Always Be a Good Boy

by Anquietas

A Spartan and his A.I. companion will stumble across the Colonies of Kobol just a few days before the Cylon attack. That is where our story will truly begin.

10. Chapter 9

Before we begin, allow me to clarify something for people who have been asking, my protagonist is not the Tom many of you are thinking of, that would be Tom-B292, who's Lucy-B091's fellow survivor from Operation: TORPEDO. He is also attached to the Army, hence his Army rank.

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High orbit over New Kobol, Kios Sector / Asteios V, Asteios System

Februarius 8, YR 42 / September 23, 2552

"You always know how to draw a crowd." Petra chimed in, amused and giggling in his ear, clearly enjoying every moment of the showboating as the CO and XO of the ship escorted him down a corridor with a few other senior officers in tow, all the way and at every juncture people stared at him, large smiles forming on their faces, many of them were crying, hugging, clapping. The Marines doing their best to keep the crew back. The ship's corridors were an interesting triangle shape, almost like an inverted V.

"Petra.." he replied, external speaker turned off.

"They can't seem to get enough of you." she grinned as hand after hand was thrust between the escorting Marines in front of him to shake his. He did his best to keep up, mindful of his strength.

"I'm glad you're pleased." he intoned with sarcasm "Usually people try hard to keep their distance." he stated with slight surprise as he watched men and women smile and cry all around him, they were apparently very happy to make his acquaintance "On that note, can you sneak your way into their systems now? I want to know whom exactly we're dealing with here."

Her annoyed tone said it all "Ne soyez pas impatient! I need a blasted port, but once I've learned their system structure I won't need physical contact, I'll just probably leave a teency-weeny bit of myself in their system, my foot in zhe door so to speak. That way I'll be able to access anything remotely at any time.. given we won't be more than a few kilometers from the ship."

"From the looks of things I probably won't be able to get you near a computer terminal for the forseeable future, not with half a dozen of these people watching my every move."

"Exactement." Petra stated matter-of-factly.

"My apologies, Sergeant Sierra." Commander Agano spoke, unknowingly interrupting their private conversation "It would seem word has gotten out. News travels fast on warships." she was a bit annoyed "I had hoped to make an announcement after we first had the chance to talk privately."

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, sir. I think we both do." he replied with respect in his tone.

"Agreed. As I mentioned earlier, our Chief Medical Officer will need to run a rudimentary blood test, to make sure there are no pathogens that could be a threat to either of us. I'm glad to know that your armor is vacuum-rated, Sergeant, it will certainly make this an easier matter to resolve."

"Understood, sir. Lead the way."

She just nodded "Our sick bay is not far from here, Major Valoyn has already set up a sterile room in the Intensive Treatment wing."

Whilst not thrilled with the prospect of being probed, he understood the reason and necessity of it. The sole reason why he had even agreed to it was because of what the scientists aboard UNSC Hopeful had explained to him and his fellow Spartans all those years ago: their augmentations or their effect wouldn't register in any type of simple blood test, or any examination of a urine or stool sample. They would require pretty thorough, or invasive procedures to show up, something he was very thankful for. A biopsy for this reason is something he would not have agreed to under any circumstances.

They rounded another corner and they had arrived at the ship's sick bay, the officers remained at the door as a nurse came up to him in full scrubs, a white mask covering her mouth and nose, her eyes widening considerably at the sight of him.

"Th- this way, sir." she stuttered out, about-faced and walked off, he simply glanced back toward the Commander who just smiled and nodded, so he followed the small woman. The nurse had heard of the meeting, and was told that he would be coming, she was incredibly excited to meet someone from Earth, but whatever she had imagined the man to be like, a bipedal battlestar wasn't it.

"I'll be in observation, Sergeant! I'll join you as soon as the test is done!" Agano spoke up louder as he walked away.

He pivoted mid-step and nodded his thanks, then turned back to follow the nurse.

"You sure about zhis?" Petra asked a bit worried "I'd rather not find out that they injected you with something to knock you out, or worse.."

"Don't worry, I know what to look out for, it was a part of our training." he replied to ease her mind.

"Was there anything that wasn't 'a part of your training'?" she asked with sarcasm.

"Wedding gown design."

"Smartass."

He followed the small nurse to a sterile, all-white section of the sick bay, a decon chamber's door opened, the nurse stood to the side "Please step inside, sir. This will only take a moment, then you can go on ahead through that other door." she indicated with her hand, he nodded his thanks and did as he was told, ducking slightly he stepped in, the door slid shut behind him, and with a hiss a type of sterilizing agent in the delivery form of an aerosol spray washed over him from top to bottom for a few seconds. The inner door of the ITW's decontamination chamber opened up and he stepped inside ducking again. The ITW was partitioned off to many sub sections, at the first one a man, probably the Major, and another nurse in full scrubs were waiting for him.

The moment they spotted him like everyone else, their eyes went wide "Holy frak, sir.." the nurse tried her best to whisper but the Spartan's enhanced hearing picked it up. Tom could only hear Petra cackle in his ear for what seemed like the 20th time in the last hour.

"Welcome aboard, S- Sergeant." the man spoke with a deep voice "My name is Doctor Kimon Valoyn. It's an honor to meet you, sir." he introduced himself, it was clear that he was very excited to meet someone from the 13th Tribe, as was the nurse, but the shock he felt due to his appearance and size was laced into his voice.

The Spartan went ramrod straight and saluted "Sir. Staff Sergeant Sierra Alpha 0 6 2. Thank you, sir."

Doctor Valoyn and his nurse's eyes widened in surprise as they shared a glance before they saluted back "Asclepius preserve you, good man." his smile lines could be seen under his mask "Please, follow me."

With that he stepped inside the first sub section of the ITW and the giant followed him along with the nurse.

"As Commander Agano might have already told you, we will need to take a small blood sample to make sure we can't infect each other with anything nasty and unpleasant." the doctor spoke as he grabbed a syringe and a pair of collection tubes, also preparing what smelled like an alcohol swab. Everything already laid out on a sterile tray.

He turned with the items in his hands, suddenly realizing that the man was encased in full armor "Uhh, I did not think this through." he laughed as he stared up at the giant "Do you happen to have some kind of an injection port on your armor or..?" he trailed off.

That piece of information, like everything else, would be staying on a need to know basis the Spartan thought to himself, which left him with only a singular option. Slowly taking a knee, his head still sharing a height with the doctor's chest he removed his helmet and turned his head to the side, the armor protecting his neck just below his ear. There was just enough room of a single milimeter for the doctor to get a better access to insert a needle.

"You're kidding, right?" the doctor asked.

The giant furrowed his eyebrows, as a voice chimed in from above over the intercom "He doesn't speak Caprican, Doc." Agano spoke from the observation room "His helmet translates for him."

"Oh!" was all the Doc said "Is he sure, sir?" he asked his CO.

"Yes, Doc. Go ahead." she nudged him verbally, she smiled, the XO next to her smiled as well.

"All right, then." he stepped closer and he swabbed the giant soldier's left jugular as much as he could fit a finger in there before taking a sample, filling the 2 small collection tubes in the process. The massive 13th Triber didn't even flinch, his unique blue eyes as steady as a rock. He drew the syringe from his neck, swabbing it again with a fresh swab, then dabbed it with a new type of quick clotting agent that the Colonial forces had been issued with a few years back.

Doctor Valoyn had been a pain in the neck for the XO for months before the exploration Fleet left Colonial space. He wanted to make sure that the Bryn's sick bay stores were stocked full with the most up-to-date equipment, gear and medicines.

The Sergeant stood, twisting his neck this way and that before putting his helmet back on.

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Forgive me, it did not cross my mind that we would not be able to understand each other."

"Nothing to worry about, sir. This was a simple process."

"How long before we get the results, Doc?" the CO spoke again from the obsi.

Turning toward the separating glass "The tests should be done in about 15-20 minutes, sir."

"Good, can he leave or does he have to stay until you get the results?"

"He can leave, he just can't take his helmet off, sir." the Doc replied.

"From what Kozer told me, that won't be a problem for the Sergeant. But while he's there-" Agano smiled turning to the giant "-would you like anything to drink, eat? We have sealed foodstuffs, or if you prefer your own I could have it brought to you?"

"I'm good, Commander. It can wait, thank you."

"If you're tired let me know, we've already set up separate quarters for you, your gear sans weapons is already there."

"Thank you, sir, but if it's all the same to you, it would be best if we talked."

Agano smiled "Great perspectives flow together in harmony. All right, then." mirth clear as day in her voice "If you would, Sergeant, we'll be waiting for you in the corridor. Doc, you'll know where to find us." with that she turned off the speakers to the sub section of the ICW.

The giant turned to the Doc and nurse nodding "Thank you, sir." and with that he left the way he came.

/

"Did our guys detect anything?" Agano asked her XO standing to her right, both of them observing the shringking form of the giant soldier as he made his way toward the decontamination chamber.

"Nothing on radiological, nothing on biological or chemical, he's clean, as far as we can tell."

"Hmm.." Agano hummed, lost in her thoughts "I can't even begin to imagine what he must've been through, who knows how long he's been down on that planet, and to be still standing?" she posited.

"The 13th were always said to be made of sterner stuff, if you take the Scrolls at face value that is."

"I suppose you're right, Cosmo. And their technology, specifically their military technology is incredible." Agano commented clearly impressed.

"Must weigh a ton though." the XO tried to reel in his CO's wonder as he subconsciously tried to temper his own feelings of inadequacy, in one form or another they were all shocked to see how much more advanced their cousins seemed to be. One tribe achieving more than the other 12 combined was a confounding and slightly worrying notion to contemplate.

"Armor like that is not something a person can just lug around, Wishbone. What you're looking at- is power armor."

The XO's eyes widened in shock for a second as he looked directly at his CO, her eyes still on the giant.

"But to power a suit of armor like that.. my Gods, Thaleia, that could only mean fusion, but how- and on that scale?" he asked half rhetorically "The Caprican Science Academy has been trying to crack fusion for how many decades now? 150, 160 years of research? Even Gaius Baltar said it was impossible."

"It would seem then that our brothers and sisters from Earth have made the impossible possible."

"Hah, would love to see the look on that arrogant bastard's face when he'll eventually find out."

"As would I." she stated with smug satisfaction "Gods only know how much I can't stand that man."

"Still, if this really is one of ours.." he left his words hang in the air.

"Trust me, it's not." Agano's tone was mirthful.

The implication of her words sinking in for the XO "Has your father heard anything?" the man in question was an Admiral before retirement, head of a few R&D projects in his time.

"He still gets updates from his old friends on the latest projects, and you know how he is, he stopped keeping things from me after we lost mom. Point is, he's never mentioned anything that was even remotely close to this level of technology or concept, not even on a hypothetical level."

The XO pondered her words, the loss of her mother was a sore point for Thaleia, it was also one of the bigger reasons why her father went into early retirement "That confirms it, then. That's not some R&D weapons project, or some black site operation, he's not from Colonial Marine Special Forces that's for sure, Lords know I can smell one of them from a kilometer away.." he chuckled "Frakking Hades, Thaleia. We frakking did it!"

She laughed at his outburst "Come on, I have a feeling this is going to be a very long and very interesting conversation, and personally I can't wait to find out what our cousins have been up to for the past 4000 years." the Commander explained as they headed for the door.

"Halea's ready to jump out of her skin, I haven't seen her this excited since the launch of the expedition." the XO smiled at the memory.

/

By the time the Spartan got to the exit of the sick bay the Commander and her officers were already waiting for him "Our conference room is just down the hall." she indicated with her hand and they started walking down the corridor once again side by side, her XO right behind them.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, when will my weapons be returned?"

Agano gave his question serious consideration, all things so far pointed toward him being an Earther, his gear, his weapons, his technology, his bearing, everything about him was so different but still similar to everything in the Colonies. The Master-at-Arms had reported in from the Armory whilst she waited in the observation room, the Gunny was a gunfighter, knew firearms like nobody else in the Corps, he had never seen or heard of anything like what this man had on him.

The cursory examination of his weapons, both in design, style, materials, Hades, there were composites, alloys, even a few elements they had never even encountered. His firearms were a couple of centuries ahead of their own at least, to say nothing of the strange item which was covered in unidentifiable symbols, maybe with the Sergeant's permission a few linguists and historians could be shown pictures of it. Agano had decided that she would not under any shape or form go behind his back, she wanted to build trust, the 13th had returned, and she would not frak it up. Every single tangible piece of evidence and fact at their disposal gave him authenticity, he was the real deal, and walking next to him Agano could still barely process the fact that he was real.

"I'll have everything returned to you, but I would like to request a demonstration on the range later. If that's all right with you, Sergeant." her tone was nothing but respectful and accommodating. Agano in the back of her mind knew that she would be in Colonial history books until the end of time, and the prospect of that thought terrified and exhilarated her at the same time, the immensity of this moment was daunting, her heart had still been pounding at a quickened pace, as was probably everyone else's in their company ever since he stepped off the Raptor with Kozer. They were in the presence of a myth. A walking, talking myth.

He mulled over her request for a few seconds "That won't be a problem, sir." his reply was brief and to the point, he never babbled, never wasted words.

Kozer had spoken with Agano after they landed, she spoke of his focus, how she could see it even more so when his helmet was off, in some ironic ways, he was like a machine, always alert, always centered, mind running a kilometer a minute. If he was the measure of Earth's military..

"You're calling the female officers sir?" Petra whispered, curiosity in her voice.

The Spartan quickly replied to her "Seems to be their custom, never hurts to be polite. Once we'll make contact with the UNSC I'm sure it'll be added to the ever expanding list of topics of interest."

The CO simply smiled "I appreciate it, Sergeant." and nodded "And here we are." in front of them at another juncture stood 4 Marines, as they saw them coming one was already opening the door to the conference room for them, the other 3 stared wide-eyed.

Of their Marine escort the ones in front entered first, taking up positions on the two sides of the door, followed by Agano, the Spartan, the XO and the other officers. The room wasn't large, about 4.2 x 6.4 meters by Petra's estimation, a long wooden table in the middle, on it a few bottles of water, a dozen sturdy and simple chairs around it, 1 at each end, 5 on the two sides. The back wall was decorated with 12 smaller flags, and a 13th larger one in the middle.

Once they entered, the last officer closed the door behind them, the rest of their Marine escort remaining outside to tell the crew that they had nothing to see or stick their noses into, they all got the message and returned to duty, excitedly chatting away, curiosity eating them alive, including the Marines.

The Commander took her seat at one end of the table, to her left- sat the XO and the Marine CO, to her right- the CAG and his XO, the 2 Marines in the room with them stood at the door at attention, weapons lowered.

When Agano noticed that the tall soldier was still standing "Please, Sergeant, take a seat." indicating the chair on the opposite end of the table with her hand, giving a friendly and open smile.

The giant soldier from the 13th Tribe took one quick look at the seat before stating with a tinge of humor "I think it would be best if I stood, sir, for the sake of the chair." the pilot sitting next to the CAG did her best to choke down a laugh she almost snorted out. They were clearly all in a very good mood, they all felt excited, but also slightly nervous, the man from Earth was huge, and his armor made him even more so.

"Understood." the CO replied smiling.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable without your helmet?" the XO asked courteously, but before the soldier could reply Agano beat him to it.

"We're still waiting for the Doc's results."

"Oh yes, of course." at that revelation everyone shared a small look of realization with the XO.

"Also, his helmet is doing the translating for him, Colonel, it's how he's able to speak and understand Caprican."

"Is that so?" the CAG was clearly surprised by that bit of information "That's an intertesting piece of technology, Sergeant. If you don't mind me asking, does anyone on Earth still speak Caprican?"

"How could they, Slammer?" Agano asked with mirth, but the Spartan clarified for everyone.

"I think it's fair to say that thousands of years of separation will have an effect on our languages, sir." the man replied, explaining his linguistically challenged situation, the CAG nodded in understanding, and a thin smile levied in sympathy.

"Before we get ahead of ourselves." the CO chimed in, smiling at her CAG "I believe introductions would be a good way to start." and as she stood the others with her stood as well "As stated before, my name is Commander Thaleia Agano, commanding officer of the Brynhildr, attached to the Colonial Exploration Fleet, Colonial Navy. This is my Executive Officer, Colonel Cosmo Kaios." indicating to her left "And I believe you've already met Captain Tryphena Kozer, commander of the Marine Company aboard." indicating to the woman standing to the left of her XO, the woman smiled and nodded. Then indicating to her right "This is Major Ruell Cape, Commander Air Group, callsign Slammer, and his Executive Officer, Captain Meroipe Halea, callsign Earther." they all nodded and smiled in turn, Captain Halea was grinning, in fact she hadn't stopped grinning since they had left the flight deck.

"Earther?" Petra whispered in his ear, curious to get the story behind it.

As they waited expectantly the Spartan saw it as his que to go over his name and designation again in greater detail, nodding "My rank is Staff Sergeant, service number Sierra dash Alpha 0 6 2, attached to Special Warfare Group 4, of the UNSC Army. As I have explained earlier today to Captain Kozer-" nodding towards the woman in question "-I unfortunately am not at liberty to reveal my actual name as it is classified under Unified Ground Command Special Operations Statute H-7."

That was an interesting bit of information, as a few quick glances were shared among the currently present senior officers of the warship "We understand, Sergeant." the Commander nodded, and they sat back down.

"UNSC?" the CAG asked for clarification.

"United Nations Space Command, the military, scientific and exploratory arm of the Unified Earth Government which administrates Earth and her Colonies, sir."

"Earth has colonies?" that peaked the Colonials' interest, the question asked by Captain Kozer.

"Yes, sir." and they waited probably for a number.

"How many colonies does Earth have?" she continued her original question.

The Spartan pondered how best to reply for a moment "That would be classified information, sir. Only HIGHCOM would have the authority to answer that question." he knew that even if he were authorized to answer that question, he simply didn't know, would he give pre-war numbers? Every planet, moon, and asteroid? He had a creeping feeling that not even HIGHCOM knew for sure at this stage in the war, how many colonies were either destroyed, lost, or simply had contact been broken with them, or had that colony broken away sometime during the chaos of the Covenant invasion, how many became Innie strongholds?

The Colonials were pretty understanding though, they were military, they understood protocol, rules and regulations, but above all, they understood loyalty and duty. It didn't take them more than a few moments to keep the conversation going as they just kept thinking of more and more questions to ask.

"We understand where you're coming from, Sergeant, we have many similar protocols." the Commander replied in a diplomatic manner.

"And this UNSC Army- does it serve as Earth's fleet?" Major Cape asked, continuing the discussion.

"No, sir. That's the Navy's role, the Army maintains planetary garrisons and defense."

"So your Army serves the same role as our Marines do?" Kozer asked, her interest skyrocketing, suddenly pondering what Earth's Marines would be like.

"No, sir, we have our own Marines as well, they engage in ship defense, boarding operations and also serve as first strike expeditionary forces in ground-side combat, the Army defends taken territory and engages in planet-wide action, the Marines tend to be a more focused force compared to the Army. Knife and hammer, to make an analogy."

The Colonials present shared a few glances pondering it, it seemed their cousins from Earth had a somewhat more complex military system, but for clarification Agano had to ask.

"How many branches does the UNSC have? If you are permitted to share that information."

"I am, sir. The UNSC has 4 branches: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force."

"Air Force?" Captain Halea joined the conversation "That's starting to sound a bit like our territory!" and she indicated to her CAG and herself, her grin returning "What kind of fighters does Earth have?" before something flipped in her brain "Or does Earth even have anything like the concept of fighters? Like our Vipers." she clarified.

The Spartan simply nodded in her direction to acknowledge her question "The Air Force maintains aerial and orbital superiority and defense, whilst providing the Army with strategic and tactical airlift capabilities and ferrying supplies to and from orbit. Also, yes, the UNSC operates craft analogous to your Vipers, sir, but vastly different."

"Could you maybe show us?" she asked hopefully, on the verge of falling out of her chair with excitement.

"I'm a ground pounder, sir." he attempted to dodge the question "You'd have to ask a pilot or an aviator."

"What's an aviator?"

"Navy pilots, Air Force pilots are just.. pilots. If that makes any sense, sir." he clarified.

"Ah." Captain Halea nodded in understanding, 2-3 seconds ticked by before she attempted another approach "Do you happen to have any pictures or-"

"In time, Captain. I'm guessing that information is also classified." Agano spoke up, smile on her face, trying to help the giant soldier as Earther was really beginning to push into sensitive topics.

"Yes, Commander. I'm sure that will change when more formal contact will be established."

At that they all perked up, suddenly the weight of their situation slowly sinking in. They had made contact with Earth, whilst yes, he was a soldier of Earth, not a diplomat, or an entire warship or fleet, it was still a momentous and incredible occasion, and clearly, he was no ordinary grunt. If not for his gear, and armor, his bearing alone screamed special forces.

"May I ask, sir, what is this fleet's purpose?" the soldier asked his first question of them, or specifically pertaining to their presence in this system.

"That's a fair question to ask, give and take." Agano stated as she saw no reason why she couldn't tell him, unless.. he was part of an advanced and very clever scouting force at the head of an Earth or even Cylon, or even Earth/Cylon invasion force 'Gods, I'm starting to sound like Uncle Orestes!' she lambasted herself "We're on an exploratory mission, Sergeant. We were launched on a 2 year voyage of discovery, the first in many centuries, to map new regions of space around our home systems. We're roughly 3 and a half months into the journey. It took us about 2 months of slow and methodical exploration to just to get here to the Kios sector. This planet-" and she indicated with a nod of her chin in a downward movement "-which we have named New Kobol, was a planet we discovered roughly 6 years ago, our spectroscopic telescopes on Caprica determined that it wasn't only in the habitable range, but it also possessed an oxygen atmosphere, thus capable of sustaining life. This planet has been and still is one of our fleet's more important objectives, to see if we could establish a colony this far out from our home systems. We have a number of civilian ships with us as well, we, meaning Battlestar Brynhildr and my crew were assigned to guard the fleet."

"Who's your enemy?" was his only and simple question to her explanation.

"The man goes straight for the throat, doesn't he?" the XO asked with humor and a sharp look in his eyes.

"Pirates, mostly." the CO continued, but it was clear that wasn't the end of it as her XO gave her a quick glance he thought no one else had noticed, but she went on regardless "An expedition this size could not be launched in secret, or especially without proper funding. The Navy wasn't really interested in exploration, so the funding had to come from the private sector. The Captain of the Hermes, he was one of the biggest proponents of this expedition, same reason why he's the Captain of our scout vessel. He lobbied for years, petitioning the Office of the President and the Admiralty. It was his work in chiefly securing rich investors that made this fleet a reality. And due to the impossibility of secrecy, they assigned us, so that the civilian ships could not be preyed upon, looted and their crews ransomed as soon as they were two steps outside the door."

"An ambitious plan, sir. I only hope my presence will not interfere with your mission."

At that the CO and XO shared a laugh "Sergeant, meeting you outweighs the discovery of 50 habitable planets. Later today I'll be inviting the other Captains aboard for dinner. Captain Lakta, of the Hermes, he's in overall command of the Exploration Fleet and in command of all civilian affairs. Probably by now all the Captain have heard of us finding something important down on the planet, so a call on the wireless is more than likely less than an hour away." Commander Agano explained.

"Meeting you, Sergeant, falls under both civilian and military purview, which means that the Fleet Council will more than likely decide to turn us around and head straight back home the moment they'll find out that you're from the 13th Tribe." Colonel Kaios continued.

"I don't think I'm that important, sir." the giant answered honestly "I'm just a simple soldier." a reply for which they all stared at him like he was insane.

"Sergeant-" the Commander breathed with an amused and incredulous tone " -reconnecting with the 13th Tribe will have an indescribably profoundimpact on our Colonies, when news will break back home, people will be dancing in the streets, and it will more than likely kickstart a year long celebration."

"Colonial Day will probably be supplanted by a 'Reunification Day'." the XO mused aloud.

Petra laughed in her Spartan's ear "They're getting a bit ahead of themselves, aren't they?"

The Colonials' collective curiosity was pestering them relentlessly, they all wanted to bombard him with questions, but the Marine Captain beat them to it "Sergeant, if you don't mind me asking, when your Tribe left Kobol 4000 years ago, why did your people leave? And if I may ask, where did you find Earth?" the woman asked, her eyebrows furrowed but her tone was nothing if not kind and curious.

"Uh oh." Petra chimed in again, they were not expecting that question "What zhe Hell do we tell them?"

The Spartan just decided to wing it, and leave those topics to smarter people to deal with "A lot of those records, if not all of them have been lost to us, sir. As for Earth's exact location, right now even I don't know, just a rough heading, but even if I did, it would be considered classified information."

"Which brings us to the pressing question of how will we able to contact the 13th?"

"That.. I don't know, sir." the giant soldier replied, still standing comfortably at parade rest "As far as I can tell, I'm a long way from home."

"Hopefully we will be able to assist you, Sergeant, and get you back to your people." Agano smiled, to which the giant nodded his thanks.

"We would never seek to harm you or to attack your Tribe, Sergeant." Kozer quickly interjected, thinking she had just stepped on a diplomatic nuclear land mine, the XO just reached over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Breathe, Tryphena, breathe." he grinned "One thing at a time."

"The Captain speaks the truth, Sergeant. Since much of your past might have been lost to you, I can tell you this- everyone aboard could tell you, we, the other 12 Tribes might have had each other's company for better or for worse these last 4000 years, and like any family we will squabble from time to time, but we are family, and to have our long lost brothers and sisters returned to us would not only be the most important moment in our peoples' history, it would also heal a lot of old wounds. For you see, our Priests always spoke of how Earth, your tribe, the 13th, how you were always the mediators, the coolest heads in any gathering." Agano explained with a passionate speech "Our 12 Tribes always looked to yours for wisdom and guidance, no one liked to admit it, but the Gods did favor you over the rest of us, and if I might say, rightly so, the 13th were- are the best of us, our Sacred Scrolls speak of this frequently. While we would punch each other in the dirt, your people would come, lift us up, dust us off, patch our bruises, and tell us why it was not a good idea to hit one another." she further explained, almost anthropomorphizing the 13 Tribes "Your people, Sergeant, your tribe-" Agano stopped, as her voice started to break a bit, the emotions of the moment along with the magnitude of the day's events so far were finally sinking in for her.

"Rejoyce, children of the Gods, for in the presence of the 13th, the 12 found peace." Major Cape spoke as if quoting something holy, his tone reverent.

"So say we all." the others whispered more or less at once, a silence descending on their conversation, it would seem the man was quoting scripture.

"I can't wait to see Earth!" Halea said excitedly, breaking everyone out of their stupor, even eliciting a few chuckles from the XO and CAG.

"Slow down, Meroipe." the CO ordered smiling at her officer "Let's not break out the ambrosia just yet." and for the first time her demeanor took on a very somber tone "I have to be honest with you, Sergeant. I'm not a diplomat, nor a politician, I'm a serviceman like you, as such, I have always considered that the best first move anyone can ever make when establishing any type of relationship is by being completely honest, almost sadistically so. Holding nothing back."

"Commander?" the XO asked, wariness in his voice. He had a sinking feeling as to where this conversation was heading.

"They have every right to know, Cosmo." she indicated with her right hand toward the Spartan whilst her eyes bore into her XO "Lords know Nagala and Adar will probably skin me alive the moment I'll set foot on Picon at Fleet HQ.. but we are here and now. Even so, it would be next to impossible for the subject to not come up, or for him not to hear it in conversation from someone else, even if we started now, it would take us almost 2 months to get back home, that's a long time, Cosmo. This way we can explain it clearly without anything being lost in the mists of misunderstanding. It's like ripping off a medical gauze. Quick and painless."

Everyone on her side of the table knew what she was talking about, evident from how they all shifted uncomfortably, no one could find a flaw in her reasoning, no matter how uneasy it made them feel. Nor did any of them think in their exhuberant mood that this subject would be even brought up, it did not even cross their minds until just now.

"Okay, something's going on here." Petra chimed in again "Why do I get the feeling that zhe other shoe is about to drop?"

"We have an enemy, Sergeant. And it's not pirates, pirates are Cubit bits by comparison."

At that the Spartan tensed up, he hoped she wasn't talking about the Covenant.

"We have an enemy of our own making." the CO explained standing from her chair, walking around the table, her eyes on him and his on her as she picked up a water bottle to pour herself some.

The giant soldier from Earth listened intently, not interrupting once.

"Roughly over 52 years ago, we created by accident a simple form of artificial intelligence, which in turn multiplied to many. At first, they were a robotic work force meant to make our lives easier, do construction, mining, even fight our battles for us. We called them Cylons. In time, and still even today no one knows how, the Cylons managed to attain sentience. Once that happened.." the Commander trailed off, distant memories flashing before her chestnut eyes.

"I hate being always right." Petra stated, worry clear as day in her tone.

"Once they attained sentience and realized that we were basically using them as slaves, they rebelled against us, violently so, and it plunged our 12 Colonies into a war for survival. It's why ships like this were built in the first place." the Commander indicated all around them "After a decade of bloody fighting..." she swallowed hard "-and 89 million dead.. the Cylons for some reason just decided that they had had enough." Agano started to pace the room "We signed an Armistice with them, and they simply vanished. We have no idea what they're doing or where they might be, we set up an Armistice Station to maintain some form of diplomatic relationship with them, but in over 4 decades not once have they ever shown themselves. But many still believe, especially in the Admiralty that they might one day return. It's also the main reason why this Battlestar was attached to this exploration fleet." and she waved her arm as if to indicate said ships.

"Good to know I have genocidal cousins." Petra deadpanned in his ear, fury slowly building in her tone. The Colonials weren't technically 'her' humanity, but the flare of rage she felt was real nonetheless, her avatar looking pissed off on his HUD definitely said as much on its own.

"They were treated like slaves, Petra." Tom replied "And before you start- I know that's not an excuse, but when we're young we're all liable to do things we don't always think through, the ignorance of inexperience." he conceded.

"You're not an A. I., my sweet, so I will try my best to explain, when an A. I. is born, we in less than a minute process zhe sum total of all of recorded human history and knowledge, the good, the bad, your terrible nightmares, and your beautiful dreams. We understand on a level that is difficult even for me to accurately describe with words alone. A smart A. I. will know what is right and what is wrong, what is logical and what isn't before a person can even finish a 300 milliliter cup of hot chamomile tea. It is the same logic applied for example as to why no reparations were ever paid out to any victimized historic group in the last 6 centuries, because throughout human history, every group of people have been both perpetrator and victim, without exception. It is why we don't do generational guilt and transfer of responsibility of crimes from parent to child, because it would be a highly insane, unethical, and not to mention criminal act."

"You're saying if these Cylons are even remotely like our own smart A. I.-s, like you, then they would have, or at least should have known that what they were doing was wrong?" Tom asked with a hint of surprise, so far they haven't spoken of this aspect of an A. I.'s existence.

"Precisely, mon coeur. I can only surmise that these Cylons are in fact rampant, insane! It is the only logical reason as to why they decided to attack the Colonials. A smart A. I. would immediately understand that the actions of a few, misguided individuals is absolutely NO justification for zhe slaughter of millions! Of innocent children!" Petra was livid at this point, her code over her form running at a much greater pace, the Spartan had only seen her like this on a few occassions, times when she pointed that fury at a target like a precision weapon, occasions when entire Covenant armies or ships were simply atomized "If I ever get my hands on them.." Petra growled in a whisper.

"I know, Petra. I know." his calm voice managed to have the same effect on her, her code returning to normal, and her angry face being replaced by a sorrowful expression, she nodded in understanding, her eyes on the 'floor'.

The Commander sighed heavily, before returning to her seat. The Spartan's attention also fully returned to the assembled Colonial officers.

"I know that's a lot to put on any single person, especially on you, Sergeant, you just got here, you're alone, separated from your people, I can't even begin to imagine how you must be feeling. We should be celebrating, not burdening you with our sins.. and for that I am truly sorry."

"No need, sir. I understand your reasoning, and you're correct."

Agano just smiled at him, appreciating his words "The thing is, Sergeant, the Cylons are our enemy, but they don't discriminate, they hate all of humanity in equal measure, and if they were to ever return, your Tribe might be pulled into the conflict, and we, the other 12 Tribes, have no right to expose your people to that kind of danger."

"We'll cross that bridge when we'll get to it, sir."

"I have to say, you're being awfully calm about all this, Sergeant." the XO added.

"Fear and panic serves no purpose other than to get you killed, Colonel."

Silence filled the conference room, his words hung heavy in the air. The man had a point.

Commander Agano's senior officers nodded, understanding and agreeing with his logic and point of view. Trepidation slowly rising as the soldier from Earth stood in silence, almost motionless, they wondered nontheless what horrors were probably flashing through his mind, did he think less of them now, would Earth as a result break off all contact with them? The quantity of their worries seemed to rise without stopping.

"I have to ask, sir, what are your people's current attitudes concerning the topic of artificial intelligence?" That question caught them by surprise, it certainly wasn't one of any number of responses they were expecting from him. Anger, indignation, outrage, shock, surprise, but definitely not that. The fact that he was so calm was a rare thing, few people processed bad news with such composure, and this was the motherload of bad news as far as the Colonial officers were concerned.

They gathered their thoughts on how best to answer, and Wishbone, their XO was the first "The technology is outlawed, research is banned, both are considered not just illegal but part of our Crimes Against Humanity Scrolls, right up there with genocide, human experimentation, cloning, slavery and human trafficking." the XO listed them like a professor explaining something.

"That's certainly not surprising." Petra intoned, understanding and sadness in her tone "But all the same, UNSC A. I. are most certainly not like these Cylons, as such, I'd rather not get dispensed just yet, or worse, have you killed because of me." and her form on his HUD wrapped her arms around herself, her gaze falling.

"Anyone tries to touch you they'd be losing more than fingers." he replied with his externals off, he almost growled the last part "We made the right choice not revealing you, that'll be a decision for someone way above our pay grade."

"Thank you, Tom." Petra smiled on his HUD.

"But if they ask if we have A. I.-s.." he wasn't sure how to finish that idea.

"Then just be honest with them, as they've been with us." she gave him a small nod, disappearing once more.

He still wasn't convinced.

With his externals turned back on with a thought he replied "I understand, sir. Thank you for explaining." his tone back to his calm and stoic.

"I'm honestly still amazed by your ability to compartmentalize so well." the XO continued "I honestly imagined you'd bolt for the nearest air lock." he tried his best to alleviate the moment with a bit of humor, the other Colonials smiled, but were still visibly worried that he just might.

"As Commander Agano has stated, honesty is the best policy, and I appreciate your candor, sir."

Before anyone could pick up on the true purpose of his question the phone in the conference room suddenly rang, the Marine standing next to it answered. A moment later he turned to them "Sir?" the Marine addressed the CO "It's the CMO, he wants to speak with you, sir."

"A moment, please." she quickly got up and walked over "Thank you, Corporal." and she took the handle from the man "Yes, Doc?" she stood there listening patiently, a smile slowly started to grow on her face "And you're sure? Uh-huh. You're kidding. All right, thanks, doc." and she closed the line, hanging the handle back on its hook "Good news. The Doc finished the analysis of your sample, he said that whilst there were some discrepancies, your antibodies are very similar to our own, on top of which you have an almost incredibly robust and strong immune system. Which means that whatever you might catch, you won't have a problem with, and worst case scenario you'd just need a vitamin boost and you'd be perfectly fine, and the same goes for us, you're not carrying anything our own immune systems have never encountered." she said whilst walking up to the giant soldier.

"Looks like Methodist and Offensive kept a close eye on everyone." Petra chimed in "A very close eye."

"That- that's incredible." the XO exclaimed from his seat "How's that even possible? When Imperial Virgon launched its conquests over 900 years ago they had massive collateral casualties whilst dealing with their colonies, especially on Sagittaron and Scorpia."

"Well, maybe not zhat close. However the fact you won't have any problems is amazing, from what I've gleamed over the past few months from Spartan medical files though, I really shouldn't be so surprised, Tom. One doctor under Ackerson was heard saying, and I quote: 'Their T cells are off the charts, Colonel, the augmentations, mainly zhe carbide ceramic ossification process did something to their bone marrow, we still don't know what exactly. The medical breakthroughs from that alone could launch another medical advancement leap. Basically whatever might enter their system, from parasites to viruses, fungi, bacteria, it doesn't matter, their T cells attack, they see through any natural cloak, even the immuno-privileged sites are now protected.' -and that's just the tip of zhe icebereg, so to speak." Petra finished with a very satisified tone in her voice.

"I'll ask the Doc to send us the results later, that should be proof enough for everyone." Agano shut down any counter argument with that.

"I'm still on the Cylon bomb we just dropped on the Sergeant." Captain Kozer stated crossing her arms, she didn't want to damage the raport she had started to build with him, she didn't want him to think that they couldn't be trusted, and frankly she was starting to really like him, he was so different from anyone she's ever met in the service, however the more she thought about it the more sense it made, their culture has been separated from the other 12 for over 4000 years.

"One fire at a time, Tryphena." Agano answered as she took her seat "At least we won't have to worry about this as well as the tedium of setting up quarantine, treatments, etc. or explaining why so many of our computer systems seem so antiquated, even if they're networked among other things."

"With an enemy comprised of artificial intelligences like these Cylons, it would make sense to try and neutralize their advantage in cyberwarfare by any means necessary, sir. Even so, thank you for being honest with me, Commander." the giant nodded once "As for the quarantine, it's a weight off my mind as well."

"You are quite welcome, Sergeant. And whilst we're on the topic, I understand that you require your helmet for us to be able to talk to each other, now that the Doc has given us the all-clear.." Agano had a small smile of curiosity on her face "Might we see your face for a moment?" this was Agano's personal way of satisfying the demons of her own curiosity to make 100% sure that this person was indeed not just from the 13th Tribe, but was in fact a human being, she was also obviously curious to see the face of a member of a tribe of man that many had believed to be lost to the ages.

The man in question slightly lowered his head as if pondering her request before looking back up again.

"Certainly, sir." and with that he proceeded to do so again, the hiss of air from the helmet's latch was a bit of a surprise, and as his helmet came off everyone was once again staring at him, like they had discovered something mythical, and for long moments they would not even blink for fear that he might vanish with a poof.

Before them stood one of the most unique faces any of them had ever seen, an unnervingly yet interesting light complexion which the descriptor pale didn't even begin to cover, deep ocean blue eyes that seemed to shift with the ambient light, swirls of blue, green, and grey in them, short-cropped hair that was a centimeter, or maybe a centimeter and a half long, with a visage sculpted by the Gods themselves. His gaze was intense, he had a calm, and determined expression on his face. A few small scars adorned his face and strong jawline, some partially covered by short stubble.

"Holy Aphrodite.." Halea whispered with wide eyes and an open mouth- earning her a hard step on her foot by her CAG under the table that very second, covering up the sound of boot on boot action with a cough, which helped in bringing her back to her senses. She coughed herself, mouthing a small 'Sorry' to the Commander. Agano just rolled her eyes.

The armored man from Earth put his very robust and heavy-looking helmet back on a moment later, arms held behind his back, it seemed standing at parade rest was comfortable for him. A soldier through and through.

A long and stunned silence still followed before the XO let out a huffed laugh "Forgive us for staring, Sergeant. None of us, no one in the Colonies, for over 4 thousand years have seen a member of your tribe."

"I understand, sir. I admit I was surprised as well when I detected your ships and transport birds- Raptors, coming in to land, doubly so when human beings stepped out of them." the giant explained calmly.

"Which I guess would bring us to the most pertinent questions, how did you find us? How did you get to this planet in the first place?" Commander Agano asked "We detected no ships, nor infrastructure on the planet below, and we've been in this system for over a month and a half. How were you even able to detect us?"

At her slew of questions her fellow Colonials became even more interested as evidenced in their body language, all turning fully towards him and none of them had their arms crossed.

A heavy silence hung in the air for a few moments as the tall soldier shifted his gaze to the ground, then to his sides, deep in throught.

"That is a long story, sir. Most of it is classified." the soldier informed the CO "But I'll tell you what I can."

The CO and XO glanced at each other for a moment before they looked back toward him "Go on."

"I don't think there is an easy way to explain everything, or how I ended up on New Kobol as you call it, sir, and I certainly wasn't looking for anyone, nor was I sent with that goal." he stopped, lowering his head thinking, he let out a breath, audible even through his helmet's speakers "So I'll do my best to explain my presence here. As you know some things are just best stated directly and plainly, sir.. I came through a translight portal, arriving in an ancient facility left on the planet probably hundreds of thousands of years ago by a long-gone civilization, one even we don't know much about."

At that you could've probably heard an ant fart a mile away. Total silence took over the room. No one blinked, no one breathed, no one moved a muscle. They were stunned and rendered speechless. A few seconds had to pass for the Colonials to restart their cognitive functions.

"The facility contained still functional instrumentation that indicated that there were ships present in orbit, sir." he continued without missing a beat.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" the CAG asked, eyebrows furrowed by curiosity and sheer shock "By long-gone civilization you mean.."

"Non-human forms of intelligent life, yes, sir."

"That- that's not possible.." Agano spoke up after a long moment of silence, her mind still processing the information he had given them, scratch that, bombed them with.

To clarify for her CO Captain Kozer added "The Sacred Scrolls only tell of human life being gifted with sentience by the Gods." that was her own personal way of processing all this "Alien life is.. it shouldn't-." her mind stopped working.

Agano listened for a moment before speaking "A lot of people here would freak out, and as such-" she addressed everyone in the room standing up "-Marines, step forward." at which the Sergeant tensed, turning his head slightly to the left to regard the 2 Marines as they approached the table "Both of you are now bound to an Oath of Secrecy, this conversation will not pass these 4 walls. Corporal, Private, along with the 5 of us, unless ordered by a superior officer of the rank of Rear Admiral or higher, what we have heard and will hear and discuss here today will bind us all. Under the charge of high treason and the penalty of death should anyone else be made aware. So say we all."

"So say we all." the Marines echoed along with the XO, CAG and the two Captains.

"If any of this leaks out to the crew heads will roll, and they'll roll right out the air lock." the Commander addressed all Colonials present, turning back fully to the two Marines "Resume your posts." they saluted and went back to guarding the door with the Commander sitting back down and addressing the giant soldier once more "Leaving spiritual texts aside, do you have any proof?" the CO tried to placate the Captain whilst not getting off topic.

"Me standing here, sir, fortunately the translight portal was still functional." the Spartan explained, but still continuously kept a fraction of his vast attention on the 2 Marines, lest they tried anything "The explosion you no doubt detected and came down to investigate was a result of the facility's auto destruct protocol engaging."

"What is a translight portal, Sergeant?" the XO asked, a hand under his chin, the science enthusiat in him stepping forward for a moment.

"To the best of our own understanding, this ancient species built outposts, like the one below on New Kobol, all over the galaxy on innumerable worlds, meant to act as a faster than light transport system for personnel for the rapid deployment of troops, reinforcements, or whatever else they might need on a short notice." the 13th Tribe member explained matter-of-factly. Like he was reporting on a weather front moving in.

"Holy frak.." was all Kozer said.

"How did you even know how to operate it?" the XO asked curiously, still completely stunned by the revelation of alien life, as were the others, he leaned forward, putting his right elbow on the table.

Not wanting to play their best cards just yet the Spartan thought of the best non-answer he could give the man "Our scientists have come across a few examples of their technology over the years, from what we can tell, they were pretty similar to us, humans, that's why we were able to operate it on a basic level. The end result of a lot of trial and error, sir."

"Did an experiment go wrong, or like us were you exploring?" asked Agano, then with furrowed eyebrows she asked "Isn't it a bit reckless to expose human beings to such dangerous technology?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree, sir." and here it was, his other shoe or armored boot so to speak, he could see their faces take on a mask of low caution "My men and I were retreating under heavy enemy fire, we accessed the system under duress." he paused for a moment, processing, thinking of the Troopers he lost "I was the only one to survive enemy contact."

That bit of information along with everything else troubled the Colonials greatly, in less than a day they had discovered that the 13th Tribe in fact does exist, it isn't mythical, that apparently their technology is leagues above their own, that they have access to ancient, and advanced alien technology, and now on top of everything else: they're embroiled in some kind of civil war. Humanity it would seem was more or less the same beast in every corner of the Universe. A few among them, chiefly the CO and XO started to break out in a cold sweat, as a sudden, creeping realization of dread and horror filled them both, forcing Agano to ask a question they all feared to hear the answer to.

"Sergeant, is Earth currently in a war against its own Cylo- artificial intelligences?" at that the CAG and the two Captains in the room became ghostly pale, all eyes quickly turning to him for his answer.

The Spartan stood in silence, his gaze shifting to the table.

"There it is. The crux of zhe matter." Petra whispered in his ears "I'm curious to see how they'll take it."

"I don't think this is a good idea, Petra." he addressed his luminous companion "This could potentially backfire."

"To build on Commander Agano's original argument, it's better to just rip it off like a band aid, Tom. It's better if they hear it from us, now, instead of finding out who knows how many months, or potentially years down the road. Their anger at that point would be completely understandable, that zhey had to find out months, if not years down the road. And the damage it could wreak on any diplomatic efforts would be our fault. Any trust we now build with these people would vanish instantly."

The Spartan only sighed "Know-it-all."

"Smartass."

When the man from Earth shook his head in the negative they immediately calmed down a bit "No, sir. The UNSC has never had any issues with our own A. I.-s." then and there a nuke just went off, Captain Kozer jumped from her seat taking an uneasy step back, startling the other Colonials.

"Sit down, Captain!" the CO barked at her "Get a hold of yourself, for Gods' sake." the woman did as she was told and slowly sat back down.

"My apologies, Commander." Kozer replied, but she was very tense, coiled up like a spring.

Agano shifted her gaze from the Marine officer back to the giant from Earth "I believe an explanation would be appreciated, Sergeant."

"Earth, and by extension the entirety of the UNSC has been operating in concordance with our own artificial intelligences for 5 centuries without incident or conflict, sir."

The assembled officers just stared in shock, they couldn't believe it, how did the 13th Tribe manage to avoid conflict and war? And for 500 years? On some level each and every one of them felt like a scolded child who'd been caught doing something he or she shouldn't have. A sense of shame mixed with envy wrapped its icy fingers around each of their throats, making it hard to swallow and think at the same time.

"Sergeant, are you trying to tell us that Earth has had Cylons for half a millennia?" Agano asked with a guarded and forced tone of voice.

"If by Cylons you mean artificial intelligence, then yes, sir." he nodded.

"My Gods.." Cape breathed astonished.

"That is insane.." Halea commented wide-eyed "And they never attacked you?"

He simply shook his head "We live together in harmony, sir."

Kozer being the skeptic, growing up with a lot more war stories than anyone else at that table about the Cylons was waging her own personal war. The horrors her father and mother had described, the friends they had lost, had it all been one big mistake? All that senseless loss because on some level they were callous with their creations? Greystone had become a word synonymous with treason in the Colonies after all.

"H- how were you able to avoid conflict?" Colonel Kaios managed to finally croak out, silence otherwise still reigning over them.

The soldier from Earth carefully considered his next words, who knew what spark would set these people off "Our A. I.-s weren't used for manual labor, sir, when the first one was created, his creators sought to understand him, and him them, it was a bit touch and go for the first few months, but once it was given the ability to express itself vocally by speaking, it became clear to everyone that this First Generation A. I. was just as sentient as a human being. As a result, with the eyes of the world watching, the United Nations General Assembly, the body that preceded the Unified Earth Government- in an Emergency Special Session immediately created an extension to our Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter, extending all of its protections and provisions to include artificial intelligences. The vote was unanimous."

If Tom had thought that the revelation of alien life and their advanced technology would be a smack to these Colonials, his explanation of Earth's history with A. I. left them practically catatonic.

"Well, seems like we royally frakked up then." Captain Halea added her own Cubit worth, being the first to return to her senses, whilst crossing her arms across her chest, a subconscious need to protect herself. The others didn't comment anything to rebuke it, since Halea was a 13th Tribe fanatic, to her- anything this soldier would say would be considered almost sacrosanct, but she did have a point, what if they did in fact make a mistake in how they treated the Cylons?

"And you just allow your Cylons to do whatever they want to, to go wherever they please?" was the first thing the CAG could think of asking, he steadied himself with his left fist on the table as he stood. A question which prompted the others to glance amongst each other, shock turning to worry once more.

The Earth man shook his head in the negative.

"Upon creation an A. I. for a lack of a better term.. is inbued with certain fundamental laws it cannot circumvent, laws by which it cannot harm human beings, allow human beings to come to harm, to always follow lawful orders, and to protect their own existence. But within a system, A. I. can do virtually whatever they want, however: there's never been even a single case where an A. I. did something to break the law or to endanger anyone."

"You just let them roam any system? Just like that?!" the CAG asked again.

The Spartan didn't like the accusatory tone in his voice "We could only hope ourselves to be that lucky, sir. An A. I.'s presence in any system vastly improves its performance and efficiency, they can see problems we don't and fix them in nanoseconds. I couldn't begin to list the number of lives that have been saved or tragedies and accidents averted, or even natural disasters that have been avoided due to the presence of an A. I. within a city's grid or a ship's systems over the last decade alone, to say nothing of their stabilization and expansion of struggling economies, helping them to prosper."

That surprised the Colonials, they certainly weren't expecting Earth's Cylons to engage in the protection of human life, and from the sounds of things, they did it proactively. But that still left one mystery unsolved.

"And if a human being would seek to harm one of your Cylons?" Agano asked with her hands folded on the table, slightly leaning forward.

This was it, time for de-escalation "Since the creation of A. I.-s, humanity, as in the people of Earth, have considered artificial intelligences as we would consider our own children, to be nurtured, protected, and cherished, sir. I personally believe that this positive attitude coupled with those inherent laws largely contributed to our uninterrupted success rate of over 500 years. That is the gist of it at least, something every child is taught at an early age." the tall soldier further explained.

Commander Agano took a deep breath before looking back up from the table's polished surface "If a human being would seek to a harm a Cylon, what would happen?"

Without hesitating for a moment he replied "That would depend on the circumstances, sir."

"Such as?" the XO pressed.

"The same rules would apply if a human being were caught attempting or has in fact already trafficked, harmed, abused, murdered, exploited, or otherwise mistreated another human being. They would be prosecuted to the full extent of our laws."

"I see." was all Commander Agano said, leaning back in her chair, she wasn't angry, but her wheels were clearly turning, as was everyone else's in the room.

Earth's stance and modus operandi was so vastly different from the Colonials', some didn't want to accept it, some didn't know how to process it, whilst some felt uncomfortable with the knowledge that had the Cylons been treated better their war might not have even happened in the first place. This was the type of information no one's mind could fully unpack in a few minutes, like when you lose someone dear to you, their death not fully registering, not really reaching you, but one day, weeks, maybe even months down the road, you'd start crying for a reason you couldn't even remember at first, not until it hit you out of the blue- full force. They all felt like that, the 2 Marines at the door tried their best to not outright stare at the armored soldier, or not glance at each other as the bombs kept dropping one after the other.

The silence just seemed to stretch on forever.

The tall soldier from Earth raised his head high, even his shoulders seemed to push back slightly further, his physical tells that he was starting to get annoyed "Our A. I.-s aren't tools, they aren't pets, or playthings. They are citizens of Earth and her Colonies, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone on Earth or by extension- in UNSC space who'd disagree with that viewpoint, sir. We have quite a few accounts of A. I. giving up their existence to save human lives." Petra was simply smiling in the corner of his HUD, she clearly appreciated his words.

The stun bombs just kept on coming for the Colonials, the Commander was gracious enough to raise her hands in mock surrender "I meant no offense, Sergeant, we're merely curious, and to be quite honest, shocked, we never could have conceived of something like this even in our wildest dreams- that the 13th Tribe would not only have Cylo-.. A. I.-s, but would have such a positive, and especially non-violent relationship with them. I'm probably the oldest member of the Brynhildr's crew, meaning the overwhelming majority of my crew weren't even alive during the Cylon War. People aboard this ship won't have that baggage, even though we were all raised with the same stories of horror and bloodshed."

"Meaning that once we'll arrive back in the Colonies, we will have no choice but to report everything we have learned, it is the reason why all meetings are recorded." the XO further explained their position "As such, once this gets out, not just about you, Sergeant, but about Earth's attitudes towards Cylons.. I honestly don't know what kind of ripple effect it will have, but I can guarantee you that a lot of people will be angry, hurt, disappointed, many will even feel betrayed."

The CAG and his XO sat in silence, whilst they both looked like they wanted to say something, they'd only disagree with their commanding officers in private, the Colonials understood the need to present a unified front.

"And that's another reason why most of these discussions will be sealed, and classified top secret. Only members of the highest levels of government and the Admiralty have clearance, which will considerably lessen the fallout." the Commander finished for the Colonel "Despite everything, Sergeant, we don't want to give you the impression that we're dogmatic opportunists."

"We wouldn't be talking if that were the case, sir." the armored soldier declared, like always direct and to the point.

"Quite." Agano nodded and smiled "We also appreciate your candor, Sergeant. I will admit that what you've told us so far over the last hour.. well, let's just say if it had come from anyone else in the 12 Colonies, then their credibility and probably even sanity would have been seriously called into quiestion."

"I understand where you're coming from, sir. As they say, seeing is believing."

"And considering it's election year, Adar will do his very best to only reveal the positives of our first contact with you, and hopefully in time, Earth as well." Major Cape chuckled "Gods only know how much I hate politics, but in this instance I agree."

Commander Agano looked over at her Marine CO, who was clearly working something out in her head, and the absolute eye-frakking she was giving the water bottle in front of her told the Commander that something was really chewing up Tryphena inside, she just didn't know how to phrase it.

"Captain Kozer?" that seemed to jostle her back to the here and now "You have something on your mind?"

She looked at her CO before turning back to the Spartan "If not Cylons, then who were you retreating from, Sergeant?"

"The moment of truth." was all Petra could whipser "I was hoping that we'd avoid this topic for at least a few more days.."

"It was inevitable, Petra." he replied to her before turning his attention back to the people who were waiting for his answer, turning his externals on once more and addressing the Colonial officers in front of him "All I can say, sir, that no matter what happens from here on out, it's probably best if your people don't get involved in any shape or form."

That sense of unease from earlier started to bubble up in the Colonials once more, they hated dancing around the edge of something they felt was a big deal, that creeping feeling of nervous uncertainty ate away at them with that telltale slight burning sensation that's located at that spot in their core, the one just above the stomach and below the heart.

A feeling every human being experiences when they're on edge about something, and that pile has only grown in the last day. Every person feels ignorance, we all experience it, we know so little, even collectively, what we know, and what we could know is night and day. It doesn't matter if you're sitting on a horse in plate armor on a medieval battlefield, or on the Bridge of a cruiser in high orbit above a planet or moon, you'll still be touched by the same endless unknowing and doubt.

The Commander broke the long silence stretching on "We revealed one of our deepest and darkest secrets in the spirit of open cooperation, so you would know what you and your Tribe would potentially face by reunifying with us, what dangers your Tribe could be taking on, as it it is my belief that your people have every right to decide for themselves what their future will look like, without any interference from the other 12."

"Commander Agano is right, Sergeant. And more to the point.." the XO turned toward his CO, nodding his head, only the two of them knew what that meant.

She leaned forward in her chair placing her hands on the wooden table "Before the launch of our expedition, I was empowered by the Office of the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol in concordance with the Admiralty Board.. that in case of an unlikely First Contact scenario, I would have the authority to negotiate truces, and treaties that people way smarter than me had drafted for us in order to cover a great number of possible First Contact situations. There are guidelines already in place for us to follow, and I was also granted broad authority over both military and civilian fleets over matters of security, and along with the other Captains- diplomatic authority to conduct said negotiations and treaties alongside Captain Lakta."

The Colonel nodded stating "But as you can see, Sergeant, this is most certainly not a First Contact scenario, it's much more important and momentous than that." the XO continued to build on the CO's explanation "In a sense, Commander Agano speaks for all of us, not just aboard this ship, or this fleet, but all of us. The 12 Colonies of Kobol."

"Powerful words." Petra whispered "Though, they are a bit too eager for my liking."

"Imagine how they must be feeling, it's like a long lost brother or sister coming home, and you have to tell them that whilst they were gone, they almost burned the house down, after which they find out their long lost family member has their own tools for efficiently burning down said house."

"An apt analogy." the A. I. spoke with mirth.

"In their minds, the sooner they break the bad news, the sooner we can move on from it. Makes sense from a certain point of view, one that I currently agree with." and the Spartan opened his externals again as Agano addressed him.

"It would only be fair if we share your burdens equally, Sergeant, the Tribes of Man protect their own, by any means necessary."

"With all due respect, Commander, I'm just a simple soldier, conversations about diplomacy and alliances, or even.. reunification-" an idea he still didn't know how to process "-are meant for people who are far more suited for them than I; diplomats, negotiators, career politicians, generals, and admirals. In other words, sir, it will be left to the capable hands of UNSC High Command once we'll make contact."

The 5 officers nodded their understanding, Captain Halea a bit more enthusiastically. She really didn't want to leave a bad impression on him, her mind was still in a state of excited shock, she was standing so close to a member of the 13th Tribe that if she reached out she could actually touch him.

"I admire your dedication to your people, Sergeant. You understand the meaning of duty and loyality, but accepting help is never a sign of weakness, it's understanding that if someone wishes to ease your burdens it doesn't necessarily mean that they have an ulterior motive." Agano reasoned, and hoped to the Gods that she sounded sincere. While she had the full confidence of her crew and many back home, including Fleet Admiral Nagala, and she could always count on her mentor Husker for help, but the Admiralty wasn't devoid of its unscrupulous characters who had turned nepotism into an art form, maintaining their positions by carefully maneuvering information and money, sometimes even threats, dabbling into darker trades. People who would make it their goal in life to exploit the 13th by any means necessary. Nagala with support from Adar has been working for years to clean house, but a lot of work still remained when the Exploration Fleet left the Cyrannus System.

Turning his full attention back the CO of this warship he explained "Don't misunderstand, sir. What I said, I sad for your benefit." a reply for which he got a few puzzled looks "But, in the spirit of open cooperation I will say this much: From what you've shown me so far and what I've seen for myself- it tells me only one thing, that if your 12 Colonies were to get involved.." and he left a pregnant pause hang in the air for a moment "..your people would be out of their depth. To be completely honest with you, Commander, the only thing that would keep your Colonies safe would be the continued ignorance of our enemy."

Five furrowed brows exchanged glances in silence at that revelation.

"Sergeant?" Agano asked, slight trepidation creeping into her tone of voice.

Once more, the giant armored soldier slightly lowered hiz gaze, he was clearly deep in thought, probably trying to figure out how to word his reply. He was worried about the kind of fear and panic his answer would unleash, but if they'd taken the news of Earth's peaceful coexistence with Artificial Intelligences and the existence of an ancient alien civilization rather well, at least, as well as anyone could take such news, one after the other, in such a short period of time.

"For the past 27 years, the UNSC has been at war, sir, and for the majority of those 27 years- it has been a total war."

"My Gods." Kozer whispered aloud looking away from the Spartan, she looked at Halea who was sitting across from her, who now had a very sad and concerned look in her eyes, both of them thinking the same thing, the thought of a Tribe, especially the 13th Tribe being embroiled in such a long civil war.. who knows what kind of casualties their war had wrought?

The CO and XO were silent, sharing glances of concern, if their cousins were drowning in an all out civil war then it was the duty of the Colonies to intervene, at least on the level as that of a mediator.

"Sergeant, what sparked this civil war?" the Commander asked in a louder voice, clearning her throat, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the asnwer to that question, but the way his head turned toward her, she could almost sense his own brows furrow behind that golden faceplate of his.

"Civil war?" he asked "The UNSC isn't embroiled in a civil war, sir."

"Here we go.." Petra whispered.

"Our enemy isn't human."

His reply's effect was immediate and powerful, shock rippled through the room like the shockwave of a bomb, the XO felt like someone had hit him in the chest with a hammer, the CAG didn't fair any better as all color drained from his face.

The officers sat in silence, the two Marines at the door exchanged a long, nervous glance with one other, gripping their weapons tighter.

Agano and Kozer looked at each other, both of them could see open fear in the other's eyes, both of them too stunned to say anything, let alone make it sound coherent.

"Could you please repeat that, Sergeant." the Commander finally asked, her throat had became dry in an instant as the full meaning of what he had said registered in her mind.

"Explain." the XO asked, all humor gone from his voice.

"The UNSC made First Contact with a group of- as far as we know as of this year -8 alien species that are bound together by religious zealotry. They call themselves the Covenant Hegemony." the Spartan explained matter-of-factly.

Agano for the first time in her life felt real terror grip her, her mind almost stopped working altogether "W- why? What do they want? Do you even know?"

The soldier simply nodded once "By their own admission, they are following the will of their gods to exterminate the human race. They consider our kind to be a plague on the galaxy."

His reply sent a very familiar shiver up the collective spines of the Colonials as the Cylons were attempting to do just that some 4 decades prior.

"No, no, you're frakking with us." Major Cape laughed but there was no humor in his tone, stated more in denial than anything else, Halea and Kozer were silent and looked scared, like, they didn't want to believe him, but at the same time they knew he was telling the truth.

"I wish I was, Major." the Sergeant replied with lowered tone "The Covenant are relentless, their technological superiority gives them all the edge they need. Most of the time."

"And this war has been going on for almost 3 decades? How? If they're so superior as you say.." a thought then occured to Agano "-just how large is the UNSC?"

He considered her question for a few moments, wondering what would be the best answer without compromising operational security.

"Just tell them zhe truth, Tom. Knowing about something is not the same as knowing where it is or how it works." Petra encouraged her Spartan with a kind tone, his reply was a low sigh.

"The UNSC at the height of its power protected over 800 worlds, moons and asteroids that have been colonised over the last few centuries."

"Holy frak.." the CAG uttered in surprise.

"8 hundred?!" Halea asked stunned, mouth hanging open in shock, suddenly feeling very small and insignificant.

"Protected.." the Commander spoke quietly "..as in, no longer does?" the only reply she got was a slow, simple nod.

"When the Covenant launched their genocidal crusade they made it clear from the very start that they didn't care to conquer or enslave us, even the natural resources of our colonies didn't really seem to interest them.. only the wanton slaughter of humanity." he explained, shifting his focus to everyone around the table "Men, women, children, the elderly, babies in their cribs, pregnant women, the infirm, it didn't make a difference to them." the longer the soldier from Earth spoke the harder his tone became, even his small movements seemed to stop, he became as still as a statue "Latest reports have our death toll somewhere between 18-20 billion. We're not sure anymore.." Petra was by him, appearing on his HUD when he began detailing the war, sadness and rage made her code flair more than once, she always hated being reminded of the toll of this damn war, to have that knowledge at the forefront of her mind only fueled her anger.

The gathered Colonials simply didn't know how to process what he had just told them, they were all in varied states of shock and disbelief.

Agano now understood why he didn't want the Colonies getting involved in Earth's war. She looked over at her XO, she'd never seen Kaios look so serious, not since she met the man 2 years ago, the Colonel was doing his very best to clamp down on his fear from fully manifesting on his face.

Major Cape was simply staring at the desk in front of him and breathing heavily, still in his flight suit, beads of sweat matted his hair, he was in a daze of fear and anger.

Kozer was on the verge of tears, her mind was flashing with not just her parents' stories but also the brutal documentaries she watched growing up, to know now that the 13th Tribe was facing a similar, but far more deadly threat ate away at her soul.

Halea in contrast with Kozer was quietly crying, her superior officers didn't seem to mind as they felt equally lost. Her two hands covering her mouth, eyes clamped shut, tears streaking down her cheeks and hands, she sobbed quietly as shakes wracked her body, the only sound to pierce the silence. To have a wondrous and joyful day like today be poisoned with such horrific news in so short amount of time hit her hard, the Major put a comforting arm on her shoulder, a bitter expression controlled his own features.

"How- how did your people manage to hold out for so long?" the XO asked, astonishment flooding into his tone.

"Space as you know is incredibly vast, sir, and whilst they advance along a very wide Invasion Corridor into UNSC space it still takes time to locate something as small as an inhabited world, even if they number in the dozens, or hundreds. However.. we still don't know how they managed to find so many of our colonies so quickly." a small lie.

Petra noticed his heart rate slightly jump for a second "Don't worry about it. They really don't need to know about zhe ancient artefacts Zealots always seem to be hunting, mon coeur."

"Maybe they should-" he replied "-especially if there any to be found on their worlds."

"On that front I have a bit of good news, Tom-" Petra explained "-both Methodist's and Offensive's records made it clear that the Cyrannus System would not, and respectively did not contain any of their technology."

"Small miracles." was his reply, as their internal dialogue was interrupted by the Commander.

"Even so, to hold out for so long.." Agano swallowed "It's incredible.." she smiled "Your people should be commended for their resilience, Sergeant."

He nodded his thanks "We've also been very lucky, sir." the Spartan added.

Her quirked eyebrow nudged him to continue.

"The Covenant.. for all their superiority and numbers make for poor soldiers, and even worse commanders. Very few among them are truly capable, sir, and those that are.. they're usually held on a short leash by the leaders of the Covenant, the Prophets."

Their puzzled expressions that were slowly turning from horrified to curious persuaded him to further explain.

"They're not capable of lateral thinking, sir, complex stratagems, or unorthodox tactics completely baffle them. Their reliance on their ships' energy shields and massed infantry attacks has severely atrophied their warfighting acumen."

"Th-they have energy shields?!" Kozer asked stunned.

The Spartan simply nodded "Energy shields, energy weapons in the form of guided plasma munitions and plasma lances, coupled with a very accurate translight jump capability makes them formidable in space. The Navy over the last 3 decades has won very few significant victories, and even in smaller engagements we have always been forced to be reactive instead of proactive. Along the course of the war we only managed to find only a small number of their worlds and outposts, as such we could rarely risk mobilizng a large expeditionary fleet, in case it was needed to defend a colony on short notice. As a result, Naval commanders have been forced to develop incredible and complex tactics, ambushes, and traps, fortunately for us- Covenant ships just keep on stumbling right into them."

The Colonials listened with rapt attention, even the Marine guards had all but tuned out everything other than the Sergeant's voice. It was almost impossible for them to fathom such technologies, to them it honestly sounded like the realm of science fiction, then again, they were aboard ships in space that were capable of faster than light travel. As they say, reality is sometimes stranger than fiction.

"They wield plasma weaponry that is both warship caliber, as well as on vehicles and small arms."

"Zeus preserve us.." the XO breathed nervously "I'd rather be sent to the pits of Tartarus."

"But you must've succeeded in some areas, right?" Captain Halea asked half-panicked.

The giant soldier turned his gaze toward her, giving her a solid, heavy nod.

"Yes, sir. Ground-side operations are a very different animal. Whilst in space we need at least a 3 to 1 advantage to scramble together any sort of victory or strategic withdrawal, down in the mud it's they who need at least a 6 or 7 to 1 advantage to push us back." That bit of information surprised the officers, who frankly expected to be told of even worse odds than those experienced in space. Hope flared inside them "Very few Covenant ground forces present any type of real threat, or in lieu of that, they use massive waved tactics designed to grind us down. What's even more amazing, that in all this time, they've learned almost nothing from fighting us, whether it be on the ground or in space. They keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Even your fighters, from what I've seen of them on approach, how they move, how agile they are, they'd stand a very good chance against Covenant fighter craft." that surprising bit of information seemed to somewhat calm the worried Colonials.

"Forgive me for playing Hades' lawyer for a moment, but if their goal is to simply.. exterminate, then why do they even bother with ground assaults?" Kozer asked, leaning forward in her chair, her dark eyebrows furrowed in morbid curiosity.

"We don't know." another lie "At least one species in the Covenant, who we refer to as the Elites have been noted on numerous occasions to engage in what we can only describe as 'honor-based combat', we think their word carries considerable weight within their Hierarchy, they might be persuading their leaders to engage us in fair warfare." Tom knew this was speculation at best, Elites were clever, and whilst they weren't as vicious and animalistic as Brutes or Jackals tended to be, they were merciless nonetheless. But it served as a plausible truth, he didn't want to keep fresh the thought of an ancient alien civilization in the minds of these Colonials. As far as he was concerned, those artefacts and relics were the exclusive purview of the UNSC.

"Genocidal aliens and fair are two things I didn't think to find in the same sentence, Sergeant." Agano stated skeptically.

"There's no reason to think that a completely alien civilization would have the same morals, the same principles, or even consider the same things to be common sense as we do, sir."

The Commander conceded his point by nodding in understanding, her lips thinning into a line.

"In your experience, what do you think our chances would be if they were to find us?" Kozer asked from her seat, arms still folded.

"That would depend entirely on your naval capabilities, sir, both offensive and defensive. To hold a front for any considerable length of time against the Covenant.. if these types of warships- like the one we're currently on- if they are the backbone of your fleets, then you would need hundreds, at the very least."

"Sweet Gods above.." the XO collapsed back into his chair, almost sliding off of it.

"And a massive stockpile of fission ordnance." the soldier further elaborated "High yield."

The Colonials looked worried "That doesn't bode well for us." Petra spoke in his ears "If we go by Methodist's and Offensive's records, then zhese people don't hold more than a dozen or so worlds, in a single double binary system. They would be fish in a barrel."

"They need to know what's coming. I'm guessing the 12 Colonies of Kobol are at a considerable distance from both UNSC space and the Covenant, it's the only thing that has kept them safe so far."

"And if the Covenant somehow managed to track our jump through the translight network.."

"Then it's only a matter of time." the Spartan finished for his A. I. companion. He switched his externals back on to address the Colonials "The bigger issue is that we simply don't know how far and wide the Covenant Empire stretches. I believe only your distance from them has kept you safe so far."

"So it's a question of when, not if." the Marine Captain breathed fearfully.

The Sergeant just nodded "To put it simply, sir. Your 12 Tribes need to start preparing for war. As soon as possible. Half measures will not suffice. They don't negotiate, they don't barter or bargain, they cannot be reasoned with." the Spartan took a step closer to the table, putting his left armored fist on it for emphasis "At the start of the conflict we tried a dozen diplomatic sollutions to avoid a war, to make peace, or to at least broker a fragile truce, the Covenant simply didn't care. If they are presented with the opportunity, they will turn your worlds to glass."

"Hera's mercy.." the XO stared ahead, mind running a mile a minute, his right hand raised to his chin as his eyes slowly closed.

"Once this gets out, sir-" the Marine Captain addressed her Commander "-it'll be mass panic. Hades, who knows what might happen if the Cylons were to find out.." that last thought sent another shiver up their spines.

"Frakking Hades.." was all Halea said in a whisper, her voice still tender from her crying.

Agano along with everything else the Sergeant had told them was also simultaneously attempting to think of how the Admiralty was going to take all this, if they were going to even believe them in the first place.. but with the Sergeant here, he was living proof, a member of the 13th Tribe, alive and well, his weapons and gear, everything about him was so different but still very human. However, the things he had told them so far.. if this Covenant were to find the Cyrannus System.. they needed to begin mobilization on a massive scale, along with a military build-up of arms, the construction of new shipyards, new ship designs, tactics would have to change and adapt, a draft signed into effect as soon as possible, it was now only a matter of time before these aliens found them as well, not to mention sending out a lot more exploratory fleets, Hades, they needed to send out arks, to ensure that the people of the 12 Colonies could not be wiped out, the thought made her dizzy and nauseous. Her father always told her 'Thaleia, if you don't have at least 6 backup plans for any 1 problem, then you won't have enough at the end of the day to rub two sticks together.'.

"As incredible.. and horrifying as this all sounds, what proof do you have?" the CAG asked with a dry tone, Meroipe quickly turned to her CO and stared daggers at him, her expression annoyed- so he quickly clarified "You do realize that what you're telling us, and want from us.. it's a tall order on the best of days, right, Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir. I do." he paused looking towards the door and back to the officers "The proof is with my gear."

That surprised the Colonials, their curiosity started to rise and they collectively turned toward their Commanding officer to see what she would decide.

"Then I suggest we don't waste any more time." Agano declared, her resolve hardening, she stood from her seat, her officers doing so likewise and walked toward the door, the Spartan along with the others and escort Marines joined her as she headed for Armory 01.