Chapter 14
(Laura's POV)

As I sit in my shuttle en-route to the Galactica I can't help but wonder what this is about.

Bill called me less than an hour ago asking me to come over. That in itself was somewhat unusual, especially because protocol dictates that he should have come to me, not the other way around, though at the same time there's no denying that meeting on the Galactica is far more comfortable than meeting on the Colonial One, especially because my ship was never really intended to serve as a command post. The thing is that even though the fact that we are meeting on the Galactica is not entirely unusual, there was something unusual in Bill's voice when he called me, something that got me to agree to his request right away... not to mention that he was being more than a little cryptic about why he wanted me there in the first place and that in turn made me more than a little curious.

When he called he told me that there was a 'situation' we had to discuss ASAP. I asked him if there was a problem but he simply repeated that it was a situation. Ever since I hung up I've been trying to figure out what this could possibly be about but the truth is that I am no closer to finding an answer to my questions than I was in the beginning. That is why I'm so relieved when we finally dock and I see that he is waiting for me.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Madame President," he greets me as soon as I step down from my shuttle.

"Thanks for the invitation," I reply.

"Maybe we should take this to my quarters."

I follow him and, as soon as he closes the hatch, I decide that I've had enough so I ask, "okay, Bill, I'm here, care to tell me what this is about?"

"Something came up."

"I figured that much," I say, fighting the urge to roll my eyes at him, though I can see that whatever this is about, he is pretty upset.

"It has to do with Caprica," he adds.

"Caprica?"

"Yes, or, to be accurate, with what the cylons are doing back on Caprica."

"Why don't you tell me what you are getting at?" I ask, deciding to cut to the chase, knowing that Bill Adama is usually nothing if not direct and somewhat worried by his sudden reluctance to tell me what this is all about.

"Kara... Lieutenant Thrace is in sickbay," he finally says, catching me totally off-guard, especially because the truth is that I'm not sure what that could possibly have to do with anything.

"Why?"

"Apparently she was shot and captured by the cylons."

"What? When?"

"On Caprica... she managed to escape, obviously, but..." he trails off.

"How could we not know that?"

"Because she is too damn stubborn, that's how... sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Tell the truth? Let's face it, the fact that she is stubborn is not exactly a secret," I point out.

"Phrase it like that," he corrects me.

"That I believe. So what did she tell you?" I ask, somewhat relieved by the realization that, if nothing else, that little outburst has at least made it possible for us to get past the awkwardness here.

"As I said, she was shot and woke up in what appeared to be some sort of hospital only that 'hospital' turned out to be a front for something she called 'a farm'."

"A farm?" I repeat, not quite knowing what he means by that.

"Basically it was a research facility in which the cylons were conducting experiments on human subjects," he explains.

"What kind of experiments?" I ask, knowing that I'm not going to like the answer.

"They were attempting to impregnate human women... trying to create a generation of hybrids. Unfortunately I don't have all the details. Kara was pretty upset and Cottle was rather reluctant to allow me to question her for the time being but I still felt that this was something you had to be told about right away."

"But Lieutenant Thrace is going to be fine?"

"The doctor seems to think so but the cylons did operate on her and we won't know for sure until we can figure out exactly what they did."

"Wait, they operated on her?"

"Twice. As far as Cottle can tell the first time they only extracted a bullet, it's the second surgery that remains a mystery," he explains.

"And she didn't tell anyone?" I ask, shaking my head at that.

"Well, Lieutenant Agathon knew some of it, obviously, seeing how he was part of the rescue party, but ever since he came back we have been so focused on his relationship with 'Sharon' that no one even thought to question him about what had happened once Starbuck got there... and he didn't exactly volunteer any information until it became absolutely necessary."

"Necessary?"

"Apparently Kara has developed an infection..." he begins.

"And that in turn landed her in sickbay," I finish for him, putting the pieces together... or at least some of them because somehow I get the feeling that there's a lot more to this story than I'm being told.

"Yes."

"Well, Bill, I have to say that I agree with you."

"About?"

"About that girl being too damn stubborn."

"She is Starbuck," he says, as if that explained everything.

"I guess that's one way of putting it, now the question is what are we going to do about those farms."

"I don't know. In fact, as much as it pains me to admit it, the truth is that I'm not sure there's anything we can do. The farms are back in the colonies and we are out here but they do add a new dimension to the cylon threat... and then there is also the fact that if the cylons were to succeed in mass producing hybrids that could turn out to be a major problem in the long run."

"But not in the short term."

"No. As far as we know so far they haven't had much luck and --seeing how pregnancies result in babies, not adults-- even if they had it would still be a couple of decades before those hybrids would actually become a threat. That gives us some time to prepare, not to mention that we do have one major advantage this time around."

"Okay, I think I'm missing something here," I say, wondering what he means by that.

"Well, even though we know that so far they've managed to create at least one hybrid, that 'success' is here and that will give us a chance to learn from that pregnancy and to study whatever comes out of it."

"And you are hoping that that will give us an edge."

"If nothing else at least I'm hoping that it will enable us to get a better idea of just what it is that we are likely to find ourselves facing in the future. They caught us by surprise with the humanoid models and the truth is that that is not an experience I care to repeat."

"I agree, though I would still like you to question Lieutenant Thrace about what she found back on Caprica, see what we can learn."

"Oh, believe me, I intend to do that as soon as Cottle allows it," he growls.

"You are angry."

"I don't particularly enjoy being kept in the dark."

"So I've noticed," I say, remembering my time in the brig and knowing that that is a good candidate for understatement of the year.

"The thing is that right now the cylons have us at a disadvantage and..."

"We have been at a disadvantage from the moment they attacked us but we are still here," I remind him.

"Yes, but that still does nothing to change the fact that while the cylons have managed to successfully infiltrate the fleet we can't possibly hope to return the favor and infiltrate their ranks. The existence of a very limited number of cylon models, something that ideally could one day make it possible for us to be able to identify them at a glance, also means that we don't stand a chance when it comes to infiltrating them. That also means that our chances to gain some real intelligence about their long term plans will probably be few and far between... and it doesn't help when an officer who has managed to obtain some such information decides to keep it to herself," he mutters and, even though that sounds perfectly reasonable, at least on the surface, deep down I know that's not what this is about. Oh, I have no doubt as to the fact that Commander Adama is telling me everything he thinks I need to know as the President of the Twelve Colonies but that doesn't mean that Bill is telling me everything that is going on.

I think I've come to know him pretty well in these past couple of months and right now I can see that there's something bothering him, something that goes a lot deeper than the fact that the cylons are experimenting on humans back on Caprica or even the fact that Lieutenant Thrace kept that information from him in the first place and I'm determined to find out what that something is. After all, I can honestly say that Bill Adama is not the only one around here who is not particularly fond of being kept in the dark.