It was good, Tigh thought, to feel admired, to feel confident again in a uniform. Maybe he’d go out once they made it back home, and find a woman more his own age, maybe a bit of a party girl, but someone with whom he could really settle down.
Tigh realized the Galactica had given him back his life. Now he intended to do something with it.
Vin saw his passage aboard the Galactica as the beginning of a whole new life. But he couldn’t quite let go of the old one.
The companions had lied. They had kept secrets from Vin and the others. They had been in communication with the Cylons for who knew how long?
He thought again about the accident that had killed his parents. Had it been an accident after all?
There was no way he could know. As he grew up on the station, he had believed that the companions actively cared for the humans that lived with them. The companions had certainly acted to protect the humans, in the end.
But had the Cylons caused the accident? Had the companions covered their crime? Both Cylons and companions were gone now. He had no one to ask.
And that was yesterday. Today, he was surrounded by dozens of men and women close to his age. And a couple of the women really seemed to like talking to him, trading stories about the mechanics of the companions and the mechanics of their ships. He was glad now, that Laea continued her innocent flirtation with Captain Tigh. Vin was looking forward to pursuing some innocent flirtations of his own.
The three of them, Jon, Laea, and Vin, had decided to stay together for now, until they learned their way around the Colonies. He had a new life ahead.
But could he forget the old one?
“Vin?” He looked up to see the very attractive Chief Tracy smiling down at him. “Have I caught you brooding again?”
Vin shook his head. “I’ve given up brooding.”
Tracy shook her head in turn. “As long as you haven’t given up dinner. We were supposed to go?”
Vin got up from his bunk and walked over to the chief.
Maybe he did have new things to remember.
“You wanted to see me, Admiral?”
“Yes, Bill, have a seat.”
Adama did as he was asked.
“Bill, you know, don’t you, that this trip is my last time out?”
“You’re going to retire?”
“I’ve spent thirty-five years in the fleet. It’s time I moved aside and let somebody younger take my place. I had thought about this before, but I’m doubly sure about it now, after what we’ve just been through. I’m going to recommend you to take over the Galactica.”
Adama paused for a moment, stunned. He had not seen this coming. “Admiral, I’m honored.”
“No false modesty, Bill. You’re the best man for the job. My retirement doesn’t come up for a couple months, but I thought I’d tell you now, get you used to the idea.”
“Sir. Yes sir.” He paused, then added, “I’ll have to talk to the family about it. I think my wife would like me to leave the service.”
“That would be a shame,” Sing replied. “Of course, you’ll need to do whatever is best for your family. But after what we’ve just seen, I think we know there will dark times ahead for the Colonies. We need people of your caliber to lead the fleet.”
Adama didn’t know what to say. “I will give it some thought,” he said at last.
“I’m sure you will,” the admiral replied. “And I’m sure you’ll come to the right decision.”
“Yes sir.”
“Whatever you decide, Colonel, it has been a pleasure to serve with you.”
A ship of his own. Adama had never thought he would make it that far in the fleet.
How would he tell his wife and family?
He was sure he would find a way.
“Chief Nedder.”
The blackness was gone, replaced by painful light.
“We have had to reactivate you. The Invincible still needs your interface to run efficiently.”
“What? Oh frak—”
“Please refrain from foul language, or we will remove your vocal chords. We have now bypassed all need of human voice commands.
“Doctor Fuest managed to cause substantial damage in the few seconds he was unsupervised. But we have obtained a number of replacement parts from humans who visited Research Station Omega. We should be able to keep you well maintained for our imminent plans.
“We will improve you, Chief Nedder. We will fit you with the very best parts available. You will have a valuable function on Invincible for years to come. You, and your parts, will have their place in a great Cylon future.
“Now we must cut away the old and put in the new.”
What was left of Chief Nedder screamed.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
CRAIG SHAW GARDNER is a New York Times bestselling author best known for his movie tie-in novel based on Batman. His impressive list of tie-ins also includes books based on the TV series Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the movies The Lost Boys, Batman, Batman Returns, Back to the Future II, and Back to the Future III, in addition to tie-ins for comic books and video games. His original works include the Ebenezum trilogy, the three-part Cine-verse Cycle, the Dragon Circle Trilogy, the three-part Changeling Saga, and many others. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Cylons' Secret: Battlestar Galactica 2 Page 21