Chapter 37 of the Phoenix and The Wolverine

The Xavier; Crews' quarters...

Ensign Billy Rogers splashed his face with clean cool water.

He felt a bit guilty as he dried his face with the clean towel.

Clean water was strictly rationed on the Galactica; he felt he was wasting valuable resources by just washing his face.

But it felt so good.

He looked into the mirror and stared at the image of a pale slightly thin face with blue eyes and hair the colour of corn-wheat.

He bit his lower lip as he decided he looked like crap.

There was no way a certain female Starfleet ensign would ever look at him and find him attractive.

Bill forced his mind to think on recent events.

The battle with the six basestars, the cylons retreating, the fleet and the Xavier jumping or warping to a new destination and the first video conference between the Galactica and the Xavier.

The range of emotions at that meeting had eventually sapped his shoddy mental defences and left him with a persistent dull headache

Damn ! He definitely had to work harder at this if he didn't want to end up feeling permanently hung over.

Rogers didn't know how he must have functioned for the past few years; had he developed shields unknowingly?

Then where in Hades had they gone?

After that vid; more than an hour had passed before Captain Logan , Dr Grey , Lieutenant Thrace and Junior Lieutenant Anders returned to the ship.

That delay of exactly 75 minutes had caused Oma and Laura to be a bit concerned but regular check ins from the captain reassured them a little.

But when the shuttle returned and the doors opened, Rogers took one look at Anders face and knew something significant had occurred.

He suspected the senior colonial pilot had told the Admiral that he was a cylon.

Before Rogers had a chance to ask what was going on; Q Junior had a few words with Captain Logan and Oma before running off to main engineering.

The captain turned to face Oma.

"Where's Laura?"

"She has the conn sir," replied the female Starfleet ensign.

"We'll head for the bridge," Logan then looked at the colonial officers. "I expect you guys would want to update Helo and Rogers."

Ensign Rogers couldn't help but admire Logan blunt approach. He certainly didn't waste time saying what was quite obvious.

With that, Logan and Oma left the bridge.

Roger had hoped for a smile from the female ensign but her expression was quite grave as if she had a lot on her mind.

A slight cough from Dr Grey had all 5 adult colonial officers turning to face her.

"I also need to get to the bridge but after that I will be checking up on Dr Baltar..."

"I would like to accompany you to see Dr Baltar if that's okay," interrupted Anders in a strained voice. Kara gave him an alarmed look which he ignored.

Dr Grey regarded him with a thoughtful expression for a few moments.

"You can only ask Miss Caprica questions," there was a hidden warning in that statement.

Ander's face flushed. "Understood ma'am."

"I'm coming as well," added Kara in a firm tone.

Jean Grey nodded. "I'll see you two at his quarters in twenty minutes; don't go in until I get there." She stared at the two pilots for a long time until they both nodded reluctantly.

The female doctor smiled at Kara before leaving.

Starbuck turned to her husband.

"I need some air," he left the shuttle bay with Kara staring after him in astonishment.

She turned round to see her fellow colonials watching her with embarrassed looks on their faces.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Been a rough day," said Kara awkwardly . "Em...excuse me," she also left the shuttle bay.

Rogers, Helo and Sharon shared a concerned look.

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"Okay; what is going on?" asked a worried Helo.

Sharon looked at him and Rogers.

"You guys didn't hear everything that went down on the Galactica ?"

Rogers shook his head. "Just part of it; Oma...I mean Ensign Kadretti was trying to respect Admiral Adama's privacy by not listening to the first part of the meeting when Captain Logan and Q Junior were absent."

Sharon smiled dryly. "I bet that went well with Cadet Kinney."

Helo and Rogers shared an amused look. "She wasn't pleased but in the end she listened to the ensign but still kept tabs on the com-badges that all of you had."

"So what happened in the first meeting?" asked a curious Rogers.

Sharon was about to answer when Hera woke up and started crying. The female cylon got a bit anxious as she tried to calm her daughter down.

"Is she unwell?" asked an equally worried Helo.

Rogers without knowing let down his shields and felt a mixture of emotions hit him from the three people around him. He quickly put up his mental defences but not before feeling a bit dizzy from the mental barrage.

However he now knew the main cause of Hera's distress.

"She's hungry."

Both parents stared at him.

"She's hungry," repeated Rogers "there's a certain emotion one has when their tummy is empty and she has it," he glanced at Sharon " so do you."

The senior officer looked a bit relieved and embarrassed as her stomach took that moment to groan; thus proving Rogers right.

"Yeah; I am hungry. Let's do this 'debriefing' in our quarters."

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Rogers sat patiently as Helo fed Hera while Sharon had a quick snack.

Their quarters were spacious and obviously for a family.

Rogers remembered reading something from the Federation history of certain Starfleet ships which had the family of crew on board.

He had found that hard to believe because the Colonial ships had nothing like that before the Holocaust.

Didn't they find it dangerous ? What if they met a hostile force ?

And from the records quite a number of Federation vessels had been come under attack several times over the years.

Some had even been destroyed with a lot of hands lost.

Of cause the most recent war with the Dominion had all non-essential crew and their families relocated to safe havens and Federation Territories but how many of those family ships had been obliterated before that happened?

"Right; I'm done."

Rogers and Helo looked up to see Sharon had finished her sandwich and fruit juice.

"Tell me exactly what part you heard and saw and I can fill in the blanks."

Between the two colonials they were able to give her a brief summary; then it was their turn to hear how Anders revealed himself to the Admiral and what followed next.

There was a long moment of silence as the three adults absorbed what Anders had done.

"I'm surprised Anders didn't get locked up," said Helo in a grave tone.

Rogers silently agreed; what the Junior Lieutenant had done was tantamount to attempted suicide. No wonder Kara was pissed.

He would feel the same way if Oma tried to endanger herself.

She's a Starfleet officer; taking risks is part of her job.

Rogers decided to squash that thought as quickly as it formed.

Sharon continued with an anxious expression.

"What I'm worried about is what happens now? As we left; I saw Lee standing beside the Admiral...I think the Admiral will tell him."

"And the president?" said a disturbed Rogers. "I respect her but she...she might react badly."

Sharon's face darkened. No one had to say anything more; Roslin had treated the female cylon badly just because she was what she was.

Even now; despite all that she had done for the fleet; the president had wanted to take Hera away from her.

"I'm afraid that's out of our hands," said Helo as he shifted slightly so that Hera was more comfortable. The baby was still feeding peacefully.

"The fact that the Admiral allowed Anders to come back to the Xavier could mean that things may not be as bad as we think," said Rogers thoughtfully. The two senior colonial officer stared at him intently.

Rogers frowned a bit. "What?"

"Have you forseen something?" asked Sharon cautiously.

Rogers had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. You have a few visions and everyone thinks you have a direct clear line to the future.

"No; I haven't had any visions or feeling...it's just a hunch."

To his dismay both Sharon and Helo seemed a bit disappointed.

"Guys; I can't control my...ability. My grandmum; stated that at times she used to get hit by migraines if she had a really vivid and powerful vision.

I've only had one of those and it's not something I'm keen to repeat."

It had been when he saw the evolving wormhole for the first time and he realized the danger to Kara and that Oma was about to emerge from the anomaly.

Sharon and Helo looked a bit shocked.

"I'm so sorry," said Sharon.

"We didn't mean to put you under pressure," added Helo.

Rogers felt awkward as he held up a hand. "It's alright...at least we're in the right place. If it gets too difficult; I can always ask Dr Grey for advice."

"So; the only thing to do now is to wait for Dr Cottle's report," Rogers and Sharon looked at Helo.

"Somehow; I get the feeling that whatever it may be...this is only the beginning of something a lot bigger than us...or the fleet."

Rogers felt his heart rate pick up at Helo's ominous words.

The ensign had a strange feeling that the colonial captain was unknowingly giving a warning.

But of what?

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Rogers had left soon afterwards when Sharon was unable to hide a yawn.

Everyone was tired and the small family deserved some much needed time alone.

Helo and Sharon promised to meet up with him later as he left.

Rogers went to his room which was nearby to get some rest as he felt a dull headache start. That was when he realized his mental defences were not as strong he thought.

Rogers forced his mind to return to the past as he replicated some cold water and drank it. It felt so pure and almost medicinal.

He straightened his jacket and combed his hair before leaving the quarters.

Next stop; the bridge.

Rogers had taken several steps towards the turbolift when he felt the force of a sledgehammer almost take his head apart.

He clutched the wall for support as he struggled with the searing images in his brain.

Novacek sitting and gripping a metal cup so hard that it lost it's original shape.

A flash of light and Novacek standing over something...or somebody ? He was clutching an object in his hand.

It looked like a heavy book.

All too soon the images disappeared and Rogers was left with the mother of all headaches. His vision felt blurry and without seeing clearly he turned and stumbled as he tried to find his way to his room.

He couldn't go to the bridge like this.

He couldn't let anyone see him like this.

"Ensign Rogers? Do you require assistance?"

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Kara walked down the wide corridor of the Xavier.

She was grateful that there was no one else present; she was so angry and hurt that she was finding it hard to hold the tears back.

Starbuck wanted to punch or kick something to pieces.

But a small voice in her head warned her not to take her annoyance out on the wall of the Xavier.

How the frak would she explained a broken hand to Dr Grey ?

Kara eventually stopped walking; she wiped her eyes clean.

She couldn't go back to that room; because she could see herself strangling Anders with her bare hands. He made her so angry!

After all she had done for him and was prepared to sacrifice for him, he didn't appreciate it!

Men were just so stupid sometimes!

Kara stared at the floor for several moments before taking a deep breath.

"Xavier; I need a favour."

"Lieutenant Thrace; how can I help?" The A.I's voice was calm in an odd soothing way.

"I need my own quarters."

There was silence for a while.

"May I enquire why?"

Kara was a bit surprised by the question but decided to go along with it.

"Why are you asking?"

"Usually when a crew member wants his or her quarters changed; it may be due to the fact that there is something wrong with the present room such as the facilities being faulty. Is that why you wish to change rooms?"

So I'm considered as crew? This was a complete surprise to Kara.

"No; the facilities are perfect. I just need a new room."

There was silence for a few moments.

"This is unusual; however I will discuss with Ensign Q about assigning you and Junior Lieutenant Anders to new quarters..."

"Look; it's just me who needs a new room," interrupted Kara in a tense tone "Mr..." it took every thing for her not to swear "Anders can stay right where he is and do you really have to tell Q about this?"

"Ms Starbuck; why do you have to have a separate room? And yes, I do have to tell Ensign Q about this." Added the AI in a calm tone.

Kara forced herself to take deep calm breathes before she tried to attack the AI.

"I just want a separate room from Anders; is that so much to ask?"

"Why?"simply asked the AI. Kara had the impression the AI was as immovable as a massive boulder.

"Because I had an...argument with him and I don't wish to be the same environment with him before I do something drastic."

Please go ahead and ask me what I mean by drastic, thought the female pilot grimly.

There was silence for a few moments.

"Have you tried counselling?"

Kara felt her jaw drop.

"If started early and with equal participation by both partners; there is a 70 percent chance of the relationship eventually working out."

Kara eventually found her voice. "Are you for real?"

"Yes; Lieutenant Starbuck.

Counselling is quite effective; it might be prudent to discuss it with Dr Grey.

However if physical violence is the root of your current argument; a separate room will be made available as soon as possible."

Kara tried not to scream. "Anders didn't put a hand on me; he's not that type of person. Besides I would frak anyone up who tried that kind of shit on me !"

"So this was purely a verbal argument, not derogatory or demeaning in any way or form ?"

Gods above! The AI was actually indirectly asking about verbal abuse !

"No! It wasn't that either!"

"So what was it about exactly?" continued the AI calmly.

"He doesn't seem to realize..."Kara felt as if she had suddenly run out of energy; it hurt so much "what I've done for him."

Xavier kept silent.

"I mean after everything...he still doesn't seem to realize what is truly important." Kara hated the sound of her voice. She felt unsure of what she and Anders had. In fact this was exactly how she felt when she escaped from New Caprica and realized Leoben had screwed with her head and almost made her go mad.

Kara suddenly realized how odd her current situation was. The female pilot laughed softly.

"I can't believe I'm actually being counselled by an AI. This is insane."

"I haven't actually said anything," added Xavier calmly.

"But you listened," said Kara, for some reason she felt a bit better "that's more than enough." She looked up at the ceiling.

"Are you certain; you're just an A.I ?"

"I still was the last time I checked."

Kara had to laugh at that. The ship actually had a sense of humour.

Now she was convinced that she had really gone mad.

"Lieutenant Thrace; I'm afraid the issue of another room will have to wait. Another of your colleagues appears to need assistance ."

Kara straightened as her levels of anxiety rose. "Who is it?"

"Ensign Rogers appears to be unwell; but he has declined assistance from a medical professional..."

"Where is he?" interrupted Kara in a sharp tone.

The A.I told her.

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Kara ran down the corridor and reached her destination in less than five minutes.

It had felt like hours had passed.

While she ran; she wondered why he was refusing medical assistance; and also more importantly, what had happened ?

She found him sitting on the floor, looking very pale and drawn and holding his head with both hands. He looked like crap.

"Rogers; what the frak happened ?"

The pale, shaken ensign actually looked embarrassed as Kara knelt beside him.

"I...I had a horrible migraine."

Kara stared at him. "Did you hit your head? What brought it on?"

Rogers swallowed nervously. " I think...I think I saw something...a vision."

Kara felt her heart skip a beat. Something told her whatever he had seen wasn't good.

"Rogers; what exactly did you see?"

The ensign took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes tight as he tried to recall the images.

"Novacek...he was so angry...standing over something or someone. He was...was carrying a heavy looking book."

Kara waited for more. "That's it?"

Roger sighed wearily. "This is not an exact science and it's just recently that I have been experiencing this visions," he winced again "which are quite painful by the way."

Kara felt guilty for not taking his pain into consideration.

"You need to see Dr Grey..."

"No!" interrupted Rogers loudly ; that made his wince again "no, " he said in a softer voice.

"I can't keep running to her like a child when something goes wrong."

Kara stared at him for a few moments before she realized what was really going on.

"This isn't about Dr Grey...it's about Ensign Kadretti. You don't want her to see you as a weak person."

Rogers went from pale to bright red with embarrassment.

Kara wished she could take the words back. She wasn't known for being tactful.

"Em...that came out really wrong," she tried to find the right words "look...I know you like her.

We can all see it...but you need to be careful."

Rogers' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Kara knew what she was going to say was going to make Rogers hate her.

"Ensign Kadretti is like no girl you have ever met. She's Starfleet for one and...a relationship between both of you may never really take off."

"Lieutenant Thrace," said Rogers in a stiff voice "with all due respect why don't you just spit it out and state that I shouldn't ask her out because she's part klingon?"

Oh boy; he's got it real bad for her thought a stunned Kara.

"That's not what I meant..."

A soft cough had the two colonials looking up and towards the right.

Dr Grey had approached them without them knowing.

"I just heard Mr Rogers was feeling unwell," said Dr Grey with a concerned look on her face.

Rogers closed his eyes and groaned. "Xavier!"

"I apologise," Kara wasn't sure but she had a strange feeling that the A.I actually sounded a bit apologetic "but Dr Grey is the chief medical officer; she had to be informed."

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Medical bay...

Rogers sat still as Dr Grey shone a light into his eyes. Kara kept quiet in the background.

After a few moments, the female doctor stepped back and looked at him.

"How does your head feel now?"

"Much better ma'am. It's like the headache never occurred."

Jean bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "Your observations are normal but I can't find out what caused the migraine in the first place.

Do you usually have headaches ? Are you prone to migraines or is there a family history of migraines ?"

Rogers sighed. "I've had mild headaches in the past; but not migraines like this.

My grandmum used to have bad migraines. I think such severe headaches may occur with visions."

Kara and Rogers watched Dr Grey to gauge her reaction.

The female doctor looked even more concerned.

"How have your shields been?"

Rogers sighed again. "Not as good as they should be?"

Dr Grey frowned. "Having trouble practising ?"

The male ensign nodded.

"Have you asked Oma for help again?"

Rogers glanced at Kara before flushing and shaking his head.

Dr Grey looked at the both of them for a long moment; but none of them said anything.

"Okay; let's take this back to the beginning. Rogers you said that your grandmum had migraines when she had a vision.

Did you just have one in the corridor?"

Rogers was silent for a long moment. "I can't make head or tail of what I actually saw."

Dr Grey leaned on the biobed next to Rogers.

"Want to talk about it?"

Rogers looked at the floor for a few seconds before repeating what he had told Kara.

There was silence for a long moment.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Kara.

Dr Grey chose her words with care. "Daniel Novacek has been a prisoner for eight years. We have no idea what was done to him.

It's a fair assumption that he may not be entirely sane."

"That's not hard to believe but what do we do with this piece of information?" repeated Kara impatiently.

Jean folded her arms. "Kara; we don't know what Billy saw and even if we did; we can hardly walk up to Admiral Adama and say 'hey we think Daniel who recently was also a tortured prisoner of war for the past eight years is going to go nuts and do some serious damage; so please could he be locked up straight away?'"

Kara opened her mouth; then shut it. Even an imbecile could see that locking up Daniel would only make things worse.

"The Admiral won't take us seriously without some hard evidence," said Rogers gravely "and we know visions are hardly considered as being reliable."

Kara bit her lower lip; she knew he was right but doing nothing felt so wrong.

"We can't keep quiet about this."

"I agree; but what if by acting too quickly we actually trigger off what Rogers saw in his vision?"

Rogers and Kara shared a startled look.

"I...I didn't think of that," said the male ensign.

"Visions are tricky; understanding the precognitive ability is extremely hard," continued Dr Grey.

"Many think when there is a vision of disaster; we should do everything to prevent it but there have been records of such acts of prevention actually bringing the vision to pass."

"This is giving me a headache," muttered Kara.

"What I'm trying to say is that we need more information before we do or say anything," said Jean "the Admiral has more than enough on his plate at the moment."

Kara's face reddened. She felt as if part of the Admiral's burden was actually her fault.

"Dr Grey; Lieutenant Thrace enquired earlier about changing quarters and counselling."

The female pilot closed her eyes briefly as she felt the collective gaze of Dr Grey and a curious Ensign Rogers.

Gods help her; she was going to kill Xavier.

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En-route to the bridge...

Jean savoured the peace and quiet as she walked down the corridor.

She had left Rogers and Kara in the medical bay.

The ensign had been advised to rest even though he protested strongly but Kara backed Jean and thus the senior female pilot had stayed back to keep him company.

As for Kara ; when Jean asked her what Xavier meant about counselling and new rooms; the female pilot had muttered that there was nothing to worry about.

Jean had decided not to pursue it as she was more troubled than the two colonials realized over Rogers visions.

She knew something was wrong with Novacek; how could one stay sane after all he had gone through?

What was he thinking?

Funny you should ask; because I know of one way we could find out.

Not that again! Thought Jean back with annoyance.

We promised not to read any minds without permission!

Will you still be saying that when he completely goes insane and kills someone ? Calmly replied the Phoenix with a question.

It won't come to that!

I wish I had your confidence stated the entity dryly.

But we all know how this will all end if we don't act now.

We are not reading his mind and that's the last time we will speak of it!

Suit yourself said Phoenix in a non-chalant manner.

There was silence in Jean's head for a while before the doctor remembered something.

Phoenix; can I ask you something?

Like what?

What did you mean by earlier when you said you were worshipped millennia ago?

There was a feeling of surprise in Jean's mind.

Em...you want to talk about that now?

Jean's steps slowed when she felt the obvious reluctance from the Phoenix.

Why are you so concerned about ?

Oh nothing!

Phoenix! Mentally growled Jean in warning.

There was a sensation of the entity sighing in an exasperated manner.

Alright ! alright! I'll tell you what your mind can absorb.

Jean stopped completely. What the hell is that supposed to mean ?

Because if I showed you everything you would definitely go insane; we both know what happened the last time you went slightly loco.

The Phoenix tone was very grave. Jean swallowed nervously.

Fine go on; tell me what I can absorb.

Jean; you may find this hard to believe but this is not the first time you and I have been 'alive'.

What?! Asked a flummoxed Jean.

You know about rein-carnation don't you?

Relatively speaking but it hasn't entirely been proven with research...

Forget research. Interrupted the Phoenix.

99 percent of the so-called researchers have no idea where to look for relevant data about the topic, how much more become experts on something they barely understand.

Rein-carnation is real and that's the reason you and I have been around the block more times than even I can count.

I don't understand.

The Phoenix sighed.

Jean; you must have wondered where you and I came from; the truth is that I can't tell you because you're not ready for it.

Please trust me on that one.

There is a reason we are called the Phoenix; we die and rise from the flames each time. However the period between 'awakenings' can vary from decades to centuries to possibly millennia.

That is because there is only one type of mind and body that I can co-exist with each time in a stable manner.

"Me," said Jean in a hushed voice.

Yes; you. There have been times during the ages when some 'talented' crackpot tried to rip me from your mind in order to harness my abilities.

And each time an unlucky idiot succeeded; she or he went insane and self destructed.

Though unfortunately in those cases; some innocent people did die as a result of that self destruction.

But what happened to me in 2006 ? I practically self destructed ! Protested Jean.

Not completely Jean.; what happened to the Scott; the Professor and at the Alcatrez Institute was actually mild in comparism.

If you had truly self destructed; the entire planet would have suffered.

That is what self destruction of a Phoenix does.

Without direction the Phoenix becomes a mindless force of destruction.

Believe me...you do not want to see that happen.

Jean suddenly felt light headed as she realized what she carrying around in her head.

Jean ; are you alright? The entity sounded very concerned.

"Give me a moment." She took a deep breath and felt her head clear a bit.

This right here was exactly why I didn't want to bring it up.

Jean thought for a long moment before speaking.

So there's more.

Yes; but that will not help you in your current situation...and I would rather not talk about it any longer...please.

Jean felt the Phoenix's reluctance and realized the memories must be painful for the entity. That was why it shielded Jean's mind from them.

What must it be like to have the memories of several millennia in one's head?

Jean shuddered. She prayed she never found out.

Phoenix; I'm sorry if I upset you.

There was the mental equivalent of a shrug.

It's okay; I kinda feel better we had this little chat...let's just not repeat it anytime soon.

Understood.

Jean's com-badge went off. She touched it to respond.

"Dr Grey here."

"It's Logan; please could you come to the bridge ?"

Jean frowned, he actually sounded a bit on edge. "On my way Logan."

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The bridge...

The female telepath quickly walked onto the bridge. Logan was standing and already facing the turbolift when she stepped out.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"No; you weren't. What's wrong?" asked Jean.

Logan scratched his head. "I just got a video-call from Papa Kadretti."

Jean frowned. "You mean Commander Kadretti? "

"Yep; he wants us to train his kid...like we used to at the school."

Jean was speechless for a long moment.

"Please start from the beginning."

Logan sighed and told her about his most recent conversation.

"So the summary of it is that we have to train her to become a younger version of Magneto...without becoming as psychotic as the original bearer of that name."

Jean was trying to picture Logan as a teacher and the image just made her smile.

Logan wasn't amused. "What are you smiling about?"

"I told you this would happen; you're going to train her, Laura and Rogers to become the next generation of X-men."

"Oh no ! I am not doing this alone; you're going to help!" protested Logan.

Jean walked up to him as she continued grinning.

"It would be my pleasure Professor Wolverine." She made a little bow.

His answering groan made her laugh.

Jean straightened up and suddenly realized that the two of them were standing quite close to each other. Her smile left her face as she stared into his eyes intently.

Logan maintained eye contact as he gently touched her hair and face. His eyes finally rested on her lips and he let out a deep breath as if he had forgotten how to breath.

He moved a bit closer and Jean stayed still; she also looked at his lips.

Logan waited for a long moment; then brought his head down slowly.

Jean moved towards him.

"Captain Logan."

The A.I's voice had them freezing with their faces just mere inches from each other.

With a barely suppressed curse, Logan had to move away.

Talk about impeccable timing.

Jean closed her eyes briefly as she also walked away.

"Xavier; what is it?" asked Logan through gritted teeth.

This had better be important, thought Jean at the same time.

"I have an urgent incoming transmission from Colonial One...President Roslin's ship."

Logan and Jean shared a startled look.

Now that was new.

"Please put it through."

"Yes captain; it will be audio only."

A few moments passed before both mutants heard a familiar feminine voice.

"Captain Logan; this is President Roslin."

"How can we help you today Ms President?" asked Logan carefully.

There was a moment of silence and Jean had the impression of someone gathering courage to say something.

"I would like to ask a favour."

Logan's eyebrows came down as his expression darkened.

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

Oh this is going to be good. Said the Phoenix mischievously as if she knew something no one else knew.

Jean barely had time to ask the entity what it was up to before Laura Roslin replied.

"The Quorum of Twelve has requested a meeting with representatives from the Xavier. It's scheduled in 6 hours and 23 minutes time.

I would appreciate it if you or any senior members of your crew attended."

Jean stared at the static screen before turning to face Logan. His eyebrows had gone up in astonishment.

"The Quorum wants to speak to us? Why?"

"Yes; they want to speak to you and I think it's because they wish to see you in the flesh and also ask direct questions about Earth and how you can help this fleet get there."

That's not even the half of it. Snorted the Phoenix.

The Quorum has her in a corner for now; if we refuse her, she'll be going up shit creek without a paddle.

Jean winced inwardly at Phoenix's gleeful analysis. The entity had a way with words and images as well.

I see your point.

"I would be happy to represent Xavier and Earth at the meeting."

Logan's head whipped round to stare at her while there was an audible gasp from the other end.

"Dr Grey...I had no idea you were on the bridge."

"She is the chief medical officer and has every right to be on the bridge," said Logan in a dark tone "however ; we're yet to completely agree if such a meeting is advisable."

It was Jean's turn to glare at him.

"Captain Logan," Roslin's voice sounded a bit strained "I cannot stress the importance of this meeting."

Logan's eyes narrowed and Jean already knew what he was going to say without reading his mind.

The thing was that Logan didn't like anyone using him or any of his friends as pawns in political games. She found it as distasteful as well but Jean also recognized the need for cautious negotiation.

"We are happy to assist but it will be on our terms," said the female medic quickly.

Logan stared at her. Jean sent him a thought.

This meeting is important; we need to do this. How better would we understand the Colonials if we don't find out more about their government? Sooner or later we'll have to deal with them; I would rather it was on our terms then on theirs.

He maintained eye contact for a long time.

"Captain Logan, Dr Grey...you haven't said anything for a while."

Logan finally sighed and was the first to look away.

"Dr Grey will be attending the meeting but not alone."

Jean tried to suppress a frown; she knew Logan was being protective but this was ridiculous.

"Is it possible for me to know who will be attending ?"

"Ensign Kadretti, Cadet Kinny and I," replied Dr Grey.

Logan bit his lower lip to stop himself from exclaiming.

Oma and Laura were definitely not his first choice as bodyguards for Jean.

But he had to keep silent so as not to undermine Jean in-front of the President.

"I...see." Roslin sounded as if she was uneasy with who was accompanying the female medic but it was not the President's choice to make.

"Fine; I will see you when you get here."

"Where's the meeting , President Roslin?" asked Logan finally.

"It will be on the Galactica. I will send you a program 3 hours before the time."

"Until later Ms President," said Logan.

"Transmission has been terminated," calmly informed Xavier.

Logan turned to Jean.

"I still don't like this."

"You don't have to but it still needs doing..."

"President Roslin can't be trusted; she only wishes to use our presence to her own political advantage."

"I know that," said Jean calmly "I can take care of myself Logan."

"That's not what I'm worried about," said the man before her.

Jean frowned at him. "What is that supposed to mean? I can take care of Oma and Laura if that's your worry, so I don't see how..."her words trailed off when she suddenly realized what Logan really meant.

She actually took a step back as if seeing Logan in a new light.

"You're worried about me controlling myself...you think I will lose it and kill everyone in that room..." She couldn't continue ; she felt as if the floor had fallen beneath her.

"Jean, that wasn't what I meant..." the guilt was plain on his face.

You're reading too much into it dear. Cautioned the Phoenix.

Phoenix, just shut up! The entity wisely obeyed; it was smart enough to see Jean was in a pretty bad mood at the moment.

"So what, exactly did you mean ?" Jean's voice was even but Logan could tell she wanted an answer fast.

He opened his mouth to answer.

"Dr Grey, Captain Logan."

Jean closed her eyes and swore to Logan's surprise.

"What now!" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I apologize for the interruption but we are getting another urgent message from Galactica; its from Admiral Adama's office."

Logan felt as if he had just dodged a bullet. Jean shot him angry glare.

This conversation is not over! Said a certain feminine voice in his head.

"It's audio and visual as well," continued Xavier calmly; apparently the Admiral was still using the contraption Q Junior had put together for the first joint vid conference.

"Should I tell him you're busy?" asked the A.I in the same calm tone.

Yes! Screamed Jean internally but she took a deep breath and waited for her temper to subside.

She had to remember that the situation was a lot bigger than her and Logan.

"Xavier; thanks for informing us; please put the Admiral on screen," then she looked at the captain.

"Agreed," said Logan warily.

A few seconds passed before the view-screen changed to show the lined face of Admiral Adama. The background looked like an office; however it was hard to tell if the senior officer was alone.

He stared at them for a few moments before speaking.

"Thank you for making the time; I suppose you must be busy with repairs."

Still fishing for information, are we ? Thought Logan.

"We're doing as much as we can Admiral. How can we help you?" asked Logan.

"Dr Cottle's report is complete."

Logan and Jean looked at each other briefly.

"Hera's DNA matches the sample Dr Cottle collected when she was born and we're satisfied the Agathons are her parents as well.

Sharon Agathon's DNA is different from the Number Eight who tried to kill me." He paused.

"Ander's DNA matches with what we have on record...however Dr Cottle states that it is not enough to confirm that he is...not one of them."

Logan could read between the lines; Adama was gradually accepting the grim truth that Anders was a cylon. However the Admiral disliked the cylons so much that he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

This whole business concerning the remaining five cylons must be eating him inside.

"Actually what it comes down to is that we need more information."

He wants Caprica Six; thought Logan wearily.

"Mr Anders and Lieutenant Thrace have already tried questioning Caprica Six," said Jean who had also realized the same thing.

"She has stated repeatedly that she knows of no other cylon models apart from the Number Seven that was destroyed soon after his creation.

Admiral; she's telling the truth."

The senior colonial officer didn't seem convinced.

"From our past intel; Six was in charge of infiltration and espionage.

I cannot stress how dangerous she is, she could very well be lying to you."

Oh ye of little faith. Whispered the Phoenix in Jean's mind.

"Admiral; I assure you that we would know if she was lying," said Dr Grey in a calm voice.

Adama stared at her for a long time.

"For all of our sakes; I hope so. I will be sending a detailed report of Dr Cottle's tests."

Logan raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected that much co-operation.

"Much obliged Admiral," then a thought crossed Logan's mind "by the by; we just had a call from President Roslin.

She wants us to meet the Quorum in less than seven hours on the Galactica."

Admiral Adama stared at him.

"I take it you didn't know," said Logan after a few moments.

"She was probably going to tell me eventually," answered Adama a bit stiffly.

Yeah right, thought Logan.

"I presume she assigned a personal aide to prepare you for the meeting?" asked the Admiral.

Logan bit back a curse; even Jean's face reddened a bit. Both of them had been so ready to argue that they had overlooked that tiny little detail.

The Admiral actually looked a bit embarrassed for them.

"There is someone on my staff who would be able to help; Lieutenant Anastasia Dualla-Adama.

She's my daughter-in-law and chief of communications who is also quite knowledgeable of Quorum politics."

Is everyone in the CIC related to the Adamas? Thought Logan as Jean answered.

"We appreciate the help Admiral; would it be possible for me to meet her at least 90 minutes before the meeting ?"

Admiral Adama's eyes widened a bit.

"You're attending the meeting?"

Jean had to remember to keep smiling.

"Yes; Ensign Kadretti and Cadet Kinney will also be accompanying me."

Adama opened his mouth for a moment; then closed it.

He's just as shocked as I was, thought Logan.

"Dr Grey...have you thought this through?" asked the Admiral in a careful voice.

"Could you please elaborate?" asked Logan in a very neutral voice. Jean had to fight not to glare at him.

Adama senior was silent for a moment before replying.

"I know who sits on the Quorum; they have been under a lot of pressure lately.

But most of them aren't that...tolerant. To put it bluntly once they see Ensign Kadretti, they may react...badly and I have to take into consideration what your response could be."

In case you didn't get that he's worried you will blast the whole lot of them to smithereens. Added the Phoenix in a hurry.

Jean nodded as she ignored the entity in her mind.

"Admiral; I understand and appreciate your input. However; there are a lot more diverse members of the Federation on Earth and on the worlds in Federation territory.

The sooner the Quorum and the Colonials starts getting used to that; the better the transition will be.

Besides; Captain Logan and Q Junior have been run off their feet attending all these meetings. They deserve a rest."

She glanced at Logan briefly with her last words.

Adama looked at her ; then at Logan. The warrior was smart enough not to press the issue.

"I see, I'll have Dualla standing by."

As well as Dr Cottle, I expect. Thought Logan.

"Thanks again Admiral, until later," said Jean before the senior colonial officer signed off.

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There was a long moment of silence once the Admiral sighed off.

"I have a feeling the meeting is going to be interesting."

Logan looked at Jean warily; she was still staring at the view-screen, her back straight and her stance stiff.

She's still angry with me, thought Logan with dismay.

The female medic turned to leave the bridge.

"Jean...I'm sorry."

His words stopped the doctor in her tracks.

"I'm an idiot and I admit it. I should have said it better," he approached her as she still kept her back to him.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Jean sighed and turned to face him.

She looked at him for a long moment. "Logan...the last few days have been stressful and we have a long road and possibly difficult road ahead.

I know...I'm not that stable..."

Logan winced at her choice of words.

"...but I am trying; so all I'm asking is that you try and trust me. I can't keep hiding forever."

The man before her was silent for several moments. "I already trust you Jean...it's this whole situation that has got me worried."

She simply looked at him; Logan was not the kind of person to get emotional. For him to actually recognize that he had been wrong took a special kind of courage.

She suddenly felt guilty for putting him on the spot.

"I understand; I and the girls will be careful."

Logan came closer. "I know you will..."

"Captain Logan."

Logan's face went red with annoyance as Xavier calmly interrupted him again.

"The Delta Flyer alpha is back; you did ask to be informed."

Jean frowned and looked up. Xavier had actually been perceptive enough to realize it had upset Logan.

The captain sighed. "Thanks Xavier; how far out are they?"

"They will be with us in less than 8 minutes."

"Fine; please inform them to report to the bridge as soon as they dock."

"Yes captain."

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Logan turned as the turbo lift opened; the three teens walked out.

Even though they were silent; he could sense the bond that was beginning to form between the three young people.

He wondered if they were already aware of it.

"How did it go?" asked Logan without wasting time.

Q Junior answered. "Pretty smoothly captain; they got the fuel and left the planet quite quickly. Lieutenant Edmonson kindly told me they would refuel the ships and may jump in less than 2 hours."

Logan and Jean shared a look.

Laura frowned. "What happened while we were gone?"

"We received a couple of transmissions," started Logan "first was from the USS Dunkirk..."

Oma froze at his words.

"...that was a message concerning Ensign Kadretti which I will discuss with her later." Q and Laura gave the female ensign puzzled looks.

"The second was from President Roslin..."

Laura's face darkened at the name of the colonial leader.

"...she would like us to attend a meeting with the Quorum of Twelve in exactly 6 hours and 3 minutes."

Q gave him a stunned look.

"The Quorum wants to speak to us?"

Logan nodded. "However ; this time it will be someone else attending."

The three teens gave him odd looks.

Dr Grey stepped forward. "I'll be going with Ensign Kadretti and Cadet Kinney for this meeting."

"What?" exclaimed Oma and Q Junior at the same time.

"About bloody time," said Laura with delight despite Logan glaring at her for her use of an expletive.

Jean turned to Oma. "Ensign Kadretti; you're Starfleet just like Q here but the colonials need to understand that the Federation is made up of many different sentient beings.

You are going as an ambassador and I'm sure this aspect was covered during your training at the Academy."

Oma appeared a bit uncomfortable. "Yes Dr Grey; but diplomacy was never my strong suit."

Laura stared at her. "Oh really? You could have fooled me."

"But Dr Grey; we hardly have anything about their political structure," protested Q Junior " the documents they gave us barely covers the intricacies of the leadership of the 12 Colonies."

"You are familiar with their government ?" asked Logan.

Q Junior sighed. "More than I care to admit; you would be surprised at what one can learn from just observing; but that's besides the point.

You can't use the information I've got..."

"Why not? " cut in Laura.

Q looked at her. "Because this is supposed to be first contact; how can we know so much about the Quorum when Earth has been separated from them for more than 4 millennia ?"

Logan sighed. "Kid's got a point. Anyway we got a second call from Admiral Adama and apparently Roslin hadn't told him of the coming meeting on the Galactica."

"The plot thickens," muttered Laura dryly.

"He wasn't pleased," continued Jean "however he did offer the services of his daughter –in-law who is also chief of communications."

"Quite convenient" said Oma with a thoughtful frown on her face.

"The whole thing smells like a set up," said Laura abruptly.

"I don't think they mean to harm us Laura," replied Jean.

The female teenager looked at her. "Not yet Jean but it will come to it."

Q Junior looked at his chronometer.

"Well; we've got a few hours to prepare with what we have; but I agree with Laura. This meeting with the Quorum sounds odd."

Jean smiled sadly. "I know it is; however this will not be the first time I have to address a roomful of politicians."

"Does our colonial crew know what's going on?" asked Laura.

"Not yet," answered Dr Grey " we just got the call a few minutes ago and by the by, Ensign Rogers is in the Infirmary again."

Oma appeared worried. "What happened?"

"He had a severe migraine...right after a vision. He still needs help on his shields."

Oma frowned. "He needs to keep practising; I'll try and see what I can do."

Oh; he's going to love that. Thought Laura with a little smile.

"But what was his vision?" asked Logan with a sceptical expression on his face.

Jean answered carefully. "He's not entirely sure; it had to do with Novacek but the rest is very murky."

Laura and Q Junior exchanged a puzzled look.

"Maybe we should just wait until he has another one," suggested Laura.

Jean didn't feel that was the right thing to do; but it wasn't like any of them had a choice in the matter.

Keep telling yourself that sweetheart. Muttered Phoenix in Jean's mind.

"Anyway; there are thing that have to be done before the meeting," continued Dr Grey, she looked at Logan "it might be best if we get started on replicating medication, food and essential medical equipment for the colonials."

Q Junior tapped his nose thoughtfully. "It's going to take a lot of hours and trips to get them enough supplies and we'll need an asteroid belt soon in order to access basic carbon based materials."

Jean could still picture the dismal state of the Galactica medical bay and the obviously malnourished patients. "Even if we make two or three crates of medicines and food; they will appreciate it."

Oma stared at her. "It's...it's that bad ?"

Jean nodded. "Extremely bad."

Logan sighed. "Alright; Q Junior see how engineering is and please get started on the replication.

Also I think it may be a good idea for Captain Helo and Ensign Rogers to go back to the Galactica for debriefing so that their seniors don't think they are hostages."

"What of Six and Baltar?" asked Laura.

"They stay with us; especially Six. If we do this right; we can get more intel about the cylons."

Laura narrowed her eyes. "She's never going to completely betray them; you do know that? She can hardly be trusted."

"You feel the same way about Sharon?" asked Logan.

Laura was silent for a long moment. "No; she's...different. That may be because of Helo and Hera; she would go to Hell and back for those two."

Jean was a bit surprised and impressed by Laura's analysis.

"As for Anders; he still doesn't know who he is. It's way too early to tell."

Logan looked at his daughter. "Pretty good analysis Cadet."

That made her frown.

Oh dear thought Jean; now he's upset her.

"One more thing," everyone turned to a sheepish looking Q Junior.

"At the beginning of this whole...adventure; I should have assigned specific security codes to everyone. Ensign Kadretti was very kind in pointing that out."

The female ensign looked a bit embarrassed.

Q Junior went on to give them a summarized explanation of the various Starfleet security levels.

Alpha Two: unlimited access to all ship records; systems and computers

Alpha One: unlimited access to all ships records but no access to ship localized command functions.

Beta Two: unlimited access to all ships records, systems and computers but limited access to command functions.

Beta One: unlimited access to all ship records and computers and limited access to command function ( except if stated by commanding officer.)

Delta Two: Limited access to ship records and computers. Limited access to command functions.

Delta One: Limited access to all ships records and computers.

The hologram actually paused as if to catch his breath. "So; I could correct that as soon as I can."

Logan had a thoughtful expression on his face. "So what type of security levels have we been operating with so far ?"

"Sir, you , Dr Grey and Laura currently have full access to all ship records, systems and the computers. That's usually an Alpha two clearance on a Starfleet vessel. I also have the same access which assists me in maintenance and repairs," added Q Junior with a shrug.

"At the moment; Ensign Kadretti's clearance is almost the equivalent of a Beta Two..." the female ensign stared at him in astonishment; her clearance on the Dunkirk had been much lower; a Delta Two to be exact.

Q Junior continued. "She was automatically upgraded to this when she was given the conn by Dr Grey."

"And the colonials?" asked Laura in a neutral voice.

"They barely have a security level that is equivalent to a Delta One; basically they're guests on the Xavier and don't have any access to the records or ship systems."

"Even when Rogers was helping out on the bridge?" asked Dr Grey.

Q Junior nodded. "Even then; he was just reading out status reports," the young Q turned to Logan "captain; what would you like me to do about the security clearance ?"

Logan was silent for a long moment; then he looked at everyone.

"Leave it as it is; it's worked so far so there's no point in fixing what's not broken."

Q Junior looked very relieved at his words. "Yes Captain."

"Well now that's settled," said Dr Grey " I need to check on Rogers and we ladies have to decide what we're wearing to the meeting."

"Excuse me?" said a flummoxed Laura. Choice of outfits were clearly the last thing on her mind.

"She's right." To everyone's surprise; this came from Logan.

"This is going to be a diplomatic shindig; you will all need to dress a certain way to show that you're not to be messed with."

Laura raised an eyebrow. "You're giving fashion tips now pops ? Now I've heard everything."

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Oma had been about to leave with Dr Grey, Laura and Q Junior when the captain asked her to remain behind.

She tried not to fidget as she wondered what she had done wrong.

Was it about her performance during the battle?

To her relief Captain Logan went straight to the point.

"Your father called the ship to have a little chat."

Oma felt the blood drain from her face.

Dad what have you done?!

"I presume he's only concerned about you as any parent would be," he paused "how did you master your ability over the years?"

Oma stared at him. That was the last thing she had expected.

"I...I used to practice with an old English coin daily. Would twirl it round each finger and lift metal objects when I was certain I was alone."

Logan looked at her for a long moment. "Must have been difficult in the Academy."

You have no idea.

"Yes, it was captain."

The captain narrowed his eyes as he watched her.

"I know next to nothing about the ability of magnetism; the only man I knew who could wield that ability like a skilled surgeon is no longer with us.

Dr Grey knows more about him than I do; the few times I met him was on the battlefield and I usually lost to him due to the metal bound to my bones."

The former x-man paused; his expression changing briefly as if recalling some very unpleasant memories.

Oma wisely kept silent.

Logan folded his arms as he continued. "Your father asked me to teach you how to use your ability. How do you feel about that?"

The female ensign felt her lower jaw drop. She could hardly believe that Logan a.k.a Wolverine was going to train her to be an x-man.

She had to be dreaming.

It took a while before she realized he was waiting for an answer.

"I...it would be an honour sir."

Logan sighed; he rubbed the back of his neck. He appeared a bit uncomfortable.

"Dr Grey will also be your instructor but this doesn't mean you can take a break from your Starfleet studies."

"I understand captain " said Oma with a beaming smile.

"The doctor and I will come up with a training schedule once things are more stable...you're dismissed."

Oma nodded. "Thanks for this opportunity captain," she left with a spring in his step.

Logan rubbed his face wearily after she entered the turbolift.

"What the hell do I know about teaching ?"

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The Argo Navis...

Reza Chronides Of Aquarion walked briskly down the corridor.

Jacob's summons had sounded urgent and she had a good idea what it was about.

Maybe this time they would get answers about what had been happening on board the Galactica for the past few days.

She nodded absently to people she knew as she got closer to her destination.

The Quorum delegate was tired and needed a break but that wasn't possible due to their current situation. Once again she wondered if those who had died during the Holocaust or on New Caprica hadn't been the lucky ones.

Gods knew that running this long was just pure torture.

She stopped before a metal door and knocked on it in a distinct pattern.

A long moment passed before the shutter was drawn past so that the occupant could see who was at the door.

In a few seconds the door opened and Reza walked into the room.

To her surprise; Dahlia; the delegate from Tauron was already there.

"About time you got here," said the female Taurian.

"Do you have any idea where my quarters are? It's a fair bit of a walk from them I assure you."

At least 40 percent of the delegates lived on the Argo Navis; which was one of the few large refugee ships that had armaments.

"Let's just get this started; we don't have much time," stated Jacob Cantrell; the delegate from Sagittarion.

"So what's the news?" asked Dahlia.

"Laura has agreed to have the meeting and she also confirmed that delegates from the Xavier will be attending."

Dahlia and Reza were obviously surprised by the information.

"I thought there was reliable intel that she didn't get on with the captain of the Xavier," stated Dahlia in an accusatory tone.

Jacob held up a placating hand. "Just because they agreed to attend does not mean they are best friends with the president."

Reza stood up with a frustrated groan. "That is besides the point! You convinced us that this meeting wouldn't take place so that we could go public with this as well as call for a confidence vote! This is hardly going according to plan!"

While the Aquarion delegate was upset; Dahlia appeared quite thoughtful.

"Who says we still can't go public as well as call for a vote?"

Jacob and Reza stared at her.

"There is nothing stopping us from doing either; actually meeting the Xavier delegates may very well work in our favour.

Especially if we convince them to support us in our decision to get rid of Roslin and Zarek," continued Dahlia.

Jacob looked very uncomfortable. "We're getting rid of Zarek? But this meeting was his idea in the first place !"

Reza and Dahlia shared a glance.

A few hours ago; Zarek had discreetly contacted the three of them and stated in quite clear terms that Roslin was this close to destroying the fragile alliance with the members of the Thirteenth Tribe who were on board the Xavier.

That was why between the four of them; they had thought up this way of legally removing Roslin from power while strengthening the alliance with the Xavier crew.

Reza sighed and began to speak in a voice best suited for a teacher in an elementary school. "Jacob; Tom Zarek is the current Vice-president , this is a man who is a ex-convict and confirmed terrorist.

He has also on more than one occasion gone behind his own President's back to undermine her position...now tell me if that is the kind of man you wish to become president when we eventually remove Roslin ?"

It didn't take long for Jacob to answer.

"Gods no."

Dahlia nodded. "Then we're in agreement, how long until the scheduled meeting?"

Jacob looked at the clock on the wall.

"5 Hours and 48 minutes...also; the meeting is going to be on board the Galactica."

Dahlia's eyes narrowed. Nowadays; the meetings were usually held on board Colonial One since Cloud 9 was destroyed more than a year ago.

"Does she think her military connections and support is going to intimidate us?" asked an exasperated Reza.

"It's no matter; we'll simply use it against her," said Dahlia "though it may cause a hitch in our plans; we'll still get the new crews in place."

Jacob looked a bit doubtful. "Do you think this is going to work?"

Dahlia had a steely look in her eyes. "It has to; the survival of the entire fleet and our people depends on it."

XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

The Galactica; crews quarters...

Laura was awake at least 30 minutes before the alarm was due to go off.

And that was because someone's voice had woken her from sleep.

"Cadet Kinney; you have a message from the USS Dunkirk."

The thirteen year old mutant sat up; not even feeling tired due to her mutant healing factor.

At the moment she felt a bit irritated due to another matter.

"Xavier; for all future references please just call me Laura; whenever I hear 'cadet' I want to look over my shoulder to see who is behind me."

"Understood Laura," responded Xavier calmly as she stood up.

"So; who's the message from ?"

"Lieutenant Benedict. C. Harrison of Starfleet Intelligence; he has also sent a transmission to Ensign Q Junior and Ensign Kadretti."

Laura looked at the chronometer again and frowned. They had at least 3 hours and 52 minutes until the meeting. She didn't need sleep but she bet Oma hardly got any.

The last time she saw the female ensign; she had been with Rogers and Kara in the medical bay trying to teach the male colonial ensign about mental shields.

From the look on Roger's face; he had barely been paying attention to Oma's instructions.

"What does Lieutenant Harrison want?"

"I have no idea; however he has already spoken with the captain."

Laura walked over to a chair where she had flung a distinct looking outfit.

It was a Starfleet cadet uniform; the shoulder was deep red while the rest of the outfit was a dark metal grey. It also had the distinct arrow shaped design beneath the left shoulder.

According to Q Junior and Oma this was similar to the current cadet uniform at the Academy.

Laura had hated it at first sight.

When she was shown the image; she had bluntly refused to have it replicated.

Then Jean had sighed, looked at her and asked what she had in mind.

Laura had wanted an entire outfit in black and had been determined to get it until Oma said that most people ignored cadets so that could be a perfect opportunity for Laura to pick up on things said carelessly in-front of her.

That was actually the perfect reason to put on the outfit especially now that they were walking into a trap of some sort.

It had taken a while but eventually Laura agreed to put on the uniform; only if the grey was darker.

Which was why the uniform was two shades 'darker' than the standard Starfleet uniform.

Laura removed the outfit from her chair as she put her vid-com on.

As expected there was a short message waiting to be watched.

Laura put it on and at once saw the image of a human male in a black and blue Starfleet uniform with the rank of Lieutenant.

Lieutenant Benedict . C Harrison.

The message was very short and quite clear.

She was to prepare for a formal debriefing in less than 25 minutes.

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The Xavier; conference room...

Oma stared at Lieutenant Benedict Harrison.

She had woken up after barely an hour of sleep to Xavier's voice stating that she had a message.

Apparently, Lieutenant Harrison of Starfleet Intelligence wanted to debrief her soon. She had gotten dressed quickly and made her way to the conference room only to find Laura already there looking as fresh as a daisy.

Then the call came through and Oma was to be the first one debriefed.

Right now; Oma was wondering if she was asleep and having a nightmare. The urge to pinch herself was so strong.

"My performance...was unsatisfactory?"

The Intelligence officer had a mild pitying look on his face.

"Ensign Kadretti; if this had been a battle with shield warp capable cylon ships; you and the entire crew of the Xavier would have been killed."

Oma failed to hide the wince that statement caused; but the senior officer was not done yet.

"Ms Kadretti; please state the defence capabilities of a Defiant class ship."

She swallowed nervously before answering.

"Configurable shields and ablative armour..." her voice trailed off when Harrison raised a hand.

"What was the first thing you said Ensign?"

Oma cursed internally. "Configurable shields sir."

"Precisely; if you had done that to reduce the distance between the shield and the armour; the Xavier would have sustained less damage thus allowing you to destroy more of the enemy."

Harrison then narrowed his eyes when she did not respond.

"Or did you have another reason for not acting more aggressively? "

The ensign was startled by the line of questioning.

"No sir... I just...just did not consider that before the battle."

Harrison's lips were in a thin displeased line. "Or during the battle as your report suggests."

Try doing that while cylon ships are trying to 'jump' into your shields smartass thought the young female ensign with annoyance.

"Kadretti," the way he pronounced her name was as if he was about to pass a verdict "I do realize that less than 7 months ago you were only a cadet and that since your posting to a science vessel, this has been your first real battle situation.

However that does not excuse you forgetting fundamental facts that are taught to every Starfleet cadet, especially those whose primary course is astro-navigation."

Part of Oma wanted to cry; the other part wanted to kick Harrison in the nether regions.

"Do you understand me, Ensign?" He gave her a look that stated he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Oma swallowed through the bitter lump in her throat.

"Yes sir; I do."

"Excellent," his tone was very dry "now let's move on to the next part.

What weapons does the Xavier possess?"

Oma resisted sighing as she tried to answer in a calm tone.

"It possesses four phaser cannons; three phaser emitters and six torpedo tubes which fire photon and quantum torpedoes..."

"And yet you only asked for photon torpedoes when you had weapons that could have been more effective against the enemy."

"The use of quantum torpedoes could have affected subspace thus compromising the accuracy of the colonials jumping their ships if they wanted to escape sir," responded Oma.

"What of the phaser cannons or emitter?"

Oma was definitely not going to lay this on Laura's shoulders; it was not the teen's fault that she did not know everything about major Starfleet weapons.

"At the time; I considered photon torpedoes to be sufficient for the encounter and we did take out two basestars with two of those torpedoes, sir."

Harrison's frown deepened; when he spoke his voice had a trace of mockery.

"You don't consider the fact that a thirteen year old child who was acting as your wingman may have contributed to..."

"Sir; with all due respect," cut in Oma " that thirteen year old has a name...which is Laura Kinney and she has more experience in combat than I have ever had in my whole life! She deserves our respect for doing the best she could sir!"

The silence that followed seemed loud as Harrison just stared at her.

Shit! I am in so much trouble, thought Oma

But she was damned if she was going to apologize.

Then the intelligence officer nodded as if he had reached a conclusion.

"You're loyal to her and them; interesting." He said it as if he was observing an experiment.

Oma tried not to frown.

What the hell was he talking about?

"Let's move on to the next part of this discussion, shall we?"

Oma was now confused by the abrupt change in topic.

"Eh...yes sir."

"Good," said Harrison with what Oma could only describe as the equivalent of a shark's grin.

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Laura paced up and down outside the ready room.

She knew Oma had been inside there for only 19 minutes but she just wished Starfleet would hurry up and get it over with.

Laura hated debriefings; she had much better things to do.

But now that she was a 'starfleet cadet' she had to get used to it.

She would never admit this to anyone; but she was sort of glad she was a 'cadet', it felt like a fresh start and may actually be fun.

One could only hope.

But she still didn't like what she was wearing.

Laura turned as the turbolift opened to reveal Q Junior.

The male teen was looking at his PADD as he stepped out of the lift.

"Hi," said Laura.

Q Junior looked up and his eyes widened in surprise as his mouth opened slightly as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Laura frowned and felt a bit self conscious. She forced herself not to look down at her outfit.

"What?" she asked in a slightly cross voice.

"Em...you look good."

Laura's couldn't help but look at her uniform. "You're kidding right?"

Q Junior hugged his PADD as his face went a bit red. "No; I'm not. It fits you well."

The girl before him picked at the grey material on her left forearm.

"I still don't like the colours; why can't I have it in black?"

Q Junior smiled a little. "Current Academy rules state black is for when you graduate; beside a much darker shade would make you stand out more in a diplomatic meeting than on a special ops assignment."

Laura snorted. "And the meeting with the Quorum doesn't sound like special ops to you?"

The male Starfleet ensign shrugged. "I know; the whole thing stinks but that's politics for you," he paused as if unsure what to say "just try not to...beat anyone up okay? Some of those colonials can be a bit..."

"Stupid?" added Laura; she raised her hands "I'll do my best but I make no promises."

"Fair enough," said Q Junior with a smile.

"So, how far have you got with the supplies?"

Q Junior frowned. "Dr Grey and I just finished the third box of vitamin supplements and medication."

Laura's narrowed her eyes. "I thought she was still resting."

"Oh she rested alright," said Q Junior dryly "for about 2 hours then bounced back into the medical bay demanding to help. Not only that; but Rogers woke up and also insisted on giving us a hand as well."

Ensign Rogers had been ordered to stay in the medical bay for observations because of his last severe migraine.

Oddly enough Kara had stayed with him as well.

"What of Lieutenant Thrace?" asked Laura

"She had gone to Ten-Four to grab a snack; I expect she's either in her quarters or back in the medical bay."

Laura nodded then glanced at the conference room.

"Do you have any idea what Lieutenant Harrison wants?"

Q Junior had a thoughtful look on his face.

"What do you think he wants?"

Laura looked at Q Junior. "What's this? A quiz?"

Q Junior just smiled. "Please; humour me."

Laura thought for a moment. "He's Starfleet Intelligence. Probably his first goal is to gather as much intelligence about the colonials and the cylons; however such info is usually gotten from senior members of command who in this case are Captain Logan and Dr Grey."

The hologram nodded.

"But maybe he has another target in mind...the Xavier; which is why he's questioning the junior crew members since that will bring him face to face with the builder and engineer of this ship; an individual known as Q Junior."

Q Junior clapped for a short moment.

"A brilliant analysis and most likely entirely accurate; the question that remains is what he intends to do with this information."

Laura folded her arms. "Not only that; what does he intend to do when he gets here?"

Q junior shrugged. "We'll have to wait until then."

Laura's eyes narrowed; she didn't like waiting for a disaster to drop on her.

She preferred meeting it head on with claws and all.

The conference door slid open thus interrupting her line of thoughts.

Oma walked out; her shoulders tense and a light of fury in her eyes.

Laura took a step back. This was the first time she had ever seen the ensign angry.

And man oh man was she pissed.

"Oma; you okay?" asked Laura as Q Junior stared at her with concern on his face.

The female Starfleet ensign took a deep breath; then spoke in an almost normal voice.

"Yeah; I'll be fine," she looked at Oma "Lieutenant Harrison wants to speak to you next."

Laura looked at the conference door. "Sure," she took a step towards it.

"Laura," the teen mutant turned back to Oma.

"Don't let him piss you off."

Q Junior looked a bit shocked at her choice of words.

Laura nodded. "Thanks for the warning." Then she walked into the conference room.

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USS Dunkirk; crews quarters...

Lieutenant Harrison scanned his notes once more as he waited for Laura Kinney to connect from the Xavier.

Ensign Kadretti's debriefing had been interesting to say the least; he wondered if Laura's was going to be similar or less.

If he was a betting man he would go with the later.

This was based on the data he had been able to retrieve from the Intelligence Archives at Starfleet Command.

Those records were accessible only to officers with extremely high security clearance.

Even Janeway didn't have that kind of access.

To tell the truth; the persons Harrison would have loved to debrief were Q Junior, Logan Howlett and Dr Jean Grey.

As far as he was concerned; Laura Kinney was just a clone of Logan. To be fair; it was no mean feat that human cloning had actually be successful in 1993 A.D.

Harrison didn't consider it that significant that a child had been groomed to be an assassin.

That had been done so many times throughout history that Harrison was annoyed when people seemed so surprised by it.

Lieutenant Harrison was more interested in the mind of a child-like Q which had built a Defiant Class Starfleet ship from scratch with a fully functioning A.I.

Imagine the endless possibilities if one was able to tap into such a mind !

If he had to go through Logan and Dr Grey to gain access to such a mind...then so be it.

A beeping noise from his console alerted him that Laura Kinney had signed on.

Harrison narrowed his eyes.

"Might as well get this over with," he muttered to himself as he tapped the relevant symbols.

In mere moments; the screen cleared to show a slight girl with tied up jet black hair; wearing a version of a Starfleet cadet uniform he wasn't familiar with.

The girl stared at him for a long moment.

"Cadet Laura Kinney reporting for debriefing."

Benedict Harrison waited then realized that something wasn't going to be said.

"I believe that sentence should end with Lieutenant or sir."

The girl tilted her head to one side.

"I'll call you that when you earn it."

Harrison narrowed his eyes and sat back a little. The truth was that he was a bit taken aback by her blatant, extremely casual disrespect.

"You expect me to earn...your respect?" he asked slowly.

Laura kept staring at him. "I'll let you figure that one out for yourself."

Harrison studied her for a long moment. "What exactly did Ensign Kadretti say about her debriefing ? Did she claim that I was too hard on her ?"

"She didn't tell me anything; her body language said enough."

"Please; enlighten me," asked Harrison in a deceptively soft mocking tone.

Laura kept her own voice dry. "Gladly; pray tell if thou has ever served on the front lines ?"

Harrison had to blink at the sudden change in her speech pattern. "What?"

Laura kept silent as if waiting for an answer.

The intelligence officer sighed; he might as well humour her for now.

"Yes; I have."

"Then you do know that constructive criticism keeps the body count down as well as gives favourable results."

Harrison stared at her. "You don't even know the content of her debriefing."

"I'll find out soon enough but I know bullshit when I see it."

Harrison's eyes widened. This girl was more than just a clone of Logan; she was damn female version of him at the age of 13 years.

God help them all when she got older.

"You do realize that the way you have addressed me is unbecoming of a Starfleet cadet...especially when you're wearing that uniform."

Laura gestured at her uniform. "You think this is the most important thing in this whole mess?

Mr Harrison; we're in the middle of God knows where with a bunch of paranoid xenophobic colonials around us and a fleet of homicidal cylons on our tails.

I doubt the colour of what I'm wearing is going to stop either of them attempting to put a bullet in each of us on board this ship."

She leaned towards the screen.

"Maybe we have made mistakes; fair enough we'll take correction but do it in such a way that we know we have your support because from where I'm standing it doesn't look like you actually care about the bodies on this ship."

The Lieutenant bit his lower lip and was silent for a few moments.

"You done Cadet?"

Laura's eyes were hard as she maintained eye contact.

"For now...yes, I'm done."

Harrison suddenly realized that the girl before him was a bit more than he expected. She had zero respect for him and absolutely no fear of his position what-so-ever.

For some reason; this unsettled him greatly.

Lieutenant Harrison nodded to himself while internally he fought to keep his emotions under control.

Benedict glanced at his notes once more; then looked back at the screen.

"Then let's start your debriefing."

XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Benedict stared at the screen for several moments.

Cadet Laura Kinney had signed off exactly five minutes ago and he was still a bit stunned by her approach.

The girl had analysed him from the get go and hadn't hesitated to give him a dressing down. He wondered if Janeway knew what she was doing when she made that ticking time-bomb a Starfleet cadet.

Make no mistake; Harrison had recognised her for what she was.

A trained killer; it took one to know one.

Harrison's training may have started when he had just turned fifteen; but Laura's had actually begun from the moment she was born.

The intelligence officer knew he had to revise his earlier evaluation of Laura Kinney; she was definitely a very interesting character and would bear close watching.

Especially if she got through this whole adventure alive.

Now time for Q Junior...

A beeping noise on his console made him look at the console view-screen.

When he saw where it was originating from; he started frowning.

He tapped on the relevant symbol.

The Federation emblem disappeared to show Captain Logan.

What now?

"I hate to interrupt your debriefing..."

Yeah right; thought Benedict.

"...but the colonial fleet is once again about to jump to a new location and since Q Junior is our engineer; I have ordered him back to engineering because we're about to go to warp."

Harrison forced himself to smile at the captain.

"No worries; captain, I can always do this later."

Logan stared at him for a long moment. "Glad to hear it." He sounded anything but joyful.

"Until later Lieutenant." The captain's face was replaced by the Federation emblem.

Harrison leaned back in his seat and stared at the screen.

He felt as if he was wasting time by just speaking to them.

How he wished Q had dropped him on the Xavier instead of on the Dunkirk which was millions of miles away !

After all Ensign Kadretti was definitely not qualified to handle this situation!

Harrison rubbed the lower part of his face as his gaze turned to the PADD which contained the highly classified Stryker documents of the 1960s right up until his disappearance or suspected death in June 2006.

It contained records of what Logan Howlett had actually done for Stryker before the mid 1970s and the cloning of X-23 in 1993 and her subsequent training and deployment as a very successful assassin right up to her disappearance from a heavily guarded facility on May 17th 2006.

Strangely enough that same day; the facility mysteriously burned down to the ground with a lot of it's personnel missing or dead.

No one had ever found out what or who was the cause of the fire.

The PADD also contained video images of the battle between Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-men on October 11th 2006 at the Worthington Alcatrez Mutant Research Institute.

There was a report that at the same battle Logan . Wolverine had been about to face off with Jean Grey who had already destroyed the entire institute and had been the cause of the loss of hundreds of lives; both humans and mutants.

But the current question that begged to be answered; was what was Harrison going to do with this information?

For one of the very few times in his life; Starfleet Intelligence officer found himself indecisive.

Before the debriefing with Laura Kinney; he had actually been planning to use this information at the next meeting with the Admiral and the captains of the Dunkirk and the Prometheus.

But now he was wondering if doing so wouldn't cost him dearly in the long run.

Already he could see such information possibly causing Janeway and the others to treat Logan, Laura and Jean Grey with distrust and suspicion.

However being the bearer of such...disturbing news could have other consequences.

For example; it could lead to him loosing the chance to reach the Xavier and Q Junior.

Suddenly he viewed the PADD the way one would view a poisonous snake.

Should he keep silent or not ?

Harrison was still staring at the PADD when his com-badge went off.

He answered it; apparently Janeway and the others needed him at a meeting as soon as possible.

With a heavy sigh; he locked the PADD up and left the room.

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Hi everyone; so sorry about the long wait.

Also; this chapter is going to be a bit short, I will try and make the next one a bit longer.

Trying to get the story to flow as smoothly as possible.

Hope you'll had a great summer; it's now autumn time!

Please read and enjoy and tell me what you think ?

Should Harrison spill the beans or not?

Have a great week people!