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Chapter Three: Conversations

Chapter Three: Conversations

Starbuck was stunned when the voice came through from the unknown warship that had so easily wiped the floor with the Cylons. She wasn't sure what she should think, the voice speaking to them sounded Human and the language being spoken was Colonial standard though it was slightly distorted, the grammar and syntax were off somewhat. It was almost as if this Captain Ramirez didn't speak standard and was using a translator of somekind that was programmed with an older form of Colonial standard. Plus some of the words like the term Terran were completely unfamiliar to her.

Starbuck tried to scan the alien vessel, though its energy shields had vanished obviously having been switched off she couldn't get that many readings on it. All she could tell was that the ship was producing an incredible amount of energy and she could pick up some life signs but that was all as whatever drive system the ship used for sublight propulsion was partially scattering her Vipers sensors. Somehow Starbuck didn't think even the more powerful sensors on the /Galactica /would be able to scan the alien vessel properly.

When she saw the life sign readings Starbuck gasped in shock and amazement. The life signs on the alien ship were human. That ship it had been built and was crewed by Humans. Yet the technology was far beyond Colonial so where had the ship come from. A sudden thought struck her. Could it possibly be that the ship - what had Captain Ramirez called her again? The Avalon - had come from Earth? Could these people be the long lost thirteenth tribe of Kobol? Could the years of desperate flight from the Cylon Empire finally be over?

"Unknown fighters respond please do you require assistance," Captain Ramirez said again. Starbuck knew that she should respond to the transmission. But what could she say to Captain Ramirez. What did you say in these sorts of situations? None of the training given at the Colonial Fleet Academy had any relevance here. First contact with another sentient race had long been thought of but in all the explorations of the space surrounding the twelve colonies no sign of another civilisation had ever been found. The Cylons didn't count since Humans had created them.

Taking a deep breath - and silently praying to the lords of Kobol that she didn't do anything wrong - she opened a communications link with the /Avalon/.

"Captain Ramirez my name is Lieutenant Kara Thrace from the colonial battlestar Galactica leader of Red Squadron."

"Hello lieutenant. Lieutenant Thrace are you and your pilots all right. We have medical facilities on board this ship that are quiet capable of dealing with any injuries you might have. We are already treating one of your people it would be no trouble to treat more." As Ramirez responded Kara felt her heart skip a beat. Could the person being treated on board the Avalon be Lee, had he managed to escape death again? What about the other person from the patrol though was he alive or dead.

"We are fine sir," Starbuck responded. "Captain you said you have one of our people onboard your ship? A long range patrol of two Vipers was initially sent out do you know what happened to the second pilot?"

"Negative. I assume he was vaporised. Our long-range scanners detected a thermonuclear detonation and it caught our interest since this part of our boarder is uninhabited largely unexplored space. We came to investigate and found a single fighter adrift dead in space, seriously damaged by the nukes plasma blast wave and the pilot unconscious with severe radiation poisoning." Hearing that Starbuck closed her eyes in sorrow as she learned that yet the Cylons had killed another of her comrades in arms.

"Captain you said that were on the edge of your space here? Where are you from?"

"That is correct. You're on the edge of the territory we claim as part of Terran Hegemony. Our homeworld is generally called Terra but it is still occasionally referred to by its old name Earth." Earth! The thirteenth tribe! These people are the thirteenth tribe! /By the lords of Kobol we've found them./

A smile graced Starbuck's face as she imagined the jubilation that would break out admit the fleet once the news was broken that there long flight from the Cylons was over.

"Lieutenant Thrace are you still there?" Captain Ramirez's voice abruptly said and Starbuck jumped realising she'd let her concentration slip.

"Yes sir I'm still here. Sorry I was just a little overwhelmed when you said Earth. We've been looking for you for so long."

"What do you mean?" Ramirez demanded. "Lieutenant where are you from. Our scans of the surviving pilot we picked up indicate that he's Human but that there are a number of subtle differences between his physiology and ours. As far as we know Humans evolved on Terra but the differences in physiology indicate that you didn't. Where do you come from?"

Starbuck's jaw dropped open as she realised what Ramirez was saying. The thirteenth tribe didn't remember their origins; they'd forgotten about how the Lords of Kobol guided the thirteen tribes away from the ancient homeworld. How the twelve colonies had been founded, and how they the thirteenth tribe had vanished their existence and where they'd gone becoming first a myth then a legend. Something must have happened, something terrible that had caused them to forget their heritage.

"Captain as much as I would like to answer that question I don't think that I'm the best person to answer."

"I see." There was concern in Captain Ramirez's voice as he answered. "Who would be the best person?"

"Probably Commander Adama or President Roslin," Starbuck replied. "There back with the fleet."

"Fleet! You have a fleet near here?" Alarm was noticeable in Captain Ramirez's voice now. Starbuck immediately realised that he was probably thinking of a fleet of warships.

"It's alright sir. Only one of the ships in the fleet is a warship and that's the Galactica the rest are all refugee ships. They contain the last of our people."

"Your refugees?"

"Yes. Four years ago the Cylons attacked us without warning or provocation. They attacked with overwhelming force within a day our fleet - except for the Galactica - was gone and our twelve worlds had all been subjected to massive nuclear bombardment from space. Our fleet of ships is all that's left," Starbuck couldn't keep the pain of what had happened out of her voice as she spoke.

There was a moment of horrified silence over the comlink it wasn't everyday that you learned that billions of people had died incinerated in blinding nuclear flame or suffering the lingering, painful death of massive radiation poisoning as their whole world burned around them.

"Did those drone fighters that attacked us belong to these Cylons?" Captain Ramirez asked his voice quiet when he finally responded.

"Those were Cylons captain, to be exact there Scimitars. The Cylons are a race of sentient machines. They've set their sights on destroying every last man, woman and child of the Human race." Starbuck didn't add that Humans had created the Cylons over fifty years ago - there would be time for that later.

"I see."

"Captain might I suggest that you come back to our fleet with us," Starbuck suggested. "I know for a fact that Commander Adama and President Roslin will want to meet you. They will certainly be able to answer at least some of your questions."

"Hold please." The transmission bleeped and a symbol appeared on one of Starbuck's display screens indicating that the link had been put on hold.

It was an agonisingly slow couple of minutes before Captain Ramirez finally came back on the line.

"Lieutenant Thrace we will accompany you back to your fleet," his voice said over the comlink. "But before we do so we will send a signal to my superiors informing them of what has happened and where we are going."

"A fair precaution," Starbuck agreed. "But I assure you captain we have no hostile intentions towards you. My Vipers will move into escort formation around you. It will take nearly two hours to reach the fleet."

"Very well. Transmit a course heading." Starbuck pressed a couple of buttons on her panels. "Course heading received," Ramirez responded. "Hopefully we'll get a chance to meet face to face when we get there."

"Perhaps captain perhaps." The channel closed with a bleep. With the flick of a switch Kara switched back to inter squadron frequencies.

"All Vipers," she ordered. "Assume standard escort formation around the /Avalon/. They are coming back to the fleet with us."

"Starbuck are these people the thirteenth tribe," one of the other pilots asked her.

"I believe so but they don't remember us or Kobol so nobody ask them about it please."

"They've forgotten their ancestry," another pilot exclaimed in shock and surprise. "How could that happen?"

"I don't know. Some sort of disaster must have befallen them something so terrible that their true heritage was lost. What that something could be your guess is as good as mine. Now lets get into formation with the /Avalon/. The sooner we get that ship to the fleet the sooner we can get some answers. They've also saved one of the pilots from the patrol we were sent to find."

"Did they say who it was," a different pilot asked.

"No just that they were treating him for radiation poisoning in their medical bay." Starbuck kept the frustration about that out of her voice she so wanted to know who the pilot was for both professional and private reasons. "We will have to wait until we get back to the /Galactica /to find that out. So let's get into formation people."



***

Medical Bay

THS Avalon

Lee Adama groaned softly as consciousness returned with breathtaking suddenness. On moment he was floating in a dark void with no feeling at all and then he could suddenly feel his body again. He got the impression somehow that a light was shining on him and that he was lying on a soft surface of somekind with something equally soft laid over him to shoulder level.

Faintly he could hear a distant humming noise but something was different about the noise to what he had heard before. He could tell that he was on a ship, having spent most of his adult life on various different Colonial warships, so he knew what a starship sounded like. But the sounds that he heard now were different to what he had heard before, there was no pulsing humming from fusion reactors or a faint rumbling from ion particle acceleration sublight engines, instead the background humming of technology was a constant unchanging humming noise.

Slowly he opened his eyes to find that a bright light was shining down on him. Though the light was bright it was not unpleasantly so, for a moment the brightness made his eyes hurt but before he could even blink the pain disappeared. Cautiously Lee sat up and looked around to find that he was in a small room that looked like a hospital room but not like one he'd seen before.

The bulkheads were made of a smooth cream coloured metal that merged with the ceiling and deck without any visible joining; they just seamlessly merged together as if it was just one continuous piece of metal. Illumination was coming from glowing sections of the ceiling, along with bands down the centre of the bulkheads and along the join with the deck, and the light looked like an artificial form of sunlight.

Continuing to look around Lee noticed that there was nothing else in the room aside from the bed he was lying on covered from the neck down by a light blue blanket. Looking down at himself he noticed that his flying gear, uniform and sidearm along with his boots were gone and that he was wearing somekind of silver grey jumpsuit that had no visible seams at all.

As he ran his hand over it the jumpsuit felt as though it was made of silk but Lee knew somehow that it wasn't but was instead made of a material that was much stronger, a material that was virtually indestructible. How he knew that he didn't know, he just did. A section of the jumpsuit near the one edge of the collar felt slightly different to the rest, ever so slightly harder. When he pressed on it the front of the jumpsuit down to the waist split open, when he pressed that section again the open seam merged seamlessly back together. Wow, Lee thought wondering what technology went into creating the jumpsuit. Then he looked at the room. W/here in the name of the Lords of Kobol am I,/ he wondered/, this definitely isn't a Colonial ship and none of this looks Cylon so where am I? /

Before he could start really thinking about where he could be a door that he hadn't seen opened with a soft humming noise. Lee looked at it as a dark skinned man came through, the man was huge his body rippling with lean muscles, but his eyes and face were warm and friendly. Lee noticed that he was wearing a white doctors coat over a jumpsuit that looked similar to the one he was wearing but which was a dark blue colour with white and gold highlighting and piping.

The man spoke and his voice was warm and kind, and spoke with an accent that Lee had never heard before. As the man spoke Lee did not understand a word that the man spoke as the man spoke in a language unlike anything he had ever heard before.

"I don't understand," he said. The man frowned obviously not understanding him either and then the man looked chagrined and turned and walked out of the room. "Wait where are you going," Lee asked getting off the bed and following the man, barely noticing that he was barefoot.

And found himself in another larger room. This room was hexagonal in shape but followed exactly the same style as the room he had just been in. Looking around it was obviously a medical bay of somekind, five of the walls had doors set in them and there was a large bed in the centre of the room. The sixth wall had a set of cabinet's set into it along with a worktable that had cupboards and drawers along with a glass walled office.

It was to that wall that the stranger went and opened one of the worktables drawers and started to pull something out. Lee wondered what it was and then something happened that shocked him to his core. As he saw the stranger start to withdraw something from the drawer his vision zoomed in on it so that it was almost as if he was standing right next to the stranger. The man was withdrawing two devices that looked like they could attach to the side of someone's face from the draw before closing it. What the hell, Lee thought shocked by what had just happened. He blinked and his vision returned too normal. Okay what the hell just happened, he wondered, lords of Kobol how did I do that?

The strange man turned back around and smiled warmly at him before approaching him and holding out one of the two devices he had retrieved and mentioned for him to take it. Curious Lee did as he was bid and examined the object as he held it. It was a small strip of metallic plastic - at least he thought it was plastic, one side of the surface was shinny, the other a dull grey colour. But what did he do with it.

Lee looked at the man his face indicating his confusion as to what to do with the strange device. The man smiled and as Lee watched he turned his head so his ear was pointing at him and then the stranger pressed the small device to the skin just behind his ear with the shiny side up. Lee noticed small lights appear on the device as he did so.

Cautiously but willing to trust for now Lee mimicked the mans actions and pressed the strip into place behind his right ear. As they device was pressed against his skin there was the oddest sensation as if something was attaching itself to his skin, but then it passed.

"You should be able to understand me now," the man said and Lee was shocked to find that this time he did understand the words. "Can you understand?"

"Yes I understand," Lee replied. "Can you understand me as well?"

"Yes," the man replied smiling warmly. "Before you ask the devices we are wearing are translators so we can understand each other. I'm afraid that my people actually don't speak your language."

"You don't speak standard," Lee asked surprised.

"No," the man replied. "We haven't spoken any language like yours in many millennia."

"I see. Where am I?" Lee asked. "This doesn't look like a Colonial ship. Who are you?"

"So many questions I'll start at the beginning," the man answered with a smile. "You are aboard the Terran Hegemony starship /Avalon/. I'm Doctor Virgil Pike ships medical officer. We rescued you, we found your fighter adrift in space, badly damaged by a close encounter with a thermonuclear detonation - which incidentally caught our attention in the first place when it appeared on our long-range sensors. Our interest was peaked especially since no one around here uses such primitive weaponry anymore. We came to investigate and its fortunate for you that we did, you were dying of radiation poisoning when we found you."

"I see thank you for saving me," Lee replied. "But what's a Terran? I've never heard a term like that before."

"A Terran is another name for a Human," Dr Pike replied with a smile. "Its derived from the name of our homeworld Terra, though some people still persist in calling it Earth."

Lee was stunned by the answer. Earth! How can that be it's a myth, he thought thinking about the thirteenth tribe, like President Roslin and Colonel Tigh he knew that the story his father had told about knowing Earth's location when they started on there journey away from the burning colonies was a lie. That there was no Earth, that it was nothing but an ancient myth from before the colonies were founded.

"Earth's a myth," Lee said confidentially.

"I can assure you its real," Pike replied. "I was born there." Lee looked at Dr Pike and looking into his warm, kind eyes saw that he was telling the truth. Earth really was real. They had really found the thirteenth tribe. Then something that Pike had said earlier clicked and Lee frowned.


"You said I was dying when you found me," he said.

"Yes," Virgil answered with a smile guessing what he was going to be asked next.

"I'm obviously not dead and I feel fine, better than fine actually. So how could I have been that sick and not show any signs now?"

"Simple. We used nanites to save you. They cleaned up the radiation and repaired all the cell and DNA damage. You're perfectly healthy now. Better in fact. Your now in better physical condition than you have probably ever been in your life." Nanites, Lee asked himself, what are nanites when they are around?

"What are nanites?"

"Before I answer can you tell me your name please," Virgil asked. Lee flushed as he abruptly realised that he had been rude in not introducing himself.

"Oh sorry forgive me I've been rude. I'm Captain Lee Adama," Lee replied. "I'm a Viper pilot from the Colonial Battlestar Galactica. My call sign is Apollo."

"It's okay," Virgil replied. "Now you asked me about nanites. How much do you know about nanotechnology?"

"I've never heard of nanotechnology what is it?" Lee asked interested.

"A full description would be complicated but basically nanotechnology is the science and technology of making very, very small machines. Machines that are way to small to be seen with the naked eye and are easily small enough to enter living cells. These machines are called nanites."

"Wow," Lee answered. "But if these nanites are that small then how could they do anything? Wouldn't they be next to useless?" Pike laughed.

"On the contrary. Nanites are extremely powerful machines and are incredibly versatile. They are capable of manipulating matter on the sub molecular and sometimes even the atomic level. You could let loose a cloud of nanites on a suitable asteroid programmed to say build a battlecruiser. They would immediately get to work and in a few days the asteroid would be completely transformed into a fully armed, fully operational battlecruiser. The nanites would build everything from the first structural members to the most complex systems and everything in between."

"Amazing. That's like the stuff of science fiction."

"For us its science fact. Nanites are everywhere in our society. They are one of our most base technologies on which everything else is based. There in our machines, our computers, for example that jumpsuit your wearing has nanites in it and was made by them for you, some nanites are even inside us."

"Inside you," Lee exclaimed. "You mean you've got the lords of Kobol know how many tiny machines moving about inside you."

"Well technically the nanites that are inside people aren't true machines. Instead they are what is known as biomechanoid organisms, organic machines. The nanites in people do a variety of things. They ensure near perfect health. Slow the ageing process down once you reach maturity but what they do especially is enhance the Human bodies capabilities. Speed, strength, endurance, reflexes, eyesight, hearing all is enhanced. Nanites can repair the human body more efficiently than the body can on its own."

"Incredible," Lee replied amazed by what he was hearing. These nanites were a level of technology that was beyond even the Cylons. But then something occurred to him. Dr Pike had said they'd used nanites to save his life, were they still inside him? What had happened earlier with his vision seemed to indicate that they were still there.

The thought that he could have billions of tiny little machines inside him gave Lee pause. Lee was not sure how he really felt about that. Oh he liked the idea of a longer life span, near perfect health and the enhanced physical abilities that Doctor Pike described. What person wouldn't like to live longer and be fitter and stronger than ever thought possible? But did he really want to have the nanites inside him, assuming they were still there.

"Doctor Pike you said that you used these nanites to save me," he said. "Are they still inside me?"

"I'm afraid so," Virgil replied genuinely apologetic. "Once they finished repairing the damage to your body they proceeded to enhance you just like do us. They are a part of you now. Believe me Captain Adama had there been any other way to save you without using the nanites I would have done it."

"It's not your fault," Lee replied seeing that Doctor Pike was unhappy about having to use the nanites. "You saved my life I'm very grateful for that. Can you get these things out of me though?"

"I'm afraid not. The nanites have completely integrated themselves with your bodily systems. We cannot remove them without killing you. We can change one kind of nanite for another but we cannot remove them." Lee's shoulders slumped.

"I was afraid that you would say that," Lee said with a resigned sigh. Looks like I'm going to have to get used to having these nanites inside me, he thought to himself surprised that he was accepting it so easily. "You said there are different kinds of nanites that go in people."

"Yes civilian and military," Pike replied. "Civilian nanites are the basic nanites which everyone's injected with at birth. They give all the general enhancements lengthened life expectancy, near perfect health, enhanced eye sight and hearing, plus enhanced strength, speed and endurance. Military class nanites give the same main enhancements but they boost strength more along with your speed and endurance and they also increase agility. Naturally military-class nanites are only used by the Hegemony Guard legally anyway. Mercenaries and pirates have been known to use military-class nanites when they can get their hands on them."

"Makes sense. So what kind are in me?"

"Military-class. There the only type we have on board as the Avalon is a warship of the Hegemony Guard. Granted this vessel is only a long-range patrol cruiser not a front line combat ship but we are still a warship. Don't worry though about having the nanites inside you. We will help you adjust to there presence and learn your new capabilities."

"Thank you."

"It is the least that we can do," Doctor Pike replied with a warm smile. Lee smiled back and abruptly for the first time noticed that his feet were cold.

"Um are they're any boots or something that I can put on my feet," Lee asked. "Though what happened to my uniform?"

"It was badly contaminated it was beyond our ability to decontaminate - unlike the interior of your Viper - so we destroyed it," Pike replied. "That's why we provided you with the jumpsuit. There is a pair of boots to match it in the cupboard under the bed you woke up on."

"Ah I understand. If you'll excuse me then I will go and put the boots on," Lee said.

"Of course."

Lee smiled again then turned and walked back into the small room he had so recently come out of. Virgil Pike watched him go then turned and went back to his desk to apprise Captain Ramirez up on the bridge of the latest developments.