(Writer's Note: Now that the battle's over, I think it's time for a title change. G.)
The Entity stared at the hologram displaying the small fleet of starships orbiting a non-descript Class L planet, it the only satellite of an equally non-descript Type A star. Two battlestars, fifteen hundred metre-long space battleships/aircraft carriers, the capital ships of the combined fleet of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Beside them, three starships of the United Federation of Planets, a Sovereign-class deep space explorer, an Intrepid-class light explorer and the prototype Defiant-class escort. Beyond that, a civilian transwarp-capable solar-sail ship hailing from a planet named Noukiios, a world fifty light-years from Earth that was the hearth of an ancient and stable society. Added to that was a spacecraft of an intergalactic empire controlled by the avian-descent Shiar and a patrol ship from the planet Thanangar.
Ships from different dimensions. Brought together when a race of inducted sentients named the Cylons took advantage of a lonely young man named Moroboshi Ataru and used him to ultimately allow them to wipe out all of humanity throughout all of Creation.
No more.
"I had to learn," the Entity named V'ger, born centuries before as a simple NASA probe designated Voyager Six, mused. "So will they..."
"Colonal battlestar Galactica, this is the cox of the independent sail-barque Windrider. Permission to come aboard."
"Windrider cox, this is Galactica. You are cleared to land in the portside landing bay, Siress Moroboshi."
"Acknowledged, Galactica. Coming in now."
The cox, one of two such craft that allowed the Windrider to land personnel whenever the transporter was down or the ship was not floating on a planet's sea, tilted its prow so it could glide serenely into the portside landing bay of the massive Colonial battlestar. Watching from her seat, Sakuya was quick to spot the Delta Flyer sitting beside a parked Viper and Raptor. "We're probably the last ones here," she muttered, glancing at Rinrin, who was piloting the cox. "Wonder why Janeway-taisa insisted on using shuttles."
"Probably still debating over revealling more of their technology -- or ours -- to the Colonials," Rinrin mused.
"This 'Prime Directive' law of theirs, right?" a woman behind them wondered.
"Most likely," Sakuya confirmed, sparing Kara Thrace a glance. "I guess the big boys at Starfleet Command are going to have conniption fits over the amount of 'primitive' cultures that're represented here."
"Yeah, admirals are like that all over, I'll bet," Jackson Spencer, Galactica's air group boss, mused.
The cox sailed through the protective forcefield that allowed the landing deck to remain pressurized, then settled softly onto the deck beside the Delta Flyer. Glancing out the viewports, Sakuya was quick to recognize the group of senior officers standing close to the Flyer's bow. Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Kathryn Janeway and William Adama. The fifth man standing there, dressed in a uniform similar to Adama's, was most likely Brendan Cain, commander of the battlestar Pegasus, the Galactica's sistership. Also present on the landing deck were the usual crew of officers and personnel needed to service the battlestar's fighters when they came in.
"We're down," Rinrin announced, then glanced at the two Galactica pilots. "You sure you want me to explain this to Adama-taisa?"
"Believe me, Siress Rinrin, we're still having problems believing this," Spencer confessed. "Besides, you're the one who showed us what was going on. You're the best one to explain this to the Commander."
"In private, Rinrin-chan," Sakuya reminded her sister.
"Hai, hai..."
"Permission to come aboard, Adama-taisa?"
"Permission granted, Siress Moroboshi," William Adama replied with a smile, his hand out in greeting. Sakuya took his hand and gave him a friendly squeeze and her most stunning smile. "Welcome aboard the Galactica. I trust your brother is alright."
"Chikage-chan's examining him and his counterpart aboard our ship right now," Sakuya explained, grateful that everyone had universal translators so that she didn't have to attempt to use her still-rudimentary English (Standard to the Federation personnel). And she had no idea whatsoever as to what Earth language -- if any! -- the Colonials' native tongue was closest to, legends connecting the Twelve Colonies to the Earth of their dimension notwithstanding. "Onii-sama should be back on his feet by later tonight," Sakuya added. "Transforming into the Cyborg always takes so much out of him."
"What about his counterpart?" Janeway wondered as the Starfleet commanders and Cain moved to join them.
"The instant Chikage-chan saw him, she was quick to sense that some sort of spell had been induced on the other Aniki the very instant he laid his hands on the D-hopper on Lum's ship," Rinrin answered. "Add that to the brainwashing the Cylons subjected him to later..."
She shrugged. "Another thing we're ultimately responsible for, eh, old friend?" Cain mused, glancing at Adama.
"Unfortunately," the Galactica's commander acknowledged his friend's comment with a sigh.
"It gets worse, Commander."
Eyes locked on the Galactica's CAG. "What do you mean, Ripper?" Adama wondered.
Spencer sighed. "It's best that Siress Rinrin explain that to you in private, sir. It's..." He paused. "Big."
"Very big," Kara added in emphasis.
Adama gazed on his two officers, then noted the other pilots disembarking from the Windrider's cox. Noting that there were only six people here in lieu of seven -- a two-crew Raptor had been one of the ships lost when the first Cylon basestar was destroyed -- he hummed, then nodded. "Alright, we'll discuss it later. In the meantime, why don't we head to the conference room?"
"Of course," Picard answered for them all...
"I must confess, I've heard about acupuncture, but I never believed I would ever see it practiced."
"Don't they have records about the more traditional medical practices in your universe, Sensei?"
"Most of them were lost during the Third World War."
"How unfortunate," Chikage mused, pursing her lips as she tapped a slender needle into Ataru's forehead. Watching the young sorceress go to work on her brother were three Federation Starfleet doctors -- Beverly Crusher of the Enterprise, Julian Bashir from the Defiant and the holographic Doctor from Voyager. Relaxing on the other diagnostic unit was the Moroboshi Ataru who, in a way, instigated this mass gathering of humanity from over forty separate dimensions. Sitting beside him, holding his hand, was Anri, the green-haired, blue-eyed 33-S who, as she admitted to Chikage earlier, had become one of Ataru's inner circle of confidants during the brief time he was alone on the planet below with the 480 Sexaroids he rescued from the Bubblegum Crisis universe.
The door to the Windrider's small nursing station opened to reveal Geordi LaForge. "Hello, Geordi," Bashir greeted the Enterprise's chief engineer with a smile. "Did you finish examining that Cylon infiltrator Chikage's sisters warned us about?"
"Yeah, I did," LaForge replied, shaking his head in wonder. "Whoo! In so many ways, she's as advanced as Data or even Anri here." He indicated the 33-S with a wave of his hand, who blushed in return on hearing his compliment.
"What about Rinrin's suspicion about her programming, Geordi?" Crusher asked.
LaForge nodded. "It's true. From my initial scan of Lieutenant Valerii's core matrix, she was programmed to believe and act as if she was human. Only when her mind was linked into by an outside agent would she've been brought under full Cylon operational control."
"That's why they needed a copy of Genom's Overmind Control System, what Largo offered Miroku when things really started up," Anri added. "It seems that humanoid Cylons, when they're in the presence of so many real humans, become so overwhelmed that their very souls rebel against the idea of their turning against friends and acquaintances like what the Cylons ultimately intended to do."
"The question is, will the Colonials still accept Sharon after all this is said and done?" Bashir mused. "After all, we've gone to great lengths to accept inducted lifeforms." He spared a glance at the Doctor on saying this. "Will they?"
"It's a possibility," Chikage answered as she affixed the final needle into Ataru's skin. "Culturally, the Colonials are virtually equal to the Federation, even though their full union is a recent thing in their history. Granted, the devastation of the Cylon War is still quite vivid in people's minds among the Twelve Colonies, but given their leadership's desire to pursue peace with their former slaves..."
"The question is, will the Cylons go along with it," LaForge commented.
"That is the question," Chikage acknowledged his words with a nod...
"...so in our interrogation of Sylvie, Anri and several other 33-S's, we learned that the other Onii-sama, when he first found a way to use the D-hopper to enter your home dimension, only wanted to help the Cylons achieve a better sense of safety and security so soon after they fled the Colonies," Sakuya said. "It wasn't until Miroku was able to brainwash the other Onii-sama into launching his 'revenge' that they realized what the Cylons were really up to. And given that there were only under five hundred of them compared to thousands of Cylon troopers, with millions of potential reinforcements at Miroku's beck and call..."
"They had no choice but to hunker down and hope someone would come along who was powerful enough to stop them in their tracks," Benjamin Sisko completed for Ataru's sister. "Which, courtesy of the Entity that contacted all of us, happened."
"Do you have any idea what this Entity actually is, Captain Sisko?" Adama wondered.
The commander of the Defiant and Deep Space Nine shook his head. "No, Commander. It's the belief of my second-in-command that the Entity might be one of the Bajoran 'prophets' who live in the wormhole close to where my base station is located."
"You travelled to this place through this wormhole of yours, did you not?" Brendan Cain asked.
"Yes, we both did," Picard answered on his fellow captain's behalf, then turned to Kathryn Janeway. "Was that the same with you?"
"According to what Chakotay told me, the nexus Voyager used to get to this place was similar to the one the Caretaker used to drag us from the Badlands to the Delta Quadrant," she answered.
"And both of your ships came here through a space-fold like what you normally use to head from place to place at faster-than-light speeds," Rinrin added, gazing on the two Colonial commanders. "Obviously, whatever this Entity is, he's probably just as powerful as one of the Q Continuum. Or maybe that Uxbridge fellow you bumped into on Delta Rana Four, Picard-taisa."
Picard perked, remembering the immortal being who, in a fit of grief-driven rage over the death of his wife, wiped out an entire race known as the Husnock. "It's obvious that your brother spoke to him before he came here with his ship," Janeway noted.
"It's something we can ask Onii-sama about when he wakes up," Sakuya offered.
"Alright, then," the Voyager's commander acknowledged before facing her fellow captains. "Right now, we should decide on a plan that'll allow us to get everyone back to their home dimensions as soon as possible."
"Well, we can host the majority of them on our hangar decks for a time being," Cain offered. "But I'd be a lot more comfortable if we keep at least one of our squadrons on ready-alert status until we finally clear out of this place."
"In case more Cylons come," Picard mused.
"Exactly, Captain," Adama replied. "The Cylons, regardless of our government's official stance on them, are a problem of our creation. We're honour-bound to help you people in whatever way we can."
"We appreciate your willingness to assist us in this matter, Commander," Picard said as he rose, walking over to take Adama's hand. "I just hope that those people who know of your universe through that 2D entertainment series don't end up causing you harm."
"Picard-taisa, there is one thing we should tell Adama-taisa and Cain-taisa about," Sakuya warned. "Given what the Cylons were ready to instigate, they have to know about this. Regardless of the cost."
"Does this have to do with the fact that only six of my pilots came back from your ship?" Adama wondered.
"Yes, sir," Rinrin replied. "Do you wonder why is it the Cylons came to develop humanoid models like Miroku?"
Adama took that in, then exchanged a knowing look with Cain. "Damn," the Pegasus's commander hissed...
"Excuse me? Commander Data?"
"Ah, you must be Professor Reed Richards," Data greeted his visitor with a welcoming smile. "Did you have difficulty coming aboard?"
"Not at all. In fact, it surprised me that everyone's been reacting so well to Ben here," the man known to many as Mister Fantastic, leader of the Fantastic Four, replied as he spared Benjamin Grimm a glance. Also with Reed and the Thing was the former's wife Susan, she carrying their pre-school age son Franklin, and Susan's brother Johnny. All now stood in Data's private laboratory on the Enterprise.
"Surprised me, too!" Grimm mused with a wry chuckle. "Hopefully one day, we'll be like that in our universe."
"We'd have to get over the anti-mutant hysteria first," the Invisible Woman proposed, then blinked on seeing the blonde woman now standing rigidly still in Data's examination chamber. "Is this the one that started all this mess?"
"Yes, ma'am, she is," Data replied. "She doesn't normally have a self-designator. Her model number is referred to by her fellow Cylons simply as 'Number Six.' It was Ataru Moroboshi -- the one who took residence in this dimension, that is -- who gave her the name 'Miroku.'"
"'Beautiful sixth,'" Reed translated the Japanese name into English. "Aptly named. What have you discovered about her so far?"
"I'm only now beginning a detailed examination of her programming. Her level of self-awareness is compatible to my own. I am curious as to how she came to develop such passionate theological leanings, though."
"She's said to 'speak' to God Himself," the Human Torch stated. "I saw the mini-series. If that's what these Cylons are really like..."
"Discovering where those leanings first originated would be first priority," Reed finished for his brother-in-law.
The door to the laboratory then opened, revealling Deanna Troi. She was not alone; her arm was wrapped around that of a middle-aged man with greying hair, dressed in a blue uniform with a flowing red cape. "Hello, everyone," Stephen Strange greeted the Fantastic Four.
"Stephen!" Susan smiled on seeing the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel universe, who had come out with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and several independent heroes to rescue their friends, then her eyes fell on Troi. "I trust you're alright, Counsellor."
"Thanks to the good doctor, yes," the Enterprise's counsellor acknowledged her question with a nod. "I just hope I can get a chance to examine Ataru Moroboshi. The one whose transformation nearly overwhelmed me, of course."
"As do I," Doctor Strange added. "If he's presently bound to such a dark entity as this 'Master of Entropy' young Chikage spoke of, his overall spiritual welfare will be affected in many ways."
The others stared at him. "Chikage is one of that Ataru's sisters, right?" Susan Richards asked. On seeing Strange nod, a curious look crossed the Invisible Woman's face. "How is it you know about her, Stephen? If we're from different dimensions..."
"Her maternal grandfather, Ryuuji Hirosaki, is an elemental mage of considerable skill and experience," Strange answered. "Some years ago, he found a way to project his astral form across the dimensional barriers. We've 'met' that way several times since."
"Fascinating," Data mused.
"I'd like to hear more about that when the chance comes," Reed Richards said with a chuckle, then his eyes fell on the unmoving Miroku. "But first, let's crack this lady's brain open and see what's going on inside."
"We best leave the scientists alone on this regard," Susan warned.
"Agreed," Troi acknowledged. "Would you like a tour of the ship while you're waiting?"
"Yeah!!" Franklin gushed.
"You don't have children on this ship, do you?" Johnny Storm asked.
"No, they weren't allowed aboard when we commissioned the Enterprise-E," Troi answered. "However, I do believe that there are several young boys and girls currently aboard the Windrider, the Galactica and the Pegasus."
"Among the other former hostages," Susan concluded. "Well, let's get out of Reed's and Data's way, people."
"Um...!"
Eyes locked on Franklin Richards. "What is it, Franklin?" Stephen Strange asked.
The "one-half" member of the Fantastic Four reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small notepad. Walking over to Data, he opened it up and held it towards the Enterprise's second officer. "Excuse me, Commander, but can I have your autograph?"
Data stared down at Franklin, then gazed quizzically on his father. "My autograph?"
Laughter filled the laboratory...
"Commander Adama?"
"Yes, Tigh, what is it?" Adama answered the hail from the battlestar's bridge.
"Sir," Paul Tigh began...
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(Posted Tue, 02 Mar 2004 06:27)
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