Soft noises woke him from sleep. For a moment, he thought he had overslept the alarms that screamed across the fleet every thirty-three minutes. Then he realized it was dark all around him, the only light pale specks of stars outside the windows and the glow of Galactica's engines, not so far away. It had been three hours since the Olympic Carrier had disappeared. He lay on his makeshift bed for a minute, holding perfectly still and trying to locate the noise.
It was coming from the other side of the room, beyond the curtain that separated his space from the President's.
After only a moment's hesitation, Billy carefully peeled his blankets back and rose soundlessly. He was clothed only in his boxers, as he had no other clothing, save his suit. He drew the topmost blanket over his shoulders. It was thin blue-gray fleece, with the Eversun logo embroidered in the corner. He clutched it tight and padded past the edge of the curtain dividing their space.
He could make out Laura Roslin's outline on her chair-bed. Her red hair was dark maroon in the night, and it lay swirled across her pillow. The rest of her was hidden under several blankets. They rose and fell with jagged breaths, and he could just barely hear her crying softly.
"Madam President?"
She froze and then sat up and turned to him. She looked away and swiped a blanket-wrapped hand across her face before swinging her feet to the ground and looking up. She was wearing a blue-ish nightgown someone had riffled up for her.
"Yes, Billy?" Her voice trembled very slightly. "What's the newest crisis?"
"I just," he fumbled for words. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That's all."
"Oh." She smiled at him. "Thank you."
"Madame President, that was a complete non-answer," Billy mumbled.
She sighed. "Come, sit with me for a minute."
He padded over and sat down on the edge of the bed. She held out an arm and pulled him closer, wrapping her arm and the blanket around him. They sat in silence for several minutes, watching the ships and stars pass by the window. Finally, Laura shifted and began to speak.
"In the grand scheme of things, I'm fine. I have good allies, the best medical care in the fleet, protection from Cylons, and a bed to sleep on, but sometimes, I just feel like it's not enough."
Billy looked at her. "It's not. We're just surviving out here and it's just enough to get by on, but it's not enough to fully live with." He looked away, slightly surprised by his speech.
Laura laughed. "Care to add anything else? You're on a roll now."
"If I could have just one thing more I'd want sunlight. I want to feel warm light on my face."
Laura looked out the window. "That would be a beautiful thing to behold again." She fell silent again, and Billy could tell she was thinking, maybe of everything she wished for. Suddenly, she spoke "Their enemies will divide them. Their colonies broken in the fiery chasm of space. Their shining days renounced by a multitude of dark sacrifices. Yet still they will remain always together."
"Pythia?" Billy asked.
"Yes. She seemed to believe we'd eventually reach Earth, together. It lets me hope for better days. I hope," she snorted. "That's all I have now: hope and faith. The people follow me because they have faith in me, so what happens if I lose my faith? Where do we stand then?"
Billy frowned. "But you haven't lost faith."
Laura turned to look at him, a sad expression crept over her face. "No?"
"No, you have faith, and we believe in it. Every day you prove it to us. You inspire the whole fleet to keep going," Billy said firmly.
Laura looked away, out the window. "Oh, Billy. If only everyone had your mentality. There are already so many people calling for my resignation, and we've only just started this journey."
"But there're so many people who support you."
"Either way, I'm taking them to Earth, wherever it is. We'd better find it soon though." She turned suddenly so she was face-to-face with Billy. "Is it bad that I'm almost looking forward to my death because I know it will signal that we're near Earth?"
Billy blinked. "I... I don't know. Is it wrong that I'm hoping Pythia is wrong in that? I don't want you to die before we reach Earth. You're the frakking leader and you don't get to see your destination? That's just wrong!" He stood and walked to the window. "Sorry."
"The new leader suffered from a wasting disease and led the Caravan of Heavens to the homeland but did not live to enter it."
"It's not fair."
"No, it's not," she agreed. "But I'm okay with it now. If my death means all of you get to live on Earth then I'll go happily."
"Then what were you upset about?" Billy finally came back to his original question.
"The unfairness." Laura leaned back and draw a blanket around herself. "People dying and being left behind. Pilots working for days on end with no rest. A single battlestar for an entire fleet. The fact that the Cylons can find us every time we jump."
"It's been almost three hours now," Billy offered.
"True." She watched him for a moment more. "Go back to bed, Billy. You've been working as hard as the Viper pilots, and you need sleep, too."
"Only if you go back to sleep."
"Deal."
Billy nodded and slipped out of her side of the room, disappearing behind his curtain. She could hear him rustling around for a few minutes, then his breathing patterned slowed, and she knew he was asleep again.
Laura wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and slipped out of the room. Her nightgown was a bit too long and it swept across the floor behind her making soft swishing noises as she walked down the hall to the cockpit. She pushed the dividing curtain aside and leaned against the pilot's chair.
"How are you doing?" she asked.
The co-pilot glanced up. "Alright, Madam President. Could be better, could be worse."
"Have you two been able to get any sleep?"
"Yeah," the pilot said. "In shifts between jumps. We both got an hour rest this time, and we decided to spend every third hour awake together."
"Good. If you need anything, just let me know."
The pilot smiled tiredly. "Roger that, Madam President."
Laura turned and reached for the curtain again, just as the radio crackled into life. "Dradis just picked up a ship at approaching zero-six-two-five."
"It's the Olympic Carrier!" another voice cut in.
"Is that verified?" Adama.
"Yes, it's the Olympic Carrier."
"Start the clock. Thirty-three minutes. . . mark."
Laura sighed deeply, unsure of whether to feel relief or concern. "Have you been keeping the line to Galactica open the whole time?"
"The commander suggested that it would be wise for his CIC to maintain contact with Colonial One until we shake the Cylons."
"Ah. Can he hear us then?"
"No, but you just have to hit that yellow button to open the line. It's a semi-active line, see? It's in place between the two ships, but you have to switch the button to fully open it."
"May I open the line, Captain?"
"Sure."
Laura reached between the men and pressed the button down with two fingers. "Admiral Adama? This is Laura Roslin. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, Madam President. Loud and clear."
She stood between the pilots, just listening to the hum of the CIC in the background. She could hear the Dradis beeping and voices overlapping each other as they called to pilots and various decks. Saul Tigh's voice rang out over all of it, solidly berating some poor soul. Adama must have been standing near the microphone; Laura could hear his breathing.
"Madam President?" he asked.
"It's just good to know you're there. Thank you, Commander."
"Anytime, Madam President." His end of the line clicked off, and Laura let go of the yellow call button.
She looked at the clock embedded in the control panel. Twenty-nine minutes and counting.
"I suppose I'd better go and wake my people," she said. "You know where to find me." She walked back to the room she shared with Billy and crossed into her section, dropping the blanket on her bed. She stood near the window and pulled the nightgown off, over her head, before quickly donning her black suit once again. She ducked into Billy's room and sat down on the edge of his bed. He was sound asleep and she hated to wake him, but she reached out and grasped his shoulder.
"Billy. Billy, you've got to wake up."
He moaned and opened his eyes slowly. "Madam President? What?" he mumbled.
"I'm sorry, but the Olympic Carrier has jumped back."
Billy shot up. "Really?" He was wide awake now.
"Yes. Commander Adama reset the timers, and we're at-" she looked up at the clock on the wall. "Twenty-two minutes and counting down."
"Okay. I'll be ready in just a second." He paused, "Hey, these people didn't get left behind."
Laura smiled. "That's true. Now let's see to it that everyone is ready to go." She turned and was almost out the door to her make-shift office when Billy spoke again.
"Madam President, you didn't actually get any sleep did you?"
She turned towards the office. "No Billy, I didn't, but I'll be fine. Adama and Tigh have managed, and so will I." She swung the curtain open and left.
Billy watched the curtain with a concerned expression for a minute before finally looking away and preparing, once again, for the onslaught.
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