near Bianca. She's seeing a specialist who has put her on complete bed rest. She's being given the best of care. If she has the baby now, there's the slimmest chance he'll survive. The Eight on Caprica, Sharon, is married to one of my daughter's friends. They have a baby, Hera, born six weeks early. The same doctor who is taking care of D'Anna saved Sharon's life and a neonatologist saved the baby. They're doing fine now."
"What are your plans for D'Anna and your child?"
"I don't know, yet. Now tell me about what happened here after I left."
"On the night you escaped, Buddy and I stayed at the airfield for several hours waiting for the centurion to bring Sonja and Leoben back in the Heavy Raider. Finally just before dawn I knew something had gone wrong and I went back to my house. Simon and Petra had stayed there with Cassie. The house was empty so I went to the clinic. Cavil was questioning Laszlo who maintained that you had kidnapped his wife. Dodona Selloi said the same thing but their words fell on deaf ears. Centurions had brought Yoshimo and Cavil was questioning him, too. The poor man knew nothing. I demanded that they be released but Cavil refused. I didn't know what to do. I was afraid to mention Simon and Petra since I didn't know what had happened to them. I hoped they had gotten away and were hiding. My hopes were pointless. They were brought in by centurions shortly after I got there. They'd hidden in the woods and were found."
With a feeling of terrible dread, John asked, "What did Cavil do to them?"
"Simon was executed and not allowed back on the planet. He's currently on the res ship. Petra was taken to the prison."
"No. Oh, God, no. What about Cassie?"
"Cavil gave her to one of his pet Eights who wanted to raise a child. I can still hear Cassie screaming when Cavil took the child from her mother after they'd killed her father. I begged him to let me have Cassie, but he refused."
John felt sick. "Where is she now?"
"Somewhere in the city. One of my three centurions is there gathering as much information as he can. I told him to try to find out where the Eight who took Cassie is living. My centurion will eventually find Cassie. He knows he has to be careful and not arouse suspicion. Now tell me what happened the night you escaped, John?"
Barely able to talk for thinking about Cavil's victims, John told her about their escape.
He finished by saying, "I should have taken Sonja and Leoben with me. At least they'd still be alive."
"Sonja is boxed at the res facility at the prison. Leoben and Petra's Simon are on the res ship. Only the first twelve copies of any model can download at the prison. Sonja is the tenth copy of our model."
"What about Natasi? What number is she?"
He heard disgust in Natalie's voice. "She's the Second Six."
"So if something happens to her here, she'd download at the prison."
"Yes. I'm not sure she knows it, though. You don't trust her, do you?"
"Not entirely. She's in love with a human on Caprica. My wife and the Attorney General promised Natasi that she could bring her lover here and make a life with him if she helped us. I guess it depends on which feeling is stronger…her love for Gaius Baltar or her desire to defeat the humans here. After the way she just tried to cause trouble between us, I don't know what to think."
Natalie sighed. "We Sixes feel emotion strongly although we may not always show it. If she's really in love with this man and wants to spend her life with him, she'll help us. If not, she'll look for the first opportunity to escape and betray us. I think we should watch her carefully."
"Maybe we can enlist Buddy's help or one of the liberated centurions."
"Buddy would do anything you ask him to do, John. When we got word that you'd landed on the road, I've never heard Buddy so happy."
"It's great that Markham gave him a voice…and Lucy. How are things going with you and Daniel…the real one, not your cat?"
"He spends most of his time talking to Lucy. I'm beginning to get used to it. I'm sure you and your wife had a happy reunion."
He shrugged. "D'Anna's presence caused a few problems, and I told Laura about Sonja so…we're working on our issues. I couldn't believe how much my son had grown. Seeing him or Kara was what I looked forward to the most each day. If there's one thing Laura and I agree on completely, it's that the children are our future."
"D'Anna and her son must return to us. You do understand that, don't you?"
"Yes. There's no place for them on Caprica. What our baby represents would be drowned out by the hatred and bitterness most humans feel because of the holocaust. This will be the world where we get a chance to start over and do it right."
Natalie put her hand gently on his arm. "You belong here also or haven't you figured that out yet."
He didn't want to say the words out loud because he couldn't bear to think of leaving Laura and Braedon and Kara and everyone else he loved behind. He tried to imagine splitting his life between two worlds and found he couldn't go there either. So he changed the subject.
"Do you think Cavil would do something to Sonja while she's boxed?"
"I don't know."
"How do you reverse the process…how do you unbox her?"
"The tank must be activated by replacing the control box. The copy must have enough time to wake up and get out of the tank. It takes several minutes. Sonja will be naked and vulnerable. She might be very confused. She'll probably have a bad headache."
"Where is Cavil now?"
"He's probably back in the city. He's been here twice looking for me with his centurions. Jade and Buddy and I and the liberated centurions are living deep in the Hyperion. Thank God that Cavil has yet to figure out this mountain hides the ship. On his last trip he left four centurions that were to notify him if we showed up, but Buddy quickly liberated them. They understand the need to continue at their guard posts in case Cavil returns."
"How did you and Buddy and the others get here to the valley?"
"While Cavil was meeting with the council at the settlement, Buddy liberated another centurion who then got on board a transport that was taking produce to the city. Following Buddy's instructions, he borrowed a small transport and flew back here that night. I knew Cavil was going to have his centurions take me to his ship. He just didn't have the guts to do it in front of the council. As soon as we prevailed and saved Dr. Silva from being sent to the prison, our meeting broke up. Buddy and I returned to my house, got some clothes and my cat, and we hid in the woods near the airfield until after dark. The centurion landed just long enough to pick us up. We stayed under the dradis and he brought us here. Then he took the ship back to the city. He's supposed to be gathering information. We sent one of the other liberated centurions to the city last week. It's only a hundred miles. A centurion can easily cover it in less than a day. We're waiting for him to come back with news."
"Is Cavil still searching the forest for the pilots?"
"No. He's pulled all his centurions back into the city."
"I'm going to figure out a way to get to the prison and get Petra and Yoshimo. Then I'm going to get Sonja from the res facility."
"That will only get you and them killed."
"I don't think you understand. In one week or less an invasion force is going to jump into space over this planet. What do you think Cavil will do to them then?"
Natalie put her face in her hands. "He'll kill them rather than let them be rescued. He's become as vengeful and evil and crazy as the Angel of Death. The council saved Dr. Silva from being sent to prison, but we weren't so lucky with Yoshimo. Cavil has always hated Yoshimo's pacifist religious influence on us. Yoshimo was sacrificed to Cavil's pride as were Petra and Cassie and their Simon. They were made out as traitors for bringing Rachel here. Cavil had to make an example of them."
"Do you think he put Sonja's hand in the stream before he boxed her?"
"He wouldn't have to. When Sonja downloaded, her memories became part of the shared consciousness of the Sixes. All Cavil would have to do is have one of his pet Sixes access her sister's memories in the tank. That's the only way he could have found out so quickly that you took Rachel or that Petra and Simon were at my house. He was furious that both Rachel and D'Anna were beyond his grasp."
"If he was that angry, why didn't he hop in a ship and go to Caprica to get them?"
"Pride…for one thing. He was ashamed that he'd let the mother of the peacemaker and one of the protectors slip through his fingers. He would not have wanted to admit that horrible blunder to the Angel of Death for fear of being boxed himself. I've had a great deal of time to think about his state of mind. He had to stomp around and make a big show of punishing some of us, but I believe once he had a chance to cool off and think, he's glad he doesn't have to deal with D'Anna and Rachel anymore. I think he's glad to be rid of the whole peacemaker problem. That's another reason I think he's didn't follow you to Caprica to try to retrieve them. I wish now that he had. We'd be rid of him."
"So let me make sure I've got everything straight. Petra and Yoshimo are at the prison. Sonja is boxed at the prison res facility. Leoben and Simon are on a baseship and can't return to the planet. Laszlo is still working as the doctor in Settlement Alpha. Cassie was given to an Eight in the city but we don't know which one or where she is."
"Yes. That's right."
"I know Simon mentioned something about dissecting stillborn babies. He was afraid Cavil might have let a Four in the city do that to Rachel to try to determine what made her special. You don't think they would…" John couldn't bring himself to say it. The thought of something like that happening to Cassie was too much for him to contemplate.
"I don't think so," Natalie answered. "Cassie isn't special in the sense Cavil thinks Rachel is special. I just hope the Eight doesn't get tired of taking care of a child. Cassie wasn't a year old when she was taken from Petra. She still needs a great deal of care. Cavil's pet Eights are all rather immature and self-centered. I can't see them lovingly caring for a child any more than I can see Jade caring for one…at least not right now."
John was trying to decide where to start formulating a plan for the rescue of his friends when Kara walked up.
"Emmalyn sent me to find you."
John stood and put his arm around Kara's shoulders. She had also unzipped the top part of her flight suit and was in the dark tank top and sleeveless gray t-shirt like he was.
"My daughter, Kara," he said to Natalie. "She's the best human Raider pilot you'll find. She's also not half-bad in a Viper."
There was soft humor in Natalie's voice. "You're not proud of her, are you?"
Kara smiled and put her arm around her father's waist. "I learned from the best. So you're Natalie, the First Six he told me about."
Natalie extended her hand in the distinctly human greeting. Kara shook it. She didn't understand why she immediately liked this Six when she disliked Natasi so much.
"We've got a rescue to plan," her father said, "but we need to eat first."
Kara grinned. "Second that. Emmalyn is standing guard over some bread and stew. If you don't claim it soon, I think the Marines will overpower her and take it."
John smiled, "I'd like to see them try."
"I'm just kidding. They're treating her like she's their ranking officer. I've never heard so many yes ma'ams in all my life. Two of them are washing dishes. Dessa and Emmalyn both started crying when Hunter showed them Maya's pictures from the wedding. Dessa wants a dress just like Maya's. Targa and Beck are teasing Hunter about his fast work and Hunter's grandfather looks like the proudest man in the world even though he couldn't see what Maya looks like. He asked me to describe her." Kara snickered. "I told him he should ask Hunter. Targa thinks she looks like Dessa only with brown eyes. And I think I know why Narch and Jade never got anything going on. I think he's sweet on Dessa. She sure likes him."
"You like Hunter's people, don't you?" John asked. "I can hear it in your voice."
"You know I do."
"Then let's go spend a little time with them," her father said.
With Kara on one side carrying a flashlight and Natalie on John's other side, they walked down the path toward the dwellings. The late summer air was warm and full of moisture from the rain. It reminded John of the ocean after a storm. They would eat together tonight and share the hospitality of the people who had saved his daughter's life and who now hid three Cylons and their centurions. Later he would tell the mission team about what had happened and ask for their ideas about how to rescue two of their fellow humans and also unbox a Cylon who had saved his life. Then hopefully they might find a little girl who called him Chon and reunite her with her mother.
...
Laura had just put her son to bed and walked back to her sitting room when her mobile phone chirped. Even knowing her husband was thirty light years away and the call couldn't possibly be from him, her heart still leapt at seeing his name come up on the caller id. Then she remembered that John had left his phone with Bianca.
"I hope I'm not bothering you," Bianca said when Laura answered.
"No, not at all. I just put my son to bed. I do that as often as I can. Some days I feel like I do practically nothing. I'd be lost without Maya."
"How is she?"
"She's pulled herself together and is coping. She's a very tough, very strong young woman."
"How are you doing?"
"I was totally useless today. I couldn't even meet with the Quorum, but tomorrow I'll have to pull myself together. The government of Caprica won't stop for my personal problems."
"Well, I certainly don't want to add to your burdens, but John asked me to keep you informed of any changes in D'Anna's condition."
Laura was aware that she had taken a quick, deep breath. "What happened?"
"I went with D'Anna to her doctor's appointment tonight. Dr. Delos admitted her to the hospital. I plan to stay with her, but I've gone down the hall to the physician's lounge to call you."
"What about Rachel?"
"Brad Parker was kind enough to take her home with him tonight. It's a good thing. D'Anna's blood pressure is dangerously high, so much so that we fear she'll have a stroke. Dr. Delos wants to deliver the child, but D'Anna is refusing. I don't think she understands that her condition has become life-threatening not only for her but for the child as well. D'Anna's kidneys are showing reduced output which means they're already starting to fail. If that happens, other organs will begin shutting down as well. Dr. Delos and her team are working right now to get D'Anna stabilized."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I understand that legally the Cylons are considered machines and have no rights, but we don't want to completely ignore D'Anna's wishes. Are we correct about her legal status?"
"Yes, you're correct. While Cavil and the Cylons were in control here, he granted citizenship and all rights to his brothers and sisters, but in one of the first acts of the Quorum after the Cylon defeat, they rescinded those rights. I opposed such a hasty move, but was easily voted down."
Laura heard Bianca sigh deeply. Then she said, "Tell me what you think John would do at this point."
"Is there any chance the baby will survive being born this early?"
"D'Anna is slightly over twenty-four weeks. Her child weighs just over a pound. It's possible."
"Will delivery help D'Anna as well?"
"At this point it's the only thing that will save her. Her motive for delaying is very noble, but the longer she waits now, the worse it is for both her and the child."
"Then I think John would say to deliver the baby in order to save its life and D'Anna's."
"Thank you. If D'Anna can't be stabilized, then before the night is over, I think Dr. Delos will deliver John's son by c-section."
"Are you going to stay with D'Anna?"
"Yes. I won't leave her alone."
"Please keep me informed if anything happens…no matter what time it is."
"I will." Bianca seemed to hesitate. "Did John ever mention a first name for the baby? Dr. Delos said John wanted the child to have his last name. I asked D'Anna but she said John would name their child. I ask because…if the child is stillborn…he should still have a name."
"No. We…John and I…" a sob choked Laura for a moment. "No. He never mentioned a name to me. I should have asked but I didn't."
"Think about something John would like. I'll keep you informed," Bianca said softly.
"Thank you."
They ended the call. Laura sat on the couch in her sitting room for a long time with her thoughts in such a jumble that she couldn't grasp a coherent one.
Finally she lifted her phone, found Edgar's home number and called him. Before he could ask her if something was wrong, she said, "I apologize for bothering you at home. Everything is fine here at Marble House. I'm calling because I want to make a trip tomorrow morning."
Her long-suffering head of security said only one word. "Where?"
"King's Bay Medical Center. The maternity floor."
"Does this have something to do with the Cylon?"
"Yes. She was admitted tonight. Her condition is very serious. There's a chance Dr. Delos will have to deliver the baby tonight. I'd like to see D'Anna…just in case…"
"You know I'm going to advise against it. Hospitals have so much traffic in and out that it's hard to provide adequate security on such short notice."
"Yes, I know. But it's been well over a month since my interview with James McManus. Certainly things have calmed down a bit. I won't stay long. I'll be in and out before anyone knows I'm there." When Edgar didn't comment, she continued. "Will you arrange it for me?"
"What time?"
"Eight o'clock."
"I'll make the arrangements."
"Thank you."
She ended the call and forced her thoughts away from what Edgar must be saying right now. She was doing the right thing. That's what mattered. She closed her eyes and prayed again to Zeus's wife Hera who safeguarded women through pregnancy and childbirth. She prayed that Hera would guide D'Anna's decision about the birth of her son. She prayed that the child would live. Laura Roslin prayed as she had never prayed before that she would not have to tell her husband that the child he believed in and had fought so hard to save had not survived.
...
If Leonard Markham was either surprised or upset about his additional guests on the Hyperion, he didn't show it. Instead he led them through the ship to a hatch and down a level to a large bunk room where the men all stowed their duffel bags. Kara went into a smaller eight-bunk room with Natalie and Jade and threw her bag on an empty bunk. Then she noticed Natasi's bag and moved her own to the top bunk on the opposite side of the room.
They all gathered in the passageway and Markham led them to what passed as the nearest thing the Hyperion had to a ready room. As well as the group that John had brought from Caprica, he had asked Hunter, Targa and Beck to attend along with Natalie, Jade and Buddy. Natasi was now being escorted by one of the liberated centurions. John couldn't decide if she was amused or furious. She was concealing her feelings behind a fixed smile.
Kara and Lee sat beside each other. Narcho slid into the seat beside Lee. Jade had plopped down in an aisle seat beside Zak. Kara glanced at Lee and gave him a little eye roll. Zak was already working his effortless charm on Jade. It took him about thirty seconds to get a shy smile from the Eight.
"You'd better talk to your brother about taking advantage of her," Kara whispered to Lee.
Lee was also watching Zak. "I'll talk to him. I think he's just showing off for his buddies, but then again, maybe he really likes her."
Kara glanced around. Targa and Beck stood at the back with their arms crossed. Buddy and Natalie were at the front of the room with John.
Lee leaned over and whispered to Kara, "Your father didn't waste any time. I thought he'd give us the night off."
"Something is up. I could tell by the way he and Natalie were talking."
John got everyone's attention. "I know everybody is tired and I'll keep this brief, but we've got to plan a rescue mission for some friends who helped me escape from this planet seven weeks ago. What I'd like to do tonight is give you the facts and let you all think about the scope of what we need to do. Then tomorrow we'll reconvene and start tossing out ideas. I'm not asking anybody to go with me on the mission, but I do need your help in planning it."
"What's the situation, sir?" One of the Marines asked.
John briefly told them about Petra, Yoshimo and Sonja. While he spoke, Buddy drew floor plans on a whiteboard at the front of the room. John pointed to the first structure.
"My friend Buddy has accessed the plans of the Cylon prison. How many levels, Buddy?"
"Two levels above ground. Four below. The top two levels contain living quarters for the human guards and some brothers and sisters. Also a kitchen and laundry. All cells are below ground and are accessible by two elevators and one set of stairs. The elevators and all doorways have keycard and keypad security."
"How many cells?"
"Sixty per level. Two hundred forty cells in all."
"How many guards?"
"At one time there were a dozen human guards, five hundred centurions and thirty brothers and sisters. I don't know how many they have there now. The database has not been updated in many months."
"Thank you," John said. He looked at his team and the others in the room. "Okay, the next one is easier. There's a facility beside the prison that is multi-purpose. It contains a large lab, some storage, some hospital rooms and a resurrection facility for a number of Cylons. I'm interested in one particular copy named Sonja that Cavil has boxed. She's a Six who looks identical to Natasi. Sonja saved my life in the city and then she helped me escape. How many guards are we talking about, Bud?"
"Eight centurions and three rebirth nurses who attend each download, a Three, a Six and an Eight. Their services are needed very infrequently since the number of copies there is now limited and they are rarely killed."
Kara asked her father, "And you think you're going to do this all on your own? No way. I'm going with you."
Lee said, "Me, too."
Hunter said, "We're with you, too…me and Targa and Beck."
Buddy said, "As am I."
Zak said. "We came here as a team. We do all jobs as a team."
"We'll talk about that tomorrow. So everybody think about it," John said. "Obviously we can't go up against that many centurions in a head-on confrontation so I'm looking for something different. We're going to have to think outside the box."
From the back of the room Natasi said, "I would think your approach should be obvious. You're absolutely correct that you don't have the numbers to go against the guards and centurions at the prison. What you need is a subterfuge…a sister and several centurions bringing in a new prisoner or two would work."
They all sat and pondered her words. Natalie finally said, "Jade and I are out since I'm sure the centurions have been ordered to shoot us on sight and then box us."
Natasi smiled. "That would leave me, then, wouldn't it?"
Kara started shaking her head. "No frakking way."
John looked at Kara. "Let's hear her out."
Natasi continued. "You can't shoot your way in and out because you're vastly outnumbered and the centurions would alert all their brothers in the area. If I took two of these liberated centurions and two or three men posing as prisoners, then I would be allowed in with them. I'd need several strong men because the prisoners you're going after will probably need to be carried out. In the meantime the centurions could begin liberating their brothers."
"What about the Cylons and the human guards?" John asked.
"Your choice. Lock them in cells or kill them."
John said, "We'll need another group to enter the res facility to get Sonja. The operations should occur at the same time. The less time we spend at that place the better. Since Natasi can't be in two places at once, we'll need a second plan."
"I'll go," Natalie said. "It's the only way."
"No," Jade said. "You're our leader. We can't risk you. I'll go. The sister nurses who tend the tanks aren't fighters. I could take all three of them if I had to."
Buddy said, "I could accompany Jade."
"No," Natalie said. "We can't risk you either because of Lucy. She's the last one who knows the secrets of the creators. It will have to be another centurion."
John said, "Okay, we've got some scenarios to think about. Let's call it a night and everybody sleep on it. In the morning after breakfast we'll go get the rest of our supplies from the ships and bring them here. We'll gather later and talk again."
Slowly everyone left the room. Kara and Lee followed John down the hall to the small room he was calling home.
John unzipped his bag, unrolled a bath towel and set a bottle of whiskey on the table. "I'd offer you both a drink but I don't see any glasses."
"Do you really intend to try to rescue those people?" Kara asked. "Why don't you just take that sidearm and shoot yourself right now? What you want to do is insane and you know it."
"Kara…" Lee started.
"No. I'm going to have my say. Dad can wait until Admiral Adama gets here with the fleet. Then we'll rescue those people."
"I don't expect you to understand, baby," John said. "The truth is Cavil will have two innocent humans and a Cylon who saved my life killed before he'll let us rescue them. Natalie agrees with me."
"So you're going to risk the whole damn mission team to do it?"
"I think Natasi and I can do it with a couple of the centurions, maybe Targa and Beck to act as the prisoners."
"That's crazy and you know it. Admiral Adama would never okay a mission this dangerous. We came here to find out what's going on. We've already found out they're not fighting a civil war. If Natalie's centurion comes back from the city we should have enough intel that I can jump to the fleet and report. Nowhere is it written that we have to wait a whole week."
John walked over and put his arms around his daughter before he kissed her forehead. "Go to bed, baby…you and Lee both. We're all tired. We'll talk again in the morning."
Kara recognized from his tone of voice that she would get nowhere with him tonight. Since he'd come back from Nereid he had the ability to zone out and ignore what he didn't want to think about or talk about. He was shutting her out like he had shut Laura out. Suddenly Kara was ashamed of some of the things she had said to her stepmother. She'd laid the whole blame for their separation on Laura and she now realized that her father had been responsible, too.
"Get a good night's sleep," Lee said to John. "Don't sit in here drinking by yourself."
"One small glass a night," John said. "That's my reward for making it through another day."
Out in the corridor, they saw that Markham had turned down the lights. Patches of the fluorescing bacteria were glowing on the walls.
Lee put his arm around Kara's shoulders. "John said this stuff is slowly eating the ship."
"Not my problem," Kara said grumpily. "At least you don't have to sleep in the same room with a Cylon who might or might not slit your throat in the middle of the night."
"You're welcome to come sleep with me," he said lightly.
"I'm sure the guys would love that." Kara kissed him lightly. "I'd better take my chances with the Cylons. Tomorrow you can help me talk Dad out of his insane plan."
Buddy was standing outside the women's bunkroom door. "Keep her safe," Lee said to the tall centurion.
"That's why I'm here," Buddy said, "to protect everyone and to keep Natasi from leaving."
She put her arms around Lee and kissed him harder. It didn't take long for the desire to claim them.
"Go to bed," Lee managed to say, "or Buddy is going to get an eyeful."
"I would be glad to turn my back if you want some privacy," Buddy said.
"Thanks, but Kara needs her sleep," Lee said.
She opened the hatch. The lights were dimmed. The three Cylons were already in bed. Kara pulled off her flight suit and wearing only her underwear, she crawled up onto the top bunk. She thought that by now her father would have said something to her about her confrontation with Laura. She thought that sharing a room with three Cylons would bother her. She thought that she would have a hard time going to sleep. She was wrong on all counts.
...
Laura and her security team were fifteen minutes late leaving Marble House because Edgar wouldn't budge until he had gotten an okay from the team that had been at the medical center since before five o'clock that morning.
Edgar sat in the seat beside her. Another agent was in the front as well as the heavily armed driver. The usual lead and trailing vehicles were in place when they rolled out of the long driveway.
Laura could hear the faint but constant updates that were coming over all the earpieces. Her driver didn't take the most direct route but took one that would have been difficult for someone to second-guess.
She had slept poorly the night before and the circles under her eyes were more evident. She felt the weight of her responsibilities and knew she should be at her desk dealing with Caprica's many issues. Yet a part of her knew how important her self-appointed mission to visit D'Anna was.
They approached the medical center from the rear and her vehicle was immediately given entrance to the gated physician's parking lot. They pulled up to the key-card access door. An agent with an assault rifle slung across his chest let them in. Edgar and two other agents rushed her to the staff elevator and they rode up to the maternity floor.
Bianca met them at the elevator and they walked to the nearby physician's lounge which was occupied by only one doctor. Bianca introduced her to Dr. Delos and Laura shook her hand.
"What's the situation this morning?" She asked.
Bianca deferred to Dr. Delos who said, "We've managed to stabilize D'Anna's blood pressure. It's not rising, but I'm not sure she'll make it through the rest of the day if we don't deliver the child. Her kidneys have failed almost completely and she's too weak for dialysis."
"She's still refusing to let you deliver the child?" Laura asked in amazement.
"Yes. I'm not sure she's fully cognizant of how serious the situation is. She thinks we're trying to take the baby to kill it."
"Oh, dear gods," Laura said. "Will you let me see her?"
Bianca said, "Do your best to convince her to let Dr. Delos deliver the child."
"Is she in a private room?"
"Yes. I've got a nurse with her right now, but there's no one else in the room. I'll ask the nurse to step outside and give you some privacy."
With Edgar at her side Laura walked down the hall and entered the room. Dr. Delos motioned for the nurse to leave. Edgar didn't like it, but Laura insisted on going in alone. She closed the door and walked over to the bed. Even to her untrained eye, it was obvious that D'Anna was in perilous condition. Her face and body were swollen and not just with the child. Even her eyelids were puffy.
"D'Anna," Laura said softly and the Cylon opened her eyes. "Do you remember me?"
"Laura," D'Anna's voice was barely above a whisper. "Where's John? Why hasn't he come to see me?"
"John is on a mission. I know he told you he was going."
D'Anna nodded. "I thought he would be back by now. He's been gone a long time."
Laura realized that D'Anna was confused. John had left the day before.
"He asked me to come in his place. He wants you to let Dr. Delos save your life and your baby's life. Please let her deliver the child."
"John told you that?"
"Yes. He knows that Dr. Delos saved Sharon's life and little Hera's, too. You've got to trust her. She'll deliver your son and you'll start feeling much better. Please."
Laura saw resignation fill D'Anna's eyes. "If that's what John wants. He was kind to me despite what my brothers and sisters did to him."
"He doesn't blame you for any of that," Laura said and struggled with the tears that were filling her eyes.
Suddenly D'Anna reached out, her hand groping toward Laura who took it and held it in both of hers.
"Take my baby," D'Anna whispered. "I'm giving him to you."
"You'll get better. You'll raise your son."
D'Anna's blue eyes closed. "No. But my son will live. He's strong like his father. Promise me you'll take care of him. Promise me you'll love him and protect him. Keep him safe. Promise me."
"You have my promise," Laura managed to say.
The hand in hers relaxed into limpness and Laura gently laid it on the bed. D'Anna's breathing was becoming erratic. Through her tears Laura made her way to the door. She nodded to Dr. Delos who rushed into the room with the nurse. With Bianca on one side and Edgar on the other, they got Laura back to the physician's lounge.
She managed to control her tears and looked at Edgar.
"This medical center employs several priests. Please ask one of your agents to find a monotheist and bring him…or her to me."
"What should we tell him…or her?"
"A very ill woman is about to give birth to a baby who must be named and blessed. D'Anna placed her child under my protection and care so that duty now falls to me."
"Are you sure you want a monotheist?" Edgar asked.
Laura took a deep breath. "It's what his mother…and father would want."
TBC…
