Buzzz….Buzzz…

The form sleeping in the single bunk stirred and rolled over before the buzzer sounded again. He reached out and grasped the handset and spoke with his deep, gravelly voice.

"Adama," was all he said. All he had to say,

"Admiral…Colonial One on the horn."

The commander of the last Colonial Battlestar cleared his throat and sat up. "Thank you, Colonel. Please pipe it down here."

There was a pause, and a barely-audible click. Since New Caprica, he had noticed that the ambient noise over the com lines had increased. As long as he could hear, he mused, he wouldn't expend the resources to repair it. Hell, it might be because he was getting older.

"I hope I haven't woken you up, Admiral."

He warmed at her voice….as he seemed to do every time she called him in the morning. Her slight accent, noticeable even over the tinny com line, came from the eastern seaboard of Gothos, one of the four main continents on Caprica. After nearly 40 years of service on Colonial ships, the different accents didn't pose a problem to him, but he had developed the ability, with a small measure of satisfaction, be able to name off where and what colony a person had come from.

"You don't seem the type to care if you had, especially if you had business to attend to."

On Colonial One, Laura Roslin smiled brightly at his wry response. She had been up for an hour…a little insomnia in the early morning was a result of her cancer medication. Running a hand through her auburn hair, she swiveled in her chair. "Well, that might be true…but I can still appreciate the pleasure of getting a full night's sleep."

He bobbed his eyebrows as he stood up. "Those tend to come in short supply, it seems, Madam President. What can I do for you this morning?"

"Colonel Tigh informed me that you have been tracking a contact for a half-day on the long range scanners. Is that why the fleet changed it's heading yesterday?"

She was sharp, he mused. Four years of being exposed to the Galactica's crew and command staff had made her more aware of fleet operations. "We're not so sure that DRADIS isn't picking up some sort of EM echo. The ID and power signature of the contact aren't discernable at this distance, and it hasn't moved in relation to the fleet. If it were a Cylon probe of some kind, we could have gotten an IFF response. It's just hanging there at the edge of DRADIS."

Laura Roslin thought for a minute. "Have you considered sending reconnaissance fighters out there? I seem to recall that the Cylons could track us because we were infiltrated." She stood from her desk and paced, a little sore from her workout onboard Galactica yesterday, as he responded over the handset. "We have a Raptor scheduled to launch for a long-range recon of the contact at 0900 hours. We can jump there, scan, and jump back. However, Cylons wouldn't have held back this long, Madam President. We've been refueling, and at this distance, they would have known we were vulnerable. Either way, we'll know soon after launch." He let her 'military' advice slide…she didn't do it often, and when she did give advice, it was more a question of what he had done so far. When she did cross the line, just a look from him would remind her, so in-tune were they after all this time.

She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Good. That will give me something less to worry about. I can get back to worrying about my thighs."

He grinned at that. "Still working out every day, Madam President?"

She cocked her head. "I am. These last few pounds are hard to lose, Bill. I've tried about everything…maybe I ought to have Dr. Cottle give me some liposuction."

He looked out the portal, towards her ship….it was hanging off of the port quarter. "You are the President of the Colonies, you know. He might be obliged to do it….but I don't think you need it. If I could be so bold, Madam President."

She brightened. "I can't promote you any further, Admiral, no matter your compliments."

He didn't smile, but his eyes did. "I'm only telling you the truth, Madam President. I will contact you once we get information on our DRADIS echo."

There was a slight pause. "I'll get it in person. I'll be there in an hour."

"Very well, Madam President. Adama out." He hung up the handset and looked in the mirror, noticing the day-old whiskers that were looking back at him.

"I wish I had Lee's face….he couldn't grow a beard if he tried," he muttered to himself as he looked down for his razor.

On Colonial One, Laura hung up her own handset and smoothed her nightgown. In better spirits now after her morning conversation with William Adama, she sat at her desk and started pushing through some more of her constant and infernal paperwork.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The buzzer sounded, and the form in the bed rolled over and looked up at the blue light that was positioned over his bed, its soft beam lighting up the com panel to his right.

He punched the button. "Kirk here."

"Good Morning, Captain." Spock's baritone seemed to fill the cabin. "We have completed the long-range scan of those vessels that entered the quadrant."

James Kirk sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What are we looking at?"

"Several dozen ships of many different types. One large, heavily armored ship, approximately 1,400 meters in length. Sensors show rudimentary warp-drive capability on all ships. Humanoid life forms."

Kirk started at that. "Humanoid?"

Spock answered immediately. "At this range, it is difficult to determine species, but the amount of readings leads me to estimate that the number of individuals is over 40,000."

Kirk sighed, thinking that he needed to get to the bridge. "What's our status?"

"All decks report optimal conditions. We have been loitering at the edge of their scanning resolution for 12.21 hours, and I surmise that we have been detected, though there has been no action to engage or communicate with us," Spock told him. "Lieutenant Uhura has been recording their transmissions and attempting to decode them. She expects to be ready within the hour"

The Captain nodded. "Good. I'll be on the bridge in fifteen minutes."

"Very well, captain. Spock out."

The link clicked off, and James T. Kirk stood up, stretching and yawning the sleep out of his system. Wow….was he sore…He had stayed up too late playing basketball on the hanger deck…his team had lost to a team from Security, and they (himself, Sulu, Chekhov, and Riley) were now in the loser's bracket, not scheduled to play until tomorrow evening at 1900 hours. He was sore, and mad at the referee for the calls he had been making, but when he ref'ed the games, Scotty was an emperor, and you couldn't out-argue a Scotsman with a whistle.

Kirk grinned to himself and walked over to his monitor. Some items in his inbox….fuel consumption report…message from Starfleet about personnel transfer….results of the planetary survey of Hunt 312 C….nothing pressing. He ordered the computer to save all messaged as unread, and went to shower and change into his duty uniform, pausing only to wince at a kink in his back as he walked across his compartment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Chief…how goes it?"

Tyrol looked over at Sharon Agathon and nodded. "Ship-shape, Lieutenant. Your Raptor is fueled and ready. The old man called down and wanted a word before you left."

"Athena" nodded and went to the nearest handset, crossing in front of her Raptor to do so. "Flight Deck to Combat," she said to the handset, letting the computer connect her with the bridge. On the other line, she heard it pick up. "Combat," came the reply.

"Anastasia, this is Sharon," Agathon answered. The Admiral wanted me to call before I went on flight ops."

"Stand by, Lieutenant," came the sure reply. After two clicks, she heard Adama pick up. "Lieutenant, are you ready for a milk run?"

She smiled…as time had gone on, her relationship with Admiral Adama had closed in on what it had been before her copy had shot him. He seemed to understand her more and more as time had passed, and had given her more and more responsibilities. Even though his decades-long bigotry and mistrust of Cylons, he had shown faith in her, and that made her proud. "Yes, Sir. It would be nice."

"DRADIS is reporting what we believe to be some sort of object right at the edge of our range. I need you to jump out there and scan for what we are seeing. Get out there, make a pass or two, and come home."

She nodded. "Yes, Sir."

He continued. "Don't engage any contacts you find, but we doubt you'll see anything of note. Keep us informed."

She nodded again. "Yes, Sir."

"That's all, Lieutenant." He hung up without further fanfare, and she turned back to her ship, beginning her pre-flight inspection.

Ten minutes later, she was in the stout craft, powering up her subsystems and checking all the indicators. "We're good to go, Flight Chief. Ready to launch."

"Launch control to probe craft: Launch when ready. Happy hunting."

Sharon took the stick, and punched the engines to life. The Raptor hovered at station-keeping for a moment, then she edged it into position. After a moment, the green "GO" light popped on, and the small craft accelerated out of the flight pod and into space.

"Coming to course 232, negative declination three degrees. Coordinates prepared for jump."

"Copy, Athena. OK for jump."

A couple kilometers from the bulk of Galactica, a familiar hourglass-shaped halo formed around Athena's raptor for a split-second, then a flash of light, and she was gone from view.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Status, Mr. Spock?"

Kirk strode onto the bridge with a cup of coffee in his hand, trying to hide the small limp that his sore muscles were causing. To his right, the Vulcan science officer turned to him, hands clasped behind his back.

"Unchanged," Spock said. "The assortment of ships have maintained a true course, moving at sublight speed. Their course is two-nine-seven, mark one-four, and their current speed is nine percent of the speed of light. We are pacing them and maintaining a distance of 10 light-minutes."

Kirk looked at the screen….from this distance, the small fleet looked like so many points of light, with one obviously larger than most. "Where are they headed?"

"Their straight-line course is roughly in the direction of the Romulan Neutral Zone," Spock told him. "At this speed, however, they will not make it there in our lifetime."

Kirk looked up at him wryly, sipping the hot coffee. It was terrible, and he winced. "But they have warp capability. If they were headed that way, wouldn't it be logical to use FTL travel?"

Spock's eyebrow shot up. "I cannot attest to the motivations of the people onboard those ships, Captain. However, since they were not discovered earlier by other survey ships, logic would dictate that they used warp travel to arrive here, and that they are waiting to move off for some reason."

Kirk shrugged, and stepped down to the command deck. "Scan for ion trails, debris, subspace markers…maybe we can read their path to where we are now….reverse-plot their path here. Do we have the analysis of their cipher yet?"

To Spock's left, Uhura turned her face to the captain. "Sir…I discovered an anomaly in the results, and I am rechecking my results before I report."

Kirk nodded….that was unusual. Uhura was one of the top linguists in Starfleet, and for her to recheck her results meant that she had seen something rather different than what she had seen before….she was surprised by her findings. "Take your time, Lieutenant. Best to recheck and be correct than to rush through and get it wrong."

"Aye, Sir." Without further comment, she turned back to her computer.

Kirk looked at Spock, and took his seat in the command chair. After finishing his coffee, he handed the cup to a yeoman and punched a button on his right armrest:

"Captain's log, Stardate 343…"

He was interrupted by Lieutenant Sulu. "Captain, the large ship has launched a small craft…tactical readouts show this is a different type of craft than what we have been observing to this point."

Spock slid to his viewer. "It is larger….maybe twice the mass of the other patrol craft we have seen."

Kirk turned to his science officer. "Patrol craft, Spock?"

Spock straightened. "The larger ship has been regularly launching and recovering patrol craft. These smaller craft have been flying regular patrols throughout the fleet, encompassing a sphere of around fifteen light-seconds from the center of the group of ships."

Kirk stood and stepped over to Sulu's board. "Like an old aircraft carrier, Sulu."

The navigator nodded. "Exactly, Captain. She's built like one, too. Massive and armored," he told Kirk, a little bit of admiration coloring his voice. Kirk suppressed a smile….Sulu couldn't help it. He was a born sailor, no matter his botanical hobbies.

Anyone could see it. Hikaru Sulu was a swashbuckler.

Spock spoke again…this time with a shade more emphasis. "This craft has a rudimentary warp drive onboard….."

Sulu went back to his scanner. "Sir! The patrol craft has engaged warp. Right for us. Arrival time is sixty seconds."

Kirk returned to his seat. "Yellow Alert. Raise the shields and put weapons on standby. Uhura, prepare to hail them. Looks like we'll be making contact sooner than expected."

Spock turned to Kirk. "No withdrawal, Captain?"

Kirk looked at him, then back at the screen, a hint of a smile turning his cheeks round. "No, Mr. Spock. Not this time. Let's be seen. Uhura, open hailing frequencies once they drop out of warp."

"Aye, Sir…and, Captain, I have a preliminary report on their encoding."

Kirk turned to her. "Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"Sir….they are speaking Standard."

Kirk was raising his coffee to his lips, put lowered it when he heard her response. "Standard?"

Uhura nodded. "Yes, Sir. A non-Federation cipher, but clearly in Standard. That's why I was rechecking the results, because the language was recognized so quickly. They are definitely not Federation ships, or recognized communication frequencies, but they are communicating in our language."

Kirk looked up at Spock. "Who are they?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Unknown. Fascinating."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen kilometers off of Enterprise, a flash of Chertkov radiation (that's the name the Federation gave the visible release of warp energy) appeared, and Sharon Agathon's Raptor re-entered real space.

She was initially surprised at the ship in front of her…Adama had not believed that there was a ship out here. However, there she was, hanging in space in front of her.

She turned on her scanners and punched her com button. "Athena to Combat, positive contact, no IFF or identification of any kind. Totally new design."

On the bridge of the Galactica, eyes snapped to Admiral William Adama as he decided what to do. He picked up his handset. "Athena, this is Adama. Do you have any memory or information on the craft you see in front of you?"

She understood what he meant, and she accessed her Cylon datafiles. After a moment, she shook her head. "No, Sir. No record of a ship of this design. Transmitting visual and scanner information now."

The rough voice took a second to respond. "Data stream verified. Maintain your distance and continue scanning. Jump out of there if you smell anything out of the ordinary."

She responded in the affirmative, and Adama put down the handset. "Tactical, raise the alert status of the fleet. Prepare jump coordinates and send them out. Go ahead and get the President on the line, Lieutenant."

"No need, Sir. She's already arrived onboard and she's on her way here." That from Tigh, who had just returned from a break. "Red Squadron is standing by on alert…I took the liberty of having them ready in case we needed them."

Adama nodded, and looked at DRADIS. After a few seconds, the screen in front of him was replaced by the visual of the mystery ship.

"Is this our new neighbor?" Adama turned to look at the arriving President, and he stepped to his right, making room for her as she moved beside him. Her tone was one he recognized…her 'I was right' tone, but he took it in stride. She had been. "Different design than I've ever seen….."

She looked at it as well. "It is a beautiful ship."

He looked at her, and swallowed a comment that would have explained that a ship's looks had nothing to do with if it was a threat. "Yes, it is," he said to her quietly, and he could actually sense her warming to him. It made him feel good, but he concentrated on the image in front of him.

The new ship was white, with red and black lettering on her hull plates. Her rear pods were swept up, and red energy flickered in half-globes that were mounted on the front. A saucer-shaped hull sat on top of a thick structural pylon, and all were attached to a cylindrical section that was fronted by what was obviously a scanning dish of some sort.

But she was just sitting there, navigation lights blinking red and green. This ship didn't sneak anywhere, he mused. Galactica was, at best, a gunmetal grey, her polytitanium armor reflecting barely 10% of the light that struck her.

Then…he stopped short, and looked at his tactical officer. "Magnify that wording…under the front section. Factor of ten."

The picture changed, and he heard Laura Roslin's breath hitch. "Gods…..how can we read that? Do you see that? How?"

He could read what he saw. That was impossible. Unless….

"USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Captain….we are being scanned. Low-power EM bandwidth. Our shields are transparent to the scan."

Kirk nodded. "I expected that. This is a reconnaissance ship. Let them scan us…we're doing the same to them, aren't we?"

"Logical." Spock went back to his readout. "One lifeform onboard. Android and human readings…possibly a cybernetic organism. The warp drive is not an anti-matter drive…sensors read a store of fuel onboard. Extremely high power potential for a fuel-based engine. Weaponry includes missiles with high explosives and two projectile cannon. They are communicating directly with the large warship via low-gain subspace link."

Kirk thought for a second as he watched the little ship move to their port quarter. "Lieutenant Uhura, let's try to raise her."

"Aye, sir. It looks like she's only going to receive audio," she informed her captain, and when he acknowledged her with a nod, she opened up the hailing frequencies. "Hailing frequencies open, Captain."

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation starship Enterprise. We come in peace. Please identify yourself."

Onboard the Raptor, Sharon jumped. She punched her com button. "Combat, I've been directly hailed by the commander of their ship. Request permission to respond."

Adama picked up the handset. "Permission denied, but not because of you. Not on a first contact like this, Lieutenant. This might be a non-Colonial human ship. Playback their hail, D."

The bridge of the Galactica was silent as the voice sounded over the speakers. After a pause, Adama pointed at his handset and Anastasia opened up the inter-ship communications link to him. Once she nodded, he picked it up.

"This is Admiral Adama, commanding Galactica."

Onboard Enterprise, Uhura turned to Kirk. "That reply was from the large ship. No communication from the probe craft. No translation program verified…this is direct voice communication."

Kirk nodded, and punched his comlink. "Admiral Adama. We tracked your fleet as it entered Federation space. Can we give you any assistance?"

The Galactica bridge was stunned, and Adama muted his handset. "How can we be speaking the same language?" Adama looked at his communications officer, and she checked her board. "No translation software detected, and that is a human voice. They are speaking directly to us."

Adama remained stoic, although he could feel the pounding of his heart. He un-muted his handset "Yes, Captain, you might be able to. What colony is your point of origin?"

Kirk looked at the comlink quizzically. "Colony?"

Adama paused for a second. "Yes, Captain…which colony? Picon? Gemon? Aquarion?"

Kirk furrowed his brow. "I don't know those colonies, Admiral. The nearest colony world from here is Barrow 221…."

Barrow 221….Adama looked meaningfully at Roslin, then at Tigh. He covered the handset for a second and said, "Humans that have never heard of the 12 Colonies?" Then, after that, he spoke into the headset again.

"I think we might need to meet face to face, Captain. Can you launch a shuttle and meet with us onboard Galactica?"

Kirk looked at Spock, who merely stood at his station. "Yes. I will assemble some of my senior officers and come onboard."

"Very well. We will plan on meeting in ten centons."

Kirk stopped short. "Centons, Admiral? How long of a time is a centon?"

"He doesn't know what a centon is." Adama said it quietly….just so that Roslin and Tigh could hear him. "Captain, approach the fleet. We will signal when we are ready."

"Yes, Admiral. We will await your signal. Kirk out."

Adama turned to Roslin and Tigh. "Please contact Captain Adama and meet me in my quarters in a centon. Maintain alert status, and scan that ship out there."

He turned away from the responses of his crew, and walked off the bridge. He felt Laura on his right, walking with him, but he was immersed in thought.

"Did they escape the Cylon attack? I wonder if that is some sort of newer-model deep-space probe," Laura said, but Adama stopped and turned to her.

"A Colonist would know what a centon is, and would not hesitate to tell what colony they are from," he began. "This Kirk didn't know either. Athena would have told us if these were Cylons, because she would have been able to receive transceiver data from them."

The President of the Colonies looked up at him. "If they're not Cylons and not Colonists…." Her eyes widened. "Could they be from Earth?"

He felt her hand touch his arm, and he looked at her intensely. "I don't know. If they are, then we have some problems. It means that the Cylons, who are in the area, will also know the location of Earth, and the last planet that has humans on it will be at risk." He thought for a second. "Judging by that ship, however, they might be able to defend themselves. It's hard to say at this point."

She nodded. "The people will not agree to waiting while we assess the strategic implications of beating the Cylons to Earth. If this is it, we need to get there. Otherwise, the unrest that will occur will make the Baltar trial look like a graduation party."

He sighed. "Let's get together with Tigh and Lee. We have a lot to discuss."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sharon landed her Raptor and shut it down, impatiently pulling off her helmet before the environment around the ship repressurized. After her ship was drawn down into the hanger, she popped the hatch and stepped out.

Tyrol was there waiting on her. "I heard a rumor you sighted an Earth ship."

She shook her head, and let a smile break through. "I don't know, chief. It was a totally new design to me. I'd never seen a ship like that. And they tried to communicate with me, but the old man talked to them. Looks like they're coming here shortly."

Cally Tyrol heard the discussion, and trotted over. "They're coming here? Shouldn't we straighten up?" Her husband looked at her and scowled, but it was good-natured. "Are we in our cabin? Gods…..OK. Get a detail out here and make the hanger deck ship-shape. We don't want to embarrass ourselves."

As he was finishing, Sharon's husband arrived on the deck. Helo made eye contact with his wife and walked over to her. "Rumor mill's all over the place. What trouble did you cause out there, Lieutenant?"

She rolled her eyes. "None, I hope. Listen, I have to go get debriefed by Apollo, so I have to go. We'll talk later."

They lightly touched hands as she passed, and Helo watched her go. "That looks like good news," he told Tyrol. The chief nodded in response. "We need some," he replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Enterprise had turned to approach the Colonial fleet, bringing herself parallel to the fleet's relative motion and closing the distance slowly, until she was within 1000 kilometers. Vipers were now flying by her, checking her over and passing within 250 meters of her shielding boundary.

Inside the briefing room, Kirk addressed his senior staff.

"So, we have this mystery ship and fleet. All of you have been getting answers together for me. Let's have them."

Spock spoke first. "There are forty-two large ships in the fleet, including the Galactica. All are full of people, well in excess of that which would be needed to crew them. There are three ships that are predominantly dedicated to growing and producing foodstuffs, one that is a fuel refinery, and the rest are a varied conglomeration, with differing hull stress levels. All are warp-capable, but their field coils are not continuous generators. They are made differently than ours…possibly more efficient, but only attuned to one subspace wavelength of the Cochrane subset. They are built for short bursts of warp speed….a maximum of one-quarter light year at a time, and the speed of travel is not variable. I estimate they burst into warp at approximately warp six."

Kirk frowned at that. "It sounds…haphazard."

Spock continued. "It appears they have solved that by a process that I call 'aiming'. They cannot control their hyperlight speed, but can control their position of entry and exit out of subspace."

"Very well, Mr. Spock. Tactical?"

Sulu spoke up. "Heavy armor. Dense neo-titanium alloy. She's taken a couple direct hits from multi-megaton nuclear warheads, and only shows light structural damage. We read seven high-megaton nuclear weapons on board her. Over a hundred small cannon on her, and ten high-velocity main guns. No shields to speak of. Success estimates in ship-to-ship battle scenarios are running in the 60-percentile range."

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu. Engineering?"

Scotty piped in. "Energy generation is roughly a quarter of our own, but she's just idling right now. She's four times our length, five times our width, three times our dorsal height and eighty-one times our mass. Given her fuel-burning engines, estimate her range to be 75 light-years before she needs refueled, but she's got the water-treatment areas and food replication plants to run her own five-year mission."

Kirk nodded. "Anything else of note?"

Dr. McCoy piped in. "Results from more detailed scans show that the vast majority of the occupants of the ships are humans, just like you and me. Readings I've seen are enough to make me believe that they've been on those ships for quite some time. General health is somewhat below average, compared to ours. Anything more than that will need a direct scan."

"Well, we're going to get it. Admiral Adama is going to contact us with landing coordinates and we'll board Galileo and go over," Kirk informed them. "The landing party will be myself, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Uhura, and Mr. Sulu. Scotty, you'll have command, but inform the OOD that you might be asked to come over as well." Kirk looked at them for a second. "I don't want them to know about the transporter until I get a better feel for them. Best not to play all of our cards."

The intercom whistle sounded. "Captain Kirk….Admiral Adama standing by."

Kirk punched the comlink button. "Pipe it down here, Lieutenant."

A pause. "Admiral? Kirk here."

Adama's voice rasped over the speaker. "Captain, we are ready to receive you at your convenience."

"We will be departing shortly, Admiral. See you soon."

"Adama out."

McCoy looked at Captain Kirk. "A bit short, isn't he?"

Kirk frowned and shook his head. "Actually, it doesn't sound like he likes to mince words, Bones. Direct and to the point."

"That would be a refreshing change," McCoy said, looking sideways at Spock. Before Spock could reply, Kirk put up both his hands and interrupted any possible debate. "Gentlemen, not now," he told them as he suppressed a smile. "We have to get to our appointment."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

William Adama adjusted the tight collar of his dress uniform and grimaced. "I always liked looking at this uniform in the mirror more than wearing it."

To Adama's right, Lee Adama was waiting for his father, dressed in his formal uniform. "Maybe it's shrunk a bit."

The Admiral looked at his son. "Or maybe I've grown?" Lee smiled at that, though his more stoic father merely turned and looked into the mirror.

"I wouldn't know. I'm not a tailor." Lee watched his father finish and turn to leave his compartment. Lee followed his father out of his quarters and they walked towards the hanger bay. "I wonder what this Kirk is like?"

"He sounds young, but like a commander," the elder Adama told him. "Like you, from time to time."

Lee took the comment for what it was…half-compliment, half criticism….and changed the subject. "Scanners show no fighter bays, no fighters."

His father nodded. "The configuration is more like a heavy cruiser. Power generation is off the scale. We know she's armed…launch tubes were noted in Athena's recon, and there are several batteries of what we think are some sort of energy weapons, but Tactical is still working on that configuration. She's light, full of empty spaces, and able to replicate foodstuffs from basic matter. That and her FTL is completely different than ours. That's all we know." Bill looked at his son. "I'd like to know more. If this ship is an Earth vessel, it probably means there will be more. If it's not, we're taking a huge risk."

"You must think it's worth it," Lee offered, trying to boost his father's hopes. "Something must have piqued your interest. Your instincts have been pretty good to this point."

Adama walked on. "Thanks, Lee."

In a few moments, they entered the large hanger bay, and joined President Roslin, her aides, a few bodyguards, and a small contingent of officers, including Helo, Athena, and Starbuck.

Adama walked up to Starbuck, appraising her. "You clean up well, Lieutenant."

She unsuccessfully hid a grin, and cocked her head a little. "When I get the chance, Admiral."

He walked on, and she looked at Lee, who rolled his eyes. She smiled broadly at him, and he grinned back. The mood in the hanger was the most optimistic she could remember in months…maybe ever since they turned the Cylon virus back on them, and destroyed two baseships worth of raiders and heavy fighters.

However, this light-heartedness wasn't the same. This was thick with a hope they hadn't felt in the years since they left their destroyed star systems. She could almost taste the expectation, and she was sure President Roslin was ready to start zooming around the flight deck.

Laura Roslin was, quite literally, shaking with anticipation. "Are they on their way?" She asked the Admiral, who looked at her a warm patience. "Combat informed me before we left my quarters that they were in route," he assured her.

Then, he turned to the whole of the assembled group. "We don't know anything about these people. Keep your guard up, and don't reveal anything. Be polite, and cordial, but don't volunteer information about our past, our leadership, or our goal. Let myself and the President speak unless you are directly spoken to."

After the 'ayes' had returned to him, he looked at Laura. "You did your hair for this," he said softly to her

She eyeballed him, and responded in kind. "You put on your dress uniform."

He nodded. "Are you expecting a date?"

She ground her teeth, crushing the grin that threatened to spread over her face. "Are you offering?"

He broke off the conversation, but she saw the lines around his eyes increase. She couldn't dwell on that, though…..the lights from the hanger elevator started to blink, and a wail from the warning indicator brought all their eyes to the platform.

The craft that appeared was light grey….the same color as the ship from whence she came. It was shaped like a box, just a hint of aerodynamic consideration seemed to be given to her design. On the side, the name of the ship was in stylized script, and her home ship's name was underneath…"USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701"

After movement ceased, the hatchway opened, accompanied by the whine of servo-motors. Almost immediately, a form stepped out.

He was shorter than Lee…maybe a half-inch or so. Sandy hair topped the young face. Hazel eyes locked onto the waiting group as he moved to the side, allowing the rest of his group to exit their craft.

They all wore primary colors…..one in bright red, two in blue, two in gold. One woman…a tall, dark-skinned woman in a short dress. One of them wasn't quite human….yellowish skin and severe features. The ears were different as well…the pinnae were pointed.

The young man stepped forward. "I'm James T. Kirk, Captain of the Enterprise. This," he indicated the non-human, "is my first officer, Commander Spock. My Communications officer, Lieutenant Uhura, my chief medical officer, Dr. McCoy, and my tactical officer, Lieutenant Sulu."

Admiral Adama stepped forward. "I'm Admiral William Adama, military commander of the fleet. This is President Laura Roslin, President of the Colonies." She stepped forward and shook Kirk's hand. It was a firm handshake, and Kirk tipped his head to her. "Madam President," he said. The Admiral then turned to a young man standing next to him. "This is our CAG, Captain Lee Adama….my son," Adama added, hiding the quick flush of private pride, "and representatives of my crew. Captain Agathon, third in command, Lieutenant Thrace, lead pilot, and Lieutenant JG Agathon, who was the pilot of the Raptor that was sent to reconnoiter your ship." Adama turned back to Kirk. "Welcome to Galactica."

"Thank you, Admiral," Kirk said.

Laura Roslin stepped forward. "I'm very interested in something, Captain. Where are you from?"

Kirk looked at her for a second. "The United Federation of Planets."

She nodded. "Yes, I know..I know that. I heard the original transmission, but what I want to know is what planet are you from?"

Kirk was intrigued by the intensity in the woman's eyes. She was an attractive woman, maybe fifteen years his senior, and locked in on these eyes before answering her question.

"I was born on a planet called Earth."

There was a gasp from the Colonial attendees. Laura Roslin paused, and looked at Adama. "Could you repeat that, please?"

Kirk looked at Spock, who merely lifted one eyebrow. "Earth. Another name for it is Terra, but humans call it Earth."

William Adama took a breath. "Let's go to our conference room, please. We have a lot to discuss."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A half-hour later, James Kirk looked across the table at Admiral Adama and smiled. "Then, I believe you've come to the right place. That's a hell of a leap of faith."

Lee, Sulu, and Spock were on the far end of the room, looking at star charts and Enterprise sensor readings from the nearby area. Starbuck had left for a patrol, and the Agathons were sitting quietly, holding hands and smiling. McCoy had been met by Dr. Cottle, and they had moved off to look at the medical resources onboard Galactica.

Roslin and Adama were sitting side by side, looking across the table at the Captain. "It's all we had," Adama said.

"How far are we from Earth?" Roslin asked, and Kirk looked over at Spock. "How far to Sol, Spock?"

"Sixty-three light-years," came back the reply.

Roslin looked at Adama, who was frowning. "How far is that?"

Adama stood up. "That is a full six months. That and refueling will make it longer. We might not be able to control the population for that long. Has the information about this made it to the press yet?"

Roslin nodded. "Rumors to this point, but you can't miss the new starship off to the side of the fleet," she said. "The people will find out soon….you can't hold this information down for any length of time."

They were interrupted by a beep, and Kirk stood up. "Excuse me for one moment," he said, and pulled out his communicator. "Kirk here."

A heavily-accented voice sounded in the room. "Captain, we're tracking three large ships….distance is 575 AU's. No ID, no familiar designs. They are on a direct approach vector, closing at warp 6."

Kirk looked at Adama. "Do we have any other data on these ships?"

"Yes, Sir. Warp-drive field design is a close match for the Galactica."

Adama stood. "Those are Cylon base-ships. Their version of our capital ships. We can't stand up to three of them." He strode to a handset that was on the wall. "Conn….call general quarters, recall the patrols, and prepare to jump."

Kirk paused for a moment. "Scotty, sound red alert. Prepare to beam us aboard." Roslin looked at him quizzically, and Kirk explained. "We have the ability to transport human beings from one location to another by disassembling them and reassembling them on the subatomic level."

"Incredible," Roslin noted. Kirk nodded. "It is, except it is now commonplace for people to be transported. The risks are lower than travel in a shuttlecraft."

The far hatch opened, and McCoy entered with Cottle. "Jim, we should synthesize some medical supplies for the fleet here and give them all they can carry. Also, there's a Vitamin C and D deficiency in some of the populations on the ships. We could take care of that within a day."

Kirk nodded. "Understood, but it looks like we're going to be under attack. Sulu, what course should the fleet take?"

Sulu thought for a second. "220-mark-23."

"You might want to come up to the bridge and explain what you mean to the navigator," Adama told Sulu. "Will you jump with us?"

Kirk nodded. "We'll move off together."

"Captain…The Kongo has come into sensor range….she's going to intercept the incoming ships before they get here. Captain Marra is hailing us."

The USS Kongo, which was another Constitution-Class starship, had been en route to rendezvous with Enterprise for a crew transfer, and had therefore been in the area, just slightly coreward of Kirk's ship, and in the path that the Galactica had taken from her own part of the galaxy. She had locked on to the baseships an hour earlier, and had been following communication protocols, but with no success.

Kirk looked at Adama and put a finger up. "Admiral, let's get a report from Captain Marra before we move off."

Adama raised his head. "How long until the Cylons arrive?"

Scotty answered. "I heard the Admiral. 34 minutes at present speed, but Kongo will intercept within three. Captain Marra is on the line."

"Jim? This is Marra. We picked up these ships an hour ago, and they aren't responding to hails. We're on an intercept vector, closing on them…..wait…they're dropping into regular space. Stand by here…we're going to hail them."

Adama looked at Lee, who had rejoined him, and at President Roslin. "It looks like they can track ships in FTL travel, and communicate via FTL means," he said quietly. "That's a hell of an advantage on the Cylons."

Lee nodded. "I wonder what kind of success their ships would have against the Cylons."

Roslin looked at the Adama men and took her glasses off. "It looks as if we're going to find out in short order."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Looks like we out-gun them on paper, Sir." Marra acknowledged his tactical officer with a nod. "Very well. Open hailing frequencies."

The communications officer paused, and looked at his captain. "Receiving audio response to our challenge. Putting it on speaker."

"Unidentified ship, this is Captain Marra of the Federation starship Kongo. Please identify yourself."

Silence. Then, "Who are you?"

A feminine voice. Marra frowned. "We represent the United Federation of Planets. Can you identify yourselves?"

"Obviously, these are not humans from the Colonies." That was a male voice, and Marra leaned forward in his seat. What the hell….?

"Earth, then?" A different voice….male.

Marra hit the muting button on his armrest. "Full sensor sweep, politeness be damned. This is peculiar as hell. Tell me what we're dealing with."

"Aye, Sir."

He waited for the info, but listened to the conversation that was coming over the speakers.

"That would confirm that Earth is relatively close." Another female voice.

"The humans could be lying. They do that very well."

"The ship is not one we have noted before. The configuration is new to the collective."

"No radiation signature from the weaponry system…their offensive capability is unknown."

Marra snorted. "Nothing like being talked about as if you're not there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The Cylons are not known for talking."

William Adama didn't turn as he made his statement, the whole group heading up to the bridge of the Galactica. Jim Kirk, however, heard him as he walked a half-step behind him.

"These are the semi-cybernetic lifeforms that we detected in the fleet. Your pilot was one."

Adama stopped immediately. "You can scan our fleet and distinguish between Cylons and humans? From your ship?"

Spock spoke up. "We can do so. You seem to know that you were infiltrated."

Adama looked at him with hard eyes. "We know of several models of human-like Cylons, but no-one has seen them all. There are 12 models, and we know of eleven. There are several that are in the fleet that have voluntarily decided to choose humanity over their Cylon programming….Lieutenant Agathon is one. My second-in-command is another. We are mostly concerned with sleeper agents."

Spock nodded. "Logical."

President Roslin stepped into the grouping. "Can you also determine whether or not these friendly Cylons are subject to programming, or if they are in contact with the main body of Cylons?"

Spock thought for a second. "If there are communications, the probability is high that we can find the sources…."

Kirk completed the thought. "….and if we can identify that, we can jam their transmissions."

Adama looked at Roslin, communicating with her silently, back at Kirk, then resumed his quick walk in silence.

In a few moments, they were on the bridge, and Kirk had re-established the communications link with Enterprise and Kongo.

"Kirk here….what's your status, Ken?"

The captain of the Kongo responded. "The group on the other side is discussing the situation amongst themselves. They are unsure who we are…..they know we're human, and they've scanned us with everything they got, but they're just hanging there….can you hear our audio?"

"Yes, we can. We'll keep listening."

"Captain Marra, this is Admiral Adama. Are your defensive computers interlinked?"

A pause. "Yes, Admiral, they are."

Adama took a breath. "The Cylons will try to infiltrate your computer system before they attack. It was how they succeeded in defeating Colonial forces the first time. We operate separate, non-dependant computer systems, so that if one is infected, the others are not."

"Understood. Initiate electronic counter-measure protocol and isolate the mainframe, Commander F'ath."

An alien voice sounded. "Aye, Sir."

"Can we tie-in to your com system?" Kirk asked the question, and Adama looked at his daughter-in-law. "Lieutenant, see what you can do."

After a few seconds, the overhead speakers filled the bridge with the Cylon deliberations, along with the sounds on the bridge of the Kongo.

"This is Captain Marra….state your purpose."

Marra was obviously becoming impatient with the Cylons and their deliberations. Then, a response came….and it was chilling.

"Our purpose is to exterminate humanity."

Marra spoke right away. "Red Alert! All weapons to full power. Double front shields and prepare for tight maneuvers! Jim…you want to listen in?"

"Not if it will detract from your combat operations, Ken." Kirk's brows knit together. "Enterprise, go to yellow alert. Bring all weapons to standby and man all combat stations."

"Aye, Sir." Scotty's voice was salve on Kirk's instinctive urge to get back to his ship. He would have time to get there if Kongo had problems.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Six….communications have been terminated by the human commander."

The Cylon nodded. "Yes. Has the program been transmitted?"

A short man to her left reached his hands into what looked like a gentle waterfall. "Yes, it has. They have isolated their main computer core from their tactical and operational dataframes. The program is not penetrating their cipher defense."

"These cannot be Colonials. Their cipher is too complex, and it is using characters outside of our operational database." Anger and irritation shaded the voice of the dark-skinned humanoid, who stood with his hands immersed in a pool of water. "We should launch."

"Yes…launch. We can further investigate their dataframe after we neutralize their ship."

Their thoughts, and agreement, was sent via clear ionic pathways in the clear liquid to information cables, linking them to the hybrid's mindform. She writhed in her pool, and sent out the command to launch, alternating between obvious ecstasy and pain:

"Emmisary falling charted electromagnetic buffer technology carbon……launch."

On the control level, the Cylon known as Number Five looked at the others. "Launching commenced."

Number Eight looked up. "A strong electromagnetic shield has formed around the human ship. Our raiders might not be able to defeat it."

Number Six spoke up. "Target with nuclear weapons."

The dark-skinned Cylon looked up. "We shall use those as a last resort. Targeting with conventional weaponry. Preparing to fire."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sir, detecting small craft launching. At least seventy. They are assembling into formations."

Marra shifted in his chair. "Present minimum aspect. Phasers at one-half power, wide beam. Photon torpedoes are to be targeted on their primary power generation and communications locations. Hold your fire until fired upon. Navigator, take us away from slugging range and give us some room to maneuver…a thousand kilometers to start, subject to further orders."

The Kongo looped away at high impulse, and the three flights of Raiders leapt after them. Kongo fired some warning shots in their path, attempting to force them off, but the Cylons ignored the threat.

"No response to our warning shots, captain. All craft are still in pursuit."

The Science officer checked his hood. "Reading radiation signatures. Probably nuclear weapons. Strength, range, and yield unknown."

Marra didn't look up. "Find out."

At once, the Cylon groupmind ordered the raiders to fire, and they did, instantaneously letting loose with thousands of rounds from their KEW's.

"Incoming salvos from the fighter craft. Kinetic energy weapons…..some explosive rounds. Unguided." F'ath looked up at the screen. "Will impact the screens in five seconds."

The three baseships were still on the screen, but diminished in size by the factor of distance. As Kongo pivoted around, a sparkling effect began on in her shields, increasing until it resembled a shower of sparks.

"Shield intensity?" Marra looked at the tactical readout, answering his own question, but his weapons officer answered. "Nominal, However, these impacts will begin draining us soon." Marra nodded….the shields were exceptional at deflecting energy weapons, but it was like being in a meteor storm with this adversary. The shields didn't handle kinetic weapons well.

"OK….target the lead group of fighters and fire phasers."

The Federation starship let loose with blue-colored bolts. They lanced out and struck the first wave of fighters, knocking them off their path and causing the entire formation to split randomly. Multiple explosions flared as several of the raiders were destroyed by the phaser shot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Energy bolts. Some sort of high-energy beam. We have not seen it before."

Number Eight took this in with a nod. "Firing missiles."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Missiles incoming! Non-nuclear."

Marra looked at his navigator. "Hard to port, course 310 mark 20."

The heavy cruiser banked hard to her left, but the missiles tracked her easily, crossing the distance in fifteen seconds and impacting the shields. New explosions broke around the Kongo, and light shuddering could be felt inside her and the inertia dampeners dealt with the heavier impacts.

"High-explosive missiles. Tracking hundreds. Shields are down to 89%. If the fighters re-engage, shield strength will drop more rapidly."

Marra nodded to his science officer. "Fine. Target their main ships with photon torpedoes and fire when ready."

The distinctive "Tho-WACK" of the photon torpedo firing system sounded, and the deck plates shuddered as the Kongo let loose with her heavy ordinance. Traveling at relativistic speed, they took three seconds to cross the distance between the enemy ships. In an instant, three torpedoes struck the central Cylon baseship. One detonated on the hull plating, scorching the upper wing on the right side. The second crashed into the central communication hub, penetrating two decks before exploding. The third hit on the support struts to the lower right wing, detonating on impact and decimating part of the exterior communications array.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Heavy damage to communications. Structural damage on the port wing. Interior damage to 7% of compartments. Fire on levels 11 through 30" Number Eight's voice was calm, though the rest of the Seven could hear tension flowing as in undercurrent. "High radiation signature upon impact. Not nuclear weapons though. I postulate that they are using antimatter."

"That indicates a higher level of technology than available to the Colonial forces," Number Five told his comrades. "KEW impacts are damaging their shielding, however."

"Launch Raiders from the other baseships. Task them with interdicting fire between us and the Federation ship. All Raiders should concentrate fire on the shield bubble."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Impact! Heavy damage to her communcations array. The other two ships are launching fighters…..another hundred fighters, at least, Captain. Most of them are headed this way."

Marra looked at his shield information. "83%. OK, helmsman. Give them a moving target. Track with phasers, three-quarter power, wide beam. Dorsal battery is to fire with standard beam, one-half power, and attempt to take out individual ships. Continue to target the larger ships with torpedoes."

Shields flashing with impacts, the Kongo lifted out and away from the incoming fighters, firing phasers at them and launching spreads of torpedoes at the Cylon baseships. As the swarm of Raiders peppered her, her torpedoes were being engaged by the reserve Cylon fighters in a point-defense manner. The first two made it, striking a second baseship and shearing off the outer third of a wing, but the next salvo was successfully defeated. Her phaser fire, however, had more success, knocking several Cylon fighters out of the fight.

Marra looked at this and his heart sank. He had harder punches, but the enemy was hitting him all over. They were in no real danger at the moment, but he knew he might not be able to destroy enough of the small fighters, or enough of the capital ships, to make a difference.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back on Galactica's bridge, Adama and Kirk shared a glance.

"It's hard to determine what kind of damage that Kongo's doing to the Cylons," Kirk told the Admiral.

"Three baseships plus fighters are impossible to engage with simply one ship," Adama answered the younger commander. "I would advise Captain Marra to withdrawal, especially since you can track the Cylons during FTL travel."

Kirk nodded at him. "Yes…..Enterprise, send to Starbase 12 a full report, plus copies of this battle up to this point on a Priority 2 channel."

"I agree with that, Jim," Marra said, obviously still listening to Kirk and Adama. "We've managed to take out 20 of their fighters, and seriously damage one of their larger ships, but our shields are at 70% and steadily dropping. If we had three more cruisers out here, I think we could stop them down effectively…."

"SIR! NUCLEAR MISSLE INBOUND! IMPACT IN FIVE SECONDS!"

Marra yelled, "All power to shields! Brace for impact!" The hum of increasing power was heard as the Kongo steeled herself, then the ugly sound of impact…..

….then, silence.

"Comlink lost, Captain. Attempting to reacquire communications."

Adama gritted his teeth, and beside him, Laura Roslin winced, her face crimped by empathy as she gazed at the Enterprise crewmembers.

"Jim…are they…." This from McCoy, and Kirk looked at him harshly. "Bones…." He paused, battling down his reaction to the stunning silence. "I don't know."

"I would grieve the loss of Captain Marra. He is a very talented commander," Spock said, and McCoy's ire erupted. "Damn it, Spock…" The flare ended as static and words came back over the link.

"….damage control to the sensory. Damage control reports to the bridge. Jim…you still there?"

Relief was palpable on the Galactica's bridge. "I was just about to ask you the same question, Ken." Jim Kirk looked at Spock, who merely looked back, his stoic expression hinting at the relief he saw in Kirk's face..

"We're still here, although a little toasted. The impact temporarily blinded our visual sensory, and we got some radiation in the outermost areas, but the shields held. They're down to 23%, though, so we are going to withdrawal. I'm plotting a course to you, best possible speed. We'll see you in a few minutes," Marra said, and the link went off.

Kirk waited a half-second. "Enterprise, stand by," he said, then closed the communicator. "We need to meet with Captain Marra once he arrives. Judging by his sensor logs, we might be able to find another way of dealing with these Cylons of yours."

"The only way is to destroy the bastards," Colonel Tigh observed, now strolling up to the group. "They aren't going to stop until we blow them to frackin' Hell."

"You are one of the Cylons that chose to 'stay' human," Spock observed. "If I may ask, why are you so sure that the Cylons won't negotiate?"

Tigh almost shuddered visibly. "First off, I'm Saul Tigh, officer in the Colonial Navy, and I'm no fracking Cylon, as far as I'm concerned. I know this because I've fought in two wars against them, and I can see what they are as well as you can. You heard them, alien……they want to exterminate all of humanity. You, too."

"Colonel…." One word from Adama, and Tigh looked up. "Yes, Sir." Spock raised that eyebrow again, and McCoy turned from the scene.

Adama paused, and spoke to all of the assembled. "When Captain Marra's ship arrives, we can meet in the room we first met in. I am eager to see how your ships stack up against the Cylons," he admitted.

"We will still be ready to jump, won't we?" This from Roslin, and Adama turned to her. "Yes, Madam President. All ships will have proper jump coordinates before we decide to fight or retreat."

Kirk stepped up. "And we'll have a response from Starbase 12 by that time."

"Captain….request permission to begin beam-in of supplies to the population groups." McCoy and his one-track mind. Kirk looked at his doctor and friend, and nodded. "You have ten minutes to get as much out as possible. Also send a request to Command for humanitarian aid for the fleet, top priority."

McCoy nodded, his face clearly showing appreciation. "Thanks, Jim."

Kirk looked up to see the President of the Colonies approach him, and she took his hand. Gratitude was all over her face. "The Colonies thank you as well."

Kirk squeezed her hand, and smiled. "You're welcome. However, save the celebrations until after we see what we're up against."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the Galactica's briefing room, Ken Marra tapped his fingers on the table.

He was proud of his crew….they had slowed down the Cylons; in fact Kongo had stopped them in space and force them to rethink their incursion into Federation territory.

That's what Marra wanted to think. His Starfleet side knew that they had only given the Cylons a bloody nose before having to withdraw. Kongo was a Constitution-class starship, but the battle environment in this part of space was one of large capital ships engaging each other at medium range. Neither the shields nor the weapons were built to engage large amounts of fighter craft.

That's what he explained to James Kirk as they sat with Admiral Adama in the briefing room.

"Jim, there is no question that we outgun them ship to ship," he explained. "We severely damaged the lead ship with a spread of torpedoes. They interdicted the remainder with what amounted to a buffer of bullets, but that's all they could do. If we can jam their missile guidance, I think we can stand them off."

"But the big worry are the fighters," Kirk replied. "Their projectile weaponry drains the shields at a rate directly related to the amount of fighters they can get up in the air against us."

Marra nodded, and Adama looked at the two Starfleet officers. "Galactica can sortie out 65 fighters and draw off their fighters while you engage the baseships."

Kirk nodded. "That's an option…but I have another one. Our biggest tactical advantage is that we can track them at warp."

Marra shrugged. "Yes…they can see us in regular space, though. We can't effectively fight them in warp space because our weaponry doesn't operate there."

Kirk shook his head. "No…I understand that. Spock, can you explain what I'm trying to say?"

"Enterprise and Kongo can deploy to intercept the Cylons at the location they are coming out of warp space. The sensor logs of Kongo showed that the warp field showed distinct markers of Cochrane field fluctuation fifteen seconds before they dropped from warp speed. All three ships displayed the same fluctuation; all the time measurements were identical. We can see where they are going to drop out of warp well before they do so, and engage them in a relatively short time span after the enter regular space," Spock told the assembled commanders.

"We get the coordinates, and blanket the coordinates with weapons fire," Kirk explained. "It may not be enough to keep the enemy from deploying their small craft, but it might tilt the balance into our favor."

Adama steepled his fingers. "It's about time we stood and fought," he told the people in the room with him. "We've been running a long time. It's going to feel good going into a battle where the odds are even."

He stood, clearly taking the position as senior commander in the room, and went to the communications box that was on the bulkhead beside the entry hatch. He took the handset off of the cradle, and punched a button.

"Conn, this is Adama. Prepare all available fighters for action. Prepare the ship for combat operations. Inform the fleet that they are to jump to the assigned coordinates in ten minutes, and send the Raptors there with them, loaded for defensive operations. Launch the alert fighters."

Meantime, Kirk opened his communicator. "Enterprise."

"Scott here," came the reply.

"Any reply from Starfleet about the Colonial fleet?"

Scotty responded immediately. "Exeter and the transport Tranquility are en route, and will be there in two days with food supplies, water, and medical teams. Let the Admiral and the President know that we will be able to transport a thousand refugees to the nearest colonized planet, if they so choose.

"We'll make sure they get the information, Scotty. Thank you."

Kirk could hear the grin in Scotty's voice. "Pleasure's all mine, sir."

"We'll be coming back via the shuttle in ten minutes. Any movement from our friends?"

"Nothing, sir. Long range scanners show them moving slowly in this direction at impulse speed.

"Copy that. How's the Kongo?"

"Some overloads, but replacement boards took care of most of the problems. We found some further damage, but that was mostly superficial. Their chief engineer says they'll be ready should those ships warp in."

"Understood. Kirk out." Kirk closed the communicator, and looked at Adama. "We're going to be heading back to the Enterprise.

Marra stood as well. "I'm going to go back to Kongo as well. Jim…thanks for the help with my ship. That's three I owe you, now."

Kirk grinned. "I seem to remember a few scrapes you pulled me out of. Your count might be a little off."

The other captain grinned back, then he and his science officer signaled back to their ship, and disappeared into a pillar of light. Adama watched with fascination….it was an incredible sight. It filled him with hope for his people……the Thirteenth Colony had done very well, indeed.

"Captain…how many ships can you deploy in support of Galactica, in case the Cylons come after us in larger numbers?"

Kirk looked over at the Admiral and thought for a minute. "There are ten more ships like Enterprise and Kongo, but we have several hundred other ships….destroyers, frigates, and the like, plus a ready reserve of older starships. Add in the starbases and defensive platforms, and most of our colonies are secure."

Adama nodded. "They will come in force. Their goal is to exterminate all of humanity. You will have to destroy them."

Jim Kirk looked hard at Adama. "We'll defend ourselves, and you, but I'm not going to sanction the destruction of an entire race of sentient beings that may not pose a threat to the Federation."

Adama's face didn't change, but his eyes, and voice, hardened. "They exterminated twenty billion human beings with no remorse. They will do the same to you if given the chance."

Kirk shook his head. "We won't give them that chance, Admiral."

"You might not have a choice, Captain," Adama blistered. "We fought them in a war where forty million died, and they signed a truce that they held for forty years. That whole time, they built and prepared to fight the war again. They are machines that have one directive…to end human life." He lanced Kirk with a look. "We played defense, and got lazy, and paid the ultimate price for being arrogant. This war will only end when one side has been totally destroyed. You need to keep that in mind."

Kirk thought about arguing the point, but stopped himself: If what the data records from Galactica said was true, there was a definite truth to what Adama was saying to him. However, history in this quadrant had shown there was no good in genocide, no matter the participants. Peace had been achieved, but through deterrence and strength, not by domination. The Cylons, no matter their purpose, were not going to bring the Federation down to their level, and the Colonial refugees would see that once they had lived within the Federation for a time.

"If there is a war, Admiral Adama, we will fight it and do so until we achieve victory. However, exterminating them would make us no better than them, and I am not an advocate for genocide."

Adama paused for a second, remembering Helo Agathon and his moral resistance against transmitting a virus that would have killed millions of Cylons. He looked down at his shoes, and then looked up at the young Starfleet captain in front of him.

"Neither am I, Captain. I don't know if I could give such an order myself. However, I also know that I need to understand the enemy I face.. You have never faced the Cylons, and I have fought them my entire life. Keep your options open, Captain Kirk…..you may find that you need them all."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When James Kirk stepped back onto the bridge of his own ship, he was awash in thoughts about the fleet that he was suddenly tasked with defending.

40,000 humans from twelve colonies, a remnant of a spacefaring civilization of 20 billion. Cyborg organisms bent on their extinction. A 2,000 light-year run from the Cylons, across the divide between the Sagittarius and Orion arms of the galaxy, all with 42 civilian ships in tow. Adama was a masterful commander, and Roslin a very good politician, to have accomplished this.

The data logs from Galactica showed the harrowing journey in detail…..the building of New Caprica, it's occupation by the Cylons and Adama's masterful battle to evacuate the colonists…..the journey through the star cluster……the passage of the fleet through what they called "Hellas' Bend", which had turned out to be a hypergravity wormhole (per Spock's analysis) and had shortened their journey from 20 years to four. 500 children on the ships had never stepped foot on a planet. They were all refugees from a true holocaust.

"Something wrong, Captain?" This from Spock, who had dropped noiselessly from his computer board to Kirk's side. The Captain looked at his friend and shook his head, gesturing at the massive Galactica that had taken station between the Federation starships and the direction that the Cylon ships were presently located.

"No, Spock. Just thinking about them….Adama, the Colonists…" Kirk stepped up and sat in his chair. "I wonder what we would have done, given the same chain of events?"

Spock paused to consider it. "Unknown, though humans are rather resilient. It would be safe to assume that a similar effort would have been made, though events have transpired that clearly favored the Colonists. It is also notable that we chose not to program sentience into our computers, unlike those that the Colonists did."

Kirk nodded, still deep in thought. Then, his eyes widened a bit, and he turned to Spock. "Spock…remember what Adama told us…they passed through the wormhole and the Cylons followed. What would stop the Cylons from pushing in more ships?"

Spock paused. "An invasion? If they truly wished to exterminate humanity, and they had followed the Colonial fleet to complete this, then it would be logical that they would have a reserve force ready."

"Three ships of that size as a scouting and reconnaissance group…..that implies that they have a rather large main fleet," Kirk surmised. "Adama said that they had over a hundred battlestars in the Colonial Fleet, and that had served as a deterrent, so can we assume that the Cylons have a relatively similar number?"

Spock thought for a second. "Judging by the damage that the Kongo inflicted, we have come to the conclusion that a ship like the Galactica could successfully engage a single baseship. Their data files suggest that Admiral Adama engaged two basestars several times in their withdrawal from Colonial space. If that is the case, the Cylons would have to have a large numerical superiority of capital ships in order for them to have a parity with the Colonial forces."

This new tact of thinking filled Jim Kirk with concern. Kongo had problems with the fighter contingent from one basestar….the assembled Starfleet would not be able to stand up to over a hundred baseships and 8,000 fighter craft. Starfleet Command needed to have the information now, and he made his decision, turning to Uhura as he did.

"Uhura, send to Starfleet Command. Priority One. I believe that there is evidence that a large-scale invasion of the Federation is imminent by the race we have recently learned about from the Galactica's commander. Believe it is imperative that we send additional naval forces into the area for further action against the enemy. Sign it and send it immediately, Lieutenant."

Uhura nodded, already working on the message. "Sent, Captain."

Kirk looked at her for another second, frowning as ugly battles were fought in his head. Then, he turned to Spock, who was waiting quietly.

"Sir…sensors show the Cylons have reentered warp space. Direct intercept course with Galactica. They will be in range of our weapons in 14.97 minutes," he told his captain, and Kirk nodded.

"Inform Kongo and Galactica. Go to red alert."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"All fighter squadrons are ready for launch, and all civilian ships are preparing to jump away."

Adama nodded at Colonel Tigh and looked at DRADIS. Bright yellow icons now inhabited the screen….no yellow icons had ever been there before. Up to now, there had only been red (Cylon) and Blue (Colonial). Now, there were two new ones.

They had labels. ENTERPRISE and KONGO.

The Federation ships had provided the Galactica with IFF transmission frequencies and with minute-by-minute updates on the Cylon ships. They were moving in, right at the Fleet, and Adama reviewed his plan for the fourth time.

The Starfleet ships were going to move to a position that would flank the Cylons when they dropped into normal space, and engage them with their weaponry. Galactica would scramble her fighters and open up with her point-defense cannon, drawing off the Cylon fighters long enough to give the smaller Federation ships time to finish off the baseships. It was a simple plan, but one no Colonial fleet commander could ever have tried. The point that the enemy popped out of hyperspace had always been an unknown; defenses usually had to be built that would be able to engage the enemy no matter where in the area they arrived (hence the 360-degree area of fire for the Galactica's PDC's). This ability to track the Cylons was a huge advantage, and might be the only thing that would save the people of the 13th Colony from destruction by the Cylons.

As planned, Adama watched the Kongo and Enterprise rise out of their positions, and move off at high sublight speed. The Cylons could pop up anywhere, so Kirk had decided that the Enterprise and Kongo would move up and away from the battlestar in order to give them room to maneuver, and force the Cylons to fight in three dimensions, rather than two. It was a brilliant tactic, and DRADIS showed them moving off.

"Damned quick ships," Tigh told him. Adama nodded. "They could make it to Earth from here in five weeks….it would take us a half year. They move at 75% of the speed of light with their conventional drive. What I'm concerned about now, however, is their weapons technology. They have to knock those baseships out of the battle as fast as they can."

"We know that at least two of the baseships are damaged….can we hold off that many of they can't?"

"Saul….I don't know. Galactica's been pretty beat up. Two, I'd feel confident. But if we end up here with these Federation ships destroyed, I hope they take two with them," Adama told his friend quietly. "Then we can rejoin the fleet and wait for the reinforcements to arrive."

"If they're worth anything," Tigh mumbled.

Adama looked over at his friend of 45 years. "My gut tells me that they're honorable, and that their on our side. And, if they don't have the ability to defeat the Cylons, maybe they have the numbers to exhaust them for a while…..long enough for us to escape from this part of space, or to build enough of a force to challenge them. Kirk has to recognize the threat to his people."

"We'll see," Tigh responded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Shields at maximum, internal defense shields on hot standby."

"Impulse engines ready for tight maneuvers."

"All phaser banks charged to full power."

"Damage Control reports ready."

James Kirk let the steady repetition of intraship communications steady his nerves as he looked at the tactical reports. On the viewscreen, the bulk of the Galactica floated off the port side, looking formidable with her flight pods fully extended and her alert fighters pacing her.

Actually, she was a good distance away; Kongo had moved some 2,500 kilometers astern of Galactica, and Enterprise was 250 kilometers above her.

The fleet had distanced themselves from the warships, and Kirk had watched them flash into warp space a few minutes ago. They would reappear a trillion miles from here, near the Federation ships Exeter and Tranquility, and within jump-range of Barrow Prime. A response from Starfleet about his Priority One request was still hours away. Now…it was time to wait for the enemy to appear.

And Jim Kirk hated waiting.

"Cylon ships on mid-range scanners……ETA is three minutes" Sulu popped up from his scanner. "No deviation in course or speed."

Spock straightened up, flicking a control on the screen, showing their respective positions in space…..two blue dots showing the starships, a large green one showing Galactica, and a straight line that bisected the screen.

"I have been able to compute the path of the Cylons down to an acceptable error. They will pass 7.65 kilometers from Galactica's position on their current course. Logically, this will be the point that they drop from warp speed. I suggest that the Kongo and Enterprise target that area first."

Kirk turned to him. "What are the odds that they will drop out of warp there?"

Spock didn't miss a beat. "In the 90th percentile, Captain."

Kirk couldn't resist a slight grin. "And, Mr. Spock….what is an 'acceptable error'?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Ten meters, Captain."

Kirk nodded. "Inform Galactica of the latest information," he told Uhura, who immediately did so. "Tell Kongo to target some phaser banks and her torpedoes at that point in space."

After another moment, she responded. "Captain, Galactica has sent coordinates describing an exclusion zone of suppression fire."

"Spock, plot those on the screen and send to Kongo. Send them to the nav computer as well…no reason to take friendly fire," he told them.

The screen now displayed a cone of gray…..the exclusion zone. Narrrowest at Galactica, it spread out to encompass almost four cubic miles of space at the intersection of the Cylon path and Spock's coordinates.

"Go ahead and put the viewer back on."

Kirk's request was followed by the Galactica reappearing…..she was slowly coming around, presenting her broadside to the Cylons.

"Ninety seconds to intercept," Sulu informed the bridge.

"Scott to bridge…..Engine room is ready. Full power whenever you want it."

Kirk punched his comlink. "Prepare power to reinforce the shields against kinietic weaponry, and for phaser fire, Scotty. We can outrun them all day at sublight speed. Tighten down whatever you need to against heavy nuclear attack."

"Doctor McCoy informs me that radiological procedures are ready shipwide, and the outer hull has been locked down," Scott answered, redoubling the assurances McCoy had given him a few minutes earlier when tasked with preparing Enterprise for high-megatonnage nuclear attack.

"Very well, Scotty. Kirk out." He punched the button again, and winced, rubbing his knuckle. "You'd think they could have made these voice-activated by now…."

"Sixty seconds…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Galactica launched her full compliment of fighters and slowed to engagement speed, while the two smaller starships readied their initial barrage. As the Cylons moved through warp space, a steady subspace field accompanied them, generated by their warp coils. As the mighty computers onboard the Cylon ships counted down, the hybrid sent the signal to her FTL engines, and the power gradient was reduced. This sent out a ripple in the fabric of subspace that moved at Warp 9.9998, making it from the Cylon ships to the sensors onboard Enterprise in a thousandth of a second. Interjectional formulas were then transferred to all three of the human warships in the form of coordinates in space, and weapons were aimed. The Cylons ships were heading into a pincer, and they had no idea what was on the other end of their path.

The Cylon ships shuddered into realspace with a bright flash of residual subspace radiation, and the Federation starships immediately engaged them with long-range phaser fire. Blue lines of phased energy reached out and impacted critical structural junctures, langin bays, and exterior weaponry mounts. Explosions ripped through the lead Cylon baseship within two seconds of their exit of warp space.

The human models of the Cylon race looked at each other with genuine surprise.

"Scanners show two of the non-Colonial human warships in formation near Galactica," Number Five told the assembled Cylon-humanoids. "Ship 332 has been engaged with long-range weaponry, similar to the earlier weapon that they used to engage our Raiders, but with more power."

Number Eight nodded. "The probability is high that this is their standard power for intra-ship combat. All base ships launch fighter craft."

Two of the Cylon baseships began their launch cycles….the third, called 332, was under heavy fire from the Federation ships, and was in distress. Onboard, the control area was full of smoke and arcing circuit boards.

Number Six was shouting over the din of exhaust fans and impacts on the superstructure. "Power to propulsion systems is failing….all FTL engines are offline! Launching bays have been targeted by the non-Colonial ships!"

The Number Five on this ship looked at the others, holding a bleeding arm. "Prepare for download. Send a complete tactical report with a Heavy Raider back through the anomaly and request all possible reinforcements."

332 yawed out of control in space, and Kongo closed in, now letting loose with photon torpedoes. Marra noted the condition of the Cylon baseship, and sent a message back to Enterprise.

"Kirk, this is Kongo. We're freeing you up to engage another ship. Move off and engage at your discretion. Remember those fighters, though….we are tracking them, and they're closing on us."

Kirk looked at Spock, who merely nodded. "Copy that, Kongo. Sulu, hard to port, course 320-mark-16, full impulse. Set phasers to wide dispersal, and present minimum aspect to the incoming fighters."

A mass of 40 Raiders had broken from the main formation that had formed up after launch and were moving in on Enterprise. The screen showed them as a group of dots that were moving against the background of stars, and they swung directly in front of Enterprise as Kirk aimed the starship towards them.

"Get outta my way," he muttered. "Sulu…fire!"

The white starship came around and fired as she accelerated to half the speed of light. Blue beams, wider than the beams she used against the Cylon baseship, lanced out and through the incoming Cylon fighters, forcing them to break into a chaotic form as Enterprise moved through. All along the length of her shield bubble, the impacts of thousands of solid projectiles flashed as she passed right through the center of the formation. Two Raiders were obliterated on her doubled-up forward screens as she flashed through, firing as she did so. Then, freed up temporarily, Enterprise made for the second Cylon baseship.

"Shields at 89%, Captain, but Mr. Scott reports fluctuations on the aft starboard side, near the shuttlecraft bay," Spock reported. "The Cylon baseship is firing conventional missiles."

"Any danger to our shields?"

Spock read the data. "Kiloton yields….high explosives of a kind I have not seen before. No immediate danger. Shield failure is not imminent. However, the fighter group we passed through earlier has reformed and is pursuing us. Impacts registering on the aft shields."

Kirk weighed his options. "Bring the helm amidships. Angle our approach to…mark two, Mr. Sulu. Checkov, phaser bursts at high power, short duration. Set torpedoes to delayed detonation. Proximity range."

"Captain?" Chekov looked back at his captain for a second. Kirk looked back. "A strafing run, Mr. Chekov. Minimum distance of three kilometers, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, sir." Sulu grinned and brought the ship to her new course.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"He's insane."

Tigh looked at his friend and commander, who was still watching the DRADIS."

"No, Saul…..he's brilliant."

The yellow icon representing Enterprise had come around at high speed and was moving to make a run at the lead Cylon ship. "He's taking both the fighters and the Cylon nukes off the table. They can take a pounding from the conventional weaponry, and the Cylons won't fire a nuclear weapon at this distance to their own ship," Adama explained. "He's using the advantages he has."

"All wings formed up and ready to engage," Tactical reported, and Adama looked at his display. "On my mark, execute suppression fire."

All over the exterior of the massive warship, point defense cannon rose and aimed into space. Over a hundred emplacements, all manned by crews (to guard against computer infiltration), took aim at their selected coordinates.

Adama waited for Enterprise to clear the area of saturation. He stoically watched DRADIS as the ship cleared the blue-shaded area.

"Execute," he ordered.

The Galactica thundered with suppression fire, flashes littering her dark exterior as she emptied space around her with pure brute force. Abeam of her, 62 Colonial fighters engaged their flight engines and moved out to engage the Cylon Raiders.

"All wings, razzle-dazzle, keep out of Galactica's firing solution. Top priority is to free up the friendlies by drawing off the Raiders. Red Squadron, with me. Starbuck, you have Blue Squadron. Cat, you stay home and watch our ass," Lee radioed to the Vipers.

"Copy that, Apollo!" Cat banked low, taking her 18 fighters back to a defensive position.

"Roger that, Apollo!" This from Starbuck, who banked high and to port, taking 20 Vipers with her and made at high speed towards the Kongo, who had come about and was trying to put distance between herself and the Cylon baseship she had engaged. All along her flanks, Raiders maintained high-volume fire.

"F'ath…report!" Marra spun and looked at his tactical readouts on the arm of his command chair. "What's our status?"

"Shields at 61%, with port forward dipping below 50%. No damage control reports on major systems."

"Copy that."

"Sir! Incoming message from a Colonial pilot, identifying herself as squadron leader," said his communications officer, and he pointed at his comm link. "Down here, Lieutenant. This is Kongo, go ahead"

"Commander, this is Lieutenant Thrace, callsign Starbuck. We're coming to free you up. Watch your defensive fire for a few microns."

Marra nodded. "I copy that, Starbuck. Happy hunting. Prepare for us to come about." He turned to the navigator. "Hard to starboard, course zero-seven-zero. Establish an intercept vector with the incoming Colonials and cease fire. Increase power to the shields."

Kongo came about to her navigational right, increased her speed, and made for the physical center of the Viper formation. Starbuck grinned to herself.

"Blue Squadron….special delivery! Weapons free! Yeeee—HAAA!!"

With a battle cry that was both shared and heard by two crews on two warships, Blue Squadron ripped past Kongo and engaged the Raiders directly. The Cylons were forced to break off their attack on Kongo, and she made for open space, chasing light as she did so.

Enterprise, for her part, hummed through space at the second Cylon baseship.

"Cylon ship is increasing fire….shields at 86%. Engineering has stabilized the aft shields.," Spock said over the increased hum of the impulse engines.

Kirk took this in with a bare nod, and hunched in his chair, feeling the momentum compensation in the artificial gravity pull him towards his chair. "Chekov, hit them with the whole kitchen sink in this pass. Full spread of torpedoes and phasers. Target propulsion and power generation areas. Sulu, plot a course that takes us on an ascent plane back towards Galactica, abeam of her suppression fire."

"Aye, Sir."

"Yes, Sir."

The huge Cylon capital ship was firing dozens of missiles a second at the closing Federation ship, Flashes of detonations littered her forward shielding as she erased the distance between them at high sublight speed.

Kirk waited….then, "Now. Fire!"

Enterprise let loose with a full volley of phaser fire, pairing it with two three-torpedo bursts. The impact was near-instantaneous……chunks of the Cylon ship were totally vaporized , leaving gaping holes where the torpedoes could enter deep into the superstructure, detonating with devastating effect.

Flashes of secondary explosions lit up the area around the baseship as Enterprise scorched through, not quite a Cylon ship-length from the tip of a massive wing. In retribution, the Cylons chased her with hundreds of missiles, the impacts thrumming through the shields and reverberating into the deck plates.

Spock spoke from his console. "Captain, two nuclear warheads on an intercept course."

Kirk whipped to Sulu. "Change course….one-zero-seven mark eight, z-plus ten degrees! Chekov…can you detonate those warheads?"

"Attempting to, Sir!" Chekov worked the board feverishly as the Artemis rose and banked, but it was too late. Kirk noted the readout and whacked the shipwide intercom.

"All hands….brace for impact!"

A great hand grabbed Enterprise, and shook it violently. The screen went hazy gray and most of the bridge staff was thrown violently forward, then hard back. Chekov hit the floor hard, rolling to the steps of the gangway before attempting to crawl back to his console. Kirk gripped the arms of his chair, staying put and shouting over the din. "Damage report!"

The thunder stopped. "Shields to 19% on the starboard rear. Two multi-megatonnage impacts at one-eight-seven. Impulse drive operational, warp drive reports nominal. Life support reads slight radiation leakage in the outlying decks. Rear phaser bank is out."

Kirk nodded at Spock. "Uhura, send to Kongo and Galactica that we're OK. Sulu, turn us on our axis, full about, no change in the vector of our momentum. Target the launch area of those missiles and fire."

In space, Apollo watched the Enterprise make her strafing run, take two nukes in her rear, then spin in space and launch a massive bombardment at the missile emplacements on the Cylon ship. The Cylons were forced to back away from the withering fire, and the Raiders rushed in, vainly attempting to spare the baseship a further response from the Federation flagship.

"Frakking awesome," he said quietly to himself. Then, he punched the communications button on his control panel. "Red Squadron, let's go right up the ass of those toasters. Close in as quiet as you can, and fire on my signal. Watch that offensive fire from Enterprise."

The Vipers closed in on momentum only, then, as the Cylons began to engage the retreating Enterprise, the Vipers fired their KEW's, ripping into the 35 Raiders and scattering them out of formation.

Onboard Galactica, Adama turned to his tactical officer. "Status."

"Enterprise has substantially damaged the second Cylon baseship. Kongo has engaged the third. The first ship has moved out of the area at low speed, but we are reading heavy damage to her. She didn't launch any fighters, and there have been no missile launches from her since she arrived."

"Bring us to one-third speed, course three-one-nine. Push us into the gauntlet. Let's try to entice that first ship into action…she might be playing dead," Adama told his navigator. "Let's then……"

"Sir!"

Adama turned. "Yes?"

There was a pause. "Three nukes just hit the Kongo."

"Dear gods……" Adama eyeballed Dualla from across the bridge, and she closed her mouth. "Try to raise them," he ordered her. "Any word from Blue Squadron?"

"On your handset, Sir, at your discretion."

He picked up the black phone. "Starbuck…tell me what you see."

A pause, and a static-filled response. "Admiral, the ship's still there, but she's hurt. She's still returning fire, but moving off at low speed. She took three off her starboard side."

"I copy that, Starbuck," he rasped back to her. "Maintain engagement with the Cylons until further notice."

"Yes, Sir!"

He looked at Tigh. "Full speed. Let's go free up Kongo. Put us in-between her and that baseship. Target main batteries."

Anastasia Dualla interrupted him. "Sir….Kongo reported in….Ccaptain Marra reports that fires are under control and he isn't planning on withdrawal Enterprise has broken off and is swinging around, matching us in mirror form and maintaining fire on the two active baseships."

"Copy. Hook me up with Enterprise."

"Yes, Sir. Captain Kirk coming through to you, Admiral."

He paused before picking up his handset. "Adama to Enterprise."

"Admiral, I noted your course. Thank you for the hand."

"My pleasure, Captain. What is your status?"

Kirk paused. "We're nominal. No real damage to speak of."

Adama nodded, checking the readout again. "Good. What is the status of the Cylon ship you were engaged with?"

Kirk answered. "She's stricken, Admiral. Venting atmosphere and we read that her propulsion systems are critically damaged."

"Good. We…"

"Admiral…the first Cylon ship has begun venting some sort of heavy ionized plasma. We estimate her systems will go critical within the next minute."

Tigh came to his side. "Tylium leakage. They're goners."

"Copy. That's a terminal failure, Captain. Move away from her and let's free up Kongo."

"Yes, Sir. Kirk out."

Adama put his handset down. "Once we get a targeting solution, inform our birds that we will be engaging the baseship directly. Once they acknowledge, bring all batteries to bear on the Cylon baseship that is engaged with the Kongo."

Enterprise, the quicker of the two ships, was in range first, letting loose with phasers on the armored skin of the Cylon ship. Kongo's phasers were no more than half-power by this time, but the firepower from the two ships was still harrowing.

Onboard Kongo, Marra batted smoke from a console and punched in a new course. "Continuing evasive! Bleed power from Environmental into the shields. Shut down all life support to the shuttlebay and to currently non-occupied parts of the ship. Reinforce shields presented to the enemy."

He ignored the answers that floated back to him and concentrated on moving the shuddering ship to a new course. The nuclear attack had killed his navigator, and there were 32 other casualties ship-wide. His warp-drive was out, and his weapons were damaged, but Kongo could still maneuver and give Enterprise time to finish off one of the other ships, or get free enough to pull Kongo out of harm's way.

He watched the thin blue lines of phaser fire still impact the Cylon ship that had heavily damaged his ship, but it was not forcing the Cylons off their attack. Their nuclear missiles were gone….their turrets damaged by return fire from the Kongo….but the kinetic energy weapons and conventional missiles were draining precious power from the Kongo's emergency reserves.

"Sir!"

Marra looked up at the screen, and saw the huge blunt nose of the Galactica pushing into nearby space. Then, after a few more seconds, flashes appeared along her forward nose and landing bays. Volleys of heavy fire were flung from Galactica towards the Cylon baseship, and impacts appeared along the whole length of the enemy spaceship.

"Excellent! Cease fire, push that power to the shields and engines. Engineering! Best speed out of…."

Marra felt the ship jolt, and he grinned through his sweat. "All stop! Kill the engines!"

His weapons officer turned to him, and Marra nodded to him.

"What is it, Sir?"

Marra smiled larger. "You know what that is, Chief! That's Jim Kirk!

On the screen, photon torpedoes flashed from above and behind Marra's point of view and smacked into the baseship with devastating effect. Along with the heavy bombardment from Galactica, the Cylon ship was withering from the fire. Kongo was pulled from the battle by Enterprise, which was still firing at the Cylon ship, while Galactica put herself between the Federation ships and the Cylons.

Jim Kirk looked at Spock. "Status?"

"Engines are at one-half astern. We have Kongo in tow, and we have beamed 83 injured onboard."

Kirk nodded. "Maintain fire on that Cylon ship as Galactica permits. Aim for the….."

A flash in the distance….an explosion the size of Manhattan erupted as the Cylon ship initially targeted in the battle detonated. Kirk winced at the view, and turned to the screen as the ship under fire from the Galactica flashed into warp space.

Spock saw this, and turned to the screen. "Tracking, sir. Speed is warp six, in a straight line back towards their stated point of entry into this part of the galaxy. The remaining Cylon ship is adrift, and is operating at very low power."

Kirk stood. "Radio Galactica. Inform them Starfleet will deal with the remaining warship. We need to get a science team out here and a large boarding contingent to secure the ship and get whatever information we can out of her. Until then, we have to tend to Kongo and treat her crew. Inform Marra that we are at his disposal."

"Aye, Sir," Uhura responded.

Spock dropped from the science console. "It appears as if we have a new enemy, Captain."

Kirk looked at his friend. "It looks like we have new friends, Mr. Spock. A lost tribe…..did they come from us? Or, did we come from them? Why the shared language…the names…parallel evolution? What brought them here?"

Spock shrugged in his Vulcan way. "Unknown. Maybe as we bring them to Earth, there will be more answers. Logically, they are humans, and we share a civilizational relationship with them, so their point of origin may very well be Earth, as they claim."

"Well…I suppose we'll find out." Kirk watched the Colonial vipers return to the massive Galactica, their job of destroying the Cylon fighter cover complete. "Either way, it has been a hell of a day, Mr. Spock. Hasn't it?"

The one raised eyebrow answered Kirk's question.

"Secure from general quarters."

43