Disclaimer: BSG belongs to Glen Larson and the corporations respectively. Sorry I am uncertain who owns which rights at this time unfortunately it is not me. No infringement is intended and this is just a fan fiction for the author amusement and to hopefully entertain others.
Chapter 9: Loose Ends
Battlestar Orpheus – Flag Officers Quarters.
"Things are beginning to look up. Thanks to the stops at the Cygnus shipyard and here at Carillon, we now have the ships we need to transport the population on this journey. But the people need more stability; they need to feel that their needs are being tended to. Having a military force in control will only breed contempt in the long run" Kronus said to Colonel Omega when they were alone in his quarters.
"They are used to the confidence they had in the government" Omega replied.
Admiral Kronus thought about that for a minute. "There needs to be a civilian authority of some sort. With Roslin already named as President, Adama will have what constitutes as the Colonial Government with him. We need to have something along those lines, but more in keeping with the nature of the situation we find ourselves in. Have someone check to see if we have any government people in the fleet, and ask them to come up with a proposal. Then we'll schedule some elections for the various posts."
"We're still in the process of completing a census, but once that is done it will let us know who the eligible voters are. We'll also have to come up with a way to register their votes."
Cruise Liner City of Eden – Conference Room A
Eileen Fields sat at the table in the conference room scrutinizing the other people who had been gathered together. All of those present had been government officials before the Cylon attacks, now they had been thrust together to help form a new civilian authority.
"One thing is certain; we cannot live under martial law for any extended period of time. Admiral Kronus has achieved a great deal just rescuing the people and protecting us. His responsibility should be the military and its continued protection of the fleet. If our way of life is to survive, we need to form a new government" she stated.
Warren Caso, a tall bald man in his early fifties interjected his opinion. "Your right Eileen. The problem lies in what form the new government takes. Adar may have been killed but the rules of succession have been followed. We are all aware that Laura Roslin was sworn in as the new President of the Colonies. Until we meet up with Galactica, we will have to form an administrative body that will not conflict with the rightful government."
The voice of a young, blond haired man at the far end of the table, who had thus far remained quiet, called out "Excuse me. My name is Joseph Leman. I used to be a Presidential Aide. When I attended Caprica University, I studied the history of our political system. Before the Articles of Colonisation were signed, each Colony had its own planetary government. The head of the government was called the Governor General and the legislative body was known as the Senate. We could adjust that arrangement so that each Colony was represented in the Senate by one representative, just like the Quorum".
The former Under Secretary of Justice spoke up. "I like that proposal. Especially in light of the way the Admirals staff is distributing the populace so that the people on each ship are from the same colony."
"The trouble is going to be holding elections. With the people spread out over so many ships, it's going to be difficult to organise staffing for the polling stations" Warren added.
"Well we don't have enough Marshall's in the fleet to man the polling stations, but that is something we could discuss with the Admiral. Maybe he will let us use the Marines for that role" Joseph said.
Eileen glanced around the table. Everyone seemed to be smiling as the proposal came together. "Ok. If we're all in agreement then I'll let the Admiral know what we've decided. In the mean time, put out feelers for prospective candidates for the Senate and Governors positions."
Battlestar Orpheus – Flag Officers Quarters
Aaron Doral had been staying on the 'Haven' since they had evacuated from Valhalla Anchorage and had finally been able to get a shuttle over to the Orpheus. With his administrative skills, he had always prided himself on the work he did for Militech as Admiral Kronus's personal assistant.
On arriving at the Flag Officers suite, he had commandeered the outer office area for himself, organising the area to resemble the office he had on Valhalla station. Now he was standing inside Admiral Kronus's office, looking at the disaster area that passed itself of as a desk. Paperwork work spread all over the surface, a disorganised mess.
"I'm sorry Aaron, but you know how disorganised I can be" Kronus said contritely.
His look softening, Aaron turned to face Admiral Kronus "That's alright Sir. I'll have all this sorted out in next to no time" he replied. "By the way, Admiral. A Miss Eileen Fields wishes to see you as soon as possible regarding the plans for the new civil administration. I've arranged to have her brought over from the 'City Of Eden' within the hour."
"Thank-you Aaron, what would I do without you? As soon as she arrives, escort her here. I think the sooner we have a new government set up, the better."
Battlestar Orpheus – Port Side Hanger Deck
Star powered down the raptor as it descended into the bay. Turning to the single passenger, who was sitting in the jump seat in the rear compartment, she said "I hope you enjoyed the ride ma'am".
"Thank you lieutenant. Where will I be meeting with the Admiral?" Eileen Fields asked.
"I'm not sure ma'am, but it looks as though he sent someone to escort you" Star replied as she glanced out of the front of the raptor and saw Aaron Doral walking across the deck towards them.
The raptors hatch slowly opened and Eileen hiked up her dress before crossing the threshold and climbing down off the stubby wing. Looking up she saw a young man in a casual suite smiling at her.
"Miss Fields. Welcome aboard the Colonial Battlestar Orpheus. If you'll follow me please, I'll escort you to the Admirals office" he politely spoke.
She silently nodded her head and started to follow behind him as they made their way towards the elevator. Glancing around she took in all the activity on the hanger deck – vipers being repaired and serviced, parts being machined and saw not a single soul standing around as if they had nothing to do. She was impressed with the dedication of the crew.
Construction Yard Aegis – Operations Centre
"Well Commander, there she is. The newest Battlestar in the Colonial Fleet. She's affectionately known as a pocket Battlestar. Basically that means she's three quarters the length of a Columbia Class but with the armament of Mercury." Colonel Abel said.
The two men were standing side by side, peering out of the large panoramic window of the Operations Centre, taking in the view of the Battlestar in the yard. With her running lights on and the flood lights from the yard reflecting off the hull, she was truly a beautiful sight to behold.
"You know, with the destruction of the colonies, I had given up hope of getting my own command" the newly appointed Commander Stephen Carter said as they turned away from the window and began to make their way through the complex to the airlock connecting the Construction Yard and the Battlestar.
"Well, if Admiral Kronus can obtain enough raw materials for us, she may not be the last. How's the crew shaping up?"
Commander Carter glanced at his counterpart "they are quickly finding their way around. You know, we were fairly lucky. Both the Battlestars Pegasus and Osiris were in the Scorpion shipyards for upgrades to their CNP when the attack came and the majority of their crews were down on the surface near the spaceport when we landed. So far we have been able to find complete crews for the Colossus and the Minoa from the survivors of those two ships."
"An experienced crew will make all the difference if we're attacked again. We'll here we are Commander. Good hunting out there" Abel said as they arrived at the airlock hatchway. The two men saluted each other before Commander Carter entered the airlock and headed into the ship, the airlock closing behind him.
Battlestar Minoa – CIC
"Commander on deck" someone shouted as Commander Carter entered the CIC.
"As you were" he replied almost automatically whilst looking around the room, it's a lot smaller than I envisaged he thought to himself. Walking across to the plot table in the centre of the room, he studied the faces of his new crew. Still scanning the room, his eyes caught the image on the far wall, a freshly painted emblem of the Battle Group the Minoa was to be attached to. 'Battlestar Minoa BSG 5' the emblem proudly stated.
The new executive officer came and stood beside him at the plot table. "Welcome aboard Commander. All stations report ready for departure."
Commander Carter nodded "Very well XO. Initiate departure procedures and let's move her out. The sooner we're out of the yard, the sooner the knuckle draggers can start on the next Supertanker."
Colonel Xander Tyner picked up the handset "All hands. This is the XO. Prepare the ship for departure. Secure the airlock" he said before replacing the handset. "Disengage umbilical's, thrusters to station keeping."
"All sections report ready Colonel" Ensign Baker announced from his position at the communications console.
The Commander nodded "Very well. Helm, ahead one quarter, take us out and manoeuvre us to our assigned station in the fleet."
The relatively small Battlestar started to pick up speed as it crossed the threshold of the Construction Yard. As Minoa was exiting one end of the yard, a couple of Colonial Tugs (Located on the surface of Carillon) began the delicate task of manoeuvring the mammoth hulk of the Supertanker into place, ready for the yards personnel to start work on it.
Battlestar Orpheus – Flag Officers Quarters.
Eileen Fields sat on the comfortable sofa in the Admirals office. Seated across from her in his armchair, Admiral Kronus was sipping from the cup of Java that Aaron had brought in for the pair before disappearing back to the outer office.
"So, Admiral..." she said only to be interrupted.
"Please call me Andrew, we're obviously going to be working closely together in the near future so I think we should be a little less formal when we're on our own" he said.
Eileen let a smile grace her delicate features. "Thank-you Andrew. As I was saying, we decided that it would be unwise to form our own traditional Government because it will undoubtedly cause more problems when we meet up with Galactica's fleet."
Kronus smiled. They have obviously thought this all through thoroughly he thought to himself, referring to the focus group his crew had selected for this particular task. "What did you come up with then, Eileen?"
Eileen picked up the folder she had prepared with the Focus groups proposal in it and passed it over to Andrew. "It's all laid out in there but it basically boils down to having a Governor General instead of the President and a Senate instead of the Quorum. Both the Governor's position and the Senate can then easily be integrated with the Government formed by Laura Roslin or dissolved without any problems. I have already instructed the others to start collecting names for potential candidates and elections can be held whenever you give the go ahead."
Andrew Kronus briefly looked through the proposal, "I like your idea's Eileen, especially about keeping the Government out of the Militaries hair. Proceed with your plans, if you need any assistance contact Aaron. We'll set a provisional date for elections as two weeks from today. That should give all candidates plenty of time for canvassing."
Carillon Orbital Hub – Slipway Eight Airlock
Chief Lampkin and the available deck hands had just sealed the airlock hatch. He picked up the handset on the wall which connected to the ship in the slipway. "Hub to Tanker 8. I show negative pressure in the airlock. You are clear for separation."
The voice on the other end of the line replied "Thank you Chief. We are disengaging now."
Turning around, he looked over the knuckle draggers that had helped to start up the systems on the eight Supertanker. "Ok people. We've still got a lot of work to do. Grab your tools and lets start stripping this place bare. No point in leaving it operational for the toasters."
The deck hands started to make their way down the corridor, separating to enter the various compartments. "And make sure we get everything usable. We'll inventory it later when we have it on one of the freighters."
Battlestar Orpheus – CIC
Ensign Jason Cain looked up from his console towards where Colonel Omega was standing talking with Captain's Pearce and Dualla. "Sir, the last of the Supertankers has disengaged from the hub and is proceeding to power up sublights to join the fleet."
Colonel Omega acknowledged him "How long before Chief Lampkin and his team are finished?"
Picking up the clipboard beside him to refer to his logs Ensign Cain replied "last report said four hours, Sir. Chief Benson's team on the surface reports they have completed stripping the mine and refinery facilities of anything remotely usable and are in the process of placing charges now."
"Good. Inform the Admiral. We've been lucky so far – 48 hours and no sign of the Cylons. That won't last though. They know we're out here somewhere, so they'll be sending out scouts before long to look for us. The sooner we can leave this system the better.