CHAPTER 39 of the Phoenix and the Wolverine.
The Galactica; adjoining room to the conference hall...
Laura looked around casually; there were more people in the room then she was comfortable with. Not to mention that most of them were packing what suspiciously looked like 21st century 'berettas'.
Oh yeah; this was definitely nothing to be worried about, thought Laura drily as she noted the time on a digital clock on the wall.
The meeting was about to start in approximately 16 minutes; at the moment, Dr Grey and Oma were quickly going over the program. Laura had already glanced at the sheets of paper handed to them by a nervous looking Lieutenant Dualla-Adama.
It was a list of the members of the Quorum and the colonies they represented. Though Laura was aware that this data was important; it wasn't what was worrying her at the moment.
There was a room not far from where they were and when Dr Grey and her team had passed them earlier; Laura had heard several heart beats and smelt fear. No one in that room had uttered a sound.
Were they friend or foe? In the end Laura decided it was best to find out now before the meeting started. She walked up to the female colonial Lieutenant who was busy explaining something to Dr Grey.
"There's a room two doors down; who's in there?"
The dark skinned female colonial officer was startled by Laura's interruption but she saw the serious expression on Laura's face. Dee glanced at Dr Grey and Ensign Kadretti who seemed to be waiting for a reply.
"Em..." Dee actually contemplated lying then saw Laura's expression flatten as if she knew what she was thinking.
"How...how did you know?"
Laura looked at her for a few moments. "Twenty people are behind that door and they are all heavily armed; why?" The way the question was put indicated that the lithe teenage girl before her wanted an answer now.
Dee glanced quickly at Oma and Dr Grey who now looked a bit...upset.
The colonial lieutenant swallowed. "They are colonial marines; meant to observe this meeting and are present in case things get out of hand with the Quorum."
Oma's eyes narrowed. "Are they for us or your leaders ?" Her voice was polite but there was a slight edge to it.
Dee swallowed nervously. "Each meeting we had with you has always been with a group of marines nearby."
Laura smiled thinly as she shared a glance with Oma. "So; they're for us. That's nice to know."
Jean looked at the two members of her team. "Don't be too hard on Lieutenant Adama," Dee, Oma and Laura stared at her in surprise "on a Federation ship or base; having security follow visiting dignitaries around would be the norm. Am I right or wrong?"
Oma frowned a bit then sighed before nodding silently.
Dr Grey smiled sadly. "This is a delicate diplomatic situation; we have to be prepared for anything."
"Yes, Dr Grey," said Laura and Oma at the same time. As for Dee; she looked even more anxious at the female medic's words.
Jean had no time to reassure her because two people she had been expecting chose that moment to appear.
President Roslin and her PA; Tory Foster had arrived.
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Oma already knew what the President of the 12 colonies looked like; Roslin looked at the Starfleet ensign for a long moment before concentrating on Dr Grey. As for Tory Foster; her expression of distrust was barely hidden and somewhat reassuring.
Just treat this as a klingon family reunion, thought Oma. She doubted there was anything worse these colonials could do to her then what her own klingon blood relatives had tried to pull in the past.
Oma's parents; Trey and Nadia had first met when Trey was fleeing from Romulans. Nadia's father; Kaldir of Abaran was the captain of a merchant klingon ship and also present on that ship had been Zara; the captain's human wife and of course Nadia.
Now there were a lot of things that klingons frowned upon; like marrying a non-klingon but the one thing that seemed to get them really upset was klingon-hybrids.
Oma could barely remember a favourable holiday on Qo'noS because there had been countless times when Trey had to be almost physically restrained from swinging a punch at some idiot who made a disparaging remark about Nadia or Oma's mixed-heritage.
As for Trey; he was mostly ignored because a lot of klingons still thought humans were 'puny' and when those comments were made it was usually Nadia who had to be stopped from shooting whoever made the offending comment.
Oma suspected her mum had a harder time growing up on the klingon homeworld, even though she hardly talked about it.
However one of the things that Oma loved about her klingon grandfather was the pride he had in Zara; his human wife and his daughter and the respect he showed them.
This made Kaldir a rarity in male dominated klingon society and had also gotten him into so many brawls with both blood relatives and outsiders. It eventually reached the point where the small family decided to actively take part in the interplanetary transport business before those fights became blood feuds.
There was less of a risk getting into a feud if your ship moved from place to place.
Such animosity towards klingon hybrids was why her parents didn't travel to Qo'noS that often.
All these thoughts flowed through Oma's mind as she and Laura watched the President discuss with Dr Grey; the delegates and their staff began to arrive. As expected; most did a double take when they saw the female Starfleet ensign.
Oma knew that she was going to get even more unfriendly looks so she tried to prepare herself for the worst. She just hoped it didn't get too ugly because she would defend herself if it came to it.
Diplomatic consequences be damned.
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The Xavier; in front of the Holodeck...
Q Junior tried not to tap his feet impatiently as he waited for two people to arrive. He looked at his chronometer once more.
The meeting with the Quorum was to start in exactly 15 minutes.
However what he was about to do was equally just as important.
He found his mind straying to a conversation he had with Logan as they watched the shuttle leave the Xavier.
"Captain; do you think the meeting will go smoothly?" asked Q Junior.
Logan shrugged. "I don't know kid; but to be honest better Jean than me. I'm a little sick of speaking to their paranoid military but I have a feeling their politicians may be a lot worse."
Q Junior had a worried look on his face that Logan noticed as both of them left the cargo bay.
"What's on your mind?"
Q Junior hesitated before answering. "I'm concerned about Six...and Baltar."
Logan was silent for a moment. "In what way?"
"Well actually; I'm more worried about Six. She's still asking Xavier lots of questions and she might do something if she doesn't get any answers. As for Baltar; I think he's just grateful to be here."
The captain of the Xavier sighed. "So what would you suggest? That we answer her questions?"
"Yes," Logan's eyes widened at Q Junior's response. The hologram hastened to explain.
"Let's say we give her a lot of information about Earth and the Federation. We of course leave out the location of the planet or any co-ordinates. We give her the history, the politics, the religions and theologies and see how she reacts to it. We even have the perfect delivery system for her...re-education about what Earth is really like."
Logan had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Okay; how far back in history are we going here?"
Q Junior told him. After a long moment; Logan smiled evilly.
"Q; I like the way you think, at least this way it keeps her out of mischief."
Two steps of footsteps approaching had Q Junior's mind back to the present.
He saw the pleased surprise on Caprica Six's face when she saw him; beside her was Dr Baltar.
"To be honest; I thought Xavier was joking when he informed us to meet you here," said the female cylon. Then she noticed the doors Q Junior was standing in-front of. She frowned before asking the question on Baltar's mind.
"What's going on?"
Q Junior looked at her and the doctor for a few moments.
"You have shown curiosity about Earth and I'm certain you have several thousand questions that you want answered."
"That's true," muttered Baltar nervously.
"Well; today is your chance to start satisfying that curiosity," Q Junior turned before anymore words were said and pressed a panel on the side of the doors which began to slide apart after a mere second.
"Where does this go..." began Six before her words trailed away into stunned silence because what was behind those doors was the last thing she expected.
Q Junior walked confidently before them while Six and Baltar stared with gaping mouths at what could only be the acres and acres of greenery and forestry with strange and extremely large alien and dangerous looking wild-life.
The sight was unbelievable for there was no plausible explanation for how such a world could exist within a relatively small Xavier.
In the end; after several seconds, Six forced herself to follow Q Junior and Baltar quickly walked after her as if not wanting to be left behind on the deserted sterile looking corridor.
Q Junior stood silently close by as Six and Baltar tried to take in the sights around them without fainting from the sheer absurdity of it all.
He knew they were trying to comprehend what they were seeing, while also trying to process what technological marvel had led to this.
Q Junior had compiled a holographic history of Earth and he decided to start from the Jurassic era just because he felt the dinosaurs of that period were too cool to be ignored.
Besides Q Junior just wanted to keep Six and Baltar busy...not bore them to death.
Baltar took a deep breath of the slightly higher oxygen rich atmosphere and felt his head spin a bit.
"W...what is this? Are we on another planet?"
Six stared at Q Junior; the same question was mirrored in her eyes.
"Oh yes we are...sort of," said the male Starfleet ensign with a cheeky grin.
"Dr Baltar; Miss Six, welcome to the Jurassic Era of Earth."
His words obviously made no sense to the two people before him.
Q Junior pointed at his surroundings as a huge winged leathery looking creature flew over them with an odd birdlike cry. Six and Baltar looked upwards in fear as a slight back draft from the creatures wings reached them.
"This is a holographic recording which shows the history of planet Earth. Now, the Jurassic Era was over 199.6 million years ago; as for modern humans whose descendents survived to current date, it is believed they originated on Earth 200,000 years ago."
Six snapped her head around so fast that Q was amazed he didn't hear it break.
"What?" gasped Baltar "That can't be, humans evolved on Kobol !"
Q Junior gave him a pitying smile.
"What proof do you have of this?" hissed a very pale Six.
The male teenager turned to her. "There is documented history on Earth which goes back 150,000 years and also fossils of human remains which predate that." He clasped his hands before him.
Six tried to speak but didn't have the strength to do so; she knew Ensign Kadretti had mentioned this earlier but she had refused to believe it. Now that she was hearing it from Q Junior; she felt as if the foundations on which her belief had been built on were slowly being eroded.
"You wanted to know about Earth; well here it is."
"The captain...approved this?" asked Six who was still trying to deal with what she was seeing, hearing and feeling.
Q Junior grinned. "Oh yes he did; if you wish to understand something it is best one starts from the beginning so this holographic recording is of the start of recorded human history right up to present day."
Baltar opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.
"Be assured; it is vast; long and very educational," Six stared at Q Junior. The teen actually sounded quite sarcastic.
"Believe me; there is so much about Earth and it's allies that it could take you decades to understand it all."
"Earth's allies?" asked Six in a tone which indicated she must have misheard Q Junior. Didn't Cavil state the Thirteenth Tribe existed alone on just one planet ?!
The teenager who Six was convinced was a cylon turned to her with a knowing smile.
"Ah; I believe that will be further on in the em...history lesson. Now I know you can't process all this in one day so let's explain a few ground rules.
This is a holo-deck; safety protocols are on however Xavier will be keeping an eye on you so please speak to him if you're confused about anything.
Second, do remember to take refreshments when you get tired and third, if you wish to exist the holo-deck, just ask Xavier to show you the exit and if you want to get back in, ask him again," he paused " any other questions?"
"Wait! You're not staying with us?" asked a startled Six.
Q Junior tapped his chronometer. "Oh no; I have somewhere else to be right now; for this educational venture you two are on your own. Have a great day and please don't do anything stupid." With that he left via the holodeck doors before they could say a word.
Six and Baltar stared at the doors long after he left. Both of them were suddenly afraid. The sound of a weird animal cry had them both ducking down.
"I...I don't think we should do this," said a very pale Baltar.
The female cylon tried to moisten her dry lips; she was also feeling very unsure about this place. He called this a holographic recording? It looked and felt so real!
"Do you wish to stop the program?"
Six had never felt so relieved to hear the A.I's voice. She straightened up ; then looked at the doors of the holodeck which was the only visible way out. Truth be told she felt like leaving but something held her back.
"Xavier; Q said the safety protocols were on."
"Indeed they are."
"That means nothing can harm us here right?" asked Six.
The answer was quick in coming. "Yes that is correct."
Baltar stared at her in shock. "You're not actually thinking of staying here any longer?!"
"Gaius; this is my chance to find out about Earth; if you wish to leave that is entirely up to you but I'm staying."
The scientist stared at her for a very long moment; then came to stand beside her. He took a deep breath as if trying to steady himself. "Then I suggest we get some water if we're going for stroll in...Earth's past."
Six smiled gratefully at him as she took his hand in hers.
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The Xavier; the bridge...
Q Junior hummed to himself as he stepped out of the turbolift. He stopped when he realized Captain Logan was not alone.
Kara, Anders , Sharon and even baby Hera were present.
Something warned Q Junior not to mention where he had just been; somehow he knew the colonials would not be pleased that Six and Baltar were taking a trip in Earth's holographic past.
"Where've you been?" asked Kara.
Why am I not surprised to hear her speak first ? Thought the teen Q.
"I told him to give Six and Baltar something to do."
Kara shared a worried look with Sharon before turning to Captain Logan. The mutant didn't give them time to ask more questions.
"Have you heard of the saying...idle hands are the devil's workshop?"
Logan's question halted the words on Kara's lips.
"Eh...no what is the relevance?"
"In one of Earth's old religions; the devil is the king of Hell...which in Greek religion is also known as Hades," added Q Junior.
Understanding dawned on the faces of the colonials but Kara was still a bit suspicious.
"So what exactly did you give them to do?"
Logan smiled coolly at her. "A very detailed history lesson to learn; there'll be a quiz later."
It was Sharon who realized what he truly meant. "A history of...Earth?" her expression stated she hoped she was wrong. Anders looked pole-axed while Kara was speechless.
"Congratulations Lieutenant Agathon; you get a gold star," said Logan drily. "Of course yes, since she's so curious about Earth; why don't we give her more than she expected ?"
Personally, Logan felt Q Junior was a genius for suggesting the holodeck; what better way to keep them busy with Earth's prehistoric era while keeping them away from Federation tech.
He knew the colonials wouldn't see it that way but to hell with that; it was his ship and he hoped they realized that.
Kara finally found the strength to speak. "Captain Logan you are making a mis..." her words trailed off when the captain of the Xavier gave her a look which stated she better think twice before finishing that statement.
There was an uncomfortable silence for a long moment before Q Junior coughed nervously. Everyone looked at him.
"The meeting is starting in 12 minutes captain." Then he looked enquiringly at the colonials.
Logan glanced at them as well. "Yep; we're all gonna observe."
Q Junior nodded as if that was normal protocol.
"However; we need to get a line on to the Dunkirk; it's time for a very brief update."
"Yes sir, " said the male teen respectively as he walked to his console. From the corner of his eye he could see the colonials trying to look without being too obvious.
It didn't take long before he got a strong connection with the USS Dunkirk.
The view-screen changed to show a male Andorian in the yellow and black uniform of Starfleet.
"What the fr...?" uttered Anders in shock.
Q Junior and a very curious Captain Logan ignored him.
This was the first time he was speaking to an Andorian or to a non-human. Logan didn't consider Ensign Kadretti to be alien; to him she was a mutant and human despite the obvious ridges on her forehead.
But the blue-skinned humanoid on the view-screen was obviously very alien; he did wonder for a brief moment what the antennae were for. Logan was sure there were detailed biological files on many of the alien races that had come in contact with Earth; there just weren't enough hours in the day to study them all.
However he had more important things to worry about at the moment.
"This is Captain Logan of the Xavier; where's Captain Singh?" asked Logan bluntly.
The Andorian smiled politely; clearly not put off by Logan's brusque tone or the fact that three humanoids were staring at him with wide eyes and slack jaws.
Even the fact that there was a baby on the bridge didn't make him bat an eye.
"Good day captain, I'm Lieutenant Commander Telev Shran, tactical officer of the USS Dunkirk. I currently have the conn as my superiors are otherwise occupied."
Logan frowned a bit; but didn't really feel concerned because he recalled seeing this officer standing silently in the back ground on the last vid call. It's just that he preferred interacting with the same person each time. So far he had spoken to Admiral Janeway and Captain Singh twice, Commander Bishop once and Commander Kadretti once.
"Fine, Ensign Q is about to send our current co-ordinates and Dr Grey, Ensign Kadretti and my daughter, Cadet Kinney are attending a meeting with the Quorum.
The Quorum is part of the government of the 12 Colonies and the location of the meeting is the Galactica."
Logan saw Shran's smile dim; he looked a bit concerned. "I see."
The captain of the Xavier tried not to roll his eyes. Today everyone was a critic.
"We have received the new co-ordinates," said Shran as he glanced at an officer off screen "but, there is another matter. I have gone over the report concerning the recent encounters with the cylons, however I still need to formally debrief Ensign Kadretti, Ensign Q Junior and Cadet Kinney."
Logan frowned at the view-screen while the colonials wisely kept silent even baby Hera's cooing was quite low.
"Lieutenant Harrison spoke to the Miss Kadretti and Laura before we left the last co-ordinates. Don't you have his report?"
Shran's eyes narrowed a bit as if puzzled. "He hasn't mentioned it. Well; I'll request his version to see which areas he has gone over, then speak to Ensign Kadretti, Ensign Q and Cadet Kinney on the areas he didn't cover."
Logan raised an eyebrow; he had the distinct feeling that Harrison may have done something wrong. To be honest; Logan didn't like the guy.
The few times he saw the intelligence officer; Logan couldn't help comparing the Starfleet officer with the now-extinct FBI suits.
Or had the FBI, the CIA, MI6 and all the different security agencies of the 21st century merged to become the Intelligence division of Starfleet?
Logan forced his mind to return to the present.
"Sure; we'll keep in touch, Xavier signing off."
Lieutenant Commander Shran smiled and inclined his head. "Until later, Captain Logan." The screen changed to show the colonial ships.
Logan looked at Q Junior.
"I've been monitoring Dr Grey and the others; the meeting is finally about to start," said the young male ensign as if he had just read the captain's mind.
"Good to know; activate the video, keep the audio from our end muted."
Q Junior's hands flew over his console.
Everyone's turned to look at the view-screen as it was replaced by what looked like a room full of colonials. At the moment; the people on the bridge could only see Laura and Oma.
That was because Dr Grey's 'X' shaped com-badge was acting at the transmitter.
Kara looked a bit worried as she realized that she was looking at the delegates of the Quorum. What concerned her most were the expressions on most of their faces.
They varied between curiosity and dark suspicion and almost all of them were staring at Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti.
"Frak," muttered the female colonial pilot to herself.
"What's wrong?" asked Anders anxiously.
Kara replied in a soft voice without looking at him. "I'm hoping...no make that praying that the Quorum doesn't frak this up."
Behind her; Logan sensitive ears picked up her muttered words. He stared at her for a long moment before turning back to the screen.
He knew Q Junior had his fingers near the re-routed transporter controls.
If anything looked slightly off; he was going to pull Jean and the girls out of that meeting.
For now; he just took a deep breath and tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in his abdomen which was extreme worry.
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All the marines had left the conference room and were now outside guarding the entrance but that was not what Jean was worried about.
Jean remembered to keep a neutral smile on her face as the delegates of the Quorum spoke with each others in whispers while staring at her and the girls.
Without turning her head; she felt Lieutenant Dualla stand by her left, while Oma and Laura were on her right. For some reason no one sat beside Oma; Jean suspected why with a feeling of annoyance but she decided to wait and see how it played out.
She also noted the press crew who had already set up their equipment and were busy taking pictures plus doing quick takes in-front of their cameras.
"Is this live?" asked Laura with an incredulous tone to her voice.
The three female mutants turned to face Lieutenant Dualla. She also seemed quite disturbed.
"I'm...I'm not sure. They...it can't be, that wasn't what was agreed on."
Laura , Jean and Oma shared a collective worried look.
"That doesn't inspire me with confidence," said Laura plainly.
Dee felt her face heat up but she simply bit her lip and said nothing.
No one had a chance to say anything more because Zarek grabbed a mike and tapped it briskly. The noise died down as everyone turned to him.
He smiled brightly at them. "The meeting is about to start; please let's all be seated."
Chairs were pulled back as they each took their seats. Laura felt her's give a bit but to her relief it didn't buckle and collapse from the combined weight of her adamantium laced bones.
That would have been so embarrassing.
Zarek poured himself some water to drink from one of the pitchers that had been placed in-front of every delegate and their . He sipped as everyone took their seats. Once the muttering died down he picked up a mike.
"Delegates of the Quorum and President Roslin, this is a historic moment..."
Laura saw Roslin's eyes narrow as she watched her vice president. Looks like she doesn't trust him. Thought the female teenage mutant.
Join the freaking club.
"For the first time; the Thirteen Colonies of Kobol are represented now that delegates from Earth have finally joined the Quorum of Twelve for a meeting on how we can work together" he paused with a suave smile "I might as well change out the name to the Quorum of Thirteen," this was met by mild laughter.
I don't like where this is going, thought Oma uneasily. Dr Grey held her chin thoughtfully as she watched the vice president.
"However considering how this venture is going to affect every colonial man, woman and child; it is imperative that our people be aware of what is going on," Zarek seemed to pause for dramatic effect as he looked around the table before his eyes rested on Roslin.
"Which is why; this is being televised live...right now to everyone on the colonial ships."
The camera was on Roslin's face and everyone witnessed her stunned expression. She looked quickly at the delegates to see none of them were surprised by the news.
That was when she realized she had been well and truly set up.
Cadet Laura Kinney sighed and leaned to speak to Oma in a very low voice.
"The shit is going to hit the fan very soon."
Oma nodded silently without looking at her. "This isn't good."
Laura laughed softly. "Ya think?"
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Admiral Adama had been going over status reports with his XO when someone knocked frantically on his office door.
Both senior officers shared a worried glance before Adama called for the person to enter.
It was Junior Lieutenant Felix Gaeta. The look of terror on his face almost had the Admiral fearing something bad had happened.
"Admiral ! I had no idea; they requested using one of the emergency signals to relay an important message...!"
"Mr Gaeta," called Adama in a calm tone which had the rattled officer shutting up immediately.
"Slow down and tell me what's going on?"
Gaeta swallowed nervously before replying.
"It's the news team with the President and the Quorum...they are transmitting the meeting live, right at this moment sir...to the entire fleet !"
Admiral Adama felt his heart skip a beat. No; he had been wrong; this was beyond bad news.
Saul Tigh narrowed his single eye as he bore down on the hapless junior lieutenant. "What did you just say?"
Gaeta gulped before repeating his words.
The XO started cursing before Gaeta had finished speaking.
"Cut the frakking transmission right now Gaeta, do you hear me?!" hissed Tigh.
"No, don't," interrupted Admiral Adama softly. Both colonials stared at him. "We cut it now and things will get so much worse," the senior officer sat down wearily as Tigh and Gaeta shared a troubled look.
The Admiral rubbed his forehead for a few moments before speaking. "You have to admire the audacity of their tactic and the sheer brilliance," he looked at Tigh and Gaeta.
"We all know the fleet was on it's last legs before the Xavier showed up and also a lot has happened in the last few days. However, the refugees cooped up on those ships don't have a clue what we're dealing with.
So rumours have run rife and people; even officers that we work with are thinking all sorts of things. I can hardly blame them." He paused.
"By televising the meeting, the Quorum and the...President show that they truly care about the colonial people." Saul tried not to wince at the sarcasm in the Admiral's voice.
"That they wish to include the opinion of the fleet by inviting them to a historic meeting which is currently being held on the Galactica; the last surviving Battlestar of the 12 Colonies."
He waited for the words to sink in.
"So as of this moment; it will look like the colonial military, the Quorum and the President and Vice-president are working together. If we cut that signal off..." his voice trailed off as understanding dawned on the faces of the two men before him.
"We'll be the bad guys once again; those that hide the truth," said Gaeta solemnly.
Tigh closed his remaining eye. "Frak!" he yelled into the air. He was mad enough to murder someone.
Admiral Adama nodded wearily. "I...we need to watch this meeting." He stood up straightened his jacket before leaving the office with Gaeta and Tigh not far behind him.
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Logan watched the view-screen intently as Kara tried and failed not to swear repeatedly in-front of him. He had suspected something was off about this meeting and now it looked like he was right.
He knew how Kara felt right now; because he almost muttered a swear word when he heard the words 'televised live'.
Kara finally turned to him. "Captain; with all due respect Admiral Adama would never do this..."
"Don't apologize for what you don't know Lieutenant," cut in Logan smoothly "besides I think this set up was for your president."
Kara stared at him. "What?"
"Did you not see the look of surprise on her face at Zarek's announcement and the lack of astonishment on the faces of the delegates? This meeting was a trap for President Roslin; it's just that whoever set this in motion forgot one important thing."
"Like what?" asked Sharon.
Logan smiled coldly as he kept looking at the screen.
"I'm not the one they should be worried about."
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Jean could barely contain her surprise when Zarek made his announcement.
Oh dirty politics ! Thought the Phoenix with glee. This never gets old!
Laura was right; this was a bloody set up.
Now, now, temper temper, we want to show these 'nice' people that we are fully in control of our emotions and will not dis-intergrate them into tinsy little pieces even though we want to.
I wasn't thinking of dis-integrating them!
Yeah I figured as much.Thought the Phoenix drily. But damn; they are annoying!
No argument there. Thought back Jean as she continued listening to Zarek talk.
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Dee had at first been transfixed by the vice president's words ; now she was trying very hard not to lose her temper.
She had never liked the vice-president; he was a conniving piece of work and also quite ruthless from what she had seen and heard. Dee glanced quickly to Dr Grey and her team. The female medic had tilted her head to one side and kept her eyes on Zarek.
Ensign Kadretti was also watching him quite closely; the Cadet Kinney turned and caught Dee's eyes. The female teen gave her a knowing smile as if saying. 'I told you so.'
That made Dee even more embarrassed and she prayed someone in the CIC had cut off the transmission. This whole meeting being televised live was a very bad idea.
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It started as a small fire but within seconds the news spread like a wild forest fire set in the middle of a very dry summer.
Hundreds of monitors and view-screens and thousands of radios came to life as a very important and historic meeting was being transmitted live.
For the past few days rumours had spread all of the 163 colonial ships, about the crew of the Xavier and also about Earth. Surprisingly a good number still believed the Thirteenth Colony was a myth but the majority of the colonial refugees had witnessed first-hand the might of the Xavier against the Cylons and had to believe that for once, the odds were actually in their favour.
Which is why the news that the meeting was being transmitted live, was met with part excitement and part fear. Almost everyone dropped what they were doing to see and listen to what their leaders were saying to the first representatives of the Thirteenth Colony Earth.
Sirius Pontius , leader of the Sons of Ares was also one of those watching the meeting carefully. His fellow brothers wisely kept silent as they kept their eyes on the screen.
No one wanted to miss a single word or gesture.
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James Mcmanus; formerly of the Caprica Times, now of the Colonial Gang swallowed nervously before speaking into his mike.
"This is James Mcmanus, we are here live on the Galactica, in the presence of President Roslin, Vice President Zarek and the Quorum," he gave a slight sign to camera man " as you can see, also present are three representative from the Earth ship which is called the Xavier and...it looks like they are about to introduce themselves..."
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Rogers and Helo had been chatting when the largest vid-monitor in the colonial medical bay went on and Mcmanus started speaking.
Silence fell as everyone listened in astonishment to the reporter's words. Rogers saw Lee freeze for a brief moment before dashing out of the bay while speaking urgently into his communicator.
"This can't be happening," muttered Helo in shock "what the frak is Roslin thinking?"
Rogers then saw the female president's face and felt her own emotions.
"Helo...I don't think she planned this."
The male colonial captain tore his gaze away from the screen to stare at Rogers. "What?!"
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Lee was incensed by the time he got to the conference room. He had tried calling the CIC to find out why in Hades had someone not cut the transmission?
Then he found out that his father had ordered Gaeta to let it go on. He had spoken urgently to the Admiral and barely contained himself to listen to his father's very logical explanation.
But that did not make him like the decision at all. This was stupid and he thought Roslin and Zarek knew better!
He knew the colonial refugees were scared and wanted to know what was going on; but it was way too soon and having a live televised meeting between crew of the Xavier and the troublesome Quorum was hardly the way to go about it!
Lee tried to rein in his temper when he got to the conference doors. The four marines outside gave him an expectant look. The small monitor in the corridor was also showing the meeting going on inside.
The CAG ignored them and stared at the closed doors for a long time; if he barged in there it was going to make things a lot worse.
First he would undermine Dee's position and also a number of the delegates would try to piss him off on national television to prove a point.
It wasn't worth it.
"Sir; any orders?" asked one of the marines at the door.
Lee took a deep breath; he shook his head reluctantly.
"I'll be next door; keep up the good work."
"Yes sir," said one of the colonial marines as the CAG left to enter the next room filled with armed marines.
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Jean remembered to keep a professional neutral smile on her face as the Vice president politely asked her to introduce herself.
"Ms President, Mr Vice-President and members of the Quorum; thank you for arranging this meeting. I'm Dr Jean Grey, chief medical officer of the Xavier," she indicated the two people by her right.
"I have with me Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti, formerly of the USS Dunkirk and now assigned to the Xavier for this mission," Oma inclined her head very slightly with no change in her neutral expression.
"Beside her is Cadet Laura Kinney." Laura had a bored expression on her face which didn't fool Jean one bit. The female teen was as tense as a riled cat.
There was silence for a long awkward moment.
"Does it speak?" asked a somewhat portly man sitting beside Zarek. His voice sounded nasally and was filled with suspicion.
Jean looked at him for a moment before giving him a wide smile.
"I don't believe I got your name," then she looked around " in fact apart from the President and Vice president and Lieutenant Dualla beside me, you all are yet to be introduced."
There were a few odd looks as Jean just indirectly called them out on their obvious rudeness but the portly man went a bit pink in the face. "I asked if that thing..."
"That is Delegate Julius Xenner of Virgon," interrupted Dee loudly as she glared at the member of the Quorum who was about to utter something stupid. She knew Oma may be strange but by Zeus that was no reason to treat her as if she was less than a person! Ensign Kadretti was a fellow soldier for Athena's sake! She was a crew member of a ship that everyone had seen defend the fleet and this dolt chose to ignore that!
Julius stared at her in outrage. "What...how dare you?!"
Dee promptly ignored him and turned to the next person at his side. "And the woman beside him is Reza Chronicles of Aquarion, beside her is Jacob Cantrell of..."
"Sagittarion," completed Jacob with an annoyed expression on his face "thank you Lieutenant Dualla, we can speak for ourselves."
Dee gave him a cold, hard smile. "Oh, I see, then I'll leave you to it." But her eyes were a different story. She was telling him not to turn this meeting into some sort of game.
Cantrell ignored her as the female delegate beside him also introduced herself.
Jean nodded politely and smiled at each name as if she was meeting old friends for a bit of tea. Once the introductions were over; the President started speaking.
"First of all; I would like to extend a thank you to the crew of the Xavier for helping us and I speak on behalf everyone when I say that we appreciate the fact that Earth is sending more ships to help us."
This bit of news caused most of the delegates to gape at Roslin. Apparently she hadn't shared that bit of info with them yet. Zarek kept silent and just continued watching the female president.
"You're welcome," said Dr Grey with a smile.
"Speaking of which, is it possible for you to tell us when those ships will be arriving?" asked Roslin politely.
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Smooth, real smooth thought Laura this president may be ill but she is definitely one sharp cookie. By thanking Jean so publicly, it appeared to anyone watching that Roslin was on good terms with the Xavier crew.
The female teen knew the Colonial President was very sick, she could smell it and anyone watching could see the hollowness in the older woman's face. It was only a matter of time before she died.
Laura could tell that a shark like Zarek who just happened to be the vice-president must be looking forward to that happening.
Meanwhile everyone waited for Dr Grey's answer.
"The ships that have been sent by the Federation may reach us in 4 months time but that depends on how fast you can get the colonial fleet to move and what repairs that need to be done..."
"If I may ask," started John Cantrell almost interrupting Dr Grey "where's Captain Logan? Did he think it appropriate that you, a medic ," he glanced dismissively at Oma and Laura "and a...lower ranking crew member as well as a child were fit to represent the Thirteenth Colony?"
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On board the Xavier, Kara shared a worried look with Sharon and Anders before turning round to look anxiously at Captain Logan.
The light in his eyes was a frightening thing to behold and Q Junior looked really pissed off.
Kara wished she could throttle John Cantrell right now.
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Saul Tigh was wondering if Cantrell would be so dismissive of Laura Kinney if he saw her attacked arm blades and how quick she was to slice a potential enemy to pieces.
It would definitely make the Sagittarian delegate piss in his pants thought the XO with an evil smile.
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Meanwhile, Dr Grey smiled brightly at the Sagittarian delegate.
"Ah; our credentials is what you wish to know, fair enough to ask such a question, after-all we only just met.
You already know I'm a medic; however on Earth I actively took part in representing certain factions before regional Senate hearings," she looked round "in case you're wondering what 'senate means' it is very similar to your Quorum where elected leaders representing different parts of a region meet to discuss the laws of the land.
But back to my role; I also acted as negotiator in regional disputes, however I'll understand if this means nothing to you because there is a lot of Earth politics you know nothing about." John Cantrell seemed a bit confused by her confident answer; what he didn't know was that Jean was talking about when she went to Capitol Hill with Professor Logan in 2005 to protest about the attempted passing of Mutant Registration Act. In that case Jean had obviously been representing the mutants.
"I've already said Ensign Kadretti is a Starfleet officer; however she has seen combat in Federation territory and also here," Jean smiled coolly at them all; she was definitely not going to go into detail about how Oma's first battle was with a possibly-sentient wormhole.
"However; she is also credited with blowing up a cylon resurrection ship yesterday as well as being the pilot for the small craft that infiltrated a basestar and was also the one flying circles around the cylons as she blew up several of their raiders and two of their basestars."
Some of the delegates looked at an expressionless Oma and blinked; while the rest weren't impressed.
"As for Cadet Kinney; she is a very valuable member of the team and is here to observe, we believe it is an experience not to be missed as we endeavour to start our training in the younger generation who have a lot of potential," Laura gave the Sagittarian delegate an insolent grin as she cracked her knuckles audibly without popping her claws. Dee gave her a worrying look because she knew what blades lay beneath the teenage girl's skin.
Jean now looked squarely at Cantrell with a bright smile on her face.
"Does that answer your questions or do you need to see the authentic copies of our collective certificates?"
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"Ouch," said Tigh admirably. Beside him; Admiral Adama had a very small smile on his face. Dr Grey was definitely skilled in verbal duelling. Earth must have had it's own share of stupid politicians in her time.
Most of the CIC staff were now obviously watching the meeting on the huge screen and from the murmurs; it seemed like they approved of the way the female medic was handling the Quorum.
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The screen in the medical bay showed Cantrell looking as if he had tasted something bitter as he glared at Dr Grey.
In the medical bay; some of the onlookers clapped and whistled at how the female medic of the Thirteenth Tribe had answered her questions in a polite but challenging way.
But Rogers and Lee weren't cheering. Dr Cottle had come to stand quietly beside them as he too watched the screen.
"The Quorum has something planned," whispered Rogers in a worried voice " why are they doing this?"
Helo shook his head numbly; he had a bad feeling about this meeting.
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"We're heard you brought supplies which were taken by the CAG of the Galactica?" asked Reza Chronicles abruptly.
Dr Grey turned to her as she answered calmly."Yes ;we did".
This meeting felt more like a Senate hearing/ interrogation than a meet between 'allies' and Jean and Company were definitely in the 'hot' seat.
"However the supplies are relatively small in number because we're still trying to estimate how much the entire fleet will need; so..."
"What were the supplies?" interrupted Julius Xenner sharply. Laura raised an eyebrow, was this dolt suicidal or just plain stupid?
Had he not got the memo that Jean was capable of obliterating basestars when she got really mad ?
In the end; Laura just assumed he was ignorant of what Jean had done recently. That had to be the only logical explanation.
"Basic medical supplies such as dressings; analgesia; antibiotics, high dose vitamin supplements and some preserved food in 7 containers."
Julius leaned back and raised both eyebrows. "Just seven containers?! Have you seen the size of our fleet?! That would barely help a fraction of our people!"
"Considering the fact that we have recently been assisted by the Xavier in fighting the cylons, I doubt they had barely enough time to complete repairs on their ship as well as get us the supplies we need.
In case you didn't know; the Xavier assisted us in finding the tylium that was recently distributed to the entire fleet," said Roslin in a firm but calm voice.
Julius stared at the female president for a long time then sighed. "If you say so; but the point that I'm trying to make is that the colonial military has been getting the best of everything and the rest of the fleet has been left with scraps. Those supplies should have gone to those who need it the most."
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What an idiot ! Thought Lee as he watched from next door. The CAG was all for helping everyone as much as possible but didn't the Virgon delegate realize that any supplies had to be inspected by the colonial military first?
Just because the fleet had found the Thirteenth Tribe didn't mean all caution should be cast to the wind.
Besides Lee was uncomfortable with how Roslin seemed to be sitting back as Dr Grey was being 'questioned' by the Quorum; it looked as if the crew of the Xavier were on trial.
This didn't give him a good feeling at all.
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"It is early days Delegate Xenner," said Jean in the same calm tone "we'll get to it as soon as we can." Inside her; the Phoenix was irritated and told Jean that Xenner was just a pompous prick.
The female medic agreed wholeheartedly while she kept a neutral expression on her face. Xenner reminded Jean of the paranoid senate members who had been very vocal supporters of the Mutant Registration Law.
Well those dolts are all dead and gone now. Commented Phoenix lazily.
"You mentioned the Federation. Is that your government?" pounced Lance Malfroy of Aerilon.
Dr Grey looked at Oma; the female Starfleet officer began to answer much to the shock of the Aerilon delegate and several of the delegates began to mutter.
"Earth is a member of the United Federation of Planets; an interstellar federal republic..."
"Why is...she speaking?" interrupted Malfroy in an acid tone as he pointed at Ensign Kadretti.
Oma narrowed her eyes. "Sir," her voice was edged.
"I am speaking because I am an appointed member of Starfleet; which is the military arm of the Federation and as part of our training it was required that all cadets learnt the history of the Federation of which Earth played a huge part it."
"And what part is that?" asked an intrigued Zarek. Oma looked at him.
"A certain human known as Captain Jonathan Archer played a key role in Earth being one of the four founding planets when the Federation was created in 2161 A.D; which was 221 years ago. Since then the Federation has grown to 187 planets and 1,082 colonies."
A long moment of silence met the female Starfleet ensign's confident words.
Then this was followed by murmurs of 'that's impossible' with 'she's got to be lying'. Oma felt her face grow warm but she kept her cool.
"And where is the centre of government?" asked Roslin in a neutral tone. She knew of course but wanted someone else to say it for the benefit of those watching.
"Earth," simply answered Oma.
This caused a reaction in the delegates present.
"Earth is the centre of government? So aliens rule Earth?!" Asked Reza Chronicles of Sagittaron, she sounded incensed.
Ensign Kadretti managed not to get flustered. "No, that is not the case. Each member of the Federation has complete autonomy in their way of life and government.
Earth has a central government that is elected every 5 years; as for the Federation, it also has an elected President who can be from any of the 187 member planets or the colonies. The term is for 7 years."
The muttering got louder.
"That's not very reassuring!" blurted Riall Zhalen of Gemenon "what of the religion of Earth? We have heard that you no longer follow the teaching of the Scrolls! This is unacceptable and must be addressed!"
Around the fleet; many who watched became a bit concerned at his words.
Earth did not follow the teachings of the Lords of Kobol?
Oma chose her words with care as she struggled to keep her face calm. Q Junior had warned her about this and she had re-watched the previous meetings Captain Logan and the young Q had with the Admiral and the President. In those meetings; it seemed like the some members of the military were obsessed with religion and the captain had been quick to show them that one's beliefs were the least of their problems right now.
But this was a larger group who seemed determined to start trouble despite what was at stake.
"For me personally; I know nothing of the Scrolls," her words actually struck most of the delegates speechless and had a profound impact on the tens of thousands of colonials watching.
Even Zarek frowned; he had clearly not expected that reply.
Laura smiled dryly; she had to admit that the female Starfleet ensign beside her had guts. Maybe the Academy wasn't so bad afterall.
Oma continued. "On Earth and through-out the Federation there are basic laws that must be kept if one wishes to be part of the Union.
Freedom of personal belief; freedom of movement, anyone can live the way they want as long as it doesn't harm their neighbour or themselves."
Oma paused and looked round the table." Anyone who attempts to impose their will or beliefs on their neighbours will be held accountable."
Yep, thought Laura with an obvious grin, definitely has guts. Oma had just indirectly told this group of pontificating air-heads that they would be making a big mistake if they were thinking of imposing their beliefs on the Federation.
The delegates began to mutter among themselves as Riall stared at the female Starfleet officer as if he could barely believe what she had just said.
"Dr Grey," began Dahlia of Tauron " please understand, we colonials regard our religion as an integral part of us; it has kept us on the path to Earth and has saved us more times that I can recall."
Jean nodded. "I can see that your beliefs are very important and we respect that."
Dahlia wasn't done. "That is good to hear; however of additional concern is the fact that negotiations between your captain and our leaders has not gone well."
Roslin looked sharply at the Tauron delegate who glanced at her before continuing.
Get ready to rumble thought Laura Kinney as she slowly sat up in her chair.
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Lee who was watching in the next room, felt his body go tense. He was concerned by how intently Laura was staring at Dahlia.
Like she was a target.
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Dahlia looked around the table. "For those of you present who may be unaware of recent events, let me explain.
It's come to my notice that first contact between us and the Thirteenth Tribe was made 3 days ago and in that first day a certain high ranking elected official allowed two members of the Thirteenth Tribe to be interrogated physically and mentally by the XO of this battlestar."
There was shocked silence at her words before people began speaking again.
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In the CIC there were worried murmurs and glances towards the XO and Admiral as Saul Tigh stared at the screen while wondering how good it would feel to squeeze the life out of the Tauron delegate and whoever gave her the information.
Bill Adama's face was very grave as he kept watching.
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Dahlia continued "Thank the Lords that the two crew members suffered only mild injuries..."
Mild injuries? I wonder which imbecile told you that! Thought Laura calmly as she glanced at a smug looking Zarek before turning back to watch the dark skinned Tauron speak.
This is going to get ugly. Thought a worried Oma.
"However the brutal act almost caused the Captain of the Xavier to regard us as the enemy of the Thirteenth Tribe; it was only the quick thinking of Ensign Billy Rogers..."
Most people in the medical bay turned to stare at the pole-axed colonial ensign.
"...that ensured that we didn't end up being at war with our brothers and sisters of the Thirteenth Tribe."
Roslin was watching Dahlia with narrowed eyes as if waiting for something.
"But even after that; there have been more incidents between our elected leaders, the leaders of our military and the captain of the Xavier. Incidents which caused him to leave us for a brief and frightening moment because our leaders refused to work with him..."
"That is not true..." began Roslin and Dr Grey at almost the same time but Dahlia continued to speak.
"This has got to stop," muttered Saul Tigh worryingly to the senior Adama.
The Admiral said nothing but kept watching the screen with the rest of the CIC.
"...I can forgive the military for following what they believed to be reasonable orders from our elected leaders..."
Dee found herself gripping her sides of her chair so hard that it hurt. This diplomatic shipwreck couldn't possibly be happening. This had to be a nightmare.
"...but this continuous circle of incompetence which lies squarely at the feet of President Roslin..." Zarek had a slight smug smile on his face "...and Vice president Zarek," the smile suddenly vanished "is preventing us from moving forward which is why I am now calling for a vote of no-confidence in our two elected leaders so that this alliance with our brothers and sisters of Earth can finally become stronger rather than weaker under the current government!"
Lee who was watching with the marines next door gritted his teeth as he tried and failed to prevent himself from swearing.
"I second the motion, we call for a vote of no-confidence!" added Reza a mere second later.
John Cantrell looked at his fellow delegates and nodded as if agreeing.
Zarek was staring at the three delegates as if he could hardly believe what he was hearing and seeing.
Roslin was very pale but looked as well and truly infuriated. She also seemed quite speechless.
On board all 163 colonial ships; people watched and muttered worryingly. This live meeting wasn't giving them the hope they wanted but exactly the opposite.
Dahlia looked around and seemed quite pleased at the expressions on most of the delegates. She opened her mouth to start the vote but someone else beat her to it.
"But that is not all!" shouted Riall startling those standing near him.
"We cannot simply sit here when that...!" he pointed at Ensign Kadretti " dares to tell us who we can and cannot worship!"
Most of the delegates nodded approvingly.
In the medical bay; Rogers stepped closer to the screen. He didn't have to be near Riall to feel and hear the hate and fear that seemed to roll off his essence.
"That...that was not what Oma said," said Helo in concern when he noticed some of the colonials in the medical bay agreeing with the Gemenon delegate.
Laura didn't like the tone of his voice and put both her hands on the table. This colonial was now quite annoying.
Beside her Oma straightened up and lifted her head and fixed him with a challenging light in her eyes.
Everyone was riveted on the delegate of Gemenon; no one noticed Jean's eyes flashed black for a millisecond.
"The Scrolls have stated that if we keep to the commandents; we shall inherit the land and all the riches therein. But first we must follow the true path , destroy all obstacles and never stray!"
There were louder mutters of agreement from most of the delegates and their assistants. Roslin was looking paler by the second, even Zarek had a slight look of concern on his face.
"We are the Children of Kobol! Made in the image of the Lords! Anyone or anything else who appears different like her is an abo..."
"ENOUGH !"
Jean's roar was followed by all the pitchers of water flying up in the air and emptying the liquid contents on all 12 delegates of the 12 Colonies and most of their assistants.
Not one drop landed on Dr Grey, Laura, Oma, Dee, or even the president and vice president or even the camera crew and their equipment.
Stunned silence followed the incident; mostly because the pitchers were still hovering in the air. Riall's mouth was open as he gaped at the heavy floating pitcher that was still aimed at his face.
The silence was broken by someone clapping slowly; everyone turned cautiously to see a furious looking Dr Grey on her feet as she continued clapping for a long moment.
"So this is the Quorum?" her voice was filled with a mixture of surprise and disgust "congratulations on making a fool of yourselves to the entire fleet and also to the Federation."
One of the wet personal assistants turned to the stunned camera crew and started motioning for them to stop filming.
"Oh no; please you will continue transmitting this meeting live," interrupted Jean coldly and the PA froze in his tracks. The film crew were wise not to counteract the pissed off obviously 'strange' female medic of the Thirteenth Tribe.
The female medic turned back to the stunned delegates, she lowered her hands and the pitchers all came down slowly at the same time, hitting the table and making a collective audible sound which made a good number of the delegates jump and wet their pants.
Laura wrinkled her sensitive nose at the stench.
"We three are crew members of the Xavier; and in case you weren't listening the first time let me re-introduce my team. I am Dr Jean Grey, the chief medical officer, Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti is an appointed officer in Starfleet, the military arm of the Federation and Laura Kinney is a Starfleet cadet and we all call Earth our home.
In short; we are representing the Federation if you wish me to clarify it even further!"
Her last words were said with a small growl. She took a deep breath and spoke in a calmer but hard voice.
"And I will be very upset with anyone that intends to verbally or physically attack a member of my team or crew because they look or sound different!"
Jean glared at a certain Gemenon delegate as if emphasizing a point.
Riall of Gemenon looked as if he was about to pass out.
"Now first of all let me correct an earlier statement made by Delegate Dahlia of Tauron; when the Xavier left the fleet, it was in the company of two colonial vipers piloted by two of your crew."
Everyone who was watching was very quiet.
"That had been a joint mission to find out more about the cylons, Captain Logan, the crew of the Xavier and the colonial officers who joined us put their lives on the line to obtain valuable intel that helped this fleet tremendously!"
She's really pissed thought Lee as the female medic kept speaking.
"Second, let me once again make it clear why we are here on this battlestar meeting with you," Jean pronounced each word distinctly as if she was speaking to a class of idiots "we came here to discuss how best to help the colonial fleet.
The help we were planning to discuss was on how to provide the entire fleet with food, medication, clothes and water as well as offer assistance in repairs and defence."
On every colonial ship the silence continued as tens of thousands of colonials listened as if spell-bound.
"What we didn't expect was to be used as pawns in a political game which frankly none of us are interested in or even have time for, because in case you have forgotten," she pointed "out there are 163 ships including this one that are filled with people who are depending on you lot behaving like intelligent, responsible adults!"
A good number of the wet dripping colonial delegates seemed to wince at her words.
"Make no mistake; the road to Earth is going to be long and very hard, however you have a much better chance of getting there if you get the affairs of your house in order and work together." Jean didn't look at her team mates but to everyone's surprise Laura and Oma stood up at the same time with a pale looking Lieutenant Dualla.
"So for now; we'll grant you some privacy, when you're ready to really talk, give us a call" the four females walked out while the Quorum continued to stare at them in silence.
All viewers watched as Dr Grey and her team left the room and the transmission stopped abruptly. In many places colonials huddled and spoke, worried about this meeting may have affected the Alliance with Earth.
But in a certain abandoned part of the Galactica; Sirius Pontius saluted the screen to the astonishment of his followers.
"The Oracle has spoken; she finds the leadership and the Quorum directionless and in possession of the collective brain activity of a single lab rodent," he smiled coldly at his fellow Sons of Ares "but she in her wisdom has given them one more chance to redeem themselves.
But; as we all know, the Quorum and the President will waste this opportunity and when that happens, the Oracle will need us to clear the path of those who obstruct the will of our Lord Ares." He looked around and saw everyone nod silently in agreement.
"So we plan; we learn as much as possible and when it is time, we'll liberate the Oracle and strike at our government. This is it men; we cannot afford to fail so throw your hearts and souls into your assignments. The salvation of our people depends on us."
"May Ares guide us until death," said one of the members solemnly.
"So say we all," replied Sirius and every other Son of Ares.
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Lee had watched the water pouring with a slack jaw; he thought he heard someone mutter the words 'the Oracle!' But he wasn't sure because his attention was solely on the unbelievable image in-front of him.
Part of him stated that logically it had to be a weapon of some kind while the other slightly insane part of him was wondering what kind of person Dr Grey was.
He listened with reluctance admiration as she blatantly dressed down the entire Quorum. Even though she didn't include Roslin and Zarek, he could see how stunned they were. Neither had dared uttered a word while Dr Grey spoke.
Lee headed for the exit when he realized Dr Grey and her team were leaving. He emerged in time to see a most unusual and remarkable image.
The four marines who had been guarding the door were saluting Dr Grey as if she was a high ranking colonial officer. The female medic stopped and was staring at the stone faced marines. Then she inclined her head respectively.
"Thank you ; for your respect." The two marines completed the crisp salute before returning to their posts.
Oma, Laura and Dee were giving the colonial marines odd looks.
"Dr Grey; are you leaving us?" said Lee a bit nervously.
Before replying, Jean sighed and looked back at the closed doors of the conference room. "Honestly ? I have a strong urge to do so...but we have a lot of work to do. Besides; I need to check up on Dr Cottle to see if the supplies we brought were the sort he wanted."
Lee failed to hide his relief. "Of cause; I'm certain he would only be too happy to see you and your team."
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Dee eventually remembered to breathe when they left the conference room. Earlier on; when the pitchers went into the air and poured water on the delegates, she had almost shouted in alarm.
What stopped her was a calm dark voice in her head.
Don't worry; we're just teaching them a harmless lesson.
Then there was the sensation of the presence leaving her mind and Dee unconsciously reached out to it.
Who are you? Dee found herself thinking back.
There was a feeling of surprise then the presence was back before it replied joyfully.
Well, well , well! A latent developer! I have to tell the others.
Tell the others what ? Panicked Dee. Who...what are you ?!
Oh silly me! My name is Phoenix and the others are my friends and the good news is that you're like us...a mutant. Welcome to the family sister.
Dee was certain she was going mad before the same voice told her to get up and leave with Dr Grey and the others. The female colonial officer almost forgot about the voice when the four marines outside suddenly gave Dr Grey a military salute.
They could all see it stunned the female medic but Dee was pleased at Dr Grey's response. It made Dee wonder about the doctor. She was obviously a fighter and was very protective of her crew members...almost as if they were family. Then Dee recalled how she had been floating in the CIC before two basestars and hundreds of raiders were destroyed.
May the Gods help anyone who came between Dr Grey and her 'family'!
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Dr Grey was silent as she walked to the medical bay. She appeared calm on the outside but inside she was kicking herself.
When the meeting started; the last thing she wanted to do was to scare the Quorum, part of her could relate to how frightened they already were. They had lost everything and only a fraction of their people remained and to add to that; they had their enemies on their tails.
Still that was no excuse for their xenophobic attitude. If they thought Oma was 'strange' ; she wondered how they would react when they found out about 'mutants'.
And that was another thing Jean was worried about, the collective attitude of the Quorum reminded her of the mutant discrimination on 21 century Earth. Such discrimination that had almost led to an extermination program against mutants until the created human sentinels attacked mutants as well as turning against their creators who happened to be humans.
And the Eugenics War wasn't enough to unite the human race; it took a devastating third World War before most of the human race agreed to stop hating themselves.
But the colonials could not afford to lose any more of their people but there was a real risk of a witch hunt if such delegates like Riall whipped up a religious frenzy which could lead to targeting mutants or anyone who appeared different.
Jean sighed; different millennia ,same crap!
Wanna hear some good news? Asked the Phoenix tentatively.
Jean sent an inquiry to the entity.
Well; it looks like I just found another mutant. Jean almost stopped in her tracks.
Who? She asked mentally. The Phoenix seemed to laugh and told her.
Jean couldn't help herself; she turned to look at Lieutenant Dualla- Adama for a long moment, the colonial officer was asking Oma some questions about Starfleet Academy so didn't notice the scrutiny.
The female telepath sent a tentative mental thought then withdrew immediately, Dee faltered in her steps and looked around as if searching for something before her gaze fell on Dr Grey, her eyes widened then she quickly turned back to a baffled Oma who was giving the colonial officer an odd look.
Astonishing. Thought Dr Grey.
I know right?! Replied the Phoenix gleefully. You felt it didn't you?
Jean nodded; at times when communicating with people with no telephatic ability, she had to remain in a part of their mind for them to reply. That was how she spoke to Logan sometimes and once she left the mind of such a person they couldn't speak to her unless Jean initiated contact.
But with Lieutenant Dualla- Adama; it was completely different. When she had withdrawn from the female colonial's mind, the officer had actually 'reached' out to try and re-connect. The way it was done was clumsy as if Dualla was doing it unconsciously.
She's a latent telepath; obviously not in the league of Professor X or ourselves but she's a mutant! The Phoenix seemed beside herself with joy.
Dr Grey glanced at Lieutenant Adama again; she seemed a bit agitated.
I have to say something. Jean opened her mouth to speak.
"Dr Grey?"
Logan's voice came from Jean's com-badge and everyone looked at her.
She smiled a little at the tightly controlled edge in his voice. He was trying to hide his worry. Come to think of it; she was so glad he had not pulled them out via the transporters. That would have been unwise.
"Captain Logan; we're here." Lee glanced at Dr Grey unable to hide his own concern.
"Good to hear," he sounded a bit relaxed but that didn't fool Jean one bit "should we prepare for your arrival?"
In summary he really wanted them to come back right away. Jean saw Laura cover her mouth as her shoulders moved up and down as if she was trying to control the urge to laugh.
"No need captain; we'll be checking on Dr Cottle, Mr Rogers and Mr Agathon. I will alert you in an hour about when we're returning to the Xavier."
There was silence for a long moment.
"Duly noted; will keep the line open," said Logan calmly but she could hear the resignation in his voice.
Jean couldn't help herself as she replied jauntily. "Aye aye sir."
That did it; Laura burst out laughing to the amazement of Lee and the colonial personnel escorting them. Oma had a small embarrassed smile on her face.
On the Xavier; Logan rolled his eyes as the bridge was filled with Laura's laughter. Sharon turned to Q Junior.
"Does...aye, aye mean something?"
The hologram shrugged. "It's an old Earth sea-term; kinda hard to explain. You could ask Laura when she gets back."
Sharon's expression stated no thank you very much!
Kara was watching the captain who seemed more amused than annoyed at the casual reply from the doctor.
Just what kind of relationship did he have with the doctor ?
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USS Dunkirk; crew's quarters...
Shran hummed an old klingon tune to himself as he entered his room. It was odd how some people thought klingon music was all harsh and guttural if it had vocals but actually there were some very pleasant ballads that many would appreciate.
The andorian was in the process of removing his upper tunic when a sound came from his vid-com. Shran walked over to it to see he had received a large file. He frowned when he saw who the sender was.
Lieutenant Harrison.
Now that was quick; because he had only spoken to the man an hour ago. Shran had asked if he could have a copy of the debriefing of Ensign Kadretti and Cadet Kinney. Come to think of it, Harrison's reply had been a bit odd when he responded with a question.
"Why do you want the debriefing?"
Shran had been a bit taken aback by the question but had replied. "Because I'm the tactical officer of the USS Dunkirk and I need to know exactly what we may be facing when we get there." He hadn't added because he was worried about Kadretti as she was his friend as well; Shran had a funny feeling that Harrison wouldn't approve.
Not that his approval mattered anyway; but why make unnecessary trouble?
Harrison had studied him for a long uncomfortable moment before replying that he would send it over as soon as he could, before Shran could say another word; the intelligence officer had left.
Shran had out the whole matter from his mind because he had other things to worry about. His counterparts on the IKS Y'tem and the USS Prometheus wanted to have a meeting; the main problem was where to have the meeting without upsetting anyone. In the end Lieutenant Commander Demarce had suggested they go over to the IKS Y'tem; that had of cause pleased the klingon tactical officer a lot.
Telev made himself a drink as he uploaded Harrison's vid-notes. He sat down with the drink as he pressed play and Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti's face appeared on the screen.
45 seconds into the recorded debriefing and Telev forgot about the drink in his hand; by the time it got half way Oma's debriefing the andorian forced himself to drop his drink before he was tempted to crush the un-offending replicated chalice.
Shran had to pause the recording; then he stood up and paced for a short time.
Lieutenant Harrison was a complete idiot!
His debriefing had been so wrong! He had no right to try and tear Oma apart !
Shran was seriously thinking of looking for Harrison and demanding to know what he had been trying to prove! The Lieutenant Commander took a deep breath as he tried to calm down. He had to remember he was a tactical officer and before you went after anyone or anything; you got intel first.
Shran sat down and angrily resumed play; he felt his anger grow when he saw Oma's dropped stiff shoulders. He didn't have to be a bloody empath to realize that the harsh un-constructive criticism from Lieutenant Harrison had affected her a lot.
Then in walked Laura Kinney.
When Shran heard her first words, it startled him for a moment then he started smiling evilly as the 13 year old mutant began to tear Harrison a new one.
The response of the Intelligence officer was priceless!
Shran now more at ease leaned forward to watch Laura Kinney's debriefing. He nodded when it was completed.
He was still going to confront Harrison but first he was going to get someone else's input on this debriefing. He pressed his com-badge.
"Commander Shila Atavi?"
"Huh...Shran is that you?" answered a sleepy feminine voice.
"Yes it is; I'm so sorry to wake you but please could we meet when your rest period is over?"
Shila sighed. "My rest ends in about two hours. You're sure you can wait that long?"
"Yes I can," said Shran as he made a copy of the debriefing.
"Shran what's going on? I can come over now if needed." The orion sounded a bit concerned even though she had just woken ups.
"It's just Oma's debriefing and I..."
"Wow! You got her debriefing and you're just telling me?!" squealed Shila; she was definitely awake now. "Hold on; I'm coming over right now!"
"You don't have to..."began Shran before he realized he had been dis-connected.
In less than 20 mins; Shila was in his quarters. Shran gave a sigh of relief when he saw that she was wearing casual Starfleet uniform. He had half expected her to come down the corridor is her sleep wear...which he really shouldn't be thinking about!
"Have you told Cassius? He should be here; he's been wanting to speak to her since we made contact !"
That had been virtually impossible because the Dunkirk had only made live contact with the Xavier a few times and each transmission had not lasted long enough for Oma to speak to everyone.
Shran knew that she had only got a few minutes privacy with her parents but that had only been once because unfortunately there were more important things that needed to be discussed about with the crew of the Xavier.
Things like location; any more intel about the cylons, the state of the colonial fleet and any other potential hazards.
To be fair to the crew of the Xavier; they had done a damn good job with what they had to work with and it was going to take a lot of time to go through the data they had already sent the Dunkirk and the Prometheus.
"I haven't told Cassius...because of what's on the debriefing."
Shila frowned at her friend's hesitation. "What's on the debriefing?"
Shran pointed towards the desk view-screen. "It's best you see it for yourself."
Half way through Oma's recorded debriefing had Shila pausing the viewing so that she could swear fluently in her native language. Shran's eyes widened at some of her very descriptive curses.
Harrison would have been in a lot of trouble if he had walked in at that very moment.
"Shila," began Shran in a soothing voice " continue watching; trust me it gets better." She stared at him for a long moment before pressing 'play' on the view-screen.
The two senior officers watched Oma's debriefing and then Laura Kinney's own started.
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"Cadet Laura Kinney reporting for debriefing."
Lieutenant Harrison's voice sounded a bit disproving as he responded.
"I believe that sentence should end with Lieutenant or sir."
The girl tilted her head to one side before replying. "I'll call you that when you earn it."
"You expect me to earn...your respect?" asked Harrison slowly as if surprised.
"I'll let you figure that one out for yourself," came the reply from Laura.
There was silence 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 ?"
"What?" Harrison sounded taken aback by her choice of words.
Laura kept silent as if waiting for an answer.
The intelligence officer sighed before answering. "Yes; I have."
"Then you do know that constructive criticism keeps the body count down as well as gives favourable results," continued Laura before he had finished speaking.
"You don't even know the content of her debriefing," responded the Intelligence officer.
"I'll find out soon enough but I know bullshit when I see it."
There was stunned silence for a long moment as Laura continued to stare defiantly at the Starfleet Intelligence officer.
"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's voice was a bit harsh as he replied. "You done Cadet?"
Laura's eyes were hard as she maintained eye contact.
"For now...yes, I'm done."
The Intelligence officer took a deep breath before starting the debriefing.
"You were selected for the infiltration into the enemy basestar."
"Yeah and?" responded Laura calmly. Harrison bit his lower lip as if stopping himself from correcting her casual insolence.
"Give me a brief rundown of the mission."
Cadet Laura Kinney answered in a laid-back manner which was eerily similar to how her father spoke.
"Yesterday which was the 16th of November 2382; at exactly 0400hrs the Xavier reached enemy territory. A team of six was assembled; we hijacked a raider's signal, snuck on-board a basestar, rescued a baby, a cylon defector and two colonial prisoners of war and high tailed it back to the Xavier while blowing up a resurrection ship in the process. The end."
Harrison's expression indicated he wanted a more 'formal' specific report but it looked like Laura wasn't going to be pushed.
"Then what happened next?" asked the Intelligence officer through gritted teeth.
"Q Junior boosted the warp drive temporarily to get us to the colonial fleet but our speed was affected by the wormhole appearing for a brief moment before we were able to resume our journey."
Harrison was seen raising his hands as if asking her to continue. "And?"
"We got to the colonial fleet; the captain, Dr Grey, Ensign Q Junior three of the colonial officers and the baby left on the shuttle to warn the brass on the Galactica. However the cylons appeared shortly afterwards and all hell broke loose. To cut a long story short we won." Laura's face was deadpan as she reported but Harrison looked as if he was trying not to lose his temper.
"Cadet Kinney...your method of reporting is not...exactly detailed or informative enough."
Laura raised an eyebrow. "You want an essay?
Harrison seemed to go slightly red at her very casual inquiry.
"No; but surely your past training must have involved how to summarize a mission..."
"My training," interrupted Laura in a deceptive soft tone "what exactly do you know about my past training?" Her manner had changed from easy going to being very alert.
Harrison stared at her for a long moment. "You know what I'm talking about."
The female teen gave him a cold smile. "Enlighten me." It seemed as if she was mocking him.
A staring match ensued and Harrison was the first one to look away.
"Fine; let's redo the report on the battle that resulted in four base-stars being destroyed and do be concise in your reporting," his tone was authoritative but the smirk Laura gave him implied she wasn't impressed.
"Well since you wish me to be more concise; Ensign Kadretti had the conn when we were attacked. She called out evasive and attack manoeuvres which I used to shoot as many of the enemy as possible. However the enemy tried repeatedly to jump within our shields to detonate their anti-matter nukes.
Before our shield hit 70 percent; Kadretti called out a modified Picard manoeuvre which took down two basestars, however due to the barrage our shields were still taking we couldn't repeat that move again...then all of a sudden two more basestars and 650 raiders just exploded." Laura made a 'boom' sound as she demonstrated with her hands.
To anyone looking; it would seem as if she wasn't taking it seriously. From the expression on Harrison's face, he appeared to be thinking the same thing.
"And you don't know what caused that?"
Laura smiled widely. "Wouldn't you like to know? Anyway; at the end of the day, I realize that not all of us are qualified 'starfleeters'..." The officer watching her winced at the nickname "...but considering what we had to deal with; don't cha think we did good?" She raised an eyebrow as if daring him to disagree.
There was silence for a long moment before the Intelligence officer spoke again. "It is indeed fortunate that you were able to survive this long but there's need for a lot of improvement."
Laura nodded as if agreeing. "It's funny...but your last words could also apply to you as well Mr Harrison."
It took a while before the senior officer could trust himself to answer curtly and end the debriefing abruptly. The last image left a frozen smug smile of Cadet Laura Kinney.
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Shila was silent for several seconds before turning to face Shran.
"I. Like. Her."
The andorian grinned. "Why am I not surprised?"
"I mean...I know her attitude was this close to outright insubordination but with an...individual like Harrison" Shila was really trying very hard not to swear "who can blame her? And what the hell did he mean by her 'past training'?"
Shran had a thoughtful look on his face. "Harrison knows a lot more about her , Captain Logan and Dr Grey...information that he hasn't shared with us."
Shila gave the tactical officer a cynical look. "He's Intelligence; they give you only piecemeal bits of info and watch you run round in circles for their own twisted amusement. Anyway what I'm interested about is what we're going to do with this debriefing, because how Harrison handled this was completely out of order and he needs to be called out on it."
Shran nodded. "I agree but we need to do it carefully," he saw the annoyed look Shila sent his way. "My dear friend; I really want to teach him a lesson but do recall he's going to be with us for more than four months and we need to find out what information he's keeping from us about the crew of the Xavier."
Shran saw the struggle on Shila's face. He knew she wanted to confront Harrison immediately but he hoped she saw reason.
Finally after a long moment; she sighed. "Fine; we'll do it your way but I expect to be informed every step of the way and also we have to give Cassius a chance to talk to Oma. The poor boy is going out of his mind about her."
Shran nodded absently as he stared at the frozen image of Laura; his mind was on how the girl had reacted to some words uttered by Lieutenant Harrison...as if she was preparing for battle. He also recalled the vids that Q Junior had sent them about the basestar infiltration.
Shran had been shocked by how Laura and her father had systematically cut down the cylons and centurions. The girl looked barely thirteen years old; so what kind of training had she received? When had it started and who was the psycho that subjected a child to having metal bound to her bones?
"Yes; I'll think of something," said the andorian tactical officer absentmindedly.
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Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great week! Its getting really cold and snowy in some areas! Brrrrh! It's winter alright!
Hope you like the story; just wanted to do a brief flashback to a past chapter when Laura gave Harrison a piece of her mind! Please read and enjoy!
