Miramar Marine Corps Air station north of San Diego 10 June 2071 10:30hrs
Major Nathan West commanding officer of the 58th "Wildcards" walked into the briefing room with his XO Capt Cooper Hawks in tail. They were greeted by Col TC McQueen wing commander for the Saratoga strike wing.
After a few minutes of catching up with his "Kids" Col McQueen began his briefing and why they had been summoned.
"I'll get straight to the point gentle men we may have a situation developing with the Chigs." Col McQueen began.
At hearing those words both Hawks and West exchanged nervous glances; both of them had been in the thick of almost every major combat operation dealing with the Chigs from the battle of the Belt, to the Chig surrender at Anvil.
The only Campaign they had missed was the counter attack at Ixion due to the fact the 58th with 25,000 other Marines had been abandoned on Demios when the Counter attack began.
Col McQueen briefed them on the current situation from the loss of the Gettysburg, to Aris mining station going off line and why they were deploying to the Saratoga sooner than expected.
"So Old Man requested us himself did he?" Hawks asked with a faint trace of a smile on his lips.
"He did, The Admiral feels that bringing the Saratoga with the 58th onboard will show the Chigs we mean business. Besides if things get dicey, which we expect they will it'll be good to have the best squadron in the Marine Corps on hand." Col McQueen answered.
"Sir what other squadrons will be deploying with us?" Hawks Asked.
"The Navy's 23rd Moon dogs and 44th Raptor squadrons, in addition 1 other Marine Corps squadron will be deployed, the 51st Silver Knights." Col McQueen Answered.
"The 51st as in Vansens outfit?" Hawks asked hopefully.
"That's right" McQueen answered.
West digested that little bit of information for a moment while Col McQueen and Hawks continued talking. It had been on the same mission that Paul Wang had been killed, Shane Vansen and Vanessa Damphoose had been taken prisoner when the separated pilots module from their ISSAPC crashed landed during the failed peace attempt at Anvil the first year into the war.
Both had been taken prisoner by the Chigs before a rescue could be mounted, Damphoose who had been seriously wounded at the time didn't survive the ordeal. Her loss had devastated Vansen, who had felt responsible for being unable to protect her from the constant torture and brutal conditions of slave labor the Chigs and their Silicate allies usually dealt their POW's.
A year later she and several other POW's were rescued by a joint Space Seal/Delta Force operation that raided the prison camp on Aris.
She was Medivaced back to Earth at Walter Reed Medical Center; her recovery both physical and psychological had been long and painful. By the time she had been deemed fit for duty the war had ended.
"You'll report to Commodore Masterman aboard the Saratoga at 1400hrs tomorrow." Col McQueen said waking West from his revere
"So prepare your squadron and attend to any personal business before that time. Any questions" Col McQueen asked.
There were none. "Then I'll see you on the Saratoga dismissed." Hawks and West began to depart from the Briefing room.
"Major a word." Col McQueen said.
Hawks and West exchanged glances "I'll go prep the squadron see you back at the Hanger Sir" Hawks said to West. West acknowledged his XO and waited till he departed the briefing room.
"Sir?" he asked.
"How is the Squadron holding up?" Col McQueen asked
Hawks and I have been drilling them hard for the past year teaching them everything we know. They're a smart, tough, tight nit crew that'll get the job done sir." West answered confidently.
"But?" inquired Col McQueen
"But I sometimes feel it isn't enough sir, that their still unprepared no matter how hard we train them." West answered honestly.
"I understand that feeling, during the war it would tear me up inside to send you guys to fight while I was stuck safely on the Saratoga unable to accompany you.
All you can do now is hope that all the time and effort that you have spent training and leading them will help them to survive, because as a leader that's the best we can hope for…bringing our people back." Col McQueen stated.
"West your one of the finest pilots I have ever had the pleasure of serving with. And you have become one hell of a leader, I have no doubt that you'll get the job done and bring your people back." McQueen stated with all honesty.
"Thank you sir." Was all West could say.
"Now go on and tend to your people and I'll see you on the Saratoga tomorrow."
"Yes sir"Said Major Nathan West as heleft the Briefing roomheading back to the Squadron Hanger, his fears had been eased somewhat by Col McQueen's appraisal of him, but they hadn't been erased.
Galactica Conference RoomEarth Calendar 12 June 2071 1600hrs
President Laura Roslin had shuttled to the Galactica for her meeting with Cmdr Adama, To say that she was exhausted would be an under statement of mass proportion. Earlier that morning she had dealt with both the Geminese and the Sagittarians demanding that she and her "Caprican Elites" stop hording all the food that rightly belonged to them. Of course this set off a quick and colorful retort from the Caprican official which by no means helped to diffuse the situation.
After 5 hours of shouting back and forth which accomplished absolutely nothing president Roslin adjourned the meeting until all parties could "act in a civilized manner".
Now she was in the Galactica's conference room about to come face to face with yet another problem that would tax her strength. In the room with her were Cmdr Adama, Capt Lee "Apollo" Adama, Lt Gaeta and her aid Billy Keikeya.
"Ok commander what do you have for me" asked President Roslin bringing the meeting to order as everyone took their seats.
Commander Adama nodded for Lt. Gaeta to begin
"Madam President as per Commander Adama's orders we have sent out reconnaissance patrols into the nearby star system to get an idea of what were dealing with.
And I'm afraid it isn't pretty." Stated the Lt.
"In what way Lt Gaeta." Inquired President Roslin?
"For one madam president there's some kind of EM interference which severely hampers the effectiveness of our Dradis sensors." Lt Gaeta stated.
"Hampers them how?" President Roslin asked.
"By severely reducing their effective range Madam President. Instead of the 800,000 km effective scanning range the Galactica is capable of we are down to just less than 150,000 km." Lt Gaeta answered.
"What does this mean" the somewhat awkward voice of Billy Keikeya.
"It means the Cylons could have a basestar out there waiting in ambush and we wouldn't know it until they were all over us." Capt Apollo Answered.
"Uhh...OK" Billy said while his face turned several shades of red.
"It would also mean that we wouldn't be able to keep the fleet within effective scanning range should we need to spread the fleet out." Lt. Gaeta added.
"Gentlemen I don't have to tell you how unattractive that option is" President Roslin replied firmly.
"We understand that madam President however that's just the tip of the iceberg" the quiet yet powerful voice of Commander Adama stated.
"Then please continue" the President stated.
"Another problem we face madam president is that in addition to the EM interference affecting the range of our sensors they're also disrupting our ability to maintain an FTL fix for a protracted period of time" Continued Lt Gaeta.
At hearing this little bit of news President Roslin had to suppress a sudden urge of panic, the ability to jump away at a moments notice was the fleet's only real defense against the Cylons.
With out their ability to jump away the Cylons could pick the fleet apart at their leisure despite anything the Galactica could do about it.
President Roslin closed her eyes and placed her head in her hands for a few precious seconds and took a deep breath. She had never been more aware of her fatigue then at that moment. She took another deep breath to gather hear strength and her thoughts before forcing her eyes open bearing them on Cmdr Adam.
"Commander Adama this is completely unacceptable if we sent the fleet in there we would be sending them to their deaths. The Cylons certainly wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this." President Roslin stated anger and frustration building in her voice.
"I am aware of that possibility madam President." Commander Adama said his voice betraying the concern he felt. "But in light of the circumstances it's the only option we have."
"How so." Piped the voice of Billy Keikeya, then realizing that all eyes were on him he nervously stammered "Couldn't we just bypass this system all together?"
"I'm afraid not." Lt Gaeta answered.
"Why.?" Billy asked.
"As I stated earlier we can't jump pass this system because of the difficulty we're having maintaining an FTL lock." Lt Gaeta reiterated.
"I understand that Lt Gaeta what I'm talking about is going around this system on sub light drives alone" Billy added.
"That's has problems in itself Mr. Keikeya." Commander Adama stated, he continued "for one there is the fuel shortage to consider which if I believe we are down to what 46 of our reserves?" the Commander asked already knowing the answer.
At President Roslin's slight nod he continued "then there is the problem that we're dealing with an enormous star system that could take weeks to circumnavigate…weeks I might add in which our ability to jump will be nonexistent.
We can't turn around and go back because the Cylons are already nipping at our heals, so like it or not the only viable option we have is to pass through this star system." Commander Adama stated.
President Roslin turned that over in her head for a few minutes the Commanders grasp of the situation was impeccable and after several moments of thought she was forced to agree, they really had no other choice.
"I hope you gentle men have a plan." President Roslin asked.
"Yes madam president we do." Capt Apollo answered, he then stood up and moved to the map of the region they had been able to generate thus far, however it was woefully incomplete.
"We send in a Raptor with 2 vipers for support just beyond Galactica's effective scanner range. The Raptor will act as the forward scout guiding the fleet to a rally point next to this moon hear" Apollo pointed to a position next to a moon near the 3rd planet along the fleet's projected flight path. "Apollo continued
"while on the dark side of the moon the fleet will then power down to bare minimum levels, with all the EM interference out there this should mask the fleet from the Cylon's sensors.
"Should!" interrupted president Roslin; alarm very noticeable in her voice.
At this point Lt. Gaeta jump in "Cylon technology though more advanced than our own is based on Colonial principles, so in theory any problems we have with our sensors and FTL drives they will have them as well." Lt Gaeta said. "But please note I said in theory." he weakly added.
President Roslin while not exactly comforted by that fact motioned for them to continue.
Capt Apollo picked up the Briefing "Once the fleet is safely hidden behind the moon we will send raptors out as far as their fuel will allow to scout our flight path to the next rally point… hear" Apollo pointed to another moon orbiting a gas giant "once the raptors signal the all clear we will then move the fleet to the rally point. We will continue to utilize this tactic until we have cleared this star system." Apollo finished.
Cmdr Adama continued after Capt Apollo finished his portion of the briefing "Madam President I must also point out that the fleet should remain at bare minimum power levels while moving from rally point to rally point to keep their energy signatures down.
In additionEngines should be used only when maneuvering to minimize our Ion wake, I also recommend that all wireless traffic be suspended until further notice." Commander Adama finished.
"Do we have a contingency plan in case this one fails?" President Roslin nervously asked. After exchanging a few trepid glances between the 3 Officers Capt Apollo answered.
"Madam President this is it, our ability to survive the coming crisis will depend entirely on our ability to remain hidden from the Cylons because if they find us we won't have a prayer of a chance at stopping them.
"I see."President Roslin stated"how soon you can be ready to implement this plan." She asked.
Cmdr Adama answered." Madam President we can commence operations 2hours after you give the word."
Realizing that once again the fate of the human race now depended on her decision President Roslin tried to think of any reason to justify not going in, she couldn't. Adama was right the Cylons were right behind them and probably in the system as well. But it would be in the system that the Colonials had any hope of evading their Cylon pursuers
"Commander you have a go and may the lords of Kobol protect us in these trying times." With those wordsPresident Roslin departed the Galactica's briefing room enroute back to her shuttle with Billy in tail.
Cmdr Adama looked to the Lt. "Lt. Gaeta get up to CIC and inform Col Tigh of our intent"
"Yes Sir." Lt Gaeta replied immediately then departed the briefing room.
"Capt I want you to divide your squadron into 3 groups.
The first group will provide escort for the Raptors, the Second group will provide the CAP around the fleet and the third will be our reserve force.
Rotate them as you see fit but don't be afraid to use the Rookies Kara has been training they need the experience." Cmdr Adama said.
"Understood sir" Capt Adama replied he stood up then saluted which Cmdr Adama returned then he turned on his heals and headed for the door but stopped just short of it.
"Dad?" Lee said his voice barely above a wisper.
"What is it son?" His father asked.
"Do you get the feeling that maybe the Cylons have been herding us hear to this point? That the end is waiting for us in-system?"
"I've had my doubts Lee but there's nothing we can do about it now, because like it or not we're committed to this endeavor. All we can do now is hope and pray things go our way." Cmdr Adama said.
"I understand, thank you" Capt Lee Adama said as hedeparted the Galactica briefing room enroute to the Port Launch bay his pilots needed him.
Commander Adama sat in the briefing room and reflected on the briefing that had just transpired. There were so many ways things could go wrong, so many unknown factors that couldn't be avoided.
The Cylons had to be in-system he was sure of it and now he was about to lead the fleet in the greatest game of Cat and Mouse in the history of the Colonies. Abruptly he departed the Briefing room ending up at his intended destination CIC.
"ATTENTION ON DECK" Shouted the crewman manning the door, abruptly all activity ceased and all eyes rested on him. Cmdr Adama took a moment to look at all their faces before replying.
"As you were." his voice echoed throughout CIC.All activity resumingonce again.
"Col Tigh status." Cmdr Adama ordered
"The fleet reports ready in all respects, vipers and raptors are in the Launch tubes waiting to launch on your orders Sir." Col Tigh Reported.
"Very well set condition 1 throughout the ship, launch vipers then set a course for rally point 1." Commander Adama orderd as he came to the main Dradis console in the center of CIC.
"Aye sir." Col Tigh responded as he carried out the Commanders orders.
Throughout the ship the summons to action stations could be heard over the loudspeakers
"ACTION STATIONS ACTION STATIONS SET CONDITION 1 THROUGHOUT THE SHIP, REPEAT ACTION STATIONS ACTION STATIONS SET CONDITION 1 THROUGHOUT THE SHIP."
Crewman manned their stations with lightning speed as the Galactica was brought to life. Outside the Galactica vipers and raptors launched then took up their prepared positions around the fleet.
"Action stations manned and ready, course plotted and laid in ready for your orders sir." Reported Lt Gaeta
"Very well take us in Mr. Gaeta." Cmdr Adama ordered staring intently at the Dradis console.
"Helm ahead 1qrt, take us in."
In the blackness of space the last Battlestar "Galactica" the lone protector of the ragtag fleet came about and surged forward, leading the way into theKappa Reticuli system and into the mouth of Hell.
30 miles west of Aris Mining Station. Kapa Reticuli System13 June 2071 19:46hrs local time
Katiya Patrianakos as hard as she could before she tripped and stumbled into the small creek of water. Using this opportunity to catch her breath she surveyed her surroundings trying to find an escape route.
The Main sun had set an hour ago which left the second sun of Kappa Reticuli looming overhead; this gave the planet a beautiful evening as the color of amber dominated the horizon.
She didn't know how far she had gone only that she had to keep going. As if to stimulate her motivation to keep moving she could hear the metallic thunk thunk thunk thunk of her relentless pursuers not far behind her, gaining ground. Picking her destination a small valley not 2 miles away she picked herself up from the ground and broke out in as fast a run as she could thru the forests of Aris.
As she ran memories of the attack washed over her like a flood threatening to consume her. For over 2 days they had been unable to send any communication back to Earth as if they were being jammed.
Then on the 3rd day "they" attacked. At first they thought the Chigs were attacking them but later crescent shaped fighters appeared over head launching missiles and mounting strafing runs on the refining facility and housing compound killing many.
Then some time later ships that looked suspiciously like troop transports landed around the damaged refinery it stayed long enough to deposit some sort of metallic grey machines before departing.
Realizing that her time was short Katiya ran back to the housing compound and assembled what food and water she could before she heard the sound of metal clanging outside. She ventured a look thru her window and saw the walking machines moving toward the housing compound with 2 people a man and a blond haired woman she didn't recognize.
Quickly she bolted from the compound but not before being spotted by one of the machines which quickly gave chase.
That had been several days ago, now as she neared her destination her legs burning; nearing exhaustion she searched frantically for a hiding spot before finally stopping and resting at an outcropping of rocks near a riverbed in the valley, she laid her head down on the rocks "just for a moment." she thought. she didn't know how long she had been there before she was startled out of her slumber.
"Trying to hide?" the sound of a feminine voice resonated in front of her.
Katiya sprang up andcame face to face with a blonde haired woman whose body language oozed malevolence. Katiya quickly recognized her as the women with the machines from the compound, just as she was about to turn to run Katia heard a faint humming not 2 feet behind her.
A chill ran up her spine as she stood rigid to the spot, she directed her gaze to the women in front of her who then motioned behind her. Slowly afraid to see what she would find Katiya turned ever so slowly and came face to face with a 7ft walking metallic nightmare that raised his left arm which revealed the meanest looking gun Katiya had ever seen. Katiya slowly raised her arms in a gesture of surrender while turning to look at the women in front of her "please" she said in a voice that was half whimper half pleading, tears streaming down her face as she trembled, the blonde just smiled.
For Katiya Patrianakos the last survivor of Aris the fight was over.