"You won't find your scanners to be of much use," he said. "The radion field here from the crash is much too strong. It causes interference."
He disappeared behind the ridge.
They climbed back to the crest again. For a moment, they couldn't see him, then they spotted him, sitting down in a veritable oasis in the middle of the plain. It was astonishing that none of them had spotted it before. There was a small brook, a few large rocks surrounded by shrubs and small trees.
"Who is this guy?" said Starbuck out of the corner of his mouth.
"I don't know," said Apollo. "But I somehow have the feeling that we've stumbled onto something that could change our lives."
Starbuck looked at his friend with amazement.
"Change our lives? What are you talking about? He's just one guy!"
"Just one man," Apollo nodded. "Who gives off an incredibly commanding aura. And who claims to have survived that fiery crash without a mark on him."
"I feel weary," the stranger said. "Drained of my strength."
Sheba knelt down beside him. She dipped her hand into the water and bathed his forehead.
"We have emergency rations with us," she said. "We'll gladly share them with you."
"How kind of you," he said. "But no, it is not food that I require."
"How did you survive that crash?" Apollo said.
The stranger did not look at him. His eyes were focused on something in the distance.
"I don't know," he said.
"You spoke of your people," Starbuck said. "They were on that ship?"
The stranger nodded. "Yes. They are all gone. What about you? Your people? You will be returning to them soon?"
"Yes," said Apollo.
"I wonder if I might accompany you," the stranger said.
"I'd like to know a little more about you," said Apollo. "Who you are, where you come from . . ."
"You do not know my people," said the stranger. "They are not from your world."
"But if they are human, there must be a connection," Starbuck said hopefully. "Maybe—"
"Maybe," said the stranger. "Maybe I can help you in your quest."
"What quest was that?" Apollo said.
"Whatever you are looking for," the man in white replied. "My knowledge of the universe is infinite. I think we should be going."
He stood abruptly and moved off toward their ships.
"Likeable," said Starbuck, "but a bit on the loony side if you ask me."
"Maybe," said Apollo. "Maybe not. I want to know where he came from."
"You keep saying that," said Sheba. "What difference does it make? He's human. And he's all alone."
Apollo looked at Sheba and frowned.
"Sheba, why are you suddenly so protective of him? So far, he's been nothing but evasive with us."
"He's probably just confused," she said, "disoriented. Maybe he's still in shock from the explosion."
"That would make sense," said Starbuck. "If he ejected from that ship, he would have taken a bad fall."
"Doesn't look too banged up to me," Apollo said.
"Well," said Starbuck, shrugging his shoulders, "we can't very well leave him behind."
"Have you considered that he might be some sort of spy?" Apollo said. "He might have been planted here."
"Who knew we were coming?" Starbuck said.
"Whoever was responsible for our patrol disappearing."
Starbuck considered it.
"He's only one man," he said. "If we keep our guard up, I don't see what he could do."
"Let's just make sure he isn't carrying any kind of homing device," said Apollo.
"Good idea," Sheba said. "If this is one more of Baltar's little tricks, maybe it'll backfire."
They caught up to the man.
"We've decided to take you with us," said Apollo.
The stranger only smiled.
"Starbuck, go back to the ship and tell them to send a shuttle," said Apollo. "And see if there's been any word of the missing patrol," he added, although he wasn't optimistic.
Starbuck jumped into his Viper and was airborne in a flash. As he streaked off into space, there was the sudden sound of several explosions in the distance and the red sky washed out to white on the horizon. White balls of light, impossibly bright, streaked across the sky toward them at astonishing speeds. It did not seem possible to the warriors that anything could move that fast, yet the white balls of searing light hurtled across the sky so quickly that they almost hurt their necks trying to follow their progress. They emitted a piercing high-pitched sound that became deafening the closer they came and as they passed by overhead, both warriors doubled over and clutched at their heads, covering their ears in an effort to block out the nerve-shattering noise. The stranger, however, stood straight and tall, staring at the balls of light with what looked like defiance. There was a look of cold fury in his eyes. They seemed to blaze with an unholy light.
"What is it?" moaned Sheba. "What's happening?"
"It didn't even faze him," said Apollo, rubbing his temples to assuage the sudden headache caused by the sound of the white objects.
"We'd better hurry," said the stranger. "They'll come back. They're looking for me."
"One more thing before we go," said Apollo. "You say that we wouldn't know of your world, but that your knowledge of the universe is infinite. Have you ever heard of a planet called Earth?"
"I have been there," said the stranger.
The warriors glanced at each other with astonishment.
"Then you know where it is!" said Sheba.
"Yes."
The three Vipers escorted the shuttle from the Galactica back to the ship. As they neared the battlestar, the ships went into an approach pattern. As each ship contacted the invisible force field of the landing bay, the black box wired into its guidance system cancelled out the field so that the craft could pass through the atmospheric shield as if through a semi-permeable membrane. There was a popping sound that accompanied the passage of each ship through the field as some of the atmosphere inside the ship escaped into space, but the amount lost was infinitessimal and did not inconvenience the ground crews who worked in the landing bay.
The ships lined up on their landing points and settled slowly to the deck of the landing bay. The ground crews rushed forward to secure the craft and to begin their maintenance tasks.
Colonel Tigh moved hurriedly toward the ships. Apollo popped his cockpit, as did Starbuck. Tigh quickly moved to them.
"Any sign of the others?" he said anxiously.
"No," Apollo said, his voice heavy with regret. "We came up empty. Well, not quite."
Apollo nodded his head toward the shuttle. The stranger in white was stepping down onto the landing bay deck. Sheba walked up to him and together they approached Colonel Tigh.
"May I introduce our guest, Count Iblis?" Sheba said. "Colonel Tigh," she said. "And this is Athena." She indicated Apollo's sister, who had also come down to meet the recon rescue party.
"A great honor, Colonel," said Count Iblis. "I know that your mind must be filled with questions at this moment, but I wonder if I might first find a place to rest from my ordeal?"
"I'll be glad to give you and my father a quick debriefing," Apollo said to Tigh, "but I'm sure he'll eventually want to talk to Count Iblis at length."
"Of course," said Tigh. "Sheba, after you've all been through de-con, proceed to the life station, then find the count some quarters."
Sheba and the count both moved off in the direction of the de-con section.
"I'll see you two immediately after you've finished here," said Tigh to Starbuck and Apollo.
As soon as they went through the standard post-mission decontamination procedures, Apollo and Starbuck hurried to Commander Adama's quarters with Colonel Tigh. Adama was waiting for them in his cabin, pacing nervously. He beckoned all three men to their seats impatiently.
"All right," he said. "I want to hear about this Count Iblis. You say he was all a
lone on this planet?"
"Alone, beside the wreckage of an immense ship of unfamiliar design," Apollo said.
"Did you investigate the wreckage?" Adama said.
"No, sir," said Starbuck. "It was giving off exceptionally high radion levels. There was interference with our scanners. We couldn't move into the area without returning to the Galactica for special gear."
"Yet Count Iblis survived," said Adama, "despite the radion levels?"
"I can only speculate that he must have ejected from the ship before it crashed," Apollo said. "We didn't see any evidence of an ejection pod, but he could have jettisoned himself from the ship when it was struck and landed quite some distance away, then traveled overland to the wreckage site."
"You said the ship was struck," Adama said. "By whom? Cylons?"
"Not according to Count Iblis," Starbuck said. "But then there's no telling what condition his mind might be in after an encounter such as he's been through."
"All right," said Adama. "I want a complete report on Count Iblis from the life station. Cranial probe, neuro systems, everything up to and including psychoelectron recall."
"Don't you think that some sort of, well, formal greeting might be in order before we ask him to submit to all that ?" Apollo said.
"Yes, yes, of course," said Adama. "Bring him up to my quarters as soon as possible. Give him as much time as he needs to rest and as soon as he feels up to talking, I'd like to see him."
"Father?" said Apollo.
"Yes, is there something else?"
"I don't know. It might just be incoherent rambling, dissociation as a result of shock, maybe he was simply trying to find a way to convince us to take him along, but he said he's been to Earth."
Adama's eyes grew wide.
"He said what?"
"That he's been to Earth. That he knows where it is."
Adama licked his lips nervously.
"You are to say nothing of this to anyone, is that understood?" he said. "I don't want to start any rumors flying around this ship. It could be as you suppose, that he just said that to induce you to bring him back to the Galactica. If it's really true . . ." Adama shook his head. "I don't even want to speculate about that now. I'm afraid to raise my own hopes. But I am very, very anxious to speak to this Count Iblis. Very anxious, indeed."
Sheba and Count Iblis walked down the corridor leading to the life station. Iblis glanced about casually, as if only mildly interested in his new surroundings.
"We can stop here for some hypernutrients and a quick energon treatment," Sheba said. "It will get your strength up and get you through the debriefing."
"No," said Iblis.
He stopped dead in his tracks. Sheba was taken aback. She kept walking past him for several steps before realizing he had stopped. She turned and stared at him quizzically.
"It's not that I don't appreciate your concern," said Count Iblis in a placating tone. He smiled at her charmingly. "It's just that I have concerns of my own."
"We only want to help you," Sheba said.
"I'm sure," said Iblis, "but you don't understand. I don't come from your world. Or from your time. I must consider the possibility that your instruments could well prove to be destructive to me."
"They're the very latest—" Sheba began, but Iblis cut her off.
"For your time, yes. Actually, your ships . . . your wonderful developments . . . all are quite admirable. However, your systems are . . . different. "
He smiled at her again. It was such an honest, open and engaging smile that any objections Sheba might have had to his protestations simply evaporated.
"I would very much like to see more of your ship, if I may," said Count Iblis.
"I really should be getting you to . . ." Sheba stopped. Iblis was looking at her and smiling. And she couldn't tear her eyes away from his. She seemed to be falling into them. Something in his pupils seemed to blaze.
"What do you mean he never went to the life station?" said Adama. "Just where is he?"
Tigh shook his head helplessly. "I'll find him immediately," he said.
Count Iblis was on the bridge of the Galactica, with Sheba by his side. She was smiling and pointing out to him the controls of the ship, the various systems, explaining their functions.
"This is the communication center," she said, indicating Athena's console. "With this system, we maintain a constant monitor on all of the ships in our fleet."
As Iblis approached the screen, the monitor began to break up into static and snow. Athena frowned and tried to adjust the controls, but nothing seemed to work. Something was causing massive interference.
"I'm sorry," she said, puzzled. "We seem to be having a problem with some sort of electrical interference. It was fine just a micron ago."
"One of the problems of space travel," explained Sheba. "Electrical fields, equipment failures, I'm sure you understand."
"Completely," said Count Iblis.
As they moved on to another area of the bridge, Athena's scanner monitors cleared up. She simply shrugged and dismissed it.
Tigh entered Adama's quarters. The commander was seated at his table, enjoying a relaxing beverage. It wasn't doing much to relax him. He drummed his fingers nervously on the surface of the table.
"I just received word from the bridge," said Colonel Tigh. "Our visitor just left there with Sheba. We're tracking them down now."
"Tracking them down?" said Adama. "Colonel, what are we running here? A perfect stranger comes aboard the Galactica and he's being shown sensitive military control centers without so much as a hello, who are you?"
"It does seem a little out of the ordinary," said Tigh weakly.
"Out of the ordinary?"
Tigh winced. When Adama grew angry, heads rolled. "I don't know what possessed Sheba to do it," he said. "I'll find them both and have them here in microns."
"That would be very nice," said Adama. "On the other hand, perhaps you shouldn't bother. The way things seem to be going, no doubt Count Iblis will soon be getting a guided tour of this very room."
Tigh gritted his teeth. "I'll find them right away, Commander."
"See that you do."
"The rejuvenation center is this way," said Sheba as they walked down the corridor together. Iblis was taking it all in. "It might be a good place for you to stop and rest for a while. We've covered a lot of ground."
Count Iblis stopped. His eyes seemed to unfocus for a moment.
"No," he said. "It's time to find Commander Adama."
"You know Commander Adama?" Sheba said. She did not recall anyone mentioning the commander's name in his presence.
"Someone must have mentioned his name on the bridge," said Count Iblis with a smile. "Was I incorrect? Is he not your leader?"
There was something about his look and smile that was so disarming that Sheba immediately relaxed.
"Oh, he's our leader, all right," she said. "This way, I'll take you to his quarters."
At that moment, Adama was pacing in his quarters, his anger and frustration growing. It was absurd. A man no one knew, from who knows where, was wandering about the ship and no one could seem to find him. What in the name of Kobol was going on? Had security completely broken down?
"Just where in the name of Hades is he," Adama said, his voice tense with barely controlled fury. "How did he get free run of this ship? Now which of you has an answer for me?"
He glared at Starbuck and Apollo. The two pilots were clearly ill at ease.
"Uh, well . . ." Apollo stammered, not having the faintest idea of how to explain to his father what had happened, since he didn't understand it himself.
"Well, the last we saw of him," Starbuck began, but at that moment Count Iblis entered the room with Sheba.
"Pardon me," he said.
So surprised were they at his sudden entrance that no one noticed Adama's monitor screens going haywire as Iblis passed them. The moment he walked by the console, the screens returned to normal.
"You are
Commander Adama," Count Iblis said, his voice full of respect. "Count Iblis, at your service."
He approached the commander of the battlestar and went down on one knee and bowed his head slightly. Adama stared at him, completely taken aback.
"I'll want to talk to each of you later," he said to Starbuck and Apollo. "You'll be notified. In the meantime. I'd like a few centons alone with Count Iblis."
"Yes, sir," both pilots said in unison. And, grateful that Iblis' timely arrival had spared them a tongue lashing by Adama, they quickly withdrew.
"Be in one place," Adama said as they were leaving. They paused. "I wouldn't want to have to search all over the ship for you."
The pilots stiffened.
"Would the Officer's Club be suitable?" said Starbuck.
"Predictable would be a better choice of words," Adama said wryly, "but yes, fine. See that you stay there."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Dismissed, gentlemen."
They wasted no time in leaving.
In the corridor, both men sighed with relief. Starbuck glanced at Apollo and whistled softly.
"Man, I don't think I've ever seen him so unsettled."
"You'd think we just deserted him or something," Sheba said. She had left with them. Adama had said nothing to her, but the look that he had given her spoke volumes.
"It is a little difficult to understand why you took a perfect stranger into classified areas," Apollo said.
"He asked me to," said Sheba.
"You do everything you're asked to do?"
"Apollo!"
"You know what I mean."
"Look," she said, "I'll admit that it looks a little awkward and it's kind of hard to explain, but . . . it wasn't what he said as much as what I felt. He needed to feel that there was order and security. So I took him where I thought the environment would help to settle him down. It worked. He's feeling much better now."
Apollo stared at her for a moment. Something simply did not make sense. He felt that he was missing something.
"You've been acting like this ever since we found the count," he said. "Or he found us. What makes him so important to you? You don't even know who he is! None of us do!"
Battlestar Galactica 7 - War Of The Gods Page 3
