Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica

Chapter One

GFFA Frigate Journeyman

Journeyman dropped out of hyperspace after the final lightspeed jump into the known Galaxy. There was a buzz of excitement amongst the crew; in one more jump, their four-month journey would be at an end. After their ordeal, most were ready to go home, wherever in the Galaxy that might be.

Jacen and Tahiri entered to F.O.B. and found it strangely occupied. A lone figure sat in the front row, apparently entranced by the twinkling stars above. He seemed not to register the two Jedi's presence at all, but it was clear to them that he was in emotional turmoil. Their eyes meeting, they decided to intervene.

Ever light-footed, he remained completely oblivious to their approach, his mind a trillion miles away, even as they came up beside him. After a minute without acknowledgement, Tahiri made the leap. "Ensign Osso is it?" she ventured.

The man gave a violent jerk, his eyes flashing about before coming to rest on the two of them or, more specifically, the lightsabers hooked to their belts. He immediately shot to his feet, "Uh, yes ma'am. If you need the room, I was just leaving…"

He began to make a bee-line for the door before Jacen lay a gentle, restraining, hand on his arm, "That's not necessary, Ensign. Please sit back down."

In confusion, he hesitantly sank into his seat, as the Jedi did the same to his right.

Almost as an afterthought, Jacen turned back to Saul, "And technically we're not your superior officers, so I'm Jacen and this is Tahiri." Tahiri gave him a friendly little wave.

Still confused, but somewhat mollified, Saul nodded. "In that case, I'm Saul." He extended his hand to each in turn before returning his gaze to the void.

After a long moment, Tahiri began to work her way to the topic at hand, taking cues from the Force. "So, where are you from Saul?"

At first, it appeared as though he didn't hear her, but slowly his hand rose to point at a very precise star cluster. "Hapes," he said simply.

The mere mention of the planet evoked a pleasant churn in Jacen's stomach as his mind turned to the beautiful woman and little girl that awaited him there… Abruptly, he forced his mind to return to the present: It would not do for his mind to wander just now.

Oblivious to Jacen's musings, Saul continued on, surprising even himself with his divulgence, "Yeah. I've got my wife and son waiting for me when I get home."

Jacen once more forced himself to remain in the now. Fortunately, Tahiri saved him from answering, delving to the heart of the matter. "Is something wrong, something back home? You seem…distressed," she finished carefully. She pursed her lips, "I apologize if I'm prying."

He looked at her in surprise, fidgeting uncomfortably. "You're not prying, no. Its just…When the Cylons boarded us, they tore us apart. I saw so much death, so many friends dead and dying while somehow I remained unharmed."

"I can see how difficult that must have been…"

"But it's not just that," he continued, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I mean, it should be the core of it, but there's something more." He visibly struggled with how to explain. Finally, "Back home on Hapes, men are widely considered second-class citizens, seen as little more than breeding stock by many. It was the world I grew up in, never really knowing anything else, so I never questioned it…"

"Until now," Jacen finished for him.

"Until now," he agreed. "Things truly have improved between the genders with the last two Queen Mothers. I mean, I wouldn't be on this ship if it hadn't, but still there are those who cling to their prejudice. The inequalites back home never really struck me, even when I joined the expedition, until the attack. Now don't get me wrong, my Sola is wonderful and I love my planet, but things aren't as they should be. When the Cylons boarded us, I almost died and maybe that opened my eyes a little. During that whole ordeal, what struck me most was the equality and cohesion of the Colonial Marines. They fought side-by-side, trusting each other completely. That…that has been weighing on my mind greatly ever since."

Jacen nodded, understanding completely. "You witnessed a camaraderie among the Marines that you had never encountered before. It must have been a…alluring concept."

Saul's eyes snapped to him for the first time since the beginning of their conversation, "Yes! That's it exactly! I mean, I fought alongside those guys, earned their respect. I suppose I've seen equality before, but this seemed somehow deeper." He said this almost as a confession. When the two nodded in understanding, his inner-turmoil began to die.

"Anyway, I'll be home soon enough. I'll be going directly from Coroucant to Hapes, see my wife and kid again…" he trailed of contentedly, silence pervading until the intercom announced the final jump as the stars blurred. No sooner had they jumped, Jacen and Tahiri were jerked from their respective reveries to rapt attention. Something terrible was happening.

Something that could bode ill for them all.

Battlestar Ranger, BSR-82

The mammoth warship flashed into existence one-hundred and fifty thousand clicks out from the orbital stations of Coroucant, Journeyman coming out of hyperspace on the larger vessel's port side.

"Jump complete, Admiral," Colonel Thomas Reilly announced in his lilting Irish brogue.

"Very good, Colonel. Can you get me a picture from the bow cameras?" replied newly-minted Vice Admiral Benjamin Stratis, standing beside the CIC's central DRADIS console.

"Aye, sir," confirmed Reilly as he tapped a few keys, causing camera feed to appear on one of the central consoles. To say the least, it wasn't anything he expected.

"Holy Frak…" breathed Commander Emily Clark, and she wasn't awed by the planet-sized city. Her description, however, was apt: A chaotic panorama wasunfolding before them.

Dozens of warships were maneuvering about each other in orbit, streaks of red and green lancing out between them. Some of these bolts of lethal energy were absorbed by shields, others ripping into hulls.

Stratis was in motion instantly, "Action Stations! Set Condition One aboard ship!" His head whipped the other direction to face the comm officer, "Get Shaw on the line now!"

Seconds later, Prince was motioning for him to pick up the phone, which he snatched from its base, "Captain Shaw," he began, his voice icy calm laced with underlying menace. "What the hell is going on?"

Shaws voice was muffled and distorted by the wireless, but came promptly. "We're just as baffled as you are, Admiral. By what we've been able to piece together from comm chatter and news reports, it looks like we just jumped into a civil war," Shaw's voice was similarly calm, but incredulity was evident. Both sides are leaving us alone for now, but that could change. General Bel Iblis has taken command of the Loyalist forces, but is outnumbered and being overrun. We're sending you a sensor update now."

Shaw fell silent and the XO softly announced the receipt of a sensor package. The Loyalists were tagged in blue, their foes in red. The Loyalists were outnumbered two-to-one and giving ground, clustered around their flagship, the Peregrine.

Shaw spoke again, with a note of finality, "Admiral Stratis, we'll be joining Peregrine. We can't get through to the General at this time, but we know where our loyalties lie. Good luck." The line went dead and Ben's eyes traveled to the DRADIS screen where the Journeyman was accelerating towards the Loyalist contingent, its forward turbolasers already opening fire.

"Hell," Stratis hissed, running a hand through his hair in irritation beforefinally appearing to reach some decision. He turned to his executive officer, "We've got to make contact with this Bel Iblis. Alert Sparta's blue flight to prepare to launch." She opened her mouth to protest, but Ben cut her off before she had spoken a word, "No debate. You have the con," he said grimly before sweeping from CIC.

Still in shock, she turned uncertainly to the CIC crew who waited expectantly. This seemed to propel Emily into action. "Bow up one quarter and bring us about to heading point two-one-five degrees. All hands brace for battle maneuvers."

Author's Note: I'm baaaack! Well, I just throw you into the action right away this time. Nevertheless, I feel pretty good about this chapter, but let me know what you think about it (Especially the Colonial stuff) Anyway, this first chapter ended up being shorter than planned because of staggered and sparse typing time, but I promise a longer one next week. Normally it would be this weekend, but my family's going camping, a.k.a NO COMPUTER.

Anyway, it looks like we'll be seeing Commander Clark in command for the first time as well as see Stratis behind the controls of a Mk. VIII. Should be interesting.

I have a quick request though, for those of you who haven't responded to the Questionnaire's Opinions section- please do!

Please R&R and thanks for reading,

-The CAG