Author's note: This chapter and the following are a flashback to Season 2, Episode 19 "Lay Down Your Burdens" and a crossover with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (with characters and events from other shows, movies and books mentioned). I left out the details about the mission to rescue the resistance fighterson Caprica and any other events that happen just like in canon and focused instead on where my story diverges from the canon timeline.
2 years earlier (270 days after the destruction of the Twelve Colonies):
"But I think it is a glitch in the nav computer firmware. Bottom line is that we are far from where we are supposed to be, Skipper", Hamish "Skulls" McCall, the ECO said.
"Okay, ahem, any chance that we could still catch up with them?" Margaret "Racetrack" Edmundson asked.
"Not a chance. Mission rules say we head back", the dark skinned man replied.
"Frak me, this was the first jump", Racetrack complained.
"Yeah, but you gave me those coordinates", Skulls retorted.
"Back to the barn," Racetrack said, visibly disappointed that their mission was already over before it began.
"Heey, I'm picking up a large planetary body. It's frakking close."
An image of a planet suddenly appeared on the screen in the center of the cockpit.
"Where did that come from?" Racetrack wondered.
"Hell if I know" Skulls said," There was so much DRADIS interference, it didn't even register.
The two marines on the back seats leaned forward to get a closer look.
"Hey, check this out: Atmosphere is Nitrogen-Oxygen, organic molecular spectra, fresh water," Racetrack said excited. She paused. "Hey, you know what this is? It's habitable. We may just have found a world that can support human life", she said, looking at her copilot. "We are not such a bunch of frak ups after all!"
Suddenly they could hear the sound of a trumpet and a holographic image of an old man with a long beard appeared in the cockpit of the raptor:
"Greetings to you", the hologram said. 'This is a recorded announcement, as I'm afraid we're all out at the moment. The commercial council of Magrathea thanks you for your esteemed visit but regrets that the entire planet is temporarily closed for business. Thank you."
"If you would like to leave your name and your address on a planet where you can be contacted, kindly speak when you hear the tone", the hologram added. The holographic message was followed by a beep tone.
Racetrack and Skulls looked at each other for a moment, and then jumped their Raptor back to the Galactica to report their findings. Back aboard the Galactica they discussed what they had found with Admiral Adama and Colonel Tigh. Lt. Gaeta was also present. He had already analyzed some of the data they had brought back.
"I've climate readings overall within human norms" Tigh said, looking at the report.
"There is some extremes at the poles that we couldn't withstand, but that's not unusual" Gaeta said.
"Well done," Adama said
"Thank you, sir," the pilots replied.
"What do you make of that strange hologram they described in their report?" Tigh
asked after Racetrack and Skulls had left the room.
"Looks like someone got there before we did." Adama replied. "There've been plenty
of reports of ships jumping beyond the red line and disappearing."
"That someone seems to have a really frakked up sense of humor, If you're asking me. Tigh commented.
"We haven't used hologram technology since the first war with the Cylons", Gaeta
said. "I guess who ever recorded this got here a long time ago and is probably long
dead by now."
Aboard the Battlestar Pegasus, Commander Lee Adama was briefing a group of Viper pilots about their upcoming survey mission. The Pegasus had been sent to check out the new planet, while the Galactica stayed behind to protect the Fleet.
"We got a mottled area here at the river mouth. So it's probably a delta. The Chances are we got significant plant and animal life, so I want a lot of nice low passes across here, Lee said, pointing an enlarged copy of the image that had been taken by Racetrack's raptor. Some of the pilots nodded.
"I also want you guys to look out for any ships on the surface, wreckage, a shelter, or any other signs that someone has been here before."
The Vipers were supposed to do several flyovers over the habitable areas on the planet's equator and record data. It was also planned to land a survey team aboard a Raptor and have them explore a small area on foot and collect samples of the vegetation. Unfortunately there was currently only one Raptor available, the one in which Racetrack and Skulls had misjumped to that new planet. Most other Raptors were being used on the ongoing rescue mission to retrieve a group of resistance fighters from Cylon occupied Caprica. The remaining Raptors were either undergoing repair and maintenance or being used to ferry people and supplies between ships in the fleet.
As soon as the Pegasus had jumped into orbit of the newly discovered planet, Lee Adama immediately ordered to establish a CAP, as it was standard military procedure.
Suddenly, the same hologram that Racetrack and Skulls had seen a few days earlier appeared in the CIC of the Pegasus.
"Greetings to you", the hologram said.
"What the frak is that?" Dee said aloud, even though she had read about the hologram in the report.
'This is a recorded announcement, as I'm afraid we're all out at the moment. The commercial council of Magrathea thanks you for your esteemed visit but regrets that the entire planet is temporarily closed for business. Thank you."
"He can't be serious," Dee said.
"If you would like to leave your name and your address on a planet where you can be contacted, kindly speak when you hear the tone", the hologram added, followed by the beep tone again.
"Looks like they want us to leave. What are your orders", Lt Hoshi asked.
"It's just an old recording. We continue our mission", the commander said. "Whoever left that behind is probably long gone."
But then as they approached closer the hologram continued with another recorded message: "It is most
gratifying that your enthusiasm for our planet continues unabated and so we would like to assure you that the guided missiles currently converging with your ship are a part of our service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients and that the fully armed nuclear warheads are of course merely a curtesy detail. We look forward to doing business with you in future lives. Thank You" Then there was another beep tone.
"Launch alert vipers," Lee ordered.
Dee took the phone and relayed the orders to the flight deck. The alert vipers launched immediately.
In the meantime, deep underground Magrathea an automated defense mechanism calculated that the usual two nuclear missiles normally launched to deal with intruders were not sufficient to destroy a target the size of the Pegasus plus several fighters. The defense system therefore decided to launch all remaining nuclear missiles. Fortunately for the Pegasus and everyone on board, only eight missiles were left, after the others had been either used up over the millennia to deter other intruders or simply malfunctioned due to degradation. It was also fortunate for the Pegasus that the automated factory that would normally replenish those missiles had been destroyed in a ground quake several hundred years earlier.
"Radiological Alarm!" Lt. Hoshi reported, "Eight nuclear missiles just appeared on DRADIS. They seem to have been launched from the surface."
"Move fighters to intercept," Lee ordered. "Mr. Hoshi, get me a firing solution for main batteries and point defense guns!"
A few hours later Admiral William Adama and his XO Colonel Saul Tigh were discussing the report Lee Adama, commander of the battlestar Pegasus, had given regarding his survey mission to the recently discovered planet.
"Lee's report says that his vipers managed to destroy the missiles with ease." the admiral said.
"At least nobody was hurt and his pilots got some target practice." the XO said.
"He decided to scrub the survey mission, since he could not guarantee for the safety of the raptor crew," Adama continued.
"That was a wise move; we have no clue what we can expect down there. No need in risking the lives of our people. I suggest we just forget about it and move on." Tigh said.
"I've been thinking about that hologram, Saul", the Admiral said, "We had some pretty advanced virtual reality technology back in the day", he continued, referring to the time before the first war against the Cylons decades ago. "But I can't remember anything as sophisticated as that."
"Do you suspect a Cylon trick?" Colonel Tigh asked.
"I don't think they have anything advanced enough to project a hologram directly inside a ship through several layers of thick metal. Besides that, why would they go through all that trouble?" the admiral responded.
"You're right, Bill. And the attack on the Pegasus. The Cylons had better nukes than that during the first war. This all doesn't make any sense to me," Tigh said.
"It could be some stragglers from the thirteenth tribe. Maybe some of them didn't want to go all the way to Earth and decided to settle here instead," Admiral Adama suggested.
"Do you know what you're saying could be considered blasphemy?" Tigh warned.
Baltar was pacing in his lab. He was in a fairly bad mood, since his election campaign was not going very well. "Who cares about that stupid planet anyway? All this song and dance over nothing. Less than 20% of that place actually supports human life, so."
The imaginary model Six Cylon, that only Baltar could see and hear, was sitting, or rather laying on a table, wearing a black dress, and observing Baltar and Zarek.
"You're not seeing the big picture. This is your new home. The place where you lead a new life. This is the future, Gaius", the imaginary Six said.
"Now that is a depressing thought", he responded.
"What sir?" Baltar's campaign manager Tom Zarek asked.
Nothing, Tom. Just err, can you imagine if we actually had to live on that thing?
"You," Tom said looking at the image of the planet's surface, "are a genius"
"And?" Baltar said arrogantly, as if Tom was stating the obvious, and sat down on a chair.
"Pay attention. You're about to win the election," the imaginary Six told him.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying, Tom?" Baltar asked.
"We needed an issue, something to set us apart from Roslin. Something to put her clearly on the wrong side of a major issue", Tom responded.
Baltar stood up again.
"Something people care passionately about. This is it. Permanent settlement on this planet." Tom Zarek explained.
"Permanent settlement here?" Baltar laughed. "You lost your marbles".
The imaginary Six was smiling.
It may look dreary and it may be dreary, but it's solid ground under your feet and real sky over your head. You'd be surprised what a powerful idea that is to people cooped up in metal boxes for nine months.
"You should listen to him, Gaius. He's a smart, sexy man, just like you", the imaginary
Six said.
"Give up", Baltar said to the imaginary Six
"What", Zarek asked, thinking Baltar was addressing him.
"Give up on Earth", Baltar answered, trying to save himself from embarrassment.
"Yes", Zarek said.
"So you say we'd settle here?" Baltar asked.
"Yes", Zarek said.
Both men laughed.
"But you forget that there is somebody on that planet who doesn't want us down there. This somebody obviously has nukes and is not afraid to use them." Baltar reminded.
"An automated defense system. Maybe our ancestors had an outpost down there before they left Kobol. Or some pre-war battlestar that had jumped beyond the red line and crashed there decades ago. The nukes that were launched at the Pegasus were ancient. It's nothing our military won't be able to handle. Send some marines down and switch it off. Or blow it up if necessary." Zarek suggested.
"Hmm", Baltar said, thinking about what Zarek just told him.
"The destroyer Prometheus disappeared four years before the first war with the Cylons and the cruiser Acropolis disappeared seven years before that" Both jumped beyond the red line and were never heard of again. If we can refresh peoples' memories on these events and let them connect the dots, we should be in business", he continued.
Well, that place is starting to look like a lovely little planet after all," Baltar said.
Zarek smiled and both shook hands.
Aboard Colonial One Laura Roslin was going through the results of the polls with her
campaign staff.
"This is a rest stop. A place to load up on food and water." she said.
"Every ship in the fleet has people begging, pleading, demanding they get time on the surface, if only for a few hours", Her campaign manager Tori Foster said, looking up from the report she was reading.
"A few hours is one thing, but permanent settlement is quite another", Roslin
responded.
"Suddenly Baltar is holding up hope for breathing real air, growing real food, sleeping
in a bed instead in a bunk, living in a house instead of a ship," Foster said.
"It's fantasy. Look at the mission reports. All the data indicates that life on this planet would be hard. It will be a struggle to even eke a living out for a few years", Laura Roslin countered.
"Today's polls also show that he is making headway with the idea that because the planet is hidden in a nebula, it will provide a refuge from the Cylons", Foster said.
"Are we now assuming that Cylon technology is not sufficient enough to find this planet? We just found it", President Roslin reminded her.
"Madam President, in my opinion people vote their hopes, not their fears. Baltar is offering them what they wanna hear and you're offering them a bitter reality." Foster countered.
"I'm offering them the truth," Laura Roslin stated.
They don't want to hear the truth. They're tired, exhausted. The idea of stopping, laying down their burdens and starting a new life right now is what is resonating with the voters", Foster explained.
"How is it resonating?" Laura asked.
"It could turn the entire election around", Tori answered.
"What about the automated defense system that launched nuclear missiles at the Pegasus?" the president asked.
"Baltar has people convinced that one of our own ships ended up down there some 50 or 60 years ago, jumping beyond the red line and crashing on the surface. He has even gone so far and dug up news articles about the Prometheus and the Acropolis, which both had vanished around that time", Tori Foster responded.
"How does he explain the holograms reported by our Raptor and by the Pegasus?
They are clearly far more advanced compared to what we had before the first war" Roslin asked.
"Yeah, but he counts on the fact that hardly anybody ever takes the time to research that. Many older people can't remember all the details of life before the first war, and the younger ones had not even born yet at that time", Foster answered.
"I would think that my position and the position of my, err, campaign is abundantly clear", Baltar announced.
"Madam President, you have 30 seconds to respond", the moderator, a broad shouldered man in a brown suit, said to Roslin.
"Well, my initial response is: There he goes again. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Baltar is distorting the real issues before us. The issue here, the real question is not allowing the scriptures to dictate the policies of this government. The question is: Do the scriptures contain real world relevance? Do they contain the information necessary to guide us to a safer home than some completely unknown planet that we just discovered? Obviously my answer to that question is yes. I have always continued
to feel the scriptures hold real world relevance", Roslin responded.
"Mr. Vice President, the next question is for you. How do you respond to the charges that you seize the idea of permanent settlement on this planet as opportunistic gamble, ahem, some would say construed as a desperate move from a campaign that was falling behind in every poll?", the moderator asked.
"Well, you know ahem, that is an excellent question, in fact. Thank you. And I am only too glad to have the opportunity to respond to it. You see that I have long been a proponent in the search Earth. The promise of not only finding a new home, but also the prospect of discovering our long lost brothers and sisters from the 13th colony is a powerful one. And one I have believed in heart and soul. But the trouble is, the Cylons continue to follow us as they have done every step of the way since the destruction of the colonies. And if we have the opportunity to change this dynamic, to stop this deadly chase, shouldn't we take it? My answer is yes." Baltar responded.
"Thank you. Madam President, 30 seconds", the moderator said.
"There is no assurance, none whatsoever, that the Cylons don't already know about this planet, that they don't make regular stops there looking for us. And that in fact they aren't simply waiting for us to settle on the surface so they can jump us. And should we simply ignore the fact that missiles with nuclear warheads had been launched at the Pegasus from the surface?" Roslin countered.
"I have to respond to that. I simply have to respond to that", Baltar interrupted.
"I'll give you 15 seconds", the moderator said.
"All you've seen right now, ladies and gentlemen, is another example of fear to drive her campaign. Fear of the Gods, fear of the Cylons, fear of fear itself. Is it not time to stop being afraid? And regarding those missiles, they are most likely from one of our own ships that went missing decades ago. Possibly an automated defense system that can be easily deactivated. I'm asking all of us to stop running from our lives and start living them. Thank you", Baltar responded.
"Thank you. That is all we have time for today. I would like to thank the candidates for their frankness today in this very exciting debate. This concludes the cycle of the debates for the presidency. The polls will open in three days. Please vote. Thank you and good night", the moderator said and the audience applauded.
President Roslin, Admiral Adama, and Roslin's campaign manager Tori Foster were
listening to a radio broadcast.
"With me now is the campaign manager for Dr. Gaius Baltar, Mr. Tom Zarek. Tom, welcome", the reporter began. "You were in there with us today, what is your impression?"
"Well, I thought Dr. Baltar did exceptionally well. He laid his vision out for the future and offered the people a way out of the terror and the suffering that defined so many of their lives. On the other hand I found myself wondering how Roslin's argument against settlement can possibly win." Tom Zarek responded.
Dr. Baltar continued to gain in the polls. Through the use of speculations and deliberate misinformation he had managed to convince the voters that the missiles fired on the Pegasus were Colonial in origin and had been part of the armament of a ship that had crashed on the surface decades ago. He even had talked about plans to send marines to capture the missile launchers intact, so they could be upgraded and used to defend the planet, which he now called New Caprica, in case it was discovered by the Cylons. Meanwhile, Starbuck had returned to Galactica with the resistance fighters, much to the relief of Admiral William Adama. This also meant that there were now enough raptors available to land ground teams on the planet for a more extensive survey mission before the settlement would begin. A Viper patrol had just returned and reported back that no further missiles had been launched and that it was safe to land on New Caprica.
Fearing that she had indeed lost the presidential race, Roslin had taken several desperate measures to still win the election, even going as far as allowing her supporters, Colonel Tigh among them, to go ahead and switch out the ballots in her favor. However, Lt. Gaeta discovered that the ballots had been tampered with. Baltar had won the election and Admiral Adama managed to convince him not launch an investigation. President-elect Baltar then ordered him to set a course for "New Caprica".
Aboard the Battlestar Pegasus Commander Lee Adama was holding a mission briefing for the ground teams. Raptor crews, marines, and several civilians were present. Among the civilians were geologists, botanists, zoologists, and civil engineers.
"We have managed to pinpoint the location from where the missiles were fired at the Pegasus", Commander Lee Adama said. The marines, who make up team alpha, will land here", he pointed at the map, "and attempt to capture the missile installation intact. Watch out for automated defenses and booby traps", he cautioned. Several marines nodded.
"Team Beta will land at our main landing site over there", he pointed at another part of the map, "where the ground is even enough to land most of the civilian ships. You will inspect the landing site and report anything that could lead to problems."
"Team Charlie will land a little further south, right here, where we are going to establish our main settlement.
"The other teams will explore various points of interest across the habitable zone of the planet. All raptor pilots will be provided with the coordinates of your designated landing sites. All teams are to report in once every hour, any hostile encounters or unusual events are to be reported immediately. Teams Beta and Charlie will return for debriefing 12 hours after launch. Team Alpha will guard the missile installation until being relieved. Any questions?" Commander Lee Adama asked.
The fleet jumped into orbit of Magrathea/New Caprica. All ships appeared in bright flashes of light, one after another.
"Jump completed, we are in orbit around New Caprica", one of the crewmembers in Galactica's CIC reported.
"All ships have been accounted for", Dualla reported.
"Send word to the Pegasus to launch the initial ground teams onto the surface", Adama ordered. "Let's get a good look at our new home. Gods help us all".