New fic: Surface Gloss
Everyone has a NC fic in them, so this is mine. It's going to run from LDYB2 through to Exodus Therefore, because of its length, I've decided to split it into 'parts'. (And that way I can catch up with my other fics in between posting the parts! *snort*) So, here's chapter 1 of part 1.
SURFACE GLOSS
PART ONE: THE PROMISED LAND
Chapter 1/4
Rated T
Bill walked the familiar path through the ship to Laura’s desk. Only it wasn’t Laura’s desk anymore; it was Baltar’s.
Tory Foster was packing a box in the corner of the room. He had never warmed to Laura’s new aide. He’d developed a soft spot for Billy Keikeya and the boy’s death had taken its toll on both he and Laura. Laura had relied on Billy for more than administrative assistance. Even though Billy had seemingly been quiet, polite and obedient; the lad had always told Laura exactly what he thought was the truth or the right thing to do. He couldn’t imagine Billy being involved in an election fraud.
He had noted during the last couple of days that Tory had shown no signs of remorse or embarrassment with her part in the deception. He imagined Tory would have quite happily have continued on without ever showing any ill-effects or guilt associated with her actions.
Bill remembered the phone call he’d had with Laura soon after the final votes had been counted. Laura’s voice had already been wavering. He believed that even if Gaeta hadn’t discovered the inconsistencies in the vote, Laura would have soon confessed the truth - to him at least. What he would have done with this information at that late stage was unknown. He most probably would have offered her the same advice. Her health and happiness were paramount to him. He had come to realise quite a long time ago that Laura’s welfare meant more to him than the rest of the fleet’s combined.
This wasn’t an easy thing to admit to, even to oneself. He had, however, admitted it, along with the fact that he loved Laura Roslin.
He kept this knowledge to himself. He treasured their friendship and their working relationship. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardise either. There had been the one time he had let his guard slip. He had let his emotions from the ordeal they had endured for the weeks just prior to that moment get the better of him.
Now, she was no longer President. He had no idea how this shift in the dynamics of their daily lives would affect their relationship. He fervently hoped they would remain friends; that it wasn’t simply their positions that made them seek out each other’s company.
Tory looked up and greeted him.
“Ms Foster.” He couldn’t remember when he had ever addressed her by her first name. “May I see the Pres-“ He cleared his throat, and realising his slip, rephrased the question. “May I see Ms Roslin?”
“I’m sorry, sir, she’s not on board.”
He frowned, the list of explanations as to her whereabouts running through his mind. He tried to imagine her propped up in a Cloud Nine bar, drowning her sorrows, but somehow it just didn’t seem very Laura-like. The possibility of her being on Rising Star made him stiffen. He had barely coped the last time she was ill.
“She’s visiting the Adrasteia.”
“The Adrasteia? Why?”
“She never told me that, sir.”
Bill stared at Tory. He got the feeling she was hiding something. He thought she knew exactly why Laura was aboard the civilian ship. He stared directly into her dark eyes, hoping that she’d break under his scrutiny. She passively returned his gaze.
“President Baltar is here. He is resting, but if it’s important…”
“No. Thank you,” he felt compelled to add before leaving to return to Galactica.
*
Laura stared at the baby in her arms for probably, from Maya’s point of view, an uncomfortably long period. She had accrued such history with this child over such a short period of time.
“She’s thriving,” she said eventually. It was true. Hera looked a healthy and happy baby.
Maya was obviously a good mother. Bringing up a baby in a cramped room on a ship that had been originally built for short stints through space was no easy feat. Maya had transferred to the Adrasteia after the formal adoption. Many families with children had been put on the ship and a school and day care centre had been set up. Of course, it wasn’t the only ship with children on it. When Laura had been President, she had carefully spread the children throughout the Fleet to ensure that the loss of one ship was not catastrophic.
Laura had come today to ensure Maya never mentioned Hera’s adoption or existence to Baltar. The possibility of Baltar and Maya meeting and discussing such a thing was as remote as Cottle making it through the day without a cigarette, but she still found herself shuttling to the Adrasteia to impress upon Maya the importance of keeping Hera’s identity secret. Now, she realised her fears were unfounded. To Maya, the baby was Isis. And Isis was her daughter.
The baby chose that moment to start fussing.
“She’s due a feed,” Maya said, standing to prepare a bottle in her small kitchenette.
Laura stood and placed the child over her shoulder, swaying from side to side in an attempt to settle her while she waited for her mother.
“You’ve done that before?” Maya asked.
“I had two much younger sisters. I was 13 when Cheryl was born. My mother only took a short break from teaching. I was expected to help out as much as possible.”
“Tough on a teenager.”
Laura shrugged. “I enjoyed it. It made me closer to them. I was never in any rush to have children of my own, because, for all intents and purposes, I had two.”
Laura saw a tinge of sympathy flash across Maya’s face when the younger girl smiled at her. Laura’s tone must have imparted some of the heartache that always surfaced when she thought of her sisters. Laura rarely spoke of them; knowing their memory would evoke too much pain.
“Would you like to see the school?” Maya asked as she tested the milk on her wrist.
Laura flipped the baby back down so that she was cradled in a position to feed, thinking about how her life had changed over the last nine months. She had rarely thought of babies since using their continued existence to prod Bill into protecting the Fleet all that time ago. She had sat on Colonial One and made decisions for the entire Fleet. She’d spoken to the members of the Quorum, the military heads and the ships’ captains. Mingling with families, school children and workers on freighters and supply ships hadn’t been an everyday occurrence.
Maybe that’s why she lost the election. She had become what she had always despised in political circles: an out-of-touch bureaucrat.
“Yes,” she said. It was time to eat humble pie. Become a person again, not a politician. “I would love to see the school.”
*
“Sir, here’s the list from President Baltar.”
Bill peered down at the clipboard that Dee had just handed him. It itemised what ships Baltar wanted grounded on New Caprica before the end of the week.
It included, he noticed, several ships that were incapable of landing and had not been built with this eventuality in mind. They would have previously, like Battlestars, docked in one of the many floating shipyards dotted throughout the Colonies. Other ships, however, had not been built for long term space travel. If they were determined to settle on this rock, those ships would need to land as soon as possible so that his Specialists could carry out some major overhauls while they had the chance.
Bill realised that he was not thinking in terms of living on New Caprica. He agreed with Laura, it was a temporary stop. He knew that one day they would leave, and he would need to ensure the ships were prepared for this contingency.
“Mr Gaeta.”
“Sir?”
“Please give the Astral Queen permission to land on New Caprica. Zarek has apparently rallied his troops and they’ll be starting construction on a power station.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then please contact Mr Baltar and Mr Zarek and explain to them which of these ships cannot be grounded. I’ll review the others.”
He passed Gaeta the clipboard. It would actually be very easy to let Gaeta deal directly with the new President on a more regular basis; save him the impending headache.
He moved over to his Communication’s Officer and lowered his voice. “Dee, can you please contact the Adrasteia. Ms Roslin is on board. Have the shuttle pilot divert to the Galactica on their return trip. I have some business I need to discuss with the former President.”
“Yes, sir.”
*
At the school room Maya introduced her to a young woman who spoke with an obvious Aerilon accent that Laura found instantly endearing. Meredith Vanser was very petite, with her hair cut in a short elfin style, making her look to be in her mid-to-late twenties. However, Meredith’s eyes reflected a wealth of experience beyond those years. Laura sadly guessed that everyone probably aged faster now.
“There are qualified teachers working in some of the schools on the others ships, Madam President, but not here,” Meredith explained. “They supply us with the curriculum and we’ve got together a few times in a type of support and training capacity. Before the attacks, Maya was two years into her Teaching Certificate and I was a qualified child care worker. In these times, that’s as good as we can hope for.”
Laura looked around the room. Drawings hung from every available space. A map of the Twelve Colonies was pinned to the board in the corner, making her pause to wonder if there was any point in teaching its geography anymore.
A whiteboard was secured against one wall and she started when she saw her name next to Baltar’s. Underneath both their names was a number. Hers had been crossed out and another lesser number was printed next to it.
“Please, call me Laura,” she said, waving her hand toward the numbers.
“Oh, yes. I really am sorry, Ms Roslin.”
Laura smiled sadly. “Teaching the children about a democratic society is a good thing.”
Her eyes wandered around the classroom again. She was suddenly filled with a sense of nostalgia.
“Maybe you could visit again when the children are in class, Ms Roslin,” Maya said.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
Laura realised that she would indeed like it.
“We have three spare cabins,” Meredith said, raising an eyebrow in her direction.
*
The three women were sitting together sharing a cup of tea when the Captain of the Adrasteia, Jeremiah Rush, walked into the school room.
“Ms Roslin,” he politely addressed her.
“Captain Rush, how are you?”
“Good.” He nodded to Maya before settling his gaze on Meredith. He never nodded nor greeted her in any way.
Laura noticed Meredith giving him an exasperated look before informing him about the arrangements they had been previously discussing.
“I’ve invited Ms Roslin and her aide to come and live on board,” Meredith said.
“Don’t you think that invitation should have come through the Captain of the ship?” he snapped.
“I took the liberty. I couldn’t take the risk that you’d procrastinate.”
“I need to know these things, Merry. We’ll need extra supplies for starters!”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Jeremiah. I’m sure we’ll manage. Ms Roslin is a qualified teacher. If we don’t pounce on her services, some other school in the Fleet will snap her up.”
Captain Rush’s face reddened and he opened his mouth as if to reply to Meredith, then changed his mind and turned back to Laura instead. “We’d be honoured, of course. When would you like to move in?”
“She has,” Meredith answered for her. “We called her aide on Colonial One and she’s on her way with Ms Roslin’s belongings.”
“Looks like I’m superfluous in this discussion,” Captain Rush said through gritted teeth.
Laura stood, feeling responsible for the animosity between the pair. “I’m sorry, Captain Rush, you’re right. It was my fault. I was so excited to have somewhere I could live and a meaningful job to keep me occupied, and take my mind off the election, that I never gave a thought to the correct protocols.”
The man looked back at Meredith who was firing him an impatient look.
“No,” he eventually said and sighed. “I’m sorry. Of course, you’re welcome. It’s an excellent idea. I shouldn’t let these petty squabbles that Merry and I indulge in with startling regularity interfere with my manners. You’ll have to excuse my rudeness.”
Meredith moved and amiably patted his arm. “Don’t worry, Jeremiah. She’ll soon learn you’re a complete pushover, like the rest of us.”
The Captain merely grunted.
“Why don’t I show you the spare cabins?” Maya said. “You can choose which one you’d like.”
“Oh, I almost forgot, with all the excitement,” Captain Rush said with a sarcastic tilt of his head toward Meredith. “I actually came down here with a message I received from Galactica. The Admiral requested that your shuttle be diverted back to the Battlestar so that he could discuss some business matters with you.”
“You go, it may be important,” Meredith said. “We’ll meet Ms Foster and sort out your accommodation, don’t worry.”
“You can see now, Ms Roslin, why I get frustrated at Merry,” Captain Rush added. “She likes to organise everyone and everything.”
*
Bill was studying some reports up in the Core when the Galactica suddenly rocked to one side.
“What the-“ He jumped down to the centre of CIC. “Report!” he barked.
“There’s been an explosion in the Fleet, sir.”
Various alarms were going off throughout CIC.
“Cylons?”
“No, sir, no enemy contacts detected. A large amount of debris is flying through the atmosphere.”
“Dee, inform all captains to brace for impact and to take evasive manoeuvres!”
“Sir,” Gaeta said. “The CAP’s Raptor just reported that radiological traces have been detected.” The younger man looked up from his console. “One of the ships was blown up by a nuclear device.”
“Where the hell would a ship get a nuke from other than the Battlestars?” He picked up a phone and hailed the deck.
“Tyrol,” Chief’s voice crackled down the line.
“Chief, send someone in to confirm all our nuclear warheads are stable and accounted for. And contact Laird to do the same on Pegasus.”
He hung up and checked DRADIS. He could clearly see that several ships were missing from the usual formation.
“Dee. Start a roll call for all ship captains.”
“We’ve got three ships that have reported heavy damage, sir.”
“Dispatch Cottle and a team of medics. Then contact the Rising Star to prepare for incoming.”
“Sir, Colonial One is undamaged and the President is on the line wishing to speak to you.”
In the past, he would have snatched up the comm. “Put him through to Mr Gaeta to explain the situation,” he now said instead. He was relieved when neither Lieutenant Gaeta nor Baltar protested.
The comm buzzed near his hand and he snatched it up when Dee informed him it was the deck.
“Admiral,” Tyrol said, “we’ve run a check on all our nukes. They’re intact.”
“Good. Get your crew organised. The damaged civilian ships will need assistance.”
Gaeta hung up from the President and approached him. “There was a warhead not in the tubes, sir,” Gaeta reminded him.
Bill sighed and pinched the end of his nose. How could he forget the Cylon detector? It had been such a great success thus far, he thought sarcastically. “Send a Marine to Doctor Baltar’s lab to investigate.”
He could hear Dee’s voice calmly speaking to each captain in turn.
“Dee, have you contacted the captain of the Adrasteia yet?”
Dee checked her console briefly before answering.
“No, sir. They aren’t answering my hails.”
*
Laura thought she was going to throw up. The shuttle had just done a complete 180 degree turn and she was dangling upside down, the buckles around her chest taking her complete weight.
“Hang on, ma’am,” the pilot shouted. She wondered hysterically what else the pilot thought she would do.
She decided to follow the rule she’d always used when on fairground rides and not look down. Looking straight ahead, however, meant that she was looking out the window and seeing the amount of debris hurtling toward them.
The pilot swerved the shuttle sharply and they were lying sideways. What appeared to be a large piece of a bulkhead flashed past.
“What’s going on?” she shouted.
The radio was crackling with chatter, all of which sounded like gibberish to her and, continuing to dodge the space debris, there was no way the pilot could take the time to listen to any details.
Suddenly, Laura’s neck was flung forward before it was snapped back hard against the bulkhead. The shuttle shuddered and she heard a distinct sound of metal on metal.
“Godsdammit! We’ve been hit!”
The Raptor started spinning.
“Get your suit and mask on! We may have to eject!”
Laura fumbled around for the emergency spacesuit and oxygen mask attached to the bulkhead behind her. She had no idea how she was supposed to get into them while the Raptor was still spiralling out of control and she was in her restraints. She should have paid more attention to the Safety Vid Bill had made all crews watch every few months. Every time they rolled back into the upright position, she saw a sea of debris outside their window. Even if she did manage to don the suit correctly, how would anyone find them in amongst all this wreckage?
Link to the next chapter