Earth at Last
by AJ Marks
Part 7
The wounded Galactica slowly made its way back to the planet called Earth. It suffered quite a bit of damage in the battle, but had survived. The crew had finally gotten the fired under control, but that took quite a bit of effort and time. The lack of a full repair team had hampered the effort. Despite the problems Adama felt proud of the crew and their efforts. Their entire attitude changed when the hope of survival became apparent. They rushed to repair systems, and fight fires.
The vipers that survived were taken aboard the other ships due to damage incurred on the landing bays. It would take some time before the landing bays were operational again.
“Omega, how many ships did we lost?” Adama asked, wondering if that information had been reported yet..
“Don’t know about vipers, but the reports are we lost sixteen ships of the fleet,” Omega replied.
“Sixteen,” Adama whispered to himself. Sixteen ships that were full of people who had trusted him to lead them away from the Cylons. Despite the fact the number was small, he still felt saddened by the number. He also knew that without the help of their new allies, the numbers would have been much worse. He felt slightly relieved at how may had survived. “Have we heard anything else from our allies?”
“Not yet sir,” Omega replied.
“Get in touch and see how many pilots survived,” Adama said, wanting to know that information as well.
“Yes sir,” Omega said, heading over to the monitor to carry out his orders.
Adama wondered how many of his warriors had survived the battle. He knew how bad it would have been without the new allies. He paused, wondering about where they were from. Where they the original inhabitants of the planet called Earth? Were they the thirteenth tribe? That thought brought up another question. Now that they found Earth, should they stay or move on? He had to consider that question carefully especially now that the Cylons had found them again.
“Commander,” Omega said, pulling Adama from his musings.
“Go ahead Omega.”
“They report that thirty-nine of our warriors landed on their ships,” Omega reported back. Adama had expected a far less number to have survived, but it was a testimony of their training and abilities compared to the Cylons. “They’ll be giving us the names in a bit.”
“Okay,” Adama said, knowing that some one hundred and fifty pilots had taken off. Still the Galactica now had around forty-five warriors including the ones who had been kidnapped earlier. With so few there was no way the Galactica could adequately protect the fleet, and add in the fact the Galactica was still heavily damaged it almost seemed to make his decision for him.
He would have to wait to see what type of allies he had upon meeting them. He hoped for a group who were sympathetic to their flight. It appeared they had little choice of what they might do. He also figured he would have to go over to one of their ships, the Galactica was too badly damaged to host visitors.
“Starbuck, I’m glad to see you made it,” Boomer said, as they relaxed inside one of the rooms. Boomer said the ship was called the Bismarck, something Starbuck had not known. He heard that while talking to one of the crewmembers on board.
They had been told that Commander Adama would be coming over to meet with the commander of their allies.
“Wonder how damaged the Galactica is?” Starbuck mused, taking a sip of water.
“Considering the battle it was in, probably quite a bit,” Boomer replied.
“Looks like we’ll be here a while then,” Jolly said, joining in on the conversation.
The group had been allowed in certain areas to relax and unwind from the battle. There were ten warriors from the Galactica on the Bismarck, and the rest were scattered on three other ships. Through communications they learned both Bojay and Sheba also survived the battle, but so many had been lost.
“Heard Commander Adama and Apollo will be aboard soon,’ Starbuck said to the others.
“Then perhaps we can find out more of who they are, and if we’re staying here or moving on,” Boomer said. They all wanted to know the answer to that question. It would determine what they might be doing.
Many of the warriors were concerned about their loved ones and friends. Starbuck had learned the Rising Star survived, but until he actually saw Cassiopeia and his daughter the worry would remain.
Apollo boarded the shuttle along with Arkis and Derkik, and the other warriors who had been kidnapped earlier. Heading off to a warship called the Bismarck, and a meeting with Commander Adama. Arkis mentioned that he would answer any questions during the meeting so he only had to tell the story once.
He thought about how lucky he had been on the way over. Starbuck, Boomer and Sheba managed to survive the battle, even Jolly had as well. He knew some of the friends of blue squadron had been killed in the battle reminding him of before the holocaust and how things were after battles. He had talked with Sheba, learning that Bojay survived as well. From talking briefly with his father he learned how badly damaged the Galactica was. Repairs would be some time and perhaps would require docking her for a while. The fleet had mostly survived, but sixteen ships had been destroyed.
“Captain, everything all right?” Arkis asked, breaking Apollo out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, thinking about it all,” Apollo replied, and somehow Arkis and Derkik seemed to understand.
He looked out seeing the shuttle approach a ship. So this was the Bismarck, it appeared as large, or larger, than the Galactica. He watched as they headed towards a hangar bay, landing a few moments later. Getting out he noticed a few vipers in the hangar, but no shuttle yet.
“We’ve received word that the shuttle from the Galactica is on its way over and should be here shortly,” Arkis said, almost reading Apollo’s mind. “I’m sure you want to see your friends. Ensign troe will show you the way.” Arkis gestured towards a young woman standing near the doorway.
“Thank you,” Apollo said to his hosts.
“We will let you know when the meeting starts,” Arkis said, with a nod towards Troe.
Apollo and the two others of Red squad followed the young ensign down several corridors before coming to a room. Inside Starbuck and Boomer were playing some sort of card game with some crewmembers of the Bismarck.
“You’re not corrupting our hosts, are you?” Apollo asked, seeing the startled look they all gave them.
“Apollo! You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Starbuck said, before looking at the others then back at Apollo. “And I have no idea what you’re talking about. Boomer and I are having fun. They’re introducing us to a game called poker, very much like pyramid.”
“Yeah, okay,” Apollo said, already seeing the wheels turning in his friends mind. “Let me guess, you make bets using money.”
“Is there any other way to play a game?” Starbuck said. “It’s actually very easy.”
“You’ve said that about pyramid as well,” Apollo stated.
“He’s already tried to talk me out of my money,” Boomer said.
They sat down, as the crewmembers of the Bismarck excused themselves.
“So, who are our hosts?” Starbuck asked, once they were all settled down. The others were listening in as well, waiting for the answer.
“Well, I think they are the thirteenth tribe,” Apollo said, watching the group appear slightly shocked. “Commander Adama is on his way over now, you two interested in joining us?”
“You bet,” Starbuck said, excitant in his voice. “I’ve been curious about our hosts for a while now.”
“How soon will he be here?” Boomer asked.
“He’ll had left the Galactica, so however long it takes to fly over here and land,” Apollo answered.
“Ah, Apollo, wondering, I’ve heard that it did, but the Rising Star?” Starbuck said, leaning in closer to Apollo.
“From what I’ve heard, yes,” Apollo said.
Commander Admaa glanced out the viewport of the shuttle and the approaching warship, Bismarck. He noticed it was about the same size as the Galactica, and also appeared designed for space warfare. The outer hull was dotted with laser turrets and other assorted weapon systems and sensors. He wondered how many other ships like this one their new allies had. They might even have enough to fight the Cylons once more.
Another thought entered his mind while looking at the ship. Was the Bismarck the most powerful warship they had? What if they had warships even more powerful? The question rolled around in his head without any answers. It would be something to ask during the meeting, and they might even answer.
The familiar jolt of the shuttle landing brought Adama back to the present. He stood wondering if Apollo would be present for the meeting. Taking a breath he stepped forwards along with a few members of the council who had made it back to the Galactica.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Apollo said to himself.
“You say something Adama?” Uri asked from he stood.
“Nothing important,” Adama replied back to him. They walked out of the shuttle and into the landing bay of the ship. Adama looked around seeing two men standing nearby, one he recognized, having talked to him earlier before coming over. He saw no sign of Apollo or any other warrior.
“Your son is with the other pilots on board the Bismarck, he will join us for the meeting,” the smaller man said to Adama. “I am Lord Arkis, and this is Commander Derkik.”
Adama introduced himself, as did Uri and the others, all part of the Council of Twelve.
“How many of our warriors are on board the Bismarck?” Adama asked, seeing a viper off to the side.
“Ten landed on board, or so I was told. I haven’t seen them myself,” Arkis said. “They landed on four of our warships, we have the names if you wish?”
“Maybe later,” Adama said, wanting to get the meeting underway.
“They are not causing trouble?” Uri asked.
“There have been no problems, your pilots are quite skilled, and brave,” Derkik said, giving a compliment that Adama recognized.
“Thank you, most are veterans and used to fighting the Cylons,” Adama said. “If you and your help had not shown up, we probably would not be here.”
“There are reasons for that, I assure you. After all, to not help, that would have been unthinkable. I only wish we had learned some things a bit quicker,” Arkis said, leaving Adama slightly confused at the attitude. He shared a glance with the others who showed no outer emotions, but Adama noticed they were also confused by the statement. He would have to wait for the meeting to figure out the meaning behind the statement.
“Captain,” a young woman said, causing Apollo to look over.
“Yes,” he said, recognizing the woman as the same one from earlier.
“Lord Arkis said you wished to know when the meeting is about to start,” she said. “I can take you there.”
“Okay, its not a problem if a few others join us?” Apollo asked, looking over at boomer and Starbuck.
“Shouldn’t be captain,” the woman replied back to him.
“Then lead on,” Apollo said, turning to the others. “Ready?”
“Yep,” Starbuck said, as they both stood following the woman out of the room and towards the meeting room.
Adama watched as three of the Galactica’s warriors entered the conference room. He flet someone relieved to see Starbuck and Boomer, along with Apollo. With the losses he was not sure who had survived.
“Come in gentlemen,” Arkis said, motioning for them to have a seat. “We were waiting for you to start.” He watched them sit down before continuing. “I’m sure you have all types of questions about us.”
“Well, we do have some, but the most obvious question, is this Earth?” Adama asked, looking over at Arkis wondering what type of answer he might get.
“Yes, that is the name we called this planet,” Arkis replied. “As to the one you are looking for, I do not know. Much of our history was lost during the wars.”
“What happened?” Adama asked, knowing that some massive war happened due to the reports from the planet’s surface.
“I’ll tell you what I know,” Arkis said. Adama looked over at him and then to Derkik, who seemed interested in what Arkis was about to say.
“You don’t know how it started?” Uri asked.
“Well, sadly, most of our history was destroyed, or rewritten, for political reasons,” Arkis said. “Gaining the truth from the lies is hard to do when the other accounts have been destroyed. And where things conflict, determining what the truth is almost impossible. Because of this we don’t know what happened, only that war broke out between two different factions on Earth. Two separate group of ideologies, who started it we don’t know. We do know it enveloped the entire planet.”
“So, the winner of the war was able to change how the war started,’ Apollo asked.
“Partly captain, both sides did this, blaming the other for the war, therefore we have several reasons for the war,” Arkis said. “But another problem is the amount of time the war lasted. With some information and some educational guesses, we say the war lasted almost a hundred years.”
“Years?” Boomer asked, confused about the term. Adama had heard the time unit before from Apollo and Starbuck and waited.
“Years are a period of time defined as the amount of time that is required for the planet Earth to orbit around the sun,” Derkik explained.
“Similar to a yahren,” Apollo said, as Boomer seemed to understand.
“Then, if the war lasted that long, how long has there been peace,” Adama asked. The reports on the surface indicated the war had been over for some time.
“About fifty years now,” Arkis said.
“Almost a hundred and fifty yahrens,” Adama said, realizing it was not as long as they fought the Cylons, but still a long time for a war. “So, how did the war end?”
“That is the interesting part about war, it never really ended, just faded away,” Arkis said much to the confusion of Adama. “After a while the fighting started die down, and the original sides of the war faded away, or changed over the years due to losses and stress of the war, changing doctrines and such. Neither side was organized like they had been despite technology advancing at a frightening pace. Eventually the war broke down into feuding families and warlords. Finally a strong person came into power developing a new government, an elected dictatorship, of which I am the current dictator.”
“That answers my question of why we need to talk to,” Adama said, wondering how an elected dictatorship worked.
“Do you have the authority to make decisions commander?” Arkis asked.
“I have some authority, both as the commander of the Galactica and as a member of the Council of Twelve,” Adama said.
“We can agree to short term treaties, but anything long term will require discussion in the council,” Uri said.
“I see,” Arkis said, nodding slightly before continuing. “Now, where was I, oh yeah, a new government. With this new government we started we slowly started banding together. We recently finished that process and started recolonizing Earth when you appeared. You and your people are welcome to stay with us.”
“I think we would like that,” Adama said, looking over at the others before continuing. “but with the Cylons so close it makes us nervous.”
“These Cylons are out for the destruction of all of mankind?” Arkis asked.
“Yes,” Uri said. “They have already destroyed our homeworlds, and fought us for a thousand yahrens.”
“A fight to the death, how wonderful,” Derkik said, catching Adama by surprise.
“In due time commander, right now we should work towards helping our guests,” Arkis said, sharing a look with Derkik. “I would like to extend my hospitality to you and your fellow travelers, anyone who wishes to stay here can, we will help in your war.”
“I think even if you don’t stay, we will be involved now,” Derkik said.
Adama had to agree with that thought.
“This will be a difficult discussion,” Uri said. “Some will want to stay, they are tired of running. Others won’t feel safe unless they are running.”
Adama understood that, the same tensions in the fleet which had come up over time. He wondered what type of reactions the people might give if given a choice to stay or move on. He knew he was torn, could they continue running?
“There is the military concern,” Apollo said, speaking up in the meeting.
“Ah yes, we should have enough military craft to defend you at the moment, at least ntil we know more of the enemy’s capabilities,” Derkik said.
“Are you sure, we’ve been fighting them for a while,” Starbuck said.
“Also true, and something we don’t discount,” Arkis said.
“We evaluated the Cylon warships and fighters, our technology is on par with theirs, our fleet is considerable,” Derkik said, almost proud of the fact.
“What the commander is saying, is we have considerable forces, and what you saw was a small part of our military,” Arkis said, causing Adama to wonder how large the fleet was. “My people are spread about several star systems, each with a large military left over from the war. Despite it starting on Earth, it spread across the stars rather quickly.”
“Just how large is your fleet?” Adama asked, curious to know, and wondering if he would be given an answer.
“We have five active fleets, each with over two hundred warships, not including supporting ships,” Arkis said.
“That’s over a thousand ships,” Starbuck whispered as they realized the true number of ships. Adama wondered how much was the truth, and how short the number was from the truth.
“I do hope you and your people will stay and help us recolonize our planet,” Arkis said. “I can promise you the support of our government.”
“We’ll bring it up at the council meeting,” Adama said, looking over at the other two council members. They appeared deep in thought about what they heard. He wondered how things might work between the two groups. There was a lot still to work out, but it seemed the groundwork had been laid out. He felt himself leaning towards staying and helping out his new allies. He briefly wondered what Cain would make of these allies, and how they might react to him.
End Part 7
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