PART FOUR

Black is White, White is Black

Chapter One

To characterize the mood in the conference room as "shocked" would be an understatement.

Specialist Payge ran the video through three times and each time they re-ran the last few seconds a little bit slower and at greater magnifications. Finally the picture was so blurred that you wouldn't even recognize the Cylons as such if you didn't already know what they were.

"So how is it we didn't see these guys the first time?" The Gunner was more than a bit miffed that the team hadn't set a wider security watch after the firefight.

"That's on me, Sir." Sergeant Lohan was quick to admit his tactical error. "Captain Rohs called all clear on the target and I only set two sentries to watch the ramp as we loaded. I should have left the defensive perimeter in place until we pulled out." It was apparent the young Marine NCO was upset over the missed opportunity.

Sven Robbins was quick to add his observations. "Don't be too hard on him, Dewayne. It looked all clear to me too. Jahlee blew the hell out of two acres of real estate back there. I circled twice and didn't see anything moving either. I would have made the same call." Sven knew that now wasn't the time to be pointing fingers. The fact was the Breaker Castle got out without any casualties other than Elliott Ward and that was the important part.

At the table were Adrian McElroy and Sasha Vreeling, now the two most senior members of the Harlow's crew since Ward's death. "Gunner, if I may…?" McElroy had his hand raised and was anxious to add in his comments too. The Gunner acknowledged him and he stood at his seat.

"Sir, I was up on the berm of the bunker until just before the Breaker Castle arrived and had that whole area under observation. I didn't see anything move before they got there and as you can see it was pretty heavily wooded. Anyway, even if they had seen them what would we have done? We just got ambushed by a force of unknown strength…who knows what resources the Toasters had behind that treeline?"

The Gunner gave some pause to McElroy's words, especially since Sven had briefed him on McElroy's previous experience. This wasn't some punk kid chiming in…He knew his business.

"OK…you're right. We couldn't have gone in after them and I would've balked at letting you go had I been there. But we've got two things to worry about now. Do we go back, and if we do, what do we do when we get there?" The Gunner realized that this wasn't going to be as clear-cut a decision as going back for twenty people had been. Now they would have to consider the lives of an insertion team as opposed to one single hostage who may or may not be alive even as they spoke.

" , is there any likelihood that, whoever that is, it might be one of your folks?" The Senior Chief didn't know what to make of all of this, but she was a bit incredulous at the idea that there would have been a stray survivor poking around on the far end of the runway.

"No, Chief…As it so happens all of the female staff that was assigned to Harlow Center was evacuated on the Breaker Castle. I wouldn't have been at the Center that night except I had to come in and do some after-hours paperwork. I'm damned lucky to be alive…And doubly lucky to be here." The relief in Sasha's voice was palpable. Living inside a spinning rock may not be as idyllic as Harlow's World, but she was alive.

"So…Anyone got any ideas as to who that might be and how the Cylons came to have her?" The Gunner's voice was a bit exasperated. He looked around the table and everyone had their heads down and were grimly shaking them negatively.

"Is there any chance it was a scare crow, Gunner? Bait to see if we'd follow them in order to 'rescue' the decoy?" Kevin Payge's question raised eyes around the table.

The Gunner glanced at Sven to see his reaction to Payge's suggestion. Robbins gave him a begrudgingly affirmative shrug. "Sounds plausible, but we never saw the Cylons exercise those sort of deceptive tactics before. Of course we never saw them sneak in and blow up a whole star system before, either…" Sven could see his old friend's mind working to find some pattern to the Cylons' actions.

"McElroy, what's on the opposite side of that treeline?" Robbins had overflown the same spot but couldn't remember any roads or pathways on that side of the runway. "Were there any access roads or bike paths back there?"

"No Sir…Just the out buildings that housed the NAVAIDS for the aerodrome. There was only a small fence around the field…Just high enough to keep what little wildlife there is off of the runway. We never had a "security" issue per se, so there never was a real security barrier like you'd see on one of the home world's aerodromes, Sir."

"So…we have no conceivable reason to expect anyone to be back there in the first place, but there she is." Kells was talking out loud, not to anyone in particular, but certainly to raise a point. The video on the conference room viewer was frozen on the scene of the Centurion carrying the woman into the treeline.

"Gunner…May I say something here?" asked Lohan.

"Sure Sergeant…What's on your mind?"

"Well Sir…It's been just over a week now and we've not heard from the Fleet, but we can't assume that just because we haven't heard from them that they're not out there. Either way, we're at war." The sergeant paused and took a long sip on the glass of water in front of him before continuing. "We know that the Cylons blasted the hell out of Aerilon and Azur'a yet they left Harlow in relatively one piece. Why? And carrying an apparently wounded human from the battlefield? Since when do Toasters either show compassion or have medical services that would meet a human's needs?"

The sergeant was reaching for something. Maybe if he just said it out loud some mystic answer would come to him. Or maybe not. "That means they're up to something there. Shouldn't we try to drop a recon team in, see what there is to see, and then have a sitrep ready in case we are able to re-establish contact? And if along the way we happen to find that hostage, then so much the better." The young sergeant paused to try and get a feel for the reactions around the table. "We may even be able to plan for another supply run with the BeeCee if we can determine where the Cylons are and what they're after, couldn't we?" More food was always a good thing and a strong motivator, he thought.

If Sergeant Lohan had demonstrated some bad judgment in setting out extra sentries, he was trying to make up for it now, thought the Gunner. And it was apparent that he was looking for a good reason to go back to Harlow. If not to find out if there were more survivors, at least to go back for more supplies and maybe redeem himself for having not seen those Cylons.

"Sven, have we got tactical maps of Harlow?" The Gunner's wheels started turning. If there was going to be a second mission it would be more precisely planned than the first mission…and that was a big 'if.' They got off lucky the first time. The Cylons would be watching for them this time.

Sven sat with his hands folded in his lap and was obviously preparing whatever it was he was going to say carefully. "Yeah…The Intel trailer in Bay Four has a full set of recon maps of all of the occupied bodies within the Perimeter. But do we really want to start trying to plan any operational missions in our current circumstances?" If Dewayne Kells had ever heard Sven Robbins suggest anything like "restraint" this was at least the first time he could remember it!

"I'm not so sure that now isn't the time to do some recon, Sven. If I just smacked someone down as hard as we just got smacked, I'd not be expecting them to get up again real soon…Maybe a bit of brazen recon might catch them off guard…?!"

Sergeant Lohan had been sitting quietly at the end of the conference table fully expecting the Gunner to disapprove of his idea to do a recon to Harlow, but it was pretty apparent that quite the opposite was happening! Lohan scooted forward in his seat, anxious for a reaction from the Gunner and Mr. Robbins. He didn't have to wait long.

"Sergeant Lohan…Wanna plan a sneak-and-peek?" The Gunner could see the sergeant smile without even lifting his head up from his notes.

"Sir…can I ask a favor?" Adrian McElroy seemed on the edge of his own seat. The Gunner looked up and nodded to him. "I'd like to get in on this. I know the neighborhood. I also know some uncharted features that might make it easier on your team!"

Gunner Kells looked at McElroy and then to Sergeant Lohan. "Works for me, unless Mr. Robbins has any suggestions or concerns?" Kells paused to gauge the sense of the others in the room. "Then I'll leave Jarvis here as Corporal of the Guard and take two more with me. A four person team will give us the manpower to get'er done yet be light enough to travel fast."

Gunner Kells looked around the table and then stood up. "Sergeant Lohan, mission profile on my desk in twelve hours. If I like what I see you go in three days with a surface time of 96 hours. Any questions?"