Troy orbit
Council delegation task force
Inside the Megalodon's bridge the council stood as the timer counted down the last few seconds to emergence. The two kings of Leonis and Virgon Captain Blyth of the privateers and finally Admiral Teresa Colons stood in front of the command table. As the timer counted down the last five seconds the tactical officer called out "prepare for jump" around the ships everyone readied for the jolt of a FTL jump. Luckily there would be only eight jumps
3
2
1
Jump
Caprica orbit
+4 days Caprica liberation
The mobile command Battlestar Megalodon the only one able to be found intact along the redline over the last month appeared surrounded by four escort carriers in orbit of Caprica. They were greeted by the Caprica defense force of almost seventy ships including the captured Basestar still being repaired a constant stream of Raptors and Tugs moving from the scrapyard of civilian colonial and cylon ships bringing salvaged parts weapons and munitions. A dreadnought and Five escort carriers as well as dozens of heavy and light cruisers, carriers and destroyers.
As the Megalodon appeared and the bridge personnel saw the planet and the vast circles of nuclear devastation that had marked dozens of cities and colonial military bases and depos several people burst into tears others gasp others looked as hatred for the cylons filled their hearts.
Admiral Colons was the first to shake herself from the grief and the others followed suit some physically being shaken to bring them out of the trance to see that the communication station was buzzing with an incoming call. Picking the phone up from around the weeping officer who Teresa remembered had parents and a new husband in one of the southern hemispheres cities she could understand.
"This is Megalodon-Actual, go ahead."
"Maximus-Actual here Ma'am Its good to see you encryption is green Admiral thank you for coming so soon over the last day using my marines along with naval support not occupied with salvage and repairs as well as nearly five thousand various colonial police and military personnel we finally found him in Base 82-phebe where the president was hold up with his family and another hundred civilians and military."
"What has he been doing down there for almost a month hiding?"
"No Ma'am from what we have heard when the president arrived it was just him and a couple of his bodyguards apparently as soon as they arrived he had his men start scouting out survivors and after a while begain hit and run attacks rescuing prisoners from what they said a Fracked pardon my language hospital where hundreds of women were pregnant like the machines were trying to repopulate or grow humans or something."
A look of disgust came over every aware woman and anger on the faces of the men the thought of themselves or for the men the woman they loved being forced into a farm like that however there was nothing more they could do to help them. They had liberated the planet and saved them. A much more immediate and active issue was what to do with the man that had lead the charge forcing the fleet to such low numbers. They were forced to go to a more computer focused system rather than the manpower intensive but isolated networks. Setting in motion the unprepared colonial and individual colonies forces failed defense when the cylons shut entire ships adrift for target practice. "send down a wing of raptors loaded with food and medical personnel and supplies to provide relief to the survivors and to "Secure" the president. I want him aboard the Megalodon within the hour."
Less than ten minutes later the Megalodon's entire compliment of thirty Raptors launched as did fifty Vipers. Together the entire force headed down to the planet and the bunker holding the president. As they waited for the President to be brought aboard they looked out over the mass of colonial and planetary ships that made up the planets defense forces all surrounding the massive Cylon Basestar. As they watched an alarm pulsed
"Sirs the baseship is powering up" the massive warship engines came online and the double Y superstructure rotated aligning themselves
"Sir message from the basestar… Revenge the ship has been fully repaired all systems reported clean of any virus or malware ship systems reported 100%" the communications officer reported.
The tactical officer spoke again as a beeping drew her attention to the dradis screen "the …Revenge launch bay is opening launching a mixed bag of Vipers and Heavy raiders." As they watched the basestar now able to defend itself the clustered fleet spread out in battlegroups to better defend the planet from any incoming hostiles.
The next thirty minutes passes quickly as other ships arrive from other assault forces split up tripling the number of human ships bringing the total to just over a hundred and fifty. As the council was beginning to look at the new arrivals The communications officer called out "Raptors returning from the surface ma'am the president is aboard" They all stood "we will meet them on the port landing bay lieutenant, Marines on us" Admiral Colons led the council and the marines at the door on the way to the bay.
As the progression made its way to the landing bay the word started to spread
"Adar is alive"
"Yes the president is alive I heard"
"President Adar survived"
"That Cylon fracker is goanna burn you wana bet?"
"Billions of peoples blood is on his hands."
"He will pay for this"
POV SWITCH TO PRESIDENT ADAR
Adar sat surrounded by marines in the passenger bay of the raptor was able to relax for the first time in over a month and a half. As he rested his head on the bulkhead the last month flashed across his mind.
The cylon detections in orbit
Being rushed from the capital building by secret service as word began to spread Colonial forces being shut down moments before coming within range. Entire Battlestars, cruisers, destroyers and frigates losing power to be pulled into the gravity well while dozens of other ships and hundreds of fighters were blasted apart as the basestars launched massive salvos and wings of raiders.
As the elevator rushed down to the presidential bunker one of his secret service guards was suddenly pushed to the ground by the others to revel she was wearing an explosive vest as the doors open. His head servicemen told him to run. The five servicemen were doing their best to keep the womans hand closed on the dead-man switch but the woman was impossibly strong. Running the woman finally managed to open her hand and they went up in a blue-white flash of heat.
Finding a small armory in the bunker Adar not really familiar with weapons still grabbed a full combat uniform and loaded as many loaded magazines and clips as he could into a bag hopefully he could find someone more qualified…
He was able to stay in the bunker for only two days before leaving in that time the rapidly disconnecting Colonial Information Network he discovered it was at everywhere he sat dumbstruck as every bill every order he pushed along to cut the military the defense forces of the individual colonies forcing the ships to become more advanced to cut down on crews.
Stupid
Stupid
Stupid
Outside three days later he found his first survivors a marine fire team running a supply mission found him they were operating out of another bunker dating back to the first war. There he did his best to help them find as many people and keep them alive as he could.
For a month he led the small community even finding his wife and two children alive and well they had been evacuated the moment the cylons were detected in orbit they had found just over a hundred civilians and almost that many military when almost two hundred civilian ships appeared in orbit and rammed the basestars in orbit followed by over four dozen colonial escorts and proceeded to kick the toasters five surviving ships into retreating.
The joy everyone had felt at seeing over a group of four raptors land and start unloading food and medicine fleet and marine doctors starting to treat the wounded then a marine squad came over and told me that the ruling council of four wanted to see me waiting a couple of minutes for the last supplies to be off loaded he made his rounds thanking every one of the marines and fleet personnel who had been fighting and working nonstop to see them to where they were today also profusely apologizing for his part in the last five years of budget cuts and demilitarization for every loss we suffered is on my hands and no one will ever realize how sorry I am …
"ETA two minutes" the pilot called back
The president stood and went forward to look out the cockpit glass and stare at wonder at the massive Megalodon surrounded by a dozen smaller warships. The Raptor was cycled through the airlock and was met inside the hanger by more marines and this council he was told about.
As Adar greeted the council President Jacob Aequitas of Leonis, King Regulus IV of Virgon, Captain Caleb Blyth of the privateers as they call themselves and then Admiral Teresa Colons senior colonial navy officer. To say tensions were sharp would be as understatement as he told them his story over the last month and he was able to look over a compiled review of actions against the cylons. A hour and a half later the stories had been swapped the anger had lessened but there was still anger from the military formed council.
There was only one thing he could do…
"I offer my resignation upon your acceptance to take the reins of government over the last month I can see that everything I did was wrong before the fall I should have listened to the Admiralty. They said the cylons were still out there somewhere it was only a matter of time before they came back. I had thought forty years without a peep we thought they would continue to leave us alone as long as we left them alone. All I can say is how sorry I am to the people of the Colonial military and the people of the twelve worlds who placed their faith in me."
After some deliberation they agreed and im not going to lie even to myself it was a relief not to be in charge anymore I had failed so thoroughly there was no going back I was given the job to oversee reconstruction and resettlement efforts for Caprica.
POV SWITCH COUNCIL
As the council finished with their decision left the meeting room at the former presidents urging wanting to do better as a RR Director then as a president. Walked with him as he started making requisition orders to help with rebuilding and settling people to their new home.
As they walked in the hanger to board the Raptor that would carry him back down to the surface. Two marines and a sailor on the flight deck who had heard the judgement wasn't as pleased came running at Adar piling on him in a hug and in a room so silent you could hear a pen drop they cried out "FOR MY FAMILY ON VIRGON" "CAPRICA" "PICON" as the grenades exploded killing the four of them.
Over the coming months the military exploded. More people were living on various salvage, mining, construction, and warships as task forces explored every corner of colonial space. As they found bands of survivors they were routing them to the colonial triad. Disabled and destroyed ships were either repaired on site or towed and worked on while on the move.
Every surviving human was evacuated with no active sighting of cylons metal or flesh dozens of their ships were found either disabled and abandoned or destroyed and they were being repaired or scrapped to bring others to full strength.
If the Cylons ever returned they would be ready and they would not be given a fourth attempt.
So
Say
We
All
Authors note:
I hope everyone enjoyed this story im going to finish up the other 4 I have before diving back into the BSG universe I wrote this to give the escort classes of ships their time in the spotlight every other story ive read focuses on Battlestar operations if you haven't read them already here is a list of some of my favorites go show them some love
Dreadnought's Revenge by Xeal II
The Last Imperial Fleet
Exodus of Man - Hades' Chest by H Max Marius
Battlestar Hermes 1: Salvage by The Wilky Bar Kid and his second book faststar