CHAPTER 47 OF THE PHOENIX AND THE WARRIOR.
Chapter 47 of the Phoenix and the Wolverine.
The Xavier; the Tenfour…
Six cradled the warm cup of Earl Grey tea in her hands. This was only the second time she had taken this particular tea. It had a distinct taste and it also seemed to calm her mood and her stomach. At least it gave her time to think in silence.
"So what are your thoughts?"
Six sighed and couldn't help glaring at Baltar. Even his pale expression didn't garner any sympathy with her this time. He was a bit puzzled at her expression.
"Have I done something wrong?"
The female cylon took time to answer. "You do realize that our two watchdogs are keeping a close eye on us?" He didn't have to turn to see Kara and Anders; who were sitting nearby and watching them with suspicious expressions.
The four of them had been in the mess hall for the past 2 hours; no doubt shaken up by what they had witnessed on the holodeck.
"That should be the least of your concerns," said Baltar "even if I considered them there is the fact that the A.I of this ship does much better surveillance than those two."
Six found herself nodding in agreement.
"So how did Logan stop his brother from shredding that girl to…pieces ?" asked Baltar hesitantly; obviously he still hadn't recovered from the way Creed had dispatched his opponents to the afterlife.
"By using brute force which apparently is how he approaches most of the obstacles in his life. It's amazing that he's survived this long," she paused " there's also something odd I noticed. When he infiltrated the basestar…I thought the metallic claws he and his daughter had were specialized wrist or glove weapons."
Baltar had a thoughtful look on his face. "With the tech that the Thirteenth Tribe has; it would be childishly easy to attach retractable blades at the back of gloves."
"I know," agreed Six " but what if those metallic claws used to be bone claws ?"
Baltar frowned. " I don't follow."
"I'm just as confused as you are. I'm trying to see how his bone claws became metal and there's also the fact that he heals at an astonishing rate."
"Creed also has or had that ability," grimly added Baltar.
Which means Laura had the same ability but Six didn't say it out loud; who knew who was listening.
"Don't you think it odd that the captain of this ship would let us see such a scene from his past ?" asked Six instead.
Baltar shrugged. "Who knows how he thinks or what he wanted us to learn from the history ? Would you have preferred if he had hidden that ?"
Six took a long time answering. "No; but that also begs the question…that his secrets may be the stuff of nightmares."
Baltar looked a bit startled at her words.
The female cylon sighed; reluctantly released her still warm cup of Earl Grey tea and got up from her seat. "Let's get back to the holodeck; we still have a lot to learn."
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Alpha Quadrant; the IKS Y'tem, Captain's quarters…
Captain Karath taped several symbols on the view-screen; then walked back exactly 3 feet. A lot had happened in the last week and it was time he spoke to High Command.
One of the duties of being a senior officer that he hated with every fibre of his being. It was not that he felt he was above answering to someone higher; it was because most of the senior officers at High Command were pompous dishonorable idiots who were in his opinion less qualified than his own lieutenants.
Karath forced himself to keep his mind clear. Already he was getting angry before making contact with Command.
Why did he have a strong feeling that this was going to go very badly ?
His attention was drawn back to the screen when the symbol of the Klingon High Command was visible. All too soon it showed the familiar room; he hid a grimace when he saw who was on today's panel.
"Captain Karath," sneered Brigadier Kerlan also known as the military advisor to the High Chancellor. "Finally you have decided to grace us with your presence. So how goes your senseless pursuit ?"
Karath smiled coldly as he wondered how nice it would be to slowly tear the Brigadier's head off. "Quite well; we are at most 3 months and 2 weeks away from our estimated co-ordinates."
"And you're certain that the Federation isn't leading you into a trap?" asked Commander Kurin; who was a close friend of Kerlan. Trust blood rodents to travel in packs.
"For what purpose ? It would only be to their detriment if they betrayed our mighty Klingon Empire besides we all know the reputation of Admiral Janeway; her past is filled with tales of honour."
Commander Martia narrowed her eyes. "So you do trust them ?"
Karath gave the sole senior female officer on the panel a look of respect. She had served on the frontlines and lost relatives to the cursed Dominion War; she more than the rest deserved to be on the panel.
"In some things; I know for a fact that they aren't telling me everything. Like why was a Defiant Class ship sent so far into unexplored territory and why there was only one crewman on board the ship."
"Over the years; we've had reports of Starfleet building starships which would only need few crewmen," everyone looked at Commander Khan; a talented engineer who Karath had a lot of respect for.
"Maybe this was an experimental journey and the ship just happened to come across the Colonial refugees."
Kerlan snorted. "And you believe that fairytale ? I wonder how you ever built anything reliable."
Karath felt his anger build and yet the Brigadier's ire wasn't directed at him…yet.
"So what do we know about the Q?" asked Commander Lurkan; head of Klingon Intelligence. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He hardly spoke at these meetings. He usually sat in the corner; bland and silent to the point that most ignored his presence.
Loud raucous laughter erupted from Brigadier Kerlan. "Please tell me you're joking; you aren't actually seriously considering that the Q are real ?!"
Lurkan gave him a jaundiced look. "Did you know that Starfleet actually teach their cadets about the Q ? That their senior officers are given detailed manuals on what to do if they ever encounter one ?"
Kerlan's mocking expression disappeared to be replaced by a slightly troubled one when Lurkan kept looking directly at him. The Brigadier was the first to look away.
"So what ? That doesn't mean that they are real!"
Karath resisted rolling his eyes. Kerlan was a first grade idiot; even a child would realize that the Q must be significant if Starfleet paid that much attention to them.
Lurkan continued talking. "I find it very interesting that Admiral Janeway stated that the Q warned them about the wormhole."
The Intelligence officer turned to Karath. "One of the crew of the Xavier is known as Q Junior…that is a curious name."
Karath answered carefully. He didn't know much about Lurkan…which made him dangerous.
"Q Junior is an EMEH; a hologram which is basically a program, maybe one of his programmers wanted to give him a unique name."
Lurkan looked at him for a long time. "Maybe. Which brings me to my next question. How is Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti ?"
Karath felt his face muscles twitch when he saw the avid interest on Kerlan's face.
"Oh yes; how is our talented…hybrid?" he pronounced the word as if it was a curse.
"She is well," Karath tried going for a neutral tone. Martia gave him an odd look.
"Kadretti is more than just a hybrid," said Lurkan in a mild tone "she's the first recorded klingom-human to have mutant abilities. She must be studied."
Karath felt his blood heat up. "I doubt Starfleet would be eager to hand her over to our scientists for dissection and let us not forget that her parents and her fellow mutant brothers and sisters would tear anyone to pieces if they tried to abduct her. I'm sure you are also aware that the Warrior Angel known as Captain Brenia E'kalez is her godmother," he paused " imagine her reaction if you touch someone under her protection."
He didn't have to elaborate; many knew of the black winged female Starfleet captain; her battles on Xenadian IV had been made into songs of glory.
Martia raised an eyebrow as everyone looked at the fuming captain. Kerlan chuckled. "My; my. This is a surprise; has our dear captain been entranced by…"
"Enough!" yelled Commander Martia who slapped her hand on the table. Kerlan turned to her in shock.
"My fellow warriors; we didn't come here to argue over trivial matters. We all know that our Empire hasn't recovered from the Dominion War. The IKS Y'tem is on a joint mission which could yield unbelievable resources for our people so let's concentrate on that." Martia didn't let his expression intimidate her.
Kerlan looked like he was about to erupt but Kurin laid a hand on his arm and shook his head slightly at him. The Brigadier forced himself to smile; in truth it looked more like a grimace.
"Commander Martia is…right. So what else have you learnt Captain Karath ?"
For a moment; the captain of the Karath was almost at loss for words. He narrowed his eyes as he answered warily.
"The colonials and cylon's technology is far behind to ours and that of the Federation but one thing stands out. Their own method of FTL."
He proceeded to explain it in detail. Before he was done Khan was nodding his head thoughtfully .
"That is something that we can use; getting to places faster could go a long way to getting resources to and from colonies light years away. Maybe that's why Starfleet is so eager to get to them; imagine what they themselves could do with such technology." There were sounds of agreement from everyone present.
"What of weapons ?" asked Kurin.
"Not much to write home about ; though yesterday I found out about cylon resurrection ships," added Karath. He proceeded to explain and he didn't blame them for staring at him in disbelief.
"That isn't possible," finally said Martia.
"I'm still finding it hard to believe; even Starfleet is skeptical about it," agreed Karath "but we won't know until we get there. There will be a video conference with the colonial leaders tomorrow, my officers and I will also be attending."
Kerlan looked at him sharply. "You still haven't given us anything of use. I still think this whole exercise is a waste of time and our resources."
The captain of the IKS Y'tem somehow managed to stay calm. "Well on that note; I better sign off…I will try to endeavour to contact you when I get something useful to report." Kurin and Kerlan glared at him as if sensing an unhidden insult in those innocuous words.
The last thing they saw was his cold smile as he signed off.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
The Xavier; the holodeck…
Six stared thoughtfully at the very chaotic scene before her.
The date was April 29th 1975 and what she was watching was what would be known in history as the 'Fall of Saigon'. She would never understand it's true significance; of how this defeat was a big shock to the American people that their great military could be defeated so soundly in the Vietnam War.
However; what Six was trying to understand was the different abilities of the mutant soldiers. Havoc had finished his tour months before the hasty retreat from Saigon but he had been replaced by other mutants who had vastly different abilities.
Was this mutation wholly caused by evolution ? Was there a divine pattern in it ? And why hadn't she seen these abilities among her cylon brothers or sisters ?
The answer could lie in the fact that the cylons were just not diverse enough. There had been eight cylon models but model seven's base DNA code had been corrupted and thus that model had been destroyed so long ago that Six had no memory of it.
And how had the remaining seven survived ? By cloning. There was no possible way for them to evolve if they couldn't give birth to the future generation. Six fought to hide her feelings of frustration; she was impatient to find out more about the Thirteenth Tribe.
"See him anywhere?" She was a bit relieved to have her thoughts interrupted; she turned to Baltar who was avidly watching the chaotic evacuation of American soldiers and personnel. She wondered if it reminded him of the hasty flight from Caprica as it was being nuked.
"If you're talking about Captain Logan; he's nowhere in sight."
Baltar looked up tentatively at the very real looking blue skies above them. "We could ask the ship's hybrid."
"He has a name," corrected Six in an absent tone. In fact she had thought about asking Xavier about Logan's past but for some reason she was hesitant to do so. To be honest she was scared and she didn't want to admit that; especially not in front of the two silent colonial pilots who were watching them very closely.
Baltar gave her an odd look. "I'll do it then."
Six turned sharply. "No don't !"
The scientist ignored her. "Xavier; where was captain Logan and his brother during this evacuation ?"
There was silence for a brief moment. "Captain Logan and Victor Creed were reassigned to a United States Government Agency in 1973 and thus relocated to another country."
Six stopped glaring at Baltar and looked up surprise. "Why were they reassigned and to where ?"
The answer wasn't long in coming. "That information is classified."
Baltar stared at the skies with a surprised look on his face.
Behind them; Kara smiled coldly.
"I see ," said Six carefully; she suspected that that 'Government Agency' was part of Earth's Intelligence Network. From the way they had utilized the mutants during the Vietnam war; only an idiot would ignore their potentials as assassins or black ops soldiers.
Put it simply; mutants could be considered weapons of epic destruction.
Beside her ; Baltar's look of surprise had turned to one of irritation. "Well I have a question; just how many wars has Captain Logan been in ?"
Six gave him a thoughtful look; trust Baltar to have caught on to that oddity. When Logan and Creed fought; his brother had uttered a line which implied that the two of them had been in more than one war.
"Documented and non-documented ?" asked Xavier politely.
Six frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Earth's past history has been filled with countless wars; many have been lost to history due to destroyed or neglected records…" Six and Baltar exchanged an odd look.
Xavier continued speaking. "…so in order for your question to answered fully; I shall relay it to the captain."
The expressions of combined shock and fear on Six and Baltar's faces was almost comical to watch. There was a delayed moment of reaction before Six remembered to talk. "No you don't have to !"
There was no reply. Behind the female cylon; Kara grinned evilly.
"Too late."
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Logan eyed the epadd before him; he had got a detailed communique from Lieutenant Commander Shran about who would be attending tomorrow's meeting. It also included what questions would be asked .
While Logan appreciated the information; he still thought that dealing diplomatically with the colonials was a pain in the arse. He knew how the Quorum was going to react; they would be so bowled over by the appearance of Starfleet and the Klingons that they were bound to react badly.
To him; the only good thing out of this whole mess was that he had to attend the meeting with Jean. That way if things really got out of hand he would be there to stop it in its tracks…that is if Jean didn't beat him to it.
"The colonials are going on their usual patrol again." Logan turned to look at Laura. She was at the helms today; while Oma was down in engineering with Q Junior; from there the two ensigns would head to the astrophysic's lab. It had been Q Junior's idea to use it to replicate more supplies for the colonial refugees.
So much to do with so few crew.
Logan felt exhausted with trying to make sure that each member of the crew knew about the ship and how it was being run; even Jean had been to engineering to learn the basics.
"No deviation from their usual flight pattern?" asked Logan.
"Nope; same as usual. They even told us in advance."
Logan nodded and turned back to the epadd in his hand.
"Captain; I apologize for the interruption but Dr Gaius Baltar wishes to know how may wars you have being in."
Logan and Laura exchanged a puzzled look for a brief moment at Xavier's polite but unexpected enquiry.
"And why is that ?" asked Logan carefully.
"I believe it's due to the fact that he and the others observed when you and your brother Victor Creed were deployed to Vietnam in 1970 A.D."
Logan felt a muscle twitch in his jaw. He refused to believe that Creed was his brother. The two of them had been sworn enemies over the years; for crying out loud Creed aka Sabertooth had tried to kill him each time they had met !
"Vietnam?" said Laura as she stood up "I wanna see the footage."
Logan almost countered the order but a part of him warned him against that.
The view-screen changed to show the jungles of Vietnam and Logan and Creed leading a squad of U.S marines.
There was complete silence as the two mutants watched the scene unfold. After the confrontation between Logan and Creed ended; Laura swore.
Logan closed his eyes wearily. Here it comes.
"Xavier" Laura sounded incensed "you let them watch that?!"
"It was authorised Ensign Kinney." Replied the A.I calmly.
"By who?!" demanded Laura " Q would never…!"
"I authorised it," answered Logan. Laura stared at him.
"You have got to be kidding; have you forgotten that Six is part of cylon intelligence and that she can use this against you !"
Logan was touched that Laura was concerned about him but he knew he had to explain the situation carefully so that she could learn from it.
"Laura; what does an intelligence operative do in the time of war and peace ?"
The female teenage mutant gave him a sharp look. "Is this a trick question?" She sounded suspicious.
"Please; humour me," said Logan dryly.
Laura folded her arms. "A good intelligence operative would infiltrate the enemy camp; establish a base and would try to work their way up the chain of command. Either by killing or getting close to vulnerable targets."
"Who is vulnerable in our chain of command?"
Laura wasn't long in answering. "All of us."
"Has she attempted to establish a relationship with any of us?"
"She's tried with Q Junior but we've made sure she's never alone with him; she know better than to cross Jean cause she's scared shitless of her. Oma is too alien to her so she hasn't really bothered; as for me, she considers me a kid so of no importance," Laura's expression was calmer "so that leaves you; the captain. She's going to come after you next."
Logan nodded; clearly impressed by Laura's quick reasoning. "When Q pitched his idea of keeping them busy with historical holovids; I asked what would be in it and also if any of our history would be part of it.
He at first suggested that we shouldn't include Professor Xavier's school."
"I think that was a good idea," said Laura.
"Then how would she learn about mutants ?"
"Let her read a book that contains a summary of our history; she can't be trusted with detailed information of our past lives !"
"First of all; there is nothing in the holovid history that concerns you or would even hurt Jean," Laura expression indicated that she wasn't relieved in the slightest.
"Second; it's important that she learns about the mutants and a bit about me because how she uses this data will tell us of her true intentions."
Laura's eyes narrowed as she processed the information. "You're giving her enough rope to hang herself."
Finally she gets it, thought Logan.
"And that my dear child is the true meaning of diplomacy."
Laura stared at him in disbelief. "It's official; you're crazy."
"Captain; would you prefer to address Dr Baltar's query later ?" asked Xavier politely.
"Just tell him…only God knows," said Logan dryly; and that was the truth as he himself had no memory of how many wars he had being in.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Six waited nervously for Xavier to get back to them. She wanted to strangle Baltar; God help him if his stupid question got them banned from the holodeck!
She glanced over at Kara and Anders who had smug expressions on their faces; probably hoping for a drastic outcome for her and Baltar.
"D…do you think he's making his way down here?" asked a nervous Baltar " may…maybe we should leave the holodeck before he…"
"And go where Gaius?!" snapped Six "let's not forget that this is his ship. He knows every nook and cranny of it and wouldn't find it hard to detect us. For once in your life Baltar think before you speak!"
Gaius looked hurt at her words but Six was past that. This was their chance to learn more about Earth and if he had blown that…
"Dr Baltar; Captain Logan asked me to relay this answer which is 'only God knows."
Six was both shocked and relieved at the captain's answer. Did that mean that Logan believed in the one God ?
"Only God knows?" asked an irritated Baltar " what kind of answer is…"he never got to finish it because Six quickly put her hand firmly over his mouth.
"Please ignore that question from Dr Baltar; it wasn't meant to be answered," she glared at the male scientist.
"As you wish," said Xavier calmly. Part of Six marvelled at how sentient the ship's hybrid sounded and she wished she could change his replies to 'as you command'. She looked at the two colonials and noticed they were no longer smiling.
She wondered and hoped that they were thinking the same thing as she was.
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
The Galactica; Admiral Adama's Office…
Adama stared at colonial epadd before him; he was really not looking forward to tomorrow.
Earlier on; he had informed Roslin on impending meeting. To describe her response as simply being 'livid' was the understatement of the year. It took several minutes before she calmed down enough to ask if it couldn't be postponed.
Adama had replied by saying. "I don't think Starfleet Command would appreciate being kept waiting. It would set a bad impression."
There was silence for a long moment; both of them knew that one too many bad impressions had been set from the beginning. He doubted Starfleet had forgotten that Tigh had tried to space two members of the Thirteenth Tribe.
"The Quorum won't accept this and neither do I."
Adama almost lost his patience at that point; he counted to five before replying with a calm but firm tone. "Please inform the Quorum that we've having this meeting with or without them."
The conversation went downhill from there; Roslin had explained in blistering terms why the Quorum wasn't at the beck and call of the Colonial military while Adama rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Part of him had understood why she was so upset but the rest of him was fed up with the whole situation. He let her speak; it sounded like she was delivering a lecture.
"The Colonial Government was formed on a democratic platform which took centuries to perfect; we will not dismantle it at the beck and call of the unknown military of the Thirteenth Tribe which is why I'm going to call the Xavier and demand that a more appropriate date is set in the future. Is that clear?"
Adama said nothing and simply let the silence stretch until it became unbearable.
"What? Have you nothing to say?" asked Roslin in a tart voice.
Adama chose his words with care. "I do have a question. What other choice do we have?"
He wasn't surprised when Roslin was unable to answer. Even she realized that the refugee colonial fleet was in no position to negotiate with Starfleet; especially when they were more than 4 months away.
"This is a chance to finally see and relate with senior officers of Starfleet command; one would consider it an opportunity to prepare ourselves for what we will encounter if we ever get to Earth.
And you wish to throw it away because the timing was inappropriate?"
Adama's voice was mild and he was so tired that he didn't feel angry any more.
"I will be attending the meeting with Commander Adama and Junior Lieutenant Gaeta; the Quorum is free to attend or not.
Have a good day President Roslin."
Adama signed off and stared at the files on his table for a long time. He knew that the colonial president was mad at him but that was a small price to pay when one considered the fact that the lives of more than 40,000 colonials were on the line if this alliance was destroyed.
He hoped Roslin remembered that.
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
The Xavier…
Laura approached the medical bay with no small amount of trepidation. She knew something was up when Logan casually informed her that she was needed there.
Something to do with helping Jean in replicating and packaging the medical supplies for the colonials but she knew that there was another reason she was being sent there. She just hadn't figured it out yet.
She wished she could go to the astrophysics' lab and help Oma and Junior instead but she had been given her marching orders.
In no time she was through the doors; she stopped and took a deep breath before moving deeper into the ward at a slower pace. This was unbelievable; she had gone on dangerous solo missions and she had never felt this…scared.
The sounds of the replicator filled the silence of medical bay; Jean's back was turned to Laura as she carefully packed vials of medicine into a large steel box which was 60cm wide and 60 cm long.
"Eh…Dr Grey you needed my help?"
Jean turned to face Laura with a quizzical look on her face. "Since when did we get so formal Laura?"
The mutant teen shrugged. "Well…so where do you need me?"
Jean pointed at one of the indicators. "Help me with the bandages; I have already set up an empty box on an elevated platform."
Laura walked over to the replicator in question. She couldn't help but be impressed by the hovering platform by the replicator; it had an empty steel box on it. Starfleet tech was totally rad and she was enjoying taking it apart and learning everything about it. Of course she did that in private so as not to give Q junior a heart attack.
Laura packed the bandages and reprogrammed the replicator to make more. Both mutants worked in silence for several moment; however it was making Laura uneasy. She snuck glances at the female doctor; the red head remained focused on the task before her. Laura frowned ; she felt as if she was being ignored.
"So…you ready for tomorrow's meeting?"
Jean answered without looking at her. "Not really; I don't know what to expect."
The teen nodded as the replicator beeped; she packed the new bandages and set the device one again. Silence stretched out for a while and then Laura sighed.
"Okay; I'm sorry!"
Jean stopped what she was doing and looked calmly at her. "For what?"
Laura stared at her. "For how I acted at the last meeting?"
The female medic set down her epadd and walked over to Laura. "And how exactly did you act at the last meeting we had on the Galactica ?"
Laura couldn't help fidgeting; Oma and Q Junior had advised her to save herself trouble by 'owning' up to what happened and to apologize first before Jean and Logan called her out on it.
"I acted rashly and swore a lot," Laura felt she sounded lame "I'm sorry."
Jean looked at her for a long time. "So why did you do it?"
Laura tried to choose the right words. "Because I was kinda pissed off and it…it felt kinda satisfying to swear." Jean was silent for so long that the young teen started sweating.
Then to her surprise; the female medic smiled a little. "I know what you mean; there are somedays…and some people who make me want to do more than swear..."
Laura thought of the Quorum and the colonial reporters.
"…but then I don't because there are other more subtle ways in which I can make a point when necessary." Laura didn't have to be reminded on how Jean got her point across to the colonials; having the stupid politicians sprayed with water had been hilarious.
"At least I didn't stab anyone," said Laura defensively. Jean gave her an approving look.
"And that is a good thing however we all need to learn how to be diplomatic. It's actually a class in Starfleet Academy," said Jean as she turned back to the vials in front of her.
"Tell me about it," muttered Laura under her breath. Jean hides a smile as she pretended not to hear the mutant teen.
Laura watched the doctor; she felt she had been forgiven but she had to be sure. "So…we're good ?"
Jean gave her a gentle understanding smile. "We're always good; now get to work cadet."
The female teen grinned and turned back to the replicator.
XXXX XXXXX XXXXX
The Galactica; the CIC…
0700hrs.
Saul Tigh took a sip of the extremely bitter hot kaffa as he stared at the readouts. Two shuttles filled with supplies were expected from the Xavier and would also be carrying Captain Logan; Dr Grey; Ensign Kadretti and Ensign Q Junior.
He wondered just how many crates of supplies would fit in the two shuttles. Probably not much when you compared the size of one shuttle to that of the Galactica. Saul sighed and looked back at the schedule for the day.
The video conference was in exactly 3 hours; he wished he could attend but knew how unwise that would be. What was the point of Starfleet Command being reminded of who put two of their people in an airlock and tried to space them?
Tigh regretted his actions; he just hoped that Starfleet understood.
"Morning sir," he glared at a nervous looking Gaeta; once again reminded that this idiot was going to attend the meeting.
"Sitrep," he asked abruptly.
Gaeta swallowed before answering. "Early morning patrol was uneventful; all ships have full tanks and Chief Tyrol is asking to speak to Q Junior about the needed repairs."
Tigh sighed. A million repairs were needed and he was sure that today was not the best time to ask Captain Logan about that.
"Tell him; he's gonna have to wait. We have a meeting in 3 hours which can't be postponed," he bent his head to take a sip of more kaffa.
"But what of after the meeting..." Tigh's dark expression had him back tracking.
"Anything else?" growled Tigh. And there better not be any other problems.
Gaeta hesitated "Sir; there has been a rising level of crime on some of the other big ships and the medbays there are overwhelmed. The security and medics on those ships say they can't cope."
Tigh stared at him for a long time while Gaeta forced himself not to turn away.
"Get me a list of those ships and what exactly is going on there. Dismissed."
"Yes sir," said Gaeta in a relieved tone before fleeing from his presence.
Tigh watched him go. He still didn't trust the weasel but what he had told him was troubling; he knew the colonial refugees were at the breaking point and needed relief fast.
But the Xavier was only one ship. Tigh shook his head.
"One thing at a time; one thing at a time."
"Sir;" the odd tone of a junior colonial officer made him look at her.
"What is it?"
"The two Xavier shuttles are en-route but…have two large objects behind them."
Saul's eyes narrowed as he turned to the DRADIS screen. A few moments later his eye were widening.
"What the….?"
XXXX XXXX XXXX
"….frak?" muttered Chief Tyrol in shock as he saw what was touching down on his flight bay.
He wasn't the only one staring open mouthed at the view. The two Starfleet shuttles came in one after the other; each was 'towing' a much larger box like structure which glowed as if covered by a translucent pale light. Straight away Tyrol also saw the 'bluish' like line connecting the boxes to the shuttles.
He had gotten a memo that only two shuttles were coming; no-one had mentioned these boxes ! However Tyrol was far from angry; in fact he was giddy with excitement, who knows this may be the chance to get his hands on some Starfleet tech.
His eyes narrowed; then again they needed that tech and the abilities of a certain Starfleet engineer. Tyrol had already informed the Admiral of the never-ending list of repairs that were needed done on the Galactica and the other colonial ships.
But he was yet to be given the go ahead to ask for help from the Xavier crew.
From the corner of his eye; he saw Lee Adama and Dualla; it was high time he got some answers.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Logan was the first one out of the shuttle; he scanned the welcoming committee. As usual armed however didn't appear threatening with Commander Lee Adama and Lieutenant Dualla-Adama at the forefront; and at the moment the CAG was speaking with Chief Tyrol who had a frown on his face and was pointing at the two starfleet shuttles.
Logan put his hand out; preventing Jean from descending.
"Hold up; let me see what's got Tyrol's pants in a twist."
He missed seeing the exasperated look Jean sent his way.
The captain of the Xavier slowly approached the two arguing officers. His keen hearing was able to pick up some words. "…we need repairs Lee; they can't wait…"
"Not now! There are more important things at stake."
Dualla noticed his approach first and discreetly nudged her husband.
"Is there a problem?" asked Logan loudly.
The CAG gave a frustrated Tyrol a warning look before answering. "No; there isn't. We just need to get the containers to the medical bay" Lee looked over Logan's shoulder. "I didn't expect the boxes to be that big."
"I didn't expect them at all," muttered Tyrol aloud. Logan gave him a sharp look.
"I recall Q Junior telling your CIC exactly what we were bringing."
Tyrol gave Lee a dark glance. "Must have got lost in translation from the CIC to the flight deck."
Dualla had an embarrassed expression on her face.
"Well; if you don't mind Captain Logan; I'll help Ensign Q Junior with unloading," he walked away while ignoring the thunderous expression on Lee Adama's face.
Logan's eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the CAG. Something was bothering the colonial engineer; however he didn't think he was going to be a problem but why had Commander Adama omitted the fact that they were towing the boxes?"
"Is there something I should know?" To his surprise Lee Adama answered.
"I apologize in advance for this; but we didn't want the reporters to know you were bringing more supplies. They have been accusing us of with-holding the relief provisions but…"he hesitated for a moment "we need to check all supplies before they can be distributed. Normal protocol."
Logan resisted snorting. Fat chance of the supplies being kept secret; there were too many people in the flight deck who were openly staring at the two shuttles and the two large metal boxes they towed in; several of them were bound to talk.
"I see," said Logan instead of saying what he really thought.
"So what exactly did you bring Captain?" asked Lee.
"You would have to ask Q Junior," the three turned to face Dr Grey who had approached silently "he has the whole list."
Logan barely managed to keep his expression neutral; he had asked her to wait in the shuttle but the look on Jean's face was warning him to keep his thoughts to himself.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Tyrol quickly forgot about his annoyance with Lee as he looked at one of the huge metal boxes. Each box measured approximately 14 metres long and at least 5 metres tall. They were almost as big as the shuttles that towed them. Q Junior and Ensign Kadretti were checking the sides of the boxes.
"Morning," said Tyrol in a casual tone. The two ensigns looked at him.
"Good morning," said Ensign Kadretti warmly.
Q Junior's own greeting was brief. "Hi," the teen engineer turned back to the slim epad like device in his hand.
"Mine's intact; ready to minimalize covering," said Oma as she checked her own device.
Tyrol had lots of questions but one word caught his attention. "Minimalize ?"
Q Junior turned to him. "We're removing the sides of the boxes so that we can transport the supplies to the medical bay."
"All this is medical supplies ? And how did you keep it protected in space?" he touched the wall of the nearest box. "The metal seems so thin."
"Forcefields," answered Oma " we use them a lot in transporting large cargo."
"Is that what you used to tow it?" asked Tyrol recalling the bluish line connecting the boxes to the shuttles.
"Yes," said Oma in an impressed tone "it's known as a tractor beam; we've used it on your raptors in the past."
Tyrol nodded. "Guess you can't tell me how that works."
Oma shook her head ruefully. "However I need to ask you to stand back so that we can take the coverings off."
The colonial engineer had forgotten that he was still touching the metal box. He took a hasty step back as Oma pressed symbols on her epad and the box made a soft odd sound then the sides began to shift like panels and fold into each other.
"Oh my Gods," gasped Tyrol as he watched the sides disappears to the base. What was inside was even more astonishing. Smaller white boxes which had boldly written labels on them.
Some were medicine and a lot was food.
He almost felt his heart stop when the metallic base rose to a feet above the ground still carrying all the supplies. He couldn't help it and dropped to the floor to stare at the empty space between the base and the ground.
"It's a modified grav unit,"said Q Junior as if he could read the engineer's mind.
"You have these on the Xavier ? Where is the space to keep them?" asked a stunned Tyrol.
"We don't keep them; we simply replicate them," said Q Junior as he repeated the same procedure on the second large box.
His words made Tyrol recall why he had come over to the two ensigns in the first place.
"Well; that's good to hear; because we're going to need a lot of that replicating tech to repair all 163 colonial ships."
Oma and Q Junior stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
"They all need repairs?" asked a worried Oma.
Tyrol nodded; while relieved by the concern on their faces. He knew they were kids (even if one of them was a computer program); however he was counting on them being compassionate enough to help him.
"Yes they do and they need it soon. Please can you help us?"
Both ensigns looked at each other.
"We will need to discuss it with the captain first…" Tyrol's heart dropped "…however I think he will agree as long as your superiors are okay with it," said Q Junior.
Tyrol gave a sigh of relief. "Trust me; they will be okay about it."
Come Hades or Deep Freezing Oceans he would make sure of it!
XXXX XXXX XXXX
2 hours later…
Logan tried to keep a neutral expression on his face as he entered the conference room.
The last few hours had been stressful. After he made sure Ensign Kadretti returned to the Xavier; he found getting the supplies to the medical bay lot harder than expected. The CAG had wanted to inspect the large grav units when he realized they could be adapted to fix into the corridors leading to the medical bay.
It had taken Jean explaining that they would have to remove all the supplies for him to have a look which would waste precious time. He had eventually agreed ; only for them to get to the medical bay and realize there was barely enough space to keep the supplies.
Lee and Corbin almost had a shouting match in his office when the doctor loudly demanded to know why no one had informed him that he was getting supplies today. He did take time to stop yelling at Lee to thank Logan and Jean for the supplies then turned back to the flustered CAG to demand once again why he wasn't given some warning about the quantity of supplies coming to his domain.
When they finally sorted that out; Jean had barely enough time to see a few patients. He had seen the guilty look on her face when she saw the long line of patients waiting to see a doctor but she had to be at the meeting.
Logan rubbed his face wearily as he considered the incompetence of the CAG. He knew the colonial pilot meant well but this had gone so wrong when there was no need for that.
And they hadn't even started the meeting yet.
"You okay?' whispered Jean. Logan sighed.
"I'm fine," Q Junior was working with Tyrol to attach a Starfleet data epad to a large view-screen in the conference room. Oma had gone back to the Xavier to monitor the transmission from the USS Dunkirk.
"Just hoping this meeting won't be a disaster."
Jean touched his hand. "It will be okay."
At that moment; the doors opened and Admiral Adama and Commander Adama and Junior Lieutenant Gaeta entered the room.
"Captain Logan ; Dr Grey," said the Admiral as he approached them.
"Thank you for the supplies and I apologize for the confusion that followed."
The grizzled Admiral looks a bit tired so Logan decided to be gracious. "It happens; but why the secrecy ?" He glanced at Lee so as to include him in the conversation
Admiral Adama sighed. "News on the grapevine is that we're keeping the supplies only for the military. That's not true but I'm sure you can understand why we need to check each container before it's distributed to the rest of the fleet."
Logan frowned; part of him understood the need for caution but he felt the colonial military's method of handling things was only going to make things more complicated. Something told him pointing that out wouldn't be appreciated.
"So where's the President and the Quorum ?". Admiral Adama looked relieved at the sudden change of topic.
"Not far behind," muttered Lee Adama. The doors swung open as he spoke and in strode President Roslin with her PA; close behind was Zarek and all the members of the Quorum.
The Quorum leaders stared at Logan; this was the first time they were seeing him and most of the looks were not friendly.
Logan couldn't care less. " No reporters this time I take it?"
"No," said Admiral Adama softly "this is too important."
Let's hope the rest of the Quorum realizes that, thought Logan silently.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
The Xavier; the bridge…
Oma stepped off once the doors opened. Laura was already at the helm.
"Welcome back; how did it go?"
Oma walked over to the communications station. "They were happy to see the supplies alright but I don't think the colonial officers can keep them a secret much longer."
Laura snorted; she had been listening throughout the exchange.
Oma pressed several symbols on the console before her. "We've got a strong transmission signal from the Galactica,"she closed her eyes briefly as a strong feeling of dread sized her.
"You okay?" asked Laura in a concerned voice. Trust her not to miss anything.
The female Starfleet ensign tried to smile. " Just had an odd feeling; I hope this meeting goes well."
Laura stared at her for a long time then shrugged. "Just expect the worse and prepare for battle; that's what I do."
Oma gave her a puzzled look. "Isn't that saying supposed to end with 'hope for the best'?"
Laura laughed softly. "Please we both know how unrealistic that sounds."
Oma shook her head in amusement and turned back to her controls. Maybe she felt odd because she just realized how far away they truly were from home and how alone they were. It was enough to make one depressed. She looked at the chronometer.
12 more minutes to go.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Six stared at the closed holodeck doors.
"What?"
"The holodeck is closed for the next four hours; if you wish to learn more of Earth's history the online literature is available."
Xavier's voice was actually apologetic.
"Why is the holodeck closed ? Is someone in there ?" asked Baltar.
"It's closed for maintenance on Ensign Q Junior's recommendations."
Six suddenly wondered if the questions Baltar had asked the day before had caused the captain of the Xavier to change his mind.
"You expect us to believe that?" asked Baltar in a sceptical tone.
Six struggled to hide her anxiety. "Will we be allowed back in once the maintenance is completed?" Baltar gave her a stunned looked as if shocked that's she accepted Xavier's reason.
"Yes; you may return at that point."
"But…" started Baltar.
"Thank you," interrupted Six quickly as a thought crossed her mind "however I would like to speak to the Captain if he's not busy at the moment."
"Captain Logan is unavailable at the moment."
"Why? Where is he?" demanded Baltar. Six counted to five in her head so that she could resist strangling the former president of the 12 colonies.
"He is attending other duties; however I can take a message."
Baltar opened his mouth to speak and froze when he saw the deadly look Six gave him.
"I wish to discuss about the mutant history of Earth; I have questions," simply said Six.
"The message will be relayed."
Six began to walk away. "Let's head back to my quarters; we have a lot of Earth's history to study." Baltar cast one more forlorn look at the holodecks before leaving.
Six understood his frustration; to be honest the holodeck recordings had spoiled her. Now reading about the history of a place was nothing compared to being in the middle of it. Yes; it may just be holograms but the detail was astonishing and so lifelike that one may never forget what they learnt.
However doing some actual reading may help her narrow down her search in such a way that could help her and her cylon brethren.
She really needed to get the location of the Thirteenth Colony; she had to be discreet; patient and extremely careful.
It might work if Baltar learnt how to keep his mouth shut and his massive ego in check.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Rogers tried not to pace.
He looked at the others; Kara; Anders; Helo and Sharon who had just put a sleepy Hera in her crib. The video conference was to start in 5 minutes. They had bene stunned when Logan asked if they wanted to watch as it occurred.
It just showed how unconventional a captain he was.
Most colonial senior officers would keep their junior officers in the dark about certain matters because it was well above their paygrade. Was this how Starfleet operated ? Were they that open with all levels of command ?
"Rogers; any hints on how this is going to go?"
As expected that query was from Kara.
He forced himself to sit down. "No; nothing . This could go either way."
Kara didn't looked satisfied with the answer.
"Either way; it's happening soon," said Sharon as she looked at the countdown on the large view-screen in the wall.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Q Junior ignored the hostile looks from the members of the Quorum; he was more concerned about the device in-front of him. While it had been easy to manipulate the colonial tech, the connection between the Galactica and the USS Dunkirk could fail at any moment. This was going to be the first long range conference with the colonial refugee fleet.
Failure was really not an option. He could feel Tyrol's anxiety without looking at him. Both knew a lot was riding on this meeting.
Q Junior looked at his epad as the timer counted down to the last minutes.
"Why is this taking so long?" whined one of the Quorum members. No one bothered to answer him because the large viewscreen in the conference room went on and for the first time all the colonials saw the projected image of the Starfleet emblem. No one missed the fact that the sentient Starfleet hologram officer had the same golden stylized arrow on his uniform.
Q Junior frowned at the image; it was a bit grainy. He touched a few symbols on his epad and it cleared up before the Starfleet emblem was replaced by a Starfleet Officer wearing the red and black command uniform.
The officer was a Bajoran; already Q could hear shocked sounds from the Quorum members as they took in the distinct ridges on the bridge of his nose.
"This is the Lieutenant Vedek Bareil Lantos of the USS Dunkirk; Galactica are you receiving?"
Behind Q, Logan noticed the stunned looks on the faces of those watching. He wondered how they would react when they saw the Klingons.
Q Junior looked at Chief Tyrol and the engineer hastily replied. "This is Chief Engineer Galen Tyrol of the Galactica. Yes we are receiving you loud and clear."
The Starfleet officer smiled warmly. "That is indeed fortunate; the visual and audio communication signal is strong and holding steady. You will now be connected to the conference meeting." The image changed instantly to an occupied room.
The murmurs of shock from most of the colonials turned into stunned silence when they saw who was present.
Logan recognized all the people on the screen.
Admiral Kathryn Janeway; Captain Terence Singh of the USS Dunkirk with his second in command Commander Bishop Caleb and their Andorian security officer Lieutenant Commander Telev Shran . Also present from the USS Prometheus was Captain Brenia E'Kalez with her second in command Commander Trey Kadretti.
Last but certainly not least were the senior officers from the IKS Y'tem; Captain Karath and his second in command Lieutenant Commander Mirta.
Of Lieutenant Harrison there was no sign; Logan didn't know if he should be thankful or worried. He quickly looked at the colonials officers and even Admiral Adama was speechless as he started openly at the Klingons. Lee on the other hand looked paler than usual.
On the screen Admiral Janeway smiled gently at the dazed expressions of the colonials.
"Greetings from the USS Dunkirk; I'm Admiral Kathryn Janeway and I expect introductions are in order for this first historic meeting. I'll go first." She proceeded to introduce the people sitting around her and started with the Klingon Captain and her second in command.
Logan's keen eyes noticed more than a few Quorum delegates frown at this.
Oh here it comes thought Logan when one of the delegates opened his mouth to interrupt the Starfleet Admiral.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Admiral Adama was trying to take the measure of the Starfleet Admiral as she introduced the people on the screen. Her uniform was severe; her hair was well controlled and in place; her voice was melodious with underlying steel but her eyes told him the most. Something told him Janeway wasn't one to be crossed.
"Why start with them first?" Adama's thoughts were cut short with an abrupt question from Julius Xenner of Virgon as Janeway barely completed the introductions.
The Starfleet Admiral had a puzzled look on her face. "I beg your pardon?"
Julius glared at her. "He…they are a…aliens; non-humans! Why introduce them before your fellow human officers ? How is this allowed ?"
Adama's eyes widened in shock. Was Julius deliberately trying to sabotage this alliance ?
He opened his mouth to speak when Janeway beat him to it.
"Ah Representative Julius Xenner of Virgon."
The quorum member was stunned into silence for a brief moment. "How did you know my name?"
"Captain Logan has kept us apprised of all the previous meetings; it was only logical that we prepared for this meeting by knowing the names of the leaders of the 12 Colonies. In regards to your earlier question, the Klingon Empire is a trusted ally of the Federation. The Captain and the crew of the IKS Y'tem are honourable warriors and have risked a great deal to accompany us on this rescue mission."
It is a simple courtesy to introduce friends and allies first before we consider ourselves."
Logan watched Julius closely; the man looked even more upset with her answer.
"How sure are we that you don't serve them? That they aren't your masters?" Logan wasn't surprised to hear this brainless question from Riall Zhalen of Gemeron. The quorum member's tone was almost aggressive and Captain Karath narrowed his eyes at his words.
This didn't faze Janeway in the slightest. "Representative Riall Zhalen of Gemeron; the answer to that question is that we are allies .Starfleet is not in servitude to anyone and neither is the Klingon Empire. The only guarantee that I can give on that matter is my word."
"Your word is not enough," stated Dahlia of Tauron and many of the delegates nodded and gave sounds of agreement. Janeway took a long moment to calmly look at each of them.
"Well considering the distance between us and you…and the cylons after you; it would have to do. In the end it's your choice to accept assistance from us or to decline it." Those words were met with silence; Logan was grimly pleased to see worry on their faces and he noticed even Karath gave Janeway an approving glance.
Janeway had just indirectly told them that the colonial fleet had bigger things to worry about then who the Federation was allies with. He was so glad he wasn't the one moderating this meeting; he would have exploded by now.
"Captain Janeway…"
Logan shared a look with a silent Jean. Finally President Roslin was about to speak; she had been so silent that he almost forgot she was in the room.
"I am President Laura Roslin; leader of the 12 Colonies. We appreciate and are thankful for all the assistance from the officers of the 13th colony…" she indicated Logan and Jean.
Q Junior just barely resisted rolling his eyes; no matter how many times Logan told them ; the colonies still believed Earth was their 'wayward long lost sister colony.'
"…however please bear in mind that we have been separated from you for more than 3000 years; it is only natural that we would be apprehensive about your non-human allies."
Logan had to stop himself from groaning aloud. Who taught this woman diplomacy? Even he knew that was an inane statement to make.
Karath coughed loudly and to Logan's amusement that made some of the delegates jump.
"If I may Admiral Janeway ?" he looked at the Starfleet senior officer who nodded for him to continue.
The Klingon captain turned to the colonials. "The Federation and the Klingon Empire have not always walked the same path; to be honest we have come close to war in the past…" Logan saw the concern on the CAG's face.
"…however we are allies ; our soldiers have fought and died for one another because we have treated each other with honour and respect. I hope the same will be said about you."
Logan caught a silent Zarek looking thoughtfully at the view-screen and hoped the man understood the underlying message from the Klingon officer. Just because Starfleet was helping the colonial fleet didn't mean diddly-squat to the Klingons. If the colonials stepped on their toes; there would literally be hell to pay.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
"Don't hold your breath Karath; these idiots are sure to disappoint," said Laura softly. Oma glanced at her. There was nothing to say because the cadet was right.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
"Now if we can resume this meeting; I believe that formal introductions on your side are yet to be done," stated Janeway in a polite manner.
Before Roslin could speak, Zarek began to name each of the delegates and also introduced Admiral Adama and the CAG. Janeway nodded at her military counterparts.
"Admiral Adama; may I commend you on your duty to your fleet."
Adama nodded. "Thank you; we wouldn't be here today if not for a lot of sacrifices…" he looked at Logan and Jean "…and the invaluable assistance from new friends."
He could tell that Janeway was pleased with his acknowledgement of the Xavier crew; she looked at the rest of the colonials.
"I presume you have a lot of questions…"
"What is the price we have to pay for your…assistance?" interrupted Lance Malfroy of Aerilon "do we have to join the Federation ? And how is the Federation run? Is that a military run state?"
Logan just stared at the man; was he not listening at the last meeting when Oma explained how the Federation was being run ?
Janeway answered calmly; her expression not revealing what she must be thinking.
"There is no price for our help and you don't have to join the Federation. If you wish to re-settle on a planet. We can look for one but it may take time…"
"Why would it take time?" cut in another delegate.
"First we would need to locate a suitable unclaimed self-sustaining world which matches your physiology and the second most important fact is that we have to ensure that said world doesn't have a sentient population already as that would make it in-eligible. These may sound like just two criteria but the difficulty lies in the minor details which can prolong the search process from months to years.
On to your next question; the Federation is not a military run state. The members of the Federation elect their individual leaders and also the leader of the Federation."
"We don't want a new world; we want our 12 colonies back and you can make that possible by removing and destroying the cylons who attacked us," said Jacob Cantrell; some of the delegates actually clapped at this declaration
Admiral Adama rubbed his lower jaw in frustration; he just didn't have the words to describe how annoyed he was. Were they all idiots ? Had they forgotten how far they had travelled to get to this point ? Had they forgotten the 12 colonies had been nuked to Hades and back ? Who could live on such devastated planets ?!
"I'm afraid that would not be possible. The distance is too great for anyone to mount such an expedition and also it goes against the Starfleet Charter.
We are guided by the Prime Directive which is the philosophical concept that we refrain from interfering in the natural; unassisted development of less developed societies even if such interferences was well intentioned..."
"Then why help us?" interrupted Zarek calmly.
"Your situation is different. Your civilization is fairly developed considering you have warp-capable technology however there is still limit to the assistance which we can provide.
The second reason is that you and your enemy are looking for Earth," she paused "which is our home-world and the centre of the Federation. We take the potential threat from the cylons quite seriously."
"You want our technology; so in summary you only help if it benefits you," said Zarek loudly. Roslin gave him a sharp look which he ignored.
"Vice President Zarek; we're 4 months away even though we're pushing our ships at maximum speed. Believe me when I say this isn't a trivial walk in the park." Everyone looked at Captain Terence Singh who had been quiet so far.
"Finally one of the other humans speaks, I thought for a moment the rest were mute," said Zarek with a dry laugh. Some of the delegates laughed as well.
Admiral Adama closed his eyes as if praying for patience and strength. Lee looked like he wanted to murder the vice-president while Roslin's face was expressionless.
Captain Singh smiled gently at Zarek. "Please take time to study the Prime Directive; it will give further information of what Starfleet can and cannot do."
Logan nodded. Most of the Prime Directive made sense and he respected Singh for not getting ruffled by Zarek. The Starfleet officer must have met some very obnoxious people in his lifetime.
"We have heard more than once that The Thirteenth Tribe's territories are more than 4 months away. Surely you have bases or colonies that are closer than that?" asked Riall in a suspicious voice.
Janeway looked at him. "Starfleet has not explored that part of the alpha quadrant so no bases of ours exist there."
Riall's eye narrowed. "You're saying that Hera's planet where we found them," he pointed at Logan and Jean imperiously "wasn't that your base?!"
The female admiral replied calmly. "That is correct. We have no bases in that sector."
"Then what was the crew of the Xavier doing there?" asked Dahlia "It is quite a coincidence that they happened to be there when we arrived to search the temple ruins."
Logan groaned loudly; this paranoia was driving him up the wall. "Bloody hell; we were exploring because we picked up an odd radio signal and landed to investigate." He saw skeptical looks on the faces of the colonials even Admiral Adama.
"In fact I'm beginning to wish we hadn't touched down on the Godforsaken planet," he saw Jean wince at his words but he was tired of trying not to hurt anyone's feelings "then we wouldn't have to answer meaningless questions instead of addressing the main issue of how to get more than 40,000 refugees to safety," some actually looked ashamed.
"Or did we forget why we're really here ?" He turned to see Jean give him a meaningful look. Logan signed and turned back to the viewscreen; he wasn't surprised to see Karath grinning at his outburst.
"I apologize Admiral Janeway; you have the floor."
The Starfleet Admiral nodded at him; unfazed by his words. "The main objective of this alliance is getting you safely to Federation territory. In order for that to be achieved we will be working closely with the crew of the Xavier to make that possible. Next is providing you with much needed supplies.
I am aware that the crew of the Xavier have being doing everything in their power to meet the demand however please bear in mind that they are the only Starfleet vessel in your immediate area so it will take time.
In summary all we can do is try to get to you as soon as possible in other to lighten the burden."
Most of the Quorum delegates looked disgruntled at her words. Logan had no idea of what they expected. For her to wave a magic wand for colonial fleet to appear instantly on Earth?
"I have a few questions," all turned to Zarek. "Just how many of your officers are holograms like Q Junior and in what capacity do they serve?" Q Junior raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Admiral Adama and his son shared a look; both thought it was a reasonable enquiry but this may not have been the best time to ask it.
Janeway wasted no time in answering. "That information is classified."
Zarek smiled charmingly. "I meant no offense; we are simply trying to understand how your military works. We have experienced first hard the price of betrayal from the cylons who we created to assist us; please understand the need for extreme caution on our part in regards to artificial intelligence."
Q Junior didn't know whether to applaud or laugh. Zarek had just managed to diplomatically convey how suspicious he was of sentient holograms without sounding insulting. Damn; the guy was good.
"Well since Zarek brought that up; I have my own question on the matter " started Reza Chronicles "why was he sent out here so far from Earth to retrieve Captain Logan ; Dr Grey and the child Laura Kinney?"
Admiral Adama couldn't help glaring at Zarek; he knew who had leaked that data to the Quorum.
Reza wasn't done. "How do you expect us to trust Starfleet and it's allies…"her look included Captain Karath and a silent expressionless Lieutenant Commander Mirta "…when you keep us in the dark about reasons for being in this part of the galaxay?"
Delegates around her nodded. "We have responsibilities to our constituents; they trust us to tell them the truth. How can we in good conscience follow you blindly without more to go on?"
Janeway's eyes narrowed slightly; a sign that Logan took to mean that finally these delegates were getting on her nerves.
A loud cough in the room made everyone notice Q Junior who had been partly hidden by Galen Tyrol's larger frame.
"Admiral Janeway; Captain Logan and Dr Grey; if I may answer the question?"
The female Starfleet Admiral gave him a long look before nodding; Q Junior looked at Logan and Jean. The two mutants shared a look before silently indicating that he continues.
Q Junior placed his epad on the table and then faced the delegates while assuming a relaxed stance.
"I was deployed to this part of the Alpha Quadrant to retrieve three citizens of Earth and the Federation.
The reason for the retrieval is highly classified and thus I'm unable to discuss it. On our long journey back we came across a signal as Captain Logan stated earlier so we decided to investigate.
Why you ask? Because in the Starfleet Academy our motto is 'Ex Astris Scientia'…". Riall almost looked ill at hearing ancient kobolian uttered by a sentient hologram.
"…it means 'from the stars knowledge' this motto is part of the training which taught us not to be afraid of the unknown; to explore whilst trying to be respectful of what we find.
If you wish to blame anyone for us being on Hera's planet at the right time; blame Starfleet Academy. If not for those teachings the crew of the Xavier would never have touched down on that planet and thus would never have made contact with the 12 colonies of Kobol."
Silence filled the room; Logan gave Q Junior a nod of approval. Who knows maybe this time the Quorum members would listen. Even Janeway had a look of pride on her face.
"Who are you?" asked Zarek with an angry expression on his face "In fact the real question should be what are you ? A soldier ? A spy ? A construct that feels ? In the end you must realize that you aren't and will never be human." There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the Quorum.
Q Junior managed not to laugh; he had already been human once before and he never wanted to go back to that state. However he felt he had to have the last word; so he smiled brightly as he replied.
"Well Vice President Zarek; it's quite simple really. I am a Q." And he was damned proud of it too.
Mirta's eyes narrowed at those words; she looked at her captain who now had an intense look on his face.
Zarek was clearly taken aback by Q Junior's odd cheerful answer. He had expected an outburst of anger from the hologram; that had been his intent to show to the Quorum members that the construct had to be treated as the enemy.
What the frak was a Q? He had no time to ask the question as the Starfleet Ensign turned back to address his captain. He nodded respectively to the two former X-men and to Admiral Janeway before resuming his post by Chief Tyrol. Q Junior was a bit stunned when the colonial engineer gave him an encouraging smile as if telling him to hang in there.
"Thank you Ensign Q Junior for that simple and effective explanation," said Janeway warmly; her smile seemed to harden as she faced the Quorum leaders "any other questions ?"
"Mutants," this time it was Jacob Cantrell "what are they ? And are they dangerous ?"
Beside him Riall nodded as if he had already made that assumption.
Jean rubbed her chin thoughtfully wondering why the Quorum members were just going round in circles constantly repeating questions asked in the not too distant past.
Admiral Janeway leaned back as she answered carefully. "Mutants are people. I'm a mutant…" Some of the delegates found this surprising.
"As to whether we're dangerous…well that depends on what situation a mutant finds him or herself in. For instance if your back is to the wall and you are attacked the most natural reaction is to defend yourself. In Starfleet Academy; diplomacy and defence is taught in equal measure and we use either when necessary."
"You have many mutants on your ships?" jumped in Riall with a sharp tone as he eyed each of the people on the screen.
"I'm a mutant," said Jean loudly drawing everyone's attention. Most of the delegates paled when they recalled what happened at the first televised meeting of the Quorum.
"As am I," said Captain Logan.
"Same here," said Captain Singh .
"Me included," contributed his second in command Officer Bishop Caleb.
"I also belong to this huge club," added Brenia with a smile that made more than a few delegates shiver in fear.
Riall looked at each of them in shock; then he noticed that Commander Kadretti had not said a word.
"You're mutant as well?" the way Riall asked it made it sound like a disease. Kadretti grinned at him.
"No; however I'm proud to be the father of a mutant."
Beside Riall; Jacob looked as if he was about to be ill. "Ensign Kadretti is your daughter."
Commander Trey Kadretti's smile was cold. "Yes; she is."
Riall eventually broke eye contact with the Starfleet officer; no one needed to ask why. The failed first meeting was still fresh in their minds where Riall had to be forcibly stopped from calling Ensign Oma Kadretti an abomination on a live broadcast. However that hadn't stopped him from condemning her from the pulpit at his sermons.
It was at that point that there were fewer enquires from the Quorum and then Roslin quietly took charge and began to ask less controversial questions.
XXXX XXXX XXXX
The USS Dunkirk…
Janeway stared for a long moment at the view-screen which had the Starfleet emblem. She finally turned to face the rest of the group when Lieutenant Commander Shan mentioned the communication signal had been terminated.
"That didn't go as well as I hoped."
It could have been worse Admiral," said Karath to everyone's surprise. "They are a people who have lost everything; their pride is probably the only thing apart from their lives that they have left."
Singh couldn't help but agree with the Klingon captain. "That pride may affect their reasoning; in addition to their theological beliefs which may make it hard for them to accept the different groups in our part of the galaxy."
"I see from the report you sent us that the Colonials keep referring to Earth as the Thirteenth Colony of Kobol," everyone looked at Mirta "they mentioned it again today. Is there any truth to that claim?"
"Starfleet historians back home are still checking for any references that mention 'Kobol' in our ancient past but so far they have come up empty," answered Singh "…however there is a theory that maybe this 'Thirteenth Tribe' did exist; just not on Earth but somewhere in Earth's Solar system.
So we have asked the historians to check for the records of the first discovered ruins of distant planets."
Karath frowned. "That's a pretty farfetched theory."
Janeway smiled wearily. "Considering what we have seen so far; it's not unreasonable to think way outside the box. Where are we on logistics for the colonials?" Karath's eyes narrowed as she deftly changed the topic but he kept silent.
"From the logistic aspect; Ensign Q Junior sent us extensive scan reports of all their ships and they will need a lot of repairs in order to keep them spaceworthy." Janeway looked at Commander Kadretti as he replied.
"Not to mention how much medical and food supplies that over 40,000 refugees are going to need."
Captain E'Kalez sighed. "The Xavier has a huge task ahead of them."
"If I may ask," started Lieutenant Commander Shan "Did you notice that the military leaders and President Roslin hardly said anything?"
Janeway nodded. "She was taking a measure of us by letting her Vice President and the Quorum do all the work. She simply sat back and watched how we reacted to their thinly veiled distrust of all things different."
"Smart," said Mirta with reluctant admiration.
"Same goes for Admiral Adama and his son Commander Lee Adama," added Commander Kadretti " we will need to speak to them again to co-ordinate some sort of intelligence gathering on the cylons. However the question remains on whether we can trust them; clearly Captain Logan doesn't."
Janeway recalled the chilling report of the airlock incident involving Q Junior and Laura kinney . "He has a good reason why. On the matter of Intelligence; we will have to rely on the crew of the Xavier. They are our best chance of understanding this War with the Cylons and how it involves Earth."
"Any suggestions on maximizing replication of supplies ?"
"Our Chief Engineer might have some ideas; I'll ask him to liaise with Q Junior on ways of getting more out of the replicators."
Karath raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Mirta. He was constantly amazed by how Starfleet got things done. He was going to ask his Chief Engineer ? If it had been him; Karath would have simply ordered his engineer to get on with it.
"That sounds like a good idea" agreed Janeway. She turned to Captain Karath and Lieutenant Commander Mirta.
"Thank you for attending the meeting," she looked at the others. "As for the rest; you're dismissed."
The Starfleet Admiral stood up as the others did and she was the first to leave the ready room.
Captain Karath and Mirta kept silent until they were beamed back to the IKS Y'Tem.
"Janeway isn't telling us everything Captain," said Mirta.
Karath grunted in reply. "You think I don't know that." His face was thoughtful.
"We would probably do a lot worse if we exchanged places," he was silent for a long moment "Mirta; I'm about to ask you a theoretical question."
She almost stopped in her tracks. "Sir?"
"What if you were captain of this ship and suspected that a certain sentient hologram was actually a member of the Q continuum. How would you relate this to the High Command?"
Mirta was speechless for a moment however she recovered quickly as he suspected she might.
"I wouldn't mention it sir."
Karath kept watching her. "Why?"
"Because…if I was wrong ; it would affect my credibility with members of Command. I would gather evidence first."
The Klingon captain was silent for so long that it made Mirta concerned.
"And that's why you will be assigned to the USS Dunkirk on a more permanent basis to collect the evidence I need." Mirta opened her mouth to say she had already been assigned to the Starfleet vessel and that spying was a dishonour ; but something warned her to keep her mouth shut.
Karath may be unconventional in his way of command ; however he was certainly not stupid.
He walked away; then turned back after a moment. "Good answer by the way."
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Hiya everyone ! so sorry this is so later. i'm constantly making more lemonade with life's lemons by the way. LOL
hope you like this chapter and the meeting was as annoying for me as it was for my heroes. Cya later!
