A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates as I have been in the process of a complicated move coupled with a transition to a new ISP and rearranging stuff, but, here I am, back with another chapter.

Chapter 2

"If anyone is viewing this, then chances are I'm already dead," the female voice said.

Cally gasped when the female's image finally came on screen.

"It's here," she observed.

"I know," Kelan said, the emotion gone from his voice.

"From what we can tell, it's been roughly 170 years since we left Earth," the woman continued. "We never made it to our intended destination. We've been intercepted by a race of machines. They're like images out of old sci-fi movies from the '50s.

"They insist they were created by humans and that's just as odd as the fact that they speak perfect English, if with a strange mechanical accent."

"Cylons," Cally whispered, wide-eyed.

"Thankfully they haven't been able to access all of our systems. We anticipated something like this, even in the frantic moments before leaving Earth. The drives were encrypted heavily and the access systems wiped. The data is as secure as it can be. Accept for us, that is. Hopefully, Mark, you are the one viewing this recording. These…machines call themselves Cylons. I don't know what they want with us, but I assure you they do not know where Earth is. We don't even know where Earth is so they can't get it from any of us."

She leaned closer to the camera and lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Something else has been going on since they brought us out of the processor. These Cylons have been rather animated over the past few days. I've only heard bits and pieces but apparently another ship came alongside not long after we were brought aboard. I haven't seen it, but the others and I have heard it's far more advanced than anything ever conceived. Whoever is on that ship is of a higher intelligence that humans or Cylons."

Something off camera caused the woman to jump.

"Oh my God, something's happening. I think they're coming for me."

"You will come with us," came the electronic monotonous voice of a Cylon. "God wishes to meet you."

"What?" the woman asked incredulously. "That's impossible."

"Everything is clear to us now. God has enlightened us. He has told us about His plan."

"But," she began.

"Turn off the camera!" the Cylon ordered another Centurion.

"By your command."

The video went blank. Mark and Cally both sat there staring at the monitor for a moment.

"Shelly," Kelan said finally. "What did they do to you? God? Cylons?"

"The rumor is they believe in one God," Cally told him.

"So I've heard. But this. My friends. Turned into monsters."

"Actually, this is a good thing," Cally said.

"What? You can't be serious! How can this be good?"

"Now we'll be able to root out the human looking Cylons," she answered. "You have pictures of your friends, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah I do," Kelan said, pulling up the appropriate file. "But it doesn't change the fact that I indirectly caused the deaths of 20 billion people."

"What? How can you say that?"

"Don't you see?" he asked her. "If I had never left Earth then the Cylons would have never found my friends and that person claiming to be God would have never showed up and there would have been no attack on the Colonies."

"You don't know that," Cally told him. "They would have tried again. And their God would have found them anyway."

"Still," Kelan said as he printed out the pictures of his friends. "I don't know if I can live with that."

Cally walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"What's past is past," she told him. "You can't change the past. You can only live for the present and create a better future. You're here with us now and can help us find Earth where we'll be able to fight back against the Cylons."

"If there's even an Earth for me to go back to. No telling what they've done to each other over the past 200 years."

"I don't understand," she said.

"Nothing. It's rather complicated and I'm already getting a headache. Here, you might want to show these to Commander Adama."

"Some of these people look familiar," Cally told him.

"I haven't seen any of them, other than Shelly and my friend Jennifer."

"These two here, I've seen them both," Cally said, pointing out the pictures of two men.

"They built the engines that powered the ship. Good ol' Adam and his friend Leonard. They built the Moon probe, y'know. Well, of course you don't know. But they did. They were working on a hyperlight drive of some sorts before we left. We were going to use it to explore the outer Solar System quicker. I think the prototype is still in the system."

He punched a few keys on the keyboard.

"Yeah, right here it is. Maybe I can get this to working. Might come in handy one day."

"I'd like to help. I don't know much about FTL drives, but I'm good with my hands, I mean, with tools and stuff," Cally told him, slightly flushed.

Kelan nodded, clearly lost in his thoughts.

"Well, I guess I'll go show these to the Commander," she said and rushed off, embarrassed.