Chapter Eight: On the Trail
CAPRICA CITY, CAPRICA
Spencer Steen, news reporter for the Caprica City Times, sat in one of the booths in the MoonCricket Grille. He checked his watch again to make sure the person meeting him was going to show up. It had been almost fifteen minutes since the time they had agreed upon and yet nobody had showed up to join him. He looked out the window at the people who walked by the restaurant's windows seemingly off in their own worlds and not even caring about what was going on around them. Cars were jockeying for position on the street as though the drivers could not stand the thought of being behind the car that was in front of them. Colonial society hummed along like a well-oiled machine though the people seemed oblivious to the world around them, perhaps was a metaphor of the society.
He exhaled a frustrated breath and took a sip of the water the waitress had brought him. He closed his eyes and thought of the things he could be doing right now, he had several stories he had been assigned that were going to have to be completed before the evening's deadline. He heard someone sitting down on the opposite side of the table; he turned and saw who it was.
"Here I was thinking you were going to stand me up," Steen said teasingly.
"You should know by now that while I may be late at times, I never stand a person up," Andrea Graystone said as she smiled at him.
"You do realize that's part of the reason we broke up," Steen reminded her. Steen and Andrea had an off and on relationship that went back almost three years. It was more casual for Andrea than Steen would have liked to admit. She often referred to them as being 'friends with benefits', a title he loathed. The last time they had ended things Steen reminded her that if she ever needed him for anything to just let him know. This meeting was her calling in that promised favor from some time ago.
"Here I was thinking it was because I wasn't the type to commit," Graystone said with a gentle laugh as though it was an ongoing joke between the two of them.
"Well Andie, what is it I can do for you?" Steen asked. He would have loved to have talked more to her but they had a lunch to eat and he had to get back to the Bentham Tower where the Caprica City Times was headquartered at.
"There's a doctor who has come into our lives recently. His name is Bryce Sabus," Graystone said as she wondered if the last name 'Sabus' would register.
"Sabus! Well aren't you on your way up the social ladder. I see the stigma of being a Graystone still isn't a hindrance to you. Bryce Sabus is a landmark in the upper echelons of Caprican society. His DNA can be traced back to the Royal family of Sabus to the days before we gave in to democracy and all that wonderful stuff. Anyway, why so interested in finding out his life story?" Steen asked as his curiosity now became piqued.
"I think he's got some plan for Emily that I am not sure of yet. Something about him just strikes me as being well…dangerous, there's something he's up to that he's keeping hidden. I don't want anything to happen to my sister, she's suffered enough already with the miscarriage."
"How is Em'?" asked Steen.
"She's coping…just! That's why I am so worried about her and this Sabus guy."
"I'll look into it; give me a couple of days to see what I can find. I promise if there's something going on here with Sabus I'll discover it."
Andrea Graystone leaned over the table and kissed Steen on the cheek, "Spencer, even though it didn't work with us you're still a hell of a guy."
"Flattery will get you everywhere Andie," he replied.
JABIN: TOLAN'S QUARTERS
Artimus Bowman had slept for only half an hour but the rest it offered felt like he had been asleep for days. As he began to stir in the bunk he realized the pressure that had been pushing down on his right shoulder whilst he was asleep had gone. He looked down and saw through tired eyes that Galit was no longer laying there.
He sat up and looked around the room. Galit was standing at the bottom of the bunk getting dressed. She was pulling her trousers up to her waist and began to fasten them up when she noticed he was awake. Standing there in just her trousers and sports bra she looked down at him and grinned devilishly as she kicked the bottom of the bunk.
"On your feet Major!" she boomed like a drill Sergeant. "Rise and shine. We are in an enemy stronghold after all."
She stood there with her hands on her hips waiting for his response. He grinned lazily as he tossed the blanket aside and dragged his naked form up off the bunk before reaching down for the mess of clothing on the floor. Galit stood there watching him as proceeded to dress from the waist down.
"Hmm," she murmured cheekily to which Bowman could not ignore.
"What?" he asked with a hint of playful annoyance.
"That just answered a few questions that's all," she said.
"Like what?"
"About which type of pilot makes the better lover; Viper pilots or Raptor pilots."
"And?" he asked knowing full well that she was once again toying with him.
"Oh it's no competition. But I'm not telling you."
"Maybe I will just torture you for the information?" he said as he walked up to her and pulled her close to him. She started to giggle incessantly.
"Oh I would like to see that. No, I would pay to see that but first I should tell you that I've been trained in counter interrogation. I'm a lot tougher than I look."
"Yeah I bet," he said. No sooner had the words left his mouth he found himself being thrown down onto the bunk, Galit's leg having wrapped around the back of his left knee strategically placed to throw him off balance. As he landed she scrambled up on top of him resting on her knees placed either side of him. She took hold of his wrists and held them down as she leaned in and kissed him. "Think Tolan will want his quarters back anytime soon?"
"Oooh, 'Ace'. You flirting with me?" she cooed. "Well sorry flyboy but your wings have just been clipped." She kissed him again. "We got a mission. There's plenty of time for that afterwards."
"Will there be an afterwards?" he asked. It was something he had been wondering ever since he started to fall for her. What was she after from him? Was it just a quick frak or did she want more?
Annoyingly for him she simply grinned as if telling herself a private joke before tapping him on the chest. "Come on, duty calls."
JABIN, CARGO HOLD:
"Commander, the weapons have been offloaded," Petty Officer Robert Imlay informed Tolan once the Marines had finished unloading the crates of weapons.
"Good work Imlay, I'm sure the SLA monitored the whole thing so they should be here soon to take possession. Have the Marines hide any evidence their weapons are onboard, we don't want to spook these guys," Tolan said to Imlay, who nodded his understanding. "Oh and uh one other thing." Tolan handed him a small brown envelope with what felt like folded up socks in the middle. From a distance it appeared that Tolan was handing Imlay a large bundle of cash. Imlay again nodded as he realized what the Commander was trying to achieve before he went back to the cargo hold with his sock. This had been a last minute thing Tolan had thought of. He was of course supposed to be a corrupt officer in the Colonial Fleet and as such would have to appear to be paying off his subordinates.
"Mr. Tolan, any news on the rescue attempt yet?" Bryon Esmond asked as he walked up to where Tolan stood on the loading ramp leading into the shuttle.
"Nothing yet, I'm just here buying them time to get things organized. That's Malka and Barron's territory, I'm the pack mule that brought them here and the key to getting their feet in the door," Tolan said as he took a sip of coffee.
"How is that?" Esmond asked referring to the coffee.
"I've had better…actually I think I've had much better coffee than this but it gets the job done. As for Barron and Malka, they'll either get the President's sister and niece out of here or die trying," Tolan said.
"You know your aunt sent me along to protect you, I'll do everything in my power to make sure you survive."
Tolan nodded, "I appreciate that, but hopefully it won't be necessary."
JABIN, MESS HALL:
"I've managed to hack my way into the security cameras for the facility; hold your applause please. The Adars are being kept in a security holding cell on Level Nine, also in that area are a fitness room, swimming pool, pump room, a dining room, and a central living area," Marcellus Britt said as he pointed at the different spots on the schematics he had downloaded and printed.
"Considering how you've acted from the moment you got out of prison, I'm having a hard time imagining you being so helpful," Galit Malka commented, Britt was now talking like he was a professional on the job instead of a sarcasm-filled ex-con.
"From the moment we landed on this station my fate became entwined with yours. I have all the incentive to pull this off, besides it feels good to be back in the game," Britt said as he flashed Malka a smile before looking back at the plans.
"What about Aperlae and her team?" Keene Barron asked. He looked and saw Malka flinch at the mention of Lt. Myra Aperlae, the Colonial Fleet officer was sent here as part of an 'official' rescue group that seemed poised to attempt the rescue as well.
"We'll worry about her when and if the situation arises. She may have the official support of the President but we have a worlds-class thief here who can get us into anywhere," Malka said. When she had accompanied Commander Scott Tolan and Major Artimus Bowman into the conference room to meet General Jonas Sano and Admiral Renoir she had taken with her a 'swipe drive' that was capable of copying data through any computer access port via a wireless router. There was such a computer in the room and she had attached the drive to the computer and used it to access the station's plans as well as other information being stored on there.
"Based on what I've seen so far, I can alter some of the Marine fatigues to match the SLA uniforms. I picked up the material while I was on Canceron, while Britt starts his infiltration we can disguise ourselves as SLA soldiers and work our way towards the security room. Did Malka get you everything you need?" Barron asked.
"I got him everything he needs Keene, he'll be able to get past any security measures that have been put in place," Malka said before Britt had a chance to respond, something that caused him to frown longingly as Malka was certain he had some long winded comedic speech ready and had thus been thwarted by her interjection.
"In that case may I suggest we start getting what we need together and begin in forty-five minutes to an hour from now," Barron said. Even though technically Malka was in charge of the mission he had more experience in leading an operation due to his time in the Colonial Marines.
JABIN, TOLAN'S QUARTERS:
Bowman walked in and closed the hatch behind him; Tolan was sitting at his desk going over some paperwork.
"Commander, I'd like to have a word with you."
Tolan stopped and looked up at Bowman, "Don't tell me the two of you put the desk to 'good use' as well."
Like an insolent schoolboy standing before the Principal, Artimus Bowman's cheeks reddened slightly.
"About that sir, it just kind of…"
"Let me guess, it got out of hand and one thing led to another and the next thing you're know firing off your ammunition," Tolan said with a laugh as Bowman began to turn a deeper shade of red from embarrassment.
"Pretty much, I just wanted to thank you for being discreet about what happened."
"Yeah, I thought it would keep you safe from reprisals from the other crew if they knew you were sleeping with a MoI agent during a sensitive rescue mission."
"When you put it like that I sound like a jackass don't I?"
"Well you're not, I had a feeling there was more to your relationship with our femme fatale. You do realize I didn't get to Commander on my handsome features alone, I do have a bit of an eye for observation."
"Understood, I also thought you should know that this will not compromise my ability to carry out the mission."
"Now that I was a bit concerned with, how'd you guess?"
"Well Commander you're not the only one with an eye for observation."
"Indeed, well if I have your word then that puts my fears at ease. Now it's just a matter of our friends getting their mission done so we can get out of here safely and I can get back home to my wife."
"You have a wife, sir?" Bowman began, wanting to hide the fact that he knew about Emily Tolan.
"This ring isn't for show," Tolan said as he pointed to the white gold ring on his ring finger, "Though it does have a magical power to keep most of my ex-girlfriends away from me."
"May I ask about her?" Bowman asked.
"Her name is Emily; she's a Caprican like you are. She's twenty-four, and we've been married for four years now."
'She's almost the same age as Brooke,' Bowman thought to himself as he tried to force her from his mind.
"She had a miscarriage not long before I was asked to lead this mission; she's at her family's vacation home in Caprica City recovering. She lost a lot of blood, and to be honest with you we could have lost her too."
Bowman was momentarily stunned by the openness Tolan was showing him. This ran counter to the image he had held of him and the public persona that he had become used to in this short time.
"I'm surprised you didn't try to get emergency leave," Bowman said as he finally found something to say.
"Tried to but instead it was denied. I had wondered why until I made a visit to Caprica City to take care of a personal matter and found myself summoned to the Executive Mansion."
"You've had this on your mind the whole time then," Bowman said though it was mainly to himself.
"That's the thing about being in command Artimus," Tolan began before stopping to add, "You have to project an image of strength, those around you need to know that you're unflappable in the face of adversity."
"Command is a reward and a challenge all of its own," Bowman said remembering his time on the Daedalus and just recently his time as CAG of the Valkyrie.
"Yeah it's a double-edged sword alright, but I wouldn't trade it though. Being an officer in the Colonial Fleet beats what I could be doing back home on Canceron."
"The Basileus?" Bowman asked though he knew the answer.
"Yep, the 'family business' is something I want no part of. Maybe at one time I would have but when I was twelve I saw just what the drawbacks were to that kind of life."
"What happened?"
"Something bad, let's just put this way, my mom cried at the thought of losing me to the world of the Basileus. There's no defense against that," Tolan said as he looked past Bowman as though a scene from long ago was playing in the background. Tolan looked up at Bowman. The two of them were sharing an open moment with one another, the first such moment they'd had like this since the start of the mission. "Sit down Major," said Tolan kicking out a second chair. Bowman took the seat and sat beside Tolan. "You and I got off to a bad start don't you agree?"
"I guess that would be the sum of it," said Bowman replaying their first meeting in Tolan's quarters aboard the Valkyrie.
"Well I have my share of blame on that matter but I think you have yours too. We've both been openly hostile to one another from the start when in fact I see a lot of myself in you. We are both beasts of burden to other people. The difference is you've been carrying around with you what happened on the Daedalus for so long that you don't know how not to. It could have happened to anyone."
"But it happened to me," said Bowman. "A pilot died because I let myself go. I stopped holding back and someone else paid the price. Someone I was close to." Tolan didn't ask but Bowman felt compelled to explain. "We were the best Raptor pilots in our year at the Academy. The best pilots always form a display team for the graduation ceremony from our first tour aboard the Daedalus. I wanted to beat the Viper guys who were doing their own display and the only way to do that in a Raptor was the FTL Crossover. Three Raptors burst towards one another. Two of them engage their FTLs at the last second making it look like they have merged with the leader. We had practiced it so many times and nothing had gone wrong. I knew it was dangerous but we were so confident and then the night before the big display we went out for a dry run. One of the FTLs failed and my Raptor went straight into Danielle's. My port wing tore through her cockpit like it was made of paper."
"Is that why you're so afraid to let go of things?"
"Every time I do something bad happens. I feel like my whole life is spent walking a tightrope."
"I can relate to that believe me," said Tolan. "So if that's the case why are you letting go when it comes to Malka?"
"I have no idea sir and that's the Gods honest truth. I guess she appeals to a side of me that's been buried for a long time. Not to change the subject, but you did change the sheets on your mattress…right?"
"As a matter of fact, I did. I may live dangerously at times, but I don't live that dangerously!"
FIFTY-ONE MINUTES LATER:
ACCESS CORRIDOR LEVEL SIX, SLA BASE:
Marcellus Britt, Keene Barron, and Galit Malka looked to make sure nobody was in the area. This was it, the moment that they would begin the rescue attempt. Britt took a calming breath, Barron balled his fist repeatedly like he was preparing for a fight, and Malka closed her eyes and seemed to be mouthing a silent prayer.
"Cameras have been disabled, and the base is on the evening patrols so patrol traffic should be light," Malka said to the two men who simply nodded.
"You two clean up well in uniform, just make sure you don't wear those when we leave here," Britt said as he opened the vent cover that would take him into the air duct system of the base.
"Your ear bud will keep you in communication with us the whole time, and you have our electronic countermeasure kit to help you get past any of the security measures that have been put in effect. Anything happens let us know and we'll head to where you are and do what we can," Malka said.
Britt nodded, "Right, I'll see you two on Level Nine."
Malka and Barron watched as he entered the vent and lifted the grate back up onto the wall. Malka watched as Barron got down on one knee and began to screw the grate back into place with a small screwdriver.
"Done, let's start our 'patrol' Galit," Barron said as he got up and smoothed out his uniform.
"Shouldn't we start using our aliases here?" Malka said as she held up her fake SLA badge. During the walk to the meeting earlier Galit had used her deft hands to 'borrow' the badges of two SLA troops that she had passed. Britt had used them as the bases for two forged id badges that would pass inspection.
"No, I can't believe the one Britt gave me," Barron said as he held up his badge with the name 'Eckley Edsall' emblazoned on it.
"It's not bad; you look like an 'Eckley'…" Malka said as she tried her best to not laugh. Looking at the furious face on Barron she knew this alias was going to offer her a lifetime of ammunition to use in teasing her colleague.
"Live it up," Barron said as he lifted her id badge, "Jan Viessmann."
"I suppose it was the best he could come up with in the short time we had," Malka said in an attempt to come up with an explanation.
"Sure, and it's in no way his attempt at a little payback for catching him in the first place."
"'Eckley Edsall' you had better start being nice!" Malka said teasingly.
"I'm already starting to hate the name," Barron muttered, "How did your conference go with Major Bowman?"
"It went remarkably well, I think him and I were able to work out our differences in a way that was beneficial to both of us."
"You know that if you two try a relationship it won't work," Barron said.
"Why is that?"
"Listen 'Jan'," Barron said as he threw in her alias name, "The world outside these walls is an illusion; it's not really there for us. We're ghosts. There's not really a life out there for Major Artimus Xavier Bowman and MoI Lieutenant Galit Shiri Malka."
"I don't know, we could always have a chance for a normal life," Malka said.
"Oh yeah, us in the Ministry of Intelligence remember what a 'normal' life was."
"Keene, one day you will fall in love with a woman and it will change the way you look at life."
"Maybe, but for now my romantic encounters tend to end with 'Thanks for the fling, the sex was great' and that tends to be it," Barron said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Maybe you two should just leave it at that? I'm only saying this to you because I am your friend."
"Well we will see what happens wont we Eckley?" she teased before walking off to start her 'patrol'.
SLA BASE, VENTILLATION SHAFT:
Britt listened to the conversation taking place, there was no way to turn the ear bud off so he had no say in the matter, and just shook his head at the two MoI officers having their conversation.
Barron had made sense with some of his points, but it seemed Malka might have a different view. Perhaps Bowman was having more of an effect on her than others could have realized.
'Lucky bastard', he thought to himself as he slinked his way through the ventilation shaft. Ahead of him the shaft forked and he had to decide if he would go to the left or right. He had a wrist computer display on the right wrist of his black infiltration suit. He hit a few buttons and the schematics of the base popped up. He studied them and realized he would need to go right.
"If you two would stop chatting about Malka's love life I might be able to get some work done…just saying," Britt said, though really he was just hoping to get a rise out of Barron and Malka.
"Alright Mr. Britt, we'll stick to essential chatter then. Would hate to mess up that legendary concentration of yours," Malka said.
JABIN, CREWS MESS:
The Marines were in the Cargo Hold in the middle of their daily physical training. Tolan was in his quarters still, while Bryon Esmond stood near the hatch as a silent watcher ready to protect the Commander at a moment's notice.
Bowman felt different after his conversation with Tolan, it was a side of the CO that he did not think even existed. Yet, he seemed like a genuinely likeable guy in a way.
His stomach dictated that he get some food while he had the chance. He walked into the Mess to find Ensign Morris Zayre and Petty Officer First Class Robert Imlay sitting at a table talking over a pair of MREs.
"Mind if the XO joins you Chief?" Bowman asked Imlay.
"Sir, I'm not a Chief and you know it," Imlay said with laugh.
"Not officially, but here on the Jabin you qualify. Tell you what, I'll make a deal with you Imlay; get me a cup of black coffee and I promise that if I ever make Commander and get my own Battlestar I'll have you as my Deck Chief."
"Fair enough sir, take a seat. I was telling Zayre about my time working on hangar decks."
Bowman nodded and went off to fix himself a serving of fleet noodles and some red sauce that he was not even sure about the contents of. When he returned there was a Styrofoam cup of hot black coffee waiting for him, courtesy he was sure of Petty Officer Imlay.
"I'm there on the Vengeance when a Type III Devastator missile begins its launch sequence. People are running around trying to get it to stop and the Chief tells me to join in and try to stop it although his exact words were somewhere along the lines of 'get your frakking ass in gear before its vaporized!'. I take the cover off of the control panel and I see a set of colored wires, and I have no idea which to pull. I call out to one of the guys to find me a manual and the Chief says that there's no time for that and to just pull a wire. I reached in there and I just picked a color and pulled," Imlay said as he told the story to Bowman and Zayre.
"I'll bite, what color did you pull?" Zayre asked.
"The red one of course, damn lucky it happened that way," Imlay said with a proud smile on his face.
"Of course, it's always the red wire!" Bowman exclaimed before taking a bite of the noodles he had heated up.
"Sometimes you just get lucky, what can I say?" Imlay said before he became quiet for a moment before adding, "I'd never been more scared before in my life, apart from the time my buddies in high school convinced me to explore an abandoned mental hospital with them..."
"What was so bad about the hospital?" Bowman asked.
"Besides the fact that it was a facility for the criminally insane, it'd been abandoned for so long that parts of the floors were missing. There were just these gaping holes, and here we were trying to navigate this huge building with just flashlights," Imlay said as the two officers sitting with him nodded in understanding.
ZANIAH:
"We're beginning the extraction mission, I'll keep you updated as we make progress," the voice of First Lieutenant Daniel Fletcher "Dog" Smith said as him and the Marines he commanded began their rescue mission to free Renee and Rachael Adar.
"You ready for this Dog?" Sergeant Bernard Max "Smoke" Strean asked. The group of five was in the cargo hold of the Zaniah waiting for the word to leave. Along with Smith and Streen was Lance Corporal Frances Blackburn. Following them were two members from the Colonial Department of Justice's Hostage Rescue Squad, Maurice Charbonnet and Malcolm Winfield.
"You guys keep us safe and we'll handle the rest," Charbonnet said as he checked over his rifle. The team was equipped with both lethal and non-lethal ammunition, it was hoped that they would be able to pull the rescue off without having to resort to lethal means. The non-lethal ammunition was designed to incapacitate quickly but that was not always the case.
"Right, strap your gear on and let's get moving," Smith said as he pressed the button to open the outer cargo bay door. They were dressed in SLA uniforms, much like the other team that they had been told to be on the lookout for.
ZANIAH, BRIDGE:
"The team has left the cargo bay and are proceeding into the base," Ensign Nolan Kindell announced from his position at the ship's helm.
"Very good, let's hope they can make short work of this mission," Lieutenant Myra Aperlae said as she leaned back in the captain's chair situated in the center of the bridge.
'What are you up to Tolan?' she asked herself as she tried to put herself into the mind of the man she viewed as her opponent. She was always a competitive person; whoever she was up against she hated and did all she could do to ensure that person lost. It had served her well during her time at Aquaria Military Academy but in the Colonial Fleet it could be a detriment to her. When all this was put into perspective, it became clear why she had earned the nickname "Cut-Throat Bitch."
"How do I keep you here while I escape?" Aperlae said softly as she turned the chair around in circles. A few more turns of the chair and she had the perfect idea for escape, and it would keep Tolan here…perhaps permanently…
"Mr. Kindell, when we receive word that the hostages have been rescued I want you to get me in touch with General Sano," Aperlae said as she began to smile at the idea that had come to her, it was perfect in its simplicity and would make sure that both Admiral Corman and President Adar would not have to worry about cleaning up the mess of having had both her and Tolan here on the SLA base trying to pull off the same mission.
SLA BASE, LEVEL SEVEN:
"So far so good," Malka said to Keene Barron as they rounded the corner to take down the corridor to the closest stairway to Level Eight.
"Our luck has held so far, but there's no telling how much longer it'll last," Barron said as they passed a pair of SLA soldiers who simply nodded at them as the passed.
"I'm on Level Eight now, I just bypassed a set of laser sensors and a few other security measures," Britt said before going quiet once again.
"He's not been very talkative so far," Malka noted.
"Well considering he is in a ventilation system that is not for the faint of heart, and having to keep an eye out for whatever security devices may be in place, yeah I can see why he wouldn't want to have a conversation with us," Barron said and stifled a laugh that threatened to come out of his mouth.
"It's not Level Seven here that bothers me, it's a matter of how we get through Level Eight to Level Nine," Malka said. In truth she expected security to be light, but getting through to where the Adars were being kept could prove decidedly different.
"I think we'll be alright, just keep remembering that we're bona fide SLA members…unless Britt didn't take care of that part," Barron said before he realized that Britt could hear what they were saying.
"Give me credit Barron I have all of our asses covered on this," Britt responded with a jeer. "I mean, mine and the lovely Lieutenant Malka's are sufficiently covered anyway."
SLA BASE, LEVEL SIX, MAIN HUB:
The rescue team entered the main terminus on Level Six where all of the corridors merged into a central hub. Smith did a mental check of the plans and looked over a map that was nearby on the wall; thankfully it matched up to what he had in his mind.
"There should be a freight elevator down Corridor Five, we can take that down to Level Nine and that should put us close to the Security Room where our targets are located," Smith said to the other four in his group.
"When we get to Level Nine do we switch over to lethal force?" Strean asked.
"I believe we should save that for the return trip, just in case our cover is blown. For now I think we should stick to non-lethal means and just keep the people we render unconscious out of sight," Charbonnet said as he stretched and seemed to work out a kink in his shoulder.
"I agree, for now we'll use non-lethal force but if we are fired upon we will switch to lethal means and use them appropriately," Smith said as he began to head down Corridor Five with the others following him.
JABIN:
"Commander Tolan, there's a call coming in for you from Lt. Aperlae," Ensign Morris Zayre said as he poked his head through the hatch of the Commander's Quarters.
"Route it through to here," Tolan said and a few moments later after Zayre left he heard the phone on his desk begin to ring.
Tolan picked it up and said, "Hello Lt. Aperlae, to what do I owe this distinct pleasure?"
"Well Commander, I know that you have people attempting this rescue at the same time as my team. Let's not be coy about this little fact. Let's just say that considering present circumstances I'm willing to offer you a deal." Aperlae's voice sounded pleasant enough, though to Tolan there had to be something else going on.
"I'm listening...Lieutenant," Tolan said as he rubbed his temples with his free hand.
"Whichever team gets there first let's the other team know somehow, then when both of our ships are away from the base we send word to the Tenth and Fifteenth Fleets to jump in and begin their assaults. That way there is no risk of either of us being a victim of friendly fire. In fact, I'm even willing to let you be the one to give the order…as a sign of good faith on my part."
Tolan thought about it briefly before responding, "You have a deal Miss Aperlae; we'll let our teams know somehow so that way there won't be any 'incidents' between them."
"Thank you Commander, I knew you would be a reasonable man," Aperlae said before she ended the call.
Tolan picked up the phone and hit the button to connect him to Zayre's location at the piloting console.
"This is Zayre," the ensign said as he picked up the receiver.
"Mr. Zayre, this is Tolan. I need you to pass a word along to our friends on the mission to be on the look out for Aperlae's team. If they encounter them make sure to keep their guard up and don't give them a chance to shoot them in the back," Tolan said and put the phone back on its base once the call was over. There was something about this that just felt wrong to him, and he realized that no matter how hard he may try to talk himself out of it the truth was that he did not have the least bit of trust in Myra Aperlae.
ZANIAH:
"This is Smith," Lt. Daniel Smith said once Aperlae had a connection to his headset.
"Smith, this is Lt. Aperlae. I just received word that Tolan's team is now on their way now to rescue the President's niece and nephew. If you encounter them I want you to remember that they are fugitives from justice and will need to be treated as criminals. I have spoken to Admiral Corman and President Adar and both have authorized the use of deadly force in dealing with these people. In other words, don't hesitate to shoot to kill. Understood?" Aperlae smiled at the thought of what she was going to do. This was only part of her plan, the other part would involve General Sano once the Adars were onboard her ship and away from the station. In truth there had been no such order fro either Corman or Adar, but Aperlae thought it was a quick and easy way to eliminate the problem that she knew Tolan and his group would become if they were allowed to leave this base alive.
"Understood," Smith said simply before reaching up to the ear piece attached to his headset and disconnecting the call from Aperlae. A part of him wondered what this other team had done to earn the wrath of both Admiral Peter Corman and President Richard Adar, but whatever it was did not carry any weight on their mission. They were here to conduct a rescue, and he would follow his orders to the letter.
"Is that freight elevator here yet?" Smith asked Strean. There was a sudden clunking sound from behind a set of grey scissor doors. Strean signaled to Smith with a slight nod once the doors had opened and the group began to board.
Once inside Smith pushed the button and the elevator began its descent towards Level Nine, "Alright people switch over to standard ammunition, I just received word that a group of fugitives have begun an attempt to get to the Adars before we have a chance to. We are ordered to shoot first and ask questions later if we encounter this other group. They're probably armed so don't hesitate to shoot to kill."
Not another word was spoken as the five began to trade out their non-lethal ammunition for the real thing. A moment later the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.
'Showtime,' Smith thought as he took the first step out into the corridor. The first four including Smith stepped out with weapons poised. They had formed into a two-by-two cover formation with Strean bringing up the rear.
SLA BASE, LEVEL EIGHT:
"Hey you guys, stop right there!" a voice called out to Barron and Malka. Two soldiers in SLA uniform walked towards them.
"Just play it cool, no need to blow our cover," Barron whispered to Malka who nodded slightly in acknowledgement. She was the very picture of 'cool'. This was the world she lived in and relished.
"Are the two of you trying to run a marathon or something?" the first soldier asked when he got close enough to talk to them without shouting. "The name's Hale. This is Kirk Lewis, I was told there would be some new soldiers down here on patrol because of the food poisoning outbreak," Hale said as he shook hands with both Barron and Malka.
"Yeah it was a damn shame about that one. I know Wasmuth was doing pretty badly the last I checked," Lewis said before asking, "Do either of you know him?"
"Well we're still becoming acclimated to being here on the base, we were on Scorpia training at some of the old Green Army camps," Malka bluffed, hoping it would work.
"I heard about those; maggots and vines for breakfast. Coupled with the odd STI from the tribal women," jeered Lewis obnoxiously. "So you two must have come in on that transport last week. Is this your first time patrolling Level Nine?"
"Afraid so, we've been guarding the hangar bays since we got here. With the manpower shortage we were sent here to help out," Barron said.
"Oh yeah, nothing exciting happens with the hangars. It's mainly to get you new guys used to being on the station here. Where on Sagittaron are the two of you from?" Lewis asked.
"I'm from the town of Freedom, about three hundred miles away from the capital," Barron said.
"Is that right, and what about you?" Lewis asked Malka.
"I'm from East Point, have you ever been there?" Malka said.
"Yeah, I went to college there at Culloden University," Lewis said with a smile as though he was remembering something fond from the past.
A panicked voice crackled in Malka and Barron's headsets.
"Malka; there is no Culloden University in East Point, there's a Colquitt University in the city," Britt said from his spot in the ventilation shaft. He had been provided a mini computer that allowed him to access the encyclopedic information on the colony of Sagittaron.
"Are you sure about that, I know Colquitt U is located in East Point so you might be mistaken on that one," Malka said with a satisfied smile.
"You're right, sorry about that. It's been a long day here and my mind must have got them mixed up," Lewis said as he checked out the id badges on Malka and Barron's uniform belts.
"Well Eckley Edsall and Jan Viessmann, if you'll follow me I'll get you down to where you need to be on Level Nine," Hale said as he motioned for them to follow him.
"What do you say 'Eckley', let's follow our new friend," Malka said which drew a glare from Barron at the mention of the alias.
They spent fifteen minutes walking the corridors and talking about their pretend lives on Sagittaron. Britt was able to keep them updated on the important information to help them pass as being from the colony. They found a group of four elevators and Lewis pressed the button to summon one of them.
"That's strange," Lewis said as he pressed the button repeatedly.
"What's strange?" Malka asked.
"Well the button is supposed to light up but it's not even doing that. I'm not hearing any of the machinery that moves the elevators, it's like the whole system is not even working," Lewis said as he tried to hide his irritation at what was going on.
Lewis picked up his radio and pressed the button to transmit but all he got was static. He began to pace back and forth trying to raise somebody on the portable wireless set but he finally threw it down the corridor in frustration.
"What do you say we take the stairs?" Malka suggested, they had now wasted almost half an hour and it seemed they were getting nowhere. This was a delay they could not afford but they were also in not in a position to try to speed things along.
"That's my cue; I'll meet you at the entrance to the Security Room. I've put the cameras on a constant loop from Level Nine up to the Hangar Bays, nobody should have a clue what we're up to," Britt said though the transmission was slightly garbled and barely intelligible. Given that Lewis and Hale's wireless set there must have been increased interference in this section.
"Sounds good to me," Barron said and waited for Lewis to lead them to the stairs.
As they walked down the stairs Lewis was beside himself in trying to explain away the glitches that were taking place with the radios and the elevators.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Barron said in an attempt to calm the soldier down.
"I have to worry about it; we have to be concerned about these kinds of malfunctions. It's just not right on a station like this…" Lewis did not get to finish the sentence as Malka fired a tranquilizer dart into his neck as he opened the door to let them onto Level Nine. Before Hale's mind could even register what had happened to his comrade a second dart struck him in the neck and he too fell to the floor.
"Leave them here on the stairwell, he won't be waking up for at least eight hours," Barron told Malka as he helped her move their unconscious bodies of the SLA soldiers who had unwittingly given them access to the level of the station they needed to get to.
"That was easy," Barron said as he let the door close behind him and Malka. When the two looked at the scene in front of them their jaws dropped. The bodies of SLA soldiers littered the floor in front of them. It looked as though a rampaging army had stormed onto the floor and taken out everything in its path.
"Guns…now," Barron said as he pulled out his sidearm and held it up ready to fire at anything that appeared in his direction.
"What the frak happened here?" Malka asked in amazement at the carnage that lay before her.
"Not sure, but let's just get to the Security Room and keep an eye out for hostiles," Barron said as he started moving towards the area of the Security Room.
The two MoI agents made their way slowly across the blood-slicked floors, neither wanting to look at the lifeless forms that seemed to meld with the blood that had flowed from the bodies of them and their comrades.
"There it is," Barron said as he pointed his sidearm towards the door marked 'Security'.
There was noise as a nearby grate flew off of the wall and a black clad form jumped out and onto the floor, nearly slipping on the blood in the process. Startled, Malka and Barron instinctively pointed their weapons in the direction of the sudden arrival.
"For the love of the Gods you two, we're on the same team remember…" Britt said as he found himself on the business end of Malka and Barron's weapons.
"Frak sake Britt! Warn us next time ok?" pleaded Barron fighting to lower his heartbeat.
"I'm sorry guys but…what the frak did you do this for?" asked a horrified Britt looking around at the carnage.
"We didn't do this," Malka said as she holstered her sidearm.
"I-It looks like the whole frakking Cylon War blew through here," Britt said as he took in the sights around him.
"I doubt we'll find any SLA soldiers in here…alive at least. Follow me," Barron said as he walked up and opened the door into the Security room.
"What do you see in there?" Malka asked.
"More of the same, whoever was here before us took no prisoners," Barron said as he looked into the room where only the dead bodies of the SLA soldiers were visible.
"Any sign of the Adars?" Britt asked.
"None," Barron said before motioning for the two to follow him into the room.
"According to the specs there's a holding cell on the far left of the room," Britt said as he pointed to the corridor that was supposed to lead to the holding cell.
The three walked over to the hallway and looked into an open holding cell with a piece of white paper laying on one of the beds.
"What's this?" Malka said as she walked over to the bed and picked up the piece of paper. It simply said, 'Better luck next time.' It was signed by Lt. Myra Aperlae.
'That bitch!" Malka screamed as she balled the note up and threw it across the room.
"What happened?" Barron asked.
"That bitch Aperlae…we got to get back to Tolan ASAP," Malka said and bolted from the room.
"You heard the woman, let's get out of here," Barron said to Britt as he left the room and followed Malka.
THIRTEEN MINUTES LATER:
ZANIAH:
Aperlae could barely contain her excitement as Lieutenant Smith made his way to the Zaniah with the two Adar women in tow. This was it, her ticket to glory and a higher rank. When she thought about the outcome she looked at what she had in plan for Tolan and his people. They would simply have to play the part of collateral damage in this case.
"Everything went well I take it?" Aperlae asked once the team was onboard. The cargo bay doors closed behind them and sealed up.
"Went without a hitch, did you get our clearance to leave?" Smith asked.
"Do you really have to ask?"
"Fine, let's get going," Smith said as he helped the Renee and Rachael Adar to a cabin that had been cleared for their use.
A few minutes later the doors to the hangar bay opened and the shuttle left without any incident that would cause the SLA to be suspicious.
"Hold out position and get me General Sano on the phone," Aperlae ordered and a few minutes later she heard the general's voice on the phone.
"Miss Aperlae, what can I do for you?" Sano said with a hint of irritation in his voice.
"I wanted to let you know that Scott Tolan was bought off by Adar to rescue his family from you."
"What the frak are you talking about?" Sano asked.
"Listen to me, I was sent here on a legitimate mission by the Basileus. Tolan was originally but was bought off with a large amount of cubits to instead bring a rescue part onboard your station to steal your hostages."
"Thank you Miss Aperlae, I'll have my people investigate this. Is there anything else I need to know?"
"As a matter of fact there is, Tolan has sent word to the Tenth and Fifteenth Fleets to jump in and begin bombarding your base. I just found this out otherwise I'd have gotten to you sooner," Aperlae said before she had the connection severed.
Aperlae conjured up a mental image of Scott Tolan and his demise at the hands of either the SLA or the Colonial Fleet, "I win," she said quietly.
She got up from her chair and walked over to a computer console located on the right bulkhead, she input a series of letters and numbers before hitting the send button. When the message was confirmed to have seen sent she went back to her chair and smiled, in a few minutes Admiral Whitney T. Coughlin of the Tenth Fleet and Admiral William B. Preston of the Fifteenth Fleet would have their ships poised to jump into this section of the Erebus Belt and unleash their firepower on the station that served as the home base for the Sagittaron Liberation Army.
SLA BASE, OPERATIONS CENTER, EIGHTEEN MINUTES LATER:
General Jonas Sano put the phone down and looked at the concerned face of Admiral Pierre Renoir of the Erebea.
"What's the matter General?" Renoir asked.
Sano was quiet for a moment before he spoke, "Get to your ships and prepare for a battle with the Colonial Fleet. Commander Tolan has been here this whole time on a rescue mission. I just received word that Level Nine was hit by an assault team and the Adars were nowhere to be seen. I'm leading a platoon to the hangar bay where Tolan's shuttle is located. If we get there in time we might be able to stop him," Sano said as he strapped his sidearm to his belt and left the room.
"I knew there was something about that man I didn't like," Renoir said as he left the room shaking his head in disgust at how someone like Scott Tolan could even think he could pull off such an insane rescue mission.
JABIN, CARGO HOLD:
"Aperlae beat us to them! She had this whole thing planned out from the start," Malka screeched to Tolan and Bowman once they had returned to the shuttle and sealed the doors.
"That I'm sure of its just…what is her end-game in all of this?" Bowman said as he tried to make sense of the note that Aperlae had left for them in the Security Room.
"Commander Tolan, come to the bridge…you need to see this," Zayre said as he bolted into the room and nearly knocked Bowman over.
"What is it?" Tolan asked as he followed Zayre to the bridge. What he saw caught him off guard and filled him with a sense of dread. The soldiers of the SLA had mustered onto the hangar deck with their weapons drawn and ready to fire.
"Frak me," Bowman chanted as he walked up and saw the sight.
"Took the words right out of my mouth, Ace," Malka said.
"Commander Tolan, we have you surrounded. If you release the hostages and surrender I promise you will be dealt with fairly and humanely," a voice said over the hangar's speaker system.
"Mr. Zayre, open me a line so they can hear me out there," Tolan said to Zayre and when he got the word the connection was open he said, "General Sano, I don't know where you got your information from but there are no hostages on this ship."
"That's not what your Lt. Aperlae informed me, now you have eight minutes to turn them over or we storm your ship."
"We're surrounded, I'm open to any ideas to get us out of here," Tolan said to the group.
Malka and Bowman shared a glance at one another. Malka was clearly prepared to go down with a fight if she had to but it was never the plan and as she looked at Bowman she began to wonder of this was the Gods punishing her for mixing business with pleasure.
Each of them visited their souls as the SLA secured the ship inside the hangar. The prospect of surviving the SLA was getting slimmer by the second to say nothing of when the Colonial Fleet arrived.
Tolan looked down for a moment at the wedding ring on his finger. Only Bowman was close enough to hear him utter the words, "I'm so sorry, Em."
