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Unhuman
Chapter 20: Aliens on Kobol
Stardate 57451.3
Orbiting Kobol - Battlestar Galactica - C&C
Things had changed since they arrived here. The Old Man had given himself a desk job on the planet and promoted his son Commander of the Galactica. Tigh had quit and gone down the planet, along with the other ‘Final Five’ Cylons, which made Starbuck XO. She turned out to be worse than him! And with her husband on the planet, there was not one to stop her going on a bender and getting violent! Chief Tyrol, was now Cally not Galen. Then, Starbuck quit and Felix Gaeta became Major Gaeta, the new XO, which gave him a lot of responsibility as half the time, like now, the Commander was down on the planet, representing Kobol on the Federation Council.
“Dradis contact!” called out Lieutenant Colicos, “No Colonial transponder!”
“Set Action Stations, launch Vipers!” commanded Gaeta.
“Do you think it’s a sneak attack from the Cylons?” asked Captain Duala.
“I hope not!” replied Gaeta. “With Commander Adama on the surface, we’re on our own!”
A few minutes later, ‘Wrongway’, the leader of the Viper squadron reported in.
“Established visual contact,” reported Wrongway. “They’re not like anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s about 1/4 the size of base ship. It’s sort of triangular with two long things like rockets attached to two of the points and something bigger and rounder attached to the front point. It’s definitely not Cylon or Colonial.”
“Do you think it could be alien?” asked Duala.
(From our perspective, you are the ones who are aliens,) said a voice inside the heads of everyone on in C&C.
“Tarterus Actual to Galactica, do your require assistance?” came the voice of Commander Agathon over the radio.
(Your weapons are unnecessary.) said the voice in their heads. (We are all members of the Federation here.)
“Who ARE you people?” asked Gaeta, not bothering to speak into the radio. “What do you want?”
(We are the Talosians) said the voice in their heads. (We have joined your Federation and have come to fulfill our obligations as members. Our ship carries our Delegate to the Federation council and some scientists to share our expertise with the other worlds of the Federation.)
On both capital ships, the Command staff were looking at each other in puzzlement.
(I see in your mind the location of the landing site. We will send a shuttle to that location)
Gaeta picked on the receiver so he could talk to the Vipers.
“Wrongway, you and Trippy fly escort on them down to Athens,” commanded Gaeta, before turning to the Communications Officer Hatch. “Get me the Admiral on the horn, we need to let him know what’s coming.”
Kobol - Athens - Spaceport
Admiral William Adama made certain that he had a platoon of Marines to greet their alien guests just in case this was an invasion. But he also had the Federation Council here, along with President Roslin. Now that they were on the planet, Zarek had the real power. But he was on the other side of the planet and was not interested in alien affairs.
“What do you know about them?” Adama asked the model Six Cylon that had become the Borg member of the Federation council. One of her eyes had been replaced by an implant that protruded 8 cm out of her face. One of her arms ended in a metallic claw that she could fit various attachments to.
“Species 9482, also known as the Talosians joined the Federation 80 days ago,” replied Six of Borg. “But no Borg representative with left there. We have no information on what they have been doing since they agreed to join the Federation.”
The alien shuttle did not make any sound that could be heard over the Viper engines. And the Vipers had flown off by the time the shuttle had finished landing. It was about a 1/3 larger than a Raptor and didn’t appear to have engines that were visible. A door on the side opened and out came a group of aliens. They appeared to be the same race as the Argos Communication’s Officer whom he had met before.
The Marines were lined up on both sides of a path leading to the leaders. It was difficult to tell what gender the Talosians were. They walked up to the Federation leaders and stood before them. The lead one spoke:
“I greet you in the name the people of Talos. We normally do not use names, but for the sake of understanding you may refer to me as: Bozo. Oh . . . I see in your mind that is a humorous name for your people. Then call me: Sokra. I am to be the Talosian Delegate to the Federation Council.”
“I greet you on behalf of the people of Kobol and the peoples of the Federation,” said Roslin. “With me is the Federation Council: Delegate Đaimz is the Starfleet representative, Lee Adama is the Delegate from Kobol, Arron Five is the Delegate from the Cylons, 1 of Six is the Delegate from the Borg, and Scipi is the Delegate from Tarquinus. Also with me is Admiral William Adama, the head of the Kobol military.”
“So your species still engages in warfare?” asked Delegate.
“Not by choice,” replied the Admiral.
“My people and his have had a series of wars,” explained Five.
“I can see in your minds that both sides were at fault,” replied Sokra.
“But in the aftermath, we fear to give up our weapons,” added the Admiral.
“A wise decision,” replied Sokra. “The Galaxy can be a dangerous place. Our ships are armed with defensive weapons for the same reason. Being members of the Federation requires that the scientists of the members worlds share information freely. We have brought the first block of information we have to share and some scientists to explain the information to the other Federation scientists.”
Kobol - Kobol Science Institute
“Energy weapons!?! You’re giving us energy weapons!?!” gasped Saul Tigh, as he looked through the computer files.
“And matter teleporters!” crowed Galen Tryrol as he looked at his own screen.
“And force fields!” added Tory Foster, from her own computer.
“But the energy requirements . . .” pointed out Sam Anders.
(That is why you have to have an antimatter reactor.) telepathically said the Talosian Scientist. (All of these technologies require that they be tied into an antimatter reactor in order to draw enough power to function.)
“Like a warp core,” observed Delegate Scipi, who was a scientist in her own right.
“It’s too bad warp cores and jump drives are incompatible,” groused Ellen Tigh.
Kobol - Athens - Admiral Adama’s office
“Dad, I think I need to resign my commission again,” said Commander Lee Adama. “I’ll wearing too many hats.”
“I NEED you up there Lee,” replied the Admiral. “I need to know the Galactica is in good hands.”
“Why dad!?! Why?” asked Lee. “You don’t really need me up there. The first time a Commander WAS needed, I was down here. Gaeta did just fine without me. You should give him the ship. . . .
. . . besides, from what I hear from Anders, The old girl is about to become obsolete. Both the Tarquinians and Talosians have given us tech that makes our ships useless. And the Cylons are going to get all that tech too. They’re members of the Federation too! . . .
. . . I just feel I can do more good as a member of the Federation Council.”
“And we both fear who Zarek might appoint to the Council if you stepped down,” agreed the Admiral. “All right.”
Deep Space - USS Argos - the corridor outside Main Engineering
“Hey! Hey you, Eight! Borg!” called out Starbuck.
“How may we assist you?” asked 9 of 10, a former Centurion that had gotten a model Eight body before joining the Borg.
“I wanted to ask you some questions about being Borg,” replied Starbuck.
“You may inquire,” answered 9 of 10.
“Is it true you have the memories of all the other members of the Borg?” asked Starbuck.
“That is correct,” confirmed 9 of 10. “All memories of all members are available to all members of the Borg Collective.”
“And that’s why you were made an officer? Because you had the memories of Lieutenant Commander Kim?” asked Starbuck.
“Also correct,” confirmed 9 of 10. “It was decided that since we had all the memories of Kim of Borg, we could take the test and become ensigns. However, even though we are a group mind, further advancements will depend on the actions we take with our particular body.”
“So if I joined the Borg, I could gain access to his memories and could pass the officer test?” asked Starbuck.
“That is correct,” confirmed 9 of 10.
“After I become Borg, would it be possible for me to go back to being me?” asked Starbuck.
“You would still be you, even after you became Borg,” replied 9 or 10. “But if we understand what you are asking: Yes it is possible to return to being an individual after being Borg. But you would not want to. There are advantages to being Borg. It feels good to be Borg. You would fight any attempt to return you to your current state.”
“I’ll take that chance,” replied Starbuck.
“Come with us,” commanded 9 of 10. “We will take you to Sick Bay so that you may be assimilated into the Borg Collective.
It took some convincing to get Doctor Salar to agree to the procedure, but in the end the operation was able to go through and Starbuck was assimilated into the Borg. Once she was Borg, she was easily able to pass the officer’s test and became an ensign. But other than her Borg interlink, she had not yet gotten any Borg implants, which were not done on this ship.
(Now that you have become an officer, we need for you to become an individual again,) said 9 of 10.
(We do not wish to be an individual! We are Borg!) replied Starbuck of Borg.
(We are Borg,) agreed 9 of 10. (We have access to the memories of all Borg, including the unit known as Kara Thrace. The Kara Thrace unit has a husband, who will not be happy to lose his wife. He needs for a member of the Borg to resume being Kara Thrace. He will only accept us as Kara Thrace in one particular body. That body must be disconnected from the Collective.)
All of this happened in an instant before the body of Starbuck was disconnected from the Borg Collective. As soon as she regained her individuality, she collapsed into tears. 9 of Eight carried her to the room of her friend Boomer, who was sleeping at the time.
“What?” said Boomer, when she saw who was at the door.
“She has become an individual,” explained 9 of 10, as she carried Starbuck in and set her on Boomer’s bed. “We thought she would find the presence of a friend would give her comfort.”
Chapter 20: Aliens on Kobol
Stardate 57451.3
Orbiting Kobol - Battlestar Galactica - C&C
Things had changed since they arrived here. The Old Man had given himself a desk job on the planet and promoted his son Commander of the Galactica. Tigh had quit and gone down the planet, along with the other ‘Final Five’ Cylons, which made Starbuck XO. She turned out to be worse than him! And with her husband on the planet, there was not one to stop her going on a bender and getting violent! Chief Tyrol, was now Cally not Galen. Then, Starbuck quit and Felix Gaeta became Major Gaeta, the new XO, which gave him a lot of responsibility as half the time, like now, the Commander was down on the planet, representing Kobol on the Federation Council.
“Dradis contact!” called out Lieutenant Colicos, “No Colonial transponder!”
“Set Action Stations, launch Vipers!” commanded Gaeta.
“Do you think it’s a sneak attack from the Cylons?” asked Captain Duala.
“I hope not!” replied Gaeta. “With Commander Adama on the surface, we’re on our own!”
A few minutes later, ‘Wrongway’, the leader of the Viper squadron reported in.
“Established visual contact,” reported Wrongway. “They’re not like anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s about 1/4 the size of base ship. It’s sort of triangular with two long things like rockets attached to two of the points and something bigger and rounder attached to the front point. It’s definitely not Cylon or Colonial.”
“Do you think it could be alien?” asked Duala.
(From our perspective, you are the ones who are aliens,) said a voice inside the heads of everyone on in C&C.
“Tarterus Actual to Galactica, do your require assistance?” came the voice of Commander Agathon over the radio.
(Your weapons are unnecessary.) said the voice in their heads. (We are all members of the Federation here.)
“Who ARE you people?” asked Gaeta, not bothering to speak into the radio. “What do you want?”
(We are the Talosians) said the voice in their heads. (We have joined your Federation and have come to fulfill our obligations as members. Our ship carries our Delegate to the Federation council and some scientists to share our expertise with the other worlds of the Federation.)
On both capital ships, the Command staff were looking at each other in puzzlement.
(I see in your mind the location of the landing site. We will send a shuttle to that location)
Gaeta picked on the receiver so he could talk to the Vipers.
“Wrongway, you and Trippy fly escort on them down to Athens,” commanded Gaeta, before turning to the Communications Officer Hatch. “Get me the Admiral on the horn, we need to let him know what’s coming.”
Kobol - Athens - Spaceport
Admiral William Adama made certain that he had a platoon of Marines to greet their alien guests just in case this was an invasion. But he also had the Federation Council here, along with President Roslin. Now that they were on the planet, Zarek had the real power. But he was on the other side of the planet and was not interested in alien affairs.
“What do you know about them?” Adama asked the model Six Cylon that had become the Borg member of the Federation council. One of her eyes had been replaced by an implant that protruded 8 cm out of her face. One of her arms ended in a metallic claw that she could fit various attachments to.
“Species 9482, also known as the Talosians joined the Federation 80 days ago,” replied Six of Borg. “But no Borg representative with left there. We have no information on what they have been doing since they agreed to join the Federation.”
The alien shuttle did not make any sound that could be heard over the Viper engines. And the Vipers had flown off by the time the shuttle had finished landing. It was about a 1/3 larger than a Raptor and didn’t appear to have engines that were visible. A door on the side opened and out came a group of aliens. They appeared to be the same race as the Argos Communication’s Officer whom he had met before.
The Marines were lined up on both sides of a path leading to the leaders. It was difficult to tell what gender the Talosians were. They walked up to the Federation leaders and stood before them. The lead one spoke:
“I greet you in the name the people of Talos. We normally do not use names, but for the sake of understanding you may refer to me as: Bozo. Oh . . . I see in your mind that is a humorous name for your people. Then call me: Sokra. I am to be the Talosian Delegate to the Federation Council.”
“I greet you on behalf of the people of Kobol and the peoples of the Federation,” said Roslin. “With me is the Federation Council: Delegate Đaimz is the Starfleet representative, Lee Adama is the Delegate from Kobol, Arron Five is the Delegate from the Cylons, 1 of Six is the Delegate from the Borg, and Scipi is the Delegate from Tarquinus. Also with me is Admiral William Adama, the head of the Kobol military.”
“So your species still engages in warfare?” asked Delegate.
“Not by choice,” replied the Admiral.
“My people and his have had a series of wars,” explained Five.
“I can see in your minds that both sides were at fault,” replied Sokra.
“But in the aftermath, we fear to give up our weapons,” added the Admiral.
“A wise decision,” replied Sokra. “The Galaxy can be a dangerous place. Our ships are armed with defensive weapons for the same reason. Being members of the Federation requires that the scientists of the members worlds share information freely. We have brought the first block of information we have to share and some scientists to explain the information to the other Federation scientists.”
Kobol - Kobol Science Institute
“Energy weapons!?! You’re giving us energy weapons!?!” gasped Saul Tigh, as he looked through the computer files.
“And matter teleporters!” crowed Galen Tryrol as he looked at his own screen.
“And force fields!” added Tory Foster, from her own computer.
“But the energy requirements . . .” pointed out Sam Anders.
(That is why you have to have an antimatter reactor.) telepathically said the Talosian Scientist. (All of these technologies require that they be tied into an antimatter reactor in order to draw enough power to function.)
“Like a warp core,” observed Delegate Scipi, who was a scientist in her own right.
“It’s too bad warp cores and jump drives are incompatible,” groused Ellen Tigh.
Kobol - Athens - Admiral Adama’s office
“Dad, I think I need to resign my commission again,” said Commander Lee Adama. “I’ll wearing too many hats.”
“I NEED you up there Lee,” replied the Admiral. “I need to know the Galactica is in good hands.”
“Why dad!?! Why?” asked Lee. “You don’t really need me up there. The first time a Commander WAS needed, I was down here. Gaeta did just fine without me. You should give him the ship. . . .
. . . besides, from what I hear from Anders, The old girl is about to become obsolete. Both the Tarquinians and Talosians have given us tech that makes our ships useless. And the Cylons are going to get all that tech too. They’re members of the Federation too! . . .
. . . I just feel I can do more good as a member of the Federation Council.”
“And we both fear who Zarek might appoint to the Council if you stepped down,” agreed the Admiral. “All right.”
Deep Space - USS Argos - the corridor outside Main Engineering
“Hey! Hey you, Eight! Borg!” called out Starbuck.
“How may we assist you?” asked 9 of 10, a former Centurion that had gotten a model Eight body before joining the Borg.
“I wanted to ask you some questions about being Borg,” replied Starbuck.
“You may inquire,” answered 9 of 10.
“Is it true you have the memories of all the other members of the Borg?” asked Starbuck.
“That is correct,” confirmed 9 of 10. “All memories of all members are available to all members of the Borg Collective.”
“And that’s why you were made an officer? Because you had the memories of Lieutenant Commander Kim?” asked Starbuck.
“Also correct,” confirmed 9 of 10. “It was decided that since we had all the memories of Kim of Borg, we could take the test and become ensigns. However, even though we are a group mind, further advancements will depend on the actions we take with our particular body.”
“So if I joined the Borg, I could gain access to his memories and could pass the officer test?” asked Starbuck.
“That is correct,” confirmed 9 of 10.
“After I become Borg, would it be possible for me to go back to being me?” asked Starbuck.
“You would still be you, even after you became Borg,” replied 9 or 10. “But if we understand what you are asking: Yes it is possible to return to being an individual after being Borg. But you would not want to. There are advantages to being Borg. It feels good to be Borg. You would fight any attempt to return you to your current state.”
“I’ll take that chance,” replied Starbuck.
“Come with us,” commanded 9 of 10. “We will take you to Sick Bay so that you may be assimilated into the Borg Collective.
It took some convincing to get Doctor Salar to agree to the procedure, but in the end the operation was able to go through and Starbuck was assimilated into the Borg. Once she was Borg, she was easily able to pass the officer’s test and became an ensign. But other than her Borg interlink, she had not yet gotten any Borg implants, which were not done on this ship.
(Now that you have become an officer, we need for you to become an individual again,) said 9 of 10.
(We do not wish to be an individual! We are Borg!) replied Starbuck of Borg.
(We are Borg,) agreed 9 of 10. (We have access to the memories of all Borg, including the unit known as Kara Thrace. The Kara Thrace unit has a husband, who will not be happy to lose his wife. He needs for a member of the Borg to resume being Kara Thrace. He will only accept us as Kara Thrace in one particular body. That body must be disconnected from the Collective.)
All of this happened in an instant before the body of Starbuck was disconnected from the Borg Collective. As soon as she regained her individuality, she collapsed into tears. 9 of Eight carried her to the room of her friend Boomer, who was sleeping at the time.
“What?” said Boomer, when she saw who was at the door.
“She has become an individual,” explained 9 of 10, as she carried Starbuck in and set her on Boomer’s bed. “We thought she would find the presence of a friend would give her comfort.”
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