Chapter 13 of The Phoenix and The Wolverine.

The Galactica, Medical Bay A...

15 minutes earlier...

Ensign Rogers had just taken his first painkiller when the alarms started. Anyone who was able bodied ran from the medical bay while the viper pilot cursed his bad luck in getting a broken arm.

Then everyone heard the demands of all cylons broadcast on all frequencies.

Hardened soldiers had cried aloud in alarm; but Rogers grabbed his service pistol and took off at a run for detention block 22.

He was a native of Tauron and had watched his home planet destroyed from orbit.

When he heard about Earth; he had prayed everyday to the Lords of Kobol that he would live to see that utopia.

Then he had been stuck on New Caprica; and the dream and hope faded when the cylons occupied their new home.

Hope had lain dormant despite the dramatic rescue; but only flared into life when he saw the two healthy looking teens that ran after Anders as they escaped from a planet which they were supposed to have been checking for edible algae.

Hope had almost died when the insane drunk XO almost killed the two children of the Thirteenth Tribe and hope had still survived even when he saw the claws of the girl called Laura and the abilities Q possessed.

Rogers did not know why he did not fear them.

Maybe it was because of the strong instinct that had made him follow Anders and the teens when Saul took them away; the instinct which warned him that the XO was hiding something.

The same instinct which had screamed that the two teens were really from Earth.

Rogers had to stop running when he faced 8 heavily armed and anxious marines in front of the detention cell.

"Rogers; what the frak is going on?"

"Not sure; but the cylons are here...we have to protect the prisoners."

Corporal Marlen stared at the ensign. "Who the frak put you in charge? Shouldn't you be in a viper..."His voice trailed off when Rogers showed his bandaged left arm.

"Can I talk to them?"

Marlen shook his head firmly. " No can do Ensign; Junior Lieutenant Anders is in charge here. Speak to the Admiral or to Anders; then you can speak to them."

The Ensign hid his surprise at Anders' new rank as he tried to find a way around the marines.

In the end; he gave up as he realized an argument would get him nowhere.

"Okay...can I wait then? In case you need an extra gun?"

The marine looked at his fellow colleagues. The looks of horror on their faces were identical. If centurions boarded the Galactica to get to the two prisoners; they were going to need every man and woman to defend this area.

Their respect for the young ensign before them grew. "I guess it can't hurt."

The Basestar; the CIC...

Caprica watched with her heart in her mouth as the Xavier turned away from the basestar; a part of her marvelled at the way the three vipers moved with it; as if attached while the other part of her was praying for them to go faster.

She was yet to see any ship of that small size withstand a multiple nuke strike.

The number six looked back at her fellow cylons. The command to release nukes had been implemented 40 seconds ago. The strange ship barely had any time to jump.

"Nuclear missiles released."

As she continued to watch; she noticed the Galactica jump; then before the nukes reached their intended target; the Xavier disappeared in streaks of white light. She heard the others swear; while she closed her eyes briefly and sent a thankful prayer to the One God.

Then she turned to face Cavil and Aaron.

She wished she had a gun so that she could give each of them a third eye.

"We have to go after them; they cannot go unpunished..." began Aaron.

"We will do nothing without a vote!" yelled Caprica. Everyone looked at her.

"My fellow cylons; we have just frakked up royally by declaring hostilies against an obviously advanced human tribe ! It's a miracle they did not decide to nuke this basestar as well or else we would all be downloaded at this moment," she turned a murderous look on Cavil and Aaron " not to mention that the first half-cylon hybrid in the history of our race would also be dead as well!"

Silence greeted her words and even Aaron looked shocked at what he had almost caused. Only Cavil continued to glare at her; everyone knew his opinion on the half-cylon child.

"I am the leader of the cylons; you will..."

"Vote on our next line of a action," cut in Boomer; everyone looked at her in surprise; they all knew she was always the first person to back him on any action . The Number One looked at her with an expression of betrayal on his face.

"I agree," stated Leoben "this encounter...has shown we cannot rush in without more facts; because where there is one ship such as that; there will certainly be more of their kind."

Caprica saw most of the cylons swallow nervously when they thought of fighting a fleet of ships like the Xavier.

"So what do we do? Twiddle our thumbs until someone has a bright idea?" asked Cavil harshly.

Leoben looked at him. " We go back to base and come up with a well thought out plan...hopefully they will never find the tracking devices but going after them now would be suicide.

Please indicate 'aye' or 'nay' for this plan."

At the end of the vote; everyone except Cavil agreed that a retreat to the main cylon base was needed in order to prepare for the next encounter.

The Number One glared at each of them; as if imprinting their expressions on his face; then he walked away.

The Xavier; the bridge, deck 1...

Logan released a sigh of relief when the view-screen changed to the now familiar view of stars streaking by.

"Xavier; damage report and status of the colonial crafts we picked up."

"Shield strength back to maximum strength; tractor beams are holding and the colonial ships have not sustained any damage."

The captain nodded; then turned to look at the 5 colonials on the bridge. They were busy staring at the screen.

"What is...that ?" asked Cally in awe.

"Those lines of white light are the stars we're passing by; we currently using the warp drive," said Jean.

"Un-huh," said Kara who was now looking around. She had no idea what the doctor had just said; but already she could see the military implications of the Xavier. Imagine what a dozen of these would do to the entire cylon fleet.

A discreet cough from behind made her turn to see Jean staring at her with her chin cupped in her left hand; while the fingers of the right hand drummed on the console in-front of her.

Kara did not have to be a mind reader to know that the female doctor was closely watching them. She swallowed nervously.

"You're got a pretty impressive ship."

Jean did not say a word. Kara had to remind herself not to think of anything that would land her and the others in the brig. She did not want to experience that strange light again.

That had scared the living daylights out of her.

"Captain; the pilots of the colonials ships wish to communicate."

"Put them on."

"This is Commander Lee Adama...may I speak to Captain Logan ?"

"Speaking," answered Logan.

In his viper; Lee looked at the sleek lines of the strange ship beside him. He could clearly see the name, Xavier written on its side.

"What happens now?"

Logan smiled dryly. A guy who got straight to the point.

"We head for your fleet...don't worry we already know where to go."

Kara turned to him. "How is that possible ?"

"Our crew is still with the Galactica; where ever it goes; we will follow," answered Jean.

"Tracking devices? You put that in your crew ?" asked Nails incredulously.

The captain gave him a thoughtful look. "Not really; we just...know how to look for them. You don't need to know how because it's 'classified'," continued Logan as if he could read the marine's thoughts.

He definitely was not going to tell the colonials that Jean had collected more than two co-ordinates from the mind of the officers in the CIC by using the CMS.

"Captain; we have to go back." Everyone looked at Sharon.

Oh Gods, not now thought Kara; she knew what the cylon was about to say.

"We have to go back and search the remaining basestar for the child you detected."

Logan leaned back in his seat as he folded his arms. Everybody else looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Consider the facts... I hardly know you colonials and you have not actually been forthcoming on any useful intel on the cylons.

So; why the hell would I think of going back to that basestar?"

Sharon looked at him steadily. "Because; she's my daughter."

The CAG's viper...

Lee heard her quite clearly and swore softly under his breath. Had Sharon gone insane ? He quickly opened up another line to Karl.

"Helo; you better speak to Sharon at once."

"Why ? What's wrong?" asked a worried Helo; he had been just about to hail the Xavier before Lee called him.

"She thinks Hera is still alive."

The Xavier; the bridge...

"I hate to say this but...how sure are you about that? Maybe the child's parents are on that basestar we ran away from," said Logan.

Sharon's face assumed a desperate expression. "I know what I'm saying. For decades the cylons tried so many times to reproduce. It didn't work...even when we tried with humans...until Hera. I know it's her. Please we have to go back."

Logan opened his mouth to reply; but another voice beat him to it.

"Sharon baby; it's me Helo, you okay ?"

The cylon tried to hold back her tears. "Helo; they have our baby; we need to go back!"

In his viper; Helo felt tears fill his eyes as well. He tried to hold his composure as he replied.

"Sharon...she's gone. She died the day she was born...we both buried her. You have to let go...please."

Cally felt moisture in her own eyes as she watched the cylon break down; Nails and Longshot looked away embarrassed while Kara and Jean kept staring at Sharon with concern in their eyes.

But Sharon was not ready to drop the topic.

"What if...they lied to us?"

"The Admiral would never lie to us, Sharon," said Helo gently.

Logan raised an eyebrow at that; he was yet to meet any military man he trusted.

"The question is what would he or anyone gain by lying to you ?" said Logan out loud. Everyone looked at him; even the mousy specialist looked outraged at the question.

"Because; everyone saw a half cylon child as a danger to the whole fleet! Even President Roslin suggested I have an early abortion before we realised our unborn child's serum could save her life!" hissed Sharon.

No! We need to go back..." she turned to the captain of the Xavier.

"We can't Lieutenant," he saw the desperate look in her eyes "listen to me...you may not believe me...but I have been where you are now.

I lost someone...I thought she was dead, then...then I found her but I rushed in without getting all the facts; tried to save her...and lost her again." He felt Jean's eyes on him.

"So what do I do now?" asked a forlorn Sharon.

"Simple. Return to the fleet; ask questions and get answers," said Logan with a glint in his eyes.

Sharon looked at him for a long time; then wiped her tears and nodded with a determined light in her eyes. "Thank you Captain."

"Don't mention it," said Logan; he looked a bit uncomfortable. As if he had said too much. He turned to see Jean was still watching him.

In his viper; Helo stared at the ship. He was finding it difficult to find the words to say. 100 percent of him was sure Hera was dead ...but Sharon and Logan's words were reverberating in his head.

What if they had lied to them ?

His mind came back to the present when he heard Ander's voice.

"Eh...this is all very ...em interesting. Can I speak to Kara now ?"

His wife rolled her eyes. "Longshot; I'm fine. We are all fine," then a thought crossed her mind " is Galen with you ?"

Cally looked at her in horror.

"No! The last time I saw him he was running to the engine room of the Galactica as we scrambled for the vipers."

Cally was partly relieved that he was not crazy enough to have jumped into a viper and partly disappointed that he had not done so.

"Okay; back to what I was asking earlier; what's our ETA with the fleet ?" cut in Lee.

In his viper; Anders glared out of his side window at the CAG who he could see flying beside him. The senior officer looked up and returned a similar expression.

Lee was going to have some hard words with both officers when they got back to the fleet.

On the bridge; Logan inclined his head towards the ceiling.

"Xavier; you heard the man; what's the ETA?"

"7 minutes and 34 seconds."

Lee frowned. "That is pretty accurate...who's that?"

"He's the ship's AI," Logan waited when silence followed his answer "you've got a problem with that?"

Lee suddenly saw the strange ship beside him as something that was tremendously dangerous.

The thought of an AI on such an advanced spacecraft was filling him with trepidation.

"Lee; whatever you're thinking of doing...don't!"

The CAG froze at Ander's warning and looked down to see that his finger had been creeping towards the red button that would release a nuke.

"Captain Logan and Jean did not have to save Kara and the others on that planet...but they did; and they did not have to buy the Galactica and the rest of the fleet time by taking on the cylons...so what kind of people will we be if we attack them now?"

Lee suddenly realized he was frozen while his mind screamed he had to destroy the ship.

"Anders is right Lee...also our people are on that ship; if I notice a slight energy build-up on your fighter I will shoot you down," said Helo in a deadly calm voice.

Suddenly he could move again; and the CAG pulled his hand back; he looked behind him. Helo's viper was right behind his. "You...you would really do that?"

"In a heartbeat sir," replied Helo in the same calm voice.

Something in the pilot's expression implied that he was not bluffing.

"Fine...I will keep the peace."

"Glad to hear it bud...however for my peace of mind; I will be keeping a very close eye on your ship," said Logan grimly.

Unbeknownst to the colonials; he had put a transporter lock on Lee, Anders and Agathon. He did not trust them as far as he could throw them.

He looked at Jean.

You didn't pick that up ?

She smiled serenely back at him. "Oh I did dear; who do you think froze this hand ?"

Logan felt a peculiar feeling in his heart at the word 'dear' but tried to hide his surprise but he knew Jean saw right through him.

Kara was watching them with her heart beating rapidly; when Lee had fallen silent she had known he was about to do something stupid.

Like nuke all of them to Hades.

Right now she felt insane gratitude towards Helo and Anders who had managed to talk him out of it and at the same time she wanted to punch Lee's lights out.

What the frak had he been thinking?

The expressions on the faces of the other colonials on the bridge seemed to mirror her thoughts.

Looking at Jean she could see the doctor was not surprised at Lee's words; so why hadn't she acted?

Then Jean turned to look at her and quickly winked.

That startled the viper pilot; maybe the strange doctor had already done something.

"Alright people," Logan's voice brought Kara back to the present " strap in; we'll be with the fleet in..." he looked at the countdown on his console "2.45 minutes."

The Galactica, the CIC...

Admiral Adama steadied himself as they came out of the jump.

"Gaeta; status report!"

"DRADIS shows all the 163 colonial ships accounted for sir...reports from engineering ...we can't jump for the next 45 minutes."

Adama nodded grimly. "Find out which ships were low on fuel; and get some to them. The next time we jump it has to be together."

The Junior Lieutenant nodded before leaving to carry out the order.

Adama turned to face Roslin , Zarek and Saul. "CIC meeting room now."

No one said a word as they followed him into the meeting room. He didn't even object when Tory tagged along.

The door was barely closed before Roslin started talking.

"We need to go back!"

Everyone looked at her in shock.

"What! We just escaped from the Cylons...?" started Zarek

"Which is why we need to send fighter ships back...if that is the Thirteenth Tribe and the co-ordinates of Earth are gotten by the cylons...then all hope is lost."

"So...we're going back to rescue them?" asked Tory.

Roslin's face seemed to age visibly as she replied. " No; we need to destroy the Xavier before it falls into the hands of the cylons."

There was silence before the shouting began anew.

Admiral let it wash over him and he stared at the President. "And what makes you think that's the only ship of its kind out there, Ms President?"

Everyone shut up and looked at him.

"There could be dozens of that class of ship; in contact with one another.

Even if we had a snow ball's chance in Hades of destroying it; where will that leave us with? Especially when they inform their command on who attacked them?!

We and the cylons will then be at war with Earth!"

His words were met with dead silence. Saul looked away remembering when he had suggested killing the two teens in lock up.

"The 13th Tribe that we have been trying to find...and you wish to start a war with them?" asked Adama quietly a second time. Roslin wisely kept silent but could not maintain eye contact.

The Admiral sighed. "I will talk to the teenagers...maybe they have a...certain way of communicating with them..." he never got to finish his sentence as the loudspeakers in his office blared to life.

"DRADIS contact!...Ship of unknown origin...with 3 colonial vipers!"

"They found us," muttered Adama to no one in particular as he raced from the room.

The CIC was buzzing with excitement and hope. Knowing the way gossip spread; Adama was sure the presence of the 13th Tribe had been transmitted to the rest of the colonial fleet.

However Adama had not survived so long by not been cautious and very paranoid.

"How long until we can jump ?"

Gaeta looked at him in surprise. "Em...39 minutes sir...but why?"

"Prepare for emergency jump...just in case Felix; just in case. Has there been any communication from the vipers ?"

Dualla who was anxiously keeping an eye on the radio transmitters began to shake her head when the radio came to life.

"Galactica Actual come in," the crew in the CIC were ready to cheer at the sound of the CAG's voice but a loud cough from an irate looking Adama made every one pretend to concentrate on their work while really concentrating on what was about to take place.

"Commander Adama; what is your situation over ?"

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Captain Agathon and Junior Lieutenant Anders are with me and...the Xavier and its crew wish to exchange our officers for their crew."

Adama frowned as there were confused murmurs around them.

The Admiral felt Lee was been very careful about what he was saying and that meant he was either under duress ...or the something had gone wrong during the jump.

"Lee; is there anything we need to do?" asked Adama bluntly. He ignored the surprised and alarmed looks that came his way.

The CAG looked at the ship beside him; once they came out of 'warp' as the captain had described it; he and the other viper pilots suddenly realized they were free to move away from the ship.

"No yet sir; situation is almost secure; however Captain Logan wishes to speak to you."

Adama felt his unease increase; Lee had just indirectly told him that they had to treat the Captain with extreme caution. But why ?

"Sir! We are fine...that is what Commander Adama is trying to say !"

Adama and Saul shared a look at Anders' irritated voice. Though annoyed with Anders for interrupting a senior officer; his statement had his levels of anxiety going down a bit.

Anders was a rebel and would not back down from a fight; if Kara was in danger he would be the first person to fire a shot or at least warn the fleet.

"Anders! You will stand down..." started Lee angrily.

Then another voice; relaxed, rough and heavy with sarcasm interrupted the argument.

"As much as it amuses me to listen to two grown men act like a pair of spoilt school boys; I must admit that neither of us have time for this.

So pardon me while I interrupt and discuss with Admiral Adama. Feel free to listen in."

"Captain Logan?" asked Adama.

"Yeah...one and the same. Dr Grey and I will be coming in a small shuttle with your crew; I would appreciate it if you have my daughter and the other crew member ready for departure."

Adama felt the blood drain from his face at the word 'daughter.' He felt Saul look at him with horror on his face. While Roslin clung onto a nearby seat for support. Zarek started swearing softly under his breath.

The Admiral was finding it hard to answer.

"Admiral Adama...is there a problem?"

Adama noticed the change from easy going to sharp and alert. The captain knew something was wrong. The admiral quickly found the words to say.

"We will meet you in the main fighter bay and...your crew is well.

Please follow the 3 vipers into the bay."

There was silence for several moments.

"Admiral; we'll be there as soon as we can."

Then Adama realized what he had to do; he started giving new orders to a stunned and dismayed crew.

The Xavier; the Bridge...

Aboard the Xavier; Logan looked at the console with a dark look on his face. He didn't need Jean to tell him that something was seriously wrong.

He looked up to see Jean and the colonials watching him. They had all heard the same thing.

The doctor seemed worried and a bit distracted; Kara and the others looked scared to death; especially Sharon.

He waited for Jean to speak to him telepathically; but there was silence.

"Admiral ; we'll be there as soon as we can."

He turned to the colonials. "Jean will transport you to the shuttle bay."

"With the light ?" asked Cally anxiously.

He sighed. "Yes; it will not hurt; but I cannot let you see the rest of the ship."

Kara nodded; that made a lot of sense. "I guess we have to trust you then?"

"Jean gave her word that you will not be harmed and I intend to follow it to the letter," he looked at the ceiling.

"Xavier please transport our guests and Dr Grey to the shuttle bay, prep the Delta Flyer Beta. I will be along shortly."

"Yes Captain."

"Wait," said Jean softly; she looked at Logan with worried eyes; this time she mind spoke.

"I...be on your guard...I'm very afraid to look...I don't want the Phoenix mad. Laura says she's fine...but she's hiding something."

Logan's eyes narrowed. Something was really wrong.

Ignoring the anxious eyes of the colonials; he nodded slightly. "I promise; I won't be long."

She looked at him once more; then nodded. "Xavier; beam us to the shuttle bay."

Once they were gone; Logan quickly asked the ship to locate Laura and Q Junior; by using her adamantium and the hologram's mobile emitter

"The sensors are having difficulty pinpointing the location of Laura and Q due to the recent activation of jamming frequencies from the bridge of the Galactica."

Logan's lips were set in a thin line. "How recently was the activation?"

"92 seconds ago."

The captain resisted the urge to swear. "Can you deactivate the jamming frequency or work around it ?"

"Unable to undertake this activity without the input and assistance of Q Junior."

"Who just happens to be a hostage on the Galactica, brilliant!" growled Logan.

Logan finally ordered the ship to maintain a full shield and allow access to the ship to only him, Jean, Laura and Q Junior.

Then with a firm resolve he left the bridge.

Shuttle bay...

Jean materialized first before the colonials; they all had their eyes widely shut and only peeked out when they realized they were back on a solid floor.

"See? You made it in one piece; let's wait for the captain while Xavier retrieves your weapons."

Before anyone could say a word; there was a flash of light and the weapons of the five colonials appeared in a heap before them. They looked at her in surprise.

"You may put them on...I can always put you asleep if I had too," she warned them in a calm detached voice.

That unnerved them even more; when they first met Jean she had seemed the friendly of the two; always trying to put them at ease even when warning them.

But; right now Jean was not concerned about their feelings.

There had been something in the Admiral's voice when he last spoke. Like a man about to face a firing squad.

Something had happened while Laura and Q Junior had been with them. Her only reassurance was that she knew they were okay as she had informed Laura that they had arrived and the teen had seemed eager to leave.

The Phoenix wanted to know and was getting very restless; Jean was hoping and praying that the restlessness did not turn to blinding rage.

They small group did not have long to wait; as Logan walked into the shuttle bay. He took one dark look at their weapons then glanced at Jean who gave him a little smile

"You didn't use the light?" asked Kara in surprise.

"I had something to do," said Logan as he gave a small circular object to Jean; she looked at him for a few moments as if inquiring silently.

Then she pinned the metallic object above her left breast. It was perfectly circular and had an 'X' in the middle.

The captain had a similar one over the left side of his chest.

"After me," said Logan as he opened the shuttle and walked into the craft. The five turned to see Jean pointing into the spacecraft.

They did not know it then; but when they looked back on this moment they realized that even though they had their weapons back. A clearly unarmed female medical doctor such as Jean still made them very anxious.

They were beginning to learn not to underestimate her.

Once they entered; Jean followed them in.

Battlestar Galactica, Main Flight deck...

Anders guided his viper in after Helo and packed as quickly as he could. The small shuttle from the Xavier had been following slowly ; thus giving them time to land.

When Anders got out of his craft; he started swearing under his breath.

The fighter landing bay was packed with marines who were armed to the teeth. The Admiral and the Gods damn XO were also present.

What stunned him the most was that the President and Vice President were also present. However from the glances the Admiral was giving her; he was not too keen to have her there either.

Anders barely looked when Lee's fighter came in; he walked up to the Admiral and stood at attention. "Sir."

"Anders; Helo," said Adama as the second officer joined them "I don't want to hear it. If you wish to see your wives; stay to one side quietly or take yourselves to the brig."

The two men took one look at the angry admiral and stood next to Galen who looked very nervous. The three then watched as the CAG hurried over to his father and whispered several words urgently to him.

Anders felt his heart sink when he saw the expression on Admiral Adama's face darken even more.

Lee must have told him about the AI on board the Xavier; Anders' eyes slid over all the marines in the fighter bay.

Most of them looked confident; Anders wondered if they had seen what the Xavier had done to the basestar. He looked at Helo; his expression mirrored his.

This had the potential to go very wrong.

A gasp of wonder had the two viper pilots looking with the others to the entrance into the fighter bay. A strange craft began to creep slowly into the main fighter bay. It was obviously well maintained; triangular in shape; a bit smaller than a raptor but bigger than a viper.

There was where the resemblance ended.

The ship appeared to glide into the bay; there were no obvious sign of weapons ; the rear nacelles were barely glowing for it was operating on impulse power.

It's side wings glowed slightly red and everyone could see two people who sat in the front cockpit.

It kept slowing down; then settled softly to the deck; 12 feet from the nearest person. Not a sound was heard throughout its entry.

Anders risked a quick look at all the armed marines and a good number of them were beginning to look a bit worried.

The side door slowly opened by lifting up and a stair came down.

Anders heard a lot of clicks as weapons near him were shifted from the safety mode.

"This is madness," muttered Helo anxiously. Anders could only nod while Galen looked at them with increasing worry on his face.

In a few seconds; a man stepped out of the craft; weapons came up.

"Hold," commanded Adama in his baritone voice.

The man came down; not in any apparent hurry. He had on a dark brown leather jacket with yellow bands on each arm; over a black t-shirt on black jeans and black combat boots.

He looked about 5'9; stocky muscular build; with oddly shaped black hair and similarly coloured side burns.

He walked to the front of the ship and looked at the marines with their weapons and the entire bay before settling his calm gaze on the Admiral and the people close to him. His hands hung loose.

"Admiral Adama; I'm Captain Logan. Your crew is right behind me," as if on cue someone else appeared on the steps from the shuttle.

It was Starbuck.

Anders had to restrain himself from not yelling.

"Lieutenant Thrace, are you okay?" asked Adama in a booming voice.

She smiled her usual cocky grin. "Never better sir and I've got the others with me." She turned back to the inside of the ship and said something.

Soon all 5 missing colonials were out and standing by Captain Logan; Kara looked at him.

"After you Lieutenant," he said with a slight bow and a small smile as another woman came out and stood behind the colonels.

She nodded and motioned for the others to walk ahead of her; Cally, Nails and Hotdog started walking towards the Admiral. For some reason Sharon hung back a bit looking at the woman beside the captain.

"Athena" called Helo in a slightly shaky voice; he could not help himself. Saul shot him a look that could melted steel.

But the officer's voice had her turning back to her husband; she looked back once more then walked towards the marines.

Adama let the five colonials re-unite with the crew then turned back to the two visitors who were still standing beside their spacecraft.

"This is Dr Jean Grey; our chief medic," Logan paused before continuing in a calm voice "your crew has now been returned; where's ours ?"

Adama looked at him for several moments. "We appreciate the return of our crew...you will have to come with us for a discussion in private."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Is that a polite request or an offer we can't refuse?"

The Admiral paused at the framing of the question." It would be best if you comply before we take action."

Then all the marines levelled weapons as them and 10 of them started walking towards the two visitors who still remained calm.

Kara who was beside her husband looked at Adama in surprise.

"Sir! No wait..." she never got to finish her sentence as all the weapons carried by all the colonials in the bay suddenly flew out of their hands and holsters amid cries of alarm.

Admiral Adama's jaw dropped as the weapons including his reached a short distance above the shuttle with the barrel of the guns or tapered end of fighting knives pointing towards the ceiling. Then the weapons begin to rotate in a suspended circle.

Logan waited for them to observe the twirling mass of accumulated weapons which appeared to be held and suspended by an invisible force. His sensitive nose picked up the increased sweating done by some very nervous marines.

He had to give them credit; no one had crapped in their pants yet.

"Now that I have your undivided attention; where the hell is my crew ?"

Adama tried to stare steadily back at them despite getting paler at the sight of the suspended weapons.

He was thinking of how fast he could get more marines down there and if there was a way of safely spacing the two visitors without any harm to the President and the Vice President.

Then the lady called Dr Jean Grey looked at him and he had the strong urge to look away. Her clear eyes seemed to look deep into his soul.

"Admiral Adama; ask Kara how easy it was for us to toss a dozen centurions in the air. Trust me when I say living tissue weighs so much less."

Adama looked quickly at Starbuck who nodded slowly. "Sir; with all due respect...they don't like been frakked with."

Now Adama knew how serious it was. Kara had an annoying habit of swearing even in the presence of other superior officers but she had never sworn in his presence and for her to do it now showed how scared she was.

And hardly anything scared her.

"Admiral Adama; if we have to go through your ship...room by room; layer by layer to find them. We will and it's bound to lead to casualties," said Logan in a calm causal voice.

The admiral stared at him. When he first heard Logan's voice he had pictured a fighter and that was what was looking at him.

Then again the girl was his daughter; he sounded like he was ready to kill to get her and the other crew member back.

"Junior Lieutenant Anders." The viper pilot looked at his commanding officer with fear on his face. "Get them down here now."

As the pilot hurried away he heard the CAG protesting.

"Sir! We can't..."

"Not now," cut in Saul Tigh as he watched the two people before them "Lee; this is definitely not the time."

The CAG took one look at the nervous pale expression on the XO's voice and he shut up.

Detention Block 22...

Anders tried to run faster; he did not know what Laura's father was capable of.

Frak! He was her father; when he heard Logan mention the relationship; he almost crapped in his pants. He tried to think of a way to salvage this first contact situation but nothing came to mind.

After what seemed like an eternity; he reached the detention block.

His eyes widened when he saw who was waiting with the nervous looking marines.

"Buck! What are you doing out of the infirmary?"

The ensign gave him a wry grin. "News on the vine is that the cylons are in town; so everyone who could walk and carry a piece cleared out from the medbay. What's going on?"

"There's no time to explain, however we got away from the cylons with a lot of help" he looked at the marines "but now we're moving Laura and Q to the main fighter bay."

"Why?" asked Rogers with a hard look on his face " they have done nothing wrong!"

Anders stared at him. "Her parents are here and they want her and Q in the fighter bay now."

Roger's anger was replaced by surprise. He could tell Anders was not lying but that something else was terribly wrong. His instinct was warning him to go with Anders.

He dimly heard the viper pilot explain to the marines what was going on.

"You will be needing an escort sir,"stated the lead marine.

Anders was shaking his head. "No...I think that will make things worse."

"I'm coming with you," said Rogers surprising the viper pilot.

"Buck; you do not want to be involved...this has the potential to get really frakked up."

Rogers shrugged. "I'm still coming pal...I need to see them."

Anders looked at him for a few seconds; he wanted to ask the viper pilot why but part of him realized that they were running out of time.

"Fine, may the Gods help us all."

Laura and Q looked up when the two pilots came into their cell.

"Hi," said Rogers anxiously.

The girl's eyes were drawn to the younger pilot's left forearm.

"How's the arm?"

"Emmm...it's okay; hurts a bit..." stammered Rogers; something was off about these two. They were so calm.

"Laura; Q. Your parents are here," interrupted Anders. The look of calm was replaced by surprise on the faces of the two teens.

"What?" they both said.

"Captain Logan and Dr Grey?" clarified Anders.

The expression on Q Junior's face changed to one of relief. "Oh boy; for one second I thought you meant my r...," a warning look from Laura had him shutting up.

Laura turned back to the two men. "Captain Logan is my...father but Dr Grey is kind of our guardian," she stood up and her blanket fell to the floor.

Then she noticed the three males in the cell were staring at her before turning away to stare at the walls of the cell with reddened faces.

"What now?"

"Em...your top is kinda torn in several places," said Q Junior in a nervous voice.

Laura looked down and saw that her t-shirt was badly torn and only her underlying dark blue sports bra was relatively intact. Now she understood their embarrassment and she felt her own face heat up.

"Then; someone get me a bloody jacket," ordered Laura in a growl.

The main fighter bay...

Adama found himself praying as he waited for Anders to return. He wanted to speak to fill in the silence but for some reason there was nothing to say.

The whole bay was as silent as a tomb as they watched the weapons twirling in the air. The only good thing was that none of them were pointed at the colonials.

Yet.

He knew things would change once they saw Laura and Q; he could bet his next rationed meal on that. He had to say something.

"Captain Logan...are you from Earth?"

Adama looked at Roslin in shock. Why did she have to ask that now ?
The grey eyed man looked at her. "Yes and you are ?"

Silence was broken by anxious murmurs.

"Quiet," barked Saul Tigh. Logan stared at him for a brief moment before concentrating on Roslin.

"Then...then we are your brothers and sisters. We should be discussing this in a ...more appropriate location...not like this."

Logan tilted his head to one side as he looked at her. " Your people seem to have a knack for avoiding questions. I have been introduced sort of to Admiral Adama but you...I have no idea who you are or where you're from."

His soft rebuke made her go red in the face.

"My apologies," she gestured weakly to the rotating floating weapons " it's not every day that we see something like that. I'm Laura Roslin; the President of the 12 Colonies."

"Well ma'am; it's not every day we get greeted with marines aiming loaded weapons at us after we rescue and return lost crew. Especially when we also helped you escape."

Roslin tried to smile. "I can assure you...that there are very good reasons for our reactions."

Logan laughed drily. "Oh; I'm sure there are always plausible reasons for shooting first and sending flowers later."

Zara felt quilt as she watched the President's face redden in embarrassment.

"You will show respect to the President , Captain," barked Lee. Starbuck shut her eyes in frustration; the CAG still did not realize that Logan was a very dangerous man.

The captain looked at the CAG. "Respect ? Just like you did when you wanted to nuke my ship?! It was only the words of your own people that stopped you!"

It was the turn of everyone to stare in shock at the CAG; his face was red from shame and anger.

"Of cause I did ! Afterall you have an..."

"Commander Lee, take five!" barked the Admiral. His son turned to him but his father's brown steel gaze had him obeying.

Before anymore could be said; they heard voices.

"Coming through; make a hole people," ordered a male voice. The marines parted to show two teenagers and two viper pilots.

Logan's eyes narrowed when he saw what Laura was wearing. She had on what looked like a flyer's jacket, zipped up in the front. Q was still wearing the same outfit that Logan and Jean last saw before they had gone down to that cursed planet.

However both teenagers looked like they were trying to hide their anxiety.

"Laura, Q. You okay?" called Logan as the two left their escorts and walked towards them.

"Yeah, yeah," said Laura as she tried for a causal tone " what took you so long old man?"

The captain looked suspiciously at them as they got closer.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked with a growl; he ignored the increased smell of terror that was coming from a man on the right side of the Admiral.

"Nothing," chorused the two teenagers.

Logan stared at Laura and Q; the two were lying and he could tell; he opened his mouth to speak.

"Laura, Q, get into the shuttle now," interrupted Jean in an odd, creepy voice.

The two teens took one look at her face and quickly walked into the shuttle. She watched them go; then turned to the Admiral and his people; the increased gasps of fear had Logan looking up to see that the position of the weapons had changed.

Jean had aligned everyone of the weapons in a straight horizontal line and all of them had the business end pointing at the large group of marines; the admiral and the president.

"Jean, what..." began Logan in a worried voice.

"I want someone to tell me what you did to Laura and Q Junior," asked Jean in a hard cold voice. The acrid smell of faeces told Logan that some marines had finally crapped in their pants.

The strange thing was that Jean was totally in control but livid.

A small part of Logan wanted to ask her to stand down; but another part was very, very upset. He had only known less than 2 months ago that Laura was his daughter.

Maybe not in the usual way but she was his blood; his responsibility.

And even if Q Junior was just a computer program; he still seemed like a kid.

But Logan knew Laura had probably endured much more pain than the hologram.

The jacket she wore was 2 sizes too big; a man's jacket from the smell. Something bad had happened.

The two mutants waited as the silence grew; then a one-eyed man who stood beside the Admiral made as if to step forward and the man called Adama held him back and shook his head slightly.

A young soldier with a bandaged left forearm had looked at the Admiral and saw what took place; he turned back to the two people from Earth and took two steps forward before anyone could say a word.

"Em...Dr Grey, Captain Logan...I'm Ensign Billy Buck Rogers," Jean swung her angry gaze in his direction. Rogers' knees almost gave way at the intensity of her gaze.

"We were on a planet some hours ago...and Laura and Q saved our lives and also...treated our people while we were in transit to the fleet.

They saved a lot of people ma'am, sir," he paused and swallowed nervously before continuing.

"Something...something happened when we got back to the fleet...we...I did not act fast enough...I take responsibility for not been quick enough sir and ma'am."

Behind him he could hear Anders saying 'no'. Rogers lifted his right hand to stop him without turning round.

"I am terribly sorry...so sorry. But...we need your help...we are the last of our people. Please," he stopped talking; unsure of what next to say.

Jean scrutinized him for an eternity; then to everyone's relief the weapons dropped to float a metre above the floor in-front of the shuttle.

She ignored the sighs of relief and continued to focus on Rogers.

"Ensign; what you just did...is the act of an honourable man," she turned the gaze onto the Admiral; the CAG; the President and the one-eyed man "something some of you lack." She looked at Logan and spoke in a quieter voice.

"We need to discuss this after we get Laura and Q back on the Xavier. We better leave now...before I lose it."

Logan looked at her and knew she had found out what had occurred to Laura and Q; and that had almost made her lose her control of her emotions.

It showed how far she had come in not disintegrating everyone in the bay; but it was best if he did not tempt fate. He nodded and moved to follow her.

"Wait, will you not help us?" asked President Roslin.

The captain stared at her and marvelled at her audacity. "Ma'am; considering how I'm feeling right now...you don't want to hear my answer."

Everyone watched with increasing anxiety as the door to the shuttle closed; then the weapons dropped to the floor with a clatter as the shuttle silently reversed at 20 times the speed it used to glide in. There were gasps of astonishment as it rapidly sped away.

The marines hesitantly went to collect their weapons.

Anders and Kara walked up to Rogers. "You did good man; really good. But I think we really pissed them off. They are not going to come back."

To the couple's surprise, Rogers was shaking his head while staring at the pile of weapons that the colonials were still nervously sorting out.

"NO...you're wrong. They will be back."

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Hi everyone; thanks so much for your help and suggestions.

I have started using place and location as Dur'id the Druid suggested= thanks pal! Thanks okay for everyone for reading and reviewing.

Have a great weekend everyone and please read and review.