Ch 21
The Quid Captain watched the projectile close on the alien ship. It then exploded before it hit. the communications announced, "Kraken unleashed, leave the area immediately."
The pilot flashed, "The projectile was destroyed ... they are charging each other."
"Stay clear of them," The Captain told him. "I don't think these aliens are going to try to hide."
The hostile fired another projectile. Again, it exploded in front of the alien ship, the explosion blasting out and away.
"Kraken tentacles, I see them," the co-pilot flashed.
The Captain did also. Six tentacles flexed and moved out from the front of the alien ship. As he watched four small craft emerged, raced out to the sides, then shot out after the incoming hostile. The hostile turned, the tiny fleet followed, closing on them. the two tiny triangular craft race out and moved behind the hostile. One fired a dual stream of projectiles at the hostile's engines, it raced away and the other one came in to do the same. The rear of the hostile burst out in a bright explosion. The ship spun as it belched fire out into space.
The four tiny ships circles the spinning and now tumbling hostile. The alien ship moved in close, Kraken tentacles extended. The hostile ship exploded. In a blink, the tentacles formed a shield, protecting the alien ship from the blast.
"Did you see that?" the co-pilot asked.
"We saw," the Captain said, staring at the blossoming fireball and pieces of ship that were flying out in all directions, except where the Kraken shield was. This was solid proof, no matter what they called themselves, these aliens were indeed Kraken.
.
"Get the fighters back on board, inspect them for damage," White commanded.
Erica announced, "We have one Viper with an engine out, starboard side, high and forward."
White noted which one she was talking about. "I got him," she replied. Stretching out a feeler, she grabbed the Viper and pulled it into the landing bay. "Anyone else hurt or disabled?"
"No, he was the only one who got hit by the debris when that ship exploded," Erica told her.
White nodded. If this was any indication, this trip wasn't going to be as peaceful as they had hoped. "Get everyone back on board. Keep the guns loaded and see if we can fix that Viper. We may be needing it. Mark the planet's position and ready the raptor for a trip back to the Algae planet. We need to report this encounter."
.
The Probe ship Captain reported the events to the Flight Pod leaders. They watched his report, then played it again.
"Kraken? This must be a joke!" one flashed angrily.
"Our telescopes did pick up five explosions. Three small ones, another that seemed to spin, then a large one. In the large one, there was reflections of a ship near the explosion," another stated.
"So this alien visitor got destroyed also?"
"No, they are intact and inbound. They are following our ship. The sequence of events, the hostile ship shot three projectiles at them with no effect. The alien moved straight towards the hostile and launched four small, single entity sized ships. The hostile tried to turn away, but the alien ship destroyed it. Our telescope observations match what the Captain reported."
"These aliens are stronger than the hostiles ... but I cannot believe they are Kraken!"
"The communication from the alien ship stated, 'Kraken unleashed, leave the area immediately.' Why would they say that unless it was true?"
They all were quiet, then one flashed, "We can tell no one about this. Even a rumor of a real, live Kraken coming here would cause mass panic."
"Delete the report, do not file it. We say nothing if this entire event."
"Agreed."
.
Coming down through the atmosphere, White noted the Quid planet was mostly water covered. They were headed for a small piece of land that wasn't much larger than the island on Earth they had been living on. Like their island, it was a tall cone shape. Instead of a flat top, this one had caves in the sides. The Quid ship went into a larger cave. They followed.
Inside the cave, the ceiling was high and rounded. The rock had been worked to smoothness in the large chamber. Several ships sat in a line along one wall. The Quid ship maneuvered and parked into an empty space on the line.
Quid stood by the back wall, waving a blue lighted baton.
"I take it that's where we park," White said.
"Yes, my assumption also," Erica agreed. "Pilot, set us there against the wall, facing the entrance."
"By your command," the centurion replied.
White gathered all the delegates and the ship's crew together. "We are here. Delegates will come out with me. Crew and fighters, stay on board. Watch all you want, but do not leave the ship or allow anyone but us on board. As you have seen, we should expect anything. If the ship is in danger, or upon my order, launch immediately."
"White, you wish us to abandon you?" the centurion pilot asked.
"I do not wish it, but if the ship's safety is in peril, saving the ship is top priority. If you can still fly, you can come back for us. If the ship gets damaged, that will no longer be true," she told him firmly.
"Delegates, remember what I said about protecting ourselves," White told them. "Until I say otherwise, we stay together. I am sure the Quid are very curious about us, we will accommodate them and answer any questions they have as long as they answer our questions. Be calm and receptive also watch each other. If you are unsure, ask myself about what to do if you are able. Erica, the air quality is good?"
"It is, White. In fact it is nearly perfect."
"Then open the exit hatch and let's go meet the Quid."
Erica went over and opened the personnel exit hatch and extended the ladder down. White stood in the doorway. Below them, Quid formed a thick semi-circle around the ladder. White said, "Greetings," into her translator box. The colors flashed out. She walked down the ladder, noting a few Quid in the center back up some. soft colors flashed from all the quid as they watched her. In her translator box, she caught these as whispers. Behind her, she heard the others following he down.
One Quid came forward. As he flashed his colors, she heard in her box, "Welcome, Calm one. We greatly regret a hostile tried to attack you on your way here. We understand you are helping our researchers on your planet, and thank you for that. We strive to live in peace."
"We prefer to live in peace also. Peace and prosperity are they things we should always strive for. Tell me, who was it that decided to carelessly attack us?" White asked.
"We have never seen anything but their ships," the speaker said. "They do come and assault us for no reason. We have tried to communicate with them, they refuse. We do not even know where they come from. We suspect from a nearby solar system, due to how often they appear in our area. We were surprised when you destroyed that ship."
"They asked for that battle, not us," White said firmly. "We do want to live in peace, but if challenged, we will not back down. We called to them with light and with electromagnetic waves. Their response was to shoot projectiles at us. We do not tolerate being attacked. My intent was to disable them. Unfortunately, their ship exploded. Do you wish for help to deal with these beings?"
Another Quid came up and flashed in dim colors. White heard in a whisper, "Have you knowledge of a Kraken?"
"You fear this Kraken?" she asked, her translator flashing out her words.
"It is just an ancient story," he flashed. "But it is said a Kraken was..."
"Stop!" the one beside him flashed angrily.
White had to grin. "You desire to know the truth. I shall tell it," White said. Looking over the mass of Quid around her she said, "The mystical beast you know of as a Kraken, I do not believe exists. What does exist is those with with powers very similar to your legendary beast. If you wonder if Kraken like powers were used to help defend ourselves and destroy the one who attacked us, the answer is yes. When we were attacked, for the simplest explanation, the Kraken was unleashed."
To the side, another Quid flashed, "That is not possible!"
White smile at him. "Really?" she asked, then shot her six feelers out over her in a fan to hover near the ceiling.
The reaction from the Quid was flashes of pure terror. Some dropped and curled themselves into tight ball. Others fled. Some were rooted in place with fear, unable to move.
"Do not fear!" White announced loudly so her box flashed the strongest colors possible. "We do not harm those who do not harm us. The destructive power of these tentacles is only for those who wish to harm us or our allies. We come in peace and cooperation." She retracted her feelers. To the ones still standing in front of her, she added, "We do strive for peace and prosperity, but if met with aggression, we will show the guilty party what aggression truly is."
Slowly, the Quid who didn't run, uncurled themselves to eye her. Every one in the cavern were gray in color, not one flashed any colors at all.
"Please listen," White said, "We mean you no harm. Our anger was for the ones who attacked us, not you who have been very helpful and friendly with us. We would never hurt a friend as your people have shown to be. Yes, we are very different, but we are engaging in cooperation that is beneficial to all. Let me introduce you to the ones I brought." Motioning Erica up she said, "This is Erica Six, she is what is known as a bio-cylon. Behind me, the tall silver man is a cylon known as a centurion, he is a mechanical cylon but still a sentient being ..."
As White introduced her delegation, stating their names and what they were, colors returned to the Quid as their interest arose. None of them forgot the pale, gigantic tentacles they'd see shoot out from this alien. The concluded this species was Kraken.
.
Rumors and fear traveled faster than information. Though the oceans and on land, the word was out. On the spaceport island, a Kraken had appeared. Not just one but several of them. Strange looking monsters that had very long and powerful tentacles that one could barely see, and they moved so fast by the time one saw them, it was too late for escape. Everyone in the spaceport island had been eaten, and as soon as they digested their meals, the kraken would be hunting for more.
Only a few very brave souls approached the island, disbelieving the Kraken story. Those that did, found the place intact and everything in place. The only difference was they had very odd looking alien visitors.
Erica had admonished White for scaring the crap out of their Quid hosts. White countered that they needed to know the truth. In the end, the Quid calmed down and wanted to study their guests. Carefully, for now they knew to never upset these visitors. Erica and Leoben agreed to strip down and let the Quid look them over. Being so different from humans, Bios and Dicloni, a centurion also stood motionless as the Quid looked him over.
White found the Quid's only defense was hiding. They were amphibious, being able to take oxygen from air or water. If the danger was in the water, they went on land. If the danger was in land, they stayed in the water. The mind set of avoiding danger was in their DNA for eons. Due to tech, they needed to build their ships above the water to get into space. Their first ships were attacked by the hostiles and destroyed. Using a type of carbon fiber for ship hulls, they found they could slip past the hostiles and not be seen, which satisfied them. They had never seen any ship not only survive a hostile attack, but destroy the hostile.
Meeting with the Quid leadership, White suggested, "If you like, I can speak to Kaede and ask for weapons to protect yourselves. To have to hide on your own planet is wrong. This is the one place you should not have to fear anyone."
"They can be beaten, we proved it," Yuka agreed. "Kaede also taught us that if your enemy sees strength, they are less likely to bother you."
"Strong words from the Kraken," the old leader replied. "We do not have tentacles like you posses."
"There is more than tentacles you can defend yourselves with," White countered. "Colonials and Cylons use things called guns and missiles. Both species are well versed in their use and can teach you how. We can track these hostiles back to where they come from and demand you be left alone. We can capture one and learn how they communicate, so we can tell them to stop bothering you. There is much more you can do than to keep hiding and hoping they won't find you."
"We know you fear them," Yuka added. "What we are saying is we can show you how to deal with hostiles so there is no more need to fear them."
"Together, we can make them fear us," White stated.
The radio on White's translator box announced, "White, the raptor's back, in atmosphere and coming down. Caprica and Lee agreed on a joint task force to the Quid planet. Kaede is coming with them. Until they get here, you are to find out as much as you can about this hostile race without endangering your people or the Quid."
"Acknowledged," White replied.
"Things are about to heat up," One of Yuka's marines said with a smirk. His words were translated.
"What does that mean?" the Quid leader asked.
"Kaede is coming," the marine said. "We watched Kaede obliterate a mountain three times the size of this island with one blow. If these hostiles are aggressive with Kaede, there won't be any of them left for you to worry about."
"I have only used my tentacles once against others, when that hostile attacked us." White told the Quid Leader. "Kaede has spent her life using hers to fight, and hers are very strong. You think my tentacles are impressive? Compared to Kaede, I am just a child. She is the Wind of Death. Will you help us find out as much as we can about these hostiles?"
.
Admiral Adama, Saul Tigh, Lee, Kaede and Caprica sat in Lee's office around a table. Looking at Kaede, the Admiral asked, "So, tell me how we diffuse this situation and not get onto a war with an unknown species."
"Admiral," Kaede said firmly. "Our freighter was attacked on it's way to the Quid planet. Whoever this is, have no qualms about attacking anyone else they see. They refused to talk, and opened fire. I see that as an act of war. These people need to be taught to attack us is a very bad idea. The Quid have good stealth ships. Before, I frightened the Quid not meaning to. This time, I mean to. The task force gets me to the Quid planet. I ride one of their ships out to grab a hostile and make them rue the day they were born, then let them go with a stern warning. I am hoping that will change their minds about freely shooting at whoever they see. I also follow them back to wherever they came from and get intel. If they insist on being aggressive, them we will take it from there. If they back away, it's over."
Saul Tigh spoke up. "Admiral the Starburst has been fitted with armor, two flak canons and anti-ship missiles. our armed raptors have been assigned to it. The Colonial Movers freighter has a squad of 12 Vipers. Both ships are ready to go, as is Caprica's freighter. Dicloni are assigned to each to help with defense."
"I am taking six more heavy Raiders, as well as the one Kaede will be using," Caprica said. "We also have anti-ship missiles and point defense guns. By studying the hostile's attack, we will be able to handle anything but a large fleet action."
Admiral Adama nodded and said, "Be careful not to engage any Quid ships. Caprica, if the situation gets too hot, withdraw. Kaede, take no unnecessary risks."
"Yes, Admiral," they replied.
Looking at Kaede, he then said, "Kaede, in this operation you are holding the welfare of all of us in your hands. Keep that in mind and make your decisions wisely."
"I will, Admiral," she replied firmly.
The Admiral then told Caprica, "Caprica, Helo will be your second in fleet command, he will be with the Viper wing on the Colonial Movers. Brief your captains and crews when you're ready. When your ships are gathered and ready to leave, contact Galactica."
"Yes Admiral."
As the meeting broke up, Lee clasped Kaede's hand. When everyone else was gone he frowned at her. "I hate the fact you're going," he told her.
"I know," she replied. They hugged each other. "Lee, I must go. I will do all I can to stop this from becoming a war."
"You will," he agreed and hugged her a bit tighter. "Just come back before I give myself ulcers worrying about you."
Kaede chuckled. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. "Lee, I can never tell you how much you mean to me, so please try to avoid the ulcers. I will take care, trust me there is nothing I want more than to be with you."
"Same here," Lee said and kissed her back. "You have become my sunshine, my everything, Kaede. Please don't take my sunshine away."
"I will return to you, my love," Kaede replied. They kissed again, deeply, followed by a tight hug.
"We better get you ready to go."
"Yes. No time for a good snuggle," Kaede said with a sigh.
"I know, damn it."
.
All Kaede did at the briefing was listen to Caprica inform the gathering of the order of flight and positions of each craft after they jumped into the Quid system.
"We will be jumping to a half million miles out from the Quid planet. The area is considered a combat zone. All weapons hot upon the jump. Helo, immediately after after the jump, launch a CAP. The heavy Raiders will escort Kaede to the surface, two will stay on the surface with her. The rest will return to sweep the area and ensure there are no hostiles. If a ship is detected, Kaede will be informed and it will be monitored closely. In the case a ship fires on us, it will be destroyed. Any questions?" Caprica said. There were none, so she added, "Everyone, to your ships and report when formed up and ready to depart."
.
"We have contact, many ships!" the Quid runner announced, tentacles flailing as he came into the room where White and Yuka were discussion biological differences with a couple Quid Doctors.
"Show me," White replied.
"This way!" the runner said and ran back out. He led her to a communications station. Pointing he flashed, "There are more smaller ones now."
White looked at the screen showing three larger ships and smaller ones, one group was headed for the atmosphere. Her radio/ translator said, "This is Caprica Six, We are sending down Kaede with an escort."
"White here, Caprica, I will leave my carrier on so they may follow it," White replied, then told the Quid, "They are ours. The ones coming down are bringing Kaede. They are of no danger to you. I am going down to meet them."
The Quid quickly used the com terminal to inform his leaders.
Running down to the Hanger, White went to the entrance so the incoming Heavy Raiders could see her. As they came in, she felt Kaede. She waved and motioned them in. Only two landed, the rest pulled up and climbed away.
Upon landing, centurions came out of the rear ramps to stand guard. Kaede emerged and reminded them, "No shooting the quid unless they try to board and you can't stop them any other way." To the sides where ships were parked, Quid peeked out at them. Seeing White, Kaede strode over to her.
Unlike White, who was in her 'comfortable light blue robe', Kaede wore a Colonial pressure suit, her helmet on a hook at her side. "White, any other hostile ships in the area?"
"None have been seen," White replied. "Leaders are coming down to met you. Stand close and you can speak and hear through my translator box."
Kaede got by White's side. They walked over to the entrance to the interior of the island facility.
Three Quid came out to greet them. The middle one flashed, "We try to avoid the hostiles. The ships you have near our planet may attract them."
"Good," Kaede stated. "The sooner we grab one, the sooner we can get this over with."
"To provoke them will make things worse!" the middle one flashed.
"It is already worse," Kaede told him. "By shooting at one of our ships, they have provoked me. I did not come to negotiate or do research. I came to get rid of the hostiles. I need one of your ships. Will you provide it willingly?"
All three took a shuffle backwards at her demand. Even White stared at her for her rude directness.
To make herself clear, Kaede said, "I do not have time for pleasantries. If you feel I am rude, so be it. I need one of your ships, crewed. We are able to remove the hostiles with or without your help. The only difference is how we will see you after the hostiles are dealt with."
The Leader Quid had never been spoken to like that before. Then again this was the air currents of death, the Kraken that even her own people feared to anger. "We cannot fight the hostiles."
Kaede looked around. All over the hanger, Quid were watching her from behind cover. She asked White, "let me use your box."
White handed the box over. Kaede thanked her quietly, then announced, "Listen up, all of you! I will fight the hostiles, I will do whatever it takes to make them go away permanently! All I need from you is a ride. A ship and a crew that will take me into space and do what I tell you, even if it seems wrong or dangerous. Just one ship to get rid of the hostiles! Is that, or is that not worth being able to be free of these beings that won't leave you alone?"
Quid shifted in place, staying gray-quiet. From behind the leaders, a Quid came out. Kaede pointed the box at him. He flashed, "You can remove the hostiles as a threat to us?" he asked.
"I will," Kaede stated.
"Then, I offer my ship. I must ask each of my crew if they are willing to go. What is it you want us to do?"
"First, we go find a hostile ship and slip up next to it. You stay in place while I board it, learn what I can about them and create enough chaos to send them fleeing for their lives. Then we follow them back to where they came from. We take pictures and analyze everything we can. That's it. Upon returning here, your part is done."
"You want us to purposely find and get right next to a hostile ship? We could be killed!"
"Not likely," Kaede told them. "If they even know we are there, I'll squash that ship like a bug under my foot, then go through the debris to find out what I can."
"You can do that?" he asked.
Kaede shot her vectors out, wrapped them around him and quickly pulled him to stand in front of her. Letting go, she said, "I can do anything I want to do."
The Quid blinked and fainted.
"They do not take stress well," White offered.
.
The Quid originally dubbed Kaede 'mother' from her pink fur. Listening to her and seeing her, the leaders decided that there was another thing of that color that normally wasn't thought of as representing a sentient being. Pink was also present in fires. This Kaede was dubbed the Fire Kraken.
While they revived the ship Captain, Kaede contacted Caprica and let her know she had a Quid ship. Caprica was to retreat out to the asteroid belt and keep watch with as low of an energy signature as possible. When a hostile appeared, Caprica was to only take action if her ships were in danger, or Kaede called for help.
Recovering from the terror of being wrapped in Kraken tentacles, the Captain got his crew together and explained what they were to do. Only the pilot and the engineer agreed to go, so long as they did not have to suffer being wrapped up in those long, pale tentacles. Thankfully, members of other crews stepped up and agree to go for the good of their people and plant. A few of them also wanted to see this Kraken close up.
Kaede gave Caprica time to move out to the asteroid belt, which here, was far out in the system. She then had a heavy Raider go up and can for another ship.
The probe ship that came back had a translator box on it. The box was moved to the ship Kaede was on. Surprisingly, the crew were curious about her and although a little frightened of what she was, got along well with her. Overall, they all wanted to help get rid of the hostiles, but never had a way to do that. Even the concept of fighting was a thing they had not considered. Until the hostiles appeared and began destroying their ships and killing them, they didn't even know what conflict was. They had believed that with intelligent brings, there was no need for conflict. Unfortunately, they were wrong, and when conflict came, they were sorely prepared for it.
News came with the Heavy Raider coming back in to land. A ship was inbound on dradis, and it wasn't one of theirs.
The Captain got his crew and Kaede on board and took off as soon as he was able. Having the location the Heavy Raider found the incoming at, Kaede had the Captain position his ship near the incoming's flight path and wait for it to approach.
Standing behind the pilot, Kaede said, "Don't move until after it passes by. Then sneak up behind it."
"I see it, it is headed for us," the sight operator said and pointed on the screen.
Kaede noted dull colors flashing over all their bodies. "Stay calm," she told them.
The ship came close enough so Kaede could see it well. She also noticed it was moving fairly slow. It also wasn't much bigger than the ship she was on. It looked like it had one forward facing gun in the front. "Brace yourselves. Grab onto something," she told them.
"Are we going to impact?" the Captain asked.
"No, but you will get thrown around when I grab it," Kaede replied.
"Grab it?" the Pilot asked.
The ship was almost even with them, Kaede stretched her vectors out through the hull and wrapped one around the hostile ship and pulled. Their ship jerked violently to the side to swing behind the hostile. She sent two more into the ship's hull and felt around for living beings in the rear of the ship. Finding a few, she crushed them.
"What are you doing?" the Captain cried.
"Killing hostiles," Kaede replied. Moving her vectors forward, she killed a small group by crushing them as she pulled them hull to hull and searched for a hatch. "I have to find a way in," she said, studying the hull of the other ship.
Feeling around, she had another one. Instead of killing him, she felt for his head as her victim struggled. "Got a live one," she said with a grin. Feeling projectiles passing through her vector, she laughed and said, "Oh no, sunshine, you're not getting away." She found his head and made contact with the creature who was going mad in terror.
Despite his confusion and near mindless fear, she got information She had the Weapons Officer. She found out where his planet was, and got a good mental sight of everything on it. It was one of six planets the 'Honsho' ruled.
The reptilian species thought they ruled the universe. They discovered planets, then sent ships like these to remove any other ships in space. After that, and now being assembled to use against the Quid, was the armada that was to come and land on the planet to remove any resistance by killing anything that could even hiss at them and eating them when the were edible. She had base locations, ship and troop numbers. Getting all she could from him, she kept searching for the Captain.
The ship transmitted. Knowing where the transmitter was, Kaede punched a hole in the side of the ship, grabbed the transmitter and flung it off into space. "No Warning your buddies," she said vacantly. Air and bodies spewed out of the opening.
An escape pod jettisoned. Kaede quickly sliced it in half with a vector. The pod split apart, spewing blood and body parts into space. "No running, either," she told the pieces of corpse. Holding the ship up in front of theirs, she said in a mussing tone, "Now, what to do with the carcass."
"Carcass?" the co-pilot asked.
"Yes, in the forward end, all the air is bled out, see the hole?" Kaede asked. "I killed everyone in the middle and in the back. That ship is dead." She keyed the radio on her translator box. "Caprica, can you hear me?"
A moment went by then, "I hear you, Kaede. What's your status?"
"I got a dead hostile ship here. I dug into their minds and know all about where they are and what they do. If you could, I'd like this ship studied to find out their capabilities. The race is a reptile species, and they think they rule the galaxy. They need to be taught a painful lesson."
"We have the ship on dradis. we will be there in two hours. Shall I inform Admiral Adama?"
"Yes, and Lee as well. Also we're going to study these Quid ships, we're going to need their stealth capabilities."
.
Returning to the Quid Planet, Kaede note the crew were not very talkative. She thanked the crew for their help, and assured them she was going to remove the hostiles from the area.
The Captain and his crew were stunned by what they had just witnessed. Not only had Kaede grabbed the ship, she had thrust her tentacles out into the other ship to kill those within, as well as use one break a hole in the side and rip equipment out. Even the one who tried to escape, she'd destroyed in an instant. She had also somehow gained information on these hostiles. By her humor as she crushed out lives, she not only didn't mind killing, but reveled in it. That made her borderline insane in their eyes. Kraken were frightening creatures indeed!
From what he witnessed, the Captain felt pity for these hostiles. They had no idea what was coming for them.
.
Caprica left two ships and all the fighters behind to guard the quid planet, and returned with Kaede so they could discuss what to do. Beside the Admiral and Lee, Quorum representatives were there as well.
Kaede explained the plans of the Honsho, where they were at, and the location of their planets as well as the massing of forces on their closest planet to the Quid. " ... they think they own the galaxy," Kaede stated. "Wether or not you believe the Quid should be saved, believe this! One day, they will find us and seek to destroy us as well, We can either sit on our hands and wait for them, or show them they are not rulers of the galaxy."
"I don't like it," Caprica said. "But Kaede is right. The longer no one opposes them, the longer they have to grab planets, kill off the occupants and grow stronger."
"Kind of like cylons?" the Picon representative asked heavily.
Caprica shot him a glare.
"There was no need for that," Kaede said, also glaring at him. "Cylons had a reason. These Honsho have no reason except conquest of every system they can find."
"Kaede, you are sure about what you got from this Honsho's head?" Lee asked.
"I am. The last thing I want is for any of us to get involved with another war. I saw what I saw, Lee. They got off a partial transmission before I was able to rip the comms out of their ship. They have to know someone is in the Quid system. That means our ships there are in danger of attack. We either reinforce them, or kiss the Quid goodby and retreat," Kaede told them. "We don't have long to decide."
Caprica clapped her hand down on Kaede's. "We're with you, Kaede. This is a threat to cylons as well. I won't let you fight this alone."
"Thank you, Caprica," Kaede said with a nod.
Lee cleared his throat and said, "Kaede, we need the quorums behind us if we plan to go to war. They have to approve it. As Vice President, you can't decide this on your own. Neither can I."
"Understood," Kaede said quietly. "If the Quorums cannot agree this is the only thing we can do ... then I will resign. What I will not do is sit back and do nothing and allow a peaceful people be destroyed."
Lee let out a huff and said, "Understood." To the Quorum members, Lee said, "We will hold an emergency session tomorrow morning on the question of how much we will defend the Quid, and what we will do about the Honsho."
The Virgon Hauler rep asked, "It sounds like Kaede and the cylons are already committed to war with the Honsho. Even if we vote no, what good will that do?"
"That will keep Colonials out of it ... until the Honsho find us," Lee told him.
"Mr. President," Admiral Adama said firmly, "In the interest of being prepared, I want to begin production on Vipers, weapons, ammunition, modifying some ships into warships and fuel production, as well as stepping up recruiting. It will be a hollow gesture if we decide on war, and are not ready for it."
"Yes, of course, Admiral," Lee said quickly. "Look at what you need the most of, and submit those requests first."
"Kaede, I will send information back to the home world and request a vote," Caprica said. "In the mean time, I am going to send the Base Star that's near Earth to the Quid planet, as well as the one that's here for extra defense."
"Ask the Qiud if you can duplicate their stealth covering. That will increase the effectiveness of your ships," Kaede told her.
"I will," Caprica agreed. She got up and left. Pausing, she added, "And I will pass that information to you, Kaede."
"Thank you."
.
The high ruler in his red and gold robes, wearing his golden crown, walked into the map room to meet his Admiral who was waiting for him. "You said this is vital?" he asked in his hissing tone.
"Indeed, Your Majesty. It appears were have a problem with this system," he replied and tapped the map where the Quid planet was. "We are assembling a full strike force to take over this planet after ensuring there was nothing there to oppose us. Recently, two of our patrol ships have been destroyed. First, one reported contact with an unknown. They reported firing on it, then nothing. A second ship was sent to find out what happened. They reported being held by some unknown force and being attacked inside their own ship, they they stopped transmitting. Nothing has been heard from either of them since then. Until we can discover what happened to them, I am holding the invasion force on the ground. I intend to send a force of six fighting ships to scan this system and report upon contact with any others before closing on this planet again where these ships were lost."
"Wise decision, Admiral. Send ten. We want to be sure some survive to report back. It is possible those on that planet are gearing up to fight us. We do not want to be taken unawares."
"Agreed, your Majesty."