Apollo's Quarters, New Kobol, 0930 hours.
Apollo opened his eyes with a start and sat up on his cot. He stared confused at his surroundings, half expecting to see his father and Dr. Burke standing next to him with the linguist offering herself as an anchor for his soul. The ensouled Vampire then leaned forward and wiped his face with both his hands before covering his mouth.
'So, blood demons…. Vampires… do have dreams,' he thought to himself before getting off the bed and towards a door to the left of the cot. He walked past a cooler of blood packs; there were five packs inside that would last for two days before a new batch was brought over by Dr. Cottle. Apollo pressed a button on the side of the door which then slide open and the lights inside the room turned on by themselves. He then walked into the wash room and turned on the water just as the sound of thunder clapped across the sky.
'Sounds like rain.' Apollo then sniffed the air before whispering, "smells like rain's coming too." He then started to wash his face and then looked up in the mirror. He couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of having some of the myths about blood demons being confirmed – he couldn't see his reflection in the mirror. Apollo then turned and walked out of the washroom just as he heard footsteps and took in the scent of the cologne his father always used. However, there was only one set of footsteps.. there wasn't anyone else accompanying him.
And Apollo didn't know how to take that. Shaking his head, he heard the Commander order the door be opened, and then the Colonial Marines turned and pressed a few buttons on the side of the door. Apollo watched the door slide open, and then smiled at the Commander who was standing outside in his dress uniform. The Commander then stepped inside while the Marines lay their hands on the Zats located on their hips… the two of them were the only ones to use the alien weapons to stun Apollo in the event that he started to get out of control. It was agreed that he weapons would be used by the New Kobol Police Force once the first batch of cadets had finished their accelerated training in the next six months.
"Wait for me outside," ordered the Commander as he looked back at his shoulder. The Marines reluctantly nodded their heads before they stepped back, but insisted on keeping the doors open for the Commander's own protection. Apollo could see that the two Marines feared him greatly, and he didn't blame them one bit.
"Leave the door open, dad," said Apollo.
The Commander looked behind him at the Marines, and then at Apollo before nodding his head. Apollo sat on his cot as the Commander walked up to him while asking if he needed anything else.
"Nothing," Apollo said looking up at his father. "I don't feel hungry, I don't feel… I mean…. It would be nice to leave this room and see the outside but with the sun out."
"I know," the Commander added before he sighed and sat next to Apollo. HE saw the guards make a move towards their Zats, but the Commander simply put his hand up and waved them away, "it's alright. He won't harm people who won't harm him."
The Marines then, once again, reluctantly moved their hands away while standing guard at the entrance. They were looking into the room at Apollo who was avoiding their eyes. He had seen the two on the Galactica, in fact they were some of the Marines who fought the Cylons when a heavy raider crashed into the flight pod and Centurions invaded the Galactica. It was just after he was arrested for mutiny by not allowing Colonel Tigh to arrest President Roslin. During the invasion of the Galactica, the two Marines guarding the door were among the heroes who helped repel the invaders. But now, Apollo could see in their eyes that he was the monster to them.
He was a bigger threat.
"I'm sorry, Lee," said the Commander, "I can't let you leave, not yet. It's still daytime, and a few Marines will be accompanying you to your new quarters on the Galactica once you've gotten an anchor. Even there, you'll have security following you… their job would be to watch you for any…"
"Odd behaviour," Apollo said nodding his head while completing his father's sentence, "I understand, dad." He then continued saying with a chuckle, "I still can't believe the shows were accurate. I mean, blood demons really existing. Protectors really existing… it's ridiculous and amazing at the same time."
"I still remember the expression on the faces of the Quorum when Tara told them the truth of what happened to you," the Commander said as they recalled the disclosure in one of the refugee units the day Apollo's soul was restored. The man chuckled with his son before sighing and saying that he'll talk to Kat after the meeting with the Nox, the Final Five, and the Cylons.
"Be careful, dad," Apollo whispered. The commander nodded his head before getting up to his feet. Apollo stood up too and the both looked at each other before they hugged. The Commander held on tight to his son, who also held on tightly to his father.
"I won't stop until you have an anchor," the Commander said as he stepped back.
"Dad, I'd like to continue working as a part of the Galactica's crew," Apollo explained that he wanted to join the fight against Cain. He said that since the Vipers were shielded against radiation, he didn't believe he would turn to dust in space.
"Let's get you anchored first," said the Commander, "hopefully Kat would have made her decision by tomorrow. Or we'll just have to postpone the ritual again."
The Commander then said that he needed to go to the President's quarters so that he could accompany her, Billy, and the Vice-President to the Nox homeworld. Apollo nodded his head before they hugged once again. With the door sliding shut after he left the room, the Commander walked the hallway to the set of transportation rings that would take him to the lobby of the building. All the while, he was hoping that Kat wouldn't back out at the last moment. And his thoughts went back to Dee.
Although he did understand why she backed out – her engagement to Billy. Commander Adama believed that there was a part of Dee afraid to be Apollo's anchor. The Commander knew that the both of them had been spending time together, but even that wasn't enough to fully convince her to help Apollo. However, he still did wish her all the best in her engagement… the Commander knew that she had feelings for Billy as well and that the thoughts of being joined to Apollo encouraged her to say 'yes' to Billy's proposal.
At least that is what the Commander believed. He didn't want to ask Dee the real reasons for why she backed out.
'It was her choice,' he thought to himself as the transportation rings activated. The white light washed over him before fading away as the rings went back down to their storage area in the platform. He stepped off the platform and headed towards the exit past several tables and chairs in the lobby where there were Colonials, or rather Kobolians, simply seated and talking to each other over coffee. The man walked past them after returning their nods at him, the Commander thought back to Starbuck and knew that she was right in her reasons for not wanting to join with Apollo. When he thought back to what Starbuck said, the Commander wondered if Kat really was the right fit since she would be flying missions from the Galactica.
'If she dies then… then there will be a backlash on Lee's emotional state,' the Commander thought as he left the building and began walking towards the tower where the President's apartment was located, 'Lee said he wants to be flying missions too. How would that affect Kay if he dies? And can he fly in space where the rays of the sun, well, are everywhere? Or will the Viper radiation shielding, and the shielding of our flight suits be enough?'. As he continued walking, the Commander then thought about asking some of the female deckhands if they would be willing to help. While thinking then Commander looked around at the small shops that had started to pop up; some were selling crafts, while others were selling various foodstuffs using a new Colonial currency. He knew that they had a long way to go, but seeing people actually purchasing those goods made the man believe that they were going to be fine.
Galactica Flight Deck, at that same time.
Romo Lumpkin, Starbuck's lawyer, had just finished questioning Cally, the deputy to Chief Laird who was somewhere on the ship with another Earther team helping to install a console and the wiring to connect it to a special series of computers in the CIC. In the meantime, Cally was just seated at a table with her equipment belt on her lap as she reflected on Starbuck's murder of Gaius Baltar. She remembered what the pilot said that day to Helo, and she recounted those exact same words to Romo as well as answering questions on Starbuck's state of mind over the past few days before the murder. The whole line of questions brought her back to her own experience with humanoid Cylons, and that Baltar could have been involved with them from the beginning and ending with the Fall of the Colonies.
Cally shook her head and thought back to Chief Tyrol. She leaned forward and placed the belt in her hand while running her left hand through her shoulder length hair as she remembered the man she was attracted to for years. However, after finding out that he was a humanoid Cylon, Cally had mixed feelings on the matter and put herself deep into her work alongside Chief Laird to distract her.
So she put herself deep into leading a few of the Colonial engineering teams in installing the new Earther systems on the Galactica. In the meantime, she had been asked on a date by the pilot 'Hotdog', but it was her experience with the Humanoid Cylon Chief of the Deck that had her wave him off. She simply told him that she wasn't ready yet.
Cally sighed and then got off her seat and put the belt around her waist. She then walked out of the office and into the hanger deck where alarms were buzzing as the first shift of the CAP ended and the next shift was about to begin.
"Cally!" yelled Diana Seelix, a deckhand who used to be one of the resistance fighters who was in the same Pyramid team as Sam Anders during their short few months in Caprica before being brought back to the Galactica by Starbuck. Cally nodded her head at the junior engineer, one of the best flight avionics experts in the ship, as she ran up to the young woman and whispered in her ear.
"We need to talk."
Cally nodded her head and followed Seelix back to the office and closed the hatch behind her for privacy. Seelix then turned around and told Cally that she wanted to head down to the surface of New Kobol for a few days of shore leave since her temporary replacement had already been trained.
"Somewhat anyway," said Seelix excitedly, "come on Cally, we've been stuck here for the whole time we've been in orbit of New Kobol just fixing small things here and there, some maintenance on the Vipers and Raptors, and training some of the new guys from the surface. There's not a lot of fighting the Cylons going on and.."
"We're still installing the shield emitters, Diana, and then we have the plasma weapons to install and we need to find a way to integrate both to the CIC," Cally said while shaking her head before saying that she understood her unease at remaining on the ship while others had some time off to enjoy the surface. "But we're needed up here to make sure this new technology works. And we need to know how to work it so that we could train the others who're still being trained."
"My guys already know the basics, Cally," said Seelix with a pout, "can't you talk to the Chief and… you know… just a few hours off; that's all I'm asking so that we could go down on the surface. Wee need to get some fresh air, some real food instead of these Earther and Colonial rations.. I mean the officers get to go down for a few hours during their rotation. We need some leave too… talk to the Chief, Cally."
"I'll ask him," Cally gave in before adding, "but continue training your guys and girls, Diana."
"I will," she said before turning around. She unlocked the door, and then stopped and turned around. "I heard there's a place down there on the outskirts of the northern part of the city where this guy from Picon makes a great stew from seafood transported in from the nearby ocean."
"Technically it's still a camp," Cally chuckled, "only a few months have passed, Diana."
"I heard that it's more like a city atmosphere now," said Seelix, "which is why I want to see it so badly. All I heard are rumours that some of the engineers on the other ships that have spread to our Marines. And those engineers got to enjoy the surface,. And even some of the Marines who rotate between Galactica and the surface have told me that it's beautiful… especially at night when the building have this ethereal glow."
"Fine. Fine," Cally chuckled while waving her hands, "I'll talk to the Chief."
"And you know... there are a lot of hot men from both the Colonies and Earth down there," said Seelix as Cally shook her head while walking past her and pulling the hatch open.
"You know that dating between deckhands and officers, or even between those from the richer and poorer colonies are kind of…"
"Frowned upon?" asked Seelix as she stepped out of the room. "Cally, the old Colonies don't exist anymore. This is brand new for all of us… and I'm hearing that some want us to be called Kobolians. The way I see things, the old order… the prejudices against rich and poor colonies are gone. This is a clean slate for everyone, and you need to get out there before everyone else catches on."
"Not everything changes, Diana," Cally said as she stepped out of the room after Seelix and closed the hatch behind her, "people usually want to hold on to their past even more when faced with something traumatic. And this is as traumatic as it gets."
"Let's see what happens when you put yourself out there," Seelix said before hearing a loud 'clang' behind her. She then heard apologies being thrown by a male voice as a frown appeared on her face before she turned around. "Colson! I told you to be careful!"
Seelix then looked back and winked at Cally before rushing off to her trainee. Cally chuckled before heading off to talk to the Chief. She knew in her heart that Seelix was right; they needed a break.
Tori's quarters, Beta Site, 0945 hours.
Tori and Chief Tyrol were getting increasingly comfortable around each other ever since recovering their real memories. In fact, they hadn't been able to keep their hands of each other. They both remembered sharing an apartment together on Furling Earth as well, as their planning to get married – which was scrubbed by the nuclear holocaust caused by their own Centurion rebellion. Over the past few days, the Final Five got to know Triana again, and the latter was ecstatic to finally have some people she was familiar with from Furling Earth.
Even Sharon and D'Anna would eagerly listen to the reminiscing of their creators. Eventually, Ellen and the chief told them the truth about how they had come up with the templates for their models; although they could not explain the existence of Satterfield. But both the humanoid Cylons listened to the stories with amazed looks on their faces. While the truth would be shared later in the day with the Cylons, Earthers, and the Colonials; Tori and the Chief wanted to take their own sweet time in getting to know one another again. Tori was the first to wake up by Tyrol's side before she leaned down and kissed his shoulder. Looking at the man open his eyes slowly, she was reminded of their apartment in the center of the city near a large park where there would be the sounds of birds chirping and children playing.
"Morning," Tyrol said as he placed a hand on the side of Tori's face and she leaned in. The woman then kissed the palm of his hand before laying down on his shoulder.
"Today's the day we tell the others the truth," she mumbled.
"After we do," Tyrol said as the scent from her hair wafted into his nose, "maybe we should talk about what happens from here." Tori brought up her head from his shoulder and then looked into the Chief's eyes with a look of confusion on her face, "I mean for the past few days we've been catching up on… well… everything we've missed out on with each other."
"And that is not stopping anytime soon," she replied before leaning down to give him a peck on the lips and then pulling back and staring into his eyes again, "I don't want to stop."
"And I don't either," replied Tyrol shaking his head, "but you have someone you left in the Colonies and…."
"And he's dead," Tori whispered as she lay on his shoulder.
"Now that we have our original memories, we need to discuss this and… and I mean we're going back to the Colonies after beating Cain, and…"
"The Galactica and the Earthers are going," said Tori, "I doubt that the Commander and Roslin would want any of us on the Galactica. I mean yes we talked the one day she came here, but that was it. She's not sorry she didn't speak up for me when I was outed as a Cylon even when I wasn't aware of it, or…"
"Can you blame her? Can you blame them?" whispered Tyrol as Tori looked up at him while her head lay on his shoulder, "Tori, we created the Humanoid Models. They then not only killed us…"
"John killed us," Tori pointed out, referring to the Number One model known as Cavil.
"John killed us," corrected Tyrol, "and then wiped all knowledge of us from the others. And then they went on to murdering billions of innocents on twelve planets. So yeah, we can't really blame the humans for being scared and suspicious of us."
"You've always been too understanding," Tori whined.
"And you changed the topic," Tyrol said looking down at her, "you told me you had a boyfriend, and… and what if he's alive when we return to the Colonies?"
"I'd tell him that I thought he was dead," Tori said as she crawled on top of the Chief, "what I won't tell him is that getting back my real memories makes me feel the same as I did all those thousands of years ago. I still love you, Galen"
"And I you," whispered the Chief. Tori leaned forward and kissed him deeply before pulling back with a smile. "what?"
Tori's grin grew before she leaned in and whispered that she heard the rumours on the Galactica of the Chief being in a relationship with Boomer, "and talk about having issues. What the both of you had… if you think about the truth of who we really are, then…."
"Don't say it," said the Chief with a serious look on his face. The smile on Tori's face vanished as well when he said that he did love Boomer. "And then she betrayed us. She shot the Commander, and then she was killed."
"So when we go to the planet of the Nox today," whispered Tori, "will you…"
"The one I loved was that particular Boomer," Tyrol said once again guessing that her question was the same as the one he asked her earlier; she wanted to know if he still loved Boomer. "She was resurrected into another body who we'll be meeting later. This new Boomer is someone I see as a daughter, just as I see the Sharon on this base, or the D'Anna's."
"Our children," Tori said as she rested her head on Tyrol's chest, "then we have the wayward ones; the Johns, the Simons, and the Doral's."
"We should get up," whispered Tyrol looking up at Tori.
"There's more than thirty minutes left," she whispered before leaning down and kissing him again while mumbling, "we should take our time."
Anders' quarter's, Beta Site, a few minutes later.
There was no choice but for Anders to wake up. He couldn't get any sleep because of the soft moans coming from the next room, complete with the sounds of water from the shower hitting the metallic wall. He slowly got up off bed and stretched his arms over his head while yawning. He then got up while continuing to hear the moans and grunts from Tori as he rolled his eyes upwards, before heading into his own shower after looking at the time on the clock on the wall.
Stepping to the shower and closing the door behind him, he passed the camera located on the table. He requested it after the murder of Baltar four days ago so that he could give her some comfort. So recorded and then sent a video message to Starbuck on the Galactica..
"She got it yesterday," said a rueful Anders as he looked back at the camera and then closed the plexiglass door and turned on the shower while thinking, 'and I got a response last night.'
"Sam," Starbuck said on the small monitor at the side of the camera as Anders sat on his seat last night. "I… I don't know what to tell you. I'm glad you're doing alright with the Earthers in their base. I really am… but I… I mean you know why I'm in this cell. Baltar died at my hands because he was a Cylon collaborator. He fracked me… I mean… I fracked him. I used him to get over you."
As the water from the showerhead flowed down his body, Anders remembered the look of exhaustion on Starbuck's face. He knew that she blamed him for even going to the scientist in the first place, and she said as much late in the reply to his message.
"He mumbled in his sleep that he helped the Cylons, and… and I killed him," said a wistful Star buck, "please don't respond to this message, Sam. I don't want to see you, or hear from you. It just breaks my heart to see your face because it makes me feel like I want to kill you. The thought of you touching me, the thought of you being a Cylon and attacking the Colonies makes me want to kill you; and that anger made me kill him. I can't look at the both of you. So… so please… stop it at this. Stop it at this."
The last part was what echoed in Anders' head as he showered. He didn't want to let Starbuck go… he loved her and he knew that she loved him. However, he didn't know how to prove it to her since he wasn't allowed on the Galactica.
"So," said a familiar voice as a hand gently fell on his shoulder while standing under the shower, "what would you do, Sam?"
Anders turned to see the very same figure he had been seeing ever since he recovered his memories and found out about Baltar's death; Starbuck… or at least a vision of Starbuck. This time, she was leaning against the wall in her flight suit with her arms crossed over her chest frowning at the man.
"You love me, Sam," said the vision as Anders continued his shower, "just tell me."
"I can't believe I'm talking to my own conscience," he replied looking at 'Starbuck'.
"Not my fault you feel guilty," quipped Starbuck while shrugging her shoulders as she stared at the nude man, "you sent her a message that just was basically a 'sorry I couldn't be there for you' letter. Own up to what you are."
"I did," whispered Anders as Starbuck chuckled.
"No you didn't," she replied as Anders finished his shower, opened the door, reached out side and grabbed the hanging towel, and wiped his body. He then walked out and wrapped the towel around his waist before walking towards a table with a set of bags on the side. The image of Starbuck followed him and told him to send the real Starbuck another message. And this time to stop using old clichés. "Just say what you know you have to say to her."
"She won't answer," he said.
"At least I'll know… at least she'll know," said the vision before it vanished, and Anders was left looking at the camera on the table. He then sighed, walked over to the table and then sat down. He pressed the 'record' button and then spoke into the camera. He told Starbuck that it didn't matter that she hated him, the fact was that he loved her. He asked her if what they had felt earlier was real… if what they felt for each other when she was on Caprica was real. He said he knew it was real and that his heart was telling him that it was real.
"I remember I'd sit on the beach on my version of Earth with a guitar," he said looking into the lens, "and the one thing I hoped for was to have something that Saul and Galen already had in their lives; someone to love them. And now… now I found someone Kara. And that's you. All I'm asking is that we talk… you can shout at me, or you can just cry, or you can just stare into the camera. I'll be there for you. You said that this was my fault, then let me fix it… let me tell you about my life. About who I really am. And I don't mean as a Cylon. I mean as who I was before I resurrected into this body. I am that exact same man who waited for someone to love, Kara. And after more than two thousand years, I found you. Just listen to what I have to say, Kara. That's all I ask."
Anders then shut off the camera and placed it on the table. He then got up and rushed to the bags and took out some clothes. He needed to get ready for the journey to the world of the Nox with the other Final Five so that they could brief the Earthers, the Cylons, and the Colonials on what really happened to Furling Earth.
And before they left, he planned on handing the camera to Colonel Pierce so that he could have it sent to the Galactica over New Kobol. For right now though, Anders knew that the truth was about to come out.. and he guessed that the Colonials were going to take it the hardest.
Quad, Beta Site, 1045 hours.
Colonel Tigh was seated on the table in the courtyard with his Colonial Fleet dress uniform on as he looked at his wife in a simple, but elegant brown dress seated across from him. It was all courtesy of Commander Adama who had their personal effects sent to the Beta site from New Kobol following their meeting at the Beta Site several days ago. While the others were getting ready for the trip through the Stargate, the Colonel and Ellen were talking in hushed whispers as they continued to talk about their lives on Furling Earth, and then the times they spent on Caprica after they were reawakened and reprogramed by Cavil.
"I can't excuse what I did, Saul," she whispered before looking over at Sharon and D'Anna who were playing with Hope in her stroller. She then turned back to the Colonel and said that she was sorry for everything before asking, in a whisper, if he still loved her.
The Colonel stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "of course, I do. Ellen, even without my memories… my real memories… I've always loved you. No matter what."
"Can we begin again?" asked Ellen leaning forwards as she reached for, and then held on to the Colonel's hands which were on the table. He heart leaped when he didn't pull away, and a smile appeared on her face when he nodded his head before saying that they still had a lot to deal with.
"But I think we can get through it together."
Ellen nodded her head at Colonel Tigh just as they heard a door opening on the side of another building. It was then that Sharon and D'Anna called out for the two of them, saying that the others were ready. Ellen and the colonel then looked at each other and stood up before walking towards Sharon and then baby. Ellen bent down and tickled the sleeping baby while Sharon reached into her pocket, and took out a memory card.
"Colonel," said Sharon holding out the memory card, "Colonel Pierce has already gone through the recording in this card. Could you hand it over to Helo for me? It's just a message from me, and some videos of Hope. Please?"
The Colonel simply stared at Sharon, and while he remembered her as the cocky pilot who not only crashed her Raptor several times during her stint on the Galactica, she was also the one who shot the Commander in the chest. He kept telling himself that she was not Boomer and glanced at the baby Hope sleeping in her stroller. Tigh looked back at Sharon and gave a curt nod.
"Thank you, sir," said Sharon as she handed him the card.
"We should go, sir," said Tyrol in his dress uniform nodding his head back into the building.
"We'll be back soon, D'Anna, Sharon," said Ellen.
"Me too," replied Triana as Sharon and D'Anna nodded their heads.
"Let's go," said a gruff Colonel Tigh. They went back into the building and towards the Gateroom where they were due to head to the Nox homeworld, Gaia, for the upcoming revelation.
TBC.