Note: Contains possible spoilers for season two of the new Battlestar Galactica

Thirteen

Chapter Thirty-Five

Dealing With The Opposition

The station's second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, as well as his chief of staff, Dan Tanner, met Earth Alliance president Garrison Hollifield at the empty arrival port on Babylon 5. Unlike the previous commander of Babylon 5, Rissen didn't insist on protocol and allowed the president to come aboard without the pomp and circumstance that was his due. Besides, Rissen knew it would only honk off the president, and he had enough people pissed at him as it was.

Valerii saluted and Hollifield returned the salute, then got down to business. Tanner started the briefing as they made their way through the secured and emptied hallways towards his suite in Blue Sector. "In the latest polls, Zarek has pulled slightly ahead, but it's within the margin for error, so it's still effectively a draw."

"What about our efforts to upgrade the Colonial fleet?" Hollifield asked Valerii.

"They are going well, sir. We've added pulse laser batteries and plasma beams to both the Galactica and Pegasus, and we've also found a massive supply of tylium for both ships, and we've begun constructing portable refueling depots and tankers to bring supplies here. Construction of new Vipers continues, and we should be able to have all primary and secondary fighters ready to go within a month."

"That's good news. Commend the crew for their hard work on my behalf, Lieutenant Colonel, and urge them to keep things up. We may need them sooner than later, if reports I've received are accurate."

Valerii nodded, brushing a strand of graying hair away from her face as the three walked towards his suite. "The admiral shared them with me, sir, and I can understand the concern. If the Drakh join forces with the Cylons…"

"We don't know that for sure, Valerii. It's important not to jump to conclusions…" Tanner interjected.

"I understand, Mr. Tanner. Call it a gut feeling if you will, but I think that an alliance between those two is more likely, and not the Drakh conquering the Cylons and taking over their technology. The Drakh can't afford to launch an offensive against them, especially with us and the Centauri running them down wherever we find them. Makes more sense that they would join forces, but anything's possible." Valerii answered back.

Hollifield stopped to add his input. "Let's go under the working assumption that they are going to form an alliance, because either way, it spells trouble for us. The Drakh want to hit back at us, and the Cylons want to hit at the Colonials. Guess where the most likely places for such efforts would be focused on?" The question was left unanswered as they entered his suite, mainly because the answer was plainly known. Babylon 5 and Earth would be the targets, and they had to be ready for whatever the Drakh and/or the Cylons threw at them.

The president's arrival and subsequent meeting with Roslin as well as Admiral Adama and her immediate staff provoked Tom Zarek to comment to the media that it was disrespectful to not include the Quorum of Twelve, of which he was a part of, in the meetings. It also provoked Hollifield's possible opponent in the 2283 EA presidential election, Clarissa Cally, to remark that the president was, yet again, jetting off at taxpayers' expense for meetings that could be best held via StellarCom.

"You know, in three years, I'll be so glad to beat that damn bitch at the polls! She's nothing but a damn backstabber and an opportunist, and a piss-poor one at that! The only reason the Liberal Democrats and their allies have latched on to her is that they have no one that is popular enough to pose a threat to me." Hollifield growled to Tanner.

"That may be, but it's important to remember that the election is three years away, and that's an eternity in the world of politics. She may have the support of the LibDems at the moment, but there's sure to be some people who don't like the fact that the newcomer is getting all this support. Perhaps we could see if there are any long-time supporters of that party that want to jump to our side?" Tanner replied.

Hollifield considered it as he sipped some water from the kitchenette of the suite, then answered, "Do what you can through back channels on that matter. Anything we can do to twist that damned ponytail that Cally wears everywhere is fine by me. She wants to play down and dirty? Well, so can we!"

Lt. Col. Sharon Valerii addressed the maintenance crew and the deck hands from Galactica and Pegasus, who had gathered in the deck near Bay 12 where the new Vipers were being built and transferred to the battlestars. "President Hollifield wanted me to tell you that he admires your hard work and dedication, and is impressed by your ability to bring these new Vipers on-line quicker than any of us had imagined possible. With the Cylon threat still present, your continued efforts to build secondary Vipers will help us towards our goal of defeating the Cylons and reclaiming the Colonial homeworlds." The Earthforce personnel applauded the speech, as did the Colonials, but only half-heartedly. They remembered all too well what one of the Cylon copies of this woman had done to Admiral Adama, and couldn't bring themselves to completely accepting what this woman had to say.

Sensing the discomfort, Valerii simply told them to carry on and made a respectful but discreet departure. Galen Tyrol hadn't applauded at all, still having a hard time dealing not only with the fact that his now deceased lover was a copy based on that woman.

His current girlfriend, Fabby Cortez, was a true original indeed. She turned to Galen and said, "I know why you didn't applaud. Care to talk about it?"

Galen shook his head and said, "Maybe some other time. Right now, we've got work to do." Fabby nodded her head and grabbed her welding torch, then followed him to the new Viper they were working on.

It was common knowledge among the crew that they were a couple, so them being seen together wasn't that shocking. Instead of going to their usual watering hole after work, they went to their next favorite place to hang out at, which was an Italian place called Il Sole del Sud, which was Italian for "sun of the South". The proprietor, a short Neapolitan named Salvatore Gridini, had been on the station since it came online almost a quarter of a century ago, and he still had a way of making the short supply of tomatoes and wheat goes a long way at his place.

To most of her friends, they were baffled that such a proud Mexican woman would be such a fan of Italian food, but Galen knew that there was more to Fabby that just her love of her native land. He hadn't fallen for her because of her heritage, but for her work ethic and her competence.

He hadn't had the courage to ask her what drove her so hard, but, aided by each of them imbibing of some fresh Italian wine, he summoned the courage to ask her. She replied by saying, "The sad part is that, on my world, we still have people who fall for the old stereotypes. One of those about people from my homeland is that we are lazy people who would rather sleep the afternoon away than work hard. It's changed a lot, especially since the collapse of the Mexican economy and the harsh depression that followed back in the 2030s."

"But that's over two hundred years ago on your world! Surely attitudes have changed more since then?" Galen asked.

Fabby nodded and said, "To a degree, they have. However, I had a harsh reality check years ago in Los Angeles…that's a city in a place called California just north of my homeland…when I was called a 'beaner' and a 'wetback' in broad daylight when I was an engineering student at Cal Tech. Try as I did to not let it get to me, it did." Fabby sighed, then ate some of her ravioli.

After she chewed it up, she continued, "For two centuries, Mexicans have been the epitome of hard working people, right along with the Americans. Despite all that my people have accomplished, there's still many white people in power who look down their nose at my people."

"Do you think President Hollifield is one of those people?"

"Hell no! My dad told me once that he saw him kick a guy's ass in San Antonio who called a friend of his a damned greaser back when he was in law school. My dad asked him why he stuck up for the guy, and he said, 'I can't stand people who label somebody something without knowing who they are first.' I found out later that the student was Julio Garza, the current vice-president. My dad knew Garza because my dad trained to be a luchador with him, but tore up his knee and went into engineering instead." Fabby replied.

Galen shook his head and said, "When you showed me what you call lucha libre, I have to admit I was baffled by it. All those men and women in those weird costumes, flying in and out of the ring…"

"If you think that's bad, you should see what they call pro wrestling in America! That stuff is awful!" Fabby said with a chuckle, then paid the bill and escorted him back to his office.

Lee "Apollo" Adama had always thought he was the best pilot he'd ever seen, followed closely by Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. However, when he saw President Hollifield at the controls of the Viper IX, doubt about whom was the best pilot crept into his mind. Despite his age, Hollifield's reflexes were impeccable, and he made maneuvers like a man half his age. Apollo didn't know when the last time Hollifield had been in a fighter, but he must get into those Starfuries that the Earthers used on a regular basis to fly like that.

As they returned to the Galactica, they made their way to the Command Information Center, which was getting the Earth moniker of "the bridge" as time went on. Tigh and Captain John Matheson met them there, and it was the commander of the battlestar who asked the president about the new Viper's performance.

"Very good indeed, Commander Tigh! Your pilots are adjusting to the new fighters quite well, especially your CAG, here, Apollo. Damn fine fighter squadron you guys have here!" Hollifield said.

Apollo smiled, which made Tigh a little uncomfortable. Hollifield knew what had happened between the two when then-Commander Adama tried to depose Roslin because of interference in a military matter. Tigh had been in charge of a task force charged with bringing the president into the custody of Adama, but Apollo had turned on Tigh and pointed a pistol in his face, telling him to stand down. Roslin decided to acquiesce and turned herself in to avoid needless bloodshed, but the rift between the two still remained to this day.

Afterwards, Apollo and the president went to the mess hall for some food. The Galactica crew had long since learned that Hollifield didn't stand on ceremony, so seeing him strolling unescorted except for Apollo wasn't that surprising. Each of them got a tray full of food and sat down to eat.

They mainly talked shop about the Vipers as well as flying fighters in general, until Dee Dualla came into the mess. Apollo's eyes went to her and Hollifield's noticed that hers went to his, but both quickly covered it up. The hall was practically deserted at this hour, and both Apollo and Hollifield were almost finished with their meals.

Dee was about to go to another table when the president pointedly said, "Ah, Ms. Dualla! Would you join us please?" He gestured to a chair and Dualla, after a moment, accepted the invitation.

"So, how are things going with adjusting to the new computer systems and communications equipment, Ms. Dualla?" Hollifield asked, and Apollo knew that something was up when the president began to eat a bit faster than he had before.

"It's going very well, sir. We've had a few bugs to work out, but we're able to link up with StellarCom now without trouble, and the computer systems have been tested against various enhanced strains of the Cylon computer virus, and, so far, the systems have held up."

"Good, good!" Hollifield looked up and saw Lt. Margaret Edmonson walk by outside. "Excuse me, you two, but Racetrack just went by, and I need to ask her something. You two kids behave while I'm gone, you hear?" Hollifield quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin, hurriedly turned in his tray to the poor folks who had drawn KP duty, and walked out of the hall.

"Well, he's smooth." Apollo remarked.

"Like sandpaper." Dualla said.

Hollifield caught up to Racetrack, who noticed him and said, "Evening, sir! What can I do for you?"

"Eh, nothing much. Just wanted to ask you about the new Vipers." Hollifield replied.

Racetrack looked back towards the mess, then back to the president and said, "You do know that an enlisted person and an officer aren't supposed to fraternize."

"Yeah, but with the way things are going these days, if you meet someone and hit it off with them, might as well go for it. Besides, I get the feeling his dad won't mind."

Admiral Adama was in Roslin's quarters, sharing some coffee with her. It was the real bean, taken from discreetly placed planters in the hydroponic gardens on the station. It had been a rite of passage for the executive officers on Babylon 5 to look after it, from the original second-in-command Laurel Takashima to the current Sharon Valerii. These days, Laurel Takashima was a general, and had just signed on to work with Ivanova and Cain with the plans to retake the Colonial homeworlds.

But before they could do that, they had to deal with the troubling developments taking place in the Horvan system on the edge of Centauri space. Takashima, who had fought alongside the president during the Drakh plague and was the foremost expert on the Drakh, had just briefed them both.

"So, if these Drakh ally themselves with the Cylons, what does that mean for us?" Roslin asked.

Adama thought for a moment, then got up and filled his cup with more coffee. He gestured with the pot to the president, who shook her head. "I don't know for certain, but from what we've learned today, either way means that we face a much tougher road to get back the Colonial worlds."

Roslin said, "But we will, won't we?"

Adama smiled and said, "Damn right we will!" He held out his cup for a toast, and Roslin clinked cups with him and drank a toast.

"It won't be easy." Adama added, "But with the way the Earthers are helping us, I think we can beat them, with or without the Drakh."

Roslin tossed her head back for a moment, then said, "What's to become of us, Bill? Zarek did make a point the other day during the debate about our culture being absorbed by the Earthers."

"We're alive. That's all that matters now. We'll deal with cultural preservation when the time comes. Right now, preserving the people who live that culture is my job, and I need some sleep." Adama got up and turned to say to his boss, "Good night, Madam President."

"Good night, Admiral." Roslin replied, and Adama left. She smiled when he left and said to herself, "Too bad about the rules about fraternization." She laughed at herself, then got up to go to bed.