Responses to Earlier Comments:

Blaze1992, I sure hope so on darkest before the dawn. This new installment has more Cru and Evvie back and forth. I've started writing exchanges between Evvie and Ellen Tigh. I hope I can pull it off. :) That would be funnier writing than the darkness.

War Sage, I feel I missed a great opportunity by not doing a fallout with Cain. I still worry about MarySue-ism with Cru somehow standing up to Cain because he's the ranking Marine.

Thank you Chronus - I think I mentioned before that I had not planned to put Cru in charge of the Marines, but logic dictates that he would be. It was fun writing that scene. As stated, it's dark. I feel it has to be something big if they are going to deploy the Marines against civilians.

***A big thanks to the 3 above! All comments are welcome. ***

Disclaimer: Please note: I own no part or share in the Battlestar Galactica realm, either commercial or otherwise. This story is submitted for entertainment purposes only.

Reminder: I did not spend time making up non-earth names for BSG things - glass, headset, boom mic, and even added Kool-Aid. I hope it's TOS okay. These items are in there as is. I wanted to avoid introducing new terms, explaining them, and potentially causing confusion if/when they are used later without their explanations.

Chapter 27

Bits and Bobs

"A potato is a useful thing in more ways than I would have thought."

~Cru's Journal if he had time to keep one.

Bree's Twin

Ship's Galley

Day 218

"Demand what?" Cru snarled. "Are you kidding me!?"

"Demand peace" replied Evvie with an angry look of defiance. "We demand peace with the Cylons. Is that so hard for you to understand? Demanding war has got us nowhere. Demand peace and we live."

"You're talking about peace with machines bent on wiping us out."

Evvie made a face. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm talking about. Making peace with an opponent that outnumbers us a hundred to one. You'd think it'd be obvious, Mr. Captain, Forensic Genius…Man."

Cru didn't do well at holding a straight face and neither did Evvie. They both burst into laughter.

"What a bunch of hooey," laughed Evvie as she dug out leftovers from lunch. "Who's buying that crap?"

"They all are," said Cru. He had just arrived back from the Galactica. They were pulling together a late meal. He was pouring three cups of cherry-flavored Kool-Aid. "It's a Fleet Best-Seller - you know, if we had 'best sellers'."

"I feel like the cylons are a great big hammer," said Evvie, "and we're like…"

"...we're like little bugs shouting, 'Please don't flatten us!'."

"Um," said Evvie, "I was going to say little nails - like little nails."

John shook his head. He set out mismatched plates and flatware on the Galley's table. All three had missed the lunch that young Emily had cooked up. "You two are nuts."

"Wait?" said Cru. "And, what on the Gods' green-loving 'Earth' does 'forensic' mean? I don't know that word."

Evvie smiled. "It means researching and applying science to dig out answers - forensic evaluation."

Cru smiled back. "Actually, I was joking. I knew what it meant. I was still playing along because it's so cute when you try to use big words."

"Uh-huh," said Evvie with a teasing smile. "Sure you were. sure you did, and, I got a whole toolbox full of big words. You ain't heard nothing yet."

John tapped the table with his fork as if rapping out a point. "Okay, okay, this peace thing is dead on arrival if you ask me," said John as he leaned forward. "What I wanna know is what happens with the new trade mandates. The president said she was serious. How does it affect us?"

Cru chimed in first. "Well, there are no real changes," he replied. "The rules have always been in place but just not always followed."

"Wait, no real changes?" said Evvie, "Hold on there, Tex."

Cru rumpled his face. "Tex? Who's Tex?"

Evvie smiled. "Texid d'Emee Osegga."

"Who?"

"Texid d'Emee Osegga. She was the Vetusian Kaskariatte who claimed to make gold from lead about twelve thousand years ago. You know - 'Hold on there, Tex'."

"I remember her. She played with that rock and roll hair band called 'Swiftly Dealt', am I right?"

"What?" said Evvie. "A hair band? Twelve thousand years ago?"

"Yeah, Vetusha Caskatucci Oswego. That was her. She ate lead paint chips as a kid. It was in the news."

"Paint chips…"

"Yeah, lead."

"I'm pretty sure somebody did. I don't think it was Tex Osegga"

Cru laughed.

"John's right," said Evvie, "you are a nut."

John shook his head. "I said you both were."

"Anyway," said Evvie. "Yes, they've upped the requirements again. Seed production needs to raise by four percent. We need more of the squashes - things that grow fast and make a lot of volume. And, they're stealing us blind of any extra soil we make. Oh, and they didn't like where we planted the beans so we're transplanting six hundred seedlings from the floor level to the upper decks."

"So just bits and bobs," said Cru with a little sarcasm.

"Yeah," said Evvie with an equally sarcastic laugh, "just bits and just bobs."

Evvie and John managed Bree's Twin well despite the ever-present government oversight. Cru wouldn't allow their officials to live aboard his ship, but that didn't stop them from counting and weighing all the agricultural produce that passed through them and into the fleet supply chain. It didn't stop them from visiting daily and pushing their demands.

"As always, we need more square feet," continued Evvie. "We need more acreage."

"That's key, I think, for the whole fleet," said Cru. "Have you talked to T-Dog? Can he make any suggestions?"

"We have and he did," said Evvie. "We need to continue to go vertical but he says there's nowhere left to get the steel framing or the decking."

"We're also hitting a water threshold," John added. "We have a lot of water in constant motion - crops, people, evaporators, reclamation, all of it, and It's seeping into everything. We're pooling and icing up in places we shouldn't."

Cru nodded his understanding. A lot of areas like unused corridors and between floors were dripping wet. Rust was a huge problem.

"What about the good news?" asked Cru. "I know the president gets excited about pregnant people and having babies. Do we have any of those yet?"

"None that I know of," said Evvie with a laugh. "I can grow crops but I can't grow babies."

There was a short pause of silence.

Cru and John smiled and gave light chuckles.

"What?" said Evvie. She smiled with them but was missing the point.

"You said you can't grow babies," said Cru. He gestured towards her lower abdomen.

Evvie blushed. "You know what I mean!" She smacked John on the arm because he was closest to her. "Both of you and your garish impertinence…"

"There she goes with the big words again," said Cru.

"I'll give you big words, right over the tops of your heads, if you're not careful."

Cru smiled. "We'll be careful. We promise," he said with a laugh. "So nothing good, at all? Did Kevin get his piano yet? Anything more with the Doogan girl? I think her name was Essa. I liked her singing."

Cru referenced Kevin who was the ship's "Cruise Director". He was tasked with keeping up the morale. Essa was the redheaded lass who sang during an assembly. Her kind voice was true and melodic and filled with deep emotion. Kevin had great plans for Essa.

"Yes to both, and more," said Evvie. "We have the piano, a concert pianist, and my Emily and young Essa are becoming vast friends. My Fletcher is experiencing his first crush. He's heartbroken any time he sees the girl."

Both men chuckled again.

"In other news," said John jumping in, "Evvie got a couple new dresses - they looked a little out of place on the dirt farm promenade, but you know, there it is."

"That's not really news," said Evvie with a frown. "I picked up a little extra in a trade out to the Chrion. You'd be surprised at what an extra potato or two can buy."

"The 'dirt farm promenade'?" said Cru to John. "You've seen these 'dresses', then?" He made quote signs with his fingers.

"Yes, I have," said John. "She modeled them for the kids and me."

Evvie's cheeks pinkened.

"Modeled?" said Cru turning to Evvie. "Really?"

"Oh please, it was nothing," said Evvie. Her voice flustered. "It was silliness. Let's move on."

"Okay-okay," said Cru. "Done." There was an opportunity to tease but was best left alone. "I'm certain you looked great."

Evvie smiled to herself as she recalled the event in her head. She had returned in the shuttle, through the portal on the receiving deck. She was excited about the trade and wanted to show somebody. John, Emily, and Fletcher were there with a shout. She used the small conference room across from the access to change in and stepped out to good-natured cheering and applauses. She was encouraged and, being a little silly, did a couple of walks up and back, like a runway model. It was fun. They all laughed. She felt alive. Evvie was stunning and she was radiant, and for once in a long while, she felt like the old days, before the fall.

It was also nothing Evvie would have done in front of anyone else but the kids and John.

"You know what?" said Evvie. "I did look great. I'm covered in dirt all day, most days, and for a short time, I wasn't. I looked great and it felt great."

Cru beamed a smile. "I'm sorry I missed it," he said. He smiled again as he lowered his voice and gave a caring nod. "Truly I am."

For a long moment, Cru and Evvie stared into each other's eyes. They spoke no words. They thought no thoughts. They simply connected as two might have done before the attack and before the chaos and the hunger and the flight of fear. They were in the here and now, to be sure, with war and death continuously no more than a blink away, but for that long moment, they were not.

Evvie broke the connection first. She lowered her eyes, not unlike she had done so many months ago when addressing Cru. She shook her head ever so slightly, acknowledging inwardly that she had forgotten herself, she forgot her slain husband Mark, and the conversation had taken a vulnerable turn.

Cru nodded his head and gave a warm smile, although Evvie was not looking up to see it. "I've turned down invitations from some of the other Captains, as you have too, I think. We'll clean up. You pick out something nice. I'll find something not old, and we'll kibitz with what's left of society's elite." Cru smiled again. "Does that sound okay?"

"I'd like that," said Evvie softly and without looking up.

~~~~~/~~~~~

Bree's Twin

Early the following morning

"Cru?" said John.

Cru didn't respond.

It was two in the morning. The ship was silent - or as silent as a century-old gray-metal lugger of a ship could be. It creaked and groaned and there was never a time absent from the loud rattle of heavy equipment or the deep hum of the ship's large engines. Cru sat alone in the galley with the lights dimmed. He had poured himself a drink but it was left untouched.

"Cru, you okay?" asked John a little louder. He took a step closer.

Cru looked up from his thoughts. "Yeah," he replied after a long pause. "Yeah, I'm good. What'd I miss?"

John gave a smile. "Nothing that can't wait until a better hour. Can I get you something? Are you hungry?"

Cru shook his head. "No, I'm good there too. Thanks, John."

"Okay," said John with another smile. "Is this late-night sleepless contemplation over our dear Evvie? You're a fool if you thought I didn't notice you two staring at each other."

Cru returned the smile but it was flat. He thought about Evvie. She was a far better topic than what roiled about in his head. "Nothing so grand, John," said Cru. "I assure you." He looked at his hands and rubbed at them as if they were sore beyond measure.

"Okay…," said John after a bit. He had misread Cru. He sat down opposite. "Alright. What's going on, Boss?"

Cru gave a heavy sigh. "Do you remember Mrs. Tebbler," said Cru without looking up. "It was back when I was young."

"I do," said John. "Penny Tebbler. She was the older woman who came to the shop a lot. Your father sold the bracelets she made - tiny beads. They were in a display case on the counter, as I recall." John gave a light smile. "No one bought them except your dad - a couple each week."

"Yeah," said Cru. "I bet he had more than a hundred of them in a box, in the back. He didn't do anything with them, he just bought them and tucked them away."

John smiled at the memory. "Yeah, he didn't know anyone who went in for wearing jewelry, your mom was long gone by that time, but the woman needed the half-cubit he paid for each."

"You knew she was Sagittaron," said Cru, "right?

"I did." John nodded and then he waited for Cru to continue. He spoke up when Cru didn't. "Do you want to tell me about the Sagittarons over on the cruiseliner Harrak? More than fifty are missing. I expect they are what this is about."

"I do and they are, John," said Cru after a very long pause and another heavy sigh. "There were fifty-three Sagittarons murdered four days ago - well, discovered four days ago."

John let out a sigh and shook his head. "Gods, no…"

"Indeed," replied Cru. "They were missing for more than a week and confirmed dead. And…it doesn't seem to be a big deal to anyone but the President and senior command."

"But it is a big deal," said John. "Good people will mourn their loss when it gets out. Good people will be outraged."

Cru gave an accepting smile. "Good people…sure," he repeated with another nod.

"Yes, good people will do this," said John in a strong reassuring voice.

"I'm sure they will," said Cru.

"What about you and all of it?" said John. "You must have found them, then?"

"One of the marines did. I commanded the op and the extraction of the dead - fifty-three men, women, and children. We ran down those who did it and took them out in a short firefight. I didn't lose anyone, so there's a plus. A young marine, PFC Parks, was hit in the leg. He'll recover but I doubt he will return to service."

John nodded his understanding. "Actually, I meant beyond that - what about you? It must have been awful."

"It was…," replied Cru.

"Okay…?" He sensed that Cru wanted to say more but was holding back.

Cru spoke again after a long pause. "I have seen this before and worse, if truth be known. But…we are at the end of our humanity, we fight to preserve life - all life, and we still have jackasses who can't get past old prejudices."

John nodded. "You can't believe our struggle will change any of that, can you? It's not like the movies when everyone comes together to fight a common enemy."

"Sometimes it is," said Cru.

"But I don't think it lasts beyond the situation. Once there is a lull, once there's a breather - and you toss in thirst and starvation - it comes back. It always does. History will out"

Cru was silent as he continued to look at his hands. John wasn't wrong and Cru knew it.

"So you caught all of them, then," said John. "That was good?"

"We did and it was."

"What about their leader or leaders? Were they taken into custody?"

Cru looked up. His eyes drifted around the room before settling back to John's.

"Cru…?"

"There was just one leader. He's among the dead. He killed himself and his own people rather than being captured."

John sighed. "So, no justice," said John.

"None."

~~~~~/~~~~~

Bree's Twin

Two nights later

"Who will be there?" asked Evvie. "You have not said."

Cru turned from the small mirror he used to adjust his collar. Evvie was there in the doorway. She was stunning and Cru's breath caught in his throat.

"Um…Commander Adama of course," said Cru trying to recover his composure - without looking like he was trying to recover his composure. He started with the easiest to remember because his thinking ability was heavily distracted. "Also…Colonel Tigh and his wife, Captain Adama should be there, and the…President…um…"

"Roslin?" said Evvie with a smile. "President Roslin?"

"Yes, her," said Cru. He took a breath because he had forgotten to do so. "Ls of K, Evelyn Hawkins, you will turn heads tonight."

"I hope so," said Evvie with a laugh, "or I've wasted a potato on nothing."

"No, Evvie," said Cru with a smile, "not wasted."

The Luxury Liner, Chrion, had a long list of well-to-do passengers with their long trains of luggage and accompaniments. Most of the wealth-based hierarchy, large suite accommodations, and lavish food and drink were gone in the first months after the attack. The posh and the socialites, one and all, now mixed with the commoners in the long food lines. A potato, still covered in dirt, could buy a string of pearls, a gold watch, or a beautiful navy-blue dinner dress of delicate chiffon, with over-the-shoulder ruffles and a modest neckline.

This ends Chapter 27

Author notes while writing:

Ls of K is "Lords of Kobol" (Fourth from the last paragraph, above)

The series spent a lot of time with Apollo brooding over choices he made, his father's and the President's decisions, and all of that floating in the water business. I don't need to duplicate that with Cru. Cru is struggling inside. It will come out, here and there.

This gets us into the first knowledge of the radical peace movement (Epiphanies) and the Black Market S2.5, disks 1&2.

True story, I went to an online dress store to figure out how to describe a dress. I grew up with 3 sisters. I must have missed out on that part. It ought to be interesting what shows up in my social media feeds.