Carrie sat in her office aboard the Starburst. She had been enjoying the peace and quiet that came at this time of the morning. As she reached to get the glass of water on her desk, she felt her baby kick. Carrie smiled and rubbed her stomach, not long to go now. In a matter of days the baby would be born and life would change again. Before then though she had one more meeting with the Quarrum and the recently sworn in Vice President, Callum Bennett, who would be taking charge until she got back to work. She liked Callum, he was a hard worker, well liked and so far, had no scandals following him. The door to her office opened and in walked Gwen and Skeeter.
"Good morning, Madame President." Gwen said.
"Good morning," Carrie replied standing up, "Is everyone ready?"
"Sure are," Skeeter said, "Ready to hand over the reigns?"
Carrie nodded, "Oh yeah. Shall we?"
The three of them made the quick walk to the main meeting room where everyone was all waiting. After exchanging greetings with everyone, Carrie sat down at the head of the table.
"Okay, I'm going to keep this brief," Carrie said, "I've spoken with Admiral Garrett and filled her in on who is going to be doing what while I'm away. We have no immediate problems, everything finally seems to be going smoothly. Trinity will be ahead of the fleet for another few weeks, they're still coming across this nebula that seems to be dogging our every move."
"Still no joy with the rest of the space they're coming across?" Wallace Grey asked.
"The Admiral has said they've found nothing yet," Carrie replied, "My brother and husband have been looking through some of the data sent back to us, but as of yet, nothing useful. Admiral Garrett or Colonel Johnson will keep you all updated. Are we still running smoothly on the upcoming election later in the year?"
"We were discussing this very subject before you arrived," Wallace said, "Everyone is happy with the time frame. When you come back, we'll get the ball rolling. So far from each of the representatives and ships Captain's talking to their people, there are no objections. So far everyone seems happy for you to remain as President. There is also, up till now, no one standing against you. I wouldn't hold your breath that it will stay like that, but it's going to have to be someone spectacular to beat you."
Carrie smiled, "I'll be keeping up to date on everything that happens. My aide, Gwen is going to come to all the meetings and if you need to speak to me, she can get in touch with me at any point on Orion."
"Are you sure about staying on Orion?" Wallace asked, "Wouldn't you be more comfortable here?"
"Oh I'd definitely be more comfortable here," she said with a smile,"I want to be close to my husband for when I give birth," Carrie replied, "So if there's nothing else, I'm going to head over there now. I'll see you all soon."
"Madame President," Vice President Bennett said standing up from his chair, "I would just like to wish you all the best and I think I speak for us all when I say we look forward to meeting your child."
Captain Penny "Tripswitch" Cooper sat at the controls of her Raptor. It had been five months since her best friend had died and she still hadn't been able to get past it. She had spoken to, Archangel about it as often as she could, he was the only person who understood the loss. Since it had happened she had also got a lot closer to Commander Knox. The events of that day had helped to bring them together, she would even count him as a friend. He'd been there for her, he'd been there to listen whenever she needed to talk. Without him or Archangel, she wasn't sure she'd have made it through. She was getting used to her new ECO, it had been hard at first as she'd flown with Alisa for over ten years, but Lieutenant Edward "U Turn" Cahill, was starting to grow on her. He was a nice kid, who was good at his job. He had a habit of singing to himself, which at first had driven her mad, until one day, it simply didn't.
Her Raptor, along with three others and six Viper's flew ahead of the Battlestar Trinity. In front of them was a gap in the nebula that had dogged them for nearly a year now. Either side of the gap were two moons, strangely out of place, but it looked as though they were holding the nebula at bay. One of them was a baron rock, the other had a strange atmosphere that would be toxic for any human to breathe.
"Trinity Actual, this is Tripswitch." Penny said.
"Tripswitch, this is Knox," came the reply, "Everything alright out there?"
"Yes sir, we'll be reaching the break in the nebula in six minutes, everything is proceeding as normal."
"Erm Captain, I'm picking up some really weird readings from the moon with the atmosphere." Cahill said from the ECO position.
"Actual, standby." Penny said.
"Understood." Knox replied.
"What do you have?" Penny asked.
"There is a massive build up of energy on the surface of the moon. I have no idea what's causing it." he replied.
"Actual, we're picking up a massive energy reading coming from the surface." Penny said.
"Captain, so are we." Knox replied.
"Oh my gods." Penny said.
A large ball of blue and purple energy appeared from the moon and had started to head towards them.
"What do you see Trip?" Knox asked.
Penny looked at the ball of energy in amazement, she'd never seen anything like it before. The blues and purples shimmered as white electrical currents surged and smashed through it. She couldn't take her eyes off it. What could it be? Suddenly she snapped back to reality.
"All craft break break break!" Penny yelled over the COM, "Actual, you need to move the ship out of the way NOW!"
As she finished speaking, the energy ball hit the Trinity. As Penny banked her Raptor round she saw the Battlestar engulfed in the energy ball, it began to get smaller as it seemed to hang in the middle of the ship. The electrical current illumined the ships superstructure, like a skeleton on an x-ray. The blues and purples tried to merge, tried to combine with each other. The reaction was violent. It momentarily pulsed with blinding intensity before it expanded even brighter than before. Everything seemed to hang momentarily still, like time itself halted for just the briefest of moments, then the ship exploded. Penny's Raptor was violently thrown backwards, she managed to quickly get in under control as multiple warnings blared around her. As the energy dissipated, she could see the once great Battlestar had almost been torn in two by the blast. Small explosions happening across the parts of the ship that were still intact.
"Actual? Actual are you still there?" Penny asked quietly.
The line was full of static and screaming, but through it she could make out his voice.
"Captain, yo. .eed to get .ack to the fleet." he said.
"Actual, you need to abandon ship while you can, you need to.." her words were cut off by a second volley of energy that hit the Battlestar. The burst of energy split in two, one hitting the bow one the stern. When the brightness died down she couldn't believe her eyes. Only pieces of wreckage remained. No one had managed to escape in time.
"Captain, we need to leave." Cahill said from his station.
Penny didn't reply, she looked at the wreckage of her home. All those people, all just dead. The surviving Raptors and Vipers took positions along side her.
"This is Captain Cooper to the Battlestar Trinity, can anyone hear me? Is anyone still alive?" she knew there was no one left to hear her words, but she had to ask.
Cahill came up to the cockpit and put his hand on her shoulder, "Penny, they're all gone. We have to go." he said quietly.
"All remaining fighters, follow me." Penny said before turning her bird and flying it back the way they came.
Realisation dawned on her that she had to step up, she was the CAG, these were her pilots and they needed her to do her job now more than ever.
"Ed, keep your eyes on DRADIS, I want to know if we get the slightest whiff of enemy contacts." Penny said authoritatively.
"Yes ma'am." Cahill replied.
"Guys, we need to hold it together," Penny said, "We're going to keep going and then I'm going to jump ahead to the fleet. We're going to find you guys somewhere that you guys can hold up. As soon as we get to the fleet, I'll have them send the Medlia for you all."
"You want us to just wait here?!" Lieutenant Jason "Crank" Renn exclaimed, "What the frak would we do if the toasters turn up before the Medlia gets here?"
"Okay, scuttle the Vipers, get on the Raptors and we head back together." Penny replied.
"We'll be over in a minute." Renn said.
"Viper's power down and head over to your nearest Raptor. Let's make this quick."
Milo Vents sat alone in the Observation Room aboard Orion. Despite his condition deteriorating, he felt better than he had in a long time. He was brought back from his thoughts when he realised Vanessa had sat down next to him.
"How are you?" Milo asked.
Vanessa smiled at her friend, "I'm good thank you, how are you feeling?" she asked.
"My doctor's tells me I'm deteriorating, but we knew that would happen. But I feel better than I have in a long time." he replied.
"Small mercies," Vanessa replied, "How," she sighed, "How long do you have?"
Milo paused for a moment, "Not long. A couple of weeks maybe."
"I'm so sorry." she replied.
"Don't be," Milo said, "I've lived a good life, I'm proud of what I'm accomplished, what we've accomplished. Don't be sad for me, Vanessa, I can go to my grave happy with my lot, safe in the knowledge you and Carrie will be carrying on. Speaking of, Carrie, how is she doing? I haven't spoken to her in a couple of weeks."
"She's doing well, she's handing over to the VP today and coming over here. She'll be giving birth any day now."
"I'm glad to hear. I've been hoping that I'd live long enough to meet her child."
"Just think if he or she is born in two days it'll be on the anniversary of the Fall," Vanessa said, "I still can't believe we've been out here for five years."
"And we're still here." Milo said.
"I need your advice." Vanessa replied.
"Please, ask anything."
"Other than what happened on the planet we found a few months ago, we haven't even found a trace of the Cylons. I've been thinking, the next habitable planet we find, we settle."
"What's made you think like this?" Milo asked.
"Five years, we've been out here for five years. We have children in the fleet who have never even set foot on a planet. We could keep running for another five years, ten years even. I think it's time."
"I tend to agree. It's definitely time."
"Good. I knew that if you agreed I'd be able to convince everyone else as well."
Milo laughed, "It may not be for long, but I'm here, if you need me or if you just need to talk."
"I'll definitely be taking you up on that." Vanessa replied.
"So what will you do if we find a planet?" Milo asked, "I'm not going to get to see it, but I'd really like to know."
"Emotional blackmail, why Milo Vents I didn't think you were the type." Vanessa smiled and laughed.
"Oh I'm very much the type." he replied with a chuckle."
Vanessa sighed, "Take this off," she said pointing to her uniform, "Have a life. Doing what? I haven't decided yet. I'm hoping there will be time to figure it out."
"Just make sure you take him with you." Milo said.
"Him?"
"You know who I mean."
"We've certainly talked about it. I think I'm going to need more of a push than he is. The thought makes me nervous. But I think it's a good nervous."
Milo smiled, "Just make it memorable."
Skeeter walked down Orion's hanger deck. He supposed he was now on some kind of vacation. Carrie was safe on Orion and other than when she was due to leave the ship, he was at a loose end. He had always found the hanger deck a calming place to be, well other than when the Viper's and Raptor's were out defending the fleet and all you could do was listen to the pilot's chatter as they fought for their lives.
"Hey Skeeter." a voice said from behind him.
He turned and saw the looming figure of Jawbreaker walk up to him. Most people found Captain Andy Thomlins intimidating, those people didn't know him as well as Skeeter did.
"Hey Andy, what's the scuttlebutt?" Skeeter asked.
Skeeter had always been one of the only civilians who could come and go on Orion as he pleased, he got to see the people who worked aboard for who they really were.
"There's a game on tonight and we have a free chair, if you're up for it?"
"I'd love to, thanks buddy. Who dropped out?" Skeeter asked.
"Wedge. He's following Carrie around like a lost puppy, it's like he's expecting her to break at any moment. He's my best friend in the worlds, but I could slap him, Carrie is far from breakable."
"Ain't that the truth," Skeeter replied, "Never been that bothered about babies, but I can't wait to meet the little fella, Mark's the same, it's all he talks about."
Jawbreaker laughed, "I went with him the other day to one of the markets on the Free Bird, he spent every last cubit and every favour he's owed to buy anything and everything he could for the kid. I didn't know he had such a soft side."
"You should see him around bunnies," Skeeter said laughing, "I have stories I can tell tonight. Strong chance he'll kill me if I do, but it'll be worth it."
"I'll hold you to that. Come to the main pilot's mess at 19.00 hundred hours."
"I'll look forward to it."
He saw Hydra working on her Raptor as he spoke, he smiled and waved, she did the same.
"You know I can't stand gossip, but are you two? You know, doing the nasty?" Jawbreaker asked.
Skeeter smiled at his friend, "Now that would be telling and she hits harder than you."
Jawbreaker chuckled, "See you tonight."
Skeeter patted his friend on the shoulder and walked over to Hydra. She looked around to make sure no one was looking and then kissed him.
"It's so good to see you." she said smiling.
"Likewise." he replied. Feeling this way about someone else after Bria had seemed like an impossible thought. He'd loved her so much. Hydra had come out of nowhere, neither of them had seen it coming, but it did and it was working.
"Where are you staying, now you're a man of leisure?" Hydra asked.
"Guest block, room fifteen," he replied, "And you have a standing invitation."
"I'll be taking you up on that. What did Jawbreaker want?"
"He invited me to a card game tonight."
"You got the spare chair?!" she asked.
"Was there some kind of waiting list?" he replied with a laugh.
"Nearly everyone on the ship wanted that chair."
"Maybe I should be keeping a low profile?" he said sarcastically.
"It's Party Boy you'll have to keep an eye on, it's likely he's going to be crying himself to sleep tonight."
Skeeter laughed, "I'll keep an eye out for that. What are you doing tonight?"
"I'll be on CAP until 22.00. I'll pop by the mess when I get back, if you're not there, I'll come use my guest pass." she said with a smile.
"I am one lucky mother fraker, I get the most wanted chair in the universe and then I'm going to get lucky with the hottest girl in the universe."
"Who said you're getting lucky?!" she replied with a wink. She gave him another kiss and then got on her Raptor.
"Be safe out there."
"Always." Hydra replied.
Archangel stood in the memorial corridor on Orion. He looked at the pictures of all the people he'd put up who he'd lost so far. Atalntia's squadron picture, Grace, Danny, Michaels, Vannick, Alisa and his mother and brother. If he had pictures of some of the other people he'd lost he'd add them as well Admiral Negala was on the squadron picture, but he wished he had his favourite photo of them both, the day he'd been promoted to Captain. He wished he had one of Admiral Greenway too, what a man he'd been. The strongest Archangel had ever known. The man he respected above all others. The man he wished was his father. He wondered how much longer it would be before he was a picture on this wall.
"Cubit for your thoughts?" Carrie said as she walked up to him.
He turned and smiled when he saw his sister and gave her a hug.
"Just thinking of this motley lot. Are you here for the long haul now?"
"Sure am. You ready to meet your niece or nephew?" she asked.
"I certainly am. It doesn't seem five minutes since you told me you were pregnant."
"I know, it's certainly flown by." Carrie replied.
"Do you want to get lunch tomorrow?" he asked.
"I'd love to." she replied.
Carrie turned to look at the pictures.
"I wish I could have met Illum." Carrie said.
"So do I, you would have got on well, you're very similar."
"Your mother looks like she was a kind woman."
"She was, she'd help or do anything for anyone, I miss them both so much."
Carrie took hold of her brother's hand.
"At least we have each other." Carrie said.
Archangel smiled at her, "And you're stuck with me."
"Right back at you." she said.
The pilot's main mess was as busy as it always was. Bojay, Archangel, Jawbreaker, Jennings, Buck and Skeeter all sat around the table in the middle of the room. Each had varying piles of cubits in front of them and cards in their hands. As usual, they had an audience watching them.
"Have any of you guys heard about that new FTL the Columbus has supposedly made?" Buck asked.
"Yeah, I wouldn't listen to the rumours on that one," Bojay replied, "It's going to be something that will take a lot of work to fix any and all bugs."
"Is it for the bigger ships?" Jawbreaker asked.
"It's for the Vipers." Bojay replied.
"Seriously? I saw what happened the last time someone tried that," Archangel said, "I state right now, I will not be testing that on my bird."
Everyone turned to him, "Someone tried before? When? What happened?" Jawbreaker replied.
"Some genius tried to modify the jump drive from a Raptor, it ended explosively." Archangel said before drinking a shot of whiskey.
"Why have we not heard of something like that happening?" Bojay asked.
Archangel smiled, "Because it was swept under the carpet, it was a cluster frak from the word go."
"Bringing the subject back to the card game, I call." Jennings said, "Four on a run."
"Frak." Bojay said dropping his cards.
Everyone started putting their cards down.
"Looks like I win again!" Jennings said.
"Not so fast," Skeeter said smiling, "Full colours."
"Mother fraker!" Jennings exclaimed.
Skeeter collected his winnings and chuckled to himself.
"We should do this more often." Skeeter said.
The following morning Vanessa walked onto the CIC ready to start her shift. She felt rested for the first time in weeks.
"Good morning Mr Phillips, anything to report?" she asked as she met him at the DRADIS console.
"Not really, everything has been uneventful." Phillips replied.
"I could get used to this." Vanessa replied.
"If everything is okay, I'm going to get some shut eye."
"Of course Lieutenant, sleep well."
As Phillips left the CIC, Vanessa picked up the schedule for the day. Everything seemed extremely straightforward.
"DRADIS contact." a voice shouted out.
Vanessa looked up and saw three new contacts, seconds later their ID appeared under them. Trinity Raptors 1, 14 and 23.
"What the frak?" Vanessa said to herself.
"Admiral, I have Captain Cooper on the horn for you." Specialist Dane Logan said to her.
"Please put her through down here." Vanessa replied, she picked up her handset, "Captain Cooper, this is Orion Actual, is everything okay?"
"No Admiral, not even close." Penny replied.
Vanessa, Bojay and Archangel sat in the Admiral's quarters with Penny. She was in a state of shock, she held a glass of whiskey in both hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. Archangel had never seen her like this before, something had terrified her, nothing terrified her, at least that's what he'd always thought. She was always the most dangerous person in the room.
"It all happened so quickly. We found a way through the nebula, we couldn't believe our luck. There was a gap flanked by two moons, one of them is just a rock, the other has some atmosphere, but not one that we could breathe. We were heading for the gap and suddenly we picked up a massive energy reading. Before we knew what was happening, this ball of blue and purple energy appeared from the moon," she paused for a moment to take a sip from her drink, "It hit the ship, it tore the ship to pieces, then for good measure it was hit again and the debris left was just tiny pieces. They're all dead, everyone."
"Oh my gods." Vanessa said.
Everyone was sat in silence, no one knew what to say.
"We decided to scuttle the Vipers and head back in the Raptors." Penny said.
"We're going to have to avoid that moon." Bojay said.
"We can't," Penny said, "We have to go through that gap."
"Why?" Vanessa asked.
"Here's the other bad news, we've been to the edge of the galaxy." Penny said.
"Seriously?" Bojay asked.
"Yeah, we're very close here. For obvious reasons we can't leave our galaxy, we'd run out of everything we need to live before we even reached another."
"So we have to find a way to get all of our ships through, without being destroyed by whatever that was," Archangel said, "Frak me."
He put his arm around Cooper as she burst into tears.
"I'm sorry to make you relive this, Penny, but I need to ask you some questions." Vanessa said.
Penny nodded and wiped her eyes.
"Roughly how long was there between picking up the energy reading to whatever it was being fired?"
Penny finished her drink and put the glass down, "About 30 seconds, maybe more."
"Were your gun cameras active?" Vanessa asked.
Penny nodded, "Yes they were. Commander Knox insisted we keep them live whenever we were flying."
"Good. Archangel, could you show Penny to the quarters we've assigned to her?" Vanessa asked.
Archangel nodded his head, "Yeah of course."
"Penny, we can finish this later. Go try and get some sleep."
Penny nodded her head, "If you need me."
"If we need you, we'll let you know." Bojay said to her.
When Archangel and Penny had left the room, Vanessa and Bojay started talking again.
"What do you have in mind?" Bojay asked.
"We need to find out how long it would take the Medlia to jump in, take scans and get the frak out of there." Vanessa replied.
"Whatever did that, we need to stop it or destroy it before we can even take Orion anywhere near it."
"Agreed," Vanessa stood up, straightened her uniform and sighed, "I need to make an announcement."
"It never gets any easier does it?" Bojay said.
"No, no it doesn't." Vanessa replied.
As Vanessa and Bojay walked onto the CIC all eyes turned to them, everyone knew something had happened.
"Please open a channel to all the military vessels." Vanessa said as they reached the DRADIS console.
"Channel open Admiral." Specialist Logan replied.
"You okay?" Bojay asked.
"Not even close." Vanessa replied picking up her handset, "All military personnel, this is the Admiral. It is with a very heavy heart that I have to inform you all, the Battlestar Trinity has been destroyed. As of now, we do not know who or what destroyed them, but I intend to find out. We've all got used to good days over the last few months, the next few are going to be hard. If the Trinity was destroyed by someone, I promise you all we will have our revenge. If any of you pray, then pray for those we've just lost. More information will come when we have it." she put down her handset and composed herself.
There was mostly silence on the CIC now, some people had broken down crying, others were just in shock.
"Colonel, I need you to inform the Vice President and the Quarrum." Vanessa said.
"In person or shall I make a call?" Bojay replied.
"A call for now, tell them we'll have a face to face when we know more."
"Of course." he replied.
"Specialist Logan, please get the Vice President for Colonel Johnson and the Medlia for me."
Moments later, both calls were ready.
"Medlia Actual, this is Orion Actual, I have a potential job for you." Vanessa said.
"You want us to go check out what happened?" Short Stack replied.
"Maybe, it all depends on the answers to my questions. In the quickest possible time, how long would it take for you to jump in, take as many detailed scans of the moon and whatever did this and get out again?" Vanessa asked.
"Ghost, what do you think?" Short Stack asked.
"Do you have any further details on the moon or the weapon used to destroy the Trinity?" Ghost asked.
"Only Raptor gun-camera footage." Vanessa replied.
"Is it on Orion's main computer?" Ghost asked.
"Yes, do you want to see it?" Vanessa replied.
"Accessing Orion's main computer now." Ghost replied, there were a few seconds of silence before Ghost spoke again, "I estimate it would take approximately 5.7 seconds to jump in, get the scans and jump back out again. Admiral, how long was it between the weapon firing and it hitting Trinity?"
"Tripswitch thinks it was approximately 30 seconds."
"Then we have more than enough time," Short Stack replied, "Do you want us to go straight away?"
"I do," Vanessa replied, "But please, please don't take any unnecessary risks."
"You have nothing to worry about there Admiral, my taste for the dangerous life is at about 0%"
"We'll see you shortly then." Vanessa replied.
"Admiral," Ghost said, "You do not need to worry about me, I remember what we agreed on, an order from the Major is an order from you."
Vanessa couldn't help but smile, "Good hunting out there."
Vice President Callum Bennett was very nervous. He hadn't expected to be doing much of anything, especially so soon after taking over. He sat in his office looking nervously out of the window at the fleet. He held his phone in one hand to his ear and a glass of Ambrosia in the other.
"You'll be fine," Carrie said on the other end of the phone, "Is your assistant happy enough with writing you a speech? If not I can have Gwen come see you."
"The speech is in hand, it's just my nerves that's all." Callum replied.
"Just remember, you don't have to answer questions if you don't want to. Make sure you say all the relevant information and then you can finish off by saying, you'll give them any further information when it becomes available."
"Carrie, are you sure I'm the right person for this job?" he asked.
"I wouldn't have left you alone if I didn't think that. That and more importantly, Admiral Garrett wouldn't have let you even have the job. If I can give you one piece of advice."
"Yes, please, any and all." Callum said.
"Ask Wallace to go with you. Other than Milo, there is no one in the fleet with more political experience."
"I already have."
"Good. Right, I have to go meet my husband. You know where I am if you need me." she said.
"I'll be good," Callum said, he genuinely felt a bit better, "You just relax and I promise I won't let the boat sink while I'm at the helm."
Carrie laughed, "I'll talk with you later."
"Say hi to Anthony for me." Callum said.
After he put the phone down he sat and managed to calm his nervous breathing down. He watched as the CAP flew through the fleet, he looked at the small one man Vipers and suddenly he gained new perspective. The men and women who flew in those planes, they were the ones who had jobs that a person would be nervous to do, his job, in comparison, was utterly nothing to be afraid of.
Major Adam "Short Stack" Lewthwaite and his XO Captain Aaron Brown stood at the DRADIS monitor.
"You okay?" Short Stack asked his XO.
"Nervous." Aaron replied, "I know we'll be in and out before they even know we're there, but the Trinity was destroyed with two shots, that means if we get hit once, we're done."
A couple of Specialists in earshot suddenly looked nervous.
"We'll be fine. I have complete faith in our A.I." Short Stack replied with a grin, "You ready?"
Aaron let out a slow deep breath and nodded in reply.
"Ghost, are you ready to take over?"
"Yes Major." Ghost replied.
"Let's do it."
"Action stations, action stations, all hands, this is Ghost, setting condition 1 throughout the ship. We are about to make a jump, take scans and then make another jump all in under 6 seconds. Jumping the ship in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
The Medlia jumped, when it jumped into orbit around the moon, Adam and Aaron watched as all the information began to flood in regarding the moon. 5.7 seconds after jumping in, Ghost was finished and jumped out again.
"Jump complete." the A.I said.
"Were we detected?" Aaron asked.
"No Captain."
"Ghost, did you see what it was that destroyed Trinity?" Short Stack asked.
"Yes Major, it was some kind of massive plasma cannon." Ghost replied.
"Plasma cannon?! Do you mean someone has managed to make an energy weapon?" Aaron asked.
"Yes Captain and as far as I can make out, it is the new type of Cylon, Major Hunter and Captain Cooper encountered on the planet some months ago."
"Oh this is really not good." Aaron replied.
"Not even slightly." Short Stack replied, "Ghost please take us back to the fleet and get Orion on the horn as soon as we arrive."
Vice President Bennett stood in front of the fleets press and news core. There were so many people, so many eyes looking at him. So many people listening. He'd been in the room so many times with both President Vents and Manning when they'd spoken to the press core. He took a sip from the glass of water that sat on the podium in front of him and then began to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming over to the Starburst so quickly. I had hoped the first time I spoke to you all would be with good new, alas, it looks as though that is not meant to be. I know the rumour mill has gone into overdrive over what has happened to the Battlestar Trinity. I'm here to set the record straight. As you all know I'm sure, Admiral Garrett had sent the Trinity ahead of the fleet, to map out the area, find any resources we could use and to see how far the nebula that has been plaguing us for over a year now goes. Three days ago, after finding out we are at the very edge of our galaxy, they found a gap in the nebula, flanked by two moons. Before they were able to pass through, what we think was an energy weapon, unlike anything we've ever seen before, destroyed the Battlestar with just two shots, killing everyone onboard. Only the ship's CAG and a few other pilots survived as they were flying a CAP. We currently do not know what happened, who made the weapon and more importantly, who or what killed our people. Admiral Garrett has sent the Medlia to the moon to get detailed scans so we can plan our next move. We need to stick together as much as we ever have before, we need to stay strong, to mourn our dead friends. More information will be given to you, as and when we have it. Thank you, that will be all for now." Callum said.
Penny had listened to what the VP had been saying on the wireless in her new quarters. She sat on the small sofa in the corner of the room, with her flight suit on her lap. She held one of the sleeves in her hands and looked down at the insignia for her fallen Battlestar. When she was around other people she found it easier to hold it all together, to be herself, but it was moments like this when what had happened hit her like a lead brick. Earlier in the day she had managed to track down an insignia for Orion for her uniform. It sat on the coffee table in front of her in front of a half empty glass of whiskey. She had fully intended on replacing the one for Trinity, but she couldn't do it. She snapped out of her trance and wiped the tears from her face when she heard a knock on the door. She reached forward for the glass and drank it down in one before speaking, "Come in." she said.
The door opened and in walked Archangel, right now, she didn't know what she'd do without him. The hurt she felt when she saw him grew less by the day. Her thoughts still drifted to what could have been, but she was thankful with what they had. Plus she was wondering if there was potential with someone else, but that was definitely a work in progress.
"Hey." he said smiling at her.
"Hey yourself. Everything okay?" she asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
She forced a smile and nodded her head, "As well as can be expected."
"I know this is the last thing you'll have given any thought to, but I've decided to station you here on Orion. You won't be CAG, but I have an opening for squadron leader of black group and it's all yours." he said.
"I appreciate that, thank you. I don't think I'd be able to hold it together on the Sulaco or Richmond right now." she replied.
"Secondly, eat a breath mint," he said throwing her a pack, "Because the Medlia just got back and she has a shit tonne of data and pictures of that planet and I thought you might like to help us sift through it?"
Penny crunched a mint in her mouth and smiled, "I'd like that very much indeed."
The computer lab off Orion's CIC that Mike Campbell used to use was already busy when Archangel and Penny arrived. Vanessa, Bojay and Milo were looking at some of the many many photo's the Medlia had managed to take.
"Milo, good to see you." Archangel said shaking the former President's hand.
"Likewise Major." he replied.
"Penny, this is our former President, Milo Vents, Milo, this is Captain Penny Cooper, one of the Trinity survivors."
He shook Penny's hand, "It is very good to meet you Captain Cooper, I was so very sorry to hear what happened to your ship and to Captain Stark."
"Thank you sir. It's a pleasure to meet you too. Hunter has told me a lot about you."
"All good I hope."
"Indeed and trust me when I say, there are very few people I've ever heard him speak of so positively." Penny replied.
Milo hoped he hid how surprised he was. While he and Archangel had always got on, he had never been sure exactly how much he liked him, they had butted heads so many times over the last few years.
"I invited Milo as he has more experience with the original Cylon models than anyone in the fleet. I was hoping if there was anything familiar, he'd be more likely to notice it than we would." Vanessa said.
"Also, the more eyes the better," Bojay added, "Even though they were there less than six seconds, the Medlia took thousands of pictures and took an awful lot of data."
"We've sent all this data to the Sulaco, Richmond and all the Gunstars so everyone else can take a look through them as well. Ghost is analysing them too. If there is anything we can use, we'll find it." Vanessa said.
On the rooms main monitor was a clear picture of the energy weapon, it was massive. It was unlike anything any of them had every seen before.
"Holy frak," Penny said, "It's going to take a lot of explosives to destroy that thing."
"I'm thinking something of the nuclear variety." Archangel replied.
"We can't take any of the ships anywhere close enough to fire any at them though." Milo said.
"What if the Medlia jumped in and fired some or at the very least some EMP's. When it's down, we could send in a group of Raptors and plant a nuke ourselves then detonate it on the way off world?" Penny suggested.
"Sounds like a good idea." Bojay said.
"Once we've gone through all the data, as long as there are no hidden surprises, that's what we'll do" Vanessa replied.
As she finished speaking condition one began to sound.
"All hands we have an enemy contact, prepare to jump the fleet to emergency standby coordinates." Lieutenant Phillips said over the COM.
Everyone in the small room quickly went out onto the CIC.
"SIT-REP." Vanessa said as they walked into the room.
"We have one Cylon contact, they're staying out of weapons range and they haven't launched raiders." Phillips replied.
Vanessa thought for a moment before she spoke, "Hold the jump order and launch alert Vipers. I want you to tell them to form a defensive line and do not engage unless we order them otherwise."
"What are you thinking?" Milo asked.
"Call it a hunch, any moment now.." as she finished speaking, Lieutenant Phillips spoke again.
"Admiral, we have the Baseship on the horn."
"Let's see what they want," Vanessa said before picking up her handset, "Cylon Baseship, this is Orion Actual, whatever it is you want to say you'd better make it good."
"Admiral, still straight to the point, just like at the passageway." 1 replied sarcastically, "We come here waving a white flag. Despite you destroying the other Baseship that survived that nebula, I come here to offer you a truce."
"Why would I want a truce with you?" Vanessa replied coldly.
"What I told you before was the truth, we are the last remaining Cylons in the universe and unless you want to double back on yourselves, you need our help to get past that weapon on the moon I'm guessing you've already found. We have information on the weapon, the moon and who made it. What I am suggesting Admiral is that we work together to destroy it, how does the saying go, the enemy of my enemy."
"How do you know about that weapon?" she asked.
"Because we only just escaped it with our lives. Ask one of your Vipers what they can see. We've been badly damaged by it. I hate this as much as you do Admiral, but we're going to need each other if we're going to defeat it."
Vanessa looked over at Bojay, he looked worried.
"And what exactly are you suggesting?" Vanessa asked.
"I'm suggesting you allow me and one of the other Cylons on this ship to be given permission to come aboard Orion so we can discus this face to face." 1 replied.
"Give me a moment," she said, "Mute the line." she said to Phillips.
A few seconds later, Phillips nodded.
"Suggestions." Vanessa said.
Bojay, Milo, Archangel and Penny had all heard the conversation.
"I don't like this," Bojay said, "However, we have superior fire power. They can't download any more so I'm guessing they'll be on their best behaviour. We have the upper hand here, as much as I hate to say this, they might be able to help us."
Vanessa looked at the others.
"I would suggest though, just to be on the safe side whoever meets them, checks them for explosives. Just to be sure." Penny said.
"I agree with Bojay," Archangel said, "We should at least hear them out. I also agree with Penny."
"If they pull anything, as Colonel Johnson said, we have the fire power." Milo said.
"Good, we're all on the same page then." Vanessa replied. She nodded to Phillips, "Here are the conditions, you and one other may come aboard. If I see one of your Centurions it will end badly. If you try anything that I deem unfriendly, it will end badly. If you screw with me, it will end badly."
"I agree to your terms," 1 replied, "We will be straight over."
As he finished speaking the line went dead.
Vanessa looked up at the DRADIS monitor to see which of their ships was closest to the Baseship. She saw it was the Cryxus.
"Mr Phillips, please ask Commander Reynolds to have the Cryxus target the Baseship with EMPs and nukes. If we give the order, I want them to turn it to wreckage." Vanessa ordered.
"Yes Ma'am."
"And please can you inform the Alert Vipers to escort whatever ship they send over to the port flightpod. Inform whoever is in command out there, if they do anything aggressive to destroy them."
Phillips nodded in reply.
"I want you all with me." Vanessa said.
Penny felt herself smile genuinely for the first time in weeks, "I've never met a skinjob before. I also refuse to let Hunter have all the fun if they try to screw us."
Everyone looked at Penny for a moment, Archangel couldn't help but smile, "It's such a relief to not be the one everyone should worry about all the time."
Bojay let out a laugh before he composed himself.
"Milo, if you don't mind and you're feeling up to it, I'd like you to come with me." Vanessa said.
"Are you sure?" he replied sounding surprised.
"Carrie is in no position to be brought into this and no offence to the VP, but he's too green. You know the situation and I know you'll be able to see through any of the Cylon's bullshit." Vanessa said.
Milo smiled, "It would be my honour."
Twenty minutes later, Captain Jennings led a 1 and a 5 through the corridors of Orion to the main wardroom. Ten more marines flanked them, they were taking no chances.
"So what do we call you?" 1 asked looking at Jennings, he noticed his rank pips on his collar, "Captain?"
"Shut the frak up." Jennings replied.
"Fair enough, Captain shut the frak up." 1 replied sarcastically.
Five minutes later he opened the door to the wardroom and led the Cylons inside, the other marines waiting outside.
Vanessa, Bojay, Milo, Archangel and Penny stood at the far end waiting for them. Jennings stood to one side, ready for anything.
"Admiral, it's nice to meet you," 1 said, "Some of my brothers have told me about you."
Vanessa just looked at the man for a few moments before she spoke.
"I didn't invite you here for chitchat. You wanted a truce and you wanted to partner up and destroy this weapon, you said you had information, either you talk or Major Hunter and Captain Cooper will escort you back off my ship. Don't think that just because I got on with one 1 that you'll get the same reaction out of me. I am in no mood for the bullshit that usually follows your model." Vanessa said.
As Archangel crossed his arms and grinned, the 5 in front of him flinched.
Penny chuckled.
"Have we met before?" Archangel asked.
The 5 nodded, "Yes, on Caprica." he said nervously.
"You'll have to be more specific." Archangel replied.
"You hunted me and my Centurions for over a day before putting your knife through my throat." he said with anger in his voice.
"I remember you started it by hunting me. What's wrong? Want to try again?" he said smiling. As Archangel uncrossed his arms, 5 flinched again. He hid it well, but Archangel and Penny could tell he was terrified.
"ENOUGH!" Milo yelled, "You, 1 is it?" he said pointing at the Cylon who nodded at him, "Either talk or leave."
"We found the moon a few days ago. At first, they didn't fire on us, they talked. Have you seen any Cylons recently that you've never seen before?" 1 asked.
Penny nodded, "Yes, on a planet, but they had to have been ancient, they were different from, you. They killed my best friend." She kept her tone level, in control.
"Captain, that's because they aren't part of our Cylon race and they are very very old. I don't know where they came from, but after overthrowing their own masters they set out across the stars finding other human life where they could and wiping it out. Since then they've been upgrading themselves, making new more powerful weapons, the most powerful of which is on that moon. I'm not going to lie to you, we tried to join forces with them, but they turned us down. We managed to get back to our ship and get away before we were being destroyed." 1 said.
"If they're as advanced as you say, then how are you going to help us destroy it?" Bojay asked.
"We've seen it, up close. We can direct you to exactly the right places to blow it up." 1 replied.
"And what's in it for you?" Vanessa asked.
"When this is over, we go far far away and you never see us again." 1 replied.
"I'm going to have to take that under advisement," Vanessa said, "I'm going to need to talk this over."
"Before you do, I have one other request. You have a 4 in your brig. When this is over, we'd like him back and if you would be so kind, I'd like to speak with him while you talk this over. Of course I expect you'll have one of your men or women listen in." 1 said.
Vanessa looked at him, trying to figure him out. She'd spent so much time with another 1 before, but even though he looked the same, he was so very different.
"How did you know we had a Cylon onboard?" Bojay asked.
"We could sense him the moment we stepped onboard." 5 replied.
"Fine. Captain Jennings can you escort our guests to the brig please?" Vanessa said.
He nodded his head, "Of course Admiral." he replied.
As Jennings closed the door behind them, Bojay spoke, "We're not really going to let them go are we?"
"I have to agree, one day it'll bite us in the ass." Archangel replied.
"I'm wondering if it's some kind of trap." Milo said.
Vanessa didn't speak straight away, "If we agree to this, we need to put some kind of plan into place to make sure if they turn on us, we hit them before they can hit us."
"Why don't we just send the Medlia, hit this weapon with EMP's and then hit it with nukes, do it all ourselves?" Penny asked, "Every nerve in my body is screaming this is a trap. People like Hunter and I don't get to live this long by not listening to that screaming."
"What if the EMP's aren't properly effective," Archangel replied, "It's clear this kind of tech is way more advanced than anything we have. If they didn't work, by the time the Medlia was able to launch it's nukes, boom, another ship gone. How about we do what Penny said in the first place, send the Medlia in, launch EMP's, get the frak out of there and then we send in Raptors with demolition crews," Archangel said, "We leave whatever ships we take with us far enough away and a Raptor in between so can keep communications open."
"And once it's taken out, we take out the Baseship." Bojay said.
"Exactly." Archangel said pointing at Bojay.
"Sounds like a plan," Vanessa said, "I hope it's not just another dead end on the other side."
"If it is?" Milo asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Vanessa replied.
Captain Jennings stood in front of 4's cell, the two Cylon's behind him flanked again by other marines.
"Just so you know, there are cameras in the cell, there's nothing you can say that won't be heard. All angles are covered and Private Dane who watches them can lip read." Jennings said before he opened the door.
1 and 5 stepped inside the cell and the door was shut behind them. 4 sat on his bed in the corner of the room with a book in his hands. 1 and 5 were both surprised by the contents of the cell, there were lots of books in piles in another corner next to a chair. A desk in the opposite corner was covered in pads of paper, there were drawings he'd made pinned to the walls. They were surprised to see he was looking well, he had a beard which his brothers never tended to do. 4 looked up from his book and smiled.
"Brother, are they treating you well?" 5 asked.
4 didn't reply, he just carried on smiling. 1 and 5 looked at each other.
"Have they hurt you?" 1 asked.
"No," he said quietly, "But you know that already, you watch, just like she does."
"4 who do you think we are?" 1 asked, "We're Cylons, like you."
"I know, so is she. But you're like her, no one can see you but me."
"Brother we are very real." 5 said walking up to him and putting his hand on 4's shoulder.
4 looked down at the hand and then looked up at 5.
"Are you, you ARE real?" he asked quietly.
5 nodded his head.
"I thought you were in my head, like 6. Am I going home?" he asked.
"Not yet." 1 said.
"Why are you here? How are you here?" 4 asked.
"We're going to be working with Orion," 1 replied, "We both have a mutual enemy."
"All the fleet?" 4 asked. There was almost a twinkle in his eye at the thought.
"We're the only ones left," 5 said, "So much has happened."
"Oh, okay." he replied.
1 walked closer and 4 looked up at him, "You'll know when the time is right for you to join your brothers and sisters, all will be well."
4 looked at one for a moment, "Of course."
"Brother have they hurt you while you've been here?" 5 asked.
4 shook his head, "No."
5 smiled, "Don't worry 4, it'll all come to an end soon enough."
3 Hours Later
All the Battlestar and Gunstar Commander's, XO's and CAG's sat in Orion's main pilot briefing room. As yet none of them knew why they had been called there, but they were starting to speculate. Quiet fell across the room as Vanessa, Bojay and Archangel walked in. Vanessa took the podium in front of everyone.
"I appreciate you all coming so quickly. Things are moving fast. Myself, Colonel Johnson, Major Hunter, Captain Cooper and former President Vents met with two humanoid Cylons a few hours ago. After talking with them we have called a truce and we're going to work together to destroy the weapon that took out Trinity. It turns out it was made by the Cylons who killed Captain Stark and the others on the planet a few months ago. They are not the same as the Cylons we created. We're going to send the Medlia in first, they will jump into high orbit, launch a barrage of EMP warheads and bug out. As they leave, three Raptors led by Captain Wilkins will jump into the moons orbit and land as close as they can to the weapon. Along with one of the Cylons, a group of marines will head to the weapon, attach nuclear warheads to it and then detonate them as they leave the moon. We're going to take Orion, Sulaco, Richmond, Serenity, Onyx and Noble with us. Once the weapon has been destroyed I intend to destroy this Baseship, if the Cylons are to be believed they're the last ones and there's no way I'm going to let them get away. Commander Reynolds will be in command of the fleet while we're away. If this fails and we don't make it back within 12 hours, I want the Cryxus to lead the fleet back to the planet Haven."
"What if this is all a trap to end us once and for all?" Commander Hicks asked.
"When the Medlia launches their EMPs, Ghost is going to take detailed scans of the moon. If it detects any kind trap, it will message the Raptors and tell them not to launch."
"What happens then?" Captain West asked.
"We destroy those lying bastards and we all head back to Haven. I want to try and see this through. We can do this."
"So are we just leaving two Gunstars and the Medlia to protect the fleet?" Colonel Doyle asked.
"No, I want to leave one hundred Vipers and eight Raptors behind. Captain Wilkins and Captain Wesson I want you to liaise with Major Hunter for the battle plan for if we need to launch fighters. We're launching in twenty four hours." Vanessa said.