I am not the owner of anything Battlestar Galactica, or the characters on the show. All the Terran characters are my creation.
TIME FRAME: Less than a month after "Lay Down Your Burdens Part II"
TIMELINE: Alternate universe from the show, and in later chapters, a mirror universe...
Five years ago , Earth was irradiated by a race known only as the Dravidiiams. They were enhanced 'supermen' created by the ancestors of man, the Emerians. The Dravidiiams proved too unstable, and were abandoned.
You cannot play God then wash the hands of the things that you've created. When an experimental technology fell into the wrong hands, the Dravidiiams used it to destroy Emyr, and two thousand years later Earth as well.
The CSS Laurier, a Canadian starship containing the most senior captain left alive, led a fleet of survivors to Polaris, were they have remained ever since. But when a fleet of ships appears suddenly by the nearby Mutara Nebula, Laurier is sent out to investigate...
Chapters 1 and 2: First Contact
Battlestar Pegasus, Astral Body M8
"It's not time yet..." complained Lee "Apollo" Adama, rolling over in
his bunk. He was right, his tour of duty started in half an hour. And
when you pull double the night before, half an hour is a nice long
time.
"Get up, lazy. We're here." Anastasia Dualla punched him
lightly in the head."Ow!" Lee rolled off his bunk. "Where?"
"Astral body M8." Dee replied.
Lee shook his head. M8. Right. "I'll be right up."
Dee turned and left their quarters. The commander's office on the
Pegasus was harsher than that aboard the Galactica, but he hadn't
complained. Some of it was quite nice, the glass table, the display
cases. He had left the weapons the late Helena Cain had displayed,
simply because he didn't have anything to replace them.
He hurried to dress. Ever since evacuating from New Caprica, the
battlestar had been undermanned and understaffed. He was doing
everything required of him and more. He was one of only four bridge officers, Dee was the XO
though only a lieutenant.
The doors on the Pegasus were automatic, and gave him a few extra seconds to spend on his temporal debt, which was growing every day. Back on the Galactica, or the 'bucket', the doors had
been manual. The Pegasus
(the official nick' was the 'beast', but in the last few months it had
lost its mystique and was now called the flattering name 'Peggy') was
the better battlestar in many respects,
but it had been lucky it hadn't been destroyed- Galactica had been
more prepared.
The glass doors to the CIC rotated open, and he stepped in. It was
still empty, except for Dee. The battlestar had barely enough people
to move, let alone fight. No pilots, no gunners. They would be in a
lot of trouble if the Cylons showed up.
"Anything?" Apollo asked.
"The Admiral says it will be a little while before they plot the
course to Earth." Dualla said. "Baltar's notes got sketchy at this point, and we don't have Gaeta to figure them out anymore." Gaeta was now the President's aide, stuck back on New Caprica.
But... Earth. The fleet had spent so long reaching it, and then decided to
settle on the wintry planet that was called New Caprica. And now Earth
was the only hope they had of saving the fleet. They were lucky
Baltar had obsessed with charting Earth's location. According to him M8 was near two
pulsars which were mentioned in the Scriptures. Apollo didn't know
how they were mentioned (he slept through religion instruction after
three weeks), or whether Baltar was going on another one of his drug trips again, but he knew by the twin pulsars he was orbiting that
they were in the right place.
Suddenly the DRADIS console beeped. "Contact, coming in CBDR, look
at it come!" shouted Lieutenant Hoshi. He scrambled to do the work of two officers as the blip closed... Fast!
Lee jumped to action. "Set condition one throughout the fleet."
That was a joke. It didn't matter what condition they were at, they
would all be killed if it were the Cylons.
Battlestar Galactica CIC
Admiral William Adama stared at the DRADIS console hanging over the
plot table. The unknown ship had entered weapons range in startling
time. Whatever engines were powering her were impressive. It was
small, maybe a quarter a size of the Galactica, maybe it would be an
easy kill in normal times. But with three quarters of the crew
missing, he might be able to scrounge enough men to man one turret.
"Are we ready to jump?" he asked.
"No sir, most ships are still trying to activate their jump
drives." said Karl C. "Helo" Agathon, a previous Raptor ECO,
making him natural for the duty of tactical officer of Galactica. He
was one of few bridge officers left. The battlestar wouldn't be
returning fire any time soon.
"Sir, we're being hailed," said Helo.
Adama turned swiftly. "What are they saying?"
"Admiral Torias of the Canadian Starship Laurier, sir."
"Put it through." Adama pushed the strange name to the back of
his mind and picked up one of the heavy duty phones. "This is
Galactica actual. Admiral Adama."
"Admiral Torias of the CSS Laurier, I've never seen a starship
like yours before. We've had a rather interesting journey. I
don't want to bore you with the details." He seemed quite nonchalant.
"I... understand. Where are you headed?"
"It isn't a question of where, so much as we've come to find
you. We detected you close to our homeworld and naturally had to
investigate. Perhaps you would prefer to talk about it here, or on
your ship, if you don't trust me. We're a little understaffed
right now."
Adama nodded, though he knew Torias couldn't see him. "We'll
meet over here. We'll meet you in the port landing bay, the LSO
will guide you through it. Adama out." He hung up the phone on the
plot table. "We'll be expecting company, have Commander Adama
join us." Adama left the empty CIC.
Approaching Galactica Port Landing Bay
"Shuttle, Galactica, hands-on approach, checkers red, call the
ball."
Torias clicked the radio. "Galactica, Torias, I have the ball.
Coming in. Over."
The battlestar was an aircraft carrier, that was for sure. Reminded
him more of the old United Earth ships instead of the Calgary, one of
the Greater Terran Alliance's largest aircraft carriers. The
Pegasus was more like one of the GTA, but the two battlestars were
still very similar in some respects.
The landing bay was enclosed in one of the pods flanking the main
body of the vessel, and ran the whole length with openings at both
ends.
Along the top and bottom of the ship were gun stations, with four
turrets arranged in a square. The nose of the ship was constructed of
two sections with a sort of valley between them, this contained no
less than eight of these turrets. It was a powerful ship, no
question.
The shuttle touched down on the landing pad that was flashing, and
they were lowered into the hangar bay, which also spanned the length
of the pod. There wasn't much of a reception waiting.
Torias deactivated the shuttle and Benson opened the door. Rachel
Carey, his XO, and his wife and fourth officer Ruiwan Zhan stepped
out of the ship.
All the crew of the ship wore dark blue uniforms with a patch on the
side representing the Galactica, registry BSG-75. An old man,
probably in his early sixties, stepped forward. "I'm Admiral
William Adama of the colonial battlestar Galactica. Welcome aboard."
"Thank you admiral." Torias extended his hand and shook Adama's.
Admiral's quarters, Galactica
"So where are you from? You seem human."
It wasn't Torias asking that. Adama was. Torias didn't recognize
the ships, but he had assumed them to be another refugee fleet from
Earth or one of the GTA colonies.
"Well, I'm actually from Canada. We had to evacuate the planet
because of nuclear attack, I'm surprised you don't know of it. We
settled two very nice planets, Homeworlds One and Two. Original
names, I know, but they work."
"We had to evacuate our homeworlds as well, for the very same
reasons."
"Homeworlds? You mean you're not from Earth or one of the GTA
colonies?"
Adama sat up, but his face fell. "Earth? You know of Earth? That's
what we're looking for." Clearly he had hoped Earth was still in
one piece.
"I'm from Earth." Torias replied.
Lee Adama, the admiral's son, jumped in. "You said you were from
a place called Canada."
"It is, er, was a country, a political division, on Earth." said Benson. "We are officially
unified, but each country maintains it's original heritage, rights
and freedoms under GTA law. Or at least, that's what it was like."
"We are from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Twelve habitable planets
with over thirteen billion people."
"Kobol?" Benson asked. "Never heard of that."
"I'll explain later. The Cylons came and destroyed them, much
like Earth, I guess. This fleet is all we could save. When we finally
escaped pursuit and found the other battlestar, the Pegasus, we also
found a... habitable planet. We settled it, and called it New
Caprica. Things are hard. We have no resources apart from what we
brought. Nowhere to start. We can't colonize. We aren't
equipped."
"So why are you here?" asked Zhan.
"The Cylons showed up again. Everyone in orbit jumped away,
everyone on the surface stayed." said Lee.
"Are you going to get them back?" asked Rachel.
"We don't have the manpower. The ships can barely jump, the
battlestars can't fight. We were trying to find Earth, to get
help."
Torias thought for a second. "We're understaffed too. We can help
you set up a computer automation system..."
"No." said Adama. "The Cylons can infiltrate any network. Shut
the ship down."
"What are these Cylons?" asked Benson. "We were nuked by the
Dravidiiams. They could jump as well, but between timelines,
using a technology known only as the lienaeid. They were humans, or
similar enough to infiltrate our fleet.
We can never use our own lienaeids, for fear of attracting the
Dravidiiams. They can track our jumps."
Adama was under the impression that the Cylons had already found
Earth. This revelation both relieved and worried him. "The Cylons
are similar, but they're machines. We have one on board we can show
you."
"Can we see him?" asked Torias.
"I don't see why not. Helo can show her to you."
After the Terrans had left, Adama turned to Apollo. "What do you
think?"
"It's pretty detailed to have been thought up on the spot, but if
there is another enemy out there, one even greater than the Cylons,
well, we're screwed."
Galactica Detention Area
"You don't know who the Cylons are?" said Helo.
"No. I guess we're pretty lucky, eh?"
"They destroyed my home. Some of them are just... evil. Some don't
even deserve to live." Every sentence was shot out like a bullet.
He clearly seemed more open about his feelings towards them.
Torias could feel something more than hate for the Cylons from the
Colonials. They seemed to know something. Something that made the
Cylons something more than just evil.
"I know how you feel, my planet was nuked as well."
Helo didn't seem to know how to answer that. "Earth got nuked?
They were the thirteenth colony of Kobol."
"Avery," said Benson. "There were fourteen Emerian colonies.
Polaris was lost, maybe Atlantis, Bowronis."
"Bowronis was abandoned."
"What are you talking about?" asked Helo.
"Earth, or a part of Earth called Atlantis was a colony of an empire called the Emerian Empire. There might
be some connection." There just wasn't any connection Torias
could see.
They entered a room containing what appeared to be a giant cage. The twin phones, one
inside, one outside, gave away the function. It was a prison cell.
The inside was pretty plush, with a leather armchair and a coffee
table, but it was still a cell.
"You can talk to her by the phone."
"You don't think of her as a thing then?"
"No. I love her."
Torias raised his eyebrows, trying to appear unsurprised. "As long
as she isn't the enemy, why not? You said she abandoned the other
Cylons." That was as noncommital as he could sound? Torias winced
inwardly. "Open the door. I want to talk with her face-to-face."
Helo did so, a little surprised at both the reaction and the command.
"You really haven't seen any Cylons before, have you?"
Torias stepped into the cell. A pretty young women (he thought
immediately of Zhan) sat in the armchair. "Who the hell are you?"
she asked.
Torias raised his hands. "Are all Cylons this polite?"
She chuckled. "Why would a human call a Cylon polite? You think
we're all killing machines anyway. Plugged in and ready to destroy
all humanity?" She spoke softly but with venom. Clearly she reacted
this way to people she didn't know. Helo had explained that she had
been through a lot, and after the Pegasus showed up she became very,
very wary of foreign uniforms. Helo hadn't exactly explained what
Pegasus had done, but it hadn't been pleasant.
"Actually, I've never heard of the Cylons until this morning. I'm
from Earth, or what's left of it."
That made the Cylon sit up. "Who are you?"
"Avery Torias, Admiral. Who are you?"
"You're asking for my name? Sharon. Sharon Valerii."
Benson stepped out from behind Torias. "So what is your relation to the Colonials? Where do your people come from?"
Sharon tried changing the subject. Maybe she was uncomfortable
discussing her people. She had betrayed them, after all. "What
happened to Earth? I thought you humans destroyed it yourself, but it
sounds like you were kicked out.
Rachel nodded. "Yeah, something like that. If you weren't in a
jail cell, we'd give you the tour. But I guess you'll be here for
a while."
"I've been here over a year, I'm used to it."
"They wouldn't let her out. Afraid she might warm the Cylons. I
doubt she will though." said Helo. "She's gained enough trust
that she'll be out soon."
"It wasn't easy betraying my own people," said Sharon.
"Well, nice meeting you, Sharon, maybe we can get you better
quarters." Torias winked. Helo smiled. "Yeah, good luck with
that." he said.
After Torias had left, Helo turned to Sharon. "That wasn't what I
expected."
"Nicest humans I've ever met apart from you. Though I guess they
don't know what we did, or who we are. No prejudice."
"I hope they can get you out of here."
"I hope so too." Sharon curled up in the chair and tried
sleeping.
CIC, Galactica
"So what do we do?"
Adama leaned on the plot table. "They seem honest enough."
Lee, on the Pegasus, voiced his dissenting opinion. "What if they are in no
shape to help us? They've got their own problems."
"Why not ask first?" Adama replied.
"I don't have any problem with their honesty," said Lee. "It's
their ignorance. The Cylons will take all of us out if they find us."
"Need I remind you that we are here because we got ignorant, and
they destroyed our homes. We can't persecute others for flaws we
share ourselves. Admiral Torias has given me the coordinates of the
two Homeworlds. We are going to start Jump prep."
"What are these Homeworlds going to do for us?"
"I'm hoping they'll have a military force to assist us. We need
the manpower."
"And if they don't? They've seemed a little too cooperative up
to this point. Almost eager to help us. What if we get mired down in
a political quagmire?"
"Then we take as many civilians off the ships and
man the
battlestars. It's our only option. I'm not leaving behind all
those people, not for that long. We were looking for Earth. We needed
their help. We've found them after a fashion and we'll take whatever
help they will offer. Start your jump prep, Commander. The
discussion ends here."
"I'm with you, Admiral." Lee hung up.
Adama replaced the phone. "Start Jump prep for Homeworld One!"
Laurier Ready Room
"I'm still a little shocked. I mean, they're human, but they're
not from Earth or any of the Emerian colonies." pondered Torias.
"Maybe Emyr is this Kobol. Or maybe Kobol and Emyr split off a long
time ago. I don't know, it's giving me a headache." said
Benson.
"Maybe the Thirteenth Tribe landed on Earth and found the Emerians
in chaos after the attack." Torias continued.
Zhan took a sip from her glass of tea. "They're connected
somehow. The chances of two human species developing together is
impossible, if not very improbable."
"We'll be warping to Homeworld before them then, give a little
warning?" said Rachel.
"The colonials use some variant on the lienaied, they have
hyperlight jump capability. It's faster for shorter ranges, but for
the time it takes to compute the jumps warp might be faster for long
distances." said Benson.
"We've sent a message ahead of us so they won't be fired on.
Let's just hope they don't attract you-know-who. A second
Dravidiiam attack would kill them and us." said Torias. "Let's
go."
Homeworld One, Our Timeline, The Present
"Well, we're just a little early." Torias said from the back of the bridge. He was getting a cup of hot chocolate out of the replicator. He'd unwittingly keyed a wrong button, and found out when he tried to take a sip. He scalded his tongue.
"I still don't see what we're going to do." Benson said when Torias had stopped cursing the computer. "It
will take a while to convince Admiralty to let us have a fleet."
"With the threat posed by the Cylons, we should launch a rescue
mission for the Colonials on New Caprica ASAP." said Torias, blowing on the mug.
"It won't happen that fast." Benson said.
"I'll use my influence. I'm an admiral, you know. The highest
one." Torias tried another sip, carefully this time.
Benson shook his head. "That doesn't give you free reign. Not by
a longshot."
"We're going to get the Colonials." said Rachel. "Let's not
let Adama down. He's counting on us."
Torias activated the comm. "This is Admiral Torias of the starship
Laurier to Orbital Command. Returning from survey mission. Preparing
to dock."
Rachel brought the Laurier into contact with the station, sealing the
hatches. "Hard seal confirmed."
"Let's go meet the captain, shall we?" Torias rose from his seat and left the bridge.
"You know how they see you, I mean, how many admirals fly around in
space, take on missions he could order subordinates to do..." said
Benson.
"Sam, it's fun. Now, the faster we go, the less of a surprise
they get." Torias finished his cup and dumped it into the nearest molecular recycling unit.
Benson and the rest of the Laurier crew went their own ways, while
Zhan stayed with Torias. They reported to the captains office on the
Station.
The room was large for starship standards, especially for a warship
like the Laurier. Torias didn't feel the least bit envious,
however. This office was stuck in orbit.
"Captain, I'd like to warn the defence network about an incoming
fleet," he started. "We encountered it out by Mutara and led it here.
I want the network to stand down."
The commander of the orbital station looked up from his laptop. "Yes, Admiral, I'll pass that along. Is this the same fleet you were
sent to encounter, and if so, what affiliation? Are they GTA
starships? This is just to pass down to Admiralty, you know."
"No, but they are human. No time to explain here, I'll tell
Admiralty when I get there. Tell them I'm coming." He turned to
his companions. "Let's get a shuttlepod ready."
"No. Let's find a viewport first. Then we can see them Jump in."
suggested Zhan upon leaving the office. The corridors were quite a
bit wider, and the ones ringing the outer rim had the viewports in
question. Torias led her to one in the bulkhead. The planet of Homeworld One
arched below, with the heavens shining above.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Zhan.
"Yeah," replied Torias. "Any minute now."
And then with a thousand flashes, the Colonial Fleet Jumped into
view. The two battlestars were in flanking positions, but they just
sat there.
"I think this is going to be an interesting series of events."
Torias whispered.
Colonial Point, Phoenix, Homeworld One
Colonial Point was named for housing the civilian government on
Homeworld. They had been created upon landing here, and the site
chosen for the view it had over what had become the capitol Phoenix,
nestled in the valley below. "This is what we had hoped to accomplish." said Adama. "Maybe
it wasn't our technology, but our effort."
"We were lucky. President Nariyan offered strong leadership.
Without him, we might not be here." explained Zhan. Zhan, Adama, and Torias' adopted daughter Catherine were
strolling on Colonial Point, on their way to the local fleet
headquarters.
"Our president turned out to be an idiot. Baltar." Adama grunted.
"What is he like?" asked Zhan, holding Catherine's hand. Catherine, also Chinese by
descent, could've fooled anyone into thinking them related. They
weren't, but it was shocking sometimes. She had turned thirteen last
March. Her parents had died when she was only five, and she had only
faint memories of them. She was one of many orphans left after the
attacks.
"He drinks, he procrastinates' he doesn't care about
colonization, he just wants the power. Our colony, after a year, was
little more than a tent city. He did obsess about Earth, not that it
matters."
"Lovely. By that time we were living out of stone huts, and mining
to get more materials. In five years we started installing simple
electrical systems powered by radioactive material we found further
north. Because this used to be an ancient colony, we had some
materials to work with. If this had just been a habitable rock, we
wouldn't have the nice civilization we have here." Torias said.
He was right about the ancient colony. Small cities had been found
further north. It had been abandoned two thousand years earlier, when
the Dravidiiams had destroyed their creators, the powerful Emerians.
Adama, unknown to the Terrans, was drawing even more similarities
between this and the Cylons.
"You were in the same boat, but did well," mused Adama. "Guess
we just came out unlucky."
"The shuttleport is here." Torias pointed at a stone building
overlooking the city. "The main Admiralty is in Aphrika city."
They walked towards it. It was primitive, but ornate, with stone
columns lining the entrance.
"I must admit, I'm a bit envious," said Adama. "Better than
steel piping."
"Envious about rock? There's tons of it around. We took this
blasting for the foundations. Much better than steel, I must admit
though. Now if you'll follow me."
Mag-lev Train
En-route to Aphrika
"Mum, when will we get there?" Catherine asked.
"Fifteen minutes, Cathy. Depends whether the roads good, really." Zhan
replied.
"So how will we do this?" Adama asked. "Just up and go at a moments notice?"
"I'm hoping they'll see you more as humans like us.
Otherwise things could get sketchy. I can't guarantee a full fleet
mobilization, but I can assure you that Laurier is coming one way or
another."
"Thank you, Admiral." Adama said with sincerity. Even one
advanced, heavily armed warship increased the odds. How much all
depended on the technology the Terrans possessed.
Briefing Room, Admiralty Headquarters
Aphrika City
Torias stood at the front of the room
giving a presentation to the captains in the room. "Ladies and
gentlemen, we have seen mostly inactivity after
escaping the Dravidiiams. But I have found more humans in a similar
situation. Their home worlds were destroyed by a race known as the
Cylons, a race of cybernetic machines. They are reported to be highly
dangerous
and adept at computer manipulation." Torias motioned towards a
large star chart. "The Colonials have a colony on this planet here,
called New Caprica." "What I see, Admiral, is the Catspaw Nebula." said
Captain Henderson. "We only discovered that
a few decades ago. A fairly unremarkable nebula, with one
unidentified star."
"There is a planet about one AU from the star. A large Cylon fleet
currently surrounds the planet. We'll need to send a recon mission.
I've volunteered to lead this mission. The fleet is to prepare for
large scale operations, and to coordinate with the battlestars in
resupply efforts. The Colonial battlestars will need some more
ammunition and personnel, especially pilots. Fortunately at the
moment we seem to have an abundance. Any questions?"
Captain Goldsworthy blinked in astonishment. "We haven't
mobilized this much since the Terran Holocaust. We're looking at
two weeks, minimum."
Henderson seconded. "Are you sure we should go
sticking our noses into this?"
"If we don't, they'll go anyway. Most likely to their deaths.
They can't fly, let alone fight." Torias replied.
"Why? Are there people on the planet?" Henderson asked.
"Thirty nine thousand people. Trained people that we can integrate
into our society with little difficulty."
"But the logistics! This is almost forty thousand people that we'll
just be throwing onto both planets!" Goldsworthy protested.
Torias changed slides, replacing the star chart with graphs. "Homeworld two is
facing a labour shortage constructing the new farms there. They have
more than enough housing. They thought more people would go there. A
lot stayed here. And the Colonials have been toughing it out on a
planet more like Canada than Homeworld Two. It'll seem like
paradise to some of them."
The two captains discussed for a minute. "Okay Torias. We'll give
you some ships. Four GTA, your Laurier should go as well. We'll give you
some United Earth ships to fill in. The rest is up to you."
"When do we leave, admiral?" asked Zhan, turning to Torias.
"As soon as possible, the Colonials need us."
Laurier Bridge, Prior to Recon Mission
"Are you sure you want to come along?" asked Torias.
"Face it Torias. I'm full of information." said Sharon.
Torias narrowed his eyes. "Then why do you have restraints on?"
"I'm a Cylon, remember?"
"I thought you said they were letting you out." said Benson.
"I guess they haven't gotten around to it. I'm here, aren't
I? That's a victory in itself. I'm still a Cylon, no matter what
I do." persisted Sharon.
"If an innocent Dravidiiam were to surrender, we wouldn't let him
go so easily, but at the moment the Cylons are not our enemies. Yet."
"You'd better change that line of thought very quickly, Admiral."
Torias waved his hand. "Yeah, whatever. We'll worry when we get
there. You said that you had no hidden programming, I'll trust
you." He took off the restraints.
Sharon rubbed her wrists. She almost smiled. "I'm not used to
this..."
"We brought Helo too, he'll have to deal with you if you go
crazy."
"Engines warmed up and ready to go." said Vikram Kornel at the
helm.
"Mr. Kornel, take us out. Release docking clamps, all back one
quarter. Bow thrusters one quarter, stern thrusters at
station keeping."
The Laurier swung around and pointed towards New Caprica, light-years
away.
"Engage FTL."
En Route to New Caprica, ETA Two Hours
Torias stretched out on his bunk. Catherine, who was by now quite
adjusted to travelling on the Laurier was sleeping. Zhan sat on the
couch, reading a book she had brought from home. Books were easy to
come by, at least new ones. The cruise ships had been quite well
stocked, and the printing press had only recently been redeveloped.
Typewriters were the most advanced typing machines not on the
starships. Paper was easy to make, and quite plentiful. Zhan's book
was hers, though. She had brought it in the beginning. Torias had
opened it once to find nothing but mandarin. Zhan had been attempting
to teach it to him, but he couldn't make heads nor tails of it. He
was developing some oral skills with the language, but the symbols
were just that: symbols.
"It was almost too easy to get this to happen," he said.
"You're the highest ranked officer in the fleet. You can almost
do what you want."
"I have to be careful though."
Zhan dropped her book on her lap. "Great power, great
responsibility, that kind of thing?" She looked at him. "You've
said it all before, dear. What does bug me is the fact that they
speak English."
"Nothing wrong with talking, is there? Who cares, we can
communicate, we shouldn't look a gift lion in the mouth. Anyway, we
should be there soon. Wake me up when we get there."
Battlestar Pegasus, Flight Deck
"These are Vipers?" asked Rachel, pointing at a Mk.VII.
"Yeah," said Peter Laird, Pegasus deck chief. "They were almost
designed to be fixed. I love 'em. Galactica over there," he
motioned with one hand, "They have those Mk.IIs, you'd think
they'd never fly. But they're just as dangerous. Just because
they're older doesn't rule them out. We found that out when
Pegasus turned on the Galactica. No actual fighting, but both marks
were flying around each other..."
"The battlestars fought?"
Laird backtracked fast, not catching the slip. "Uh, yeah. It wasn't
an actual, you know, battle, but Cain wanted to execute some of
Adama's men because they stopped a rape of the Cylon. They murdered
the interrogator by accident, or so Tyrol told me."
Rachel thought about it. "What is it with you guys and the Cylons,
anyway? You treat them like the enemy, but sometimes it seems worse
than that."
"I don't think so." Liard said evasively.
"Are they're any Viper simulators?" Rachel asked, changing the
subject. "I'd like to fly one."
"Why don't you fly a real Viper? The VIIs have better fly-by-wire
than the IIs on Galactica, so why don't you suit up?"
"You'd let me?"
"How else would we train nuggets? Simulators can only do so much,
and if you've got experience you're above a lot of our pilots!"
he chuckled.
"Well, I better not crash it!" Rachel said before heading to the ready room.
CSS Laurier, Approaching New Caprica, ETA Ten minutes
Deck Two
"I can't believe they let me go. I mean, they trust me."
Helo stepped around a corner. "Sharon, I had hoped the Old Man would do this after a
while. But I didn't realize how deep the hatred and distrust went."
"It's more than that. The other Sharon shot the old man. They'll
never forgive me."
"Then enjoy your freedom here. Maybe this will convince the
others..." Helo tried.
"It won't Helo. Trust me. They can leave me for a year, they can
leave me for longer."
"I'll do what I can." Helo said softly. "We should be
going to the bridge now. We'll be arriving at New Caprica."
Bridge, CSS Laurier, Near New Caprican Nebula
"I guess we're in the right place." Torias stared out the
viewport."Yes. Take us in, and be ready." said Sharon. "Take us in cold, Kornel." Torias said.
The Helm officer, Vikram Kornel, switched to silent running and nosed
the ship into the cloud.
"The cloud should effectively mask our approach," said Sharon.
"Ms. Valerii, this ship was designed as a stealth ship as well as a
gunship. Believe me, with this cloud and our capabilities, they won't
know we're here."
"Port cameras picking something up, sir." said Kornel.
"What is that, Sharon?" Torias asked.
"It's a Cylon basestar."
The ship was massive, but elegant, almost shapely. It reminded Torias
of a starfish more than anything. It had two sections with three
prongs, joined together at the centre by a centre axis. It was like a
stack of pointy pancakes.
"What kind of weaponry does it have?" asked Torias.
Sharon thought for a moment. "Three squadrons combined for
seventy-two Cylon raiders, assorted heavy raiders docked inside,
several banks of anti-ship missiles and some smaller, less accurate
antiaircraft point defense guns."
"What about defensive shields?"
"What?"
Torias turned in his chair to look at Sharon. "Every GTA ship now
has a shield system. It blocks out weaker attacks and absorbs
stronger ones."
"The Cylons have no shields." said Sharon.
"That's good. Let's take a closer look at the planet and be on
our way. Kornel, keep your hand on the throttle, we might need to
warp out of here."
"Yes, sir. I have an escape course set."
"All cameras, focus on New Caprica. Down scope." Torias ordered.
The viewer lowered in front of the captains chair. Torias switched
the feed to the lower camera. He saw a planet, but it seemed rather
blue and grey, and very unappealing. Several basestars orbited the
planet, looking like flying starfish.
"Well, I don't know what possessed you to colonize that rock, but
it shouldn't be too hard, as long no reinforcements come our way."
Sharon chuckled. "I thought it might be a bad idea settling there."
"Why don't we just just load them all onto the colonial ships and
take them to Homeworld? We need more people, they need better quality
of life, and they need a new president." suggested Benson. Torias
said nothing, though that was already the idea.
"Perhaps," said Helo.
"Well, we've seen enough. I overestimated the sensor capabilities
of the Cylon ships. They didn't even notice us. How should we burn
our extra time?" said Torias.
"Burn it? Why not launch early?" asked Helo.
"The fleet won't be restocked, the battlestars won't be ready,
and they need all the time they can get." said Benson.
"What about Kobol? Where's that?" asked Torias. "Don't they
have that ancient city there with the map to Earth?"
"Admiral, that might not be such a good idea," said Helo. "The
Scriptures say that Zeus warned all the humans that any return to
Kobol would exact a price in blood."
"Zeus, eh? Well, we had a Zeus on Earth too. A greek god."
Torias paused for a second, thinking over the coincidence. Maybe the
Emerians and the Thirteen Tribes were separate colonies before the
Dravidiiam attacks. Maybe the Thirteenth tribe landed on Earth first,
and collapsed before the Emerians got there? It opened some amazing
possibilities. " I still want to see Kobol, it might shed some
light on this." Torias continued.
"Shed light on what?" Benson asked,
"The Emerians and the people from Kobol... Kobolians? Anyway,
they can't both be our ancestors, can they? They're clearly from
different planets." Torias pointed out.
Benson shrugged. "Beats me what they did in their spare time.
Maybe by seeing the map to Earth we can see some of their technology,
architecture... Point out the similarities.
Helo relented. "All right, but if anyone dies, I hope you take the
warning."
"Maybe we're a special exception. Let's get out of here before
they sense us with a mark one eyeball. Engage!"
Battlestar Pegasus, Launch Tube
Rachel had flown several fighters before, her favourite were the
Canadian CS/F-103 starfighters. They're weren't too many of those
left. A few on the United Earth carriers and the ones being
constructed in the factory ship EU245. If it weren't for the United
Earth starships from 2097, designed to evacuate and colonize,
humanity might have ended. Now Rachel was sitting in a mk.VII Viper, ready to be shot out the
port side of the Pegasus. She had done catapult launchings before,
and was looking forward to another shot.
"Viper 101 to Launch control, interval check, positive." said
Rachel.
"Thrusters positive, 101. Good luck. Firing."
Rachel was snapped back in her seat as the Viper shot out of the side
of the battlestar.
"Wow!" she said when her lungs started working again. "Haha!
Very responsive!" Laughing to herself, she started flying head
snapping manoeuvers, being careful not to overdo it. Laird said that
these things could kill pilots even with the dampening systems.
After she had had her fun, she lined up with the Pegasus port launch
bay. To challenge herself, she rolled over and targeted the underside
bay.
"Viper 101, Control, auto-landing system engaging."
"Control, 101, request hands-on approach."
"Roger 101. Auto-landing disengaged. Speed 2-3-0, checkers red,
call the ball."
Rachel lined herself up with the flashing lights on the deck and
throttled back. "I have the ball." She brought the Viper up slowly and drifted over the elevator to the
hangar deck. With a little difficulty she lowered the Viper onto the
deck, lowering her gear. The skids latched on to the metallic deck,
and the elevator descended. Flashing red lights framed the trip, and
the airlock door closed above her, and the lift lowered into the
hangar bay. She opened the canopy and waited for the deck crew.
"You landed hands-on? You belong on the bucket," said Laird. "We
pride ourselves on our advanced landing system, you know."
"Bucket?" asked Rachel.
"The Galactica. She was about to be converted into museum, being
almost forty years old. Old computers, no networks, no auto-landing
system. Therefore, the bucket. We're Peggy now."
"I thought having no networks saved her."
Laird scratched his head. "Yeah... We keep trying to forget that, I
mean, we survived too."
Rachel hopped out of the cockpit. "We'll take as many of those as
you can deliver, we'll just keep providing the resources."
In Orbit over Kobol
"Are you sure about this?" asked Helo."We're prepared. First aid kit, sensors, rifles. You were
attacked by Cylons, aren't they retreating?" Torias asked.
"Maybe they still have a base. I don't know, I'm not plugged
in." said Sharon.
"No one is accusing you of being 'plugged in'." said Torias.
"Now, you said that there was a star map that represented the view
from Earth. If so, that means that someone came from Earth to Kobol.
Perhaps that's where these things come in. You said that Kobol was
abandoned two thousand years ago, well, the Emerian Empire was
attacked by the first Dravidiiams then. I'm thinking they're
linked."
"Captain, aerial survey complete, we have several photos." Kornel
called from his station.
"Ms. Valerii, if you will." Torias walked back to the plot table
in the back of the bridge.
"Raptor One, one of our shuttlecraft, was shot down and crashed
about here," she pointed, "...landing outside the City of the Gods. We landed in the
Galleon Meadow, which, according to legend, was where the last tribe
departed on the "great galleon". This was probably a ship of some
kind."
"A ship... Perhaps they were in fact returning to Earth." Torias mused.
"Maybe. Here, you can see the High Road, a ridge that leads to the
Gates of Hera. This is where Athena threw herself after the exodus of
mankind."
"Well, you seem to have the same gods as the Greeks... More proof,
I think." said Benson.
"Whatever. Whoever the Greeks were, they were as delusional as the
Colonials." replied Sharon.
"Delusional?" asked Torias.
"There is only one true God." Sharon said with confidence.
"How about we focus on less touchy subjects, alright? I want to get
back in one piece." said Benson quickly, breaking the tension.
"This is the Tomb of Athena. This is where we found the map to
Earth, and why we arrived at the Lagoon Nebula."
"Is that the Mutara Nebula?" asked Torias.
"Yes, it is." said Helo.
"That answers that question," said Benson.
"Let's take a look at this tomb first. Then we see the city.
Meteorology has predicted the weather for the next day or so, and it
should be moderately cloudy with some scattered showers here and
there. So unless you want to get wet, I suggest we go now."
Helo looked at Sharon, remembering (and not too fondly) the scramble
through the rainy, muddy forests of Kobol one year earlier.
Admiralty, Aphrika City
The
term "city" was just to make people feel like they had
accomplished something. It would be decades before it started to
resemble one. The streets were layed out, and gravel had been
compacted to make a very efficient pavement. Cars weren't in use
yet, as the factory ships were busy producing tools to stock newer
factories that were springing up all over the surface. Buildings were
being erected from wood in the nearby forests. Sawmills had been the
first industrial centres completed, for obvious reasons. Admiralty was a
multilevel building, four stories high. This was one
of the tallest buildings, and the inside resembled a World War Two Air
Command centre, with primitive light bulbs, powered by a simple
electric network from the nearby hydro dam. On the upper level was the
briefing room, and several of the senior
captains, some from the GTA, some from the United Earth, were hearing
Rachel's views on the Colonial Fleet.
"The battlestars themselves are interesting ships, they are
combination carrier/battleships. None of our ships are quite the
same. Our carriers aren't as heavily armed while our dreadnoughts
are lacking fighter capacity. The rest of the ships appear to be
assorted civilian vessels, a few have been outfitted with
ship-to-ship missiles, but those are short-range."
"What about the people? Who is in command?" asked senior captain
Henderson.
"The fleet in general is under the command of admiral William
Adama, second in command is at present Aaron Kelly because Karl
Agathon is out on the recon mission, Pegasus under the joint command
of Lee Adama and Anastasia Dualla."
"Is Lee Adama related to the admiral?" asked another captain,
Goldsworthy.
"Yes."
Henderson shifted in his chair. "Now I know Admiral Torias has put
his complete support into this, but we have agreed that this is a
little rushed. This is probably the fastest mobilization we've had
since the Exodus itself, and we haven't come up with any actual
battle plan yet."
"That's why the Laurier was sent out," said Goldsworthy.
"With the admiral on board! We can't pass anything by him until
he returns, and if something were to happen..." Henderson started.
"Like what?" asked Goldsworthy.
"I don't know, something bad."
Captain McCallum looked over at Rachel. "You might as well leave,
commander. They'll be at this for who knows how long." He smiled
before launching into the argument himself.
Rachel left the conference room.
Battlestar Galactica, Admirals Quarters
"They seem willing enough." Adama exhaled softly. "You think we can trust them?"
"We were looking for them. Now we find them, and-" Adama cut Lee
off.
"Two thirds of the crew have to be replenished. Two thirds! If we
can't trust them, they could take over the ship."
"Why, why would they do that?"
Adama drank from a glass of water.
"You never know. Desperate
people do desperate things. Let's just hope they don't put someone
in to displace the chain of command."
"I don't think they have any reason to do that. Besides, there
isn't a transfer you haven't approved."
"Don't be so sure. Something might go wrong, and then we'll be
really screwed. We can't even defend ourselves. I say we should be
cautious. Besides, not so long ago you were urging caution."
"I've seen what they've been doing to help us. Because I don't
think that we should question others' generosity. We can't throw
this away! With the firepower they have we could launch a
counterattack on the Cylons one day!"
Adama looked sharply at him. "For the time being, though, we will
focus on the mission at hand and not get carried away. That
will be all, commander."
The Gates Of Hera, Kobol
"Over here!" cried Sharon.
Two stone pillars framed an arched doorway bored into the side of the
mountain. The door was ajar.
"This certainly does look old," said Benson. He scanned it with
his palm scanner, noting the date.
"Look like any Terran ruins?" asked Torias.
"They look slightly Greek, but I can't be sure without any
comparison. They could be Carthaginian for all I know." Benson
folded up his scanner.
Inside was a large circular room with broken statues and podiums
lining the walls.
"These seem to represent the twelve zodiacal symbols. Virgo, Leo,
Ares..." Benson started walking around the room, naming each
stature as he passed it. Torias didn't really pay attention to him.
"Those are also the names of the original colonies," said Helo,
intrigued that Benson knew the names by heart.
Sharon stepped up to a statue of an archer. A jewelled arrow lay at
his feet. "The Arrow of Apollo," said Helo. "Starbuck went
through all that trouble and left it here."
"Starbuck?" inquired Torias.
"Kara Thrace. Used to be a Viper pilot on Galactica. Probably the
best." Helo said, admiring the Arrow.
"So, what is this Arrow supposed to do?" asked Benson.
"Open the Tomb of Athena." said Sharon.
"This is the Tomb of Athena. Isn't it?" Torias wasn't so sure
anymore.
"No. The tomb is below us. This is more like... The lobby."
Sharon picked up the Arrow. "Get ready."
She placed it on the bow of Sagittarius. With a gust of wind and a
slam, they were plunged into darkness.
"I want to check out now." said Benson.
I would appreciate some constructive criticism (this is my first work), especially on the wooden characters. I hope things aren't too fast or unrealistic. If there are any questions, concerns, Toasters, or fuzzy doorknobs just leave a message.
Next Chapter: Torias and the landing party on Kobol theorize on where the Colonials really came from while the Colonial Fleet prepares the imminent attack. After the Laurier returns the Terrans and the Colonials launch the largest assault of the Cylon war, completely suprising the Cylons. On the way Laurier recieves an automatic distress signal from a dead Colonial ship...
