Chapter 19

Commander Abel stepped off the Colonial shuttle onto the landing bay of the Olympus and looked around. He could see signs of a couple of firefights that had happened here since he had left. There was a very strange looking ship that had markings he was not familiar. The Commander realized that this must be one of the Federation Shuttles that had made themselves at home for some time. He also saw a damaged Raider in the bay. After the battle with the three baseships, the Federation crew had turned over the Olympus to Lieutenant Pan as agreed. The Viper squadron was a bit short handed to operate the Battlestar so they had received some help from the Federation crew to get to Olympus Crew. They were becoming more and more proficient with its operation. While in route, the Federation had used their transporters to move most of the crew and equipment back to the Kongo. It was beginning to look and feel like a Colonial ship once again.

The Kongo and Olympus were now in orbit over the planet upon which the Olympus crew had taken refuge. Captain Berg had been quite insistent the he meet with Commander Abel and brief him on what had transpired. The Colonial Commander was not sure what to make of the Captain. He understood that he was trying to save his crew but then why surrender? Why talk to a Cylon Supreme Commander? He was obviously skilled in battle but he also appeared to have studied diplomacy and alien contact as well. Also, they were human? How was that possible? None of the twelve colonies had seen anything like them.

He looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a gold tunic come towards him. The Commander was escorted by two Colonial warriors. The Federation men had been true to their word but there had not been enough time to completely trust them. "Commander Abel, I am Captain Gerhardt Berg of the Federation Starship Kongo. Is there a place we talk?"

The Commander nodded and led them to his conference room. It occurred to his that the captain probably knew the way by name but it was time for him to regain command and control. They sat at the large table and looked at each for a moment.

"Captain, can I offer you some ambrosia? I couldn't take it when we had to evacuate. Unless you have already found it,"

"Thank you, Commander. I did see the bottle but drinking another man's spirits seemed wrong. Along those lines I did leave another for you. It's called Romulan Ale. Strictly speaking we aren't supposed to have it but being a line commander has its advantages."

The Commander smiled, "there may be hope for you yet. You understand our concerns about your crew being on the Kongo and taking full operational control. There are military secrets to be had. At the same time, those baseships were going to find the Olympus regardless How much did you see?" he asked.

"Too much Commander. It was originally my intent to find a place to buy us some time until we figured out next steps. But when the Cylons showed up, he had little choice but to make do with what we had. The Kongo was completely dead. You have a fine ship, Commander. We tried to treat her with care."

He paused as he tried to find the words to share the next bit of news. He quickly realized there were no good words, so he used the ones he had and told him everything about the Cylons attacks on the peace accords. Commander Abel listened and then went to his console to find the message and read for himself. He was remarkedly calm about it. Abel had suspected something was wrong for a while. First in that the Colonies had not sought them out. The baseship attack on his ship had confirmed his suspicion. This message fleshed out the details for him.

"I knew something must have gone wrong. I can't believe it was this devastating." He continued to read the message. "It looks like Baltar was behind this. Adama never did trust him."

"Commander, we may be able to help a bit. We have been able to salvage some information from the Raider and the Centurions we have encountered. It appears that the Galactica survived and is leading a group of survivors."

Commander Abel nodded, "Adama was suspicious and a good Commander. Also, a good man. That was no easy feat."

"Also, there is some mention of the Pegasus although it seems that the Cylons think his ship may subsequently have been destroyed."

"Cain. Not as good a man but a ruthless bastard. I wouldn't doubt he is still out there."

Captain Berg opened the bottle of Romulan Ale and poured two drinks. "To the colonies," he raised his glass. Commander Abel raised his well.

"Commander I know that you have much to think about it and I am sure you need to talk to your crew. We would like to learn more about you if we may. There have been some hints of a civilization out this way. We even have a graduate student onboard who was studying the possibility. We are also trying to understand how we are of the same species. We have encountered many humanoid species but there is no difference between us that we can see."

"Alright Captain, you'll excuse me. I need to inform the crew." With that Captain Berg nodded and left the Commander to his unpleasant duty.

He talked out into the Control. Every station was manned by a colonial warrior. The Federation Engineer had left a complete report for them on damage and repair efforts from the Federation. Some of it was quite ingenious. They had also begun to replenish their food stored. The engineer explained that now that they had power back, their food processors were working. He looked at Lieutenant Pan who was on the command platform and said, "Please open the all hands channel he ordered."

"Attention Crew," he started, "we are back home. We have however learned of devastating news. During the Peace Accords, the Cylons launched a surprise attack against the fleet and destroyed almost every battlestar. They also attacked all twelve of the colonies. They were destroyed." He paused and let that sink in. The entire control room was silent with shock. There had been concerns about this for a while but this was the first confirmation. He saw a couple of crew members shed a tear or two.

"But there is some hope. Commander Adama from the Galactica has survived and is leading a fleet of survivors to find a new home. This has to be the most rag-tag fleet you can imagine. He could use some help. Let us find him, do what damage to the Cylons we can and help our people find their new home. We will meet this evening to honor our fallen comrades, to honor the Federation soldiers who died defending our home but most importantly, to remember those who have fallen to this treachery. That is all."

The memorial was not so much a memorial service as a chance to purge and share the massive grief with the other colonial citizens. There was not much to say. There was some talk that loved ones may have been in the Galactica led fleet but they all knew that was wishful thinking. Slowly the crewmembers went back to their quarters as the new reality set in. Commander Abel was the last there and considered his options. He eventually turned off the light and went to his own quarters.

The next morning, Captain Berg and Commander Hasan requested permission to come aboard. Permission was granted and they used their transporters to beam onto the Control Room. This was still shocking to Abel but he welcomed them and they stepped back into his quarters.

"Any idea what you have planned?" asked Captain Berg. "If not, we would like to propose that you come with us to our nearest starbase. I am sure we would have ambassdors who would like to meet you. You could even come to Earth and visit Starfleet Command."

"Earth? The name of your home planet is Earth?" said a startled Abel. The puzzled Federations officers did not respond so he continued. "Earth is a legendary 13th colony for us. It is said that after our people came from Kobol to settle the colonies that some went on to found a 13th colony called Earth. It would be interesting to see if there was any truth to it. Adama would love it. If we find him, we'll have to take him. As to our plans, we are going to find Adama and do what we can to help him. We might knock out a few Cylons on the way."

Captain Berg nodded, "That I don't doubt commander. I understand. I would probably do the same. I did want to give you this," he reached out to a device that they had brought with them. "This is a subspace beacon. Turn it on and we can find you. When you are ready, let us know."

With that he stood up. "Good luck Commander and thank you."

Abel also stood, "Thank you Captain. We may meet again."

With that Captain Berg pulled out his communicator and said, "Berg to Kongo, two to beam up."

In a great Ship of Lights far away, beings of light watched the final outcome. They were not joyous because an entire race had almost been destroyed. They were relieved that they had avoided making it worse for both the Sons of Kobol and Children of Earth. A voice suddenly spoke up.

"Well I guess you are happy now," he was dressed in the same white as the others but his face was the color of the Humans. "You know you can't help them anymore right."

"Q, I thought this was not your concern," they protested.

"Oh relax. They won't see me again. Some of their children may though. It should be interesting."

Q snapped his fingers and disappeared. The Ship of Lights turned and moved away.