Chapter 3: Arrival

SSV Shanghai - CIC

"Commander, status report received from Lieutenant Vega." Said the Lieutenant. "So far everything checks out. There are large numbers of wounded crew-members aboard, and the ship itself has sustained heavy damage and is in desperate need of repair. However, the enemy contacts responsible are still unknown, although one of their representatives made references to something called 'Cylons'. And the crew seems to have no knowledge of Alliance Military or our territories at all. It is also assumed they have no knowledge of the Citadel, or the Counsel either."

"If they are human, I don't understand how they have no knowledge of us!" the Commander exclaimed. "As for 'Cylons'... I have never heard of anything by that name."

"We have also have confirmation that our distress call was received... SSV Orizaba on route, ETA thirty minutes."

"Orizaba...?" the Commander said.

"Oh great..." said the Colonel, "The Matriarch's coming for a visit. Better roll out the red carpet."

"You don't sound pleased?" the Commander said with a wry smile.

"Don't get me wrong, there's no-one better to deal with this kind of situation... I just don't think my ribcage can take another bear-hug from that woman!" the Colonel winced at the thought.

"I think your old bones will be spared under the circumstances." he replied. "I'd imagine her priorities are elsewhere, besides trying to mother the entire fleet."

Galactica – Port Landing Bay

The effect was almost immediate. Roslin now lay there asleep peacefully, not a trace of pain on her face.

"How long is she going to be out for?" Adama asked the medic, with a worried frown on his face.

"I'm not sure," she replied, "To be honest I gave her a minor dose just to be safe... I think the reason she's out now is down to sheer exhaustion."

"Lee... I want a team down here to take the president to the med-bay." ordered Adama.

"I should go too... in case she deteriorates." said the medic.

"If you're going up there, you're taking Chico with you." Vega called to her.

"I don't think we have too much to worry about sir. But whatever helps you sleep at night." The medic rolled her eyes at him. "Besides... I thought we were here to assess the situation... Don't you think that would be easier in their medical facilities?" she stated with a hint of annoyance.

"I'm sending two of my marines up there with her," Adama told Vega, "I give my word, she'll remain safe."

Vega glared at them for a moment, glancing between the medic and the admiral.

"Fine..." he replied curtly, "... we need to check out some of the damage anyway before our support arrives."

"What support?" Tigh asked suspiciously.

"You didn't think we were gonna do this on our own did ya?" Vega replied. "What would you have done? 'Oh look... people we've never met before have turned up in a huge warship... lets invite them over for drinks!' I don't think so."

"He's right Tigh." Adama said, chuckling at the Lieutenant's comment. "We'd have had the entire fleet on top of them if the position was reversed."

"Ok... so who are we expecting?" asked Tigh.

"Well you kinda caused a bit of a commotion with the head honcho's back home... so they're sending the 'boss-lady' to take charge.

"Does your boss have a name?" Adama asked.

"Sure... Admiral Shepard.." he said.

SSV Orizaba – CIC

Hannah Shepard stood at the command station watching the strange alien craft. She seemed to have a sturdy design, but had obviously seen better days. Her heart went out to the captain of this once proud warship... if they were a captain of any integrity, they must be in a deep pit of despair. Only another captain could understand.

"Incoming report from the Shanghai, Admiral..." said Traynor, knocking her out of her thoughts.

"Send it to my station specialist." she said, her 'battle mode' as Jane had always called it had taken over. The caring, happy-go-lucky woman she naturally was, pushed to one side as she assessed the situation. She read through all the intel the first responder team had uncovered about their new guests.

"Human... but no knowledge of the alliance... but an obvious reaction to 'Earth'... what the hell is this?" she thought. "I never seem to get the simple jobs." she muttered to herself.

"Ma'am the Shanghai has acknowledged our arrival, and are requesting orders" Traynor reported.

Shepard read over the reports again, ensuring she had all necessary facts committed to memory. It seemed incredible that these people were unaware of the Alliance's existence. She had seen cases of amnesia before, or PTSD that could erase memories... but for it to happen to such a large group of people was completely unheard of. Not to mention the ship was of a design, completely unheard of by any known race in the galaxy. This meant there was some serious brainwashing going on here... or... they were telling the truth.

Sighing to herself, she thought about what steps should be taken. Whatever the case, these people so far appeared to be no threat to them. The preliminary scans on the ship revealed that the ship was holding together... but only just... and that most of their weapons were either damaged, or destroyed. The priority now was to ensure the crew of the ship were kept safe.

"I want as many spare engineers and medics to assemble in the hangar bay for immediate deployment onto the other ship." she ordered. "I also want a platoon of marines armed and ready to go with them as guards... we still cannot guarantee their safety, so have another platoon on stand-by just in case they need back-up."

"By your command, Shepard." answered Traynor. (*)

"Excuse me...?" Hannah said, giving Traynor an odd look.

"Sorry commander... old habit..."

"I also think its time me and this 'Adama' spoke face to face." she said, "Arrange a meeting between us and their leaders aboard this ship. I want to see what kind of people they are for myself."

"Right away Admiral." Traynor replied, hurrying off to relay the admirals orders.

( *Note: We are aware that it was Kelly Chambers who made the statement: "By your command, Shepard" but we wrote it in as we felt it was too funny to leave out, and Kelly's whereabouts are unknown as she is currently in hiding, living under a different name.)

Galactica – CIC

Adama strode into the CIC with Lieutenant Vega and his entourage in tow. Officers darted back and forth, checking systems, adjusting calibration's, and generally trying to clear up as much debris as was possible. They were so preoccupied dealing with the shambles that had ensued following the last battle, they hadn't noticed the Admiral enter.

"ADMIRAL ON DECK!" barked Tigh. The entire room instantly stopped what they were doing, and stood to attention, saluting their commander. Everyone fell silent when they noticed the large soldier stood next to the admiral. He definitely wasn't one of theirs... they all thought.

"At ease." Adama ordered. "This is Lieutenant Vega... he and his team have been sent as representatives of the Shanghai... the ship we encountered about an hour or so ago. They are part of the 'Earth Systems Alliance'.

At the mention of 'Earth'... the room was filled with whispers and murmuring, and several officers jaws physically dropped... staring wide-eyed at the strange-looking group.

"Our last jump has accidentally landed us in their territory... however... they seem to be trustworthy, and willing to negotiate. I have therefore granted them permission to explore, and evaluate the ships condition, in the hope that they are able to offer assistance. I want you all to cooperate with them to the best of your ability."

Adama paused for a moment to let the flood of information sink in.

"Back to your posts." he ordered.

"You guys are having a hard time believing us about Earth huh?" Vega whispered to Adama.

"We already found one earth..." he replied "...it was a nuclear wasteland. So forgive us for not jumping for joy just yet."

"It's ok... I kinda understand... I just think its weird that you guys don't know anything about us."

"The only woman who had any kind of information about earth... is currently lying in the med-bay with your medic." Adama stated.

The Omni-Tool on Vega's arm began to flash.

"Admiral, inbound vessel on DRADIS..." called an officer, "...Looks like it's about the same size as the Galactica, Sir. Inbound on our position. From the looks of the intel, it's similar to the Shanghai."

"Yeah... I just got confirmation, our backup has arrived." Vega said to Adama.

"So what happens now?" Adama asked.

"Well... the boss wants to talk mano-a-mano..." Vega stated, but seeing the confused expression on the admirals face quickly added, "...That means face to face... okay?"

"I expected that would happen... what can I expect from her?" asked the Admiral. They'd only spoken for a short while, but he got the feeling that the lieutenant was trustworthy.

"Ok, they've sent over Admiral Shepard. Real strong lady... she's faced almost every enemy humanity has ever had, and won. She commands a lot of respect in the Alliance." Vega replied.

"You can vouch for her?"

"By reputation yeah... I've never served with her myself." Vega said. "But my last post was on her daughters ship... if they're anything alike, then you know you're definitely in good hands."

The lieutenant looked at him earnestly. Adama still wasn't sure what to make of these people, but he knew Roslin thought they were somehow connected to the thirteenth tribe. Whether this was true or not, they were the only other humans they had met in a long time, and they appeared to be capable of helping their situation. For now, they needed to ensure the negotiations went smoothly.

"The admiral wants to talk to you as soon as possible sir. Do you have anything working to get you there?" Vega asked. "If not we've got a shuttle that can take you."

"I'm sure we can find a working Raptor. I'm bringing a few of my crew with me, so we'll need the space."

"Got it sir. We'll leave you to get your team ready, and meet you back in the hanger bay." Vega replied. "I'm also sending another one of my team to the med-bay to stay with our medic... protocols." he said rolling his eyes."

"Agreed." Adama replied. "No harm will come to her on my ship, this I swear as a Tauron. I offer my head, otherwise."

Vega nodded, threw the Admiral a quick salute, then left the CIC with the rest of his team.

Adama stood there for a moment thinking about the preparations he needed to make. With all the chaos going on he had almost forgotten about the rest of the fleet waiting for contact from the Galactica.

"Tigh, you have command while I am away. I need you to contact the rest of the fleet, and explain the situation to them."

"Sure thing Bill." Tigh replied. "You sure you're gonna be ok over there? We've literally just met these guys!"

"What choice do we have?" Adama sighed. "Without help... we are basically stranded out here."

"I don't like it... But once you've made up your mind you ain't changing it any time soon." Tigh said with a grin. "Just make sure you come back in one piece... this ship ain't going nowhere without its commander."

The two men saluted each other, and Adama headed off to gather his team.

Galactica – Port Hangar Bay

Adama stood in the hangar bay with his team while the Raptor was being prepped. He wanted to make sure that he took people he could trust... the impending meeting with the Admiral from earth was vital to their survival.

With Roslin still in the med-bay, it fell upon Lee as Vice President, to act as representative of the Colonial Government. Starbuck was the one who initially jumped the ship to this location, and the other admiral would no doubt want to speak with her. Sharon Agethon (aka Athena) was chosen to fly the Raptor, with a model six Cylon as her co-pilot. They would act as representatives of the Cylons, who were required to be there under the terms of their alliance... Sharon was, however, one of their best pilots, and would be crucial if anything went wrong during the negotiations. With Helo still not allowed to leave the med-bay, he was more than happy to look after Hera. Two marines had also been chosen to accompany them as guards.

"So... you think these guys are the 13th tribe?" Starbuck whispered to Adama. "If so, they are really big on protocol... or they just have a huge stick up there collective asses and are showing off."

"I'd imagine the president would be able to tell us more, but she's in no fit state to help us right now." Adama replied. "However... do me a favour... try not to agitate them, we can't afford to pick a fight." he said with a smile.

"Sure thing sir." she replied with that mischievous grin of hers. "I'll do my best to make a few friends."

"It always worries me when you say things like that." Adama sighed.

He then turned to Lee. When he first arrived in the hangar bay, Lee was still in his combat gear from the previous battle. As he was representing the colonial government as Vice President, Adam suggested to Lee it would be more appropriate to change into something that was more befitting of his position.

"You ready for this?" Adama asked his son.

"Not really... but sometimes you gotta roll the hard six." he replied.

Adama nodded in agreement.

"Admiral, Raptor prepped and ready to fly." called a deckhand.

One by one, the team members filed into the Raptor. Adama paused for a moment as Vega strolled over from his waiting Kodiak.

"Ok sir, we're gonna escort you to the Orizaba. Take it nice and slow, we ain't sure how your ships handle out there and we don't want any accidents on the way." Vega said.

"Got it," replied Adama, "What happens when we land?"

"You'll be safe enough over there don't you worry..." Vega said, "... but just to stay on the safe side, don't get out until we come to get you... ok?"

"Agreed. Lets get going!" Adama shouted as he slapped the side of the Raptor.

Adama sat down in his seat, as the ship was transported to the landing bay, ready for take off. They had all been through so much since the fall of the colonies... this meeting was their chance to finally make some progress in finding a new home, or to at least have some repairs made to the ship.

"Please wake up soon Laura," he thought to himself, "We need you now more than ever..."

END OF CHAPTER