Chapter 26 of the Phoenix and the Wolverine.
The Galactica; the CIC..
Admiral Adama was conscious of the whispers that died when he re-entered the CIC.
It never ceased to amaze him at the speed at which rumours reached all parts of the fleet. He tried to ignore the apprehensive looks sent his way.
That could only mean one thing; whatever they heard must be worse than what had actually occurred.
Adama looked around and saw that Dualla was at the far end of the CIC; she and another junior officer were apparently trying to fit a piece of equipment.
The Admiral had no idea what they were doing but was not surprised.
Doctors and ship engineers were very scarce within the fleet; they were more than worth their weight in gold and also over-worked and over stretched.
Since the Holocaust; Adama had found himself trying to recall basic engineering and mechanical training he had learnt in his first years at the academy.
Training that at the time; he had thought a waste of time when he should have been racking up high scores in stimulation flights.
Now; he wished he had spent more time learning engineering.
As for his son, Lee was currently in the main flight bay seeing the Xavier and the two vipers off; he was pretty sure that his son would soon be back and demanding answers.
"Sir," he turned to see a grave looking Saul Tigh.
"I have Xavier's shuttle and two vipers leaving the Galactica," he looked a bit puzzled ; no doubt wondering about the two vipers.
"They are just an escort...we will discuss it later."
Saul stared at him for a moment; clearly expecting more, however he quickly realized he would have to wait for a more detailed explanation later.
"Yes sir, " said the executive officer a bit uncertainly.
Adama made a point of looking around him slowly and was rewarded by everyone suddenly being more interested in what was before them.
He asked for paper reports and Saul handed a pile to him without saying a word. Adama skimmed through them while waiting for what only a few officers knew.
It took less than 9 minutes before a junior officer turned back to him; her face pale with anxiety. "Admiral...the Xavier and the two vipers have...jumped."
Her voice was quite low but someone nearby gasped and Adama heard some files fall to the floor. Beside him; Saul Tigh stared at the Admiral with barely hidden shock.
The Admiral decided to ignore the clumsy officer and his XO; he concentrated on the officer before him.
"I know; what is the condition of the fleet at the moment?"
She stared at him for a few moments; then seemed to snap out of her daze.
"All ships present and accounted for; there is significant fuel shortage in at least 35% of the fleet..."
"Will it be enough for a long jump ?"
She hesitated briefly. "Yes Admiral, but we will need to refuel immediately."
Adama nodded. " In-form the other ships...we will be going to another set of co-ordinates," he paused as if deciding something " skip the first two pre-sites and take the third one."
The junior officer looked more puzzled than before but agreed. " Yes Admiral."
"Admiral," he turned to face Gaeta who looked flustered.
"I have a message from the President and the Quorum...they wish to see you now; sir."
Adama resisted sighing. " In-form them that we are about to make an emergency jump and that I will discuss with them when we are in a secure location."
"Yes Admiral," said Gaeta with a resigned expression.
Adama felt sorry for him. He knew Roslin would try to bully the junior officer; but Adama could not spare anytime for politics and diplomacy.
He had to move the fleet.
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Lee was on his way to the CIC when he heard the ship wide announcement to prepare for a space jump.
He had seen the Xavier and the two vipers off less than 10 minutes ago; Lee was very concerned about the 'recon mission' and for a very good reason.
When all was said and done; they did not know what kind of man Captain Logan was and apart from seeing Dr Grey briefly and hearing her talk; she was also a complete mystery.
Lee had not had an opportunity to meet or speak with Laura; the captain's daughter, so she was also a mystery.
But to the CAG; the person who always worried him the most was the hologram.
At times his mannerisms or behaviour was so real, that it was very easy to forget that he was not human.
That made him very unpredictable and also quite dangerous.
He hoped when Helo's team got back that there would be more information about the Xavier and its crew.
That is if they came back at all.
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Lee worked into the CIC and was at once aware of the tense atmosphere.
He didn't blame them; the Xavier had just jumped with two of their vipers. With no explanation whatsoever; there would be a lot of speculation and most of it of the dire kind.
Lee wondered if they would be more scared if they knew what he knew.
He walked up to his father and the XO who turned at his approach.
"Commander Adama; Mr Tigh...my office please," said the Admiral before his son could say a word.
The CAG and the XO shared a startled glance before following the senior officer into his office.
The whispering started again once the three were out of earshot.
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Admiral Adama waited for a few moments; he looked round his room wondering if there were listening devices.
Then decided if there were...anyone listening in would already know what was going on.
It was days like this that Adama wished the responsibility of his post job belonged to someone else.
A discreet cough from his XO brought the Admiral back to the present.
"I'm sure both of you are wondering why I have called you in here.
Commander Adama already knows of the mission that the Xavier and two of our vipers have set out on."
Saul looked very puzzled and a bit hurt.
The Admiral took pity on his old friend and explained. " Captain Logan has gone in search of the cylons to determine their military capabilities and how they traced the fleet."
Lee compressed in his lips in a disapproving line while the XO stared at the Admiral.
"Sir," started Saul "could we not be overlooking the fact that the cylons traced us because of the presence of the hologram on the Galactica?"
Adama tried not to sigh; the XO's statement was odd when one considered that a few hours ago Saul had tempted fate when he walked up to the captain of the Xavier to apologize for attempting to kill the hologram and the captain's daughter.
"The hologram may be the cause...but what if he isn't ? Then we have a bigger problem."
"What if he hid a device in some part of the Galactica?" asked the CAG with a frown on his face.
"That thought did cross my mind; however he has been accompanied everywhere, videoed and observed. No one has reported anything...but we need to be sure," said the Admiral.
"Backtrack his movements; check very place he ever stood or sat, even if we have to tear the place to pieces...then we can be sure."
Both Adamas turned to look at Saul.
"That's the only way we will be certain," concluded the XO almost defiantly.
"I can have that seen to with Chief Tyrol's assistance," said Lee in a thoughtful tone. He suddenly noticed the intense expression on his father's face.
"Admiral ? " he called in a worried voice.
The older Adama was quiet for a long time before speaking. "What if we are overlooking another factor?"
Both men waited for him to speak; realizing that what the senior officer was about to say was bound to be troubling.
He eventually looked at his son and his best friend. "We never did find the remaining 5 cylons."
Two years ago, when the Galactica and the remaining ships had escaped from the holocaust; they had gone to the Ragnar Anchorage for supplies.
While they were there they had discovered the existence of the humanoid cylons; the first one they detected was Aaron Doral.
In retrospect; It was ironic that it was Dr Gaius Baltar who had noticed the 'man' was a cylon.
Unfortunately, due to an attack by basestars; the Galactica had to abandon the Anchorage and several colonial ships which had been unable to jump.
Shortly afterwards; Adama had found a typed note in his quarters.
There had been a single typed sentence 'there are only 12 cylon models.'
Lee and Saul stared at him in shocked silence.
The XO was the first to talk. "You can't possibly mean that...you still believe that there are 5 more cylons that we don't know about?! I thought we agreed that someone was trying to confuse us!"
Adama held up a hand. "That may be the case...but what if...and I know this sounds odd... but what if they have been here all this time...hidden among us?"
"You think they are the ones who transmitted our location?" the disbelief was obvious in Lee's voice.
"Admiral; that doesn't make sense," started Saul in a terse tone.
The senior Adama turned his steel grey eyes on him. "Explain."
Saul took a deep breath as if trying to suppress a painful memory. "I was on New Caprica and from the moment that bastard Baltar made a deal with the cylons...all the cylons models walked among us openly.
They attended round ups and executions; not caring who saw their faces.
At that point in time; most of us thought we were going to die on that Gods-forsaken planet but one thing I can remember is that they acted as if they were the only cylon models in existence and were not afraid to flaunt it.
So if there are other cylons...of which I sincerely doubt, where are they? Why and where did they hide them?"
There was silence at Saul's question.
"We're forgetting something else," the two men turned to face Lee"...Sharon assured us that there were only 8 models ever made and only 7 have survived till now." The younger Adama waited for them to absorb his words.
"Admiral...if there are really 5 other cylon models out there... shouldn't Lieutenant Agathon be aware of it?"
The senior Adama was quiet for a very long time. He trusted Sharon; he had to...maybe he was grasping at straws but his instinct was telling him not to ignore the significance of the mysterious warning about the 12 cylon models.
Maybe he had to leave it for now; but there was something else he had to discuss with his most senior officers.
Adama sighed wearily. "I trust Sharon, she has saved this fleet more than once," he noticed the look of distrust on the XO's face.
"Maybe I may be grasping at straws...but there is another thing you both need to know."
He saw his son go tense while Saul watched him warily.
"What I am about to tell you, cannot leave this room. Is that understood?"
He waited until the two senior officers nodded slowly.
"Just before Captain Logan left; he gave me this," the Admiral pulled a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket and gave it to Saul Tigh.
The XO looked at it for several moments before passing it to a very curious CAG.
"Those are co-ordinates to a Starfleet Starbase which is 6 weeks from Earth...that is if you travel by maximum speed using the Xavier.
I have not had a chance to calculate how long it will take for us to get there using our own version of FTL."
Lee and Saul's eyes widened with shock at the implications of the paper they held.
"Why would he...what if it's a trick?" asked a stunned XO.
"What kind of trick...a trap?" said an equally stunned Lee " An ambush? Surely he doesn't think we will just go there!"
The Admiral held up a hand to forestall any further questions.
"Personally...I don't think it's a trap, if it had been he would have given us some co-ordinates for Earth and told us to go there if all else fails.
However my plan is to wait for them to return; if they are not back in at least 35 hours...then we will send a few vipers ahead of us to those co-ordinates.
Until then we need to maintain morale and discipline."
Saul bit his lower lip. "Everyone is going to wonder and speculate unless we tell them something."
Admiral Adama gave the two men before him a stern look. "At this point we cannot completely rule out a spy within the fleet...which may be another way of the cylons tracking us.
We also cannot let anyone know of why the Xavier left."
"The Quorum is going to push for a full disclosure of the meetings sir," warned the XO.
As well as my head on a platter, thought Adama.
"I'll deal with that when the time comes. In the meantime we will refuel the other ships; travel at maximum speed for an hour then jump the fleet after 2 hours. Now gentlemen...let's get to work."
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Roslin barely noticed the odd looks sent her way as she walked to the Admiral's office.
She was trying to maintain a blank expression as her fury boiled within her.
How dare he ignore her summons to Colonial One?
Once she and Zarek realized the Xavier had left; the meeting had descended into chaos and the vice president came close to getting into a brawl with at least 3 representatives.
She found out later that Dahlia had sent an urgent message to the Admiral demanding he attend the Quorum meeting to explain himself.
The only thing that had terminated the meeting was the fleet wide announcement warning about a space jump.
Soon afterwards she and Zarek had made their escape from the meeting room; both of them determined to have answers.
Roslin had sent a message first; asking Admiral Adama to come to Colonial One for an emergency meeting.
He had replied shortly stating he was currently in the middle of an important operation and will see her when he could.
Roslin knew he was avoiding her; well since the mountain did not want to come to her; she will approach it with a battleaxe.
Zarek at the moment was nowhere to be found; which was for the best because Roslin could only trust her vice president as far as she could throw him.
Which would not be very far; thought Roslin with a grim smile.
Her mind returned to the present when she got to the Admiral's office doors, she nodded at the pair of marines on guard.
One of them looked at her. "I'll inform him you're here Mrs President."
"Thank you Corporal Hastings," said Roslin with a gracious smile.
She only had to wait for less than a minute before the female corporal returned.
"He will see you now ma'am."
Roslin smiled once more before walking in; as she passed from view her smile disappeared to be replaced by a determined expression.
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The Admiral stood up as the President of the 12 colonies came into his office.
"Ms President, please have a seat," he said politely.
Roslin looked at him for a moment. "Won't mind if I do," she said in a blank tone as she sat down carefully.
Adama waited until she was seated before he resumed his seat.
"How can I help you today, Ms President?"
Laura Roslin felt her lower jaw drop in surprise.
"Excuse me? Have you suddenly forgotten that we are missing a few ships ?
One of them being the Xavier and two of our vipers?!"
Adama remained calm despite the obvious anger in the president's voice.
"I am aware they are not present."
"Then where the frak are they?!" hissed the president.
Adama successfully suppressed the surprise he had when Laura swore.
"I can't tell you, because I don't know exactly where they are."
The woman before him stared at him for several seconds.
"You let them go after the cylons!"
Adama said nothing.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" asked Roslin in horror "you have put the entire fleet at risk! Are you insane?!"
The Admiral's eyes darkened for a brief moment then changed to a blank look. "Ever since the holocaust; this refugee fleet has always been at risk; right now the only way to reduce that risk is finding out how the cylons are tracking us and also earning the trust and support of the only ship we have come across that has a chance in Hades of defeating the cylons."
Roslin did not waste time in counter-attacking."You just sent them into the arms of the enemy! Practically giving them the Xavier on a silver platter and you talk of reducing risk?! You have condemned us all!"
Adama tilted his head to one side.
"Then explain to me how you would have done it differently?"
Laura's mouth formed an 'O'.
"That is besides the point!..."
"Is it now?" cut in Adama softly "Ms President...do you remember how we fled from a burning Caprica?"
The president was startled by this sudden changed in topic.
"What has that got to do with this...?"
"Humour me please," said Adama dryly.
Laura controlled her anger and answered curtly. "Yes, I remember."
"There was a time when we had to make a jump every 33 minutes because cylons were appearing once we had stayed in any area for that length of time."
A look of discomfort appeared on Laura's face when she recalled what had happened at the end of that period. She still had nightmares of that event.
"We operated for more than 130 hours without sleep or rest. Then we had more ships; more ammo, more food; more medicine, more pilots and more survivors.
And yet what we had then was not enough !"
Adama's face was stern as he looked at the president.
"Right now the only thing we have in abundance is hope because of the Xavier, they could have abandoned us especially after the way we treated them, but they stuck around.
We cannot go on the run like we did two years ago...we would never make it; our only chance of survival lies in the crew of Xavier succeeding in their mission.
A mission which could be jeopardised before it even began if I or you went before the Quorum to explain what has happened lately."
Laura stared at him. "What about me ? You can trust me Bill...why not tell me?"
Adama returned a steady gaze until she looked away.
"Plausible deniability Ms President."
Laura looked back at him with hurt and surprise warring on her face.
"In this case...what you don't know won't hurt your backing with the Quorum.
When the time comes...I will speak to the Council but not before this mission is over." His expression was resolute.
The president stared at him; then slowly stood, Adama stood as well.
"If that's the way it has to be...then I have no choice." She turned to go then stopped.
"Do you trust him?"
Adama did not have to ask if she meant Captain Logan.
The answer was long in coming. " I have to."
Laura nodded slowly. "As I thought," she looked at him over her shoulder "I don't suppose it's not too much to ask if...Lieutenant Agathon and Lieutenant Thrace were also chosen for this mission."
The Admiral did not reply.
"Hmmm...don't bother," said Laura bitterly as she left the room.
Adama stood for a long time staring at the door; then he sat down wearily and held his head in his hands and found himself praying for some guidance.
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The basestar, Detention Cell Section 12X...
Baltar stared moodily at the floor; he was lying on his stomach on his bed completely bored and halfway convinced he was going out of his mind.
Much earlier on; the scientist and former president had tried telling his fellow prisoner, Senior Lieutenant Daniel Novacek about what had happened since the 12 colonies had been nuked.
At first the man had listened silently as he described the desperate run and the ships they had to abandon at the beginning. Then Baltar began to worry that maybe he was the one being tricked and that Daniel Novacek was maybe a model of a cylon that no one knew existed.
He eventually fell silent and the man in the other cell stared at him with a frown on his face.
"What's wrong? Why have you stopped?"
Baltar moved slightly away from him; he was unable to prevent his voice from shaking. "You...you...why do you want to know so much ? You could be a cylon!"
The stunned look on Daniel's face was almost comical.
"What did you just call me?" he asked in a very dangerous voice.
Baltar's voice was shrill when he replied. "You're a bloody frakking cylon! I gave you all the information you asked for and yet you fraks almost killed me and now you want to drive me insane! What more do you want?!"
The last words were delivered almost at a shout.
Daniel opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly looked at something behind Baltar and his face shut down.
Baltar turned round quickly to find that someone had approached the cell bars while he had been shouting at Daniel.
But to his horror it was someone much worse; a Number One and two golden centurions.
"Oh frak!" whispered the scientist in despair.
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The Number One smiled drily as he observed the pathetic weak human before him.
He had come down specifically to see how the scientist was taking to his new environment. Oh, he could have observed him via the monitor as he had been doing for the past couple of hours but it was different when one observed an object face to face.
Especially when you were planning to kill it once it was no longer useful.
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Baltar had stepped away from the Number One as far as he could; then he remembered there was a potential cylon behind him and he looked quickly over his shoulder to see Daniel had also retreated to the far edge of his cell.
The light in the colonial pilot's eyes was almost feral as he kept them on the cylon outside the cell.
Baltar hardly had time to process this new piece of information before the cylon started clapping slowly.
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"This is better than a Caprica Primetime show! Baltar you missed your calling...you would have been perfect as a comic," then he smiled mockingly " and just as dead as the other 20 billion humans we terminated; which I believe you had a big hand in."
Baltar suddenly felt someone else was staring holes in his back.
"I...I..." the scientist found out he could not speak.
"You are so modest doc; no worries I'll just wait until Caprica finds you," his smile got colder " then we will all have a little chat.
Until later Mr Ex-president."
Cavil left the detention cell with his two golden guards.
However one thing stuck in Baltar's mind; the red lights in the heads of the gold centurions were not moving.
That was when Baltar started hearing her voice in his head again.
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"Are you still mad at me?"
Baltar stopped tracing patterns on the floor and quickly sat up; he looked at the other cell.
Since the One had come to the cell; Daniel had ignored him completely and the scientist began to wonder if he had accused the fellow prisoner wrongly.
He had wanted to apologize but the set of the man's shoulders told him keeping silent was wiser.
Baltar closed his eyes and tried to will the voice away.
The first time he heard it after Cavil left; he pretended it was not there and it kept talking until she got tired.
Now she was back.
"Gaius; please speak to me."
"Leave me the frak alone!" hissed the scientist angrily "you got me into this mess in the first place!"
He looked quickly at Daniel's cell and the man still had his back turned to him; hopefully he could not hear him.
There was a feminine sigh in his head.
"I am really sorry for everything...even the torture. I could not prevent that from happening...the alternative could have been your death."
Baltar found himself standing. "And did you not think for one moment that death would have been preferred to what I was forced to endure?!"
There was silence for a few moments before the voice replied.
"Grow a pair Baltar! You survived but not for much longer if you keep drowning in your despair!"
The scientist flinched from the mental shout in his head. Her voice continued.
"Cavil is planning something big, I'm not sure what; but I bet it has to do with the modifications he has been carrying out secretly on the centurions."
Baltar felt his anger turn to a scientific curiosity.
"What type of modifications?" he asked softly after checking quickly to see if Daniel's back was still turned.
"How the frak should I now?! It just seems like the centurions around him are behaving differently. Please don't tell me you haven't noticed!"
The scientist opened his mouth to speak; then froze.
He clearly recalled seeing something very different; the red light on the gold centurions. The ones accompanying Cavil; their lights had been completely still.
"The red visor lights."
"Praise the Lord; you still have a brain!" said the mind Six sarcastically.
"You need to get out of here, before you outlive your role as bait!"
Baltar was about to ask what she meant as bait when another voice spoke.
"How did you do it?"
The scientist turned round slowly to see Daniel was back at the bars; staring at him with a cold mad light in his eyes.
"How did you help the cylons murder 20 billion lives?"
"Be very careful with your answer Gaius; the man before you is on the very edge of insanity."
Baltar found himself approaching the colonial officer.
"So...you believe Cavil; the cylon who had you imprisoned and tortured for 8 years ?" the scientist shook his head and laughed bitterly.
"Maybe I was wrong calling you a cylon; or maybe you are and you already know how we lost our homes! Maybe this is a way of making me lose my mind completely."
"I just want you to tell me..." started Daniel heatedly.
"I gave them the codes to the Colonial Defense mainframe," answered Baltar abruptly.
Daniel's lower jaw fell in disbelief.
"Gaius that's enough!" warned the Six in his mind.
He ignored her; he had to say this, he wanted to say this.
"And do you think I was forced!? Oh no; I was stupidly in love with a female cylon called Caprica.
Forget the obvious fact that I had no idea that humanoid cylons existed but I gave her the codes in exchange for a highly advanced navigational program the likes of which I had never seen!"
Daniel was now the one retreating from the insane light in the scientist's eyes.
The scientist kept talking rapidly in a shrill voice; not stumbling over his words at all.
"But brilliant scientist that I am," he laughed bitterly "who has won more awards than I can count! I failed to realize that the program which I convinced the colonial government to install in every networked modern battle-star was something else entirely!"
Baltar was practically spitting at this point. "It was a secret back door for an extremely virulent cylon computer program that shut down all the networked battle-stars in space killing the crew and also allowing the cylons to nuke all 12 colonies."
Daniel looked at him for a long time; he was seeing a man who was standing close to insanity. Just a little push was all he needed.
"You didn't know; did you?" said Daniel quietly. It was not a question.
Baltar seemed to wilt within himself ; then gave the colonial pilot a cold look.
"Congratulations on that brilliant deduction...I need to be alone," he staggered back to his bed. His energy clearly spent.
"Gaius; you're brilliant! Don't look now but I think he believes you..."
"Six," called Baltar aloud "shut up!"
He collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling; ignoring Daniel's gaze and thanking whatever gods that existed that for once the presence in his mind was keeping silent.
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But first you must have control.
Must have control.
Control...
The last word echoed in her mind repeatedly; something had happened.
Something important but she could not remember what it was.
What she could remember was the blinding pain in her head and the rest of her body.
It almost tore her apart and now the pain...was receeding.
That was when she began to hear voices.
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The Xavier, Medical bay...
Ensign Rogers had been the closet to the empty bio-bed before it was occupied by a rainbow of flashing lights which appeared with a mild humming noise.
The three colonials had watched stunned as the astonishing display of technology which was the standard mode of transport in the Federation and most warp capable civilizations in the Alpha quadrant.
Kara was the only one of the three who had experienced the use of the transporters twice and the sensation of being disintegrated gave her nightmares. She prayed she did not have to go through that again.
However this was the first time all three had seen the transporter at work and they were not disappointed.
The doctor ignored them as she waited for the body of lights to fully form; when it did she approached the still body on the bio-bed with a small device in her hand.
Her eyes seemed to widen slightly as she looked at her patient's face; then with a determined look on her face she began to assess her patient.
Ensign Rogers found himself approaching the bed.
"Dr Grey do you need some assistance?"
Kara and Anders looked at him in surprise.
Jean answered without looking at him while she quickly programmed a command into the bio-bed's computer and started scanning the head of her unconscious patient.
"Thanks for the offer; but it may be better if you don't come nearer. The sight may not be what you would expect."
"Why would you say..." Roger's question trailed off when he saw who lay on the bio-bed.
The patient was definitely a young female ; quite attractively slim and clad in the same uniform as Q Junior.
A red and black tunic with black slacks and polished black boots.
Then Rogers began to notice other features; the back of the patient's hands appeared badly burnt and the red part of the uniform was stained with what looked like burn marks and darker stains that he suspected was blood.
He eventually saw her face and his breath caught in his throat.
Behind him Kara and Anders gasped and almost swore.
What stopped them from uttering the swear words was when Jean looked at them briefly with a stern look.
But Rogers was not aware of the doctor; he just kept staring at the girl's face.
Her face was heart-shaped; slim with cafe-au-lait skin and two slightly elevated ridges on her forehead and short cut wavy snow white hair. She appeared so peaceful except for the dried blood from her nose and around her mouth.
"It's alien!" muttered Kara in shock.
"She's alien Lieutenant Thrace," corrected Rogers absentmindedly as he ignored the startled looks the two senior officers gave him.
In his mind he thought she was very pretty.
Before Kara or Anders could say a word; there was a low hiss as the medical bay doors opened and Q ran into the bay.
He glanced quickly at the three colonials before heading straight to the bio-bed with the unconscious female Starfleet officer.
"Dr Grey; how may I assist?" he asked calmly as he also picked up a slim device.
Jean looked at him briefly before concentrating on the patient she was treating.
"We have a young humanoid female; a human-klingon hybrid.
*GCS 3/15 but still able to maintain her own airway; so expect the GCS is increase. Blood pressure of 120/70mmHg; pulse is 92 regular beats per minute; saturations of 97 percent on air. Core temperature is 37.1C.
There's evidence of epistaxis with increased intracranial pressure, second degree burns on the dorsal aspect of both hands and wrists and signs of mild dehydration."
"She's...she's part klingon?" asked Anders in a loud shocked voice.
Q chose that moment to look at them briefly and speak in a no-nonsense voice.
"If you cannot keep quiet while we work; please leave the premises."
Then he turned back to his work.
Anders looked a bit embarrassed while Kara glared at him silently.
Before leaving the Galactica; she had not enough time to review all the notes about the other 'aliens' that were allies with Earth.
However she definitely did not want to leave the medical bay before she found out more about the new guest.
Rogers just kept watching as Dr Grey and the hologram continued healing the patient; he had a hopeful light in his eyes.
The three colonials remained quiet as Ensign Q and Dr Grey worked quickly and efficiently. Both would state observational stats and progress in repairing seen and hidden injuries.
Then Dr Grey froze; she stared at the unconscious patient then quickly looked at the colonials.
"All three of you should leave now!"
Kara and Anders looked concerned while Rogers was a bit puzzled.
"Why; we're in no danger..." began the ensign before every metal object suddenly went up into the air.
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Q Junior's first inkling that something was wrong was when he noticed an epadd that was attached to the side of the bed, began to vibrate.
He was about to ask Jean what was going on, but before he could say a word several small and sizable metal objects started floating in the air.
He turned quickly and was relieved to see that the three colonials behind him were safe; despite being surrounded by a lot of metal objects ; some of them were quite sharp.
Q sympathized with them. "You three okay?"
Kara nodded slowly; and turned a frightened look on Dr Grey who was starting at the patient on the bed. Anders and Rogers were very pale.
"It wasn't me this time Lieutenant," said the doctor calmly "and don't worry I won't let the objects come near you." Dr Grey looked at Q Junior.
"We need to wake her up; she dreaming and thinks she's still in that shuttle."
"She won't hurt us," said Rogers to everyone's surprise.
Jean calmly looked at him and smiled. "Thanks for the update ensign." The doctor turned back to the unconscious female Starfleet officer.
"Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti; it's time to wake up."
There was no sign that she had heard her. Jean leaned closer.
"Oma, please wake up."
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She could hear her mother's voice telling her to get out of bed; it was time to go to the Starfleet Academy Entrance exams.
"Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti; it's time to wake up."
She just needed to sleep a little more.
"Oma, please wake up."
Then she realized something was wrong, she was to be a cadet if she passed not an ensign yet.
And why was her mum begging her to wake up?
Oma slowly opened her eyes.
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Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the patient slowly opened her eyes; there was a sharp intake of breath when she saw Dr Grey.
"Don't be afraid; I'm Dr Grey and this is Ensign Q Junior beside you. Welcome back Ensign Kadretti."
The young girl wet her lips nervously ; she was having trouble focusing.
"Where...which ship?"
The doctor answered carefully. "You're in the medical bay of the Xavier; we pulled you from your wrecked shuttle."
The girl's eyes focused eventually on Jean's face. "Shuttle? What of the USS Dunkirk...the Zeus; Endeavour and IKS Y'tem? The Romulans?"
Kara's breath caught in her throat as she heard the names being mentioned. They had a ship called 'Zeus'?
Maybe the Thirteenth Tribe had not forgotten all their history.
Meanwhile; Jean shared a troubled look with Ensign Q Junior.
"You're the only one that came through Ensign," said Q Junior softly.
Oma turned to him and relaxed a bit when she saw the familiar red and black Starfleet uniform. Her eyes noted his rank and his apparent youth.
"We're on a Starfleet vessel?"
Q Junior looked a bit uneasy as he answered the question. "Not exactly."
Her eyes sharpened when she heard his answer.
"What do you mean...?" her voice trailed off when she saw three people in odd threadbare military looking uniform. She realized she did not recognize the uniform. Then she also saw the metal objects floating around and went very pale.
"Who are you?" her voice had an edge to it "did I...?"
"Ensign Kadretti," she turned to face Dr Grey.
"I know you're scared and worried. I was too when I first woke up on board this ship." Jean then kept silent and looked at her.
"I also know what fears you carry child; release the metal objects and I will return them safely. No one here will harm you."
Oma looked at her and felt overwhelming relief. "You're a...telepath...a mutant."
"Just like you Ensign," said Jean with a smile.
Oma nodded; then closed her eyes briefly and suddenly the objects dropped but never touched the floor. The three colonials watched in amazement as each object was returned to its usual place.
"Did the patient just do...?" Anders could not complete the sentence.
"I think she just did," said Kara.
Rogers was still very quiet just staring at the girl. Somehow he knew the objects had been returned by Jean but he did not feel like talking about it yet.
Oma opened her eyes and suddenly felt conscious of someone's stare; she lifted her head a bit and saw a tow-headed young man in his early twenties staring at her. He blushed slightly and looked away for a brief moment.
Oma frowned and decided she wanted to sit up.
"You're still very weak Ensign," warned Q Junior.
Oma glanced at her fellow colleague and snorted. "I want to sit up."
Jean and Q shared a wry smile and complied.
The young girl felt her head swim for a bit when she was upright; she shakily answered she was fine when Dr Grey asked her how she felt.
Her throat suddenly felt very dry. Before she could say a word; the doctor gave her a glass of water. Oma thanked her and forced herself to drink it slowly.
She definitely was not aiming to be sick in-front of an audience.
Oma took a deep breath and tried to gather her thoughts; first thing first.
Where the heck was she?
"I'm sure you're wondering where you are," said Ensign Q Junior with a grave look on his face.
Oma stared at him; worried that she may have spoken aloud.
"The question is on your face," continued the young man "anyway...you're a very long way from Federation space. Approximately 4 months and a week's journey by maximum warp."
The female ensign was speechless for a while. "That thing...that thing was a wormhole to this place? Did you create it?! How do I get back?!"
Q Junior held up a hand and made a calming motion. "Ensign Kadretti; we didn't create it...we were wondering if you knew what it was doing in this part of the galaxy."
"I lost my viper to that frakking wormhole; you had nothing to do with it?" asked the dirty blonde woman who walked up to the bio-bed.
Oma narrowed her eyes at the woman's defensive and slightly aggressive attitude which made her think of some female klingon relatives who had treated her and her mother with disrespect when they had visited the Klingon Empire as few times.
"And you are?" asked Oma as she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
"Lieutenant Kara Thrace of the 12 Colonies of Kobol. Now what the frak happened to your ship? Were you in a battle ?"
Oma looked at her carefully before answering.
The word 'frak' must be a swear word, the meaning of which Oma was not particularly interested in and also there was an odd look in the woman's eyes that Oma felt she could recognize but the meaning was just out of reach.
The ensign answered carefully. "The Romulans found an evolving wormhole in the Neutral Zone and invited the Federation to join in the investigations.
My shuttle flew too close to the anomaly and something must have triggered it off because it almost tore the shuttle apart to get it here...wherever here is."
Before anyone else could speak the medical bay doors opened once more.
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A few minutes earlier...
Sharon followed Laura to the shuttle bay.
"We need to hurry," said the girl before she started running. The cylon had a bit of difficulty keeping up with her.
Once they got there; the girl was hardly out of breath while Sharon felt her heart was about to burst. Her chest hurt so much.
Laura ignored her while she started pressing buttons on a console near the bay doors.
"What are you doing?" asked Sharon when she could finally get her breath back.
"Opening the cargo doors," replied Laura calmly.
A look of fear appeared on the cylon's face. " Isn't that dangerous...?"
"We will be protected from space by a force-field and then we will get Captain Agathon to cut down power and use a tractor beam to guide him into the shuttle bay. It will only take a few minutes."
Sharon swallowed nervously. "You've done this before?"
Laura gave her a look that stated she was asking a stupid question. "Who do you think guided the shuttle you were in?"
Sharon felt her face go red. "Oh, sorry about that."
The captain's daughter just shook her head and returned to what she was doing.
"Xavier; I'm about to open the doors, what's our status?"
"The forcefield is up and Captain Agathon is in position."
"Thanks Xavier, patch me through to him," continued the female teen calmly.
Sharon just kept quiet and watched Laura.
"You're on Laura."
"Captain Agathon; this is Laura. I will be talking you through landing in our shuttle bay. Pay attention to my instructions and you will have a safe landing."
Helo sounded a bit surprised when he answered. "Eh sure...what do you want me to do?"
"In a few seconds you will see the shuttle bay doors opening; cut your power down and reduce speed to minimum. Once you are 120 metres from the open bay doors, we will use a tractor beam to bring you in the rest of the way.
Any questions?"
Helo did not waste time answering.
"No questions Miss Logan."
Laura's eyes narrowed at what he called her but she kept quiet and started pressing symbols on the console.
Sharon watched in amazement as the bay doors opened slowly. There was no sudden de-pressurization loss and before long she could see the darkness of space.
It was hard to believe that what separated her and the girl beside her from death was a force-field.
Before long she saw Helo's viper. He got really close then her keen eyes saw the small space-craft steady before it was drawn in as if attached to a wire.
The tractor beam had already been attached to the viper.
Sharon was wondering how the much smaller craft would go through the force-field until it did just that.
The cylon's eyes widened when the viper came to a rest just 40 metres from her. It was set down so lightly that she barely heard a sound.
Laura silently closed the shuttle bay doors; then lifted a thumb's up to Helo signalling that it was safe to come out.
Sharon saw her husband nod before he opened his cockpit shield.
His wife had a relieved smile on her face and hugged him tightly when he got out of the viper.
Both were oblivious of the silent teen watching them; until she coughed.
The two colonial pilots were a bit flushed when they turned to face Laura.
"We need to get to the medical bay," she said in a neutral voice before leaving.
Helo looked at his wife. "Friendly huh?" he voice was barely a whisper.
"Don't ask," whispered his wife back.
Both of them followed the young girl; but none of them saw the dry smile that had appeared on her face when she heard their whispers.
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Medical bay...
Oma looked up when the bay doors opened to see a stocky-muscular man walk into the room. He also had oddly styled black hair and similarly coloured side-burns.
Straight away she recognized his type.
A dangerous fighter. It was in his eyes and the way he carried himself.
Living on the USS Prometheus as a child had exposed her to seeing war veterans ; a large number of them had been tired but the rest had been ready to keep fighting.
The man before her was in the latter category; but there was something else about him that seemed...familiar.
That made her sit up and start paying attention to her surroundings. Her eyes moved to the small x-shaped combadge above his left breast; the doctor also had it and so did Lieutenant Thrace.
However; to Oma's relief the Starfleet ensign beside her had the usual Starfleet badge but something about this ship was off.
The man stopped a few feet from her bed and looked at her silently for a few moments before speaking.
"I'm Logan Howlett...captain of the Xavier."
Oma went cold; Federation civilians were not captains of Starfleet ships.
"Lieutenant Thrace; Junior Lieutenant Anders and Ensign Rogers...I think you three should step outside for a bit," said Logan without looking at the three colonials. He had noticed the shocked reaction the young female Starfleet ensign before him had tried to hide.
"Why?" demanded Kara.
Logan gave her an irritated look but the medical bay doors opened again before he could answer.
Everyone turned to watch three people walk into the medical bay.
Oma noticed the very young girl in front who had a resemblance to 'Captain Logan'. Maybe his daughter or his very young sister.
The other two were wearing uniforms identical to the colonials.
Oma could feel her anxiety building up and felt like hitting herself for her stupidity.
This had to be an alternate universe...but which one?
Oma had every right to worry; alternate universes histories had been taught at the Academy and a few that had been travelled to either were almost identical or had a very dark version of the Federation.
Fortunately it was very hard to make a 'jump' to such a place unless you had a wormhole you could manipulate with a tremendous amount of power provided one did not blow the ship to pieces.
Dr Grey sighed loudly. "Q; what's Ensign Kadretti's quantum signature?"
Q Junior gave her a puzzled look. "It's the same as yours or anyone else in this room; why are you asking...?" his voice trailed off when he noticed how rigid Oma had become.
"What do you mean by quantum signature?" asked Anders with a puzzled look on his face.
The captain ignored him and looked at the new arrivals.
"Captain Agathon and Lieutenant Agathon, I trust both of you are well?"
The two colonials tore their gaze away from Oma and looked at him.
"Yes, we're okay..." started Helo.
"Good," cut in the captain; he looked at the young girl who was standing beside him " Laura ; the ship is already in warp; so please take our colonial friends to the mess area. I'm sure they will want something to eat."
The girl stared at him for a few moments before glancing back at the silent watching female Starfleet officer on the bio-bed.
"Yes pops; you guys can fill me in later," she turned to the 5 watching colonials "lets'move people."
"Wait," said Kara with a frown on her face " why do you want us to leave and what the frak is a quantum signature ?"
Logan folded his arms and turned to face her. "I'm about to discuss certain matters with Ensign Kadretti who is also Starfleet, you however are not.
Which means you don't have clearance; any more questions?"
His voice was hard and calm. Kara stared at him for several moments.
"No sir."
Logan raised an eyebrow at the 'sir' but said nothing.
"I'm not going."
Q Junior was heard to mutter a swear word as they all turned to face Rogers who had a stubborn look on his face.
Logan was looking fit to chew nails; Dr Grey looked quickly at him and spoke first.
"Ensign Rogers," the young man turned to her "the captain's right...we may be working together but there are certain things we cannot tell or show you.
Just like there are certain things your own Admiral will never tell us."
Rogers looked at the doctor. "She...Oma is worried...and scared," he sounded concerned.
Oma gave him a startled look that turned to one of frosty anger. "My name is Ihuoma Kadretti." Only family or close friends called her 'Oma' and this man was clearly neither.
"I think you just pissed her off," said Laura with a small smile on her face.
"Rogers," continued the female doctor " we will not hurt her. Surely with your ability you can feel that."
Helo gave his wife a confused look and formed a soundless 'what' with his mouth. Sharon put a finger to her lips cautioning him not to say anything.
Meanwhile Rogers looked a bit uncertain then he nodded.
"I...I don't think you would harm her."
Jean could see that from Logan's compressed lips that he was running out of patience.
"Thanks for trusting us, please leave with Laura. We will speak to you later."
Rogers nodded a bit shakily then looked at Oma once again; the female ensign's eyes narrowed. She looked very displeased.
The colonial ensign swallowed nervously and joined his fellow colonials who followed Laura out of the lab. Rogers tried not to look at the frowning Captain Logan as he passed him.
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Oma watched the three people left with her; they seemed relieved when the 5 'colonials' left the lab. However she was far from relaxed; she was still unsure of where she was and was wondering if she had swapped the frying pan for the fires of Hell.
And then again Ensign Rogers had an ability ? She wondered what it was. Did that mean he was also a mutant?
"He's an empath with some precognitive ability," said Dr Grey " and yes he's a mutant."
Oma tried to clamp down her mental thoughts and cursed herself for her carelessness.
Controlling what one thought was one of the first things taught in the Academy. It was considered necessary because of the high number of empaths and telepaths in the human and non-human population.
This mental control was done to protect the mutants with thought abilities.
Some of the telepaths could easily block out the 'mental traffic' that surrounded them but a good number, especially empaths would go mad with so many people's emotions battering them day after day.
Also it was taught in the Academy that protecting one's thoughts was one's right.
Oma noticed the doctor was nodding her head.
"Good control...but you need to work on it a little bit more."
Oma felt her throat get very dry from anxiety and wondered if she was going to have to fight her way off this ship. Were they pirates?
She saw the female doctor sigh again and turned to the silent watching Captain Logan and Ensign Q Junior.
"Guys; start talking before she starts panicking."
"I...I guess you're wondering who we are and why we're here," started a nervous looking Q Junior.
Oma looked at him and the other two people watching him. She kept quiet; not sure what to say.
"First of all; this is not an alternate universe. I will give you a tricorder which I am sure you can use; so that you can see I am telling the truth.
Next our exact location is in a previously unexplored area of the Alpha Quadrant," he noticed the incredulous look on Oma's face "now, now; the Starfleet Academy history books and current navigation books show that only 29% of the Alpha Quadrant has been explored.
Due to the heavy losses of Starfleet personnel and ships during the Dominion War; further exploration was stopped for a short time.
But when it was restarted; it was at a much slower pace.
So there is an awful lot out there that Starfleet and the other races know nothing about."
Oma nodded reluctantly. "That is true...so how come you're out here?"
The look on her face was still one of suspicion.
Q Junior looked at the two adults beside him.
"I think you need to tell her everything...Q Continuum and all," said Jean softly. Logan looked at her for several moments; then sighed. "I agree, Q Junior. The floor is yours."
Oma was now very puzzled instead of being afraid and she noticed to her surprise that Q Junior looked very uncomfortable.
The boy who had to be at most 15years old took a deep breath.
"Okay...I have to admit that this is going to be hard to believe...but I'm a Q or I used to be a full Q.
And I brought Logan Howlett , Laura ...his daughter and Dr Grey from October 2006 to this present date of 2382AD."
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The Xavier, Ten-Forward...
On the way to the mess; Laura did not say a word to the 5 colonials following her.
That was fine by her because they were only too happy to speak among themselves.
And she got to listen to Captain Agathon try to tear Lieutenant Thrace a new one for almost getting herself killed and getting her viper completely destroyed.
But Thrace just let his anger flow over her like water down the back of a duck.
While Anders and Sharon were trying to find out if Rogers was okay by asking him questions like.
What do you feel now? Are you alright ? Why did you want to stay back?
Laura resisted sighing to herself.
There she was; a multi-million dollar killing machine and what was her current occupation?
Glorified babysitting.
Oh my; how roles and jobs change in life.
"We're here," she said loudly; stopping their conversation as they entered the brightly lit and coloured mess hall.
Their jaws dropped as they stared at their surroundings.
Wait till they see the replicators.
"You guys want something to eat or drink while you wait?" she asked calmly.
They all looked at her; with varying degrees of anxiety and suspicion on their faces.
"Suit yourselves..."
"We would like something please," interrupted Sharon "Dr Grey gave me some fruit last time that I ate...and I'm still here."
Laura could not help but smile at that. "Well; well...nice to see someone does trust us."
"So, where's the food?" asked Thrace.
"Lieutenant; I will show you how to use the replicator," then Laura's smile slipped "it's coded for only food and clothes; definitely not weapons. I hope we understand each other."
Kara stared at her. "You a telepath too?"
Laura's answering smile could only be described as lethal. "Oh no."
I'm something a lot worse thought the girl to herself.
Something in her face made Kara back down.
Laura walked to the nearest replicator. "Alright; name what you want."
Anders and Helo shared a puzzled look. "Is that how it works? You just name something?" asked a sceptical Rogers.
"Something like that," said Laura as she turned to the replicator "let me demonstrate...3 pears and 3 apples."
Right before them they watched the device in the wall and soon 6 pieces of fruit appeared on the in-built tray.
Laura picked two pears; took one and threw the second one at a shocked Sharon who caught it perfectly despite her surprise.
The female teen nodded as she bit into hers; the cylon's reflexes had been very fast. Much faster than that of an average human.
Now, that was interesting.
She turned towards the gaping 4 colonials without a piece of fruit and gestured towards the other pieces of fruit.
"Help yourselves people." Laura kept eating her pear as they each smelt their fruit as if not believing it existed.
Sharon started eating hers without any hesitation while Kara seemed very reluctant to do so. Laura was beginning to think the pilot suspected it was poisoned ; then the colonial officer spoke.
"I can't remember the last time I had a piece of Honest to Gods fruit. Must have been more than 2 years ago. It's just been frakking algae all the time."
Laura's eyes narrowed. The way Kara was looking at the apple you would think she was going to put in a vault.
"There's more where it came from."
"Where does it come from exactly?" asked a curious Anders.
Laura had a dry smile on her face. "Wouldn't you like to know?
Anyway since we're getting to know each other; could someone tell me more about the cylons and how they fight?"
Laura saw their eyes widen at her sudden change of the subject; she sighed inwardly.
This was going to be a long trip; she wondered how the others were doing with the new guest.
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Medical bay...
Oma stared at Q Junior in shock.
"Did you just call yourself a Q? Is that why you're picked an Starfleet uniform with an ensign rank ?! Do you know what or who the Q really are?!" her voice was a little high pitched.
"Doesn't sound like she believes you," said Logan in a cheerful voice.
The male ensign glared at him before turning back to Oma.
"Look; I know it sounds unbelievable...but its the truth.
First...let me be clear; I am a Q and was a cadet in the USS Voyager under the tutelage of Captain Janeway and when I left, I was promoted to Ensign by her. So yes; I am fit to wear this uniform and rank.
Second, I did bring the three humans from 2006, to help the colonial refugees...to help them get to Earth but there have been complications."
Oma caught the last word. "What sort of complications?"
She was a bit satisfied to see him flinch at her hard tone.
"Well...eh...I didn't exactly do things according to the rules of a certain senior Q. Eh...this Q is definitely not my dad by the way!
Anyway because I bent that Q's rules! My powers have been greatly reduced and now...I'm just a hologram with a few extra abilities."
Oma felt her lower jaw drop; she stared at Logan and Dr Grey who had slightly exasperated looks on their faces. They had clearly heard this before.
"Ensign Kadretti; as hard as it is to believe, he is telling the truth," said Jean carefully.
The female ensign was silent for a long time; wishing she had someone else here with empathy abilities to figure out if Q Junior (if that was his name) was really telling the truth.
"Maybe it's best if I just start from the beginning," said Q Junior in a tired voice.
Oma stared at him. "Ya think?" she asked in a sarcastic voice.
Logan looked at Jean and smiled. "She'll fit in just fine."
Jean just frowned at him as Q Junior began to tell Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti how it all started.
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Several minutes later Oma was close to climbing off the bed and throttling the ensign in-front of her; hologram or not; Q or not.
Q Junior had started with when he took three people from the past and thrust them into the middle of a genocidal war waged by cybernectic life-forms on the 12 Colonies of Kobol.
He mentioned a planet that the Xavier had found and how it's crew had run into both colonials and rampaging cylons. He paused when he noticed the fury on her face.
It took several moments before Oma could get her anger under control.
"Do you realize how many Starfleet Directives you have come close to breaking? You have practically started a war with a cybernectic race! They sound like a version of the Borg!"
"Oh no! They are definitely not the Borg! I have met them; you clearly haven't. There is no similarity what-so-ever.
And by the by; I have not broken any rules; especially the Prime Directive."
"That is not the point!" argued Oma " the point is that you should have had someone more senior to deal with this..."
"That's why I picked Captain Logan, Dr Grey and Laura..."
"I mean someone senior from Starfleet!" Oma was almost shouting.
Ensign Q Junior frowned at her. "You're missing the point. This intervention was mainly to save Captain Logan, Dr Grey and Laura and hoping that saving them will also save the colonials."
Oma opened her mouth and closed it. "Why couldn't you bring the entire colonial fleet closer to Earth and also drop off Captain Logan , Dr Grey and Laura in on Earth; instead of way out here?!"
Q Junior rubbed his head as if he had a migraine coming on.
"You don't get it; do you? Look the Q continuum has its own version of the Prime Directive. There is a limit to what we can interfere in and even when we do; we're not supposed to make it easy."
"Why not?" countered Oma.
"Because," started Q Junior in an irritated voice "you have to work for it. If we make things easy for the sentient corporeal races; they will always expect that each time.
And whenever they are in trouble, they will wait for someone powerful to pull their collective arses out of the disasters which they cause 95 percent of the time!
The current predicament of the colonials was as a result of their stubbornness and ill-treatment of their creation.
Do I think they deserved what eventually happened to their 12 colonies? No.
But do I know why it happened? Yes.
Because they ignored their own history and also intervention three times in the past and because of that, I had to use an indirect way to help them this time provided that I did not make it easy for them.
This was the only way the intervention could be carried out."
There was silence for a very long time.
Oma stared at the clearly agitated person before her. She had no idea if he was a Q or not.
If he was a hologram who thought he was a Q; then his computer program was either on the verge of a complete cybernectic breakdown. That meant his memory could be lost without any possibility of complete retrieval.
However if he was a Q who was now a hologram...then the implications of that was way above her non-existent pay grade.
This was definitely something for Starfleet seniors to handle; but the nearest senior officer was more than 4 months away.
Oma was beginning to dislike her current position and started to get off the bed. She almost passed out when a wave of fatigue hit her but thanks to a steadying hand from a concerned looking Dr Grey she soon found her feet.
But she had to lean against the bio-bed for support. Oma thanked the doctor for her help as she tried to arrange her thoughts.
"I can understand trying to save the refugees but excuse me if I ask once more why the three people from Earth's past. Who are they?"
Q Junior stared at her for several moments. "You don't recognize them, do you?"
Oma frowned. "Am I supposed to?"
Everyone stared at Logan when he started laughing. "Somehow, the fact I was forgotten is interesting," said the grinning mutant. Dr Grey looked a bit anxious.
Q Junior had a look of disbelief on his face. "Now; let me get this straight. The Academy teaches about the Q and all manner of races and civilizations but they forgot their most recent history?!"
Oma felt that she was missing something very significant.
"Ensign Kadretti; you're standing in the presence of Logan Howlett a.k.a the Wolverine and Dr Jean Grey a.k.a the Phoenix.
Right until October 2006; they were members of the X-men."
Seconds passed before Oma realized who was standing before her.
"No," her voice was low and full of shock "no, no! They died in Alcatrez! Their bodies were never..."
"Found?" said Logan with a calm look on his face.
Oma was at loss for words; some part of her was saying this was a trick but part of her wanted to believe this was true.
If it was; then the rest must be true as well.
Oma unthinkingly stretched out her right hand and the adamantium bound to Logan's entire skeletal frame responded.
Snikt!
"What the f...!" started an outraged Logan when he felt his feet leave the floor. The girl kept staring at the long metal claws sticking out of the back of his hands.
"Oma! Don't!" warned Jean. Oma turned to her and saw pure black eyes watching her and then she realized she was not speaking to Jean any more.
The female ensign released Logan and as he settled to the floor Oma was holding on to her chest.
Her heart was beating so fast that she felt that she would pass out.
Jean cautiously approached the extremely pale female ensign.
"We do not mean you any harm. We just want to get back home."
Oma stared at her with fear and wonder in her eyes. She still had not recovered from what she had done to the shuttle to survive the passage through the wormhole and 'lifting' the man before her had sapped the little energy she had just gained.
But her fear gave her new strength.
"You're them...you're really them...just as he described you." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Who are you talking about?" asked a worried Q Junior.
Oma answered without taking her eyes off Logan and the female doctor.
"Magneto...he described you both and he was not wrong."
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Logan had felt a moment of anxiety that turned to rage when he felt his feet leave the floor and he automatically triggered his metal claws.
When he first came into the medical bay he had been concerned about who they had rescued. Did she know about the worm-hole and who created it?
However Jean had telepathically assured him that the girl meant no harm and was only worried about her ship and her current location.
But God dammit! She was able to manipulate metal like a certain man who must not be named.
Was he cursed to run into metal-benders for the rest of his life ?
It took a while for him to realize that the girl was not attacking him; but testing him. And that made him madder than before.
He heard Jean's odd voice and realized the Phoenix had taken over; suddenly he was hoping the Phoenix did not obliterate the girl before them.
She was their best chance at getting in contact with Starfleet.
To his relief; Ensign Kadretti listened to Jean and set him down gently.
Then he began to worry the poor girl was having a heart attack because of the her pale complexion and the way she was clutching her chest. However he froze when he heard her mention Magneto's name.
"What do you know about Magneto?" Logan heard himself say in a voice that could have frozen lava.
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Oma was startled by the barely controlled anger in Logan's voice and by the closed expression on Jean's face. She looked at a worried Q Junior.
"Let's just say Magneto's not on the captain's Christmas list." The glare Logan sent in Q Junior's direction had the not-hologram shutting up quickly.
The captain turned back to Oma clearly waiting for an answer.
Oma swallowed carefully; as she tried to search her memory for what she knew about the X-men.
After Magneto's death; his children had published his memoirs and an autobiography.
One of his books which was titled Children of the Evolution had been dedicated to a Professor Charles Xavier.
A man,Erik Lensherr had described as a treasured friend; a loved brother and one of his most powerful enemies.
A telepath, he had greatly admired and who had also contributed a great deal to the continual survival of mutants.
Lensherr had also stated that Xavier had been running the Institute for the Gifted which had been as a safe haven for mutants who were trying to learn about their abilities.
Lensherr had gone on to describe the students he encountered and their teachers. Those teachers had also been members of a team called 'the X-men'.
There had been students who are gone on to join that team of mutant teachers.
Two of those teachers had been presumed dead after the Alcatrez Incident of 2006. Their names had been Dr Jean Grey ( Phoenix) and Logan ( Wolverine). No one had known Logan's last name.
Until now.
"Magneto wrote about you and Dr Grey before his death at the end of the Eugenics war." Oma stood up straight; she knew from Magneto's books that he and the mutant before her had been bitter enemies.
"All I know about Magneto is that I share his abilities and that he wanted to protect mutants...no matter the cost.
Though I do not agree with all of his tactics; I understand some of his reasons.
But I am not him. I am Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti...I have my own beliefs as you do Captain Howlett."
He stared at her for a long time; then he nodded slowly.
"Next time you're planning to lift me...let me know first."
Oma looked like she was about to faint from relief. "Yes sir...sorry about that sir." She turned to look at Dr Grey and she looked very worried.
Jean had a sad smile on her face.
"I must admit that I know about Magneto's memoirs...I actually have copies of them but I have not had the chance to read them.
What did he say about me?"
Oma was not sure but she had a feeling that the telepath was scared about what had been written.
The female ensign felt very awkward but something told her this was very important.
"He was sorry Dr Grey...he regretted how he contributed to the destruction of the Professor and what happened at Alcatrez.
I'm not sure...but from his books; I think he blamed himself for your 'death'."
"Hmm," grunted Logan with an irritated look on his face.
Jean had closed her eyes briefly then looked away. "I see...maybe when I have time...I will read those books."
Oma had no idea what to say to that, so she just nodded her head.
However to her relief her heart rate was now coming down to normal; then a thought struck her.
"That's why you named this ship the Xavier, in memory of the Professor?"
Q Junior coughed. "Eh...that was my idea."
"And why did you choose that name, I wonder?" asked Logan as he folded his arms. "You never told us why."
The male ensign went a bit red. "I never got a chance to actually meet the Professor...but I got a chance to watch him a little.
He was an idealist; at first he was a bit naive...feeling that everyone could get along but not seeing the obvious stubbornness and fear that man had to anything new or different.
A fear that could easily turn to hate and thus lead to wide-spread destruction."
Q Junior spread his hands. "It took centuries but eventually man was able to overcome his xenophobic attitudes and that led to the Federation and Starfleet that exists today.
Charles Xavier was a great man and I see him as a person who accepted anyone, be they mutant or non-mutant and he would have adapted to this time with no problem at all.
That is why I named this ship the Xavier...because now you're dealing with 'colonials' who would have felt right at home in 21st century Earth when hatred towards anything different was the norm.
Consider his name as a sort of good luck charm."
Logan had a wry smile on his face. "I gotta say Q Junior; if this continuum business doesn't work out for you...I bet there's a career for you in politics."
His smile broadened at the look of disgust on the boy's face.
"Now that Oma has been told most of the facts, where do we go from here?" asked Jean.
"We need to tell Starfleet," said Oma quickly.
Logan nodded. "Yes, I agree; however there are a few things you should know."
Oma frowned at his words.
"First...the colonials do not know Q Junior is a Q, they think he's really a hologram."
Oma's eyes widened. "But...but is that wise?"
Q Junior sighed. "Too late now...however I am technically just a hologram with a few...upgrades so it's best I am introduced as such at all times."
"Second," continued Logan "we need to keep an eye on them all the time.
They want this ship and have already tried to kill Laura and Q Junior already."
"What?! And you let them board this ship?!" exclaimed Oma.
"I think I better tell you what happened exactly and why the colonials hate all things AI," said Q Junior hastily.
Oma shot him a cold look that said he was to blame for everything.
"Tell me rest, leave nothing out."
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Several moments later, Oma was staring at the three of them as if they had suddenly sprouted wings.
This First Contact had the features of a disaster of epic proportions.
It was a miracle that things had even progressed this far.
However there was a high risk that things could change for the worst at any time; because the good captain had just told her the Xavier was on a recon mission in cylon controlled space.
She was beginning to wish she had not got out of bed that morning.
Her attention returned to the present when she realized Logan was asking her a question.
"Ensign Kadretti; could you please explain how you came through the worm-hole ? I was not here for your earlier debriefing."
Oma nodded and quickly explained how the anomaly was identified by the Romulan Empire who had to everyone's surprise asked the Federation for assistance.
The three people before her listened in stunned silence, as she described how she had ended up in their region of space.
"What ever possessed you to fly so close to the anomaly?" asked a astonished Q Junior "didn't you guys realize you may be drawn in?"
Oma gave him an irritated look. "The IKS Y'tem were much closer to it then we were and nothing happened ! There was no indication that close proximity was going to affect the wormhole.
In fact we were much further from it then the IKS Y'tem when the anomaly tried to draw us in!"
"The question is what triggered the wormhole...I don't think it was us either," said Jean with a worried look on her face.
"Ensign Kadretti, do you know what state the USS Dunkirk was in before you went through the wormhole?" asked Logan.
A look of panic appeared on Oma's face. "I...I was sure they would be okay once I dis-connected the tractor beams."
There was a look of approval on Jean's face. "You used your magnetic ability to break off the tractor beams plus the 'tentacles' attached to the Dunkirk. Well done."
Logan and Q Junior stared at the slim female teen in-front of them.
"That must have taken a lot out of you," said Q Junior in a concerned voice.
Oma was becoming uncomfortable with the scrutiny from the three people in front of her. She tried to change the topic.
"Captain Logan...permission to please contact the USS Dunkirk in order to tell them what is going on out here," she tried to keep the frantic tone out of her voice.
Logan looked at her for a while before answering gravely. "Permission granted Ensign Kadretti."
Oma was relieved and suddenly realized that beneath his grim attitude he was just as keen as her to get Starfleet involved.
For a brief moment she wished the worm-hole was still working but she was smart enough to know that such an anomaly on the Neutral Romulan border could cause all sorts of problems between the Federation and the Romulan Empire.
Problems that would surely escalate if they tried bringing a human refugee fleet with pursuing cylons through the worm-hole.
So maybe it was for the best that the damn thing had collapsed in on itself.
"You had nothing to do with the wormhole, did you Q Junior?" Oma asked with a curious voice.
Q Junior looked upset at the question. "No; besides if I did, do you think I would have been stupid enough to put it right on the Romulan Neutral Border?"
Oma looked around the medical bay of a Defiant Class ship that Q Junior claimed he had built on his own.
"No, you're not that stupid," she said softly as she wondered what 'upgrades' the Q had installed on this ship.
Oma did not know where she was or why exactly things were as they were but she was having a strange feeling in her chest.
It took mere seconds for her to recognize it as part fear and mostly excitement and to her surprise she realized she could not wait to find out more about the mess she had landed in.
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Unknown location, the Colonial refugee fleet...
Lee straightened up his viper as he did one more fly by.
They had been in their current position for 62 minutes. He wished they had left it several minutes ago, but a few of the ships had developed engine failure.
The president was adamant that none was left behind so all had stopped and there were frantic repairs going on in the damaged ships.
"Come on, come on!" prayed Lee frantically. They had been here way too long. He had a funny feeling that they were sitting ducks.
His communicator beeped and he switched it on. "This is the CAG Galactica Actual. What's the status of repairs on the damaged ships?"
A familiar voice answered him. "Commander , the last ship; the Adriatic has almost finished repairs but the Chrion is running very low on fuel. Tyrol is attempting a transfer as we speak."
Lee sighed. " Good, but tell them to move their arses we should have jumped several minutes ago."
"Yes commander...wait...DRADIS contact!"
Lee had seen the dots on his DRADIS before she had shouted the warning.
It looked like the cylons had found them.
And the Xavier was nowhere in sight.
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Saul Tigh was in the CIC with the Admiral when the klaxons went off. Orders were given to scramble vipers and raptors as the officers tried to find out what they were up to.
"What have we got Gaeta?" asked the Admiral in a firm voice.
"20 cylon vessels; 18 are raiders and the last two...appear smaller than normal sized raiders. They are keeping their distance.
Our vipers are out of the bays and ready to engage sir."
Adama watched the screen with a thoughtful look on his face; there was something about the manoeuvres of the cylons ships that looked familiar.
"Sir, what are your orders?" asked his XO.
"Do not engage," replied Adama as he continued to watch the screen. He ignored the startled look sent his way.
"Sir?" asked a stunned XO.
Adama looked at him. "I repeat do not engage...those raiders are after something else." He whispered in a lower voice.
"The Xavier?" asked Saul in a low voice as well.
The Admiral nodded. "I think so, make sure our boys and girls do not fire on those cylons. What's the status of the fleet?"
Gaeta answered this time. "Half of the fleet has jumped sir."
"Good, keep watching and I repeat again no one fires at the cylons."
The worried looks in the CIC were more but Adama was going to trust his gut instinct.
Three more minutes passed; minutes which seemed like hours and then the cylon raiders suddenly jumped.
Everyone was relieved when they got a report that the Adriatic was now ready to leave.
"About frakking time!" muttered the XO in annoyance.
"Gaeta, did those cylons try to communicate in any way?" asked Adama.
The Junior Lieutenant looked puzzled. "No sir, they just flew round the fleet as if...they were looking for something."
Adama nodded grimly. "Jump the fleet to the pre-set co-ordinates once our pilots get back in."
"Yes sir," said Gaeta before turning back to his controls.
Saul walked up to the Admiral and spoke in a low tone.
"Why in Hades name did they not attack us?"
Adama looked around to be certain no one was listening before he replied in a low voice.
"Logan was right...they want the Xavier. Right now they don't know where it is and they must think that as long as we are in one piece...the Xavier will return."
Saul stared at him. "We're bait?!"
Adama nodded. "I'm afraid so...which also means that we still haven't found out how the bastards are tracking us."
The XO sighed. "We tore up every place the...ensign stayed in. Even the airlock, the cell and the medical bay."
Adama already knew of the search; a few minutes ago he had been visited by an irate Dr Cottle who was very upset about the engineers taking his medical bay apart.
It had taken a lot to calm the doctor down.
"Then we may be pointing fingers at the wrong person as well as looking in the wrong places," said Adama in a worried tone.
Saul appeared at loss for words. "So what do we do?"
The Admiral found himself thinking of the possible existence of 5 cylons models that no one had seen before but he said something else.
"We keep looking and jumping and pray the Xavier is successful in its mission."
"May the Gods have mercy on us," muttered Saul with a bleak light in his eyes.
"So say we all," answered Adama before he left the CIC.
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Hello everyone; hope you're all enjoying the week.
By the by GCS is the Glasgow Coma Scale used to assess one's level of consiousness.
Sorry for the wait; but I was trying to write a longer one.
Next chapter will be longer and I will try to complete it soon.
Please read and enjoy! Have a great week people!
