Part 2 Battlestar Galactica Finding Humanity: Saving Grace

Chapter 17

XVII

Noel Alison, Call Sign Narcho, had been a pilot just a little longer than Kat and Hot Dog. While he was friends with both, it had rankled him to some degree that they had been tagged as CAG's on Galactica and Pegasus, respectively, before the New Caprica operation. There were other pilots in his boat, but none of them seemed rankled by being passed over. There was no doubt both Kat and Hot Dog were exceptional pilots, but Narcho felt he was equal to them.

He had not let it bother him too much when the mission took place. He had been in on the strike on New Caprica, flying his Viper in support of the Insurgency that was battling just below his ship. It had felt damn good to knock off so many Cylons. He had a visceral hatred for them, and always would.

Another thing that too many people did not know about Alison, was that he was what was called a Traditionalist: someone who took the holy books quite seriously, and took a strict interpretation of them. Even though the Sacred Scrolls had been updated over the centuries, Allison was a believer in the original texts. Among those was the belief that abortion, even when the mother's life was in danger, or had become pregnant through rape or incest, was a mortal sin. He also follows the belief that a bond before the gods could only take place between a man and a woman.

The announcement Monday morning by President Roslin, that abortion would be banned for the foreseeable future had buoyed him, but to see Roslin up on the podium, flanked by her "wife", Kara Thrace, their "daughter" with them, had angered him to no end.

Noel also had silently fumed when Admiral Adama had commissioned Sharon "Athena" Agathon as a Lieutenant, for the New Caprica mission. Part of him wanted to do what Cally had done to Boomer, and blow Athena's head off. It didn't matter to Allison that she had performed well above the call of duty on New Caprica. She was a Cylon, and Cylons couldn't change, according to Noel.

The mixed message from Roslin that day had conflicted him. He felt he was a loyal, patriotic officer, who truly admired Admiral Adama. But he had never liked Kara Thrace, and never trusted President Roslin, and now, that they were married, he began to wonder if The Fleet was headed in the right direction.

For the moment, he would keep his mouth shut. The Cylons were back, and they needed all hands, of that he was certain. But what of the future? Would The Fleet simply accept this abomination of a marriage between its President and a Viper jock? Would they truly accept a Cylon flying Raptors for them?

Noel filed that away for another time, as he strapped into his Viper for his round of CAP duty.

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After the President's press conference, which had gone better than Laura had anticipated, Admiral Adama invited the Roslin Clan to Galactica for a lunch, attended by himself and Lee. Lee had told his father he would like to get to know Kacey and become one of her "uncles", and truly wanted to watch the newlyweds interact with each other. Lee's talk with Kara a week earlier had cleared the air between them, and he felt re-energized in his marriage to Dee. Dee had also recounted to him her conversation with Starbuck. Lee knew his wife and his ex-lover would never been close friends, but it felt good that they were trying to bury the hatchet.

"I've had a request from the Quorum", Lee advised his president, "that they would like me to work on some of the fine print in the legislation, including how to set this up for the military. That's gonna be a challenge."

"Nothing worthwhile isn't a challenge, Lee", Laura said like the school teacher she'd always be. "I hope you get input from those in the lower ranks. I've found that sometimes it isn't the politicians that have the best ideas, but the people who will be affected the most."