7375.319 Battlestar Galactica Flight deck: Vagabond stepped out of the decon station and took a good look at the flight deck of the Galactica. He saw a few dozen ships that Troy had called Vipers. He also saw a few large boxy looking ships which reminded him of shuttlecraft. He then saw Troy coming out of one of the other decon stations.
"Well Vagabond, how does the Galactica compare to your ships?",
"It's a lot bigger Troy, that's for sure.".
As they were talking, Vagabond saw the two women come out of decon stations. As they walked over, Vagabond saw that the woman that he thought was Dalton was a good looking blond. He then saw that several people in orange coveralls were looking over his ship, and the 4 of them walked over that way. Troy looked at one of the older men there,
"So what do you think of her Virgil?",
"Well its awful big for a single warrior fighter.".
Vagabond chuckled when he said that. Vagabond looked at Virgil,
"You must be a ground crew tech.",
"That's Chief Tech warrior.".
"My apologies sir, I meant no disrespect.".
Virgil just looked at him and turned around and looked at the ship again.
"You'll have to forgive him Vagabond ." Hera said.
"Virgil was a tech on the Galactica before my grandfather became a warrior.".
"And he's still the best tech on board." came a voice from behind them.
They all turned around, and there was a man in a dark blue tunic and pants outfit with black boots standing in front of them. The warriors all came to attention, and when Vagabond saw that, he came to attention as well.
Troy spoke first, "I'm sorry Commander, we didn't see you arrive.",
"That's alright Lt., now will you introduce me to our guest.".
"Commander Apollo, I would like to introduce Lt. Winston Chang of the Confederated Space Force.".
"It's a pleasure to meet you Lt., welcome to the Galactica.".
"The pleasure is mine Commander. You have a fine ship here sir. ",
"As do you Lt..".
Apollo then walked up behind Virgil and they were looking at the Excalibur.
"So Virgil, do you think you can fix her?",
"Don't know yet Commander, I've got to figure out what's busted on it first.".
Vagabond came up behind them, "If you want Virgil, I can get you a print out of what systems are damaged.".
"How can you do that Lt.?" Apollo asked.
"Well Commander, I can access the damage repair system and have it download a list of damaged systems to my pocket-comp.".
Everyone looked at him, and finally Dalton asked, "Your what?".
He pulled out his pocket-comp and showed it to them. Hera looked at it,
"A calcutron".
He looked at them for a second,
"No Hera, this is a pocket computer. It's a Confed standard issue for all pilots.".
"So what can you do with it?" she asked.
"Well it's mainly used by pilots for Nav point and jump point calculating, but it can also be downloaded with other programs. Or it can be used as a data storage and playback device.".
Vagabond then got an idea, "Let me show you.".
He looked at his comp for a few seconds, and then touched the pad a few times. "I think you'll like this.".
Then they were all hearing a slow melody being played on a stringed instrument. He turned it around and they realized that they could also see a young man in an outfit similar to Vagabond's playing the instrument. The picture was clearer and more lifelike than their monitors, and the sound was incredible. They were all amazed by the display, and then Apollo smiled.
"It looks like we could learn a lot from your people Lt., our computrons are enormous compared to yours. Lets see about getting your ship fixed up Lt.. Hera, assist Lt. Chang in any way you can.".
"Yes Commander.".
Apollo then looked at Troy and Dalton, "I want a report of your mission, my office in 5 centons.".
"Yes sir." they replied.
Apollo then headed for the lift. Vagabond looked at Troy, Hera and Dalton. "Sorry if I got you into any trouble.".
Hera started to laugh then, "Don't worry Vagabond, I think my father was impressed by you, and that's not easy to do.".
"Your father, Commander Apollo is your father?".
"Well mine and Troy's, Starbuck is Dalton's father. I think you'll like him to.".
Troy and Dalton looked at them, "We need to go and give him our report. Hera, why don't you bring Vagabond to the Commanders office when your done here.".
"Sure thing Troy.".
The two warriors started for the lift. Vagabond climbed into his cockpit and powered up the computer systems. He accessed the damage repair system and got the list for Virgil, and a schematic of the damaged or destroyed systems. He was able to download these into the computron the techs use. Virgil told him it will take about a cycle or two. Then Vagabond and Hera headed for the Commanders office.
Troy and Dalton arrived at the Commander's office in record time. They entered the outer office, and Lt. Valus told them to go right in. When they entered, they saw that Commander Apollo wasn't alone, Major Bojay was there as well. They came to attention and Troy spoke
"Commander, Lt. Troy and Ensign Dalton reporting as ordered.".
"Relax Troy, I was just having an interesting discussion with Bojay about our guest.".
"Bojay tells me that Lt. Chang in from earth, is that true?".
Looking straight ahead Dalton spoke, "It's what he told us Commander.".
"And when were you going to inform me about this fact, maybe after I had heard it from the sanitation crews?".
Still at attention, Troy looked at Apollo "No sir, it's just that we hadn't had a chance to report yet sir. We had just gotten out of decon station right before you arrived. Lt. Chang was worried about repairing his ship sir and we were about to ask Virgil about it when you arrived."
Apollo then visibly relaxed, and the other officers could feel the tension in the room lessen. "While it is understandable for a warrior to be worried about his ship. You still should have reported this news to me the very centon you returned. News of this magnitude will undoubtedly travel through the entire fleet in a matter of centars. I don't need to remind you Troy of our last encounter with humans that the fleet believed were from earth.".
"But father, Vagabond is from earth.".
"We only have his word on that Troy, we have to be cautious when we meet other beings in space. Not all of them are friendly, and some would like to see us destroyed.".
Dalton now looked at Commander Apollo, not as an Ensign, but as the young woman he had watched grow up her entire life.
"Your right Commander, we do need to be careful. But Troy and I have talked with Vagabond about his world and his people. Like us, they have traveled the stars, met new races of beings, both good and evil. When he told us he was from earth, he didn't know that we were searching for it. When you talk to him, I know that you'll find that he is an honest and sincere person. Just give him a chance sir.".
Apollo looked at Dalton and smiled, "Don't worry Dalton. I'll give him a chance. Now what happened on your patrol?".
Troy and Dalton then gave Commander Apollo a detailed report of the patrol and the skirmish with the cylons.
Just then Lt. Valus buzzed the Commander and informed him that Ensign Hera and the guest were in the outer office. "Send them in.".
Hera and Vagabond came into the office, and Apollo smiled at them.
"So Lt. what's the news about your ship?".
"Well Commander, your chief tech says that he can most likely fix it up, in a cycle or two.".
"That's good news then.".
Apollo then looked at Vagabond with a serious face. Vagabond had seen that look before, but he was used to seeing it on Captain Eison's face.
"Lt. I need you to tell me about your mission, and what you were doing in the area where Troy and Dalton found you.".
"I'll tell you what I can Commander, to the point where I don't break any Confed regulations.".
"Fair enough Lt., I can understand a warrior not wanting to betray his oath or his loyalty to his people.".
Commander Apollo then dismissed Bojay, Troy, Hera and Dalton who quickly left his office, but stayed in the outer office. Vagabond then began the most unusual debriefing he had ever been in. He answered the Commanders questions about who he was and where he came from. He talked about earth and the Confederation and the Border Worlds Union. He answered questions about the history of the people of earth, and their colonizing of the systems in this part of the galaxy. He never betrayed any military secrets or operations that he knew about, but he did tell the Commander about his last mission. After a few hours of questions, the Commander was convinced that Vagabond was from earth and that the humans there were not all that different than the colonialists. He was also worried about the cylons in the star system ahead of them.
As the "debriefing" was taking place, Apollo's outer office was beginning to get very crowded. Sheba and Starbuck had arrived and Lt. Valus told them that the Commander did not wish to be disturbed. The warriors just tried to make themselves comfortable the in the office. Dalton then told the warriors about the patrol and what had happened in the fight. The next person to arrive was President Tigh.
He just looked at Valus, and Valus immediately buzzed the Commander. "Send him in, and no one else.", was Apollo's reply.
Vagabond saw an older man in what looked like the robes he had seen in paintings of ancient Rome. He knew that this man was most likely a politician of some sort.
"Lt. Winston Chang, I would like to introduce President Tigh. He's the head of our quorum of the twelve, and the leader of the civilian population of the fleet.".
"It's a honor to meet you sir.".
"No Lt. the honor is mine.".
Tigh turned to Apollo, "Is it true Apollo, is Lt. Chang from Earth?".
"Yes Tigh, I believe he is.".
Tigh turned back to Vagabond and smiled at him.
"Then Lt., it is truly is an honor to meet you.".
He then looked at Apollo, "You know that the quorum will want to talk to him Apollo.".
Vagabond could see the slight grimace on Apollo's face, and he surprisingly saw the same look on Tigh's face.
"I know Tigh, I know. But we have a bigger problem right now. There are cylons in the system in front of us.".
"Is it Baltar's group Apollo?",
"I don't know Tigh, I just don't know.".
Vagabond looked at them, "Commander, from what I have found out about these cylons, they are a worse threat to the Confederation than the Kilrathi ever were. I think that we should join together to fight them.".
"I would like that Lt., but there is no way for us to contact your people. Our communication system just isn't strong enough to reach them.".
"I understand that Commander, but as I told you, my ship has an automated repair system on it.",
"Yes you did Lt..".
"What I didn't tell you Commander, is that while I was being brought here, that system had managed to repair my jump drive and my cloaking shield generator. Once my ship is repaired, I know that I can sneak past the cylons and get to the jump point and use it to contact my people."
Tigh now looked at him, "Is there any way we could send a representative with you Lt.?".
"Well sir there is an observers seat on my ship, it would be a tight fit, but I believe it would work.".
Tigh looked at Apollo, "I think that repairing the Lt.'s ship should be our ultimate priority right now Apollo. Use all necessary resources from anywhere in the fleet, military or civilian, to get his ship ready to fly.",
"I agree Tigh, but it will still take a cycle or two to do that. In the meantime Lt. I am sure that you would like to get some rest, I will have Lt. Valus arrange some quarters for you. And Vagabond, I think it would be better for you if you maybe wore a colonial uniform, to help you blend in a little better.".
Tigh looked at Apollo, "I agree Commander, less chance of the reporters hunting him down that way. And don't worry about the quorum, I'll handle them myself.".
Tigh then looked at Apollo, "Did you know that your outer office is getting pretty tightly packed?",
"No Tigh, but I'm not surprised.".
The two of them just laughed a little about that, and then as Tigh was starting to leave, Apollo asked him to have Lt. Valus come in the office. Lt. Valus came in and was instructed to arrange quarters for Vagabond, and to get him a warriors uniform to wear.
"Yes sir, I believe that Col. Boomer's quarters are still empty sir." and then he looked at Vagabond for a moment.
"I'll have everything ready in 10 centons Commander.",
"Thank you Valus." then Valus left the office.
"Well Vagabond, I'll have someone escort you to the quarters, and you can get some rest. We have a lot of work to do in the next 2 cycles."
As the door opened, Vagabond saw that Bojay, Troy, Dalton and Hera where still there, and they had been joined by two other warriors who were closer to Bojay's age rather than the younger pilots.
The older man stepped up to him and spoke, "Lt. I want to thank you for what you did out there, Troy told me that it was you that got the cylon on Dalton's tail.".
"I would have done it for any pilot sir.".
"I know Lt., but she's not just any pilot, she's my daughter.".
Dalton just looked at Starbuck for a moment, and Vagabond couldn't tell if she was angry or embarrassed.
"Oh father." and then she ran out of the office.
Troy quickly went after her. Apollo just looked at Starbuck for a micron, and then at Hera.
"Hera would you please show Vagabond to quarters Beta green 2.".
"Yes Commander.", and she took Vagabond's hand and started to leave the office with him in tow. Hera hoped that no one saw the slight smile that she had on her face, but her mother had seen it already.
Apollo looked at Starbuck, "Starbuck, get in here.".
Sheba followed them in as well. Soon it was just Bojay and Valus in the outer office. Bojay looked at Valus,
"Is it always this crazy here?",
"Oh no sir, this has been a quiet cycle.". They both started to chuckle at that, and Bojay just left to head for the pilots quarters.
Troy caught up with Dalton after just a centon. She was in an alcove just off the main corridor. She looked at Troy for a micron, and he could see that she had tears on her cheeks.
"Why did he have to embarrass me like that Troy?".
"He didn't do it on purpose Dalton, it's just that he's your father, and he's going to worry about you all the time.".
"Has the Commander ever embarrassed you like that Troy?".
Troy just smiled at her, "Yeah, a couple of times.".
Dalton leaned against Troy and he put his arms around her.
"They can't help themselves Dalton, there are father's. It's their job to worry and care about us at the same time.".
Dalton looked up at Troy, and she was seeing him in a way that she had never seen before. Troy looked in Dalton's eyes and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. He was seeing her not as the snotty friend of his kid sister, or as a warrior, but as a woman. A woman that he cared deeply for. They kissed gently for a few microns, then just stood there quietly in the darkened alcove just holding each other.
Starbuck sat in a chair in front of Apollo's desk. Apollo and Sheba just looked at him for a few microns.
"What did I do now?" he asked with an innocent look on his face.
The two of them knew Starbuck well enough to know that he hadn't meant to embarrass Dalton on purpose.
Sheba just looked at him, "Oh Starbuck, your such a , a, a man.".
Apollo smirked at that, but then came to Starbuck's defense. "Sheba, you know that Starbuck can't help himself. He's been blundering like that for yahrens. Besides, it's a fathers right to be able to embarrass his children.". All three of them laughed a little this time.
"But remember Starbuck, Daltons not a little girl anymore. Soon she may start spending time with men.".
As Apollo said this, Starbuck visibly winced, "Don't remind me.".
"Your just going to have to live with that Starbuck, and learn to trust Dalton to make her own decisions.".
Sheba looked at Apollo now, "I hope you really believe that Apollo.",
"What do you mean Sheba?".
Sheba just smiled for a micron, "Did you see the smile on Hera's face when she was taking Lt. Vagabond to his quarters. Remember, Dalton's not the only one who's growing up dear.".
Starbuck just sat there as Apollo just started to shake his head from side to side. Sheba just patted his shoulder.