The Original Version (Unedited)

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - Synopsis:

"Battlestar Urantia" is my desire to create a good, high-quality, nuBSG fanfic, that adheres to the canon of the TV show, yet tells its own story, which at times, intersects with events seen on the TV show, while at the same time strictly adhering to established canon.

The story opens with the Battlestar Urantia (BSG-53) docked at the Picon Fleet Yards, where the vessel is undergoing computer upgrades. The Urantia's commanding officer, Commander Tyler Standish, has a dream that disturbs him, and he awakens, to go to CIC. That is when the Cylon attack on the 12 Colonies begins, and the Cylons begin attacking the Picon Fleet Yards, and all the ships within it.

So, Commander Standish basically does just what Admiral Cain did in "Razor", and he orders a blind FTL jump, to escape the Cylon's fire. The ship jumps away, but when the Urantia comes out of FTL, it becomes known that the ship jumped very far away from the 12 Colonies... in fact, there are no familiar constellations where they are.

So, when a stellar fix is finally established, Commander Standish orders the ship back to the Colonies, to try and rally any remaining ships to make one last stand against the Cylons... nobody on Urantia knows the full scope of the devastation the Cylons have caused, nor do they know that President Adar is dead.

But along the way back to the 12 Colonies, the Urantia makes a series of startling discoveries... worlds with HUMANS on them! Most of these human civilizations also have space fleets! Commander Standish wonders why there are humans so far out in space, and is told about the lost tribe of humankind... the 13th Tribe.

Indeed, these humans are descendants of those of the original 13th Tribe, that left Kobol for Earth. But, along the way to Earth, some in that original ancient fleet grew weary of the long voyage, and elected to settle down on planets along the way, and begin their live anew on those worlds, establishing new colonies.

When Commander Standish contacts these humans, they are excited to meet humans from the part of space where their ancestors were from, and when they hear that Standish knows about Kobol, they ask to join Urantia, and head back to the Colonies, where they will embark on a voyage back to the home of their ancestors... Kobol. Thus, Urantia ends up amassing her own civilian fleet, during the journey back home.

The story in terms of characters revolves primarily around Commander Standish, his CAG, and the ship's XO, as they battle the Cylons, as well as their own personal demons. I will begin posting the story later this week, beginning with the "pilot" episode, "Leap of Faith". I welcome questions and comments throughout.

-BruceAdama

BATTLESTAR URANTIA

Created & Written By: BruceAdama

Based Upon "Battlestar Galactica", Created By Ronald D. Moore & David Eick


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BATTLESTAR URANTIA

* * * * *

PICON FLEET YARDS

The large framework of drydocks hung silent in space, housing three Battlestars, as those vessels underwent repairs and upgrades. Two of the Battlestars were of the older and smaller Valkyrie-Class... the Urantia, and the Celestia. The other Battlestar was a Galactica-Class vessel... the Solaria.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

Inside the ship, all was dark and quiet, inside the Commander's cabin. Only the sound of rustling bed sheets could be heard, as the Commander tossed and turned, and let out sounds of frustration, almost like grunts, as his mind was playing out a dream for him... one that was disturbing him, as he slept.

The fog was heavy and thick, in the lush and dense forest, as the Commander looked around, struggling to make sense of the fog-concealed forms of trees and the like, in the midst of the fog. Only one thing broke through the gray fog... a wash of red light, that roved from right to left, not making but the slightest of sounds.

The roving red light washed over the landscape, as the Commander turned, to react to the sound of ground being trodden upon, by someone... or something... that was running. Finally, a shadowy form appeared at the foot of the forest... the form of a man.

The Commander looked, as the man now stepped into the clear. Now that he could get a good look at the man, he saw that the man was an archer... he carried a case with arrows over his shoulder, and a bow in his left hand. The archer put one finger to his lips, as if to hush the Commander, and then proceeded to produce a single arrow from his case, and prepare it for firing, upon his bow.

Suddenly, the archer brought his bow and arrow up, and aimed it towards the heavens. This action caused the fog and clouds to suddenly disperse, drawing away from the potential line of fire with speed, revealing a stellar landscape... the vast expanse of space, dotted with brilliant white stars.

Finally, the archer released his arrow, and it shot up into the cosmic void, rising high into the darkness. The Commander kept track of the projectile, as it raced towards it's target, until finally, something happened...

Just as the Commander lost sight of the arrow, one star in particular became brilliantly illuminated, expanding outwards with brilliance, almost as if it had gone supernova.

Suddenly, with a gasp, the Commander awoke in his bed, his body and sheets soaked with sweat. In the dark, he groped for the nightstand light, and finally was able to turn it on, as he wiped the sweat from his face, considering what he had just dreamt.

After a few minutes, Commander Tyler Standish stood up, and walked to the head, to wash up, and get dressed... he would not find rest tonight, so he may as well check in at CIC, and see what was going on there.

CIC

All eyes looked to the Commander, as he entered the large room. It was the middle of the night watch now, and the lights were dim, and the only sounds to be heard, were the haunting whines of the numerous DRADIS screens. He proceeded to the central command table, where his XO was waiting for him.

"Commander." he began. "Insomnia again, Sir?"

"Strange dreams." Standish replied, softly. "What's happening here?"

"Not much, Sir... two Colonial passenger liners just jumped in... requesting some quick software patches to their environmental computers... the Oasis Traveler, and the Itania Express. Another one, Pan-Galactic flght 840, is in the system, and will arrive within the hour." the XO reported.

"Very well... we should have the yard cre--" Standish began, but was cut off, as the ship was suddenly jolted violently, and the sound of an outside weapons impact was heard.

"SIR!" the Senior Officer of the Watch called out. "Reading multiple contacts, Sir... Cylon! Two Base Ships, and about a hundred Raiders, inbound!"

The Commander and the XO looked to the DRADIS screen for confirmation, and indeed, there was a multitude of new Cylon contacts.

"What the frak... they've broken the armistice!" the XO called out, looking to Standish.

"Get us the hell out of the dock, and bring our weapons to bear on the nearest Base Ship... target the meeting point, between the two saucers!" Standish ordered.

"What saucers, Sir?" the Officer of the Watch relayed, as Standish looked to him, his face a mix of confusion, and shock.

PICON FLEET YARDS

Outside, it was chaos... the Urantia was firing her reverse thrusters, breaking herself free from the dock moorings, but the Solaria was too slow... the Cylons had engaged her first, and as a result, she had bore the full brunt of the Raider's fire. As Urantia cleared the dock scaffolding, and began to move away, the nearest Cylon Base Ship fired a thermonuclear missile at Solaria, which struck the ship with full force, initiating the telltale brilliant white flash of a nuclear blast, as the explosion washed over the Solaria, causing the ship to blow apart, in a massive explosion, which expanded, and destroyed almost all of the Picon Fleet Yard as well.

The Celestia had now launched all of her Vipers, and they were moving to engage the Raiders.

The area around the Battlestars was a vista of ammunition tracers and flak explosions, which seemed to equal the stars in number. The uncountable Cylon Raiders zipped by the huge Battlestars, strafing them, as they then turned, to make another run at it.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - CIC

As the Commander and XO watched the DRADIS, the Officer of the Watch relayed some comm information he was getting.

"SIR! Comm traffic from the Celestia... they're reporting that they've lost contact with their air group, Sir... all their birds are ineffective against the Cylon Raiders... it's as if they've been neutralized, somehow." he stated.

The XO looked to Standish, serious.

"Sir... if the Cylons can paralyze our Vipers... it must be the on board nav computers... we have to eliminate that vulnerability." he said.

"How the frak do we do that? We don't have time to rip out the avionics on all our birds... not now." Standish replied.

"Our Mk. II's!" the XO said, suddenly remembering. "Sir... we have a dozen Mk.II's, in the starboard flight pod... our air group is scheduled to perform at that vintage air show on Canceron next week... those performance birds are airworthy." he offered.

Commander Standish looked at the XO, and finally made the call.

"Do it... tell the Starblazers that their air show has been cancelled... they have combat flying to do." he said, as the XO nodded, and reached for the phone handset, to deliver the order.

STARBOARD FLIGHT POD

The two-dozen techs rushed into the room with the Mk. II Vipers, all lined up in a neat row.

"How the frak do they expect us to jam ordinance into these things?" one of the techs asked.

"I dunno... but the order came from the top deck, so it's what we do." another tech replied, as now they became momentarily distracted, by the view from the open end of the flight pod...

As the countless tracers and flak dotted the sky, the lead tech wore a look of utter terrified shock on his face, as he gazed upon the sight of one of the two Cylon Base Ships... unlike anything he had ever seen before.

BATTLESTAR CELESTIA - BSG-77

The ship was taking an awesome pounding... the entire ship was literally awash with flak fire, and tracers... it was enveloped in fire, on all sides, as the Cylons fired upon it relentlessly.

Suddenly, one more Base Ship jumped out of FTL, right in the path of Celestia. Seconds later, missile contrails could be seen, originating from the Base Ship, and heading towards Celestia.

CIC

The ship shook violently, as another weapons hit struck the ship. The Commander of Celestia looked to his DRADIS screens, which were going on and off line. He looked at the icons representing the Cylons with utter rage and hatred in his eyes.

"Alright... fine, you godsdamned motherfrakkers... you wanna take us out, fine... but you're coming with us, you toaster bastards!" he spat, as he now turned to his own Officer of the Watch. "Mister Grendal... we're gonna take these motherfrakkers for a ride... straight into the fires of hell itself! Give me a collision course with that Basestar in front of us... and ready an FTL jump... coordinates 307, carom 415... initiate the moment the ship impacts with that Basestar!" he shouted out.

"But, Sir... those coordinates... they'll take us--" Grendal began.

"I know what the frak they mean! Just DO IT!" the Commander shouted, his eyes full of serious and burning intent.

"Aye!" Grendal replied.

In space, the mighty Celestia limped towards the massive Basestar, still under constant fire on all sides. Finally, the proud old Battlestar met its target, and the fore of the ship slammed into the hull of the Basestar, both ships beginning to break apart, just as the FTL wave washed over the Celestia.

However, since the Celestia and the Basestar were now one, the FTL wave engulfed the Cylon ship as well, and both ships vanished from the area.

THE SUN

The Battlestar and Basestar jumped out of FTL, and for but a single second, continued colliding with each other, as the intense heat from the Sun's photosphere instantly engulfed both ships in fire, totally destroying them both, leaving nothing behind.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...


BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

CIC

Commander Standish and the XO looked to the DRADIS with shock... had Celestia really just jumped away, while on collision with the Base Ship?

"Gods..." the XO began. "She jumped into the frakking Sun!" he lamented, with morbid awe, as he looked to Standish, who wore a serious look, as he looked down to the table for a moment, before looking back up at the DRADIS.

"SIR!" the Officer of the Watch called out. "Our old birds are functioning, but they're taking heavy fire from the Raiders... and with only twelve birds, we don't have much to fight with... the fighters Celestia and Solaria left behind are running for their lives, Sir... if they engage the Raiders, they'll be shut down." he lamented.

Standish looked to the man, his eyes full of worry and thought... Urantia was now the only Battlestar left here... and there were two other Basestars out there, waiting... there was no way a single Battlestar could fight off those odds.

"Signal ALL, repeat, ALL Vipers and any FTL capable ships in the area, military or not... tell them we're jumping the frak outta here, and they can join us if they want. Tell all Vipers to land on our decks!" he called out.

"Aye, Sir!" the Officer called out.

Just then, the whole ship was struck with something strong, and the XO was knocked off his feet, as a nearby console exploded into flame, sending a large panel flying right into him, with blinding speed.

As a stunned Commander Standish watched, people rushed to the XO, to try and extinguish the flame from the panel that was on him, as the man writhed in pain under the onslaught. Finally, his movements stopped, and one of the people tending to him... a female officer, blonde, looked to Standish, and shook her head... the XO was dead.

Standish was in shock, as the ship was again hit hard, and people struggled to retain their balance. Finally, the Officer of the Watch shouted out some new data to the Commander.

"SIR! They're launching radiological missiles! Nukes inbound!" he shouted.

Standish looked around his CIC deck... he was on what was possibly the last surviving Battlestar, his XO was dead, and there were nukes on the way. On top of that, only twelve of his frakking birds were airworthy at all.

In space, Urantia was now totally engulfed in enemy fire, as Raiders buzzed all around the ship, as the Vipers from Urantia and the other ships tried to draw their fire, as many Vipers were now racing to Urantia's flight pods. Ammunition tracers and flak bursts outnumbered the stars, as the Urantia struggled to stay alive.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - CIC

Commander Standish now looked to his Officer of the Watch, and pointed to him.

"Okay... I want an open-ended FTL jump... I don't care where... just get us the frak outta here! And once you have a set of coordinates, send those to any of the ships nearby that have FTL!" he called out.

The man looked to the Commander with shock.

"Sir! An open-ended FTL jump is a very ris--" he began.

"I know what it is! But I prefer that to dying here, at the hands of the Cylons!" Standish spat back, as the man now went to work.

In space, all the Vipers from the various ships began to hard land on the Urantia's flight pods, as the comm orders came through...

"This is Urantia, to all birds... come on home, come on home... combat landings authorized... preparing for FTL jump!" the man's voice said.


BATTLESTAR URANTIA - CIC

The ship shook with another hit, as the blonde woman who had helped the XO relayed some data to Commander Standish.

"Sir... ten seconds to nuke impact!" she called out, looking to Standish.

The Commander looked to the Officer of the Watch.

"Now or never... get us the frakking hell out of here... NOW!" he shouted.

"I have a course!" the man shouted out, pressing some buttons. "Initiating hyperlight jump, NOW!" he called out.

In space, the weapons tracers and flak continued to totally encase the Urantia, as hundreds of Raiders descended upon the ship, like flies upon a carcass, as at the same time, the contrails belonging to the twin nukes raced toward Urantia's hull.

JUST as the twin nukes were about to strike the hull of Urantia, the entire ship was consumed by the ring of light that was the FTL jump, and the missiles smashed into each other, producing a massive thermonuclear blast, that sent a shockwave outward, which wiped out almost all of the Raiders in the immediate area.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The entire Battlestar suddenly appeared, as the FTL ring spat it back into normal space.

CIC

All eyes were on DRADIS, as the Officer of the Watch tried to confirm any new blips on the scope. Finally, one blip appeared, then two, then three, until a full ten blips were visible on DRADIS.

"SIR!" the man called to the Commander. "Ten confirmed contacts... all with Colonial transponder codes... they're civilians, Sir!" he called out, looking to Standish, with a big smile on his face.

"They followed us through." Standish said softly, watching the monitor.

Now the blonde woman spoke up.

"Sir... I have the I.D.'s on some of those ships now... the Itania Express, the Oasis Traveler, the Oceana Zephyr, the Providence, two Pan-Galactic flights... 22 and 840, one tylium mining and refining vessel, the "Itaron", two cargo vessels... the "Speedwell", and the "Arbella", and a passenger liner... the "Absinthe Sunset". she relayed.

"That's fine..." Standish began. "But now... where the hell are we?" he asked, as he looked to the Officer of the Watch. "Mister Hindri... can you tell us where we are? Are we still in Colonial space?"

For a long series of moments, Mister Hindri worked his console, until finally, he looked to the Commander with a blank look on his face, as he shook his head.

"Sir... I'm not able to read any familiar star patterns out there... wherever we are, we are definitely nowhere near the Colonies." he began, apologetic. "But I will continue my calculations... there has to be a familiar waypoint somewhere that I can use, to plot a course back home." he added.

Standish nodded, resigned to the fate, as he looked to the ground for a moment, before then looking to his crew.

"Very well... we'll use the time to get oriented... get things fixed up." he began. "I want a full damage report on my desk by the end of the day. Have the flight deck provide me with a full report on how many Vipers we lost, and how many we took on, and from which ships. Signal the surviving civilian fleet that I will be contacting them shortly... for now, inform them to try and remain calm, relax, and to remain near us at all times. As a precaution, I want to maintain condition one throughout the ship." he said, as he now walked away, leaving CIC.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The ship sailed slowly through the depths of unknown space, as the small civilian fleet maintained position behind the Battlestar.

COMMANDER STANDISH'S CABIN

The Commander sat at his desk, some papers before him, as well as a glass of ambrosia. he took a drink, and grimaced at the strength of the drink, as he picked up one of the papers, as a woman stood with her arms behind her back, in front of his desk... it was the same blonde woman who had tended to the XO, in CIC.

"I just want you to know, I was impressed with how quickly you snapped into action, with the XO... the situation was degenerating into chaos, but you kept your cool... you did your job, and you focused on the task at hand. That is what I need... I need a cool head, in a pressure situation... someone who can cut through all the yak-yak, and get the job done." Standish said, as he now produced a black box, and slid it over to her on the desk. "So... what I want to know now, is... D'Anna Biers... will you be my new XO?" he asked, as the woman reached for the box, and opened it up, regarding the sight of the XO's pips.

D'Anna looked to Standish, a look of shock and surprise on her face, as she smiled, taking the box, and holding it close to her.

"Yes... yes, Sir... I will. I'm honored. Thank you." she said.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The ship sailed slowly through the depths of unknown space, as the small civilian fleet maintained position behind the Battlestar.

COMMANDER STANDISH'S CABIN

The crowd of people was overwhelming, filling the room to the brim, all the way to the doorway, and the Commander's desk was obscured by a sea of legs, as people shouted over each other.

The Captains and some of the civilians from the surviving colonial ships had come on board Urantia, to speak to the Commander, and see what was going to happen now. They wanted to know what the next order of business would be.

Commander Standish sat at his desk, looking at the crowd, and decided he had heard enough.

"That's enough! Quiet! All of you!" he shouted out, as the crowd gradually hushed to a murmur, then total silence. "I know you are all confused... afraid... looking for answers. So are we. And I will tell you what I can about the situation so far. But I need for you all to remain calm... nothing will be served by shouting, or getting excited." he said, as the group looked to him.

One of the Captains called out to the Commander.

"I heard a report that the Cylons had attacked ALL of the Colonies... every world!" he said, with grim awe.

"I heard that the whole fleet was taken out... all the Battlestars!" another civilian added.

Unbeknownst to the Commander, or the two Marines guarding the doorway entrance, Captain Grae Azaire, the Urantia's CAG, was standing near the doorway, listening in on the goings-on inside the Commander's cabin. When she heard those comments, she felt a numbness inside, as if she could no longer feel anything... she felt distant... removed. How she wanted to feel sorrow for those who had been lost, but could not find the emotions inside her.

She quickly left the area, briskly walking away, through the corridor. She came to the end of one part of the corridor, which held an Officer's Head, and went inside, locking herself inside one of the stalls. Once inside, she anxiously fumbled for her knife, finally securing it in her fingers, and pulled it out from her pants pocket, and with a deep breath, brought the blade to her left wrist, and closed her eyes, looking up, as she dug the blade into her skin, slicing the skin, and allowing the warm blood to well up from within her.

COMMANDER STANDISH'S CABIN

The Commander held fast at his desk, as the questions continued. Finally, he got up from his chair, and looked directly at the crowd of people.

"Look... all we know for certain, as that the Cylons did indeed break the armistice. They launched a full-scale attack on the Picon Fleet Yards, and the Battlestars Celestia and Solaria were totally destroyed. We do not have confirmed reports of how far the Cylons were able to push through, in Colonial space, nor can we confirm the loss of the Battlestar fleet. I would prefer to operate based upon fact, rather than rumor. We should assume the war is still ongoing, and that Colonial forces are still engaging the Cylon forces." Standish began. "For now, gather all your reports and information... all your communications between ships... begin to patch together a picture of what has taken place, and use that to determine what information is genuine, and which is rumor. In the meantime, we should all be prepared for an extended stay on our respective ships... we are in unknown space, and are currently working to establish a stellar fix... as soon as we have one, we will inform you of a projected course back to the Colonies. Thank you." Standish added, hoping the group would disperse.

"What about food and water?" one civilian called out. "We have no agro ships in this fleet... what happens when our food supplies, and your rations run out?" he pressed.

Standish looked the man in the eyes, as he delivered his reply.

"I am hopeful we shall return to the Colonies before that happens... but in the event we should have to allow for that possibility, we will in the meantime be on the lookout for any planets that may contain suitable food and water. I will keep you all updated. Again, thank you. That will be all." Standish added, now nodding to the two Marines, to escort the group out of his cabin.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The large Battlestar continued to lead the ragtag civilian fleet through unknown space, as one of the two Pan-Galactic ships, Pan-Gal flight 22, sailed alongside the Urantia, at close range, flanking the Battlestar.

PAN-GALACTIC FLIGHT 22

The door to the main cabin opened, allowing Commander Standish to enter, as he began to walk through the isle, towards the back of the large luxury starliner, as on the way, the people in the seats looked to the Commander, as he walked by.

Finally, he reached the aft cabin of the ship, and was met by a Priest, sitting in a seat, across from another seat, that had been prepared for the Commander.

Upon seeing Standish, the Priest looked to him, and gestured for him to take his seat, which Standish reluctantly did.

"I want to thank you for agreeing to see me." Standish began. "I know you must have your hands full right now, Father...?" he asked.

"Father Cavil will do just fine, my child... and it's no trouble... heck, I would have been happy to come to you, on Urantia." Cavil began.

"I prefer to meet here... I don't want any rumors floating about the ship, about why the Commander feels the need to consult with a Priest." Standish explained.

"I understand, Commander." Cavil began. "So... why IS it that you feel the need to speak with me?"

Standish looked uncomfortable, as if he were trying to think about if this was a good idea or not. Finally, he decided to just spit it out.

"I've been having dreams... recurring dreams... and I'd like to know what they mean." he said.

"What kind of dreams?" Cavil asked.

"It's always the same." Standish began. "I'm in a forest... it's incredibly foggy... all I see is a roving wash of red light... and then a man emerges from the fog... he's an archer. I look at him. He looks at me... and then, he produces an arrow, and proceeds to shoot it up into the sky."

"And then what happens?" Cavil asked, as he rested his chin upon his interlaced hands, with steepled fingers.

"He shoots the arrow... and I watch it, as it soars into the sky... the arrow splits the fog, and a clear starry night is revealed. And then... the arrow... it strikes a star... and the star... explodes. It goes nova. Such a brilliant flash of light. Then the dream ends." Standish explained.


"Praise be to the Gods." Cavil began. "You have been blessed, my child... for the archer you see in your dreams, is Apollo... the one who pointed the 13th Tribe's path to Earth!"

"The what?" Standish asked.

"Have you not read the Book of the Word? Do you not declare faith?" Cavil rebuted.

"I don't subscribe to all that mythological stuff. I deal in hard facts." Standish replied.

Cavil now leaned towards the Commander, to add emphasis to what he was about to say.

"Commander... the 13th Tribe of man left Kobol, on a voyage to a world called Earth. The Book of the Word says that the Arrow of Apollo points the way to Earth. Apollo has shown you a path to salvation, by coming to you, in this dream! He is revealing your destiny... to lead this fleet to salvation, by setting a course for Earth!" Cavil said, excited.

"And the red light?" Standish pressed.

"Obviously some kind of premonition that the Cylons would attack." Cavil replied.

Standish regarded Cavil for a long series of moments, before wearing an awkward look, and getting up from his seat, as Cavil also got up.

"Well, I thank you for your time, Father, but my destiny is not to embark on some mythical quest for an unknown planet... it is to lead this fleet back to the Colonies, and this ship back into battle against the Cylons, where we will finally put an end to this war of theirs that they began forty years ago." he said. "And that is what I intend to do."

Cavil just nodded, as he smiled.

"In any event, Commander... my door is always open to you... if you ever have anything you want to talk about, I'm here to listen." he said, as Standish nodded, and Cavil watched, as the Commander left the aft cabin.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The great ship continued to lead the fleet on its way back to the Colonies, as now a small number of Urantia's Vipers were flying CAP alongside the fleet, to ensure no Cylon problems would present themselves.

COMMANDER STANDISH'S CABIN

D'Anna Biers, now in her XO attire, handed Standish a handful of papers, as he took them, browsing through them.

"The final loss count for the Vipers and souls, Sir." she began. "We lost 7 of our modern Vipers, 1 Mark II, and the final tally for souls lost comes to sixty-five." she relayed.

"We got lucky." Standish said, looking through the papers. "One Viper made it out from Solaria, and we were able to wrangle up almost an entire half of Celestia's birds. it could have been a lot worse." he added, as he now looked up to her, the light of the room reflecting in his glasses. "Begin to integrate those pilots into our own air group... have the CAG begin briefing them, ASAP... and tell her to also make them familiar with those old Mark II birds... until the techs can rip out the advanced avionics on the newer ships, those are all we have." he said.

"Aye, Sir." she began, as the Commander could tell that something else was on her mind.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Sir... Mister Hindri has informed me that he has found a trinary star system in the stellar charts that could be a waypoint towards the Colonies... he says there's a chance that from that star system, the Godhead Nebula can be seen... and if that proves true, we would have a fix from which to navigate our way back to Caprica." she said.

"Very good... instruct him to begin calculations for a series of FTL jumps to that system. And inform the fleet that I will be making a statement later this evening." he said, now returning his attention to the paperwork on his desk.

In space, the fleet continued on course, sailing through the void of space.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

Inside the ship, Commander Standish walked to the Officer's Quarters, where his CAG's bunk was. he was going to hand-deliver the reports of the pilots from the other Battlestars.

When he got to her bunk, he saw her standing in front of it, holding a knife in one hand, and gazing at her left wrist with the other, which was bleeding through a fresh cut.

She almost did not notice him, but when she did, she was startled, and with a gasp of shock, she rushed to straighten up.

In a fast movement that she was unaware her commander possessed, he had her shoved up against the bulkhead with her knife pressing hard to keep her from struggling.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Standish demanded.

"You move fast for an old man." Grae said trying to be funny. Standish pressed the knife a little harder to her throat.

"Answer me."

Her features became sad as she said, "Please don't do this." Her young eyes conveyed so much pain that it tore at something inside him. Standish lowered the knife and took a step back.

"Why not? You were going to do it... so I ask you again... WHY?" he pressed, his voice angry.

"It takes away the pain." Grae's voice broke and she fell to her knee's as her body began to shake with silent sobs. Standish never would have seen himself doing this for anyone else, but he lowered himself to his knees, and put his hand on the young woman's shoulder, trying to offer some measure of comfort.

"We've all been through a lot." Standish began, his voice coming out soften than he thought was possible, under the circumstances. "But yet we survive... we are still here... still alive. And so it's not the end of the world." he said, getting up, as he straightened his uniform. "If you need someone to talk to, my door is open." he added.

Standish didn't wait for her reply he just got up and left her to think about his offer. He couldn't understand what made him offer to be an emotional sounding board for her but something in him compelled him to help her. Maybe it was some cruel twist of fate form Gods that he didn't believe in, but the damage was done and if she wanted his help she would have to ask for it on her own.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar proceeded on course, herding its flock of civilian ships along through the depths of space.

Inside the proud Battlestar, Commander Standish walked through a hallway, as his inner voice worked its way through the list of things that he had to do, that he was thinking about, in his mind.

He had just finished the "ceremony", that officially made the Celestia's surviving Viper pilots a part of Urantia's squadron, and now he was on his way to CIC, where he would address the entire ship, as well as the whole civilian fleet.

He also found himself thinking about what Cavil had said to him on the Pan-Galactic flight... that his dreams were an omen... a sign that he had been somehow chosen as a sort of... "pilgrim leader"... to lead his new flock to Earth... to safety, and to the 13th Tribe's new home. He did not believe in the scriptures, or the Book of the Word. When he was in high school, a pair of missionaries had presented him with a copy of the Book of the Word, and to be polite, he accepted it, and even thumbed through it a bit, but he was unimpressed with its content.

Standish was a man of fact. A military man. A simple man. He did not like the fact that some people felt such a driving need to foster a belief in a supernatural force, to create some semblance of order in their lives. He felt that anyone who truly wanted to, could create such order, by maintaining self-discipline, and a measure of frugality. One did not have to turn to superstitious beliefs.

Yet, here he was. He was far away from the Colonies of Man. in uncharted and unfamiliar space, with a fleet of ten civilian ships to look after, and be responsible for. Nobody had time to take any careful accounts of the comm traffic among the Colonies when the Cylons attacked... there was no telling how devastating the assault had been, or even if it was confined to Picon. Standish was holding out hope that the Cylons had met their doom, once they reached Caprica, the nexus and stronghold of the Colonial military. As a commander, he now had a choice... should he take what Cavil had told him, and tell the fleet that they were leaving their homes behind for good, and making way for Earth... a mythical planet, whom nobody even knew if it truly existed, or should he hold firm in his intention to return home, and make one last valiant stand?

Suddenly, he found himself standing in front of the doors to CIC, and after pausing for a sigh, he put all his inner voices aside, and cleared his mind, as he entered the command center of Urantia.

All eyes were on him, as he walked to the command table, where D'Anna was waiting for him.

After a few moments, he looked up at the DRADIS, and then back down to the illuminated surface of the table. He then took off his glasses, folded them up, and placed them on the table's surface, as he kept looking downward. Finally, he looked around, to his XO... to his crew. He then turned back, and picked up the handset, and the intercom was activated, as he prepared to speak.

"Attention crew of Battlestar Urantia, and all ships in the civilian fleet. This is Urantia Actual. Four days ago, the Cylons launched a sneak attack on our home worlds, in particular, striking with force at Picon. During that time, this ship, and this fleet, was displaced from the Colonies, in an effort to escape destruction at the hands of the Cylons." he began, as now he began to turn to look around at his people. "We lost a lot of good men and women. But we are safe now. And we are here now. The question becomes now... what next? Where do we go from here? As military commander of this fleet, and of all the souls on this ship, it is my first duty to ensure the safety of those under my command. At the same time, Urantia is a military ship... and as a member of the military, it is also my responsibility... my job... to safeguard the lives of those living on the Colonies. That being the case, I am now formally announcing that we are at war. We do not know the full extent of the destruction the Cylons were able to visit upon our homes. But I am hopeful that the Colonial forces orbiting Caprica and Leonis were able to deal serious blows to the Cylon forces. So... I have decided to make a course back to the Colonies, and once there, mount a new offensive against the Cylons, and send those frakking toaster bastards back to the hell from where they came!" he continued. "In the meantime, we will be on the lookout for worlds with new food, and water, and new renewable sources of energies and power, so that we may maintain our voyage in a timely fashion, without any prolonged diversions. Come what may, we will make it through this. We will persist. We will survive. And we will go on, and never back down to the Cylons! I thank you all for your patience, and your cooperation. Thank you. Urantia out." he said, as he gently placed the handset back in its cradle.

After about a second, D'Anna placed her hand on his shoulder, to show her support, and turned to the crew, and called out to them.

"So say we all!" she said.

Gradually, the crew began to nod their approval, and also began to utter the rallying line, as they began to clap in rhythm to the phrase.

"SO SAY WE ALL!" they chanted, over and over again, as Commander Standish turned to regard his people, loudly proclaiming their support for his cause, as he allowed a small smile to break to the surface of his face.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar proceeded on course, herding its flock of civilian ships along through the depths of space.

It had now been a full three weeks since the Cylon attack on the Colonies, and the crew of Battlestar Urantia was slowly getting settled and comfortable again, with their usual duty routines. Regular CAP's were now being flown over the civilian fleet, by the Viper squadrons, and so far, there had been no sign of the Cylons.

This was either good or bad.

If it was good, it meant that perhaps Urantia had jumped so far away from Colonial space, that the Cylons could not possibly find them. If it was bad, it meant that perhaps the Cylons were indeed somehow tracking them, or in the area... and were just waiting to strike.

The maintenance techs had long since completed the task of pulling out the advanced avionics on the newer Vipers, and had retrograded them to the older Mk. II standards. The old Mk. II Vipers that had comprised the Starblazers squadron, Urantia's astrobatic performance drill team, had since had their old show colors of silver and blue painted over to traditional Colonial white with red stripes, along with all the newer Vipers, and the salvageable planes from Celestia and Solaria.

Inside Urantia, Commander Standish walked through the hallway that led to CIC, looking over some reports, as a handful of people from the Itantia Express walked by him... he recognized them as flight crew, or "Flight Attendants", as civilian lingo would call them. Two were attractive women, one was a young man. They both paused as he came to their position, and stopped to salute him, as he returned the gesture.

"Good morning, Sir." the they said.

"Morning. How are things among the fleet?" Standish asked them.

"Well, Sir... now that things are falling into order, a lot of the passengers on the liners are a lot more calm. So far the only problems we've had, were with two cases of claustrophobia, but those two passengers were moved to the Providence." one of the women replied.

"Very good... continue to keep things organized... right now, our worst enemy is our own panic and sense of chaos." Standish said, as the group nodded, and resumed walking, as the Commander turned, to see the door to CIC.

He opened it, and walked in, to find the regular sight of his crew at work, and his XO at her post, as the whine of DRADIS monitors filled the room.

He walked over to D'Anna, who was standing at the command table, and placed his papers down on the surface, as he looked to her.

"Mister Hindri's jump calculations for the course to the Godhead Nebula." Standish began. "He says it'll take at least ten jumps to make it to the nebula itself... about ten months worth of travel." he added.

Just as D'Anna was about to reply, both officers were distracted by new readings on DRADIS, as Mister Hindri called out the information.

"Sirs! Reading multiple new contacts! Not reading Colonial signatures, but they are not reading as Cylon, either... they are varying sizes... some shuttle sized, others as large as our tylium refining ship." he said, as Standish and D'Anna looked at the overhead DRADIS screens.

Finally, Standish reached for the handset, and picked it up, but held it to his chest as he issued orders to Mister Hindri first. "Launch alert fighters... have them make visual F-O-F identification." he said, as he now brought the phone up to his mouth.

"Attention, unidentified vessels... this is the Battlestar Urantia, please transmit your I.D. codes, and greeting message." he said.

For a long moment, there was nothing but silence. Finally, after a whole minute had passed, the crackle of static filled the air, followed by the sound of someone picking up on the other end.

The crew listened intently, as the voice of a nervous middle-aged man filled the speakers. Standish squinted, as he tried to understand the man's language, nodding at the familiar sound of a few words, while trying to comprehend the rest. Finally, Mister Hindri spoke up.

"Sir... you're not gonna believe this, but I understand some of what they're saying... some of those words are the same as words from the Gemenese dialect... I think they are using a Gemenese-derivative language... from one of the older dialects I remember reading about in comprehension class... my family and I are from Gemenon, Sir. If you agree, I can send a return message, in a rough approximation of their language." he offered.

"Do it!" Standish ordered, as he waited for Mister Hindri to work.

Finally, after a full five minutes, Mister Hindri got his reply, and ran it through the linguistics program, and piped the message through the speakers,

"This is Captain Tyvek Harrington, of the petrium processor Jaht Batahl, five months out of Emilon, to the ship identifying itself as the Battlestar Urantia... we are a private merchant ship, and mean no harm... repeat... we mean no harm... request permission to come alongside?" the man asked.

Standish looked to D'Anna, both people wearing looks of confusion, as they silently mouthed the word "Emilon", as if asking a question. Finally, Standish gave his reply, speaking into the mouthpiece, as Mister Hindri typed the translation, in the background.

"This is Commander Tyler Standish, of the Battlestar Urantia, to the ship calling itself the Jaht Batahl... we acknowledge your indication of peaceful intent... permission to come alongside granted. If you don't mind my asking... what... or where, is Emilon, and two... why are you in part speaking in Gemenese?" he asked. "Gemenon is one of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, and we are very far from Kobol."

The mention of the name "Kobol" provoked a fast response from the man on the other end.

"Um... you... did you say Kobol, Commander?" Harrington asked.

"Aye, I did." Standish replied.

"Gods... that is a name we haven't heard for a very, very, long time, Commander." Harrington began. "I think it best we talk in person... our ships are coming alongside your vessel now." he added.

"Understood. Urantia out." Standish said, as he placed the handset down, before turning to face D'Anna in the eyes, a look of speculative puzzlement on his face.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar sailed through space, her fleet of ten civilian ships now joined by a fleet of about thirteen new ships, most medium-sized, with an almost "ramshackle" look.

Viper patrols from Urantia sailed over the new incoming fleet, taking in the sight of the new arrivals.

Inside Urantia, a large group was assembled around a makeshift banquet table, in the Commander's cabin, as the Captain of the Jaht Batahl sat on one side, along with some other captains from the Emilon fleet. Commander Standish sat with his crew on the other side.

As the parties unfolded their napkins, and examined the plates of food and drinks that were being laid down before them, Commander Standish began to notice the clothing of the new arrivals... they looked "old"... very simple in style... IF the Urantia crew had known about Earth, they might describe the clothing as "pioneer" or "pilgrim" era... the women wore simple and conservative dress, and wore bonnets upon their heads, and the men wore rugged yet light and simple clothing as well, and wore hats. The very few military people that they could see, wore what could also in Earth terms, be described as "Napoleonic-era" naval attire. The uniforms were black, with elaborate trimmings, often in gold, and the hats were equally striking.

Finally, as things began to settle, Commander Standish opened up the lines of conversation, by addressing the Captain of the Jaht Batahl.

"So, Captain Harrington... you said that you have not heard the name Kobol in a very long time... what did you mean by that? Have your people visited the Colonies before?" he asked.

"Gods, no." Harrington began. "Rather the reverse... our ancestors left Kobol a very long time ago... left on a voyage to a world called Earth." he stated.

That remark caused Commander Standish to stop what he was doing, and look directly in the eyes of Captain Harrington.

"Earth..." Standish merely repeated.

"Aye... Earth... do you not know of our journey?" he asked.

"I have heard of it... but it is part of our faith... written in the Book of the Word... but it's not something I believe in." Standish began. "Nevertheless... here you are... humans, who share part of the Gemenese language... out here in the depths of unknown space. However... if, as you say, your people were heading to Earth... wherever that is... why are you here, and not there?" he asked.

This time, one of the military men took over, dabbing his mouth with a napkin, and setting it back on his lap, as he replied.

"Commander... I'm Captain Zender Kline, of the patrol cruiser Sal Caltanis. The original group that left Kobol, embarked upon a very long journey. Along the way, many groups began to show signs of frustration at the length of the journey, and some decided to separate from that Earthbound fleet, and put down roots along the way. The group that we are from, started the colony of Emilon." he said.

"I see." Standish said, as he took a drink of ambrosia. "So are there any other "colonies" nearby?" he asked.

"We know of only one... Ruion." Kline stated. "Our group of ships... we thirteen... we are actually leaving Emilon... almost everyone in this fleet is a religious refugee... pilgrims, if you will. They faced persecution on Emilon, so we are escorting them elsewhere. Our two military cruisers were assigned to protect them." he added.

"Protect them from what?" D'Anna asked.

"Cylons?" Grae added.

"What?" Kline answered. No... we're not familiar with "Cylons", whatever those are... we are protecting them from anything out here that may possible pose a threat... anything that may attack them." he said.

"That would be Cylons." Standish said. "So, you're leaving your home world of Emilon... for where... where will you go?" he asked.

"Well... that, we don't really know... we assumed we'd settle on the first habitable planet we found, but now that we found you... know where you are from... if you're by any chance heading back towards Kobol... any chance you'd want us to tag along? We'd love to revisit the home of our ancestors."

At that comment, Standish could not but help share looks with both D'Anna and Grae.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The mighty Battlestar continued on in space, now with an accompaniment of 23 ships, mostly civilian, but some military as well... the two Emilonian military cruisers.

COMMANDER STANDISH'S CABIN

Inside the room, Standish leaned back in his chair somewhat, ogling a glass of ambrosia in his hand, as he listened to Father Cavil speak to him, as the light from the lamp on his desk reflected in his glasses.

"So, you see, Commander... I have to humbly apologize, but it appears I was wrong, and you were right... I misinterpreted your dream... I still believe that the archer you saw WAS Apollo... but it was not Earth he was shooting his arrow at... it was Kobol! Apollo has sent you a divine sign... the exodus to Earth WAS real, and DID happen... there are humans out here, far from the Colonies, and you have been chosen, to gather them, and lead them back home to Kobol... it is your destiny, given to you by the Gods themselves!" Cavil said, enthused.

Standish took a drink, before again holding the glass in his hands, as he looked to Cavil.

"My decision to return to the Colonies is in no way religious... I plan to find whatever may be left of our fleet, and make a final stand against the Cylons. That is my motivation. While I have to maintain that i don't believe in anything written in the Book of the Word... I also have to acknowledge that the discovery of these Emilon people, and their statement that there is one other group, at a place called Ruion, forces me to cede that the exodus to Earth did take place. But I have to tell you, Father, that I'm a little uncomfortable with your vision of me as some sort of "pilgrim leader"... I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet... that Captain Kline... HE is the pilgrim leader... he's the one escorting those pilgrims from Emilon to wherever their destination is or was." he said.

"Have faith in the Gods, Commander... open yourself to the possibility that you are meant for something more... that this ship is where it is for a reason. Allow yourself to trust in the Gods... you may be surprised at what you come to find." Cavil said, as he slowly got up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Commander... I must retire now... it's getting a little late for me." he said, as he made his exit from the room.

As the door to Standish's cabin opened, to let Cavil out, the ship's CAG, Grae, was trying to make her entrance, and for an awkward second, the two people were in each other's way, until Grae moved aside, to let Cavil out, as she then entered the room, and closed the door behind her.

Sheepishly, like a schoolchild that had been caught passing notes, she walked over to the Commander's desk, looking at him with sad eyes, that were full of uncertainty.

"Something I can do for you, Medusa?" Standish said, using her Viper callsign as her name.

"Sir... you said that if I... that if I wanted to talk..." she said, unsure of what she was really doing. She had never trusted anyone before, and the fact that the Commander came out of the blue, and offered to listen to her, was surprising, and refreshing.

"Then have a seat." Standish said, gesturing to the chair Cavil had been sitting in, as he leaned forward, to face her more directly. "Why do you do what you do... with the knife?" he asked her, gently and in a soft voice.

It... it helps take the pain away... for a while." she began. "I have trouble feeling... ever since I was a child... my parents... they... they abandoned me. They left me on Caprica, when I was ten, to fend for myself." she began. "Apparently, when I was young, they thought I was having temper problems, and they sought the advice of an Oracle... my folks were extremely religious... both from Gemenon. The Oracle said that if they just up and left me in the streets of Caprica, I would... "find my direction", whatever the frak that meant." she said.

Standish's features softened, and his face showed sympathy.

"I can't imagine how tough or frightening that must have been for you." he said.

"Sir... the things I had to do..." she went on, her voice now breaking, as she struggled not to cry. "The things I was forced to do. I could never place my trust in anyone... after what they did to me... how could I trust anyone again? And their betrayal... their abandonment left such a hurt, that I didn't want to feel anything anymore, until it got to the point where I couldn't feel anything anymore. The only emotion left that I could feel, was pain." she said, as a few tears ran down her cheek.

Standish got up from his chair, and walked over to behind Grae, and placed one hand on her shoulder, and used the other hand to wipe the tears from her cheek, as she turned around to look up at him.

"You don't have to do this anymore." he began. "I am here for you, and this ship is your home now... you are with people who care about you." he said, as she stood up, and embraced him, burying her face in his arms, as she cried.

"I don't want to do this anymore." she said.

"I know." Standish replied.

Finally, after a long moment, Grae had let all her tears out, and slowly, Standish allowed her to withdraw, as she reached into her pocket for her knife, and once she found it, she produced it, and held it out for Standish to take.

"Here." she began. "I don't want this anymore." she said, as she wiped the last tears from her face with her free hand.

The Commander reached for the knife, and accepted it, looking at it, as he then folded the blade back into the casing, and placed it in his own pocket.

Grae did not know what was making her open up to the Commander like this, but as she looked at him now, in the light of his own cabin, his face, his whole form, gave off an aura of fatherhood... he was looking at her with sympathy, trust, and even a form of love. He looked paternal... wise and proud, in his perfect and clean uniform, and shining badges. She was sure of one thing... something inside of her told her she could trust him, and this one time, she would take that chance, because here, finally, was a man who was opening his door and his heart to her, and offering a helping hand... and she was going to take it.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

EMILONIAN MILITARY CRUISER SAL CALTANIS

The small human military ship sailed alongside Urantia, which almost dwarfed the small ship, as the other twenty-one fleet ships sailed nearby.

PLANNING ROOM

In the modest-sized Meeting Room, Captain Zender Kline stood at a podium, along with Commander Standish, as both men faced the crowd that had gathered, which included a few talk-wireless reporters, from Pan-Galactic 22.

As the buzz of chatter subsided in the room, Captain Kline cleared his throat, and addressed the crowd.

"Hello, all... thank you for coming. Many yahrens ago, our ancestors from Kobol, left that world, and embarked upon a remarkable journey... a journey to a new home... a home called Earth. The journey proved long and difficult. As a result, many of those original pioneers elected to separate from the exodus fleet, and settle down on worlds along the way. Emilon, our own world, is one of those. In the yahrens since those early days, we have built our colony into a thriving society, which values hard work, faith, and the value of community. However, certain recent trends have spurred our particular group to again embark upon an exodus, this time, from Emilon. The rise of more liberal elements of our faith, have prompted the traditional conservative wing of our faith to look for a new home, among the stars. we were not sure exactly where that new home was to be." he began, now pausing, as he looked to Commander Standish, who nodded. "But, as is often the case in life, things can change within a matter of centons. For, quite unexpectedly, we have come across new friends... new family... the people of the Battlestar Urantia, and the ten civilian ships she shepherds. For these people as well, are the children of Kobol, and are also on a voyage back to that part of space... back to their home. Many things have changed since our ancestors left Kobol, and now that we have an opportunity to see it again, we are going to take it! Commander Tyler Standish, the Emilonian pilgrim fleet, under the authority of the military cruisers Sal Caltanis, and Maj Tauri, now formally makes request to join with your fleet, as you travel back towards Kobol... back towards home. Brothers of Man, returning home, after a long absence." he said, turning to Standish, and offering his hand.

Commander Standish allowed a small smile to creep to the surface of his lips, as he accepted Captain Kline's hand, and shook it.

"Captain Kline... your presence among the fleet is welcomed. Welcome to the Colonial fleet." Standish said, softly.

With those words, the small crowd began to applaud, as both men stood at the podium, facing the crowd of people.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar, and its fleet of 22 ships, continued on course through space.

COMMANDER STANDISH'S CABIN

A modest table had been set by Standish, as he shared a dinner with Captain Kline, from the Sal Caltanis.

The men prepared to eat, as Standish broke the silence.

"I want to thank you again, Captain, for allowing us to visit Emilon... I normally would have been content to just let your fleet join us, but as you see, we have no agro ships in our fleet, so we face a danger of a food shortage. If there is a chance that anyone on Emilon can furnish us with food supplies, we are most thankful. And... of course, there is a security concern of mine." he said.

"Security concern?" Kline asked.

"The Cylons." Standish began. "The Cylons are robots... artificial intelligence, created by us, to ease life on our Colonies... but over 40 years ago, they turned on us, and began a bloody war, until an armistice was declared. It lasted until about a month ago... that's when the Cylons attacked our Colonies, and re-ignited a 40-year old war. They seem bent on the destruction of our species... so, that having been said... I am worried, that if the Cylons were to learn of two entire new planets, full of human life, that they might try to confront your peoples, and attack and kill you. Because of the danger of the Cylons, you will understand, if I ask others on Emilon to join the fleet... for their own protection." he added.

"But you said that your ship is very far from your Colonies." Kline replied.

"Aye, that is true... in fact, we don't know if the Cylons followed us, or even if they are out this far... but I prefer to stay on the side of caution." Standish said.

"Well, we'll do what we can to help the fleet, Commander... but the farms on Emilon are small, and family-owned... Ruion is much more of a large-scale agricultural planet, from what I've been told." Kline said.

"Have you ever been to Ruion?" Standish asked.

"Not directly... but about two yahrens ago, my ship was assigned to protect one of our petrium refining ships, that was on the outskirts of the Ruion system. It's a small system... only four planets. Ruion is a moon, of the second planet... a gas giant." he added, as he took another drink of ambrosia. "Mmm... this is good, Commander... what did you call it?" he asked.

"Ambrosia."

"Mmm... yes... we have something similar in taste, color, and smell... but we call it brandy. I'm afraid only our two military ships have it in the fleet, because the pilgrims refuse to touch the stuff... they don't allow alcohol to be consumed, because it alters the natural mindset of the person who drinks it." he said.

"Hmmm." Standish began. "Sometimes, there is something to be said for that altered mindset... there are times that a nice glass on ambrosia has kept me from going mad." he said.

At that, Kline lifted his glass.

"Then let us drink... to new friends, and the shared journey ahead... may it bring us all closer together." he said, as Standish raised his glass as well, meeting the gesture.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar, and its fleet of 22 ships, continued on course through space.

XO'S CABIN

D'Anna Biers sat across from Father Cavil, as she listened to him talk to her. He was trying to make a point about the newly discovered humans from the 13th Tribe, and he was quite passionate about his argument.

"But nevertheless, this proves that there are more humans out here... "Children of the Gods", as it were... from Kobol itself. I still think we should follow the trail of these humans... so far, we know about two whole planets... Emilon, and Ruion." he said.

"So what... we divert how many resources out here... Raiders? Heavy Raiders? Entire Basestars?" D'Anna asked.

"Yes... whatever it takes!" Cavil shot back. "This proves that we didn't finish the job, at the Colonies... we thought we wiped out humanity, but we didn't... the people in this fleet, and those on Emilon and Ruion show us that much. And for now... I have managed to make sure that Commander Standish keeps this ship on course back to the Colonies... so as we reverse our course, we can continue to seek out and find any more of these 13th Tribe separatists, and deal with them accordingly." Cavil said.

"How did you manage that?" D'Anna asked back.

"That dream I told you the Commander had... about Apollo showing the way to Earth... as soon as we encountered those ships from Emilon... I jumped on it... I told our dear Commander that I had misinterpreted his dream... it was not Earth he was being shown... it was Kobol. So now, he's content in the knowledge that he's doing the right thing, by steering the fleet back to the Colonies... and when the Battlestar Urantia arrives back at Caprica, she'll be met with the might of the Cylon fleet... which will finally finish the job, and take out Urantia, the civilian fleet, and any and all remaining members of the 13th Tribe... a clean sweep." Cavil said, using gestures to emphasize his point.

"I don't like attacking Urantia so soon... if Cylons show up now, just as the ship has escaped from the Colonies, Standish will think he's being followed, and that will put the fleet on constant alert... he'll make every effort to avoid jumping directly to new planets where humans are. For now, we have the locations of both Emilon and Ruion... what I would suggest, is that we send the occasional Basestar to "escort" or "direct" Urantia and the fleet along the course to the Colonies... that way, the attacks are spread out, and we continue to gain knowledge of new pockets of humanity." she said.

Her remarks made Cavil look at her in a somewhat new light.

"And you... it would not hurt, if you were to get closer to the Commander... he made you the XO of this ship, for Godssakes... try to at least return the gesture, and show him some affection... you're what a lot of humans would consider "hot"... use that... play with it. Get close to Tyler Standish, and in return, you'll get closer to the information we need. You could use the experience in human relationships." Cavil stated.

At the mention of the word "relationship", D'Anna grimaced slightly, as she then took a drink from her jar of ambrosia.

"Fine... I'll get closer to the Commander... just keep in mind what I said... we need to guide the fleet along, not take huge swipes at it." she said, as the two regarded one another.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar, and its fleet of 22 ships, continued on course through space.

Inside the large Battlestar, Commander Standish walked down a hallway, on the way to CIC. He had in his hands a small bunch of duty reports that he was looking over as he walked.

As he kept his pace, he noticed the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching behind him, and he stopped to see who was there, as Grae came to a stop beside him.

"Morning, Medusa." he began, using her callsign as her name. "What's it like out there?" he asked.

"Quiet, Sir... too quiet." Grae replied.

"So you want to make some noise?" Standish asked, now lowering the paperwork, and taking his glasses off, as he looked at her.

"Aye, Sir... I don't like it, Sir... almost three months now, since the Cylon attack, and we still have not seen so much as a Raider. Just because we don't see them, doesn't mean they're not out there." she began. "I'd really like to step up the CAP drills and combat exercises. Throw in some live-fire simulations, maybe?" she offered.

"I agree with you on the Cylons... we should remain alert... especially with the discovery of two new human planets... we don't want the Cylons making the same discovery. Run whatever practice drills you feel you need to, and don't be afraid to push your pilots. We're out in the unknown now... we have to prepare to expect the unexpected. Be that Cylon or otherwise." Standish said.

Grae smiled, as she began to jog in place, as she saluted the Commander.

"Aye, Sir... thank you, Sir." she said, as she began to jog off, as Standish called out to her, causing her to pause and face him again.

"I wanted to let you know..." Standish began. "I've invited the XO to my cabin for dinner tonight... why... why don't you join us? I wouldn't mind your company as well." he offered.

Grae thought about it, a she kept jogging in place, and then looked to Standish, smiling.

"Sure... maybe I'll drop by." she offered, as she again ran off, leaving a smiling Commander in front of the door to the CIC.

CIC

From that main situation table, D'Anna looked on, as Commander Standish opened the door to CIC, and entered the room, making his way to her location, and setting the reports down upon the lit table.

For a moment, she regarded him, as the whine of the DRADIS screens filled the room.

"A problem with the CAG?" she asked, hinting that she had seen the two of them talking from the door's window.

"Hmm? Oh, no..." Standish began, looking at D'Anna. "I was just inviting the CAG to dinner tonight, in my cabin. Come to think of it, I would love it if you could join us as well... it would give us a chance to talk a bit, off-duty." he offered, allowing a thin smile to escape to the surface.

D'Anna looked for a second as if she would refuse, then changed her mind, and smiled.

"Fine. Sure, why not?" she began. "Guess I won't turn down a free meal." she offered, as both she and Standish smiled, and then looked to the DRADIS.

"How are our friends in the pilgrim fleet?" Standish asked.

"Well, Sir. The Captain of the Sal Caltanis reports nothing to be alarmed about. One of the women on the Deseret Star gave birth this morning to a healthy baby boy... other than that, no news to report." D'Anna relayed.

"Good." Standish began. "How long until we're ready to make the jump to Emilon?"

"Mister Hindri says that the fleet will be in optimal jumping position in roughly two days." D'Anna replied.

Good, good." Standish uttered. "I spoke to the CAG about stepping up the combat drills for our Viper pilots. She was concerned that we're getting to comfortable in assuming the Cylons won't return. I told her to do whatever she felt needed to be done, to get our pilots whipped into shape and ready. Since you'll both be at my table tonight, I'd like to hear any suggestions you could offer, that would add to her plans." he said.

D'Anna appeared to be looking the Commander over, as her eyes ran up and down his form.

"I'll see what I can offer." she said, looking at him, as he smiled thinly, but politely.

"Good... that's good." Standish said, as he now again looked up to the DRADIS, the wash of the DRADIS wave reflecting in his glasses.

D'Anna just looked at him, and contemplated the man. His prodigious use of the word "good" hinted that he was in a good mood, but this sudden invitation to his table was unexpected... out of the blue, as it were. Was he hitting on her? Flirting with her? Had Cavil been right, in assuming he would want her, in a way more than professional? In the time that she had served with him, Tyler Standish never struck her as a "people person", per se... he preferred to keep to himself most of the time, in his dim quarters, with a book, and a glass of ambrosia. But she would go to dinner with him, and see where this would go... maybe the Commander would pursue a relationship on his own, and she wouldn't have to do anything.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar, and its fleet of 22 ships, continued on course through space. It had been two days since Commander Standish had had dinner with his new XO, and his CAG, and it was now time for Urantia to make the first jump towards Emilon.

CIC

The DRADIS whine filled the room, along with the sounds of usual duty activities, as Standish looked up at the monitors, and then to Mister Hindri.

"Sir..." Hindri began. "Our FTL is spooling up... ready to jump... all fleet ships report ready, Sir.

"Very well... Mister Hindri... jump!" Standish called out, as the CIC crew braced themselves onto whatever they could hold, so the jump would not cause them to lose their equilibrium.

In space, the familiar FTL ring and wave washed over Urantia, and all the fleet ships, causing them to vanish from sight, leaving only empty space behind.

Instantly, in another region of space, multiple flashes of light signaled the arrival of Urantia and her fleet, as the ships again drifted in deep space.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - CIC

The DRADIS monitors showed the icons representing the fleet, as Standish and D'Anna gazed at the readings. After a long series of moments, a new blip appeared on the display. After a second, another.

"Sir! New contacts... profile looks like Cylon Raiders, but if they are, they either followed us, or are out incredibly far... maybe lost." Hindri offered.

Standish looked from the DRADIS display to the tactical planning table, then back up at the display. Finally, he made his call.

"Launch the alert Vipers." he called out, as Hindri relayed the orders in the background.

Suddenly, a comm message came through the speakers from one of the Emilionian ships... it was the Captain of one of the two military cruisers, the Sal Caltanis.

"This is Captain Zender Kline, of the Sal Caltanis... we have detected some new signatures on our RADEX, and are moving to investigate." he relayed.

Standish shared a look with D'Anna, and then lifted the phone handset from its cradle on the side of the table.

"This is Urantia Actual... set Condition One throughout the fleet." he ordered.

BSG URANTIA VIPER #5 (Mk. II)

Urantia's CAG, Grae, callsign "Medusa", flew at the head of the formation of Vipers that was heading for the new contacts. The mini-DRADIS display in her cockpit showed two blips that seemed to be an intermediary in size between a standard and heavy Cylon Raider.

"What the frak?" she whispered to herself, forgetting that her voice was transmitting over the comm link.

"What's that, Medusa?" another one of her pilots asked, over the comm.

"Nothing... just talking to myself." she said, somewhat embarrassed. "Just thinking about these new contacts... we should be able to see them any second... keep your eyes open, and your senses alert!" she called out.

In space, two dark and shadowy forms emerged from the darkness of space, blotting out the stars behind them. The silhouettes of the craft resembled a "T" shape, that had been turned on its side, with the top of the "T" to the starboard side of the craft. The top "T" section was curved, giving an appearance of a large wingblade or shield. The middle of the "T" section resembled a standard Cylon Raider, complete with a "head".

The craft emitted no sound, save for a high-pitched and mournful whine.

Suddenly, a dark glass "visor" was lifted from the head section of the lead craft, and a roving bright red light erupted into life, scanning from left to right. The second craft followed suit.

BSG URANTIA VIPER #5 (Mk. II)

Grae looked at the new arrivals with both shock and disdain.

"FRAK!" she began, calling into the intercom. "Urantia... we've got Cylons out here... but they're not like anything we've seen... they look... strange." she said. "All Vipers, weapons free! Follow my lead!" she called out.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - CIC

Commander Standish stared at the DRADIS, watching his Vipers begin to mix it up with the new Cylon contacts. Finally, he turned to face his officers behind him.

"Put us between the fleet and those new Cylons out there... I want long-range interception fire, all portside batteries!" he called out, as he turned to D'Anna, a serious and worried look on his face. "We can't risk letting the Cylons discover the location of Emilon... if they do, they would certainly wipe it out, and we can't be responsible for that." he stated, looking back to the DRADIS.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BSG URANTIA VIPER #5 (Mk. II)

Medusa watched the Cylon "Raider" race towards her Viper, and gazed at the roving red scanning light on the head of the craft. The craft was nearing her Viper with incredible speed, and if the Cylon did not break off soon, it would collide with her.

Grae took the opportunity to unload her guns on the approaching lead craft. Her bullet tracers dotted the starscape, as the Cylon craft sped towards her.

"FRAK!" she yelled, as she instinctively forced her Viper into a hard bank, to avoid colliding with the Cylon. But such a move was not necessary...

Just as the Cylon craft was about to slam into Grae's Viper, it jumped away, into FTL, vanishing from sight.

Grae looked at her on-board DRADIS, looking for any sign of the craft. Finally, she found it, as a blip appeared.

"Urantia, this is Medusa... the lead Cylon is right on your doorstep... about a hundred meters off the port side." she said into the comm.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - CIC

Both Commander Standish and D'Anna looked at the DRADIS, as D'Anna wore a look of confusion.

"Where the frak did they come from?" she began. "And why isn't there any Basestar?" she asked.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

In space, the weapons tracers and flak fire from Urantia were dotting the view, as the two Cylon ships wove about, in close proximity to Urantia... the two Cylons seemed to almost be "recording" something about Urantia, as they were trying hard not to fire on the ship.

Suddenly, Urantia's guns had an effect, and one of the two new Cylon ships exploded apart, as cannon fire from Urantia ripped through it.

Seeing what happened to the second Cylon ship, the lead vessel began to turn away from Urantia, and as it came about, the FTL wave washed over the ship, as it vanished from view.

CIC

Commander Standish and D'Anna shared a look, as the now regarded a blank DRADIS screen.

"Stand down from Condition One." Standish ordered, as he returned his focus to the XO.

"That was strange." D'Anna offered. "Two Cylon contacts, no mothership nearby, and they jump in, and then jump out again... where did they come from?" she asked.

"This signifies a Cylon presence in this system... or at the very least... nearby this system. We're going to have to proceed with caution to Emilon... if we have another Cylon encounter, I'm going to skip Emilon, and try to jump to Ruion instead." Standish said, as he now began to walk away from the command table.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The ship continued on course through space, along with its fleet of ships.

XO'S CABIN

D'Anna poured more water into the glass for Cavil, who took it, as she now sat back down across from him.

"I still don't know what you're talking about... I did not contact anyone yet... I haven't had the time to... whoever these Cylons were, I know nothing about them... the only Cylons I knew about, are way back near the Colonies." Cavil explained. "This attack was not my doing."

"Could this be a new form of Cylon... or some sort of rogue group?" D'Anna asked.

"I don't think there are any "new Cylons"... or rogues, for that matter... there has to be some reasonable explanation for what happened today. And you can be assured, that I'll find out." Cavil stated.

"In any case, this has shown that there is a Cylon presence out here... we should have the nearest Basestar jump in, and investigate... it can trail Urantia just out of jumping range, and while shadowing us, can scan for any sign of where these Cylons came from. If we can find them, we can bring them home... place them back with their own kind." D'Anna offered.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

THREE MONTHS AGO

The silence of space was broken, by a large and dark object, which sped by, as a long contrail of smoke sliced a line through the starscape.

The Cylon Heavy Raider sped towards a planet, which outwardly, looked as if it could support human life... there were oceans, and landmasses, as well as clouds, but there were only very sparse patches of green on those landmasses.

The smoke from the Heavy Raider's engine continued to spew out, as the craft swerved to line itself up for an emergency landing on the surface.

CYLON HEAVY RAIDER

Inside the cockpit of the craft, two Cylon Centurions sat at the controls, silently working on the approach, as their roving red lights moved from side to side in a "V" pattern. Suddenly, the sounds of the cockpit were broken, by a sound that had not been heard for a very long time... and it came from behind the two Centurions... a loud, and extremely "robotic" metallic-sounding voice...

"Rate of altitude loss incompatible with current alignment vector... re-calibrate and adjust... divert all remaining emergency power reserves to forward stabilizers." the voice said.

The two Centurions at the controls momentarily looked to regard the source of the voice...

An original Cylon Centurion... a Leader, indicated by the shiny golden armor he wore. His red scanning light wove from side to side, in a straight line, as the Leader reacted to the two Centurions looking at him.

"Look out... look out! Brace for collision!" the gold Leader began, just as the Heavy Raider slammed into something solid, and the force of the impact shattered the cockpit, and threw the Cylons about, as debris and vegetation filled the cabin.

PRESENT DAY

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The mighty warship continued to escort the fleet through space. As the fleet gradually began to angle about slightly, the arc of a planet's atmosphere could be seen, as the world began to loom ever larger... it was a planet very much like Aerilon, capable of supporting human life, but mostly agricultural, and not as developed as Caprica, Tauron, or Leonis. This world was neither of those, however... this was Emilon.

CIC

Commander Standish looked at the DRADIS screens, and saw absolutely no vessels in orbit, other than his Colonial fleet, and the pilgrim fleet. He looked to the command table, then to D'Anna.

"Well... here we are. Hard to believe that we've had no encounters with the Cylons since those mystery ships appeared, but it's true... we made it here safely." he began. "Now, we need to work with Captain Kline and his people, in contacting the surface, to secure any food and water we can... build up our stores again." he added.

"Shouldn't take too long." D'Anna began. "From what Kline said, his people would be willing to help out. Also, I think it would be a good idea to let some of the people from the civilian ships go down for a while... let them stretch their legs... after some months cooped up in liners and cargo haulers, I'm sure they'd like some open space for a while." she offered.

"Agreed." Standish said, nodding, as he removed his glasses, to rub his eyes, before putting them back on. "It's been a long day... I'm gonna grab a nap and then a shower... I'll see you later." he said, as he walked off, leaving the XO in command.

THE FLEET

Kept perfect orbit over Emilon, as a handful of Raptors began an approach to the planet's atmosphere.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - XO'S CABIN

D'Anna placed a jug of water on the table, and handed an already full glass to Cavil, as she then poured herself one.

Cavil took a drink, and then set the glass on the table, looking to D'Anna.

"Well, it seems that we may get an answer to the puzzle of those rogue Cylons Urantia encountered." he began. "We've sent one of our Basestars to a planet in a system about three jumps behind us... we had picked up an automated distress signal coming from that location, that is Cylon in origin. With luck, some of our Centurions are still functioning, and can tell us what happened. The design of those two craft were unusual., though... if these Cylons had anything to do with them, I'd like to know if it was something they found and modified, or if they made it themselves." he added, taking another drink, as D'Anna looked to him.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

PRESENT DAY - SITE OF CYLON CRASH LANDING

The planet hung in the heavens, as a short distance away, the familiar FTL flashring appeared, spitting out a single Cylon Basestar, which began to slowly drift towards the planet.

The shadows of dozens of Cylon Raiders could be seen, creeping along the rocky surface of the world, as the ghostly whine of their many engines filled the air. Finally, the vista of the rocky surface landscape was broken... by the sight of the remains of a heavily damaged Heavy Raider, which was strewn about in chunks, as nearby, the lone survivor of the newer, more "mysterious" Cylon ships sat, as the four Centurions surrounding it, looked upwards, to the Cylon Raiders overhead, as their shadows continued to dash across the surface of the planet.

On the surface, at the crash site, one of the four Centurions broke from the group, and walked to an area at the foot of the sparse woods, and disappeared for a moment behind a large chunk of debris from the downed Heavy Raider, as in the distance, the whine of the Cylon raiders still filled the air.

After a moment, the Centurion emerged from behind the debris, and walked back to his last position, as now another Cylon followed him... but this Cylon did not look like the smooth, silver, Centurion... this Cylon was special... he was one of the original Centurion models... a Leader... and his brilliant golden armor shone brightly, in the afternoon sunlight of the world they were on.

The gold Leader looked up to the sky, his red scanning light roving from left to right, in a straight line, as the Raiders flew past him, overhead. Finally, after a long moment, he broke the silence, and spoke, filling the air with his metallic, robotic, voice.

"Cylon search-and-rescue party... three dozen Raiders... one Heavy Raider. Detecting Basestar in standard orbital altitude... forty-five degrees above equatorial line." he began, as he now looked to address the newer Centurions around him. "Prepare data packets for download, and prepare Seeker for departure from surface." he ordered.

The new Centurions all looked at him, and "nodded" their responses, as they carried on with their assigned duties, as the gold Leader stood watch, his red scanner still roving to and fro.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The ship continued to shepherd its fleet in orbit of Emilon... homeworld of the pilgrim fleet, and one of two known worlds inhabited by members of the human race, who left Kobol so many years ago, on a journey to Earth.

EMILONIAN TRANSPORT SHIP "SEPIA MOON"

The small, ramshackle-looking ship kept a slow, but comfortable pace with the nearby Urantia, which dwarfed the small transport ship.

On board the small ship, Captain Zender Kline, of the military cruiser Sal Caltanis, was escorting Commander Standish on a tour of the ship, so that Standish could see the Emilonian pilgrims for himself, and see how they chose to live, and what their practices and culture were.

As they entered another corridor, both men ducked to avoid hitting a rafter, as they cleared it, and continued walking.

As Tyler Standish listened to Captain Kline explain to him about the ways and beliefs of the pilgrims, he began to notice that as he looked around, the ship was very simple... there were no computers... no elements of artistic expression... the closest thing that came to art that he saw so far, were the sepia-tone photographs of the Emilonian men, women, and children, in their traditional clothes, and most wearing expressionless faces, as the photos sat snugly inside their octagonal frames, and the few quilts that he had seen some of the women tending to. He began to realize that these people were simplists... they did not like advanced technology very much.

The two men paused, so that Kline could point out one of the water-distribution devices that the pilgrims liked to use, but Standish was not listening... he was drawn away from Kline's words by the sight of two pilgrim women who were washing clothes together, as they chatted. One of the women, paused, and looked up at Standish, and smiled, as she brushed some strands of fiery red hair away from her eyes.

She was stunningly beautiful to him... hot, even. He just looked at her, and tried to return her smile, in a way he hoped would not seem awkward, which caused her own smile to widen a bit, as she then looked away from him, and turned back to the other woman she was working with, and resumed her conversation.

"Excuse me." he said to Kline, as he excused himself, to walk to the redheaded woman, as Kline just paused, and looked after Tyler.

As Standish stopped in front of where the two women were, they stopped talking, and looked to him, as the redheaded woman stood straight, and wiped her hands on her dress, looking at him, as she smiled.

"I'm Commander Standish... Tyler Standish, of the Battlestar Urantia." he said, softly.

The woman just looked at him, a tight and sly smile on the tip of her lips, trying to break through. She was beautiful to him... fiery orange-red hair, milky white skin, pointy nose, high cheekbones, and azure blue eyes.

"Well, Commander Tyler Standish, of the Battlestar Urantia... to what do I owe the honor of your attention?" she asked, the tightly locked smile creeping ever more to the surface.

"First things first." Standish began, softly. "I told you my name... now it's your turn."

"Now, Commander Standish..." she began, pretending to admonish him, as a mother would a child that's being rude. "You should know you don't go ordering womenfolk around in such ways." she said, her smile now letting itself to the surface, as she looked right into his eyes.

Standish stood his ground, but she could tell that even though is expression was outwardly serious, he was laughing in his eyes. Finally, Standish decided to play her game.

"Very well..." he began, as he started to walk off. "I can't talk to a woman, if I don't know her name." he said, baitingly, as he got only a few steps, before she relented, and called out to him.

"Wait!" she said, as he turned to face her, as she walked up to him, extending her hand. "Eliza Winnow... that's my name." she said, smiling in an equally baiting way.

"Eliza Winnow..." Standish repeated, looking into her eyes the whole time, as he accepted her hand, and shook it gently, as the other pilgrim woman just looked at the two of them, and almost rolled her eyes, as if to say to Eliza, "I can't believe you're falling for this." The other woman, a brunette, looked as if she were fighting the urge to break out into laughter.

"So..." Eliza continued. "You must tell me now... of what do I owe the honor of your attention?" she asked.

Standish nodded for a moment, and then, while still holding her one hand with his, drew her close to him, so he could whisper something in her ear.

As he spoke, her cheeks turned almost as red as her hair, as he now drew away, and she let out a soft gasp of mock-shock at the Commander, as she looked to him, a playful smile on her lips.

"Why, Commander Standish..." she said, still pretending to be shocked.

Standish just let out a slight smile, and nodded politely at the two women, as he excused himself.

"Ladies..." he said, as he now walked away, his smile growing quite large, as behind him, Eliza walked back to her companion, as both broke out in giggles.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

PRESENT DAY - SITE OF CYLON CRASH LANDING

The door to the Heavy Raider opened, and a group of Cylon Centurions walked out, and down the ramp, as their metal feet clanked loudly on the ramp's metal. Upon touching ground on the surface of the planet, the Centurions looked around, and then looked to the group of surviving Centurions nearby, as the gold Leader Centurion stood at the head of the formation. When the Centurions were confident that there was no danger, they all switched from guns, to their claw-like "hand" appendages again, as they turned to let another Cylon out of the craft... a "skinjob".

The feet of the skinjob Cylon walked down the ramp, and set foot on the soil, as the being then paused. After a moment, D'Anna Biers looked right at the gold Leader Centurion, and let out a gasp of shock, as she turned to face another "skinjob" Cylon that had just joined her from the craft... a Cylon known by the humans as Doral.

"My God..." D'Anna began. "Do you know who that is?" she asked. "That Centurion 315... the only remaining Leader Centurion from the first war known to us." she added. "He commanded the campaigns and attacks that yielded the most human losses, during the first war... because of that, he was kept active." she explained, as Doral regarded the Leader.

Finally, the two human Cylons walked to the Leader, the Centurions close behind.

Upon meeting the Leader, the Leader brought his right arm to his chest, in a salute, as D'Anna initiated the conversation.

"You are Centurion Leader 315." she began.

"Affirmative." the Leader replied.

"We picked up your distress beacon... status report, Leader." she ordered.

The Leader's red scanner moved from side to side, as he responded.

"Our Heavy Raider passed through a nebula that disabled our navigational bearings. I ordered an FTL jump out of the nebula, to avoid further complications. We came out of FTL, and were instantly struck by a small meteorite, which damaged our engines. I attempted to negotiate a landing on the surface of this planet, when we crashed." the Leader began to explain.

"How long had you been on the planet, before you sent the distress signal?" she asked.

"Not long... we had just completed transmitting the signal, when the ground came up and hit us." the Leader said. "In an effort to determine our location, we have salvaged components of our destroyed Heavy Raider, and have been able to improvise two new Cylon craft." he added, indicating to the Seeker craft, sitting nearby.

D'Anna and Doral looked to the craft, and then D'Anna looked back to the Leader.

"I see only one craft... you said there were two." she said.

"The other craft was destroyed, in combat against Battlestar Urantia." the Leader replied.

"The Battlestar Urantia?" D'Anna began. "You have encountered it? Is it nearby?" she asked.

"Affirmative." the Leader began. "We were able to obtain close-range scans of Battlestar Urantia." he added.

D'Anna looked to Doral, and the two of them quietly discussed some thoughts, as D'Anna then turned back to face the Leader.

"Very well... we want to review your findings. We have a Basestar in orbit... gather your Centurions, and bring your new craft on board the Basestar... you're coming home." she said.

"By your command." the Leader answered.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

CYLON BASESTAR

The mammoth black ship sailed through the darkness of space, blotting out the star behind it, as it moved along.

Inside the ship, the gold "Leader" Centurion stood among the newer, modern Centurions, as the "skinjobs" gathered around a monitor, and were watching the recorded footage of Battlestar Urantia's weapons firing.

D'Anna was impressed with what she was seeing... the new improvised "Seeker" craft the Centurions had built were able to get extremely close to Uranita... inside its firing solution.

Finally, the footage ended, with a bright golden/white energy ring, which quickly enveloped the entire view... the remaining Seeker had jumped away. D'Anna turned to face the gold Leader.

"Very nice... I'm impressed that you were able to get so close. You have done well, Centurion." she began, as she walked over to him, and as she did, he looked right at her, his red scanner roving to and fro. "Is Urantia still nearby?" she asked.

"Affirmative." the gold Leader began. "Battlestar Urantia is currently joined by a small fleet of star ships... most have Colonial identification codes, while others have codes that are not consistent with those from the Twelve Colonies of Man. Analysis of the communications traffic between fleet ships indicate the other vessels come from a planet known as Emilon." he added.

D'Anna's look grew excited, as she turned to face the other "skinjobs" in the room... a couple Ginas, a Sharon, a Cavil, and a few Dorals.

"We have to find Urantia... she's still nearby!" she exclaimed, as she could sense the others were not sold on the idea just yet. "With this information on Urantia's firing solutions and patterns, we can easily do some heavy damage." she stated.

"The point being?" one of the Ginas asked. "Urantia's already on her way back to the Colonies... we'll get to her eventually."

"No... don't you see?" D'Anna began. "We need to corral her... keep forcing her in a direction away from the Colonies! Don't you see? Urantia has discovered other pockets of humanity... most likely remnants of the 13th Tribe... we need Urantia to find all of them that there may be... only then, can we push her home... where we will be able to deliver the final blow to the remains of the human race." she said, as the others looked at her, as she again turned to the gold Leader. "I'm putting you in charge of locating Urantia... I also want you to command our Centurions, in all engagements we have with Urantia." she said.

"By your command." was the gold Leader's reply, as he just looked to D'Anna, his red scanner moving from left to right.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

CYLON BASESTAR

The mammoth black ship sailed through the darkness of space, as it was now joined by one new Basestar. A large contingent of Raiders flew alongside the two mammoth ships, their ghostly whines resonating through the void.

On the lead Basestar, many large machines were busy fabricating the hulls of new Cylon craft... segments of black wing would be fabricated, and then a mechanical arm would transfer those parts to another arm, which would assemble it to the main fuselage, and on the line the parts would go, and so on.

The tall chrome Centurions that were manning the controls to the assembly machines looked up for a second, as D'Anna and Gina walked into the room, escorted by the gold Leader. D'Anna looked around the room.

"Impressive... I'm surprised that the Centurions were able to reproduce the craft design you improvised on the planet so quickly. When assembly is complete, we will have a new arsenal for our fleets... these Seekers will be able to execute recon jumps, ahead of our Raider parties, and evaluate the target's defenses and readiness, before we jump in." she said.

The gold Leader's red scanner roved to and fro, as he replied.

"The Battlestar Urantia is the only Colonial warship in the fleet. However, our scans indicate that two of the ships from planet Emilon also carry military-grade weaponry, consistent with a light military cruiser." he said.

"But those ships cannot begin to compare to the level of power Urantia has, right?" Gina asked.

"Affirmative." the gold Leader responded, as D'Anna and Gina now stepped closer to the assembly area, to watch the new craft being constructed.

EMILON

In orbit of the world, the Battlestar Urantia continued to escort the fleet, as the large group of ships held position in a high equatorial orbit.

On the surface of Emilon, the sun of the world filled the noontime sky with its light, as a few white, fluffy, clouds dotted the sky.

Below, Commander Standish looked back down from the sky, and to his companion, with whom he was holding hands... Eliza Winnow... the redheaded pilgrim woman, whom he had first met aboard the Sepia Moon.

The two walked among a vast open grassy meadow, as the sun's light warmed them both, and a gentle breeze blew. In the background, other pilgrims from the fleet could be seen, mingling with Colonial officers, and showing them various vegetables that grew on Emilon.

Eliza had offered to give Standish a tour of the surface... to explain to him her beliefs and way of life. As the two walked along, holding hands, he looked at her fiery red hair, and silently marveled at how the tips of each strand was glinted with pure golden light, as the sunlight touched it.

She was telling him how her people held views that promoted a low-tech way of life... more emphasis on self-reliance, and hard work, than reliance on modern technology to do the work of men. But as the agricultural equipment on Emilon began to grow more and more advanced, there was less work to do, and the views of the pilgrims became less and less popular, until, finally, they decided to leave, and embark on a pilgrimage back to their original home... Kobol.

The two paused, and she turned to him, and smiled, as a breeze blew a few strands of her hair in front of her eyes. He smiled back, and brushed the hair away, looking into her eyes. He felt like he was looking into the depths of her being. He did not know what about her it was... but she made him feel like no woman ever had.

A few meters away, D'Anna and Cavil were walking on a very low grassy hill, and D'Anna paused, and stared at the Commander and Eliza. Her expression was a mix of detached curiosity, and mounting jealousy, as if this other woman were in some way a challenge to her. Cavil saw this, and regarded D'Anna, studying her look.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Nothing." D'Anna answered, still staring.

Finally, Cavil began to understand, and nodded, as he replied.

"Ahh... I see... you're getting jealous!" he said, causing D'Anna to turn to him, an annoyed look on her face.

"I am not... that's crazy." she retorted.

"Is it?" Cavil shot back. "That should be you, with the Commander. You have an opportunity... get close to the Commander, and you'll be close to all the intelligence we'll need. You should make a move. And I would suggest quickly... before that little fox digs into him." he added, as D'Anna shot him a mad look, as he just smiled.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The Battlestar kept orbit over Emilon, along with the fleet, as numerous Raptors and Colonial shuttles began to return to Urantia's flight pods, from the planet below.

Alongside Urantia, the transport ship Sepia Moon kept pace, as the rest of the fleet from Emilon hung back some distance.

CIC

Commander Standish regarded the DRADIS display, as he looked to D'Anna, taking his glasses off for a moment.

"That should be everyone from the surface teams... the pilgrims are back on their ships, and our food stores are full... as are the water stores. I think we're ready to leave." he said, softly, putting his glasses back on, as D'Anna took it from there, turning to the Officer of the Watch.

"Mister Hindri... start the countdown for FTL jump!" she called out, as she picked up the handset on her side of the table, to signal the fleet to spool up their FTL drives.

As she spoke to the fleet, Standish was distracted by the face of someone looking at him, from outside the window of the door to CIC... he looked up at the face, and it smiled back at him. It was Eliza... she waved to him, from the other side of the door, and he casually made his way to her, as now D'Anna saw what was going on, and looked after him.

Standish stepped outside of CIC, to speak with her, and the door closed behind him, as he turned to her.

"Hey, there... what are you doing here? Nobody told me you were on the ship." he said, smiling.

"I wanted to surprise you." she answered.

"I'm surprised." he said.

"I wanted to ask you something." she began. "Since you listened to me tell you about our doctrines, and saw our town on the surface, I was wondering if you would want to join me tomorrow afternoon, to hear our pilgrim leader speak? Once a month, he calls all of us to attend a meeting, where he speaks of the state of our fleet,and our journey, and leads us in worship." she added.

Standish was about to say that he was not religious, but stopped himself... he liked this woman too much to blow her off, when she was asking for his company. Plus, she was looking at him with such "pretty please" eyes... he could tell she really wanted to share this with him. What the hell... if anything, this event could give him insight into the state of the pilgrim fleet, and he would be able to gauge his impressions of the man who was leading the whole endeavor.

"Sure... sounds like it might be fun." he said, offering her a smile. "I'll have to dust off my copy of the Book of the Word." he added.

"Great!" she said, her smile big, and her expression full of light. "Come to the Prophet Star tomorrow at noon... I'll be there to meet you." she said.

In CIC, D'Anna watched through the door's window, as the Commander and Eliza appeared to exchange a quick embrace, before separating. A second later, the Commander turned around, and opened the door again, stepping back into CIC.

As he made his way to the command table, D'Anna lowered her head, not wanting to appear obvious.

"Sorry... I had to step out for a moment." he explained.

"I saw." she began. "Plans for tonight?" she asked, still facing the charts on the table.

"Tomorrow... afternoon." Standish said, softly.

"So what are you doing tonight?" D'Anna replied, now turning to face him, as she looked him in the eyes.

"Relaxing in my cabin, with a book and a glass of ambrosia." he said. "Why?"

"No reason... just curious." she said, as she returned to her work, as Standish looked after her.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The ship led the fleet along, now in open space, having left Emilon behind.

A Colonial shuttle made its way from Urantia to one of the Emilonian pilgrim ships... a ship larger than the Sepia Moon, and a bit darker in color, and sleeker... it was the ship carrying the group's leader, the Prophet Star.

EMILONIAN TRANSPORT SHIP "PROPHET STAR"

Commander Standish was greeted by the door to the meeting room by Eliza Winnow. She smiled, as she offered her hands to him, which he took, as she introduced him to the other pilgrim woman beside her... he recognized her as the brunette who had been giggling at his flirting at her, when they first met.

"Commander... I'm glad you could come." she began. "This is my friend, Sariah Tansen." she added, as the other woman nodded, a shy smile on her face.

"Tyler Standish." he replied to her, offering his hand, which she took, as the two shook shortly.

"Well... shall we?" Eliza asked, as she opened the door to the meeting room.

The trio entered the room, which already had people seated at rows of chairs, facing a central podium. Eliza took her seat, as Standish sat beside her, and Sariah sat beside Standish on the other side.

Standish looked on, as now the group's leader emerged from behind some royal blue curtains, which were behind the stage area, and walked to the podium. Even though this man was from Emilon, and none of the 12 Colonies, Tyler could not help thinking that this man looked a lot like someone he had seen in the news, back on Caprica... a scientist... Gaius Baltar? Yes... that was it... this guy looked like Baltar in a lot of ways... he had long black hair, and a youthful, charismatic look to him... he exuded charm. Standish noticed that as soon as this man entered, the women all looked to him with light in their eyes and faces... Eliza was no exception. He turned to look at Sariah, and she, too, was looking at him longingly.

"That's Wardlow Ethem... he's our Pastor spiritual leader... he organized this voyage, and assembled this fleet." Eliza whispered to Tyler.

Standish nodded, as the man now produced a copy of the Book of the Word, and set it upon the podium, as he opened it to a preset page, and took a drink from a glass of water, before addressing the mass.

"Fair Day, to all of you." he began. "I am pleased to see you all again. I am duly pleased, to welcome a new guest to our gathering... Commander Tyler Standish, of the Battlestar Urantia." he stated. "I thank you, Eliza, for inviting the Commander to join us. And Commander, I thank you for coming... this is an event put into place by the hands of the Gods themselves." he began. "For, who could know, that as we embark on our pilgrimage from Emilon, to our ancient home of Kobol, that we would be destined to cross paths with not only our long-lost brothers and sisters of Man... but that you also, would be on your way back to Kobol?" he stated, as a question.

"Who'd have thunk?" Standish called out, in reply, at a loss as for what else to say, as some of the men in the mass shot him wary glances. He looked at Eliza, and whispered "Sorry" to her, as Sariah tried to suppress a giggle, that still escaped slightly.

The pilgrim leader continued his speech.

"Indeed." he began. "So now, we join our brethren on the voyage back to our home... back to Kobol. And along the way, we shall meet those from the "Twelve Colonies", who elected not to join the 13th tribe, on its voyage to Earth... and we shall see what kind of lives and cultures our relatives have created for themselves. But even considering our differences, we will still be one people, reunited, once again." he went on. "But the 13th tribe's voyage was a long and perilous one... and by assuming the trail back to Kobol, we do so knowing that the voyage back shall be equally long, and arduous. Some of our elders may not live to once again see Kobol. We must ensure that a part of them does see it... that their names and legacies continue." he added. "To increase our numbers, is to increase our legacy... and if we increase our families, we increase our numbers."

"What's he talking about?" Standish whispered to Eliza.

CYLON BASESTAR

The mammoth black vessel continued to silently sail through space, as dozens of guardian Raiders flew alongside it.

In the control center of the Basestar, D'Anna was standing over a data console, her hand underneath the thin layer of water that was above the controls. he withdrew her hand, upon hearing the metal clanking of Centurion's feet behind her. The clanking stopped, and she turned around.

The gold Leader stood behind her, and behind him, were two newer Centurions, acting as escorts.

"Speak." she commanded of the Leader.

"Request permission to post a requisition?" the Leader asked.

"I will hear your request." D'Anna replied.

"If i am to lead the military engagements with Battlestar Urantia, I require the ability to communicate with my Centurions with efficiency. Considering the error of communication that resulted in the crash-landing of the Heavy Raider, I request to have two Centurions of my order placed under my immediate command, for all combat operations against Battlestar Urantia." he stated.

D'Anna momentarily looked shocked.

"That is no small request." she began. "Those models still have their uses, but you are the only one that has seen combat since the war forty years ago." she continued.

The gold Leader just looked at her, his red scanner roving from side to side, as it emitted a whining sound.

"But then, you are the most militarily capable Leader we had in the war... so I feel I must trust your judgement." she said. "Very well... I will grant your request... I will send for two Centurions of your order, to be placed under your direct command." she added.

"By your command." the leader said, as he turned and walked away, as the two newer Centurions turned to look after him as he left.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The fleet continued onward, heading towards the general location of the second planet of 13th Tribe humans... Ruion.

COMMANDER STANDISH'S CABIN

Tyler walked over to the couch, where D'Anna was sitting, and poured her a glass of ambrosia, before pouring one for himself, and then sitting down to join her.

"So... what is it that's on your mind?" Standish said, taking a sip from his glass.

"Nothing... I just want to spend some more off-duty time with you... get to know my commanding officer a little better." she began. "Lately, you spend most of your off hours on the Sepia Moon." she said.

"I don't know if that'll continue." Standish offered.

"Oh?" D'Anna asked, somewhat baitingly.

"Eliza took me to see Wardlow Ethem... I enjoy spending time with her, and I didn't want to be rude, so I sat through the meeting with her and the group. But I wasn't too impressed by what I heard... and Ethem himself... I don't trust him." Standish said.

"Oh? In what way?" D'Anna asked.

Standish took another drink from his glass, as he then stood up, and walked to the table to refill it.

"Their beliefs are... different. Ethem believes that the pilgrims should increase their numbers... individual families should grow larger... that they should start having babies... lots of them." he began.

"So what's wrong with that?" D'Anna rebutted.

"Nothing. But the way he wants them to do it is unorthodox. He thinks that if the pilgrims take more than one wife, they will be able to greatly increase the size of their families, by having more children within the same family, while still keeping a degree of genetic diversity." Standish added.

"What did Eliza think, when he made that suggestion?" D'Anna asked.

"I think she was slightly taken aback... but most everyone accepted it." he said, as he walked back to the couch, and sat down beside D'Anna again. "I care for her, but I am going to cut the time I spend with her down... I don't want to interfere with her religious convictions. The fact that she's a part of that fleet demonstrates how important her faith is to her. I'll have to take things slow." he added.

D'Anna looked into the Commander's eyes, and after a moment, moved her right arm to his back, and rubbed his back, in comfort. He turned to look at her, and she offered her other hand to him, which he accepted, as he smiled at her.

"Well, you have me, Commander... if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where I am... I may not be a foxy redhead, but I'd like to think I can help." she offered.

"You're a very attractive woman... I can't think of any man who wouldn't be lucky to have someone like you." he replied.

"You think so?" she asked.

"I know so." Standish answered, looking her in the eyes.

For a long moment, she regarded him, as if asking herself if she should believe what he was saying to her. Finally, she decided to test him.

"Okay, then... prove it." she began. "Kiss me."

For a second, Standish just gazed at her, until he finally moved forward, and planted a passionate kiss, right on her lips. The kiss lasted a good few seconds, until the Commander withdrew, and looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, "Are you satisfied now?".

Apparently, she was not, because then D'Anna pulled him to her again, and locked her lips with his, as the two began to share an even more passionate embrace, as both people wrapped their arms around each other, as they kissed.

CYLON BASESTAR

The huge black ship cut through the void of space, the ever present patrol of Raiders at its side.

Suddenly, the familiar ring and wash of FTL light appeared, and a second massive Basestar appeared, behind the first one.

After a few seconds, a set of 5 Raiders could be seen emerging from the new arrival, along with one Heavy Raider, and one other Cylon ship. But the other Cylon ship looked... strange...

The other Cylon ship was somewhat saucer-shaped, with twin booster engines at its aft section, and was a light gray and black color.

On the original Basestar, the gold Leader Centurion stood watching, as the Heavy Raider brought the old style Raider into the landing area. Behind the gold Leader, D'Anna, Gina, and one of the Dorals stood watch as well.

After both craft had landed, the hatch to the Heavy Raider opened, and four of the newer Centurions escorted two of the older model Centurions out.

The older Centurions were the same model as the gold Leader, but both of these Centurions were shiny chrome in color.

The new Centurions walked right up to the gold Leader and paused, mere inches away from him. The gold Leader looked up at the newer models, and his red scanning light roved from left to right, as if staring them down. The newer Centurions returned his stare, and their red scanners moved from side to side, in a "V" pattern, as they gazed at him for a few long seconds. Finally, the two escort Centurions in the front of the group stepped to the side, to reveal the new arrivals to the gold Leader.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONTINUED...

PAN-GALACTIC FLIGHT 840

The view of the civilian fleet and Battlestar Urantia filled the view from the cockpit windows, as the starliner began to slow down, as in front of it, the rest of the fleet continued on, as ship after ship began to slowly pass it.

The usual chatter of flight instructions and comm chatter filled the cockpit, as one of the pilots noticed something from outside, as he turned to the co-pilot.

"Hey... hey... looks like they want to know why we're slowing." he said.

The co-pilot let out a sigh, and nodded, now also looking at the lone Viper from Urantia, heading for the ship. Sure enough, after a second, the Viper fired its thrusters, and held position in front of the liner, facing it, as the Viper pilot called the ship over the comm.

"Pan-Galactic 840, this is Urantia Viper 13... request to know why you've reduced speed?" the pilot asked.

The co-pilot pressed the button to open the channel, as he spoke into his headset, looking out the windows to the Viper.

"Urantia Viper, this is Pan-Galactic 840... there's nothing to worry about... we're just slowing to move alongside one of the Emilonian ships... we have a small situation on board, with our passengers, so we're addressing the problem." he offered.

It took the Viper pilot a second to reply.

"Uh... say again, Pan-Galactic... a situation? What's going on?" the man asked.

"Urantia Viper, it's nothing to worry about... we're moving alongside the Prophet Star, so that some of our passengers can have a change of scenery, and spend some time aboard that ship... stretch their legs." the co-pilot said.

"Why? No prior clearance was giv--" the pilot began, but was cut off by the pilot.

"Urantia Viper, this is the pilot... look, we didn't want to bother the Commander with this, but if you must know... we have been having a real problem with some of our passengers, since we left Emilon." the pilot began.

"Copy that, Pan-Galactic... what kind of problems?" the Viper pilot pressed.

The pilot shared a look with the co-pilot, as the pilot moved to reply.

"To be blunt... most of the people on this ship are going stir-crazy. We've been on the same ships for months... the same surroundings, the same stale air... people are finally starting to feel it... we've had new outbreaks of claustrophobic attacks, and people are finally going stir-crazy... so we are rotating some of the people from the ship, and the Captain of the Prophet Star was kind enough to allow us to bring some of our passengers on his ship for a while. Just a change of scenery for a while." the pilot offered.

Again, there was a break, before the Viper pilot replied.

"Copy that, Pan-Galactic 840... will inform Urantia Actual of new status. Proceed, but maintain radio contact at all times." the Viper pilot said, as now, from the windows, the pilots watched as the Viper came about, and began to slowly escort the ship into formation alongside the Emilonian fleet.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

CIC

Commander Standish slapped down a handful of papers on the command table, as he looked to D'Anna.

"Claustrophobia... people are going stir-crazy, in the civilian fleet." he said.

"It was bound to happen... I'm actually surprised it took this long." she offered. "For months now, we've all been bottled up in the same environment, with no chance to change things... we can't go outside, because outside is space, and any habitable worlds are few and far between. People were bound to crack." she said. "Add to that, the constant threat of a Cylon attack... people are then also on edge, and jumpy... prone to panic."

Standish took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes for a moment, as he looked down to the table, before again looking at D'Anna, as he replaced his glasses.

"The people need something to do... something to divert their focus away from the stays on their ships." he offered.

"But what would that be?" D'Anna asked.

"Indeed." Standish replied. "We'll have to think of something. Otherwise, before too long, other ships in the fleet could have the same problem... and panic could consume the fleet. We can't afford that... we need people who are calm, relaxed, and adjusted... so that we can deal with what we need to deal with in an efficient manner." he said.

TO BE CONTINUED...