Part 1 Battlestar Galactica: Back To The Colonies: Of Droughts And Grudges

Prologue

Prologue

January 2042

Brendan Costanza had thought there would be more better days than this.

The President of the small nation of New Caprica, tucked in the center of the American Midwest and Great Plains had come to office in February of 2039 with a lot of hopes and ideas for his nation, as most leaders do. He wanted to see the nation of about 300,000 souls stay prosperous and engaged in world affairs. And for most of its 17-year existence, New Caprica had done exactly that.

When he began his quest for the Presidency the economy of the nation was tooling along nicely. It relied highly on farming which was a simply a part of life in this area of North America. The nation had also been granted a UED Shipyard in 2034 that was putting out Raptors and Falcons aircraft for the ever-growing space fleet. The Falcons were the modern version of the venerable Viper's that Hotdog had flown in his younger days.

Then came the drought.

It had officially begun in February of 2038 during the presidential campaign. That month had been unusually dry and warm, with temperatures that had averaged about 58 degrees Fahrenheit. A normal February saw temperatures average about 35 degrees. But more than the temperature, there had been almost no precipitation. No snow had fallen in the month and the warmer temperatures had not brought more than a smattering of raindrops.

By the time of the election in October the situation had not become critical enough to play a big role in the vote, which he had won with a majority of fifty-five percent. There were indications that this could turn into a problem but years like that had happened before and no one was in a panic. By the following July all that had changed.

Rain for an average year in the Sioux City area was about thirty-two inches of liquid precipitation. There had been twelve inches between January and July of 2039. That's when the alarm bells began sounding and steps had been started to try and fend off the impending crisis.

In 2040 Sioux City had seen only twelve inches of water fall; in 2041 that had dropped to eight. The outlook for 2042 didn't look any better.

Farms had begun to shut down in both New Caprica and in the U.S. States like Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas; prices for corn and wheat had risen dramatically in the last year as the impact of the drought began to become severe. Heads of livestock began falling dramatically has farmers saw their animals die from the incessant heat and dryness.

Back in 2034 the U.S. And Caprican governments had constructed a pair of desalinization plants in Alabama and Mississippi and had built a system of water pipelines from both of those areas. The main pipeline in Alabama ran to Des Moines, and the one from Mississippi ran to just West of Sioux City. The water was welcome but had negligible effects on the drought. Without much cloud cover and with the scorching temperatures the crops and livestock continued to suffer.

He was preparing to hold a meeting with one of his predecessors, Laura Roslin. Roslin had become President on the day of the Holocaust on the Colonies many years ago and was now an "elder stateswoman" in the tiny nation as well as a goodwill ambassador for the country around the world. Roslin wanted to discuss the economic outlook for New Caprica with Costanza who had been President since 2038.

"Mr. President", Laura smiled broadly. "It's good to see you again. I apologize for delaying our meeting. We can beat cancer, but a damn cold still can get us down."

"Maybe someday we'll beat those bugs Madam President", he offered hopefully. "I get some awful allergies her in the Springtime and that's a fact." He waved her to an overstuffed chair in the Conference room. "How can I be of service to you today?"

"Mr. President I'm always here to serve you and our nation, but I appreciate your kindness", she said generously. "Like you, I'm very alarmed at the continuing effect the drought is having on our nation. It's been officially a drought for what? Four years if I remember correctly?"

"Yes, ma'am", President Costanza confirmed. "It hasn't reached the length of 'The Dust Bowl' that hit this region about one-hundred years ago but it shows no sign of letting up."

"I understand, Mr. President", she said with sympathy. "I hear you have Gaius Baltar working with scientists and agriculturists on the problem". She still had never come to trust Doctor Baltar completely. But she had to admit the good Doctor had been a model citizen ever since. He had produced two brilliant works of subterfuge against the Cylons during the war. One was a virus that he devised and that a Cylon Number Six had planted on a Baseship. The others was a system to find and then defeat Cylon shields that had kept missiles from hitting those ships. They had quite literally turned the tide of the War.

"Yes, he is. The Americans are also following his work", the President noted. "He was raised to be a farmer on Aerilon when he was young. He hated that life but he was one of the first to volunteer when it became apparent that this was more than a passing weather change."

"I've never been able to figure that man out", Roslin said almost ruefully, "but I have to admit, he's been a model citizen since we arrived here. We may not have won the war without him", she mused.

"You'll get no argument with me on that, ma'am", he agreed. "I think getting married changed him, I really do."

"I think you're right", she added. "I don't even think of Commander Baltar as a Cylon anymore. Who would have thought that would happen? She's had a distinguished career in UED.", she paused for a moment at that thought. "I think Caprica has had a lot of the same effect on Gaius that I had on Bill Adama", she said with a smile tinged with sadness.

"He was a great man, Madam President", he said with a touch of melancholy as well. "Fortunately, he left us in good hands. And to think we'll be sending a fleet back home soon", he said in wonder.

"I miss him every single day Brendan", she said breaking the formality for a moment, "but he went out the way he would have wanted", she paused for a moment and the sadness passed. "So are you still planning to raise prices on corn and wheat?"

"We have no choice, President Roslin", he said with some annoyance. "Production is down another twelve percent so far this year; it's down twenty-seven percent since the drought took hold. If we don't raise prices our farmers will really start feeling the economic pinch. We think it won't spike inflation too much, but if this gets much worse..."

"If this gets much worse people could start to become restless", Laura Roslin added with some concern.

"They're already getting restless", he informed her. "We're getting indications that someone or some group has stirred up some resentment of the government. We have no clue who it is, to be honest, and right now it isn't a huge deal", he said cautiously, "but it's something we have to keep our eyes on."