Chapter 50

Acropolis Street

Early in the last year of President Adar's term in office, Laura Roslin, the Secretary of Education, surprised even her closest friends by quietly announcing her intention to put her name into the running for President. Very few were surprised when Adar immediately endorsed her as his choice for a successor. In an interview given to D'Anna Biers shortly afterward, Roslin said that her concern for the fate of all of Caprica's children, including that of her newborn son, had played a large part in helping her make her decision.

-Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War

.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Kara?" Lee asked after they had walked four blocks from the subway station.

"Two more blocks and we turn left on Fifty-Third Street. Then it's a block and a half. You'll see the sign over the sidewalk. It's a boot."

"This Oracle has a boot for a sign?"

"No, the boot is for the shoe repair shop. The Oracle lives above it."

"You don't really believe in this stuff, do you?"

"Yes, I do. She's never been wrong yet, and I'm not going to argue with you. Nobody is saying you have to believe her."

"I just hate to see you being so gullible. There is no way that anyone can predict the future."

"What makes you an expert on oracles?"

"You've got to believe in something to be an expert on it."

"Look, the only reason you're with me is because I promised my father I wouldn't come down here by myself."

"So now I'm your guard dog?"

Kara snorted. "You're funny, Lee. You don't believe in the gods. You don't believe in oracles, but you do want to keep me safe, don't you?"

"You can ask me that after last night?"

Kara didn't answer him. She didn't have to. Last night had been unbelievable, the way he had made her feel, not just physically, but emotionally as well. She had never told anyone, not even her father, about what had happened after her mother had moved them into base housing. She had bared part of her soul to Lee the night before and he knew it.

Silently she reached out and slipped her gloved hand into his. They had one day and night left of winter break. She had to go back to the Academy the next afternoon. She didn't want to spend the time arguing with him. They turned the corner and started down Fifty-Third Street. The wind coming off the bay was frigid and biting.

"Holy Hera," Lee said and pulled the collar of his jacket up. "I wish we'd driven down here instead of taking the subway."

"You've got a nice car. I was afraid something would happen to it."

Lee was glad when they had walked the block and a half. It felt better than good to get inside the door and out of the wind.

"Upstairs," Kara said.

She knocked. The door was finally opened by Yolanda Brenn herself. She was wearing a heavy wool shawl.

"Come in," Brenn said.

The little apartment was much colder than it had been the last time Kara was there. Both she and Lee left their coats on.

"Where is your friend?" Kara asked.

The Oracle smiled. "Grocery shopping. You have brought someone with you. Not your father this time. The one who bears the name of a god."

Kara grinned at Lee.

"Come and sit," Brenn said.

Lee continued to stand by the door. Kara went over to the little table and sat on the cushion. She pulled off her gloves and took Brenn's hands.

"You study now in order to wear the wings."

Kara glanced at Lee. She could tell he wasn't too impressed.

"There is a troubling situation in your life. Two friends…a young woman and a young man. Both have seen death, one very closely. You know secrets. Guard them. There is another in your destiny now. The circle expands to include your brother."

"Okay," Kara said. She thought she knew what Yolanda Brenn meant, part of it anyway.

Brenn dropped her hands and beckoned to Lee who still stood leaning against the door jamb with his arms crossed.

"I'm not into this," he said. "I'm not a believer."

"Then what can it hurt?" Brenn asked.

Kara smiled at him and pointed to the cushion beside her as she scooted over.

Reluctantly Lee sat and took Brenn's hands as she held them out.

"Apollo, son of Zeus. There is conflict within your father. Help him as he struggles."

"Struggles with what?" Lee asked.

"I speak the words that come into my thoughts. I can't interpret them."

"Struggles how? Physically, emotionally, situationally? How can I help him if I don't know what he's struggling with?"

Kara nudged him and shook her head.

Brenn dropped one of Lee's hands and reached out to Kara again. The Oracle now held both of their hands. Kara was surprised to see her smile. "I don't need to tell you what you already know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lee asked.

"It was her question." Brenn stood.

Kara pulled several ten-cubit notes from her pocket. "What should I do with my…donation since your friend isn't here?"

"Leave it on the table," Brenn said. She went through the gauzy curtain.

Lee stood. He also took some cubits from his billfold and left them on the table.

They met the bronze-skinned woman at the bottom of the stairs. She was carrying two small canvas bags filled with groceries. "Ah, you have returned and brought a friend."

"We left a donation on the table."

"I thank you. We both thank you. This has been a cold winter. The heat…is very expensive now…more than last year."

"With her disability you could get free government housing," Lee said.

The woman laughed, a melodic sound, and passed them. "What disability?" She asked as she began to climb the stairs.

Outside Kara gave Lee a look.

"What's that for?"

"I think you insulted her."

"Because I told her they could get free government housing? The Brenn woman is blind. She qualifies."

"You don't get it, Lee. You just don't get it. Can you see people coming to visit her in a cheap cinder-block apartment with fluorescent lights and Frak the Cylons and Adar is the Cylon's bitch and a lot worse spray painted in graffiti all over the walls outside? Can you see them living with morpha addicts and two-cubit hookers and pimps and bangers and dealers? This little place is cool. It fits her, the way they've got it decorated with the cushions and candles. It's perfect for them. It's a bit out of the way, but not too much out of the way."

"The other woman…is she just Brenn's caretaker or are they in a relationhsip?"

"What does it matter?"

Lee turned the collar of his jacket up again. "I wish I'd worn a toboggan. That wind feels like it's coming off an iceberg."

The warmer air coming up from the subway entrance felt good as they descended the steps. Waiting on the platform for the next train Lee put his arm around Kara.

"What did the Oracle mean?"

"About?"

"Everything she said."

"What difference does it make? You don't believe her anyway."

"When she was holding both of our hands…what did she mean that she didn't need to tell you what you already knew?"

"You're my true love." Kara grinned.

"Oh," Lee smiled. "I'm not going to argue with you about that. So she got one thing right."

"Karl called me this morning before I left to come over to your place. Sharon was discharged from the hospital. They were at the airport in Myonia. They'll be home late this afternoon. He wanted me…us to come over to her apartment tonight. I told him we had already made plans with Laura and my dad."

"Have we?"

"Your dad is coming over for one of their Saturday night meetings. They're going to talk about the plan and other secret stuff."

"And we're invited for that?"

"I told Laura we would go by Channing's and pick up five specials. If they don't want us there while they're talking, we'll leave…or we can go to my room."

"What time?"

"Laura told me about seven. She should be through feeding Braedon by then."

"Is she still breast-feeding?"

"She's going to do it for at least six months. She's gotten into the motherhood thing big-time. She's going back to work in a couple of weeks. I think she's going to take him with her. Of course she's been working a lot at home already. Tory comes over a couple of times a week. So does Billy."

"Is Tory still dating Sam?"

"I don't know. She and I say hello, but that's about it. Laura might know."

"I was just curious. The week before the dance he and my brother were both in Zeno's with Buccaneer cheerleaders."

The train slid into the station and they boarded. Because it was a Saturday, the car was nearly empty and they got good seats.

"You know Sam and Zak are a lot alike. They're getting along great. Zak's doing good on the new job."

"Wonderful," Kara said sarcastically. "I'm thrilled for him. PR jobs are good jobs for liars to have"

"I wish you'd ease up on Zak," Lee said when the train began to move. "I know he's got a line of bull and he tends to…slant his remarks to the audience…"

"He lies," Kara said. "End of story."

"Okay, he lies, but it's not done in a malicious kind of way. Zak's childhood was as miserable as mine was. He's got some major issues with girls because of it."

"Is that right, Dr. Lee? Then why don't you treat girls like he does? Why don't you make scoring with girls the number one thing on your social agenda? If you and Zak both had such miserable childhoods, why is he so much more frakked up?"

"I think part of it is because he never did as well in school as I did. Zak's not dumb. Studying was just never a priority with him. All his teachers compared him to me and when he didn't do as well, I think he felt…I don't know…I think he felt inadequate. He found something he could do well and he's been doing it ever since."

"Okay, I'll buy that. It still doesn't excuse the lying. He doesn't have to lie. Zak can be a lot of fun to be around."

"I know. Look, I get mad at Zak sometimes for being the way he is. I wish he were different, but he's my brother, Kara. You really ought to understand that considering how close you are to Karl. You think Karl's making a mistake with Sharon, but you're not going to turn your back on him. Zak has frakked up some things in his life, but I'm not going to turn my back on him because of it. You don't do that to family."

"No, you're right. I'm not going to turn my back on Karl. But I don't want to see him tonight, either. I'll see Sharon at the Academy tomorrow. I want to see her for the first time without Karl around. I think it will be easier to tell if it's the same one or not."

"How?"

"I think I'll just know. I can't explain how."

"You've got to promie me you'll be careful with what you say to her."

"I will. The Oracle told me to keep my secrets."

Lee smiled. "Kara Thrace has secrets?"

"Everybody has secrets. The trouble is you know most of mine."

…

Bill took the drink that John had poured for him and nodded his thanks before he sat on the couch.

"Dr. Baltar won't be joining us tonight," he said. "He's attracted some media attention. I didn't want to take the chance that he would be followed here."

"I saw the tabloid," Laura said. "Tory brought me a copy when she brought some papers from the office for me. It almost made me feel sorry for Gaius. The expression on his face in that picture. He looked like he had been caught with his trousers around his ankles."

John sounded amused. "I can hardly believe he broke up with the Cylon in front of a restaurant. Either he grew a set or she was seriously hampering his play time with other women."

"I guess we'll see what happens next," Bill said. "According to the tabloid, the woman he was having dinner with was one of his research assistants. I hope giving him his own facility and letting him hire his own staff wasn't a mistake. I hope he hasn't used his position to set himself up with a little harem."

"He does seem rather taken with his own celebrity lately, doesn't he?" Laura asked. "I heard the interview he gave D'Anna Biers on why he had left the Artificial Intelligence research project out at the North Caprica Research Park. That was the biggest fabrication I've ever heard…all that scientific jargon to make the interview sound believable when he was coolly lying through his teeth from the beginning."

John said, "He could hardly say that he was fired by the Cylons for failing to produce a hybrid child in the timeline that had been set for him."

"Yes, of course that's true, but…what a slap in the face to the rest of his staff out there. He made them sound like idiots and slackers."

"Gaius would never admit that he had any responsibility in being forced off the project," Bill said. "And don't forget that timeline was his doing. He made promises right after the negotiations that he couldn't keep. I'm going to visit his lab on Monday, early in the morning. I'll see if our faith in him is justified. If he's not there, I'm going to his apartment and haul his ass out of bed."

"You're assuming he'll be at his own apartment in his own bed," John mused and then added, "and that he'll be alone."

"Good point," Bill said. "One way or another I'm going to get some answers from him on how the research is going. He made some promises to us, too."

"If he can't get the Cylon to help him, then why are we even messing with him?" John asked. "Surely there are other scientists who have more experience working with viruses."

"I'm sure there are," Bill said. "Maybe that's the angle I need to approach it from. He might be motivated to work more and play less if he thought he was going to get booted from this project, too."

"Give him two more weeks," Laura said. "The incident with Natasi happened two weeks ago. Give it a month. If she really wants him back, she'll make a move within two weeks. Any longer and I think we can safely assume she's not going to. I just hope he has the…good sense not to take her back empty-handed."

"Let's hope she brings him a nice peace offering," John said, "something along the lines of an anti-viral drug or a formula."

Laura said, "You know when I saw the look on Natasi's face as she confronted Baltar, I actually felt sorry for her…until I reminded myself that she's a machine. She has no feelings, only programming. It's ingenious of the Cylons, really. Such a tragic expression. She was shedding real tears. Gaius Baltar doesn't have a clue about love or how it feels to love anyone except himself. I pity any woman who falls for him. I almost pity the robot."

"If you don't believe the Cylon feels something for him, then why are you willing to give her two more weeks to attempt reconciling with him?" Bill asked.

Laura laughed softly. "Perhaps Cavil will order her to make up with Dr. Baltar in order to keep an eye on him. They're bound to wonder what he's doing in his shiny new lab."

John said. "If Cavil wants to know what Baltar is doing, then I'm sure he will find a way. It probably wouldn't take too many cubits to bribe one of those lovely young research assistants to spill her guts, especially if Baltar has done to one of them what he did to Lissa."

Laura heard voices in the foyer. "Lee and Kara are here with dinner. Excuse me. Enjoy your drinks. I'll call you when we've got it on the table."

Laura walked into the foyer as Lee and Kara, both carrying boxes of takeout from Channing's, stopped to lean in and kiss each other.

They moved apart.

"Dinner," Lee said.

Laura smiled. "Follow me."

They took the food into the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a minute," Kara said. "I'm going to put up my coat. Give me your coat, Lee."

Carrying both coats, Kara made her way down the hall and into her bedroom.

On her dresser lay the end-of-term mailer with her grades. She knew her father had gotten one just like it. She had a fairly good idea of how she had done in everything except her Colonial Literature course. Carefully she peeled the perforated edges off the mailer and opened it. She'd made a 2.0 in Colonial Lit. Everything else was good…a 3.9 in Basic Flight, a 3.85 in the simulator, a 3.7 in math, a 3.5 in PE and a 3.25 in Colonial History.

She angrily slammed the mailer onto her dresser and walked back to the kitchen.

Laura said. "Lee went into the den to get a drink. Do you want to help me by putting some plates on the table?"

Methodically Kara retrieved the plates and set them around the kitchen table. "Has my dad seen my grades?"

"Yes. He's very pleased."

"Pleased?" Kara's voice rose slightly. "I made a 2.0 in Colonial Lit. In your friend's class. But you probably knew that already."

"I've never discussed your grades with Fiona."

"You mean she's never had anything to say about me?"

"Not about your grades, no. And I haven't asked. All she told me was that many of you who had been in the refugee camps were struggling. She said she was going to make allowances for it."

"Oh, great. That probably means she would have flunked me otherwise."

John walked into the kitchen. "What can I do to help?"

"You can open that bottle of wine."

"I saw my grades," Kara said.

Her father was hunting through a drawer for the corkscrew. He beckoned her over and put his arm around her. "You don't know how proud of you I am, baby. You did great."

"I made a frakking 2.0 in Colonial Lit," Kara said in anguish.

"You still ended the semester with a 3.4 overall average. Considering how much school you missed in the last couple of years, you did great."

"I worked hard in Mrs. Nagala's class. I did really good on the midterm. I can't believe I frakked up that bad on the final unless she counted that paper most of my grade. I made a C- on my big term paper this semester because she thinks the author walks on water and I think his novel sucks."

"And naturally you had to express your opinion in your paper," her father said.

"That's what we were supposed to do."

Lee and Bill walked into the kitchen.

"We're almost ready to eat," Laura said to them.

Lee looked at Kara, at her frown as she stood with her back against the counter.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

When Kara didn't answer, her father said, "Kara's unhappy about her end of terms. I told her a 3.4 overall average is very acceptable."

"That's great, Kara," Lee said.

"It would have been higher if I hadn't made a frakking C in Colonial Lit. Mrs. Nagala didn't like my term paper, the one I spent most of the semester working on."

Kara saw Laura glance at the commander.

"What was the name of the book?" Lee asked. "The one you wrote your paper on? You didn't pick The Trial of Darius Leander like Sharon, did you?"

"No, but now I think I should have. I picked Allegra After the Fall."

"I never read that," Lee said.

"Don't bother. It's about an advanced society that has degenerated into something called a dystopia because of different factions in the government that are fighting and some religious groups that are at war. The two main characters in the story are in the peacekeeping force, a man and a woman. They're partners on a team that investigates hate-related killings. Mrs. Nagala likes dark stories."

"Why did you pick something like that?" Her father asked.

To Kara's surprise, Bill was the one who answered. "Because it's also a love story. Or it should have been."

"My point exactly," Kara said. "The author spends three fourths of the book building up their friendship that grows into love between the two main characters, how hard it is for them to accept their feelings for each other, their fears based on past failures and the jobs they do and right after they finally get up the nerve to accept their feelings, the woman walks into a situation where she knows she's going to be killed. She just throws it all away. It sucks because her death isn't even heroic. It doesn't serve any purpose except to make the reader go what the frak?"

"It got a lot of acclaim when it was published ten or twelve years ago," Laura said. "I remember it being nominated for the Matrix Literary Award."

"I guess because it ended on a note of hope with the main guy character helping bring the warring government factions to a peace table, then everybody thought it was a great novel. I thought the whole ending sucked. That's how I wrote my paper. Mrs. Nagala didn't agree. I found out too late that she's a huge fan of the novel and the author."

"Everyone has a right to his or her own literary taste," Laura said in her most diplomatic tone of voice. "Perhaps Fiona's taste in literature has been shaped by the experiences in her own life."

"The first two thirds of the book is a hell of a read," Bill said.

"Things don't always end happily in real life," Lee said.

"We're not talking about real life," Kara said. "We're talking about a frakking story, for the gods' sakes. The author has the ultimate power to do whatever with the characters. I just think as far as the love story, he frakked the reader over big time. He spent twenty-some chapters letting this man and woman struggle with their feelings and the minute they admit them…boom, she's gone. Why bother with their love story at all if you're going to do something like that? Why not just let them go around solving crimes and shooting bad guys? Frak it. I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's depressing."

"You thought the woman's death was more for shock value than served any purpose in the story," her father said.

"Exactly. Thank you. The minute the writer killed her off, he wrote himself into a corner. So what happens to the love story then? She comes back as a ghost to haunt her lover? I guess even the author couldn't bring himself to do anything that lame. So that's what I said in my term paper and that's why I got a C-. So now let's change the subject and eat. I can promise all of you that I will never, ever read another one of that guy's novels again."

"Okay, Kara," Lee said. "I think you've made your point. It's over. It's done. Move on. There are lots of other novels out there that have happier endings."

They all sat down at the table. "Sorry," Kara said shame-faced. "I apologize. I was ranting. There's a lot more important stuff in life than how a book ends."

"Like news about the Cylon Raider," John said.

Lee looked at his father. "You've made a breakthrough?"

"The neuroscientist did this week. He finally rigged something that could read the brain waves coming out of the Raider. Interpreting those brain waves is another matter, but he's isolated the ones that he thinks control the basal functions like breathing and what passes for a heartbeat. He told me they look surprisingly human."

"Gross," Kara said.

"If you get something worked out, how do you plan to use this Raider?" Laura asked.

"We need a way to get explosives onto that basestar. My idea is to pack the Raider full of C4 and send it home."

"And the other basestars?" Kara asked.

"I'm counting on the element of surprise. Without nukes we'll have to depend on conventional weapons. We've already started shipping ammo to the battlestars disguised in food containers."

"What are your plans for Cavil and the other skinjobs on Caprica?" Laura asked.

"There will be someone waiting to take each of them into custody just before the attack begins. We can't chance one of them killing himself in order to resurrect and warn the others."

"What about the ones we don't know about?" Laura asked. "We…feel sure there are others."

"Once we destroy the resurrection hub out near the ice planet it won't matter."

Kara glanced at her father again. "We've found two more," John said. "But we can't do anything to them…yet."

"Two more?" Bill said. "Why doesn't anyone else seem surprised by this?" When no one spoke, Bill said, "Because everyone else knew it. Right?"

"To be fair to Laura, she just found out yesterday," John said.

"About one of them," Laura said. "We've known…rather we've suspected…about the other one for quite some time now."

"I see."

"Dad," Lee said. "None of this affects the plan. In fact, it might help."

"Can you explain to me how two additional Cylons will help the plan?"

"We think we might be able to turn these two," John said.

Kara sensed that the commander was struggling to maintain his cool.

"Don't get mad at my father," she said. "I made him promise to keep quiet. My destiny is linked to both of them."

Without a word Bill got up from the table and left the kitchen. The rest of them looked at each other. The Oracle's words came into Lee's mind. His father…conflict and struggle. Lee put his napkin on the table and stood up.

"Let me give this a shot," he said to them. He looked at Kara and knew she had also made the connection to the Oracle's words.

Lee walked into the den. His father stood at the terrace door, his back to the room. In his reflection in the glass Lee could see a drink in his hand.

"When were you planning on telling me…or were you?"

"When we had a better idea of their purpose."

"Their purpose?" Bill Adama swung around in fury. "Their purpose is to kill us!"

"These two are different. A…rapport has been established with both of them. We think it would be a mistake to kill them. We think they can help us."

"Who's established the rapport? Who knows them?"

"Kara."

"Kara," Bill said the anger barely controlled in his voice. "Do you have any idea how hard I've worked on this plan, and now you and the other three are making military decisions without including me? You're making decisions based on the…the feelings of a seventeen-year-old girl. I might have expected you to get taken in that way, but not John. He's been in a Viper cockpit facing down the gun barrels of Cylon Raiders. He should know better. He lost that teenage innocence about these motherfrakkers a long time ago."

Lee tried to keep his cool. "Kara is not some starry-eyed innocent who doesn't know what the Cylons are. She spent time in a refugee camp. She was in the resistance. She's the one who shot the two out at the lab. And yeah, they were both Cylons just like you and Parker and Darren guessed."

That got his father's attention. He paused, the drink glass halfway to his mouth, and grunted. "She stopped too soon. She should have kept on shooting Cylons."

"So the only good Cylon is a dead Cylon?"

"You're damned right."

"Even if they can help us?"

"They don't want to help us! They want to destroy us! All of them want to destroy us!"

"What are you going to do now, Dad?"

"One of you is going to tell me who they are. I'm going to make sure that at the moment we start the countdown on my plan, somebody is standing by to take them into custody, just like somebody will be standing by to take Cavil and Simon and Natasi into custody."

"Every single copy of them?"

"There's only one Cavil, at least down here on Caprica now. I guess the Chief Cylon doesn't like to share his power."

Lee heard the cynicism in his father's voice.

"But the rest of them, like Simon. We know there are at least two of him because one was secretly running CapGen Labs and another one was at the research facility working on the hybrid babies. How can you possibly get them all?"

"We'll get the important ones. Once that hub is destroyed, it won't matter."

"You won't get their names from me. And I doubt you'll get them from Kara or John, either."

Bill took a deep breath. "All right, then, Lee, they're your responsibility."

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. You're responsible for what they do in the next weeks and months. The clock is running on putting my plan into action. The main thing I'm waiting on now is this year's cadets to finish at the Academy, go through Flight School and get a couple of months training on a battlestar. We need those pilots. Before this time next year, we'll either be free of the Cylons or I'll be dead and my battlestars will be destroyed."

Kara walked to the door of the den and hesitated.

"Come in," Bill said to her. "Since you're involved in this you might as well know what I've told Lee. The Cylons you're protecting are his responsibility. If they do anything, and I mean anything, to harm so much as a flea here on Caprica, then I'll hold him personally responsible. He'll face a court-martial and probably imprisonment."

"That's not fair," Kara said.

"Then convince him to give up the Cylons' names so we can put them on the list. Or you give them up."

"Your kill list?" Kara asked.

"You don't think I'm on their kill list? Laura and your father, too. Especially Laura. Cavil's already tried to kill her twice."

"How would telling you who these other Cylons are change that?" Kara asked.

"It probably wouldn't," Bill admitted.

"If there were a way for them to help us, what would it be?" Lee asked.

"Anything they can tell us about the basestars or about Cavil's ultimate plans. The formula for the anti-viral drug would be nice. Use your imagination."

"You can't ask Kara to risk her life by quizzing a couple of Cylons."

"No, Lee, it's okay," Kara said. "I can do it. It might take some time, but I can do it."

Kara heard her father's voice from the doorway. "It's too dangerous, Bill. I won't have my daughter put her life on the line like that. I'll talk to one of them."

Kara said, "That will not work, Dad. He won't talk to you like he'll talk to me."

John walked over to the bar. "I'll go with you."

"No. This one I've got to do on my own. He's not going to hurt me. You don't seem to believe that, but he won't."

Laura walked into the room. "Could I interest anyone in coffee?"

Bill looked at his watch. "I've got to go. I'm expecting company in thirty minutes." He turned to Lee. "The two Cylons are your responsibility. Remember that."

"I'm not likely to forget, Dad."

Laura got his coat and walked to the door with him. "Tell Fiona I said hello."

He smiled warmly for the first time that evening. "What makes you so sure Fiona is my company?"

"I talked to her this morning."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to see Braedon."

"Perhaps next time."

"Goodnight, Laura."

"Button your coat. It's very cold out tonight and I'm sure you walked the six blocks."

He squeezed her hand. "You always know exactly what to say."

"It's part of being a politician."

"It's part of being you."

The blue eyes met hers. For the first time in many, many months she felt the tug and saw it answered. "Goodnight, Bill."

She walked back into the den. John was standing in front of the fireplace. She walked over and put her arms around him. He looked at her with a question in his eyes. And then he suddenly seemed to know what was wrong.

He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead.

"If you two are going to make out, Lee and I are going to my room and talk," Kara said.

Her father nodded.

John waited until they left the room. "You're never going to get over him, are you?"

"I love you. You're my life, now. You and our son and Kara. I wouldn't change that for anything."

For a long time neither of them spoke. Finally he nodded.

"I went to see the Oracle. I went to see Yolanda Brenn."

"When?" John asked in surprise.

"Yesterday afternoon before I met Fiona."

"You went into that part of town by yourself and took our son?"

"I took a transport and had the driver wait for me."

"And?"

"She told me the same thing she had told you about Braedon mapping the stars on the way to Earth."

"But that's not all she told you, right?"

"She said his fate was tied to Kara's. She said a dark force would try to claim him but wouldn't succeed. It frightened me."

John held her tightly. "Nothing is going to harm Braedon. Nothing."

"She told me I would be called upon to serve and that I should heed that call."

"Meaning?"

"I think she means I should accept Adar's offer to run for President next year. He told Bill if I run, then he would back me. I don't know how I feel about it. I need to know how you feel."

"It's your career, Laura."

"That's not what I asked you. I asked you how you feel about it. It's not just my life anymore."

"My gut reaction is that I don't want you to run because I think you'll be elected. I know what that will mean, and I'm selfish enough that I want to keep you to myself. But you would make a fine President. In the end it's your decision."

"You and our son will always come first for me."

"Even if everyone is addressing you as Madame President?"

"Oh, gods, John, I can't think about that right now. It seems unreal."

"Do you think we could take this discussion to our bedroom? Braedon should sleep another hour at least."

"Lee's still here."

"This is their last night together for several weeks. You don't seriously think they're in her room just talking, do you?"

Laura smiled. "No, I suppose not. And you're all right with that?"

"I'm not exactly all right with it, but I've accepted it. He loves her. I know what he's made of. Lee Adama is a good man. I couldn't ask for anybody better for her."

…

"Are you crazy, Kara?" Lee whispered. "Your dad and Laura are in the den."

"My bedroom door is locked."

"Still…if he knew…"

"He knows. You don't think he believes we've been looking at television all those nights over at your place, do you? It's our last night together for two weeks." She pulled him down to her on the bed and kissed him. It didn't take long before his hand was under her shirt. Last night had been moonlight and slow perfection. Tonight was hungrier and faster and more physical.

The hardest part was not making any noise.

As she lay in his arms afterward, she thought of the commander's words.

"Do you think your father really meant what he said about holding you responsible for Sharon and Leoben?"

"He meant it."

"That's not fair to you."

"Fair or not, you'd better hope neither one of them does anything stupid for the next year."

"You trust my gut feeling about them that much?"

"That…and it's the principle of the thing. The others we know about, Cavil and Simon and even Natasi, they've all done things they should pay for. Leoben hasn't done anything yet."

"Sharon has."

"We think Sharon has. We don't know for sure."

"Innocent until proven guilty, right?"

"It's the law, Kara."

"You told me the law doesn't apply to Cylons."

"There's right and there's wrong. And on a fundamental level it applies to all of us…including the Cylons. Don't misunderstand. I'm not suddenly pro-Cylon. I don't have a frakking clue how Karl can stay with Sharon with even the hint she might be one."

"What would you do if you found out that I was one?"

"Don't even joke about that, Kara."

"I'm not joking. What would you do? Break up with me? Kill me? Or both?"

He rolled over on her. "I wouldn't kill you until I'd made love to you…at least once, maybe twice, maybe for the rest of my life."

She leaned up and gently bit his earlobe, something that always got to him. She heard the sharp intake of his breath. She moved her mouth to the side of his neck. "I'm not a Cylon," she whispered before she kissed him. "But you can make love to me again anyway. You won't get another chance for a couple of weeks."

He buried his mouth on her shoulder and groaned, his knee nudging her legs apart.

"Don't remind me. Gods, don't remind me. You don't know how much I think about…"

He didn't finish his sentence because she wrapped her legs over his and arched her body upward, but she understood exactly what he had been going to say. She thought about making love to him a lot, too. About the hot, sweet feeling she got just being close to him. It felt so good right now she could hardly breathe.

She whispered. "Yes, oh gods yes, Lee, just…like…that…"

…

At midnight Kara pulled on sweatpants and a long-sleeved t-shirt and walked with him to the door.

"Zak wants us to meet him for lunch tomorrow," Lee said.

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"Because I didn't want to get in a fight about Zak. So, yes or no?"

"Why do I feel like you've already said yes?"

"He's my brother, Kara. If you and I have a future together, he comes with the territory. I'm not asking you to be his best friend, just be cordial. He's trying to apologize to you."

Kara shrugged. "Okay."

Lee leaned in and kissed her gently. "I love you," he whispered.

She laughed softly. "You owe me. I wouldn't go with you tomorrow if I didn't love you."

She walked into the den. The lights were off but the fire was still lit in the fireplace. She walked over to the bar and poured a small glass of ambrosia. She didn't see her father until she turned. He was sitting on one end of the couch, a drink also in his hand.

"Frak, you scared me," Kara said.

"Sorry, I thought you saw me."

She walked over, sat down beside him and noticed that he was dressed now in sweatpants and a t-shirt like she was.

"Aren't we all matching outfits and everything?"

He moved his arm from the back of the couch to her shoulder and pulled her to him. "Matching outfits, matching drinks."

He stopped short of saying, and we both just got laid, but somehow she knew it. She was glad it was dark and they weren't looking at each other.

"Lee just left."

"I heard."

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"Life in general."

"Don't worry about me and Leoben and Sharon. It's going to work out."

"You know I don't like it."

"I know."

Laura walked in with Braedon and sat down in her chair. Kara saw his little hand on the top of her breast the same way he had clutched her t-shirt the day before.

Kara said, "It hardly seems like it's been a week. I'm not ready to go back yet."

"I am," her father said.

"What's coming up next in the simulator?"

"It's going to get harder."

"Why is that not a surprise?"

"Don't let that grade in Colonial Lit get you down. By the time you get to Flight School, it won't matter."

"I hope so."

"I know so."

"Lee's taking me back to the Academy tomorrow. We're going to have lunch with Zak before we go. Then I guess I'll get to see the new copy of Sharon."

"You're not going to say anything to her, are you?"

"No, Dad. The Oracle told me to guard my secrets. That means the one I know about Sharon, too. Now I'm going to go pack a few things and go to bed."

John leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, baby. I love you."

"I love you, too." She got up. "Goodnight, Laura." She touched her brother's soft brown hair. "Goodnight, little star-mapper."

…

"Zak wants to meet at L'Escargot?" Kara said to Lee. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. His treat."

"His new job must pay a lot better than I thought."

"There's a lot of cubits to be had in the world of sports."

Zak was waiting for them in the reception area of the restaurant.

"He's early," Lee said under his breath. "Zak's never early. And he doesn't look hung over either."

"Hey," Zak said.

"Hi, Zak," Kara said.

"Hungry, bro?" Zak asked.

"He's starving," Kara answered smugly.

The maître d seated them and told them to help themselves to the buffet. Again Kara was amazed at the amount of food on the long tables.

When they got back with their plates, she noticed that she had been right. Lee had helped himself to a lot of food.

"Okay," Zak said, "you know why we're here."

"Besides eating lunch?" She asked innocently.

"Apparently I lied to you about Maggie. I apologize. I'd had too much to drink at your birthday party and I lied. I do have a relationship with Maggie. I like her a lot."

Kara smiled. "Is that the truth?"

For a minute Zak didn't know what to say and then he laughed. "That's the truth. We're not exclusive, but she knows that. We've talked about it. She's free to date other guys if she wants to. Sometimes I date other women. I don't remember exactly what I said to you, but I'm sorry that it wasn't the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

"Apology accepted," Kara said. "So tell me about your new job."

"It's in PR and I get to bullshit all I want. I get paid to do it now."

"He's good at it," Lee said.

"What a surprise," Kara snickered. "Lee tells me you're pals now with Sam Anders."

Zak grinned. "I help him get girls."

That caused both Kara and Lee to laugh. "Lucky him," Lee said.

"Is he still dating Tory Foster?" Kara asked.

"I wouldn't exactly call it dating."

"Is he still hooking up with Tory?"

"Yeah."

"Lissa?"

"Her, too."

How many more?"

Zak shrugged. "He's never shown me his mobile phone contact list. Should I tell him you asked?"

"Just curious," Kara said. "Nothing more. Believe me."

"Oh, hey, that reminds me." Zak took out his mobile phone and proudly held it up. "New…all the bells and whistles. The company pays for it."

"Lucky you."

He scrolled through some pictures and handed the phone to Kara. "I met somebody the other night with the last name of Thrace. Does this guy look familiar to you? The one playing the piano?"

Kara looked at the picture and felt like she had just been punched in the gut.

"Where…did you take this?"

"A little nightclub over on Acropolis Street. Sam and I were out pub crawling and…"

"Kara, what's wrong?" Lee asked.

Kara was struggling to get her breath. The phone clattered to the table.

"Holy Hera," Zak said. "You're white as a ghost. What's wrong?"

"I thought he died on Picon," was all she managed to get out.

Lee grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. "Who?"

"Dreilide Thrace. The musician I thought was my father for thirteen years."

"Oh, man, I had no idea," Zak said. "The bartender told us his name was Thrace. Sam asked. I never thought…man, I'm sorry."

Kara shook her head and put her hand to her forehead. "What's the name of the place?"

"I don't remember. Honest to the gods, I don't remember. I just remember it was on Acropolis Street. It's a couple of doors down from a strip joint called Lady Blue."

"Lavender Blue," Lee said.

"You've been there?" Kara asked him.

"I went to a bachelor party there once."

Kara looked at the food on her plate and felt sick. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Kara, I am sorry," Zak said. "I really had no idea."

"He probably thinks I'm dead. Not that he would care. He left when I was eight. I never heard from him again. I'll be back in a minute. I'm going to the bathroom."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Lee asked.

"No, I don't want you to go to the bathroom with me."

"I didn't mean go in with you," Lee stammered. "I just meant walk with you to the door."

"I'm all right." She got up and walked away from the table, her eyes finally spotting the sign to the restrooms. Inside she leaned against the wall. Why after all this time was she having such a strong reaction to finding out he was alive? It wasn't like the man cared about her. It wasn't like he was her real father.

A woman came out of one of the stalls and glanced at her. "Are you all right?"

"Headache."

She turned on the cold water and splashed her face. She put a cold, wet hand against the back of her neck. The nausea began to recede.

Lee was standing outside the door when she came out. "I was worried about you."

"I'm fine now. No problem."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Look, I want you to promise me something. If you decide to go see him, I want to go with…"

"Lee, I'm not going to see him. Why would I want to go see somebody who walked out on me when I was eight years old and never tried to see me again?"

"I'm just saying…"

"It's not going to happen. Forget it."

They walked back to the table. Zak was ending a call on his mobile phone. "Maggie," he said sheepishly. "We went out last night. I'm taking her back to the Academy this afternoon."

"You really do like her, don't you?"

Zak smiled. "I'm trusting you with my secret."

Kara managed a smile. "There's hope for you yet."

Outside the restaurant, he hugged her, quickly, almost shyly. "I hope I'm forgiven."

She managed another smile. "I hope you are, too."

…

Lee pulled into a visitor parking spot at the Academy. "You've been really quiet since lunch today."

"I've got a lot on my mind."

"Your…the musician?"

"Sharon, mostly. But just finding out he's alive."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to say, Lee? He walked out when I was eight years old. I never heard from him again. Not even a frakking birthday card."

"Are you going to talk to your dad about it?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you're upset. Because he's your father. Because he loves you. "

"I don't know. Maybe. I've got to deal with Sharon first. One thing at a time."

"Just pretend you believe her. Listen to her story and tell her you're sorry she almost drowned and let it go at that."

"I'm not as good a liar as Zak. She didn't almost drown. She did drown."

"You don't know that for sure."

"So now you're agreeing with Karl?"

"I'm just saying we don't have any proof. Just like we think she killed Reider and destroyed the mining colony on Troy, but we don't have any proof."

Kara sighed. "I'd better go. I've got to be checked back in by 16:00."

Lee got out, opened the trunk and got her duffel bag. He slung the strap over his shoulder and carried it to the lobby of the dorm for her. He waited while she checked in at the desk.

Shelley Sydell wasn't on desk duty. Kara didn't think she could have taken having to face her. She walked back over to Lee. "Sharon's here. I saw where she signed in."

"Just do what we said. You'll be fine."

Kara glanced around. They weren't the only couple in the lobby. "Oh, frak it," she said and put her arms around Lee. "Hold me tight. You don't have to kiss me in front of everybody if you don't want to, but hold me really tight."

No one could ever hold her like Lee could hold her. She slipped her arms inside his coat and pulled him to her.

"I love you."

"Just be careful with Sharon. The last thing you want her to know is that you know."

Kara nodded, her arms still around him. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"You'll see me this coming weekend. It's second semester. We can leave campus for a few hours Saturday night. We'll go to McGee's."

They were just about at the extent of time allowed for embracing in the lobby. She saw the lieutenant at the desk look at her. She kissed Lee hard and passionately.

"I love you. Call me if you need me," he said.

"You know I will."

She watched him until he was out of the door before she picked up her duffel bag and trudged upstairs.

Sharon was lying on the bed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. When Kara came through the door, she sat up.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi to you. How are you feeling?"

"Good."

Kara put the duffel bag on her bed and began to unpack, glad for a moment to gather her thoughts while she mindlessly put everything away. At the bottom wrapped in a t-shirt was a new picture of Braedon that Laura had given her. She took it over to Sharon.

"My brother."

Sharon took the picture and carried it to the window where the light was better. "What a cute baby. Someday I'd like to have a baby."

Kara snickered. "Don't let Karl hear you say that."

Sharon laughed, too. "I didn't mean anytime soon. Just someday."

"Karl was really freaked out when he thought you'd drowned."

"He's all I thought about while I was…drifting…waiting…hoping a ship would come along."

"You're lucky. The ocean is a big place. You're lucky someone found you."

"I know that." She handed Braedon's picture back to Kara.

Kara put it on her desk with the picture of her and Lee and her dad and Laura taken at the wedding reception.

"How did you do on your mid-terms?"

"Mostly good."

"I got a 2.0 in Colonial Lit."

"Me, too," Sharon said. "So did Karl."

"Well, frak me. I wonder if that's all Mrs. Nagala gave."

"I'll bet Cadet Pike got a 4.0. He's been sucking up to her since day one."

"He's in my history class. He sucks up to Connelly, too. And Colonel Burgher."

"Have you ever heard of somebody changing their call sign?" Sharon suddenly asked.

"No, you don't like Boomer anymore?"

"I never really liked Boomer. She's not who I am."

Kara looked at Sharon. Their eyes met, and suddenly she knew that Sharon knew. The knowledge was just there, almost like a third person in the room. Boomer's ghost. Sharon was right. She wasn't Boomer. She wasn't the person who had left the Academy a week earlier.

"Does Karl know?" Sharon finally asked.

"I told him but he doesn't believe me."

Sharon sat down on the bed. "How did you know?"

"It doesn't matter now."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Why?"

Kara shrugged. "Why should I? Are you going to hurt me…or Karl…or one of your instructors?"

"No. I'm not her."

"You look like her."

"We're the same model but not the same copy."

"I don't understand," Kara said. "The other Sharon drowned and downloaded into you. How can you be different?"

"I'm not her. The one who drowned is still on the baseship. I'm not the same copy."

Kara shook her head. "Un-uh. That's too weird. I'm not buying it. You have her memories. You're her."

"We put our hands in the datastream and I was able to access her memories. I had to. She was losing it. We couldn't chance letting her come back."

"We?"

"Cavil and a Six made the decision."

"Six?"

"The one you call Natasi. Only it's a different copy of her, too."

"You have numbers?"

"I'm number Eight."

"There are eight Cylon models?"

"I've only seen seven, but I think originally there were eight. Something happened to the seventh model. Either that or our creators didn't know how to count."

Kara looked at her puzzled. Was that an attempt at Cylon humor? "Why are you here?" she asked.

"To learn."

"To learn what?"

"Everything I can."

"Why don't you and the others just read our books, study our history, plug into our computers."

"We've already done that. We can't learn about emotions through books or accessing computers."

"Emotions? That's what you're trying to learn?"

Sharon nodded.

"How can a machine learn feelings?"

"We can lean anything. I've just learned something about trust...and friendship."

"Are you going to go crazy and start acting jealous of Karl like the other one did?"

"No. I trust Karl. And I trust you."

"Are you going to tell him what you are?"

"When the time is right."

"Karl's going to have a big problem with it. Trust me on that."

Sharon sighed. "I've accessed and studied many of your novels and television shows and movies. If he loves me enough it won't matter. Love conquers all problems."

"You don't understand. He lost his whole family when Picon was destroyed."

"We're not all like Cavil."

Kara thought of Leoben. He'd said the same thing. Maybe some of them were different. Maybe some of them were more like humans than she thought.

"So what do you want to change your call sign to?"

Sharon smiled. "I've always liked the names of your goddesses. I like Athena. She's the goddess of wisdom…right?"

"That's right," Kara said. "Plus courage and inspiration. She's also a virgin goddess."

Sharon began to laugh. "I guess three out of four isn't too bad for a namesake."