Laura blazed through the halls of Galactica like wildfire incarnate. Elosha and the two members of the Quorum, Jacob Cantrel and Sarah Porter, who'd joined her on the Zephyr, now trailed in her wake. Galactica crewmen stepped out of their president's path while shooting looks of concern toward the little girl clinging to her mother. Evelyn Adama's fists balled in her mother's blazer, her fingers turning white under the force of her death-grip, while she buried her head in Laura's shoulder. An army of Cylons couldn't have pulled the two apart.
Having cried the whole Raptor ride home to Galactica, Evelyn now hiccuped quietly. Each time Evie whimpered about something dark, Laura's heart constricted and she walked faster. Each time she rubbed her tear-stained face against her mother, Laura prayed that this would all mean nothing. Laura nearly laughed at the futility of such a hope. Since when did her prophetic instincts mean something good? And now her daughter was in her arms whimpering about something dark, terrified beyond anything her short life should have shown her, and Laura hated feeling powerless to help or spare her.
Elosha and Sarah continuously gaped at the pair, enthralled at what they believed to be the work of the gods. Bearing witness to their divinities bestowing visions on their prophetic president and her child was a gift to them even if it felt like a curse to Laura and Evelyn. Later, when the foreboding eased, the white-hot rage would set in as Laura raged against her daughter being subjected to visions of darkness without her permission. In the meantime, Laura tried to shield Evie from prying eyes and Lee had snarled at everyone in the Raptor to stop gawking at his sister.
Lee would still be glaring daggers at them, but when they arrived on the hangar deck, he'd agreed to hop in his Viper and help patrol the area. He'd kissed his sister's forehead and promised Evie that if there was something dark coming her big brother wasn't letting it anywhere near her. Laura forgave anything Lee had ever done when she felt Evie relax a little at his words. For all his faults, Lee's heart was always in the right place.
Laura's arms burned from the weight of carrying Evie. Each step she took toward CIC, Laura struggled under the weight of her dark foreboding. Dread pulsed through her from head to toe, igniting her nerves and only growing since it slammed into her on the Zephyr. Dizzy from whatever was happening, Laura could only liken the feeling to when she stared over the edge of Caprica's Great Triton Cliffs and into the crashing waves below while grabbing her father's hand: the thrum of danger, the sickening feeling of knowing one wrong move would mean certain death, and the dizzying possibility of seeing the rocks below rush up to meet her. It lingered around her like a thick fog she had to propel herself through.
Laura desperately needed to figure out what was coming. Her mind whispered that she already knew. She had an answer that she refused to accept—a name from her nightmares. Boomer promised he'd been boxed.
Laura rounded a corner at full spread and nearly tripped over the spectacle into which she stumbled.
"Sharon?" she asked, finding the young Cylon mother crouching on the ground. Stacks of crates stood around them, and Sharon knelt on the ground to look between two of them. The dim light of the Battlestar cast deep shadows, but Laura peered curiously into the shadows and saw that Hera had squeezed herself firmly between the two crates and the bulkhead.
"Hera started acting strange not too long ago and keeps trying to hide," Sharon explained. She held out her hand, trying to coax the Cylon–human hybrid out from her hiding spot. Doctor Baltar and Boomer lurked nearby both wearing a strange expression that was somewhere between concerned and panicked. They waited to see if Sharon needed help, while fidgeting restlessly.
Laura could almost physically feel the thin thread that bound them all together pulsing in the air around them. Laura knelt down to see Hera, and Evelyn gripped her mother tighter, scared that she would be set down.
"What's wrong Hera?" Laura asked, forcing her voice to take on the warm, caring tone she'd used long ago as a teacher. Hera shook her head and pressed herself further back into her little alcove.
"She feels it too," Boomer said, and Sharon shot her Cylon twin an irritated look. Laura rose and looked between them. They were even more tied into this as two of the twelve who remembered the previous timeline and she raised a questioning eyebrow at them.
"It's all linked together," Baltar said. He turned his head to the side as if listening to an invisible friend talk.
"Something big is happening," Boomer said.
"Or coming," Laura added with a sigh. She looked over her shoulder and saw the now worried expression on her entourage's faces. Jacob started grasping the magnitude of what was going on while Sarah probably hated thinking that Cylons were included in her gods' grand design. Laura squared her shoulders as best she could with Evelyn in her arms. She stepped up to Baltar who met her with wide-eyed apprehension.
"All this has happened before, and all this will happen again…" Invisible Six whispered in her paramour's ear.
"One year, one month, and three days. It's the same, down to the day," Baltar whispered to Laura so that no one could hear. He swallowed hard and shuddered at recalling how long it had taken for the Cylons to discover New Caprica in the other timeline.
"Mr. Vice President, begin an evacuation of Fallback Omega." Laura ordered in a deceptively calm voice. This wasn't the time to play games. She was beyond tempting fate. This time if Cylons appeared in the sky, they would all be jumping away together.
"Right away," Dr. Baltar said, chin raised in determination. He looked proud to do his part to change the timeline. Look how far we've come, Laura thought.
Laura set off toward CIC again, faster than before. The briskness of her pace caused her heels to click loudly against the metal of the ship around her. The officer stationed outside CIC moved to open the hatch and she wasted no time in stepping through it.
"President on deck!" one of Bill's officers called out and the crew rose to stand at attention. Laura quickly put them at ease and the professionals returned to their duties. Their chatter filled the air, a cacophony of light banter that contrasted with Laura's dark foreboding. She made a beeline straight for Bill's station, shining like an island of tranquility.
Keeping his usual calm, only the corner of Bill's eyes crinkled in happiness at the unexpected arrival of his President and wife. He set down the reports in his hand and turned to Laura. His ghost of a smile vanished the moment he saw her grim expression and how their daughter clung to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked as Laura joined him at the command station. "Is she alright?"
"She's not hurt," Laura said as Bill reached out to his daughter and lightly brushed her back in a soothing gesture. His alarm grew when Evelyn, who was a daddy's girl through and through, only clung to her mother harder. His gut instinct, which he'd relied upon to get out of many tough scrapes, was practically screaming that something was very wrong.
"What's going on?" Bill prompted. He hated seeing his daughter upset.
"Both your girls freaking out at the same time now?" Saul asked. The grouchy man eyed the Adama family from the other side of the tactical table, noting their alarming behavior.
"Saul," Adama warned, shooting his friend a look that ordered him to mind his own damn business.
"Nothing on DRADIS?" Laura asked.
"Skies have been clear all day," Bill said as Laura looked up at the DRADIS screen and its sweeps. Radiation from the surrounding nebula caused the image to look like a garbled mess, but after a couple moments of hard staring at the screen, Laura decided she couldn't see anything in it for herself. It didn't make her feel better.
"Maybe it's something in the air. Starbuck has been jumpy all day too. She's been pushing CAP hard, jumpin' down their throats if they don't meticulously check each grid during patrols," Saul said. He shrugged. "Suppose it's a strange day when someone's acting meaner than me, but I was too busy enjoying the show to think anything of it."
"Laura? What's going on? Is it..." Bill trailed off. He wouldn't ask the full question—Is it your PTSD?—outloud in CIC where anyone, especially the sycophants who'd followed her into the room might have a chance of overhearing.
"It happened today, Bill. Today was the date when the Cylons found us on New Caprica," Laura whispered, her voice unusually shaky. A horrible, sinking feeling filled Bill's stomach as he remembered the day he'd had to jump away from New Caprica. He felt the tension rising in him as he met Laura's worried eyes.
"Oh shit," Saul said. "Oh frak. Oh—"
"And I have a really, really bad feeling. So does Evie. Baltar is about to begin an evacuation of Fallback Omega at my order. Hopefully this is nothing and we'll call it an unannounced drill."
Bill rounded on Saul, wasting no time in giving the order to notify the other military ships of the unannounced evacuation drill. He told Tigh to coordinate military planes and help get those on the surface off as quickly as possible; an easy task given that they'd practiced it before. Saul gave a crisp nod, hand already on the comm.
After telling Dee to get on the comms and to tell the pilots to keep their eyes open, Bill gently pulled Laura to a more secluded part of CIC. In the raised area of CIC with damage control displays they were offered a little privacy. Lights blinked around them, letting them know that on the surface things seemed status-quo.
"Laura, are you going to be alright?" Bill asked. He looked at their daughter still holding onto Laura, he was able to brush her hair to the side and see Evelyn's face. Tear streaks stained her face, but she'd fallen into an exhausted sleep. "Why is Evelyn being affected?"
"I don't know. My... situation hasn't always made the most sense."
Bill made an irritated face at the idea of Evelyn being caught up in the metaphysical nonsense that too often put the Adamas' life in turmoil. It was bad enough that he and Laura were caught up in the Pythian Prophesy. Bill preferred cold, hard facts. Tangible information allowed him to make a plan and execute a strategy. He pushed the irritation away and focused on his wife. He spoke with her gently. "Can you tell me what exactly you are feeling?"
Laura tilted her head in thought. "Did I ever tell you about the time the Cylons rounded up two hundred of us for execution? They didn't tell us what was happening, just put us in trucks and drove us away from the city. They let us out of the trucks, and I looked over and saw a hill. I had a bad feeling about what would be coming over it. Didn't take long for the firing squad to show up. Tyrol rescued us of course, and he told us you were on the way. I'd never felt so relieved in my life." Laura glanced over at DRADIS again. "This feels like that."
Bill moved closer, resting a hand on her arm. Rarely affectionate in CIC, he nevertheless needed to offer his wife some comfort at her desperate story. "It'll be alright this time. The planet will be evacuated soon and we'll be ready to jump at the first sign of trouble. Tell me what else I can do."
He kept his voice mild but she'd have to be blind to not see the fear in his eyes. She covered his hand with her own and squeezed his fingers, feeling their connection flow between them. "I'd like to stay in CIC. It's… comforting."
"Of course."
…
Even though she maintained her composed presidential facade, Laura was perfectly aware that even with her lack of raving, some people thought she was insane. Only the deluded acted like they received visions from the gods and claimed to be part of an ancient prophecy. Laura knew she was perfectly sane. She drew in a shuddering breath, forcing herself to stand tall, drawing her shoulders back until she could no longer see the physical effect of the darkness she felt. She knew something was coming, even if she had to claim classified intelligence instead of divine intervention. One sounded way saner in the evening press report.
Over the comms, civilian captains complained about the unannounced evacuation of Fallback Omega. Quorum representatives from Libran and Canceron had already contacted Galactica to demand answers from their president. Even an irritated Ellen Tigh threw her voice into the mix, expressing her displeasure at having to wrangle an overly curious and pushy group of reporters who wanted to know what their wackadoodle president was doing. Laura calmly assured everyone that for now it was just a precaution, claiming classified intelligence.
"Thank the gods," she murmured when Dualla reported the evacuation was complete. Every muscle in her body relaxed, as if now physically able to stand down from how strained and tense she'd held herself. The timing couldn't have been better.
"Contact! DRADIS contact," Dee reported from her station in CIC. Her announcement killed all frivolous chatter. Heads swiveled to stare up at the DRADIS display, needing to see the point of contact for themselves. Beside her, Laura sensed the shift in Bill as all his focus slammed into being the Admiral. "Two contacts just jumped into range."
"From the size of 'em it's probably two Basestars," Saul said. Bill and Saul both intently looked at the DRADIS screen. Commander Tigh now acted as the XO of Galactica, which remained under Adama's command. Looking at DRADIS, Bill was relieved he'd brought Tigh back, knowing that his friend could command Galactica when his own attention needed to be split with the rest of the Fleet. It was maybe not an arrangement that would have worked on the Twelve Colonies, but the worlds ended and they made do. Together, the two men gleaned every bit of intelligence from the DRADIS sweeps. Red-outlined markings could be seen on the screen if someone scrutinized the interference long enough.
"Set condition one. Order CAP to intercept and have Fleet spool FTLs," Bill ordered.
"This is Commander Tigh. Set Condition One throughout the ship. Repeat—" Tigh's voice boomed from the loudspeakers, spurring the crew to rush to their battle stations. Tigh's hand shook as he clutched the comm unit. He slammed the phone back down into its cradle with more force than necessary. He wouldn't let the memories overwhelm his mind. He immediately began issuing orders to the rest of CIC.
CIC became a buzz of activity. Anticipation swirled through the ranks, but now that DRADIS had something on screen, Laura felt only relieved. Galactica thrummed under her feet, and she imagined she could feel the vibrations all the way to her heart. Whatever happens, she thought, this time I'm on Galactica. We've truly changed the future this time. New Caprica will never happen again. We're safe. I'm safe. In the heart of the Battlestar Galactica, surrounded by brave men and women under her husband's command, Laura truly felt safe.
"Galactica, Apollo. I'm outbound on intercept course to Basestars. Kat and Falcon alongside me," Lee reported. Laura's stomach flipped at hearing that Liam was flying alongside his brother. "I estimate two minutes until intercept."
"Roger that, Apollo. Be advised that alert fighters have launched and will be on your six in three minutes."
"Why only two Basestars?" Laura asked aloud. Although her husband was the military tactician, even Laura could calculate the odds. This conflict wasn't adding up in any sensible way.
"She's right," Saul grumbled. "They have to know we have the firepower to blow their shiny toaster asses into space dust."
Laura tried to analyze what she was feeling, what her dreams and strange instincts were trying to tell her. Demeter and Haphaestus are hiding in the dark, she remembered. Demeter will find Aphrodite again and they will be happy for a moment. For years she'd dreamed about the twelve who would remember, each one represented by a Lord of Kobol. Demeter is Caprica Six, Hephaestus is Leoben, and Aphrodite is Baltar... but what does it mean? Why can't these damned visions be clear? Laura looked at the DRADIS contacts bearing toward them.
"Whatever the Cylons' game, we're not gonna play it," Bill said and picked up his comm after ordering Dee to put him through the rest of the military. He ordered Battlestar Pegasus, Battlestar Valkyrie, and Escort Ship Chimera to intercept. Battlestar Prometheus and Battlestar Daedalus were ordered to take position with Battlestar Galactica to protect the Fleet. Escort ships Slibanes, Adrastraea, and Epheme were ordered to jump immediately and secure the Fleet's jump coordinates.
"Thirty seconds to intercept," Dee said as Adama hung up the comm. On DRADIS each vessel moved to obey their Fleet Admiral's commands.
"They're not the threat. They're not who we need to be worried about," Laura suddenly said. She knew she was right. Bill studied her for a moment.
"Weapons hold, but order Fleet to continue spooling FTL drives. This position is compromised either way," Bill said. On the other side of CIC, Saul immediately began barking out his orders according to his commanding officers wishes. Laura knew Bill was balancing his attention to her and focusing on DRADIS, so she tried to explain.
"They're not why we were having a bad feeling. Something else is coming."
"Cylons aren't launching Raiders," Bill noted. There should have already been dozens more DRADIS contacts as a swarm of smaller cylons launched from their mothership.
"Admiral," Dee said, pressing her earpiece and scrunching her face in disbelief. "It's the baseship. They're requesting to speak with... somebody."
"Put it on speakers."
"—T. Anders speaking on behalf of the humans onboard the Battelstar Bellerophon. We are survivors of the Cylon holocaust. The baseship is friendly and has humans aboard. Can we speak with whoever is in charge. Somebody? Uhm. Repeat, this is Samuel T.—"
"Have CAP verify the identity of transmission," Bill said to Dee before picking up the comm again.
"Mr. Anders, this is Admiral Adama of the Colonial Fleet. Hold your position until we can verify your identity." Bill knew the voice on the other end of the Comm. He'd listened to that voice make promises to Kara alongside a river a lifetime ago. He shared a look with Laura, and knew she was right about this not being the threat they had to worry about.
"Yes sir! We'll do whatever you say. Honestly, we're just happy to find some friendly ships." Anders said in a cheery voice, delighted that his people had found more humans to band together with. Bill and the rest of CIC could hear the cheers of their fellow humans in the background of the COMM call.
…
The memories never go away. Boomer would have been content forgetting the other timeline; she liked this one. Ever since refusing to shoot down Colonial One on the day of the Fall, she'd firmly allied herself with the humans. She'd served on Galactica since the attacks. She enjoyed being a Raptor Pilot and tolerated the presence of her Cylon sister, Sharon "Athena" Valerii, with civility. There was room for both of them this time.
She'd been scheduled for a scouting mission; everyday she jumped in her bird and tried to find the gods-forsaken orb she'd been briefed about. Her mission had been scrubbed and she'd been ordered to report to the Ward Room where representatives from the two new ships that had dropped out of the sky would be brought after coming aboard. Even after hearing Sam Anders's voice, Roslin and Adama were unwilling to give the jump coordinates to a basestar until satisfied they weren't the enemy. They were cautious, maybe even paranoid, if the regularly stationed marines were any indication. Boomer couldn't blame them; even she had no desire to repeat the sheer idiocy that had been New Caprica.
It was times like this when unbidden memories rose to the surface: eerie silence reigned on the evacuated deck, only broken by the soft hum of CO2 scrubbers, her own footfalls, and the clicking of a marine guard shifting his grip on a rifle. A cold flush of nerves washed over Boomer. In the last timeline, her final moments aboard Galactica painted the image of a dying ship, worn by years of fighting and ready to lie down and die. She remembered being a fallen Cylon, convinced she was too far from grace. This Galactica, although tired, battered, and bruised, still carried on with a dignity that only comes from being an old, hardened warrior. She traced a shaking hand along a wall; we're both stronger this time, aren't we.
Galactica meant home to Boomer. This time, Boomer grabbed onto this place with its people whom she loved, and refused to let go. As she marched through the corridors toward the Ward Room, half-formed images of friends and experiences from a different lifetime dance in the periphery of her vision. I learned to laugh there, she thought passing by the Pilots Rec Room. I learned to love there, she added when she passed the stairs to the hangar deck. She had no memories from before Galactica in the other timeline—nothing she could count on as real anyway. I learned what it feels like to die there, Boomer thought and her steps faltered at the spot where Cally shot her.
She heard her heartbeat in her ears. Biting the inside of her cheek, she pressed on and turned the corner. At the end of a long corridor filled with neatly stacked supply crates and lit by lights that didn't flicker, the door to the Ward Room awaited. Commander Saul Tigh stood there, with an eternally grumpy look chiseled onto his face. Along the path, marines in full tactical gear gripped their rifles. Boomer took a deep breath and placed one foot in front of the other.
"That's Boomer," Athena had said last time Cylons were escorted aboard Galactica under such heavy guard. Her sister Cylon had been waiting for her, standing proudly in duty blues. "That's Boomer."
Boomer tugged at her uniform as she approached Saul Tigh. The deja-vu feeling was clouding her head. Her home, her family, and her friends were once snatched away from her all because of some damned programming. She realized now that she could have fought harder to keep her humanity after waking up in the Cylon goop bath, but she'd been angry and bitter. Now she just felt nervous as too many memories crowded into her head.
She glanced between the stern old man and the ground as she approached the hatch. Her heart nearly stopped when he held out an arm to stop her. Boomer went cold as he looked her over.
"Your name is Sharon Valerii. You're an officer in the Colonial Fleet. Whatever else you are, whatever else you've been, you've made a choice and you're the person you wanna be." Boomer looked up at Tigh who gave her another once over. He understood. "Check the insecurities at the door," he grumbled before giving her a crisp nod and motioning for her to go inside. Although he proceeded to ignore her, his words made her stand a little taller. She stepped into the Ward Room, relieved at being welcomed inside.
She, like the others, felt a darkness coming. This time, she wouldn't regret the side she'd chosen. Around the room, the others waited for the newcomers' arrival. Admiral Adama and President Roslin stood in the center of the room, heads bent in conversation. Evelyn must have been pried away from her mother. Billy had taken up a corner of the room, folding his arms while Cottle leaned against a wall and smoked a cigarette. Lee and Kara entered a moment later from the other entrance to the room, Kara with a frenzied look on her face and Lee fighting to remain calm. If Sam remembers, it's gonna get interesting, Boomer thought looking at the couple. Baltar stood by the hatch closest to Boomer, and stared openly at the entrance, clearly lying in wait for someone.
Boomer looked over at Adama and was reminded of when he'd nearly cashiered her out of the service. He'd shown mercy and only given her a dressing down. There was something he said that resonated with her now.
"There's a lot of ghosts running around here."
Every so often, the people in the room looked at each other. These were the people who remembered the other timeline. They were about to finally join with the missing members of their group, the others who remembered. Caprica Six and Leoben were escorted inside and the eleven who remembered— only Zarek was missing—stood together for the first time. Boomer tilted her chin up proudly at the newcomer Cylons, but they nodded at her in acceptance too.
They needed each other because the Pythian Prophecy was right: there was something else coming.
…
Author's note: September got crazy. Now we're starting to ramp up to the final segment of this fic. Who's excited!? Thoughts?