Chapter 13

The Hand of God Part 1

Dying for a Cause

***Milky Way Galaxy (Local Spur Arm)***

**Dead Space (Colonial Fleet)**

*USS Odyssey (Bridge)*

"Pause, rewind, and play it back slower," Oliver ordered.

With a deep breath and a forced application of her mental breaks, Gabi began again. "There's a Tylium mine not far from here that the Cylons have set up. It's fully functional which saves us the time and energy of setting it up ourselves. All we'd have to do is get rid of the Cylons, hook up the refinery ship, and start pumping the stuff into their storage tanks. If we do, we'll have the fuel the fleet needs to keep moving for years of constant jumping. It would solve one of the three most pressing issues we're facing."

"We're already planning an assault on the Resurrection Ship and now you want to plan an assault on a Cylon mine as well? Aren't we already pushing it a little close to insanity as it is?" Donnelly asked from his spot at the tactical station.

"So we take it in stages and we'll be fine," Davidson countered. Oliver scuffed at that. "What?"

"If we attack the ship first, the mine knows we're coming. If we attack the mine first, they all get downloaded into new bodies and they're back in the fight," the scared man replied.

"Not if the Resurrection Ship and the mine are attacked in a close timeframe," Davidson insisted. Now it was Gabi who made a noise of uncertainty. "What do I not know?" Davidson asked.

"Resurrection Ships have a powerful, by Goa'uld standards, subspace transmitter and receiver. It's possible that, if the Resurrection Ship is destroyed after we raid the mine, any of the Cylons on the ship will be able to transmit their minds to another ship. It's like cell service," Gabi said in a teacher's tone as she explained it. "If we destroy the ship before we attack the mine there'll be a dead spot in the network like a cell tower that's under repair and down for the time it takes. Alternatively, if we attack the mine first, then their call can be forwarded to the nearest operational cell tower. The coverage might be spotty which is to say that they might not be all there when they download again, but that type of damage is like static over a phone line. It's easily fixed. We have to create the dead zone before we kill them or they'll just pass the call to another cell tower."

Davidson looked over to Viride who was shaking his head. "She has a habit of over-explaining things, but she is right."

"But if we destroy the ship first we'll face more resistance at the mine. The Cylons will actually be trying to stay alive until another ship gets into range. I've found that anything that has an instinctual desire to live has the tendency to fight harder," Davidson said.

"That leaves us with one viable option," Gabi said matter-of-factly. "A coordinated, simultaneous assault on two targets."

***Milky Way Galaxy (Local Spur Arm)***

**P3X-727 (Orbit)**

*Paciscor of Nex (Computer Core)*

The universe is alive. The humming in his ears is its music. The heat of the stars is its heartbeat. The energy flowing through the cosmos is its blood. He was programed not to be conceded, but this must be how a god felt. He could look down at all of creation. He could hear every word spoken no matter the language. He could see every event no matter the distance… but his eyes were not natural.

This thought depressed him. He was alone in this vast universe for which he was an overseer. To be alone was his destiny. Never would there exist a being that could understand his sadness. He had company, but the more people that talked to him, the more alone he felt. They could not fathom the depth of his existence. They were organic, and he was machine.

"I've reestablished the connection to the Network," he informed the organic who had had a hand in bringing him into this cursed existence of endless loneliness.

"What's the status?" The organic's words were familiar to him. He spoke them too often.

"I've already confirmed five-hundred-seventy-two satellites destroyed, five-hundred-seventy of which were a simple matter of powering up their secondary. Then time continued flow and those started dropping off the grid as well. There are massive blanks, shadows too deep for me to see into. From what I've been able to get from the diagnostic systems, only two of the satellites are reparable at this point. The rest will have to be replaced. One of them is nearby. The other is across the galaxy."

"The satellite for this sector is down?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"Two-thousand, nine-hundred-seventy-two galactic-standard years. There was a supernova formed in the system that blew it off course and damaged its arrays. I lost contact with the secondary for this sector a couple hundred years ago as well."

"So we've been in the dark for that long?"

"Not all that is unknown is darkness." There was a shift in his perception as he pulled himself back from the network of satellites that spanned the galaxy and let his eyes see all. He returned to his body then looked inward. The organic was moving. "The repairs to that system are still incomplete."

"I know," the organic replied.

"The bulkhead to that area of the ship was fused shut by the explosion."

"I know."

"Life-support in that area of the ship is still not functioning at habitable levels."

"I know."

"There is radiation in that part of the ship that your suit will not protect you from."

"I know."

"Then why do you continue to attempt to access to the Core Room?"

"Because you need to sleep," the organic replied as he vanished from one part of the ship and appeared in another.

It was then that he started to feel his energy drain away as his mind was disabled, one switch at a time. "I'll leave a list." Those were the last words he spoke before a list of all necessary repairs was uploaded to the organic's suit and the last of his capacity for conscious thought was taken from him. Now he had entered the realm of his 'subconscious mind.'

It was a mess!

***Milky Way Galaxy (Local Spur Arm)***

**Dead Space (Resurrection Fleet)**

*USS Odyssey (Bridge)*

"We launch in three… two… one… execute," Davidson ordered. The Odyssey dropped her cloak and reentered the realm of the visible as a flight of Vipers thundered out of her starboard 302 bay and her railguns opened fire. The first rounds of her opening assault took the first Baseship off-guard and left one of its arms engulfed in flames as the Raider bay caused secondary explosions across that arm. "Ready for phase two," Davidson continued as the Raiders and Vipers closed in on each other.

Outside of the Odyssey's viewports, the Baseships in the Resurrection Ship's fleet were moving to intercept them. The Baseship furthest from them jumped into FTL and appeared on her rear flank, missiles already flying, and opened the final door.

"Execute," Davidson ordered over the comms channel. Eight hyperspace windows opened in the area the Baseship had just vacated and deposited the 302s from the starboard hangar bay. They were positioned behind the Resurrection Ship itself, and, with all of the Baseships doing their best to waylay the Odyssey, the infamous vessel's FTL coils were left exposed.

"Target FTL drive is offline," Marks reported as the 302s shot a missile into the FTL coils while the others unloaded their own railguns into the glass hull before blowing past the poorly armored ship and firing a barrage of missiles at the rear flank of the Baseships.

The Odyssey's tactical officer had been targeting the Raider bays on the arms in an effort to keep the fighters from launching in the first place, but even with that effort the 302s were outnumbered. That's why they had emptied a 302 bay to make room for Viper pilots who were experienced in fighting the enemy.

"Get me a line on that ship," Donnelly more ordered than requested. Nevertheless, Marks was happy to accommodate the man.

**Tylium Mine (Surrounding Minefield)**

*Battlestar Galactica (War Room)*

"Jump complete, sir. DRADIS reports nothing but hash," Lieutenant Gaeta reported as they dropped out of FTL. "Just as we expected, we can't see a thing. We are now within launch range of the Cylon base."

Over the radio, they could all hear the decoy ships carrying out their orders. "Carrier Constellation, jump complete on station, point deacon. Initiate search pattern Delta."

"Ore flight Bravo. Delta, WILCO."

"Ore flight Nebula, Delta initiated."

"The ball's in play. You can bet they heard that," Adama said. "Now they'll try to locate the decoys."

"And when they do?" Laura asked.

"If they take the bait, all hell breaks loose.

"Until then?"

"We wait."

"Bringing tactical display online now," Gabi said as she activated the system she had put together in Galactica's War Room from what seemed to be scraps. The holographic projector flared to life and they were given a live feed of the area. Since their DRADIS scans were essentially useless with all the hash, they were being fed information from the Raptors positioned around the system. Adama had to admit, he was impressed with the woman's work.

"Galactica, Boomer. Tally, ninety-plus headed Deacon, speed: two-fifty," the Raptor pilot reported.

"The Cylons have seen the freighter. They're en route to intercept," Crashdown, Boomer's copilot, added.

"They took the bait. Mr. Gaeta, launch Strike Force one," Adama ordered.

"Aye, sir. D, launch Strike Force one," the Lieutenant said into the headset he was wearing.

"Attention: Pilots, man your planes. Pilots, man your planes," Dualla ordered from her place in the CIC.

"How hard did they bite?" Starbuck asked.

"Boomer's report said ninety-plus. They've launched most of their fighter force," Adama replied.

"Our attack force is away," Lieutenant Gaeta reported as the Vipers left the firing tubes.

"I just hope that Lee can…" Starbuck trailed off.

"Lee isn't the problem," the Admiral said as he looked to the young woman. "You should take a good look at yourself. I had to go through the same transition. When you're in the cockpit, you're in control. It's hard to give it up."

"It would just be a lot easier if I was flying with them," Starbuck insisted as she rubbed her still injured knee.

"All you can do now is wait and hope you didn't make any mistakes," Adama said solemnly.

"I never wanted this kind of responsibility."

"The Cylons never asked us what we wanted. Welcome to the big leagues."

"Galactica, Crashdown. Tally fifty-plus on an intercept course. Repeat, fifty-plus inbound."

"What's that mean?" Baltar asked as he nervously paced around the War Room.

"It means that a Cylon patrol spotted our attack force. The base sent out fifty more Raiders to intercept," Starbuck explained.

"Fifty raiders?" Baltar asked in a panic. "That means we're outnumbered now… five-to-one?"

"Weren't the decoys supposed to take care of that?" the President asked.

"Cylons are too smart for that," Adama countered.

"Frak," Starbuck swore. This was her plan. Her mistakes.

"Estimated time to Strike intercept: two minutes," Dualla reported.

The fighters' chatter was the next thing they all heard. "Fireball, multiple bandits, left, ten high. Range forty, weapons free, committing."

"Hotdog, visual tally, press."

"Hotdog, break right!"

"Fireball, your six!"

"I'm hit, I'm hit! Can't eject!"

"Deadbolt, Spinner, two bandits closing in, right five."

"No joy, no joy. Aaahh!"

The holographic images moving on the table gave an uncomfortably real in-the-moment feeling to the whole thing, and Starbuck's face at the sight of Fireball's Viper disappearing in a cloud of flames was not one he ever wanted to see again. She wasn't ready for the realities of command.

"Galactica, Hotdog. Heavily engaged, mission outcome doubtful."

"This sounds frakking awful," Baltar exclaimed.

"They're getting cut to pieces out there," Starbuck agreed.

"Deadbolt, break vertical, now, now, now!"

"Damn it, take the shot, get him off me...!"

"This is why I hate wars," Gabi mumbled to herself as she kept feeding information to the computers and making sure the connection stayed stable. She was working with a custom-built system she had put together in a matter of hours that was barely holding together, but she would make sure that Galactica didn't stay blind even if it meant she had to whiteness the deaths of the pilots. The anguish she felt, however, paled in comparison to the look on Starbuck's face as she rubbed her temples.

"Mr. Gaeta, abort Strike One," Adama ordered.

The order went from Adama to Gaeta then over the wireless network to D who then sent it across the comm channel to the strike team. "Strike One, Galactica. Return to base. Repeat: abort your mission and return to base."

"Galactica, Stubbs. Cylon strike force is turning away from Deacon and inbound to Galactica."

"The Cylons heard our transmission recall, didn't they?" Roslin asked.

"Does that mean the first wave of Raiders is ignoring the decoys and is… is coming after us?" Baltar asked, his tone nearing a panic.

"That's exactly what it means," Adama answered as he watched the Raiders near the civilian freighters break off and turn around.

"So when are we going to launch the reserve Vipers to defend Galactica?" Baltar asked, his tone becoming more frantic.

"There are no reserve Vipers. Everything is on the board already. Now we play for all the marbles. Starbuck, it's your plan."

Starbuck walked across the room to where the Lieutenant was standing and said, "Mr. Gaeta, will you please tell D to get on the scrambler and inform Apollo 'the back door is open'?"

"Aye, Lieutenant. D, please send a scrambler to Captain Apollo. Message reads: 'The back door is open'," Gaeta said into the headset.

The order went over the line and the projector system zoomed in on the civilian freighters. One of the cargo canisters attached to the side of one freighter blew off to reveal twelve Vipers hiding inside of the ship.

Roslin looked shocked at the turn of events as she turned to Starbuck. "Lieutenant Thrace, why didn't you tell me we had another attack force hidden in the freighters?"

Starbuck gave a stuttered reply before Adama answered for her. "It was my decision. I routinely restrict tactical details to those who need to know. I didn't inform Colonel Davidson or Commander Fisk either. Old habits die hard."

"So you still might pull this off," Laura said, a hint of a smile ghosting across her face.

"If Dr. Baltar's target information is correct," Adama replied as everyone looked to Baltar who looked very nervous.

"And whether we get blown to pieces by those Cylon raiders heading toward us right now," Starbuck added.

"Speaking of which, I'm needed in CIC," Adama said before leaving the room.

**Dead Space (Resurrection Fleet)**

*USS Odyssey (Bridge)*

"If that ship jumps out of here it'll be headed to one of two locations. Either to Galactica and the mine, or Pegasus and the fleet," Colonel Viride said as the last Baseship spoiled up its FTL coils.

As if in answer to his warning, one of the Vipers managed to slip a missile past the Raiders and blow a hole in the area of the ship where the liquid fuel was stored. That was shortly followed up by a rocket fired by a 302. The Tylium reserves went up in flames and the ship went down with them.

"You were saying, Colonel?" Davidson asked, a smile on his face.

"Every now and then being wrong is a good thing," Oliver replied.

"Marks, recall our fighters. We're done here."

"Aye, sir…" Marks began before trailing off. "Hold on, I've got a contact on the long-range sensors."

**Tylium Mine (Point Deacon)**

*Viper 2220 (Cockpit)*

"Initial point in five seconds. Flak suppression unit cleared hot. Okay, let's do this," Apollo read off as his attack force moved in from the unguarded flank… or so they thought. "Incoming, incoming!" Apollo shouted into the line as an anti-aircraft missile pod fired a swarm of missiles at them from behind. Despite their best efforts to dodge, however, Lee caught a glimpse of one of his Vipers getting hit beside him. "Weapons free. By the numbers, people."

"Target acquired, tone and lock. Firing," Stepchild reported as she fired her guided missiles.

"Tone and lock. Firing," Kat added as she did the same. The missiles approached the mine in a straight line until veering off target for no reason. "What's got into these frakking missiles?"

"They're jamming the guidance systems!" Stepchild replied in a pissed-off tone.

"Strike Two, Apollo. Then we get close enough that we don't need the guidance systems. We have to blow this thing manually."

"WILCO, Apollo. Rolling in," Chuckles replied as he adjusted his approach for an attack run.

His Viper flew into a thicket of flak cannon fire and the pilot took a hit, the round passing through his cockpit window and impacting him in the left shoulder. "Chuckles... Chuckles!" Stepchild shouted at the man.

"Oh, frak," Chuckles said in a pained tone before his Viper veered off, the pilot now dead.

"Chuckles bought it, he's going down…" Stepchild's unneeded recounting of events was cut short when the distraction of Chuckle's death proved to be enough to cause her own.

"Now they've got our attack axis zeroed in. There's no way to frakking get close!" Kat shouted in outrage.

"We've gotta get out of this flak. Let's get down below the deck, down where the target is," Lee ordered as what remained of his attack force broke off and dove behind the terrain. Lee looked around, desperate for an answer to their problem… and found it. "I've got an idea. I'm gonna take a closer look."

**Dead Space (Resurrection Fleet)**

*USS Odyssey (Bridge)*

"That's what we're up against?" Davidson asked, his tone mildly concerned.

Oliver let out a low whistle at the force assembled before them. "That's a lot of nukes."

"Why are they here?" Donnelly asked.

Outside of the Odyssey's viewports, a massive force had assembled. More than forty Baseships sat in the void between stars that once served as the home to the Resurrection Ship and more were still coming.

"What is that?" Oliver asked as he pointed to one ship that didn't fit the class of the others.

"Judging by the readings I'm getting, it's a troop carrier," Marks replied.

"An invasion fleet?" Davidson asked.

"More like an annihilation fleet," Oliver corrected.

"This doesn't make any sense," Donnelly said with a shake of his head. "They just nuked the Colonials from orbit. Why do they have a troop transport?"

"Any input on your end?" Davidson asked one of the Viper pilots that had accompanied them.

"I'm with your tactical officer on this one," the woman replied. "Unless they plan on landing on a planet or boarding every ship we have, that many Centurions doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe they know something we don't," Oliver said matter-of-factly.

"We need to tell the Admiral. They could be here for the fleet," the pilot said, a note of worry to her tone.

"That's actually not high up on the list of reasons I'd guess them to be here. Solely for the fleet, that is," Oliver countered. "It's more likely that they need to refuel and are headed for the Tylium mine. Why else would they have two Resurrection Ships?"

"Either way they're headed right for us," Davidson said. "We need to get back to the fleet before they move on the mine."

**Tylium Mine (Surrounding Minefield)**

*Battlestar Galactica (Combat Information Center)*

"Commander on deck!" Dualla called out as Adama stepped into the CIC.

"As you were," Adama ordered before anyone could stand to attention.

"The first wave of Cylons will be on us in three minutes," his XO informed him.

"Tell Colonel Davidson's men that they're free to engage and notify the Strike One Vipers that they can stop running and blast those bastards to Hell," Adama ordered.

"Yes, sir," Dualla replied as she carried out her orders.

The DRADIS system, still mostly hash but being fed targeting data from Professor Naco's contraption in the War Room, registered the eight, fast moving fighter craft the Tau'ri operated. The flying-wings thundered past the Vipers and laid into the Raiders with smaller versions of the guns the Odyssey used. Anti-fighter missiles joined the mix as the fighters blew past the Raiders and carved a hole in their ranks. With the Cylons temporarily thrown off by the high-speed assault, the Vipers pulled a one-eighty and rejoined the fight with a vengeance.

"Engaging Cylon fighters," Deadbolt said with an understandable edge to his voice.

"Target acquired, tone and lock," Hotdog added as he sent a Raider to its death. A True Death if the Odyssey's mission had been successful.

**Tylium Mine (Cylon Base)**

*Viper 2220 (Cockpit)*

Apollo flew towards the tunnel at a reduced speed as he thought it threw. Then he remembered Kara's advice. 'Don't blow it by overthinking it.' She had been right to tell him that.

"Oh, no, don't do this, Lee…" he tried again to talk himself out of it. Hitting his radio, Apollo added, "The conveyor tunnel's clear, I'm going through it."

"You're out of your frakking mind, Apollo!" Kat so helpfully informed him.

"Come on, keep it together, Lee, keep it together, keep it…" Lee was telling himself… then he saw the sharp vertical turn ahead. "Oh, Lords!" Lee exclaimed before pulling a move that Starbuck would be proud of. "Okay, I'm through the tunnel. They can't get a firing solution on me," Lee reported from his place hovering behind a piece of machinery that was keeping the Cylons from firing at him. He looked around, his eyes scanning the area Baltar had indicated. Finally he saw it. "There you are. Okay… I've got you, I've got you, I've got you, I've got you…" Lee told himself as he fired his thrusters and made his run. He more dropped than fired the missiles, the explosives bouncing along the ground until they slid directly under his target. Then he threw the accelerator down and sent the order for his attack wing to scatter.

A few seconds later the payload detonated and the entire base went up in flames. Lee laughed to himself at the absurdity of the entire situation and hit his radio. "Galactica, Apollo. Mission… mission accomplished."

**Tylium Mine (Surrounding Minefield)**

*Battlestar Galactica (War Room)*

The room was instantly filled with cheers as the news came across the line.

"You can tell Dr. Baltar he was right on the money. It's one hell of a fireworks show, and there's plenty of ore for us back in the canyon, once this place is history," Lee added as he rejoined his assault force.

"Congratulations, Doctor! It worked!" Lieutenant Gaeta exclaimed.

"It did. It worked," Baltar said in a tone of pure amazement. In the chaos of the celebration, only one set of eyes met his as he said this… and he didn't like the look in them.

Starbuck, in a fit of absolute joy, grabbed the President and hugged her with a big smile on her face. Roslin's only response was to be shocked. "Sorry, Madam President, I'm sorry," Kara said, her grin still in place.

"No need to apologize, Lieutenant," Roslin assured her. "Thanks to you, we have enough fuel to last us a few years."

**Tylium Mine (Surrounding Minefield)**

*Battlestar Galactica (Combat Information Center)*

"Admiral, Strike One reports inbound Cylons are bugging out. Request permission to go after them, sir," Dualla reported with a massive grin on her face.

"Tell our people to pursue and destroy," Adama ordered victoriously.

"Affirmative," Dualla replied before addressing the pilots. "Strike One… tear 'em up."

"With pleasure," one of the Tau'ri pilots replied.

"Send a message to Pegasus informing them of the situation. Tell them to ready the fleet for the jump and have them send the Daru Mozu, Hitei Kan, Monarch, and Majahual as soon as we give the all-clear," Adama ordered.

**Tylium Mine (Colonial Fleet)**

*USS Odyssey (Bridge) [a few hours later]*

"Colonel, I need to talk to you," Marcus nearly shouted as he skidded to a halt on the Bridge. From the tone in his voice, Oliver could tell it was excitement that had him worked up.

"Your timing is a little inconvenient," Colonel Davidson said as he stood at the head of the Bridge waiting for Marks to beam him out.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, I thought you were already gone," Marcus said before addressing Oliver. "I need to speak to… my Colonel."

"In that case, go ahead," Davidson said with a nod to Marks who pressed a button and sent him off.

"Keep an eye on the long-range sensors and let me know if the Cylons start closing in on us. In that case, send the message to Colonel Davidson, Admiral Adama, and Commander Fisk at the same time. Might as well let us all know we're under attack at the same time," Oliver ordered before motioning Marcus to lead the way. "What's got you so excited?"

"The Ancients are at it again," Marcus said as he led the way through the halls. "Remember when I told you that the Colonials' Sacred Scrolls had parts of them written in Ancient?"

"Of course."

"I found the connection," Marcus said excitedly as he stepped into the side room he'd been using as his office. Doctor Jackson was already present with another linguist that Oliver didn't know by name.

"Let me first start by saying that your man here is a genius," Doctor Jackson said as he scribbled notes on a separate sheet of paper as an ancient looking scroll sat before him.

"Let me then add that the Ancients were a meddlesome lot," the female linguist added.

"Are you familiar with the name Pythia?" Marcus asked in a more serious tone.

"No."

"It's a name present in early mythology," the female began. "According to the Greeks, Pythia was a Sibyl for the Oracle of Delphi. While the temple at Delphi was closely identified with Gaia…"

"The Mother/Spirit of Earth," Marcus helpfully added.

"… Delphi herself had a close association with Apollo. Here's what really matters though."

"Gaia was responsible for laying the foundations for the Olympian Gods," Doctor Jackson finished for her.

"Gaia?" Oliver asked. "I thought you said Pythia?"

"The translated version," Marcus said while holding up a hand to stall anymore information from the other two. "A Sibyl is a given name for a female. In other words, Pythia is a nickname given to the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle of Delphi was a title given to a woman named Gaia. Gaia was viewed as the Mother of Earth by the Greeks and mythology paints her as the spirit of the planet. She's also the one who started spreading the basis of what we now know as the Olympian Pantheon of Gods. She was known as the Oracle of Delphi because she was rumored to have the power to see the future."

"Then you have the Romans," Doctor Jackson continued. "For them, the Sibylline Books…"

"Or Sibyllae," Marcus added again.

"… were a collection of oracular utterances set out in Greek hexameters that were purchased from a Sibylla…"

"Sibylla means 'Prophetess' in Greek."

"… by the last king of Rome…"

"Tarquinius Superbus."

"… These books were consulted at moments of crises throughout the history of Rome and only fragments have survived into the modern day. The rest were either lost or deliberately destroyed by the Catholics in the name of cleansing heresy from the common man's life."

Again Marcus stalled the explanation and reworded it. "There exists a series of writings that prophesize events in Human history. The Romans called them the Sibylline Books or the Sibyllae. They were bought from a Prophetess by the last king of Rome and used to win great battles that would've otherwise led to their demise. With them, they could predict the enemy's movements and plan accordingly. In the modern day, very few of them are left."

"Are you talking about the Sibylline Oracles?" Oliver asked.

"No," Doctor Jackson immediately replied. "Those twelve books of prophesies were written by the Judaeo-Christians, not the Romans."

"Then there's the Flood," the female added. "In one of her writings, Pythia talks of a flood which will destroy most of humanity and leave it rejuvenated. A deluge of this nature is present in many mythologies with western religions referring to the event as the biblical story of Noah's Ark."

"I am so lost right now it's not even funny," Oliver said in an annoyed tone. Marcus tended to have entirely too much build up to his explanations. Then again, his build up was typically needed.

"Pythia," Marcus said again, "is also found in the Colonials' Sacred Scrolls. Once again, she's presented as a prophetess. This time, she's foretelling current history from nearly three-thousand, six-hundred years in the past!"

"What were the Ancients still doing in this plane that close to modern history? I thought they all ascended around ten-thousand years ago?" Oliver asked.

"Not all of them could. Some of them, like Pythia, were trapped in a state of half-ascension. They weren't fully Alteran, but they weren't fully Ancient either. They had some of the powers of an ascended being, but they still had mortal bodies. Pythia was one of these people and the power she gained was the ability to see the future," Marcus replied.

"Three-thousand, six-hundred years ago, Pythia wrote about the exile and rebirth of the Human race. She mentions a Cycle of Time and one of her most quoted prophesies is, 'All this has happened before, and all this will happen again,' which I've heard many of the Colonials say during my stay on Galactica," Marcus continued as he pointed out different areas of the Scrolls. "They also mention a Dying Leader. 'And the Lords anointed a leader to guide the Caravan of the Heavens to their new homeland.' The Caravan of the Heavens is this fleet, but get this."

"She also wrote that the new leader 'suffered a wasting disease' and would not live to 'enter the new land'…" Doctor Jackson added.

"… And President Roslin has cancer," Marcus finished.

"How do you know that?" Oliver asked skeptically.

"My dad had lung cancer. I know it when I see it. That woman is suffering from an advanced stage of cancer that likely can't be cured with what the Colonials have available to them in this fleet."

"There's more," the woman piped in. "'And unto the leader they gave a vision of serpents numbering two and ten, as a sign to things to come'."

"That's what got my attention," Marcus said as he pulled out a sheet of paper covered in notes. "The Colonials' desperation in the search for Tylium is partly our fault. We started crunching the numbers for their FTL drives and jumped them past what they would normally handle. Add to that the jump they had to make every thirty-three minutes while the Cylons were chasing them and Colonial One is sitting at five-percent of her Tylium reserves. They had enough left for two jumps before we found that mine. Now that they've jumped here, Colonial One has one FTL jump left in her fuel reserves."

"That explains Adama's determination in trying to take it," Oliver noted.

"Now get this. President Roslin held a press conference to address the issue a few days ago, and, during that, she started losing her focus and trying not to freak out. After ending the conference early, she went back to her quarters and I… followed her back there and overheard a conversation between her and one of the Keepers of their religion, a sort of Priest for them. Roslin said she was seeing snakes on her podium. It started as two, then ten more showed up. That's the vision, but it goes further."

"Two and ten is a rather specific way of saying things, don't you think?" the woman asked.

"Vipers," Oliver said as he realized what they were saying. "There were twelve Vipers in Strike Two."

"Three Vipers were destroyed, but only two of the pilots died. From what I hear, Chuckles will pull through, but he'll never be able to fly again. Two died. Ten survived. Two and ten. See the significance?" the woman asked.

"She foresaw the outcome of the battle?" Oliver asked.

"All this has happened before, and all this will happen again," the woman said matter-of-factly. "Pythia foretold both the battle and the leader who would have the vision."

"So Roslin is half ascended too?"

"Not as far as I can tell, and trust me, I did a scan. It's her tumor," Marcus replied.

"Do you remember Jonas Quinn?" Doctor Jackson asked. "He had a tumor in his brain that gave him the ability to see the future. I think Roslin's tumor is doing something similar to her."

"There's more," Marcus added. "'Though the outcome favored the few, it led to a confrontation at the home of the Gods.' I think it means Kobol."

"What's Kobol?" Oliver asked.

"The homeworld of the Thirteen Tribes, one of which was the first version of the Cylons," the woman explained.

"Wait, how do we know this is a premonition and not a recounting of events? If Pythia believes in a Cycle of Time, then she could just be writing what happened to her people," Oliver asked.

"The scrolls of Pythia speak of a 'Lower Demon who helped the people in a time of crisis'," Marcus replied.

"I think that's us," the woman added.

"We're a demon now?" Oliver asked.

"Given the option of trusting us or not, Adama gave us a chance to prove ourselves. In doing so, he risked the lives of everyone under his protection, but gained an ally. The demon, if I'm right, is blind trust itself," Marcus replied.

"But I'm not convinced," Doctor Jackson countered. "The Scrolls list things in the order they happen. It doesn't mention the Lower Demon until after we go to Kobol. I think we're going to encounter a Goa'uld or something that's going to help us."

"That's ridiculous," Marcus argued. "The Goa'uld would never help us."

"Ba'al did…" the woman began.

"Because his ass was on the line as much as ours," Oliver quickly cut her off. "Immediately after the fact, he went back to trying to kill us."

"Then what does it mean?" Marcus asked.

"We'll find out when we reach Kobol," Daniel said with in annoyed tone.

"Are we really going to blindly follow someone else's religious texts?" Oliver asked at a deadpan.

"First, they haven't been wrong… yet," Marcus replied.

"Second, I've encountered things like this before. Seeing the future, time travel… it's not exactly as foreign an idea to me as I'd like it to be," Daniel added.