When Hope Is Lost

A Stargate: Spearhead / Battlestar Galactica 2004 Crossover

By Andrew Seivewright and Jon Harper

Chapter 1

Stranger's in a strange land

)) Day T–minus 104 ((

)) 11th April, 2031 A.D ((

)) Somewhere in deep space… ((

Captain Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace gave a mild grunt of dissatisfaction as her Viper's secondary scanner array suddenly, without warning, dropped offline. A year ago, she would have been cursing her crew chief, hitting the console and raging at the universe in general but now, all she could seem to summon up was a mild curse. She wished she could put it down to wisdom, experience and the mindset of her rank but in reality, it was simply due to extreme fatigue.

The Cylons had been pursuing the Galactica and the Colonial Remnant for over three years. Three long, hard years, with little respite. Though the last Cylon engagment had been nearly three months ago, the Galactica was beginning to come to the end of her operational endurance. A shudder passed through Kara as she thought about the state of the drives of the rest of the fleet. With only two exceptions, they all were of civilian manufacture and had neither the built-in redundancies of military vessels, nor the effective range.

The Colonial Remnant had covered nearly 50,000 light years which was far, far beyond the conceivable operational range of an Class III Endurance-type Battlestar, such as the old Bellerophon. That the Galactica, a Class II Line-type Battlestar, had lasted this long was a testamant to its construction. The fact that only eight of the civilian vessels had been abandoned due to unworthiness was an even more amazing.

But, as she reflected tiredly, the Fleet finally had seemed to reach the end of their limits. With over a dozen vessels on the verge of failure, Commander Adama was looking for a habitable planet where they could rest up for a while, to restock the food supplies and, hopefully, do a little mining for much needed fusion ores and metals for even more needed repairs.

"Problems, Captain?" Lt Anu 'Swiftsure' Reed called out over the comm.

Starbuck glanced out to her right and saw her wingman's Viper fly straight and steady less than twenty metres away. The spacing between the two fighters was incredibly tight considering the vastness of space but on these long range patrols, things could get kinda lonely and having company in visual range was more than a little comforting.

"Frackin' secondary scanners just went offline." She replied calmly.

"Huh." Swiftsure replied with a grunt. "Mine went a week ago. I'm told by Logistics that 'the Fleet lacks enough parts to repair everything' and as long as we have primary systems, everything else is on hold."

It was Starbuck's turn to grunt now since Swiftsure hadn't told anything she didn't already know. Looking back down into her Viper's cockpit she started punching keys and rerouted extra power to the primary sensors to compensate for the lack of secondaries. Almost immediately, she was rewarded by a faint blip right of the edge of her sensors, nearly thirty light years away.

"I got something." She announced. "Faint energy signature, bearing 064, attitude 021!"

"Copy, Lead." Swiftsure replied tightly. Though the Fleet had not heard a peep out of the Cylons for three months, everyone nervously awaited their return. "Doesn't look Cylon." He added, sounding not one bit less suspicious.

"Yeah." Her eyes widened slightly as the computer's analysis finished and a small line of text flashed up on her screen. "Anu, I'm getting a Code 46 from the computer."

"What!" Swiftsure exclaimed in surprise. A Code 46 was a relatively recent addition to the Colonial Warriors's booked of procedures that stated the pilot was to, unless facing certain death, discontinue current activities and investigate whatever had instigated the code's activation.

Starbuck continued to read the computer's continuing analysis. "Apparently the signal's near identical to that which was discovered in those ruins we found on that world we stopped at…what? Five months ago?"

Inside is cockpit, Swiftsure shook his head. "I was laid up in the Infirmary with the flu. Never saw the surface."

Starbuck smiled wryly as she reefed her Viper into a tight turn, putting them both on a course for the distant signal. "Pretty impressive for a bunch of rocks. Seems that they were made of a mineral no one had ever seen before. One of the pieces Baltar brought back practically sent a bunch of the scientist-types hyperlight all by themselves. The ruins were kinda creepy tho'. Haunted."

"I guess that's why they tagged a Code to the stuff." Swiftsure commented after a bit. "Ready for hyperlight, Captain."

Starbuck was silent for a moment. "Acknowledged. Hyperlight in three…two…one." Her hand closed around the drive controls and sent her fighter faster than the speed of light while, pinning her firmly back into her seat and making her guts twist with nausea as, her mind detached itself from these feelings and drifted back to that bright afternoon on a strange world where, sillouhetted against the intense white sun, stood the remains of a massive ring of stone.

Five Months Previously

"I want the harvested grain and fresh water on the next wave out. The fruit and veg can wait. We've got some hungry people up there, folks. We survived the Cylons and I'll be damned if a little thing like starvation will kill us!"

Major Talo Sung, Head of Fleet Logisitics, glared balefully at the drafted workers as they lugged containers of badly needed food towards the waiting cargo lifters. He had been one of the first people to be sent down to the planet once scans from orbit had revealed a lush, virgin world full of plant life.

Science teams from the Celestra had performed a hasty but detailed bio-survey and deemed many plant-forms nutritious and, thanks to one impetuous worker, tasty even. Workers, drafted from across the Remnant, had been deployed to gather whatever plant-life the bio-science team had deemed safe and it seemed like the Fleet would be able to survive a little longer.

Sung shook his head when he thought about the need to scavenge for food. They could travel the stars faster than light, yet they had to stop to strip planets of anything edible. 'I bet the Cylons don't have to stop for anything.' He thought sourly.

The survey had been on the verge of wrapping up when they hit the jackpot. A survey team, led by Gaius Baltar was investigating a strange, faint signal coming from the equator. They arrived at the signal's location to find a handful of ruins. It had appeared to have been a village or small town, pre-industrial, but completely deserted. The damage looked fairly recent.

Almost immediately, Baltar's science team was doing handstands over finding, among the village buildings, a shatted monument, the remains of a ring-like structure, covered in symbols, made from a previously unseen material that combined the better properties of stone and metal with a few twists of its own. And the stone was OLD, far older than the buildings around it though it HAD been destroyed at the same time, and very recently if the analysis was correct. That little fact had made Adama go to full combat alert, even though the weapon signatures didn't match anything used by the Cylons seen so far.

A little more investigation into the surrounding area, however, revealed the real prize in Sung's eyes, several large, overgrown fields, where all kinds of crops had been planted and left unharvested.

A fair amount of crop was overripe but the vast percentage of it was salvageable. It also allowed the hydroponics division to harvest new seed stock that would effectively triple their available output, which was pitifully low since the Cylon attack didn't exactly allow them to take on vital supplies for a one way trip from the base of support.

The find had given the Colonials a better foundation for a long-term future. Sung, the headache of shifting tonnes of food into orbit finally beginning to recede, left the airfield and headed over towards the encampment amongst the ruins.

The harsh afternoon sunlight washed over everything as he saw handful of colonial warrior stood silently before the strange monument, amidst the hurried activity of Baltar's scientists. Sung smiled. The scientists were barely looking at the edifice with their eyes, preferring to admire its beauty though their scientific instruments. The colonial warriors ignored the excited chatter of the scientists and instead, lost themselves in the strange beauty of the ancient artefact, whose remaining symbols corresponded with lines from the ancient scrolls of Kobol.

)) Combat Information Centre, Battlestar Galactica ((

"Commander Adama?"

Adama, commander of the last Battlestar and weary protector of the Remnant of the Twelve Colonies of Man, turned to face the young Ensign at the communications station. "Yes?"

The ensign's painfully young face was marred by dark circles under hers eyes, the exhaustion of the continuous stress and long hours having taken their toll. "Commander, I'm picking up a communication from Captain Thrace, sir. They diverted from their patrol to investigate a energy signature. The report has a Code 46 attached to it.'

Adama glanced at Colonel Tigh with a raised eyebrow. The taciturn Colonel managed a shrug without seeming to even move his shoulders.

The Code 46 had been Baltar's idea though neither man had any expectation of it really amounting to anything. Adama had no real reason to say no and so had implemented it and added it to the existing 45 command protocols.

"Location of the energy signature?" Adama asked curiously.

The ensign tapped her controls and gestured towards the primary navigation display. "A type-III star system, fifty two light years spinward from our position."

Colonel Tigh grunted. "Not exactly out of our way."

Adama smiled. That would be the extent of the old warhorse's enthusiasm for investigating the signal. He turned to the status board. He scanned the readiness states of the various ships in the fleet. With the exception of a single red light, the other ships were showing green. Adama glared at the red light that represented the 'Harvest Dream', a RO/RO compact freighter that used to run punji rice and grain between the colonies before escaping the slaughter.

"What's wrong with the Dream?" He demanded. He bit back from saying again but everyone heard it anyway.

"Her hyperlight drive's fine for once. It's her inertial compensators this time around." Captain Gaeta at the Fleet Operations station reported. "They overheated on the last jump and an engineering crew was taking the down time to overhaul them." He shook his head. "It's gonna be at least an hour before they're complete."

Colonel Tigh's face reddened with anger. "You get on the horn to that crew and tell them they'll be done in a third of that time or I'll shuttle over there myself and by the time I'm done, they'll only be good for painting the hull of the Galactica!"

Adama nodded in agreement and began to address the entire CIC staff. "People, it may have been three months ago since the last contact with the Cylons but if anyone thinks they've given up then they're plain deluded. If the Cylons attacked now, we would have no choice but to abandon the Harvest Dream, the people on board and all the food its carrying. We're still tired and we need a break but pass the word to all the people below you. If something prevents the Fleet from making a jump immediately, at any time, day or night, you do not sleep until that problem gets fixed! Is that clear?"

Heads nodded round the room.

Adama turned to Gaeta once more. "Tell the engineering crew to expedite repairs. I want to be able to hyperlight within thirty minutes."

"Aye, sir." The captain replied.

As everyone returned to their jobs, Adama turned to Tigh. "Start keeping a closer eye on the Fleet's status. I didn't realise how sloppy we were beginning to get. This Code 46 may turn out to be a whole lot of nothing but at the very least, it's given us a wake up call." Adama shook his head with weary amazement. "An hour…"

"Hey, Ty? You in here?" Lieutenant Commander Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii called out in the container-filled chamber of Storage Unit 12.

A muffled reply came from her left. She smiled wryly and made her way gingerly past a precariously piled stack of containers and towards the sudden sounds of cursing.

"OW! Crap! Goddamn stupid piece of sh…hey, Boomer!" Master Chief Tyrol greeted her as she stepped from behind a tall array of shelving units. He was sucking his finger furiously.

"What's going on?" She asked, an amused smile on her face.

Tyrol sighed heavily. "I burned out the last flow regulator this morning. I was hoping to find a power feed adjuster that I could rig to work as a flow regulator."

A novel if unorthodox, and typically 'Tyrol' solution, she thought. "So what's the problem?"

"We appear to have run out of power feed adjusters as well. The Quartermaster swears on his firstborn that there's at least six around here but I've been searching for almost an hour and all I've got to show for it is a busted finger."

The forlorn and frustrated expression on Tyrol's face was just too cute for words so Boomer simply stepped over to him and kissed him soundly.

Caught off guard by the sudden show of affection, Tyrol quickly regained his balance and deepened the kiss with enthusiasm. Several moments later, they separated breathlessly.

"You're in a good mood." Tyrol gasped when he felt steady enough to speak.

Boomer smiled coyly. "I just finished an easy shift and I haven't seen my man in a while."

Tyrol grinned inanely. "Well, we'll just have to see if you can get seen as soon as possible."

"Oh purr-leeezze, will you two just screw each other already!"

The two lover's heads whipped round to see the amused face of Petty Officer Cally, leaning against the wall, a complex-looking bit of equipment in one of her hands.

Looking slightly embarrassed, Tyrol smiled at the young woman. "I'll assume you're not after a peepshow, Cally, so what can we do for you?"

Cally shook her head with mild exasperation, suppressing her own reflexive blush. "Tigh's on the warpath. Apparently, Starbuck and Swiftsure found something and Adama wanted to go hyperlight to check it out but some engineering pukes didn't have their shit together and we couldn't make the jump."

Tyrol winced with mild sympathy for the engineering team in question. "There but for the grace of Kobol…"

"Exactly." The younger woman offered. "Tigh's going round the Galactica, tearing strips from the departments heads just on principle, I think, so I figured I'd better come and give you a heads up and cover for you while you get into body armour or something."

"He's not that bad!" Boomer protested. "He's more like a teddy bear, most days. He growls a lot but it only makes him cuter."

Tyrol turned to stare at his girl as Cally's eyes widened. "Chief, you'd better fix Boomer quickly. She's obviously an innocent, a little delusional and clearly a danger to others if she calls Tigh a teddy bear while there are witnesses."

Boomer didn't know whether to be amused, shocked or outraged and her face was an interesting mixture of all three but when Tyrol started to chuckle, she relaxed with a grin and then began to laugh herself.

The wall mounted speaker crackled to life.

MASTER CHIEF, REPORT TO OBSERVATION, MASTER CHIEF, REPORT TO OBSERVATION!

Cally sighed. "Nice knowing you, Chief."

Tyrol frowned at his young protégé. "Thanks a lot, Cally."

As she headed towards the door, Cally paused with a grin. "Oh, if Tigh does turn out to be a teddy bear, ask him if he want's to be the Galactica's mascot."

As the young PO skipped out the stores room, Tyrol chuckled as he kissed Boomer on the cheek in parting.

"What's funny?" She asked.

"Ignoring the whole teddy bear thing," Tyrol replied with a smile. "Tigh really is the ideal mascot for a warship." And he left her alone in the stores.

Boomer stood amongst the dwindling supply of spare parts, looking thoughtful. "Tigh? A warship? I don't see it, guys!" She called out after them.

)) Planet IV, System 2195-4212B ((

"Energy signature just spiked." Swiftsure announced excitedly as the flight of two Viper's flew hard and fast in-system. That last hyperlight jump brought them into normal space, well inside the inner system after pausing at the asteroid belt to perform a more intensive scan of the system. The past seven years had managed to teach Starbuck a modicum of caution.

"I got it." Starbuck replied. "Went up by nearly a thousand percent." The scans hadn't revealed any ships or spaceborne activity of any kind. Just the same energy signature that had, until now, appeared to remain at a consistent level.

"That's one hellacious energy output!" Swiftsure added, suddenly more than a little nervous. "Are you sure it's not Cylon?"

"Yep." She replied. "And it's definitely coming from the southern continent." Starbuck reported. "Picking up signs of civilisation. Roads, cities. No major lifeforms though. Zero activity."

"We going in? Those craters look suspiciously like orbital weapon fire." Swiftsure asked curiously, referring to his computer display that revealed ominous craters that dotted the landscape. Their glassy surface was a tell-tale sign of high energy impacts. "Galactica should be on her way by now."

Starbuck shook her head. "If they received our signal, they should have been here twenty minutes ago. They're probably stuck playing mother hen for the duration."

"So we go down?" Swift asked again.

Starbuck smiled in anticipation. "We go down."

Her Viper bucked and shuddered as it punched through the atmosphere but it was over before it barely had a chance to begin. With Swiftsure in extended formation, about a mile out on her wing, she blasted through the cloud layer and, seconds later, the thick cloud parted and she was confronted with a riot of different shades of green. Grasslands, jungle and forest, the planet seemed to be alive but unkempt. On the horizon, her eagle eyes could make out the stub-like foundations of the ruined city from where the energy signature was emanating.

In less than a minute, their Viper's were orbiting the ruined city, looking for a place to set down. The city was very geometric, laid out in precise grids and blocks, with only the occasional angled road cutting through the neatly organised squares. Rubble and burnt-out shells of vehicles dotted the city, stumps of dead trees lined the roads and walkways. Despite the devastation, the two pilots could easily imagine a beautiful, thriving city.

Swiftsure spotted a stretch of clear road that was good enough for a rough runway. "I got us a strip!"

Streaking between the shattered buildings, they swooped down low, bouncing across the road before coming to a stop, less than a kilometre from the energy signature.

As she popped the canopy, the planet's fresh air assaulted her senses. The canned air of the Galactica simply couldn't compare and though it would be a dark day in hell before she admitted it to anyone, the first breath of a planet's fresh air after a tour of duty onboard a ship was always a secret pleasure of hers. Taking a precious few seconds to absorb her new environment, she finally sighed and began to unstrap herself from her seat. With an ease borne of long practice, she climbed out of the cockpit and, lacking a convenient staircase, dropped to the ground. As she stood up and took in her surroundings, the silence of the city become immediately oppressive.

"No reaction to our landing." Swiftsure commented quietly as he made his way over to her. The buildings, or what remained of them, were essentially square towers of metal and stone. Holes had been punched into the walls and ground eveywhere. "Looks like there was a major battle here."

Starbuck shook her head. Her hand not far from her blaster strapped to her thigh. "I don't think anyone's been here for a long time." Pulling a palm computer from a pocket, she consulted its readings. "That way." She pointed towards a low cluster of buildings that seemed to surround a wide, open plaza.

Walking at a steady pace, they constantly scanned their surroundings. The only sound was the wind and the occasional birds squawking. They both found this sound oddly comforting. In less than ten minutes, they found themselves standing in the plaza.

Starbuck's palm computer was scrolling data about the location of the energy signature but she didn't need to read it. For in the centre of the plaza, in front of a strange pedestal with a red crystal at the centre, stood a familiar sight. A massive stone ring, almost exactly like the one she saw previously but this time, it appeared wholly intact. Angular crystals were embedded around its circumference and strange symbols adorned it. Baltar had managed to find a handful of intact signals from the previous ruins but apparently lacked enough of a sample set to make any progress decoding their meanings.

"Captain?" Swiftsure breathed out in awe. "What is it?"

"Hell if I know, lieutenant." She replied. "But it looks like it's in one piece. That's more than enough to give our illustrious Baltar a kick in the pants. Can't wait to see him bounce off the roof."

Reluctantly pulling her eyes away from the magnificent sight of the ring, she noticed a small vehicle sat nearby. She frowned as something about it sent warning bells ringing.

"Swiftsure, what do you make of that little truck?" She asked quietly, never taking her eyes off the small six-wheeled machine.

Swiftsure turned in the direction of Starbuck's gaze, saw the vehicle and shrugged. One of the native vehicles without it's panels?" he wondered, referring to the small machine's stark appearance. Compact, rugged and tough looking, it had a set of gripping appendages and scanning devices.

That was when she realised what had been bothering her. "It's not damaged!" She exclaimed to the other pilot. "Everything else we've seen here so far looks like it went five rounds with a Cylon battlegroup. That thing looks untouched! It doesn't even look weathered."

Swiftsure was no idiot. "So it's a recent addition. Question is, how did it get here?"

Starbuck said nothing but her eyes kept glancing between the machine, the pedestal and the ring. It was all too obvious and the idea was scaring the hell out of her.

Swiftsure, seeing what she was looking at realised what she was suggesting in her mind. "No way!"

Shrugging helplessly, Starbuck waved her hand at the ring. "Look at the ramp. The damn thing's set up like a gateway to some place!"

As if on cue, the massive ring whirred to life. A second ring, set into the outer ring began to rotate and before it had even got started, it stopped and the first crystal on the ring glowed with inner energy. The ring began to turn once more before suddenly stopping and allowing another crystal to activate.

"Aw hell!" Starbuck cried out, simultaneously pulling her pistol and training it on the ring as well as pushing Swiftsure towards a nearby overturned derelict transport. "Take cover!"

They reached the wrecked transport just as the last crystal activated. The ring made a strange 'whirrring' sound before silver water seemed to fill the space inside the ring and then exploded outwards.

The two pilots cried out in shock but the explosion of silver water retreated just as quickly and settled into a weird sort of vertical, shimmering pool of light.

"What the….?" Starbuck whispered in awe. She wished Apollo was here to see this. Though he gotten kinda stiff as he got older, as a kid, he used to love strange new things. The stranger, the better, she thought wryly.

The pool of light rippled intensely and, quite unexpectedly, two figures that looked disturbingly Cylon-like emerged from the gateway. Each carrying wicked looking rifles, they stepped down to the bottom of the ramp and then spent several moments studying the surrounding area intently. Despite their machine-like appearance, they were unlike any Cylon she had ever seen before and they lacked the most recognisable Cylon feature, the slit eye with its unnerving side-to-side scanning element. These new figures had a blue slit eye and moved much more fluid movement than the usual Cyon war machines, suggestive of something biologic beneath all that metal.

Starbuck held her breath and hoped beyond hope that they weren't Cylons and that they wouldn't see her.

As if the very thought was a signal flare, both armoured warriors turned to look right at her.

Her grip tightened on her weapon as she waited for them to make their next move. She heard Swiftsure give a vile curse when the two figures began to walk towards them. "Hose 'em!" She cried out and began firing her pistol in earnest.

Caught by surprise, the two unknowns made no movement to evade the shots.

What happened next would have caused even Apollo's famous stoicism to wilt somewhat, as the volley of explosive tipped projectile rounds slammed unerringly into the chest of both figures and achieved precisely nothing. The rounds simply richocheted off with firefly sparks.

No scorch marks, no dents, no nothing. That frightened her even more for those penetrator rounds would have been enough to put down a Type 4 Cylon war droid. Despite their apparent immunity, the two armoured warriors ran for cover, one taking up position behind the crystal pedastal in front of the stone ring and the other ran behind the six-wheeled vehicle.

"Frack!" She cursed. "Swiftsure, we've got to warn the Galactica! You make a run for your Viper, I'll cover you."

The other pilot, not happy about running, was disciplined enough to immediately obey orders. He passed her his spare blaster magazine and readied himself for a sprint away from the fight.

"Watch yourself, Starbuck." He replied softly.

Starbuck nodded with a reckless grin that only made her face seem years younger.

With one last wave, Swiftsure gritted he teeth and began to run to the nearest exit from the plaza. Starbuck turned back to her position at the edge of the overturned transport and fired her pistol furiously at the two figures who, though not hurt, had at last stopped advancing on her position.

Once more, her blaster bolts slammed into her targets for precisely no effect. To her horror, one of the figures smoothly raised his rifle towards the still running Swiftsure. The long rifle tracked his progress smoothly despite her blaster bolts hitting his side and with a bare second's hesitation, the stranger fired a pulse of energy into his back.

"NOOO!" Starbuck screamed as Swiftsure's body arched with apparent pain and tumbled lifelessly to the ground. She had lost another pilot! She fired her blaster with renewed anger at the killer of her friend. Unfortunately, as she focussed on him, his friend had moved quickly around the other side of the overturned transport.

She caught the motion of his arrival out of the corner of her eye and though she reacted quickly, she couldn't bring her weapon around fast enough. A bolt of energy flew from her attacker's rifle and slammed straight into her chest. A sudden warmth suffused her body and as the darkness overcame her, her only thoughts were that of Apollo and the Galactica.

)) Presidential Suite, Colonial One ((

PLEASE PREPARE FOR HYPERLIGHT TRANSITION!

President Laura Roslin smiled at her long time aide, Billy Keikeya. He had managed to make it back to Colonial One before Adama made the jump to yet another new system. His face was lit with joy after seeing his wife, Chief Petty Officer Dualla, if only for a short while.

"How is she, Billy?"

Billy smiled broadly. "Good ma'am. And getting bigger everyday, though I hesitate to mention it."

"Wise of you." Roslin replied dryly. "What do you make of this Code 46 business Baltar has gotten us into?"

Billy frowned in thought. "Baltar's a certified genius and the rest of the science staff are no slouches either. If they think something is worth our attention, we should probably pay attention."

Roslin smiled. "Very good. And don't forget the boredom factor, either. Our people need to be kept interested in life. Exposed to new things. Motivated. It's all to easily to keep running from the Cylons, or to keep searching for the Thirteenth Tribe and accept that as our lot. A lot of the Remnant don't believe in the possibility of finding Earth. After so much time, finding a habitable world and settling down is fast becoming an attractive proposition." She shook her head. "There's more to life than the necessities and anything we can do to provide that extra spice is well worth doing." The bittersweetness of her words reached out like a familiar friend. Her cancer, while slow in its advancement, was advancing and it's unescapable death sentence made her remaining years all the more vivid.

"Yes, ma'am." Her aide replied with a quiet smile, unaware of her thoughts. The President never stopped teaching. Then he frowned slightly. "Do you believe we'll find Earth?" Billy was one of the few people to know that Adama was using Earth as a reason to give the Remnant meaning, without holding out any hope of actually finding it.

Roslin shook her head, pulling aware from the mental rut she occasionally found herself slipping into. "I just don't know, Billy. The 'evidence' in the Histories, the prophecies, the hints…it all points to something but we've been travelling so long…" She sighed. "Regardless, we can't stop to colonise a new world, not with the threat of the Cylons still over us. It's been three months but I don't think they've given up, do you?"

It was Billy's turn to shake his head.

The President grimaced. "Neither do I. And neither does Adama and that means we go on."

ATTENTION. HYPERLIGHT IN THREE…TWO…ONE…NOW!

)) Planet IV, System 2195-4212B ((

Starbuck groaned as the dull pounding in her head rouse her from a sound sleep. SLEEP? I SHOULD BE DEAD! The thought made her eyes fly open. The intense sunshine instantly made her regret the rash maneuver as the pain behind her eyes doubled.

"Hurt's like a sonofabitch, don't it?" A voice commented wryly somewhere to her left.

Raising a hand to shade her sensitive eyes from the blast, she squinted and made out one the armoured figures squatting next to her. Her heart suddenly started to race in panic but as she looked up, her gaze wasn't met by the cold, merciless visage of a Cylon but by that of a sandy haired kid, probably no older than twenty-five years old.

Her confusion must have showed plainly on her face for the stranger smiled wryly. "Not what you were expecting, huh?"

Starbuck shook her head in confusion. Human? Then another thought occurred to her. "Swiftsure! You killed him!"

The young man in the armour frowned in confusion. "Your friend? He's over there, just waking up, like you."

Starbuck turned her head in the direction of the stranger's gaze and saw Swiftsure, alive and well, being helped to a sitting position by the other armoured trooper. His helmet too, had vanished to reveal the head of a man with skin so dark it was almost black.

"Who are you people?" She asked tightly. The pain behind her eyes wasn't exactly conducive to diplomatic niceties.

Fortunately, the other man seemed to understand, though he wasn't taking any chances. She noticed he still kept his hand firmly on his rifle and, though not pointed in her direction, he could shoot her once more with very little effort. He opened his mouth to repy when a new voice, strident and demanding, called out from towards the stone circle.

"Lieutenant Reese! I must protest this high handed action against the natives!"

Starbuck grinned slightly as the sandy haired man, who she presumed was Lt Reese, sighed and rose from his squat reluctantly to face the newcomer. Pushing herself up to a sitting position to see who else had arrived, she felt reassured that these newcomers had their fair share of pompous fools. It made them seem a lot more 'human'.

In front of the stone ring and it's liquid, shimmering surface, she saw a group of five humans and two more armoured troopers carrying exotic rifles. The man whose voice she had heard a moment ago was heading towards them with a determination that made it seem as if nothing on the planet would stop him once he had decided to go somewhere. Kitted out in a long overcoat that covered a utility suit of some sort that, in turn, carried an assortment of tools and equipment.

"Professor Soames, you know quite well these aren't natives, or anything of the sort. The previous SG team to scout this planet clearly proved it was long abandoned." Lt Reese replied exasperatedly.

The Professor was barely unperturbed by the soldier's logical rebuttal. "That is neither here nor there, Lieutenant. I simply do not think it is appropriate to simply exit the Stargate and begin to shoot anything that moves."

Starbuck heard the word 'Stargate' and filed away the name for future reference. Still sitting on the sun-warmed stones of the plaza, Starbuck decided to enter the conversation. "We shot first."

Taken aback, Professor Soames stared down at her like some sort of bug and Starbuck realised that whatever he was a professor of, it wasn't philanthropy. Whatever concerns he had about Reese's attack upon her rested solely up whatever he could use as ammunition in was appeared to be a clash of wills.

"You fired upon Lt. Reese?" Soames asked with a curious expression, as if he couldn't decide whether to hang her or give her a medal.

Starbuck smiled somewhat sheepishly. "I thought he was a Cylon."

"A what?" Reese asked, his face blank of any recognition of the name.

Starbuck felt a cold breeze blow though her. "Cylons? Unstoppable killing machines? You know, destroyer of the Twelve Colonies of Man!" At there continuing blank expressions, she sighed in resignation. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

The two men shook their heads. "Young lady, we come from the Alliance. Of which, you are on the outer reaches. Our exploration teams found this world several weeks ago and the clear signs of Goa'uld invasion demanded a more intensive survey. We're here to perform that survey. You are a complete surprise to us."

Reese smiled wryly. "More for some than others." He said, brushing absently at his chestplate.

Starbuck winced slightly at the obvious reference to the volley of shots she had sent his way. "Sorry about that." She mumbled.

"No harm, no foul." Reese replied amiably. "Tell me more about these Cylons." He requested firmly.

Starbuck opened her mouth to reply when a strident beeping from her belt caught everyone's attention. She smiled as she reached for her belt and pulled a small electronic device. She punched a quick code into the small keypad on the front of the unit and raised it to her mouth. "Starbuck here."

A firm, commanding voice issued forth from the radio. "Starbuck, this is Apollo. I'm less than a minute from atmosphere. Where are you?"

Starbuck rolled her eyes at the strangers. "I'm at the same location as the energy signature. Lock in on my Viper and you'll find a place to set down."

"Acknowledged." He replied tersely. "How's the leg?"

Starbuck hoped the sudden tenseness she felt didn't show outwardly as she replied casually, trying hard not to glance at the strangers. "I'm still getting twinges. It'll probably ease up with some more exercise but if you bring some more cream, I'd feel more comfortable."

"Roger that, Starbuck. See you in ten. Apollo, out."

Starbuck put her communicator away and, schooling her expression into a neutral mask, she turned back to her captors.

"Your superior?" Reese probed gently.

The Colonial woman frowned. Though they obviously hadn't killed her and Swiftsure, she still didn't know about their intentions. They looked human enough but that didn't mean squat with the advanced technical abilities of the Cylons.

Recognising the sudden reluctance of the woman to reveal any more information, Lt Reese simply smiled knowingly and turned to on of his squad. "Higgins, fire up the 'Gate. I need to talk to base."

"Hold on, sergeant." Professor Soames countermanded. "What are your intentions, Lieutenant?"

Reese simply smiled. "We're scrubbing the survey, Professor. You're going home."

"What?" The other man sputtered.

Starbuck watched with amusment as the two men argued furiously for the next five minutes.

"This city's not going anywhere, Professor." The Lieutenant replied with sudden finality and gestured towards Starbuck. "We have a First Contact situation and that's not your field and way above my pay grade. Hence, we phone home."

The Professors heated reply was halted by Reese's sudden raised hand and a curios expression.

"We're being scanned." He stated as his armour began to beep furiously, eyes scanning the surrounding buildings for the source of the scan. Any reply was overshadowed by the squadron of Viper's that streaked low overhead in a deafening crash of sonic booms.

As everyone staggered from the almost physical impact of the shockwaves, Colonial Warriors, heavily armed and in body armour, appeared from several approaches around the plaza, weapons drawn. Two Raptors suddenly popped up from behind the wrecked remains of a skyscraper, weapons armed and locked on the small group of strangers, their approach having been masked by the buildings.

Despite the sudden appearance of dozens of armed troops and air support, Lt Reese and his men reacted with speed, diving for cover as they deployed their helmets and raised their rifles, ready to return fire. Soames reacted with more sense than Starbuck would have given him credit for as he and the other scientists dived for the floor but she barely had time for the thought as Reese slammed into her, dragging her to the floor near to the overturned wrecked vehicle they had used for cover previously. He had his weapon aimed at her threateningly.

"We're surrounded, LT." Sgt Higgins called out gruffly.

Reese nodded with studied calm. Their hand weapons were no match for his armour and he doubted their bigger weapons could do all that much either though there was the air support and the fact that Soames and his team weren't armoured!

"Call your people off!" He ordered Starbuck harshly. "We're not here to fight and I don't want to kill your people!"

Starbuck shook her head with mild shock. She knew Apollo would be worried about her but she'd told him in code that though she these people were a mystery, they weren't an immediately threat to the Remnant. She couldn't understand why he'd prepared a full assault to recover her.

"Release our people, Cylon!" A powerful male voice rang out in the sudden silence of the plaza.

Reese frowned, bewildered. "What the hell's a Cylon?" He muttered in frustration and turned to Starbuck. "Contact your Boss. Call him off. We only want to talk!"

Starbuck nodded, unsure whether Apollo would listen to her. Something must have seriously spooked him if he was reacting like this. She was starting to think these strangers might be Cylons after all.

"Apollo?" She said into her communication device.

"Starbuck, are you alright?" Apollo replied concernedly.

The woman nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "I'm fine. Lee, what the hell are you doing? These people just want to talk."

Apollo's voice sounded grimmer than usual. "I pulled a deep scan, to see who we were dealing with. They're infested with machines, Kara! These must be an older model or something 'cause we spotted them right off."

Starbuck stared at Lt Reese with rising horror. Reese, on the other hand, frowned with confusion. "I don't know who you think we are but we only want to talk. Pull your men back and let's meet."

"Did you get that?" She added.

"Yeah." Apollo replied flatly. "Okay. Starbuck, you and the Cylon come out slowly. I'll meet you in the middle. No weapons."

"No weapons." Reese agreed.

Taking a deep breath, Starbuck stood up slowly. Looking around, she recognised her fellow warriors tense and set expressions. Reese gestured for her to go first and she, slowly, stepped out from behind cover and walked towards Apollo who too, had begun to walk from his position behind a crumbling wall at the edge of the plaza.

Silently, they closed the distance. The only sounds were the wind and the whine of the two covering Raptor's engines as they hovered in the distance, their weapons tracking everything.

Meeting in the open space between the two forces, hands held loosely at their sides, Lt Reese studied the other man called Apollo intently. While the Alliance soldier's questing gaze was open but wary, the Colonial Warrior's tightly controlled expression barely masked his hatred.

"Are you okay, Starbuck?" Apollo asked tightly.

Starbuck nodded jerkily. Her old friend was wound tight. "These people don't act like Cylons, Lee…"

"You haven't seen the bio-scans from the Raptors. Their bodies are full of microscopic machines. A couple of those soldiers even have mechanical implants." He spat back in disgust.

Starbuck suppressed a shudder and turned to Lt Reese, her face dark suddenly dark with anger. How could she have misjudged him so? "Why didn't you kill us when you had the chance, Cylon?"

Lt Reese frowned at the sudden turnabout in the other woman's emotions. "Look, I don't know who or what these Cylons are but I'm pretty sure I ain't one! The machines in my body are Alliance standard nano-meds. They increase my body's natural abilities. Speed, endurance, healing. Kinda handy for a soldier to have, ya know?"

"So you choose to debase yourself! What about the mechanical implants?" Apollo sneered, glaring at the two soldiers in the distance as if, at any moment, they would rip their skin off to reveal a Cylon underneath.

Reese shrugged. "We can regrow limbs easy enough but sometimes a person might opt for a bio-technic implant. Usually military-types do it but sometimes a civilian will choose a bio-technic. There's no stigma attached to having one. Even comes in handy now and again."

Apollo shook his head, as trying to rid his mind of the very concept of machines roaming about his body. "Surrender yourselves, Cylon and we won't be forced to kill you."

Lt Reese's expression hardened. "I'll tell you one last time. We're are not Cylons and if we won't surrender for the snakes, we sure as hell aren't gonna surrender to a handful of jumped up soldiers with a bug up their ass about our technology!"

"Don't think I won't give the order to open fire, machine!" Apollo pressed grimly.

Reese knew that he and his squad could fight and survive long enough to leave via the Stargate but Professor Soames and his team where another matter entirely. "If it comes to a fight, a lot of people are going to die for nothing. Let my people go and I'll surrender willingly."

Apollo glanced at Starbuck briefly before speaking. "Where would your people go? Do you have a hidden ship?"

Starbuck shook her head and gestured towards the massive stone circle in the distance. "They came though that device." She stated flatly, before Reese could reply.

"What?" The other pilot replied cautiously.

Starbuck shrugged. "I don't get it either but that 'thing' activated and they stepped out of it like it was some crazy doorway. Never seen anything like it."

Apollo shook his head. This was all too much. "Fine. Release the other pilot and I'll let your people depart through that…thing."

Lt Reese sighed in acceptance and activated his com-link implant. "Reese to Higgins, you follow all that?"

Though the Colonials couldn't hear it, the sergeant's voice showed clear reluctance. "I don't like it, sir. The Old Lady will have my ass if I leave you here."

"You have your orders, Sergeant." Reese added sternly.

A simple double-click of acknowledgement greeted the order and less than ten seconds later, Swiftsure stepped out from behind the overturned wreck and headed hastily towards Reese, Starbuck and Apollo.

The Colonials watched warily as the three armoured soldiers and five scientists slowly made their way over the stone ring and the pedestal with the large, red crystal in front of it. One of the soldiers pressed a quick series of symbols on the device and the massive stone circle rumbled to life.

Fingers tightened on triggers but curiosity stopped them from firing as the circle rotated round, almost hypnotically. Fiery red chevrons lighting up around the edges every few seconds until all seven crystals were lit. Silver liquid seemed to explode from the stone circle and almost as quickly retract to leave a shimmering, vertical pool of quicksilver.

A small corner of Apollo's mind noted that the strangers were quite unaffected by the sudden explosion of strange energies whereas quite a few of his Warriors were completely distracted by this amazing sight.

After several seconds, the five scientists quickly ran into the pool of light, followed by two of the soldiers. The last remaining soldier paused at the top of the ramp. Lt Reese nodded firmly and the figure in the distance seemed to sigh. A physical expression that clearly showed, even wearing a complete armoured suit. The soldier turned and stepped into the light that subsequently dissipated with a soft snap.

Lt Reese turned back to his captors. "Now what?"

Apollo gestured for his warriors to come forward and a couple of dozen stepped out into the open, their weapons pointed firmly at Reese. "Now, we get you back to the Galactica and see what Baltar makes of you."

Reese glanced at Starbuck. At seeing the Stargate in action once more, she found appeared to find it harder to convince herself that they were Cylons despite what Apollo had said about the machines in their bloodstream. Her expression told him of her inner conflict and Reese smiled slightly. 'Their revulsion of technology might make them knee-jerk xenophobes but they're by no means stupid. Maybe I'll live long enough to convince them I'm not a threat and find out who these Cylon bogeymen really are…'