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Dragonlots aka Dana Bell
Chapter 2
"We're following the signposts left behind for us," Roslin's tone left no room for argument.
"You know," Jessica touched a finger to her cheek, "when SG1 found the Ancients' repository of all the planets and their dialing address, they tried to dial a few and couldn't. Samantha Carter remembered about planetary drift and once they made the needed corrections, they could send teams to other planets."
The President stared blankly at her. Lee, however, understood what Miss Collins was talking about. Several thousand years had passed since the lost tribe had passed this direction. The planets had moved.
"I never thought of that," he heard his father say. Adama turned toward the President. "She's right."
"How do you know we're going the wrong way?" Laura didn't sound like she was ready to surrender yet.
Jessica shook her head and sighed as if they were all a bunch of young school children. "I'll prove my point." She pulled a device out of a side pocket. Lee noticed the guards begin to draw their weapons and others in the room tensed up. "This is harmless," Miss Collins said. "It's a map and a gift from Hermiod."
She pressed the long, silver object. A huge star map materialized over the table and sat slightly above the Quorums' heads.
"The fleet is here." Several orange ships appeared about mid way on the map. "Demetrius is there." A single pink ship sprang into existence. "I'm not sure what Thrace is doing, but that ship has made a bunch of erratic jumps." To the far left and slightly down and what looked like a galactic cluster, a blue dot appeared. "Earth."
Lee frowned and wondered why she hadn't included Atlantis as she had with her team members. Was there some reason she'd left it out, even though the fleet was closer to it? Or did she not want the Quorum to know about, what he assumed, a second Earth colony?
"I don't believe you." Roslin sat back and folded her hands together on the table.
The Earth woman shrugged. "You can believe what you want." She didn't seem upset by Roslin's reaction.
Tom Zarek rose from his place near the President and moved closer to examine the map. His eyes darted from where the fleet was to the location of Earth. "What happens if we keep on our present course?"
"I have no idea. We've just started exploring in this quadrant."
"I see." The Vice President straightened his dark jacket. "Who's Hermiod?"
A slight smile touched her full lips. "An Asgard. They were allies of ours for many years."
"Were?"
"They're dead." Jessica didn't elaborate and Lee wondered what she wasn't telling them.
Zarek faced Roslin. "I believe her."
Murmuring drifted through the Quorum like meteors across the sky. The younger Adama understood what a political risk Zarek had just taken.
The President released a long, slow breath. "I see."
"Thank you," Jessica said simply as she flashed the Vice President a grateful smile. Lee new that didn't win the Earth woman any favor with Roslin.
Tom turned his back on Roslin to face their guest. "How long will it take us to get to Earth?"
"Dr. McKay or Colonel Carter could tell you better than me." She bit her lip like she'd said more than she should.
"Are they part of your team?"
"Sorry, no. All that remains is a botanist and a mechanic."
"Where are they?"
"You'll forgive me if I don't tell you. That's for our safety as much as yours."
"If your really who you say you are," Laura leaned forward still keeping her hands on the table. "You'd know you have nothing to fear from us."
"That a fact." Jessica crossed her arms over her chest. "Let's see," she tapped her foot. "I could give you a number of examples that would contradict what you just said."
Shameful silence filled the room. Lee saw a number of guilty looks on people's faces, including his father's and the President's.
"We're at war," the Commander explained.
"And in our culture, we have something called the Geneva Convention." Her brown eyes bore into Bill Adama's. Lee suddenly found himself not ever wanting to be on the Earth woman's bad side. "It guarantees decent treatment of prisoners during war time."
Adama shifted uncomfortably. "I can't undo the past."
"No. But you change the future."
Roslin stood up. "You have no right to judge us."
"You're correct." Jessica deactivated the map. "What you're forgetting, is that I do have the right to decide if I should even allow you anywhere near Earth."
The Commander stood up. "You can't take away hope from our people."
"You seemed to have forgotten about it on New Caprica."
Roslin spoke, "That was different."
"No different than it is now."
Tom nodded. "She has a point."
Laura snapped at him, "Don't twist this."
"I'm not." The Vice President faced Roslin again. "Madame President, by what conceit did we think that our Earth brothers would be exactly like us?"
Even Lee started at that. He'd never even considered that.
"I hate to say it," Jessica interjected, "but Vice President Zarek has a point. Our planet has defeated the Gou'ald, the Ori, and have the hovering threat of the Wraith." She put her hands on her hips. "What makes you think we want to take on one more enemy?"
"If you have defeated other invaders," Bill Adama observed, "then helping us defeat the Cylons should be simple for you."
"Maybe I should have said the SGC with some help defeated them. Most of the people on Earth know nothing about life on other planets."
The older Adama looked puzzled. "I don't understand."
Neither did Lee. How could a race travel in space and the whole planet not know about it?
"It's complicated."
Roslin sat back down. "Then enlighten us."
"Now you sound like Baltar."
Lee Adama cringed. That had been the wrong thing to say.
Laura scowled. "Don't mention his name in this room."
"Why not?" She gave the President an odd smile. "He's right about there only being one god."
One God? Did Earth only believe in one? Lee couldn't understand how they could have forgotten about their true past.
The President's eyes narrowed. "Don't insult the gods."
"Now you sound like the Centauri on Babylon 5."
"Excuse me?"
"Cultural reference, never mind."
"The point I was trying to make, Madame President," Zarek spoke up. "Earth has traveled a different path of evolution than we have."
"You have no idea," Jessica said softly. Again Lee wondered what she wasn't telling them.
"Then tell us," the President ordered.
"I wish Dr. Jackson was here. He's so much better at this."
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