------New Caprica City (+30 Days Since Landing, +320 Days Since Cylon Holocaust)------

"And here, on this ground, Colonial civilization will be rebuilt," President Baltar proclaimed, holding his shovel high in the air. "The first building we shall construct. It will house not only our people, but our ideas and our spirit. Our spirit in humanity and our spirit in the future." He leaned forward into the microphone, taking in the crowd of thousands. Behind him the ships of the Fleet capable of landing had done so. Above him a squadron of Raptors and Vipers flew by, right on schedule. "Today we mark the official dedication of New Caprica City and a new beginning!"

The crowd cheered for him as he jumped down from the platform and drove the shovel down into the cold Earth, making the spot where the first permanent building would be erected.

Congratulations, Gaius. They love you. You will bring them peace and happiness, that is your destiny said his gorgeous shadow. I'm so proud of you.

"Thank you very much," he whispered to his shadow lover. He turned his attention back to those cheering and clapping from the elated crowd.

"Congratulations, Mr. President," Admiral Cain said as she approached. Baltar noticed she wasn't carrying her sidearm. She noticed his observation. "A soldier needs to know when to stop fighting," she said, smiling at him.

The Cylons had not been seen since the Resurrection ship was destroyed. Erica-Z had told them that the Guardians would most likely be nomadic, but would not actively search for the Colonials.

She will help you destroy your enemies, Gaius the Six whispered in his ear. He glanced over towards the woman only he could see briefly, smiling and turned his attention back towards Admiral Cain.

"Thank you, Admiral," he accepted. "We still have a lot of work to do." He turned to walk with her as they maneuvered through the crowd. Most had already made their ways to the buffet lines and open bars. Marines had gone out earlier in the day and killed game animals, mostly small animals and some medium sized ones that looked similar to deer. "But with our four friends helping plan the city and with the construction we should be able to keep things moving swiftly."

She moved closer, keeping her hands clasped behind her back she leaned towards the man she towered over and whispered to him. Her grimace was slight, but displeasure saturated her voice. "Yes, keep them close. But remember, Mr. President, they can't be trusted. They have a plan. I know you have a fondness for them and… the Cylons," she hesistated, almost saying 'Gina' instead, "but remember that machines are patient. Now that you're president, please keep our agreement," she warned. He stopped walking and turned to to her, mouth open and ready to speak. Her demenour instantly changed and in a loud and confident voice told him, "Thank you Mr. President. I will do everything to coordinate fleet requests with the city planners." She smiled, nodded, and as fast as the conversation had progressed she was gone, making her way through the crowds back to her Raptor. She despised being on the cold planet.

President Baltar had had his fill of alcohol for the night, and if he had chosen, could have filled all the women he desired. But something inside of him, something he couldn't explain, had destroyed his will to find women and love them.

The Six appeared to him whenever he had such thoughts of other women. She was his love, but his crutch. He knew she wasn't 'real' but she felt real. Very real.

Gaius, she threw in as they were in his bed, Do you love me?

He hadn't been expecting that question. She'd asked him on Caprica, before the holocaust, before the 50 megaton thermonuclear bomb had destroyed Caprica City and his life. Before he knew he had been an instrument of Death.

She hit him in the chest, goading him for an answer.

"Yes, I love you," he confirmed. He smiled towards her, looking into her eyes and kissing her.

Good, she left him. She began to dress, even as no one could even see her. We have a lot of work to do Gaius. You're behind schedule. In the morning get Leuitenant Gaeta down here, and you two work on the jamming device. She had finished dressing at this point and begun to make her way out of his suite on board Colonial One. Turning, propped up on the doorframe, she tilted her chin into her chest and starred Gaius Baltar in the eyes. I love you. But don't forget, Gaius.


The party was over and the night had come. For Commander Adama and former President of the Colonies Laura Roslin the night could not be any more perfect. The weather was still pleasant and Adama had removed his duty uniform tunic and crumpled it under Roslin's head as an impromptu pillow.

The two had been through a lot. Commander Adama had been Roslin's loyal protector and she had been his political advocate. She had stood by him when he sent his Vipers to rescue his men from Admiral Cain. He, however, had disappointed himself in the recent past, and he had hated himself for it. He hadn't defended her enough. But they were there, together, now.

They laid on a blanket, starring up into the nebula, its multi-colored gases illuminating the sky. The lights of New Caprica City had been dimmed to conserve power. They laid there hand in hand, looking up at the sky. Nothing could be more perfect for them.


Lt. Karl Agathon and Sharon Agathon stood on the edge of the river, their daughter, Hera in their arms. Today was a special day for the fifty thousand remnants of humanity as New Caprica City had been dedicated. It was a fresh start. But for Karl and Sharon Agathon, it was a fresh start for them as well.

They had been to the temple. Or more accurately, a large canvas tent. They had been married, only a few had attended the private ceremony. Starbuck, Apollo, Blanks, Kat, Racetrack, Hot Dog, and Commander Adama had attended. It had been low key, not publicized. There was still much animosity towards her in the civilian as well as military population. But she had been slowly earning their trust.

"It's a beautiful night, Sharon," Helo said to his new wife, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She scooted the baby closer to him. "Two beautiful women to spend the time with," he smiled, he looked towards her and he had to smile at his corny line.

As they stood there she rested her head on his shoulder, bringing Hera in closer.

"We'll never have a normal life here on New Caprica, Karl. Not with Hera, not while the Cylons are still out there," the sadness and despair clear in her voice. She looked into the dark waters in front of her, the reflection of the nebula was brilliant and beautiful.

Karl Agathon stroked her hair, shushing her gently, hoping she wouldn't become upset. He hadn't been sure about coming down to the planet. He'd talked her into it. She wanted to get married on the Galactica. But Hera had deserved to see a real planet, at least once.

"We don't have to stay down here, Sharon. We'll go back to the ship with the supply Raptors in the morning," he reassured her. "Until then, I brought a surprise," he looked down and smiled towards her beautiful eyes and the face of his child.


John, Jo, and Carter had walked away from the city as the dedication party had begun to die down early in the evening. Everyone had been exhausted from a day of eating and drinking and many had turned in to their tents for the night. Tens of thousands of human beings now slept peacefully on the first ground they had stepped on since the Cylon Holocaust.

For the three cybernetic organisms had attended the ceremony, reluctantly, at the request of President Baltar. He had actually complimented them for their work in helping to plan the city, using their neural net CPUs to design optimal schedules and plans for implementation of resources, taking inventory of fleet resources and equipment, and much more.

Carter and Jo had been against lending much help, but John had insisted on it.

"It's a much nicer night than any I have seen on Earth," Jo commented. They had decided to use voice conversation instead of wireless links. "The night is always so… dark," she stated, looking up into the nebula.

"These people live better than most on Earth," Carter observed. "They might be in tents, but that's better than tunnels and in constant fear."

John looked up, and he could barely see the ships as their geosynchronous orbit kept them over the city. The ships up there were the key to the success of the mission, and he had been ultimately disappointed when the fleet had moored their ships in orbit.

He turned his gaze back towards the city, his vision allowing him to visualize it as if day. It was pretty, it wasn't special, and it wasn't all that great. But to the people here, he knew it was their new home.

"It'll never be a home, though. Not our home," he said quietly. He turned towards his friend said to Carter "If we can't leave, we can help them build something here. We can at least help someone rebuild, even if it will never be out home.

Jo nodded. Carter spoke up, pointing out they would never be accepted by the Colonials.

Somewhere off in the distance they heard "…-ollo…-nd I -ove…K-... -ace."


------BS-62 Pegasus (+50 Days Since Landing, +340 Days Since Cylon Holocaust)------

Admiral Cain stalked the corridors of her battlestar with a mix of apprehension and dread. Her two Marine bodyguards had been whittled to one as more and more crew requested permanent leave to settle New Caprica. She had been reluctant at first, but in the two weeks since Dedication Day she had allowed an additional seventy-five leave on the planet.

She gently rounded the last corridor before coming into the port machine shop. In the last month it had been transformed from a human occupied work environment, churning out Vipers and spare parts for the fleet into a machine shop for the city taking ship down below.

The admiral made her rounds daily, checking over the ship, making everything was in repair.

"Chief Laird," she nodded to him as he worked on building generators for electricity in the city, "How is everything progressing?" She came up and stood a meter from him, her hands always clasped behind her back.

The deck chief had looked up from his work, slightly agitated. "It's going… well, I guess. John and Carter are helping us. We've built a dozen generators already," he stood and wiped his brow. Grease and grime had spread onto his orange coveralls.

Cain nodded, pleased they were ahead of schedule. She walked slowly around the machine ship, inspecting the generators. Carter walked by her, carrying a three ton piece of equipment with no apparent effort. She gave him only a cursory glance before moving on.

Planck saw her coming up to him and placed his tools back into his belt. He didn't stand at attention, but his natural posture was rigid, metallic. He and Carter had been able to relax more around the deck and machine crews who seemed to be more accepting. Planck was of the philosophy that if you worked side by side with someone to build rather than destroy then you could be accepted. It'd worked, slightly. But there was still and always would be tension.

"Admiral," he greeted her, stepping aside so she could look over his word.

"Mr. Planck. Chief Laird tells me that you all have finished twelve generators. Three weeks of work in under thirty-six hours. Very impressive."

Planck let a small smile break through the stoic machine expression. "Thank you. We don't sleep," he stated matter-of-factly.

Admiral Cain didn't immediately respond, but had crouched down and was more closely inspecting the generator in front of her, almost like she was looking for something and anything to criticize them. Planck wasn't exactly sure. "Yes, machines don't sleep," she remarked.

"Cybernetic organism," he reminded her. She let a quick little laugh escape. Though technically they weren't, he knew it made them feel better than just pure 'machine.'

Standing back up, her hands on the small of her back (perpetually causing her problems) she looked at him. "As you always so kindly remind us, Mr. Planck," she said. She hovered around the generator for a moment before turning and dismissing her Marine guard. The Marine came to attention and about faced. He took a position at the hatch to the machine shop.

"Admiral?" Planck asked inquisitively.

Cain nodded her head for him to follow, and the two began a slow walk down out of the machine shop and into the hanger bay. The port hanger bay was almost deserted, maybe half a dozen knuckle draggers on the entire port side. There were only enough pilots to man the Vipers on the starboard bay.

"Why are you all here?" She asked. As he was about to answer she held up her hand, cutting him off. "I don't mean why as in 'what is your mission'; I've heard that enough," she paused. "Why are you all still here? We aren't going to be moving the fleet away from the planet. You do want to return home?"

John began processing answers to the question. He felt inclined to answer with the 'it's my mission' response, but the pre-emptive dismissal indicated that reason was becoming 'old' as humans would say. Admiral Cain had glanced over to him as they walked and noted how when the machines thought, their eyes always glazed over and the blank and disconcerting stare resurfaced.

Admiral Cain saw there was no life behind those eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity for her, and most likely was for him, he responded to her question. "We stay because we want to. Yes, it is our mission. But missions can be modified. Abandoning the Colonial fleet now would not help anyone," he pointed out. "We have done a lot to help you build," he added in.

The Tauron woman next to him kept her gaze steady on the far end of the hanger bay as she thought over his response. She ignored his last point. "That is not a reason. It's just a statement of what you are doing."

John had hoped she wouldn't point that out. "True," was his one worded reply. "While we want to return to Earth and defeat SkyNet, we don't know if it's even possible."

"Why would you be sent back in time without knowing how far back?" Admiral Cain asked.

The Colonial commands staffs had been briefed on the return of Planck from Landros and Caprica. They'd gone into more detail about their mission and revealed the Guardians to be more of a victim than an aggressor. That hadn't won them any allies.

"Connor never told anyone everything. There was only one he ever truly trusted." He confessed to Admiral Cain. "We can't compute how far back we've gone because the stars are different here than on Earth," he pointed out.

She had considered that impediment. The two continued their slow walk down the landing bays. They passed mark VII Vipers with tarps pulled over them and storage containers packed around them. A few overhead lights were already failing and flickering. Admiral Cain looked up, a brief moment of pain passed over her face before being defeated by the strength of her stone-faced nature.

"When you told us we started the first Cylon War and resurrection… no one believed you. Why did you tell us that?" She gestured with her hands, rolling them forward and back. "As a flag officer I was privileged to some information I could not share. Everything we had been told was that the First Battle of Caprica had been a fluke. Luck. The jamming had been a lie but the public needed to think we had a weapon, not just blind luck," she confessed. "But I guess luck wasn't even a factor," she sighed.

"We haven't told anyone except those present, and we don't discuss it. We know what it would do. It would destabilize a society on the verge of extinction." John reassured her.

She nodded her agreement. "I think you know I never wanted to stop here and settle. We need to fight." John noted the conviction in her voice, perhaps the most emotion behind anything she had said to him in months. "But sometimes you just can't anymore. The Cylons won, didn't they?" John didn't answer the rhetorical question immediately. She turned her head slightly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. John kept perfect pace with her, completely parallel to her strides.

John's mouth hung open a second before answer in the affirmative. "The Cylons won a year ago, yes." He decided to tell her more of Earth. "Humanity thought the same for years after Judgment Day. Connor wasn't able to rally them until 2016 with an attack on the port of Los Angeles." He understood she would have no idea the importance of that victory without a long-winded explanation. John decided against that. "But to the point, the victory freed tens of thousands, destroyed significant enemy assets, and made him a hero. But here, now, there are only fifty thousand left and two ships against an armada. On Earth there are still a few billion. And Earth was factious before SkyNet attacked… still is," he added. "That was beneficial to humans. There were so many guns and bombs and weapons to fight SkyNet."

"You wont see it again," she said. The thought sounded almost random. "Earth, I mean."

"You know we could take a ship if Baltar forces us to stay," John pointed out.

"I know. But you wont," Admiral Cain said confidently.

They walked for a few moments in silence. John kept his neural processes fixated on why Cain was being this… nice to him when she was still plotting to kill them. Planck was running dozens of psychological sub-routines and algorithms to determine her intent.

"How is the project with the Cylon CPUs coming?"

"Slowly. Erica has been talking with them," he paused, "A few of them are coming around, but I doubt if any of them will defect soon."

Admiral Cain sighed and brought her right hand over her pistol holster. "You should reprogram them."

"Not if they're sapient," he countered. He debated with himself if he should bring up the issue of Erica again. When he had shown her to the Admiral and Commander they had been livid about the appearance of a fourth (and sixth) machine intelligence in the fleet. "I know that Erica is not as trusted, but she has asked for a body to be built-"

Cain cleared her through and told him, "I'll keep it under consideration, but right now… no," she declared. "We can't have a fourth mach-, cybernetic organism running around from an AI with such links to Cylons. If the information every got out, it'd be chaos."

He cocked his head to the side at that. He found it illogical. "There are already three of us, I don't see a fourth being an issue. We do not have to reveal her identity. Doctor Cottle has been using synthetic skin for burns now for months. It would only require a small increase-"

"No," she shot at him, voice firm and ending the discussion. "No." She stopped abruptly and turned to face John. Nodding she said, "Thank you answering some of my question, Mr. Planck. Carry on," and she turned on her heels to continue her inspection of the battlestar.


------New Caprica City (+150 Days Since Landing, +440 Days Days Since Cylon Holocaust)------

John Planck and Jo Soto walked through the crowded dirt lanes of New Caprica City. They both wore the standard issue Colonial black battle fatigue bottom and black tee-shirt with the Galactica emblem was stitched over the left breast. Carter had remained on Pegasus, working on various projects for improvements to the vessel, as well as weapon developments for the inevitable.

The two would have been able to pass as just two Colonial citizens, walking down a busy lane, just talking. But their lack of warm clothing in near freezing weather was a giveaway for their identities as machines. Not many people paid them much attention, not any more. The three had been active in the construction of equipment, building, and in infrastructure.

While very few Colonials would talk to them, or even look them in the eyes, there was always enough bravery to insult them when their backs were turned. The Cylon insult 'skinjob' had become the most popular again. The insults usually with oscillated between 'endo-toaster' and 'skinjob'.

"They've come a long way," remarked Jo, leaning closer to her machine friend. "They have sanitation, rudimentary running water and sewage, a few apartment buildings almost completed," she ran her hand over one of the canvas tents, "they might be able to get out of these things," she snickered. "Did you talk to Erica this morning?"

John shook his head. "No, I was helping clear some land for cultivation," he informed her. "They hope to have some fields planted soon."

"Have you been to Colonial One recently, John?" She asked. She kept looking around at the swarms of people moving about, the small rodent-like creatures cooking on open grills in the market, and cold Colonial citizens bartering for this and that. "He's been acting…"

John laughed and finished her sentence, "Strange?" He looked down and shook his head, "Yes, he's been acting strange. But no, I haven't been to his ship for a while now. Last time I was there, something was just… off, about the whole place."

Jo did not immediately respond, but had fixed her gaze on a game of Pyramid. She saw the remnants of the Caprica Buccaneers playing against a pick up Galactica team. "It's almost like they can just forget their refugees, the last of their civilization," she observed, pointing to the scene for John.

John shrugged. "It's like on Earth, you need to make the best of it." They walked towards the makeshift court and stood on the side, watching the two team compete against each other. "That's a fun game. Have you ever played?" He asked Jo.

She looked at him, eying him like he'd asked some strange, off the wall question. "No." She leaned closer to him so no one would overhear, "You know I'm not a good sport. I wouldn't lose purposefully; I'd wipe the floor with them." The grin lit up her face.

The two continued observing the game when Sam Anders called for a time out. He noticed the two of them watching and came over, the rest of his team and the others kept away, suspicious of being near the two cybernetic organisms.

"Hi Sam," Jo greeted as he came up. He wiped some sweat off with his left hand and extended his right, shaking her and John's. "How's the game?"

He shrugged, looking back at the court. "We're up by two. A bit out of practice," he informed them. "A lot of the guys are busy with Chief Tyrol out building things or helping clear that land… but you know, we're all keeping busy." His eyes darted between the two, when he heard a well-known, happy blond woman laugh across the street. "Anyway, I'll talk to you all later."

Jo continued to watch as the Pyramid game continued. John cocked his head to the side, and out of the corner of his eye could see Lee and Kara Adama laughing and walking happily through the crowd.