Chapter 7: Remembering the Fallen.

Hanger Bay A – 1700 hours.

The dead lay in body bags covered with the Colonial crest. The men and woman gathered wore their expressions gravely. Not only did they have to watch their fellow shipmates being put out an airlock, but the fact that they knew their families were dead made their hearts ache with grief. All the flags of the Colonies were lined behind a podium. The ships priest was killed during the attack, so the Commander and Colonel took turns speaking, the Colonel was the first. He opened up with the standard burial prayer to the lords of Kobol, then moved aside for the Commander. She looked across the massive bay; more then half the crew was present, they stared ahead, not really seeing her.

"I see the looks on your faces, and it tells me hope is lost. What is hope? When we face impossible odds and complete annihilation? It's not only hope, its perseverance. When the Colonies first fought against the Cylons, we were facing the gravest threat in human history. But did our grandfathers and grandmothers give up? No, they held their ground and stood strong, refused to give in to defeat at the hands of mechanical monstrosities. What is our goal? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all loss. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival. Let us become a beacon of hope in the overwhelming darkness that our people have been swallowed in. I ask you, to fight with me against those who would destroy us. I ask you to raise your heads, remember your pride and passion - remember all the things that make us human. Our survival tells me one thing, that the Gods have a plan for us, that we are not alone in this fight. Let us take a moment of silence, to remember all those lost in the battle, and in the war."

Rebecca paused, and waited a minute, as the bay was silent. Then continued.

"There's a story which I wish to share with you, it spans back three hundred years into the past.

"There was once a great conflict between nations, and the sea was the battleground. The smaller nation knew they would be defeated if they did not make a final desperate push. So they sent their remaining battle group, six ships against an armada. During a storm a frigate in the small fleet was separated from the group. When the storm passed, the lost crew thought their cause hopeless. At first they accepted defeat right away. But it took one brave man to stir their hearts, and lead them to ultimate victory. When he told them to believe in his resolve, for the prosperity of their people, they listened. Soon after, they discovered not only were they lost, but behind enemy lines. The brave crew then sought out their enemies. When all was said and done, and their allies thinking them long dead, they wondered why, why they had managed to stave off an entire armada with a mere five ships. I'll tell you why. While they were holding the line, the lost ship was capturing enemy vessels and using them against their enemies. By the wars end, the lost ship with it's captured fleet, destroyed all supply lines and reinforcements turning the tide of the battle. And then, one year later, they sailed into their home harbor bearing great spoils from their conquests. The leading ships name was the Ulysses."

She could visibly see some small smiles through heartbroken eyes, and that pushed her to finish the speech.

"We may have faced a great defeat, but we are not defeated. When I see all of you, I see those brave men and women who risked their lives in service to their nation, to their homeworlds, in the cause of freedom. We are living in history, making it. When I look at those fallen here, it pushes me, pushes my resolve to take the fight to them. I shall lead us to victory, for there is no survival without it. So say we all." Rebecca now hoped, her message rang clear in their hearts. She will never give up on them, and try to never fail them.

The crew acknowledged her, and repeated the phrase with spirit. The message of revenge was taken well.

"Dismissed." Said Rebecca into the microphone.

Cheers erupted, and fists of anger rose into the air, she has given her crew a goal, and it was bittersweet. She was about to turn her crew into hunters, and she feared, it might consume them all.