Chapter Thirteen – After Action Reports
"Corporal, tell us what happened aboard the Omicron Traveler," Colonel Tigh began.
"Sir," the Corporal responded. "We met the Terran Marines at the docking port."
"You didn't notice anything strange about them?" Secretary Bradon asked.
"No sir," the Corporal replied. "The, well cyborg I guess, must have been tucked in behind the others. I was also mostly dealing with Sgt Hiwakawa. He left the shuttle pilot and one of his Marines behind and we proceeded to cargo hold Alpha to set up a distribution station."
"What happened once you got to the hold Corporal?"
"Things were preceding normally Sir," Hiwakawa said. "Once we were about a third of the way in private Ulaniki stepped out from behind me. That's when someone in the crowd shouted that we were Cylons."
"The Colonial Marines and security personnel didn't open fire at this point?" Major Black asked.
"No Sir," Hiwakawa replied. "As you can see from the suit cams, the Colonials were caught off guard, but in my judgment they stayed in control. One of them did draw a weapon on Ulaniki but it was a defensive measure."
"That's when you ordered your team to pull back to the shuttle."
"They began to fall back," the Corporal said. "They had their hands up. No weapons were visible. Myself and the other security officer tried to keep the crowd back. Porter kept his weapon pointed at the cyborg."
"Who opened fire first?"
"One of the civilians Sir. I think it was a woman. She bolted out of the crowd and grabbed the weapon out of Porter's hand. She fired at the cyborg. That's when the Terrans activated their sound weapon."
"Yes Sir," Hiwakawa replied. "On my orders the unit activated sonics. I tried to pull the team back but we were cut off at the entrance. The Colonial's must have limited noise protection built into their helmets. They recovered and opened fire. In my judgment we could not reach the shuttle without employing lethal force. So I ordered my team to take cover behind some boxes and building material and wait for extraction."
"That's when what I thought were Centurions came through the hull," the Corporal said.
"According the Hirita those were Marines in 'battle armor'," Tigh said.
"Things were over six feet tall," the Corporal said. "I didn't see any faces, just solid armor. They pushed back the crowd with some kind of compressed air weapon. It seemed to work like a water hose except it used air. They also had some kind of expandable foam. They built a wall to isolate the Terrans and protect their escape route," the Corporal shook his head. "That's when the orders to stand down and let Terrans pull out came through."
"The video backs up Hiwakawa's and the other Marines' report," Major Black reported. "It looks like the Colonial Marine and fleet security personnel were going to allow the unit to pull back. That's when the woman broke in and fired on Ulaniki."
"I can't believe they panicked over a simple cybernetic arm," Lt Toray said. "They're a space-faring civilization. You'd think prosthetics would be more accepted. How are they going to react to a Jack?"
"From what Hirita told me," Tigh said. "The use of cybernetic enhancements, as he called them, is rather widespread in the League. Most people use 'cosmetics' to make the cybernetics appear normal."
"By the Lords of Kobol," Bradon said. "They are walking the path of the Cylons."
"From what we learned on the Agamemnon they've never developed AIs," Adama said. "They don't realize how dangerous reliance on computers and networked systems is."
"The Cylons will have a field day with them," Tigh said. "I don't care how big their ships are."
"The primary relief units from Edora are due to arrive in four days. The reinforcements Colonel Anehachi requested will be arriving five days later," Admiral Sane said.
"Then we will be able to place full Jack support on every League vessel in the Trowley system," Colonel Anehachi said.
"Where are you with analyzing the Cylon's codes?" Captain Wallen asked.
"I believe we have isolated the mechanism by which the Cylons were able to download data into the Firebird's system," Anehachi replied. "I should be receiving a full report back from Cybernetics command within the next two days. If my group's analysis of how the Cylon worm functions is confirmed then we should be able to develop a counter worm to employ against them."
"Dump a full report to my terminal," Admiral Sane requested.
"Captain Theobald refuses to allow any Terran back aboard his ship," Keikeya reported. "Five other Captains say the same thing."
"That won't be a problem now that we are routing all relief efforts through the Galactica," Tigh said.
"Are we certain they are not Cylons?" President Elosha asked.
"Madam President," Adama replied. "If the Cylons possessed technology like what we have seen thus far from the Terrans there would have been no survivors from the Colonies. They wouldn't have needed to bother with subterfuge to destroy our fleet. A single Terran light survey ship destroyed at least one Basestar and most likely crippled two others."
"I concur Madam President," Bradon said. "They are humans, our fellow descendants from Kobol. Although they do not acknowledge their past."
"How could they have lost the knowledge of Kobol," Elosha said.
"Admiral Sane, if I may," Dr. Linuma said.
"Yes Dr Linuma," Admiral Sane said. Dr. Linuma was the head of Trowley Station's research team. His department was responsible for initial assessment of all the information brought back by survey vessels and with dealing with any first contact situation.
"Sir," Linuma began. "With all due respect, this incident was largely caused by the fact that we are not treating this situation properly."
"Explain Dr.," Tetesomi said.
"Our initial response has been to deal with the Colonials like they are refugees from a League world," Linuma explained. "This simply will not do. We are dealing with a culture that has been on a separate development track for over two millennium. For all practical purposes this is a first contact situation. As such we should proceed under standard first contact protocols."
"They're humans," Toray said.
"Again, with over two millennium of cultural development separating them from us," Linuma noted. "I was equally blinded the humanity Lt. Which is why I did not speak sooner. Consider, Dr. Migumi's initial report indicates some minor genetic drift. Not enough to qualify as a separate species but enough to show a distinct difference. Obviously such a drift was caused by their long separation and multiple generations of exposure to alien environments. We've seen similar, if not as pronounced, drift among multi-generational colonists on League worlds."
"So what do you suggest Dr.?" Admiral Sane inquired.
"As I said, switch back to first contact protocols," Linuma responded. "A single, controlled point of contact that minimizes potential cultural misunderstandings. We should also minimize the number of personnel involved and if possible no one with obvious cybernetics should be assigned to relief operations."
"Adama has already agreed that all relief supplies will be distributed through the Galactica from now on," Tetesomi reported. "We'll deliver there and they can handle distribution to the rest of their fleet. Minimizing personnel is going to be tough. Colonel Hirita wants to increased security for his teams."
"They still don't know that we created the Cylons," Tigh said.
"Not yet," Adama acknowledged. "But we are going to have to tell them soon. They already know about the human form Cylons."
"Which you were ordered not to tell them about," Elosha said.
"Madam President," Bradon said. "I am forced to concede that Adama's action at the time was correct. We were in the midst of the crisis and he judged the Terrans needed to know. In fact he exercised proper restrain by limiting himself to just revealing information about the abominations that may still be among us."
"They are still among us," Adama said. "We all know Baltar's Cylon detector is of limited use, if it ever actually worked at all. Agents planted in the Fleet are the only logical way the Cylons could have kept tracking us. The Terrans need to be to be told the full truth."
"These Terrans allow themselves to be melded with machines," Bradon said. "They may view themselves as having more in common with the Cylons than us."
"It's a risk," Adama said. "But the longer we delay, the worse it will be when they do find out. One misunderstanding nearly ended in disaster."
"I will consider what you have said Commander," Elosha said. "But Bradon is also right. They are walking the same path that led to our destruction. We must be careful in how we deal with them. They fail to acknowledge Kobol as their birth world. This is troublesome."
"We need to know more about these Cylons," Nyguen said. "We still do not know why they attacked the Colonials or how they came into being in the first place."
"If it's true the Cylons can appear human we are going to have to limit Colonial access to the Fleet and we definitely can not allow them deeper into the League," Tetesomi noted. "How could they not have developed the means to identify them?"
"Good question," Captain Wallen said. "Any synthetic material in their makeup would be easy to find, even if they were cloned from human originals. A basic tissue test can tell the difference between regen organs or limbs in a few seconds."
"Their med tech is well below ours," Dr. Chee-hwa replied. "Corporal Knob's team aboard the Rising Star noted several people suffering from relatively easy to treat cancers. Their basic immunization package seems pretty good, but that's to be expected given a multi-planet society. They don't have regen tech like ours. According to the doctors aboard they use to have drugs that could accelerate tissue repair. But nowhere near as fast as ours. Sprains and minor bone breaks that we can handle in a few hours takes them days or weeks or to heal."
"They don't have actual research facilities," Tetesomi pointed out. "Depending on how good the copy, they may not have the resources to develop an effective detector."
"There is still something they are not telling us," Wallen said.
"Dr. Linuma, review all our communications with the Colonials. See if you can figure out what else they haven't told us about the Cylons. I'm going to try speaking with Commander Adama again."
"Do you think he will tell you anything?" Captain Tetesomi asked.
"He and his officers seemed very uncomfortable about something," Admiral Sane said. "Have the relief teams keep their eyes open too. Given the level of their technology I doubt the Colonials realize the effectiveness of a skinsuits sensor suite."
"Do you want him to try and tap their systems or deploy recon units? Their ships internal sensors would probably miss our bugs," Tetesomi asked.
"No, not yet" Admiral Sane replied. "Just keep their eyes and ears open. I also need to press to get a hold of the Cylon technology the Colonials possess."
"What do we really know about these Terrans?" Keikeya asked.
"Very little," Bradon responded. "We spent most of our time on the Agamemnon discussing the Cylons."
"From what I could gather from Hirita and the other Terran Marines," Tigh began. "Earth seems to have established colonies on three or four other worlds maybe a couple of more."
"So Earth is probably nearby then," Keikeya said.
"That's my guess," Tigh replied.
"That might explain why they've committed so much firepower to protecting this system," Adama noted. "They don't want to risk allowing a hostile force to get near their worlds."
"There are fifteen ships riding herd on us," Tigh said. "Long range telemetry and optics show five or six more in orbit around the fourth planet. We know additional transport craft are supposed to be arriving within the next few days. That would represent a sizable percentage of the Colonial fleet. One world, even with a couple of satellite colonies," Tigh shook his head. "These Terrans are making a huge commitment. When the Cylons disrupt their network computers they're looking at a disaster."
"Then we have to convince them they cannot hold this system," Adama said.
"They were fixated on the hyper-capabilities of the Cylon Raiders," Apollo noted. "I'm guessing but it would seem they don't have small craft capable of hyper-light jumps."
"It did take us decades to solve the power problem," Tigh said. "Of course with the range their weapons seem to function at, I'm not certain how effective fighters would be."
"Their forces seem very experienced in combat operations," Apollo continued.
"They fought a war a few years ago against an alien race called the Shawn," Tigh said. "Sounds like it lasted for decades."
"A true alien race," Elosha said. "We have never encountered any evidence of alien societies."
"I wasn't able to learn much," Tigh said. "Their Marines are pretty lipped. Spoke in generalities, not specifics. When I tried to get specific Hirita switched the conversation back to relief operations."
"So we really don't know anything about what they can do?" Keikeya said. "Or just what we have encountered."
"Most of our ships are still tucked in behind Trowley Two," Tetesomi reported. "It's unlikely the Galactica can see them."
"Are we expecting additional reinforcements?" Nyguen asked.
"Depends on the nature of the Cylon threat," Admiral Sane answered. "Between Eighth Fleet and the system picket we have 57 combat capable ships in system. Captain Wallen, what's your group's assessment of what the Cylons might throw at us?"
"The Colonial fleet numbered 126 capital ships," Wallen said. "We can assume the Cylons had at least parity. Preference is to estimate high. Assume 200 Basestars at their disposal. If Adama is right and Cylons are trailing their fleet in anticipation of engaging something equivalent to one Colonial colony than they most would come with what they would assume to be overwhelming force."
"How many would that be?"
"I'd say 20 to 25 Basestars," Wallen replied. "That would represent an enormous commitment for a long range chase. But Cylons don't strike me as doing anything by half measures."
"20 to 25 ships to go after a full colony?" Captain Tetesomi said. "Edora's home fleet numbers over 100 ships and that's without Third Fleet backing them. Virtually every full colony system can deploy over 100 ships for local defense. Twelve worlds could only field 126 capital ships like the Galactica. Eighth Fleet was larger than that at its full wartime strength."
"Hyper-capable fighters significantly increase their firepower and flexibility," Wallen pointed out. "We have only two carriers. That gives us 360 fighters and 80 gunboats. We use them as defensive platforms to supplement our close in weapons. According to the Colonials a single Basestar can deploy at least 250 Raiders."
"20 Basestars translates to five thousand fighters," Nyguen said in amazement.
"And being jump capable negates our range advantage," Wallen continued. "A couple of dozen nukes are meaningless to a Battleship. A couple of hundred launched at less than 500 kilometers is a different story. Most of our defensive systems are designed assuming a 200 to 300 hundred thousand kilometer engagement zone."
"We dealt with the Shawn's assault craft," Toray said.
"They were 20 meters long and only jumped in eight or nine at a time," Wallen replied. "We're talking about fighters jumping in potentially in dozens if not hundreds at time. They can swamp our close in weapons."
"The grav spike gives us back our range advantage," Tetesomi said. "From what we've learned they can't touch anything over ten thousand klicks away and most of their weapons have an effective range of well under a thousand kilometers. Freeze them out a million or so klicks away and its and turkey shoot for us."
"Too risky to deploy without knowing more about the Cylon's full capabilities," Admiral Sane said. "If it looks like its going to come to a fight, we take out the Basestars before they can launch their Raiders. And there is alternatives given their preference for tight formations."
"I recommend pulling third fleet to Trowley," Admiral Stanton said. "It would only take Fleet a couple of days to route another reserve unit to Edora anyway. Seeing over 120 ships would probably keep the Cylons from engaging. Hyper-capable fighters or not."
A/N - I had spacers in this chapter when I entered it the first time. For some reason they disappeared when the chapter was posted. Sorry for the confusion.