50 Days After Cylon Attack
Coordinates Unknown
Laura was running out of time. Even in her dreams she never had enough. She would always wake up before she reached the end of the corridor, or the clearing in the forest, or whatever it was she wandered through, in search of something she couldn't name, but that was always out of reach. When she was awake she searched through the words in the book of Pythia she had borrowed from Elosha, trying to decide if what was written there was real or if she merely wished it to be. She told herself it was the Chamalla, it was the cancer, it was the mere fact that she was now acutely aware of her own mortality that made her look for meaning in a faith she'd given up on a long time ago. Yet, she couldn't ignore the voice that whispered in the back of her mind, how many coincidences does it take?
The answer turned out to be a planet, discovered entirely by accident. Or was it fate? A planet that might be habitable, with a city that for a moment she saw in its past glory instead of the pile of ruins it had become. And Elosha gave it a name. Kobol. The birthplace of mankind. "He says we're gonna find Kobol and that it's gonna lead us to Earth." It couldn't be...
Laura stood up from behind her desk because she couldn't just sit there with this idea that it was all true, that in the few steps she took everything had changed.
"Madam President, what's going on?" asked Billy.
Roslin turned to face him and found she couldn't hold his gaze.
"It's real," she said. She thought the words sounded crazy, but she spoke them anyway. "The scriptures, the myths, the prophecies, they're all real."
It's real.
It's real.
It's real.
Yet when they went to Galactica and Commander Adama was presented with photos of the ruins and Elosha's assertion that this planet was Kobol, he used the words maybe and might. He didn't know in the way Laura did that there was no doubt, could be no doubt, that it was real. He hadn't heard Leoben's prophetic words, or seen visions of snakes, or read that a dying leader would lead her people to Earth and she couldn't tell him any of those things. He wouldn't believe them. She hardly believed any of it herself, but if it was all real then the path ahead was clear.
So she told him, "We need to talk."
"Sure," he said and with that word of dismissal his quarters were cleared of the others who had been present for the initial briefing on the planetary survey and they were left alone together, sitting at opposite sides of the table.
"Commander Adama, I find myself in need of your help. I need the Cylon Raider. With the discovery of Kobol, Elosha and I have been reviewing the scriptures and there are clues that have been left in the scrolls on how to reach Earth. The key seems to be the Arrow of Apollo. So, according to the scriptures, if we had the Arrow of Apollo we could take it down to Kobol and we could use it to open the tomb of Athena and find our way to Earth."
"I didn't know you were that religious," he replied.
She answered him honestly. "Neither did I. Something wrong with that?"
"No. It's just new." He kept his expression neutral, but she knew he was skeptical and she didn't blame him for it, she would be too. "There is no Earth, you understand that."
"It would seem that we were wrong." One thing she'd learned from her study of history is that even the most outrageous claims often had some small seed of truth. "Commander, just because you and I don't know where it is doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
He sighed.
"Madam President, I'm not trying to mock your faith, so please understand me. These stories about Kobol, gods, the Arrow of Apollo...they're just stories, legends, myths. Don't let it blind you to the reality that we face."
Reality? She wanted to tell him just what her reality was. Death, certain and soon. But if she admitted that she was dying he would use it against her the way she'd used it against herself. He would say irrational decisions are easy to make if you're afraid to die, and that anyone in her place would grab onto anything that gave them a sense of purpose, but she had gone over that argument a thousand times already and the evidence for the truth of the prophecies outweighed her doubts. If the Arrow of Apollo led them to a dead end then they would merely resume their current course of blind flight from the Cylons. But if it was real and they ignored it, the fleet might never find a home.
"Reality is that the Cylon Raider has been successfully jump-tested. Reality is that Cylon technology obviously outstrips our own, and reality is, there is a good chance the Raider can jump all the way back to Caprica and retrieve that arrow and find our way to Earth, the real Earth."
"The Raider's a military asset. I'm not gonna use it to go chasing some mythical arrow. I'm sorry."
She looked at him, his regret was genuine, his disbelief firm. She was sorry too.
She was determined to find a way to persuade him, and she knew she could do it if she had a few days, but all of that changed when one of the survey Raptors jumped back early, reporting the presence of Cylons in orbit around Kobol, one Raptor lost and another in need of rescue. According to Colonel Tigh, Lieutenant Thrace had already come up with a plan, one that would use the Raider to infiltrate the baseship and likely end with the Raider being destroyed. Laura couldn't let that happen, but she knew if she asked the commander to find another way he'd say no, so she left.
"Is there something I should be worried about Madam President?" asked Billy as he followed her through Galactica's corridors.
"Why do you ask that?"
"That look on your face."
"Not now." She had already decided it would be easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Once she had returned to the wardroom that had been assigned for her use, she spread out her copy of the book of Pythia in front of her and ran through the relevant passages again. Just to be sure.
...For Athena saw that Paradise would be splintered and turned to ash. The tribes that had been sheltered under the protection of the Gods would have to be cast away. And the Lords anointed a leader to guide the caravan of the heavens to their new homeland. And unto the leader, they gave a vision of serpents, numbering two and ten as a sign of things to come...
...And into Paradise came war. Though the outcome favored the few, it led to a confrontation at the Home of the Gods. And the Opera House that was their temple burned...
...And the Lords were wracked with despair, but none so much as Athena who stood upon the cliffs of Aragon above the place of exodus. And Athena threw herself on the rocks and was buried in a tomb nearby, in the mountains to the west of the City of the Gods. The path was marked by the stones of the dead and the tomb sealed to all but the leaders of the tribes. And the Arrow of Apollo will open the tomb. And the tomb shall reveal the wisdom of Athena who knew the course of the caravan and all the stars where the tribes would be scattered...
Eventually, Billy became impatient and pressed her for answers.
"Madam President, what are you going to do?"
...And with the knowledge of the goddess and a beacon to show them the way the caravan found their home but it was not for the leader to enter . For the leader suffered of a wasting sickness and would not live to see the end of the path...
She looked up from the pages and took a sip of water.
"I'm going to convince Lieutenant Thrace to obey a new set of orders," she said.
"What? Are you insane? Madam President, the most fundamental agreement that you have with Commander Adama is the separation of civilian and military authority! If you do this, it could threaten everything that we've accomplished. It will probably bring down the government and you don't have a right to risk that for a—"
Billy tried to reign in his outrage, but Laura had told him not to apologize for his opinion ever, to speak his mind and so she told him to go on.
"...For a drug induced vision of prophecy," he said.
"I am well aware of that." She'd weighed the consequences at least a dozen times in the last five minutes alone. "But it would seem that the Gods have a different plan." The consequences didn't matter, because she was running out of time. "Would you please get me Lieutenant Thrace."
"Can I get you some more water?" She didn't know if it was resignation, support, or just habit that had prompted him to ask.
"Yes, thanks."
After he left, her fingers rubbed at the headache that had begun to take hold in her right temple. It was either because she hadn't had any Chamalla for the last four hours and withdrawal was setting in, or it was from the incessant hum of Galactica's engines. Whatever the case, she had managed to force the pain into the background by the time Billy ushered in Kara Thrace and left them alone.
"Lieutenant Thrace, I understand there's a Cylon threat in orbit around Kobol that needs to be dealt with and that you have a plan to address it?"
"Yeah, the transponder we installed on the Raider should let me get close enough to shove a nuke down their frakkin' throats. At least that's the basic idea, Madam President."
"That sounds very risky."
"Yeah, well I'm good with risk."
"Lieutenant Thrace, forgive me for being direct, but before we can rescue our people on the surface of Kobol, I need you to take the Cylon Raider to Caprica and bring back the Arrow of Apollo."
"You can't be serious."
"All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again, the Cylon you interrogated, he quoted that bit of scripture. He also said we would find Kobol and Kobol would show us the way, did he not?"
"Yes, he did."
"Well, we found Kobol." And you told me Leoben wasn't afraid to die, but that he was just afraid his soul wouldn't make it to god. I wonder, can the same be said of you? "Do you believe in the Gods, Lieutenant?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I believe."
"Lieutenant, I'm not trying to put you on the defensive, I just—I would like you to think this through with me. If you believe in the Gods, then you believe in the cycle of time, that we are all playing our parts in a story that is told again, and again, and again, throughout eternity..."
"That's the way I was raised, but that doesn't mean my part in the story is to go off on some crazy ass mission against orders."
Now came the risky part of Laura's gamble.
"May I tell you that part of the story that it would seem I am playing?" She took a breath and confessed. "I am dying."
"What?"
"I have terminal breast cancer. I have six months at the outside to live and I've only told three people, so I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself."
And with a quiet, "Of course," the defiance that so defined Kara Thrace had vanished. "Are you saying that you're―"
"The scriptures tell us that a dying leader led humanity to the promised land. If you go back to Caprica and bring me the arrow, I will show us the way."
"This is crazy."
"People keep using that word." Even me. "It is crazy, perhaps. But it doesn't mean it isn't true. And it may be our only chance, our only chance to find Earth."
Kara's defiance resurfaced with a vengeance and Laura worried that she'd overstepped.
"The Old Man is our last chance to find Earth. He knows where it is, he said so, you were there. The location is a secret, but he is going to take us there."
Roslin pushed herself up from her seat and braced herself on the table in front of her.
"Commander Adama, has no idea where Earth is. He never did. He made it up in order to give people hope." She'd warned him they would never forgive him for the truth.
"You're lying." The automatic response of someone loyal.
"Go ask him." The voice that planted a nagging seed of doubt.
"I will."
After the lieutenant left, Roslin arranged for a shuttle to take her back to Colonial One. Galactica wasn't safe anymore. As soon as Commander Adama realized that Laura had betrayed his secret he'd be angry with her, but regardless of their agreement the President of the Colonies was the supreme authority in the fleet and William Adama was a good man. He may not believe in gods, or that legends might be real after all, but she knew he believed in the democracy that he'd defended for years. He would bow to her authority like any good soldier. At least, that's what she hoped for. She knew hope was not liable to save her, so she took what precautions she could to mitigate the worst case scenario where he might try to depose her. She briefed the press and kept them nearby. Her security team locked down the ship and monitored the wireless bands.
Ready, Laura Roslin waited for her time to run out.
-x-
"I believed in you, believed in Earth."
"What are doing Starbuck?"
"Bringing home the cat, sir."
I believed in you...
Kara's accusation of betrayal still rang in Commander Adama's ears as he brought accusations of his own to bear against President Roslin.
"Madam President, moments ago Lieutenant Thrace took the Cylon Raider on an unscheduled and unauthorized jump." Bill's father had taught him that during a cross examination a good lawyer only asked questions he already knew the answer to and he knew that this was Roslin's doing, but he had to ask. He had to be sure. "Do you have any knowledge of this incident?"
Roslin's voice was empty of contrition.
"Let's save some time here, Commander. The question you really want to ask me is whether or not I asked Lieutenant Thrace to take the Raider to Caprica, and the answer to that question is yes."
"You and I talked about this." We had an agreement.
"Yes, we had." And you broke it.
"We both decided it was a military decision." I trusted you to support me.
"My responsibility as president is, first and foremost, to protect and preserve this fleet and its future. In the end, that outweighs any other consideration. It has to."
Well that's my responsibility too.
"By taking the Raider, you've placed our people on the surface of Kobol in direct danger." This is treason.
"I'm very aware of the danger our men and women are in on Kobol. I am also deeply aware of the danger this civilization will be in if I ignore the pursuit of this arrow."
Bill looked to Saul who was listening in on the conversation, but the colonel only shared the same grim expression as his commander and gave no indication on what he thought was the right course of action.
There's only one way to deal with treason...
"Madam President, I'm going to have to ask you for your resignation."
"No."
"Then I'm terminating your presidency as of this moment."
"Commander Adama, I will exercise the authority of this office until I am unable to do so, so if you want to stage a coup, you're gonna have to come over here and arrest me."
"I don't want any bloodshed." If somebody dies the blood will be on your hands not mine.
"Of course you don't. Neither do I. Neither does the press. They're here by the way."
"The press..." he muttered. Frak.
"They're recording every minute."
He hung up the handset, taking care not to slam it back into cradle, he had to appear in control even if everything was falling apart. Bill tried to give himself a second to think, but he was only reminded of the meeting he and Roslin had had after the attacks on the colonies.
"You planning to stage a military coup?" she'd asked. "Do you plan to declare martial law, take over the government?"
"Of course not."
He hadn't planned to do what he'd just done either. The last time he'd seen her before all this insanity started they had been dancing and walking arm in arm and talking. Almost as if we were friends. But now she had pushed them to the edge, and had turned Kara—Kara—against him. How could she? Then he remembered, Roslin had done this before, spied on him on his own ship, undermined his authority. This is the last time I let you do this to me.
Commander Adama made his way down to the lower deck of the CIC.
"Order the CAP to isolate Colonial One," he said when he caught sight of Lee. "Mister Gaeta, jam any transmissions in or out of Colonial One immediately." He looked to his XO. "Prepare a strike team. As long as she's president, she's dangerous and if she can turn Starbuck against us, she's capable of anything."
"Yes, sir."
"She's bluffing." She has only as much power as I agree to give her. If I take it away she'll surrender.
"Let's hope so," replied Saul. "There's also a Cylon baseship out there to deal with."
He hadn't forgotten. "Leave that to me." He checked first with his tactical officer. "Mister Gaeta..."
"Sir?"
"Am I correct in assuming that I have two Cylon transponders left?"
"Yes, sir, but only one of them is fully functional."
"One will do." Starbuck's plan was still workable. "Now I need a pilot." He found the nearest handset and got Cottle on the line.
"Doc, what's Lieutenant Valerii's current condition?"
"Damn lucky." There was a pause as the doctor took a drag from his cigarette. "She's gonna have a nasty scar the rest of her life, but she'll live. So long as she doesn't do anything else stupid. She's conscious and resting. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my shuttle." Cottle hung up before Adama had a chance to reply.
Bill made one last call, to the hangar deck. He gave Chief Tyrol instructions to prep Boomer's Raptor and have Racetrack standing by, then he headed for sickbay.
The initial incident report that the commander had received concerning Lieutenant Valerii was simply that she'd accidentally shot herself while cleaning her gun. That she'd made a mistake and had forgotten to check the chamber for the live round that had been left there. But in the brief unguarded moment between when he walked into the room and when she caught sight of him, he could see the truth. It hadn't been an accident. The mistake she'd made was that she must have flinched when she'd squeezed the trigger. It didn't matter now. An effective commander couldn't shy away from using every available resource to achieve an objective, even if that resource was a few steps away from suicidal. That's what Spec Ops have always required anywqy...
Boomer had stood to acknowledge him.
"Sir."
"As you were." He closed a curtain around them for some semblance of privacy. "How you feeling?"
"It looks worse than it is, sir." Despite the gunpowder burns that covered nearly half of her face, she sounded perfectly normal. So it's worse than it looks.
"Things are moving very quickly and I need every pilot." Even the broken ones.
"I'm ready, sir."
"I have a very special mission for you and I won't kid around. It's high risk, extremely high risk." Odds are you'll die this time.
"I understand."
"I need you to light-jump to Kobol and take care of this basestar. We're placing a Cylon transponder aboard your Raptor. In theory, it should allow you to approach the basestar without getting fired upon."
"But we'll still be ID'ed as Colonial Raptors once we're in visual range." She was still thinking tactics, like any other soldier. Good. If you can do that, maybe you'll even come back.
"For all they know, you could be two Cylon agents returning with a captured Raptor. Once you're inside the defense perimeter, I need you to make them think you wanna dock. You have to fire your nuke into the loading bay, then jump back home immediately. Do you understand?"
"I understand. I can do it, sir. I know I can."
"You have to." If she failed, they wouldn't get another chance.
She held his gaze, steady and fearless.
"Yes, sir."
She would complete her mission. Straight as an arrow.
By the time Commander Adama returned to the CIC both of the missions he'd initiated were underway and their outcomes were out of his hands. Still, he gave Boomer and Racetrack some last words of encouragement. I have faith, in you.
He gave Roslin one last chance to back down. Don't make me do this. But she refused him.
"The president says she will not yield."
And thus Zeus declared, "So be it."
In three words he went from commander to king. Now he waited. Waited to learn who would live and who died, who was loyal and who had yet to betray him, who would succeed and who would fail. After what felt like hours, the answers came in the same way the questions had started, all at once.
"Sir, I have Colonel Tigh on the line," announced Dualla.
"Put him through directly." Adama picked up the handset in front of him. "Sitrep."
"No casualties. Marines are escorting Roslin aboard one of the Raptors now, but Bill—" Saul took an audible breath before he continued. "Lee mutinied, almost triggered a bloodbath. He put his weapon right to my head, said to tell you he was following his instincts, whatever the hell that means."
Bill wished he was surprised that his son had turned against him as well, but the truth was, a part of him had expected it to happen. Lee had tried have everything both ways for as long as he could, but the fact was he'd sided with Roslin from the first. "The president has given me a direct order." Lee had just taken the next step across the line. Sooner or later every man has to decide for themselves which side they're on.
"Bring him here."
"What about Roslin?"
"We put her in the brig." He returned the handset to its cradle. One more mission to go.
A moment later Gaeta called out, "Dradis contact... It's Boomer and Racetrack, sir."
"Put 'em on the speakers."
"Galactica, Boomer. Mission accomplished. Repeat, mission accomplished. The basestar is history."
Yes!
"There's some good news." A moment of relief, but only a moment. "Bring 'em home Dee." Now to finish things with Roslin...
When Commander Adama reached the brig he found Saul waiting inside with a Marine and the now former president. Laura Roslin stood across from the colonel, her hands loosely clasped in front of her with an expression of perfect aplomb. Still as dignified as ever.
"Open cell," said Bill.
Once the door had been opened, Roslin walked across the room without comment or protest into the cell and turned to face him.
Although a part of him wanted to, he didn't ask what she'd been thinking, how she could do this after all the progress they'd made. She'd already made herself more than clear in regards to her motives.
"Close cell," he said. From the way she kept her eyes on him as the bars slid shut and the lock was pushed home with a resounding clang, he could tell she was going to continue to challenge him, that she wasn't planning on staying where she was. That somehow she'd find a way to free herself without the keys to the lock. He almost believed it and he could still feel her gaze on the back of his neck as he turned and walked away.
Bill returned to the CIC to find that Boomer and Racetrack were already waiting for him. Lee stood with his wrists bound together, Marines flanking him on either side. The commander stopped and looked at his son, but Lee offered no apologies either. Following your instincts huh? Well there's such a thing as loyalty too. And Bill moved past him to offer praise to his pilots who'd followed their orders and returned successful from their mission. They had neutralized the Cylon threat without having to risk the Galactica or the fleet and both of them had come back alive.
"Congratulations to both of you," he said. "You carried out a very difficult and dangerous mission and you did it despite any personal misgivings you may or may not have had." These are good soldiers who do what they're told. He shook Racetrack's hand and thanked her.
"Thank you, sir," she replied with a smile.
He turned to Boomer. She was smiling as much as her injury allowed and he smiled back.
"Thank you, sir."
He responded with a thank you of his own, but it was cut short as a sharp pain erupted in his torso. He staggered. He couldn't breathe.
The last thing Bill Adama felt was his back hit the edge of the command table and then he was falling.
I believed in you...
From the darkness you must fall,
Failed and weak,
To darkness all—
AN: Just wanted to give a huge thank you for the reviews, they've helped give me the motivation to push on. Much as I hate to leave things on a cliffhanger (okay maybe I don't hate it as much you do) I figure it's only fair to warn I have a couple other writing projects and a drawing that desperately needs my attention before I can hammer out the next chapter. I expect those other projects will take about a week then I'll be back spending my wee hours rewatching scenes frame by frame and writing straight through the night, I promise. See you on the other side.