"The Battlestar Groups are moving to intercept," Major Adams reported listening to the fleet traffic over the mini com in his right ear. "Caprica Defense Command is launching all surface viper and raptor squadrons."
Admiral Clements looked up at the massive Dradis screen above the main operation's table. It showed sixteen green icons representing the two Battlestar Groups and their escorts. The four Battlestars in the two groups were already launching vipers.
Admiral Clements activated his mini com, which instantly put him in contact with the two Battlestar Groups. "This is Admiral Clements to all Battlestar Commanders. Your number one priority is to take out the Cylon Basestars. The surface squadrons of vipers and raptors will take out any nukes that manage to penetrate the defense grid."
In the space around Caprica, Cylon raiders launched and flew toward the Colonial Battlestars and escort ships. As they approached, they sent a coded signal toward the oncoming vipers and raptors. Almost instantly, the Colonial vipers and raptors lost power beginning to drift in space, helpless to stop the Cylon raiders from reaching the larger ships.
Aboard the Battlestars, the shocked crews could only watch as the same signal reached them and the mighty ships lost power and the lights went out.
Emergency power came back on but by then it was too late. Cylon heavy raiders, which had been following the regular raiders, launched their nuclear payloads at the helpless Colonial ships. Massive nuclear explosions ripped into the defenseless Battlestars tearing jagged burning holes through their thick armor gutting the huge warships. The Gunstars and Escortstars vanished as multiple nuclear blasts blew them apart and vaporized the smaller ships in burning nuclear fireballs.
"Did you see that?" Major Adams spoke feeling numb at how easily the Cylons had taken out the Colonial fleet units. The entire battle had lasted less then two minutes.
On the way back to their Basestars, the heavy raiders launched a few nukes at the drifting vipers and raptors destroying them almost as an after thought.
Admiral Clements could only nod, his eyes were glued to the Dradis, on the Dradis screen over a thousand vipers and raptors launched from the surface where falling back toward Caprica. They too had lost power. Feeling helpless Clements watched the powerless ships begin to burn up in the atmosphere.
"We are receiving reports of nuclear detonations on the far side of the planet," Captain Reed reported from her com station looking frightened. She had just finished talking to General Collins aboard the Sidon. She had been surprised to find a marine General on board the mining colony.
"Gemenon is reporting nuclear explosions across the planet," Lieutenant Stevens reported numbly as the panicked reports came in. "The temple cities are burning!"
"The two Cylon ships near us are also launching missiles towards Caprica!" Captain Mason exclaimed worriedly as numerous missile trails began showing up on the Dradis.
"We are picking up a broadcast from President Adar offering a full and unconditional surrender from the Presidential emergency facility," Captain Reed reported with surprise in her voice.
"That coward," Adams muttered shaking his head in disgust. "The Cylons won't even respond. They are here to wipe us out, doesn't he understand that?"
"Probably not, after all it's his policies that have weakened the fleet and our defenses to the point the Cylons could launch this attack. Both his administration and the previous have been drastically reducing military spending," Admiral Clements replied angrily looking at the large view screens, which still showed a peaceful and safe Caprica below them on their side of the planet. He was expecting the Defense Satellites to start knocking down those inbound missiles but nothing was happening. The human crews hadn't reached them in time!
"Order our vipers to attack those Baseships! Find out why the Defense Satellites aren't taking out those ships or missiles?" Clements demanded his eyes widening with concern. "Captain Reed, contact the Planetary Defense Headquarters and see why the PDSs are not firing!"
Sixteen large Planetary Defense Satellites were currently orbiting Caprica, plus hundreds of smaller support satellites. They were capable of handling any size Cylon attack on the planet. They were armed with interceptor missiles that could take down any inbound missile. Missiles should not be able to reach the surface of Caprica. This was the Capitol of the Colonies and had the strongest defense network anywhere!
"We have lost contact with Caprica Planetary Defense Headquarters; they were reporting massive computer failures. They reported that the Planetary Mainframe crashed as soon as the Cylon Basestars appeared in orbit," Captain Reed responded alarmed. "The officer in charge said they were trying to bring it back up but they were having trouble finding what the problem was. They suspected sabotage or some type of back door virus that had been implanted, and then all communication stopped!"
"That damn Cylon virus we have heard about," Major Adams said staring worriedly at the Dradis screen, which was tracking numerous Cylon missiles inbound toward a defenseless Caprica.
"Order all civilian and fleet personnel to report to their ships immediately. We are going to have to evacuate the station," Admiral Clements ordered his gaze held rigidly on the screens, which showed Caprica. Frak his wife was down there, so were the families of many of the crew! "Order our vipers to try to knock down those missiles. Stand by to launch the rest of our squadrons, contact Admiral Stockwell and have him to stand by to launch his squadrons as well. We have to stop those missiles!"
"Admiral, I must remind you that the vipers and raptors from the Battlestars and Caprica were deactivated by these Cylons," Major Adams responded worriedly looking at the Admiral. He knew that the Admiral's wife was down on Caprica. "Ours may be also, we could lose them all!"
"I know," Admiral Clements replied, still looking at the view screen, which showed Cylon missiles nearing the surface of Caprica, including Caprica City. "But we have to try!"
"Are you sure you want to evacuate the station?" Major Adams asked as he passed on the orders to the vipers and prepared to order more squadrons to be launched. "With our defenses, we can hold the Cylons off sir. This is the most powerfully armed station in the Twelve Colonies!"
"Against a hundred Cylon Basestars plus Support Ships, I don't thing so! We have to save as many people as possible. Make sure everyone is evacuated to FTL capable ships. What fleet ships do we currently have on station?" Clements demanded, his eyes moving toward the large Dradis screen, which showed two squadrons of their vipers rapidly closing with the Cylon Basestars and the other two streaking off into Caprica's atmosphere after the descending Cylon missiles.
Major Adams pulled up information on his computer console feeling extremely worried about the situation. Admiral Clements was a rock solid commander, if he felt that evacuation was necessary then they were in a world of hurt.
"The ninth Battlestar Group under command of Admiral Stockwell has one Mercury Class Battlestar, the Picon and one Jupiter Class, the Cimitar. There are four Gunstars and four Escortstars serving as escorts. They also currently have Two Columbia Two training Battlestars the Altair and Spica attached. Those two have nearly ten thousand fifth year cadets on board receiving fleet training. There are two other Gunstars and four more Escortstars in station for resupply. There are two Marine Assault Ships with seventy five hundred marines under command of General Abramson plus two empty Marine Assault Ships. We have twenty fleet supply vessels and fourteen fleet personnel carriers. Also your own Battlestar the Caprica."
"Order Abramson to have his marines help our people with the evacuation. I want it orderly and fast," Admiral Clements stated his eyes turning hauntingly back to the view screens that showed Caprica.
"Admiral I have Admiral Stockwell on com for you," Lieutenant Stevens spoke turning toward the Admiral.
"Put him on the speaker," Clements said.
"Admiral Clements I have just received orders from Admiral Corman placing me under your command. What are your orders? We have detected two Cylon Basestars nearby and Dradis confirms they are launching raiders. We are ready to launch vipers to assist the station's squadrons. They are in the launch tubes ready to go. I also request permission to launch my fleet from the station as soon as my crews are back on board. We can take out those Basestars! We can also add our firepower to the stations!"
"Sir," the Dradis officer interrupted. "The Cylon Basestars have launched raiders. A lot of raiders, nearly two hundred and more launches are continuing!"
Our four squadrons are reporting power problems," Captain Lewis said worriedly from his console where he was monitoring the four viper squadrons. They are loosing control of their vipers! Their systems are just shutting down!"
"Halt the launch of the additional squadrons," Major Adams commanded addressing one of the tactical officers who was responsible for the vipers.
Admiral Clements looked up at the massive Dradis screen that showed the vipers and raiders closing. The vipers seemed to be drifting and even colliding with each other. "Order them to withdraw!" Clements barked realizing that he could lose all four squadrons. "We will use the station's point defense weapons to take those raiders out. Even as he spoke, the vipers on the screen begin to blink out one by one until in just a few moments none remained. Those that were chasing the missiles deep into Caprica's atmosphere could now be seen to be falling toward the surface out of control.
"Do not launch Admiral Stockwell," Admiral Clements ordered realizing that his own station vipers were as powerless as the fleets had been a few minutes earlier. "Our own vipers seem to have just lost power, all power. They have been wiped out. Four squadrons! Your own would probably be affected as well. We will use the station's defenses to destroy the Cylon raiders."
"I am placing you in charge of all military ships on the station," Clements continued feeling numb knowing there was nothing he could do to save his wife or the families of the station's crew. "Contact them and get them ready to leave. Load all the supplies you can on board your ships. I think we can buy at least a few more hours worth of time. You will be escorting a large civilian fleet. We are going to evacuate the station of all personnel and then FTL out of the system. Also have your technicians search your systems for this Cylon virus that seems to be affecting all of our ships, it may very well be in your systems also. It may be necessary for you to disconnect part of your computer network to protect your ships from this fraking virus."
"The situation is that bad?" Stockwell asked with deep concern in his voice. He desperately wanted to undock from the station and engage the Cylon ships. That was what his Battlestars had been designed for, not to escort civilian ships!
"Yes Admiral, from what Admiral Corman reported and our own observations we can't hope to hold out against what the Cylons can throw at us," Clements replied taking a deep breath. "Especially if Caprica's defensive net is down. Without the PDSs, we can't protect the planet. We must get away before they launch a major attack against us. We will take all the ships we can. We will need your ships to protect that fleet. So begin making your preparations, I will contact you again shortly. If you detect anything out of the ordinary in your systems let us know immediately."
Captain Reed keyed her com to the Admiral's station. "All units on your list have been contacted sir. They report no sign of Cylon activity as of yet."
"Excellent," Admiral Clements replied relieved. Now if he could only evacuate the station and see about rescuing some of the people on the surface of Caprica. A gasp of dismay drew his attention back to the main view screens. He felt an icy hand grip and close about his heart at the sight that he beheld.
On the main view screen, massive nuclear explosions could be seen rolling across the pristine surface of Caprica. Everyone watched the screen in shock and horror, knowing that their families were trapped beneath that deadly carnage.
"All communication with Caprica City has been lost," Captain Reed reported slowly trying to get her breath. "We have reports of at least two massive nuclear detonations at Caprica Cities location."
"All vipers confirmed destroyed, the Dradis operator reported. Cylon raiders continuing to close!"
Admiral Clements felt that cold fist grip his heart even tighter. He knew that in all probability his wife and friends in Caprica City had just died. For a moment, he stood stunned as the shock and finality of what had just transpired washed over him.
"Crap," Major Adams said angrily jerking his gaze from the view screen where multiple mushroom clouds could be seen rising from the surface. Turning he walked over to a group of control consoles manned by a group of Colonial Marine Captains. These were the station's tactical officers, these men and women controlled the station's massive weapons systems.
The station was equipped with heavy point defense systems that compared to the firepower of a ten Battlestars. The heavy rail guns the station was equipped with were capable of blowing even these invading Basestars out of space if they got close enough. The station would not be an easy nut for the Cylons to crack.
"Place system on automatic fire," Major Adams ordered taking a commanding position behind the officers. "Weapon fire is authorized."
"Sir," the computer officer interrupted suddenly with a trace of fear in his voice. "Our computer systems are failing!"
It was at that moment that the lights in the CIC faded slowly and then went out. The CIC became deathly quiet as all the systems shut down.
The virus, Admiral Clements thought dismayed as he stood in darkness, and then the emergency lighting came on as the emergency back ups kicked in. It seemed as if their entire world was in the process of dying.
For a moment, Admiral Clements wondered if it was worth even trying to survive. His family was gone; the Colonies were destroyed, or nearly destroyed, what was the point of continuing to go on living when so many others had died. Then his training kicked in, he had a mission to complete. One that he had helped Admiral Corman, and Nagala set up years ago.
Without power to the weapon systems, they would be helpless to prevent the Cylons from destroying the station. They would not be able to implement Case Omega. At least I got word out to the Sidon. Clements thought privately to himself. General Collins had his instructions just in case of such an occurrence. He knew what had to be done and he had all the coordinates. At least a few would survive.
"Station status!" he barked. What were the Cylon raiders doing? At any moment, he expected to feel nukes hitting the station.
"All sections report emergency power only. All the major computer systems on the station are down," Major Adams reported listening to the frantic reports coming in. "We have no power to weapons, minimal power to life support. The Battlestars Picon and Cimitar report computer failure also. They are currently trying to reboot their systems. They are still in the process of trying to disconnect some of their networks to allow manual operation of their weapons systems."
"Sir," the Dradis operator reported as the Dradis came back on line under emergency power. The Cylon Basestars are just sitting there. The raiders have encircled the station but are not firing or moving."
"What the frak is going on?" Major Adams said with a puzzled look. "They have us where they want us, why haven't they moved in for the kill?"
Clements wondered too. From all the reports they had received so far the Cylons hadn't hesitated to destroy everything in their path. Why would they be hesitating about destroying the station? What was it about the station that could be causing them to hesitate? They were defenseless, why were they waiting? Were they trying to save the station for their own use? Then with a sudden dawning realization, he thought he might know the answer. He had a suspicion he knew exactly why they had not destroyed the station.
"The old Cylon Mainframe Computer is stored in the vaults down below. They must want to recover it," Clements stated his eyes growing wide at the thought. The old Cylon Mainframe had been moved from the surface of Caprica to the station at the end of the Cylon war forty years ago.
"The old Cylon Mainframe," Major Adams responded confused. "I had forgotten it was down there. Why would they want it?"
"I don't know," Admiral Clements replied frowning. "The Cylons down loaded the system at the end of the war, which was part of the armistice agreement. However, that's the only explanation I can come up with that would explain why they haven't destroyed us. Get a squad of marines down to that vault. Make sure no one can gain entry. If they board us I may want that mainframe destroyed immediately."
"Yes sir," Major Adams replied. He keyed his com unit to the station's security station and passed the order on to the officer on duty.
"We need to get power restored," Admiral Clements continued, looking around the CIC. "The computer system we are running on now was only installed last year. The old system is still intact to be used in case of an emergency. Can we switch over to it?"
Major Adams keyed his console and got the Systems officer back on the line. After a few moments, he turned back to Admiral Clements.
"We could," Adams replied with a frown. "But it's going to take awhile."
"The System's officer believes if we reboot the system from the old mainframe the Cylon virus might be eliminated since it does not have any of the new upgrades."
"The Cylons must have infiltrated the virus into our system from a recent system download. The arrival of their ships must have triggered its activation. In addition, the old system has a lot of firewalls still in place from the old Cylon war. It might just give us the time we need to evacuate the station," Clements stated.
"Order General Abramson to get all of his marines into the station and to be ready to repel boarders," Admiral Clements ordered knowing that if Cylon Centurions boarded the station a lot of lives would be lost. "If the Cylons want to recover that mainframe then at some point they will try to board us, we must be ready for that!"
CAPRICA PRIME MARINE BASE
JUST PRIOR TO CYLON ATTACK ON CAPRICA
125 KILOMETERS SOUTHEAST OF CAPRICA CITY
General Thomas Ashton had been summoned to base headquarters as soon as word of the Cylon attack came over the com system. When he arrived at the Command Center word of nuclear attacks on the Outer Colonies and failure of the Defense Mainframes was already spreading like wild fire.
"What has Planetary Defense Command reported?" General Ashton asked, as his trained eyes looked across the Command Center coming to rest on the large view screens on the near wall.
"We have been placed on Condition One," Colonel Edwards replied from where he was sitting at his command console. "Cylon attack imminent, all bases on war alert!"
"Colonel Edwards," General Ashton snapped as he studied the information screens and listened to the scattered panicky reports that were coming in over his mini com, which he had activated as soon as he stepped into Command. The news was not good. The Colonies and fleet were taking a pounding! "Get four raptors up armed with interceptor missiles and another four armed and on standby. I want them in tight orbit above the base. I want the raptors operating on manual with all their computer networks disconnected."
"Raptors," Colonel Edwards said dubiously looking at the General. "Our Planetary Defensive Grid is still up as well as our own ground based interceptor batteries. Why turn off the computer networks, it will reduce the efficiency of the ships?"
"I realize that," General Ashton replied patiently, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But the Cylons are hitting the Outer Colonies successfully. We have reports of massive computer failures and nuclear detonations. If they have managed somehow to hack into our networks, this will help protect those raptors and this base. I will not take the chance that our systems have been compromised. Get those raptors up ASAP!"
A few minutes later, the raptors were in place orbiting the base at twenty thousand meters. All over the base marines were racing to their stations. The ground based missile interceptor batteries were manned and on standby. The missile batteries depended on computer tracking to target and fire their missiles. They could not be disconnected from the network.
General Ashton continued to listen to the communications traffic that was coming in, and then talked briefly to Caprica Defense Command. He was informed that some attacks had already occurred in the Caprica system. However, there were two full Battlestar Groups in orbit as well as the massive defenses of Caprica Station. The Defense Grid was activated and all ground based viper squadrons were on standby. A few had already been launched to take up defensive patrols in low orbit of the planet. In short, Caprica Defense Command felt that Caprica was secure from the Cylons.
"Major Rice I want to prepare to evacuate this base. I want all the Nomad assault shuttles fully armed, supplied, and marines put aboard. I want all the Cascade marine support shuttles fully loaded with marines and supplies," General Ashton ordered as he studied the screens and listened to the reports that were coming in. He didn't like the way things were shaping up. The Cylon attack seemed to be unstoppable. Nowhere was there a report of successful resistance. This war was going to be over in a matter of hours if things didn't change. He knew that he would never convince Caprica Defense Command otherwise. It was their fraking computer systems! Caprica Defense Command was too dependent on them, and General Ashton knew that would be their downfall.
"Colonel Edwards get all of our Archangel Bombers armed and ready to go; we will be taking them with us, same thing for all raptors. All computer networks disconnected and all ships to be operated on manual."
Colonel Edwards looked surprised at the General, not believing that they were going to evacuate the base. There hadn't even been an attack on Caprica yet by the Cylons! But from the look on the General's face, there was no doubt that he was serious. "Do you really think that is necessary sir, after all we are the main standby Colonial support for Caprica City and the forces stationed there, what if the Cylons began troop landings?"
"More likely they will be hitting us with nukes," General Ashton retorted. "If the Cylons land troops, we will handle that situation when it occurs. My main concern right now is to preserve the people under my command and this base will be a primary target! We survive by not being here!"
After a moment, Colonel Edwards began giving the necessary orders to initiate the massive evacuation.
Far up in the sky above the marine base, Captain Aaron Sims banked his raptor in a steady turn as he circled the base. The raptor was armed with six interceptor missiles. His copilot, Lieutenant Susan James was watching their Dradis and scanning screens for any inbound targets. Since the computer systems were down, she had to operate the scans on manual.
"Do you really think it's as bad as they say," she asked as she adjusted her scanners. "Have the Cylons really launched a full scale attack against all the Colonies? Maybe this is just a drill?"
"I don't think so," Sims replied as he adjusted his altitude slightly. "Even the civilian channels are starting to show a lot of panic. There is no way all this could be faked."
"Wait a minute, I have a target!" Susan said suddenly as a fast moving red icon appeared on the outside edge of her Dradis screen. Quickly adjusting the scanning system she looked frightened as the data streamed across her screen. "That's an inbound nuke targeted on the base," she said with rising fright in her normally calm voice. "There are other nukes inbound as well, but only one is aimed at us! Frak, two are aimed at Caprica City!"
Susan looked out the cockpit windows expecting to see interceptor missiles streaking by launched from the base, but nothing was happening! She knew the base's larger interceptors had the range to take out the missiles targeted on Caprica City. She studied her screens more intently feeling confused. "Sir the base interceptors are not targeting the inbound nukes. I am not picking up any targeting scans from the base's defensive system, something's wrong!"
"Frak," Captain Sims said keying his mini com, which placed him in instant contact with the other orbiting raptors. "This is Raptor Defense Leader. We have an inbound nuke targeted on the base."
Sims kicked the raptors engines darting up and away from the base. His targeting system flashed green as he manually locked on the inbound missile, without hesitation he punched the missile intercept button and two interceptor missiles blasted away from the raptor and quickly vanished into the cloudless sky above them, only their white contrails were visible.
"Raptor two be prepared to engage the target if my missiles miss. All raptors, be prepared for nuclear blast!" Captain Sims ordered his eyes focused on the point above them where he knew the missiles should be.
Lieutenant James pressed a button and the cockpit windows darkened considerably as blast shielding slid into place. Her fingers were trembling as she continued to scan and track the inbound nukes on the Dradis. On the Dradis screen, the two climbing missiles and the inbound nuke targeted on the base met, and then the screen became covered in static as the nuke detonated.
It was what Sims had been afraid of. The Cylon missiles were set to detonate on contact if intercepted. That was going to play frak with communications. The raptor bucked and swayed as the dissipating force of the blast struck them. Captain Sims fought his controls as the raptor rolled severely from the blast but after a few moments, he regained complete control of the raptor.
"All raptors return to patrol levels and keep scanning for inbound nukes," he ordered. "The interceptor missile batteries at the base have ceased to function. We are their only defense until they solve the problem." Sims was afraid that this was only the first of what could be a lot of nukes aimed at the marine base.
On the base below, everyone looked up at the brilliant flash that lit up the day light sky. Marines looked uneasily at one another realizing that it was a nuke. Fortunately, it was high enough up as not to cause any damage to the base. At the interceptor missile batteries, frantic technicians poured over the complicated control systems trying to find out why the defense systems had shut down.
"One of our raptors just shot down an inbound nuke. We have reports coming in of eight Cylon Basestars in orbit. Two Battlestar Groups are moving in to engage! Caprica City Defense reports that the Defense Mainframe has failed as well as local Area Defense Mainframes," Captain Silkwood the com officer reported, as he monitored communication on the military and civilian channels. "Caprica City Defense reports they have two inbound nukes they are tracking!"
"Our own Mainframe has also gone off line! Our defensive systems went down as soon as we tried to target the nuke," Colonel Edwards said with concern in his normally steady voice. "If not for the raptors that nuke would have gotten us."
"See if you can find out what happened to our systems," General Ashton ordered wondering just what the Cylons had done to shut down the Defense Mainframes. He feared that they would not have enough time to find out. It could have been sabotage or some type of virus set to activate with the advent of the Cylon attack. He had been right all along about depending too much on networked computers.
"Sir our raptors confirm two inbound nukes aimed at Caprica City," Colonel Edwards reported his face turning pale. "Captain Sims says the distance is too great between the raptors and Caprica City to engage the nukes. They are trying but they can't get their manual targeting systems to lock onto the inbound nukes! They report that there is no trace on their scans of defensive measures being taken by the cities defenses. I am also getting unconfirmed reports that the two Battlestar Groups in orbit have been destroyed!"
"Frak!" General Ashton said as he realized the magnitude of the disaster that was hitting them. If those two nukes hit Caprica city millions of people would die. How had the Cylons taken out the fleet units, were these new Basestars that powerful?
A few moments later Caprica City went off the air and in the distance, two large mushroom clouds began rising slowly toward the stratosphere. Everyone in headquarters stood or sat quietly in shock over what had just happened. It was absolute quiet in the Command Center as everyone realized that millions of people had died in mere seconds in Caprica City. Caprica City had the densest and largest population of any Colonial city. Nearly twenty million people worked and made the Capitol their home.
In the orbiting Command Raptor, Lieutenant Susan James looked in shock and fear at the rising mushroom clouds where Caprica City was located. "Their huge!" she cried out as tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "Those nukes must be in the thirty to forty megaton range."
"Closer to fifty I would guess," Captain Sims replied trying to remain calm yet still feeling anger over the atrocity. "They want to make sure their targets are totally obliterated. All raptors stay focused. Or we could look just like Caprica City," Sims ordered firmly into his mini com. He knew that everyone would be feeling shock and dismay at what had just happened. "Just do your jobs as we all have been trained and we will get through this."
"Do you really think so?" Susan asked trying to keep the fear out of her voice. She didn't have any family in Caprica City. Her parents ran a small hunting and fishing lodge up in the mountains. They should be safe there. The lodge was pretty isolated.
"The General is a smart cookie Susan," Sims replied trying not to show his growing concern. "If anyone can get us through this it's the General!"
"The Cylons are bound to send raiders and Centurions in as soon as the nukes have done their job," Lieutenant James continued worriedly as she watched the Dradis and other sensors. "From my scans it looks like one of the nukes at Caprica City was an air burst and the other hit Caprica Defense Command."
Captain Simms knew that Caprica Defense Command was located beneath the massive fleet military and training base, which was supposed to protect the Capitol if attacked. The airburst was probably a neutron weapon aimed at killing the population, with the groundburst targeting Defense Command. Even so, a large section of Caprica City nearest the military base would have been leveled.
"It's time to go people,' General Ashton stated looking around the Command Center. Several of the younger people were openly crying, others looked to be in deep shock. "We are evacuating to Deep Shelter Base, I want everyone out of here within the hour! Once they realize we intercepted their nuke they are bound to launch others."
General Ashton came from a very rich and influential family that had for generations served in the military services of the Twelve Colonies. During the Cylon war of forty years ago, a massive underground base was constructed, with the highest secrecy, deep in the center of the planet's largest World Park. Nearly four hundred miles of pristine wilderness lay around the huge underground base with its only access being through the air.
The base had been designed as an emergency fall back facility for the Colonial leadership and military if they began to lose the war. When the armistice was finally signed, it was decided to close the facility and to fill it in with concrete. General Ashton's father had used his connections and prestige to get the government to sell him the facility with the understanding that he would fill in most of it and only retain a small portion for his private use. The government had been glad to get the base off their hands, as the facility was very expensive to maintain due to its isolated location.
Over the years, the Ashtons had carefully removed all mention of the facility from government and civilian records until the facility was all but forgotten. But the Ashtons had not destroyed the facility. Instead, they had updated it and provided it with all the modern technologies science had to offer. With the money and influence the family had, it was not difficult to hire private military contractors to work on the facility as needed. General Ashton's father had always believed that someday the Cylons would return, and he wanted a safe and secure place for his family.
General Ashton was fourth in the military chain of command on Caprica. Upon his father's death several years back, General Ashton had become responsible for the base. Currently his brother and two of his uncles were out serving with the fleet. Several cousins and nieces were in the Colonial marines scattered across the Colonies. Only his grandmother and one of his aunts were still on Caprica and both of them lived in Caprica City.
General Ashton had made several members of his Command Staff aware of the facility and had even given them tours of it. They had signed secrecy agreements to never reveal what he had shown them. Now that base might be their only hope for survival.
