Kobol Remembered - Chapter 23
By Lady Rae


     The chill inside the dark interior of the ageless
temple was a refreshing change from the oppressive
heat of the outdoor surface of the planet.  Adama felt
his body start to feel almost something akin to normal
as he carefully made his way through the dark
corridor, through the almost chilly passageway to the
unknown that lay before him.  One hand rested on the
roughened stone of the wall that acted has his guide,
lightly skimming along as he walked forward, towards
what he did not know, but he hoped that he would know
the answers to his questions soon.  That maybe, here
in this dark structure, there might be someone or
something that would tell him why all that had
transpired since their arrival was happening to them. 
Why his son had been attacked, and where the fleet was
right at this micron.  This was his only hope, only
possible lead to find the answers he desperately
sought.
     Alternately Adama felt dampness on the rough wall
as he felt the uneven ridges of the wall catch the top
skin of his fingers.  What was this place?  Why did it
look newer than the rest of the structures that they
had encountered here?  Adama stopped for a moment,
unsure if he should continue since he couldn’t see
anything in the pitch-blackness.  How was he to know
exactly what lay ahead of him?  Could this be a trap
set for him by the invisible inhabitants of this
place?  They shot Apollo for no apparent reason, so
how was he to be sure that the same fate did not await
him in this darkened corridor?  Right now, his own
death would accomplish nothing even though he would
willingly give his life for those he loved, for those
under his command, for his children.   
     Suddenly, like a beacon in the distance, a
glimmer appeared a distance ahead of Adama.  He took a
micron for his eyes to be sure that he was seeing what
he was seeing, and then he let relief wash over him. 
A light.  Maybe there was someone or something alive
here.  Someone or something that might be able to help
him save Apollo, help rescue all of them from this
place.  Adama took a deep breath to steady his nerves,
which were heightened by this small sign of possible
hope.  Still being cautious, he moved forward, slowly,
carefully just in case this too could be a trap, but
as he moved closer to the light, the air was permeated
with the smell of flowers, not an overwhelming scent,
but just a very light, pleasant scent.  Was it flowers
or was it something else?  
     Adama sniffed the air several times, his mind
unsure just what the scent was or where it originated,
but there was something about that scent that was
familiar and calming.  The unease that he had felt
just moments before evaporated, replaced by a sense of
calm that he had not known since they came across this
planet.  Adama’s muscles released the rigid tension
they had maintained since Apollo was injured.  It was
almost a foreign feeling for him at this micron, but
he welcomed the change.    
     Just as Adama reached the source of the light, he
heard a sound that surprised him.  It wafted towards
him, light and airy with not a care in the world.  
     "Hey ho, nobody home . . ."  The soft childish
voice rang out through the corridor, echoing off the
walls and surrounding the aged commander.  Adama
placed his back against the cool wall, looking around
the shadowy area quickly, unsure of the source of the
sound, but nothing here was at it seemed. 
     "Hey ho, nobody home . . ." The childish voice
sang out happily, a small muffled giggle followed as
Adama slowly ventured forward, cautiously moving his
head so that he could see around the corner only to
find another corridor, but he could see a doorway at
the end.  Possibly a room and the source of the
voices.  He could see light and shadows coming from
beyond the doorway.  
     Something nagged at his mind, something he could
not place a finger on, but there was something about
the voice that he just heard.  Something that was
vaguely familiar to him, like he had heard that voice
before, but that was impossible!  Where in the twelve
worlds would he have heard that voice before?  
     "Hey ho, nobody home . . ." Came a higher
sounding lilting voice.  Another young child’s voice,
very different from the first, from one so very young.
 The soft whimsical sound of a little girl’s voice. 
Adama frowned, his eyebrows coming together as he
turned the corner, and moved a little bit quicker pace
down the corridor.  He tried to strain his eyes to
look down the dimly lit corridor, to see if he could
see what was the source of the voices.  What he had
just heard disturbed him more than he cared to admit. 
Children’s voices.  Those were definitely children’s
voices, here in this dark, silent building.  Here in a
place that seemed to be the source of only pain and
death.  Babies were here.
     "Me can’t sing,"  came the third voice.  This one
sounded even younger than the other two.  Children. 
By all that was holy, there were children here! 
But...not a single sign of life registered on their
scans of this world.  Nothing at all.  Why???
     "You can too sing.  Try."  Came the first voice,
lightly tinged with childish impatience.  
     "Cannot!" came the indignant pouting voice.  A
young boy’s voice.  A very young boy, possibly no more
than three, maybe four yahrens.  
     "Yes, you can silly," came the young girl’s voice
as it drifted down the corridor.  "You just have to
try."
     Adama cautiously moved making his way towards the
source of the voices, his mind not wanting to
comprehend what he was hearing.  There were definitely
children on this planet!  But what really tugged at
the back of Adama’s mind were those voices.  He
couldn’t explain to himself why the children’s voices
were so familiar to him.  The very thought of these
children here on this lifeless planet bothered him
more than he could put into words.  
     "Me don’t wanna try!" stubbornly came the third
voice, sounding as if the boy was going to start to
cry at any micron.  
     Adama crept forward, his hand resting against the
roughened stone of the wall.  The sound of the
children’s voices sounded closer as he cautiously
moved down the final few metrons of the dimly
corridor.  Adama stopped at the doorway that entered
the lit room.  As he peered through the doorway, he
was surprised to see the two small figures sitting on
the floor of the room, their shadowy heads close
together while an older dark-haired boy stood
protectively close by.   Adama felt the hairs at the
back of his neck begin to rise as he looked at a scene
that seemed so strangely familiar to him, and that was
beginning to bother him more and more.  He disliked it
when he could not figure out something that seemed as
if he should know...or remember.  
     Adama stepped further into the room, trying to
remain close in the shadows so that the children did
not know that they were being observed.  He did not
want to frighten them in any way; it was just his
curiosity about their presence here in this room in
this place made him venture forward faster than he
could.  The older boy shook his head and crossed his
arms across his chest as he continued to look at the
other children.  That movement.  That action.  Adama
strained his eyes to get a better look at the boy, at
his face but the lighting in the room was so bad. 
     Adama then focused his attention to the other
children.  A little boy and a young girl who appeared
to be older than the boy beside her, but younger than
the older boy.  Adama was sure that he had guessed the
younger boy’s age pretty accurately, and it looked at
though the girl was probably about seven or eight
yahrens old, her shadowed hair hung loosely down her
back, curling slightly, her facial features
indistinguishable.  She seemed to be helping the
younger boy with something that Adama could not make
out.
     "Come on.  Just try again.  Remember, practice
makes perfect, so if you don’t try, you can’t get any
better."
     The little boy sighed dramatically, his shoulders
heaving as he gave into the girl’s wishes.
     "Oh, okay.  I’ll twy one more time."  The boy
raised his head as his clear lisping voice rang out,
"Hey, ho, nobody home."
     "Much better, little brother." the older boy said
praising his younger sibling’s efforts.  "See, you can
do it."
     Adama stepped forward, closer – a sense of
urgency filled his being.  He had to see these
children, see their faces.  The children’s words... 
The older boy looked up, straightened at the sight of
Adama and visibly jumped as he seemed startled, almost
afraid to see someone else there.  Adama’s eyes
widened in amazement as he stepped closer to the boy,
taking in the his youthful features, not believing
what he was seeing before him.  It was not possible!  
      
     "How can this be?"  Adama said aloud, his voice
incredulous as he gazed upon the youthful, innocent
face.  The other children turned to look at what had
made their companion jump, then acted almost as though
they were frozen in position, not moving, not making
even the slightest sound, but their wide eyes told it
all.  Adama felt slightly faint at what he saw before
him.  
     The commander found he could not stop himself as
he mindlessly walked forward towards the children, the
shock that he felt clearly written on his face.  He
wanted to reach out and touch these children, run his
hands over their soft baby hair.  He wanted
desperately to put his arms around them, gather them
to him protectively and run from this place, but he
couldn’t.  The two children that were sitting on the
floor were now on their feet, scurrying, and hiding
behind the older boy’s protective image.   Their eyes
showed their fear of this tall stranger before them,
while the older boy’s face was stoic, but Adama could
still see the fear in his clear eyes, so he stood
there, not moving but content to look at them as they
continued to look at him, size him up, decide what to
do.  Whether to run or stay.
     Adama knew that he was not going to leave here. 
Not without these children for what he was looking at
were the faces of his own children!  Much younger
versions of Apollo, Athena and Zac, their youthful
eyes staring at him with questioning glimmers.   Adama
turned his full attention on to each child in turn. 
Apollo stood in front of his younger siblings, his
green eyes wary and a little defiant of the person who
stood in front of him now.   Adama remembered back to
Apollo’s childhood, how the young boy had held many
different grudges against his absentee father.  Even
though Adama knew that his oldest son understood why
he was not there with them all the time, there was
still anger, defiance and mistrust of his father.  The
father that was never there for him.
     Athena and Zac were totally different than their
older brother in their attitudes towards their father
back then.  They were more accepting of his absences
and that showed in how they dealt with their father’s
return home during a leave.  They would greet him
warmly, while Apollo would stand back, stare at his
father as though he was seeing a stranger, and maybe,
as Adama reflected back to the past, maybe Apollo felt
that he was seeing a stranger.  A stranger that
stopped by for short stays and then was gone as
quickly as he came.  A stranger that made sure that
they had a home to live in, food on their table,
clothes on their bodies, and all the other incidentals
of life.  Their upbringing was more privileged than
some of their friends because of their parent’s
position in Caprican society, their notoriety. 
Adama’s position as Commander of the military’s
flagship, his position in the political arena made
their lives more comfortable than others. 
     Adama and Ila tried to make sure that their
children treated all that they came into contact with
equally, but sometimes Adama found himself a bit
judgmental of others, often knowing the parents of the
children that his sons and daughter associated with
and associating the children with the sins of the
parents.  He only wanted the best for his children,
but he found himself being more like his own father
than he cared to be.  Adama had always promised
himself that he would not be like his father, not be
judgmental of others, be open-minded, be there for his
children.  Accept positions that permitted him to be
there for them, but in the end he found himself
repeating the mistakes of his own father, leaving Ila
to deal with the day to day tasks of raising three
children and maintaining a home.
    Ila…  The Lords blessed him the day that he met
the beautiful young woman who had been a student at
the Caprican University.  She had been involved in a
rather loud demonstration in the largest park in
Caprica City and the powers at Colonial Command had
sent him along with some other young warriors to
contain the disturbance.  One look had been all it
took for Adama to know that she was a determined woman
with a mind of her own and the ability to get her
opinions across to people.  He had never dreamed that
he would eventually fall in love with that woman, or
become sealed to her almost three yahrens after they
met in that park. 
     She was the love of his life, the flame that
enveloped his soul, the reason that he continued to
live each day.  Her memory and the love they shared
over the course of time was the reason that even after
her death he found the strength to continue on.  To
have the strength to lead his people away from the
promise of death and destruction.  It helped that he
had the love and support of Apollo and Athena.  It
saddened him more than he could express that his
youngest son, Zac was not there with his brother and
sister.  A child was suppose to outlive the parent,
but that was not so with Zac.  At least Ila was spared
the intense pain that she would have felt at her
baby’s death.  Adama felt that it was always the
impact of that death was harder on the mother than the
father even though the love for that child and bond to
him or her is shared by both parents.  The man helped
create the life, but the woman carried and nurtured
that life within her body, going through the birth
process to bring that life into the world.    
     Adama felt the tears form in his eyes, but he
pushed them back, not wanting the children to see him
in a moment of weakness.  He did not want to scare
them further that he already had.  It was clear that
his presence in this place was unexpected just as
theirs was to him.  How did this happen?  How could
this be?  The questions started bombarding his mind as
he continued to take in the images before him.  His
children.  His babies.  How and why almost seemed
unimportant as he gazed upon their youthful images,
wishing that he could take them with him when he left
this place.  
     But the logic part of his mind overruled his
heart as he became aware that he could not take the
children with him.  In truth and fact, Athena and
Apollo, the adult versions, were back in the shelter
of the cave.  The injuries that Apollo sustained at
the hands of the unknown creatures causing his life to
ebb from his body and Athena concerned with dealing
with the worry and fear for her brother, along with
something else that seemed to be weighing heavily on
her mind and spirit.  Adama had been almost too busy
with the situation to notice, but now the realization
of what he almost missed weighed on his mind for he
was their father.  He should notice when something is
bothering them, disturbing them, or emotionally
painful for them.  
      Looking longingly at the children standing
before him, he wrestled with the urge to carry these
children away from here, back to the fleet so that he
could protect them.  Protect Athena from whatever was
disturbing or hurting her.  Protect Apollo from
serious injury or harm by another.  Protect Zac from a
fiery death.  He knew these images of his children
were not real.  He knew what reality was and this was
not it.  This was a dream.  A wonderful dream.  A
dream that any father would wish for – to see his
children as they were once upon a time.
	"Who are you?"  The image of Apollo spoke, his voice
soft, trying so hard to be brave and be the protector
of his younger siblings as he tenuously ventured
forward with his question.  
	Adama expected this reaction from him, for some
unknown reason.  Maybe because he remembered how
Apollo, even though he was so shy as a child, would
stand there and do what he had to do the live up to
being the older brother.  Adama remembered the little
boy who took so seriously his ‘responsibilities’ to
his younger siblings – to protect them, to guide them,
to be someone to look up to.  The aging Commander
looked at his oldest son, taking in the crystal green
eyes, the dark hair made darker by the shadows of the
room, the slight almost thin build, the defensiveness
of the young child’s stance.  The way he positioned
his arms, to be comforting and reassuring to the
children behind him, but also seemed ready to defend
them from a person who appeared to them to be a
stranger.  
	"Apollo," a quiet voice anxiously broke the
stillness.  "Why dat man not answer you?"  
	"Shh, Zac."  Apollo shushed his younger brother, an
impatient look crossed his features as he looked down
at the boy.  "Just be quiet, will you?"
	Adama let a smile play at his lips as he quietly
observed the interaction between the two boys.  Just
like the real brothers.  Just like the children that
he raised what seemed like so long ago, when in fact
it felt like it was only yesterday.  He knew that in
his mind that these were not his children, but images
of times gone by.  Of the past.  Why they were here,
why they were living this scenario out at this time in
this desolate place was still in question, but Adama
fully realized that these were not his children.  But,
the Commander admitted to himself, it was hard to make
his heart believe that these images were not real. 
Very difficult indeed.
     Adama caught the sideways glance of frustration
that Athena cast at her younger brother, before she
looked back to Adama.  So typical of Athena.  Adama
felt his heartstrings pull a bit at that action. 
Athena in her younger days used to get so aggravated
with Zac because he would get into everything when he
was a toddler.  She totally doted on him when he was a
baby, anticipating his needs before Ila could.  Athena
had taken on the role of the little mother and had
taken that role very seriously.  Zac use to fight and
squirm to get away from her when she would overwhelm
him with her care. 
     Zac.  Adama watched the dark head pop out from
behind Apollo, his eyes wide with wonderment and
curiosity mingled as one.  The slight smile that
played at the boys tiny lips was one that almost made
Adama laugh out loud.  So typical of Zac at that age. 
So typical of the boy that had grown into the young
man.  The child that Adama adored for his light
hearted nature, his pleasant demeanor, his carefree
attitude.  Adama freely admitted that there were times
that the father thought that Zac should take things a
bit more seriously, just as the Commander wished he
was a bit more like his older brother when it came to
taking situations seriously.    
	But he never did.  He never lost that youthful
exuberance for life and the insatiable quest for
adventure and glory.  It was something that he dreamed
about since he was a little boy.  Then when Apollo
entered the Academy, graduated, then gained
recognition for his abilities and exploits, Zac seemed
to take on another purpose, to out do his older
brother.  And now Zac was gone.  
     Adama tried to push back the sorrow that
threatened his mind and his emotional stability, but
even after all this time, everything that had happened
to him he could not erase or diminish the pain and
guilt he felt for his youngest son’s death.  Maybe if
he had been around more, maybe if he had accepted
assignments where he could have been home more,
listened more to his children’s thoughts, dreams and
problems, maybe he could have helped Zac understand
emotions that he felt.  Maybe Adama could have
counseled his younger son better in dealing with the
competitiveness that he felt that he had with Apollo. 
Ila had spoken to him many times about Zac and his
impetuousness.  Adama should have listened more.
     *Yes, you should have.*  A soft voice drifted
across Adama’s thoughts.
     Adama turned and looked around, seeing nothing
but the dimly lit room.  No one else was in the room
but the three children that stood before him.  The
Commander’s brow furrowed as he wondered where that
voice came from.  
     "Did you children hear anything?"  Adama asked
gently, not wanting to frighten the images of his
children as he looked around the room again, his eyes
missing nothing, noting everything.  He felt a chill
run up his spine as he turned his attention back to
the children; their expressions looked almost as
though they thought him to be possibly mad.  
     Apollo just shook his head, his siblings
following suit.  "No, just you," Apollo said, then
looked at his sister and shrugged his shoulders.  "Did
you hear something, mister?"
     Adama looked at the image of his son, his heart
constricting a little at the fact that this image, his
son did not recognize him.  Even though logically, he
knew this was not Apollo, it still pained him a little
that this image did not call him ‘dad’ or ‘father.’  
     Adama decided he needed to talk to these images. 
To see where they possibly came from, why they were
here.  Adama smiled at the three children, moving over
to sit down on one of the stones that were scattered
about the room.  
     "Well, I thought I did, but it looks like I was
wrong."  Adama looked at Apollo, who seemed to relax
just a bit as Adama sat down.  "Tell me, what are you
children doing here?"
     Apollo paused for a micron, then spoke.  "This is
where we live."
     "Here?  How long have you lived here?"
     "For as long as I can remember."  Apollo replied.
     "What about your parents?"
     Silence was his only answer.  Zac hid back a bit
further behind his brother’s protective body, as
Athena seemed to build up her courage enough to step
out from behind her older brother and stand at his
side.  Her steady almost glassy gaze seemed unusual,
as though she was trying to read into Adama’s very
soul and that disturbed the Commander.  It was a
mystery as to why these images were here and why they
had taken on the forms of his children in their
younger yahrens.  The only reason that Adama could see
for them being here in these forms was that they were
going to use these images against him.  
     "Do you have any parents?"
     The silence that followed was almost deafening. 
Finally Apollo spoke, his voice soft.
     "Yes, we have parents."  
     "Well, where are they?"
     The voice that broke the silence this time shook
Adama to the very core of his being.
     "I’m right here, my love."

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