Chapter 11: The Big Showdown
It was far overhead but the light from the star known as Kaylar was reflected in such a way that it was clear that something unnatural was occurring in the sky above. The people in the square stood transfixed, wondering what it was. Some of the younger children started to cry and their parents hugged them close.
A second, smaller flash was seen briefly but then it disappeared.
Apollo cleared his throat and announced, "I apologize for beginning the presentation of our defense a bit earlier than perhaps you would have liked, Your Eminence, but please understand that, under the circumstances, the timing was a little difficult to guess."
There was a round of nervous laughter from some of the adults in the crowd.
"Order! There will be order in this tribunal!" cried out the magistrate as he repeatedly banged his fist on the podium.
"Thank you, Magistrate," said Apollo, as if the magistrate was restoring order for him. "If all went as planned, the light you see above is the reflection of the Kaylar's rays off of the Nisten Surveyor, the ship that brought your ancestors to this world. The ship is too large and too fragile in its current condition to be allowed to enter Kaylar Epsilon's atmosphere to land, so the second little blip you may have seen was a shuttlecraft departing the Nisten Surveyor for the planet. The descent will take a little while, so please bear with me. You should soon begin to see a heat trail as the shuttlecraft speeds through the atmosphere making its way here. That will disappear over the horizon in a few moments but it will be here a little while after that."
The "oohs" and "ahs" that started about that time confirmed Apollo's statement as a streak covered the sky and then disappeared in the distance.
"Order!" shouted the magistrate, again banging his fist on the stand in front of him.
Apollo again chose to take advantage of the magistrate's unwitting assistance and said, "The prosecution has charged me with, what was it?" He glanced down at his notes, not so much to review the charges, which he knew by heart, but to stall for every micron possible. Summarizing he said, "Basically, I'm charged with sedition and making false claims about how your people came here and what's happening beyond that may soon affect you all. I'm here to tell you that I am innocent of these charges and that your government's failure to understand my words and act on them threatens not only that government but your very existence."
Magistrate Macklin was pounding the stand again, but this time his face was bright red and the spittle was flying as he cried, "Yee cannot make such claims without proof! Yee—"
"Indeed! I wouldn't think of it!" exclaimed Apollo. "My proof is coming on that shuttlecraft that is currently making its orbital descent. That isn't instantaneous, so I'm going to tell these good people a story, a true story, so that they'll be able to judge for themselves in just a little while when they see the truth we present."
"Yee'll not do any such thing!" shouted the magistrate. "We must have proof, not stor—"
A chorus of boos from the crowd cut him off. One of the men stood as the shouting continued. When it calmed slightly, the man started calling out over it, "Macklin! Let the man speak! If this is what some of us have heard, then it's an emergency and we may not have a government soon! We may not have anything, or even be alive, soon, so let him have his say!"
Many of the other people in the crowd stood as well, men and women, and even a few of the older children who understood at least a little of what might be at stake.
The magistrate looked over at his guards, as if demanding action, but they seemed to be as interested in Apollo's story as the rest of the crowd. Slowly it calmed, though the magistrate was still sputtering angrily.
"Thank you," said Apollo. "The Colonial people have been a war with the Cylons for about 1,000 yahrens. Approximately three yahrens ago, we received an inquiry from them about ending the war by negotiating for peace. Our people were excited about the prospects for peace after such a long time, but it turned out to be a ruse. When we arrived at the so-called Peace Conference just over two yahrens ago…"
For ten centons, Apollo told the story of the Cylon attacks, the genocide across the 12 Colonies, the resulting Exodus, and start of the search for a new home. "Billions had died and millions more were beyond help. We were in no shape to continue fighting the entire Cylon military, so we rescued everyone possible and ran to save as much of humanity as we could. Unfortunately, the Cylons would not just take our worlds and leave us in peace; no, they have followed us, seeking to kill every last one of us, every last human everywhere."
The crowd was silent, seemingly breathless, as Apollo continued.
"They have been following us for the past two yahrens, but some sectars ago, we lost them and haven't seen them since then. We know from their past actions and their leaders we have captured that they have not given up, that they won't give up. However, we have something that they don't have, something that, as machines, they can't have. We have hope. We know there are brothers of man out there somewhere, on the 13th Colony known as Earth. We are in the process of finding this colony and reuniting with it. Together with them, we will build a new civilization, one that is better and stronger than before, and one that will not allow itself to be deceived if the Cylons ever come again."
Some in the crowd were nodding in agreement, but many looked frightened over what they'd heard. The rumors that had been circulating since the Colonial's arrival was true, if that is, he was telling the truth.
"Why do yee tell us these things?" asked a woman holding a small child. "These Cylons, if they exist since our history tells us they don't, have no gripe against our people. They will not come here; even if they do, they will see that we mean them no harm. Why should we be afraid of them?"
Apollo nodded. "I wish I could give you the answer to your questions. If I, or someone, could, we might have figured out how to stop the war many yahrens ago. Unfortunately, the Cylons appear to be single-minded, unchanging, unforgiving. They have pursued us relentlessly for over two yahrens, even after wiping out 12 worlds and well over 99 percent of our people. Something drives them to destroy the rest of us. They will not relent until we are gone and anyone else who looks like us. Our only hope is to be able to escape. That, my friends, is why I am on trial. I have asked Magistrate Macklin to have your people come with us as we search for the 13th Colony. Our people can protect yours; your people can strengthen ours. Together, we can succeed."
Macklin had been red-faced throughout Apollo's address, but he'd finally had enough. Standing he shouted, "This man tries to sell you dreams by spreading his baseless fears! All he is doing is trying to destroy everything that we, our fathers and mothers, and all of the generations before them, have created. Now, he has had his say, and now it is time for ours! Tribunal jury, how do yee find the defendant? Guilty or not?"
"Magistrate! I object!" called Apollo. "I still have other evidence to present that will be here shortly."
Magistrate Macklin looked sternly at Apollo. "First, there will be no more objections from you. You have made a mockery of this tribunal, so if you say another word not in response to a direct question, you will be silenced." His raised eyebrows accented the unspoken "or else." The magistrate then made a show of looking around the area. "I see no other evidence present. Does anyone else?"
Since no one spoke up in agreement, Macklin slammed his fist down on the lectern. "With no other evidence present, I call for the tribunal jury's vote. Guilty or not."
The head of a crossbow bolt poked Apollo in the back as he opened his mouth to object in spite of the magistrate's warning. Looking back, Apollo saw the sullen guard from earlier in the day give him an evil grin.
The magistrate was continuing. "Now is the time to decide. Vartus, yeer vote."
Apollo glanced over his right shoulder to see the nicer guard from earlier in the day now standing close behind him, too. This man had a pained expression as if he was sorry.
"Well, Vartus? What say yee, guilty or not?" The nicer guard shook his head.
Vartus, who happened to have taken the unlucky chair at the end of the front row, looked concerned and confused. "Uh, Magistrate, don't we get to deliberate and then vote in private?"
"No! Now! What is yeer vote?"
The frowning expression that Macklin was giving the juror finally did the trick as Vartus mumbled, "Uh, guilty. I guess."
"Good! Now we're getting somewhere!" said the magistrate, finally smiling for the first time in the proceeding. "Hober, yeer vote. Guilty or not?"
The unlucky man to Vartus' right looked even more confused than the first juror originally had. He finally got out a "Guilty?" Wimblin, Leet, and Kriston followed in turn.
The magistrate had just moved on to Genroa when heads in the crowd swiveled around as a rumbling noise similar to continuous thunder was heard in the distance. It grew louder by the micron until suddenly a ship became visible in the sky above the buildings next to the plaza. The ship slowed to a virtual standstill and then slowly maneuvered out over the plaza where, with jets turned downward, it began a practically vertical descent.
People in the plaza scrambled to make room for it, with some even moving their chairs. A number of the seats weren't so lucky, soon being crushed below the landing gear as the shuttle touched down. The engines stopped moments later and the people that had run away from the ship only microns before were now moving back toward it in awe and wonder.
Several bright lights suddenly appeared on the front of the shuttle, with beams focused forward. Coming together at a point, they created an image of disheveled man speaking into what was apparently a vid cam.
"Captain Shark!" called someone in the crowd. Several others who had seen his image in the records were soon agreeing.
The image continued speaking, with the people of the crowd listening intently.
"I fought Cylons as a Warrior in my youth, I fought them here a couple of sectons before as we escaped, and now I have one more opportunity to beat them. When I press this last line, it will activate a reactor overload that will destroy the Nisten Surveyor and our Cylon guests…Before I do that though, I'm going to send the distress call along with the copy of this ship's log…May the Lords be with us and those who come to our aid. Captain Shtarek of the Nisten Surveyor, signing off."
The image darkened and then resumed from a different angle.
"The fracking Cylons have destroyed our directional array, so I have no way of sending this from here on the ship. Therefore, I've salvaged a long range comm unit and a portable array, and I'll be sending the message from Kaylar Epsilon. I've promised my people that the message would be sent, and they're counting on me.
"The Cylons are in the ship now, so this is it. I don't have much time. Signing off and downloading. Please, please, come for our children and grandchildren."
The image faded, but a new image quickly took its place.
"Citizens of Kaylar Epsilon," called out Apollo, "Captain Shtarek did not get to destroy the Nisten Surveyor as he'd planned. The Cylons evidently prevented that, and here's an image of it now as our people are working on the ship, doing repairs."
A number of workers in enviro-suits could be seen working on the hull. "Can you swivel that vid cam?"
The image shifted from the ship toward a green and blue ball below. "This is Kaylar Epsilon, the planet you call Kay'silon. Boomer, can you zoom it?"
The ball grew and filled the screen. The focus continued to change until it reached a point that mountains, rivers, and finally trees could be seen. "Sorry, Apollo, almost got it," called a voice over a speaker outside the shuttle. "There!"
The image coming into focus drew a new round of "Oohs!" and "Ahs!" from the people around the plaza as they recognized the plaza itself with the shuttle in the middle. Individual people could be seen, though the image didn't sharpen on their faces. A person who suddenly ran to the right and dodged back to the left shouted out, "That's me!" as he recognized himself in the vid. Laughter came from some and several others tried similar movements to locate themselves in the image.
Having given them time to adjust, Apollo continued speaking to the people. "As you heard in Captain Shtarek's own words, he didn't get to send the message from the ship because the directional array was broken, and you know from your records that he never arrived, or at least, was never seen on the planet, so that is why no one ever found your people before now." Turning toward the shuttle, he added, "Boomer, next sequence, please."
As the image started to play, it showed many people gathered in large cities. Banners reading "Peace!" could be seen in some of the shots. Apollo said, "This may be difficult to watch, but it's what was actually recorded by ships of the Fleet from vid feeds from the Colonies during what we believed was a peace conference with the Cylons. I've asked for it to be speeded up for a bit until…there."
Cylon Raiders were doing strafing and bombing runs. Flames lit the skies and mushroom clouds could be seen rising in the distance in some images before they flickered out, being replaced by new images.
Apollo's voice caught as he watched the images but he forced himself to continue. "They hit us with every weapon in their arsenal: lasers, bombs, chemicals, and bio-agents. They killed billions and left our worlds practically uninhabitable and completely indefensible. As the fallout and bio-agents spread, the planets would have become less and less inhabitable, so that was when we had to take what we could and flee."
The image changed again, this time to space where several battlestars could be traveling together. "These ships were heading to the peace conference with the Cylons when they attacked us." Hundreds of Raiders were seen filling space around the Colonial capital ships before the large ships, one by one, exploded.
Apollo was looking down as he finally called, "Enough." The image winked out a moment later.
"Trickery!" shouted the magistrate as he came down from the podium. "There is no proof here. This is only vid cam trickery. There are no Cylons and we are in no danger here. The only danger is people like this Colonial who would come to steal what we have built."
Apollo nodded toward the shuttle as the magistrate moved closer and continued to shout against him.
The shuttle door opened a few moments later and more than one person screamed as a Cylon Centurion stepped out down the ramp. He was wrapped in chains as he hobbled down the ramp. Boomer was following close behind with a strange box in his hand, while Brie stood with her blaster drawn from the cover of the shuttle doorway.
"Citizens," called Apollo, "this is one of the Cylon Centurions that chased your ancestors here over 400 of your orbits ago. It is as capable of chasing you down and killing you today as it was all of those yahrens ago. Each of those Raiders you saw in the vid images contains three centurions, each of their BaseStars may hold a million of them, and their homeworlds hold countless more. They—"
The Centurion, on reaching the bottom of the ramp and stepping on solid ground, suddenly had the first advantage it had had in hundreds of yahrens. Utilizing the great strength contained in its motors, servos, and hydraulics, it snapped its arms and legs, breaking the chains that bound it. It moved toward Macklin and a guard with a crossbow and was about to grab it when a blue beam pulsed out of the box that Boomer was aiming toward it. The Cylon collapsed, falling forward on its face.
Apollo looked at Boomer questioningly, wondering about how he had stopped the Cylon, but he had no time to ask since he was suddenly surrounded by citizens of Six Towns who were asking how the Fleet could help them and what they could do to help the people of the Fleet.
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Author's Note: I apologize that it has taken so long to complete this chapter, but I really appreciate the recent encouragement from Feball, Max, and VBobier. Thanks to all of you and all of my readers. Your follows, favorites, reviews, and comments will be greatly appreciated, too. I hope to have the epilogue completed soon.
