Chapter 33
(Adama's POV)

Okay, I wonder just what it is that Laura is up to here. Sure, I realize that she is probably right about the fact that trying to keep on top of the paperwork is likely to be a rather futile exercise --an attempt to hold on to what is familiar to us in a world gone mad-- and that the whole thing could probably stand to be at least streamlined to fit our new circumstances. After all, eighty or maybe even ninety percent of the reports currently being filed will never be read again and we certainly have no use for any additional copies but when it comes to the frat regs things are nowhere near that simple... and I suspect that those are her real target.

The problem is that I'm not sure Laura understands just how important those regs really are. I'm not sure if she realizes that those regs are there for a reason, not just to make the crew's lives miserable. Simply put, it would be all but impossible for us to do away with them --or even to modify them substantially-- without jeopardizing the discipline on board... and with the Galactica being the fleet's first and last line of defense let's just say that we can't afford to start experimenting to see what works. Of course, I am not naive enough not to know that those regs are being broken right and left even as we speak and that there is no way we can hope to enforce them or even discipline those who get caught breaking them because there are no trained replacements for any of them. I could easily live with such an arrangement, one in which the regs are disregarded but appearances are maintained, but unfortunately --going by Laura's words-- I suspect that that is not going to be an option.

"What do you mean it is nothing you haven't mentioned before?" I ask, playing the fool though I am already fairly certain of where this is going and I know that I'm not going to like the answer in the least.

"Remember what I said to you right after the attacks, when you wanted to go back to keep on fighting?"

"Yes, you told me that the war was over and we had lost... that we had to get our people to safety... and we did."

"I also said something else," she reminds me.

"You told me that our people had to start having babies if our species was to survive," I admit, rather reluctantly, realizing that there's going to be no getting out of this one.

"Well, I'm afraid that, as they stand, the frat regs are not exactly conductive to that end."

"I realize that but at the same time you have to admit that a battlestar is far from an ideal environment in which to raise a child."

"Oh, I do realize that, believe me, but somehow I think we left 'ideal' behind a very long time ago and in that regard a battlestar isn't any less appropriate than any of the other ships."

"No, that is completely unacceptable," I say.

"That is not optional," she replies.

"This is my ship," I remind her, not willing to back down.

"Yes, but unless your people start making babies along with everyone else, within a couple of decades it would end up being nothing but a ghost ship."

"What are you saying?"

"I am telling you that our situation is far more desperate than you seem to realize. We have only about five thousand women of childbearing age in the entire fleet and all of them should be encouraged to have at least one child if we are to maintain anything remotely resembling a healthy genetic diversity. Now, I'm hoping it won't come to the point where we have to mandate how many children each woman must have but the bottom line is that as the frat regs stand --and considering how unlikely your people are to be able to socialize with civilians on other ships-- the end result is that we are effectively losing hundreds of those women and that is not something we can afford..." she begins.

"And since the military personnel currently on board the Galactica represents the whole of the military, there are no replacements for any of them. That means that unless we do away with those regs we would be effectively be renouncing hundreds of babies," I finish for her, realizing where she is going with this and also realizing that, as much as I may not want to admit it, she is actually right about that. Simply put, there's no way I can't make do without the contribution of the women under my command --of Dee, Cally, Kara, Racetrack and countless others-- but at the same time if we are to keep our species going we are also going to need their contribution to our rather limited gene pool.

"Exactly," agrees Laura, bringing me back to the here and now.

"And is there some reason in particular why you decided to bring this up now or is this just a coincidence?" I growl, still not happy with the whole situation.

"Well, I hadn't intended to say anything about it, not yet, but I admit it's not completely unrelated either," she replies.

"What do you..." I begin but then I realize just where she is going with this and I just say," Kara."

"Yes, she is one of those women but considering both her past and what the cylons did to her, I don't think she would appreciate being pushed into motherhood..."

"But when you say that all women must be encouraged to have at least one child, she is not an exception," I finish for her.

"No, she's not."

"I'm not telling her," I say.

"And I'm not asking you to," she reassures me. "Believe me, I already got a taste of what would happen to this fleet if you weren't around -- if Colonel Tigh were in charge-- so I'm not about to send you out on a suicide mission, not if I can possibly avoid it."

"Then what?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you. I know you and you've obviously been thinking about this for a while... for a couple of days if not longer," I point out.

"So?"

"So by now your contingency plans probably have contingency plans of their own," I reply, refusing to play along until I know what this is really all about.

"It's nothing as underhanded as you think."

"Why don't you tell me what you are up to and let me be the judge of that?"

"What you are doing with Lieutenant Thrace..." she begins but then she trails off.

"Yes..." I prod.

"The way I see it, it may well be our best chance to help her overcome her reluctance in that regard and that's why it is so important. That's why I need you to nudge her in the right direction... not push her, but nudge her. It's a long shot, I'll give you that, but the truth is that if that young woman is ever to become a successful mother she is going to need some positive reference in terms of what a 'family' really is."

"In other words, you want me to be the one to do the 'encouraging', though you want me to be subtle about it," I say, and then the rest of her comment registers and I can barely keep myself from laughing as I ask, "wait, did you just use the words 'Starbuck' and 'becoming a successful mother' in the same sentence?"

She smiles a little at that too. Oh, I know that if it came down to it, Kara would probably manage to pull it off somehow --after all, she does have an uncanny knack for defying the odds-- but let's just say that the idea of Starbuck chasing after a toddler all over my ship is not one I had ever contemplated before.

"Something like that, though right now I'd settle for her being able to lower her defenses enough to allow those she trusts to come a little closer. That would be a first step... and with a little luck the rest would follow."

"I never realized that you were such an optimist," I say, shaking my head at that.

"You'd be surprised," she replies and I realize that she may actually be right about that. In these past couple of months I've come to know President Laura Roslin well. She is a woman who carries a heavy burden --one I can easily relate to-- but the truth is that I don't know the woman she used to be, so maybe it is time for me to start digging a little deeper. After all, getting to know your enemy is supposed to be a key part of any military strategy and up until now I have been more than a little remiss in that regard.