Caprican Shipyards
1030 hours
Commander Adama stood in the centre of the CIC, allowing himself a self-satisfied smile at the air of purposeful activity around him as crewmen tested circuits, rebooted systems and ran diagnostics. They were in dry-dock for a week to re-crew and rearm. If things proceeded as they had so far, they would be returning to the front in under a week.
'Commander?'
'Yes, Mr Gaeta?' Adama said as the Lieutenant marched towards him with a clipboard under his arm.
'Dr Baltar reports the upgrades to the navigation software are complete, sir.' He said and Adama ran his eye over the clipboard, signing on the bottom. Gaeta saluted, returning to his station and Adama glanced towards Colonel Tigh, who was watching the scene with his perpetual scowl.
'We're on schedule.' His XO said. 'Another few days and we can return to the front.'
'How's the crew?' Adama asked.
'Eager to return to the front and frak some toasters.' Tigh said and Adama grinned, despite himself; the majority of them were fresh from basic training and very green.
'DRADIS contact.' Lieutenant Gaeta said. 'Bearing 229 keram 82. Cylon Basestar.'
'Confirm that.' Colonel Tigh ordered. 'Set Condition One. Launch the alert vipers.'
'Set Condition One throughout the ship, set Condition One throughout the ship.' Petty Officer Dualla said in the background as Gaeta reported
'Confirmed, Cylon Basestar, sir. Caprica Shipyard perimeter defences active. Alert Vipers are away.'
'Condition One set, sir.' Dualla added. 'Gunnery crews report ready.'
'Time?' Colonel Tigh demanded and Gaeta hesitated.
'...fifty-five seconds, sir.'
'Fifty-five seconds.' Tigh repeated and Gaeta swallowed.
'...Yes, sir.'
'How long does a Cylon Basestar take to acquire a target and launch its nuclear warheads, Lieutenant?' Tigh asked, his eyes narrowing.
'...forty-five seconds, sir.'
'Forty-five seconds.' Tigh repeated and Gaeta swallowed.
'...Yes, sir.' Gaeta said and Tigh paused for a minute, letting that sink in before he addressed the CIC.
'The Cylons are killing machines. They don't get bored, they don't get drunk and they don't get tired. Their only function is to kill you. If that had been a real Basestar and not a Raptor broadcasting a fake ID, we'd all be dead now.' He said, his voice hard and cold.
'Lieutenant Gaeta, recall the Alert Vipers and order Raptor-22 to reset the exercise. Dee, stand down Condition One.'
'Yes, sir.' Dualla said and Tigh turned back to Adama.
'We've still got a lot of work to do.' He said and Adama nodded.
'Keep sweating them, Saul.' He said, as Dee spoke up, her hand pressed to her headset.
'Sir, I'm receiving a Priority One signal from Colonial Command on an encrypted channel.'
'Patch it through.' Adama said, picking up his receiver and pressing it to his ear, listening intently for a few seconds before replacing it on the console.
'Dee, give me ship wide.' He ordered.
'Yes, sir.' Dee said, punching a button on her console and Adama picked up his receiver again.
'Attention all hands. We've just received a transmission from Colonial Command. As of this moment, we've received a transmission from the Cylons requesting an armistice. All Command Officers and Department Heads are to report to Briefing Room Alpha at 1100 hours. Carry on.'

Lee Adama stood at the podium of the Pilot's briefing room, tapping his finger on the microphone. They had just returned from the exercise and the other pilots were grabbing a quick shower before the debriefing.
'They were too slow.' Lee said, looking at Starbuck who returned his gaze levelly.
'What do you expect? They're still Greenies, Apollo.' She said, pulling a packet of cigarettes from inside her jacket.
'Briefing starts at 1100, Starbuck.' Lee said, with a frown.
'It's not even 1050, Apollo.' She said, lighting up. And they'll still be rooks, no matter how many times we run these frakking drills. They'll earn their wings shooting down Raiders, not doing sims.' She took a deep drag, Lee glancing at Zak, who shrugged.
'She's got a point.' His brother said. 'Being shot at teaches lessons better than the Academy. But, until we get back out there, there's no harm in keeping them on their toes.'
'Yeah...' Lee said, just as the Commander Adama came over the intercom.
'Attention all hands. We've just received a transmission from Colonial Command. As of this moment, we've received a transmission from the Cylons requesting an armistice. All Command Officers and Department Heads are to report to Briefing Room Alpha at 1100 hours. Carry on.'
'Son of a bitch!' Starbuck said, sitting upright and stubbing out her cigarette under her boot. 'What the hell is this?'
'Easy, Starbuck.' Lee said.
'Don't tell me to take it easy, Apollo.' She snapped. 'How can you swallow this? After all we've sacrificed, we're just going to bend over and let them surrender? We need to wipe them out.'
'We have our orders, Starbuck.' Lee said and she dropped back into her chair with a scowl.
'You're still the good little soldier, aren't you, Lee?' She said.
Lee ignored this, stepping out from behind the Podium and turning to Zak.
'Brief the pilots when they return.' He said and Zak frowned.
'Why? Where are you going?'
'To talk to the Commander.' Lee said, heading for the door. 'Carry on.'

'Alright, people.' Tyrol said, his voice cutting across the Hanger Deck. 'Let's get these birds refuelled and ready to go. Shift it, people, we're still on a war footing here.'
He glanced around the Hanger, spotting a yellow suited figure loitering near the edge of the Deck and stormed over.
'Jammer.' He said, the young man looking up as he approached. 'What are you standing around for? Come on, get these ammo crates shifted. We need this deck clear.'
'Yes, Chief.' Jammer said, grabbing the handle of the flatbed truck and releasing the brake. 'I don't see what the rush is, though. We're in dry-dock, behind the lines.' He muttered and Chief moved to block his path.
'We're at war, Jammer.' He said. 'There is no frontline anymore. With their FTL drives, the Cylons can hit us anywhere and we'd have no warning until they're right on top of us. If that happens, we won't have time to pick up your slack. Do you get it?'
'Yes, Chief.' Jammer said, looking down at his feet and Tyrol clapped him on the shoulder.
'Good. When we finish up here, there's a great little dive on Caprica station. It's noisy as hell, but the drinks are cheap. There's more to life in the Colonial Fleet than drills and ammo inventories, after all.'
'Yes, Chief.' Jammer said with a goofy grin and Chief gave him a playful shove on the shoulder to send him on his way. He glanced around, seeing a Raptor being guided into the Hanger and he walked over, stopping in front of the hatch as it swung open and Lieutenant Valerie emerged, removing her helmet and he saluted.
'Welcome back, sir.'
'Thanks, Chief.' She said, climbing down off the fuselage as the intercom crackled.
'Attention all hands. We've just received a transmission from Colonial Command. As of this moment, we've received a transmission from the Cylons requesting an armistice. All Command Officers and Department Heads are to report to Briefing Room Alpha at 1100 hours. Carry on.'
A cheer went up from the Deck Gang, with much back-slapping, hugs and whoops of joy until Tyrol's voice cut across the hubbub.
'Snap it up, people.' He yelled. 'We've still got work to do.' He glared at the Deck Gang until they returned to work and they turned to Boomer, seeing the same shock on her face that he felt.
'I don't believe it.' She said, quietly. 'If the war's over, what'll happen to the Fleet?'
'I don't know. If it's really over, then they'll think about consolidating the Fleet and decommission some of the older vessels.'
'Galactica's one of the oldest Battlestar's in the fleet.' She said and Tyrol walked away, not meeting her gaze.
'Are you okay, Chief?' Cally asked and he turned towards her, forcing a smile.
'Yeah, I'm fine, Cally...'

'Our new orders are to join the defensive line here.' Adama said, gesturing to the map table that showed a schematic of the Caprican Shipyards. 'Until the Armistice is officially ratified, all Fleet assets are being tasked to protect our key facilities and maintain alert status. Our Vipers will be used to provide additional support for the station defences until our repairs are completed.'
'What if the Cylons attack?' Tigh asked, keeping his voice low and Adama turned towards him.
'Fleet Command has stressed the importance of this treaty, however tentative it is. Any arrival of Cylon forces is to be reported and attacks dealt with with all appropriate force.'
'Sir...why would the Cylon's request a truce?' Felix asked. 'They were getting the upper hand in the last few months. Why would they throw that away?'
'It could be a ruse.' Tigh said. 'They'd know that we don't have enough forces to protect all our facilities. With us on the defensive, they could launch a surgical strike.'
'Mr Gaeta, start analysing the distribution of our forces. If they are planning a strike, I'd like some advance warning.'
'Aye, sir.' Gaeta said, as Dee spoke up.
'Sir, I have the CIC Marine Sergeant on the line. Representative Roslin is asking to speak to you.'
'Frakking politicians.' Tigh muttered, but Adama ignored him, turning to Dee.
'Send her in.'
A minute later, the Marine Sergeant entered the CIC, escorting Representative Roslin.
'Commander Adama.' She said. 'Thank you for taking the time to see me.'
'Representative Roslin.' Adama replied. 'How can I help you?'
'I need my ship refuelled and cleared for departure immediately, so that I can return to Caprica.'
'I'm afraid that's not possible.' Adama said and she stepped closer.
'Commander, I need to return to Caprica. When word of a treaty with the Cylons breaks, there will be a political firestorm. I need to be there to manage the situation.'
'I understand that, Madam Representative. However, until the situation with the Cylons is stabilised, Fleet Command have ordered that all Colonial vessels are to remain at their positions. Any ship movement could be taken as a hostile act.'
'Commander...'
'I understand you're frustration, Madam Representative. We'll make you as comfortable as you can while you wait. Petty Officer Dualla will organise some quarters for you. Sergeant, escort Representative Roslin to back to her vessel.'
'...Thank you, Commander.'

Dr Baltar did not even look up from his terminal when he heard the Commander's voice come over the intercom; the messages never had anything to do with him and he was too busy to listen to them anyway.
'...from the Cylons requesting an armistice.'
'What?' He said, looking up as his brain finally registering what he'd heard. He listened in mounting horror as the Commander carried on, slumping back into his chair when he finished speaking.
What am I going to do, now...?