Bright, Shiny Futures - Chapter Thirty-Two
Kara's heart was conflicted as she drove home.
The thought of nuclear war was one that terrified her, particularly since she'd lived through it already and knew the odds of getting out alive - slim to none. She knew she'd been incredibly lucky that she'd been one of the survivors before, and that was only because she'd not followed her heart and studied art like she'd wanted to but done what her mother had wanted instead and gone into the Military. She'd had yet a second dose of amazing luck in that she'd been in the brig when the Cylons had initially attacked. If she'd have been out there leading her squadron where she should have been, she'd have been annihilated in the very first few minutes, right along with her wingmates.
It almost seemed as if the Gods had made sure she was in the right place at the right time. Gods or God, she wondered, and remembered Zach's words earlier:
'Maybe God gave us Lee since he took our other daddy away.'
Gods or God. It wasn't an issue she'd ever pushed with Michael or the kids. They'd talked of it and he'd known she believed in the multiple Gods she'd grown up with but here on Earth, particularly here, where they lived, a lot of the people believed in a singular God. The schools taught it that way and Michael believed it, and since Kara had kept her beliefs to herself, the children had naturally followed his.
What if, she asked herself. What if the one God is the Cylon God? Michael was a Cylon even though he didn't know it. Was he programmed with that innate belief in his Creator even though he would never be aware of it on a conscious level? Her skin crawled at the implication it made. What if they're all Cylons? What if there are more than just five 'unknown' models? What if all of Earth is populated by Cylons?
Her hands grew clammy and she alternately rubbed them against her legs, swallowing convulsively. It couldn't be. The Cylons couldn't possibly be in control here. They were here before you got here, she reminded herself. Maybe this is all part of their master plan. To get the rest of humanity here and destroy them.
Her pulse raced and she pushed her foot down harder on the accelerator. The civilian in her was scared to death at the thought of imminent destruction, however the soldier in her was dusting herself off and flexing her muscles for the likely possibility of an upcoming war.
XXXXX
The water cascaded down the waterfall, blocking all other noises, had there been any.
Hera brushed the curls off her forehead, both dampened by the humid air. She surveyed all she could see but though there were no living beings save the plants and insects, she didn't feel frightened. In fact it felt rather peaceful, despite the roaring in her ears.
A sudden prickle down her spine made her turn around, the feeling that someone was watching her too strong to ignore.
The waterfall split open to reveal a person. A very small person - a young girl in fact. Quite a bit younger than herself. Maybe three or four years of age, with blonde curls and piercing blue eyes.
"Hera," she said, words unbelievably carrying over the sound of the water though they'd been spoken in a normal voice.
She didn't know the girl but something about her seemed very familiar. Nonetheless, she stood rooted to the spot.
"Hera," the girl repeated. "Come."
Hera shook her head.
"Take your place with us."
"Us?" Hera questioned, brow creasing. "Us who?"
The girl lifted her arms from her sides and the gap in the waterfall widened. Two more forms joined her - also children, but older. They stood with her, one on each side, and took her hands. A cold shiver gripped her as she realized she knew who they were.
Kiera and Nicky.
"Who are you?" she called out, voice shaky. "Who are you and why are my sister and my friend with you?"
"I'm the daughter of Aurora, the one who gives life, and I'm here to lead our people home."
"Our people?"
"We are the first of a new race. We were created from two peoples."
Hera didn't even begin to wonder how such a little girl knew so much. "Humans and Cylons."
The girl nodded. "Yes. Each will destroy themselves. We will live and our children will rise out of the ashes of their destiny."
Hera began to get a glimmer of understanding. The scenery around her began to fade.
"No!" she cried out, arms outstretched. "I want to stay with you. Don't go without me!"
"It's okay sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere," Sharon said softly, cradling the upper part of Hera's body in her arms.
"Mama?"
"It's okay baby, I'm here. I won't go anywhere without you."
Hera shook her head vehemently. "No, not you."
Sharon smoothed the damp hair off her daughter's forehead. "Were you dreaming?"
Hera nodded.
"Who was leaving you?"
Hera gulped and took a deep breath. "Kiera and Nicky." Her voice gained strength as she spoke. "They were with a little girl with blonde curly hair."
Sharon's heart began to beat faster. It couldn't be ... could it? "Did she say what her name was?"
"No." Hera shook her head. "But she said she was the daughter of Aurora ... whatever that means."
"It's alright honey," Sharon soothed, willing her heart back to it's normal speed. "Everything will be okay."
Hera closed her eyes as she lay back down and fell asleep almost immediately, the effect waking in the middle of the night had on the young.
Time to get togehter with Kara and meet her children, Sharon mused as she crawled back into bed, no longer tired now that her mind had something to chew on. Some long-buried thoughts and memories were beginning to surface and in them she was pretty sure she remembered Kara Thrace being named Aurora.
XXXXX
Roslin watched the Vice President closely as the plane began it's descent. She wasn't sure if anyone else could detect it, but she was receiving his not-quite hidden feelings loud and clear. He was nervous. Very nervous. And that made her nervous.
Her fingers found Adama's and twined themselves together. Though she was a strong woman she'd always found comfort in his touch. He turned and met her eyes, fingers squeezing hers without needing to say the words.
She shifted in her seat and it drew everyone's eyes to her. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "So what do we need to know before we do this?" she asked bluntly, knowing it was best to get everything out in the open.
He too drew in a deep breath and carefully met each person's eyes one by one before answering.
Helo raised an eyebrow and made a funny noise in the back of his throat. "Sounds like a piece of cake eh?" he said lightly, when the Vice President was done.
The tension that had built was broken and everyone smiled with varying degrees of amusement on their faces.
"It's not going to be easy, I wanted you about that," the Vice President said, becoming solemn as the popping of his ears told him they had little time left before landing.
"Nothing worth having is ever easy," Roslin said softly, but the gentleness in her voice didn't fool anyone, even the Vice President. She meant business.
Everyone fell silent as the Captain bid them to remain seated during the final stages of landing. They remained lost in their own thoughts until the Vice President stood and cleared his throat.
"It's important that you follow my lead and don't make any moves on your own. Particularly you Ms Roslin. This is a very volatile place and one wrong word or action ... " He stopped, leaving them each to imagine the consequences. "Please do exactly as I instruct you. It may save your lives and many others as well."
XXXXX
The house was dark and silent as Kara slid the key in the lock and quietly slipped into the kitchen. She tiptoed through the livingroom, sure Lee must be asleep by now.
"Kara."
His whispered word served to correct her. She squinted and scanned the room, finding Lee all-but hidden under a throw in the corner of the couch. "What are you still doing up?" she asked, a small chuckle escaping as she sat beside him. "It's late."
"Waiting for you."
He hadn't needed to answer. Their eyes found each other's in the darkness, black meeting black. Kara took a deep breath. "It's worse than we thought." She sighed, exhaling for a full five seconds before speaking again. "Politics here is a fragile thing ... "
"Isn't it everywhere?" Lee interrupted.
"Yes but here the disenfranchised governments have nuclear weapons. And we have nowhere to go to escape them this time."
"Are they really going to go that far?"
"Threats have been escalating for several years over various things. The bottom line is that the rogue countries hate the United States and feel that this is just another way for us to assert our superiority over them."
"How can people be that way?"
She gazed at him, eyes unfathomable. "That's one of the things I've always loved about you. One of the reasons I fell in love with you in fact." She reached out shyly and touched his fingers with her own. "Your naivete."
His face wrinkled, as if unsure whether or not it was a compliment.
"You think everything should be fair and just. Equality for all. No one should be superior."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing, in a perfect world." She smiled. "It's a little unrealistic though. Human nature seems to be all about ruling and forcing other people to do as you will, and stepping on anyone you have to, to get to the top. Even we, who seemed to be more able to get along and work together than our relatives here on Earth, had difficulty with it."
"We should all be able to live in harmony where no one dominates over anyone else and people do things for the good of all," Lee said earnestly.
"Communist." She chuckled and squeezed his fingers to take the sting from the word. "Around here you'd be called a communist."
"That's me." Lee smiled.
The moment held a few seconds then Kara's smile faded as she remembered her conversation with Adama.
"Tell me," Lee whispered, this time squeezing her fingers. "What is it?"
She told him everything they'd discussed in the car and all her thoughts as she'd driven home alone. HIs face was grave and she had to admit, looked somewhat like his father's in it's seriousness.
"Do you really think that's a possibility?" he asked when she'd finished.
She shrugged. "I'd like to think it's not ... "
" ... but you don't," he finished.
She shrugged again. "What can we do? There are seven billion people on this planet. How are we supposed to get the word out to everyone, and even if we did, what do we say? 'There's going to be a nuclear war folks, caused by machines that look like humans. You're all going to be annihilated because we have no way to evacuate you from this planet.' Honestly? I think it's better the way it happened to us on Caprica. Swift and surprising. At least the people who died did so quickly, without knowing their fate."
"I think we need to remember what Sam said. You and Sara need to be protected above all else. I swore I would be there for you and the children and I'll do anything I have to, to make sure you're safe."
"Where can we go? Nowhere is safe."
"There's one place ... "
Their eyes met and charged as a spark passed between them.
"Galactica," they said in unison. The atmosphere grew heavy as they silently contemplated the implications of returning to their former lives.
Lee squeezed her hand. "I've got your back Kara," he whispered. "I always have and I always will."
"I know." She leaned forward involuntarily and their foreheads touched. Their breaths mingled as thoughts were shared but unspoken.
"I need you to promise me something Lee," she whispered, loathe to end the perfect moment but knowing she had no choice.
"Anything."
"If anything happens to me you'll take care of our children and take them where they need to be."
He pulled back. "Nothing is going to happen to you Kara. I won't let it. I'm not losing you again."
She was startled at first by his vehemence and anger but knowledge broke through suddenly like a beam of sunlight through the clouds. It wasn't anger, it was fear. The flip side of anger was fear and often people were unable to show fear so they channeled it into anger instead.
She kicked herself mentally for not figuring that out sooner. All those times Lee was horribly angry at me it was because he was afraid but unwilling or unable to show it. Unwilling possibly, because he knew I'd take advantage of his vulnerability and cut him down, and unable because of his 'Adama stiff upper lip' upbringing. Much as I love the Old Man, I know he wasn't one for allowing his sons to be emotional. Perhaps if she'd recognized it earlier and not allowed his fear/anger to trigger hers ... well who knew what could have happened. It seemed the God/Gods were orchestrating everything and even if they had managed to keep the issues between them to a minimum and develop a relatively normal relationship, perhaps she'd still have been torn away and flung across the galaxy anyway.
Now wasn't really the time for what ifs.
She reached up and touched his cheek in a feather-light caress. "I don't want anything to happen to me either but if it does ... " her voice dropped to a whisper. "I need to make sure they're taken care of."
She saw the emotions cross his face in turn, finally settling on sad acceptance. He leaned forward again, twining his fingers in the hair falling across her temple as their foreheads met.
"I promise," he whispered. "But don't think this gets you off the hook. I really don't want to have to do this alone." He nuzzled her cheek as his hand slid back to cup her head, not kissing exactly, but being intimate in a way he'd never been before. Kara closed her eyes and reveled in it, feeling shivers of love and desire wracking her body.
The sharp peal of the doorbell stopped them. Two armed police officers stood on her doorstep. Kara's cheeks, already flaming, turned a shade redder, and she murmured a prayer of thanks that she'd remembered to close the front room shutters. Otherwise they would have witnessed everything. That wouldn't have been good at all.
"Ms Kara Thrace?"
"Yes," she answered, voice but quiet but proud.
"We need you to come down to the station to answer some questions about your husband's disappearance."
Her eyebrows raised. "I already answered all of your questions yesterday."
"We have more."
"Can it wait? This isn't a good time."
"Either you come voluntarily or we'll have to arrest you," one of them said, unfolding a warrant with her name on it. "Your choice."
She looked back at Lee. He stood, obviously at a loss for words. "I'm coming with you," he said finally.
Kara shook her head. "Remember your promise?" she mouthed. "I'll be back soon," she said aloud, trying to sound hopeful. It was hard - her heart was pounding and blood was roaring in her ears in a constant rhythm - 'they know, they know, they know ...'
Lee watched helplessly as they escorted her out. It wasn't fair that they should take her - he should go in her place. But he couldn't. The promise he'd made to her not five minutes earlier ran through his mind over and over. He took a deep breath, sighed and headed upstairs to check on the children.
TBC
A/N: A big huge thank you to all of you who are still following this story. It's been a long ride so far and there's still a ways to go yet. :) I appreciate hearing from all of you and would respond personally if only I could. Thank you to those who've added my story to your alert list. I may not hear from you in reviews but the fact that you want to read updates tells me you're enjoying the story and that makes me happy!
Also a big thank you (and smooches) to starpollo for posting this for me. Someday I'll get my new computer and browser and I'll be able to access this site again. Until then ... I have to rely on good friends to do me favours. Thanks hon!
