CHAPTER 36 of The Phoenix and the Wolverine.
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USS Dunkirk; crew quarters...
Rear Admiral Janeway read her report one more time before sending it to Starfleet Command and Starfleet Intelligence. She was sure Lieutenant Benedict Harrison was doing the same thing.
Kathryn leaned back in her seat as she rubbed her forehead wearily.
She was tired; they were at least 2 hours away from Klingon space and she hadn't even got a chance to sleep yet.
Everyone involved in this mission had hit the ground running and they hadn't stopped for a breather since it started.
Almost against her will; her mind drifted to a conversation she had several hours earlier.
Thirty minutes before the Dunkirk was first contacted by the Xavier; Kathryn had been on the subspace com to the most important person in her life.
Her life partner; Captain Chakotay of the USS Voyager.
To say he was stunned to see her was an understatement; especially when he realized where she was calling from.
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"Kat; is everything alright?" Chakotay had looked worried and upset.
Kathryn raised a hand. "I'm fine; how are you and the rest of the crew ?"
"They are okay; the training of the cadets is progressing as usual even though B'lanna has been threatening to brain some of them."
This made Kathryn smile. Anyone who knew the brilliant Starfleet engineer realized she easily lost her patience with students who didn't pick up things quickly.
The USS Voyager was currently working with Starfleet Academy in preparing cadets for postings on starbases and starships.
At the moment; the starship was based in the Laurentian system.
Chakotay smiled for a bit before becoming quite grave.
"Kat; what's going on? The last time we spoke; you were on Earth."
Janeway sighed; she might as well get it over it even though she already suspected how her husband was going to react.
"We've got a huge problem," then she simply told him everything that had happened from the emergence of the anomaly to Captain E'Kalez waking her with an urgent message to the disastrous first meeting with Starfleet command and Q showing up afterwards.
Kathryn had to give him credit for keeping silent until she finished. She could already tell that he was ready to erupt.
After the last word was said; Chakotay stared at her for a long moment.
"The Q continuum is involved in this?" His question though short was able to convey the annoyance and exasperation he felt.
"And Starfleet only sent two Federations ships to meet them with a klingon warbird as an escort?" Even though he didn't raise his voice; Kathryn had the distinct feeling that he wanted to shout.
Yeah; he was definitely very upset.
"Chakotay; we'll be fine, we have been in tighter spots before."
To her relief that calmed him down a little; she didn't have to mention the seven long dangerous years the USS Voyager had been forced to endure alone in the unexplored Delta Quadrant.
Many considered the fact they made it back at all a miracle.
Chakotay took a deep breath; then spoke carefully.
"You're right; we have seen worse.
However that doesn't excuse Starfleet sending you with barely any support to meet a fleet of refugee ships who happen to have their enemies on their tails!
You know that this is wrong!"
"Leaving Q Junior and the crew of the Xavier out there without trying to make contact with them is just as wrong. We don't leave our people behind...especially not family."
Chakotay bit his lower lip; Q Junior had been a pain in everyone's side when he first came on board the Voyager when Janeway was captain.
His pranks had almost made Janeway homicidal; however those stopped when he was made completely human and forced to come to terms with his childish behaviour.
"How sure are we that this isn't some elaborate Q trick?" asked a sceptical Chakotay.
Janeway leaned back in her seat. "That thought did cross my mind until I saw how Q reacted on the bridge of the Dunkirk," she leaned forward.
"Chakotay; he was scared. I felt it for the first time coming off him in waves.
He can't help his son and he's fighting whatever created that wormhole.
That was enough to convince me that this was no mere game." She sat back.
"And even if it was a test of some sort...can we afford the risk of ignoring the Q and continuing on as if the continuum never asked for our help ?"
Chakotay's frown deepened then he sighed.
"You have a point," he agreed gruffly "but you can't do it alone."
Janeway already knew what he was thinking before he said it.
"No, no..." started the female rear admiral but the captain kept talking.
"The Voyager will drop off the cadets at the nearest starbase and join you..."
"You will do no such thing Captain!" said Janeway a bit more forcefully than she meant to "that is an order."
Time froze and her husband looked at her with an open expression of hurt which quickly changed to a neutral one.
He stared at her for a long time before answering. "As you wish Admiral."
Janeway wished she could take her words back but something told her that she couldn't. Her instinct told her that the Voyager joining them would make things worse.
She had no idea how; but experience had taught her to go with her feelings.
"Chakotay," she began softly but his face seemed more blank than usual.
But she persisted.
"I think you joining us may make things worse...I don't know how but it's just a feeling I have."
He stared at her for several moments then his expression softened a bit.
Kathryn hoped he remembered how both of them had ignored 'those feelings' at times in the Delta Quadrant and that had resulted in the loss of lives.
"Kat...that is not very reassuring. This situation may actually be a lot bigger than you realize."
Janeway nodded slowly. "I know; that's why I have to be very careful. I don't have all the facts and neither do the Qs know exactly what is going on...and that scares me a lot."
Chakotay looked as if he was about to argue; then he sighed wearily.
"I expect you'll be keeping in contact with Command."
Janeway smiled dryly. "As expected." She knew he was still upset however he was smart enough to understand why he couldn't join her little scouting force.
"You'll contact me when you can?" He sounded calm but she could sense his worry.
"I can't give you a definite time but I will do the best I can."
Her husband stared at her for a long moment. "So will I Kat."
There was a soft pinging noise that forced Kathryn's mind to return to the present. She looked at the source of the noise.
Someone was at her door.
"Enter," said the senior officer in a firm voice.
The door slid open and Lieutenant Commander Flint , chief of security on board the Dunkirk came in. He had a PADD in one hand.
"Ma'am ; I hope this is not a bad time."
Kathryn stood up and waved away his word. "It's alright; you have the report I asked for ?"
Klaus looked at the PADD in his hand before giving it to her.
"I'm afraid I was only able to find a little despite my security clearance." Though his voice was even and calm; she could sense his concern that she might be upset with him.
Kathryn scanned the report quickly. "I am impressed Mr Flint," she felt his feeling of concern change to one of disbelief " even if you think it's not enough; it is however a bit more than what I was able to find out about Mr Harrison."
The Rear Admiral indicated for Flint to take a seat as she gathered her thoughts. She had asked the security chief to find out all he could about a certain Lieutenant Benedict C Harrison.
As she expected he came up with very little. Kathryn had actually tried from her own end and came up almost empty.
"All I got was that Lieutenant Benedict. C. Harrison was born on 19th July ; 2352 AD in London, Earth.
He was the son of Commander Wanda Harrison; who perished on board the USS Vanguard at the Battle of Wolf 359 in 2367," Kathryn paused and looked at a silent Mr Flint "however yours has this information and a bit more...such as the fact that Mr Benedict . C. Harrison had been on board the USS Vanguard at the time of that unfortunate one-sided battle...and was the ship's only survivor."
She waited for the words to sink in. "I wonder where you had to search to get that tiny but very significant piece of information."
The security chief watched the senior officer for a long moment before speaking.
"Ma'am; may I ask why you wish to know so much about Mr Harrison ?"
The Rear Admiral regarded him with her calm blue eyes. "You may.
Mr Flint; I like to know who I'm working with; if this operation had been planned in advance your captain and other senior officers and I would have fairly detailed files about external parties who would be taking part.
However ; this is unfortunately not the case; we have been literally thrown together and have to get along to complete this mission.
Having a bit of knowledge of all the participants might make things a lot smoother."
Mr Flint nodded slowly as if that was the answer he expected.
"There is a bit more that I know about Lieutenant Harrison."
Kathryn frowned. "Like what?" she didn't bother asking the obvious question about why this 'new' information hadn't been on the PADD.
Klaus hesitated for a few seconds. "He and I were in the same class at the Academy in San Francisco."
The Rear Admiral's eyes widened slightly. "That's interesting." She waited for him to go on.
"I remember him as being very quiet and hardly ever saw him with friends. He was also the youngest person in our class of 2368...and definitely the smartest.
While I knew the abilities of most of the cadets in my class; Harrison chose to remain silent about his.
When we chose our majors; he was among the 35 percent that picked Intelligence," Klaus looked down briefly as Kath felt a wave of emotion from the security officer.
"I was also in that 35 percent but unfortunately I wasn't cut out to be part of Starfleet Intellingence...but Harrison sailed through and after the first year I hardly ever saw him.
He wasn't even at graduation; we got word that the Intelligence cadets were passed out before the rest of the class.
I am a bit surprised that his rank is still that of Lieutenant; one would expect that he would have risen much higher by now."
The fact that 'Lieutenant' may not be his real rank was foremost in Kathryn's thoughts; she wondered if the officer before her had reached the same conclusion but there was something else bothering her.
Kathryn was silent for a long time before speaking her mind. "You regret not being a member of Starfleet Intelligence."
The security chief looked a bit startled before a blank expression slid over his face.
"At the time...I felt that way; but seeing what it has done to some of them; I prefer where I am right now."
Janeway narrowed her eyes; he believed in what he was saying but there was still a part of him that wondered what it would have been like to be part of that 'elite' part of Starfleet.
She was tempted to tell him that he was very fortunate to have been excluded but decided to keep quiet. Sometimes; it was best to let people learn for themselves what was quite obvious.
"How's the rest of the crew holding up?"
Though he kept a neutral expression; she could sense his relief at the change of topic.
"Pretty well ma'am. Most have communicated with family and friends while of cause maintaining security protocols as expected."
Kathryn nodded. "We're getting closer to the Klingon territory and I also have to attend a 'dinner' on the IKS Y'tem with Captain Karath and his crew."
"I have already selected the security detail," said Flint solemnly "but there's a high risk of the situation escalating if Mr Harrison attends."
Kathryn raised her eyebrows. "Why do you say that?"
"Captain Karath is a very intelligent officer to have risen up the ranks so fast at his age; he will recognize Mr Harrison for what he is; a member of Starfleet Intelligence."
Kathryn sighed . "Naturally they will be very suspicious of his presence. I will speak to Lieutenant Harrison; hopefully he'll see reason..." her voice trailed off as her com-badge and Flint's own went off at the same time.
She tapped it and answered first. "Janeway here."
"Admiral; this is the bridge," answered Tshula "we're receiving a signal from the Xavier."
Kathryn and Flint stared at each other in surprise and relief.
"Mr Flint is with me; we're on our way."
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USS Dunkirk; the bridge...
Rear Admiral Janeway walked onto the command centre.
"Admiral on deck!" announced a junior officer as the turbolift opened.
Captain Singh was already in his seat with his second in command beside him.
The view-screen was showing very shadowy images; it looked like Lieutenant Commander Tshula was still trying to secure the link.
And as expected Lieutenant Harrison was standing close to the security station; he turned to face Janeway and his gaze also strayed towards Mr Flint for a long moment.
He knows we have been talking about him. That was Kathryn's gut feeling; she was certain he wasn't telephatic but once again she found herself wondering what his mutant ability was.
Janeway turned to see how Mr Flint was taking the scrutiny. The security officer returned Mr Harrison's gaze calmly for a moment before walking to his station and ignoring the intelligence officer.
There was a slight smirk on Harrison's face before it was replaced by a neutral expression.
Now that perked Janeway's interest. There was some history between these two.
"Link is secure," announced Tshula with a slight sound of relief.
Janeway turned back to the screen and it was now showing a very clear split screen-picture of the bridge of the Xavier and the bridge of the USS Prometheus with Captain E'kalez and her CO on deck.
Commander Kadretti appeared calm; but Kathryn could feel the anxiety emanating from him.
As for the Xavier; Captain Logan was on deck, beside him was Dr Grey.
At the helm were Cadet Kinney and Ensign Kadretti.
Q Junior was nowhere in sight and neither were the colonials.
Janeway tried to suppress a feeling of anxiety as she wondered where the young Q was.
"Captain Logan; I see you made it," said Singh a second before Janeway almost spoke. The rear admiral successfully kept her expression neutral as she took a vacant seat on Singh's left.
For one second; she had forgotten she was on another captain's ship and had been about to greet Logan as a captain should.
"Yeah; thanks to Junior we just about made it to the colonial fleet before the cylons arrived. What followed next is in the package we're sending to both your ships."
Janeway picked up a sense of grim satisfaction and slight worry from Captain Logan. Something had occurred that was very significant.
"Where's Ensign Q?" asked Janeway. Harrison turned to give her an odd look which she ignored.
Logan turned to her. "He's in engineering; repairing any damage caused by the cylons when they attacked us."
On the Prometheus part of the screen; E'Kalez's gaze sharpened. "What happened?"
"Ma'am; the cylons were hellbent on destroying the Xavier by attempting to jump into the shields and compromise the hull with their antimatter nukes. They succeeded in depleting the shield strength so we fought back" Logan waved at the Xavier bridge "as you can see we're still here after taking out four basestars and 650 cylon raiders."
One could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed.
"What did the cylons do afterwards?" asked Harrison in his calm british accent as the crew around him were trying to comprehend what the man in the view-screen had just told them.
"They retreated," simply answered Logan.
"Captain," called Commander Caleb " how exactly did you destroy the cylons?"
Janeway knew why he was asking; the Defiant class had four phaser cannons; three phaser emitters and six torpedo tubes. That was apart from it's ablative shields.
For the Defiant to have destroyed that many ships; even if unshielded, the battle must have been of a significant duration or the cylon ships hardly fought back.
Which was impossible from the data they had already received from Q Junior about the military capability of the cylons and colonials.
Logan shared a silent look with Dr Grey; and that was when Janeway realized while she could sense emotions from Logan, Laura and Oma; she couldn't feel anything from the female doctor.
I bet you're wondering why. Said a dark amused feminine presence in her head.
Janeway looked around quickly and saw no one had noticed.
"I destroyed the ships Admiral Janeway," answered Dr Grey calmly.
Everyone stared at the slight female medic beside Captain Logan. No one had to be a psychic to know what most of them were thinking.
Like how the hell had she managed that?
Jean didn't waste any time in answering their unspoken question.
"I have the ability of telekinesis and telephaty. However if I used my telekinesis ability to generate enough entropy...it can cause an object to disintegrate on the most basic molecular level."
Harrison appeared quite thoughtful. "Which part of the cylon ships did you target ?"
Dr Grey hesitated for a moment before answering. "The antimatter nukes were highly unstable; destroying a small part of the missile was just enough to start an explosive chain-reaction."
Janeway heard some gasp in shock and looked around her to see most of them including Harrison looked very sceptical.
However beside E'kalez, Commander Kadretti looked quite pale.
Logan sighed. "Just read the report and make your own conclusions. However ; we're got bigger things to worry about."
Singh narrowed his eyes. "Like what?"
"It's also in the report Captain but I might as well give you a summary," he paused "I'm hoping that by now you have gone over most of the data we received from the basestar...especially the part which states that there are more cylon models than we or the colonials thought."
"And yet with this information; you've had three of them on your ship. Lieutenant Agathon; Ms Caprica Six and the newly discovered Junior Lieutenant Anders," added Harrison calmly as he ignored the glares from Singh and Janeway. Even E'kalez and Oma's father appeared a bit exasperated.
Logan was not bothered by his dismissive tone. "So glad you read the first report Einstein; anyway the real problem is that Anders told his Admiral and their chief medic, Dr Cottle about his...unique condition.
The news didn't go down well; but at least they took it better than I expected."
"How?" asked Janeway.
Logan proceeded to give them a rundown of the last hour.
There was thoughtful silence as all tried to digest what they had just heard.
"They just let Anders go back with you?" asked Commander Kadretti in surprise.
"I think they felt the safest place for him was on board the Xavier," answered Logan "for now we have to wait for their results and take it from there."
Janeway shared a troubled look with Singh.
Ensign Q Junior's analysis had been that the colonials were deeply paranoid and possibly xenophobic as a result of the devastating attack by the cylons.
In view of the above; the recently discovered fact that a number of their trusted, highly placed officers were probably 'cylons' could rip the refugee fleet apart.
"This could go very badly Captain," said the dark skinned captain of the Dunkirk.
Logan smiled dryly. "No surprise there Captain Singh; but it was bound to come out sooner than later. I admit; the timing is not ideal but I would rather we got it out of the way before things gets worse."
Janeway was concerned by the certainty in his voice.
"You seem quite sure that matters will only go downhill."
Logan looked at her for a long moment; his eyes truly looking far; far older than his dark rugged youthful features.
"Ma'am; with all due respect, in my line of work; it always goes downhill."
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Several minutes later...
Janeway walked back to her quarters while several thoughts went through her tired brain.
Logan and Dr Grey had a lot to tell them and the amount of data Ensign Q had been able to obtain from the basestar was staggering.
Then there was fact that the colonials were just discovering that they had 'mutants' among them as well; flashes of historical data of the persecution and discrimination of mutants flashed through Janeway's mind.
The ramifications of the 'hidden' cylons and the newly discovered colonial mutants was bound to give anyone sleepless nights.
It was going to take a lot of man-hours to go through it all.
As she expected; Harrison had immediately asked for a copy of the report and left the bridge soon afterwards.
Janeway had sat down with Singh and Caleb to decide when to eventually go over to the IKS Y'tem for a meeting. The senior crew of the Prometheus had also been part of that meeting by vid-link.
Karath had not mentioned the meeting again since the first time but Janeway knew the longer they postponed it; the higher the risk of someone's 'honour' been insulted.
She so didn't need to add that to the growing pile of problems right now.
The Rear Admiral entered her room with some relief; at least she could rest for a few minutes before tackling the data from the Xavier.
"Not so fast; haven't you heard of no rest for the wicked?"
Janeway froze for a second before turning to face the last person she had expected to see.
"Lady Q," Janeway felt dread as she regarded the female Q before her. As usual she was dressed in the red and black uniform of a Starfleet Admiral.
But she looked tired and that worried Janeway.
"Are you okay?"
The female Q laughed softly as she elegantly sat down on the couch by the view-window.
"Try defining the term 'okay' and you would see it means a thousand different things in so many dimensions."
Janeway sat down gingerly beside her. Lady Q's laughter sounded a bit hysterical.
"I'm very surprised to see you; I thought Q said that he will no longer contact us..."
"He said that; not I," interrupted Lady Q calmly "besides; I'm getting really tired of continually stopping that damn wormhole from opening!"
Janeway felt chills down her spine.
Lady Q looked at her and snorted. "Oh ; relax, it's still closed. I just thought I deserved a breather!"
The female senior officer released a sigh of relief. "So; your fellow Q are keeping an eye on the anomaly?"
Lady Q inspected her beautifully manicured fingernails as she answered casually. "In a manner of speaking."
Janeway almost froze. "What does that mean?"
Lady Q raised an eyebrow at the hardness that had crept into the female mutant's voice.
"Easy does it human; you have no idea what sort of day I've had!"
Janeway took a deep calming breath. "Lady Q; what can we do to help?"
The Q was quiet for several moments. "Not much really; just try not to get anymore ships to go with you to meet the Xavier."
To say Janeway was dumbfounded by her words was the understatement of the year!
"Excuse me?"
"I gotta admit that your instincts were right; I mean in knowing that getting the Voyager to join you may cause more problems.
That's why we haven't got the other Q involved.
Whatever or whoever is trying to open the anomaly has not yet called in the big guns because at the moment; our small Q forces equal theirs...while your little 'scouting' group is not considered a danger by the trouble makers."
Janeway was quick to catch on but she didn't like what she was hearing.
"Are you saying if we had more ships; this could get worse?"
Lady Q gave her a sad smile. "Q did say you were smart; now I'm actually beginning to believe him." Her smile disappeared as a frown appeared and she looked up as if hearing something only she could perceive.
She stood up quickly. "Well; Kathryn; it was fun speaking to you but I really have to run."
"Wait!" asked Janeway as she stood up as well "what's going on? Who is controlling the anomaly?"
The female Q looked at her for a long moment. "To be honest; that is what we're still trying to find out. My advice? Don't take any detours." Then she snapped her fingers and disappeared.
Janeway stared at the empty space the female Q had been in recently. Lady Q hadn't even asked about her son!
The senior female officer felt like swearing but just bit her lower lip as she pressed her com-badge.
"Janeway to Captain Singh."
A few seconds passed before the calm voice of captain of the Dunkirk came over the link. "Singh here, how can I help you Admiral ?"
The female Rear Admiral proceeded to tell him of her recent visitor.
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Cylon occupied space; Basestar One...
On fleeing the disaster that had taken place more than an hour ago; it was obvious that there was an air of chaos on board this basestar and the surviving one.
That air of chaos gave way to despair and disbelief as they finally realized what had happened in the last battle.
They had just watched four of their basestars and hundreds of their cylons raiders being destroyed.
And all within a few minutes...actually in 13 minutes and 23 seconds.
Red One stood calmly at the entrance of the main conference room as representatives of the different cylon models entered it.
He was a golden hued centurion and had been part of the extermination squads on Caprica. In terms of 'centurion' survival rates; he had an impressive record.
If one checked his data banks; they would be stunned to realize he was one of the few surviving original models. His body work had of course been changed to resemble that of the sleeker; taller models.
At the moment; Red One was trying to understand the expressions on the faces of the cylons gathering.
On a basic level; he knew what the cylons represented.
His masters; his makers; the rulers of all the centurions.
The words of the cylons were law and they must be protected at all cost.
This directive had been hardwired into his system; it was all he ever knew since the first nano-second he became aware.
But yet; a part of his centurion-mind felt something was missing. Yet, he was no closer to discerning what it could be.
However; one thing was clear. The expression he was seeing on the faces of his masters was one he recognised.
He had seen that same expression so many times when he hunted down and fought the colonial humans.
That expression was known as fear.
And it was on the faces of his creators.
Now that was interesting.
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D'anna held her hands together in-front of her face as she discreetly observed her fellow cylons who represented their respective models.
Aaron, Boomer, Cavil, Leoben, Natalie now that Caprica Six was MIA and Simon
It was clear that all of them were badly shaken by what had just transpired.
For once even Cavil seemed truly befuddled by the chain of events.
And what a series of events there had been; but for D'anna , one thing was clear. Things had only gotten worse because of a certain person's leadership.
That person was of cause Cavil.
However that was not enough for her to completely disregard how the cylons just got their arses handed to them.
"Has anyone talked to the crews of the destroyed basestars to find out what the frak happened?" asked a tense Natalie when she could no longer bear the silence.
A solemn Leoben looked at her after a long moment. "I spoke to Arden; a Number One model. He said earlier in the battle; their jamming signals were cancelled by an unknown interference.
However; their Hybrid tried to warn them."
D'anna nodded; she had been in their own CIC when the Hybrid suddenly woke up and started 'rambling' as Cavil described it. But to the Number Three; the Hybrid's 'rambling' were not so irrelevant.
"She said and I quote...'interference signal useless; strategic plans altered; jamming frequency must fall before the hand of Q, end of line'" Leoben paused and looked around the table.
"May I remind you all that one of the intruders that took Six and our two prisoners is possibly a cylon of the Thirteenth Tribe and his name is Q Junior?"
D'anna glanced at Cavil; the Number One's head was down as he stared at the table in an almost catatonic state.
"Yes," said the Number Three when no one else answered Leoben "you are correct. That still doesn't confirm that he had a hand in this."
Aaron stared at her in disbelief; but D'anna continued.
"We still don't know how our own raiders turned against us..."
"Or how the raiders still in their launch bays detonated while in standby mode," interrupted Boomer in a bleak voice. She also looked at Cavil as if for some reassurance or words of wisdom.
The Number One remained silent.
Simon looked at each of them. "Maybe a malfuction..."
"I refuse to believe that doctor," said Aaron bluntly "I spoke to Arden as well. I can accept one raider or even two malfunctioning.
But six hundred and fifty? All at the same frakking time?!" He looked around the table. "No, not even remotely frakking possible!
As Boomer said; what about the ones in the launch bays ? How did they detonate?! In their standby mode; they are even more stable than the activated raiders? It's got to be a weapon of some sort on the Xavier !"
Leoben frowned as he regarded his cylon brother thoughtfully. "You're forgetting one other possibility."
Everyone except Cavil looked at him.
"Like what?" asked Aaron in a belligerent tone.
"What if this is a sign from God that we are in the wrong?"
Now that made Cavil look up.
Aaron appeared stunned for a moment; before his expression was replaced by one of anger.
"Wait; let me get this right. You're saying that God was upset with us for attacking the Xavier so He decided in his 'infinite wisdom'..." the Number Five made quote signs with his fingers "...to blow up two of our basestars and 650 of our raiders? That is pure frakking idiocy..."
"But yet you have no plausible scientific explanation for what happened," cut in D'anna "from the preliminary reports there is no indication that the Xavier fired that many missiles to destroy our basestars and hundreds of raiders at the same time! The Colonials definitely had nothing to do with it.
It is my belief that when you have eliminated the impossible; whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth... and in this case the hand of God was clearly evident."
Most of them stared at her as if she was sprouting gibberish; only Leoben appeared in agreement.
"How frakking poetic!" responded Aaron coldly "so what do we do now? Join hands, pray and sing songs to the One God to deliver us?! I don't believe this crap!" he turned to Cavil.
"What say you old boy? You've been awfully quiet; if my memory serves me right; the anti-matter nukes and attacking the Xavier was your idea!"
The Number One was quiet for a long time as he looked at the Number Five with an odd light in his eyes.
"So when we fail," started Cavil solemnly "it's considered my fault?"
Aaron lifted his hands as he looked around the table. "I don't see anyone else here at the table that not-so long ago proclaimed himself as the leader of the cylons! And that very person that I am staring at has been taking liberties and issuing orders that should have been bloody well curtailed from the start of this whole frakking mess!"
D'anna agreed with Aaron that some responsibility lay at Cavil's feet but this was not the time to single out the Number One.
Not when they are now definitely officially at war with the Thirteenth Tribe.
"What we should be doing is figuring out a solution; not assigning blame," said D'anna in a placating voice. Her words earned her nonplussed looks from Aaron and Cavil.
"Such as what?" asked a puzzled Simon " a new weapon?"
"No," started the Number Three carefully "maybe a truce with the crew of the Xavier and Earth should be considered."
There was silence for a moment before the shouting started.
"You can't be frakking serious!"
"Do recall we are at war with the humans!"
"Are you out of your frakking mind, D'anna?!"
Only two cylons kept quiet, Leoben appeared deeply thoughtful as the shouting got louder while Cavil just stared at her.
D'anna let their words wash over her.
"You presume this attack was God's will do you not?"finally asked a calm Cavil when there was a lull in the verbal protest.
The Number Three cylon was wary as she answered. "I do so..."
"What if it's a test?" demanded the Number One in the same calm voice.
"Excuse me?" asked D'anna as the others finally quieted down.
"You heard me; a test.
What if the One God is testing our resolve?" he looked around the table " we all know the Twelve Colonies ignore His existence and have persecuted his Monothetist followers to the point where they hide their true religion.
A religion which we cylons follow."
Boomer and Simon were staring at Cavil as if he had sprouted wings.
"So do we as His children falter when an obstacle such as the Xavier stands in our way? No; we push on and fight...that is if you wish to reclaim your birthright."
D'anna was speechless; Cavil was known to scoff at religion and the significance of the Lords of Kobol and tended to ignore the teachings of the One God.
"Cavil; are you saying you've found religion?" asked an incredulous Aaron.
The Number One looked at him calmly. "Don't be ridiculous Aaron.
In fact let me clarify for you my views on the matter," he pointed at D'anna " our sister; Ms Biers believes this was a sign from God.
Maybe it is; who am I to say different when I can't even make head or tails of what went down more than an hour ago; but since our catastrophic loss is inexplicable...maybe it's a warning from on-high that we need to re-double our acts if we truly wish to destroy the Thirteenth Tribe and reclaim the birthplace of our race."
D'anna stared at him in horror; her expression was mirrored in Leoben's face. Even Natalie looked very disturbed.
"Cavil," began the Number Three Model when she found her voice "are you listening to yourself? Did you not see what one ship of the Thirteenth Tribe did to us? Imagine what a fleet of those could do!
What you are suggesting is tantamount to suicide!"
Cavil scowled. "Oh ye of little faith," he waved at her " there you have it brothers and sisters." He stood up as if emphasizing a point.
"How many times has Sister D'anna encouraged us to strive in the face of adversity? To never grow weary or falter when an obstacle comes our way? For the One God who is just and good watches over us and will ensure that His children will overcome!"
D'anna tasted bile as Cavil twisted her own words in a mocking tone. She quickly looked around and was a bit stunned to see Simon; Boomer and even Aaron appeared to be agreeing with the mad cylon.
Six had been right; Cavil was a psychopath and he seemed Hades-bent on dragging all of them down the path to destruction.
"Cavil," began Natalie carefully "D'anna is right; going up against them again will be suicide; we should wait..."
"I agree," cut in Cavil as he walked towards the Number Six model who reared back warily "waiting is a good idea while we figure out how we destroy them."
"Destroy them !?" gasped Leoben "Cavil; they almost destroyed us!"
Cavil turned to look at the Number Two. "But we were actually hurting the Xavier; the ship actually showed signs of faltering before they destroyed our basestars and that in itself means something.
For I'm sure that whatever weapon they used must have required so much power that it was a last resort defence!"
"There was no significant build-up in power from the sensors," pounced Natalie "I was checking for any sign of that before we lost our basestars."
"Maybe you were looking in the wrong place," said Aaron dismissively. Natalie glared at him.
"I'm so glad someone else agrees," said Cavil smugly.
For some reason his expression made D'anna explode.
"All of you, listen to me! This is wrong ! If we continue on this path of war; we could end up destroying ourselves!" shouted the Number Three model.
Simon narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. "D'anna; maybe you need to calm down. It's been quite stressful lately..."
"Stressful?" asked a pissed of D'anna "that is hardly the word I would chose to describe what's happened a few hours ago!"
"Whatever," said Cavil airily "anyway; we've wasted enough time on this matter. It's time to put it to a vote."
"And what exactly are we voting on?" demanded an irritated Leoben " we haven't even figured out what exactly happened?"
"The vote is to go regroup; come up with a strategy before going after the Xavier and finishing what we started," said Cavil confidently.
D'anna covered her eyes as the shouting only got louder and more vicious.
This is going to be a long day.
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In the end; they were all too angry to vote on anything; the meeting was adjourned with no progress made.
Cavil stormed out of the conference hall before D'anna finally closed the meeting. She hastily dismissed the others and ran after him.
She finally caught up with him down the corridor as he was speaking to a golden hued centurion.
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Red One had been close to the entrance of the conference room when the Supreme Leader Cavil stormed out. He looked very angry as he turned and stared at Red One.
"You! Come with me now!"
The golden centurion followed silently as his master began to speak in bitter cold tones.
"I can't believe I am even remotely related to those imbeciles! At first I thought most of them realized what we needed to do but then the some idiot had to mention God's will!
I'll frakking give them God's will alright!"
Red One remained silent. It was not his place to give an opinion on his masters' theological discussions.
Cavil glanced at him. "You haven't the faintest idea what I'm talking about do you?" then he stopped and looked at him again when he noticed the red light in the visor was still moving.
"When was your last update?"
Red One felt a bit surprised by this change in questioning.
"17 cycles ago master."
Cavil's frown deepened. "You're overdue for an update..."
"Cavil wait!" the Number One cylon rolled his eyes when he heard D'anna's voice.
"Leave us," ordered Cavil.
"By your command," the centurion walked away but for some reason he found himself stopping a short distance away to stand in a corner to...listen.
"Cavil; we need to change our strategy," began D'anna breathlessly.
Cavil snorted. "By calling a truce? That is a sign of weakness and we're certainly not that!"
"You will get us all killed; we've already lost more than is acceptable!" protested the female cylon.
The Number One stared at her for a long time. "What did they do to you?"
"What?" asked a startled D'anna at his line of questioning.
"You were with them for a long time sister; did they change your reasoning or condition you in such a way to push for a situation that would favour them?"
"I can't believe what you're saying," gasped the Number Three "they did nothing to me!"
Cavil sighed. "I beg to differ; especially after seeing how they massacred the cylons and centurions who tried to take them captive.
I'm beginning to think you may need a series of psychological evaluations by Simon and possibly and a review of your model's datastream. It may not be as stable as we thought."
D'anna felt her throat constrict.
Cavil was indirectly threatening her with 'boxing.'
She forced herself not to show fear. "You can't box me brother."
Cavil smiled coldly and walked up to her; his smile widened when she involuntarily took a step back.
"Try me sister," then he turned and walked away leaving her staring after him.
She stood there for a long moment before going in the opposite direction.
Red One stood in the corner; forgotten.
He had heard the whole thing and for some reason he felt a bit...odd
If he had been able to put it in words and explained it to a passing cylon or human.
They would have told him that what he was feeling was...concern.
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The basestar; the CIC...
D'anna found herself wandering aimlessly after confrontation with Cavil in the corridor.
She rubbed her arms as if to generate warmth that she could no longer feel.
What was wrong with Cavil? She knew he hated the humans; most of them did but he took his hatred to a whole different level.
D'anna stopped and took stock of her surroundings and realized she had reached the CIC. She hesitated before entering and sure enough the command centre was busier than usual.
Since the intrusion by the crew of the Xavier; security had been trebled and almost everyone was packing weapons. It didn't take her long to find out where Natalie was.
The Number Six model was in the Hybrid chambers.
D'anna entered to see her fellow cylon sister checking the readouts by the Hybrid tank.
"How is she?" asked D'anna. Natalie glanced at her before replying.
"Asleep; vitals are normal and the basestar is running as it should."
D'anna stopped beside the tank and looked down at the female humanoid shape in the bluish nourishing fluid.
The Hybrid appeared asleep and at peace; D'anna wondered if the Hybrids ever dreamt and what those dreams could mean.
"You should have heard what she said when the intruders were hacking into the datastream. I have never heard her say so much or see her try to grab someone the way she reached out for Samuel Anders."
Natalie paused in her work; an uncertain frown on her face.
"I saw the vid; are you certain that boy with them is a cylon?"
D'anna smiled sadly as she looked at Natalie. "I would bet my life on it; he used the interface as if he was born to do so. We're making a big mistake in continuing on this war; we don't have all the facts."
Natalie appeared exasperated. "What do you want us to do? Roll over and die? Surrender?!"
The Number Three cylon shook her head. "That is not what I'm suggesting..."
Her voice trailed off when the eyes of the Hybrid snapped open and at the same time; the vitals went haywire.
"Xavier has part of the answer but the First Five have all the answers, end of line.
Xavier has part of the answer but the First Five have all the answers, end of line.
Xavier has part of the answer but the First Five have all the answers, end of line."
The Hybrid kept repeating the sentence as Natalie frantically checked the readings. "What the frak is going on?!"
D'anna went to the Hybrid's side as technicians rushed into the chamber.
"What are you trying to tell us ? Please ; I'm listening!" She ignored the urgent orders from a Number Eight telling her to leave the chamber.
The Hybrid's left hand shot out of the immersion tank and grabbed D'anna's right wrist.
"Remember; remember the day of your birth, the voices of the Five, end of line."
"Remember what? How?" continued D'anna.
The Hybrid's dark gaze seemed to burn into her soul. It was frighteningly lucid and fully sentient.
"All you have to do is die."
Then it's hold slackened before it fell asleep once more.
A speechless D'anna barely felt gentle but firm hands pull her away from the unconscious Hybrid while the technicians swarmed all over the heart and soul of the basestar.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX
Battlestar Galactica; en route to the Admiral Adama's quarters...
Dr Cottle absently acknowledged the respective greetings of various crew members he passed. He was the chief medical officer after-all and had treated most if not all of them.
He looked preoccupied as he walked while clutching a bulky colonial ePADD.
From time to time; Sherman casually glanced around him and was glad to see that hardly anyone was paying him attention.
The last thing he needed was to run into any of the religious crackpot members of the Quorum or Zarek.
Especially Zarek; that man gave him the chills anytime they happened to meet.
Cottle got to Adama's quarters and knocked loudly; a few moments passed before the door opened to reveal Lee.
The CAG looked pissed.
I wonder why. Thought the doctor as he entered the room.
Admiral Adama was standing in the middle of the room with his hands behind his back. On the table before him was the stream-lined Starfleet ePADD that Q Junior had given the senior colonial officer.
Cottle saw Lee's eyes dart to the Starfleet device.
Great; now he knows.
"You're got the results already?" asked Lee in a terse voice.
Cottle glared at the CAG until he flushed.
"Lad; don't think of displacing your aggression on me; I wasn't the one who instigated this whole mess!"
"Sorry doc," muttered Lee as Adama senior sent his son a pitying look.
Anyone on the battlestar knew you crossed the ship's chief medical officer at your own peril.
Dr Cottle decided to get straight to the point.
"Starbuck's DNA is a match; so she's in the clear.
As expected; Lieutenant Agathon's DNA has obvious discrepancies from that of Boomer's." Both Adama's shared a relieved glance.
"As for Anders...it has remained the same."
"So; he's not a cylon!" exclaimed Lee with obvious relief.
"I'm afraid the results don't completely confirm that," said Cottle in a cautious voice. Admiral Adama looked closely at him while Lee appeared confused.
"Please explain."
Cottle hesitated briefly before speaking carefully.
"When we realized that humanoid cylons existed; a couple of us along with Baltar tried to come up with ways to identify them.
As we all know; Baltar's device was a phoney; then we reasoned that checking everyone's DNA once they got back from missions to make sure they weren't cylon duplicates.
However; one person at the beginning stated this current state may be irrelevant if one does not possess the earliest DNA of all the colonials in this fleet or if the tested subject has been a cylon since birth."
"Who said that?" asked Adama.
Cottle smiled dryly. "Tory Foster."
That was ironic considering that fact that she was supposed to be one of the newly discovered 'cylons'. The doctor continued.
"Starbuck has been in the forces for a long time; we have records of her DNA from when she was a child; the same goes for Saul Tigh..." Admiral Adama frowned at his friend's name "Lee and many other high ranking colonial officers...except for Anders."
"We knew nothing about him until Starbuck rescued him from Caprica just over a year ago. It is from that moment that we obtained his DNA.
Apart from testing the DNA; the only other evidence would be seeing him die and resurrect," Lee grimaced at the doctor's words "only then can we verify if he is a cylon."
There was silence for a long time; then Lee walked towards the doctor with an anxious look on his face.
"Sir; are you saying that the test we have been relying on all this time...actually doesn't work?" Cottle could hear the desperation in his voice.
"It works partly...but in this case; I personally don't think it's enough."
Lee threw up his hands in frustration. "We're talking about five people we know very well! People who hate the cylons and have fought them with everything they had.
Saul's wife died because of them!" Lee stopped when he noticed a silent look his father and the doctor shared.
"Wait; what was that for? What do I not know?!"
The Admiral stared at his son for a long moment. "What...did you hear about Ellen's death?"
Lee answered his father with a quizzical expression on his face. "Due to the appalling conditions in the camp she fell ill and died."
Admiral Adama was silent for a long time. "That's not what happened exactly."
"Bill; it's not for you to tell..." started Cottle but he shut up when the Admiral glared at him.
Lee wisely kept silent as he waited for the two older men to speak.
Admiral Adama turned back to Lee.
"She betrayed the resistance Lee," his son began to shake his head in denial "and Saul had to take care of it...by poisoning her."
Both men saw the younger senior officer flinch as if he had been struck.
"That's...that's not possible...she would never..." but his voice trailed off when he saw the truth in his father's eyes and in the elderly doctor's face.
The CAG leaned heavily against the table as he tried to make sense of all that he had just heard.
"If...if she's a cylon; then she's alive...and with them." No one said anything.
Lee rubbed his face wearily. "I'm finding it very hard to believe! This has to be some sort of trick!"
"To what purpose?" asked Cottle "If so; why did they rescue a child; take out a resurrection ship; destroy four basestars and hundreds of cylon raiders? That would be one heck of an act if you ask me."
Lee wanted to protest but he couldn't find the words; the doctor was right.
The crew of the Xavier had done too many things to help the colonial fleet and most times the small tough ship had put itself in harm's way.
Then again; he had watched the security vids of Dr Grey.
What she had done was clearly not normal; he could almost believe the rumours that she was from the Lords of Kobol.
He had never heard of anyone; colonial or cylon being capable of what she did.
"So; what do we do now?" asked Lee after several seconds of silence.
Admiral Adama's face was grave as he answered slowly.
"The Quorum can't know of this."
Lee frowned. "I can accept that but what of the President ?"
His father chose his words with care. "She's been making some...odd decisions recently concerning Sharon and her child and also about the Xavier."
Lee opened his mouth to protest then shut it as if he also realized the validity of his father's words.
But the Admiral was not done.
"However; this will be brought to her attention as some point...just not right now."
None of the three men in the room asked about Zarek.
"As for Saul; Galen and Tory...we say nothing."
Cottle grimaced. "Admiral; I know you mean well; but is that exactly the right approach? Personally I don't think that Anders; Saul; Galen and Tory mean us any harm but I think we should tell them..."
"And then what?" interrupted Admiral Adama "the first thing that they would want is to be tested again.
The next question is what test do we use? Ours which we're just realizing is not that reliable or that of Dr Grey's which we know next to nothing about?!"
Admiral Adama forced himself to calm down under the concerned looks from his son and his chief medical officer.
"While I don't distrust the crew of the Xavier...I'm not that ready to accept everything they tell or show us."
Cottle's frown deepened. "Even if they have the evidence to back it up? I'm sorry Admiral but methinks you're just burying your head in the sand and that strategy will get some good people killed."
Father and son stared at the elderly doctor.
"Then what would you suggest Dr Cottle?" asked Lee in a cool voice.
The doctor looked at him. "Work closely with Dr Grey; she's a medic who knows her stuff inside out," he saw the quizzical looks on their faces.
"You're wondering how I know this? What did you think I was asking her when I had a chance to speak to her? The weather?
That woman is a medical doctor who knows an awful lot about genetics and appears to have had experience as a field medic in a warzone."
There was silence at his words.
"I feel working with her and the crew of the Xavier is the only way to getting some of our burning questions answered," Cottle sighed and shook his head "now if you guys would excuse me; I have some patients to treat."
Without waiting for permission; he left the room.
Father and son stared at the door for a long time.
"He does have a point dad," said Lee softly.
Admiral Adama said nothing for a while; then he picked up the colonial ePadd. "And that son; is what I'm afraid of."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX
Dr Sherman Cottle was fuming as he walked back to the medical bay; many who saw his expression quickly got out of his way.
He saw the Adamas as family but at times he got so tired of how stubborn and stupid they could be.
How could they be considering not telling Saul and the others what the Xavier found out? He knew it was a stunning revelation but his gut feeling was that hiding this information could lead to disaster of epic proportions.
Those thoughts were still on his mind when Sherman walked into the medical bay.
He headed straight to his office and grabbed his ward coat. Already one of the nurses walked up to him with a clipboard. As Sherman reached out for it; he saw from the corner of his eye someone walk into the medical bay.
It was Colonel Saul Tigh.
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Daniel Novacek kept his eyes on the floor as he pretended to ignore the single female marine guard just outside his cubicle.
He knew he was on the Galactica; in it's medical bay.
This was a colonial battleship, of that he was certain.
But at the moment; he felt more of a prisoner than a freeman.
The marine had been kind and helpful but Daniel's eyes kept being drawn to the way she casually handled her semi-automatic weapon.
Everyone on this ship was tensed up; that was to be expected because this was a refugee fleet on the run and from the looks of his immediate surroundings ; things were on the edge of falling apart.
The medical bay appeared dingy; the equipment looked ancient and there was an obvious lack of medicine and supplies.
Too many appeared thin; close to starving but one thing appeared universal.
The light of hope that shone in everyone's eyes; especially those who had seen what Dr Grey had done in the CIC.
So why did Novacek feel the exact opposite of hope ?
The sound of footsteps intruded into his thoughts but he didn't look up.
"Daniel," the Senior Lieutenant lifted his head at the familiar voice.
Right in front of him stood Saul Tigh.
He felt relief at seeing his old friend.
"I thought you had forgotten about me," said Novacek as he stood up.
Saul clasped his hand with a wide grin. "Forget you? Of course not! Dr Cottle told us you were okay; so I thought I might as well spring you from this joint."
"That would be awesome," said Daniel with a matching relieved grin.
A cough alerted the two men that they weren't alone.
Both turned to face a stern looking Dr Cottle.
"Colonel; how can I help you?"
Saul sighed wearily. "I'm not here for me doc; just wanted to show Daniel somewhere less depressing."
Daniel couldn't help but wince at Saul's all too accurate words; he opened his mouth to say something but the words trailed off when he saw the way Dr Cottle was observing the XO.
Even Saul had noticed it as well. His smile disappeared to be replaced by a slight frown.
"Doc; is something wrong?"
Dr Cottle hesitated for a brief moment before answering. "No...just try not to take any alcohol please."
Saul Tigh rolled his eyes. "Yes father," he said drily before indicating to Novacek that they could leave.
The senior lieutenant turned to the medical doctor. "Thank you sir for your help."
"You're welcome," said Cottle gruffly as the two colonial officers left.
None of them saw the worried expression on his face as he watched them leave.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX
Saul Tigh's private rooms...
Novacek was more than a little relieved when they reached the XO's quarters.
He didn't know why; but the presence of so many people was making him quite nervous. Maybe it had to do with being in isolation for so many years with only centurions as guards during his torture sessions.
It was going to take him a while to adjust to his new surroundings.
"Need a drink?" asked Saul Tigh as he loosened his neck collar.
Novacek looked around the sparse but slightly untidy quarters.
"I would appreciate one Colonel."
Saul snorted. "Pal; we're on down time; no need for formalities in my place."
Novacek nodded silently as Saul went to a small cabinet.
The senior lieutenant kept looking around the room; something about it was off. At the back of his mind, he realized that there was something he should remember.
A few moments passed before he recalled what it was.
"Where's Ellen?"
The tensing of Saul's shoulders told him he had asked the wrong question.
There was only one thing that could cause a reaction like that.
"Saul; oh my Gods; I'm so sorry..."
"She's dead," interrupted the XO in a soft tone; he turned round to face Novacek and the pilot tried not to flinch at the raw pain he could see in the older man's eyes.
"Don't apologize; you...you weren't the one who did it."
Novacek hid behind his drink as he took a hasty gulp; a few seconds later he started coughing a lot; the drink was so potent that he could feel as if his head swimming already.
Saul smiled a little. "Lost your tolerance for good old ambrosia ?"
The senior lieutenant took a seat and tried to catch his breath before answering. "Among other things; though I gotta admit this drink is a lot more fiery than what Logan gave me on the Xavier. The alcohol content must be way over the recommended safety limit."
He was so relieved by the change in topic that Daniel missed the intent look that appeared on Saul's face for a moment before it was replaced by a neutral expression.
"Captain Logan gave you a drink?"
Novacek nodded. "Something called scotch from Earth; it has a rich mellow warm feel and is dark amber in colour."
"You sound like a wine connoisseur," commented Saul dryly as he took a seat across the colonial pilot.
Both men were silent for a while and Novacek was struck by an almost déjà-vu feeling as he realized he had been in this position a few hours ago when he had a chat with Logan on the Xavier.
"What's the Xavier like?" asked Saul.
Novacek raised an eyebrow. "Is this the debriefing Saul or are we just chatting?"
The XO took a large sip of his drink before answering. "The debriefing will come later; this is just chatting," he poured some more ambrosia for Novacek before refilling his own cup.
"However; considering the 'unique' situation we're in; we could use all the info we can get about that ship."
Novacek frowned. "I thought...they were our allies."
Saul appeared grave as he answered. "They are...but the first contact went quite badly."
The pilot narrowed his eyes. "Just how badly did it go?" His tone stated he wanted an answer.
Saul studied the greenish tinge of his drink for a long moment before he started speaking.
Several moments of silence passed as Novacek stared at him in shock.
"With all due respect...you're the luckiest bastard alive right now."
"I know," agreed Saul solemnly; but the pilot was not done.
"Do you know what his daughter did to the cylons and centurions she fought?!"
"Tore them to pieces; just like her father," added Saul in the same even tone.
Novacek was puzzled. "You know already?"
"Yeah; they gave us a vid-recording of the mission. I think they left nothing out."
The pilot gently shook his still full glass; he was taking very little sips for now. "So far; it appears they have been honest with you."
Saul looked into the distance. "I guess so; however I find it odd that you mention the shredding skills of father and daughter but neglect to point out the 'unique' skills of Dr Grey and...Ensign Q.
Novacek felt a shiver as he saw in his mind Dr Grey floating in the middle of the CIC or of the equalling alarming fact that Ensign Q was a 'sentient' hologram.
"I'm trying not to think about them."
That was how Novacek had retained a bit of his sanity during those eight long years as a prisoner of war. A lot of disturbing things had occurred on the basestar; he had coped by shoving that memory to a locked room in his mind and it had worked.
Thinking too much was a sure way to drive one insane.
Saul looked at him for a long them then shrugged. "Can't blame you," he gulped down his drink and refilled his glass. "More?" he indicated towards the bottle.
Novacek hid a frown. That was Saul's third glass in less than 15 minutes; now he could see why Dr Cottle had been advising the XO from drinking.
"Nah; I'm fine. Still haven't finished this one though." Daniel looked around the quarters.
"All those years as a...guest of the cylons and I never thought I would escape or even dream of making it to the Galactica," he took a small sip "I don't know if I should be thankful or annoyed."
Saul finished off his drink again and refilled his cup. "Why do you say that?"
Daniel looked him in the left eye. "I wish I had died that day when I flew the Sleathstar; always wondered what went wrong and how I survived my craft being shot down."
Saul briefly halted the movement of the cup to his lips. "Bill had no choice Dan; I sincerely believe he regretted giving the order for your ship to be destroyed."
Dan was looking down so the XO failed to see the shock in his eyes. The XO kept talking; his voice a bit slurry.
"You had crossed the Armistice Line; Bill was under orders to erase all trace of colonial presence in cylon territory. He had to weigh the needs of one against the needs of..."
"Billions," said Dan softly as he kept looking at the floor. Once again the XO failed to see how tightly the senior lieutenant was gripping his metal cup.
Later on; Saul would find the indentation of fingers on the cup.
"Yeah; I'm glad to see you understand; if the cylons had detected us, it would have led to war.
Hades! Maybe it did lead to this war, I don't know!" Saul knocked back his drink and refilled his glass. He didn't even both asking if Daniel wanted more.
"Bill has been shouldering responsibilities that could kill a much lesser man. I don't know how he copes."
Novacek said nothing.
Saul downed another glass and then another as he rambled on about the duties of a soldier and those who had died so that others could live.
Novacek was partly listening while being consumed by his own thoughts.
For the past eight years; he had thought it was the cylons who shot his viper down.
It was now he was realizing he had been shut down by his own commanding officer; a then Commander William Adama.
No wonder the senior officer had looked a bit guilty when he came off the Starfleet shuttle.
Daniel's disbelief was washed away by a red-hot feeling in the centre of his chest as he clutched his cup. He didn't even notice the cup bending under his fingers.
He had trusted William Adama and he had left Daniel to die; but something worse happened, he had been captured, tortured and imprisoned for eight years.
All this was Adama's fault.
Daniel closed his eyes briefly as the anger threatened to consume him completely; he forced his hands to relax and realized something was different.
Silence reigned in the quarters.
Novacek turned and to his surprise; Saul Tigh was fast asleep in his chair.
Almost at once; his glance fell to the XO's weapon holster which was on the table.
No...not now.
Not yet; Daniel will have his revenge if he planned this carefully.
Admiral Adama was going to pay for each of the eight years he was a prisoner.
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Colonial One; presidential quarters...
Roslin felt dizzy and nauseous as she stood up a bit too quickly; she had to hold on to the table as she made her way to the small cabinet where she kept her small supply of anti-emetics and pain-killers.
The drugs may make her sleepy considering how sensitive she was to them; but she had to take them if she hoped to function.
She knew the doloxan treatment seemed to be worsening her health instead of making her better. Roslin hated this treatment but she couldn't give up now.
Suddenly she wondered what if the medical science of the Thirteenth Tribe could help her; then she remembered what Q Junior was and shook her head.
What in Hades was she thinking?
She will never accept help from an AI; constructs like him had destroyed the Twelve Colonies.
What of Dr Grey? She's a human being; maybe more than a human being.
Roslin squashed the traitorous thought as she quickly took her anti-sickness medication.
A sharp knock at the door made her turn too quickly. She waited for her blurred vision to pass before answering.
"Who is it?"
A familiar slightly muffled voice made Roslin sag in relief.
"Come in."
A few seconds later, her PA; Tory Foster walked in. Her expression became very concerned when she saw how exhausted the president was.
"Madam President..."
"Tory; how many times have I asked you to call me Laura? Please; we don't have to be formal in my quarters."
Tory smiled sadly. "Alright Laura," then she became grave again "when was your last check up with Dr Cottle ?"
The female president wearily sat down. "Two weeks ago; my next treatment is in 4 days."
The dark skinned PA looked at her for a long time. "You're going to hate me for saying this...but is it really working?"
Laura tried to smile as Tory echoed what she had been thinking.
"We beat it the first time didn't we; I'm sure the doloxan will work again."
Tory's expression stated she didn't believe what Laura was saying for a second. "What about the Xavier...?"
"Don't even go there," interrupted Laura gently but firmly.
Tory looked as if she wanted to argue but one glance at the set expression on the president's face and she decided to change the topic.
"Well , I'm afraid I have more bad news."
Laura barely resisted sighing. "What now?"
"The Quorum's representative wants a meeting asap..."
"Don't they always..."
"There's more," continued Tory "they want to meet Captain Logan and Dr Grey."
Roslin resisted swearing. "Someone's talked!"
Tory shrugged. "It was bound to happen and also they have given us a deadline or else they'll go completely public with a vote stating they have lost confidence in you and Zarek's leadership."
Roslin gripped her seat handles hard; she really wanted to strangle someone.
"Whose brilliant idea was that? Do they realize the panic they could cause?"
"It was Reza Chronicles idea and I doubt he cares about panic right now. This is a power play; pure and simple."
Laura bit her lower lip worryingly as she rested her chin on her hand.
"How long do we have?"
"Eight hours."
Laura's eyes widened.
"Eight hours! How in the name of Hades do they expect me to get the senior crew of the Xavier to attend this meeting ?"
"You could try asking."
Laura gave her PA an incredulous look. "Just like that? Do you think it's that simple?!"
Tory didn't back down from the president's displaced anger. "Most times it is that simple; you won't know until you try."
Laura tried to find the words to refute Tory's relatively simple suggestion and gave up after several moments.
"You're right," her voice now calmer and resigned "I have to try."
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The Xavier; the bridge...
Logan had a thoughtful frown on his face as he stared at the view-screen which showed the colonial refugee fleet.
It was more than two hours since he had contacted Rear Admiral Janeway and the captains of the Dunkirk and the Prometheus.
Soon after that transmission; Q Junior had returned with a few reports.
First and most important; the damage sustained by the Xavier wasn't as bad as expected. Q had assisted with a few repairs while the ship was replicating the minor ones.
The self repair was not news to Logan; Q Junior had informed him about it right from the beginning; however he could tell from Oma's tense shoulders that she was stunned by it.
The second bit of news was that Q Junior had discovered a nearby solar system which was rich in Tylium; he had already passed on this important data to Chief Tyrol.
But he had also volunteered to go with a small group of colonial miners as backup...if his captain approved.
Logan wasn't too thrilled about sending Q Junior alone with them; however Oma had volunteered to pilot a shuttle with the male ensign.
And that was when Laura got all strange and stated she was going as well.
It had been on the tip of Logan's tongue to refuse instantly but a mulish look in his daughter's eyes stopped him. His gut told him to be careful.
After a long look at each of the teenagers in front of him; he astonished them by agreeing.
However he made a few things clear.
Do not let any of the colonials on board the shuttle; watch out for each other and come back in one; unhurt piece.
The three had given him almost identical looks of mild exasperation as two of them remembered to say 'yes sir' before scampering from his presence.
Logan's thoughts returned to the present as he tightened his grip on the railing then remembered to relax his hands before he broke the piece of metal he was holding.
Being a dad was very hard.
He had never set out to be a father; but now it was hitting him that he was one.
Scientists and psychologists may argue from a non-sentimental point that Laura was just a female copy of him... a clone.
But isn't that what a child was?
A different version of the mother and father ?
"Captain Logan," called the soft voice of Xavier.
Logan shook his head before looking up.
"Yes Xavier?"
"There's an incoming transmission from the USS Prometheus."
Logan frowned. He had just spoken to them and the USS Dunkirk two hours ago.
"Thanks; put it through."
The view-screen flipped from the surveillance view to static for a short while before gradually easing into the clear image of a familiar looking man in the red and black uniform of Starfleet.
Logan stood up slowly when he realized who he was seeing.
Commander Trey Kadretti.
The background looked like private crew quarters and the pensive light in the commander's eyes warned Logan that this was not a social call.
"Captain Logan," greeted the senior officer in a grave tone.
"Commander," said Logan likewise.
"I know this is a bit unexpected..."
Tell me about it thought Logan.
"...but I wish to speak to you about Oma."
Well; at least he gets straight to the point, Logan kept silent and waited for the commander to continue.
"Where is she?" Trey asked suddenly.
Oh shit; swore Logan silently as he tried to keep a calm face while replying.
"On a recon mission with Ensign Q Junior and my daughter, Cadet Kinney. They are helping the colonials locate Tylium."
Kadretti's features tightened then he forced them to relax.
"I'm sure you understand my concern," he paused as if trying to find the right words "you're a father...you wish to keep your child safe but have to remember that one day they must leave the nest."
Logan wisely kept silent as thoughts of how he only just found out he had a daughter.
Trey kept speaking. "Then again; some would argue that if I wanted to keep her safe...I should have done all in my power in preventing her from joining Starfleet...but seeing how much she wanted to join the fleet; that would have been as bad as harming her myself."
Logan had a funny feeling where this was going but he was getting very uncomfortable with all this revelation.
He wished he could swap places with Dr Grey right now; what ever she was up to must be a lot less complicated.
Just before they parted; Dr Grey had stated she was going to check up on Baltar and Caprica Six. Kara and Anders had attached themselves to her...possibly to act as backup.
Trey maintained eye contact as he continued speaking.
"Sir; I must commend you on your restraint especially after being aware of the airlock incident report."
Don't remind me please thought Logan as he felt an involuntary muscle spasm on his lower jawline as he tried to repress the memory.
"And considering the possible isolation of the Twelve colonies and the...controversy the cultural differences between the Federation and them could cause... I can see that 'reaction' occurring again and again.
Thus in view of that...I would consider it an honour if you teach Oma how to survive possible future altercations."
Logan was startled by the request and it showed in his voice.
"What?" he had expected Trey asking him to protect his only child; not to teach her!
The Commander smiled grimly. "You were one of the original teachers at Xavier's school for the Gifted. Your specialty was 'Tactics and Defence'; you have no idea how valuable your knowledge was during the Eugenic's War..."
Logan lifted a hand. "Hold on a moment; I was only a substitute teacher for 5 months and 3weeks; I did nothing compared to what the Professor , Ororo, Scott and Jean were teaching those kids..."
"But it counted more than you know," insisted Trey "do you remember Kitty Pryde?"
The female brunette that could phase through walls. "Yeah; I do."
Trey pressed on. "She said and I quote...'Logan's motto was that a best defence was a good offence'.
Though some may consider that crude...it was most effective more times than she could count'...
Trust that kid to remember that one sentence, thought Logan wearily.
"Commander; you don't understand.
What I'm trying to say...is that what I taught then may have be relevant.
We're now 300 years into the future...let's face it. My kind and I are obsolete."
Trey shook his head slowly. "A warrior is never obsolete when there is chaos at the door...and does the current situation seem peaceful to you ?"
Not bloody likely thought Logan.
Trey nodded as if he could hear his thoughts.
"All I ask; is that you teach her how to use her ability to defend herself.
She never had any formal training involving that part of her..."
"Why?" asked Logan with a curious look on his face "I presumed this time was favourable to mutants...so why do I get the feeling that Ensign Kadretti was hiding her ability ?"
Trey looked at him for a long moment.
"On Earth and it's colonies; mutants are accepted...but there are factors out there who are very interested in human-hybrid mutants because they are oh-so-rare.
One prime example of such a faction are the Romulans."
His face became a neutral mask that Logan knew it hid a lot of pain and anger.
The commander was this close to losing his cool. Trey took a deep breath and seemed to release a bit of the tension in his shoulders.
"Please...will you help her?"
Logan answered carefully after a long moment.
"Magneto or Erik Lensherr if you prefer would have been the perfect one to teach her," Trey's face fell.
"However; since it's only Jean and I," Logan paused "I'm sure there will be something we can work out."
Trey stared at him then nodded as if relieved. "We'll be in your debt..."
Logan shook his head. "No; there is no need for that.
Ensign Kadretti and Q Junior are helping us adjust and learn about this new age; we're the ones who owe them a great deal...I doubt that we could ever repay them or you who trained them well."
Trey closed his eyes briefly before smiling sadly.
"Thank you Captain."
Logan felt a bit uncomfortable at the obvious gratitude in Trey's eyes when he hadn't done anything worth mentioning yet. "You're welcome Commander."
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The Xavier; deck two; crew quarters...
Six was woken by a soft bell sound. For one moment she didn't recognize her surroundings then her memory came crashing down.
She was in Baltar's quarters and had taken a seat on the comfortable couch while he went to the bathroom; it hadn't been long before she fell asleep.
Six must have been more tired than she realized; she moved the blanket aside. She was sure she hadn't put that on herself. The female cylon turned round to see Baltar sitting up on his bed.
His red eyes were evidence that he had also been sleeping. The soft bell sound came again as the scientist hastily put on his spectacles.
It didn't take long for Six to realize that the noise was coming from the entrance.
Baltar looked at her with apprehension on his face; before Six could say a word he called out.
"Come in."
Six stood up slowly and took a slightly defensive stance as the door slid open to reveal Dr Grey; Kara and Anders.
The female doctor had a calm expression on her face; but Kara and Anders appeared a bit agitated. Six stiffened at the obvious tension in the air.
Something was wrong.
"Dr Baltar," started Dr Grey amicably "I see that you're well. Laura informed me of the injuries you sustained during the battle."
Baltar swallowed nervously. "I...I'm fine; she did a very good job," he looked at the expressions of the two silent colonial pilots, then straightened his spine.
"I guess...it's time for me to leave for the Galactica."
"No!" gasped Six in panic.
Kara and Anders shared a look while Dr Grey's expression was a bit puzzled.
"That is not why we're here Dr Baltar..." started the female medic.
The former president of the Twelve Colonies laughed bitterly. "Let's not play games Dr Grey; that is what it will come down to...eventually."
Dr Grey looked at him for a long time. "If that is your decision...then you're free to go to the Galactica."
Six and Baltar stared at her with dumb-founded expressions.
Behind Dr Grey; Kara and Anders appeared very uncomfortable.
"Wait...you mean I have a choice?" asked Baltar in shock.
The female doctor gave him a very sad look. "We all a choice," she turned to Six who hugged herself at the expression on her face.
"...a choice to do what is right; and most times...what is right is never easy."
She waited for the words to sink in. "As for Miss Six; she can stay on the Xavier if she wishes..." The female cylon gaped at her.
"Well; since you're alright, I'll leave you..."
"I have some questions," interrupted Anders a bit harshly. Kara appeared a bit alarmed while Dr Grey didn't seem surprised.
Six and Baltar turned to him with almost identical wary expressions.
"How many cylon models are there?"
The question was directed at the female cylon who stared at him in disbelief.
"I'm surprised that by now you don't know..."
"How many?" demanded Anders in an angry tone.
Six's eyes narrowed. "You know the answer...so why the frak are you asking me?"
"Answer the question," said Kara in a tense tone.
Dr Grey gave her and Anders a mild stern look and to Caprica's surprise they backed down.
What was it about her that made them obey her?
"Caprica," began Dr Grey "how many cylon models do you know that exist?"
Six stared at her a long time as she prepared an answer. "We have only seven models."
"Did you have previous models that were...decommissioned or destroyed?" asked Anders in a tense voice.
Six gave him an odd look. "Excuse me?"
"We know of the Number Seven model who was apparently a failure," said Kara.
Six fumed. "Sharon told you about him; didn't she?"
"What exactly happened to him?" asked Dr Grey in a curious tone.
Six turned to her. "I don't know; all we were told was that his neural link was faulty so he had to be boxed."
"You're lying," said Anders before she finished speaking.
Caprica curled her hands into fists to resist the strong urge to punch him.
"She's not," said Dr Grey to everyone's surprise.
"Why is this important?" asked Baltar who had remained silent up till now.
"None of your concern," said Kara bitterly.
"Six; who told you that Number Seven was...damaged ?" asked Dr Grey softly.
Six debated internally on whether or not to answer ; then decided there was no point in lying.
Because they could always cross-reference with Sharon and lying to the crew of the Xavier would scuttle her chances of finding out more about Earth.
"The oldest of us, Cavil.
Daniel; who was a Number Seven was the only one of his line and the only model to ever have a problem."
"Are you sure about this?" repeated Anders in an odd tone.
Six looked at him closely; he sounded almost...anxious.
"What is going on?," a few things clicked as she looked at the three people in-front of her. "You found something; didn't you? In the data stream...something that you think I know about.
What was it?"
As she expected Anders and Kara kept silent.
"I can't help you if you don't let me," said Six in an annoyed voice.
Dr Grey looked at her; then at the two colonial pilots by her side.
"Maybe; we should continue this conversation later."
As if that was a cue; the two colonials quickly left Baltars quarters.
Six and Baltar stared after them as Dr Grey sighed.
"Your quarters and the mess hall are open to you; please don't wander."
Then she left as well.
"There's something odd going on," said Baltar in a worried voice.
Six rubbed the lower part of her face. "The child will have the answers."
"What?" asked Baltar.
The female cylon looked at him. "Q must have found something in Cavil's records...some data that the rest of us were not privy to." She began to pace.
"So what do you intend to do now?" asked Gaius in nervous tone.
Six kept quiet as she thought furiously.
Sooner or later; she would be asked more questions and it might be Captain Logan or Dr Grey doing the interrogation.
Somehow she had to manipulate them into letting Q Junior be part of the 'debriefing'.
"I'll think of something," simply said Six as she looked upwards cautiously.
She must never forget that that Xavier was also watching and listening as well.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX
In orbit around a category L planet...
Oma had quickly volunteered to join Q Junior on the Tylium scouting mission because she had an ulterior motive.
She had been a bit startled when Laura also wanted to accompany them; for one long moment she thought the captain was going refuse before he gave his permission.
At the moment; the Starfleet shuttle; Delta Flyer Alpha was in orbit with the Gemenon Traveller and 5 vipers which acted as guards.
6 Raptors and 4 vipers had descended to the surface over an hour ago to begin mining from the Tylium rich planet.
So far there had been no sign of cylons or any potential threats.
The highest level of life detected with probes were small slow moving mammal like creatures which stayed well away from the survey and mining team.
Oma glanced at the readings on the console; their small shuttle was well shielded from the radiation of the G-type sun.
She turned from the helm console to see Laura was openly observing her with narrow eyes while Q Junior was keeping a close eye on the sensors on his side of the ship.
As usual Laura was in charge of tactical and defence.
"I had another reason for coming on this recon."
Laura had a knowing smirk on her face; she had suspected as much.
Oma took a deep breath. "I wanted to ask about Xavier."
Q Junior appeared puzzled. "The ship ?"
"No...I mean yes; not the ship exactly...I'm talking about the AI," she paused as Laura leaned forward watching her and Q Junior closely.
"You built the entire Xavier on your own?"
Q Junior answered carefully. "Yeah; I did. It took me 6 months."
"What of the A.I ? How long did it take your mum to create Xavier's program?"
Laura and Q Junior shared a slightly startled look.
"How did you know?" asked Laura.
Oma stared at her. "You knew about this?"
Q Junior sighed. "Once the captain, Dr Grey and Laura realized I wasn't just a hologram; I told them everything including the fact that my mum gave me the AI when I was having problems creating my own.
The question Laura's asking is how you found out about it."
Oma looked at both of them who were staring intently at her.
"I was doing a systems check after the battle and realized the number of sensors that had been damaged were decreasing by the minute because Xavier was repairing them using nano-replication techonology."
Q Junior leaned back at the somewhat accusatory tone in Oma's voice.
"And?" he asked in a neutral tone while Laura's eyes narrowed.
"Then I asked Xavier about his programming and he informed me your mum had created it."
"So what exactly is the problem? The nano-replication tech or the fact my mum gave me the AI?"
Oma sighed. "It's not really a problem but it's practically unheard of ! There is a reason Starfleet is not fond of nano-replication tech...and that's because of the Borg!"
"There is no Borg tech on the Xavier," said Q Junior calmly.
"You don't understand..." started an exasperated Oma.
"Why not make yourself clearer?" said Laura a bit sharply.
Oma could see she was getting the youngest member of their small team a bit upset so she chose her words with care.
"You have a ship built by a Q with an AI programmed by a Q...there are people in Starfleet and in many other galaxies that would sell their souls to have a chance at studying the Xavier."
Q Junior began to look a bit uncomfortable while Laura frowned and gave him a quizzical glance.
"In summary; we're going to be a target here as well in Federation territory," said Laura dryly.
"I...I just wanted to give the crew of the Xavier the best chance at surviving so far from Federation space," explained Q Junior.
"A Defiant class has a crew of 70 to 80 ; at least one third of them would be engineers.
The Xavier has only one engineer...me and as evident from my current form; I can't be there all the time.
So I modified existing Starfleet tech to create self repairing hull material for most parts of the ship."
Oma nodded. "But did you also realize that Xavier is smart? In fact; I think he's getting smarter."
"My mother told me that would happen," said Q Junior calmly.
"And you're not concerned?" asked Oma.
Q Junior was quiet for a few moments before looking at her steadily.
"No; I'm not.
Xavier has done nothing wrong; he's been protective of us and also at times caring. I trust him; do you have a problem with him?"
Oma was bit taken aback by the question. "No...it's just that," she struggled with the words.
"It's still a lot to take in..."
"And I thought you were a fast learner," commented Laura dryly.
Oma flushed at the hidden rebuke from a girl who wasn't yet 14 years old.
"Laura; Q...this whole situation is not a typical mission. There's no simulation that I have undergone which even comes close to this.
So maybe I'm not learning as fast as I should...but at least I'm asking questions openly instead of trying to obtain the information covertly."
Laura looked at her for a long time. "Well; you do have a point there."
Oma took a deep breath when she realized the tension had eased a bit.
"However I do have one more thing to ask about."
Q Junior gave her a long suffering look. "Fire away."
"I haven't got a designated security code for the Xavier."
Both teens stared at her.
"According to Starfleet regulations; each crew member should have security clearance according to their rank...on the Dunkirk; mine was Delta-Two."
Laura had a wry smile on her face as she looked at Q Junior. One could interpret it as she saying 'this is your mess pal'.
Q Junior actually flushed. "Yeah...I did overlook that; I'll fix that when we get back."
Oma opened her mouth to speak.
"Delta Flyer Alpha; this is Lieutenant Margaret Edmonson..."
Everyone immediately focused on their respective stations; the transmission was coming for a viper which was escorting a number of raptors from the surface of the planet below them.
"We've completed mining enough fuel for now and are about to return to the fleet."
Q Junior's eyes widened as Oma responded.
"That was fast."
"We've had practice in getting in and out quickly so as to avoid detection."
The colonial viper's tone was dry.
"Works for me," said Laura in a nonchalant manner " can we go home now?"
Oma shared a smile with Q Junior. Laura just sounded like someone's kid sister.
"Lieutenant Edmonson; we're ready to go to warp on your say so," said Ensign Kadretti.
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The Xavier; crews' quarters...
It didn't take long for Kara to realize Anders was giving her the silent treatment.
Said treatment had started the moment they got off the shuttle and continued right up until the failed interrogation of Caprica Six.
If Dr Grey had noticed the couple weren't talking to each other; she had made no sign of it.
Starbuck looked at Ander's tense shoulders as he sat on the couch staring at the floor.
Kara rolled her eyes and decided to make the first move.
"Okay; I give up. What is wrong with you?"
There was silence for a long moment before Anders finally looked at her.
Kara's eyes narrowed at the barely simmering rage in his eyes.
"I believe," his voice sounded like he was trying very hard not to raise it "that we just tried lying to the Admiral and pissed him off after we agreed to tell him about the five additional cylons."
Starbuck forced herself to keep silent; it was best if he got it out of his system now rather than later.
"Do you know what upsets me the most? It's the fact that you would change the plan without discussing it with me first!"
Kara kept her face neutral. "Anything else?"
Anders eyes widened. "Anything else?! Is that all you have to say?
My credibility has been shot to pieces because we lied to him! Do you know what that means?"
Kara decided it was time to answer.
"What do you think would have happened if I had revealed at the start of the meeting which was also being recorded; that you were a cylon and one of five undetected models ?" she paused as she waited for an answer from her husband.
"That is beside the point..."
"Oh no; that is exactly the point!" stressed Kara with a hiss "Roslin would have had you in front of an airlock so fast before you took a second breathe."
Anders stared at the conviction in his wife's eyes and found that he couldn't maintain eye contact.
"So what if the Admiral finds it hard to trust you or I? At least you have your life and freedom," said Kara.
Anders sighed wearily. "You don't understand; my honour and credibility are the only things of value I have got left.
You take that away from me and what's the point of my existence ?"
It took a long moment before he realized Kara was staring at him with a stricken expression on her face.
"Your honour and credibility are the only important things in your life?" her voice sounded odd...fragile almost.
Anders was now puzzled by her attitude.
"Kara; what..."
She held up a hand. "Don't even speak right now," she took a deep shuddering breath "despite what I've done; it looks like I'm not that important."
That was when Anders realized what his last words had sounded like.
"You're worrying about your honour and credibility? What about...us?" continued the female pilot. Her voice sounded hollow.
"Gods, Kara..." Anders stood up and took a step towards her with a hand outstretched.
"I need some air," snapped the female colonial pilot as she ignored his hand and quickly left the quarters.
As the door slid shut behind her; Anders had the mental picture of a door being slammed shut in his face
The male Junior Lieutenant sat down heavily and put his hands over his head.
"Damn it all to Hades; I'm such an idiot."
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USS Dunkirk; crews' quarters...
Kathryn tiredly ordered a cup of tea which she cradled in her hands before taking a seat.
She; Captain Singh, Captain E'Kalez, Commander Kadretti , Commander Atavi and Lieutenant Commander Flint had just returned from the IKS Y'tem.
To her immense relief; Lieutenant Harrison had not insisted in coming for the meeting with the klingon captain.
The 'meal' or meeting had been a very tense affair.
Karath had been aware that there was a lot he didn't know but for a klingon he seemed quite even tempered but his brain was incredibly sharp.
So Janeway had avoided insulting his intelligence by telling him exactly what they were rushing into.
Karath and his senior officers had been silent when she told them of the colonials; some of his senior officer got a bit excited when Kathryn mentioned the cylons but Karath had still remained calm.
It was only when she stated Ensign Kadretti was alive that he seemed to come alive.
Almost at once; Kathryn had felt some apprehension and annoyance from Commander Kadretti.
It didn't take long for the Admiral to suspect that the Klingon captain may be interested in Ensign Kadretti for purely personal reasons.
Fantastic; thought Kathryn bitterly now things were going to get more complicated.
However the meeting took an odd turn at that point; Karath had stated he had heard enough and that he had already made his decision.
The Klingon ruling council had given him authority to act as he saw fit and his decision was that the IKS Y'tem would still accompany Starfleet ships to the unexplored sector of the Alpha Quadrant.
On one condition.
All recovered technology; whether backward or advance would be shared.
Janeway had stared at him for a long moment; she had suspected it would come to this.
So she agreed.
Kathryn took a deep breath as her mind returned to the present; she was feeling quite tired and just wanted to have a power nap before the next crisis.
She closed her eyes and was gradually falling asleep.
A pinging sound from her desk vid forced her to open her eyes with a softly spoken curse.
She set her cup of tea on the table and leaned forward to turn on the vid-screen.
A very wide awake Lieutenant Harrison stared back at her.
"Mr Harrison; how can I help you?" asked Kathryn in an even tone.
The intelligence officer looked at her for a moment.
"Since I wasn't allowed to join your dinner party ; I have been doing some studying of my own of the report from the Xavier.."
Kathryn appreciated the fact he got right to the point but it took a lot for her not to snap at him.
"And I guess you're calling because you have discovered something important."
"Rightly so ma'am," he looked to his right as he pressed a few symbols on his console. "Please pay attention to the summarized notes that I'm sending of the tactics of the Xavier during the most recent battle."
Janeway picked up her ePADD; and sure enough there was a document waiting for her. She scanned it briefly then sat up straighter when she noticed something odd.
"As you must have noticed by now; the defensive and offensive capabilities of the Xavier were not utilized to their full potential."
"I can see that," agreed Kathryn in a worried tone; due to the recent meeting , she was yet to have a chance to go through the Xavier report in detail.
"Admiral; I request permission to debrief the crew of the Xavier in the next vid-call."
Kathryn's eyes widened. "You want to debrief Captain Logan? Mr Harrison; you've spoken to him twice and managed to antagonize him both times."
There was a hint of a smirk on Harrison's face. "Perhaps; but that was not my intention, however; I was thinking more of the junior crew members.
I will be leaving Captain Logan and Dr Grey debriefing in your capable hands."
Kathryn frowned. "You're really concerned about getting to the Xavier...while it's still intact; aren't you?"
Lieutenant Harrison's smile didn't reach his eyes. "With all due respect ma'am... that is one of the major aims of this mission. Have a good rest; Admiral." Then his screen went dark.
Kathryn stared at the screen for a long time.
When she saw who was calling; she had thought the intelligence officer was trying to find out what the meeting on the IKS Y'tem was about.
But he hadn't mentioned it at all.
Did he know about the content of the meeting already?
If so; how?
Kathryn had not been able to get any emotion off him in their brief call; in fact the mission had barely started and his attitude was already making things more complicated.
She had the impression that he was part of some sort of elaborate smoke-screen.
But to what purpose?
The female senior officer sighed wearily. Worrying about it was helping no one.
She eyed Harrison's summarization on her ePADD then pulled up her unread copy of the Xavier report; she would go through that first before looking at Harrison's.
Maybe things would clearer but a small voice in her mind told her not to hold her breath.
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Hi everyone; hope you had a great week. So sorry about the long wait; trying to tidy up the story as much as possible.
Hope you like the latest chapter.
Please read and enjoy!
