Chapter 44 of the Phoenix and the Wolverine
(Hi this a short one; hope you like it !)
The Xavier, the holodeck…
Six stared at the impossibility before her. The swords kept rotating around Eric Lensherr, there was a smug grin on his face.
"Please tell me this is some sort of a joke" said Baltar in a stunned voice. Charles Xavier sighed. "Eric and I…we're mutants."
Six finally snapped. "And this has been a waste of my valuable time." Her voice was cold and laden with rage. To her amazement the hologram known as Eric Lensherr laughed, the knives kept rotating at the same speed.
"I guess you're not half as smart as I thought you were," he looked beyond her to see the grim smiles on Anders and Kara's faces.
The two colonial officers glanced at each other and both agreed without saying anything that they loved Eric Lensherr in that very moment.
Six was trying not to tremble with rage. She has wanted to fast-forward the history lesson to learn more about Earth and her cylon ancestors but what was before them was a joke and a lie.
Was she being punished because she just wanted more relevant information? Just how stupid did Captain Logan think she was?
"Xavier," she called, Charles moved forward she lifted up a hand to stop him as she looked at the ceiling. "Not you…I'm speaking to your ship's hybrid."
Kara exchanged another bemused look at Anders. If only Six knew.
"Yes Miss Six, how can I assist you…?"
"I want to speak to the captain now!"
There was a significant pause before the ship's A.I spoke again.
"That may not be advisable, he is currently unavailable…"
"I don't care!" yelled Six who had clearly lost her patience. "You will get him right now because this has gone on long enough!"
Anders stared opened mouthed at the female cylon while Kara covered her mouth to hold in her laughter. Even Baltar looked at Six as if she had lost her mind. Anders wondered if Six realized how dangerous Logan was.
Even the hologram of Professor Charles Xavier had a mildly startled look on his face as he silently watched the angry female cylon.
"I shall endeavor to contact him; please stand by."
Oh she's gonna get thrown off this ship, thought Anders with malicious glee.
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The bridge…
Logan had a grim look on his face as he stared at the crystal clear view-screen. It showed a shuttle flying towards the battle scarred Galactica, on board was Q Junior with the third shipment of much needed medical supplies for the colonial refugees. Logan had been listening to the news all morning and what he was hearing was almost making him regret helping these colonials at all in the first place. Just how stupid were the colonial news-anchors?
His train of thought was disrupted as the turbolift opened behind him. Logan turned in time to see Helo step out carrying a babbling baby Hera. The little girl cooed when she saw the captain and she stretched out her hands towards male mutant. Helo looked down at his baby girl in amazement and looked up at the captain who actually appeared a bit scared of the babbling infant.
"I think she wants you to carry her," said Helo in a tentative tone. To his growing amazement Logan hesitated before speaking.
"Maybe that won't be such a…"
"Captain Logan, sorry to interrupt." The A.I actually sounded apologetic.
"No problem," said the male mutant as he hid his relief at not having to carry a baby. Helo kissed the dark top of his daughter's hair to hide his own smile at the captain's discomfort.
"Caprica Six is demanding to speak to you right now."
Helo saw a frown appear on the captain's face.
"Is there a problem on the holo-deck?" asked Logan softly.
"She appears to be infuriated by the current historical data she and the others are experiencing. Shall I tell her that you are otherwise occupied?"
Helo was a bit stunned at the A.I's words, it was clear to any human currently watching Logan that the captain appeared a bit irritated or even annoyed.
However the A.I had already come to that assumption without even Logan saying anything. Just how perceptive was Xavier ?
Logan took time before replying. "No, put me through to the holodeck."
"Yes Captain."
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Baltar was trying to keep an eye on Eric Lensherr as the swords revolved around him and also keep an eye on Six who was busy pacing up and down with a murderous look of rage on her face. He spared a quick glance at Anders and Starbuck who appeared amused by the female cylon's antics.
The colonial scientist now felt a bit confused, could it be that all this was an elaborate ruse ? To what purpose, if the captain hadn't wanted them to know anything he would have thrown him and Caprica into a cell and conveniently forgotten about them.
"So you're a scientist?" asked Professor Charles Xavier who suddenly inserted himself in front of Baltar thus blocking his view of a calm looking Eric Lensherr. Baltar forced himself to return to the present as he focused on the person in front of him. It was hard to believe that he was staring at a holographic form.
"Yes," he answered in a stunned voice "PhDs in bio-chemical engineering and evolution of computer programming. Yet I am astonished as to how real you look…"he then touched Charles' chest and his voice faltered at actually feeling something solid under his palm. "…and how real you feel."
He missed the narrowing of Eric's eyes and after what seemed like an eternity Baltar removed his hand.
"It's the wonders of Starfleet technology…" Baltar opened his mouth "which unfortunately I cannot talk about," said Charles with a reluctant smile on his face.
"Oh stop wasting your breath!" snapped Six "This entire place and so called history is fake ! So don't bother asking that poor excuse of a program about anything!"
Charles looked quickly at Eric who had a predatory light in his eyes as he looked at the female cylon.
A large floating holo-screen appeared before anyone could say a word. Captain's Logan's face appeared on the screen and he wasn't smiling. However Six didn't give him time to speak.
'Finally! I have had enough, we have wasted time in watching this fake history of Earth ! How do you expect me to work with you when…?"
"What makes you think it's fake?" interrupted Logan in a deceptively calm voice. Six's face reddened with anger.
"It's pretty obvious.."
"Is it?" cut in Logan a second time "The fact that you think my history is false is hilarious considering the fact that you have never been to Earth to verify the facts." Though he spoke softly there was an underlying steel tone that had Six hesitating before saying more.
"Here is something else that seems a bit funny," all listening could tell that Logan was obviously not amused by this discussion "you asked me about Earth's history and I warned you to be careful what you wished for.
Now, I don't have to prove myself or my planet's history to you. Since your current environment is not to your taste; it might actually be better if you return to your quarters and be confined there." Though he started off in a calm even tone, by the end of it he was almost growling.
Starbuck struggled not to laugh at the pale expression on Six's face and she knew the female cylon wasn't going to back down. Any further words from Six were definitely going to land her into more trouble.
" If I may intrude," said Charles Xavier in a soothing tone. Logan turned to look at him and for a brief moment his expression changed to one of regret.
"Professor Xavier, how can I help you?" Starbuck's eye narrowed because she could have sworn that there was actually respect in Logan's voice when he addressed the holographic projection. Who had Charles Xavier been to Logan ?
"Well, for starters you could help by not confining Caprica Six and Dr Baltar to their quarters." Everyone stared at Charles Xavier in surprise.
He hurried on to explain. "It's only natural for one not born on Earth to struggle with the knowledge that mutants exist. I mean even us mutants were astonished each time we met other mutants with their distinct and often times outstanding abilities. All I ask is for time to show Six and Baltar our history," he turned to look at them " and if at the end of it they still don't believe then they can return to their quarters."
Logan appeared a bit taken aback by Xavier's request and was silent for a long moment.
"Well, trust Charles to always see the good in people," said Eric Lensherr dryly as he calmly returned the floating swords to the display on the nearby wall before walking over to stand before the holo-screen "however I agree with the captain that maybe Six and her companions should be removed from the holo-deck. Our history is wasted on them."
Logan's face hardened as he started at the dark haired man in the black turtleneck. "Magneto." His voice was anything but friendly.
Eric smiled coldly at him. "Logan, seeing you as a captain of this vessel is quite a surprise…and an improvement."
Anyone could tell these two were not friends…or had never been friends.
"Eric please," muttered Charles wearily as he rubbed his forehead.
Logan maintained eye contact with Eric Lensherr. "The decision to continue lies with Six and Baltar."
"W...we'll stay," stammered Baltar. There was silence for a long moment as they waited Logan's reply.
"Fine, if I have any more interruptions I will extract both of you from the holodeck." The captain of the Xavier signed off without further ado.
Starbuck exchanged a frustrated look with her husband. What the frak had gone wrong? This had been the perfect opportunity to get Six thrown off the ship or at least tossed into the brig !
"Now shall we resume the tour?" asked Charles in a cheerful voice.
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Six had remained silent for a number of reasons. She had been furious when she had demanded to speak to Logan and part of her was still seething but right now she just wanted to slap herself.
There was no way to verify if what she was seeing was real without getting to Earth but a little voice was telling her attitude had strained the very complicated relationship between her and the crew of this ship. She had almost gotten herself and Baltar confined to their quarters only to be saved at the last moment by a hologram!
Six felt embarrassed and quite stupid…because if all this history of Earth's mutants was really real then she had just been about to throw away a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn something very important.
"Em, yeah," said Baltar "ready when you are."
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"Now as I stated earlier the date we will start from is August 11th 1962, the school has only been open for a week and we are still figuring out the curriculum," continued Charles as they moved into the spacious mansion.
Which was 420 years ago thought Starbuck silently; she had been keeping track of Earth's calendar and besides the hologram had told them today's date was November 20th 2382.
"How many students go here?" asked Anders who had decided to start asking some questions.
"Seven of us including Eric and myself…"
"Agent MacTaggert is hardly a mutant or a student," cut in Eric in a menacing tone. Charles didn't back down from his tone.
"I agree she's not a mutant but she is learning about the mutant race just as much as the rest of us."
"Hang on, who's Agent MacTaggert ?" asked Six.
"She a CIA operative," Eric saw their confused expressions. "The CIA stands for Central Intelligence Agency, which deals in intelligence gathering and is or was involved in the defense of the United States of America."
"The United States of what?" asked a confused Starbuck.
"The USA is one of the countries of Earth, but we will come to that later," explained Charles. Anders and Kara stared a bemused look, the 'USA' must be a territory or something like Caprica City of Caprica planet.
"I had no idea we had guests," everyone turned to the see a striking slim young woman dressed in a green tank top and grey jogging pants with white sneakers. She had her strawberry blonde hair tied up in a ponytail.
"Everyone, this is my sister Raven…also known as Mystique." She waved to them as Charles introduced her.
"Hi, what's the occasion ? Are you new students?'
Eric laughed dryly. "Not exactly." Raven gave her brother a questioning look.
"They are here to learn about Earth's history and how the school started."
Raven's eyes narrowed and she looked at the three colonials and one cylon for a long moment. "I see, well have fun." She turned to go.
"Wait what's your ability?" asked Baltar.
"Nothing important," said Raven as she tried to leave.
"On come now Raven, you gave yourself the codename 'Mystique'…surely that means something pretty special," drawled Eric.
"Eric if she doesn't want to show her ability, it's nothing to…"started Charles.
"Hey; I can answer for myself," snapped Raven as she glared at a smug looking Eric Lensherr, then she turned to Baltar and started walking slowly towards him.
"You want to know what I can do? Fine," then in one fluid moment her skin rippled like there were blue scales underneath and she turned into an exact twin of Gaius Baltar.
Starbuck and Anders found their hands automatically going towards their empty holsters at the startling transformation.
"That's….that's…." the colonial scientist was finding it hard to get the words out.
"Impossible," answered Raven in a voice that was identical to Baltar's. Then she looked at Six and the skin rippled with the underlying blue scales before she changed to look exactly like the female cylon. She looked at Anders and Starbuck and turned into duplicates of the two pilots before resuming her original image.
"Ah, but you still haven't shown us the real you," said Eric with a hard edge to his smile. Raven shot a dark look at him and saw the open challenge on his face, she kept glaring at him for a long moment before changing once more. Her skin rippled again to turn completely dark blue with overlapping tiny scales and her brown eyes were now reptilian yellow with dark slits. Her hair was now shoulder length and a deep red.
Six found her jaw dropping while Kara didn't know whether to curse or pray. Baltar adjusted his glasses as if he wasn't sure what he was looking at while Anders was just as speechless.
"Isn't she perfect?" asked Eric in a reverent tone. Meanwhile Charles who had remained silent appeared a bit uncomfortable.
Raven looked at each of the four strangers before them as if she was recording their reactions. Then her gaze dropped to the floor.
"I gotta go," she practically ran from them as if embarrassed.
A long uncomfortable silence followed. "And that was…Raven," said Charles Xavier awkwardly.
Six now looked at him in a new light and with a bit of horror as well.
"Wait, you're just like her ? You can change like her ?" to her dismay she sounded a bit hysterical.
"Oh no," said Charles "I have a different ability which is reading minds but since I'm just a holographic image your thoughts are currently inaccessible."
He's an…or he was an oracle ?! Just how many did Earth have? It looked like the Lords of Kobol had blessed the Thirteenth Tribe with so many gifts. Thought a stunned Kara; she desperately wanted to ask him what his beliefs were and if he was like Dr Jean Grey; but definitely not in-front of the cylon bitch and the Number One Traitor known as Baltar!
She glanced quickly at Anders and saw the frustration on his face as he looked at Xavier and then at Six and Baltar. To her relief her husband kept his trap shut.
Maybe they could come back in later when Six and Gaius weren't around. That thought made Kara stop and check herself; she couldn't believe she was actually thinking of coming back in here to ask another A.I for advice!
If she had encountered this program three weeks ago; she would have probably died trying to plant a bomb on this ship.
Kara's thoughts were interrupted by their current location, they had just gone through two large double wooden and glass doors to what appeared to be a large garden.
"And right now the boys are outside practising on how to control their skills…" Charles words were cut short by a loud bang that sounded quite close.
"While failing spectacularly at it," drawled Eric in a bored tone as Charles quickly turned the corner to investigate. Six and Gaius looked at each other for a moment before running after him, Kara and Anders weren't far behind.
Starbuck once again found herself wishing she was armed ; even though she knew that the holodeck safety protocol was on. Their small group didn't have far to run as Charles had already stopped. He was facing three young men who ranged from ages of late teens to early twenties.
One of them was tall and gangly with dark brown hair and thick framed spectacles, he was dressed in a grey tracksuit and was currently trying to put out a small flower hedge that was on fire while a blond male teen also in a grey tracksuit stood by three lare wooden mounted circular structures with an expression of frustration on his face. The third and youngest looking male was a redhead with freckles and he was also in a grey tracksuit. He was clapping slowly.
"Way to go Summers, congrats once again on missing the three biggest bulleyes targets from just 3 feet away for the one millionth time." The blond male glared at the redhead while Kara was trying to process the odd accent the male redhead had.
"Banshee just shut it before I blast you too."
The redhead grinned "oh really ? You can't hit a target that's as big as a house and you think you can touch me."
Summers had murder in his eyes. " For you I'll make sure not to miss."
The redhead's chuckled softly. "Then, Let's go arsehole." Banshee took a fighting stance and opened his mouth louder.
"No, no boys; what did I say was our number one rule?!" Everyone apart from Eric was startled by the loud firm question that came from the mild looking professor.
Summers and Banshee looked at each other before reluctantly turning to face the young Charles Xavier.
"No fighting with each other," the answer came from the bespectacled young man who had finally turned off the fire-extinguisher.
"I want to hear it from both of you," said Charles as he kept glaring at the two teenagers before him. It took a long moment however the two young men finally spoke at almost the same time.
"No fighting with each other."
Charles seemed to calm down. " Good."
"Yeah, whatever," snapped Summers " who the hell are these guys?"
"Are you the ones you got Mystique upset?" asked Banshee at the same time.
"They are visitors and how did you know they were here?" asked Eric.
Banshee answered in the odd accent. ' Mystique blew through here before Summers messed up his targeting again for the umpteenth time. When I ask her who put a bee in her bonnet she just said 'we have visitors'"
"I have to ask; do you always talk that way? I just can't place your accent," said Baltar. Banshee looked at the colonial scientist as if he was insane.
"Can't place my accent?"
"That's because little Sean here is from the place where Leprechauns spring from," said Summers snidely while ignoring the deadly look the redheaded teen sent his way.
Kara couldn't help herself. "Leprechauns ?" It was now the turn of Summers and Banshee to give her the look.
"You haven't heard of the little green men who just love their gold and clover leaves?" added Eric with a raised eyebrow and a mocking tone.
Charles sighed and began to explain before another incident occurred. "Sean Cassidy is from the Republic of Ireland, his nation has folklore about leprechauns…think of them as little fairy creatures" he saw the confounded expressions on their faces "…and I can tell you have no idea what I'm talking about."
"Do these…leprechauns have anything to do with this facility?" asked Baltar in a serious tone. A moment passed before Summers and Cassidy burst out laughing. Even Eric had an amused expression on his face.
"No; they don't," answered Charles in a patient tone "as I said before they belong to Irish Folklore…"
"I heard you the first time," said Baltar a bit impatiently " it's just that you have already shown us things that I thought only existed in Sci-fi t.v shows or fantasy novels and movies and to you…" he paused " to you and the people of the Thirteenth Colony, this is reality."
The quiet tall young man still holding the fire extinguisher frowned. " The Thirteenth Colony? Where is that ?"
Six stared at him. " That is Earth and you are?" The boy's face reddened and he opened his mouth to answer.
"Dr Hank McCoy; our resident brilliant biochemist and budding genetist, also a mutant," said Eric Lensherr before the young man could answer. Six glanced back at Lensherr before turning back to the flustered young man.
"So what is your ability?"
Kara noticed that Summers had a smirk on his face as McCoy appeared to be more uncomfortable with answering.
"I...I would rather not say; just take my word for it," said the young scientist as he dropped the extinguisher in a corner.
"On that note; would Summers and Cassidy like to demonstrate their abilities?" asked Charles thus taking attention away from the flustered Dr McCoy.
The two younger boys looked at each other briefly; then Cassidy shrugged.
"Let Summers go first; I know all the targets will still be standing when he's done."
Summer kept his mouth in a thin angry line as he took up position in-front of the dummy targets. Kara noticed McCoy wearily picking up the extinguisher again while Cassidy walked backwards.
"You newcomers might want to give Havoc boy here a wee bit of space." Charles and Eric had already moved several steps back.
"Havoc?" asked Kara as she and Anders quickly walked back.
"Just watch," was all Cassidy said. Kara turned back to the front just in time to see Summer's body glow slightly red before three revolving glowing reddish-orange rings appeared around his body.
"What the fr…?" started Anders as Summers turned round on his right foot and seemed to throw the rings off his body towards the three targets. Kara's eyes widened and jaw dropped as the rings missed their targets completely and then obliterated another two rosebushes that happened to be nearby. McCoy sighed before running off to put out the fires.
"As I said lives up to the name 'Havoc' and the targets are still standing," said Cassidy in a smug tone. Kara stared at him in shock while Six was struck speechless. Baltar removed his glasses to rub at his eyes in wonder while Anders looked quite scared.
"Argh!" Summer's frustrated yell made Kara look forward in fear , however the blond mutant was facing the hologram of Charles Xavier. "This is not working!"
The young male professor nodded. " I know; which is why Hank and I have been working on another practice range; which will be inside the mansion and underground where you can practice in safety…"
"And thus stop you from obliterating any more of Charles' beloved rosebushes," completed Eric. Charles just rolled his eyes at the older man's bored tone.
"My turn," said Cassidy in a confident tone as he passed a still furious Summers. He stood about 10 feet from the targets, he opened his mouth then paused and turned round.
"You all might wanna cover your ears."
Six and the colonials obeyed without a second thought , even faster than the other mutants present. Cassidy smiled as he turned back to the targets; then opened his mouth to release a bone-shattering scream. Kara felt as if she wanted to collapse however she kept herself upright as Cassidy shattered one target one after the other in less than 15 seconds.
Then he turned round with a wide grin on his face. "All done." He spread out his hands and bowed as if he had just given a performance.
Kara tried to ignore the shaking of her legs and calm the racing of her heart while her mind screamed at her. What the frak was that ? She glanced quickly at Six and was relieved to see the cylon looked even more terrified than she was. Even Baltar had his glasses askew and looked extremely pale.
"What the frak was that?" asked Anders in a hoarse voice, voicing the thoughts of one cylon and three frightened colonials.
"That was my ability; a sonic scream which unlike some people," Cassidy glanced at a frowning Summers "I can use to hit my targets."
Kara found herself wondering at the military applications of that sonic scream.
"There are…there are more like you ?" asked Baltar as he took several steps forward and stared at Cassidy as if he was an interesting specimen.
Cassidy took several steps back; clearly uncomfortable at the colonial scientist's interest, even Summers had turned his attention towards Baltar.
"They were; until Shaw murdered Darwin and took Angel," said Summers in an angry tone.
"Darwin and Angel?" repeated Six.
McCoy sighed. "Darwin was the code name for Armando Munoz; he was our friend and teammate. At the last government facility we were attacked by Sebastian Shaw…who is also a mutant…" McCoy hesitated, clearly not wanting to go on.
"Shaw killed everyone at the facility; then tried to convince us to join his group. Angel listened and wanted to go with Shaw…and Darwin and I tried to stop him," continued Summers " and the bastard took my ability and used it to kill Darwin...in-front of me." The combined look of grief, guilt and rage in the young man's eyes was something Kara could relate to. She didn't need an oracle to tell her that this boy blamed himself for Darwin's death and was also looking for vengeance.
She hoped he got what he wanted.
"And we will find Shaw and end him," said Eric in a hard calm tone. Kara turned at his voice and the light in his eyes made her take a step back.
While Summers simply wanted revenge for his friend's death; Eric Lensherr thrived on it and that was unnerving.
"Well on that note; let's go back inside to show you the rest of the facility," said Charles obviously aware of the grave mood.
"I'm staying to practice," said Summers. Cassidy and McCoy looked at him.
"We'll stay and clean up," said the redheaded teen in a somber tone.
Charles exchanged a silent glance with Eric. "Fine; see you three at lunch."
Kara, Anders, Six and Baltar followed the professor and Eric back into the mansion.
The small group walked down the corridor in silence for several moments. Kara could tell the death of Darwin must have hit this small closely knit group hard.
"Who is Sebastian Shaw ?" asked Six. Kara wanted to hit the female cylon over the head. Talk about being frakking insensitive !
Eric looked at her with a hard light in his eyes. "Somebody that is going to die very soon. Satisfied?"
Rather than be unnerved by his cold answer Six smiled back at him. Kara found herself reluctantly admiring the cylon; this tin-can certainly had guts!
"I can see that we are at beginning of the school's origins, surely you have more students."
"If it's about recruiting; we have put that on hold at the moment. At this point in time; we had to concentrate on training the ones we have," said Charles Xavier.
"So…so what kind of students were you trying to recruit?" asked Baltar.
"Any mutants we can find," said Charles as he led them into what looked like a living room. "Does anyone want any refreshments ?"
Everyone declined as Baltar continued with his questions.
"So how do you find them?"
Charles poured himself a glass of water and took a sip before answering. "Well; there's a device I use which helps me detect mutant minds," he smiled at the look of disbelief on Baltar and Caprica's faces. " We're still in the early stages of getting it to work properly however it has a lot of potential and is quite useful."
"So all the students you found agreed to join you?" asked Kara.
Eric smiled. "If that was the case; you would have seen Logan in the mansion."
Baltar frowned." I don't follow; you knew Captain Logan in 1962?"
Six gave him an odd look. "Of cause they know him; Logan is the captain of this ship."
Eric raised an eyebrow. "He didn't tell you ? He was one of the first mutants we approached and he told us to go fu…"
"We don't have the use the exact words Eric," hastilty interrupted Charles "the summary of it was that he told us to get lost."
"Now I'm confused," said Baltar as he raised a hand "you say the year you're showing us is 1962 and the present date on Earth is 2382AD so when exactly did you meet Captain Logan?"
Charles gave him an odd look. "We met him a few weeks ago, July 21st 1962 to be exact; is there a problem?"
Six at first had wondered where Gaius was going with this; then she connected the dots. "He's over 400 years old…he's a mutant?," she turned to Kara and Anders and their grim unsurprised expressions told her the two colonial pilots already knew.
At first when the captain had addressed the holograms earlier; she thought the familiarity between him and Charles Xavier was because he had something to do with their respective programs but actually it was something simpler and much scarier than that. Captain Logan had actually met and interacted with the real Professor Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr in 1962 on Earth.
"How can he be over 400 years old?!" asked Six in a loud voice which hid a touch of panic.
"Ah, now that's interesting" said Eric with an evil grin. "Something tells me Logan hasn't told you that he's a mutant…and what his ability is."
"What is it? What is his ability?" eagerly asked Gaius.
"I'm afraid he will have to tell you that himself," answered Charles in an apologetic voice.
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The Galactica; the pressroom…
Oma tried to keep her back straight and head up as they walked into the packed room. It looked like the reporters had found more cameras because so many flash bulbs were going off that it was a wonder she could still see. She wondered if anyone could hear the rapid beating of her heart.
A few minutes ago; they had unloaded the third shuttle and watched Q Junior leave for the Xavier. She had felt curious eyes on them as their small group had walked from the flight deck to the pressroom. To her relief Rogers and Sharon had stayed with them all the way; but on reaching their destination the two colonial pilots were ordered to report to the CIC.
Oma had seen brief expressions of panic appear on Rogers and Sharon's faces before they both nodded and left. Rogers had sent her a worried look as he walked away.
That had been both reassuring and disturbing.
"They are probably getting debriefed," said Laura only loud enough for her to hear. Oma glanced at the female teen mutant beside her.
"Am I that obvious?"
"Uh huh," answered Laura "they will come back; their bosses know pops will not take anyone else apart from those two."
Oma nodded, then had to turn away briefly at a particularly bright flash. "One would think they had taken enough pictures." She glanced to the side to see Dr Grey was grimacing as well.
"Truth," murmured Laura with a grim expression. She didn't like having attention drawn to her; being able to fade into the background had been one of the crucial parts of her training in Stryker's military facility.
Unbeknownst to the female Starfleet ensign, Dualla had noticed her discomfort. The female colonial officer stepped forward and started speaking in a loud voice
"That will be all for pictures at the moment, the press conference is about to start so please take your seats." Most of the photo snapping stopped to Oma's surprise; however her attention was drawn to the entrance of the most powerful people in the colonial fleet.
Vice president Tom Zarek, President Roslin and Admiral Adama. Oma found herself checking the old admiral for bruises and found none. It looked like Jean had treated all his visible injuries.
"Please; let's take our seats," said Admiral Adama without any further ado.
Oma found herself between Dr Grey and Laura; Junior Lieutenant Dualla silently took a seat beside the female ensign. Adama remained standing until even the reporters had taken their seats.
"Thank you all for coming; before we start with the Q and A; there will be a joint statement delivered by President Roslin and myself on behalf of civilian and military branches of our government." He looked at the female colonial president who nodded and stood up silently. Beside her, Zarek remained sitting.
On every ship in the fleet there were hundreds to thousands of scared colonials who were glued to the view-screens. They knew that the news conference was much more than it appeared to be. The outcome would determine the fate of the refugee fleet.
Adama allowed a minute to pass as several cameras went off. "As we all know, it has been a very hard two years since the Twelve colonies were destroyed by the cylons. We spent those two years running and hiding only depending on each other and scavenging for crucial supplies and fuel…but that was never enough. Our last hope lay in finding refuge with the Thirteenth Colony," Adama paused " and to be honest I personally reached a point when I no longer believed the Thirteenth Colony existed."
Several of those watching were shocked by the senior officer's honesty, the warrior was not yet done.
Lee and Saul Tigh who were watching from the CIC shared a concerned look before turning back to the large vid-screen.
"So you can imagine my disbelief when we came across the crew of the Xavier. Due to our disbelief and suspicion of anything different, our first contact with them almost resulted in a disastrous outcome."
Adama turned at that moment to look at Dr Grey, Ensign Kadretti and Laura. "I accept responsibility for how your crew were treated Dr Grey and I apologize for it once more."
Dr Grey stood up. "And we have accepted your apology." She sat down as more pictures were being taken.
Adama nodded graciously at her and turned back to face the cameras.
"The road ahead is going to be long and very difficult. The only way we can get through this is to work together and I cannot stress this enough. Already the crew of the Xavier have risked much to help us, from battling the cylons more than once to going on a dangerous mission to obtain crucial intel about our common enemy and also they have just started providing us with much needed medical assistance and supplies. All this they have done and they have asked for nothing but our co-operation in helping us get to Earth.
And how have we repaid them? With distrust and fear.
I know that it is difficult to accept new things and new people but that does not excuse bigotry and discrimination…"
Dee couldn't help but glance at Oma. The female Starfleet ensign had a neutral expression on her face. Dee hoped the colonial refugees were really listening to the Admiral.
"…,if there is one thing that I have learnt in my service to the Colonial Forces; it is that unity makes us stronger but discord will certainly destroy us."
In the medical bay, Sharon noticed several people nodding in agreement as they watched the biggest vidscreen in the waiting room.
"With that being said; I will leave the floor to President Roslin." He nodded at her as she turned to address the multiple cameras facing her.
XXXX
In the CIC; Saul raised an eyebrow at the angry murmur coming from around him; he turned round slowly and fixed a cold eye on the junior officers. The murmurs quickly stopped.
"If they are reacting like this here; imagine how the rest of the fleet are behaving," muttered Lee in a low voice that only carried to Saul Tigh's ears.
"That's because they are all idiots and have no idea what she has to deal with," replied the XO angrily in a low voice. It was Lee's turn to raise an eyebrow, clearly surprised at hearing the XO defend Roslin.
On the screen, the female colonial president faced the cameras for a long moment before she started speaking.
XXXXX
"Fellow citizens of the Colonies of Kobol. I know I am properly the last person you wish to see right now…"
Laura pretended to study the table top as she tried not to snort in disbelief. The president was actually starting with those choice of words ?! Interesting.
"…however I'm here because of the gravity of the situation.
We are at a crossroads; we have the choice to find Earth on our own or to accept the aid of members of the Thirteenth Tribe who have already done so much for us. There have been hurdles since we first encountered them however thanks to the grace of our Lords we have overcome and will continue to succeed." She paused and looked at Dr Grey as she said the next words.
"I admit our administration didn't handle first contact properly and I apologize for how the First Quorum of the Thirteen Tribes occurred."
XXX
On board the Xavier, Q Junior raised an eyebrow at the emphasized word, he shared a wordless brief look with Helo who was carrying a sleepy Hera. At the same time; the two males looked back at Logan. The captain of the Xavier was looking at the view-screen with a suspicious expression on his face.
XXXX
Roslin continued speaking.
"However know this; as I swore when I took this position two years ago as we fled from our burning homes; I will see you safe from harm, I will see our enemies defeated even if it takes everything I have…including my life."
Several flash bulbs went off as the colonial president sat down.
I don't know if I should be applauding or laughing.
Jean tried not to wince at the dark voice in her mind.
She's just trying to reassure her people; we both know that they are very scared right now. The Phoenix made the equivalent of a snort in Jean's mind.
Mmhmm; that was a campaign stance she took and if not for the gravity of the situation it would be hilarious…right now it's just pitiful because one of the reporters in-front of us is going to blow holes in her oh-so- frail political ship.
Jean knew without asking that the entity within her had just read someone's mind.
I know; I know. I shouldn't read people's mind but considering the fanatism of lunatics we are surrounded by; believe me when I say it was highly necessary!
The female telepath had no time to rebuke Phoenix because already the reporters were clamouring to ask questions. Almost all raised their hands calling names and asking questions at the same time.
Jean planted a neutral smile on her face and raised her right hand. "Can I have a moment of silence please ?" Her loud voice was laden with underlying psychic ability and the noise died down significantly.
"I thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions; however first I wish to say I appreciate the steps that President Roslin and Admiral Adama have made towards a stronger relationship between Earth, the United Federation and the Colonies of Kobol. Now I'll take questions," she pointed at a middle aged dark-skinned lady in the back row.
"Ma'am can we have your question please?" The lady in question was a bit startled at being picked first ; however her recovery time was impressive for in the next moment she was standing ready with her notebook in-front of her.
"Kari Holmes of Colonial News Today; at yesterday's meeting you mentioned the Federation, my questions are actually for Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti…" everyone turned to the startled Starfleet ensign "please explain what the Federation is; what is Earth's role in this union and how you became a Starfleet officer." She sat down.
Oma took a few seconds to compile her thoughts. " As I said yesterday the Federation is a Union of sovereign planets and territories. It was created in 2161 A.D which was 221 years ago. The membership has grown to 187 planets and 1082 colonies. Earth is the headquarters because it is the Federation's birthplace and Starfleet which is the scientific and military arm of the Federation is also based there…"
XXXX
In the medical bay Sharon had to smile at the happy expression on Roger's face as he gazed at the confident looking female Starfleet ensign. The boy was certainly carrying a torch for her.
XXXX
"To apply to the Starfleet Academy is completely voluntary and open to all members of the Federation and to their allies who are not part of the union. One takes an entrance exam and depending on the marks and cadet's preference is advised on which area is best suited for the cadet…"
"And you actually graduated from this academy?" interrupted one of the reporters with a mocking shout. Jean glared at the culprit who shrank into his seat.
Oma answered calmly. "Yes and my specialty is astro-navigation." Meaning I can fly rings around your dumb ass thought the Starfleet ensign in klingnon.
Jean picked out another journalist from the back of the large room.
"Terence Lyon from Colonial Daily Press; my questions are for Ensign Kadretti…"
Laura raised an eyebrow; Oma was sure getting popular today, she wondered why.
"…where were you born and how old are you?"
Oma kept her face calm as she replied. " I was born on Earth and I am 19 years old."
Besides Roslin, Admiral Adama blinked, by the Lords she was young !
By the expressions of the news-crew; they were just as shocked.
"19 ?" echoed Terence the reporter "So what exactly is your experience ? How are we supposed to take seriously the word of a teenager in a uniform and by the way, when did you join the Academy ; from the cradle ?" Some of the reporters laughed. Oma smiled gently at them wondering if they knew how irritating they sounded.
"No; I just joined at the right time." And that was all she was going to say on the matter. Terence frowned as if that wasn't the reaction he wanted; he opened his mouth to say something.
"I'm a Starfleet cadet; I'm surprised you haven't asked me a question," drawled Laura Kinney in a bored tone. Everyone suddenly looked at her.
Jean tried to hide her concern; this was the last thing she had expected.
"You are a cadet?" asked an unconvinced Terence.
"Yep," answered the female teen sharply "I'm wearing the uniform after all and also I'm 13 and a half; however I doubt that information is going to get us any closer to Earth. So; any more stupid questions about the Academy?"
XXXX
On board the Xavier; Helo winced then to his amazement he was surprised to hear Logan laughing softly. He stared at the captain who actually looked proud of his daughter's response. Q Junior just beamed with delight as he kept his gaze on the view-screen.
XXXX
Terence the reporter found himself unable to maintain eye contact with the hard eyes of a female Starfleet cadet and suddenly thought it might be wise to stop while he was ahead. "No…I'm okay." He sat down quickly
Another reporter waved his hand vigorously and Jean regarded him for a moment before picking him.
"John McManus of the Colonial Gang Network; my questions are for Ensign Kadretti. From your own words; you are a pilot am I correct?"
"Yes that's true," answered Oma cautiously.
"So you know the location of the Thirteenth Colony since Astro-Navigation is your specialty…"
XXXX
In a restricted area; the head of the Sons of Ares narrowed his eyes as he stared at the female Starfleet ensign.
XXXX
"That information is classified," said Jean before he could finish the sentence.
McManus kept his eyes on Oma. "And why is that ? After-all we are brothers and sisters to the humans of the Thirteenth Colony. That information is what kept us going and rightfully belongs to us as well…"
Laura actually rubbed her forehead in disbelief. This guy must be a first class idiot.
"Earth's location is also being sought by the Cylons; they have also sworn to attack our home-world so it makes perfect sense to keep that data classified," answered Oma in a calm voice though she wanted to do something a lot more violent.
"Which brings me to my next question," continued Mcmanus as he stared directly at the female Starfleet cadet. "Do you consider yourself human or whatever it is alien that is…part of you?" He actually sounded a bit disgusted.
Laura leisurely sat up and looked at the reporter as if she wanted to disembowel him slowly.
Oma stared back at him, now clearly not amused. " I am human and Klingon and damn well proud of it."
Mcmanus' planted a fake smile on his face. "But surely you do realize that your presence here is disruptive to these proceedings…" Jean opened her mouth to speak but to her surprise once again a familiar voice beat her to it.
"Hey buddy, once again get your fucking priorities in order," the calm loud words came from Cadet Laura Kinney "in case you have forgotten one's heritage is unlikely to stop the Cylons from attacking us when they eventually find us.
Also this goes for everyone else," she looked at the cameras "anyone who has a problem with my teammate's heritage should take a fucking hike."
Roslin and Adama shared a stunned glance; it didn't take a long stretch of imagination to know that the f-word she used was similar to 'frak'. Besides it was obvious that Laura Kinney was taking no prisoners today; what had got her so upset ?
Dr Grey coughed softly; she looked so embarrassed. "I apologize for the…language from our cadet," she glared at Laura for emphasis. The teenager shrugged and looked at the cameras, clearly unapologetic.
"…however despite the language she is right" Grey turned to look at McManus. "I thought I made it quite clear yesterday that I will not tolerate any attacks on my crew."
Mcmanus held up placating hands. "I wasn't attacking her Dr Grey…"
XXXX
Saul Tigh snorted in the CIC; the idiot had been attacking Oma indirectly and everyone watching knew it.
XXXX
"However I do have a question for your Dr Grey. When were you going to inform us that President Roslin sanctioned the extraction of President Gaius Baltar from the Cylon oppressors that he made deals with?"
The whole room broke into an uproar. John Mcmanus raised his voice as he turned his gaze on the female colonial president.
"Deals that we all know resulted in the suffering and deaths of hundreds of our people during the one year occupation of New Caprica?!"
Jean looked at a horrified Roslin, Adama looked stunned and Zarek…had a smug expression on his face.
The female telepath didn't have to read his mind to know who had leaked that sensitive piece of information.
Aren't you glad I warned you? Asked a gleeful Phoenix in Jean's mind.
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Hi everyone! Happy new year (though it almost the end of Jan 2015!) .
Thanks so much for your encouragements and reviews. I apologize for the lateness but the end of 2014 and the start of 2015 has been stressful. I'm okay now and hope to improve in all things. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll start the next one as soon as I can. Wish me luck and have a great week people!
