Part 7: Ceremony

Toni felt really good for a change as she walked into the pilots' briefing room. Her mood was really because she felt ecstatic by Rhea's acceptance to join her. The more Toni thought about the upcoming ceremony she realized that she needed someone to give her away. Rhea still had her family, but all of her family had been killed during the attack by the Cylons on the colony. It was the one part of the ceremony tradition that she knew her father wanted to do.

Toni glanced around as she entered the flight room and noticed that Sheba was sitting alone in the room. Walking up to her she noticed that she was writing some notes and decided to announce her presence.

"Hey Toni, glad that you made it through the fighting," Sheba said as she turned to look at Toni. Something about the woman was different this time. Toni seemed to be almost glowing with happiness. "All right, what happened that I don't know about yet," Sheba asked with a smile as Toni just smiled even more.

Toni smiled at Sheba's question. "I asked Rhea to join with me," Toni said.

"I assume by the smile on your face that she said yes," Sheba said.

"Yes," Toni replied.

"Congratulations then," Sheba said giving Toni a hug.

"What's this I hear," a male voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Apollo and Starbuck standing there just inside the room. "It sounded like someone was getting joined."

"Yes sir, I am," Toni said speaking up.

"Congratulations," Apollo said hoping that Toni's union lasted longer than his with Serena did. He was glad that he was on the Hyperion at the moment. He could talk with Sheba for a few minutes. He really had not realized how much he had missed her until now. It had been hard to talk with her since they were on separate battlestars.

"Apollo, this is the pilot that you wanted to talk to," Sheba said indicating Toni.

Toni quickly thought about everything she had done recently and could come up with nothing. She wondered what she had done to have Captain Apollo looking for her. She knew that she would have to wait to see what he wanted. Although taking a glance she noticed that he did not seem upset about anything.

"This is her," Apollo said glancing at Toni. He remembered her from the recruiting meeting as one of the first volunteers. She had also been the only woman in the first group. Even then he had thought that she would make a good leader someday. He was just surprised at how quickly she had shown her abilities as a leader.

"Yep, she's also ready for this," Sheba replied knowing the unknown question.

Toni was now really wondering what was going on. There was an unknown conversation going on and that usually bother her.

"I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job in combat earlier," Apollo told her. "You help me out in keeping an eye on any raider that got through."

"It seemed natural," Toni replied. "I hope that I didn't overstep my command."

"No, you just made it easier on me," Apollo replied. "And there is another reason why I wanted to talk to you."

"I've decided to transfer back to the Galactica," Sheba told her. "And I'm going to put you in command of Gold Squad."

"Me," Toni replied not sure if she heard Sheba correctly.

"Yes, and it also come with a promotion to lieutenant," Apollo told her." What do you say, will you take it?"

"I-I don't know," Toni replied in a bit of a shock at what Apollo had just told her. They wanted to promote her already. "What about the other veteran pilots?"

"We already talked with the ones on board the Hyperion and there is going to be a small restructuring of the squadrons but most want to remain with their fellow pilots. We got a good indication during the attack among the recruits as to who would be ideal for command situations. You are one of the few," Apollo told her honestly. He and Starbuck had been split up before the battle yet they found they automatically joined up with each other along with most of the other veterans.

"There will be a few veterans that will remain on board the Hyperion like Bojay," Sheba told her. "He's going to remain his squad leader. Personally I think that he likes someone on board," she said with a wink to Apollo who stifled a laugh.

"And I will be staying as well as your second in command if you want me," a voice said from behind them. Toni turned to see Treis standing in the doorway.

"I'd be honored to have you as my second," Toni replied looked at the man she had been hoping to find. She had talked to him on and off ever since she had found out he had been a friend of her brother.

"I heard that there is going to be a joining," he said looking at Toni. "Did you finally ask Rhea?"

"Yes," she replied drawing out the word. "How did you know already, I only asked her about a half an hour ago."

"Are you kidding, its all over the ship already," Treis said with a bit of a smile watching as Toni just shook her head in disbelief.

"Hey Toni, congratulations," one of the member of Gold Squadron said as he passed her by and gave her a slap on the back.

"Nothing's ever secret for long on a battlestar, remember that," Apollo said reminding her of that fact.

"Just don't make out in the launch tubes," Starbuck said with a grin that both he and Apollo share. Sheba and Toni looked a bit strangely at them but decide not to say anything.

"Sounds good," Toni replied as Treis began laughing.

"That's what's wrong with you Starbuck," Treis said causing Apollo to laugh with him.

"Like I said, it's not a good idea," Starbuck repeated.

"Especially because you're joining Rhea," Apollo said still laughing a bit.

"All right, I think I get the idea," Toni said not wanting any further images in her mind. "Treis can I ask you something," Toni said a bit seriously.

"Sure," Treis replied wondering what Toni wanted.

"You're the closest person I have to my family and, well, I was wondering if you would do the honor for me during the ceremony," Toni said stumbling through the question.

Treis was a bit shocked at what Toni had just asked him to do. He thought about it for a few seconds before replying. "It would be an honor Toni. I know that your brother would have been proud of you," he told her.

"Thanks Treis," Toni said then excused herself from the room. The group watched as she left the room, but was stopped a half a dozen time by others wishing her congratulations.

"I didn't know you know her Treis," Starbuck said to the normally silent viper pilot. He had heard the man speak more in the last few minutes than the last three years or so.

"I knew her brother. He was in my squad on the Atlantia," Treis replied to the other. Everyone went silent knowing the man's past. He had beaten himself up over the events of the battle for almost a year afterwards. They had been concerned that the man might try and commit suicide after the battle. The warrior have hung on and seemed to bounce back to everyone. Now it also seemed that he might be coming out of his shell.

"Well this has been an exciting day," Starbuck said to everyone. "I'm going to call Cassie," he said then left the room as well. Treis excused himself as well leaving Apollo and Sheba in the room.



Rhea felt excited as she sat down in the command chair of the Hyperion. Commander Omega had gone to eat leaving her in charge of the ship. There was not much to do at the moment except monitor the patrols going to and from the fleet. The three battlestars had not suffered much damage and aside from the hit on the Hyperion's bridge and the damage to the Galactica's landing bays there had been only minor damage. The Galactica had suffered only minor damage and the Agamemnon had not been hit at all.

Rhea went through the list of viper pilot casualties to see if her brother's name was listed. She had a feeling that he had survived the battle but not seeing his name confirmed her feeling. She had been more worried about Toni at the end of the battle yet she seemed to know that both of them had been all right.

Rhea figured that she should get in touch with her mother and let her know the news. By now she must know about the battle and was probably worried about them both. It did not take too long to get in touch with her mother. She was working as the landing officer of the ship she was on.

"I'm glad to hear your voice Rhea," her mother said then asked the question about her brother and if Rhea had heard anything yet.

"The reports from the Agamemnon state that he's all right. I haven't been able to talk with him yet but his name in not in any of the lists of wounded or killed," Rhea told her mother. "Actually there is another reason why I'm calling as well."

"I'm glad to know that he's safe, if you contact him before me let him know to get in touch," her mother said with a bit of relief in her voice. "Now what is it that you have to tell me?"

"I'm getting joined," Rhea said with a bit of excitement in her voice.

"So that would be why you haven't called me since you got on board that battlestar, so what's his name," her mother said curious as to who had caught her daughter's eye.

"Well actually," Rhea stammered a bit not sure how they would take the news.

"All right, what's her name," her mother said catching the slight pause in her daughter's voice.

Rhea was a bit stunned by what her mother said. "Ah, her name's Toni," Rhea told her. "She a viper pilot on board the battlestar."

"Well I would assume that she's on the same ship," her mother said with a bit of humor in her voice. "When is the joining," she asked so she would know how long they had to get aboard the battlestar.

"I still need to talk with Toni about it, but considering everything that has happened I think she would agree with me in saying the next week or so," Rhea said. "I need to go mom, duty is calling," Rhea told her mom and with a promise to talk with her later went back to her duties.



A week later Rhea stood close to the ceremony room. Everything had happened so fast it almost seemed like it was a blur. She could remember the party that Janiel, Mary and the others had thrown her. They had gotten her one gift that had made her blush. It was a pair of sexy panties and matching bra for her joining. Rhea had almost not worn it but decided that it would be nice later on tonight.

She had received a dress from her mother which fit her very well. The color was a deep green that brought out the color of her eyes and a plunging neckline that gave a hint of cleavage. Around her neck she wore a necklace that had been handed down in her family for years. It was a half disc shape that had been given to the oldest daughter.

Treis glanced at Toni who seemed to be pacing around in the small room that they had. She stopped to look at herself in the mirror for what he thought was the hundredth time. Toni had decided to wear the ceremonial fighter uniform of the pilots. He could tell that she was fiddling with something.

"What's up," he finally asked having watched her pace once too much.

"What do you think," she asked as she tugged on a necklace that he had never seen before. Treis leaned forward to get a better look at it.

"Where did you get that," he asked her as he gazed at it.

"I made it a long time ago, but I feel a bit funny wearing it for my joining ceremony," Toni said still fiddling with the necklace.

"No don't, its you," he told her. "I fact I think you should wear it on top of your uniform."

"You really think so," she asked watching as he nodded his head. She pulled the necklace out and left it setting on top of her shirt. Treis looked over to where Apollo stuck his head into the room gaining eye contact with him and Treis knew that it was time to begin the ceremony. Toni nodded her head and took a deep calming breath and followed him out into the ceremony room.

Walking inside the room Toni knew that it was full of candles and friends that they all knew. Rhea's family was standing near Rhea. Toni spotted Janiel and Omega standing close by as well as Apollo and Sheba. Toni however did not see any of them once her eyes fixed upon Rhea. The smaller woman looked stunning in the green dress that brought out the green eyes that had locked onto her own. Toni had to force her body to continue walking towards the smaller woman.

Rhea thought that Toni looked even better in her ceremonial uniform. She could not think of Toni in a dress for some reason. Toni's blue eyes locked onto her own eyes and Rhea found herself lost in the blue depths she found there. She barely registered the fact that Toni had made her way over to where she was standing when a voice spoke out.

"Who gives Rhea," the voice said causing Rhea and Toni to glance over to see who was talking. Rhea was a bit surprised when she saw Commander Adama standing there. He would be the one commencing the ceremony for them. Rhea felt a bit honored that he would be joining them. She had just assumed that Omega would be performing the ceremony.

"I do," her father said with a smile on his face that was directed at his daughter. Rhea locked eyes with him briefly before turning back to Toni.

"Who gives Toni," Adama said looking over to Toni.

"I do," Treis said from where he was standing near them.

"The words I am about to say are our most sacred in the known universe," Adama said looking at both woman, but they had only eyes for each other. "They seal the union between these two women."

Toni let her eyes remained locked with Rhea's until she caught a bit of light reflecting off the necklace that Rhea was wearing. Taking a quick glance down Toni was startled to discover a pendant much like the one she was wearing at the moment. It was so close that Toni almost thought it was the same one that she had to make sure she was still wearing hers.

Rhea noticed that Toni's eyes were no longer on hers, but had glanced down. She was about to send a questioning glance when she noticed Toni's hand raise up to a necklace. Rhea had never noticed the necklace before and was surprised when she saw the pendant that was on the necklace. Rhea had to wonder if Toni's necklace had been handed down like hers had been. Commander Adama went forward with the ceremony.

"This union is not only for now, but for all the eternities," Adama said talking to both of them. Toni and Rhea both felt a strange feeling at that statement. It was almost as if they had been here before. Both of them shock off the feeling and concentrated on the ceremony as Toni and Rhea clasped hands.

"Toni, Rhea, under the eyes of god, bound by the symbol of the fates of the Lord of Kobal, I declare you sealed," Adama told them as he placed his hand on top of theirs.

Toni bent down to give Rhea a kiss which the smaller woman gladly accepted. Toni knew that one kiss could go beyond what she, or Rhea, could control. They broke off with a promise in their eyes for what would happen later. Everyone around them clapped and congratulated the newly joined couple. Toni noticed that Treis come up with a questioning look on his face.

"Toni, what's the significance of the necklaces that you are both wearing," he asked them. Toni glanced to Rhea who answered first.

"My mother gave me this one. It has been passed down through our family for generations," Rhea replied as she grazed her necklace with her fingers.

"I made mine after a dream. I remember spending hours on it to make sure that it was perfect," Toni said as Rhea looked at Toni. "I drove my mother crazy while I created it."

"They look like they could fit together," Treis said as he glanced at the two pieces.

Toni had to agree with Treis and decided to see if the two pieces would fit together. Rhea lifted her pendant while Toni brought her closer. To their surprise the two pieces did indeed fit together almost perfectly. It created a round disc with an intricate pattern. What really surprised people was the fact that even the pattern matched.

"Incredible," Aaron said from where he was standing watching his sister as they placed the two pieces together.

"Perhaps you two had a common ancestor," Treia said to the two of them.

"No, remember I made mine," Toni replied still recovering from the shock at how well the two pieces fit together.

"And mine has been passed down through the generations," Rhea said looking up into Toni's eyes. There was something about the necklaces that made them feel like there were meant to be together and they both felt like it was just the tip of the iceberg.

They held each other's hand as they were congratulated by everyone in the room. Rhea's family had already been accepting of Toni like a daughter which had been a relief to her. It was the one thing that Toni had been dreading before the joining ceremony but they had put her mind at ease.

"What do you say we get out of here," Toni said whispering in Rhea's ear.

"I'd say let's go. Janiel has arranged for us to alone tonight," Rhea whispered back. Their living arrangement would be determined within the next couple of days. It was not often that a marriage happened aboard a battlestar. The crew realized that it was something that would become more common as life went on.

"What are we waiting for," Toni said before turning to the rest of the group. "Rhea and I wish to thank each of you for coming. Please enjoy yourselves but we are going to retire for the night," Toni said to the group as she proceeded to pick up Rhea. With a loud whoop from the pilots in the room the newly joined couple left the room and headed towards Rhea's quarters.

Rhea could feel her cheeks blush when she heard the pilots whooping. She was also glad that they left when they did. What she had not expected was to be carried out of the room by Toni all the way to her quarters. They passed a few other crew members who grinned at the couple. There was no one on board who did not know about their marriage. The crew members exchanged grins with Toni as they passed each other.

"So we're alone for the rest of the night," Toni asked wanting to make sure she had heard Rhea correctly as she carried Rhea into the room.

"Just you and me until she gets off tomorrow," Rhea replied as she was placed on the bed. Glancing up into Toni's eyes she could see the desire in Toni's eyes and was sure was mirrored in her own eyes.

"Then I guess we better not waste too much time," Toni said as Rhea stood up. Toni pushed the straps of Rhea's dress off her shoulders and the dress dropped to the ground. That was when Toni got a glimpse of what Rhea was wearing underneath the dress. It left Toni speechless.

"You like," Rhea asked sexily as she posed for Toni.

"Oh yeah," Toni growled as she looked on at her wife's body.

"Then come on, rock my universe," Rhea said.



Bojay walked down the hallway along with Starbuck and Apollo. The two pilots were there with Commander Adama. The Galactica's repair work was still going on and was almost complete. Commander Adama had now fully recovered from the attempt on his life. The fleet was settling down from the recent events. They knew that the Cylons were still out there, but they were better protected now than ever before.

"I thought Toni and Rhea had a nice joining ceremony," Bojay said to the other two.

"It reminded me of when Serina and I were joined," Apollo replied thinking about it. "And its given me something to think about."

"Yeah, I was watching Cassie during the ceremony. I have a feeling that she would like a ceremony like that," Starbuck said as he thought about the ceremony. The other two men both knew that a comment like that from Starbuck meant that he was seriously thinking about joining with Cassie.

"So, Sheba is really going to transfer back to the Galactica," Bojay asked. He had heard the rumors and wanted to make sure.

"She's serious about it. I think she wanted to be closer to me, and I wouldn't mind it. This separation has brought us closer," Apollo told Bojay. "The general feeling is that even though Toni is still new, she has the abilities to lead a viper squadron. There is something about her leadership skill. It's almost as if we have only scratched the surface of her abilities to lead."

All three knew what Apollo was talking about. They had all seen Toni's abilities to lead during the battle. Paired with Rhea the two women seemed to be even better together than apart. They complimented each other in a way none of them had ever seen before.

"So when does Commander Adama leave for the Agamemnon," Bojay asked.

"He's headed over whenever he is ready. He is talking with each battlestar's commanders and how they operated. He's going to be back on board the Hyperion tomorrow. He wanted to talk to the entire command staff and Rhea will be busy for the rest of the day and tonight. He figured tomorrow would be better for everyone," Apollo said.

"Are we ready," a voice said behind them. They turned around to see Commander Adama along with Omega walking towards them.

"Whenever you are father," Apollo replied.



Toni glanced around the area not really sure where she was. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Rhea standing next to her. The smaller woman looked even more confused than Toni felt at the moment. The place seemed to be some sort of bar, but it was unlike anything they had ever seen.

Everyone in the bar seemed to thousands of years in the past. Their clothing looked to be homemade and the weapons seemed to be swords or daggers.

"Lovely," they heard a voice say. For a second Toni thought that it was Rhea and turned to look at her. Rhea however was looking at the door to the bar with a bit of a shocked expression on her face.

Toni turned to see what Rhea was looking at when she saw an identical twin of Rhea walking towards the barkeep. The only difference was what the other one was wearing. This woman was wearing a light blue blouse and a long brown skirt. The only real difference was the hair, which had a bit more red in it than Rhea did.

Toni then looked past the woman to see a twin of herself walk through the door. Her twin however was different. She carried a sword and wore armor. She also seemed to keep an amused eye on her companion as well as scanning the crowd for any trouble. It was obvious to Toni that they could not see them or they would be staring at each other.

"Toni," Rhea whispered to Toni and she managed to look down into Rhea's face. "They look just like us. What's going on here?"

"I don't know Rhea," Toni answered not sure about what was going on. Looking back at the two women she could tell that the blonde seemed quite oblivious to any threat around her. They watched as the warrior picked up a torch and with something in her mouth she used the liquid to breath fire. The man who had been advancing on them quickly backed away and left the tavern all the while the blonde haired woman continued to talk.

"Did you ever notice that we never have a problem finding a table," the blonde said as she sat down at a table just recently abandoned.

"It's a mystery to me," the taller woman said in amusement.

"Rhea, I don't think anyone can see or hear us," Toni said as she noticed that no one seemed to pay her any attention.

"I think you're right," Rhea said just as the scene before them changed.

This time they were watching the blonde on a raised platform with tears in her eyes. She appeared to be in some sort of ceremonial outfit. Toni briefly thought she would live to see Rhea in the same outfit as she looked around some more. A coffin was sitting on a high pile of wood that was beginning to burn. Suddenly a dark haired man with a mustache entered the clearing and took off with the coffin. They watched as the blonde took off after the man before the scene changed again.

This time the two women were facing each other in a strange area with a bluish background. The blonde had on the same outfit as before and the taller woman said something that made the other one cry. As they watched they slowly kissed just before the scene changed again.

Rhea and Toni continued to watch the scenes change as they slowly gained information about the two women. The tall one was called Xena, and the blonde was Gabrielle. Not much longer Toni and Rhea found themselves in a blue swirling mist. It was transparent enough for them to see each other but not anything clearly.

A figure slowly formed in front of them. They were expecting to see either Xena or Gabrielle but were surprised when a curly blonde haired woman came out of the mist. She walked right towards them and stopped in front of them. She looked at them then smiled brightly.

"I see that you two have found each other again," the woman said addressing Toni and Rhea. "This is good. They will need help and you have many adventures ahead of you, much like your previous lives on Earth."

Then the woman suddenly disappeared leaving Toni and Rhea confused by it all as everything went grey and then black.



Toni woke up first feeling a bit disoriented for a second until she felt a familiar weight on her top of her. She knew that it was Rhea without looking and wrapped her arms around her wife's naked body.

She frowned when she recalled the strange dream she had just had. It was almost as if she had been watching someone else's life in fast forward. Some of the parts were defiantly sad while other parts were quite joyous. She smiled as she looked down on the face of her wife as she slowly woke up.

Green eyes slowly opened up and glanced up into alert blue eyes. For a few seconds they just looked into each others eyes as they savored their first night together. Rhea finally found her voice.

"Well, that was interesting," Rhea finally said as she put her head back down into the comfortable spot she had been in. "I had the most interesting dream last night. You were in it and so were two other that looked a lot like us called Xena and Gabrielle."

Rhea knew that there was much more to her dream when she felt Toni's breathing hitch at her description of her dream. Looking back up into Toni's face she noticed the expression on her face.

"You had that dream too," Toni asked not sure what to make of this.

"You were in my dream," Rhea seemed to ask as she frowned in thought. "Then what the woman said at the end," Rhea said letting her voice trail off.

"It seems we were meant to be together all along," Toni said. "And I think that we lived our previous life on Earth."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that," Rhea said. "I guess I've always believed that Earth did exist."

"Perhaps we'll still be alive when we find it," Toni said as she glanced down past her wife's face to her chest and what she could see.

"You know, I thought it felt like we had been joined before when Commander Adama said for all eternity," Rhea said as a hand came around to cup one of her breasts.

"I felt the same way," Toni said feeling Rhea's breathing hitch as she massaged the breast. "However we don't have an eternity until we have to go back on duty, so," Toni said as she flipped them over. "I can think of some more creative ways to pass the time than talking about a past live."

"Warriors, all talk," Rhea teased knowing that it would only serve to prolong her pleasure but she could not help it.

"Well see about that," Toni replied to the challenge as she proceeded to ravage her wife.



"What's the report Lucifer," Baltar demanded not happy about the fact that he had lost a major battle against the Galactica.

"Just before contact was lost with the commander of the Tartarus class basestar he reported that he was under attack from another battlestar," Lucifer replied wondering how Baltar would react to the news.

"The Pegasus," Baltar said whispering the name of the Battlestar like it was a curse word.

"That is the major theory among the other basestar commanders," Lucifer said.

"Of course it is, what other possibility could there be," Baltar said as he glared at Lucifer. "We will have to be careful," he told Lucifer. If the Pegasus survived then Commander Cain could have survived as well, and he wanted Baltar's head. "Tell the others to proceed to follow the Galactica and the colonial fleet. We will get an opportunity soon," he said almost as if he could taste the victory.

"As you command Baltar," Lucifer said with a slight bow and left the room.

"One day Adama, I will have my revenge," Baltar said to the now empty room.

The End.