Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dauntless

Colonel William Bolton sat in the command chair of the X-305 Dauntless. The ship wasn't supposed to be launching for almost a month, so when he had been woken early in the morning and told he had 10 minutes to get ready before he was beamed over to his new command, he was quite surprised… to say the least. He'd left a wife at home, his children had gone off to College so he didn't have to worry about them, but he did feel bad about his wife. He kept a picture of her in his pocket at all times. She was beautiful; he constantly told her that she grew more beautiful all the time. Even in her late forties she was only slightly younger than him, but while his hair began to turn grey and wrinkles began to appear, her hair had retained its colour and her skin had stayed as soft as fresh as the day he had met her. He hated what he was doing to her, but she was the one who had told him to go for it… even though he hadn't been allowed to tell her what 'it' was.

He watched as people rushed around the bridge in an attempt to get the ship up and running and ready to hold its own. The bridge was slightly larger than that of its predecessors, and it had more of a futuristic look to it, due to why and how it was built. The X-305 had been in planning since the Asgard had given their knowledge to humanity, as the BC-304s could only be upgraded so much before they reached their limit. Colonel Bolton had toured both the Odyssey and the Hyperion in preparation for his commanded, and he noticed the differences, some subtle, but some rather major. The interior design didn't look quite as 'human' as the BC-304s had, but overall the feel was similar.

Touring the other two ships had given Colonel Bolton an insight into what the commanders and crews had to deal with, and it had also given him a great respect for them. He was honoured to be chosen to command the Dauntless. In 2005 the Daedalus had been launched, and now, in 2010, he was the man who would command the first of Earth's new class of ship. He had a big responsibility to live up to the great Colonel Steven Caldwell who had persevered for 5 years, and he fully intended to do his best. He had been looking forward to leading Earth's first fully international crew, and working with some of the best people from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. For now though, he had to settle with a temporary crew provided by the USAF. He had been with the air force for years and he was sure they would serve well under his command. Considering part of his temporary crew would consist of officers who had served on other Earth ships, he had to admit that ha felt secure with what he was getting.

He stood up and moved closer to the window, looking out at the stars. Earth's first ship to be constructed in space. Another record for the Dauntless. As he looked across space, a small smile crept over his face. Something was coming. But he trusted that the Dauntless would defend Earth valiantly when it's time came.

Battlestar Galactica

Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, Rodney McKay and John Sheppard entered the large room unsure of what to expect. Sam saw a number of people she recognised, as well as General O'Neill. The President of the Colonials, the Admiral and his son were all present, as well as a number of others. The ships had left to rejoin the Colonial fleet once the last of the Wraith had been dealt with.

The Admiral stood up and welcomed the new guests. "Colonel Carter." He gestured to his left. "This is Tom Zarek, the Vice President. You've already met the President and my son, Lee."

"Yes, I have. Good to see you again." She walked up to Zarek and shook his hand. "And good to meet you, Mr. Zarek."

"The feeling's mutual Colonel." Zarek sat back down as Adama gestured to his right.

"This is Caprica Six, and two her right are Gaius Baltar, Tory Foster, and D'Anna Biers. Tory and D'Anna are both Cylons, as is Caprica. However, we now see Caprica as one of us."

D'Anna quickly snapped her head to look at the Admiral. "We have been travelling with you for a long time now Admiral. Do you not accept us in the same way?"

"That's not what I meant and you know…" Adama was cut off before he could finish his sentence, by none other than General O'Neill.

"As interesting as we all find your domestic disputes, I'm sure there's something a little more important we have to discuss here. May not be as entertaining, but still..."

"The General is right." The President agreed, growing tired of the seemingly never-ending feud that had plagued the Colonials and the rebels since they had joined forces. They had a very fragile understanding, and at times it seemed that the Cylons were intent on destroying it. At other times, she admitted, it felt like the Colonials were trying to do the same. "There are much more urgent matters at hand. Take a seat, Colonel."

Sam sat down near O'Neill on the opposite side of the large table to the Colonials and Cylon rebels. "I would like to introduce Dr. Daniel Jackson, Colonel John Sheppard, and Dr. Rodney McKay."

"Good to have you back, Colonel Sheppard." Adama turned to the newcomers. "And it's a pleasure to meet the both of you." The expedition members sat down and returned the Admiral's greetings.

"Alright, let's cut the formalities and get down to business." The President didn't want to waste any time. After all, for her, time was a very big factor now. "You now know quite a lot about us. We would like to know more about you. Is what you told us true? That you come from a planet known as 'New Lantea'?"

Sam looked at Jack, not sure about how much she could give away this early. His look gave her all she needed to know. She turned back to the Colonial President. "Sort of. We actually reside in a city called Atlantis, on the planet designated New Lantea."

The President looked at her. "How does that make a difference? I was originally from Caprica, but the fact that I resided in Caprica City didn't change that fact."

Daniel stepped in. "Well, Atlantis wasn't always on New Lantea…"

A look of confusion spread across the faces of the Colonials and rebels. Adama wasn't satisfied with the answer. "How is that possible?"

This time it was Daniel who looked at O'Neill, before turning back to the Colonials. "You see, Atlantis isn't just a city, it's basically a giant starship. We sent an expedition there in 2004, well six years ago. It was originally on a planet we called Lantea, but after an… unfortunate incident, we had to get the city off the planet and to a new home."

The room was quiet for a moment, while the information was digested. "That's impossible." Tory Foster broke the silence. "It can't be true."

"Well believe what you want." Sam didn't like it when her people were called liars. "But it IS true."

"Wait. You said you sent an expedition there?" Lee asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Yes." Said Sam, knowing full well where the situation was going. She wasn't sure whether this was the best thing to do, but O'Neill seemed to have given his blessing. "The Atlantis Expedition travelled to the city in 2004 from Earth, our home planet, but the city itself was…" Sam was cut off by gasps from the Colonials.

"Did you just say Earth?" The President asked, she wasn't sure how she managed it through the shock and awe she was experiencing.

"Well… yes, but that isn't really relevant considering were in another…" She was cut off again, this time by the blonde Cylon woman D'Anna.

"Not relevant? Earth is the most important thing to all of us.

"Exactly." Zarek continued. "We've been searching for Earth for years now. This is the most important day in the history of the Colonial Remnant. We should hold a press conference at once."

Laura shot him a look. "I think not."

"The fleet deserves to know!"

"And they will, soon. We'll continue this tomorrow. I think we all need some time to process this information." As Laura stood up to finish the proceedings, she gave Adama a look. The day wasn't over yet.

"General O'Neill, do you mind if the President and I speak to you for a moment…" He stared at the Cylons, and Zarek. "In Private?"

Odyssey

While the Phoenix was expected to take a week and a half to get to Atlantis, the Odyssey was almost at the edge of Pegasus after under a day of travelling. The upgrades the Asgard had provided, as well as the ZPM and the incident in the Ori galaxy in which replicators had overrun the ship had meant that the Odyssey was now the fastest ship in the known universe. That came in handy when your major interests spanned more than one galaxy.

"ma'am, we've received a communication from Atlantis." The helmsman turned to face Colonel Alexandra Morgan as he spoke.

"What does it say?" She asked, hoping that the Wraith hadn't reached them.

"They're telling us to head straight to M1K-773. Apparently there's no one on the planet at the moment but they would rather a ship was sent, just in case."

Colonel Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Get us there A.S.A.P. How long do you estimate it will take, major?"

"At current speeds ma'am, we should be there in less than an hour."

Alex smiled. "Good. Let's go get us an Ancient warship."

The Colonel was a smart woman. She knew that having an Ancient Warship on your side was a great thing, and if Earth's scientists were able to refit it then it would be a fantastic asset. Plans had been drawn up in the event of this situation happening, and it seems they would now come in handy. There was already a name waiting for the new ship, the Heracles. It seemed fitting, considering the ship would eventually be part human, part Ancient.

Alex's blue eyes showed how deep in thought she was as she considered the possibilities of adding the Heracles to Earth's growing fleet; the problems in the past had been down to the number of Earth's ships, not their capability. It seemed that soon they would have a fleet of six ships, which usually wouldn't be considered anything special, but for Earth it was unheard of.

Battlestar Galactica

A day after the revelation regarding Earth, the Colonials, Cylons and humans met aboard the Galactica once again. The day before had come as a shock to the Colonials more than anyone, but they weren't ready to just take the word of these new people as proof.

"We want to see Earth." Adama started the proceedings bluntly.

Tory Foster looked at him in shock. "If they get to go, we do to."

O'Neill laughed. "I don't think so. For now, none of you are going. We may be able to arrange a visit for the Colonials shortly."

"And what about us?" D'Anna asked, not wanting to be left out.

"I don't think you'll be coming to Earth anytime soon, if ever." O'Neill said with a grin on his face.

The third Cylon model was growing angry. "Isn't it a bit unfair that you take them and not…"

D'Anna was cut off, as O'Neill erupted. "Isn't it a bit unfair that you nuked the majority of their civilisation to hell!?"

The room once again fell silent. The Cylons knew it was only a matter of time before the humans learned about the atrocities of the Cylons. "That was a different time." She countered, unsure of what else to say.

O'Neill sniggered. "Things like that aren't easily forgiven. Quite frankly I'm surprised the Colonials have resisted the urge to blast your spaceship to bits. I know they haven't forgiven you. But they've been a hell of a lot more forgiving then I would have, had you nuked my home." Roslin smiled. She had been feeling extremely under the weather today, but that had managed to cheer her up, no matter how terrible she felt. "We may have another place for the Cylons to go. But you will never be welcome on Earth."

The Cylons couldn't believe this. Tory stood up from her seat, demanding the attention of the room. "This is unacceptable. Our place is on Earth."

O'Neill walked up to Tory, staring her down. "Earth is OUR planet." He waved his hand in the direction of Sam and the Expedition members. "OUR place is on Earth. Now, like I said, there's another place for you to go. We have some friends that need your help. If you help them, they'll give you your own planet and set you up for life. You don't help them… then… we'll leave you out here to rot."

Tory stared back at him, thinking of all of the ways she would like to hurt the man. She was about to argue, when she realised it would be useless. "We're going." With that, D'Anna stood and joined her fellow Cylon, before they both left the room, followed closely by their escort.

Tom Zarek began applauding. "Good job General. You made the right…"

"You can stop right there." O'Neill cut in. "I've heard about you too, Zarek."

The Vice President gave him a shocked look, and stood up. "And just what the frak is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that…" This time, O'Neill was the one cut off as Laura Roslin fell to her hands and knees behind the table and vomited violently.

The room looked at her. "Oh my god… Is she alright?" Daniel asked, worried about what he had just seen. The Admiral, Lee and Gaius all got up from the table and helped her up from the floor.

Adama looked at the guests from Earth. "Sorry about this… she's not well, hasn't been for a while now. Can we continue this tomorrow please?"

Sam got up and looked at the President. "What's wrong with her?"

"We'd prefer not to go into right now."

"You have to tell us."

The Admiral shot Sam a look. "And why do we have to do that? You feel that because you're from Earth you have a right to know everything about us?"

"No." Sam replied. "Because whatever is wrong with her, we know people who can make her better."