Chapter 55
The Prolmar Sector
During the fifth year of Cylon occupation, information that shocked many Capricans was revealed by the government. Several settlements of humans in the cold northern region of Tauron had survived the Cylon attack. They were living as they had for centuries. This news sparked hope that there were survivors on the other planets, but numerous entreaties by citizens for the Cylons to allow expeditions to the other Colonies were routinely denied by Cavil.
-Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War
.
Sharon was not in their room when Kara got back to the Academy on Sunday afternoon. She unpacked her duffel bag before she walked over to Karl's dorm and asked the next cadet who entered if he would ask Karl to come down to the lobby.
Karl came down with his coat. "Let's walk over to the student union and get something to drink."
They started across campus. "Were you studying?" Kara asked.
"Trying to."
"Is something wrong?"
"My ex-girlfriend is a Cylon and you're asking me if something is wrong?"
"Don't bite my head off. I was just asking. Is that why you dated Maggie last night?"
"She didn't waste any time running her mouth, did she? And it wasn't a date. I just went back to the old apartment with her to visit Jared. I hadn't seen him in months. I never even touched Maggie."
"Don't blame Maggs. She didn't tell me. I couldn't think of but one reason she would turn Zak down for a date to go hear White Hot Knights."
"Is that what you and Lee did last night? If I'd known that, I would have dated Zak. They're one of my favorite groups ever."
"You're not Zak's type. How is Jared?"
"He's let his hair grow and he's got a skuzzy-looking little beard and mustache. You should have heard Maggie giving him hell about it. She asked him if he was into street-person chic."
"I ran into a mutual friend a couple of weeks ago. He told me Jared wasn't dating the girl from work anymore."
"There was some skank at the apartment last night. Jared and I went into the kitchen to get a couple of beers and he told me he'd met her in a bar. He's just dating her because she's hot in bed."
Kara snorted. "Good. I'm glad he's getting what he wants."
"He asked about you. Jared still has feelings for you."
Kara shrugged. "He needs to find a nice girl and move on. So you mean Maggs didn't drag you into her old bedroom and take advantage of your…horniness?"
"Man, you sure have a way with words. No and no. She said we were just friends now."
"That's a crock. She's still got a thing for you. Admit it."
"Well I've still got a thing for Sharon. Maggie knows it."
"Are you giving up on you and Sharon?"
"We're not dating, but…Friday night we walked down to McGee's and got something to eat. We sat and talked. I walked with her back to the dorm. I can handle that."
"You don't call that a date? I call that a date. "
"I didn't touch her."
"So a date has to involve touching?"
Karl snapped, "If calling it a date makes you feel good, then Sharon and I went on a date."
"You are in some kind of bad mood today. I'm starting to wish Maggs had taken care of your problem. Then maybe you wouldn't be biting my head off."
"Oh, ha ha. Now who's trying to be funny?"
"What did you and Sharon talk about?"
"Classes. Stuff."
"Nothing personal?"
"No. I'm not ready for that, yet."
They got to the student union and went inside. Karl threw his coat on a small table near the jukebox, went to the drink machine and fed it some cubits.
When he got back, he put one of the drinks in front of Kara and asked. "What else did you do this weekend besides go to the best concert of the year?"
"My dad and I took the ship up this morning. I got to take off."
"That hardly seems fair. You've already got a rep as the hottest Viper sim jock in our class, and now you're getting to really fly."
Kara grinned. "Most of the others think my dad is just giving me grades."
"You'll show them when you get to Flight School."
"If you want my opinion, you're making a big mistake starting to hang out with Maggie again. She's not going to be satisfied with being friends. She's going to make a move on you so be ready for it."
Karl shook his head. "I think you're wrong. So are you and Lee still abstaining?"
"For now. I don't think it's going to last. We're going to talk about it again next weekend."
Karl looked at his drink can as he pushed it around on the table. "You tell me how that little talk turns out. It's hard to go backward when you've already taken that step."
"Like you and Sharon?"
"My parents and my little sister are dead because of…her kind. What would they think about me having feelings for a Cylon?"
"I don't think you should look at it that way. This is about your life."
"What happens when we destroy them like you say Commander Adama is planning? Don't you think Sharon will hate me then? If we kill all her people, don't you think she'll hate me?"
Kara sat for a long time before she said, "I don't know how to answer that. Maybe she'll feel like we're even."
"You don't really believe that, do you?"
"I really don't know, Karl. I guess we won't know until it happens."
...
Lee stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom and finished fastening the sash of his dress gray uniform. He dampened his fingers and slicked down an unruly tuft of hair. The ceremony promoting his father to Admiral was being held at 10:00 that morning in the Capitol Building. The President himself was going to do the honors.
The idea of being in the same room with the President of the Colonies had seemed almost surreal to Lee. Four years had passed since the President had governed anything except one Colony, although some humans in a group of small settlements in Tauron's northern region had escaped the rest of that colony's destruction.
When approached by Zarek's mining crew, the natives had shown no interest in participating in the government on Caprica. They wanted nothing from the Colonial government, or so Zarek said. But apparently he had seen an opportunity. The last time his father had mentioned Tom Zarek to Lee, it had been to say that Zarek had become the self-appointed spokesman of the Taurons and wanted a seat on the Quorum of Twelve as their representative. The last elected delegate had perished along with all the residents of Hypatia, capital city of the planet. Zarek had decided that the Taurons were being governed without representation. President Adar thought governed was the wrong choice of a word since they had only recently become aware of their existence. Nevertheless, Zarek was persisting.
Bill had also told Lee that the Quorum, reduced to the seven delegates who had been on Caprica when their planets had been nuked, was a group in name only that had been allowed to remain intact as part of the treaty negotiation. It gave the citizens of Caprica the appearance of a still-functioning body, but in reality it had no power. They still met regularly and discussed issues, but Cavil always had the only vote that counted. Bill thought Zarek wanted to change that. Although Bill had never mentioned his plan to Zarek, Lee knew Zarek was smart enough to know something was going on. He was banking on the eventuality of Caprica being free and the Quorum having power once again. He wanted to be part of that power.
President Adar was still considering Zarek's request. Bill didn't think Adar would ever grant it, but he didn't want to lose Zarek's cooperation in mining the tylium, either. Adar was simply going to delay until the next President took office and right now it looked like that would be Laura Roslin.
Lee's phone chirped. Zak. He was parked on the street and was waiting for Lee.
Zak eyed his dress grays. "I'm sure Dad is disappointed that I'm not wearing one of those uniforms, too."
"I think he's realized that not everyone is cut out to be in the service." Lee took in his brother's nice suit. "It seems like you've found your niche with the PR job."
Zak pulled away from the curb. "We don't want to be late. I don't even know where this place is."
"Dad gave me directions," Lee smiled. "I think Dad's been writing too many notes in his secret code or maybe that's just his handwriting. He should have drawn me a map."
...
The private line on Laura's office phone buzzed. She recognized the number and picked up immediately. "Where are you? It's after 9:30. We need to start walking over right now."
"I'm stuck in traffic," John said. There's a wreck on the I-6. Traffic's moving, but it's crawling. You go ahead. I'll come straight to the ceremony."
Laura left her office. "I'm on my way to Bill Adama's promotion ceremony," she told Tory and Billy. "I won't be back until after lunch."
She hadn't seen Bill in several weeks. He had not been to the apartment since she had announced her bid for the Presidency. They had not met for tea, either. Bill was the one who said that he thought their meetings might be misinterpreted by the press. After D'Anna Biers' questions the previous Saturday, Laura had to agree that he was probably right. There was no aspect of her private life that would not come under scrutiny now, and the last thing she needed was a rumor getting started that she and Bill Adama were conducting an improper relationship. She had to do everything in her power to assure the press and the public that she was the model politician, wife and mother.
To her surprise, Bill had not put Fiona Nagala on the invitation list. Their relationship had cooled although Laura wasn't sure why. She had talked to Fiona several times in the last two weeks and Fiona hadn't mentioned Bill at all. Laura wondered if something had happened or if the relationship had simply run its course.
She arrived at the room where the ceremony would take place. Two of the President's security guards were already stationed outside the door. She stopped and spoke politely to each of them. In less than a year they might be her guards. She knew their jobs were not to socialize, but a warm smile and a few words of greeting could never hurt.
Several dozen chairs had been set up in six rows with a podium at the front of the room. The Presidential seal was on the podium.
Bill stood at the front talking to Saul Tigh. She walked up to them.
"Hello, Bill. Colonel Tigh."
"Madame Secretary," Tigh said.
She caught the faint whiff of alcohol. The colonel had gotten an early start today. She turned to Bill.
"Congratulations. I can't think of anyone who deserves this promotion more than you do."
Bill nodded. "Thank you, Laura. Where's John?"
"Stuck in traffic. He'll be here as soon as he can."
She saw Bill's eyes shift to the door of the room and glanced around. Lee and Zak had come in. They walked over.
"I see you found the place," Bill said to them.
"It's a good thing Lee was navigating," Zak said. "I don't think I'd ever have found it."
"It's all the one-way streets around the White Zone," Tigh said. "I took a transport. Of course finding this room was about as hard."
Especially when your judgment is slightly impaired, Laura thought.
The President's press secretary walked in with several assistants and the camera crew. They began setting up to focus on the podium.
"He's on a tight schedule this morning so we want to start right on time. Commander, you'll sit here. The rest of you, please take seats."
Laura glanced at her watch. Five minutes until ten. Several other Admirals who were stationed at Fleet Headquarters walked in and sat down. She saw Agent Darren and Major Parker and a number of officers she didn't know. Cavil was conspicuously absent as was that little weasel Aaron Doral. She knew they had not been invited, but she wouldn't have put it past them to show up anyway.
The press secretary beckoned to Laura. She got up and walked over.
"Madame Secretary, Commander Adama has indicated that he would like for you to pin one of the new collar insignia pins onto his uniform while the President pins the other one."
Bill's eyes met hers briefly. "I consider this an honor," she said to him.
He smiled. "I can't think of anyone who's better suited for the job than the current President and the next President. I'd like for my sons to sit on the front row, too."
It took less than a minute for everyone to get moved and seated. The press secretary glanced at her watch just as the door opened and a bodyguard walked in. He looked around and then stepped aside. President Adar entered and walked down the short aisle. He went straight to the podium. He was speaking without his teleprompter, but he did remove several note cards from his jacket pocket and place them on the podium.
"Good morning, everyone. This is one of the more pleasant tasks of being President," he said to the two dozen people in the room, "getting to preside at the promotion of a man I've come to regard with the utmost respect and in whose abilities I have the highest confidence and trust."
Laura smiled. Bill looked decidedly uncomfortable hearing himself praised in that manner. He deserved this promotion, though, and so much more. He had devoted most of himself including his personal life for the last four years to serving Adar and formulating the plan to rid them of the Cylons.
Adar continued. "Twenty-five years ago a young lieutenant graduated from the Academy and began training to be a Viper pilot. That young man was William Adama, call sign Husker, and that was the start of a distinguished military career that has brought him to the place he is today."
Adar shuffled his notes and then looked up at them. "You know, getting Bill to tell me anything about himself is one of the hardest tasks I've faced as President."
There were some chuckles around the room as Laura thought of Bill's modesty. He didn't like talking about himself. He much preferred acting to talking.
"But fortunately there were others who weren't so reticent to talk about someone the crew of the Galactica affectionately refers to as the Old Man."
Adar went on to list the highlights of Bill's career starting with his combat record during the First Cylon War. He spoke of Bill's rise through the ranks, his first command, and his love of being on a battlestar.
"I've kept him on Caprica for the last four years and I've come to lean on his expertise and good judgment in every military decision that I make. I also feel privileged to call him a friend. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor today, as Commander in Chief, to promote William Adama to the rank of Admiral in the Colonial Fleet."
As everyone applauded, Adar stepped away from the podium and one of his assistants handed him the pins. Laura and Bill both rose and walked forward. They turned to face the small gathering. Laura noticed that sometime during Adar's speech, John had come in and sat at the back of the room.
Bill kept his eyes straight ahead as Laura carefully put the pin on his left collar while Adar put the pin on his right. Several times her fingers brushed the skin of his neck. She saw him swallow.
"Congratulations, Admiral Adama," President Adar shook his hand.
"Congratulations, Bill," Laura said. She took the hand that Adar had just released. Bill squeezed it tightly. She could tell that he was far more emotional than he wanted anyone to see.
Adar looked at the assembled group. "Thank you all for coming today. Please stay as long as you'd like and talk to Bill. I have some trade union delegates waiting to speak with me."
He left the room with his bodyguards following. The rest of those in the room stood. Lee walked over and shook his father's hand. Bill surprised everyone including his son by pulling Lee close in a brief hug. Then he did the same thing to Zak. Yes, Bill was definitely more emotional that his stoic exterior showed.
Laura stepped back so others could get to Bill and offer their congratulations. John walked up and put his arm around her, squeezing the top of her shoulder gently.
"I'm sorry I was late."
She smiled up at him. "You got here. That's what's important."
"Are we still set for lunch?"
"Yes, as soon as Bill thinks he can leave. I told the hostess at the Tea Room anytime between 11:00 and 11:30. I reserved a table for six...only I thought Fiona would be joining us instead of Colonel Tigh. Bill didn't invite her. I'm surprised."
John shrugged.
"Do you know what's going on?"
"Bill and I rarely discuss our personal lives. I think the last time he said anything personal to me was to congratulate me when Braedon was born. We talked about having sons. I told him I hoped Braedon grows up to be as fine a man as Lee. All Bill said was that he couldn't claim much credit for Lee being the man he is today."
When everyone had left but Tigh and Zak and Lee, John and Laura walked over to Bill. John shook his hand. "You tell me when you want me to start calling you admiral instead of Bill."
"I'll do that," Bill said. "How are things progressing at the Academy?"
"This class has some potentially very good pilots, at least in the simulator."
"Including Kara," Lee said.
"Especially Kara," John said and smiled.
They all walked to the Tea Room. Their table was ready. Bill sat on one end and Zak on the other. Laura and John were on one side and Lee and Colonel Tigh were on the other. They talked about a number of things as they ate. Bill and Tigh reminisced about being together during the First Cylon War. John and Bill talked about flying Vipers during the last years of that war. They talked about Laura's bid for the Presidency.
Everything went well until after the meal when Colonel Tigh returned from his second trip to the restroom. Laura was certain the trips were an excuse to use the flask he had with him. She had seen the outline of it under his uniform jacket.
Tigh looked at John and asked, "Is that daughter of yours ready to give up her enemy friends yet?"
Bill said, "Saul, this is not the time or the place."
John put his cup of coffee down. "I don't mind answering the colonel. The answer is no."
"Do you know who they are?"
"I do."
Bill's tone was stronger. "Saul, that's enough."
Colonel Tigh ignored him. "And you, Laura? Are you involved in this conspiracy of silence, too?"
John said, "No, Laura is not involved. She doesn't know anything about it."
Bill said, "Colonel, am I going to have to make it an order?"
"They're withholding critical information, for the gods' sakes. How can you let them get away with that? Why aren't they both in the brig?"
"It was my decision. Let it go."
Tigh stood. "I need a drink."
"You mean another one." John commented. "That flask must empty by now."
Two spots of color appeared in Tigh's cheeks. "Are you implying something?"
"I'm not implying anything. I'm saying it."
"You want to step outside and say that to me, Major?"
Bill also stood. "Let's take a walk, Saul."
For a moment Laura didn't think the colonel was going to comply, but he apparently thought about it, turned and walked ahead of Bill out of the Tea Room.
"What the hell was that all about?" Zak asked.
Laura said, "John, you should not have taunted him about the flask or his drinking."
"I know he's Bill's best friend, but he's a drunk who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."
"All the more reason you should not have said anything to him. How long do you think it would have taken somebody to call the press if you had stepped outside with Colonel Tigh? How many mobile phone cameras do you think would have been at work?"
"You should listen to your wife, John," Lee said. "She's right. You might have made your debut on the web punching out a superior officer."
"Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" Zak asked again.
"Just military stuff," Lee answered.
"I need to get back to the Academy," John said.
"Can I hitch a ride with you?" Lee asked.
"Sure," John said. "I'm sorry, Laura, but I won't have the colonel talking about Kara like that. I trust her gut feeling on this and so does Bill. It's none of Tigh's business."
Laura put her hand on his arm, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you at home tonight. We can talk about this later."
"Are you staying?" John asked her.
"I'm going to finish my cup of tea before I go back to the office."
"I'm heading out, too," Zak said.
A moment later Laura found herself alone at the table. Bill walked back in shortly after the others had left. He sat down and signaled the waitress for another cup of coffee.
"I apologize for Saul," he said. "I put him in a transport and sent him home."
"I apologize for John," Laura said. "He's very defensive of Kara."
"I shouldn't have asked Saul to come to lunch with us. Ellen's been misbehaving again. Word got back to him."
"When is Ellen not misbehaving?"
"I think this time it's someone he knows."
"I'll admit I did wonder why you didn't ask Fiona."
"We're taking a break to sort things out to use her terminology."
"I'm sorry. What happened? Or is that none of my business?"
"I don't think anything happened. I enjoy her company, but she was pushing too hard. I'm not ready for the level of commitment she wanted."
"That level being?"
"Let's just say she wanted more of my time than I'm able to give her."
"That's…unfortunate," Laura said.
"It's probably for the best. In ten months I'll be back on the Galactica. The ticking clock will be at the zero hour. If something were to go wrong, I won't be leaving anyone behind."
"I don't like to hear you talk like that. It makes it sound like you've got doubts. Are there problems I don't know about?"
"No. I feel better that I did six months ago. The group of pilots-in-training is actually getting more combat training in the simulators than they'll ever get in the sky above Caprica."
"Is that what John is doing…teaching them combat maneuvers?"
"That plus working on my latest hare-brained idea. Hasn't he mentioned it?"
"No. That's probably my fault. Nearly all of my time is devoted to my son and my campaign and my job. I've tried to do better lately, but I'm afraid John doesn't get a lot of my attention…not nearly as much as he deserves for all the help he gives me."
"He's doing some research for me."
"So that's why he's been working late on his laptop so many nights these last weeks. What's the nature of your project?"
"He's been doing some research. He'll be able to explain it better than I can." Bill finished his coffee. "I hate to leave, but I need to get back to the office. I'm expecting another communication from Tom Zarek."
"An issue with the tylium mining?"
"No. That's still going well. Zarek wants me to take his case to the President for allowing him to represent Tauron on the Quorum of Twelve. If Adar doesn't make a decision about it, you'll probably have to."
"Even if he weren't a convicted criminal, how can Tom Zarek expect to represent Tauron? He's a native of Sagittaron."
"Adar promised to wipe the slate clean of his criminal past if he would head the tylium mining mission. He'll get a full pardon."
Laura snapped her fingers. "And just like that a convicted terrorist who destroyed a government building on Sagittaron and took hundreds of innocent lives becomes an upstanding citizen with no criminal record. I knew Adar had cut a deal with him, but I thought it only involved a large number of cubits changing hands."
Bill said, "Zarek spent twenty years in prison for his act of terrorism. That's almost half of his lifetime. Many would say he's paid his debt to society."
"Don't forget what he and his men did when the Astral Queen crashed. One of them killed the pilot and of course there's the matter of hijacking John's ship."
Bill took a deep breath. "Adar knows all that. He made the call. He felt like the tylium for our battlestars was worth it. So do I. You know as well as I do that sometimes a leader has to make a decision that goes against the grain for the ultimate benefit of the many. Granting Zarek a complete pardon in return for his help in ridding Caprica of the Cylons was just such a decision."
"Did it have to be Tom Zarek, though? Why couldn't someone else have headed that mission?"
"Because the prisoners who volunteered for it listen to Zarek. It was the best option at the time. It's better than having him out of prison and leading a radical band of terrorists. You of all people should understand that."
Laura smiled slightly. "The devil you know…keep your friends close and your enemies closer. How many more clichés fit this situation?"
Bill smiled also. "Let's go. I'll walk you back to your office. Tom Zarek's call can wait. I wouldn't want him to get the idea I'm anxious to help him."
"You are coming to Lee's birthday party at Channing's on Friday night, aren't you? John has reserved their back dining room. Kara is inviting several of their mutual friends. John called Zak and invited him."
"I'll be there. Is this a surprise?"
"Of course," Laura answered.
"Twenty-two years. Where did the time go?"
Laura thought of her own son. "It passes too quickly, doesn't it?"
...
Kara put her duffel bag in the trunk of her father's car on Friday after lunch.
"Are you sure everything is ready?" She asked as soon as she got into the car.
"I went by Channing's on the way home last night. The room will be ready. They're even going to put up the Happy Birthday banner."
"You picked up Lee's birthday gift from the art gallery?"
"On my way home last night, too. That was my first stop."
"And the cake?"
"That was my next stop. Channing's was my third."
Kara grinned. "What would I do without you?"
"What are Dad's for but to make life easier for their daughters?"
"I'm going to wait to give Lee his present until we get back to the apartment tonight."
"Why?"
"Because he won't be expecting it. He'll think the surprise party is all I'm doing for him. Is Commander Adama going to be there?"
"It's Admiral Adama now. That's what he told Laura on Tuesday. Zak?"
"Zak and whoever he brings. I told him he could bring a date. Karl's coming. I told him to bring a date, too, but I don't know if he will."
"He and Sharon are still broken up?"
"I'm not sure what the deal is with them. They're going out on non-dates."
"What are non-dates?"
"Hanging out together but not touching."
"Like you and Lee right now?"
"Oh, funny. I asked Sharon this week about how that accessing memories thing works with the Cylons. She told me they can't tune into each others' thoughts unless they've got their hands in some kind of conductive goo on the basestar. She called it the datastream. That's how she learned what the other Sharon knew and what she had done. I think the Cavil on the basestar made the downloaded Boomer stick her hand in the goo so this Sharon could read her thoughts."
"Sharon doesn't mind you asking her questions?"
"This is the only one I've asked her so far. I'm working my way up to the tough ones."
"You need to be careful, Kara. You don't know where she'll draw the line at being your friend when it comes to betraying her…the other Cylons."
"I know. Hey, you missed our exit."
"We're going somewhere else first. I've spent hours every night this week looking at the crew lists of the only expedition that went to the Prolmar Sector and returned. A second expedition went five years later, but it was lost."
"What do you mean lost?"
"It's listed as lost because it never returned. Both expeditions were sent from Libran. When the second one didn't return after a year, no one, including the government, was willing to mount another expedition. They'd already spent half a billion cubits on the two expeditions and had almost nothing to show for it."
"So where are we going?"
"I didn't have any idea I would get lucky, but I did. There was a young ensign on the first expedition who is still alive and living here in the city with her daughter. We're going to see her. I'd like to talk to her."
"You're kidding. I thought you said nobody had been there in seventy-five years. What is she…like about a hundred years old?"
"The first and only expedition to return was sixty-two years ago. She was a nineteen-year-old ensign at the time. She's eighty-one years old now, but her daughter says her mind is still sharp. She told me I could drop by today and talk to her mother."
"This will be so cool. What's her name?"
"Irina Hoshi. Her grandson Louis is a junior officer on the Pegasus."
Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of an apartment building in a nice but older section of town. Her father had to circle the block before he found a parking place. They walked to the building and were let in by a doorman after John identified himself and the doorman called upstairs.
Irina Hoshi's daughter answered the door. She looked to Kara like she was in her fifties. She introduced herself as Nadia Hilliard.
"My mother has been looking forward to your visit all morning, Major Gallagher. She has very few living friends. There's no one left from the exploration ship she was on."
"We really appreciate your mother agreeing to see us today."
Nadia led them into a nicely furnished living room filled with antiques. Irina Hoshi sat in a chair by the large window. She was a small woman dressed in dark slacks and a blue blouse. Her white hair was clipped up in the back.
"My mother loves to sit in the sun."
Irina Hoshi said, "My eyesight might not be that good now, but my hearing is fine. You don't need to talk about me like I'm not in the room."
Nadia gave Kara and her father a look that said oops.
"Mother, this is Major John Gallagher and his daughter Kara."
"Gallagher," Irina said. "You're married to Laura Roslin."
John smiled. "Guilty as charged."
"She's going to be elected. She's got my vote. High time we had a woman President. All men have ever done is make war and Cylons."
"Mother, Major Gallagher is here to ask you some questions about your trip to the Prolmar Sector."
"You've already told me why he's here," Irina said.
"Please, Major, you and Kara have a seat. I'm going to make some tea. You both drink tea, don't you?"
John nodded. "We do." After they sat on the couch, John said to Irina, "Your ship was called the Hyperion, was it not?"
Irina Hoshi's voice softened. "She was a beautiful ship. Even today she would be called beautiful. And brimming with scientific instruments. We were scientists and explorers, you see."
"What happened to the ship?" Kara asked.
"Lost. Five years after our expedition another one went. It never returned. I was pregnant with our first child or Joshua and I would have been lost with her. We both wanted to go back."
"Where was it lost?" Kara asked again.
"Why in the Prolmar Sector, of course. Or somewhere between here and there. In those days our FTL drives were primitive compared to the ones you have today. And far less reliable...or I should say the computers that plotted the jumps. It took half a dozen jumps to get from Libran to there. That's why there were no more expeditions. All those scientists and millions of cubits vanished like smoke. It was too dangerous. The government called a halt to it. They would rather spend our taxes buying more of those metal war machines. Look what that got us."
"What can you tell me about the Prolmar Sector?" John asked.
"It had a yellow star like our sun, smaller and younger. We found the fourth planet early in the year we were there. It was the only one that was habitable for humans. It had abundant fresh water, one large continent and two smaller ones. There was a chain of active volcanoes in the ocean that had created a series of small islands. It was heavily forested. There were a variety of bacteria in the soil and in the water and abundant plant and animal life. The north and south polar regions were heavily glaciated. The climate of the planet was colder than Libran…much more like the climate of Caprica. It's all in the report. Surely you've read the report."
Nadia brought a tray with cups and a pot of tea. She poured tea for all of them before she took a cup over to the table beside her mother.
John said, "I've searched the Academy's archives. I couldn't find a report. All I found were crew manifests."
"That's odd," Irina said. "A very lengthy report was made. My husband Joshua contributed to it."
"I even got my wife's assistant to check all the government data bases. He couldn't find anything on the Prolmar Sector at all. If anything was there, it's been deleted, including the jump coordinates it took to get there."
"I don't understand. We spent nearly a year exploring the fourth planet in the Prolmar Sector."
"I don't doubt your word at all, Mrs. Hoshi. Unfortunately there's nothing in writing to verify that except a crew manifest in the Academy's library. It's not indexed under anything to do with the Prolmar Sector. I found it under the ship's name."
"The Hyperion was too large to land on the planet. It remained in orbit and we used smaller shuttle crafts to go back and forth. We set up a large base camp near fresh water. The robots cleared a better landing area for us so the larger transports could bring more supplies per trip."
"Robots," Kara said. "You mean you had Cylons with you?"
"We didn't call them Cylons then. They were just old metal robots, older than those being used elsewhere at the time. They had been scheduled for recycling when they were given a last job on our scientific expedition."
"What do you mean by recycling?"
Irina's pale blue eyes took on a faraway look for a moment. "I think they were going to be broken down for parts…or melted for scrap if they were too worn out. They were old, you see, obsolete. I'm afraid some of our mercenary guards treated them very badly. They didn't look like the metal monsters of today. They had heads shaped like ours and faces with eyes like a doll's. When I saw them around camp, their eyes always looked…sad."
"Mother," Nadia said, "machines can't look happy or sad. They're just machines."
Irina smiled slightly and Kara thought her smile was sad. "Not any more. They're like humans now, aren't they? Happy, sad…vengeful."
Kara and John glanced at each other. "What were your duties and responsibilities on the expedition?" John asked.
"I was a communications technician. For the first three months I stayed on the ship, but," Irina's voice softened again, "I was in love, you see, with one of the young scientists, Joshua Hoshi. He found a way to use my skills on the planet's surface. I became his scribe. I recorded everything. It was from his notes that Joshua made his final entries for the report. The original copy was stored on Libran in the government archives…but of course those archives are long destroyed now."
Kara noticed the slim gold band that Irina Hoshi still wore on her ring finger. "How long were you married?"
"Fifty-one years in this life. We'll be together soon."
Nadia said, "Mother, please don't talk like that."
"I've waited a long time for someone to ask me about our expedition into the Prolmar Sector. Nadia, go into my bedroom and look in the bottom right-hand drawer of my dresser. There are two journals there, bound in what looks like brown leather. It's not real leather. It's a much tougher synthetic. Give them to Major Gallagher."
"You're giving your journals to my dad?" Kara asked. "Why?"
Irina smiled. "It's not a diary, my dear, although your father may find a young woman's thoughts straying occasionally. So please, Major Gallagher, ignore the hearts with certain initials inside that you might find in the margins of several pages."
Nadia returned to the room with two books tied together by an aging and faded blue ribbon. "Both of them, Mother? You're sure?"
"Yes, both. You see, Major, some on the expedition thought that we had found the planet Kobol, some of the more religious ones, anyway. They pointed to ruins that were photographed on flyovers of the planet's main city. They argued quietly among themselves. I knew nothing of Kobol except what I was taught as a child…that Kobol was the home of the gods, a way of explaining how humans came to be in our solar system on twelve planets simultaneously with no evidence of an evolutionary past. Joshua said they were wrong but for scientific reasons. He said the distinguishing feature of Kobol's main city was a large temple complex as evidenced by drawings in the scrolls of Pythia. The ruins we found had no such temple complex, only one temple, therefore he said the planet could not be Kobol."
"But others disagreed," John said.
"Vehemently. They argued that Pythia could not be taken literally, that Pythia lived long after the exodus from Kobol and could not have known what the temple complex looked like. They pointed out that the drawing of the temple in Pythia strongly resembles an ancient structure outside of Delphi. These same scientists and archeologists were the ones who organized the next expedition… as it turns out, the last expedition. After they were lost, interest in exploring the Prolmar Sector ceased because the money was being spent elsewhere. I always wondered who was correct. Had we found Kobol or not?"
"Did you ever visit the ruined city?" Kara asked.
"No, but Joshua did."
Kara's curiosity was whetted. "Didn't he take any pictures, any photographs of the structure?"
"Of course. He wasn't allowed to keep them. They would have taken the sketches and my journals, too, if they had known about them."
"They?" John asked.
"The expedition's mercenaries. It was clear from the beginning that the government scientists were under their control. They worked for the consortium of investors. Most of them were ex-military. They could be quite scary and intimidating. They supervised everything we did."
"You didn't find any humans still living on the planet, did you?"
"No. That would have settled the matter right away. We found gravesites marked by small carved stones, ancient ones, and the scientists who went to the ruins of the city found tombs. There are some sketches in the journals that Joshua made at the tombs as well. The ruined city was many thousands of years old based on carbon dating of the bones. It was hard to determine what had happened to the people. One group thought they died out suddenly for some reason, perhaps a plague. Others thought they had simply left. There was no evidence of a natural disaster or a man-made one, either…no evidence of radiation or the kind of massive destruction that comes with a war. It was almost as if everyone turned out the lights one day and left the planet."
"What did your scientists estimate their level of technology was?" John asked.
"Quite high. Outside the ruins of the city was the ruin of what could only have been a spaceport. The inhabitants of the planet traveled among the stars. Just how far they traveled is still anybody's guess. There are many other solar systems beyond the Prolmar Sector. Our galaxy is a vast place, an immense place. But you both know that."
Kara and her father looked at each other again. "It's hard to believe that exploration of the planet was just dropped," John finally said. "Especially considering what you found."
"Someone decided that the planet's meager mineral riches were not sufficient to justify the cost of further expeditions. It was five years before the scientists and archeologists convinced the government to sponsor another exploration. I was married to Joshua by then and pregnant with our first son. Joshua wanted to go. I begged him not to leave me for the year that the mission would be gone. I used to thank the gods nightly that he listened to me. The others never returned. The government refused to fund any type of rescue mission. There were rumors that an inter-colonial war was brewing. Our government had more pressing needs. They were buying newer model Cylons, soldier models to add to Libran's defenses."
"But Kobol is a sacred place," Kara said. "Why wouldn't the government want to explore it?"
"It's a sacred, mythological place," Irina said. "Perhaps the people who make those kinds of decisions thought it should remain a myth. All religions have their element of mythology, you know. They depend on it. We accept by faith, not by scientific proof."
"We've taken enough of your time this afternoon," John said. "You've been very kind to talk to us."
"I always wondered if someone would show any interest in our expedition one day. Might I ask why you're asking about it now?"
"There's some renewed interest in the Prolmar Sector," John said.
"Ah, you really can't say."
"I really can't say," John smiled.
"There's something near the beginning of the first journal that might be of interest to you. I was still on the bridge of the Hyperion when I began writing in it. I wrote all the jump coordinates we used to reach the planet including the final one. Perhaps that will help."
"You've no idea how much that will help," John said.
Irina Hoshi turned her pale blue eyes on Kara. "You're very young. Are you not in school?"
"I'm at the Academy," Kara answered.
"Following in your father's footsteps?"
Kara grinned. "I hope."
John put his hand affectionately on the back of Kara's neck. "She's going to be a better Viper pilot than I was."
"There was a shuttle pilot on our trip, a young woman. I can't remember her name. She had a baby while we were there…a beautiful little dark-haired girl fathered by one of the mercenaries. I later heard he went back on the second expedition. That was all so long ago."
John stood and Kara followed. "Thank you again for your time, Mrs. Hoshi," he said.
A smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. "I plan to live long enough to vote for your wife. And please come back to see me. I can talk on and on about the mysterious fourth planet in the Prolmar Sector."
"You can count on that," John said. "I'm sure after I've read your journals I'll have a lot of questions. I'll make copies of them and return them to you."
Irina Hoshi waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Keep them. I can't see well enough to read them anymore. The important parts are here." She touched the side of her head.
"With your permission, then, I'll add them to the archives at the Academy."
She nodded. "I hope you get to explore it someday."
"Maybe I'll be that lucky."
Down on the street as they walked to the car, Kara said, "Do you think one of those old robots told the newer ones about that planet and that's where they went at the end of the first war?"
"Bill thinks they took a group of humans with them, scientists and possibly doctors, certainly AI experts…or maybe the humans took them. They had to go to a place where humans could live. The fourth planet in the Prolmar Sector certainly fits the bill."
Her father didn't say anything else until they were in the car. He handed the journals to her to hold. "I think Bill is right. I think we've found where the Cylons went at the end of the First War to complete their work on the skinjobs. They went to the Prolmar Sector to a planet that may…or may not…be Kobol."
"Do you think they're still there?"
"I don't know, baby."
"Kobol," Kara said softly, "the home of the gods. Braedon will go there one day. I'm sure he will…on his way to Earth. Maybe we'll all go."
...
Lee rang the doorbell of Laura and John's apartment. When Kara answered the door, she was already wearing her coat. Lee noticed right away that she didn't have a gift in her hands. He breathed a sigh of relief. She had taken him at his word and not spent her money on a birthday gift for him.
"I thought I'd go in and speak to Laura and John."
"They went to a party or something. Maya is with Braedon. We'll see them later. Happy birthday, by the way. I guess you've noticed I don't have a gift."
"Thanks. I noticed and I'm glad. I told you not to. For once you listened to me. Where do you want to go tonight?"
"Channing's…but first…happy birthday." Kara kissed him. She knew just when to stop, though, before they had a repeat of the last time they stood at the door.
"That's the best gift I could get from you."
"I can do better."
"I know you can. That's why we'd better go."
In the elevator Kara took his hand. She was smiling. "I aced another sim yesterday. First try, too."
Lee grinned. "Teacher's little pet."
"My dad and I talked to an old woman today who was on the first expedition to the Prolmar Sector."
"This thing my dad has John working on?"
"Yep."
"So spill."
As they walked to Channing's, Kara told Lee about her and John's visit to Irina Hoshi and about her revelations.
"This is going to make my dad happy," Lee finally said. "It sounds like he was right about something else. Everybody knows the Cylons came from somewhere but so far none of them will reveal where their homeworld is. Maybe we've found it."
They arrived at Channing's. Kara still had his hand and started toward the back. "Where are we going?" Lee asked. "There's a good booth right here."
"You'll see."
Lee had his first inkling that something was going on. Kara pulled him through a door into the private dining room. There were half a dozen people in the small room. He saw Karl, Zak and Maggie, Laura and John and his father. There was an explosion of noisemakers and the flash of a camera. Zak threw a handful of confetti.
Kara put her arms around him in a tight hug. "Happy birthday."
Emotion swept him. "You…promised," he managed to get out.
"No, I never promised. You told me not to do anything but I never promised."
Zak took another picture with his mobile phone camera. "The expression on your face will be good for lots of blackmail in the future."
His father squeezed his shoulder. "Happy twenty-second, son."
Laura and John moved aside. There was a table against one wall with a cake covered in lit candles. There were several gifts on the table, too.
"How many trick candles?" Lee asked Zak.
"Would I do that?" Zak answered innocently.
All of the candles were trick candles. By the third try of blowing them out, Lee was laughing so hard he couldn't try again. Laura took pity on him and began picking the candles off the cake and dropping them into a bowl of water.
"You'll still get your wish, Lee," Laura said to him.
Lee realized he hadn't even made a wish. He looked at Kara and their eyes locked. He wished for nothing more than to have her look at him like she was doing right now for the rest of their lives.
He felt John's hand on his shoulder. "Many more happy ones, Lee."
Lee looked at his friend. "How much did you have to do with this?"
John smiled. "I just followed orders. You know that men are no good at planning these things." He handed Lee a cold beer. "Chin up. You'll survive it."
Lee gratefully took the beer. "You might have to call a transport for me tonight."
Kara grinned. "What are birthdays for if you can't get a little bit intoxicated?"
Zak put his arm around Lee. "Time to party, bro. The beer is free."
Maggie and Karl were standing near the end of the table talking quietly. Kara walked over to them. Lee and Zak followed.
"What's up?" Kara said to Karl.
"Nothing. Happy birthday, Lee."
Maggie echoed. "From me, too."
"Thanks," Lee said.
Zak walked over and put his arm around Maggie. "Let's get some cake."
Kara looked at Karl after they walked off. "So which one of you is she with tonight?"
"Zak."
"Where's Sharon?"
Karl glanced toward Admiral Adama. "I didn't think it would be a good idea to invite her."
Kara lowered her voice. "He doesn't know who she is."
"Hey, bro," Zak called. "Open your gifts. Kara, the cake is good. Did you bake it yourself?"
Kara snorted. "Are you kidding?"
"Be careful opening my gift, son," his father said. "Keep it right side up."
Carefully Lee peeled back the wrapping paper. It was a sailing ship about a foot long in an acrylic case. The name Aurora was painted in small letters on the stern. He looked at his father. "You put this together?"
Bill smiled. "I don't spend every single minute working. I thought you needed something to balance that collection of space ships."
"Thanks, Dad. This is…I don't know what to say. It's beautiful."
John walked over and gingerly lifted the ship. "I know what you can do if you ever decide to quit your day job, Bill."
Bill grunted. "The profit margin is too low."
Zak handed Lee an envelope. "It's not much."
Lee looked inside. There were two third-row seats to the pyramid semi-final game coming up the next weekend. He looked at Zak.
"I didn't pay for them. Somebody comped them for me."
Your buddy, Sam Anders, Lee thought. It didn't matter, though. Last year he hadn't even gotten a call from Zak on his birthday, much less a gift.
Laura handed him a nicely wrapped package. "From John and me."
Lee carefully removed the paper. It was a first edition of his grandfather's book Trial Tactics and Strategies. He opened the cover. Many years ago his grandfather had signed it.
Lee looked up at Laura. "Where did you find this?"
She smiled. "I know someone who collects rare books. He found it for me."
Lee was still shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at the book. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome."
"Braedon sent you a little present," John said. He picked up a small package from the table and handed it to Lee. "The book is from me and Laura. This is from Brae."
Lee tore the paper and opened the box. Inside were six tiny Vipers, the same kind of plastic Vipers that had long ago been lost from his model of the Galactica…only these looked pristine and new.
John smiled. "Kara told me how Zak had launched your Vipers into the fireplace."
"Hey," Zak said. "That was only two of them. Lee lost the rest."
"Where did you find these?"
"While Laura was at her campaign headquarters last Sunday afternoon, Braedon took me to a used toy store. He spotted those little Vipers right away."
Lee felt the emotion well again. "Someday I'll show him how to launch them from my model of the Galactica."
Zak laughed. "Better not do it around a fireplace."
...
At Laura and John's apartment that night, John poured three small glasses of ambrosia. Laura had gone to the nursery to feed Braedon and put him to bed. John had called a transport for Maya.
"This is the best birthday I've ever had," Lee said.
John finished his glass of ambrosia. "I'm going to bed, kids. Call a transport tonight, Lee. Don't try to drive. The cops won't care if it's your birthday. They'll arrest you anyway."
"Thank you again."
"You deserve it." John patted Lee's shoulder as he walked behind the sofa. He leaned over and kissed the top of Kara's head. "Goodnight, baby. Don't stay up too late."
"I'll be back in a minute," Kara said after John was gone. She disappeared down the hall and returned carrying a large, thin, rectangular package that was wrapped in heavy brown paper.
For a moment Lee couldn't imagine what it was, and then somehow he knew.
"Open it," Kara said. "I hope you like it."
Carefully he peeled back the tape and took the paper off the gift. He liked the frame even before he saw the picture. The print of Posiden's Daughter took his breath.
"It's beautiful," was all he was able to say. "This is the best birthday I ever had. You and your dad and Laura…" He took a deep breath. He was about to get choked up.
"My dad said it best. You deserve it."
Lee shook his head. Memories were flooding him, other birthdays, times that were far from the happy, wonderful experience tonight had been for him.
"What's wrong?" Kara asked.
"Nothing."
"What did we say about sharing things with each other?"
"I was thinking about the difference between tonight and another birthday I had. When I was ten years old, Mom planned a party for me, the only other birthday party I ever had. She'd bought balloons and a cake. I invited my friends from school. The night before the party Dad called and said he wasn't going to make it home. She went into her room and…the next morning she still hadn't come out. She was passed out drunk. I didn't know what to do. I called my grandmother Evelyn. We still had the party, but it was…bad. Mom got up halfway through it and came in with her hair a mess and her clothes wrinkled. She started crying and telling me how sorry she was. The other kids didn't know what to do. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. My grandmother finally got her to go back to her room."
"Gods, Lee, I'm so sorry."
"My grandmother must have gotten in touch with Dad because a week later he came home. The minute he walked through the door, he and Mom started having it out right there in the kitchen. He yelled at me and Zak to go outside. I remember that better than I do the party. Zak was eight years old. He crouched down beside the fishpond and started crying. I couldn't get him to stop. He thought Dad was going to kill Mom. After a little while I didn't hear them yelling anymore so I went inside. I was afraid I would find her on the kitchen floor with a butcher knife through her heart. They'd taken their argument to the bedroom and shut the door. I was too young to understand why."
Kara took a deep breath. "My mom and Dreilide fought a lot. Sometimes she would go into their bedroom and slam the door. He'd go after her. Even when I was a little girl I knew they were doing something secret in there that only grownups could do."
"I don't ever want to be like him," Lee said harshly. "Dad came to my party tonight and he brought me this beautiful ship he'd made, and all I can think about is all those years he never made it home for my birthday or never sent anything, not even a card, and never apologized. Sometimes I think my dad is just completely clueless about his family. All he understands is his career and commanding a battlestar."
Kara stood up and then settled herself on his lap facing him. Even before she kissed him, Lee felt the rush of desire. He slipped his hands under her sweater.
She put her mouth beside his ear. "You're not going to make me stop, are you?" She gently bit his earlobe as she pressed against his zipper.
He moaned softly. "Gods, no."
"Come on, birthday boy, I think we'd better go to my room. I've still got another present to give you."
Quietly they walked down the hall. The door to Laura and John's bedroom was closed. Kara didn't turn on any lights. Carefully she shut her door and locked it. Lee was already unbuttoning his shirt. Kara put her arms around him from behind and found the button of his jeans. She tugged the zipper down before she turned and pushed him backward onto the bed. He kicked off his shoes as she was wriggling out of her jeans. She dragged her sweater over her head before she settled herself beside him.
"I haven't talked you into something you're going to regret tomorrow, have I?" She softly asked him.
"No. I was crazy to think we could be together and not make love like this." He kissed her. "Maybe I'm just crazy. Period."
"You're not crazy, Lee."
As she settled herself over him, he reached up and pulled the elastic from her ponytail. Her hair fell down around her shoulders.
He moaned softly. "You're more beautiful than Posiden's Daughter."
Kara's whisper was full of laughter, "Lee, I am Posiden's daughter."