"There are any number of odd population issues," Gaeta said nervously. He didn't look uncomfortable speaking, Picard thought, he simply looked awkward. Not surprising, from what Troi had said. Felix Gaeta had spent ten years blending into the woodwork of a completely foreign society. It was obvious from his own observation that the Colonial Fleet was a much more militant organization than Starfleet, and the open discussion of ideas was not as valued.
Of course, it was easy to judge, seeing the end result. Desperate societies couldn't always afford the niceties.
" Define odd if you don't mind, Mr. Gaeta." Riker asked pleasantly. " It'll save us all a little reading." Picard almost smiled. Riker was good with people, and Gaeta's briefing was almost obnoxious thorough. Which said something else about the Colonial military. Namely that following orders was expected, and there were severe consequences if orders weren't followed.
Gaeta looked down at his computer pad. " The population is significantly older. There were only a handful of people who actually got off the ground when the Cylons attacked. The ships that survived the attack were ships in transit, and the people who could afford inter colony travel tended to be middle aged. You'll note that of the 41 thousand people left alive, the population over thirty five years of age is significantly higher than it would be in a normal population. There's another blip in the curve, a smaller one, and that's the military personnel from the Galactica and the Pegasus."
" The Pegasus?" Riker asked.
" The Pegasus was destroyed," Gaeta began.
" And isn't relevant to this briefing," Picard added gently. He had any number of questions concerning the Pegasus but it wasn't the right time. " This is a briefing on the colonial fleet's current composition and the cultural issues. Please continue, Mr. Gaeta."
Gaeta nodded. " All twelve colonies have surviving populations, but there are a lot of cultural differences and resentments. The Sagitarrons by far have the largest number of survivors at over six thousand. The Geminons are close behind, with Capricans third at around forty five hundred. The other nine colonies are split fairly evenly except for the Leonids, who currently only have nine hundred three survivors. This causes a great deal of tension. The Sagiterrons are traditionally at the bottom rung of the social ladder. They're considered backward and they reject some scientific principles. There's a fairly lengthy history of Sagiterron oppression, which only fuels the anger and resentment of the other colonists. It's also not helped that a significant portion, one thousand two hundred thirty eight, are convicted felons. This only adds to the tension, especially considering the lack of a police force. The Geminons lean towards a strict literal interpretation of scripture which often puts them at odds with the President and with other colonists. There's also some resentment directed at Capricans as they tend to be military."
" Which means," Riker said, " They tend to be younger and have skills that are more useful?"
"And are more likely to live on board the Galactica," Gaeta added, " Which is a point of contention. If Sagiterrons were at the bottom of the social ladder, then Capricans were at the top and many in the fleet suspect that Capricans are given better treatment. In some respects this is true. Likewise the criminal element is a problem and each ship perceives itself to be at the end of the supply line. The biggest problems are going to come once the supply issues are controlled. When religious belief hits reality, and when people have more to think about than sheer survival."
Now that, Picard thought, was interesting. Interesting and Gaeta was worth his weight in gold if he could help bring the colonists into the Federation fold. The colonist religion was going to be a sticking point, Picard was already concerned about, and he was surprised that Gaeta had stated it so openly. It suggested the younger man had thought on the subject. He glanced at Troi, who was looking pensive and concerned. I'll ask her opinion later, he thought. He hadn't missed the wrist monitor.
" Expand on that, if you don't mind, Mr. Gaeta," Picard asked after a moment. " We're going to be sending any number of people into these ships. Religion has always been touchy."
" It's going to be bad." Gaeta leaned back in his chair, his expression suddenly tired. "There are so many reasons why this will go bad. These are violent people. They believe Earth is the 13th Colony, that humanity first arose on Kobol and that the gods lived among them until the First Exodus. Considering their scriptures, and considering what I remember from cultural anthropology and evolution, they are not going to like hearing that Kobol was not the home of the gods. Or that humanity evolved on Earth, and their entire culture is likely lifted from ancient Greece and Rome and seeded onto Kobol by aliens. Aliens that may have amused themselves by actually pretending to be gods, if I remember all the stories about Admiral Kirk. Trust me, that isn't going to go over well." Gaeta shoved the data pad away. " Do you have any idea how bizarre things got? The president? Thinks she's a prophet of the gods. The admiral told everyone he knew where Earth was, and that the high command always knew where Earth was. The people still haven't figured out that was a lie. This quest is all the people have had to hold onto and as soon as they get a hold of a basic text on Earth history, they're going to find out their entire belief structure is basically something we tossed aside several thousand years ago as superstitious nonsense."
" To be fair," Picard said after a moment, " Most of western civilization was built on Greco-Roman accomplishments."
Gaeta sighed. " I'm sure that's going to help a lot, sir. To know that Earth went forward while they remained the equivalent of backwoods hicks, who got their civilization destroyed." He looked down at his hands. " I apologize… I'm… a little tired and…." His voice trailed off.
" You're excused, Mr. Gaeta. I believe you have an appointment in sick bay." Picard waited until the man left to continue. " It may have been curtly stated, but Lt. Cmdr. Gaeta has a good point. We will need to tread very carefully with these people."
" Is he all right?" Riker asked.
" No…" Troi said. " But he has a valid concern. These people are in danger of suffering a severe blow. They've already seen their worlds destroyed and their religion is going to be somewhat discredited no matter how gently we present this."
"Like the Inuit." Riker said. " We do need to be careful. Is Mr. Gaeta going to be able to give us more information or is this a bad sign?"
Troi shrugged. " He didn't confess to violating the prime directive during the briefing. That's… encouraging." She looked at Picard. " He does believe he'll be found guilty and given a severe sentence. If that's not going to be your recommendation, you should let me know. He's overwhelmed with guilt and if he believes he won't be punished, he'll become actively suicidal. If he's not already."
Awkward, Picard thought, because so far there was no real proof of Felix's Gaeta's guilt. The man could confess all he wanted, but the situation simply didn't rise to a severe infraction. The Colonists were human, and they had developed their own FTL drive that was so different, it didn't even register on the Enterprise's powerful scanners. Gaeta was insisting that he had manipulated the fleet's route, but that would be difficult to confirm. The colonials were religious and the route to Earth had apparently been ordained by a series of signposts. The Preservers, perhaps a remnant of survivors from the Prollux system… and Gaeta was right. The Colonists were not going to handle that news well.
" We don't have any hard evidence," he said finally. " I intend to investigate his claims fully but it is somewhat difficult." He looked at Troi. " What would you call his mental state?"
"Severe clinical depression," Troi said quickly. " Torn by his loyalties to us, and to the people he's lived with. He's angry that he was left in the Beta Quadrant. He hasn't said it, he hasn't needed to."
" I can't say I don't understand," Riker said slowly.
" You're thinking of Tom," Troi said, " but it's only a superficial comparison. Lt. Cmdr. Gaeta was left alone and forced to become a much different person. He had to interact with these people and make them believe he was one of them. That's much more difficult. I suspect he may have genuinely started to believe his story. It's easier… Especially for someone who is described by Academy classmates as naively honest."
" So he forgot? That he was from Earth?" Riker whistled in disbelief but Picard found himself nodding along as the room fell silent. He doubted that Gaeta ever really forgot his origins so much as he tried to forget. The colonials were nowhere near as advanced, and a one man trip in one of their ships would have been impossible.
"He was very careful to not give away details of their jump drive," Troi said, " but he has implied in several conversations that it isn't refined enough for lengthy journeys in small ships. If he stole a ship, he wouldn't have gotten far, and he could have spent his life attempting to refine the system and still not get home. He had no hope of ever returning. It was less painful, to suppress it, and be one of them. But now… he has to deal with the fact that his old life is still his. He has to deal with the fact that he lied, for a long time, to people that he does care about."
" And they are very angry," Riker said, " With him. And in general, from what I've seen. They are an angry group of people, and a bit xenophobic. We'll need to start combating that. Start small… maybe some of the Vulcan crew people?"
" We need more information," Troi said to Picard. " I want more details on the attempted murder and the conviction for war crimes."
He looked at her, considering that new tidbit. " That is concerning," he said finally.
" On many levels," Deanna leaned back in her chair. " I don't believe that Lt. Cmdr. Gaeta would be alive if the colonials thought he was guilty of war crimes. President Roslin doesn't seem to… flinch at the idea of executions. At the same time, he's hard to read but… I don't think he's lying. I do think he has some severe issues with guilt and with control, and he's had at least one psychotic break. I'd like to know why."
" We need to know these people better," Picard said. " I have an idea."