Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.
Chapter 20: Making deals
Laura reached CIC, having walked from Life Station when the admiral had called her. "Bill, what is it?"
He looked over at her as she reached the table in the middle of the lower deck. "I think Tyrol might've found that cavern we were looking for."
The radio in his hand crackled again. "Sir, we're looking at some sort of computer. I think I found a button to turn it on, but I'm not sure what it will do. I don't know what it might affect," Tyrol's voice told him.
In the cavern, Tyrol told one of the other technicians to hold the flashlight while he brushed the cobwebs from what was actually not a podium, but a large computer console with a screen on the top, facing up like the console on a ship. The button he had mentioned was a large green button two thirds of the way up from the bottom.
"Give it a try," the admiral told him.
He pushed the button and heard the circuits crackling and the square generator humming. "I think I've got something. I see numbers and words that I can't read. It looks like it's booting."
One of the other technicians tripped over something long. "I think this place has snakes."
The chief rolled his eyes, shining a flashlight in the area. "They're just wires, coming from the generator we found when we walked in."
As they continued examining the equipment, the room shook. "That's the third time these caves have done that within the last two hours," one of the other technicians said.
He turned back to the screen, seeing a box appear. Inside the box was a blinking green minus sign. "I think I need some sort of password," Tyrol told the admiral.
Bill looked back at Laura. "What was it that Sorenson told us? That there were number sequences involved in this thing?"
"We should ask her to join us. She might be able to help with this," Laura recommended.
Morgana entered CIC, holding the folder. "What's going on?"
"We thing we've found the cavern," Laura mentioned.
"The chief needs a password. You said something about number sequences," Bill reminded.
Morgana nodded. "Yes, but I have no idea what they would be," she paused to find the later papers of the document, pulling them out. "They're not on any of my information."
Laura spotted the paper with the triangle again. "Do you know what this means?" she asked Morgana.
The doctor shook her head. "I wish that I did."
The former president reached for the radio. "I might have a few numbers for you to try."
Bill raised an eyebrow. "Dream?"
She nodded. "I was talking to Caprica and Sharon and we've figured out what the numbers in my dream refer to, birthdays. Since Hera was first, it's fitting that we try her birthday first," she explained quietly to Bill. Then she turned back to the radio. "Try five and then six."
He brushed the dust from what looked like the keys. The number area looked different than what he was used to, but he could still identify the numbers. He did as she had suggested. "It didn't work."
"Try five, zero, six then," she recommended.
This time he put the numbers in and another screen came up. "I think I'm into the main computer screen, but I can't understand any of this. It's in a different language."
"I suppose I should go down there. I have something that lets me translate text. Perhaps it could help with this," Morgana commented.
Bill cleared his throat. "There's another flaw to this idea though. If this is the computer mentioned in that report, how are we supposed to know what corrections to add in to fix the magnetic resonance?"
Laura paced for a moment. Then she turned back to him. "We may not be able to do it, but I bet the Cylons can."
"I'll let you call them," he told Laura.
She groaned and reluctantly headed to the admiral's office to make the call. "D'Anna, I might have a proposition for you," she began.
"Does it include catching a certain rat of a leader in a painfully embarrassing trap?" the other woman questioned.
Laura smirked. "Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. However, this does have to do with you and your people staying on the planet. There is a computer that controls the earthquakes on the planet. The earthquakes are controlled through magnetic resonance that has to do with the poles. Certain calculations need to be made every fifty years that adjust the magnetic resonance in response to the poles."
"I think you may have lost me, Laura. What do you think the Cylons can do?" D'Anna asked.
"The Cylons or the computers on your ship might be able to calculate what the adjustments need to be," Laura explained.
She could hear D'Anna's skepticism in her tone. "Do you really think that this is a big enough bargaining chip so that the rat will let us stay on his planet?"
Laura sighed. "I can't be certain of that, but it might buy us time, and right now we need more time."
D'Anna was silent for a while. Just when she thought that the Cylon had left, D'Anna spoke again. "Alright. I need to go down to the surface to look at the computer system to see if we can do anything."
"That's fine," Laura added.
She walked back out to Bill and Morgana. "D'Anna's willing to take a look. I believe we need to organize a group to head down to the surface."
"I'll bring my text translator. It should be useful," Morgana interjected.
Laura smiled. "Then it's settled. I'll take a group of Cylons including Athena, Dr. Sorenson, a-"
"No. You're not going down there. It's too dangerous," Bill interrupted.
She sighed. "But Bill, I want to see this for myself. I need to know if it's what I've been seeing in my dreams."
"Athena can take pictures for you. I will not risk your life down in a cave before we've fixed the problem of the earthquakes. I should have more reservations about letting anyone go down there, but we have a political issue that outweighs reason at the moment," he argued.
His wife ran a hand through her hair. "I do see your point, but I really think that I need to be down there."
"No. Not right now." He leaned closer to her and whispered, "In case you've forgotten, you're pregnant and right now that puts you at risk not only for the usual physical reasons, but also for the Cylon reasons."
She looked up at him to study him. "Alright, you win this one. However, we also need to bargain with the premiere to let the Cylons stay if they fix his problem."
"That might be a tough one. He's got problems that can't be fixed," Saul chimed in, causing Bill and Laura to chuckle, easing the tension in the room.
Later that day D'Anna, Athena, a few more Cylons, and Morgana waited by a Raptor in Galactica's docking bay. Cottle handed Morgana her duffle bag, which contained not only the translating device, but a camera. "You be careful. Much as I hate to admit it, I've appreciated your medical expertise in Life Station."
She snorted. "So you'd only miss me for my skills as a physician?"
He rolled his eyes. "I think we both know better than that."
Taking a quick step toward him, she kissed him. "Yes, Doctor, we do."
They boarded the Raptor, piloted by Athena. While the Raptor made its way to the surface, Laura called the premiere on the two-way radio. "Premiere Blackwell, this is the former president of the Twelve Colonies. I have something that you might be interested in."
He picked up the radio, calling Octavio into his office before answering it. "What is the meaning of this? Are you asking me to speak to your robots again?"
"Tiberius, have you had any earthquakes lately?"
"You know we have."
"What if I told you that we could fix your problem?"
"You mean the one you caused?"
"We didn't cause your earthquakes, but if you let the Cylons stay, they can fix the problem."
He set the radio down and looked across his desk to where Octavio sat. "What do you think?"
"As your Senior Chairman, I think that you should consider it. We should let them fix our situation, and then we can find something later to remove them from our planet. It will give us time to gather proof against them. Right now we do not have enough information. Give me a little more time and I can have enough to get rid of not only the Cylons, but those Colonials. Sir, they have been a thorn in your side. I can convince the Legislature to get rid of them," Octavio recommended.
Tiberius sighed, weighing his options. "I don't think we can do that. If there's one thing I have learned about these people, it's that they will do whatever it takes to ensure their survival, especially if we do not honor the deals that we make. Roslin is not to be underestimated."
"You've let a woman who is no longer their president worry you?" Octavio pointed out.
The premiere shook his head. "She wields more power than we first realized. She controls the military through the admiral, the civilians through her stepson who is now president, and the Cylons through negotiations. Somehow she is the link between everyone and whatever deals we make with her, we must honor."
Octavio sighed in frustration. "Then this is a fool's errand because you've already made up your mind. We are talking about having robots on our planet. If the people realize what they are, they will want access to the library under-"
"I know. However, I fear their nuclear capabilities more than our people's curiosity. Curiosity can be redirected to other projects. It would not be that difficult to restrict the Colonials and their robots to a second-class status, keeping them only in their own city," Tiberius mentioned.
The other man smiled darkly. "Turning our people against theirs without the use of force? I suppose if we make them uncomfortable enough, they won't want to stay here."
"All we would need to worry about then is defection. Losing Dr. Sorenson to them was bad enough. Having them win people to their side will be a problem, but if we convince the masses that these new people are different and need to be isolated, then curiosity can be kept at bay, and we no longer have a problem," Tiberius hypothesized.
"You are a genius sir, a very worthy leader," Octavio stated.
"Being a leader is about control, Octavio." Then Tiberius turned back to the radio and pushed the correct buttons. "Roslin, you have a deal."
(My thanks to WonderfallsOnDaisies, carolann, and Mythtern13 for reviewing :D)