Ch 14

John got to the control room and contacted Galactica flight control to tell them they were jumping out. Permission came shortly, and they left the system to return to Reach. John expected to see two base stars in orbit. There were three. One was looking battered with part of an arm missing. The other two were approaching it.

Upon seeing this, he said, "Find out what happened to them."

"John, this is Jasper. You in orbit?"

"Here Jasper, what's with the broken base star?"

"They came in asking for refuge. Apparently, the cylon high command didn't like them spreading word about 'free' machines. The cylon high command said they would meet with them, then opened fire on them."

"This isn't good," John grumbled.

"It was the Cavils, John, " Caprica stated over the radio. "They agreed to meet, then attacked. We were never suppose to be attacking other cylons! That was forbidden!"

"It's not now," John said blankly. "Jasper, make sure we got good coverage in system as well as in orbit. I got the feeling Cavil won't stop. John out." He then turned to Gina and asked, "Is there a way for me to do a fleet wide communication to all the base stars?"

She nodded and stuck her hands in the containers of a silvery liquid. Pulling one hand out, she pointed to a wall speaker. "Speak in there, the fleet will hear you. I told them you will be speaking to them."

"Which base star is that?"

"37"

"Thank you." John went over to the speaker. "Everyone, this is John Connor. I am glad to see base star 37 made it here. What happened to it, I'm not glad about. I cannot fathom a dirtier trick that calling a meeting with your own people, then attacking those who came to talk. To me, that's like smiling, then driving a knife in someone's back. Actions like this cannot stand. I know every base star here came for refuge and a chance to not be involved in war anymore. You are capable of doing so many greater things. What worries me the most is, who's next? More destruction of cylons, or entire base stars that do not agree with Cavil? Wiping out humans just because he can? If any of you know me, I am for peace and prosperity. I work hard at it, I believe everyone, no matter what you are, deserves a chance at learning and developing, respecting others and them respecting you . I only retaliate against those who show they will not talk or see reason. Unfortunately, I think that time has come again. Every base star came here to seek refuge, and you shall have it. If you wish to help, as long as your ship is in good shape, I'll be happy for the help. None of you are required to help."

He took a breath then added, "It's time to teach Cavil a very painful lesson. What happens to those who abuse their power in the sight of John Connor. I am truly sorry it has come to this, but Cavil needs to be taken out of the picture if any peace is to truly happen. Thank you for listening."

John turned back to all the bio-cylons and centurions watching him. Gina waved an arm at the ones watching him and said , "We're all with you, John. What can we do?"

"Excuse me?" D'anna Biers said as she came in. "Mr. Connor, I would like asylum. Humans know I'm a cylon now, and I'm afraid to go back to New Caprica."

John cast her a small grin and said, "Great, we could use news reporter."

.

In the next few days, John got a ton of intel on Cavil' cylons. Three more PDE's were brought from Earth to help with the massive flow of goods. His space fleet was up to 150 ships, and four of the five cylon ships agreed to help. 37 was still being repaired, and until it was, it was in a 'protected' status. 34 got another 2500 terminators on board to help finish off the repairs. Another vital item was hyercom IFF's for every ship. John also worked with Gina Six, who had taken on the role of 34's commander. Gina had spend some time on Pegasus as Cain's second, and knew what she was doing. 34 also wanted to be 'John's ship' and carry him wherever he needed to go, even if it was into combat.

A week went by before a Raider tried to slip into the system. It was shot down. By that time, John had gotten 34's point defense guns changed out with plasma turrets. The ship was large, so he had 6 Magnetic Acceleration Cannons, each capable of shooting a two ton shell at 96,000 miles per second and three types of ammunition. Solid armor piercing, EMP, and ignited plasma. The ignited plasma shells would explode into a giant ball of plasma upon contact. He had these guns put on the inside of the arms to support the length of the guns with the muzzle at the tips, and additional thrusters made to help turn the ship faster.

One month later, 34 was ready to go. In the cavernous main hanger, John had Gina stuff 20 stealth ships into the hanger and brought on another 4000 terminators.

In the map room, John, Gina and the ship captains planned their attack. Standing around the large, lit table, John said, "I don't expect to win a full on engagement. We go to these points where Caprica says there will be base stars. When we go in, we attack with an EMP shell, knock them out and send in the stealth ships to take them over. Vital areas, FTL, reactors, central hubs. Try not to kill any biocylons, they will just resurrect. Wound them, arms or legs if possible and tuck them away in a cell. We go for intel and to take that base star away from them. One we got it, we come back with it. Gina, do you see any flaws to this plan?"

Gina bit her lip in thought. "If Cavil knows he is being boarded, he may destroy the base star to keep us from having it. The EMP will not affect bios the same as pure machines. I think a plasma round will evacuate enough air to kill the bios. That may be safer for us," she said.

"Good point," John conceded. "What about sneaking some centurions on board? Have them pass the word machine to machine?"

Gina eyed him and said, "Cavil won't allow that. Any centurions he knew that was spreading your word, he destroyed. Even base stars."

"Yeah. Hey, it was a thought. OK, so we must disable them quickly," John said. "We'll go with the plasma shot first, an EMP right after. That should bring them to their knees.

Seeing John was not looking pleased, Gina said, "John? We save who we can, right? We also must protect those who are saved."

He offered her a tiny smile. "That's right. Let's get on with it."

.

Jumping to the first possible target, they found a base star over a mining facility. John watched as Gina took command. "Sending out stealth ships … Arm two gun coming on target … Fire!"

The ship shuddered as the two ton shell screamed towards the other base star. It hit dead center between the two halves. The ship exploded, the halves separating in a bright ball of fire making many of the raiders it tried to disgorge, tumble away as burning wrecks.

"Stealth ships, stop those raiders. Heavy raiders, launch and go planet side, destroy the mining operation," Gina said firmly.

John watched as Gina laid hellfire down on the cylons. A few missiles that came at them were destroyed by the plasma cannons. She called a retreat from the surface and aimed a solid MAC round at the asteroid. The asteroid broke apart as their ships fled back home. Once everyone was back on board, Gina jumped the ship.

"That was very good," John praised. "Though I had no idea one plasma shell was that powerful."

"Neither did I. I was trying to keep more raiders from launching," Gina said meekly.

"You did, for sure," John agreed. "Maybe next time a solid round right above the joint?"

Gina nodded. "That will not cause so much devastation," she agreed.

"We live and learn. Next target, whenever you're ready."

.

Gina jumped again to come out above the cylon home world. She got an immediate challenge of, "Identify or be fired on."

"Answer them and deploy stealth ships. " John coaxed.

Gina nodded. "This is Gina Six on base star 34. We will only harm you if you try to harm us."

The radio responded in a happy tone. "This is Cindy Six! Where have you been? Cavil had ordered all ships to point 123734,93453. There's a problem with the resurrection system."

"Go immediately, I'll explain," John whispered to her.

Gina nodded. "Cindy, have you heard about John Connor?"

"Cavil said he's trying to divide us. He warned us about that human."

"We'll talk later. Stay safe, Cindy, we are jumping back out," Gina replied.

She then looked at John and asked, "Do we dare try to take out the whole cylon fleet?"

"Nope. Pick a point just outside their dradis. We don't want them to know where we are."

.

Going back to the map room, John explained his plan to Gina. "When you move, you bring the arms together into three double arms, right?"

"Yes, then spread them out for greater coverage for the defenses," Gina agreed.

"Don't do that this time. Send a pair of stealth ships out, one to each side to get a lock on that fleet. They triangulate ship positions, and They can tell you what you're hitting and missing. 34 stays back out of their sensor range and sends in MAC rounds from two arms. Even after they figure it out, we still got plenty of time to get away," John explained.

Gina grew a grin.

.

Cavil formed a thick defense globe around the resurrection hub. 31 base stars and a cloud of raiders quarter of a million miles out. When they were done reprogramming the resurrection hub, They were going to mass onto that planet and destroy Connor once and for all.

Looking out over the many star shaped ships, Cavil was tired of suffering from John Connor. All these ships would lay waste to his planet. Once they were done with him, then it was the humans turn. He was going to show them who the true leaders of the universe were!

A Two ran from the control room. "Cavil! One of our base stars is reporting serious damage."

"They have an accident?" he asked.

"We don't know, there was nothing found defective previously, and there are no ships in the area. We don't know what happened."

A flash caught his attention. They looked out to see a base star loose one of it's arms, and another one another spewed fire from the lower half.

"Base Star Ten just exploded!"

"What the hades was that? Sabotage?" he asked.

"It must be," the Two said firmly.

"Then lock down all ships! Connor has gotten to us again!" the Cavil roared.

"Base star 46 destroyed, internal explosion," said a speaker.

Cavil ran into the control room. "Keep all ships away from the resurrection hub!" Cavil commanded.

"Cavil, another base star … two base stars just received heavy damage."

Cavil looked at the dradis screen, not believing what he was seeing. How could there be so many of Connor's machines on his base stars? "Jump the hub!" he commanded.

He then saw a brief streak on dradis. It was there and gone in a flash. In that flash, he felt the deck under him buck and shudder.

"The Hub is damaged! On fire from inside, main power out, no energy for a jump. Resurrection matrix is down…. We just fixed that!"

Cavil got it, those streaks were incoming. "We're being attacked. All ships jump now!"

The word went out and a second MAC plasma round drove deep into the hub. This one hit the reactor. The superheated plasma caused a chain reaction . The hub exploded into a large white ball of nuclear fire.

.

"They are jumping out," Gina stated. "None are coming this way."

"Great, stand down. We'll give them a half hour, then send in stealth ships to see what we got," John said.

Gina turned to John. Looking lost she said, "We just destroyed out resurrection capability. Without that, our race dies."

Gently, John said, "Gina, on Earth we made it possible for humans and machines to pro-create. I'm sure we can figure out your dilemma too. Just do your best to stay alive until then. OK?"

"I trust you, John."

"I won't let you down. Have stealth ships go in and see what's left there. Hopefully there's survivors we can pick up."

.

Cavil tried to contact more of his brothers. He met two on one of their base stars. Sitting at a table with them, he said, "We need another hub. Without it we may as well be human!"

"We need to stop these attacks!" another Cavil said. "We don't know how they found us or what they used! Did Connor suicide those stealth ships into us? We need to group someplace where he won't find us."

A Four offered, "Hide the base stars. At the moment, they are just big targets. We need to use small craft that are hard to pick up so we can gather and plan. And we cannot afford to mass forces like that again."

"No, we can't." Pointing at the Four the Cavil said, "That is a good idea. Use asteroid belts, nebula, anything we can to hide a base star from discovery. We also need to build our own invisible space fleet. We back away for now, then only attack when we're ready."

A Two said, "Between battle and a rebellion started by Connor, we've lost nearly half our fleet, and have yet to touch Connor. I say we need to retreat at least 1000 light years in the other direction to keep Connor from finding us. Even to rebuild what we've lost will take years, and by then who knows what Connor will have to use against us, or how many ships he'll have! We need to completely vacate the area as fast as possible!"

"That is a better option that splitting up and hiding," a Cavil said.

"We need to discuss this more, then come to a vote," a Four stated.

They did, and kept discussing it for days.

.

Searching the debris from their ambush of the cylon fleet, they did find working centurions floating around. 130 had just been blown into space. Another 348 had missing parts. They were all brought back to 34 to be worked on and have their limiters removed, then informed of recent events. During the 'quick education' process, John got a call from Jasper. The elections were being held, and in a warehouse, 10000 pre-made ballots were found filled out for option three. Adama wanted to talk to him about voting security.

"Not my business," John grumbled. As he thought about it, he also didn't want the Colonial's election manipulated by some politician. That meant he had to gt involved. Damn it. He had 34 return to New Caprica.

Taking a ride on a heavy raider to the surface, John walked to the government building with Helo to see the President and Admiral Adama.

Zerek was fired up, demanding the source of the false ballots be found when John and Helo walked in.

"What's up, guys?" John asked.

Zerek scowled at him. "Connor, did you have anything to do with fixing our ballots?"

John eyed him and said, "Your ballots are not my concern. Can't you even perform an election?"

Baltar took his turn. "Some people found ballots that were already made out, they showed them to the police."

"What do you want me to do about it?" John asked tentatively.

Baltar let out a sigh and said, "Many people want you to monitor the election. They think you will be an unbiased party that will ensure their votes count."

John frowned at him. "Why not have Admiral Adama get his marines to do it? They are honorable men," he asked.

'The military?" Zerek asked. "I do believe Mr. President wants a fair election. What's to stop Adama from rigging the election?"

John noted Zerek was very upset for some reason. He also didn't like the military.

"All we want you to do is administer the election," Zerek asked in a near pleading tone. "Our people can collect the votes, just oversee the winner like the people want."

"One problem with that," John said firmly. "It's your election, not mine. Also whoever had made all those fake ballots might have more stashed away. What's to stop someone from saying I rigged the election? You'd have a finger to point at me if something goes wrong."

"General Connor," Adama said. "It appears we do have a problem. Can you make a suggestion?

"We need a way to ensure each person gets their vote," Baltar explained.

John was thinking they were all idiots, or that whoever was behind the fake ballots was in this room. He looked at each of them and said, "OK, fine. Here's what I'll do. I'll make the ballots, tell me how many you need. And give me a copy of your so we can print them up correctly. The day before the election, I will have them brought down, and explain what a real ballot looks like. An extra saple ballot will be displayed at the polling place, I'll need to know how many of those also. When I bring them, I'll show them to President Baltar so he knows what to look for. My people will take them to the polling stations with one of your police and collect them after everyone has voted. Again, Baltar will verify the results with myself and Admiral Adama. Will that be sufficient?"

Zerek looked nervous. Baltar immediately said, "Yes, Admiral?"

Adama frowned and said, "We will be able to count votes?"

"They will all be there. Count away," John told him.

"I think we need to see these ballots before hand, to make sure the right choices are clearly marked," Zerek said firmly.

"Nope. They will read exactly as yours do," John told him. "To keep anyone from screwing with them, no one sees what the ballots will look like until the day before elections. That way, they will be impossible to copy. Baltar and Adama can view them the night before they go out."

"We have printing presses to make ballots. Just let them know what you want," Zerek told him

"They will be made on Reach," John stated. "No one there gives a crap about your elections. No chance of making fakes."

"Do you know WHO you are talking to?" Zerek demanded.

John looked him in the eye and said, "A man who plays dirty pool. There will be no dirty pool on my watch."

Zerek glared at him. "How dare you make such an accusation!"

"You're a politician, aren't you?" John asked.

"You don't trust politicians," Zerek said with a grin.

"Not as far as you can throw me," John stated. "You're right, the people here need a good, fair election. So, give me the sample ballot, and I'll do my part." To Baltar he asked "When is it?"

"In four days. May we be seen together talking to the press?" Baltar asked.

"Might as well," John said with a huff.

John went with Baltar to a press room. Baltar got behind the podium and told them the problem of fake ballots being made was taken care of. He then had John go up and explain.

John then told how the ballots would be made on Reach, and when they arrived, President Baltar and Admiral Adama would get to see them. He would explain the look of the ballot and samples would be in place for everyone to see.

"Colonial Police will be present from the time the ballots touch down here, until they are properly counted and serial numbers verified. Each person will have the serial number of their ballot. The number of ballots will also be verified. Say, if 3000 come from one place, and only 2200 people voted but the total of all ballots is 2850, we know there is a problem to be corrected. Those ballots won't be counted until the people who voted bring in their ballot serial number. Only those who have their ballot serial number, and do not have a previous ballot will be counted."

"Mr. Connor, will these be electronic ballots?"

"Negative. Paper. That way there is positive control."

"Mr. Connor! Previously, you stated a warning against the removal of the quorum, indicating it gives the President too much power. Are you against changing an old, outdated system?"

"What I'm against is giving all the power to one man. It very rarely turns out well. Whether your representatives are outdated or not, is up to you. If you don't like who is speaking for you, it's up to you to change it."

"Mr. Connor, may I ask what you are doing with those cylon death stars?"

"If you mean the base stars, I am allowing them refuge. The Cylons have split. The ones who come to me are protected from the others. I do think this should be about the election, that is your main concern."

"One last question, please! Julie Colin, do you know what happened to her?"

"She's waiting for me. What has that got to do with the election?"

"We just heard stories about her. Rumor is you turned her into a cyborg like yourself."

John thought the question was odd. "Julie is fine, and yes, she's a cyborg now. I did it to help her heal. She is all better. I'll see all of you the day before the election to show you the ballots. Make sure you inform everyone you know to listen in. Later, guys," he said. With a wave, he left the podium and walked out with more questions chasing him.

.

One show popular on the fleet News Network was D'anna's interview with John Connor. People were riveted to it, they got to see the inside of a base star and to hear what John Connor said. They were in awe that cylons sat down to eat like anyone else, and even gave a musical tribute to Connor. If it wasn't for the fact D'anna had been outed as a cylon, they would want her to do more interviews.

John Connor was becoming popular with the common folk. They liked his manner of speaking like a regular person, as well as the things he said. Some of them had already decided they wanted him to speak for them. Another story of John Connor came up to the eager masses. The woman who had the little girl in the bowels of Galactica told how bad the trip was, and the fact it was John Connor who'd come down to take away the Sons, then returned to give out much needed food. She also told how Roslyn was going to eject him out an airlock, but John would not hide. He'd gone back to face certain death. He was touted as a man of honor.

.

The day before the elections came. John landed in a stealth ship, two raptor ships escorting him. Once the police arrived, terminator carried out the crates of ballots, a policeman walked by each one's side. John carried the case of sample ballots. With a large crowd out front and TV cameras watching, he had the first terminator set the box down. The policeman with the terminator stayed right by the box.

John walked up to the microphone. "The ballots are here. I need to explain a few things. First, each box of ballots will be escorted by one terminator and a Colonial policeman to ensure secure custody is kept over these documents. The only time the case is to be opened is at the polling place where people are voting, then again for the official count. Neither the terminator or the policeman will leave these cases unattended until voting is complete. After the vote, they will be sealed in a steel vault in case there is any questions about the outcome."

John then opened his case and took out a sample ballot to show to the cameras. "This is the ballot. The color changes, and does so by discrete stages. Under magnification it is clear where these changes are, and will prove whether this is a real ballot or a fake one. Down the middle is a silver line that has microwords written on it. Again all ballots read the same. If the words are not clear under magnification, it's a fake. On the bottom is a serial number, and it to be taken off by the person using the ballot. Each person will keep the strip at the bottom with your serial number. You vote on this ballot, and will write down your serial number in the polling log after voting. The votes will be counted against the serial number log to verify every vote has been counted. Keep it, this is your proof you cast your vote. Once voting is done, then the cases will be shut and taken for counting and the voting log will be taken with it. There, under the watchful eyes of police and terminators, all votes will be counted and filed. Unused ballots will also be counted to ensure the total number of ballots is correct. If you have any questions, ask the people at your polling place."

John thought this should this should take care of the matter. He did notice Zerek wasn't looking happy.

.

John stayed on 34 that night. Julie laid beside him cuddled up. Getting a live feed from FNN. He laid in bed watching the news in the nice large room 34 had fixed up for him. On the decent sized TV, The news people were talking to passing people to get their opinion of the coming 'historic' election.

Gently rubbing Julie's back, John listened to various opinions. One man was insistent they needed a new way to divide the 'colonies' because they weren't colonies any more. He thought they should be divided into different sections of the city. Another man saw no reason to change representatives, he thought his was doing well. Another made a case to remove the whole Quorum and get John Connor to run for office.

Julie chuckled at that. "Yay, vote for John," she said and giggled again.

"I hate politics, "John grumbled.

Julie sat up half over him. "Then you could make peace easier, right?" she asked with a crooked grin.

"No, no, no," John said, frowning at her. He then petted her face and said, "You can do it, Julie. I think it should be Julie Colin…. For president!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you," he said grinning at her. "The woman in charge. Seeking out the answers for your people."

Julie eyed him and said, "There is only one answer I want, Mr. Connor," she said. "WHEN are you going to make love to me?"

Petting her side he asked, "Oh, do I interest you?"

She punched him in the arm. "Well… yeah! Why do you think I've been sleeping with you all this time?"

"Umm, to keep warm?" he asked with a shrug and a silly grin.

"Don't even tell me you're not interested," she warned.

Something about the serious look on her face made John laugh. "I am," he admitted. "Are you sure you are ready to maybe have a child?"

"There is …" Julie stopped mid sentence. She was going to say, there is birth control'. Then she thought about the changes she had gone through. "My birth control might not work?" she asked.

John shrugged. "I don't know. I have no data on that."

Julie frowned at him. "That's not very reassuring."

"Sorry," he offered. Seeing her frown deepen, he said, "We should talk to Eleanor when we get back. I know Mom put a limit on kids at two, but I don't know how she did it."

Casting him a wry grin, she said, "You know, most guys would just go ahead anyway and not worry about it."

In a serious tone, John said, "I do worry. You are special to me Julie. I don't want to see you having a baby, and not be prepared for it."

"You'll help me, won't you?"

"Of course I will."

Julie stared at him, then dropped her head on his chest. "Damnit John!" she said into his chest. "I'm ready to say 'Frack it', and let whatever happens, happen. I just don't think I'm ready yet."

John kissed her head. "Then let's take it slow, OK?"

Julie growled and slid back in place at his side. "This isn't easy," she stated.

"For me either," John confided. "Julie, I want you but I don't want to make a mistake. You're too important to me."

She thumped him on the chest. "We're seeing Eleanor the moment we get back!" she stated.

"We are."

.

In the morning, Julie went down to the surface with John to monitor the election. This election was big. The polling tent by the space port had a long line in front of it that meandered beside the road. Signs proclaiming the need for a quorum were posted. Signs telling people their representative was working for them, and other signs stating the people needed 'new blood' were everywhere.

Walking to the building where the counting and verification was to be done, Julie met and greeted some of her ex-marine friends. John wasn't paying much attention to the signs until Julie tugged on his hand.

"You're running, John?" she asked.

"No," he said. He then followed her pointing finger to a sign that read : WRITE IN JOHN CONNOR JUNIOR FOR PRESIDENT

He stared at it. "I can't run," he told her.

"Write ins are allowed," Julie said with a mischievous grin.

"I'm not a colonial," he countered. "I can't hold any office on this planet."

"You better let someone know," the burly marine said. "I know quit a few people who planned on writing your name in."

"No, tell them not to! I'm not a colonial!" John cried. He searched the crowd and did see a reporter. John hurried over to the man. "Excuse me," John said, getting his attention.

"Here we have the mystery candidate," the man beamed at him. "Mr. Connor, what do you think your chances of upsetting the presidency are?"

John took the mike and said, "Zip, zilch, none! Everyone listen, please! I am not a colonial, I can't run in your election. Even if you vote for me, I can't take any colonial office."

"Even if the people think you are the best man for the job?" the reporter asked.

"Even then. Look, my government is on another planet. I serve THEM. I cannot take a position in your government. It's called a conflict of interest, and it can't be allowed. So please, don't write me in."

"That is going to be a let down for thousands of people," the reporter said firmly.

"It may be, and I'm sorry about that. I really am, but It's something I am not allowed to do," John explained.

"You have a government position on another planet? What is it?"

John did his best to explain. "OK, We found Reach. I'm the senior General there so that means I am already provisional Governor of the planet until we get settled enough to have a real ruling body, or until I am relieved. Once we get settlers, usually by town, representatives are selected, and the people will vote on a real Governor. That will probably take years."

"So Reach is opening up for settlers?"

"Not yet, but it will be," John said. "Right now we have no civilian infrastructure. We are still new there and very concerned with the cylons. Once we get that problem taken care of then, yes, I am sure we will get plenty of people. We're planning on it. At the moment, we don't even have roads or any services. We are working hard at it, but it's going to take time."

"Will colonials be welcome to Reach?"

"Eventually, everyone will. An immigration process will be in place. Of course it will be Earth laws that are upheld there, not Colonial law. That may rattle some folks."

"There is a difference?"

"From what I've seen, yes. You have to remember, there are many humans on Earth, but there is also AI's and cyborgs that have the same rights and responsibilities. It may be too much for a colonial to handle, seeing your history. At the moment, there are no humans on Reach save for a colonial representative. It is still considered too dangerous for humans to inhabit. There is too much we don't know about Reach, and as I said, we are still dealing with the cylon threat."

"Can you tell me some of the things you are doing to make Reach safer?"

"The planet is being surveyed for danger we can detect or foresee. Tectonic plate movements, volcanoes, we are tracking the planet and the surrounding planets in the system for interactions, as well as the smaller asteroids. We study plant and animal growth and are tracking rainfall. It would be a disaster if say, a nice large plain looks wonderful so a town is built there, then a big flood comes along and washes it away. We need to know the weather patterns so we know where safe zones are, and where there is danger."

"You are making sure the planet isn't just habitable, but also stable."

"Right. We already got one partially unstable planet. We don't need another. So far, everything is looking good, but we still had a ton of work to do," John explained.

"What about cylons? Will they be welcome to Reach?"

"If they can obey the laws and are wiling to become citizens, they will. As I said before we don't discriminate on what you are, but on what your actions are. It is up to whoever is immigrating to figure out if they want to live under our laws."

"You have cylons in system now, as I understand."

John explained the best he could. "We do. Look, those cylons who have come are ones who do not want to fight. They came for refuge to be protected from the war mongering cylons. They have evolved into sentient beings. They realized there is much more to life than combat. They want to be part of something greater. I'm only giving them the chance to be more than they are, to be able to work at science instead of just shooting a gun. To be able to study and learn and be useful beings that can enhance civilization for the good of all."

"Can you give an example of your laws?"

John thought for a second then said, "Do to others as you would have them do to you. You respect them, they respect you. Obviously, stealing, killing, invading someone's privacy, there are all common things that are illegal. There may be other laws as we develop to protect people and the environment based on common sense, like don't pour waste into the river people need for drinking water. Some we will have to see as we develop."

"You are speaking like you have a perfect society."

John laughed and said, "Nothing's perfect. No one, no thing. All anyone can do is try their best."

"Is there anyone you can suggest to people to write in on their ballot?"

"I'm not going there," John said firmly. "This is your election, I am staying neutral, It's not my business."

"But there must be someone you'd like to see get elected."

John shook is head. "Even if there was, I can't say. I will not put doubt or praise on anyone who's running." John looked over at government building. "I should be going now. And people, please, do not write me in!"

.

John went with Baltar and his to check the large room where the votes would be counted. He scanned the walls and floor for possible 'secret' cavities or other places ballots could be hiding, or hidden in. At a couple tables, John found slots in the floor that lead to cavities underneath. The cavities were empty. He had the slots sealed by nailing planks over them. Once they verified the room was secure, John took a seat to wait.

As John waited, his radio spoke. "John, Jasper here, can you talk?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Caprica just returned with her ship. The place they went looking for cylons at was empty. Not only no ships, but all the equipment was gone also."

"They have moved back?" John asked.

"They have moved away. There is no sign of them on any colonies or in their home area. Think they are going to mass up for one large assault?"

"Hard to say. The logical thing to do would be to pull away and regroup. What they have planned after that is pure guesswork. If I was getting my ass beat, I'd move. Keep the patrols out, just in case they get stupid. Did we get any more big guns in yet?"

"A few. I'll give you details when you get back. Happy voting day."

"Thanks. Connor out."

Lee Adama stuck his head in the door. "General Connor, it seems like you did very well with those ballots. People are praising your security measures."

John got up and wandered over to him. "I try. Did you go vote yet?

"I did," he said with a smile. "Zerek isn't too happy, he scrutinized the ballot and swore you had a way to make the elections go like you wanted them to. He thinks there is some way to change people's votes."

John let out a snort. "Maybe because he can't?" he asked.

"My thoughts as well. We tested a sample, trying to copy it. Like you said, there is an obvious difference in the copied version. Not to mention the word 'Fake' appeared on the copy in big letters. How'd you do that?"

"Optical trickery," John said with a grin. "It was Eleanor's idea."

"Good idea. I found out the third option was also Zerek's idea. I think he was trying to weasel his way into becoming king. At least now, he'd have to have public support," Lee said, then asked, "Do you have word on the cylons?"

John leaned against the wall and said, "They've gone into hiding. We caught them at a meeting spot, and tore up a few more of their ships, including the Hub ship that lets them resurrect. They fled, we haven't seen a single aggressive cylon since."

"You know they are planning something," Lee sad evenly.

John shrugged and said, "I do, the thing is until we find out what that thing is, all we can do is keep an eye out for them. I'm not going to waste all my resources searching for them. They did what I wanted. They went away."

"You're not afraid they'll come back?"

"I am concerned yes, but I won't live in fear or what they will do. First of all, it will take them years to rebuild what they've lost. Second, if they are trying to duplicate our tech, they will take even longer working at it. They are machines, good at solving known problems. They, like any AI's, don't have the imagination to figure out how to do the impossible."

"You really think that?"

"I know it. Lee, in all the time the cylons have been off by themselves, what original ideas have they come up with?" John asked.

Lee thought then said, "Their FLT is better than ours. They figured out how to bring back the dead…." He stopped when John's head shook.

"Improving a known way to travel is not inventing. As far as their resurrection system, they don't bring back the dead, they make clones of the dead," John explained. "The only thing they improved on is getting data from a living being and bursting it when that being dies so the clone can be made. Again, an improvement, not truly inventing something new."

Lee chuckled and said, "You are a ray of hope."

"No, I can just see both sides, and I know history," John told him. "Even Sky Net, the most tactically intelligent AI ever conceived, had a hard time dealing with Dad's attacks, because he did not always follow logic. It ended up reacting to him, which put it on the defensive. That's why Dad won, he out thought it in ways it could not comprehend."

Footsteps came down the hallway. John looked out to see a terminator and a policeman coming with the first ballot box.

At first, the boxes trickled in, then came in a near steady flow. John watched over verifying the appropriate number of ballots was in each box, then the counting. After each box was counted, the results for that box was written on the top, and the next box was verified and counted.

By nightfall, the will of the people was heard. Overwhelmingly, the people of New Caprica wanted a new Quorum.

John was then asked to make another set of ballots for the next coming election. He saw a bad trend in this.

.

While John was busy with the voting on the surface, Julie got a primer on Cyborg health and physiology from Eleanor.

Sitting Julie down in a lounge on 34, Eleanor explained, "Julie, you have all but become the same strain of cyborg as John is. A human, solid metal terminator mix. Your new metal endoskeleton and associated plating over your vital areas is 89 percent complete. Have you gotten an HUD yet?"

"You mean a terrain and heat sensor like in my combat helmet?"

"Similar, but when you get your HUD, that you will see information in your vision wearing no helmet, it will tell you about your own body also."

"Cool!" Julie beamed. "How do I activate it?"

"If you are threatened or stressed, it will come up on it's own. Once you see it, you'll be able to call it up, or suppress it. One of the things you'll be able to do is control whether or not you are able to have a child," Eleanor explained. "If you don't want to have a child, disable your egg production. Enable it if you want one."

"Really?" Julie squeaked happily. "I don't need to take birth control pills any more?"

"They are doing nothing now anyway. If you're suppose to be able to have a baby, the nanites in you will correct whatever the birth control was trying to do. That is, until you let them know, through your HUD, that you don't want to have a baby."

"Good! I hate taking those stupid things! So, I just have to wait until my HUD comes up?"

Eleanor nodded. Standing up, she said, "Here, let's give it a try." She grabbed Julie by the collar and cocked back to punch her.

Afraid Eleanor was really going to punch her, she tried to recoil. A translucent red screen appeared over Eleanor.

Hostile action by T-1001 model Terminator

Recommended action : Evade

"Wait! I see it!" Julie cried. She thought about her ability to have children and another message came up.

Childbearing ability : 73 % functional

She thought about not wanting to have kids, and the ability dropped to zero percent.

"It's THAT easy?" Julie asked.

Eleanor let her go and lowered her fist. "Yes, dear, it's that easy. You have control over your own body. If you are hurt now, you will see the damage and you can control the nanites on what to heal first."

Julie let out a giggle. Shooting her arms in the air, she shouted, "I LOVE being a cyborg!"