Chaptet 18 of the Phoenix and The Wolverine
The Void; somewhere in Q-space...
The General stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched the parents of Q Junior leave the Xavier.
He had been a millisecond away from reversing all that the young Q had accomplished.
Until the Phoenix walked in and looked at the parents directly.
The fact that she was that aware of them when even their offspring could not detect them was...very interesting.
General Q stood in the same place for several moments as he watched the Colonials; the crew of the Xavier and Q Junior's parents.
This whole mess was the fault of the boy's parents; right from day one they should have trained their child properly.
But instead they let him run amok.
The General was sure the boy would fail. Part of him wanted that to happen so that the child would learn from his mistakes and thus approach 'intervention' with extreme caution when he was much older.
However; a part of him wanted him to succeed because he knew firsthand what failure could do to the psyche of a Q.
It could lead to widespread disaster.
The General's trail of thoughts were cut short when his senses picked up something that was...wrong.
With a wave of his hand; he removed the scenes showing the colonial fleet; the Xavier crew and Q Junior's parents.
The wrongness intensified as he searched for the source; in time and space.
Ah. There it is.
It was a single small temporal disturbance in space.
It did not take long for the Q to find it's location; as for the cause; he already knew who was at fault.
With his lips set in a firm hard line he lifted his right hand to repair it...then he paused.
This was exactly what he had been afraid of; but if he repaired it without showing it to the party that caused it...the lesson would not be learnt.
The General stared at the defect. It was small but given a lot of time could develop into something disastrous.
But someone had to bear witness; someone had to learn from this mishap that could have been prevented.
And he knew who had to see it before it was repaired.
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The Xavier; Crew quarters...
An alarm electronic clock went off; it bleeped for several seconds before a hand touched the sensitive screen thus silencing it.
Jean woke up gradually and for several moments she wondered where she was.
Then it all came to her in a rush.
Seven hours ago Logan and Q Junior had returned from the Galactica; before the Xavier jumped to the new co-ordinates to rejoin the Colonial Fleet.
She and Laura had retired to their respective quarters for much needed rest but Jean had only been asleep for a few hours and had woken up when the Phoenix warned her that they had uninvited guests in engineering.
Q Junior was in there working.
Jean had scrambled for the door without wasting any more time. Asking Xavier to scan the ship would have been pointless because she knew the ship would not detect the two powerful new minds now on board the vessel.
On getting nearer to the engine room she and the Phoenix had reached out to the 'intruders'; what she sensed almost made her stumble.
Q's parents were the intruders; the father was worried while the mother was very angry.
Meanwhile Q Junior was unaware his parents were in the same room as him.
We would not want to be on his mum's bad side.
Jean nodded as she listened to the Phoenix's advice; for her to be worried was not to be taken lightly.
The telepath had gathered up her courage and entered the engine room.
What followed next was her ordering Q Junior to get some sleep while she passed on a telepathic message to the 'parents'.
The look of surprise on their faces had been priceless; they had no idea she could sense them.
Well; they do now said the Phoenix drily.
Jean sat up and 'spread' her senses; after a few minutes she was sure there were only 3 other minds on board.
Logan; Laura and Q Junior.
It was only after she realized he was not a hologram that she had tried harder and was with the Phoenix's help able to go beyond the psychic barrier that surrounded Q Junior.
She couldn't read his mind completely but she could tell when he was truthful. So far he had not lied to them and she didn't think he would do so out of spite or with intention to harm them.
Anyway; she had decided not to tell Logan about the parents' visit; he was already highly strung; no need to add to the tension.
Jean stood up and stretched; 4 more hours until the next meeting with the Colonials. She had to get ready; there was a lot to talk about.
As she passed her personal data padd; the screen lit up and was flashing a yellow light. She picked up the device with a frown then it changed to one of recognition when she realized what it was.
The download from her tricorder; which had contained the holographic message from the ruins.
It was no surprise that she had forgotten about it; the last few hours had been hectic.
"Do I really need to read or watch this now?" she said out loud.
She looked at the flashing yellow icon; Xavier had fully translated the message and it was waiting to be read.
The Colonials and Cylons were at war; both of the factions had been after whatever was hidden in that temple. What if it was what she held in her hand?
"I need some coffee first," said Jean as she made her decision.
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Laura walked briskly down the corridor which led to Engineering.
According to Xavier; Q Junior was in there. She wondered how much paper work he had generated and if he had got any rest.
She was still upset with him and Logan for not allowing her to come along; but she understood the reason for their caution.
However the next outing they had; she was definitely going to be part of the away team.
The door slid open when she got to engineering; walking further into the chamber she saw him bent over a metal table which had paper on it.
Right next to him was a trio of 4 foot-high pile of bound folders which were resting on 3 mobile-grav platforms.
"Hi Laura, " said Q Junior as he turned round briefly to greet her before going back to his work.
"Hi ya," she walked over to the neatly arranged piles "I'm impressed; you got all this ready in such a short time. Did you even take a break?"
Q Junior grinned as he completed one more folder.
"I couldn't have done it without Xavier," he looked up at the ceiling "thanks bud."
"You're welcome Q."
"Way to go X," said Laura approvingly.
"Thanks for the compliment Laura," replied the computer.
Q Junior continued speaking as he kept working. "By the by; Dr Grey ordered me to rest as well. I got up an hour ago."
"Oh," said Laura guiltily; she had not realized he had needed someone to advise him to rest.
She quickly picked up one of folders and flipped through the glossy pictures which showed parts of Earth's history. She closed it and looked at the writing on the binding.
'This folder only contains what happened from the year 2360 to 2370 AD."
"Uh huh; and this one I have just completed is from 2370 to 2382.
Captain Logan ordered me to give them all of 'Earth's history'; that means everything of each country and region of Earth.
Earth has seven continents and hundreds of countries; thousands of cultures and just as many religions. As you already know each of those countries had their own individual governments before the Earth Central Government was created a few centuries ago."
"Shit," said Laura as she realized the scope of the work.
"Not the exact word I would have chosen to describe the enormity of this assignment; but you get the idea."
"And this is all of it?" asked Laura in surprise as she pointed at the piles of folders.
"Not really; this is 'barely' a summary of the history of Earth with a brief mention of the members of the Federation. If I tried to compile the history of all the members of the Federation and its enemies; this room would not be big enough" he pulled out a data padd "however this will contain the entire history of Earth and the Federation. I'll take this with me and simply ask if they want it as well."
Laura smiled dryly. "Good luck with that; but the Colonial President also wanted to know specifically how Earth is currently been governed."
Q nodded. "True; but; before she can understand that; she needs to know your history."
"That kinda makes sense," Laura looked at the chronometer on her wrist " we better get down to the bridge. It's almost time."
"Sure," said Q as he put the last folder on the nearest pile before attaching a trans-locater on each mobile grav-platform.
"Xavier; please transport the folders to the shuttle bay."
"Yes Q Junior."
The files and platforms disappeared in a myriad of colours as the transporters de-materialized the objects.
"Shall we?" said Q Junior with a smile as he indicated for Laura to go before him.
She snorted and passed him but could not hide the smile his simple action caused. Q Junior found himself following her with a bounce in his steps.
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Deck One; the Bridge...
Logan took a sip of his extra strong coffee; he closed his eyes briefly to savour the simple bitterness of the beverage. Earlier on he had smoked his first cigar in 4 days. Usually he tried to smoke in the holosuites especially when he saw Jean giving him disapproving looks and also when Laura had seemed to eye his cigars as if she wanted to try it.
So once everyone had left the bridge; he had his cigar while he kept his eye on the colonials.
He bloody well deserved a smoke.
Logan hadn't slept. Someone had to be awake and on watch especially with the Colonials so close to the ship. He had seen the way the marines had eyed the shuttle.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that they would love to take the advanced ship apart and learn how it worked.
How much more the Xavier ?
He looked at the sensor logs. The colonials had kept their distance; however the number of 'raptors' patrolling the immediate vicinity of the Galactica had doubled.
His train of thoughts were interrupted when the side doors slid open to reveal Dr Grey. She had a data padd in her right hand and a thoughtful frown on her face.
"Good morning." According to the chronometer it was 0421hrs.
She opened her mouth to speak; then paused and sniffed the air.
"Logan," she started with a growl.
"I...," he took one look at her face then turned to the ceiling " Xavier; please ventilate the area."
"Yes Captain."
Logan could have sworn the computer sounded amused.
"Happy now ?"
"Definitely," said Jean through gritted teeth "anyway; where are the others ?"
"Must be on their way," said Logan as he put down his coffee "why; is something wrong ?"
Before Jean could reply the doors to the bridge slid as Laura and Q Junior walked in.
"Good; you're here," said Jean before the teens greeted her.
Laura picked up on the tension in her voice. "Is there a problem ?"
"No...well I sure hope not. I need to discuss with you and Q Junior about what Logan and I found in the ruins on that planet."
"Yeah; I forgot all about the message we found," said the Captain.
Q Junior's face went still. "What message ?"
Jean looked at him. " You know nothing of this ?"
He shook his head.
"For a Q who can move through time and space; your knowledge is sorely lacking," said Logan.
The boy glared at him. "And I'm sure you recall sir that I no longer have those abilities.
Before if I needed to know something I went and browsed through that period but even then; due to how the Colonials disregarded the Q's warnings; my contact with them was supervised and limited."
"Yet; you still want to help them," said Logan dryly.
Q sighed. "Yeah; you may not believe me but...I still do."
"Alright boys; let's focus on other things," said Jean before Logan said something that would make her kick him.
"Q; I have a few questions," Jean looked at Q Junior.
The boy gave her a wary look.
"Relax; I know you have not had time to fully update us on what you know about the colonials; but I want to know what happened on Kobol; why did the Tribes leave ?"
Q Junior stared at her for a while before he replied.
" A very long time ago...we are talking more than 20 millennia ago there was a planet called Kobol. It had 12 humanoid tribes which were ruled by 'the Lords of Kobol'.
They worshiped these 'Lords' and for a time everyone seemed content.
To a casual observer; they seemed to exist in perfect harmony with their 'Gods'.
Then the humans became quite advanced; learnt about space travel and were also able to create artificial life-forms...who later evolved to look almost human...like the current cylons."
Logan raised an eyebrow but wisely kept silent.
Q Junior sighed. "The usual occurred; the 12 tribes abused their creation and a war started...the Lords of Kobol told each of the tribes and the cylons to leave when they got tired of watching them kill each other.
As for the Lords...no one knows what happened to them after the expulsion; but I think they are around...somewhere.
The expulsion from Kobol effectively ended the war ; there was a Truce but the Lords refused to change their minds.
So the 12 human tribes settled near Kobol while the race of sentient machines or 'cylons' took a different path.
As history became distorted through time the cylons were given the name ' The Thirteenth Tribe' and because of the war they had with their...creators they decided to settle very, very far from them."
Laura whistled. "So the colonials don't realize the Thirteenth Tribe are robots?" Q Junior nodded
"Oh this is priceless!"
"What happened next ?" Logan.
"Better yet; let me show you it will explain why there are two Earths."
Jean tilted her head. "That was to be my second question."
"I know," said Q Junior with a small smile as he touched the screen on the data padd he was carrying then placed it in a viewing slot on one of the consoles.
"Xavier translated the message from Ancient Latin to Federation Standard," announced Jean as she watched for Q's reaction.
Laura and Logan stared at her in surprise; Q Junior just nodded.
"That doesn't surprise you" continued Jean to the hologram. It was not a question.
Laura folded her arms. "Hold up...The Thirteenth Tribe spoke ancient Latin? How is that possible?"
The three of them looked at Q Junior.
"The Lords of Kobol visited your planet many millennia ago for a brief period before returning to their region of space ...and also...some members of the Thirteenth Tribe landed on your Earth in the past 3.5 millennia and settled there permanently."
Logan stared at him. "Run that by me again."
"Your history which dates back more than 5 millennia has tales or legends of powerful beings descending to earth in their balls of light." Q Junior pressed a few symbols on his data padd.
A holographic projection showed the ancient pyramids of Egypt and of the Mayan civilization.
"Some of those beings or aliens may have been worshipped as Gods or created their own civilizations."
Next was projected the ruins of Ancient Rome and Greece.
"Ancient Latin was the main language of the Romans who were also known as the Road builders and in their region of the world they were the most technological advanced which contributed a lot to expanding their empire."
"Outstanding," said Logan dryly "so the Romans were descendents of the Thirteenth Tribe and the Lords of Kobol. You got any proof kid ?"
Q Junior looked at the holograms for a while before turning to the small audience. "When I could still time travel; my dad showed me 13 tribes leaving Kobol; this happened approximately 4000 years ago.
Then roughly a few centuries later; a large number of ships entered this region of space; hence the ruins on the planet you found.
They stayed there for a while; repairing and restoring their aged ships; built the Temple; then they left again and after a long journey...the fleet reached your solar system.
A small group of ships left them and landed on your world 3.5 millennia ago. The odd thing is that they destroyed their vessels and technology and intermarried with the local human population."
Silence greeted his words; he continued.
"The larger group travelled much further before settling on a planet they also called Earth. This is roughly 3 millennia ago...give or take a few centuries.
I'm afraid that's the only proof I have."
Logan's gaze was very suspicious; he opened his mouth to speak.
"And that will do Q. I believe you," said Jean firmly. The captain turned to find her glaring at him.
"It kinda makes a lot of sense but what does this info have to do with what you found in the ruins ?" asked Laura as she indicated the padd in Jean's hands.
The doctor stared at it for several seconds; what Q Junior had just told her was beginning to make a lot of sense but there were so many questions she had to think through.
"I think...it's time we watched the message." She gave the padd to Q Junior.
He deactivated his own padd and attached hers to the viewing slot.
Within a few moments the message began to play.
The five robed and hooded figures walked into the podium. The last two were arguing bitterly.
"Some pilot you are ! You almost killed us with that last landing!"
"Well; we survived it didn't we? However it would have been a lot smoother if you hadn't frakked up the calculations in the first place."
The 4th person turned to confront the last person. "Oh so now it's my fault?! Unbelievable; you are the most stupid person I have ever..."
"Antorria and Sauren this is not the time," roared a familiar voice.
The two stopped speaking at once.
"We have much more important things to worry about...besides any landing you can walk away from is a pretty good one," continued the rough voice in a calmer tone.
One of the robed hooded figures sighed.
"Then why are we here ? I thought the plan was to get to the Colonies the quickest way possible."
The first person raised his hand in a placating gesture. "In due time but we need to leave a message in-case any survivors follows us from Earth."
"I sincerely doubt anyone else is left Paul," said one of the four in an anxious voice.
He ignored the comment and the worried looks the remaining four people gave him as he moved to the single podium in the big room. He laid his right hand in the palm-print and there was a slight ringing noise for a few seconds.
"That's odd...it was already recording."
The second hooded figure nodded his head earnestly. " Must have been set off when we walked into the chamber...it's a wonder it's still working after a thousand years," the figure lifted his head to look around the chamber.
"Our ancestors built things to last," said the second hooded figure ; the voice sounded feminine.
"Well...we might as well get started," said the leader " who wants to go first ?"
The others looked at each other; then the 4th person sighed and stepped up closer to the podium; she removed her hood revealing a pretty woman with raven curly shoulder length locks and light brown skin.
"My name is Antorria Foster; I'm a scientist and we...,"her voice almost broke "we may be the last of our people; the Thirteenth Tribe.
A war started when our centurions challenged our authority and asked that we regard and treat them as equals.
We responded by restricting their autonomy and self awareness...in fact reducing their intelligence with forceful reprogramming.
It didn't work and in one single day they turned our own orbital planetary defense against us," She shook her head and laughed bitterly "we should never have had nukes put in space in the first place!"
She covered her face as tears began to fall. One of the tall figures stepped forward and out a comforting arm around her shoulder.
The figure looked up and pulled back his hood to reveal Caucasian features.
"I'm Dr Tyre Galenius; engineer and scientist...most of our people settled on Earth more than a millennia ago. They and the other 12 Tribes had left Kobol in order to better the lives of the people," he paused looking very uncomfortable "or so the scriptures tell us...but what we're left with is the awful truth that if one does not learn from history...it's bound to happen time after time.
Some legends states that Kobol was where we lived with our Gods who had created us...but in time there was distrust which led to war among the children of the Gods...thus the Thirteenth Tribe left... leaving our angry siblings behind," he sighed " you won't find that in the Books of Kobol for that is heresy.
I don't know what happened on Kobol...I don't think any one will ever find out but we need to get to the 12 Colonies and warn them of what happened here...it's the least we can do to prevent a repeat of such genocide."
Tyre turned and nodded for the next person to speak.
The figure drew his hood back to reveal a man with dark brown curly hair and brown eyes; he looked tired.
"I'm Dr Sauren.T. Anderson, fellow researcher and scientist...I agree with what Antorria and Tyre just said...nukes in space was stupid and history repeats itself if one is not careful.
There were so many warning signs which many of us did not take seriously," he turned to look at Antorria.
"If not for Antorria's warning from a ...mysterious person I don't think any of us would have made it out," he paused " I think we're the last of our people...I hope not but no one else listened to us when we tried to speak to the ones in charge.
Right now I'm envying the 'Naturalists' who left the fleet thousands of years ago before our ancestors landed on Earth...they probably had the right idea when they decided to 'leave' all their tech in the past.
I guess we will never know, " he was quiet for a while "right now I am the last of my family; I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that my race has been made extinct by the very things we created to serve us; the centurions."
His fists tightened with anger; then he forced himself to relax. "I've got nothing else to say," he said in a subdued tone.
He walked back to stand with Antorria and Tyre who patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.
The person beside Paul walked forward and removed the hood a slim woman with short blonde hair; weary lines were etched around her eyes.
"I'm Dr Hellena Tighris; my husband and I," she looked at Paul " and the others had been researching on how our ancestors survived the long journey through space before settling on Earth.
They used the Resurrection Technology to survive the Great Crossing...then they settled on Earth; began to reproduce naturally and the knowledge was lost.
This research started out as a notable historical attempt to recreate what our ancestors had done on Kobol and on those ships...little did we know that it would save us five.
I too believe that we are the last survivors," she looked her husband with a compassionate look " no matter how much Paul wants to believe otherwise. However we have a duty to perform...we have to warn our brothers and sisters of the 12 Tribes...they have the same knowledge we left with...the knowledge passed on to us by the Lords of Kobol.
Any creation needs to be treated with respect...especially AIs; for they emulate their creators and thus the potential for greatness or profound destruction is high.
We are living proof of what can go wrong." She paused for several moments; it was clear she was also trying to control her emotions. "I have nothing else to say."
He husband nodded ; pulled down his hood and kissed her on the forehead; then turned to face the podium
"I'm Professor Paul Tighris, historian and researcher...the others are right...we're probably the last of our people...so why am I recording this?
Maybe...maybe it's to leave a legacy and a warning...treat those around you with respect be they cylon or centurion or human. It goes a long way believe me," he paused and seemed to look around the chamber.
"This temple to Hera was built by our ancestors; the Thirteenth Tribe; it was also known as the 'Temple of Hope.'
Maybe it is fitting that we leave this message here...for hope and faith is all we have left.
It was here that our ancestors prayed until they received guidance as to where to settle finally...it was also to serve as a resting place in case any of the 12 wished to join us.
Apparently; none of them were interested...thank the Gods for that...maybe we can still save them.
We will resume our journey to the 12 Colonies shortly and hopefully...we will complete and succeed in our mission."
"So say we all," added Hellena softly.
Paul continued " until then...I say goodbye to you."
The holographic recording ended.
There was silence for several moments.
"That was interesting," started Logan "come to think of it one of them looks like..." his voice trailed off when he saw the expressions on Laura and Q Junior's faces. They were still staring at where the projections had been.
"I think we just saw Saul Tigh," said Laura in a very odd voice.
"And Tory Foster and Samuel Anders!" added Q Junior.
Logan and Jean shared a worried look.
"What's wrong ?" asked Jean in as calm as a voice as she could manage.
Laura turned to her. "Exactly how old is that recording?"
"2000 years old..."
"And the ruins ?" interrupted Laura
"About 3500 years; why do you ask ?" asked a puzzled Jean.
Instead of answering Laura turned a steely look in Q Junior's direction.
The poor boy raised his hands up. "I know nothing of this; you have got to believe me...it can't be them!"
Laura's expression did not yield "Are you sure ?"
"Will someone please explain what's going on?" demanded Logan in a growl.
Laura turned to the captain. "Antorria Foster is the exact copy of a current Tory Foster; the president's XO; their names are even seem similar!
And Paul Tighris is the exact copy of XO Saul Tigh...the bastard who tried to space us."
"Sauren Anderson looks exactly like Samuel Anders," said Q Junior faintly; he had a thoughtful frown on his face.
Logan could not help but share a worried look Jean.
"I noticed the resemblance between Antorria and Tory...but are you sure about the others ?"
The two teens nodded.
"So what does this mean ?" asked Jean; she looked at Q Junior. The boy was still staring into the distance where the projection had been.
She reached out and sensed the confusion and anxiety; something was not right. She walked up to him.
"Q Junior, what is it?" He looked at her with solemn eyes.
"I know how they survived the journey."
Jean raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me."
He sighed and continued.
"Note; the Exodus from Kobol was 4 millennia ago; the 12 colonies settled relatively close to Kobol in comparism but the 13th Tribe travelled a lot further."
"I asked my dad a question... since their ships were so primitive how will they get there without dying ?"
I'm dying to know the answer; said the Phoenix sarcastically.
"Go on," encouraged Jean as she ignored the Phoenix and tried to project a calm feeling towards the anxious teen.
Q Junior bit his lower lip; what he was about to say was making him uncomfortable.
"They had a very primitive FTL system...and the cylons shared one characteristic with their creators. They aged and died...so they had cloning labs on board those ships. As each crew member grew old and died they downloaded their memories into the next cloned body."
Logan was beginning to feel worried; he was picking up a lot of anxiety from the boy. That was not good.
"You actually witnessed this ?" asked Logan.
Q Junior nodded. "It was one of the very few times that we got close to them and only for brief moments; but it was enough."
"Then that technology was abandoned when they landed on Earth...I mean that Earth,"said Jean.
"Okay; I can accept that but how the hell did Tory Foster; Saul Tigh and Samuel Anders survive for 2000 years ?" asked Laura.
"Maybe; they are their descendents," said Logan.
Laura snorted in disbelief.
"Think on it; they were trying to get to the 12 Colonies; maybe they succeeded," persisted the captain.
Jean concentrated on a grave looking Q Junior while the captain argued with Laura.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
He nodded; trying to smile reassuringly. "I'm fine...honestly I'm okay."
She gave him a dubious look before turning back to the other two.
Laura was still speaking. "Were you not listening ? Antorria and the others actually said they were researching on how their ancestors survived the trip to their Earth; and that that their 'research' helped them escape the bombardment of their planet.
How ? By downloading into new bodies!? And how long was the trip from their Earth to where this was recorded? How did they survive the second long journey back to the Colonies !?"
Logan was quiet for a while; he had to admit; she was right.
There were too many questions that needed to be answered.
"So what do we do with this new information? Do we tell them?" asked Jean.
No one answered her for several moments.
The captain stared at the floor for several moments then looked at Q Junior who was trying to hide his anxiety.
"Q...I get the feeling...that you just told us something...that we were not supposed to know."
Laura's eyes narrowed as she focused on Logan.
"What..." she caught Jean looking at her and shaking her head.
Q Junior nodded hesitantly. "I...I didn't before and see where it got us...as a Q... naturally we withhold information and see how you react with what you already have."
Like rats in a maze; thought Logan to himself.
"So...why tell us?" asked Laura in a softer tone.
Q Junior sighed. "What we have got involved in...is way too risky for anyone of you to go in completely blind.
I'm not sure if the information I have given will help...but..."
"It will help; I'd rather know then not," cut in Logan calmly " is there anything else you know?"
Q Junior lifted an eyebrow. " Sure; lots like how the universe really started..."
Logan held up a hand; relieved at the return of the boy's usual sarcasm.
"I mean anything else significant relating to this...situation."
Q Junior shook his head. " Not really...but if I find out anymore that is relevant..I will discuss it with all of you."
Logan stared at him for a while. The boy had obviously broken some 'Q' rule about what to talk about and he looked like he was waiting for lightening to strike. It might be prudent if they did not push their luck...especially if Q Junior was really a member of a 'supernatural' race. Logan still had doubts about that.
"I can live with that."
The obvious relief on the boy's face assured Logan that he had made the right call.
"So; back to Jean's question...do we tell the Colonials about this recorded message or not ?" asked Laura.
Logan looked at his daughter and folded his arms. "What's your opinion?"
Laura did not hesitate to answer.
"Q Junior; no offense to you but telling those crazy colonials about what really went down on Kobol will be a very stupid idea."
"No offense taken," said Q Junior with a relieved grin.
Laura wasn't done. "Secondly; this recording is definitely going to kick off all sorts of chaos if we hand it to the colonials.
They will accuse us of faking the damn thing first of all with the intent of causing a division in their chain of command."
Logan and Jean shared an impressed look at Laura's depth of thinking.
"That holographic projection has the images of 3 prominent people in the fleet. The XO; the president's PA and the Junior Lieutenant."
"So; are you suggesting we don't give it to them ?" asked Q Junior.
Laura was silent for a while. "No; we give them part of it; only the audio bit...in the orginal Latin version. Let them spend some time interpreting it."
No one said anything for a while.
"Not a bad idea," said Q Junior approvingly "besides the holograph quality seems to have degraded over the years and it's highly unlikely that the colonial computers are compatible with ours."
Logan stared at the teenagers; the holographic quality had been close to perfect.
These kids were beginning to scare him.
"You do realize we will be withholding possible valuable information," said Jean.
Laura turned to her. "Then give them the intact version and watch them tear themselves to pieces. How will that benefit the entire fleet ?"
Jean stared at her for a long time; she sighed and looked at Logan.
"This is a tough one...but she's right."
The captain nodded slowly.
"I agree," he looked at Q Junior "but we really have to play this extremely carefully," he turned his gaze on Laura "I'm not totally convinced that three of the people in that video are currently on the Galactica."
Laura opened her mouth to argue.
Logan held up a hand cutting her off. "But stranger things have happened...we just have to keep asking discreetly and looking. Is that understood?"
Everyone nodded.
"There's something else that may be important," said Jean in a serious voice.
She closed her eyes briefly and looked at Laura. "When we were searching for you and Q...I used the CMS to locate the colonials...but I also wanted to know why they hated the cylons so much.
So...I briefly...very briefly glanced through a certain colonial's mind; it was more than enough to scare me.
The mind belonged to Saul Tigh," she paused.
Everyone kept quiet; the three of them knew by now that she was very reluctant in looking into a person's mind.
" He is a very angry man and his hatred for the cylons...is terrifying. He's clearly fought against them more than once and watched them bombard the 12 colonies.
I...I saw a woman's face; one moment she was alive...then she was dead and he blames them."
Jean rubbed a slightly shaky hand against her forehead.
"I did not want to find out how she died...but I got her name.
It was Ellen Tigh...and she looks exactly like Hellena Tighris."
Silence greeted her words; then Laura smiled at the captain.
"Still think they are descendents papa?" she asked in a sing song voice.
Logan sighed. "Okay...then where is the 5th one? Tyre Galenius ?"
"There's only one way to find out," said Q Junior calmly. Logan turned to him to find him staring at the view screen which showed the colonial fleet.
"People; we have now got less than 3 hours until the next meeting; it's time we prepared our own set of questions."
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Hi everyone ! So sorry for the long wait; work + flu+stress is a horrible combination but I'm back now! Hopefully I can update weekly. Please wish me luck with the remaining of the story. please tell me what you think about the modification of the names of 5 particular characters in Battlestar Galactica! Have fun people!
