Author's Note: This is my first Battlestar Galactica fanfiction, so any feedback would be appreciated. The main character, Kestra, was taken from the Star Trek universe. Some elements of the story will mention people and places from Star Trek, but the story takes place in the BSG universe and that's why I put it here instead of as a crossover. The character is my interpretation of Kestra Riker as she only appears as a child in an episode of Picard. Sorry for any confusion this causes, but I hope you'll like the story anyway.

Lee walked out of the Tomb of Athena with his father, elated at the discovery they had made. He looked to Starbuck who couldn't keep the grin off her face. They were in high spirits as they made their way back to the raptor. They were nearly there when they heard a rustling in the trees.

"Listen," the commander ordered as he stepped toward the noise to shield the group. Lee and Starbuck also stepped up toward the noise. A tan woman with curly, chocolate colored hair and a strange blue jumpsuit ran out of the trees. She looked like a civilian, but there was no human life on this planet. She had to be a cylon. Upon seeing the group she broke into a spile which vanished as soon as she noticed the guns pointed at her.

"Don't move," Lee shouted as he and the others trained their weapons on her.

"There's no need for those. I mean you no harm," the woman insisted.

"We'll be the judges of that," Lee said.

"Did you call her here?" Commander Adama said, rounding on Sharon. Sharon quickly shook her head.

"I didn't do anything," Sharon defended herself.

"I think there's been a mistake," the strange woman said, taking a step forward.

"Don't you frakking move," Lee shouted as he shot just over her shoulder. The woman gasped as she fell to the ground. Lee lunged at her and grappled her arms behind her back. Starbuck rushed forward and took the bag she had over her shoulder.

"Let me go!" the woman screamed.

"Shut up," Lee said. Bill looked around as the clanging of metal interrupted the scuffle.

"Centurions coming. Quick we'll take them both back to Galactica. Lee, keep an eye on that one. Starbuck, you watch the other one." Lee forced the cylon woman onto the raptor while Kara led Sharon behind them. They all climbed aboard just as the centurions came through the tree line. "Let's go, let's go," Bill shouted as the door closed. The raptor took off and sped back to Galactica.

Once the raptor landed a group of marines led Sharon and the woman to the cell that had been constructed for Boomer. Sharon sat on the opposite side of the room from the new prisoner. The woman was huddled in the corners staring intently at the floor in front of her. Unbeknownst to the pair, they were watched by the leaders of the colonies.

"Who are you?" Sharon asked viciously. The woman flinched but remained silent. "Tell me who you are. You're not one of the known seven, so tell me who you are." Sharon was screaming at the woman, but she refused to answer. "Do you realize what you've done? I finally earned some of their trust, and you came out of the trees and took it all away. They'll never believe that I don't know who you are or what you want?" No answer was offered. Sharon screamed, but turned and went back to her cot.

On the other side of the glass, Adama turned to Roslin.

"They're putting on a show," he said gruffly.

"I agree," Roslin concurred.

"They don't know we're watching them," Lee pointed out from behind them. Roslin turned to him with a look of pity.

"Of course they do," she said, "they'll be expecting us to be watching after what happened on the planet." She turned back to Bill. "I say we interrogate the new one first. Sharon is too familiar to the people on this ship. It will be harder to get anything out of her, and she was helpful on the planet." Adama nodded.

"Of course, Madam President," he said. Laura smirked at the return of her title.

"I suggest Captain Thrace be in charge of the interrogation again," she said.

"I have no objection to that," Bill agreed. They left the viewing room together followed by Col. Tigh. Lee cast one last glance at the woman huddled in the corner of the room before following their exit.

Kara entered the interrogation room alone. The prisoner was already sitting at the table flanked by two marines. Kara sat down across from her and met her eyes. Kara's first thought was of how dark this woman's eyes were. It was as if there was no iris, just pupils. The woman's gaze did not waver and she noticed Kara's discomfort under her gaze however brief it may have been. This worked against her as Kara's discomfort was quickly channeled into anger, as it often was.

"What is your mission?" Kara asked. The woman's brow furrowed.

"I don't know who you think I am, but there has been a mistake," she said quietly, "as I tried to explain back on the planet, I am not your enemy."

"Of course not," Kara interrupted, "and those centurions just grew up out of the ground like daisies."

"If you're talking about the robots, they only came when you did. They were obviously following you," the woman said.

"Well that sounds like some pretty good reasoning, so why were they following us?" Kara replied patronizingly.

"I don't know I've never seen you or them until recently. When I saw you I thought you were humans. Are you from Earth?" the woman asked. Kara lunged across the desk and grabbed the woman by the neck.

"What the frack do you know about earth? What did you tell them about it?" Kara spat

"Earth is the home of the human race. I don't know what more you want from me," the woman replied.

"What do the cylons know about Earth?" Kara asked again.

"I told you I don't know who cylons are," the woman pleaded.

"Don't give me that, you fraker," Kara spat. She turned to the marines and nodded. One of them struck the woman across the face, knocking her to the ground. The other came up and kicked her square in the gut. The woman cried out as she was beaten by the guards. Kara put her hand up and the beating stopped. She crossed the room and knelt to the ground to look the woman in the eye. "You ready to start talking?" The woman panted as she caught her breath.

"I don't know the answers to the questions you're asking. No matter how much you beat me, it won't change the fact that I've never heard of you or these cylons. So you'd better kill me or let me go," the woman said evenly. Kara chuckled and stood back up.

"I've never seen a cylon act like you, I'll give you that. Most either act like they know more than us, or think they are us. But that's exactly the kind of thing you would do to try to throw us off. We've learned that we can't trust anything you say by now," Kara said as she paced in front of her prisoner.

"Then shut up and kill me," the woman shouted. This startled Kara. "You can try to excuse this barbarism however you want, but it doesn't matter to me. So rather than torture me with your self righteous bullshit, just kill me now." Kara's brow furrowed, but she quickly hid it with a smile.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Just die and download back with your friends and tell them about our ship and everything we saw in the Tomb of Athena?" Kara asked. The woman stopped responding. "What's the matter? Lost your nerve?" Kara asked with a laugh. Again, the woman remained silent. Kara was quickly frustrated with the prisoner's silence. "Talk you fracking toaster!" she shouted. She simultaneously swung her foot and made contact with the prisoner's jaw. "I'll wait to kill you until were too far away for you to download. Is that what you want?" Kara shouted as she grabbed the woman by her hair. The woman smiled weakly.

"Make it so," she coughed out through a mouthful of blood. After that she sat patiently in Kara's grasp. Kara turned to the window where she knew the president and the commander were watching. She couldn't fail in front of the old man. She dragged the prisoner back to her chair.

"Why were you on Kobol?" Kara asked. The woman stared at the table.

"Is that the planet we were on?" she asked conversationally. Kara rolled her eyes.

"You know what? I think we should just throw you out the airlock now and get this over with," she said getting up and dragging the woman out of her seat. She was interrupted halfway to the door by the entrance of Lee Adama, followed by his father. Bill was glaring daggers but not at the cylon. He was watching Lee.

"That's enough Kara," Lee said, "give her to me." Kara looked to the commander. His eyes did not leave Lee nor did they soften, but he nodded his head stiffly. Kara released the prisoner to Lee. She and the old man stalked out of the room, leaving Lee alone with the prisoner and the guards. He walked her back to the table and sat her in the chair.

"Let's start simple shall we?" Lee said as he sat across from her, "what is your name?"

"Kestra Riker," she replied softly.

"Alright, that's a good start. My name is Lee Adama. What were you doing on Kobol, Kestra?" Lee asked.

"Kobol is the planet you found me on?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I was stranded there when my shuttle fell through a wormhole," Kestra replied weakly. She finally lifted her head and peered at Lee through what was quickly becoming a black eye.

"Your shuttle?" Lee asked, confused.

"Yes, I crashed it. I've been stranded on the planet you call Kobol for two years. I'd never seen any other signs of life until you came with the robots," she said. Lee was stumped by her story. If it was a cylon trick it was a pretty good one.

"You weren't on Kobol to stop us from getting to the Tomb of Athena?" he asked. Kestra smiled.

"Sir, there are only a few reasons I think you'd come in here. Either you want to play good cop to your friend who was in here earlier, or you believe me that I'm neither human or cylon. Now, if it's the first one, there is nothing I can say to you that will make you believe me. If it's the latter, then you already know the answer to your question," Kestra said.

"Either way, it would be in your best interest to answer me," Lee said stiffly, "even if I don't believe you, I'm a better companion to have in here than Lieutenant Thrace." Kestra smiled.

"Well, you are smarter than she was," she said, "either way." There was silence between the two for a moment. Both kept hold of the others eyes until Kestra finally broke the silence. "I'll answer your question if I can ask one," she said. Lee nodded once. "No, I wasn't on Kobol because of you. Are you human?"

"Yes," Lee answered. Kestra's brow furrowed.

"But you're not from Earth?"

"No, nobody has seen Earth since the original thirteen colonies left," Lee said. Kestra continued to look confused. Lee too was puzzled by this woman's behavior. She was right, he did believe her when she said she wasn't cylon. However, he was also beginning to think she wasn't human. "Are you human?" he asked.

"No," she answered.

"Then you are a cylon?"

"No."

"That's impossible," Lee argued. Kestra laughed, but it was lighter than her previous laughter. She was genuinely amused.

"How arrogant you are," she said, "to think that you are the only life in the universe." Now Lee was truly puzzled. He had never thought about the possibility of life beyond the twelve colonies. This woman intrigued him. It was more than just her unknown origins. He felt drawn to her, like he was meant to meet this woman here.

"What are you?" he asked curiously.

"I am part human and part betazoid," she responded. Lee furrowed his brow.

"What is a betazoid?" he asked.

"It's a humanoid species from the planet Betazed. We-" she trailed off.

"What?" Lee asked suspiciously.

"We are similar to humans in appearance except our eyes are completely black," she finished with a smile. Lee felt that she was hiding something, but decided to try to keep her talking. Confronting her might shut her down.

"So you've met other humans?" he asked.

"I just told you I was human. My father is a human. William T. Riker, of Earth," she said.

"Your father is from Earth?" Lee asked bewildered.

"Yes," she responded, "at least, the planet I know as Earth. I've never actually been there," she said.

"Do you know where Earth is?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Yes, but I couldn't find it from here. The wormhole I went through wasn't charted by the Federation. I have to assume the Earth you're looking for originated in this universe and therefore is not the Earth I know."

"Federation?"

"The United Federation of Planets," she clarified, "a union of hundreds of planets working together for peace and unity across the galaxy. At least that is the goal." Lee was taken aback by this news. If this girl was telling the truth then not only was there other life in the universe, but they all knew about life outside their own galaxies while the Colonies had been in the dark for centuries. If she was lying well then… she was a very good storyteller.

"So just to be clear, you're claiming to be an alien from this United Federation of Planets, and you landed on Kobol by mistake and you've been stuck there since."

"Yes," Kestra replied. Lee was silent, so Kestra continued. "When I saw you and you were human I thought I was saved. You can imagine how disappointed I was when I realized I was being held prisoner by a savage race of paranoid war mongers."

"Wait a minute. That's not-"

"Have I hurt your feelings Mr. Adama? I didn't realize it was your custom to treat other races with hostility and violence and expect them to thank you for it. I'll try to keep that in mind if I live to meet any other beings in this galaxy," she spat.

"We are at war," Lee yelled.

"I'm not. I'm alone out in the middle of space. I have lost everything and everyone I have ever loved, and the first race of people I've met have treated me like an enemy for approaching them. I haven't done anything to you or your people, yet I have been kidnapped and beaten within the first twenty four hours I've known you," she screamed. Tears leaked from her eyes, but she was not crying. She held Lee with a steely glare.

"This interrogation is over. Take her back to her cell," Lee said as he stormed out of the room. He was met in the corridor by his father and the president. Starbuck stood behind them with Tigh.

"My quarters, now," Bill ordered. Lee huffed as he followed his father and the president down the hall. He looked over his shoulder to see Kestra being dragged away. She also cast him a glance before she was taken around a corner and out of sight.

In Adama's quarters, The group sat and discussed their new prisoners.

"We can't afford to believe her," Roslin said, "if we believed every story a cylon made up we wouldn't find any of them until it's too late.

"I agree with the president," Bill said, "she's a threat to the fleet's security."

"But what if she is telling the truth? What if there are others out there looking for her?" Lee said.

"That's not our problem. If we drop our guard we could be giving the cylons access to this ship and this fleet. I will not let that happen," Bill said.

"So what are we going to do with them?" Saul interjected.

"Sharon has given us information we can use against the cylons. She's a tactical asset," Kara stated.

"She's right we can keep the cylon in the cell and get more information out of it," Saul claimed.

"Very well," Bill said.

"And what about the other one?" Roslin asked.

"She hasn't given us anything we can use. All we got is her sob story," Saul said.

"Maybe she doesn't have anything to give. Sharon didn't recognize her. If she were one of the cylon models, Sharon would have known her," Lee said.

"Just because we haven't seen any of her model doesn't mean she's not a cylon," Roslin said.

"Yes, but Sharon would know. She is a cylon," Lee said.

"And therefore cannot be trusted. Captain we are on the run for our lives. The cylons are masters of manipulation, and they are using your sympathies to confuse you," Roslin said firmly.

"Well my sympathies are what make me human, so I'd rather not lose that in a fight for the survival of humanity," Lee said, "just because she isn't a tactical asset at the moment doesn't mean she deserves to die. At least keep her in the cell with Sharon." The president looked to Commander Adama. He sighed.

"They can both be useful. If we need to we'll use the new one to get information out of Sharon. Keep them both in the cell for now," he said. Saul grumbled as he left the room followed by Starbuck. The president bid the commander goodbye, and father and son were left alone.

"Are you sympathizing with the cylons Son?" Bill asked gruffly.

"No," Lee said.

"That's what it sounded like to me," Bill argued.

"I don't believe she's a cylon," Lee said, "come on Dad. How could she have come up with all that stuff about the wormhole and a Federation of Planets."

"How did Boomer convince us she was a human? They're fooling you son. I need you to stay sharp," Bill said. Lee furrowed his brow but offered no argument.

"Yes, sir," he said as he turned to leave.