Hi thanks everyone for reading the story; I do not own the rights to Battlestar Galactica; Star Trek and Xmen! Enjoy the story!

Chapter 35 Of The Phoenix and The Wolverine.

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The Galactica; conference room...

"I have nothing more to say sir."

Ander's felt his lower jaw drop and from the corner of his eye; Sharon looked just as confounded.

What was Kara doing? That wasn't the report that Q Junior had given them before they emerged from warp.

She had left a lot out of the report.

Especially; the most important bits.

The five additional cylon models; Ensign Rogers being a mutant.

Helo and Hera having the mutant gene.

No.

She couldn't do this to the Admiral, thought Anders in dismay. He opened his mouth to speak and stopped when he felt intense pressure on his right hand.

Anders looked down to see Sharon grasping his right hand tightly under the table.

She silently mouthed the word 'no'.

The male Junior Lieutenant stared at her in surprise; then looked at Kara who was also looking at him with a barely hidden pleading expression.

His wife was telling him to say nothing.

Unbeknownst to the other people in the room; a silent war raged in Anders' mind.

He lived by a code of honour; you don't betray your brothers and sisters in arms, you don't withhold significant information that could compromise the security of what was left of your people!

But for some inexplicable reason; he kept quiet as Admiral Adama started speaking.

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"Lieutenant Thrace, thanks for the summary. I expect each of you to submit a detailed report within the next 6 hours."

Kara internally winced as she took a seat beside Sharon; she hated making detailed reports.

They took so long to write.

"Now that the floor is open for questions; I have a few," started Saul Tigh abruptly.

"What can you tell us of the defence and attack systems of the Xavier?"

"More advanced than anything I have seen colonial or cylon wise," said Sharon "the entire ship is networked and they don't use interface systems if that was your next question sir.

Weapons that I am aware of are phaser cannons; think of them as a much larger form of the rifle that Q Junior used on the recon mission."

Lee's eyes widened a bit as he remembered the weapon the hologram had been carrying in the video they had just watched.

"They may have other weapons or missiles that I'm unaware of.

In-fact to speed us up; Q Junior had to draw energy from the weapons phaser banks, it worked but he could only do it for a short time so as not to significantly deplete their reserves."

"They were that free with that piece of information?" asked Gaeta with narrowed eyes.

"Yes," replied Sharon "that was exactly what Q said when I asked him."

"Communications?" asked Tyrol while Gaeta tried to digest what she had just said.

"They use subspace like we do but more efficiently and with a much further reaching range than what the Galactica has," continued the female cylon.

"What of the weapons the cylons used against the Xavier?" asked Lee "I have never seen such a high yield in all the times we fought against the cylons."

Kara was grave as she answered. "One piece of information Q Junior was able to get from the Hybrid was the fact that Cavil recently created a new nuke using anti-matter."

Sharon was watching the variation of expressions which ranged from anger to fear.

The blond female pilot beside her continued.

"The usual yield of the biggest cylon nuke is 65 megatons.

By using anti-matter, they were able to increase it to over 300 percent."

Kara saw more than one person swallow nervously. She didn't blame them; just thinking of the radioactive fallout was more than enough to give her a nosebleed.

"Also from Q Junior's analysis; the cylons were able to program the raiders to calculate the distance between Xavier's hull and the edge of the shield so that the raiders would jump into that space.

However due to the high instability of the anti-matter; any jump made by any raider carrying the new nukes was to be their last."

There was silence for several seconds as everyone tried to contemplate the destructive force of the new nukes.

"The cylons made their own raiders...suicidal." Everyone looked at the solemn face of the Admiral.

Sharon was already shaking her head. "More like Cavil made them into ticking time bombs; all centurions and raiders are programmed to follow orders," she paused " even if it means their own destruction."

That made Admiral Adama frown even more.

"Have any of you spoken to either Helo or Rogers since the battle?" asked the CAG in an attempt to draw attention away from his obviously upset father.

"I have spoken to Captain Agathon," replied Sharon " he and Rogers are fine.

Helo is guarding the two...guests while Rogers was on the bridge with Cadet Kinney the last time we spoke."

Lee Adama felt pleased with the news; it looked like Rogers and Helo were also integrating well with crew of the Xavier.

That might be very useful in the near future.

"How effective is the transporter technology?" asked the CAG "is it used often?"

Kara nodded; she had been wondering when someone would bring that up.

"It's very effective but not used that often; I get the feeling that Captain Logan isn't that fond of it."

"Why?" asked the Admiral as he echoed the question in everyone's mind.

Kara shrugged. "I don't really know why; it's just a hunch sir."

"Just how smart is Q Junior?"

Saul Tigh's question was directed at Sharon; the Number Eight cylon answered carefully.

"Q Junior is the engineer for the Xavier," she waited for all to absorb that fact "maybe the only one. He took an active part in planning the recon, in-fact he suggested the holographic disguise; showed remarkable ability to think on his feet and isn't afraid to object or act if he considers a certain action unreasonable.

He's also a pretty good shot with a phaser rifle."

Tyrol had a silent question on his face.

Sharon went on to explain. "It's a Starfleet rifle; able to punch through body armour and centurion body parts...Q Junior's particularly fond of head shots."

Lee could not help but feel impressed at that disturbing piece of information.

"However he's open to suggestions; shows utmost respect to Captain Logan and Dr Grey and is very protective of Ensign Kadretti and Cadet Laura Kinney," concluded Sharon.

Gaeta looked puzzled. "Cadet?"

Kara nodded. "Yes; that was how Rear Admiral Janeway addressed her when we spoke to her."

Roslin and Zarek looked a bit uneasy by that bit of news.

Maybe, because Laura Kinney looked too young to be a cadet in a military academy, thought Kara.

"So in answer to your question sir," continued Sharon "Q Junior is extremely intelligent...probably genius level yet not as arrogant as one would expect in a...human." The tone of her voice was dry.

"Or a cylon?" asked Zarek in an equally dry tone.

Sharon said nothing but smiled thinly.

"What of Cadet Kinney ?" asked Lee Adama.

"Also quite smart for her age; it takes a lot for her to trust someone new and she's frighteningly proficient in hand to hand combat and with her claws," continued Sharon.

"And her relationship with her father? What's that like?" asked Zarek.

The female cylon gave him a guarded look. "She's not afraid to argue with him but does so with respect. He is very protective of her..."

"Yet he let her take part in a dangerous recon mission?" cut in Roslin.

"Ma'am," started Kara "I don't think he had a choice in the matter...something tells me she would have come after us if he had refused."

"But why?" asked a puzzled Tory Foster.

Anders sighed. "I'm not sure...but I think she wanted to watch out for the captain and Q Junior because Kara, Sharon and I were going with them."

"Evening up the odds; maybe she didn't want her father and Q Junior outnumbered," said Tyrol in a thoughtful voice.

Anders shrugged. "Perhaps."

"The newest crew member Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti; what's she like?" asked the CAG.

"She's got brains and a backbone for sure," said Kara plainly "is calm under pressure as you saw during the recent battle and she definitely thinks before she speaks."

"From the debriefing; she seems to disobey orders, " commented Roslin in a disapproving voice.

Kara took a deep breath before answering carefully. "Ma'am; I respect her for disobeying orders in other to rescue us; or else we wouldn't be having this discussion."

Sharon nodded silently.

Kara continued. "Since she's a pretty good pilot from the little I've seen so far; I would love to see how she handles a viper or raptor...also another interesting fact is that she probably has similar abilities to Dr Grey."

"Like what?" asked a disturbed looking Zarek.

"When we first saw her, she was unconscious in the Xavier medical bay; then all the instruments around her were levitated into the air.

At first we thought it was Dr Grey's doing, until she proclaimed otherwise.

The doctor talked to her as she slept and just before she opened her eyes; the instruments were returned to their respective places. I haven't seen her repeat that since she woke up."

Tyrol and Gaeta exchanged concerned looks; both of them had seen the crew of the Xavier do strange things.

Everyone in that room had tried reading the summarized notes that Q Junior had given them earlier. The history of the evolution of mutants on Earth had been...intriguing; but reading it and seeing evidence of that evolution were two different things.

"And she's part...klingon?" asked Zarek in an odd voice.

Kara looked at him closely. She could tell the vice president was still trying to wrap his mind around that piece of information and that he didn't like it.

"Yes she is," answered the female colonial officer calmly "please bear in mind that her combined heritage may be considered the norm among the Thirteenth Tribe. In-fact; I didn't see Captain Logan or the other members of the crew treat her differently; they already treat her as part of their family."

Maybe the mutant gene has something to do with it thought Kara but she dared no mention that outloud.

"How was Captain Logan's leadership ?" asked Admiral Adama. The question was addressed to the Kara, Sharon and Anders.

The three looked at each other.

"Fair," said Anders.

"He's plainspoken," started Kara "gets straight to the point and doesn't hesitate to inform you when you're messing up.

He will give you the necessary info that you need for a mission plus outfit members of the team adequately, but will get riled if one attempts to mis-inform him.

As from the videos; you can see he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and he leads from the front."

"And the AI? You mentioned he is smarter than a Hybrid?" asked Roslin " Is it a security risk especially now that we know Caprica Six is still on board the Xavier ?" This question was directed at Sharon.

The female cylon looked at her for a long moment before answering.

"I admit that Six is dangerous; however I believe the crew of the Xavier are more than capable of preventing her from hacking into the ship's systems."

"How sure are you of that?" asked Zarek.

Sharon turned to him.

"Mr Vice President; you saw what Dr Grey did to the 650 cylon raiders and two basestars.

Do you actually think Six would stand a chance against her?"

A long moment of silence met her question.

"That raises another question that we all have been avoiding," said Saul gravely "who or what is Dr Grey?"

Lee frowned at him. "You just said she was an ultimate weapon."

"That is what I think Commander but we're still in the dark about what she truly is," cut in Saul; he looked at each person seated "this battleship is very small and so is the fleet.

Before tomorrow what happened in the CIC is going to be common knowledge..."

"Then you order the officers of the CIC not to say anything," interrupted Zarek calmly.

The XO laughed bitterly. "The more you try to suppress a rumour; the faster it spreads and the wilder it becomes...that's why I didn't bother with giving orders that won't be obeyed."

"That's not enough," disagreed a displeased Roslin " need I remind you that there are certain religious groups that will try and use what happened in the CIC to their advantage?"

Everyone looked at her.

"Who did you have in mind?" asked Admiral Adama.

Roslin was quiet for a long moment. "I'm not sure but I saw how many of your staff looked at her when she was floating above us.

I heard several of them whisper the words...the Oracle."

Kara saw Anders stiffen beside Sharon.

"So they think she's an oracle..." started Zarek nonchalantly.

Roslin turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. "Not just an oracle...it was more like 'the Oracle'. Anyone with ears and eyes could tell that it means something else."

The vice president leaned towards her. "Like what Ms President? Maybe they were just scared."

"It does mean something."

All turned to face Junior Lieutenant Anders.

The male colonial pilot looked very grave.

"Back on Caprica; there was a resistance fighter called Benjamin Teran. Before the holocaust, he had been an aeronautics engineer at the Caprica International Space Ports," Anders paused.

"He was a very quiet man; kept to himself most of the time, brilliant engineer, good fighter and...also a Son of Ares."

Roslin and Adama senior shared a silent look; no one noticed the guarded look that appeared on Zarek's face.

The Sons of Ares was a militant fundamentalist group; they were dedicated to the service of Ares; the Kobol Lord of War.

There were rumours that a fair number of the ex-convicts of the Astral Queen were members.

However, membership was supposedly secret but this society was infamous for brutal tactics against their enemies.

They had been behind more than one religious riot on Caprica and the rest of the 12 colonies.

But when the Holocaust had occurred; there was hardly a whisper of the Sons of Ares. But as the refugee fleet fled, incidents began to occur.

Things had almost come to a head several months ago when the Sons of Ares had taken several colonial officers hostage as they demanded for a pregnant Sharon to be handed over to them for execution.

Fortunately that incident had ended with minimal loss of life.

Since New Caprica; nothing had been heard from them but Roslin suspected many of them had been part of the resistance.

Anders kept talking as he looked at the table.

"One evening; he just started talking about the Sons of Ares.

How his father was a member and so was his father's dad and his great grand-dad as well. He stated their ideals and what they strove for.

Then he mentioned the Oracle."

The colonial pilot lifted his head and looked at everyone.

"In their oral history which has been handed down for only-the-Gods- know-how-long; the Oracle is an entity which is below Ares but above man.

This entity is the one who relays the wishes of Ares to his followers."

"I have never heard of this," said Zarek in a neutral voice "besides the Sons of Ares are known to be very secretive of their ideology."

Anders smiled dryly. "I thought so as well; but for some reason Benjamin wanted to tell someone and once he started; he couldn't stop talking.

It was like he was under some sort of spell that was driving him.

He mentioned that the last time the Oracle was heard from was almost a millennia ago, they believed the only time this entity would appear was when the situation was so dire that Ares had to intervene.

Another thing he said was that according to legend; the Oracle could take many forms...but the one it favoured the most was that of a young red haired woman."

The room became as silent as a tomb.

No one had to mention the obvious fact that Dr Jean Grey's hair was reddish in colour.

"You can't be serious," said Tory with the look of scepticism on her face.

Anders looked tired. "That's what he told me; I simply listened and put it from my mind the next moment. When you're running and hiding with a bunch of hungry, scared resistance fighters; you simply take it one day at a time and try not to take insignificant ideologies seriously."

"Are you saying...that the Sons of Ares may proclaim that Dr Grey is the Oracle ?" asked Saul Tigh in an incredulous tone.

Anders nodded. "From where I'm sitting; that is an increasing possibility sir."

"Where's this Benjamin Teran then? Let's ask him about this," said Roslin.

Anders smiled sadly. "That's not possible ma'am...he died in a fire fight the next day after he told me about the Oracle."

Adama senior closed his eyes for a moment.

"Maybe that's why he had to tell someone...probably knew his time was up," concluded Anders solemnly. He failed to notice the troubled look Kara sent his way.

"Then what do we do about Dr Grey?" asked Commander Adama.

The Admiral looked at his son. He didn't like the way his son phrased the question. It was like Lee saw the doctor as a security threat.

"We do nothing; let's not forget that she actually helped this fleet.

We wouldn't want to...cause conflict with her and the captain; especially now that Starfleet is on it's way."

"And what of the two 'guests' on board the Xavier ?" asked Zarek " we should demand they be handed over to us for interrogation and judgement."

Kara hid a sigh as the vice president answered his own question.

"There might be some difficulty in that sir."

Roslin looked at her sharply. "Explain."

"Captain Logan is not just going to hand over Six to us. I know, because I made the same statement in-front of him and he bluntly told me we were not allowed to lay a hand on her." Kara paused.

"He's concerned that she will be tortured...considering how Laura and Q Junior were treated," she didn't look at Saul Tigh as she spoke "it's no wonder he made that assumption."

Admiral Adama sighed but Zarek wasn't done.

"He has no right to hold them and we have every right to take them!"

"How?" countered Anders with an annoyed look on his face.

"By attacking the Xavier!? If Dr Grey is the Oracle; what do you think she will do to us when she finds out!?"

Tyrol couldn't help but smile grimly as those words effectively shut up Zarek.

"I agree that Six and Baltar must answer for their crimes," said Roslin softly "however having them turned over to us will require very delicate diplomatic negotiations.

This is an area where force is not required."

The Admiral nodded. " I agree. However; there is the bigger issue of the cylons and their sizable force.

We'll need help against them and considering the obvious fact that the Starfleet rein-enforcements are months away; the crew of the Xavier is all we've got."

Roslin had a thoughtful frown on her face. "That's true; however there's another matter we need to address," she paused "maybe we should try getting more colonial officers on the Xavier."

Zarek just stared at her. The Admiral raised an eyebrow.

Sharon narrowed her eyes.

"The captain will never allow us to exceed the number of his crew," said Anders carefully.

"Then we need to rotate the colonial officers assigned to the Xavier," said Roslin without looking at an expressionless Sharon "that will enable us to find out more about the ship and it's crew..."

"With all due respect ma'am," cut in Kara sharply "it took a lot before Captain Logan could trust us even a little!

It needed the infiltration of a basestar, the rescue of a child and the colonial prisoners of war; Anders getting shot and healed by Q Junior and a major battle we just witnessed for that trust to emerge.

And now you want to throw it all away by trying to assign a completely different team to the Xavier!?"

Kara looked livid as she glared at the female president.

"Well; please allow me to predict what will happen.

Captain Logan will politely tell us to go frak ourselves then he and his crew will return to their ship and none of us will dare stop them.

He won't abandon the fleet; but negotiations will be a lot more uncomfortable.

Still wish to pursue that line of action ma'am?"

To say Roslin was taken aback by Kara's words was the understatement of the year.

As for Admiral Adama , he didn't looked pleased at all with Kara's outburst.

"Lieutenant, though your reasoning is sound; your approach was wrong."

Starbuck took a deep breath; closed her eyes briefly then looked at the Admiral and nodded before speaking in a normal voice.

"Sir, ma'am...I apologize for the way I delivered my statements."

But all knew she wasn't sorry for the content or it's meaning.

"Starbuck is right."

Surprisingly these words came from Saul Tigh.

Kara's eyes widened. He was the last person she expected to have in her corner. The XO kept talking.

"You say Q Junior is a genius; well Captain Logan is a leader and a fighter. He may have been asleep for almost three centuries but that is irrelevant when you have someone who adapts as quickly as he has," Saul Tigh looked at the people around the table.

"He deliberately let us have this meeting on our own; giving the impression that he's not concerned about what we discuss in their absence.

Make no mistake; that doesn't mean he takes us for granted...in fact it means the exact opposite.

Captain Logan trusts us only a little. I know, because if our roles were reversed I would feel the same way...especially after the way I treated his daughter and Q Junior."

Everyone gave each other uncomfortable looks at the indirect mention of the airlock incident.

"Lieutenant Agathon," called Saul Tigh " the doctor wanted to see you. Why?"

The female cylon looked at him for a few moments.

"She asked if I could keep her company; so that the captain and Q Junior would come out and help the Admiral and the others about the trackers."

"Anything else?" asked Zarek.

Sharon hesitated briefly before answering. "She also asked if my brief time on the Xavier had been okay and if I wished to continue it."

"What did you say?" asked Roslin.

Sharon looked at her. "I stated I would like that but I would have to bring it up with my commanding officer."

Admiral Adama felt everyone's eyes on him.

"Since they are comfortable with you; that may be best," said the senior officer "I expect they don't object to you having Hera along."

Sharon felt her eyes sting but she just managed not to let her tears spill.

"Yes; Dr Grey stated Hera was very welcome to stay as well."

Kara's eyes narrowed when she saw Roslin go pale.

What was going through the president's mind?

"Thank you sir," said Sharon in a calm voice, then she paused "Admiral...Hera has the mutant gene."

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Lee Adama's head snapped up at Sharon's words.

What in the names of the Gods was she talking about?

He noticed Kara close her eyes wearily for a brief moment.

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"What?" asked Saul Tigh in surprise.

Sharon smiled wryly.

"I don't have the gene, but Helo has the dormant form and Dr Grey thinks Hera may have the active form of the mutant gene."

Zarek leaned forward with an intent look on his face.

"Is this the same gene that the...mutants of Earth have?"

Sharon nodded. "Yes it is."

Anders was staring at her in shock.

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Why was Sharon doing this?

Was she going to talk about Rogers and Novacek as well ?

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The Admiral looked at Sharon for a long time; then he opened his mouth to speak.

"Is this why Dr Grey asked if you wanted to stay on the Xavier? Because of Hera and Helo having the gene ?"

William Adama wasn't surprised that the thoughtless question had come from Zarek.

Even Roslin was giving him a grim look which the vice-president ignored.

But Zarek was far from done.

"Do you feel that this...gene," the way he pronounced it made it sound like a deformity or a disease "makes Hera or your husband important to the Thirteenth Tribe?"

Sharon didn't break eye contact as she answered the sneering vice-president.

"No sir; I don't think it's because of the gene that they asked me to stay.

They simply seem to feel comfortable with me."

Zarek's eyes hardened but the Admiral spoke quickly before the vice-president made the situation worse.

"Lieutenant Agathon didn't have to tell us this bit of information...but she did and I'm sure we'll have a chance to address it further with Dr Grey," the Admiral was glad to see Zarek back down when he mentioned the female doctor's name "...and Captain Logan.

However; what we should be concerned with now is the remaining basestars and their resurrection ships. We're still a very long way from Earth's territories and we have a lot of hungry people to feed; treat and protect."

"Now that you mention that; did Captain Logan explain why Earth is sending only three ships?" asked Saul Tigh.

Kara answered. "We didn't get a chance to ask that question sir, however the impression I got was that the Federation sent the ships...not Earth."

There were uncomfortable expressions at these words.

Unspoken was the unavoidable reality that Earth was a member of an allegiance of alien planets and seemed to be governed and possibly controlled by non-humans.

There were many who would consider that...very un-natural.

"We need to get the detailed history of Earth; the Federation and it's policies," said Roslin in a sombre voice.

Kara looked at her. "Q Junior gave us paper notes; didn't he?"

"They are only summaries, " added Gaeta " he did offer a PADD with all the data we would need." The Junior Lieutenant turned to Roslin.

The female president's face flushed a little. She had been the one to decline the PADD out of a security concern.

"Fine; get the PADD from him...just make sure it's safe to use."

Gaeta nodded silently. No one had to ask to know that Roslin meant a disconnected PADD like the one Kara had attached to the view-screen.

"I think it's time we got them back here; for there is a lot to discuss," said Saul Tigh.

Admiral Adama nodded. He turned to Sharon and Kara.

"Invite Captain Logan, Dr Grey and Ensign Q Junior to join us."

"Yes sir," said the two female pilots as they stood up and left the room.

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"They have sent two people to get us."

Logan stopped reading the list of ongoing repairs of the Xavier on the PADD to look at Jean.

The female telepath was seated on the bed playing with a wide awake Hera.

The 5 month old baby girl was cheerful and laughing as the doctor made faces as her.

Logan couldn't help but smile a little when he saw how comfortable Jean was with the child.

He knew she would make a great mother.

"I...think they have been talking a lot about us," said the telepath as she prevented a curious Hera from leaning too far over the edge of the bed.

"No surprise there Jean; that's why we left them. After what's happened in the last few hours; they will have a lot of questions.

What I'm concerned about; is that they may not like some of the answers."

"Like what?" Q Junior had shut away his PADD. The male teen was sitting cross legged on the floor.

"I took a good look at the vipers and raptors in the main flight bay. They are in need of a lot of repairs and supplies.

Once all the dust is settled; they will be asking for weapons and I'm talking about advanced Starfleet weapons."

"But you told them that wouldn't be possible in the first round of meetings," said Q Junior with a quizzical look on his face.

Logan nodded. "Indeed I did; but that will be conveniently forgotten or some smart political buffoon is gonna sprout stuff about how this is a 'unique' situation which calls for disregard of the 'Prime Directive' and how it's our moral and religious duty to aid our brothers and sisters in every way possible."

Q Junior stared at the man before him.

"Are you sure you weren't a politician in a previous life Captain?"

Logan snorted and gave him a dirty look to which the male teen had the gall to grin at!

"Please; I was almost 300 years old before I disappeared; more than enough time to hear the same crap over and over again from politicians from all corners of the globe.

These colonials are no different."

"They aren't all the same Logan," said Jean softly.

Logan looked at her. "Yeah; you're right about that; but it's the ones in charge I'm really concerned about and the Quorum who we are yet to meet."

Jean and Q Junior looked at him.

"We're going to have to meet them sooner or later the longer we stay with the fleet and I get the feeling they may be less...enlightened then the Admiral, the president and the vice-president."

Jean smiled wryly. "You're not very optimistic are you Logan?"

"Just call it being realistic." Logan's voice trailed off when his keen ears heard footsteps getting closer to the door. He handed the PADD to Q Junior without looking at him while he leaned casually against the wall but made sure Jean and Hera were behind him.

He heard Jean sigh as she picked up Hera who let out a happy squeal as she tugged at the telepath's free flowing hair.

Logan relaxed a bit when Kara and Sharon walked into the room. He hid his surprise at the obvious fact that they were not followed by armed guards.

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Minutes earlier...

As soon as the two female colonial pilots were alone on the corridor; Kara turned to Sharon.

"Why the frak did you tell them about Hera?!"

Sharon glanced at her. "I had to...I want it all out in the open now so that no one will accuse me of hiding anything.

However; be assured that I won't discuss the other...stuff."

Kara didn't have to be a psychic to know what she meant.

"I know you wouldn't do that Sharon; but telling them Hera and Helo have the gene is like painting a bullseye on their backs!

If Roslin or Zarek have a chance; they will want both of them sequestered in the medical bay for tests!"

Sharon stopped and faced the upset female pilot.

"And that is why I mentioned it now; in front of the Admiral and everyone."

Kara suddenly realized Sharon's aim. "You wanted witnesses."

"Precisely," said the female cylon before she started walking again.

For the rest of the walk; there was silence as Kara was lost in her thoughts.

Sharon reached the room first; her calm expression hid the fact that her heart was beating rapidly.

Just being away from Hera for a few minutes was almost causing a panic attack.

She hesitated before knocking on the door.

"Enter," said a familiar male voice within.

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Once Kara followed Sharon into the room; she was struck by how...domestic the scene appeared.

Logan leaning on the wall would be the father; Jean sitting on the bed with a baby was definitely the mother while Q Junior who had sat cross-legged on the floor with his PADD could be their son.

They not only looked like a family but behaved like one too.

Sharon went straight for her kid. Kara smiled as Hera squealed with joy at the sight of her mother. The child reached out for Sharon as Jean gently passed her back to the female cylon.

"Good to see you looking better Dr Grey," said Kara.

Q Junior stood up from the floor as Logan asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Is everything alright?"

Kara and Sharon shared a silent look as Hera now began to play with the labels on the female cylon's uniform.

"It's okay for the moment Captain," replied Kara "the Admiral; President Roslin and the others want to see you; Dr Grey and Q Junior."

Logan frowned and opened his mouth to protest.

"I'll be happy to attend," said Jean before he could say a word.

He gave her a meaningful look.

"Logan; I'm fine. If I stay any longer in this room; I'm going to get cranky."

The captain still appeared reluctant as she stood up from the bed. He tried to move forward to help her only to be stopped by a glare from the female doctor.

Logan raised his hands in mock surrender and smiled ruefully.

"As you wish ma'am."

That made her glare even more.

Q Junior on the other hand watched her with a concerned look on his face but kept his distance.

Jean stood and stretched her neck and arms.

"That was a good sleep; now I'm ready." She said as she faced Sharon and Kara.

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Lieutenant Ann Lackey rechecked the vid-feed.

It was working perfectly; she, Sergent Tyler and the other marines were still in the room next door.

When they realized that the Captain of the Xavier and his engineer were not going to be in the first part of the meeting; she had turned off the feed so that the Admiral and the leaders of the 12 Colonies could have a meeting in private.

Half an hour later; Lieutenant Thrace had informed them that she and Lieutenant Agathon were going to collect Captain Logan for the next part of the meeting.

Ann had shared a worried look with Tyler.

Most of them in the next room had been concerned when Captain Logan and Ensign Q Junior left the conference room earlier.

The captain of the Xavier hadn't looked upset but he hadn't looked pleased either...just very thoughtful.

Ann had not been in the CIC during the battle; but she knew something odd had happened from the way everyone was behaving.

She was almost afraid to ask what it was; but she was certain it had something to do with the crew of the Xavier.

One sentence she kept hearing again and again was 'the Oracle has returned'.

Now Ann wasn't particularly religious but she got frightened when she saw certain people she knew to be almost fanatical about their faith whispering these same words.

Ann knew about the Oracles of Delphi. They were supposed to know the future; however she was yet to hear or meet someone who really had that ability.

The priests and priestesses had already had people flocking to them for answers about the future ever since the Xavier appeared but 'the Oracle' was something new to Ann and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what it meant.

She just hoped the Admiral and his command knew what to do.

"Oh my Gods," Ann turned to face an ashen looking male marine who was staring out the open door.

"She's attending...the Oracle is attending."

Curiosity made Lieutenant Mackay look out the door to see Lieutenant Thrace; Lieutenant Agathon carrying of all things a baby, Captain Logan, Ensign Q Junior and a young woman with red hair and odd but nice looking cloths walking towards the conference room.

It didn't take long for an astonished Ann to realize who they were calling the Oracle.

As the small group entered the conference room; the interpreter knew the meeting they were about to witness was going to be interesting.

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Logan felt the tension in the air when he entered the room with the others.

He waited for most of them to take their seats before he sat down between Jean and Q Junior.

Everyone glanced quickly at Dr Grey before looking elsewhere.

Logan thought it was similar to the way one behaved when a predator was in the room.

That worried him to some extent; he just hoped someone didn't do something stupid.

Don't worry Logan; I've got our six. Said a familiar dark feminine presence in his mind; it also sounded amused.

That's what I'm worried about. Thought Logan as he tried to keep a straight face.

The Phoenix laughed softly in his head.

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"Dr Grey; how are you feeling?" said President Roslin pleasantly.

The female telepath smiled at her. "I'm fine; thanks for asking.

I'm also grateful for you inviting me to this meeting."

"I suppose the crew of the Xavier are listening in as well," said Zarek smoothly.

Jean looked at him for a moment. "Yes; Captain Agathon and Ensign Rogers are with them as well."

Lee shared a quick look with Tyrol.

"Can we speak to them?"

Logan answered. "I don't see why not; I expect Q Junior can simply fix something up."

Everyone looked at the hologram.

"Well; actually I can also make the crew of the Xavier, Captain Agathon and Ensign Rogers visible to us by using the view-screen in this room."

"Please explain," asked a very curious Tyrol.

Q Junior held up his PADD and detached his com-badge.

"By re-routing the signal from the com-badge into this inter-connected PADD, " he noticed the uneasy looks his words caused "it won't affect your systems or ours as any signals coming through will be directly from our ship to these two.

Think of it as a bigger version of a com-badge."

There was silence for a short while.

"Sounds like a damn good idea."

Logan closed his eyes briefly at the sound of Laura's dry voice. Beside him; Jean hid a wince behind a closed hand.

"Cadet Kinney I suppose," said Roslin.

"Yes, Madam President," responded the female teen in the still dry voice. It wasn't exactly disrespectful but it just sounded bland.

"I'm glad to see you're alright."

Everyone waited for Laura to respond.

"Thanks for the concern." If anything the tone was even more dry as if slightly bored.

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On board the Xavier, Oma resisted groaning in embarrassment as Helo and Rogers stared at the indifferent female teen who had re-routed the comms to the helms-station.

Oma quickly cleared her throat and spoke before Laura worsened the situation.

"This is Ensign Kadretti of the Xavier; we're ready to proceed with Ensign Q Junior's plan if you still wish to go ahead."

There was silence for a moment before Captain Logan answered.

"Everyone's in agreement down here; give us a few moments while Junior sets it up."

"Understood sir," said Oma before signing off. She turned to see Laura smirking at her.

Oma silently shook her head in exasperation.

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There was silence in the conference room as everyone watched Q Junior attach his PADD and com-badge to the view-screen.

Chief Tyrol and the CAG were standing on either side of him to see what he was doing.

He didn't appear bothered.

At first; Tyrol had asked if he would need a micro-spanner or screw-driver.

Q Junior had looked blankly at him for a moment before stating he would use his hands.

Most of them were puzzled until Q Junior 'phased' his hands into the top of the view-screen where Kara had attached the first PADD.

Saul Tigh had been very disturbed and tried to hide his emotions; then he felt someone was staring at him.

He turned to see Anders looking at him with an odd light in his eyes.

The XO narrowed his eyes; what the frak was wrong with the Junior Lieutenant?

"It's all done."

Q Junior's voice brought the XO back to the present; when he looked at Anders again, the male colonial pilot was looking at the hologram.

Tyrol put on the screen when Q Junior nodded.

The screen flickered for a few moments; then cleared rapidly to show four young people looking back at them.

Most of the occupants of the room could recognize three of them but a good number didn't recognise the slim young dark skinned woman with short snow white hair wearing a red and black uniform similar to what Q Junior wore.

She was standing with her hands behind her; beside a seated Laura Kinney.

"Galactica," called the girl in the red and black uniform in a voice that seemed to have a slight caprican accent similar to Captain Logan's "we see you."

"And we see you as well," said Admiral Adama in barely suppressed surprise.

He was relieved to see Helo and Rogers looking well.

Laura Kinney was dressed in a similar black outfit like her father but the fourth person was the big surprise.

Ensign Ihuoman Kadretti; was part klingon?

William Adama found that hard to believe because if one dressed her up in a colonial uniform and she would have passed for a Gemenon; that is if one ignored the slight ridges on her forehead and the shock of white hair.

"Ensign Kadretti," called Logan "how's things ?"

"The situation is satisfactory sir and repairs have been started," answered the female ensign calmly.

"Good," said Logan simply before looking at the two colonials standing on her left side "your superiors wanted to speak to you guys."

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On board the Xavier; Helo and Rogers shared an astonished look before turning back to the view-screen.

They could see everyone; from the president to the Gaeta.

Both of them missed the wry look on Laura's face at their expressions.

"Captain Agathon, Ensign Rogers," both men stood at attention when they heard their commanding officer's voice.

"Glad to see you both are well."

"Yes sir; we're just glad to be here."

Laura suppressed the urge to laugh; if she heard one more person mention the word 'glad' again; she was going to lose it.

Like seriously; there had to be more words in the English Dictionary that meant the same thing!

"If you two are in their CIC; then who's watching Baltar and Caprica Six ?"

Laura wasn't surprised to find out that the question came from the female president.

However , it was Oma who answered.

"Xavier is still keeping an eye on them, ma'am."

Laura was impressed by the respective way the female Starfleet officer addressed Roslin.

None of the people in that conference room had introduced themselves but Oma was reading their body language and had guessed correctly that the woman speaking now was a person of authority.

The president looked at Ensign Kadretti for a moment.

"I see."

Laura frowned; she didn't like the way Roslin's voice subtly changed when she looked at Oma.

As if she was uncomfortable with what she was looking at. The female teen mutant sat up and began to pay more attention to the body language of the people she could see in the view-screen.

She could recognize the one called Tyrol Galen; he looked very curious, the XO Saul Tigh was watching them with a narrowed eye.

The old man was as suspicious as always.

Tory Foster looked as if she was trying to hide her fear, Lieutenant Gaeta was staring at Oma as if he had seen something very...odd.

The CAG was watching everything with narrowed eyes like his XO , while the Admiral had a thoughtful expression on his face.

Vice President Zarek was regarding Oma with a blank stare which could be hiding anything.

Lieutenant Sharon was clutching her child pretty tight; it was a wonder that the baby was not making her displeasure known by wailing for all she was worth.

Anders looked resigned and concerned, Laura wondered if he had split the beans yet.

Maybe not; from the way Kara shot anxious glances in his direction when she thought no one was watching.

Then Laura turned her attention on Q Junior, Dr Grey and her father.

Q was still standing beside the view-monitor in the conference room; he looked a bit on edge, she wondered why.

Dr Grey was very relaxed while Logan seemed a bit...indifferent.

That made the hairs on the back of Laura's neck rise.

She may not have known Logan for long but yet something in the way he sat gave her the impression of a predator watching and waiting for something to happen.

"Now; I know most of you haven't met Ensign Kadretti so if it's okay with everyone I will do a quick round of introductions," said Captain Logan calmly. He waited for signs of agreement before quickly naming everyone for Oma's benefit.

"Thank you sir," said Oma "it's an honour to speak to all of you."

Laura barely resisted rolling her eyes; Oma sure seemed to know how to play the diplomacy card !

"Since we more or less know who's who; let's get down to business," said Logan without wasting time.

"You've all discussed with Lieutenant Thrace; Lieutenant Agathon and Mr Anders about the recon on the basestar, do you have any questions for us?"

"You seem in a hurry," said Zarek calmly.

Logan looked at him. "I still have repairs to complete on my ship; we also need to put distance between ourselves and the cylons as well as try to meet up sooner with the Starfleet reinforcements.

You can bet that I'm in a hurry alright," he turned away from him to look at Admiral Adama.

"However; I also know to be able to fight or flee; one needs fuel, food and ammunition."

Oma stared at him in alarm at the last word.

Even Laura frowned. Surely Logan wasn't about to supply Starfleet weapons to the colonials!?

"You'll give us Federation weapons?" asked an astounded Saul Tigh.

Logan gave him a look that everyone interpreted as 'do I look stupid?'

"We'll help with food; medication and assist with repairs if needed," replied the captain of the Xavier calmly "I've already stated where I stand on providing you with Starfleet weapons; that is not happening."

Zarek frowned. "But surely considering recent events; the uniqueness of the situation calls for a wavering of Federation laws that restrict you providing us with advanced weapons with which we'll use to defend ourselves against the cylons."

Logan tried to keep calm as he listened to the oily voice of the vice-president.

"Those rules exist for a reason Mr Zarek," said Dr Grey in a pleasant tone which somehow reduced the tension in the room "we can't simply disregard them because of the gravity of the situation.

What if we do supply you with weapons and they somehow end up in the hands of the enemy ?"

"How?" asked Roslin.

Jean calmly looked at her. "Anyone's ship could be disabled and captured along with it's crew; that is a real possibility," she looked around the table "is it not?"

No one was able to dispute her words.

The Admiral decided it was time to change the topic.

"How soon can you help us with other supplies?"

Logan turned to him. "Once Q Junior has had a chance to make sure Xavier is in good shape because the equipment needed to replicate the supplies is on board our ship. However; what do you need right now?"

A lot of things thought Lee but he decided to keep it simple.

"Refined Tylium; I don't suppose you could replicate that."

As expected; all looked at Q Junior.

He had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I'm not sure that would be wise; at times replicated fuel is not the same as naturally obtained fuel."

On the Xavier; Oma nodded silently. Starfleet vessels ran on antimatter but needed dilithium crystals to regulate it. Replicated dilithium crystals didn't work as well as natural ones.

"Our sensors could locate star systems where this fuel is in abundance so that you could refuel," continued the sentient hologram.

The Admiral and his XO looked at each other briefly.

"That would be useful," said Adama senior "you could work with Chief Tyrol; that is his department." It wasn't an order but a suggestion.

"Yes sir," said Q Junior politely.

"I have a question."

William Adama tried not to sigh at Zarek's voice.

"Like what?" asked Saul Tigh brusquely.

The vice president ignored him. "Where's your holoemitter?"

Q Junior felt everyone's gaze on him as he answered. He didn't have to look at Roslin to see her expression darken.

"I was advised to hide it," he tapped his right shoulder " inside here," he looked at Kara before the vice president could say another word.

"I told him to hide it from Six; because she's one very smart...person," said the female colonial as she just barely remembered not to swear.

Zarek didn't look satisfied with the answer as he turned to Captain Logan.

"When are you handing over Dr Baltar and that...cylon to us?"

Both Adamas glared at the vice president.

From across the table; Roslin looked like she wanted to strangle him.

Zarek also ignored her as he got into a staring match with Captain Logan.

To everyone's surprise and worry, Logan smiled slowly as he leaned back in his chair.

"Six stays with us because I believe we're the only ones who can keep her secure; as for Baltar...that option will be up to him."

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The marines in the next room had almost sworn when they heard the name of their previous president.

Many had thought that he was dead.

No loss there if you asked the majority of them.

However; now that they knew he was alive; there was also the knowledge that there were countless people in the fleet who would line up to personally tear their former elected leader to pieces.

"Not a word people," said Tyler in a calm, firm voice as he kept his eyes on the view-screen in-front of him.

At his voice; all the marines calmed down and resumed their vigil.

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On board the Xavier; Rogers suddenly realized he was sensing all the rage coming from the conference room and beyond it on board the Galactica.

He quickly put up his mental shields before his migraine-like headache hit; however that didn't stop him from seeing the troubled look on Oma's face.

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"Excuse me?" stammered an astonished Roslin "up to him?! Do you know what that man has done?! He was a puppet for the cylons and because of him a lot of people died!"

Logan just looked at her calmly; appearing indifferent to her outburst.

"Innocent until proven guilty."

Lee blinked several times at his words. "What?"

The captain of the Xavier seemed to gaze into space as if recalling a distant time.

"Back in the day before I was...taken," Saul Tigh noticed Q Junior looking uncomfortable at the last word "that was what the cops used to say when they arrested someone...you're innocent until proven guilty."

Logan looked at each of the people around the table.

"I may not know what it's like to lose an entire planet or a significant number of colonies or to have one's population reduced from 20 billion to less than 45,000.

However; I would be reassured to know that the war has not obliterated your justice system.

Do you know exactly what happened between him and the cylons?"

"Of course we do," said Zarek bitterly.

Logan raised his eyebrows. "Also are you absolutely 100 percent damn sure about your facts?" he delivered his question calmly.

Zarek opened his mouth to reply and shut it again without saying a word.

Logan nodded grimly. "I thought so."

"You're suggesting a trial?" asked a puzzled Lee Adama.

The captain of the Xavier looked at him for a long moment. "You had something else in mind?"

Lee drew back as his face flushed red.

"He doesn't deserve a trial," blurted out Roslin "a lot of people died on New Caprica who never got a trial ! Why the frak should he get one?!"

Her angry voice woke up the sleeping infant in Sharon's arms.

The cry of a baby had everyone looking at Hera as she tried to calm her distraught daughter.

Helo who was watching felt his heart rate pick up.

But the president of the 12 colonies gave Sharon and her child a very sinister look.

Roslin ; who was still obviously seething, opened her mouth to deliver a possible stinging rebuke.

Dr Grey turned her head quickly to look at her.

"You may be refugees; but you are not savages," the female doctor's voice was calm but her eyes were warning the female president to be very careful of what she said next.

Roslin took a deep breath before talking; her voice was barely under control as she tried to concentrate on the distasteful topic of Gaius Baltar.

"He is a criminal..."

"Will his death provide food and medicine for the rest of the fleet?" demanded Jean in a calm voice.

"No; all we want is justice..." started Roslin again.

Jean narrowed her eyes. "You're sure it's not vengeance ?"

Everyone froze at those dark words.

"Take it from one who knows; revenge is bitter and it leaves you hollow and kills a bit of you every day. Is that what you want?"

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Oh dear; thought Q Junior in dismay. This is not good.

He didn't have to look at Logan to realize his thoughts mirrored his own.

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"Holy shit," muttered Rogers in deep fear; his shields were no barrier to the level of raw mental energy that was pouring from Dr Grey.

"What is going on?" whispered Helo.

Oma and Laura exchanged worried looks.

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"She's the Oracle, by Ares; she is the Oracle."

Lieutenant Lackey stared at the marine beside her. He was as pale as a ghost.

The female linguist turned to Tyler and to her disbelief he was staring at the screen with his lower jaw hanging.

What in the name of Hades was going on?

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Roslin stared at the female doctor.

When Logan had indirectly advised them to give Baltar a trial; she had been ready to attack him verbally. She didn't know why she was so ready to blow her top.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that the Quorum had been on her back every half an hour since the Xavier disappeared and now that they were back; the damn council was still demanding a meeting asap.

Maybe it also had to with the very obvious fact that she had not slept properly for the past week.

But Roslin had gotten extremely angry when she finally realized that Logan wasn't going to meekly hand over Baltar.

In fact he had the gall to advise them about having a trial!

That man was guilty and if he had been standing in the room right now; she would have shot him herself !

What right did Logan have in telling them what to do?! He was a 300 year old forgotten soldier who had recently been thawed for only the Gods-knew-what!

Then Sharon's baby began to cry and the female president felt like she was about to lose it completely.

Roslin had been about to demand that Sharon went to the medical bay with an escort and hand the child over to Dr Cottle for a check up.

In fact Roslin was personally going to see to it that the child was taken away before the current situation got any worse!

Then Dr Grey had whipped her head round to stare at her as if...as if she knew what she was thinking.

Roslin had turned to attack her and got a lot more than she bargained for.

When Jean spoke in that dark powerful voice; Roslin knew she was listening to more than one person.

And suddenly; the female president realized she didn't want to hear the rest of what that 'other' person had to say.

At that point; a stray question entered Roslin's mind and she found herself saying it out loud.

"Are you the Oracle?"

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Logan had been trying to stay calm and was furiously thinking up a way to defuse the situation when Roslin asked a very random question.

Jean blinked as if waking up.

"What did you just say?"

Logan hid his relief that Jean's voice was back to normal.

That actually made Roslin look more pale.

"You...you don't know what just happened...did you?"

Dr Grey sighed wearily. "Of course I do," she closed her eyes briefly before concentrating on the female president before her.

"President Roslin, I'm mutant...like Captain Logan, like Laura," she pointed at the screen "and Ensign Kadretti...and Ensign Rogers."

Most of the colonials gaped at the screen.

Ensign Rogers felt his face flush as they all stared at him; he suddenly felt two calm reassuring presences and turned slightly to see Oma and Helo had moved closer on either side of him.

However back on the Galactica; Jean wasn't done. "The part of me you just saw appears...when I feel very emotional about something. I'm not an oracle President Roslin. Once again; I'm just a mutant from Earth."

The colonials just stared at her in scepticism as Hera calmed down amazingly.

Jean resisted sighing again as she realized they didn't believe her. "I still stand by what I said; food and medicine is what's important right now. The captain and I would be happy to assist.

Once the immediate pressing problems are sorted out; we can then re-address the issue of your former president."

She looked at Logan who had wisely stayed silent throughout.

The big man beside her nodded. "Sounds like a good plan," he turned to Admiral Adama.

"Where would you like to start?"

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Q Junior was strongly tempted to breathe a sigh of relief; but he kept his face neutral. He turned to look around the table and was a bit startled to find Saul Tigh staring at him with a thoughtful expression on his face.

The Starfleet ensign turned away quickly and tried to concentrate on what Admiral Adama was saying.

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"Earlier on; you stated Ensign Rogers was a mutant...and Lieutenant Agathon told us several minutes ago that both Captain Agathon and Hera have the mutant gene as well," he paused "can you please explain?"

Dr Grey leaned on the table.

"On Earth ; research that lasted centuries showed that it was most likely the next level of human evolution...however we hastened it along with increasing use of nuclear energy and the Third World War which was fought with nukes."

The talk of nukes clearly made them all uncomfortable.

"Our history has already been made available to you so I'll skip to the relevant information about the mutant gene."

Lee suddenly wanted to know what Dr Grey regarded as 'irrelevant'.

But he didn't have the guts to ask her that now. He snuck a quick look at President Roslin. She was a bit calmer but he was still shocked at how quickly she had lost her temper.

But his surprise was nothing compared to how Dr Grey had handled the President's anger.

Dr Jean Grey was simply not normal; Lee now had a pressing need to watch the CIC security feeds.

Lee's forced his mind to return to the present as the female doctor continued with her explanation.

"I have also had a chance to look at the summarized history of the Twelve Colonies and could see some similarities in the use of nuclear energy.

From providing usable energy for cities and planets to being used as weapons in your civil wars and in the Cylon Wars.

We all know that even without nuclear reactors; we are exposed to weak radiation from the sun, then factor in nuclear plants and that increases a hundred fold.

Add in wars where nuclear weapons are used extensively and the human body is being exposed to so much radiation that the only two options are to adapt or die." Jean looked at the silent pensive people around her.

"Ensign Rogers; Captain Helo and Hera," she gave the calm child a gentle look " are evidence of the gradual move to the next stage of human evolution.

It might also be evidence that the people of Earth are related to the people of the 12 Colonies of Kobol."

There was silence for a long time.

"If that is the case," started the Admiral carefully "then why haven't we seen or heard of more of these mutants before now?"

"Admiral Adama,". Everyone looked at the screen to see Ensign Rogers had stepped forward. "Permission to speak?"

"Granted," said the senior officer.

"I may have an answer to that question. Maybe there have always been mutants among us; probably not in the same ratio as exists on Earth.

But what if the mutants among us were seen as...'touched by the Lords of Kobol because of the abilities they possessed?"

The Ensign went on to explain further.

"My grandmother was Priestess Mercia Rogers of the Hikal temple of Ares on Tauron."

Zarek narrowed his eyes when he heard this; was Ensign Rogers a son of Ares? He looked quickly around and saw Roslin also had a thoughtful frown on her face. Even Captain Logan has a similar expression on his face but Dr Grey didn't seem awed by the information.

"She was...different; in that she could foresee the future."

"She was an oracle?" asked Saul Tigh with a sceptical look on his face.

Though Oracles were respected members of the clergy; they were far down the hierarchy in the religion of the Twelve colonies. More respect was given to the senior 'brother' and sister' members of the priesthood.

The main function of the oracles was to interpret dreams and 'visions', some people didn't take them seriously while others regarded every word as gospel.

Almost everyone knew the XO's views on religion.

He had been heard to bluntly state that it and the clergy created more problems than solutions.

Ensign Rogers looked at the XO. "Sir; she predicted my birth right down to the second and date...and it was three weeks before the due date given to my mother by the doctors.

She also sent for me a week before Holocaust day and advised me to stay for a specific length of time," he paused "I was informed that I was...'different' like her and that I would be the only one she could save.

Everything she said; came true.

To be honest; before that last visit, I kind of knew I was already different from everyone else but I ignored it."

"Ensign Rogers; how are you different?" asked Saul Tigh in an unusually calm voice.

The colonial pilot hesitated before answering.

"Sometimes I know what's going to happen before it does," he saw the doubt on some of the faces before him.

"It's true." Everyone's attention was turned towards Kara.

"As we fled from the colonies; I send out a request to all ships for anyone with anyone who had flown a viper or raider or was interested in learning," she looked at Roger's image "however this guy was already at the recruiting station before I made the fleet wide announcement."

"Doesn't prove he's an oracle," said Tory Foster dryly.

Kara smiled coldly at her. "Ensign Rogers had the highest simulation scores in the entire group of pilots I had to train.

At first I thought it was he was one of the few cadets we were able to save from Tauron; then we got into fire-fights with cylons and from a review of some of his records...he seemed to be able to predict where the next shot would come from and thus plan and act accordingly."

Rogers stared at her in disbelief. Lieutenant Thrace had been keeping track of his battle score and he hadn't known!?

Kara kept talking. "At first I thought it was just some sort of 'pilot's instinct'."

She saw Lee nod; as a pilot himself he knew what she was talking about.

"The Ensign Rogers predicted when the anomaly I just showed you was about to emerge and who would come through it."

Most of them looked at Oma ; who calmly returned the gaze.

"Every prediction he made on this mission came true; for me...that is the work of an oracle."

Rogers felt his face redden as everyone turned back to him again but what worried him the most were the dark emotions he felt from Vice President Zarek.

Suspicion was chief among them and at that moment; the young ensign left like a microbe under the lens of a microscope.

Rogers found himself strengthening his mental shields and he suddenly felt better when he could no longer sense Zarek's emotions.

"Ensign Rogers does have a point," said Dr Grey " as the captain explained in the earlier meetings; there is evidence of mutants who existed several centuries ago on Earth but in much smaller numbers." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"Some mutants had certain abilities that made people consider them as messengers from the Gods," Kara lifted her head because this was the first time she had ever heard the doctor say 'Gods' instead of 'God'.

"Or considered harbingers of chaos and thus avoided...

"Or they were simply hunted down and killed."

The Admiral was successful in hiding his startled reaction when Cadet Kinney spoke in the calm voice of someone who was simply talking about the weather.

"Maybe the mutants among you are keeping their abilities secret because they don't understand them or don't wish to stand out," she stopped examining her nails then looked at the screen "because man has a tendency to attack what he fears...or does not understand." Her calm gaze settled on Colonel Tigh for a long moment before moving on.

William Adama suddenly felt concerned for his old friend, especially after seeing how the young female mutant had ripped apart cylons without a shift in her calm expression.

Laura's father may have called for a ceasefire but Laura still held a grudge.

"Admiral," started Captain Logan after he gave his daughter an unreadable look "I'm certain Dr Grey would like to discuss this further but knowing more about mutants is not going to address your current problem of supplies; fuel and repairs."

"What are you suggesting?" asked President Roslin.

Logan looked at each of them.

"We have all had a long day; we all need a break. I suggest us returning to the Xavier to complete repairs and assisting you any way we can," then he concentrated on the Admiral "however we would appreciate it if the current group of colonials based on my ship remained the same."

Roslin narrowed her eyes as she quickly looked at a peaceful Hera and a very pale Sharon.

"Surely having a child of that age will limit Lieutenant Agathon's use on your ship..." Both Adamas frowned at her.

They had already agreed that Sharon would stay on the Xavier! What the frak was Roslin doing?!

"On the contrary" cut in Logan smoothly " she gets to spend more time with her child as well as provide us with more intel about the cylons."

Zarek frowned.

"I thought you hacked into their mainframe."

Logan gave him an almost pitying look. "Reading the enemy's files is a bonus believe me; however most times the knowledge of the way the enemy thinks and plans is priceless and hardly ever found by just hacking into someone's hard drive."

Gaeta swallowed nervously. Logan was lecturing the easily irate vice-president as if he was a little boy who didn't know his letters.

"So even if her intel is months out of date; her personal assessments of the cylon leaders and players is important."

Zarek opened his mouth to respond.

Admiral Adama didn't give him time to speak."Lieutenant Agathon, Captain Agathon," Both officers looked at him; one of them on the bridge of the Xavier.

"You will both be posted on the Xavier; any objections?"

Helo shared a silent look with his wife; it lasted a few seconds. Then he nodded.

"None sir," said Sharon in a voice which contained a hint of relief.

"Ensign Rogers." The ensign had a concerned expression on his face.

"Junior Lieutenant Anders and Lieutenant Thrace," even the couple appeared anxious as well "the same goes for you?"

"I'm happy to stay sir," said Rogers immediately.

"So am I," said Starbuck. Then she looked at Anders when he hesitated a bit.

"Same here Admiral."

Adama senior nodded. "Fine; it's settled, I agree with what Captain Logan suggested. Ensign Q and Chief will start searching for nearby systems what contain Tylium and once repairs are completed on the Xavier, we can discuss how we will obtain the fuel we need."

Everyone looked satisfied with the plan...apart from Zarek.

Admiral Adama held back a sigh as he saw the vice president open his mouth to speak.

However a loud knock at the door stopped him as everyone stared at it.

William Adama frowned.

The marines in the next room knew how important this meeting was.

For them to interrupt, there had better be cylons attacking or something just as dire.

Sergent Tyler stuck his head into the room and his face flushed when he saw all the faces staring at him.

"Admiral; it's Dr Cottle."

"Is something wrong?" asked Admiral Adama with a worried frown.

Tyler swallowed nervously. " He's here and he..."

"I want to see Hera Gods-dammit!" growled the doctor as he practically barged past the marine and entered the room.

Logan looked quickly at Sharon and to his surprise her shocked look changed to a little sad smile.

"He won't harm her or the child," reassured the Phoenix and Jean in Logan's mind "he actually cares beneath all that gruff behaviour."

Then why did he fake the child's death and assist in Hera being separated from her mother? Thought Logan.

Jean looked at him. "He thought he was doing the right thing."

Logan snorted mentally. Where had he heard that before? It sounded like the 'ends justify the means' phrase to him.

"It's more complicated than that."

Logan was still not convinced but decided to stay silent.

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Admiral Adama liked to think that hardly anything surprised him but Dr Cottle barging into a very important meeting certainly qualified as the last thing he would have expected from the male doctor.

As Adama watched ; he saw a mixed expression of guilt and concern on the middle-aged medic's face.

Dr Cottle ignored everybody else; his concentration was only on Sharon and her daughter who was now awake due to the male doctor's noisy entrance.

He stared at the child for a long moment.

"The crazy pilot that your XO sent me told me there was a cylon-human hybrid baby on board."

It took a moment before Admiral Adama realized who the doctor was talking about.

"Who?" asked a puzzled Zarek.

"Senior Lieutenant Daniel Novacek," answered Saul Tigh " I sent him to Dr Cottle for a check up."

The vice president's eyes narrowed and he turned to speak to the male colonial doctor.

"If it's the cylon test stuff; he passed it with flying colours," answered Cottle without turning to face Zarek.

That piece of news did not seem to please the vice president.

Logan regarded the doctor thoughtfully as he wondered what type of 'cylon detection test' the colonials had.

"How...how is she?" asked Dr Cottle as he looked at Sharon and her child.

The female cylon stared at him for a long time; then stood up and approached him.

"She's well," the child gurgled in her arms then noticed Dr Cottle and tried to reach for him while laughing. Sharon hesitated for a brief moment before saying.

"Would...would you like to carry her?"

Everyone in that room and on the bridge of the Xavier stared at Sharon in shock. Then Jean smiled.

Sharon was one of a kind.

Dr Cottle carefully collected Hera from Sharon and the child seemed determined to touch his face.

"She's strong," said the doctor; he looked at Sharon and then at Helo's image which had a grim expression on his face. "Like her parents."

The look on Helo's face softened a little bit.

"As the doctor who delivered her; I'm certain you would want to give her a check up in the medical bay."

Admiral Adama silently cursed before turning to face President Roslin.

Did that woman have a death wish?

At the moment Sharon was staring daggers at the female president.

"I'm happy to discuss with Dr Cottle what has occurred since she was taken off the basestar," Dr Grey stood up and walked up to Dr Cottle.

"Hi; I'm Dr Jean Grey; chief medic on board the Xavier."

Cottle gave her a curious look as he shook her hand.

"You're...the Oracle?"

Jean gave him a tired smile. "I'm not; which is what I just explained to your superiors."

Cottle who was still holding the calm cheerful baby girl looked around.

"Well; you should hear what some of the officers in the medical bay are saying...I actually heard someone say that they saw a Lord of Kobol in the CIC."

Jean and Logan shared an alarmed look.

The doctor continued as he returned the child to Sharon. He nodded his thanks.

"Frankly; I don't care about the Oracle business; but I am interested on how Hera and my colonial officers were after whatever mission you guys went on."

Jean grinned. "Spit it out sir; you want to know my qualifications?"

The male doctor returned the smile. "How did you guess?"

"If I were in your position; I would be asking the same thing." Jean turned to the table. "I hope you don't mind while I discuss this with Dr Cottle as we all walk back to the shuttle?"

"What about Dr Cottle checking up on Hera? Surely that is important?" pressed Roslin.

The male doctor looked at her. "It will not be wise to take her into the medical bay right now; I would prefer to assess her on the shuttle if her parents are willing."

He turned to Sharon; the female cylon stared at him for a long moment before looking at her husband who nodded slightly.

"Fine; that's settled," said the doctor cheerfully as he ignored the annoyed look on Roslin's face and turned to Captain Logan.

"Since the Agathon and Dr Grey have no problems with the assessment; neither will I," said the captain calmly. He looked at Admiral Adama.

The senior officer nodded slowly."Then; we're in agreement."

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Kara felt relief flow through her when the meeting came to an end.

There were so many ways it could have gone wrong.

Thank the Gods that Roslin had backed down when Dr Grey went all...strange.

Only the Lords know how the good doctor would have reacted if Roslin had persisted in being a grade-A idiot.

Make no mistake; Kara was well aware that the female president had a huge load on her shoulders.

But that was no excuse in being an ass !

The female colonial pilot stood up as everyone gradually began to leave the room.

As expected the female president was the first out the door; from the set of her shoulders she was still very upset.

Behind her was her personal aide; Tory Foster, who was already on her phone; she never seemed to be far from a communicator. That thing should be grafted to her hand.

Dr Cottle and Dr Grey were next and already they were discussing quite amicably with Captain Logan keeping an eye on the elderly colonial doctor. Lieutenant Agathon and Hera were close behind them.

Tyrol had stuck with Ensign Q Junior after he had shut down the modified colonial view-screen. The specialist was practically drilling him about Starfleet tech; the hologram was politely declining to answer most of his questions but still gave Chief enough info to keep him happy.

Zarek just walked behind them ; silently watching.

Saul Tigh and Lee were talking in low tones but Kara thought she heard the words 'security' mentioned several times.

Kara was almost out the door when she realized she had almost forgotten one person

Junior Lieutenant Anders.

She turned back in time to see him speaking in a low voice to Admiral Adama.

Kara almost froze in horror before stepping back into the room and closing the door hurryingly behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

Admiral Adama had been quietly contemplating the next line of action when he realized someone was standing close to him.

He looked up to see Junior Lieutenant Anders standing at least two feet from him; he looked...frightened.

Adama narrowed his eyes; his gut feeling told him something was seriously wrong.

"Sir," started Anders carefully "there is something you need to know..."

"Anders; don't!"

Both men turned to see Kara hastily closing the door. The terror on her face mirrored the one of Anders.

Adama felt his stomach clench; he recognised the sign.

That always happened when he was about to hear some very bad news.

"Mr Anders; Starbuck, what is going on?" he asked in a voice that demanded answers. Now.

Kara looked anxiously at her husband for a long moment.

Anders stared back with regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered to his wife before turning back to Admiral Adama.

"Sir...I'm...a cylon." His voice was barely a whisper but Adama heard it clearly.

It took several moments for the words to sink in.

Adama at first thought he had heard wrongly. He was about to ask Anders to repeat himself; then another thought popped into his head.

Anders opened his mouth to speak; but Adama held up a hand stopping him.

He looked at Kara. "Check the surveillance room."

Both junior officers went extremely pale when they realized the marines next door may still be listening.

Kara ran from the conference room and the moments that passed while she was gone seemed like years while Adama tried to get his thoughts together.

Anders wisely kept silent as Adama began to pace in the room.

Kara came in a few minutes later; still looking pale but a bit relieved. She was also clutching a small disc-case.

"Lieutenant Lackey assured me they shut it off as the meeting ended before people started leaving. However I just took the disc-case just in case."

Adama nodded absentmindedly. "Let's take this...meeting somewhere else."

He saw the couple exchange a worried look.

"We're going to my office," said the Admiral in a reassuring voice.

Kara visibly inhaled a sigh of relief.

Adama left the room and didn't have to see the two colonial pilots were close behind.

As they walked to his office; Adama was furiously thinking why Anders chose this moment to have a nervous breakdown and suddenly believe he was a cylon?

It didn't make sense.

Before now; Admiral Adama had considered Anders one of the strongest pilots; mentally and physically.

This man had led the resistance against the cylons on Caprica and New Caprica for Gods' sakes!

A few minutes passed before they got to Admiral Adama's office.

He entered first; got them in then slammed the door shut.

"Now Anders; tell me why you think you're a cylon?"

The Admiral saw Kara flinch at the last word.

Was Kara as concerned about his mental state as Adama was? Was that why she was hiding it?

Because if Anders was losing the plot; then he had to be pulled out of active duty.

Putting him behind a fully loaded viper could be detrimental to his health and to those around him.

Especially during a fire fight against the cylons.

Anders closed his eyes briefly before answering.

"Dr Grey ran tests on us before the mission; that was when she and the captain realized I was a cylon."

Adama frowned at him. "And yet; they let you join them on a mission?"

Anders nodded. "I think...Captain Logan wanted to see if I was to be trusted," the male pilot's voice broke "I swear to the Gods sir; I had no idea I was a cylon..."

"You are not a cylon" said Adama firmly. "Dr Cottle has tested you everytime you returned from a mission from and your DNA has remained the same."

That was the basis of the test; all colonials had their DNA on file and if it remained the same after each mission, then there was a zero probability of the colonial officer being a cylon.

Anders looked at him squarely. "Sorry to say this sir; but I think Dr Grey's tests are more advanced than ours. You haven't seen the results."

Adama looked at him for a long time.

"Do you know what you're saying? Do you know what happens to people who claim that they are cylons?!

If anyone else hears this; many would act first before remembering that you were actually a resistance fighter!"

"Sir," called Kara tentatively "It's true. Anders is a cylon."

Adama looked at her closely for a long moment. "I should be asking why you didn't mention this little fact earlier but something tells me you have a reason."

And it had better be good, thought Adama.

The couple looked at each other.

"They may be four other unidentified cylons sir," said Anders gravely.

The protest in the Admiral throat died when he heard the number.

Four other cylons apart from Anders.

It can't be true.

But one sentence kept repeating itself in his mind.

"There are 12 cylons models." And until now; only seven had been identified.

Anders kept talking.

"And yes sir; there is visual and audible proof of it."

"Where?" demanded Adama.

Anders shared another look with his wife. Kara sighed before answering.

"It's in the complete message the Xavier found on Hera's planet and also in the data Q Junior retrieved from the basestar."

Adama stared at both of them.

"The audio message was incomplete?!" his voice was almost a growl.

That startled both colonial pilots.

"It was lacking the video aspect; the message had been a holographic recording sir," said Anders carefully.

"And on the basestar?" asked Adama when he was able to control his voice better.

"Five old cylon resurrection tanks with the clones being watched over by Cavil sir," replied Kara.

Adama rubbed his forehead wearily. "I didn't see that in the report you showed us Lieutenant Thrace."

Kara swallowed nervously. "I asked Q Junior to edit it out...for the record; he and Captain Logan didn't approve of me hiding this information."

The Admiral stared at her for a long time. "His approval or not is the least of my frakking problems," he hissed. His swearing and the tone of his voice almost made the two colonials jump.

"Where. Is. The. Full. Report?" demanded Adama in an icy tone.

"Q Junior has a copy sir," said Kara politely. She could definitely see that the Admiral was in a 'do-not-frak-with-me' mood.

The Admiral said nothing as he stormed out of his room with his two colonial pilots behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

The walk to the main flight bay was silent and loaded with tension. Kara looked at her husband several times but he seemed like a man who was walking the last mile to his execution.

Which on the Galactica was usually via an airlock.

Kara tried to quell the fountain of terror that threatened to overwhelm her.

She won't let them take him from her!

All too soon they reached the shuttle.

Q Junior was outside talking to Tyrol; both engineers had their different versions of PADDs out and seemed to be taking notes as they spoke.

The hologram was the first person to know something was up; he looked up and there was an expression on his face that Kara recognized.

It said...shit! we're so busted!.

Tyrol looked puzzled when he realized his counterpart was no longer speaking; he turned to see Admiral Adama approaching with the look of thunder on his face.

"Sir?" he asked tentatively.

"Chief," called Adama without looking at Tyrol "I need to speak to Q and his captain privately."

The chief took the hint and made himself scare with alacrity.

Q Junior swallowed nervously. "Admiral; how can I..."

"I want to see both full reports; now," said the Admiral in a calm but chilling voice.

A pale silent Q Junior looked at him for a long moment.

"Ensign Q." Everyone looked up to see Captain Logan leaning causally in the doorway of the Starfleet shuttle.

"Invite everyone in for a chat." Logan kept eye contact with the silently fuming Admiral Adama while Q Junior answered.

"Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX

Adama silently followed Q Junior into the shuttle with Anders and Kara close behind. Part of him didn't believe what Anders had nervously told him earlier but the other part of him warned him that he had to be sure.

Which was why he was here in the Starfleet shuttle; demanding to see something he should have known about in the first place!

Captain Logan didn't seem surprised to see him; neither was he alarmed.

Adama knew he had no authority over the captain of the Xavier but for one moment he wished he could throw him into the brig!

He also wondered how the captain knew he was coming.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX

Logan had gotten a telephatic warning from Jean stating that Admiral Adama and two particular colonial officers were heading for the Xavier.

He knows.Was all Jean said.

Logan didn't have to ask what she was talking about; but he hadn't expected Anders to report himself his early.

Anyway; it was time to face the music.

As he walked to the exit; he glanced casually at Dr Cottle who was still examining Hera under the scrutiny of Sharon and Jean. The medic seemed like a good sort; it was just a pity that he had made some bad decisions in the past.

But then again; hadn't they all made some mistake or the other?

With this thought in his mind; Logan decided to treat the Admiral with kid gloves. The man must be very confused and angry by now.

Hopefully; that won't affect the senior officer's reasoning.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX

Adama noticed that Dr Cottle; Sharon and Jean looked up when he entered the shuttle. The doctor and the cylon looked concerned but Dr Grey was calm as if she had been expecting him.

The Admiral looked behind him and saw to his relief that the shuttle door had not been closed but that Q Junior was standing in the doorway.

As if preventing anyone from coming in.

Or leaving.

Suddenly Adama was wondering if he had acted too hastily.

"Admiral; you're safe here," said Jean calmly. Dr Cottle looked at her with alarm on his face.

"What's going on?"

Adama looked at a silent Logan and back at Dr Grey before answering the colonial doctor.

"Sherman; I'm going to need you to stand witness, if that's okay."

The doctor appeared even more bewildered. Adama continued.

"Because; Junior Lieutenant Anders just informed me that he's a cylon."

Sherman Cottle, MD, blinked several times.

Besides him; Sharon looked subdued.

"What in Hades are you talking about? I have tested him more times than I can remember and he's in the clear!" Cottle sounded shocked and outraged.

"So was Boomer, remember?" said Adama calmly.

"That's because it was Baltar who did the test and we all know the device he gave us was a piece of junk!

Jean and Logan shared a glance. Looked like a lot of people really disliked the former president for more than one reason.

"Where's the first holographic message from Hera's planet?" demanded Adama in an unruffled voice.

Logan looked at him for a few moments; before speaking.

"Ensign Q Junior; please show the full recording."

"Yes sir," said the hologram in as calm a voice as he manage before walking to one of the consoles on in the shuttle and attaching a small device to it.

"You will all have to move back a few feet as it's going to get a bit crowded," warned the Starfleet ensign before he activated the recording.

There was a gasp of surprise from Dr Cottle when the first man-sized holographic images appeared as if amongst them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX

Q Junior resumed his post at the door as everyone watched the recording.

As he casually glanced at the flight bay; he was relieved to see no one was paying too much attention to the shuttle.

The last thing he needed was a crowd trying to find out why the highest ranking officer had entered the shuttle with only two junior colonial officers.

That was also why Q had not closed the door ; so that no one would think the Admiral was being kidnapped.

When Q Junior had seen the admiral approaching with an expression of fury; he knew the cat was out of the bag.

Well; it was bound to happen.

Now; all they had to do was weather the consequences.

He sighed inwardly; he could hardly wait for the accusations to begin.

Q Junior remained by the door as the old message finished ; only to be replaced by the full report from the basestar.

From where he was standing ; he would see Adama's face getting redder.

Please; please; don't have a heart attack. Silently prayed the former Q.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX

Silence reigned when the recording and report were over.

At first; Adama was beyond livid.

He also felt betrayed by Starbuck and Anders.

He was also a bit scared.

There was no way in Hades that the other five were cylons!

That was impossible.

Part of him wished he could erase what he had just witnessed; because the implications of what he just saw...were damning.

"Saul's a..." started Dr Cottle.

"Don't say it!" ordered Adama harshly. The medical colonial looked at him for a long moment. He knew how close the two officers were.

They were practically brothers; but something had to be said...soon.

Adama took a deep breath before looking at Logan who stared back calmly.

"I don't believe it," stated the Admiral firmly.

Logan nodded as if that was what he had expected. "He's your second in command...and your friend."

"You don't understand," said Adama through gritted teeth "he hates the cylons; they took everything away from him! Including his wife!"

"His wife?" repeated Dr Grey "Admiral; I don't have to tell you that if what we saw is correct...that means she resurrected and may currently be on board the basestar that has those resurrection tanks."

"Then how come you didn't come across her while on the basestar?" demanded Cottle.

Logan stared at him. "Doc; with all due respect ; have you even done a recon on a basestar or enemy territory?"

The doctor bristled under Logan's calm gaze. "No; but..."

"I see, well let me inform you that when entering enemy territory; the key to completing the mission with the minimal number of casualties is getting in and out as quickly and quietly as possible.

We lost the stealth factor when a certain cylon Six decided to blow out the brains of another female cylon.

Thus we had to modify our plans hastily and get a few of us off the basestar before proceeding to obtain the necessary vital intel plus rescue two colonial prisoners we had not planned for in the first place!

This was followed by us hacking and shooting our way through the enemy before we could escape from the bloody basestar; now tell me if such a situation would have been appropriate for an additional detour especially when our cover was blown?!"

Throughout his calm explanation; Logan had not raised his voice.

There was no need to; the expression on Cottle's face was that he got the message loud and clear that Logan was getting irritated with the whole mess.

"Besides; it was only when we got back to the Xavier; that we realized who was in those resurrection tanks," said Q Junior calmly from his sentry post.

"Going back would have been suicidal as well as pointless," continued the hologram.

Adama looked at the human looking hologram for a long moment.

Though he tried to deny it; the Starfleet ensign was right.

The fact that Logan's team had been able to come back intact with valuable intel was nothing short of a miracle.

He also couldn't dis-regard the fact they blew up a resurrection ship plus the recent damage that Dr Grey had inflicted on the basestar and cylon ships.

"There is another way to check if your cylon detection test actually works," everyone turned to Sharon.

"Test me." Adama frowned at her.

The female cylon smiled sadly. "I never got tested when I first came on board...there was no need to especially after Boomer tried to kill you sir and her confession afterwards.

But you still have Boomer's DNA on file; but mine will be slightly different. The genetic code of the copies of each model was created to be different.

It was used as a kind of numbering system so that we could keep track of how many bodies we downloaded into" she paused.

"Now all we have to do is compare Anders DNA with the one you have on file already."

Adama looked at her for a long time; then against his will looked at the child in her arms. Sharon became anxious at his expression.

"We don't have to test Hera now," said Dr Cottle gently but firmly " Admiral; remember when I said it wouldn't be wise to bring her to the medical bay?

That's because I believe there are some religious nut-jobs who are currently there as inpatients and them seeing a human-cylon hybrid may cause problems."

"But you had her original DNA from when she was born, do you not ?" interrupted Adama gently but firmly.

Dr Cottle sighed. "Yes I do."

Logan frowned. "Meaning?"

The colonial doctor looked at him. "Since this is Hera; it should match up exactly but I am worried about certain patients in my bay."

"What if I accompanied Sharon and Hera to the medical bay?" suggested Dr Grey before Logan could say anything.

Sharon actually looked heartened by this suggestion.

Logan closed his eyes briefly. "Jean..."

"Yes Logan; I'm doing this. We can state that Dr Cottle wanted to assess Sharon, Kara and Anders after current events. I decided to see the medical bay before leaving to better assess how to aid in terms of medical supplies.

We need to start resolving this now; before it gets worse and believe me; it will."

Logan and Jean stared at each other for a long time; both of them refusing to back down.

Then the female doctor smiled sadly as if she could hear something no one else could. She touched his cheek tenderly.

Adama suddenly felt embarrassed at this simple but obvious sign of affection. He looked around and saw that the other people present were looking elsewhere as if trying to ignore the captain and the female doctor.

Logan took a deep breath as if starving of oxygen. "Let Q or I come with you."

Jean was already shaking her head before he completed the sentence.

"That will cause more problems.

Sharon, Hera and I need to go now and come back quickly before we draw to much attention," she turned to the Admiral " already someone is telling your son that you're here.

And he's not happy."

That decided Logan; from the little he knew of Lee Adama, he seemed to be a bit hot-headed at times.

"Fine; let's do this quickly," said the captain of the Xavier.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Lee was in the CIC when a worried Gaeta informed him that someone on the main flight deck had seen the Admiral entering the Starfleet shuttle with Thrace and Anders.

The CAG had just stared at the junior lieutenant for a few seconds before dashing out without a word.

The colonial commander ignored the concerned looks he got from people he passed as he tried walking faster. Actually; he wanted to run.

But causing an unnecessary panic right now wasn't an option.

Part of him hoped Logan and his crew could be trusted but the other part of him that had seen that trust betrayed so many times wasn't ready to take such a risk where his father was concerned.

Lee's thoughts stopped abruptly when he quickly turned a corner and came face to face with his father; Dr Cottle, Dr Jean Grey, Kara, Anders and Sharon who was carrying a babbling Hera in her arms.

The group stopped and everyone looked at Lee.

"Commander; is there a problem?" asked the Admiral calmly.

Lee looked hard at his father; searching for any sign that his father was in trouble and he came up with nothing.

"No; I was just looking for you. May I join you where-ever you're going sir?"

Lee waited for an answer; if his father said no; then he would suspect something was seriously wrong.

He just had no idea how he was going to address that.

The Admiral shared a look with Dr Cottle; who sighed and shrugged as if stating it was up to the senior officer to decide.

"We're going to the medical bay. Dr Grey would like to see it and do her own assessment of what we may need. I also thought this would be a good time for Mr Anders; Lieutenant Thrace and Lieutenant Agathon to be medically assessed after their recon," the Admiral paused "you may join us."

Lee tried not to show his surprise. "Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX

The Galactica, Medical bay...

Specialist Cally Tyrol tried to keep 3 month old Nicholas calm as she hummed to him as she paced around the designated patient's waiting area.

She was here with him ; not because he was unwell, but because she had not been able to arrange for a baby-sitter to look after him.

Cally was actually here for her check up on her right thigh.

Though Dr Grey had completely healed it while on the Xavier; Dr Cottle had insisted on her coming for a check up.

Cally suspected the old doctor was comparing it to the other 'healings' that the boy known as Ensign Q Junior had done on a number of patients in the medical bay.

However; Cally had been kept waiting because Dr Cottle had dashed out of the medical bay after speaking to a strange dark skinned thin man who had been escorted to the bay by marines.

Whatever the guy had said had disturbed the colonial doctor.

Cally prayed it didn't mean bad news; her thoughts trailed off when she started hearing loud murmurs. She looked at the other occupants of the waiting area and noticed that they were staring in awe at something behind her.

Cally slowly turned as she clutched her son closer.

And her eyes widened when she saw the group that entered the medical bay.

The Adamas, Dr Cottle, Starbuck, Junior Lieutenant Anders and Dr Grey!

Then Sharon with a baby in her arms?

That surprised the specialist more than anything else; she was even more startled when Sharon and Dr Grey broke away from the small group and stopped in-front of her.

"Cally," said Sharon hesitantly as if she was unsure of how she would be received "are you and Nicholas alright?" There was a look of concern on the female cylon's face.

The specialist finally found her voice. "Eh yeah. I'm...I mean we're fine," then she found herself staring at the bubbly baby girl in the cylon's arms.

"This is Hera," said Sharon softly. Cally kept looking at the child.

Where did she come from?

And then again; for a cylon baby, she looked so...human.

"Hello Cally," said the female doctor gently but with a slight frown on her face

The engineer felt her face go warm with embarrassment as she acknowledged Dr Grey's presence. However; if anyone had asked Cally about that moment; she could have sworn that the doctor was a bit disappointed with her reaction to Sharon's baby.

"Eh hi Dr Grey...nice to see you again," greeted the engineer quickly; then she looked back at Sharon. "Hera's beautiful."

She was rewarded with a nervous smile from the female cylon.

Much better.

Cally almost jumped at the dark whisper in her mind; she looked around her as if searching for the source.

"Lieutenant Agathon?" The three women turned to find Dr Cottle facing them.

"We're about to start."

Sharon nodded as she chewed her lower lip ; then she looked at the female doctor beside her.

"Dr Grey; please will you come with me and watch Hera for me while I'm being seen ?"

Jean smiled. "It would be my pleasure," she took a calm Hera from the female cylon pilot.

That was when Cally noticed how everyone was staring at them; it took a few moments before she realized who the focus of their gaze was.

It was Dr Grey.

The specialist watched how everyone's gaze followed the female doctor; some of them looked at her with fear in their eyes, the others watched her with what looked similar to worship.

Cally absently rocked her baby son as she wondered what the frak was going on?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX

Jean tried to keep calm as she noticed the expressions on the people around her.

She felt as if she was on display and she hated that!

Easy dearie; just smile and wave if you can. We gotta keep the locals happy.

The telepath tried not to groan at the Phoenix's cheesy attempt to keep her calm.

I don't like the way they are looking at me.

Why? Because some of them regard you as the Oracle or as a deity? Or would you prefer if they considered you to be something to be feared?

Everything you just said means the same thing! The last time I checked; all deities demand fear.

And obedience. Added the Phoenix grimly.

Are you actually enjoying this? Asked a startled Jean.

The Phoenix sighed wearily in her mind.

If this had been a couple of millennia earlier; maybe I would have craved such attention. Right now; their attitude of reverence towards us is kinda annoying.

Jean had almost stumbled when she heard Phoenix say something about millennia ago.

Wait a minute? Millennia ago you were worshipped as a deity?! Why am I just finding this out now?!

Eh...we have been kinda busy lately, maybe you should just concentrate on what Dr Cottle is going to say. Said the entity hastily.

Jean knew when the Phoenix was trying to hide something but the entity was right in drawing her attention back to the colonial doctor.

This conversation is not over.

The Phoenix just replied wearily. Whatever.

Jean brought her thoughts back to the present as she, Hera and Sharon followed Dr Cottle into a cordoned section of the medical bay.

The CAG was practically bouncing off his toes as he tried to rein in his impatience. Clearly he still didn't know what was going on and was bursting at the seams to ask lots of questions.

Anders and Kara Thrace looked very concerned ; Admiral Adama was stoic as usual.

"Right before we start; I'm going to explain what tests we do to check for cylons," started the doctor abruptly "once we identified the seven cylon models; we started testing personnel who returned from missions.

We compare their DNA with stored ones on file because the working theory as Lieutenant Agathon explained earlier was that any cylon duplicates would have genetic errors or differences."

Lee's face was darkening as the doctor explained the procedure to Dr Grey.

"Excuse me," blurted the CAG " but why are we telling her this? She's not cleared to know."

Everyone looked at him.

Admiral Adama spoke carefully. "Right now she needs to know; because of something Captain Logan and his recon team found on the basestar."

Lee looked at him in confusion. "Like what?" then he put two and two together.

"That something wasn't in the official summary we just saw; was it sir?" his tone was almost accusatory.

"Lee; you idiot get the facts first before you say something stupid!" snapped a highly strung up Kara.

The CAG narrowed his eyes as he turned round to glare at the Lieutenant; he opened his mouth to speak.

"Commander!" barked Dr Cottle sharply. The CAG whipped his head round to look at the doctor.

"This is my medical bay; if you don't wish to stand by quietly and observe what is going on then get lost. Do you understand?"

The CAG stared at him for a long time then looked at his father who gave him no sympathy or support whatsoever. Lee sighed then nodded slowly.

Dr Cottle was not done he turned his eagle gaze on Kara. "The same goes for you Lieutenant."

"Yes sir," said Kara respectively. Dr Cottle was one of the very few who could put the fear of the Lords in her.

"Good; let's get these tests started."

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Logan was pacing up and down as Q Junior waited at the door.

The others had been gone for almost an hour.

What could possibly be going on?

"They're coming back," said Q Junior in a relieved voice.

Logan walked to the door quickly and felt his heart rate decrease when he saw Jean returning with Sharon, Hera, Kara and Anders.

Admiral Adama and his son were very close behind them.

All of them appeared calm but Logan could pick up the scent of anxiety from Sharon, Kara and Anders and the smell of concealed annoyance from Lee.

Only Jean and Hera seemed calm.

He waited until they were back on board and the shuttle door was closed.

"Well?" asked Logan immediately.

"Dr Cottle tested everyone including Hera; we'll get the DNA results within an hour.

By the way; I want the full holographic message and the unedited data from the basestar," said Admiral Adama firmly.

Lee looked first at his dad and then at Captain Logan in disbelief.

"The full holographic message? Unedited data?! What the fr..."he never got the swear word out as both his father and Dr Grey glared at him simultaneously. Something in their expressions advised him to shut up.

Logan couldn't help but smile dryly. "You'll get it," he looked at a silent Q Junior who walked up and handed over a PADD to Admiral.

The senior Adama looked nonplussed for a few seconds. "Just like that?"

Logan continued smiling. "To be fair; I don't envy your position. The information on that PADD could do a lot of damage and yet I hope you can handle it."

The Admiral stared at him for a long time. "There are those who would state you faked this whole thing and just wish to destabilize colonial command and in turn the entire fleet."

Logan's grin became really feral. "Admiral; but is that what you really think?"

Adama maintained eye contact as he kept talking. "No. I see you as someone who has a more direct way of addressing a problem...with his claws."

Q Junior tensed as he waited for Logan to explode at being indirectly compared to a feral animal.

Instead the captain of the Xavier just nodded in a satisfied manner.

"You're right; I just don't have time for complex schemes."

Adama nodded back while maintaining eye contact. "I'll contact you after the results are back. Until then my officers will stay on board your ship."

"Much obliged Admiral," said Logan casually. Then the Admiral turned away and left with his obviously flummoxed son in tow.

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Admiral Adama waited with his son beside him as he watched the shuttle leave.

Captain Logan was a very intelligent and dangerous man.

However; in everything, he had acted with honour in dealing with the colonials.

Make no mistake; Adama was still mad at him for leaving out the holographic part of the ancient message found on Hera's planet. Part of the admiral realized why... but he wanted to hold on to his anger for a bit longer.

"Sir; with all due respect, what in the name of Zeus is going on?" asked Lee in an urgent whisper.

The Admiral didn't acknowledge his son for several moments.

"Lee; come with me. There's something I want you to see."

The senior Adama turned away and started walking away without looking to see if his CAG was following him.

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Vice president's quarters...

Zarek walked slowly as he was deep in thought; he barely acknowledged what his personal aide was telling him about a hastily scheduled meeting with the Quorum and urgent messages from so and so and other nonsensical irrelevant groups within the refugee fleet.

At one point he stopped the poor boy in mid-sentence and told him to get some rest immediately before walking off and leaving the PA staring after him.

Today had been very stressful, strange and frakking frustrating!

After he saw Dr Grey perform her most impressive 'act' in the CIC; he had tried to get in touch with certain persons that he could not be seen associating with ever.

But a situation such as now called for such a meeting.

However; he was yet to get a response to his 'summons'.

And he had just heard that the Admiral had been seen entering the Starfleet shuttle with Thrace and Anders before leaving with the Sharon; her baby and Dr Grey for the medical bay!

What the frak was going on? None of his spies had been able to tell him what had occurred in the medical bay except that the CAG had looked hopping mad as he walked beside his father.

Maybe tomorrow would bring better luck.

One could only hope.

Zarek entered his quarters and knew at once that something was wrong.

He wasn't alone.

The vice president began to reach for the small SP-24 he kept in the small of his back.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend Zarek?"

The ex-con froze.

"Sirius? Is that you?"

From the shadows emerged a slight man with short light brown hair in his mid thirties. The coldness of his blue gaze didn't diminish his attractive features; but the smile that appeared on his face failed to reach his piercing sapphire eyes.

"Who else would it be? After all, you left me a message, did you not?"

Zarek relaxed.

"From the way your...sub-ordinate replied; I wasn't sure you would answer...then again I didn't expect to see you in my quarters."

Sirius Pontius; the leader of the Sons of Ares smiled thinly.

"Well considering the fact that you obviously forgot us since New Caprica; we had to be cautious," he looked around the spacious quarters "I can see politics has been very good to you."

Zarek tried not to wince at the subtle dig at his position and decided to take control of the conversation.

"The past few days have been strange..."

"You're talking about the Xavier," Sirius features sharpened with interest "is it true that a member of the crew is a cylon?"

Zarek walked to the drinks cabinet and opened it casually before answering.

"If you're asking about Q Junior...it appears that he's not."

Sirius watched him in silence as he poured two shots of ambrosia.

"How sure of you of that? None of my people have seen him being examined by Dr Cottle yet...however this ensign has been allowed to treat colonial officers."

Zarek sighed wearily as he passed a drink to Sirius. Trust the cult leader to have spies in the medical bay.

"Q Junior is a walking; talking sentient hologram."

The leader of the Sons of Ares stared at him. "How does that make him different from a cylon?"

Those words stopped Zarek from taking a sip for a brief moment.

"You can kill a cylon easily; but this...hologram took three shots to the chest and is still standing and talking. There's a big difference believe me."

"Find out what makes him tick and then crush him, however I refuse to believe that you asked me here to talk about holograms," said Sirius smoothly.

Zarek took another sip before speaking.

"How astute of you; I'm sure that by now you have heard of what happened in the CIC?"

Sirius said nothing.

Zarek nodded as if his question had been answered. "I thought you may be interested in Dr Grey..."

"You mean the Oracle ?" Sirius looked calm but his tone had changed.

He sounded like a man who had discovered something of incalculable value just lay outside his reach.

The vice-president hid a smile as he took another sip.

"She has denied that she is the Oracle."

Sirius looked at the drink in his hand for a long time; then laughed softly.

"For a man as smart as you...it's obvious you know nothing."

Zarek frowned at him; a bit irked by Sirius attitude.

"Ares is the God of War; he's also a tactician and would never make things easy for the true believers. That's how the weak are separated from the strong and the survivors inherit paradise."

"What the frak are you talking about?" asked Zarek in an irritated voice.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Is it not obvious? This is a test of our faith. The Oracle would never reveal herself to outsiders.

I don't expect you to understand because you never really joined the Sons of Ares, did you now?"

The cult leader didn't bother waiting for a reply; he put his untouched drink on the table.

"I want to meet her."

It was Zarek's turn to laugh. "That's impossible..."

"Why?" demanded Sirius.

"If you and you spies had been paying attention; you must have realized by now that her captain; Mr Logan would never let her out of his sight for long."

The light in Sirius' eyes became colder. "Is she his prisoner?"

Zarek hesitated before answering. "I...don't know."

Sirius sighed and looked away for a long time.

"Of course; the road to victory is paved with pain and blood," he turned back to Zarek "get me all the information you have on the Xavier and it's crew." He started for the door.

"Wait! What do I get from this?" demanded Zarek as he realized the tables had been turned on him.

Sirius looked at him over his shoulder.

"Our friendship of course; don't make me regret it old friend."

Zarek kept silence as he watched his former cellmate walk out the door.

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Hi everyone! So sorry about the long wait! I blame writer's block!

This chapter was hard and got longer than I planned. So Sorry about that.

Anywho; the cylon detection test by the colonials was very hard to write about! Phew! I almost threw up my hands at one point. I rewrote it again and again! Also had to modify a couple of things from the show.

And there's going to be more about it in the next chapter.

Also we're getting the cylons reaction in the next one as well.

I hope you like this chapter; please read and enjoy and have a great week people!