Responses to Earlier Comments:
Hi Blaze - Thanks for your comment. The folks that tried to come aboard were overly-zealous Roslin-ites acting on what they thought was a new "world" order. They were nobodies. Crew and his people, alone, could have dealt with them. T-Dog was a little extra fun.
Thank you, Chronus - Agreed. Gotta get the story moving forward. We are in the large open area before the Pegasis episodes. Spoiler alert, Cain won't think Bree's Twin is worth keeping. Cru, of course, will disagree.
***Other comments are always welcome. Please leave a review.***
Disclaimer: Please note: I own no part or share in the Battlestar Galactica realm, either commercial or otherwise. This story is submitted for entertainment purposes only.
Reminder: I did not spend time making up non-earth names for BSG things - wine, tulip bulbs, etc. They are in there as is. I wanted to avoid introducing new terms, explaining them, and potentially causing confusion when they are used later without their explanations.
Chapter 21
First Names
"Serious? His name is Gaius? His parents must have been jokers."
~Cru's journal, if he had time to keep one.
Before the passengers arrived
The crew quarters, machine shop, landing bay, food stores, and the bridge, were walled and secured from general access. Critical and non-critical systems were locked behind newly constructed closets and panels. Most of the crop gardens were in Storage Bay Two and the large assortment of spare parts were in Storage Bay One, both with secured access. In short, the ship operations and the living quarters were separate entities.
Living spaces would be doled out in 6'x10' allotments rather than allowing a shantytown of sorts, to be built, as had occurred in other ships. Larger spaces would be given to couples and families.
Food would remain a problem. Evvie's crops might support seventy-six people one day, but more soil was needed. They would also need to expand vertically with additional floors, irrigation, and lighting. Plans were already underway. Meanwhile, Bree's Twin would be included in the fleet supply rotations. The passengers would be on two-thirds rations, which was better than most other ships.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Bree's Twin
Day 73
Bree's Twin was one of the largest civilian ships. But even with seventy new passengers, it still had one of the smallest populations. Great numbers of people were moved and distributed around the fleet, according to each ship's ability to sustain life. Bree's Twin's "magic" number was one hundred and twelve. This was the maximum number of people that could live aboard the ship when all systems were running well. Seventy-Six was the "safe" number of people, in the event that something went wrong.
Gaius Baltar, Caprica representative to the Quorum of Twelve and elected Vice President, made a visit, as required by the office he held. He cared little for the hulking ship and less about the captain and crew, or the passengers.
Baltar could not leave fast enough, that was until Evvie showed up.
The entire ship's population knew of the Vice President's visit. Cru and John and Evvie and the rest of the immediate crew put on the best clothes they had. For most of them, it was still a combination of Cru's khaki slacks or jeans and one of his shirts. Evvie instead, wore her brown jumper, the one she had arrived in after the escape from Caprica. She had dyed it dark brown after it was hopelessly stained with blood. She used a black braided cord, wrapped several times around her waist, as a belt. She used an old black and gray tartan headband to hold her hair back over her shoulders. Evvie was the flower of Bree's Twin, even in clothing that had been repaired many times over and was frayed at the hem. She was the rose and the beauty unbroken, amongst the cold steel of the ship.
Baltar, for his part, was drawn to Evvie like a hound with a scent in his nose. He toppled over a small end table while pushing through to get to her side.
Baltar was smooth and eloquent and went to work on Evvie with his best, polished, flattery, and self-promotion. Baltar had relations with many fine women in Caprica City and elsewhere. He had made prizes of several others aboard the Galactica and Colonial One. From the moment Evvie arrived, all others around him were irrelevant. Cru for his part was agitated. Baltar was making a play for the single most important member of his crew. Evvie was organized like no one else he had ever known, she had a knack for growing crops, she took over the administration work - all of it, she was building deep ties across the fleet, and damned if Cru didn't like her a great deal.
Cru had limited experience with men like Baltar but Evvie had plenty. Self-important, overly-stuffed, hyper-dressed men and women trolled the corporate conventions all the time, before the Cylon attack. They sought out the naive, separated them from their people, and scored them when they could. For Evvie and others, the trick was to spot these people early enough to avoid them.
~~~~~/~~~~~
I have to take a shower," said Evvie. "I feel icky."
Cru smiled as he poured Evvie a glass of wine. "I saw him put his arm around you," said Cru teasingly.
"I know," said Evvie. "Who does that?"
"Apparently the second highest politician in the colonies, and our Council Representative."
"He knows I stabbed someone, right?"
"I don't think he does."
"If he puts his arm around me again, he'll find out." Evvie had a fork in her hand. She brandished it like a weapon and whipped it back and forth with overly-dramatic flair.
Cru laughed and so did Evvie.
Cru and Evvie sat together in the galley. It was evening and most of the day's activities were done. Cru needed to meet with some of the new residents, but that would be later. Evvie had work to do on the farm ledgers, but it could wait.
Cru thought about the woman across from him and how she adapted to life on a freighter better than anyone he ever brought aboard. She was a tough nut with a winning smile and a good hearty laugh. Mostly. Sometimes.
"Well," said Cru, "Your daughter, Emily, is a bit smitten by the man."
"Oh, Doctor Baltar?" said Emily. She happened to be walking by. "He is so dreamy. Isn't he dreamy? I think he's dreamy."
"Umm… said Cru.
"Imagine me as 'Mrs. Gaius Baltar'," said Emily. She looked longingly at her ring finger as if there was a giant diamond there. She walked off without waiting for a response.
"Umm," said Cru again.
"Yeah…," said Evvie. "I need to work on that."
Just then, Fletcher popped his head in.
"There's a message from Galactica," said Fletcher.
"Could you send it to my tablet?" said Cru. "I'll take it here."
"It's for my mom," said Fletcher. "It's already sent."
Cru and Evvie exchanged looks. Cru slid his tablet over to Evvie. She logged in and pulled the message. Fletcher didn't wait. He was serving a rotation on the bridge and ran back to it.
"That was fast," said Evvie.
"Oh?" said Cru.
"It's an invitation from Gaius. Apparently, we are on a first-name basis."
"Is his name really 'Gaius'? I didn't know."
"It is."
"You know what it means in antiquity, don't you? If you read the ancient texts and the part about procreation?"
"I do and I did," said Evvie. She had appropriated Cru's mannerism of answering multiple questions together in a single response. "It's not spelled the same as what you are thinking, and what you are thinking, Mr. Cru, is not appropriate for table manners."
Cru smiled. "I think, if my name was 'Gaius', I would change it."
"Well, your first name is 'Richard'."
"Yes."
"And, a short name for Richard is D…"
"Which is also not appropriate for table manners," interrupted Cru.
They both laughed. The Capricanized version of "Rishaird" or "Richard" was often shortened to "Rick" or "Dick".
"Okay then," said Cru matter-of-factly, "what does 'Evelyne' mean?"
"In the archaic?"
Cru smiled. "Or Geminon or Picon or whatever."
"It means 'Beauty' in most forms of the name."
"Oh…," said Cru with a slight back-peddling tone. "Does it?"
"It does. Or 'water' or 'living'." Evvie gave a wry smile and pointed at Cru with her fork. "D'ya have something misspelled and derogatory to say about that, tough guy?"
"Umm…," said Cru for the third time that evening. "No, not really. Good name." After a pause, "How about we move on?"
Evvie smiled again. "Right. So, this Gaius fellow is impressed with my work."
"Is he?"
"He is. He is extending an invitation to take up a post aboard the Galactica, as his assistant."
Cru was smiling, but then he wasn't.
"That man is not welcome aboard this ship," said Evvie as she sat in deep thought, looking into her cup.
Cru was thinking the same thing but he expected his reasons were different from Evvie's.
Evvie took a sip of wine. "What an arrogant ass. If we can get to full capacity, if we can utilize all the extra room, and if the Gods are willing, we'll be providing 18% of the food for the entire fleet. He's impressed with my work? He hasn't seen but a fraction of what we do here or what we are going to do."
"It's huge," said Cru, "to all but him, I suppose." He took a long draw from his cup.
"It is," Evvie continued. "We are contributing. We are essential. Look at what we have done so far."
"You are essential," added Cru with a smile. "Look what you have done." Cru spoke with a tone of humor but he was serious inside. Evvie had achieved much.
"I know, right?" said Evvie.
"Right," said Cru. He held up his glass in a casual toast. "Absolutely."
Evvie gave a smile and held up her glass as well, to complete the toast. "His assistant? That jackass should be working aboard Bree's Twin. I'd have him slopping manure."
"Great," said Cru with a laugh, "I have a pair of designer boots waiting."
"Who's slopping manure?" asked John as he joined Cru and Evvie and helped himself to what remained in the wine bottle.
"The Vice President is," said Cru.
"Oh," said John, "Okay, great, we've got a size zero round-mouth he can use. We don't wanna strain the little fellow."
Cru smiled.
"Is that a shovel?" asked Evvie. "That doesn't sound very big."
Cru nodded his head. "It is a shovel, and correct, it's not very big at all. It's quite the opposite, in fact."
John nodded as well. "Any sized worker can be effective with the right size shovel. But with a size zero, you're either planting tulip bulbs or you're really just looking busy."
~~~~~/~~~~~
Breese Twin
Day 74
"Captain, my apologies for asking you away from your work," said Evvie. She connected to Cru, with her eyes, as he strode up. Before another word was spoken, Cru knew he wasn't going to like the conversation. "These three officers report to the Agriculture Secretary," continued Evvie. "We have been directed to billet them in preferential quarters. They will be staying aboard Bree's Twin."
Evvie, joined by Cru, and the three new arrivals stood in the very center of Storage Bay 2 and were surrounded by all manner of growing plants; zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, climbing peas, carrots, plus much much more. People were taking turns helping with the labor. More than a dozen were on their hands and knees, working the soil. Twenty feet above, T-Dog's people were creating the steel framework for multiple elevated platforms.
"Really," said Cru in a cheery voice. "Okay. First, we don't have preferential quarters, and second, we're a working ship, here. What kind of skills are you bringing with you?"
"We will be supervising the work," said the apparent leader. His name was Doctor Trevor Liggs. His companion on the right was Jeenah Wright-Pendulum and on the left was Merker Rincon. "Day-to-day instructions will come from us," continued Liggs. "We'll start with a thorough inspection of the grounds, stores, and seed production. We'll need to see all of your logs. I expect we'll be making changes."
"Really?" said Cru again. His voice was still cheery but he wasn't. Not really.
"We won't interfere with the running of your ship, Captain, but you will be reporting to us on all things related to crop management. And by us, I refer also to Doctor Terold Evans, the Secretary of Agriculture."
Ricon spoke up. "We know you have cabins below, for your crew members. We'll need four of them made available; three for our quarters and one for administration purposes."
Wright-Pendulum added, "And, we'll need someone to bring in our gear."
~~~~~/~~~~~
Cru escorted the three-member agriculture team off his boat. Doctor Liggs needed a firm grip on his collar and the occasional push to encourage him thither. Cru expected the President would soon have another reason to reprimand him.
This ends Chapter 21
What I was thinking while writing.
Baltar always "got the girl". He wasn't getting Evvie.
Cru has got food, fuel, and spare parts aboard - all of which need to be inventoried and documented. I imagine there is a whole lot of administrative paperwork that he is required to do for the new government. Whatever it is, I gave it all to Evvie, so I wouldn't have to burn up words with Cru doing the mundane. This alone makes Evvie very important for day-to-day operations.
It was nice to bring John in if only for a couple of sentences. John has deep connections to Cru's father and the two of them are good friends. I feel I'm losing that.