Peter David - Sagittarius is bleeding: a Battlestar Galactica novel

Laura Roslin is having the strangest feeling of dj vu.

She is standing in the middle of afield, and there is a collection of what appear to be obelisks encircling her. There is a firm wind wafting her long brown hair, and she looks down to see that she is wearing a nightgown. This is rather odd, since she is the president of the Twelve Colonies and is not one to go wandering about in her sleepwear under any circumstances.

She is not in pain. This is no small thing to her, for there has been a long period of her life where she literally forgot what it was like not to be aching. It is a terrible thing to have ones body turn against one. Yes, if one isattentive enough, one can sense the everyday aches and pains as ones body dies,molecule by molecule, over the standard wear and tear of its lifetime. But what Laura has been experiencing is hardly anything that is remotely typical for a bodys daily wear. This has been her body in open revolt, as if she had somehowbeen inconsiderate of its needs or harsh in her dealings with it.

What anger, what venom there must be, for a body to feel that the soul of the person inhabiting it must be punished in the way her body was punishing her. Constant agony as uncontrolled cell replication literally ate her breasts alive. She wondered every so oftennot true,she wondered all the timewhat in the world she ever did to deserve this.Did it attack her breasts as a symbolic message that she had been a bad woman? Did it attack her at all as a specific message that she had led a bad life? Certainly there must have been some sort of reason. It wasnt possible that thegods could be so randomly cruel.

Could they?

Perhaps they could. After all, look at the millions upon millions of people who had died thanks to the Cylon attack. What had humans ever done to deserve that?

Well there are possible explanations for that, arent there. Explanationsshe does not like to dwell upon, since they do not exactly cast humanity in the best light.

Better to enjoy the here and now of where she is wherever that may be.

Yes yes, she recognizes it now. It is strange that she would haveforgotten it, or had the slightest unfamiliarity with it, even for an instant.

She is on Kobol, the birthplace of humanity. Kobol, the home of the temple of Athena, which is destined to guide them to their goal: the planet Earth, their salvation, a haven from the Cylons that pursue them.

Except she is not on Kobol not exactly. It is difficult to determinewhether she is on Kobol, but that which surrounds her is an illusion or ifshe has somehow been miraculously transported, through means she could not begin to guess, to the destination she has been seeking. Be it illusion or miracle, either way the result is the same: She is standing on the planet Earth. She and the others have

The others.

She looks around and says, Where are the others? Her mouth moves, but nosound is emerging. She cannot determine whether she has been struck dumb or if she has suddenly gone deaf. Even if she did know which condition had afflicted heror rather, which additional affliction she had just acquiredit would not have answered thequestion as to where the others had gotten off to.

Commander William Adama had been there. Yes, thats right, this had alreadyhappened. She had been there and Bill Adama had been right nearby, which was fortunate since a pragmatist such as he might well not have believed it if it had merely been described to him. He would have had to see it for himself. But now, faced with the indisputable reality of ancient prophecy given form, he stared in wonderment at the skies, at the constellations that gave crucial clues to the way home. For the scriptures had said specifically that when the thirteenth tribe landed on Earth, they looked up in the heavens and saw their twelve brothers. This, right here, is (was) the ultimate religious experience and leap of faith for one as rooted in matters of military necessity as the commander of the last of the Battlestars.

With him was his son, Lee Adama, a Viper pilot who went by the name Apollo.Lee, who had become an advisor to her on military matters, and had a relationship with his father that was, to say the least, complicated. Also present was Kara Thrace, another Viper pilot who had served under Lee. She was nicknamed Starbuck, and it was she who had recovered the sacred arrow ofApollo, the relic which has made this amazing journey possible.

They are all there.

They are not.

They should be there, and Laura Roslin should be dressed in normal civilian clothes. But they are not there, and Laura remains in her nightgown and is alone.

She does not know how this could possibly be. Has she somehow made a return to Kobol for some additional knowledge of Earth? But when did this happen? She doesnt remember experiencing any sort of adventure that would have brought herto this pass. She racks her brain, thinking and thinking, and suddenly she laughs (still with no sound emerging). Obvious. So obvious. She has no recollection of anything that brought her here because nothing happened to bring her. Sheis dreaming. Yes. So simple, oh so simple. She is dreaming, reliving that amazing moment without any of her companions.

Again, though why? Well, at least this wasnt something over which onecould question the motivations of the gods. This was a product of the sleeping mind, and certainly no one could hope to comprehend whatever scenarios the sleeping mind might throw together.

She finds it curious, though, as if shes watching from outside herself.Typically one doesnt realize one is dreaming while its happening. She wouldthink that the sudden comprehension would be enough to kick her out of the dream entirely. But it does not. It seems to be of no relevance whether she understands or not. Rather its as if she is a spectator at some sort of filmthat will be unspooled if she is watching or no.

The obelisks. She remembers them so clearly, constructs of abstract faith brought to rock-hard reality. Each made of stone, each one bearing an engraving of one of the symbols of the Twelve Colonies, studded with jewels that are twinkling in the night. Each of the symbols representing the colonies back when they were called by their original names: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and so on. They ring the perimeter of the meadow where Laura is standing, as the stars of home beckon to her above, pointing the way to their destination.

Except she has already been here. Why is she here again? The vagaries ofdreams, certainly, but

Something doesnt look right. Something is different from the last time.

It takes her long moments to notice something on one of the obelisks that was not there before. Some sort of darkness, dripping from the pointed arrow, nocked into the bow of Sagittarius the archer.

Laura Roslin approaches it slowly, the hem of her nightgown swirling around her legs. She reaches out toward the dark stain on the Sagittarius obelisk and touches it tentatively with one extended finger.

She looks at her hand closely, rubbing her fingers together to get a feel of the liquids consistency.

The color is red, dark red.

The liquid is blood.

Sagittarius is bleeding.

Uncaring of what it will do to the fabric, Laura uses the sleeve of her nightgown to wipe the blood away. Its gone for only a moment, and then wellsback up. Blood is dripping steadily from the arrow, and then she notices that the twins, Gemini, are bleeding from their chests as if theyve been wounded.She takes a step toward them, and then her head snaps around as Aquarius, the water bearer, sees the water in the top of his jug transform to blood as well.