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We are going into dark times and this chapter has a turning point for the modern times story.

Chapter 47

Takashi walked alone to the center of the cave. The fire was dying, just red embers glowing in the darkness. A group of colonists were talking to John and Sharon a bit further ahead. He sat down on a flat rock and put his head in his hands. He had experienced such joy during this mission and now he was feeling such anguish. Discovering these ancient people and their long forgotten history had been a delight. The whole team had stepped into their world, their mythology, and their humanity. Now they had to face the burden of knowledge, knowing what the rest of the world did not know, knowing their origins, and not being able to share it. Their lives would be forever changed by it. He sighed. They were already transformed by this discovery. John was in love with Sharon and she loved him back; they were spending all of their time together. Would they ever want to go back to the outside world? Sharon's world was here with these people. She belonged there. Evelyne and Liang had become a couple too. How would their lives change now? Would he want also to go back to modern civilization? He loved Helena. She did not need to say anything back. He could tell her feelings just by looking in her eyes. But time was slipping dangerously away. She was sick. While she had seemed better after a couple of days of treatment, her lungs had not cleared up. Moreover, she had started vomiting and unable to keep food in her stomach. She was still coughing and she was going through brutal weakness spells, such that she had to lay down, exhausted. She likely would refuse to be removed temporarily from the team to be hospitalized. While the closest city was Dar es Salaam and he knew, she should be taken to the nearest hospital, he was sure that the UN would bring her to Nairobi in Kenya, much further away, where the African headquarters were, because of the sensitive nature of their mission. Takashi was worried. The story of Laura and her people had inserted itself in their consciousness. It had become theirs too. He thought about the strangeness of it all, how they had connected, him, Helena, Evelyne, Liang and John to this old civilization and what it represented for the history of Earth. He thought how their personal relationships had become entwined to this old history, once forgotten, to become known again after thousands of years. The knowledge they possessed could also destroy this old civilization. The discovery at the Lady's Ridge, in itself, was already earth-shattering, but knowing that the original population descendants remained hidden in secret villages, gathering millennia of cultural artifacts, ancient texts about their origins and possibly functioning -literally- prehistoric technology could potentially destabilize the world. If it was not creating an identity crisis for humanity, it would certainly perk special interests, including the military. Takashi knew they were playing with fire, with the possibility that reactivating colonial or cylon technology could alert the cylons to come back. Certainly, that probability was low, but not insignificant. Takashi had been for years the most loyal researcher, he hated lies and manipulation. Was the world ready to receive that knowledge? Was the world ready to find out about the true origins of human civilization? Should he lie, conceal their discoveries to save these people or was there hope that this newly found history of mankind would instead bring back peace to modern civilization? Lying was so much against everything he believed in. He believed in honesty, openness, and loyalty. What was the right decision? He was the scientist in charge, directing the mission. Ultimately, it was his call. The quietness of the village was unsettling. The air felt heavy, as if something dark was coming. He shivered, even if it was not cold. He rubbed his eyes and turned around when he heard footsteps behind him.

Helena, wearing long sleeves and wrapped in a blanket, sat next to him.

"You should be in bed," he said gently. She hummed in response and in agreement, and he opened his arms to allow her to settle there. She rested her head on his shoulder. He dropped a kiss on her blonde hair.

"What are we going to do?" She whispered.

"We are going to take care of you." He rubbed her back lightly.

"No, you can't. Don't worry about me. This is bigger than us. I will be alright. I'm getting better anyway" She answered, but started violently coughing.

"Irony!" She whispered between two coughing fits. She put a hand to her mouth and immediately stilled.

"Helena?"

She looked at him, distressed, and opened her hand where a bit of mucus marred with bright red blood had gathered. He gave her a tissue to wipe it off and immediately grabbed his water bottle and gave her to drink. Her coughing subsided after a minute, but she held his hand tightly.

"Does your chest hurt?"

She nodded, unable to catch her breath.

"Lift your face up" he ordered, leaning to get his flashlight out of his bag.

He brought the light up to her eyes, "look up" he said, carefully bending to examine them.

"Open your mouth" and he looked at her gums and throat. His demeanor changed from worried to alarmed, and he got up suddenly, his heart beating so fast that he thought it was going to jump out of his chest. He took a couple of stabilizing breaths, his adrenaline surging.

'Okay. You're going to go back in bed right now. You feel very warm." He said softly, trying not to convey his sudden panic.

He helped her stand up and they took a few steps together before her legs buckled and she collapsed.

His scream alerted the others who came up running. Takashi picked up Helena in his arms and carried her back to the house, running as fast as he could.

"Broken blood vessel in eyes, bleeding gums, bleeding sores in the mouth." He whispered, out of breath, to Evelyne. Evelyne's face paled suddenly.

"Oh my God!"

She was busy immediately, placing a mask of oxygen on her face and hooking her up to an IV.

"Hydration" Evelyne said, shooting a worried look to Takashi. She added, whispering to Takashi, "Some kind of hemorrhagic fever." She added, "she was doing so much better this past couple of days. I didn't know why she had gotten worse. Now, we know. She has a fever again. I'll give her albuterol to open up her airways, until we get her out of here." She emptied a dose of the medication in the chamber attached to the oxygen mask. A barely conscious Helena grabbed Takashi's hand and held it tight.

"We are going to start running out of meds. I don't know how long I can keep her alive" Evelyne whispered to Takashi, as she turned around. Takashi took one long look at the pale face of Helena, who had closed her eyes.

Evelyne shook gently her shoulder.

"Helena, have you been bitten by an animal? Were you in contact with animals?"

She shook her head, no.

"Mosquitoes?" Takashi asked.

"Arms" she murmured.

Takashi moved her sleeves up to look at her arms to see a few mosquito bites there.

He abruptly stood up, letting go of Helena's hand, grabbed his bag and left the house. He ran down by the cave and called Sharon.

"Lead me to the nearest exit," he asked her. Sharon, seeing his determined look, did not argue. And she waved him towards the far end corridor in the rock shelf. They walked for a few minutes at fast pace, almost running, until they reached a natural balcony in the mountain edge. The light was intense. The rainforest, facing east, was a dark green canopy below, with a deep valley, which seemed inaccessible. The entrance of the labyrinth of caves was impossible to see, concealed in the rocks. There was no flat space to land a helicopter in the rugged landscape.

"We'll have to airlift her. I don't know how long she has." He pondered nervously, emotional.

"What are we talking about?" Sharon answered.

"Hemorrhagic fever." Takashi told her quietly.

"They need to airlift her!" John shouted, as he arrived behind them quickly, having heard his reply.

"For them to come here, we'll have to disclose the location of the village." Liang interjected, out of breath as he was running behind to catch the group. He had not heard the earlier part of the conversation.

"Well, they probably know it already if they traced your call to Evelyne a few days ago. We all are at risk here. We cannot let this disease spread" John replied.

"We all have been exposed to it. Me and Evelyne mostly." Takashi replied, looking at Liang, whispering.

"What do you mean?" Liang replied worried, unaware of the latest development.

"She has hemorrhagic fever of some sort… I kissed her," he admitted unabashed, "I may be incubating the virus. Evelyne took care of her for a few days; so, she has been exposed too."

"Then I have it too," Liang replied, pale.

"No, not you, Liang, Evelyne probably won't be contagious until symptoms show, if anything. It transmits through body fluids." John replied. "Only Takashi and Evelyne have been directly exposed, because they took care of her."

Sharon looked at the group of men, so worried about their colleagues and friend.

"We never had cases of this illness here. When people are sick, they get better quickly. Maybe we are all immune to it. Save Helena. Call now, there is no time. She is the voice of Laura… When we discussed this expedition with your leaders, we knew that the location of our villages would be disclosed. We knew the risks, but we accepted them, because we need access to modern technology, medications and education. We signed papers that the villages would be protected, remember? It is foolish to risk her life and your lives too. The location of our villages will be known eventually. Maybe it already is. We cannot change the outcome of time. Save her life."

"Let's call them up!" Takashi told his team solemnly. "We know what the consequences may be"

"Yes." John answered strongly.

Everyone nodded their assent.

Liang added, "You go take care of her. John and I will go, upload and protect our data." The team had started to encrypt and save data on multiple drives after the discovery of the cylon head, and the certitude that cylons were part of the genetic pool of the colonials.

Takashi picked up the SAT phone and called up the base camp on the Lady's Ridge, requesting an emergency airlift for a case of hemorrhagic fever. He broadcasted their GPS position for the helicopter.

When he returned by Helena, she was still resting, breathing slowly the oxygen, and getting hydrated from the IV line. She was conscious but very fatigued. Evelyne had given her Tylenol to reduce her fever.

"They are sending a team of doctors. It will take about five hours for them to get here. They will airlift you and take you to the UN base in Nairobi, in Kenya, which has a hospital and a confinement unit."

"No…" she murmured, "Takashi, no."

"This is not negotiable, Helena, I won't take a chance with your life. You need serious medical care." He said decisively.

"I exposed you… and you… no… no!" She said in a breath looking at Takashi and then Evelyne.

She turned her face away, hiding tears of frustration, her fist punching the pillow next to her, albeit weakly. He let her weep, knowing how close she was to this mission, knowing how upset she was, being forced to leave, putting her friends in danger. He kept on rubbing gentle circles on her back, as she was shaken by sobs.

"If I'm going to die, I'd like at least to choose where…I want to be here with you." She said through her tears, barely audible.

Takashi took her face in her hands, wiping her tears.

"Look at me," he said firmly. Her reddened eyes lifted to his. "Nobody is going to die. Not you, not me… not now!"

She nodded weakly. He gently caressed her cheek, as she laid back and closed her eyes, exhausted.

He took a deep breath and swallowed his anguish, trying his best to calm his mind. He had to practically get her organized for her departure.

"Look, Helena, there is not a lot of time; I have to back up your files on a drive before you go. What do you want to do with Laura's diary? With your laptop?"

She lifted her head slowly, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes under the pain she felt in her chest.

"Upload all the new files to the drives… Then, wipe it off. I finished translating the text… just needs to be revised and corrected."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!... I know it by heart anyway." She closed her eyes for a moment, her vision blurred. She wanted this mission to finish differently. She did not want to leave. She looked at him again.

"Give the diary's and my research files to Elosha… She needs to have them, for their own history. It's their history." She closed her eyes. "She has read a large part of the text already. She'll get over knowing the whole cylon story. She needs to know the complete truth." She was whispering so low that Takashi had to bend to hear her speak.

Takashi already was working on her laptop, saving files.

Evelyne came around to check on Helena.

"What are you bringing with you?" She referred to Helena's belongings.

"Clothes. My passport, my ID papers, my cell phone, wallet." Helena answered softly, "everything else stays."

She turned her head to Takashi, "my bag with my keys and everything else was left at the Lady's Ridge camp… You have to secure that."

Evelyne and Takashi were extremely efficient in packing Helena's bag and saving the data, as quickly as possible, and then erasing the files from Helena's UN encrypted laptop. Takashi took Evelyne aside to the other room under the pretense to pack a bag for Helena. They were alone in the room, out of earshot. As he was folding her clothes in her bag, he questioned Evelyne.

"Okay… Let's be real, here. You're a biologist. What are we dealing with? Ebola? Marburg?"

"Well, they both are hemorrhagic fevers, but unlikely here. They're found in Uganda, and mostly West Africa. Latest outbreak was in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, a thousand of kilometers from here. No case ever found in Tanzania. It's very unlikely that we are dealing with those. Helena is still alive, which is a good sign, by the way. None of us show any indications that we are developing the disease so far."

"So which virus is it?"

"I can't be sure, without access to the internet and databases. But, there may be some isolated cases of other types of hemorrhagic fever in this region. I'm sure that the doctors coming will have answers for us."

Takashi sighed.

"Understood."

And then, they just waited in heavy silence, Takashi just holding Helena's hand, simply silent and present in each other's company. They knew that there was a chance they would never see each other again. They knew that any hemorrhagic fever had a high probability of fatality, regardless of the virus causing it.

"I wish…we had not wasted all of this time" she said, "I wish…"

She looked away, overwhelmed by emotion.

"No, Helena. You are not going to do this… Don't you dare saying goodbye."

"I wanted to tell you…"

"I know…me too… you'll tell me, when you're better" He smiled gently at her.

They heard the approaching sound of helicopters.

"You... be safe! Get treated too." she whispered to him, her throat tight by emotion. He nodded.

A medical doctor, protected by a biosafety suit and a mask, from the UN special ops group was descended in a harness from one helicopter to the stone ledge marking the entrance of one tunnel, while the second one was circling above. Liang and John were waving a red shirt to indicate their position and ended up grabbing him to pull him on the ledge. They ushered him to Helena, where he took her vitals and got all of the information from Evelyne, including the failed bacterial cultures. He questioned at length Evelyne and Takashi to get information on Helena and the onset of her symptoms. They gave him all the information they had, while he took notes. He recorded it as a hemorrhagic fever outbreak and relayed the information immediately by phone to the World Health Organization. He informed them that a team of two doctors was going to be dispatched from the second helicopter to survey the population, record all of the persons who have had contact with Helena, take blood samples and issue instructions to confine the outbreak. They were instructed not to leave their current location until they were found free of infection, a quarantine.

"Ready?" The doctor acknowledged she could be transported. He assembled a light portable stretcher, where Helena laid down and got strapped. Takashi and the doctor carried her to the opening in the mountain side. He talked to the helicopter pilot on his radio and the first helicopter circled adjusting its position again above them, lowering again its line.

Takashi looked into Helena's eyes, deeply, putting all his love and reassurance in one look, unabashed. Without breaking his gaze, he took her hand and she felt a rectangle being placed discreetly in her palm. She closed her hand on it. He bent to hug her and drop kisses along her cheek right up to her ear, holding her head against his. She could feel his tears and she choked on hers.

He softly whispered in her ear, "just in case, keep one jump drive. It's encrypted… Helena… No matter what, I'll be with you… Always."

She mouthed "I love you" so softly that he barely heard it, but felt her lips move against his cheek.

He looked at her one more time, an unspoken tearful message passing between them, and said with a small reassuring smile, that did not fool her, "I'll be waiting for you at the Lady's Ridge, when you're better." She held his gaze, until they hooked the stretcher to the line and she was unable to see him anymore as she was airlifted to the helicopter. And then, she was gone.

"I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep. I was stunned by my dream, this dream so close to a vision. Maybe for the first time, I felt there was something else. I felt that my fate was not random; that there was really something on the other side. I was shaken deeply in my core. Was it a vision, or did I really travel there, at the edge of life, and asked for more time? 'I'm not ready' I said. No, I did not want to die now. Not yet! I had not finished my work in the fleet. I had to take my people to Earth. Was I granted a reprieve? I needed to talk with Bill. I needed to share this with him. I just wrapped myself in a robe and I walked over Bill's quarters. He clearly had been asleep, but he did not question my presence. We were, before and above all, friends, and I needed him. In the low light of his quarters, we sat together on the sofa, with a glass of water and I shared with him the events of the past few days. He listened patiently, quietly. I told him about Emily's death, and what I felt… I told him about my distress, and our common dream. My faith was shaken or maybe renewed. I explained to him how I felt the spray on my face, how the wind caressed my hair… my hair, which was back… I felt my hair blow in the breeze... Oh Gods! I missed my hair so much! We were whispering. It was a quiet conversation. He listened, drank little sips of water. The thing is I never really thought our Gods were real. I was not even particularly religious before. I just followed the traditions; I went to temple and followed the ritual without thinking much about it. When my mother died, I felt the absence of the Gods even more acutely, in the pain and yes –Emily was right- the fear I experienced. And, then, at the destruction of the Colonies, I was shaken by my visions. I was shaken, because they linked me to the book of Pythia, they told me I was the Dying Leader. I knew I was not going crazy. I knew I was not imagining things. It was real. And now... I had met my death and I had the power to ask to be granted more time. And… I was granted this time.
'You really believe that there is something in this horse manure that Baltar is peddling?'

'I don't know', I replied sighing, 'something is happening here and I don't really understand it, Bill.' My visions, Baltar, and now this. Baltar describing a dream on his wireless that we both, Emily and I, had. My visions of the Opera House, shared with the cylon women, Sharon and Caprica Six. The vision of Baltar entering the Opera House with Caprica Six, while holding Hera in their arms. It was puzzling. I did not understand it. It was like the old and the new religion getting mixed up. I was sharing visions with the cylons. I was dreaming of words, said by Baltar… Baltar, out of all people!

'You both had the same dream means…' Bill shook his head, a wave of sadness and doubt invading him. I sensed his distress. He turned his head away from me.

'What? Talk to me' I asked. Now it was him… Bill, who was drinking alcohol most of the time to avoid seeing me dying, was suddenly so fragile, so vulnerable. I could feel his emotions, right under his skin, ready to pour, like an uncontrollable wave.

'What's going on?' I asked.

'Kara comes back from the dead. I let her go off chasing her vision of Earth.' He looked at me, remembering the fights we had about this. It was time for us to make amends. I was facing my fate. The Demetrius had disappeared and had not come back.

'Well, she's overdue.' He continued, acknowledging his mistake, doubt invading him.

'Lee turns in his wings, and Helo, Athena, Gaeta…Will I ever see those kids again?' His voice was thick with pain and regret. I knew he was omitting my name; I was to depart from this life soon enough.

I put my right arm around his back, rubbing him gently, and held his arm in my left hand.

'Bill… look at me.' He turned his head, swallowing hard.

'I'm right here.' I whispered.

I held his gaze, reassuring. Our faces were close; I was holding him.

'Right here'

He looked at me, unwavering and I could read his soul like an open book, genuine, unguarded, loving. I could see his pain.

'We're going to find it' I was sure now. I knew that I had been given a reprieve, because I had to find Earth. I wanted to infuse my faith to him, to share my certitude, my hope.

'Earth?' he replied.

'Yes'

"I used to think it was such a pipe dream.' I giggled at his words. He continued, 'I used to use it as a carrot for the fleet.' I found his admission very sweet, funny and just honest. How he was made to believe something he invented… Earth.

'What made you change?' I whispered.

'You' he replied with a little laugh and so much tenderness in his eyes.

'You made me believe.' He confessed. We smiled at each other, happy, loving, with tears in our eyes.

'I'll be forever grateful to you… for the hope.' He added. Bill opened his mouth to continue, looking deep in my eyes, emotional, ready to say more... maybe an admission of his love for me. He did not need to say it. His look told me as much; his intensity made my heart flutter and my skin flush. It may have been the most genuine conversation we ever had, the real acknowledgement of our feelings.

The transmission of the wireless started and I heard, low in the background, the voice of Baltar and, in a heartbeat, our mood changed. Bill wanted to turn it off. He tried to stand up brushing my arms gently.

'No, no, no,' I said holding him back, 'let it be… I don't mind it so much now. I'll keep track.' Baltar, ironically, was my last connection to Emily. His voice reminded me of her journey. I folded my hands and bend my head listening to the wireless transmission. Bill took a drink of water and moved closer to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. The transmission was rather short, fifteen minutes maybe. We held each other. I had hope again. I had found a purpose. Yes, I was dying, but I was also leading my people to Earth to our future, for the human race to survive. And I had experienced doubts and fear. But now, I was not scared. I had seen death. I had seen my mother, sisters and niece waiting for me on the other side. I had felt the breeze and such a powerful presence of love surrounding me. I was not scared anymore.

When the transmission stopped, we did not move. We were comfortable in each other's presence. His arms around me, our friendship, our love. I was happy. I was open to him as he had been open to me. It was as if, finally, time had stopped for us, had granted us this moment of sweetness, this moment of tenderness, where we could be ourselves.

'I want to do this.' I murmured to him and I bent to kiss him on the lips. It was chaste, but slow, letting my all of tenderness for him show. It was soothing and healing. We smiled at each other for a few seconds, so close I could feel his breath on my lips. We were tired. I was still weak from the treatments. I yawned deeply, stretching… that made him giggle.

'Do you want to stay here for the night?' He asked with a smile, getting up.

'Yes' I said and I walked to the rack. He turned off the lights, removed his robe, and laid down in his tanks and shorts on the bed. I also removed my robe and, in my pajamas, I laid down next to him, cuddling in his arms. I took a deep breath, inhaling his scent, and rested my cheek on his chest, listening to the slow rumble of his heart.

'Warm enough? He whispered, rubbing my bare back under the white cotton of my pajama shirt. I hummed. He pulled the covers over us. We both fell asleep after a little while, in the comfort of our embrace.

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