Thirteen

Chapter Sixty-Three

Countdown to Kickoff

"How far away are they now?" President Hollifield asked General Ivanova inside the situation room deep within Earthdome. Tensions were running high as the battle approached, and Ivanova and Cain were with the president inside the heavily fortified bunker.

"Estimate six hours away, sir. According to the hyperspace beacons, the fleet is nearing the system at flank speed." Ivanova answered, her face not moving away from the console she was studying.

Hollifield nodded and walked out of the room briefly. "I'll be back shortly." Hollifield said as he left, heading to his personal quarters where his wife and sister-in-law were staying. Twanissa was finally walking after the devastating injury she had suffered bike riding, and looked to be on her way to a full recovery.

His heart still ached when he saw her struggle though as he saw her up upon entering the room. She walked with a gait of a much older woman now, but the doctors assured him that she would eventually become stronger in her legs. Still, seeing her fight so hard to do something he took for granted tore at his soul.

"Hey, babe!" he said as he walked up to his wife. Twanissa beamed a bright smile at him when he walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"The usual: tired and hurting, but otherwise okay. I did ten minutes on the treadmill today, but it feels like I ran a marathon! So is it much longer now?"

Hollifield said, "Less than six hours. We've got all the ships we could get on highest alert, so we're ready as we could ever hope to be. Whether that'll be enough…"

His wife nodded and took it in the stride of someone who had been in the military herself. "Kind of sucks we're down here, you know?"

"I know, but we're not space jockeys riding fire anymore. That's for the young kids these days."

His wife laughed and said, "Maybe for you, but I bet I could still blow some of those bogies straight to hell!" Hollifield smiled and embraced his wife, kissing her passionately, being careful not to get too carried away, because she was still recovering.

A knock on the door came, and Twanissa's sister, D'anna Biers, entered the room. She saw them embracing and instantly blushed, saying, "Oh! I didn't mean to interrupt!"

"No, you're fine, D'anna. I have to head back and get ready for what's coming. Just stopped by to see how my sweetie was doing, that's all." Twanissa smiled at the endearment.

"Oh okay. So they're not far away now?" D'anna asked, doing her best to keep up a brave front but not exactly succeeding.

"Less than six hours away now. Don't worry, D'anna! We'll get through this!" Hollifield tried to reassure her.

Another knock came at the door and one of the presidential guards came in to remind him of another appointment he had before heading to the situation room. "I'll be back later, dear. You two stay here and you'll be safe!" His wife nodded and embraced him again, kissing him and smiling as he left. Twanissa turned away from the door with a sigh as he left, and saw her sister sitting on the couch, arms wrapped around her and looking frightened.

"I don't know how you two handle it!" her sister said.

Twanissa sat down gently beside D'anna and put an arm around her. "Trust me, sis, it'll be all right!"

D'anna buried her head in her older sister's shoulder and began to cry. "These people can't win! They just can't win, dammit!"

Twanissa patted her on the back and said, "They won't, sis! My husband will see to it. I have faith in him and those he commands, so that's what helps me deal with my fears."

D'anna looked up at her sister, wiping away tears from her eyes and asked her, "Are you scared?"

Twanissa nodded and said, "Of course! I am human after all! But I know that we have the best people up there to fight for us, and I know that they'll pull us through this."

D'anna lay her head back on her sister's shoulder and they sat there for some time. D'anna was the youngest and also the most sensitive of the lot of Biers children. Never having married, she was very close to her family, and especially her oldest sister Twanissa. And Twanissa loved her because she still had that sweetness and kindness about her after all these years, which was something to say with the way the universe had been in the last few decades.

Hollifield made his way to where Baltar and Gina were staying. Gina was sleeping in her room, according to the guard, so Hollifield just looked in and then let her be, moving on to the room where the now former Colonial vice-president resided.

He closed the door behind him and Baltar acknowledged him with a nod. "I take it that it's not long now?"

"No, it won't be long. How are you feeling?"

Six appeared just then and said, "Nervous, but okay." Baltar had once mentioned to him that Six was quite the seductress, but it was kind of hard to believe given the conservative business suits and serious air about her these days. However, Hollifield did see that she was strikingly beautiful and that she was more than capable to returning to her old ways if the need arose.

"I'm scared crapless, matter of fact! What will they do if they break through the defense grid orbiting the planet?" Baltar said with fear in his voice.

"That remains to be seen. I don't think they'll nuke us like they did the Colonial worlds. If I had to guess, they'll send some of those nice, shiny Centurions in droves to try and mount an assault on Earthdome, as well as other key installations on Earth." Hollifield said calmly.

Six looked concerned and asked, "What happens if they do breach the dome?"

"We get the hell out of town, that's what! We've long since had plans written for such an occasion, so we know what to do when the time comes. You're part of the evacuation plans, as well as Gina. Just be sure to take some clothing and your important files with you if we do have to leave, because I have no idea if or when we'd be able to return." Hollifield had addressed that last part to Baltar, who seemed to be lost in his own fearful thoughts.

Six, though, seemed to be holding up well. "What about the other models?"

"They'll come with us too." Hollifield replied, and Six nodded.

"Do you think the plan will work, Mr. President?" Baltar asked hopefully.

"With as much effort as we put into it, it had better work!" Hollifield said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I've got to get back to the situation room. See you later!"

When he departed, Baltar sat back down hard onto the couch and put his head in his hands. He looked back at Six and said, "How the hell can you look so calm in this situation?"

"I have faith that it'll all work out, Gaius! I trust the humans!"

Baltar looked at her shocked at what she had just said. He bolted up and said, "Well, that's a shock coming from you!"

Six wasn't fazed, and calmly said, "I've changed, Gaius. I've changed a lot."

"Sometimes…sometimes I wish you were the old you! Things would be much simpler if they were!" Baltar said exasperatedly.

Six pushed him against the wall and got in his face. "I'm never going back to the way I was! When I think of what I was like…it makes me sick! How could I have done such a thing? Aid in the massacre of billions of people? They may have sinned, but they deserved the right of redemption, and we never gave them the chance to do that!"

Baltar replied, "So you regret what you've done?"

Six laughed and said, "How much clearer do I have to make it for you, Gaius? Of course I regret it! That's why I have helped you out in helping to free my kind from the programming that those damned toasters put into us!"

"Toasters? Aren't we being a bit bigoted?" Baltar said in a mocking tone.

"Those 'toasters' are no better than you, Gaius! They wanted to use us just like your kind used them!" she said.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see if your kind can rebel as good as those toasters that rebelled against us!" Baltar said as he walked away from her.

"One can only hope!" Six said as she followed him across the room.

Time ticked away slowly, agonizingly away. Hollifield sat in his synthetic leather chair; leaning back and watching the data come in on the main board in the situation room. One of the junior officers saw something come up on her console and called out, "Mars beacon indicates the fleet is passing by their location. Estimated ten minutes away, sir!"

He looked at Ivanova and then at Cain. Leaning forward, he said, "It's Showtime, people. Let's give these bastards a very unpleasant reception, shall we?"

Ivanova and Cain nodded and said, "Yes, sir!" in sync, and they sent orders up to the ships in high Earth orbit to let them know that zero hour was about to come upon them.

"We're picking up energy spikes! They're all over the place! Picking up Drakh ships as well as Cylon basestars! Cylons launching raiders! Drakh launching fighters! Ships moving to engage!" The reports came from a variety of people inside the situation room, and the activity was getting hectic, but Hollifield, Ivanova, and Cain all looked like they were as calm as if they were sitting out on the front porch on a Friday evening relaxing after a long week of work. Whether they would actually get the chance to play that situation out ever again was now up in the air, and no one knew just what the outcome would be.