Chapter 20

Battlestar Galactica – Port Hangar Deck - Colonial Fleet

"People," Senior Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol barked, "today's indoctrination is classified Top Secret/ Sensitive Compartmented Information. That's why you all had to sign a nondisclosure agreement and will be subject to a court martial and solitary confinement if you are found guilty of inappropriate disclosure of the information you are about to receive, is that clear?"

Callandra Henderson, one of the knuckle-draggers from Deck Crew 5, watched as her colleagues and every Marine who were seated in front of the podium where the Chief stood all snapped, "Yes, Chief!"

Unfortunately, Cally couldn't really say much of anything ever since her jaw had been wired shut by Dr. Cottle. It had been only a day or so since the Chief had attacked her after she had attempted to wake him from a bad dream and inadvertently broken her jaw.

He had been so horrified by what he'd done to her that she had struggled through her own pain after Cottle had treated her to tell him that she'd forgiven him and had never wanted to see him in such pain. Although his sense of guilt still hung around him like a shroud, he seemed to have recovered some of his confidence after she'd granted him absolution.

Now Tyrol nodded to her and gifted her with a smile before he glared at each and every other person in the audience. "Good. However, make no mistake about this. If I find that any one of you passes this information on to the Colonial Gang or that Biers woman, I swear to the gods I'll airlock you myself! So if you think you can't keep this information to yourself, now is the time to get the frak out of my sight!"

Cally watched as Galen scanned the audience. Apparently, everyone was all in as no one attempted to leave. "All right then. I want you all to pay attention to this briefing which will be given by Commander Stenger of the Alliance of Planets Fleet. Commander?"

As the woman from the Thirteenth Tribe strode toward the podium, the Chief shouted, "ATTEN-HUT!" causing everyone to leap out of their chairs and snap to attention.

"At ease," Stenger announced and the members of the audience took their seats. She took a brief moment to clear her throat before she began. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been assigned by Admiral Adama to brief you regarding some of the crew members from the Fleet task force you may encounter during the operation to transfer relief supplies from our vessels to both of your battlestars. The reason this briefing is classified Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information is because you will be exposed to a concept is unique in your culture's history and your leadership wanted you to be prepared to face it. It is my duty to inform you that the Alliance of Planets is not a human-only government. In fact, it is a confederation of planets where its citizens are both human and sentient alien lifeforms which we refer to as 'non-human.'"

The vast space was so quiet, Cally could hear a pin drop. What the frak is that woman talking about? she wondered. Is she saying that their Alliance has honest-to-the-gods 'aliens' in it?

Meanwhile, the Thirteenth Tribeswoman pressed on. ""We understand that your society had no idea any sentient extra-Colonial nonhuman lifeforms existed at all. Therefore, to avoid releasing this information to your general public before your leadership has had the opportunity to educate your people about the citizens of the Alliance, you are not allowed to share this information with anyone outside this hangar bay, even amongst yourselves. Although I won't go into specific detail about the many races that make up the Alliance, I will cover a few of those that tend to enlist in the Fleet and will likely be members of the crew of the task force."

"The most populous species and the most numerous crew members who serve aboard Alliance ships next to humanity are the Hrrubans. The Hrrubans were a founding member of the Alliance along with humanity. Although they are large, catlike creatures that may look fearsome, they are a peaceful, artistic people who have always had amiable relationships with humanity ever since first contact with them. However, if someone is belligerent toward them, well, all bets are off."

"The next non-human species you may encounter are the Tripeans. They are a younger race that has recently joined the Alliance; however they make up for being the new kids on the galactic block with both their enthusiasm and admirable work ethic. Physically, the Tripeans are trilaterally symmetrical. They have three legs, three arms, and nine eyes. They breathe oxygen just like the Hrrubans and us, are carbon-based and prefer planets with ecospheres like your colonies only a tad bit warmer than you're used to."

When Stenger paused for a moment, Cally chanced taking a glance around her and noted the slackened jaws on the vast majority of the people in her audience, something she couldn't emulate physically, considering her jaw being wired shut and all.

Now Stenger said, "One of the other races you will most likely encounter during the relief operation is the Nedge. The Nedge are an avian species that developed sentience long, long ago. They usually are taller and thinner than we are and may look like they aren't as robust as humans. However, that would be an erroneous conclusion to make. The Nedge are typically peaceful yet they do have certain castes that serve as warriors and assassins in their culture. In the Fleet, they serve quite well as aerospace fighter pilots and in military intelligence capacities."

She paused momentarily to catch her breath then pressed on. "Finally, we come to the Khalia. Fifty years ago, the Khalians were our bitter enemies. Shortly after we defeated them, we worked alongside them to save their homeworld from being annihilated by a mutual enemy. Although it was difficult at first, both species worked hard to put aside their differences. Soon thereafter, the Khalians joined the Alliance. The Khalians are mammals yet are similar to non-sentient burrowing predators that exist on Earth. Although shorter than most humans, the Khalia are very muscular and have sharp claws and amazing reflexes that make them very dangerous in hand-to-hand combat situations. Most Khalians serve as fighter pilots and Marines in the Fleet."

Cally heard the slight murmur pass through the audience after Stenger had finished listing the aliens the Colonials might encounter during the relief operations. Then Stenger added, "Tonight, it is highly likely that you will see some of these non-human crew members aboard Fleet shuttles or dropships. We understand that this may be an uncomfortable, perhaps even terrifying, experience for some of you but you need to soldier through those feelings. Rest assured these personnel will not harm you or eat you. Therefore, I expect you will not try to harm them or eat them, either! Marines, listen up and listen good! You are on this deck to protect the relief supplies and to ensure an orderly distribution of the material to your fleet. You are not here to attack Alliance personnel and cause a diplomatic incident your people can ill afford. Therefore, you will not shoot at any Alliance personnel. Admiral Adama has made it quite clear that if any one of you shoots at an Alliance crew member, the perpetrator will be immediately shoved out of the nearest airlock. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

The Fleet commander narrowed her eyes at the audience. "What's that? I can't hear you?"

"YES, SIR!"

Stenger grinned wickedly at them. "I'm glad it's clear to you because I, as you people would say, am frakking serious as a heart attack! I will personally kick your ass out the airlock so damn fast if one of you takes a shot at my people, you won't even have a chance to catch your last breath before you hit hard vacuum! Now, are there any questions?"

Cally couldn't stop the cold shiver that ran down her spine at the look on the Fleet commander's face. Even Colonel Tigh at his worst had nothing on this woman!

Apparently, no one had the courage to ask the Thirteenth Tribeswoman anything at the moment, so Stenger said, "If there aren't any questions, this concludes my briefing. As I stated before, this briefing is classified Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information. You will not discuss anything I have said during this briefing with anyone outside of this area at any time unless either Admiral Adama or I have cleared you to do so. With that, thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen. Dismissed!"

At that, Cally moved faster than she had from the mechanical Cylons on Kobol to get the hell away from the Fleet commander.

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Battlestar Galactica – CIC - Colonial Fleet

"Admiral."

"What is it, Dee?"

"Showboat reports there appears to be a massive spatial…well, she doesn't exactly know what to call it, but some kind of distortion on a bearing of 010 carom 2."

Just as Adama shot a concerned look at Tigh, Gaeta shouted, "DRADIS contacts, lots of them! IFF does not, I repeat, does not squawk as either Colonial or Cylon."

"Admiral," Dee announced, I've got Showboat on the horn."

Showboat was the leader of the CAP tonight. She was flying it with Blondie.

"Put her through, Dee."

"Aye, sir!"

"Galactica, Pegasus, Showboat. We've got ten vessels that seemed to phase into existence dead ahead. Three of them are as big as the Galactica and three are as long as a Valkyrie. Four of the other ships are much smaller."

Tigh wasted no time picking up his intercom phone and triggering it. "All hands, this is the XO! Action stations! Action stations! Set condition two throughout the ship. I repeat—set condition two throughout the ship! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!"

"Admiral!" an excited Dee snapped, "I'm receiving a transmission from the largest vessel. Sir, they identify themselves as the F.S. Hermes!"

Adama blinked thrice then turned and gave a thin smile to Tigh. "They're real."

"They're as real as the nose on my frakking face!"

Adama shot a wry look at his old friend, "I'm glad you went with that rather than saying the hair on the top of your head."

Tigh shot a nasty look at his commanding officer. "Oh, that's a low blow, Bill. You owe me a drink for that one!"

Still smiling, Adama simply nodded. "I know. That crossed the line didn't it?"

"You're damn right it did!"

"Sir," Dee interjected, "I have Hermes Actual on the line."

"Put it on the speakers, Dee."

"Aye, sir," she said and threw a switch.

"Galactica Actual, come in please."

Adama lifted his phone and said, "This is Galactica Actual."

He heard a woman's voice speaking perfect Caprican with an exotic accent that reminded him of an upper crust Leonis noblewoman. "This is Hermes Actual, Rear Admiral Jantiene de Ruyter. On behalf of the Alliance of Planets, I welcome you and your people to this sector of space."

"On behalf of my people, thank you for your warm welcome, Admiral de Ruyter."

"You're quite welcome, Admiral Adama. My task force is now maneuvering to close within 0.3 light seconds of your battlestars. We will then establish a small CAP of no more than four aerospace fighters to extend our scanning capabilities."

"That sounds fine, Hermes Actual."

"Thank you, Admiral," she said. "Also, I would like to extend an invitation to you to come aboard the Hermes. Of course, we guarantee your safety while you are aboard this ship."

Adama noticed the concerned expression on Tigh's face. Switching off his phone, he said to his friend, "Saul, we've come this far. We've got to see this through." When Tigh reluctantly nodded in agreement, he switched his phone back on and said, "Admiral de Ruyter, I would be honored to come aboard your ship. Please be advised I will be accompanied by the delegation your sector commander sent to meet with us."

"Splendid, Admiral! I have someone aboard who is looking forward to seeing the leader of our delegation. You should be advised as well that we have brought your delegation back to you. I'm certain they'll be happy to be back with you."

Adama chuckled, happy that Kelly and Kat had returned home. "I don't know about that, Admiral de Ruyter," he drawled. "They might have gotten spoiled eating some decent chow for a change."

De Ruyter laughed and Adama was drawn to the sound of it. He thought she sounded absolutely delightful.

"Although I must admit I fed them well and perhaps spoiled them in an attempt to gain the services of your fine officers, I was unable to persuade them to transfer to my command, Admiral Adama."

"Well, I suppose it's better to have loyal officers rather than smart ones," he joked.

When she laughed again, Bill Adama realized he couldn't wait to meet this particular Thirteenth Tribe's admiral.

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