Note: Contains possible spoilers for the second season of Battlestar Galactica
Thirteen
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rekindling The Fire
Emperor Vir Cotto would forever be grateful to the technomages Finian and Gwynn for their help in overthrowing the Drakh influence from his homeworld. However, now it seemed as if there was a price to be paid for that help, as they entered his throne room behind Alwyn and Galen. General Rhys, head of the Centauri military, was there as well, and neither of them looked forwards to the meeting, because if it went the way that Cotto feared it would, it would mean a lot of trouble.
Galen got right to the heart of the matter, as he said without preamble, "The Drakh have begun to step up there efforts in the Horvan system. From what we have observed, Your Highness, they may be ready to enter Vorlon space and either attack the Cylons or join with them in an alliance."
Cotto's fears were beginning to be realized. Rhys asked why they weren't able to determine which way they would go, and Alwyn answered, "They may suspect that we may be watching them, so they are holding their cards close to their chest. Your military, along with the Alliance, has been taking a devastating toll on their forces, and they are in desperate straits currently. While an alliance would be the most likely outcome, it would not surprise me if they tried to take the Cylons and their weaponry by force."
"But what good would that do them? Surely the Cylons can defend themselves, can they not?" asked Vir.
"Yes, but they would be outmatched nonetheless, and they would still lose control over their human Cylon copies, which is what I suspect that the Drakh may be after. If they were able to get hold of them, the possible havoc they could cause is unimaginable. We know what they did by themselves to the Colonies, and with the Drakh on their side, it could be even much more deadly to the humans, and, perhaps, to the Alliance as a whole." Galen answered.
They went over the disposition of the forces in the Horvan system, and it clearly looked like some sort of invasion force of some kind. Hundreds of ships, from destroyers to carriers to several motherships, were deployed in the system. They had no idea how many basestars that the Cylons had, but they would need hordes of them to fight off what the Drakh were bringing to this fight.
However, the question remained unanswered as to whom the Drakh wanted to fight. "Nothing in the universe is as it seems, Your Highness." Alwyn said, "The Drakh had more than enough forces to do untold damage to the Cylons in the Colonial system, yet they did nothing. However, that doesn't mean that they won't attack in the future."
Rhys walked away from the table and to the window, looking out for a moment, then walked back and said exasperatedly, "Well, what do we do? How do we approach all of this? We need to know what the enemy is up to before we commit our forces to any course of action!"
"The General is right, Alwyn. We need answers to our questions. We can assume all we want, but we can't effectively plan a response until we know what they are up to." Cotto added.
"I understand your frustration. Believe me, we share your concerns. We shall go back and attempt to find those answers for you, but I do have a suggestion." Galen said.
"What is that?" Cotto asked.
"Send some of your forces to Babylon 5. That is where the Colonials are, and, it's the most likely candidate for an attack. I understand that Earthforce has a fleet already there, as well as another one jump away. I'm sure the Minbari will have ships nearby just waiting to respond to an attack. Anything you can do to help bolster their forces there would help, but it's important to not over commit yourselves." Galen answered.
The meeting finished and the four technomages exited the throne room and headed back to their ships. Finian and Gwynn were sent to monitor events going on in the Horvan system, while Alwyn and Galen took their ships and departed into different directions. Galen went to Babylon 5 with the Gideons and Dureena Nafeel to brief the Colonials as well as Sheridan and Garibaldi on what was going on. Alwyn, meanwhile, took off for the Colonial system to see if he could find the Cylon homeworld.
Alwyn was aided by G'Leel, a Narn that he had encountered via Galen during the Shadow War. She had been working for a freighter that routinely transported supplies to a world called Thenothk 4, which was a major war-manufacturing center for the allies of the Shadows. Alwyn had come there to rescue Galen and another technomage, Blaylock, years before when they had been on a mission to discover if the Shadows had, in fact, come back to wage war on the rest of the galaxy.
It had been Galen and Isabelle who had encountered G'Leel on Zafran 8, where Isabelle and her mother, the technomage, Burell, lived. It was there that they had discovered the link between that planet and Thenothk 4, via the Narn freighter, which G'Leel served as second-in-command on. She had been a huge help to their cause, and had joined up with Alwyn after the rescue mission, having helped Galen enter the central command center to rescue Blaylock from the traitorous technomages, Razeel and Elizar.
G'Leel had left for a time to travel back to Narn to help in the recovery, but had encountered Na'Toth, former aide to ambassador G'Kar. Na'Toth and G'Leel both joined the Rangers and were among the first Narns to graduate the training program. Delenn knew of G'Leel's connection to Alwyn, so assigned her to work with him to try and establish a connection to the technomages. G'Leel had been working for years with Alwyn to get them to come out of hiding, but to no avail.
Alwyn helped her in this because he saw the folly of hiding. They were a dying order, unable to generate the tech they used in their bodies since it originated from the very Shadows themselves. The Drakh had helped out with the development of the tech, but they themselves didn't know how to make it. The head of the Circle, the governing body of the technomage order, Herazade, had convinced enough of the five members of the Circle to stay hidden time and again, afraid that the mages would be used by the Drakh.
He knew that Galen sent them regular reports, but thought nothing of it until he was surprised by a sudden message that appeared to him while on his way to Vorlon space. It was from the student of Herazade, Frederico, who was on the Circle and served as the eyes and ears of the mages inside the hiding place.
"Alwyn, old friend, I have been asked by Herazade to see if you would come to the hiding place. She and the rest of the Circle need to speak with you." Frederico said in the electronic incantation, which was the quickest way to communicate over long distances. He had chosen the abandoned religious commune on Selic 4 for it, with its cramped quarters that the mages had used as a staging area for the eventual move to the hiding place.
Alwyn looked at him with contempt and said, "I was told that if I came there I would be flayed for disobeying a direct order of the Circle for not joining them in the hiding place. If it's all the same to you, I would rather not experience what its like to have the strands of tech inside my body ripped out of me."
"They've pardoned you, Alwyn, and you know how hard it was for Herazade to do, given how she is about obedience. They need to talk to you, and they want to assure you that you will not be harmed, just as long as you don't give away the location of our hiding place."
Alwyn was intrigued, and decided to follow his hunch. He accepted the offer and changed course to Babylon 5, where he would drop off G'Leel with Galen and the others. Galen asked him why he would accept such an offer.
"Curiosity, you could say. They know of what is going on here from you, Gwynn, and Finian, so they must have some concern about these Cylons. Curious they didn't ask you to come to them." Alwyn replied.
Galen's face showed concern for his old friend. "I know that they mean you no harm, but I am still concerned. Why do they want to know what is going on?"
Alwyn set a hand on his shoulder and said to him, "Well, that's what I am going to find out, my boy! Frederico will meet me in a nearby system and escort me blindly to the hiding place, and he'll escort me back when we are finished. When I am done, I'll come back to you and let you in on all the juicy gossip."
Galen replied, "Juicy gossip I could do without! I want to know why they are so intrigued by all of this. I should go along with you!"
"No. It's more important to find out what the Cylons are up to. Once you're finished briefing Sheridan and the others, you should go there yourself." Alwyn turned to leave, but then stopped and said, "Oh, and, just in case I don't get back, keep an eye on G'Leel for me."
Galen did something totally unlike him, and that was to hug his old friend. The gesture caught Alwyn by surprise, as showing affection for anyone was unlike Galen. "Be well, Alwyn." Alwyn nodded and departed for his ship.
A day later, the Gideons, G'Leel, Dureena Nafeel, and he had finished loading supplies onto his black triangular ship, and they went off to find the Colonial system again, and, with luck, find the Cylon homeworld as well.
His girlfriend Dureena came to him in a quiet moment on board the ship and asked him, "Do you think he'll be ok?"
"Alwyn can take care of himself. What worries me is why the other mages asked him and not me to come back there. I worry that there may be some among the mages who are intrigued by the possibility of a Cylon/Drakh alliance."
"Why would that be?" Dureena asked.
"Because there are still some who cling to the belief that we can somehow find a new way to generate the tech and bring in new mages. Since it appears that the Cylons have some familiarity with organic technology, it naturally intrigues them. What bothers me is if there may be some who would sell out our kind to the Drakh just to survive."
Dureena nodded and sat down on a nearby bench. "I hope you're wrong, Galen."
Galen sighed and said, "I hope so too. Because if I'm not, then our troubles will multiply exponentially."