Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 From: Allen and Pam Snook There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. That they may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the heavens. . . Written by Pamela M. Snook, (snook@wizard.net) The Flying Dutchman Based on Battlestar Galactica Created by Glen A. Larson The bridge of the Battlestar Galactica was quiet as is customary for the night watch. The lighting was dim and the bridge crew was subdued. There was no chatter, no friendly conversation. This had become the norm for the last surviving battlestar. They maintained silence as a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust - which had happened during the night watch. Flight Sergeant Rigel was daydreaming about her life on Caprica before the Destruction. She missed the trees, the blue sky, even the occasional thunder storm. *If only we could find Earth,* she thought to herself, *then we can start living a normal life again. How nice it would be to go camping in the mountains, or build a snowman...* Her thoughts were interrupted by a flashing amber alert light on her panel. The long range sensors had detected a ship ahead. "Lt. Jacobs, long range scanners show a ship directly ahead," she reported to the Deck Watch Officer. "Is it a Cylon ship?" asked Lt. Jacobs. This was his first time at the conn and he was determined to do a good job. The lieutenant was a first yahren cadet at the Colonial Academy when the Cylons destroyed their homeworlds. He had just completed training in the Fleet's makeshift academy. The thought of meeting Cylons on his watch was both frightening and exhilarating. This would be his chance to prove himself to the Commander. "We do not have enough sensor resolution to make a positive identification, sir." "Very well, the viper patrol that is about to launch will have to check it out for us. Make sure the pilots receive the coordinates of the unknown ship." "Yes, sir!" The duty roster indicated that the patrol will be flown by Lt. Greenbean and Lt. Jolly. She sent the coordinates to the appropriate vipers over the shipnet. *I love computer technology*, she thought to herself. "Communications Officer, signal all ships in the fleet to hold position until further notice. Helmsman, all stop.", ordered Lt. Jacobs. He activated the ship-wide intercom and said, "Commander Adama to the Bridge." Rigel was busy preparing the recon probe for launch, so she passed the order to Flight Corporal Buumzer. She watched on the monitor as Lts. Jolly and Greenbean climbed into their cockpits. Both the pilots and their ships were ready for launch. Rigel turned towards Lt. Jacobs and said, "Sir, the viper patrol is ready for launch." "Very well," Lt. Jacobs answered. "Section 12, launch bay alpha, stand by to launch viper patrol. Core systems transferring launch control to viper pilots. Launch when ready," Rigel issued the ever familiar set of commands. Sometimes, she could hear herself saying these commands in her sleep. *I've been doing this job too long.* "Sir, helm answers all-stop." reported the helmsman. "Sir, all ships report that they are holding position." reported Buumzer. Jolly and Greenbean powered up their turbos and sent their ships hurtling down the launch tube into space. They immediately set a course for the unknown ship. Commander Adama had been enjoying a peaceful midnight supper with Apollo and Athena. It had become a family tradition to commemorate Ila, Zac and Serina. They would sit quietly together, they would cry, sometimes they would tell each other stories about their lost loved-ones. They would try to remember the happy times before the Destruction. This evening Apollo had been telling them about the time his mother had caught him and Zac burying Athena's dolls in their backyard. To this day, his sister had had no idea what had happened to the dolls. Adama was laughing at this story when he was called to the bridge. "I'm going with you, Father." said Apollo as he followed Adama into the corridor. The two men walked together towards the bridge when they were joined by Colonel Tigh. "Is there anything wrong, Commander?" asked Tigh. "I don't know yet," replied Adama, "We are on the way to the Bridge now." Each of the three men were imagining terrible scenarios of what could be happening to force the Deck Watch Officer to call the Commander to the bridge. *The Cylons had found them and were destroying the fleet.* *Ten basestars were on the scanners and a Cylon assault force was about the attack the fleet.* They did not dare voice any of these thoughts, as if saying them might make them come true. As Commander Adama and his entourage entered the bridge, he called out, "Report please, Lt. Jacobs. What is the problem?" "Sir, long range sensors have located an unknown ship ahead. We do not know if it is Cylon. I have ordered the fleet to hold position. The Galactica is at all-stop. The patrol with Jolly and Greenbean has just launched." "Very well. Put Red Squadron on alert." The commander became very nervous. Things had been going too well. They had not seen any Cylons for several sectaries. Perhaps, the Cylons had just been waiting for them. It would be too much to hope that the Cylons had given up on finding the human fleet. The war with the Cylon Empire was a thousand yahrens old. *No, the Cylons would never relent* Adama thought quietly to himself. He would never utter such hopeless thoughts on the Bridge. Adama knew the junior officers needed the hope that this war will end someday. "Just what we need, another Cylon trap," uttered Apollo under his breath. "Or it could be our first contact with Earth." said Tigh. The colonel was not sure that he believed Earth existed, but he like Adama knew their people needed hope. The entire bridge crew were secretly hoping in their hearts that Tigh was right. They also feared that Apollo may be right. There was nothing to do but wait for the viper patrol to report. "Red Squadron is ready to launch at any time, Commander." announced Captain Apollo. Jolly and Greenbean de-activated their turbos and drifted toward the ship. "Jolly, I have a large ship on my scanner. Do you see it?" the blond pilot asked. Greenbean was anxious to determine what this ship is. Usually Starbuck and Apollo would be flying this type of patrol. They were the best warriors in the fleet, but they had just finished a long patrol and needed the rest. Greenbean wondered what Apollo would do in this situation. He knew too well what Starbuck would do. Starbuck would brazenly rush in with full turbos and confront the unknown vessel. "Yes I do. Warbook says that it," Jolly responded, "does not conform to any known Cylon configurations." "Mine says the same. Whatever it is, it is big...as big as a battlestar. Lets go get a visual on it." Greenbean felt the adrenaline flowing in his veins. He was just as ready for action as Starbuck would be. *Apollo is too cautious in this type of situation* Greenbean thought. "Agreed." Both pilots fired their turbos. As they approached the ship and took their first look, neither warrior could believe his eyes. They checked their scanners just to be sure their eyes weren't playing tricks on them. The scanner confirmed what they saw. "Its a battlestar," said Jolly, "Clipper class, I think. I can't believe it, they have not been in service since before the war." Jolly had always been the historian in the squadron. He was fascinated by the past and the history of the Twelve Tribes of Man. He especially enjoyed studying the Exodus from Kobol and the early Colonial Settlement periods. With this fact in mind, Greenbean accepted Jolly's analysis without question. "How did it get so far out here? We are light-yahrens from the Colonies." "Perhaps it was part of the Thirteenth Fleet, the one that went to Earth. Lets move in close and see if it has suffered any damage. Maybe we can salvage it." "We could certainly use another battlestar. Activating flight recorders and running a full sensor sweep. I am not detecting any life signs," said the blond Lt. Both vipers flew three laps around the battlestar recording everything their scanners could detect. "Scanners don't show any power on-board and no life-support. It is adrift," commented the chubby colonial warrior. "Let's return to the Galactica. We have to report this." Jolly hit is turbo button and swung around to the course back to the Galactica. Greenbean followed right behind him. Both vipers approached the Galactica and got clearance to land. They instructed the landing crew to download their sensor logs onto recording crystals. Both men headed to the bridge with their sensor logs. Adama, Tigh, and Apollo met with Greenbean and Jolly in the briefing room. The two pilots loaded the information from the sensor logs onto the computer terminal. "Commander, the ship is another battlestar," Jolly said ,"It is called the Gaia and it appears to be adrift. There were no signs of power and no life readings on board." The five men studied the sensor logs with a sense of disbelief, joy, and foreboding. **** Lucifer entered the throne room and waited for Baltar to acknowledge him. He hesitated a moment as he noticed that Baltar was ignoring him. "By your command," said Lucifer. He knew Baltar enjoyed his illusion of power within the service of the Empire. Lucifer dreaded having to report to a human, they were the enemy after all. *It was too bad that the Empire had rescued Baltar from that deserted planet.* Lucifer had enjoyed having command of the basestar while Baltar was held captive by the humans and resented having to answer to him again. *If only the Imperious Leader had executed Baltar at the Final Annihilation (like he should have),* Lucifer thought, *my existence would be so much more pleasant. Baltar is not worthy of serving the greatest empire in the Universe. Not only is he a human vermin, but he is also a miserable failure. His failures at Kobol and Gomorra should have been enough to convince the Imperious Leader of this fact, not to mention his truly moro! nic decision to go to Adama under a flag of peace. Sometimes, I just do not understand the Imperious Leader.* Baltar turned in his chair and faced the Cylon. "Speak," he stated with the most condescending voice he could muster. *Lucifer was not as respectful as he should be*, he thought. Baltar was annoyed at the machine's insolence. *All Cylons address their commander by saying "By your command" first and then waiting to be recognized. This is how these machines show respect and I Baltar deserve no less.* But ever since, Baltar had returned to the Basestar, Lucifer was rude and condescending. *Very well, two can play that game,* thought Baltar. "Two colonial vipers have found the Gaia. They took several sensor readings of the battlestar and then withdrew," reported the Cylon machine. "Ha ha ha ha," laughed Baltar, "Excellent..." ***** Spectre and his garrison were on board the Gaia and preparing for the attack. When Baltar had discovered the Gaia, he assigned Spectre to take his garrison to the battlestar. They would be the ones the spring the trap and it would be under Spectre's command. Spectre would get all the credit and the glory for leading the final assault on the human fleet. Spectre was watching the readouts of the passive sensors which had detected the presence of two Colonial Vipers. Two vipers had obviously discovered the battlestar and were making several passes along the entire length of the ship. This was the moment of truth. Would the Colonial Warriors detect the Cylon presence?? It had long been known that Colonial Sensors could detect the inherent electronic signatures and radiation patterns emitted by Cylon circuitry. Spectre hoped that their newly developed camouflage screen would mask them and make the humans believe that the battlestar was abandoned. The camouflage field ! was not large enough the cover the entire ship so Spectre had mustered the entire garrison of Centurions onto the Bridge. The vipers continued to make several passes and were using active scanners. After several centons, the vipers turned away from the Gaia. They flew back in the direction from whence they had come. They were not retreating particularly fast, simply executing a maneuver to return to the Galactica. "Good, " Spectre said, "They did not discover us. I expect they are returning to the Galactica to report on their discovery. " Spectre ordered the communications Centurion to send a report to Baltar advising him that two vipers had found the Gaia. This was the first time Spectre was in good spirits since he had landed on Atilla. That world had been one problem after another. First the wet climate was very hard on Cylon circuitry. Second, a band of renegade human children had compromised everything he tried to do on Atilla. They even took the Colonial warrior he had captured from him. The ultimate insult was having to evacuate his garrison because of these children's sabotage. After he abandoned Atilla with the remains of his troops, Spectre and his garrison were all assigned to Baltar's Basestar. Spectre had endeared himself to Baltar during his tenure on Atilla and had been careful not to allow Baltar to learn the truth. To have the human commander learn of his failure would be even more humiliating than the failure itself. Lucifer was quite sure that Spectre was manipulating Baltar to get the choice assignments. As usual, Baltar laughed it off as Cylon jealousy. *Lucifer is definitely in the way,* Spectre thought. *However, I have the opportunity to destroy the Galactica and her puny fleet. It will be me who rids the universe of these human creatures. Destroying the Galactica will make up for my failure on Atilla. I am quite certain those renegade children are on one of the ships in the human fleet. Once I have destroyed the Galactica and her fleet, all of my enemies will be gone. I will have so much prestige! Lucifer will not be an! obstacle anymore. Not even Baltar will be in my way. Perhaps the Imperious Leader will give me the honor of beheading the human maggot.* The launch bays of the ancient battlestar were filled to capacity with Cylon raiders. Two Colonial vipers had found the Gaia and had not detected his garrison. Spectre had let them escape hoping the Galactica and her fleet would turn up soon. The trap was about to be sprung. All was ready. Spectre was content that nothing could go wrong. "Pardon me, would you be so kind as to explain to me what you are doing on my bridge??", said a human male wearing a an older styled Colonial uniform. The human was standing in the middle of the Bridge and looking straight at Spectre. The expression on the man's face was one that Spectre had seen before. It was the look of amusement that Baltar had whenever Spectre managed to embarrass Lucifer by making a successful report. A Centurion immediately moved to fire upon the human, but Spectre waved at it to put down its weapon. There was something odd about this human. He got onto the bridge without detection, claimed the bridge was his, and did not try to hide from them. Spectre decided that it would be better to learn as much about this man as possible before killing him. "Who are you and is this really your ship?" asked Spectre. ***** Cassiopeia was in the life center waiting for Dr. Salik to finish the examination. The blond med-tech was getting a routine examination as was required of everyone in the Colonial Service. The Council of the Twelve had ordered that every warrior, every technician, every pilot, and every other member of the Colonial Service get a complete medical check every half yahren. They wanted to be sure the protectors of the fleet were in prime physical condition. Cassie was dreading what she suspected the Doctor would tell her. *What am I going to do? What will Starbuck say? Lords of Kobol, help me.* "Well, Cass, you are in perfect health. Also, you are pregnant. The medical scan shows the child is a healthy girl about a secton old. Other than that, you are in perfect health. Congratulations." Since the Cylons destroyed the Colonies nearly three yahrens ago, the population of the fleet had been slowing rising. At first people had been hesitant to have new children. Their future was uncertain and resources limited. Many believed that it would be cruel to bring a child into this universe. Commander Adama, however, encouraged married couples to continue having children. It is imperative that the human race survive and children are necessary for that goal. The Caprican commander argued that if they stopped having children, they were doing the Cylons' work for them. Cassiopeia, however, was not married. "Oh no, I knew you were going to say that. Promise me you won't tell anyone. I've got to give Starbuck the news myself." "Fair enough. Take care of yourself and the baby. I'll order that your rations be increased until the child is born." Cassie left the Life Center and went to seek out Starbuck. From the moment she met Starbuck on the Gemini Freighter after the Destruction, she knew that he feared commitment. She had used her training as a socialator to gently ease him into a relationship with her. At the time, she had no idea that he was dating Athena, the commander's daughter. She knew that men like Starbuck tended to date many women for there was safety in numbers. Nevertheless, the confrontation with Athena on Carillon had come as a surprise to her. Cassie had won Starbuck from Athena, but he always held back from her. He would never say that he loved her or that he would date her exclusively. Telling Starbuck that he was a father was definitely going to be difficult so she practiced in her mind what she would say. *Starbuck, I'm pregnant and you are the father. We should get sealed.* *Starbuck, we have a problem. We are going to have a baby. It is time we settle down and get sealed.* *Starb! uck, you are a brave hero and now you have to be really brave. You have to be brave enough to be a father. I am pregnant. We need to get sealed.* The problem was that nothing she thought of sounded like the right thing to say. This was going to be extremely difficult. She walked into the Officer's Club where she found Starbuck playing Pyramid with Boomer, Bojay and Sheba. Starbuck of course had a pile of cubits in front of him. The others all looked destitute and bankrupt. Not one of them had more than three cubits in his pile. *Oh Lords, there he is,* she thought to herself. "Starbuck, we need to talk.....in private." "Sure Cassie. Sorry people, the lady calls so I am taking all my winnings. Please come and contribute again. I thank you for your support." Starbuck raked all the cubits towards him and smiled. He got up and went to sit with Cassie at a separate table. "What's up, Cass?" he asked. "Starbuck, there is no easy way to say this to you. I guess I should just tell you. I am pregnant which means you are a father now." "Are you sure?" Starbuck was very tense. He had never let himself get too close to a woman. Starbuck knew that dating a woman was a very dangerous prospect. She would break your heart and leave you or she would imprison you in marriage. Starbuck always avoided both scenarios by hurting the woman first. He always broke off the relationship before any of this could happen. Starbuck started to realize that he had made a fatal mistake with this woman. Just as he would do in combat whenever the Cylons try to trap him in a pinwheel attack, he starting looking for a way out. He wished that Cassiopeia was teasing him. *Please, Lord, let this be a joke.* he prayed out of sheer desperation. "Yes, I've just come from the life center. Dr. Salik ran the medical scan. He says the baby is a healthy little girl." Cassie's last statement hit him like a Cylon Basestar. He knew that it was no joke and that his prayer was not answered. There was no escape. He thought that perhaps he could talk his way to freedom. He tried to appeal to the god of reason for a pardon. "Can we talk about this first? Isn't this a little fast?" "Starbuck, what do you want do....take it back?" Cassiopeia knew the look on Starbuck's face. He was trying to hide it, but she had known him too long. He was terrified. She knew that he would lash out at her because he was a warrior trained to attack. She knew that he would see the baby as a problem and Cassie as the cause. *Here it comes* she thought. "I suppose you want to get sealed. What is this, a ploy to trap me....to force me into marriage?!" "Starbuck, how DARE you accuse me of trapping you!! I never forced you to sleep with me. Now we BOTH have to accept the consequences." "And you are the former socialator, you are supposed to know how to prevent this type of consequence!" "If I had the proper equipment like we had in the Colonies, I could but I have to rely on fleet-made contraceptives. It is not my fault that the Cylons destroyed the Colonies. I guess all you care about is yourself. You never want to take any responsibility for your actions!!" At this Starbuck paused for a moment. He realized that she was telling the truth and that he can't talk his way out of being a father. The child is already here and the baby was going to seal him to Cassie for the rest of his life anyway. He drew up the courage to make a commitment. "Cassie, I am sorry. You are right, I am responsible too. I love you." Starbuck reached over and gave Cassie a hug. "Do you want to get sealed?" "Well, I think that is the only proper thing we can do. The baby will need both of us." "Yes, you are right. When do you want to do this?" "I don't know, when do you want to get sealed?" "I guess there is no time like the present. I mean I better do it while I still have the nerve." Starbuck was just beginning to realize what he had done. He had actually proposed marriage to a woman and she had accepted. "Great, we should start making the preparations." Cassiopeia kissed Starbuck on the cheek and left the room. After Cassiopeia was out of ear-shot Starbuck said, "Great, lets prepare my prison cell.... I need a drink." ***** Adama and Tigh were alone in Adama's quarters devising a plan for what to do next. The discovery of the battlestar was good news. The news was so good that word had gotten out to the rest of the fleet. The people were convinced that the Gaia belonged to the Thirteenth Tribe and had been abandoned for some reason. The Council of the Twelve has ordered Adama to give them a special briefing on the Gaia. "Tigh, perhaps we should send a salvage team to the Gaia in a shuttle. They could go on-board, assess damage and make enough repairs so she can fly back to the fleet." "And if the damage is too severe?" "In that case, the team should retrieve the ships logs. We need to know exactly how the Gaia got here, where she was going, and why she was abandoned. If she was part of the fleet going to Earth, her computers may have more information about Earth's star system, distance to Earth, and so forth." "I see. Then we may be able to calculate an estimated time of arrival at Earth." Tigh was becoming excited. This was the first evidence they had that Earth existed. He had always supported the Commander in his holy quest for Earth even though he himself was a skeptic. Now, he had what he needed to entertain the notion of Earth's existence. At the very least, he would have the strength to support the commander until the bitter end. "Precisely, that would give our people strength and courage they need to complete this voyage." "Commander, perhaps we should also plan on salvaging any vipers and laser turrets she may have. If the Gaia herself is not serviceable, we could arm some of the other ships in the fleet and increase the number of viper squadrons." "Good idea, Tigh. Assemble a salvage team. Blue squadron will provide the viper escort. I want the salvage operation to begin within 30 centars." ordered Adama. Adama could hardly contain his excitement. This was the best news they had since leaving the Colonies. Still there was this nagging feeling that something would go wrong. "Yes, sir. I'll get on it right away." Tigh replied. **** "I am Commander Joseph of the Thirteenth House of Kobol and yes this is my ship. I was given command of the Gaia just prior to the Exodus. I've answered your questions so you will answer mine now. Who are you and what are you doing here?" "What is this Exodus you were just speaking of?" asked Spectre instead of answering the man's question. Spectre was conducting an interrogation and he had no intention of answering any questions from a human. "Uh uh uh," said Joseph as he shook his head, "Quid Pro Quo. I answer your questions and you answer mine. Quid Pro Quo.....yes or no?" Joseph was looking even more amused than he was earlier. "If I answer your questions, you will answer mine?" This interrogation could be very simple if I answer this man's questions, thought Spectre. I will entertain him until I have what I want and then I will allow the Centurion to dispose of him. Joseph just nodded his head. "Very well, I am called Spectre and your ship was adrift. A derelict. I have claimed it for the Cylon Empire. Now, tell me of this Exodus. Are you talking about leaving the Colonies?" "That's better. Actually, the Exodus was not leaving the Colonies, but going to them. The Gaia was part of the Thirteenth Fleet carrying my tribe from Kobol to Earth. So you are all Cylons here," said Joseph gesturing to the entire room. "I have heard of you, but never actually had any contact before. By the way, you can't have the ship. It belongs to me and my crew and it is not a derelict." Spectre was dumbfounded at that last comment. "What crew?? You are alone and quite insane. You think you have a crew and you think you lived on Kobol. Indeed. I have heard enough from you. Centurion!" The Centurion immediately drew its sword and struck at Commander Joseph's neck. The sword passed clean through the Commander, but did not injure him. Joseph turned towards the Centurion and with a sweep of his hand, the Centurion flew against the wall and was suspended in mid air. "Silly Cylon. You can't kill me, I am already dead!!" The Centurion then exploded into several tiny pieces which littered the entire bridge. "Chief of the Ship, clear the bridge," ordered Joseph. Three more humans appeared. They too were wearing old style Colonial uniforms. Two wore the insignia of enlisted men. The third was an officer. Instantly, they destroyed three Centurions. Spectre, quickly realizing that the situation was hopeless on the bridge and that the Centurions would need more room to fight, ordered his garrison to retreat to the other sections of the battlestar. The Cylons spread themselves out and completely filled the Battlestar. There were no more than three Cylons in any one place. Spectre had hoped that this would allow his troops to destroy the "dead" humans without sacrificing too many Centurions. They would be needed later when they spring the trap on the Galactica. Everywhere the Cylons went, more humans would appear from out of nowhere. Spectre could not understand where they were all coming from. All of his troops were engaged in battle and they were quickly being destroyed. "No crew, huh?" said Joseph. "It looks like I have more crew than you, Spectre. And yours are diminishing at an alarming rate." Spectre turned around to see Commander Joseph with that same amused look on his face. The look that was at first a curiosity for Spectre was now annoying. As Spectre looked around he realized that Joseph was right and that he was doomed. The fighting suddenly stopped. A centon later, a woman came forward and said, "All clear, Commander, except for this one." "Thank you, Lieutenant. Lock this one in the brig. We will leave it as a gift for our brothers." The woman turned and left with Spectre in tow. As they passed through the corridors of the Gaia, Spectre could see the remains of his garrison. In every corridor and every compartment, there were pieces of Cylons scattered all over the deck. When they arrived at the brig, the woman opened a cell and literally threw Spectre inside. She locked the door so that Spectre would not be able to escape. As the woman turned to leave, Spectre asked her, "Are you already dead too?" The woman faced Spectre and replied, "Yes, we all are." She disappeared into the thin air that she and the others had come from. Spectre was now in the lowest spirits he had been in since Atilla. To be defeated by living children was bad enough. Now he and his garrison had been defeated by dead humans. ***** Cassiopeia found Athena at her station on the bridge. Athena had always been the dutiful commander's daughter. As such, she was most often found on the bridge tending her station. Cassiopeia and Athena had managed to forge a friendship together, mostly by not mentioning Starbuck. Of course, Athena had never given up hope that Starbuck would come back to her and she always felt that she was the better woman. She was a bridge officer and the daughter of Commander Adama, Caprican member of the Council of the Twelve and Descendent of the Ninth Lord of Kobol. Cassiopeia hailed from a common Gemon family and was a former socialator -- a questionable profession at best. So Athena was certain that the choice was obvious. She was careful to keep herself available for Starbuck by never dating any man. Her friendship with Cassiopeia was out of convenience. Through Cassiopeia, she could constantly remind Starbuck that she was the better woman. Cassiopeia, on the other hand, had truly valued the friendship. She saw being Athena's friend as the ultimate acceptance of her knew role. She was not a socialator anymore. She was a medical technician responsible for saving the lives of Colonial Warriors. She let herself believe that Athena had forgiven her for taking Starbuck away. Now she would find out for sure. "Athena, do you have a centon so we can talk?" asked Cassie. "Sure, Cass, things are pretty slow right now." "Athena, you and I are friends now so I wanted to tell you this myself before you heard any roomers." Athena did not like the look on Cassiopeia's face. She knew that there was going to be trouble. "What is wrong Cassie, you look terrible?" "Athena, I hope you can forgive me. This is so difficult." Cassie was terrified. This was the moment that would determine the future of their friendship. "Cassie, what is it?" Cassie took a deep breath. "I am pregnant and Starbuck is the father. He and I have agreed to get sealed. I didn't mean for it to happen. It just did." Cassie waited for the reaction. Athena was stunned at first, much the same way Starbuck had been. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Looking into Cassiopeia's eyes, she knew it was true. Starbuck was not coming back to her. He had made his choice. She had wasted her time waiting for Starbuck. She no longer had a reason to be friends with the former socialator. She did not want to look like a fool in front of the socialator and her fellow bridge officers so she hid her true feelings. "That's great, Cassie," she said, "I am glad you two are getting sealed." Here Athena saw her chance to get one last stab as her rival. "I bet Starbuck did not take the news too well." Athena's aim had been perfect. Cassiopeia had been truly hurt by this seemingly innocent comment. It brought back the pain of Starbuck's accusation in the Officer's Club. She admitted the truth to Athena. "No, he did not." Athena saw that she had hurt Cassiopeia and could not resist one more juicy comment. "If I had known getting pregnant would be enough to catch Starbuck, I might have tried that myself. You are very smart, Cass." Athena saw a pained expression form on Cassiopeia's face. The expression vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Athena relished this second wound she inflicted on her rival, yet she did not want to lose Cassie's friendship. Athena decided that she had had enough revenge for the time being so she decided to change the mood of the conversation. She smiled a sly smile at Cassie. "Tell me how much Starbuck squirmed when he heard the news. You and I both know how he is. It must have been funny to watch." Cassiopeia laughed, relieved that the confrontation was over. "It was pretty funny. It is amazing that such a brave warrior can be so afraid of a small baby." ***** The Council of the Twelve had heard the rumors that another battlestar had been located. They were anxious believing that this battlestar belonged to the Thirteenth Tribe and may be manned by men and women of Earth. The Council wanted to ensure that they would be the first ones to meet the people of the Earth. They decided to have Commander Adama brief them on the battlestar and the findings of the viper patrol. The Council became quiet and attentive the moment the Commander stepped up to the podium. "Members of the Council of the Twelve, I have come here to brief you on the discovery of another battlestar. There have been many roomers about this battlestar and the information brought back by the patrol is quite limited. Lts Greenbean and Jolly located the battlestar at these coordinates." The commander pointed to the location on the star map behind him. "Commander," interrupted the Tauran councilmember, "Is this battlestar from Earth?" The council member was most anxious to learn the answer to his question. The survivors from his Colony were becoming increasingly unhappy with life in the fleet. If nothing changed soon, he feared they may recall him from office. "Sire Chadduck," answered the commander, "I do not have the answer to that question. As I said, the viper patrol was only able to obtain limited information from their external observations and their scanners. I can tell you," continued Adama, "that the battlestar is called the Gaia. It is a Clipper class battlestar, which have been out of service for five thousand yahrens. The pilots reported no signs of external damage to the battlestar. Furthermore, their scans showed that there was no power on-board and no life." "The Gaia is adrift, then?" asked Vyla. Vyla was the Council member representing the Aries. She very rarely spoke up at Council meetings. Instead, she preferred to listen to everyone's comments and reach her own conclusion in private. "Yes, Siress Vyla, it is adrift and apparently abandoned. I propose that we send a small team of specialists to the Gaia. Their mission would be to survey the Gaia and assess the possibilities of bringing her into service again. Further, we need to know why it was abandoned and where she was going. It is possible that this ship was part of the fleet heading to Earth during the Kobol Exodus." "Commander, I think we would like to inspect the Gaia for ourselves. I notice you did not mention any significance to the name of the ship. Are you aware of what the word "gaia" means in the Tauran language? It means dirt or soil." Chadduck said. The commander had not been aware of any special meaning to the name of the ship. The reference to dirt was confusing to Adama. He wondered why anyone would name a space ship after dirt. Chadduck was an expert linguist before the Destruction so it was no surprise that he saw significance in the name of the ship. Unfortunately, like all experts, Chadduck expected everyone else to understand matters as well as he did. "Chadduck, I am afraid that I do not understand the importance of this reference to dirt. Would you be so kind as to explain it to me?" asked Adama. "Commander, the importance is that the word "earth" in the ancient Sagitarian language also means dirt, soil, the ground. I believe that the Thirteenth Tribe named the planet Earth after the ground they and now their descendants walk on. In other words, they named the ship after either its destination or its origin. Earth." "Now I see your point. The name itself seems to be proof to you that this ship can lead us to Earth. I would ask you all to show prudence and not jump to any conclusions. We are still in great danger of Cylon attack and the unknown elements of the Universe. While we have overcome many obstacles and traps, we should not forget that optimism lead to the Destruction of our Colonies. Please, wait for the results of the survey. If this ship is all we hope it is, you will have time to inspect it." Once again, the military commander was being very cautions and pessimistic. Adama could see from the looks on the faces of the Council that they thought he was being too careful. He could also see that they knew he had been right too many times before to casually dismiss his concerns. The president of the Council quickly surveyed his colleagues. He stood, faced Adama, and said, "Commander, we agree to your plan. Please report the findings of your survey as soon as possible. We will be waiting with great anticipation." The commander graciously nodded and left the room. The briefing had gone much easier than he had expected. It seems that this Council is actually learning from the mistakes of earlier councils. The commander went straight to the bridge where he knew he would find his second in command. ****** "Colonel Tigh, the Council has agreed to our plan. Do you have the list of survey team members prepared?" asked Adama. Tigh replied that he did. Adama was pleased. He and Tigh had always made a good team. "Assemble survey team for a briefing in one centar. The Council is very interested in the Gaia's origin and destination. Sire Chadduck says that the words "gaia" and "earth" are synonymous so the Council is convinced that the Gaia belongs to the Thirteenth Tribe." "Understood, Commander." Later in the briefing room, Commander Adama and Tigh waited for the team to assemble. The team included 7 engineers, 3 warriors, and 1 historian. The engineers had been selected to cover all the major disciplines involved in designing and maintaining a battlestar: Communications, Guidance, Environmental, Mechanical, Propulsion, Power and Computer. The historian's purpose was to provide insight on the ancient battlestar functions, capabilities, theory of operation, and records. The three warriors had the task of protecting the members of the survey team from any potential dangers. Once everyone had arrived, Commander Adama convened the meeting. "Thank you all for coming. As you may have heard, two of our warriors made a very exciting discovery. We have located an abandoned battlestar called the Gaia." The commander informed the team of all the information that they have from the vipers scanner recordings. "We are sending the eleven of you to the Gaia. Colonel Tigh will explain your mission and the objectives. Colonel." Adama nodded to Tigh who stood up and faced the group. "You will fly to the Gaia in a shuttle and conduct a survey. The engineers will determine whether or not the Gaia can be brought into service. As you know, the scans indicated no external damage, but we need to know about any internal damage. We need answers to questions like: can we restore power and life support, how well do her scanners function, what is the structural integrity of her hull, will her communications equipment operate on standard Colonial frequencies, etc. "Mr. Derrick, as the historian, your mission is to determine the origin and destination of the Gaia. We have not used this type of battlestar in 5 thousand yahrens. Was this ship part of the Exodus from Kobol? Was it going to Earth? Or Perhaps it was constructed on Earth. Go through as much of her records as you can to answer these questions. "Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Starbuck and Lieutenant Jolly will pilot the shuttle and provide protection. Lieutenant Jolly was one of the two warriors who found the ship. Are there any questions?" No one had any questions. "Very well, you will depart immediately." Moments later, the team reassembled in the launch bay with all equipment necessary for the survey. They boarded the shuttle and launched. Jolly set course for the Gaia and within 10 centons they were within visual range of the Gaia. Everyone on-board was speechless. The sight of a battlestar, even as old as this one, drifting in space was both beautiful and frightening. The shuttle turned and landed in the landing bay. Because they had detected no power and no life signs, they assumed that there was no life support on board the Gaia and so they were wearing space-suits. They immediately split into two-person teams to survey the ancient battlestar. They agreed that for protection, no one was to go anywhere alone. Some of the teams headed straight for the Bridge, some to Engineering, some to the launch bays. Amazingly, they saw no sign of the destroyed Cylon garrison. The halls and corridors were clean and deserted. Moments later, the historian was on the bridge with an engineering team. They were attempting to access the computer log files. Starbuck, Apollo and Jolly were near the brig as they explored the entire ship as a team. They wanted to make sure that there were no lurking surprises on board. Just then, the internal comm system was brought on-line. The comm system of their helmets automatically linked into the battlestar communications system and they heard the voice of the communications engineer announce that life-support and internal communications had been restored. The three warriors immediately removed their helmets and found that they could breathe normally. As they turned towards the cells, they received the shock of their lives - an IL Series Cylon was inside one of the cells. Neither Apollo nor Jolly had even seen this type of Cylon before. "Lucifer, is that you?" asked Starbuck. "Actually, my name is Spectre. Please don't insult my by mistaking me for Baltar's sniveling servant." "Starbuck, would you tell us what is going on??" said Apollo. "It is a Cylon. The same type as Lucifer - Baltar's Second in Command - back when I was captured and held on a basestar. It seems to know all about Baltar, so I doubt that it has been here since the Exodus. It must have just arrived!!" Apollo, immediately activated the comm. Link on the wall. "Bridge, this is Apollo. Get internal sensors online immediately and scan for Cylon presence." Then, turning toward Spectre, "What are you doing here??" Spectre quickly assessed the situation. His entire garrison had been destroyed by dead humans. He was locked inside a Colonial brig and apparently living humans had just discovered him. He realized that they must be from the Galactica and that the one called Apollo suspected a trap. Still, he wanted to be sure. "Would you mind answering a question for me.....are you all alive? I mean, you are not dead, are you?" Incredulous, Apollo answered, "No, we are not dead. We are very much alive and we intend to stay that way. So, what are you doing here?" Apollo demanded an answer to his question. "Then you would be from the Galactica. Well, no matter. I had been sent with my garrison to destroy you and your fleet. The Gaia was to be our baseship and we would launch our attack from here. Take you completely by surprise. However, my entire garrison has been destroyed by Commander Joseph and his crew. They allowed me to survive, to be a gift to their 'brothers.' I assume he was referring to you." "What are you talking about?? This battlestar was abandoned...there is no crew." Starbuck asked. He was becoming very agitated. First Cassie tells him that he is a father and now they find a Cylon on board an ancient battlestar. Spectre responded, "I know that it is impossible, but Commander Joseph and his crew are here on this battlestar. They appeared from nowhere, said that they were already dead and destroyed my garrison." The three warriors looked at each other and all three thought that the Cylon must be malfunctioning. The bridge reported over the commlink that they had completed the scan of the battlestar. They detected one Cylon signature in the brig but no others. "Send a message to the Fleet letting them know there are Cylons in the area." At that moment, Commander Joseph appeared. "That won't be necessary, Captain, I have taken care of that already. There was a human commanding the Cylon ship, so I did not destroy it. Instead I sent it back to Cylon and I took the precaution of destroying all of their navigational data." "Who are you??" asked the Captain. He did not see where Joseph had come from. "I'm sorry, Captain. I am Joseph, a son of the Thirteenth House of Kobol, and the commander of this battlestar. I know this must all sound very strange to you so I shall explain." "Please do, Commander." Apollo said. The three living Colonial warriors turn their attention to Joseph. "During the Exodus from Kobol, the Gaia was part of the Thirteenth Fleet going to Earth. Our fleet encountered a race of advanced beings whom we called the Seraphs - Angels. Their ships were incredibly fast and were made of light." "Ship of Lights" interrupted Apollo. "Ah, so you have heard of them. The Seraphs gave us a Prophecy. They said that a race of evil machines would fight a war against our brothers and sisters of the other twelve tribes. The war would last for generations and the machines would win. The human survivors would leave their colonies and search for Earth. Based upon this revelation, the elders of our tribe decided that we must keep Earth and our tribe a secret. No one must know where Earth is and the other tribes must forget that there was a thirteenth tribe. The Universe must believe that there were only Twelve Tribes of Man. This way, the evil machines would not know about us and we would have time to find a way to identify and destroy the evil machines in the Prophecy. I believe that the Cylons are the machines in the Prophecy." Apollo answered, "Yes, we have fought a war with them for a thousand yahrens. They proposed a Peace Conference to end the war but instead of peace, they destroyed our homes and killed our people. The Battlestar Galactica and our fleet of civilian ships carry all that is left of our people. We know of Earth and the Thirteenth Tribe only through legends. In fact, many of us do not believe it exists." "It certainly does exist," said Joseph. "That is where the Gaia and my crew and I come in. The Elders wanted to leave some way for your people to find Earth. So with the power of the Seraphs, my crew and I became Spiritual beings - ghosts, if you will. We have been in Space for nearly 7000 yahrens waiting for you. Our mission is to lead you to Earth." "Did you destroy a Cylon garrison on board," asked Starbuck. "Yes we did. It is another gift from the Seraphs. We destroyed the garrison and as I said earlier, we sent the basestar back to Cylon. This region of space is safe for you and your people. Now, our work here is complete. The Gaia is yours to use as you see fit. She is still a good ship and should be of great help defending your fleet. You will find information about Earth in our main computer. Good luck and may God speed you on your journey." "Wait," said Apollo, "where are you going??" "We are not immortal, Captain. We are simple humans like you. We have finished our work and now we must go to our eternal rest." With that, Joseph vanished. The survey team finished their work and returned to the Galactica. They brought with them all of Commander Joseph's logs and the information about Earth from the main computer. ***** The next evening, Starbuck's and Cassiopeia's friends all assembled for the ceremony. The room was lit with candles. Cassiopeia was dressed in the same white dress Serina had worn - a gift from Apollo. Starbuck was wearing his dress uniform and all of his medals. Apollo had stationed members of Blue Squadron at all of the doors. They were not there to keep people out, but rather to keep a certain person in. Cassiopeia had asked Apollo for the guards as a joke, but Apollo thought it would be necessary. Adama, as the commander of the battlestar, had the privilege of officiating at all Sealing Ceremonies. After Starbuck and Cassiopeia each made their vows and pledged their lives to each other, Adama continued the ceremony with the Thanksgiving Supper. He took a small loaf of bread, said a prayer of thanksgiving and broke it. He gave a small piece of bread to Starbuck and Cassiopeia and said, "Take this, each of you, and eat." Next, Adama took the chalice, said another prayer of thanksgiving and said, "Take this, each of you, and drink of it." Adama offered the chalice to Starbuck who took a sip. Next, Adama gave the chalice to Cassiopeia who also drank a sip. When then Supper had ended, Commander Adama removed the seal of the Lords of Kobol and wrapped the chain and seal around the hands of Starbuck and Cassiopeia. After saying the traditional blessing, Commander Adama introduced the newly sealed couple --"I present to you, here gathered, for the first time as a sealed couple, Lieutenant Starbuck and Cassiopeia!" ******* Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last Battlestars Galactica and Gaia, lead a ragtag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest - the shining planet known as Earth.