The Cavil was glaring angrily at them, his eyes burning red like coals. Dark power crackled around him. "What have you done with the blade, traitor?!"
Gina snarled back. "Don't play me for a fool. It's what you're here for, isn't it?"
"You have betrayed your kind, Gina Inviere," her counterpart hissed. "There is no punishment terrible enough, painful enough, to atone for that."
"I've suffered for my part in our crimes," Gina retorted. "And don't pretend that you have the moral high ground. The Inner Circle's been using the Consensus the entire time, hasn't it? All of it, the idea of God's Plan, the promise of a better world, it was all a lie for this!" She swept her hand to the destruction. "All so you could destroy!"
"The Consensus has its place," the man said. "Now give us Swenya's Blade and Reshan's book, and we'll let you die with the rest."
Gina held up her weapon. There was nowhere Talara could run, but if she got them into a fight, Talara might get an opening to escape with the books. "Come and take them," she challenged.
The orbital space over New Liberty Colony was littered with the broken debris of destroyed vessels, victims of the sudden SS attack. One of the few remaining ships, the Asari cruiser Thelana, unloaded a full salvo from its mass effect cannons into a struggling Sedan-class cruiser. The Reich-designed cruiser suffered from the impacts, losing a weapons emplacement. Phaser fire from the Charleston raked across unshielded hull and a photon torpedo slammed into the cruiser's nacelle, destroying it.
The Thelana maneuvered to finish off the SS vessel. It never got the chance to fire again, however, as three thick disruptor beams from the spinal mount of the SS dreadnought - the Reinhard Heydrich by its ID code - smashed through the Thelana's decayed deflectors and tore the ship to pieces.
On the Aurora bridge Locarno noted the loss of the cruiser. That left just the Aurora, the Excelsior-class Charleston, and the FedCom battlecruiser Melissa Steiner in the fight. They were badly outgunned and outnumbered, but to leave would doom New Liberty Colony to bombardment and destruction, so the three ships remained and fought, hoping for reinforcements.
A series of disruptor beams from two of the accompanying cruisers raked over the Aurora's faltering shields. Syrandi returned fire, sending plasma beams into the weak side of one of the cruisers. The Melissa Steiner's naval PPCs and refitted plasma cannons fired on the other side. Large anti-ship missiles from the Commonwealth ship erupted from launchers on her side. With new impulsor drives on the missiles they raced across the distance faster than the SS ship could handle, their warheads degrading the ship's deflectors to the point they were losing cohesion.
Another of the cruisers moved in, absorbing further shots for their weakened ally. Disruptor beams and shield-disrupting torpedoes retaliated against the FedCom ship. "Melissa Steiner's shields are down to forty percent," Tra'dur stated. The Aurora rocked again. "Our shields now at thirty-five."
'Anything on fleet comms?" Locarno asked.
"Still nothing," Tra'dur replied. "I'm not sure if we're being jammed or if something has overwhelmed the fleet comm system."
That was not news Locarno wished to hear. Three ships against a dreadnought with that many escorts? We're not going to win this. Aloud he ordered, "Maintain evasive maneuvers. Our priority is surviving until help can arrive!"
"Aye aye, sir," Ensign Rawlins said from the helm.
It's still a question of whether we can survive, Locarno mused to himself while the ship rocked again.
Jarod brought the op van to a stop outside of what was left of Colonial Security's vehicle garage. A bomb had wrecked the place, damaging or destroying every vehicle inside and burying the entrance in enough rubble to make getting through an insurmountable challenge. Upon opening the door Jarod heard the distant whine of disruptors firing, joined by the familiar sound of pulse rifles. He scanned the area and shook his head. "No way in," he said. "This entire side of the building's been gutted."
"Then we go around," Angel said. "They'll need every gun. There's no telling how many people they've lost."
Jarod nodded and drove on. Rubble blocked the nearest road, but the sidewalk was not covered. He drove the van over said sidewalk.
After the next turn, the sight of fighting was visible. A line of aircars were covering the entrance to Security HQ, men in combat suits using them for cover while firing green disruptor beams into the building. With only a second to spare before being spotted, Jarod slammed the accelerator on the van. The engine went straight to the maximum output. The vehicle shot forward, anti-gravs whining in effort, toward the blockade line. A couple of the combatants had time to notice them coming. Warnings were shouted, but far too late. The van slammed between two vehicles, clipping two of the armed attackers in the process, and broke through. Keeping control of the van was one of the hardest things Jarod ever did. The impacts and the speed made it begin to tip. He resisted the urge to correct too far, keeping the vehicle balanced until he could spin it to present the driver's side to the blockade. He immediately ducked down and scrambled to the back, where Angel and Tony were jumping out already. A disruptor beam damaged the glass that had been beside his head a second ago. A second went through just as he was out of the way. He joined Cat in exiting the van and scrambling toward the broken-open door to Security HQ. They had to walk over fallen figures in security uniforms to make it. Inside, rifle-carrying security officers helped them to cover.
By that point the van gave up the ghost. Struck too many times by the enemy disruptors, it fell apart, little more than a skeletal frame. Disruptor beams sizzled into the open door of the HQ. Angel and Tony joined the other security figures in cover, joining them in returning fire when able.
"Jarod! Some help?" The cry came from Broots, who was kneeling beside the fallen form of Chief Almerda. The former Colombian police officer had a severe disruptor burn on his right arm and, from what Jarod could see, a neck injury that likely came from the bombing. He scrambled over to help Broots. "I've done what I can," Broots said.
"And it's good," Jarod said, looking over the injury. He summoned up his own medical knowledge to assess Almerda's injuries. "Where's your medic?"
"Dead," Broots said, his voice hoarse. "The bomb took out the garage and administration." He indicated the cut on his head. "I was just coming back from the bathroom. If I'd been a minute faster I'd…"
"Don't think about it."
He nodded. "Debbie," he said. "I can't reach her. They… they sabotaged the comm net somehow."
"Cat?" Jarod gave her a look.
"Right." Cat nodded in reply. She wasn't a computer expert, but if there was jamming from an emissions source, she could find it. She used her omnitool and went to work.
"Debbie's out there, Jarod, and I know she's scared and…"
"...and you'll see her when this is over," Jarod insisted, hoping that he wasn't wrong. "Now, I need to get Chief Almerda stabilized. I'm going to need your help…"
A short distance away, Robert came upon a patrolling unit of SS in the combat uniforms and suits of their Marine detachments. His weapon flashed in the air, deflecting the first shot at him. He allowed no time for them to fire another, sending a wave of violent force outward that threw them into the nearest building violently. His lightsaber literally disarmed the two that got back to their feet. Their cries of pain at their mutilation ended with another jolt that knocked them to the ground, unconscious. He took a second to slice up their weapons.
The Government Building was just a few blocks away. If he encountered no more resistance, he'd be there in minutes. Every sense in him told him that was where he needed to go. But a small part insisted otherwise. Insisted that Julia was in danger and that she needed his help.
But Beth needs me more, he reminded himself. He clenched a fist in revolt at the entire idea. Having to pick either? That seemed like a cruel joke.
But it was no joke, it was necessity. And everything in him told him he needed to go help Beth. To face down Fassbinder. He went on that path. Be safe, Julie, please be safe...
Once out of the Lodge Julia went for somewhere that would lessen the risk that innocents would be caught in the crossfire. Given the situation, the Lake Park was the best bet, and it wasn't too far away. Even if it wasn't an urban environment, the forested paths and the lake were all places she could lose her pursuers in.
She crossed Suun Avenue. As always the name of the street brought her back to those first months in the Facility, and Suun Tek's team being the first of their number to die. We got complacent. And here we are, complacent again. The Nazis got the drive and we never saw it coming!
Julia reacted the moment she heard the scuff of feet against the replicated pavement. The SS man came at her from the nearby alley, weapon raised. With nowhere to go but forward she dropped and lunged. A disruptor beam sizzled an inch over her head, singing some of her blond hair. She crashed into the man and didn't quite knock him off his feet. He was left open to her follow-up strike, a palm strike to his throat that briefly interrupted his breathing. As he started to gag reflexively she hooked her leg under his and brought his foot out from under him, knocking him down. A pulse shot to his chest finished him off.
Julia felt a rush of almost feral joy at her triumph, but it was short-lived. She glanced back and noticed an armed team of SS coming from the direction of the Lodge. They spotted her and shouted a command in German. She replied with a couple shots from her rifle before running for the park.
Lucy and Meridina could feel Intalarai and the others pursuing them as they crossed back toward the Council Hall. They also felt that Gina and Talara were in danger. Both facts prompted them to run as quickly as possible.
What stopped them was the sight outside of the Initiates' Quarter. The round structure was partially damaged from the bombing; in the shadow of the Council Hall, it was one of the less-adorned buildings, being the housing and living quarters for the children admitted to the Order for training. At its great double doors, now sealed, two dark-clad Cylons were melting through the door with their lightsabers.
The two only sensed Lucy and Meridina coming at the last moment. One, the second of the younger Caucasian male models, brought his blade up in challenge. He successfully deflected Meridina's initial attacks, but couldn't get his blade in place to stop Lucy from sliding her blue blade through his guts. He fell over in pain, defeated.
The other Cylon was a model neither had seen before, a brunette Caucasian. She turned away from the door. Lightning crackled from her hand. Lucy's lightsaber intercepted it, holding the energy back. Meridina went in for the attack and was parried. Instead of slashing again, she attacked mentally. The Cylon's brain was partially technology, but there was organic matter too, organic elements, and she was able to identify the vision center and shut it down. The Cylon's lightning stopped as she lost all sight of her foes, suddenly plunged into visual darkness. Her metaphysical senses still functioned, but the sudden loss of vision threw the Cylon off-balance. She could do nothing before Lucy's lightsaber blade went through her chest.
Lucy stood over the Cylons, one critically wounded and one dying, then glanced toward Meridina. "I've never seen you go after someone telepathically like that," she said.
Meridina was paling and nodded. "I have had experiences recently in the possible range of my gifts," she confided. "On Babylon-5. Necessity provided the rest."
Lucy wasn't sure she liked hearing that, but she couldn't argue with the necessity part. Not here and now, with the Great Temple itself a battlefield.
Both turned in time to see Intalarai approach. Far behind her the other dark-robed members of the Brotherhood joined her. "Kill them!" Intalarai hissed to her evident subordinates.
Lucy and Meridina nearly started to run. But they sensed staying would provide the best outcome, so they held their lightsabers ready and prepared to fight. Both met Intalarai, who whirled and twisted between, parrying their strikes one after the other Her lightsaber slashed back, nearly missing Meridina's head one moment, the next singing Lucy's arm through the armor. It was clear she was a strong match for either of them and could fend off both for some time. With three allies, she would have the advantage.
Then there was another snap-hiss. A lightsaber blade of dark purple suddenly went through the torso of one of the approaching attackers. The others turned and were thrown violently away by solid will. Behind them, a red-robed man was now visible.
Meridina sensed him. Sergeant-at-Arms Hajamar, she thought.
The leader of the Temple Knights was already in motion again, his lightsaber flashing through the air. It caught one of the red blades and forced it back, after which he delivered a rib-crunching kick to the black-robed Gersallian attacking him. That one went back down. The one remaining foe on their feet attempted to channel lightning at Hajamar. He contemptuously absorbed it with his hand before gripping his attacker and throwing the dark-robed man into Intalarai. Both went to the ground in a heap.
Lucy favored her injured arm for a moment. "Nice timing," she gasped.
"Fools," Intalarai spat, pushing her ally off. "You've already lost! The time of Swenya's Order is over!" With that declaration Goras' former apprentice seemed to shimmer from sight. Even her essence faded from their senses, as if she wasn't there. The remaining dark-clad figure scrambled to his feet and started to run, but Meridina put him to sleep with a mental command that pierced his mental defenses. He collapsed to the ground.
Hajamar approached them. He was still bald, with his tanned skin a shade darker than Lucy's. Brown eyes appraised both. Given the ease with which he'd taken down Intalarai's allies Lucy couldn't help but think back to the day Hajamar and a half-dozen of his subordinates came to the Aurora to arrest Meridina. Robert had held her back from interfering, and it was clearly a good thing he had. "Commander Meridina. Lucilla Lucero." He nodded to them. His voice showed his respect for them. "Swenya's Light, it's good to see you both alive. Did you find Mastrash Ledosh?"
"He bade us to meet with his apprentice and Lucy's," Meridina said. "He sent them to retrieve Swenya's Blade. He believes these Cylons are after it."
"I see. He and Karesl are the only members of the Council still alive."
"Swenya's Light, no," Meridina replied. "We found Tinaran and Hadisina already dead, but I had hoped…"
"They were betrayed," Lucy said. "Attacked by someone they trusted."
"So were the others," noted Hajamar. His expression was dark. The protection of the Council was one of his duties, after all, and Maklir's death on the night of Goras' coup attempt had been bad enough for him. "The Brotherhood right under our noses all this time… where is Ledosh then?"
"Fighting Goras," Lucy said. "We should go help him!"
"The children take priority," Hajamar said. "I have had one of our transports readied for launch. But the anti-transporter defenses must be lowered before we can evacuate."
"You two stay and guard the children," Lucy advised. "I'll get to the Hall and lower the defenses."
Meridina nodded in agreement. "Mi rake sa swevyra iso, Lucy."
"Mi rake sa swevyra iso."
Lucy took off for the Council Hall.
Gina had never faced a tougher battle than the one she was waging. Three foes, each as well-trained as her if not moreso, and Talara had no knowledge with a blade to aid her in the duel. Talara was trying to help as best as she could, throwing loose chairs and items from the damaged room at the Cylons while Gina matched blades with them. Whenever it looked like Talara might escape, one of the three would break off long enough to cut her off, while the other two continued their relentless assault on Gina.
Her best efforts kept her alive, but just alive. Lightsaber scorch marks left damaged portions on her robes and suit, revealing blistered and burnt skin. Gina blocked out the pain - she was used to pain - but slowly her body was being weakened by the damage. She would lose this fight, and only her own will to stand, to oppose these dark beings that corrupted her people, kept her on her feet. She deflected blows from both, knocked back her doppelganger, brought her lightsaber over to block the Cavil's next attack. She watched the Valerii model come in, lightsaber raised for the kill.
The Valerii's lightsaber slashed through the air… and severed the Cavil's head from his shoulders.
Gina's doppelganger had no time to react. The Valerii turned and drove her blade into the copy's forehead. The red blade easily punctured flesh and bone and destroyed the brain and cybernetic pieces within with ease.
Gina and Talara stared at the Cylon in bewilderment. The Valerii model extinguished her lightsaber and placed it on her belt. "I'm sorry for the burns, Gina Inviere," she said. "But you must leave. Now."
"Who are you?" Gina demanded. "What is going on?"
"This place is marked for destruction," the Valerii replied. "Once the others know that Swenya's Blade and Reshan's book are beyond their reach, they will atomize the Temple. You must flee."
"She's telling the truth," Talara said. "But why did you turn on your people? Who are you?"
A sad, forlorn look came to the Cylon. "I am her, daughter of Altea," was the reply, the Cylon indicating Gina. "I saw my people turn a grand vision into a nightmare, and I have done what I can to change that. Now, you must go, please. The Brotherhood would break the Circle, and the Darkness would win!"
"What Circle?" Gina asked. "Who are you truly? What is your name and why should we trust you?"
Frustration showed on the Cylon's face. Frustration and resignation. "I was once called Athenina," the Cylon confessed. "And I must go now. Please, flee to your ship, and retrieve Meridina and Lucilla. They must survive!" With that she turned and ran.
As the Cylon departed Talara looked back to the stands. "If they don't have the Blade, who does?"
"We'll find out later. Right now…" Gina left the pit area and walked up to the Council's position above the relics and the portrait of Swenya. She ran her hands along the controls while Talara followed. "We need to get out of here," Gina said. "And the quickest way is your ship."
The door to the Hall opened. Lucy raced in. She looked up to Gina and Talara. "Hajamar wants the anti-beaming shields down," she said.
"I'm lowering them now."
Lucy looked to the two fallen Cylons with surprise. "Both at once?" she asked.
"No," Gina replied. "Another of the Cylons, Sharon Valerii's model, she… she turned on them."
"She helped us," Talara added. "She warned us the Temple is going to be destroyed soon."
At first Lucy didn't know what to say. Then a thought came to her. "New Caprica," she muttered. "Someone killed the Cylon who was going to pump poison gas into the bunkers and kill the Colonials." She shook her head. "Never mind. Did you get the Blade?"
"It wasn't here," said Talara. "And the Cylons were still looking for it."
"Dammit," muttered Lucy. By now she was running up to join them. "We'll figure this out later. Right now we need to get those anti-beaming fields down. Hajamar's evacuating the initiates, and if what you said is true, we need to get everyone out of the Temple."
"I'm getting into the system now."
"Do you have a passcode?" Lucy asked.
"No. It's not accessed by passcode," Gina replied. "The system is closed with no access to outside networks. A passcode is seen as redundant."
"Nice to know how secure this place is then…" Lucy went for her omnitool before noticing that comms were still down. She went for the other, less-jammable form of communication, reaching for Meridina's being with her own. She felt Meridina's presence not far away, still with Hajamar, twin bright beacons in the darkness the Cylon Inner Circle brought to the Temple. Meridina, we're lowering the field now. Evacuate to the Rio Grande. The Cylons are planning to destroy the Temple.
I will join you there. But I must evacuate my father first.
Alright. Let me know when you have. Lucy tapped away at her omnitool. The jamming was a problem, but she managed to get a comm line to the Rio Grande's systems. "I'm keying the transporter to take us the moment that field comes down," she told Gina.
"Field is coming down… now." Gina hit a final key. The display before her showed the image of a circle of light around the temple retracting.
Lucy nodded. "Good. Let's get to the Rio."
Robert arrived at Landing Circle and found a scene right from his nightmares. Fires blazed from buildings damaged by bombing and orbital fire. Bodies of slain residents were lying everywhere. The green parkland at the center of the roundabout, marking the point where the first survey teams beamed down to begin inspecting the colony site, was ablaze. The sculpture of the surveyors was blackened, if intact.
The Government Building started as a prefab Darglan structure. Since then a facade of marble had been added to the front, including the steps leading up to the main entrance and the foyer within. Debris from a bomb filled the steps, as did several fallen bodies. Robert felt the dark presence ahead of him and, moreso, his cousin's fear. Beth was there, along with other hostages. Staff or other officials, Robert thought, seized for this purpose. He felt a surge of pain from Beth and his steps quickened. He was in a full run by the time he reached the top of the steps. His lightsaber blazed to life in his hand as he entered the broken doors.
On the first floor, damage from the bomb was evident. This had been at or near the blast point. To other side Robert saw a line of SS soldiers, all in combat armor. Two large Panzergrenadier suits were looking straight at him.
Beyond the lines were another line of SS troops. This one stood behind about half a dozen people on their knees, hands tied behind their backs. The one nearest to Robert was Beth. She looked at him through black eyes and cheeks swelling purple from the blows rained on her face. Blood poured from a broken nose and from her mouth. Her expression betrayed her fear and her misery. He felt her sadness at his arrival, knowing she'd been bait for this trap. Worry for her people, for Annabelle, for Deborah, filled the rest of her thoughts, and there were tears in her eyes at the thought of all of the people of New Liberty killed this day.
Without waiting, Robert looked up to the second floor overlooking the foyer. Fassbinder stood there in full uniform, flanked by more SS soldiers, his formerly-blue eyes turned unnaturally yellow from the darkness in his being. "Let them go!" Robert demanded.
"Ah, there you are. Right on time." Fassbinder smiled, and it was an evil thing. "You thought me dead, Herr Dale, did you not? At Gamma Piratus." Fury flashed through Fassbinder's eyes. "Now you will pay for your presumption."
"Yeah. Lesson learned." Robert's face twisted into an angry snarl. "I'll make sure you're dead this time."
Fassbinder laughed at that, although the angry look never left his eyes. "Ah, Herr Dale, such a thing to say for someone following that pathetic drivel the Gersallians believe in," he said with delight. "Perhaps there is some stirring in your watered down Aryan blood. It's quite amusing..."
"Let's get down to it, Fassbinder," Robert growled. "This isn't a negotiation. You wanted me, you got me."
"Indeed. And I am happy to see it. There are many things you must answer for. The torments I will inflict upon you for your crimes…" Fassbinder savored the anticipation. "It is quite appropriate you once thought me dead. You thought the Reich slain too. We, the great nightmares of your past, finally vanquished. Such pathetic vision you and your precious Alliance have. Hitler's vision lives on, and it will remain alive long after your pathetic Alliance has been broken into dust and this colony turned to ash! I will ensure it!"
"After today we'll be ready for you," Robert declared. "The SS won't get to pull off another sneak attack like this."
"We won't need to," said Fassbinder, who chuckled with delight. "The terror we have wrought is a toxin that will do the work needed. And it brings me great pleasure to know I am the one who poisoned your Alliance." He laughed and, sensing Robert's incredulity, continued, "Your people will build defenses, yes. They will take measures against another attack like today's. But the need to maintain these efforts will change them. The Alliance was built on softer foundations than the Reich. It is made of pathetic fantasies of collective security and mutual cooperation. With our threat and your other enemies, we will expose the insufficiency of these delusions. To stop us, you will have to embrace our strength and make it your own. You will have to become us, Herr Dale."
"No we won't," Robert insisted. "The Alliance is strong enough to fight you without going that far."
Fassbinder laughed. "So naive, Herr Dale. So naive! I may let you live long enough to see otherwise. A final torment among all the others. Either way, let us dispense with the charade. You are here. You are mine. I no longer have a need to let this degenerate filth you call family live. Beth Rankin will die and you know it. It's just a matter of how long I wish to enjoy your suffering on the rack of false hope."
Robert glanced around the room and drew in a breath. Fassbinder likely did have him, and the only way for him to escape this trap was to go all-out, to throw everything in an uncontrolled, raw wave of power that might harm Beth and the other hostages.
He felt a sense of warning and raised his lightsaber in defense. Purple lightning shot from Fassbinder's hands. His weapon intercepted the lightning.
But Fassbinder wasn't the only one present with this power. Two more of his SS, these on the ground floor, attacked as well, from opposite angles. Robert couldn't deflect them all at once. The darkness-powered lightning crackled around him. His body spasmed and pain filled him, drawing a cry he couldn't hold back. His weapon lowered and Fassbinder's lightning enveloped him, increasing the agony.
"Rob!" Beth cried out, but she could do nothing. The SS soldier behind her pressed a disruptor pistol to the back of her head.
Robert tried to gather himself to fight back, but the attack he was under was too strong, too intense. He fell to his knees, dropped his weapon, and then to his side. His eyes fixed on Beth, and his mind went to Julia, as he felt he was failing them both.
When Julia arrived at the park end of Suun Avenue, she nearly ran right into the trap.
Only her caution at rounding the coffee shop kept her from walking right into a kill zone of SS. She fell back just before a disruptor beam sizzled through the space she'd been standing in. Turning back the other way, her pursuers were visible again. She was left no choice but to go into the shop. There was no one inside, no one she could see, and unfinished coffee mugs at the diner-like bar spoke of a hasty evacuation. Julia went to the bar and grabbed one of the mugs. The coffee was stronger and more bitter than she liked, but the caffeine was welcome. Food would have been as well, but there was no sign of that.
She got behind the bar just as the first SS came through the door. She turned and shot him just before he could shoot her. The trooper behind her target fired even as he entered, a shot that struck the wall by her head. Staying low, Julia followed the bar back to the storage area. She heard others entering to knew she had to get out, if she could find a way through the back.
The backroom was somewhat cluttered, giving it a used look, like something you'd expect from a family business. In her rush Julia nearly tripped over a box of coffee filters and she had to squeeze through two piles of big, industrial-sized coffee ground bags. She looked down and noticed one was still on an anti-grav palletjack. She grabbed the handle, twisted it so the jack was on track for the door, and shoved it with all of her might.
The pile of grounds hit the first SS man as he came through the door, knocking him back and off his feet while briefly blocking the doorway.
Julia continued on, entering a small office area, and went for the door beyond. She slammed into it and pushed the handle.
The moment it opened, disruptor shots filled the doorway. One caught Julia in the left arm, deadening the entire limb. She brought the rifle up and fired a shot with the rifle before the door closed. Swinging back the other way, the rifle lined up with a pursuer entering the hall. She pulled the trigger again.
Nothing happened.
The situation was growing worse by the time Jarod finally got Chief Almerda back on his feet somewhat. The fire coming in the entrance was escalating. The enemy had reinforcements; they didn't, nor could they get any.
Near the entrance, Angel briefly looked out from cover and laid down a barrage. It hit nothing, only succeeding in compelling a charging SS trooper to drop. A disruptor beam sizzled past her head and Angel fell back into cover. Nearby Tony did the same thing. He too avoided getting shot. The Venezuelan criollo beside him was not so lucky, taking a fatal disruptor shot to the head. Angel swallowed and looked to Tony. "Get Cat out of here, Tony. Her and Jarod. Now."
"I'm not leaving you babe," Tony vowed. "You take 'em."
"Dammit, I'm the superior officer here, remember?!"
"And the more badass fighter, yeah," Tony said. "So you'll do a better job protecting them."
Cat came back, although remaining out of the line of fire. "The comm arrays were sabotaged directly, like, physically damaged or destroyed. I'd have to get to one to repair it and get comms back."
"That won't be easy," Almerda said. "The bomb ruined most of the ways up."
"Well, we need reinforcements," Cat insisted.
"You need to get out," Angel said. "You'll be trapped if you go up."
Beside Almerda, Broots looked up. "I'll go," he offered.
"Broots, Debbie…"
"...won't live if we don't kick them out," Broots finished for Jarod.
"And she needs her Dad," Jarod countered. "Cat and I'll go."
"We won't hold them for long," Tony said. "They're getting to the door."
Almerda looked barely able to stand, but he drew his pistol anyway. "Go on, we'll do what we can. But we need reinforcements."
A moment after he spoke that, Angel heard more weapons fire from outside. Not the whine of the disruptor, but the distinctive whum whum whum of pulse fire and the particular thunder of mass effect-field firearms, among other sounds. Shouts in German, Spanish, and other languages abounded, and less and less of it was in German.
Angel crept toward the door and looked out in time to see one of the SS troopers gunned down by pulse fire. The distinctive sound of a Klingon disruptor joined it, creating an emerald beam that vaporized another of the SS troopers. The shooters were coming from the southwest. None were uniformed, all wearing civilian clothing. Some had tattoos over their arms, some didn't, and they were from every ethnicity in the Colony. Angel noticed one couple that looked Vulcanoid and fired Romulan disruptors instead, using them to vaporize another SS attacker.
The SS forces didn't stop fighting, but they did fall back. As the battle was pushed away from the Security HQ door, Angel saw who was leading them and muttered, "I'll be damned."
By the time Almerda came up to the door with the others, they were treated to the sight of the heavyset Hernan de Corelo jumping off of the open bed of a flatbed truck. Bandoleers of charge clips and grenades criss-crossed his torso, making him look like a guerilla more than a bar owner and criminal boss. He met Almerda's eyes, a fierce look on his face. When he finally spoke, it was with a raised fist smacking against his chest over his heart. "Viva Nuevoliberteños!"
Almerda nodded and, despite his injury, repeated the gesture. "Viva Nuevoliberteños!"
Angel nodded to Corelo. "Good to see you, Hernan," she said.
"And you too, Angry Angel," Corelo said. "Like I said before, this is my home, and the people of New Liberty, they are my people. All of them." He nodded to Almerda. "Whatever else, nothing harms them. Nothing hurts them. So if you don't mind, we have some Nazi pendejos to kill!" He raised his voice at the end, drawing a roar of approval from the others.
Corelo and his impromptu, mostly-criminal militia continued on. "And to think I wanted to charge that man," Almerda said.
"You have good reason. He's still a criminal," Angel said.
"True. And I'm here to uphold the law. But on a day like today… whatever his failings morally, Corelo is one of ours, and that's what matters."
"Yeah." Angel approached the most intact-looking of the vehicles the SS left behind. "Cat! Jarod! Come hotwire this damn thing," she said. "We've got to go save Rob and Julia."
Locarno was gratified to find that Ensign Rawlins was every bit the helm officer he'd expected her to be. The African-American woman's maneuvers were just what was needed to keep the Aurora alive and in the fight, and she showed great judgement in shifting the ship's relative positioning and attitude.
But there was only so much she could do to alleviate the numbers difference, as fire was coming at them from multiple directions. Disruptor fire brought their shields down further. "Shields now at twenty percent," Tra'dur warned.
That was not good. What was worse was the other vessels. Again the spinal mounts of the Nazi dreadnought fired. The Heydrich's beams were now targeting the Melissa Steiner. The FedCom battlecruiser's overtaxed shields couldn't resist a full barrage of all three, but they managed to twist their ship to make the third beam only glance against the hull. Nevertheless the shields of the cruiser were brought to the brink of failure, and the fire it was taking would ensure they failed soon.
The Charleston was in even worse shape. Despite Captain Asmund's best tactics, the Excelsior-class ship's shields were gone. Disruptor beams carved through her big drive hull and missiles blasted holes through her saucer section. Locarno was aggrieved at the sight of the Starfleet ship, which he knew was not going to live long.
And yet… they still had a hope. His eyes glanced toward the clock and back to the holotank. They'd remained alive this long, and their maneuvers had the SS ships out of formation trying to finish them off.
Thirty two and a half minutes…
The ship shook again. "Eighteen percent shields!"
A second after the thirty-three minute mark, Locarno was relieved to hear al-Rashad call out "Subspace ripple! Someone's jumping in… it's the Pegasus!"
Battlestar Pegasus reappeared in high orbit of New Liberty in a flash of light. The moment after, Vipers and Raptors seemed to explode from her launch tubes and hangers, with a speed that rivaled the best the Colonial Navy ever managed. Some of the Vipers burned hard for the fighter battle, where the outnumbered remaining wings of the Aurora and Melissa Steiner were holding off the greater numbers of the SS fighters. The others kept formation with the hard-burning Raptors, on course for the nearest SS cruiser.
The next-nearest belonged to Pegasus herself. In her CIC, a fully-uniformed Kendra Shaw ordered, "Fire on target!". The Pegasus' bow lit up with thick sapphire pulses from the Darglan-tech pulse plasma cannons the ship had been refitted with. Their target, a Sedan-class cruiser already weakened fighting the dying Charleston, suffered a shield collapse halfway through the volley. Entire chunks of the cruiser's black hull were blown away by the impacts. The Charleston, not dead yet, turned and fired a full salvo of photon torpedoes into her tormentor, adding to the carnage besetting the ship. A final burst of phaser fire, joined by a barrage from the Pegasus, finished the cruiser off.
The Raptors fired their first salvo a moment later. A barrage of naqia-enhanced torpedoes slammed into the faltering shields of their target, another Nazi heavy cruiser. Said shields flickered ruby red until they collapsed, allowing several torpedoes to impact directly on the cruiser's hull. Flame and debris erupted from the new wounds in the black hull. One of the torpedoes annihilated the swastika insignia entirely.
On the Aurora, the Pegasus' return was a morale boost. The battle might not be so unwinnable now… thought Locarno, before he began giving orders to exploit the Pegasus' entry into the battle.
Amidst the ruin of the Temple offices, Ledosh and Goras exchanged another series of strikes. Goras' technique as a swordsman was far superior, albeit rusty, while Ledosh had more experience with the weapons they were wielding. Given the gap in their dueling abilities, it was a major reason why the fight was still raging.
The other was that Ledosh, while not the best with a blade, was more attuned to the life energy within and around him. He combined his attacks with that power, knocking Goras back or channeling energy to hold him in place, forcing Goras to concentrate on his own abilities to break free.
With their lightsabers locked again, Ledosh said, "You have truly fallen, Goras. You revel in this darkness."
"I do. It is the true path for our people. I have had the scales thrown from my eyes, Ledosh. I have seen the truth. Swenya was a fraud!"
Goras pushed off, forcing Ledosh back. Ledosh dodged the next blow and then parried the one after it. "Is this what the Brotherhood has told you?"
The reply from Goras was a smirk. "I can sense the curiosity in you, Ledosh. You, too, have learned more about what Swenya has done to our people."
"She gave us unity. She gave us hope, she made us a better people!"
"Lies!" Goras hissed. "She deceived us!" With fury he drove back Ledosh again. "We were a strong people and she shackled us to her dogma!"
"She gave our people a new future!" Ledosh shouted before parrying another blow from Goras. "She saved us from the Darkness!"
"She was nothing but Reshan's puppet!" spat Goras. "To spread alien dogmas!"
"No. No, that is a twisted claim," Ledosh replied. "Reshan taught her how to reach the Flow of Life, but Swenya forged her own path. She made us what we are!"
"She made us weak! She was not even one of us!"
With that Goras' power surged and he slammed Ledosh with it. Ledosh recovered quickly and parried Goras' powerful blow.
But the blow's power was the point. It forced Ledosh's blade away from the center of his body. Goras' foot came up and slammed into Ledosh's knee. Ledosh didn't go down from the blow, but it left him unbalanced and reeling. In one fluid move Goras' blade whirled in his hand, moving into position so that he could drive it into Ledosh's chest. Ledosh's eyes widened as the pain from the mortal blow filled him. He let out a rasping sound in the moment Goras pulled the blade from his chest. He collapsed at Goras' feet.
"Go to oblivion in this knowledge, Ledosh," Goras rasped. "The Order will die. Swenya's legacy will be wiped from Gersal and our people. Kohbal's way will triumph. And your beloved pupil and those Humans she trained? They are going to die, and with it, your precious Prophecy!"
Ledosh tried to gasp something in reply, but he couldn't find the breath. All he could do was watch as Goras walked away.
Meridina was back at the courtyard when she felt it. She felt Ledosh's pain and knew he'd been struck down. The pain of that fact… for a moment it overwhelmed her. Ledosh taught her everything. He set her on the path she was following, the path to bring about the Prophecy of the Dawn. To herald a new age for their people.
Now he was dying. At the hands of one of their own. The pain worsened, joined by a hot anger at Goras for his treachery. For turning against the Light.
The courtyard battle was still raging, fallen forms in black robes as well as the blues and greens of the Order, but the Cylons were on the defensive. Her father, ignoring a wound to his leg and to his side, ran his shining blade through another of the male Cylons, killing his foe instantly. Another of the Mastrasham absorbed the lightning from one of the Cylons long enough for a Knight to strike the dark-haired man down.
Meridina's lightsaber came up and she met one of the D'anna models. The woman's yellow eyes burned with fury, but her arm was wounded and her skill poor. Meridina easily parried two blows and drove her blade into the Cylon's chest, killing her. She came up to where her father was finishing off one of the Cavils. "Hajamar is evacuating the Initiates," she said. "The Cylons may be planning to destroy the Temple!"
Karesl took the news grimly. "Then we should evacuate too."
The urgency of that was made clear the next moment as, one by one, the living Cylons were pulled away by the bright light burst of transporters.
Gersal's orbital space was a debris field of shattered vessels. More and more of those ships were Cylon vessels, with Gersallian and now Dorei ships responding to the attack. A handful of Alliance starships, led by one of the Excalibur-class battlecruisers dropped out of warp next, coming in from the system zenith to cut off the Cylons' options for maneuver.
Even as the fighting grew intense, the central Basestar of the Cylon fleet stopped firing on the enemies in orbit. A brace of missiles descended toward the planet.
Below, the sense of danger filled every Knight in the courtyard. All understood precisely what was happening… and that there was little they, in their exhausted state, could do to stop it.
Then they, too, started to be snatched away by transporter, while beyond the Temple two ships emerged from the damaged bays of the Temple's private spaceport. One was a blocky personnel transport, the other the runabout Rio Grande.
Aboard the Rio, Gina and Talara piloted the vessel free while Lucy frantically worked the transporter, going as fast as she could get the arrivals off. There are so many left, I know Hajamar is getting the others, but can we get them all?
The answer was no, no they couldn't.
"There's a ship decloaking in the atmosphere above us," Gina said. "It's firing on the incoming missiles!"
"How well?"
"It's already destroyed the first wave. Now it's going for the second. The Basestar is launching fighters…"
Lucy drew in a breath and, upon the feeling inside of her, made her decision. "Talara, swing us back around! Land in the courtyard, we're letting them board directly!"
Talara didn't need to have the order repeated. She obeyed. "The Lankam's Word is hailing, Sergeant Hajamar wishes to know what we're doing."
"Saving as many as we can," was Lucy's answer. "And Talara, when we launch, don't hesitate to hit full impulse."
"Understood." Talara said nothing about the usual regulations against full impulsor use in atmosphere, with all of the negative effects it could have. The situation made those effects moot.
The Rio Grande descended onto the courtyard. Lucy continued beaming in people even as they landed and the door opened. Outside Karesl and Meridina guided people in.
"The second wave of missiles has been destroyed," Gina reported. "Another two waves coming in, and the ship above is being attacked by fighters."
"Do we have its energy signature on profile?"
"Checking, but nothing yet. We're cut off from the Alliance database," Gina replied.
Moment by moment more robed individuals entered. Some in green robes carried the wounded.
"Third wave destroyed." Gina blinked. "That ship above is something else. Direct hits from the Cylon raiders are barely damaging the shields."
By this point the runabout was reaching peak capacity. Outside one of the elderly green-robed figures stopped and stepped to the side of the entrance. Meridina looked at him with concern. "Mastrash Otanam?"
"You and your father should go, Meridina," the old man said. "You have your own destiny, and your father is the last of the Council. The Order will need you to rebuild."
"I am not leaving," Karesl insisted. "Not until all others are aboard." He said this even as it was blatantly clear the runabout was filling to capacity.
Inside Gina called out, "Fourth missile wave destroyed. Another Cylon basestar is firing!" The console blinked. "Incoming hail. I think it's from the other ship."
"Put them on," Lucy insisted, as she weaved through the others to the airlock door. She found Karesl and Meridina there, facing the others who had now stopped boarding. "We're almost at standing room only. Let's go!"
From within, the comm system played a distorted voice. "Fools! Launch now! I cannot stop them all!"
"I cannot abandon so many," Karesl insisted. As he spoke another pair were pulled away by transporter, presumably the Lankam's Word.
"Then we will not board," another of the Knights said. "Not until you and Meridina are aboard."
"I am not even in the Order anymore," Meridina pointed out. "I have made my choice."
"You chose to follow your swevyra, as the Order trained," said Otanam. "And you are working with the Bearers of the Dawn, daughter of the Lumantala. You must survive this day."
It was clear to both that the others would not break, and every moment spent not boarding would simply cost them more time.
Father and daughter alike had tears in their eyes as they stepped into the runabout. Lucy gestured them in, as she did the Knights and others who followed. Finally there was clearly no more room behind her. The runabout was at capacity. Lucy's mind raced, considering what Scotty had done with transporter cycles. But it takes time to rig them like that, we don't have that time!
"Go, Lucilla Lucero," Mastrah Otanam said. "You are a Bearer of the Dawn. Your destiny awaits."
The only thing Lucy could think of to say was, "I'm sorry." Knowing she could save no more, and hating every moment of it, she closed the airlock door. "Lift off!" she cried.
Talara responded immediately. The Rio Grande took off. One of the younger apprentices offered to stand in the airlock, allowing Lucy to weave her way back to the cockpit. Seeing Talara and Gina had everything in hand, she went to the back. Meridina and Karesl were crowded in with the others. Healers were working on the badly wounded, who were provided the beds and the table. Other wounded were allowed the chairs, and the place gave Lucy bad memories of the trucks that the Duffys would pack full of illegal immigrants to work on their farms.
The unknown ship has gone, Gina projected. The missiles are almost to impact. Five, four, three…
Lucy blocked out the countdown. She activated a monitor to show the feed from the rear-facing sensors. With it she could see the battered, familiar buildings of the Great Temple, majestic even with the damage they'd suffered. She could sense all of those left behind, the Lankam's Word's transporters grabbing them away as quickly as it could. Those remaining worked to find peace with themselves, knowing their deaths were coming. She felt obligated to watch, as if it let her be with them in their final moments.
And then the temple vanished from the screen. Repeated bright lights represented atomic initiations, one after the other, the ship's computers keeping the flashes from becoming blinding. All of those lives winked out in a sudden, terrible moment. Lucy's cheeks ran hot with tears. She heard some sobs from the others, silent weeping, a cry of despair… and felt Meridina's heart simply break. She worked her way over to Meridina and took her free hand while the blasts became an ominous mushroom cloud over what had been the Great Temple.
"The Library, the Forge, the Council Hall. Swenya's Relics…"
"...are safe," Lucy said quietly. "They're packed in storage. I… I made sure to grab them."
Many heard her. She was almost overwhelmed with the gratitude they felt for her.
But Meridina was unconsolable. "All of our knowledge and history. It's lost."
"But the Order is not," Karesl assured Meridina, holding his grieving daughter close. "And we will rebuild."
Meridina heard him, but it did not stop the pain in her heart at the deaths of so many, the loss of so much. She quietly began to sob.
In the foyer of the New Liberty Government Building, Robert kept looking from Fassbinder to Beth as he writhed on the floor in pain. He could feel Fassbinder's cruel satisfaction, his enjoyment of Robert's pain, of his fear for his cousin, and of Beth's realization she was about to die.
"I think that's enough," the SS officer said, still channeling the lightning into Robert's body. "Rottenführer, kill the degenerate."
In desperation Robert tried to fight back again, but the cold, deadly energy cascading through him kept him from doing so. He felt like his life was being drained away second by second. He was helpless.
He'd failed. He could do nothing to save Beth.
Beth closed her eyes and stifled the sob in her throat. He could feel her determination to die with whatever dignity she could manage, rather than let the Nazis enjoy it.
Seconds passed, in which Robert struggled to break from the lightning. He sensed Fassbinder's bewilderment, Beth's patience… why was she alive?
"Rottenführer, schießen!" Fassbinder bellowed, briefly directing his attention away from Robert and the lightning he was channeling into him.
But the Nazi didn't. He simply stared ahead. Slowly the disruptor pistol he'd held to the back of Beth's head lowered. As it did, blood started to pour from his nose and his lip, the latter from how tightly he was biting into it. Then crimson fluid started trickling from his eyeballs.
Robert felt the pain recede and realized the same was true for Fassbinder's lieutenants. The two other sources of the lightning cascading through him were gone. The SS men were themselves locked in place, bleeding from the eyes and nose and mouth.
A moment later, all three dropped dead.
Beth heard his body fall. Her eyes snapped open in bewilderment, not to mention amazement that she was still alive.
And then a Hebrew-accented voice sounded through the foyer. "Shabbat shalom, Nazi schmucks." Then more Nazis started dying. Max was standing in the foyer with death in and coming from his eyes. The small form of Golmar Kuhln stood in front of him, and Colin behind. They lashed out with their minds launching invisible attack probes at the minds of the SS men in the room. Max was lethal enough on his own, but Golmar was somewhere in the liminal space between P12 and P13, and Colin was a fully trained Psi Cop with over a decade of experience tearing consciousnesses asunder. The Nazis were shown no mercy.
Max was particularly fond of making them shoot each other. He seized control of two NCOs, respected by their men, and reveled in their existential horror as their bodies were moved like puppets on a string to shoot their own comrades in the face.
Colin was more utilitarian than that, efficiently attacking their minds, directly erasing their ability to breath, stopping their hearts cold while they were still conscious, lobotomizing them into Schutzstaffel zucchinis.
Golmar was particularly brutal. He didn't use simple fast attack probes. He simply scanned them en masse, sending Nazis to the floor in fully-conscious seizures until their brains literally burned out.
It took a moment for the Panzergrenadier to figure out what was going on and orient on them to begin firing, but Colin put a stop to that. He locked every skeletal muscle in their bodies into contraction until bones broke and tendons snapped, they fell, their armor contorting around them as their own movements overwhelmed the mechanical assist the armor provided and important pieces broke.
Under normal circumstances the mind-screams and open-shut sensations of souls departing the mortal coil would disturb a telepath, traumatize them. Not this time. These were Nazis, and it didn't matter what you did to them, the screaming, audible or otherwise, was reinterpreted into music.
An angry, frustrated look came over Fassbinder, but he couldn't hide the emotion he also felt: fear. He'd learned enough about telepaths to know even the abilities he'd learned weren't an absolute protection. There were many things those with life force powers could do that telepaths couldn't, but in terms of mental powers, telepaths had the clear advantage. Robert smiled at him and, with Fassbinder's doubt interfering with his channeling of his power, Robert was able to focus his own. He forced himself to a knee and, with his arm struggling and twitching, reclaimed his lightsaber from the floor and brought it back up, using the emerald blade to absorb the crackling lightning.
Fassbinder's minions within the SS were dropping like flies. Some silently, some died screaming shot by their own comrades, others died writhing in agony, but there were very few left after a few seconds. Some of them tried to shoot back but there was something about the telepaths that kept their eyes from being able to focus on them. As if their minds simply couldn't pay attention to the telepath's existence, no matter what was done to them. Then, threat of being overwhelmed eliminated, Colin turned his attention to Fassbinder.
"Guten Tag, Evolutionsbremse!" Colin said, beaming, and laid siege to Fassbinder's brain.
The telepathic attack was the last straw. Fassbinder felt the Psi Cop begin to rip through his defenses as if they were barely there, his will to resist mental intrusion and his own terror feeding his defenses were the only things keeping him alive and both were buckling with startling alacrity. Almost faster than he could process. His lightning stopped and he threw himself faster than any normal human could move out of the room, breaking line of sight before Colin could finish the job.
"Ja, du Feigling! Fliehe vor dem Homosexuellen, dem 'minderwertigen' Liliputaner, und dem Juden!" Colin shouted after him in his mother tongue, mocking him.
Lilliputian Colin? Really? Golmar gave him the side-eye. Colin shrugged.
It's better than midget, and I never claimed to win insult contests.
Anger and frustration filled Fassbinder, giving Robert a beacon to home in on. He jumped up to the foyer's second floor and took off after Fassbinder. The chase took him through the halls of the building, halls that became progressively more damaged until, finally, he got to the large wound in the structure. Fassbinder was already outside, running for the trade association building. Robert leapt down, hitting the ground with a small shockwave of air, and took off after him. "Fassbinder!" he shouted, his lightsaber at the ready. His face twisted into an angry expression. After all of this devastation, it was time to put Fassbinder down. Time to…
Fassbinder rounded the corner of the association building. As Robert approached it, he heard a vaguely familiar humming sound. And like that, Fassbinder's dark essence was no longer here.
Fassbinder getting away was bad enough. But Robert could sense that the danger wasn't over, not by a longshot.
One of the SS destroyers vanished in a white fireball after being speared by the plasma beams coming from the Aurora's starboard side. This left the SS dreadnought in an increasingly precarious position given it was getting increased attention from the Pegasus' air wing. Only one of the cruisers remained intact, and it was currently taking fire from the Melissa Steiner. The Charleston was effectively dead in space, too damaged to continue fighting, its surviving crew scrambling to restore power and maneuvering.
For a moment Locarno thought the Heydrich would attack the Charleston and finish it off. But he noticed its maneuvers turned it in the wrong direction to do that. More importantly, for the moment weapons fire seemed to be suddenly striking the ship. "Are there shields down?"
"Confirmed, sir," al-Rashad remarked. "But it looks like they lowered… I'm detecting transporter signatures. They're beaming up individuals from the surface."
"All fire on the dreadnought, now!"
Syrandi's hands flew over the console and Rawlins turned the Aurora to bring her bow weapons to bear. Their fire started blasting away the dreadnought's armor. One of the plasma beams sliced away at a smaller disruptor emitter, destroying it.
"The spinal mounts are charging," Tra'dur noted. "It looks… it appears the SS dreadnought is targeting the Colony."
Locarno paled. In its current state, the Colony's defenses were out. It would be destroyed with a single super-disruptor discharge. "Put us between them, now!"
Rawlins obeyed. The Aurora's engines went to full and under the young woman's guidance the ship maneuvered into position. The arrival was just in the nick of time, as three powerful lances of disruptor energy slammed into the Aurora's shields. Weakened as they were, they collapsed immediately, and much of the damage was taken on the armor. "Shields are completely down," Tra'dur said. "Generator overloads. Damage on Deck 35, multiple sections. Enemy shields are back up and they're charging for another shot!"
"Keep us in place," Locarno demanded, knowing full well the Aurora's armor could only take one, maybe two more hits before the ship was wrecked. It was still time for something to happen…
"Jump points opening!" al-Rashad announced, a moment before the disruptors fired again. They lanced into the belly of the Aurora, scouring armor and inflicting damage on the lower decks. Locarno didn't need Tra'dur's damage report to know they probably couldn't take another hit.
"On screen," he demanded, wondering if these were reinforcements or the SS coming to finish them off.
The holo-viewer shifted to show the swirling green vortices that the incoming ships had created to transition between universes. From each vortex ships emerged. A handful were vessels of the Alliance.
But it was quickly clear that they had merely opened the jump points for the bulk of the ships arriving. They were of myriad design, a regular hodgepodge of ships and almost all from the M4P2 universe. The most common design were ships with bow sections that looked like wheels, with the rest of the hull trailing from behind. Locarno recognized those immediately, even if he'd only seen them a few times.
"Tac comm links being established," Tra'dur confirmed.
An accented voice distorted by an electronic vocoder came over the line. "This is Admiral Hans'Gerrel to Heavy Fleet ships. Engage the enemy dreadnought."
Locarno recognized the name and accent immediately. The Quarians!
Another voice spoke, this one female, with the same Quarian accent. "This is Admiral Shala'Raan. Patrol ships, move forward. Protect our allies."
Turreted guns tracked toward the Heydrich and began to blaze away. Some were mass effect cannons, others fired phasers and disruptors and plasma, reflecting the Quarians' readiness to adopt technology from multiple sources.
The Heydrich took the brunt of the Quarian assault. The middling damage taken during the time she was recovering forces from the Colony hadn't been much, but it degraded the shield capacity of the Nazi dreadnought enough that the sudden overwhelming barrage from the incoming Quarians began to make localized penetrations of their shields. Other Quarian vessels moved ahead to engage the remaining light ships, clearing them away from the drifting Charleston and the nearly-crippled Melissa Steiner. Hans'Gerrel's heavy ships not only pounded away at the Heydrich but at the last of the intact cruisers as well. The Pegasus joined them in finishing off the Tannenburg-class ship. One of the Quarian mass effect rounds penetrated into the Nazi vessel's fuel bunkerage, turning the ship into a massive white flare from the destructive release of antimatter.
For a moment Locarno thought the dreadnought would fire again, leaving the Aurora as badly off as the other ships, but the dreadnought's commander realized his predicament. The Quarians' fire was too heavy, too vigorous, and certainly too numerous for his deflectors. They would fail completely if he didn't get away. The dreadnought turned away from the Colony, and the battered Aurora. A green vortex began to form ahead of it. "All sensors on that vortex, now," Locarno urged.
"Permission to fire?" Luneri asked.
"No. I need that jump point stable, we have to find out where they're going!" Locarno answered.
The other remaining SS ships were also fleeing, although few would do so successfully given the volume of fire they were taking. The dreadnought made good its escape. Locarno looked to al-Rashad, who sighed and nodded. "I got what I could," she confirmed. "It looks like they jumped for… C1P2."
That brought a small frown to Locarno. "A double jump," he said. "That's what they're doing."
"And the likelihood that we would jump near enough to catch them before they jumped out again is infinitesimally small," Tra'dur noted, her calm voice hiding frustration that the attackers would get away. "And our warp drive is down, so we wouldn't be able to intercept them even if we were close."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Locarno sighed. "Send out a warning to the C1P2 patrols, maybe they'll spot something." He allowed his hands to cease gripping the command chair arms so tightly. "Signal our thanks to the Quarians and the other reinforcements, and to Pegasus for their timely return."
"Yes Commander."
Locarno tapped at his comm controls. "Aurora to, well, anyone still down there. The SS have withdrawn. The Colony is safe."
Somehow, even as he said it, he wondered if that last line was ever going to be true again.
Far from Gersal, a lone ship drifted quietly in real-space. Inside the cockpit a dark-robed figure again activated her comm system. The blue hologram of her master appeared. "I have heard the reports Tisiphone. The attack was as fierce as I sensed it would be."
"Indeed, my Master."
"Did you acquire it?"
"I did." Tisiphone brought up her hand, and the lightsaber hilt it held. "Swenya's Blade now belongs to you."
A pleased expression came to her master's face. "Now I will get an equal say in the matter. Return to Xanadu. We have much to prepare for, my Fury."
"Yes, Master."
Moments later, the ship formed an interuniversal jump point and departed Gersallian space.
Tag
From across the N2S7 universe, and indeed from other universes, ships were converging on Gersal. Hospital ships, liners and transports carrying relief workers, doctors, nurses, engineers and rebuilding specialists… everything. In orbit Stellar Navy and Gersallian military teams were already sorting through the wreckage of destroyed ships and orbiting facilities, as well as the remnants of destroyed Cylon Basestars.
On Gersal itself, the attack was over, but the shock was still reverberating across the planet. The death toll was going to reach to the million mark just from the light bombardments against urban targets. The atomic attacks guaranteed it could spike to well over ten times that.
From the living quarters of the Lumantala family, Lucy and Talara quietly looked out at the cityscape. Damaged and fallen buildings were everywhere. The Interdependency government had a planetwide state of emergency in effect as cleanup efforts commenced. As always the Gersallians were coming together as a community. It was almost instinctive to them, the desire to make themselves and others feel better, to find balance in the needs and wants of all. But now it was joined by a fragility Lucy never felt in them. The Gersallians felt… vulnerable.
Which, given the situation, was not a surprise.
Nearby Drentiya and Leniraya were tending to Meridina. She shook her head quietly while, nearby, her father examined the dagger pulled from Hadisina's body. "All gone," she murmured.
"She is not just referring to the Temple," Talara observed. "What else…"
"The Temple of Perception," Lucy said, recalling said temple. "And Trubin, and the Temple of Birth. The Cylons hit them with nukes too. The Temple is one thing, it's out in the countryside, but Trubin… it's a… was a fairly-sized city. Over a million people lived there. They didn't have a chance…"
"How could this have happened?" Talara asked. "Surely defenses…"
"They were compromised," Karesl said. His voice was bitter, brittle. He set the dagger down beside him, his emotional control straining. "The Brotherhood sabotaged our defenses for the Cylons. They're working together."
"They're not just working together. They're… one and the same, I think," said Lucy. "They've been hiding for thousands of years. Probably waiting for this chance."
"The Order still stands. You saved dozens of our people," Karesl said. "We will recover."
"But we will never be the same," Meridina murmured, glancing at her omnitool now. "And we have a greater foe than the Cylons and Brotherhood. Or rather, their new confederates."
Lucy blinked. "What?"
Meridina responded by relaying the message to Lucy's omnitool. She stared in horror at the report. "New Liberty, they hit… the freaking SS hit New Liberty?!"
"We have already seen indications that they have links to the Cylons. Now they are confirmed. The darkest of our foes, together…" Meridina shook her head. "The Alliance may never be the same again."
As they spoke Talara opened the pack there and pulled out the two books. She marveled at the lovely calligraphy on the Life of Reshan. Inside of it she found a sheath of notes scribbled in very basic Gersallian. Karesl noticed them. "My thanks to you for getting that volume to safety," he said. "It is one of those we did not have a digital backup of."
"Then the other books…"
"Lost," said Meridina. "As is all of the artwork. The catacombs of our greatest. The Forge, where we train to build our weapons, was the work of Gersal's finest architects. They're all gone now. The Cylons, the Brotherhood, they have left us with little save our lives." Her fists clenched from the heartache. "I know I must be strong. I…"
As she broke down weeping again, it was Karesl who went over and cared for her. "This has been the darkest day in the Order since Kohbal fell to darkness," he said. "But the Light is still with us. Many of the others live. The Order can and will rebuild, and in large part thanks to you, daughter."
"There is more to this book than its rarity," said Gina. "Mastrash Ledosh has been studying it for over a year. He tracked down Gartanam's volume to help him translate the meanings of the older dialect."
"He said it was crucial to finding Reshan's knowledge," Lucy said. "And something about protecting a circle. Not letting the Cylons break it."
"I'm not sure what he means," Karesl admitted. "On this matter Ledosh, I am afraid to say, kept his own counsel. It is clear now he cannot be blamed. More than any of us, he may have sensed the hand of the Brotherhood." For a moment Karesl seemed deep in thought. He turned to Lucy. "Lucilla Lucero, I entrust the Life of Reshan to you."
Lucy blinked. "You do?"
"We cannot be certain the Brotherhood did not leave agents who might seize the book from Gersal," Karesl noted. "It will be safer with you. And you and Meridina can continue Ledosh's research. Gina Inviere can assist."
"Of course."
There was an unspoken tension between them. Karesl spoke with a soft tone to relieve it. "I sense your feeling of loss for the death of your teacher, Gina. For now, I would like you to go with Meridina and Lucy. Finish your training with them."
"There's more to it than that, Mastrash Karesl."
"Yes."
Talara was briefly confused, but Lucy made it clear to her mentally. Other Cylons of Gina's model were among the attackers. Members of the Order had seen their own struck down by an enemy with Gina's face. They had fought with that enemy. While Gina's innocence was undeniable, there would likely be an unconscious tension between her and the others. With emotions so raw, it was best for all if Gina came to the Aurora. "We could use you," Lucy said aloud. "Robert can officially sign you on as a member of his operations team."
"I will gladly join him," said Gina. She smiled despite her bitterness. "It is much the same work I expected as a Knight, after all."
"One thing still troubles me," said Karesl. "You state one of the Cylons betrayed the others to aid you?"
"Yes," said Talara. "She struck them down to aid us. The way she spoke, it was clear she is not in league with them."
"Whoever she was, she may have been the one who saved the people of New Caprica by killing the Cylon who was left to release poison gas into their bunkers," Lucy added. "Did she say who she was?"
"She compared herself to Gina, and when pressed, called herself Athenina."
Karesl's eyes widened. From the chair Meridina looked up in surprise. Noticing this reaction, Lucy asked, "Okay, so why are you looking like that? You recognize the name?"
"Yes," said Karesl. "From the historical texts. Athenina… she is a figure in Gersallian history."
"Oh? What was she? Who?"
"The apprentice of Mastrash Kohbal," Meridina answered.
The cleanup effort began the moment the shooting ended. While some of the residents were too shellshocked to act, many went to the work of rebuilding their colony, their home. Hernan de Corelo's militia aided in securing the Colony while Broots and Jarod undid the sabotage inflicted by the SS, allowing communications to be restored. This accomplishment was what allowed Jarod to observe when Broots was tearfully reunited with his terrified daughter, who was among the many children that the schools brought into the bunkers as soon as the attack began.
It gave way to his own tearful reunion with Sydney and Emily, his sister. With his father off-world and safe, it meant Jarod had not faced the loss so many others in the Colony were facing with the attack over.
In their post-attack efforts the people of New Liberty were quickly joined by a people they'd yet to meet, as increasing numbers of envirosuit-clad Quarians arrived by transporter or shuttle to aid in the rebuilding process. They focused on the technical issues, repairing and rerouting utility systems to restore power, running water, and other vital services. The other starships in orbit sent what help they could manage, although most of the aid was from the relatively-undamaged Pegasus.
The Government Building, damaged as it was, remained the nerve center of this effort. While doing what she could to direct the recovery Beth was getting her wounds treated by medical staff from the Colony Hospital, a process only interrupted when Annabelle arrived. "Oh Beth," Annebelle wept, rushing to her wife and embracing her. "I was so worried for you."
Beth's eyes filled with tears. "I was worried about you. They were killing everyone."
Robert arrived at that point. He felt relief that Annabelle was okay. Behind him, a line of the dignitaries Beth brought to safety approached. He felt their consternation, even shame, at what Beth had endured for saving them. Sonek Pran stepped to the forefront, flanked by Princess Syrina, Director Anjilo, Isis Marik, and Princess Yvonne. "Governor Rankin, on behalf of everyone who came to the summit, we thank you for doing so much to save our lives," Pran said solemnly. "It warms all of our hearts to see you survived."
"Thank you, Mister Ambassador," Beth replied. Even here, diplomacy mattered.
"New Liberty is not alone," said Yvonne. "The people of the Commonwealth will aid in your recovery, however we can."
"As will the Federation, and all of those assembled," Pran added. "We will show the Multiverse that your people are not without friends, and the strength of the values we all uphold."
"Thank you again, Mister Ambassador. Thanks to all of you. We will humbly accept any aid available in our rebuilding," Beth said. Her voice was somber and withdrawn. Robert could sense that she felt everything to be almost unreal, and her survival the most unreal thing of all.
"Director, my condolences to your people," Beth added, looking to Anjilo.
The male Gersallian, his complexion a mocha color close to Annabelle's, nodded. "My thanks, Governor. We have both suffered today."
"The enemy struck at Gersal and New Liberty because you are both potent symbols of the Alliance," Princess Syrina asserted in accented English. The Dorei woman looked as regal as she sounded, and there was no denying the angry fire in her teal eyes. "We will show them that we are not so easily cowed."
"I think there's more to it than that," Robert said. "Fassbinder has a personal grudge against us."
As he spoke Robert noticed the looks he was getting. He couldn't hide the worry he felt. He noticed the look on Colin's face and didn't bother to hide it from him. Jarod and the others were tracking where Julia went after she fled the Lodge. She'd undoubtedly saved Lee Adama and Jeong Jin-Taek, but that meant facing SS pursuit alone.
There was a tone from Robert's omnitool. He lifted his forearm and tapped the blue light at the back of his left hand. A holo-display screen enlarged to show Admiral Maran. The stress that had so recently left the man's face was back with a vengeance. "Captain, I've looked over the preliminary reports from New Liberty. I'm grateful that Governor Rankin survived the ordeal."
"Thank you, sir."
"Consider this forewarning to remain on standby for new orders," Maran said. "This attack… intelligence suspected the SS had more resources than what we accounted for, but we had no indications they independently developed the IU jump drive. Intelligence believed their goal, if they had more resources, was to flee beyond Reich borders and rebuild elsewhere. We never imagined they achieved this. Their alignment with the Cylons makes them even more dangerous."
"It's an alliance of convenience for both, but until it breaks up, they could hit anywhere. And they won't hesitate to attack civilian targets."
"Agreed. Every world in the Alliance is on full alert. We've begun reactivation procedures for the reserve fleet to ensure we have the resources for the necessary defenses. And every measure will be taken to discover their new base of operations."
Robert nodded. "I'll be ready to help with the search, Admiral, just tell me…" He looked up in time to see Jarod walk up. He felt his knees wobble at the look on Jarod's face. "Did you find…?"
Jarod shook his head. "She's gone," was all he said. All he needed to say. But he continued. "There's signs of a struggle, but that's it. Cat's scanning to see if there's any… residue from a vaporization."
A sledgehammer of grief and worry crashed down on Robert's soul. His legs nearly gave out from under him. Colin and Jarod rushed forward to catch him if he fell, but he managed, just managed, to keep his footing.
"Captain?" asked Maran.
"She's gone," Robert rasped. "Julia's gone."
With a loud thump, Julia landed on her left side on the deck below her. Zipcuffs kept her wrists bound together at the small of her back, and a similar set kept her ankles immobile. She looked up and kept a blank expression as two gold eyes looked over her.
"Here she is, Herr Brigadeführer," one of her SS captors said. "She gave us a chase."
"So I see," said Fassbinder. He smiled at Julia before turning away. Her eyes tracked the way he turned, toward a display screen. A voice reported, in German, an incoming communication, and Fassbinder nodded.
On the screen appeared several figures in dark clothing and robes. Julia's eyes widened as she recognized some of the faces: they were Cylons. A Gina model, a Cavil, a Biers, and of that unknown model she'd seen during the New Caprica standoff.
Standing with them were more figures that, after a moment, she recognized. Goras?!
"The Brotherhood of Kohbal thanks the Schutzstaffel for their assistance," said one of the women. Julia was pretty sure she recognized her as Goras' missing apprentice Intalarai, the one Lucy dueled in the Senate.
"And we are thankful for the distraction your attack provided for our own operation."
"It has been fruitful," said one of the Cavils.
Intalarai nodded. "After nearly three thousand years, the Brotherhood of Kohbal is whole once more." Her wicked smile was full of satisfaction. "And Swenya's legacy has been wiped from the face of our homeworld."
Fassbinder chuckled. "The Alliance trembles in terror at our combined strength," he declared in a delighted tone. "I look forward to the recording of the Great Temple of Swenya being atomized."
Horror and shock nearly choked Julia at that. Meridina, Lucy, and Talara were on Gersal! Were they…?!
"We have much to plan before we act again," the Cavil model said. "Until then, may your will continue to dominate the universe around you, Fassbinder." With that the image blinked out.
Julia bit back the impulse to call Fassbinder a bastard. She couldn't keep her face from twisting into a scowl.
He nevertheless turned to face her. "I have awaited this day," he said. "Oh, I have long waited to have one of you in my… care. The officers of the Aurora, the founders of the Alliance." His expression flashed hatred at her. "Especially now, when you have so much to answer for. Welcome, Kapitan, to your future. Allow me to give you a demonstration of what it will be."
His hands came up and purple-tinged lightning shot from them, enveloping Julia. As her body spasmed and twisted, with cold energy that seemed to be sapping away at her very life, she tried and, after a couple of seconds, failed to bite back a scream of pain.
Fassbinder started to laugh.