Chapter 7

A couple hours earlier…

"In most of these systems we did battle against the Dilgar they never really held or even tried so much as to establish a mining colony. They just wiped out our forces there and left. In the fifteen systems we have used on this side of Cryannus they wiped out; they only kept two; maybe three. It's amazing; why not establish a hold?" Diana asked; still questioning the motives of the aliens that had them beaten while still keeping her focus on the Raider; the smooth ride giving her an erie calm.

"They don't want to risk the chance of the Colonies probing around I guess; they got all they wanted from us our technology; our Centurions, our ships, and even Resurrection. Now they just want us extinct like the rest of the races they have eliminated." Melissa said with her accent. Her model was mostly used to emulate Aeleron accents and pose as simple females wanting to make a professional living be it news, farming or military. The Three's were smart, analytical and tactful with much experience in science, strategies, and information gathering.

"Well hopefully those FTL readings we found are in fact them. They are appearing in and out of the Armistice Line so it must be them."

The two Cylons sat in the Heavy Raider while Sharon piloted. For a while they had tried and tried again to find the Colony but to no avail. They were all angry at Cavil for simply leaving them there to rot but many questions still lingered in their thoughts. If he wanted to leave it why didn't he take the Salvation system shipyards, mining stations or manufacturing facilities? It made no sense but they all deduced he must have been so mad as to simply jump away and not worry about any of the other models or what was going on here. In other words he wanted to start a brand new life for him and his cronies.

After the First Cylon war; the Cylons put a series of detection buoys along the Armistice Line that were good enough to detect FTL jumps thirty lightyears out including radiation signatures, gravity wave changes and tachyon transmissions. The latter was for in case the Colonies developed the technology or if maybe a surviving remnant of the original tribes was elsewhere and wandered into the sector. The Cylons knew there were more humans that left other than the 12 Tibes. The Armistice Line divided the Cyrannus Cluster into two parts. On the Colonies side they had fifteen star systems under their control including the 12 Colonies. On the other was the ten systems the Cylons originally held before the Dilgar came in and rampaged through the sector. The Armistice Line faced Spinward while the Dilgar came in Rimward; bypassing many buoys Coreward. Now the Cylons were driven back completely Rimward and only had the black hole and Salvation system where it was hoped no Dilgar patrols would go.

However the Dilgar didn't destroy the buoys or sensor grids which allowed the Cylons to connect with them to monitor some Dilgar activity going on. Now; they picked up a series of FTL jumps originating in Colonial Space heading Antispinward past the Armistice Line. Melissa along with the others agreed ever since the Mercury was destroyed the Colonies must have decided to see if the Cylons knew anything. It was a good opportunity to make contact. This was just a simple scouting mission now; if the Colonials were found then they would send a signal and hopefully speak to one of them. Melissa knew it would be a strange meeting; no Colonial has seen a Cylon in almost forty years. There would be a lot more questions from them than from her and she was being ready for it. She knew exactly what to say and could only pray to God they would gain her trust.

The Heavy Raider passed a couple large asteroids orbiting a gas giant in a system that the Cylons really had no interest in. It was dead; had no resources and orbited a dying red giant star. The two inner planets were completely swallowed by the sun long ago. The moons or asteroids never held anything useful either and it was ruled as a dead system…

… But it was good cover; no Dilgar bases were here and no fleets were known to patrol this area of space. There was a system only five light years away which had a known base; it was also the same planet where Melissa saw the ruins from a civilization that never achieved more than pre-spaceflight capability. When the Cylons went to look they found out that the species was destroyed long ago by a side effect of a vaccine for a disease. She was thankful at least no more traces of either the disease of vaccine existed for Jha'dur to use; she was still surprised that the species was human and that scared her making her realize that there could be far bigger fish than the Colonies, or even the Dilgar themselves.

It was time to jump to another system. Sharon focused on the system and plotted a course which would bring it within a gas giant's radiation belt; however the Heavy Raider had a special material which helped protect it against radiation. It would obscure even FTL and hyperspace signatures; the latter the Cylons have only started to test. The only hyperdrive capable starships were at Salvation Shipyards still undergoing testing. Sharon closed her eyes to focus and told the ship to jump. It vanished….

…And reappeared right in the shadow of the gas giant. "Perfect; a hidden jump!" She thought quietly to herself. "DRADIS is picking up nothing and neither are tachyons sensors… wait…. We have a contact; single contact away from our direction opposite our heading." Sharon stated firmly.

"Is it Dilgar?" Both Cylons asked in unison.

"No…. It's a Colonial transponder; I am detecting a single ship too; it's a Diplomatic Liner.."

"One of their diplomatic ships I remember them they were in service before the unification of the Colonies. That means if they send one out there should be a couple military vessels escorting them; probably hidden or under stealth; I am patching the transmission now…

"This is the Colonial Diplomatic Liner Ocean Queen to any ships that might be in the area we are transmitting a message under a flag of peace. We are not hostile or armed; we desire contact with forces in the area to explore options of cooperation and peace…. I repeat again…."

"It's a repeated transmission; no Dilgar ships in the area I think this is genuine. Shall I send a message back?" Sharon asked looking sharply at Melissa; she was in charge of this operation.

"Yes I'll go ahead and do it." She placed herself in the datastream and started to focus. She got with the Heavy Raider's wireless and sent a message..

"This is Melissa of the Cylons. I have received your transmission and wish for a desire to meet in peace. We have much to talk about can we are requesting permission to dock." She waited for a response. Soon enough one came; this time it was a male's gruff voice.

"We are ready; you may dock now at once. I am transmitting to you standard docking port clearences now and will meet you at the airlocks. There is a lot to discuss."

She received the docking coordinates and used the neural linkage with the ship to carefully pilot it to the starboard docking port. Instructions were received automatically and she made some decisions herself. She decided not to have Centurions present on the ship, instead just have them remain in the Heavy Raider for further instruction. Second was to gain the trust of the Colonies in any way possible. She only knew the reason why so many Cylons went humanoid was due to the fact that they wished to be more human. She and Melissa felt Cavil knew more but he never said anything. They were glad he left now; after seeing his betrayel and deception. She would tell them of the split in their society and the fact other models left them there after a rift formed in how to conduct the war. She knew exactly which story to tell to gain their trust and to make them come out as genuine; which hopefully the in-system debris should tell too. A few battles did take place in this system after all.

The Heavy Raider moved slowly above the Ocean Queen; Melissa taking note of its beauty. It was large and she was sure the inside was quite spacious. It was painted white and blue with windows along the sides so passengers could see the stars and planets. The engine block had a black number imprinted in it telling of its registry which in this case was the Colonial Diplomatic Corps. It carefully glided through space and turned so the rear end was facing the docking port. It extended a docking tunnel and allowed the organic portion to seal itself with with the outer docking portion of the Ocean Queen. The floor solidified and the artificial gravity activated. Melissa detached herself from the datastream and opened the rear hatch. Sharon remained behind while Diana and Melissa got up and started to walk out the back. The extension was covered in a type of material designed to withstand vacuum and high pressure; being a reactive type of material. They continued to the metal hatched and opened it; revealing the hallway to a beautiful interior they were sure.

Another hatched opened revealing two human figures. One was a taller man with dark hair with a tint of grey which showed his age to be in his late 40s. He had glasses on and visible wrinkles were on his arms and under his eyes however he stood and carried himself well. He appeared to be in great health and he seemed to be the type to exercise daily. He wore a black suit and had a glance at them which meant business. For a moment his face clearly registered shock upon seeing the two human
Cylon models but he still kept it contained within him and continued on his business. The female didn't seem to be too shocked. She had long hair and was taller which truly showed her professionalism; determination, and knowledge. Melissa was certain of the Colonials knowing of experiments the Cylons did to try to become human since the start of the war as it was fairly public knowledge, even before the war started. Many companies including Greystone Industries were working on ways to create artificial humans.

"My name is Melissa; I know our appearances may shock you and we will explain ourselves in due time; however as you can probably tell by looking outside we have been through a lot. We have learned through intelligence of the aliens that you were attacked by them recently; which is why we are here. We are here on a flag of truce like you are.

"I think this will be better discussed in a conference room follow me and we can begin from there." The older man said.

Both Cylons were amazed by the internal appearance of the ship. The hallways were painted blue and red while the carpet had red lining. Drapes were everywhere symbolizing comfort and peace; the mission of the Diplomatic Corps. Leather chairs and decorated tables were around the dining room of the ship where cooks started to prepare meals. They passed a lounge area where there were couches and chairs sitting next to a fireplace but the actual fire was just a projected image; a type of heater that looked like a typical fireplace; another addition to the ship which would provide a sense of comfort and relaxation. Paintings were on the wall depicting various types of business conduct; old meetings between the Colonies before the Unification were hanging on the wall depicting handshakes and signings of important documents; peace accords, treaties, etc. Some were old fashioned and showed dress of times so long ago on Colonies like Caprica and Virgon when they had individual nations so many centuries ago. Many were done on old wooden tables with Tamorian style dress including Great Upbringing era coats with the grey hairstyles of such leaders and diplomats.

They approached a wooden door that had the symbol of the Twelve Colonies hanging above the doorframe with flags of the other Colonies shown on it. The door had a metal handle which looked to be gold plated. A gold symbol of the Twleve Colonies was on it too. Philip opened the door which ked to a conference room with a decorated wooden table with a few projectors and computer on it. Leather office chairs surrounded it which gave the place a feel of pure good business. "Please have a seat." The dark haired female told them softly. "I would like to introduce myself; my name is Samantha Shaffon and this is my assistant Philip and we are here with the Colonial Diplomatic Corps. To answer your question we have been attacked by the aliens and were looking for you to determine if you knew about them; which is why we sent an envoy of peace and understanding past the Armistice Line. It took a while but we managed to pressure the government to send us." She added.

"We were actually hoping to find you somewhere along the path; we have had a long journey here." Melissa started. She began to tell her story starting with telling them their desire to become human and still stay separate from the others to the story about how they encountered the aliens with the fact they used bioweapons to kill mass numbers of Cylons; the split in Cylon leadership with the dissapearence of other models on the Colony and Hub. They added that they only had one system left which housed major shipyards and mining facilities; and they they were probably the last of their race.

"They are the Dilgar; ruthless and cunning. They have burned countless worlds before them; and more before burning us to the bone. We managed to get lucky and gain valuable intelligence on them; you should take a look at this." Melissa said as she pulled out a small palmcomp; a type of small computer that was popular in the 12 Colonies. It looked different; thinner and seemed to be made of a type of glass like substance it flashed up and started to play back a video. It was gun camera footage of a raider chasing one of the Dilgar fighters which Melissa called a Thorun; one of their main line fighters. Off in the distance clear Cylon ships were fighting against the green hulled ships the Dilgar used. Blue colored beams shot out from the ships along with pulses of light and struck the Baseships hard; some tearing off of the arms as Cylon missiles made an attempt to impact the large fleet before having most of them shot down by point defenses or other Thoruns. Both Diana and Melissa made sure to bring loads of data on the Cylons using portable hard drives which were Colonial interfacable.

"We only had a limited number of ships; creating organic styled ships was difficult for us so we had to revert to steel and armor, their biological weapons killed off many of us as well as our ships and bases. We're reduced now to a fraction of what we were and even then it wasn't much."

"Do you believe they will use such weapons against us?" Philip asked placing his hands together taking all of the information in. He could tell by the look into their artificial organic eyes they were being honest and sincere.

"Honestly I would say it's extremely likely. They have done it to us; other races and they will do it to you. They want Cryannus to themselves and they will stop at nothing to exterminate your species like they are doing now. There is something else I need to show you… "Melissa then stated while getting a small metal device out of he jacket.

Before she could speak; Samantha was interrupted by a beep at a computer console. She went to it and put an earpiece in to speak to the person on the other line which was Major Kaans. She seemed a bit surprised by the information but relieved; now knowing the Cylons were mostly telling the truth. "Thank you." She said as she put it away and turned back toward the meeting. "That was one of the scientists onboard a science vessel we had jump into the system; the debris were confirmed to be Cylon and 'Dilgar' as you said they would." She decided to omit the information about the Phemos and her mission. There was no need for the Cylons to know about it.

"We have no reason to lie to you!" Diana shouted loudly rising out of her chair; furious the Diplomats or any of the Colonials would suggest anything of the sort.

"It has been almost forty years since we have seen you; we needed to make our own verifications." Philip interjected. "I am sure you would do the same if we switched places." He added. Deep down inside Diana did understand what he was saying.

"I understand." Diana said falling back gently in her seat. "And yes we would have done the same. Humanity is in danger though; if they take your Colonies then there is nothing left to stop them. You should take a hard look at it; as they may have already landed on your worlds and placed themselves within society." Diana said standing up and withdrawing another palmcomp style device. This time it projected a holographic image; it was of one of the aliens in a black colored suit which had an appearance to chainmail only black and changing like a chameleon's skin. The alien was on a ship and all of a sudden turned invisible which stunned the two diplomats at the table. The video switched to the same alien but this time the area around him shimmered and the light flickered as he changed his appearance to that of another person.

"My Gods…" Philip said in shock.

"We have reason to believe they are on your Colonies as we speak. We have the technology to detect them; they stopped doing it after the third one was killed by our Centurions. They are called Spectres and are their equilivant to intelligence agents and assassins. They are probably on your worlds; they tried to infiltrate us it makes sense for them to do it to you to know about you like they did us. They are dangerous too I would exercise extreme caution in dealing with them." Melissa said her accent tightening up a bit.

"I will take the information to our government; as usual we still need to have the Council and Quarom vote before action can be taken." Philip told them directly.

"We understand; I will tell you that they pose a very signifigant threat here; their fleets number in the thousands. We heard about the Mercury and the fight she put up as we have some intelligence assets in Dilgar space." Diana said; knowing some Raiders in deep space between star systems monitoring tachyon transmissions; taking large pieces of information and jumping to a hidden Cylon base also in deep space far away from any system to avoid detection.

"Are they sending any fleets nearby?

"As a matter of fact they are withdrawing; we think they are pulling forces away to avoid further contact so they can commence infiltration operations rather than have an open fight. It surprised us; I figured someone would send a fleet but it looks like their top commanders are smart; they are waiting." Melissa told them both; taking a drink of the ice water the diplomats got for them.

"Waiting for what?"

"Waiting to use their biological weapons on you; cripple you from within. The fastest way to remove a population from an inhabited world is to use whatever biological weapons you have and ensure they don't work against your own species. If their biological weapons can work against us; they can work against you." Diana said.

"How come they haven't done so already?" Samantha asked; she was now really interested in what they had to say.

"Our guess is that it's too early and we are still a threat technically; but they recently wiped out a large portion of our remaining fleet and important assets. We are confined to one system now, and it's far enough not to have any worries about any Dilgar patrols stumbling upon us. Your military forces are the only hope we have left. As a symbol of our jestures and honesty we will provide all intelligence data and files we currently have on the Dilgar. I am sure you will review it and take it into consideration on what you are about to face." Melisa said gravely giving the Colonies a warning about the Dilgar.

"We will gladly accept. I still have to reiterate that all treaties should the come to be must be approved by People's Council and Quarom vote. We will still hope and pray they get passed. I am sure we can provide you safe passage; we have a Battlestar Group across the Line which can escort you to the Colonies to provide safety and to contact representatives of our government.

"We understand; and hope you make the right choice and listen." Diana told them wishing and praying that things would fall in their favor.

Dellstoke's Coffee, Delphi

"So you're in the Fleet huh? My grandfather was in the Caprican Guard as a Captain. He served on the CGS Anvil before the Fifth Colonial Conflict and managed to retire before it started; and held a political office on the Caprican Minister's Council before the Unification." The dark haired woman; Tory Foster said as she took a sip of Caspa Special; a brew of coffee grown on Leonis.

"My father served on the Triton but did civilian work as a Doctor instead of military duties. I joined so I could eventually get the money so I could start my own ship engine design business. I helped on engine designs for the Viper Mark Seven's and the new Raptors during my brief stint in the Reserves before going active. So you want to run for office? I hear it's a tough gig." Galen said freely.

"Yeah for the mayoral position here in Delphi on the Federalist party; I even met Adar a couple times and worked on his campaigns." Tory said. The political system of the Twelve Colonies was a triple party system consisting of the Federalist Party; which was run by mostly conservative leaning hardliners. Typically they would be the ones who would go in support of lesser government restrictions and oversight. They also normally took a stance which made them favorable to many of the large corporations of the Colonies; as they would lower the regulations of what they could and could not do including environmental regulations though most corporations were fairly eco-friendly on planetary operations. Many still chose to do work in space. The other party was the Nationalist Party which was more liberal and desired a military drawback and more of a push toward higher technological development believing the Cylon Rebellion was a one time mistake. They held a harsh view toward business as surpressing the Colonial Worker and had a high support for Unions; and have been involved in strikes across the Colonies. The last party was the Expasionist Party and they were fairly minor; but had a strong influence with hardline military and police forces believing in a push toward the stars and expanding Colonial Sphere's of Influence not only on the main Colonies but some of the smaller outlaying Colonies too. Many also wanted to conduct military action across the Armistice Line and find out what the Cylons were doing the past forty years of 'peace'.

"He's a good man; some of the officers don't think too highly of him; but its part of the political divide. Enlisted will vote for the Feds while Officers vote for the Nationalist Party, it's usually the way it goes. I voted for Adar he makes fairly good decisions and sticks with them; what we needed a leader with frakking balls to get something done." Tyrol stated; having large faith in President Adar. He knew Adama didn't share the same beliefs but officers never discussed politics with enlisted; it was a very taboo subject and no one touched it; only rarely joked about it while off duty.

"I have always enjoyed politics; it is brutal but you can gain a lot from it once you learn how to play the right cards. I want to move slowly; I hope to see major office within twenty years if I keep playing it right."

"And I think you will; you're a damn smart woman and from what I learned last night not afraid to get your hands dirty." He said flirting with her a bit.

"Dirty hands win the most bets." Foster told him directly; quoting a common Virgon saying among attorneys.

"Of course not; you need to do what you need to do. Politics is in my blood I can smell it. I feel it's something the Gods have planned for me from day one; I remember during high school I won student government a lot; even got a medal by the mayor during his visit."

"I got a visit by an Admiral once other than the one I served under back on the Atlantia; inspected me when I taught an engineering class back at Ragnor; man even awarded me a medal said I was the best instructor he ever seen and if I was part of his unit would have given me a bonus. He retired shortly later; but I am sure with recent events lots of people will get called back. Hell they even reactivated Galactica; if they can do that then we will go to great lengths to have the largest military force available since the Cylon Wars."

"You can't have forty years of peace for nothing; something is gonna give eventually it's the law of nature. At first when I read the reports of the Mercury's destruction everyone around me thought it was Cylons until that report finally came out it was alien. I had a hard time believing it at first until well you know these scientists aren't stupid; I have seen some of the alien animals at zoos and exhibits. Its sad though that the first alien race we meet shoots us insteads of shakes our hands or walks through our temples. So where will you go after you get back on your ship?"

"My Commander told me we are heading toward Picon for our assignments and training. Rest of the ships that are unassigned will be assigned to our group and we will be assigned to one of the Fleets. After that we get deployed; most likely coreward where the Mercury was attacked. We know they're out there."

"Ill give you my address so you can write me and let me know; keep in touch."

Scoutstar Phemos- Docked with Colonial Science Vessel Starame

The Colonial Science Vessel; or the CSD which is the Colonial Science Directorate vessel Starame; named after an explorer from Leonis who cataloged the first alien plant life in the Polarn system underneath an ice sheet on that cold frozen world which was also the site of a major Colonial engagement against Cylon Forces in the First Cylon War. It was a remarkable vessel; having been constructed from the inside out from a hollowed out asteroid after a mining company was finished with it. Many times after mining companies got done with operations they would sell their equipment or rocks to science groups or military that will use them to their own ends. The military typically used them either for bombardment, or to build mobile FTL capable Forward Operating Bases. Science groups such as the Colonial Science Directorate would use them as mobile science labs; analyzing samples or any radio signals from distant stars.

The asteroid looked like a typical asteroid; it had a nickel-iron interior which was hollowed out through the intense excavation of valuable ores that were inside. Small domes were on the surface which was darkened intentionally to both block out sunlight and provide some form of stealth in the case of enemy ships nearby. There were places here ships could dock and areas where the asteroid can open up to allow hanger access. These facilities typically housed hundreds of staff and workers; and had its own FTL drives which were the most advanced of its kind to allow for quick escape or jumps if need be. Right now the dark visage of the Phemos hung right outside one of the small docking ports that jutted out from beneath the rocks. The Starame was right outside of the 4th Fleet under the control of Admiral Haines; giving it plenty of additional protection.

"This debris based on radiological data and molecular compounds are an exact match for the alien ships that attack the Mercury. Your initial readings were correct; the Cylons did indeed fight these aliens in this sector of space. I have also looked at the readings on Cylon debris and suffice to say they are very percular." A long grey haired scientist said. He was a smart man; much older than his peers and considered brightest in the field. He was Doctor Allen Wremingway; a materials and radiation engineer. He also had a degree in computer engineering; one of the somewhat common engineers to hold more than one degree. There were many more scientists on the ship which made it a very useful asset.

"How so?"

"Well they have the remains of artifical organic compounds. In other words their ships are constructed out of living material; their computers too or at least partially. I remember before the first Cylon War we experimented in organic component computers just as we created the race which so nearly killed us all off. The processing power was simply enormous! There were so many implications this technology offered; better FTL Drives and sensors until sadly our newly unified government eliminated such technology and outlawed it out of fear and supersistition" the Doctor said wishing to himself that such technology could be exploited again in the near future.

"Some things were just needed Doctor; I am sure minds have changed since then. Maybe; just maybe this technology can be used again; but I am just a tactical officer not a scientist. I understand science well enough as part of my training but I really don't know much other than using it to help understand how we can defense ourselves better!" The ship's tactical officer; Lt. Amy Onsman said. She had enough analytical experience to use science to her advantage to create better ways of defending the Phemos and ensuring its mission of stealth.

"We have in fact come a long way since the Cylon Wars; some of the technology that was banned is now slowly seeping its way through the markets after we learned our mistakes. Even the Phemos is a pinnacle of technological development. But back on to what I was going to inform you; we have discovered that another part of the Cylon's story is in fact true and it creates a very dark situation for all of us."

"Which part was that?" She asked; relieved that the Cylons have been speaking the truth at least most of the time.

"One of the ship's leading biologists discovered a unique strand of bacteria in the organic components; he says they have been eating away at them. We quarantined them but found no evidence they can affect humans. They were purely designed to attack these biological structures within their ships in other words they were specifically engineered to do that job." He stated quite firmly. It was enough to sway her.

"It kills their technology! If such a race can design a bacterium to attack organic technology then they can easily design one to kill off entire species too. This is large; I will inform the rest of the crew and create a plan with you on how we can defend ourselves."

"Correct Leutinenant; this is biological warfare on a scale never seen since the Ebersmere Wars between Leonis and Aerliron. These aliens or Dilgar as they call them are a very serious threat even more so than previously thought. We should also inform the Defense Council."

Aphrodite Orbit

As a part of Colonial space travel regulations there were always vast areas of space that was typically reserved for military vessels jumping in and out of FTL except in case of emergency. Many areas were in fact in orbit around Aphrodite; the dark grey moon that hung in a high orbit above Caprica. These regulations were done so to ensure that no civilian ship got caught within another ships FTL jump thus causing either's destruction. Accidents were very rare but the general fear of such an FTL accident is what caused such regulations to be put into place. Sometimes rumors of horrific accidents and FTL myths. One such myth was of a FTL military ship which made a jump into a civilian shipping lane; jumping inside another ship and molding together with it many portions merged including people with bulkheads and vice versa most of the time the occupants being still alive. Many of these rumors stirred fear especially since according to FTL physics it WAS possible but given the vastness of 3-D space it was considered extremely unlikely for a ship to jump into another ship. It was more likely to happen to a star or planet even a black hole but two ships merging were almost unheard of. There were always very rare cases of ships vanishing after FTL jumps but with most reappearing after a day or so due to glitches in computer systems or the drive itself. Some still never came back and are presumed lost in space and are now the tales and myths of 'ghost ships' and 'disembodied crews'. One story involved the New Horizon; one of the first FTL ships built. It ran a large cargo run between Caprica and Leonis; it activated its FTL engines for the first time…. And was never seen again.

After that many rumors surfaced about the location of the ship; an expedition claimed to have found the ship on a planet a hundred lightyears spinward in neutral space while another claimed to have stumbled upon a lost colony filled with thousands that named itself Horizon and had the remains of the ship with them which the potentially disturbing revelation that the Horizon made a FTL jump backwards through time. However no evidence supported their claims and the area of space they searched was now known to be empty with no habitable worlds. The so called 'Horizon Expedition' turned out to be a fraud wanting to collect money for their own gains and were promptly shut down by the government and families that grieved for the loss of the crew. Over sixty years later no trace of the ship has been found and it was presumed lost in space. The governments claimed that it was most likely taken by pirates or jumped into a star or planet. Piracy was determined to be the most probable cause however. Incidents pretty much vanished over the years as designs were improved and safety measure enacted. Governments ensured that shipping lanes were separated between civilian and military vessels.

Near Aphrodite in the space reserved for military vessels three flashes of light appeared signaling the FTL jump of military vessels. The first FTL jump that came through was that of the Battlestar Atlantia BSG 55. The other two ships were the Halaces and Minwall; two Firestorm Class cruisers which served as its escorts while the rest of its group was on training exercise over at Ragnor. They headed toward the large flat shipyards where the Galactica was also docked.

Meanwhile on the ship; Admiral Agustus Nagala looked down at the DRADIS readouts on the War Table he stood in front of. Althrough the Atlantia was Mercury Class it held more advanced computer equipment than typical ships of its class including 3D Projections where the ships staff can get a Three-Dimensional DRADIS view of the space around it including registered objects such as asteroid, debris, ships and even small objects the size of tools can be registered as well should then need arise to monitor any small objects. He waved his hand over his graying hair; his face told of years of command and hard discipline in himself as well as years of battle. He fought in the First Cylon War and everyone knew that. He commanded the Colonial 6th Fleet after many said we would become a career officer when he chose to stay instead of retiring like most other old officers did; inspiring as a man focused on service he became such a good career officer everyone looked up to him like a legend and his exploits during the First Cylon War still were being told in the halls and classrooms of academies everywhere including going into the hands of soldiers and Marines alike as they went into battle against those who wished the Colonies harm. His brilliant tactics and strategies were still being read to this very day and taught in the War Fleet Colleges throughout the Colonies.

"Commander Doolas; I have a meeting with an old friend of mine; you're in charge n'till I return." He said in his old slightly cracking Leonis accent that even told more of his age and experience.

"Aye sir." He said picking up the inter-ship communications phone. "All hands prepare for docking sequence; we will be docked within thirty." The bright Picon Commander said. He stood well with age too having learned a lot from Nagala and serving with him the longest. He first went into the ship as the Assistant Tactical Officer when he just got out of the Amberten Military College on Picon and placed with Nagala. From learning with him he advanced with rank and quickly caught up on the tactics and strategies that Nagala preached. Doing so made him just as an effective officer and crewmember who ensured his crew was the best trained the best equipped and the most efficient out there. He commanded over 600 ships with Admiral Nagala and he knew he would get even more under them as decisions were made with the Admirality.

"Keep her in good shape like you always done; I will be back soon." Admiral Nagala told him with a stare of confidence.

Battlestar Galactica- Commander's Quarters- a few minutes later

Commander Adama poured himself a glass of ice water before sitting down to read a story called Rabbits in the River; an old Tauron book about a man who hides his family in the wake of a civil war. It had some bearings in truth; during the civil war a family that lived on the border was forced out of their homes by the rebel group known as Halas'fa; who used brutal tactics of rape, pillaging, and terror to bring fear to their victims. The reason for the title was due to the family owning a rabbit farm and having to drown all of their rabbits in a river so the Halas'fa troops wouldn't take them for their own gain. It was a loss as they were all extremely close to the animals which they bred and raised but they settled with it well. He got to the portion of the book where the family was hiding in Hemer Forest while the towns burned under the Halas'fa and the mother who was named Tamara was hunting for mushrooms when she was spotted by a Halas'fa soldier and hid while he tried to chase her down.

His reading got interrupted by the handle to the door turning and the hatch being opened. He walked up to it a bit to see who it was and stared in a bit of shock in seeing a man in an Admiral's uniform with pins and medals for various acts of bravery and commendation. Commander Adama quickly stood at attention and gave a sharp salute.

"Admiral Nagala it has been a while I didn't think you would get here this quickly." Adama said putting down the drink of water. "Do you want something to drink?" He asked.

"Adama you still proud of this old bird; you still have yours? I heard they drew the ship out of retirement. You know I am never hindered by the snails pace of paperwork so getting somewhere isn't a problem for me." He chuckled. Admiral Haines with his position had a lot of leeway when it came to getting deployments. "Go ahead and give me a glass of Tini." Admiral Nagala said enjoying a taste of the alcoholic beverage.

"Sitting right on the starboard flight deck where she's always been; still in good shape and flys like a hawk and the Galactica will never retire Admiral. Fifty years strong she still lives just like you and me. She still has the fight left in her." Adama stated empherically; putting the full trust and faith in the Galactica after so many long years of service to her.

"I never thought she was ever going to fail us. When I commanded her it felt like I commanded a momument to Colonial ingenuity and bravery. I still have that stripe you made on the port flight deck on your thousandth on Atlantia." Nagala stated with pride; as he was once Adama's Commanding Officer he still had close ties with him.

"I am glad you still kept that. Surprised Admiral Portman didn't raise a fuss over it too bad he's retired now." Adama said.

"Never does; glad to see you back. Let's have a seat it's been a while."

Admiral Nagala moved to Adama's desk and looked at the book and picked it up glancing at it closely. "Rabbits in the River; it's a great story; a classic. The classics never get old and I see you still have quite a collection of them. You should probably be getting the papers soon; I had to pull a few strings with Corman and Adar but I managed to get your group assigned with me. I had a chance to review your crew readiness and I am quite impressed with them; even giving them leave after a job well done looks like Galactica is ready to head out in its original glory. I chose you because I know you would be one of the best to add to my fleet. Welcome back Bill." Admiral Nagala said firmly shaking Adama's hand.

"I figured so too; my chief engineer has worked his ass off making sure we passed inspections. Your stuff has helped my crew a lot; I never figured we would be ready for war unless it was against the Cylons or some rouge faction getting a few scraps out of the junkyard to make a show for themselves."

"I told you Tyrol would be a good fit; Galactica needed a good engineer; glad to see him adjusting well to the crew."

"The main inspector is a Master Chief at the station; told me that if he knew Tyrol was that good then he wouldn't need so many engineers just for inspection he would just need him and the job would be done in a day. He fixed up my bird to top notch shape; man has a career ahead of him." Adama said in confidence of his engineer.

"He is smart too; installed some of the new systems for the Mercury's and Mark Sevens even designed the new engines. Hell his designs for the Vulture Bomber's engines got approved. Im glad to see him work good for you like he did me I am sure he is keeping his guys up to speed; it won't be long before you guys think about giving him that MC promotion." Nagala stated firmly; wishing he could go ahead and promote the man right away.

"He doesn't want it; he was nearing the end of his contract for us but looks like he will be in longer with whats going on around us. He will be useful when shit really hits the fan. So which direction are we heading this time?" Adama asked.

"Coreward and we are getting extra groups added to the Fleet. We wil be bolstering an extra hundred or two by months end. These talks of aliens are starting to become more commonplace than the latest science fiction movie reel. We need to be careful Bill; these are not the guys using Cylon tactics of old they will use tactics and strategies unknown to us and their weapons are barely even known but we can stand up to them for a bit before it becomes too much. I have the rest of my fleet training over at Ragnor following up on possible defensive and offensive tactics based on what we already know. It isn't much but its something. We also have CSD and Intell with us" Nagala stated heavily; having been briefed on the full seriousness of the situation. He would learn more and share it more information he received.

"Fleet Intelligence; I figured they would get involved but not with the CSD?" Adama asked surprised the Colonial Science Directorate would get involved this much with Fleet OPS.

"They have a few facilities they want to deploy coreward; listen in to enemy comms if there are any. They will be used as scouting forces relaying ships parsecs ahead and parsecs back including the ID folks working in the civilian sector. Largest conglormation of effort I seen put together since the first war. Still have that sword?"

"Sitting right there above my desk I still remember what I did to this very day. Amazing how time never leaves us there it feels like yesterday when I shot that Centurion's arm off when the Barimus got boarded." Adama remembered the time it happened while refueling on that ship during a mission; a Cylon surprise FTL jump boarded the ship but the Marines held them off while Adama joined them; he ended up getting close range to one and shooting off its arm taking some pieces which left minor scars but he still brought the centurion down anyway.

"Ill always remembers mine. Did your boy pass flight school?" Nagala asked; knowing some of the Adama sons.

"No; Thrace flunked him he failed his final test; last I heard he is about to graduate Intellignece Academy on Gemenon. I figured flying wasn't his thing; always frakked up even the simplest maneuvers he was never built to fly anything short of a damn kite." Adama laughed.

"Intelligence! My gods we probably may see him out there with us; those guys are rough. Glad to see he is still in the fight somehow."

"Zak could find a needle in the middle of Asrapha blindfolded; he always snuck around to grab food or some woman back in the days and come back without me catching him he was one sneaky little rat; but I know he will serve them good."

"None of my kids wanted the military life. One became a doctor and another is a lawyer for high profile criminal prosecution. My daughter graduated from Ipsicwich University over on Virgon with her Docs in medicine recently; now she is working for Colonial Medical Division studying germs. She was a smart woman and still would be."

"Still with the old lady?"

"Of course; she still works as a secretary with the Financial Services Post on Picon her job is gonna get a whole lot busier now. How is Caroline doing; is she still on Caprica?"

"Been there most of her life; she isn't too happy with the deployments though she never was happy when I went back to my old glory days and got the Galactica back. She still takes care of the house well; the boys saw her a day ago before they went to their duties.

"Now weren't Zak and Kara supposed to get married? That was the big talk around here for a while?"

"That is put on hold for now; Starbuck has really been pushing training for the pilots with Major Spencer; it's been a while since some of these guys flew but they are catching up and still shooting well on their scores. Their accuracy is climbing through the frakking roof. I wouldn't be surprised to see ratings in the 90s within a few weeks."

"Good still keeping Galactica and her crew like the legends they are. I look forward to this; they going to let you pick the rest of the ships for the Galactica?" Nagala asked; making sure Adama got one of the first picks.

"Would throw a fit with Corman if they didn't." Adama chuckled. "I will do a review of the ships and captains available then I will get with you once selection is complete. Stay a while and grab some coffee or enjoy planetside; some of the crew is on a short leave since we got our crap together quickly. Glad to see you back Admiral; we can only pray this runs smoothly."

Elsewhere on Galactica

Sarah Gardner walked briskly through the metal corridors of the Galactica. It had only been a couple times she was on the ship; the first was when her then boyfriend now fiancée Jack Spencer took her on a tour including through the CIC; as the Galactica was going to be decommissioned it wasn't too much of an issue to bother with. Then she couldn't wait until it was converted to a museum ship and maybe she could get a job as a tour guide or teacher on it and give studies into how the Cylon War shaped Colonial Civilization. Too bad now it was reactivated and was going to be deployed within a few months once it got overhauled. She still had clearance for the ship though; if it was other Battlestars still in service then some issues would be posed with access to secret and classified areas but the Galactica was less strict and Commander Adama approved the tours with very few issues. Sometimes he took her on tours of areas and even met Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh. It had only been a couple months since they saw each other last; their jobs usually made it difficult to meet but these were her few days off until she was to report to the Colonial Surveyors Hub for a special assignment. They never told her really what it was; just that it was going to be an assignment and it involved the typical alphabet agencies the Colonies had including the CID.

She didn't get much of a message from Jack other than to come to the Galactica and head to the Starboard Flight Deck; she figured they would meet there and have dinner or something. The large hatch to the mid-entrance of the Flight Deck was ahead and she went to open it. She opened the hatch

…."Surprise!" Dozens of voices suddenly yelled. She was taken aback at it at first but quickly gained composure and smiled. Off to her right she could see her parents standing near a maintanence console; they were genuinely older looking now; she never go to see them much due to work and her sister usually stayed with them but always made time to see them whenever possible. "Congratulations darling we knew the day would come; you made a good choice." Her mother Mariana told her. She was almost seventy years old but still moving like she was as a teenager. She really supported her and Major Spencer's relationship; even helping with vacation trips when possible. "I thought it was a bit rushed together when Jack gave us a call but I understood when he gave the message. Feels good now doesn't it?" Her father Olon told her; she remembered when they first met. He was a former Marine that was born on a large space station orbiting Ragnor back when it had the old space habitats that Picon used. Ragnor then was occupied by Caprica, Tauron, and Picon as a military training and mining area. Picon used a semi-habitable world for colonization and experiments in terraforming which had some progress. He was born on such a colony but was still of Picon descent. He and Jackson got along perfectly.

The crowd was fairly large. There were pilots, engineers, and other crew of Galactica including friends and family of her and Jack. It explained why many of the crew were absent in the corridors during what was said to be a major overhaul. She saw other deckhands, Marines, and some civilians that were present on Galactica to do repairs. "You're in for a hell of a celebration today!" One of the pilots said putting beads around her neck. Confetti fell from near the top over her as her father; dressed in his traditional suit and tie escorted her to a makeshift podium where an elderly man dressed in priest's robes stood. His robes were the typical grey bit with red scarves hanging down with rosary hanging from his neck signifying his status in the Colonial Priesthood. He glanced over at her and smiled; as Jack was at his side wearing his Colonial Officer's Class A uniform complete with gold plated pins and medals. Everyone still shouted in cheers and open wine bottles as she walked forward and stood next to him. The feeling was exilerhiting; she remember attending her sister wedding along with her cousins but didn't think marriage would come quickly engaged or not and was still in a bit of shock. She remained a bit nervuous as there was really no planning to this; she was dressed in jeans and a squadron jacket. It did make her relax for the fact that most of the attendees were not wearing anything formal; it was just thrown quickly together in a flash. She stood next to him; as he stood tall sharply and stared readily into her eyes which started to water a bit.

"Told ya you wanted a surprise." He said to her. It was what she wanted. She quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly; and looked at the Priest who begun the ceremony. Thr crowd remained in silence as the Priest gave the traditional Union through Hera speech which rang well through the halls. It was an ancient Colonial tradition passed down from the days the Colonies lived and died by the Sacred Scrolls in strict adherence now having been moved toward a society of scientific and social progress the religious aspects have been slowly dwindling down.

"And Hera hath said 'may a love that begun like a fire burn so everlasting and that the hands of the partners be fastened together and they shall remain together till the soul departs the body and ascends into the heavens'." He quoted from the scrolls of Pythia; the Book of Hera while tying a piece of white cloth around both their fingers which connected around thr wedding band as well. "May their bonds last forever!" He yelled and everyone erupted in cheers as they shared a deep kiss.

The priest walked to the back and cleared the way to a Raptor with the words 'Just Married' painted on it. Other slogans wishing congratulations and babies were also painted by jealous pilots jokingly. The side of it opened and they both walked in while other celebrated nearby. The attendees that celebrated the great occasion went off into a separate room where the party would be held while they waited on the newly married couple to return. When the hanger was cleared; couple of doors opened to space as Major Spencer strapped himself in and started up the Raptor. Sarah did the same in the co-pilots seat.

The Raptor lifted up off the ground and made its way out of the hanger and into the depths of space in orbit around Aphrodite. Several lights were seen on the moon's surface as the domed colonies and stations light up the dark around it. It looked very beautiful to them and she kept her eyes glued to it. She only heard the pings of the DRADIS console in front of her and the hum of the engines that propelled them through space. "It's a go." Her now husband said over the wireless. All of a sudden a large squadron of Vipers made their run past the Raptor on both sides in a V formation and as they flew in front of the Raptor they split off some moving up and others moving down shooting off many bright red and orange objects which she recognized as flares; speeding by quickly in the dark streaks of space. Hundreds of them kept shooting off of them as they flew around the Raptor leaving them hanging in the zero-g environment of space. It was a scene she would remember forever; and hoped it would last that way.

Colonial Intelligence Division Headquarters- Mycona, Gemenon

The current Colonial Intelligence Division HQ used to be known as the Gemonese SpectraForce Center, the past name of the Gemonese intelligence sector. Mycona is a relatively small village with very little to offer in inhabitants; while the facility itself is located inside of a mountain complex with a tunnel which can extend miles underground. As the Gemini System had little involvement in the war; it made it very easy for them to conduct their own operations against the Cylons in the First War. With most of the fighting going on elsewhere, the Gemonese Stellar Navy could focus its forces and efforts on fighting the Cylons as many of their ships were never included with Cylon components or Centurions. Only a small number in their fleet were as then Presbyt of Gemenon Zariaf Comensi never wanted AIs to be integrated; never telling the truth of why he wanted it so. However some military contractors managed to sneak some deals and get the Cylon software and hardware installed on relatevly few vessels.

The Gemenose Fanatical Navy played an important role in the war, as their system and a lone colony of Amphios had a score of facilities for mining, shipbuilding, resource gathering and experimental stations all designed for the betterment of Gemonese life. As the government and religion were closely intertwined on Gemenon, each man and woman of military age would be called to serve whenever possible given their religious upbringings and dedication to service to fight for what is morally right. Admiral Varsa Terimi of the Fire Legion Fanatical Fleet led the charge against what Cylons were in the system which only consisted of a couple shipyards and mining stations, right when the war started he led his fleet into the fray surprising the Cylons there and denying them any possible footholds in the system. This allowed most of the Gemeni System to remain intact for the duration of the war. He worked closely with other Admirals and the SpectraForce to gain valuable intelligence on the Cylons. They developed a good number of means including using Cylon equipment to track codes and decrypt data which indicated attack plans including system locations. The SpectraForce specialists led the Fanatical Navy to many locations of Cylon holding and it was even known their intelligence led to Operation Raptor Talon which was a location of an unknown Cylon project which even then was still kept under wraps and the general community having no knowledge of what went on there.

Right now a few miles underground there was a tunnel going from one of the sites to another. On Gemenon there were many CID sites constructed before the First Cylon War which were interconnected by extensive tunnel complexes hundreds of miles long; a pinnacle of a technology that was borrowed from Caprica during the Early Spaceflight era when sublight ships made trips from one Colony to another lasting a few decades. This continued up until FTL was created a century ago; allowing all of the Colonies to remain in close contact with each other and allowing diplomacy; or war to happen accordingly. The trains that would go from one site to another were powered by a specialized type of battery which could power the trains for several years and many sites had backup trains or cars, and batteries which they used in case of attack; backup trains or other cars also existed at reserve sites. One one such train was being used that transported a few agents including a military analyst also had Special Agent Travis Lonham and Joshua Rinser, the guy he picked up at Grassy Knolls.

"I wonder how much it cost to construct all of these my Gods how many of them are there?" Joshua asked amazed by the complexity of some of the most extreme engineering projects out there.

"A lot more than you can think of; we're almost here the Director is expecting us there is a lot that needs to be discussed." The Agent told him.

They stepped off of the grey-whitemag- train. It sported no symbols or other colors unlike the other mag-trains on the Colonies which usually had advertisements or sports information planted on the side. The controls were mostly computer but could easily have a manual override during emergency situations. Fortunately none of those came to be. They both stepped off onto a gravel walkway toward a set of stairs; Agent Lonham put back on his sports jacket and made his way up the steps which looked like they were carved out of the stone below and plated with metal and a fabric to prevent falls in case these steps would get wet if water supply lines broke. They contuned up the steps and reached a metal door which Travis Lonham placed a key swipe card inside to unlock. The door opened from the bottom up and they went inside to find a hallway which looked like any typical office building hallway which seemed strange for a mountain complex. He probably figured that it was decorated to provide a sense of pleasure and some relaxation given the very difficult job CID has with the Colonies. They continued down the hallway passing others doing their own job functions; many doors were wooden but had names plated on them, usually offices of people or conference rooms. Travis didn't need to ask or look into any of their thoughts to figure out they had to be way underground. Eventually they came to a set of double wooden doors which had the label of Intelligence Conference Room. Travis opened both doors which revealed a fairly spacious room complete with a furbished wooden table that had a variety of computer devices embededed within and a projector screen on the far end. Sitting on one side facing a wooden wall with pictures hanging of forests and woodlands were two people, one was an older looking woman with salt and pepper hair who still looked like she maintained her shape well over the years, only slightly taller than Joshua. The other woman was younger and a little shorter with blond hair reaching her shoulders; she looked to be a bit heavier than Joshua while wearing horn-rimmed glasses. She was dressed a bit differently for the job; wearing a black sweater and jeans. He took a special kind of liking toward her for some reason.

"Well Agent Lonham I hope this is a good catch for you; she said her voice still strong without a single crack in it; for a slightly older woman she carried herself very well."

"I told you he would be good; he is fairly legit." He said noticing Joshua was a bit nervous. He assumed Joshua knew he was in the room with many important people that would make anyone nervous. He did notice Josh darting his eyes toward the blond woman. "This is Joshua Rinser; go on and show them your stuff." He told Joshua.

"Hey as you all know I am Joshua Rinser." He said a little soft at first to avoid screwing up a first impression with a woman he knew was the CID Director; and a very attractive female who sat next to her. "You must be the CID Director Lori Hassen." He said to her, not needing to scan her thoughts to determine she was the head of a federal agency. Joshua already saw her face on TV a few times in the past; and most Colonials can become familiar with heads of government even minor ones relatively quickly if they followed news events. "And you are Angela Honneyman; Military Analyst and yes I did scan you to see who you were; as you never wanted to show yourself on TV. You don't have kids and don't want any; you got into the CID through a recruiter who walked around Huis Dinto University over on Caprica." He said to her; staring deeply in her eyes and smiling. She began to batter her eyes a bit with a slight smile on her face; turned out he was right regarding what he knew.

"This is impressive you are right on the dot!" Lori stated firmly. "I will go ahead with a briefing on why you are here; a long time ago before the Cylon War we knew that something was going to happen with the Cylons. When the Gemenese government had Oracles in the mix one of them told the Prebyst not to take in the Cylon technologies. The Oracle explained he he had a vision of bloodshed and that the machines would revolt. Thankfully our Prebyst back then was smart and for the most part allowed all of the military and civilian populace to operate with regular technology instead of the new Cylons that spread around. When the war finally started there was a group in the intelligence sector of SpectraForce who wanted a twist on human intelligence; instead of putting agents in the field they wanted agents who were in sense Oracles. Those rumors and stories you hear about Oracles doing military service are in fact based in truth. We selected five Oracles who were able to detect Cylon fleet locations, hidden outposts; you name it they found it. We still have files on them which we can let you read up on. It was people like you that helped us gain a winning edge in the war. If the Cylons hadn't signed the Armistice then we probably would have beat them even though heavy losses." She told him.

"So I guess I will be working directly for you guys right?" Joshua asked a bit surprised by the explanation. Even though the Armistice was two years shy of its 40th Anniversery he always felt the Cylons would come back in some shape or form.

"An intelligence analyst type position yes. We will provide housing, benefits, food and training. You will be here at the headquarters for a while before we send you out anywhere. Once we feel you are trained properly then you will be assigned to a field training unit and most likely be placed with Agent Lonham; he is our Field Training Agent."

"I guess my selection has something to do with the recent events right?"

The Director glanced over at Angela for a bit giving her the cue to speak. "Contrary to what most people have known over the past thirty years we have had some idea of what the Cylons were doing across the Line. We have been monitoring various types of transmissions across the Line and noticed an uptick; a steady one over the past thirty-four years. Everything changed then and it was still a surprise for us."

"What happened to the transmissions?"

"They abruptly dropped; but not before becoming very chaotic and strange. We managed to intercept and translate some transmissions but they were just relay points nothing special we could use. Sometimes we would send in a rock or a hunk of metal across the Line to see if they spotted anything; most of the time they would send in a couple ships to look at it then dismiss it as nothing and move on and while we were regular they weren't. Last year we sent out a Raptor on autopilot across the Line….

"…..And they never intercepted it." Joshua said finishing Angela's sentence.

"Just a year after that our sensor bouys started recording strange and unusual radiation signatures coming from several systems across the Armistice Line. Many of these were consistant with nuclear detonations while others we couldn't figure out. It was concluded the Cylons were fighting someone or something out there and they were losing badly. We tried to get expeditions funded we could get sent across but our previous Director and the President at the time refused it. It was not until we got new rules and regulations a lot lighter which allowed us to expand across the Line. Once the incident with the Mercury happened we had our answer. We have a contact with a Special Forces operations vessel that has operated across the Line. We found Cylon survivors who confirmed the same aliens that destroyed the Mercury also waged war against them; they gave us data on them which I analyzed and will brief the President and Military Chiefs of Staff next week. If what I have seen is true then I am absolutely certain a war will come to our borders."

Woodland outside of Timis, Tauron

"So there was a dead Fleet Petty Officer here?"

"Yes sir right this way; there was a hiker that found him a day ago. When we learned he was a Petty Officer we figured it would be your juridstiction and we called you."

Agent Tibbs already had a long day; short from the prisoner in the underground portion of the headquarters; the investigation into the arms deal was already starting to make a turn for the strange with the revelation that Thomas Nizzo's survaliance equipment was not functioning however to him it seemed to prove that this particular arms dealing ring utilized more Cylon technology than usual. Agent Geeman was already working on a way to create surveliance equipment that was protected from interference from Cylon technologies.

"Hey Geeman go ahead and get a good ID on this guy."

"On it boss." He said while pulling out the PortScanner which was designed to scan fingerprints and DNA to get a match on those currently registered in databases. The storage capacity of the devices was greater then over the past few years due to advancements in storage; derived from the advanced Cylon technologies that were remodeled to be safe. The screen was blinking white to show the user it was searching the database of current enlisted personell to determine who the body was. Finally the machine let out a beep and flashed an image of a Petty Officer in Fleet Class A uniforms.

"Boss the fingerprints are a match for a Petty Officer Second Class Magond Howard; I guess that was one of the guys our tipster said was involved in selling weapons from military shipments coming in and out of Brando Alpha Airbase." Agent Geeman said flatly. Only a few hours ago there was a tip placed by another member stationed at that particular Airbase which stated that he tried to recruit another lower ranking enlisted to get extra money selling weapons coming in on crates that transport shuttles would bring in on occasion. Others were known to be crates which had the illegal Cylon weapons and technology.

"Where in the frak is the corornor?" Agent Tibbs yelled. Screaming down the road was a large armored truck which had the FCIS Corornor labels on the side. Fairly soon the vehicle came to a stop and out of the driver side stepped a tall lanky man barely thirty years old who looked like he never picked up a weight in his life. He was known as Corornor Agent Vincent Jalmer; filling in for the normal Senior Corornor Ronald 'pucky' Mallory as he was on a teaching assignment at another FCIS station.

He walked up to the body wearing gloves and the typical FCIS Agent's jacket. He bent over the body carfully to look at it for signs of trauma or causes of death when he noticed a bump on the side of the neck which he pushed and noticed it was most definitely bone. "Well looks like our guy here had his neck snapped fairly hard seemed like whoever did it snapped it clean in half so he had to be strong. Help me get this guy up so I can take him back to the A-Room." He said clearly wanting to get the body out of the general area soon as possible.

"Agent Vidda; you and Geeman head to the guys address and try to find out what went wrong. I will head over to the station and talk to our suspect who really wanted protection."

Agent Vidda heard the call while sitting near the agency all black vehicles; Agent Geeman ran in with her and drove off over to the Petty Officer's home which was at Housing District B at Brando Alpha. It was a large Airbase; comprising of Marine and Fleet housing units, training areas, and everything else as it was joint forces. There were also many Aerospace Forces, Planetary Army, and Civil Defence stationed there as well. The base was only ten miles away from where the FCIS Headquarters was positioned at in Hypathia.

"I wonder why our suspect wants protection all of a sudden; do we know of any enemies of these arms dealers?"

"Well Matthew these arms dealers have competition as well. Some terrorist and rebel factions have their own individuals they prize in taking and selling arms. I say he really must have pissed someone off to get them to come after him."

"These guys seem to be the all-around type; willing to sell to anyone in order to make an extra buck regardless of their affialiations."

"Well if they are an enemy who wants competition removed then the independent arms dealers will be targets as well. I wonder who would want a Fleet Petty Officer dead anyway?"

"A lot of people I bet. I wouldn't be too surprised if he is linked with our suspect. These guys are fairly widespread but it looks like we got the biggest players in the ring; I think the Petty Officer is involved."

"Well whatever is in his house hopefully we can find anything we need to link him with our suspects and maybe other dealers in the operation. Hopefully this will shut them down."

They approached Petty Officer Howard's home. It was like most typical enlisted housing districts buildings; four room structures which included garaging and rooms which could be converted easily into bedrooms, offices, or living rooms. Normally first year enlistees would be sent to a barracks which was built up like an apartment complex completely different than the barracks used for trainees or other Defense Forces members who were on tempory or extended combat training. After a year of serving enlistees would be moved to Force Housing Authority where they can get housing near many of the military bases should they elect so. Others usually end up getting off base housing off of their own expense. The front door was closed but the outer glass door was open. It raised a red flag with both agents and they rushed out with their service weapons; H-29 high powered semi-auto handguns. They moved in silent unison to the front door and knocked. "FCIS anyone inside better put your frakking hands up or we will shoot first and ask questions later!" Agent Vidda shouted; sure her voice could be heard two houses down. She looked over at Agent Geeman giving him the nod to give the cue she was opening the door. It was unlocked so she opened it slowly, allowing the two agents to creep in. The interior of the house in the living room was in disarray. It was clear there was some struggle that took place; they proceded carefully inspecting and clearing each room to ensure no other suspects were still inside and to not disturb any evidence.

"Geeman I found blood!" Agent Vidda yelled over to him. He moved to her location in the kitched and found multiple blood droppings on the kitchen tiled floor. He got an evidence kit and scrapped up the blood samples.

"I will send all of these to Amy for analysis; hopefully we can find if it is the Petty Officer Howard's blood or someone elses.

Interview Room 4-D A few hours later…

This particular interview room was located in the underground portion of FCIS headquarters of the Old Fleet Yard on Hypathia. This section was designed for high profile suspects and persons of interest who would have a lot against them including the possibility of assassination so therefore they would be brought for special protective custody. Each room was monitored with radiation sensors, IFR, and gravity sensors designed to pick up any change in weight of the room to ensure suspects never took anything in or hid anything. The interview rooms also acted as specialized cells each with bedding, a toilet room and shower in a back portion which was also monitored each hour of each day to ensure no one tampered with anything or cause harm to suspects and other persons. In this area there were dozens of armed guards and security present to provide protection to agents, investigators, lawyers, and suspects or persons of interest.

Supervisory Agent Jethroy Tibbs sat down at the table to interview the arms dealer known as Ramsef Ulluk; the Canceron native who tried to sell two terrorists weapons at the warhouse a few days prior. It had been a relatively long day for Tibbs; his team came back from the Petty Officer's house with blood samples and photos which indicated a heavy struggle. Right now Forensics Specialist and Analyst Amy Sutton was examining all evidence and anything with a blood pattern on it.

"Well you're here and you got the protection." Tibbs said with a slight sigh. "Now we just need to know what you know; so what was going on with the other dealers, how big is this ring?"

"It goes with a portion of Colonial Movers; Randy would know more about it but he has been acting strange lately."

"What do you mean by strange?"

"Well there was a recent string of deaths with a few suppliers…" Ramsef paused. Agent Tibbs knew at this point he had to be connected with Petty Officer Howard in some fashion and possibly his death. "Normally we figure out which group did it; there is always a competition." Ramsef stated with a thick accent. "But these were strange and Randy told everyone to shut up about it."

"Do you know who this is?" Agent Tibbs asked handing Ramsef a photo of the dead Petty Officer.

"He was a contact who helped get military grade weapons; he went to Randy and said he was visited by someone asking for information on other types of weapons we don't deal with or bother to touch. He offered several thousand cubits for information on storage facilities for bioweapons."

"Bioweapons?" Tibbs questioned. He really hoped now they didn't have a bioterrorist group on their hands. It would be the absolute last thing they needed. Colonial bioweapons divisions were under strict controls and guard.

"Yeah bioweapons; I asked Randy about it and he just simply said to shut up and don't worry about it. There seemed to be some genuine fear around the guy; each dealer everywhere else was dead and some say he was there with them. I know he will meet with some of the guys from the Lightning including Zarek."

"What all do you know about Zarek?"

"I know that Zarek asked a few other suppliers about bioweapons including your dead Petty Officer."

"Thank you that is all I need." Tibbs finally