Chapter 7 - Friday, 27 July 1979
The next few months went by quickly for Starbuck. He was completely immersed in the Russian language and script which he found to be just similar enough to the Colonial script to make learning it a bit easier though the language itself was a trying thing for him to learn. He spent his days in class with Pavlova, having breaks only for meal times in the base's dining hall, and for a little personal time each evening. As soon as a bit of understanding was created, the debriefings had begun, along with reassurances by Kontarsky and Pavlova that he was their guest and that they were to help him with his mission and that this instruction came directly from Andropov.
He was also tasked with assisting the Soviet technical experts in understanding and repairing his Viper and learning the basis of Colonial technology. He felt slightly relieved that he didn't have to work under the constraints of secrecy that he would have had to do if he had landed in the West. Yet, he wondered about his future status in the highly regulated Soviet state. He did learn that he was at a highly secure Soviet military research and development site for developing an advanced atmospheric fighter aircraft to be called the MiG-31. This was part of the Soviet Union's effort to gain an aerospace superiority to the West's air forces. It was a perfect place for his hosts to begin the task of creating the means for defending the Earth for the coming Cylon attack.
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Chairman Andropov sat down at his desk in his office in KGB Headquarters, the Lubyanka, to review the report Colonel Kontarsky and Academician Pavlova had composed regarding their work with their guest from the stars, Starbuck. He had taken a more than personal interest in their work. His warning from John/Ivan had stressed that the future, particularly his own, depended on it. They had spent the last few months intensely schooling Starbuck in Russian and pumping him for information.
Opening the report he learned that Starbuck is indeed an adult human being. He is approximately 25 years old, 180 cm tall, and massed 73 kg. Microscopic examination of his blood, physical and X-ray scans of his body, and preliminary DNA testing of his tissues all confirm his being human.
He was born on the planet Caprica in Colonial year 7318. He was orphaned during a Cylon attack on the town of Umbra. He spent the rest of his childhood in a faith based orphanage. Upon reaching adulthood, he joined the Colonial Fleet and became a Warrior and fighter pilot after attending the Colonial Academy on Caprica. Afterwards, he was assigned to the Battlestar Galactica under Commander Adama, a member of the Colonies' political leading council. He was initially assigned to Red Squadron, but was transferred to Blue Squadron shortly before the Battle of Cimtar and the destruction of the Colonies by the Cylons.
He served with distinction with Colonial Fleet, receiving many awards including the Colonies' highest military award, the Gold Cluster. Personally, he is unmarried and has had several personal relations including Commander Adama's daughter, Athena, and a former prostitute turned nurse, Cassiopeia. The relationship with the later was progressing to the point of possibly becoming permanent.
Andropov set the report down and leaned back in his chair to collect his thoughts. That his guest from across the galaxy was an experienced, decorated military officer and pilot was foremost on is mind. Yet, he felt no regret over the way Starbuck was shot down and apprehended when he landed at Bilyarsk. The security of the Soviet state was paramount; though now secondary to defending the Earth from the approaching Cylons, whoever they are. Andropov then picked up the well indexed report and turned to the section describing the Twelve Colonies after having his curiosity piqued by their mention in the section about Stabuck.
In that section of the report he read that The Twelve Colonies of Man were settled in the Colonial year 1481. They were colonized from the planet Kobol, which they consider the home planet of all mankind and all Terran type life. Animal life on Kobol and the Colonies is identical to animal life on Earth to the extent of Starbuck's knowledge. Kobol's single star began to transition to a flare star sparking the exploration of neighboring star systems and the later exodus from Kobol. Overpopulation and environmental degradation caused by massive industrialization and rapid technological development had occurred on Kobol in their frantic effort to leave their planet.
They soon found the Cyrannus solar system with twelve potentially habitable worlds. Work immediately began to terraform them. Twelve tribes of the thirteen tribes of Kobol settled on their own planet. The thirteenth remained on Kobol. The names of the tribes and planets of the Cyrannus system mostly correspond to the Zodiac symbols seen here on Earth (Aquarus Aeries, Orion, Caprica, Gemoni, Leonis, Libris, Piscera, Sagitara, Scorpion, Taura, Virgon) except for Cancer which is named Orion.
Once each colony was established and terraformed, the settlers abandoned most of their high technology for a simpler life, having learned their lesson from the environmental collapse on Kobol. It took them several centuries to create new interplanetary ships to restore contact between the colonies. The last tribe on Kobol, the thirteenth, in the final days of Kobol's habitation scouted elsewhere for a world to live on. They eventually migrated to and settled on Earth. The Colonial exodus was recorded in the Colonies' Book of the Word, their religious text similar to the Bible. The thirteenth tribe and Earth were considered myths by most Colonials, but the Colonial remnant rediscovered Kobol and evidence of the thirteenth tribe and Earth during their flight from the Colonies after their defeat by the Cylons.
The Twelve Colonies were governed by a ruling body called the Council of the Twelve with a representative from each of the Colonies. One of the representatives was selected from among the twelve to be the Colonial president. Each colony had their own government which may or may not involve their particular representative to the Council.
All the Colonies practiced the same basic religion, with various sects and denominations. They all worship the creator God, whom they give male characteristics. They also revere the prophet-like Lords of Kobol who were both rulers of Kobol and spokesmen for Him. They also believe that there are angels, which they call Seraphs, who are God's messengers and servants, along with a Satan figure. Before the First Lord of Kobol the twelve tribes worshiped, in a pagan manner, the sun god and various other gods that described the attributes of nature. The first Lord of Kobol both united the twelve tribes and delivered from God the Kobolian code of laws. The laws the first lord provided are very similar to those in the Old Testament of the Bible, including the Ten Commandments which has a day of rest on the seventh day, dietary restrictions, and codes for cleanliness and civics. Surprisingly, the actual days of the week on Kobol matched the days of the week on Earth! A nearly impossible coincidence. No sacrificial laws or requirements were known of. Nor was there a central place of worship established like the Temple in Jerusalem. Each community was to have their own worship center. The Kobolian calendar began at year zero with the introduction of the Kobolian code of laws by the First Lord of Kobol. It was noted by Starbuck's guards when he was under confinement and later that he avoided certain foods, but he didn't do more than recognize the rest day as he was a member of the military and they were exempt from resting on the seventh day due to the war and the ongoing Colonial emergency in their flight across the galaxy. Starbuck finally reported that secularization was occurring on several of the Colonies before the holocaust, particularly Caprica and Sagitara.
Again, Andropov sat back to mentally digest what he had just read. It seemed to him that the Colonials were almost like a race of space going Jews, but they weren't Jews. How could they be without any connection, other than being human, to the Hebrews? He also knew that religion on Earth had drifted from the texts of the Bible since the first century. Communism promoted atheism because of how religion had been corrupted and used to control people for political purposes. His own atheism was now personally, directly corrected after John's visit. Thinking for a moment, he recalled that some of the technologists working on the Mig-31 project were Jews. He jotted down a quick note.
Andropov now found himself in a dilemma. For years he had worked to suppress dissent in the Soviet Union; including religious dissent. The Baranoviches and Semelovsky were also dissidents, though not so much as to garner more than increased surveillance. Their expertise at materials science, electronics and weapon systems giving them their place on the MiG project. What was he to do with the religious dissidents now that he had been given personal proof that his former atheism was a lie? Andropov knew he had to tread a very fine line or his own life and position would be at stake. He thought for a moment then wrote a note asking the leader of the Fifth Directorate to review all cases where dissent was for religious reasons and the subject had been placed into one of the state's psychiatric hospitals. If the subject was previously loyal to the state and had been employed in a technical role then he wanted their dossiers on his desk for further review. He also wrote a note do have the Fifth Directorate report to him of any extreme or abusive psychological treatments being applied to the dissident 'patients.'
"A good first step," he heard John/Ivan whisper into his ear. While Andropov started at the sudden contact he expected John/Ivan to continue, but he only heard silence, so he returned to reading his report.
Now that he knew who the Colonials and Starbuck were, he sought out the section of the report on the Colonial's war with the Cylons. The Colonial's mortal enemy was a race of robots he was surprised to learn. They had overthrown their reptilian creator's millennia ago. They then sought to establish a cold, robotic order across the cosmos. They encountered the Colonials over a thousand years ago when the Colonials came to the aid of another spacefaring race that the Cylons were attacking, the Hasaris. The Cylons drove off the Colonials and then eliminated the Hasaris. The Colonials then fought the Cylons on and off for a thousand years.
Recently, the Cylons contacted a human traitor, Baltar, and used him to deceive the Colonial leadership that the Cylons were weary of the war and seeking peace. This led to the ambush of the Colonials capital ships, and direct attacks on the Colonies while the Colonial fleet was occupied. Commander Adama, the commanding officer of the Battlestar Galactica, was the only officer to see through the Cylon deception and kept his ship intact, but was unable to change the fate of the Colonies. Between waves of Cylon assaults on the Colonies he organized an evacuation of civilians and any remaining military personnel with the objective of finding a new home for humanity. He gave his people the goal of seeking out the lost thirteenth tribe, the one that settled on Earth. During the Colonial's second exodus, they passed by several minor Colonial outposts, had a brief encounter with another surviving Colonial warship, had dealings with aliens, and incredulously, encountered and resisted Count Iblis, the Colonial Satan figure at the same time the Seraphs assisted the human survivors and gave them the course to Earth. A final battle with a lone Cylon capital ship was completed just before the Seraphs diverted Starbuck while he was on patrol and sent him ahead to Earth to prepare the Earth for the arrival of the Colonial remnant and the Cylons.
As he was told by John/Ivan, Andropov read that Starbuck's mission on Earth is to prepare a clandestine force for opposing the Cylons when they arrive after following the Colonial fleet to Earth. The force was not to interfere with events on Earth. Starbuck reported that the Thirteenth Tribe had established a base on Earth's moon that could be exploited for that effort. Also, the largest asteroid in the Solar System, Ceres, has a significant amount of the Tylium ore for use in Colonial type propulsion systems. Another asteroid has a high percentage of precious metals which could be used to finance operations of the future Earth or Moon based military force.
Andropov again paused to collect his thoughts. He needed a strong, capable military leader to lead the effort to resist the coming Cylon attack. He took out another paper to jot down his thoughts. First, he listed the available assets that could be exploited in the mission to defend the Earth. There was Starbuck himself, a capable fighter pilot well versed in combat against the Cylons. There was Starbuck's Viper fighter which contained weapons, propulsion, life support, and other technologies. According to the report there was also a moon base where the new military force could be created and based to isolate them and prevent them from greatly influencing events on Earth. Finally, there were resources in the Asteroid Belt to fund and supply the new force. The missing elements were leadership, capable personnel, and access to space. He wrote a quick note to contact Air Marshal Kutuzov. Also, part of the personnel problem had be dealt with from the relocating of those personnel that had knowledge of Starbuck's arrival to Bilyarsk. The laser specialists had begun to analyze Starbuck's sidearm and the weapons on his Viper.
Andropov arranged the notes he had taken in front of him. Then he took out some stationary and began to compose letters to Kontarsky and Air Marshal Kutuzov. Finally, he resolved to make the whole operation official. The entire Bilyarsk community, including the recent transfers from Sary Shagan, needed to be involved. Both to ensure the effort was successful and to maintain the highest level of security the KGB, GRU, and the Soviet Air Force could achieve.
