Planet designated M6Y-826, Pegasus Galaxy, 1830.
On a hilltop under a large tree were two gravestones that lay in its shadow. Two grave stones that were laid there nearly ten thousand years ago, one for a mother who passed away giving birth, and another for a daughter, and a sister, who died in battle. Facing those gravestones was a bright white light that lowered itself from the heavens and floated in front of the graves. The light slowly dimmed away to reveal a forlorn Melina holding her hands out as an object that had some inscriptions in Ancient written on the surface materialized out of thin air.
Silently and with tears in her eyes as another four white lights landed behind her before dimming to reveal figures in white as they watched Melina walk next to the two gravestones and hold out her hand. The four figures were not only there for Melina, and the one whose memory they came to honour, but also to observe. The older redhead had asked for permission from the Others to do what she wanted to do today, and it had taken them this long to approve the use of her ascended powers on the lower plains.
The four figures looked on sadly as Melina used her telekinesis to dig a hole before she crouched down and placed part of the smooth surfaced object into the ground and then replaced the dug up soil into the hole. She then stood up again and dug another plot before she closed her eyes and concentrated. She used her ascended powers to search through every single world in the Milky Way, through every single world that had a Stargate. It took a few seconds before she finally found the world she had been looking for; a world that was cut off from the Stargate network where the body of her husband lay in a cave. Holding back a sob, Melina concentrated and de-molecularised the body from the Milky Way, and teleported it all the way to the Pegasus galaxy; reconstituting Moros' body in the new hole that she had just dug.
The four figures could only watch silently as Melina got onto her knees and reached into the hole while tears fell from the redhead's eyes onto the forehead of the old, bearded man that lay inside. They watched, while wiping their own tears, that Melina was placing the man's hands one top of one another on his chest. She then fixed his hair before wiping more tears that were falling on his face. She then reached out with her hands over the man's body and formed a white she that she lay over the body.
"Goodbye, my love" whispered Melina, her voice breaking, as she kissed the tips of her fingers before pressing them on Moros' lips. She then stood up before walking back a few steps and filling the hole with the soil she had dug up earlier. Melina closed her eyes and lowered her head while hearing footsteps on the grass and fallen leaves walking towards her. Soon, she felt a hand on her shoulder as the male in the group spoke to her.
"Melina" said Janus softly, "Moros saved the Milky Way, and us all, from the Ori. What he did… it was brave. Know that we have had our differences at times, but I respected him and loved him as I would a father."
"Thank you, Janus" said Melina as she looked at the man before she looked at the three women behind him.
She listened as Melia and Ganos Lal talked to her about how much they respected Moros, and the kind of man that he was, as well as his love for her and his two daughters. Melina nodded her head and thanked them for coming, that not only were they there to watch her… but also because they were good friends of her husband who she knew he respected.
"You realize that the Others did not come because they did not want to break any laws regarding spending time in the lower plains; it was not to disrespect Moros or you" asked Janus as Melina wiped her tears while nodding her head. He then looked around at the others around him and then back at Melina before saying that there were already too many ascended beings at the same place, and at the same time, "others will come down privately to give their respects."
"I know" said Melina nodding her head.
"We must leave" said Melia as she looked at everyone, and then at the short redhead behind them, "Dr. Fraiser, will you be staying?"
"For the umpteenth time, Melia" said a smiling Dr. Fraiser, "just call me Janet."
"It's a habit, Dr….. I mean, Janet" said Melia as she nodded her head.
"Yea" said Dr. Fraiser, "I'll be staying here for a bit, maybe go say a short hello to Cassie before I leave for the higher plains again."
The three of them nodded their heads before turning into bright white lights, and then floating high into the sky before vanishing. Dr. Fraiser then walked towards Melina who was looking at the mound of soil as her shoulders trembled. The shorter redhead put her hand on Melina's left shoulder and told her that Moros gave his life for the galaxy to have a chance of survival.
"His device killed the Ori" said Dr. Fraiser gently as the both of them looked at the grave, "it gives Willow and the others a chance now to defeat the Ori army."
"I know" said Melina softly while she hung her head down, "before he passed from Dr. Jackson's mind, before his consciousness left… Moros and I imagined ourselves on Atlantis. We were standing on one of the piers hand in hand just looking at the sunset; like we used to before Athena was born.. like we used to when we were courting… like we used to while I carried Athena. Our final time together was watching the sun set over Lantea's horizon. He… he…"
Dr. Fraiser could see that talking about the last few minutes that Melina had with Moros was difficult, but all she could do was squeeze the woman's shoulder in support. The both of them stood silent for a few minutes looking at the freshly dug grave before Melina spoke again about what he said the last time she him in Daniel's mind, right before his consciousness passed.
"He asked me to watch over Hera and Athena" said Melina as she wiped her eyes, "and then he said he loved me."
Melina told Dr. Fraiser that Moros' body then started to fade away as he held on to her hands and kissed her one final time.
"I've read the records in the library" said Dr. Fraiser, "he was an amazing man. He worked to save people, to protect the galaxy. Heck, He was the figure behind the legends that my people have heard about King Arthur and the Round table. He did everything for you, and his two children."
"He did what any parent would do" said Melina as Dr. Fraiser held on to her arm.
"You should have told Willow and Dawn you were doing this" said Dr. Fraiser gently, "I'm sure they would have dropped everything and come."
"It took this long to get permission from the Others to use my powers to find his body, then bring him here" said Melina, "and the both of them still have the Ori army, the Priors, the Colonials, and the Cylons to deal with… I… I just wanted to keep their mind focused on their duties. I thought that… that this would be a distraction for them and…"
"You're wrong" said Dr. Frasier shaking her head, "they would have dropped everything to come here. You need to tell them, and you need to come back with them. It's not fair to them, and it's not fair to you. You did this by yourself, Melina… you placed everything on your shoulders when Willow and Dawn was supposed to share the burden. And I know they would have."
"They.. they will understand" said Melina softly as she looked at the inscription on the headstone.
"I know they will" said Dr. Fraiser gently, "but they need to say their goodbye's too, Melina. Bring them here, to say goodbye with you. I'm sure the Others would approve."
Melina looked up into a sky as the sound of thunder ripped through the air before Melina looked down again at Dr. Fraiser, and then at the headstone.
"They don't approve" said Melina.
"They can come through the gatebridge" said Dr. Fraiser, "just… just let them know, Melina."
"I will" she replied, "but I want them to come once the battle is over. I know Moros would not want to distract them from the coming battles."
"Very well" said Dr. Fraiser as she decided not to continue convincing the taller redhead.
"Thank you" said Melina softly, "thank you for coming."
"Of course" said Dr. Fraiser as the both of them soon vanished, leaving the headstone next to the other two that remained next to it. Soon a breeze brushed a few leaves past the inscription on the headstone which read-
'Here Lie Moros,
The Last High Councillor of Atlantis,
Beloved Husband, and Father,
And Archmage of the Round.
He Saved Us All.'
Georgetown University, Cassie's Dorm Room, 1855 hours.
Cassie has just returned from class and was about to start preparations on studying for a big exam that was coming up the next day. After microwaving a TV dinner, she took out some of her books and started studying while waiting for the food to finish while she opened a thick book, and took out her notes. She then reached in her bag and took out her Ipod before she went to her 'Exam Studying' playlist. Grinning at the odd song choices that Dominic had called 'eclectically weird', Cassie placed the ear phones into her ears just as she noticed a bright white light from the corner of her eyes.
Putting the earphones back on the table, the young redhead squealed in delight when Dr. Fraiser took form and smiled at her while her hands were in a pair of jeans she was wearing.
"Mom" said Cassie as she ran, and then hugged the short doctor who wrapped her arms around the younger redhead's back, "this is a surprise, what are you doing back? Can you stay long and…."
"Easy, Cass" said Dr. Fraiser smiling with tears as she looked at her daughter, "I just came for a quick hello and…."
"Mom?" asked a concerned Cassie as she wiped the tears from the older redhead's eyes, "everything alright? Why are you crying?"
"Just happy to see you, honey" said the doctor as she hugged Cassie tightly, "I'm just happy to see you."
The Summers Residence, Sunnydale, at the same time.
Melina was hiding her presence from the two people around her as she walked into the Summers backyard. She wanted to visit Dawn, but with the Summers family having what seemed to be a small gathering. Melina thought it best to just look around and then leave; coming back another time. She saw that Xander was lighting the barbeque, while arguing with Jon on what was the best way to marinade the meat. Smiling as she walked past them, she stopped just before she reached the back door and turned around. She looked at the charcoal while the both of them were still arguing on the benefits of coke, beer, or Xander's own flavour enhancing rub. After saying that they'll soon find out which one is better after the family tries them out, they suddenly jumped back when flames lit up the charcoal.
Chuckling as Melina turned back towards the door, she heard a low rumbling in the distance before she looked over her shoulder.
"All I did was start the fire" said Melina, "it's not if I changed the course of their evolutionary history."
Shaking her head, Melina then walked through the door of the house as she reached the kitchen where she saw Joyce, Buffy and Dawn preparing the food while Kennedy, Tara and Cordelia were in the living room watching some television with Rose and Jay in their laps. She peeked into the living room and smiled at the little girl who was watching TV on Cordelia's lap while her brother was talking to Kennedy. Watching the family gathering in the living room, and then in the kitchen brought back memories for Melina.
"Athena was so fussy" said Melina to herself, "nearly impossible to get her to sit still and eat. She'll be running all over the place with food in hand. But when she tired herself, she'd sleep in Moro's arms or she'd place her head on my abdomen and sleep."
Melina then walked back to the kitchen and looked at Dawn laughing, and then looked at the pendent around the brunette's neck before looking at the young woman's face. Smiling as she realized what that pendent was, she turned around and walked back into the living room when there was a knocking on the front door.
Looking on as Buffy ran to open the door, she smiled and stepped aside as Oz and his family came by the house, all to meet Dawn's boyfriend. The fact that everyone was here to meet Dawn's boyfriend was something that Melina hadn't realized as she listened in close to what Buffy was telling Oz, that the men were in the backyard and that he should try to bully Jon a little. Smiling, Melina turned around before she got to hear the rest of the conversation between Buffy and the new guests. As she walked past the living room again and into the kitchen, Melina looked at the laughter on Dawn's face before she walked out the door and onto the grass in the backyard. She looked at Jon and silently asked him to take care of Dawn, that she'll be watching the both of them.
'But with what will be coming in the months ahead" said Melina, "you, Hera, Athena, and the others will need all your wits about you. I cannot distract the both of them, and I will wait until the end comes to this battle. Only then, will I inform Hera, and Athena of their father's burial. And it will be then that we will go as a family."
Melina turned as Dawn walked down the backyard stairs and told Jon, and Xander to start since Anya just arrived. It was then that Oz walked out of the house and Melina saw Dawn introducing him to Jon, and chuckled when Dawn looked at Oz with her mouth open in surprise when the man told Jon calmly, and in his usual stoic way, that if he hurts Dawn in anyway.. then he and Xander will beat him to death with a shovel.
Enjoying Jon's nervousness as Dawn punched Oz in the arm while Xander laughed, Melina then turned into white light before getting back to the higher plains. Even from there, she knew that Jon soon received a call telling him to meet up with SG-13 tomorrow so that his team and SG-1 would accompany the President to the Colonial Planet.
Almost instantly, Melina found herself walking outside the house that Willow shared with Faith. She walked through the front door to find that Willow and Faith were preparing for a night out with Daniel, Teal'c, Colonel Carter, Debra, Vala and Colonel Mitchell. She saw her oldest daughter putting on earrings before she kissed Faith on the cheek after the dark haired Slayer had gotten off the phone with General Landry. Melina heard Faith tell Willow that SG-1 and SG-13 were needed to accompany the President to the Colonial planet that, for the first time, they heard was called New Kobol.
"Well" said Willow as Melina looked on, "it's a new start for them. What better name to choose than the planet they believe that humanity started on."
"I wouldn't be surprised if some of them still don't believe that humans began on Earth" said Faith as Willow helped zip up the back of her dress, "but of course there will be those who do, especially after all the evidence we gave them. But, if you really think about it… their culture, who they are as a people actually began on Kobol. So technically, they're not wrong… their version of humanity started on Kobol."
"True" said Willow as Faith turned around and smiled at Willow, "Dr. Lehane."
"Oh, come on" said Faith as she stuck her tongue out at Willow, "that's not for another year, and then it's Dawn's turn after that."
"Ah.. Dr. Lehane and Dr. Summers" said Willow as she kissed Faith's cheek again while Melina leaned on the door frame and smiled. She then turned while Faith talked to Willow and walked through the hallway and down the small flight of stairs to the living room. There they saw various pictures of Willow and the rest of SG-1. She looked at the pictures and smiled while remembering the year she had with Willow when she was Athena, and the thousands of years she had with her whole family until Moros descended and started to build the Sangraal, and then he was placed into stasis. Melina remembered that she and her daughters would hop form one galaxy to another, looking at life in all its forms evolving… living… building.
"Be well, Athena… Faith" said Melina before she left the house, and back to the higher plains.
Cylon Earth, Earth Encampment, 1900 hours.
Major Thompson had heard from the SGC that a part of the Colonial fleet was heading to the planet that they intended to call New Kobol; while another part of the fleet was headed towards them. The man had listened in surprise when General Landry told him that apparently they didn't believe the evidence that was presented to them and they intended to push forward to the planet they had come to call Cylon Earth. All the man could do was shake his head, and that was a couple of days ago after the Colonial greeting party landed on New Kobol.
Now, the Major stood in front of the Stargate with a couple of armed Marines as he waited for a dial in from Eden. This was scheduled to be the time when a few of the Cylons from that planet, as well as some archaeologists from Earth who had joined Dr. Gardner on Eden, were supposed to conduct some digs and research. The Major looked on as the Stargate started to dial in before the unstable vortex formed and then settled into the event horizon. Once the blue puddle was formed, a voice on the other end requested permission to come through the gate before giving out his authentication code.
After making sure that the code was authentic, the Major told the group to come through. He looked on as two Marines walked through first, before two men and a woman, and then behind them were a group of humanoid Cylons; two Leoben's, three Number Threes, four Number Eights, and three Number Six's. The Major watched the Cylons while they looked around the interior of the cave before looking back at the Stargate which then disengaged; the blue hue of the puddle replaced with the warm yellow light of the nearby floodlights on the floor of the caves. The Cylons looked around in awe, being the first time the stepped through the gate after authorization was given for multiple research missions to Cylon Earth.
"Major" said Giles as he walked towards the man who looked back at him, and extended his hand outwards before introducing himself, and the other archaeologists behind him, "Dr. Rupert Giles. And behind me are Dr. Kathy Givens from Oxford University, and Dr. Brian Meade from the University of Chicago."
"Dr. Giles, Dr. Meade, Dr. Givens" said Major Thompson as he shook the older man's hand while nodding at the others, "welcome to Cylon Earth. I take it you've been briefed on the situation?"
"Yes" said Giles as the other Earth humans stood next to him while the Cylons were still looking around the cave in disbelief. The Major then asked him if they had all their supplies with them, to which Giles nodded his head before pointing to his large backpack and a few metallic cases that some were holding on to, and then a few others that the other humans, and the Cylons were carrying. Giles told him that they had enough tents to share around before Dr. Given said that they also were given radios, and food.
"We have some extra tables you could use" said the Major as he looked behind them as one of the Number Three's walked towards the old man and stood next to him while carrying a large bag on her back.
"Major, this is Anna" said Giles as he motioned to the Number Three beside him and then introducing her to Major Thompson.
"D'Anna" said Anna as she shook the Major's hand while the other Cylons looked on, "the one who is a part of the still forming governing council sent me and my Cylons with Rupert, and the other archaeologists. Thank you for allowing us to examine the remains, the ones that were sent to Eden were…. interesting, to say the least. We hope to find more… perhaps even some preserved copies of data discs, or even books."
"We haven't been able to conduct a wide search" said the Major as the other Cylons came up behind them, "we have a complete map of the planet, as well as the areas that we, and the Colonial team that was here about a week ago have already examined. You are more than welcome to go to a site as a group, or to split yourselves up. If you do decide to split yourselves, then remember that you need to bring along some shelter, food, and radios. And, for security.. there will be Marines assigned to you if you do decide to divide into groups."
"We have decided before we stepped through the Gate to the Stars" said Anna, "we have decided to break into three groups of four Cylons, along with any one from Earth, and any security you would be willing to provide. We were deciding on whether to bring any of our centurions, but given the trust that we are still building among our peoples… the Council thought that the Centurions could join us another time."
"Very well" said the Major as he nodded his head.
"We can guess what the Colonials must have said about us" said one of the other Eights as she looked at the twisted strap of her bag while she tried to straighten it, "I am sure that, you've been told…."
"As far as I'm concerned, ma'am" said Major Thompson as the Number Eight stopped what she was doing and looked at him in surprise after calling her 'ma'am', "you're here for a research expedition. We all know what happened to the Colonies, and we all know what happened to your people. Personally, neither should have happened. But, being that it did… both of your peoples have to work it out over time, especially since I'm sure the Colonials will be carrying out their own research here when they arrive on their planet. Both of your people will be kept apart, but I am sure that there will be a Cylon and a Colonial meeting each other somewhere out there. Which is why you have your radio's, contact your group… contact your security if you come across any Colonial. In fact, anything funny that happens? Or if you see anything suspicious? Contact the security personnel who'll be with you. They are there for your protection. Understood?"
Anna and the others just nodded their heads once the Major had finished talking. He then told them that a section of the Colonial Fleet could be coming at anytime, and that two extra teams from Earth were coming by to contact a delegation if they do decide to land on the planet.
"If they don't land, then that's good for us" said the Major, "if they do choose to land, then we will inform all of you through the radio's. We will have one of our shuttles orbiting the planet once you've been taken to the areas you select, and the person on the shuttle will give us a heads up. Now, if things go bad, the shuttle will be taking all of you on board, and will bring you to the Gate to the Stars. IF they do land, our scientists will leave for another planet, and then your people will leave for Eden. If, for any reason, there is a problem with getting access to the Gate; if for some reason these Colonials turn hostile, the Shuttle will pick you up, and keep you safe until the danger has passed. Understood?"
"Yes" said the Cylons.
"Are you expecting trouble, Major?" asked Giles as he took a few steps towards Major Thompson while Anna turned to talk to the other Cylons, along with the two other archaeologists..
"From what we've been told about the Colonials coming here?" said the Major as he nodded his head, "according to Dr. Burke's briefing with one of the pilots who reached the planet as a precursor to the rest of the fleet, the faction that's coming here is the religious faction that believes that this is the Earth that they're looking for. They think that our Earth is a trick and… well, you get the idea. So if they find out that this Earth really has been destroyed…."
"Then we could be looking at a dangerous situation" said Giles as the Major nodded his head.
"You guys will be taken outside" said the Major as he spoke to Giles, "then we'll go to the camp where you guys will pick the areas you wanna go to, and then you'll be taken there by jumper. We have only one that the Odyssey dropped off before it head out to Pegasus, that will be transport for the three groups."
"Sounds like a plan" said Giles.
The Major then went ahead and told the Cylons about the shuttle that will be transporting them to their chosen areas once they have made their selection. Nodding their heads, the Cylons and the other humans then walked out of the cave and out into the outdoors where they looked around at shock.
"Oh dear lord" said Giles as he noticed the state of the trees, and the structures in the distance.
"Imagine what could happen in a nuclear war" said the Major while the other archaeologists, Cylons, and Marines were whispering among themselves on the level of the devastation around them, "then imagine that a few hundred times. We scanned the entire planet with the scanners on the Puddle Jumpers, everything's gone. There's no life whatsoever. At least as far as human life-signs are concerned. Obviously there are still trees present, we've noticed some flowering plants growing in some areas... some of the researchers have also reported finding bugs, particularly around here... there were other bugs that kinda look like roaches at some of the sites that our people have checked. I'm sure that there could be microscopic life in the oceans, and lakes but we'd need the sensors on the 304's, or the 305's to run detailed scans. Some biologists, and water people are scheduled to come here in a few days."
"Water people?" asked Giles with an eyebrow raised.
"The SGC will be sending scientists here to run some studies on the water in the rivers and streams" said the Major, "although our tests show that it's not drinkable, the liquid and any edible food grown will be tainted by the contamination in the water, I guess the scientists want to see if there are any micro-organisms in the radioactive river and stream water."
"I see" said Giles as he looked around the immediate area at the trees, someone which had fallen onto the ground years ago and now were covered with new plant life.
"We'll be giving your teams fresh drinking water once you've made camp" said Major Thompson, "so you don't need to worry about that, just don't drink the water in any stream or river you find during your research."
"I'll let the others know" said Giles as Major Thompson nodded his head. Giles them turned around and told his colleagues before they told the Cylons behind them about what Major Thompson said.
"And the biologists will be coming to catalog the bugs we found" said the Major, "some are coming to conduct more detailed tests on the soil... something about wanting to catalog any additional fungal or micro-bacterial lifeforms."
"Interesting" said Giles as they almost reached the camp.
The group continued their walk towards the main encampment for a few more minutes before the Major led them to a table under a large tent. The Cylons looked at the large map on the table that was already marked with the locations of where the Earth teams had already finished, or were still continuing their surveys. The place where the Colonials had examined was also marked, and now… the Cylons were looking at the places they thought would provided them with the best answers. They knew if they couldn't find anything, then they could go on to the next site. The Cylons looked at various maps before they finally settled on three sites. Anna looked at Giles, and then at Major Thompson.
"We're ready, Major" said Anna as Giles walked up to her and looked at the sites where she was pointing. Giles then looked back and called to the other two archaeologists and asked them to pick their destinations. While the two were discussing with the other Cylons, Giles was talking to Anna on which site they'll be going to. The man nodded his head while listening to the dark blonde woman he had met during one of the camping session when they would take some of the Cylons out from the growing refugee camp, and down to a secluded part of the area near a lake. There they would have different sessions on talking about the culture of both their worlds; he had already done this with Natalie, the primary D'Anna, and even with the one know as Caprica Six.. he and the others shared stories of myths and legends, Earth history and Culture compared to the Colonies and Cylon culture. It was a few nights ago that the man met Anna. She seemed to be far more interested in the stories that Giles had to say than the others who were more interested in other aspects of Earth.
Giles talked about the rise and fall of ancient Greece, he talked to Anna about Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Mesopotamia and many other ancient civilizations that existed even before the Colonies were formed… even before Kobol was said to have been occupied. It was true that the other Cylons were interested in what Giles had to say about historical incidents on Earth, but it was Anna and a few other Leoben's, D'Anna's and the Number Six's who found what he had to say about myths, legends and the supernatural extremely interesting… Anna was the only one who found it exciting and would always ask the man for more stories. She was the one who told Giles about the stories of blood-demons, and even the television show about a mystical girl who fought darkness. Giles had to actually confirm the stories, which the Cylons thought they were as did the Colonials based on intelligence from the Cylons, with the other Cylons before writing his report.
However, Giles never told Anna that everything she and the others were talking about in regards to blood-demons, and 'The Protector' were actually true. He thought that there wasn't a need to scare her, or the others.
'Not that they'd actually believe me' thought Giles to himself as he internally chuckled.
Now, as he looked at Anna who was excitedly talking to him about what was possible that they could find on this world, Giles couldn't help but smiled at the brown eyed blonde while her hair was dancing in the wind. The man then quickly shook his head and put his hands on Anna's shoulders before asking her to calm down; he reminded her that they had time to examine the site, and hopefully they'll find something groundbreaking.
Anna took a deep breath before smiling at Giles, just as Major Thompson walked back towards the group after talking to one of the Captains in the camp.
"Dr. Giles, Dr. Meade, Dr. Givens" said the Major as the archaeologists walked over to him, "you guys know where you wanna go?"
"Yes" said Giles while the others nodded before the Major turned around and called out to the Captain her was talking to earlier.
"Alright, listen up" said the Major as the Cylons got closer as a dark skinned man walked up to stand next to the Major, "this is Captain Marcus Webb, he'll be piloting the shuttle that will be taking you folks to your sites. Just let him know where you're going, and her drop you off at that location. He'll be based here, and you can call on him for any emergency or…. Or if you get homesick. He can come pick you up and get you to Eden."
"I doubt anyone will be getting homesick" said one of the Six's.
"Good" smiled the Major before he nodded at Captain Webb who walked towards them and asked them to give him the location of the sites. Since Captain Webb had no knowledge of Ancient Greek, the Major translated which area's the Cylons wanted to go to. Once all the locations were selected, the Captain waved everyone over before asking the Major to translate. He told them that the sites the selected were on the far side of another continent, and as far as all of his sensors showed on the shuttle… it was going to be stable.
"However" said the Captain, "that are has not been examined on foot, so I wish you the best of luck. As Major Thompson has already told you, contact the base if anything happens that you feel needs you to be extracted from the situation. Other than that, be careful out there. The travel time there will be about three minutes at full speed, and we leave in two."
"You heard the man" said Major Thompson, "move out if you're ready."
"Mr. Giles" said Anna as the other teams started heading out towards a cylindrical shape a few meters away, "you will be joining my team, will you not?"
"Of course" said Giles, "if you'd have me."
"I will" smirked Anna as they walked together into the ship. The Cylons and the people from Earth, except for the Captain and Giles, were looking around in surprise since this was the first time they had seen a Puddle Jumper, or been in one. He stood next to a surprised Anna as the door behind them closed, and then the Captain put his hands on the console as it lit up and the engines started to hum… just as it did when Willow first flew them to the SGC. He could see that one of the D'Anna's was asking something to the Captain as the ship started to rise. Giles then excused himself from Anna, and walked over to the front cabin where the other D'Anna was asking how he was flying the ship. Giles knew that the other archaeologists from Earth couldn't answer that question and they were still too stunned when the saw the ship zoom forward but didn't feel any inertia.
"This ship needs a special gene to work" said the Captain once Giles translated the D'Anna's questions, "it's called the ATA, Ancient Technology Activation gene. I'm guessing you've all heard about the Ancients?"
"They have" said Giles while he translated more questions from the Cylons.
"I can only tell you guys the basics" said the Captain as Giles translated, "this needs the ATA gene to work…. A handful of people on Earth have that gene… maybe there are a few on other worlds who do, but to many it would seem like magic. The gene for most people just activates some of the Ancients most dangerous technology… which is why they used this special gene as a sort of key in the first place. That's actually the gist of the ship, most of it is mentally controlled… and it's built to prevent intrusions from outside signals. It can be controlled by remote, but an Ancient signal needs to be used. And….."
The Captain then stopped the ship and hovered over one of the landing sites.
"We are at site Alpha" said the Captain as he lowered the ship onto the soft grass, "Alpha team, make sure you have everything you need."
The Captain then turned on his seat and told the three Marines who were seated on the side that they were to be stationed with them. The Marines nodded their heads before standing up and leading the Cylons, and one of the archaeologists onto the ground.
"Good luck" said the Captain as Dr. Meade translated for his team before the ramp closed and the shop took off again.
"Amazing" said the man smiling as the ship zoomed off into the distance before he turned around and said that they needed to start making camp before starting their work.
The last team to be brought to their site was Giles' team who was waving Captain Webb off as he took off for the third time before leaving for the main Earth encampment. Giles looked at Anna, smiled and then turned and told everyone that they needed to make camp before doing anything else. Everyone was given a job to do, even the Marines helped set up tents before they told Giles that they were going to set up a perimeter for their camp.
Cylon Earth, Unknown Location.
In a location close to the three campsites on that particular continent, there were a large bank of consoles that suddenly went online. The surroundings started to hum as yellow emergency lights turned on to reveal what looked like a bridge. The hum was soon followed by a few screens activating that showed video of Giles' campsite known as Camp Charlie. The video was glitch, but it was steady for a most part.
On one end of the bridge lay a pedestal on the floor that was just under another similar structure that was jutting down from the ceiling. Once all the video screens on all the consoles turned themselves on, the two pedestals lit up and showed a three dimensional rendering of the figures in the campsites. The renderings showed the body, as well as the skeletal systems of the human archaeologists, and the Marines. The renderings, which were really scans of the people in the camps, determined that the Marines could be a danger due to the projectile weapons they were carrying.
It was then a figure slowly limped into the bridge after one of the doors slowly opened. The figure seemed as if it was going to fall at any time, and all it could do was use the consoles to hold herself up before she slowly walked towards the renderings. She suddenly stopped and wheezed while hanging her head down, and then coughing. She then slowly looked up through grey hair as she very slowly made her way to one of the seats in front of the images of the people.
"They are…. Are…. Are…. Are…" said the figure in an ancient language while she shook her head before sighing and closing her eyes, "they are Alterra? After… after so long?"
She looked back up at the image as the unknown symbols on the rendering blinked red.
"Not Alterra" said the figure, "but human…."
The rendering then continued while sensors continued scanning the others in the camp; the Cylons.
And once it did, the renderings on the bridge showed a scan of the various Cylons, and then their skeletal systems, and the nanites that were swimming in their blood.
The figure then opened her brown eyes wide as she stared in shock.
"It…. It can't be" said the figure as she leaned forward and looked at the face on one of the renderings, "it…. It's not possible. Show me more."
The renderings filled out the faces of the other Cylon copies and the figure looked at all of them in shock. She knew the faces; she knew all their faces except for one of them… she had never seen her before.
"Except for that one" said the figure to herself, "the… the others… they… they found the…"
The figure then started to cough heavily before she fell forward onto the console in front of her, her last view was of a blonde woman in a red shirt, and green shorts.
'They have returned' thought the figure to herself as she slowly closed her eyes. She wanted to move her hand and send a signal, but she found she couldn't move her arms, that she was extremely tired, 'must… must have been taken out of cryosleep prematurely….. need.. need… rest.'
The figure then closed her eyes and slept as the render of the scans in regards to the Cylons and the humans continued. The lights on the bridge continued to be lit, the computer waiting for another command by the sleeping figure. It would be an hour later that the lights would dim… and all the systems would shut down as the sensors waited for the sleeping figure to issue a command, or move around the ship. Until then, it would continue to passively scan the campsite using as little power as possible.
TBC.