The Summers Residence, Sunnydale, 1730 hours.
Willow had come over to Joyce's house for dinner with the Summers family after briefing Angel and Cordelia on what she had seen and experienced in the other reality. As she stood outside the front door, she recalled talking to Cordelia just as she was leaving the building. During the time that Willow was talking about Angel's son, and her idea on cloning his body so that he could have a normal, human life… and his refusal to even discuss the options, the redhead sensed a feeling sadness that was coming for Cordelia. She remembered looking at Cordelia looking back at her with sadness in her eyes, before she turned back to look at Angel when he said that it was too much of a risk in the event that the cloned body was a being like Angelus who had all the strengths of a vampire, but none of the weaknesses. The redhead knew that Cordelia wanted to say something, but she stopped herself.
It was after the meeting, as Willow was walking over to her car that she heard footsteps running behind her. Turning around, she smiled as Cordelia ran over to her and asked if they could talk for a little while.
"Yea" said Willow as she leaned on her rental, "it's about Angel, right?"
"Yea" said Cordelia as she stood next to the redhead. Willow looked at the dark haired woman and remembered everything that she had been put through since she met her in kindergarten, and then they went through elementary school, middle school and the high school together. Willow recalled just being the butt of Cordelia's jokes, but then things started to slowly change after Buffy came into the picture. The redhead knew she slowly became more confident while helping the Slayer fight evil, while Cordelia slowly proved herself to be a capable young women in helping the Scoobies fight the darkness. Eventually, she left soon after graduation for L.A where she became a capable warrior according to Angel. In the meantime, the both of them had kept contact with each other… particularly since Willow joined the Air Force Academy which was when she restarted her friendship with the young woman standing next to her. And now, Willow's heart was breaking as she looked at the sadness that was on her friend's face.
"I'm not giving up, just so you know" said Willow softly as she bumped her shoulder with Cordelia's, "I think there could be a way. But whatever it is, I still have to ask General Landry's permission since I'll need SGC resources."
"You never gave up on anything" said Cordelia slowly as she looked at the BPRI building and the at Willow, "I want to have kids; I mean I'll be by his side but… what I mean is.. I have… you know…."
"You do know you can actually say the 'L' word" smiled Willow as she looked at Cordelia and then at the building before nodding her head, "and I'm sure he knows it too. Probably why he doesn't want me to go on with my crazy idea's… but then again, when I set my mind to something….."
"He knows" said Cordelia, "we've been together since the BPRI was formed, but… I guess I know how Buffy must have felt after he lost, and the regained, his soul. Being careful about any intimate contact… him not wanting to hurt me; and I understand that why he doesn't wasn't to go through with your plan but…"
"I have a few ideas" said Willow, "I'll talk to General Landry, and then if he's ok with it… I'll talk to the Asgard."
"Thanks" said Cordelia as she bumped Willow's shoulder with her own.
"That's what friends are for, right?" asked Willow with as grin before Cordelia nodded her head and headed back to the BPRI building, while Willow got into her car and drove towards the Summers home.
Back in the present, Willow knocked on the door and smiled as she heard Dawn shouting from the dining room, telling Xander to get off the couch and open the door. It was a few seconds later that Xander opened the door excitedly before he looked towards his right and shouted, 'hey, that's cheating."
"Hey, Will" said Xander as he smiled at the redhead before rushing back into the living room where, once Willow entered the house, she saw Xander jump over the back of the couch before he landed on the cushion on the other side and bent down to grab a controller. HE then started racing his car against the one that was being driven by Jay.
"Nice to see you to, Xand" said Willow as she closed the door as Xander waved a hand at her while still looking at the TV.
Smiling to herself, Willow then walked into the dining room where she saw Dawn bringing in food that she place on the dining table before she went and hugged the redhead.
"Hey" said Willow as she hugged Dawn tight, "had a good long talk with Buff? Heard you guys didn't fall asleep until six in the morning."
"Uh huh" replied Dawn as she tightened her hold on Willow, "told her why you don't like frogs."
"Gee, thanks" said Willow sarcastically as she whispered into Dawn's ear, "I've got something for you at the SGC."
"Oh?" said Dawn as Buffy walked into the room as Dawn pulled away from Willow, "what might that be?"
"It's a surprise" said Willow as Dawn stuck her tongue out at her sister before the redhead turned to Buffy and helped her put some of the dishes she was carrying on the table.
"So, Will" said Buffy with a grin, "a, what is it, oh a Fereger on your head? Dancing and screaming?"
"Hey" said Willow as she pouted at Buffy, "just so you know, those things are disgusting, and slimy, and green… ewww… I still get shudders sometimes just so you know."
Buffy could only smile at her best friend as Rose ran down the stairs and hugged Willow's left leg from behind.
"Hey munchkin" said Willow as she ruffled Rose's hair as Tara came down the stairs, "hey Tara. Feeling better?"
"Yeap" smiled Tara as she picked up Rose into her arms before the later gave a kiss on the witch's cheek, "I feel as if I got all my strength back."
"Thanks, again" said Willow as she smiled at Tara, who just nodded her head as Joyce walked into the room and shouted at both Xander and Jay to come for dinner.
"Mrs. S, I…." said Xander as he glared at Jay, "he's cheating.. I only have one more lap before I take him down and…"
"Xander Lavelle Harris" said Buffy as she walked over to the living room and stood in front of the television with her hands on her hips, "Jay Summers."
"Buffy" said both Xander and Jay as they heard both of their virtual car's crashing into wall's inside the game, following by the familiar flash of a 'Game Over' sign. Willow was smiling at the bickering in the living room before she turned to Tara and asked where Kennedy was.
"Mission" said Tara as she nodded her head, "she's gone to Las Vegas with her team, and I think another team went to New York, while others were sent all over the country. I heard MR. Giles is excited about going Off-world."
"Yeah" said Willow, "we're leaving together tomorrow."
"Rupert's just glad to go since he'll be meeting.. I think the term he used was, Victoria Secret models?" said Joyce as Dawn coughed, "Dawnie?"
"Nothing mom" said Dawn as she continued to cough, "just sounded as if you were a bit jealous."
"Dawn" said Joyce as Willow and Tara started to laugh, just as Buffy walked into the room with Xander and Jay, who held on to Buffy's hand, "I'm not… well, I mean I wouldn't mind if I had a younger body that… well… you know…."
"Nah" said Xander absentmindedly as he walked over to the table and looked at all the food, "you have a nice body, Mrs. S."
It was then that Xander realized what he had said, looked up and turned towards Buffy and the others. HE could see Buffy glaring at him while all the others, including Joyce, were trying their best not to laugh with Jay and Rose just looking at each other and wondering why everyone had gone silent all of a sudden.
"So, Buff" said Xander with a gulp, "tough mission tomorrow, huh? You know… Texas…. Bigger vampires, maybe? Huh? Get it? Everything's bigger in Texas?"
"Uh huh" said Buffy as she walked towards Xander.
"So" said Xander, "six dozen roses?"
"Twelve" said Buffy as Xander hung his head low while the others couldn't hold it back anymore and started to laugh. However, it was then that Willow's cell phone went off before she excused herself and walked into the living room to answer it.
"Sorry, Mrs. S" said Xander as Joyce stopped laughing and told him that it wasn't his fault, in fact she said that she as flattered before making the announcement that she was thinking about going back out into the dating pool.
"Mom" said Buffy and Dawn together as they looked at the grin on Joyce's face, the same grin that said she was dead serious and that nothing anyone could say would stop her.
"I'm just thinking about it" said Joyce, "I'm not going to… Willow?"
Joyce and the others then saw the look on Willow's face as she walked back into the dining room after her phone call, and knew that something had gone horribly wrong. Joyce asked if everything was alright, however all the redhead could say was that she had to leave for the Odyssey.
"Willow?" asked Joyce, "what's going on? Is everything alright?"
"Ummm" said Willow as she looked at Jay and Rose, "I don't think… I mean…"
"Jay, Rose" said Joyce as she pointed up the stairs, "go and wash up."
"Mother" said the bother of them as the older blonde raised her eyebrows, daring her children to saying anything else, "very well."
Once Jay and Rose had left, Willow then told them what she had just heard from Colonel Carter who returned to the SGC from the Colonial Refugee planet. She told them about the refugees who came in through the Stargate, and that the Colonial military may have left more to die in space. The redhead told the shocked onlookers that she was ordered to the SGC s that she could join Colonel Carter in heading to the abandoned ships, and rescuing whoever they could.
"Need help?" asked Dawn.
"It should be alright" said Willow as she looked at Dawn, "you're supposed to be heading with Giles and SG-2 to Eden tomorrow, and this is probably a retrieval operation now. If any of them are still alive, then I can heal them as much as possible before they're taken to the Refugee Planet. Anyway, I should get going… sorry, Mrs. Summers."
"It's alright, dear" said Joyce as she smiled at Willow, "go do what you have to do."
The Odyssey, Orbit of Earth, 1800 hours.
Willow nodded her head before she called the SGC and asked Walter to beam her directly up to the SGC so that she could change into her tactical gear. She then waved at the people in front of her before she vanished with a buzzing sound in the air, followed by a flash of light. When the white light that had swept over her was gone, Willow found herself in the women's locker room at the SGC. She quickly rushed to the phone that was on the left corner, near the main door, and informed Walter that she was already on base.
"Major" said Walter, "Colonel Carter would like for you to be beamed up to the Odyssey as soon as possible."
"Copy that" said Willow, "I just need to change into my gear, and then I'll be off."
Once Willow had gotten off the phone with Walter, she took a quick shower before she put on her BDU's and her vest. Once she had put on her combat boots, and make one last look at the pendent she had made for Dawn back on Atlantis, Willow shot and locked her locker before rushing to the armoury. Once there, she made sure to grab her nine-milimeter, her P-90 and her Zat before she ran to the Control Room and told Walter that she was ready to be beamed up to the Odyssey.
Nodding his head, Walked then informed Colonel Carter just before a white flash of light enveloped Willow and the redhead found herself on the bridge of the Odyssey looking out at the planet below. Smiling, the redhead turned around and nodded at the Colonel with a smiled on her face.
"Permission to come aboard, ma'am" said Willow.
"Granted" replied the Colonel before Willow walked over to her and stood behind her command chair as Colonel Carter ordered Major Womack to take the ship into hyperspace towards the Colonial coordinates.
"We're in hyperspace, ma'am" said Womack, "ETA to destination coordinates is four hours."
"Alright" said the Colonel as she got off her seat, "Major Marks you have the bridge."
"Yes, ma'am" said Mark as the Colonel turned to Willow and asked the redhead to follow her to one of the conference rooms so that they could be debriefed on what they had learned from Commander Melik. Once they had reached the conference room, Willow walked in with the Colonel and nodded at the other ten men and women in tactical gear who were waiting for the briefing to begin. Willow closed the door behind her as the Colonel walked to the head of the table and asked everyone to take a seat. Since there were not enough chairs to go around, some had take the seats while Willow and another male leaned on the walls looking on as the Colonel started the briefing.
"I know that this assignment was last minute" said the Colonel as she looked around the table, "but what we need to do is extremely urgent. Major Rosenberg knows the full reason where, and why we're going to our destination. As you know, we encountered a people calling themselves the Twelve Colonies of Kobol."
Willow watched as everyone nodded their heads as the Colonel gave them details on what happened after the recent meeting between an Earth Delegation, and the Colonial delegation….. to the arrival of the Tollan as well as Colonial refugees who they had been able to rescue. She told everyone that out of a hundred and fifty souls, only sixty had survived the trip. Then the Colonel told everyone what the Pegasus had done according to Melik, that there were fourteen other ships that were possible tombs… but they still had to go and search for survivors.
The redhead could sense the horror emanating from everyone as the Colonel recounted everything that Melik had told her, and the others back on the refugee planet.
"Ma'am" said one of the officer as he raised his hand, "what's the worst that we can expect?"
"They've been out here for months" said the Colonel, "I…. I'll be ordering a scan once we reach the coordinates. We'll beam down people to any ship that has life signs but even so…. Be prepared for bodies everywhere. I'm ordering all of you to wear Hazmat suits, just to be on the safe side. There are fourteen ships out there, and I want teams of three to meet and bring in any survivors. Captain Scott, Lt. Wallace and Captain Williams will be on each of the teams that will be beamed down to the ship. They're the one's who have some knowledge of Ancient Greek given that the others translators are needed on the Colonial Refugee planet and on Eden. Major Rosenberg will be attached to team one with Major Coburn."
"Major" said Major Coburn as he nodded his head at Willow, who nodded her head in return.
"Ma'am" said another officer as Willow and Major Coburn looked at her, "what if there are no survivors?"
"We're unsure about Colonial Military law" said Colonel Carter, "so what we'll do is beam into the ships so that we could gather evidence, mostly pictures and video of what happened. Coupled with the testimonies from Commander Melik, and the other refugees.. we can then hand those over to the Colonials if they decide to conduct their own investigation."
"That is if we meet them? Right, ma'am?"
"Yes" said the Colonel, "if we meet them again."
"So they… I mean the Pegasus officers, were under orders to take engineers with them and strip the ships off their FTL drives" said another officer as Willow closed her eyes and shook her head, "and then they were also told to take people that would be useful to them, while leaving the others to die?"
"That's the gist of it" said the Colonel as she looked at Willow, and then at the others, "we were told that people were made examples of, that Families were killed so that there would be no resistance after a mob tried to take out the initial wave of officers, and… and we don't know how bad it could go when we reach the ships. All we know is that the remaining fourteen ships should have about three thousand and fifty souls on board… but now…"
"Now we're not sure" said Willow as the Colonel nodded her head.
"That's everything we know so far" said the Colonel, "we have another… say, three hours and forty minutes to our destination. Hold out hope that most of the three thousand and fifty people survived. But be prepared for the unthinkable. Normally, humans can last at best a month without water and food; these people have been out here alone for more than that. Expect the worst, hope for the best."
"Yes, ma'am" said the group as the Colonel dismissed everyone. They walked out of the room before Willow told Major Coburn that she'll join his team soon as he was leaving. The Major nodded his head before leaving the room leaving only Colonel Carter and Willow alone in the conference room.
"I've seen the Colonials during the first Cylon war when I was an ascended being" said Willow as she walked towards the Colonel, "I saw how it started… I saw how cruel people could be.. but this? This is something I would have expected from the Goa'uld."
"That's what Vala said" replied the Colonel before the both of them walked into the hallway outside. She then turned to look at Willow as they continued to walk and told her to keep her senses tuned for any signs of life that they may not be able to pick up, "such as thoughts, or emotions…. See what you can do. And if anyone's injured, just heal them enough for them to be safely transported over to the ship."
"Yes, ma'am" said Willow, "and if we happen, by some luck, happen to find that all of them are alive?"
"Then we take them to the refugee planet" said the Colonel, "we'll tow the ships one by one through hyperspace. It'll take longer, but at least they'll be safe.. and with their own people."
"True" said Willow as they walked down the hallway.
Willow was on the bridge working on one of the consoles when Major Marks turned around and told Colonel Carter that we were five minutes away from their destination. The Colonel then notified everyone as Willow got up from her seat and stood next to Colonel Carter as the ship continued to fly through the blue and white hyperspace tunnel. It was about three minutes later as Major Coburn and the leaders of the other two teams walked into the bridge and nodded at Willow just as the ship came out of hyperspace.
"Major Marks" said the Colonel as she stood up in shock at looking at the free floating ships out the window in front of her, "initiate scans for any life signs."
"Ma'am" said Major Coburn as he and Willow walked up to either side of the Colonel and looked out the window, "the ships…."
Everyone could see that the fourteen ships were dead, in that some of them were listing to the side, while there was no thrust coming from the engines. THE Colonel then went over to the command chair and activated the Asgard translation device that was installed on the ship months ago. She pressed the button and spoke, hoping that she would get an answer.
"Colonial vessels" said the Colonel while the device translated what she was saying in Greek, "I am Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter of the Earth ship Odyssey, please respond. I repeat, this is the Earth ship Odyssey to all Colonial vessels, please respond."
The Colonel then turned to Major Marks and asked him if there were any life signs on board the ships. In order to help out, Willow rushed to one of the consoles at the back of the bridge and told Marks that she was increasing the sensitivity of the Asgard sensors, that now they should be able to get the absolute faintest life sign reading.
"Colonel" said Marks as Colonel Carter leaned forward while Willow ran up to stand behind the blonde, along with Major Coburn and the others, "I've got some very faint readings, I've got twenty form some of the ships…. Ten from others… it's scattered ma'am."
"My God" said Major Coburn, "there's people still alive?"
"Looks like it" sad the Colonel as she turned and looked at Willow and the others, "get suited up, I want full hazmat protocols just in case. Marks, how's the environmental scans?"
"Oxygen is minimal ma'am" said Marks, "some of the ships seem to be leaking radiation… not enough to be deadly, yet."
"Alright" said the Colonel as she looked at the Major before turning and looking at Willow and the others, "these people already have had their own military scare them, I'll be sending one team out first with Major Rosenberg. The idea is that you'll be going in with Zats, and if there's any danger, Major Rosenberg will be able to protect everyone until the ship is secure. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am" said everyone who would be on the away team.
"Good" said Colonel Carter as she pressed down on the button at the command chair, "attention, all medical teams. I want isolation rooms set up for incoming, I repeat… isolation rooms are to be set up for medical incoming. Have anti-radiation medication ready just in case."
"Major Coburn" said Colonel Carter as she looked up at the man standing in front of her, "you're up first."
The Scyllia, 0030 hours.
In a large vacant room on board one of the remaining fourteen Colonial vessels, there was a bright flash of white light that deposited four figures in orange Hazmat gear onto the deck of the ship. The once the flash had faded away, the four figures immediately looked around at the darkened surroundings and were shocked once they had turned on their flashlights. There were metal boxes all over the place, and the floor of the deck was scatter with tools and what seemed to be shells from various weapons. Everyone shook their heads before they found bodies in various places around the room, with Major Coburn finding a grisly scene.
"Colonel Carter?" said Major Coburn as he directed the camera that was attached to his head piece at a pile of bodies on a corner against the wall, as well as the dried up splatter of blood and brain matter, "are… are you seeing what I'm seeing ma'am?"
"Yea" said Colonel Carter softly as she and several of the bridge crew were looking at the screen on the port side of the ship, "we see it. Everything's being recorded. Find the survivors… Marks will guide you."
"Yes, ma'am" said Major Coburn as he walked towards the bodies and crouched down. He then looked up at the dried blood on the wall when he quickly turned around when he heard a thud behind him, and lifted his flashlight. Sighing he watched Willow setting another body up on the side of one of the boxes, "Major?"
"She's gone, sir" said Willow shaking her head, "I'm not getting anything from this room, no emotions… no thoughts, no nothing."
"Alright" said Major Coburn as he stood up and walked towards the group who had been walking around the large room. The soon got some directions from Major Marks and, as they were heading up the stairs to a few decks up, they came across a door. Willow walked towards the door cautiously, along with Major Coburn at her side as she stood right outside the door and closed her eyes. The redhead then reached out and mentally went through the door and found bodies that lined the edges of the room, with one corner kept empty. It was then that she opened her eyes again and felt fear, and hopelessness.
"Major" said Willow as she raised her flashlight at the hatch, "we've got people alive behind this door, just barely though."
"Captain Williams" said Major Coburn as he waved the translator over to the door, "just tell them who we are, and that we're here to help."
"Yes, sir" said Williams as he leaned against the door and shouted, "My name is Captain James Williams of the Earth ship Odyssey. We're here to help, do not be frightened. We will be opening this hatch in the count of five… I repeat we are here to help."
Captain Williams then stepped back until her was standing next to the other officer before they raised their flashlights, while Willow and Major Coburn opened the hatch. Once they opened the door, a gust of air rushed out as the four of them stepped back, and if they could smell anything of the outside odour through their respirators, they would have smelled the familiar odour of human waste, iron and ammonia.
The Odyssey, at the same time.
It look a few seconds for the four of them to walk into the room while Colonel Carter and the others looked on while the medical Staff informed her that they managed to seal ten isolation rooms on a single deck, and in various sections. The Colonel told them to seal off that deck and get decontamination units to those rooms, as well as medical supplies.
"They'll need water" said the Colonel as she pressed a button on the panel next to the screen, "get every I.V drip we have ready."
The Colonel then turned around and looked at Major Marks, "Marks, notify Homeworld of what's going on, and then notify the SGC to send as much supplies of I.V drips to the Colonial Refugee planet as possible. They could have lived without food, but staying alive without water…. I…."
"I can only imagine what they must have done to stay alive" said Major Womack as she looked at Colonel Carter, and then at the monitor while Marks contacted Homeworld Security.
"Colonel" said Willow as Colonel Carter turned back from looking, and nodding, at Womack to looking at the screen which was split into four sections with the names of the ones whose camera was viewing what at the bottom, "we found twenty bodies in here… the room is pretty small but… stand by."
"There should be five life signs, Major" said Marks as he leaned back on his seat once he had notified Homeworld and the Refugee planet.
"We found the people, ma'am" said Major Coburn as the Colonel looked at the screen and saw the four camera's shaking as they headed off in different directions.
Willow and one of the officers ran to one corner of the ship and kneeled on the floor as they shone their flashlights on two scraggly haired women who were leaning against the wall with their arms folded around their bodies. The officer next to Willow brought his flashlight up to the woman's face and the both of them smiled when she barely opened her eyes.
"Captain!" shouted Willow as she looked over her shoulder as Captain Williams rushed over, "tell her that she'll be alright."
Willow then rushed towards Major Coburn who had telepathically called her as Captain Williams took her place, and told the woman that they were here to help.
"Major" said Willow as she knelt down next to the officer who nodded at a boy, no older than ten, who was holding on to an elderly man. She could see the little boy had opened his eyes slightly and then closed them again before he tightened his grip on the man. The Major told Willow that he and Captain Williams had been trying to convince the boy that they were there to help, but he just tightened his grip on the old man. Major Coburn then asked Willow if the man as still alive, but all Willow could do was shake her head and frown, "I don't feel anything from him. From the boy I get fear, and a feeling of great loss…. The man could have been a relative, maybe?"
"If he's holding onto the man" said Major Coburn, "then the both of them will be beamed up."
"Forcing him off the man will traumatise him even more" said Willow as she looked at Major Coburn who nodded his head.
"Away team to Odyssey" said Major Coburn into his in-suit microphone, "five life signs, and one body to beam up."
"Copy that" said Colonel Carter as Willow reached out to the boy and placed her hand on his back.
"Sleep" said Willow as the boy closed his eyes before she pulled back her hand. It was then that five beams of light took away five survivors and one body. Major Coburn's team continued this until they had rescued another thirty people from the Scyllia, before being beamed onto another ship. It was then that Colonel Carter ordered the other two teams to gather the evidence from the other ships using their suit camera's and contact the survivors to tell them what would be happening, that they were being saved… and that it would be a bit confusing at first, but they should not be frightened. It had taken hours for the Odyssey to recover all one hundred and seventy one survivors, while gathering hours of video and hundreds of pictures. Once all teams had been beamed back, and had been given anti-radiation medication and been decontaminated with their Hazmat suits incinerated, the Odyssey then opened a hyperspace window and made their way to the Colonial Refugee planet.
As they flew through the hyperspace window, Major Coburn, and the other two team leaders plus Willow walked onto the bridge as the Colonel was looking at camera footage of the survivors in the sealed areas of the ship. She watched as the medical staff did their duties while the survivors all remained quiet and calm while looking straight off into the distance.
"They're in shock, ma'am" said Willow as the Colonel turned towards the group, "they're still trying to.. I guess the right term would be get to grips with what just happened."
"Hopefully once they're with their own people, they'll be alright" said Major Coburn as the Colonel nodded at them.
"I saw the video of the last three rescues" said the Colonel as she looked at Willow and Major Coburn who looked at each other before looking at the Colonel again.
"It was bad, ma'am" said Willow, "the video doesn't show everything."
"They had to survive" said Major Coburn as the other team leaders nodded their heads, stating that the same thing happened on a few of their ships, "and it's not the first time this happened to humans, remember the case of the airplane that crashed in the Andes? What the survivors had to do to live?"
"No choice" said the Colonel as she looked at the screen again, "I know, but the trauma they'll be suffering.. knowing that to survive.. they had to…"
"They'll be getting help, ma'am" said Willow.
"True" said the Colonel as she looked at the four officers in front of her, "good job, all of you."
"We should be reaching the Colonial Refugee Planet in three hours" said the Colonel, "from there, you can gate back to the SGC. I'll take the Odyssey from there and fly back to Earth. Dismissed, all of you."
"MA'am" said the officer as they walked back out of the bridge while Willow stayed behind in a fresh set of BDU's.
"You planning to stay on the planet for a little while?" asked the Colonel as she took her seat on the command chair.
"Yes, ma'am" grinned Willow as she stood next to Colonel Carter.
SGC Beta site, Main Quad, 0100 hours.
Sharon had taken a seat out in the cool night air of the Beta site as she looked up at the stars. Her Culon eyes being able to chart exactly where she was in space, before she closed them and leaned back while rubbing her hands over her abdomen. She recalled the dream she had a couple of nights ago, and while she was concerned and confused about seeing Chief Tyrol, and another civilization getting nuked, the humanoid Cylon didn't tell anyone; particularly since she didn't have another dream about it.
'It happened a day after Lauren showed me the skeleton they brought over from that mysterious planet they found' thought Sharon to herself, 'she told me that they conducted experiments on the bones, they found inactive nanites.'
Sharon recalled looking at the bones with surprise on her face as Satterfield stood next to her and told her that they even brought a few pieces of bones to the Cylons on Eden, and they were stumped as well.
'The bones could have been an ancestor' thought Sharon to herself as she looked up at the night sky, 'so if they're right, this is the Thirteenth Tribe, humanoid Cylons were the Thirteenth Tribe; which means….'
It was then that Sharon sat up straight as her eyes widened in realization when she focused on the dream she had, 'Galen, you were there. I recognized you… how? If these are the bones of Cylons, of humanoid Cylons then… then…. Oh my God. Galen, you're a member of the Thirteenth Tribe… you're a Cylon. But… how? I mean… if the bones that they found were little more than three thousand years old and, wait.. how are you even alive? They found the bones of children too which means possible sexual reproduction and… whoa.'
Sharon then stood up and turned around when suddenly everything around her was spinning. She grabbed onto the seat back on her chair as she fell onto one of her knees, as she brought her hands to her head and screamed. Through the tears caused by the blinding pain that was going through her head, Sharon could see some of the guards outside the buildings running towards her before she fell down onto the cold ground and lay on her side.
She could hear the guards shouting, but she could only make out a little of what they were saying. Lauren, and another man from Earth, someone the Air Force officer called Professor Rifkin had been helping her in learning English, and she had amazed all of them by picking up the basics from what they we teaching her, and from spoken words that were being used by people on the base. So before she closed her eyes from the pain that was stabbing through her brain, she could hear the guards shouting for a medic, while others asked if she could hear them.
It was a few seconds later that everything around Sharon faded and she found herself lying on a floor. Blinking her eyes from the brightly lit room, Sharon suddenly felt better; there was no pain in her head, and she wasn't dizzy anymore. The young woman slowly got up to her feet and shook her head before she looked at her own reflection on a glass window, that looked out to a hallway outside the room she found herself, in surprise. Sharon found that she wasn't looking at herself, she was looking into the face of an olive skinned, hazel eyed, browned haired woman. She looked down at her body and noticed that her baby bump was gone. Looking back up at the glass she was staring at earlier, she saw that she was wearing some kind of a lab coat with a name tag on the left lapel.
"Alessa Depani" said Sharon to herself as she looked at the reflection again, "who… who are you?"
She then walked out of the room and into a hallway that had closed double doors at the end, whereas when she turned around to the other side, she saw an elevator that was at the end of the other side of the hallway. Turning around again, Sharon walked towards the double doors which she tried to push open, but found that they wouldn't budge. She took a step back and looked around before noticing a scanner on the left side of the door. She then looked at the tag she was wearing and took it off. She turned it around and saw the bar code at the back before running the card though the scanner. HSe then looked up at the red light shining on top of the doors as it turned green.
"Huh" said Sharon surprised as she shrugged her shoulders before she placed Alessa's card back on the lab coat's lapel. She then pushed the doors and walked into a large, brightly lit room filled with computers and what looked like a tank of water in the middle of the room. She walked towards the tank when she noticed cables from the casing were connected to the computers. It was then that Sharon jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder that turned her around, leaving her face to face with the last person she thought that she would ever see in her dream.
"Colonel Tigh?" asked Sharon in shock.
"Damn it, Alessa. What the hell are you doing here?"
"Sir" said Sharon as she shook her head, "I…"
"Sir?" said the one she had always known as Colonel Tigh, "I don't know what game you're playing but tell John that we're not ready yet.. and having his spy oversee us is not helping the Resurrection Project."
"Saul" said another familiar voice as Sharon turned her head and looked on stunned at Colonel Tigh's wife, Ellen Tigh, running towards them from behind a console with a grin plastered on her face; a grin that vanished once she had laid eyes on 'Alessa'. It was then that Sharon took a few steps back before she noticed that the both of them were wearing lab coats, as if they were working in some science lab.
"Dr. Depani, what are you doing here. I told my father to give us time for the project to be completed" said Ellen.
"I… I…" said Sharon as her brain tried to understand what was going on.
"I told you he's impatient" said the Colonel as he looked at his wife, "I told him that it would take time for results on…."
"It's alright" said Ellen as she looked at her husband, and then at Sharon/Alessa, "Dr. Depani, tell my father that Dr. Tigh and I have cracked the code to Resurrection. We have it again… go… go now."
"I… I… what? Resurrection?" asked Sharon confused, "but… huh? How.. what?"
"Alessa" said the Colonel as he pointed towards the door, "go.. now…"
"But… how…" said Sharon as she grabbed her head as it started to sting, "help…"
Sharon saw herself falling down onto the floor of the lab when suddenly everything melted away just as she felt a shock go through her system. It was then that the pain vanished, and Sharon felt herself lying down on a soft surface. It was a few seconds later that she heard beeping sounds from all around her and she could feel needles in her wrists and electronic leads on her chest, head and abdomen. Sharon slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking up at a bright florescent light.
"Hi, Sharon" said the doctor in charge as he spoke slightly slowly, "are you ok?"
"Ye.. yes" said Sharon as she nodded her head.
"Rifkin?" asked Sharon as the Doctor nodded his head and went to a phone in the corner of the infirmary to call for Dr. Rifkin. Sharon knew that Satterfield had left soon after she had been introduced to Dr. Rifkin as the Air Force officer and her team were needed on Eden to help the other Cylons acclimate and translate for the humans who were on the planet. So she could just imagine the look on her own face when Satterfield was the one who rushed into the infirmary instead of Dr. Rifkin, "Lau… Lauren?"
"Hey" said Satterfield as she stood next to the Cylon and held on to her hand, "you feeling alright?"
"Yes" said Sharon nodding her head before she looked at her abdomen, and then back at Lauren, "baby?"
"We were worried there for a moment" said the doctor as Satterfield translated for Sharon, "the night you came into the infirmary, your heartbeat, as well as the heartbeat of your baby was off the charts. We did everything humanly possible and we finally got you and your daughter normalised. But then you started to develop a fever… a very high fever. We didn't think that the both of you could come out of it alive but… well, your baby's amazing. I think you had an infection of some kind caused by the nanites from the skeleton we got back."
"Those are supposed to be inactive, deactivated?" asked Sharon as she looked at Satterfield, and then at the doctor, "right?"
"Sharon" said the doctor, "we found that you had some of the older nanites from the bones inside your bloodstream, with some taking residence on your brain. Some of the scientists here believe that the old nanites were activated by proximity to your own nanites and somehow got into your body."
"I touched the bones" said Sharon as she looked at Satterfield and then at the doctor again, "just brushed my fingers on them.. but…"
"The scientists think that's what did it" said the doctor as Satterfield translated, "the nanites went through the pores in your body, and then into your bloodstream and acted like an infection. Your body would have fought it off eventually, but we were worried about your baby… but it was your baby that helped you to fight back; her nanites created some sort of an antibody that basically deactivate the older nanites. However, we think it may have been something about your baby that made you get infected in the first place, because none of the other humanoid Cylons on Eden who handled the bones became infected."
"Could be a hormone?" asked Satterfield as the doctor shrugged his shoulders and said that it was entirely possible since even in a Cylon body, certain hormones were being released during preganancy that reflect the same processes in a human body.
"Anyway" said the doctor, "like I said earlier the older nanites in your body were neutralized by the nanites from your baby. We ran another test, and your body's free from the older model of nanites from the bones. However, I am banning you from inspecting those bones…. I can have pictures and reports sent to you… but not the material. In the meantime, I'll be having you here for two more days of observation before I let you off."
"Th… Thank yu… you" said Sharon as she nodded her head before the doctor walked away. She then turned to Satterfied and asked her what she was doing back so soon.
"Sharon" said Satterfield, "Dr. Rifkin had to leave on an urgent matter after you fainted last night. I was called back by my Commanding Officer so that you'd have someone familiar when you woke up."
"I had such a strange dream, Lauren" said Sharon, "a very strange dream."
"What dream?" asked Satterfield, "Sharon?"
"I.. I think I dreamt about the Thirteenth Tribe" said Sharon as Satterfield looked on in surprise, "I think the body that those nanites belong to is a scientist named Alessa Depani, she… I think she worked for…. I think the XO of the Galactica, his wife, and Chief Tyrol are humanoid Cylons…. If this planet you found is the home of the Thirteenth Tribe, then I think they could be from there… they could be members of the Thirteenth Tribe."
TBC.