Chapter Two: Out of the Past
Four Years before the Fall:
Bowman Residence, Delphi, Caprica:
The accusing note had been quite the source of amusement throughout the household ever since Artimus had opened it. At first, the word 'Murderer' was a bit unsettling due to the sheer shock of having it thrust upon them. As their senses began to kick in, the group of friends came to realize that there was only one logical explanation.
Lieutenant Colonel Artimus Bowman held the note in his hand and simply chuckled, "This is some sort of joke the guys at the base are playing on me."
Commander Scott Tolan took the note and looked it over, "That's what I'd think. Though it doesn't say much for their sense of humor, does it? Any idea who is responsible?"
"There's a student pilot in my third year group who is known for giving his instructors a hard time. My money is on him. I'll give it a couple of weeks then I'll try to get some payback. I don't want him to think I'm biting just yet," Bowman said as he folded the note and put it into the inside pocket of his uniform jacket.
"That's not very Gods damn funny if you ask me," declared Scott, a man who came from a family of real murderers in the form of the Basileus Crime Syndicate. He knew that even being associated with such people could harm a man's reputation, and he didn't want the same to happen to his friend. Indeed, in the past two years since Artimus and Scott had been friends, Tolan had been very careful to try to keep Artimus from suffering the effects of being associated with a man whose surname carried with it the weight of Canceron's most powerful crime family. For the most part, he succeeded.
"I'm sure it's nothing," repeated Bowman in his usual calming way. "I'm sure I've never murdered someone before. In fact the only time I ever came close was when I ran into a certain officer a couple years ago who, and I use this term loosely, 'volunteered' me for a mission."
"Yeah, I have that effect on people," chortled Scott.
"Never mind that now. It's just good to have you back home," Brooke Bowman said as she walked up and gave her husband a kiss on the lips. Brooke, like the others, had been initially quite shocked at the letter. But this was a rare opportunity to spend some quality time with her husband, the only family she really had anymore now that her own had shunned her. Her brother, Barry Garner, who was now the family patriarch, had taken a disliking to Artimus Bowman.
"It's good to be home," Bowman said, as he could not help but smile at her. Scott noted that Brooke had an uncanny ability to break the ice surrounding her husband that no one else ever could; well, except for one other person he knew but she was long gone.
"I see the two of you haven't stopped acting like newlyweds," Scott said in a teasing manner.
"It's only been eight months…but who's counting," Brooke said.
"Not I," Scott replied.
"Emily and Lacey are in the flat waiting for you," Brooke said to Scott as she motioned for the two follow her.
There was not much conversation as Brooke opened the door to the flat. In the living room was Emily Tolan, Scott's wife of the past six years. In that time, they had lived through the highs of marriage but also dealt with the lows. It was the type of thing that would either drive them closer or tear them apart.
"Honey, I'm home!" Scott announced as he walked through the door.
"I'd get up to give you a kiss but I'm afraid you'll have to come here to me," Emily said. She was on bed rest by order of her doctor, and now she sat in the recliner that Bowman normally relaxed in after work.
"Doesn't bother me the least," Scott said softly as he walked over to Emily with his arms outstretched to grasp hold of each side of her face before kissing her delicately. It was only the faintest of kisses but it was delivered with such affection that its effects seem to spill out into the room.
"Scott!" a voice called out from the Bowman's guest room. Both Tolan and Bowman turned to see it was Lacey Tolan, Scott's first cousin and seemingly honorary niece to Artimus and Brooke Bowman.
"When did you get here from Canceron?" Scott asked as Lacey came up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Early this morning. There was a driver waiting to take me here," she said.
"Who arranged that?" Brooke asked.
"Lydia," Scott and Bowman said in unison. Lydia Zeresi was the aunt of Scott and Lacey, not to mention she was the head of the Basileus crime syndicate and ran all organized crime on the colony.
"Aunt Sylvia was worried about my coming here on my own so when she heard about it, she provided me with an escort and arranged for a driver to pick me up and take me here."
"Who was the escort?" Tolan asked.
"Donovan Roberts, he was an MP in the Colonial Army; when he was discharged Aunt Lydia offered him a job as a security guard. It seems she told him his job was to deliver precious cargo to Caprica."
"That was kind of Aunt Lydia," Scott said though he felt a bit put off by it. He had spent most of his life distancing himself from the Basileus and since the rescue mission two years ago when he had to enlist the syndicate's aid he found himself becoming drawn back into a world he wanted to avoid.
"Aunt Sylvia said she'd be here in time for your confirmation hearing. She's doing some work with the VCW for their upcoming parade," Lacey said. The VCW, the Veterans of Colonial Wars, was a group of veterans from the Cylon War and other skirmishes involving the Colonial military. Scott's father, Henry Tolan, had been a warrant engineer with the Colonial Fleet during the Cylon War. He died of cancer two years after Scott was born. Perhaps his mom's work with the VCW was a way of staying connected to her husband.
"At least she'll be here for that," Scott said as he looked to see what was on the television.
Emily saw what her husband was looking at. "It seems you've made the news."
"I'm friends with a celebrity now," Bowman said as he gave Scott a slap on the back.
"Very funny," Scott said as he took a seat on the nearby couch to watch the report.
"As we reported earlier, the Colonial Broadcasting Channel's Ashley Jewell will be conducting an interview with retired Fleet Admiral Jonas Stryker in just a few minutes. When it comes to the upcoming confirmation hearing of Commander Scott Tolan's promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral, the retired Admiral Stryker does not hold back in his views on this controversial topic," news anchor Jamaal Ali read from the teleprompter.
"This can't be good," Scott muttered.
"When did you become all doom and gloom?" Bowman asked.
"Just call it a feeling, but I don't think Stryker is going to be too pleased with the decision to promote me," Scott said. He hoped he was wrong but he strongly doubted it.
"You're worrying, Scott, it's not like you," Brooke said before adding, "I think you should just wait and see what Stryker has to say."
The channel went to commercial, the first one being a trailer for the Neveah Ratliff movie The Avenging Angel III. After three more minutes, Ali was back on the screen. "For those of us joining us now, we are about to take you to Ashley Jewell at the residence of retired Fleet Admiral Jonas Stryker on Picon. Admiral Stryker, much like many of the retired Colonial Fleet flag officers, has been rumored to have strong opinions regarding the decision of the Admiralty to promote Commander Scott Tolan. Mainly, this stems from Commander Tolan's family connections to the Basileus crime syndicate on his home colony of Canceron. More to the point is the fact that his grandfather, the late Carl Tolan, was the man who founded the Basileus. We now take you to Ashley Jewell on Picon," Ali said as the screen faded to black briefly before the live feed came in from the Stryker residence.
Ashley Jewell then appeared on the screen, "This is Ashley Jewell here at the Stryker Residence on Picon. I am honored to have with me the legendary Fleet Admiral Jonas Stryker. Admiral, on behalf of our viewers, I would like to say what an honor it is to have you here today."
The camera then panned to Stryker, for a man who had just turned ninety-five he looked to be in surprisingly good health. He was dressed casually, with a pair of khaki pants, a blue button-up shirt, and a gray sweater jacket. "Ms. Jewell, I thank you for taking the time to come to Picon," Stryker said.
"I know it has been some time since you retired from active duty, yet your imprint is still felt on the Fleet. You give a yearly talk to the graduating class of the Fleet Academy and still maintain your residence on Picon as opposed to your native Aquaria. How do you feel about the recent quotes from the retired admirals about the upcoming confirmation hearing of Commander Scott Tolan?"
Stryker was quiet for a moment before he said, "I have heard what these retired admirals have said to the media and I have held my tongue in hopes that the news about Commander Tolan was mere rumor. Let me begin by saying that the admirals have served the Colonies well and are well within their rights to voice their opinions. Some, such as Admiral John Kronus, have been against Commander Tolan's promotion. Others, such as Gary Ware, are in favor of it for various reasons. I know of others who have joined in the fray that has been caused by this move to promote a man to flag rank when there are so many others who have put in more time than he has."
"I take it then," Jewell began, "that you are opposed to Tolan's promotion?"
Stryker nodded, "That is correct. I have dealt with the Tolan family in the past."
Jewell cut him off, "There have been rumors about an operation on Canceron during the later years of the Cylon War. Is that when you dealt with the Tolan family?"
"I cannot confirm those rumors but at one point in time I dealt with Carl Tolan, the founder of the Basileus. It was after this that I developed my unofficial rule 'Never trust a Tolan' and it is something I still believe is relevant," Stryker said.
"Does the fact that his grandfather was a crime lord mean that you believe Scott Tolan is not qualified?"
"That's one of the reasons. Let's face it…the apple sometimes does not fall far from the tree. I would also like to mention that he knowingly put his air wing in danger when he was the CAG of the Mercury."
"This is something that I don't believe has been elaborated on, would you elaborate for us?"
"There was a skirmish between the Mercury and the pirate group Erebea. During this skirmish, the air wing was deployed against the pirates. It is documented in the official investigation that then-Major Scott Tolan lost a pilot due to negligence on the part of the pilot's wingman. An officer who knowingly allows a pilot to die because he cannot reign in an irresponsible wingman does not inspire confidence in an officer's leadership abilities. People think I may be harsh with this but I believe the family of Ensign Hélène Monteil would say something similar."
"There were also rumors that have come out the past couple of years that Tolan had become somewhat of a corrupt officer; do you think there is any truth to this?"
"As I mentioned earlier, there is a good chance the apple did not fall far from the tree. The idea that this man is even the same calibre of the officers who served as flag officers in the Cylon War...the likes of John Kronus, Thomas Hood, George Carnac, Robert Vallette, William Acland, and other officers who were forged in battle against an unrelenting enemy. Scott Tolan isn't worthy to shine their shoes much less serve as a flag officer. If our society has gotten to the point where we would consider giving a man from a crime family such an honor, perhaps it might have been best for the Cylons to have won the war. Maybe we as a people are not worthy of survival if these are the values we seem to hold dear to our hearts."
"I'm afraid we're going to have to cut back to the studio but I wanted to ask if there anything you wanted to say before we go."
Stryker was quiet again; then it seemed he found the words he was looking for, "It's going to be a dark day for the Colonial Fleet when a Tolan becomes a flag officer."
The television promptly clicked off as Brooke used the remote to turn the power off. The five people in the room did not say a word, most seem to be looking to Scott to see what his reaction would be. He sat there stoically, not sure what thought would come out of the storm of emotion that raged in his mind. He knew there was little doubt that Stryker may have just hammered his chances of Quorum confirmation.
"What do you say we go out to eat tonight, I could use a good meal and a strong drink," he finally said.
"Yeah I think that would be a good idea," Bowman agreed followed by murmurs of agreement from Emily, Brooke, and Lacey.
Fifty-One Minutes Later:
Pontic Comana Restaurant, Caprica City:
Scott had reserved the Isin Room at the Pontic Comana Restaurant; it was a restaurant that took up three floors of the Justinian Tower. It was a favorite of the Tolans, going back to when they had first married. Normally, they would come here for special occasions or when Scott would return home from a deployment. Either way it was a place the Tolans associated with joyous events or there was always excitement ahead of any planned excursion there.
"Greetings, Mr. and Mrs. Tolan, this is an unexpected surprise," Adrienne Waters, the restaurant manager, said as she welcomed the Tolans and the Bowmans to the restaurant, "When we heard you reserved a room here we made sure to accommodate you. It's always nice to see two of our favorite guests and their friends."
"Thank you, Adrienne," Scott said as he and the others followed Waters up to the third floor of the restaurant where the Isin Room was located. It was one of several private dining areas that could be reserved for special occasions. The Isin Room had a private balcony that looked over the streets of Caprica City and offered a view of the ocean in the distance. The group took their seats at a table next to the double doors that led out to the small balcony.
Waters turned to face them and said, "For what it's worth Commander Tolan, I saw Admiral Stryker's interview and wanted you to know that you have my support."
"Thank you, Adrienne, that means a lot to me," Scott said with a smile. It was a small gesture but it was nice to hear.
The five of them started to browse through the menus, but it was clear that there was something that needed to be said but none dared to broach the subject. Finally, it was Lacey who had enough of the silence, "Scott, I don't think that interview was fair to you. I don't see how you can sit there and not be bothered by that hatchet job."
There was a stifled smirk of amusement from around the table at Lacey's bold words.
"Stryker is entitled to his opinion. I don't believe it's unbiased but it is his opinion. Unfortunately he is one of those people who have others hang on every word he says," Scott said before adding, "I can't change the way he feels about it. All I can do is to see what the fallout is going to be with the Quorum."
"Bringing up Monteil was uncalled for," Bowman said. Scott had told him the story about her during two years ago on the Valkyrie, and it seemed wrong to have it thrown into the story about whether his friend was competent as a leader. "Just because he is retired now doesn't mean he doesn't wield the same influence as most flag officers."
"I didn't expect that but I won't be surprised to find an interview with her family now that the story has been broadcast all over the Colonies," Scott said as he went over the drink selections.
"How has her family been towards you since that happened?" Brooke asked.
"Not too pleasant I'm afraid," Tolan said hinting that he didn't wish to speak any further on the matter.
"I take it they blame you for what happened," Emily asked. This was something that she had never heard her husband bring up before.
"Both her parents and her fiancé took her death hard, and at the memorial service they let me know in no uncertain terms that they would never forgive me."
There was a short and uncomfortable pause broken by Brooke who hoped to change the subject in so they could continue with their evening.
"Listen, it's time we started talking about other things besides this confirmation hearing. It's Friday and we have a weekend to enjoy. It's not often we all get together like this. Do you really want to bore poor Lacey with all this talk about news and politics?" Brooke said.
"You're right," Bowman said before turning his attention to Lacey, "How are things on Canceron?"
"Well, for starters there is a chance I may have a boyfriend," she said and saw the looks of concern go over the faces of both Scott and Bowman. Scott's expression was a masterful imitation of someone who was indifferent and yet deep down he always had reservations about Lacey dating. Bowman on the other hand resembled an Adder about to strike at a rat; he was hopeless at hiding his feelings.
"Really Lace, who is it?" Scott said as he hoped he could hide his concern.
"His name is Jeremy Lane, he's plays pyramid on Clio's junior varsity team. We have Canceron Literature class together and for the past couple of months I've been helping him when he's had trouble with the material Mrs. Morgan throws our way."
Scott Tolan and Artimus Bowman gave each other a look that implied that each knew what the other was thinking. There would be a thorough background check on Jeremy Lane and perhaps a trip to Canceron to put the fear of the gods into the young man.
Emily seemed to sense this, "I know Scott and Artimus are thrilled to hear that and aren't going to get too protective."
Brooke joined in, "You two aren't going to do something to get in the way of young love now, are you?"
"Of course not," Bowman said not quite convincingly.
"No Lace, I couldn't be happier for you!" Scott said while he thought of various ways to impress upon the young Mr. Lane how unfortunate he would be to break Lacey's heart. 'The neck can indeed be a weak part of the body,' he thought to himself.
"That means a lot to me! Listen, Jeremy's sister Meredith wanted to know how you got your call sign. She said it was kind of cool that you got to fly Vipers."
"Lace, you know there is plenty of excitement in flying a Raptor as well," Bowman said and saw his friend's eyes narrow at the comment. "More than one Viper jock has been left with a dropped jaw at what a Raptor can do. And they are more than happy to hitch a ride with us wranglers when one of them crashes."
"Your honorary uncle here may think that, but that's a conversation we'll have another day...as for my call sign, I've had two of them."
"How's that possible?" Lacey asked.
"It all started back when I graduated from the Fleet Academy. My first posting was to the Battlestar Galactica. I was assigned to the Third Viper Squadron, the Vigilantes, along with my friend Zane Phelps. The squad leader, Captain Todd Nolan, had read that I was from Canceron and connected the dots as to who I was and what family I was from," Scott began before Brooke cut him off with a question.
"What do you mean, by what family you were from?"
"On Canceron you have the Tolan family, which is the one Lacey and I are a part of, and you have the Tolen family. Our family has an 'A' for the next to last letter and the other has an 'E' instead. Our grandfather changed the spelling of the last name when he formed the Basileus and since then there's been an ongoing family feud that has shown no signs of slowing down," Scott said.
"I see, well in that case, back to your story," Brooke said.
"Nolan decided to give me the call sign Crime Boss because of my blood ties to the Basileus."
"What got your call sign changed?" Lacey asked, still very much interested in hearing what had happened.
"The squadron was on a training exercise when one of the drones we used to simulate dog fights with went rogue and targeted Captain Todd's Viper. I reacted quickly enough to fly in and destroy the drone before it could take out his Viper. After we had landed and he heard how I had reacted and dispatched the drone he told me I must have swept in like the great hunter Orion. From that point on I went from being Crime Boss to Orion."
The night wore on and the conversation had finally put the Stryker issue to rest. Their dinner done, it was time to leave the restaurant and return to the Bowman's residence. Scott and Emily had left the room first. Lacey, Artimus, and Brooke followed behind them. As they stepped onto the main floor of the restaurant, there was a commotion near the restaurant's bar area.
"Scott Tolan!" a woman called out as she came out of the bar and made her way toward the group.
Scott looked at her and realized at once who it was, "This should be interesting."
"Who is that?" Emily asked. The woman looked familiar enough and she was certain she had seen her somewhere before.
"Alya Tabassum, one of those three movie actresses I dated back in my more reckless days," Scott said before mentally thinking, 'those days seem to be coming back to haunt me.'
Tabassum walked up and threw her arms around Tolan's neck, "Scott, it's been far too long! How have you been?"
"I've been well," he said as he put his arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze before letting go.
A distance behind Emily, the remaining three of their party watched what was taking place.
"Who's that?" Brooke asked.
"That is Alya Tabassum; she's an actress who Scott dated at one point. Now she's here hugging him in front of Emily," Bowman said. "She's either ignorant or simply has a death wish."
"Does she even know that Scott's married?" Lacey asked.
Bowman was quiet for a moment before he turned to the two, "The wife and the ex-girlfriend. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare!"
"You never called me after we broke up," Tabassum said, almost pouting as she looked up at the man she once dated.
"Well you were the one who broke it off so you could date that one actor…what's his name…" Scott said as he realized he could not forget who she had left him for.
"You really forgot Lowell's name?" Tabassum said sounding more amused than annoyed, "I admit it was a fling that should have remained just that. We were co-stars and got carried away." Lowell Johnston was an actor who starred with Tabassum in the action movie The Enemy Within. While Tabassum seemed to have started dating Tolan for the bad boy image that came with being a member of the family that led the Basileus, it became apparent that they actually did in fact care about one another. However, Tabassum got the idea that it would help promote The Enemy Within if she were to date her co-star and that was all it took to convince her to leave Scott and begin a relationship with Johnston.
"It was a while back, Alya, things are different now," Scott said as he motioned to where Emily was standing.
"I heard you had gotten married. I always knew some woman would be able to tame you. I thought you would have settled for someone who at least looked similar to me," Tabassum said. While she was tall and slender like Emily was, she at least had black hair and brown eyes that along with her tan skin gave her an allure that men found irresistible. Emily had blue eyes and red hair and while she may have spent some time in the sun, she was not anywhere near as tan as Tabassum.
"There are good reasons for that," Scott said, his voice not betraying the annoyance that was beginning to creep in.
"I never should have left you. You were good for me and I think I was good for you too," she was quiet briefly before going to a different conversation, "I heard you were in the news lately. Is it true that you're going to be an admiral?"
"If all works out I should be, it's not a guarantee yet," he said and actually felt relieved for the change in topic.
"You should come over to my table and have a drink. You can bring you wife too, I'd love to meet her and get to know her."
Scott shook his head, "Sorry, Alya, we have to go."
"Come on, just one drink. Can you do it for me for old time's sake?"
"I think it's best that we get home, Scott, I'm feeling like I could use one of your back rubs," Emily said as she walked up and linked her arm with her husband's.
It looked as though Tabassum was disappointed but she seemed to have a sudden idea, "Give me a call sometime, Scott," she said as she quickly grabbed a napkin from a nearby table and wrote her mobile number on it, "I would really love to catch up on old times with you."
"Let's go, honey," Emily said as she practically pulled her husband with her toward the door.
"They're moving quickly, let's catch up!" Brooke said.
The group made a fast exit from the Justinian Tower and headed back to their respective homes. The Tolans left in Scott's DD-841 sports car to make their way to the Caprica City residence they called home. The Bowmans headed back to Delphi in their Scorpia Sedan. On the way back to their flat, Bowman's mobile began to ring. He saw a number he recognized and wondered what it could be.
"Hello," he said and waited to see who it was.
"Hello Artimus, have I caught you at a bad time?" Claire Bowman, Artimus' grandmother, asked.
"Of course not Gran, what can I do for you?"
"It's your grandfather; he wanted to have a word with you."
Bowman felt his heart beat harder; he knew what his grandfather wanted. One thing his grandfather took seriously was watching the nightly news, it had been a ritual for as far back as he could remember.
"Is today a good day or a bad day?" Artimus asked. In the last two months Archibald Bowman, his grandfather, had been dealing with the effects of Elsworth Disease, a degenerative brain disease he had been diagnosed with. He had been receiving treatment for it, paid for by the Tolans, at the Jesse Rutherford Medical Center in Delphi. As his grandmother put it, there were good days and bad days when dealing with him and she never knew exactly which it was going to be.
"It's a good day," she said and moments later Artimus could hear her in the background handing the phone over.
"Artimus, can you hear me?" Archibald 'Firefly' Bowman, former CSAR Raptor pilot with the Colonial Fleet, asked.
"I can hear you fine, Granddad," Artimus said.
"That's good; I never know how the reception will be. I wanted to let you know that I saw Stryker's interview on the news. You know I have no love for Carl Tolan, but I think the Admiral was painting with too broad of a brush."
"I think Scott would be glad to hear that," Artimus said.
"I'll be honest with you; it was hard at first to trust him, knowing his background and all. I have to say he's a stand-up guy. I think Stryker has let his hatred for Carl Tolan morph into a hatred for the whole family."
"I can see where that would make sense."
"Listen, I have a card game with the guys I have to get to. What do you say tomorrow, since it's the weekend, you come over and have lunch and we can talk more about what's going on with your friend."
"I'd like that, I'll see you tomorrow," Artimus said, a part of him hoping that it would be another good day tomorrow. He ended the call and put his mobile phone away. He heard the phone ring and answered, it assuming it was his one of his grandparents calling.
"Artimus, are you there?"
"Eaton, I didn't expect you to call me so soon," Bowman said.
"Sorry to call you but I wanted to let you know that Monday afternoon is when the funeral for Cate will be held. Will you be there?"
Bowman was quiet as he wrestled with the decision. Cate had been a member of the Blue Hawks Raptor display team. Knowing the accident that day had destroyed her life to the point she eventually committed suicide tore at him. "I'll be there. Will there be anyone else from the team?"
"I'll be there; so will the other members from the team," Eaton said.
He would have to face all the other members from the team. Immediately, his mind conjured up the images of John Hatfield, Alana Gutierrez, and William Simmons. Along with him and Eaton, the other three made up the other remaining members of the Raptor team from that fateful day.
"I'll see you there," Bowman said and quickly ended the call without saying another word. Truth was he wanted to keep his mind off that and enjoy a weekend with his wife and friends.
Delphi, Caprica
Bowman Residence:
Artimus lay there in bed with Brooke nestled in beside him with her arm around his torso. The gentle rhythm of her breathing left little doubt that she had fallen asleep. The television they kept mounted on the wall played a movie, a romantic comedy called I Remember Virgon. He had wanted to watch something with a little more action but she insisted that they watch the movie, even going so far as to promise that she would be awake the whole time.
He wanted to sleep but he could not bring himself to do it, his mind stayed focused on that incident so long ago. It was as though all the memories and emotions from that day were flooding back, and he so desperately wanted to push them away and lock them up somewhere deep in his mind where they could no longer come back to cause him grief.
He deftly picked up the remote control from his nightstand and pressed the buttons necessary to bring up the movie he had wanted to purchase. Moments later the screen showed the logo of the Berryman/Knott Studios movie company, followed by the title screen for Time to be Heroes. It was a movie that dealt with the famed Canceron Surge, a move where the Colonial Military used an unprecedented number of troops to push the Cylons from the major cities of Canceron in order to keep the colony from falling under the control of the Cylons.
It was a welcome distraction from what was bothering him so badly; the old feelings of guilt were welling up in him and if it were possible to make a wish come true, it would be to have those feelings vanish forever. Perhaps it was the fact that he could not make peace with what had happened, the fact that so many had their lives ruined because of his actions...
Caprica City, Caprica
Tolan Residence:
"If it weren't for the fact that I'm about ready to have triplets I would make it a point to give you a hard time," Emily said as gave her husband a teasing glance.
"I am going to hear about this until my dying day, which from the way things are looking could be closer than I would like," Scott said as he threw his hands up in mock surrender.
"You never told me you dated Alya Tabassum," Lacey said, still surprised that her cousin had dated a celebrity.
"You were too young to know her; it was a long time ago."
"Yet she was more than willing to go and throw her arms around and kiss you on the cheek in public," Emily said, enjoying the chance to get in another word.
"Today, of all days, the last thing I needed was to run into her," Scott said, finally allowing his voice to show some weariness.
"It's that interview with Stryker, isn't it?" Lacey asked.
"Smart girl," Scott said before adding, "I think he just sunk my candidacy tonight with that interview. If what he says resonates with the Quorum then I can stay at Commander and retire knowing that I won't even get a retirement promotion to flag rank."
"He seems to have it out for our family," Lacey admitted, as though the realization was a bit much.
"From what our grandfather told me, there were some events that took place during the Cylon War that left Stryker livid at the Basileus."
"Scott, when you stand so close to them it's kind of hard not to get painted with the same brush," Emily said and immediately regretted her choice of words.
"That's family for you. I never asked to be close to the Basileus but events pulled me back enough to where Aunt Lydia has me in her clutches just enough to remind me why I pulled away from the family business."
"I still think you have a chance, perhaps your confirmation hearing will give you a chance to air your side of the story and provide some counter to Stryker," Emily said, hoping to give her husband at least a little hope.
"That's something I can hope for. It would be much easier if my last name had an 'e' instead of an 'a' in it," Scott said as he tried to fight the feeling that the next week was going to be rough.
Lacey tried to stifle a yawn, "I hate to do this, but I need to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
She came over, gave both Scott and Emily a kiss on the cheek, and went up the stairs to her room.
Emily checked the clock, "It is kind of late, let's get some sleep and hopefully we'll both feel better in the morning."
CFIS Caprica City Headquarters:
Catherine Odessa sat at the head of the table in the conference room at CFIS Headquarters and realized that her weekend was essentially shot. She had selected her team from the agents who were not currently on assignment.
The door opened and Abram Medina walked in. The Director of CFIS looked at her and without saying a word, gave Odessa a look that left no doubt what he wanted to hear from her.
"I've had every scrap of paper relating to the incident on the Daedalus. If there's something to be discovered we'll get it."
Medina nodded and turned to leave, "Good luck, Odessa."
A few minutes later Agents Wendi Milone, Mayra Russell, Dennis Frederick, Cody Trent, and Demetrius King entered the room and took seats around the table where the boxes were arrayed.
"In front of you is a box containing the papers from the investigation into an accident on the training battlestar Daedalus," Odessa began before adding, "If you see something that seems out of the ordinary, no matter how small, let me know and we'll mark it as a possible lead."
She sat down in her chair and watched as the agents opened the boxes in front of them and began to read over documents, examine photos, and scrutinize everything they saw to see if there was in fact some sort of foul play. Her mind once more drifted not to Artimus Bowman but to Scott Tolan. She had watched the interview with Admiral Stryker and it seemed to confirm her long-held feelings that Tolan was a man who should not be in the position he was in. Perhaps one day she could catch him in something that would show the worlds that the words Stryker had spoken tonight were accurate.
Instead, she would have to make do by using her energies on the investigation into Lieutenant Colonel Artimus Bowman.