Battlestar Pegasus

To say that Admiral Cain was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress was an understatement. The story related by these pilots was too fantastic, and the Cylons' defeats hurt her pride even more. The fact that she could relieve all her fears thanks to the Earth's people should help, but the recent history didn't.

Earth

At first, she understood that Adama had used the myth about Earth to give the civilians hope and for the warriors, the will to keep going. But the old bastard not only survived; he found an Earth fleet, and their cousins destroyed almost a hundred Basestars.

The part about Earth's machines, however, was hard to digest. The frakking Earthlings had developed AIs, and according to these pilots, they were living on Earth and its colonies like best friends. Somehow, they had avoided the colonies' cruel fate. The last blow to her pride was learning they had rescued thousands of civilians stranded on the colonies, something she felt was her responsibility. The stories about the infamous farm on Aquaria were known to the pilots, who spoke of how the mental models had massacred the humanoids.

That last piece of information gave Helena a glimmer of hope. It seemed their cousins had made the machines loyal to mankind, unlike the treacherous Cylons. The memories of her deceased lover walking to the airlock still pained her. The stress of the attack on the shipyard where Pegasus was docked still lingered in her mind, and the nightmares made every night a torture. Her little game with a razor, sometimes in front of her officers, was a matter of gossip among them. Nobody would question the admiral, but they knew she had changed. The loyalty of her crew and marines was legendary, so Pegasus was indeed her personal ship.

"Well, gentlemen, I never expected a story like this," Cain finally said. "And where is your fleet?"

"Admiral, the other Raptor jumped back to the fleet. I think Fleet Admiral Adama"—Janus stressed the new rank—"will jump fast."

"Excuse me, Lieutenant, did you say Fleet Admiral? Last time I checked the Fleet roster, he was an almost-retired commander," Helena said, playing with a razor.

"The civilian fleet has a quorum and a president. The president promoted Commander Adama to fleet admiral," Janus explained.

"Understood. I would l—" Helena began, but she was interrupted by a blaring klaxon. She opened a line to the CIC, "Fisk, report."

"Admiral, twenty-five warships, non-colonial, and a battlestar have just jumped close to us. The IFF belongs to BSG-75, the Galactica!"

"Send a hail to Galactica. I'll be in the CIC in a moment," Helena said. "Gentlemen, return to your battlestar," Helena ordered.

Both men saluted with the best display of military discipline they could muster, then left the admiral. Helena looked at her officers and asked, "What do you think about this?" Shaw didn't hesitate when she stated firmly, "We should have detained these men and interrogated them. They could be another unknown model."

Helena thought about that. She really needed to have a long chat with this girl. She had no reason to keep these pilots in custody, and she would check the story with Adama in person. "Let's go to the CIC," she said finally.

The advanced and sleek design was far superior to Galactica's before her refit, and the computers worked together in a network. Still, for some unknown reason, the crew worked standing up. Every time the ship was rocked by a nuke, the crew was shaken and thrown against the deck or walls, leaving a trail of wounded crewmen behind.

"Admiral, we are receiving a hail from Galactica," the comms officer said. "Patch me through to Galactica," Cain ordered. After a few seconds of static, the old, deep voice of William Adama came through the speakers in the CIC, "Fleet Admiral Adama to Battlestar Pegasus Actual, please respond."

"Fleet Admiral. That's a change," Cain mumbled. She was always the top dog, and she didn't like losing that position. However, she was an officer, and she would behave as such.

"Fleet Admiral Adama, this is Admiral Cain. It's a pleasure to know you survived. It seems you've brought new friends," she said as politely as she could.

"Admiral Cain, I'm glad you and the Beast's crew are fine. I will visit your ship with the Earth Fleet Commanders."

"Understood, Fleet Admiral. I will be on the deck to receive you." This is a great time, Cain thought. I have a lot of things to discuss with you, Adama. "Cain, out."

"Fisk, what can you tell me about the Earth ships?" a curious Cain asked.

"I did a few Dradis scans, but we cannot penetrate the hulls. They are definitely warships; the optics show a lot of really big guns, and their energy emissions are..."

A suddenly awakened Fisk looked at Cain and said, "I am sorry, Admiral, but these readings are unbelievable; the Galactica is generating more power than us, and the Earth ships are off the scale." This time, Cain walked to Fisk's console and read the screen. "Wow," Cain said. "It seems our cousins are full of surprises," she added.

Landing Deck, Battlestar Pegasus

A Raptor from Galactica and a shuttle from two Earth ships, Bismarck and Montana, requested permission to land on Pegasus. Both ships landed, and the elevators transferred them to the internal bay.

A proper military reception awaited the fleet admiral and, since their cousins had helped kick the Cylons into a black hole, the Earth fleet commanders. When the ships taxied to their final positions, the Raptor opened its hatch. The shuttle was a bit different. A contour appeared around the hatch, and the hull folded inside itself. A murmur arose from the assembled crew, especially when two blonde women and a tall, heavy-set man exited the shuttle. He smiled and waited for Adama, deferring the introduction to the old admiral.

Are these girls fleet commanders? Weird, Cain thought as she walked toward the Raptor. She didn't need to wait long since the well-known figure of William Adama exited the Raptor, accompanied by a tall blonde. Kara had insisted on joining the committee, as she knew about Cain.

"Battlestar Pegasus, salute Fleet Admiral Adama from the Colonial Fleet," Helena Cain said loudly. The crew and the sideboys saluted formally. As protocol dictated, Adama requested permission to come aboard.

"Permission granted, Fleet Admiral Adama, Sir," Cain replied.

Adama looked at the assembled crew, and for the first time, he smiled as he said, "Welcome back to the fleet!" A general applause and cheers erupted among the crew, and even the marines were shouting and screaming.

Adama waited a few minutes, then looked at Harris, Bismarck, and Montana, nodding slowly. Both the man and the mental models approached Adama and remained side by side. He raised his hand and asked for silence. With his characteristic deep, low voice, he said, "Now, let me introduce the Commander of Earth's Second Fleet, Admiral Harris, and his Fleet Captains, Bismarck and Montana." Adama had spoken with Bismarck and Harris about how to introduce them without causing a commotion. It would be odd that they shared a name with a ship, but it would take a while for the truth to sink in.

After the proper introductions among the officers, Cain led the group to her private office. Once the admirals, Bismarck, Montana, Kara, and the Earth officer were seated, Adama began with the obvious question, "Cain, how did you survive the first attack?" Helena's mind went back to the past as she explained, "We were moored at Scorpia Shipyard B1 for an upgrade, and the station lost power. The Cylons jumped in and launched nukes at us. We jumped even though we were docked to the station. It wasn't pretty, Adama."

Flashback, Colonial Shipyard B1, Scorpia's Orbit

Helena Cain was enjoying a cup of Tauron coffee while she circled around the tactical table in the middle of the CIC. The modern setup of the CIC on the Mercury-class Battlestar, with its improved aesthetics and design, greatly enhanced the working environment. Modern displays showed the ship's status, and the tables had incorporated screens instead of the old plastic models still used on the Columbia-class. A distracting presence came into her awareness—a beautiful, tall blonde in civilian clothes. Gina Inviere, an expert in network administration, walked through the CIC and approached her, displaying her always exuberant sexuality.

She was was deeply involved with this woman. They had shared her quarters several times, and the relationship seemed strong and firm. "Hello, Gina. How is your work progressing?" Helena asked with a barely suppressed smile. Gina reciprocated the gesture, clearly enjoying the exchange. "My work will be finished in four days. I have my people busy with the mainframe's firewalls, so we will be on schedule. Don't worry."

The shipyard chose that precise moment to experience a complete loss of power and suffered a complete shutdown. Alarms sounded, as without energy, orbital correction was impossible, and the station had a heavy weight moored to it. The Dradis officer was analyzing the readings, and the sudden appearance of red icons on the screen was not reassuring. "Admiral, multiple jumps around Scorpia's orbit and... us!"

Recovering her senses from the intoxicating company, she started shouting the orders she knew she would have to give: "Set the ship to Condition One, all personnel to battle stations, launch alert Vipers, and remove all personnel from the external hull. Get me a line to Headquarters on Scorpia. Gina, I need my ship operational again, now!"

Gina nodded and ran swiftly to the mainframe. The closed room was perfect for her plan. She sealed the hatch and looked at the frightened technicians. One by one, with a speed only a superhuman could achieve, she killed everyone in the room. The armored mainframe compartment was the perfect place to wait for the ship's destruction and a new body. It was a shame Helena was only human.

What happened next was a cascade of grotesque images in her memory. The Pegasus's engineer had shunted the jump drives, causing the ship to jump while still moored to the station. It was a disaster, and the jump drive's cooling system was too damaged to jump again.

When the crew regained their senses, Cain sent marines to the mainframe to find out why they couldn't jump before. The sight of broken necks and worse, with the smirking blonde in the middle, shocked the marines, and two lost their lives. Eight marines tackled her, and two powerful hits with a rifle butt subdued her.

The things she had to do afterwards...

Back to Reality

She was conscious she had been out for a while. However, she regained her senses. Helena knew she couldn't avoid asking about Earth. "Excuse me, Admiral, are you really from the Thirteen Colony?" Cain asked. The Earth Admiral answered, "I'm not sure if we are your Thirteen Colony, Admiral Cain, but we come from a planet we call Earth. Of course," Harris added, "there is no such thing as parallel evolution, so we must have a common origin, although names and historical references seem to come from ancient times. Certainly, there are no records of a Thirteen Colony, Kobol, or an exodus from another planet."

"According to our Sacred Scrolls, mankind came from planet Kobol," Cain said with a bit of distrust. This time, Bismarck was completely clear on the subject. "Admiral Cain, fossil evidence shows without a trace of doubt that the human species is native to Earth." The Colonials in the room, Cain and Shaw, looked a bit offended but remained silent.

Trying to change the focus to something more innocuous, Cain said, "Lt. Thrace, I remember you from the Flight Academy. And you were a pain in the ass," she said. "I'm still the same, Admiral," Kara responded with her trademark smile. "Good," Cain replied.

"I recognize a few names from your IFF codes," Cain said while observing Bismarck and Montana. "I was talking to the Raptor crew, Captain Bismarck, Captain Montana, and usually, captains and ships don't share names."

"But let me tell you, you share the name of a famous queen who was the reason for a long war in ancient times," Bismarck added mischievously. "Admiral, as you already suspect, Montana and I are not human beings."

For the first time in her life, Helena Cain was frozen like a piece of ice. For a moment, she was afraid of Shaw's reaction, but the girls seemed to control her emotions. Her right hand was a bit itchy, wishing to take her gun, but she remained surprised but controlled. Helena examined both women and couldn't find anything that looked like a machine; even though the Cylons could pass as human beings so easily, just like Gina had. She also noticed how Kara Thrace looked at the self-declared machines with distrust.

"How?" Cain murmured. "I know you interrogated the Raptor crew. From the beginning, we shared our identity with the Colonial people, so we can be honest with you. We were born on Earth, yes, but Earth's mankind did not create us."

"Bismarck explained, "In short, an extremely old being visited worlds capable of producing intelligence in the distant past. He wanted to ensure that at least one intelligent species could survive, so he left us behind, four billion years ago, as guardians and harvesters." "I am what we call a mental model. I look this way because it is an internal reflection of myself, I think," he added proudly, "I share the name of a famous oceanic battleship from one world war on Earth."

Montana added, "I share the name of a nice place on Earth, Admiral. A battleship would have been built with my name, but it wasn't, sadly." While Bismarck was young and thin, Montanawas tall and broad-shouldered, like a boxer.

"Now you understand when I told you about mankind's home world, Admiral. I know it's true because I was there, watching the show." "Guardians. Harvesters. This time, Adama and Cain shared a concerned frown. "Bismarck, did you say harvesters?"

"Yes, Admirals. Mankind appeared on Earth in the fifth iteration, or after five massive extinctions."

Adama felt compelled to ask a question. "Did you..." Adama began. "A couple of times, yes, we had to intervene and force a new evolutionary path," Bismarck said. "Sometimes, evolution is a closed road, so we pushed for a change." Adama and Cain exchanged looks with Harris. Cain knew that Adama was not feigning ignorance, but Harris had remained calm throughout the exchange.

"It is a curious story, isn't it?" Harris said. "Mankind is here because of them. Without the Fleet, we would not exist." The realization of such a fundamental truth reached the Colonials, and they remained in deep silence.

This time, Adama intervened and explained, "Helena, you would need weeks, and there is a chance of being followed by the Cylons. Both battlestars will jump together." It was a subtle reminder of who was in charge here, and she understood it. She knew it would be tactically dangerous. "Ok, we will follow you, " Cain accepted.

After a long minute, Harris cleared his throat to regain everyone's attention. "Admiral Cain, do you have any hint of another Colonial ship like yours? We would like to rescue any Colonial crew we can, and I don't want any potential ships used as Trojan horses by the Cylons."

"Sorry, Admiral. I don't understand what a Trojan Horse is," a confused Cain said. "I remember someone used that term, but I didn't ask for its meaning," a curious Adama added. Five minutes later, with a hologram courtesy of Bismarck, a complete explanation was provided.

"Tricky bastards, your Greeks," Cain said. "Earth is sometimes a hard place to live in," Bismarck commented. "In response to your question, we didn't find any other ships," Cain replied. "But our fleet was really big. Perhaps there could be more surviving ships out there."

"So we need to keep looking for a while," Bismarck murmured. "Admiral Cain, did you search for supplies on the colonies all this time?" she asked. Everyone noticed a veiled pain or guilt on Cain's face, but she shook her head. Something is fishy here, Bismarck thought. Her biometrics fluctuated a lot. She is lying, but she has a strong will and self-control. In time, I will find out what happened, Admiral Cain.

"Well, we will have time to talk about a lot of things. For now, it's better if we return to our base," Harris said. "We can follow you. Just give us the coordinates," Cain said.

"I'm sorry, Admiral Cain, but we can't do that. Let me explain: we must be careful. If you have more infiltrators on board, they could share the coordinates and attack our world," Harris explained to Cain, "we will jump your ship and ours together."

Cain could feel her stomach aching from the stress. She didn't like to transfer command of her ship to an unknown machine. "I prefer to be able to decide my ship's course," she declared with a bit of distrust. "Admiral Cain," Montana said, "we are talking about 500 light years."

This time, Adama intervened and explained, "Helena, you would need weeks, and there is a chance to be followed by the Cylons. Both battlestars will jump together." It was a sutile reminder of who was in charge here, and she understood it. She knew it would be tactically dangerous. "Ok, we will follow you, " Cain accepted.

After an hour or so of drinking, Harris really enjoyed colonial ambrosia since Cain and Adama needed something to drink. The fleet maneuvered to make a double line with Pegasus and Bismarck in the middle, and Montana paired with Galactica behind, so the fold field could take the battlestars inside.

After an instant, the ships defolded into the Forge area.