Chapter Seven: Search in the Dark

Raptor 802:

Ensign Sophia Tolen sat against on the bench in the rear of the Raptor and kept her eyes focused on the unknown vessel ahead as it grew closer with each second that passed. Her nerves seemed to be ready to get the better of her. She closed her eyes as if she mentally willed her mind to calm down and focus on the task at hand.

'Come on Sophia, keep it together,' she mentally told herself.

"Ensign Tolen, you okay?"

She opened her eyes and saw that Major Esteban Torero had noticed her. He was the officer in charge of the Marine detachment on the Colossus, and it had been Commander Bridget Woods' insistence that he led the fire team of Marines.

"She's probably got those first-time jitters, sir," Corporal Wilford Bagwell teased.

'If you only knew what I had seen on Ostarsis,' she thought as she gave him the most confident smile possible.

Her mind thought of multiple responses to say but as she judged by the look on his face the response was written all over hers.

"No disrespect intended," he quickly added.

"We're almost there!" Lieutenant Katy 'Tempest' Jones shouted out from the pilot's seat.

"Stick close to us, Ensign, we'll make sure you get back to the Colossus," Torero said to her.

"This isn't my first time, y'know," she said to them in hopes that they would be more reassured.

"Tolen, if you've boarded a Cylon ship of unknown origins before then I'd sure like to hear about it," Torero shot back.

LSM-440

Conference Room:

Fleet Admiral Scott Tolan tried his best to keep his face impassive as he took in the sight of Commander Myra Aperlae. She was a woman he had hoped to never see again, but here she was. He wanted to put the past behind him and forget about the way she had almost ended his life.

"Admiral, I thought you were going to let me shower and have a hot meal before you debriefed me," Aperlae asked as she casually walked along a wall where different pictures and awards had been framed.

"The privilege of rank, Commander, and your shower and meal depends on the information you give me," he retorted.

She stopped her steps and looked at him with what he thought could only be amusement. It seemed to him that she genuinely enjoyed this little exchange. As though she had the upper hand in this dynamic.

"You can imagine my surprise when your pilot mentioned your name," she said before she chuckled, "I guess it was too much to hope the Cylons had taken you out."

"I can promise you, the feeling is mutual," he immediately said and regretted that he did not hold back the statement.

"I always imagined what it would be like when I finally got to meet you again," she said as she began to leisurely stroll from one side of the wall to the other, "You banished me here to this backwater of a planet."

She was a Caprican through and through, and even he had to admit he felt a sense of satisfaction with the knowledge that she would be miserable here on the planet. While Sagitarron had its share of comforts and modernity, it was not the cosmopolitan heart of the Twelve Colonies as Caprica City.

"I bet you were miserable here among the locals, I'm surprised you didn't drown on a rainy day with the way your nose had to have been turned up in the air."

He watched her as she stopped in her paces and appeared to be in thought. In his mind he imagined the conversation she must have in her head as she prepared her next barb.

"Some of the locals did have their uses, for those nights when I was feeling…lonely," she said before she added, "Besides, Admiral Corman made use of the pilots over at Valcour."

While Aperlae may have fallen out of favor with the Adar Administration she must have still had some value to the Admiralty. The fact that she found herself at Valcour would seem like punishment even if Corman might have found a way to make her useful. He had to wonder just what her purpose was, and why she thought it was a trump card she could use to negotiate with him.

"Okay, so what would this particular use happen to be," he finally said.

"There were a group of pilots that did some very sensitive reconnaissance missions, you might find the reports to be interesting," she said.

He saw the smile on her face, and he recognized that self-assured cockiness that he knew she possessed. Despite all of that, his instincts told him that there was something more to what she had just mentioned and at this stage of the game he could not afford to let his personal feelings get in the way of what could be solid intel.

"Tell me more," he said.

"Admiral Corman may have tasked one of the Viper squadrons at Valcour to perform recon missions beyond the Neutral Zone with the Cylons, and they have even found their way to the Cylon's home world."

The words hit him with the impact of a kick to the gut and he was left speechless. A storm of thoughts raged in his mind, and he wondered how long it would take for him to process just what Aperlae had just told him.

"That can't be," he finally said.

"Oh, but it could be. I heard about these top-secret missions," she said before she turned her attention towards the door to the conference room, "The Colonial Military Intelligence agency had its people stationed there, and nobody would put that level of importance on a place like Sagitarron…at least not on purpose."

"You're toying with me, Myra, and you should know I'm not fond of that."

"It's a little payback for what you did when you banished me here," she teased.

She wanted to get a rise out of him, and he knew it. The last thing he was going to was give her the satisfaction.

"I had nothing to do with that, why does it feel like you don't believe me."

"You're the flag officer, you tell me," Aperlae said.

"I spent years wanting nothing more than to pay you back for what you did, but your posting here was not my doing."

He saw the hesitation on her face, and for a moment he thought he had left her at a loss for words. Then his mind quickly reminded him that Aperlae was not the type of person to leave something unsaid, if anything she would want to make sure she got the next statement right.

"Admiral, we both know what happened that day on the SLA base. I was bound for great things after that mission, greater than anything Adar and Corman could have done for you. Someone like me doesn't go from that to commanding a worthless base on some backwater of a planet. Not without some intervention."

"I had nothing to do with it, and you're going to keep making me sound like I'm a broken record," he said.

"You hide behind your denials all you want, but one day you'll come clean about my banishment. When you do, I'll be right here to say that I told you so."

The knowing smirk of hers was in full force, and he would have loved nothing more than to tell her what he knew and make it go away. He knew the details of what led her here, and when the time was right, he would tell her every little detail about it. It was not the time though; he had not made it as far as he had in his career by virtue of impatience. Carl Tolan may have been the leader of the Basileus, and the head of organized crime across Canceron, but he had taught an important lesson to his grandson. Always wait for the right opportunity to act. He knew he had always gone with that advice, especially in the early days of this new war with the Cylons where he had been more reactive than necessary, but here and now he would put it to use.

"Now, tell me what you know or I will personally toss you out of this base."

"You'd enjoy that a little too much," she responded.

"Commander Aperlae, patience may be a virtue but right now mine is running out. No more games, no more jerking me around, tell me what you know."

He momentarily saw her façade crack, but she managed to hide it away. The woman was a survivor in her own right, and he had to at least recognize that. She had run afoul of President Adar and Admiral Corman, and it was Adar who pressured Corman to 'banish' her here as she had so eloquently described her posting.

"There was an escort battlestar from the Cylon War, the Vilusa, and they would deploy near Armistice Station," she said and after a pause she added, "Each time the Vipers would go forward a little more and launched probes that would give us more and more of a view of what lay ahead. Those excursions into the Demilitarized Zone, who knows what information is just waiting to be discovered."

Tolan listened to her words and at first his mind refused to digest what she has just implied. Then it was light a flashbang had gone off as the realization finally dawned on him as to what she said. The Colonial Fleet had probed beyond the Armistice Line and gone into Cylon territory.

"Myra, do you know what that means?" he finally asked once he found his voice.

"Go on, speak to me in that moralizing voice of yours," she said as though she was now bored with the conversation.

He shook his head as more thoughts flooded his head. This was information that could cast the whole conflict with the Cylons in a new light.

"What if this means that the Cylons attacked us in response to those missions across the into the Demilitarized Zone?"

"Admiral, what's done is done and you can't change it any more than I can change what happened on that base all those years ago."

Classic deflection, it was the type Myra Aperlae tactic that he had come to expect from her. She did have a point in a way, and he hated to have to admit it. He wanted to yell at her and dress her down in a voice that would make a drill sergeant proud. As he had to remind himself before so many times, they were in a war now and if there was something he could use to his advantage then he could put personal feelings aside.

"I'm listening, what are you offering me?"

This time Aperlae leaned in closer in way that bordered on conspiratorial, and Tolan wondered if she enjoyed this more than she could let on.

"I did some recon on the station, and the building where my office was located is still intact," she said as she leaned in closer, "There's a safe on the seventh floor where all the intel reports from the missions. Just think of what you can do with that."

The idea came to him, and he was not unhappy with the prospect. If there was intel that could lead them to the Cylon home world, then they could have a chance to maybe go on the offensive instead.

"You go get a shower and rest up, there should be some food and water left for you and your people."

"Does that mean you're going to do it?" she asked.

"Commander Aperlae, you are dismissed, when I have more tell you then you'll know," he said.

"Aye, aye Admiral," she said as she turned to leave the room.

Raptor 802:

Sophia sat still as the Raptor slowed its speed and seemed to cruise as opposed to the faster speed it had been at on approach. Any second now they would dock with the structure that looked to be an airlock of some kind. At least she hoped they had deduced correctly that it was an airlock. She had to wonder just what they would find onboard.

"Tolen, is your camera operating?" Torero asked.

"Major, all cameras are transmitting clearly to the Colossus," Ensign Gordon 'Rhino' Athorn announced from the ECO station.

"Okay, now listen up," Torero said as he stood up as the Raptor gently came to a stop against the hull of the Cylon vessel, "I don't know what we're going to find over there but remember this. We're trained for this and if the toasters want a fight, then we're going to give them one."

"Sir, yes sir!" Bagwell called out.

There was an audible hiss as the Raptor's hatch slid up to reveal that the airlock had opened. Tolen held up an atmosphere reader that showed there was breathable air inside of the vessel.

"Major, the air inside is breathable," she called out.

"Let's see what we can find out about this place," Torero said as he led the team inside.

She was the last person to leave the Raptor. She found herself inside a darkened metal corridor with red lights that ran its length. Her breath slowed and she willed her legs to move as she began to follow the rest of the Marines as they made their way down the corridor.

'Keep calm Sophia, you trained for this,' she said to herself.

"Ma'am, we've entered the ship," Torrero's voice called out through the speakers in the War Room.

"Excellent work, Major, we'll continue to monitor your progress," she said through her earpiece.

She allowed herself to exhale a breath that she had not even been aware she had held. This was the moment of truth for both her and the group that had boarded the ship.

LSM-440

Conference Room:

"Admiral Tolan, I thought you had forgotten about us," Major Darren Clay announced as he entered the room.

"With bravado like yours, that'd be impossible," Tolan retorted.

He watched as Clay took a seat at the conference table and leaned back as though he needed some effort to make himself comfortable. Tolan figured there was no point to delay the inevitable. If there was a chance to get that information from Aperlae's office, then there was no time to waste.

"You and your men are going on a field trip for me," he said.

"We wouldn't mind stretching our legs a little bit, our accommodations were getting a little stuffy," Clay responded.

"Valcour Fleet Air Station was hit during the initial attacks, but there is information in the CO's office that will help us in the war."

Clay's expression did not change, and Tolan wondered just what thoughts had floated through the man's mind.

"With all due respect, Admiral, is that really a good use of my time and effort?" Clay asked.

"Humor me, Clay, what do you think would be a good use of your time and effort?"

He tried to keep his voice even as he spoke. Clay had a self-confidence that bordered on arrogance, but he also had the skillset that was required by the Colonial Army's Special Forces Division. The man had plenty of bravado, a self-confidence that bordered on arrogance, but if he was ever in a fight on land or needed someone to board a Cylon vessel then he would be the first and logical choice to bring along.

"Maybe you could take the leash off us and let us run wild here on Sagittaron," he countered.

"Let me guess, if I give you two weeks you and your men could have the entire colony liberated from the Cylons because you took the fight to them."

"Admiral, of course it wouldn't be two weeks…unless we took a lunch break and decided to pace ourselves."

"Well in this case you're leaving within the hour for Valcour, Lieutenant Warrick will be dropping you off. Get in there, get the intel, and get back."

When Clay stood up Tolan wondered what the man's response would be. There was little doubt the man had the itch for a fight against the Cylons. If this mission went like he thought it would then he would have to wait longer to scratch that itch. Then again, if things did took a turn then he might be able to get a few shots in along the way.

"What's got you so hot and bothered about Valcour?" Clay asked before he added, "You're acting like some college kid who thinks he's found the key to getting Naveah Ratliff in bed."

He debated how much he should reveal to the man about the mission, but ultimately realized that if he was going to send him into harm's way then he might as well give him the reason why this was so vital.

"Commander Aperlae told me about rumors she heard about the Colonial Fleet making recon excursions into Cylon space, across the Armistice Line, and into the Demilitarized Zone. If that's the case, then there may be intel that will provide us with the location to the Cylon's homeworld."

Tolan was caught by surprise by the change in Clay's facial expressions. Before there had been that look of disinterest, that seemed to border on irritation at the waste of his time. As though a switch had been flipped, Clay's face now bore the look of a determination that he imagined would make any enemy uneasy. That must have changed his perception of the mission, and it showed.

"Admiral Tolan, we'll have your intel before the day is over. We'll be ready to leave as soon as you give the word."

"Good hunting out there, Major Clay."

With a nod of his head, Clay turned and left the room. Tolan shook his head and wondered just how Clay would complete the mission, but he had no doubt the man was determined to succeed.

Unknown Cylon Vessel:

Tolen watched as Torero held up a closed fist, and the group of Marines came to an immediate halt. She did not say a word and she began to wonder what it was that had caused them to stop.

"Keep your eyes forward," Woods said through the earpiece.

It was then that she realized she had turned her gaze downwards to where only the pants of her combat uniform were visible along with her boots. She knew she could say speak, so instead she turned her vision to where she was looking forward. The lights were low in this part of the ship, and she wondered if that was done by design or if there were power issues with the ship.

"Do you know why you stopped?" Woods asked.

It was then that the sound of metallic footsteps began to echo down the hall. She felt thankful for the darkened corridor, and she hoped it would continue to shield them from discovery. A group of four Cylons walked by, two followed by two, and she recognized the older models from the Cylon War. Before Ostarsis it had been a sight she had only seen in history books from her school days. That was the confirmation that they needed. This was a Cylon vessel and there was no telling what they would find on here. An involuntary chill ran through her body and she mentally kicked herself for it. Now was not the time to have her emotions take a hold in her mind. If she wanted to get through this, and she had no wish for some other outcome, she was going to have to keep her mind focused on the job at hand.

"It is the Cylons, why haven't they fired on us?" Woods asked.

She began to wonder the same thing, and the thought immediately came to her that just maybe they had been allowed to board the ship and make their way further into the interior. If these older Cylons meant them harm, then what better way to ensure they could not escape than by allowing them to continue to advance inside of the ship.

"I wish I could tell you, ma'am," she whispered.

For Tolen this was a situation where she had feelings of dread that threatened to wash over her and get in the way of her thoughts. She knew if she closed her eyes and gave into them that she would find herself back on the moon of Ostarsis where she had wondered if she would meet her end sooner rather than later. The time in their resistance group had given her not only combat experience in the field, but also a trust in Commander Woods.

'Lords of Kobol, give me strength to do what needs to be done,' she said to herself.

It was a surprise to hear herself talk this way, religion had never been a particularly huge part of her life, but now that she was here on a Cylon vessel she figured it was not a bad idea to try to get some divine intervention just in case.

"Ma'am, you doing okay?" Bagwell asked.

"Of course I am," she snapped at him.

She regretted not only the harshness of her tone, but also how quickly she responded. Truth was, she was on edge right now and nothing about her time here on this vessel had caused it to go away. Every step the group took, every corner they turned, every hushed conversation and her thoughts ran with what could be nearby to ambush them.

"It's understandable to feel the way you do," he said to her as he placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"How the frak are you so calm?" she asked him.

"Because, ma'am, we've made it this far without dying," he said.

"I feel like every move we make is a roll of the dice," she admitted.

"After everything we've been through these past few months, we're playing with house money."

She felt herself relax and she began to feel her tension ebb slightly. She thought about how she must look to him right now, an ensign in the Colonial Fleet but seemingly as jumpy as though she were still a cadet at the Fleet Academy.

"I'm glad to have you and the other Marines here," she said.

"Someone's got to do the dirty work, and nobody does it better than us," he said with a smile.

Canisteo, Sagittaron

Raptor 376:

Lieutenant Valencia 'Val' Warrick sat the pilot's seat of the Raptor and waited. Her nerves were more on edge than before. The last time she was out here she had been taken prisoner by her own side. Commander Aperlae may have been desperate to get away from the planet, but it did not make her feel any better.

"Maybe another flight will help the nerves," she said as she began to flip the switches to activate the Raptor.

"I hope you're not planning on leaving without me," Clay's voice called out from the distance.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Major Clay," she retorted as she pressed the button to open the hatch for him and his men to load onto the Raptor.

"Thank goodness, but if you're still feeling jumpy about flying maybe it would be better if my men and I hiked instead."

"Right, because you can get there from here without the Cylons finding you?"

She had picked up on his deeply held belief in his skills, and she wondered if he was legitimately that full of himself or if that was a byproduct from his Special Forces training. Despite that, she admitted it was nice to have someone who was more interested in a fight with the Cylons instead of simply running from them. Granted, she would never give him the satisfaction of that knowledge.

"You don't have to worry about me, I know what I'm doing," she said.

"As long as I'm not having to pull you out of trouble because you lost your nerve," he replied as he strapped himself into the seat beside her.

"Major, you may be Special Forces, but you don't know one frakking thing about being a pilot."

"There's that Raptor Wrangler bravado I was hoping to see," he said as he looked to see if all his troops had entered the Raptor.

She did not respond to him, though she was sure there was a method to his madness with the questions about her skill. She may have doubted herself at first, but now she was determined to show him just what she could do with the Raptor. A press of the ignition button started the engines and once they had begun to hum smoothly, she activated the vertical thrusters, and they were on their way.

LSM-440

Conference Room:

"Let me get this straight, the Colonial Fleet launched recon missions into Cylon space?"

Tolan looked at Major Henry Selano and could hear the disbelief in his voice. It was the same kind of tone his thoughts had when Aperlae had relayed the information to him. The Colonial Military Intelligence officer had come back to the conference room after the meeting with Clay.

"If what Myra says is true, then it changes the narrative," Tolan admitted.

"Right, because we're the ones who broke the Armistice and gave them reason to attack us," Selano said.

"Something tells me it wasn't the case."

"Okay, Admiral, enlighten me."

He had thought about this since the moment Aperlae had come to him with this information. This development could have changed the narrative on the destruction the Cylons had. Still, there was more to it than just a reaction to a treaty violation.

"We launch our pilots into the demilitarized zone, then the Cylons should send a representative to put the Colonies on notice," he began as more of his thoughts coalesced into what he wanted to say, "This was complete destruction, like trying to use a rocket launcher to kill a spider in your house. What we experienced with the Cylons was an act of hatred."

The look on Selano's face changed, and Tolan wondered just what his thoughts were so far in this conversation. This mission to Sagitarron had taken twists and turns that he could have anticipated.

"Even if you're right, and I'm not saying you are," Selano said as he looked towards a nearby picture secured to the wall on the other side of the room, "We didn't exactly help endear ourselves to the Cylons."

"No argument from me, but what they did was overkill at best," he said as he thought of the destruction the Colonies had endured, "It's almost like the Cylons had thought this out for some time, long enough to put every piece of their plan in place."

"So they did, and caught us with our pants down," Selano said as he shook his head at what the revelation would mean, "I still feel like we antagonized them though, and you have to wonder if that sped up their plans."

Tolan wanted to argue the point, but he realized that they would only continue to go around in circles. He sat down and waited for the report to come in from Lieutenant Warrick once her Raptor landed at Valcour

"Any chance we can take advantage of the downtime, and get some of my questions answered?"

Selano looked at him and took a seat nearby. Tolan knew the man had information that he had not shared just yet, and it was an irritation to him.

"Let's see how this mission to Valcour goes, and then maybe I can give you some answers."

Battlestar Colossus

Situation Room:

Commander Bridget Woods ran a hand through her brunette hair and looked at the display screen as it showed the image of the unknown Cylon vessel. None of this made sense and for a moment she had second thoughts about this mission.

"Scott, is this what you would have done?" she muttered under her breath.

She had told herself that this was something he would have done without a second thought, and she disliked the way she had allowed the doubt to creep into her mind. Truth was, she had already made the commitment and put her plan into action. There was no point in a game of 'What if?' because that would be a slippery slope, she did not want a part of.

"So far so good," Lieutenant Lamont Evans said from his station at the room's Tactical Display Station.

"Their luck has held, and Gods willing it'll continue to do that," she replied.

She looked over to where the young officer was monitored not only data feeds from the tactical readouts from the different systems of the Colossus, but also the data transmitted by the sensors in the Marine Corps BDU's worn by the boarding party. Their lives were on the line, and she had rolled the dice on whether this would prove to be a tactical coup for them. For that to be true, the risk had to be worth it.

"I'm hoping it does, after all of this time it'd be nice to catch a break," he said.

"We're still here, that's more than a lot of people can say."

It was then that she focused her eyes on the vessel. One way or another she would solve the mystery. The best thing she could do was continue to monitor the Marines and see what they came across.

Battlestar Colossus

Sick Bay:

Neveah Ratliff looked at the beige medtech uniform and took in the sight. Some would say that for her this was a step down, and if they factored in her life before the Cylons had attacked they might have been right. Before she had been a major star in the film industry and lived the life of glamor that would have been associated with it. The money was nice, but she thrived on the art of creating a story and the thrill when she brought a character to life on the screen.

"That feels like a lifetime ago," she said to herself.

When Sick Bay had put out a call for volunteers in the refugee camp she had jumped at the opportunity. She was a celebrity and could do some goodwill visits to cheer up people who were her fans, but she wanted to do something more helpful to the ship and its crew. Along with a group of fifteen other volunteers she had taken the oath of enlistment and now she was Medtech Third Class Neveah Ratliff. Now came her training as she acclimated to a new life onboard the Colossus.

"I know it's not like what you would have worn on the red carpet," Lead Nurse Zahra Sangare said as she looked from around the wall of the changing room where the lockers were located.

No, but it did represent the fresh start she wanted. There was no way to go back to her old life now, and she could use this second chance to serve others and live a new life. There were scars from her time on Ostarsis, and she had wanted nothing more than to throw in the towel to escape what the humanoid Cylon had put her through.

"Probably not, but I'm still happy for the change," she said as she made sure everything was snugly secure.

"That's the spirit!" Sangare said as she opened a notepad and looked at the writing, "Today you're going to be following me around to get a view of how Sick Bay runs."

The two began to walk through the corridors that made up the large facility. It looked every part the hospital and was not hard to imagine she was in an actual building instead of on a battlestar. Her mind went back to the studio sets on the campus of Colonial Studios in Caprica City, and if she could learn to navigate her way around those then this would be easy enough in time. Her eyes darted towards the doors and their labels.

"Where are we going to start at?"

"We're heading over to the Intensive Care Ward," Sangare said she turned a corner to the left towards another corridor, "Your job will start out with taking readings of the various monitors for our patients, and in time you'll be able to guess the ones that are vital for us to know right away."

She nodded her head as they finally came to a set of metal double doors. The letters 'I.C.U.' were stenciled onto the surface in large block letters.

"Today, we're going to check on Colonel Wong to see how her stats are holding up," Sangare said before she pressed her ID badge to the reader and the doors parted with an audible hiss.

The antiseptic smell of the ward hit her nostrils hard and for an instant she was taken aback. Still, she did not want to give Nurse Sangare the impression that she could not handle it. Not all the beds were full of patients from what she could tell, but the ones she saw left an impression on her.

'Gods, how are they still alive?' she thought to herself as she took in the sights of the bandaged crewmembers hooked up to machines that gave their stats and helped to keep them along.

"You said we're going to check on Colonel Wong?" she asked Sangare.

"Colonel Anna Wong, the XO of the Colossus," she replied, "After the rescue at Ostarsis when we were trying to evade the Cylons there was an explosion in the CIC and she was incapacitated."

"I'm glad she's still with us," she said before she could stop it.

"Commander Mercer lost his life, but at least we still have her…a ship's morale can take a hit when they lose their CO but to lose the XO as well would have made it worse."

They reached the bed where Colonel Wong was sedated and hooked up to the machines that assisted her breathing. Her eyes went to the monitors that gave such information as her blood pressure, pulse, and other numbers.

"Hello Colonel Wong, how's our XO doing today?" Sangare said as she examined the unconscious woman, "You have Neveah Ratliff visiting you today, we like to give our officers the VIP treatment."

She could feel her face blush at the mention, but she quickly got it under control. It was a part of who she was, and it would take time before she was seen as more of a medtech instead of a celebrity.

"Anything else I can…"

The words were cut off from her as Colonel Wong's eyes opened and she grabbed Sangare's arm as she came awake and seemed to struggle as a panicked expression came to her face.

LSM-440

Conference Room:

"Admiral, we've reached Valcour," Warrick's voice announced through the speakers.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, keep yourself hidden as best you can," Tolan said as he pressed a button to activate the viewscreen.

The screen flickered to life, and he saw the devastation that had once been Valcour Fleet Air Station. The large Colonial Fleet based looked like the scene out of a war movie instead of a functional military installation. What buildings that had survived the blast from the nuclear weapons appeared to be on the verge of collapse. He had to wonder how they could even stand, but he knew that if left to the ravages of time they eventually fall. Now was a moment for Major Clay to prove himself.

"Do you see what they did to my base?" Aperlae said behind him.

"Be glad you were away when that happened," Selano added.

"This is Clay, we're two klicks away from the Admin Building. We'll update you once we arrive at the Commander's Office, that'll put an end to her resting bitch face."

"I'm standing right here," Aperlae interjected.

Tolan held up a hand to motion for her to be quiet, "Go radio silent for now, let us know once you're in the building."

"I might do that, or I'll just go ahead and get the job done first," Clay retorted.

"You do realize I can leave you behind when we get off this rock," Tolan said.

"Yes Admiral, and then you wouldn't have me to bail your ass out again."

The line went dead before the discussion could proceed further. Tolan looked over at Selano and wondered just what would happen next. He had faith in Clay's ability to get the mission accomplished. The man was confident in his abilities and could use some deference when it came to his superiors, but he and his team were an asset.

"I wonder what they'll encounter," she said to the two men, "When we tried to go there to salvage for tech and supplies, we found the place crawling with Cylons."

"I'm surprised you didn't send them in anyway, you've never been afraid to make those kinds of sacrifices," Tolan said and chided himself for the way in which the words left his mouth before he could stop them.

"You're still bitter about that incident on the base?" she asked with a casual shake of her head.

"I nearly died because of you that day, and there were people died that shouldn't have," he shot back.

"You got your revenge when it was all said and done," she replied.

"You're still going on about your 'banishment' here?" he asked.

"You two may need to look at the screen," Selano pointed out.

Tolan's eyes shot to the screen, and he saw the group had entered a building that looked as though it had taken the brunt of an explosion. The fact that it stood and might even have floors still within seemed a miracle. He was not familiar with the before pictures of the base, but the sight of the aftermath was enough to drive home how merciless the Cylons had been in their attack.

"We've reached the admin building, heading in now," Clay's voice said through the speakers.

"Gods watch over you," Tolan said through the mic.

"Don't need them, I got skill and weapons…much more effective against the enemy," Clay retorted.

"I like him, he doesn't buy into the Tolan mystique," Aperlae said.

"Of course, you would," he replied, "He's smart enough to get the job done, and while I may not care for him as a person, I admire his skill as a soldier."

"Does that apply to everyone you have around nowadays?" she asked.

"If your intel checks out, I'll consider not assigning to you some menial job when we get back."

"You're all heart, Admiral Tolan," Selano said.

He turned his attention to Selano, and he once again found himself in need of an answer as to just who this man was. There was something about that felt familiar about him, as though he had seen his face before, even though he swore he had never met the man until he landed on the planet.

"Selano, were you aware of your people's missions across the Armistice Line?" he asked.

"If I had known about them then I'd have made sure they were stopped," Selano replied quickly.

Tolan saw the change that came over Aperlae's face, and he realized that she was about to turn her attention to Selano instead. She was going to ask a question or turn the conversation now that she believed he had shown a weakness.

"You're telling me you knew nothing about General Kalanath and his missions?" Aperlae asked with no attempt to hide her skepticism.

"That wasn't our purpose here, Commander," he said to her before he added, "If I had known I would have said something."

"Would you now," she said with a nod of her head that appeared to show she believed him, "Considering you've spent your time here hiding from the Cylons I have to wonder if that's really true."

Tolan saw Selano lean against the wall and fold his arms across his chest as though he was relaxed, but he recognized the man had become more irritated with Aperlae. He realized that Selano must not have wanted to let her have the satisfaction and decided to play it off.

"You don't know my parentage, Myra, and if you did then you'd realize that cowardice doesn't run in my family."

"Is that so," she said in a bored tone of voice, "Then please enlighten me as to what makes your parents so special."

Tolan watched Selano's body language to try to get a read on the man, but he did not show anything but a casual indifference at this stage.

"My mother was from Tauron, during the Cylon War she served as a fighter with the Underground. She helped to rescue downed pilots who were shot down in Cylon-occupied areas, and even took part in a covert mission at the end of the war where she met my father."

"This is Clay, we've reached the seventh floor, it looks to be mostly intact."

He breathed a sigh of relief as Clay's voice came through the mic. They had made quick time with their advancement through the building, and now came the fun part. It was a matter of how fast they could find this office and the intel on the Cylon home world.

"Roger that, keep us updated," Tolan said through the mic before he took his thump from the transmit button.

"So, your mother sounds like an impressive woman, but what about your father?" Aperlae asked.

"She was, and my father was an officer with the Colonial Military Intelligence," Selano said.

"So you're carrying on the family tradition, your father would be proud to know his name carries on in its ranks," Aperlae said though she still came across as uninterested.

"My father's last name wasn't Selano, it was Tolan."

Valcour Fleet Air Station

Raptor 376:

Warrick activated the thrusters, and the Raptor began its ascent from the ground. The part of Clay's idea before he and his men left was about to come into play. The idea was simple, use the Raptor to provide reconnaissance over the air station.

"Wherever you toasters are, I'm going to see you," she said to herself as she readied to perform her first sweep.

Recon Path Alpha was going to serve as her initial go over this part of her mission. The zigzag path would allow her to cross the campus of Valcour while her Raptor would not be in a straight line to provide an easy enough target for the Cylons.

'If they really want to take me down, I don't know how well I can stop them,' she thought to herself.

She had to banish the thoughts from her mind and focus on the mission at hand. Clay and his team needed her head in the game so she could provide them a view from the air.

"So far no signs of the Cylons," she said through the mic in her helmet.

"We're on the seventh floor and looking for the office, keep us updated," Clay replied.

She went about the rest of her search and hoped that it would continue to be uneventful. Fate had been on her side, and she hoped it would hold. It felt different with no ECO on this trip, and she wished it was different.

'Focus Val,' she said to herself.

It was then that she caught a glimpse of something large and metallic on the horizon. It got closer and morphed into three different craft, two of which left no doubt as to the origins.

"Clay, the toasters are coming in!" she yelled into the mic as her body was caught in the shock of the moment.

"Get back to the Colossus," he ordered.

"Screw that, I'm not leaving you behind!"

Her senses had started to return to her, and she was not about to leave the team behind.

"You're in a Raptor and won't be much good in a dog fight, get the frak back to the ship and let them get some Vipers sent this way!"

She wanted to argue the point, but it was then that bullets from the two Raiders began to fly around the outside of the Raptor and there was little room to doubt where her chances stood.

"Keep yourself alive until I can bring backup," she said.

"Here's to hoping there's some Cylons left for you and your Viper jocks to shoot at."

There was that borderline arrogance of his, and she wondered who would be left when she returned from the ship.

Unknown Cylon Vessel:

"Should we head left, or right?" Tolen asked Torrero in a hushed whisper.

So far, their journey through the Cylon vessel had been a circuitous route through the corridors of the vessel. Several times they had stopped in their tracks when patrols of the older model Centurions had passed by, but they had yet to be discovered.

'Maybe chaplain on the Colossus was right about something,' she thought as she remembered the conversation, she had with him recently on the lower hangar deck.

"We're going to take a right," Torrero responded and motioned with his hand for the group to follow him.

The ship seemed metallic and cold, which fit with the Cylons and their robotic origin. She had wondered why a ship would have an atmosphere and breathable oxygen since the toasters would require neither to survive.

'If they discover us, I hope they don't vent the ship,' she thought and then chided herself for the mention as if it would tempt fate.

The passageway led them to a large room with two floors. Once again, there were no Cylons present, and she began to wonder just how many were on this ship for them to have made it this far.

"We're going to head straight ahead and see where that takes us," Torrero said as he began to lead the way across the room.

It was when they were halfway across when every door in the room opened, and Centurions began to enter on both levels. They were hopelessly surrounded by the enemy and the Cylons had both the tactical and numerical advantage.

"Lords of Kobol give me strength," she quietly prayed.

"Surrender your weapons!" a Centurion said as it advanced to where the group stood.

Tolen noticed how different this one looked in comparison to the others. The older model centurions looked as though they still had a well-polished shine from the days of the Cylon War. The one that had spoken to them still looked as though it had been through several battles and taken more than its fair share of damage.

"Do as they say," Torrero said.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed at him.

"They haven't shot at us yet, we need to be smart about what we do next," he said.

The group slowly laid their weapons on the deck and stood back up with their arms raised.

"Follow me," the Centurion ordered and turned to lead the group.

Tolen felt the hands of the other Centurions nearby as they roughly pushed the group to follow their leader. She was not sure of what awaited them at the hands of their captors.

Colossus

Main Engineering:

"Gods help me, this is going to be a long shift," Chief Engineer Gustav Engelhart muttered to himself as he entered the space to Main Engineering.

He stood and looked from the catwalk that ringed expansive area where the engines were located that allowed the Colossus to move about in space. This was a place of heat, and sweat, and grime where only the most dedicated of souls would survive. For the native of Leonis, this was his home. In some ways he felt more at home here than he did back in his hometown of Imarlae located in the tropics on the Silinour Sea.

"Sir, sublight engine one is reading at a higher temperature than normal," one of the machinist specialists said as she walked over to where he stood.

"Hand me the report," he said as he wondered what the readout would say.

She handed him a piece of paper with the color chart that spotted the reported temperature readings of the engine in question. Just as she had told him, the engine's temperature readings had begun to rise within the last half hour from the middle of the green section of the chart to where it had inched closer and closer to the red zone.

'Admiral Tolan's going to love this,' he thought to himself as he gazed at the readings.

The sublight engines allowed for the Colossus to maneuver, and it depended on having all six engines working at optimum capacity. If they encountered the Cylons and the engines were out of sync it would make the ability to move in a battle more of a problem than it needed to be.

"I want you to take this Ensign Alexian and get a work detail group on that engine," he said as he handed the report back to her, "It's probably something in the wiring that's interfering with the tylium transfer between the fuel lines and the inner condensers."

She nodded her head and left to go find Alexian. He had always held to the belief that if he let his team do his job then they would do better than if he micromanaged them at every turn. If it was something that would require his intervention, then he would come in and tend to the matter. Part of the job description when it involved the area of the ship that he considered his personal kingdom. The Titan-class battlestars were a wonder of modern technology and showed just how far shipbuilding had progressed in the Colonies from the time of the Cylon War. The fact that it had taken all the damage it had during the rescue mission to Ostarsis had proven the reliability of the design.

'Here's to hoping that it holds,' he thought to himself.

He descended from the catwalk to the platform below. The familiar hum of the engines was a comfort to him, and he had spent enough time on the Colossus to know the feeling that came from the engines as they composed a symphony in sync with one another. He went down to the next platform, and he found himself at the control room for the FTL drive. This one drive was perhaps the most important piece of equipment on the ship apart from the life support systems. It needed to be always ready.

"Got to make sure you're reading in case we need you," he said as he sat down at the chair in front of the diagnostic station.

It was then that he noticed something was odd over by the display. One of the panels had been removed and not placed back. He knew his people were doing basic maintenance on the systems in the aftermath of Ostarsis, but all of them should have known to put a panel back in place. He walked over and began to pick it up when he looked in the area that the panel would have normally covered.

"Why's the light red in this compartment?" he asked aloud even though nobody had come in yet.

He knew the shift change was happening, and soon the normal three-person crew would be in here. Red was not a color that anyone in his world would want to see, because it could only mean one thing. There was trouble about, and this was not the time or place for that to happen.

"Sir, is everything okay?" a voice called out from the entrance.

He looked around and saw it was Ensign Safila Viranis, one of the junior officers in the Engineering department. She had come onboard back before the Colossus had left for its initial voyage, and she was supposed to be here in the control room to oversee the other two enlisted personnel that would make up part of the team that would monitor the FTL.

"I'm not sure, someone left this panel on the floor," he said as he motioned her over, "Bring me a torch."

She brought it over and he switched it on and shone it in the compartment. At first it appeared that everything was in order, but as he panned the light away to the other side to inspect it he saw a group of wires that had separated from one another.

"What in the worlds…" Viranis muttered.

She had taken the words out of his mouth, so he would have used much stronger terms. The wires had shown that they had clearly been cut in half, and the implication chilled him to his core. Not only was there a saboteur on the Colossus, but it might be someone in Engineering. There was no other way to describe it as trouble in his kingdom, and he was not happy about it.

Unknown Cylon Vessel:

Tolen was unsure how many turns they had taken, the Cylon vessel was a maze in and of itself. All she was aware of was that they had entered a bridge of some kind. Other older model Centurions worked silently at the stations and there was one who looked different than the rest. This model appeared even older than the others, as though it was one of the initial designs of the Cylons.

"Red Eye, you have found our guests," the voice of the Cylon said.

"As you commanded," Red Eye stated.

This one had an actual name, something she would have never imagined from a machine. All she could do was quietly wait for what was to come next. The older Cylon model gave Red Eye a pat on the shoulder that she assumed was for a job well done.

"Welcome to our home, my name is Cyrus," the Cylon said, "You are in no danger, if we wanted you dead or to destroy your battlestar we would have already done it."

"What do you want from us?" Torerro asked.

"I wish to speak to your leader about an alliance, we share a common enemy."

'Commander Woods is just going to love this,' she thought as she pictured the look on her CO's face.

"How do you suggest we do that?" he asked.

"You and your Marines will go back to your vessel and bring your Commander Woods to speak to me," Cyrus said.

"You'll just let all of us go back to the Colossus…just like that?" he asked.

Tolen then watched as Cyrus' metallic face turned in her direction. Its head tilted as it regarded her, and she did all she could to continue to look back at it impassively. A feeling formed in her gut, and she had an idea of what would happen next. Still, she needed to keep herself calm and wait to see what the Cylon would do next.

"This one stays with us," Cyrus declared.

"No frakking way!" Bagwell shouted.

"Corporal Bagwell, that will be enough!" Torrero ordered.

"Yes sir, sorry sir," he said.

"I'll stay," she replied.

"Ensign Tolen, are you sure?" Torrero asked.

"Like Cyrus said, if they wanted us dead then we'd already be dead," she said as she maintained eye contact with the Cylon, "Let Commander Woods know that I'll be here waiting for her when she arrives.

There was a time when she first boarded the vessel where she would have found such a thing suicidal, but her instincts told her that this was the only real course of action available.

"We'll bring the Commander over, but why are you keeping her?" Torrero asked.

"We have monitored the radio communications from the moment you boarded my ship, I can tell that Commander Woods values this officer a great deal."

"Right, you can just detect emotions in a person's voice," Torrero scoffed.

"Major, I have programming embedded in my CPU that you could not even begin to comprehend," Cyrus said before he added, "I want Commander Woods here within the hour, do not make me ask again."

Even with the Cylon's artificial voice there was little doubt that to Tolen that if Woods did not show up thenshe would not leave this vessel alive.

LSM-440

Conference Room

Selano's words had managed to leave Tolan too stunned to speak right away, but his mind began to work to rationalize what he had just been told. The logical part of his brain finally came with an answer that made even a little bit of sense.

"As in 'Tolen' with an 'E', the side of the family my grandfather broke away from?"

That was the only thing that made sense, Selano's father had to be from that branch of the family. At least it was a lifeline his mind had a grip on to and did not want to let go. He looked over at Aperlae and she seemed to be as much at a loss for words as he was.

"No, as in my father was Henry Tolan…the son of Carl Tolan," Selano replied calmly.

"That can't be, my father was an engineering officer on the Columbia during the war," Tolan said and even he was surprised at the way his voice sounded.

"My mother told me about him," Selano said as he took a seat at the table, "The cover story of the Columbia, their mission into Cylon-held territory on Tauron, and how he contracted deadly radiation during that mission where they got the material for the planetary bomb."

He saw the pictures of his father after the war as they flashed through his mind. Henry Tolan had gotten very sick when he came back home to Canceron and was dead within a couple of years. That part was not the only thing he had to contend with. There was the revelation that his father, who from all accounts had been happily married and madly in love, had strayed and been unfaithful. Not only that, but he had fathered a child outside of marriage. If all of that was true, then he had just met his half brother and had to face what used to be the picture-perfect image of a man he had idolized growing up.

"Admiral Tolan, can you hear me?" Clay's voice came through the mic to bring the group back to the current mission.