OLYMPICA:

In the Olympica suite once occupied by Hector Alonzo, President David Rush and Magnus Ah-Mun sat across from each other at one of the smaller tables in the room. Both men were drinking whiskey and talking about the events of the past seven months.

"You know David; I can call you that right?" Magnus said after taking a sip of whiskey.

"I don't see why not Magnus, we're all on the same side here." David Rush said, reaching into his pocket to pull out one of the fine Caprican cigars he was always fond of. He then offered one to Magnus.

'Though I realize that if it wasn't for the Cylons I'd have your pirate ass in chains down in the brig.' Rush thought to himself.

"Interesting thing David, I thought that the Olympica was a smoke-free ship." Magnus said as he took the offered cigar.

Rush gave a sly smile, "Not anymore Magnus, one of the perks of being in power."

'All it took was Hector Alonzo collaborating with a terrorist group to put you in power. Not to mention that he took the Vice President down with him.' Magnus thought to himself, still maintaining his friendly smile.

"Now for the business at hand," Magnus said as he lit the cigar, "My people are quite eager to sample the fine facilities of the Olympica. For the longest time we have had no forms of recreation besides what we could come up with on the base. I can give you my assurances that my people will be on their best behavior."

Rush sighed, "It's not that I don't trust you Magnus, it's the fact that for the longest time the Eastern Alliance was THE feared pirate organization. Now we're working together but some people are having a hard time putting the past behind them. Just give us a little more time and then we can see where everything stands."

'Actually Magnus I don't trust you, but the Admiralty isn't giving me a whole lot of say on that particular issue.' Rush thought ruefully to himself.

"Mr. Rush," Magnus began somewhat tensely, "We have fought the Cylons to the best of our abilities, and we have sought you out at great personal risk to me and others. We have provided you with intelligence on Ostarsis and the Cylons. I think we have more than proven ourselves worthy of at least a little trust."

'Even a windbag Nationalist bastard such as you can see that I'm sure.' Magnus thought, not wanting to give Rush an idea of what he was thinking.

"I understand where you are coming from Magnus, "Rush began, "I just can't help but think that the first time one of your pirates steps out of line here on Olympica or any ship in our fleet that it's going to undo any of the goodwill that has already been built up by your actions. What do you propose I do if that should happen?"

'You and your people are pirates for the love of the Gods, it's not like the Eastern Alliance is a social club that meets once a month to play a friendly game of triad!' Rush looked at the man, still not sure if he could trust him or not.

Now it was time for Magnus to give a sly smile, "Turn the person over to me and we'll deal with the situation. With the Eastern Alliance, we take care of our own."

'I'll deal with them a whole lot more fairly than you could ever hope to.' The thought rang true in Magnus' mind.

Rush thought for a few seconds before he spoke again, "Tell you what I'll do Magnus, any refugees you have picked up since the Cylons attacked will be allowed room and board on any of the civilian vessels in the fleet. I will allow you to choose a small number of your Eastern Alliance people to come over to Olympica, make sure though that they're people you can trust to behave themselves. If it is successful then I will allow more to come over here for some rest and relaxation."

Magnus Ah-Mun stood up and extended his hand, "You have yourself a deal President Rush and I shall inform you and Captain Edwards when my group of people shall be over. First I shall send over any civilians or other non-Alliance personnel I have on my base."

Rush took hold of Ah-Mun's hand and thanked him for his time. When Magnus left, David Rush couldn't help but find it odd that he had just shaken hands with a confessed pirate.

As Magnus walked away he was amused at the fact that he had just shaken hands with a member of the party that wanted the Colonial Fleet to hunt down and exterminate him and his men.

ALPHA STATION ONE:

Tolan and Maxwell stared down the corridor which went straight a short distance and then took split with one side going left and the other going right.

"Well General we have a choice to make. Would you be opposed to splitting your forces and we each take one of the corridors." Tolan said, looking down the blackened hallway.

"I'm fundamentally opposed to weakening my fighting force, but if we want to find out what went on here we may have to take that chance." Maxwell said his gaze in the same dark corridor.

"If you have any suggestions I'd be willing to listen to them." Tolan added.

"Alright, I have an idea." Maxwell said, and then he called for Colonel Jake Krulak.

Krulak came up and saluted. Maxwell ordered him to take ten of the Marines and form a base camp at the hangar bay.

"If something goes wrong, we'll have reinforcements to come to the rescue." Maxwell said, and Tolan nodded in agreement.

"I'll have the pilots keep the raptor ready to go at a moment's notice." Tolan spoke, wondering just what lay in store for them.

VICTORIOUS:

Andre Graystone found the CAG office and knocked on the door. Reese Pittman gave the word to enter, and when he realized it was Andre he stood up and saluted him.

"What business brings you here Colonel?" Pittman asked, his eyes staring straight ahead.

Graystone returned the salute, "At ease Captain, I think you know exactly why I'm here."

Pittman relaxed and let out a deep sigh, "It's about Andie isn't it? I was wondering if we were going to have a talk about her."

Andre nodded, "I know there's been a lot going on, I think we need to air things out and reach an understanding about this whole issue."

Reese arched an eyebrow, "With all due respect Colonel, that is between me and Andie and doesn't involve you."

Andre chuckled, "You want to know what's always been amazing to me?"

Reese looked puzzled, "What's that?"

"It's the fact that the phrase 'With all due respect' is never actually followed by anything respectful."

Reese stammered, "Now...now…that's not what I meant Colonel…"

He was interrupted by Andre, "What you were trying to say is that what you and my pregnant sister do is none of my concern and I have no reason to try to poke my nose into it."

Reese was quiet; he seemed to be genuinely at a loss for words.

"That's what I thought." Andre said matter-of-factly.

"Did she tell you that I spent the past two years not talking to her, Scott, or Emily?"

Reese didn't say anything, he just shook his head.

"Those were two years that I can't get back no matter how hard I try. Now I have a chance to be a part of the family again, and it's one I'm not going to pass up." Andre then walked right up to Reese and looked him right in the eye. "What you and Andie did isn't any of my concern. What is my concern is the aftermath of what the two of you managed to accomplish. You may not have to marry Andie, but I want you to be there for her and your child. Not only does this affect my twin sister, this also affects my future niece or nephew. Do the right thing Spartan, or else the next time we talk the conversation won't be quite so pleasant."

With that said, Andre turned and left the room. Reese Pittman stood there motionless, not sure if what had just happened was real or not. After a few minutes of standing there, he picked up the phone sitting on his desk, and hoped that he could contact the Solace. He felt the need to check up on Andie and see how she was doing.

ALPHA STATION ONE:

Iblis watched as the group in the hangar bay split up into three groups. Ten of the Marines and the two pilots stayed behind, while two groups of twenty Marines formed ranks. He noted the two men who were each leading one of the groups. He used one of the cameras to take a picture of each one and ran it through the image database of the Colonial Fleet. He received a hit on each one in under a minute, he then flipped a switch and on the main screen in the control center came the information.

Name: Scott Edward Tolan

Rank: Rear Admiral, Colonial Fleet

Age: 40

Assignment: Battlestar Group 66, Flagship: Battlestar Victorious

Serial Number: RW-747928

Name: Otus Vernon Maxwell

Rank: Brigadier General, Colonial Marine Corps

Age: 55

Assignment: 2nd Colonial Marine Expeditionary Regiment

Serial Number: AG-137926

Iblis then read the personal information about their families and other assorted information of that nature. He felt he knew his enemy enough to where he could begin to have his fun with them. He was in the most secure area of the station, when he had launched his plan against the staff here he had made sure that he wouldn't be harmed. Not that it mattered; the steel exoskeleton that he had been used as a test subject for made him practically invincible.

Alpha Station One was a station that on paper and in the computer files simply didn't exist. All personnel were listed as having been stationed at the Lascaris Technology Laboratory. The work done here was classified to the highest levels, and there was also the 'Data Mine' to be considered. Every scrap of information on the Twelve Colonies was stored here for safe-keeping. Every treaty, every piece of information on new and developing technology, and information on every Black Op was kept here where no prying eyes could find it.

Count Maximus Iblis was the second to last Count of Iblis. The colony of Leonis had held on to the royal titles of its past and those with the titles were figureheads with no real power. Much the same was as Admiral John Kronus was actually Duke Kronus of Kronhaven. He was the Count Iblis of Iblisia.

Iblis had indulged in actions that were against the laws of what was termed as 'Polite Society'; he was apprehended on charges of murder and similar crimes. He felt that as royalty he could do whatever he damned well wanted. Not to mention that formally charging him would be embarrassing for his family and the community. A deal was then arranged where a news story would be circulated about him dying, but instead he would be sent off to Alpha Station One for 'rehabilitation'.

The program consisted of gene therapy to make him faster and stronger, as well as an attempt to altar his mind to get his killing urges removed. The last step involved fitting his body with a hardened steel exoskeleton equipped with various forms of weaponry. This was only done once the doctors had been convinced that he no longer posed a threat. What they didn't realize was that the attempts had failed and he retained every trait of his personality.

Three months ago he had sprung a trap on the unsuspecting people at the station. While two technicians were running a diagnostic on his exoskeleton, he killed them and then used their security clearance to access the environmental controls of the station. He then vented the atmosphere suddenly, causing a catastrophic loss of oxygen to the brains of everyone on the station. Except for the lab he was in there was little chance of surviving.

It was then that he had realized the mistake he had made. He had stopped the vent but the loss of oxygen didn't kill the people. Those who had gotten a hold of oxygen masks were fine, but those who hadn't were instead turned into mindless zombies. They began attacking the people who weren't injured. Eventually those people had forced themselves into a secured supply area and had been there since. As for his victims, they still carried out basic functions to the best that their brain were able to function. It was as though they were now animals going on instinct to a certain degree. Iblis could have cleared a path for them to be killed but he enjoyed knowing that they were going to slowly go through food and supplies and then die.

All he had to do was let loose his creations on the Marines and then it would be forty marines against two hundred virtually brain dead people. He clapped his hands together in delight at the havoc he was going to create.

OSTARSIS:

Commander Bridget Woods was asleep, but her mind was replaying the events of the horrible day in which her and her crew had been taken prisoner by the Cylons.

The Kios had responded to a request to investigate the status of the officer assigned to Armistice Station. Bridget felt it would serve as a small exercise for her crew. When they got there the DRADIS showed that there was a Cylon basestar in the area and while the location of Armistice Station was confirmed, the station itself did not register on DRADIS.

Woods had ordered Condition One set and for all vipers to be scrambled immediately. However, before any of that could be accomplished all power went off on the Kios. The lights went out, the screens flickered before going black, and finally only the red emergency lights were all that was on.

Then reports began to pour in over the internal communications system that the Cylons had boarded the Kios. Some people were killed and others were taken prisoner. Out of her crew in the CIC only three survived. She, Lt. Lamont Evans, and Ensign Angela Rigel were the only survivors from that part of the battlestar. They would be joined by other crewmembers from the Kios as well as other battlestars and Colonial vessels that the Cylons encountered and didn't destroy right away.

They were processed at the Ostarsis Bay Airport on arrival; it was there that all of them had received a tattooed number on the underside of their left forearm. It was on the way to the transport buses that they made their escape. A scuffle broke out between a group of Army soldiers and the human model Cylons near them. She, Rigel, and Evans made their escape and managed to get away due to the confusion.

When enough people escaped to form a resistance group, Woods had been selected to be one of the three leaders. Her crew had taken shelter in an old hotel on the outskirts of Ostarsis Bay. They had blacked-out the windows, and did everything they could to be inconspicuous to the Cylon patrols that were undoubtedly searching for them.

Her mind wandered to her friend and former commanding officer, Scott Tolan was the man responsible for her promotion to Commander and getting command of theKios. Their relationship had been tumultuous early on. They had been two years apart at the Academy, the night they first met she was a newly graduated officer and he was finishing up his tour of duty on Galactica.

She had been engaged to be married before her first deployment. Her wedding was two weeks from the day she graduated. Her friends had decided to 'loosen her up' before the big day. This involved taking her out for a night on the town, hitting the clubs in Caprica City.

Club Tavares was the name of the first club they went to, there were to be more that night but fate had a way of intervening. After drinking a few mixed drinks she let her friends talk her into approaching one of the men sitting at the bar. She introduced herself and found out his name was Scott Tolan. They hit the dance floor and they danced to every fast and slow song until she decided to introduce him to her friends.

They ended that night at his condo in the upscale Lasair district of Caprica City. He told her he was single, and from what she remembered of that night it wasn't an exaggeration on Tolan's part. It might have been all the alcohol she had, but she never told him about her fiancé and slept with him that night.

She let her friends know she was fine, and she spent the next two days with Scott. Their personalities clicked, though she liked the fact that he had the personality of a charming rogue. She managed to hide her shock at the revelation that he was a viper pilot awaiting new orders. He had been stationed on the Galactica for the past two years, and just finished Advanced Tactical Training on Picon. He had heard that he might be assigned to the Battlestar Mercury but there was really no telling where he would end up at.

She had wanted to know how a viper pilot could afford a condo in such an upscale part of Caprica City. Scott had explained that it was a gift from an uncle back on Canceron. She tried to get him to elaborate but he refused to discuss it further, at least he didn't refuse in a way that was rude.

When she left his condo she had no intention of their paths crossing again. However that wasn't to be the case. Her friend Monique had gone to Robert Reynolds, the man who was her fiancé, and told him everything that had happened. It didn't take him long to find where Scott lived, and he was waiting for the chance to even the score.

When she opened the door to walk out he pushed his way in, knocking her down onto the floor. Scott came to check on the commotion and Robert swung and his fist connected with Scott's left temple. Robert then wrapped his right arm around Scott's throat and tried to choke him. Nothing prepared her for what was to happen next. Scott took his right foot and slammed it into Robert's shin, instantly breaking it. As Robert fell down, Scott drove his left elbow hard into Robert's head.

As Robert lay unconscious on the floor, Scott had turned to her and told her she had five minutes to explain what had just taken place.

Bridget and Robert broke up and called off the engagement. She dated afterwards but never got as serious of a commitment as she did from the other men. She and Scott never dated, but they did strike up a strong friendship. The only person who ever suspected that something more might have taken place was Emily. In an amazing show of intuition, Emily had surmised that the two of them had been intimately close at one point in time. Bridget assured her that they were strictly friends and they never slept together after that night, not to say that the sex wasn't great. Things had become too weird with the events of the day that Scott and Robert fought.

She moved up to the rank of Major and had become CAG of the Alastor. It was at this time that Scott had taken command of the Vanguard. He had gone through several interviews, but none had given him a sense of peace. He finally interviewed her and offered her the Executive Officer position. For the next four years they worked incredibly well together, and Scott taught her practically everything she knew about how to command a battlestar. She had wanted to be a Commander, but had no idea how quickly the chance would come. It was a shock to her the day that Scott told her that he submitted her name to become commander of the Kios.

She asked him why and he told her that the past two years on Victorious had given her a knowledge needed to handle a sister-ship. Some people called them the Illustrious Class, others referred to them as 'Improved Mercury' type battlestars, some called them 'MK-II Mercury', and others just referred to them as Mercury class battlestars. Regardless, she was going to have a chance to command her own battlestar and put the lessons she had learned from Scott to use. In a way leavingVictorious was bittersweet, she had helped to commission the battlestar and felt as though it was a part of her. Scott had told her to take the Kios and make her one of the best battlestars in the Colonial Fleet.

Now she was leading a resistance group on Ostarsis, wondering if they would ever be rescued. She also couldn't help but wonder if Scott was still alive. If he had died with the rest of the Fleet, she hoped that it was quick and painless.

ALPHA STATION ONE:

"Alright Admiral which way do you want to take?" Maxwell asked as they reached the part of the corridor where the path went to the left and right.

"I'm already here on the right, so how about I go right and you go left?" Tolan said, looking down the corridor where only the emergency lights were on.

"Sounds good to me, but I want you to stay in constant radio contact with me. The last thing we need is to not know what each other's situation is." Maxwell said as he raised his weapon as if he was ready to fire.

"As far as Mr. Cain and Dr. Ravashol are concerned, would you be opposed to one going with me and the other going with you?" Tolan asked Maxwell.

"That makes sense to me. I'd wager that they both know something about this station and we may have a chance to find out what that is. I'll take Ravashol with me; we'll find a way to gain access to the upper levels of the station. You should try to gain access to the lower levels." Maxwell then nodded as if to say it was time for them to split up.

Tolan offered a handshake to General Maxwell, "Good hunting General Maxwell."

Maxwell nodded and gave Tolan's hand a firm handshake, "The same to you Admiral Tolan."

The two parties followed their leaders down the hallways, not knowing just what it was that Count Iblis had in store for them.

VICTORIOUS:

Jessica Jennings and Stadra Ah-Mun had left the Officer's Club and went to Jennings' stateroom to continue the conversation from earlier.

"You know I never realized just how cute Major Pontiere is. Do you think it's the lighting in the Officer's Club that gave that impression?" Stadra asked as she sat down in one of the two chairs that Jennings had in the room.

"Anton is cute; I think it's that dark brown hair and green eyes of his that catches your attention." Jessica sat in the chair across from Stadra and drank from a glass of water she had just poured.

"So have you thought about hooking up with him?"

Jessica smiled, "No I can't say that I have."

Stadra laughed, "What's holding you back from doing it?"

"Because Stadra, I never mix business with pleasure. I work with Anton in CIC, and I'm the voice of Victorious according to the pilots so I can't exactly hook up with them either." Jessica sighed.

"I hate to sound mean Jessica, but it sounds like you're looking for reasons not to be involved with anyone."

"It's not that Stadra, I just feel that with everything that's gone on since the Cylons attacked that it's hard to be that close to someone who may be gone the next day or even the next minute."

"Give it time Jessica; eventually the Cylons will leave us alone. You have the Colonial Fleet working with the Eastern Alliance. That's not a bad combination at a time like this."

"Yeah, well let's change the subject." Jessica said, knowing that she didn't want to think about the Cylons at that point in time, "You may want to be careful around Captain Pittman, Spartan has a tendency to give the rookies his own personal initiation."

Stadra's face didn't show any surprise, "I was wondering why he started looking at me the way he did. Though that changed the moment that Colonel Graystone entered the room."

Jessica couldn't hide the surprise on her face, "Oh my Gods, you have no idea what's going on there do you Stadra?"

Now Stadra was confused, "Sorry Jessica, I haven't really had time to look over Colonel Graystone's or Captain Pittman's files."

"Alright…" Jessica began, "You do know that Colonel Graystone is Admiral Tolan's brother-in-law?"

Stadra nodded, "Of course I knew that is there something I'm missing?"

"The CAG before Captain Pittman was Major Andrea Graystone, Colonel Graystone's twin sister and Admiral Tolan's sister-in-law."

Stadra's expression didn't change, "So what does that have to do with Captain Pittman and Colonel Graystone?"

Jessica leaned in close to Stadra, "Captain Pittman and Major Graystone were sleeping together, and Major Graystone got pregnant. About the time she found out was when the Olympica Riots occurred. Admiral Kronus relieved the Graystones and Admiral Tolan of duty when it was discovered that Emily Tolan had been injured in the riots. The fact is that whether the riots happened or not that Major Graystone was going to have to step down as CAG."

"So the tension between Pittman and Colonel Graystone is from this?"

"Let's just say that those two haven't quite talked things out when he came in to the Officer's Club tonight and there's no telling how it's going to end between them."

Stadra shook her head in disbelief, "How is it that you know all this Jessica?"

Jessica grinned, "I'm the Communications Officer, and it's my job to keep an ear out for any information. You learn an awful lot from scuttlebutt, the stories I can tell you!"

Now it was Stadra's turn to grin, "Well we're not leaving for another day so why don't you fill me in."

ALPHA STATION ONE:

Iblis watched the video screens as the two groups worked their way though the mazes of hallways. They were penetrating the interior of the station towards their rather unpleasant surprise. He was wondering just how Tolan and Maxwell would react to the people who were now mindless monsters. They weren't expecting it, which was something that made the events of the near future even better.

He pressed a series of buttons, and elsewhere in the station doors began to open. Iblis had unleashed two hundred weapons of destruction on Tolan and the Colonial Marines.

ALPHA STATION ONE (Tolan):

"What exactly are we looking for Admiral?" Corporal Ellis asked as they turned another corner heading down another hallway that didn't look any different from where they had just been.

"I believe Mr. Cain may have an idea." Tolan said as he held up his hand, a silent order to the group to stop.

"Well let me think here…"Cain said as he closed his eyes and tried to think. "If we can find a computer console somewhere then maybe I can access a map of the station and other information that may be of use to us. I have my wireless laptop and other tools with me that will get me pass any security measure; we just need to keep looking until we find what I need."

"That'll work Mr. Cain, by the way do you have your sidearm drawn?" Tolan asked as he looked off in the distance.

"As a matter of fact Admiral I have it right here in its holster, why do you ask?" Cain asked quizzically.

"Because Mr. Cain I hear something in the distance and I have no idea if it is friendly or otherwise." Tolan said, as he slung the machine gun onto his back and removed his sidearm from its holster.

ALPHA STATION ONE (Maxwell):

Maxwell led his Marines through the maze of corridors on Alpha Station One. To his left was Dr. Daimon Ravashol and to his right was John "Doc" Brooks, one of the medical corpsmen in his regiment.

"Alright Dr. Ravashol, do you have any idea where we should head?" Maxwell said, holding up his right hand as a sign to those behind him to stop.

Ravashol looked rather uncomfortable and couldn't look Maxwell in the eye. "I'm not quite sure what it is you're trying to get from me. Wouldn't it be easier just to try to download the schematics for the station?"

Maxwell grinned, "For a station that supposedly doesn't exist I'm not sure there are schematics for it, and on top of that if there are any what are the odds that they are authentic and not just there to confuse intruders?"

Ravashol didn't say anything; he just kept looking at the floor.

"That's what I thought doctor. Now I want you to be honest with me on this. Have you ever been to this station before?"

Ravashol was perplexed, "I don't know what good I am going to be to you General Maxwell. It's not like I have ever…"

Maxwell cut him off annoyed, "Have you ever been here before Doctor Ravashol? A simple 'Yes' or "No' will do the job nicely."

Ravashol didn't say anything for a few seconds, but it was enough to annoy Maxwell more. He pulled out his sidearm and pointed it at Ravashol.

Ravashol's eyes grew wide with terror, "General Maxwell that's totally unnecessary!"

Maxwell tilted his head to the left while lining up his shot, "It seems to be Doctor, now answer my question or you will be very sorry in the next four seconds."

Ravashol froze, "General you can't be serious?"

Maxwell raised his left eyebrow as if saying 'Try me.', "One."

Ravashol didn't say anything though his mind was reeling.

"Two." Maxwell said, his gun pointed at the doctor.

"Alright, I'll tell you what you need to know, just put that damn weapon down!" Ravashol blurted out, convinced that Maxwell was serious.

Maxwell holstered the weapon, "Sounds good to me doctor, now tell me everything you know about this station."

Ravashol took a deep breath and then began to speak, "I was assigned here before I took the position at Lascaris. This is a highly-classified station, so much so that I shouldn't even be speaking to you about it."

Maxwell chuckled, "Considering the circumstances doctor, I doubt the Colonial government is going to be too concerned about you spilling the beans."

Ravashol gave him an annoyed look, "As I was saying General, this the main base of the Colonial Intelligence Ministry, not to mention there is a top-secret project going on here that even I'm not too sure about."

"What project are you talking about?" Maxwell asked, not sure if he was going to like what the answer would be.

"A genetics research project was underway here, as well as a battle suit that was being developed by the Castor Corporation's Weapons Research Division. That was the sole responsibility of Doctor Aaron Buchanan. In fact it was his idea to move me to Lascaris; he wanted to have the control of the station all to himself. So now you know all that I know, there is a chance General Maxwell that we are in real danger here. There's no telling what might have happened here. We should just leave and never come back." Ravashol leaned back against the wall, finally unburdening himself of all the information he carried.

"It would have been nice if you had told us this back when you got to the station. Otherwise I wouldn't have split up my force." Maxwell shook his head and then shouted, "Hawkins! Get Admiral Tolan for me; try to reach him on the short wireless."

There was a hissing sound as a door suddenly came down, separating Maxwell, Brooks, and Ravashol from the rest of the group. The Marines were stunned, and then tried to retreat back the way they came. The only problem was that a door behind them had closed as quickly as the one in front of them. Through a window in the door in front of them, Maxwell could watch his Marines act as a yellowish gas began to fill the room.

Maxwell instinctively took out his sidearm and fired at the glass, only to discover that the glass was bulletproof. Inside the Marines were gasping for air, then suddenly they began screaming and attacking each other. All the three men could do as each of the Marines fell to one another in combat.

Maxwell beat his fists against the glass, knowing that it was a futile gesture.

"Welcome to my home General Maxwell and friends." The deep ominous voice was coming over one of the speakers in the wall.

"Whoever you are, you just made the worst mistake of your life!" Maxwell bellowed with rage.

"You aren't in a position to scare me General, but don't worry. We will meet soon enough, and you will have a chance to see if you can back up your words."

"Tell me your name; I want to put a name to the bastard that killed my Marines." His voice was thunderous as it echoed off the steel walls of the corridor.

"You are mistaken General Maxwell, I didn't kill your Marines. As you saw with your own eyes, they killed themselves. Since you did ask, I am Count Maximus Iblis. I do hope that satisfies your curiosity."

Iblis then spoke again, "What I did was use a hallucinogenic gas on your Marines. They thought they were being attacked and responded appropriately. Don't worry General Maxwell; I have many more tricks up my sleeve. You haven't even seen half of what I'm capable of."

Ravashol walked up to Maxwell and put a hand on his shoulder, "We should get moving General. At the top of the station is where we should find Dr. Buchanan's office. There might be some information on Iblis and the experiments that were done on him."

Maxwell nodded, his body still trembling with rage. "Very well doctor, lead the way."

Ravashol thought for a second, "Down this corridor and to the left is a stairway that has access to every floor of the station. Only we doctors and higher-ups had access to it. If I recall correctly my access wasn't removed when I was transferred, Dr. Buchanan thought if I was needed here then I could easily gain access to all areas."

"Sounds like a plan to me, when we reach Dr. Buchanan's office we'll attempt to contact Admiral Tolan and inform him of who we're up against here." Maxwell said, drawing his sidearm in case he would have to use it.

ALPHA STATION ONE (Tolan):

"Defensive positions, we have another wave coming!" Tolan's voice thundered as he gave the Marines the order to regroup into the square formation he had them in. They were at a crossroads where four corridors intersected at. They were there waiting for Mitchell Cain to hack into the station's computer system from his wireless laptop computer.

One group knelt on one knee with their machine guns ready to fire. The group behind them stood straight with their weapons pointed in the same direction as the person in front. The people they encountered were more like mindless zombies than regular people. They were obviously people who lived and worked at the station, judging by the way they were dressed. It was also obvious that they had gone mad or worse.

"Singh can you establish communications with Maxwell or Krulak's group?" Scott asked, he was in the middle of the square where his communications officer Devi Singh, Mitchell Cain, and medical corpsman Matt James.

"Negative Admiral, I can't seem to reach either one." Singh said as she tried again to get in touch with either Maxwell or Krulak.

"Keep trying until you're able to reach them." Tolan said as all the guns in his group went off as the wave of attackers came within range.

"I have an idea Admiral." Cain said as he touched Tolan's shoulder to get his attention. "I've hacked into the computer terminal here and brought up the schematics for the station. If we head through this door to the supply area for this level of the station we can regroup and form our strategy for what to do next. The door has a numeric lock on it that I doubt any of our attackers will know."

Tolan thought for a second, "Alright Cain, I'll give you ten to get it done."

Mitchell walked over to the door and began to use a device to find the number combination, "Ten minutes should be plenty of time for me."

Tolan raised an eyebrow, "I meant seconds Cain not minutes."

Carillon:

"Wait a minute; you're telling me that you're giving me a basestar of my own and an army of Centurions to hunt down Scott Tolan and the rest of the fleet?" Hector Alonzo looked at William Arnold with a look of incredulity.

"That's correct Mr. Alonzo. We have our resources somewhat stretched at the moment. Battlestar Group 66 and the other vessels that it's protecting represent the largest amassed group of Colonial vessels to survive the attack on the Twelve Colonies. We feel that you have spent enough time around Admirals Tolan and Kronus to know how they think and can anticipate the moves they are likely to attempt."

"What about my family, would I be able to spare them the destruction that would undoubtedly be inflicted on the Fleet?"

Arnold smiled, "Absolutely Hector, in return for the great service you have done for us we will be more than happy to accommodate your requests."

"Well then Mr. Arnold, let me gather my people up and we shall begin making preparations to move to my basestar. I can assure you that we will finish Scott Tolan once and for all." Hector said as he stood up from the table the two men had been sitting at. He felt confident and more assured of himself than ever. He had resigned himself to the idea of staying on Carillon for the rest of his days. The truth of the matter was that he was going to end this battle on his terms and have his vengeance on the man who had marooned him on this planet.

William Arnold was also pleased with himself. He had convinced the other six Cylons that Hector Alonzo and the survivors from Demand Peace would be useful to them in their campaign against the Colonials. With Hector in charge of a basestar and a small army of his own, it would free up Cylon resources to be used against the other survivors. They could put more towards stopping the Galactica and the other surviving battlestars.