Battlestar Galactica 2003 is a copyright of the Sci Fi Channel. Battlestar Galactica is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Ron Moore re-imagined Glen A. Larson's original idea; but then again, most people who would be reading this already know that. My use is in no way intended to challenge or infringe upon any established copyrights. This piece is not intended for any profit on the part of the writer, nor is it meant to detract from the commercial viability of the aforementioned or any other copyright. Any similarity to any events or persons, either real or fictional, is unintended.

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IX – Awakening to Apotheosis

"I need a doctor."

"Are you ill?" a warm voice asked from the surrounding darkness. As before, the woman could not see who was speaking to her, but she was comforted, nonetheless.

"I don't know."

"Do you feel ill?"

The woman lay still for several minutes, trying to decide how to answer. She did not feel ill; truth be told, she did not think she felt much of anything. She curled her fingers into a fist and took a deep breath, both actions taken only to convince herself that she did, in fact, exist. But do I feel ill? she asked herself. "No, I'm not ill," she finally decided.

"Are you injured?"

"I don't think so." That, at least, she was certain of. Injuries meant pain, and she was not in pain.

"Then why do you need a doctor?" the voice asked.

"I'm not sure," the woman admitted.

"Does that seem normal to you?"

"No." Silence descended once again, becoming the default condition for the woman's universe. Silence and darkness, all the time. It didn't used to be this way. She found it impossible to remember how her life actually had been, but she was certain that there was a time when she was surrounded by people, when she never had silence and never saw total darkness.

"Would you like me to take you to a doctor?" the voice asked.

"Yes," the woman said. She still did not know why she needed a doctor, but in the back of her mind she knew she did. And seeing a doctor will mean something different in my world, she decided, admitting to herself that perhaps she was desperate for change as much as she was for medical attention.

For several minutes there was nothing but more silence and darkness; but then an almost undetectable scraping grew into a grating, grinding noise. A sliver of light – a soft, pale blue – emerged not far from where the woman was lying. The woman realized that the sound was that of a large boulder being moved, apparently to expose her to some sort of light. Sunlight? she wondered. Sunlight isn't blue, it's yellow. Or red, on a couple of the Colonies. This revelation confused her for two reasons: first, she had no idea how she knew that sunlight wasn't supposed to be blue, and second, she had no idea what, or where, the Colonies were.

What she did know, however, was that she was now gazing into large eyes set in a small, furry head. What was now staring at her seemed like a living, stuffed bear, less than a meter tall and with bright, purple eyes that somehow accentuated what appeared to be a wide grin.

It made a high-pitched chirping sound as it approached warily. The woman stayed perfectly still, thinking that any sudden movements might frighten her visitor. She had been alone for too long, though she had no idea how long that was, and she had no intention of scaring away the first face she had seen since… How long has it been? she wondered. When was the last time I ever saw anyone else? How long have I been alone in the darkness?

Her visitor made another chirping sound, but this time the woman recognized it as speech. Not that she could understand a word of it. Not that there even appear to be words to understand. A second creature entered and stared at her with what she could only think of as awe. Together, the two of them approached, stopping just out of her reach. They looked at her, and then at each other, and then back at her. Finally, the second one chirped at the first, and the woman had the strange sensation that the creature was daring the first one to touch her. In confirmation of her suspicion, the creature did so, poking gently at her arm with a soft, padded paw.

"Hello," the woman said softly. The second of the two creatures scrambled backwards, falling over in its haste to put distance between itself and the woman. But the first held its ground; after a moment, it chirped yet again. He has no idea what I said, but he understands that I was trying to communicate. He understands that I mean no harm.

The two creatures chirped between themselves for several minutes, and then the second finally approached once again. This time it was him that touched her, a gentle scratch letting the woman know that there were claws within those paws. She smiled, and she had the impression that both of her visitors smiled back.

They turned to each other and chirped again. Two more entered the cave and started walking around the woman's body. As they moved, she looked at herself, taken off guard by the fact that she found her own body unfamiliar. She had spent so much time in darkness that she had begun to forget what it was like to see her own hands, her own arms. Her body was completely bare, but her skin seemed smoother than she remembered, devoid of scars, wrinkles, and freckles. Almost like I've been renewed, regenerated, or even reborn.

The creatures seemed as interested in her appearance as she did, with the first one to have entered now prodding gently all along her arms. It seemed fascinated by the fact that she lacked its thick, soft fur. The woman smiled, and even giggled softly when the creature's touch tickled the inside of her elbow.

After a few minutes, several more creatures entered the cave carrying sticks and strips of leather. The woman tried to remain awake as her visitors began to assemble a gurney, but she found it impossible to fend off her overwhelming fatigue. Have I been awake all this time in the darkness? she wondered. She almost felt as if she were just getting up in the morning, convinced that she had slept at some point during the night, but utterly incapable of remembering when that had been.

She finally allowed her eyes to close, relaxing at the touch of her first visitor. Her breath slowed, and she felt absolute bliss as the singsong chirps of the creatures put her to sleep, just as gently as the lullabies she remembered her mother humming when she was still a child.

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When she awoke, it was to find herself stretched out on a straw-covered floor, several soft blankets below her, and one covering her, a low-burning fire several feet away. She looked around and saw that she was now in some type of tent, conical in shape and constructed of what looked like leather hides tied to a wooden frame. A moment later, she realized she was not alone – the creature that had been first to enter her cave was sitting on her other side, a small clay jug in its hands.

"Hello," the woman said.

The creature just stared, its purple eyes comforting, warm, friendly. It held the jug forward, and the woman sat up slowly, taking it in her own hands. The clay was cold and slightly slippery, coated with condensation, and she marveled at how good it felt against her palms. She raised the jug to her mouth, sniffing tentatively and finally taking a sip when she found it impossible to catch a scent of whatever was inside. Just water, she decided. There was nothing special about it – it was only cold water – but she doubted she had ever tasted anything so good in her whole life. With every sip, she realized how thirsty she had been.

Water dribbled down her chin and onto her chest, which she noted was now covered by a leather tunic. Finally, the jug all but empty, she passed the container back to her host, smiling broadly. "Thank you," she said with a broad, satisfied smile. The creature seemed to smile back, but she was uncertain if it was simply aping her or whether the smile was a genuine expression.

"What are you?" she asked.

The creature chirped, and then bounded to its feet. It crossed to a thin opening in the tent, waddling more than walking, reminding the woman of a young child taking its first uncertain steps. It pulled back a flap of leather and chirped out into the night. Moments later, two more creatures came in carrying wood trays. They placed them next to the woman, and within moments she found herself salivating at the scent of the food.

The unappetizing display had a sweet, almost flowery aroma; she assumed it was some kind of fruit, a dark, grayish brown that appeared rotted, though it smelled fresh and was firm in her hand when she picked up a slice. She nibbled at the food, her stomach growling. Definitely some kind of fruit, she decided, though she had never tasted anything like it. A combination of fresh custard and firefruit, a sugary sweetness exploded in her mouth, quickly fading to a smooth, creamy spiciness vaguely reminiscent of cinnamon.

"That's amazing," she said, deciding to forego manners for a few moments as she ate several large pieces of the fruit.

The two creatures that had brought the food departed, leaving her once more with the creature that had first found her.

"You're a doctor of some kind, aren't you?" the woman asked, remembering that she had asked for a doctor moments before the creature had moved away the boulder that had sealed her in a cave.

The creature, for its part, simply stared at her, appearing pleased with the fact that she was rapidly devouring the food set out for her. As she picked at the last few pieces of fruit, washing down the food with more water, the doctor struggled to its feet and crossed slowly to her. The woman remained still, allowing him to poke her softly, to look through her hair, to sniff at her ears and hands. The examination took several minutes, and by the time the creature had finished walking around her and stood before her again, she found that she was once more drifting off to sleep.

The doctor chirped, and then he gently pushed her back against the blankets, clearly suggesting that she needed rest. She saw no point in arguing.

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When the woman awoke again, it was to a soft breeze on her face. She was covered by blankets, warm and snug despite the crisp air around her. She kept her eyes closed and remembered visiting her uncle's cabin in the mountains. I can almost smell the cedars, she told herself as the breeze picked up for a few brief moments. The familiar, comforting sound of rustling leaves caused her to open her eyes and take in what she thought might have been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

She was actually up in a tree – she could see that now – placed on some type of cot that she hoped was securely attached to a mammoth limb. She also saw several of the creatures that had found her in the cave; they were running up and down the trees, quick and graceful in a way that she had noticed her host definitely was not when he tried to walk on two feet.

They're arboreal, she decided. Walking like I do isn't what they were built for. It suddenly struck the woman that she could not remember the last time she had walked. She looked cautiously to her right and saw that the edge of the tree branch was several feet away. The branch had to be over five meters wide, and it had been planed down into a smooth surface to support not only her cot, but also another conical tent like the one she had awakened in after being taken from her cave.

Seeing that she was awake, several of the creatures, many of them even smaller than the one that had been caring for her, stopped dead in their tracks and stared at her. She rose to her feet and looked around, certain that she saw awe in the creatures' eyes.

She stared back for several moments, until the doctor came into view, climbing headfirst down a nearby tree, much like a squirrel. He leaped from that tree to a branch above her on her tree; then dropped softly onto his feet before walking toward her. He gestured for the woman to sit, and once more he proceeded through the increasingly familiar examination. Once he was done, the doctor walked awkwardly to the edge of the large branch and sat down on the edge, his feet hanging over the side. He looked at the woman and gestured for her to join him.

She walked slowly, fear rising in her more with every step she took closer to the edge. He's taken care of me, she reminded herself. He won't do anything to harm me. He isn't going to toss me off the branch.

As she stepped closer, she was able to see through more of the leaves and branches of nearby trees, taking in a beautiful scene beneath her. Awe chased away fear, and before she even knew what she was doing, she had sat down next to the doctor, unable to turn her eyes from the spectacle below. Mountains rose all around them, with their forest clearly resting at the bottom of a valley. The tree she was in was near a lake, the mirror-like water reflecting the pale blue sunlight and the massive, four-legged beasts that ringed the water, many bathing in the lake while others lazily picked at trees near the water's edge.

The woman suddenly felt small and insignificant. The trees, the lake, the mountains, and even the animals – all except the ones caring for her – were all larger than life. But at the same time, she also felt safe, secure, and loved.

"I never want to leave here," she muttered.

The doctor looked at her with wide eyes and what appeared to be a smile, and he chirped softly in reply. She did not have to know his language to understand his meaning. "Yes, she agreed, "it would be nice to spend the rest of my life here." She didn't flinch at all when the doctor's soft paw grabbed a hold of her fingers.

"I know nothing about you," the woman said softly. "I don't know where I am, or what your people are, or how you communicate. But I feel like you're the best friend I've had in a long time. And I'm going to miss you when I leave."

To be continued……………………………