CHAPTER 19
PEREGRINE 'TONDOLAYO' – PLANET KOBOL - EN-ROUTE TO PEST SURVEY SHIP JERUSALEM
"Understood, Chesty Six", Lieutenant Holcomb said into his comm-link. He had been listening to Captain Puller's briefing as to the possibility of hostages on the PEST ships but affirming that given that TAD's are involved, that hostages are to be regarded as being not the primary concern of the mission. 'Chesty Six' was the callsign of the Marine contingent commander.
"In any case, even though there may be some kind of delay that those Templars are having in their getting those TAD's to detonate, assume the worst possible scenario. Stop that ship from leaving", Puller communicated.
"What about those two raptors following us in?" Holcomb inquired. Tondolayo's RSO had informed him of the deployed raptors from the Amethyst.
"They are on reinforcing backup duty, Chesty Five", Puller said, using Holcomb's callsign.
Holcomb immediately knew that those raptors were not reinforcing him. The term 'reinforcing backup duty' was a code phrase informing him that those raptors were on another assignment. Puller evidently was not taking any chances that the peregrine-to-peregrine communications might be listened in on by unfriendly ears.
"Understood, Chesty Six", Holcomb acknowledged, "ETA at target is in seven minutes and my marines are ready to go".
"Okay, Chesty Five", Puller replied, "Best of luck to you all".
"You too, Chesty Six", Holcomb said, "Tondolayo out".
PEREGRINE 'GENERAL IKE' – PLANET KOBOL – EN-ROUTE TO PEST SURVEY SHIP ICARUS.
Putting down his commlink, Puller turned to the RSO.
"I'm heading down to join the others in the APC. Give the code clearance to the raptors to peel off and head to their assigned co-ordinates", he ordered.
With that, Puller headed down to the landing bay where the fully-armored and crewed Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) was ready to go. The marines had already boarded and were strapping themselves in. The second that the Peregrine landed, the APC would exit the bay and head over to the survey ship. The peregrine would then lift off and orbit above the Icarus in order to both support the APC, as well as to prevent the Icarus from departing.
AS he got into the APC, Sergeant-Major Carter informed him: "Six, we're locked and loaded. Everything okay".
"Everyone got their assignments?" Puller asked. Carter nodded.
"I'm going up to join the driver", Puller said, "Remember: the second we get to the Icarus, we deploy, then go in all the way. We have to get to the TAD detonator station. Nothing fancy. We don't have the luxury of time".
Carter nodded. Like Puller, he knew that PEST survey ships of the 'Legend' class were not – as a rule – armed, but none of them knew what those Templars may have done to those ships in that regard…
"We're nearing the Landing Zone", the peregrine pilot informed Puller over the APC command comm-link as he sat down in the front passenger seat beside the driver, "APC egress in three hundred seconds…mark!"
PEST SURVEY SHIP ICARUS
"That peregrine is heading for a clearing about a click away", the LIDAR technician informed Forrest, "we're going to have marines in our lap very shortly".
Forrest thought for a few seconds. The last TAD was not quite ready for priming and given the extra thirty minutes required for the delayed detonation circuits to activate after the command was transmitted, he needed to buy a little bit more time. Just then, he snapped his fingers.
"Inform the brothers covering us outside to prepare to resist the incoming force and get Annan up here now!" he ordered. The technician ran out.
Carter was right: the two PEST survey ships had indeed had armament added to them, but Forrest knew that it would not be able to hold off an APC for very long. His crew had automatic weapons and they had deployed to cover the approaches to the Icarus. They would not be able to hold off the marines for long, but he only needed to buy a few minutes. He quickly sent a text message communication to Manna. A text acknowledgement followed very quickly.
A minute later, the technician brought up onto the bridge Ginny Annan. Her hands were unbound, but the technician had a gun pointed to the back of her head so that she wouldn't try to escape.
"I just wanted to let you know that marines from the Amethyst are about to land, Commandant", Forrest said, "they are trying to crash our little party".
"Given that you had told me how you all intend to play the martyr, Forrest, then what's the point of letting me know that?" she asked with a sneer.
"Well, I've decided to give you a chance", Forrest replied, "When the marines arrive, you will be released so that you can relay a message from us to them".
"And what message is that?" Annan asked, not being able to fully contain her surprise at Forrest's sudden change of heart.
"Inform them that the TAD's have been deployed and primed, and that they will be detonated immediately if all of the marines have not been evacuated from this planet forthwith", Forrest said, gesturing to a portable console. He continued: "as I have the TAD detonation console here, I can immediately set them off. They will not interfere with either the Icarus or the Jerusalem".
"They would probably think that I'm one of your crew and it's a ruse, Forrest", Annan pointed out, "and they would probably have orders to ignore hostages in any case".
"That's why we brought along your uniform", Forrest said as he opened a satchel and threw the uniform over to her, "so get changed. And remember that your husband is the 'guest' of Brother Manna on the Jerusalem. He'll be our insurance policy to ensure that you deliver the message".
As Ginny quickly put on the uniform over her skivvies, she thought that perhaps there might be a chance that she could let them know about Grant so that he could be rescued, but she also knew how professional the marines were. Also, she wondered why Forrest had this change of heart. She knew that she was dealing with a fanatic, so there had to be another reason. Unlike her husband, she wasn't aware of the issues with the TAD's detonator circuits…
BATTLESTAR AMETHYST – ORBITING PLANET KOBOL – COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER
"Admiral", Commandant Lee reported, "the raptors have peeled off. They are heading towards those co-ordinates provided by Serenity. I don't think that either survey ship are aware of their changes in course. All of them are flying low".
"And the peregrines?" Truly inquired.
"Both of them are nearing their landing zones", Lee replied, "Puller informed me that they are ready to attack".
Just then, Comms reported, "Admiral, I'm receiving a communication from the Icarus. Forrest is demanding to speak with you!"
Truly's eyebrows rose. He walked on over to where Comms was holding a comm-link headset. Truly gestured to Lee to put on a headset as well for him to listen in. Truly donned his, made sure Lee did likewise, then started to speak.
"What do you want, Forrest?" Truly said without any formalities, "As I have a full Presidential override authority that supersedes your non-belligerent status, I'm certainly not taking any orders from you. Are you offering to surrender, or am I going to hear a long-winded martyr speech from you?"
"You know I have TAD's, Admiral", Forrest replied calmly, "and you know that taking out this planet will result in the destruction of your battlestars, so I really don't think that you have the upper hand here, despite what your pretty piece of paper says".
"I know about the TAD's, Forrest, and from what I've heard about the fanaticism of the Templars, I'd have thought that you would have already detonated them, so why are you talking to me now?", Truly demanded to know.
"When your marines reach our ships, they will be met by an officer of the navy whom we 'appropriated' before leaving Alliance space", Forrest answered, "Commandant Ginny Annan is here with me on the Icarus, and her husband Commandant Grant Wise is with Brother Manna on the Jerusalem. Annan will personally relay a message from me to your Marine commander whilst Wise remains with us to ensure compliance. I strongly advise you to listen to her, Admiral".
"My marines are trained to ignore hostages, Forrest", Truly reminded him.
"Annan is being released, Admiral", Forrest said, "so you'd best let your people know about her so that she doesn't get shot. If she is, then we'll shoot Commandant Wise. Don't bother calling back. I'll call you later – maybe", Forrest finished, terminating the link.
Putting down his headset, Truly turned to Lee – who had just removed his.
"Looks like he's trying to buy some time", Truly mused, "so he must be having some problems with the TAD's after all. Why else would he be releasing one of his hostages? Hostages are assets and he knows it".
"He probably realizes that marines are trained to ignore hostages unless told otherwise, Admiral. Should we not tell Puller and Holcomb about them? True, I agree that Forrest is trying to buy time, but we may not have much time to play with".
"Forrest probably doesn't know the true intention of the raptors. At least not yet", Truly replied, "and given the information from Serenity, we have a little bit of rope to play with. Inform both Puller and Holcomb about Annan being released and Wise stuck on board the Jerusalem. And when you've done so, relay this message to Serenity…"
PEREGRINE 'GENERAL IKE' – PLANET KOBOL.
"We're down, Chesty Six", the 'Ike's' pilot reported, "Bay open".
At that, the APC sped out from the landing bay of the peregrine. As the Peregrine lifted off the surface, the APC sped over to where the Icarus was located. Puller just got the thumbs-up from Sergeant-Major Carter about the marines readying deployment. Just then, a new voice came over Puller's headset: Truly's.
"Sunray to Chesty Six", Puller heard, "I have been informed by Forrest that a hostage is being released from Icarus: Commandant Ginny Annan. As you secure the perimeter around Icarus, get her on board the APC. She has a message for you".
"This could be a ruse, Sunray", Puller responded, "it could be a suicide bomber or some decoy maneuver".
"Understood, Chesty Six", Truly responded, "use discretion, and I understand that the safety of your marines comes first, but given that I know Annan personally, make sure that your helmet-cams are on and images relayed up here so that I can confirm her identity".
"Understood, Sunray", Puller acknowledged, "we'll initially deploy to covering positions around Icarus and await the hostage, but if we don't see Annan, we'll assume it's a ploy and continue with the operation".
"Approved, Chesty Six", Truly authorized, "primary objective remains the same. Sunray out".
SERENITY – OVER KOBOL
"Understood, Gemstone", Mal acknowledged. Mal Reynolds put down his comm-link headset.
"River", Mal said next, "you understand what we're asking?"
"Yes, Mal", River said with a nod as she changed course.
Serenity was heading out of orbit in order to get closer to the planet. Lee had relayed Truly's order for the converted freighter to get closer so that River Tam would have a clearer picture of what was going on.
"You think getting closer will help River?" Mal asked Simon – who was up on the bridge with the others (apart from Kaylee down in Engineering).
"Generally speaking, the closer she is, the clearer the 'picture' she has", Simon said, "but given the vividness of those TAD locations she 'picked up' earlier when we were further out, I'm not sure if it would help any the more".
"We may also be called in closer to lend support to the marines", Zoe pointed out, "if anything happens to the peregrines, our cargo deck may be the only means to get them off planet".
Just then, River's expression got glassy. She said "I'm sensing that one of the hostages is being released. But not as a gesture of mercy. The TAD's have problems with their instant detonation circuits. They are trying to buy time to finish priming the devices so as to allow delayed detonation to take place".
"Alert Sunray now!", Mal ordered.
BATTLESTAR AMETHYST – COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER
"Thanks, Mal", Truly acknowledged. Mal had filled him in on what River had sensed, "I'll let the combat groups know". Putting down to comm-link, he turned to face Commandant Lee.
"What is the set programming for delayed TAD detonation?" Truly asked.
"If the programming hasn't been changed, delayed detonation takes place thirty minutes from activation from the TAD detonation control panel", Lee responded, "and once the countdown has started, only an abort command from that control panel can abort it".
"ETA of the raptors to the TAD co-ordinates?" Truly asked next.
"They have synchronized their ETAs to arrive simultaneously so as not to alert Forrest", Lee replied, "They will be in place in eleven minutes".
"Inform Puller and Holcomb", Truly ordered, "and dispatch a message probe with full updates for Force Actual. Send it to Point Theta".
As Lee complied, Truly looked at one of the dradis console screens where he could see Serenity dropping out of orbit and heading to a position mid-way between the Icarus and the Jerusalem. Thank the Gods for River Tam, he thought…
BATTLESTAR PENSACOLA – EDGE OF KOBOL SYSTEM
"Commandant", Sims said to Hunter, "We've got a report from Core Command. One of Corsair Squadron's CAP's has picked up a large identified contact at two-five-four tarim seven-two-two. Not transmitting anything, but it's definitely not natural.
Hunter looked at the provided coordinates on the dradis. That location was in Amethyst's blind area as Kobol was between it and the contact.
"Is the CAP using passives only, XO?" Hunter asked.
"Affirmative, Commandant", Sims replied, "the unknown contact was at the edge of the probe's sensors so it's very likely that it hasn't been picked up by whoever – or whatever – it is".
"Inform CAG to have the CAP maintain discrete contact with the unidentified intruder, but to inform me immediately if it moves towards Kobol, or if an identity is confirmed", Hunter ordered, "and have CAG send a viper over to the Amethyst with this information. But do it so that the intruder doesn't pick it up".
As Sims headed back to the Core Command console, Hunter wondered about this latest piece of information. With Truly's orders changing the Pensacola's original assigned position to this location, it was very likely that this unknown contact didn't know about him either. He decided to play a wait-and-see strategy and maintain wireless silence so as not to alert the unknown contact to his position…
BATTLESTAR ANNAPOLIS – EDGE OF KOBOL SYSTEM
The CAP from the Pensacola indeed wasn't picked up by the Annapolis. As Commandant Ford's orders were for the battlestar to stay on passive sensors and remain on silent running status, her LIDAR was not picking up the Pensacola either.
Major Richter – who was overseeing the CIC crew carefully so as not to arouse their suspicions – was listening intently on a certain frequency for a signal. The signal would emanate from the Icarus informing her of their status. What would happen next would depend on what the signal said…
"Comms", Vice-Commandant Duren said, "I still don't like the commandant refusing to launch a CAP. While we are on silent running status, our scanning ability is heavily restricted, and we really need eyes out there"
"We have our orders from Sunray", Richter lied, "and he's the one in overall charge here. He knows best".
Duren nodded, but his gut feeling was telling him that something was badly wrong here…
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – FALLBACK POSITION THETA
Cain was listening in from the communications from the other actuals as they made their reports. So far, they had found and deactivated three sabotage devices found on the Triton, Solaria, and Manchuria. No trace of who had planted them however…
"Admiral", Major Vansen reported from the LIDAR, we've got a courier probe emergence. IFF confirms it's from Sunray".
"Have it transmit its message and send it to my screen for decode", Cain ordered. He watched his screen as Truly's report on what was happening over Kobol was being decoded and displayed in the clear:
FLASH SUNRAY TO FORCE ALTERNATE STOP TEMPLARS ON KOBOL INTENDING TO DESTROY PLANET STOP HAVE DEPLOYED MARINES TO PREVENT DESTRUCTION OF KOBOL STOP HOSTAGES PRESENT ON BOARD TEMPLAR SHIPS IDENTIFIED AS COMMANDANTS ANNAN AND WISE STOP MARINE ATTACK FORCE NOTIFIED BUT HOSTAGES FATE SECONDARY TO PRIMARY MISSION OF PREVENTING DESTRUCTION OF KOBOL STOP YANKEE COVERING SYSTEM WHILE GEMSTONE AND SERENITY DIRECTLY SUPPORTING MARINES STOP MESSAGE ENDS.
"Frakk this!", Cain snarled, "He's got fanatics on his hands armed with TAD's and we're impotent for the time being!"
"Admiral", Tom Sanders said, "if none of those devices activated when we made the jump to the fallback position, then surely we'll be all right jumping to Kobol. Admiral Truly can certainly use reinforcements".
"According to Trident, Nova, and Genghis, the devices that they found were all set for local detonation under short-range remote control", Cain replied, "and if there are others like them which we haven't found yet, if we jump to Kobol, whoever planted them can set them off. We're finding these devices too easily!"
'Trident' was the call-sign for the Triton, 'Nova' was the call-sign for the Solaria, and 'Genghis' was the call-sign for the Manchuria.
"You think that's what happened to the Annapolis?" Tom asked next.
"I think that Commandant Harry Ford has some explaining to do", Cain ground out, "because the timing of his going missing stinks, and since there is no debris indicating destruction of the Annapolis, I have a definite feeling that his loyalties are becoming suspect".
Tom nodded. Given the recent events on the Pegasus, the possibility was a good one that Ford was a Templar, and if he was in a position to ambush the Amethyst…
"Have the probe return to Sunray", Cain ordered, "and inform him of our current situation, plus the unknown status of the Annapolis. His orders are to ensure that the Templars do not destroy Kobol. By any and all means necessary! Inform Focr Actual on the Pegasus as well".
"And what about Annan and Wise?" Tom asked. Both he and Cain knew them both very well.
"They know the score. A lot more than their lives are at stake. Ice knows this all too well. If necessary, they are to be regarded as expendable", Cain said in a flat tone.