Chapter Eleven:They will know enmity, bitterness, the wrenching agony of one splintering into many. And then, they will join the promised land, gathered on the wings of an angel.

Starbuck paced around the small room as she spoke to the Admiral and Vice President. It was a little odd to have Tom Zarek in meetings rather than the President,Laura Roslin,but to his credit he was asking the right questions and shutting up at the right times too.

The two men appeared to be on good terms, which was miraculous in itself. As she retold her tale, the two men would exchange glances and interject with the occasional question.

Kara tried to retell her hybrid encounter word for word and Adama's body visually stiffened at the use of their private word game.

"It actually said to you, 'what do you hear' and it knew your name?" Adama snapped, therewere very few people that would know the significanceto Kara of those words, and it wasn't only meant as a message to her, the meaning Bill wasn't sure about at the moment, but it had been received loud and clear. He leaned forward in his chair listening a little more intently as Starbuck continued her report.

"It was Colonel Tigh, I would swear," she said.

"A Cylon trick maybe?" Tom directed his question to Adama.

Adama pondered his response, "There are only a few that would know of that saying."

"Why did you decide to send Captain Thrace on this mission?" Zarek said once again ignoring her.

"Hey, what the frak are you getting at?" Starbuck snapped tersely.

"I'm just wondering, with your recent past, whether you were the right choicefor this mission," Zarek countered.

Kara rounded on Zarek, "If you haven't noticed, Mr. Vice President, I am definitely no frakking Cylon," pointing to her body then her mouth, "see walking and talking."

Adama interjected into the squabble, "lets get back to the report shall we, Captain."

Starbuck stared a few seconds longer than necessary at Zarek,before turning her attention back to her commanding officer.

"Sorry Sir, it mentioned five pillars, how they had called all the Cylons here, it gave me the impression thatthey were our five sleeping beauties in life stations."

Adama frowned, "There was something in the scriptures to do with the planet that we found the Eye of Jupiter on that mentioned five pillars, I can't remember what though," he said shaking his head, before muttering to himself, "Laura would know," he lifted his head, "never mind, what else?"

"It said something like,

'the darkness must fall, they must pay, then it had one of it weird turns, rambling on about bringing forth the morning star."

"Morning Star?" Adama asked.

"Angels, it's a term for angels."

Both Kara and Adama turned stunned faces towards Tom and his unexpected knowledge. He shrugged his shoulders, slightly embarrassed by it, and quickly turned the conversation away from himself by saying, "So we bomb them out of space and go settle on Earth, neat, don't you think?"

Kara was nodding her head, as Adama started to shake his.

"No."

"Oh come on," Kara blurted out.

Adama glared at his errant officer, "They are defenseless out there, they can do us no harm."

"Which is why we should hit them now."

"You enjoy killing a sitting target, Starbuck? Adama growled.

"It's called payback, Sir."

"Much as I admire your sportsmanship and I hate to do it, I have to agree with Captain Thrace here," Zarek said seriously.

"It's genocide."

"Hardly Admiral we have our own versions down in life stations, I would imagine you have no intentionof giving them up."

Kara weighed into the battle of right or wrong with, "Sir, it'swhat the final five want us to do."

"What's to say they are right?" Adama said.

"You can't have it both ways, Bill," Zarek said softly, "You either trust those five or you don't."

Adama sighed heavily; he wished Laura werehere not for the first time but thinking logically she probably wouldn't be saying any different to what the other two occupants of his cabin were advising right now.

Zarek continued,as the Admiral remained silent, "Let's weigh up the options, we can't leave those ships just sitting in space, sooner or later they will stop functioning and then they become a danger to the planet. It's not exactly humane to leave them there like that anyway is it?" Zarek watched Adama as he gave a tiny nod. "If we could somehow get those ships out of this Solar system we then become virtual prisoners unable to leave ourselves. I've seen no sign of mercy recently from them, have you?"

"No," Bill mumbled.

"We have no choice," Tom said, "As Vice President and in temporary control of this fleet, I have the ability to order you to destroy the Cylon fleet, Admiral, if I need to?"

Bill turned his head away in distaste.

"Bill, you can't leave this system if you let them go," Zarek said, having a good idea of the man's plan, and hoping he could exert pressure on Adama to change his mind.

Adama grimaced but turned to Starbuck, "Get suited up and ready to strike within the hour."

"Yes, Sir!" She grinned, saluted and turned, giving Zarek a wink as she left.

"It was their urge to destroy us that drove them to their own destruction, Bill." Tom said as he pulled up his chair to the desk and continued, "right let'stalk about getting our people onto the planet shall we I don't wantthis toend up like the frakking mess that New Caprica was, and before you say it, I'm well aware, that little episode had more to do with my power hungry urges than any incompetence wherethe military were concerned, but all I want now is to have learnt by our mistakes."

Bill looked Zarek in the eye, weighing the man up, before nodding and opening a folder on his desk, "Resources are good on the planet, we have pinpointed several excellent areas for colonisation, and I suggest we get as many healthy workersdown there as we can,to start the building programme."

"Good, good, do we keep them down there or ferry them up and down."

"I don't think anyone wants to see a tent city again -soshuttle them up and down initially."

The two men sat for the next few hours, hashing out plans for the settlement of the human race on the planet Earth. As they busied themselves the order was given to move the rest of the colonial fleet to a safe distance away from the Cylons. Once this was achieved Captain Thrace was sent out to destroy all the enemy ships in the solar system, the progress was slow as Adama ordered each ship was destroyed carefully to minimize any debris falling to Earth. Even so the atmosphere round the planet glowed constantly as small fragments burnt up in the air high above. Tiny particles of dusk accumulated on the wings of Kara's viper as she flew in and out of orbit checking for the debris. As she passed low over the ground taking in the sights of Earth before returning to the next destruction the Cylon ashes were scattered across the vast land masses and seas of Earth.

"You have no intention of coming do you?" Zarek said as their meeting drew to a close.

Bill took his glasses off and squeezed the bridge of his nose before answering honestly, "No."

"You want this ship, what else?"

"Anybody that wants to come, they don't have to be in the military and I intend to return every six months."

"I see, and what if I say I need you on the planet?" Tom asked.

"You don't."

"Hmm, and what do I tell the people?" Tom questioned.

"You tell them, that for their safety, Galactica will continue to investigate the areas around this solar system."

Tom smiled, "you're good, and you have all the answers."

Bill smiled slightly at the Vice President, "Maybe?"

"What happens if you're wrong about the remainingCylons?"

"I don't think I am but they can pose no threat to Earth."

"You're about to risk your life, on this. I hope you are right because if you're not, when they wake up they're going to be pretty pissed off."

"Maybe but what possible meaning could my life hold without my son, my best friend, my ...?"

Zarek snorted, "Your ex wife you were about to say I think, couldn't have been about Laura Roslin that would have been highly improper, Admiral."

Bill looked down with a smile on his face, gods he hated this man for making him,actually like him.

"Speaking of Laura, how do you think she will take to having your ex along for the trip?"

Adama sighed, "She wouldn't be my first choice for a travellingcompanion myself."

"Maybe if you took that off, it wouldn't hurt," Zarek said nodding his head towards Bill's hand and the ring whichnobody in the fleet had missed or not speculated about."

"I suppose now is probably the right time," Bill said pulling the ring from his finger and laying it flat on his desk top, and stared at it.

Tom watched Adama carefully, he suspected there was more to that ring than the pull of a woman that clearly had no effect on him anymore, but Tom wasn't about to chance this fragile relationship whichthey had built up by prying into the man's affairs.

"Laura, will be fine, I'm sure, she is a remarkable woman," Tom stated confidently.

The Admiral met Zarek's eyes,looking for any trace of sarcasm or one upmanship on the Vice President'sface but could see none, so nodded his head in agreement.

"And of course, it could have been worse."

Bill raised his eyebrows in surprise; he couldn't think anything much worse, and questioned, "How so?"

"Well the fifth Cylon could have been Baltar!"

Bill stared at Zarek for moment before erupting into a series of uncontrollable laughs.

Just one more chapter to go, and thanks toeveryone who has reviewed.