What the Frell did you do this time Erpman?!
Disclaimer: See chapter one
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews. I would just like to thank AlbertG who continues to add to this part of my fic.
Rating: PG13 (if someone thinks otherwise please tell me)
Chapter 25 Welcome to the neighborhood
Co-authored by The Sithspawn and AlbertG
Colombia-class Battlestar Galactica, a short time later:
"Let me get this straight, one of the other Battlestars out there is claiming to be the Galactica?" President Laura Roslin asked incredulous.
The president, her aide Billy Keikeya, and the Commander himself were gathered in Commander Adama's office. Colonel Tigh was on the bridge monitoring the situation outside while Vice President Baltar was busy on the Colonial One, dealing with some sort of bureaucratic detail.
"Not just that they're claiming to be from another dimension, and this Galactica is under the command of one Commander Apollo," added Adama pointedly.
Roslin gave him a look, "Apollo? As in your son?"
Adama nodded.
Roslin sat back in her seat, surprise written all over her face.
Billy chose that moment to break into the conversation, "Uh, another dimension, like in those science fiction dramas the networks back on Caprica kept creating?" he asked warily.
Adama waved helplessly. "Apparently so."
Roslin sat forward, "But what do they want from us?" she asked heatedly.
"Apparently they were fleeing their version of the Cylons, to escape they jumped here, though that is if you believe them in the first place," Adama postulated.
"And do you?" Roslin asked, her eyes locking with his.
Adama jut stood there contemplating his answer for a short time before he said truthfully, "I don't know…"
"What's going through your mind?" Roslin asked.
"When they first appeared, Boomer reported that the ships engaged and destroyed eight old style Cylon Basestars plus escorts…" Adama said.
Roslin and Billy's eyes widened in shock and fear as Adama spoke.
Adama continued unperturbed by their reactions, "She watched them annihilate them in a matter of minutes. There wasn't much left of the Cylons after they were done."
Roslin waited for Adama to continue but he didn't, "I'm sensing a 'but'?" she prompted.
"It seems very opportunistic for us to meet them now, and they want us to join them in this Remnant Alliance of theirs," Adama finished.
"Remnant Alliance?" asked Roslin, indicating she wanted to know more about this.
"From what Commander Apollo has said, it an alliance of all that was left of humanity in their dimension, including what was left of the Twelve Colonies, something called the Eastern Alliance and…" Adama paused dramatically for a second. "Earth."
Roslin's jaw, "Earth?" she whispered harshly. But that was impossible. Earth was just a legend something Adama had spun for the fleet from the old legends to give the people hope!
Adama nodded solemnly. "Earth."
Roslin gathered her thoughts; "Well then perhaps you should introduce me to these people's representative…" she stopped as she saw the look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Despite all this Colonel Tigh believes this all to be some type of Cylon deception," Adama explained gruffly. "And he expressed himself very eloquently to Commander Apollo about this point. Commander Apollo was very patient with him on this matter."
Roslin winced and then cut through to the heart of the matter itself. "But you don't?"
"It seems much to elaborate a ploy for the Cylons." Adama shifted on his feet. "The effort to fashion so many Colonial and non-Colonial vessels, not to mention none of the new Basestars we've faced since the beginning of the war have been equipped with anything similar. As incredible and as fanciful as their tale is…yes I am inclined to believe them, for now at least."
Roslin mulled this over for a while, a sudden thought came to her, "You said that Earth is among the groups represented by the Remnant Alliance-they wouldn't happen to know Earth's location in this dimension?" she asked, as both she and Adama realized the importance of this question at the same moment.
"Possibly…maybe they could give us a few directions?" he mused.
Billy looked between the two confused and asked them, "Yeah, but don't you already know where Earth is?"
Adama and Roslin shared a glance, realizing that they maybe just revealed one of the most guarded secrets to the young man that they shouldn't have.
Billy for his part just continued to glance between the two in confusion, he opened his mouth to ask something, but alarms suddenly began to ring through the ship as Colonel Tigh's voice addressed the ship, "All hands, Action stations, set condition one throughout the fleet!"
Adama didn't waste time wondering what was happening he reached immediately for the nearest phone and called the bridge, "This is Adama, what's going on?" he demanded urgently.
Roslin watched as his face as all emotion drained from Adama's face as he listened to whoever was on the other line.
"Stand by, I'll be right there," he put the phone down and faced the president. "Madam President, we've had contact. Two Cylon Raiders just jumped in. They know we're here."
"They would pick this exact time to show up," Roslin muttered. "We must prepare the fleet to jump."
"Agreed," Commander Adama said. "However, we're at a crossroads here. The question in front of us is, do we try to save ourselves or stay here with the other fleet that possibly knows the way to Earth. It's your decision, Madame President."
"We don't know these people. They may be as bad as the Cylons," Roslin commented slowly.
"But they're Humans placed in the exact same situation as we are," Billy said. "If what they've told us is halfway true, then we need to establish a relationship with them yesterday. And two extra Battlestars would be useful, you must admit."
"Okay, okay," responded Roslin. She wasn't feeling her best right now. The Kabala was making her sick and the cancer was still spreading quickly. "Let me talk to their President. If I can come to an agreement with him then we make our stand here, for the time being. If I don't like what I hear, then we make the jump and may the gods have mercy on their souls. William, I would like for you to accompany me to communications. I'm sure Colonel Tigh can handle things for the moment."
The Cylon mainframes had registered a spatial event of huge proportions. There was a tachyon burst larger than anything ever recorded by the Empire in this sector of space. Almost immediately afterwards, two transmissions from spies within the fleet were received. Their covers blown, both Human-form Cylons committed suicide, but not before they gave their surprising reports. The Cylons had been perplexed as all of the known Battlestars had been accounted for with the exception of one. This presence of more Colonials and an even larger fleet than that which accompanied the Galactica. The battle of that second group with older version Cylons had been reported. But all Cylon fleets had been accounted for. This entire situation had to be reconciled; therefore not one, but two raiders were tasked to verify conditions in this sector. If the Colonials were there, four Basestars would immediately jump in and destroy the Galactica. If the reports were accurate, then as many as sixteen Basestars would be tasked to destroy the other Colonials before they could escape.
Two Cylon raiders on recon, observed something that for a nanosecond, couldn't be reconciled within their computer minds. There was another fleet of refugees present, larger than that which scurried along with the Galactica. And there were two Battlestars present with them, both a magnitude larger than anything the databanks had information on. The vessels obviously were secret projects that weren't in the Colonial databanks. The number of Colonial vessels associated with the Battlestars indicated that there was an undiscovered, unrecorded base where they must have originated from. However, these vessels had higher power emissions that could be accounted for, even if their classification was unknown. And many of them didn't have FTL jump drives. So how did they get so far so quickly with out the Cylons detecting them until now?
It was clear, they needed more information.
Information was critical; if they were to deal with these newcomers then they would need as much information as possible. Scanners were on active-optimal. One thing they already knew. There were no Human-form Cylons onboard any of these newcomers. That would have to change, if they somehow managed to escape what was coming.
With their electronic sensor eyes, synchronized, moving in unison, they began their run at high speed past the new fleet.
"Galactica actual," Apollo called. "Two Cylon raiders are heading for the other ships. They're preparing for a high-speed run."
Already, he and his wingman were changing course and speed to try for an intercept. Unsurprisingly, the other Vipers and the larger fighters were doing the same thing. What was surprising was that those other Vipers were accelerating at a phenomenal speed. It was almost like they were leaving a vapor trail behind them, but of course that was impossible. In a couple of seconds they had left him and his wingman with their mouths open as they pulled out of visual range.
"Captain Apollo," Boxey signaled. "What type of ships are those? Are they Cylon? "
"Apollo actual," he responded. "Yes, they are Cylon. They're about to do a detailed scan of your fleet."
"The Galactica, my Galactica is tracking them now. They'll be in a kill-zone in twenty microns."
"Captain Boxey, what's a micron?" asked Apollo.
"It's a time unit. You might be familiar with the term 'seconds'?:
"That's an affirmative."
"Twelve seconds, correction eight seconds. Galactica and Pegasus have activated their ECMs," Boxey updated Apollo on the situation.
"Frack me," Apollo whispered. His entire scanner systems tracking the other Battlestars and the fleet suddenly went blank. However, the Raiders and his own vessels were still illuminated as clear as Colonial day. How did they do that? He just knew that Starbuck would love to inspect one of those ships.
"Locking onto the first raider," Joliet announced.
Locked onto the other," echoed Boxey. "Firing."
Apollo barely saw the two flashes of light emitted from the newcomer Vipers at a range that should have been impossible before both raiders disintegrated in a blaze of light.
"Apollo to Galactica actual. Did you see that?"
"Negative. Both raiders are gone. They must have jumped."
"Ah…no they didn't," corrected Apollo dryly as he gazed at the newcomer Vipers in awe.
The first Cylon raider managed to acquire an image of the huge Battlestar before every electronic scan turned into an indistinguishable haze. The brain had managed to identify one bit of data – the word 'Galactica' emblazoned on the huge monstrosity.
The logic was inescapable. It was a secret replacement for the Colombia class Galactica made up to look like an older ship. All information had been hidden about it. It was mostly likely a secret weapon, not used by the Humans during the final battle.
Threat indicators demanded priority as one of the unidentified Vipers locked onto its ship. It tried to cut through the jamming to determine where the enemy ship was but it didn't have enough power. A second later its wingmate exploded into liquid metal from the impact of an unknown weapon, before it could activate its FTL drives. Now it was frantically transmitting as much data as it could even as its own FTL spooled up, activating the final sequence that would insure its survival. It attempted to go evasive to gain a couple more nanoseconds, but it was already too late. A high energy laser, more powerful than any weapon previously devised by humanity burned through the center of the raider boiling its organic brain and melting its components. A microsecond later, there was nothing left of the raider.
But the call had gone out.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
President Roslin was ramrod straight as the shuttle from the other Galactica landed in alpha bay. Behind her was William and a nervous Billy Keikeya. It looked rather primitive and more bulky than what she would have expected given everything that she had heard about these people's technology. However, looks were deceiving and this ship was an example of one of those deceptions. Colonel Tigh had reported that the shuttle moved with an ease that defied its bulk. It had been escorted by a small gunboat that had made Tigh hiss when he saw the power signature the ship was emitting. When their own Vipers picked up the escort, the gunboat, as he thought of it as, turned like an atmospheric fighter and pulled away faster than one of their Vipers at full thrust.
The bay pressurized and after what seemed an eternity, the shuttle hatch opened. Two large men wearing brown leather uniforms and carrying large guns exited first, causing a bit of commotion from the bay guards. The brown uniforms were like nothing they'd ever seen as a colonial dress. And that caused a few murmurs also. One mature woman exited, tall with a casual but dangerous gleam in her eyes. Her uniform was a darker brown, laced with gold trim and she didn't carry a weapon but she did have some sort of scanner in his hands. And finally an even older man, hair completely white from age exited the shuttle. His uniform was blue with gold lace and his eyes although still bright, carried the weight of the world within them. In those eyes, Laura saw herself in a few years, if she had that much time-which she didn't. But, she recognized a kindred spirit.
"President Adama?" she asked cautiously.
"Yes," he answered, nodding. "And you are President Lauran Roslin."
"Laura, Mr. President," she corrected gently. His accent was extremely heavy, but surprisingly understandable. "I am pleased to meet you," she continued. "This is William Adama, commander of the fleet, our fleet, and my aide Billy Keikeya."
William moved to shake the President's hand which caused a slight problem as the style was different. The President was more used to the elbow form of greetings as opposed to the hand-to hand clasp. John Crichton's greeting style was similar to William Adama's, so the President easily adjusted his own grip. There was an electric feel in the air as the two men met. It lasted for a moment then it was gone. But both men had sized one another up in that moment and an understanding passed between them.
Roslin felt it as well. These people were not hers, but Colonials that her people might have been. The whole situation was bizarre and the day hadn't even really started yet.
President Adama turned to the mature woman at his side, "This is my assistant and liaison to the Colonial Remnant Fleet, and my daughter, Major Athena. My Vice-President Tigh, is naturally in charge of the fleet while I am here," he commented offhandedly.
"Vice-President Tigh?" William repeated slowly. He repressed his smile, but he wished he could have been at CnC when that little revelation had come out. He guessed that Saul Tigh would probably be cursing up a storm over the other Tigh's idiocy in entering politics. The names were so similar but at the same time, so different. "Mr. President, I believe that we should adjourn to somewhere more relaxed and secure."
Adama frowned. "I am not safe among your own people?"
"Yes you are," William Adama replied slowly. "However, I would feel more comfortable if we were in a more secured area."
President Adama frowned but answered, "I understand. We have a lot to talk about."
"Yes, Sir. We certainly do," replied Laura courteously.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Cylon Main fleet:
"Did you see the report?" one of the Dorals asked.
All of the human-form Cylons had gathered together to deal with this new problem that had suddenly cropped up. There was another fleet, apparently one that had escaped attention now joined with the remnant Colonial fleet. What was disturbing was that the Cylons and their agents had no data whatsoever other than the bit of information gleaned by the Cylon raider before it and its wingmate were blown from space.
"What little there was from it," another Doral said coldly. "A second fleet, bigger than the first. How could we have missed it?"
"This changes the equation."
"Spoken like a human," one the Sixes snapped. "Of course it changes the equation! How many Battlestars did we record?" she demanded irately.
"At least two more and several smaller combat capable ships possibly cruisers or destroyers. Their ECM was so powerful, we couldn't get accurate readings."
"At least two more Battlestars and now we have other warships to contend with," the first Doral said. And none of our agents are on these other ships. We have no idea what kind of firepower they carry and the one they call the Galactica is bigger than the old Galactica. It's probably a replacement since the other one was to be decommissioned. Why they made it look so old and battered is unusual though."
"Who cares?" a number Eight stated. "The point is that they are reinforcing each other. Shared resources, weapons, new ECM, tactical advantages of numbers, food, water; the list goes on and on."
"We understand that. The question is what are we going to do about it?"
"I propose an all out assault now before they can fully integrate themselves. We do this now before it is too late."
"Agreed. If the humans are allowed to recover in any way, they will seek revenge on us. This must end now."
"This will require us to spend a large number of resources," a number Four said. "We will need three Basestars to ensure the destruction of the Galactica and to be sure of these newer ships I would estimate five to one plus two to one on each of the smaller warships."
"Thirty Basestars and their support groups? That's a lot," Three said. "That should be enough."
"And what of Earth?"
"If it exists then we will find it and it will become our new home, as we've decided."
-+-
"You were at war with your Cylons for a thousand years? asked a surprised and some dubious Tigh. "And you're telling me that these Cylons were created by an alien race of reptiles?"
"Yes. And there is a lot more to the story which I will be delighted to tell you when I have the time. However time is a luxury we do not have right now. Suffice to say that in our universe, the Cylons attempted to enslave another race and we came to their aid. The Cylons did not like the idea that we humans interfered and that is how our war started."
"You're talking about aliens," Laura said.
"Yes."
"So they do exist."
"Yes," Athena answered. "We have a few on our ships traveling with us."
"You're fracking with me," said Tigh. "We've never, ever encountered alien life forms. It's a myth."
Athena looked at him dubiously, so far this 'Tigh' was less than a shadow of the good dependable rock their Tigh was. "Remind me to be around when you meet our Tigh," she remarked smartly.
Tigh opened his mouth to say something but a look from William stopped him cold. Tigh would believe in aliens when he personally saw one. However the equipment that these people brought over from their ship came a long way from believing that they were all liars. The stuff was so advanced that his techs and engineers were fighting each other to get a look it. And that bothered him, because if the Cylons got a hold of some of it, then that's all she wrote. They'd wipe humanity off the map forever.
"How did you lose the war?" asked Roslin. She was eager to compare histories. She didn't fully accept what these people were telling them, but the parallels were far to close for her to dismiss it. And evidently she had asked the right question because Adama had perked up. He was interested in hearing how these people had lost as well.
"One of our people brokered a deal with the Cylons. A peace treaty that would have ushered peace for the first time in a thousand years was met with jubilation by our people. In preparing for peace, we were unprepared for slaughter that followed. The peace treaty was a ploy. The originator of the treaty, regarded as the greatest traitor in the galaxy known to man, planned to have our people massacred with the remnant to be placed under his absolute rule.
Our Battlestars were unprepared and we were almost wiped out. I took my ship, the Galactica and headed towards the world of Caprica. The Cylons had already been there," a pain-filled President Adama added slowly.
"Tell me about it," William Adama whispered.
"We'd lost and faced extinction," continued President Adama. "I couldn't allow that to happen. The call went out and every ship remaining joined with us and we headed to Earth. But it was too late. The Cylons had already destroyed them at the same time and they were as homeless as we were. The one man that betrayed the twelve colonies did this, and may Baltar's name be a curse for a thousand generations."
"Baltar!!!?!" Roslin and William exclaimed simultaneously.
President Adama trembled. These people had their own Baltar and judging from the looks on their faces they were not to happy about what he had just said.
Things clicked for William and President Roslin placed her head in her hands. The Other Colonials' Baltar was a traitor. Did this mean that Gaius Baltar also a traitor?
Was Gaius Baltar the worst traitor in Colonial history?
He was also the vice-President of the twelve Colonies.
Was it their right to try to accuse him without proof simply because of the words of a people from another reality?
Author's notes: Sorry for the delay it couldn't be helped hopefully the next chapter should be out in less time. In the mean time, don't forget to Review!!!