Chapter 6

Lee Adama gripped the controls of the Raptor far more tightly than was necessary on the trip back to the Galactica. But he was furious, and he couldn't do a frakking thing about it. Nothing. This entire trip hadn't gotten them anything useful, and his presence might have even pushed the wrong buttons. He'd thought he'd been diplomatic. Apparently, he had been wrong.

"It's not your fault," Kara offered softly from the seat beside him. The woman was entirely too good at reading his mind. At the very least, she knew him well enough to know that responsibility was something he was most often willing to assume.

"So, whose fault is it?" he asked bitterly.

"The Picons to start," she told him in an offhand manner. "At least if we're right about who's been making the attacks."

"We won't know now, will we?" he asked her. They were approaching the Galactica, and he needed to concentrate on landing. Unfortunately, he was so pissed off that his hands were shaking, and that didn't make for an easy touchdown.

"Transfer controls," Kara told him with a sigh.

"I've got it."

"You've got the shakes," she corrected. "I don't feel like getting knocked around."

He thought seriously about smacking her, but she had a damn good point. Further, he didn't want to explain a rough landing to Tyrol. He didn't want to explain anything to anyone. He just wanted to hit something. Or someone.

"Frak," he muttered, releasing the controls and slamming the lever that would transfer command to the co-pilot seat.

Kara didn't say a word, just gently eased them into the open hanger bay of the Galactica and set them down as gently as ever. Once down, she locked in the magnets and knocked the lever back into the primary pilot position. At the very least, he wouldn't be answering questions about why he'd let her fly.

Cally was quick about her debriefing, and as the Raptor had made an easy landing with no difficulties there weren't any repair requests to initiate. They shut down systems, gave Cally a perfunctory report, and left the Raptor together.

Kara was still at his heels when he passed by pilot's quarters to go to CIC. He looked back over his shoulder at her, and knew the look he gave her wasn't inviting. If he had his way, he was going to completely lose it and he preferred that she not be around to see it. He'd worked damned hard over the years trying to drill into her that violence was not the answer to every difficulty. He didn't want to undo any progress he might have theoretically made towards that end.

Despite the glare, she stayed on him. Fine. She could just be a witness to his frustration. He'd deal with it later. Just as he reached the last corridor to CIC, he was brought up short by two figures he hadn't expected to see.

The President was walking down the corridor, and was looking a good deal better than the last time he'd seen her. She was upright and steady, and it took him a moment to recognize the expression on her face as an indulgent smile. It was evidence of an emotion so far removed from what he was feeling that it completely threw him. Looking down, he saw that Katee was walking beside her, chattering quickly with an animated expression and hands flying about. Whatever she was talking about, she was excited. And happy.

"Mister Lee," she said as she spotted him, then ran up to him and threw her arms around his waist. He wasn't sure what to do. His body was still humming with anger, and yet he had this tiny scrap of a person wrapped around him, and it was damned hard to stay mad in the middle of a huge hug.

"Hello, Captain Apollo," the President said quietly. "I see you've made it back."

"Yes," he admitted. "I'm on my way up to CIC to discuss the situation with the Commander."

"Can I come?" The voice was as excited as it had been a moment ago. He hated to crush it.

"Sorry, Sweetie," he said gently. It had been a long time since he'd made excuses to a child. He hoped that she wasn't as persistent as Zak had always been. "Only grown ups can go there."

"Why?"

He took a deep breath, searching for a way around this discussion. The President didn't offer any help. "It's where we do the work to make the ship go," he finally said. "Everyone there is really busy."

"Do they fly it like Miss Kara?"

Lee's impatience actually faded slightly as he looked into wide eyes that were totally innocent. "Kind of," he explained, bending down to look her in the eye so that her neck wasn't craned back quite so far, and taking her little hands in his. "It's a bigger ship, so it takes a lot of people to fly it."

"Can I help?"

Lee smiled at that, almost forgetting that Kara was behind him. Almost, but not quite. "Not today, Katee," he told her. "Warships aren't really a very good place for little girls."

"Why not?"

Lee closed his eyes a minute and felt frustration of a different level begin to fill him. How did anyone explain a war to a child without scaring her? How was he supposed to express that life was precious — especially that of innocent little girls — and that it had to be protected? Why should he even bother protecting a child's feelings when there were terrorists and murders among them? And how was he supposed to have any hope at all for the future when he wasn't even sure about the present?

"I don't know," he finally said with total honesty. He expected an argument like the ones he'd received when he hedged around Zak's questions as a child. He expected her to push him, or at least to ask again.

What he didn't expect was small arms to encircle his neck and give him another tight hug. "That's okay, Mister Lee. There's a lot of things I don't know. You'll learn them when you get bigger."

If that didn't put him in his place, he thought as he returned her hug, he didn't know what would.

"Katee was helping me take my walk," President Roslin told him. "We should probably get going. Please ask the Commander to come see me when we have some information on the situation."

"Yes, Sir," Lee said softly. He patted Katee on the back as she released him and moved back to the President's side, carefully taking the older woman's hand in hers. Together, the two of them moved down the corridor. Within a moment, he heard Katee's animated voice once more, and something told him that she had already forgotten about the somber moment they had shared.

"You okay?" Kara asked him.

He was still staring down the corridor, even though Katee and the President had already turned down another and were out of sight. It took him a moment to bring his attention back to Kara. "Yeah," he finally said, releasing a compressed breath.

"You ready?" she asked.

He nodded. "Let's get this done."

Side by side, they walked down the corridor towards CIC.

"How do we keep this from happening again?" Commander Adama asked softly. The room was silent following his question.

Lee looked around the conference room at the assembled experts and felt vaguely unnecessary. In the week since the deaths of the Picons, his father had begun an all out investigation into everything from the origins of the Ayiciti sect's religious beliefs to the biology of their telepathy. He had utilized their compiled list of professions and skills to gather anyone from anywhere in the fleet to get to the bottom of what had happened. And the bottom line was that they could not let it happen again.

"I don't know," Doctor Salik said softly. "There are as many subgroups of our people as there are places on the twelve planets. Each planet developed individually, with it's own separate evolution. We are all descendent from the same original fathers, but over time and locations the variations have been limitless."

"So we aren't even all necessarily human?" the President asked in confusion. It was a blatantly rude question, but necessary. As Doctor Salik was explaining it, there were as few similarities between some of their people as there were between humans and Cylons. The prospect was terrifying.

"We are human," he corrected, and then gave a sigh that echoed Lee's feelings of frustration. "But humanity is not only one race. Even among your planet, the Capricans, there are varieties of race and culture that differentiate them based on location or evolutional changes. There are chromosomal differences, some considered handicaps and others considered beneficial. These same types of differences existed on all of the twelve worlds, and when combined with selective inbreeding of certain sects within certain planets, there were recessive characteristics that became dominant. As an example of the differences, we know that Picons and Geminons cannot procreate. There is just enough genetic difference that the chromosomes do not combine. It's rare to find this significant of an evolutionary change, but there is a good deal of documentation that such situations exist.

"In the case of the Ayiciti, certain areas of the brain were more developed than most. They were telepathic and had survival instincts and safeguards that were incredible. They could literally control their own life force — blood pressure, heart rate, all of it. Things that are impossible for us were evolutional possibilities for them. Similarly, certain areas of our brains that deal with conventional reasoning and problem solving skills were less developed. There are many hypotheses for why this happened, but the seclusion of their particular sect combined with selective genetic engineering appear to be at fault."

"You said that their reasoning skills were limited," the President interrupted. She was rubbing her temples as though she were tired, and Lee could sympathize. They had been having this discussion for the last two hours, and while they knew a little more than they had when they started, they were a long way from any useful conclusions. "How could they manage genetic engineering?"

"I didn't say that they initiated it," the doctor said blandly.

"So they're a result of someone else's experiments?" asked Doctor Pantheos, a scientist that had been located on the Rising Star. His specialty was neurology, and his knowledge had been useful to them. "Somebody did this to them?"

"It's a likely theory," Doctor Salik admitted with a sigh. "With the planetary records lost, and no primary network of information, so much of this is speculation. We do know that the Virgons and Picons spent years at war, and that many sects on the planet Picon were very technologically advanced. We can't really know exactly what went on."

"How many similar situations do we have within the fleet?" Adama asked. As usual, his father's voice silenced the murmuring that had begun around the table.

"How high can you count?"

They all stared at Doctor Salik following this pronouncement. The potential for disaster that he was introducing was astronomical. Rather than being one people, he was saying that they were in essence divided by biology even more than by location. It went against everything that Lee had learned in school, although he had to admit that he had more training in tactics than in genetics.

"He's right," Doctor Pantheas confirmed. "Even among the crew of the Galactica, the majority of which are Capricans, we've found many alterations in basic chromosomal structure. It's an evolutional certainty given enough time and variant conditions."

"But we are all human," Salik reiterated. "And no one race or people is better or worse than another."

"How will this complicate our population issues?" President Roslin asked.

"We can request compatibility studies prior to marriage," Doctor Salik offered. "But unless you plan to begin denying permission to marry, I don't see the point."

"No," Eloshia stated firmly. "If we are to become one race, we cannot accomplish that by dividing ourselves."

"But why?" Lee finally asked. All eyes turned to him, making him more than a little uncomfortable. He was tired of feeling like an idiot. "Not the marrying," he clarified. "I mean the Picons. I understand the evolution of their difference, but why did they use it to justify attack and then kill themselves? Granted, the Picons have been known for warring tendencies, but so have other planets. They've never attempted genocide before."

"Survival?" the President offered, looking to the doctors for confirmation. "Is that a strong enough drive?"

"Given the state of our fleet," Commander Adama stated softly. "I would say that survival would be a highly motivating thing."

"There is also the issue of radiation exposure," Doctor Pantheas added. "Our preliminary scans showed that the majority of our people have received high doses of radiation following the nuclear attack. Even those that were not on the planets during the attacks have been exposed to nominal levels here in the fleet. We don't yet know how that will affect our genetics or our neurology."

"So we can't know exactly what happened, and we can't know if it will happen again?" the Commander asked in a soft voice.

"No," Doctor Salik confirmed. "We don't, and we can't."

When the assembled experts and consultants filed out of the room half an hour later, the majority of them looked as confused and frustrated as Lee felt. He would have to talk to his father about it all at some point, but at the moment there were simply no answers. This might have been a fluke, and it might be the beginning of a terrifying pattern, and there was just no way to know one way or the other. For his part, Lee just wanted to get back to his bunk and start sorting some of it out in his mind.

Ironically, the one thing that he kept reminding himself about the situation was something he'd learned from a little girl. He didn't have to know everything. None of them did. They would learn it eventually. For now, he had to pacify himself with the knowledge that the suspected terrorists were gone, and that there had been no attempts against anyone for the last week. His father had told him that security measures would remain in place until they were more certain that the threat had been eliminated, but in general the worst of this particular issue was finished.

Lee couldn't remember all that much about high school and college biology. He'd had only a cursory interest in genetics, because you couldn't fly a plane with genes. He remembered enough to know that everybody had forty-six, and that twenty-three came from each parent. He also knew that some people had too few or too many, and most of the time such a defect was fatal. Little Katee had one of the most common Caprican disorders, which was one chromosome too many. Now he was being told that those same genes that created each of them — that made them unique individuals and yet a part of their parents — could be mutated dangerously into something that didn't even seem human to him. It was all too much for him to comprehend. But the worst of it was that they couldn't predict whether a similar situation could occur in the future. The pessimist in him felt that the possibility was high. For all the similarities in the twelve colonies, and for all the cooperation they provided one another for military defense and basic research, the bottom line was that the fleet was now a miscellaneous mixture of twelve different worlds. It was a concern that hadn't even occurred to him before.

"Well?"

Absently, Lee closed the hatch from the inside of the pilot's quarters. Kara was sitting on her bed waiting for him. While he had weaseled his way into the briefing as the CAG, she hadn't had such a convenient excuse. He wasn't opposed to sharing with her — indeed, it would likely be all over the fleet in short order — but until he had consent from his father he wouldn't be announcing any of it in open quarters beyond the bottom line. "No answers," he said simply. "But the immediate threat appears to be over."

"So that means things will go back to normal?" she asked.

"Depends on your definition of normal," he countered as he used the ladder to lever himself up onto his bunk. "But yeah, things are straightening out."

He lay down, unsure of whether Kara would press or just accept his answer. She was quiet for so long that he thought he might have gotten lucky. He should have known better. And yet when she spoke, her question was far from what he would have expected.

"Lee?"

"Yeah?" His voice was resigned. He'd never known Kara to let anything drop.

"Does this mean Katee goes back to the Lenna Dell?"

He hadn't thought about that. "I guess so," he answered. "I'll check with the President about it. Why?"

"No reason. She's just pretty cool for a kid. I've taken her a couple of times this week, and she's not much trouble. Maybe she could stay here and keep Boxey company."

"I don't think so," he replied. "My father didn't have a lot of say about Boxey. He'd pretty much already been adopted by Sharon, and Tyrol was willing to keep him and make care arrangements. He's also older, so he can look out for himself when the need's there. But Katee doesn't have parents to watch her, and as bad as it sounds, no one's going to take on a kid with the problems she has."

"Why do you say that?"

He shrugged. "Most everyone on board has pretty significant duties," Lee explained. "Shifts are irregular, workload varies according to where we are or what needs to be done, and living conditions are pretty minimal. I can't think of anyone who'd like to raise a child in that kind of environment, much less a special needs child."

"Maybe."

Kara sounded unusually quiet, enough so that he turned over and hung his head down to look at her. "What's wrong."

"Nothing," she replied. "I'll just miss her."

"I will too," Lee admitted. "She's a good kid."

As it turned out, Katee's departure was far more imminent than Lee had suspected. The following morning, he received an order to transport her back to the Lenna Dell. The only thing about the situation that made him feel remotely better was that he would also be taking one of President Roslin's old friends from her days as Secretary of Education. The older woman was a former teacher, as Roslin was, but had no pressing duties. She had been with the President for the Galactica's decommissioning, and had stayed with the cabinet members since. Educational advisors weren't really a necessity on the Galactica, and while the woman had been named to a committee that was beginning to design educational programs for the remaining children in the fleet, it wasn't necessary for her to be on the Galactica to perform her duties.

So Lee and Kara found themselves once more shuttling Katee on the short flight to the Lenna Dell. Unlike the initial trip, which had been quite somber, Katee was her cheerful self for the return voyage. She sat on Kara's lap while Lee piloted the Shuttle craft, pointing out various ships as they passed them and asking what felt like hundreds of questions.

The President had been reserved that morning when they had picked up the girl, but she hadn't been in tears. While she would miss having the girl close, Lee knew that for the next few weeks her trips to the hospital ship would be regular. They would have frequent status reports on the child, whether formal or informal, and at the very least she would be where she was comfortable. Lee had always been half afraid that the child would get lost aboard the multiple passageways of the Galactica.

Upon landing, they received quite a nice reception to the ship. Lee shook hands with the same security officer that he had met previously, although Lee wouldn't have known him if he hadn't reintroduced himself. The atmosphere was so different from their pickup of the child that it didn't even resemble the same ship. Doctor Hucker met them at the hatch when they left the shuttle, and Katee ran to his arms as though he were a long lost father. That made Lee feel far better about leaving her. Like Kara, he'd become quite attached to the little girl.

"How's my girl?" the doctor asked with a huge smile.

"I'm bigger," Katee announced. "Miss Laura told me so."

"You certainly are," Hucker agreed with a smile. "How is Miss Laura."

"She's better," Katee told him with a smile. "Doctor Sally gave her some medicine in her neck and she doesn't get sick anymore."

When the doctor raised one eyebrow, Lee clarified. "Doctor Salik said that a lot of the illness was due to electrolyte imbalance. She got sick, and that made her sicker, and started a cycle. Since he's been keeping her hydrated she's done very well."

Doctor Hucker gave a knowing nod. "I told her that two months ago," he remarked. "The woman never listens to me." He ended the statement with a wink, and Lee had to remind himself that they were talking about the President of the Colonies.

"I'll be bringing her over in a few days for the treatment."

The doctor's smile faded somewhat. "Well, Katee will look forward to that. Won't you, Princess."

"Did you find my dolly?" Katee asked, apparently not catching much of the conversation that was going on around her.

"We sure did. We put her on your bed."

"Can I go?" she asked anxiously.

"Katee, don't forget to take Miss April," Kara called out. The older woman had just come off the shuttle, still wobbly despite the smooth flight and landing. She gave a smile though, and followed as Katee led her towards the main hospital corridor, and presumably to her room.

"I'm glad she'll have someone to look after her," the doctor said softly. "We did our best, but"

Lee nodded. "She needs someone of her own."

"Exactly," he admitted. "Although, I have to tell you that the kingdom hasn't been the same without its princess. The subjects get along better when she's in command."

Lee and Kara both laughed with the doctor over that, then they said their good-byes and moved back into the shuttle for the return flight. Lee waited until Kara had systems ready and clearance for takeoff before gesturing for her to take the controls. She gave him a curious glance, but didn't argue.

"What's the occasion?" she asked as she happily began takeoff procedures.

"Fair play," he told her with a shrug.

"Thanks," she replied, and her smile was worth missing an opportunity to fly.

They flew in silence for a while, and then Kara spoke softly. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

Lee thought about it for a moment, not sure why he was so carefully considering his answer. "I think she will," he finally decided. "After all, she was okay before, and now she has someone to keep a closer eye on her. I think she'll be fine."

"Going to miss her?"

"Yeah," he answered softly. "She grows on you."

"And she gives great hugs," Kara told him with a wink.

"What would you expect from a princess?" he asked her with a smile.

Kara returned the grin. It was good to see her smiling some. In that way, he thought that Katee had been good for all of them. She was a little ray of sunshine, and for a while everyone on the Galactica had seemed to have a reason to smile. Whether it was an accident of biology or an intent of fate, little Katee had a gift for bringing peace to those around her. Lee would be a long time forgetting the little Princess of the Lenna Dell.