So sorry for the long wait and shorter chapter. I have had some
medical issues that prevented me from spending more time on this.
I hope to post another chapter shortly as long as interest remains.
NEW CAPRICAN COLONIAL TENT CITY; DWELLING OF SAUL & ELLEN TIGH
"Get the frak out of here!" Ellen balked as she held on to a very squirmy and cooing Nicky Tyrol. "No frakking way!"
"Damn it, Elle, don't swear in front of the kid!" Saul complained, removing his gloves and tossing them to the table where his wife was sitting.
"You have got to be pulling my leg, Saul," Ellen insisted as she shifted Nicky's weight from one side of her embrace to the other.
"I'm not pulling anything," Saul grumbled. "Give him here," he said, holding his hands out for the infant.
"And she just now told you this?" Ellen asked, carefully passing the child to her husband's arms.
Saul took hold of Nicky and immediately gave the boy a big silly grin.
"Hey, Nick buddy, you giving her hell today I hope," he teased as he took the baby and sat at the table across from his wife. "That a boy!" he told him in a jovial voice that few had ever heard him use.
"Saul!" Ellen called, trying to attain his focus.
"What?" he scowled at her.
"Laura Roslin just now told you this herself?" Ellen asked in disbelief for about the third time since her husband had arrived home.
"Yes for frak sake. Did I laps into Gemenise or something?" he chastised before looking back at Nicky and immediately changing his expression to another silly face.
For a moment Ellen sat with her jaw slack.
"My gods, Saul," she said, shaking her head. "Ya know for the last few weeks she hasn't seemed right to me. I swear I thought she was sick. I mean we're all struggling but with all she's been through I had sort of a bad feeling. Especially after her last trip to the medical tent. I was sure we would be getting some awful news about her health. I'm just in shock."
"Yeah, well I think she's still a little shocked too," he said with a bit of a snort.
Saul had hurried to the clinic after news that Laura had been rushed there. Rumors spread quickly within the tent city and by the time he'd been alerted he'd heard a mix of accounts including one far fetched story about her getting into a literal fist fight with a cylon. He'd camped out in front of the medical tent for hours before Cottle had come out and reassured him that she was fine. Dehydrated, he'd said. They all were now and then. The water system was a joke. They had to boil every drop before they could drink it. It took so much time and effort that many citizens suffered from occasional dehydration. Saul had no reason to suspect anything further except for the strange accounts of the supposed cylon visit. Satisfied with the doctor's reasoning he'd left Cottle promising himself that he would check up on Laura when she was released. Once news arrived that she'd gone back to her tent Saul had given her an extra day to rest before making his visit. He'd expected to give his well wishes, see for himself that she was alright and leave her with a jug of potable water as a friendly gesture. The visit had turned into far more than a wellness check. He still couldn't believe all that she'd told him.
"How far along is she?" Ellen asked.
"I don't know," Saul shrugged as he gently adjusted Nicky's blanket making sure it was high enough to keep him warm yet low enough that it was away from his chin.
Ellen narrowed her eyes in obvious annoyance.
"You didn't ask?"
"Was I supposed to?"
"Well it's a pretty standard question, Saul," Ellen contended with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh. She didn't say," he replied, avoiding her gaze in favor of the child's. "You're a big boy, Nick. Aren't ya? You'll be in the ring in no time at all. I know it!" Saul took the baby's mittened hands and made mock fighting noises as he boxed his little fists in the air. "Boom, boom, pow! Hook shot! Lights out!"
Nicky smiled, mesmerized by watching his guided hands and listening to the man's funny noises.
Ellen rubbed at her forehead in contemplation as her husband gladly amused the baby.
"Well I mean…" she began and trailed off. "I mean, it's Bill's. Isn't it?"
"Oh yeah," Saul confirmed, finally looking at her with his brows raised. "Sure is. That much she shared."
"Lords of Kobol. He's been gone for weeks," Ellen sighed as she tried to count the date since occupation on her fingers. "This is...this is something else."
"Tell me about it," Saul said with a grunt.
Ellen's expression remained floored.
"Well, is she alright? I mean, physically at least? She was just in the medical tent."
Saul winced a bit.
"Eh. Not really," he answered as he began nervously bouncing Nicky on his knee. "She mentioned some complications. I didnt exactly ask her to get into the nitty gritty."
"Oh grow up," Ellen chastised. "After all of the fertility treatments and procedures we went through I'd think you'd be used to the nitty gritty when it came to this."
"You're my wife," he defended. "She's Bill's…She's a former president for frak sake!"
Ellen's brow arched at him.
"What happened to not swearing in front of the kid?" she bantered, mocking his concern over the four month old's witness to profanity.
"When the heck are his parents coming to get him, anyway?" Saul complained, as if he didnt in fact enjoy the child's visits.
Ellen had been occasionally watching the Tyrol baby since he was just a few weeks old, the first time Cally was taken into cylon custody. With Chief staking out the detention center day and night until she was released the XO had volunteered his wife to babysit. Without much other choice Chief left his newborn son in the care of the Tighs.
Upon their return the young couple had been grateful to find their son happy and well taken care of by the Colonel and Mrs. Tigh. Ellen had offered her help whenever they might need it in the future and to her surprise they had taken her up on it. Nicky responded to her well and they only lived a few tents away which made it quite convenient. The Tyrols dropped the boy off at least once a week in order to assist with community maintenance or even just to have time to visit the vendors in the markets.
Ellen was glad to have such a bright distraction in Nicky now and then. Seeing the child often helped her find hope in the darkness around her and stopped her from passing the time with far less healthy diversions. Saul regularly complained about how often the boy was at their tent, but Ellen knew that he didn't mean it. He liked it as much as she did.
"They'll be back soon ," Ellen sighed. "Galen needed Cally's help repairing a few merchant's machines. They're doing their best to keep everyone working. Have to admire that. Besides, I like when they leave him here. We go for walks and play and nap. Don't we Nicky?" she smiled sweetly at the infant. "We have fun together while you're out trying to keep society from falling apart."
"Yeah well, let's hope they show up before its time for him to fill his diaper again."
Ellen had to agree with him on that much.
"Saul, what's Laura going to do?" she asked after a beat.
Saul moved Nicky to lay across his lap and let out a long tired breath.
"I don't know, Ellen. The thing is…" he stopped, unable to go on with whatever he was about to say.
Ellen didn't like the look on his face. Suddenly she was more concerned than surprised over the news.
"What? What is it, Saul?" she pushed.
"There's a bigger issue at play here, Elle. Something that's going to make this all very complicated."
Ellen's brows came together in concern.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked again, beginning to become a tad frustrated with his hesitancy. "Saul, is Laura okay?" she inquired. "I mean it's not unheard of for women our age to have babies but it does come with known risks. By no means would I ever tell another woman what to do with her body, but if this is endangering her then maybe she shouldn't."
"Well, I think she's considered that," Saul noted. "The thing is it isn't endangering her in the way you'd think."
"Saul, would you frakkin spit it out already?!" Ellen snapped, quickly cringing over her own volume and tone. "Sorry, Nicky sweetie," she softly pardoned herself, blowing the oblivious boy a kiss from across the little table.
Saul began to shift in his seat.
Finally he looked his wife in the eye.
"Ellen, what I'm about to tell you can't leave this space. I don't care what happens. You hear me? This is under the strictest of confidences and I'm only telling you because I may very well need your help in all this. Knowing it...well it could endanger you as well."
Ellen's eyes grew wide in alarm.
"Saul, you're scaring me. What the hell could be so dangerous about a new baby?"
Saul cleared his throat and looked around their tent doing his best to assess any shadows on the tarp, leery of anyone who might be loitering within ear shot. The heavy canvas did well to dampen noise in most cases but he and Ellen had a reputation for shouting loud enough for neighbors three tents down to hear.
"The baby is Bill's," he began in a lower voice laced with caution. "You're right about that. The thing is it's...unique."
Ellen frowned.
"It has a disability?"
"No," Saul shook his head. "Not not like that. Apparently from what they can tell it's healthy. It's just…" he stopped and let out a low groan over his own prolix. "You know that Laura made a miraculous recovery from her cancer."
"Of course," Ellen said with a shrug. "Everyone knows. I mean, I'm not saying I ever believed that woman was some kind of profit, but she is blessed by the Gods. I saw how sick she was first hand. Her recovery truly had to be divine intervention."
"That's just it," Saul returned. "It wasn't."
"What?" Ellen scowled in confusion.
"The cylon we had captive on board Galactica," Saul went on. "The Sharon model. The one Agathon knocked up."
Ellen thought about the name for a moment before recalling Karl Agathon as the EOC who had usually served as her Raptor escort to Cloud9.
"I do miss looking at that boy," she thought aloud. "Tall. Strapping young man."
"Would you pay attention!" Saul snapped in response.
"Sorry, sorry," Ellen chirped. "Go on."
Saul glowered in her direction for a moment before continuing.
"Frakking Baltar took blood from the cylons' unborn baby and injected it into Roslin when she was dying. That's what cured her cancer. It wasn't some divine gift from the Gods. It was half-breed toaster blood."
Ellen was back to being completely and totally stunned.
"Holy frak."
"Holy frak indeed," Saul concurred.
"And so...what's that have to do with her baby now?"
"You know how she was just in detention not long ago? Well the cylons found out about the child while she was in there. They ran tests on her and they claim that the kid she's carrying has DNA that shows signs of cylon attributes. They say it's because of her cure. They say she passed frakkin cylon altered DNA down to that baby. Can you imagine? Bill's kid with cylon blood?."
"Is it true?"
"Hell if I know, but the cylons now have a vested interest in this child. One they have already been pretty vocal about."
"My Gods," Ellen whispered. "What are they going to do?"
Saul cringed at the ominous question.
"I don't know. They've already threatened both Laura and Doc Cottle against terminating it. They probably want it for themselves."
"They're going to take her baby? Bill's baby?" Ellen said in alarm.
"No!" Saul barked back, immediately regretting it and rocking Nicky in case he'd startled him. "I mean...No. That's just it. We can't let it happen. No matter what else we're dealing with around here, no matter what hardships come up. Laura has to be protected. We can't let anything happen to her and we can't let these frakking toasters get a hold of the Old Man's child."
Ellen stared back at her husband in astonishment. Everything he was telling her was so unbelievable but more than that his intentions sounded damn near impossible.
"What are we going to do, Saul? I mean the cylons pretty much just take whatever the frak they want around here! For frak sake they take you all the time! I can't stop them from doing that. They take Laura too! How could any of us stop them from taking this child if they want it?"
Saul closed his eyes tightly for a moment, suppressing an angry groan.
"Ellen, I don't know," he admitted, looking back at her. "I just know we have to try. She's asking us for help, but even if she wasn't she'd have it anyway. She's carrying Bill's son."
Ellen's lips parted and her chest swelled with a mix of old heartache and new compassion.
"It's a little boy," she said softly.
"Ellen, I'm serious on this," Saul continued. "You can't breathe a word to anyone unless you hear from me that they're in the know. No gossip, no drunk storytelling down at the bonfires, no-."
"Alright! Alright! I won't. Give me some frakking credit here, Saul," she defended. "I don't want to see a woman have her child taken from her. You should know that. I can't stand the thought that Laura might be hopeful enough to have this child, only to have that hope taken away. I understand that feeling. And I sure as hell wouldn't endanger an innocent baby."
Saul's shoulders fell and he exhaled in regret.
"I know ya wouldn't, Elle. I know. I'm sorry. I just had to make sure you know how godsdman serious this is," he said with genuine remorse.
Any offence Ellen had taken was quickly forgotten, her mind too wrapped up in the other woman's unthinkable plight.
"Poor, Laura," she mulled, considering what a precarious state she had to be in.
Upon their first meeting Ellen hadn't liked Laura Roslin much at all. She found her condescending, snobby and even judgmental. Their initial dinner in Bill's cabin on Galactica surely hadn't gone well. Despite their negative interactions Ellen had privately admired the woman's strength in taking office amidst the colonial exodus, but in the face of the wild government upheaval they'd experienced while on the run she'd been perfectly willing to expose Laura's weakness to the public in order to distract from Saul's. She didn't even regret it. She would never regret looking out for her husband when he failed to do so himself, but now so much had changed. Now that Ellen had gotten to know Laura Roslin under different circumstances she'd found that she rather liked the woman in doses. As she and Saul began visiting New Caprica with Bill they often found themselves in Laura's company as well. She was a different person without the stress and responsibility of her former office. Ellen was admittedly different herself without the excess of booze easily available and the constant anxiety that Saul consistently brought home when the fleet had been under perpetual duress.
She'd been more than elated as the relationship between Bill and Laura became far more obvious, boasting that she'd suspected all along while Saul was totally oblivious.
At night around the campfire or at the bar with just a few cocktails in her Ellen had no trouble sharing some laughs with Laura Roslin. It turned out that the former president wasn't half the prude she'd initially seemed to be. In fact she had a damn good sense of humor. Ellen especially loved outting Saul's and Bill's old escapades and seeing the look on Laura's face as she learned the staunch Colonel Tigh and stern Admiral Adama weren't always so austre. Now that Bill was gone Laura rarely came around save for resistance meetings and Ellen found that she actually sort of missed the nights they would get together with the other couple to eat, drink or play cards. She considered that she should have reached out to Laura more after the occupation began, after Bill had blinked out of the sky. Perhaps she should now. Lords only knew how she was handling everything alone.
"Is there anything left to drink around here?" Saul grumbled.
Ellen shook her head.
"Sam promised he'd bring some by tonight,"'she told him, but the look in Saul's eyes told her that her reply hadn't even registered in his ears.
She let out a wavering little sigh as she watched her husband gently rocking Nicky in his arms, unable to stop her heart from lamenting over never having seen him hold a child of his own.
"The Old Man...he may never know," Saul grimmly considered. "Ya know? He may never know he has another son."
Ellen winced at the worry in his voice.
"Saul, you always say he's coming back," she attempted.
"I know, but…things are getting bad, Elle. Bombings, detentions, abductions. Who knows if any of us will still be here when he does."
Ellen looked to the child and swallowed down the fear that rose within her throat. They sat in quiet contemplation for a moment more.
"Cally left one more bottle," she finally spoke, as she lifted herself from her seat. "I should give it to him before they get here so he's not fussy once they get home. Lords know they'll be exhausted."
Saul looked down at the boy as his wife went to find his milk.
"Give it here," he told her. "I'll feed em."
NEW CAPRICAN COLONIAL TENT CITY; DWELLING OF LAURA ROSLIN
"Do you mind if I ask, Maya, what happened to your biological daughter? I mean, I know generally, but we weren't given specifics when you were chosen to adopt Isis."
Maya looked down to her half empty mug.
"Laura, I dont mind telling you, but I don't think you should be focusing on what terrible things could happen. This is in the hands of the Gods. We have to be optimistic. Worrying...it won't change anything."
Laura confessed the truth of her condition to Maya soon after Cottle had released her from the clinic. The young woman had been surprised but not as shocked as Laura had expected. Her compassion was immediate and true and it pained Laura to know that she could never be totally honest with her.
Maya had been so attentive since finding out. She'd already been diligently checking in on her before, but with the new knowledge and the reality of what was at stake her concern increased to that of a mother hen. Laura wasn't used to having someone so concerned over her, so watchful and vigilant, not in a long time.
"Please, Maya…" Laura asked again. They'd been sitting over tea while Isis napped. Telling Saul Tigh had taken a lot out of her and so Maya came to visit once the Colonel left, just to make sure that she was alright. Laura was beginning to feel the full weight of her decision as part of the burden she carried was put on each person she informed. "I just...I know that you're right but...I suppose I want to be prepared for anything."
Maya sipped her tea. She nodded and then gently placed the mug down upon the tabletop.
"Well," she began. "I went into labor early. Eight weeks early to be exact. I was aboard the Scorpia Traveller alone, of course and I was so scared. They transported me to the Inchon Velle because there were supposed to be better doctors and a more capable infirmary on the ship, but they couldn't stop it. She was born there. I named her Diana. She lived for three days on life support before she got a blood infection and passed away."
As Maya told her story with strength and grace Laura felt her chest imploding. The young woman before her had been through what was quickly becoming her worst nightmare and she didn't understand how she'd survived it, let alone how she had the fortitude to recount it all without breaking down. She thought of Bill when he spoke of Zak. She still couldn't comprehend how any parent could endure such a loss and yet she also couldn't stop telling herself that by the will of the Gods or by the hands of a looming enemy she would very soon learn.
"The last day she was alive they told me that she wasn't going to make it through the night and so finally we took her off of all of her wires and tubes and I got to hold her for the first and last time. I held her, I sang to her, I rocked her and told her that I loved her and that she was going home to her Daddy. She died within an hour, maybe a little less. I thought I might too after that night. I really didn't know how to go on...And then your office called a few days later and there was Isis. She didn't replace Diana. I still grieve for my little girl. But I had all of this love ready to give someone and suddenly nowhere to put it. Isis came along and she needed someone to love her."
Laura looked over to where the little girl slept in a basket at the foot of her bed. Her eyes burned with tears and she felt guilty for even shedding them in the other woman's presence. She'd inflicted the same pain that Maya felt on Hera's parents. What was coming had to be divine justice for what she'd done. No matter how much it had helped Maya, no matter how much Laura had come to care for the child herself and no matter how justified she had felt in protecting her people, she knew that there was no redemption for her when it came to Hera. Losing her own baby, having it taken from her, it felt all too fitting. Why else would she be given a child at this point in her life? It seemed as though it had only come to her so that she would learn the agony of losing it. Her heart broke thinking that she and Bill hadn't conceived a blessing, but a curse for her sins, and it was all her fault.
"Laura, I can't stop you from worrying," Maya said as she reached out and placed her palm over Laura's hand. "But please don't force yourself to imagine every nightmare possible. It won't save your son. Right now he's with you and he's safe and warm and protected. If I learned anything from losing my daughter it's to always cherish the time that she was with me. Not just those days where I sat by her isolette watching her struggle to survive. I mean the whole time she was with me. I try to remember that for a while we were as close as any two people can ever be. I remember finding out I was expecting her, telling my husband and his parents. I remember her kicking and hearing her heartbeat for the first time. And I remember that I did my best to take care of her every day and that I protected her even through the end of the worlds. She was what got me through that time. She was my reason for surviving. I had her with me and she was my everything," Maya said with a sad smile. "He's okay, Laura," she continued. "Right now at this moment he's with you. He's yours and nothing will ever change that. Whether he's with you for just a few more days or whether you watch him grow up to have his own family, he'll still always be your son. That can't be taken away. I know this is hard, but try to focus on each day you have him rather than thinking about the possibility that one day you won't."
Laura finally looked back at Maya and blinked away her tears before giving her an unsure nod.
"I felt him move for the first time yesterday," she softly admitted.
"See?" Maya said, with a cheerful grin. "Besides, Doc said he thinks things are getting better, right? That's good news. Its what you should focus on."
Laura closed her eyes and let out an unsteady breath. She needed to let Maya know the extent of her fears without exposing her to that fact that it all stemmed from Isis' true identity. She had to be made aware of what could be coming.
"Maya this complication," Laura began. "It's not the only reason why this child may be in danger."
Maya leaned back in her seat with a concerned frown.
"What do you mean?"
Laura removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head was beginning to throb again.
"I can't explain the details to you, Maya. I don't want to burden you any more than I already have, but I do need to tell you that the cylons have indicated to me that they may intend to take this baby."
"What?" Maya responded with far more alarm than she had when she'd first learned of Laura's condition. "Why?"
Laura shrugged and her stomach rolled knowing that she had to lie again.
"Because of who I am, I suppose," she evaded. It was in fact the reason they kept taking her into detention. It was believable as any other explanation. "Perhaps it's just a threat to keep me in line and stop me from collaborating with the resistance. I don't know. Its hard to understand how their minds work. I just know that they have made the threat several times. The first being when they discovered the pregnancy during my last detention. The cylon woman who was here the other day, that's why she came."
Maya's hands went to cover her dumbfounded and horrified expression.
"My, Gods, Laura," she spoke into her palms.
Laura looked back at Hera, her heart twinging in her chest.
"I've been thinking, Maya," she said as she gave the woman her eyes again. "I really feel that for now it would be best for you and Isis to distance yourselves from me. Move tents to a row far away, and maybe leave the school for a time. The cylons are capable of anything and I don't want Isis in danger because of me. Its probably best for now. I can have Tori help arrange a tent swap with another citizen. She can have all of your things packed and moved within a day. You and Isis won't have to do much," she explained.
"Laura, no!" Maya instantly refuted "We won't leave you. Not now!"
"Shh," Laura gently cautioned with her palm up
and her concerned eyes back on the still sleeping little girl.
"Maya, when I arranged for you to adopt Isis I asked that you make sure that I could check in on her now and then. I wanted to make sure that she was safe. You did more than that. You befriended me, you let me be part of her life. Now I know that she's safe with you, but she's not safe with me anymore. Not if the cylons are going to be after me, my baby and anyone who might get in the way. You should take her and you two should get away from me."
It hurt Laura to say the words. Maya had become a true friend and Hera, only the Gods knew how she felt about the child. The baby girl was her life line, her second chance. Few would ever know the truth and no one would ever understand the strange connection they shared. Hera's blood ran through her veins and it would until the day she died. Somehow Laura felt it beyond any metaphor. She could feel it physically. She didn't know how and she wouldn't allow herself to analyze it, but when the child cried or was sick, when she was happy or scared Laura knew. She felt the echo of Hera's feelings inside of herself in a way she could never and would never explain to another soul. All the nights she'd volunteered to stay up with the screaming teething baby, holding a cool rag to her gums or bouncing her along to soothe her, it was nothing compared to what Hera had done for her. She'd saved her. Now that life giving blood ran through Laura and into her unborn baby. She didn't want to separate from Hera but she just could justify keeping her close any longer.
"The cylons have no business with my child," Maya argued. "I'm a nobody, Laura. My daughter's an ordinary little girl. They're after you and the Colonel and the Chief because you all matter, because people notice when you're taken or hurt. You're a high profile target. I'm of no consequence to them."
Laura swallowed, praying to the Gods that Maya's belief would forever be held by all around them, especially the cylons.
"If they see that you're close to me they could use that," Laura insisted, but Maya almost seemed insulted.
"Laura, Isis and I have no family left. You know what that's like. You've become so important to both of us. We won't abandon you or your baby now when you need us most."
"I have help, Maya. Isis needs to be safe."
"I know she does. I do, but this isn't the answer."
"Its for the good of you and your daughter."
"With respect, Laura, I decide what's best for me and Isis," Maya firmly, but not unkindly reminded her.
"Yes," Laura conceded. "You're right. You do."
"We aren't leaving," Maya maintained. "I'm sorry if you think it's the wrong choice, but It's my choice."
"I do think it's the wrong choice," Laura returned with regret in her voice. "I wish things were different. Please think it over."
Maya shook her head.
"Laura, you can't push us away like this. You're the smartest most capable woman I know, but I don't think you've truly thought this through," she challenged. "I understand that you have a certain amount of protection; ex military and the resistance behind you, but how will you call on them when you're too dizzy to get out of bed, or when you're bleeding and you need urgent help? What would have happened if I hadn't checked on you the other day after that cylon left? I hate to be this blunt with you, Laura, but think about it. Tori is loyal to you, but it's not the same. I go to bed each night and I know in my heart that if Gods forbid I don't wake up one morning, you'll be the one to notice something's wrong and Isis will be okay because of you. It works the other way around too. No one else is going to check in on you in the middle of the night to make sure that you're not bleeding out, that you didn't faint and cut your head open," Maya persisted. "I know that no one but you is going to come over and help me clean dirty cloth diapers and wash spit up out of my clothes or sit up with my screaming baby when I can't take it anymore. And I also know that I'm the only one who's going to come over and help change your bloody sheets or do the dishes when you just don't have the energy. We need each other."
Laura looked down at her hands struggling to make herself meet Maya's eyes. She owed her that much. What could she do? Order the woman away from her? Maya was right. Her authority was gone, except for within the insurgence and she couldn't force her do a damn thing.
"Maya, I need you to promise me that at the first sign that you or Isis could be in danger, you'll go. If a cylon even looks her way, you'll leave."
"If there becomes a clear reason as to why she and I are no longer safe here, I'll take her and I'll go for as long as necessary. But until I feel that we are in danger I'm afraid you're stuck with us," Maya shrugged with a small smirk.
Laura cleared the emotion from her throat and wiped the tears from her heated cheeks.
"This means more to me than you know," she told her. "More than I can express, really. And though I really wish you would go for your own good, I'm also eternally grateful that you want to stay."
Maya reached out to hold her hand across the table.
"You mean so much to us, Laura. You brought me and Isis together. I'll never be able to repay you for that."
Laura's throat tightened again. There was so much deception.
"You owe me nothing, Maya," she said in a near whisper.
"I do, but it doesn't matter. You're my friend now. And friends don't look out for one another because they owe it. They do it because they want to. And just as you were there the day Isis was first put into my arms, I want to be there when you first hold your little boy."
NEW CAPRICA CITY PICKUP PYRAMID COURT
"Chief," Sam Anders greeted as Tyrol came up to meet him by the bleachers.
A group of men and women played an uneven match on the dusty court in front of them. They weren't there for the sportsmanship but the noise and commotion would serve well to distract anyone nearby from their conversation. It was no secret that the two men lead the insurgence under Roslin and Tigh, but with the presence of more and more New Caprican police they couldn't be too careful.
"This morning went okay," Tyrol said with a nod.
"Three hits within three hours," Anders said in agreement. "One for each citizen unlawfully detained with the last forty eight hours. I tell ya, I'd like to hit one of their docking stations next."
Chief looked to the game as a player was pummeled to the dirt near their feet.
"We need to work quicker," he said with a squint. "Hit em right after the abductions happen in direct retaliation."
Anders rubbed at his forehead.
"By the time we find out about one, another's been swiped out of their tent and hauled off."
"We need more eyes out there."
"Harder and harder to know who to trust, Chief."
"I'll say," Tyrol said, rubbing at his beard. "That's sort of why I came looking for ya."
"Hm?"
"The XO needs us within the hour."
"Another target?" Sam presumed.
"Naw," Chief said with a shake of his head. "Naw I don't think so."
"Alright," Sam sighed. "I'll round up the guys."
"No. No, Anders. Not this time," Tyrol said halting the other man from taking off. "XO was clear. Don't bring anyone who's not invited. He and Doc Cottle want us down in the bunker just before dark."
"Cottle?" Anders echoed in confusion. "What's this about?"
Chief shrugged at a loss.
"I don't know. It's you, me and Tori Foster. He said no others. Don't even tell anyone else that you're going. Go get Tori, head to the west mine shaft. Go through the entrance at Duck and Nora's. They'll be expecting you. We'll meet under Tigh's place. He already arranged lookouts."
Sam scowled at the odd instructions.
"Something's up. Something weird."
"Yeah," the Chief agreed, "but I don't have any guesses."
"Maybe something came through on the wireless?" Sam suggested.
"Doubtful, XO probably would have said. Could be though. Never know. I mean we can hope."
"But why Cottle?" Sam questioned, becoming more and more suspicious as he ran over the plan in his head.
"He's a colonial fleet Major," Tyrol answered. "Not many high ranking officers left. Must be big if Tigh wants him in the know."
Anders frowned and nodded. He wasn't military. Sometimes he didn't get a lot of what Tigh and his men did. As far as he was concerned they were all just prisoners of war now and the military procedures that were still followed out of habit just seemed pointless.
"Tori Foster?" Anders asked.
"Yeah."
"She hasn't come down lately."
"Yeah well, this time she is," Tyrol confirmed. "She's been organizing the surveillance of the NC police force. She may have some new intel."
Anders thought for a moment more.
"Alright, Chief. On my way."
Galen gave him a nod and a pat on the back
"See you there," he said as he began to walk off.
"Where you headed?" Sam called after him, noticing that he was walking in the opposite direction of the tent row he and the Tighs lived on.
"Checking on Jake first," he shouted over his shoulder.
"10-4," Sam replied before jogging off to find Tori.
COLONIAL ONE; OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
"There were three more bombings alone this morning," a Five reported to the circle of fellow cylons. "We lost eight centurions who are still awaiting download. Not to mention three Twos, a Six and two Fives. Several others are injured. One was so badly hurt they had to be euthanized!"
"They're savages," a One spat, eyeing a silently fretting Baltar where he sat at his desk.
"This is organized," a Two added. "It's not just a bunch of random anarchists. It's the resistance order that they still claim doesn't exist."
"We know who it is," Cavil said in great annoyance. "Why the frak second and third guess ourselves? This is Sual Thigh and Laura Roslin's band of thugs! I say it's time they were both taken back into custody."
"You think that will lessen the amount of attacks?" Bommer scoffed.
"It will only incite the resistance further if their de facto leaders are taken," a Two agreed.
"They need to be shown there are consequences for their actions," D'Anna countered.
"We all agreed Roslin wouldn't be taken for now!" Caprica reminded them, her alarm obvious to all in the room.
"She'll eventually need to be brought in," D'Anna shrugged. "If she wants to escalate her men to murdering at random then why should we wait?"
"Because," Caprica answered through gritted teeth, "we want her child to be born healthy, remember? Let's not forget the bigger picture here."
"Integration is becoming less and less appealing, I must say," a Five sighed.
"It's why we're here," Boomer sternly replied in his direction.
"Maybe it shouldn't be!" the Five snapped in return.
"Look I hate humans as much as the next machine," a One chimed in, "but the Roslin baby holds more than just symbolic importance for us. Let's pick up Tigh. Shake him around a bit. Send him off with a message that these demonstrations won't be tolerated."
"May I say something?" Baltar interjected.
"No!" the majority of the cylon's answered him in unison.
"I highly doubt taking Tigh will do much except inspire more violence," Boomer posed, shaking her head over the idea.
She knew the Colonel well. He wouldn't break. Even at his worst and drunk out of his mind he was loyal to a fault. He would lead the resistance until he couldn't anymore. There would be no convincing him to call off his men and taking him would surely inspire more retaliations.
"Violence is all these people seem to understand," Doral scowled, crossing his arms.
"Send someone to talk to both Roslin and Tigh for now," Cavil said, taking a seat by one of the port windows. He looked out to see smoke still billowing from an extingueshed fire caused by one of the morning bombings. "We'll see how it goes. Any more explosions and Tigh comes back to his waiting cell."
"Would you idiots pay attention!?" Baltar finally shouted. "For machines your attention to numbers is atrocious!"
"What do you want, Baltar?" Doral said with a glare.
"For frak sake!" Baltar swore. "How obtuse can you really be? You put this on my desk when you all barged in here," he said holding up the report they'd given him out of feigned bureaucracy. "Three arrests I'm supposed to sign for?"
"So?" D'Anna shrugged.
"So three bloody bombs went off today, didn't they? The bombings are a response to what the citizens see as unjust arrests! It's not that damn hard!"
"He's right," Boomer agreed.
"Good for him," Cavil mocked with a roll of his eyes. "What should we do just stop arresting offenders?"
"We're trying to obtain order," a Six reasoned, "bring them the word of God."
"Fabulous job," Baltar jabbed. "Really."
"You can shut it now, Mr. President," Cavil urged.
"Giaus is right," Caprica followed. "This isnt working."
"Of course you think he's right," Cavil said with a snort. "You're the one frakking him!"
"Does it seem like it's working ?!" she argued.
"That's it," Doral stepped in. "We're agreed. First things first. Tigh and Roslin each get a visit. We'll go from there."
"I'll go see Roslin," D'Anna quickly spoke up causing Caprica's eyes to narrow in her direction.
"I thought we agreed that I would remain the one who checked up on her," the concerned Six reminded the group.
"That's for a different matter, isn't it," D'Anna posed. "This is another topic altogether."
"The stress of which could surely affect her just the same. I'll go," Caprica insisted, looking to Simon for assistance, but he looked away from her forgoing any comment on Roslin's health or stress level.
"Fine," D'Anna cooly smirked. "We can go together. Anyone have any valid objections to that?"
"I actually couldn't care less," a Cavil said with a flippant shrug.
"I'll need to examine her again soon," Simon finally noted. "Perhaps you should let her know. At least then she won't be as distressed if she's expecting it."
"Doubtful," Caprica scowled at him.
"You seem more sympathetic to that woman than your own kind, Six," John taunted.
Caprica looked around the room at her brothers and sisters. She couldn't help but be disgusted by the expressions on most of their faces.
"I care about the child," she told them. "Same as all of you should too."
Thank you for your time! Feedback is always welcome and inspiring. I'm always glad to hear who is still following.
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LLA