~ Bright, Shiny Futures - Chapter Forty-Seven ~
"Chief, I've got some bad news for you."
Tyrol's arm tightened around his son's shoulder.
"It's mom, isn't it?" Nicky asked quietly.
Adama met the boy's eyes and was startled at what he saw there. The depth of grief and understanding in them was overwhelming. It would have been surprising in someone three times his age. The pain he saw there stabbed his heart like an arrow. Maybe these half Cylons are more human than machine. Maybe it's near impossible to tell us apart if we're the same biologically and emotionally. It was the first time the thought had ever occurred to him. Hera and Kiera had never inspired him to think more deeply about their nature but then he hadn't had much to do with children. Until he'd discovered he had grandchildren.
He blinked rapidly. "I'm so sorry," he rasped.
"I knew she was going to do it," Nicky whispered.
"You ... what?" Tyrol was clearly shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"
The boy turned to his father. "She said goodbye to me." His voice wavered and then broke at the end. Tyrol grabbed him fiercely and hugged him to his chest. Nicky sobbed.
"I'm so sorry," Adama repeated, struggling to swallow the lump in his throat.
Tyrol looked over at him with red, tear-filled eyes. "I guess she couldn't live with it," he said, voice soft but with a cruel undertone.
Adama stepped forward impulsively and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Regardless of how she felt, you'll always be welcome and have a home here with us."
Tyrol nodded, tears breaking free and spilling down his cheeks.
Adama squeezed his shoulder then withdrew. It was time to go and leave them to grieve alone. "If there's anything you need ... just ask."
* * * * * * * * * *
Helo paced around his quarters restlessly.
"Come to bed already," Sharon mumbled sleepily. "Bed's cold without you."
He opened his mouth to protest but decided against it and crawled in beside her. She snuggled up and laid her head on his chest. He stared at the ceiling, attempting to force his mind to count the rivets instead of going in the direction it kept wanting to go, knowing sleep wasn't going to come.
"You want to talk about it?"
Helo ran his fingers through her hair. "I thought you'd fallen asleep again."
She lifted her head up to look at him and her dark hair fell forwards, partially obscuring her face. "I know you Karl. Something is obviously bothering you and you're not going to sleep till you get it out. So talk to me."
For a brief moment he felt irritated at her prying, then he smiled. It was good having a soulmate who knew you as well as you knew yourself. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her as she lay back down. "I saw something just now. Something I really didn't want to see."
"Something that could cause trouble?"
"Definitely."
"Work trouble or personal trouble?"
"Personal."
"Stay out of it," she advised.
"You think so?"
"I know so. It's never a good idea to meddle in people's affairs."
"But you don't even know who or what it is I'm talking about," Helo objected.
"Doesn't matter."
"It's about Kara."
She lifted her head up to look at him again. "Tell me."
"I saw Lee in the head." He paused. "With Kathryn."
"What?" Sharon sat up and frowned. "But I thought ... "
"I know, me too," he interrupted. "But they were together ... "
"Maybe it was innocent. Maybe they just happened to be there at the same time."
"They were hugging. And he wasn't wearing anything."
"Oh." She was silent after that and Helo could have sworn he saw every thought that crossed her mind. "Did you say anything to them?"
"Hell no! I was just about to go in but once I saw them I high-tailed it out of there and used the other washroom. Talk about an embarrassing situation ... "
"No kidding." She mused for a minute. "I can't believe he would cheat on her. I know," she waved aside his attempted interruption, "I know he did with Dee but this is different. This is Kara."
"It certainly surprised me. I was positive he was beyond thrilled to have her back and to meet his son. I can't imagine why he'd do something like this to her. Kathryn, I could see ... she's a bit of a ... " He struggled to try to find a nice way to describe her.
" ... a bitch?" Sharon filled in. "You want me to get rid of her? I can."
Helo laughed softly. "I've no doubt of that but I don't need that kind of trouble from the Admiral." He sat and gathered her into his arms. "I think we'll have to find another plan."
"How 'bout just talking to Lee?"
"The direct approach, eh? It just might work."
"It makes sense to me. Lee is your friend. So is Kara. It seems only natural that you'd care about both of them and want them to be happy."
"You're a genius Sharon."
"I know. An underappreciated genius." She smiled up at him.
"Shall I show you how much I appreciate you?" he asked, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"At this hour?"
"Why not? We're both awake."
* * * * * * * * * *
Lee slipped into the room quietly so as not to wake the children. He blinked a few times, readjusting his eyes to the dim light of their quarters. He managed to distinguish a lump in the bottom bunk and walked over to it.
"Kara?" he whispered.
"Hey." She propped herself up on an elbow. "You were gone a while."
For a moment he wondered if he should tell her about Kathryn, then decided against it. It was late and they both needed to sleep. "I needed to take a shower. Didn't want to smell up the room." He smiled.
She returned it. "I hadn't noticed."
The silence crackled.
"Should I ... " he pointed to the upper bunk.
Kara shook her head as she scooted back up against the wall and lifted the covers.
Lee climbed in beside her, all-too aware of how close they were going to need to be for two people to fit into a bunk made for one. He was going to have to keep an awfully firm rein on himself, that was for sure. He lay down and pulled the covers up and she tucked in beside him. Rolling over onto his side he faced her, and they lay nose to nose. His body began to tingle with desire and he desperately wanted to reach out and put his arms around her. He forced them to stay still and they felt awkward and heavy by his sides.
"Lee" she whispered almost silently.
"Hmm?"
Then her lips were on his, wet and fierce, kissing him with wild abandon. It was passionate and yet not, something he'd never experienced with her. Her kisses had always been the precursor to more but this time, though they were passionate and deep, he could feel her restraint. She wasn't pushing for more, just giving and taking to her limit. He was proud of her for sticking to her resolve though a part of him still wanted things to spiral out of control and take them all the way, as they always had before. Soon, he promised himself. Be patient Lee. It'll happen in due time ... His heart and mind were content with that but he had a definite feeling his body was going to need to find release another way. Her proximity was intoxicating and it was seriously testing his resolve.
Eventually the kissing waned and they lay forehead to forehead, panting.
"We should get some sleep," Lee whispered between breaths.
"Yeah ... " It seemed as if she was going to say more but nothing else came out.
He rolled onto his back and she snuggled up with her head on his chest. One hand twined itself in her hair while the other rubbed lazy circles on her lower back. Within minutes they were both fast asleep.
* * * * * * * * * *
A storm-darkened sky loomed above but eerie as it was, the scene in front of her was even more chilling.
A body lay on the ground, blood pooled around it. Samuel T Anders stood over it, gun in hand. She shrank back, wishing that if she could just go away and pretend she hadn't seen it, maybe it wouldn't actually be real.
"This can't be," she whispered.
"He's a Cylon," Sam said. "And so am I."
She recoiled at his revelation.
"It's true," a voice in her head whispered. "You can't escape us. Your destiny and ours are intertwined."
"But I don't want it to be that way," she thought. "I just want to live my life."
"It must be. The Goddess of the Dawn is the one who brings life to us all. You are Aurora, Kara Thrace. You are our Saviour."
The clouds parted to reveal a bright sun - twin suns, in dazzling brilliance. The air was warm and sweet. Fresh. New. She looked around, eyes stopping as a flash of movement caught her attention. People. Lots of people. All coming out of a cave not far to her left, blinking and looking for all the universe like they'd been hiding in the darkness for an eternity.
Leading them was a small, elderly woman with white hair. "Praise be to God," she said in a beautifully deep and musical voice. "You've finally made it."
"Finally? Made it where? Where am I? Who are you?"
The woman's eyes were warm as she smiled. "Home."
Kara woke suddenly, twisting as a kink in her back gave her the need to stretch. Lee jumped under her, also awake instantly.
"Are you okay?"
"I guess ... I think I was dreaming or something. I'm not quite sure what it was all about."
"You want to talk about it?" he offered.
She bit her lip, feeling the old familiar urge to just clam up coming on strong.
"It was Sam. Sam killed Michael in my dream," she blurted out, knowing that once she'd started to talk she'd have no choice but to tell him everything.
"It wasn't a dream Kara," Lee said softly. "That's what really happened. You're beginning to remember."
"There's more. I heard a voice - I didn't recognize it, telling me that they were both Cylons."
"It's true."
Lee could hear her sharp intake of breath in the darkness. "How? How could that be possible? How could we not know?" He couldn't see but he was nearly certain there were tears in her eyes.
He sighed. "I don't know. I don't know how we never recognized it or why they didn't even know themselves. I don't really understand any of what's going on."
"Why me?" she asked, more to herself than him. "Why are the Cylons so intent on having me? First Leoben, then Simon, Sam, Michael ... why am I so important to their destiny?"
"I don't know," Lee said honestly. "I wish I could give you an answer but I have no idea how it all connects or why you're at the centre of it. All they said was that you're Aurora and ... "
Kara sat bolt upright. "What did you say?" she hissed. "You called me Aurora."
"That's what Sam said when he discovered who and what he was. That you were Aurora and you were vital to our survival and that it was his destiny to protect you."
A vision suddenly swept across her mind.
There was a bogey directly behind her. She was going to die, there were no ifs, ands or buts. No possibility of pulling a spectacular retina-detaching Starbuck move to save herself.
Suddenly, a ship came out of nowhere, headed directly for the enemy. As if in slow motion, she saw two faces in the cockpit sweep by her, Michael and Sam, both set in the knowledge they were going to die.
"They died to save me, didn't they?" she whispered tearfully.
He nodded, feeling a bit of a lump growing in his throat. "I'm sorry it's all coming back to you like this."
She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "At least I'm remembering. I just wish I understood what it all meant."
Lee smiled and gently cupped her cheek in his hand. "You're no worse off than the rest of us. We're all lost and confused together."
She smiled back in spite of her heart's pain and lay back down. "I think I had a vision of the future too."
"Really? What was it like?"
"I'm not quite sure. Wherever it was, was beautiful. Warm and sunny."
"That sounds wonderful."
"They were there."
"Who?"
"The Cylons, but I didn't recognize any of them."
"They were new models?"
She lifted herself up to look into his eyes. "If they were, then there are hundreds of them. Maybe thousands."
Lee digested that information for a few minutes. "I wish I knew what that meant or had some idea of what's coming ... "
"I guess the only ones who know are the Cylons themselves, since they appear to be pulling the strings."
"Puppetmasters, eh?" Lee said, the word sounding a little distasteful. "I'm not sure I like that idea."
"Me neither but it doesn't seem like we have much choice in the matter."
He sighed. "No, apparently not."
"At least we have each other," Kara said. "That has to mean something."
He leaned up and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. "It means everything." Then he lay back down and pulled her onto his chest. "Let's get some sleep."
* * * * * * * * * *
Sam pondered the elderly woman's words for a few moments before speaking. "So what you're saying is that we're all Cylons."
"Yes."
"The whole populations of Earth."
"Not the whole population, but a large segment of it. Of course when we began to pair off and procreate there were those who were against it. The 'PureEarth' faction they called themselves. They didn't want human blood tainted with Cylon so they refused to mate with us. Of course as time went by it became harder and harder to know who carried Cylon DNA and who didn't, as the hybrids were as varied in appearance as the Earthpeople themselves so some succumbed without even realizing it. Those who were fervent in their beliefs ... intermarried and had a very small gene pool from which to draw. Many did not survive."
Sam nodded. He'd heard of similar things in small towns and villages back home.
"We are what is left. Earth has been put on the path to destruction. Those that didn't perish in the initial attack will do so soon of radiation poisoning."
He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple noticeably bouncing up and down. Tory took his hand and squeezed it.
"So where are we now?" he asked, clearing his throat.
"Inside Earth's moon."
"Why?"
"Right now it's working well as a fallback shelter for us but we originally made ourselves a home here for the reborn. Though we are able to resurrect, our human counterparts are not. We were made to age at the rate they do so we can share lifetimes with them - it would be very disconcerting for them to grow old while we remained young. At the end of our lives we "die" but cannot return, for obvious reasons."
"So you come here? To do what ... sit around? It doesn't seem very worthwhile to have a second chance at life if you can't actually live it."
"Oh but we are. We have been trying to procreate amongst ourselves."
"Have you been successful?"
"Yes."
"Then what do you need humans for?"
The woman smiled. "The same reason humans don't marry within their own families. Variety. There are too many similarities in our gene make-up - we needed to find a larger gene pool to swim in."
"Who doesn't love skinny dipping?" he mumbled to himself. Tory giggled.
The woman glanced at him, question in her eyes.
"Never mind." Sam brushed it aside. "There's just one more thing I need to get straight."
"By all means, ask. I told you I would answer your questions."
"You said before that you were the ones who brought the mythical Thirteenth Tribe from Kobol here to Earth."
"They're not mythical dear."
"So I'm gathering," Sam said dryly. "But that exodus happened two thousand years ago. According to our records, Cylons weren't even created until just over fifty years ago. How do you explain your existence on Kobol nearly two thousand years earlier?"
She smiled serenely. "We were created on Kobol. It is our homeworld. We, of course, never showed our true nature to the humans living there ... "
"... which is why you're never mentioned in the Scriptures," Tory cut in.
"You know the Scriptures?" The woman seemed pleased, although surprised. Sam just looked shocked.
"I was a follower ... once," she replied sheepishly.
"So what happened? Why did you leave Kobol?"
"You ask so very many questions. You are a Seeker."
"Maybe so ... " Sam shrugged. "But I want to know."
"We put people in the Colonies - hid them so well even they did not know what they were. They recreated us, Cylon, both the original and the more advanced models, according to our plan. We foresaw what was to come - humanity and Cylon would clash and both might be destroyed. So we took the Thirteenth Tribe away as a failsafe in case our counterparts destroyed themselves. We would then have the ability to start again."
" 'This has all happened before and it will all happen again' ," Sam quoted. "Isn't it a coincidence that that which was predicted in the Scriptures would come to pass exactly as it was written?"
"It's not coincidence at all child. Of course our history would be as the Pythian Scriptures state. We wrote them."
~ TBC ~
