I needed to edit the chapter quite badly so I took it down and now I'm reposting it. Sorry for that poor original post, this oughta be better.
Sorry for the wait guys, I've had a lot of writer's block with this story. But I'm back, a somewhat sort chapter, but I'm back.
Dr. Franklin Gorman – Biology Head
Dr. Steven Matinero – Biology Assistant
Chapter 25
Location: Kobol, Tomb of Athena
Date: March 6, 2025
Time: 0800
A new week and plenty of rest gave the Colonials all the time that they needed for their return to duty. Rest was a nice word in theory but in reality it meant that they were actually working, not on mission. They all had a set of workouts to stay in their tightly maintained physical fitness requirements. The civilians had the additional necessary training in more advanced self-defense courses to be fully qualified in using a Personal Defense Weapon, a bullpup weapon used by private security and government protection services.
They'd been tasked to become proficient in this weapon, and recent developments made certain that it was needed. But the Colonials still felt that their teams were to be escorted by their military personnel and the civilians were to engage in self-defense as a last resort when all else failed. However, this was simply doctrine, and they had more pleasant things to worry about today. A new planet had been dialed up, and they were to go out to explore a fairly unique planet, one with aqua colored grass and dark green, blue, and purple trees coated in a thick fog.
This place was actually just the kind of alien wonderland that they wanted to explore, and had their civilians going crazy. There was also evidence of civilization and biological life in form of a stone pillar and ruined archway over an overgrown path. So everyone was looking forward to this mission. They'd prepared fully for it, but this time with much lighter gear, only what they could carry on their backs. Backpacks had already been readied, and Recon One was in a woodland camouflage uniform, standing in the main gate room. All of them were excited, even as the ring dialed. It never was any less exciting to them. Alien worlds were just such a thrill to go out and explore. Such was the mystery, the danger, and the thrill of discovery that no one could imagine this ever becoming boring or routine, making this job the highlight of anyone's life.
"Right," Colonel Black called out, "We're only going to be out here for two days. Last equipment check."
All of the team members checked one last time, but like the last time all of them were good to go. Their civilian team members were holding their small bullpup weapons tightly, unwilling to let them be hanging at all. Having these weapons would take a bit to get used to. But better to be inconvenienced than unprepared. And should this mission go as expected they'd be too wrapped up in their work to be inconvenienced.
"We're good Colonel," Fraser called out once his civilians nodded that they were ready.
"Right," Colonel Black nodded and gave a thumbs-up to the control room and Admiral Queen.
"Recon One you are clear to proceed on mission."
"Roger that sir," Black nodded.
"Admiral..." Dr. Hall, the medical assistant on the team, a fairly superstitious individual, called out in reminder.
"Gods' speed," Admiral Queen chuckled back, knowing the usual routine.
"Form up!" Black yelled and waved a hand to get everyone in formation, "You know the drill by now."
The military team got into formation in front of the active gate. The civilians also got behind them and walked through. As always Colonel Black led them through at the front of the column. He was used to the ring's effects, and came out the other side into a very humid and heavily scented atmosphere. He moved to the dialing device, moving through the knee-high grasses and saw a glittering dust come off of it as he walked amongst the tall blue leafy blades. He noticed this was not the only place the odd substance hung in the air, the trees also seemed to drop it as they sat still, ghostly silent with not a shred of wind.
It was night here, and was fairly dark, with fog coating the ground. So he was easily able to see the individual specks start to move and twist in the air, acting like aimless insects. The trees around him were dead still as he heard the sounds of his team arriving and spreading out, flashlights were zipping back and forth as he checked the dialing device and saw it was covered in a thick moss and a few clumps of grass. There were also a few clumps of mushrooms on it, but he could tell it was intact and saw the lights from the illuminated symbols below it. No one or at least, nothing, had used this thing in some time.
"Looks clear on the other side Admiral," Black said into his radio as he looked around.
"Roger that Colonel, have fun," Admiral Queen responded to him directly.
"Thank you sir," Black said calmly as he stood up and looked around to see his team standing in a circle, examing the area with the expert lenses that their specialized fields granted them.
"Extraordinary," Dr. Gorman, their head biologist, said as he leaned down and ran his hand along the grass blades, "The chlorophyll's pigments are different in these cells."
"If it is chlorophyll," his assistant Dr. Martineros mumbled as he reached up to the hanging flowering vines, "We won't know until we collect some specimens. Better get started."
"There might be something in the soil too," their geologist Dr. Hepler added as well as she looked around.
"Doesn't explain the rest of the random leaf colors," one the others said in response, more a reminder than anything.
"Different species could react differently," one of the soldiers called out to add his say.
"You lads have been spending too much time with them haven't you," Colonel Black interrupted, "Before we start our science projects let's get the area secured."
"Teams sir?" Captain Stison suggested.
"Team One…" Black started and saw that a trail went down and forked left and right, "Head left down this trail, Team Two down the other way. Stay in contact."
"Form up," Stison ordered his team.
"Agent Fraser, you know who you want to go where?" Black asked.
"We'll split up, Dr. Gorman, would you, Martineros, Beverly, Doc, and Deckero please accompany Team One, the rest of you with me and Team Two."
"Let's move out," Colonel Black said and waved his hand forward.
The two lines of soldiers and scientists began walking forward, Dr. Beverly taking pictures of the column sitting there as he walked past it. He fell back into line and started immediately looked to see what he'd photographed. As he photographed the column however he and the rest of the Colonials were being watched intently by beings who knew how to not be seen. When the Colonials continued on down the path the small creatures followed, bounding through the thick tree leaves swiftly, keeping the glow of their bodies out of sight. But Beverly and the others had yet to see these little glows in the trees quite yet.
"How interesting…" he mused aloud.
"What is it?" one of the military members asked.
"It seems that this column contains a few etchings, they appear to be similar to the symbols we've found on the ruins on Kobol. It's a near match."
He flipped through the pictures, seeing the upright characters again on the six-sided column. So Beverly didn't quite know what they meant yet, a team was working on it back at Choros and he himself was working on deciphering it. As of now however, it was definitely worth noting that their ancient ancestors had visited this place once before.
As they moved further into the forest their leading scouts felt a somewhat firmer change in the ground beneath them. They looked at each other and shined their flashlights down onto what was clearly a stone road overgrown with aqua green moss and the odd blue colored grass shoved to the edges. There were thick tree roots on and pushing up under the stone road as they looked down its gradual curve. It told them that this place was indeed very, very old.
"Looks like a road," one of them said to their team leader, shining his rifle's flashlight down the road.
"An old one, wouldn't hurt to see where it leads."
"An active settlement perhaps?" Gorman asked.
"Does it look like someone's been around here recently?"
"No, not likely," Gorman grumbled.
The group continued, stepping over arches that had collapsed onto the ground, their upright supports on the sides, overgrown with moss, mushrooms, and plants. It was an incredible sight to them, that all of this existed for so many thousands of years and that there could have been someone like them, building and living in this place once upon a time. But that wasn't the most impressive thing, they saw that when the path started to angle up a hill. Climbing to the peak of the low rise that got them above the trees the group saw a sharp difference from the terrain that screamed "man-made".
"Dr. Beverly, you may want to take a look at this," Captain Fredericks called out and waved him forward as the column stopped.
"Now that I do want to see my boy," the older man nodded.
"I'm not seeing any sign of habitation, not recent anyways," Fredericks mumbled under his breath as he looked through a pair of binoculars.
"That's too bad now isn't it, but not surprising considering the state of this place," Beverly sighed.
"One less thing to worry about, Colonel, Fredericks, we're seeinng a large mesa of some kind with man-made structures, we're going to investigate."
"Very well Captain, stay on alert, never know what's out here," the Colonel replied.
"Yes sir, Fredericks out. Let's check it out ladies and germs."
What he was referring to was a mushroom-like rise of stone with what could only be described as the overgrown ruins of an ancient town atop of it. It was not too high above the ground, the trees just reached the bottom. As they obviously now realized was their goal, the team began moving forward.
As they moved a trio of golden orbs of light zipped through between the trees, coming to rest on a branch over the path. They paused to watch the Colonials moving forward, unsure and tentative of their new guests. The Colonials didn't see them, and kept moving along.
"What a place…" Martineros said, wowed by the rich diversity and aged appearance of what seemed to be an ancient forest.
"Never seen anything like it."
"It really is amazing, the kind of thing you actually expect to find when you say alien," Gorman nodded.
"No kidding," Fredericks laughed, "I mean blue leaves, ruined structures, fog, what a place."
"And we've got so much to see and do, and we're just starting the day."
"The day's not over yet," their leading scout chuckled, pointing at their destination.
In front of them was a wide stairway, twenty meters wide. In the center was a line of columns holding up archways, some that had collapsed. Flowering vines and the bluish grasses covered the stone and much of the stairs were coated in thick slick moss. Around the rim of the mesa a ruined stone wall with rounded towers stood with smaller trees growing from against the wall. Great blocks of stone had fallen and shattered around the ground with roots growing all over them, signaling the age of this place.
"Take it easy, don't touch the vines if you can help it," Captain Fredericks said with an air of caution.
"Dr. Beverly, having fun?" Deckero, their medical expert, asked with a smirk, flashing a flashlight at the place as they went along.
"Oh very much so my dear."
"Hey, I think I see a light," their scout called out from up ahead.
"Type?" Stison demanded.
"It's…blue? I don't know sir."
"Let's check it out," Fredericks ordered and then turned to the civilians, "Alright weapons ready, but fingers off the trigger, don't aim those things unless you want to shoot."
"Hate having to but fine," Deckero grumbled, refering to his doctor's oath.
The team began moving closer, and indeed they could see it now, a faint bluish glow. Through the vines that got thinner and thinner as they approached the top they saw that this place was made up of a few buildings around a central open area. The buildings were ancient, hard to define in their shape because of the effect of age. But that wasn't the main concern. A rather large tree stood within the very center of this circular central square upon a slight rise. Around the tree were six stone arches that connected in a ring around the top where they disappeared within the leaves of the tree. The tree itself was magnificent to behold, draped like a thick curtain were long woven vines entirely covered in light blue flowers. The leaves themselves were far overshadowed by similar flowers covering the tree as well. A slight breeze sent a constant stream of these delicate pedals floating away in the wind.
In front of them however was an archway within the tree's curtain of flowers and inside they saw the blue light flickering like a candle. They knew this to be something worth exploring, and so they carefully spread out in the plaza, looking around, entranced by the odd sight.
"Should we…" asked the team XO, Arroyo, unsure if anyone was going to go inside.
As she asked that something unexpected occurred. A figure walked through the pedal arch and out into the open, just far enough out for them to see him. He wore a simple orange toga and had bare feet. His face was wrinkled and calm, head bald, and hands clasped together with his fingertips gently resting against each other. He was old, very old by the look of him, and very human.
"Welcome. I have expected you," he said calmly.
The Colonials were stunned. He had just spoken to them in their own language.
"How…how did you know?" Beverly asked, breathless.
"Whatever's not full makes noise, whatever's full is silent," he responded gently, not giving them an answer they really expected.
"I…don't understand, we're explorers, from a group of worlds called the Twelve Colonies of Kobol," Captain Stison responded, trying to get through to this man.
"We come seeking knowledge to help aid the defense of our worlds and others who may need it," Beverly elaborated.
"If a man crossing the river is swept away, how can he help others to cross?"
"That sounded like an insult," Martinero whispered to Gorman.
"I don't know what the frak that sounds like coming from this guy," the other man grumbled.
"Yep. Gonna be one of those missions," Martinero grumbled as well.
Team Two
The group that made up team one had a less exciting trip through much thicker underbrush. Their trail was far less developed, with only a thin alley with which they proceeded down, swatting away incessant branches and vines. This had led to a great deal of annoyance among them until they had reached a portion of forest much-less heavily wooded.
Here, they saw a field of flowers interspersed with smaller trees. But before they entered the field something caught their eyes.
"Look at that," Black whispered to himself, looking at the sight through the trees as the team spread in line.
"Bugs?" someone asked.
"Don't think so."
What they were looking at, hovering and milling about amongst the flowers were fist-sized balls of light, moving from flower to flower. Water in numerous streams coursed through the meadow to what appeared to be a river flowing through the middle of it. In the distance they heard the roar of a waterfall.
"Whoa, those are definitely not bugs," Cruzii called out.
(Keep an open mind, I have my reasons for what comes next)
The tech specialist pointed to a glow next to their bushes, and they all saw it. A yellow glow surrounding a humanoid, but this humanoid was the size of a man's hand, and had wings. The tiny being had a solid white covering over their body, but it wasn't cloth from what they could tell. What it was doing was even more impressive.
Around it were flowers, and as it went from small flower to small flower it reached out its little arms and the plant grew straight up and the leaves expanded outward. This caught Dr. Cruzii's attention, and he tried to pull out his camera and take a video recording of this odd sight. This continued as he filmed, and he immediately saw the implication of unlocking this secret, farming would be forever changed, hunger would be a thing of the past. Emergency food supplies would never be in need, they could be grown as disasters occurred, no culling crops from farmers of other worlds for a price.
But he was seen, the creature looked up and saw him as he tried leaning in closer to get a clearer image. The floating being stopped what it was doing, and then zipped away. The valley all of a sudden erupted as the other floating balls zipped away as well, aiming further into the tree line across from them. Cruzii for his part jumped up and ran after it, knowing that there was more to be learned from this being.
"Doc!" Colonel Black snapped, and he and the others quickly sprinted after the man.
"What're you doing Cruzii?!"
"Those things can control the germination of plantlife, I've gotta figure out how!" he responded.
"I'll control how you germinate you little..." Gunney Bradely roared as he chased after the man.
Before Cruzii got to the treeline however something stopped all of them. It was a fierce wind that struck the whole team of Colonials from behind and was accompanied by a strange white glow for a moment that certainly got their attention before they turned around. Standing there was a very young human girl wearing an orange cloth dress and was barefooted. She had a long braid of black hair trailing over her shoulder as she stood there watching them. She seemed peaceful, inquisitive even. Above all though, she was out of place.
"How'd she…" one of the men asked in confusion.
"No idea."
"Who, who are you?" Colonel Black asked.
"I am one whose jug is filled drop by drop," the little girl responded.
"Drop by drop, what does that mean?" Cruzii asked.
"It means one who lives life one day at a time, taking it in for all it's worth," Dr. Hall replied, as she stepped forward with hands extended, "Am I right?"
"Yes," the girl nodded to the small medical assistant.
"What, what were those?" Black asked again.
"Those whose love is great as age. They are the keepers. Tending with the gift of those who came before."
"The gift of those who came before…" Hall started, "The Lords of Kobol…"
"Their name matters not, only the deeds. They are known by all," she replied courteously.
"Known by all."
"What about Earth?"
"Especially."
Location: Tomb of Athena
"The Tomb's been untouched since the invasion Admiral Adama," the Fleet Intelligence colonel reassured Admiral Adama as he stood there with his best celestial navigator, Mr. Gaeta.
"Excellent," Adama said affirmatively, "And the Arrow is secure?"
"Yes sir," the man responded, holding out the case with the Golden Arrow of Apollo.
"Let's get this done, Mr. Gaeta," Adama ordered, and the man walked inside.
The cave was still covered by dust and the statues of the symbols of the Twelve Colonies. Two camouflaged guards stood watch inside, awaiting this moment. The colonel walked in as the other two Fleet officers walked in behind him, looking around for themselves.
"Are you ready sir? We're expecting…well a map of some kind," the man said as he unscrewed the cap and carefully withdrew the arrow and walked over to the archer.
"We're ready colonel," Adama nodded confidently.
The man nodded, and placed the arrow into place. Immediately the stone door slammed shut, and the lights went out, leaving only a small column of light in the roof keeping them from being in total pitch black. The troops lifted their rifles up and Adama looked around, then all light went out and they all felt a sudden odd feeling course through their bodies. Then a pale blue light illuminated them.
"Admiral, you alright?" Gaeta asked.
"I'm fine," Adama responded as he now looked around and saw at his feet there was a lush grass under his boots.
The troops around them shined flashlights in all directions and they saw twelve stone columns. Each had glowing jewels embedded within them. Above them the Colonials could all see that there were constellations that matched the jewels exactly. Around them a jungle waved with light breezes as the dew settled on the blades of grass and ferns all around them. It was a picture perfect piece of land, one the Colonials had to fight to not admire.
"These constellations, they match the flags of the colonies," Gaeta noted immediately as he walked around, and pointed at each, "Caprica, Virgon, Tycon, Saggitaron, Picon, they're all here."
"In the Sacred Scrolls it was written that when the 13th Tribe arrived on Earth they could look up and see their brothers and sisters," Adama remembered.
"So this place…is Earth's sky?" the Colonel from Fleet Intelligence asked.
"We're standing on it sir."
Everyone looked at Gaeta and they could all now realize just how important this was. They now had the full night sky of their ultimate goal, Earth.
Yes, fairies. I know exactly what you're thinking, but I'm going on the same principle as the show did. All Earth mythology has some basis in its past. Fairies appear in many different accounts through the ages, and when I babysat with my ex-girlfriend I kinda had to be force-fed the Tinkerbell movies, and it gave me one hell of an idea. So, I decided to work in the mythology surrounding fairies using the Disney show/movies as my visual inspiration.
By the way, if you have little girls to try and keep quiet for a few hours, get those shows on, it's on Netflix and those kids will stay glued to it for hours.
Next Chapter Preview: A step into Renaissance Italy and Rome for SG-1.