Echoes: Chapter 38 of 38
YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT! No, I don't care about lousy grammar today. This baby is done! This is what I've been working toward for FOUR YEARS.
Someday, soon, I will come back and make a master post with all the chapters in order. At that time, I will give the very well-deserved thanks to all the folks who got me started, kept me going and saw me through to the end. That day is not today. For now, if you're reading this, know that I remember you and I appreciate your help, support, etc. Now, ON TO THE FIC!
Title: Echoes
Author: EcstaticDance
Summary: Allof this has happened before, now we're going to see it happen again. But the Lords of Kobol want to see if they can possibly change it, so key characters have retained the echoes of memories which cause them to make different decisions, or experience things at different times, than in previous cycles.
Spoilers: Through Season 4
Warnings: Heavy mysticism. This is not scientifically sound, folks. It's myth-driven.
Pairings/Characters: Kara/Lee, and canon couples
Rating: M
Disclaimers: None of it is mine.
Cross-posted: Not yet.
Beta: ez_as_pi (Thank you, as always!)
Previous Chapters: At my LJ
Return to Chapter 37.
Chapter 38
Corpses, both flesh and metal, littered the hallway. Athena had fallen in front of the door that separated her from her daughter. Lee looked around at the bare handful of survivors. Everyone left standing was on their side.
He gently moved Athena's body aside, punched in his security code and led the way into the CIC. He limped his way directly to Kara, who seemed miraculously unharmed. He wrapped a single arm around her and pulled her close, reveling in her arms around his waist, breathing in the smell of her - sweat and grease and Kara.
“Dad,” He whispered when he saw his father lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Déjà vu hit him like a brick wall, knocking the breath out of him.
He heard Hoshi calling out to anyone who would listen, they were in orbit around a planet. They needed someone to make a run down and see if it was habitable.
Kara nudged him away. “Go. I'll make the run.” He nodded numbly and stumbled down the steps to sit helplessly between his father and a trembling Laura Roslin until a team of medics could make their way to the CIC.
﴿﴾
Kara stood on a broad expanse of green grass. It rose waist-deep, and waved in a gentle wind. Mountains rose behind her, and a river flowed in the distance. She'd found a few groups of people. Some of them were nomadic. A few had developed a rudimentary form of agriculture. None of them were any more ready to accept the technology that was coming along with the remnants of humanity than humanity was to give it up.
She turned and stepped back into the raptor. She needed to run a few more scans. Kat would catch up with her soon. Probably Hotdog as well. A few other pilots. They'd sweep the planet together. One of them would find a place for their people here. They had to. For better or worse, this was the end of the line.
﴿﴾
Romo Lampkin watched Lee and Gaius for a moment. Lee's shoulders slumped forward, and he ran a hand through his hair. With a deep sigh, Romo shifted Elpis on his hip and marched over to the pair. He'd hoped that the completion of the trial would mark the end of any dealings with the good doctor.
“What's this?” He pointed at the map.
“Wha... I'm sorry. Oh. This?” Gaius fumbled the map. Romo said nothing, just glared at the little man. “This, um... this is a, ummm... a map. Of... of the planet that we're orbiting.”
“I'd gathered that much.” And they called him a genius.
“Yes, well. Well, I was just showing Mr. Adama here an island that would be large enough to support our survivors. It has plentiful fresh water, a good deal of game, is located in what should be a mild climate... We'll have to check more closely to see if any of the produce that grows naturally is edible...”
Romo nodded. “Do you need to figure that out before we can start landing people?” He looked at Lee. The younger man shook his head, looking at his daughter. “Then let's get started. Galactica's the first priority. It's got the best medical facilities. We don't want to lose those because the hull failed before we got it on the ground.”
Lee took a deep breath and stood up straighter. “Right. I'll talk to Galen, and then meet with the ship captains to work out a landing order. You work with Dr. Baltar. If you need military resources for anything, Colonel Tigh is in charge.”
Romo handed Pea to her father and noticed the boy's limp as he walked off. He had to give Lee credit for doing such an admirable job of pushing his grief away when he had work to do. Someone really needed to sit on him and let him fall apart for a while. Some things never changed.
﴿﴾
Kara stood next to the admiral's bed, in the same place she'd found Lee when she'd returned from her trip.
“He lost a lot of blood.” Trust Cottle to never mince words. “If he makes it, he's going to lose his hand.”
She nodded. “How's Roslin?”
“Not good.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He clamped it in his lips and continued talking. “That stimulant fed the cancer. She's been unconscious since they brought her in from the CIC.”
She nodded again. Cottle lit his cigarette and walked away, leaving her to her thoughts.
A small group of souls waited for her. She took Adama's dead hand and closed her eyes.
The light of the river surrounded her. The people she needed to talk to lined up in front of her.
“Athena. Helo.” She greeted her two oldest friends. Athena smiled at her sadly. “You know what I'm going to offer, don't you?”
The two looked at each other. Karl answered. “Yeah. We know.”
“We can't.” Athena finished the thought for him. “We've both been fighting for too long. I'm tired. And every time I tried to get my baby back, God took her away from me. I need to rest. And from here, I'll at least be able to keep an eye on her, not worry about anyone taking her away again.”
Kara bit her lips, trying to understand. “We're gonna miss you.”
Neither of them reacted to her comment. “Goodbye, Kara.” They turned and walked away.
Roslin stood behind them, smiling peacefully. “Oh, Kara. It's beautiful, Kara.” The former president of the Twelve Colonies reached out newly youthful hands, and grasped one of Kara's. “Thank you, thank you for not giving up on me.”
She blinked away tears as Laura let her own fall freely. A million thoughts raced through her head, but none of them fit. None of them could encompass the gratitude and the anger and the fear and the joy she felt in this moment. She squeezed the other woman's hand, then released it.
“I hope you find peace, Kara.” Laura called out as she walked backwards toward Ellysium.
“Goodbye, Madame President.”
She turned back toward the shore of the living. The admiral stood there, up to his knees in the water. Kara walked to him.
“What do you hear, Starbuck?”
“Nothing but the rain, Sir.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, then Bill reached out and pulled her into a fierce hug. She returned it without hesitation. Her emotions were as mixed as they'd been with Roslin, but here there was still hope that this wouldn't be goodbye.
“You don't have to go. You can stay... Keep defending these people.” She whispered the words through tears that she couldn't stop any longer. They were deeper into the stream now.
Bill pushed her away gently, held her at arms' length and stared at her. Then, he looked over her shoulder, at the far bank. She turned to see what he was looking at, and Roslin waved to them.
He released Kara when she looked back at him. “I still can't live without her.” Kara stood back to let him step past her. She turned when he called her name. “Kara... Tell Lee I've always been proud of him.”
Kara brushed the tears from her cheeks and nodded once more. With him gone, nothing kept her there. She returned to sickbay, placed his hand softly by his side, and walked out of the room to find her husband.
﴿﴾
Twenty Years Later
Lee looked out the window, across the city, as Kara stirred in her sleep behind him. A dull ache in his upper back had woken him up, but he wanted to let her sleep. She pushed herself so hard for these people. She deserved the break.
Today marked the anniversary of their arrival on this planet, on Earth. Two decades had passed since they'd been forced to cannibalize whatever bits of their technology they could, and abandon life among the stars.
The transition had been... He hunted for a term and failed. Difficult was far too simplistic to capture the agony of adapting to life on this strange planet, and impossible had turned out to be entirely false. The proof of it spread out before him, glowing in the rising sun. The wood and plaster buildings sprawled around a few focal stone structures. Among them, at major intersections, sprang fountains, fed and cleaned by a simple, but very effective water and sewage system that was still managed by the sanitation equipment that had been stripped from the Demetrius. In the distance, running up the side of the mountain beside the river, he could make out the enormous wheels that powered the generators that ran all of their motors.
There had been setbacks and disappointments, of course. The generators were a relatively recent solution. Until they'd been put in place the settlers hadn't been able to provide running water or electricity to everyone who had come with them. Several of the humans were convinced that the solution was to cast out the cylons, and threatened to riot when their leaders had refused. They'd come close to carrying through, too. Hera, five years old at the time, had appeared and explained to them that they needed the cylons if they wished to survive. Only then had they quieted and contented themselves with grumbling. The scenario had played itself out over and over again, leaving Lee baffled and grateful.
Most of the people had accepted Hera as an oracle almost immediately. When Lee had blustered and raged about people accepting “divine” guidance while disregarding identical practical advice from secular sources, Kara had shrugged and reminded him that he had been the one to tell her that if they were to survive they had to have trust. Their little society had seen too much guile and misrepresentation to believe in adult pragmatism. It was easier for them to put their faith in a child who lived with a religious leader and could speak to the gods.
The proof of that stood now in the light of the new dawn, sprawled in a mass around the Temple of Bounty. Gaius Baltar still headed the cult of monotheistic lunatics. He'd managed to teach them a good bit about farming, all of it gleaned from his own childhood on Aerilon, and even more about debauchery. Still, between him and Leonard, they'd made their settlement entirely self-sufficient.
Across the street, a group nearly as large crowded at the doors of the Temple of Compassion. Caprica never forgave the man, but she couldn't seem to stay away from him, either. Seen as a lesser prophetess, the mingling of their followers in the streets below had been as natural and as inevitable as the mythology and mystery that had grown up around them.
The bed creaked again, and Lee heard Kara's light steps crossing the room. Her still-firm arms slipped around his waist, and her chin rested on his shoulder, looking out the window with him.
“Excited about the festivities?” She asked him blearily.
He chuckled quietly. She knew how much he hated the pomp, now. He felt every minute of the time that had passed. His joints ached, and the ailments of old age were setting in without the medical facilities or treatments necessary to hold them off. He rubbed at the tightness in his chest. Somehow, Kara still glowed with youth and energy that left him envious.
He changed the subject. “I hear they're moving Hera to the mainland today.”
“Mmm. We need to start making connections with the natives if we want to survive. There's a place that the locals call Delphi. It's riddled with natural caves. The plan is to live in those until a temple can be built above it. Hera says it's going to be beautiful.”
She knew so much about what was going on down in that temple. More than she should have, given her continued faith in the Lords of Kobol. “We?”
She backed away, and he turned to look at her fully. She looked nervous in a way that she hadn't for years. “What's going on, Kara?”
He watched her struggle for a moment, then she reached out and placed her hand over his heart.
﴿﴾
She couldn't stand to watch him suffer. Not now. Not after everything. They'd worked too damn hard to find peace. And so, she whisked him away just before his heart stopped.
She watched Lee turn, looking around himself, taking in the blue-green light of the River of Life, trying to make some sort of sense out of what he saw. He looked down at his own hands, stronger and firmer than they'd been in years. His mouth dropped and his chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Kara...” he breathed.
“It was a heart attack.” She answered in the simplest way possible. The Lords were telling her to let him go, the cycle had already started. “You always did push yourself too hard.”
“But...”
“This is not all that we are, Lee. You may have been an atheist, but even you must know that much scripture.”
“I was wrong.”
“Not really.” She reached out a hand to him.
“I don't understand, Kara.” Shock deadened his response.
“I don't know if I can really explain it.” She licked her lips, trying to figure out where to begin. “I... I did die above that algae planet. I chose to come back, to make sure that humanity would get here. But I'm ready to be done, now. These people are going to be fine without us. They all will. Even Elpis. But I can't leave without you, without knowing if you want to come with me.”
He stepped closer to her and brought his hands up to frame her face. His hands were as strong and as warm as she remembered, and she leaned her forehead against his as he spoke. “We've all seen some crazy stuff, but you know... It doesn't matter. You're still Kara and I'm still Lee, and the rest isn't worth a damn.”
“Will you stay with me, Lee?” Her voice cracked. She still needed him so badly it hurt.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he slid his around her waist, pulled her close and whispered into her hair, “I will follow you anywhere.”
﴿﴾
Seventy Years Later
Hera reached out from the simple cot on which she lay. At ninety, she was ancient. The next oracle, a young girl, one of her own great-grandchildren, sat beside her, grasped her shaking fingers.
“The Guardians lived among the people for many years. When I moved here, to Delphi, they came with me. Over time, as our people blended with the local population, they faded, moved to the mountains to live in peace, coming out only when it was necessary to set things to rights. They will continue to do so until the end of the cycle. You will be their instrument in times of lesser need.
“And when the cycle turns once more, Apollo's Arrow will come to humanity in our time of greatest need and lead us through the fire, forged and transformed and stronger than we've ever been before.”
THE END
Someday, soon, I will come back and make a master post with all the chapters in order. At that time, I will give the very well-deserved thanks to all the folks who got me started, kept me going and saw me through to the end. That day is not today. For now, if you're reading this, know that I remember you and I appreciate your help, support, etc. Now, ON TO THE FIC!
Title: Echoes
Author: EcstaticDance
Summary: Allof this has happened before, now we're going to see it happen again. But the Lords of Kobol want to see if they can possibly change it, so key characters have retained the echoes of memories which cause them to make different decisions, or experience things at different times, than in previous cycles.
Spoilers: Through Season 4
Warnings: Heavy mysticism. This is not scientifically sound, folks. It's myth-driven.
Pairings/Characters: Kara/Lee, and canon couples
Rating: M
Disclaimers: None of it is mine.
Cross-posted: Not yet.
Beta: ez_as_pi (Thank you, as always!)
Previous Chapters: At my LJ
Return to Chapter 37.
Chapter 38
Corpses, both flesh and metal, littered the hallway. Athena had fallen in front of the door that separated her from her daughter. Lee looked around at the bare handful of survivors. Everyone left standing was on their side.
He gently moved Athena's body aside, punched in his security code and led the way into the CIC. He limped his way directly to Kara, who seemed miraculously unharmed. He wrapped a single arm around her and pulled her close, reveling in her arms around his waist, breathing in the smell of her - sweat and grease and Kara.
“Dad,” He whispered when he saw his father lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Déjà vu hit him like a brick wall, knocking the breath out of him.
He heard Hoshi calling out to anyone who would listen, they were in orbit around a planet. They needed someone to make a run down and see if it was habitable.
Kara nudged him away. “Go. I'll make the run.” He nodded numbly and stumbled down the steps to sit helplessly between his father and a trembling Laura Roslin until a team of medics could make their way to the CIC.
﴿﴾
Kara stood on a broad expanse of green grass. It rose waist-deep, and waved in a gentle wind. Mountains rose behind her, and a river flowed in the distance. She'd found a few groups of people. Some of them were nomadic. A few had developed a rudimentary form of agriculture. None of them were any more ready to accept the technology that was coming along with the remnants of humanity than humanity was to give it up.
She turned and stepped back into the raptor. She needed to run a few more scans. Kat would catch up with her soon. Probably Hotdog as well. A few other pilots. They'd sweep the planet together. One of them would find a place for their people here. They had to. For better or worse, this was the end of the line.
﴿﴾
Romo Lampkin watched Lee and Gaius for a moment. Lee's shoulders slumped forward, and he ran a hand through his hair. With a deep sigh, Romo shifted Elpis on his hip and marched over to the pair. He'd hoped that the completion of the trial would mark the end of any dealings with the good doctor.
“What's this?” He pointed at the map.
“Wha... I'm sorry. Oh. This?” Gaius fumbled the map. Romo said nothing, just glared at the little man. “This, um... this is a, ummm... a map. Of... of the planet that we're orbiting.”
“I'd gathered that much.” And they called him a genius.
“Yes, well. Well, I was just showing Mr. Adama here an island that would be large enough to support our survivors. It has plentiful fresh water, a good deal of game, is located in what should be a mild climate... We'll have to check more closely to see if any of the produce that grows naturally is edible...”
Romo nodded. “Do you need to figure that out before we can start landing people?” He looked at Lee. The younger man shook his head, looking at his daughter. “Then let's get started. Galactica's the first priority. It's got the best medical facilities. We don't want to lose those because the hull failed before we got it on the ground.”
Lee took a deep breath and stood up straighter. “Right. I'll talk to Galen, and then meet with the ship captains to work out a landing order. You work with Dr. Baltar. If you need military resources for anything, Colonel Tigh is in charge.”
Romo handed Pea to her father and noticed the boy's limp as he walked off. He had to give Lee credit for doing such an admirable job of pushing his grief away when he had work to do. Someone really needed to sit on him and let him fall apart for a while. Some things never changed.
﴿﴾
Kara stood next to the admiral's bed, in the same place she'd found Lee when she'd returned from her trip.
“He lost a lot of blood.” Trust Cottle to never mince words. “If he makes it, he's going to lose his hand.”
She nodded. “How's Roslin?”
“Not good.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He clamped it in his lips and continued talking. “That stimulant fed the cancer. She's been unconscious since they brought her in from the CIC.”
She nodded again. Cottle lit his cigarette and walked away, leaving her to her thoughts.
A small group of souls waited for her. She took Adama's dead hand and closed her eyes.
The light of the river surrounded her. The people she needed to talk to lined up in front of her.
“Athena. Helo.” She greeted her two oldest friends. Athena smiled at her sadly. “You know what I'm going to offer, don't you?”
The two looked at each other. Karl answered. “Yeah. We know.”
“We can't.” Athena finished the thought for him. “We've both been fighting for too long. I'm tired. And every time I tried to get my baby back, God took her away from me. I need to rest. And from here, I'll at least be able to keep an eye on her, not worry about anyone taking her away again.”
Kara bit her lips, trying to understand. “We're gonna miss you.”
Neither of them reacted to her comment. “Goodbye, Kara.” They turned and walked away.
Roslin stood behind them, smiling peacefully. “Oh, Kara. It's beautiful, Kara.” The former president of the Twelve Colonies reached out newly youthful hands, and grasped one of Kara's. “Thank you, thank you for not giving up on me.”
She blinked away tears as Laura let her own fall freely. A million thoughts raced through her head, but none of them fit. None of them could encompass the gratitude and the anger and the fear and the joy she felt in this moment. She squeezed the other woman's hand, then released it.
“I hope you find peace, Kara.” Laura called out as she walked backwards toward Ellysium.
“Goodbye, Madame President.”
She turned back toward the shore of the living. The admiral stood there, up to his knees in the water. Kara walked to him.
“What do you hear, Starbuck?”
“Nothing but the rain, Sir.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, then Bill reached out and pulled her into a fierce hug. She returned it without hesitation. Her emotions were as mixed as they'd been with Roslin, but here there was still hope that this wouldn't be goodbye.
“You don't have to go. You can stay... Keep defending these people.” She whispered the words through tears that she couldn't stop any longer. They were deeper into the stream now.
Bill pushed her away gently, held her at arms' length and stared at her. Then, he looked over her shoulder, at the far bank. She turned to see what he was looking at, and Roslin waved to them.
He released Kara when she looked back at him. “I still can't live without her.” Kara stood back to let him step past her. She turned when he called her name. “Kara... Tell Lee I've always been proud of him.”
Kara brushed the tears from her cheeks and nodded once more. With him gone, nothing kept her there. She returned to sickbay, placed his hand softly by his side, and walked out of the room to find her husband.
﴿﴾
Twenty Years Later
Lee looked out the window, across the city, as Kara stirred in her sleep behind him. A dull ache in his upper back had woken him up, but he wanted to let her sleep. She pushed herself so hard for these people. She deserved the break.
Today marked the anniversary of their arrival on this planet, on Earth. Two decades had passed since they'd been forced to cannibalize whatever bits of their technology they could, and abandon life among the stars.
The transition had been... He hunted for a term and failed. Difficult was far too simplistic to capture the agony of adapting to life on this strange planet, and impossible had turned out to be entirely false. The proof of it spread out before him, glowing in the rising sun. The wood and plaster buildings sprawled around a few focal stone structures. Among them, at major intersections, sprang fountains, fed and cleaned by a simple, but very effective water and sewage system that was still managed by the sanitation equipment that had been stripped from the Demetrius. In the distance, running up the side of the mountain beside the river, he could make out the enormous wheels that powered the generators that ran all of their motors.
There had been setbacks and disappointments, of course. The generators were a relatively recent solution. Until they'd been put in place the settlers hadn't been able to provide running water or electricity to everyone who had come with them. Several of the humans were convinced that the solution was to cast out the cylons, and threatened to riot when their leaders had refused. They'd come close to carrying through, too. Hera, five years old at the time, had appeared and explained to them that they needed the cylons if they wished to survive. Only then had they quieted and contented themselves with grumbling. The scenario had played itself out over and over again, leaving Lee baffled and grateful.
Most of the people had accepted Hera as an oracle almost immediately. When Lee had blustered and raged about people accepting “divine” guidance while disregarding identical practical advice from secular sources, Kara had shrugged and reminded him that he had been the one to tell her that if they were to survive they had to have trust. Their little society had seen too much guile and misrepresentation to believe in adult pragmatism. It was easier for them to put their faith in a child who lived with a religious leader and could speak to the gods.
The proof of that stood now in the light of the new dawn, sprawled in a mass around the Temple of Bounty. Gaius Baltar still headed the cult of monotheistic lunatics. He'd managed to teach them a good bit about farming, all of it gleaned from his own childhood on Aerilon, and even more about debauchery. Still, between him and Leonard, they'd made their settlement entirely self-sufficient.
Across the street, a group nearly as large crowded at the doors of the Temple of Compassion. Caprica never forgave the man, but she couldn't seem to stay away from him, either. Seen as a lesser prophetess, the mingling of their followers in the streets below had been as natural and as inevitable as the mythology and mystery that had grown up around them.
The bed creaked again, and Lee heard Kara's light steps crossing the room. Her still-firm arms slipped around his waist, and her chin rested on his shoulder, looking out the window with him.
“Excited about the festivities?” She asked him blearily.
He chuckled quietly. She knew how much he hated the pomp, now. He felt every minute of the time that had passed. His joints ached, and the ailments of old age were setting in without the medical facilities or treatments necessary to hold them off. He rubbed at the tightness in his chest. Somehow, Kara still glowed with youth and energy that left him envious.
He changed the subject. “I hear they're moving Hera to the mainland today.”
“Mmm. We need to start making connections with the natives if we want to survive. There's a place that the locals call Delphi. It's riddled with natural caves. The plan is to live in those until a temple can be built above it. Hera says it's going to be beautiful.”
She knew so much about what was going on down in that temple. More than she should have, given her continued faith in the Lords of Kobol. “We?”
She backed away, and he turned to look at her fully. She looked nervous in a way that she hadn't for years. “What's going on, Kara?”
He watched her struggle for a moment, then she reached out and placed her hand over his heart.
﴿﴾
She couldn't stand to watch him suffer. Not now. Not after everything. They'd worked too damn hard to find peace. And so, she whisked him away just before his heart stopped.
She watched Lee turn, looking around himself, taking in the blue-green light of the River of Life, trying to make some sort of sense out of what he saw. He looked down at his own hands, stronger and firmer than they'd been in years. His mouth dropped and his chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Kara...” he breathed.
“It was a heart attack.” She answered in the simplest way possible. The Lords were telling her to let him go, the cycle had already started. “You always did push yourself too hard.”
“But...”
“This is not all that we are, Lee. You may have been an atheist, but even you must know that much scripture.”
“I was wrong.”
“Not really.” She reached out a hand to him.
“I don't understand, Kara.” Shock deadened his response.
“I don't know if I can really explain it.” She licked her lips, trying to figure out where to begin. “I... I did die above that algae planet. I chose to come back, to make sure that humanity would get here. But I'm ready to be done, now. These people are going to be fine without us. They all will. Even Elpis. But I can't leave without you, without knowing if you want to come with me.”
He stepped closer to her and brought his hands up to frame her face. His hands were as strong and as warm as she remembered, and she leaned her forehead against his as he spoke. “We've all seen some crazy stuff, but you know... It doesn't matter. You're still Kara and I'm still Lee, and the rest isn't worth a damn.”
“Will you stay with me, Lee?” Her voice cracked. She still needed him so badly it hurt.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he slid his around her waist, pulled her close and whispered into her hair, “I will follow you anywhere.”
﴿﴾
Seventy Years Later
Hera reached out from the simple cot on which she lay. At ninety, she was ancient. The next oracle, a young girl, one of her own great-grandchildren, sat beside her, grasped her shaking fingers.
“The Guardians lived among the people for many years. When I moved here, to Delphi, they came with me. Over time, as our people blended with the local population, they faded, moved to the mountains to live in peace, coming out only when it was necessary to set things to rights. They will continue to do so until the end of the cycle. You will be their instrument in times of lesser need.
“And when the cycle turns once more, Apollo's Arrow will come to humanity in our time of greatest need and lead us through the fire, forged and transformed and stronger than we've ever been before.”
THE END