Battlestar Galactica

Past, Present, Future

Chapter Nine

Return of the Masters

The room was dark, the only light coming from the fire pit at the center of the chamber. The fire warmed the room nicely and gave off just enough light for the room's single occupant to see perfectly without being seen unless he wished it. The lone figure preferred the dark. There was something comforting about it. Something safe!

The lone figure seemed to be in a trance of some sort, standing in the shadows, staring at the flames as they danced around the pit. Nothing of this person could be seen, every last centimetron being covered by the long, brownish-green cloak with the hood pulled up over the head so as to hide the beings face entirely. The figure stood almost perfectly still, one could almost mistake him for a statue. The only sound in the room was that of the fire.

The quiet was interrupted by the arrival of another individual, dressed in the same fashion as the first. The second figure approached the first slowly, stopping several paces from the first and bowed deeply at the waist, and in a language that had not been heard anywhere outside of this one world in nearly twelve hundred yarhen, the second figure spoke.

"By your command!" came a voice, speaking words no other beings could hope to understand.

The first figure did not move, did not so much as acknowledge the arrival of the second figure. For several microns there was total silence in the chamber as the second figure neither spoke again nor rose from its bowed position. Then, after nearly a full centon had passed, the first figure spoke in the same strange and guttural language.

"Speak Tassos!"

The second figure rose from the bowed position and began to speak.

"We have just received a transmission from the old space, Imperium. The news is not good."

"What news from the old space have you received?" the first figure asked.

"The news tells that the humans have lost their war. That they have been routed and are now fleeing to the far reaches of the cosmos." Tassos said.

The first figure, the one Tassos referred to as Imperium, said nothing for several long microns. Once again the only sound in the room was that of the fire burning. Then the one called Imperium spoke again.

"This is indeed foul news. Go you, and have all of my ministers and military commanders assemble in the great hall at once. I will need to address this new situation with them."

"By your command!" Tassos said as he bowed again and backed away, turning only after exiting the room.

The Imperium stood as before, perfectly still, staring at the flames. There was a slight sound of movement to the Imperium's right as another figure appeared from the darkness. This one too was dressed in the full length brownish-green robes. It moved up next to the Imperium and stood for several moments, silent as the other. Then the Imperium spoke.

"You heard?"

"Yes, I heard. This is news we knew would come someday."

"Yes, we always knew it would. Now we must deal with it." The Imperium said.

"And what will you do?" asked the figure next to the Imperium.

The Imperium was silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"I will do what I have always known I would have to do. I will gather our forces and begin the journey back to the old space. We will do that which we have left for far too long to the other beings of the old space. The time has come for us to return and set right that which our ancestors let loose on the galaxy long, long ago."

The Imperium stepped closer to the fire pit, still staring into the flames. He reached up with both hands, hands that had long and deadly looking claws on the scaled fingers, and pulled the hood of the robe back. The face that was revealed was that of a being that had not been seen outside that world for well over a millennium. It was the face of long repressed nightmares in many species that had not existed in the galaxy for twelve centuries.

It was the face of a True, Living Cylon!

"It is time that we return to our home world and rid it and the universe of the Centurions that our ancestors allowed to all but wipe out our race. It is time we return and take back that which is rightfully ours!