The Thirteenth Sign
By Lola Ravenhill
Part Three: A Shared History?
As President Roslin smiled at the crowd and took a small bow, the applause became even louder. From what it appeared to Kara's eyes the president had been welcomed back to the fleet with open arms. There had to be dissidents lurking out there somewhere though, and no doubt they would rear their heads up soon. Roslin bowed once more and then left the podium.
The crowd began to disperse in various directions, but Kara made a beeline for the President. There was a question she had to ask her. Her head had been filled with ideas since the experience on Earth (and it really was Earth, holographic, hallucinogenic, or otherwise) and there was something she had to ask the president before it got too late. She'd thought about asking Commander Adama, but she suspected the answer she could receive from him was probably not the one her gut was looking for. She would have posed it to Priestess Elosha, if she had still been alive.
"Madam President!" she called out, jogging up towards the President's entourage. President Roslin turned around, the look on her face inscrutable.
"Lieutenant Thrace. How can I help you?"
"Madam President, would it be possible for me to have a minute of your time?" She flicked her eyes at the people surrounding her, wondering how to suggest politely that they all leave so she could ask her question in private.
Thankfully, and showing the skill that had grown since she had stumbled into office, Roslin got the clue. "Of course." She waved towards a door leading to a storage closet. "We can talk privately in there." Roslin turned to the guards and others. "If you wouldn't mind waiting out here…"
"But Madam President—" one voice started, but Roslin cut it off at the knees.
"I'm fairly sure that Lieutenant Thrace isn't going to do me any harm. Just wait outside the door, and we'll be done in a few minutes." With that the two women walked into the small and overstuffed supply closet. "What did you want to ask me, Lieutenant?" Roslin said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"There's a few things that have been on my mind since coming back from Kobol," Kara said, leaning against a metal shelf.
"Ah," Roslin nodded with a knowing look.
"Yeah."
"Does this have something to do with why you and Captain Apollo seemed to have taken a minute longer than the rest of us to get back to the inside of the Tomb of Athena?" she asked.
Damn, she was good. "Sort of."
"What did you see in there?"
"I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it." At least, not with anyone than Lee. She'd told him about what had happened after he'd fallen asleep. He hadn't believed her, until she showed him the smoke scented paper. That put a different spin on things. "But it's made me think. We're operating under the idea that the people on Earth, the descendants of the thirteenth Tribe, know all about Kobol and the Colonies and our history. What if they don't, though?"
"What exactly do you mean?" Roslin said, head tilting with the question.
Kara licked her lips. "What if the Earth people don't know anything about Kobol and the tribes? What if they've forgotten about them in the years since they left Kobol and have made up a totally different history for themselves? And if that is the case…what's going to happen when we finally do get there? If they don't have a clue about the Pythian prophecies and other stuff, why would they want to welcome us at all? They could see us as the invaders and blast us out of the sky."
Roslin sighed and leaned against the shelf next to Kara. "It has crossed my mind, yes. I would like to think that our brothers and sisters on Earth would know all about our shared history, but that could just be wishful thinking. I wish I could tell you what I expect those on Earth to act like when we first encounter them, but I honestly have even less of an idea than you do right now."
"So what you're really saying is keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best," Kara said with a nod.
"To put it simply, yes," Roslin said. She pushed herself off the shelf and walked to the door. Her hand was on the latch, just about to open it, when she turned around to look at Kara again with a pensive smile. "For some reason, I have a feeling that when we get anywhere near Earth, you and Captain Apollo will be the first to know." With that she walked through the door and back out to the rest of civilization.
Roslin's exit saved Kara from coming up with a response to that last statement, something especially convenient when she was at an uncharacteristic loss for words. Even though no one else was around, she shrugged, and muttered "So say we all." Kara went through the door emerging back into the bustle of Galactica, whistling a song she had only heard once on a planet far away.
A/N: This is the end, but hopefully only for now. I would like to do a sequel or expand on this, however I've got absolutely no idea where to take the story (aside from revisiting the Earthlings and Suzanne's reaction to Kara—I'd love to do more with the Battlestar people though). Any ideas you guys who have given such wonderful feedback can offer up would be great. :)
Thanks to grayangle, Martin Mazur, F-302 Pilot, Batsojopo, Chaos Blade and xfool1 for their reviews.