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The Next Lord of Kobol

Chapter 8

Offerings and Revelations

(Delphi, Caprica – Ten years before the fall of the Twelve Colonies)

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Mags, I heard you and Mom are fighting again," the slightly older and disappointed voice on the other end of the receiver said.

"I don't need this right now, Kel," Maggie answered her older sister, Kelsey Edmondson.  "Mom put you up to this didn't she?"

"No.  I called her the last night and had to pry your run in with the police out of her."

Maggie picked up a photo of her older twin sisters, taken at their high school graduation and frowned.  "So you're trying to broker a peace agreement, Sis?  You'd have better luck getting the toasters to the table."

Her sister huffed at the Cylon armistice reference and said, "At least when the Cylons said they were going to stop fighting, they meant it, Maggie.  How many times are we going to have this conversation?"

Maggie Edmondson knew her life was far from perfect.  She missed the pleasant weather on Virgon.  Even after being in the heat and humidity of Delphi for three years, she still wanted to go back.  It hadn't been so bad when Kelsey and Sue were around, but with her older twin sisters in college, her once massive family was down to just Maggie and her mother.

Without anyone else around to act as a buffer, their relationship had suffered and they argued all the time.  "Rough patches" were now commonplace and things weren't likely to change in the near future.

"Funny Kel," she said.  "She just gets me so frustrated."

"Mom uses those exact same words talking about you."

The twins took after their deceased biological father, Paul.  For better or worse, Maggie was much closer in both looks and temperament to her mother.  It was also a likely reason for the tremendous sources of friction between them.

"Want me to use a few words she wouldn't?"

"Maggie," Kelsey said with a pleading tone.  "How is getting picked up by the police helping things?  I'm not asking for a miracle here.  Maybe you should try praying to Hestia more often for a little help around home and hearth?"

"Since when is this place a home?  I live at a Gods damned mental facility!  Besides, aren't you the one who always says I should pray to Athena?"

"Well, I've given up on you and wisdom, Maggie.  Just give Mom a break now and then.  She might actually ease up on you if you can avoid driving her up the walls.  Can you at least try that for me?"

"I suppose," Maggie relented.  Kel always seemed to get her way.  She decided to change the subject before she agreed to something else.  "How goes the hunt for a boyfriend?"

"I can barely keep up with my classwork, much less date.  You wouldn't believe how tough things are.  Still, I've got a few prospects on my DRADIS.  Sue's doing much better in that department.  Her boyfriend is taking her to see The Legion next time they come to town and play the Bucs.  Are you still with Cyrus?"

"Off and on," Maggie answered.  "I know you don't like him, but he's matured since you've been at college.  Plus, the pickings are pretty slim at Delphi Union."

"If he's matured, like you say, I suppose he wasn't part of your group tearing up the trails on your motorcycles?"

Maggie grimaced, realizing she walked right into that one.  "He wasn't caught," she protested.

"Oh that's a sure sign of maturity.  Based on what I have heard, he either threw you to the wolves or you did it on your own knowing the Chief of Police wouldn't punish you since he's got a thing for Mom.  The only other explanation is you're slipping Maggie and aren't nearly as good as I remember."

When Maggie didn't immediately reply her sister must have taken that as vindication and said, "I thought so.  Maggie, I want you to have fun.  Everyone, including Mom, wants you to be happy, but getting into serious trouble for a boy you're not even that in to won't end well.  Listen, I'll try and call in a couple of days, but I've got a couple of nasty tests coming my way, so at least think about what I said."

"I will.  Tell Sue I said hi."

"I will.  Bye!"

Hanging up, Maggie sat at her desk and tried to sort out her life.  She stared at the picture of her standing with eight other kids at an amusement park on Virgon.  There was a big grin on her face and her brother Shane stood behind her with his hands open like he was about to pounce.

Since the separation went down, she'd only heard from Shane in a couple of letters on her birthdays.  Technically, he wasn't really her brother anymore.

Kelsey had been right.  She could've gotten away, but let herself get caught because she knew that she'd get off with a slap on the wrist.  Cyrus and John were the ones who'd been organizing the races.  The two even had a little gambling ring going on.

Sighing at the knowledge her sister was right and Cyrus was just a petty thug who was just bringing her down, Maggie picked up her gridbox and held it up for inspection.

Truth be told, the only "harmless fun" she'd had recently was playing her racing game with that brain damaged kid, Harry. 

Cyrus and the others were more into the military games recently like Goldkiller, where you could play a Colonial Marine in a boarding party on a Cylon basestar.  The person who makes it through the waves of toasters and the traps without being kicked out of the game and kills the Gold Centurion commanding the ship is the winner.  Cyrus was borderline obsessed and had almost managed it two times, but had been eliminated by other players trying to be the sole winner in each case.

She enjoyed racing and flying games.  Maggie loved speed and had been suitably shocked when the green eyed teen passed her during the third race.  She caught him and won, but she got the impression Harry understood considerably more than everyone gave him credit for. 

It made her wonder about him and, if nothing else, Maggie liked a good mystery.  Maybe she’d try a few other games with him and see just how cunning he was.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Three days later, as she approached Harry's door, Maggie felt the strange urge to leave the boy alone and go somewhere else.  She started to turn, but saw her mom in the passageway.  Her desire to avoid her mom was greater than the odd sense that Harry should be left alone.

She knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before opening it and sticking her head in.  "Residents" weren't allowed locks on their doors.  Whatever Harry was doing, he managed to hide it from her, but did a poor job of covering the fact that he was hiding something.

"At least he's not pulling his pants up in a hurry," she thought.  

"Hi," he said.

"Do you want to play?" She asked and held up the gridbox along with the two sets glasses.

He grinned and nodded.  "I win this time."

"New game," she said and kicked herself for starting to talk in monosyllables.  "We're playing as a team."

He fumbled over the word team and seemed frustrated.  She said, "Don't worry, I'll show you."

"Lounge?"

"We can play here, Harry."

Maggie caught the uncomfortable look and worried that he was drawing pictures of them holding hands or something.

"Nevermind," she said and hoped to save them both from embarrassment.  "Let's go to the lounge."

On a physical basis, he had this cute and harmless air about him.  The eyes were a big selling point and he was thin and wiry.

She mused that if it wasn't for the brain damage, she could set him up with her friend Dianna, who liked her boys cute and silent.

"I"ll go to the lounge and wait for you," she said, giving him a chance to finish his mystery task.

"Okay Maggie," he answered.

Her mom stopped her in the hallway.  The woman also had a confused look on her face like she was about to leave.  "Maggie, what are you doing in this wing?"

"If you must know, I asked Harry if he wanted to play a game on my gridbox."

"You're not taking him on the grid are you?"

"Gods no!  We're playing an offline game.  Say, have you noticed he’s really smart?  But it’s like he’s never been on the grid before.  Harry keeps using his own appearance for an avatar, so he has no clue about security.  How come he can barely talk?"

Her mother sighed and said, "You know I can’t discuss a patient, even with you.  I’m glad you’re not taking him into that digital cesspool.  What game have you recruited him for?"

"He's going to be my tail gunner in Cylon Strike."

"Well I suppose senseless violence is a step up from what the rest of the grid has to offer.  I don't suppose you could just take him to a virtual amusement park or something less explosive?"

"I could, but this game flopped because most of the action is in flying the Raptor.  The flight sim part of it is top notch, but the gunnery part gets dull and repetitive.  I can never get anyone to play long enough to finish.  Of course, we could always go down to the station and get my bike."

"This is a good start Maggie.  But show me it's more than an act.  Either way, I appreciate the effort you're making.”

As her mother walked off and smiled at Harry coming up the hallway, it occurred to Maggie that it was the first cordial conversation she’d had with her sole remaining parent in days.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Harry listened as the digital version of Maggie showed him the controls for this futuristic turret.  She tried to get him to change how he looked in this electronic world, but he was more interested in playing the game.

It was here that Harry had an epiphany…blowing up things was a smashing good time!  He learned very quickly to control his rate of fire.  Short bursts conserved ammo.  They died three times because he’d run dry before Maggie could maneuver over one of the floating orbs that restocked his twin cannon’s ammo bays and her forward guns.

Sure, he should be doing something else right now.  Looking for a way back to Earth, studying his magic, learning how to read and write…there was probably a dozen things more important than this.

Still, if they lost their last life in this game, they’d have to start all the way back at the beginning and that was pretty important too.  The spirits of his parents had wanted him to have some fun, so he decided that all work and no play does indeed make Harry a dull boy.

The flat disc shape of the Cylon raiders made them difficult to hit, but he was getting the hang of it.  They typically came in flights of three.  Walking his fire in on the left side of the next wave, forced it a little closer to the centerline raider and allowed Harry to sweep his barrage across both of them in the confined space, removing two opponents.  The third shifted and spun on its axis, becoming perpendicular and much more difficult to hit.

His panel flashed red and not from low ammo.  A cylindrical object appeared in the screen and the Caprican word for lock appeared.  Harry tried to remember what Maggie said to do and pushed the yellow button twice.  It fired something that was supposed to get rid of the approaching missile.

It didn’t.

Harry cut loose with the guns and managed to detonate the missile and the resulting eruption of metal was enough to get rid of the last raider.  Large red letters flashed in the sky.  Harry’s best translation was that the level was complete. 

The fact that the Raptor was no longer making pitched hairpin turns said that the program had taken over and they were going to land somewhere.  Maggie was laughing and thumping the armrest on her chair with a fist as Harry looked over his shoulder at her and caught his first glimpse, albeit virtual, of a Colonial Battlestar.  The name on the side translated as something close, but not quite, to Atlantis.

Instinctively he whistled, rather impressed with the size of the thing and knowing that these objects existed in real life.  It bristled with guns and was surrounded by the smaller attack craft called Vipers and even a few smaller ships escorting it.

His pilot was excited to finish this level.  It sounded like it was the first time she’d ever done so.

Even as he played, a nagging thought bothered Harry.  "Maggie almost caught me with my books and wand.  I must have been sloppy when I cast the Muggle repeller.  It could just be that her will is strong enough to overcome the effects.  The other option is that maybe my magic is getting weaker."

The notion worried him.  Harry hadn't gone out casting in over a week and he doubted there were any organized magical people on this planet at all.

"Then again, the Muggle repeller is tricky.  The first few times I cast it, people wouldn't go down the hallway.  I guess I just cut back on it too much."

Mostly satisfied, he turned his attention to the next group of disk shaped Cylon raiders.  Harry made a quick promise to sneak out tonight to practice some spells and gather some rocks to work on his rune carvings.

The waves were coming quicker and his ammo bays emptied.  Looking over his shoulder, he said, "I'm out."

Maggie's hands worked the controls frantically as she navigated through an asteroid field at top speed.  When an ammunition icon flashed outside, she twisted the ship and angled for it.

A siren wailed and the virtual Raptor shook, indicating they'd been hit.  Glancing back out his turret, it hadn't been a Cylon that got them, her turn had been too tight and she'd clipped a piece of floating rock.

Maggie muttered a few choice words and motioned for Harry before removing her glasses.

Slightly sad that the game was over, he followed suit and returned to the lounge area at Amanda's Open Arms.

His pilot continued her tirade and he could only catch every fourth or fifth word.  Finally, he reached under the table and cast the translation charm wandlessly.

"...on such a roll and then I go and pull such a frakkin’ rookie maneuver.  If we keep it up maybe we'll make it to the end of the game at Kobol."

Harry's eyes bulged when she mentioned that place and it caught the girl’s attention.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" she asked.  Maggie liked this berry flavored gum.  Sometimes between her constant monologue and the chewing, it appeared that her mouth never actually stopped moving.

"What is Kobol?"

"You don't remember?"

He shook his head and Maggie looked thoughtful for a minute.  Harry knew she was probably trying to think of a simple way to explain this to him.

"Kobol is...Kobol is where we all came from.  The Twelve Colonies left Kobol and came here."

"Where is Kobol?" he asked, suddenly very interested in this conversation.

"No one knows.  Some people think it's just a legend...I mean made up."

"Athena's...crypt…no tomb?"

"So you do remember something!" she said, quite pleased.  "Yes, the Goddess Athena died on Kobol and her tomb is there.  C'mon."

She held out her hand and he took it, unsure of what the girl intended.  Maggie pulled him down the hallway to the chapel.  During his stay here, Harry noticed most staff and many of the more coherent patients stopped by the chapel during the day.  A bus would come in the mornings and take others to a nearby temple.

From what he gathered, the Colonials were a very religious people and not in the "go once a week to catch up on gossip" type like his Aunt.

The chapel had twelve statues, one for each of the gods and goddesses.  In front of each one, there was a bowl for offerings.

He looked in each of the bowls as they passed.  Some had a bag of grain next to them. 

An older man with a slight hunch and a fake leg approached.  Harry saw Maggie incline her head respectfully.  The attending priest's name was Brother Nathan Furillo.  Harry knew he was only here for two hours around the midday meal and went to other chapels during the day.  He was a pleasant and somewhat jovial man with a perpetual smile on his wrinkled face.

The gray haired priest was the second person from that generation working at this facility using an artificial limb and Harry had seen three others who were patients.  It was a reminder that the war with the Cylons had left a long lasting mark.

"Who do you seek guidance from today?"

Maggie answered, "We wish to make offerings and ask for guidance from Athena -- and Hestia, Brother."  Harry noted the slight pause before she named the second goddess.

"Very good," the holy man said and took a pair of ornate scissors from a cloth covered table.  He wiped them with a smaller piece of cloth and presented them to her.  Maggie led Harry to the statue of Athena.  It didn't look very much like the woman he saw when he'd used the stone, but the symbol on her amulet was exactly the same.

That bothered Harry quite a bit.

“Come on, Harry.  Ever since we came to Caprica, we’ve been devoted to Athena.  Do you remember who you used to pray to?”

“No,” Harry said.  From what he gathered to this point, people who believed in one God were viewed as either monsters or deviants.  He’d never been especially religious growing up, so his answer wasn’t really a lie.

Maggie used the scissors and snipped a few hairs from the end of her ponytail before dropping them into the bowl.  She bowed her head in silence for about ten seconds and then turned to him holding out the scissors.

Taking them, Harry snipped a couple of strands from the top of his unruly head of hair and deposited them.  He mimicked her prayer motion and felt quite awkward.

Maggie took the scissors back to the priest and thanked him.  She took Harry over to the Goddess Hestia and took a pinch of grain from the sack and let it fall into the bowl.  While she murmured her prayers, Harry looked at the statue of the long haired nude goddess in a seductive pose next to Hestia and figured it must be Aphrodite.

The priest cleared his throat and that caused Maggie to look up and Harry to look over.

The man said, "He lingers too long.  It appears he wants to make an offering.  Best not to offend the goddess."

The short girl cocked her head and placed one arm on her hip.  Her demeanor reminded him of an amused and irritated Ginny Weasley, when dealing with the antics of Dean Thomas.

"Does he now?"

"I do believe so," Brother Furillo said and chuckled.

Harry wasn't sure why he suddenly felt so embarrassed.  "I don't...know...I..."

"Sure you don't," Maggie chided.  "I get the feeling you know exactly what you're doing."

He didn't, but noticed there was nothing in the offering bowl in front of Aphrodite and no sack of grain, dirt, or anything else.  Harry couldn't look more confused if he tried.

"Fine," Maggie said.  "I consider myself duped.  Let's not make this a habit.  I do have a boyfriend already.  Close your eyes."

He did as she asked and felt her lean up and kissed him lightly on the lips.  It lacked the tears of Cho Chang and the whole soul sucking experience from the Joe the Dementor, so it was a considerable upgrade.  The slightest hint of that berry flavored gum lingered on his lips and he was certain he probably looked every bit like the idiot he felt like.

She broke away and whispered, "You need to work on that."

Harry flushed and figured if certain ghosts were observing his life right now, they'd be laughing their collective arses off.

Fighting the burning on his cheeks, he made a quick offering to the goddess Hestia, while thinking more about the witch he'd known by that name and hoping she'd made it out of the Ministry safely.

As they walked out of the chapel, Harry looked over his shoulder at the statue of Athena.  Despite his rush of teenage embarrassment, he frowned recalling the spirit's warning about the Scylla and that something was waiting for him in her tomb on Kobol.

It didn't take much to equate the words Scylla and Cylon.  The revelation was extremely troubling.

He was barely listening to Maggie, teasing him.  Instead, he remembered what Athena had said to him when he replied that he didn't know what one was.

"Know them you shall."

If he hadn't already planned on it, Harry was definitely going out tonight to brush up on his spells.

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• Shall We Depart? Paying Delores a Visit Even Legends Must Die Athena's Warning Silver Hands and Silver Tongues Veiled Intentions The Dog Runs Fast Offerings and Revelations An Unexpected Reunion Culture Shock Priorities The Caprica Cowhenge
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