AN: I'ts been awhile I know. I hope I still have a few readers out there. There were some issues with the file when I uploaded it with the quotations being turned into symbols. I tried to fix them all but there might be a stray symbol or leading quotation that isn't quite right. Sorry if that causes any inconveniences. Hope you enjoy!
Marcus Doral stood nervously in the captain's office, which was situated off the bridge of the luxury liner. This was the last place that he wanted to be. He needed time alone to make a contingency plan if he found out his cover was blown. However, he knew that not reporting to Dualla upon returning to the Cloud Six would only raise suspicions.
"We got a lot accomplished before Major Hennesey got called away," Doral said as he finished up his report, struggling to keep his voice even as he spoke. He had to convince those around him that the arrival of more Colonial ships did not have him concerned. From the standpoint of the Colonials, meeting up with survivors would be a good thing. Any other reaction to this development would be hard to explain away.
"That's good to hear. Although, it might be all for naught seeing as Cruise won't be the one calling the shots now," Dualla replied, his voice thoughtful.
"Oh, why not?" Doral asked, hoping that his inquiry sounded like casual curiosity. In reality, he was searching for whatever tidbits of information that he could acquire. One never knew when something that originally seemed like trivial information could make a critical difference.
"Well, the commanding officer, Commander Adama, outranks Cruise. It's a simple matter of following the chain of command. Cruise will defer to Adama from here on out," Maurice Dualla replied.
Doral silently cursed at the fates. If someone else was calling the shots, then everything he had spent six months engineering could very well be for naught. The need to escape and find a place to lay low increased.
"Are you feeling okay? Dualla asked, now looking at his cruise director critically. "You're starting to look a little pale.
Marcus Doral prided himself on taking advantage of any opportunities presented to him, and Dualla's question provided him just that.
"Truth be told, I've been feeling a bit off since I woke up this morning but I knew how important my meeting with Major Hennesey was, so I didn't want to say anything.
"I appreciate that, but I also don't want you pushing yourself too hard. I don't think I could have kept the passengers as calm, and accepting of the situation that we=ve found ourselves in, if it weren't for you. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Maybe check in with Dr. Milano.
"I don't think a visit to the doctor is necessary," Doral replied. "However, returning to my quarters to rest sounds very appealing."
Maurice Dualla waved toward the door to his office. "Go ahead then. You can catch up with developments tomorrow at our morning meeting.
"Thank-you, Captain," Doral answered, relieved to finally be able to take his leave of the luxury liner's captain. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he added, turning as Dualla looked down at the reports on his desk.
Rest well, Marcus, Dualla replied, though his attention was already half-focused on the next task at hand.
Slipping out of the captain's office, Doral stepped onto the bridge. His presence drew a few casual glances from those on duty, but even those officers returned quickly to whatever they were doing before. Keeping his footsteps moderately spaced and unhurried, Doral left the bridge and headed in the direction of his quarters, though he had no intention of actually resting.
Now was not the time to rest. Instead, he needed to figure out how to leave Cloud Six unobtrusively for the Astral Ore. The mining ship was his best bet of lying low, as slipping onto either of the battlestars undetected would be difficult. Once on the Astral Ore, he would need to make contact with Shane Turner and get a report on what was going on with these new colonials. How much did they know? Would they recognize him as the same Ceylon model that had been acting as a Public Relations Director during the decommissioning ceremony of the Galactic? Had his fellow five even been discovered?
There were many questions but no answers. Marcus didn't like that, especially as he was still on his own out here. He had plans to make and he didn't have any time to lose.
Since coming out of retirement, seldom did Raymond Belmont take his time walking anywhere on the Pisus. Even when it was time for him to retire for the day, he was usually in a hurry to climb into his rack given that he never knew when his sleep would be interrupted these days. Today though, he was in no hurry to get to where he was going, wanting to give Phoenix and her family as much time alone as possible. It was why he had chosen to go to Phoenix instead of calling her to his office off of the pilot's ready room.
Despite his slow steps, Belmont's course eventually brought him to the quarters that Phoenix shared with her daughter. As he knocked on the hatch, Pisus' CAG realized that this arrangement might not last for much longer. He had no doubt that as things readjusted in the next few days, the Adamas would want to be on one ship, and they should be. Though he didn't know anything for sure, Belmont had a feeling that the ship they would relocate to would be Galactica. Though he would miss Phoenix's presence in his roster of pilot's and Laura Jean's sunny disposition, he didn't begrudge the small family's reunion. After all the misery of the past six months, it was good to finally have something happy happen.
It wasn't long before the hatch was being opened in response to his knock.
"Colonel, Rebecca said, surprise evident in her voice. "I wasn't aware that you were back onboard.
"No reason that you should," Belmont replied easily. "I just got back. After hearing who you brought back with you, I figured I'd come see you instead of calling you away."
Rebecca couldn't keep a smile from coming to her face, part of her still waiting to wake up to find all of this only a dream.
"I appreciate that, sir," Rebecca replied, silently wondering whether she would have been able to follow that order even if she had accepted the commission that Colonel Cruise had offered to her six months ago. Though she knew that their duties were going to eventually pull them in different directions, Rebecca wanted to stay close to Lee as long as she possibly could.
"So, where is Lee?"
"Reading a story to Laura Jean in her bedroom," Rebecca replied, stepping aside and motioning Belmont into the room. "It was the first thing she wanted him to do," she added, smiling at the thought of the newly acquired memory.
"Then perhaps we could do the debriefing here.
Rebecca nodded toward the empty chairs around the small table. "Yes, sir, she replied as both pilots moved toward the table. "I'm guessing that you don't want to talk so much about patrol duty as you do Bard's reaction to the Raptors from Galactica showing up.
"Never could get much past you, could I?"
"No, sir. Not even in flight school."
Raymond Belmont had to smile at that one. He had liked to ask trick questions during flight school, wanting to keep his students on their toes. Combat flying involved skill, luck, instinct and quick thinking. The first three on that list, there wasn't much he could do about. A pilot either had them or they didn't. The last, he had always felt was the one thing he could teach and not just hone. It was something he hadn't had to teach Rebecca, or Lee for that matter.
"So, let's cut to the chase then, shall we? How did Bard do out there?"
"Well, he's still nervous behind the controls.
"I expected that much. Freezing in the middle of a battle like he did, isn't something that any pilot is going to get past overnight. The fact that he got back in the cockpit gives me hope that he will get past it though.
"From what I've seen, I'll second that assessment," Rebecca informed him. "He seemed less nervous today than he did the first time we went out on patrol duty. I also managed to actually engage him in a conversation that wasn't strictly shop talk. He even opened up to me a little about his feelings about the current situation.
"That's good. He needs to talk to someone about what happened or he'll never get past. I've tried, but I think because of my command position, he hasn't exactly been willing to open up to me. According to Major Holt, he wasn't really close with any of the other nuggets in the class and after the Cylon attack, everyone is given him a wide berth. I'm glad you were able to get him to talk to you.
Rebecca nodded. She had a feeling that had been Belmont's main purpose of teaming Bard up with her during the survey mission. "Unfortunately, that conversation got interrupted by the arrival of Galactica's Raptors.
"How did he react to the raptors showing up? Belmont asked. It was the main thing he had wondered about since Phoenix had radioed in the situation to the Pisus. The mission details he already knew, but except for providing Colonel Cruise with his insight on the situation, Belmont intended to let his superiors make those decisions. That much responsibility was something he had never sought. He preferred having to deal with the immediate situation at hand rather than the big picture.
"He did well, Phoenix replied. "I could tell he was nervous about the situation and I can't say I blame him. Given what we've been through these last months, I'll admit that I was nervous as well.
"I think any of us would've been in that situation," Belmont admitted, thinking that he would be more worried about a pilot who wasn't nervous about a group of unknown ships arriving on the scene.
"Bard held it together though. He followed orders and piloted the Raptor just like he had been trained to do. I think that given more time in the pilot=s seat, with the right veteran ECO, he'll do just fine. If I didn't, I wouldn't have consented to letting him go back out there on patrol with Helo without me, even given the current situation.
"I'm relieved to hear that. We need every pilot we can get, even with joining up with Galactica and the rest of the survivors, Belmont said, trying to keep his voice steady not wanting to reveal the relief he felt at Phoenix's report. If Bard hadn't handled himself well in this situation, Belmont had been prepared to revoke the young pilot's flight status. Given the kid a second chance, and the opportunity to build confidence in his skills was one thing, but the Pisus' CAG wasn't about to risk the lives of his other pilot's to do that.
"True, but I can't help feeling like our chances of survival just increased dramatically now that it won't be just the four ships."
"They probably have, even if the larger fleet means an easier target for the Cylons to locate. There is still some truth in the saying 'safety in numbers'."
"Let's hope that's enough," Rebecca replied, wondering when their run of luck was going to run out. They had already defied the odds so many times – being far enough away from Picon to avoid the Cylons' initial attack, finding the mining ship so they could replenish their supply of fuel, finding supplies they needed, surviving multiple Cylon attacks despite being outnumbered and now find Galactica and her fleet of ships.
Something that her father had said numerous times came back to her now. Since she was young, her father had often used the phrase whenever her mothers, and later her brother and herself, were worried about the outcome of some event.
"There is no sense in borrowing trouble."
Raymond Belmont smiled at the soft-spoken words of his fellow pilot. Admiral Leonard Tyree had been known throughout the colonial military for using the old saying. It didn't surprise him that his daughter would be familiar with it as well.
"Some of the best advice your father ever gave to people," Belmont commented, the sheepish look Phoenix gave him telling him that the female pilot hadn't realized that she had spoken the words out loud. "And words we should definitely live by these days."
In the Conference Room of the Pisus' both Laura Roslin and her aide Billy had stayed quiet as the military officers in the room exchanged reports about their experiences over the last six months. Though listening intently to the information being disseminated, the president of the colonies hadn't felt that she would have anything constructive to add to the conversation thus far.
"I've managed to quiet the situation down over there for the time being," Colonel Cruise said as he wrapped up his report on the situation aboard Cloud Six. "However, they are going to be expecting more forthcoming information from the military or I have no doubt we will have another demonstration on our hands."
Admiral Adama nodded, relieved that the situation onboard the luxury liner seemed to be a relatively minor one. It was also a situation that would become a moot point once Pisus' and her small fleet integrated with the main fleet. "That won't be a problem Colonel," the admiral informed Pisus' commanding officer. "Colonial One came with it's own media, who tend to get information out to the fleet whether it's information the military wants them to have or not."
"Hasn't that always been the way with the media," Major Hennesey commented, getting chuckles from the other members of the military gathered around the table.
"And one we apparently need," Colonel Cruise commented on the wake of the amusement. "I'm use to given orders to people sworn to follow them, not give speeches to placate the general population. I guess we were just lucky this situation hasn't come up sooner. I'm sure the civilians of this group will welcome hearing reports from the media again."
"Then you're planning on joining our fleet, even though it means that your ships will now fall under Admiral Adama's command?" Roslin asked, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. Beside her, she could hear Adama's quiet groan at her direct question but after the fiasco of the situation with Cain, Roslin wanted it to be clear that Adama was head of the military. Despite their differences of opinions, at least she knew that Bill Adama would listen to reason, probably better than she herself did most of the time.
"Admiral Adama is the ranking military officer," Colonel Cruise replied, curious as to the need for the president to pose the question but not put off by it. "It's a simple matter of chain of command."
Roslin nodded slightly at the reply, noting that she seemed to be dealing with officers who took their oath to serve and protect seriously. It was a relief really. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of the situation they had faced with Cain.
"I can't speak for Colonel Cruise," Colonel Reed said, speaking up hesitantly from her seat beside Cruise, "but I know I would at least like the assurance that you don't plan on putting your own people in command of our ships."
"I assure you, Colonel, that we have no intention of taking your commands from you," Adama replied, speaking up quickly before Roslin had a chance to reply to Reed's request. "Also, any personnel changes that do take place will be run by the commanding officer of the ships involved," he added, his gaze resting on Colonel Cruise as he said the last part. Though he wasn't sure how to best go about it for the good of the fleet, Adama did know that changes would need to be made so that Lee and Rebecca were on the same ship. Now that his son's family had been reunited, he wasn't about to separate them again, even if that meant Lee serving onboard another ship.
"We appreciate that, sir," Colonel Cruise replied, understanding Adama's unspoken implication. As much as he didn't want to lose Rebecca, both for her computer skills as well as piloting skills, he wasn't about to be the one to keep Laura Jean from either of her parents. Nor did he think he would be able to even if he wanted to, as technically Rebecca was not military. She was free to leave the Pisus any time she wanted.
"So, seeing as we all seem to be in agreement that joining forces is in all of our best interests, there is an important piece of information concerning the Cylons that, from what you've told us so far, you seem to be unaware of," Admiral Adama said, leaning forward and resting his folded hands on the table before him as he looked around at the officers of the Pisus and Ares. One glance around the group told him that he had all three officers' attention.
"The Cylons have . . . " Bill Adama paused as he tried to think of a way of describing the presence of humanoid Cylons. "Well, they've evolved, for lack of a better term," he finished, knowing that many people would argue with him that machines couldn't evolve. "The robot versions that man created and fought in the first war are still around, but there are also humanoid models of the Cylons. From the information I was given, there are supposedly twelve models to be exact."
"Humanoid? As in, they look like us?" Major Bolt asked, trying to wrap his mind around the concept. His mental image of a Cylon were the ones he had grown up seeing in pictures in his history book.
"Yes, Major," Roslin replied. "In fact, one of these humanoid models could walk into this room right now and just by looking at it, if it wasn't one of the models that we have already identified, we wouldn't know they weren't human."
"Then you have identified some of these Cylon models?" Colonel Cruised asked.
"As of now, we have identified four models through different scenarios," Adama confirmed. Looking to Billy, he up until this point had sat quietly through the proceedings, Adama nodded at the aide.
Opening the briefcase that he had placed on the table when he sat down, Billy removed a file from it. Opening the file, he removed the pictures of the four Cylon models whose identities had been discovered. One by one, he placed the pictures of Leoben, Boomer, Aaron Doral, and the blonde Cylon that they had encountered at least two copies of. As each picture was placed on the table, Adama recounted how each one was identified as a Cylon.
"That's the cruise director for Cloud Six," Major Hennesey said, pointing to the picture of Aaron Doral.
"Are you sure?" Colonel Cruise asked his XO. The last thing he wanted to do was falsely accuse someone of being a Cylon agent.
"I'm positive. I spent about an hour with the man today while we worked on figuring out an effective way to disseminate information throughout the fleet," Hennesey replied.
"Colonel Cruise, contact the captain of Cloud Six immediately. We need to get this man in custody as soon as possible," Admiral Adama ordered. Though he could contact the captain of the luxury liner himself, he knew the captain would respond better to Cruise ordering him to take one of his own crew into custody better than someone that he didn't know.
"Yes, sir," Cruise replied quickly, immediately getting to his feet to contact Lt. Denton in CIC so he could be patched through to Cloud Six.