(TM) 193. Forest Glade, Rushing Stream
Picture Prompt: Forest Creek
Kobol.
It hits Adama in the face even before he steps out of the Raptor. The green smell. A rich wave of air rolls over them, cleansed by the life processes of a planet instead of ship's filters, fecund with all the aromas of growth. After all the long months spent shipboard, the scent is intoxicating.
So is the scenery, as they wend their way into the mountains west of the City of the Gods, Chief Tyrol on point, followed by a still-uncertain-looking Billy Keikeya, himself bringing up the rear. The trees, bands of hardwood and evergreen, a riot of ferny undergrowth beneath them, the singing of birds and the rustling of small animals ... Kobol is alive like no other planet he's seen. The sheer vibrancy of their surroundings seems to bode well for healing old wounds, making new beginnings.
Bill's elevated, though still cautious mood holds until the Chief rounds a bend in the path ahead. They hear his abrupt shout, "Hey! HeyHEY!!!", and he and Keikeya take off running to catch up. Billy, younger, longer-legged and with a head start, reaches Tyrol just as Bill's rounding the bend. Before he gets a good look at the blue-draped figure lying between them, he hears Billy's shocked murmur. "Elosha."
He looks down at the stiffening body of the woman who officiated at Galactica's funerals since the Exodus, one of Laura Roslin's closest advisers. Her once-serene face is spattered with blood from her shrapnel wounds; the signs of the mine she tripped are obvious to one who's seen them before. But it's not the tableau of violence that lifts the hairs on his neck.
And Zeus warned the leaders of the twelve tribes that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood.
He thought they'd lost more than enough lives on their last stop here. Apparently Kobol isn't done claiming payment.
Tyrol's face is a study in deep unease and uncertainty. "I just scared what looked like a small wolf away from the body, Commander. It'll be back as soon as we leave, though. With friends, probably."
Billy's eyes jerk to his in silent entreaty. Adama hesitates, torn between two clear duties. Laura Roslin and his son are further up this path, three to twelve hours ahead of them. They have no time to waste, and yet ...
Scanning the area, he finds what he's looking for through a break in the trees. "Looks to be a rocky clearing further down the hill. If we can get her down there, we can build a cairn."
His approval of Laura's young aide slides up a few more notches when Billy wordlessly bends to pick up the small form in an over-the-shoulder carry, understanding without being told the need for the two military men to keep their weapons at the ready.
They lay Elosha out and set to work with a will. Bill brushes aside Tyrol's hesitant, "Sir, are you sure you should--" with a shake of his head and keeps lifting rocks. Cylons have been in the area; bullets ripped through this greenery as well as mine shrapnel. Doesn't frakking matter that he's only weeks into recovery from near-fatal gunshot wounds. They can't coddle the Old Man now. Get it done and get moving. He ignores a twinge in his chest.
Once completed, Billy works a forked stick into the head of the cairn and drapes it with the shimmering material of Elosha's prayer shawl. Adama spares a few more minutes to speak a prayer from the service for the dead. He deeply feels the irony of a nonbeliever offering these words for a priest, but both of the younger men defer to him automatically. They continue their journey in silence.
As they hike deeper into the mountains, the undergrowth becomes thicker, the path they follow harder to find. At one point it seemingly dead-ends in flowing water, and they find themselves on the bank of a rushing stream. Branches interlace overhead, sunbeams stream down through breaks in the canopy, and bright birdsong offers a counterpoint to the cool gurgle of water finding its way through mossy rocks.
A breathtaking, idyllic scene ... but it seduces none of them. Tyrol crosses first, picks up the remnants of the path and waves them over. They follow with barely a second glance. Kobol's beauty has been fed and watered with human blood; they need to find their people and leave before the ravenous planet demands more.
This piece perhaps needs some explanation. Those of you who have seen the deleted scenes for the S2 episode, "Home part 2" know that Adama, Billy and Tyrol were originally filmed finding Elosha's grave as they followed Roslin's group into the mountains. However, this scene had to be yanked because the end of "Home part 1" clearly showed a grief-stricken Roslin leaving Elosha unburied as she and her group continued their search for the Tomb of Athena. So I decided to write a scene that could have happened.
Muse: Admiral William Adama
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica '03
Word count: 731
Kobol.
It hits Adama in the face even before he steps out of the Raptor. The green smell. A rich wave of air rolls over them, cleansed by the life processes of a planet instead of ship's filters, fecund with all the aromas of growth. After all the long months spent shipboard, the scent is intoxicating.
So is the scenery, as they wend their way into the mountains west of the City of the Gods, Chief Tyrol on point, followed by a still-uncertain-looking Billy Keikeya, himself bringing up the rear. The trees, bands of hardwood and evergreen, a riot of ferny undergrowth beneath them, the singing of birds and the rustling of small animals ... Kobol is alive like no other planet he's seen. The sheer vibrancy of their surroundings seems to bode well for healing old wounds, making new beginnings.
Bill's elevated, though still cautious mood holds until the Chief rounds a bend in the path ahead. They hear his abrupt shout, "Hey! HeyHEY!!!", and he and Keikeya take off running to catch up. Billy, younger, longer-legged and with a head start, reaches Tyrol just as Bill's rounding the bend. Before he gets a good look at the blue-draped figure lying between them, he hears Billy's shocked murmur. "Elosha."
He looks down at the stiffening body of the woman who officiated at Galactica's funerals since the Exodus, one of Laura Roslin's closest advisers. Her once-serene face is spattered with blood from her shrapnel wounds; the signs of the mine she tripped are obvious to one who's seen them before. But it's not the tableau of violence that lifts the hairs on his neck.
And Zeus warned the leaders of the twelve tribes that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood.
He thought they'd lost more than enough lives on their last stop here. Apparently Kobol isn't done claiming payment.
Tyrol's face is a study in deep unease and uncertainty. "I just scared what looked like a small wolf away from the body, Commander. It'll be back as soon as we leave, though. With friends, probably."
Billy's eyes jerk to his in silent entreaty. Adama hesitates, torn between two clear duties. Laura Roslin and his son are further up this path, three to twelve hours ahead of them. They have no time to waste, and yet ...
Scanning the area, he finds what he's looking for through a break in the trees. "Looks to be a rocky clearing further down the hill. If we can get her down there, we can build a cairn."
His approval of Laura's young aide slides up a few more notches when Billy wordlessly bends to pick up the small form in an over-the-shoulder carry, understanding without being told the need for the two military men to keep their weapons at the ready.
They lay Elosha out and set to work with a will. Bill brushes aside Tyrol's hesitant, "Sir, are you sure you should--" with a shake of his head and keeps lifting rocks. Cylons have been in the area; bullets ripped through this greenery as well as mine shrapnel. Doesn't frakking matter that he's only weeks into recovery from near-fatal gunshot wounds. They can't coddle the Old Man now. Get it done and get moving. He ignores a twinge in his chest.
Once completed, Billy works a forked stick into the head of the cairn and drapes it with the shimmering material of Elosha's prayer shawl. Adama spares a few more minutes to speak a prayer from the service for the dead. He deeply feels the irony of a nonbeliever offering these words for a priest, but both of the younger men defer to him automatically. They continue their journey in silence.
As they hike deeper into the mountains, the undergrowth becomes thicker, the path they follow harder to find. At one point it seemingly dead-ends in flowing water, and they find themselves on the bank of a rushing stream. Branches interlace overhead, sunbeams stream down through breaks in the canopy, and bright birdsong offers a counterpoint to the cool gurgle of water finding its way through mossy rocks.
A breathtaking, idyllic scene ... but it seduces none of them. Tyrol crosses first, picks up the remnants of the path and waves them over. They follow with barely a second glance. Kobol's beauty has been fed and watered with human blood; they need to find their people and leave before the ravenous planet demands more.
This piece perhaps needs some explanation. Those of you who have seen the deleted scenes for the S2 episode, "Home part 2" know that Adama, Billy and Tyrol were originally filmed finding Elosha's grave as they followed Roslin's group into the mountains. However, this scene had to be yanked because the end of "Home part 1" clearly showed a grief-stricken Roslin leaving Elosha unburied as she and her group continued their search for the Tomb of Athena. So I decided to write a scene that could have happened.
Muse: Admiral William Adama
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica '03
Word count: 731