Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Burdens of Office

Roslin knew she was about to die, and had made peace with the fact. She'd accomplished what she had set out to do: getting her people to Earth, or at least in Earth Alliance territory. There was no guarantee that they would stay safe, but they had a much better chance now that they were in the hands of the Earthers here on Babylon 5. So if she were to go meet the Lords of Kobol she so fervently believed in, she would go there with a smile on her face.

She still was devastated at the news that her protégé, Billy Keikeya, had turned out to be a Cylon. There was a part of her that still didn't believe it, but the greater part of her knew it to be true. When she found out about the truth, she collapsed, unable to withstand the shock of the revelation.

She got a regular stream of visitors, from the members of the Quorum of Twelve, to Admiral Adama, to even Commander Tigh's wife. She couldn't speak anymore, and she knew that her time was drawing near.

Her counterpart, Earth Alliance President Garrison Hollifield, came to visit her one day, and she was surprised when he sent her a telepathic message. Can you handle a telepathic conversation? All you have to do is think, and I can read your thoughts., said Hollifield.

Roslin struggled with it, but she was able to put together what she wanted to say, Yes, I think I can. Why?

You know that you don't have much longer, don't you? Is there anything I can do before you pass on?

I would have liked to have seen Earth before I die, but if that's not possible, then I wish to be buried there.

I'll do what I can on that front. But we're not giving up on you just yet.

Why? I'm a lost cause. My spirit remains strong, but my body is almost gone.

There's no such thing as a lost cause. He could sense she was tiring, so he put his hand on hers and smiled, then walked away. Laura wondered what he could do to prolong her life, if that was even possible.

Susan Ivanova stood in front of the cryotube where the man she loved was stored. For all intents and purposes, Ranger Marcus Cole was dead, and had been for two decades now. Technically, he wasn't, and she had ordered that he remain in cryogenic storage until a way to restore his life could be found. However, the older she got, the more she wondered if a way were ever possible.

She was pondering a certain thought when Starbuck came up to her. "General, the president wishes to see you as soon as possible. He needs to ask you something."

Ivanova had an idea as to what that might be, and it matched her thoughts. For years, she hadn't even thought about that infernal machine that had restored her life but only at the expense of Marcus' life. She had a hard time forgiving him for that, but, in time, she had.

"So why are you just standing here?" Starbuck asked innocently.

"The man I love is in that tube right there." Ivanova pointed to the tube where Marcus was held. "He gave his life to save mine."

Starbuck's face scrunched up in incomprehension, and she asked, "Then why is he in a cryotube?"

"Because he's technically not dead yet, and I still have hope that he could be revived."

"But…would he want to live like that? Stuck between life and death?"

Ivanova sighed and wished she didn't have to have this conversation, but she also realized that it was an honest question and deserved an honest answer. "I don't know. Maybe he should be allowed to pass on, or maybe we should wait and see if there's a chance to let him pass on."

"I remember how hard it was to let go of Zak when he died. Now that I think about it, I don't know what I would do if Zak were in Marcus's position."

Ivanova nodded and escorted her out of the cryogenic facility. She walked with Starbuck in silence to the meeting, trying hard to repress the thoughts in her head.

The Quorum of Twelve assembled in the former home of the Babylon 5 Advisory Council as well as the Interstellar Alliance before it moved to Tuzinor on the Minbari Homeworld. Tom Zarek, as representative of Sagittaron, took his seat beside Sarah Porter, the representative from Geminon. He was on the first row facing the main table in front of him, where Vice President Dr. Gaius Baltar, Earth Alliance President Garrison Hollifield, former Interstellar Alliance President John Sheridan (representing his wife, Delenn, who was now president), and Michael Garibaldi, who was there for a reason that Zarek did not know about, were seated. Garibaldi had a steady gaze locked on Zarek, and he managed to bear it as best he could. The former head of security of Babylon 5 as well as the former head of intelligence for the Interstellar Alliance more than likely had learned about the bombing that had sent Zarek to prison for twenty years.

Baltar gaveled the meeting to order and turned over the floor to the Earth Alliance president. Hollifield got up from his chair, walked around the table, and faced the Quorum, where he began to speak.

"Dr. Stephen Franklin, my personal physician, as well as Dr. Rachel Biggs, the chief of staff for the medlab facilities here on the station, have been in consultation with Dr. Cottle, the physician who has been in direct care for President Laura Roslin since the holocaust that struck your worlds, and they have determined that her death is imminent."

A cry came from beside Zarek, and it was from Sarah Porter, whose Geminon homeworld was home to a very fundamentalist view of the Sacred Scrolls. She had once been angry with Roslin over the president's refusal for additional water supplies over and above the agreed quotas for her people. However, her view softened when she learned that the president had cancer and was fulfilling the role of the dying leader in the prophesy of Pythia. Now, as the last hour was near, the full weight of the grief of the impending loss had brought the president's former critic to tears.

Zarek refocused his attention to what Hollifield was saying. "We know of Roslin's view that she is the dying leader in the prophesy of Pythia in your Sacred Scrolls, which is why we wished to consult you because we have a machine that could save her life." Zarek mentally scratched his head, and Porter buzzed curiously beside him, whispering, "What? Do they mean that they can save her life?"

Dr. Franklin came in and took the floor, standing beside the president in his Earthforce dress uniform. "About twenty-five years ago, I came into possession of an alien machine that was once used to administer death penalties. I happened upon it through another doctor, one Laura Rosen, who ran an unauthorized clinic in a section of the station once known as Down Below. She used it at lower settings, to heal people, by giving her own life energy to help those who were afflicted by diseases.

"The machine was only used twice more since I came into possession of it. Once, to save the life of Michael Garibaldi when he had been shot by his second, who was a traitor, and another time, in an unauthorized fashion, by a Ranger named Marcus Cole, who used it to save the life of then-Commander Susan Ivanova after she was mortally wounded in an attack during our civil war. He gave up the vast majority of his life energy to save her."

Zarek knew where this was going, and knew the significance of it when he viewed Ivanova brushing away a tear from her eyes as she stood at one of the entrances into the chamber. Starbuck stood beside her, and Zarek noticed a change in her as well, though he didn't know exactly what it was. Looking around the room, he spotted Admiral Adama, who was staring off into space, apparently deep in thought. His son, Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama, had his eyes cast downwards, and Zarek knew he was having a hard time coming to grips with all of this. Commander Tigh stood there impassively, his face a stone of indifference, as he didn't particularly like Roslin.

Franklin continued, "What we propose is to hook this machine up to Roslin and ask for volunteers to give some of their life energy to help sustain her. There is some risk involved, as this is an imperfect process. We know that the cancer cannot be retransmitted through the machine, but the risk is in taking some of the life energy from a person. We have experience in using small amounts to help someone recover, but Garibaldi's condition wasn't nearly as bad as Roslin's is at present."

Porter asked him, "So what do you need of us?"

Hollifield stepped forward and spoke, "We know how important that prophesy is to your culture, especially to the president herself. Since she is unable to legally approve or reject what we propose, under current EA law, you have what we consider to be 'power of attorney' over her, which means you can decide whether or not we proceed with our proposal.

"It is my personal wish that you approve of this, but it is your decision, and we will respect and abide by it."

Porter rose again and asked, "But what about her role as the dying leader?"

Hollifield looked down and Zarek knew something major was about to happen. "We may have someone to replace her in that role." Hollifield looked over at Sheridan and the former president rose up to speak. "I am dying as well, and there is no hope for a cure." He told them about what went down on a planet known as Z'ha'dum, which took some time, as he had to go into the whole Shadow War and his encounter with an ancient alien known as Lorien.

By the time Sheridan had finished, Zarek had made up his mind. Sheridan was now standing beside Hollifield and Franklin, and he concluded by saying, "I know you may not believe what I have to say, but I have little time left, and I believe that I can fulfill that role for you."

Soon enough, those in the Earth Alliance, along with Admiral Adama and the others, left them alone in the chambers to debate and decide what was to be done. Like a jury deliberation, it had started with an early straw poll, and Zarek had voted to use the machine to save Roslin, while Porter had voted against, saying that only one of the Lords of Kobol could fulfill the role.

They did agree that the vote had to be unanimous, so they spent hours debating all the issues involved in the decision. Not once did Zarek waiver from his position of saving the president, which surprised many people, as he was an outspoken critic of hers and was a contender to run for the Colonial presidency in a few months. Eventually, Zarek became the main proponent of approving the proposal, and he eventually won everyone save one: Sarah Porter. He wasn't about to give up though, and as they went into the twelfth hour, he redoubled his efforts to win her over.

Laura Roslin used her dwindling energy reserves to look at the Quorum of Twelve as they came in with Hollifield. Sarah Porter walked over to her alongside Hollifield, and she took his hand. He then took Roslin's and he became the conduit for their conversation. By the time it was over with, Porter was in tears, and Hollifield looked close to it himself. Roslin didn't have the energy to cry, but would have if she still had it in her to do so. But it was the best way to handle the situation, and she drifted back off to sleep, knowing that this was for the best.

They rolled Marcus Cole out on a stretcher, and Ivanova took her place beside him as they stopped the gurney beside Roslin's bed. Franklin rolled out the alien healing device and placed it between the two of them, and Ivanova took one of the attachments and placed it on the hand of Roslin, then placed the other on Marcus's hand. As Franklin activated the machine, Ivanova leaned over and kissed him. She stayed there as the last of his life energy drained into Roslin, then the machine stopped and Franklin took Marcus' pulse. He did a quick scan with a medical reader, and, finding no life signs whatsoever, he declared Marcus dead. Ivanova kissed him again and two medics rolled him out to the morgue. Ivanova was in tears, but she stayed there beside Roslin's bed, rolling up her sleeve to give some of her life energy to save Roslin.

Starbuck broke away from the group to stand beside her friend, holding her as she broke down as some of her flowed into Roslin. Franklin halted the machine and handed the outlet to Starbuck, to placed it on her hand and the process of draining some of Starbuck's life force began again.

One by one, the members of the Quorum gave some of themselves for her. Porter recited verses from the Sacred Scrolls as she gave some of herself to save Roslin. Zarek was the last one, and said as part of him drained into her, "I gotta keep you around for the campaign. Besides, you still owe me a slap on the face!" In spite of himself, tears came to his eyes as he looked at Roslin.

Once the Quorum of Twelve had concluded, Admiral Adama walked over and took the cuff without hesitation, putting it on his wrist and looking at her as some of his life was sacrificed to save hers. When it was over, he called over Tigh to give some of himself, and the crusty commander did as he was asked. Once Tigh was over, Apollo came over and gave some of himself.

When they were done, Hollifield walked to give of himself, but was interrupted by Admiral Nelena Cain. "I'm sorry. I just got the news. Would it be alright to give some of myself for her?" She wasn't in uniform, but in simple civilian clothes. Hollifield stood aside as the former head of the Colonial fleet walked up to the president she had once cruelly dismissed as unworthy of the office. She placed the cuff on her wrist and patiently waited until the process was over. Once complete, she took out a small item from her shirt pocket and placed it on Roslin, and then she turned and walked away. Hollifield stepped up and gave some of himself, looking at the small item, which was a picture of a young girl in a locket, which had the name of Sheba engraved in it.

Sheridan and Garibaldi gave of themselves as well, then members of the Galactica and Pegasus officer staff gave as well. Once done, Franklin powered down the machine and handed it to Biggs, who took it back into storage. "Now we wait and see how she responds." Franklin said soberly as he escorted the remaining people out of medlab.

It took three days for Roslin to wake up. She thought for a moment that she had died and had somehow wound up back in her hospital bed. She looked over to a nurse and managed to squeak out, "Where am I?" The nurse, a big black woman, responded, "You're still on Babylon 5, Madam President. Is there anything I can get for you?"

"Yes, a glass of water would be nice." Once the nurse had procured the water and Roslin drank it down, she requested to see Hollifield. He came soon enough and she asked him one question, "Why?"

Instead of answering, he took her hand and let her see what he had seen for himself. A moment later, he let go of her hand and Roslin said, "And he accepts this willingly?"

"Yes. It's like I told another friend of mine not so long ago. It's easy to find something worth dying for, but its not so easy finding something worth living for. You have a lot to live for Laura, while Sheridan's time is almost up. It's better this way."

Ivanova flew the shuttle herself, alone, and launched the casket that held the body of Marcus Cole from the shuttle. The casket dropped off the bottom of the shuttle, and a small rocket ignited and it set off towards the star that was the center of the Episilon system. Her face was full of tears as she said her final goodbye to the man she loved, hoping wherever he was now that he approved of what she had done.