XX

The Fleet was in another uproar weeks later as it seemed the Eye of Jupiter had been found on what had been dubbed the Algae Planet. In turn, it was discovered that the Algae Planet was a marker to Earth, holding the Eye of Jupiter.

The planet had been reconned, and after their foodstuff has become spoiled in a freak accident, it was determined that the algae that grew in abundance on the planet, could feed the people until new food stores were found. It wouldn't taste great, but it was healthy and nutritious, and it would have to do.

The problem was the planet lay on the other side of a highly radioactive star cluster, and The Fleet had to cross it to get within range of the planet. The process had called for several round trips with Raptors escorting the civilian ships through the morass in space, the radioactivity making jumping directly through the cluster impossible. They had to jump into the radioactivity, then jump again to within range of the planet. The missions had exhausted the pilots, sickening many of them with radiation poisoning. Two civilian ships had been lost in the process.

One of the best pilots in The Fleet was teetering on the edge of death after the mission had concluded. Louanne Katraine-Kat, who had been the CAG on Pegasus during its hiatus from New Caprica, had taken a far too large dose of radiation, and now was fighting for her life.

Yet, in the end, one good thing had come out of their adventure on that planet.

It was discovered that the Eye of Jupiter resided on this greenish planet, a star going Supernova serving as a marker to Earth. They Cylons had jumped in, and a game of chicken had ensued, with Admiral Adama threatening to nuke the planet. In the end the star that exploded in the system sealed the fate of the planet.

During the evacuation, however, they had retrieved former President Gaius Baltar. And they had a better idea where Earth might be.

Five days after the Algae Planet mission, the pilots were still gassed and recovering from the higher doses of radiation that they had received. Kat was still in Critical Condition, but despite the fact she had been near death, she was rallying, which cautiously lifted the spirits of the jocks, the mechanics, and everyone aboard the flagship.

Kara hadn't been able to visit her young rival since she had returned and collapsed. Doc Cottle and the other physicians had only allowed Admiral Adama to visit her. Even the old man was buoyed by her courage and the fight she was putting up. It was still to early to say she would recover, but she hadn't given up. Far from it.

Kara finally was permitted to see Katraine on the sixth day, simply to see how her pilot was doing, and if she could give her any encouragement. Kara and Louanne were still feeling their way through discarding the discord that had defined their relationship for so long. It hadn't been easy, as they were so much alike: stubborn; cocky; driven; wanting to be the best. Yet since coming back from New Caprica, they had made long strides in doing so.

Kara walked in the the Sick bay, met by Nurse Ishay before she saw Kat.

"She's awake, Captain", Ishay said in a quiet voice, "but I can't allow you to be in there for too long. She's still very weak, and she needs her rest. In fact", Ishay said with a smile, "she's been asking for you. Cottle had been reluctant to let you come in here. I must warn you", the nurse said, the smile vanishing, "she has a lot of radiation burns. It won't be pretty."

"Thanks, Layne", Kara said gratefully. "I appreciate the heads-up."

Despite the warning, Kara was shaken when she saw Kat, with burns on her face and arms. The rest of her body was covered in a medicated, protective gauze, Starbuck able to literally see through it, showing even more burns on her body. It made her want to flinch, but she was here to cheer up Kat, not to remind her of her situation.

"Hey kid", Kara said lightly. Kat's eyes had been closed, Starbuck unsure if she was asleep or not.

Kat's brown eyes opened to look at Kara. "Starbuck", she said in a raspy, weak voice. "Good to see you, skipper. I'd salute, but I'm not supposed to move much at the moment."

"Don't bother with any of that, Katraine, I just wanted to see how you're doing."

Kat gave a small laugh. "I've been better, Boss", she lamented. "But if I have anything to say about it, I'm gonna fly again someday."

"You're as strong and brave as they come, Kat. I don't doubt you will. What's the doc telling you?"

Kat gave her a short rundown of her condition. It sounded as bad as it looked. "As you can see, I don't have any hair on my body", she raised her eyes as if to look at the top of her head. "I won't give you details about down below." She actually winked a little at Starbuck.

Kara gave a soft laugh. "Too much information, Katraine. Save it for Hot Dog, OK?" Kara thought of something else. "I know you told me you and Brendan wanted to try for a kid, but you weren't...you didn't."

Kat shook her head. "No, I wasn't pregnant when all this happened. I'll talk about that with Cottle when I start to improve even more. Right now, I just have to take this a day at a time, skipper."

Kara let out a relieved breath. "That's good, kid. That takes a load off my mind."

"Do you mind me asking if you and the President are gonna try?"

Kara blushed. "Yeah, we're trying to work on the when of that. She wants to get pregnant so that I can remain CAG for a while. Eventually, I'd like to pop out a kid of my own."

"That would be wonderful, Kara", Kat said with a weak smile. "I've only had a few, short moments with Kacey. I'd love to get to know her better."

"You will, kid, I promise", Kara assured her. "She has more aunts and uncles than anyone in existence, and I think you two will hit it off."

Kat yawned, which Kara could tell gave the younger lady some physical pain. "I don't wanna cut this short, skipper, but Doc Cottle told me I need to sleep like twenty-eight hours every day still, if I want to get better."

"Don't think twice about it, Kat", Kara said with assurance. "I get it. I'll try to stop by as you get better." She leaned down, surprising Kat by softly kissing the top of her head where there were no burns. "You get better, Louanne. I need you back."

Kara quickly turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Kat with happy tears in her eyes.

As he had promised, Admiral Adama had gone forward with re-doing the old VIP quarters to make them into quarters on Galactica for the First Family. When they had the time, Laura and Kara were putting together ideas for how they wanted it laid out, and what furniture they would put in their second abode. They would keep the one on Colonial One as well, as a back-up.

With Kacey in school one day, they retreated to Colonial One to talk about the other issue that was on their mind: having another child. The number of pregnancies within The Fleet were skyrocketing, thanks to the initiative by the President and Quorum. Laura and Kara had agreed they would add to the numbers themselves. Now it was time to do so.

They were snuggled on their couch, Kara's back melded into Laura's chest, enjoying a moment of quiet.

"So what about the timing", Kara began. "I need to leave that up to you, honey, because you're one that will be waddling first."

Laura snorted a laugh. "I'll remember you said that when you waddle, my love. To be honest, though? I'm ready to take the plunge. I'm forty-six now, and my chances are going to decrease over next few years."

"That's one thing about being married to a woman who is twenty-two years younger than you, babe-I've got lots of time, all things considered."

"In a normal existence, I'd agree with you, Starbuck", Laura said with a touch of fear. "But in the life we're living? All of it could be gone without warning." Kara started to stir, but her wife stopped her. "I know you're a bad-ass pilot, sweetheart, but all of us are living on a knife's edge fleeing through the stars like this."

"I know that, Laura", Kara said in understanding. "But we have to approach this like there's no doubt we will survive as a people, and that having babies is gonna make a difference. I refuse to believe we'll be running forever. There's a life for us somewhere in the future, be it Earth, or somewhere else. And I really want us to have a couple more kids to go along with Kacey."

"I'm sorry", Laura said with a sigh. "I didn't mean to be Debbie Downer there. But as President, that's constantly on my mind. In the end, I am responsible for the survival of our people."

"And there's no one I trust more to do that than you, Laura." Kara turned toward her wife, looking into her blazing green eyes. "Not a soul. Even if I wasn't married to you, I'd feel the same way. Why do you think I was willing to do those dirty deeds for you?" She smiled widely at the President.

"I always could make you do what I wanted, haven't I?"

Kara moved in close. "What do you want me to do now, baby?" Kara softly kissed her wife's lips.

"Mmm", Laura moaned. "I could use a little stress relief. Maybe you could spend some time between my legs?"

Kara laughed wickedly into another kiss. "My favorite past-time, eating my wife's jewels."

"Oh, stop with your crude language, Kara Roslin and...get to work."

"Aye, Madam President", Kara purred, dropping to her knees in front of her wife, and quickly removing her skirt and panties.

"Remember, you asked for this", Kara laughed, already inhaling Laura's scent.

As Kara's fingers reached Laura's nether lips, Laura shuddered. "Gods, am I in trouble."

Laura Roslin had been dreading seeing former President Baltar in any capacity. She wished the son-of-a-bitch had been killed on New Caprica so their people could be rid of him. Instead, he'd been hanging out with the neighborhood Cylons, doing the gods knew what, and telling them the gods knew what.

Now it was time for him to face the music. She left Colonial One, sated by her wife, and went back to the Flagship, to face her nemesis.

She approached the Brig and the Marine guards snapped to attention. Gaius had been laying on his bunk, eyes closed. Hearing the moving feet, he glanced up and saw his political rival.

"You can wait outside", she told the guards.

She entered the holding cell, the guards watching Baltar like a hawk.

"Not exactly the homecoming you thought you'd get, Mr. former President?"

"No not exactly, Laura." His voice was its usual smug self.

"It's Madam President to you, Gaius. You defer to me now, understand."

"Oh, the joy of my life...Madam President." His voice dripped contempt.

Laura gave him a thin smile. "A lot has changed on The Fleet since you almost destroyed us on that gods-forsaken rock, Gaius. We lost six thousand people between the time you landed our ships, and the time the Battlestars rescued us. Six thousand. How can you live with yourself?"

"I didn't kill all those people, Laura...Madam President...The Cylons killed many, the two Epidemics killed quite a few."

"You were the president", she screamed at him. "You made the decision to land on New Caprica! You allowed The Cylons to do whatever the frak they wanted!"

"I did what I could", he hollered back. "Do you know, when you and Tigh and Kara Thrace and others were to be executed, they put a gun to my head to make me sign it? Do you know one of the Doral's turned that gun on a Six who disagreed with them, and shot her through the forehead? What the frak did you expect me to do!"

"I expected you to protect our people! But instead, from all reports, you slept with floozies, including a Number Six, from all accounts. You drank all day, partied, and did nothing to protect the human population."

"Yes, and you, Madam President, stood by and did nothing when Colonel Tigh ordered that suicide bombing at the Police graduation. So much for helping the human population", he scoffed.

"Tigh had his eye torn out. Hundreds simply vanished, woman and children among them-children! My children, who I was teaching! Kara was held by a Leoben and lived in a fantasy created by that bastard. The second time she was held, she was raped, sodomized, and beaten. All while you were President."

"If I could have stopped all of that, Madam President, I assure you, I would have. I didn't even know about most of that."

"How convenient", she spat back at him. "You didn't want to know. You didn't have to sit and listen to the litany of injuries Kara suffered to her body at the hands of those monsters. They only good thing that came out of her captivity was she found out she had a daughter."

That made Gaius pause. "A...a daughter? A biological daughter?"

"Yes, Gaius. Did you know they took an ovary from her on Caprica when she went back? They used male sperm to fertilize an egg, and Leoben brought her into that Doll House, as Kara called it. Her name is Kacey, and she's Kara's flesh and blood."

"Was it a Human male, or a..." He couldn't say it.

"The donor, who we believe is long dead, was Human." She looked at him with furious eyes. "If I ever see a Leoben again, I'll rip him apart limb from limb, for what he did to Kara, I swear to the gods."

"Mercy", he mocked, "all this over an oft-drunk, quite oft-fraked Viper pilot. I must say you surprise me, Laura."

Laura stood up, and approached the man, who also stood. She put her face inches from his. "You better watch how you talk about Kara, godsdammit. You're talking about my wife." She ground the final five words out in a menacing voice.

"Your...your wife?" There was no contempt in his voice this time. "You and Kara...are married?"

"Very happily so, Gaius. We have a beautiful daughter, and we're going to have at least one or two more children together. I've instituted a no-abortion policy so that we can start recovering our population." She then screamed at him again. "A population that you helped to reduce!"

She turned away from him and took a few steps back. Turing to face him again, her face was like stone. "Here's how we're going to play this, Gaius: you're either going to spill the beans on everything that has happened since before the destruction of The Colonies-your affair with a Number Six; your allowing he access to the defense mainframe; your actions as President on New Caprica, that led to so many deaths; and what you've been doing with your pals, The Cylons since we left."

"And if I don't?"

She gave him a vicious smile. "If you don't, you'll be flushed out of an airlock so fast that you'll never know it happened."

Her voice was from the grave, so menacing it was.

"You wouldn't do that to me, or anyone in this fleet, Madam President."

She didn't skip a beat. "I wasted Leoben without a second thought, Gaius. I consider you no better than he is."

The silence grew deafening. Neither one blinking, or looking away, Laura's face a blank facade, Gaius' full of doubt and even some fear.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only perhaps a minute, Gaius spoke again. "I am demanding a trial, as is my right as a citizen of the Twelve Colonies, Madam President. I will tell you nothing until then." He turned away from her.

"Guards!" She said it as loud as she could. "Take this traitor to the nearest air lock, right now!"

Gaius looked at her as if she were insane. "No! You can't do that! I have rights! I am a citizen and I demand a fair trail! You can't summarily kill me, Madam President!"

The guards man-handled him as they dragged him down the hallway, both Roslin and Baltar screaming at each other, causing a commotion on the part of the ship they were moving through, others screaming for Baltar's head along the way.

Unbeknownst to Laura, Kara had piloted a second Raptor back to Galactica shortly after Laura left. She knew her wife was going to confront the former president, and she had a bad feeling about such a meeting.

When she arrived, she headed down to the Brig. She heard the commotion long before she saw it, easily hearing Laura's voice screaming, with Baltar screaming back, other voices mixed in as well. She picked up her pace.

The struggle continued, as Gaius fought for his life. Laura Roslin was going to do this to him. He never thought she would go this far in her vendetta against him. "This will be on your conscience for the rest of your life, Laura! You can't do this."

After a struggle of less than five minutes, they reached an airlock. Gaius was still struggling mightily, the guards looking over at the President with fear and doubt in their eyes for what they were about to do. A crowd was behind the President, calling for Gaius to be sent to his death.

Laura nodded calmly at the two guards. It didn't calm their fears, but they moved to open the airlock to flush Gaius out. Within moments, he was in the enclosed area where he could be jettisoned for eternity into space, a look of sheer panic on his face, Roslin looking back at him passively.

Just as one of the guards went to press the button to start the process a piercing voice rang out above the mayhem.

"No! Laura don't do this!"

To a person, everyone turned to see the First Lady, looking in horror at what was about to unfold. This was the same airlock, Kara realized, that Laura had sent Leoben into space. The memories of that, despite the hatred she held for Leoben, still haunted her.

The fright on Kara's face matched that on Baltar's, who looked over at the unlikely savior who had just spoken.

"Laura", she pleaded in a shaky voice, "you can't do this. This isn't right." She moved closer to her wife. "What's the old saying? Two rights don't make a wrong? Maybe the bastard does deserve this", she said, looking at Baltar, but with a shred of sympathy, "but how does this make us any better than The Cylons? Any better than Baltar? Please, baby...please don't do this."

She was directly in front of her wife and her President at the moment, looking tenderly into still-implacable eyes. She hadn't been married to Laura Roslin that long, but she knew her inside and out. She knew, as President, Laura wanted to do this. But as Laura's wife, she also was certain what it would do to her soul in the long run.

"Please...please, Madam President", she said using Laura's formal title, making her wife's face soften in surprise. "Don't do this. I was put in a jail without a trial, and they would have killed me back on New Caprica. We can't lose our Humanity, Laura, by trying to save Humanity. We become them."

The space which had been filled with havoc moments before was dead quiet. Those who had been pining for Baltar to be flushed were silent; the two guards looked at the First Couple, the fear still on their faces. Laura looked at her wife, part of her wanting to be angry as hell at Kara, but Starbuck's words had penetrated the rage she felt for Gaius Baltar.

Still, Laura wavered.

Kara went up, and put a palm on Laura's cheek, her voice barely above a whisper. "Please, Laura, don't do this?" Tears were now in Kara's eyes.

Laura finally blinked after what seemed like forever without doing so, casting her eyes down to the floor. After a long moment, she looked up at Kara.

"You're right, honey", Laura said, also in a whisper. "As much as I want to kill this bastard, in the end, you're right, I couldn't live with myself. I couldn't look at you any longer if I did this."

Laura looked over at the guards, the beginning of relief forming on their faces. Yes, to them, this would be at the behest of their President, but how could they live with themselves if they did it. Laura understood that as she nodded at them. They knew instinctively that the nod was to not follow through with this summary execution.

Gaius Baltar fell to his knees before the guards even opened the glass door, shaking almost uncontrollably, realizing that Roslin had been willing to kill him outright. He looked up, not at Laura, but at Kara. He knew Starbuck had no love for him, but that wasn't what was important. A little of his own faith in humanity had been restored at that moment.

The guards roughly picked him up off the floor, again looking at the President.

"Take him back to his cell immediately", she said, with some regret still tinging her voice. She turned to the others. "Everyone else, back to what you were doing."

Silently, everyone shuffled away, the guards leading an exhausted Baltar back to his cell. As the crowd was dispersing, Laura moved up close to Kara. Kara could still see Laura had truly wanted to do what she had contemplated.

Laura leaned in, and softly kissed Kara on the lips. "I'll see you at home later tonight, honey." She gave Kara a second kiss, then turned, walking away without a backwards glance, leaving Kara alone by the airlock.