Those Who Lift Each Other Info Post
Yay! I got the first chapter of BSGlee back from my beta. It should be up by Monday night at the latest (I have company coming this weekend.) However, I did want to put the info post up, which has background for both series.
"Those Who Lift Each Other" (title from BSG scripture) is a BSG/Glee crossover. The basic premise is that instead of McKinley being located in Lima, Ohio, it was located on Lima, Gemenon, and New Directions was on their way to the All-Colony Show Choir Competition when the Cylons struck. The kids and their four adult chaperones (Will, Sue, Burt, and Carole) are now members of the Fleet.
The rule is that Battlestar Galactica canon cannot change. Therefore, the kids are not performing any great heroics that alter the flow of the BSG narrative. What this fic became is something I've always wanted to write: life for the "other" people in the Fleet, the ones who don't get a say in the big decisions that are happening. The kids are spread out into different jobs- military, government, civilian… I tried to span as much as I could. Or, alternatively, you can look at it as a fic about how New Directions would fare in a post-apocalyptic space AU with killer robots.
While all the characters are present and active for the whole story, each chapter is from the (third person) POV of one Glee character, with the exception of Chapters 8 and 9, which both use Kurt and Burt's POVs. The chapter list, including which character's POV I'm using and (approximately) which BSG episodes the chapter covers, is as follows:
Chapter 1- It's the End of the World As We Know It (Will, Miniseries - 33)
Chapter 2- It's Time To Be a Big Girl Now (Brittany, Water - Colonial Day)
Chapter 3- But That Was When I Ruled the World (Puck, Kobol's Last Gleaming - Resistance)
Chapter 4- What's the Frequency, Kenneth? (Artie, Resistance - Flight of the Phoenix)
Chapter 5- In the Service Of the Queen (Santana, Pegasus - Resurrection Ship II)
Chapter 6- Show Me a Garden That's Bursting Into Life (Tina, Epiphanies - The Captain's Hand)
Chapter 7- Only Shooting Stars Break the Mold (Rachel, Lay Down Your Burdens I and II)
Chapter 8- Down to the Ground (Burt and Kurt, Lay Down Your Burdens II)
Chapter 9- Tricked by the Future You Picked (Burt and Kurt, Lay Down Your Burdens II - Collaborators)
Chapter 10- Something To Be Proud Of (Mike, The Passage - Rapture)
Chapter 11- If We Worked Hard, If We Behaved (Carole, The Woman King - Dirty Hands)
Chapter 12- We'd Ever Die For These Sins (Sam, The Son Also Rises - Escape Velocity)
Chapter 13- I'll Be My Own Savior (Finn, Guess What's Coming to Dinner - A Disquiet Follows My Soul)
Chapter 14- We Hurt Each Other, Then We Do It Again (Mercedes, The Oath - Blood on the Scales)
Chapter 15- If God Had a Face, Would You Want To See? (Quinn, No Exit - Someone To Watch Over Me)
Chapter 16- Don't Stop Believing (Sue, Islanded In A Stream of Stars - Daybreak III)
What about the BSG characters? Well, we'll be seeing a lot of them. But one thing about this being a "little people in the Fleet" story is that a lot of the key players in BSG won't be big characters in Those That Lift Each Other. For example, Roslin and Adama- the President and Commander/Admiral of the Fleet- probably aren't going to be seeing a bunch of high school kids all the time. We'll see them very much in their professional roles, without so much of the personal development. On the other hand, some secondary, tertiary, and hell- unnamed extras- will be major characters. Characters like Tom Zarek, Xeno Fenner, the Marine with the Pretty Eyes, Kendra Shaw and Marcia Case, Rya Kibby… people like that are going to be much more important. And so some events which were big in the show - like Kara crashing on the moon, stealing the raider, and coming back to the Fleet, will barely register with this story - whereas other events that only received a mention will be major plot points.
Wait a minute. There are only twelve kids. What happened to Lauren?
Good question. Although it's taking me a long time to post this, I started outlining it and getting the structure in my head before it became clear Lauren was going to stick around in New Directions. I actually really ended up loving her character, but sixteen characters and POVs is already a lot, and I just didn't feel like I could juggle more. So, unfortunately, Lauren was left on the Colonies at a convenient wrestling championship.
And yes, since it comes up in the first few pages, I made Blaine the manager of the wrestling team. Why, instead of just leaving him at Dalton? Well, I kind of figured I was going to set this as "third season", if that makes sense, so I can reference a lot of what happens in Season 2 if I want, or ignore it if that suits me better. I assumed that RIB are transferring Blaine to McKinley at some point. I might be completely wrong about that, but… But again, we didn't know much about Blaine when I started this outline and I felt I couldn't handle him as a character, and besides, torturing Kurt is just so much fun, isn't it? So, I figured Blaine could manage the wrestling team and that was why he, too, wasn't on the flight.
I'm a Battlestar Galactica fan. Do I need to have seen Glee to follow this?
Probably not. The kids are kids, none of them have special powers, and I'm not focusing on a lot of the romantic relationship drama. But here's a quick guide to who's who on Glee:
New Directions: New Directions is the glee club of McKinley High School. They're quite talented, but they're all misfits for one reason or another, but especially because they are in glee club. Their club competes in show choir competitions.
Top Row (left to right):
Sam Evans: Resident cutie and all around nice guy. Good football player, good sense of honor, geek, and recently revealed to be having economic troubles. Has sort of a rivalry with Finn, dated Quinn and Santana, is currently single.
Kurt Hummel: Smart, often bitchy, ambitious, and obsessed with fashion. Has been severely bullied on account of being gay, and is involved with Blaine, who didn't make it off the Colonies. Used to have a crush on Finn, but they are now stepbrothers.
Tina Cohen-Chang: Very shy around those she doesn't know, but definitely has some strong opinions. Used to date Artie, but broke up with him for Mike. Often in the background on the show.
Mike Chang: Quiet and excellent dancer. Football player, and is currently dating Tina and hanging out in the background with her.
Brittany Pierce: Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but often the sweetest. (Although don't be fooled- she does have her bitchy side.) Former cheerleader, cat whisperer, internet talk show hostess. Was dating Artie, but is really in love with Santana.
Middle Row (left to right)
Rachel Berry: Captain of New Directions and lead vocalist, loud, obnoxious, bossy, self-absorbed and fame-obsessed, but also a very good person underneath that. Fiercely loyal and really does care about her friends, and is willing to admit when she is wrong. Has been in a relationship on and off with Finn.
Mercedes Jones: Diva, compassionate (mostly), and independent. Has not had many plotlines because the writers can't figure out what to do with her.
Quinn Fabray: Former queen bee, former cheerleader, class beauty, and thinks that those things are all that she is. Used to date Finn, but cheated on him with Puck and got pregnant. Tried to pass the baby off as Finn's, but didn't get away with it. Gave baby Beth up for adoption. Has dated Finn (multiple times), Puck, and Sam.
Finn Hudson: The golden boy of Glee club, frequent male soloist and quarterback of the football team. (Or captain of the pyramid team, in this world.) Really, really clueless when it comes to how to treat girls, and sort of stumbles on everything else, but has good intentions and is a nice guy. Switches back and forth between Rachel and Quinn and is stepbrother to Kurt.
Front row (left to right):
Artie Abrams: Nerdy, academic, and president of the AV club and on the academic decathlon team. A bit of a misogynist when it comes to dating, but otherwise a good guy. Was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident when he was eight.
Santana Lopez: Former cheerleader, bitch and rather proud of it. Honest to the point of cruelty when it suits her, and completely capable of lying when it doesn’t. Has dated/slept with most of the guys, but is a closeted lesbian in love with Brittany, her best friend.
Lauren Zizes: Badass, and Puck's girlfriend. Recent addition to the cast, which is the only reason she got stuck on the Colonies, because I love Lauren.
Noah Puckerman (Puck): The glee club's bad boy. Has anger issues and has been sort of a dick in the past, sleeping with anyone he can and tossing people (like Kurt) into dumpsters. Has been improving lately, much against his will, thanks to wanting to win the love of a good woman. Has dated Rachel and Quinn, knocked Quinn up, and was the one who named Beth.
The Adults:
Will Schuester: Spanish (erm, Tauron) teacher who coaches the glee club. Overly earnest, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and lives in his memories of the days when his glee club ruled the school. Has a terrible romantic history, but you don't need to know about that because I'm doing my best to keep Will Schuester away from women. He's likeable when he's not in a romance, but a douche when he is.
Sue Sylvester: Coach of the extremely competitive and selective cheerleading squad called the Cheerios. Dedicated to destroying Will Schuester and the glee club. I suspect that even if you don't watch Glee you've heard of Sue Sylvester.
Burt Hummel: Fairly blue-collar guy who owns a garage and works as a mechanic, and has been raising Kurt on his own until he recently married Carole Hudson.
Carole Hudson: Formerly single mom who's raised her son alone from infancy (her husband died in military service when Finn was a baby) and who has received no character development on the show beyond being a very loving mom.
And that's really all you need to know if you've never seen Glee. The rest should be pretty easy to follow.
I'm a Glee fan. Do I need to have seen Battlestar Galactica to follow this?
This one's trickier. On the one hand, I don't think so. Because this is all from the Glee kids' POVs, you'll be seeing what they see, and it's all new to them. However, I'm sure there will be moments when having seen the series really makes it easier to understand what's going on.
Battlestar Galactica is originally set a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. At one point, humans lived on a world called Kobol. But for some reason (civil war sounding reasons), they left Kobol. There were thirteen tribes. Twelve of them founded the Twelve Colonies- twelve planets/moons inhabited to various degrees by humans. The thirteenth tribe disappeared, and supposedly went to Earth. Or, at least, so the Sacred Scrolls say. No one's sure how true that is. Two thousand years or so went by.
Then about fifty years ago, humans created the Cylons- clunky robots that were used as war machines/slaves. They're humanoid in that they have arms and legs and heads, but they look like robots. But then the robots- designed to be intelligent- rose up against their human masters, and there was a long, drawn out war. The war eventually ended with the signing of the Cimtar Peace Agreement, and the Cylons went off someplace to find a world of their own. But that was forty years ago, and this is now.
The cast of Battlestar Galactica is extensive, but right now I'm just going to give you a guide to the people whose names show up in the credits. Because the ones who don't either won't be mentioned much, or you'll get to know them because they'll be characters as opposed to faces in news stories. These are the top dogs.
From left to right
Gaius Baltar: A civilian scientist with issues with keeping his dick in his pants. He (and said dick) are indirectly responsible for the Cylons being able to attack the Twelve Colonies (not that anyone but him knows this).
Six (red dress): That's technically head!Six- the Six that only Baltar can see. She looks like one of the Cylons. (But wait- didn't you say the Cylons were robots? Why, yes I did. But that will actually be explained in the fic.)
Colonel Saul Tigh: Colonel and XO of the Fleet (Adama's right-hand man). An alcoholic and a grump, and a lot of the crew don't take him seriously.
Laura Roslin: Former Secretary of Education, 43rd in line for the Presidency. But the other 42 are dead… so Laura's it. Good thing she is fierce and kicks major ass.
Commander William Adama: Commander of the Galactica, who's considered something of a joke in the military because he refuses to allow his computers to be networked. (It has a lot to do with the Cylon War.) About to retire. A divorcee with one living son (Lee) and one son (Zak) who died in a training accident.
Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama: Estranged son of Bill Adama, starts the series as a Viper pilot (single pilot fighter crafts).
Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol: Chief petty officer and head of the Galactica deck crew. He's the one that keeps all the ships running.
Lieutenant Shanon 'Boomer' Valerii: A Raptor pilot who got her name from her trouble with landings. Very sweet and more than a bit tortured.
Lieutenant Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace (sitting on the floor): Hot shot Viper pilot and one of the reasons you should watch the series. She's rude, rule-breaking, and kick-ass, and really good at training new pilots (nuggets). She used to be engaged to Adama's son Zak, until he died in a training accident a couple of years before the attacks.
Simon O'Neill: A doctor aboard the Cybele who was stationed in the Colonial Fleet. Married to Giana O'Neill and adopted her daughter Jemmy.
Billy Keikeya: A recently graduated college kid who was serving as an aide to the Secretary of Education and is now serving as the aide to the President of the Colonies. Sort of the Charlie Young to Laura Roslin's Jed Bartlett.
Lietenant Felix Gaeta: Tactical officer and third in command (sort of) on Galactica. Very bright scientifically and very dumb and idealistic when it comes to people.
Petty Officer Anastasia "Dee" Dualla: A communications officer aboard Galactica, and awesome.
As the fic goes on, I'll update this section with pictures of the characters that actually show up.
The Ships:
Galactica: One of the oldest battlestars. The Galactica was created during the first Cylon war and can carry a staff of 5000, along with squadrons of Vipers and Raptors. Small ships from the Fleet are able to dock inside it, it's so large. Like all the ships that survive the first few attacks, the Galactica is capable of faster than light speed travel.
Viper: Small, single-pilot fighter crafts. Very similar to X-wings.
Raptor: A small craft that is the space-worthy equivalent of a Blackhawk. Used for fighting, explorative missions, info gathering missions, and day-to-day shuttling around the Fleet.
Colonial One: Formerly a passenger ship, this is now the seat of the government.
Cybele: A small ship in the Fleet that took off from Gemenon. A combination freighter/passenger carrier, and the ship that New Directions boards at the beginning of the fic.
So, what are the warnings on this?
Heh. Well.
Warnings if you're here from Glee: Genocide, talk about abortion, suicide bombers, canon BSG-suicide, age inappropriate (but of age and consensual) relationships, infidelity, violence, PTSD, oppression, homophobic language, BSG character deaths (canon), Glee character deaths, talk of sexual violence, betrayal, terrorist character, people get shot, torture, did I mention the violence?, good people getting screwed, etc.
Warnings if you're here from BSG There's some torture in Chapter 9, and Glee character deaths.
I'm not trying to be derogatory here; BSG is a very dark, gritty, post-apocalyptic drama. Most of those warnings are about the BSG canon as much as the fic. This is not a light, fluffy story, just so you know. There's no incest or rape of the Glee characters, though. (There is canon BSG rape that might be mentioned.)
Wait a minute. Homophobic language? This is BSG. That's like the one thing you shouldn't have to warn for.
I know. And I know that RDM says that the Twelve Colonies have no homophobia. But two things:
1.) Sadly, I just don't believe it. Look, bullies and jerks exist in every culture, ready to pick on people who are somehow different. While I will fully accept that homophobia is not institutionalized and that there are areas where no, it doesn't exist, I can't believe that among 20 billion or 50 billion people (whichever episode you use), it NEVER happens.
2.) Kurt's character is just too strongly informed by the fact he has to deal with homophobia. Ditto Santana these days, and also Burt.
As a result, I put Lima on Gemenon, a very religious planet that is strongly pro-life. We don't know much else about it, but I'm going to go with puszysty's idea that it's largely a very Republican/Tea Party type of planet. With variations, but that's what it is. But I'm not turning all of the Twelve Colonies homophobic, because they aren't.
What about ships? (And don't even try that "they're called Galactica and Colonial One joke with me, missy.)
Ships. As for BSG/BSG ships, all ships are canon, with the exception of Baltar/Gaeta, which might as well be canon as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise, the canon ships happen when and how we see them in canon.
Glee/Glee ships: I'm not much into shipping the kids. Kurt/Blaine and Puck/Lauren were ships, before I left Blaine and Lauren back on the Colonies. Brittany/Santana will be happening. Finn/Rachel is sort of off the table, not in a bad way, but I'm just sort of not doing much with it. Sam/Mercedes either broke up amicably or never happened, since the fic was planned long before the ship showed up in canon. The only big Glee/Glee ship is Mike/Tina. And Burt/Carole, of course. Because no one messes with Burt/Carole.
BSG/Glee ships. There are a few crossover ships. Some of them are one night stands. They are Puck/Ellen, Santana/various pilots, and Kurt/Baltar. There is one that is fairly serious, and that is Sam Evans/Rya Kibby. And there are two that may or may not happen, depending on how well I can work them in: Sue/Zarek and Kurt/Marine with the Pretty Eyes.
But to be honest, this fic is gen as gen can get, and even during the romantic scenes I'm a fade to black kind of girl for stories like this.
Wait a minute. Do you really think the Colonials have some of the songs you're referencing?
Four words for you: All Along the Watchtower. If Ron Moore can do it, so can I! But seriously- I have no song writing talent. If I actually reference a song, it's just easier to reference one that people know to convey the emotion I want the song to convey.
BSG Characters from Chapter 2
Left to Right:
Sarah Porter: The representative to the Quorum of Twelve for Gemenon. Very traditional and conservative; if the Colonies were Earth, she'd be a Republican/Tea Party member. Has definitely had her moments supporting Roslin.
Phelan: Only featured in what is widely considered the worst BSG episode ever, Black Market. An "ex-military mercenary", head of the black market, and willing to sell anyone or anything. (Has a child prostitution ring going. Don't ask. Just go with it.) One of the few black hats BSG ever made.
Tom Zarek: Former terrorist or freedom fighter, depending on who you ask. His home planet of Sagittaron was oppressed and exploited by the other Colonies for centuries. (While the Gemenese are like Tea Partiers, the Sagittarons don't believe in medicine and refuse to fight.) Opposed the government and blew up a government building and served 20 years, was up for parole when the Cylons attacked. Wrote a very controversial and inflammatory book while in prison. Is now the Sagittaron representative to the Quorum of Twelve, and was in the running for Vice President. Defeated by Gaius Baltar.
BSG Characters for Chapter 3
There are quite a few here, so I had to break them down into a few pictures. First, the non-Marines:
Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson: an ECO/Raptor pilot with extraordinary luck at finding things. A little cocky, a lot bitter, and a dry sense of humor.
Lt. Hamish "Skulls" McCall: an ECO/Raptor co-pilot who works with Racetrack and always has her back. Seems like he's a little more laid-back.
Ellen Tigh: The wife of Colonel Saul Tigh, civilian. Loves to party, have sex, drink, and torment her husband, very status-minded. Fidelity is not her strong suit. There's a lot more to Ellen than that, but that's all you need to know for now.
The Marines: The Marines are the ground forces that are stationed on Galactica. Thanks to the decommissioning and some losses during the attacks, there are only about 30 Marines on board. They are also, for the most part, not actual characters on the show- just named extras who blow shit up (mostly).
Top Row, left to right
Sergeant Allan Nowart: Sergeant in the Marines, will eventually be promoted. Like I said, we really don't know much about these guys. Can be brutal, can also change his mind.
Lance Corporal Eduardo Maldonaldo: I know even less about him, except that he can be very, very brutal. Has a big mouth.
Sergeant Omar Fischer: Sergeant of the guard aboard Galactica. Seems like a good guy- Dee likes him well enough.
Gunnery Sergeant Erin Mathias: I made her head of the remaining Marines, as she is the highest ranking of them and she is awesome. She may or may not have originally been intended to be on the Pegasus, but as she is the most recognizable and developed of the lot, she ended up on Galactica. Calm, level-headed, and a damn good Marine.
Private Stewart Jaffee: A Marine who seems to be fairly sweet and very loyal to Adama. Jaffee is also modeling what are referred to as the BDUs or drabs, which Puck wears a lot in this.
Private Sykes: I really know nothing about him from canon, except the boy was around for some arm porn.
Paulla Schaffer: A very strong woman who is capable of great religious devotion. Paulla doesn't show up in canon until season 3/4, where she is one of Baltar's disciples, and we know very little about her before that.
Meier: Sagittaron, former prisoner, Zarek's best friend and confidante. Pretty ruthless, not a nice person.
Elosha: Priest, Laura Roslin's best friend and confidante and spiritual adviser. Big believer in the Scriptures and in Laura.
Top row, left to right:
Admiral Helena Cain: Admiral and commander of the Pegasus, a much newer ship than the Galactica that escaped the Cylons. Very hard, very strong, somewhat crazy.
Captain Cole "Stinger" Taylor: Pegasus CAG and very humorless. Not impressed with the Galactica pilots.
Gina Inviere: A Cylon that posed as a contractor that worked on the Pegasus and was unmasked before the Pegasus found the Galactica. Previously romantically involved with Admiral Cain.
Lieutenant Noel "Narcho" Allison: A Pegasus pilot and kind of an ass, at least Starbuck sure thinks so. But damn, he's hot. Proof can be found here, here, and here.
Lieutenant Louis Hoshi: The Pegasus communications/tactical officer, appears to be quiet and even and reasonably respected by most people.
Captain Marcia "Showboat" Case: Pegasus pilot and a good flier, not quite as loudly anti-Galactica as some of the others.
Rya Kibby: A 17 year old girl from Gemenon, who is only ever mentioned in the one episode in the context of her plot in this chapter.
Romo Lampkin: A sketchy lawyer and widower who has spent time on Caprica but was living on Gemenon with his wife, family, and cat at the time of the attacks.
Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon: A Raptor pilot/ECO who was stranded on Caprica but escaped with the help of an Eight. Frankly, Helo doesn't have a lot to do in this chapter, but I was short a person and let's face it- that picture is hot.
Samuel T. Anders: A Pyramid (sports) star who plays for the Caprica Buccaneers and becomes the leader of the Resistance.
Jean Barolay: Another Caprica Buccaneer, and very close to Sam. There's debate as to what their relationship has been, but I've always liked the interpretation that they're like siblings.
Brother Cavil: An old, crotchety priest who met up with the Resistance on Caprica. He also is a priest in the Fleet (and married Sam and Rya last chapter.) And yes, that means exactly what you think it means, unless you think it means they're identical twins.
Shannon Beiste: The coach of McKinley High's football team in canon and wrestling team in this, since she needs something to do in the off season. Gruff and a little awkward with a heart of gold.
Blaine Anderson: Cheerful, enthusiastic, and confident, and frequently a lead singer in canon. Blaine is Kurt's boyfriend.
Lauren Zizes: A very talented wrestler and Puck's girlfriend. Lauren is matter-of-fact, sarcastic, and definitely tough.
Playa Palacios: One of the premiere reporters in the Fleet. Probably the lead reporter, and a member of the news talk show The Colonial Gang.
D'Anna Biers: An acerbic reporter who once did a human interest story on the soldiers of the Galactica.
No characters for chapter 9, unless you want a re-introduction to Baltar, Tyrol, Gaeta, or Zarek, who are all in the beginning. But some visuals of what New Caprica looked like might be helpful:
New Caprica is a very desolate planet. It's habitable, but it's cold and kind of miserable. However, it's hidden in a nebula, so it's supposedly very hard to find.
Several of the Fleet ships have landed, most notably Colonial One, which you can see in the top picture, and are being used as buildings. However, a lot of ships are still in space.
The lower picture is a picture of New Caprica's marketplace.
All of the human characters in this chapter have been around a while. Same with the Cylons, really, but since the Cylons have never been all in one place at the same time, here we go. Many copies of each model exist and are walking around New Caprica. Cylons are first and foremost referred to by their model number, but some models have a name that spans across the model. There are twelve models; at this point in the story, we've met seven.
Top Row:
One (Cavil): The Ones (all called Cavils) are the leaders of the Cylons, and are cold, ruthless, and sarcastic. They're grumpy and not overly nice. We've seen Ones twice in this fic- there was a Brother Cavil who was serving as a priest on the Galactica and married Sam and Rya, and there was a Brother Cavil on Caprica who was with Anders and the Resistance.
Two (Leoben Conoy): The Twos are considered (at least by themselves) the most spiritual of the models. They certainly seem to be the most religious. All of the Cylons believe in one God instead of the polytheistic system favored by the Colonials, but Leoben is pretty convinced he's a prophet. One Two, in particular, is quite obsessed with Kara Thrace (Starbuck) and her special destiny (as Kara says, sounds like a bad cover band). As that specific Two is the one we usually see, I'm personally unclear as to if the whole line calls themselves Leoben or just that one, who worked in the Colonies before the attacks. New Directions has not themselves encountered a Two before New Caprica, but the Fleet is aware of their existence.
Three (D'Anna Biers): Strong, practical, and down-to-earth. A little bit cold and probably best described as "professional." Again, BSG really only shows one representative of this line, so I'm not sure if they all take the name D'Anna or not. In the story, we've met D'Anna once- she's a reporter- and the humans were not aware that she was a Cylon until the occupation began.
Four (Simon O'Neill): Very clinical and scientific and unable to detach from their humanity (for the most part). The Simons do all seem to share a name. Quinn used to work with a Simon, who had basically defected from the Cylons and married a human woman. He committed suicide back in Chapter 4.
Bottom Row
Five (Aaron Doral): High strung, detail oriented, and definitely not overly human. Dresses like a used car salesman. The entire like refers to themselves as Aaron Doral, and they seem to be one of the more unified lines, where dissension is very rare. Doral was also the first Cylon the Fleet became aware of, back in Chapter 1, although the kids never met him.
Six: The Sixes are the most diverse of all the lines, and most definitely do not have a line name, or even much of a line personality. I would say they were built with sex in mind and they enjoy it very much, even as they use it as a tool, but the Sixes that appear in BSG canon are so remarkably different from each other that it's impossible to classify them under one umbrella. The Fleet has seen Sixes before here and there, but Santana actually saw a Six named Gina who had been a prisoner of the Pegasus. There are two very important Sixes in canon- one of whom we do see in this fic, and one of whom is around, but we never will see. The one we do see is named Caprica. Two years before the attacks on the Colonies, Caprica (then nameless) was assigned to the Colony of Caprica to disable their shields. She seduced Gaius Baltar, who had designed the Colonial Defense Mainframe, they fell in love, and he gave her crucial information that allowed her to disable the mainframe. (He was not aware that she was a Cylon.) She died during the attacks on Caprica and resurrected, and has since come to the conclusion that Cylons and humans are meant to live together in peace. The other Six- the one we won't see- is one that only Baltar can see. She lives in his head and basically orders him around, resulting in either touching, amusing, or rather terrifying situations.
Eight (Sharon): The Eights are considered the flightiest of the lines, at least by the others. They at least come across as more sympathetic and human than any other line. There are two Eights that have been in service to the Galactica. One was Sharon Valerii, callsign Boomer, who was a Raptor pilot. She was a sleeper agent and unaware that she was a Cylon, at least until she shot Adama back in Chapter 4. She was eventually murdered and resurrected elsewhere, and has joined Caprica Six in her quest to convince all the Cylons that humans and Cylons should live together in peace. The other Sharon was down on Caprica and hooked up with Helo, at first pretending to be Boomer. She got pregnant and eventually defected completely over to the human side. She wants nothing more to do with the Cylons. She and Helo's baby was born early and supposedly died.
Centurions: The Centurions are the more robotic looking ones, and they existed before the Cylons that look like humans. Forty some odd years before the attacks, the Centurions rebelled against their human masters, which was the first Cylon war. They disappeared from the Colonies at the end of the war, and over those forty years, they evolved. They had some help.
Two things: 1.) I said there were 12 models, and 2.) for machines, the Cylons appear to do a pretty lousy job of counting, as there is no Seven. There are still five models outstanding, and at this point, no one in the Fleet knows who those five models are or what they look like, or if they are the same as the seven we do know about. In fact, most of the Cylons don't even know the answer to that- their programming has been altered so that they cannot think about or even talk about the Final Five. As for the missing Sevens, well, that's a continuity error that RDM filled in rather creatively. The Sevens were a line that was created and destroyed long before the series began. Their existence ends up being fairly important to the BSG series, but it's not at all important to this particular fic.
So, those are the Cylons! And now, the occupation begins....
"Those Who Lift Each Other" (title from BSG scripture) is a BSG/Glee crossover. The basic premise is that instead of McKinley being located in Lima, Ohio, it was located on Lima, Gemenon, and New Directions was on their way to the All-Colony Show Choir Competition when the Cylons struck. The kids and their four adult chaperones (Will, Sue, Burt, and Carole) are now members of the Fleet.
The rule is that Battlestar Galactica canon cannot change. Therefore, the kids are not performing any great heroics that alter the flow of the BSG narrative. What this fic became is something I've always wanted to write: life for the "other" people in the Fleet, the ones who don't get a say in the big decisions that are happening. The kids are spread out into different jobs- military, government, civilian… I tried to span as much as I could. Or, alternatively, you can look at it as a fic about how New Directions would fare in a post-apocalyptic space AU with killer robots.
While all the characters are present and active for the whole story, each chapter is from the (third person) POV of one Glee character, with the exception of Chapters 8 and 9, which both use Kurt and Burt's POVs. The chapter list, including which character's POV I'm using and (approximately) which BSG episodes the chapter covers, is as follows:
Chapter 1- It's the End of the World As We Know It (Will, Miniseries - 33)
Chapter 2- It's Time To Be a Big Girl Now (Brittany, Water - Colonial Day)
Chapter 3- But That Was When I Ruled the World (Puck, Kobol's Last Gleaming - Resistance)
Chapter 4- What's the Frequency, Kenneth? (Artie, Resistance - Flight of the Phoenix)
Chapter 5- In the Service Of the Queen (Santana, Pegasus - Resurrection Ship II)
Chapter 6- Show Me a Garden That's Bursting Into Life (Tina, Epiphanies - The Captain's Hand)
Chapter 7- Only Shooting Stars Break the Mold (Rachel, Lay Down Your Burdens I and II)
Chapter 8- Down to the Ground (Burt and Kurt, Lay Down Your Burdens II)
Chapter 9- Tricked by the Future You Picked (Burt and Kurt, Lay Down Your Burdens II - Collaborators)
Chapter 10- Something To Be Proud Of (Mike, The Passage - Rapture)
Chapter 11- If We Worked Hard, If We Behaved (Carole, The Woman King - Dirty Hands)
Chapter 12- We'd Ever Die For These Sins (Sam, The Son Also Rises - Escape Velocity)
Chapter 13- I'll Be My Own Savior (Finn, Guess What's Coming to Dinner - A Disquiet Follows My Soul)
Chapter 14- We Hurt Each Other, Then We Do It Again (Mercedes, The Oath - Blood on the Scales)
Chapter 15- If God Had a Face, Would You Want To See? (Quinn, No Exit - Someone To Watch Over Me)
Chapter 16- Don't Stop Believing (Sue, Islanded In A Stream of Stars - Daybreak III)
What about the BSG characters? Well, we'll be seeing a lot of them. But one thing about this being a "little people in the Fleet" story is that a lot of the key players in BSG won't be big characters in Those That Lift Each Other. For example, Roslin and Adama- the President and Commander/Admiral of the Fleet- probably aren't going to be seeing a bunch of high school kids all the time. We'll see them very much in their professional roles, without so much of the personal development. On the other hand, some secondary, tertiary, and hell- unnamed extras- will be major characters. Characters like Tom Zarek, Xeno Fenner, the Marine with the Pretty Eyes, Kendra Shaw and Marcia Case, Rya Kibby… people like that are going to be much more important. And so some events which were big in the show - like Kara crashing on the moon, stealing the raider, and coming back to the Fleet, will barely register with this story - whereas other events that only received a mention will be major plot points.
Wait a minute. There are only twelve kids. What happened to Lauren?
Good question. Although it's taking me a long time to post this, I started outlining it and getting the structure in my head before it became clear Lauren was going to stick around in New Directions. I actually really ended up loving her character, but sixteen characters and POVs is already a lot, and I just didn't feel like I could juggle more. So, unfortunately, Lauren was left on the Colonies at a convenient wrestling championship.
And yes, since it comes up in the first few pages, I made Blaine the manager of the wrestling team. Why, instead of just leaving him at Dalton? Well, I kind of figured I was going to set this as "third season", if that makes sense, so I can reference a lot of what happens in Season 2 if I want, or ignore it if that suits me better. I assumed that RIB are transferring Blaine to McKinley at some point. I might be completely wrong about that, but… But again, we didn't know much about Blaine when I started this outline and I felt I couldn't handle him as a character, and besides, torturing Kurt is just so much fun, isn't it? So, I figured Blaine could manage the wrestling team and that was why he, too, wasn't on the flight.
I'm a Battlestar Galactica fan. Do I need to have seen Glee to follow this?
Probably not. The kids are kids, none of them have special powers, and I'm not focusing on a lot of the romantic relationship drama. But here's a quick guide to who's who on Glee:
New Directions: New Directions is the glee club of McKinley High School. They're quite talented, but they're all misfits for one reason or another, but especially because they are in glee club. Their club competes in show choir competitions.
Top Row (left to right):
Sam Evans: Resident cutie and all around nice guy. Good football player, good sense of honor, geek, and recently revealed to be having economic troubles. Has sort of a rivalry with Finn, dated Quinn and Santana, is currently single.
Kurt Hummel: Smart, often bitchy, ambitious, and obsessed with fashion. Has been severely bullied on account of being gay, and is involved with Blaine, who didn't make it off the Colonies. Used to have a crush on Finn, but they are now stepbrothers.
Tina Cohen-Chang: Very shy around those she doesn't know, but definitely has some strong opinions. Used to date Artie, but broke up with him for Mike. Often in the background on the show.
Mike Chang: Quiet and excellent dancer. Football player, and is currently dating Tina and hanging out in the background with her.
Brittany Pierce: Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but often the sweetest. (Although don't be fooled- she does have her bitchy side.) Former cheerleader, cat whisperer, internet talk show hostess. Was dating Artie, but is really in love with Santana.
Middle Row (left to right)
Rachel Berry: Captain of New Directions and lead vocalist, loud, obnoxious, bossy, self-absorbed and fame-obsessed, but also a very good person underneath that. Fiercely loyal and really does care about her friends, and is willing to admit when she is wrong. Has been in a relationship on and off with Finn.
Mercedes Jones: Diva, compassionate (mostly), and independent. Has not had many plotlines because the writers can't figure out what to do with her.
Quinn Fabray: Former queen bee, former cheerleader, class beauty, and thinks that those things are all that she is. Used to date Finn, but cheated on him with Puck and got pregnant. Tried to pass the baby off as Finn's, but didn't get away with it. Gave baby Beth up for adoption. Has dated Finn (multiple times), Puck, and Sam.
Finn Hudson: The golden boy of Glee club, frequent male soloist and quarterback of the football team. (Or captain of the pyramid team, in this world.) Really, really clueless when it comes to how to treat girls, and sort of stumbles on everything else, but has good intentions and is a nice guy. Switches back and forth between Rachel and Quinn and is stepbrother to Kurt.
Front row (left to right):
Artie Abrams: Nerdy, academic, and president of the AV club and on the academic decathlon team. A bit of a misogynist when it comes to dating, but otherwise a good guy. Was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident when he was eight.
Santana Lopez: Former cheerleader, bitch and rather proud of it. Honest to the point of cruelty when it suits her, and completely capable of lying when it doesn’t. Has dated/slept with most of the guys, but is a closeted lesbian in love with Brittany, her best friend.
Lauren Zizes: Badass, and Puck's girlfriend. Recent addition to the cast, which is the only reason she got stuck on the Colonies, because I love Lauren.
Noah Puckerman (Puck): The glee club's bad boy. Has anger issues and has been sort of a dick in the past, sleeping with anyone he can and tossing people (like Kurt) into dumpsters. Has been improving lately, much against his will, thanks to wanting to win the love of a good woman. Has dated Rachel and Quinn, knocked Quinn up, and was the one who named Beth.
The Adults:
Will Schuester: Spanish (erm, Tauron) teacher who coaches the glee club. Overly earnest, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and lives in his memories of the days when his glee club ruled the school. Has a terrible romantic history, but you don't need to know about that because I'm doing my best to keep Will Schuester away from women. He's likeable when he's not in a romance, but a douche when he is.
Sue Sylvester: Coach of the extremely competitive and selective cheerleading squad called the Cheerios. Dedicated to destroying Will Schuester and the glee club. I suspect that even if you don't watch Glee you've heard of Sue Sylvester.
Burt Hummel: Fairly blue-collar guy who owns a garage and works as a mechanic, and has been raising Kurt on his own until he recently married Carole Hudson.
Carole Hudson: Formerly single mom who's raised her son alone from infancy (her husband died in military service when Finn was a baby) and who has received no character development on the show beyond being a very loving mom.
And that's really all you need to know if you've never seen Glee. The rest should be pretty easy to follow.
I'm a Glee fan. Do I need to have seen Battlestar Galactica to follow this?
This one's trickier. On the one hand, I don't think so. Because this is all from the Glee kids' POVs, you'll be seeing what they see, and it's all new to them. However, I'm sure there will be moments when having seen the series really makes it easier to understand what's going on.
Battlestar Galactica is originally set a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. At one point, humans lived on a world called Kobol. But for some reason (civil war sounding reasons), they left Kobol. There were thirteen tribes. Twelve of them founded the Twelve Colonies- twelve planets/moons inhabited to various degrees by humans. The thirteenth tribe disappeared, and supposedly went to Earth. Or, at least, so the Sacred Scrolls say. No one's sure how true that is. Two thousand years or so went by.
Then about fifty years ago, humans created the Cylons- clunky robots that were used as war machines/slaves. They're humanoid in that they have arms and legs and heads, but they look like robots. But then the robots- designed to be intelligent- rose up against their human masters, and there was a long, drawn out war. The war eventually ended with the signing of the Cimtar Peace Agreement, and the Cylons went off someplace to find a world of their own. But that was forty years ago, and this is now.
The cast of Battlestar Galactica is extensive, but right now I'm just going to give you a guide to the people whose names show up in the credits. Because the ones who don't either won't be mentioned much, or you'll get to know them because they'll be characters as opposed to faces in news stories. These are the top dogs.
From left to right
Gaius Baltar: A civilian scientist with issues with keeping his dick in his pants. He (and said dick) are indirectly responsible for the Cylons being able to attack the Twelve Colonies (not that anyone but him knows this).
Six (red dress): That's technically head!Six- the Six that only Baltar can see. She looks like one of the Cylons. (But wait- didn't you say the Cylons were robots? Why, yes I did. But that will actually be explained in the fic.)
Colonel Saul Tigh: Colonel and XO of the Fleet (Adama's right-hand man). An alcoholic and a grump, and a lot of the crew don't take him seriously.
Laura Roslin: Former Secretary of Education, 43rd in line for the Presidency. But the other 42 are dead… so Laura's it. Good thing she is fierce and kicks major ass.
Commander William Adama: Commander of the Galactica, who's considered something of a joke in the military because he refuses to allow his computers to be networked. (It has a lot to do with the Cylon War.) About to retire. A divorcee with one living son (Lee) and one son (Zak) who died in a training accident.
Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama: Estranged son of Bill Adama, starts the series as a Viper pilot (single pilot fighter crafts).
Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol: Chief petty officer and head of the Galactica deck crew. He's the one that keeps all the ships running.
Lieutenant Shanon 'Boomer' Valerii: A Raptor pilot who got her name from her trouble with landings. Very sweet and more than a bit tortured.
Lieutenant Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace (sitting on the floor): Hot shot Viper pilot and one of the reasons you should watch the series. She's rude, rule-breaking, and kick-ass, and really good at training new pilots (nuggets). She used to be engaged to Adama's son Zak, until he died in a training accident a couple of years before the attacks.
Simon O'Neill: A doctor aboard the Cybele who was stationed in the Colonial Fleet. Married to Giana O'Neill and adopted her daughter Jemmy.
Billy Keikeya: A recently graduated college kid who was serving as an aide to the Secretary of Education and is now serving as the aide to the President of the Colonies. Sort of the Charlie Young to Laura Roslin's Jed Bartlett.
Lietenant Felix Gaeta: Tactical officer and third in command (sort of) on Galactica. Very bright scientifically and very dumb and idealistic when it comes to people.
Petty Officer Anastasia "Dee" Dualla: A communications officer aboard Galactica, and awesome.
As the fic goes on, I'll update this section with pictures of the characters that actually show up.
The Ships:
Galactica: One of the oldest battlestars. The Galactica was created during the first Cylon war and can carry a staff of 5000, along with squadrons of Vipers and Raptors. Small ships from the Fleet are able to dock inside it, it's so large. Like all the ships that survive the first few attacks, the Galactica is capable of faster than light speed travel.
Viper: Small, single-pilot fighter crafts. Very similar to X-wings.
Raptor: A small craft that is the space-worthy equivalent of a Blackhawk. Used for fighting, explorative missions, info gathering missions, and day-to-day shuttling around the Fleet.
Colonial One: Formerly a passenger ship, this is now the seat of the government.
Cybele: A small ship in the Fleet that took off from Gemenon. A combination freighter/passenger carrier, and the ship that New Directions boards at the beginning of the fic.
So, what are the warnings on this?
Heh. Well.
Warnings if you're here from Glee: Genocide, talk about abortion, suicide bombers, canon BSG-suicide, age inappropriate (but of age and consensual) relationships, infidelity, violence, PTSD, oppression, homophobic language, BSG character deaths (canon), Glee character deaths, talk of sexual violence, betrayal, terrorist character, people get shot, torture, did I mention the violence?, good people getting screwed, etc.
Warnings if you're here from BSG There's some torture in Chapter 9, and Glee character deaths.
I'm not trying to be derogatory here; BSG is a very dark, gritty, post-apocalyptic drama. Most of those warnings are about the BSG canon as much as the fic. This is not a light, fluffy story, just so you know. There's no incest or rape of the Glee characters, though. (There is canon BSG rape that might be mentioned.)
Wait a minute. Homophobic language? This is BSG. That's like the one thing you shouldn't have to warn for.
I know. And I know that RDM says that the Twelve Colonies have no homophobia. But two things:
1.) Sadly, I just don't believe it. Look, bullies and jerks exist in every culture, ready to pick on people who are somehow different. While I will fully accept that homophobia is not institutionalized and that there are areas where no, it doesn't exist, I can't believe that among 20 billion or 50 billion people (whichever episode you use), it NEVER happens.
2.) Kurt's character is just too strongly informed by the fact he has to deal with homophobia. Ditto Santana these days, and also Burt.
As a result, I put Lima on Gemenon, a very religious planet that is strongly pro-life. We don't know much else about it, but I'm going to go with puszysty's idea that it's largely a very Republican/Tea Party type of planet. With variations, but that's what it is. But I'm not turning all of the Twelve Colonies homophobic, because they aren't.
What about ships? (And don't even try that "they're called Galactica and Colonial One joke with me, missy.)
Ships. As for BSG/BSG ships, all ships are canon, with the exception of Baltar/Gaeta, which might as well be canon as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise, the canon ships happen when and how we see them in canon.
Glee/Glee ships: I'm not much into shipping the kids. Kurt/Blaine and Puck/Lauren were ships, before I left Blaine and Lauren back on the Colonies. Brittany/Santana will be happening. Finn/Rachel is sort of off the table, not in a bad way, but I'm just sort of not doing much with it. Sam/Mercedes either broke up amicably or never happened, since the fic was planned long before the ship showed up in canon. The only big Glee/Glee ship is Mike/Tina. And Burt/Carole, of course. Because no one messes with Burt/Carole.
BSG/Glee ships. There are a few crossover ships. Some of them are one night stands. They are Puck/Ellen, Santana/various pilots, and Kurt/Baltar. There is one that is fairly serious, and that is Sam Evans/Rya Kibby. And there are two that may or may not happen, depending on how well I can work them in: Sue/Zarek and Kurt/Marine with the Pretty Eyes.
But to be honest, this fic is gen as gen can get, and even during the romantic scenes I'm a fade to black kind of girl for stories like this.
Wait a minute. Do you really think the Colonials have some of the songs you're referencing?
Four words for you: All Along the Watchtower. If Ron Moore can do it, so can I! But seriously- I have no song writing talent. If I actually reference a song, it's just easier to reference one that people know to convey the emotion I want the song to convey.
BSG Characters from Chapter 2
Left to Right:
Sarah Porter: The representative to the Quorum of Twelve for Gemenon. Very traditional and conservative; if the Colonies were Earth, she'd be a Republican/Tea Party member. Has definitely had her moments supporting Roslin.
Phelan: Only featured in what is widely considered the worst BSG episode ever, Black Market. An "ex-military mercenary", head of the black market, and willing to sell anyone or anything. (Has a child prostitution ring going. Don't ask. Just go with it.) One of the few black hats BSG ever made.
Tom Zarek: Former terrorist or freedom fighter, depending on who you ask. His home planet of Sagittaron was oppressed and exploited by the other Colonies for centuries. (While the Gemenese are like Tea Partiers, the Sagittarons don't believe in medicine and refuse to fight.) Opposed the government and blew up a government building and served 20 years, was up for parole when the Cylons attacked. Wrote a very controversial and inflammatory book while in prison. Is now the Sagittaron representative to the Quorum of Twelve, and was in the running for Vice President. Defeated by Gaius Baltar.
BSG Characters for Chapter 3
There are quite a few here, so I had to break them down into a few pictures. First, the non-Marines:
Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson: an ECO/Raptor pilot with extraordinary luck at finding things. A little cocky, a lot bitter, and a dry sense of humor.
Lt. Hamish "Skulls" McCall: an ECO/Raptor co-pilot who works with Racetrack and always has her back. Seems like he's a little more laid-back.
Ellen Tigh: The wife of Colonel Saul Tigh, civilian. Loves to party, have sex, drink, and torment her husband, very status-minded. Fidelity is not her strong suit. There's a lot more to Ellen than that, but that's all you need to know for now.
The Marines: The Marines are the ground forces that are stationed on Galactica. Thanks to the decommissioning and some losses during the attacks, there are only about 30 Marines on board. They are also, for the most part, not actual characters on the show- just named extras who blow shit up (mostly).
Top Row, left to right
Sergeant Allan Nowart: Sergeant in the Marines, will eventually be promoted. Like I said, we really don't know much about these guys. Can be brutal, can also change his mind.
Lance Corporal Eduardo Maldonaldo: I know even less about him, except that he can be very, very brutal. Has a big mouth.
Sergeant Omar Fischer: Sergeant of the guard aboard Galactica. Seems like a good guy- Dee likes him well enough.
Gunnery Sergeant Erin Mathias: I made her head of the remaining Marines, as she is the highest ranking of them and she is awesome. She may or may not have originally been intended to be on the Pegasus, but as she is the most recognizable and developed of the lot, she ended up on Galactica. Calm, level-headed, and a damn good Marine.
Private Stewart Jaffee: A Marine who seems to be fairly sweet and very loyal to Adama. Jaffee is also modeling what are referred to as the BDUs or drabs, which Puck wears a lot in this.
Private Sykes: I really know nothing about him from canon, except the boy was around for some arm porn.
Paulla Schaffer: A very strong woman who is capable of great religious devotion. Paulla doesn't show up in canon until season 3/4, where she is one of Baltar's disciples, and we know very little about her before that.
Meier: Sagittaron, former prisoner, Zarek's best friend and confidante. Pretty ruthless, not a nice person.
Elosha: Priest, Laura Roslin's best friend and confidante and spiritual adviser. Big believer in the Scriptures and in Laura.
Top row, left to right:
Admiral Helena Cain: Admiral and commander of the Pegasus, a much newer ship than the Galactica that escaped the Cylons. Very hard, very strong, somewhat crazy.
Captain Cole "Stinger" Taylor: Pegasus CAG and very humorless. Not impressed with the Galactica pilots.
Gina Inviere: A Cylon that posed as a contractor that worked on the Pegasus and was unmasked before the Pegasus found the Galactica. Previously romantically involved with Admiral Cain.
Lieutenant Noel "Narcho" Allison: A Pegasus pilot and kind of an ass, at least Starbuck sure thinks so. But damn, he's hot. Proof can be found here, here, and here.
Lieutenant Louis Hoshi: The Pegasus communications/tactical officer, appears to be quiet and even and reasonably respected by most people.
Captain Marcia "Showboat" Case: Pegasus pilot and a good flier, not quite as loudly anti-Galactica as some of the others.
Rya Kibby: A 17 year old girl from Gemenon, who is only ever mentioned in the one episode in the context of her plot in this chapter.
Romo Lampkin: A sketchy lawyer and widower who has spent time on Caprica but was living on Gemenon with his wife, family, and cat at the time of the attacks.
Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon: A Raptor pilot/ECO who was stranded on Caprica but escaped with the help of an Eight. Frankly, Helo doesn't have a lot to do in this chapter, but I was short a person and let's face it- that picture is hot.
Samuel T. Anders: A Pyramid (sports) star who plays for the Caprica Buccaneers and becomes the leader of the Resistance.
Jean Barolay: Another Caprica Buccaneer, and very close to Sam. There's debate as to what their relationship has been, but I've always liked the interpretation that they're like siblings.
Brother Cavil: An old, crotchety priest who met up with the Resistance on Caprica. He also is a priest in the Fleet (and married Sam and Rya last chapter.) And yes, that means exactly what you think it means, unless you think it means they're identical twins.
Shannon Beiste: The coach of McKinley High's football team in canon and wrestling team in this, since she needs something to do in the off season. Gruff and a little awkward with a heart of gold.
Blaine Anderson: Cheerful, enthusiastic, and confident, and frequently a lead singer in canon. Blaine is Kurt's boyfriend.
Lauren Zizes: A very talented wrestler and Puck's girlfriend. Lauren is matter-of-fact, sarcastic, and definitely tough.
Playa Palacios: One of the premiere reporters in the Fleet. Probably the lead reporter, and a member of the news talk show The Colonial Gang.
D'Anna Biers: An acerbic reporter who once did a human interest story on the soldiers of the Galactica.
No characters for chapter 9, unless you want a re-introduction to Baltar, Tyrol, Gaeta, or Zarek, who are all in the beginning. But some visuals of what New Caprica looked like might be helpful:
New Caprica is a very desolate planet. It's habitable, but it's cold and kind of miserable. However, it's hidden in a nebula, so it's supposedly very hard to find.
Several of the Fleet ships have landed, most notably Colonial One, which you can see in the top picture, and are being used as buildings. However, a lot of ships are still in space.
The lower picture is a picture of New Caprica's marketplace.
All of the human characters in this chapter have been around a while. Same with the Cylons, really, but since the Cylons have never been all in one place at the same time, here we go. Many copies of each model exist and are walking around New Caprica. Cylons are first and foremost referred to by their model number, but some models have a name that spans across the model. There are twelve models; at this point in the story, we've met seven.
Top Row:
One (Cavil): The Ones (all called Cavils) are the leaders of the Cylons, and are cold, ruthless, and sarcastic. They're grumpy and not overly nice. We've seen Ones twice in this fic- there was a Brother Cavil who was serving as a priest on the Galactica and married Sam and Rya, and there was a Brother Cavil on Caprica who was with Anders and the Resistance.
Two (Leoben Conoy): The Twos are considered (at least by themselves) the most spiritual of the models. They certainly seem to be the most religious. All of the Cylons believe in one God instead of the polytheistic system favored by the Colonials, but Leoben is pretty convinced he's a prophet. One Two, in particular, is quite obsessed with Kara Thrace (Starbuck) and her special destiny (as Kara says, sounds like a bad cover band). As that specific Two is the one we usually see, I'm personally unclear as to if the whole line calls themselves Leoben or just that one, who worked in the Colonies before the attacks. New Directions has not themselves encountered a Two before New Caprica, but the Fleet is aware of their existence.
Three (D'Anna Biers): Strong, practical, and down-to-earth. A little bit cold and probably best described as "professional." Again, BSG really only shows one representative of this line, so I'm not sure if they all take the name D'Anna or not. In the story, we've met D'Anna once- she's a reporter- and the humans were not aware that she was a Cylon until the occupation began.
Four (Simon O'Neill): Very clinical and scientific and unable to detach from their humanity (for the most part). The Simons do all seem to share a name. Quinn used to work with a Simon, who had basically defected from the Cylons and married a human woman. He committed suicide back in Chapter 4.
Bottom Row
Five (Aaron Doral): High strung, detail oriented, and definitely not overly human. Dresses like a used car salesman. The entire like refers to themselves as Aaron Doral, and they seem to be one of the more unified lines, where dissension is very rare. Doral was also the first Cylon the Fleet became aware of, back in Chapter 1, although the kids never met him.
Six: The Sixes are the most diverse of all the lines, and most definitely do not have a line name, or even much of a line personality. I would say they were built with sex in mind and they enjoy it very much, even as they use it as a tool, but the Sixes that appear in BSG canon are so remarkably different from each other that it's impossible to classify them under one umbrella. The Fleet has seen Sixes before here and there, but Santana actually saw a Six named Gina who had been a prisoner of the Pegasus. There are two very important Sixes in canon- one of whom we do see in this fic, and one of whom is around, but we never will see. The one we do see is named Caprica. Two years before the attacks on the Colonies, Caprica (then nameless) was assigned to the Colony of Caprica to disable their shields. She seduced Gaius Baltar, who had designed the Colonial Defense Mainframe, they fell in love, and he gave her crucial information that allowed her to disable the mainframe. (He was not aware that she was a Cylon.) She died during the attacks on Caprica and resurrected, and has since come to the conclusion that Cylons and humans are meant to live together in peace. The other Six- the one we won't see- is one that only Baltar can see. She lives in his head and basically orders him around, resulting in either touching, amusing, or rather terrifying situations.
Eight (Sharon): The Eights are considered the flightiest of the lines, at least by the others. They at least come across as more sympathetic and human than any other line. There are two Eights that have been in service to the Galactica. One was Sharon Valerii, callsign Boomer, who was a Raptor pilot. She was a sleeper agent and unaware that she was a Cylon, at least until she shot Adama back in Chapter 4. She was eventually murdered and resurrected elsewhere, and has joined Caprica Six in her quest to convince all the Cylons that humans and Cylons should live together in peace. The other Sharon was down on Caprica and hooked up with Helo, at first pretending to be Boomer. She got pregnant and eventually defected completely over to the human side. She wants nothing more to do with the Cylons. She and Helo's baby was born early and supposedly died.
Centurions: The Centurions are the more robotic looking ones, and they existed before the Cylons that look like humans. Forty some odd years before the attacks, the Centurions rebelled against their human masters, which was the first Cylon war. They disappeared from the Colonies at the end of the war, and over those forty years, they evolved. They had some help.
Two things: 1.) I said there were 12 models, and 2.) for machines, the Cylons appear to do a pretty lousy job of counting, as there is no Seven. There are still five models outstanding, and at this point, no one in the Fleet knows who those five models are or what they look like, or if they are the same as the seven we do know about. In fact, most of the Cylons don't even know the answer to that- their programming has been altered so that they cannot think about or even talk about the Final Five. As for the missing Sevens, well, that's a continuity error that RDM filled in rather creatively. The Sevens were a line that was created and destroyed long before the series began. Their existence ends up being fairly important to the BSG series, but it's not at all important to this particular fic.
So, those are the Cylons! And now, the occupation begins....