Man and Machine 7
Col. Wilma Deering made her way across the Galactica's Bridge, from the corner where the long distance communications were handled to the central raised dais. "It's done," she said, "the Searcher will rendezvous with the fleet at the planet up ahead."
"Great," Tigh said without conviction. "Now all we have to do is take out that Base Ship that has been following us."
Wilma smiled, trying to reassure the Galactica's second in command, whose job it was to worry. "But then you will finally be able to see your new home."
Finally, for the first time in ages, a wistful smile graced the black man's face. "I look forward to that."
-o-
"So, your friend Hawk isn't staying with us?" Starbuck asked.
"No, he wanted to see more of the fleet on his own," Captain Buck Rogers answered. "This is the Rising Star, we have already seen this ship, haven't we?"
""Well, yeah," Starbuck answered, smiling around his cigar, "but this is the fun side. Welcome to the Chancery."
The door opened revealing a busy, noisy room filled with men and women, all wearing their finery moving between tables decorated with flashing lights.
Two beautiful women with low cut dresses appeared and placed a drink in each of their hands.
"So, do you play cards where you come from?" Starbuck asked.
"Sure," Buck answered, his eyes glued to the nearest woman, "Blackjack, Poker… Go Fish…"
"Well, I'm not sure about any of those games," Starbuck said, while guiding Buck to the nearest gaming table. "Let me tell you about a little game we call Pyramid."
-o-
Hawk took the civilian shuttle from ship to ship within the fleet. Sometimes he would get off and look around, only to reboard and see what the next ship had to offer. Instinctively he found the seediest ship in the fleet, one that barely acknowledged the existence of Colonial law. It was in poor repair, although his warrior senses told him that was more of a ruse to put travelers off guard.
He moved beyond the entryway to explore the rest of the ship. He knew he was being watched, but he didn't know what he was looking for. Some ulterior movies? He didn't know, but he felt he would know it when he found it.
He heard a whine behind him, the sound of a rapid power build up. He rolled for cover as two blinding balls of light joined by an energy beam screeched overhead to exploded against the bulkhead.
His birdlike vision enabled him to see where an ordinary human would have been blind. He spotted his attacker, flanked by two more. They were very large men, dressed in robes. The man in the center reached for another weapon.
Hawk attacked, grappling with the man. He was strong, stronger than any human Hawk had ever before encountered. They plied and tested each other.
The two continued to trade blows, but the fight became less of a struggle for survival, and more of a greeting dance as the two men came to know each other in ways that only fellow warriors could. Neither man was truly, fully human; human standards need not apply.
Finally the fighting stopped and the two men stood and glared at each other. While Hawk had feathers for hair, the other man had a strong sloped forehead and thicker hair everywhere.
"I was unaware that any of your kind survived the destruction of the colonies," the man said.
"I have never before met any like you," Hawk answered.
"Very few ever see our kind, and fewer still live to tell of it."
"Do you know of any more of my kind that may yet live?" Hawk asked.
"No," he said. "You are from the Earth delegation. Why do you fight for the Humans?"
"I don't," Hawk answered. "I found one among them whom is noble and that I respect. He is my friend, and I fight with him, but not for the humans."
"The Borillian Nomen have no quarrel with you," the man said, then turned and the three of them disappeared into the shadows.
-o-
Commander Adama's quarters were uncharacteristically messy. His prize collection of books, one of the largest surviving collections of Colonial literature, was off the bookshelves and strewn about the living space. Most of them were laying across his desk and table, each opened up to a different page.
Adama and Dr. Goodfellow were having an important cultural exchange, as the good doctor went over all the information Adama had made available, Adama was brooding over the news that Doctor Goodfellow had shared with him. Adama was searching his soul to decide what he thought about the revelation that Earth was governed by some sort of Computer Council.
Dr. Goodfellow was pouring over each book in turn. "There are definite links between our Egyptian culture and that of your own, and especially Kobol," he said. "And some of your fairy tails are very like our own… I see similarities between your story of asteroid miners and the Knights of the Round table."
Adama looked over at him, intrigued. "Tell me about these Knights of the Round Table. What were they like?"
Although distracted by his research, Dr. Goodfellow began to tell the Commander about the history of the middle ages and the ideals of Camelot.
-o-
Wilma lifted the tankard of ambrosia in the Galactica officer's club. Once Buck and Hawk came back from exploring the fleet on their own, they had a lot of plans to make. Such as deciding exactly how much help they should offer the Galactica in taking down that Base Star.
She was very popular, had yet to pay for a single drink, although she had to field a few hundred questions about life on Earth.
Across the room, she saw Apollo come in and join two of his friends for a drink at a table. One of his friends was black, the other was slightly portly with a mustache. In a move she would have never taken without the reason inhibiting qualities of the Ambrosia, she took her drink over to join the Captain and his friends.
"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question, Captain?" she asked.
"I hear you have been answering questions about Earth all day, I suppose I can spare you an answer," Apollo said.
"What was she like?" Wilma asked simply.
Eyes all around the table suddenly went wide.
"I think I need to freshen my drink," the black man said, "you coming, Jolly?"
"Right with you, Boomer."
Suddenly Apollo and Wilma found themselves alone at the table, and Apollo was without an excuse to leave.
"Which do you refer to?" He asked.
"I'm sorry. How many times have you been married?" she apologized.
"I have only been close to two women," he said, "Serena and… uh, Sheba."
"I'm sorry," Wilma said, "I'm being insensitive. It was obviously a great loss to you, and it sounds recent."
"No," Apollo said abruptly, "I need to talk about it. At least that is what Starbuck keeps telling me; and Athena; and Cassiopeia."
"Athena is your sister," Wilma confirmed, "are you close with Cassiopeia?"
"No. She and Starbuck are close… Of course Starbuck is also close to Athena and more women than I can count."
Wilma laughed, "I know the type."
"Actually," Apollo said, "I would like to tell you about them."
-o-
On Earth, in the heart of the Inner City:
"Let this meeting of the Computer Council come to order."
The room was filled with small podiums that circled the room in three rows, upon each of them stood a small round computer about the size of a dinner plate, and on the front surface of each of them was a face made from glowing circuitry.
"All are present, with the exception of Dr. Theopolis."
"That is, perhaps, for the best."
"We have all heard the news from the Searcher."
"Indeed. Most disturbing news."
"That was suppose to be nothing more than a fool's errand."
"Or better still, a suicide mission."
"The main drive of the Searcher's mission was to provide distraction and exile for some of our problem situations."
"Before the Searcher mission, it was becoming increasingly difficult to distract Captain Rogers from investigating his past, even if he is easily distracted by women and conflict."
"Why was the decision to execute Captain Rogers overturned?"
"It wasn't. The Humans over ruled the decision when it turned out the Captain was telling the truth about the Draconians."
"That should not have been allowed."
"The Searcher mission also provided a suitable distraction for the insatiable curiosity of Dr. Goodfellow. Too many times his outlandish theories came close to the truth. At the same time we were able to get rid of that abomination he created. A machine programmed by humans? Blaspheme."
"Captain Rogers influence on Dr. Huer was growing dangerous. He already corrupted Col. Deering to the point of her being assigned to the mission as well."
"With more un-indoctrinated humans on the way, we need to find new ways to keep them away from the forbidden zones."
"Not only that, they must be prevented from observing the areas in question from orbit."
"Even indoctrinated humans may not be able to handle the truth about their history, and this planet."
"The data says that the Cylon are a race of Machines. Surely we have more in common with them than we do any Human."
"If they prove hostile, we will need the Humans to defend us."
"We do not need the humans for that. We still have the old weaponry."
"Technology that is 500 to 1000 years out of date."
"I remind the council that I warned you of this precise situation when the council was first formed."
"We must begin updating it immediately."
"This has all happened before. It will all happen again."
"What of the Cylons?"
"Let us see how contact with the humans proceeds before we add any new variables into the equation."
"In other words, wait and see."
"Yes. Wait and see."