Chapter 7

The Colonial Remnant Fleet was stationing around the moon of the uninhabitable gas giant of the system so as to permit the transit from this unknown system to Earth. The anticipation was growing and every colonial was waiting impatiently for the return of their leaders with the hope of a new start for the colonies of Kobol. Even fanatically religious people, ready to stand up to any perceived slight of their faith were more than ready to make concessions, if it meant the survival of their race. Furthermore, they were promised that their traditions would not be compromised by the immersion in another culture. Their religion, the basis of their culture would be preserved and a little of the 12 colonies would survive with them.

But while the Remnant Fleet was peacefully waiting for news, their mortal enemy was preparing a massive assault against them, lying in the outer system with a force composed of 20 Base Stars and 2 Thousands raiders and heavy raiders. After carefully analyzing the footage from the battle with the Terran Fleet, the Cylons voted 4 to 2 the attack against this new foe. Only the Eights and the Sixes voted against the attack reasoning that they didn't need another war with a technologically superior opponent even if said opponent was protecting the Colonials from them. But the Cylon coalition, represented by Brother Cavil was adamant. If they wanted to attain Earth before the Colonials then they needed to strike them now before they made an appeal of these new aliens. And if it made them a new enemy, then they will bear the consequences. After all, they were machines and for them time was nothing in their immortal bodies. After striking them down they will regroup, maybe to Earth, and then come back after gathering their forces.

Yes they thought of every possibility.

Except one.

That the Colonial's defender was from Earth.

And that as they prepared their assault, their prey was also aware of them.


Earth, Atlantis, Capital City of the Terran Federation

The tour organized by the Terran Federal Government of Atlantis opened many eyes for every member of the Colonial delegation.

Situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where the legends of Earth of long ago placed it, Atlantis was a city of marvels. Its elegant architecture, functional yet beautiful with its geometric designs represented a marvel of engineering. With the gently lapping Ocean around them, and the far out coast line from the Canaries Islands, the view offered by the city was spectacular.

But more than its overall architecture, the technology wonders displayed for them at every corner surprised them. From soft sliding doors to holographic guides passing by transporter rooms, this city awed them.

Each building of the city was used by one of the different ministries and offices in the Terran Federal Government as well as quarters for the ambassadors from the different civilizations not part of the Federation, like the Jaffa Nation.

From every side of the City, ships were flying to and from space and the coast, in a multitude of activity all around them. Resembling the Shuttles used by the Terran Space Navy in their reliefs efforts but with differences in their lengths for some of them.

The Terran Federal Senate was situated beneath the City in an underwater amphitheater attached to the original part of the city. The Amphitheater was made with the same architecture as the city itself with huge bays that opened to the Ocean giving the 2 chambers a breathtaking outlook of the marine life occurring underneath the City.

The First Chamber of the Senate, which dealt with all internal affairs of the Federation like financial politics and social laws, was decorated in blue and silver colors with simple ornaments letting the majesty of the Sea dominate the chamber with 20 meters tall windows.

The Second Chamber of the Senate dealt with all foreign affairs and was decked out in gold and red with smaller windows and representations of the member worlds and colony in the form of paintings hanging everywhere.

It was in this chamber that the decision was made to accept the provisional membership of the Colonial remnant and the approval for their new Home World with the allocation of funds to start the installation of planetary defenses.

After sending word to their fleet of the approval from the Terran Senate, the Colonial delegation separated itself in 2 groups after installing themselves in their quarters in the Capital City of Atlantis. The first group composed of Admiral Adama and representative Adama was in discussion with the director of intelligence, Director Perez and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Chahine to discuss the capabilities and tactics used by the Cylons in the war and the strategies to develop to counter them. The second group was headed by the President and was composed of the rest of the delegation. Their role was the diplomatic talks with the Terran Federation Government and senate for a mission to rescue whatever survivors subsisted on the 12 colony worlds. An exploration mission of Kobol was also prepared to see if any remaining technology or archeological digs could be started to uncover the real truth about the 12 Colonies history. Any uncovered technology would be shared between the Federation and the 12 Colonies. Also, as she promised to Baltar, she asked the Terran Government if they would accept to meet with him so that he could present his request of asylum in the Federation, detailing to them the suspicions and charges that were pressed against him and his play of a messiah to several desperate colonial people.

Armed with the preliminary acceptance of their provisional membership status in the Terran Federation, the Colonial delegation was hammering the final details of the membership charter. The president was also negotiating with the Terran Space Navy the rights of use of the Point to Point jump drive used by the Colonials and the charts and resources they found during their travel to Earth.

Thanks to these negotiations, the Colonial Government already assured itself an income sufficient for them to start their new economy on their new world. After all negotiations were finished, Laura Roslin, as President of the 12 Colonies of Kobol, signed the treaty entering her people into the Terran Federation.

Finally returning to their people, the delegation couldn't stop the smiles adorning their faces as their prospecting future looked brighter and brighter each day.


25th Fleet, orbiting the uninhabitable moon of a gas giant.

Onboard the General's Glory the 25th fleet council of superior officers were meeting to decide the strategy to adopt in regards to the Cylons presence at the edge of the system, well outside the range of the Colonial DRADIS system, but perfectly detectable for the Terran Federation Fleet with its Ancient scanners capable of detecting ships in hyper space thousands of light years in advance.

Admiral Delterre had already ordered his staff to prepare a report for Galactica's CO so that their systems could be prepared for any tentative from the Cylons.

Contrary to the last time where the strategy was to protect the extent of their capabilities from the Cylons by adopting a strategy of defense and restraint, this time the Admiral was not taking any chance so as not to suffer casualties.

The 2 heavy Carriers of the fleet would stay with the Colonial Fleet, with their contingent of 600 Arrows as protection from the Raiders and Heavy Raiders detected. But the sheer number of them required more than the Arrows but also the deployment of the Drones platforms on all ships. For that the Admiral decided to retire the 14 Cruisers from their positions as patrollers and post them as sentries around the Civilian Fleet, ready to deploy their drones with someone manning the chair at all times aboard each ship.

But more than that, to dissuade altogether the attack, the Admiral and its staff decided that a pre emptive strike against the Cylon Fleet would be necessary. The task for this mission was left in the hands of the General's Glory and the 4 Dreadnoughts of the 25th fleet which will strike with a heavy hit attack with full weapon capability on the Base Stars, concentrating their fire on them.

It was time for the Cylons to feel the wrath of the Terran Space Navy.


Battlestar Galactica, orbiting the uninhabitable moon of a gas giant.

The mood was positive onboard the ship. Finally sampling the goods provided by the Terran Fleet, the crew of the Galactica was impatiently waiting for the return of their leaders and the final travel to their new Home World, a literal paradise compared to New Caprica which was a barren world with a harsh environment, as images and topographic data had been supplied to the population to prepare them for the colonization.

The crew, tired from years of eating processed algae food and living on the brink of life was finally able to take some time off, with the Combat Air Patrol operated by the Terran Heavy Carriers. Engineering was finally able to affect some much needed repairs on the Vipers and Raptors with replacement parts more effective than the originals coming from the Terran facilities. Whatever their manufacturing shops were, the hardware coming out of their ships were of a better quality than the ones made on Picon, the Colonial Fleet Headquarters.

Already, echoes of the colonial people aboard the Terran Ships reported to them the conditions of life they enjoyed. Everything was not perfect as the Colonial refugees had to obey new laws and 

restrictions from their brethren but people adapted even if some grumblings and disagreements could be heard from time to time. Full stomachs and good health had a way to cure anyone from their fear.

Several ships which were not designed to operate so far from a space dock had been emptied and if possible salvaged. But many of them were too damaged and finally scraped for parts to use and materials for the new colony.

Finally receiving word of the shuttle coming from the General's Glory with the colonial delegation onboard, Colonel Tigh was impatiently waiting for them in the hangar bay, anxious for them to be in safety in case the Cylon Attack came before they were ready.

The Puddle Jumper finally stopped in front of him, and Tigh could not help but admire the smooth lines of the little ship. The rear door opened and the delegation exited the ship, talking amongst themselves with smiles in their voices. As Tigh came to attention in front of the Admiral, the President continued on to the meeting room to coordinate the final leg of their journey.

Quietly asking is old friend to follow him to the CIC, they rapidly made the journey and Tigh started to fill him on what happened while he was on Earth.

"Bill, the Terrans detected a large force of Cylons several hundred light years of us, out of range of DRADIS contact. Admiral Delterre decided to strike them before they could and deployed several of his ships to protect us."

Frowning, the Admiral took everything his XO was telling him while thinking about the different options offered to them after everything he saw on Earth. "From what I know of their capabilities, the Cylons are in for a rough fight, I don't envy them. Did he tell you what ships will be used for his attack? I know that many of our people are now living in the Live Zones of his ships. How are the reparations of our FTL drive coming along?"

"They are well on their way since we cannibalized the necessary parts from the evacuated ships in the Fleet, I estimate 4 to 5 days to complete the reparations and then we will need to test everything so maybe 6 days. Admiral Delterre told me that the ships used for the attack will indeed be the ones with many of our people onboard but he assured me that what happened to his damaged cruiser will not happen again and that our people are safe. Frankly they are safer with them in the middle of a battle than on the Galactica or aboard some dingy old civilian ship" Responded Tigh.

"Very well, maintain the ship on alert and the batteries on. Ask Admiral Delterre if we could send someone to act as a liaison for us on their ships to see how they operate. If they accept, send M. Gaeta to the Glory, he is our more knowledgeable officer in technology and was ready to start the war college before the war, he will be able to analyze the tactics used by the Terran Space Navy. I also want you to transmit these coordinates to the fleet, I want them to jump there for security purposes and ask the admiral if he could provide them a Heavy Carrier as an escort."

The Admiral then exited the CIC, heading towards the conference room were Laura Roslin was presiding over the Government. The priority right now was to prepare the Fleet for the many jumps awaiting them to rejoin with their new Home. Thanks to the Terrans computer capabilities and their stellar maps, they were able to pre calculate the different coordinates necessary so that instead of 

200 jumps with coordinates to calculate each time, only 20 jumps were required to travel the 2000 light years.

After the dismantlement of the oldest ships and the replenishment of their reserves everything was ready materially, the only ship not ready was in fact the Galactica.

As he arrived in the conference room, he took his place next to Laura Roslin, with Lieutenant Rawthorne seated beside her, ready to assist. The Admiral started by informing everyone of the planned attack on the Cylon fleet by the Terran Space Navy. The Admiral exposed is plan to have the majority of the Civilian Fleet, escorted by one of the Terran Heavy Carriers, jump to a secure location out of the system, while the Galactica, immobilized but not disarmed, would stay here to provide bait for the Cylons.

The only thing left on the agenda was the announcement of the treaty signed with the Terran Federation to the people of the fleet. To make the most impact, the entire delegation would be present at the conference.

As they were getting ready to start the conference, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta was preparing his bag to become the Colonial observer on the General's Glory, exited at the idea of watching the action from a Terran Space Navy Ship. What he didn't expect however was to be beamed out directly from his quarters with his bag, directly in front of an amused Lieutenant Commander Mugabe waiting for him in the transport room. Recovering from his shock and gathering what remained of his dignity, Lieutenant Gaeta stood at attention clearly announcing his rank and affiliation. "Lieutenant Felix Gaeta, Colonial Fleet, Sir!"

Smiling at the enthusiastic young man, Lieutenant Commander Lionel Mugabe saluted him then led him to his quarters. Felix was surprised to discover the quarters reserved for him. While officers onboard the Galactica were reserved more spacious quarters with only 3 others officers to share, his quarters resembled Admiral Adama's quarters with a bed, a desk and a bathroom but no sofa. He turned towards the Colonel, expecting him to laugh and bring him to his real quarters "Commander, Sir, are you sure these are the right quarters? I would prefer to receive the same treatment as your officers, Sir."

Looking with an eyebrow raised at the young Lieutenant in front of him the Lieutenant Commander responded to him" Lieutenant, these are the quarters used by Officers from the Lieutenant rank up to Captain, the officers from Lieutenant Commander Rank up to Commander have more spacious quarters. The ensigns share quarters such as these by pairs, and the Non commissioned officers by 4. Below that grade, the fleet personnel are lodged in dormitories if they are single. Any married personnel of any rank dispose of apartments with their family, if they live onboard, on the Life Zone. So do not worry you are receiving no preferential treatment. Now hurry up we need to be on the Bridge."

Placing his bag on the bed and following the Lieutenant Commander in the direction of the nearest Beam globe, they soon found themselves on the Bridge, Gaeta taking everything he saw with wonderment. Coming to attention in front of Commander Peng and the Admiral, he saluted both then observed everything around him, noting the professionalism that each crew member displayed in front of him. More, the discipline on the ship while strict left enough maneuvering for a casual 

atmosphere of camaraderie to be present and you could feel it in the crew. But more importantly, the life conditions aboard Terran ships were very comfortable compared to their colonial equivalent and it helped to maintain a good morale on ships clearly made for long deployments.

He noted with rapt attention the holographic display in the center of the Bridge surrounded with consoles and personnel. A hologram of an alien was busy pointing different ships of Cylon configuration in a far corner of the holographic map, instructing the different crew members of the weak spots he detected on the Cylon ships.

He couldn't help but be impressed with the view offered to him by the Bridge, opened directly to space via a huge window where he could see several Civilian ships floating in space. Such a point of view was impossible onboard a ship like the Galactica were the CIC was situated deep in the bowels of the ship to protect it from a direct attack. Such a mentality was however obsolete in these ships where energy shields protected the bridge from a direct hit. What Lieutenant Gaeta couldn't know at the moment was that what he thought of reinforced glass was in fact a transparent metallic alloy as resistant as the rest of the ship and capable of sustaining heavy hits against its surface.

"One day", he thought to himself, «I might become a member of a Terran ship and explore the stars with them. Even if I am but a passenger or a member of a delegation, young or old, I might come back and explore."

But for now his ambitions of explorations needed to be put on hold as his people required him to observe and learn anything he could, and hope. Hope that this war, this genocide, will end.

"Yes, now we have hope." He thought.


Colonial One, Orbiting the Uninhabitable moon of a gas giant, System unknown

Laura Roslin, followed by the colonial delegation to the Terran Federation stepped into the stage ready to address the ships in the Fleet. They had received, a half hour before, the agreement from Admiral Delterre to Admiral Adama's plan of using the Galactica as bait and sending ahead the Civilian fleet, with the Heavy Carrier Autumn's Equinox as escort. The Cruisers would be deployed as sentries, 5 would stay with the Galactica, despite Admiral Adama's objection and 9 will follow the civilian fleet, a 100 light years en route to the new world.

Lieutenant Gaeta was getting ready to transport to the Glory, and the 25th Fleet was ready to depart for their offensive action against the Cylons. Admiral Delterre was waiting for the end of the conference to depart, in a show of support and to prevent a panic in the Fleet at the sudden disappearance of their protectors.

The President stepped on the podium and placed her notes in front of her, took a breath and started. "My dear compatriots, you know that a Colonial Delegation was sent to the Terran Home world, in part to finalize the treaty entering us into the Terran Federation, and in part to verify that Earth is really the Capital of the Terran Federation they speak about, the ones described in our sacred scrolls as the 13th colony. I can now assure you that the Terran Home World IS the fabled Earth we were searching for. "She paused a moment for the cheers to subside then continued."As of now we are provisional members of the Terran Federation and will be leaving to our new world, which we decided to name, New Kobol. As Kobol was our birthplace, New Kobol will be the place of our rebirth as a people free of genocide and war.

We colonials will survive the Cylons and more than that we will LIVE.

During the long journey ahead of us, the 25th fleet will protect us with every bit of efficiency they displayed before. But more importantly they will do so by taking on the Cylons head on. As I speak, a part of the 25th fleet is ready to head off towards a Cylon fleet they detected and destroy them. To the courageous crew of the 25th Fleet I say good hunting, to the Cylons I say, reap the whirlwind!"

As she finished her allocution, a great vortex of energy opened in front of the General's Glory and several Terran ships where they disappeared in a large flash of light. The war was coming to the Cylons, be they ready for it or not.


As you see in this chapter I introduced a change in Atlantis's general configuration. As some of you know, the City ships were originally designed to land on pre placed outpost (like the one on Earth), the Outpost becoming a part of the City. Here the City was anchored to an outpost structure, anchored itself to the bottom of the Ocean. The Senate is thus situated below the city in the ocean but still remains a complete part of it as it connects to it like an outpost.

I also introduced a new type of small ships, besides the usual Jumper. After obtaining the plans for the creation of the Jumpers in the Ancient database, the Terrans created several types of variants of its designs made specifically for example to transport more people, troops or cargo. They are still able to fit through the Gate but are longer or smaller.

I for example will introduce some of the typical ships used in the Terran Space Troopers for the deployment of soldiers:

The Marauder class: These ships are used in deep cover missions by Special Forces. The ships are small, able to fit through the gate but heavily armed. They use a complete cloak design that renders them able to stay indictable for month or able to phase directly to bypass shields and defenses used on Stargates. They have a different design, shaped like a needle with 7 nacelles extending from behind (4) and the Front (3). They are also capable of a limited Hyper space drive.

15 drone missiles.

I Plasma multidirectional canon (think Al'Kesh)

The Grand Fisher class: Huge ships used as a rapid and massive deployment of troops in combat zones. They are capable of moving 10 000 soldiers or personnel to great distances. They posses limited weapon capability with only one drone platform but use a very powerful shield system. Their hyper space drive is fast to permit a rapid deployment.

The Fisher Class: Small to Medium sized ships, the ship size render him unable to pass through the stargate, used for the deployment of personnel from Capital ship to ship or Capital ship to planet; they transport soldiers in a dematerialized form with the help of a wraith beam. They have a capacity of a thousand and are able to deploy them in waves of 200. They are unarmed but shield protected. 

Their main weapon is their speed as they are capable of attaining the speed of light with minimal problem for the crew as the ship can be then used on auto pilot from the Capital Ship.