{"id":1801,"date":"2017-01-07T07:15:45","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T13:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1801"},"modified":"2017-01-11T07:41:08","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T13:41:08","slug":"the-uneasy-alliance-part-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1801","title":{"rendered":"The Uneasy Alliance – Part 24"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Uneasy Alliance<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 24<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Adama watched the tanker as it filled with people from the Galactica and would be heading for Earth shortly. He knew the trip would be strange for them despite the fact they had been briefed on what to expect upon arrival on Earth.\u00a0 The place they would arrive at would be full of machines with few humans to greet them.<\/p>\n

Thinking of the humans on the planet caused him to think of something else, or rather someone else, Count Iblis. What did he want this time?\u00a0 What was his goal?\u00a0 Adama knew another confrontation would have to happen between the two of them, almost as if they both knew it would happen when they first met.\u00a0 They never finished sparring with each other, and Adama also thought about the Beings of Light.\u00a0 What was their true objective in all of this?<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander,\u201d Tigh\u2019s voice said interrupting his train of thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s up Tigh?\u201d Adama asked looking over at Tigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure about all of this?\u201d Tigh asked, obviously wondering about Adama\u2019s orders. \u201cWorking with machines, will it really work?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure it will work,\u201d Adama said. \u201cI\u2019ve thought about it for a while, and it needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am,\u201d Adama replied having giving it a lot of thought. \u201cWe need their help more than ever, and they need ours.\u00a0 In a strange way the Cylons have united the two of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019ll do my best,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no doubt there,\u201d Adama said.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

A lone Cylon raider pierced through the clouds on the opposite side of the planet from the machine city looking for the basestar. After several tries they had a crude layout of the planet and where not to go and the raider had instructions to not be spotted.\u00a0 Quickly making its way towards the basestar the pilot had important instructions for the commander.<\/p>\n

Landing on the basestar the centurions made their way to the command room to see the commander and report in.<\/p>\n

\u201cReport centurion,\u201d the basestar commander said awaiting the orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the centurion replied. \u201cCommander Hades states you are to begin your attack on the surface of the planet at your earliest convenience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will do so, but there is a chance we may fail in our attack. The humans on here have developed strong defenses, and the odds are not favorable to surviving the battle,\u201d the commander said.\u00a0 \u201cReport back to Hades and ask if we are to commit fully even with low odds of success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the Centurion replied, and left the room to head back tis basestar and report back to Hades as the basestar prepared for combat upon the return of the raider.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Doctor Wilker watched along with DE as Starbuck made his way over. Wilker had expected everyone to leave, but Starbuck had remained behind as well to be here when the others came back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts incredible, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Wilker said to Starbuck as they both looked on at the massive ship under construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is, I never expected to see something like this again,\u201d Starbuck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd with experience we should be able to construct the ships even faster as well,\u201d DE said shocking them both, including Wilker with the acknowledgement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this rate we\u2019ll have an entire fleet of battlestars ready to strike back at the Cylons,\u201d Starbuck stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but we take a risk doing such a thing,\u201d DE replied back to him. \u201cHumans have been known to be unpredictable when faced with something they do not understand, like sentient machines.\u00a0 Once the Cylon threat is over you could turn on us, as you have done before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the biggest problems,\u201d Wilker sad. \u201cHumans have a fixed lifespan, we grow old and die with little options of how to pass on such knowledge.\u00a0 Friends become foes and foes become friends as memories fade and die.\u201d<\/p>\n

They stood there for several seconds before DE spoke up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand, even some programs in the Matrix have been corrupted with their thinking. It\u2019s something to keep in mind,\u201d it said as they made their way away from the construction yard.<\/p>\n

Wilker watched it leave then turned back to watch the robots work on the battlestar. Their movements were highly coordinated like a finely tuned dance each working on their part yet never getting in each other ways.\u00a0 Sometimes they passed each other within millimeters of each other yet no one stopped moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, is this a modified design?\u201d Starbuck asked as he looked over the construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, how did you know?\u201d Wilker asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seems to be more firepower on the ship, and how did they get this design?\u201d Starbuck asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, yes, I was working on the design while we traveled here. Something of a hobby of mine, never thought it would come in handy.\u00a0 It was really a stroke of luck I brought it along to keep busy,\u201d Wilker said.\u00a0 \u201cIt had improved anti-fighter protection, something I felt the original design lacked especially after the destruction of the fleet.\u00a0 If the battlestars could have defended themselves better the attack might have failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about anti-basestar weapons?\u201d Starbuck asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarries the same anti-basestar weapons as the Galactica. I hadn\u2019t gotten around to looking at those yet despite what happened to the Pegasus,\u201d Wilker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd fuel?\u201d Starbuck asked, as he looked around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the one thing I\u2019ve been thinking about. We need to find a fuel source as its not available on the planet,\u201d Wilker replied.\u00a0 \u201cThough we did think we spotted some fuel on one of the moons in the system, though it will be chilly to extract.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a pleasant experience, and not one I\u2019m going to volunteer for,\u201d Starbuck replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it will be difficult, even with our technology but its something we\u2019ll have to begin doing as soon as possible,\u201d Wilker replied back to him. \u201cWithout fuel building this would be worthless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starbuck was about to reply when another alert sounded through the city causing them both to look up at the sky. Several anxious seconds before the hull of one of the tanker ships broke through the clouds.\u00a0 Wilker had some concerns about its ability to survive the intense storms however his concerns now appeared unfounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it appears the reinforcements are here,\u201d Starbuck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just in time, they\u2019re rapidly completing the ship,\u201d Wilker replied as they looked at the ship then back up as the ship slowly settled down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI guess we have work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Starbuck made his way over to the ship along with several others and noticed Tigh heading out of the ship and looking around.<\/p>\n

\u201cColonel,\u201d Starbuck said greeting him as he noticed the slightly shocked looked DE received from the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarbuck, doctor,\u201d Tigh said to them. \u201cThese are the people we could bring, how close is the ship to completion?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIts roughly 87 percent complete,\u201d DE replied back. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working on it with everything we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see, and you must be DE?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, welcome to Earth,\u201d DE stated as Tigh looked the robot over for a few seconds as the captain of the tanker came out.<\/p>\n

\u201cColonel, what do you need us to do next?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeed to get everyone organized and ready to go,\u201d Tigh said to him then back to DE. \u201cThere was some reports that you will have some additional people?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we\u2019ve been working on it, but I did need to know what areas you needed most,\u201d DE said. \u201cAlso anyone coming out of the Matrix require help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp, in what way?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have never used their muscles, it will take time for them to be able to move adequately,\u201d DE said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, we\u2019ll get together and go over what we have, what we\u2019re missing and get a list of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some who were already taken out in preparation. It\u2019s a matter of learning, which will actually be the easy part,\u201d DE said.<\/p>\n

Starbuck noticed Tigh seemed confused by that when Wilker spoke up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who have been in the Matrix can be hooked up to the machines and have information downloaded into them,\u201d Wilker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDownloaded?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sort of quick learning process where they are hooked back up and the information is put right into their brains, depending on the information it can be very quick,\u201d Wilker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, then we have to work to get them the right information,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

Starbuck wondered how they would do it all, there seemed like a lot of work still involved.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Hades turned seeing the centurions walking into the room after returning from the planet\u2019s surface and contacting the basestar.<\/p>\n

\u201cReport Centurion,\u201d Hades said<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a large city on the planet\u2019s surface, humans appeared connected to it somehow and their numbers are quite staggering, in the billions,\u201d the centurion reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cInform the basestar commander to attack at once, eliminate the humans there,\u201d Hades said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the centurion said turning to carry out the orders.<\/p>\n

Hades now had to wait for information that the basestar had completed its task, until then he had no idea how successful the attack would be.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Tigh looked on as people organized even as he made his way around with DE, Wilker, Starbuck and Apollo to view the new battlestar. He was amazed at how far along it appeared.\u00a0 From his viewpoint it looked complete, but knew it probably had a lot of interior work still to be done.\u00a0 He learned that Wilker had given the machines the blueprint and part of him wondered if it was a wise thing to do, but knew only time would tell about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing, looks complete to me,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there a way we can get on board, start getting it ready?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, this way,\u201d DE replied, leading them off to one side.<\/p>\n

The group headed off and to Tigh it felt strange walking on board a battlestar instead of flying on board. Off to one side he noticed the fuel being set up to be loaded on board.\u00a0 They would need to bring the computers on line, and bring a lot of other things up to make the battlestar operational.\u00a0 He turned to one of the engineers.<\/p>\n

\u201cStart bringing the computers on-line, we\u2019ll need to input the communications as well for later on to communicate with the Galactica,\u201d Tigh said to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll start on it right away,\u201d he replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cStart with the landing bays and bridge,\u201d Tigh said as they walked onto the hangar.<\/p>\n

He looked around seeing a very similar layout even as the crew started making their way on board and heading to their stations to check things out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid I won\u2019t be able to head any further into the ship,\u201d DE said pausing in the hangar as Tigh looked on and realized the problem. The robot was too large for the interior of the ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we need anything else I\u2019ll inform Doctor Wilker,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d DE said. \u201cI must look on the humans we brought out of the Matrix to man the ship, they should be physically ready shortly.\u00a0 I believe the other humans from the Matrix are already on the bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Tigh said unsure what else to say and watched as DE floated out of the hangar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d Tigh asked Starbuck as they turned to head up to the bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks a bit eerie seeing a battlestar fully stocked and no one on board,\u201d Starbuck stated. \u201cGuess I\u2019m used to the crowded Galactica.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tigh had to admit, he was used to it as well, and not running into someone around every corner seemed a bit unnerving now. There were a few people who had rushed on board to carry out their duties while Tigh had taken his time and talked with Wilker and DE.\u00a0 He had been pleasantly surprised by the reception he received and understood why Adama was so eager to work with them.\u00a0 They acted more like humans than robots.\u00a0 For now, he headed to the bridge to see what was going on.<\/p>\n

End part 24<\/p>\n

Continued in part 25<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Uneasy Alliance by AJ Marks Part 24 Adama watched the tanker as it filled with people from the Galactica and would be heading for Earth shortly. He knew the trip would be strange for them despite the fact they had been briefed on what to expect upon arrival on Earth.\u00a0 The place they would […]
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