CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
PLANET MIRANDA – AXIOM SPACEPORT – GOVERNMENT ARCHIVES
Ginnie Annan was taking time out from her job as New Picon's liaison to Governor Fabius' office in order to look at the Miranda branch of the Alliance Government Archives. Captain Syke had asked her to check on the records of the history of Earth-That-Was in order to help prepare the planned expedition to the planet by the peregrine. The more she read though, the more perplexed she got.
"According to this", she mused to herself, "Earth had hundreds of languages – some completely unknown to the Colonies or Kobol, yet the principal languages of the colonies are used here".
As languages are a constantly evolving item, the fact that there was very little deterioration by comparison with Caprican and Gemonese Standard, and only moderate deterioration with the Tauran dialect was rather a strange co-incidence. But also, the names of various places on Earth-That-Was.
"Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, The Acropolis hill in Athens City, A moon called Triton around a planet in Earth-That-Was' system, with a sun known as Sol…", she mused. Slight grammatical variations of these names were found on various battlestars in the Colonial Fleet! And since these names were in use for tens of thousands of years before the exodus to the Alliance worlds, it made for an incredible grammatical co-incidence.
As she continued to study things further, she found that several of the stellar constellations seen from Earth-That-Was bore the names of the Twelve Colonies! Also old legends from Earth-That-Was that told of a winged horse named Pegasus ridden by a rider called Bellerophon… These similarities were incredible. Not Kobolian, but Colonial!
Next, she studied the ruins of ancient Egypt, and then her heart skipped several beats. Pictures of pyramid-shaped ruins bore pictograms that she immediately recognized as Leonian! Had members of the other twelve tribes accompanied the thirteenth? It seemed to be the only answer that she could think of, but then she saw a pictogram in a photograph of an obelisk near the pyramids that was partially obscured: it read 'GALACT…'…
She leaned back in her chair, her head spinning with the revelations of what the archival photographs had shown… Just then, she felt two hands cover her eyes.
"Guess who?" a familiar voice asked rhetorically.
"Hey Grant", Ginnie replied cheerfully, "Glad to see you could make it!".
Grant 'Zapper' Wise had taken a raptor from New Picon to Axiom for the purpose of picking up some supplies. After finding out at the liaison office where Ginnie was, he quickly headed over to the archive.
Taking his hands off her eyes, Grant let Ginnie stand up, then he hugged her and kissed her. As the archive was empty save for those two, there were no problems with such a display of affection.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to go and have lunch while I'm here", Grant asked, "Simon Tam and his sister have told me about a restaurant, and I thought I'd ask you out".
"A bar would be a better idea", Ginnie replied, "Because after what I've seen here in these old records, I could use a stiff drink".
PLANET LONDINIUM – COLONIAL EMBASSY
"Are you sure that your staying here is a good idea, Commander?" Glen Sanders asked Cain.
The FLEET AVENGER had returned to Londinium shortly after the keel-laying ceremony at Sihnon was completed. On the trip back, Sophia had made a suggestion, and after getting an update on the PEGASUS overhaul, had decided to take her up on it.
"According to the information from Colonel Tolen, the PEGASUS will be out of dry-dock in a week", Cain replied, "As I originally intended to take the PEGASUS to Sihnon, it makes sense to wait here instead. Colonel Tolen can bring her here to Londinium, and then I'll take her for the run to Sihnon".
"It's just that when Hondo and Coffin take the FLEET AVENGER back to Miranda, we will not have an F-T-L capable vehicle at your disposal until the PEGASUS arrives", Glen pointed out. He didn't have to say that Cain would have no quick means of getting to Miranda should things take a turn for the worse…
"Lieutenant Hunter is relaying instructions to the Two Jasons to bring a raptor here and to stand by should I need to use it", Cain explained, "Besides, there will probably be a parliamentary delegation who will want to tour the PEGASUS and my being here to prepare them will be of help to Speaker Howell.
Glen nodded. He could see that Cain and Sophia were very attracted to each other. Still…
"I hope that there will be enough of a crew to bring the PEGASUS in", Sanders said, "given that a lot of them want to settle down and live their own lives on New Picon".
"Colonel Tolen assures me that there will be, plus there will be a number of Alliance personnel on board to see how we run a battlestar. They will be able to assist if needed", Cain assured Glen.
"Let's hope New Picon will be okay once the PEGASUS departs", Sanders commented, "I'd hate to have uninvited guests drop in – like Reavers".
"If they do, then Truly and Wise will have their squadrons ready and available to take care of them", Cain said, "Hally's and Warden's squadrons will re-berth on the PEGASUS, along with the stealth-raptor, the stealth-star, and one raptor and javelin each".
Glen nodded. This way, the peregrine, half of the reconnaissance squadron and the other two viper squadrons will remain to ensure New Picon's safety. Speaking of which…
"The mining is proceeding smoothly", Glen commented, "and the refinery will be ready to start processing the ore into Tyllium fuel within a week. Captain Engle reported no problem getting the catalyst ingredients, so we should be turning out real high-grade fuel very soon".
"Which is our major chip in our inter-planetary game of poker", Cain finished. While the Alliance leadership had been friendly, Cain also knew that politics had a nasty habit of turning against people at the drop of a hat. He suspected that President Starkey, Vice-President Petty, and Prime Minister Harrison were pragmatic – read: not to be fully trusted – politicos, and thus he needed to keep all options open. At least with Sophia Howell, Cain had a powerful ally…
PLANET ARIEL – ADMIRALTY
"Well, there it goes", Tom Sanders commented to flight Officer Hoxha, "I hope those techs at Blue Sun will be able to build 'em just as good".
Both he and Hoxha had watched the viper used for the flight demo being loaded aboard a Blue Sun Corporation transport for Salisbury in the Kalidasa System. It was there that Blue Sun constructed the Alliance gunships, and now that they got the tender to build vipers, they would be responsible for producing them as well.
"Their gunships have never let us down", Hoxha assured Tom, "and they'll make pretty good vipers too. Just so long as your refinery on Miranda can supply them with the tyllium necessary to make 'em run".
"I still get the creeps looking at their personnel", Tom confided, "Talk about no emotions. Even their eyes look dead! And those blue gloves…"
"You're not the only one, Tom", Hoxha replied, "They make great products and have a lot of clout in Parliament, but you don't hear all that much – if at all – about them, or from the folk who have run afoul of them".
"Well, you didn't run afoul of the brass at the flight demo", Tom said, changing the subject, "They seemed more impressed of your flying than Matt Higgins, and he is one of our best pilots!"
Both men paused as the Blue Sun Corporation ship lifted off from the Admiralty spaceport. They watched it climb into the sky, and then they both turned and walked back into the Admiralty building.
"Seeing her go off to her new home, eh?" Higgins asked as they walked inside. He had been in the lobby when Tom and Hoxha had entered from outside.
"The viper is one heck of a fighter", Hoxha replied, "and I loved flying it; particularly when I faced off against a gunship in that mock combat demo".
"You really flew rings around the gunship. All I got to do was to shot up a couple of drones", Higgins said with a mock pout.
"Let's go up to the Officer's Club", Tom replied, "and we can toast and boast our piloting skills in the proper fashion".
Higgins and Hoxha laughed at that and followed Tom into the elevator. Tom was right: pilots everywhere had the same tradition of drinking and embellishing their exploits. He was glad to see that the Alliance pilots did the same thing…
TRANSPORT CHIANG CHING-QUO – EN ROUTE TO SALISBURY
"So this is the wonder-gunship from the PEGASUS", one of the Blue Sun technicians commented as he walked around the secured viper in the cargo hold.
"Yes, and we'll be building a lot more of them", another technician replied.
"It is fortunate that so far we have kept the lid on about the existence of this ship", the first technician noted.
"Our colleagues managed to stop the potential leak, it seems", the other technician agreed, holding out a news-pad.
The headlines from the BEAUMONDE GAZETTE which were streaming on the news-pad mentioned the mysterious explosion that destroyed the transport RAPAHANNOCK, just after it had left Beaumonde's atmosphere. Another part of the news-pad mentioned an obituary for a telnet journalist killed in a hit-and-run accident. The technician looked at the story in smug satisfaction.
"Well, don't be too proud of things at the moment", the first technician admonished, "after all, this is the Mark 2. Preferably we want to go over the Mark 7".
"The colonials will soon allow us a Mark 7, the way things are going", the second technician replied, "and who knows; the peregrine might be next".
"All that is well and good", the first technician said, "but all of this is really moot until we get the formula for their bauxite-derived fuel: 'Tyllium' I believe they call it".
"We've got some of our people working as contractors at the New Picon mining complex and the refinery. If they do their jobs right, they should be able to provide us with the full formula before too long", the second technician assured the first.
"Then that will be that as far as the Colonials are concerned", the first technician stated, "and when we get them out of the way, we will be able to claim sole propriety of their fighters, scouts, and their fuel…"
PLANET NEW MELBOURNE – RED SUN SYSTEM – ALLIANCE GENETIC LABORATORY
"These biological spacecraft are amazing!" Chief Scientist Conrad Audenauer breathed after he did his initial survey.
"That's what we said too when we got them", Doctor Ian Bevel replied. Bevel was Dr. Wilkin Ashley's assistant in PEGASUS Life Station, and he had overseen the IAV DOMINION transporting the Cylon freighter, the two wrecked Cylon scimitar-shaped raiders, and the few blasted Cylon centurions that the PEGASUS had salvaged during its voyage. With the Cylon artifacts now here in the laboratory, the Alliance geneticists and cyberneticists were taking their first good look.
"So let me understand: The centurions alone are not of the original design from the Colonies. In other words, the Cylons built their next generation?" Audenauer asked.
"Yes, and also their capital ships", Bevel replied, "The Base Ships they used in the first war looked like two spinning tops joined together at the base, while their newer ones look like two 'Y''s stuck on in the same manner".
"Given how artificial these ships look from the outside", Audenauer said, "You think that perhaps their base ships are similarly genetically engineered on the inside?"
"Base ships are slightly larger than the PEGASUS, and each one of them carries close to two hundred of these raiders", Bevel answered, "so if their base ships are genetically engineered, then the facilities to do such a thing must be immense!"
"Living spaceships and cybernetic soldiers", Audenauer breathed, "Their technological know-how must be staggering".
"Which makes them a real threat if they ever get wind of the Alliance's existence", Bevel added.
"Well, that's why you – and these pieces of Cylon technology – are here", Audenauer replied, "because if they are using biological engineering as a big part of their war machine, then a biological approach may be the best way to combat it".
"Cannon fire and missiles seem to do a good job of combating them", Bevel stated, "but a biological weapon targeting their creations will probably do a more thorough job."
"Let's talk a little bit more of this over lunch", Audenauer suggested, "plus I'd like to chat with you more about this humanoid Cylon you caught on board".
"So long as it's not another fish dish", Bevel replied, "Why you built your laboratory on an ocean world of all places is a little beyond me".
"Good place to keep our work secret", Audenauer replied, "but as for lunch, I'll see if I can find something 'non-fishy' for you…"
Unknown to either Audenauer or Bevel, looking in on them from a secret alcove by means of a concealed monitor sat a man wearing blue gloves. The significance of these biologically-engineered weapons and automaton soldiers was not lost on him.
"If we could reproduce this technology", the blue-gloved spy thought to himself, "There's no limit to what we can do". He knew that his report on this discovery would interest the Corporation CEO very much…