Destined Knight: I've longed wanted to write an nBSG fic. Then it hit me as I read Skeet's fic. Why not a crossover? I've thought about an nBSG/B5 crossover but it would too easily become complex and there are too many B5 fics at the moment. I wanted an universe where there'd be only humans to deal with (i.e. no aliens) and where the technological inequality wouldn't be too great. I chose Forbidden Planet.

That gives me an opportunity to create an entire background society for Forbidden Planet. I decided to set it in the future of Timeline 191 (the universe of Harry Turtledove's Civil War/Confederate Victory series). That, in turn, gives me an opportunity to see how modern values compare with the values as displayed in Forbidden Planet (those of the 1950's).

It should be fun, I hope! Enjoy.


The saucer form of the United Planets cruiser C-57D faced a smaller chrome-plated vessel that it didn't recognize. The red glow of the saucer's engine spun in the bottom dome, giving it the power to travel and to defend itself, if necessary. To reinforce this, two points on the saucer's edge 130 degrees from each other became holes as hatches slide aside. Small gun-metal gray wands with lit bulbous heads slide out and bent to aim themselves at the other ship.

Commander J.J. Adams watched the alien vessel warily on the view-plate. His crew was scrambling to their combat posts as per his commands just seconds ago.

Alien.

Adams considered the word, its life-transforming import. What if it was true, he wondered. What if this vessel was actually a spacecraft from a non-human civilization? It would be the single greatest threat the United Planets had ever faced. It would hold up the old horrific specter of an alien invasion. It would change humanity forever. If they were out there, then the whole human race would have to prepare to defend itself against them.

It has been speculated for centuries that there were space-faring non-human civilizations far beyond the space explored and charted by the United Planets so far. Certainly, the ruins on Mars and now the knowledge of the ancient and extinct Krell civilization attest to the existence of alien intelligences. Heck, the UP cruisers were based on designs taken from the Roswell Crash, all but confirming the existence of living non-human intelligences. UP Command sometimes worried about that.

Even so, Command has been confident that if aliens came cruising for a bruising, they would soon learn that the United Planets was a power not to be trifled with.

The commander glanced protectively at Alta. She was a civilian in a potential combat zone. And she was a woman to boot. It was unfortunate.

"Robby…," said Adams cautiously. "Dr. Morbius programmed a lot of the Krell data base in you. Is this ship…a leftover from the Krell civilization?"

"The vessel's shape and appearance does not fit any of the records that I have monitored."

"Sir," called out Dirocco, the ship's cook, quietly from his post. "We gonna eyeball that ship or cream it?"

"Commander!" called out Randall. "I'm getting a radio contact from them!"

"Let's hear it."

Everyone perked up their ears to listen closely.

"Krypter, krypter, krypter. Ouk oîda tua, nam eg thelo boitho'sas. Krypter, krypter, krypter…."

"They sound scared," commented Alta. "And that sounds human."

"Sound like it to me, too, Skipper," put in Randall.

"Maybe. Likely as not, they're frightened that we caught them with their pants down. I know that humans never built that ship out there," cautioned Adams. "Besides, that's no human language I've heard before."

Robby spoke up, "Sir, I am monitored with 187 languages along with their various dialects and sub-tongues. The language used by the vessel's occupants appears to be a mixture of two languages known as Classical Ionic Greek and Latin. Deciphering it is easy enough for me to translate for you. Essentially, the occupants are requesting assistance."

"You can understand this gibberish?" Adams was skeptical. He just knew that no human built that alien ship so how could a human language be spoken? Then a thought occurred to him, which made the hair rise on his neck. There were the old stories of ancient astronauts, ancient alien visits on Earth. But they had to be just that: stories.

Then the radio speaker sounded: "Aresko!"

"Please conciliate," translated Robby, swiveling its head.

Adams stared at the robot. This was getting unreal. Aliens speaking a dead human language understood only by a robot built with alien technology. Coming to a decision and picking up a mike, he said, "Cut us in, Randall."

Once he got the nod from the bosun, the commander held the mike over to Robby who would translate whatever he says. "United Planets Cruiser C-57D, J.J. Adams commanding. Who are you?"

"Hos ani tua?" translated Robby into the mike held by Adams.

There was an eerily human-sounding laugh as the alien spoke. "Oh my gods, another one!" translated Robby, drawing puzzled looks from everyone within earshot. A series of dry coughs sounded. "Captain Kara Thrace, serial number 462753, call-sign Starbuck."

"Well, that certainly sounds human down to the name. But still…," said Adams in an aside to Randall. "Captain, your ship is violating United Planets space. Explain."

Cylon Heavy Raider

Kara was standing in a cramped cockpit-like room. She had found the door to it in her exploring the walls of her prison. She could see another small door to the right side of her, but she didn't want to go through it. Beyond it would be the cavity containing the heavy raider's brain. One experience with Cylon brains was enough for her.

She dry-coughed and tried to lick her parched lips to moisten them. She failed. It had been three days since the heavy raider jumped to this region of space and in all that time, she'd had no water. Looking through the vent-like port in front of her, Kara could see the other ship. To her, it was shaped like a hat. She had never seen it before. Perhaps it was a new Cylon ship design. After all, it superficially resembled the twin saucers of the old Cylon basestars used in the First Cylon War.

If she had a choice, she would get the heavy raider to jump away from this ship. But she needed water. And she didn't know where she was and she had no way of identifying known stars and triangulating them, not without somehow reading the heavy raider's brain. She certainly couldn't question the Leoben model which lay dead in the main chamber behind her. She remembered her mother and the Five that she saw when she died. If she were to realize her destiny, she must be alive for it. She must get out of the tomb that was the Cylon heavy raider. If that meant being a Cylon prisoner, so be it.

Still, the other ship said it's from something called the United Planets, whatever that was. They didn't seem to be familiar with the heavy raider. Whenever they spoke on the short-range wireless in the helmet of the spacesuit she'd borrowed from Leoben to replace the one ruined by her viper's explosion, they took quite a while before responding. Why?

Was this a Cylon trick?

Kara remembered the shining five figures. She breathed deeply and took the plunge.

"It's not my ship. It's…a long story. Look, can I come over to your ship? I need water."

United Planets Cruiser C-57D

Randall and Adams tensed at the request being translated by Robby. Alta watched the whole exchange with wide eyes, wringing the emerald necklace in her hands. She had grown up with knowledge of the Krell. She had dreamed of meeting the Krell themselves. If all went well, she would finally meet a living non-human being.

Altaira knew that this meeting would change everything for humankind. Finally, they would know absolutely that they were not alone in the universe. She wanted to meet the non-humans in the alien spacecraft. She would be looking forward to such a meeting, but she was being infected with the starcruiser crew's fear of the unknown.

"Skipper?" Randall wasn't sure if the crew would like a non-human being to come aboard their ship.

Commander Adams made a decision. "All right, get two men to suit up and give them blaster rifles. Then go below. Robby, tell him he can come aboard. But no weapons."

Randall stared. "Sir, I must protest."

"So noted." Adams looked at Randall. "We can't get anything moving without finding out about them. That means meeting them. Shall we make a bet?"

"What sort of bet?"

Adams said sardonically, "If we ever get back to Earth, let's have a big dinner for ourselves and any guests we each care to invite, up to, say, four—and it will be on me if that ship carries non-humans and on you if it carries humans."

"That's a long shot for me, Skipper. But I'm willing," said Randall.

"Done, then." Adams peered at the view-plate, trying to make out more details of the spacecraft and wondering if any details could reasonably be expected to give away, beyond question, the non-humanity or humanity of the beings on board.

o0o

A suited up Randall shut the hatch above himself. He could see that someone was turning the wheel-handle to seal the hatch. He jumped off the ladder and looked at the other two suited up men. Each was carrying a blaster rifle.

The room below the main area of the ship was more of a corridor going around a thick central column. The column contained a lot of the ship's functions and connected the astrogation and helms stations above with the main drive below. Set along the column's broad curving wall were lockers containing spacesuits for the ship's crew, and storage space for the ship's equipments.

Randall looked to make sure that the men's spacesuits were secured. Through the glass domes protecting their heads, Randall could see that Robert Grey and Joe Strong were nervous. He nodded in approval and assurance. He pressed a button in a panel on the central column. Alarms automatically blared, warning the crew that air was being siphoned out of the lower level, depressurizing it. A new light lit up on the panel, signaling that the lower level has been completely depressurized. Glancing at the two men and hoping that their nervousness wouldn't make them trigger-happy, Randall pressed another button.

One of the saucer's three leg-hatches opened, revealing the cold glare of stars in space. Fully extended, it was a stair down to the void of space. Strong and Grey stepped down onto the stair and aimed their blaster rifle straight at the chrome spacecraft hanging in the distance

The craft fired blue thrusters softly and moved to line its rear with the C-57D's hatch. A large panel in the back opened slightly, letting air hiss out of the crack.

Randall raised his eyebrows. Either that was how they depressurized or they didn't know how to do it properly. It seemed so inefficient.

After a while, obviously waiting for all the air to blow out of the craft, the panel opened down, becoming a ramp hanging out into space. Standing in the doorway was a bipedal spacesuited being.

Randall's lips tightened for a moment and then he said in a disappointed voice, "Too bad. Human."

"Not necessarily," said Adams calmly in the short-wave radio in Randall's spacesuit. "All we can make out is that there seem to be five projections. That could be a head, two arms, and two legs—but it might not be."

The being waved at them and then moved aside.

"Certainly moves like he has arms," commented Randall.

It was clear that the being had no way to go over to the cruiser. Randall then pulled down a small lever in the control panel and another, but much smaller, hatch opened in the underside of the saucer right beside the larger open hatch. A mechanical arm came out of it. He looked at the targeting scope in the control panel and aimed it at the other ship like it was a bulky weapon. He fired. A tether snaked out of the mechanical arm toward the chrome ship and into it. The tether's clamp banged onto the back wall of the chamber within the craft. There was the usual slithering as the tether machinery made the fine adjustments until it was motionless.

The being raised appendages to the tether and launched itself out into space.

"It moves more rapidly and smoothly than I expected. –Ah!"

"What, Skipper?"

"There's some sort of propulsion. It's not rocketry, as nearly as I can tell, but neither is it hand over hand. Still, not necessarily human."

Now that Adams pointed it out, Randall could see it: a soft blue glow emanating from behind the being's back.

There seemed an incredibly long wait despite the quick approach of the figure along the tether. Strong and Grey warily eyed it and kept their blaster rifles trained on it. Randall balled a gloved fist with tension.

Finally, the figure was inside the ship. Its tan and metallic green-gray spacesuit was of a design never seen or heard of by the humans on the C-57D, but Randall reasoned that it didn't fall outside the limits of human manufacture. The odd thing about the suit was that the helmet's metallic forehead had the vague appearance of a snake's nose. He pressed a button in the control panel once more and the leg-hatch closed. A red light lit up in the panel, signaling the siphoning of air into the lower level. Once the green light lit up, signaling the completion of the pressurization, the three men stared at the spacesuited being. A forelimb rose to the round helmet, touching something with a quick motion that Randall didn't clearly make out and the helmet was at once detached from the rest of the suit. It lifted off.

What was exposed was the face of a young and undeniably pretty white woman.

o0o

Adams, Altaira and the others watched as the wheel-handle in the domed hatch turned, unsealing it. The hatch lifted open. Robby faced it squarely, ready to stun if the being turned out to be hostile. To add to the show of force, Adams held a blaster pistol.

Randall came out first. He was grinning widely at Adams and had a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"What is it?" inquired the commander anxiously.

"You'll see, sir."

Kara Thrace climbed out after Randall.

Adams's expressionless face did what it could to look stupefied. She had a hard look about her, the kind that no woman should have in any advanced civilization. Her blonde hair was…decidedly unfeminine. He said hesitantly, "Are you human?"

Kara's eyebrows shot up. She was faced with a strange language and didn't understand the question. She had thought that they would be speaking Kobolian.

Robby obligingly translated.

Upon seeing the source of the translation, Kara shrank back in fear and whispered loudly, "Frak, a toaster! Fat and ugly, too!" Her eyes shifted to Adams' blaster and back to Robby. It was clear that she wanted to grab the gun and shoot the robot down.

"Miss?" pressed Robby. "As a robot, I am not affected by insults, but the commander here would require an answer."

Kara tensely stared up at the seven foot tall robot. "It speaks too. That's no centurion." She looked at Adams to answer his question and to avoid the disturbing specter of Robby. Striking a pose with a fist on a hip and, smirking, she said, "Don't I look human?"