Roads Paved in Shadows

Chapter 26

Note: There are quite a few corrections that I am in the process of re-editing and changing in the earlier chapters. Those changes will be reflected in the official rewrite of this story. Most of the first chapters will be very close to identical but will have lots of small changes in grammar and editing. Plus, I see that I mixed up a couple of things in 'Roads' and 'Worldwar' which I caught as I am now re-reading the story. But for now, we will pick up where I left off. Kudos for Ash's Boomstick and Ed Becerra who contributed so much to the background and, in Ash's case, the spine for this story. Bless you both and I wish Ed the very best. Skeet

'Preconceived notions,'

UCW Territory

When news spread that the Colonial delegation fleet was finally on their way towards Earth, everyone was euphoric. A year and a half of travelling through unknown territory in a direction that was at best an educated guess, had come to fruition and there was no denying that the first part of their long mission was a success. They knew they would be the first to see the Thirteenth Tribe's home world of Earth. They were only a few hours away by jump and that disclosure made it all the sweeter. They would finally meet their cousins and show them what they were missing after being separated from their elder brothers for such a long time.

There were other, unconfirmed rumors, mentioning a Cylon task force tracking them, something that was assumed by just about everyone, but never had any real proof about. But the biggest shock was the confirmation that intelligent, alien life did exist, and the Earth was associated, even allied with them! And there was more than just one species of lizard-like creatures living on Earth! Most of the crews would believe it when they saw it. Other people were frightened that the Thirteenth Tribe who constantly insisted that they weren't the Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol, would allow such a thing to happen, even if they were allied with those, those things, all of the rumors, and revelations served to confuse the task force and most wondered exactly what they were getting into.

Many were excited and wanted to meet them. Interacting with alien species and learn about them. Others weren't too sure if those aliens shouldn't be destroyed outright, because gods made the universe for humans, not alien-things, or pseudo Humans.

Ambassador Isahan was worried about both Earth and its overall culture and attitude. They claimed independence from their fellow tribal members, but they also claimed not to be Kobollian. That was an insult and the height of ignorance. A year and a half ago, she couldn't have imagined that they could say something like that with a straight face. Now, in the last hour, she drastically revised everything she was briefed about concerning the Apellai. Daniel Jackson had challenged her beliefs, and she intended to take him up on it.

But the man's confidence unnerved her. Being honest with herself, she expected to run all over any diplomat they could bring against her as she began the process of uniting their tribes together. But the Lizardians, as they were called, threw her and the Admiral off their game. She didn't know how large the UCW was, but she estimated that they could have as many as two, maybe three billion people, including aliens, and possibly as many as six planets in total. That was her initial assumption. It was what she wanted to believe. But she felt, no, she knew she was wrong. Earth was stronger than they imagined and had allies. How strong remained to be seen, but the admiral would get a better understanding of their capability.

She knew he was thinking along those lines and would figure things out if he could keep his temper in check. Doctor Jackson got under his skin and she could tell that Admiral Kunningham didn't like him at all.

Admiral Frankus Kunningham was surprised and somewhat angered when he was given the coordinates to Earth's star system. The target system was only two jumps away from where they were. They were so close to their destination that they could have tripped over it in a matter of hours. But what irritated him was that they planned to jump using different coordinates, one that would have pulled them further away from their final objective. That would have been embarrassing and a waste of resources. The Cylons could have found Earth first and slaughtered everyone on the planet and his people would have never known until it was far too late. Those thoughts brought him back to the omissions that Jackson told him about the UCW battle with the cylon fleet.

How many ships had they lost? He thought of the many alien lizards and people who had died during that battle? Kunningham strongly suspected the battle was more than brutal and if he were to scan the area, they'd see dozens if not scores of those little UCW ships wrecked and their debris spread everywhere. Jackson said that he suffered no losses and expected him to believe it. They were putting on a show for the benefit of their brethren. It made him wonder just how weak they really were. The truth would point to itself in short order.

He was also irritated, and a little concerned that the little liard ship was their escort instead of an Earth ship of the Thirteenth Tribe. They should have been the ones who should have escorted their brethren to Earth. That is what the Colonies would have done. A moment later, he was angry at the actions of their own people during their first contact with the people of Earth. Shamefully, his people fired on them and tried to capture the ship. There were rumors about defensive and offensive weapons on that patrol ship that made a mockery of the CDF, who were woefully unprepared for such firepower. He hadn't been there and the actual battle was shrouded in rumor and secrecy, but enough leaked out to get the upper echelons of the military excited in spite of the losses. They wanted those technologies badly. The Thirteenth should have shared and when they didn't, a battle broke out. It was stupid and showed just how uncoordinated the Colonial defenses forces were, to allow one little ship to do so much damage and get away.

He didn't care what Doctor Jackson said. Earth was a colony world, with some advanced but limited resources, just enough to survive on its own, and a small part of him felt sorry for them. They may have had alien allies, but they had no idea of the dangers of the greater universe. Even if they did defeat a small cylon fleet, they had no idea what their traditional enemies could throw against them. Despite initial appearances and conversations, Earth had to be in dire straights, especially while fighting a civil war.

"Two minutes to jump."

"Count it down."

Seated in her chair, Ambassador Isahan's thoughts were along the same lines as the admirals. The presence of aliens had thrown her, and the lack of a human escort disturbed her as much as it had Kunningham. She was excited and well as frightened by what she might see. Dark thoughts filled her mind as she thought about the cylons. If they had captured Earth, forcing the Lizards to take them there, they could be waiting for them, ready to spring a trap and Earth's forces would be unable to help. That was unlikely, but it remained a remote possibility. Her curiosity was peaked though, because Doctor Jackson dodged the civil war question. It was assumed the Prometheus wandered into Colonial territory because of that war. So far, everything was conjecture only. No one knew the real truth, and she was determined to find out what happened since it precipitated first contact.

A civil war. That was the general assumption under the current government, and it was a logical one. She believed it, but with the introduction of aliens, those assumptions were thrown out the window. Speaking of which…

The monitor was showing the final countdown of the second jump that would take them to Earth's solar system. They were about to see the home world of the Thirteenth Tribe, whose real name was the Apellai. She knew the representatives of the CEOs who travelled with the fleet were excited as well. They were extremely tight-lipped about what they wanted, but whatever it was, they were most eager to get it. She knew that it had something to do with the military aspects. They were confident as most CEOs were, and they assumed that the Earthers would roll over for them.

It was another assumption she was becoming wary of. There were too many assumptions being thrown about, and she worried about Admiral Kunningham. He was out of his element. He thought he was in command of everything, including Earth, but he and everyone else in this fleet were wrong.

The woman didn't think about anything else as she held her breath and waited for the jump sequence to start. It didn't hurt, but it always felt strange and she had never gotten used to it.

The seconds counted down and moments later; they were finally at their destination, not far from the fourth planet in the Apellai star system. They had arrived and she and everyone around her was jubilant.

"All eighteen ships accounted for, sir. Destroyers are proceeding to screening positions."

"Contact! We have multiple contacts throughout the system. Eighty percent configurations unknown," The DRADIS officer yelled out. "I'm seeing about sixty targets. Their energy readings are extremely high. We have ten ships one half light-second from our position!"

Kunningham was surprised, but not overly so. This was Earth, a space-faring colony, and ships in the system were to be expected. Nevertheless, he was literally in foreign territory and therefore, he erred on the side of caution.

A few seconds later, the same DRADIS officer called out again. "Sir, the 127th Emperor Hetto just entered the system. They are holding position, ten thousand kilometers from the fleet. Their IFF signature is confirmed. It is Shiplord Kirel's ship."

The admiral frowned at the news. The lizard ship was less than a minute behind the fleet's last jump. Their faster-than-light drive was amazing and the fact that they survived the acceleration and deceleration spoke of advanced technology that the Colonies could use. He knew that the Corporate headhunters would go after that first, if they got a chance to speak to the leaders of the Earth colony. He was stubborn and refused to believe they could be something else, as they claim. But these ships on the screen were truly bizarre. What mind would design a ship in the form of a pyramid?

Twelve of their ships were heading away from the planet, preparing to leave to wherever it was they were going. Ten of the ships were smaller, most likely transports. The other two were warships. Judging by their power ratings, curiosity peeked, he hailed them, leaving the ambassador to speak to Earth Command. She and Jackson were speaking, which was fortuitous. It gave him a couple of minutes.

"Sir, Shiplord Kirel is hailing us."

"Put him on screen on the monitor."

The alien appeared, its eye turrets moving independently as it began speaking. Kunningham still wasn't used to it.

"I again greet you, Admiral Kunningham of the Cyrannus, not empire. Our escort duty is now completed. The UCW will now direct you to your assigned positions. I now leave to continue my assigned patrol. May you have success in your associations with your relatives."

"May you have success in your patrol," the admiral responded formally.

The creatures were abrupt, but that appeared to be cultural and that gave him a measure of comfort because their attitudes were pissing him off. They were arrogant creatures, and their stiffness didn't help. Without another word, the lizard ship turned and pulled away at fantastic speed before creating some type of vortex and plunging into it. He wondered why they didn't use jump points.

The convoy that he noticed earlier seemed to be leaving. It was probably from another Earther colony, and he wanted some information before they left. This system had so many strange things going on. The evolution of the ships had taken a radical direction from the home colonies.

"Hail that lead ship," he ordered, "before they leave."

"Hailing… We are receiving a response. It's in the clear."

That was quick, he thought. They probably wanted to meet their cousins. If he could get some information before they left, it would help the mission and when the Colonies returned, they would be better prepared. Knowledge was power. And he hadn't forgotten about the cylons. He wanted to know what happened, and he wanted access to those things. It was his right as Supreme Commander of the Colonies of Kobol in this sector.

He wouldn't be denied. If diplomacy failed, a little intimidation went a long way. Hundreds of Colonial warships making their presence known here would do wonders. His own Mercury was a case in point. For now, he'd talk, even with those lizards. He was getting used to them and their abrupt style of language, which he considered a cultural norm for them. His people would work on that later.

Once more, he was surprised as he stared at the monitor. The commander of the ship was a woman, but she was exotic in a way he had never seen before. The woman was gorgeous, and her body screamed vitality. She was flanked by two guards dressed in archaic armor, but they towered over her. They also screamed vitality and he wouldn't want to fight either of them. Was this what the Earthers looked like? His eyes went back to the woman commander. Try as he did, he wasn't able to tomatch her exotic looks with any characteristics seen in the Twelve colonies. He picked up the mike.

"Greetings. I am Admiral Kunningham representing the Colonies of Kobol, here on a diplomatic mission to meet, and speak with our long-lost cousins of the Thirteenth tribe of Kobol named Earthm and to her colonies."

The woman on the screen bowed gracefully. "Greetings Admiral Kunningham, of the Cyrannus cluster," she said, shocking the command staff who heard her. "I am Aryania, commander of the ship Nun'yan, of the Free Jaffa nation." The woman almost glared at the admiral as she continued. "Tau'ri, yes. We are aware of who you are. You are most fortunate that the false gods did not discover you before they were destroyed by the Tau'ri. It is good that you are here seeking alliance with the First World and the UCW. You inferred that the Tau'ri is a colony of your people. They are not, but this is something you must learn for yourselves. We are not part of your people."

The man struggled to control his rising anger. "Our records indicate Earth is the Thirteenth Colony and until uncontroversial proof is presented otherwise, we must insist that they are."

The woman smiled. "Six thousand years of history will prove you wrong, but this is a discussion for another time. We will speak again when there is more time to do so. Beware. There are powers out there who will destroy you. I bid you farewell."

The communications closed and, once more, he was incensed. The woman's comments just added to the confusion and questions. Those people knew who the Colonials were. Apparently, not only did the aliens know as well as Earth, but other allies or colonies of Earth knew about the Colonies as well. How long had Earth been spying on the Colonies and for what purpose? Was Earth that fearful of the Colonies of Kobol that they had spied on them? Those thoughts just made his suspicions grow. The man didn't like what he was seeing, and the day was only just beginning.

TBC.