Battlestar Galactica: Greetings From Earth Prologue "How much longer?" The black-suited man shot an annoyed glance at the brown- haired man whose silver suit stood out against the night. Why did he insist on wearing that stupid outfit? He thought. It makes him stand out like a beacon. Still, he held his tongue, "Just hang tight. I can't make a move until the lead guard goes, and it's just the one remaining guard patrolling the hangar." "We could take them both out-----" "Not when you're wearing that color outfit," he decided to let it out, "Just what were you thinking anyway?" The brown-haired man's nostrils flared, "This is standard for all of us! You know tech-workers and farmers can't afford to----" "Yeah, yeah, I know." he waved a hand, and then coughed once, "Damn, it's so hard to breathe here." "Occupational hazard, eh, Colonel?" the brown-haired man noted, "How much longer do you think you can stay here?" "Long enough to get my job done," the Colonel shot a glance back at the hangar entrance. Two black-suited guards continud to pace back and forth. "Though believe me, after what I've seen here on Luna Seven, I shouldn't even bother checking the inner satellites. What's happened here is proof enough of what the Alliance is up to." "But I take it, you still plan on going to Luna One before returning to Terra," "I have no choice," he grunted, "General Maxwell is expecting me. We need to get the best possible evidence to present to the Presidium and prove that our President is preparing to sell us down the river completely. And Luna One offers the best hope of that." "Good luck," the brown-haired man said, his impatience rising, "The more I learn about what life is like on Terra, the more I consider it a blessing that I can never visit it, let alone live there." "I sometimes wish it could be the same with me," the Colonel grunted as he trained his binoculars on the entrance, "Okay....he's finally going. He's on his way to get his relief's Life Station, and back in a state of suspended animation, events aboard the battlestar had stabilized somewhat. But as Adama listened to Salik make his report, he knew that it was only temporary and that soon, the crisis would erupt again. "Commander, there is no getting around the fact that our atmospheric pressure, which is configured to that of all the middle and inner Colonies, was literally crushing them alive. Even if the atmosphere had been adjusted for the outer Colonies, that still would have been fatal." "I don't understand," Apollo said, "They appear to be human in every aspect. How can there be such a disparity?" "Human beings are adaptable, Apollo," Salik said, "Wherever they came from must have had an atmosphere that steadily grew thinner over a period of perhaps....millennia." "Or put another way, our own Colonies could have developed a thicker atmosphere in the seven millennia after they were first settled," Sheba noted. "Exactly," Salik nodded. "But whBattlestar Galactica: Greetings From Earth Prologue "How much longer?" The black-suited man shot an annoyed glance at the brown- haired man whose silver suit stood out against the night. Why did he insist on wearing that stupid outfit? He thought. It makes him stand out like a beacon. Still, he held his tongue, "Just hang tight. I can't make a move until the lead guard goes, and it's just the one remaining guard patrolling the hangar." "We could take them both out-----" "Not when you're wearing that color outfit," he decided to let it out, "Just what were you thinking anyway?" The brown-haired man's nostrils flared, "This is standard for all of us! You know tech-workers and farmers can't afford to----" "Yeah, yeah, I know." he waved a hand, and then coughed once, "Damn, it's so hard to breathe here." "Occupational hazard, eh, Colonel?" the brown-haired man noted, "How much longer do you think you can stay here?" "Long enough to get my job done," the Colonel shot a glance back at the hangar entrance. Two black-suited guards continud to pace back and forth. "Though believe me, after what I've seen here on Luna Seven, I shouldn't even bother checking the inner satellites. What's happened here is proof enough of what the Alliance is up to." "But I take it, you still plan on going to Luna One before returning to Terra," "I have no choice," he grunted, "General Maxwell is expecting me. We need to get the best possible evidence to present to the Presidium and prove that our President is preparing to sell us down the river completely. And Luna One offers the best hope of that." "Good luck," the brown-haired man said, his impatience rising, "The more I learn about what life is like on Terra, the more I consider it a blessing that I can never visit it, let alone live there." "I sometimes wish it could be the same with me," the Colonel grunted as he trained his binoculars on the entrance, "Okay....he's finally going. He's on his way to get his relief for the next three hours who patrols with the remaining guard for two hours when his relief comes. That give us a window of.....ten minutes as soon as he disappears.....now!" The Colonel got to his feet and assumed an erect bearing as he began to approach the hangar. As he watched, the brown- haired man gingerly stepped back toward the land vehicle ten feet away, where a large canvas tarp covered the back end. "Sarah," he whispered urgently as he pulled back the tarp, "It's time!" A striking blonde woman in her late twenties, wearing a silver suit identical to his stuck her head out and quickly got out of the vehicle. Behind her were three children, a boy and girl no older then six, and an older girl of twelve. "Hurry, children," she whispered, "We're going to move soon." "Assuming our would-be-benefactor Colonel Watts is as good as he says he is," the man sighed as he focused his attention back toward the hangar. "Michael, do you really think we could have gotten this far withouichever explanation is correct, the simple fact is that taking them out of those chambers will kill them within centons." Adama shook his head sadly as he felt the heavy sense of burden returning to him. "Very well, Doctor. Thank you for your report and let me know if anything else develops." "Commander," Salik bowed and then shot a sly glance at Apollo before leaving the room. The captain noded faintly to indicate acknowledgment. As he looked about the room, he saw that Adama, Starbuck, Tigh and Sheba hadn't noticed their silent exchange. "Well that's just great," Adama put his finger to his lips in sad contemplation, "To come so close, perhaps to the very humans whose tribe we've been seeking, and to see it reach what seems like a total dead end." "Maybe not," Tigh offered, "It might be possible after some time to communicate with them even with them inside those chambers." "Possible," Adama admitted, "But even so....." "No!" Apollo abruptly spoke up, his tone as angack at the hangar entrance. Two black-suited guards continud to pace back and forth. "Though believe me, after what I've seen here on Luna Seven, I shouldn't even bother checking the inner satellites. What's happened here is proof enough of what the Alliance is up to." "But I take it, you still plan on going to Luna One before returning to Terra," "I have no choice," he grunted, "General Maxwell is expecting me. We need to get the best possible evidence to present to the Presidium and prove that our President is preparing to sell us down the river completely. And Luna One offers the best hope of that." "Good luck," the brown-haired man said, his impatience rising, "The more I learn about what life is like on Terra, the more I consider it a blessing that I can never visit it, let alone live there." "I sometimes wish it could be the same with me," the Colonel grunted as he trained his binoculars on the entrance, "Okay....he's finally going. He's on his way to get his relief for the next three hours who patrols with the remaining guard for two hours when his relief comes. That give us a window of.....ten minutes as soon as he disappears.....now!" The Colonel got to his feet and assumed an erect bearing as he began to approach the hangar. As he watched, the brown- haired man gingerly stepped back toward the land vehicle ten feet away, where a large canvas tarp covered the back end. "Sarah," he whispered urgently as he pulled back the tarp, "It's time!" A striking blonde woman in her late twenties, wearing a silver suit identical to his stuck her head out and quickly got out of the vehicle. Behind her were three children, a boy and girl no older then six, and an older girl of twelve. "Hurry, children," she whispered, "We're going to move soon." "Assuming our would-be-benefactor Colonel Watts is as good as he says he is," the man sighed as he focused his attention back toward the hangar. "Michael, do you really think we could have gotten this far without him?" Michael shook his head, "No. Even with all the programming I've done for the ship, figuring a way past the guards and getting off this planet safely would have taken a lot longer if he hadn't shown up." Sarah sighed, "I know I should feel grateful to him, and yet....there's something so unlikable about him." "I know what you mean," Michael admitted, "But I guess that's why he's such an enigma." ************************************************************ **************************************** As Colonel Watts approached the black-suited guard, he gave him a rigid salute. "Halt!" the guard drew his weapon. "Take it easy son, I'm Colonel Terzov from Alliance Security. Didn't the Commandant notify you I'd be here?" The guard frowned, "Well....no. I...." he snapped back to attention, "I need to see your identification." "Of course," Watts smiled and then in one quick motion whipped out a pistol armed with a silencer. His superior training enabled him to shoot the guarry as it had been the previous day in the conversation with Wilker. "What do you mean, no?" Tigh looked at him in bewilderment, "With the lives of every man, woman and child in this Fleet dependent on whatever answers they can give us to some simple questions? Are they from Earth? And if they are, can Earth support us? Is it sufficiently advanced technologically to help us in our struggle with the Cylons? Or do they even have the technology to protect themselves from a Cylon invasion?" "You've made your point, Colonel," Adama said, "And Apollo, before you give me another moralizing discourse about the ethics of keeping them aboard the Galactica, I suggest you remember that as well." "I'm sorry, but the lives of those five people don't belong to us!" Apollo wasn't backing down. "They must be allowed to continue on their journey." "Maybe eventually they can!" Sheba cut in, "But what in heaven's name is the reason for doing it now before we get some simple answers to quest for the next three hours who patrols with the remaining guard for two hours when his relief comes. That give us a window of.....ten minutes as soon as he disappears.....now!" The Colonel got to his feet and assumed an erect bearing as he began to approach the hangar. As he watched, the brown- haired man gingerly stepped back toward the land vehicle ten feet away, where a large canvas tarp covered the back end. "Sarah," he whispered urgently as he pulled back the tarp, "It's time!" A striking blonde woman in her late twenties, wearing a silver suit identical to his stuck her head out and quickly got out of the vehicle. Behind her were three children, a boy and girl no older then six, and an older girl of twelve. "Hurry, children," she whispered, "We're going to move soon." "Assuming our would-be-benefactor Colonel Watts is as good as he says he is," the man sighed as he focused his attention back toward the hangar. "Michael, do you really think we could have gotten this far without him?" Michael shook his head, "No. Even with all the programming I've done for the ship, figuring a way past the guards and getting off this planet safely would have taken a lot longer if he hadn't shown up." Sarah sighed, "I know I should feel grateful to him, and yet....there's something so unlikable about him." "I know what you mean," Michael admitted, "But I guess that's why he's such an enigma." ************************************************************ **************************************** As Colonel Watts approached the black-suited guard, he gave him a rigid salute. "Halt!" the guard drew his weapon. "Take it easy son, I'm Colonel Terzov from Alliance Security. Didn't the Commandant notify you I'd be here?" The guard frowned, "Well....no. I...." he snapped back to attention, "I need to see your identification." "Of course," Watts smiled and then in one quick motion whipped out a pistol armed with a silencer. His superior training enabled him to shoot the guard between the eyes before he could have a chance to react. As soon as the guard fell to the ground, Colonel Watts turned around and gestured frantically. Immediately, Michael, Sarah and the three children sprinted across the open runway space as fast as they could go. By the time they reached the hangar building, Colonel Watts was hastily inserting the dead guard's pass card into the automatic lock. "Got it!" he said in triumph, "Now get inside!" The five silver-suited people sprinted inside, followed by the Colonel. In front of them were two ships. One, a small, one man shuttlecraft. The second, a much bigger craft, orange-colored and sleek in its contours. "Well, there they are," Colonel Watts said proudly, "Our one- way tickets off this planet forever." he turned to Michael, "Got your magic programming disc ready?" Michael tapped the pocket of his suit and nodded. "All right," Watts said as he checked his watch, "We've got seven minutes before the other guard comes back.ions that would take only a few centars for us to find out once they can communicate? Apollo, are you so dense that you can't grasp the siginificance of that?" "No, Sheba, I know what you're saying, but I don't think you're seeing why I think it's important that we let them go as soon as possible." "Then if there's a point tell me what it is in common Colonial Standard, for sagan's sake!" Sheba felt herself growing more frustrated. However much she wanted to see Apollo's point and avoid quarreling with him, it was proving difficult for Sheba to avoid it. "You keep wanting to show how concerned you are with their well-being and how ethically wrong it is to keep them here. Okay, fine, but make the case for letting them go without making it look like we're throwing away our chance to find the key to Earth, because if you're not taking that into consideration then I think you ought to be sized for a restrainer and placed in the Nuthouse!" "All right," Apollo waved his arms and lot him?" Michael shook his head, "No. Even with all the programming I've done for the ship, figuring a way past the guards and getting off this planet safely would have taken a lot longer if he hadn't shown up." Sarah sighed, "I know I should feel grateful to him, and yet....there's something so unlikable about him." "I know what you mean," Michael admitted, "But I guess that's why he's such an enigma." ************************************************************ **************************************** As Colonel Watts approached the black-suited guard, he gave him a rigid salute. "Halt!" the guard drew his weapon. "Take it easy son, I'm Colonel Terzov from Alliance Security. Didn't the Commandant notify you I'd be here?" The guard frowned, "Well....no. I...." he snapped back to attention, "I need to see your identification." "Of course," Watts smiled and then in one quick motion whipped out a pistol armed with a silencer. His superior training enabled him to shoot the guard between the eyes before he could have a chance to react. As soon as the guard fell to the ground, Colonel Watts turned around and gestured frantically. Immediately, Michael, Sarah and the three children sprinted across the open runway space as fast as they could go. By the time they reached the hangar building, Colonel Watts was hastily inserting the dead guard's pass card into the automatic lock. "Got it!" he said in triumph, "Now get inside!" The five silver-suited people sprinted inside, followed by the Colonel. In front of them were two ships. One, a small, one man shuttlecraft. The second, a much bigger craft, orange-colored and sleek in its contours. "Well, there they are," Colonel Watts said proudly, "Our one- way tickets off this planet forever." he turned to Michael, "Got your magic programming disc ready?" Michael tapped the pocket of his suit and nodded. "All right," Watts said as he checked his watch, "We've got seven minutes before the other guard comes back. I'll take off first and make use of the gun mounts to distract Field Security long enough while you high-tail it out of here, fast. And I hope you can get clear of the tracking before they can get any Destroyers into the area." "I know what to do," Michael said as he motioned Sarah to lead the children inside the larger craft, "I've studied the components of this ship so much and flown the simulators so many times I feel like I'm already proficient when it comes to flying it for as long as I have to." "Well, you'll only get one chance to see how good you are," he paused as his expression grew thoughtful, "You really think Paradeen will be safe for you?" "It should be," Michael nodded, "After all, we both know what the Alliance did there. There's no reason they should be bothering with it again." "True," Colonel Watts then extended his hand, "Good luck to you, Michael." The brown-haired man took the offered hand and shook it, "And to you too, Colonel Watts. I hope your mission iwered his voice to a calm tone, "All right. This is my point. Suppose their destination is close by to where we intercepted them? If we could let them go and track them to where they land, we'd be in a better position to find out the information we need. We'd have a specific location to correlate what they'd have to tell us. I mean, there's one thing we're not considering when you say we should interrogate them here on the Galactica inside those chambers. What incentive would they have to tell us the truth, when they haven't the vaguest idea of who we are and where we come from? But if we show a gesture of friendship to them by letting them finish their voyage, then that means they'll trust us and tell us all we need to know once our tracking team arrives at their destination with them." "It would have helped if you'd explained that sooner," Tigh said sourly. "When you put it that way, it makes sense. But how can you be sure that we're close to their destination? d between the eyes before he could have a chance to react. As soon as the guard fell to the ground, Colonel Watts turned around and gestured frantically. Immediately, Michael, Sarah and the three children sprinted across the open runway space as fast as they could go. By the time they reached the hangar building, Colonel Watts was hastily inserting the dead guard's pass card into the automatic lock. "Got it!" he said in triumph, "Now get inside!" The five silver-suited people sprinted inside, followed by the Colonel. In front of them were two ships. One, a small, one man shuttlecraft. The second, a much bigger craft, orange-colored and sleek in its contours. "Well, there they are," Colonel Watts said proudly, "Our one- way tickets off this planet forever." he turned to Michael, "Got your magic programming disc ready?" Michael tapped the pocket of his suit and nodded. "All right," Watts said as he checked his watch, "We've got seven minutes before the other guard comes back. I'll take off first and make use of the gun mounts to distract Field Security long enough while you high-tail it out of here, fast. And I hope you can get clear of the tracking before they can get any Destroyers into the area." "I know what to do," Michael said as he motioned Sarah to lead the children inside the larger craft, "I've studied the components of this ship so much and flown the simulators so many times I feel like I'm already proficient when it comes to flying it for as long as I have to." "Well, you'll only get one chance to see how good you are," he paused as his expression grew thoughtful, "You really think Paradeen will be safe for you?" "It should be," Michael nodded, "After all, we both know what the Alliance did there. There's no reason they should be bothering with it again." "True," Colonel Watts then extended his hand, "Good luck to you, Michael." The brown-haired man took the offered hand and shook it, "And to you too, Colonel Watts. I hope your mission is successful." "Well if it isn't, you'll find out someday," he said nonchalantly as he then headed up the steps and into the shuttle. Michael lingered only for another second before he hurried over to the orange ship and entered it. When he got inside, he saw Sarah was helping the three children step into several pod like chambers. "That should wait until we're away!" He protested. Sarah turned around, "What difference does it make?" "None," he admitted and moved over to the control panel where he stuck a computer disc into the main terminal. Immediately, a number of systems began to power themselves up. As Sarah continued to help load the children in and secure their chambers, Michael went forward to the cockpit section, where he nervously settled himself into his chair. Through the windows, he could see the shuttle light up and hear the roar of its engines come to life. As he watched the shuttle move out through the hangar doors, he fired up the engines of the craft and with How do we know it wasn't so far across the galaxy it would take hundreds of yahrens for their ship to reach it?" "Because I think the closeness of their destination explains why their life support power readings were dwindling. They were in a timed program mode to wake them up when they reached their destination. It wasn't Wilker's probing that caused the readings to drop, it was the simple passage of time reaching closer and closer to the planned arrival time." "That's all theoretical Captain," Tigh remained unconvinced, "You don't have star charts or anything concrete to back that up, and that means you want to risk the well-being of this Fleet on a whim." "It's a chance we have to take, Colonel," Apollo said, "Because the longer we keep them here, the longer we take them on a heading going away from their intended destination, and that means we'll face in all likelihood some uncooperative people locked in pressure chambers who can never get out, and hostile Council members w I'll take off first and make use of the gun mounts to distract Field Security long enough while you high-tail it out of here, fast. And I hope you can get clear of the tracking before they can get any Destroyers into the area." "I know what to do," Michael said as he motioned Sarah to lead the children inside the larger craft, "I've studied the components of this ship so much and flown the simulators so many times I feel like I'm already proficient when it comes to flying it for as long as I have to." "Well, you'll only get one chance to see how good you are," he paused as his expression grew thoughtful, "You really think Paradeen will be safe for you?" "It should be," Michael nodded, "After all, we both know what the Alliance did there. There's no reason they should be bothering with it again." "True," Colonel Watts then extended his hand, "Good luck to you, Michael." The brown-haired man took the offered hand and shook it, "And to you too, Colonel Watts. I hope your mission is successful." "Well if it isn't, you'll find out someday," he said nonchalantly as he then headed up the steps and into the shuttle. Michael lingered only for another second before he hurried over to the orange ship and entered it. When he got inside, he saw Sarah was helping the three children step into several pod like chambers. "That should wait until we're away!" He protested. Sarah turned around, "What difference does it make?" "None," he admitted and moved over to the control panel where he stuck a computer disc into the main terminal. Immediately, a number of systems began to power themselves up. As Sarah continued to help load the children in and secure their chambers, Michael went forward to the cockpit section, where he nervously settled himself into his chair. Through the windows, he could see the shuttle light up and hear the roar of its engines come to life. As he watched the shuttle move out through the hangar doors, he fired up the engines of the craft and with trepidation began to maneuver the control stick so it followed the shuttle out. When the craft broke out into the clear night, he could see the shuttle begin to pick up speed. Just as Michael pushed the stick forward so his craft could gain speed, he suddenly saw a number of red lights start to flash all around the air strip. Clearly, their escape had now been spotted. Michael watched the shuttle rise from the ground and saw it abruptly turn at an angle. White flashes erupted, indicating that it was now opening fire somewhere on the base below. As soon as the shuttle was out of his field of vision, Michael then hit the switches that made the spacecraft become airborne. And then....a nervous waiting period as the night sky turned into the darker vision of space. And then, checking the scanner to see if anyone was following him. But so far, all signs indicated nothing. "I think we've made it!" he finally allowed himself a happy burst. He activated the automatic pilot ho'll demand even more drastic steps." "If we let them go, then who tracks them?" Adama inquired. Apollo shot a glance at Starbuck, who was slowly shaking his head in resignation to the fact that he'd just been made a Ÿ_~volunteer' again. "The two of you," Sheba looked at him dubiously, "Putting yourselves at risk to escort a ship to an unknown destination, and by the time you find out how far away it is, you won't have a prayer of having any fuel to make a return trip to the Galactica." "She's right," Adama said, "I'd have to bring the Fleet to almost total dead stop to give you a safety margin for getting back if you're talking about using vipers to escort them to where they're going." "If this is close enough as I think it is, that shouldn't be a problem." "How are you defining Ÿ_~close by', Apollo?" his father had never seen this kind of brazen determination in his son before. "As long as it takes to fly a long-range deep patrol?" "And not only that, how do you maintais successful." "Well if it isn't, you'll find out someday," he said nonchalantly as he then headed up the steps and into the shuttle. Michael lingered only for another second before he hurried over to the orange ship and entered it. When he got inside, he saw Sarah was helping the three children step into several pod like chambers. "That should wait until we're away!" He protested. Sarah turned around, "What difference does it make?" "None," he admitted and moved over to the control panel where he stuck a computer disc into the main terminal. Immediately, a number of systems began to power themselves up. As Sarah continued to help load the children in and secure their chambers, Michael went forward to the cockpit section, where he nervously settled himself into his chair. Through the windows, he could see the shuttle light up and hear the roar of its engines come to life. As he watched the shuttle move out through the hangar doors, he fired up the engines of the craft and with trepidation began to maneuver the control stick so it followed the shuttle out. When the craft broke out into the clear night, he could see the shuttle begin to pick up speed. Just as Michael pushed the stick forward so his craft could gain speed, he suddenly saw a number of red lights start to flash all around the air strip. Clearly, their escape had now been spotted. Michael watched the shuttle rise from the ground and saw it abruptly turn at an angle. White flashes erupted, indicating that it was now opening fire somewhere on the base below. As soon as the shuttle was out of his field of vision, Michael then hit the switches that made the spacecraft become airborne. And then....a nervous waiting period as the night sky turned into the darker vision of space. And then, checking the scanner to see if anyone was following him. But so far, all signs indicated nothing. "I think we've made it!" he finally allowed himself a happy burst. He activated the automatic pilot that would take the spacecraft out of Luna Seven's gravitational pull, and then dashed back to the control console in the mid-section of the ship where he had loaded the computer disc. He activated the switches and then a new burst of activity took place on the terminals. "Automatic heading now engaged. Computer control now initiating course heading according to programmed sequence." A computer voice filled the spacecraft. And then, a pause and the voice said, "Course is now set for the planet Paradeen. Estimated time of arrival in two months flight time." Behind him, Sarah let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God," she whispered. "We've made it." "And no sign of Alliance pursuit," Michael rose from the terminal. "Colonel Watts' decoy appeared to work." "Do you think he made it?" Michael shrugged, "Who's to say? But we can't concern ourselves with that, Sarah. His mission, his cause, the whole damned war, can't concern us any longer. We have to think only of ourselves fromn your heading alongside a craft that moves that slow?" Tigh added. "We power ourselves down to sublight and match their speed and heading." "You've sure thought of everything, haven't you?" Sheba injected a note of sarcasm into her voice. Apollo was showing the same kind of total certainty that he'd demonstrated when he'd volunteered to head-up Starbuck's defense in the murder tribunal. And she'd seen firsthand how Apollo had at one point made a costly blunder that nearly destroyed Starbuck's chances of getting acquitted. "I wouldn't be proposing this if I hadn't," Apollo didn't look at her, or take note of the pointed edge in her question. "Father, don't you see the logic of it?" "Not quite," his father leaned back in his chair, "Suppose you make it to this planet. Then what? You've already seen how they can't breathe in our atmosphere. How could you and Starbuck survive in their atmosphere?" "It's different," Apollo said, "We can more easily adapt to a thinner trepidation began to maneuver the control stick so it followed the shuttle out. When the craft broke out into the clear night, he could see the shuttle begin to pick up speed. Just as Michael pushed the stick forward so his craft could gain speed, he suddenly saw a number of red lights start to flash all around the air strip. Clearly, their escape had now been spotted. Michael watched the shuttle rise from the ground and saw it abruptly turn at an angle. White flashes erupted, indicating that it was now opening fire somewhere on the base below. As soon as the shuttle was out of his field of vision, Michael then hit the switches that made the spacecraft become airborne. And then....a nervous waiting period as the night sky turned into the darker vision of space. And then, checking the scanner to see if anyone was following him. But so far, all signs indicated nothing. "I think we've made it!" he finally allowed himself a happy burst. He activated the automatic pilot that would take the spacecraft out of Luna Seven's gravitational pull, and then dashed back to the control console in the mid-section of the ship where he had loaded the computer disc. He activated the switches and then a new burst of activity took place on the terminals. "Automatic heading now engaged. Computer control now initiating course heading according to programmed sequence." A computer voice filled the spacecraft. And then, a pause and the voice said, "Course is now set for the planet Paradeen. Estimated time of arrival in two months flight time." Behind him, Sarah let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God," she whispered. "We've made it." "And no sign of Alliance pursuit," Michael rose from the terminal. "Colonel Watts' decoy appeared to work." "Do you think he made it?" Michael shrugged, "Who's to say? But we can't concern ourselves with that, Sarah. His mission, his cause, the whole damned war, can't concern us any longer. We have to think only of ourselves from now on." "I agree," she glanced back at the chambers where the three children lay motionless under the glass pods. "And of them too." For only an instant, Michael thought of hugging her to show his relief and gratitude. But then he remembered that it probably wouldn't be a good idea even under these circumstances. "Come on," he said, "Let's get ready. We've got a long night's sleep ahead of us." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: :Ti"!S]d!!j^k"!C2,"! From The Adama Journals In the time that has passed since the internal crises surrounding both the Borellian Nomen's plot to stage a revolt aboard their ship, and the murder tribunal of Lieutenant Starbuck, for which by the Lords' good graces he was acquitted, we have at last been able to resume the bulk of our energies towards the goal of searching for clues that might lead us to the Thirteenth Tribe and the planet Earth. We continue to follow those coordinates given to us by thatatmosphere for a short period of time." "There you go again!" Tigh threw up his arms, "What are you defining as Ÿ_~short-term'?" Apollo looked at the executive officer, "I'm defining it as long enough to do the job, Colonel." An uneasy silence now filled the room, as though the others were trying to think of any other reason to make Apollo see how foolhardy his plan was. And Starbuck, who had stayed quiet the whole time, amusingly found himself wishing he could think of one too. Sheba finally realized the one remaining thing that hadn't been considered. "What about the Council?" she asked, "They acted quickly to take jurisdiction over removing them from their chambers. Would they allow you to let them go to carry out this scheme of Apollo's?" "Oh Lord," Adama rubbed his temple, "That's so true. After what happened yesterday, my relations with them are at a lowpoint." "Then Commander, maybe what you should do is invoke your authority under the Martial Law statute and decthat would take the spacecraft out of Luna Seven's gravitational pull, and then dashed back to the control console in the mid-section of the ship where he had loaded the computer disc. He activated the switches and then a new burst of activity took place on the terminals. "Automatic heading now engaged. Computer control now initiating course heading according to programmed sequence." A computer voice filled the spacecraft. And then, a pause and the voice said, "Course is now set for the planet Paradeen. Estimated time of arrival in two months flight time." Behind him, Sarah let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God," she whispered. "We've made it." "And no sign of Alliance pursuit," Michael rose from the terminal. "Colonel Watts' decoy appeared to work." "Do you think he made it?" Michael shrugged, "Who's to say? But we can't concern ourselves with that, Sarah. His mission, his cause, the whole damned war, can't concern us any longer. We have to think only of ourselves from now on." "I agree," she glanced back at the chambers where the three children lay motionless under the glass pods. "And of them too." For only an instant, Michael thought of hugging her to show his relief and gratitude. But then he remembered that it probably wouldn't be a good idea even under these circumstances. "Come on," he said, "Let's get ready. We've got a long night's sleep ahead of us." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: :Ti"!S]d!!j^k"!C2,"! From The Adama Journals In the time that has passed since the internal crises surrounding both the Borellian Nomen's plot to stage a revolt aboard their ship, and the murder tribunal of Lieutenant Starbuck, for which by the Lords' good graces he was acquitted, we have at last been able to resume the bulk of our energies towards the goal of searching for clues that might lead us to the Thirteenth Tribe and the planet Earth. We continue to follow those coordinates given to us by that strange and mysterious race of beings from a ship of lights, which we know must one day lead us to Earth, but without any sense of whether it will come in a day, or in a thousand yahrens. With my time not preoccupied by internal crises, it gives me an opportunity to ponder more the true nature of those beings who I feel rescued us from the evil intentions of the mysterious figure who called himself Count Iblis. Are my own suppositions that they represent that higher being man is destined to become upon his death, when he can become one step closer to the Almighty? Or do they in fact represent something less supernatural? Perhaps a race of beings who reflect a common origin with man that goes even further back then the emergence of life on Kobol itself, and who have learned to evolve and develop at rates far beyond our comprehension? Such would be the skeptic's interpretation of those beings. My faith makes me prefer to think of the former as the more likely possibility.lare a military emergency that necessitated letting them go," Starbuck spoke up and wondered how it was that when he finally spoke, it was to come up with a solution for letting the mission go forward. "After all, they did shoot one of our guards. You could make the argument that these people are the worst things we've come across since the Cylons." "What are you talking about?" Sheba now wondered if Starbuck was going crazy. "No reasonable person would buy that explanation in a micron." "This is the Council we're dealing with, not reasonable people," Starbuck smirked. "Hold it!" Adama threw up his hands in exasperation, which got their attention. He then slowly brought them together in quiet contemplation and looked up at Starbuck with a cold expression that indicated he didn't care for the lieutenant's flippancy. "If I declare that it was a military emergency that precipitated releasing them, I'd be insulting their intelligence, Starbuck. And while you might think it now on." "I agree," she glanced back at the chambers where the three children lay motionless under the glass pods. "And of them too." For only an instant, Michael thought of hugging her to show his relief and gratitude. But then he remembered that it probably wouldn't be a good idea even under these circumstances. "Come on," he said, "Let's get ready. We've got a long night's sleep ahead of us." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: :Ti"!S]d!!j^k"!C2,"! From The Adama Journals In the time that has passed since the internal crises surrounding both the Borellian Nomen's plot to stage a revolt aboard their ship, and the murder tribunal of Lieutenant Starbuck, for which by the Lords' good graces he was acquitted, we have at last been able to resume the bulk of our energies towards the goal of searching for clues that might lead us to the Thirteenth Tribe and the planet Earth. We continue to follow those coordinates given to us by that strange and mysterious race of beings from a ship of lights, which we know must one day lead us to Earth, but without any sense of whether it will come in a day, or in a thousand yahrens. With my time not preoccupied by internal crises, it gives me an opportunity to ponder more the true nature of those beings who I feel rescued us from the evil intentions of the mysterious figure who called himself Count Iblis. Are my own suppositions that they represent that higher being man is destined to become upon his death, when he can become one step closer to the Almighty? Or do they in fact represent something less supernatural? Perhaps a race of beings who reflect a common origin with man that goes even further back then the emergence of life on Kobol itself, and who have learned to evolve and develop at rates far beyond our comprehension? Such would be the skeptic's interpretation of those beings. My faith makes me prefer to think of the former as the more likely possibility. Any sign that proves to us that we live in a universe where the absolute forces of Good, as well as Evil, are real, proves as well the existence of a just and merciful God who is ultimately in control of all forces of history. And if there is a sign of that, then we can live with the hope that somehow, somewhere, our journey that has taken us so far across the stars from our homes, and into this vast unknown dimension of uncharted space, will not have been in vain. Chapter One Six centars had elapsed since Starbuck and Apollo had begun their long-range patrol sweep ahead of the Fleet on the Epsilon 22 course. To Apollo, it had seemed even longer then that because the whole time, Starbuck had not been able to stop pumping him for all the insider details surrounding the blonde lieutenant's recent experience that had seen him stand trial for a murder he had not committed. ".....I still don't get what Charybdis' original plan was," Starbuck said, not for the first time during would be amusing to try and pull that kind of stunt on them, I would remind you that the men and women who serve on the Council, no matter how stubborn and arrogant some of them might be, are not Academy cadets to play pranks and tricks on. They are the duly appointed representatives of a governing body with a long, ancient tradition that I have the deepest respect for. If I decide to use my authority to let them go without letting them vote on it, I will tell them the blunt truth that I did it because I felt it was in the best interests of our people, and I will then let the consequences fall as they may." He then stopped to rub his temple again, "And given the mood they're in now, initiating this plan could result in some very serious consequences for the long haul." His words had an intimidating effect on both Apollo and Starbuck. And for the first time, Apollo found himself becoming more cognizant of the burden he'd be placing his father under as a result of this, and he cur strange and mysterious race of beings from a ship of lights, which we know must one day lead us to Earth, but without any sense of whether it will come in a day, or in a thousand yahrens. With my time not preoccupied by internal crises, it gives me an opportunity to ponder more the true nature of those beings who I feel rescued us from the evil intentions of the mysterious figure who called himself Count Iblis. Are my own suppositions that they represent that higher being man is destined to become upon his death, when he can become one step closer to the Almighty? Or do they in fact represent something less supernatural? Perhaps a race of beings who reflect a common origin with man that goes even further back then the emergence of life on Kobol itself, and who have learned to evolve and develop at rates far beyond our comprehension? Such would be the skeptic's interpretation of those beings. My faith makes me prefer to think of the former as the more likely possibility. Any sign that proves to us that we live in a universe where the absolute forces of Good, as well as Evil, are real, proves as well the existence of a just and merciful God who is ultimately in control of all forces of history. And if there is a sign of that, then we can live with the hope that somehow, somewhere, our journey that has taken us so far across the stars from our homes, and into this vast unknown dimension of uncharted space, will not have been in vain. Chapter One Six centars had elapsed since Starbuck and Apollo had begun their long-range patrol sweep ahead of the Fleet on the Epsilon 22 course. To Apollo, it had seemed even longer then that because the whole time, Starbuck had not been able to stop pumping him for all the insider details surrounding the blonde lieutenant's recent experience that had seen him stand trial for a murder he had not committed. ".....I still don't get what Charybdis' original plan was," Starbuck said, not for the first time during the patrol. Apollo rolled his eyes as he realized he'd have to go over this again, "I'll try to explain it slowly this time, Starbuck. Chella, the guy you nearly ran over leaving the locker room, was the original fall guy in Charybdis' plan. He knew that Ortega had been blackmailing Chella as well as him, so he set things up to lure Chella down to those levels, kill him, and then set it up to make it look like Chella and Charybdis had killed each other." "Well if that was the case, why'd he pick on me instead?" "Because your getting yourself ejected from the game, fouled up his plans," Apollo said. "He now had to deal with you roaming those levels as well, and that meant he didn't have time to eliminate both Chella and Ortega. So in the space of three centons, he figured out that if he could catch you in the turbo wash with your laser pistol lying unguarded in the locker room, he'd solve all his problems." The captain paused, "So the moral of the story, Starbuck, is neversed himself for not having realized that consequence much sooner. Apollo came over and gently touched his father's wrist, "Father," he said, "If you feel those considerations are more imporant to consider, then I won't pressure you into accepting this proposal of mine." "No," Adama shook his head, "The bottom line is, we've been left with no choice since keeping them sealed up in those pressure chambers forever isn't a viable long-term solution." He paused, "You have one lucky break in your favor. Since there are no more civilians aboard that craft, that put jurisdiction of the landing bay back under Colonial Security's control. Act quickly, and you can get those chambers in the Life Station aboard the craft before the Council has time to figure out what's happening." "Dr. Salik has been preparing for this contigency," Apollo said, "We won't waste a micron." "The Lords of Kobol be with you," Adama clasped his son's arm for a brief instant. "I'll.....explain everything to Any sign that proves to us that we live in a universe where the absolute forces of Good, as well as Evil, are real, proves as well the existence of a just and merciful God who is ultimately in control of all forces of history. And if there is a sign of that, then we can live with the hope that somehow, somewhere, our journey that has taken us so far across the stars from our homes, and into this vast unknown dimension of uncharted space, will not have been in vain. Chapter One Six centars had elapsed since Starbuck and Apollo had begun their long-range patrol sweep ahead of the Fleet on the Epsilon 22 course. To Apollo, it had seemed even longer then that because the whole time, Starbuck had not been able to stop pumping him for all the insider details surrounding the blonde lieutenant's recent experience that had seen him stand trial for a murder he had not committed. ".....I still don't get what Charybdis' original plan was," Starbuck said, not for the first time during the patrol. Apollo rolled his eyes as he realized he'd have to go over this again, "I'll try to explain it slowly this time, Starbuck. Chella, the guy you nearly ran over leaving the locker room, was the original fall guy in Charybdis' plan. He knew that Ortega had been blackmailing Chella as well as him, so he set things up to lure Chella down to those levels, kill him, and then set it up to make it look like Chella and Charybdis had killed each other." "Well if that was the case, why'd he pick on me instead?" "Because your getting yourself ejected from the game, fouled up his plans," Apollo said. "He now had to deal with you roaming those levels as well, and that meant he didn't have time to eliminate both Chella and Ortega. So in the space of three centons, he figured out that if he could catch you in the turbo wash with your laser pistol lying unguarded in the locker room, he'd solve all his problems." The captain paused, "So the moral of the story, Starbuck, is never let yourself get ejected from a triad game again." "Yeah," the blonde warrior chuckled, "I learned my lesson about that the hard way. But I got to tell you, that was really a big gamble you took that Baltar would come through. What made you think he'd turn on Charybdis?" "I had to consider their past history," Apollo said as he took a quick glance at his scanner to reconfirm that nothing was there for them to investigate. In another forty centons they'd reach the end of their limit and would begin the return to the Galactica. "Charybdis was Baltar's pilot. The one who was sitting in a shuttle in the Atlantia's launch bay waiting to get him off safely before the attack began. Now that means that either Baltar trusted him to wait there until he was ready, or he forced him to wait until the last micron. Which do you think more likely to have happened?" "The latter," Starbuck admitted. "Which means that no matter how loyal an operative Charybdis was, Baltar never tru Boxey." Apollo stopped in his tracks as he realized to his horror that he hadn't thought out explaining this mission that would probably take him away for a long time, to his son. "Oh, frack. Thanks." He shook his head and wondered why it was that he never seemed to consider the feelings of those close to him when his mind came up with these plans. "I promise you, Father, we'll get back with the information we need." Once Apollo and Starbuck left the room, Sheba found herself sighing with a mixture of frustration and admiration. And wondering which of those two emotions was the more dominant. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: 8*]"!F?=!!ZKG"!VT7"! When Apollo and Starbuck reached the Life Station, they saw that only Salik and Cassiopeia were present in the room that contained the five decompression chambers. As far as Apollo was concerned, the fewer people there were that knew about this, the better. But he also knew that the patrol. Apollo rolled his eyes as he realized he'd have to go over this again, "I'll try to explain it slowly this time, Starbuck. Chella, the guy you nearly ran over leaving the locker room, was the original fall guy in Charybdis' plan. He knew that Ortega had been blackmailing Chella as well as him, so he set things up to lure Chella down to those levels, kill him, and then set it up to make it look like Chella and Charybdis had killed each other." "Well if that was the case, why'd he pick on me instead?" "Because your getting yourself ejected from the game, fouled up his plans," Apollo said. "He now had to deal with you roaming those levels as well, and that meant he didn't have time to eliminate both Chella and Ortega. So in the space of three centons, he figured out that if he could catch you in the turbo wash with your laser pistol lying unguarded in the locker room, he'd solve all his problems." The captain paused, "So the moral of the story, Starbuck, is never let yourself get ejected from a triad game again." "Yeah," the blonde warrior chuckled, "I learned my lesson about that the hard way. But I got to tell you, that was really a big gamble you took that Baltar would come through. What made you think he'd turn on Charybdis?" "I had to consider their past history," Apollo said as he took a quick glance at his scanner to reconfirm that nothing was there for them to investigate. In another forty centons they'd reach the end of their limit and would begin the return to the Galactica. "Charybdis was Baltar's pilot. The one who was sitting in a shuttle in the Atlantia's launch bay waiting to get him off safely before the attack began. Now that means that either Baltar trusted him to wait there until he was ready, or he forced him to wait until the last micron. Which do you think more likely to have happened?" "The latter," Starbuck admitted. "Which means that no matter how loyal an operative Charybdis was, Baltar never trusted him to begin with." "And so logically, he never would have trusted him in that situation of me lying dead, and him being the only remaining person in the Fleet who could identify Charybdis and provide a tie-in to our defense to get you off the hook." Apollo paused, "The one thing you can't deny about Baltar is that he's never willing to be consistent when it comes to matters of his own survival. That's the only bottom line with him." "Guess so. I suppose I should be grateful just a bit to that piece of bilge scum, but.....even I have my limits." The captain laughed, "I know what you mean. And believe me, just from the look on his face, I know he wasn't glad he had to be in the position of saving me and you." "You were telling me the Commander made some kind of adjustment in his sentence?" "Not a significant one. He's still in the Prison Barge for life, but no longer in Solitary Confinement. He's free to move about the Prison Barge with the regular prison popu he was going to be needing the med-tech for this mission. "We're set, Doc," Apollo said, "Cassiopeia, you'll have to give us a hand so we can get these chambers back aboard their ship." "What are you talking about?" she raised her eyebrows. "Who ordered this?" "The Commander," Apollo said bluntly. "Without Council approval? Don't you know what they could do to you both after this?" "Hey, after facing a murder rap last sectar, how could I possibly be afraid of what can happen over something like this?" Starbuck smirked. "Dr. Salik, you've got to stop them!" she looked almost pleadingly at the Chief Medical Officer. "Don't look at me, Cassiopeia," Salik said dryly, "I'm with them. In fact, I'm going along with them to help monitor the equipment." "No," Apollo shook his head, "You're too important to the Fleet as Chief Medical Officer, Doctor. We can't let you accompany us." "Accompany you to where?" "To their destination, Cassiopeia," Apollo said, "Starbuck a let yourself get ejected from a triad game again." "Yeah," the blonde warrior chuckled, "I learned my lesson about that the hard way. But I got to tell you, that was really a big gamble you took that Baltar would come through. What made you think he'd turn on Charybdis?" "I had to consider their past history," Apollo said as he took a quick glance at his scanner to reconfirm that nothing was there for them to investigate. In another forty centons they'd reach the end of their limit and would begin the return to the Galactica. "Charybdis was Baltar's pilot. The one who was sitting in a shuttle in the Atlantia's launch bay waiting to get him off safely before the attack began. Now that means that either Baltar trusted him to wait there until he was ready, or he forced him to wait until the last micron. Which do you think more likely to have happened?" "The latter," Starbuck admitted. "Which means that no matter how loyal an operative Charybdis was, Baltar never trusted him to begin with." "And so logically, he never would have trusted him in that situation of me lying dead, and him being the only remaining person in the Fleet who could identify Charybdis and provide a tie-in to our defense to get you off the hook." Apollo paused, "The one thing you can't deny about Baltar is that he's never willing to be consistent when it comes to matters of his own survival. That's the only bottom line with him." "Guess so. I suppose I should be grateful just a bit to that piece of bilge scum, but.....even I have my limits." The captain laughed, "I know what you mean. And believe me, just from the look on his face, I know he wasn't glad he had to be in the position of saving me and you." "You were telling me the Commander made some kind of adjustment in his sentence?" "Not a significant one. He's still in the Prison Barge for life, but no longer in Solitary Confinement. He's free to move about the Prison Barge with the regular prison population now." The blonde lieutenant snorted, "Given the kind of people there are on the Prison Barge to begin with, I'm not sure he'd consider that an improvement." "Maybe not, but there isn't anything Baltar could do that would make my father think of commuting his sentence." The sound of a piercing beep then filled both of their cockpits. Immediately, both warriors shifted their attention back to their scanners. "Apollo, my scanner just went crazy with a contact. Reads as a ship, but nothing that even closely resembles anything in our database." "That takes care of our first concern. It isn't anything Cylon," Apollo checked his computer. "Scan for life forms. Could well be we're looking at some race unknown to us that controls this quadrant of space." "Could be," Starbuck admitted as he checked his scanner, "Apollo, we need to get closer to get a life form scan. Readings are too imprecise at this point." "All right, activate turbos, and let's close the range. Bnd I will fly escort for their ship." "Apollo, even if you force me to stay behind, someone still has to monitor that equipment," Salik said and then stared at Cassiopeia, whom he'd come to regard as his favorite and best med-tech over the last ten sectars since she'd begun working on the staff. "Wait a micron," the blonde med-tech began to shake her head vigorously. "We could use your help, Cassiopeia," Apollo said gently. "Those systems do need to be monitored." "You're asking me to take part in.....in," she struggled to find the right word, "Mutiny." "It's not mutiny, Cass," Starbuck said, "The Commander's given his full authorization for this mission. He's going to be taking all of the consequences, if there are any." "Think of this more as an act of mercy, Cassie," Salik said with the kind of paternal edge he only used on rare occasions with her, "What they're planning is the only chance these people have of surviving, and for us to get the information we need from them.sted him to begin with." "And so logically, he never would have trusted him in that situation of me lying dead, and him being the only remaining person in the Fleet who could identify Charybdis and provide a tie-in to our defense to get you off the hook." Apollo paused, "The one thing you can't deny about Baltar is that he's never willing to be consistent when it comes to matters of his own survival. That's the only bottom line with him." "Guess so. I suppose I should be grateful just a bit to that piece of bilge scum, but.....even I have my limits." The captain laughed, "I know what you mean. And believe me, just from the look on his face, I know he wasn't glad he had to be in the position of saving me and you." "You were telling me the Commander made some kind of adjustment in his sentence?" "Not a significant one. He's still in the Prison Barge for life, but no longer in Solitary Confinement. He's free to move about the Prison Barge with the regular prison population now." The blonde lieutenant snorted, "Given the kind of people there are on the Prison Barge to begin with, I'm not sure he'd consider that an improvement." "Maybe not, but there isn't anything Baltar could do that would make my father think of commuting his sentence." The sound of a piercing beep then filled both of their cockpits. Immediately, both warriors shifted their attention back to their scanners. "Apollo, my scanner just went crazy with a contact. Reads as a ship, but nothing that even closely resembles anything in our database." "That takes care of our first concern. It isn't anything Cylon," Apollo checked his computer. "Scan for life forms. Could well be we're looking at some race unknown to us that controls this quadrant of space." "Could be," Starbuck admitted as he checked his scanner, "Apollo, we need to get closer to get a life form scan. Readings are too imprecise at this point." "All right, activate turbos, and let's close the range. But try not to alarm them into thinking we're going to attack." "Will do," Starbuck said as he hit his turbo, with Apollo following microns later. Ahead, the contours of an orange- colored spacecraft were becoming visible. Apollo shook his head in fascination, as it didn't resemble any kind of craft he was familiar with. The only craft that came to mind was a bigger, longer version of a shuttlecraft of some type. "Definitely not an attack craft, would be my guess," Apollo said, "Okay, how about the life form scan?" "Should have it now," Starbuck said as he hit the switch. And then, his jaw dropped open in disbelief. "Good Lord....." he whispered. "What?" Apollo jerked his helmet up. "Apollo...." Starbuck hesitated, "The life form readings are human!" Apollo's head darted back down to his own scanner. When he saw the reading, it was his turn for his eyes to nearly bug out. "Lords of Kobol," the black-haired captain said under his breath, "If there are humans ab" "So what do you say, volunteer?" her boyfriend grinned. "I guess I have no choice," she sighed, "But wait a micron. There are five chambers. We need one more person tp help us." "Get Nestor," Salik said, referring to one of her fellow med- techs, "He's a good man who'll do what we ask. Apollo and Starbuck and I will start with these three." ************************************************************ *********************** It took them several centons to get the chambers detached and loaded out into the corridor for its journey down to the landing bay. With each of them moving one chamber, the pace was slower then they would have liked. "Careful, Cassiopeia," Salik cautioned as he pushed his containing one of the two small children around a corner and motioned for her and her fellow med-tech, Nestor, to follow with theirs. The med-techs each pushed the other children while Apollo and Starbuck were handling the two adults. "Don't worry," she said. "What did yolation now." The blonde lieutenant snorted, "Given the kind of people there are on the Prison Barge to begin with, I'm not sure he'd consider that an improvement." "Maybe not, but there isn't anything Baltar could do that would make my father think of commuting his sentence." The sound of a piercing beep then filled both of their cockpits. Immediately, both warriors shifted their attention back to their scanners. "Apollo, my scanner just went crazy with a contact. Reads as a ship, but nothing that even closely resembles anything in our database." "That takes care of our first concern. It isn't anything Cylon," Apollo checked his computer. "Scan for life forms. Could well be we're looking at some race unknown to us that controls this quadrant of space." "Could be," Starbuck admitted as he checked his scanner, "Apollo, we need to get closer to get a life form scan. Readings are too imprecise at this point." "All right, activate turbos, and let's close the range. But try not to alarm them into thinking we're going to attack." "Will do," Starbuck said as he hit his turbo, with Apollo following microns later. Ahead, the contours of an orange- colored spacecraft were becoming visible. Apollo shook his head in fascination, as it didn't resemble any kind of craft he was familiar with. The only craft that came to mind was a bigger, longer version of a shuttlecraft of some type. "Definitely not an attack craft, would be my guess," Apollo said, "Okay, how about the life form scan?" "Should have it now," Starbuck said as he hit the switch. And then, his jaw dropped open in disbelief. "Good Lord....." he whispered. "What?" Apollo jerked his helmet up. "Apollo...." Starbuck hesitated, "The life form readings are human!" Apollo's head darted back down to his own scanner. When he saw the reading, it was his turn for his eyes to nearly bug out. "Lords of Kobol," the black-haired captain said under his breath, "If there are humans aboard, then.....Starbuck do you know what that conceivably means?" "Yeah," the blonde warrior nodded, "It can't be anything connected to an old Colonial settlement. It has to be something connected with-----" he hesitated to say the next word. Apollo decided to finish for him, "Earth." He took a breath, "I'm going to break radio silence and send an emergency signal to the Galactica. We need to talk to them now." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: FjG!!U":"!Vc>"!"?F!! As soon as the long-range signal from Apollo reached the Galactica's bridge, Colonel Tigh wasted no time contacting Adama to tell the Commander what had happened. By the time Adama arrived on the bridge, he could sense a buzz of excitement. "Captain Apollo is sending back long-range telemetry signals to us of this craft," the executive officer said, "I don't think any of us can keep our eyes off it." Adama stared at the monitor, where he could see the clear u say this was for, anyway?" Nestor asked. "We're temporarily putting them back in their support chambers aboard the ship to recalibrate our settings with these chambers," Salik said. "There are some things we might have overlooked in the haste of getting them hooked up into our own equipment." At the head of the procession, Starbuck turned to Apollo and whispered to him, "Sounds plausible, right?" "Right," Apollo grinned. They reached the maintenance turbo lift and with the lift accomodating room for only three chambers, took two trips to get them down to the compartment outside the entrance to the landing bay. Apollo reached the door and was on the verge of opening it when his face suddenly went crestfallen. "Oh frack," he uncharacteristically swore. "What's wrong?" Starbuck asked. "Take a look," Apollo motioned, "Look who came out of the Life Station way too soon." Starbuck peered through the window and a sour look came over his face, "Frack and felgercarb," he decut try not to alarm them into thinking we're going to attack." "Will do," Starbuck said as he hit his turbo, with Apollo following microns later. Ahead, the contours of an orange- colored spacecraft were becoming visible. Apollo shook his head in fascination, as it didn't resemble any kind of craft he was familiar with. The only craft that came to mind was a bigger, longer version of a shuttlecraft of some type. "Definitely not an attack craft, would be my guess," Apollo said, "Okay, how about the life form scan?" "Should have it now," Starbuck said as he hit the switch. And then, his jaw dropped open in disbelief. "Good Lord....." he whispered. "What?" Apollo jerked his helmet up. "Apollo...." Starbuck hesitated, "The life form readings are human!" Apollo's head darted back down to his own scanner. When he saw the reading, it was his turn for his eyes to nearly bug out. "Lords of Kobol," the black-haired captain said under his breath, "If there are humans aboard, then.....Starbuck do you know what that conceivably means?" "Yeah," the blonde warrior nodded, "It can't be anything connected to an old Colonial settlement. It has to be something connected with-----" he hesitated to say the next word. Apollo decided to finish for him, "Earth." He took a breath, "I'm going to break radio silence and send an emergency signal to the Galactica. We need to talk to them now." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: FjG!!U":"!Vc>"!"?F!! As soon as the long-range signal from Apollo reached the Galactica's bridge, Colonel Tigh wasted no time contacting Adama to tell the Commander what had happened. By the time Adama arrived on the bridge, he could sense a buzz of excitement. "Captain Apollo is sending back long-range telemetry signals to us of this craft," the executive officer said, "I don't think any of us can keep our eyes off it." Adama stared at the monitor, where he could see the clear image of the orange colored spacecraft. The design was totally unfamiliar to him, which he knew had to be a hopeful sign to begin with. "Has our patrol tried contacting the people aboard?" "They got no response," Tigh said, "Indication is that perhaps those on-board might be in some kind of suspended animation or hibernation mode." "Hibernation?" Adama raised an eyebrow, "That's interesting. The Colonies stopped using that technique for long-range space travel eons ago." He glanced at the screen again, "Which from the standpoint of those of us who hope to find a human civilization equal to our own would not be a hopeful sign. Still, it's way too early to form any judgments. Not until we can make some kind of actual contact with them." "But if they're in a hibernation mode, how can we make contact with them?" Tigh pointed out. The commander nodded, "That's a good point. We'd have no choice but to just have our patrol follow them to wherever the craft's pre-programmed to go,ided to avoid using the third profane word in the expression out of deference to Cassiopeia. "Reese and about four of his other blackshirts. I thought the Commander said Colonial Security had taken things over in this area." "Something must have happened in the meantime." "What's going on?" a befuddled Nestor asked from the back of the procession. "Slight complication, Nestor," Starbuck said. "In the meantime, could you do us a favor? Just say nothing, and follow our lead." The male med-tech gave Salik a puzzled stare. "Do as he says, Nestor," Salik smiled, "They know what they're doing." Cassiopeia stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she prepared to move the chamber she'd been pushing through the door. ************************************************************ ********* "What'd it feel like?" one of Reese's fellow Council guards was asking. "Weird feeling. A little worse then one of our own stun setting pistols, but not too bad or else I might havoard, then.....Starbuck do you know what that conceivably means?" "Yeah," the blonde warrior nodded, "It can't be anything connected to an old Colonial settlement. It has to be something connected with-----" he hesitated to say the next word. Apollo decided to finish for him, "Earth." He took a breath, "I'm going to break radio silence and send an emergency signal to the Galactica. We need to talk to them now." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: FjG!!U":"!Vc>"!"?F!! As soon as the long-range signal from Apollo reached the Galactica's bridge, Colonel Tigh wasted no time contacting Adama to tell the Commander what had happened. By the time Adama arrived on the bridge, he could sense a buzz of excitement. "Captain Apollo is sending back long-range telemetry signals to us of this craft," the executive officer said, "I don't think any of us can keep our eyes off it." Adama stared at the monitor, where he could see the clear image of the orange colored spacecraft. The design was totally unfamiliar to him, which he knew had to be a hopeful sign to begin with. "Has our patrol tried contacting the people aboard?" "They got no response," Tigh said, "Indication is that perhaps those on-board might be in some kind of suspended animation or hibernation mode." "Hibernation?" Adama raised an eyebrow, "That's interesting. The Colonies stopped using that technique for long-range space travel eons ago." He glanced at the screen again, "Which from the standpoint of those of us who hope to find a human civilization equal to our own would not be a hopeful sign. Still, it's way too early to form any judgments. Not until we can make some kind of actual contact with them." "But if they're in a hibernation mode, how can we make contact with them?" Tigh pointed out. The commander nodded, "That's a good point. We'd have no choice but to just have our patrol follow them to wherever the craft's pre-programmed to go, but....since we have no idea where that might be, and how far away it is, our patrol could reach the point where they'd lose their ability to return safely to the Galactica and would have to abandon them." "Then I think we have no choice," the executive officer said, "We should tell Blue Squadron to take the vessel in tow and bring her back to the Fleet." "Attach tow lines?" there was an edge of skepticism in Adama's tone, "That might run the risk of waking them up and interpreting that a hostile act has been made on them. If this does represent contact with the Thirteenth Tribe, that's the last thing I'd want to do." "Then the only other option would be to get a new patrol out to relieve Apollo and Starbuck and keep tracking them. Are you willing to chance that?" Adama sighed and glanced back at the telemetry data on the monitor, taking in the view of the unfamiliar craft. "No," he shook his head, "I can't chance that. Tell Apollo to go ahead and tow her in. Hopefully we'll be e been on my back another cycle." Twenty meters away, Boomer, Jolly and Castor were trying not to show their disdain over the blackshirts recent arrival. "Just when it was starting to get peaceful down here again, they had to show up." the muscular Colonial Security Guard sighed. "Ÿ_~Council requests they stand by to prepare ship for inspection by Council members'" Boomer disgustedly repeated the words Reese had spoken when he and his team had arrived several centons ago. "The way they just run around at their beck and call so obediently is what drives me nuts most about them. The average Council Security guy doesn't sign up because he's committed to civilian law enforcement, it's because he knows how to take orders from those who'll give them nice perks eventually." "That's always been their biggest problem," Jolly said, "It starts with the rotten training and recruiting programs they have. It's always attracted the wrong group of people." "People who would have made beimage of the orange colored spacecraft. The design was totally unfamiliar to him, which he knew had to be a hopeful sign to begin with. "Has our patrol tried contacting the people aboard?" "They got no response," Tigh said, "Indication is that perhaps those on-board might be in some kind of suspended animation or hibernation mode." "Hibernation?" Adama raised an eyebrow, "That's interesting. The Colonies stopped using that technique for long-range space travel eons ago." He glanced at the screen again, "Which from the standpoint of those of us who hope to find a human civilization equal to our own would not be a hopeful sign. Still, it's way too early to form any judgments. Not until we can make some kind of actual contact with them." "But if they're in a hibernation mode, how can we make contact with them?" Tigh pointed out. The commander nodded, "That's a good point. We'd have no choice but to just have our patrol follow them to wherever the craft's pre-programmed to go, but....since we have no idea where that might be, and how far away it is, our patrol could reach the point where they'd lose their ability to return safely to the Galactica and would have to abandon them." "Then I think we have no choice," the executive officer said, "We should tell Blue Squadron to take the vessel in tow and bring her back to the Fleet." "Attach tow lines?" there was an edge of skepticism in Adama's tone, "That might run the risk of waking them up and interpreting that a hostile act has been made on them. If this does represent contact with the Thirteenth Tribe, that's the last thing I'd want to do." "Then the only other option would be to get a new patrol out to relieve Apollo and Starbuck and keep tracking them. Are you willing to chance that?" Adama sighed and glanced back at the telemetry data on the monitor, taking in the view of the unfamiliar craft. "No," he shook his head, "I can't chance that. Tell Apollo to go ahead and tow her in. Hopefully we'll be able to convince those passengers, whoever they are, that we mean them no harm." ************************************************************ *************************************** "Start securing the tow lines, Starbuck," Apollo radioed, "The Galactica just gave us the green light to haul her in." "Activating tow line," Starbuck said, "We'll have to slow down our speed to keep her secure. It'll take, what, seven or eight centars to bring her back?" "Give or take a centar," Apollo said as he trained his eyes on the craft for perhaps the thousandth time, trying to find one sign in her contours that indicated a tie-in to Colonial civilization. Finally, he shook his head in frustration as he realized that only a more detailed examination would probably yield a tie-in. If there was one. As the captain activated his tow-line and saw it secure itself to the starboard side of the craft, he suddenly felt a new sensation go through his body. Something that he couldn't put htter bureauticians then security men," Castor nodded, "I think if Adama appointed a new Chief of Operations who had a different attitude, that would do wonders for the program." Their conversation stopped when they saw the door to the adjacent compartment open, and then saw Apollo enter pushing one of the decompression chambers, with Starbuck and the others close behind. "What's going on?" Reese frowned as he stepped toward them. "Medical emergency," Salik said, "We're putting these people back in their support chambers temporarily to take some new readings." "I wasn't notified about this," Reese looked at the group skeptically. "Come on Reese, word doesn't always travel so fast in this day and age," Starbuck said in a way that would keep him guessing as to whether it was good natured teasing or condescension. "It's only temporary." "All right," Reese said cautiously. "But if that means those people are going back on board that ship, then Council orders go back into effect." but....since we have no idea where that might be, and how far away it is, our patrol could reach the point where they'd lose their ability to return safely to the Galactica and would have to abandon them." "Then I think we have no choice," the executive officer said, "We should tell Blue Squadron to take the vessel in tow and bring her back to the Fleet." "Attach tow lines?" there was an edge of skepticism in Adama's tone, "That might run the risk of waking them up and interpreting that a hostile act has been made on them. If this does represent contact with the Thirteenth Tribe, that's the last thing I'd want to do." "Then the only other option would be to get a new patrol out to relieve Apollo and Starbuck and keep tracking them. Are you willing to chance that?" Adama sighed and glanced back at the telemetry data on the monitor, taking in the view of the unfamiliar craft. "No," he shook his head, "I can't chance that. Tell Apollo to go ahead and tow her in. Hopefully we'll be able to convince those passengers, whoever they are, that we mean them no harm." ************************************************************ *************************************** "Start securing the tow lines, Starbuck," Apollo radioed, "The Galactica just gave us the green light to haul her in." "Activating tow line," Starbuck said, "We'll have to slow down our speed to keep her secure. It'll take, what, seven or eight centars to bring her back?" "Give or take a centar," Apollo said as he trained his eyes on the craft for perhaps the thousandth time, trying to find one sign in her contours that indicated a tie-in to Colonial civilization. Finally, he shook his head in frustration as he realized that only a more detailed examination would probably yield a tie-in. If there was one. As the captain activated his tow-line and saw it secure itself to the starboard side of the craft, he suddenly felt a new sensation go through his body. Something that he couldn't put his finger on, but it almost seemed like a warning bell to him. That maybe there was a good reason for not going ahead with this. He then shook the sensation off as he and Starbuck maneuvered their vipers into position and began the process of towing the mysterious spacecraft back toward the distant goal of the Galactica's landing bay. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: `LR"!1&7"!kj_"!'+K"! As the centars went by, Adama decided to temporarily retreat to his quarters and go over all of the ancient texts in his collection that pertained to the Thirteenth Tribe. The Book of the Word and the Testament of Arkada represented the only definitive accounts he could trust, while anything else fell completely in the realm of speculation. At a time such as this, when the possibility of first contact no longer seemed so distant and remote as it always had since the journey's beginning, the last thing he could let his mind do was engage in he turned back to face the three warriors, "And that means my group is now back in charge of this area until then." "Oh but of course," Boomer said sarcastically, "We wouldn't think of stepping on your centon of glory, Reese." The dark-skinned warrior made his way over to Apollo and Starbuck, who were moving their chambers inside. "You guys need help?" "Not a bit, Boomer," Apollo smiled nochalantly, "The three of you just stand by outside and give Reese and his group a hand if he needs it." "The only way I'd give him a hand is if it's my fist making contact with his nose," Boomer said, "And if this is a medical situation, why are you two involved?" "You shouldn't be so inquisitive, Boomer," Starbuck managed to pat him on the shoulder as he entered the hatchway. Boomer shook his head in disbelief and made his way back over to Jolly and Castor. "Well?" the corupulent warrior asked, his arms folded. "I have no idea," Boomer shook his head, "But in a way," he glanced over atable to convince those passengers, whoever they are, that we mean them no harm." ************************************************************ *************************************** "Start securing the tow lines, Starbuck," Apollo radioed, "The Galactica just gave us the green light to haul her in." "Activating tow line," Starbuck said, "We'll have to slow down our speed to keep her secure. It'll take, what, seven or eight centars to bring her back?" "Give or take a centar," Apollo said as he trained his eyes on the craft for perhaps the thousandth time, trying to find one sign in her contours that indicated a tie-in to Colonial civilization. Finally, he shook his head in frustration as he realized that only a more detailed examination would probably yield a tie-in. If there was one. As the captain activated his tow-line and saw it secure itself to the starboard side of the craft, he suddenly felt a new sensation go through his body. Something that he couldn't put his finger on, but it almost seemed like a warning bell to him. That maybe there was a good reason for not going ahead with this. He then shook the sensation off as he and Starbuck maneuvered their vipers into position and began the process of towing the mysterious spacecraft back toward the distant goal of the Galactica's landing bay. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: `LR"!1&7"!kj_"!'+K"! As the centars went by, Adama decided to temporarily retreat to his quarters and go over all of the ancient texts in his collection that pertained to the Thirteenth Tribe. The Book of the Word and the Testament of Arkada represented the only definitive accounts he could trust, while anything else fell completely in the realm of speculation. At a time such as this, when the possibility of first contact no longer seemed so distant and remote as it always had since the journey's beginning, the last thing he could let his mind do was engage in speculation. He needed to wait for more definitive information to emerge, and then let things fall as they were. He was still immersed in his texts when the video-com chime sounded. He turned it on and saw that Tigh was looking very concerned. "Something the matter, Colonel?" "A small problem," the executive officer said, "It seems that news of this discovery by Captain Apollo's patrol has spread too fast throughout the Fleet." "What do you mean?" Adama came up in his chair. "The IFB's found out," Tigh said, "Zara's spent the last half-centar talking about nothing else." The commander shook his head in disgust, "Apollo's patrol isn't even back yet and they've found out already?" "I imagine someone on the Bridge who's gone off-duty in the last few centars talked, or at least talked to someone who then passed on the news. Adama, I think you'd better defuse this quickly before it gets out of hand." "Yes, tie me in to the Fleet unicom signal and I'll do that right away. How lon the ship again where he could see Salik, Cassiopeia and Nestor bringing up the rear with the other chambers. "In a way I'm kind of glad. I have a feeling I'm not going to be a volunteer today." "Huh?" Castor glanced quizzically at his triad partner, "What does that mean?" "Inside joke, Castor." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: OX~"!Taa!!FZ,"!UpP"! As soon as they were inside, Starubuck finally let some of the irritation he'd been feeling inside bubble over, "Okay, now we got them inside. But if we send those Life Station chambers back out without these people in them, then even those Council Security dimwits will realize we just sold them a bunch of felgercarb." "What are you talking about?" Nestor's eyes widened. "Change of plans, Nestor," Salik said, as he opened up the seal on the chamber containing the adult woman. "Get them hooked up inside their own chambers." "I don't understand this!" the maleis finger on, but it almost seemed like a warning bell to him. That maybe there was a good reason for not going ahead with this. He then shook the sensation off as he and Starbuck maneuvered their vipers into position and began the process of towing the mysterious spacecraft back toward the distant goal of the Galactica's landing bay. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: `LR"!1&7"!kj_"!'+K"! As the centars went by, Adama decided to temporarily retreat to his quarters and go over all of the ancient texts in his collection that pertained to the Thirteenth Tribe. The Book of the Word and the Testament of Arkada represented the only definitive accounts he could trust, while anything else fell completely in the realm of speculation. At a time such as this, when the possibility of first contact no longer seemed so distant and remote as it always had since the journey's beginning, the last thing he could let his mind do was engage in speculation. He needed to wait for more definitive information to emerge, and then let things fall as they were. He was still immersed in his texts when the video-com chime sounded. He turned it on and saw that Tigh was looking very concerned. "Something the matter, Colonel?" "A small problem," the executive officer said, "It seems that news of this discovery by Captain Apollo's patrol has spread too fast throughout the Fleet." "What do you mean?" Adama came up in his chair. "The IFB's found out," Tigh said, "Zara's spent the last half-centar talking about nothing else." The commander shook his head in disgust, "Apollo's patrol isn't even back yet and they've found out already?" "I imagine someone on the Bridge who's gone off-duty in the last few centars talked, or at least talked to someone who then passed on the news. Adama, I think you'd better defuse this quickly before it gets out of hand." "Yes, tie me in to the Fleet unicom signal and I'll do that right away. How long before the patrol returns?" "One centar," "Get quarantine facilities ready in Alpha Landing bay." "Already done. You're on unicom now." Adama then took a breath and brought his voice to its most disciplined and diplomatic tone. "People of the Fleet, this is Commander Adama. Rumors are spreading faster than fact about a manned vehicle soon to be brought aboard the Galactica. I must ask you all to be patient and cautious in your optimism. The incoming vessel will have to be placed in strict quarantine, carefully, before we can allow anyone near it. We can not run any risk that might jeopardize our lives, or the lives of whoever is aboard this spaceship." he then paused, "As to where this craft originates from, I ask that you refrain from any speculation or false optimism at this time. Too much remains that is unknown to us at present, and only the most thorough of examinations, which may take some time to fully implement, can begin to answer those questions. I can only assure med-tech said in exasperation. "That's good," Apollo patted him on the shoulder, "Because that way, you leave yourself in a lot better shape." "Apollo?" Cassiopeia was trembling as she backed away from the now open chamber that contained the brown-haired man, "I think he's coming to!" Before any of the others could react, the silver-suited man had come upright in his chamber, staring at the five people inside with suspicion and hostility. "Who are you?" he demanded, "What do you want with us?" "Take it easy, buddy," Starbuck held up a reassuring hand, "We're just trying to help." "Help?" the man angrily barked, "My God, don't you know what you've done to us?" "We know, we know!" Apollo said hastily, "That's why we're trying to do what we can to put you and your people back on course." The hostility faded slightly from his face as he took a breath, "You....you really mean that?" "Yes! Look what other proof can we give you?" H speculation. He needed to wait for more definitive information to emerge, and then let things fall as they were. He was still immersed in his texts when the video-com chime sounded. He turned it on and saw that Tigh was looking very concerned. "Something the matter, Colonel?" "A small problem," the executive officer said, "It seems that news of this discovery by Captain Apollo's patrol has spread too fast throughout the Fleet." "What do you mean?" Adama came up in his chair. "The IFB's found out," Tigh said, "Zara's spent the last half-centar talking about nothing else." The commander shook his head in disgust, "Apollo's patrol isn't even back yet and they've found out already?" "I imagine someone on the Bridge who's gone off-duty in the last few centars talked, or at least talked to someone who then passed on the news. Adama, I think you'd better defuse this quickly before it gets out of hand." "Yes, tie me in to the Fleet unicom signal and I'll do that right away. How long before the patrol returns?" "One centar," "Get quarantine facilities ready in Alpha Landing bay." "Already done. You're on unicom now." Adama then took a breath and brought his voice to its most disciplined and diplomatic tone. "People of the Fleet, this is Commander Adama. Rumors are spreading faster than fact about a manned vehicle soon to be brought aboard the Galactica. I must ask you all to be patient and cautious in your optimism. The incoming vessel will have to be placed in strict quarantine, carefully, before we can allow anyone near it. We can not run any risk that might jeopardize our lives, or the lives of whoever is aboard this spaceship." he then paused, "As to where this craft originates from, I ask that you refrain from any speculation or false optimism at this time. Too much remains that is unknown to us at present, and only the most thorough of examinations, which may take some time to fully implement, can begin to answer those questions. I can only assure you that all information will be made available in as timely a fashion as can be done. For now, I ask that you return to your normal duties, and to act with prudence and caution as far as whatever future events may hold in store for us. Thank you." He shut off the switch and let out a sigh of relief, hoping that he'd neutralized one potential problem for now. ************************************************************ *********************** By the time Adama returned to the bridge, Apollo and Starbuck were within visual range of the Fleet, and so was the mysterious spacecraft. Now, each person on the bridge was staring at the main viewing screen, unable to take their eyes off the vessel. "We're able to make our own telemetry scans," Omega said, "Minimal lifesign readings. No response to communications." "Doctor?" Adama turned to Dr. Salik, who had arrived on the bridge a few centons earlier. "This is only a snap judgment, but I would concur that indicates hibernation ois eyes then darted toward one of the ship's chambers on the other side. "Sarah! The children! Where are they?" "They're in these chambers of ours," Salik said, "If you can help us put them back in your own chambers and get them reactivated, your journey can resume quickly." The man stepped out of the Life Station chamber, and quickly went over to a console that automatically activated the ship's chambers. Their glass doors slid open and now awaited the return of their passengers. "All right, let's get started," Apollo said, "Starbuck, Nestor, Cassie, you take care of the children and get them inside. I'll place the woman in her chamber." He then turned back to the man. "What is your name?" "My name is Michael," he said, still filled with suspicion. "And that's all I'll reveal." "Okay, Michael," Apollo held up a hand and then pointed to the others, "I'm Apollo. That's Starbuck. Cassiopeia. Nestor, and Dr. Salik. Will you help me with this wg before the patrol returns?" "One centar," "Get quarantine facilities ready in Alpha Landing bay." "Already done. You're on unicom now." Adama then took a breath and brought his voice to its most disciplined and diplomatic tone. "People of the Fleet, this is Commander Adama. Rumors are spreading faster than fact about a manned vehicle soon to be brought aboard the Galactica. I must ask you all to be patient and cautious in your optimism. The incoming vessel will have to be placed in strict quarantine, carefully, before we can allow anyone near it. We can not run any risk that might jeopardize our lives, or the lives of whoever is aboard this spaceship." he then paused, "As to where this craft originates from, I ask that you refrain from any speculation or false optimism at this time. Too much remains that is unknown to us at present, and only the most thorough of examinations, which may take some time to fully implement, can begin to answer those questions. I can only assure you that all information will be made available in as timely a fashion as can be done. For now, I ask that you return to your normal duties, and to act with prudence and caution as far as whatever future events may hold in store for us. Thank you." He shut off the switch and let out a sigh of relief, hoping that he'd neutralized one potential problem for now. ************************************************************ *********************** By the time Adama returned to the bridge, Apollo and Starbuck were within visual range of the Fleet, and so was the mysterious spacecraft. Now, each person on the bridge was staring at the main viewing screen, unable to take their eyes off the vessel. "We're able to make our own telemetry scans," Omega said, "Minimal lifesign readings. No response to communications." "Doctor?" Adama turned to Dr. Salik, who had arrived on the bridge a few centons earlier. "This is only a snap judgment, but I would concur that indicates hibernation or suspended animation." The Chief Medical Officer said, "If they were ill or incapacitated to some degree, they surely would have found some way of indicating that, or their lifesigns might have terminated by now. Those low metabolic rates clearly indicate bodily functions slowed down to almost the same levels one is subjected to in cryo-freeze treatments." "Then how swiftly should we proceed in awaking them, if indeed they are in hibernation?" Salik looked up, "I would certainly not recommend proceeding Ÿ_~swiftly', Commander. We can't guarantee that these people, however human they might be according to these scans, are fully compatible with our own life-support systems. Until I can have my med-tech team go over every component in that spacecraft down to the last detail, I recommend going at a pace slower than a Canceran mollusk." "Noted," Adama then turned to the Chief Electronics Scientist, who had arrived at the same time as Salik, and who was staring at the readings in slacoman?" "Her name is Sarah," he said. "Yes, I will help put her back in." It took two centons to place her inside the chamber, while the other Colonials took care of the children. Finally, when they were in place, Michael activated a switch on the console and the chambers slid shut. "Their systems are now coming back on-line," he then stared at the five Colonials, "But before I step back into my own chamber, I want some answers. Are you from the Eastern Alliance?" Some frowns came over their faces. "No," Apollo said diplomatically, "What is this....Alliance?" "You're lying," the hostility returned to Michael's voice again. "How could you not know of the Alliance?" "Because we don't come from your system!" Apollo said, "We're a brother tribe of humanity that's traveled a great distance across the galaxy. You and this craft are the first contact we've had with anything from your civilization." A tense silence filled the air as the Co you that all information will be made available in as timely a fashion as can be done. For now, I ask that you return to your normal duties, and to act with prudence and caution as far as whatever future events may hold in store for us. Thank you." He shut off the switch and let out a sigh of relief, hoping that he'd neutralized one potential problem for now. ************************************************************ *********************** By the time Adama returned to the bridge, Apollo and Starbuck were within visual range of the Fleet, and so was the mysterious spacecraft. Now, each person on the bridge was staring at the main viewing screen, unable to take their eyes off the vessel. "We're able to make our own telemetry scans," Omega said, "Minimal lifesign readings. No response to communications." "Doctor?" Adama turned to Dr. Salik, who had arrived on the bridge a few centons earlier. "This is only a snap judgment, but I would concur that indicates hibernation or suspended animation." The Chief Medical Officer said, "If they were ill or incapacitated to some degree, they surely would have found some way of indicating that, or their lifesigns might have terminated by now. Those low metabolic rates clearly indicate bodily functions slowed down to almost the same levels one is subjected to in cryo-freeze treatments." "Then how swiftly should we proceed in awaking them, if indeed they are in hibernation?" Salik looked up, "I would certainly not recommend proceeding Ÿ_~swiftly', Commander. We can't guarantee that these people, however human they might be according to these scans, are fully compatible with our own life-support systems. Until I can have my med-tech team go over every component in that spacecraft down to the last detail, I recommend going at a pace slower than a Canceran mollusk." "Noted," Adama then turned to the Chief Electronics Scientist, who had arrived at the same time as Salik, and who was staring at the readings in slack-jawed fascination. "Dr. Wilker, your analysis?" "Amazing," the Chief Scientist murmurred, seemingly oblivious to the Commander. He said nothing else, and Adama felt the need to impatiently tape him on the shoulder. "Dr. Wilker, your analysis, please?" "Oh!" he straightened himself out, "Our scans of the craft's interior are more thorough then what the vipers have been able to do. Clearly safe for our teams to enter. No bombs or booby traps as far as we can determine. The craft itself contains two main reactors that power her engines, but the cells indicate she's totally incapable of faster-than-light travel, and in all likelihood not even lightspeed." "Which means if they put themselves in hibernation, they expected a long journey to wherever they wanted to go, and couldn't store necessary provisions for such a sustained voyage," Adama said. "How long could they conceivably keep themselves alive in that condition?" "Who's to say?" Salik shrugged, "Sectars, yahrens, maybe lonials waited for the man called Michael to respond to this. The microns ticked away with no response, and Cassiopeia could feel her heart pounding nervously as she wondered what answer would finally come. "You expect me to believe that?" "How else can you account for the fact that we don't wear any markings familiar to you, or that you're inside a ship that by your own admission is bigger then anything known to your civilization?" For the first time, Michael's posture relaxed slightly. "You know nothing about where we come from?" "Only that you come from a planet called Terra." "My people come from there, yes," Michael was still finding this too much to believe, "But Sarah, the children and I. We were born on Lunar Seven. That's where we escaped from." "Lunar Seven?" Starbuck spoke up for the first time, "Is that another planet in the system?" "It's a satellite colony.....oh for God's sake, what is this nonsense? You know all this! r suspended animation." The Chief Medical Officer said, "If they were ill or incapacitated to some degree, they surely would have found some way of indicating that, or their lifesigns might have terminated by now. Those low metabolic rates clearly indicate bodily functions slowed down to almost the same levels one is subjected to in cryo-freeze treatments." "Then how swiftly should we proceed in awaking them, if indeed they are in hibernation?" Salik looked up, "I would certainly not recommend proceeding Ÿ_~swiftly', Commander. We can't guarantee that these people, however human they might be according to these scans, are fully compatible with our own life-support systems. Until I can have my med-tech team go over every component in that spacecraft down to the last detail, I recommend going at a pace slower than a Canceran mollusk." "Noted," Adama then turned to the Chief Electronics Scientist, who had arrived at the same time as Salik, and who was staring at the readings in slack-jawed fascination. "Dr. Wilker, your analysis?" "Amazing," the Chief Scientist murmurred, seemingly oblivious to the Commander. He said nothing else, and Adama felt the need to impatiently tape him on the shoulder. "Dr. Wilker, your analysis, please?" "Oh!" he straightened himself out, "Our scans of the craft's interior are more thorough then what the vipers have been able to do. Clearly safe for our teams to enter. No bombs or booby traps as far as we can determine. The craft itself contains two main reactors that power her engines, but the cells indicate she's totally incapable of faster-than-light travel, and in all likelihood not even lightspeed." "Which means if they put themselves in hibernation, they expected a long journey to wherever they wanted to go, and couldn't store necessary provisions for such a sustained voyage," Adama said. "How long could they conceivably keep themselves alive in that condition?" "Who's to say?" Salik shrugged, "Sectars, yahrens, maybe hundreds of yahrens for all we know." "Commander," Omega reported, "Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck have detached tow lines and are landing in Beta bay. Our tractor beam has hold of the craft and is guiding her into Alpha bay." "Thank you. Have them report to Alpha bay immediately," Adama turned to the two scientists, "Well, gentlemen, let's take our first close-up look at this thing." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: >U,#!m_L"!%LG"!o?\"! When the three of them arrived in the landing bay, Apollo and Starbuck were already waiting for them. Cassiopeia and a team of several med-techs, as well as two additional scientists from Wilker's staff also stood nearby. "There it is," Wilker pointed. Adama stopped to take in the view of the orange spacecraft. Nothing about it struck any chord of recognition with him in terms of design, which automatically told him that whatever society these people came from had clearly not followed a What kind of fool do you take me for about coming from the other side of the galaxy?" "It's the truth, Michael. We hope you can believe that, but whether you do or not won't change what the truth is," Apollo said with a touch more firmness. "Then what reason could you have for stopping us?" he demanded. "Because we were hoping you could help us, Michael," Starbuck said, "That your people could help us answer some questions we've traveled a long ways to find answers to." "Like what?" "Like the location of Terra," Apollo said, "We need to know what course your home planet lies on, and how far away it is." Michael shook his head, "You don't want to know that." "Yes we do," Apollo held his ground. "Especially if that's where you were heading." "I wasn't heading there." "Okay, okay," all the yahrens of studying his father's approach to diplomacy now came to the forefront, "Where were you heading, then?" Michael assumed a rigidk-jawed fascination. "Dr. Wilker, your analysis?" "Amazing," the Chief Scientist murmurred, seemingly oblivious to the Commander. He said nothing else, and Adama felt the need to impatiently tape him on the shoulder. "Dr. Wilker, your analysis, please?" "Oh!" he straightened himself out, "Our scans of the craft's interior are more thorough then what the vipers have been able to do. Clearly safe for our teams to enter. No bombs or booby traps as far as we can determine. The craft itself contains two main reactors that power her engines, but the cells indicate she's totally incapable of faster-than-light travel, and in all likelihood not even lightspeed." "Which means if they put themselves in hibernation, they expected a long journey to wherever they wanted to go, and couldn't store necessary provisions for such a sustained voyage," Adama said. "How long could they conceivably keep themselves alive in that condition?" "Who's to say?" Salik shrugged, "Sectars, yahrens, maybe hundreds of yahrens for all we know." "Commander," Omega reported, "Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck have detached tow lines and are landing in Beta bay. Our tractor beam has hold of the craft and is guiding her into Alpha bay." "Thank you. Have them report to Alpha bay immediately," Adama turned to the two scientists, "Well, gentlemen, let's take our first close-up look at this thing." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: >U,#!m_L"!%LG"!o?\"! When the three of them arrived in the landing bay, Apollo and Starbuck were already waiting for them. Cassiopeia and a team of several med-techs, as well as two additional scientists from Wilker's staff also stood nearby. "There it is," Wilker pointed. Adama stopped to take in the view of the orange spacecraft. Nothing about it struck any chord of recognition with him in terms of design, which automatically told him that whatever society these people came from had clearly not followed a completely parallel state of development to Colonial civilization. From a comparative technological level, the craft's size and slow speed suggested something in the vicinity of one thousand to fifteen hundred yahrens behind the level of Colonial technology since it seemed evident that this kind of vessel served the same function as one of the Galactica's shuttles might. "We've been standing by, waiting for your orders, Commander," Cassiopeia said, "How do you want us to proceed?" "No sign of movement since she landed?" "None," Dr. Fairfax, Wilker's chief assistant shook his head. "Commander, if we're going to find out anything, we need to get inside their now." "Wait a centon," Apollo protested, "That thing couldn't possibly accomodate a team this large. If we send too many people in their at once..." "Then we send in fewer people, Captain!" Fairfax retorted, "The sooner we stop standing around here, the better I'll feel." Adama glanced at the scientist with slight distast posture and shook his head more vigrously, "I'm not going to tell you." "All right," the captain said calmly, "But if you don't tell us, then how can we put you back on course?" "This ship knows it's course!" he became indignant, "All you have to do is put it back in space, and it will know where to go. It's all pre-programmed." "All right, we get the picture," Starbuck stepped up alongside Apollo, "But it wouldn't hurt to just trust us and let us help you." "Whether you like it or not, Michael, you need us to get you off this ship of ours and back on course," Apollo said, "Now please. Let us help. I want to see to it you get to your destination, but at the very least you can give us some information about where Terra is because the location is of great interest to us." "No," he shook his head, "If you're from the Alliance, it would be crazy for me to tell you, and if you're not from the Alliance, then I will not be responsible for your deaths. If you hundreds of yahrens for all we know." "Commander," Omega reported, "Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck have detached tow lines and are landing in Beta bay. Our tractor beam has hold of the craft and is guiding her into Alpha bay." "Thank you. Have them report to Alpha bay immediately," Adama turned to the two scientists, "Well, gentlemen, let's take our first close-up look at this thing." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: >U,#!m_L"!%LG"!o?\"! When the three of them arrived in the landing bay, Apollo and Starbuck were already waiting for them. Cassiopeia and a team of several med-techs, as well as two additional scientists from Wilker's staff also stood nearby. "There it is," Wilker pointed. Adama stopped to take in the view of the orange spacecraft. Nothing about it struck any chord of recognition with him in terms of design, which automatically told him that whatever society these people came from had clearly not followed a completely parallel state of development to Colonial civilization. From a comparative technological level, the craft's size and slow speed suggested something in the vicinity of one thousand to fifteen hundred yahrens behind the level of Colonial technology since it seemed evident that this kind of vessel served the same function as one of the Galactica's shuttles might. "We've been standing by, waiting for your orders, Commander," Cassiopeia said, "How do you want us to proceed?" "No sign of movement since she landed?" "None," Dr. Fairfax, Wilker's chief assistant shook his head. "Commander, if we're going to find out anything, we need to get inside their now." "Wait a centon," Apollo protested, "That thing couldn't possibly accomodate a team this large. If we send too many people in their at once..." "Then we send in fewer people, Captain!" Fairfax retorted, "The sooner we stop standing around here, the better I'll feel." Adama glanced at the scientist with slight distaste, wondering how it could be that Fairfax was the nephew and namesake of a great battlestar commander. "Very well," Adama said, "We'll proceed. But I only want Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Starbuck, Med-tech Cassiopeia and Drs. Salik and Wilker to accompany me for this first look." "Commander, I-" Fairfax started to protest, but a cold glance ffrom the Commander cut him off and he slunk back to where the others were standing. "I think we're forgetting something," Salik said, "Do we need to force open their hatch to get inside? Because if we have to blow it completely, I'm absolutely opposed to that." "We'll find out," Adama said as he led the group of five toward the craft and placed his hand on what was clearly a rear compartment door. He found a hatch cover and with great trepidation turned what looked like a handle to the right. A groaning sound emitted as the door suddenly slid open to the right. Feeling the tension rise, Adama then led the group inside. They immediately n represent another tribe of humanity, you don't want to go to Terra. The Alliance destroyers are lined up between Lunar Seven and there and would kill you all." "Oh, I wouldn't be sure of that," Starbuck decided he couldn't resist, but Apollo glared at him, indicating that revealing the nature of their technology wasn't the smart move yet. "Look, maybe we can discuss that afterwards." "Captain," Salik broke his silence, "We really don't have time to discuss this with Michael much longer. He needs to get back into his own pressure chamber or soon he'll start feeling the effects of our environment inside here. This journey has to begin in the next few centons." "Centons?" Michael's eyebrows went up in blank incomprehension. "Will someone tell me what the frack is going on here?" Nestor's exasperated voice filled the room. "All right, all right, everyone quiet!" Apollo threw up his arms. "Cassiopeia, you're going to stay here aboard the ship when i completely parallel state of development to Colonial civilization. From a comparative technological level, the craft's size and slow speed suggested something in the vicinity of one thousand to fifteen hundred yahrens behind the level of Colonial technology since it seemed evident that this kind of vessel served the same function as one of the Galactica's shuttles might. "We've been standing by, waiting for your orders, Commander," Cassiopeia said, "How do you want us to proceed?" "No sign of movement since she landed?" "None," Dr. Fairfax, Wilker's chief assistant shook his head. "Commander, if we're going to find out anything, we need to get inside their now." "Wait a centon," Apollo protested, "That thing couldn't possibly accomodate a team this large. If we send too many people in their at once..." "Then we send in fewer people, Captain!" Fairfax retorted, "The sooner we stop standing around here, the better I'll feel." Adama glanced at the scientist with slight distaste, wondering how it could be that Fairfax was the nephew and namesake of a great battlestar commander. "Very well," Adama said, "We'll proceed. But I only want Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Starbuck, Med-tech Cassiopeia and Drs. Salik and Wilker to accompany me for this first look." "Commander, I-" Fairfax started to protest, but a cold glance ffrom the Commander cut him off and he slunk back to where the others were standing. "I think we're forgetting something," Salik said, "Do we need to force open their hatch to get inside? Because if we have to blow it completely, I'm absolutely opposed to that." "We'll find out," Adama said as he led the group of five toward the craft and placed his hand on what was clearly a rear compartment door. He found a hatch cover and with great trepidation turned what looked like a handle to the right. A groaning sound emitted as the door suddenly slid open to the right. Feeling the tension rise, Adama then led the group inside. They immediately noticed a sterile smell inside the rear compartment, and also that it was stuffy and hot. "The ventilation systems were powered done to almost nothing," Wilker noted, "To save energy for a long-range trip." Adama then entered the next compartment and stopped in his tracks when he saw before him, five pod-like chambers, each containing the almost waxen forms of human beings. Each of them wore the same kind of odd, silver-metal looking coverall. What surprised him though was that only one was an adult male. The other was an adult female, and on the other side he could recognize three children, one in her young teens, the other two no older than five or six yahrens old. "A whole family of them," Cassiopeia said in amazement. "This, I didn't expect," Adama said as he moved toward the head of the compartment, glancing down at the brown-haired man in the lead pod chamber. "This couldn't have been some kind of formal expedition or voyage if it had passengers like this." Starbuck wt takes off. As soon as you're away, get Michael into his chamber and make sure everything's prepared. The rest of us, we need to get these Life Station chambers off." "If we come off with empty chambers, then Reese and his goons will start asking more questions." Starbuck pointed out. "Cover them up," Apollo said, "And we'll get Boomer and Jolly in to take out the extra ones. We have to give them the heads-up as well to keep Council Security back once these engines fire up." The black-haired captain then looked back at Michael, "Do you trust us?" "I'm still not sure," he admitted, "But I have to admit, I'm beginning to think we have a few things in common......Apollo." "That's always a good way to start a friendship," Apollo smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: j^S!!Uc!"!W>h!!=o6!! The first two support chambers came off with Apollo and Starbuck wheeling them.e, wondering how it could be that Fairfax was the nephew and namesake of a great battlestar commander. "Very well," Adama said, "We'll proceed. But I only want Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Starbuck, Med-tech Cassiopeia and Drs. Salik and Wilker to accompany me for this first look." "Commander, I-" Fairfax started to protest, but a cold glance ffrom the Commander cut him off and he slunk back to where the others were standing. "I think we're forgetting something," Salik said, "Do we need to force open their hatch to get inside? Because if we have to blow it completely, I'm absolutely opposed to that." "We'll find out," Adama said as he led the group of five toward the craft and placed his hand on what was clearly a rear compartment door. He found a hatch cover and with great trepidation turned what looked like a handle to the right. A groaning sound emitted as the door suddenly slid open to the right. Feeling the tension rise, Adama then led the group inside. They immediately noticed a sterile smell inside the rear compartment, and also that it was stuffy and hot. "The ventilation systems were powered done to almost nothing," Wilker noted, "To save energy for a long-range trip." Adama then entered the next compartment and stopped in his tracks when he saw before him, five pod-like chambers, each containing the almost waxen forms of human beings. Each of them wore the same kind of odd, silver-metal looking coverall. What surprised him though was that only one was an adult male. The other was an adult female, and on the other side he could recognize three children, one in her young teens, the other two no older than five or six yahrens old. "A whole family of them," Cassiopeia said in amazement. "This, I didn't expect," Adama said as he moved toward the head of the compartment, glancing down at the brown-haired man in the lead pod chamber. "This couldn't have been some kind of formal expedition or voyage if it had passengers like this." Starbuck was perhaps the most awed of the group, "They don't even look alive." Salik smiled, "Well, they are, Lieutenant. Just like being put in cryo-freeze makes one look dead even as the body continues to function." the Chief Medical Officer stopped to look at some of the instrument panels lining the terminals. "I can't quite make out the details on these computers though. It could well be that these people have a language that isn't quite on the same wavelength as ours." "He's right," Wilker said as he looked up from his study of one of the computer terminals, "There's nothing I'd dare touch myself. It could be that these people are the ones who'd have to teach us how to operate these things properly. The sooner we can get one of them out of hibernation, the better. Preferably the lead one there." he motioned his thumb toward the lead pod that Adama stood next to. Adama frowned, "You're suggesting we start that procedure, now?" "Well it makes sense, doesn't it?" Starbuck spoke up, "We Nestor and Salik followed behind them with a third. "Just a centon," Reese took a step toward them, "Where are they going now?" "Back to the Life Station, Reese," Starbuck smiled, "We told you that before, didn't we? We're starting with the two adults and the older kid. The two small ones we'll get last." The Council guard stepped back, "Okay, go ahead." "Boomer, Jolly?" Apollo motioned. "Give us a hand here, will you? It's a bit of a tight squeeze around here." The two warriors, who along with Castor had been keeping their distance from the Council Security men, walked over and followed them out the door into the next compartment. As soon as the door closed, Apollo's voice took on an edge of urgency. "Okay, Salik, Nestor, both of you get out of here. Your work is done." "All right," the male med-tech said sourly, "And I hope I can get an explanation on this at last!" "You will son, you will," the Chief Medical Officer patted him on the shoulder, "I'loticed a sterile smell inside the rear compartment, and also that it was stuffy and hot. "The ventilation systems were powered done to almost nothing," Wilker noted, "To save energy for a long-range trip." Adama then entered the next compartment and stopped in his tracks when he saw before him, five pod-like chambers, each containing the almost waxen forms of human beings. Each of them wore the same kind of odd, silver-metal looking coverall. What surprised him though was that only one was an adult male. The other was an adult female, and on the other side he could recognize three children, one in her young teens, the other two no older than five or six yahrens old. "A whole family of them," Cassiopeia said in amazement. "This, I didn't expect," Adama said as he moved toward the head of the compartment, glancing down at the brown-haired man in the lead pod chamber. "This couldn't have been some kind of formal expedition or voyage if it had passengers like this." Starbuck was perhaps the most awed of the group, "They don't even look alive." Salik smiled, "Well, they are, Lieutenant. Just like being put in cryo-freeze makes one look dead even as the body continues to function." the Chief Medical Officer stopped to look at some of the instrument panels lining the terminals. "I can't quite make out the details on these computers though. It could well be that these people have a language that isn't quite on the same wavelength as ours." "He's right," Wilker said as he looked up from his study of one of the computer terminals, "There's nothing I'd dare touch myself. It could be that these people are the ones who'd have to teach us how to operate these things properly. The sooner we can get one of them out of hibernation, the better. Preferably the lead one there." he motioned his thumb toward the lead pod that Adama stood next to. Adama frowned, "You're suggesting we start that procedure, now?" "Well it makes sense, doesn't it?" Starbuck spoke up, "We aren't going to get anywhere figuring out where they come from, if we can't read their computers, so why not wake them up?" Salik sighed, "Starbuck, Wilker, I think you should stop thinking so impulsively. If we bring these people out of hibernation improperly, that could terminate their lives." "Why?" the lieutenant asked. "Because as you said, we don't know how to read their computers, so it's quite obvious that we also don't know what the proper procedure is for bringing them out of hibernation, especially since we don't know if their life systems are completely compatible with our atmosphere." "So what does this mean, then?" Starbuck began to feel the exuberance he'd felt all through the journey back to the Galactica being replaced with exasperation, "We finally come into contact with people who might be from Earth, and we have to leave them in these tubes?" "No," Wilker shook his head, "No, it doesn't have to mean that at all. Between myself and Dr. Salik, and with the help ol buy you a drink with my compliments and explain everything." Once the two of them had disappeared round the corner, Apollo turned back to his fellow warriors. "Okay, here's what it comes down to. Both of you take the last two support chambers that're inside that ship and get them out of there. Once you've done that, you're to make sure that Reese and his goons keep their distance." "For what?" Boomer now realized that this was going to be more serious then he thought it might be. "Those engines will be firing up as soon as you two are off," Apollo said, "We're letting them resume their journey." "You what?" Boomer's face twisted. This wasn't something even he would have given support to. "Boomer, we don't have time to argue about this. The Commander's okayed this plan, and Starbuck and I will be escorting this ship to their destination. Then we can get the hard evidence we need. By the time we get back, we're going to be one step closer to Earth." "Sas perhaps the most awed of the group, "They don't even look alive." Salik smiled, "Well, they are, Lieutenant. Just like being put in cryo-freeze makes one look dead even as the body continues to function." the Chief Medical Officer stopped to look at some of the instrument panels lining the terminals. "I can't quite make out the details on these computers though. It could well be that these people have a language that isn't quite on the same wavelength as ours." "He's right," Wilker said as he looked up from his study of one of the computer terminals, "There's nothing I'd dare touch myself. It could be that these people are the ones who'd have to teach us how to operate these things properly. The sooner we can get one of them out of hibernation, the better. Preferably the lead one there." he motioned his thumb toward the lead pod that Adama stood next to. Adama frowned, "You're suggesting we start that procedure, now?" "Well it makes sense, doesn't it?" Starbuck spoke up, "We aren't going to get anywhere figuring out where they come from, if we can't read their computers, so why not wake them up?" Salik sighed, "Starbuck, Wilker, I think you should stop thinking so impulsively. If we bring these people out of hibernation improperly, that could terminate their lives." "Why?" the lieutenant asked. "Because as you said, we don't know how to read their computers, so it's quite obvious that we also don't know what the proper procedure is for bringing them out of hibernation, especially since we don't know if their life systems are completely compatible with our atmosphere." "So what does this mean, then?" Starbuck began to feel the exuberance he'd felt all through the journey back to the Galactica being replaced with exasperation, "We finally come into contact with people who might be from Earth, and we have to leave them in these tubes?" "No," Wilker shook his head, "No, it doesn't have to mean that at all. Between myself and Dr. Salik, and with the help of our support teams, we should be able to figure these systems out. I can pick one chamber and run tests on it." "Run tests on it?" Apollo spoke up for the first time, feeling that uneasy sensation return to him again, "Are you talking about using one of these people as a testing drone to figure out how their technology functions?" Wilker bristled slightly, "That's a crude way of putting it, Captain, but----" "And what if one of them should short out during your so- called Ÿ_~tests'?" Apollo didn't let up, "You'd just move on to the next child? I'm assuming of course the children are the ones you'd want to do the tests on, since you said it was important to get answers from their leader up front!" The Chief Scientist found himself on the verge of losing his temper, but then swallowed and turned his back to Apollo, directing himself to Adama, "Commander," he said, "I believe you've served your purpose for now. The rest is in our hands. It's not a military matter anymore." "That's ounds absolutely crazy," Jolly said, "But....since it comes from you and the Commander, I guess it's the best option we've got." "Glad you see it that way, Jolly. Now just get that empty chamber off, and get ready for Hades to break loose." "Catch you later," Starbuck threw them a friendly smirk as he and Apollo took off down the corridor. Boomer dimly shook his head, "I was wrong. I did become a volunteer after all." ****************************************************************** ******************************* A centon later, they were aboard the ship, where Cassiopeia had quickly filled them in. Michael had briefly returned to his pressure chamber during the interlude to gather his strength again, but was now outside again. "Do you feel okay to fly this thing off, Michael?" the med-tech asked. "Yes, I'm fine. As long as I don't step outside the ship I can last for about five or ten minutes." "Michael, what's a minute?" Jolly frowned. "Never mind t aren't going to get anywhere figuring out where they come from, if we can't read their computers, so why not wake them up?" Salik sighed, "Starbuck, Wilker, I think you should stop thinking so impulsively. If we bring these people out of hibernation improperly, that could terminate their lives." "Why?" the lieutenant asked. "Because as you said, we don't know how to read their computers, so it's quite obvious that we also don't know what the proper procedure is for bringing them out of hibernation, especially since we don't know if their life systems are completely compatible with our atmosphere." "So what does this mean, then?" Starbuck began to feel the exuberance he'd felt all through the journey back to the Galactica being replaced with exasperation, "We finally come into contact with people who might be from Earth, and we have to leave them in these tubes?" "No," Wilker shook his head, "No, it doesn't have to mean that at all. Between myself and Dr. Salik, and with the help of our support teams, we should be able to figure these systems out. I can pick one chamber and run tests on it." "Run tests on it?" Apollo spoke up for the first time, feeling that uneasy sensation return to him again, "Are you talking about using one of these people as a testing drone to figure out how their technology functions?" Wilker bristled slightly, "That's a crude way of putting it, Captain, but----" "And what if one of them should short out during your so- called Ÿ_~tests'?" Apollo didn't let up, "You'd just move on to the next child? I'm assuming of course the children are the ones you'd want to do the tests on, since you said it was important to get answers from their leader up front!" The Chief Scientist found himself on the verge of losing his temper, but then swallowed and turned his back to Apollo, directing himself to Adama, "Commander," he said, "I believe you've served your purpose for now. The rest is in our hands. It's not a military matter anymore." "That's true," Adama said, taken aback somewhat by Wilker's cavalier attitude toward the situation. But from a technical standpoint, he knew the Chief Scientist was right about the need to proceed, "But I want both of you to understand this. Who these people are, where they come from, and where they were going, could well provide the key to the survival of the entire Fleet. I want no unnecessary chances taken with their lives. Have I made myself clear?" "Certainly," Wilker said, "But at the same time, we also have to consider that bringing them here at all, may have been fatal in the long-term for them." "Which would justify taking rash action to get at some answers too quickly, is that what you're saying, Doctor?" Apollo didn't bother concealing the disgust in his voice. Again, the Chief Scientist ignored him, "Commander, if you would permit Fairfax and the rest of my team to come aboard, along with the rest of the med-techs, I think we can get started." "Very well," Adama said chat, just as long as it's enough time to do the job," Boomer said as he shook hands with Michael, "Sorry we didn't get more time to chat, but good luck to you." "Thank you," Michael felt comfortable reciprocating the handshake. "I must take my position up front now." As soon as he was gone, Boomer and Jolly took hold of the two remaining Life Station Chambers and moved them toward the hatch that led outside. Before they disappeared, the dark-skinned warrior gave one final smirk to Cassiopeia. "Welcome to Apollo's club of volunteers, Cassie." "I'll be glad to trade stories when I get back," the blonde-med tech returned it and then closed the door sealing the rest of the ship from the outside. ****************************************************************** ************************** Boomer and Jolly had gotten the two covered chambers away from the ship, when they suddenly heard the sound of the engines firing up. "What's going on?" Reese and the other Council Securf our support teams, we should be able to figure these systems out. I can pick one chamber and run tests on it." "Run tests on it?" Apollo spoke up for the first time, feeling that uneasy sensation return to him again, "Are you talking about using one of these people as a testing drone to figure out how their technology functions?" Wilker bristled slightly, "That's a crude way of putting it, Captain, but----" "And what if one of them should short out during your so- called Ÿ_~tests'?" Apollo didn't let up, "You'd just move on to the next child? I'm assuming of course the children are the ones you'd want to do the tests on, since you said it was important to get answers from their leader up front!" The Chief Scientist found himself on the verge of losing his temper, but then swallowed and turned his back to Apollo, directing himself to Adama, "Commander," he said, "I believe you've served your purpose for now. The rest is in our hands. It's not a military matter anymore." "That's true," Adama said, taken aback somewhat by Wilker's cavalier attitude toward the situation. But from a technical standpoint, he knew the Chief Scientist was right about the need to proceed, "But I want both of you to understand this. Who these people are, where they come from, and where they were going, could well provide the key to the survival of the entire Fleet. I want no unnecessary chances taken with their lives. Have I made myself clear?" "Certainly," Wilker said, "But at the same time, we also have to consider that bringing them here at all, may have been fatal in the long-term for them." "Which would justify taking rash action to get at some answers too quickly, is that what you're saying, Doctor?" Apollo didn't bother concealing the disgust in his voice. Again, the Chief Scientist ignored him, "Commander, if you would permit Fairfax and the rest of my team to come aboard, along with the rest of the med-techs, I think we can get started." "Very well," Adama said calmly and motioned to Apollo and Starbuck, "Captain. Lieutenant." As Apollo followed his father out, he could feel the sense of discontent rising inside him. Now he could pinpoint exactly what the source of it was. He was convinced more then ever that bringing the strange vehicle aboard the battlestar had been the wrong decision to begin with. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: F+,"!YhL"!gXP!!jbV!! Chapter Two For more than a sectan, Athena had been dreading the day when her new temporary assignment would begin. All the people she'd spoken to had told her nothing but horror stories of how impossible it was to handle a group of young primary children not used to a new instructor. And how each of them were always grateful when the assignment ended and they could get back to their regular duties as soon as possible. The previous night, she had lain awake in her bunk, wondering how it was that a warrior with her record, traiity Guards bolted toward them. "Why are those engines firing up?" "Council order," Boomer said, "Now that the people are off, we're jettisoning the ship to cut down on the contamination risk to ourselves and the Fleet." "I didn't receive any notification of that!" "You didn't?" Jolly feigned bewilderment, "You had your com-lines checked lately, Reese?" "Hey, Castor, help us move these kids out of here!" Boomer motioned toward the Colonial Security Guard. "Wait a fracking micron!" Reese exploded, "I want some answers, and not this felgercarb you're giving me." "Come on, Reese, you're endangering these children by leaving them out here in front of a ship firing its engines." Jolly said, "Even you can't be that cruel." "Now you listen here, fat boy," Reese snarled, "I've had enough from you!" "Then shouldn't that be your cue to leave?" Jolly wasn't about to let a cheap insult from Reese faze him in the slightest. "Let's go Castor, we can't keep Salik waiting," Botrue," Adama said, taken aback somewhat by Wilker's cavalier attitude toward the situation. But from a technical standpoint, he knew the Chief Scientist was right about the need to proceed, "But I want both of you to understand this. Who these people are, where they come from, and where they were going, could well provide the key to the survival of the entire Fleet. I want no unnecessary chances taken with their lives. Have I made myself clear?" "Certainly," Wilker said, "But at the same time, we also have to consider that bringing them here at all, may have been fatal in the long-term for them." "Which would justify taking rash action to get at some answers too quickly, is that what you're saying, Doctor?" Apollo didn't bother concealing the disgust in his voice. Again, the Chief Scientist ignored him, "Commander, if you would permit Fairfax and the rest of my team to come aboard, along with the rest of the med-techs, I think we can get started." "Very well," Adama said calmly and motioned to Apollo and Starbuck, "Captain. Lieutenant." As Apollo followed his father out, he could feel the sense of discontent rising inside him. Now he could pinpoint exactly what the source of it was. He was convinced more then ever that bringing the strange vehicle aboard the battlestar had been the wrong decision to begin with. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: F+,"!YhL"!gXP!!jbV!! Chapter Two For more than a sectan, Athena had been dreading the day when her new temporary assignment would begin. All the people she'd spoken to had told her nothing but horror stories of how impossible it was to handle a group of young primary children not used to a new instructor. And how each of them were always grateful when the assignment ended and they could get back to their regular duties as soon as possible. The previous night, she had lain awake in her bunk, wondering how it was that a warrior with her record, trained to fly shuttles, and who had distinguished herself as a viper pilot at the Battle of Kobol, now found herself about to take charge of thirty children for the rest of the educational cycle, which still had several sectars remaining. It almost seemed like the ultimate comedown in terms of what she was capable of doing. And then, she realized painfully the reason why she'd talked herself into volunteering for the assignment. The more she removed herself from the bridge and all kinds of warrior- related activities, the more she could get her mind off Starbuck. For too long, she had been letting herself brood over the fact that he was irrevocably lost to her. Hearing Cassiopeia say on the witness stand during his murder tribunal that they had a "very close" relationship, only helped drive the reality of that home to her once and for all. As a consequence it had begun to make her feel more restless in her usual bridge duties, and that what she needed most was a new challenge inomer said. "No you don't!" Reese whipped out his pistol and in the process, his hand jarred against the covering on the chamber, causing it to fall to the ground. Revealing the empty contents inside. "What the frack...." Reese said dumbfoundedly as he then snatched the cover on the second one away, which also revealed an empty chamber. "Hey Jolly!" Boomer faked the tone of a chiding parent, "You forgot the kids!" The only sound over the increasing roar of the engines was Castor letting out a burst of laughter. And then, before the stunned Council Security guards could recover from the unexpected sight of the two empty chambers, the orange craft moved down the tarmac and out of the landing bay. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: p-g"!,?M"!XjB!!,'b"! Adama was already waiting on the bridge, anticipating the centon when it would finally happen. As soon as he saw the indicator on Omega's console that indicated the spacecalmly and motioned to Apollo and Starbuck, "Captain. Lieutenant." As Apollo followed his father out, he could feel the sense of discontent rising inside him. Now he could pinpoint exactly what the source of it was. He was convinced more then ever that bringing the strange vehicle aboard the battlestar had been the wrong decision to begin with. Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: F+,"!YhL"!gXP!!jbV!! Chapter Two For more than a sectan, Athena had been dreading the day when her new temporary assignment would begin. All the people she'd spoken to had told her nothing but horror stories of how impossible it was to handle a group of young primary children not used to a new instructor. And how each of them were always grateful when the assignment ended and they could get back to their regular duties as soon as possible. The previous night, she had lain awake in her bunk, wondering how it was that a warrior with her record, trained to fly shuttles, and who had distinguished herself as a viper pilot at the Battle of Kobol, now found herself about to take charge of thirty children for the rest of the educational cycle, which still had several sectars remaining. It almost seemed like the ultimate comedown in terms of what she was capable of doing. And then, she realized painfully the reason why she'd talked herself into volunteering for the assignment. The more she removed herself from the bridge and all kinds of warrior- related activities, the more she could get her mind off Starbuck. For too long, she had been letting herself brood over the fact that he was irrevocably lost to her. Hearing Cassiopeia say on the witness stand during his murder tribunal that they had a "very close" relationship, only helped drive the reality of that home to her once and for all. As a consequence it had begun to make her feel more restless in her usual bridge duties, and that what she needed most was a new challenge in life to devote herself too. Going back to viper duty wasn't an option since it would only put her in more close proximity to Starbuck. And then, one night while she had been looking after Boxey, her nephew had offhandedly remarked how he wished his instructor was more like her. She had asked him questions for a centar about what his classes were like, and learned that Boxey didn't think his current instructor, or any of the previous ones, had done a good job connecting with the class. After that conversation, Athena found herself thinking she could easily do a better job then that, and had impulsively volunteered the next day to be a rotating instructor for Boxey's second yahren primary group, the instant a vacancy came up. Without bothering to check with others who'd had the job before to find out if it really was a good idea to volunteer for such a position. But now, as she'd collected herself that morning to begin her job, her dread had given way to resignation, and she draft had launched, he wasted no time giving his next order. "Launch Blue Squadron patrol to intercept!" The indicator lights then went green, "Blue Squadron away, sir," Omega reported. The Commander ascended the stairs to the upper level where Tigh was waiting. The executive officer's expression was anything but exuberant. "It's done then," Tigh said, "What now?" Adama sighed, "Now we wait, Colonel. And we pray." he rubbed the spot between his eyes, "I'll be in my quarters if anyone needs me." "Does that include anyone from the Council?" The Commander smiled mirthlessly at his old friend, "Especially them." ****************************************************************** *************************** For a centar, Adama sat behind his desk, waiting for one of them to arrive. The only question left was how big a delegation would it be. No matter how big it was, he knew he was in for his most difficult confrontation with the Council yet. When the delegned to fly shuttles, and who had distinguished herself as a viper pilot at the Battle of Kobol, now found herself about to take charge of thirty children for the rest of the educational cycle, which still had several sectars remaining. It almost seemed like the ultimate comedown in terms of what she was capable of doing. And then, she realized painfully the reason why she'd talked herself into volunteering for the assignment. The more she removed herself from the bridge and all kinds of warrior- related activities, the more she could get her mind off Starbuck. For too long, she had been letting herself brood over the fact that he was irrevocably lost to her. Hearing Cassiopeia say on the witness stand during his murder tribunal that they had a "very close" relationship, only helped drive the reality of that home to her once and for all. As a consequence it had begun to make her feel more restless in her usual bridge duties, and that what she needed most was a new challenge in life to devote herself too. Going back to viper duty wasn't an option since it would only put her in more close proximity to Starbuck. And then, one night while she had been looking after Boxey, her nephew had offhandedly remarked how he wished his instructor was more like her. She had asked him questions for a centar about what his classes were like, and learned that Boxey didn't think his current instructor, or any of the previous ones, had done a good job connecting with the class. After that conversation, Athena found herself thinking she could easily do a better job then that, and had impulsively volunteered the next day to be a rotating instructor for Boxey's second yahren primary group, the instant a vacancy came up. Without bothering to check with others who'd had the job before to find out if it really was a good idea to volunteer for such a position. But now, as she'd collected herself that morning to begin her job, her dread had given way to resignation, and she decided that the least she could do was throw herself into it. Perhaps when all was said and done, she might come to enjoy the job and even sign up for another semester term. To strike a note of authority with the children, she decided to wear her bridge uniform rather than the civilian clothes most instructors wore. Once class began, she found it seemed to have the right effect on the children. All of them were in a completely deferential mood and not offering the slightest signs of rambunctiosuness. Is it the uniform, or the fact that I'm Adama's daughter? she wondered idly. She made a mental note to try at least one session without the uniform at some point in order to put that theory to the test. After guiding them through a review of their scientific exercises for the day, she decided to break whatever feelings of boredom some of them might have by focusing on the one story that any of them with access to a video-com and the IFB these last two days, knew all about. "Lation finally arrived, it consisted of four members. Geller, Tinia, Domra, and to Adama's surprise, Anton. "I've been expecting you," Adama kept his tone pleasant, "Won't you sit down?" "Let's dispense with pleasantries, Adama," Tinia spoke, her voice one of controlled fury. "What explanation do you have for letting that Earth ship go in defiance of Council edicts?" The Commander was slightly surprised to see Tinia assume the position of leader for the group. Tinia had not been one of the more pro-active members of the Council in the past. During the Count Iblis affair she had actually been more sympathetic to Adama's position then those who had been ready to turn control of the Fleet to Iblis like Domra and Geller. It was clear though, that this was an issue that offended her deeply and made her determined to speak out more openly. Adama rose from his chair and with hands behind his back, assumed a full command bearing that indicated he was not going to let himself life to devote herself too. Going back to viper duty wasn't an option since it would only put her in more close proximity to Starbuck. And then, one night while she had been looking after Boxey, her nephew had offhandedly remarked how he wished his instructor was more like her. She had asked him questions for a centar about what his classes were like, and learned that Boxey didn't think his current instructor, or any of the previous ones, had done a good job connecting with the class. After that conversation, Athena found herself thinking she could easily do a better job then that, and had impulsively volunteered the next day to be a rotating instructor for Boxey's second yahren primary group, the instant a vacancy came up. Without bothering to check with others who'd had the job before to find out if it really was a good idea to volunteer for such a position. But now, as she'd collected herself that morning to begin her job, her dread had given way to resignation, and she decided that the least she could do was throw herself into it. Perhaps when all was said and done, she might come to enjoy the job and even sign up for another semester term. To strike a note of authority with the children, she decided to wear her bridge uniform rather than the civilian clothes most instructors wore. Once class began, she found it seemed to have the right effect on the children. All of them were in a completely deferential mood and not offering the slightest signs of rambunctiosuness. Is it the uniform, or the fact that I'm Adama's daughter? she wondered idly. She made a mental note to try at least one session without the uniform at some point in order to put that theory to the test. After guiding them through a review of their scientific exercises for the day, she decided to break whatever feelings of boredom some of them might have by focusing on the one story that any of them with access to a video-com and the IFB these last two days, knew all about. "Let's see how well some of you are when it comes to keeping up with current events knowledge." She said as she made her way forward, into the throng of children seated at their desks. "You're all aware that something special has happened, right?" "Yes!" her nephew suddenly spoke up, "We've found people from Earth!" Athena gently pointed at Boxey, feeling glad that the little boy had provided her with an opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the class that not even familial ties could affect her ability to show authority to them. "Boxey, remember to use your questioning indicator when you desire to address the class." "Sorry, Athena," Boxey said, feeling properly chastised as he settled back in his seat. "You're excused," she allowed herself only the faintest smile, as she returned to her position at the head of the classroom. "But Boxey is right to this degree. If you're all familiar with your assigned readings form the Book of the Word and the Testament of Arkada, then you r be intimidated. But when he spoke, he kept his voice measured and calm. "Circumstances forced me to conclude that our best hope in finding the answers we seek, lay in letting the ship resume its journey." "And what circumstances were those, Commander?" Tinia didn't let up. "The fact that a majority of the Council had decided to handle the situation otherwise? And is this going to be your standard operating procedure whenever we as a body decide upon a course of action that isn't to your liking?" Adama held his ground, "Siress Tinia, I deeply regret that circumstances have led to this unfortunate quarrel between myself and the Council. However, as military commander, it is my responsibility to take what I consider to be necessary steps that impact on the matter of finding the necessary information that will lead us to the 13th tribe." "Oh is that so, Adama?" Domra cut in coldly, "This is a strange new formula for finding information. Letting the people who have thecided that the least she could do was throw herself into it. Perhaps when all was said and done, she might come to enjoy the job and even sign up for another semester term. To strike a note of authority with the children, she decided to wear her bridge uniform rather than the civilian clothes most instructors wore. Once class began, she found it seemed to have the right effect on the children. All of them were in a completely deferential mood and not offering the slightest signs of rambunctiosuness. Is it the uniform, or the fact that I'm Adama's daughter? she wondered idly. She made a mental note to try at least one session without the uniform at some point in order to put that theory to the test. After guiding them through a review of their scientific exercises for the day, she decided to break whatever feelings of boredom some of them might have by focusing on the one story that any of them with access to a video-com and the IFB these last two days, knew all about. "Let's see how well some of you are when it comes to keeping up with current events knowledge." She said as she made her way forward, into the throng of children seated at their desks. "You're all aware that something special has happened, right?" "Yes!" her nephew suddenly spoke up, "We've found people from Earth!" Athena gently pointed at Boxey, feeling glad that the little boy had provided her with an opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the class that not even familial ties could affect her ability to show authority to them. "Boxey, remember to use your questioning indicator when you desire to address the class." "Sorry, Athena," Boxey said, feeling properly chastised as he settled back in his seat. "You're excused," she allowed herself only the faintest smile, as she returned to her position at the head of the classroom. "But Boxey is right to this degree. If you're all familiar with your assigned readings form the Book of the Word and the Testament of Arkada, then you realize that what might happen today is liable to affect each of us, for the rest of our lives. That's why we're all nervous about it, I'm sure." A chime then sounded from the desk in front of Boxey's, rung by a blonde girl with braids. Athena recognized her as the daughter of Colonial Security Guard, Corporal Lomas. "Yes, Loma?" "If there are people aboard, why aren't they coming out?" "We can't allow it now, because their craft has to be decontaminated," Athena said and decided to come up with an impromptu quiz for them. Using current events as a launching point for educational discussion was one teaching tool they'd never seen before, and Athena could remember how effective it had always been during her days of schooling. "Does anyone know what that means?" Boxey immediately rang his question chime. For an instant, Athena hoped that wasn't going to be the norm because if Boxey was always first to chime in, then the other students might think she was giving her nephew opportue information go before we had so much as one centon to ask them a single question!" "Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck will get that information from them, once the Terran ship arrives at its destination." "Adama," Anton spoke up, his voice calmer then his colleagues, but it was clear that he wasn't going to side with the commander this time, "You chose to gamble with the well-being of 70,000 people in this Fleet for the sake of five people whose lives should not be weighed more in the balance. I was all for letting Dr. Salik take as much time as he needed to properly revive them in favorable conditions, but this course of action you took is inexcusable. As is the disrespect you have demonstrated to all of us on the Council in questioning our motives, and in treating us as enemies rather than partners. That simply will not do if you wish to maintain our respect for your capacity to lead us." Anton's more soft-spoken tone, in many ways made his words more devastating theet's see how well some of you are when it comes to keeping up with current events knowledge." She said as she made her way forward, into the throng of children seated at their desks. "You're all aware that something special has happened, right?" "Yes!" her nephew suddenly spoke up, "We've found people from Earth!" Athena gently pointed at Boxey, feeling glad that the little boy had provided her with an opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the class that not even familial ties could affect her ability to show authority to them. "Boxey, remember to use your questioning indicator when you desire to address the class." "Sorry, Athena," Boxey said, feeling properly chastised as he settled back in his seat. "You're excused," she allowed herself only the faintest smile, as she returned to her position at the head of the classroom. "But Boxey is right to this degree. If you're all familiar with your assigned readings form the Book of the Word and the Testament of Arkada, then you realize that what might happen today is liable to affect each of us, for the rest of our lives. That's why we're all nervous about it, I'm sure." A chime then sounded from the desk in front of Boxey's, rung by a blonde girl with braids. Athena recognized her as the daughter of Colonial Security Guard, Corporal Lomas. "Yes, Loma?" "If there are people aboard, why aren't they coming out?" "We can't allow it now, because their craft has to be decontaminated," Athena said and decided to come up with an impromptu quiz for them. Using current events as a launching point for educational discussion was one teaching tool they'd never seen before, and Athena could remember how effective it had always been during her days of schooling. "Does anyone know what that means?" Boxey immediately rang his question chime. For an instant, Athena hoped that wasn't going to be the norm because if Boxey was always first to chime in, then the other students might think she was giving her nephew opportunities to look better than them. "Yes, Boxey?" "It means they have to make sure there are no sick bugs aboard the ship that can harm the rest of us." "Exactly," Athena nodded, grateful that Boxey didn't mention that he knew that because Apollo had gone through a full decon procedure himself the other day after his one visit aboard the craft. "We're talking about thing that are too small for us to see, but can have bad effects on us, especially when we have people thrown together in an unfamiliar environment for the first time. I'm sure some of us can remember that when we started our journey nearly a yahren ago, there was trouble making adjustments." Another chime, this from a brown haired girl at the back of the room. "Yes. Lana?" "When me and my parents came aboard the Galactica, we got sick from the water." "Your family's from Aquarius, right?" Athena asked, feeling glad that Boxey had told her about most of the backgrounds of the students. "Yes." "You come from one of n they could have been from the angrier tones of the other three. Adama felt on the verge of seeing his firm facade crack slightly, but he managed to stave it off. "What then are you saying, Sire Anton?" Adama asked gently, in the manner of one friend asking another, "That the Council wishes to strip me of my position as President of the body?" "We have not come to make proposals or motions, Adama," Geller snapped, "We demand an apology." "As I have said, I regret that circumstances led to this unpleasantness," the Commander said, "And on the matter of questioning your good intentions as to what you felt was best for the people of the Fleet in regard to reviving the Terrans, you have my full apology." "That's not enough, Adama," Tinia said sharply, "We demand an apology for your defying our orders, and we also demand you send out a team of vipers to return the spacecraft to the Galactica immediately." Adama slowly shook his head, "I am sorry, Siress Tinia. That I cannotealize that what might happen today is liable to affect each of us, for the rest of our lives. That's why we're all nervous about it, I'm sure." A chime then sounded from the desk in front of Boxey's, rung by a blonde girl with braids. Athena recognized her as the daughter of Colonial Security Guard, Corporal Lomas. "Yes, Loma?" "If there are people aboard, why aren't they coming out?" "We can't allow it now, because their craft has to be decontaminated," Athena said and decided to come up with an impromptu quiz for them. Using current events as a launching point for educational discussion was one teaching tool they'd never seen before, and Athena could remember how effective it had always been during her days of schooling. "Does anyone know what that means?" Boxey immediately rang his question chime. For an instant, Athena hoped that wasn't going to be the norm because if Boxey was always first to chime in, then the other students might think she was giving her nephew opportunities to look better than them. "Yes, Boxey?" "It means they have to make sure there are no sick bugs aboard the ship that can harm the rest of us." "Exactly," Athena nodded, grateful that Boxey didn't mention that he knew that because Apollo had gone through a full decon procedure himself the other day after his one visit aboard the craft. "We're talking about thing that are too small for us to see, but can have bad effects on us, especially when we have people thrown together in an unfamiliar environment for the first time. I'm sure some of us can remember that when we started our journey nearly a yahren ago, there was trouble making adjustments." Another chime, this from a brown haired girl at the back of the room. "Yes. Lana?" "When me and my parents came aboard the Galactica, we got sick from the water." "Your family's from Aquarius, right?" Athena asked, feeling glad that Boxey had told her about most of the backgrounds of the students. "Yes." "You come from one of the outer colonies. Because the Galactica is mostly comprised of Capricans, Gemons and Cancerans, that meant there was some incompatibility at first, but in time that passed. Everyone learned how to do what, class?" "Adjust!" they all said in unison. "Excellent," she said with pride, "And with that in mind, you can look at the central monitor and read the lesson for today." she activated a switch and stepped aside so they could see it. "The human life form can adapt to many varied environments and foods!" they again read in unison. "Remember, it just takes time for adjustment to happen. That's all that's happening now, before we can let these visitors out." Boxey, feeling restless to say what was on his mind, rang his chime again. "Yes, Boxey?" "I heard my father say that it could be possible for those people to kill us before we knew what hit us, if they were carrying the wrong kind of bugs." Athena was taken aback slightly by her nephew's remarks. "Your father said that to you?" do. What I have done, I have done, and let me judged by the results of how this plays itself out. If events show that the spacecraft's destination is not nearby and that we can not obtain information from the Terrans, you are free to do whatever you choose with me, and I will take the consequences. But if events show that my order was the correct one, and did lead to productive results, there will be no point in my apologizing for my actions to you, or to anyone." A stony silence filled the room. The hostility hadn't faded from Tinia, Geller or Domra, while Anton at least had assumed a more pensive aura. "Adama," Anton broke the silence, "You are to give us the precise calculations on how long Apollo and Starbuck can track that ship until it becomes a point of no return for them to the Galactica. And once that time has elapsed, you will appear before all of us to report on the mission's success or failure. And what you report will then determine what we will do next." nities to look better than them. "Yes, Boxey?" "It means they have to make sure there are no sick bugs aboard the ship that can harm the rest of us." "Exactly," Athena nodded, grateful that Boxey didn't mention that he knew that because Apollo had gone through a full decon procedure himself the other day after his one visit aboard the craft. "We're talking about thing that are too small for us to see, but can have bad effects on us, especially when we have people thrown together in an unfamiliar environment for the first time. I'm sure some of us can remember that when we started our journey nearly a yahren ago, there was trouble making adjustments." Another chime, this from a brown haired girl at the back of the room. "Yes. Lana?" "When me and my parents came aboard the Galactica, we got sick from the water." "Your family's from Aquarius, right?" Athena asked, feeling glad that Boxey had told her about most of the backgrounds of the students. "Yes." "You come from one of the outer colonies. Because the Galactica is mostly comprised of Capricans, Gemons and Cancerans, that meant there was some incompatibility at first, but in time that passed. Everyone learned how to do what, class?" "Adjust!" they all said in unison. "Excellent," she said with pride, "And with that in mind, you can look at the central monitor and read the lesson for today." she activated a switch and stepped aside so they could see it. "The human life form can adapt to many varied environments and foods!" they again read in unison. "Remember, it just takes time for adjustment to happen. That's all that's happening now, before we can let these visitors out." Boxey, feeling restless to say what was on his mind, rang his chime again. "Yes, Boxey?" "I heard my father say that it could be possible for those people to kill us before we knew what hit us, if they were carrying the wrong kind of bugs." Athena was taken aback slightly by her nephew's remarks. "Your father said that to you?" "Not exactly," Boxey said, "He was having some argument with Starbuck about it." "I see," Athena sucked in her breath, trying not to let herself look any more rattled then she already felt. "Class, we're going to take a recess for the next fifteen centons. You're free to go to a refreshment station but make sure what you get is fully consumed before class resumes." An approving noise went up from the students as they began to disperse. Athena came up to Boxey and immediately took him by the hand. "Come on," she said, "Let's find your father." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: KnO"!26?"!:2g"!CK6!! Several centons later, they caught up with Apollo, who was heading toward the Officers Club. "Apollo!" his sister called out. Apollo turned around and smiled when he saw them, especially Boxey. He hadn't been able to spend as much time as he felt he should have with his son in the last few sectans, and it was beginnig to weigh heavil "That is agreeable to me," Adama bowed slightly in respect, "Colonel Tigh will furnish you with the appropriate calculations. In the meantime, I am ordering the Fleet slowed to absolute minimum speed in order to increase their window of opportunity." "I concur," Anton said quickly, before Domra or Geller could offer any protest, "We can consider this matter closed......for now." "Of course," the Commander nodded, "Good day." But once the four members left, Adama collapsed into his chair feeling the greatest sense of defeat he'd known at any time since the journey had begun. Anton might remain fair, but the fury in the faces of Domra, Geller and Tinia was enough to tell him that there would still be repercussions even if the mission turned out to be a triumphant success. the outer colonies. Because the Galactica is mostly comprised of Capricans, Gemons and Cancerans, that meant there was some incompatibility at first, but in time that passed. Everyone learned how to do what, class?" "Adjust!" they all said in unison. "Excellent," she said with pride, "And with that in mind, you can look at the central monitor and read the lesson for today." she activated a switch and stepped aside so they could see it. "The human life form can adapt to many varied environments and foods!" they again read in unison. "Remember, it just takes time for adjustment to happen. That's all that's happening now, before we can let these visitors out." Boxey, feeling restless to say what was on his mind, rang his chime again. "Yes, Boxey?" "I heard my father say that it could be possible for those people to kill us before we knew what hit us, if they were carrying the wrong kind of bugs." Athena was taken aback slightly by her nephew's remarks. "Your father said that to you?" "Not exactly," Boxey said, "He was having some argument with Starbuck about it." "I see," Athena sucked in her breath, trying not to let herself look any more rattled then she already felt. "Class, we're going to take a recess for the next fifteen centons. You're free to go to a refreshment station but make sure what you get is fully consumed before class resumes." An approving noise went up from the students as they began to disperse. Athena came up to Boxey and immediately took him by the hand. "Come on," she said, "Let's find your father." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: KnO"!26?"!:2g"!CK6!! Several centons later, they caught up with Apollo, who was heading toward the Officers Club. "Apollo!" his sister called out. Apollo turned around and smiled when he saw them, especially Boxey. He hadn't been able to spend as much time as he felt he should have with his son in the last few sectans, and it was beginnig to weigh heavily on his conscience. "Boxey, how are you doing?" he patted his son's shoulder and then grinned at his sister, "So is he making your first day of teaching difficult?" "Only because of something you said," Athena folded her arms, "Are you trying to scare every child aboard the Galactica out of their wits?" "What?" Apollo frowned. "I'm trying to tell them that what's happened with this ship being found could be the most wonderful thing that ever happened to us, and according to Boxey, you were telling Starbuck that this could actually kill us all." Apollo stiffened slightly and then glanced at his son, wondering if he should rebuke him for eavesdropping again. He decided not to and directed himself to Athena, "What I said was that we and the people in that ship share the same risk. Either of us could be dangerous to each other." "But we've decontaminated that ship! You've been inside it, and so has Father, and you went through decon with no ill after-effects. If you were afraid of a re "Not exactly," Boxey said, "He was having some argument with Starbuck about it." "I see," Athena sucked in her breath, trying not to let herself look any more rattled then she already felt. "Class, we're going to take a recess for the next fifteen centons. You're free to go to a refreshment station but make sure what you get is fully consumed before class resumes." An approving noise went up from the students as they began to disperse. Athena came up to Boxey and immediately took him by the hand. "Come on," she said, "Let's find your father." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: KnO"!26?"!:2g"!CK6!! Several centons later, they caught up with Apollo, who was heading toward the Officers Club. "Apollo!" his sister called out. Apollo turned around and smiled when he saw them, especially Boxey. He hadn't been able to spend as much time as he felt he should have with his son in the last few sectans, and it was beginnig to weigh heavil