Quick notes:

1. Merry Christmas!

2. This is part one. I have split this chapter into 2 parts. I accidently erased this potion and had to start over from scratch. No excuse here.

3. To Guest: Establishing the Balance will get posted when it is ready, not before. That is all.

4. If you believe that the Colonials have problems adjusting to aliens, wait until you see how the cylons deal.

5. Then back to the Colonies and then earth Alliance. Clark is a happy man.

Everyone be well and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

CHAPTER X

BooK II

'Storm Waves for the Mind'

CDF Radiance UCW Territory sector Fifteen

Ambassador Isahan was incensed at the vitriol being spewed from the admiral that she had come to know and respect since she'd been assigned to this mission. She never expected Admiral Cunningham to be anything less than professional when dealing with unexpected circumstances which this certainly qualified for. Instead, the man was about to start a war. The elder stateswoman listened with increasing horror as both Cunningham and the alien insisted at being top dog. Cunningham, she belatedly realized, was more off-balanced by this First Contact with aliens than he probably even knew.

Everyone trained extensively for this mission, not knowing what to really expect when they contacted Earth. There were a variety of scenarios accounted for when they finally reached the territories of the Thirteenth Tribe of Man. Everything, from the expected and hoped for humble meetings, to outright hostility was planned for. However, contact with aliens associated with Earth wasn't seriously considered as a viable possibility. Being unprepared for this circumstance, the Admiral fell back on his ingrained training that had served him for the last thirty years.

Colonial protocol insisted on 'a fly by' as an aid in identifying unknown, potentially hostile contacts. Under normal circumstances, in Colonial territory, this action was expected and no one other than the Cylons could counter such an action. This however wasn't Colonial territory nor was it subject to Colonial rule, regulations and practices.

Cunningham insisted he had the right to do what he wanted, and he not-so-subtly hinted, even expected that Earth would acknowledge such actions. If these creatures were indeed under subject Earth's rule, then they would sanction his actions and allow him to perform his duty according to the Articles of Colonization. He believed that being human gave him rights over these aliens who claimed to be allied with Earth. Four thousand years of separation couldn't break the unity that mankind had with itself. Aliens could never break that bond.

Cunningham's lack of experience, or perhaps because of it, lead him to wrong conclusions and those actions jeopardized the entire mission and could lead to war. The admiral was so off balanced that he hadn't even thought to use the drones for the recon instead of living personnel. Isahan concluded he, on a subconscious level, ignored what the aliens had told them because she was fighting those exact same conclusions. Well, she couldn't allow this to stand. Her next actions would cause a rift between her and Cunningham, but she felt that she didn't have a choice. She had no desire to die within sight of their mission's success.

"Senior Shiplord Kirel, the admiral will pull his recon ships back. Please do not destroy them we are here on a peaceful mission not to begin fights.:"

Cunningham immediately cut in. He was absolutely furious. "Ambassador, you do not speak for the military. I…"

"My authority is given me by the President and Quorum of the Colonies of Kobol in all things diplomatic. Admiral Cunningham, this is a diplomatic dispute. I have senior authority in this matter. It needs to be resolved diplomatically. I am exercising my authority to prevent further misunderstandings that could result in unwanted hostilities between our two nations. 'To the gods, please don't let him cut me off'. "Admiral, I ask you recall your pilots."

She swallowed, trying to maintain her composure. She was now officially at odds with the Admiral and further, she had, in public, dressed him down in front of the crews and the aliens. The fallout was going to be hideous and she was not looking forward to talking to him when the time came. Things will never be the same between them again, although she really didn't care. That was the sad part but starting a shooting war was unacceptable.

She waited for a response and none came; not a good sign. The recons were moving closer and it appeared neither one of the commanders were backing down. Her aides and the crew members of the Shining Star looked on nervously, waiting to see if they would be in a shooting war in the next few minutes.

"…Recall the alert vipers," Cunningham muttered.

The ambassador could feel the anger and contempt at issuing the recall order. It went against everything he stood for. The woman sighed, wondering what price she would pay for overriding his authority.

"UCW vessels, please do not fire on our recon fighters. They are returning to our defensive positions," she spoke.

"A wise decision, Cyrannus Ambassador."

"Will you give us the coordinates to Earth's system so that we may leave your area of space and meet with our cousins?" she asked. They needed to get out of this sector as quickly as possible before things blew up in their faces.

"Colonial Ambassador Isahan, that shall not be done," Specialist Nignxe flatly said causing her to gasp. "We will instead give you coordinates to a safe location for you and your expedition fleet. We do this for your own protection. Your fleet is in danger. When we escort you to the safe zone, Earth will contact you and they will decide whether to escort you to Earth or to another UCW world."

A furious Cunningham cut in. "That response is unacceptable. Other than your claims, we do not know you. You have implied that there exist threats to my fleet. Tell us what kind of threats you are speaking of," demanded Cunningham who was still on the comms and by his tone, still fuming. But his voice was stiff and cold, and the ambassador understood why.

"Admiral and ambassador, I shall tell you. UCW territory is under threat. Planetary populations have been killed by unknown enemies. We patrol these sectors so that we may discover who is responsible. Our scans of your expeditionary fleet's weapons systems prove that you are not responsible. They also prove that your fleet will be destroyed if this unknown enemy discovers you."

Cunningham's response was belligerent. This thing had just insulted the Colonial navy, his navy. "We can handle ourselves."

"No, you cannot," Nignxe retorted. "You are in our sector of space. We have contacted the UCW and Earth officials will speak to you. But time is a priority."

"I insist on knowing where these coordinates will take us. I will not move our vessels unless I speak to some representative of Earth. If you know of Earth as you claim," he sneered, "then I demand that you get me in contact with Earth. I want someone from Earth in authority to speak to."

"Not 'it shall be done'," Nignxe phrase was so hard for humans to say. They didn't simply comply as civilized beings. Instead, they complained first. "You are a typica Tosevite. You are as stubborn as the male and female Terrans. This is no surprise" The male opened his lower jaw in laughter. "The Senor Shiplord will agree to this demand. We will remain here so that communications can be established between your fleet and that of the Earth UCW. But, if you are blown to your Emperor's ancestors while we waste time satisfying your fears, do not blame us as you enter the afterlife."

"Thank you," Cunningham hissed, which to Nignxe sounded like a positive reaction. Of course, having lived with Terrans and Cylons for a while, he knew better and recognized human sarcasm when he heard it.

The ambassador also recognized it. and wasn't sure whether she was relieved or frightened. She thanked the gods that they hadn't started an interstellar incident yet. But the day was young. If what these aliens said was correct, they were in a war zone which was something else they weren't prepared for. She wasn't sure of the alien's body language, not sure of it at all. But the alien did seem concerned for the expedition fleet's safety. If pirates or terrorists were a problem, she believed fleet defenses could handle anything that could attack them. But according to the aliens, entire populations (what type of populations weren't clear) were being wiped out and that didn't seem like a pirate scenario. Was there a war going on? Was Earth involved and for that matter, was Earth even aware of these lizard aliens?

"Senior Specialist Nignxe, have you ever been to Earth?" she asked. She knew Cunningham was listening and he was not by any means an idiot. He would immediately know that she was fishing for information. He was just as suspicious as she was. These were aliens. Who knew what their motivations really were?

"Yes, I have an apartment on Earth in the continental mass called North America in the state of Nevada where it is warm. There is a community resort there in the desert region called the Mojave. Many members of the Race, Hallessi, and Rabotev lived there for the last five years. It is too warm for most Humans to remain comfortable, but it is perfect for members of the Empire."

"I imagine with so many aliens and Humans there, it is a very secure planet," she mused out loud.

"Oh, yes," Nignxe answered. "The UCW is very secure. Your entire Colonial fleet could not harm that world or any other world in the UCW. It is very strong, strong enough to allow the Empire to remain an empire and not be threatened."

Those simple worlds sent a chill down Lyndera's spine. Exactly what did they know about the Colonial military? He seemed to infer that they were aware of a lot more than she had first believed. The question was, how much did they know and how much of a threat these creatures represented to them and possibly Earth? "Why not?" she asked before the admiral could.

"Your ships and your weapons are too primitive," the reptile-like creature responded. "Before you could wreck anything with your weapons, you would be neutralized."

"And that is why your expedition fleet is threatened if you remain in this sector of UCW territory without protection," Shiplord Kirel interrupted. "I have spoken to UCW Command and the Terrans have elected to speak to you. The first meeting between your two factions was not productive and the Terrans wish to address that in a more controlled fashion. Senior Specialist Kasmitt will use our communications board as an interface as you have no FTL communication. We have secured a specialist that will speak to you. You are most fortunate that the male is available as he soon to retire. The transmission will start in twenty minutes."

"May I ask the name of this specialist so that I might greet him properly?" asked the ambassador.

The Senior Shiplord almost seemed amused. "The male is named Dr Daniel Jackson. Perhaps you know of this male?"

Both the admiral and the ambassadorial staff were stunned. If it were true, then the aliens did know of Earth. The man's name was famous among the small group of Colonials in the know. Jackson, if this was the same person, was one of the original contacts. He was also the man who threw the Colonials into turmoil with his explanations, ones that contradicted the Holy Scrolls of Pythia and other ancient documents, thereby infuriating most, but not all of the religious leadership There were many people who never laid eyes on him that hated him. Others wanted to find our more details.

Whether it was true or not, Earth had answers to a lot of questions that President Adar needed answers to. They'd already found the answer to one of those questions (yes, intelligent alien life did exist out here). Adar believed that the Colonies couldn't remain isolated anymore. Earths presence meant that there was more outside the Colonial sphere of influence, much more. He also didn't want Earth destroyed by the Cylons, wiped out in a war they never knew of. Adar gambled everything on this mission to find their brothers and sisters and perhaps in doing so, end a conflict before it truly began.

"I look forward to speaking to him."

"Good. The transmission begins in fourteen minutes."

"While we wait, may I allocate a time period that we can speak more about the different species living on Earth? How do Humans interact with aliens, er, the people of the Empire and with other species?"

"It is to be expected. As compared to the Race, Humans are chaotic, but interesting in ways the Race never contemplated before. Your species does not plan for the long term. You simply do things without considering the long-term consequences. But it works. Humans are very adaptable and are contradictions in ways that the Race is not. And you do not have a mating season like civilized species. Your species mate at any given time. It is most distressing but, it is the way your species is. I suppose in future generations the members of the empire will get used to such unorganized behavior. We find that your species have what are called family units. We once found this disgusting but are getting used to it. A few males and females of the Race have experimented in such unions. The results are still pending as it is part of a long-term experiment. You have nine minutes before transmissions begins."

"Are you saying that you had no concept of marriage before you encountered humanity?"

"We are not Tosevite humans," and the ambassador got the impression that the alien was a bit insulted. "Our species does not conform to your values. However, we forgive such perversities among the Tosevite Terrans and their various factions."

26th Emperor Jorpna

Not for the first time did Shiplord Straha feel contentment letting his superior deal with the various Tosevite faction because sometimes, truth be told, he felt intimidated by them. They were Big Uglies, but he, surprisingly, had gotten used to that. What he hadn't gotten used to yet, was their ability to intimidate him and the ease in which they did it. He faulted General Jack O'Neill for his predicament. It was that human's fault for his nervousness in dealing with wild humans. When the human pest forced him through the stargate for the first time, Straha believed he was going to die. He wanted to proclaim O'Neill a murderer with his last dying breath for forcing him through that wondrous device. The curses he would have flayed upon that eggless wonder would have been chronicled in the journals of the History of the Race, had he had time to use them, but it happened to fast for his to express them. He remembered his fear, his awe, and his excitement as the world of the Race literally changed forever. O'Neill just laughed.

The Most Royal of Emperors, and with the thought, he subconsciously lowered his eye turrets at the thought of his superior, must have felt the same way for him to have bonded with the Terrans so quickly and so completely. In the entire history of the Race, such a response would have been considered impossible. It wasn't the way the Race operated. It simply wasn't done. But Emperor Rushan was a wise leader and he immediately recognized the truth that the galaxy was a terrible full of horrible neighbors.

And, it was true. The galaxy contained true horrors.

The Terrans were once considered bad neighbors–because they wouldn't stand by and be conquered like the other worlds of the Empire–but they weren't Goa'uld, or Wraith, or Lucian, or the Snashwa. Now those were bad neighbors. Emperor Risson was correct. The Terran phrase 'me and my neighbors against the galaxy' was a truism every high-ranking member of the Race understood to be accurate. This new path was dark and full of danger. The rewards however were unparalleled in the history of the Race.

Although most members of the Race weren't aware of it, they were walking down a new path. To the collective mind of the Race change was filled with danger and uncertainty, something that the Race hated. Change, drastic change meant destruction. Where they were headed now, still gave him nightmares when he slept in his coffin. Only the Fleetlord Atvar, and Shiplord Kirel, and himself knew of the true extent of both Emperors Runshan's and Risson's plan for the Races future. By the Emperors' past present and future! How did he agree to this? How did they all agree to this? Such a plan should have taken generations of planning and no one knew but the chosen few, and the very secretive and supremely advanced Asgard who kept their existence secret until they were ready to announce their presence to the galaxy once more...

Feathers! A new generation with the genetic ability to grow feathered layers dependent on the environment. What would happen to the Race? Could the Race survive in colder climes possibility even prefer it? Will the Race become so different that we lose our unity? Would the feathered one be accepted even if the Emperor demands it?

"Shiplord superior sir," the Senior Sensor male called out. "We have detected another series of FTL jump event corresponding to the same signature as the Cyrannus Colonials."

Straha was immediately pulled out of his musing as he finished listening to male. Now that they were looking, the sensors were screening everything within a five-light-year radius. "There are fifteen space vessels, configuration unidentified. Located ten-light minutes away from the Cyrannus Expedition fleet. Energy emissions are minimal. I believe they are maintaining a stealth profile. They have no ability to generate a true cloak."

"From the initial data, am I to assume that these are more Cyrannus vessels?" Straha asked.

"The computer indicates that the FTL event profiles are similar," the male answered. "A more invasive scan may alert them to our presence. The less advanced Colonial sensors are not able to detect vessels at that range. They maintain stealth profiles either to keep from being detected by the Cyrannus Expeditionary fleet or from those they may contact."

"That would be us. So, are they tracking the fleet," Vesstil, once a shuttlecraft pilot a decade ago, now the First Officer male of the Jorpna, asked. "Or are they a second fleet that plans to wreck Earth when the first fleet discovers the world's location?"

"A pertinent question," Straha said. "Let us find out. Senior helms-male, plot a course to this secondary fleet."

"It shall be done, Shiplord. Plotting and course laid in."

"Communications, contact Senior Shiplord Kirel and inform him of this new development, and that I ask permission to investigate. Contact the UCW command and have the sensor net focus on this sector." The UCW subspace sensor net, already one third completed, could accurately scan any targeted area within eight hundred light-years and when completed, would be capable of scanning everything within five thousand lightyears. The project would take another four years to complete and another two to get it up and running properly. The net could easily cover this sector of space. "There may be more of these ships."

"It shall be done, Shiplord," the male immediately responded. "Shiplord Kirel gives permission as he feels that the situation here is somewhat stable. The Terrans are speaking to the Colonials. He wants to know if you require Shiplord Romek's assistance."

"Negative, if this fleet is similar to the Cyrannus fleet then my ship is faster and in little danger. We can remove ourselves from trouble faster that we got into it. but inform the UCW of this new occurrence and ask that if needed, we receive support."

"Shiplord Kirel acknowledges. He also states that Shiplord Romek will be on alert for any distress you may experience with this contact."

"I thank you for your diligence." Pleased, Straha's tail thumped the floor twice. "Let us see the face of this new contact. Place us close enough to intimidate them as per protocol. Helms-male, execute."

The Prometheus class 26th Emperor Jorpna t performed a micro jump stopping less than one hundred kilometers in front of a Cylon fleet tracking the Expedition fleet.

Basestar V718

A few minutes earlier, the Cylon task force consisting of eleven of the newest basestars, two tankers and two supply-star class heavy freighter remained stationary ten-light minutes from the edge of the Colonial DRADIS' maximum range. They were in stealth mode while the models were in deep discussion. The resurrection ship was safe, remaining at the previous jump coordinates and protected by another basestar.

"We're intercepting all kinds of subspace signals and it's not back ground this time," announced a number Six Cylon model named Ravinia, while her hands remained immersed in the liquid computer interface that allowed her and other humanoid Cylon models access to the computer system that ran the entire Collective as well as their vessels. "I think this confirms that we're nearing Earth."

"I don't agree," a Doral, a Number Five said. "It doesn't prove a thing. There's no proof Earth, if we are close to it, has subspace communications capability. The Colonials don't have it. the Earthers won't either. You saw the recordings of their ship. I'm surprised it got out of drydock. Granted. it may have had more defensive capability, but the ship itself wasn't what anyone would call advanced. Their comms can't be that advanced either. Even if it were, this background clutter is far too extensive for Earth to have possibly create this amount of clutter. I think that what we're hearing is the result of the emissions of that black hole we almost got sucked into."

"You don't know that. The collapsed star has nothing to do with what we're detecting. Something or someone is transmitting the signals," countered the Six. "What we're hearing isn't some stellar phenomena. What we're picking up is organized communications traffic. You half-admitted it yourself. They may have developed some rudimentary version. Either way, it's there for all of us to see." Her voice was clipped. After a little over a year of shadowing the Colonials on this miserable trip everyone was short-tempered. Avoiding the Colonial fleet was harder than planned. "We mustn't ignore this."

Since the start of the cold war, Cylon infiltration was increasingly difficult. Colonial Security concerned about Cylon sympathizers made infiltration nearly impossible. Few Cylons were able to get into the upper echelons of the military and government centers. Getting agents into the fleet was extremely difficult with only two models, a Number Eight and a model Three were positioned in the fleet. None of the other models managed to get through Colonial security measures. "For all we know, Earth may have more colonies than the Colonies."

"You might be right," said Randall, a number One as he entered the command center, "but Earth would be by definition the main colony world. We have to concede that they may have developed some form of subspace capability. That is all the more reason why we have to find and destroy the human's planet. If we destroy it, then we will eliminate one more aggravation. Any other colonies they may, or may not have, will be miniscule and easily eliminated when we find out where they are."

"If said colonies are like their cousins," Ravinia purred, "they may be closer to us and our way of thinking than the Colonials ever were. What do you have to say to that? Do we destroy them before we find out?"

"Do we honestly care?" a Doral asked.

"Yes, I do," Ravinia answered as her hands continued to caress the electrolytic fluid. "If they aren't a threat then why waste the resources?"

"Maybe they aren't yet, but why take a chance?" Doral asked. His voice held and edge to it. his line's hatred of Humanity was legendary among his fellow Cylons. "Strike hard according to the plan and blame the Colonials if anything goes wrong."

"I can always count on you to bring common sense to a conversation with our fellow brothers and sisters," Gregor, another number One said. "But we do have a potential problem here. Will we strike at Earth, burn the planet while we're here or wait and come back with overwhelming force and hunt every last human down. Ahh," he half-whispered. "Decisions, decisions."

"Don't count your birds before the eggs hatch," Catherine Three said impatiently. "You always gloat before we do something. It's sickening and stupid. We need to find out the source of these signals while we are here before they come and bite us in the butt. Remember what happened to The Plan."

There was a collective set of groans heard throughout the command center.

"Don't remind me," Randall One muttered. "That's another reason I want them all dead. All those resources wasted because of them."

"Earth did all that?" Ravinia began laughing. "Stop making that poor excuse. You want them dead because you want them dead. There's no other reason."

"Maybe. Or maybe they have their uses," speculated Gregor, "something we can use. Think of it as a way to repay us for ruining our plan. We can recoup our loses and screw the Colonials at the same time. What are they going to do, start a war with us because we wiped out a colony they barely knew existed? Maybe they'll send a letter of protest next year on that stupid border station we should have blown up a long time ago. That's another thing I have against Earth. That station is still there, obviously spying on us and we have to leave it be. It's sickening."

"They wouldn't dare. Like what…oh," the Six said excitedly. "Now that is interesting! They've made contact with Earth!" That got every Cylon in the command center's attention. "Normal radio signals. They're transmitting in the open!"

"Finally," a Number Eight exclaimed. "We can find Earth, blow it to hades and go home. I, for one, am tired of eating this same slop over and over for the last year."

"Put the transmission on speaker, now!" the One ordered. He was so excited he could barely keep his hands in the fluid.

"By your command," Anita, a model Eight said.

"A Four grumbled. "Remember, this is ten minutes behind. We're too far away. Processing video sync now…it's coming through. Eight, clean up the signal."

Seconds later, Gregor snarled in disgust and surprise. "What is this?" he growled. "What is the Race? What is the UCW? Where's the visual?"

"Shut up so we can hear what's they're saying!" Denise Three snapped. "Video will be available in a few moments."

"Did he say Empire? Their accent is horrid." The Doral had just finished. "Wait, I can't believe…lizard?"

"This can't be right. Aliens?"

They're lying. How can aliens speak Caprican standard?" another Six asked confused by the bizarre situation.

"Can we get a visual."

"Just about done. Coming online...my god!"

"Lizards. Ugly, slimy little lizards flying in space." Gregor Cavil muttered in shock. Then he started laughing. Randall recovered from his surprise and joined his brother in laughter as well. "This long boring trip is almost worth it!"

Caspian Leoben, a number Two looked stricken. "This isn't right."

TBC