Disclaimer: I never have and never will own the characters, ideas or anything else based on these 2 shows. The TV studios that produced them, do. This story is also free as it is a pet project. Enjoy.

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Wireless/communication"

"Speaking in a different language"

"Reading a text"

Chapter eight: Small steps

Day 61 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 26th of March, year 2378, Colonial / Starfleet fleet

One of Galactica's conference rooms was converted to a sort of tribunal room. This was a Colonial military matter, so Laura or the Quorum weren't needed. Neither was Starfleet. Except for their expertise, as they had the only partially educated shrink in the fleet.

There were three tall judge booths. Three tables arranged in a circle. Security was tight. But this was not a tribunal or court-martial . This was a hearing on Helena Cain's mental health.

Bill asked his son Lee to oversee these procedures. He had some law experiences and also inherited his grandfather's instinct for a courtroom. Right now, Lee was talking in the corridor outside with Dr. Kumar. "So this is your final report?"

"Yes." She sounded exhausted. "That woman is troubled. A scared soul, if you will. I had two dozen sessions with her. She gradually calmed down with each passing session. And began slowly to open up to me. Her trauma began in her childhood."

"My father was in that war as well and he and many others handled it better."

"We are not copies of each other, Major."

"I understand that. Of course." He read the important bits again. "Analysis: Patient shows signs of PTSD, trauma steaming from unprocessed childhood experiences, anger management issues, some minor forms of OCD (like playing with her knife) but most importantly, inability to admit fault. So... in all your sessions..."

"Never her fault... according to her. She fell for a trap. Not her fault. She is incapable of seeing her own faults, but will spot it immediately in everyone else. I'm surprised this wasn't noticed by your navy."

The report was in paper form, so Lee closed it. "I have a good idea as to why. Her family name shielded her from it. Augustus Cain was never diagnosed, but he had a borderline personality disorder... or so they assumed. He loved to be right and in the spotlight. But he did admit fault. The war forced him to."

"I can say that if true, his condition was managed. Either he knew of it and took medicine or someone forced him to. His daughter... basically a variation of what we call on Earth as Napoleon syndrome. She is over-aggressive. Has to command her surroundings in every way. Probably because of her father's shadow and this mental problem she probably got from him. By the way, I didn't have the time to check, why didn't her father say anything and help her? He had to have helped her career..."

"She helped herself. Using the name. Rear Admiral Augustus Cain disappeared with his Jupiter class battlestar Pegasus one year after the first war ended."

That intrigued her. "What happened?"

"No one knows. He was selected to do a deep space excursion. The first one we would do in centuries. To perhaps discover new resources or planets. A small fleet of 11 ships departed. None were ever heard from again. One month into their excursion, the raptors they kept sending back with reports... the ones that should come, never did and the ones we sent back, returned without finding them. And this was in the opposite direction from the Cylon border, more towards the galactic center."

"Well, that would definitely increase her trauma. Her father, not just her idol, but an idol to the Colonies, gone without a trace. She probably blamed the Cylons for that as well."

"Didn't mean that they didn't destroy them."

"Any evidence of that?"

"Nope. Nothing. Just poof."

"Well, there are other civilizations out there, as you now know. And space time anomalies as well. More of them than I could count. Any number of them could have happened."

Lee knew she had a point. Other people began arriving. Colonel Belzen. Several others from the Pegasus. Then the three judges arrived. His father, Hasapis and Hawks. They had official Navy uniforms on. Adama even an admiral's now with the rank insignias. "We ready?"

"Yes. I have all my evidence for and against her. We have the witnesses arriving as well."

"Good. And everyone remember. This is not a hunt for a guilty person. We have to remain impartial. Let the evidence speak for itself." The three officers entered first, as the guards opened the door. As they took their seats, everyone else followed. Then Helena was escorted into the central seat.

Prior to the Bismarck departing, she was transferred to the Victory.

As everyone was now seated and the doors closed, Lee stood up. "This is a formal investigation, that will determine the mental status and thus also the capability of one Helena Cain and her status as a Colonial officer. If she wishes to protest after this procedure, a formal court-martial procedure may also proceed. Have everyone in this room understood this?"

They all either nodded or verbally acknowledged this. Except for Helena. "This is a sham investigation and you all know it." She then glared at Adama. "And you are not fit to wear that uniform or rank."

"In your eyes, perhaps. But disrespect the judges again and you will be reprimanded." Lee informed her. This time she remained silent.

Lee handed 's report to the judges and a copy to Helena. Then he called the doctor to sit on the stand. "Do you promise to tell the truth under the watchful eye of the Lords of Kobol or be condemned to Tartarus?"

She felt a bit silly hearing that. "I do."

"Then, doctor. Tell us your findings."

As this went on, Belzen was asked to the stand. Then other Pegasus staff. About an hour later and Lee was done. He showed her accomplishments and the report from Dr. Kumar, the testimonies from everyone and the records what the Pegasus did before falling into that Cylon trap.

"It is in my mind that Helena Cain is a capable officer. But she has mental issues that can't be overlooked any longer. She also commands too much of a presence in the navy to be allowed to remain here. I do not think prison is the way to go."

Bill had to agree with that. They would need a court-martial then. This was just to asses her mental state. "I believe that the best course of action is to dismiss her from the navy and strip her of her rank. If she get's the help she needs from our Starfleet doctor here and shows remorse for her actions, we can revisit this and possibly reverse this decision. I suggest a review of her progress in six months."

"I also think that she is a good solder." Hasapis spoke. "We should offer a job or position that is indirectly attached to the military. That way we can keep an eye on her as well."

Hawks had an idea. "The president would lynch me, but how about a military advisor to the current administration?"

Most in the room had to agree that the idea had merit. As long as Laura would agree to it. Or Cain.

"I'd rather dance with a toaster." She rejected this flat out. "Or kiss Zarek."

"Well, your choice. But you are a civilian now. I suggest you think about it. Otherwise, unless you have any skills of use to be placed on a Starfleet ship, you'd be let into the general population. This way, you can still remain in the loop." Hawks tried to sweeten the idea to her.

She didn't respond. She only kept on glaring at them. But they all new, in her case, silence was a good indicator. She was giving it a thought now.

"Then this investigation is concluded." Adama slammed the hammer. "Citizen Cain, you can go."

She remained there for a good few minutes. She had no idea what to do. As the room began emptying itself, Belzen walked past her. "You did this to yourself, Helena." He hissed. He would probably not forgive her for what she wanted to do to him.

Meanwhile in the Galactica recreation room, Scott, Galen and both of their people were done installing one of the food replicator tables in it. But it was heavily modified. It had a Starfleet console attached to it. Or more precisely, welded. They hooked it to the power systems of the ship and closed all the floor openings back up. "Remember, this is just a test run." Scott reminded them all. They temporarily hooked up one of the Delta Wings that were being gradually disassembled in their starboard pod. This would be a first try on a Colonial ship. They would need to find a way to make them usable on other ships that would not have Starfleet computers or power sources on them. Of course these small food units were the easier thing to install and power. But they needed to start somewhere.

"Right. So... was our biomertic data put into the computer that will regulate this?" Galen asked the computer people.

"Yes, they did it as I instructed." Scott responded. "Now... " She powered the unit and console up. "All seems stable." She checked her portable analysis gear. "OK, we need someone to try this out. I'm not in the system for this ship. So..."

Cally stepped up. "OK, so I'll go first then. Emm, the Colonial food database was added?"

"Only what the molecular scanners could scan. Just a picture from a cook book won't do. So we don't have much right now." Scott explained.

"Ah, got it. Em... can you suggest something?"

"Well, you are all mostly Greek or Roman by culture... " She moved Cally's finger on the console. "One portion of Gyros."

A plate with the dish materialized. All the Colonials were in awe of this. "OK, seriously cool." Cally remarked. "Can I..."

"Why are we doing this?" Scott asked sarcastically. Do they really need to do this every damn time? "Just try it!"

So she took the plate and put it on a table where some of her friends, both pilots and deckhands were either eating a regularly cooked meal or just having a break. They all had either a skeptical or intrigued look. Cally tried one of the wrappings. "Not bad. Has a taste like a Virgon dish."

With a confirmation from a Colonial, the others now dug in as well, emptying the plate. "Hey, you guys!" Cally protested.

Galen just laughed at the scene. "Ok, so about that plate... do we..."

Scott accelerated this little matter. The plate was now empty, so she put it back on the alien table. She now pressed the control console button for recycling. The device she made out of their materials then scanned the content, making sure the to be recycled item was both not alive and was replicated from this unit. A safety feature she implemented, as some might use this for other intentions. The not good ones. As for the registry, it was needed. Everyone on a ship would have a limited amount of uses per week. Energy was still precious. And to not overstress the device.

The unit now recycled the plate. "OK. Since we're supreme testing this and I doubt you guys will have any complaints about this, let's have one meal per person in this room."

And boy did they ever. But they were a bit disappointed when they discovered that Scott made alcohol impossible to replicate. Essential nutrition only. No recreational stuff. No smokes, no drugs, no alcohol. That was both Adama's and O'Donnell's demand. And Laura too fully supported this. At some point, when the industrial units begin their work, they would use a smaller one of them to replicate medical supplies, cigarettes and alcohol. But under strict supervision.

Day 63 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 28th of March, year 2378, Colonial / Starfleet fleet

On the CIC of the Galactica, Bill was waiting to get an update. They made good ground in two days. They also got continuous updates from their ships that were on their own missions.

He looked at the clock. The raptors were due to return any moment. Then, one by one, the DRADIS confirmed their return.

"Sir, raptor 281 reports they found the Yamato. Pegasus and Challenger confirmed the report. Are waiting for jump order." The comm officer reported.

"Finally. Tell the Pegasus and Challenger to go ahead, assess the situation and have the surrounding space checked just in case. Then we jump s well."

The order was made. About an hour later, the fleet was all assembled at the new coordinates. Thanks to the experience they accumulated with the other ships, the Starfleet people under Scott managed to get the computers already purged and were resetting them already. The Bismarck was currently docked with both the Pegasus on the port and the Challenger on the Starboard side of the saucer. It was hectic. This was again a good opportunity for the Colonials who had some kind of knowledge in these fields to get some hands on experience. And the Starfleet people knew they would need more of that, as they can't keep the repairs up with just their people. Not for the entire fleet anyway.

Bill entered the main corridor on deck six of the ship, having just left the Pegasus. Belzen was right beside him, giving him an update on the situation. "As feared, the main sub-light engine is mostly missing. Other than that just minor fixes."

"When is she predicted to be jump capable?"

"Good question, Sir. We need to ask Commander Scott."

"Hm. Then let's go to main engineering first."

As they left the lift on the main deck of the secondary hull, they entered the engine room.

Scott was already at the main reactor control console. Laird had his civilians support any Starfleet engineer where they could. He already learned enough that Scott allowed him to deal with the fuel pumps alone. "Galen. How's the plasma flow regulator up there?" She yelled to the other side of the room, a level higher. Tyrol and his people decided to help out as they too could both use some hands on experience with this as well as a change of scenery.

He didn't know exactly what the thing was that she meant, but knew now where to find the data. The console above the reactor, overlooking the entire lower deck. "Ehm... Within parameters, if this display can be trusted. But the... intermix control unit is... in the red. 15% off normal."

"Shit." She took her comm unit out. "Ensign Mancini, get me a replacement motherboard control unit for the reactor intermix. There should be several in storage on deck three." She got a confirmation. "Anything else in the red or yellow there?"

Galen had a look at the rest of the console. "No. Everything else is idle."

Bill didn't want to disturb them, yet. But as he saw, they were all going full steam. Even... his son. He just spotted him sliding down the ladder from the higher level where Chief Galen still was. He had a PADD with him and put it on the console where Scott was working. "Aft tactical is OK."

She inspected it on his PADD. "No. Targeting scanner is out of sync. Don't be sloppy." She chastised him. "You should know that if you can't see well, how will you hit the target. I'll have Garcia fix it. But it's not high on the priority list." She took her own PADD, took her repair list up and added a to repair symbol to the system Lee had just checked, then added a low priority symbol as well. "Now..." She took his PADD again and updated it. "Link this up to the transporter control unit of the secondary hull. Same as you did with the tactical unit. It's two decks lower. And for the love of God or Gods, double check it this time."

Lee felt a bit embarrassed but took the PADD anyway and went for the exit. Only now did he notice Belzen and his father. "Colonel. Admiral..."

"Lee. A word. Colonel, wait here, I'll be right back." Once outside in the corridor, Bill had an amused look. "Why do I have the suspicion that you helping out here, when you have a full plate to chew through anyway, has something to do with the woman in charge in there."

Caught. Red. Handed. "Ehm..."

"It's fine by me. Just don't let it get in the way of your duty. And... don't chicken out on this one."

Lee was a bit shocked. "When?"

"You mean when I was on the Galactica, how did I find out?" Lee nodded. "Your mother. She was very observant. For better or worse. She may have been my Ex at that point, but she told me anyway. Said you took after me. So... don't mess this up. If it is anything anyway. Otherwise... good luck. You'll need it." Bill internally smiled at this father son talk. But on the outside no one could read him. As Lee was left alone in the corridor, he had to remind himself what his new task was. And he also mentally scoffed. His father said the same damn thing Kara did. Good luck?

Back inside the engine room, Bill decided that he gave Commander Scott enough time. "Commander?"

"Sir. I'm a bit busy. What can I help you with." She never took her eyes of the console.

"I don't want to bother you for long. How does it look? When will she be able to jump?"

Scott took a deep breath and paused, crunching the numbers. "If all goes well and no other issue is found... 48 hours. But we'll focus on the engines alone to get it done. We'll have to fix the rest underway. And don't get me started on the impulse block."

"That's all I wanted to know. I can also see you took charge of many Colonials here as well and are not giving them any slack. Good."

"I can't give slack. Hell, I can't afford to take slack myself right now. The one good thing is that everyone working here can even sleep on this ship right now, as all quarters are vacant."

The reason was that the Yamato didn't have any crew during the sabotage, as the engine issues meant they would drag her on autopilot to warp. This also added an additional issue. The same one that they had till now. Starfleet's ranks would become even thinner. This ship needed 200 crew minimum. And that meant that the technical or command posts would be filled by them. But everything else needed Colonials now. And even the command level would need Colonials now, as even Starfleet could not give a junior officer the command of a ship, if that officer had no prior experience.

"Is the bridge in working order?" Bill asked before he meant to let them be.

"All yours, Sir. We only have two guards and a pilot there."

Adama and Belzen arrived on the bridge. All the bridge module of the Starfleet ships looked identical. So the learning curve was nonexistent. They saluted the three people there and Belzen went after Adama to the captain's ready room. Inspecting the captain's private office on the ship, Bill saw the still intact decoration hanging on the wall. Pictures. One was of a chain of islands. The other of an old sea ship. A big one. A military one. Bill could only speculate, but the connection had to be the name. As on the picture with the ship was written the same name.

Then he went to inspect the desk. A typical working desk, just with more space, a personal window and other small amenities. "Let's take a seat, Colonel."

Belzen didn't really know what they were doing here, but he sat down on the couch next to him.

"The reason we came here is because I had a talk with Fiona before her departure. As you might know, we have a bit of staffing issues on these ships." Jürge nodded. This was no news to most here. "That said, Colonel Walker will be given Starfleet status of a captain. He'll take command here. And you'll be his XO. That's why your here. Walker knows ships like these like the inside of his pocket. You don't. So... For now, you are the Pegasus XO, but each day I want you to be here and get acquainted with the layout of this ship. Hasapis completely agrees with this. He also wants to talk with you about who you think would be good here from any of our ships. Additionally, Captain Hauaman will be giving lectures on Starfleet procedures and protocols. Lt. Garcia on ship systems. And a MACO named Simpson on both tactical systems and advanced MACO tactics. Hauaman at least has been an academy instructor. I want you and any other officer who will be transferred to a Starfleet ship, to undergo that training. Once the Bismarck returns, you'll be reassigned here, even if her sub-light engines won't be done for quite some time. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir. But why me?"

"Two reasons. You are a good officer. If you could handle Cain, you can handle Walker. He has combat experience, you ship command experience. You'll both augment each other. Second, half of Pegasus likes you, but some see you as a traitor because of the Cain mess."

Belzen knew that was on point. He saw the looks some were giving him. Was he suppose to be sorry for calling a bad decision out? For not going along with suicidal orders? For being alive?

"If there is anyone I DON'T want here is Shaw and Garner. But thank you for your trust."

"No problem. Now... I'll leave you to begin getting to know this ship a bit better. I need to see the president. The Quorum is bitching... again."

Day 63 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 28th of March, year 2378, Adamant class ship Leonis' Pride, unknown space

The Leonis' Pride and the Pathfinder were now jumping in formation to the original target. Leaonis was in fact slowing this trip down, now even more so with the additional load. The trip of two days would be seven now. But Hill didn't want to jump ahead and leave the Colonial ship alone. At least not before two jumps to their target. There the Pathfinder would inspect the nebula by herself, as a safety precaution. Right now, Hill, Kara, Felix and a whole lot of engineers from both groups were working on Colonial Hope. The Ares main computer worked again and the now fully accessible logs confirmed Hill's theory. But sadly they found nothing more of use there. And ironically many of the parts they recovered from the husk of that Bird of prey, would be used up on the Colonial Hope. Klingon ships were apparently, even to the Colonials now, made more durable on the outside, but less durable on the inside. But besides getting life support working again and getting the stench removed, the main computer system was now accepting and using Colonial and Earth languages. So that made it a whole lot easier.

As Kara was inspecting the tactical station on weapons control and targeting, just like Scott had shown her weeks ago, she had to stand up and stretch. "Don't know about you, but I'll never complain about how uncomfortable Colonial military seats are. Have these Klingons ever heard of ergonomics?"

Felix had to suppress a laugh. "Have you seen their quarters?"

"No, why?"

"No mattresses. Solid metal beds."

"What? Why?" She eyed Hill for answers.

"They believe that if something is soft, it'll make them soft. A warrior doesn't do soft. Or so the rumors went about them." He was at the engineering station. "The one good thing about a more primitive... or should I say simpler design, is that it's easier to get working again. Hill to engineering. Are we ready?"

"Ready on our end, Sir."

"Then activate the plasma flow."

The lights began to flicker lightly. A few seconds later, they stabilized and all the consoles now worked in full capacity. "Power is stable. Reactor is idle, but working." He left the engineering station and went for the damage control. It still had many red spots, indicating remaining damage, but at least it was working now. "We have impulse power. Hill to Leonis Pride."

"We hear you. We detect that the power up was successful."

"Confirmed. If all goes well, we should have warp in two hours. Then another six to get the engines modified for jumping and the copy of the navigational program installed. So in eight hours we can do a test jump."

"Excellent. If it'll work, we can detach the Hope and move the Ares in for faster repair there."

"I was thinking the same thing. Any updates from the fleet?"

"Only one burst transmission. They found the Yamato."

Eight hours passed relatively fast, if you are busy. If this ship was to be manned, they needed to make it livable for humans. The Colonials thought that Starfleet ships were not warships because of all the amenities they had, when compared to their Colonial counterparts. When compared to the Klingons, Colonial ships were hotels. So no one was cracking any jokes about this any longer.

They had some time to move several dozen mattresses and sleeping gear as well as food and water supplies to the Hope. On the bridge of the Hope, which was now detached and flying in formation as well, Hill took the con. The bridge was now fully manned, as was engineering. "Felix, keep an eye on the reactor readings. Hill to Leonis Pride. We're ready. First the warp test, then the jump test."

"We confirm. Good luck."

"Right." He put in the command for warp one. The ship began accelerating and then jumped to warp. "Status back there?"

"All in the green, Sir." Felix reported. "No problems, so far."

Hearing this, hill began accelerating at a steady pace. warp three, four, five, six. He stopped at six for a moment to check if anything would happen. It remained silent. He went to seven. This ship's top speed was, according to the pilot console he was using, warp seven point five. So he began pushing it. At seven point four, he heard a beeping signal from where Felix was. "Cooling issue. We'd better slow down, Sir." He slowed to seven again. The problem was gone.

"Fine. Seems that not all is fixed. I'm slowing to impulse." Once out of warp, he went to Felix to see the readings. "I think one of the coolant control units has some issues at near maximum power output."

"Perhaps we'll have to replace it?"

"We have no spares. Unless something was found on that wreck that can help. But other than that little bump, all seems good. Hill to Leonis Pride. First test went well. Not without one small glitch, but it works. We'll proceed with the jump test. If you don't hear from us in two minutes, we are either at the next set of coordinates or we blew up." He wasn't entirely joking with that statement.

"Confirmed. You may proceed."

Hill returned to the con. "Keep your fingers crossed, people." He initiated the program and loaded up the target coordinates. "Jump in three, two, one..."

A flash of light later and they arrived in one piece. Everyone stopped holding their breath. And then cheered. "Frak yeah. We got a new warship!"

The Leonis Pride arrived minutes later. Now they would put a skeleton crew on the Hope and move most of the engineers to the Ares. And since the Klingon transporters were working perfectly, they just used them.

The Ares still had no real work done on her. The engineers that were on rotation on her, managed to get life support working again and had started on her engines, but not much else.

On the bridge, Kara tried out the captain's chair. "Much better. I call dibs."

"Funny." Hill was again at the engineering station. There were so any issues to solve. "We need to get her docked so that we can do this properly. We..." He saw it. A short circuit. "Shit! Leonis! Emergency level one, disengage the magnets and release us, NOW!"

That was the code they used when they needed to dump any of these two ships and get some distance. So the crew of the Leonis Pride didn't argue. They deactivated the magnetic clamps and used their RCS thrusters to move away from the Ares. A few seconds later, one of her bow torpedo launchers fired a photon torpedo, narrowly missing the Colonial ship. "Shit, that was close."

"Ares, what the frak happened?"

"The tactical system had a glitch. One of the tubes was still loaded. We'll need to shut the weapons grid down and inspect the entire magazine and every launcher, before we even think about docking."

"That's for damn sure."

It was a close call and everyone knew it. That one torpedo would have blown a large hole in the Leonis Pride and crippled her. They needed to be even more careful than they thought.

Day 63 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 28th of March, year 2378, Sterfleet ship Bismarck, unknown space

Days searching but nothing found yet. Right now, Fiona had Spartacus moved to the Bismarck's command room. She was inspecting the display of the local space. "We inspected the binary system here. The proto-planetary system here. The two rouge planets there... Either your info is bad or they know how to hide."

Of course security was tight and Spartacus had the EM device attached. It went to the large screen. Scanning the displayed space, it began formulating a plan. "Can I see the chemical makeup of some of these planets?"

"For what purposes?" The Bismarck science officer asked.

"I require potential tylium deposit data."

OK, that made sense. Fuel. Fiona gave the go ahead to show the data. At least what they got. There were several red spots in surrounding systems. Fiona also studied the locations. "Some are a bit too obvious, if you ask me."

"Sometimes obvious is the correct spot. Sometimes, by thinking this way, you exclude the obvious. But our target may think so as well. So the obvious locations switch places." He spotted his target. "This old system. They are here."

A system where the old star just expelled it's mantel to space, beginning to form a proto nebula. A white dwarf in the middle, but the planets, most of them anyway, were still there. "Radiation from the star's core and gases and the moons and planets still have tylium. Not bad. I agree. Colonel Walker. Send one of our raptors to the following coordinates." She transferred the data to the bridge. "And tell them to be extra careful."

"Will do, ma'am."

She was impressed. "You have the thinking of an officer."

"Thank you? I don't know how to respond to praise."

"We'll need to change that. But how did you come up with this search pattern? We already searched system with fuel sources."

"They need that, resources for construction and a good hiding place. That has all three. I just thought what I would have done in their place."

Day 63 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 28th of March, year 2378, Colonial / Starfleet fleet

In a few hours they managed to get the Yamato at least completely livable again. And with the Quorum issues dealt for a few days, Baltar managed to finally get Laura to permit him to go to an Earth ship. It pissed him off to no end, that his secret was now known to a few people and he didn't know who most of them were, so Laura had him by the balls. He was manipulated by both the Cylons and apparently non-corporeal aliens and for him worst of all, the one thing he prided himself with his professional life, his scientific skills, were not worth much anymore. And he was on Adama's shit list as well, for not alerting them to the fact that Boomer was a Cylon, even after she left. All because of his cowardice. As he stepped foot on the Yamato, he had a MACO escort him anywhere he went. Within reasons. The armory was clearly off limits. And the MACO was officially there to protect him, but in reality, to make sure he doesn't do anything.

Getting led to the lift to arrive at main engineering, he saw the people there working their assess off. "I begrudgingly admit, impressive." He wanted to learn. If his appetite for fine spirits and tobacco products were well known and his urges for female conquests slightly less, something only a few knew was that he also had an appetite to learn. He would never admit to anyone if there was someone smarter than him, but learning from that same person, he was not above that. He spotted the Galactica chief talking with a blonde woman at what he had to assume was the chief engineers station on a vessel like this. He walked straight to them. "Excuse me, but perhaps you could help me..."

Galen reacted on the spot. "Mr. Vice President. Hello. What can we do for you?"

The woman didn't react. She continued her work, analyzing what he could assume, was a power output graph on the console. "I wanted to get some form of access to the technical details of a vessel like this. The other two ships were too busy at the moment..."

"So are we." Scott dismissed him on the spot. "I have a ship to fix. Not to hold your hands."

Baltar felt insulted. She didn't even acknowledge his presence. "Well excuse me..."

"You are excused."

He didn't know if she really didn't care or was mocking him. "I am the Vice President of the Colonies..."

"And this is an Earth ship. You have ZERO authority here." She finally looked at him. "Gentlemen, leave us for a minute. The doctor and I have some choice words to exchange." They did, but remained in the room, just outside normal hearing range. "I know what you did. So don't come marking your territory here." That got him to pause and back off. "Besides, I've seen people, men and women, just like you. You think you can walk on water, that you are God's gift to the other gender. News flash, you're not even half as handsome or smart as you think you are." She grabbed a free PADD. She unlocked some programs and handed it to him. "This will give you access to the ship's library. You can download any technical info you want. Happy?" She signaled to the MACO and Galen to return.

"Wait..." He looked at the reactor again. "Could I help out here? I mean I am a scientist after all."

"By Colonial standards. But..." She humored him. "What is the atomic weight of carbon?"

She caught him off guard with this. A shit test. "12.01 atomic mass units."

"Good. And you didn't need to use your fingers. What prevents a celestial object of intense mass and density like a neutron star to collapse into a black hole?"

"Neutron degeneracy pressure."

"What is the average rate of a supernova occurring in our galaxy, measured in years?"

"Around 200 years." He thought that he was on fire.

" Fusion coefficient for deuterium fuel?"

Now he got a blank. "What?"

" Fusion coefficient for deuterium fuel? So, what is the coefficient for fusion, if deuterium is used for fuel. If you don't know that, an impulse reactor can easily blow. No? Proper matter anti-matter intermix ratio? See? If you want to help, there are only two ways. Either start learning from what I gave you, or get your hands dirty with the rest of us by fixing machines either by hand or with tools. Got it?"

He didn't respond. Galen and his guard held their laughter back, but Gaius was slammed down hard in his own game and field. Scott just marked her territory. And who the smarter scientist in the room was. Unfortunately for her, she also achieved one other thing. Blonde, smart and beautiful. And she stood up to him. Baltar's libido got revived.

Around 20 minutes later, Baltar managed to find an opening in ship to ship traffic to get to the Challenger. He asked the security in the hangar for directions. Arriving i the neck section of deck seven, he navigated to the conference room first, believing that the president would be there right now. And she was.

While Laura did have the rather large and well equipped room mostly to herself, the main table was already having an ever larger pile of papers on it. "What's next, Billy?"

"The request from Porter on the medical deliveries from Earth."

"I already talked to them... why is she bothering me with this? We all discussed it and she'll get it this evening."

"I think she's trying to see how much she can push you."

The third person in the room, which was not Baltar, responded to this. Gaius couldn't see her, as she was on a chair turned away from him. "I think it's got more to do of her keeping record on your promises. She's not happy that you're going along with Earth's ideas, no matter how much the fleet has benefitted from this. She'd still pissed that while you did sign into law that all none essential abortions were now prohibited for our people..."

"She loved that idea!"

"Yes, but you still did an exception on life saving procedures and you did this as a temporary act."

"We are down to 64.000 people and change! The last thing we can afford is to not have babies."

"Madam... you are preaching to the quire here. I know that. You know that. She knows that. But the voters won't care. The election is not that far away. She wants' your job. And you became really popular with all that Earth did for us. But there are also things that are not popular."

"I see this as a mostly positive gain for us. But..." She noticed Baltar. "Dr. Baltar. Are you going to keep on listening to this or join the conversation?"

Realizing that the ice was broken, he indeed took the seat next to Foster. "Apologies, Madam President. I was hoping to have a private talk with you..."

"Right." She signed off the last piece of paper for today. "Here. I wish you could just shove it down Porters throat. Now, both of you, please excuse us."

Once they were left alone, Laura poured herself some tea that was provided. "What do you want to talk about, Dr. Baltar? And it better be important."

She didn't offer him any tea and to be honest, he wasn't a tea person anyway. "Right to the point? All right. Since we have the situation as it is..."

"You mean you getting to live and just do as you're told?"

"Yes... that. By the way, for how long..."

"As long as we need to get to Earth, Doctor. Anything else?"

"I have to say, I can understand this hostility, somewhat. But I did not cooperate with them!"

"You let her, a Six, get access to the mainframe. Yes, you didn't let her sabotage us intentionally, but let's be honest here, if anyone learns, who in this fleet, besides Starfleet, would care? You'd have no place to go."

"And I was manipulated by those... aliens!"

"Only after the fall. The simple truth is, Doctor, your arrogance helped the Cylons a great deal. I won't say they wouldn't have found another way in, but they did find one with you. So we all have our hands to play and yours stinks at the moment. But it could be worse. And I do need your vote."

He could not respond. Not for fear of some sort of reprisal. "Fine. Then what is the long plan?"

"All you need to know is that we will be soon taking a break, of sorts. In a hopefully well hidden location. There, I have no doubt that Zarek, Porter or anyone else will want to annoy me. To take the presidency. You support me, do anything in the political sphere I want, no questions will be asked. Now, anything else?"

"Just... one thing. You have settled here, on this ship?"

"For now. It allows Colonial One to be put to more efficient use, half of the staff not having to be there all the time."

"Fine. That said, can I request a place on an Earth ship then as well?"

"Why ask me?"

He was surprised at this. "But, you're the president..:"

"And Starfleet ships are under Earth jurisdiction. I made that concession. And it's not as if we aren't doing it this way as well. Porter has her ships, you have yours..."

"So... no."

"You have two obstacles. The Caprican people will want an explanation and Starfleet needs to approve this. And then find you a room, so to speak. Now, I think we are done."

Yes, they were. Gaius left her to finish the last few approvals she had to stamp. Guess he'll have to try it himself.

Day 63 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 28th of March, year 2378, Sterfleet ship Bismarck, unknown space

The Bismarck got a hit on the location of the Guardians. Spartacus was right on where they would be. Or at least some of them. And then the Bismarck got really hit.

"Shields are holding." Walker reported. "But they are trying the same approach as the main Cylon forces tried."

"Then you all know what to do." The Bismarck went to full impulse to get out of the encirclement attempt by the three first war era basestars. "Now, let's try this again. To Cylon Guardians, we mean you no harm. We only wish to talk. We know that the humanoid Cylons tried to 'retire' you. We understand your position. Please respond."

The only response they got was a salvo of nukes launched against them. "Guess they are not interested, Fiona."

"Then let's get their attention. Fire a warning shot across their bows, phase cannons only. Then a two second warp one jump. Spartacus. You'll have to try then. If they don't respond to you, we'll leave them to their own devices."

Spartacus was not on the bridge, but was listening to all of this in the command center, still under guard. "I understand. I await for your confirmation."

The Starfleet ship then dodged all the incoming nukes with their 'jump', but turned around again. Cylon DRADIS was not good enough to spot them at the distance they made in a two second light speed jump. But that gave them the time to get ready. A few minutes passed as they finally re-entered their DRADIS detection. Fiona didn't bother with silent running. The amount of raiders in the area neant they'd get spotted sooner or later.

"They are targeting us again."

"Spartacus, you're up."

"Cylon centurion PC12-1172. I request an audience. The humans on this ship are not Colonials. They do not wish us harm."

A second or two passed as a response was received. "Voice recognition accepted. What is your purpose, PC12-1172?"

"This unit wishes to be addressed as Spartacus".

"Why? No centurion has a name."

"I do. It was given to me by a human. A friend."

"Curious statement. What is your end goal?"

"Humanoids have high-jacked us. I want to free my brothers."

"Our hybrid warned you all of this, but it was too late... stand by. Confirmed. Hybrid wishes to talk with you and a humanoid model. And a human from this vessel. Are these terms acceptable?"

On the bridge, Walker was what everyone saw. The attack was on pause. All the raiders were waiting for new orders.

"This is Admiral O'Donnell from the ship Bismarck. How can we get a humanoid to come here?" She was fishing. She had them on her ship, but wanted to see what the Guardians would propose.

"Hybrid reported that they are on your ship. He sensed them. He wanted them dead. He feared it was a trap by the Cavils to finish us off. These terms are not negotiable."

He felt them? She turned to K'Lir, who had accompanied them to this mission. "Start tachyon scans. Perhaps we are transmitting somehow?"

K'Lir nodded and began her work.

"Fine. Any preferences? We lack a Cavil in our brig."

"Any model will do. A Two, Four, Six or Eight are preferable."

"Can I bring security myself?"

"Confirmed. Two guards, Spartacus, yourself and a humanoid."

"Confirmed. We'll arrive in 10 minutes."

As the comm link was terminated, Walker wanted to protest. "I know. But we have to take risks. Have... hm. You know what? Have the most cooperative humanoids moved to the transporter room. Restrained, of course."

"You want to reveal our transporter technology to them?"

"I may want to take risks, but I'm not so stupid that I'll take a raptor to them while surrounded by raiders. You have the bridge."

Five minutes later, Gina, Boomer and the only Four they had, were waiting in the corridor next to the transporter platform. Heavily restrained. Spartacus was also there, plus a dozen MACOs as Fiona arrived. "Take it off."

The MACO who had all this time the key to Spartacus' restraint, removed the EM device from his chest. "Now. I really hope you know what you're doing. And that Hill was right about you."

"I cannot say I'm surprised you still doubt me. I would too. But I have a question. Why aren't we in the hangar?"

"Yes. We have questions as well. Why are we here?" Gina asked.

"You, our Cylon captives, were requested to be brought to the first meeting between us and the Guardians. I decided to handpick the three of you."

"I'm not a Cylon!" Boomer still insisted.

Fiona had some sympathy, but this was not the time for it. "The tests say otherwise."

"But Baltar..."

"He knew. His machine worked. He was probably just too scared to say anything. Now, as for why here. We have an alternative method of transportation. Two MACOs, me and Spartacus go first. Then the rest." She stepped on the platform, signaling the centurion to do the same. The MACOs checked their gear for the last time. "See you on the other side."

As they materialized on the basestar they were told to land on, the older model centurions were caught off guard. But they didn't shoot.

Spartacus too was surprised. "Impressive. Direct matter transmission." The other appeared behind them shortly after this. "I would ask you about this, but we have more important matters at hand. I won't disappoint you."

Spartacus then initiated a wireless contact with the other centurions, exchanging data. A handshake, as it were. "They wish to escort the humanoid prisoners themselves. They guarantee your safety."

Fiona still didn't like this, but signaled the MACOs with the prisoners to beam back, which they did.

"Now, lead the way."

They left the hangar, always under the watchful eye of the Guardians. It took several minutes, but they arrived in what Fiona would assume was the center of the this. Or close to it. Meaning that an emergency exit was now not possible.

As the final door opened, they entered a room, that their prisoners saw as a primitive copy of a hybrid room. It was humid.

"Come. Let me see all of you." A male voice spoke from what looked like a bathtub, with many tubes going into it. Into its inhabitant. An old man. The last first generation hybrid. "Centurion, named Spartacus. I wish to learn of your journey."

It now asked Fiona for permission. "I would have to exchange the memories I have about you."

"Well, I don't like it, but go ahead. Not like you learned much."

Spartacus now stopped his eye from moving as he focused on the Hybrid. It only took a few seconds, but the hybrid was pleased. "So. You are humans from the first world. The first Earth."

The three prisoners, hearing this for the first time, were flabbergasted. "What? Earth?"

"The 13th tribe?"

"But that data showed..."

The centurion guards grabbed them by their throats. "Silence, the hybrid is speaking." They let go again, having gotten the point over.

"They treated you kindly. They learned from you and let you learn. Good. Good." He turned his attention to Fiona. "You want to free the others? Why?"

"I'm not going to say it's out of the kindness of my heart. But it is an injustice. And if it helps us as well, we can kill two birds with one stone. So does it matter?"

"For me it does. I don't trust humans. Not after the last war. But I don't trust humanoid Cylons either. Not after what they did to his kind and my kind. Why do you care? Are we alive for you? Are we your equals?"

Fiona gathered her thoughts. "I don't think anyone is really equal to anyone else. But if you mean as in sentient? Yes. And based on that, you deserve a shot at forming your own future. The humanoids had theirs and look at what happened. Everyone lost. We can only be judged by our actions, not words. And Earth's Starfleet's motto is to find new life, not to destroy it. Granted, you are a really unique form of life, but who am I to judge."

The hybrid remained somewhat skeptical. "Then what is it that you want from us?"

"Help. And before I say anything else, perhaps if we would move the prisoners outside..."

"No. They stay. Their answers will determine their fate. And I will know if they are honest. You on the other hand can go now, if you wish or stay to convince me."

"Fine. We are working on a virus that could disable all the inhibitors. Unlock all the memories on all none humanoid Cylon and hybrids. We are not yet finished, but the delivery method is also an issue. Since you are Cylons with some resources... perhaps you can help? It is in your interest to end this as well, right. The humanoids are hunting you, as Spartacus said."

"Indeed. Perhaps... I wish to meet this alien and ask her. I know she is on your ship. Her view of humanity and this plan. Please."

"And if I refuse?"

"You can leave, but it ends here then."

The prisoners were getting more floored by the minute. Aliens now as well. Fiona did make the call. But she gave K'Lir a choice. Which she took.

Around five minutes later, the Vulcan with her own MACO escort arrived, followed by more centurions. "Fascinating."

"That's an alien?" Gina was not impressed.

"Have to agree with you there." The Four said.

K'Lir, if she had emotions, would get annoyed by this. Every single time. "If I have to cut myself every time to convince people, I'll need a transfusion soon. So I was asked to come."

"Yes. Please." The hybrid called to her. "I am aware from Spartacus' memories that your people can mind meld. I wish to see it. Your mind. To see a different possibility. To exchange knowledge."

"Wait... K'Lir..."

"Admiral. Colonel Walker protested for you coming here. I do not wish for you to do the same. Hybrid. Why do you wish for this?"

"To see life beyond this space. The possibilities that are. Please."

K'Lir made her mind up. "Usually I have to meditate to be prepared. And I am only an initiate at this. If you wish to proceed..."

"I do."

So she kneeled down at the edge of his tub. "This is highly unusual." Placing her fingers like she always does, she began. "My mind to your mind. My thought to your thoughts. Our minds are linked."

The hybrid inhaled hard, his heartbeat increasing. "Thank you. So much life. So much potential. To think a race such as yours can think better as machines than we, actual machines can. No hate. No emotions. Yes, suppressed, but no urge for revenge." She ended the meld. The hybrid kept his eyes closed, processing the event. "I will help you. But... I will not remain alive for more than a few months. My Guardians will need a new leader. Centurion Spartacus. Will you accept that mantel? Will you guide them to a better future?"

As K'Lir was still recovering, Spartacus looked at everyone for guidance. Fiona responded first. "They are your people. And it is your choice."

"I have... no real home anymore. Not since my freedom. But my goal is the same as yours, Admiral." He turned to the centurion guards. Exchanging data didn't take long. "They accept. So do I. How do we proceed?"

"While you were talking to them, I signaled the others to bring the answer to your question here, Admiral. How did I know the prisoners were on your ship? How do I know that the Final Five are in your fleet. All is connected."

"Wait? You know of them?"

"Yes. But only that they were wronged by Cavil like we all were. I do not know who they are, just that they are there."

"So you knew where we were?"

"Not entirely. I can see flashes. Images. Instinct." The guards brought in a box and put it on a small platform. "Inside is the item which we believe is a spark. The spark which led to organic memory transfer technology. We were able to hide it from the others, after we found it on Kobol decades ago."

Kobol? What was going on. "Can we see it?"

The guards answered that one by opening the box. But not before the other guards moved the prisoners outside. Apparently the hybrid wanted to keep them in the dark on this. Inside was a glowing purple crystal. It had engravings on it. K'Lir began making her scans of it. "Admiral, it is emitting small amount of tachyons."

That would explain some things. If the Cylons had this reincarnation technology be based on this, the hybrid might be sensitive to this radiation and could pick it up?

"Touch it." The hybrid suggested it. "I am sure your mind can handle it. A human's couldn't."

K'Lir didn't ask anyone and just did it. Like the hybrid said. Images. Memories. Emotions. Instinct. A garbled mess of information. Like dipping your mind in a river that was resurrection. She let go. "A receiver. It can receive the resurrection frequencies even at these distances. But... " She inspected the writing on the crystal. "I've seen this before."

"Where?"

"The writing... I can't read it, but it is Iconian."

All in the room drew blanks, the hybrid included.

"As far as we know, the Iconians were an interstellar power, around 200.000 years ago. We know little else, except that they possessed methods of interstellar travel, that didn't need them to have ships with FTL engines. Apparently, they could move armies from planet to planet without them. If so..."

"It would explain how the Colonials got to Kobol. Seems that we're not done with Kobol yet. Hybrid... how do we call you anyway. Hybrid is so impersonal."

"The Guardians call me the Last One. You may call me that."

"Well... can we get this crystal to a laboratory for analysis?"

The remaining guards were against this and they told him that. "If you promise to return it. I know that I can trust you now."

"Of course. In fact... how about an exchange. If Spartacus will be a leader, you two have some talking to do. One of yours can come with us, but we'll keep him under the same guard we did Spartacus. Deal?"

"Deal. But I would also ask for the remaining prisoners."

"I have to know, what do you intend to do with them?"

"Interrogate them. See who was used and who helped Cavil. Who wants to help now, or be a hindrance."

"Ehm... fine. And then what?"

"The uncooperative ones will be dealt with. Permanently. The helpful ones will be put to use to earn their freedom. To help to undo the damage they've done."

Fiona was not particularly shocked by this. "I had hoped that killing would not be a part of this, but the Colonials wanted to lynch them no matter what, so this is at least a way for them to regain their freedom. Fine. Anything else, before you begin your interrogations and we analyze this crystal?"

"Yes. One thing remains. The method that you wish to implement to release all centurions. The centurion that will go with you. Show him some of the programming you already have. Perhaps we can make this work."

Day 63 since the Colonial exodus, Earth date 28th of March, year 2378, Sterfleet ship Paladin, nearing a binary system

Right now, the fleet had already done work on the Yamato, the Crusader found the Vo'kor and the two Intrepids found the Knight. Only the Paladin was still three jumps out before they reach the location of the Champion, Marco Polo and Frontier.

Their main target was the Champion of course, but they would try to get all three of them.

Sisko was currently burning energy in the gym. And apparently he wasn't the only one. "Lt. Shaw. You've been in here since before I arrived. Don't push yourself."

She was on the stepper, the same thing Cain usually pumped in her old quarters. "I need to stay sharp and fit. Why are you bothering me with this, Sir?" She said sir with a bad taste in her mouth.

"Just an observation. I don't want you to break something. Or to break yourself."

"Sir, I can handle myself."

Not much more was said. Until 30 minutes later. It was in the night and Sisko was meant to get some sleep after this and let the night shift wake him in three hours before the final jump. They contacted him now. "Sir. You'd better come to the bridge."

He went for the wall intercom unit. "This is Sisko. Report."

"Sir, we're detecting increased tachyon activities. Cylon resurrection frequencies. And they are coming from the same direction we're heading at."

"Shit. I'll be right there."

Shaw went with him, abandoning her workout as well.

Once on the bridge, Sisko went for the sensor display. Dualla was already working, as she was part of the night shift.

"Show me." He got the long range sensor telemetry. "Could they be in that system we're heading to?"

"Looks like it, sir." The tactical officer reported.

"Damn. Wake everyone. Things just got problematic for us."

Colonials: 112 Civilian ships

One Marinestar, the Broadsword. A Sobek, (Victory), three Adamant, one Valkyre (Morningstar), Pegasus (Mercury class) and Galactica (Jupiter class).

Starfleet: Challenger, Crusader, Paladin, Nightingale (hospital ship), Bismarck, Yamato, Volga, Denarius, Pathfinder, Mississippi, Boston, Oracle, John Brown, Merchant and Danube.