Chapter 49 of the Phoenix and The Wolverine.
***I DO NOT OWN THE COPYRIGHT TO STAR TREK; BATTLESTAR GALACTICA OR XMEN ! ENJOY! ***
The Xavier; crew quarters, 0415hrs…
Laura sat completely still with her eyes closed in a lotus position; she was not meditating but thinking.
About a lot of things.
The presentation in the holodeck had surprised her; though she hadn't been involved in the Alcatraz Incident she still thought that showing it to the colonials and one particular female cylon was a bad idea.
Why?
Because knowledge in the wrong hands was a weapon.
One of the things she learnt early in life was to never let an enemy know how dangerous you could be. The element of surprise was priceless.
She had watched the colonials and Six; they had been surprised by how Magneto bent the Golden Gate Bridge like it was putty in his hands; but that reaction was nothing compared to the absolute fright on their faces when they witnessed the destructive might of the Phoenix.
Even Laura had been surprised.
It had made her think of her own time in the 'facility'.
The secret weapons research lab where she was 'cloned' and born; before being subjected to a massive dose of radiation that would have killed an entire team of professional football players.
That had 'woken up' her mutant gene and then her claws erupted.
She had just turned seven years old. Of cause the only one who tried to celebrate her birthday with her in secret was her birth mother; Dr Sarah Kinney.
Laura could still remember the extreme pain she felt with the radiation; it had almost killed her but the bastards had followed up with the adamantium bonding.
Without anesthesia.
But the physical pain was nothing compared to what she felt when she killed her sensei Tanaka and her mother Sarah Kinney.
She knew it was due to the trigger scent; but it was her hands that did the killing.
Laura took a deep breath and tried to center her mind.
Q had told her the facility was destroyed after her disappearance but she so wished she had been the one to do the burning.
The men who ran that facility should have died by her hand.
Laura brought her mind back to the events of the day before. Logan and Jean must have good reasons for doing what they did.
She would trust them while keeping both eyes on the colonials and the cylons; Laura felt something was waiting for the crew of the Xavier . There was this feeling that it was time for something 'significant' to occur.
She was no precog; but her instincts had never failed her.
0610hrs…
Oma glanced at her clock; it was almost time to get ready for the morning shift which started at 0745hrs.
Unfortunately; she had been unable to sleep the night before so she got up earlier than usual and started searching the database on anything related to the Xmen and she found more than she expected.
To her relief ; it was under the classified section. At least the 'guests' on the ship wouldn't have easy access to this information.
After the 'presentation' in the holodeck; she noticed a change. The colonials and Six were scared shitless.
She didn't blame them; she wasn't too far off from that condition herself.
Q Junior looked pensive as they left the holodeck; Logan and Jean were holding hands while Laura had a neutral expression on her face.
Oma had carried out her duties which involved checking and mapping for nearby tylium deposits and ice asteroids from which the colonials got their precious water.
She was glad for the work because it kept her from dwelling on what she had just witnessed.
Once back in her quarters; she went straight to her monitor and started searching for more on the X-men.
It was unfortunate that a lot of history was lost during the Third World War. The global nuclear war destroyed entire cities which contained facilities that had recorded man's history on electronic devices.
Ironically it was the paper documents that proved more hardy than the CDs and e-devices which man had been relying on more and more during the 21st century.
Fortunately; the people of Earth learnt from that and now for every electronic record, there were 'hard copies' etched onto neo-vellum. A parchment made by Andorians that could last for centuries.
It may sound time consuming but it was necessary.
Oma forced her mind to return to the images on her monitor. It showed the Golden Gate Bridge being moved by Magneto. She had meant to watch the whole video but she found herself rewinding that part over and over again.
How had he done that ?
How much practice would it require for her to be even half as good as he was.
She suspected she could never achieve the level of skill he had.
Erik Lensherr had practiced for most of his life; while hid her abilities for most of her 19 years.
Oma sighed and forwarded the recording; she felt her chest go tight as she watched the battle between mutants.
"We've sure come a long way," she muttered to herself as she watched Magneto and Wolverine battle. Oma braced herself for what was coming next and though she expected it; she was still blown away by how powerful Jean Grey was.
She remembered from her dad's books that Jean's call sign had been 'Phoenix." Oma wondered why.
At that point she remembered something that had been taught in her high school about the Eugenics War.
She stopped the vid and searched for 'classification of mutants."
Oma could recall that lesson as if it occurred yesterday. 12 yr old Neil Chen asked why had some mutants being so easy to kill during the war while other mutants had been nigh untouchable.
Their teacher ; Miss Ngozi Maru smiled sadly before replying.
"The sentinels were created primarily for taking out the most powerful mutants on Earth; however, historians suspected that the classification system that the sentinels were using at the time was greatly flawed and thus they underestimated how 'adaptable' mutants could be."
A younger Oma had raised her hand. "What classification system?"
Miss Maru had hesitated for a brief moment. "One that we don't use because it discriminates as well as causes divisions." She refused to explain further and even when Oma asked her father; he was none the wiser.
Present day Oma typed in the search theme and a word popped up immediately.
'Bio-mutative Classification'. It was linked to the disappeared power mutant known as Apocalypse the Eternal One.
The text stated that the 'Eternal mutant' had used it in his heydays as Emperor to classify his mutant soldiers and slaves. Apparently; in the 21st century, some of the governments involved in creating the sentinels thought the classification was quite useful.
Oma frowned at the last bit. This guy had slaves and the Earth governments of the 21st century actually thought his knowledge was useful?
"Unbelievable." She shook her head and kept reading what appeared to be 'notes' written by Apocalypse.
Dregs; lower powered mutants. An unfortunate class of mutants who had lost their abilities but retained the outward 'inhuman' characteristics. A perfect example being the Morlocks.
They are only suitable for manual labour.
Gammas; moderately powered mutants. If trained well; could be suitable cannon fodder and shields for the Beta officers.
Betas; moderate to high powered mutants. Essential for junior office positions and for carrying out basic military endeavors; also a backup 'cannon-fodder' in case the gammas were completely destroyed in battle.
Alphas; highly powered mutants. The elite officers who serve as military police; extremely well trained and fiercely loyal to the Eternal One.
Ready to die at his command.
Omegas; unmeasurable powers; few in number and highly sought after.
If found are kept secluded until time for transference of my essence to ensure my reign remains unbroken.
Well thank the Maker that you're dead. Thought Oma as her alarm went off at 0625hrs. She sighed and put it off. She would rather stay in and read more but in Starfleet your time no longer belonged to you.
Oma wondered how Q accumulated all this data. She made a note to ask him about it later.
I wonder what Rogers is doing right now.
###############
Rogers was awake before his alarm went off. To be honest he didn't get much sleep the night before.
After the 'presentation' on the holodeck; he and the other colonials met up in Sharon and Helo's quarters. For several moments; no one said anything.
It was more like a group support meeting than a debriefing.
The truth was that most of them were terrified of what they had seen. Some of them were just realizing how powerful mutants could be.
Dr Jean Grey had demonstrated that on more than one occasion but for some reason the memory that would stick for years to come would be the 'Alcatraz Incident'.
However; Rogers wasn't scared.
Okay maybe a little bit; but not as much as the others were.
The night before as they sat quietly; he felt their terror and unconsciously tried to soothe their feelings. It worked for a bit until Kara glared at him.
"I know what you're doing."
Everyone looked at her.
"Stop trying to make me feel better; I can't forget what we just saw."
"But what did we see?" asked Anders.
Sharon frowned. "Conflict between mutants and non-mutants…"
Kara's dry laugh cut her off. "Do recall that some of the mutants were fighting on the side of the non-mutants."
"That's not what I meant," said Anders "Dr Grey does not seem the type to…boast about her ability. She and Logan showed us that battle for a reason."
Kara looked at him. "To scare the shit outta us? Cause if that's the case then mission frakking accomplished!"
Rogers closed his eyes. "That wasn't her intent."
He felt the others turn their collective gaze in his direction.
"It was conflict alright; but she was trying to show us how infighting led to all-out war across Earth."
Kara exchanged a worried look with Anders. "You felt this from her ?"
Rogers still kept his eyes closed. "I felt sorrow and guilt from her and Logan.
A lot of things happened that period that left a mark on their minds..."
And their souls. Rogers left those words unspoken as he continued " but it was much worse for those they left behind and this they know."
"Rogers what the frak are you talking about?"
The male colonial ensign sighed and opened his eyes. "Do you remember the first training simulation that Captain Logan invited me to watch?"
"Yeah; the Battle of London in the early 21st century AD," answered Sharon.
Rogers nodded. "I bet you all also remember when Captain Logan briefly told us about the Mutant Cure; the Mutant Registration Act and The Eugenics War?"
He saw each of them nod.
"Well hearing a brief description is one thing…but watching what led up to the Eugenics War is another thing entirely.
After the Alcatraz Incident; the Mutant Cure turned out to be useless.
Those who received the treatment regained their abilities in less than 3 years; this led to more unrest and eventually governments around the Thirteenth Tribe started demanding compulsory registration of all mutants."
There was silence as he continued. "As expected several people disregarded the order and petitioned their various governments to drop the Mutant Registration Act.
The mutants and their families were ignored; some were locked up for imaginary crimes and several were killed in isolated acts.
As time went on; mutant resistance groups began to form and went underground to avoid detection.
Some used violence to protest the Act; while others tried to use dialogue."
Kara raised an eyebrow. "Frak dialogue; if I was in their shoes I would choose violence."
Rogers smiled a little. "My sentiments exactly.
Anyway; things went from bad to worse when it was leaked that various Earth leaders had come together to start 'the Sentinel Program'.
The scientists they hired used eugenics to create the perfect bio-engineered soldiers. Stronger; faster and smarter than a human; also able to adapt to various mutant abilities.
Their main purpose was to wipe out the mutant race.
Bear in mind that mutants at the time were less than 10 percent of Earth's population.
These leaders and scientist congratulated themselves when they were successful in creating their sentinels." He paused.
"Only to have that creation turn around and attack both non-mutants and mutants."
"The Eugenics Wars." Everyone looked at Sharon. She shrugged.
"I've been trying to read up their history when ever Hera gives me a break." The baby cooed and made happy noises from where she lay in Helo's arms. It was as if she had heard her name.
"Logan told us some of this history at his first meeting with the Admiral and the President; but so much happened afterwards that I didn't pay it much thought," said Anders.
"Neither did I," agreed Rogers "until I saw Oma and the others fighting those sentinels on the holodeck.
37 million mutants and non-mutants died because of the Eugenics War and I believe that some of those people were family and friends of Logan; Jean and Laura." He waited for his words to sink in.
"Can you imagine how lonely they must be ? How mind blowing it is to wake up and realize the Earth you knew has been replaced?
It's like losing your home world like we did.
The point I'm trying to make is that Jean and Logan weren't trying to scare us but teach us that infighting could destroy what remains of the colonies."
"We're not the ones who did that stupid Reveal Segment ! Try telling the Idiotic Quorum and dumb Colonial Gang Network what we saw on the holodeck and they will have a field day with that information !" hissed Kara.
"But we're the ears and eyes on the Xavier; what we say carries weight," countered Helo " we just have to tell the right people."
Anders sighed. "Fat chance finding anyone that reasonable."
This was followed by uncomfortable silence. They knew he was right. After-all were they not hiding the fact that Anders was a cylon and that there were at least three other cylons in the fleet ?
Three people who didn't even know they were cylons.
Kara was the first to break the silence.
"Okay fine. They showed us a sensitive part of their history that I would have kept hidden if I was in their shoes.
So what do we do with this information? Do we tell the Admiral that Dr Grey and Logan actually fought for different factions?
That he had to…. neutralize Dr Grey on the battlefield?"
Rogers winced at the word neutralize; somehow it sounded worse than 'kill' in his mind. Even Kara had a problem saying the word.
"I don't know," answered Helo "to be honest this is way above our paygrade but we have to tell our commanding officers something."
And they had left it at that.
No one had any reasonable suggestions; each of them had been too mentally exhausted to think up anything.
Rogers forced his mind to return to the present as he got out of bed.
Time to get up; it was already 0640hrs and the crew shift on the Xavier usually started at 0745hrs.
He took a quick shower; changed his clothes and left his quarters. He walked quickly to Ten-Four hoping to catch a familiar face.
When the doors slid open he was relieved to find the mess hall already occupied with Oma and Laura.
Both were talking quietly when he walked in. To his immense pleasure; Oma smiled warmly at him while Laura raised an eyebrow.
"Good morning," greeted Rogers.
Oma answered him while Laura calmly nodded before sipping from her mug.
"May I join you?" asked Rogers in a tentative voice.
'Sure why not? Grab some breakfast first."
Rogers quickly replicated eggs, ham, toast and a cup of tea. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought of all the colonials who would weep if they saw the meal before him.
"I hope your night was restful," said Rogers as he sat between Oma and Laura.
The mutant teen looked at him then rolled her eyes.
"Perhaps I should leave both of you to…chat," she stood up to go.
"Please don't," said Rogers and Oma at the same time.
Laura stared at them then slowly stand down. "Okay what gives?"
Oma smiled at her. " You don't have to go; we're both going to be on shift duty soon remember?"
Laura looked puzzled. "I thought you liked Rogers; you were just telling me what a nice guy he was."
Rogers almost choked on his tea. "Emmm….I'm right here."
Oma's face was a bit flushed at the moment. "Laura; we'll talk about this later," she sounded embarrassed.
Rogers quickly tried to change the topic. "Can I ask you two a few questions about yesterday?"
"Which part ? asked Laura " The disastrous training session or the Alcatraz Light Show?"
Oma looked at her in shock at her flippant reply.
Rogers could feel the underlying seriousness in her words. Laura might seem non-chalant but she was closely observing everything.
"It's about the Alcatraz Incident," he chose his words with care " what did you feel when you heard of what happened?"
Laura's eyes changed a bit; seemed to go a bit colder. Somehow; Rogers knew it wasn't directed towards him but it chilled him to the bone nevertheless.
Oma had a thoughtful expression on her face as she replied. "On Earth; the events leading up to the Eugenics War were several. Many historians have argued that one event is more important than the other.
We read the histories; memorized the dates and watched the vids."
She appeared a bit guilty as she continued "To be honest; I didn't try to put myself in their place…maybe because I had not experienced the injustice the people of that time had to suffer."
"You mention the people; do you mean only the mutants?" asked Rogers in a gentle voice.
Oma shook her head. " I mean both; do you think that the mutants didn't have non-mutant family members or friends?
Would they stand back as their mutant relations were forced into registration and killed ?
My parents are stationed on the USS Prometheus ; I was born on that ship and when I got old enough to understand , my dad used to take me on the holodeck to see Earth's history as well as Klingon history."
She smiled . "One of my fondest memories; however I gradually began to read more about the history of Earth; especially what led to the Eugenics War and the Third World War.
Earth is not perfect but it was a lot worse in the past.
When I watched the presentation yesterday ; I felt guilt at not being grateful for what my ancestors sacrificed ," Oma's face hardened "followed by anger for what they had to endure and for what they had to do to survive.
Captain Logan; Dr Grey and Laura are survivors of that era.
The conflicts of that period shaped Earth into what it is today."
She looked at Laura. "You wanna add anything?"
The female teen stared at her mug for a long moment in silence. She eventually looked up to see two pairs of eyes; one hazel set and one blue set waiting patiently for her to speak.
"I was on Earth that year; but the last date I remember was 10th May 2006…the day I received this." There was a soft 'snikt' as she slowly made a fist with her right hand and one adamantine blade slide free.
Rogers felt his throat tighten.
"It wasn't by choice and it was bloody painful," she relaxed the hand and the blade slid back under her skin. Rogers looked at Oma and he was taken aback by her expression.
Oma's eyes were wet and there was fury in those hazel eyes. He could sense rage and he suspected it was directed to which ever monster had done this to Laura.
The slight female teen mutant put down her mug and rubbed the back of her right hand as the skin healed instantly.
"The next thing I knew I woke up more than three hundred years in the future," then she smiled " and I guess that was a pretty cool thing to happen."
Rogers knew that her simple answer hid the joy she must have felt when she woke up in the future free of the persons who had forced her to undergo an extremely painful procedure.
Laura noticed Oma's expression and her smile widened. "Don't' worry Oma; the bastards who did this got their just desserts."
The female Starfleet ensign wiped her eyes. "Good to know little sister."
Laura raised an eyebrow. "Who you calling little? I'm almost as tall as you I'll have you know!"
Oma laughed at her playful tone.
Rogers silently watched them with a smile on his face. He wished his fellow colonials could see past the obvious physical differences that Oma and Laura had.
So what if the Federation had both humans and non-humans or mutants and non-mutants ?
That didn't change the fact that each of those sentient beings each had hopes; dreams and fears just like every colonial in the refugee fleet.
He didn't know how he was going to teach his people to see past their hate but he was definitely going to try.
###############
Helo tried to compose his thoughts as the turbolift moved towards the bridge.
He hoped the captain didn't think he was trying to cause trouble. He just wanted to help.
All too soon he reached his final destination.
The colonial pilot stepped out and sure enough the captain was already on deck.
"Good morning sir."
Logan turned away from the sensor readings on the wall.
"Morning. You alright?"
Straight to the point as usual. Helo tried to smile.
"I'm perfectly well; however, I wish to ask if I can contribute to the relief effort."
Logan lifted an eyebrow.
Helo quickly continued. "I know you have been doing all you can to replicate supplies for the fleet.; but you need more pilots to help you distribute it all.
I can help by exchanging my viper for a raptor; with that I can transport as many supplies as necessary to the Galactica for inspection and distribution.'
Logan was silent for a moment. "Sounds like a good idea; your Admiral recently agreed for us to distribute to other ships in the fleet instead of going through the Galactica.
There's one condition; you can't bring anyone else back with you from those ships unless I or Dr Grey say so."
Helo nodded. "I understand and agree."
Logan sighed. "It's not gonna be a safe job Helo. Some people are going to be very angry and you dropping supplies may make you a target.
You're sure you want to risk that?"
Helo thought of Sharon and Hera.
"We're all at risk here sir; I gotta do my part."
Logan stared at him for a long moment. "We could reduce the risk as well as kill two birds with one stone."
Helo blinked. "How?"
"Q Junior or I go with you to the most damaged ships. We catalogue their repairs if they want as well as drop off supplies."
Helo frowned. "That's gonna be a very busy trip."
"We'll make it work. Was that all?"
The colonial officer nodded. "Yes sir and thanks again."
"You're welcome," said Logan before Helo left the bridge.
Cylon occupied space…
Natalie looked at the gathered cylons before her. Most of them were Number Threes; a good number were Sixes and Eights and the rest were Number Twos.
Leoben Conoy unfortunately couldn't join them today; he was under close surveillance and it would have been too risky to approach him before the right moment.
"Are there any objections on what is needed to be done about Cavil?" asked Natalie.
There was silence for several moments as she waited for an answer.
She looked at them and saw each cylon shake their heads.
"Thank you my brothers and sisters; the time is nigh. So be ready to act once the signal is transmitted to your cortex implants," she took a deep breath.
"May the One God help us all."
That was the sign that the meeting was over. They left silently ; in ones and twos so as not to draw attention to the fact that a clandestine meeting had just taken place.
Natalie walked back to her quarters. Anyone looking at her would see a calm collected female cylon.
Once she got into her rooms; she began to hyperventilate.
She dashed into her bathroom and to her relief; the nausea soon passed.
Natalie looked in the mirror; she could see the faint shadows under her eyes. The result of sleepless nights of scheming and worry.
She was planning a coup and it was almost making her physically ill.
Who would have thought that after destroying the Colonies; that the Cylons would soon be at war with themselves?
Natalie wanted to laugh. She didn't really believe in divine intervention; that was Six and Leoben's territory but for a moment she wondered that if the One God truly existed; then He or She had a wicked sense of humor.
Or maybe the cylons were just as frakked up as the humans were.
Natalie turned away from the mirror and turned on the shower. She had to get some sleep; she suspected Leoben was close to deciphering the Kobol Scrolls for the next destination.
She had to rest in order to keep her mind sharp. Too much was riding on her doing everything at the right time.
Natalie found herself sending a prayer up to a God she wasn't even sure really existed.
Her door alarm went off; Natalie grabbed the gun she kept in the shower and headed for the monitors beside her bed.
Her heart rate went up when she saw a gold centurion was outside her door; she checked its head and was relieved to see the red light was moving from side to side.
She walked to the door and spoke into the speaker. "Gimme a second."
"By your command; should I come back for your meal order later?"
Natalie sighed with relief. That was the code sign between her and Leoben.
She opened the door and motioned the centurion in; then she realized he looked familiar.
"It's you. Have you been with Leoben this whole time ?"
The centurion known as Red One nodded.
Ever since Anna's boxing; Natalie had assigned the centurion to Leoben for the cylon's protection. She had prayed Cavil wouldn't snatch him up for more 'programming'.
The bastard had reprogrammed so many centurions that it was beginning to make a lot of cylons very uncomfortable.
Good.
Maybe her stupid brethren would see reason when she took over.
"Report."
"The co-ordinates have been deciphered from the text; master Conoy asks what next?"
Natalie's jaw dropped. That was fast.
She had expected it would take at least one more week.
Shit. There was still much left to do and he wanted them to act now!?
"Tell him to wait; I'll see him in the morning; in the meantime, keep him safe."
Red One nodded. "By your command. Do you require me for anything else?"
An idea began to form in her mind but she squashed it before it was fully formed.
"No; you're dismissed."
Long after the centurion left; Natalie found herself thinking about the other reprogrammed centurions. Did Red One know what was happening to them?
Did it feel fear or anger ? She had wanted to ask the centurion that.
She laughed softly; where in Hades had those thoughts come from.
Centurions were just mechanic structures; not sentient.
The couldn't be.
"Frak. I need sleep; now I'm the one thinking crazy thoughts," muttered Natalie as she went back into her bathroom; but the thoughts persisted.
Natalie yawned as she walked down the basestar corridors. Frak it.
Sleep had resisted her until her alarm rang this morning. The coup was going to turn her into a nervous wreck before it even occurred.
She hoped anyone watching her now wouldn't suspect she was up to no good.
Natalie took a sip of her extra strong kaffa and could feel it kick in; she took note of the number of centurions she saw on the corridors.
More than yesterday. Something told her it wasn't a coincidence this occurred right after the meeting she had with her fellow plotters.
She continued walking at a casual pace until she reached Leoben's library.
Since his area of expertise was Religion and History his 'lab' was actually filled with dusty tomes which had been 'rescued' from the colonies before they were nuked to Hades and back.
She kept her right hand close to her firearm as she used her retinal scan to get into the lab.
Leoben was already in there and Red One was with him. The centurion sat quietly in a corner; it appeared to be in power down mode; probably being updated.
"Morning Nat," said Leoben without looking up from the Book of Kobol.
Natalie didn't bother asking how he knew it was her.
The monitor on his work desk showed both ends of the corridor and the entrance to his lab. At least he was being a bit careful.
"I got your message; I thought I told you to delay solving this riddle."
Leoben looked up at her. " I did delay it for a few days; but Cavil was getting suspicious so I had to give him something."
Natalie cursed. "You already gave him the frakking location!?"
Leoben turned back to the holy book in front of him. "A fake one of course; but we need to move now before he sets course for it. I thought the next meeting he calls would be the perfect time to impeach him."
Natalie was about to yell at him; then stopped.
"Well actually that's a good idea; he won't see it coming."
The male cylon smiled back at her. " I do have a brain after all dear Supreme leader."
Natalie frowned. " Don't frakking call me that." She sighed " we're nowhere ready but this could be doable if he gives us a few days to plan. I need to tell the others so that they are ready."
She saw the expression on Leoben's face. "What ?"
"Do you really trust the others?"
"Frak no; but we need bodies for this to work. A lot of them have been angry about how he is leading us.
We're supposed to be a democracy but he's trampled on all our suggestions and advice. The last straw was boxing D'Anna without a trial.
He should be persecuted for that; she knew something that he didn't dare let loose. The Threes are more than ready to string him up.
Once we get the others on our side ; we'll track down the resurrection hub and find out what the frakking big secret was."
Leoben looked worried. "Some of us are going to die Nat."
The Number Six cylon shrugged. "That's why we have the resurrection ships."
"What if we didn't have them? We only have two left."
"Leoben; forget about the ships. If this coup doesn't work; resurrection would be the least of our worries."
The Xavier…
"Reaction to the Reveal Segment featuring Rhiall Zhalen of Gemeron and Jacob Cantrell of Sagittaron has been widespread and varied.
Some are calling for the Quorum members to resign but most are demanding answers from the military heads of the colonial forces and from the Xavier crew.
Why do all supplies go to the Galactica for distribution? Some have called that the different ships that make up the colonial fleet should be sending other small craft to the Xavier to pick up the supplies directly.
This will ensure it is distributed quickly and evenly."
Helo tried not keep his anger in check as he listened to the brainless reporter on the colonial air waves.
Were they insane?
Had they lost all common sense? He prayed and hoped the Admiral was putting a stop to this soon because some idiots would start gunning their ships towards the Xavier asking for a handout.
He didn't think Logan would shoot them down but it would piss off the entire crew of the Xavier who had already done so much for the colonial fleet.
"Hey Helo." He looked out his viper to see Rogers waving at him.
"Rogers; you alright?"
"Yeah; Captain Logan told me you guys were going to take some supplies to one of the ships after you switch this baby for a raptor."
"Sure; it would make distribution faster."
Rogers nodded. "I hear you; however, I wanna come along. You're going to need a ECO officer to help you with landing; loading and unloading.
What say you?"
Helo smiled. That had been a concern for him and he had forgotten to ask Rogers.
"Sounds awesome; thanks buddy."
Rogers smiled back at him. "You're welcome Helo."
"Helo's viper just left the ship; he's on route to the Galactica," reported Laura as she watched he monitors.
"Thanks Cadet Kinney," said Logan.
Laura rolled her eyes.
"I can hear you rolling your eyes cadet." She turned to glare at Logan who was intently watching the readouts on the monitor by his chair.
"What you up to old man?"
Logan sighed. " There's a lot of chatter between ships; more than yesterday. That worries me."
Laura got up from her chair and walked over. "As it should; we're in a very vulnerable position which is why you shouldn't have shown the Alcatraz Incident yesterday."
Logan looked at her. "I was wondering when that would come up."
"I get it that we're mutants and we can defend ourselves but we both know that non-mutants can come up with lots of ways to hurt us or the people close to us."
Logan knew she was right. "I know that kid and so does Jean. We were trying to show them what infighting almost did to Earth and to be honest I'm not sure we succeeded."
Laura was quiet for a long moment. "You may have gotten the message through to Rogers though. He was asking Oma and I what we thought about the Incident.
Oma gave a pretty good answer but I had nothing to say because I was elsewhere at the time."
Logan tried not to wince at the casual way she talked of her 'previous life'. The Lord knew the girl before him had gone through some serious shit.
"Don't apologize Logan; you didn't do this to me," said Laura as if she read his mind then she quickly changed the subject. "so Rogers and Helo are going to deliver supplies for us?"
Logan raised an eyebrow. Laura rolled her eyes again.
"Please it's simple really; Helo is going to change his viper for a raptor. That's one of the few small ships they have left which are be used to distribute supplies."
"True and Q and I will be accompanying them to watch their backs," Laura opened her mouth to say something "and no Laura you won't be joining us."
She glared at him; then seemed to calm down. "Okay."
Logan stared at her. He had expected an argument.
"I can always go with Jean and Oma when they go to the Galactica," her smile was smug " I have to watch their backs as well."
The older mutant kept quiet; let her have this round he thought.
The Galatica; flight deck…
Helo did his post flight check as the engines of the viper cooled down. Once he was satisfied with the readings he opened the cockpit and looked out to see a small crowd waiting for him.
Before he could say a word; there was whistling and clapping; he was a bit stunned by the reaction. He got out slowly.
"Fellas; what happened?"
"You're home buddy!" yelled someone who helped him down. There was a lot of back slapping and questions started flying at him from all corners.
Are you back for a shift change? Can you recommend me to take your place on the Xavier?
What's the Xavier like ? Has the captain let you fly her? What's that like ?
I hear her weapons are this side of incredible !
What's Captain Logan like ? I hear he's a pretty impressive fighter and scary to boot.
How's Sharon ? That surprised him.
It was so much at once.
"Guys; guys, " said Helo with a smile " I'm here for a bit; Sharon is fine but I need to report to CIC first and I promise I'll do my best to answer most of your questions."
The guys made fun of him in a good natured way before they let him go. He turned only to find his way blocked by Tyrol.
"Hi Tyrol; and I brought her back in one piece as I promised."
The mechanic grinned. "Unlike Kara who blows up almost every ship I give her."
"It wasn't her fault this time."
Tyrol snorted. "It never is." He looked at the viper; one of his junior mechanics was already swarming over it.
"So why bring her in?"
"I wanna switch her for a raptor so as to help with distributing supplies."
Tyrol frowned. "That frakking Reveal Segment. Ignore that shit; I would happily give you a raptor but you need to debrief first and ask the Admiral and the CAG.
Lee's not gonna like it though."
Helo nodded. Both knew that the CAG was a good man but his by the book methods were as annoying as the Fire of Hades.
"You're gonna need a ECO," said Tyrol.
"Already filled; Rogers is going to do it."
"Good; one less thing to worry about. I'll see you after debriefing brother." Tyrol nodded to him and went back to work.
Helo looked at him for a long moment. Tyrol was a cylon according to the data gotten from the raid on the basestar.
What would he do if he found out ? Helo shook his head; that was not his decision to make and he hoped he wouldn't be present when the genial mechanic found out.
"Report."
Immediately he reached the CIC; he had been directed to the Admiral's office. To his chagrin; the CAG and the XO were both present.
"We all watched the Reveal Segment yesterday Admiral."
Saul and the older Adama shared a look.
"What was the captain's reaction?" asked Lee.
"He was disappointed." From Saul Tigh's expression; it was clear he hadn't expected that.
"And afterwards?" asked the Admiral.
"Kara and Anders went back to watching Six and Baltar; however whatever program they were watching in the holodeck made Six stop it and ask for an audience with Captain Logan and Dr Grey."
Saul narrowed his remaining one eye. "Why? Please tell me the good captain told her to frak off?"
Helo suppressed a sigh; could this guy ever take a day off swearing.
"No sir; she was granted a meeting, however Captain Logan asked for us all to observe."
Lee looked shocked. "Really?"
"Yes Commander," replied Helo; he continued when he saw the impatient look on Tigh's face "as the meeting started Six called them and the people of Earth their cylon brethen."
The expressions on the faces of the men before him would have been comical if he didn't know what was at stake.
"Captain Logan and Dr Grey were quick to disabuse her of that fact; but Six argued with them. She asked how come they had survived for so long and that was when they called Q Junior to take part in the meeting to explain."
Tigh cursed. "It's because of that damn hologram ! He did such a good job disguising you and the others and hacking into their system that they think he's a cylon! I don't know if I should be glad or horrified!
"What did Q tell them exactly?"
Helo chose his words with care. "Well actually Captain Logan told them about one the battles on Earth between the non-mutants and mutants concerning the Cure. He explained that her and Dr Grey disappeared from that battle only to wake up more than 300yrs later in this region of space and that Q was the one to retrieve them."
Saul laughed dryly. "I bet she didn't believe them."
Helo nodded. "No sir; so Dr Grey and the captain showed Six; Baltar and us the Alcatraz Incident. One of the battles that took place at the facility which made the cure," he paused "that was the place they disappeared from sir."
Admiral Adama narrowed his eyes. "Six became a believer after that I suspect."
We all frakking did! Thought Helo; but he simply said. "Yes sir."
There was silence for a long moment.
"What happened after that reveal?" asked Lee to Helo's relief.
"None of us had much to say and we left the holodeck. Six and Baltar went back to her quarters that I'm sure of," Helo now felt it was time to state why he was on the Galactica. "then this morning I spoke to Captain Logan and stated I would like to change my viper for a raptor so that I can assist in distributing supplies.
Ensign Rogers will be my ECO."
He saw Lee narrow his eyes. Please don't be an ass today sir; thought Helo.
"That sounds like a good idea," said Saul. Helo stared at him in surprise.
He knew the old XO could barely stand him because he was married to Sharon, so him coming to his defense was a surprise.
"Those supplies still need to be searched; we can't start distributing without due process…" said Lee.
"We have to," cut in the Admiral "right now we've got a power-keg on our hands in the form of more than 40,000 hungry; tired and scared colonials.
If Captain Logan wanted to harm us; he would have done so long ago.
You know that don't you Commander?"
Father and son glared at each other for a long moment; then Lee was the first to drop his gaze. "I apologize Sir; it's just that it may make things worse."
Helo kept his gaze straight ahead; wishing he was anywhere but here.
Being in the presence of bickering senior officers was so frakking unpleasant.
Admiral Adama nodded then turned back to Helo. "Request granted; grab a raptor and head back to the Galactica. Tyrol has a list of ships that need supplies and repairs; tell him to give it to you for the Xavier crew.
Inform us before you go to any of the colonial ships so that we have colonial guard duty on site as the supplies are being distributed.
It's gonna get ugly out there when they realize the change in distribution."
"Aye," growled Tigh " some of those bastards will be demanding their ships should be first because they have so and so on board."
Helo couldn't help but nod. "And Captain Agathon," he turned back to the Admiral "well done on the suggestion but make sure Six and Baltar are always watched. They are still the enemy."
"Yes sir," said Helo.
"You're dismissed." The colonial officer quickly left the room; the door was barely closed before the argument started.
Helo shook his head. Being part of Colonial High Command must suck.
He wondered if Starfleet Command on Earth was any different.
The Xavier; crew's quarters…
Six rubbed her eyes; she needed to rest. After last night she had been unable to sleep and found herself looking for articles on the 'Alcatraz Incident'.
She soon realized the 'presentation' they had watched must have been classified because all she found in her search were some old 'newspaper' articles about the 'bending of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Alcatraz Incident.'
The old newspapers had hardly any information on what happened; it was more of eye witness reports and those 'observers' had been on the bridge when the mutant army and US soldiers stormed Alcatraz.
I need more information thought Six.
"Did you even sleep?"
The female cylon turned to face Baltar. The colonial scientist had spent the night on a couch in her quarters. She had forgotten he was still around.
"I don't need sleep; I need more information."
Baltar frowned. "Six ; I think you need to rest for a bit…"
She shook her head. "No; I don't. I need to go back into the holodeck," she stood up.
"The holodeck will be there tomorrow; please listen to me. Rest today; make a plan for what you want to see and then start afresh on another day."
Six looked at him for a long moment; then nodded.
Truth be told , she was still shaken up. She was on this ship with a powerful force in the form of Dr Grey and it looked like she was the only one taking the female doctor of the Thirteenth Tribe seriously.
Her stomach growled.
Baltar sighed. " And you need food as well."
A few minutes later; Six was eating a replicated bowl of something called 'chicken noodles'. It was tasty and almost tasted like a delicacy she had eaten in one of the five star restaurants in Caprica capital city.
"It's fascinating really." She looked at Baltar who was browsing through the old newspapers on the monitor.
"What is ?" asked Six.
"How alike they are to us. I would have taken Captain Logan and his daughter to be Capricans and Oma to be from Gemeron.
Millennia and incalculable distances separate us and yet we are so alike.
It's simply extraordinary and I haven't even started on the mutant gene."
Six nodded slowly. "Yes; the mutant gene and yet they tried to wipe mutants out with a Cure. The stupidity of certain humans never ceases to amaze me."
Baltar looked at her.
Six took a sip of water before answering. "Think of it. From what we have seen; mutants are formidable weapons; imagine if we had them among cylons.
Do you know what we could have been able to accomplish?
But what do humans on Earth do? They see mutants and consider them a threat and try to destroy them!
As I said such stupidity is mind blowing."
Baltar was quiet for a long moment. "You talk as if mutants are not humans."
Six snorted. "From the little I have seen it's clear the non-powered humans didn't regard mutants as humans."
"Fair enough," said Baltar.
"Which is how the colonials view us cylons. We and the mutants of Earth shouldn't be enemies."
"But you fired upon their ship first and tried to kidnap the captain and Dr Grey on Hera's planet," said Baltar.
Six sighed. " I wished we hadn't and I really shouldn't have told you either. Gaius; how the frak do I fix this?"
"Maybe it doesn't need fixing; maybe all you need to do is understand the Xavier crew."
Six narrowed her eyes. "Explain."
"You heard the captain; he ; the doctor and his daughter haven't been home in 300 years. A lot must have changed for them; people they knew are dead and buried.
Instead of trying to get Earth's location; try to become their friend; emphasize with them and then maybe you might get somewhere."
Six was silent for several moments. "Gaius you're one scary human."
The scientist smiled sadly. "No; just learning to be observant of people's feelings; something I took for granted for far too long."
There was uncomfortable silence for several seconds as both colonial and cylon concentrated on their meals.
"Are you scared Six?" suddenly asked Baltar.
"Of what exactly?"
"Of Earth ; of what we will find there."
"More like frakking terrified to be honest. Apart from the mutants who are 'wow' enough; there is another factor I'm finding hard to accept," Six paused "Earth's allies."
"But we have proof in the presence of Ensign Kadretti," countered Baltar.
"Yes; yes I know that! But the concept that there are aliens out there who are allies with Earth is a bit hard to believe. I was planning to concentrate on Earth's ancient history first; I want to understand why my people moved to that planet and why…"
"But they said Earth is the origin of humanity," interrupted Baltar.
Six frowned at him. "Which also goes against everything that the colonials and cylons were told ! It goes against the Sacred Scrolls of Kobol!
This encounter has left me more confused than ever and now I'm not sure what to even look for!"
Baltar could see that Six's frustration was getting to her.
"We need to approach this with a clear mind," she turned to look at the scientist "forget everything we learnt either on the colonies or on your basestars. We're in uncharted territories right now; if we hold on too tightly to the past; we will get lost in the present."
Six turned back to her monitor. Baltar was right; Earth's past was important but she needed to understand what had occurred on Earth recently.
So she typed in the first question she could think of.
What was the most recent war Earth has been in?
The answer was instant.
'The Dominion War, 2373A.D to 2375A.D.'
Six looked at the current digital date year which was 2382. The war had just been 7 years ago.
Yes. That would be a good place to start.
The Xavier; the medical bay…
Jean closed the lid of the box she had just finished packing; she glanced at the huge pile of similar boxes close to the exit.
She had come in two hours ago to find Q Junior replicating supplies; she felt guilty when she found out he had done those throughout the night.
After scolding him and forcing him to rest; the young Q smiled at her and said he would be down in engineering having a short siesta.
Jean scowled at him as he ran from the medbay; both of them knew he would just continue replicating supplies in the engine room.
Part of her wondered if that was dangerous; then she shook her head. Q Junior built this ship from top to bottom, he knew what he was doing.
The doors sliding open made her look up to see Logan walking into the medbay.
Her heart rate went up as she recalled the evening before.
After the presentation; Jean had been emotionally drained and so didn't want to be alone.
"I'm making dinner ," were her words before she pulled a surprised Logan to her quarters. The poor guy followed her without saying a word.
She sat him down and replicated beef chilli stew with rice and steamed vegetables for the both of them.
At first it had been a bit awkward then Logan took the first bite and almost choked on the spiciness of the food. Jean tried to apologize before she realized he was laughing.
"Damn; it's been a long time since I had food that spicy; I had no idea you liked food that hot!"
Jean laughed as well as he quickly replicated two bottles of cold beer to go with the food. For some reason Logan just made her feel relaxed.
Both mutants had dinner while chatting about mutual hobbies. There was no talk about Alcatraz or the colonials or the cylons. They talked about how they remembered Earth; their favorite places to visit and the shows they missed.
Jean gradually realized that for the first time; both of them were using this 'discussion' to fully come to terms with what they had lost.
It felt good and the Phoenix kept her thoughts to herself and left them alone to reminisce.
For Jean it had ended too soon when Logan reluctantly got up and cleared the table. Both of them had looked at each other for an eternity; then Logan said.
"We both need to sleep; it's been a long day. We can do this again if you like."
Jean nodded. He walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead ; then told her goodnight before he quickly left her quarters.
She had felt vulnerable at that moment ; bless Logan for his honor.
If it had been any other guy; he would have been in several miniscule pieces if he tried to make a move on you.
That dry mind-voice brought her back to the present quickly.
"Jean you okay?" asked a worried looking Logan.
"Yes; just thinking about last night."
The male mutant looked more concerned. "Did I do something…?"
Jean shook her head. "No; not you. Just wondering how the others took what we showed them last night."
Logan grunted. "Well Laura's not too happy about it. She feels we're handing them info they could use against us."
"She does have a point; but I felt it had to be done."
"I understand."
"So what brings you to my corner of the ship?'" asked Jean with a smile as Logan moved the box she had been packing to the pile close to the door.
The male mutant eyed the huge pile before turning to her.
"Galactica just sent us a list of ships needing repairs. I'm gonna go with Q Junior ; Rogers and Helo when he gets back with a raptor; then we will be going to the Adriatic."
Jean recognized the name from the reports Q had compiled for the crew. "That's one of the few civilian ships which has weapons."
Logan nodded. "They also desperately need repairs and supplies; Tyrol put them at the top of the long list. Q will also see to their medical bay and may have to treat their sick and wounded. We'll be there for hours."
He waited as if expecting a reaction.
"That's fine," said Jean calmly "when you get back; Oma; Laura and I will leave for the Galactica so as to deliver supplies and treat the sick."
Logan opened his mouth to argue. Jean held up a finger.
"Ah. We girls will be fine; besides Phoenix will be watching over us."
I'm the bodyguard ? Asked the entity in a gleeful tone; then Jean saw an image of colonials suddenly disintegrating.
I said watching over; not disintegrating anyone into bits!
Oh; you're no fun!
Jean kept on talking to Logan while she tried to ignore the Phoenix. "As I said; we'll be okay; besides Admiral Adama cannot afford disorder on his ship.
We'll be even safer than you on the Adriatic."
Logan sighed. "Fine; but the first sign of trouble…"
Jean patted his right hand. "You're so cute when you're concerned; did you know that."
Now he looked confused and a bit offended. " I don't recall even being called cute."
Jean grinned at him. "Anything else Captain?"
"No; just be careful alright Jean ?"
"I will; Scout's honor." Logan had to smile at that before he left.
So Jean if someone looks at us the wrong way; can I slam them real hard against the ceiling?
Jean rubbed her forehead. She knew the Phoenix was trying to get her mad.
No Phoenix; no slamming anyone into the ceiling.
But what if I really really really don't like the way they look at us ?
Jean resisted the urge to yell at the ceiling; it looked like the Phoenix was in the mood to ask 'twenty annoying questions'.
This had to be payback for last night.
The Galactica…
Helo looked around the quarters he had shared with Sharon; when compared to the family unit on the Xavier; it was quite small and looked dingy.
There was no way he could bring up a child in a place like this. Yet that was what Tyrol and Cally were doing.
Heck hundreds and thousands of other families were doing the same thing in the cramped holds of the colonial ships that made up the fleet.
He and Sharon were the lucky ones.
Helo clutched his small bag of his and Sharon's belongings as he closed and locked the door to the quarters. He thought she would appreciate her things; there were small in number but it was hers.
The colonial captain walked back to the flight hanger; hoping that the raptor was ready. He felt he had been away from his small family for too long.
He made a beeline for Tyrol who was welding a piece of metal unto a battered looking viper.
"Tyrol ? You got a minute?"
The chief engineer extinguished his blow torch before removing his protective headgear.
"What did the brass say?"
"I get a raptor and they want me to take a list of the most damaged ships to the Xavier for Q Junior to look over."
Tyrol closed his eyes briefly. "Frakking finally; I bet Lee had a couple of kittens when that order was given."
Helo grinned. "Go easy on him; it ain't easy being the CAG."
Tyrol snorted. "It also ain't easy trying to keep these bullet-ridden rust buckets space-worthy. I need all the help I can get," then his expression got pensive.
"I never got a chance to ask; what's it like on the Xavier? What's the crew like?"
Helo was quiet for a moment. "The ship is unlike anything I've ever seen; even the lines are…alien. Rogers is the only one to have gotten a look at the engine room and he was blown away by their warp core."
"I remember that from the briefings; to think that their engines run on anti-matter," Tyrol shook his head " man I would give anything to tinker on the heart of that ship."
Helo smiled sadly for more than one reason that he wouldn't dare utter. "Not going to happen pal. You asked about the crew; Captain Logan is fair; tells us stuff when he can and explains why when he has to keep his mouth shut.
He's not your average colonial captain."
Tyrol nodded in agreement. "Probably Earth uses atypical methods to train their officers. Say; do you think you could put in a good word for me?
I would really like to see the Xavier; just walk around. I swear I will try not to touch anything."
Helo doubted the Earth captain would let him on board; but who knew.
"Let's take it one step at a time pal; I'll put in a word but I can't make any promises."
"Thanks brother. Anywho you've got a nice slightly battered raptor waiting for you and please tell Q Junior he has my permission to tinker with it."
Helo was stunned. "Seriously ?"
"Yup. If he can make it better than before that will help me in gauging just how smart he is."
Helo frowned a bit at his words but Tyrol didn't notice; the engineer was already walking away.
#####################
Helo released a sigh of relief when he got back to the Galactica. He nodded at Q Junior as he got out of the colonial craft.
"Welcome back Captain Agathon," said Q Junior as he walked around the raptor "I must say that this raptor looks more battle worn than the viper you exchanged it for." His tone was thoughtful.
Helo nodded. "We lost a lot of fighter craft and each raptor is worth its weight in gold; Tyrol said he would appreciate it if you fixed this one."
Q Junior stared at him. "For real?"
"For real." Helo was surprised to see an eager smile appear on the hologram's face.
"Oh," the Starfleet ensign rubbed his hands together "have I got plans for this little gem! I won't be installing upgrades of course but it's getting a complete make-over." Helo found himself smiling at his enthusiasm.
"By the by; I also have a list from Tyrol about which ships need repairs."
Q's happy expression was replaced by a grim one as he took the colonial eppad from Helo. "Well; I'll inform the captain. Today is going to be a long day."
Helo only had a short time to spend with Sharon and Hera before heading out again. It looked like Q Junior had already replicated a lot of supplies; half of which were going to be loaded into the raptor while the rest would go into one of the Starfleet shuttles.
Q and captain Logan were coming along and the first ship today was the Adriatic.
Helo walked into the fully loaded raptor; Rogers was already on board doing some preflight check.
"Q's already send a notification to the Galactica; he's just waiting for verification and then we're off."
"Thanks," said Helo as he strapped himself into the pilot seat "a lot of people may be waiting for us. I sure hope it doesn't turn into a riot."
"Me too brother; me too," said Rogers as he strapped himself in as well.
The Adriatric flight deck…
The deck was a bit more busy than usual; that was probably due to the fact that quite a number of colonial officers were on board.
They had landed earlier and their squad leader had a short conversation with the worried looking captain of the civilian ship.
Then she told them to clear the deck for two more in-bound craft.
For the deck crew; this wasn't new. The Adriatic had been forced to defend itself more than once against the cylons; at other times they stored excess water so raptors arriving was the norm.
Which was why they barely noticed when Helo's raptor touched down; but that indifference turned into shock when it was followed by a sleek alien-looking spacecraft.
"Is that a…?" Captain Belia Martin was barely able to complete the question.
"Yup, it is," drawled the colonial marine beside her "it's called a shuttle and it's from the Xavier."
By the time Logan and Q Junior walked out; the news was already spreading across the civilian ship…and the rest of the fleet.
Logan felt very uncomfortable with the stares he was getting; he made a beeline for Helo who was talking to a tall gray haired woman.
"Captain Logan; this is Captain Belia Martin of the Adriatic."
Logan shook her hand; being careful not to apply pressure. "Nice to meet you."
She looked at him and then turned at the delta shuttle. "Nice vessel you got there. Any chance I could look inside?"
Logan thought of saying no; then changed his mind. "Sure why not?"
He missed the stunned look Helo gave him. "But after we distribute the supplies; the shuttle is filled to the brim."
Belia smiled. "I appreciate the supply drop but I'm curious as to why this coming directly to us. Usually we get this from the Galactica," she glanced at Helo's raptor and saw his ECO was already off-loading the supplies they had also been carrying "….and usually it's a lot less than this."
"That's an excellent question," they all turned to face the owner of the new voice "why this? Why now? Did the colonial reporters finally scare you into doing this!?"
Belia sighed at his belligerent stance "Captain Logan meet Mias Regent; he's in charge of our medical bay and supplies."
Logan raised an eyebrow; expecting doctor to be attached to that name.
"I'm no doctor," said Mias with a snort as if he knew what he was thinking "you see our doctor got killed on New Caprica and I got stuck taking care of people because I know first aid !
So enough about me, after all this wasted time; what made you start giving out supplies directly?!"
He said the last bit with a glare at the colonial marines who were closely watching the exchange.
Logan looked at him for a long moment. "It's quite simple really. The Admiral asked if we could help and we said yes when we didn't have to."
Mias looked at bit taken back by the reply. He opened his mouth to respond but Belia got their first.
"Enough Mias! The supplies are here; none of us can undo the past, let just distribute this stuff before riots start."
He looked like he wanted to argue but after one look at her set expression and he wisely kept his mouth shut and walked away.
Belia sighed and turned back to Logan. "I apologize on his behalf; we lost a few people recently because of simple infections that we could have treated easily in the Colonies; but those poor souls were so malnourished that their immune systems were non-existent."
"We're sorry for your loss," said Logan.
Belia shook her head. "It wasn't your fault; I watched the last battle and saw how the Xavier put itself in front of danger again and again. I appreciate all the help," then she paused " just be careful; some people don't want to be reasonable. I'll leave you guys to off load; I need to help Mias."
Logan turned to face a worried looking Q Junior beside a silent Helo.
"We're just one ship," murmured Q Junior just loud enough for the two older men to hear.
"They're scared and desperate; let's cut them some slack while we watch our six," said Logan. The young Q sighed before going back into the shuttle to begin off-loading the supplies.
Helo nodded at Logan before walking back to his raptor to help with the rest of the supplies; he tried to ignore the growing crowd on the flight deck.
################
Darien Mateus was surprised by the appearance of the shuttle on the Adriatic. He and two others were working as deck crew that morning.
Now he wished he could inform the other Sons of Ares what was happening; he forced himself to remain calm.
He had to observe them closely; everything happening now was very important.
"We could grab him;" Darien turned to glare at Bren Amos. The young man was a recent addition to the brotherhood and was overly keen to prove himself to the leader of the cult.
"I'm talking about the cylon lover; we grab him and try him for treason and blasphemy." Darien looked around and was glad to see no one was paying attention.
"Bren; not here, not now. Besides we don't act without orders or have you forgotten?" His fellow cult member dropped his gaze when Darien continued glaring at him.
He waited for Bren to nod. "Good; so for now; observe and do nothing or I'll kill you myself. Do you understand?"
Bren hastily apologized as Darien turned back to the organized chaos before him. There was another reason why he didn't want to be noticed.
That odd colonial ensign who had scared the crap outta him was apparently Agathon's ECO. Just observing him gave Darien a chill; that was something wrong with this one.
Hopefully when their leader set his plan in motion; he would get to kill this one.
################
Rogers felt a prickling sensation on his mental shields. He had made sure to keep them up when they reached the Adriatic and sofar there were no problems.
But now he had the sensation that someone was intently watching him. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.
He tried to ignore it but it was becoming more irritating. Rogers stopped what he was doing and turned to face the crowd.
As he studied each face; he felt the prickling build up as if he was getting closer to the source.
"Ensign Rogers?" He almost cursed then turned to face a disgruntled looking Mias.
"Yes sir?"
The acting medical officer stabbed at the colonial epadd with a finger. "It says here that we've got only eight containers of medication and bandages! Have you seen the size of this ship?! This would barely last the week ! We need more!"
Rogers held up a placating hand and tried to project a calm feeling. "Sir; the Xavier is only one ship. They are doing the best they can…"
Mias opened his mouth to argue but Rogers kept speaking.
"Sir; it's not like they have a pharmaceutical company on a planet nearby. They have to replicate this stuff."
Now the older colonial looked suspicious however Rogers felt he was calming down a bit.
"Replicate? What in Hades is that?"
"It's how they make things; machine parts; clothes even food," he saw the skeptical expression on Mias face and tried to explain better "look basic science teaches that everything including you and me is made up of matter.
Their device can take matter and change it into something edible or usable."
Mias began to nod slowly. "That kinda makes sense; sounds like some very sophisticated tech if you ask me," then he narrowed his eyes "if that's the case why don't they give us the replicating devices? It would save time and people."
Rogers forced himself not to sigh. "It's their tech and they are under orders from Earth not to give it out."
Mias stared at him. "You're frakking kidding right?"
Rogers quickly explained. "Look ; we might program it the wrong way and make weapons instead or blow ourselves up in the process of trying to take it apart so that would be a bad idea."
The colonial ensign tried to ignore the low tension headache that was just starting. "Try and put yourself in their shoes; if it was us we wouldn't be letting them near our tech. It's just the way things work."
The older colonial before him appeared far from convinced.
"Ensign that's bullshit and you know…" his voice trailed off when he noticed the discomfort on Roger's face "son; are you alright?"
Rogers was beginning to find it hard to focus; the headache was rapidly upgrading itself to a migraine. This was something else.
"I…I'm fine; I just need to get some headache meds. Give me a moment," he turned before Mias could say another word and tried to find Helo. Instead he saw Q Junior off-loading the last box from the shuttle. He quickly walked towards him while trying to keep himself upright.
He hoped no one noticed his slightly unsteady gait. Unbeknownst to him; Mias was following him.
#############
Q Junior ticked off the last box on his epadd. He glanced at his left to see Logan and Helo were once again talking to the Captain of the Adriatic. They appeared to be looking at her eppad; even Helo had a worried frown on his face.
Q bet it was a list for more supplies; he knew what they gave the Adriatic would barely last a week but he could only replicate as fast as he could work.
Dr Grey was spending a lot of her time replicating dressings and food and even Oma had offered to help out.
"Q," he looked up to see a very pale shaky Rogers approaching him. He quickly walked up to him and held out his hand so that the colonial ensign could use it for support.
"Rogers what's wrong?" then Q noticed the determined man behind him.
"That's what I would like to know! The boy is sick," even though Rogers looked as if he was about to pass out; that didn't stop him from turning to glare at Mias. However; that simple motion almost made Roger's legs give out under him. Mias rushed forward to steady him on his left side.
Q held the colonial ensign up on the right side. "Mias help me get him into the shuttle," he used his free hand to open the door.
The acting medical officer opened his mouth to protest then he took one look at the Starfleet shuttle. "Eh yeah ; sure." He didn't even hide his curiosity as he stepped into the small vessel as he and Q supported Rogers between them.
Q noticed Rogers closed his eyes tightly as if the lights were bothering him.
"Dim lights by 25%," the shuttle complied as Q and Mias guided Rogers to a chair.
"What the hell is going on?" Both turned to see Logan and Helo at the entrance.
"He's getting one of them again," announced Q Junior as he used his tricorder to check Rogers.
"What the frak is that?" asked a suspicious Mias when Q Junior used the device to check the stricken colonial officer's head.
"It's a medical device. I'm trying to see what's causing his migraines this time."
Mias stared at him. "You're a medic? You're just a kid!"
Helo came forward. "Mias; he's a good medic. Let him work; besides you and I have the rest of the supplies to sort out. Remember?"
The colonial reluctantly left; Logan closed the door quickly after him then turned as Rogers started muttering under his breath.
"Another vision?"
Q Junior nodded; his face grim. "I think so and compared to the previous ones….this episode is quite severe."
Rogers could barely hear them at first as the pain in his head worsened; then their voices stopped completely and his surroundings changed.
His head suddenly felt light; he slowly opened his eyes. He was sitting on a white floor with strange patterns that was oddly familiar. He knew it wasn't the Xavier or the Galactica. He looked around; the walls were the same color and pattern.
Then he saw someone appear from the corner of his eye. He turned to the left and saw a golden centurion.
Oddly enough he wasn't scared; more like dazed and confused. Rogers walked up to the centurion and as he reached out to touch it; more figures appeared.
This time they were cylons. Twos; Sixes and Eights. They ignored him and appeared to be facing a window of some sort.
Rogers felt the window was important and he walked towards it.
His breath caught in his throat. He was in space and the ship he was on was surrounding by basestars that were firing upon each other.
Then one of the cylon ships turned and fired in his direction as he heard 'something' laugh gleefully as if pleased by the carnage.
He opened his mouth to scream.
"Ensign Rogers!"
Logan's sharp voice brought him out of it. He noticed he was breathing heavily.
"W-what happened?"
Q Junior and Logan exchanged a concerned look. "We think you had another vision. How you feeling?"
Rogers rubbed his sweat covered forehead. "My head's better but I feel like pissing myself."
Logan's eyes narrowed. "That bad?"
Rogers swallowed. "Something is going down with the cylons…or is about to. I saw them shooting at each other."
Q looked confused. "But they are your enemy; so why are you concerned ?"
The colonial ensign shook his head. "There...there was someone…something laughing!"
"What?" asked Logan with a raised eyebrow. Rogers looked terrified; Q Junior watched him carefully.
"As the basestars shot each other; there was this presence just laughing; as if it enjoyed the destruction occurring around it.
Whatever is going on with the cylons is the tip of the iceberg. I can't explain it but that laughter almost scared me shitless," he shook his head again " I known I sound crazy but…" he found it hard to continue.
"You're okay kid," said Logan "you're not crazy. You need to discuss this with Jean she may be in a better position to help you figure this out."
Rogers nodded; grateful for the fact that he had met fellow mutants who understood.
Yet he found it hard to shake the terror he felt when he heard that terrifying laugh.
Something big was heading their way.
Unknown cylon territory; 2130hrs…
Natalie washed her face. The meeting was in exactly twelve hours. Cavil had sent messages to each cylon model representative for an emergency meeting.
She suspected he was going to make public Leoben's 'findings' in the Holy Scrolls of Kobol.
While the timing wasn't ideal; Natalie knew she had to act soon.
Cavil's rule had to end. She wasn't much of a believer but hoped that the One God was watching out for them.
She sighed then looked at her ceiling. "Just help us to end this please. That's all I ask."
Natalie walked back to her bedroom; after checking the security monitors for her hallway she climbed into bed while making sure her pistol was under her pillow.
Now all she had to do was sleep.
It seemed like only moments had passed before a pounding noise on her door woke her up; she already had her pistol out and pointed to the door before she was fully awake.
Then she looked at the time and all sleep disappeared from her eyes.
It was only 0234hrs; she quickly glanced at her security monitors and saw a very frantic looking Leoben Conoy with a golden centurion which had it's gun drawn.
With her heart beating rapidly Natalie opened the door and kept her pistol up in his direction.
"Leoben what the…"
"Cavil..he boxed the remaining Number Threes!"
Natalie's jaw dropped as she lowered her side-arm. "Why; how…"
"At about an hour ago they were dragged from their quarters by centurions directly under his command and executed on the spot."
"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" gasped Natalie as she ran back into her room and hastily began to put on a pair of pants.
"I didn't know; Red One woke me up and informed me about five minutes ago. I saw his video footage and ran to find you."
That almost made Natalie freeze in her tracks. Did Leoben just address the centurion as if it was a person ?
She looked up and saw the golden centurion was still guarding the door while occasionally glancing at them as if listening in. It's behavior was quite odd.
"Why would a centurion wake you up with such information ? It should be on lock down since Cavil is in charge." Then she saw the guilty expression on Leoben's face.
"Conoy what did you do?" her voice was cold and hard.
The male centurion almost winced. "I…I noticed Red One had been behaving oddly since D'anna's death. Did you know he's been avoiding the centurions Cavil tampered with?
I tried studying it's brain matrix but it was so complicated…"
"Leoben I don't have time for this…"
"I removed his telencephalic implant a week ago," explained Leoben hastily.
Natalie's eyes widened as the male cylon kept talking.
"I know what I did has never been attempted before but we all know Cavil has been putting more directives into their cortex thus effectively lobotomizing them completely so I decided to go in another direction; what would happen if they think for themselves…." Natalie stared at Leoben who kept babbling. The male cylon was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
"We're wasting time." That metallic voice shut the Number Two up and made Natalie grip her pistol harder.
"Number One is still boxing the remaining Number Threes; the probability is high that your models will be next. So; what do you intend to do now?"
Natalie looked at Leoben who just stared at the centurion as if he had never seen it before. She turned back to the centurion.
"Why are you helping us?"
It seemed to hesitate before replying. "Leoben gave me a choice. I simply choose to help you for now."
That reply made Natalie swallow hard. Now she was scared.
But he had a point; she turned to Leoben. "We need to alert whoever is left…"
"To do what?" demanded Leoben.
"The Threes were all behind us and made up over sixty percent of our forces ! Now we are left with some Eights ; a handful of Sixes and a few Twos; while Cavil has all of the Ones; the Fours and Fives behind him as well as some Eights!
We are seriously frakked Natalie!"
She wanted to curse. Leoben was right. She had been counting on the Threes on backing her but somehow Cavil had been one step ahead of her and had whittled her forces down while she had been sleeping!
"May I make a suggestion?"
They turned to face the golden centurion.
"Such as?" asked Leoben.
"Gather the remaining centurions who are yet to be re-programmed and give them the same choice that I received."
Leoben and Natalie shared a worried look. Having one independent thinking centurion was one thing but hundreds?
"What if they don't want to help us?" asked Natalie.
Red One was silent for a long time. "That is a likely risk; but what choice do you have?"
Natalie closed her eyes while she swore loudly.
Red One was right. As they waited in her quarters she knew time was running out.
She was surprised Cavil hadn't sent centurions to grab her yet; but there was no point in waiting for the axe to fall.
She opened her eyes. "Gather as many centurions as you can on this baseship; inform them it's for diagnostics and reprogramming. Get them to Leoben's lab."
Natalie saw Leoben was staring at her as if she had lost her mind. "This is insane."
The female cylon nodded. "Yeah; May God help us all."
#####################
"It's done."
Cavil turned from his wall monitors to face the two male cylons who walked into his office.
"Ah Aaron; I trust it wasn't too difficult hunting down the remaining Threes."
The Number Four cylon snorted. "It was like shooting fish in a barrel; most of them were asleep when we grabbed them."
Cavil smiled thinly. "No resistance from the remaining Number Sixes or Twos ?"
"None," said Simon "those who were unfortunate to witness the arrests were too stunned to do anything else. How did you know they were plotting against us?"
The Number One cylon touched the side of his nose and laughed. "That's a tale for another day."
Simon looked trouble. "Did we really have to box them all?"
Cavil looked at Aaron; both of them were mildly surprised by the enquiry.
"Why yes; until we get this stuff with the Thirteenth Tribe sorted out. Of course by then they might have learnt their lesson," explained Cavil.
He didn't bother mention that he had no plans to ever release the boxed Threes even when Earth was conquered.
Aaron shrugged. "Works for me; D'anna's model is practically useless anyway; she filled her head with too much stupid religious stuff."
"I see; you're right," said Simon with an uneasy smile on his face " well; I need to get back to my work." He nodded at them and left.
Aaron waited for a long moment before talking. "Simon is weak."
"Yes but he is very useful don't forget that," said Cavil.
The Number Four cylon walked over to the monitors on Cavil's wall. "I don't see Natalie on any of the screens; why the frak didn't we grab her and Leoben as well."
Cavil shook his head. "It's trouble enough that we boxed the Threes; no one stood against us because most think D'anna and her sisters are insane.
Now if we go after the Sixes and Twos at the same time; that would cause more resentment among the other models, and resentment leads to rebellion.
For now; let's give Natalie and Leoben enough rope to hang themselves and then we strike."
Aaron sighed. "Okay; you're in charge. Just don't complain when it comes back to bite you in the arse. See you later Cavil."
The Number One cylon turned back to his monitors; it had shown Leoben leaving his quarters then it cut out before he could discern where the Number Two was going.
He didn't think Natalie would do anything reckless; her weakness was her predictability. She was not as flexible as Caprica Six; now that was a formidable opponent.
Yes; Natalie wouldn't be trouble at all. He would take care of her later.
Cavil smiled as he savored his cup of kaffa.
Thanks for reading!
