Chapter Five: Apotheosis
Laura Roslin Stellar Nursery
Inauguration Day
Battlestar Pegasus
Lee Adama, Commanding
Lee stepped out of the shower and pulled the towel off the counter. He quickly dried himself then wrapped it around his waist before he stepped over to his sink and pulled out his toothbrush. After brushing his teeth and rinsing out his mouth he pulled on his boxers and tanks then left his bathroom and walked in his bedroom of the Commander's Cabin.
He looked to the corner where today's uniform hung clean and pressed thanks to a petty officer. His eyes traveled along the red and gold piping signifying his rank before settling on the rank pins. He'd been in command of Pegasus for just over a month and he'd finally arrived at the point of no return, literally and figuratively speaking.
Steeling himself for what was to come; he reached out and pulled his pants off the hanger.
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Helena silently donned her black suit in her quarters on Colonial One, one of four Billy had acquired for her and the only one that truly fit her properly. This day had been four months in the making; events set in motion by the late Laura Roslin with the intention of keeping them on the path to Earth had run their course and seemed to occur with pre-ordained momentum. She had stepped down from Military service and diverted her full attention to the task of winning the Presidency.
The election was little more than a formality as the weight of Laura's posthumous endorsement and her history of leadership in the military combined with Billy and Tory's skill as campaigners gave her a clear if hard fought victory.
Now, as she prepared to take the oath of office and begin her term she found her eyes drawn to a chart on top of her desk and the thick black line upon it.
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As Lee tucked in his tunic and began to fasten it mechanically his eyes were locked on the "Black Line" and his thoughts were swirling with the meaning of it. It was the estimated PSR for the Cylon FTL, Gaeta and Sharon had established the Black Line three weeks ago as they along with Garner finalized the schematics for linking the Cylon FTL with the Pegasus and performed simulations. When they made their report it all came down to a number.
Twenty-six.
Twenty-six jumps and the FTL would fail, there was no guarantee they'd get their hands on another so they couldn't move farther out than thirteen jumps from Ragnar or there was a chance they'd never get back to the Fleet.
Sharon took out a chart of the quadrant and drew a thick black line with a grease pen to represent the maximum safe distance they could jump from. The Black Line from that moment on had occupied Lee's every waking thought as they grew closer and closer to it.
Sharon, Kat and Helo had spent every moment they could refining the rescue plan while he and Kara worked on the contingency plans. Each day they motivations became more desperate until time was fast running out.
They were nearly there now; Major Shaw had informed him the day before that their next jump would take them just inside the Black Line. He remembered scowling at his Three-I-C as she summarized the navigational updates they'd received from Galactica and signing off on them with force.
The last button fastened, Lee stepped over to his desk and turned on the wireless to listen to the Inauguration ceremony and address followed by the Fleet's next jump. Two reporters droned on about the President-Elect and Lee paid them little attention as he gathered his notes for the official mission proposal he'd make to the Admiral after the jump.
He scowled at the empty room and wondered if and how his father would skirt the mission as he had little hope they'd approve it.
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Helena looked over her speech one more time, the hopeful words were written by Billy and while they didn't really sound like something she'd say to her, Tory and Billy had both stressed (repeatedly) that she needed to make them sound convincing and heartfelt. Going back to high school debate she knew that the key to that was to know the material as thoroughly as possible.
A part of her wished they could have performed this ceremony on Pegasus before the crew that had done so much for her in the last year. She felt so indebted to him that she wanted to share this moment with them but it was simply not possible. The people of the Fleet despite electing her overwhelmingly; were still wary of her and the military as a whole.
As a result, not only could she not celebrate her new position with the people most deserving of a celebration, but she couldn't even allow a member of the military to attend. Not even the two ranking officers of the Fleet.
She cast those thoughts aside as she read her note cards, a knock on the door drew her attention. She turned to find Tory at the door, "It's time."
Helena nodded and turned to the mirror, she smoothed the lines of her suit out before following her to the press room.
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Lee was reading through an engineering report when Billy's voice on the wireless drew his attention, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, the President-Elect of the Colonies; Helena Cain."
The sound of applause was intermingled with the sound of camera flashes for a few moments. When the applause tapered off her heard a man's muffled voice. The same voice was more distinct as his microphone went live, "Raise your right hand and place your left upon the scrolls… Now repeat after me…"
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Helena's eyes locked onto the priest as he began to speak the words of the Oath of Office, "'I Helena Cain.'"
"I Helena Cain…
"'Do now avow and affirm…'"
She quickly swallowed the lump of nervous energy that had collected in her throat and continued on, "Do now avow and affirm… That I take the office of the Office of the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol… And that I will protect and defend the sovereignty of the Colonies with every fiber or my being.
The priest smiled and said, "So say we all." He closed the scroll and extended his hand to hers, "Congratulations." She smiled and took his hand. The Priest then turned to the assembled Quorum members and journalists, "I now proudly introduce the President of the Colonies; Helena Cain." He then stepped away from the podium and the led the round of applause she received.
She stepped up to the podium and looked out over the crowd, "Members of the Quorum, Vice President Bagot, Father Rekert, members of the Press corps and most importantly, my fellow citizens: For most of us here today, this is a solemn and dignified occasion, the orderly transfer of power as authorized by the Articles of Colonization. This transfer is not all that unlike previous inaugurations in the fifty-three years of modern Colonial Government and I find myself thinking back on previous presidents and their administrations
"I recall reading President Larson's moving address when I was nineteen. He spoke in the early days of the Armistice of hope and freedom and faith. He talked of moving forward and uniting the peoples of all the Colonies to do so. I, like so many of us, fondly recall President Uri's heartfelt address fifteen years ago, as he prepared to heal us after the first rebellion of Tom Zerek and the Sagittaron Freedom Alliance. How his impassioned words sparked patriotism in all of us.
"However, while so many things today link us to those long ago times, even the smallest differences remind us of all that has changed
"Two hundred and eighty-four days ago, our homes were destroyed by a cowardly sneak attack. The ships of the Fleet were sabotaged and every planet and moon was bombed from orbit by the Cylons.
"Every single person in this Fleet lost someone that day; Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, siblings, spouses, friends taken from us whether in the blink of an eye in the flash of nuclear detonations or in the chaos that followed. This tragedy was played out over and over again countless times. Each of us can still remember the maddening horrors of that day and none of us will ever forget
"As our forefathers did two-thousand years ago on the dying world of Kobol, we picked ourselves up out of the carnage and rose to our feet to stand above the ashes of our civilization. We rallied around each other and around people like Laura Roslin.
"In those early days, when each day was a struggle just to find the strength to draw another breath, Laura Roslin did all she could to give us hope. At the same time, she drew hope and strength from each person in the Fleet. On her death bed, she gave a pledge to her aides, one that she wished me to relay to you now. 'Humanity must win this war, we must survive this test. We have worked, We have saved and We have sacrificed. Though I could not endure, I surrender my life cheerfully as though this struggle rested upon my shoulders alone.'
"Each and every one of you gave her the strength to lead and it is each and every one of you that I promise to lead now.
"The road to Earth is a long one, and no doubt a hard one. We follow in the footsteps of the Thirteenth Tribe through the dark night into the uncertain future. We seek that Bright, Shining City on the Hill, the last outpost of our distant brothers and sisters who have been separated from us for so long
"We lost our families in the flames of the Holocaust, and we seek long lost cousins on Earth but here we have forged a new family.
"Look at those around you, among you are brothers, sisters, lovers and friends. These people you've taken this journey with are family, if not of blood or faith or vows of marriage then of tragedy. But out of that tragedy we will rebuild and out of that tragedy we will reach victory over those that sought to destroy all of us
"Outside these ships is the Laura Roslin Stellar Nursery. Just as she nurtured the young people of Caprica City as a School Teacher and the young people of all the Colonies as the Secretary of Education then the people of this Fleet as President until her dying breath, her name nurtures a new generation of stars and planets, where perhaps life will spark and grow as it did on Kobol millennia ago.
"My first order as President is for Admiral Adama to spread her ashes into space
"As we commit her ashes to wander this gestating star system, we commit her spirit to watch over us for the remainder of her journey. We leave her remains but not her faith; we will finish the road she started us upon.
"That is my charge as President to lead us through the deserts into the oasis of a new world and I pray with all my heart that each and every one of us finds Earth safe and healthy and on that shining world I pray we will live in Peace…"
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"The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Laura Roslin and so many millions of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with the Gods' help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.
"And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Colonials. May the Gods bless you, and thank you." Lee reached out and turned off the wireless then picked up his receiver.
When the Flight Deck answered, "This is the Commander; I want a raptor prepped for launch after we complete the jump.
He rose to his feet and tugged at his tunic to straighten the lines then exited his cabin, head held high and ready for the fight of his life.