"" for colonial speech
for Terran speech
1.
Starbuck stood up as the Admiral entered the brig. "I wondered when you'd finally come back down here." She said, smiling fondly at the man she regarded as her father.
Adama kept his neutral expression but she could see the twinkle in his eyes as he stared at her. They pair stood there looking at each other for a minute before Adama finally broke the silence.
"What do you hear?"
"Nothing but the rain."
"Then grab your gun and bring in the cat."
"Boom, boom, boom."
Adama allowed a broad smile to spread across his face. "Welcome home Kara."
Starbuck felt her heart skip a beat as it jumped into her throat. "It's," she paused as she tried to regain control of her feelings. "It's good to be back."
Adama pulled a chair in-front of the brig and indicated for her to sit on the chair in her cell. He spent a little while staring at her before he spoke to her again. "You've been away for quite some time."
Starbuck gave him a sheepish grin as she replied. "Sorry sir, but I've got a whale of a story to tell you."
"I'm listening."
"One thing first," she leaned closer to the bars. "Do you know the name of their ship in our language?"
Adama gave a quick shake of his head. "No, in their tongue it's call the Atlantis but I don't know what it is in ours but something tells me you do."
Starbuck gave him one for her all-knowing smiles, the kind he'd missed for the last several weeks. She leaned in as close as she could to him and whispered, almost conspiratorially. "It was called the Atlantis."
Adama took only a split second to place the name, "As in the City of the Gods?" Starbuck only smiled at him with that smile of hers. "How do you know this?"
"This is gonna take a while and it's gonna sound a little strange but," she said as she leaned back into her chair. "It all started right after my Viper exploded in the storm…..
---
Tigh stared over at the Raptor as it came into the bay. "This is a bad idea."
"Major Adama suggested it to the Admiral and he concurred," said Tyrol as the pair walked over to the Raptor as it was pulled into a spare maintenance bay. "We need someone to handle the translations here and he's the only one that can do it."
"It's how he knows our language that worries me."
Tyrol turned his gaze from the Raptor to Tigh as an idea shot through his brain. "You think he's a Cylon?" he asked quietly, so only Tigh could hear.
Tigh sighed heavily as the Raptor door started to open. "I hope not, and yet, I hope he is, it would allow us to answer some questions."
Any idea what that's about? Asked Shockwave as he watched the Raptor land as Tigh and Tyrol started to walk towards it.
Dragon gave a slight shake of his head. Not a clue, he stood up and started to walk towards the Raptor. But let's find out.
The pair watched as one suited figure helped another out of the Raptor. The two figures turned over to Tigh and Tyrol and, after a brief conversation, one of figures turned to face them.
Well I'll be dammed, muttered Orion as he smiled from behind the helmet-visor. I figured you'd gone and gotten yourself killed.
With speed belying his mass, Dragon closed the distance between himself and his friend and hoisted him of the ground in a bear-hug. Speak for yourself, I plan to live forever. He released Orion and stood back to examine the suit that his friend was wearing. You're out of uniform.
Orion smiled and gave Dragon a quick, but sharp salute. Sorry, my uniform's in about a hundred pieces in their med-bay. Once we get back to Earth, I'll make sure to get a new one.
Artemis? Dragon asked cautiously, afraid of the receiving the bad news he was expecting.
Orion gave him a quick smile. Alive but unconscious, their doc isn't sure when she'll wake up but, knowing her, it'll be when she's damm good and ready.
Dragon cast a quick glance at the Colonials before turning back to face his friend. So what can you tell me about these people?
Orion tired to wipe the smile from his face as he answered. You owe me fifty credits. He barely had time to duck as Dragon's fist swept through the air where his face had been.
You knew didn't you? Dragon asked as Shockwave moved off to check on the occupants of the shuttle, deciding not to get involved in the argument. This has something to do with all this, doesn't it? He pulled the piece of paper, covered in the strange writing, from his flight-suit's pocket.
Orion lunged for the paper, in mild shock the Dragon even had it, Give me that!
Dragon scrunched the paper up in his hands as he shifted into a defensive posture. You knew! You smeghead!!
Orion began to move to get the paper.
"Everything alright?" asked Apollo, who now stood close-by with Tigh and Showboat.
Orion took a split second to compose himself before he answered, "Fine, just having a disagreement with my crewmate."
"That's Kobolian!" remarked Showboat in disbelief as she pointed intently at the crunched up bit of paper in Dragon's hand.
"You can read it?" remarked Orion a little sceptically.
Showboat nodded. "My mother was a priestess, she taught me to read the ancient scripts."
"Give me a moment," Orion said before quickly turning back to Dragon.
The three Colonial officers watched as the pair engaged in a heated argument over the paper.
"I wonder what is so important about that piece of paper?" Apollo asked to no-one in particular.
"Maybe it has the names of the final five Cylons on it," joked Showboat, as both pilots missed the nervous expression that shot over Tigh's face, only to vanish a split second later. "Or maybe it's a really good recipe for ambrosia."
Apollo laughed at the second statement. "We should be so lucky. Any more of Tyrol's moonshine or Joe's 'Special Brew' and I don't think I'll be able to fly Vipers."
"He's says he'll only give it up if she agrees to go on a date with him once we've sorted out this mess." said Orion as he interrupted their little conversation.
Tigh shook his head in irritation as Apollo choked as he tried to not to laugh and Showboat turned crimson red in embarrassment.
"So do we have a deal?" asked Orion as he looked at the three Colonial officers with a smirk on his face.
Both Tigh and Apollo turned to Showboat who was getting more embarrassed with each passing second. She barely managed to give a fractional nod of her head before Hotdog and Tyrol walked over to see what was going on.
Orion turned back to Dragon and gave him the thumbs up. Dragon tried to control the smile that was now plastered to his face as he handed the scrap of paper to Orion, who in turn passed it to Showboat.
After she'd taken a few seconds to regain her composure she examined the paper. "It's a little strange," she started. "Some of the characters don't quite match with what I remember but, as best as I can follow, it reads; 'and the Lords of Olympus proclaimed that those of the lost colony would meet their brethren at the crossroads and begin their final journey. Though it would not be easy, the two groups would be lead by the chosen of the twin Lords and, in the end, all the tribes of man would become one, Pythia.'
Olympus? Shockwave muttered, upon hearing the only word he recognised.
Orion turned to him and Dragon and gave them as best a translation as he could as the Colonials debated the message.
"Pythia?" started Apollo, "as in the scrolls of Pythia?"
Showboat gave a slight nod as she carefully handed the paper to Tigh. "I think so, according to legend she chronicled the exodus of the thirteenth tribe when they left Kobol in the early days."
"But she lived long before the first exodus on Kobol," stated Tyrol, "how could her writings appear on Earth?"
Tigh turned from the group as they discussed the note and watched the Terran group.
Lords of Olympus? asked Dragon sceptically. Don't they mean the Gods of Olympus?
Orion shrugged a little at the question, I'm doing the best I can ok. I don't understand all of their words but that's clearly what I heard. Anyway the name at the end, Pythia, seemed to be important to them.
Pythia? all three pilots turned as one to stare at Stavros.
You recognise it Petty Officer? asked Dragon.
Yes sir, she answered. In ancient Greece, during the worship of the ancient Gods, the head priestess of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was called the Pythia.
Is it possible that the name has the same meaning here? asked an increasingly sceptical Dragon.
Orion shrugged as he pondered the idea, It's possible, much of their religion seems to mirror that of ancient Greece. He turned to face Stavros. Could the Lords of Olympus be the major gods?
It would make sense sir. She paused momentarily as a revelation hit her, The twin Lords! That must be Apollo and Artemis, they were the only twins among the major Gods.
The chosen of the twin Lords, stated Dragon as he and the other Terrans turned to look at Orion. James, just how did you get your call-sign?
The commandant of the CTTC gave it to me after my first month there.
Shockwave whistled, Man, the Command and Tactical Training Centre is a bastard to get into, only the top twenty pilots each year get in there. he looked down at Orion's wings and noticed the silver edging indicating a CTTC graduate. Where'd you place?
Who was the commandant at the time? Dragon asked, cutting of Shockwave's question.
Admiral Jackson, that's how I got chosen for the Cobra test program, said Orion as he answered the second question. He told me it was because I set the record for accuracy on the simulators at the academy.
Makes sense, remarked Shockwave, a little annoyed that his question hadn't been answered. Orion was a famous hunter.
I think there's more to it than just that, stated Dragon as he racked his brain for something he'd been told long ago. The Admiral's call-sign was Poseidon and your grandfather's is Zeus. He paused as he tried to remember something else but couldn't remember what he wanted. What about your father?
He was called Hermes, said Orion with a slight smile. Though he wasn't the son of Zeus.
Shockwave stared from Dragon to Orion then back again, sure he was missing a private joke. So what's that all mean?
Dragon turned to face him, According to legend, Orion had no mother but three fathers, the gods Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes.
Shockwave started to say something only to be cut off by Apollo.
"Sorry to bother you but, has anyone from your crew experienced any signs of illness."
Orion talked quickly with his friends then turned to face Apollo. "Nope, a couple are scared and worried but, given what's happened, that's not surprising. Why?"
"Almost all of the crew members in this bay are showing signs of disease. Our doctors are working to find a cure but they're having problems as it doesn't match anything they've ever seen before."
Orion looked over the bay and noticed how many of the Galactica's crew were sitting or lying down. Most looked fine but some were coughing heavily. "Ok, I'll see if we have any doctors or medical equipment onboard."
Apollo nodded slightly. "Thanks, also our doctors would like to take blood samples from your crew here then compare it to yours and Artemis' to see if they show any signs of the disease."
"No problem, just give me a minute to talk to the others."
Apollo gave Orion a slight nod as he turned and walked back over to Tigh.
"Well?" asked Tigh, his mood getting progressively worse as the situation deteriorated.
"They'll allow the blood samples," answered Apollo, which seemed to clam Tigh slightly. "Also, if they've got any doctors or medical equipment onboard they should be able to help."
"Well that's a relief," muttered Cottle as he walked rather clumsily towards the pair because of the hazmat suit. "The sooner we solve this the sooner I can get out of this bloody suit."
"So what's wrong with the crew?" asked Tigh.
"It looks like some kind of influenza, but it's not one I'm familiar with and it's resisting all our standard meds. I hope they have some idea what it is or we could be looking at a disaster."
"How bad could it get?" asked Tyrol as he and Showboat walked towards them.
Cottle looked down at his clipboard before he answered. "So far every crew member that has contracted the disease has shown the same signs. A slight fever or cough in the first hour with the symptoms getting rapidly worse over the next hour. Soon after, they'll faint and fall into a coma. A couple of hours after that, they're internal organs will start to shut down, the order can be slightly different from patient to patient but the lungs, stomach and heart all seem to be affected." He paused as he collected his thoughts.
"And after that?" asked Showboat as she coughed slightly.
Cottle gave her a concerned stare as he answered. "So far anyone who's gotten to that stage is dead within ten minutes without external help. Even then, if we don't find a cure within the next hour we're looking at twenty or so deaths with another fifty in the following hour."
Showboat started to speak only to lose her balance.
"Easy there," said Cottle as he and Tyrol caught her. "How long have you been coughing?"
"About an hour," she replied shakily. "Guess that means I'm entering stage two." Her smile did nothing to hide the fear in her voice.
Two other pilots came over and started to carry her over to a makeshift bed at the other end of the bay.
The group shared a concerned stare as they watched her be carried away.
"How are you feeling Colonel?" Cottle asked as he watched Showboat being carried away. "You were the last one down here before the lockdown."
"All things considered, not too bad." replied Tigh. "I've got a slight fever and I could use a drink."
"You and me both," muttered Cottle, who then turned to Apollo. "Come on then, let's see if our guests have any doctors onboard."
Tyrol waited until no-one else was in earshot before he spoke. "You really got a fever?"
Tigh gave him a dead man's stare as he answered. "Of course not but if I don't say I have something then Cottle might get suspicious." Tigh looked over the bay and took in the large number of the crew who were showing various stages of the disease. "We should be the last ones to stand a chance of getting infected anyway so we're fine for now, but if Cottle isn't able to find a cure in the next couple of hours or once he fully examines Sam…." He left the statement hanging as both contemplated what would happen then.
---
Apollo watched as the Terran doctor, a man by the name of Walters, and Cottle tried discussing the disease with almost no success. Unfortunately, Orion had no idea about some of the medical terms that Cottle was asking him to translate, though truth be told, Apollo was having difficulty following Cottle as well, and it was his native language!
By sheer luck, Walters examined a blood sample for one of the deck crew and spotted the virus in question. From then on Cottle and Walters used images taken by Cottle and a portable computer that Walters had, to examine and compare the virus to Earth-based viruses. Earth, Apollo still couldn't believe that they'd found it and the people of Earth. Ok, they hadn't found them, more like the people of Earth had found the fleet and that bother him.
Actually a few thing bothered him; first was the chances that of all the places that the Atlantis could appear, after an accidental jump, it appeared right between the fleet and the Cylons.
Second, the fact the survivors from the Atlantis didn't speak anything close to Colonial, with the exception of Orion, and that was the biggest thing that worried him.
He watched as Orion talked with his crewmates and Apollo found himself contemplating an idea that scared him to his core, what if Orion was a Cylon?
-
Dragon also watched as Walters and Cottle looked from the Terran equipment to the Colonial stuff then back again. They seem a little apprehensive around computers, he remarked. I wonder why?
Orion was watched the two doctors but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Apollo staring at him. I guess the Cylons have an edge in computer tech.
Dragon turned his attention to Orion at the comment. He watched his friend for a minute before he asked the question that was now buzzing round his head. Ok, spill. What do you know?
Orion turned to face his friend. It seems that this ship was once part of a fleet of one hundred and twenty Battlestars plus smaller ships.
Dragon whistled at the comment. A hundred and twenty of these things? Man that would have been one hell of a sight to see. He paused as he imagined it in his mind. So what happened?
The Cylons, near as I can figure from what I've been told, the Cylons attacked and in single day destroyed the entire Colonial fleet and their home worlds. These people are all that's left of a people of over twenty billion.
Glad they're not our enemy.
Actually, started Orion only for Dragon to cut him off.
The Cylons are looking for Earth aren't they? Orion gave a subtle nod as he watched Apollo walk over. This keeps getting better and better.
Orion leaned down and whispered in his friends' ear as he tried to keep the smile from his face. It gets even better, this ship was being decommissioned during the attack. She's over fifty years old.
Apollo watched as Dragon gave Orion a murderous look then trudged off towards the other survivors. "Is he alright?"
Orion watched his friend walk away with a smile on his face. "Yeah, he's just enjoying the scenery."
Apollo stared at Orion following the cryptic answer. "Come on, Admiral Adama wants you to meet someone."
"Who?"
"It's a surprise." answered Apollo as the pair climbed into a Raptor and began the slow flight around the Galactica to the Starboard landing bay.