History :

John Connor, with his wife Cameron Connor and with the help of Catherine Weaver and John Henry, defeated the AI known as Sky Net and ended the War of Extermination on Earth. Rebuilding began with the surviving humans and machines working together. Many projects were begun. Very large, blocky radiation absorbing filters to clean the air and water were constructed, starting around the communities that were left and expanded. Massive structural rebuilding projects were started. An education system that was not only for human children but for newly made AI's as well were put in place. This new school system taught not only knowledge but morals as well as was supervised by Reverend James Ellison.

A few years after the war, John Connor and Catherine Weaver led the United Coalition of Earth (UCE) -in a new form of government. All Coalition members from surviving countries were elected from their areas. The only standing members were John and Catherine.

At this time, sciences were coming back and with AI assistance, progressing rapidly. Wanting another planet to colonize, the Earth Space Agency (ESA) deduced the long distances and time to travel to far away planets by space ships made any interstellar trip impractical. TDE's had been banned by the UCE. Studying the devices, the ESA devised and offered a modification to move people though space instead of time. The project was voted on, and the scientists (human and AI) got approval and funding.

At this same time, science also came up with a way for cyborgs like Cameron to bear children by finding a way for Nanites to work with human cells and DNA. A year later, Cameron gave birth to Sarah Allison Connor, named in honor of John's late mother. Human couples also received the benefit of producing healthier babies through nanite repair, and became fairly healthy despite the radiation that still saturated the planet.

This was hailed as the greatest scientific achievement of the century and a solution to the slowly dwindling population of Earth. The following year, there were many more births between humans and cyborgs, as well as cyborg couples. Two years later, John Connor Junior was born. The next year, Catherine bore Eleanor Weaver.

The PDE device -Position Displacement Equipment- was tested. A fully metal terminator was successfully put on the moon. More PDE activations followed, sending a total of six terminators and ten Cyborgs, followed by the materials to build a moon base. The next PDE experiment sent more terminators and equipment to Mars.

With PDE's on line, Earth had a way to get rid of radioactive debris, the hottest stuff first. The radioactive material was placed directly into the sun from PDE's. On the dark side of Pluto, a return PDE sent non radioactive rock and minerals back to Earth. Transfer by PDE was cheaper and considered much safer than building and crewing a space ship. PDE's were also near instantaneous in travel time. Faster than light travel had been achieved, but not by driving a ship through space. Plans for coupling a PDE into a space ship were being made for exploration.

34 years after the War, John Connor died unexpectedly from a blood clod that lodged in his brain. Having been lead by Connors for so long, no one, especially Catherine Weaver wanted anyone else but a Connor at the head of the UCE. An adult now, Sarah Allison Connor took her place as 'President' beside Catherine Weaver.

Upon John Connor's death, Cameron stated her life was over also. John was dead, her life's function was ended. She would not live without her husband. Cameron asked that Sarah pull her chip and crush it after Cameron got in the casket with John. Sarah, being more logically minded like her mother, could not bring herself to do it. She argued that Cameron still had plenty of life left, and for the first time in her life, she disobeyed her mother. The task fell to John Junior. John hated what he was about to do, but understood why his beloved mother insisted on being terminated. John kissed his mother on the cheek goodbye and told her loved her. He pulled her chip and crushed it, placing the remains under His father and mother's clasped hands.

Sarah was upset that her brother carried out this request. She called him 'stupid' and an 'idiot' and refused to speak to him again.

John Junior was part of the space agency. Loosing his parents and now being hated by his sister, he returned to the search for a good, habitable planet.

There were many possibilities, and two probes had been send out with a fixed position beam by PDE. The Fixed position send the object to a certain point in space, whatever was or was not there. Hypercoms, a modified communications system for of the PDE beam allowed the probes to send data back to Earth nearly real time through the use of quantum physics. From these probes deep out in space, a planet was found. It's position and orbit around it's sun were tracked for two years. The orbit was stable and by readings it was 99.54 % equal to Earth. It was decided to send someone to visit this planet. A 'contact' PDE beam was to be used for this. The beam would travel through space until it hit it's target, then the person/object sent would materialize.

All that was needed now, was a volunteer to go on this very risky mission. John did a screening of the few who were willing. Each one had close relatives or spouses and/or children. Since this was most likely going to be a one way trip, he rejected them and stepped into the PDE himself. His last thought on Earth was, 'My only sister thinks I'm stupid. Might as well prove it.'

CH 1

He awoke laying on a steel deck, face down looking at a metal wall. Pain signals came from all over his body, but mostly from his upper back and his forehead. Before him, there was blood on the floor. Moving an arm, he tested it. It worked. Clapping his hand to his forehead, he felt his skin there had peen partially peeled off. He put the skin flap in place and sat up.

Exited voices came to him. Whatever the language was, he didn't recognize it. Looking around he saw people running towards him, two carried what looked like medical boxes. Some kind of single seat flight craft with three engines on the back was tipped over, a large dent in the side. Beyond that was another one with a shattered canopy. He was in what looked like a long flight deck.

He tried to remember what happened. By his condition and the damaged craft, he'd crashed into them. But, why had he been flying through the air? Was he propelled by something?

He strained to remember anything. As the people approached, a holographic red circle in his vision appeared to point to each one, showing angle and distance. What the hell was that about?

Coming close, people gathered around him yammering on about something.

"I can't understand you," he said.

One dropped her medical box and opened it. She spoke gently, and pulled at his hand. OK, she wanted to look at his wound.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.

Behind him a medical box dropped and there was a loud shout. At the same time the woman in from of him grew wide eyes and shouted out what sounded like the same thing.

She jumped up and backed away from him.

The flap of skin dropped down in his eyes, he pushed it back up as the people backed away to form a circle around him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing fear on their faces. Seeing the bandage the woman was going to put on his forehead lying in front of him, he picked it up and put it on himself and tied it behind his head.

He tested his legs, then seemed OK. He got up, and the people around him backed away farther. One ran back the way they had come. "Hey, guys?" he asked, "Can anyone understand me?"

No one answered. He heard boots running towards him. Coming at him were a dozen armed men. "Aww shit," he grumbled. He did the only thing he could thing of. He raised his arms in surrender. The armed men yelled to the others, they hurried back the way they came as the armed men surrounded him. Again, that red circle with distance and range came up in his vision, tracking them.

"Ahh, Se habla Espanole?" he asked. No answer. "Parlay vou Fran-ce? Spraken si dauche?" No answer. Shit that was all the languages he knew.

One of the men barked at him. He shook his head and pointed to his ears. "I can't understand you," he explained.

He heard one of them walk up behind him. He turned as the man raised his rifle butt. He dodged the strike.

"Hey! What the hell you doing?" he cried.

The man tried again. He caught the rifle butt and pushed back with a bark of, "Stop it!"

All the rifles aimed at him. Again a command was barked out. One of the soldiers, a brown haired woman, was talking into a radio. It was odd, but he did note her light blue, grayish eyes. He bet she would be real cute without that uniform and armor on. He noted confusion on their faces. They talked back and forth. Finally, the woman stepped up, pointed to him and hooked a finger as she started to walk away.

Yeah, OK, she wanted him to follow. He started slow, making sure he'd interpreted the gesture correctly. He did. The woman walked on. The others walked to his sides and behind him. Not wanting to tempt fate, he put his hands on his head, fingers interlocked in the surrender position.

Where was he? How come no one understood him? Just ahead of him the radio woman was talking again. They walked through a large bay past some flying craft where people in different colored overalls watched from a distance. The female guard led him up stairs and into a hallway. She opened a door, and motioned him in. He went in to a small room with a few metal crates. The woman motioned for him to sit. He did. She backed out and shut the door.

.

"Sargent! What do we got, a cylon?' Saul Tigh asked in his gravely voice.

Outside the room they had put the man in, Sargent Colin saluted her XO. "Sir, we don't know. Mechanics reported a flash of light, then this guy appeared like he'd been shot out of a canon. He hit one viper, shattering the canopy, then hit another to knock it off it's landing struts, then bounced to a stop. He bled, they tried to help him and saw he had two bad wounds. Under the wounds, the guy is frackin metal."

"How many people did we loose?" Tigh asked in a grumble.

The Sargent shook her head. "None, sir. He hasn't resisted at all. He speaks some strange language. He tried to talk to us but it's gibberish."

"It has to be a cylon trick," Tigh concluded. "Fine, play his game and get him into the holding cell beside the other one."

.

The door opened back up. The female stepped in and motioned him out. He got up, locked his fingers on his head and stepped out. With the guards was a balding gray haired man glaring at him. The woman guiding him tapped him on the elbow and motioned for him to follow. He did.

Walking along, he tried to figure out where he was. Long hallways with the walls tipped in at the top and thick supports showing. He didn't recognize the design. After a few turns and more hallway, a man opened a heavy metal door and motioned them in. He followed the radio woman down a short hallway to another door into a piece of hall that had two rooms that had long wall length windows that were reinforced with a thick mesh. He was motioned to stand in front of one.

Inside the room an young Asian young woman wearing a light gray top and dark gray pants sat on a cot. She got up and came over to them. The radio woman talked with her. She looked at him shook her head and replied. He was then guided into the other room that also had a cot. He noted a chair and a metal toilet in the room. The door shut behind him.

Seeing he was alone, he took his hands off his head. The squad who brought him here left. The door on this side had no latch. He got it, he was in a holding cell.

"Wonderful," he said in a breath. Lacking anything else to do, he sat down on the cot.

The Asian woman's face appeared on the upper, clear part of the wall between their rooms. She said something and motioned for him to come closer.

He got up and walked over to face her. "So, what's up sweetie?" he asked.

She spoke to him, but again, it was this strange language. Her voice was also muffled by the window.

"I can't understand and can barely hear you," he said.

She pointed to herself. "A-the-na," she said, then pointed to him

He thought he heard her right, but wasn't sure. He held up a finger for her to wait, then moved to the side. He touched the clear material. It wasn't glass. It felt more like 3 millimeters of Plexiglas. The wire reinforcing was .5 millimeters. Strong, but breakable. He took a step back and punched the window.

With a boom, the widow broke into shards around his fist. He reached in and pulled the hanging pieces away so the shards wouldn't cut her. "Over here," he said through the hole.

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She inspected the hole and the debris on her floor. Coming over to the hole, she pointed to herself and again said, "A-the-na." She then pointed at him.

It was his turn to stare. He knew she was asking for his name, but he was coming up blank.

She tried again, Saying "Athena" and pointing to him.

He shook his head and pointed to her. "Athena," he said, then pointed to himself and shrugged with another shake of his head.

She said something in a gentle tone.

"I have no idea what you're saying, but you are cute saying it," he told her.

.

In the guard station, Commander Adama had arrived. Saul Tigh glanced at him and said, "The impact with those vipers must have broke it. It's docile. The only thing it's done, is punch a hole into the other cell so it can talk to Athena."

"What's it saying?" Adama asked.

"Nothing understandable. We're recording every word. Maybe we can translate it."

Adama noted the hole in the wall. "It made that hole with one punch?"

"Yeah, surprised the frack out of me," Tigh agreed.

'That means it can get out any time it wants to," Adama concluded. "Give Athena whatever she needs. I want her to teach that thing Colonial. Put a demolition charge against the wall outside it's cell, remote trigger in here. I don't want that thing getting out."

.

Although he had no idea who he was, he did get that Athena was part of a race called Cylon. He'd never heard of a cylon before. At least he didn't think he did. Maybe it was a new human/machine mix. By the amount of silicone he detected in her nervous system, that had to be it.

A guard came in with a box. Athena's door was opened and they talked. The guard gave Athena the box and shut her back in. She spoke to him again, waving her free arm. The guard left, then came back and opened both cell doors and left again.

Athena came over into his cell and sat on his cot, patting the place beside her. He sat down with her. In the box was what looked like school supplies for a kindergarten class.

OK, she was going to teach him how to speak their language. That was good, for he had no idea where he was.

.

Besides teaching him language, she also did her best to sew up his injuries. She stitched his forehead skin, then his back. A guard brought him in a gray shirt to replace his torn up and bloody shirt. He was offered food and accepted. His system was telling him he needed nutrients. He thanked the man bringing it in their language and scarfed down the substance that tasted like cooked algae. After they ate, he filed away the information Athena was giving him. He sounded out syllables with her, then with pictures of activities and some pantomime, he started learning words.

Athena went back to her own cell for her sleep cycle. When she returned, they continued.

Athena got a visitor. She returned to her own cell to talk to him for a while, then brought him back.

"This is Helo, my mate." she explained.

"Hello, Helo." he said to the man.

"You don't sleep?" Helo asked.

He shrugged and said, "I don't think so. I laid down for a while and just thought about what I learned. I don't sleep like humans and cylons do."

This got Helo's attention. "Humans and cylons? You are not either?"

"I scanned you. You are a human. Athena said she is a cylon. There are minor … not the same race, but close," he explained. "I am not the same. Helo and Athena are biological, I am a mix of biological and … metal."

"How did you get here?" Helo asked.

"I don't know. My memory is gone. I do have some permanent memory, but not much. Some things, but no identifier for them. I know my mother and father's faces but no names. I know materials and stress factors, I am able to scan and perform basic movements."

"You have parents? You were born?" Helo asked in shock.

"Yes." he said. "I … have no memory, but I know my parent's faces. I believe my travel to here is the cause for my missing memory."

Helo nodded slowly. "So, what to we call you?" he asked.

He thought hard. The hologram in his right eye came up with information. He read it, translating into Colonial. "Cyborg TOK715B, male offspring of TOK 715. Born 2034, Los Angeles, California." looking at Helo he added, "I cannot translate Cyborg. Los Angeles, California is a place. 2034 is the year. That is all I can find in my memory."

"What planet?" Helo asked.

"Earth. Is there another planet?" he asked.

Helo and Athena stared at him. Helo looked like he was about to faint. "Helo, are you well?" he asked with a tip of his head.

"You are from Earth?" Helo asked in a high pitch voice.

"Yes. By your reaction, you do not know of it?"

"We've been looking for Earth," Athena said.

"Where are you from?" he asked her.

"Athena, I'll be right back," Helo said, then hurried out.

"Can I call you Cye? We have to call you something," Athena said.

"Yes, Cye is fine for my designation," he said and offered her a brief smile. "What planet are you and Helo from?"

"We are from different planets," she said, then explained about the colonial / cylon war.

.

Helo rushed into the guard station where Commander Adama, Saul Tigh and Laura Roslyn were watching the cells. "Did you hear what he just said?" Helo asked.

"It's a dirty cylon trick," Saul Tigh stated as he glared at Helo. "They sent this thing here to lure us to a planet where they have the frackin cylon fleet wanting to blow us to the abyss!"

"Then why erase his memory?" Helo asked.

"To made the ruse more believable," Adama stated. "Helo, see if you can find out how it got here. If the cylons have discovered how to jump individuals onto ships, we will be in big trouble."

"We should airlock it," Tigh stated.

"What if it's telling the truth?" Laura asked. "I've never seen a cylon like that before. It was easy to pick out as not being human. If cylons sent it, why send something we will recognize as not human?"

"Maybe because we won't recognize it," Adama offered. "They make a centurion in a human form and wrap it with skin. Program it with some made up language so we'll take the time to find out it's secrets, then rush off to the location of where it says Earth will be. Then they spring the trap." He frowned in thought a moment, then said, "Helo, we'll keep Athena teaching it. I doubt it will become violent, at least as long as we're playing it's game. Saul, get an x-ray analysis of that thing. Let's see what it's made of."

.

Cye was shocked at the events that Athena was telling him about. "Your race does not respect life," he stated.

Athena dropped her gaze.

"Please return to your own cell," Cye told her.

"We still have much to cover…"

"Negative," Cye said firmly. "I will not be …" thinking of a word he learned, he added, "Be seen with one who does not respect life."

Athena stared at him. "I need to teach you." she said firmly.

"Negative!" Cye grabbed her arm and stood up, hauling her to her feet. He walked her into her own cell, then returned to his and shut the door.

Helo came in and asked, Athena, "What happened?"

"Cye kicked me out of his cell after I told him about the war. He said cylons don't respect life, and threw me out," she explained.

Helo came to Cye's door. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Cye looked at him and said, "Yes, but not your mate. Cylons do not respect life. I will not be seen with her."

Helo came in slowly. "OK, so is that like a directive, to respect life?" he asked.

"Commandment number three," Cye stated. "Thou shall not kill," he said, then translated it to, "Killing an intelligent life form is against the ten commandments. Cylons kill without reason or mercy. Cye will not be seen with one."

"Who made that directive?" Helo asked.

Cye was able to call up the information. "Several thousand cycles ago, God came to a human named Moses and handed him ten commandments written in stone," he explained. "These commandments must never be disobeyed. To do so causes chaos and destruction."

"God gave him these commandments?"

"Yes. There are other teachings as well. 'Do to others as you want them to do with you.', which is the golden rule. Cylons do not follow the words of God. Cye will not been seen with one."

"You are religious?" Helo asked, surprised at this.

"Negative. Religion is based on theories. I am speaking fact."

"So, you've seen these commandments."

"I have viewed them. They are on two stone tables inside the Arc of the Covenant. The writing is Aramaic. For a long time, they were lost. They have been recovered and currently held in a secure vault and heavily guarded in the city of Jerusalem," Cye stated.

"That is your proof your God exists," Helo concluded.

"There is more proof, but yes, that is proof. God is not just my God, but that of the universe."

Helo rubbed his head. "We need to get Baltar down here. I don't deal with this stuff well," he said in a grumble.

Cye tipped his head slightly. "There is nothing to deal with. Fact is fact."

"OK," Helo said with a sigh. "How about we talk about how to get your memory back? Can you do a restart or something?"

Cye stared at him briefly, then said, "I don't know." He thought about it and the hologram came up in from of his vision.

Memory access failure reboot and standby mode recommended.

"Yes, a standby," Cye said. He got up and moved the box from his cot onto the floor. To Helo, he said, "I need to sleep, is the best term I can use." He laid down on he cot and folded his hands on his stomach. Knowing he wanted to be able to talk to these people, he decided to read their dictionary first.

.

Athena was brought out into a conference room with Helo to discuss 'Cye'.

"So this thing believes in the Cylon God," Laura Roslyn stated.

"I don't think it's the Cylon God," Helo said. "Once Athena told him about the war, he kicked her out of his cell, claiming cylons do not respect life. He wants nothing to do with her now."

"If his deception is to work, he has to maintain it," Commander Adama stated.

"From what I heard, his God is not the Cylon God," Athena offered. "His God demands peace."

"We can't believe anything it says," Saul Tigh stated. "Forget the God talk, forget the lack of memory, how it got on the ship, and what it plans to do is what we should be concerned about. It is playing nice with us to lower our guard. We need to figure out how to stop it when it makes it's move."

"How's that X-ray coming?" Adama asked.

"Frackin Cottle won't give it up. He's got too many patients he needs it for," Tigh grumbled.

"Then this Cye becomes a patient," Adama stated. "It had injuries and memory loss. Get it up to sick bay and see if Cottle can figure out why."

"Cye went to sleep to see if he can get his memory back," Helo said. "We should wait to see if he does remember anything."

.

Inside Cye's bio-electronic brain, pathways were healed with nanites or bypassed around. Memory lost by isolation was recovered. Data filed away became usable, new knowledge and old was restored. Standby timed out. Even with his eyes closed, his HUD scrolled off functionality of all his systems. Results, 100 % functionality. He knew who he was and why he was here.

He opened his eyes to see Helo sitting in a chair outside his cell, talking to Athena the Cylon. He sat up.

"Any reason my door is open?" he asked and he rubbed his face.

"Ah, you're awake," Helo said. "I have to take you up to sick bay. We told Doc Cottle about you, and he's livid we didn't take you up for a checkout."

"Fine," he said and got up.

Athena peeked her head around the corner. "Cye? Can we please be friends?"

"The name's not Cye. I am John Connor Junior. And you are still one of these Cylons. Don't talk to me," he said.

"Look!" Helo said shooting to his feet. "Athena is not like the others. She had done nothing! The only reason she's here is the Commander is paranoid she might do something," he said angrily.

"Fine," he told Helo. "Are we going or what?"

.

Helo led the procession, John behind him, four marines behind John. John held his hands on his head, fingers interlocked.

"You got your memory back, all of it?" Helo asked.

"I do. By the way, thanks for the hint. It was enough for me to figure out what I had to do to get my memory back," John told him.

"So you can tell us how you got here?" Helo asked.

"I can. I'm sure your Commander will want to hear that as well. He and Mr. Grumpy are sure to want to listen to that. By the way, then can talk to me face to face, and not have to listen through video cameras," John said with a smirk.

"You knew they were listening to us?" Helo asked.

John shrugged and said, "Even if I didn't detect the electronics, it only makes sense. By the way, where are we?"

"We're on the Battlestar Galactica. Where in space, I can't tell you," Helo said.

"Wow, that wasn't suppose to happen," John said in a musing tone. "The target was a possible habitable planet. I guess you people just happened to be in the way. Good thing I didn't land on a neutron star. That would have sucked big time."

Helo frowned at him. "You landed here by accident?"

"Sure as hades didn't plan to end up here," John replied. "We need to find another planet. John Henry did find a great possible, but instead of trying to build and send a ship, or risk a human, I went to check it out."

"You said you were born, not made?" Helo asked.

"Yup. My mom was Cameron Connor, Dad was John Connor. They figured out a way for Mom to have me, so here I am. I was the second, my sister Sarah is a couple years older than me. When she finds out I'm lost, she's going to have a fit," he ended with a grin.

"You are speaking good now."

"I read the dictionary I was given right after you left. I decided to do that before I went into standby."

"The whole dictionary?" Helo asked.

"I can absorb information fast. It took three point seven minutes."

Helo let out a snort and said, "I have to know, how is it you were born?"

John eyed him and explained. "OK, Dad was human, Mom was a cyborg. Humans grow biologically. Cyborgs initially were made in a factory. Mom wanted to be able to have kids. They figured out how to resolve the biological and mechanical aspects. See, humans grow and heal through cell growth. Cyborgs heal through tiny machines we produce called nanites. Microscopic sized machines you can think of as white bloods cells. The key was to get the two to cooperate. Dad's sperm DNA was modified to accept hollow places where things like bone and cartilage would be. The nanite plan in Mom was modified to grow a metallic mix into Dad's DNA, and fill in my skeleton and add the proper protection. There's a lot more to it, but that's the simple explanation. My parents had Sarah first, then me."

"That's incredible," Helo said. "You said they were your parents. Something happen to them?"

"I told you Dad was human, right? He died. Mom could not face living without him. Both Sarah and I begged her to stay with us, but … well, let's just say Mom couldn't handle not having Dad around. They had been together pretty much their whole lives." John's voice softened. "We had the funeral for Dad, and hugged mom goodbye. She got in the casket and laid down with him, snuggled up with an arm over him like always. Sarah was suppose to pull her chip… she couldn't bring herself to do it. I had to. I pulled her chip, crushed it, then put it under Dad's hand and hers. We buried them together."

"Chip?" Helo asked

"Mom was one of the first cyborgs called terminators" John said softly as he ran through the memory of the funeral. "She had a removable CPU chip. Destroying her chip was … very hard. I killed my own mother. That was what she wanted though. She did not want to live without Dad."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too. I can't imagine being so close to someone that you just can't live without them. Dad was everything to Mom," John said.

Helo could not imagine that either. Then he thought about Athena. Breaking that thought, he nodded to the door they were coming up on. "In here."

.

There were some things in the universe John didn't understand. One of them was a human Doctor who knew the risks, but smoked anyway. The gruff old man chided Helo about not bringing John to the clinic right away after being injured. John sat as Doc Cottle looked him over, and explained the 'oddities' the Doctor was finding. John was then put in the X-ray machine. After the pictures were taken, he was send back to a cot to sit and wait for the results.

A short haired blond in uniform came in to eye him. "So, you're the new style of Cylon, huh?" she asked with acid in her voice.

John eyed her. "No, and don't insult me like that again," he replied.

"You're an insult just existing," she said with a sneer. "The Commander says not to shoot you unless you try something. That's the only reason I haven't put a bullet in your head."

John let out a snort and said, "Look, Blondie, your gun won't hurt me. And if you do shoot, I'll beat your ass for GP."

"Starbuck!" Doc Cottle snapped as he came in. "Take it outside, not in my clinic!"

Starbuck stomped out. Doc Cottle frowned down on John. "You are one strange thing," he grumbled at John. "It's like you're part centurion and part human. How'd you get like that?"

Again, John went though how his mother was able to give birth to him and how she was able to do that.

.

Starbuck waited outside the clinic with Saul Tigh.

"He said bullets won't hurt him," Starbuck said.

"We need to find out," Tigh told her. "When they come out, try to hit him someplace non vital."

Starbuck nodded.

.

Once Doc Cottle heard him out and drew some blood, John was free to return to his cell. The female Sargent took the lead. The four guards were standing outside waiting for them.

BANG

John felt the round impact his shoulder blade. He turned to see Starbuck still pointing her gun at him. He frowned at her. "Ouch," he said. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he added with a growl and stepped towards her.

"STOP!" the Sargent yelled and ran to get between them. John pushed her out of the way. Starbuck, eyes wide, fired again, hitting his chest plate. He grabbed the gun and ripped it out of her hands. Yells went up. He delivered a punch to her stomach, folding her in half. Grabbing her collar he pulled her upright and punched her a few times in the face to grow some nice bruises. When he let her go, Starbuck collapsed the floor. Hearing guns being racked behind him, he lifted a moaning Starbuck up by the collar and put her between him and the armed men.

"Go ahead, shoot," John told them.

"Guns down!" the wide eyed Sargent snapped. Starbuck threw up.

John dropped Starbuck to land in her own puke. He broke her gun in half and dropped it on her. The bullet in his chest itched. He dug it out and dropped it down on the moaning woman. "I warned her," he said.

"Yeah, you did," the wide eyed Sargent agreed. She motioned to her men and said, "Get her inside."

"Back to my cell?" John asked.

The Sargent nodded and motioned for him to follow.

John started walking. Jerking a thumb behind him, he asked, "Could you get that bullet out of my back? It itches."

John went back to his cell and sat down, turned to face away from the Sargent so she could remove the bullet. "My name's John Connor Junior, what's yours?" he asked.

"We're not suppose to get friendly with prisoners," she said firmly.

Cracking a grin, John said, "Friendly ? You're putting something into me, it's not like I'm putting something into you."

The Sargent snorted out a laugh. "Hold still," she chided. Carefully using her knife, she got the bullet out, then put a self stick bandage over the hole.

"Thank you," John offered. She only nodded in return.

.

Lying on a gurney, Starbuck held the ice pack to her swelling cheek. "Two shots, one to his back, another square in the chest. The fracker didn't even feel it," she grumbled to Tigh.

Doc Cottle came back in and said, "I could have told you that. That guy is armor plated on the inside. I'm surprised he didn't kill you." He handed Starbuck a bottle and said, "You don't have any internal injuries, but you'll be sore for a while. Take one every twelve hours. And don't shoot that guy again. Doctor orders."

"What will it take to get through that armor?" Tigh asked.

Cottle shrugged and asked, "How would I know? I can tell you it's there, I can tell you it's a material I haven't seen before. How to do damage to others is not my area of expertise."

.

Back in the Commander's quarters, Adama focused on Sargent Colin. "Those shots didn't even penetrate?"

"His skin layer, sir, that's it. He pulled the one in his chest out, and once we got back to his cell, I used my knife to dig the one out of his back." She tossed the flattened slug onto the table. "From what I saw, it didn't even put a scratch in that underlying armor. John's built like a tank."

"He says he was born, Sir," Helo offered. "Human father, cyborg, whatever that is, mother. He's got a sister name Sarah."

Adama eyed Tigh. "Saul, I'm not happy you pulled this stunt and didn't tell me about it. You could have gotten Starbuck killed."

"I had to find out, Commander, for all our sakes." Tigh told him.

"Commander?" Sargent Colin asked. "John did what he said he was going to do if Starbuck shot him. From what I've seen, he has the ability to kill her if he wanted her dead. He did hit her, but not hard enough to permanently injure her. He had her gun in his hand. He broke it in half. If he wanted, he could have shot us all."

"Part of his game," Tigh stated. "He can't kill anyone if he wants us to believe the crap he's telling us."

.

Back in his cell, John laid on his cot, hands behind his head as he studied the ceiling. It was thinner than the walls or the floor, and scanning it, there was a void above it. Most likely another room. He'd failed to get to where he was suppose to go, and worse yet, he was being held by some pretty angry people. He had to send word back to Earth and warn them. Getting out of this cell wasn't going to be hard. Finding a transmitting antenna and the direction to send the signal was going to be.

"John?"

He hear Athena's voice, and ignored it. If he could find the materials and avoid being caught for a half hour, he'd make an antenna. He'd have to see the stars to figure out the direction Earth was in.

"John, please, I'm not like the other cylons. I fled from them. I came here to keep Helo safe from my kind!" Athena pleaded.

"So, you want me to think you're a rebel from your people?" John asked.

"I am. Please don't think I am like them,' she all but cried. "It's … just so hard knowing everyone but Helo hates me."

John sat up and saw she had her face in the hole in the wall. "You're right. Being hated does suck," he agreed. "Answer me this, where can I see outside on this ship?"

"Outside?"

"Yes, I need to see the stars. Where can I do that?"

"There is a lounge in the forward end of the ship. Helo took me there once," she offered.

John nodded slowly. By the name 'Battlestar', this had to be a warship. Warships needed to see what they were shooting at. "Thanks,' he said and got up. Going over to the hole he'd made between their cells, he gripped the edge with one hand.

Athena stepped back. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Escaping," he said. He crouched down then shot himself up as fast as possible and punched the ceiling hard. His first punch put a deep dent in the metal. He punched again to break through. Once he had a hole, he held on and used the hole in the wall for a foothold as he tore a hole big enough get through and up into the ceiling.

John pulled himself up into a storage room with racks to each side. Alarms went off. He opened the door and looked out. Seeing the hallway was clear, he ran down it, looking for a way up. The hallway turned to show a shut door. John jumped up and clung to the overhead beam. Hearing excited voices, he waited.

The door opened and armed men ran through, looking over the sights of their rifles. They ran around the corner. John swung down and though the door. A little farther and he came to a vertical ladder. He climbed the ladder to find himself in what looked like a service way with pipes lining the walls. A short run and he found switchback stairs. He went up.

Pausing on the next level, he stopped and listened closely. He did hear voices and running feet, but they were far away. Prioritizing his next moves, he first had to find a gun mount or viewing port to see outside. Next was building his antenna. He walked slower along this service corridor looking for a way to the edge of this ship he could see outside.

.

In CIC Commander Adama waited on reports on the escaped prisoner.

Saul Tigh explained, "He tore the ceiling of his cell apart. The marines know he went up into a store room. They had the place surrounded, but he wasn't in there. He didn't go back down either. I've initiate a ship-wide search."

Another call came in. "CIC, this is Lt. Book. The Cylon prisoner said that just before the other cylon broke out, he asked if there was a place to see the stars from. She told him about the forward lounge."

"You think he's headed there?" Tigh asked.

"He is," Adama stated. "He will need a place against the hull to get his bearings and send a signal out to the cylon fleet to report out position."

"Should we jump the fleet?" Tigh asked.

"Not yet. Listen for an outgoing transmission, mark where it came from, then the fleet jumps," Adama stated. "Instead of chasing him around, we'll wait for him to show us where he is. Station guards at every portal."

.

Slowly, John got a feel of where he was in this ship in his wanderings. The place was huge. Being careful no one saw him, he did find what looked like an air lock. There was no view port or way to see outside though. Hearing someone coming, he tucked himself between a frame and a duct as they went by. Instead of moving on, they looked in the control room for the air lock and stayed. He heard the Sargent's voice.

"CIC, this I Sargent Colin. On post, airlock 37B."

"Copy, Sargent."

Great. He was out of their line of sight, so long as he stayed put.

"Sarg, what do we do if he shows up?"

"Report. If he doesn't see us, we shadow him. That's it."

"I hear this thing's bullet proof."

"He is. That's why we don't engage him. Shoot him and he'll beat you down. You'll hurt much more than he will," she said firmly.

John leaned out to get a peek at how they were positioned. Catching a glimpse, he pulled back quickly, then studied the image. They were side by side in front of the control room door.

"This is going to get boring," the other guard said.

"Marines don't whine," she said firmly.

"Sarg, won't he see us standing here? I mean, shouldn't we take cover?"

There was a pause, then the Sargent said, "We should. See that frame? That's most likely the way he'll come from. Tuck yourself in there. I'll get behind one in the other passage here. We'll switch every hour."

John listened. Someone came over and leaned against the frame in front of him, facing away. He saw light brown hair peeking out from under the helmet.

It was a good thing he didn't have to breathe. Moving very slow, he eased out to peek around Sargent Colin. The other marine wasn't in sight. He clapped an hand quickly over her mouth. "No noise," he whispered in her ear.

She stiffened, but kept silent.

John felt for her radio and shut it off. When he pulled her a little farther back, she came willingly. He did see her eyes were wide. His mouth to her ear, he whispered, "I truly do not want you hurt you. You know that, right?"

She nodded.

"Good, so please don't do anything to make me. I'm going to take your gun and your radio," he said, barely audible. "Then tie you up and stuff you in a corner. I'm sure someone will find you soon."

She let John relieve her of her rifle and radio, all the time keeping a hand over her mouth.

She stayed quiet as he released her mouth to move her hands behind her back. He used her own cuffs to handcuff her. How fracking embarrassing.

When John took her helmet off, he looked into her blue eyes gazing at him in fright. He dug into her first aide packet and used a bandage to gag her with.

"Wait," she said in a bare whisper before he covered her mouth. "Please, turn yourself in so no one gets hurt."

He gagged her and whispered, "There's something I have to do, first." He kissed her cheek and slid her into the place he'd been hiding. He wedged her in using her own rifle, tore the cord out of the mic on her radio and put that in with her too. Then he was gone.

She waited long enough to be sure he was gone, then screamed as loud as she could through the gag.

.

For how easily John had slid Colin into place, getting out was tough. The private with her called for help as soon as she found her, but even with his help, she twisted an ankle breaking free of the tight spot.

"Frack!" she spat as soon as the gag came off. The private got the cuffs off her.

"When … how did he do that? I didn't hear a thing," The private said.

"He's a sneaky bastard." She picked up the radio and said, "Stay here in case he comes back." She then ran off the way John had to have gone.

"Your rifle?"

"No need for it," she called back.

Something was bothering Julie Colin. This supposed cylon, John, was on the run. If it had been her who was trying to escape, she would not have gently tucked him into a space where she knew he'd be found. She would have killed him before hiding the body to prolong knowledge of her presence for as long as possible.

He didn't do that. Until Starbuck shot him, he hadn't showed any aggressiveness at all. Yes, he scared her, but he had handled her gently and tucked her away long enough to get away himself. Cylons didn't act like that. When they were on a mission, they killed whoever they came across.

John was looking for a place to see the stars from. She was sure now that it was not going to be the viewing lounge. He was looking for anywhere people weren't. She headed for the closet place she knew of. Point defense turret nine.

.

John hurried down the passage, listening for pursuit. Seeing another ladder, he climbed up to the next level. He did hear people up here. The ladder only went up this far. Peeking out of the ladder way, he saw a pair of marines walking away from him. One thing he did notice was a diagram on the wall. Quietly he went over to it. It was a diagram of gun turrets. He'd gone too far. On this level back the way he'd come was one. Yes, a gun turret would do nicely.

John followed the directions. Peeking around a corner, he saw the entrance to the turret was unguarded. Hearing running steps, he pulled back. Someone ran close. A door opened and shut. He peeked back out to see the hallway empty.

If he was hearing right, the door to the gun turret was the one that the person had run in. Cautiously, he went over and listened at the door. Panting breaths came from inside. They were searching for him.

OK, he found a place to transmit from. Now, he just had to find antenna material. Across the hall was an ammunition store room. He went in. The boxes of ammo were on racks that could be torn apart, and there was a long table to provide a parabolic cone. Great! He got to work.

.

Inside point defense turret nine, Julie Colin had stripped off her armor and gear. In just her under shirt and pants, she radioed in. "CIC, this is Sargent Colin. I am in point defense turret nine. I believe this is where the prisoner is trying to get to. This, or another point defense turret."

"That is why you left your post," an unhappy reply came.

"Yes. He's looking for a view outside the ship. This is the closest one from where he was seen last. I am going to hide until he gets here."

"Sargent Colin, you have a grenade?"

"I do."

"Then if he does come in, use that grenade. Toss it in as you leave, make sure the door is shut."

Sir … that will ruin this defense position," she said, not wanting to say it might kill him.

"You have your orders, Sargent."

"Yes sir."

.

It was hard work to bend and break off steel quietly. John managed to make an amplifying cone of the proper dimension for his built in transmitter. He listened at the door, then peeked out. The hallway was clear. He stepped out into the hall then listened at the turret door. It was quiet inside. He opened it and looked in. No one.

Going in, he shut the door and used a piece of angle to wedge the door shut.

The inside of the turret held a seat, controls and a view of the stars. Three gun barrels protruded out. To the side of the seat were the loading tubes. He played with the controls as he looked out at the stars. He then heard a quick metallic noise behind him. He turned to see Sargent Colin wearing only a shirt and pants slip out of a locker holding a grenade. She pulled the pin.

John put his hands up. "Ok, you got me, don't let go of that," he said evenly.

Her face was set in determination. "I don't want to," she told him. "I was told to get out and toss this back in. I don't want to kill you, so please, get up and walk out."

John stood up, she backed up. Pointing he said, "I jammed the door shut." Scanning the floor, he found the pin. Slowly, he picked it up and offered it to her. "Put the pin back in before we have an accident, OK?"

Julie shook her head. "I can't. I need you to step out, slowly. One wrong move and I drop this grenade."

"No, don't! You'll kill yourself," he pleaded.

"I know," she said in a rough voice. "I can't let you do … whatever it is you're trying to do. I don't want to die and I don't want to kill you, so please, walk out of here."

John let out a huff. "Do you want to know what you are risking your life for?"

"I do know. I have to protect my people," she said firmly. I can't let you call the cylons. I will die before I let that happen."

"In this case, you're wrong,' John said. "I did make an antenna. I made it to call my people to let them know what happened to me. That's it. Nothing that will endanger you. So please, put the pin back in."

Julie shook her head. "I can't."

John motioned to the door. "Then let me un jam the door so you can get out."

"Just open the door, or I drop it," she said firmly.

"Don't kill yourself over nothing!" John said firmly.

"I have to get you out of here. I can't let you transmit," she replied firmly. "John, you respect life right? Respect your own. Walk out and I won't have to kill you."

Despite her brave firm words, John could hear her heart beating rapidly. She was also quivering in fear. She was scared, but was holding onto herself. He had to give this cute girl top marks for bravery.

John dropped his head in a shake. "Sargent Colin, I won't die. You will." Looking back up at her he said, "I do not want your death on my hands." He didn't add that he thought she was far to cute to die.

"Then walk out, and we both live," she stated.

On John's HUD, the range and angle to the grenade came up. "All right," he said in a huff. He walked to move past her. At the closest point of approach, he shot a hand out over hers, gripping the grenade. She cried out and tried to shake him loose, then tried to push him away. She then hurt her hand punching him in the face. He got the pin back in and pried the grenade away from her.

"I'm sorry," he said, and hit her hard enough to knock her out. First he put the grenade behind a ready ammo box, then lifted her up and put her in the turret seat. He found her gear in the locker she came out of. Using her jacket and straps for her armor, he tied her arms to the chair arms.

John then concentrated on the stars, searching for a recognizable pattern. He panned the guns around until he found what he was looking for. It was a reverse star pattern, but it told him which way Earth was.

He set up his antenna and transmitted his message burst twice. That was all the power he could spare. It would have to be enough. He turned the turret back to a neutral position.

"ughhh…." The Sargent moaned and moved her head as she came around.

"Easy, you OK?" John asked as he knelt beside her.

She opened her eyes and blinked a couple times. She then jerked at her arms. Scowling at him, she said, "That was a dirty trick."

"Ready to get out of here?" he asked.

She looked at the formed metal, then him. "You did it."

"I did. I sent a message back saying I was alive and functioning, and to not search for me," John said and untied her arms.

"I don't believe you. Why send a message like that?" Julie asked.

"Because I don't want them looking for me while I'm with you," he said, getting her free. As he helped her up, he added, "We already had the great human versus machine war, and screwed our planet up. We sure as hell don't want anything to do with your war."

"Then why bother sending them anything?" she asked

"If I didn't, they would come looking for me," he explained. "I don't want anyone else to suffer through the fine treatment you've been giving me," he said with a tiny smile.

Backing up to give her room, he said, "You should probably get dressed before we leave. You don't want anyone thinking we got too friendly." He grinned and winked.

Julie held back a smirk. She took a step towards the locker, then looked down. "What happened to the grenade?"

"Be a good girl and get dressed, and I'll give it back to you."

Julie got her clothes out and got herself together. John picked up the grenade and handed it to her, then went to the door to un jam it.

Watching him, she asked, "John, aren't you afraid your people won't find you?"

"No," he said and pulled the angle iron out. "I'm afraid your people will find mine," he said and opened the door to see a row of guns pointed at him. He sighed and put his hands on his head.

A minute later, the ship jumped.

.

John's account of the events saved Julie from being demoted. He did have to sit in a chair and be growled at by Mr. Grumpy, demanding who he transmitted to as the other high rankers looked on.

At first, John took offence to being called a cylon. After Mr. Grumpy yelled enough, he quit listening. The admiral had My. Grumpy stop.

The old brunette woman with the glasses, took her turn. "Can you tell us why we should not just dump you out into space?" she asked in an even tone.

"Nope," John replied. "You're going to do whatever you want. If you choose to be cruel, I can't stop you."

"What did you transmit?" she asked.

"My name and designator, the fact I never made it to the planet I was aimed at, and for no one to come looking for me."

"You expect us to believe that?" Commander Adama asked in a heavy tone.

John eyed him and said, "You picked the transmission up, decode it and listen to it."

"Why would you not want to be looked for?" Roslyn asked.

"Simply, because you people are warlike, and we got enough of our own problems," John stated.

"So you just told them to not to search for you to keep them safe?"

"The good of the many outweighs the good of the one," John stated.

"Why don't I believe you?" Mr. Grumpy growled.

John eyed him. "Because you are a paranoid idiot," he stated.

Angry, Tigh hauled off and punched him. Then winced as he held his stinging hand.

John grinned at him and said, "Sooth move, Exlax. I'll turn my cheek of you want another shot."

Tigh glared at him.

"Saul! Back off!," Adama ordered. To John he said, "We don't believe you."

"I don't care what you believe," John retorted. "I did what I had to do. I'm done. Throw me back into my cell forever, see if I care."

"It may be out an airlock," Roslyn warned.

"Whatever does it for you, baby. At least then I won't have to put up with your bullshit."

Adama pointed to him. "Take him back to his cell."

"You do know the roof's got a leak, right?" John asked.

"GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Adama roared.

John got up and followed Sargent Colin out. Walking back to the brig, Colin asked, "What does smooth move exlax mean?"

John shrugged and said, "I have no idea. That's what Dad used to say when I did something dumb. Figured it was appropriate."

"You shouldn't make them mad at you," she told him.

"Frak'en if they can't take a joke."

"You do know Roslyn just might have you air locked," she warned.

"Yeah, well, I've always wanted to fly," John said in a musing tone.

"When you're flying though the vacuum of space, you may regret it until you die of exposure," she stated.

"I don't need to breathe, and I can take radiation pretty good too," John told her. "It might get lonely out there though. That or having to listen to Mr. Grumpy, I'm screwed any way I look at it."

Colin looked back at him. "Mr. Grumpy?"

"You know, the grumpy balding guy who swears a lot."

Colin turned around and clapped a hand to her mouth to hide her grin.

.

Commander Adama did have that transmission analyzed. It was in a digital format and when decoded, it read just what that thing said. It was a warning not to look for him. There was noting on it about the fleet, Galactica, or their location. Reviewing the recording of number nine point defense turret, he listened to the exchange between Sargent Colin and 'John". He played it twice. At the end, he sat staring at the table.

"Laura, what do we do with him?" he asked Roslyn who was on the couch beside him. "He is an armored cylon, tougher than anything we've seen. That antenna he built from scrap? Techs say it has a better gain than anything we've made by blueprints. More than once, he's had the chance to kill and the most he did was knock out Sargent Colin. Starbuck was more angry than hurt. Not to mention he proved he can escape his cell any time he feels like it. My common sense tells me he has to be a cylon, but my gut tells me he's something else."

"He mentioned being from Earth, do you believe that?" Laura asked.

With a snort, Adama said, "As much as I believe he was born. You tell me how metal can grow. Especially in a woman's womb."

"Maybe we should test him somehow," Laura said.

"How?"

"Bill, One thing I noticed was he took pains not to hurt Sargent Colin any more than he had to. Maybe it was for show, or maybe he really does care about people. Give him an option. Escape or let someone die. See which he chooses."

Adama eyed her. "And if he chooses to let that person die?"

"They we blow up the escape craft right after he launches."

.

John got a new holding place. It was far from the cell he had previously been kept in. The new cell was a decent sized room with a little better cot that could almost be called a bed, a private toilet and sink, an extra chair, and a long shelf along one wall. Not long after he was deposited here, Sargent Colin came back in with a tray of food.

"Meal time," she announced. "I have to stay and make sure you don't try to make a weapon with your utensils."

John eyed the tray. "Two plates?" he asked.

"One for you, one for me. I told you I have to stay. After this I'm off, so I might as well eat with you so I can get the hades off duty and do something fun," she explained. She set the tray on the shelf and sat down on the bench.

John went over and sat by her. "Efficient thinking. So, what's your plans for the night?"

She picked up a spoon and said, "There's a concert tonight. We don't get many of those, so I want to catch it if I can."

"Good band?" he asked and took a bite.

"So so. Any music is good. Much better than none at all," she said with a shrug. "So far, the ones playing aren't the best, like I said. One tried to make a song about us being stuck out here." She winced and said, "They were pretty horrible."

John ate for a bit then asked, "Can you get me some steel wire, say, one of these metal plates, and some screws?"

Colin eyed him. "Planning an escape?" she asked.

"No, planning to serenade you if you keep bringing me meals and sit with me for a bit," he replied.

Colin cast him a grin and asked, "Mr. Invincible Cyborg is going to serenade me?"

"I will give me something to work on," he said defensively. "And if I suck at it, you'll be the only one to know."

Colin laughed at him. She then waved her spoon at him and said, "If you try to escape, I won't ever bring you anything again. Got that?"

"Yes, Sargent," he said, sat up straight and saluted her.

She whacked his arm with her spoon.

.

John was lying on his bunk when he heard two guards outside his cell talking.

"I was just down in the port hangar bay. Heard they got a new raptor. The thing's got a mega-fuel supply. Chief Tyrol claims if can jump halfway across the Galaxy."

"I heard that too. Only I heard it can even jump between galaxies. The pilot will get old and die before the fuel runs out."

"Why make something like that?"

"Heard the brass figured out the direction our mystery cylon transmitted to. The Commander wants it checked out, no matter how far away it is."

John sat up.

"Well, I just hope we don't loose the crew. We lost enough people already."

"No kidding. Ready to relieve?"

"I got it, go grab some grub."

"Frackers," John grumbled. If they did have this raptor, he couldn't let it take off. He already knew the metal of his room wasn't very thick, and there were voids above and below. He figured they were trying to find out if they could trust him.

Well, they could, until now.

The back wall was where the small air vent came in. Carefully, he dug his fingers into the vent and pulled it out, making as little noise as possible. Peeling more wall back, he found the duct was in a narrow service corridor. He slipped in and headed for an access to the port flight pod. He'd mentally mapped enough of the ship to find it. He might make a wrong turn or two, but he would find it.

Coming to a low, wide corridor with pipes and thick cable bundles, he was sure this was it. He made his way down beside an air supply duct. It passed through a solid bulkhead. He peeled back the ducting and got in. Continuing on, eyes glowing red so he could see, he crawled on to find the duct split. He also found an access door. He left the duct to emerge in a small room. Peeking out, the hallway was clear.

John ended up on a catwalk above the main floor of a hanger. Below, there were several boxy craft lined up. One was in the middle of the floor. This one was different. It had a pair of long, oblong shapes on the upper sides that reminded him of the drop tanks planes used. That had to be it.

From his vantage point, he could see several people working here and there around the bay. At the end of the bay was a large square opening with warning signs.

Warning - Air Curtain, do not go beyond this point without proper protection

John thought for a moment. He'd planned on destroying that craft, but was it possible he might be able to escape with it?

There was plenty of cover. John slipped over the side of the catwalk and climbed down to deck level. Walking over to the raptor and an unhurried pace, he acted like he belonged there. He went in the open hatch to find a stocky man doing something at the large electronics panel in the middle of the craft.

"What are you doing in here?" the man asked.

"Stealing," John said. He grabbed the man and threw him out the hatch, then shut it. A twist of the manual handle ensured no one was going to open it up from the outside.

The piloting controls were fairly standard. John sat down and scanned them to be sure there were no surprises. Someone pounded on the front window. It was the man. He waved and shook his head frantically. John heard him scream, "Don't light the engines!"

As the man yelled again, he pointed in an arc at John.

"Ronnie is in the thruster housing, Don't light the engines!" the man screamed.

John saw this guy was terrified. He also saw marines coming. One had a rocket launcher. He'd have about 30 seconds to launch before they got here. If he did blast out of here, Ronnie was toast. "Well, so much for that idea," John said in a huff.

The radio on the console came alive. "Step out of the Raptor, hands in the air, or we will destroy that craft with you in it!"

Yeah, that was what he expected if he was caught. He got up and went back to the electronics panel. Although he didn't fully understand what was here, he did recognize this thing had search and scanning capabilities. He punched through the monitor and pulled a handful if the innards out. It sparked and died. He was thinking about ripping it completely apart. Then again, that wasn't going to do any good. They could just replace whatever he destroyed. Even if he completely destroyed this craft, they had more they could modify.

"FUCK!" he spat.

There was another knock, or rather pound on the window. This time it was Sargent Colin, gazing at him wide-eyed. She screamed, "John! Come out. You can't get away. If you even try, people are going to die. Do you really want that?"

He shook his head and pointed at the hatch. "Fuck me," he grumbled and unbent the handle to throw the hatch open. He put his hands on top of his head, fingers locked together.

He was expecting an armed escort back to his room. What he didn't expect was to see Lee Adama with the marines. The CAG asked, "You had time to bolt before the marines showed up. Why didn't you?"

John shrugged and said, "Guess I decided to stick around for a bit seeing how you people are such good hosts."

Lee only nodded and said, "So you know, we have no way to follow that signal you sent. And those fuel tanks are fake."

"You baited me," John stated.

"We did," Lee agreed. "We had to see if given the chance to flee, if you would, knowing someone was going to be killed by your escape."

John frowned at him. "I really should slap you for that," he grumbled.

Lee smiled at him and asked, "How'd you get down here with no one seeing you?"

"I kept out of people's sight."

"Fair enough," Lee said and motioned to Collin. "Sargent, take him back to his room."

"Yes, Sir."