BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: EXTERMINATE ALL HUMANS!!!! (PART THREE)
CHAPTER III: SURRENDER THE GALACTICA
It had been over two weeks since Apollo and Boomer left on their quest to retrieve Starbuck. They had broken the law and hijacked a new experimental battlecraft, the Stryker. Adama had scrambled 2 Vipers to intercept his son, but that was only perfuctonary. It was a show for the Civilian Council that was constantly breathing down his neck and second guessing Adama's every decision. The truth is if anyone else, other than Apollo, had stolen that fighter- Adama would have sent an armada of Vipers to intercept. But it had been his son, and he was on a mission to find a man who was like a son to Adama.
Adama sat alone in the dark of his Contemplation Chamber. A quiet, serene place adjoined to his and Cassiopeia's personal quarters. But not even his new wife had access to this chamber. It was a holy place where Adama kept the only remaining copy of the sacred Book of the Word- the bible written by they Lords of Kobol. Adama was perusing the tome searching for an answer. The fleet was in shambles. Small rebellions were starting to break out among the rag-tag fleet. Dr. Salik had been telling Adama of a strange mania, a sort of cabin fever, which had also erupted and seemed to be fuelling the rebellion. In addition, they were no closer to finding Earth. Fewer and fewer even believed it existed.
Even Adama was starting to lose his faith. He was starting to doubt the existence of Earth, maybe everyone was right. Maybe he just had a blinding faith in a fairy tale. Why should everyone in the fleet be punished for his madness? The best thing for all would be to settle on the next inhabitable, peaceful world that they encounter. Too long have people been living in metal boxes, afraid for their lives. Adama prayed hard to the Lords of Kobol for guidance and wisdom in that chamber. He also prayed for strength if Starbuck should be found alive. Adama certainly wished for the safe return of Starbuck, but was also afraid of it. How would things be between himself, Starbuck and Cassie? Deep down, Adama knew that his new bride still had feelings for the lost warrior. Ever since his wife had been killed on Caprica, Adama had been so lonely for so long. Falling in love with Cassie had happened before he realized what was happening. He used to think of her as a daughter and now they were Sealed. Then Adama's thoughts turned to the Cylons. He knew that they were devising some horrible plan. He had sensed it. Lately, he had been feeling powerful vibrations of pure hatred aimed at his fleet and knew that something awful was being hatched by their robotic enemy. Suddenly, another presence flooded his mind, infiltrating his very thoughts. It was an evil presence, a malignant presence. It chilled Adama to the core of his soul. He knew this presence and feared its return. It was the evil Count Iblis, the Dark Lord of the Universe. Suddenly Iblis was standing in the shadows next to Adama. You do not have dominion over me, in this holy place. How do you contact me, Iblis? Adama thought. It is true, Adama, I do not have dominion where I am not invited. I am not in your Holy Chamber with you, although you see me standing next to you. I am only in your thoughts. You merely see a projection of me. Why do you contact me, evil spirit? We have banished you. I come to help you and your people, Adama. Evil words, spoken from the mouth of a serpent. Why should you want to help us? The Cylons are becoming too powerful. I wish to see them destroyed. Tell me why, Iblis. I command it. I have my own reasons, Adama. Reasons you can not grasp with your small understanding of the universe. By the Lords of Kobol- Be gone, Iblis. Do not trouble my thoughts further. Do not speak to me of the Lords!! You do not know of what you speak. I will prove my good will towards your people. There is no way to do that. Look at the traitor called Baltar very carefully, Adama. For he is not as he appears to be. He is not who he is. Iblis, you speak to me in riddles. I have no use for you, now be gone. I command it! Adama, you will hear from me again. This is not to be our last contact. Suddenly, the evil presence was lifted. But what of Baltar? What did Iblis mean? Adama had always felt extremely uneasy about Baltar being among the fleet, even though he was safely ensconced aboard the prison barge. This contact with Count Iblis only added to his unease over Baltar, confirming his suspicions. Their chief scientist and technologist, Dr. Wilker, had scanned and tested Baltar for tracking and listening devices and turned up nothing. Adama immediately got up from his sitting position on the floor and headed for Dr. Wilker's catacomb of scientific labs and testing facilities deep in the bowels of the great Galactica.
Elsewhere aboard the immense space fortress called Galactica, a drinking contest was well underway in the plush Officer's Lounge. Lt. Sheba, the hard fighting, hard drinking daughter of Cain was outdoing Lt. Bojay, the tough-as-nails Warrior who also served under Cain and was passionately in love with Sheba. They had both consumed mass quantities of grog while everyone in the lounge cheered them on to see whom could remain conscious the longest. The group consisting mostly of Warriors was betting and cheering and letting off some steam. Sheba had the lead over Bojay, who looked slightly green. "You know, Sheba", Bojay slurred sitting across the chrome table from Sheba with a large stein of grog in his hand, "I have always been in love with you. And you like that jerk Apollo? Why can't you give me a chance?" Everyone, in the room got kind of quiet and looked surprised, except Sheba. "I know how you feel, Bojay, and I love you too." Having said that she leaned over the table and planted a passionate and rather long kiss on Bojay. With the grog and the shock of the kiss, Bojay promptly passed out, and Sheba won a ton of cubits. Everyone cheered, well everyone that won their bet did. The mood in the spacious and comfortable lounge was light, but then suddenly turned dark. "All right, Greenbean", said the rather portly Warrior named Jolly, to his tall flaxen-haired confederate "Cough up the Cubits!" "Eat felgercarb, you fat tub of goo- I'm not giving you any of my cubits!" was Greenbean's response to his friend. "Who are you calling fat, you skinny, albino?! Your mother looks like a Borellian Nomen!" Jolly countered. That was it- those were fighting words. With that, Greenbean slugged his best friend, Jolly, hard on the jaw. The two Warriors started to beat each other, mercilessly. Blood and spit flew everywhere as the rest of the crowd cheered on the fight. Then everyone started to brawl. Chairs and fists flew. People hit each other with fists, chairs, mugs, and glasses. It was violent chaos amongst friends. One Warrior even threw a table at another. While the rest of the Warriors engaged in fisticuffs, Sheba and Bojay dove underneath their table and made-out heatedly. Bojay had Sheba down to her black bra and panties in a millicenton. Much to his surprise, the beautiful Sheba wore g-string panties. During the melee, Col. Tigh entered the Lounge for an after shift drink. He was shocked at the display before him. "Warriors! Attention!" Tigh barked at the top of his lungs to get everyone at attention and stop killing each other. It didn't work. He tried again to no avail. No one seemed to notice or care about a superior officer's presence in the Lounge, the brawl continued. Tigh got his blaster out from the holster on his leg, set it for stun, and fired at a potted plant, which shattered. Anytime a blaster is discharged inside the Galactica, an alarm goes off to alert the Blackshirt civilian security force letting them know where the blast occurred (as Tigh was well aware). They would be in shortly to quench the riot. Tigh ducked a shot glass beamed at his head and waited behind a large decorative glass orb for the security detail to sort the madness out.
The chief scientist aboard the Battlestar Galactica was genuinely surprised to see Adama enter his maze of offices and labs. Various technical experiments were being conducted by Dr. Wilker's small, yet elite staff of scientists on an impressive array of computer banks and sundry machines. "Adama!" Wilker exclaimed, "This is a surprise. To what do I owe this visit to my humble lair?" Adama found Wilker to be a little too strange and a little too arrogant for his liking, but he was a brilliant scientist that got results. "Dr. Wilker, I am here about Baltar. I have reason to believe there is something profoundly wrong with him." "Yes, there is. He is an evil man whom betrayed us to the Cylon Empire and nearly wiped out our race." "I mean besides that. Did you find any trace of Cylon technology on his person, or inside of him? Anything remotely out of the ordinary?" "No, we ran Baltar through a battery of tests and he came up clean. Can you be more specific? What information do you have about him?" asked Wilker. "Call it a hunch, Doctor. But I don't think the man we have in captivity is actually Baltar." Wilker looked surprised. "Do you mean a clone?" "No, Doctor, I'm talking about microcellular-nanotechnology." "You think that Baltar, the man we have in captivity, is actually...an android...a Cylon, down to the cellular level? Good enough to fool all of our biological and medical tests? Even good enough to fool the surgical team that implanted Baltar with that electronic eye? It's absurd, Adama, the Cylons are not that more advanced than we are. Not advanced enough for what you speak of." "Back on Caprica yahrens ago, when I was in the Ministry of Planetary Defense- our Department of Spies and Sabatours, The DSS, acquired intelligence that the Cylons were working on that very technology. These Cylon humanoids could be utilized as spies, as homing beacons, and even nuclear bombs detonated aboard government facilities or Battlestars." "It's all theoretical." "What if the Cylons had help?" "Sure, anything is possible, Commander. They would need help from someone more advanced than themselves. But, yes, I suppose in theory your scenario is possible, however improbable." "Dr. Wilker, I need you to test Baltar again. Test his very DNA if you have to, to make sure that he really is a human being named Baltar. Do you have such tests?" "Not currently, but I am sure I could get with Dr. Salik and come up with something." "How long would you need?" "Probably a week." Wilker said with great pride and satisfaction. "Great, you have 16 hours. Call Dr. Salik. Priority one, get your whole team on it." All of the color in Wilker's face drained. "Yes, Commander, I will try." "Doctor, there is no try. Just do it. The safety of our fleet and very survival depends upon it."
Across a vast expanse of space the Galactica Stryker was circling the small lush forest world of Dandor, scanning for atmosphere conditions, signs of life, mineral deposits, and other important data. Inside one of the two dozen small, cramped living quarters Starbuck was admiring himself in the mirror after cutting his hair short and shaving his unruly beard. He had not seen his own reflection in over 5 yahren and he liked what he saw. He was still as handsome and smug-looking as ever. "Stabuck," he said to his own reflection, "When you get back to the Galactica, you are going to have your way with every good-looking woman in the fleet. Who needs Cassiopeia or Athena?" Even to himself, the words did not sound convincing. Starbuck donned a fresh, new Warrior suit. He looked sharp, ready for action. He felt like he could take on the whole Cylon Empire by himself. Who needed women? He was an elite Warrior and Viper Pilot after all. The best in the fleet. For too long he had been more concerned with gambling and sexual conquests than he had with military matters. That was the old Starbuck. The newly arisen Starbuck was a true Warrior and all he wanted to do was blast Cylons. He strapped on a large, black, sleek blaster to each thigh. He was ready to go down to the planet below, he was ready for anything. Boomer entered the room looking sheepish and contrite. Starbuck thought he saw tears in the fellow Warrior's eyes. "Hey Boomer. Why the long face?" "Starbuck, I am so sorry that I left you, man. I can never make it up to you. I don't even know what to say." "Are you kidding me? I told you to leave and warn the fleet when we were ambushed by the Cylons. I was the Senior Officer. You were following my orders." "Frack orders! You are my friend and I let you down." "Well, you made it up by rescuing me. Forget it. I don't want you to act strange around me." The two clasped hands and shook. Apollo's voice came over the intercom, "Will you two stop courting and get to the bridge. We are about to enter the planet's atmosphere. You need to get strapped in for entry." The two made double time up to the bridge. When everyone was secured aboard the ship's bubble-like bridge atop the craft- Apollo raised the shields. The ship went burning through the atmosphere at 3,000 mph. It blazed a long trail of smoke and fire around and behind it. A large sonic boom went off. From the ground, it appeared as though a massive comet was trailing in the upper atmosphere. Captain Apollo found a clearing large enough for the ship and landed. All sensors indicated that the air was breathable. They landed within 20 miles of a large cave which the ship sensors told them contained large amounts of Tylium. Boomer performed a quick scan of the immediate area around their craft to make sure they would not be ambushed by anyone, or anything. He indicated that it was all clear and the three warriors unstrapped from their seats and strapped on their weapons. Each warrior was carrying 2 blaster pistols. They looked at the bubble windows of the bridge and marveled at the scenery. There was green as far as you could see. Which was not that far given the density of the forest. The trees were hundreds of feet tall, towering like natural skyscrapers. This was quite a contrast from the cold, metal halls of the Galactica, or stark desert that Starbuck had been on. "Wait until you see the Landram 2, Starbuck it will blow you away." Apollo bragged. "It's here?" asked Starbuck. "It's down below in the cargo bay and troop transport area. It's quite a machine. The thing is mammoth, the wheels alone are taller than any of us and the armor plating can take a direct hit from a Cylon Raider." Boomer added. Starbuck was impressed when he saw the Landram 2 in the cargo bay. It was a huge machine. It was 40 feet long and stood 15 feet high. It was foreboding dark grey. The windows on the front and side were mere slits of transparent steel. Laser cannons were mounted on the top, sides, and rear. It was built for heavy combat and scientific exploration; a small geo-science lab was set up in the rear of the vehicle. The Landram2 could comfortably seat two dozen personnel. Apollo keyed in a series of numbers on a remote control unit and a door on the Landram opened. A ramp automatically lowered itself to the ground inviting the warriors aboard. "Let's find that Tylium, the fleet needs it bad. We'll leave behind a heavily encrypted homing beacon that the Cylons won't even detect, that way a small fleet of our mining ships can come back and harvest the fuel." Apollo announced as they climbed aboard and took their stations. Apollo took the wheel and Starbuck rode shotgun, just like old times. Boomer manned a large seat behind and in between them from which he could control the laser cannons mounted all around the vehicle. He also strapped on the targeting helmet. "Let's head out" Apollo announced "Starbuck, you navigate us to the coordinates of the cave entrance." "You're the Captain." The Landram2 backed out of the bay and on to the terrain of this strange and beautiful planet, where unbeknownst to them millions of hungry Ovions were waiting.
Meanwhile high above the forest world's atmosphere, the invisible Cylon Hammer Ship hovered and watched the Warriors below on their planet scanner. In addition to the two remaining Centurions on the bridge, a full compliment of 3 dozen chrome red-eye Cylons waited in the troop transport hold. "The Warriors have left their vessel and are traveling aboard a large Landram. What are your orders Commander Vulpa?" asked the Cylon Pilot. The Gold Centurion Commander, called Vulpa, had personally been put in charge of this mission by Spectre. He was not going to fail. "Travel to the far side of the planet to enter the atmosphere. That way the Colonials will not see our vapor trails. We will gain entry to their space craft and extract the fleet's location from their computers." "Commander, what of the humans?" asked the Pilot. "They will be killed by the Ovions. If they should escape the Ovions we will destroy their ship and our troops will slaughter them. It will be easy." Vulpa was especially intelligent and cunning for a Cylon. This was partly due to his Second Order brain that had been installed many yahren ago making him smarter and more ambitious than a typical chrome Cylon. It also made him hate the humans. He personally wanted to exterminate them all. Although he did not recognize it, Vulpa was developing a soul because of this human emotion called "hate". Many of the IL Series, such as Spectre, had already developed souls- evil souls. Vulpa then contacted Spectre and informed the IL Series Cylon about his new plan. "Make sure that you have the precise coordinates of the fleet, before killing the humans, Vulpa." Spectre ordered in the form of a holographic image aboard the Hammer. "On second thought", Sprectre added, "Take the human called Apollo. I noticed Commander Adama's son on your video relay. We may be able to torture him for much valuable information and then use him as a bargaining chip for Commander Adama's surrender of the fleet." "I thought our mandate was the extermination of all humans, take no prisoners", countered Vulpa. "Not to worry, Vulpa, there will be no prisoners and no survivors. Now carry out your orders!" "By your command".
Back aboard the very seat of evil, the Cylon Imperious Leader was standing in the late Doctor Ravishol's bioengineering lab looking down on the silent, still masses of Original Cylons. His trusted assistant, Spectre, stood quietly beside him, as did a single Gold Centurion. The irony had not escaped the Leader- that the Original Cylons had built the metallic Cylons to be warriors and servants and now the metallic Cylons had rebuilt and resurrected the Original Cylons for the same purpose. The Leader hoped that history would not repeat itself again- that the Original Cylons would not overthrow and exterminate their robotic creators. These organic Cylons had not been animated yet and the Leader was feeling slightly reluctant to do so. "Spectre, you are sure that these unholy creations will be completely obedient to my will?" asked the Leader. "Of course, Imperious Leader, I personally oversaw and double-checked Ravishol's work throughout the entire process. They will do your bidding and only your bidding." "And we are equally sure that they are incapable of breeding. I do not want their numbers to grow, unless by our control. Organic life has a tendency to do that." The Leader said with disdain. "These beings are without sex or gender. They are built strictly to be mindless killers of Colonial Humans and slaves of the Cylon Empire. In fact, with Ravishol's advanced techniques they are more efficient to mass produce than our own Cylon Centurions." "We must test them out first, Spectre. We must test their obedience and their capabilities in the battlefield. Find me a small human settlement that is not too technologically advanced and have our new creations wipe them out from existence. Then we will find and destroy the Galactica and her fleet." "As always, a truly excellent plan. What do you think Centurion?" asked Spectre. "If I may be blunt, I do not see the need for these creatures. We are far more capable of killing the humans. Plus, we do not know that these beings will be perfectly ordered and predictable." Answered the two-brained Gold Centurion. "Of course they are," retorted Spectre, "They have been engineered that way."
"Oh, Adama", Cassiopeia said as she entered their living quarters, "Did you hear about what is happening in the fleet? There was a riot among the warriors in the lounge. Greenbean and Jolly started it. Sheba and Bojay were half-naked under a table together. The Blackshirts had to be brought in to quench the riot. And that's not all. There are similar reports coming into the Medical Center constantly. I treated 6 knife wounds today. What is happening? Do you know?" Adama looked at his beautiful, blonde, young wife in admiration and truly hoped that Starbuck was OK, but would not be found. Maybe he crash landed safely on a planet full of beautiful women who would worship him as a Great God, just as long as he was not with Cassie. He then banished the thought as preposterous. Of course he wanted Starbuck to come back. Didn't he? "My beautiful wife, come sit with me on the couch. I am not sure what is happening. But yes, there are episodes of violence from all over our fleet. Dr. Salik seems to think that it is some form of cabin fever, or space madness, caused from living in cramped conditions." "Cramped? Try claustrophobic! And it's been yahrens since anyone has had sunlight, proper food, enough water, most don't even have a bed to sleep on. There are rumors of rebellion. Have you or your Warriors heard about that?" "Yes, we have." "Well...what are we going to do, Husband." "I was planning on assigning Sheba and Bojay to investigate." "They are in the brig. You'll have to get them out. I want to join them in the investigation, really look at the people in the fleet from a medical standpoint." "Makes sense. Alright, let's go get them out. And get this matter investigated." "Adama?" "Yes." "I don't want to trouble you with this, but have you heard anything from Apollo or Boomer about their rescue operation?" "No, my love, they have not checked in. They don't want to send out a signal that may be traced by the Cylons. Are you worried?" "Of course, they are my dear friends, and they are on a potentially dangerous mission." "And what of Starbuck- if he should be brought back? How would you feel about that?" Adama asked with hesitation. "I won't lie. Starbuck is important to me and always will be. Of course I want him to be alright and back with us, back with friends. But I am sealed to you. It is you that I love." She then kissed Adama passionately.
Lt. Athena, Adama's raven-haired, achingly beautiful daughter, sat in the Commander's chair as she had temporary command of the Galactica's bridge. Whenever Tigh and Adama were both off the bridge for duty break, she took control- and she loved it. She longed to command her own Battlestar and always had. She never cared for being a Viper pilot all that much. For her, commanding a Battlestar was the real test of a Warrior's mettle. "Omega, systems report" Athena ordered. The bridge officer checked all of his systems reports quickly "All systems running at optimal levels", Omega reported back. "How long since last Long-range Scan, Omega?" "It has been 4.6 hours." "Conduct Long-range Scan in all directions." "Scanning, now." Athena hoped that the scanners would pick up her brother, Boomer...and Starbuck. Although she was torn about Starbuck. She had moved on since his disappearance and was now involved with another Warrior. A young, daring, arrogant Warrior named Skyler. Things were going well between them, there was even loose talk of taking the Seal. But, when Athena was really honest with herself, she knew she still loved Starbuck and wanted to be with him. She wanted him to be alright and back on the Galactica. The fleet needed him and so did she. "Long-range scans report back negative." Omega reported. "Thank you, Bridge Officer." "Athena?" "Yes, Omega?" "I want them to find Starbuck too." "We all do." She smiled warmly at her old friend who had been on the bridge forever, it seemed. Just then an Officer, named Roybal, manning a console in the front row of computer banks, immediately underneath the mammoth front viewing screen, jumped out of his seat and shouted up at Athena "I want off of this ship NOW! Get me off this ship! I want you to find me a planet right now and land me on it!" He was screaming and out of control. He was hitting his forehead and foaming at the mouth. He seemed completely demented. Athena kept her composure and tripped the silent alarm to the Blackshirt Security Force. "Officer, Roybal, you will stop your screaming immediately and report to the Medical Station for a full psych eval." The other Officers on the bridge got out of their seats and a few of them began approaching Roybal. "Shut- up you black hearted Bitch!" Roybal spat, "I am through taking orders and through looking for bullshit Earth that doesn't exist." He then pulled his blaster out and pointed it up at Athena's head. "You are making a grave mistake" Athena said keeping her cool. "Seal off the bridge right now, you whore!" Roybal barked. "Back away!" he ordered to the Officers that were attempting to surround and subdue him. "I mean it! Back the hell off." The officers continued their approach with their arms up in the air showing they meant no harm. Roybal pointed his blaster at a young Officer who was advancing the fastest...and pulled the trigger. At that close of range, the Officer's head literally exploded all over the Bridge. Brain matter and blood sprayed everywhere. Everyone was stunned. "You just made a huge mistake." Athena growled. "It was his own fault. Now everyone just back the hell up!!!" In a blink, Roybal grabbed the young attractive female Officer, Lt. Rygel, and put her in front of him, with his blaster to the back of her head. "I will spray this bitch's brains all over this bridge if you don't all back up, seal the damn bridge, and punch in coordinates for a livable planet. I want off of this prison. Now seal the bridge!!!!" Athena pushed a button that lowered heavy titanium doors sealing off all access to the bridge. She then pulled out her blaster and pointed it right at Roybal yelling, "I have done what you asked, now let Rygel go." "I'm not letting her go, she is my ticket to freedom!!" "If you harm one hair on her head, I will blast right through her and vaporize you, you bastard!" "You don't dare!" shouted back Roybal. "I will not negotiate with you. Put down that gun and let Rygel go. No one else needs to die today." Roybal responded by jamming the business end of his gun so hard into Rygel's skull that she sobbed in pain. Rygel cried out, "Athena, don't surrender the Galactica to this lunatic. He is going to kill me anyway!" "Not if I get my way. I don't want to hurt anyone else I just want to get off this ship and I will kill everyone in this room to do it!" "Roybal, I am going to count down to 5. If you haven't surrendered by then, I am going to start blasting. Hostage or not, I am going to kill you if you don't immediately surrender" Athena said leveling her blaster at the offender. "I don't believe you. You're a lying whore!" "Athena, just shoot this son-of-a-bitch" Rygel yelled. Athena began her deadly countdown, "5...4" "Suck it!" Screamed Roybal and shot his blaster at Athena. He aimed high and the plasma blast went above her hear. She did not even flinch. Roybal shot again and the computer console immediately in front of Athena exploded in a shower of sparks and fire. Again, Athena did not even bat an eyelash. She continued her countdown, "3..2.." "Go to hell!!" Screamed Roybal. "1".
TO BE CONTINUED..................................!!!
CHAPTER III: SURRENDER THE GALACTICA
It had been over two weeks since Apollo and Boomer left on their quest to retrieve Starbuck. They had broken the law and hijacked a new experimental battlecraft, the Stryker. Adama had scrambled 2 Vipers to intercept his son, but that was only perfuctonary. It was a show for the Civilian Council that was constantly breathing down his neck and second guessing Adama's every decision. The truth is if anyone else, other than Apollo, had stolen that fighter- Adama would have sent an armada of Vipers to intercept. But it had been his son, and he was on a mission to find a man who was like a son to Adama.
Adama sat alone in the dark of his Contemplation Chamber. A quiet, serene place adjoined to his and Cassiopeia's personal quarters. But not even his new wife had access to this chamber. It was a holy place where Adama kept the only remaining copy of the sacred Book of the Word- the bible written by they Lords of Kobol. Adama was perusing the tome searching for an answer. The fleet was in shambles. Small rebellions were starting to break out among the rag-tag fleet. Dr. Salik had been telling Adama of a strange mania, a sort of cabin fever, which had also erupted and seemed to be fuelling the rebellion. In addition, they were no closer to finding Earth. Fewer and fewer even believed it existed.
Even Adama was starting to lose his faith. He was starting to doubt the existence of Earth, maybe everyone was right. Maybe he just had a blinding faith in a fairy tale. Why should everyone in the fleet be punished for his madness? The best thing for all would be to settle on the next inhabitable, peaceful world that they encounter. Too long have people been living in metal boxes, afraid for their lives. Adama prayed hard to the Lords of Kobol for guidance and wisdom in that chamber. He also prayed for strength if Starbuck should be found alive. Adama certainly wished for the safe return of Starbuck, but was also afraid of it. How would things be between himself, Starbuck and Cassie? Deep down, Adama knew that his new bride still had feelings for the lost warrior. Ever since his wife had been killed on Caprica, Adama had been so lonely for so long. Falling in love with Cassie had happened before he realized what was happening. He used to think of her as a daughter and now they were Sealed. Then Adama's thoughts turned to the Cylons. He knew that they were devising some horrible plan. He had sensed it. Lately, he had been feeling powerful vibrations of pure hatred aimed at his fleet and knew that something awful was being hatched by their robotic enemy. Suddenly, another presence flooded his mind, infiltrating his very thoughts. It was an evil presence, a malignant presence. It chilled Adama to the core of his soul. He knew this presence and feared its return. It was the evil Count Iblis, the Dark Lord of the Universe. Suddenly Iblis was standing in the shadows next to Adama. You do not have dominion over me, in this holy place. How do you contact me, Iblis? Adama thought. It is true, Adama, I do not have dominion where I am not invited. I am not in your Holy Chamber with you, although you see me standing next to you. I am only in your thoughts. You merely see a projection of me. Why do you contact me, evil spirit? We have banished you. I come to help you and your people, Adama. Evil words, spoken from the mouth of a serpent. Why should you want to help us? The Cylons are becoming too powerful. I wish to see them destroyed. Tell me why, Iblis. I command it. I have my own reasons, Adama. Reasons you can not grasp with your small understanding of the universe. By the Lords of Kobol- Be gone, Iblis. Do not trouble my thoughts further. Do not speak to me of the Lords!! You do not know of what you speak. I will prove my good will towards your people. There is no way to do that. Look at the traitor called Baltar very carefully, Adama. For he is not as he appears to be. He is not who he is. Iblis, you speak to me in riddles. I have no use for you, now be gone. I command it! Adama, you will hear from me again. This is not to be our last contact. Suddenly, the evil presence was lifted. But what of Baltar? What did Iblis mean? Adama had always felt extremely uneasy about Baltar being among the fleet, even though he was safely ensconced aboard the prison barge. This contact with Count Iblis only added to his unease over Baltar, confirming his suspicions. Their chief scientist and technologist, Dr. Wilker, had scanned and tested Baltar for tracking and listening devices and turned up nothing. Adama immediately got up from his sitting position on the floor and headed for Dr. Wilker's catacomb of scientific labs and testing facilities deep in the bowels of the great Galactica.
Elsewhere aboard the immense space fortress called Galactica, a drinking contest was well underway in the plush Officer's Lounge. Lt. Sheba, the hard fighting, hard drinking daughter of Cain was outdoing Lt. Bojay, the tough-as-nails Warrior who also served under Cain and was passionately in love with Sheba. They had both consumed mass quantities of grog while everyone in the lounge cheered them on to see whom could remain conscious the longest. The group consisting mostly of Warriors was betting and cheering and letting off some steam. Sheba had the lead over Bojay, who looked slightly green. "You know, Sheba", Bojay slurred sitting across the chrome table from Sheba with a large stein of grog in his hand, "I have always been in love with you. And you like that jerk Apollo? Why can't you give me a chance?" Everyone, in the room got kind of quiet and looked surprised, except Sheba. "I know how you feel, Bojay, and I love you too." Having said that she leaned over the table and planted a passionate and rather long kiss on Bojay. With the grog and the shock of the kiss, Bojay promptly passed out, and Sheba won a ton of cubits. Everyone cheered, well everyone that won their bet did. The mood in the spacious and comfortable lounge was light, but then suddenly turned dark. "All right, Greenbean", said the rather portly Warrior named Jolly, to his tall flaxen-haired confederate "Cough up the Cubits!" "Eat felgercarb, you fat tub of goo- I'm not giving you any of my cubits!" was Greenbean's response to his friend. "Who are you calling fat, you skinny, albino?! Your mother looks like a Borellian Nomen!" Jolly countered. That was it- those were fighting words. With that, Greenbean slugged his best friend, Jolly, hard on the jaw. The two Warriors started to beat each other, mercilessly. Blood and spit flew everywhere as the rest of the crowd cheered on the fight. Then everyone started to brawl. Chairs and fists flew. People hit each other with fists, chairs, mugs, and glasses. It was violent chaos amongst friends. One Warrior even threw a table at another. While the rest of the Warriors engaged in fisticuffs, Sheba and Bojay dove underneath their table and made-out heatedly. Bojay had Sheba down to her black bra and panties in a millicenton. Much to his surprise, the beautiful Sheba wore g-string panties. During the melee, Col. Tigh entered the Lounge for an after shift drink. He was shocked at the display before him. "Warriors! Attention!" Tigh barked at the top of his lungs to get everyone at attention and stop killing each other. It didn't work. He tried again to no avail. No one seemed to notice or care about a superior officer's presence in the Lounge, the brawl continued. Tigh got his blaster out from the holster on his leg, set it for stun, and fired at a potted plant, which shattered. Anytime a blaster is discharged inside the Galactica, an alarm goes off to alert the Blackshirt civilian security force letting them know where the blast occurred (as Tigh was well aware). They would be in shortly to quench the riot. Tigh ducked a shot glass beamed at his head and waited behind a large decorative glass orb for the security detail to sort the madness out.
The chief scientist aboard the Battlestar Galactica was genuinely surprised to see Adama enter his maze of offices and labs. Various technical experiments were being conducted by Dr. Wilker's small, yet elite staff of scientists on an impressive array of computer banks and sundry machines. "Adama!" Wilker exclaimed, "This is a surprise. To what do I owe this visit to my humble lair?" Adama found Wilker to be a little too strange and a little too arrogant for his liking, but he was a brilliant scientist that got results. "Dr. Wilker, I am here about Baltar. I have reason to believe there is something profoundly wrong with him." "Yes, there is. He is an evil man whom betrayed us to the Cylon Empire and nearly wiped out our race." "I mean besides that. Did you find any trace of Cylon technology on his person, or inside of him? Anything remotely out of the ordinary?" "No, we ran Baltar through a battery of tests and he came up clean. Can you be more specific? What information do you have about him?" asked Wilker. "Call it a hunch, Doctor. But I don't think the man we have in captivity is actually Baltar." Wilker looked surprised. "Do you mean a clone?" "No, Doctor, I'm talking about microcellular-nanotechnology." "You think that Baltar, the man we have in captivity, is actually...an android...a Cylon, down to the cellular level? Good enough to fool all of our biological and medical tests? Even good enough to fool the surgical team that implanted Baltar with that electronic eye? It's absurd, Adama, the Cylons are not that more advanced than we are. Not advanced enough for what you speak of." "Back on Caprica yahrens ago, when I was in the Ministry of Planetary Defense- our Department of Spies and Sabatours, The DSS, acquired intelligence that the Cylons were working on that very technology. These Cylon humanoids could be utilized as spies, as homing beacons, and even nuclear bombs detonated aboard government facilities or Battlestars." "It's all theoretical." "What if the Cylons had help?" "Sure, anything is possible, Commander. They would need help from someone more advanced than themselves. But, yes, I suppose in theory your scenario is possible, however improbable." "Dr. Wilker, I need you to test Baltar again. Test his very DNA if you have to, to make sure that he really is a human being named Baltar. Do you have such tests?" "Not currently, but I am sure I could get with Dr. Salik and come up with something." "How long would you need?" "Probably a week." Wilker said with great pride and satisfaction. "Great, you have 16 hours. Call Dr. Salik. Priority one, get your whole team on it." All of the color in Wilker's face drained. "Yes, Commander, I will try." "Doctor, there is no try. Just do it. The safety of our fleet and very survival depends upon it."
Across a vast expanse of space the Galactica Stryker was circling the small lush forest world of Dandor, scanning for atmosphere conditions, signs of life, mineral deposits, and other important data. Inside one of the two dozen small, cramped living quarters Starbuck was admiring himself in the mirror after cutting his hair short and shaving his unruly beard. He had not seen his own reflection in over 5 yahren and he liked what he saw. He was still as handsome and smug-looking as ever. "Stabuck," he said to his own reflection, "When you get back to the Galactica, you are going to have your way with every good-looking woman in the fleet. Who needs Cassiopeia or Athena?" Even to himself, the words did not sound convincing. Starbuck donned a fresh, new Warrior suit. He looked sharp, ready for action. He felt like he could take on the whole Cylon Empire by himself. Who needed women? He was an elite Warrior and Viper Pilot after all. The best in the fleet. For too long he had been more concerned with gambling and sexual conquests than he had with military matters. That was the old Starbuck. The newly arisen Starbuck was a true Warrior and all he wanted to do was blast Cylons. He strapped on a large, black, sleek blaster to each thigh. He was ready to go down to the planet below, he was ready for anything. Boomer entered the room looking sheepish and contrite. Starbuck thought he saw tears in the fellow Warrior's eyes. "Hey Boomer. Why the long face?" "Starbuck, I am so sorry that I left you, man. I can never make it up to you. I don't even know what to say." "Are you kidding me? I told you to leave and warn the fleet when we were ambushed by the Cylons. I was the Senior Officer. You were following my orders." "Frack orders! You are my friend and I let you down." "Well, you made it up by rescuing me. Forget it. I don't want you to act strange around me." The two clasped hands and shook. Apollo's voice came over the intercom, "Will you two stop courting and get to the bridge. We are about to enter the planet's atmosphere. You need to get strapped in for entry." The two made double time up to the bridge. When everyone was secured aboard the ship's bubble-like bridge atop the craft- Apollo raised the shields. The ship went burning through the atmosphere at 3,000 mph. It blazed a long trail of smoke and fire around and behind it. A large sonic boom went off. From the ground, it appeared as though a massive comet was trailing in the upper atmosphere. Captain Apollo found a clearing large enough for the ship and landed. All sensors indicated that the air was breathable. They landed within 20 miles of a large cave which the ship sensors told them contained large amounts of Tylium. Boomer performed a quick scan of the immediate area around their craft to make sure they would not be ambushed by anyone, or anything. He indicated that it was all clear and the three warriors unstrapped from their seats and strapped on their weapons. Each warrior was carrying 2 blaster pistols. They looked at the bubble windows of the bridge and marveled at the scenery. There was green as far as you could see. Which was not that far given the density of the forest. The trees were hundreds of feet tall, towering like natural skyscrapers. This was quite a contrast from the cold, metal halls of the Galactica, or stark desert that Starbuck had been on. "Wait until you see the Landram 2, Starbuck it will blow you away." Apollo bragged. "It's here?" asked Starbuck. "It's down below in the cargo bay and troop transport area. It's quite a machine. The thing is mammoth, the wheels alone are taller than any of us and the armor plating can take a direct hit from a Cylon Raider." Boomer added. Starbuck was impressed when he saw the Landram 2 in the cargo bay. It was a huge machine. It was 40 feet long and stood 15 feet high. It was foreboding dark grey. The windows on the front and side were mere slits of transparent steel. Laser cannons were mounted on the top, sides, and rear. It was built for heavy combat and scientific exploration; a small geo-science lab was set up in the rear of the vehicle. The Landram2 could comfortably seat two dozen personnel. Apollo keyed in a series of numbers on a remote control unit and a door on the Landram opened. A ramp automatically lowered itself to the ground inviting the warriors aboard. "Let's find that Tylium, the fleet needs it bad. We'll leave behind a heavily encrypted homing beacon that the Cylons won't even detect, that way a small fleet of our mining ships can come back and harvest the fuel." Apollo announced as they climbed aboard and took their stations. Apollo took the wheel and Starbuck rode shotgun, just like old times. Boomer manned a large seat behind and in between them from which he could control the laser cannons mounted all around the vehicle. He also strapped on the targeting helmet. "Let's head out" Apollo announced "Starbuck, you navigate us to the coordinates of the cave entrance." "You're the Captain." The Landram2 backed out of the bay and on to the terrain of this strange and beautiful planet, where unbeknownst to them millions of hungry Ovions were waiting.
Meanwhile high above the forest world's atmosphere, the invisible Cylon Hammer Ship hovered and watched the Warriors below on their planet scanner. In addition to the two remaining Centurions on the bridge, a full compliment of 3 dozen chrome red-eye Cylons waited in the troop transport hold. "The Warriors have left their vessel and are traveling aboard a large Landram. What are your orders Commander Vulpa?" asked the Cylon Pilot. The Gold Centurion Commander, called Vulpa, had personally been put in charge of this mission by Spectre. He was not going to fail. "Travel to the far side of the planet to enter the atmosphere. That way the Colonials will not see our vapor trails. We will gain entry to their space craft and extract the fleet's location from their computers." "Commander, what of the humans?" asked the Pilot. "They will be killed by the Ovions. If they should escape the Ovions we will destroy their ship and our troops will slaughter them. It will be easy." Vulpa was especially intelligent and cunning for a Cylon. This was partly due to his Second Order brain that had been installed many yahren ago making him smarter and more ambitious than a typical chrome Cylon. It also made him hate the humans. He personally wanted to exterminate them all. Although he did not recognize it, Vulpa was developing a soul because of this human emotion called "hate". Many of the IL Series, such as Spectre, had already developed souls- evil souls. Vulpa then contacted Spectre and informed the IL Series Cylon about his new plan. "Make sure that you have the precise coordinates of the fleet, before killing the humans, Vulpa." Spectre ordered in the form of a holographic image aboard the Hammer. "On second thought", Sprectre added, "Take the human called Apollo. I noticed Commander Adama's son on your video relay. We may be able to torture him for much valuable information and then use him as a bargaining chip for Commander Adama's surrender of the fleet." "I thought our mandate was the extermination of all humans, take no prisoners", countered Vulpa. "Not to worry, Vulpa, there will be no prisoners and no survivors. Now carry out your orders!" "By your command".
Back aboard the very seat of evil, the Cylon Imperious Leader was standing in the late Doctor Ravishol's bioengineering lab looking down on the silent, still masses of Original Cylons. His trusted assistant, Spectre, stood quietly beside him, as did a single Gold Centurion. The irony had not escaped the Leader- that the Original Cylons had built the metallic Cylons to be warriors and servants and now the metallic Cylons had rebuilt and resurrected the Original Cylons for the same purpose. The Leader hoped that history would not repeat itself again- that the Original Cylons would not overthrow and exterminate their robotic creators. These organic Cylons had not been animated yet and the Leader was feeling slightly reluctant to do so. "Spectre, you are sure that these unholy creations will be completely obedient to my will?" asked the Leader. "Of course, Imperious Leader, I personally oversaw and double-checked Ravishol's work throughout the entire process. They will do your bidding and only your bidding." "And we are equally sure that they are incapable of breeding. I do not want their numbers to grow, unless by our control. Organic life has a tendency to do that." The Leader said with disdain. "These beings are without sex or gender. They are built strictly to be mindless killers of Colonial Humans and slaves of the Cylon Empire. In fact, with Ravishol's advanced techniques they are more efficient to mass produce than our own Cylon Centurions." "We must test them out first, Spectre. We must test their obedience and their capabilities in the battlefield. Find me a small human settlement that is not too technologically advanced and have our new creations wipe them out from existence. Then we will find and destroy the Galactica and her fleet." "As always, a truly excellent plan. What do you think Centurion?" asked Spectre. "If I may be blunt, I do not see the need for these creatures. We are far more capable of killing the humans. Plus, we do not know that these beings will be perfectly ordered and predictable." Answered the two-brained Gold Centurion. "Of course they are," retorted Spectre, "They have been engineered that way."
"Oh, Adama", Cassiopeia said as she entered their living quarters, "Did you hear about what is happening in the fleet? There was a riot among the warriors in the lounge. Greenbean and Jolly started it. Sheba and Bojay were half-naked under a table together. The Blackshirts had to be brought in to quench the riot. And that's not all. There are similar reports coming into the Medical Center constantly. I treated 6 knife wounds today. What is happening? Do you know?" Adama looked at his beautiful, blonde, young wife in admiration and truly hoped that Starbuck was OK, but would not be found. Maybe he crash landed safely on a planet full of beautiful women who would worship him as a Great God, just as long as he was not with Cassie. He then banished the thought as preposterous. Of course he wanted Starbuck to come back. Didn't he? "My beautiful wife, come sit with me on the couch. I am not sure what is happening. But yes, there are episodes of violence from all over our fleet. Dr. Salik seems to think that it is some form of cabin fever, or space madness, caused from living in cramped conditions." "Cramped? Try claustrophobic! And it's been yahrens since anyone has had sunlight, proper food, enough water, most don't even have a bed to sleep on. There are rumors of rebellion. Have you or your Warriors heard about that?" "Yes, we have." "Well...what are we going to do, Husband." "I was planning on assigning Sheba and Bojay to investigate." "They are in the brig. You'll have to get them out. I want to join them in the investigation, really look at the people in the fleet from a medical standpoint." "Makes sense. Alright, let's go get them out. And get this matter investigated." "Adama?" "Yes." "I don't want to trouble you with this, but have you heard anything from Apollo or Boomer about their rescue operation?" "No, my love, they have not checked in. They don't want to send out a signal that may be traced by the Cylons. Are you worried?" "Of course, they are my dear friends, and they are on a potentially dangerous mission." "And what of Starbuck- if he should be brought back? How would you feel about that?" Adama asked with hesitation. "I won't lie. Starbuck is important to me and always will be. Of course I want him to be alright and back with us, back with friends. But I am sealed to you. It is you that I love." She then kissed Adama passionately.
Lt. Athena, Adama's raven-haired, achingly beautiful daughter, sat in the Commander's chair as she had temporary command of the Galactica's bridge. Whenever Tigh and Adama were both off the bridge for duty break, she took control- and she loved it. She longed to command her own Battlestar and always had. She never cared for being a Viper pilot all that much. For her, commanding a Battlestar was the real test of a Warrior's mettle. "Omega, systems report" Athena ordered. The bridge officer checked all of his systems reports quickly "All systems running at optimal levels", Omega reported back. "How long since last Long-range Scan, Omega?" "It has been 4.6 hours." "Conduct Long-range Scan in all directions." "Scanning, now." Athena hoped that the scanners would pick up her brother, Boomer...and Starbuck. Although she was torn about Starbuck. She had moved on since his disappearance and was now involved with another Warrior. A young, daring, arrogant Warrior named Skyler. Things were going well between them, there was even loose talk of taking the Seal. But, when Athena was really honest with herself, she knew she still loved Starbuck and wanted to be with him. She wanted him to be alright and back on the Galactica. The fleet needed him and so did she. "Long-range scans report back negative." Omega reported. "Thank you, Bridge Officer." "Athena?" "Yes, Omega?" "I want them to find Starbuck too." "We all do." She smiled warmly at her old friend who had been on the bridge forever, it seemed. Just then an Officer, named Roybal, manning a console in the front row of computer banks, immediately underneath the mammoth front viewing screen, jumped out of his seat and shouted up at Athena "I want off of this ship NOW! Get me off this ship! I want you to find me a planet right now and land me on it!" He was screaming and out of control. He was hitting his forehead and foaming at the mouth. He seemed completely demented. Athena kept her composure and tripped the silent alarm to the Blackshirt Security Force. "Officer, Roybal, you will stop your screaming immediately and report to the Medical Station for a full psych eval." The other Officers on the bridge got out of their seats and a few of them began approaching Roybal. "Shut- up you black hearted Bitch!" Roybal spat, "I am through taking orders and through looking for bullshit Earth that doesn't exist." He then pulled his blaster out and pointed it up at Athena's head. "You are making a grave mistake" Athena said keeping her cool. "Seal off the bridge right now, you whore!" Roybal barked. "Back away!" he ordered to the Officers that were attempting to surround and subdue him. "I mean it! Back the hell off." The officers continued their approach with their arms up in the air showing they meant no harm. Roybal pointed his blaster at a young Officer who was advancing the fastest...and pulled the trigger. At that close of range, the Officer's head literally exploded all over the Bridge. Brain matter and blood sprayed everywhere. Everyone was stunned. "You just made a huge mistake." Athena growled. "It was his own fault. Now everyone just back the hell up!!!" In a blink, Roybal grabbed the young attractive female Officer, Lt. Rygel, and put her in front of him, with his blaster to the back of her head. "I will spray this bitch's brains all over this bridge if you don't all back up, seal the damn bridge, and punch in coordinates for a livable planet. I want off of this prison. Now seal the bridge!!!!" Athena pushed a button that lowered heavy titanium doors sealing off all access to the bridge. She then pulled out her blaster and pointed it right at Roybal yelling, "I have done what you asked, now let Rygel go." "I'm not letting her go, she is my ticket to freedom!!" "If you harm one hair on her head, I will blast right through her and vaporize you, you bastard!" "You don't dare!" shouted back Roybal. "I will not negotiate with you. Put down that gun and let Rygel go. No one else needs to die today." Roybal responded by jamming the business end of his gun so hard into Rygel's skull that she sobbed in pain. Rygel cried out, "Athena, don't surrender the Galactica to this lunatic. He is going to kill me anyway!" "Not if I get my way. I don't want to hurt anyone else I just want to get off this ship and I will kill everyone in this room to do it!" "Roybal, I am going to count down to 5. If you haven't surrendered by then, I am going to start blasting. Hostage or not, I am going to kill you if you don't immediately surrender" Athena said leveling her blaster at the offender. "I don't believe you. You're a lying whore!" "Athena, just shoot this son-of-a-bitch" Rygel yelled. Athena began her deadly countdown, "5...4" "Suck it!" Screamed Roybal and shot his blaster at Athena. He aimed high and the plasma blast went above her hear. She did not even flinch. Roybal shot again and the computer console immediately in front of Athena exploded in a shower of sparks and fire. Again, Athena did not even bat an eyelash. She continued her countdown, "3..2.." "Go to hell!!" Screamed Roybal. "1".
TO BE CONTINUED..................................!!!