Note: Contains spoilers for season two of the new Battlestar Galactica
Thirteen
Chapter Thirty-Four
Soap Box Convention
The amphitheater was packed to almost bursting capacity. The candidates were backstage in the dressing rooms, trying their best to relax before the debate began. The moderator, Jim Bitterbane, was sitting in the center chair, decked out in his usual navy blue suit which he was famous for from years hosting the popular ISN late night news magazine, NightSide. It had been based on the ancient television program, Nightline, from the American Broadcasting Company, which had long since merged with another company in the corporate fusions that ran rampant in the early decades of the twenty-first century.
To his left was Maggie Egan, formerly the lead anchor at the InterStellar Network News. She, like Jim Bitterbane, had retired after the presidential election of 2277, but had been dragged out here to Babylon 5 at the request of President Garrison Hollifield. Her trademark blond hair had plenty of gray in it these days, which she didn't mind since she was a professor of journalism at Cornell these days, as well as a highly respected author. She had been working on her memoirs, specifically her imprisonment during the martial law era under President William Morgan Clark, when the head of state of the Earth Alliance asked her to join her old friend and be a panelist in this debate.
To Maggie Egan's left was Sekou Hamilton, a dark skinned male who was formerly editor of the Aerelon Gazette and now co-host of The Colonial Gang. He was seen a relatively neutral by both candidates, and was accepted by both Tom Zarek and Laura Roslin without question.
To Bitterbane's right was his new friend and colleague, James McManus, who was an ardent critic of Laura Roslin. Though not a huge supporter of Zarek's, he had been added to the panel at the surprising request of Laura Roslin. A former journalist with the Caprica Times, he had been with Roslin for the decommissioning ceremony of the battlestar Galactica, doing an article on the retirement of one of the last original dozen battlestars, when the Cylons attacked the Colonies.
To McManus' right was Playa Palacios, a former veteran columnist with the Picon Star Tribune. Since the holocaust, she had become the most popular journalist in the remaining Colonial fleet, and both Admiral Adama and President Roslin recognized her status by giving her the first question at each press conference, much to the chagrin of her fellow reporters.
Just to the right of the stage was Dan Tanner, chief of staff to President Hollifield, in the "gorilla" position, named, for some strange reason, after an ancient professional wrestler, Gorilla Monsoon. He would be the one who indicated to the two candidates when it was time to walk out onto the stage. Tanner was a tall, thoughtful man in his mid-forties with jet-black hair, and had been with the president for years as his right hand man.
On the opposite side of the stage, John Sheridan and Michael Garibaldi watched the proceedings as they headed towards "go-time". Like President Hollifield, they had gone out of their way to be neutral in this election, but it wasn't that much of a secret that they would like Roslin to be re-elected. They had made an effort, along with Dan Tanner, to get to know Tom Zarek and to build lines of communication with him, but he had been evasive, almost as if he didn't want to have anything to do with them.
This troubled the former president of the Interstellar Alliance, as well as the former security chief of Babylon 5, as they watched Zarek and Roslin walk onto the stage to the crowd's polite applause. Garibaldi wanted this to go well, and had called in his old friend, Zack Allen, to help organize security for the event. Chief Vladimir Kiprosov, the current head of security of Babylon 5, welcomed the assistance, having served under both Garibaldi and Allen during their time in his job. The husky Russian stood on Zarek's side of the audience, while Allen stood on Roslin's side.
Jim Bitterbane made some small talk with his fellow panelists as well as the candidates as they did sound checks for the microphones. The Colonists in the audience marveled at the floating cameras that were commonplace to those in the Earth Alliance these days, but they did nothing more than raise some idle curiosity, as the real attention getter was about to begin.
"Good evening. I am Jim Bitterbane, and welcome to this debate for the office of the presidency of the Colonies of Kobol." Bitterbane introduced his fellow panelists to the audience in the crowd and to those watching on the station's internal networks. He introduced the challenger, Tom Zarek, and roughly half the audience applauded, while some on the other half of the aisle shouted insults and other barbs. Then Bitterbane introduced the President Roslin, and the Roslin side of the aisle got up to applaud, with some boos, hisses, and shouts of dissent aimed at her. Both candidates held up well to all of it, standing behind their lecterns and going over their notes.
After introducing the candidates, he gave each of them time for an opening statement. By custom, the challenger went first, and Tom Zarek gave a quick glance to Ellen Tigh as he began his prepared remarks.
"Several months ago, I was a political prisoner. I stood up to the corrupt government of the Colonies and was thrown into jail because they didn't want me to be a voice of change. I had hoped in the two decades of my imprisonment that change would come to the government, but, sadly, it hadn't happened. We need greater freedom to decide of our own fate, and, if I am elected, I shall strive to give that freedom to the Colonial citizens who have long deserved to have it.
"Personally, I have nothing against Laura Roslin. She had to assume the office she currently holds because President Adar and the rest of the cabinet had been wiped out in the Cylon attacks. For the most part, she has done a decent job as president, given the circumstances.
"However, she has turned us over into the care of the Earth Alliance, and had not considered the fact that our people struggle to hold onto their culture and beliefs against the far more potent influence of those from Earth as well as those of the races in the Interstellar Alliance. I know that President Hollifield and former president Sheridan mean well, but we must find someplace else to live so that we can preserve our culture and rebuilt our society. I don't know where that new home will be yet, but, as your president, I will endeavor to find it and to relocate us there."
Bitterbane turned to Roslin and said, "Madam President, your opening statement please."
Roslin stepped to the microphone and began, "To be honest, I never wanted this job. I was perfectly content to serve under President Adar, Gods rest his soul, and do my duty as secretary of education. However, when the attacks occurred, I had to assume the office and do my best to help us survive. Then Commander Adama wanted to go back and fight the Cylons, but I convinced him to flee the system and try to find a new home for us all.
"We never expected to find the thirteenth tribe out here, and we are grateful to the Earth Alliance for their overwhelming hospitality and their assistance to those of us from the Colonies. If it wasn't for them, we might not be here right now. The Cylons are still out there and still want to wipe us out, but, now with our friends from Earth, as well as those from the Interstellar Alliance, we have a chance to regain some of what we have lost.
"As for the allegation that I am simply turning us over to the Earth Alliance and sacrificing our culture, our religion, and our ways, that is not true. We've not had the chance to discuss a new home, what with the need to upgrade Galactica and Pegasus, as well as the fact that we need this safe haven to rest and recover from our journey. When the time comes, we shall find a new home and start to rebuild our society. Like Zarek, I do not know where that home is, but, with the help of our friends, we shall find that new home."
The first question went to Playa Palacios, as usual, "Mr. Zarek, how can you be the president of the Colonies when you have not renounced your belief that violence can be used for change? How can we trust you to abide by the results of the election should they not go your way?"
Zarek looked the reporter in the eye and said, "Consider what the Colonies were like twenty years ago, for a moment. We were still getting used to living under the Articles of Colonization after so long without a real constitution to protect the rights of the individual citizen. Even with them, many citizens who spoke up in opposition to government policies on my homeworld of Sagittaron were harassed, jailed, and otherwise repressed by the powers that be. Any and all attempts to hear our grievances were rebuffed by the Colonial government on Caprica. How would you feel if you lived in an apartment building with lousy plumbing, no heat or air conditioning, and rats and roaches galore, and every time you complained to the landlord, they not only raised the rent, but also added even more problems to your apartment. That is what the Colonial government has done, in my opinion, to the citizens of the Colonies, and it is high time that we have the right to make more choices for ourselves."
Bitterbane pointed to Roslin and asked for her response. "I think that Mr. Zarek has a penchant for exaggeration. Yes, the Colonial government hasn't been everything to everyone like it should be, but change does take time. President Adar, during his first term, had done quite a lot to give citizens greater freedom and rights, as well as give them greater chances at education and economic prosperity, and I intend to continue the work he began. Since we arrived here, we have been able to set up schools to educate our children, which, I might point out, are run exclusively by my government. While our medical needs are being attended to mostly by the staff under Dr. Rachel Biggs, she is helping train selected people to attend to our needs, as well as setting up a medical school for those citizens who survive in the Colonies and who wish to become our future doctors and nurses."
The question and answer session that followed was civil between the two sides, though it did get a little heated in the audience. However, Kiprosov and Allen did an excellent job of quelling any possible disturbance of the debate before it began. Emotions ran high in the audience, so they needed to be on top of things in case things began to go awry.
Most of the questions were detailed, if a little boring. Economic policy, education, and health care joined small business, crime and punishment, and relations with the EA and the ISA as the main topics, with the latter taking up most of the closing statements.
Zarek said in his closing statement, "We know that the Earth Alliance and the Interstellar Alliance mean well, and we are grateful for providing us Babylon 5 for our safe harbor, but this place cannot be our permanent home for us and our children. We need a new world, with sky, and water, and air to breathe. We also know that the EA Senate wants to close this place down and decommission it, so the sooner we find this new world, the better off we'll all be, because then the EA can commit the resources they spend here and use them to help us out until we get on our feet."
Roslin rebutted him by saying, "Of course Babylon 5 cannot be our permanent home, but it does not break the EA if they keep this place open for our benefit for a while longer. Under my government, we shall take up whatever responsibility we can to help ease the burden of Earth in running this station. This will help us in the long run when we do find a new world to call our home, because we will need the skills we learn here to help us in our new home."
When Bitterbane concluded the debate and bid the audience good night, it seemed as if everyone on stage let out a huge sigh of relief. The crowd dispersed peacefully, even though heated arguments began as soon as they were out the door. Babylon 5 security had quickly escorted everyone out, which brought pride to Garibaldi, who trained the guy who ran things around here these days.
Roslin and Zarek went back to their respective dressing rooms and later came out to address the media. To no one's surprise, they each claimed to have won the debate. The five panelists hosted a post-debate report on the Colonial News Channel, and they all agreed that there was no clear-cut winner tonight. The election was just weeks away now, and there were two more debates scheduled.
Afterwards, Tanner called President Hollifield and filled him in on what he saw at the debate. Hollifield listened to the analysis, then asked his long-time associate, "Do you think we can trust Zarek?"
"We can, after a fashion. At least as far as you can in politics, which isn't that far. But I don't believe our worries of Zarek leading some sort of insurrection have any merit, because I think he realizes just how weak their position is right now in the greater scheme of things."
Hollifield thought for a moment, then made a comment that only the two of them would know about, "Wonder what your old colleagues would think of all of this?"
Tanner said, "Frankly, Mr. President, I don't know what they would think. It's been a while since I've talked to them, you know? I kinda doubt I'll be able to converse with them anytime soon anyway."
"That's true. I don't know if it's even possible, but if it were, I think they would be shocked at how you turned out." Hollifield said.
"I can't disagree with you there, Mr. President. I can't think of anyone in the old crew who would imagine me where I am now." Tanner replied.
They ended the call and Tanner got up from in front of the communications panel and walked into the bedroom. He opened the drawer on the nightstand and pulled out a badge that he once wore long ago. He stared at it for a long time, finally breaking the silence by saying, "Yes, they would be quite shocked at how things turned out for me." He placed the badge back into the drawer and closed it, but allowed himself a few moment to reflect on adventures long in his past before heading back into the office to take on the challenges of the here and now.