Thirteen
Chapter Fifty-Four
Retaliatory Strike
Admiral Adama knew that he was risking a lot with this strike, including the life of his only remaining son, but they needed to send a clear message to the enemy that they would strike back if they struck at them. The task force being sent was not as big as he would have liked, but the idea was not to take back Picon, but to hit the enemy where they didn't expect to be hit. As Sheridan had said about the message being sent with the attack, "We might have been knocked around, but we are far from out of the fight."
The war room was where Adama spent most of his days now, even though he had retaken command of the Galactica after Tigh's death. His second now was the newly promoted Colonel Kelly, who was being assisted by Earthforce Captain John Matheson, who stayed on with the ship to assist the young executive officer. For now, Galactica was staying in orbit of Epsilon 3, near the station in case of attack. Adama had ordered that the remains of the Pegasus be used to help patch up his ship, which didn't make him feel good because it seemed to him like he was desecrating a graveyard, but he needed the Galactica back up and operational as soon as possible.
Sheridan stood by the massive map at the front of the room, staring at the sector where the Colonial system was located in. Adama had come to learn that Sheridan was constantly thinking of ways to beat the enemy, and had a restless energy that made Adama feel a little older than he actually was. Then again, Sheridan was more of a risk-taker, while Adama was more of a cautious, calculating man when it came to military tactics.
The plan was fairly simple: Starbuck would lead the Whitestar fleet and attack the shipyards that the Cylons had overtaken. While the enemy was distracted, the main cruisers would jump in and attack from the other side, and the Vipers, along with the Thunderbolts, would join the Whitestars and make a raid on the planet's surface. Galen and Alwyn had secretly flown inside Picon's atmosphere to do reconnaissance work to find the right targets to attack, as well as a layout of the defenses around the planet, especially concerning the shipyards.
He would love to lead Galactica into the battle, but the ship had been heavily damaged in the battle around Babylon 5, and wasn't in any condition for battle. If the Centauri hadn't shown up when they did, he might have lost the ship after all.
"Penny for your thoughts, Bill?" Admiral David Rissen asked. The craggy-faced, white bearded old man didn't seem one for questions like this, but, as Adama had found out, Rissen was full of surprises.
"Just thinking about the battle at Picon." Adama said.
Rissen nodded and said, "It's a crazy plan, but I've come to know that when Sheridan has a crazy plan, it has a chance of working. The man is the most brilliant tactical mind I've ever known."
"We need it, for sure, with what we've got planned." Adama said.
"I'm just glad he's on our side, that's for sure! If he'd been on Clark's side back during the Shadow War, we might not be here right now." Rissen said as Sheridan joined them.
"Flattery and five credits will get you a cup of coffee." Sheridan joked. "I may have a talent, but I've made some mistakes along the way in getting that talent, some of which cost lives."
"Learning something like that always comes with a price. Doing what I had to do to get the fleet here was something I was totally unprepared for." Adama admitted.
"Well, you did an outstanding job of getting them here, especially facing an enemy like the Cylons." Sheridan said.
"Now who's giving away the flattery?" Adama said, and the three men laughed.
Back on Earth, two women in military uniforms stared at a similar map and had papers scattered all over their desks. General Susan Ivanova and General Nelena Cain were looking over the plans for the assault on Picon, which would give them an idea of what they might face in the greater campaign to come. That campaign was years away at best, because the job would require an assault force large enough to mount an invasion of twelve worlds simultaneously.
For now, though, their work was analyzing the reports that would come in about the battle, which was now just a few days away. The fleet was taking a circuitous route to the Colonial system, doing what they could to deceive any Drakh ships that might be in the area. When they entered the system, the Whitestars would separate from the main fleet and attack the shipyards, where several Cylon basestars were located at, from one side, allowing the rest of the fleet to attack from the other side. It was a classic version of a hit-and-run attack, writ large.
President Garrison Hollifield visited them quite often to consult with them, and he was there again today to discuss matters with the two women. "Any new developments?"
"No sir! The fleet is four days away from launching the assault on Picon. So far, everything is going as planned." Cain said.
Hollifield nodded and said, "Good. So what's developing about our long term plans?"
"The Markab shipyards report that the first tests on the new destroyers were successful. The new fighters we've designed are also performing well." Ivanova said.
"Very good!" he said as he looked over the maps on the table. "This is the part that sucks. The waiting game is always the one I hate most."
Both women nodded and Ivanova added, "We're taking a gamble here, that's for sure, but if it pays off…"
"If it pays off, the enemy will be knocked on their heels, which is exactly what we need to do right now. Especially since we know that they are looking at attacking Earth, from what the technomages have told us." Cain said.
"That's what worries me, because we all thought that their main push would be against Babylon 5, but now that we know what their real plans are, we have to be ready for the worst that they can throw at us." Hollifield said.
Cain nodded and added, "The advantage we have is that we'll have the defense grid up and ready for them when they come. They won't be able to get the drop on us like they did when they attacked the Colonies."
"Just to be safe, I've had people go over the codes to the defense grid, just to be safe. I've set up a system where it's constantly checked by several different groups, each independent of the other. If we find someone tampers with it, we'll be able to find it and correct it before the attack." Ivanova said.
President Hollifield got up and stretched, adding, "It's late. Best to get what rest we can before the storm hits Picon."
"I think he dismissed us, General!" Cain said to Ivanova dryly.
"I do believe he did!" Ivanova replied just as dryly.
"Go on! Get out of here and get some rest and recreation while you can!" Hollifield said with a laugh. The women left the map room laughing, and the president watched them go. As he turned back to the main map in the room, he grew serious again. "I hope this works! Because if it doesn't, we're in for it!" he said, shaking his head and trying to get the worry out of his mind.
Starbuck's fleet of Whitestars was in position, and she waited until the appointed hour to launch the attack. When it came, she had the ships spread out and jump all over the place, swarming out from hyperspace and heading towards the Picon shipyards.
"Have they seen us?" Starbuck asked Helo.
"Yep, they've seen us. They're sending out raiders and preparing to launch missiles." Helo replied.
"Good! Just like we wanted them to. Alright, standby to intercept raiders!" Starbuck ordered.
"Confirmed…wait a second!" Helo said as something strange appeared on his console's display.
"What is it?" Starbuck asked.
"I'm not sure if this is correct!" Helo said hollowly.
"Do we have a visual on it?" Starbuck asked.
"We do now!" Helo said firmly.
"Show me!" Starbuck ordered, and the display screen slid down in front of them. When the image came up, it dropped both their jaws.
"What kind of transponder signals are we picking up from those ships?" Starbuck asked, even though she suspected the answer.
"It's confirmed: they're Colonial transponder signals. I'm reading twelve Mercury-class battlestars!" Helo said, shocked at the development.
"Patch me through to them on a Colonial channel!" Starbuck said.
Helo tried, but he shook his head, "They're not receiving! They're heading for the shipyards!"
"Oh frak! If they get there, the Cylons will use their computer virus on them!" Starbuck said, trying to think of something to do to stop them.
The twelve Colonial battlestars headed towards the Picon shipyards, and some of the raiders launched began to head turn away from the oncoming Whitestars and head towards them. Starbuck put her mind into overdrive to try and come up with an idea to stop what she knew was coming.