Chapter 21 The 12 Colonies
Light years away from New Caprica twelve previously busy planets where just over two years into a nuclear winter caused by thousands of Nuclear explosions that hit every major city, billions of souls where claimed in nuclear fireballs. Most of the people remaining where either claimed by the after effect radiation, Cylon ground troops or simply died from lack of supplies. That fact was unknown to anyone onboard the ONI ship Nightingale as it came out of a blue vortex of energy as it left Slip Space. Instantly the advance sensors on the Nightingale kicked to life searching for any sign of a threat or anything that gave them the lay of the land. The lay of the land wasn't good; the hulks of destroyed ships could be seen on the edge of sensor range and radiation levels from the closest planet was high. Standing on the bridge dressed in his Spartan armor minus the helmet was Jun A266.
"What is the situation?" asked Jun
"Doesn't look good." said an officer as the sensors kept sweeping "We are getting multiple contacts around the edge but they are all broke apart. Reminds me the after math of so many battles of the covenant war.'
"Sir the radiation levels are high." stated another officer
"A nuclear war?" asked Mai as the officer nodded his head
"How old?" asked Jun
"Judging from the decay less than five years old." explained the officer as the Nightingale's engines pushed deeper into the system, pass the destroyed hulks of the once proud Colonial fleet.
"Are all the planets we can scan in a similar state?" asked Jun
"We can't get a good look because the radiation levels are too high." explained the officer "But it seems that some planets got it worst then others."
"Alright which planet has the least amount of radiation?" asked Mai as a holographic map of the system appeared.
"Here the closest to us." explained the officer "However the orbit is full of remains of ship, easy for a ship to hid in there."
"Then we can hid in it." explained Jun as he stood up "I want three pelicans with Marines in anti radiation gear ready to go in ten minutes."
"Sir the odds that any people living though this is so low it is almost impossible." said the officer
"We found people who lived though a covenant glassing." stated Mai
"They were in the deepest bunkers and glassing destroys radiation inside the atmosphere." explained the officer "Once it is over it is over."
"Even if we don't find anyone then at least we can learn what happened to them." explained Jun as he and Mai disappeared out of the door.
Down on the colonial planet of Libran the former great courthouses lied in ruins the mushroom shape clouds that had covered the cities of the planet had faded however the scars remained. It was the least hit of the 12 colonies of Kobol; it had the least military bases compared to the population of the planet. That was partly the reason why the planet was spared so that the population could be used in the failed Cylon human hybrid breeding programs also called farming.
"Why are we here?" asked a four into his mounted wireless set. He and the other humanoid Cylon where dressed heavy duty anti radiation suits. They were not that different then the large bulky biohazard suits worn on Earth at the turn of the century. They provided some extra protection against the radiation, which at the moment was below lethal levels but they didn't want to spend more than four or five hours down on the surface.
"We need to find some medical supplies." answered a six as she looked though the half destroyed remains of a rural ER. The racks had been ransacked sometime during or after the fall but some supplies did remain.
'Why don't they send Centurions?" asked the four
"Because for all of their skills they can't handle some breakable stuff very well." answered the six as she carefully pulled out a glass cylinder full of blue liquid. "Like this anti-cancer medicine would have been broken by the centurions. It isn't there fault it is just their metal hands would break the glass. The people on New Caprica could use this."
"It is still a waste of time." stated the four as the sound of engines filled the air. "It's too soon for the heavy Raider to come back."
"That doesn't sound like a raider." answered the six as the two of them looked out the small window which was their only source of light only to see a ship unlike any they had seen before coming down vertically in an empty space the centurions had cleared out for raider landings.
"What the Frak is that?" asked the four as figures dressed head to toe in battle armor came rushing out. Most were a little bit taller than the average colonial but their outfits where radically different. They had helmets with slightly green see though visors their guns were also totally different. Following those people where four larger figures dressed in radically different armor.
"Alright teams of five with at least one Spartan in each begin sweeping the area for any sign that tells us what happened here." ordered the one dress in green as he looked toward the one dressed in dark blue armor "Chris take your team north and report anything you find, Mai take your team into the hospital see what you can find before heading west, Mike take your team south and my team will take east. Check in every ten minutes."
"Understood." stated the female one as each of the Spartans headed in a different direction with four marines following them.
"Spartans?" asked the four "Just like the reports from New Caprica."
"We need to get out of here." stated the six as they left everything before moving out into the hallway where a pair of centurions where standing guard. They quickly started to move toward the nearest side exit. However the glow of a flashlight hitting the side wall in front of them caused them to stop.
"Anything?" asked a voice
"No all these people are dead and gone." stated another voice "Hold."
"What is it?" asked the voice as the two humanoid Cylons heart's raced.
"Looks like a Newspaper." said the second voice as the sound of paper being moved reached their ears.
"Newspapers like that haven't been used in over three hundred years on Earth." Said the first voice as the two humanoid Cylons eyes widened.
"Earth?" whispered Six "They are the UNSC, like the people on New Caprica."
"Shut it." whispered the four
"What does it say?" asked the first man
"It says Cylon Attack, Cylons have taken human form." stated the second
"Cylons?" asked the first "What the hell is that."
"I have no Fucking idea. Maybe it is the huge robot thing in the photo." stated the second person as the lights started moving closer and closer.
"We need to move." stated the four as the Cylons started to move but the two centurions didn't move quietly as the mechanical sound of their footsteps reached the UNSC Marines.
"What was that." stated the first voice.
"We need to leave these two." stated the four as the centurions looked toward their humanoid masters.
"Lie down maybe they will think your dead." ordered the six as the centurions lied against the wall as if they had fallen in battle.
"Why do you care about the centurions they don't feel anything." stated the four as the two of them ducked into a side room. They could still see the centurions as the two UNSC Marines turned the corner their weapons at the ready, their lights falling on empty blood gurney that used to have colonial bodies on them until the first Cylon ground sweep two years ago had cleaned them up. Their lights also fell on the two centurions who where pretending to be disabled.
"Looks like we found a pair of these Cylon things." stated the voice of the lead man.
"Wait a second." ordered the second as he aimed at the centurions "Something isn't right."
"What are you talking about?" asked the first
"The bodies are gone and yet these two remain?" asked the second "And almost everything is covered in dust but not these two?"
"A trap?" asked the first as his gun raised.
"Let's pop them." ordered the second as he fired his battle rifle quickly the two bullets going though the centurions head.
"Frak." whispered the six as the two figures moved forward. The second one kneeling down beside the now destroyed centurions. The man raised his arm as a holographic computer pad and screen appeared out of his wrist mounted computer. This little bit of technology had just been introduced a few days before the battle of Earth but it wasn't able to spread it out to frontline troops. Over the nearly two decades since the battle of Earth and the end of the war it had taken the place of the old computer tablets which had been carried by ODSTs and frontline squad leaders.
'What are you doing?" asked the first
"Hacking into its systems." answered the second as he hit the holographic keyboard with his free hand.
"You can do that?" asked the first
"When I was 16 I hacked my way into ONI command center and introduced a virus that turned all their words backwards into the system." laughed the second
"They didn't kill you on the spot?" asked the first
"No….they offered me a job." laughed the second man "Alright I am in….starting download of fresh memories maybe we can get an image of what these things saw last.'
"We need to get out of here." stated the Six as she looked around the room however they were trapped in what appeared to be an ex ray room. Suddenly a new voice filled the air outside the hall.
"Team two report to third floor room 45." stated a female voice
"Looks like the Spartan has found something." said the first
"I'll finish the download later." added the second as the holographic computer screen disappeared as the two marines started off in a different direction.
"Thank you God." prayed the six
Meanwhile upstairs on the third floor the female Spartan III Mai knelt beside a woman, her cloths where dirty and parts of her skin was falling off due to long term intake of radiation.
"Who are you?" asked Mai
"Sue….Sue Gerdon." stated the woman her eyes have glazed in death as the other members of her squad showed up including the team medic.
"My God." said the medic as he looked at the three fully grown adults bodies that lied around the room, boxes had been ripped open and trays turned upside down as if they were looking for something.
"Do you have any anti radiation medicines?" asked Sue in between breaths as she moved her hand away from her chest before looking down into a small bundle in her arms "We couldn't find any and my daughter needs it, I gave her my last one."
"We will take care of her and you." said Mai in the softest kindness voice a Spartan could give.
"Please help her." said Sue as she held out her only daughter.
"We will." answered Mai as she took the bundle into her arms as the medic began trying to save the woman but it was already too late. The medic tried to save but even if the frontline medic had the best medical technology in the UNSC to use the woman who had somehow lived though years on the edge of a nuclear wasteland was too far gone. Moments after passing her daughter to Mai whatever life was left faded away.
"We lost her." said the medic "Let me take a look at the baby."
"Don't bother." stated Mai as she looked at the baby, it was dead and judging from the everything a Spartan knew about death she had left this world at least five days ago.
"Why didn't she known her daughter was dead?" asked a Marine
"She lost everything when the world blew up; she wasn't going to lose on being a mother." stated Mai "She probably only stayed alive as long as she did because she was trying to save her child."
"Do you think anyone else is alive on this rock?" asked a marine
"Not likely." stated Mai
"Maybe not." said a marine as he handed Mai the newspaper "Something called Cylons attacked here and they appear to be robots.'
"Robots don't really care about radiation." stated Mai as she placed the dead baby beside her mother, wrapping the woman's arm around her daughter. For a moment no one said anything as suddenly the radio sprang to life.
"Mai." stated Jun's voice in her ear.
"Go ahead." stated Mai
"We have spotted a craft coming toward you." stated Jun
"Understood, we have discovered that the planet was launched a surprise attack by a group of robots called Cylons other than that no none reason." stated Mai as she looked at the newspaper "They also have appeared to take human form."
"Well if it is a group of robots then feel free to have some fun with them." stated Jun
"You know full well what my kind of fun is." laughed Mai as she pulled a Spartan Laser off her back placing her Assault rifle in its place.
"Ya, I do." answered Jun "These Robots nuke 12 planets full of humans."
Meanwhile the six and four had made their way out of the hospital and out into the parking lot. They were about to hit their own wireless transmitters to call for a different landing point for the heavy raider landing spot when the raider showed up its engines roaring.
"Frak do you think they hear that?" asked the four as the six looked at him. She didn't even have to answer before a small thin red beam hit the heavy raider followed a second later by a much stronger and powerful laser beam that ripped though the heavy raider's armor like a knife through butter. The raider exploded in a giant fireball before falling to the ground in a heap of burning twisted metal between them and the hospital.
"Frak." stated the six as she looked at the flaming hulk that was there only fast way out of the place without killing herself and resurrecting. Suddenly out of the burning twisted metals appeared the female Spartan, her bright red armor glowed against the flames of the destroyed heavy raider.
"I think the word you are looking for is fuck." stated Mai
"A Spartan." cried the four as he reached for a shard of metal to stab himself in the neck, however it never got that far as Mai pulled her pistol hitting him in the shoulder disabling the entire arm. All the while Mai still had her Spartan laser on her shoulder.
"Not so fast." stated Mai "How do you know what a Spartan is?"
"Go Frak yourself." stated the four as Mai came closer and closer.
"You're going to make me hurt you." stated Mai
"Lieutenant." stated a new voice as Mai turned to look toward one of the Marines
"What is it?" asked Mai
"I downloaded this from that robot's memory banks." Explained the marine as holographic image of the two humanoid Cylons appeared only they were still inside the hospital.
"Earth?" whispered Six "They are the UNSC, the people on New Caprica"
"So you have meet people of the UNSC." stated Mai "Now where is this New Caprica?"
"Go Frak yourself." stated the four as Mai shot the man square in the head.
"Now then care to tell me?" asked Mai
'No." stated the six
"Too bad." stated Mai as she pulled the trigger again killing the six. Before turning toward the her marines "Search the ship find anything that looks like a NAV computer."
"At once." stated her marines as she hit the button on her radio
"Jun…this is Mai apparently these Cylons have meet the UNSC before." stated Mai
"How?" asked Jun
"They meet them somewhere called New Caprica." said Mai "We are searching their ship for any star maps that could lead us to them."
"Understood we got nothing here." stated Jun "We will come back and help."
Well I hope you liked this chapter, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and I ask that you keep reading. Thanks Wilkins75