InsaneJournal

Arrival
Whether it's the rocking movements or the alarm klaxons that wake Caprica Six, she does not know. Her limbs feel stiff and disused as she gradually tests them and opens her eyes towards the ceiling. The noise and motions leave her disoriented and confused. As much as she's seen the ceiling of Galactica's brig, she knows immediately that this is not it. Her limbs are shaky as she tries to push herself upright.

She feels the straps holding her down then, and the sensation of her hair floating about her face. For a moment, she thinks she must be in a birthing tank, in a resurrection chamber, though there's no reason she'd be strapped into one, and it's empty of fluids and attendants. She soon sees it isn't quite that, but similarly formed; short walls rising around her, and devices behind her head to monitor her vitals as she awakens. The straps hold her in place simply because there is no gravity. Inside a ship or a basestar, then. She looks around the interior, fitting it with her memories. A Heavy Raider. Built for moving troops and dealing extensive damage as well. As groggy as she is, she has to wonder if she was drugged, shoved into the ship, and shot off. But why? Did Gaius's trial go that badly?

The constant alarms aren't helping. She finds the release on the straps and gives herself a push to float away from the tank, over to the instrument panels that exist for the benefit of the humanoid models. She holds her hand over a glowing display, activating the connection between it and her mind.

A proximity alert, which she silences. She was held in waiting until then, not exactly cold storage but close, revived as the Heavy Raider approached its programmed target. It prepared the atmosphere inside itself for her comfort as she awoke. It had rocked about as it avoided satellites in its path, not meaning to disturb her. It's relieved that she has awakened successfully, as much as it can be relieved— completion of a task is something it seeks to achieve, and preserving life is not its usual task. A difficult goal for it, and one it that will add to its experiences. She prompts it to explain how and why she came to be inside it, her life maintained by it.

The Heavy Raider has some difficulty processing this. There is a conflict between her question and what it was ordered. She is to know these things; it did not expect these questions. But the answers come to her that they journey together on a reconnaissance mission. They are here to find Earth.

Her pulse quickens, and she feels a cold sweat break out. How much time did she lose, then, to go from lying in wait in the brig, experiencing the strange dreams shared with Roslin and Sharon, to a mission to find Earth? She can't remember what happened in between. Did she die again? Is this a new body she has only just been downloaded into? The Heavy Raider has trouble processing this as well, but the report she receives is one stored for its benefit to deliver to her. It does know know itself what happened. The report says that a corruption entered her memory sequences when the Galactica passed through the Ionian Nebula. This may make later recall difficult, especially after a period of latency like this. The memories should be repaired over time as her mind grows active again, sorting through the memories and correcting the problem on its own.

Until then, though, she has no idea what brought her to this. Did her people send her out on this mission? Did the Colonials capture this Heavy Raider, send her off in it? Coerce Sharon into telling the ship what it should tell her? And whoever sent her, did they actually hope for her to succeed with it, or was this just a way to conveniently dispose of her? Saved the trouble of shooting her or boxing her, certainly.

Unable to deal with quite that much speculation, the Heavy Raider turns to what it does understand. The mission was to find Earth, examine it and whatever inhabitants might be there, determine if this is indeed the Thirteenth Tribe that the human scriptures spoke of. She is to integrate herself with the humans, if found, learn what they know. A long series of jumps were programmed into the Raider, with stars and nebulae and other signs to look for along the way for in the hopes that they would lead to Earth. A different route from the human fleet, presumably, certainly different from the rest of their own fleet, in an attempt to find another way there. The Heavy Raider believes they have succeeded.

Its vision fills her mind, and she sees an unfamiliar view of the stars all around them, and before them, a beautiful planet of blue waters, sprawling land and clouds. She sucks in a breath as the scans dance through her; climate patterns, mineral and atmospheric composition, life forms.

Life forms. Millions of species, some familiar and some not. But most of all, humans.

Several billion humans.

A mix of tears and laughter flood out of her as she looks at the planet through the Heavy Raider's vision, feels with it the mass sense of life. Humanity, not only surviving here, but clearly thriving. Not some thousands of struggling survivors of the near-genocide brought on by her people— by her pivotal role in disabling their defenses— but billions living without any of this having touched them.

It can only be Earth. Where else could it be, to cradle humanity like this?

And with it found, the next step is to land and seek out the humans. She relays this to the Raider, that she's ready for it, begin preparations to locate a landing site. It alerts her to some confusing readings somewhere below, along the shores of a large island neighboring a supercontinent in the northern hemisphere. It isn't sure what these things add up to, and she isn't sure either, but it stands out from the rest and gives them a target for the landing. She tells the Raider to find a secluded area near that location to set down in, and to take evasive action as needed to avoid detection or capture.

She disengages from the panel and floats her way to one of the bulkheads. Seats pull down for use by the humanoids. Can't be floating about for landing. She pulls on a protective suit in case it becomes necessary, and secures a helmet over her head. The breathing apparatus softly hisses and begins working. It will help the Raider if it can take effort away from sustaining the atmosphere and put that into the landing instead. Once equipped, she straps herself into the seat.

Still feeling emotionally overwhelmed, she has to consciously calm her breathing and close her eyes. She can feel the shifts and changes in motion that indicate the Heavy Raider is approaching the atmosphere, preparing for entry. The intricacies of it and the sensations of atmospheric entry don't sink into her consciousness. She's lost in the utter shock of the discovery, trying to comprehend what's happening.

And next to her, she believes she can feel Gaius's presence, his arm draping across her as the craft rocks about with the forces pressing against it, breaking through the atmosphere, screaming for the strange shore. Gaius is not really there, she knows, but he's so real to her that he might as well be.

"How charming," she hears him say. His voice isn't raised to be heard over the noise, but she hears it clearly. "Several billion more humans for you to nuke. How long do you give it this time? Took you two years before."

"That's not why I'm here," she murmurs.

"Really?" he says. "Because I thought you didn't have any idea why you were here. You've got your 'mission,' with no explanation of who it came from. How much of that is true? Could be a Cylon fleet coming up right behind you, waiting for your word to take this planet out like the rest. Or the humans sending you to your death; problem solved. Are you going to blindly carry it out?"

"I don't remember, but that's not our purpose any more." She feels the pressure of the Raider drawing low for a landing, the gear dropping beneath it. "Humanity already destroys itself. We need to guide it to a better way."

"You do?" A tap against her helmet. "Almost guided it to nuclear extinction. You might be doing it all over again, and not even knowing it."

"I would know."

"Like Boomer knew what she was? I feel better about our chances already."

She's about to retort when she's jolted by the feeling of the world dropping out from under her. Loss of lift? She's not sure, but the straps strain as the Heavy Raider plummets, coming in much harder than she expected, and she knows that this would kill her if she wasn't secured. She grips the straps tightly as the Raider pulls up sharply, leveling out, and finally setting down.

Gaius has disappeared, and her pulse beats hard. She carefully loosens the straps to free herself again, and when the colored lights change to tell her that the air is breathable, she removes her helmet. She's adjusting to the planetary gravity underfoot, something she hasn't felt since... she doesn't want to think about that time on New Caprica right now. She removes the protective suit as well, and returns it and the helmet to their storage compartment. The Raider will probably be waiting for her to acknowledge its success, and she moves back to the glowing display to touch it again.

It apologizes for the roughness of the landing; unexpected aircraft, trying to evade while scouting out a landing space. It has made use of the natural surroundings to help conceal itself, a gap in a cliff overlooking an ocean, but it is prepared for someone to investigate. There is an inhabited town nearby where the unusual readings came from. She reassures the Raider that she has not been damaged in the landing, and reminds it that she needs to exit its interior to seek out humanity and determine the situation.

The pressure shifts as the ramp is lowered. Bright sunlight filters in. It's so different from the irradiated air of the planet Caprica, or the cold bleakness of the New Caprica settlement, and she can hear waves breaking, almost smell the saltiness of the air. She hasn't seen such pure sunlight since the bombs dropped. She pushes back the emotions as the Raider tells her where the supplies are— non-perishable foodstuffs for her nutrient needs, clothing to cover her, cleansing supplies. It doesn't quite understand these things, but it knows that her body requires different from itself, and that the clothing has a function. It understands the gun, though, having armaments of its own. It will wait for her here, and with her agreement, it will relocate if necessary to avoid detection. If that happens, it will return to this place when the situation has resolved.

Once she has dressed herself and neatened her hair, she feels more ready to face the challenge. Pretending to be a human once again, and learning how to communicate with these humans, what these humans know, if this is indeed the fabled Earth...

She takes her time descending the ramp, squinting against the light. As she adjusts to it, she lets her mind impose a new image over the beach landscape— a sunlit forest whose paths she knows well. If the Raider has to leave, she will be able to find the location again through the projection, not needing to rely on landmarks less familiar to her than the ones she places within her mind. The mental map intact, she lets the reality of it enter her vision again. She sets off across the sand, a suitcase hanging from one hand. She doesn't mind what the sand does to her shoes. Getting a little sandy is just a small irritation to deal with later. It's nothing compared to the tasks ahead.