Something Wicked, This Way Comes…
"They can not be serious" said Golden. Henderson had just informed them of their first official mission, and he could see the remarks on the faces of the others gathered around the table in the mission room.
"They can, and they appear to be, Rosie" Henderson said. "Our orders are to start are investigation at the site of the ambush. From their, we will follow a course that takes us fairly close to the Armistice Line"
"I presume with full ID codes transmitted over the border?" said Odell.
"If we see a Cylon contact on DRADIS, we shall send them a message in the clear informing them of our mission" Henderson informed him. "As far as we know, the Lewis was ambushed at this location" he tapped a spot on the chart. "From what the Lewis reported, they got a rough bearing before their systems shut down completely. The SRA ships headed towards the abandoned bases and yards in the Piladies system. The orbital yards are moveable, so Zarek could have moved them to other places to keep ships away from any attack by us. Of course, he may have headed that way to confuse the Lewis" he finished.
"Raptor assault?" asked the senior Raptor Squadron commander.
"No" Henderson said. "I want birds here, here and here" he pointed at three locations on another chart. "They'll spend twenty four hours there to keep an eye on things in case they are based there"
"What kind of defences can we expect?" asked the weapons officer, Captain Honeycroft.
"We think a mixture of guns and missiles" Henderson said. "Those are not the main concern though"
"Headquarters believes that the SRA also has a number of Gunstars and Warstars – fully operational" Golden continued.
"Full weapon systems?" Honeycroft asked.
"When ships were withdrawn from service, they had a lot of their weapons removed and the spaces plated over" Golden said. "Most were sold for use as large freighters or salvage ships – that sort of thing. Some, however, went missing on their trips to the breakers yard. With the ability to gain military hardware, a lot of orders were placed by companies to better protect against pirate attacks. As you know, surplus deports had a large number of thefts, so it is not impossible for the SRA to have gained enough weapons to replace those removed from the ships"
"I suppose they have fighter strength?" Odell asked.
"We believe that they have a mixture of older Raptors and Viper IIs" Henderson said. "They also have the old planetary assault shuttles that can be converted to gunships"
"Any idea if they are to the same spec as Viper IIs?"
"We don't know, but it is safe to assume that they will have made some modifications to all of their fighter strength" Henderson said. "One thing is certain though – we know a lot of their pilots are ex-military. A lot of good people are going to be our enemies soon. That goes for their ship crews as well"
"I don't like the sound of that, Commander"
"Neither do I, Major" said Henderson. "However, we will take steps to disable the ships before we are forced to destroy them. I have some scans of the systems for you to train your crews on in the simulators, Ken. I want a full combat readiness report for all departments by 19:30 this evening"
"But that is only an hour away" Honeycroft exclaimed.
"Then snap to it" said Golden, "Dismissed" and the others went away. Golden got up, closed and sealed the hatch before withdrawing a folder from inside her uniform jacket. "Records Officer managed to get the information you wanted" she threw it onto the plotting table.
"Oh?" Henderson opened it and looked at what was to offer. "Well, well, well…" he said after a few moments. "Seems as if Zarek and his group killed Kronus's family while he was on the Exeter. The SRA planted a bomb on a liner called Star Empire"
"I know that ship, Sir" Golden said. "My father was involved with building her a while ago"
"Seems they planted the bomb in the secured cargo bay. Oddly, that wasn't what caused the deaths"
"What?"
"Seems the SRA had overrode the escape protocols and had ensured that the escape pods leaked fuel"
"So that the explosive bolts would ignite it – turning them all to a crisp"
"Most of the passengers and crew were killed except for the crew on the bridge. The explosion cut out main and back up power supplies – bringing down the bulkhead doors. The bridge crew managed another two weeks before rescue ships found them alive. One of them was the Exeter"
"And Kronus has been seeking revenge all this time?" Golden shook her head. "So what do we do, Sir?"
"We carry out our orders, Colonel" Henderson replied. "Maybe all this about Zarek brought it back to him, and he wants them all dead. He didn't actually order that, but I can understand what he didn't say to me. He said to eliminate the problem – but we'll do so without resorting to mass killings and murder" he finished.
"You suspect something?" Golden asked.
"Maybe… Back when the Dauntless was built, there was talk of using her to destroy all the pirate ships and bases – no matter the cost of lives. I wondered where the talk came from, but nobody knew or said. I thought it was politicians for the most part – some fleet as well, but nobody said as much. I wouldn't be so surprised if there was some kind of twist to this story. Rosie, I want you to tell Communications they are to monitor incoming communications only – but no outgoing unless ordered by myself or you"
"You think someone might be working for Kronus?" Golden asked.
"You ever heard of Division 31?" Henderson asked.
"Nothing more than rumours, Sir" she replied.
"Towards the end of the war, Kronus went missing from the public eye for a number of months. At the same time, Battlestars started showing up in places they ought not to be. The funny thing was that they had no ID or transponder codes and no communications. A couple of Battlestars were ordered to go to a set location and transfer cargo to other ships. When people came on board, all off duty people were confined to quarters until they had left. All the containers were marked 'Division 31'. Not many pictures exist, but those that do show ships with completely black hulls and no markings at all. Ships the size of Galactica, Columbia and Uned appearing like ghosts. Those that have traced Division 31 have often ended up being warned off by CI, transferred to career ending jobs or turn up dead"
"And what does have to do with Kronus?" Golden asked.
"He is rumoured to be the head of this group – willing and able to sacrifice thousands of lives in order to get the mission done. I would not be surprised if their agents are aboard this ship. I want to keep the outgoing communications silent until I know for certain"
"What about the Communications Officers?"
"I'm certain I know them" Henderson replied. "All four of them came from my last command. I am more worried in case there are spies for Kronus aboard Dauntless. Have the Marines post a guard on the magazine, fuel and reactor spaces"
"People are going to ask questions" Golden said.
"Let them" Henderson said. "Something feels wrong, Rosie, about this whole damned thing…"
"I'll post the guards myself, Sir" Golden saluted and left the wardroom.
# # # # #
"Sir, we have arrived at the reported location of the Lewis" said the watch officer.
"Very well. Mr Briggs, commence search operations" Golden said.
"Aye, Aye. Helm, come right to 180 carom 095"
"Adjusting course"
"All DRADIS and scanner scopes forward"
"All forward, Aye"
"Maintain scanner watch until you are either relived or you find something. Mr Briggs, you have the deck" Golden said.
"I have the deck" and Golden left CIC to her office. She was deciding what discipline matters she could do herself before sending the rest of them to Commander's Mast the following day.
# # # # #
Henderson was stepping out of the shower when all hell broke loose.
"ACTION STATIONS! ACTIONS STATIONS! SET CONDITION ONE THROUGHOUT THE SHIP! ALL HANDS, MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS" the voice blared over the PA system. "GUN CREWS, CLOSE UP FOR ACTION"
"CIC, Commanding Officer. What is going on?" Henderson asked.
"Lietuenant Smith, Sir" the voice on the other end of the phone said. "We detected a ship on the edge of DRADIS range – CBDR. We attempted to contact her, but she didn't respond. I was going to order a Raptor to investigate in case their wireless was damaged or down when scanners detected them powering up weapons. Standing orders state I hav…"
"I know what they are, Mister" Henderson said. "Have you got any ID on that ship?" he asked.
"Not at this distance, Commander. What ever she is must know we are Colonial Fleet, Sir. I had us pulse our ID towards them, and that is when they started arming weapons"
"You did the right thing, Lieutenant. Have the alert Vipers launched and assume standard point formation. Divert the Cap to close and investigate. I'll be there in a moment"
#
"Commander on deck"
"As you were" Henderson snapped. "Sit Rep!"
"Large contact on CBDR, Sir" Golden said. "The ship is at Condition One – all stations and decks report cleared for action" she added.
"Distance to contact?"
"25,000 clicks off the port bow" the watch officer reported. "It is closing because of the CBDR. Estimate two minutes until firm DRADIS contact"
"Increase speed to flank" Henderson said. "Standby missiles tubes 1 through 4. Communications, contact the CAP and have them report on what they can see"
"Aye, Sir" McCall said. "CAP leader, Dauntless. Report to Actual what you can see"
"CAP Leader to Actual. I have the vessel in my sights now. She appears to be an old Kobol class Warstar, Sir – converted to civilian use. Getting locked on. Dauntless, request permission to go weapons hot"
"Have them pull back to just outside their range" Henderson ordered. "Patch me through to the ship" he picked up a handset and held the microphone part to his mouth. "Attention, unknown vessel. This is the Colonial Battlestar Dauntless. Identify yourself at once or we will fire upon you"
"Go to hell" a voice replied.
"This is Commander Henderson speaking. You will come to a complete halt, identify yourselves and prepare to be boarded. Failure to comply will result in my assumption your intentions are hostile and I will act accordingly"
"Are you really Dauntless?"
"We are"
"Oh, thank the gods…" the voice said. There was some off wireless muttering before the voice returned. "Commander, you have my apologies for locking on your fighters. We have been harassed by pirates and bandits from here to Hades and back…"
"What is the name of you ship, Sir?" Henderson asked.
"Serenity"
"After the ship in Firefly?" asked the Commander.
"One and the same, Commander. Is there anything that I can do for you?"
"We're hunting for pirates and terrorists in this sector. I would like to come aboard and ask you a few questions. Please come to a complete stop and power your weapons down"
"Aye, Commander. Three bags full, Sir"
"The other ship has powered down her weapons and is slowing down" Golden said, looking at the DRADIS and scanner readouts.
"Stand down to Condition 2 until we are sure they are whole they really are" Henderson said. "Run the name through the Merchant Fleet Registry and try to get a match. Rosie, alert the Hanger Deck. Have them prep a shuttle and crew for launch. Have the Alert vipers stand down except for two to escort me in"
"You are going over there?" Golden asked with some alarm.
"Something are better said off the record, Colonel" Henderson said.
#
"Sorry for locking weapons on you, but we've had some trouble with pirates using old Battlestars" a tall man stepped forward as Henderson stepped out of the Raptor. "I'm Captain Sanchez – Ilich Ramirez Sanchez"
"Henderson, Dauntless. Permission to come aboard, Sir?"
"Granted, Commander" Sanchez said, extending his hand which Henderson took. "Welcome aboard the Serenity. I wish we could have done with your arrival a couple of hours ago" he led the way to what appeared to be an office.
"You were in battle?" Henderson asked.
"More like a victorious defeat, Commander" Sanchez said. "We're carrying a consignment of scrap from the bases near the Armistice Line. Drink?" he gestured at the decanters on a sideboard.
"I'm on duty, Captain" Henderson held up a hand.
"You sure? This is the good stuff – takes twenty years to mature"
"Regulations prohibit me from drinking on duty" Henderson shrugged.
"On your ship?" and the Commander nodded. "But we are not on Dauntless, are we?"
"Well…" Henderson said. "Seeing as you put it that way…" he took a small glass of Nector. "To the Columbia" he raised his glass.
"May she, and my comrades, rest in peace and life eternal" Sanchez replied, raising his glass also.
"You were military?"
"I was on Columbia when the Cylons took her out" said Sanchez. "I was with a group of pilots that had been forced to return due to damage to our birds. When the ship spilt in two, we shoved as many people into suits as possible, stuck them to the hulls of Vipers and Raptors and got the hell out of there. Managed to get to Galactica just as the Cylons retreated and agreed to terms" Sanchez said.
"Terrible battle that" Henderson replied. "What is your cargo?" he asked.
"Nothing of any value" Sanchez shrugged. "Mostly scrap metal from the bases we cut up. We also got a load of surplus ammo that we were to take back to Colonial Fleet headquarters. They came out of nowhere, Commander, and we assumed there had been a slight change of plans. It wasn't until we got closer that they opened fire on us. They vented three compartments to space before we could reply"
"What happened?"
"Serenity still has her weapon systems intact, Commander. We armed them, warned them off and fired at their engineering spaces. We hit the larges ship in the FTL compartments and they simply turned tail and ran" Sanchez shrugged. "Given the number of them, we'd have given them anything they wanted" he added.
"How many ships?" Henderson asked.
"Four, Commander. Two Warstars, a Gunstar and an older Battlestar"
"Did they give out any names?"
"Not a peep. The ship lost most of her communications intercept systems when she was decommissioned, but we had enough to pick up some faint traffic between the Gunstar and the Battlestar – that's the one we hit"
"What did you pick up?" Henderson asked.
"Just a question on damage sustained. The Gunstar referred to the Battlestar as the Greene"
"That was supposed to have been cut up years ago" Henderson said.
"Looks like it wasn't" Sanchez said. "Somebody stole it for pirate operations. Anyway, we recorded everything onto computer disc for you to go over"
"Anything we can do to help?" Henderson pocketed the disc inside his uniform jacket.
"Short of reviving four of my crew? I apologise, Commander… I have known those four for over ten years. One of them was going to retire at the end of this trip – going to offer him the honour of commanding the ship into his home port for the final time… Left a wife and family behind – as they all did"
"I've put this down in my log as responding to a ship in distress" Henderson put the glass on the desk in front of him. "I presume you are FTL capable?"
"Yeah, but I'm not going to use it for now. We have been experiencing some trouble with our main power systems, and they short out the grid every time we jump. I have sixteen crew members in critical condition, so you can understand when I say that I don't want to risk cutting off power to sickbay" Sanchez sighed at the thought of losing people for want of greed.
"We have state of the art facilities aboard Dauntless" Henderson said. "We can transfer your injured to my ship and see what we can do whilst I have an engineering team go over your power grid"
"I would appreciate that, Commander" Sanchez said. "Come with me… I have something to repay you with"
"The Fleet takes no money" Henderson told him.
"Hell, I know that, Commander. I was meaning some cargo you could find a better use for"
"Oh…" Henderson got the message in the clear.
#
At 1745 hours, ship time, Dauntless responded to an emergency call from the cargo ship Serenity after it had come under attack from suspected pirates and terrorists. Serenity reported losing hull integrity in three critical compartments, the loss of four crew and had sixteen in critical condition. We heaved to alongside and rendered assistance to the vessel in accordance with the rules of the sea. The injured crew from Serenity were brought aboard for extensive treatment and examinations. I sent over an engineering team to aid in repairs to the vessel. Took aboard computer records regarding the attack including intercepted communications traffic between attacking ships. Injured crew responded well to treatment. Serenity got under way at 0215 with repairs lasting until she makes dock
Henderson signed the log and put it away just as the senior officers came into the wardroom.
"You wanted to see us, Commander" Golden said.
"Take a seat" Henderson said, leaving orders with a Marine guard to not disturb them. I came back with a number of data files collected by the Serenity when she was under attack. She was set upon by well trained persons in heavily armed former Colonial vessels"
"Do we have any idea of the names?" asked Odell.
"We have at least one of them for certain" Henderson said. "XO?"
"Analysis of intercepted comm traffic by the Serenity gave us the name of the Battlestar that seemed to be the Command and Control ship for the attack" Golden flicked a button on the small panel and showed an early type of Battlestar. "This is the Greene – a Colonial class of Battlestar introduced shortly after the start of the Cylon war. After the war was over, the remaining ships were mothballed, expended as targets or sent for scrapping. The Greene never arrived at the scrapyards and was supposedly taken by pirates or terrorists. Despite an extensive search by the fleet, we never found a single trace of the ship – leading to the thought she was stolen for the scrap value" Golden flicked another switch to show a new picture.
"It can't be…" said Captain Hunt, Operations Chief aboard Dauntless.
"This image was taken less then twelve hours ago" Golden said. "Careful research of the data indicates that this is the Greene, and that somebody has brought her up to operational status"
"How did the civvies survive?" asked Odell.
"Seems that whoever was aboard the ship decided that to destroy the ship was too much of a risk and let them go. The Serenity hit their FTL drive and knocked it out, leading to the group heading away at high sublight" Golden said.
"What about the other ships?" asked Richardson.
"From what little data was picked up, we can determine that they appear to be operating at normal specs for their classes" Henderson said. "However, despite the Serenity's limited data collection facilities, they picked up this abnormal signature…" and the picture changed yet again to show a graph indicating DRADIS and scanner readings. A thick red line dominated the top part. "Greene was carrying nukes" and there was an audible intake of breath.
"Do we know how many?" asked Odell.
"We don't know" Golden said. "The signature seems to show it had at least two armed weapons aboard – maybe more. Our nuclear arms are strictly guarded by an entire squadron of Warstars on the moon Titan. We have never had any reports of any ordinance going missing"
"That" Henderson said, "Is not the important thing. What is the important fact is the type. If the data is to be believed, somebody has handed over at least two Mark IX tactical nukes to terrorists. They are, as you know, our most powerful nuclear weapons – designed for stealth use. Gods alone know how mu-"
Brurrr Brurrr
"Wardroom" Henderson said, picking up his handset. "I thought I left orders not to be distur… Oh sweet Lords of Kobol. You did right the right thing, Ensign. Sound off Action Stations" and Henderson replaced the handset as the alarms started to go off throughout the ship.
"What is it, Commander?" Golden asked, noting the horrified look on his face.
"Sir?" Richardson looked at the Commander. "George!" and the use of his first name brought Henderson out of the shock.
"What happened?" asked Golden.
"They've nuked Geminon" and the Chief Engineer and the CAG were out the door in an instant.
"Who?"
"Zarek"
# # # # #
"Attention all hands, this is the Commander. Moments ago, this ship received word that a nuclear attack on Gemimon has taken place. It was set off without any warning by the SRA. I have not yet been officially informed of the number of deaths, but it is safe to assume the cost is high. I want all crew members hailing from the planet, or who have family and friends living there, to report to the Wardroom in half an hour to leave your names with the XO. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Dauntless, nobody would fault us for returning to base after this attack on our homes – I certainly wouldn't. But we will show that we will not be distracted by the events back home and that we will continue to do our mission. So say we all…"
# # # # #
"Enter" Henderson said. The hatch to his quarters opened to admit someone before closing again. "What can I do for you, Ensign…"
"Waters, Sir" the young woman said.
"Its been a long day for me, Ensign. What can I do for you?" Henderson asked, picking up a Viper Readiness report.
"Sir, one of my activities off duty is looking at pictures and seeing what others don't see" Waters put a file down in front of Henderson on his coffee table.
"Ensign, I am not in the mood to talk about your hobbies" the Commander sighed.
"No, Sir. I mean, Yes, Sir" Waters opened the file to reveal the same picture of the Greene shown hours before to the senior staff. "I know I'm not supposed to have looked at that, but the file was open when I found it. I took a glance and thought there was something odd about it"
"It is an old Battlestar that should have been decommissioned, Ensign" Henderson was beginning to get annoyed by the interruption.
"I heard the scuttlebutt, Commander" Waters sounded a little hurt. "But that wasn't it. I made a copy of the picture and went to the ship's photographic section after I went off duty. I started by looking for newer types of weapons, but I only found Anti Aircraft stuff that was of interest"
"Ensign…" Henderson warned.
"That is when I noticed the hull"
"What about it?" Henderson was about to order extra duties for bothering him with something trivial.
"It's the same as ours"
"What are you on about?"
"The hull plating and armour is the same as we have on Dauntless" Waters said. "I blew up the best sections as large as I could to be certain" Waters removed two expanded images of the Greene's hull. "That plating was designed for the Dauntless class of Battlestars. No other ship in the fleet has anything like this at all. You can see where they have cut it so it fits over the original hull form" Waters pointed to a few places on the second photo. I spent six months in the shipyard where they built the Dauntless, Sir, and I would know what the hull and armour looks like. We had a break in seven months before the ship first left the slips, and the hull plating was stolen, along with a lot of ammunition and parts. We had to delay construction of the next ship in the line to get you out on time"
"Are you certain of this, Ensign?" Henderson asked.
"As certain as anything, Commander" Waters replied. Henderson picked up the handset and dialled the CIC.
#
"… and, from what I can see for myself, I tend to believe her" Golden said.
"As do I" Henderson said. "It is clear that there is a group of people working in the Colonial Fleet to supply the terrorists with some of our latest stuff"
"Sir, if you add the new hull and armour to the original hull form, you'd need to put every last firecracker onto that ship just to knock her out" Waters said. "That or a nuke of our own" she added.
"Mmm…" Henderson looked at the pictures again. "We shall forget the rest of the search and see if the Greene and her friends are at our target locations. If we are lucky, we might catch them unawares. Rosie, I want to see the paperwork making Waters a full Looey before the start of her next watch. Waters, you are to be commended for what you have done – you may have helped us find out what is really going on. Even though you handled classified material, we'll skip the court martial this time. I order you to never discuss this with your bunk mates. If you have bunk buddies and speak of this in the afterglow of sex, you'll find yourself painting the hull without a suit" Waters paled before seeing Henderson was joking.
"I wont say a word about something I do not know"
"Thata girl, Waters. Go to the Quartermaster and indent for some new insignia, Lieutenant"
"What do I tell people when they ask how I got my promotion to full Lieutenancy?"
"Tell them you made a toasted cheese sandwich or something"
"Yes, Sir" Waters saluted.
"Dismiss" and the newly promoted officer left with a huge grin on her face. Henderson waited for several moments before looking at his Executive Officer – observing the same thoughts he had.
"You thinking the same as I am?" Golden asked.
"Kronus"