After a little over two hours, the base stars finally ceased laying their minefield, Gorde noticed. Dundee reported that their communications chatter had ceased at the same time. That meant only one thing. Thirty seconds later, a flash of light occurred, indicating that both Base Stars had FTL-ed out of the system.
"Okay, they're gone", Dundee confirmed from his passive sensors, "and I've got a lot of recorded data from the communications intercepts".
"They've probably jumped to another local system to lay more mines", Gorde opined, "Anyway, start activating the active sensors, Snoopy", he ordered, "We'd better survey the new minefield before we jump back to the PEGASUS".
"What about the possibility of sensor drones, Newguy?", Dundee asked. He was referring to remote probes that would FTL-jump and give a warning if a mine had detonated.
"Scanning shouldn't activate a drone as this minefield is disguised, but there could be proximity mines as well as the normal contact types, so we'll stay well clear of it. We just need to establish the perimeter of the field, nothing more", Gorde replied.
"Okay, Newguy", Dundee answered, Aactive sensors coming up on line". Dundee noticed the screens going active as the wide and narrow field active scanners started to receive information. Dundee expertly aimed the scanners at the minefield, and as Gorde ran the raptor on a parallel course, the scanner array started collecting data.
"Those tin-heads really made a big minefield", Dundee commented as the scanner's mapping software started producing a map of the field. The procedure was really quite straightforward; the scans made just before the appearance of the base stars were compared with what was coming up on the latest set of scans. The 'extra debris' in the field were obviously mines, so this distance scan was proving to be more than adequate in charting the minefield.
"They hoped to be able to trap us", Gorde agreed, "and we've been very fortunate here, but as there are other systems that may have mines already laid, we won't have the luxury of before-and-after scans for those".
"Well, at least here we were lucky", Dundee replied, "and in a few more minutes, we should have this minefield fully charted".
"Great", Gorde answered, "The sooner we can get back to the PEGASUS with the minefield map and the communications intercepts, the better. Maybe the tin-heads let on something about the other systems they mined".
Their intelligence gathering was more than child's play compared with the intelligence gathering that Glen Sanders was pursuing back on board the PEGASUS. Ever since their escape from Molecay Anchorage, Sanders had been making an effort to find the individual on board who had tried to let the Cylons know where they were. After all these weeks, he could still not narrow the field down further than forty-six of the one hundred-odd civilians they had picked up from the surface of Caprica, and from small inter-system ships.
At this moment, Sanders was conferring with Surgeon-Major Wilkin Ashley, the Chief Medical Officer on board the PEGASUS. He had discretely asked the doctor to assist him in the locating of the Cylon agent, and now he was chatting with the doctor in his office. Both were alone and the door was locked.
"If there is an agent among the civilians, that person is pretty adroit at avoiding discovery", Ashley confided to Sanders.
"You've done interviews under polygraph and a number of medical examinations. Is there anything we're missing?", Sanders asked.
Doctor Ashley had, under the guise of a full medical checkup regimen, checked out the forty-six suspects. The polygraph (disguised as a medical probe) had not discovered any anomalous readings from the seemingly innocuous questions that he and his staff had asked. Blood samples had also revealed nothing.
"From the autopsy of the crewman killed at Molecay, the neck was broken by a single hand. That would take a lot of strength. That pointed me towards the possibility a Cyborg", Ashley replied, "but as all of the samples taken revealed human, not artificial, I had to discount it".
"The problem with that, Doctor", Sanders pointed out, "is that if it was a human, what would he or she have to gain from co-operating with a race that regards humanity as vermin?".
"I know. I then thought that it could be hypnosis", Ashley theorized, "and that the person is not aware of his or her actions".
"And how did you test for that possibility?", Sanders asked.
"I used the sleep enhancer" - what was used to put patients under before operations - "to put the subjects into a trance, then asked them questions. It's another form of lie detection. No one answered anything out of the ordinary", Ashley answered.
"And drugs?", Sanders asked next.
"Same results. Nothing identifying the agent", Ashley answered.
"So what we have is someone who has inordinate strength, but does not show anything unusual on medical examination - including lie detecting techniques, and who seems to be immune to truth drugs", Sanders summarized, "so what does that leave us?"
"Are you sure that the person you're after is one of the forty-six?", Ashley asked.
"Absolutely, Doctor', Sanders answered, "They were among the civilians in the vicinity of the murdered crewman at Molecay, but only forty-six of them also had access to the area of engineering that had the energizer that had been sabotaged".
"Forty-six", Ashley stated, "And at least one of them is helping the Cylons. I can't find out who it is from a medical standpoint - unless you kill them all and I take a full autopsy, and that would only be useful if the agent is not human - and judging from the evidence, it would have to be".
"I agree with you that the agent has to be non-human, due to the way that crewman died", Sanders concurred, "plus a non-human would be able to beat both the lie detectors you used, and the drugs. But how could the Cylons make such persons that could fool a medical check?", he asked.
"Probably a form of genetically engineered cloning, but clones - at least as far as we know - can be found out by medical means, and I have tried to find out if there any among our suspects. Those checks were also negative", Ashley pointed out.
"If the Cylons did succeed in making human agents, it would answer a lot of questions as to how they managed to win the war in such a short amount of time", Sanders stated, "and unfortunately, it opens a nasty can of worms. It means that there could be others amongst the ship's complement".
"I hope you're wrong, Captain", Ashley said, "but I have a nasty feeling about this. All I can say is that until you locate the one out of the forty-six, I can't even begin to find a way to screen human from Cylon. A battlestar's sick bay is not exactly as well-equipped as the medical research institute on Sagittaria, unfortunately".
"And we would have to keep the reason for these checks all quiet", Sanders said, "because the last thing we need is the whole crew getting paranoid and suspecting every other person is a Cylon because of the way they comb their hair or tie their shoelaces".
Ashley nodded. Sanders stood up and headed to the door. As he unlocked it, he turned back to Ashley.
"Thanks for your help all the same", Sanders said. He turned and left.
There would have to be some other way to expose the agent, he thought as he headed back up to CIC and Core Command, as the very existence of the agent was a knife pointed at the throat of every person aboard the battlestar. He thought about other ways to find out the identity of the agent. All forty-six were under constant watch and all were employed in non-critical areas of the battlestar. Short of disposing of all forty-six, the only thing that he could see was to try and set up an opportunity which the agent would want to take advantage of. But Sanders knew that this agent was smart. Any such trap would have to be subtle, and that would take time. He would confer with Colonel Tolen on this matter later on today.
Worrying about spies was not on the mind of Captain Syke at the present time. He had enjoyed an excellent lunch in the mess, and also enjoyed Tricia's company. Thanks to all of the food supplies that had been loaded onto the PEGASUS back at Molecay, there were ample, filling, and most of all - a wide variety of meals for the crew of the battlestar, which was good for morale. Indeed, the catering officer had worked out that what they had taken on board was good for at least a year - more likely eighteen months. Now both Tricia and Syke were heading down to the main maintenance area in order to confer with Chief Krag.
"Sometimes, I wonder how Chief can keep all the wing's fighters running, given the limited supply of spare parts we have", Tricia said.
"Easy", Syke answered, "because the Old Man would kick his butt up and down the entire length of the PEGASUS, then give him a tongue-lashing for being slack on the job".
Tricia smiled. She knew that Krag was a great crew chief and that her father had total faith in him to do his job. Just then, she heard a collection of voices grow louder around the corner of the corridor.
"Can you believe all that felgercarb that Higgins threw at us about doubting our abilities to fly vipers?", one of the voices asked.
"It's definitely felgercarb, given his reputation as a lone-wolf hot-shot pilot", another voice answered, "He's taking his frustrations out on us for all his transgressions - after all, Syke sent him to us after his fly-by stunt in the landing bay".
The voices belonged to a couple of midshipmen. As they turned the corner, they both looked in surprise at the presence of both the CAG and Deputy CAG of Silver Spar Wing staring at them. Both midshipmen popped to attention and saluted. Syke ignored the gesture.
"What are you two midshipmen doing out of class?", Syke asked.
"Uh...our instructor sent us on an errand to pick up some aids for his class", one of them blurted out.
"Okay, Snotties", Syke said to them both in a scathing voice, "You are entitled to your opinions about the instructors that I assign to you, but there is a time and a place for everything, and mouthing off in a hallway is not the place. I expect you to listen to Lieutenant Higgins", he concluded, emphasizing the rank.
"With all due respect, Captain Syke, Sir", the other midshipmen replied, "Lieutenant Higgins is not the typical instructor like we had back at the academy, and given his reputation, are we going to learning the right way to fly vipers, Sir?", he asked.
Syke looked at the young face. He appreciated honesty and the midshipman's question was a reasonable one.
"For your information, Midshipman", Syke replied in a quieter voice, "Lieutenant Higgins is a top honors graduate from ATT", referring to the crack fighter weapons school for exceptional pilots, Advanced Tactical Training, "so he knows what he's talking about. If you spent more time digesting what he's trying to teach you instead of complaining about it, then you'll be top-notch pilots, as well as officers and gentlemen".
"Yes, Sir", both midshipmen replied.
"Then I won't keep you any further. Carry on", Syke replied. Both cadets saluted him, which this time he returned, then he and Tricia continued their walk down to the landing bay.
"Hopefully, the news about Rogue's piloting credentials will reach the other snotties in the mess hall", Syke commented, "so it should make his job a little easier when they get back to class".
"You know, Bojay; I never got into ATT, despite several applications", Tricia replied, "But Rogue would have had to be one hell of an exceptional pilot to graduate with honors from that course. It's a killer from what I heard".
"'Fight to fly, fly to fight, fight to win' is their motto", Syke replied, "and Rogue definitely lives up to it. The problem is that Rogue knows he is in a class of his own. If it wasn't for his circus-stunt flying, he would be CAG way before now. He missed out on two promotions boards as a result of his show-boating".
Just then, his communicator beeped. He activated it, "Syke here".
"CAG, this is Core Command", the voice of the other end replied, "The Two Jasons' recon probe has exited FTL and is coming in to land. He's reporting priority intelligence from the system he was in".
"You'd better let the X.O. know", Syke advised, "has he transmitted his data yet?"
"Affirmative, CAG", was the reply, "It should be ready in time for debriefing".
"Okay, I'm heading down to meet him. Syke out", he answered, turning off his commlink. He then turned to Tricia.
"Well, we'd better go down and find out what Newguy and Snoopy found", he said, "Chief's readiness reports will have to wait for a while". Tricia nodded.
At that moment, the klaxon sounded and the P.A. announced, "Set Condition Two, repeat: Set Condition Two throughout the ship".
"Tricia, you'd better make sure that Ratchet has her squadron ready to launch. I'll talk with Newguy. Looks like Core Command didn't like what Gorde found", Syke said.
Nodding, Tricia headed in another direction in order to get to the launch tubes. Condition Two meant one squadron from each wing had to be ready for an immediate combat launch, and three out of every four weapons stations to be manned. While not as extreme an alert as Condition One - which involved all squadrons to be on launch alert and all weapons stations to be manned, it was still something not to be taken lightly. Spar One was the duty squadron at this time and she expected Ratchet (a.k.a. Lt. Carla Halley, Spar One's C.O.) to have her pilots in their vipers and ready to launch by the time she got there.
Down in bay five, Higgins heard the alert. After his first class, dealing with the basic specifications and performance data of the viper, the midshipmen had just been escorted by a petty officer to another hangar bay where they could have a close-in look at a viper being serviced, and he was reviewing his notes for the next lecture when the alert sounded. He instinctively started to head for the launch tubes, then realized that as he had been detached from duty with Spar One, that would not be his place. He picked up his communicator and sent a page to the midshipmen telling them to report to Chief Krag for alert station assignment. For his part, he headed up to the wing administration annex in order to make himself useful.
Up in CIC, Colonel Tolen and Captain Sanders were looking at the printout from Gorde's data transmission. The reported presence of the two base stars laying mines was reason enough to bring the battlestar to a heightened state of alert.
"What's the story, X.O.?", Commander Garris Cain asked as he walked onto CIC. Tolen handed him a printout. Cain's eyebrows rose as he scanned the printout.
"So, Cylon base stars doing a bit of minelaying, eh?", he asked rhetorically, "Good thing the two Jasons saw them in the act. Well, at least that's one system we won't be dropping in to visit". Both Tolen and Sanders nodded.
"Sir", the Core Command operator reported, "Captain Syke will be meeting the raptor crew after they land".
Cain nodded his understanding, then asked Sanders, "Anything else, Comms?"
"The raptor had intercepted a number of wireless communications transmissions between the base stars during their minelaying operation", Sanders replied, "That raptor did not have a decryption protocol loaded in, but the Communications Directorate should be able to provide us with a decoded transcript shortly".
"Very well", Cain answered, "have Helm alter our sublight course away from that system. Once the decodes are completed, we'll plot a jump for another system. Stand down from Condition Two", he ordered.
As Syke was just outside bay seven awaiting Gorde and Dundee to exit their raptor, the P.A. announced, "Resume normal schedule, Condition Two is terminated, repeat: stand down from Condition Two and return to normal routine".
"Short alert", Syke commented as he looked out the viewport at the sight of the raptor being lowered down into the bay from the landing deck above. He noticed the flashing red lights as the bay was repressurizing. When the status lights turned green, the hatchway opened. Syke walked out and walked towards the raptor, along with some of the maintenance technicians. He noticed the raptor hatch open and both Gorde and Dundee emerging.
"Hi, CAG", Gorde said by greeting.
"Heard you found something", Syke replied. Gorde and Dundee nodded.
"We crashed a Cylon minelaying party", Gorde explained, "They didn't see us, and not only did we get a good map of their field, we also got a fair amount of communications intercepts".
"Well, let's get you both up to debriefing", Syke replied, "You can give it to me in better detail there".
As Syke was escorting Newguy and Snoopy out of the bay, Higgins was returning to his bay/classroom. He waited for a couple of minutes, then saw his twelve students walk in after coming off the alert. They did not look too pleased. Silently, they sat down. Higgins knew by their demeanor that something was nibbling at them, but unless he did something, they would let whatever it was fester within them, and that would be detrimental to their training.
"Okay, for the next couple of minutes, school is out", Higgins said, "So spit it out. What's wrong?".
"We are supposed to be student fighter pilots and officer trainees, yet when we replied to the alert, Chief Krag assigned us to landing bay damage control detail. That's work for enlisted crewmen!", one of the midshipmen complained. The others murmured their agreement with the complaint.
"So you think you're too good to get your hands dirty, in other words", Higgins replied acidly, "And you think that you can be officers with an attitude like that? Very well, you will all have an additional task after we dismiss for today. You are going to make it your business to know the names of the deck drew that Chief Krag is in charge of. A viper squadron's ability to fight depends upon the competence of it's support personnel and their job is just as necessary as any pilot".
"We came to fly vipers, Lieutenant", the midshipman pointed out. It was the wrong thing to say.
"You midshipmen ever display that type of snobbery around either myself, Chief Krag, or the other personnel of the wing again and I will see to it personally that the only thing that you will ever get to fly are the sewerage shuttles!" he shouted. The midshipmen turned pale at the rebuke. Higgins continued, "I may have my faults, but treating crewmates like lower forms of life is not one of them! You want to be officers? Then you'd better start acting like officers right now, or get the hell out of my sight!"
No one moved. Higgins had to get it into their arrogant little heads that their survival would hinge on how well their fighters were supported and serviced. He knew all of the deck crew personally and he took the time to thank them for keeping his viper up.
"Now that we have gotten our concerns out into the open, school is back in session. I will now introduce you to the avionics package of the Viper VII, including the warbook", Higgins said, gesturing to the monitor behind him.
As Higgins was getting his class back to their task of learning about viper flight systems, Tricia was watching Lt. Halley climb down from her viper, after it had been pulled from the launch tube. Halley smiled as she saw Tricia standing there.
"Hey, Tricia", Halley said in greeting, "How goes it?".
"Pretty good, Carla", Tricia replied, "So how did Spar One react to the alert?", she asked.
"Quickly", was Halley's short answer, "I've got them able to respond just as fast in their sleep!"
"Just so long as they don't fall asleep during a dogfight", Tricia replied with a smile. Halley laughed. Both of them watched the pilots of her squadron troop back to the ready room. They would remain there until Spar Two rotated in on ready alert duty.
"So what is it like being Deputy CAG?", Halley asked Tricia, after the other pilots had passed by. Tricia rolled her eyes.
"A lot more paperwork and a lot less flying, but at least Bojay is ensuring I get flight time", Tricia replied.
"I was a little peeved when Rogue was relieved as my X.O.", Halley confided, "but considering what he pulled with Jet earlier, perhaps his new duty teaching snotties will make him a little more responsible".
"Bojay and I had overheard two midshipmen complain about Rogue's no-nonsense approach to teaching", Tricia answered, "so I think he'll do okay".
"Yeah", Halley agreed, "but the sooner he's back in Spar One, the better I'll like it. ATT Honor Grads are a pretty rare commodity. So, where's CAG?", she asked, changing the subject.
"He's with the two Jasons", she replied, "He wanted to hear the debriefing personally. We think their initial information was what caused the alert".
"Well, I suppose that we'll soon find out", Halley commented. Just then, she smiled at something behind Tricia's back.
Tricia turned and saw Chief Krag walking up towards them. Tricia knew that both Krag and Halley had more than just a passing friendship. Even though affairs between officers and enlisted personnel were to be discouraged, Tricia - as well as Syke - figured that if it didn't affect their professional performance, then it was none of their business.
"I'm heading back to admin", Tricia announced, "I'll chat with you later, Chief", she said. With that, she walked out.
"Chat to you about what, George?", Halley asked after she left the area.
"The latest readiness reports on the availability of serviceable vipers, Carla", Krag replied, "It's that time of the month".
"Keeping up with paperwork after the rest of the fleet is long-gone doesn't make much sense", Halley remarked. Krag shrugged.
"It keeps the crews busy", Krag answered, "and it makes for efficiency".
"Well, I want to thank you for keeping all of Spar One's fighters on the line", Halley said with a smile. After quickly checking to see that no one was looking, she leaned in close, briefly kissed, then hugged him.
"See you at 2100 in the rec room?", she asked, after breaking the hug. Krag nodded.
"It's a date. See you then", he said, winking at her. Smiling broadly, Halley went back to join her pilots in the ready room. She hoped that there would be no alerts around that time. Dates were getting to be a rather rare commodity these days, she thought ruefully.
It was during this time up in CIC that Captain Sanders was getting the first decodes from the intercepted Cylon transmissions. It had taken the code-breaking software a while to decode it as the code was a new one, but it was nothing that the software couldn't handle. The first few intercepts were items relating to the laying of the minefield, which helped make Gorde's initial survey map more accurate, but then... He turned and called over Commander Cain. These decoded intercepts were worth a thousand times their weight in tylium!