Chapter 9

Location: Caprica, Presidential Residence

Date: December 3, 2021

Time: 0800

"My fellow citizens of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, I come to you today to address recent rumors circulating in the press and on social media," President Adar began his speech, knowing full well that this was the deciding moment of his Presidency, if not the deciding moment of the short-lived office itself.

President Adar's press secretary had been the last person told of the appearance of Earth and the fact that contact had been made. Mostly it was due to the knowledge that someone on the press staff was a prolific leaker who hadn't been caught yet. But the main official reason was that the Admiralty and the Quorum had to take their time to make absolutely certain that the people they were dealing with were the real deal. In the end, it had been a leak that had forced Adar to finally put his speech into motion, and to publicly acknowledge that the Thirteenth Colony had returned.

So, here he was, dressed in a fine black suit with a maroon tie on which had thin alternating matte and shined stripes on it, alongside lapel pins of the Seal of the Office of the President on his collar. President Adar was always up here for speeches, oftentimes during his tenure he was here in response to an incident, a problem, or to address a concern of some sort. State of the System speeches were the only real exception that was made, but they were really just weekly general Q&A sessions with the press corps who specialized in the presidential sphere of their profession. For this he was standing within the large press room of the Presidential Residence, an antique building hailing back to the Imperial Wars era, built by a Caprican industrial tycoon who had been CEO of NexTelecom, and was a renowned patron of the arts and a somewhat controversial character known for being an outspoken advocate of a unified Colonial government among other, far more controversial hobbies. However, he never lived long enough to see his dream turn to reality.

The building and its sprawling compound was located in the suburban area of Caprica City, away from the Caprican capital government sector of the city. The reason for this compound's separation from the historical government sector was in request to the other planets' worries of the new unified Twelve Colonies of Kobol government and its branches being dominated by whichever planet its components' headquarters were based on. Thoughts had gone to a large space station for the president, but that was nixed by the threat of the Cylons and by common sense. So, the cheapest option was sought, and that happened to be the current three-story building and its surrounding gardens and lawns. Over the intervening fifty years the compound had been augmented with security of immense complexity and scale. On the water, in the isolated bay which bordered the compound's "back yard", a special landing pad was built for Colonial One to be nestled in absolute safety and privacy. The building had an olive-green tiled roof, a rich stucco-like façade of grand inlayed sculpture and was covered by windows with the building from above looking like a rectangle with an open rear with a domed grand hall in the back overlooking the outdoor entertainment space nestled in a tiled square-like area which had a large fountain ringed by twelve sculptures of the patron gods each holding a stone banner of the individual colonies. They stood in a ring around towering water spout at the foot of the steps into the grand banquet hall's glass facade. Above the front entrance, which lay, again, at the top of a flight of wide stairs, was the Seal of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, with the twelve banners of the colonies hanging from the twelve green marble columns, arranged alphabetically to avoid aggravation of old rivalries.

The President's maroon, teal, blue, and white-painted personal starship was actually a converted and up-armored Pan Galactic Liner, again, a product of "lowest bidder" acquisition policy. The contract had been for three such vessels and was awarded to a Picon-based shipwright renowned for top of the line starships across the spectrum, one was used by the him, the second was normally used by the Vice President, and the third was held in reserve in case one of the other two ships was having issues or to be folded into the flight plan when one of the others was put into dock for a planned maintenance cycle, going to the same shipyards as the Battlestars to prevent security breaches.

Speaking of the Fleet, the military was now on a heightened state of readiness, never-before-seen since the immediate aftermath of the Cylon War when the possibility of war reigniting was all-too-real. No one said why, but those, specifically the leakers and those who knew them in the media thought they were "in the know". In their "expert opinion", they believed it to have been an attempt at deterring the Cylons from launching a sudden war of aggression against Earth, who was separated from help from her sister colonies if the Cylons attacked, fighting an enemy they knew nothing about without reinforcements or direct local support. And this theory seemed to have been believed by the general populace, and with the information that his people had available to them Adar couldn't blame them at all, and they didn't seem to mind the uptick in military activity including the mobilization of reservists from their day jobs and a large portion of the civilian merchant fleet being ordered to muster at specified points.

This was part of the Fleet Reserve Logistics Program, a set of contractual obligations merchant lines signed with the government for their lines receiving subsidies in exchange for use of these ships in supplementing the Fleet's logistics train in case of emergency. This mobilization plan was organized with activation plans for a variety of specific situations, with ships of all types being selected depending on the situation. The Fleet had used this program in the past, but those were for a variety of missions of different types when large amounts of tonnage was required for natural disasters, especially bad internal unrest, and the like. But for the first time, the War Readiness Clause had been activated.

The Colonial Fleet had been ready for a fight, but it was a fight that had never materialized, much to everyone's relief, although there were those who were disappointed, of course. Adar was certainly in the former category; a wartime presidency was not what he wanted. Instead he got to bring some good news for a change, although his pipedream of being the one to break the news was broken within the first week by the office's prolific leaker problem, and the subject of Earth was very much on the minds of everyone. It was time to say something.

"I come before you this day to comment on recent reports and make an official statement to the Twelve Colonies of Kobol," he said, checking his written speech, preferring the use of paper over a teleprompter due to the fact he could control it himself, "Recent reporting from social media and several news outlets has stated that the Colonial Fleet was recently contacted by representatives of an entity claiming to represent the long-lost people of Earth, and that this administration was working to cover up this fact from the general public, despite the fact that this goes against this administration's commitment to open and transparent dialogue to all branches of the government, to the press, and to the public."

The reporters in the rows of seats began jotting down notes on their little note pads as the President paused for dramatic effect.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I can now say that it is with great joy that these reports of first contact with Earth are true. The Thirteenth Colony has returned. After spending the requisite time diligently confirming their identity and claims as genuine this administration has made the decision to come forward to the general public, to share this joyous news with all the worlds of Mankind."

The reporters immediately stood up, holding hands with pens in them as they began shouting to get recognized for the opportunity to ask questions, ignoring the precedent that the President was the one who told them when it was time to ask questions. But President Adar handled this with grace, waving them all to sit down.

"Calm down everyone, I know this is a big deal but let's do this in a civilized manner okay? We'll start as we normally do for these big headline items, left to right, let's get going shall we? Yes, Mark," Adar pointed and named the familiar reporter, one of many he knew by name.

"Thank you, Mr. President, there are many different versions already leaked and published in the press of how Earth was contacted or rather if they contacted us. Can you tell us what the details are?"

"I can only tell you what we know as of now. Earth contacted us, we weren't seeking them out at the time of first contact being made. And at this time we are pursuing a cooperative policy of giving Earth's government a say as to what details are released, however, due to the distances involved it'll be a somewhat slow process. In the spirit of that slow and ginger dialogue, the Presidency will be working closely with the Quorum and Forum and the planetary governments to form a special office for handling all matters regarding Colonial-Earth relations. Okay, next question, Tina," Adar replied, revealing a tentative plan he and his cabinet had been in the early stages of implementing.

"Thank you, Mr. President. Has the Presidency ascertained what sort of intentions Earth has in contacting the Twelve Colonies at this time? And was the military's recent state of alert a product of Earth's return, and what was the point of it?"

Adar knew the intent of this question, this reporter was a definite political opponent. She hated him and his party and made no attempt to hide it. Even this question was an attempt to get Adar to make himself look like some sort of loose cannon aggressor.

"Earth's intentions appear sincere and genuine. No ulterior motives have been discerned and no hostility has been detected. As for the Fleet, the Fleet has its own contingency plans and their plan in regard to a contact scenario with Earth is to, basically, be careful. The reasoning for it is simple, the Colonial Fleet with the resources of the twelve worlds gave the Cylons all they could handle, and we have only grown stronger in the intervening years. The Fleet believes the risk highly likely of the Cylons conducting an aggressive preemptive strike of some sort against the people of Earth in an attempt to keep from being outnumbered and outgunned by both Colonial and Earth forces in the event of conflict. The likelihood in reality wasn't all that great, but better to spend treasure than to lose blood."

And so the questions continued, mostly repeats of the same question but said by different people. As the President, Adar couldn't categorically refuse to answer, it was not advised in a situation like this. But he could simply say "no comment" in certain circumstances and deal with the media fallout of that. However Adar had a real gift land in his lap, and the man was going to most definitely capitalize on it.

Caprica, Home of Gaius Baltar

The TV was very much the center of his world right now. But come to think of it, it was the center of every Colonial's world at the moment. The President had just announced that the Twelve Colonies had made contact with Earth. It was a truly historic moment to be certain, but many possibilities and problems were certain to follow this joyous reunion.

Seeing as he was a genius Baltar was very quick to examine the situation and come up with dozens of scenarios that could potentially happen. The first was that of hope and 'if this were a perfect universe' situation. Earth would be eager to rejoin the collective of the Colonies and would be quick to assimilate into Colonial government, the economy, and the military. He surmised that because Earth was a single Colony they would be relatively primitive, perhaps still only capable of limited FTL ability and even more primitive weapons and sensors. This was hopeful of him, he knew. But it was only human.

The next situation was also only human. It was the worst-case scenario, one of war. He thought that because Earth was on its own it had to go to extraordinary lengths to stay alive as a people and would be fervently opposed to being assimilated after being independent for so long. So, in an act of self-preservation they would attack the Colonies, perhaps with far superior ships, weaponry, and technology trying to conquer all that stood in their path. And then the Colonies would fall, and everyone would be enslaved. But Baltar quickly threw this possibility out the window. It would be absurd for Earth to declare war out of sheer aggression against an entity as powerful as the Colonies.

Then again, he was being pessimistic, he had just been let go by Fleet Research and Development and was under investigation, just like everyone in the program. The Fleet Defense Network had been compromised, and the entire Command Navigation Program scrapped and the contract revoked. He had been defiant until the end of course, he had designed the protocols and firewalls of the coding. It couldn't have been cracked, not by any means available that it had been tested against. But when he had witnessed an old Manticore-Class Corvette completely shut down when the supposed virus had been activated he'd been shocked and the project was scrapped and he was reassigned to the humiliating task of reverse engineering the Cylon virus, which meant being exposed to the thing which had so totally humiliated him. The blow to his pride was unmistakable, that coding had been his life's work and now it had been flushed down the toilet with the simple push of a button.

He hadn't lost everything thankfully, his skills were still in demand, and he was shifted to this new project to figure out the Cylon virus, to reverse engineer the amazing piece of work, and weaponize it for Colonial use. Not only that, but the beautiful blonde woman he had been having quite the spirited relationship with had been quite supportive of him. He was genuinely surprised at this, because the only reason she had seduced him in the first place was to gain access to the Command Navigation Program to get a leg up on the competition so her company could secure a very lucrative defense contract from Fleet Intelligence, which was also now suspended pending an investigation. But it seemed her feelings for him and his feelings for her had been far more deeply rooted than they had thought. So she was right there beside him, wearing a rather revealing red tube top dress that barely covered up her shapely back with a few strings and ended right above her knees, a new purchase bought earlier in the day.

"Well, this seems like occasion to celebrate Gaius," she spoke with a slight flirty tone to her voice.

Gauis sighed quietly, his peripheral vision catching her get up to grab a bottle of champagne, and returned promptly with the bottle and a pair of glasses and started pouring a glass for the both of them.

"So it would seem, however, I can't help but think that this sudden appearance of Earth has something to do with my program being scrapped," Baltar mumbled, "Although it may have given us a new opportunity, although the company may simply be punishing me for letting the program get compromised."

"Stop being such a child Gaius, you know how brilliant you are. And who knows, perhaps something may come up that will warrant your unique skills," she said, suddenly straddling him on the couch.

"You're right, the Fleet cannot ignore my skills and my intellect. They need my expertise, especially now more than ever."

"That's the spirit," she giggled, kissing him lightly and then pulled back to whisper in his ear, "I just heard from one of my contacts that the ships that Earth sent have some rather intriguing technology that the military is dying to get their hands on."

"And where would this contact have heard such a tale?"

"You know I have my secrets Gaius," she teased again unbuttoning his shirt painfully slowly.

"And what sort of technology would these magic ships of Earth's have?" Gaius returned the flirting, shakily untying the strings of her dress.

"Oh a couple few things, shields, energy weapons, and cloaking technology."

"What?" Baltar gasped, stopping his attempts at disrobing the beauty on his lap, "Are you certain your contact wasn't a film writer?"

"I'm fairly certain that this information is accurate, and that you will no doubt be assigned to copy this technology for the military. Who else would be better qualified for such a…lucrative assignment?" she whispered, moving down to unbutton his pants.

"Who indeed…" he said kissing her more firmly, "by the way…I've been…invited…to a ceremony…welcoming Earth's…delegation to the Colonies."

"I'll have to…find something to…to wear than…won't I?"

Finally both of them surrendered to their urges and melded into one another in a passionate, and loud, embrace.

- 5 Days Later -

Earth, Apen Hill, Maryland, IOA Headquarters

The IOA's main center of operations was a single building outside Washington D.C. in the middle of the snowy Maryland countryside where its delegates and employees could enjoy themselves at country clubs and exclusive restaurants with their high standings. But there was a legitimate security concern with placing them out in the middle of the country. It was far easier to keep prying eyes away out here than it was in the capitol. And even the IOA knew that their sensitive oversight responsibilities needed to be safeguarded at all costs. So within this gated compound they conducted their business and made sure to keep it inside.

A black Chevy SUV pulled up at the covered drive through where a pair of covertly-armed guards in suits and ties was standing on guard with their sunglasses covering their eyes and preventing anyone from really being able to tell where they were looking while trying to keep warm with beanies and scarfs around their necks and leather gloves on as well. One of them put a hand to his ear and quietly spoke as the second one carefully opened the door for the uniformed pair of Air Force officers inside. The first person out was the unmistakable figure of Colonel Carter followed shortly by General O'Neill.

"Wow," Carter said, distracting herself with the plush and decorated building and grounds that she and her superior had arrived at.

"Have you not been here before Carter?" O'Neill asked, genuinely surprised.

"No sir, I've never had to."

"Well both of us do now, even if these little pricks aren't worth the trouble."

"Sir, I know why I'm here, and I know what to expect," Carter said firmly as she followed O'Neill into the building.

"I don't think you do Carter, the IOA wants heads to roll. Most specifically you and me," O'Neill countered, "Even though I retire next month, and Landry the following month."

"It didn't help things by blowing the Senator off."

"He was baiting me, I didn't take said bait, I just let him complain about recent ops."

"This is about the Colonial situation isn't it sir?"

"What was your first clue?"

"Sir, I had no choice," Carter replied, "Time was a factor."

"I know that Carter, but the thing that the IOA is angriest about is that we didn't inform them and let them have a say in the negotiations nor did they have any knowledge of the operation until after the fight was over. You and I both know that the situation demanded an immediate tactical response, but the IOA seems to think it didn't and that's why they want us out of the picture."

"They can't do that sir, it's the President and the Joint Chiefs' decision to decide what happens with matters pertaining to the command of Stargate Command and the Fleet."

It was true, command of the Fleet's warships was exclusive to the military, no matter which country owned them, no civilian was stupid enough to insinuate such a thing. The Fleet had done a good job of this, the all-American Alaska Battlegroup, the British-Commonwealth Lion Battlegroup, made up of Australian, British, and Canadian ships, the Russian Borodino Battlegroup made up of a mix of Russian ships, and the newest of the battleships, and the unfinished Chinese Tang Taizong Battlegroup which was going to be made up of Chinese ships were all like this. And there were nations that had battleships under construction or promised such as India, Germany, Japan, and France while countries like South Korea, Greece, Turkey, Indonesia, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, and Italy were in line for battlecruisers. All of the nations involved in the IOA had so far signed on for a ten-year 90-ship fleet program for Homeworld Defense, fifteen battleships and seventy-five battlecruisers, although there was likely to be an additional nine carriers to be added and doled out.

The battlecruisers were so far being built with four docks present in Russia's northern Urals and China's Tibetan Plateau each having two while the US had two docks in Utah, two in Nevada, and three in Alaska. A single battleship dock was also present in these countries, with the US building a fourth in addition to this number. The Australians were also building a pair of docks in the middle of the state of Western Australia while Canada, with British assistance, was now fitting out a dock in their Northwest Territories. Japan as well was building a dock in Hokkaido, in their most remote region, using the advent of a combination of direct Asgard beaming technology for its logistics needs and a cloaking field to mask its presence. The idea behind this relatively large number was that the prospective Earth fleet would operate in basically three states of being: a third of the fleet being out on standby, active patrol, or deployment, another third was in a repair and refit stage and the last third was in a work-up/training phase, preparing for its deployment phase while being able to be surged into active deployment if needed for a short while.

It was an agreement for the nations of Earth participating in the Program to never place a civilian in command of a ship unless the ship was built for civilian uses. They had a couple designs in mind for craft like that. The X-309, soon to be the E-309 Voyager class Science Ship was one potential design but its development had been put off time and time again. Other ships included a dry cargo ship, a modular container ship, a civilian tanker, a roll-on-roll-off vehicle transport, and a mining and mobile refining vessel. But like the Voyager-Class they'd been put on the back-burner as more and more countries accumulated the requisite five years of operating three SG Teams, a science team, an operational F-302 squadron, and the cash and crew for a battlecruiser and placed an order to have their nation join the Defense Fleet, further increasing the backlog of work for warships.

"No but they have some really shady ways to get what they want, but I'm going to warn you now Carter, the Hammond, you're losing her."

"What?!" Carter stopped in the hall, "I'm losing the Hammond?"

"I'm transferring you."

"So, where am I headed?"

"I'm placing you somewhere more important. You're going to take over for Landry. I need someone I can trust in command of the SGC, and you have the experience to do the job until the Joint Chiefs can make you head of Homeworld Defense."

"Hold on, Homeworld Defense?"

"You did a Helluva at Atlantis, and you're the only one I think can do the job besides our second pick and third picks who already said no to the job."

"Mitchell and Sheppard," Carter said, naming the potential candidates.

"It was a toss-up to be sure. Mitchell's a damn fine officer, but we have a different command for him, Terra Nova, he's going to take command of a new offworld operations base there with Reynolds taking over the Delta Site. We're going to use it to headquarter a new sub-command within Homeworld Defense, the Rapid Response Force, company-sized combat units meant for use as a QRF when SG Teams run into trouble."

"We've been toying with that idea for years," Carter noted.

"Well, the Joint Chiefs finally got authorization to take the idea to the other world militaries, they're mulling over the fine details now."

"That oughta be a fiasco," Carter chuckled.

"That's what I said, in the meantime, you take command effective Monday, Landry'll be stepping down to an advisory role to give you a hand during the transition. I want you to prep Mitchell for taking command of Delta Site and the new Direct Action Command."

"And Homeworld Defense? Whose gonna prep me for that?" Carter realized.

"Come on Carter, you're better suited to the job now than I ever was. You actually know where the key to the desk is. Besides, if not you, then who?"

"I see your point, after all, Homeworld Defense has to be run by a military officer, by law it can't fall under civilian control. But the SGC…we need to keep that from being some IOA pawn. The IOA's still reeling from their attempt at stealing Atlantis as part of that stupid power play they made. But while most of those committee members are gone, the Joint Chiefs still don't trust them. They ordered me to place you in command and to prep you and Mitchell for moving up the chain."

"It's that bad?"

"You see why I have to move you off the Hammond?"

Carter nodded, understanding what General O'Neill was doing, he was playing politics, he was doing at her expense of course but she knew what was at stake here. The IOA had never been intended to be a command entity, but no one had told the IOA that. So, this was Jack's way of making sure that their ambitions of control never came to fruition. Plus, Carter knew deep down that she was not really cut out for command of a ship, even it was a ship dedicated to General Hammond's legacy. But on the bright side she was going to be falling into line as the next best thing, the SGC itself.

The duo continued walking until they reached a room where they knew the metaphorical sharks would be circling, waiting for the kill. So they walked in to see the members of the IOA all speaking amongst themselves at a half circle table that was taller than it normally would have been. In fact it looked just like the table of the Supreme Court. All of this, coupled with the harsh glares from the IOA representatives, the profile of Senator Jackson included, gave the whole room a real sense of it being a trial instead of a hearing.

"Sorry about the delay General, our last meeting ran a little long," one of the delegates said.

"That's alright, the shorter the better I always say," O'Neill grinned, trying to put on a false image of confidence. But in truth he was nervous, who wouldn't be?

"This hearing on the actions and testimony of Colonel Samantha Carter and Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill will now come to order," the Senator called out, the arrogance in his voice shining through as the delegates turned their folders to the proper spots to begin this meeting, "We are here to hear testimony on the events of June the twenty first with the attempted rescue of a Colonial military officer from an unknown entity known as the Cylons. During this operation Colonel Carter was authorized the use of force against the Cylons without even taking into consideration the implications for a retaliatory strike by the Cylons upon the entity known as the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. And General O'Neill, her commanding officer did not even inform the IOA, or get our permission to conduct this operation in progress until after the fact."

"Excuse me? Your permission?" General O'Neill butted in.

"Yes General, our permission, that is why we are here is it not?" the French delegate, Jean Martin, replied.

"In matters of military operations, you do not have the authority to prevent us from acting; this was a military rescue mission of a high value individual from a hostile force who had taken life in the form of over fifty Colonials on the Battlestar Triton in the act of abducting of Lieutenant Adama."

"And Colonel Carter, you returned this with an act of aggression. Keep in mind none of this aggression was orchestrated against Earth or Earth's allies. But despite this you responded by invading Cylon territory?" Senator Jackson snapped.

"Aggression? We attempted to communicate with the Cylons and followed protocol. After doing so we were fired upon after an attempted forced entry into our fleet's computer systems using a virus clearly designed for the purpose disabling a ship to make it an easy target. It was clear at that point that the Cylons were aggressive and so we returned fire and easily won against far larger fighter forces and larger individual ships with only light casualties among our fighters," Carter replied.

"But you had invaded their territory had you not?" the Chinese delegate, a woman by the name of Wu, responded.

"Oh cut the crap!" O'Neill finally snapped.

"General…" Carter whispered, desperate to get him under control.

"Colonel…" O'Neill responded, stopping her from interfering even if it was for his own good, "the fact of the matter is this: These Cylons are aggressive, they proved that when they killed those Colonials trying to kidnap Adama, then they proved it again when they tried to hack us and then shot at us using weapons of mass destruction! We had every reason to launch a rescue, because if these guys found out about Earth before we found them, we would be royally screwed."

"And all of this because you did not get our permission!"

"The situation was time sensitive and would not have been changed whether or not you were informed. Protocol dictates that when Earth's security is threatened military action of a proportional force is authorized based upon the judgement of the senior officer on the scene, by protocol you, the IOA, had no legal authority in the scenario. This was a threat, and Colonel Carter dealt with that threat."

"Gentlemen, please," the most levelheaded of the IOA people, the British man, a former MI6 man O'Neill was familiar with, stated, "I do believe we are getting off topic."

"Yes we are, thank you Mr. Tavish," the Russian delegate responded, "Now Colonel Carter, in context was their anything you could have done differently?"

"In context? I personally don't see what else I could have done, I followed my protocol, attempt communication first, and do not fire unless fired upon."

"Then perhaps we may want to consider a meeting later on updating our protocols?" Ms. Wu mumbled.

O'Neill could see things were changing and was actually quite relieved with the situation. His point on the IOA not having the legal authority to make command decisions had the desired effect. The members of the group knew their protocol very well, and were definitely intimately familiar with the IOA's reputation that they were trying to salvage. Any accusation of overstepping authority would not go over well. So, whenever they were called out for overstepping the bounds of their authority they did what any politicians would do. They stepped back and moved on and tried to push blame on someone else when the issue was forced.

"On to the second point of this hearing. We still have the issue of the decision to bring Colonial observers aboard one of our warships," the Senator pushed again, trying to restore the blame for wrongdoing on the Air Force officers.

"Yes, that was a breach of protocol, General, Colonel, you of all people are aware of what can happen if our technology fell into the wrong hands?"

"Protocol for visiting persons was followed, you got nothing, again," O'Neill said, "But in context the advice from Commander Adama, the Colonial liaison, was instrumental in our decisive win. We would have lost a great many more pilots if he hadn't told us of what to expect."

"Yet we still lost people," the Chinese woman said back.

"That's what happens in battle, especially since this was the largest space battle that we'd ever had, so odds were we would have lost people anyway. And the rate at which we ended up destroying enemy fighters was one hundred to one, quite acceptable, even for the base model of F-302," Carter replied.

"True, but it is still a breach of security to bring the Colonials aboard to report on our strengths and technological superiority," the Frenchman said.

"Excuse me sir, but I'm not quite sure you understand the situation we were in. The Colonials had been very pushy, and very demanding in the way they treated us. We had to give them something to put them on their heels."

"That isn't your job Colonel," Jackson replied, "That's what our negotiation teams are there for."

"Regardless of the situation, your intentions were good, but your course of action may do more harm than good. Perhaps not in the short run, while the Colonials will more than likely be very hesitant to underestimate us they will no doubt push for access to our technology now that they know we have it."

"And we will obviously refuse them, but we do have to consider they might push harder and harder even to the point of attempting seize the technology they want."

"Oh please," O'Neill groaned.

"Excuse me General, but didn't you do the same thing?" Jackson responded.

"There was a clear and present danger, and the Gou'ald were hostiles Hell-bent on destroying us. The Colonials are a single and technologically inferior entity. Not only that, but they're not hostile, in fact they believe us to be a sister colony, not an enemy to be conquered. The situation is completely different."

"Are you certain about that? Won't the Colonials try and assimilate us into their own domain? And do you honestly think that a culture as motivated as them would just say oh shucks maybe you'll change your mind if we say no to their offer to join them as their thirteenth colony?"

"Not to mention that they know that we have superior technology and will want that technology."

"Actually, I would disagree that the show of force display was unwarranted, in fact it was necessary. The Colonials had already been looking down upon us, emboldened by a feeling of superiority in all regards. They attempted to adopt a mindset that treated us as subordinates, not equals. Most of this was due to the size and numbers of their ships and their own culture. They were pushy, very pushy, in fact more than once Colonial officers tried ordering us around as if we were their own subordinates. Not showcasing our technological superiority to the Colonials will without doubt have led to far more issues stemming from an emboldened Colonial government rather than one that now sees as an equal," Carter explained.

"To put it into context they were certain that they could take us if they wanted to. Now they know that they don't have a chance. The possibility of war has been diminished to a far greater degree than it would have been if we hadn't have taken the course of action we took."

"And the consequences for that are still far from ideal," Senator Jackson leaned forward, his hands clasped together.

"Well…" O'Neill looked over at Carter, "That's what you're there for isn't it?"

"Indeed it is, as such the IOA wants to voice our displeasure with the handling of the situation," the Russian scolded, "As a civilian entity we have the training and resources to handle these situation, even if these Colonials are supposedly religious zealots of some description."

"They're not religious fanatics!" O'Neill replied, "They're politicians, like you. Which in a way makes this situation worse."

"Which is why…" Jackson replied, smirking now, "The President and other world leaders have consulted and given the okay to the IOA to begin a concerted effort at establishing friendly cooperative relations with the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, effective immediately, all handling of this human entity is to be handled by the IOA's negotiators, not by the military. You will facilitate all possible means that we may require in order to accomplish this objective."

He may have been a bastard, but he was smart, and had taken what O'Neill had said to heart. He'd gone straight to the man. An order from the President was not to be ignored.

"Very well, when I receive my marching orders I'll abide by them, after all, I do take my orders from the President, not from you," O'Neill reminded him.

"He is speaking with the Joint Chiefs on this matter," the Senator nodded, "Those orders should be ready in detail back at the Pentagon. For now, know that the IOA will be preparing for a concerted campaign to work to create a mutually-beneficial relationship with the Colonial government."

"May I ask why the sudden interest in the Colonials?" O'Neill asked curiously.

"They're an advanced space-faring human civilization. We haven't met very many of those and we want as many allies as we can after all."

"Let the record show that I would advise the IOA to remember something: the Colonials don't want us as allies, they want us as subordinates," Carter reminded the panel present in this room.

"So the record will show. But I am confident that we'll be sowing the seeds of a profitable and mutual friendship with these humans. I intend to prove it."

"Why are you so hell-bent on trying to prove us wrong?" O'Neill sighed, exasperated with this whole process.

"Because, General," Jackson began, "I joined the IOA when it was at its lowest, as many of my colleagues did. We saw the fallout of those ill-conceived breaches of protocol and trust by both the military and by the hierarchy of the IOA itself. It's clear that the system is broken, and we have all been working to prove the IOA can be fixed, that it is being fixed. This is an opportunity for us to do so," Senator Jackson explained promptly, "The IOA's civilian oversight is crucial, and we have the responsibility to step in when needed. In this case, it is needed, and we will rise to the challenge and we will restore the good name of the IOA in doing so."

Caprica, United Worlds Broadcasting Building, Caprica City

"Why the frak do we need the colonel to clear every little thing now? Can't we just take our pictures and let the Fleet see them all at once and say yes or no?" Kelsey groaned, throwing her head back as she spun lazily in the makeup chair with her brother and Starbuck sitting on a couch behind her against the wall while they waited.

"Because you're the Fleet's newest poster girl Lightbulb. You're 'The pilot who discovered Earth'," Starbuck smirked sarcastically, shifting a bit in her flight gear, the outfit they were required to wear for their photoshoot, "Who, according to the director out there 'should really consider modeling'. So if you want to resign, looks like you won't be jobless for too long."

"What can we say, the camera loves you," Lee continued the teasing, "Seriously though, don't even let them ask you to take off the uniform, the Fleet'll have you before the mast faster than an FTL. Even if the camera loves you."

"Not as much as the makeup lady loves you," Kelsey replied, reminding him of the overly-touchy touch-ups to his makeup Lee had gone through.

She was internally scoffing at the reminder of the suggestion that the photographer had made for Kelsey to do at least some risqué poses which the public relations officer in charge of them on this assignment had immediately put a stop to. Which was the current reason they were told to take a breather, because apparently there had been a miscommunication between the Fleet's PR office, the Defense Secretary's office, and the studio itself. The Fleet had shifted Kelsey to public relations while the investigation and review board concluded its findings on the whole episode involving Earth and her kidnapping while the Galactica itself began her final workup for her grand opening as a museum ship. Kara and Lee had decided to tag along as moral support seeing as the whole of the Galactica flight group was on leave pending transfer orders. So the somewhat opportunistic public relations Colonel minding Kelsey had roped the two into the shoot. They'd been briefed on what to say and what not to say, and had a Colonel as their chaperone for this PR blitz the civil authorities governing the Fleet had decided to embark upon to insure that the public was assured that Earth's first interaction with their people was with someone who represented the twelve worlds in a good light. There was word of Earth possibly dispatching some of its people for a similar media tour in the near future, parading the fact that they'd beaten the Cylons in pitched battle in an effort to save Kelsey. With the knowledge of such a possibility and the obvious questions directed at the Fleet that would follow the brass apparently wanted to make sure that Kara and Lee's presence was there was known as well, showcasing the "interplanetary brothers-in-arms" angle and reminding people Colonial Vipers took part in that battle. The Rear Admiral was also there to ensure certain details of said battle didn't get out, namely the technological superiority of Earth's ships and the knowledge of humanoid Cylons existing. Although at the moment, the risqué tendencies of these photographers were the prime subject of debate, fairly mundane stuff really.

So, they were having a bit of a disagreement as to what constituted "unacceptable photos". For Kelsey, who'd been asked to merely lie on her side on top of the wing of a mock-up Raptor while the studio personnel had a fan giving her hair a bit more lift, it hadn't been anything truly uncomfortable. In fact, Kelsey nearly did it in the heat of the moment, seeing as she did have fun that first time after her initial reservations. After all, when she was in school, she had liked model-based reality shows and was a real follower of Colonial celebrity life. She really liked the fashion, the glitz and glamour, and the notoriety that came with it, and money of course. And with recent near-death experiences recently on her mind Kelsey was reminded of how much she had yet to do with her life, and was more willing than ever to try new things. But her brother was very, very much not enthusiastic about that idea despite the fact he too was rather comfortable with how things were going for himself, such as the pretty makeup assistant who'd taken a liking to him.

"I thought she was being a little handsy," Starbuck dropped her hand into her chin, looking at Lee suspiciously.

"You thought?" Lee scoffed at his fellow pilot.

"So, you think the Fleet'll block these new 'sexy poses'?" Kelsey wondered aloud.

"Oh frak yes," Lee laughed, "You're an officer in the Fleet, not a sex object."

"Don't be such a stick in the mud, so what if a pic or two is a little risqué. The Fleet's obviously parading me around to these photoshoots because more than a few of the brass think I'm pretty attractive, and a pretty face is preferred when dealing with public relations stuff," Kelsey rolled her eyes, "This is the new Fleet after all. We're supposed to be open, accepting, and above all an attractive option for potential recruits? Am I ringing a bell with any of this?"

"Yeah, I read the brief same as you, but you can't compromise your professional bearing as a pilot Kelsey, you're too important for that, especially nowadays with people looking at you and going, 'That's the first Colonial to meet Earth? Hold on, she represented all of us to the long-lost Thirteenth? What did she say? What did she do? Did she make us all look like her?'. Am I ringing a bell with any of this?" Lee shot back immediately.

"I think what the captain is trying to say is that you were the cover that Earth judged us, the proverbial book, on. And if people see a rogue and loose-with-the-rules slut then what are people going to think of the Fleet?" Kara replied now.

"Hold on, are you calling Kelsey a slut?" Lee questioned curiously, knowing that she wasn't that at all, but saw an opportunity to mess with Starbuck a little.

"Yeah, kinda sounded like that didn't it?" Kelsey built from the same general idea Lee had in messing around with her friend, always in the mood for some fun when the opportunity presented itself.

"Hey, hold on, you were the one making that insinuation, I just put your thoughts on the table," Kara held her hands up defensively.

At that point the door opened, and in walked someone who made all three of the young pilots snap to their feet. It was Commander William Adama, here in the makeup room.

"Commander, sir," Lee said on instinct, more than a little surprised at his father's sudden appearance as a young lieutenant came walking in behind him, carrying a plastic-wrapped flight suit, a Cylon War Era flight suit, with a pilot's helmet under his arm.

"Relax captain," Adama said with a smirk, "Apparently, I got an invite to this photoshoot after my interview with the President."

"The President?" Kelsey asked, her ears perking up at the name.

"Apparently I've been selected from the short-list for command of the new Kobol Expedition Task Force, the Fleet's contribution to the civilian-led effort to track down the location of Kobol itself."

"Really? I thought the Admiralty had been effectively pushing you out the door?" Kara asked him.

"The President's cabinet and the Admiralty have different opinions on that subject apparently because I've apparently got the job. The Defense Minister has officially asked me to be the task force commander," Adama replied as he took the flight suit and got it hung up and started peeling off the wrapping plastic and that's when they saw it, the new rear admiral rank symbol on the eldest Adama's collar, "I'm to take command of the Galactica."

"Galactica's been reactivated?" Kelsey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, her successor. The newest of the Prometheus-Class, this will be her maiden voyage, which will be in six months' time. That trip will be to Kobol."

"How are they going to get a Prometheus-Class operational in six months?!" Lee asked in amazement.

"Frak that, how are they going to finish it in six months?" Kara put her hands on her hips, knowing that the ship had been working up to decommissioning for some time.

"Apparently throwing enough cash and personnel at a problem can make things happen," the older man responded, "The Fleet's gathering four battlestars, all Mercury-Class, along with an escort fleet of ten cruisers, fifteen frigates and twenty corvettes. We're also getting an assault group, four Atlas-Class Marinestars with their Marine brigades, plus thirty more combat support ships and logistics ships."

"Gods, the Fleet okayed that kind of deployment?" Kelsey asked.

"The Admiralty had no choice," Adama smirked as he began unbuttoning his shirt as he headed to the changing screen next to him, "The President overruled them. Apparently, he shamed them enough to back down. Considering the magnitude of the expedition and the occasion itself, plus the logistics that the Mercury-Class can operate more efficiently on long-distance trips and that the Quorum would protest if their pet project didn't get the best support the Fleet could send would be politically untenable. So, resources and work crews from the next Prometheus-Class have been shifted to the new Galactica to get it operational in time for us to get some trials and work-up done."

"How big is the civilian side of this thing?" Lee inquired curiously.

"Big," his father said simply, "Basically, the expedition's intention is to find Kobol, and then to establish a permanent research colony which can then be used as a base of operations for further exploration and colonization. Over two hundred ships are being prepped, including tankers, repair ships, container ships, botanical cruisers, refinery ships, water reclamation ships, mining ships, vehicle transports, converted liners, deep space survey ships, planetary landers, mobile drydocks, and everything in between. Almost eighty thousand people who need protection."

"And we're going with you?" Kelsey asked hopefully.

"Well unless you're intending on starting a career as a model."