FULLMETAL: This story carries the AU label for a reason. The original storyline is just a jumping off point for me.

Three days after Adama put boots on the ground to explore where the beacons’ signals intersected, the expeditionary team’s status report included something more than a description of the scenery.

“We found an orchard, Admiral. It’s gone wild, but it’s a gods damned fruit orchard, just like the ones we had on Leonid.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes sir, I’m sure. I worked as a fruit picker in high school before I joined the service. And these things are almost exactly like what we had back home. Only problem is that none of the fruit are ripe.”

Adama recalled the meeting he’d had on Colonial One earlier in the week and how that professor had proposed the starting of farms on the some of the ships.

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Is there anything else?”

“Yes sir, and it’s a biggie. We found a cave at the base of a hill, Admiral. It’s been carved into the rock and there are markings all over the walls and on the floor as well. Some of them look familiar but I never really paid attention in history class.”

“Can you describe them to me?”

“Well…when you enter the chamber, there’s a carving of a circle about three meters in diameter surrounded by a ring of five smaller circles…and we really couldn’t get a good look at anything else, sir. I’d like to request proper lighting equipment so that we can properly explore this place.”

“Done. The lights will be down with the next Raptor. How far is this site from where you landed?”

“About a 90 minute hike, sir. There are too many trees to properly land our birds any closer to this place.”

“If we send down a demolitions kit, could you blow a landing site?”

“Yes sir, we could, but it would still be a ways away to avoid damaging the fruit plants.”

“Do the best you can.”

Lee tagged along with Kara when she drew the short straw and had to do the donut run several days later. There was no real reason for him to go down to the surface, but he wanted to see this cavern for himself.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a cavern. Under the light of the work lamps set up throughout the chamber, it was obvious that he was standing in the middle of a manmade structure built from humongous slabs of stone. It must have been covered with tons of soil to give it the appearance of a hill in the many centuries since it had been built.

Kara came in with him for a few minutes and together, they examined the symbols carved into the stones, careful not to bother the priest and priestess who were working on interpreting the symbols, although Lee didn’t think that there was any real religious significance to them whatsoever.

They walked around the outer edge of the chamber, following the twelve star signs carved into the walls. They were just like the symbols they saw on Kobol, each one representing a colony from back when they were still known by their old names.

Aries.

Taurus.

Gemini.

Cancer.

Leo.

Virgo.

Libra.

Scorpio.

Sagittarius.

Capricorn.

Aquarius.

Pisces.

Symbols of a history that the pessimist in Lee believed would be lost in less than two generations-if they even made it that far.

After they completed one circuit of the chamber, Kara left to supervise the loading of the cargo containers they would be taking back up to Pegasus, but Lee decided to stay behind for a little while longer. He tugged at the zipper of his flight suit, even though it was already all the way up, to try and prevent the cold air of the chamber from seeping in and chilling him even further.

He walked towards the center of the chamber, looking at the symbols on the floor as he did. This time though, he was looking at the stone floor and the symbols carved into it. There were many, beginning with the large circle surrounded by a ring of smaller circles and made his way inwards.

It was the beginning of a spiraling path and twisted around the floor of the chamber. If one happened to follow this path, they would have seen that they were following a series of rings, each one made of five circles, and without the larger circle in the center like the symbol at the entrance, and that each ring got smaller and smaller until the path ended at a stone table or altar in the middle of the chamber.

Like the rest of the chamber, this table was circular in shape and the flat top was carved with nine concentric circles, like the rings of a tree. Lee looked at the rings on the table, trying to figure out what they meant. He was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped, completely startled, when a hand softly pressed against the inside of his elbow.

Kara jerked back in surprise herself when her husband reacted so suddenly to her touch, but they both recovered quickly.

“We’re all loaded up,” she said softly. “Let’s get out of here.”

Lee nodded and Kara put an arm around his waist to guide him out, only to discover that maybe he had been in this chamber for too long without proper clothing.

“Lords, you’re shivering. Come on.”

Kara tugged on Lee’s arm and pulled him towards the tunnel that would lead them out.

They walked out into the heat of the outdoors together and simultaneously reached up to unzip their suits. It was getting late and the sun was just beginning to touch the tree tops. Some distance away, two groups of civilians were scrambling to uproot a couple of trees in the fading light, so that they could be prepped to be taken up and planted on one of the freighters.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Warmer.”

That was an understatement. They were now only dressed in their tanks from the waist up and were both sweating profusely from the sudden change in temperature.

They walked away from the hill and towards the marked path that would lead them to the landing site.

“So what are we taking up?” Lee asked, wiping sweat from his brow and wiping his hand on his outer tank.

Kara replied, “Half a dozen saplings and three crates of high quality dirt to the Eleanor’s Pride, then back home.”

“Dirt?” Lee looked over at Kara and quirked an eyebrow, trying to see if she was joking, but she wasn’t.

“Yup,” she said. There wasn’t even the customary twinkle in her eyes that said that she was bullshitting him.

“Okay.”

They kept on walking for a few more minutes before Kara suddenly tightly gripped Lee’s hand and brought them both to a complete stop. They were on a planet, and it had been over a year since they’d seen a sunset together. It was one of the few things she missed about their trips to the surface back on New Caprica.

She took a quick look at her watch and made some quick mental calculations before she began tugging Lee back towards the hill at a fairly brisk pace.

She smiled at the inquisitive look on Lee’s face, but only said: “We’re running ahead of schedule. Let’s take our time.”

AN: Such a milestone chapter and I’m stuck posting a set up. Sometimes it seems as if the gods of exposition really hate me.

What did you think? Do you like the direction I’m taking this story? Or should I dial it back a bit and stick more closely to canon?