Thirteen

Chapter Seventy-One

The New Beginning

A couple of years later, the permanent settlement was complete enough to house the Colonials. Two long years of hard work culminated in a major celebration on Colonial Day, where President Roslin dedicated Kobol City, their new home. The city was in reality a middle-sized town that would be similar to what one could see pretty much anywhere on Earth, except for three major landmarks.

The Forum, the Temple, and the Opera House were recreated to the best of their knowledge. The Forum housed the Quorum of Twelve as well as the government itself. The Temple was the religious center of the community, as well as a seminary for a new generation of priests and oracles. The Opera House was the artistic center of the settlement, and also housed the offices for the Colonial News Channel and the various media outlets.

Galen Tyrol came down with his fiancée, Fabby Cortez, who had agreed to immigrate with him to the new colony. Both were assigned to Galactica and primarily were aboard the ship as it helped maintain the defense of the planet. However, the crew had a settlement of their own near the spaceport and adjacent to the Ranger base. Their home was near the civilian settlement, and they were free to go into town when they were on leave.

Admiral Adama had granted them leave for their wedding, which would take place in a few days time. It would be a mostly Colonial ceremony, with some Catholic representation from Fabby's home country of Mexico. A cousin of hers, Fernando, was a priest near Acapulco, and he had agreed to come and assist the lay priest with the ceremony. Only a few would be able to come, as security was tight for travelers between Kobol and Earth. So her mother and father, along with her oldest sister Maria and Aunt Lucia, would attend the ceremony.

Galen had no family that had survived the holocaust, so he invited his entire deck crew as well as select officers to the wedding. Apollo and Dee would attend, as well as Starbuck, Helo, and the Boomer model that they had found on Caprica. Their son was now two and was growing like a weed, from what he had heard. Tyrol didn't know how he would react when he saw Helo, Boomer and their child, but he would try to be as civil as possible.

The Temple would be the site for the wedding as well as the reception afterwards. The day of the nuptials dawns a bit overcast, and it looked like it might threaten to rain, but, thankfully, the clouds retreated and the spring day soon became clear and warm. Fabby arrived earlier than Tyrol to put on her wedding dress, and he wouldn't see her again until she walked down the aisle.

His best man was one of the Earthforce officers who served as a liaison with his deck crew. Adam Shuford was from the mountains of Georgia on the American continent, and was one of the most capable mechanics that Tyrol had ever known. He was also one of the friendliest people that Tyrol had ever known, and had joined him and Fabby on the planet below to help out with the construction of the settlement. The tall, lanky, blond-haired man could do just about anything with a set of tools, but when it came to making music with a guitar, he was simply a magician with the instrument.

His wife was also on the team, a short, stocky gal from the same neck of the woods as he was. Darlene was buxom and blond, and had the nickname of Daisy Duke after an ancient television series that was still revered in the southern American region after almost three centuries. She was just as talented as her husband was, and the quartet hung around a lot after hours and socialized.

Darlene would be Fabby's maid of honor in the ceremony, and was probably more enthusiastic about the big day than either the groom or bride. Her mother owned a wedding shop in northeast Georgia, so planning weddings was second nature to her. Fabby was grateful to Darlene in helping to plan the wedding, because she had no idea where to begin.

"You ready, Tyrol?" Adam said as they walked into the temple.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Were you this nervous before your wedding?" Tyrol asked.

"Hell yeah I was! I was puking my guts out with nervousness before the ceremony! It was a miracle I kept my tuxedo clean for the ceremony!' Adam laughed and patted Tyrol on the back, who looked a little squeamish as they walked into the vestibule.

Colonial ceremonies were fairly similar to those on Earth. The groom entered first beside his best man and took his place to the left of the lay priest, who was a historical scholar from Caprica named Adolpus Walter. Tyrol was dressed in his Colonial dress uniform, something he had worn perhaps maybe a half dozen times in his military career. Adam wore his Earthforce dress grays, and looked sharp in them.

Tyrol spotted Helo and Boomer in the crowd, but the baby wasn't there, and he wondered if something had happened. However, he was relieved when the looked at him and both of them waved at him. He still was a little uncomfortable with Helo being with Boomer, even though it was a different copy. Before the holocaust hit, Boomer and Tyrol had been an item, very much against regs, since she was his superior officer and he was enlisted personnel. They had talked about being mustered out of the service when Galactica was official decommissioned, getting married, and starting a family.

Well, he was about to do that, but with a different woman. Fabby wasn't similar to Boomer, but she had plenty of things that attracted him. She was passionate, hard working, and very spiritual. Not only that, but when he advanced the idea of possibly going into the priesthood after his tour of duty on Galactica was over, she was excited, because Colonial priests were allowed to be married, unlike those in her Catholic faith.

When she walked into the church, all thoughts of the past vanished like the mists of fog when the sun rose above the horizon. She was incredibly beautiful in his eyes already, but the sight of her walking down the aisle in the cream-colored dress made her even more beautiful. Her father looked handsome in his tuxedo as he escorted her down the aisle, and he smiled at Tyrol as he handed his daughter off to her intended.

The ceremony lasted for less than half an hour. They had written their own vows, which they exchanged. The Catholic priest performed part of the wedding Mass, and the lay priest performed the Colonial part of the ceremony. When the lay priest announced that they were now man and wife, Tyrol lifted up the veil in front of his wife's face and kissed her. The attendees got up and applauded the newlyweds, and continued to do so as they walked out of the temple.

The reception was a low-key affair, and had a bit of a Mexican flair. Adama walked up to Tyrol after the dinner but before the dance began and patted his crew chief on the back, saying, "I believe the Gods have blessed you with a good wife, Chief!"

"I believe they have, sir! She's very special!"

"I hope you're not planning to muster out of the service yet, because I need you on Galactica, what with what's coming." Adama said.

Tyrol knew what he meant, and reassured his CO. "We both agreed to stay on until we've beaten the Cylons, sir. Once that's done, we'll go into civilian life and start building a future together."

"I'm glad, Galen. I wouldn't have blamed you if you mustered out, but I'm very glad you're sticking with me."

"Thanks, sir!" The two shook hands and Adama walked away, heading back to where President Roslin sat at a nearby table.

"Makes you wonder if there's something there, eh?" The familiar voice of Helo came from behind him. Tyrol turned around and there he was, along with Boomer.

"Hey! Did you enjoy the ceremony?" Tyrol asked awkwardly.

The two of them laughed and Helo replied, "So much so that we can't wait to have one of our own! That'll be a while, though, because we're heading out on a secret mission."

"Secret mission?" Tyrol said.

"Yes, and it's a big one. So much so that I can't say much about it, even though I know you won't say anything. All I can say is that it's vital to beating the toasters once and for all!" Helo said.

Tyrol looked at Boomer and asked, "You don't have a problem with that?"

"Nope! The real problem is the mechanical toasters, not the human versions. From what we understand, almost all of the human Cylons on their homeworld as well as the Colonies fled and escaped the Cylon/Drakh alliance. They're at a classified location right now, and we're going to meet with them and help them." Boomer replied with a smile on her face.

"So are you two engaged?" Tyrol asked.

"Yep, we are. I know it's kind of awkward, Chief, but I'll take good care of Boomer and our baby."

"Well, I'm happy for the both of you! Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go dance with my wife!" Tyrol said as he spied his wife approaching him. As he took her out onto the dance floor, Helo and Boomer looked on.

"It's still a little awkward for him." Boomer commented.

"I figured as such, but with his new wife and with us being away, it'll help him move on. I remember how much he loved the Boomer copy that we originally had on Galactica." Helo replied.

Boomer nodded and replied, "I remember that. I remember also how she was conflicted with what was going on with her. Now that we're free of the control by the machines, we don't have to worry about something like that ever happening again!"

Helo smiled, kissed his soon-to-be wife, and took her out onto the dance floor. They enjoyed the music, even if it was foreign to them.

Roslin watched them all from her seat, content to sit there and enjoy the sight of all the young people dancing the night away. A hand extended towards her, though, and a deep grumbly voice asked, "Would you care to dance, Madam President?"

She smiled up at Admiral Adama and replied, "Of course, Admiral. I would love to!" She let him lead her to the dance floor and joined the dancers. While a lot of hard times lie ahead, they enjoyed this brief moment of joy for as long as they could.