Chapter Four: Preparations
"Ladies and gentleman, if you'll please be seated. Thank you. For all of you who do not know, I am Group Commander Starbuck. We are here to discuss the strategy for the upcoming campaign to New Caprica. I have received word from Triumph yesterday that they have encountered light Cylon raiding groups. It is plausible that the battlecruiser will have to fight its way into colonial territory. Thus far, Colonel Boxey has managed to keep the presence of the White Stars secret. Hopefully, when we engage Cylon forces, the power of those vessels will catch them by surprise.
"For those of you who are new here, I shall review Cylon ships and their relative strengths to your vessels. This is the standard Cylon basestar. It carries over 100 fighter craft. It is larger than any vessel in this part of the galaxy, with the exception of the Vorlon and Shadow planetkillers. Its armament is about equal to that of a Minbari War Cruiser. It does not have the stealth capabilities of the Minbari War Cruiser, so your vessels will be able to target them. This is the standard Cylon fighter craft. It is large for a fighter and its laser weapons are inferior to those of your vessels, but they are larger, which makes up for that lacking. Note this: weapons on both Colonial and Cylon vessels are much weaker than those of the Alliance worlds. On the other hand, Colonial and Cylon ships are bristling with them and are larger than your vessels.
"In a one-on-one fight, the battlestar is superior to the basestar. However, only seldom is there a one-on-one fight. Since the fall of the Colonies, the Cylons have greatly increased production of basestars. The Viper is also superior to the Cylon fighter one-on-one. But in the massive furballs that occur during fleet actions, the superior computing power of the Cylon drones give them an advantage over all but the most experienced pilots.
"This is the plan for our advance to New Caprica. We shall conduct training exercises on the trip to Tor 621 at the edge of Alliance space. This trip will be made with complete communications silence, which will prepare the fleet for the communications silence during the trip through hostile territory to New Caprica. At Tor 621, the fleet will resupply and continue as soon as possible for New Caprica. With the improved jump engines provided to the Colonial Fleet by the alliance, the trip should only take four months.
"I have here the estimated strength of the fleet when we leave Tor 621. Three battlestars, one Colonial battlecruiser, 8 White Stars, 2 Sharlin War Cruisers, 6 Omega destroyers, 2 EA Hyperion cruisers, 1 Mars Force Hyperion cruiser, and 1 Primus battlecruiser. Additionally, the fleet will have the Child of Libra and 12 Earth Force Olympus corvettes converted as freighters to supply the fleet during the journey. Two Narn, two Minbari, a Centauri, and a Drazi freighters will be used to ferry spare fighter craft with the fleet, should the need arise.
"In regards to the command structure of the fleet, I have communicated extensively with President Sheridan and all of your respective governments. I shall have supreme command over the fleet. Each of your vessels will have a Colonial liaison officer and I shall add liaison officers from Earth Force and the Rangers to my staff. The fleet will be split into two components: Colonial and Alliance. I have promoted Commander Rigel to Group Commander and she will be in charge of the Colonial task force. General Ryan from Earth Force will commander the alliance task force. Are there any questions? Good. I will now review the order of battle. Ranger Farenn, your White Stars."
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Michael Garibaldi nearly fell from his chair from the laughter. Londo Mollari had worse luck; he went straight for the ground. Of course, Mollari had downed quite a bit of alcohol that night. G'Kar laughed just as hard as the other two but stayed steady in his seat.
"Well, Sheridan is in shock. Rigel's yelling 'Down, hit the deck'. A couple of the Rangers are dropping, the rest looking around for what she's yelling about. Rigel lifts her laser pistol and a Ranger knocks Sheridan down. The Gaim captain is standing there; he lost his translator right at the start and has no idea what's going on. He gets the point though when Rigel tries to fire on him. What a poor man, insect, whatever, if you ask me. Twenty minutes before he had been in an unarmed freighter in the middle of the largest fire fight since, I don't know, Mars during the Earth Civil War. Now, some crazy human is firing at him. Sheridan, a smart man if you ask me, figures it out. The Gaim look very robotic and all us Colonials are a little robot paranoid. He manages to convince Rigel to drop the gun before, well, before she hits her target. Thank the Lords of Kobol that she's a horrible shot!"
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Group Commander Rigel walked through the depths of Downbelow lead by Zack Allan and Lyta Alexander. They maneuvered there way through the mass of security around the entrance. They received curious stares from everyone there, except for Lochley, as they entered unhindered.
"It's just over here Group Commander."
"No rush, it's a nice area, really."
"Here we are." The security chief pulled the door open. "Ms. Alexander."
"Why thank you Zack."
"Yeah, no problem."
The trio entered a dark room, lit only by candles. They could hear a large group of people chanting inside. The chanting stopped as the group entered.
"Group Commander, I'd like you to meet Byron. Byron, this is Group Commander Rigel of the Battlestar Traitor's Bane."
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"Damn it! Another convoy gone. Six freighters wiped out with no clue to what did it." Sheridan threw the report against the wall as Starbuck enters the room.
"I'll come back later." Starbuck quickly nodded to Delenn, Garibaldi, Mollari, and G'Kar and starts to make a quick exit.
"No wait, it's just these damn attacks. No matter what we do we can't figure out who's behind them."
"No witnesses?" Sheridan nodded.
"We've increased White Star patrols all over the trade routes, but no sightings." Garibaldi quickly glanced at Sheridan. Sheridan shook his head, as did Delenn next to him. "We do have another plan in the works though Group Commander."
"Oh?"
"Yes, but it is in the works, right Mr. Garibaldi?"
Garibaldi, not one to be deterred by authority, forged ahead. "True. You see, Group Commander, we've tried to ambush these raiders several times. But, naturally, they never hit a convoy covered by a White Star or any other warship for that matter. They also have to have military grade sensors because they've even managed to find White Stars in hyperspace guarding convoys. What we need is a ship that no raider would have seen before."
"I see Mr. Garibaldi. Freedom" the other Colonial battlecruiser "has been docked with Child of Libra since we arrived at B5. No one has every seen a Colonial battlecruiser, which means it can be disguised as a freighter. Am I correct Mr. Garibaldi?"
"That you are Group Commander."
"Excellent. We'll leave within the hour."
Starbuck left the conference room, with four stunned individuals and one smirking Intelligence Chief behind him.
After he was out of hearing range, "You own me twenty credit Mollari."
"Bah! You're too smart for your own good Mr. Garibaldi!"
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"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Byron."
"Yes Group Commander" was the dry, monotonous reply.
Byron made a quick, almost casual scan of the woman in front of him. The results were surprising. She isn't afraid of us. She is simply curious. Not curious about how we can help him. It is a child's curiosity.
The entire group of telepaths picked up on his words but only Lyta replied. I told you Byron. They don't have telepaths on their worlds. Listen to her proposal. You'll see she, and they, mean it.
"Did you have something to discuss with me Group Commander?"
Rigel pushed aside a feeling of dislike towards this man. "Yes I did. The Colonies are trying to enlist settlers for several worlds within the area the fleet controls. President Sheridan mentioned an idea you recently brought before the Council regarding a homeworld for your people. We'd be willing to provide it."
Byron was unmoved. "And what's the catch Group Commander? Serving aboard your vessels, fighting your wars? Interrogating your prisoners? Well, Group Commander?"
Rigel once more ignored the feeling of distaste for the man. "No catch. We'll set you people up with some machinery for farming and construction. Once a year a ship will arrive and pick up whatever surplus you can provide, food, clothing, whatever. We'll even take clay pots for Kobol's sake. And you get your world." And Sheridan gives us data on organic armor.
Byron picked up on that thought rather easily. He didn't mind at all. His people would have their homeworld. They would be left alone. He quickly polled his people. They agreed with him.
"Of course we won't be able to provide much defense for the planet. The fleet is rather stretched."
"Thank you Group Commander. Your deal is acceptable. We will be ready to leave at the appointed hour."
Group Commander Rigel quickly left Downbelow. She had a feeling that as long as that man led the telepaths, her government wouldn't be bothering them.
"Ladies and gentleman, if you'll please be seated. Thank you. For all of you who do not know, I am Group Commander Starbuck. We are here to discuss the strategy for the upcoming campaign to New Caprica. I have received word from Triumph yesterday that they have encountered light Cylon raiding groups. It is plausible that the battlecruiser will have to fight its way into colonial territory. Thus far, Colonel Boxey has managed to keep the presence of the White Stars secret. Hopefully, when we engage Cylon forces, the power of those vessels will catch them by surprise.
"For those of you who are new here, I shall review Cylon ships and their relative strengths to your vessels. This is the standard Cylon basestar. It carries over 100 fighter craft. It is larger than any vessel in this part of the galaxy, with the exception of the Vorlon and Shadow planetkillers. Its armament is about equal to that of a Minbari War Cruiser. It does not have the stealth capabilities of the Minbari War Cruiser, so your vessels will be able to target them. This is the standard Cylon fighter craft. It is large for a fighter and its laser weapons are inferior to those of your vessels, but they are larger, which makes up for that lacking. Note this: weapons on both Colonial and Cylon vessels are much weaker than those of the Alliance worlds. On the other hand, Colonial and Cylon ships are bristling with them and are larger than your vessels.
"In a one-on-one fight, the battlestar is superior to the basestar. However, only seldom is there a one-on-one fight. Since the fall of the Colonies, the Cylons have greatly increased production of basestars. The Viper is also superior to the Cylon fighter one-on-one. But in the massive furballs that occur during fleet actions, the superior computing power of the Cylon drones give them an advantage over all but the most experienced pilots.
"This is the plan for our advance to New Caprica. We shall conduct training exercises on the trip to Tor 621 at the edge of Alliance space. This trip will be made with complete communications silence, which will prepare the fleet for the communications silence during the trip through hostile territory to New Caprica. At Tor 621, the fleet will resupply and continue as soon as possible for New Caprica. With the improved jump engines provided to the Colonial Fleet by the alliance, the trip should only take four months.
"I have here the estimated strength of the fleet when we leave Tor 621. Three battlestars, one Colonial battlecruiser, 8 White Stars, 2 Sharlin War Cruisers, 6 Omega destroyers, 2 EA Hyperion cruisers, 1 Mars Force Hyperion cruiser, and 1 Primus battlecruiser. Additionally, the fleet will have the Child of Libra and 12 Earth Force Olympus corvettes converted as freighters to supply the fleet during the journey. Two Narn, two Minbari, a Centauri, and a Drazi freighters will be used to ferry spare fighter craft with the fleet, should the need arise.
"In regards to the command structure of the fleet, I have communicated extensively with President Sheridan and all of your respective governments. I shall have supreme command over the fleet. Each of your vessels will have a Colonial liaison officer and I shall add liaison officers from Earth Force and the Rangers to my staff. The fleet will be split into two components: Colonial and Alliance. I have promoted Commander Rigel to Group Commander and she will be in charge of the Colonial task force. General Ryan from Earth Force will commander the alliance task force. Are there any questions? Good. I will now review the order of battle. Ranger Farenn, your White Stars."
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Michael Garibaldi nearly fell from his chair from the laughter. Londo Mollari had worse luck; he went straight for the ground. Of course, Mollari had downed quite a bit of alcohol that night. G'Kar laughed just as hard as the other two but stayed steady in his seat.
"Well, Sheridan is in shock. Rigel's yelling 'Down, hit the deck'. A couple of the Rangers are dropping, the rest looking around for what she's yelling about. Rigel lifts her laser pistol and a Ranger knocks Sheridan down. The Gaim captain is standing there; he lost his translator right at the start and has no idea what's going on. He gets the point though when Rigel tries to fire on him. What a poor man, insect, whatever, if you ask me. Twenty minutes before he had been in an unarmed freighter in the middle of the largest fire fight since, I don't know, Mars during the Earth Civil War. Now, some crazy human is firing at him. Sheridan, a smart man if you ask me, figures it out. The Gaim look very robotic and all us Colonials are a little robot paranoid. He manages to convince Rigel to drop the gun before, well, before she hits her target. Thank the Lords of Kobol that she's a horrible shot!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Group Commander Rigel walked through the depths of Downbelow lead by Zack Allan and Lyta Alexander. They maneuvered there way through the mass of security around the entrance. They received curious stares from everyone there, except for Lochley, as they entered unhindered.
"It's just over here Group Commander."
"No rush, it's a nice area, really."
"Here we are." The security chief pulled the door open. "Ms. Alexander."
"Why thank you Zack."
"Yeah, no problem."
The trio entered a dark room, lit only by candles. They could hear a large group of people chanting inside. The chanting stopped as the group entered.
"Group Commander, I'd like you to meet Byron. Byron, this is Group Commander Rigel of the Battlestar Traitor's Bane."
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"Damn it! Another convoy gone. Six freighters wiped out with no clue to what did it." Sheridan threw the report against the wall as Starbuck enters the room.
"I'll come back later." Starbuck quickly nodded to Delenn, Garibaldi, Mollari, and G'Kar and starts to make a quick exit.
"No wait, it's just these damn attacks. No matter what we do we can't figure out who's behind them."
"No witnesses?" Sheridan nodded.
"We've increased White Star patrols all over the trade routes, but no sightings." Garibaldi quickly glanced at Sheridan. Sheridan shook his head, as did Delenn next to him. "We do have another plan in the works though Group Commander."
"Oh?"
"Yes, but it is in the works, right Mr. Garibaldi?"
Garibaldi, not one to be deterred by authority, forged ahead. "True. You see, Group Commander, we've tried to ambush these raiders several times. But, naturally, they never hit a convoy covered by a White Star or any other warship for that matter. They also have to have military grade sensors because they've even managed to find White Stars in hyperspace guarding convoys. What we need is a ship that no raider would have seen before."
"I see Mr. Garibaldi. Freedom" the other Colonial battlecruiser "has been docked with Child of Libra since we arrived at B5. No one has every seen a Colonial battlecruiser, which means it can be disguised as a freighter. Am I correct Mr. Garibaldi?"
"That you are Group Commander."
"Excellent. We'll leave within the hour."
Starbuck left the conference room, with four stunned individuals and one smirking Intelligence Chief behind him.
After he was out of hearing range, "You own me twenty credit Mollari."
"Bah! You're too smart for your own good Mr. Garibaldi!"
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"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Byron."
"Yes Group Commander" was the dry, monotonous reply.
Byron made a quick, almost casual scan of the woman in front of him. The results were surprising. She isn't afraid of us. She is simply curious. Not curious about how we can help him. It is a child's curiosity.
The entire group of telepaths picked up on his words but only Lyta replied. I told you Byron. They don't have telepaths on their worlds. Listen to her proposal. You'll see she, and they, mean it.
"Did you have something to discuss with me Group Commander?"
Rigel pushed aside a feeling of dislike towards this man. "Yes I did. The Colonies are trying to enlist settlers for several worlds within the area the fleet controls. President Sheridan mentioned an idea you recently brought before the Council regarding a homeworld for your people. We'd be willing to provide it."
Byron was unmoved. "And what's the catch Group Commander? Serving aboard your vessels, fighting your wars? Interrogating your prisoners? Well, Group Commander?"
Rigel once more ignored the feeling of distaste for the man. "No catch. We'll set you people up with some machinery for farming and construction. Once a year a ship will arrive and pick up whatever surplus you can provide, food, clothing, whatever. We'll even take clay pots for Kobol's sake. And you get your world." And Sheridan gives us data on organic armor.
Byron picked up on that thought rather easily. He didn't mind at all. His people would have their homeworld. They would be left alone. He quickly polled his people. They agreed with him.
"Of course we won't be able to provide much defense for the planet. The fleet is rather stretched."
"Thank you Group Commander. Your deal is acceptable. We will be ready to leave at the appointed hour."
Group Commander Rigel quickly left Downbelow. She had a feeling that as long as that man led the telepaths, her government wouldn't be bothering them.