Commander Lee Adama watched as Sharon Valerii, Cylon Model Number 8, communed with the Pegasus jump computer. The Pegasus was in Sector 80, just outside the asteroid field where the Galactica first ran into the White Stars. Shakiri had made certain a record buoy had been deployed so that the Ingata and its squadron were apprised that they had already passed through.

Sharon spoke up. "I think I've got it. We should be able to jump in 6 steps."

Lee replied, "Good. Thank you. Where will this put us?" he asked.

Sharon looked at Starbuck who had first conceived of the mission. "We're hitting Caprica space first so you can keep your promise to Anders." She looked at Lee. "We'll arrive just outside the atmosphere in 20 minutes, giving that the Pegasus' most optimum minimal recharging is 4 minutes." It was slightly better than Galactica's.

Lee nodded and looked at Gaeta. "Are you ready to check the readings to make certain there are no surprises?"

"Yes, Sir. I'll check for any unplanned bodies including comets or anything else. But we have pretty good records from the Galactica's route away. So it shouldn't be a problem."

Lee replied. "Good." He turned to Captain Kelly. "You're acting as Executive Officer. It's your job to check for Cylons and alert the ship if needed. Keep an eye on the Dradis. We don't need any surprises."

"Aye, Sir."

He turned to Shakiri, who had a pad for translating. "Alert your pilot on Flyer 1. He will be launched immediately upon the last jump. We'll want to get into hyperspace almost immediately."

Shakiri nodded and did as asked. "Done, Commander." For this operation Shakiri had placed himself under Lee's orders. In the past such a thing would have been an insult to his position as Shai Alyt. But he had learned some humility. The fact was that he was not the best to lead all aspects, just the Nials and White Stars.

The chain of command started with Commander Lee Adama with overall command.

Captain Aaron Kelly had operational command of Pegasus and its fighter squadrons. All elements coordinated with him as regards operations. Pegasus's operation name would be "Base."

Shai Alyt Shakiri andwered to Adama and commanded Nials, Flyers, and 2 White Stars.

Marcus Cole commanded White Star 27, answering to Adama. He coordinated with Gaeta who was in charge of where scans would be taken and in what concentrations people could be found.

Captain Gaeta answered to Kelly but advised Adama.

Starbuck was in charge of the raptor fleet and answered to Lee. She coordinated with Marcus who passed on Gaeta's reports as to the Commander's decisions made based on scans.

Kat led the viper squadrons and answered to Lee, through Kelly in hyperspace and through Shakiri in real space. Shakiri's White Star, all White Stars, were set up to datalink to the vipers and raptors as needed.

The Deck Chief on Pegasus directed ships according to Kelly's orders. If it was a Nial or flyer, they landed on Upper Deck Port. If they were medical and needed to immediately transfer people to the Rising Star, they landed on Upper Deck Starboard. Raptors would land using raptor return to disgorge their load and to quickly be refueled if needed, moved to repair if required, or relaunched as directed.

Survivors would be moved to the Gemenon Traveler until it was full, and then to any location on the Pegasus as available. It was assumed that the Rising Star would fill with medical cases. A secondary medical trauma setup was arranged outside of the connector to the Rising Star.

Colonial marines not on the raptors would direct survivors and watch out for know Cylon models. Any found would be immediately confronted and killed if they resisted. The marines had drilled on recognizing them all.

Ships crew normally working in the steward department as well as other civilians who were brought would feed survivors. Pilots would rotate through available berthing in sleep shifts to maximize available space.

All Pegasus crew would be hotswapping bunks during the mission should enough survivors be found to justify it. They wanted a maximum of three shifts. If necessary, hotswapping would move between four shifts and personnel would lose sleep. This was for just long enough to return their precious cargo as there was a limit to how well people did under these reduced sleep conditions.

Back in the Septis system, transports would be readied to jump to Sector 80 as needed to retrieve survivors from raptors if they came separately. These ships would jump back to Septis after unloading. Galactica would update coordinates as needed.

Gaeta called out, "Jump 3 complete!"

Lee barked, "Kelly. Report."

Kelly checked the dradis. "No activity."

"Gaeta. Recharge time?"

"3 minutes 30 seconds."

"Count it down."

Another officer called out through the intercoms the time to the next jump. This gave the crew something to concentrate on and alerted them to be prepared.

When the 2 minute mark came, Kelly called out, "Contact! One Cylon raider!"

"Are they within weapons range?"

"Yes, Sir! Activating defensive guns!" The shot was sent and the raider eluded. More were sent and the raider was destroyed. "Raider destroyed!"

"Recharge time?"

"1:30."

"Keep an eye out, Kelly."

"Aye, Sir."

The comm sounded out, "5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1… Now."

And momentarily, "Jump 4 complete!"

"Kelly?"

"Nothing on dradis."

The entire command crew of the mission were present save Kat who was in the launch tubes with the other viper pilots.

If the Pegasus encountered nothing, she would come back to Ops for final orders. If there were single ships, the Pegasus would take care of it or, if it was far enough away, the Pegasus would ignore it.

If they appeared near a baseship and it launched raiders, the vipers would launch until told to land for the next jump.

Finally it sounded out. "Jump 6 complete!"

"Kelly?"

"Reading: Just outside Caprica orbit on the dark side. No contacts on dradis."

"Shakiri! Launch Flyer and open the door."

"Aye, Commander." Shakiri was learning Human protocol through observation. He ordered his warrior to launch and soon Pegasus was sliding into hyperspace.

Lee sighed in relief. "We were out there for 30 seconds. We can hope no one saw us and if they did they assumed we left." He looked at Kelly. "I assume we have nothing on dradis?"

Kelly's voice was slightly amused. "All clear, Commander."

Lee nodded. "Okay. Let's get everyone to the briefing room for final orders. We begin in two hours. That should be long enough for a raider to jump in if an alert went out, look for us, and decide we've gone and leave. Let's try to lull anyone who's looking into a false sense of security."

A chorus of "Aye, sir" sounded.

Lee stood in front in the pilot briefing room. "Okay. We're at Caprica. First thing. Shakiri. Can you send the third flyer to cautiously determine if we can locate the other planets in this system sufficiently without entering real space? I plan on coming back for more survivors as long as I can and it will be much easier if I can move without the Cylons seeing us."

"I will send Flyer 3 when we launch. Flyer 1 will open the way for the raptor fleet and White Star 27. Once they are through, Flyer 2 will stand by in hyperspace to open the way for vipers and Nials as needed. Flyer 1 will signal with ten minute updates. Flyer 1 will have stealth activated so as to prevent Cylons from reading its position."

It was hoped that the normal stealth on Nials and flyers would give them advantages over Cylon targeting systems. They could still shoot manually but it was hoped that raiders would be confused because they did not actually have eyes, only laser scanners. Defeating such targeting systems were why the Nials were built as they were – they did not have flat surfaces. Irregularities in the skin of the Nial fighters were also randomly spaced and directed so that computers could not calculate trajectory based on consistent reflection.

"Very good, Shai Alyt." He turned to Starbuck. "You know where the first group is?"

"I know roughly where I left Anders and his resistance. Marcus? Can you scan and tell us how many raptors to send? I'll lead that group." Each raptor could hold a certain number. If there were only 40 survivors in the area, it would not be effective to send all raptors.

"Can do, Lieutenant."

All details were brought up and adjustments made. Finally Lee said, "Alright, people. Move to your places. And may the Lords of Kobol watch over us. So say we all."

"So say we all!" echoed back

"Dismissed!"

At the appointed time, Flyer 1 opened the way. White Star 27 made its own jump point so as not to inconvenience the flyer. Raptors poured through the vortex and then Flyer 1 finally flew through it and the Vortex closed.

Shakiri, aboard White Star 36, reported back. "White Star Command to Base. Flyer 1 reports no contact."

"Acknowledged, White Star Command."

Starbuck called Marcus. "Eyes in the Sky, Raptor Fleet Actual. You have the location?"

"Scanning now." Soon he had located them. "Scanners read 52 life signs at discussed location.." And then he said more urgently, "One humanform Cylon confirmed! One uncertain."

"Damn!" She paused. "Okay. Alerting marines." She sent out orders. Each Raptor would send two marines with guns. If there were no Cylons, these would protect against outside elements. If there were Cylons detected, they would confront and capture or kill.

"Eyes in the Sky. Sending 4 raptors. Any more readings?" Eyes in the Sky was White Star 27's mission name.

"One location 2 kilometers away with Cylon barracks. Second reading of a Cylon column 5 kilometers and marching in a formation. One humanform Cylon present."

Marcus was also signaling Shakiri who would pass it on to Lee.

His comm sounded, "Eyes in the Sky, this is White Star Command. 3 vipers being deployed, one missile armed for barracks, two for strafing run on column." Nials would concentrate on space battles.

"Acknowledged, White Star Command. I'll send targeting data when they arrive." He then changed to Colonial and told Starbuck.

"Thanks for the lookout, Eyes in the Sky. Raptor group will watch for them."

"Acknowledged."

Luck was with the mission. Flyer 1 was Minbari and normal scanning couldn't locate them. The White Star was within the upper layer of atmosphere and the Raptors and Vipers were being directed. Because it was on the dark side of Caprica and the ships had their lights turned out until they were close to their target, it was hard to see them in the sky for reports to be sent back.

Marcus listened and finally Starbuck called out, "Raptor Actual to Eyes in the Sky. Cylon Model 1 captured. All 52 life signs accounted for. We're loading up and will meet up with Flyer 1 for hyper access. Eyes in the Sky, you may move on to scanning for other targets."

"Moving on, Aye."

Marcus then moved the White Star at the upper reaches of atmosphere to locate Human life signs. Depressingly, there were large areas where not could be found. There were singles and small family groups that scrabbled around and hid themselves. All were shocked that a Colonial raptor had found them but they were grateful.

Finally Marcus found a larger group. "This is Eyes in the Sky to Raptor Actual." Starbuck had dropped off the survivors and they were being scanned for the one uncertain member. She would be heartbroken later when the uncertain one was found to be Anders, a Cylon like Tigh and Foster. She hoped he was as unknowing as they were.

But Starbuck had returned to direct the raptors. Marcus would tell her where, and she would send them off. She heard the comm. "This is Raptor Actual. Go."

"Found a group of 138 in a mountain area, likely hidden from Cylon patrols. All Human – no Cylons detected."

"How close are they to each other?"

"Within a one kilometer radius. Seems like three different caves."

"Are there landing areas near them?"

Marcus had to actually drop closer to check but he finally called out, "Two caves have sufficient flat areas outside. Third cave, with the greatest concentration, is half kilometer from nearest landing area."

"Okay. I'll lead these. Get me outside that last cave so that I can make a ruckus. They peek out and see a raptor. I'll let them see me move to the flat area."

"Give me location on landing area for. How many in each cave?" He read out the numbers. "Okay. Sending 3 raptors to Cave 2, 2 to Cave 3. Sending 4 to landing area Cave 1 and I will fly to cave directly."

"Understood, Raptor Actual."

It took work to coax the group of Human survivors out and then to get them moving. But within an hour and half, all 138 had been retrieved. Included were 33 children, including a newborn. They had been nearly out of food and rescue was very much welcomed.

Marcus carefully recorded where scanning had been done and where it hadn't. They tried to follow the rotation of the planet and keep themselves in darkness. They stayed away from large cities because they were finding people away from them. An amazing and depressing 416 had been rescued. Lee ordered everyone to retreat to hyperspace.

Starbuck was a bit angry when she arrived back. "You can't say we're done!"

"Settle down, Lieutenant!" Apollo gave her a stern look.

She took a breath. "Aye, sir!"

He sighed. "No. We're not done. But I think I want to change plans a little. With the White Star we've been able to stay out of direct sunlight. Rather than a quick snatch and grab, we've been able to work for 12 hours and have destroyed random Cylons without warning. The White Star has been able to jam transmissions. Flyer 1 has noted raptors dispatched to find out what happened, but we've kept ahead of them. Flyer 1 is in space and can't be found, apparently, by Cylon Scanners. And it's dark enough that Human-shaped eyes haven't been able to see it. They haven't jumped to orbit to check and so the Flyer hasn't been seen."

His good humor was obvious. Shakiri volunteered, "We hoped that this enemy would be a little more of a challenge." His tone was also in good cheer.

Lee sighed. "You'll see battle at some point, I'm sure. But right now decisions have to be made." He looked around. "The original plan had the Gemenon Traveler staying parked and jumping back with the Pegasus at the end. But we've filled her up." He looked at Sharon. "If I sent you on a raptor, can you lead it back to Sector 80?"

Sharon considered that. "I should be able to do that." She thought about it. "It will likely take 8 jumps back – it's a civilian ship. With a raptor leading it I can minimize jumps." She sighed. "I wish we had Cylon jump drives. They are a little more efficient."

Lee chuckled. "Well, that aside. Take the time to plan out the jumps there and back. Once that's done, grab some rack time while we overload the Gemenon Traveler with everyone we can send. We'll also make certain that the raptor you're using is fully loaded and fueled. You'll lead them back to Sector 80. See if the Galactica can either send a ship to replace the Traveler, or send a ship to move the survivors to. And then bring back the empty ship to load more people into as we find them."

Lee paused and then said, "I guess I'm giving you your flight status back. What is your call sign? Boomer was the bitch who shot the Admiral so you can't use that."

Sharon paused and finally said, "I'll take Athena, for the one who protected the Tribes as they left Kobol."

Lee nodded sharply. "Okay. Your call sign is Athena. Take Helo as your co-pilot." He turned and said, "I am deciding between moving to cities for survivors or keeping quiet right now and keeping to countryside here and then Gemenon, which is closest. We've been pretty successful at locating random survivors that way and avoiding battles with baseships. The moment we move to the cities, we open up a can of worms."

Shakiri volunteered. "My warriors can wait if needed for the optimum time for battle. The mission comes first."

Starbuck, who was feeling a bit embarrassed for assuming, said, "I'll follow whatever orders you give." Lee nodded in acknowledgement of what wasn't said.

Marcus spoke. "I don't need rest yet. Rangers are trained to go long periods on active duty. I can continue finding the hidden survivors over large areas."

Lee considered all of that. "Well, I hope no one had plans for getting back quick. We're going to stay with our current methods and continue playing it quiet. Moving to the cities will begin the harder work. Let's save as many as possible before we have to do that."

All Humans snapped to attention. "Yes, Sir."

"Okay. The Pegasus will prepare to send the Gemenon Traveler back. Maintenance will take care of the raptors and vipers and flyers. For those who are off duty, get some rack time. I will as well. We prepare to move back into active search and rescue in 8 hours."

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

The Gemenon Traveler had been replaced by the Cybele, cargo holds stuffed to the gills with bunk beds. It could take on 1000 people, as long as they were not to be kept for over a day. Each bunk had a supply of 2 meals included. Another cargo transport had also been prepared the same way and had been brought along.

The Admiral had been pleased by the report sent and had decided to increase the capacity of the rescue operation.

Survivors would load into the Pegasus until the capacity was reached and then would be moved en masse to the transport. Athena, because of her Cylon connection, could most efficiently lead the transports back to Sector 80, where the Galactica would jump in, take the transport on deck, and jump back to Septis. Civilian jump drives couldn't travel so far but the Galactica had the portside flight pod available and now had time to properly clear the starboard pod, which they were doing in between jumps. All the museum material had already been landed on Septis, still packaged for final transport when a homeworld was found.

They were 9 hours into operations the next cycle when Marcus found something unusual on scanners. "Eyes in the Sky to Base." He was calling Lee Adama directly rather than through Shakiri.

"This is Base actual."

"We've got something weird on scanners."

"What is it?"

"I've found a gathering of Cylons with a Humanform Cylon leading."

"What's strange about that? You've found several grouped Cylons locations. You've ignored them when not a threat and given bombing locations when they were."

"Yes. But this isn't that."

"What is it?"

"The Cylons are 200 meters away from a Heavy Raider, which is parked. They are standing in formation as though waiting for inspection. The Humanform Cylon is standing in front like a sergeant leading them."

There was a pause. "Waiting for a commander?"

"I've got nothing on scanners showing anything heading in this direction. If I were to guess, I think they're waiting for us. I think they want to talk."

There was a long pause and then the Commander's voice came through. "Are you sure?"

"That's what it looks like. I could be wrong."

"Stand by."

Marcus waited for a few minutes until the comm sounded. "This is Base to Eyes in the Sky."

"Eyes in the Sky. Go."

"Can you relay a connection to Raptor Actual."

"Standby."

"This is Raptor Fleet Actual."

"Starbuck. This is Lee, calling through Marcus. I need you to make a decision." Lee sounded like nothing more than a friend right then.

"What is it?"

"Marcus has found a Cylon group which seems to be waiting to talk to us. We could ignore them. But we might find out information which could help the mission. What do you think?"

"Sounds possibly good and possibly bad."

"The decision I need you to make is this: Do we send a raptor to talk with a raptor to cover them in case of surprises or do we just ignore it?"

After a long pause Kara asked, "Which way are you leaning?"

Apollo sighed. "Checking it out. We've been gone a long time and we need as much information as we can gather. But I won't send anyone in who isn't certain they can get back."

After another paused Kara said, "You want it checked out and my reply is 'Yes, Sir.' A suggestion in the military is as good as an order and I said I'd follow your orders."

Lee's was slightly emotional at that, but he hid it. "Who are you sending?"

"Me. I'll land and talk. I'll have another raptor up and facing them with guns pointed, just in case."

"Very well, Raptor Actual. I'll be waiting for your report."

"Yes, Sir." She then spoke to Marcus. "Raptor Actual to Eyes in the Sky. Where am I going?"

Starbuck took the lead and observed from a distance. When she became visible, the Cylons did not move, save the figure leading. That figure used a Centurion to raise a large white flag on a pole, a sign for parley.

Starbuck quickly decided to go with her instincts. She slowly approached and landed. The second raptor hovered, facing the formation. She said to her co-pilot, "If this blows up, shut the door and get the hell out."

Reluctantly the reply was, "Yes, Sir."

Starbuck, carrying no weapon but having one holstered, slowly walked over.

"Lieutenant Thrace." She was well documented with the collective.

"Number Six. Do you have a name?"

"I am known as Caprica Six."

"I see. You have behind you a squad of Centurions. What guarantee is there that they will not attack?"

"The follow my commands, they have been programmed to obey."

Kara took a long look at her and said, "Okay. What do you wish to talk about?"

Caprica Six answered, "There is a growing consensus that the destruction of the Colonials is actually a violation of God's will. If He is a God of love, then would He approve of our attempts to kill our creators? Many are contemplating that truth. And while I have no power to end the conflict unless I can convince the Collective to vote to agree, I do not wish to see all Humans exterminated before we have a chance to resolve the question."

"And how do you plan on preventing that extermination?"

Caprica Six took the briefcase next to her and, holding it, opened it up to show its contents. Only papers and files were included, no tracking or explosive devices. "These are the culmination of all reports on Colonial survivor activity, correlated to location and order of threat. It has become obvious to myself, who has been watching, that someone was retrieving those who were deemed too alone to provide threat. You may use the information as you decide. I cannot stop the Collective from preventing you from efforts to save them. And if the Collective ultimately decides to destroy humanity regardless, this only centralizes the location where the survivors can be found: With Galactica."

"So it stops us from being all killed now but doesn't stop us all being killed later."

"Correct," Six said calmly.

"Put it on the ground and step back. I am nervous meeting Cylons."

Six did as asked and Starbuck retrieved the case. "I don't know what it means to you as I am not Cylon, but thank you. Can I make a personal observation?"

Caprica Six gave Starbuck a long look and then said, "Yes."

"Didn't the Cylons kill Humans by the millions 50 years ago and by the billions 2 years ago because we were treating you as slaves back then? Isn't programming Centurions to follow you without question, possibly removing their free will, the same crime the Cylons claimed we committed to start this war? Are you trying to become so much like your creators? Think about those questions."

Starbuck quickly retreated and the two raptors moved up and out of orbit, making their way to Base.