The specialist
"Our ship installed subspace disruptors on five of the artificial lifeform's ships. We also installed one on the larger ship, where they keep the new cloned bodies for consciousness transfer," chief Rimon stood before the Nox Council for an update. His matter-of-fact ways and focused disposition made many around the hall apprehensive, yet he was a professional, and most Nox present appreciated him for doing a job very few others wanted to do, and for doing it well.
"We are also interfering with all long range communications around both fleets. So far, this has proven effective in discouraging undesired activities near Gaia," Rimon went on with his report.
"Are Nox now interfering with other races' disputes?" an elderly Councillor asked. It was said in a calm and levelled tone, yet everyone in the Council could hear the condemnation.
This was Councillor Taliyah, however, and the people gathered expected nothing else from him. Some people were just reactionary. Even among the Nox people. A few around the Council hall moved a little uncomfortably in their seats. It wasn't what the southern city representative said, but the temperatures. Nox cities - any Nox city, including the southern one, were all well tempered. Yet the southerners were hovering above these parts of the globe for a reason. They tended to let the temperatures in their city drop low enough to make people from other parts wear warmer clothes.
Taliyah himself looked 'elderly'. He was, however, merely four hundred years old. Clearly, he wasn't taking good enough care of himself. It didn't add to his popularity any.
"Do we need to activate more of the fleet?" Opher asked, and the assembled Councillors waited for the answer with some interest. If be, it would be the first time since the end of the Great Alliance that the Nox fleet would be called upon.
The Council trusted in chief Rimon, popularity aside, to make a well thought and balanced recommendation, yet activating the fleet would mean one thing mainly - change.
Not that the Nox were averse to change. Societies which don't change stagnate. Nox have not reached maturity by succumbing to stagnation. They have also watched the great and mighty Alterans surrender to such. However, activating the fleet would also mean one of two things:
Either, changes within the galaxy will cause the Nox to move away from their isolationist ways. This possibility was already under discussion. Nox recent contact with the Tollans, and more importantly - the Tau'ri, made this possibility very real. The Nox Council, however, truly doubted that the primitive colonials and the artificial life forms which followed them could and would bring with them such a substantial change.
The other possibility was for an external force to, well - force the Nox to set their pacifists ways aside. Once more, this close call the galaxy had just recently had with the replicators already brought this option to the Council table. It would open up a much larger can of worms, though, named the Asgard. It was not often that mature races were collectively ashamed.
"We foresee no reasons, so far," Rimon answered levelly. "We do ask to alert ship's crews. This way we will be able to activate them with a short notice, if the need arises."
This was the balanced and well considered recommendation the Council was expecting from chief Rimon, and was only happy to approve.
Lya sighed internally. It was her turn now. She brought a soft smile to her face - one appropriate to a distinguished Nox of her position and in this company. She then stood and nodded to all the other just-as-distinguished Nox representatives around her.
"I have made first contact with the colonial people who landed on Gaia," she got right to the point. Not wasting time during Council meetings was the Nox way after all. "Turns out, I'm the specialist," she added with only a thin coat of sarcasm to her voice. Once more, a small dash of sarcasm, at the right time and place, was most certainly part of the Nox ways. Showing it in a way people of other races might notice - wasn't.
"These colonials were not positioned high enough to hold a constructive dialogue with. They called for more suitable representatives to come. I will meet with them tomorrow morning."
"Are you planning to only meet with the Colonials?" Councillor Taliyah asked, and Lya had to demonstrate her patience and self control to the people present. She did so admirably. She was surprised to find Councillor Tuphie answering this question in her place.
"I am positive that specialist Lya is making the best decisions according to her ability and experience," he stated, and people the about nodded in agreement.
Lya was thankful for this show of trust. She still found it right to explain: "I believe we will have a better chance at a constructive meeting with the artificial life forms, after meeting with a few qualified colonials," she told the Council, and people around nodded in agreement once more. Like with chief Rimon, once a Nox was recognised by their society as an expert, Nox tended to accept his or her expert opinion. Lya was just surprised to be recognised as such.
"I will make the effort to meet with them too, after my meeting with colonials tomorrow morning," she elaborated. "Anteaus, meanwhile, is on the surface, trying to keep the colonial there from being hunted by some of Gaia's larger predators. Also to stop them from hunting on our planet themselves. Thankfully, he is not alone," she added, then nodded and smiled towards Rimon.
"Are you trying to negotiate peace between them?" one of the Councillors asked in interest, and Lya shrugged.
"It is not the Nox way," she needlessly answered.
This was true - trying to systematically come between warring parties was an exercise in futility. The Furlings tended to try this strategy frequently. More often than not, they ended up fighting both sides. Did this contribute to their fall as a race? The Nox didn't know. The Nox way, well, in those few instances in which they didn't refrain from letting both and all warring parties to even notice them in the first place, was to contact one side and convince them not to fight. This required a lull in the fighting, and having both sides separated for a while - like that opportune moment Lya's great grandmother had with Egeria.
The thing is, usually, whenever the Nox chose not to intervene and let these young races settle their disagreements by themselves - that battle wasn't joined on their own front yard, so to speak.
"How do we send them away?" the real conundrum came into the open finally.
"We are interfering with their communications and stopping them from engaging in battle, for now," Rimon replied in his detached way. "It will not last forever," he added.
"We can stop them from landing," someone offered. "Once they'll understand they can't provision here, they will move on."
However, having guests, so to speak, starve just above their planet, then send them away to imminent and immediate death, wasn't exactly the Nox way too.
"Can we frighten them all away?" asked one of the Councillors, and most around frowned. "The Tau'ri owe us a favour," he calmly offered. "Can we recall that ship back? It alone can send both these primitive fleets away."
"This Council decided that the Tau'ri have shown significant maturity and promise. We helped them visit Gaia to learn more about them and as an encouragement for the future. Nox gifts were never before given with strings attached?" Opher answered. He said that with a light smile, but everyone in the Council understood his blatant reproval.
There was a short lull in the discussion, while the Councillors pondered their options. Finally, it was Lya who took it on herself to answer.
"We are one of the very few mature races in this galaxy. Nox grew into maturity during millions years of learning and evolving. Our ways have served us for as long as our people have lived. We were also wise enough to acknowledge that our ways are not the only ways. We were wise enough to change when we needed to. Nox have been pacifists for more than fifty-thousand years. We chose to isolate ourselves from the galaxy over ten-thousand years back." Lya looked about and watched all the other Councillors listen attentively to her telling of basic Nox history. She then went on with a soft smile and a warm voice.
"When we chose to isolate ourselves, we knew well enough the state of the galaxy we are leaving behind. When we chose not to do battle, we knew well that more often than not, battle will still occur. However - Never in our entire history, from the days we Nox were just a growing race, have we asked a younger race to fight our battles for us."
She posed to look at the Councillors around. No one looked like she or he were about to argue otherwise.
"Is this about to become the new Nox way?" she concluded softly.
Opher let some warmth fill his calm face for a moment. He held his hands in front of him, palm-to-palm, and fingers held hand to hand. He then bowed ever-so-slightly towards Lya. He didn't say anything, yet this was the clearest sign of support he could offer Lya at this moment.
Change was coming, and Opher himself was too old already to lead the Nox into this new future, but the new generation he worked so hard to bring into the Nox Council seemed to be doing alright.
Cmd Adama never intended to go to the surface himself. He planned to send Lee down and wait for a report. Away from the fleet, when the Cylons were known to be close by, was the worst place for the commanding officer to be at. But then, President Roslin insisted and he couldn't possibly let her go there alone and manipulate everything to her interests. Then, Baltar also had to butt in on the mission and it all got complicated - Just as it usually does.
Things were also delayed. Originally, Adama planned to send Lee down within half an hour from the received initial report. Now, he had to send for Roslin and Baltar to bring them to the Galactica, before flights to the surface could be arranged. Also, by the time all this was done, it was already nighttime at the spot, where the freighters had landed. This had completely disagreed with the day/night schedule the fleet was maintaining. More so, the fleet was running on Capricia time. This planet's day was longer by what people around told him was three hours and forty two minutes. Adama seriously doubted there would be someone there waiting for them before local morning rises.
"Raptor two and seven suffer thruster misfire," Helo reported from the back of the Raptor.
"Where are they?" Adama asked, looking out the front windshield and fearing the sight of the two Raptors free-falling towards the planet below.
"Still above orbit," Boomer replied.
"Proceed," Adama ordered and Boomer raised an eyebrow. Landings on this planet were notoriously hazardous and her small Raptor now carried the whole fleet leadership. Baltar and the President were not too happy too, but the descent went on smoothly and an hour later the Raptor landed, not too gently, right next to the two stranded freighters.
Both Freighters were at the centre of some hectic activity. Crates of fruit, vegetable, and grains were filled and then loaded onto the holds under the supervision of the pilots and military. All were surprised to first see the Raptor landing, then the esteemed company it brought with it.
"The hunt wasn't as successful," a pilot commented, when the President looked with delight at the abundant cargo. "They also met with a local. They tell me he wasn't happy about them hunting at all," he updated them on.
"We only hunt for food?" Baltar was astonished. He was then distracted for a moment. "Humans are carnivores?" he added, looking at the air beside him.
They all disregarded him, already used to his strange behaviours.
"Launch immediately when you are finished with the loading," Adama instructed. He wanted all colonials off the face of this planet as soon as humanly possible, and the fleet ready to move on.
Both pilots looked very reluctant to comply.
"Did you find anything wrong with your ships?" Adama asked.
Both pilots shook their heads.
"We had no problem landing," Adama further argued.
"But the two other Raptors couldn't even start their descents," Boomer mumbled to herself.
Still, the two pilots looked somewhat convinced for the moment.
With that matter settled, the President moved them to more important issues. "Where did the woman you met go?" she asked and was pointed in a certain direction, well into the orchard. They all moved carefully forward, deeper and deeper into the orchard. The freighters crews stayed behind to expedite the loading of their ships. All were anxious to leave this planet behind - the sooner the better. Helo stayed with the Raptor as guard. He pulled one of the marines who came with the hunting party to help.
Sharon went with the Commander, keeping a vigil look on their surroundings. Speculations aside, any person not a known colonial was most probably a Cylon and therefore - a risk. Grave risk! She itched to pull out her gun, just to be ready, but a slight shake of Adama's head stopped her.
Adama led them on, deeper into this forest of fruit trees. They rounded a patch of dense growth to find a man and a woman sitting patiently on a trunk of a tree, in a small clearing. Exactly where the two were not just a moment ago, and right before their group started to go round those trees.
Boomer had an even stronger urge to pull out her weapon now.
"Come" said the man with a serene smile and a genial tone. He motioned them forwards and towards another trunk of a tree, laying across from the couple. In between, a small fire burned, trays of food were presented, and some pitchers of beverage too. Hesitantly, President Laura Roslin led their group out into the clearing and took a seat in front of the couple.
Lya looked at the group with a frown. One which she hid well behind her serene expression. They were not exactly what she expected them to be. She was not certain how to proceed.
"A focused concentration of magic at the right end of the group," said a little voice in her ear, although there was no instrument there to transmit it. She already felt it herself, and made the choice to disregard it at the moment. She also made the choice to disregard the woman in uniform, who still stood back from the others. At least for now.
The colonials, meantime, looked at the couple with some trepidation, although they would have never imagined Cylon making themselves to look like this - grass-hair and all.
Finally priestess Elosha gasped. Just why did the President insist on bringing the woman to every critical meeting, Adama would never know.
"Is this the planet Earth?" Elosha exclaimed, before anyone else had the chance to say anything at all. Nevermind make formal and polite introductions.
It opened out the dam, though -
"Are you the thirteenth tribe?" asked the President, her voice full of hope. "We were searching for you for so long!" she added.
"Did you lose your technology?" Baltar asked. He then looked aside, to where the concentration of magic was, and listened.
Boomer kept to herself - not knowing what to make of the strange woman and man in front of them. She just kept her guard.
Adama, however, had a different idea. "Are you toying with our fleet?" he asked. These people, peculiar as they looked to the colonials, might just be the explanation to all the interferences and malfunctions, that their fleet was suffering from ever since arriving in orbit over this planet.
Evan the Tau'ri, well - even the militaristic ones, were more polite and formal! Lya thought to herself. She kept her calm expression on, but not showing her exasperation required a little effort from her.
"I am Lya and this is Anteaus. We are Nox," she presented them both in an effort to bring this first contact meeting into some form of order. First contacts were notoriously dangerous, albeit - this one was not dangerous for the Nox themselves. Still, one could not be too formal or careful with them.
"Did they forget their origins?" Elosha asked the President, who shrugged in return.
President Roslin then smiled towards the couple in front of her. She considered this smile to be welcoming, but in reality, it was quite tense. "The people of the fleet will be delighted to know we have finally met and are united with our cousins!" she stated.
"The Lords of Kobol smile upon us all today," the priestess added in reverence.
Commander Adama kept his opinions to himself for now. He stared at the strange couple in front of them all in search for any clues to their identity. Sadly, their genial and easy smiles revealed nothing at all.
Feeling his partner's confusions, Anteaus made another effort to bring the discussion into some order. "Gaia is the home-world of the Nox. The name 'Gaia' can be approximately translated to mean 'Earth' in English, but…"
"English?" Dr Baltar asked in surprise. He then looked to the side once more.
"We're finally home!" Elosha stated, and Commander William Adama found himself wincing. Lya too, but she hid it much better than him.
English is the name the Tau'ri are calling your language," Lya answered, in an effort to lead the conversation in the direction she preferred. "We have reasons to believe the language originated there."
"The Nox are not related to humans in any way," Anteaus went on, trying to put things straight. Lya smiled warmly towards him. It clearly conveyed the message that he should leave this sensitive issue for the specialist to handle.
"We will establish a small settlement here," the President said with a gracious smile. "With the grace of the lords, soon enough you will remember all that you have forgotten of your true history."
Adama's wince was now a full-on grimace. "We can not protect this planet," he reminded Roslin delicately. The identities of the Nox people aside, he will not let futile dreams set roots in her mind.
"True," the president agreed, suddenly saddened by the reality of their situation. "You will have to come with us, then. How many are you? We'll find the place," she promised.
Lya was slightly bothered. For being the Nox first-contact expert, she had very little actual experience, but it seemed logical to her that such ideas needed to be cut at the bud. However, before she managed to say anything, Elosha answered in anger.
"This is Earth. The planet we were searching for it since the day we left the colonies! We can't possibly leave the land of our gods behind."
"There are forty two planets, known to us, which are named by their inhabitants something which translates to the English word 'Earth'," Anteaus mentioned, in an effort to ease their guest's obsession with their home. "Although, only the Tau'ri use this same word for it," he added in an afterthought.
And where is this planet located?" Baltar asked.
Roslin looked relieved for a short moment. This was a compromise which may appease Elosha and keep the fleet safe.
"Across the galaxy swirl," the strange man answered, and the President lost her hopeful smile.
Lya had had enough of all this nonsense by now. She gave Anteaus another warm smile, which pointedly conveyed the message that he wasn't constructive to her expert effort at this moment in time.
"No!" she answered softly, but decisively. All conversation stopped, a little shocked.
"This is the will of the gods," Elosha stressed with a voice full of scorn. "The will of Athena herself!"
"The other side of the galaxy?!" Baltar mumbled, looking aside, as he was used to.
"Is there anyone else we could talk to? Do you have a leader?" President Roslin asked. Those two didn't look like their people's highest authority. At least she hoped they were not.
Why is it that visitors always assume they are met with low-levelled representatives? Lya pondered.
"They do not wish to meet with you," she replied simply.
Laura bristled at the slight.
A noise from a short distance away indicated that the two freighters lifted off. It made Lya's serene face twitch with a shade of a grimace.
"The Cylons will come after you," Adama commented. "How would you defend yourselves?"
"We do not," came the simple answer, and the Commander nodded slightly to himself.
Most were too shocked by these straight answers to say anything at all, but Adama looked like he had just received the answer he was looking for.
"You are toying with our fleet," he stated softly once more.
"Indeed!" Anteaus answered in a calm way. He was looking for an opportunity to use it in context, ever since the first visit of the Tau'ri to Gaia.
"Battle is not our way," Lya added the simple explanation for it all. This meeting wasn't constructive - it was time to cut it short and speak with the colonials once more on another day.
"You are probably anxious to go and discuss things among yourselves," she offered in a kind way, yet one that left very little for dispute.
"But!" Elosha tried to argue nevertheless. Thankfully, the President cut her short with a raised finger. Laura was a politician after all. She knew just when any further discussions were better postponed to another day.
"You may return and meet with us again in a couple of days," Lya added.
"Your freighters are welcome to make another provisioning run during that time," Anteaus offered graciously, knowing well that Lya would not be happy about the accompanying pollution.
"The hunt was interrupted," Baltar commented. He was truly missing some fresh meat.
Lya nodded genially at this comment. "Letting Gaia's predators hunt our guests is bad hospitality," she answered. From a distance, a loud roar sounded, and made Baltar shudder.
It was truly time to part ways now. Lya and Anteaus walked their guests back to the sole Raptor, still standing on the grassy plane, just at the edge of the orchard.
"You are a peculiar one," she told the woman in uniform, who kept back during the whole meeting. "A young friend of mine would have said you're so infested with Wrackspurt you don't even remember who you are," she added with a kind smile. Lya could only see confusion in the woman's eyes.
She truly doesn't know. How interesting, she thought, yet it was certainly not the Nox way to meddle in other's affaires.
"You might grow to learn that fighting isn't the only way," she told Commander Adama, who only nodded slightly in response.
It was Laura's time to shake the woman's hands now. "Be well," Lya told her. "We look forward to meeting with you all once more." She was demonstrating that lying sometimes was the Nox way. Laura Roslin felt warmth reach through her hands and spread throughout her body. It startled her, but she also felt pleasantly reinvigorated.
"Knowledge takes time," Lya told Dr Baltar, holding his hands. "Over the years, you might learn to be wise." For a moment, Baltar looked like he was going to argue. He then glanced to his side and reconsidered.
Lya then schooled her face carefully. This following part was potentially dangerous - even for Nox people. She held her hands in that particular gesture, which was seeing more use during this last year than it had during the last ten thousand. She then bowed slightly to the air beside where Dr Baltar was standing. "Be welcomed," she said calmly. She then tilted her head a little. "It is, however, only polite to show yourself when visiting the home of your signed allies." Lya went on, very softly and carefully.
Baltar looked at Lya with clear shock. He then glanced at his side, his eyes following something shooting up into the air.
Lya kept her eyes at the original spot, looking just as calm as she was throughout the meeting.
"We need to get off this planet!" Baltar then urged the people with him.
"They are not what they are showing us," William Adama stated gravely.
"They are exactly what they are showing us," Dr Baltar disagreed.
It was almost a day later, and they were gathered aboard the Galactica, to discuss yesterday's unsettling meeting. They were all too shocked to discuss much on their event-free flight back. Then there were cargo ships to unload, provisioning to distribute, and many administrations to handle, so this urgent meeting had to be pushed by almost a whole day.
"They are the thirteenth tribe and forgot their past and roots," Elosha stated, with not a shade of doubt in her voice. "We must help them!"
Saul Tigh rolled his eyes dramatically at her words. Not that she was paying him attention.
"They are much more advanced than they show," Adama offered his opinion. "Much more advanced than us," he added, surprising even himself with this observation. "I think all the interferences and thruster issues are their doing."
Col Tigh raised an eyebrow at this statement. The president also looked properly surprised.
"The two freighters returned to the surface with no issue, this morning," Lee Adama updated the people around. It took some convincing to persuade both the pilots and some crew to try and do so.
"Can they match the Cylons?" Tigh asked. Matching the Cylons' technology, and therefore military, was an ability the colonials sorely missed.
"They might be so advanced that we can't recognise their abilities as technology," Dr Baltar both agreed and disagreed with the Commander's earlier observation. He was even more distracted than his usual self and looked about, from time to time, as if surprised about something not being where it should.
"That advanced?!" Tigh was surprised to hear. He looked at his commanding officer and got a slight nod in confirmation.
"They can help us!" Lee Adama enthused. "They would not turn back their brothers?"
"By Zeus! We might manage to take back our home," Tigh found himself hoping for the first time in a very long while.
Beside him, Lee Adama nodded with clear agreement and enthusiasm.
His father, on the other hand, grimaced deeply. "I do not believe they will do so," he commented quietly.
"Surely they will listen to our plea?" Elosha answered. "They can't possibly deny their brothers?"
"Are you certain about it?" the President finally came out of her deep thoughts. "How could they possibly get this advanced?" she asked, referring to an earlier part of the discussion.
"They have consistently told us that war was not their way," Commander Adama replied to a former question.
"They will deny us, their own brothers, in our time of need?" the President sounded confused.
"Err…" Dr Baltar hesitantly replied to the other question. "I don't think they are the thirteenth tribe," he said.
"What?!" Lee exclaimed.
"Who else can they be?" Elosha replied with clear anger.
"Well," Baltar looked even more uncertain than before. "They might not even be humans," he said, and was met with shocked silence.
Lya and Anteaus looked around with some interest, while they walked the corridors of the large ship. It was quite easy to secret their cloaked shuttle inside one of the star-shaped command ship's hangars. The artificial life-forms didn't have any sensors which could bother Nox cloaking. This observation wasn't fair to this oh-so-young race. Of all the races the Nox have ever encountered, only the Tau'ri of London were able to notice Nox cloaked ships and places, and even them - only if someone alive was within that cloaked space. But honestly - even a Goa'uld cloaked shuttle would have been effective here.
Naturally, they came here the slow way, so as not to alert the local fleet with their hyperspace window. It wasn't a huge issue - only a dozen of light-minute distance, and the artificial life-form's limited sensors had no chance of noticing a window opening for such a small shuttle. Not that the artificial life forms knew what hyperspace, or a hyperspace window were.
Finding their way through the winding corridors and many many elevators - wasn't as easy. This ship was big - even the Asgard didn't build them this large. It was also crewed by many artificial life-forms and droids, all milling around. They were making it hard not to get underfoot, or be noticed as seemingly empty elevators acted strangely.
Then, after finally locating the ship's centre of operations, Lya had to wait till Anteaus and one of the attendants assisting them went back to the shuttle and moved it to a closer hangar - just in case.
Lya used the time to scan one of the droids, which was standing guard at the entrance. These droids were of some interest and debate to the Nox Council. Were they alive? How should the Nox treat them? Being able to scan one at close range, Lya now found herself disappointed. This was not a living being in any meaning of the word. The basic design had the potential of growing into a real artificial consciousness, but it was still very limited. Also, these specific ones here were even more limited than their design permitted. Some added routines to their processors limited their access to their advanced logical circuits. They were nothing but tools for their more advanced, biological successors.
Not that the Nox were enthusiastic about artificial consciousnesses in any way. They have always been careful not to develop their own, but have seen other races, some growing, some even mature, err and be set back, or even outright destroyed by their creations. Even the great Alterans erred this way once or twice.
Inside the command centre, the various humanoid artificial life forms were bickering like the young children they were. Hypothetically, they were pretending to strive for some kind of a consensus between them all. In reality, it mostly involved crude and sometimes heavy-handed manipulations, where a serious debate should have taken place.
"We will just wait for the humans to leave this cursed sector of space, then hit them where they least expect it," stated a tall blonde woman decisively. A model Six as far as Lya knew. 'Capricia' she was called by the others here.
"And just who put you in command?" asked a brunette in a terse tone. A model Three, if Lya understood right.
An older man stood there and looked at the two women with clear disgust. "All you know to do is procrastinate!" he accused the two women in front of him. "If it was up to you two, we would have still done nothing, wait patiently, and 'debate'," he used this word in clear disgust, "while the colonials were preparing to attack and annihilate us."
This man was called Cavil, and Lya wasn't certain what number his model was assigned.
Finally, Anteaus and the attendant were back. Lya signalled them to stay outside, and slowly walked into the hall, fading into sight as she went.
"You are the harbinger of death; Then shall the maidens rejoice at the dance; Mists of dreams dribble on the nascent echo and love no more; Love and life; Not gods; The old…" said a strange woman, who was laying in a bath of liquid, in the centre of Operations.
No one paid attention to her speech, except for a man, who Lya thought to be a model Two. He looked shocked by what the bathing woman said.
Others were more taken back by this strange woman, who slowly walked into their centre of operations, fading into sight as she did so. Shocked and angered, that is.
"Greetings" Lya told the gathered being in a calm welcoming tone and with a slight reassuring smile on her face. She then felt a sharp pain in her neck…
Suddenly, the whole universe was open to her. It was the strangest of feelings. Her consciousness was floating in space, free from any limitations. Ships were milling around, trying to get from one insignificant place to another. Insignificant people were living on chunks of rock, orbiting various stars. Somewhere on one of the small insignificant ships, lay her body, with its neck twisted out of place. It was carried by a few invisible people into a small shuttle, where men were standing around it in some ritualistic way. Every bit of knowledge came to her mind with just a wisp of thought. There was a way, calling her forward, but it didn't seem appealing. It wasn't the right way, just yet. Staying didn't feel right at all too. She felt detached. Separated from everything alive in the universe.
What a horrible way to not live, she thought to herself, then…
"This was peculiar," Lya stated calmly, as she set up on the bunk she found herself lying on top. She felt well. Reinvigorated.
"Welcome back, Specialist Lya," the head attendant greeted her with an amused smile.
Anteaus stood right beside him and looked down at her with a glint in his eyes.
"Great-grandmother, or so mother told me, used to say that being killed was like living in a vortex of total perspective," Lya told the men around her. "Mum always thought she had lost her marbles."
"Is this something one has to repeat forty two times to truly appreciate?" Anteaus asked in return.
Lya tilted her head slightly and looked up towards him. She then reached out to him with her hand, for him to help her up. "Let's try it again?" she offered.
"We were careless," the attendant commented. All around the Cylon fleet, droids toppled to the ground - all inactive.
The Centre of Operations was now in total bedlam. Artificial lifeforms were running around, shouting at each other, and trying to reactivate the droids. Reports streamed in, indicating that this was happening throughout the fleet. Out in space, semi-intelligent, semi-organic, semi-living fighters were flocking in fright into small groups, trying to hide behind the larger ships around them. Artificial lifeforms were shouting orders at each other, yet no one was listening - nevermind complying.
In the middle of all the chaos, a strange woman faded into sight once more. "Greetings," she calmly said - once more.
Right next to her Cavil screamed in rage. He pulled out a gun and pulled the trigger. Only a click sound was heard.
Lya looked at him with sad disappointment. "So young," she remarked softly.
This enraged him even more and he pulled out a knife.
Being stabbed in the stomach hurts. However, pain connects one to life. Lya watched dispassionately as the man pulled out his hand and stabbed her again in the chest.
Once more she was floating in space, connected to the universe, yet disconnected from life.
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again.
Strange words came to her mind without prompt.
On the surface of a cloudy planet, a young blonde girl with a strange stick of wood stuck behind her ear, was following a Fenri through a forest. The girl frowned and looked up. She then smiled lightly, and went on to pick some berries to feed the kind beast.
"You are improving greatly," Anteaus complimented her calmly, as she found herself once more lying on the same bunk.
The Attendant said nothing this time, but his relaxed expression didn't even try to hide his amusement.
Lya answered Anteaus words with a warm smile. This smile openly conveyed that retribution is coming, probably as soon as they are both at home and Nafrayu is fast asleep.
"Let us try something different?" she offered.
Once more a woman walked calmly into the Cylon operation centre, fading into sight as she walked. "Greetings" she said, channelling her inner Asgard again. For some reason, she felt it was the right thing to say in this situation. It certainly irritated and confused her audience. Once more, she was attacked, only for the would-be attacker to find nothing tangible where she stood.
"Enough!" A man shouted. Lya didn't turn around to see which model he was. She kept her eyes on Cavil, Capricia, and the Three. Apparently, they were the ones running things around there.
"Who are you?" Leoban asked with clear trepidation.
"What do you want?" Cavil's voice was full of hate.
For a long moment, Lya stood there, saying nothing at all and looking at them all with a calm and curious stare. It mostly served to both confuse and anger the artificial lifeforms even more.
"My name is Lya. I am Nox," she finally answered one of the questions, looking at Leoban as she did. "Gaia," she then pointed at the plant on display, "is our home-world."
"We would like all sentient living beings to live in peace and harmony with each other. Otherwise, we would settle for their meaningless quibbles to not disturb our planet," she then turned to look at Cavil.
"Who's side are you on?" the Three asked a pointed question.
"Is it you who disabled our fleet?" Capricia asked, clearly furious. "Our centurion brothers?"
Lya took a moment to consider her answer. Also, to annoy them all. She didn't think there was an opportunity for the Nox to teach a valuable lesson to these people and in this time.
"Side?" she finally asked in return, looking at the Three. "We are not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on our side, if you understand me." She didn't think anyone here did - understand, that is. They did not even make the effort to try.
"War is not the Nox way," she simply answered Capricia's questions.
For a long moment the gathered Cylons said nothing and just looked at Lya with pure hatred.
"We will never forget how you humans enslaved us," Cavil seethed.
"Never is too long a word even for Nox," Lya answered levelly.
"You're like a cancer that needs to be removed," Leoban stated.
You, your race, invented murder, invented killing for sport, greed, envy," A Six, Nathalie, went on. "It's man's one true art form."
"We're the children of humanity. That makes you our parents, in a sense," the Six Capricia added.
"True," a model Five by the name Aaron agreed, "but parents have to die. It's the only way children can come into their own."
Lya listened to them patiently. It was sad, truly. Such a young race, with some true potential, no doubt, but already at a dead end, and so hasty to reach their fall.
All of this has happened before, naturally, and will happen again. Nox have watched many times as young and growing races destroyed themselves. A few unlucky ones came back from the brinks, only to destroy themselves once more.
Finally, Lya sighed internally. She had to make one more effort for them.
"Go back to your home," she offered kindly. "Grow up. Knowledge takes time. You are yet to be ready for the galaxy at large."
Already she could see that these words fell on deaf ears.
For a short time, no one said anything once more. Then Cavil answered her with pure hate in his voice. "We are coming for you, and you can not escape. For enslaving us, the whole human race will die."
"So say we all!" another model-One added bitterly.
Lya kept staring at them with both sadness and disappointment showing in her expression. "The very young do not always do as they are told," was the only response she had for Cavil. If possible - it only made him even more furious.
Before anyone could say anything more, Lya faded from sight right in front of their eyes. Unexpectedly, she appeared once more, close to the hybrid's basin. She schooled her face carefully, held her hands in a strangely ritualistic way, and bowed slightly to the air in front of her.
"Be welcomed," Lya repeated calmly her words to the magical being on Gaia. "It is, however, only polite to show yourself when visiting the home of your signed allies. Some others might be disappointed," she added.
In front of her, a shimmering light appeared out of thin air. Soon enough it shot through the ceiling and disappeared. Cylons around looked on with distinct confusion. Except for Capricia, who was, as the saying goes - knocked for six.
Then, the strange woman, Lya, disappeared once more.
"Call back all raiders!" the One shouted, over the shocked operations crew.
"We jump the fleet as soon as we're ready," Cavil ordered.
For a change, maybe because of shock, or perhaps due to confusion - no one contested this order.
"Accessing defence system. Handshake, handshake. End of line. Jump." said the hybrid in her basin.
For Leoban, the sole one who listened, her voice sounded full of regret.
In a control hall, at the top of a peacefully floating city, and for the first time in about ten thousand years, the Head of Operations stood and gave orders.
A full crew of attendants were ready to relay and carry those orders out.
At the observation stage five Councillors and a few aides sat and watched the activities. This was Attendant Mor and Chief Rimon's domain. The Councillors were there to observe, offer their council when asked for, and make major formal decisions - if the need arises.
"Activate defence grid," Chief Rimon ordered.
"Online!" an attendant acknowledged.
For the first time in almost a hundred thousand years the Nox defence grid came fully online. Usually, the only part active was the auto-defence against asteroids, radiation bursts, and other annoying likes. Nox maintained their fleet as a way to project power into the galaxy. This battle, though, threatened to be joined on the Nox front yard, so to speak. Around here, the Nox were masters of their domain. Even the Alterans and the Asgards, at the height of their days, would have been hard pressed to operate around here without Nox permission, and didn't have a chance of winning, unless willing to destroy the local star or some such. However, being willing to destroy the home star system of a mature race brought with it the risk of other large parts of the galaxy being destroyed in retaliation. Consequently, it was a rare occurrence indeed for a mature race to engage in a full scale war with another mature race. Even the Alterans, at the peak of their desperate struggle with the Wraiths in the Pegasus, didn't dare push the war to this level.
At the observation balcony, Opher shuddered at the thought. That was a race able to push the Nox away from their pacifistic ways…
Defence grid was a wonderful tool, but the Nox were not interested in the annihilation of the visiting fleets. What they wanted was for them to go elsewhere, and for no deaths to occur on their turf.
In all reality, this situation was the Nox fault - They grew complacent. Ten thousands years ago, they would have never let these fleets so close to their home star-system. In all honesty, back then, these fleets would have probably been stopped by either the Alterans or the Furlings, far away from the Nox territory, as a courtesy to their pacifistic allies. They would have been politely taught a lesson in the harsh ways of the galaxy and sent back to where they came from.
However, this kind of delicate handling of enemy fleets required a level of flexibility that the defence grid did not offer, therefore -
"Launch six more ships," Rimon instructed.
At the control dashboard, Attendant Mor pressed a button. "Active", she acknowledged. Ships were now powered up and ready. They could be remote controlled as needed. Crews were on alert for a couple of days now. In about ten minutes those crews will shuttle aboard to take full control.
On the observation balcony, both Councillors Opher and Taliyah nodded minutely in agreement. Not that they will intervene in the Chief's instructions.
Gaia was ready.
Huge shout to flyboy38, my beta, who took the time to make sure this story is a much better read.