"The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everything)

[Admiral Breetai]

So a kirk analog and Adama are in the same room and the universe hasn't imploded yet from the awesome?

will old school Cain be joining them to kick multiversal ass? or no?

please keep this up! this is better than anything I put out! must have maor!!1

[Praeothmin]

Thanks!

Although the Kirk analog was a mistake, his real name is Damien Kirkinger.
Only the main character's name is James...

And no, cain will not arrive, since this is based on the 3rd season episode around new Caprica, when the Pegasus was lost... Except now, it isn't lost... :)

[Admiral Breetai]

ah sounds excellent then boss come on where you been?

[Praeothmin]

ah sounds excellent then boss come on where you been?

Well, a little thing called "real life" was keeping me very, very occupied... :)
I'll start again soon, and get this ball rolling again... :)

[Praeothmin]

A quick chapter for my number 1 fan, Admiral Breetai... ;)

Chapter 13

These words, James could see, had had the effect of an uppercut on the Admiral.
He was looking even more intensely at the Captain, as if searching in himself at how to react to this information.
Even the Marines in the room had reacted to Kirkinger’s answer.

“Captain, in light of what you just told me, I think this conversation should continue in the presence of the President of the Colonies.” Even saying the words, even after he had calmed himself, Admiral Adama still showed a certain uncertainty at what he was doing, as well as some trepidation, as if the information provided by Captain Kirkinger held some capital importance to these people.
“Would you agree to reconvene with me and the President at a later time? I realize you may be eager to get back to where you came from, but believe me when I say the information you hold is very important to us.”
He looked expectantly at Captain Kirkinger, no longer in perfect control of his emotions, awaiting an answer he hoped would be positive.

“Of course, Admiral, I certainly can do that. We still have no clue as to how, or why, we were brought here, so we will need some time to figure things out.
This certainly allows me to grant you this discussion, and more…” He let the comment hang in the air, dangling like a worm on a fishing hook, hoping the Admiral would catch the bait, which he did.

“What do you mean by that, Captain?” Asked the Admiral, more and more curious.

“Well, we noticed that your ship was banged up pretty well in that last battle, and it seems like your crews have their hands full trying to repair it.
Plus, they are using methods which seem… “archaic” to us.
We may be able to help,” He said with a smile, “Just as soon as my ship is fully operational, of course.”

“Captain, I would be happy for any help you can give us, but unless you have armor plating in stock, or even the necessary refined material to make such plating and parts, then there’s not much you can give aside from some manpower.” Adama said, doubt evident in his voice.

“Admiral, here’s what I propose: make a list of the parts you need, and their composition, and send it to us. We’ll see what we can do for you. As for the manpower, we can indeed provide it as soon as our repairs are over.
Now, concerning the next meeting: since the threat has ended, and since we don’t know how leaving this planet’s orbit may affect our chances to return home, could the President come to us, instead of us to him?
We can even have the next meeting on Galactica, again, although I would be happy to invite you to visit my ship.”

The Admiral seemed to think the proposal over, and finally said:
“I will indeed send you a list, even though I’m sure we can find spare parts on the Pegasus, I think having fresh new ones would be nice, and would keep our stock intact.
As for the meeting with the President, I’m sure he’ll be happy to come back once he knows it’s safe to do so, although I believe he will prefer to meet on Galactica, for now. “ the Admiral finished.

“The it’s settled,” Kirkinger said, “I’ll return to the Musashi, and once we receive your list, I will have my crew prepare the required parts.” He finished by getting up, ready to leave.

Admiral Adama stood up, and invited the Captain towards the door with a gesture.
As they started to move to it, it opened by itself, and one guard came in, leading a man in the room.
The man was dressed with casual clothing that had seen much better days.
He was balding, with his remaining hair forming a white crown around his head, and a short, week old beard adorning his face.
He wore an eye patch over his right eye, but the way he walked, James felt, indicated he had lost the eye recently, and was not fully used to having lost his depth perception.
He was also stooping as he walked, despite his obviously vigorous body, his face clearly displaying a man who had lost much recently.
Admiral Adama looked at the newcomer and greeted him with a warm smile, as one would an old friend.
He turned to Captain Krikinger and said:
“Captain, let me introduce you to a dear friend, and the XO of this ship, Commander Saul Tigh.”

The Captain was about to reply, extending his hand, when Harriman let out a yelp, and blocked Kirkinger’s way with an extended arm.

“Captain,” he said with a tensed voice, “that man’s a Cylon!”

[Admiral Breetai]

well shit Johnny boy fuck up..just dropped one hell of a bomb..oh well at least he's not getting legendary captains killed in this universe

short update but a damn good one

[sonofccn]

I know I have been deficent in my reading and my apreciation but I do hope you keep up the story. It is becoming a very strange trip, in a good way.

[Praeothmin]

It will keep on becoming stranger before it goes back to being "normal"... :)

[Praeothmin]

Chapter 14

The words hit everybody like a hammer, but the first person to react with venomous anger was the Commander.
Yelling “You bastard!” to Harriman, he cocked his right arm and punched the Lt. in the face.
Harriman, protecting the Captain while trying to reach for his palm Phaser, could not block or deflect the punch, so he tried to roll with it.
Except the punch never reached him.
Before Tigh’s fist could make it even half-way to the Lt.’s face, James had stepped forward, grabbed Tigh’s right forearm at the wrist with his left hand while drawing his pistol with his right hand, back-stepped his left leg while kneeling on it and twisting Tigh’s hand in a lock and, once Tigh was on the ground, James stuck his pistol in the Cylon’s face, pressing the pistol’s muzzle on his right cheek.
Once it was over, the other humans’ reactions took over and within a second the Admiral’s personal quarters had become a big Mexican standoff, the Colonial Marines all pointing their guns at James while Lt. Harriman pointed his Phaser at the guards and the Admiral pointed an obviously previously concealed weapon at Harriman.
The only person not pointing a weapon was Captain Kirkinger, whose reaction was raising his hands, palms outwards, and firmly saying:
“Everybody, calm down! I’m sure no one wants to do anything we’ll all regret!”

His words seemed to calm things down a bit, even if no one lowered their weapons.
Everyone kept looking at the others, suspicion apparent on their faces.

“Bill, what the FRAK is going on here?” Asked an irate Saul Tigh.
“Who are these people, and why the FRAK does this gorilla have a gun at my face?”

“I don’t know Saul,” Adama replied, a steel edge in his voice, “But I’m sure our friends will explain themselves real soon.”

Captain Kirkinger looked at Lt. Harriman with a questioning look, and said:
“James, release the Admiral’s XO. Lt. Harriman, put your weapon away, and explain yourself, now.”

James slowly lowered his weapon, got up, and lifted Commander Tigh as if he weighed nothing more than a little child -which drew a surprised look from the older XO’s face- before letting him go.
Harriman also lowered his weapon, even holstering it, and, raising his Tricorder so the Captain could see it readings, started to explain himself, under Saul Tigh’s withering glare.



Harriman shot Tigh a resolved look, and said:

“Sir, before we left the Musashi, I downloaded all the sensor readings from our encounter with the enemy ships in my Tricorder’s database, including the crew complement of the enemy ships.
I wanted to make sure we were safe, and knowing how relentless the Borg are, I wanted to take no chances.
I had set my Tricorder to emit a special chirping sound as soon as a Borg, or Cylon as they call them, was in range.
I guess the bulkhead covered its approach, because it only warned me as the door to the room was opening.
The readings are unmistakable, Sir. That man is what they call a Cylon.” Harriman finished.

He kept looking at Saul Tigh, which seemed to enrage the other man to no end.

“Captain Kirkinger, I want to know what just happened, and why your crewman calls my best friend and XO a Cylon.” Adama asked, steel in his voice.
“I’ve know this man for a long time, and he’s been nothing but a great friend, and a reliable soldier in the Cylon wars –both of them.
So I will not stand here and accept that my friend gets called the name of our greatest enemy for no reason.”

Captain Kirkinger thought about what he was going to say, knowing how tense the situation was, and knowing that, even with James there, the situation could turn to the worse with their new allies in a heartbeat.
Kirkinger wasn’t panicked though, as he had faced dangerous situations before, and knew how to keep his head in times like these.

“I apologize for this… Incident, Admiral Adama,” He began, “My man acted in a fashion he believed to be in my best interest.
His comments about the nature of your XO originated from his scanning instrument, which we call a Tricorder.”

“I don’t care what you call it,” An angry Saul Tigh replied, “It’s not working right.”
He looked at Harriman and said:
“You better retract that statement, young man, or so help me God I’ll…”

He didn’t have time to finish, as an impatient Adama interjected:
“Saul! Shut the frak up NOW! The only reason any of you guys on the surface made it out, and the only reason both our Battlestars survived, is because these people destroyed the Cylon forces over New Caprica.
Now I know these accusations have got your nerves wound up tight after all you’ve been through on New Caprica, but these people are our allies…”

“YOU HAVE NO FRACKING CLUE WHAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH ON NEW CAPRICA, BILL.” Wailed a shaking Saul Tigh.
“ELLEN’S DEAD, BILL,” Said Tigh, then added more softly, “Because of those frakking Cylons, and these frakkers” he pointed at the Starfleet group, “Have the gall to call ME A CYLON?”

The man seemed on the verge of doing something stupid, James felt, and he was readying himself for all hell breaking loose when Tigh’s anger deflated in an instant, and he fell on his knees, sobbing.
James looked at Kirkinger, unsure of what to do.
Kirkinger looked at Adama, and without a word, he pointed at himself and his men, and mouthed “We’ll wait outside!” to Adama, who nodded.
They filed out the office, as well as the guards who closed the door behind them, and then they waited.
The air was tense in the corridor, both side unsure of how to act, unsure of how any movement would be perceived by the other side, which meant that anything anyone did, they did slowly, in the most unthreatening manner possible.

Adama came out of the office half an hour later, alone.
He looked straight at Kirkinger, and said:
“Now, Captain, how about you tell me what was that all about in there.”

“As I started to explain earlier,” Kirkinger said, “we have portable scanning devices, called Tricorders. They can scan for many different things.
For example, I could walk in a forest, and scan for mammals, or different types of plants, or specifically only humanoids.
It is very accurate, and is very malleable in its scanning capacity.
Prior to the battle against the Cylons earlier –which we feared were beings called Borg-, we had fully scanned their ships and their crew, and received a detailed sensor imprint of the hybrid nature of the Cylons.
Lt. Harriman thought it best, seeing as we were going to what was a possible trap, to download the sensor imprint of these hybrids in his Tricorder, and set it up so it would alert him if a Cylon came within range.
Your bulkheads are very thick, so they blocked the scans a bit, which is why he was only alerted when Colonel Tigh came in.”
Kirkinger looked at Adama, who, although he didn’t seem to like where the conversation was going, still listened without a word.
“If my crewman’s Tricorder says it detected a Cylon, then I believe it did.
If it says that Cylon’s Colonel Tigh, then I believe he is one.
The only thing that remains to be seen, from my point of view, is if he’s a spy, a good Cylon or if there’s something here that causes false readings in the Tricorder.”

Admiral Adama calmed himself, as it was clear the Captain of the Musashi was no trying to provoke him, but was just stating facts as he saw them.

“I apologize for my abruptness.” He told them.
“Last time we put our faith in a Cylon Detector, it failed on us.
And so I am somewhat reluctant to believe a machine telling me my best friend is actually an enemy spy.”

“This is your choice, Admiral, and I’ll respect it,” Started Kirkinger, “But please realize that this means our help will be limited, as there is no way I’m letting possible Cylons see our technology, or even worse, get their hands on it.”
He finished matter-of-factly.

The Admiral seemed to mull over the statement for a few moments, then replied.

“Would you be willing to trust your life on this instrument?” He asked.

“I have,” Kirkinger said, “Many times in the past.
I trust this instrument implicitly when it is properly used.
And I know Lt. Harriman is fully trained on its use, as are all Starfleet personnel.
So when it tells me one of your crew is a Cylon, I believe it, unless proven otherwise by rock-solid evidence.”

“Would you be willing to examine our Cylon detector and let us know why it failed?” Adama asked.
“I’m not sure I can put the same faith in its creator as you can put in your equipment.”

“I can have my people look at it immediately, if you wish. I simply need to know what type of test it is to determine who can help best.” Kirkinger said.

“Unfortunately, the creator of the test is, as far as I know, missing in action.
First reports say he was taken in by the Cylons after we left New Caprica.
I do know it was a blood test, and that it compared human blood cells’ reaction to certain types of radiations with those of Cylon hybrids’ blood.
You see, Cylons are vulnerable to certain radiations, even at low levels not menacing to humans.
The detector turned out to be worthless, and so it was abandoned.
If you could help us make it work, we would be very greatful. ”

Adama started walking down the corridor in the opposite direction from which they had arrived, signalling the Starfleet team to follow him.
They travelled through what James estimated to be around half of the ship before arriving to a door, where two Marines were standing guard.
They saluted the Admiral, who nodded, and they opened the door.
They entered the room, a lab of some sort, with notes and equipment cluttering every inch of it.

“This is where Doctor Baltar created the detector,” Adama said, “And here is our useless marvel of Colonial Technology.” He finished.

James looked at the equipment, and the way it was setup, and understood how Baltar had set up his test.
He looked at Captain Kirkinger, and said:
“Captain, I believe I can make heads or tails of this, if you will allow me to.
I believe Doctor Baltar’s test was a simple one where he isolated the specific parts of the Cylon DNA susceptible to radiation and submitted the same human and Cylon DNA parts to small doses of radiation and noted the effects in both subjects.”

Kirkinger nodded his approval, and under the surprised gaze of Admiral Adama and Lt. Harriman, James rummaged through the notes and examined the equipment thoroughly.
It took him about thirty minutes to confirm his theory, and to make an interesting finding.

“Sir!” He called to Captain Kirkinger.
“I believe I know why the Cylon detector didn’t work.”

Admiral Adama, doubt clearly present in his face, joined James next to the detector.

“How could you possibly know that after only thirty minutes?” He asked, not masking his incredulity at all.
“It took Doctor Baltar weeks to design this, and the man is a Genius.
And now I’m to believe a bodyguard understands his work, and in less than thirty minutes can tell us where the detector failed?”

“Admiral, I honestly couldn’t care less what you decide to believe or not,” James stated bluntly, “But one thing I do care about is that Captain Kirkinger proposed his help, and since I am indebted to him, that means he proposes my help as well.”

The Admiral didn’t like James’s tone of voice, and it showed, but James continued anyway, even ignoring Kirkinger’s glare.

“And while I may look like an idiot to you, I can assure you I am more than up to the task in this case.
And the fact you judge my performance based on my look, my apparent function, with no regard to my actual findings has me wondering who made you an Admiral… Sir!”

For what appeared to be an eternity, James and the Admiral stared at each other, neither one lowering his gaze.
Kirkinger was about to talk when Adama broke silence first.

“Once again, it seems I owe you and your crew an apology, Captain Kirkinger.” Adama said softly.
“More to the point, I owe you an apology, son.
I guess this war, and especially its effects so close to home, has me running on emotion rather than logic and detachment, as I should.
Please, Lt., tell us what you found out.”

“I can see how that would affect someone,” James said, “So no apology is necessary.”

There was a short silence, where once again both men seemed to measure the other up, and then Adama nodded slightly.
James nodded in reply, and then explained his findings.

“Sir, after a thorough analysis of Doctor Baltar’s work, I can say the theory was sound.
In fact, it should have worked with near 100% accuracy.
So I looked over the Doctor’s results, and compared them to the test subject reference, and came to the only logical conclusion possible:
The Doctor falsified his results to obtain only false positives.
Doctor Baltar personally sabotaged his Cylon detector so it would fail.”

[sonofccn]

Baltar not having humanity's best interest at heart? The Devil you say!

Good chapter,keep it up.

[Admiral Breetai]

It will keep on becoming stranger before it goes back to being "normal"... :)

so you're channeling jack kirby during his acid phase in the seventies/eighties?

also spectacular update

[Praeothmin]

Chapter 15

The information didn’t make the Admiral too happy, as James expected, but at the same time, Adama did not look very surprised by the news.
James thought he saw understanding in his gaze, lingering but a moment, before the gruff façade came back in force.

“Thank you!” He said, “This discovery will help us very much in the coming weeks.
One more thing, though: would you be able to make this work, his test?
And more importantly, would you be able to show us how to run it?”

“I sure can, Admiral.” James replied.
“Just give me 10 minutes, and I’ll have the test operational, and a full set of instructions for you.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d prefer it if Doctor Cotter, our chief Medical Officer, was the one who learned how to run the tests. I have full confidence in the man.” Adama said.

And so James reset the Cylon detector could it be used again –this time reliably-, and when Cotter arrived, he showed him how to run it.
He finished his explanations as the comm system beeped, and there was a call heard over the ship.

“Admiral Adama to call CIC. Admiral Adama to call CIC.” Said a high, soft voice.

Adama excused himself, and went to a phone on the wall.
He spoke briefly, and came back to the group.

“Captain Kirkinger,” He said, “The President of the colonies has just arrived on the Galactica. When he heard about your ship, he immediately set out to meet you.
Since my XO is in my office, we’ll have the meeting here, if you don’t mind.”

“As you wish, Admiral.” Was Kirkinger’s reply.

They waited for the President of the Colonies for less than 5 minutes, before the guards at the entrance opened the door to the laboratory to let him in.
The man came in quickly, looked at all the occupants in the room, and went straight for Kirkinger.
He was tall, dark-haired and had an air of someone who had seen life and knew well its trappings.
He walked straight, like a man who was exactly where he should be, and whom everyone should respect.
His gaze, though, was always moving around, and had a fleeting quality to it, like that of a man always looking for a weakness to exploit.
James felt at ease around him, as he was exactly like any other Corporate-type execs he’d met with before his missions.
He knew what to expect from these men, and so he felt at home dealing with the President of the Colonies.

“I am President Tom Zarek, from the 12 Colonies of Kobol!” He said in a raspy voice, extending his hand to Kirkinger.
“I have heard a great deal about your intervention above New Caprica, from many trustworthy sources.” He continued, completely ignoring Adama.
“I would very much like to learn all about you and your ship, and how you so easily destroyed the Cylons that were attacking us.” He finished, expectantly.

“I am honoured to meet you, Mr. President.” Kirkinger began tentatively.
“As I told the Admiral,” The Captain said, nodding towards Adama, “We come from a planet called Earth.”

Once again, this statement had a profound effect on the Captain’s conversation partner.
The President’s eyes went wide, and he turned to Admiral Adama, for the first time acknowledging his presence in the room, as if to seek confirmation.
The Admiral did indeed nod, giving credence to the statement.

“Earth!” He said, as if refusing to believe it.
“And… Where is that… Earth?”

It was as if he was hesitant to pronounce the name, as if saying it out loud would wake him up from a dream and erase Earth from his mind.

“Well, we cannot tell you at the moment, for we do not know where we currently are.” Captain Kirkinger answered.
“My ship and its crew came here by accident, and we suffered some damage on our little trip, including on our Long-Range Sensors.
My crew is currently repairing the damage, and so as soon as they are done, we should be able to get an accurate picture of our location in relation to Earth.”

“I see. And with a damaged ship, you were able to destroy two Cylon Basestars without suffering any casualties in return?” An incredulous President asked.

“While damaged, our ship wasn’t completely defenceless,” Kirkinger said.
“The Musashi is well armoured, and equipped with the latest Starfleet weapons and shields.
There’s also the fact that these Cylons were not as powerful as our regular foes are.”

“Your foes must be mighty indeed, because we find the Cylons quite formidable.” President Zarek replied.
“Even if they are no match ship to ship, they can hurt us very much as they have more ships than us at the present.”

President Zarek then fell silent for a few moments, his eyes clearly showing James that he was considering how he should next proceed with his new potential allies.

“I was told, Captain, that you offered Admiral Adama your help, although my sources couldn’t tell me what kind of help that was.” Tom Zarek said, intensely looking at Captain Kirkinger.
Adama threw a sidelong glance at the President, apparently wondering just who those sources were.
“May we hope that this help might include these incredible weapons of yours, to aid in our struggle?”
Zarek finished expectantly.

“Mr. President,” Captain Kirkinger began, “Starfleet’s protocols forbid us to give weapons and technology to anyone who has not been approved by the Federation, even to potential allies.
The reason being that the Federation slowly grew in wisdom and knowledge before developing these weapons and the accompanying Technology.
We completely understand the underlying risks associated with its use.
You would not.
You would have equal chances of blowing yourselves up as of actually defeating your enemies.
And the potential for abuse is also there.
After all, these weapons would make you the ultimate power in your space, and we all know what ultimate power does.”
He let the last part hang there for a few seconds, allowing the President time to digest his answer.
“No,” He continued, “Our help will be in replenishing your parts supply, helping to repair your ships, and even re-stocking you in your type of weapons.”

“I see!” Said the President.
His internal struggle was apparent to James, and he thought to Captain Kirkinger as well, but neither men said anything, letting the President decide how to best form his answer.
“We are, of course, very thankful for all you’ve done, and all you’re about to do. If there’s anything you need from me, just let me know.”
With those words, he left.
It was clear he had wanted to add something, and James was pretty sure he knew what: The President was not happy about the limited help his people were getting.
This meant that President Zarek would be back with another request sooner or later, and Captain Kirkinger would have to once more deny him his wishes.

“Admiral,” The Captain started, “Why don’t we make a list of what you need, and start on making sure you get it?” He asked.

“Agreed!” Adama replied.
“I’ll show you the damage we received, and you can tell me what help you can provide.”

And so they left, Doc Cotter returning to the medical bay, and the group going through the inner parts of the ship, looking at the damage had done.
The ship had been beaten up pretty bad, and many structural struts were close to failure, repair crews busily doing all they could to strengthen them, but it was clear their repairs would only be temporary, as they were lacking the proper facilities or equipment to perform full repairs.

“Admiral,” Captain Kirkinger said, “Tell your men to stop using sub-par rod substitutes to shore up those struts. I can have brand new parts made for you within a day.
Plus, we use a bonding method that actually strengthens the bond between two parts, making them as solid as if they had been moulded as one.
And in some cases, we’ll be able to replace entire bulkheads within seconds.”

The Admiral was clearly surprised by that revelation, to James’s delight.
Ever since setting foot on the Federation ship, James had felt like a caveman discovering the modern world would, so far in advance of his own world’s technology was the Federation.
But here was an Admiral in a fleet of star ships, as impressed by the Federation technology as he had been.
The Captain and the Admiral spent another thirty minutes or so talking about the repairs needed by the Galactica.
Studying the Admiral, James felt certain the man refrained himself from asking for weapons on more than one occasion.
His composure, and the respect he showed Captain Kirkinger in not asking for weapons he knew would help his people greatly impressed James.

The two men were still talking when Lt. Harriman interrupted his Captain.

“Apologies, Sir,” He said, “But the Tricorder is picking up another Cylon, Sir.”

“What?” The Admiral replied.
“Where is he?”

“He is coming around the bend, right now.” Harriman excitedly said.

James jumped in front of Captain Kirkinger and got his weapon out just as a man rounded the wall.
The tall man, with wide shoulders and short dark hair, wore an orange jumpsuit with yellow stripes on the side, and he seemed preoccupied by some report.
He seemed to sense something amiss, lifted his eyes and jumped in surprise.

“That’s him!” Lt. Harriman said.

“Chief Tyrol?” Adama asked incredulously.

[sonofccn]

So as someone who never got into nBSG I have to ask a question at this point. Are there any actual people left on the ship or is everyone a Cylon? :)

Nice update anyway and good to see you back working on it.

[Praeothmin]

Problem is...

*Spoilerzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*













Five of the most important characters, two of whom have been crewmembers since the beginning, turn out to be Cylons...
It's not my fault Tricorders are so good... :)

*Edit: Oh, and at the time of my story, they didn't even know it themselves yet...

[Praeothmin]

New chapter should be up soon...

RL is so keeping me occupied atm... :)