The Fifth Race: Chapter 4 V2

TFSN General's Glory, Bridge.

The battle was finished and the reports were coming in. The losses from the TFS Anatolia and the Arrows Combat Group Heracles while not high were still something that the Admiral did not foresee in his strategy against the Cylons. While he did take into account the FTL technology of the Cylons he did not thought that they would have been able to bypass their shields with it.

Terran Shields were a modification of the Asgard-designed shields with Ancient technology. The Ancients developed a very powerful shielding technology but it required such a massive power source, like ZPMs, that their use was very limited. The Asgard on the contrary were able to develop a shielding technology which while less powerful than the Ancients Shields consumed far less energy. The Terran modification permitted a shield as powerful as the Ancients ones but with a slightly more elevated power consumption than the Asgard ones, and easily adaptable on any Terran Ship.

But while the shields were powerful they did not adhere to the surface of the ship but instead made a protective bubble around the Terran Ship, the FTL drives of the Cylons was able to use that, without them even realizing the presence of shields. The raiders simply appeared inside the protective bubble bypassing every defensive measure of the Terrans Ships except for the point defense lasers which were sadly used as a primary defense network and not as a replacement for the shields.

The next item of importance was the start of the first contact talks with the Colonials. While the Terrans did save the Colonials from the Cylons, the protocols in case of first contact situations were quite clear and the Admiral had to pass the hand to the Contact Office of the 25th Fleet.

Already, thanks to the accumulated data from the battle and the discrete shadowing of the civilian fleet, the Contact Office already had an understanding of the Colonial Command structure and knew "who" to talk to. Admiral William Adama was for the moment the higher commanding officer until the return to the civilian fleet and the Colonial President, Laura Roslin and was therefore the one the Contact Office choose to open communication with.

"This is the TFS General's Glory to Battlestar Galactica, please respond."

"Glory this is Galactica Actual, we are receiving you 5/5."

"I am Director Henrik Pedersen, from the Terran Federation Contact Office; I would like to talk to Admiral William Adama of the Colonial Fleet."

"This Admiral Adama, Director Pedersen, I would like first to thank you in the name of the 12th Colonies of Kobol for your assistance against the Cylon threat."

"Admiral, I can say, on behalf of the Terran Federation, that your thanks are not necessary. The Terran Federation's policy is to render assistance on any Human population without limits if the need arises. Now that the immediate threat has been neutralized, we would like to open talks and help you reunite with your Civilian fleet. We would like to arrange a meeting between you, Admiral Delterre as Commanding Officer of 25th Fleet, and me on your ship. Furthermore, we offer any assistance you may require for your ship."

"This would be greatly appreciated Director. I propose a meeting in 1 hour onboard Galactica. Is that good for you?"

"1 hour it is, Admiral. Pedersen Out"

With a meeting arranged, Henrik Pedersen prepared every documentation needed and contacted Admiral Delterre. The Contact Office onboard every Super-Dreadnought disposed of specially designed ships made for First Contact situations. These ships were equipped with powerful shields but no weapon whatsoever. They were of a length of 100 meter and could carry 50 passengers while generally ships of this size were capable of carrying 200 easily. The extra space was occupied by specially designed laboratories to test for maladies and prepare the ship for the first contact. In the past isolated populations were susceptible to foreign diseases and every precaution was taken to insure their health.

With the ship ready to start on its short journey, the first contact face to face between the Colonials and the Terran Federation was about to begin.

Battlestar Galactica, CIC.

Captain Kelly, the officer in charge of the CIC, turned toward the intercom and selected the direct line to the Admiral's quarters "Admiral, The General's Glory just informed us that the Contact Shuttle is on route, based on the size of their ship we will have to use the hangar's passageway to connect both ships."

The Admiral was already signaling his XO while he responded "Thank you M. Kelly, please make the necessary preparations." He hung up and addressed Tigh "XO prepare an honor guard; let's show them what the Colonials Forces are made of."

Nodding Saul Tigh turned to exit the quarters "You know Bill, it's lucky for you; you don't have to change since you already are in Dress uniform!"

Smiling at the banter with his best friend the Admiral gave his parting shot "Laugh all you want Saul, but you too have to change into this get up."

Grumbling under his breath the XO left the Quarters to prepare everything for the Terrans "Don't remind me."

The crewmen on the deck were in parade rest waiting for the Terrans to disembark from their shuttle, exited to see their saviors. The Admiral for his part was hoping that Saul's reasoning was right and that they were in fact their long lost brothers from the 13th tribe. He was most anxious to begin the talks with this Federation and more than ever wished that Laura Roslin was here with him. Sadly, until they could repair their FTL drive, any hope of rejoining with the Fleet had to be put on hold.

The airlock suddenly opened and 2 armed guards exited it doing a textbook salute then took flanking positions on either side of the airlock. Their uniform was a midnight blue color with a high collared vest and dark khaki pants inside mid calf boots. What appeared as their rank insignia was hitched on the side of their arms in 3 silver chevrons. They did not appear to wear any weapon but the look in their eyes told him everything he needed to know about them, they were professionals and were already assessing them.

The next man to exit the ship was middle aged, wearing a dark grey suit and holding a briefcase in his hands. He looked sharp and his eyes were already cataloguing everything in front of him. The moment his eyes met the Admiral he knew that this man was the director he talked to on the wireless.

Has the Director exited the ship, a man that couldn't be any other than Admiral Delterre appeared. He was a grey haired man, of approximately 50 years and wore a midnight blue uniform with a high collared vest and grey pants. The left side of his vest was half folded and showed a white turtleneck. His rank showed on his cufflinks in 7 gold bands and a gold star.

They descended the ramp; their gait purposeful yet not hurried and came in front of Admiral Adama.

The man the Admiral correctly identified as Director Pedersen nodded his head in greetings "Admiral Adama, I presume? I am Director Henrik Pedersen from the Terran Federation Contact Office. This is Fleet Admiral Delterre from the Terran Federation Space Navy."

Standing at attention Admiral Adama responded "You presume well M. Petersen. Allow me to present my Executive Officer, Colonel Saul Tigh and my FTL specialist, LT Felix Gaeta"

As the Admiral extended his hand to the Director he was surprised to see a green energy field surround the Director's hand when he tried to touch it. Shocked gasps were the response of every witness to this event and several people took a step back in fear while the marines on guard duty raised their weapons a little.

Lifting his hands at waist level the director of the contact office hurried to appease the situation "Do not be worried Admiral, each of us wear a personal shield that filters the air exchanged to and from us. This is a precaution taken to insure that the first contact situation does not allow the spreading of diseases from our people to you and vice versa. In our history, many first contact situations turned to the worst when the contact happened between civilizations isolated from each other.

Calming somewhat after his explanation, the meeting was transferred in Galactica's conference room.

Escorting his guest toward the conference room, Adama discreetly inspected each of the newcomers and noticed the details characterizing them, like the firm stance of Admiral Delterre's back or the careful inspection in Director Petersen's eyes. Finally arriving in front of the room's airlock he invited everyone in and took his place at the central table.

"Admiral Delterre, I would like to thank you personally for your help against the Cylons. If not for your intervention we would not have had the time to Jump our civilian fleet to safety and my ship would have been destroyed by the Cylons. We are extremely grateful and hope that you did not suffer any casualties among your crew."

Sitting rigidly in his chair, almost like he was still at attention Admiral Delterre responded "Admiral Adama, as I said in my message to the Cylons, the Terran Federation is a protector of Human kind. We could not have left you in peril against hostile forces in our territory. You were not aware of it, but my fleet was monitoring the situation since your entry into the Milky Way Galaxy in the Ionian Nebula. Unknown to you, you were already under our protection."

His remaining eye wide at this revelation to the Terran's capabilities, Tigh asked "How were you able to monitor us when we did not detect any of your ships before?"

Shaking his head in wonder Lt Gaeta shared his thoughts "My DRADIS console never detected your presence until you appeared. I thought that you jumped in front of us."

Admiral Delterre just smiled mysteriously at the young LT "While I will not go into the details of our ships technology I will say that our ships are outfitted with the ability to cloak their presence from all sensors and visual detection."

Nodding at the Admiral's answer Adama couldn't help to rise his eyebrow at the brief answer which revealed no specifics but hinted the incredible technology level of their guests "Yes, as we saw in the battle earlier today, your ships capabilities far exceeded ours; from what M. Gaeta told me, the energy Weapon you used against the Cylons is something we thought was impossible due to the enormous energy requirements. That alone told us that the Cylon's defeat was assured today."

Admiral only nodded before replying "Yes Admiral, I can assure you that if we had wanted to, the Cylon fleet would have been annihilated before any of their weaponry attained their target. We were being cautious due to the presence of your civilian's ships in the middle of a battle and restrained ourselves until they completed their jump."

Grunting quietly Tigh voiced his thoughts "Well, I for one am happy that you showed them that they were not invincible as they thought they were."

Narrowing his eyes, Adama re centered the conversation "Which brings me to my question, who are you? We never heard of a Terran Federation before and the same can be said for the Cylons I think."

Director Pedersen stopped Admiral Delterre before he could answer "Allow me to respond Admiral Delterre; this is after all my field. Admiral Adama, the Terran Federation is a very complex society and dispose of advanced technologies. Its purpose is to defend and represent the human population and worlds of this galaxy and facilitate a common improvement. For too long, we Humans were denied our place as a force to be reckoned with."

Nodding The Colonial Admiral asked "Can you be more specific Director?"

Assembling his thoughts for the longer explanation, Director Pedersen began "I think Admiral that we will begin with a little bit of history. The Terran Federation was established in 2016 AD, as a reference we are now in 2125 AD in our calendar, and spanned 8 Worlds. As of now, the Terran Federation is composed of 87 full member worlds and 12 provisionary member worlds for a combined population of approximately 40 Billions. But for you to understand the situation at large in our galaxy I have to go in more detail. 10 000 years ago, while the Terrans were still an uncivilized group, a race of aliens discovered our home planet. They were a race of parasitic species that used host to live. When they discovered the human population they used us as hosts, soldiers and slaves, masquerading as Gods with their technology. For them, the human species represented a very handy resource as a human being was easy to fix and engineer with their technology. They used us as a work force on different planets and transplanted human populations across the Galaxy. Finally the humans of our Home world rebelled, chased them out and we never heard of them for Ten Millennia.

All of this changed when we re-discovered an artifact, a piece of technology named the Stargate in 1997 AD. This device allowed instantaneous travel between worlds in our galaxy and was responsible for the dissemination of the Human Race as the dominant species. Thanks to that we encountered many allies and developed technologies to help fight against the enemies we made, most prominently the False Gods, the Goa'uld. We finally defeated them and build our Federation with the freed human's worlds of the Galaxy."

Frowning in thought, Adama voiced his doubts "Director, from our sacred scrolls, we learned that the birthplace of humanity was Kobol. Are you telling us that we, also, are one of the transplanted humans from your Home world?"

Almost wincing at the tone of the question, Pedersen answered carefully "No Admiral, let me reassure you. While the Goa'ulds were responsible for spreading Humans in our Galaxy, we found evidence that others advanced societies were responsible, as a way of protecting them, for the relocation of some of our ancestors. While we do not want to debase your sacred scrolls we do have our theories. But this is not a discussion for now. What I think is the most important for the moment is to help you rejoin your fleet. Can your FTL drives be repaired?"

Keeping his tone neutral Adama turned toward Gaeta "You are right; I will let the president debate all she wants with you about the sacred scrolls. M. Gaeta please answer Director Pedersen."

Examining the papers in front of him one last time, Gaeta gave his report "Yes sir. Currently our FTL drives are dead, one of the Cylon saboteurs used an EMP pulse specifically designed to take out our FTL capabilities. It completely wiped out our Star maps and coordinates. The navigational software is dead and the computer is completely fried but more shocking is that the pulse corroded the FTL coils. We might be able to replace the navigational computer but without the FTL coils it would not be of any use to us."

Grasping the situation Admiral Delterre quickly gave a viable option "Very well. If you have no objection Admiral I would like to send some of the engineers onboard my shuttle to see what they can do, no offense LT Gaeta, and in the mean time I propose the use of a gravitational beam to tract you with us in hyper space."

The colonial Officers gave each other a look until Admiral Adama asked the question on their mind "What is a Gravitational Beam?"

Admiral Delterre just smiled and gave a reduced response "It's a condensed gravitational force that will attract your ship to us, like a cable so that we can tract you behind us. Your ship will then be enveloped in the hyper space field and we could rejoin your fleet."

Adama nodded and addressed his men "From what you tell me it is apparently the only way that the Galactica will rejoin the fleet. I will tell my CIC to be ready to coordinate everything with your Bridge."

Delterre stood up and nodded to each Colonial Officer "Well gentlemen, I will proceed to my ship to prepare the jump. M. Pedersen will be our spoke person and liaison. Good day."

With the Admiral leaving the conference table, the Galactica's command crew re-centered the conversation on Director Petersen.

Adama organized his thoughts for a moment before re launching the subject"I am amazed to learn of such a large human population in another galaxy. We thought that the 12th colonies of Kobol and their Brethren of the 13th tribe were the only humans in existence. Our 12th Colonies were attacked by our enemies, the Cylons, 3 years ago and believed ourselves to be the last remnants of civilization. We were searching for the 13th colony of Kobol; a planet named Earth, but we were not expecting to find them as it was a myth from our sacred scrolls. I used this myth to preserve hope and morale in our fleet but with your arrival we finally have something concrete to help us."

Startled at hearing that Director Pedersen stared intensely at the Admiral "You were looking for Earth?"

Seeing such an intense look appearing on the face of the Director, the colonial officers gave each other a look "Yes. It was our last hope."

Sighing, and wondering in his head how Earth was able to appear in so many legends, Pedersen gave them the response they hoped for "Then I am happy to tell you admiral that you have found Earth as it is the Home world of humanity and Capital of the Terran Federation."

With this bombshell, Admiral Adama stood shocked and connected his eyes with those of Saul Tigh, the relief literally bleeding out of him. Finally after 3 years of running and hardship, they found them or more specifically the Terrans found them.

This chance encounter was something they never expected and the confirmation of what they theorized was liberating. They were not alone in the universe anymore.

Almost stammering in excitement Gaeta spoke without even consulting his Superior Officer "You are the 13th colony. We were looking for you and hoped that you existed but except some ancient artifacts we found on Kobol we had no proof. We only knew that Earth was a planet from where you could see 12 constellations, representing the colonies of Kobol and we used clues from our sacred texts to trace a route to Earth."

Smiling quietly at the young Lieutenant, Director Pedersen looked almost amused when he responded "12 constellations you say? I think that I can give here and there a confirmation for you. From Earth you can, obviously see many star constellations, but only 1 set of constellations is grouped in 12, the zodiac signs from Aries to Pisces."

Falling down on his chair Adama breathed out "This is all the confirmation we needed, Aries and Pisces were the ancient names of our colonies Aerelon and Picon."

Pedersen only nodded "Now that we established that, I would like to ask you what where your intentions in finding Earth? As a representative of the federal Government I can safely say that your provisional acceptation as a member world of the Federation would be accepted if you wished for it."

Adama was only too eager to reply "We wish to require asylum in the Terran Federation, our worlds are dead, nuked from orbit by the Cylons and our population, all 20 billion of them, were killed in the attack. Our fleet of 38 000 is the only remnant of the 12 colonies. Everyone else is dead or presumed dead as our worlds are not capable to host life anymore due to radiation poisoning in the atmosphere."

This kind of information quickly sobered Pedersen up "I cannot imagine what your people have been through, but be assured that the Terran Federation is ready to grant you asylum. The form in itself of this asylum will be of your choosing. We have much to offer as you do also and the entry into the Federation will be easier for you."

Tigh was the first to be wary of a deal too good to be true "Why is that, director?"

Pedersen clearly heard the suspicion in Tigh voice and hurried to explain "The Terran Federation learned the lessons from our predecessors. A strict policy of non-interference, necessary to permit the natural development of less advanced societies, was instituted. In effect, adherence to the Terran Federation is subjected to 2 criteria which decide the status of the civilization. If the Civilization is aware of the Stargate, use it and understand its function, or if the civilization achieved FTL travel method, then contact is established with an active protection of the civilization from outside sources. When the Technological level of the society reaches pre-Stargate Earth levels, then provisional membership status is proposed, with a full membership after 10 years probation."

Leaning forward Tigh followed his original question "What are the particularities of each status?"

Pedersen quickly explained each status "Contact Status offers a discrete planetary protection via the deployment of defense satellites in orbit, an exchange in culture and histories with the establishment of an embassy. Provisional membership adds to the contact status open access to Terran territory and economic markets on both sides and the availability of Terran Technologies, locked against copy and study. Military technology is not included. Finally, the full membership status integrates the society within the Terran Federation with a full disclosure of technologies. Each status is on request only and every civilization is free to reject our offers if they want to. The freedom of choice is something very important for the Federation."

Adama just nodded "From what you're telling me, the 12 colonies of Kobol will definitely ask for Provisional membership but I want to know where exactly my people will be able to settle. Will we be able to live on Earth?"

Pedersen, seeing the hopeful look in Adama's eyes could only offer all his knowledge "The choice is yours, but we feel obligated to offer alternative choices more beneficial for your people as a whole since the colonies have a very strong culture. While integration into Earth's Population is possible we have observed in the past that after a time the specific populations lose little by little their original identities due to the overwhelming immersion in Earth's Culture. The alternative we can propose you is to help you colonize a new world in this galaxy. This galaxy is composed of many habitable worlds terra formed millennia ago by an extremely advanced race named the Alterans. As such, there are hundreds of worlds from which you can choose and settle on."

The colonials were astonished to discover this option. During their journey, they encountered only one inhabitable world, New Caprica. That the Terra formation of planets was at all possible was a level of technology they did not even imagine.

Adama still appeared hesitant "Your proposition as merit but a year ago, my people, tired from the constant running, decided to settle on a planet inside a corona, thinking we were protected and that the Cylons could not find us. But they did and occupied the planet. We were able to escape but lost 10 000 of our compatriots in this endeavor. Trying that experience again will not appeal to my people for fear of the Cylons."

Trying to appease the Admiral, Pedersen explained the security measures available to them "Admiral I understand your reluctance but I assure you that the planet in which you could settle would be protected by the Terran Federation Defense System. The first line is the Terran Defense Satellites, a network of 38 Satellites placed in geosynchronous orbit. Every satellite is equipped with a plasma laser, capable of easily destroying a Basestar class ship, and shielding technology able to resist direct nuclear fire. Furthermore their sensors system can detect any incoming ship from a distance of 10 000 Light years. The second line is outfitted on every planet in the Federation. Two Stargates are installed, planet side and Space side for planetary evacuation and Arrow (our Space superiority Fighters) deployment. We have taken every available measure to safeguard civilian population from external danger. I hope this clarification can help you make an informed decision for your people."

Adama looked relieved after hearing the details "Yes thank you. I will forward all the information you have given me to the president when we reunite with the fleet."

Nodding, Pedersen reached into his suitcase "For further information I have prepared for you several documents: first the Terran Federal constitution and its book of laws so that you are aware of our legal system, second a comprehensive history of the Milky Way Galaxy with details on the member worlds of the Federation and finally this is a list of resources available on 25th fleet that can be distributed to your population at your demand. Please be aware that every aid given to you by the Terran Federation is free of charge and that no repayment will ever be asked of you."

Taking everything from the Director Adama signaled for one of the crew "Thank you m. Pedersen. I will have a Crewman deliver to you some of our available documentation as well: The book of Laws of the Colonies, the History of the Colonies and finally the Sacred Scrolls. Do you need anything else?"

Standing up, Pedersen prepared to leave the room "Yes Admiral, I would like the cooperation of your chief medical officer. It is a matter of urgency that we begin immediately the analysis of the Colonial immune system as to evaluate the risks, if any, to your population to common diseases on this Galaxy."

Tigh stood up to escort the director "I will have our Chief Medical Officer, Dr Cottle, pay you a visit in your quarters."

Henrik Petersen was then led to his cabin onboard Galactica where he could begin his study of the Colonies. Less than an hour into his reading, the intercom system announced the jump to the Fleet's Coordinates.

As the 25th fleet jumped into hyper space, tracting the Battlestar Galactica behind them, the Colonial's heartbeat climbed steadily with the eagerness of being reunited with a fleet they thought they'd never see again.

Ranks in the Terran Federation Space Navy:

1 silver chevron: Crewman

2 silver chevrons: Senior Crewman

3 silver chevrons: Master Crewman

4 silver chevrons: Chief Master Crewman

1 gold chevron: Petty Officer

2 gold chevrons: Chief Petty Officer

3 gold chevrons: Master Chief Petty Officer

1 gold band: Ensign

2 gold bands: Lieutenant

3 gold bands: Captain

4 gold bands: Lieutenant Commander (Ship XO)

5 gold bands: Commander (Ship CO)

6 gold bands: Rear Admiral (Squadron CO)

7 gold bands: Admiral (Space Station CO)

7 gold bands + gold star: Fleet Admiral (Fleet CO)

Terran Laser Weapon: The Terran Laser Weapon is adapted from the ORI ships encountered during the war. It is a high velocity energy weapon capable of punching through both shields and hull at the same time by sheer brute force. It is designed to destroy a ship in one hit.