Disclaimer: I never have and never will own the characters, ideas or anything else based on these 2 shows. The TV studios that produced them, do. This story is also free as it is a pet project. Enjoy.

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Wireless/communication"

"Speaking in a different language"

"Reading a text"

Chapter six: Tapestry

Day 51 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 16th of March, year 2378, Galactica fleet

Sakari and Fiona arrived on the Challenger shuttle maintenance hangar, not too pleased that they were forced to come. Both were ready to call it a day.

Fiona saw the apparently active item Nr. 166. She gave Scott a disappointed look. "Why is it active?"

"It was getting a transmission and had power. I had to see what it was about."

"Still, next time, don't and await my approval." She went past everyone, Sakari right next to her. Fiona then stared at the projection. "So. You are him. Jonathan's pain in the ass."

"Commodore. No need to be so hostile."

"Why not. You are the enemy after all."

"Believe me or not, Archer and I have far more in common than you would like to believe. In the greater scheme of things, his goals did align with my goals."

"Your right. I don't believe you. So... can I assume that you KNEW we'd have this salvaged?"

"Of course. Little did happen without my approval, when it came to the Cabal. That cruiser carried this and the three unused cloaks for this specific purpose. For you to use them."

Fiona remained silent for a while. He knew they had the cloaks as well? "So, why contact us now?"

"To help you."

She scoffed. "Now that is impossible for me to believe."

"I helped Archer."

"When it was convenient for you."

"No, when it was necessary. And it is now as well. If you do not listen to me, your journey to Federation territory will fail."

"Or perhaps your trying to sabotage it from the beginning. There is no point in trying to convince me. Archer never did. And neither will I."

"I knew it would not be enough to give you my word. And I also know that just giving you information will not be enough to help you." He looked at the people in the room and noticed one with a recorder and scanner that was currently active. "Then perhaps this will be a good start." He disappeared and was replaced with a holographic 3D map of space. Several locations began blinking, with space time coordinated attached to them. "The middle dot is your current location."

"So you know where we are?" Sakari asked.

"For you, this is happening right now. For me, it already did. And not just that one time. The other locations are where the rest of your ships are."

All Starfleet personnel get a bit excited at that. They would not need to search. Fiona remained skeptical. "This is too good to be true."

"Send a scout to any location. My information will be confirmed."

Fiona then inspected the map. Dam. Three were already behind them, so far off the highway that they really could have missed them. Then she saw the attached names. One of them was a Poseidon. So if true, they'd need to send a force back to get them.

But she also saw her main targets. The Yamato and the Vulcan cruiser. Around 300 light years from here. But there was another marked location. Everything was attached to that marker as well, except a name. And Fiona did the math. All of her fleet was already marked. So what was there? "What's this?"

"A temporary safe place for you to get nutrients and water. And for us to talk some more. It is there, that you will get the help that you'll really need."

The feed cut off, the device went dead. The engineers began inspecting it. "Either the power source went dead, or..."

"No, Commander. He turned it off. Someone who plans for this, will not rely on a battery going dead on him." Fiona made the logical conclusion. Then she turned to the officer with the recording device. "Get that data analyzed. We'll do a full briefing tomorrow. When I can tell my Colonial co-officers about this. And... get me the Crusader. They have a mission to do. ASAP."

Day 52 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 17th of March, year 2378, Colonial / Starfleet fleet

The Quorum still had a lot to digest, so they wouldn't have any official meetings on Cloud Nine for a while. At least until Laura is good again.

So the Colonial officers and Starfleet had some time to get things done on their terms. Right now, Laura was a few hours from her second take of her medicine and a checkup. But her empty stomach did give her some uncomfortable feelings.

So The Challenger was once again the ship where the current situation and development for the fleet would be discussed and planned.

Hasapis, Belzen, Hawks, Tigh, Hauaman, Scott, Walker and Roslin were all already there, when O'Donnell arrived. "I hope we're all rested."

As she sat down, she inspected the mood in the room. "It helped that we weren't attacked for such a long time." Saul remarked.

"And that I feel better than when I did just a day ago." Laura added.

"How is Dr. Manor treating you, by the way?" Hauaman asked.

"His bedside manners could use an improvement, but when Cottle came today to see his plan to cure me, at least they got Cottle to not smoke in an infirmary. As for the procedure... I get my surgery tomorrow. "

"Good. And we have to jump right into this political mess, Madam President." Fiona didn't want to do this anymore than Laura, but they would have to. "Have you made a decision about your VP?"

Laura remained quiet for a solid half a minute. "No firing squad. But I was tempted. And I will explain this to him today."

"As you wish. Just inform me so that I can be there. Better make the acquaintances all at once."

"Fine by me." Laura responded. "Now, what's the first on the agenda?"

Hasapis took the floor. "Why was the Crusader sent out on, what I have to assume, is a mission?"

Fiona saw that one coming, as she herself didn't plan for that either, until the man from the future forced her. "That is a complicated and long story. But all can be, somewhat explained, as we all don't quite understand it either."

As she gave Scott the signal, she went behind Fiona to the main display in the room. It now showed the port shuttle bay and the Suliban device they unpacked in the night. Fiona began. "This is Starfleet salvage item Nr. 166, salvaged from a Suliban cruiser. We had no idea what it was, until this night. When it began transmitting." She saw that they all awaited an explanation. "The Suliban are... well, a race without a home. Their home planet was destroyed, although we have no detail on that. They became fractured, settled on many planets. Some wanted to rebuild their civilization, others to assimilate to others... and then there was the Cabal. A cell of Suliban that were genetically enhanced and gained technology that was suspiciously advanced. During our war with the Romulans, Starfleet gave the order to visit any previously known site where a Starfleet ship had encountered technology we didn't have or would deem worthy." Scott, getting the cue, now switched to the cargo bay on the Bismarck. "Originally this was meant for the Crusader, but when I sent her on a mission, we had the cargo moved again. Salvage item Nr. 167. Suliban cloaking devices. Three of them. Compatible with Starfleet technology." Now Scott, before a question could be asked, showed them previous engagements of the Enterprise with Suliban cell ships, cloaks and all. "Commander Hasapis. This is the game changer I wanted to have, before I attempt at any rescue operation of your people back home."

The Colonials were impressed. Some by the technology, some by her plan and some by the fact that Starfleet could be underhanded as well. "So you have three of them?" Hasapis asked.

"Yes."

"So... which ships will go. I can assume that our technology is not compatible with this?"

Scott took over. "No. You'd need at bare minimum hull polarization modules, preferably shields and the corresponding emitters."

"So only Starfleet ships can go, as it would be pointless for you to come up with a plan like this to then have a combo fleet where only half can cloak?"

"Yes. That is the plan. So, your thoughts?"

"Which ships do you intend of taking then?" This was Belzen's question. He had gotten more used to this new reality in the past days.

"The Bismarck, for sure. Vo'kor as well. The third one I'm not sure about. The Yamato is partially disabled and the Challenger too vital for this fleet at the moment. So the third spot is free for now."

Laura listened to this intensively. "What does this have to do with the other item and you sending your ship in the night? And you have to have another thing planned for the Cylons? A distraction?"

Laura saw partially through Fiona's ideas. "The distraction is a possible Cylon civil war. Our prisoners. We'll have to cut them loose during our transition back. That way, the Cylons will have a harder time figuring out where the civilian fleet is. If our virus idea can be implemented by then, I don't know. But that centurion prisoner gave us a possible alternative."

"You can't trust that thing." Saul tried to dismiss this idea in the conception stage.

"We learned more about the Cylon civilization from it in a few days than any interrogation of the humanoids would have gotten us. Anyway, Spartacus' idea... and yes, Lt. Hill gave it a name, apparently, is to contact a faction of Cylons called the Guardians. They severed their ties to the main Cylon force. They have old first war basestars and centurions, but also the only still functioning hybrid from the first generation. Apparently the humanoids saw it as a dead end, the Guardians disagreed."

"All fine, but what does this have to do with us?" Hasapis asked, trying to see the point.

"Spartacus wants' to join them. If we place the seed for a possible war in the ranks of the humanoids, he might be able to get his plan of freeing the other centurions, going with the help of the Guardians. Either way, we ensure that one of the three plans for a civil war is successful. In a perfect world, all would succeed, but... we have a safety net this way."

"Can I assume that we are somewhere in the vicinity of these rouge Cylons?" Tigh asked. "Why else would it tell us this now?"

"He doesn't know the precise coordinates, but a rough idea. We'll have to search there. I'll tell you all later." She meant the Colonial officers. "As for the communication device, Madam President. That'll take a LOT more explaining. And believe me, I learned much of this from my superior officer, Jonathan Archer. He never wrote a report on this, not officially, as no one would have believed him. But he did show me proof."

That change of tone in her voice got all the Colonial's attention. "OK, let's hear it."

"Jonathan was confronted by the Suliban on several occasions. The genetic upgrades they got were beyond any technology in our sector of space. A Suliban agent that wasn't of the Cabal told him this sentence first. The Temporal Cold war." All she got were blank stares. "When John told me this, years later, I didn't believe him. But he showed me evidence. Apparently, a member of the Enterprise even showed him. As he was apparently a temporal agent."

"OK, what is this temporal word even mean?" Saul asked. Not that he was the only one having trouble following this.

"Time travel." That one sentence got them all either dismiss this or get more curious.

"You have got to be kidding." Saul dismissed it.

"Saul. Please, be quiet." Hasapis stopped him.

"You can't believe a word of this! Time travel my ass..."

"Like matter transporters? Hm?"

"Gentlemen." Laura stepped in. "I'm as skeptical as any, but let her finish."

"Thank you. This agent, who Jonathan only knew as Daniels, told him, that some time in the future, most civilizations develop time travel technology. As this begins to happen, something known as the Temporal Accords are drawn. Basically, they state, that any race that can travel through time, should do so only to study the past, not alter it. Some didn't sign these Accords. So that is what this Temporal Cold war is. Or will be. Daniels told him that he came from around 900 years from the future. But the Suliban answered to another faction in the war. One who wanted to alter history. They got their genetic upgrades from a person Jonathan met only once. When he warned him about an imminent attack from the Xindi, who were building a weapon to destroy the Earth."

That got the worried. Laura responded first. "Did you... win?"

"In a way. The Xindi, realizing that they were used and manipulated by a race they called the Guardians, fractured. Some joined Jonathan, some still wanted Earth gone."

"OK, you stopped them. Good. But what does this have to do with this other war, besides this Future person warning you?" Belzen wondered.

"These Guardians apparently wanted to invade our galaxy. They will be ready in 400 years. But then, the United Federation defeats them. The Guardians of our time saw this future and wanted to change the outcome."

"Wait. Wait." Hasapis had to hold back a smirk. "They wanted to cheat?"

"I guess you can call it that."

"And how would this Archer have known of this? Did this Daniels tell him?" Hawks asked.

"He apparently did more than that. He once took John to a future Enterprise, who was engaged in a battle against the Sphere Builders, our name for the Guardians. The reason for the attack on the Earth was simple. Humans of Earth are vital to establish the Federation. Eradicate us, they have no opposition in the future."

Laura, like most, was felling a headache approach. Just when she was getting better. "Please, get to the point of this device you mentioned."

"It is the same communication device the Suliban used to communicate with their benefactor. And he talked to me this night."

A minute of silence followed. Hasapis snapped out of his trance first. "And?"

"I'm skeptical, but... Scott, if you would be so kind."

Scott then showed them a replay of the conversation. Once finished, Fiona was waiting for their reaction.

"I can easily say I don't trust him either." Laura said. "But if he is not lying... we can't say no to this level of information. Did your ship find anything?"

"Yes. They already contacted me. The Paladin, Concordia and Settler's Dream have been found. They will reunite with us in two days."

Hasapis stood up and went closer to the screen. "Can we get a view of this map he showed you?" Commander Scott did just that. He then inspected it. "We have an issue then. Four separate locations. One for this Vulcan ship, one for the Yamato two for the other two ships, like the Crusader and then there's his location, inside a nebula. Smells like a trap and this info is just honey to get us there."

"But to what end?" Laura wondered. "Why do all of this..." She realized something. "Commodore. You... can you time travel?"

She shook her head. "No. Before Jonathan told me this, all of Starlfeet believed that it was as the Vulcan Science Council said: Time travel is impossible."

"OK, then what was the one piece of evidence you did see that convinced you?" Belzen wondered. "Because I doubt this Daniels did a pony show for you."

"No, he didn't. But... he left a piece of hardware behind that Jonathan guarded with his life. A database from 900 years into the future, about ship classes. Of most, if not all races in that time period." She then took a deep breath, like getting ready for something. "He skipped through the database, but I clearly saw the NX update and the Yorktown class, in a time during the war, when it was still on the drawing board. But he did use it twice. Once with Daniels blessing, to find and board a Suliban cruiser, the other... to modify the sensors to counter the Romulan cloaking devices. He even admitted it to me. The original sensor technology to see through Suliban cloaks was given to him by Daniels. To rectify a mess the Suliban made. And... it is in that database, in that small split of a second, that I saw... a Mercury class battlestar design appear."

The Colonials were silent. "You had... seen a Mercury class design, 200 years before we even had one?" Hasapis didn't know if he should be pissed or impressed.

"Yes. But back then, I didn't know what I was looking at. Jonathan shut it off relatively fast. To not influence any changes, I suppose."

Laura had hoped, once this conversation had started, that they could... rectify this mess. But she knew she would be asking a lot. "Then, do we go to that place?"

"We send a scout there. One of the Intrepids. We'll have to do that anyway for the other ships."

"Agreed." Was the common response.

Before they could go on to the next agenda, Laura wondered. "I suspect we can't say anything about this?"

"Who would believe you? I don't have any evidence here either, except that platform. Even Jonathan kept it out of his reports."

"Not to mentions the issues this would cause." Hasapis remarked. "Most would want to use it to undo what the Cylons did."

"And would not take our words that we only know it is possible, not how to do it." Belzen concluded.

"I do wonder... why these agents did nothing?" Laura still remained focused on this matter.

"Perhaps... as harsh as it might sound... it was meant to be?" Fiona said, as having no other consoling words for them.

Around half an hour passed. They managed to agree that they would play this 'Future Man's' game, but be cautious about it. Other agreements were also made. The Colonial side of officers needed to get experience in dealing with Starfleet technology and protocols, so they would accept a rotating officers exchange. Additionally, the ships that would be sent out to find and salvage the still missing ships, would have a mix of crews on them, including Colonial officers of lower rankings. They needed to be thrown into the cold water.

Dr. Cottle would remain the ranking Colonial medical officer, but officially, it was the Starfleet people that were in charge now in this field. So Dr. Manor, the most experienced one, was made the medical officer of the fleet. Same applied for engineers, as Commander Scott was, as Fiona said she would, appointed that position. And she hated it. More work for her. But now, she could also repurpose Colonial engineers at will, as long as it doesn't clash with a ship's needs. Starfleet would also get the science division. But the marine corps would be Colonial. Walker agreed, under pressure from Fiona, to fold the MACO units under Colonial command, himself included. He would, off the books, report to Colonel, now Commander Hawks. Both men had developed a mutual understanding and a friendly rivalry. The civilian side of things was left in Laura's delicate hands. Starfleet would, as they already stated, only want an embassy and nothing more. Food, water, mining and waste processing would also fall under Colonial oversight. Starlfeet would get its needs covered either by its own capacities or ask for supplies like every other ship. Which caused an issue. For the Colonial ships, military vessels had a higher priority. But Starfleet ships were not classified as such. But they were armored and armed. So a 'special' military status was given to them, except the transports. What remained were manufacturing and fleet command. Manufacturing would be handled by both sides equally, with Starlfeet being in command of maintenance ad planning of the ships or rooms with such capabilities and the Colonial side doing the scheduling for the fleet needs. As for the Naval command, that would have to wait for Adama and now for the Captains of the Starfleet ships that would be soon salvaged, thanks to the new information they got. In fact, Fiona wasn't the one pushing for this. It was Laura. She even said why. The more Earth Captains are there, the more they can balance things out and quash and Quorum nonsense.

The one field where Starfleet had almost no input in, was fighters. In fact, they handed the entire matter to the Colonials. They had zero experience in fighter combat. They would only have a say in the enhanced raptor design, construction and partial operation. These raptors now had a three man crew as the new additional officer on the raptor operated the Starfleet components. At least until the Colonial crews get used to it and learn how to properly operate it on their own. But for the vipers and raptors in general, a so called fleet CAG was needed. Normally a military fleet doesn't bother with this, they just coordinate with each other. But here, the civilian fleet made it necessary. Right now, both Kara Thrace and Lee Adama were in the talks to get that posting, as well as several others. Hasapis said that his CAG on the Victory was still too green in these matters. He also dismissed the original CAG on the Pegasus. He was a Cain supporter.

"I don't think Captain Thrace will like any of us if we give her this posting." Fiona said with a bit of humor, remembering how Kara reacted when she got this posting on the Pegasus. "She doesn't like it there already, but for the entire fleet?"

"She got the pilots there in shape. She's though. Gets things done." Hasapis defended the idea.

"How about we split the difference." Laura suggested. "We ask them. If not one of the two say yes, we vote on it and then one of them gets it, no matter what."

Hasapis wasn't much of a fan of this democracy in the military approach, but he agreed. "Fine. What's next?"

Fiona dreaded this final part. "Scott, Bismarck's cargo room again. Tilt the camera to containers 165 and 164,"

Commander Scott did as asked. They were large containers, much more than the first two that were shown to the Colonials. "Inside them are components, some damaged, some not, that might... at least to a degree, solve some material issues we have."

"Another story from Starlfeet's adventures, I gather?" Laura asked, already getting accustomed to the fact how much more crowded the galaxy is where Earth is.

"Something like that." Scott now changed the view on the screen to show a recording again. "Around its second year in deep space, the Enterprise was badly damaged by unintentionally entering orbit of a planet with a cloaked mine field there. Apparently the Romulan Star Empire annexed that planet. Captain Archer got the information from a trading ship passing close by, that an automated repair station was near their position." The image of the intact station appeared. "This station was indeed automated and required simple payment in either materials or fuel. It fixed the ship in only a few days, where our team on Jupiter dry dock would have needed weeks, if not months. And this was the reason..." Now the recording or robotic arms cleaning the damaged section were shown. Then it was seen, how they replicated a piece of outer hull and began attaching and welding it on the ship.

"What is that... how..." Hasapis pondered.

"Is it using transporters?" Belzen asked.

"Don't be ridicules." Hawks responded. "If so, where would they have the parts made to fit?"

Fiona let them settle down again. "We use protein resequencers. The Vulcans and others used molecular synthesizers and we were beginning to implement them as well. What you have seen here... is the next step. Matter replicators." She eyed Belzen. "Not a bad guess with the transporters. The replicators use matter energy converters as well. But they don't use existing matter and redesign it. They convert a ship's energy supply into matter, or if they recycle, do the reverse. The ones we have, are what was left of the station. If we can get some of them to work again, it would solve so many issues."

"Wait... so they work?"

Now Scott responded. "They are intact. The ones that were salvaged. If they work is another matter altogether."

Laura was not surprised any longer. Seemed Fiona enjoyed this. "So, what was your plan?"

"Well, after we test them, we find a place to install them and create a small factory unit. We would have to use the computer components from the ships we'll scrap for parts to fix the Yamato..."

"Why not use these... replicators to replicate the engine you'd need." Belzen asked. Scraping ships, no matter how small they are, was not a good idea for him. "You can save those ships then and fix the other one..."

"Two issues." Fiona thought about this as well, but even Scott said it didn't work out, no matter how they try to slice it. "My ships are too small for these units to be installed on them. With the exception of the small food replicator units. And who knows if they'll work. Second, what was there first, the chicken or the egg. Since we have to install them on a larger Colonial ship, it will need our computers and reactors for control and power. And we don't have them just lying on the floor. We can't fix the Yamato if we don't scrap the ships. Because if we don't, the replicators don't work and we don't get the parts for both the Yamato and this project. So either way, we need parts. The Yamato the engine parts, this project the computer cores and reactors. There is no other way."

Belzen had to agree that there is no helping it.

"I have a stupid idea." Saul entered this conversation again after being silent for a while. "The Galactica has the starboard landing pod completely unused. All we have is that museum crap in it. We..."

"The oldest ship in here that had no upgrades since its commissioning, 52 years ago?" Fiona asked bluntly.

"Well..." Saul felt a bit stupid.

"Sounds perfect. Since it doesn't make any difference to us. Any Colonial ship we would do this on, would have to have the same additions made. Scott?"

"Yeah... more work for me. Fine." She was grumpy. And no wonder. A third of the matters discussed today were engineering. The fixing of the ships they'd find. The Yamato repairs. The Cloaking device installations. The maintenance of the Colonial fleet. Cylon technology study. And now this replicator stuff as well.

Around two hours later, they were more or less done. "So, Scott, have one of the food replicator tables ready as fast as possible. We'll test them on the Challenger." Fiona said in her closing statement. They would have to link it to their power and computer units. What good is a replicator if it has no power, a control system to, well, control it and a database to know what to replicate. The one good thing was that the control matrix of the station for all replicators was confirmed to be in working condition. All they'll have to do, it copy the programming for individual units.

Scott did, however, tell everyone in the room, that even if they work, this is not a get out of jail free card. She studied some of the information on these units the salvage team already made. They had limits as to what atoms or molecules they could not make. And some of them, that were on the list, were also needed for critical replicator components. Yes, they had spare parts, when they break down. And with regular use in this fleet, they will break down, not if. So this plus the power inefficiency were the great limitations of these units. So no matter how many food replicators they make operational, how many of the industrial ones they get operational, not all will work and the spares they have, will run out sooner or later.

So they would need to install these units only where they can or should. This is where Starfleet will really have to do some brainstorming with the Colonials, but one thing is for sure. The food replicators would be a supplement, not the main food source. People would get a limited amount of uses per week. And that would breed corruption and greed.

But the replicator units would now also be depended on the Earth database for food and parts. The only way the Colonials will get any of their food, drinks or parts, is if they'll have them scanned on a molecular level and have that data stored. Theoretically, they could scan an entire Viper Mark VII and have a copy be replicated in the industrial units, but needs would have to follow a strict order.

Of course, this was at least weeks away, if not months. And this was also, why Fiona kept this under lock and key. She didn't want to raise hope, if it didn't work. If they didn't find the ship. And Laura and Hasapis had to agree. Everything they talked in here about, was restricted knowledge.

Scott would have permission to conscript any Colonial engineer she needed for the Galactica modification, as long as the repair and maintenance of the fleet doesn't suffer. And this will be the personnel issue. They would need to get more Colonials involved. Mostly those that have useful skills in the field. Peter was one such person. And he was reliable. So Scott already proposed that she, Peter and this Chief Galen, once she gets him out of the barracks on deck eight and he gets a clean pass from Manor, to begin inspecting that flight pod.

Scott's other idea, which was basically her adding to her workload anyway, was really liked by Roslin. The Conestogas that were found, once brought to the fleet, could be repurposed, like the transport ships were. Only here, her idea was that they now act as housing ships for the Colonial civilian personnel on the most vital but also crowded ships. The refinery ships. They now had two, but conditions in both were abysmal. So one of the Conestogas could easily act as the housing unit for them. They were designed to carry anywhere from 150 to 300 civilians. All they would need is the appropriate modifications and a minimal crew to pilot and work the reactor. At least until the people from the refinery ships are trained to operate them, just like on the transport ships. But here, the Colonials insisted that a small military presence remain, both on the repurposed colony ships as well as their cargo transport counterparts. Why? They had weapons on them. And on one hand, that was good, as they could defend themselves against Cylon attacks, so they would not strip them off. But on the other hand, if the crew get's influenced by people, who have only their own interests at heart, that could spell trouble. So one Conestoga would be converted for the refinery ships. There, the workers families would live while the workers migrate twice a day in shifts, so the ships would need to dock daily as well.

The other Conestoga was still in the open. The food processing ship, waste processing ships... Fiona would let Laura decide on that one.

The final matter was Walker's report that they did find some beacons of Cylon design on outer hulls of ships or even inside of them. Their issue was that the power sources in them were running on fumes, as the Cylons never envisioned that a Colonial fleet could survive for so long. That was the reason why the Cylons were now having issues locating them. The range of there beacons was reduced as the algorithm in the beacons was trying to extend the life of the beacon. So Starfleet had them removed. As for more infiltrators, they found none. But that didn't mean there were no others. Perhaps just well hidden.

As they began leaving the conference room, Laura softly grabbed Fiona by the shoulder. "I... I can't thank you enough for all of this. And for being honest."

"And I thought you'd be willing to strangle me for all this time travel mess."

"In a way, I do. But that's not your mess. You just know about it. Now, speaking of messes. I have a doctors appointment, and then one with Baltar. So, one hour?"

"One hour it is."

As Saul and Hasapis walked out with the rest of their officer corp. they had a heated discussion about the Galactica. Saul knew this was partially his mess, but he also didn't want the ship to be overrun by civilians, once they get those damn alien things working in their flight pod. Hasapis responded that the Galactica is, technologically speaking, the least capable military ship in the fleet. Even the Adamants, predating her or not, got upgrades the old girl didn't. The navy, which was the owner of the Galactica, didn't care about an outdated ship. The Planetary local defense forces, which were the owners of the Adamants, had to take, what they could and keep it in fighting shape.

Fiona decided to go to the Challenger bridge. See the 'atmosphere' as it were. Her friend Sakari had a meeting on the Nightingale to do so the bridge was currently without a captain. And there she saw Shaw, hard at work at the tactical station. As she sat down in the captain's chair, she decided to try some small talk. "Lt. Shaw."

She remained glued on the tactical sensors, but responded. "Yes, Sir?"

"How are you?"

"Is this an evaluation of me or... are you actually asking that?"

"Both. I want to see, if you settled in. I'm getting reports that you don't socialize much."

"Commodore. With much respect, I've learned more in these past days thanks to your library access, than what I learned at the Naval Academy in four years. And I am grateful. But for me, removing Helena Cain from her posting, when you are not her superior officer in the Colonial navy, is an act of hostile takeover."

"I have a dozen Colonial officer of a higher rank than you, that would disagree."

"And not one of them is above her."

"Tell me. Was her decision to attack an unimportant target that turned out to be a trap a wise move?"

"It is not for me to question a superior officer."

"Really? Even if they make a morally questionable more. A dumb ass move. You currently have no issue calling me out, but won't say if you agree with her decision or not."

"You are not a Colonial. I have no issue in telling you your shortcomings."

Fiona saw that this was tilting at windmills. "Lieutenant. Do you want to know the difference between a good officer and an excellent officer?"

Shaw saw what the commodore was trying to do. But her teachings and the shock that was still there, were anchored deeply. "Please, enlighten me."

"Something that Captain Thrace has in spades. Questioning authority."

"Really? And how your Starfleet has survived for so long is beyond me then."

"I didn't say all the time. But when you know in your heart that it was a bad call... I can see it under your eyes. You don't sleep well, do you?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does, if it starts affecting your work. That, my dear, is your conscience. It is telling you that Helena Cain was wrong. Murdering her first officer. Now what would that have caused in your heart, had she succeeded? You can bury your head in the sand only for so long. You worship her, don't you?" Shaw didn't answer. "Hero worship is not a bad thing, but long term, nothing good can come out of it. Look. You don't want to socialize? Fine. You want to keep praising Cain, as if she's perfect. Fine. I won't do anything about that. But the moment your attitude causes your work to suffer, then I intervene."

The rest of the bridge crew, that was Starfleet, had listened to this conversation. No one said a word. And no one did after this as well.

Commander Scott arrived on deck eight with Peter in tow. She gave him the basics of what was installed for them today. She had earlier in the night, after the initial talks with 'Future man', had him go to his quarters as his shift was ended there and then. She knew that it would be an issue, if he heard more than what he already did.

Once inside the barracks, some light snoring could be heard. Scott, before anything else, went for a still closed off locker and opened it. "Still there. I'd have castrated Manor, had he given my stuff away." She closed it off, but basically slammed it. "Time to get up!"

The chief and two deck hands quickly got up, as they were used to surprise inspections. "Em, Sir. Chief Galen Tyrol and..."

"No need to salute here. I'm Commander Scott, Chief engineer of this ship. You three, slept well?"

"Yes, Sir. We did. Nice beds and booze, by the way."

"Yes, well, I do hope you left Manor some of his stuff, or he'll nag me for mine. Anyway. Get cleaned up, get some breakfast and go see Manor. I understand Captain Thrace gave you the basics yesterday. Then come outside the sickbay complex. I'll be waiting for you there. You have 30 minutes."

"Ehm... Sir. What is this about anyway?"

"Simple, Chief. You, me and Peter Laird here, who is a Colonial aeronautical engineer, will take a look at the Galactica's starboard flight pod. We may have some use for it." She then pointed at the click that the 30 minutes start now. "Come, Peter. How are you three doing by the way, I didn't have much time to check..." The lift door closed behind them.

"Guess we better hurry."

On the Galactica, Kara had a reunion of sorts with the people on the ship she knew. Right now, she was in the recreational facility, having a bit of everything. Fun, drink and gambling. "How you guys managed to survive without me for so long is the question."

"Well, 'Captain' Thrace, we all can't have dumb luck." Showboat teased her.

"Or have not only a raider delivered to our feet, but an Earth ship as well." Racetrack added, egging her on.

They all took it with humor and celebrated the return of one of their own. They needed to. They lost plenty in the past month. Lee was just quiet and enjoying the atmosphere. Gods knew it won't last.

Not long after this, Saul and Hasapis arrived. "Sir!" They all broke off the celebration and stood at attention.

"At ease. All of you." He slightly glared at Kara. "Even you, you pain in my ass."

"Nice to see you as well, grumpy."

"Anyway." Hasapis ended this before it could fester into a fight. "Captain Adama, Captain Thrace. I'll be direct. We just had a long talk on the Challenger. Many topics were touched. One is about the two of you."

Lee saw it coming. The peace and quiet gone. "What was it about, Sir?"

"Simple. We need a fleet CAG. A new concept that I actually came up with. The civilians make it necessary. And we put several names into the hat. Your two names remain. The Commodore, while wanting to put you in charge, Captain Thrace, excluded herself from pushing this for two reasons. The fighter field is under Colonial command entirely. Second, she saw how you didn't want the Pegasus job in the first place. So... with the president's suggestion, I ask the both of you, who wants' the job?"

The both remained silent as all activities in the room stopped on the spot. "Frak this... really?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, even I am not a fan of you being a CAG." Saul for once sided with her.

Hasapis decided to go one step forward. "Seeing as the two of you are so eager for the job, there is one condition. The Pegasus is the best ship we Colonials have. Whoever takes the job, either stays on the Pegasus, or moves there. And the both of you have one giant plus mark for this job. Captain Thrace's unconventional tactics have great merit. Even more so in these unconventional times. Something that apparently would have saved the lives of several Galctica pilots, I hear. Anyway. Captain Adama may be a more old school by the book pilot, but your leadership and organizing skills are far better. Technically, if I could fuse the two of you together to get a pilot times two, I would. So, talk about it. I expect a decision within eight hours. And... if neither of you wants to take it, the officers will do, what we didn't do this time. We'll vote. And then one of you WILL get the job, weather you want it, or not." He then inspected the room and the pilots in it. "Continue, people."

He and Saul left. Everyone tried to restart the celebration. It worked, to an extent, many even trying to push either Lee or Kara to take the job. Neither one of them was sure, if they wanted it.

Sometime later, the two of them were having a discussion in the port landing pod, when they noticed Chief Tyrol, that Colonial civilian, Commander Scott and several engineers following them.

"What are they doing?" Lee wondered.

"Let's go ask. I need a break from this headache that we have."

"So as you can see, we have the same amount of space on the other side, that is basically free real estate." Galen showed her what they could work with.

"Not entirely. The landing strips, they were closed off, weren't they?"

"Yes, but when the Cylons boarded us..."

"I get that. We'll close them off again. We'll have to use better materials this time, not just enhanced glass."

Peter did wonder where they'll get the amount of alloys needed for this. "It's not like we have spare metals or alloys for that kind of an opening."

Scott knew this. "The only way I see it, is when we scrap the three ships the Commodore has in mind. We use their alloys. We move all the large components in first, then close it off and pressurize it."

Other deck crews and pilots saw the people in the hangar making notes and looking at the hangar as if searching for something. Even their boss Galen was not there, slightly bandaged up, but no worse for wear.

Kara was the first to approach the group. "Commander. What is this about?"

"A plan we have for the other flight pod. Since this one is more or less a mirror image, I'm using it to get a better picture. At least until the other one get's cleared. And fixed. So, Chief Tyrol. We both have full plates right now, but no one knows this ship better than you. Come up with a plan to get the other flight pod into operational status, but not for fighters. Just how to make it work again."

"It would be helpful, if we knew what the final goal of this was." Galen pointed out and Peter even nodded to this.

"Can't. Not yet anyway. All I need it that pod working and ready to be sealed off. And access to the power grid. And it's not as if your people will be working alone on this. I had a talk with my superiors. The barracks where you were recovering this night. It's at the disposal of your people, if they want a new set of sleeping accommodations. But as you saw, only eight of you can go. Make a list, if you want."

Lee, listening to this conversation, realized that the Galactica would be buzzing with activities soon. "So we'll have far more traffic here, than normally?"

"Yes. And I am not a fan of this either." Kelly remarked. She made some more notes on her PADD. "Peter. Have you trained the people that were working with you on the enhanced Raptors?"

"Em, yes. Most of them know how to get it done without me now."

"Good. Assign the one you deem best to take over. You are now assigned to this Galactica issue, along with Chief Tyrol. Also, make a survey of the outer hull. This ship looks like it had seen better days."

"You got it, Commander."

Galen knew that this Starfleet officer was handing them the responsibility, but not because she didn't want it, but was overworked herself. Something he knows all too well. "Then I'll get my knuckle draggers to do that this afternoon."

"Good. Now..., Peter. You stay here and coordinate with Chief Tyrol my and his people. I'm having a look at this Colonial One." She saw the raptors here, most were ready to go. "Can I get a ride. Don't want to use the transporters again. Getting tired of them myself."

Lee called a raptor crew over that had nothing to do right now. "I've been on that ship for some time. I know her inside and out, if you want my input."

"Sure. Hop on."

As they began getting moved to the lift in their Raptor and the others went to work, Kara grinned. "Nice move, Lee."

On Colonial one, Laura was preparing for her other nightmare. Even with Tigh and Hasapis to support her and take over the military part of the briefing, she felt annoyed.

The press was like a pack of vultures, but the fleet now needed to know. She would really limit herself to what she will say. No aliens. No 13th Tribe info. Nothing that she saw or witnessed in the past 24 hours. That would cause major issues.

"I really hope you two are ready."

Hasapis remained calm and professional. "I am. Saul just has to stand there."

"Even that is too much for me when it comes to the press."

"Gentlemen..." She stepped out on to the podium. The entire press of the fleet was assembled. Squashing her annoyed face and putting on a fake smile, she greeted them. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press. I believe you have many questions that not only you, but the people of the fleet have. Where did this additional fleet come from? What happened in the past 24 hours. Where is Commander Adama. And who are the people in the strange uniforms and their ships. All valid questions. So let me start with the last question. The ships and people on them are... from Earth."

The room exploded, as most reporters almost trampled each other. Laura saw it coming a mile away. Typical vulture. Be the first at the fresh meat. Well, she as a teacher, had the patience to wait for the children to calm down. And in many ways, they were behaving far worse than undisciplined children.

Day 53 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 18th of March, year 2378, Colonial / Starfleet fleet

Laura had just undergone surgery and was already able to walk. She felt better than in months. Right now, all that reminded her of the growing mass in her breast, were small stitches. And even those would be dealt with soon.

Manor was now out of his surgical gear. "All went as planned."

She was now decent as well. "Thank you."

"All in the days work. But remember. Your still on a diet, take those meds and you have an appointment at six PM today."

"Yes, first radiation session. Can't wait." It was meant sarcastically. She was no fan of it. Her mother went through hell back in the Colonies with it and it didn't make a difference then. She however did know that this was not the same thing.

Manor was about to go on with his daily business, which now included far more Colonial patients than before. "Might I ask if you need a change of clothing. You've been wearing the same political dress for these three days."

"I'll get back to Colonial One today to get some work done. I'll... well, its not as if I have a large collection."

"Then get to our tailor here. Maybe they'll take an order?"

"Wait... you have a tailor here?"

"And a hydroponic garden, bar, gym, barber, even an arboretum, but that has been converted into a semi daycare, since all the plants there died."

"Could you... tell me where it is?"

He didn't have the time for this. "Your assigned PADD, please." He held out his hand. She went for her bag ,where she carried most of the things she'd need for work, medication and other stuff. The PADD included. He did some Starfleet magic on it. "There. You now have access to the ship's deck plans. This is deck five. You are here... go here. Got it?"

He was a bit rude, but he did just got her to feel so much better, so she'd not argue about his bedside manners. "Yes, got it."

She was surprised that a Colonial worked there as well. And actually got an order in. But she would enjoy this feeling for a while, before returning to work. So she went to the former arboretum room. And indeed, eight kids of various aged were there, being watched by a Colonial adult. They managed to scrape together some toys and even assembled some form of playground.

She just sat down to the overseer and enjoyed the sound of children laughing.

On the Bismarck, Saul, Hasapis, Lee and Fiona were in the ward, ready to be there when William Adama awakens. The nurse administered an agent that began the procedure. Dr. Kumar was overseeing the procedure, just like how she did the operation. Of course now, Sherman Cottle was right beside her.

"Vitals look good, if I'm reading this right." Cottle said, looking at the digital display.

"Remove the tubes." Dr. Kumar ordered as Adama was now showing signs of movement. "Let him breathe on his own."

Bill began to open his eyes. He saw that he was in an infirmary, just not one he ever saw. He remembered being shot... by Boomer. Looking at the people in the room, he did recognize Saul, Cottle and his son. "Saul... Lee."

"Bill. Good to have you back." Saul would not admit it, but he really saw Bill as a good friend. one of the few for him. And he didn't want his damn job.

Lee remained reserved. Happy, bud reserved. They'd have time for their reunion later.

"Commander." Hasapis greeted him.

"Commander... Jerome Hasapis? Of the Victory?" He was filled with questions.

"I know what is going through your head, William. Don't worry, I was in a similar position several weeks ago. Things have changed. And we have some things to discuss. But I will not demand much from you, not on your first day of recovery. There are two people you need to meet." Bill saw he meant the one person in a uniform he didn't recognize. "Commodore Fiona O'Donnell, Earth ship Bismarck."

Yep, like all the times before, the word Earth got him to listen very carefully. "Any it was one of yours that found us." Fiona said while letting Kara step forward. She had been hiding all this time in the back.

"Hey, Sir. Good to see you again." She really held back the tears.

"Kara. How? I thought you were dead?"

She sat down next to him. "It's a long story. And it begins with all of you jumping away, when I was in the damn raider over that barren moon..."

30 minutes later, Bill got the gist of it. But Dr. Kumar then sedated him again. This was more than enough excitement for one day. He'll get a longer talk tomorrow. When he'll get his first meal as well.

In the corridor, most were happy with the day so far and went to work again. Kara and Lee were still there, having a chat. "Gods, I feared I'd never have the chance to patch things up between us..."

"So did he." Lee tried to comfort her. "Hey... I took the damn CAG post, since you were so adamant of not liking it."

"Yea, but the only thing we did, was switching ships. I'm Galactica's CAG now."

"Still less of an issue I'll be having."

As they began walking to the transporter, as Lee now had to finish packing, as did Kara, she remembered something. "How did it go yesterday?"

"How did what go?" He was playing dumb and she knew it.

"Please, I'm the master of finding things out. Don't make me pull teeth with you." She didn't mean it literally, but the concept behind it was that she can and will try so long and hard, as if she would be pulling teeth. She will get him to talk.

"We kept it professional. I showed her all the issues with Colonial One."

"And..."

"And, we had a drink on the Challenger after this."

"And..."

"And nothing. That was it."

"I call crap. Come on. Tell me."

He huffed. Kara really knew how to keep on drilling. "We talked. My academy days. The fall of the Colonies. All this time when you were with them, how we did. She told me about her academy days, their war, about Earth. So on..."

"Good. You're at first base then."

"What is 'first base'?"

"Em, Sisko explained it to me. An old Earth game. First, second base and all that is a metaphor from there."

"I see. And what does it have to do with ... me?"

"You have your foot in the door. Keep it up." She was reading him like an open book. And he hated it. "Just be aware that she is WAY smarter than you."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

As they stepped on the platform as they finally arrived, Kara responded to that. "Did you? When you were not staring at her assets?"

"Kara!"

The Crusader had returned and with her findings no less. Lt. Jacob Rivers, the Paladin Chief Engineer, was the highest ranking officer that survived, so they'll have to do some more shuffling around there, as that ship was now really lacking in manpower and experience. And Fiona decided that if Lt. Shaw wanted more to do, she'll gladly give her work, by making her the Paladin security officer. Not tactical one, that would remain in Starfleet hands. The Concordia and Settler's Dream also began to be refurbished for their new roles. To say that Colonial ships crews were arguing as to who should get them, was an understatement. But Laura agreed with Fiona's analysis. The tankers needed one. The other would be used for the two waste processing ships. To keep their families in better conditions and for the workers to have a clean and safe place to sleep at.

So right now, they were burning as fast as possible in the direction of the place where this 'Future man' told them to meet him. They saw, that around 200 light years from here, they'll have to split up their forces. The main fleet will continue on for the Yamato. A ship will go for the Vulcan cruiser. Another will go for the Champion, one for the Knight and the last one will go to the location that was shown to them.

And it is here that Fiona saw an issue arise. Experience. So many in the Colonial ranks lacked them. But Starfleet didn't have enough to fill all posts. So for this multi level search and retrieval operation, the ships that would be dispatched, would take several Colonial officers that are green behind the ears. They needed to learn at some point and a risk of Cylon contact was getting smaller, as the area they were heading to, was getting them further away from the highway with each jump. They were moving to the galactic edge.

On the Galactica, Saul called his people in the CIC as well as Tyrol. He told them the plan. "Safe to say that we lost the toasters, for now. Bill will be back sooner or later, so for now, I'm going along with this so called plan of theirs. Lt. Burrell, you and your marines will get a training exercise from the Starfleet MACOs and the Broadswords marines who already went through it. In fact, we all will!"

"Understood, sir."

"Lt. Dualla. You'll be assigned to the Paladin as comm officer for that mission. Learn from them, get their protocols down."

"Understood, Sir."

He began handing temporary transfers to others as well. "Chief, You and your grease monkeys are needed here, but the Challenger will be attached to this fleet permanently, so moving from ship to ship is now less of an issue. They offered to permanently post up to eight of your people in that barracks of theirs, if you want it."

"Yes, Sir. It's better than ours anyway."

"Good. Lt. Gaeta. Your be the second tactical officer on the Pathfinder. Appropriately named for the task at hand. I can't tell you why you'll be going there, but you will be scouting a planet in a nebula. Apparently it has fresh water and flora and fauna there. We'll see if it pans out. You'll be going right after the exercise. The others have an extra day to pack your belongings. And Lt. Gaeta. Don't embarrass us."

"Sir. Have no intention of doing that."

"Good. Dismissed."

Day 55 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 20th of March, year 2378, Colonial / Starfleet fleet

Felix settled in on the rather small Starfleet ship. It was being sent out alone to the unknown coordinates. The remaining two Intrepids will go for the Knight, the Paladin will go for the Champion and the Crusader will go for the Vulcan cruiser.

Bill was finally able to walk, even if he needed a cane for that. And he even began enjoying his food too. He walked on the bridge of the Pathfinder, like an office inspecting one of his ships. Before a battle. "How are you Felix?" He slowly reached the tactical station, where Gaeta was doing some simulations, that Starfleet had programmed for training purposes.

"Rather well, Sir."

"Hope this goes well."

"So do I Sir."

"I hear since there isn't that much place on a ship like this, you have one of those quarters, where your sleeping room is yours, but you share the bathroom with another?"

"Yes, two rooms are linked to it. Not really that bad, if you compare it with our general shower rooms."

Bill smirked at that. "It does have some advantages, doesn't it?"

Felix got a bit embarrassed. "If you take it that way, perhaps, Sir."

What was meant as a joke, was that Colonial warships didn't discriminate between sexes. The showers were meant for both genders.

"Well, you'll do us proud." He saluted for him and Felix returned the gesture.

On the Galactica, Boomer was finally moved to a different cell. A shared cell, on the Bismarck.

There, the other Cylon models were bored out of their skulls. As Boomer saw where they were taking her, she resisted even more frantically. "No. Not with them. Please, I'm not a fraking Cylon!"

Walker could have had some sympathy for her, if she hadn't done what she did. "You keep saying that. Won't change what you are. You can ask them." He meant the other prisoners, that were all separated by transparent aluminum walls.

"Welcome, Eight." D'Anna greeted her more out of boredom than anything else.

"I am NOT A CYLON!" She was crying and screaming all this time.

"Sure you are. Why shoot Adama then. Cavil told you."

She wanted to smash this wall and just choke her. She was scratching at the surface of the wall. "Frak you..."

On Cloud Nine, Baltar finally retook his position as the Quorum representative of Caprica. He knew he was in the shit. But at least those damn visions were gone. But now, he was Laura's bitch. He could only support any and every idea she put forward. And so of course, he supported her for opening an embassy on the ship. Basically one of the luxury rooms would be converted into one. And the person in question would have the status of an observer in Quorum affairs. They could ask the input of that person, but in the end it was merely a paper position.

To say that the fleet was shaken by the partial truth they got, was an understatement. A lost Earth fleet. Lost due to a glitch in an experimental FTL system. That was the official story anyway. But they needed to keep the Cylon and alien issue handled. They would need to slowly get the fleet accustomed to these ideas. Spoon feed them, as it were. So K'Lir was transferred to the Bismarck. And deck two remained off limits to Colonials on the Challenger.

But as the hours were being counted down for the Pathfinder to depart, so were the days until Adama is fit enough again to attend the meeting that will decide the fleet commander status.

On the Pathfinder, Lt. Hill entered the bridge. All stood at attention. Hill may still be a Lieutenant Senior grade, but then again, most people here didn't reach this rank. He greeted everyone. Half were Colonials. "Lt. Gaeta, we stocked up for this mission?"

"Sir. Yes. All rations and supplies were stowed away."

"Nicely done. Comm, open a channel to the Pegasus and Bismarck. This is Lt. Hill of the Pathfinder. We're ready to depart."

"Good hunting Hill." Fiona responded on the main view screen.

"Hope to see you all soon." Hasapis added.

Hill took the captain's chair. "Then helm, set coordinates for our first jump. Who did the entire route calculation anyway. I had a look at it and looks promising."

"Me, Sir." Felix answered. "I have some experiences in doing that."

"Nice to know. Also, after our first jump, I intend to have several drills. I can't have us potentially stumble into something and not be prepared. Now, execute jump."

As the Pathfinder disappeared, other Colonial naval and marine officers began moving to a Starfleet ship they were assigned to. On the Paladin, Anastasia Dualla just arrived via raptor on the larger shuttle bay of the Paladin. It was a similar mess as it would be on a battlestar, just massively scaled down. She and the other Colonials jumped down. She was searching for someone with authority to report to. She spotted a woman who was apparently coordinating the offloading of materials. They all approached her. "Sir. Lt. Dualla reporting as ordered." The others did the same.

Said woman didn't pay them attention for a few seconds, until she was done with a PADD check list. "Pleasure. So, you are the one I'll have to give a crash course. Lt. Commander Sachiko Hayashi, Challenger comm officer." She inspected their uniforms. "Marines, follow that MACO to deck three, he'll explain everything there. Engineers, deck four. You'll follow Lt. Rivers. Lt. Dualla. With me."

As they now went to their assigned officers, Dee left the hangar with her gear and bag slumped over her shoulder. "How long have you been the comm officer on the Galactica?"

"Four years. And I had other postings prior to that."

"Ships?"

"Mostly outposts or bases. I was on the battlestar Polaris prior to this posting."

"So you have some experience. Good." They arrived at a door. They repeated the same procedure that all had to do when a room was assigned to them. Dee didn't get a room with a window, but she got all of it to herself. "Get settled in. On the bed is a PADD with all the basics. Ship layout, our communication protocols. Ship time table. The works. But before I let you get to unpacking and reading, we'd best have you acquainted with the acting captain. Come."

A minute later they were on the bridge. It was Sisko who got this command for this mission. He was checking the tactical station, his home away from home, as it were. He had a chat with several engineers. "And I want this done before we get underway!" They didn't argue and nodded, leaving him to continue his inspection. Shaw was busy at the engineering station.

"Sir. Your Colonial comm officer for this mission arrived." Commander Hayashi announced.

Sisko broke off his inspection of the ships combat systems. "Sachiko, will you have time to teach her everything."

"I'll have to. But she's the backup anyway."

"Doesn't matter to me. Anyway. Major Sisko, Earth MACO corps."

"Lt. Anastasia Dualla. Pleasure. I think we saw each other on the Galactica CIC."

"Perhaps, but with the clean up and us getting blasted, my memory of that day is a bit shot. If Colonial navy thought you were good enough for the posting you have, your good enough for me. Sachiko, show her where she'll be working. Give her the tour."

"Right. Come." Hayashi went to the other side of the bridge and sat down at her station. "The communication station. Have a try." She let her have the seat now. She began showing her the console commands. "Universal translator, long range comm system, internal comm system, language database..."

"And this must be the short range system, IFF system, jammers... Frequency tuners?"

"I see this might be easier than I thought..." Hayashi smiled.

About an hour later, Dee was unpacked and was taking a walk around the ship. Well, mostly the main deck. But she was also getting a bit hungry as she was too stressed before to even think about it. She had memorized the layout of the ship, so finding the mess hall was not an issue.

As she found something she liked, she also noticed that while most Colonials and Starfleet were getting along and socializing, Sisko was alone at the table, reading a report. "May I join you?"

He peaked from his PADD. "Go ahead." He was already done with his meal, only drinking coffee now.

Halfway through her meal, she decided to strike a conversation. "I heard you are a religious person."

"The rumor mill is only half right this time. My parents were, me, not so much."

"I also understand that Earth has many religions?"

"More than I can count." He was still mostly engrossed in his reading. "I suppose that sounds weird for someone coming from mostly unified 12 planets."

"Well, unified is a broad word to be used. My colony is... was definitely more conservative and traditional."

"Sagitarrion, right?"

She stopped mid swallowing, but was forced to finish it. "Hope that isn't a problem?"

"Why should it?"

"Well, my colony doesn't have the best reputation. Not that it isn't somewhat earned..."

"Where you come from is not an issue with me. You perform your duty to the best of your abilities and we're OK."

Some silence followed. "Do you have... I mean, do you have anything from the religion of your parents?"

Now he stopped reading. "Why? Want to burn it?"

"No. I... curiosity, mostly. I mean, yes, we don't have the best opinion of monotheistic religions, but that doesn't mean that all Colonials have the same thinking. Truth be told. I had a Book of the Lords, but left it at home. So now, I actually have nothing from my faith left. Well, all but this small charm." She showed him her necklace and s small crystal with some engravings on it. "Hera. It's her symbol."

Now Sisko got interested. He then pulled out his own necklace. It was made out of gold and had a cross attached to it. "I'm not religious, but this is my lucky charm."

Dee inspected it. "Why a cross?"

He saw that she was done eating. "Come, I'll show you."

They cleaned up and went to Sisko's captain's quarters. Inside, she noticed that he too was in the process of unpacking. He went for his bag, well, one of them, and pulled out a book. He handed it to her. "You'll have to learn a bit of Earth languages, as this book can't be translated on the paper."

She inspected the book. It was old. But well made. Well preserved. "What is it?"

"The Holy Bible. Also more a luck bringer than anything. This is for a Christian what those Sacred Scrolls are for you."

As she opened it up, she really saw that the language in it was foreign to her. But it also contained art in it. "Mind if I can read it? Of course after I learn the language."

"Sure. Just return it once your done. It's one of the few memories I have of my father."

"What were your parents like?"

"Well, dad was a pastor. He always made sure that all his sheep were safe. Mom. One of the best cooks in New Orleans. Even had a restaurant there. Who knows. Once we get back, I'll go and see if there is a Sisko still there."

Some hours later, Sachiko Hayashi arrived on Cloud Nine. She was chosen to be the representative for the united Earth Federation. They basically had no civilian in their fleet, so someone from the fleet would have to be picked. But picking someone with a too low rank could be seen as insulting. And she was the best person for this job. Diplomatically speaking.

Her MACO escort checked the room and then installed some of their own surveillance gear. The accommodations were what one would expect on a ship like this, if you got one of the better rooms. While two of the MACOs were busy doing their work in the room, she took her time to inspect the ship. The dome most of all. And she didn't feel safe here exactly. If the Colonials wanted to mock Starfleet on their ship design, well this was then used to throw the argument right back at them. A dome made out of such fragile materials. Then again, it was never meant to be shot at as well.

She and the MACO were standing out and the guests in the small park were beginning to talk about them.

As she approached a bar, all she ordered was water. She was still here to do a job, not get drunk. But one woman that was already there and not caring about such things, was the first to approach her. It was either her character or the liquid courage he had taken. "Hello. I'm Ellen Tigh. Can I join you?"

"Em, sure?"

Ellen saw what she was drinking. "Really?"

"I'm on the clock."

"Ah, so by the rules. But what about today, after this Quorum meeting where you'll get your 'observer' seating. Have any time then?"

"I guess I do, but why do you care? I don't swing that way, if that is your reason for this."

Ellen almost fell of her bar stool. "Oh my, did I make that impression? No. My apologies. No, all I wanted is to get to know new people. And to learn about Earth."

Ellen didn't notice it, but Sachiko did. Everyone in their vicinity was now listening in.

On the Challenger, Laura had settled in nicely. But to make things run more smoothly, Billy Keikeya was given quarters on the same deck she was staying on, but in the saucer section. Laura even debated with herself, if she should just make these quarters her de facto living quarters. She would still work on Colonial One, deal with the press and her ministers. But she was dealing with the Quorum on Cloud Nine anyway, so an exception was already made. Why not another? She'll have to clear it with the Colonial navy and the Quorum, as Starfleet had no issues with this.

On the Galactica's starboard landing pod, the three Delta wing class ships were parked one next to the other, sideways, in the pod, where the Cylons had breached the ship. Now, they could begin taking them apart in a more secure location. They would then use the alloys they would get from them, to seal off both ends of this pod. But they would need to remove the larger components, like the engines, before they completely seal it off. The larger parts that would be needed elsewhere, were a priority. The rest, like the computers and reactors, would remain on the Galactica to power the industrial replicators. At least that was the plan and it was far from being completed. Scott's calculations predicted that it would take at least six weeks of around the clock work to get all of this done.

Right now, Commander Adama and Commander Scott were in one of Challenger's service ships, flying in the Glalctica pod and inspecting the progress.

Several people were flying around the Delta Wings in Starfleet's LERC suits, massively accelerating the work. Some were now even piloted by Colonials.

"Have to say, I'm impressed. Even 200 years ago you were capable of all this." Bill remarked in the co-pilot seat.

"Still, this is a massive undertaking. Without the manpower we brought in from the civilian fleet..."

"But that is also a security risk, isn't it?"

"What choice do we have?"

Bill understood that all too well. They landed on a working elevator and were brought down. There, Saul was waiting for them.

"Bill. How does it look?"

"A mess. But a good one. Here?"

"The chief is using what people we can spare to use that equipment from Starfleet to patch up as many breaks and micro fractures in the hull as he can. But that too will take a while."

"So, bad news all around."

"Well, before I go back... Colonel." She went back inside and returned with a bottle. "The commodore may come across as a hard person, but she only expects from others what she expects from herself. She's not a ball breaker. So, while I hope you get your drinking problem under control... here's a peace offering."

Bill was about to stop this transaction... but what the hell. If Saul doesn't have enough self control for this, then it doesn't matter anyway.

"OK, thanks. What is it?"

" Scotch. Whiskey. From the part of the Earth I'm from. Enjoy."

As she closed the hatch and her inspection pod was lifted back up to the upper level, Saul and Bill went back to the main hull of the ship.

"If I catch you with that anywhere outside your quarters, gods help me..."

On The Challenger, in the analysis room on deck two, Garcia and K'Lir were implementing the final touches for their test try. They had one of the tables with the built in replicator in the room, attached to the power and computer of the Challenger.

"OK, the computer accepted the replicator control matrix. So, who's going to try this baby out?"

K'Lir sighed in annoyance as his antics were getting to her at times. "Water, cold." The unit began working and a few seconds later, a glass of water was standing on the table. She tasted it. "Works perfectly so far."

"Yes. Water is easy. Let's see. One serving of Buffalo chicken wings." A plate with the requested dish appeared. He picked the plate up and inspected it. "Looks right." He took a sniff. "Smells good too." Then he tasted it. "You know. Tucker was right. Not bad at all."

K'Lir made the necessary notes to hand over to Scott. "I believe further testing is needed." The MACOs in the room were getting excited. "By all means, test it."

As they went to do just that, Garcia put his plate down on the analysis table. "You sure, you don't want to have a Vulcan meal?"

"No. I do not require nourishment at this time. Do you intend to go to the centurion after this?"

"Well, yeah. I promised Hill to keep him company. Who knows, maybe he's into movies too."

Day 56 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 21th of March, year 2378, Colonial / Starfleet fleet

It was already late and Fiona wanted to get some rest, before they launch their three expeditions tomorrow. The Quorum was a problem, nagging and never being really happy. They act cordial around her representative there, but she knows that they are not happy. Not for the help. Not for the hope. But for the fact that they can't control her. Tomorrow, they'd also have the vote on who will be the commanding officer of the navy and military here. Now that Adama had recovered sufficiently.

Her personal terminal in her quarters began beeping.

She sat down at her work desk and activated the terminal. "Report."

It was Hill. "We definitely found something on those other coordinates."

"So you made the detour as I asked."

"Oh yeah. And you really need to see this."

She began receiving a data dump.

Flashback, Day 55 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 20th of March, year 2378, Intrepid class starship Pathfinder, location of the first subspace amplifier deployment

Hill had drilled them for half the day. So now, they could relax. They had just deployed one of the amplifiers to stay in contact with the fleet. It was, like all amplifiers now, rigged with a proximity sensor and a spatial torpedo warhead. just in case.

"Signal looks good, Sir." The comm officer reported.

"Good. Now..." He took a data chip and handed it over to his tactical officer. Felix was in the back, as both bridge shifts were here. "Pull the data from there."

A map was displayed on the main screen. Their destination and the fleet were still marked. But there was an additional location now. One slightly off their main path. "The analysis found this hidden in the information we were given." Everyone on this ship knew the entire truth now. How much they believed it, was another matter. "If that person, who gave us information that was partially confirmed, planned for all of this, then this information was not a fluke. We went first to make a detour here. The main fleet will assemble after they get the still missing ships and then burn to our main destination. If they encounter these Guardians on their way, is their problem. We go for this."

Felix was the first to ask. "Sir, any idea what it is that we might find?"

"No. We're flying blind on this. We at least know there is a nebula at the main location. Here, zip."

"Sir..."

"Look. Adama knows. The president knows. Don't argue with me, OK. Helm, set a course. Jump us ASAP and keep jumping until we're there."

"Sir, this will still take 22 hours." The helmsman reported.

"I know. Execute my orders."

As the jump was done and they waited for the engines to recharge, Hill sent the night shift to bed. That meant Felix as well. All the time, the ship remained in silent running mode. They could not take a risk bumping into a Cylon ship out there. Or fleet.

Flashback, Day 56 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 21th of March, year 2378, Intrepid class starship Pathfinder, location unknown

They had arrived. Again, both shifts were present. "Forget silent running now full sensors." Hill really wanted to know, if they were being played. They were in the middle of nowhere. The nearest stellar body was a rouge planet, 11 light years from their position.

"Sir, I'm detecting a tritanium signature. 31.000 kilometers to port." The science officer reported.

"Confirmed." his tactical officer added. "Seems to be a ship of some kind. But no power signatures."

Hill knew this was it, whatever it was. "Helm, take us there, half impulse. But be ready to get us out, if needed."

They approached slowly. But with their own outer lighting down and being in the middle of nowhere, there was nothing to see.

"Sir, we're approximately 37 kilometers away." Once again the science officer reported. "I'm detecting no life signatures, but definitely deuterium fuel."

"No tachyons or subspace signals." The comm officer reported.

"Once we get within 500 meters, get external search lights on."

They did just that, once in range. It was a ship. And of a similar design to their own. But not one they were familiar with.

"One of ours, that's for sure." Hill remarked. "But the saucer design, the direct incorporation of the main hull with the engineering section... that wasn't done before."

"Sir, if you were lost for 200 years, this might be a ship that came after." Felix idea was what everyone was thinking.

"Right. Now, if it is Starfleet, I have a million questions. But they can wait for our boarding party. First, take us so that we can see the dorsal saucer section. I want it's name."

As the Pathfinder moved to put some light on that section, they all saw the registry and name. "NCC-1650, USS Ares?"

The fleet so far:

Colonials: 112 Civilian ships

One Marinestar, the Broadsword. A Sobek, (Victory), three Adamant, one Valkyre (Morningstar), Pegasus (Mercury class) and Galactica (Jupiter class).

Starfleet: Challenger, Crusader, Paladin, Nightingale (hospital ship), Bismarck, Volga, Denarius, Pathfinder, Mississippi, Boston, Oracle, John Brown, Merchant and Danube.

Responding to Bill: Did you read anything I wrote so far, or are you trolling me? Read chapter One again then. Otherwise, go to a decent Star Trek Wiki site ( I use Daystrom Institute Technical library myself for ships we saw in movies and shows) and search for Human ships (NOT Federation!). And also go to Memory Beta or Alpha (For none cannon ships from games or books). There, you should search for Human ships as well. The Challenger is an Updated NX class (Which the NX-01 Enterprise would have become, had we gotten a Season 5 - so it's not official cannon). It and the Yorktown class (Which the Bismarck is and the class appeared in the game ST: Legacy for the first time, if memory serves, so not cannon either) should be found in Memory Alpha or Beta. Or just write Star Trek Yorktown class in Google or if you want 3D models, go to sketchfab and write the Class name in! There is also a site where there are deck plans of some ships, including the NX and updated NX class (cygnus-x1 is the name of the site). I still prefer a further altered NX-1 where the original deflector is gone and the saucer is complete (That's the Challenger here). Don't know where I found it, but I have a PDF of it. So, the Challenger is an NX upgrade we never got and the Bismarck is a Yorktown, which was made specifically for the Romulan war. I also specifically said in other answers, I detest Nu Trek, movies included. The Franklin is a joke.

To know what a LERC suit is = Long term extravehicular reinforced containment suit. To get an image of it, find an updated NX class deck plan (cygnus-x1 is the name of the site).

To all who know of the Ares, cheers!