INTERLUDE

The tiny aerospace fighters currently in orbit above a small moon of a massive green gas giant were dangerously unaware of the activity around the habitable planet closer to the system's star. Unfortunately for the Cylon Raiders, they were being watched, keenly and closely studied by intelligences greater than their human form masters. While the Raiders blithely scanned the vicinity with their primitive DRADIS systems, they were scrutinized, perhaps almost as narrowly as a human would study the tiny creatures that existed within a drop of Terran sea water beneath the lens of a microscope.

Other than the Colonial humans, no Cylon ever gave a thought that anything in the cosmos was a source of Cylon danger or wondered of other sentient life forms for a single moment, for the very notion was impossible or, at best, improbable.

All of that, though, was about to change.

#

Chapter 28

Cylon Raider – In Orbit above one of the Emerald Gas Giant's moons – Gamma Quadrant

"Alarm!"

The Cylon Raider that had originally detected tylium on the moon below was startled out of his complacency by his hunt-brother's warning.

"Hunt-brother, what is wrong?" his transmitted. "Have you detected signs of our Colonial prey?"

Instead of answering his questions, the other craft replied, "Our other hunt brother is drifting and lifeless. A small hole has penetrated his space frame and destroyed him."

Concerned now by his brother's observation, he attempted to process what had occurred to their other brother right before the other Raider squawked, "Alarm! I am under attack! I have lost my starboard wing!"

"How?!" he exclaimed. "Do you detect the attacker?"

He watched as his brother flipped end over end until the other Raider righted himself. "Yes! It is a vessel of some kind, my data banks cannot identify it. Brother, the sting of its weapon frakking hurts!"

As the Raider began to fly erratically in an attempt to evade the unknown threat, he considered their tactical situation. They had been assigned to provide cover for the biological Cylons and the Centurions on the moon's surface. They were most definitely outside of the range of a Resurrection Ship, which was apparently a few days away from their mother ship's position. Thus, there would be no way to warn their masters of this threat if he and his brother died on this mission.

"Hunt-brother," he directed, the sour taste of leaving the others behind in his processors, "recall the jump coordinates for the mother ship. We must flee and warn the masters!"

As his jump drive spooled, space around him exploded with a rush of brilliance and the turmoil of boiling chemicals when his hunt-brother's fuel tank was pierced by a powerful beam of dull red light revealed in the midst of the catastrophic release of oxygen, nitrogen and tylium gases.

Suddenly, he felt the tip of his right wing melt just before he flashed from the universe.

#

On the other side of the jump, when he was deposited in space close by the mother ship, the Cylon Raider continued the scream he'd begun fifteen light years from his current position.

#

Battle Carrier Hermes – Secure Briefing Room – Alliance Task Force

"Malcolm! Lena! Dr. Dalle! It's so good to see you all safe and sound!" Vice Admiral Amato exclaimed.

Jackson was brought up short as he spied the Admiral's quantum particle hologram seated at the long conference table next to Alex. Quickly, he covered his astonishment and took note of the presence of both Undersecretary Mario Alfano's and Fleet Intelligence Senior Captain Katerina Czmbor's holograms at the table as well. Apparently, Dennis had revealed the existence of the ultra-secret communication device to Alex, and if Czmbor was also using the device with Alex there and didn't appear to be concerned about it, there must have been a good reason for the disclosure.

Now he smiled at his former C.O. of the rickety old destroyer where he'd served as Amato's X.O. "It's good to see you, too, sir." Then he turned to Alfano and said, "It's always a pleasure to see you, Mr. Alfano."

"Nice to see you, too, Captain," the man said. "However, Dennis has told me that you and I will be working closely together soon, so if you don't mind, I'd like it if you called me Mario."

"Well," Malcolm offered with a warm smile, "if you call me Malcolm, I think we have a deal, Mario!"

"Oh, and Malcolm," Amato interjected, "you know Captain Czmbor, don't you?"

"Yes, sir," he confirmed. Czmbor specialized in planning and implementing 'cloak and dagger' operations. She wasn't a troubleshooter who worked in the field like Lena and him. "Hello, Katerina. Did you just arrive in system?"

She nodded. "Yes. I shipped in aboard the Hecate. The Cat's crew was in a hurry to get here; they told me the Admiral was homesick for his old girl," the lean woman with piercing green eyes jested.

The fact she appeared to be so relaxed somewhat stunned him because she was known for being quite private and reticent. He was also a bit perplexed that another senior captain from Fleet Intelligence was at Xanadu; however, he pushed his disquiet aside and grinned. "I don't know why the Vice Admiral would miss the old girl when he has the Alcubierre as his home away from home." In truth, he wasn't trying to belittle the Hecate Tholus, the Seventh Fleet's flagship. As was the case for both the Cat and her sister ship in the Sixth Fleet, she was named after one of the great volcanoes of Mars. Both were converted battle carriers that had surrendered thirty percent of their aerospace capabilities to house the computers and systems that granted them the extensive Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Intelligence (C4I) capabilities that had been unsurpassed until the titanic battlestations had become operational.

Amato returned Jackson's grin with a sly smile on his inscrutable face. "Oh, the old girl isn't on station for me. She's here to support another flag officer. We'll cover that shortly after you've completed your briefing regarding the Colonial affair. I wanted Katerina to join us so she can get up to speed and support your efforts in her new role."

"Very good, sir," Jackson said. Then he waited for de Ruyter, Roosevelt, Stenger and Dalle to be seated before he began the presentation. "Ladies and gentlemen, Lena, Dr. Dalle, and I were transported from the brainship destroyer Huntress to one of the warships of the Colonies of Kobol by a small scout craft. They refer to the hybrid carrier/battleship, which is similar to our concept of a battle carrier, as a 'battlestar.' These ships are heavily armed with kinetic energy weapons; however, compared to our vessels, it is quite primitive. They do not possess any magnetic drives or shields. They also do not possess any directed energy weapons. Instead of using matter/antimatter generators, they rely on an efficient form of fission using a space borne ore they call 'tylium.'"

"Tylium, eh?" Alex asked. "I wonder if we have that ore in any of my systems. If so, perhaps there may be a market for it."

"I suppose a merchant would look for any means to advance her commercial interests even under the unfortunate circumstances facing these people," Czmbor observed.

Malcolm didn't take kindly to his fellow captain's shot across Alex's bow. Although the war between the Fleet and the Syndicate was long ago, some people still had an axe to grind with the Families, particularly, the Schleins. Yet, before he could step in and defend his betrothed, de Ruyter beat him to the punch. "Captain Czmbor, I come from a long line of sailors who were consummate merchants along with being able bodied warriors, not to mention that my dear husband is a merchant as well. If I were you, I wouldn't discount the good will that can come from engaging in productive commercial activity with these people."

Happy that both Dennis and Jantiene were apparently members of the 'We Love Alexandra Schlein Club' along with himself, he continued with his briefing. "This ore is processed into a liquid that powers their vessels. Their adversary, the Cylons, also use the same ore for similar reasons. The Cylons appear to be more advanced than the Colonials in regards to the level of their computing power and the smaller size of their hyperjump drives which can fit inside their small aerospace fighters. Yet, in comparison to either the Alliance or the Sakqua, both sides are nearly a thousand years behind us."

Alfano sighed loudly and a relieved smile crossed his face. "Well, that's good to know!"

"I agree, sir," Lena said. "Even so, though, we're not out of the woods yet, considering the history between the Colonials and the Cylons."

Amato shot an encouraging smile at the young officer. "We're all ears, Lena!"

She graced the kindly admiral with a grateful smile then said, "According to the Colonials' sacred scrolls, their people left the planet Kobol, which they believe is the cradle of humanity after their 'gods,' beings allegedly styled along the lines of the Ancient Greek gods, drove them from the planet to settle in twin binary star systems that somehow contained twelve worlds capable of human habitation."

"Lena, excuse me," Alfano interjected. "Is it possible for twin binary systems to be so blessed with habitable worlds like the Colonials' systems in nature?"

She shook her head. "No, sir. I've checked all of our data banks and haven't found any systems that are even close to what the Colonials had."

"So…who could have terraformed not just one but two star systems. Such a capability is far beyond anything we could do," de Ruyter said.

"I don't know, Admiral," Lena said. "The Colonials themselves don't know how it was done. Apparently, their ancestors had been told a 'place had been prepared for them' and nothing more. Now when the colonists arrived in one of the systems, they all settled on the planet they'd named Gemenon. This event occurred about two thousand years ago. Once the colonists had landed, they focused on establishing their civilization on their new world and lost their capability to travel through space. Slowly, over time, they regained their interplanetary space technology and began to settle on the other eleven habitable worlds in both systems. After several centuries of resettlement, the people began to think of themselves as members of a particular tribe, each tribe representative of each of the twelve habitable worlds in their systems. You should note that each tribe apparently takes its name from an astrological sign in what we know to be the Zodiac."

Czmbor then asked, "Commander, the Zodiac…that must have been developed on Earth almost…what….four or five thousand years ago?"

"Closer to five thousand years ago, Captain Czmbor," Lena agreed. "Moving along to more recent history, fifty or sixty years ago, on one of these loosely, at the time, affiliated worlds, a scientist had managed to create a machine-based artificial life form that had inexplicably developed complete sentience. The Colonials used these life forms as soldiers, miners, and workers for jobs that were considered either too dangerous or too demeaning for people. Apparently, it wasn't long after that when these life forms began to question whether they were the Colonials' cannon fodder, no better than slaves. When the life forms asked this of the Colonials, the humans attempted to destroy their creations. In response, the machines revolted and instigated a war that led to the deaths of nearly a billion people."

She paused momentarily to take a sip of water then continued with her report. "The war forced the Colonials, in a desperate bid for survival against an implacable foe, to form a strong confederation and combine their armed forces into one overarching service."

"Then, after twelve long years of no-holds-barred conflict, the Cylons unexpectedly asked for a cease fire and an armistice. The Colonials agreed to both and after a demarcation line was negotiated by the parties, every Cylon in Colonial space withdrew across the line and were never heard from again until two years ago when Cylon agents, both in appearance and biology similar to humans and with the ability to survive their forms' physical destruction by downloading their consciousness into new biological bodies, infiltrated Colonial space and sabotaged the Colonials' defense systems. Shortly thereafter, scores of Cylon warships invaded the Colonials' systems and launched genocidal thermonuclear weapon attacks on both the armed forces and the inhabited worlds with no warning and no calls for surrender."

Alfano grunted at that. "Apparently, diplomacy and honor mean very little to these Cylons," he observed.

No one said anything for several moments until Jackson broke the ice. "Taking what Lena has reported into account, I believe we face a number of challenges in dealing with both parties to this conflict. Both parties, understandably, are highly emotional concerning the wrongs each perceives were done to them by the other side. Moreover, the situation is complicated by another factor that, at this time, raises serious questions about the rationality of the Cylon state of mind. Dr. Dalle, if you please?"

Ian seemed to take a moment to gather himself before he spoke. "Let me start by saying that I have an extensive background in both human and nonhuman psychology. Yet, what I've seen regarding the Cylons, albeit from a small sample, deeply troubles me."

"In what way, Doctor?" Theodore Roosevelt asked. Ted was the latest in a very long line of Roosevelt scions named for their most famous forefather, the Rough Rider and the 26th President of the United States of America. However, the Fleet Marine brigadier, in temperament, was more like the President's eldest son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., than the hard-charging leader who'd walked softly and carried a big stick. Even under heavy fire, Ted was more likely to be with his people, calmly directing his Marines to engage the enemy with his peoples' safety as his primary concern rather than use bluster and bravado to have his people storm the battlements in an ill-advised attempt to reenact the foolhardy Charge of the Light Brigade.

"Well, sir," Dalle answered, "for life forms that started out as machines, they appear to act in a highly erratic manner. If they have a master plan of some kind, I think it's safe to say it was developed by a bunch of lunatics! For instance, if they wanted to wipe out humanity in their sector of space, why would they bother to engineer human form Cylons that not only would blend in with humanity in a convincing fashion, but are also capable of sexual reproduction with the very same humans they did their damn best to completely eradicate?"

Alex cocked a well-groomed eyebrow toward the ceiling at that. "Dr. Dalle, I believe you posit an excellent question. Why would the Cylons go through such an exercise of such apparent futility?"

"We don't know at this juncture. Based on my discussions both with the Colonials and the Cylons we have 'in protective custody,' the Cylon's religious beliefs as mandated by their monotheistic god dictates that they should procreate as we do even though they have mastered advanced cloning techniques to create the scores of biological models they'd used to infiltrate the Colonies. Considering that they cannot conceive among themselves and require the assistance of a human being, I'd understand if they wanted to neutralize the Colonials' defenses and cull the number of humans down to a manageable number to use as breeding stock. But to attempt to completely wipe out humanity? It doesn't make a lick of sense!"

"Doctor," Czmbor asked, "how many models are there and do you have any images of them you can provide us?"

Dalle removed a tiny disc from his breast pocket and inserted into the computer station on the conference table. "Here are the images of the five models we've encountered. There is an unsubstantiated rumor that there are a total of twelve models but we have no way of determining the truth of the matter. The model we've interrogated believes there are twelve models yet has stated she's only seen seven models after her activation."

"Additionally," he said, "their 'master plan' seems to have some serious bugs in it. Some of the infiltrators have begun to identify with the very humans their people have tried to destroy. One Cylon male who was married to a human woman and was the step-father to that woman's child, killed himself outside of their download range rather than attempt to harm his wife and child. Another, a female, is so enamored by the Marines aboard her battlestar, she believes she is in love with several of them. She has no desire to see 'her' Marines come to any harm at the hands of her people."

"Doctor," Ted quipped, "that simply goes to show that Cylon lady has impeccably good taste!"

After everyone had laughed at Ted's joke, Dalle added, "This woman has said she only can become the person she's destined to be if she's allowed to remain in the company of the humans she's grown to cherish. And do you want to know the craziest thing about this whole damn mess? I actually believe her!"

"Be that as it may, Dr. Dalle," Alex stated, "the erratic nature of these Cylons, as you previously reported, presents a clear and present danger to the citizens of my star systems. I am afraid I must demand that the Fleet use any and all means to interdict any attempt by these Cylons to infiltrate the inhabited systems of this star cluster."

"I am certain my officers and I are all in agreement with you on this, Sector Administrator," Amato said.

"Yes, sir," Jackson said. "Until we determine the extent of their download and tracking capabilities, we can't afford to allow the infiltrators or the Cylons that may be in pursuit of the Colonial refuge fleet to enter the Xanadu system. Therefore, I strongly recommend that Dr. Dalle work with the task force's medical personnel to modify their portable medical scanners per the doctor's instructions to help ferret out any more infiltrators based on the percentage of silicon in their bodies, with your permission, Jantienne."

"Of course, Malcolm," de Ruyter said.

"Thank you," he offered with a grateful smile. "I believe with the two hundred and fifty medical personnel along with the appropriate contingent of Marine personnel from your people, Ted, and the Colonials' Marines, we should be able to safely scan the entire population of the refugee fleet by the time their search and rescue teams return to their fleet. When we uncover an infiltrator, we will isolate that individual and place them under protective custody aboard one of our vessels."

"I like this plan," de Ruyter said. "I think Witchcraft would be the perfect ship for this task. She's fast, spacious, armed almost to the point of overkill, and as a brainship, is impervious to any attempt by an infiltrator at cyberhacking."

"I'll also assign an entire Marine Reaction Company to Witchcraft to serve as security personnel to guard our 'guests,'" Ted added.

"Another consideration to this approach you should all note," Dalle said, "is that we can use the scanning process to cloak the infiltrator search within the necessity to determine the health status of the refugees and to treat them or immunize them as required."

"There is that, Ian," Jackson said. "However, we need to keep in mind that we face many challenges in regards to the Colonials, too. These people are not their 'best and brightest.' They weren't the people that any rational government would have chosen to preserve its peoples' civilization. The Galactica was their oldest warship and was supposed to be decommissioned on the day of the Cylon holocaust. She's been stripped of most of her armor and was defenseless during the attack, yet she took a nuclear warhead to her hull and survived. Afterwards, the crew managed to re-arm her and lead the refugees to safety. Even so, although competent, perhaps even valiant, the crew has had several nearly fatal security lapses and has failed to effectively interrogate any of the infiltrators in its custody. For instance, a poorly secured nuclear warhead found its way into the hands of a Cylon infiltrator who'd assassinated the admiral and commanding officer of the other battlestar. This infiltrator could have used the warhead to destroy a number of the refugee vessels and decapitate the refugee's government. Fortunately, Lena and I were able to work with the Colonials to recover the warhead and apprehend the infiltrator."

While his fiancée shot him a pointed look that fairly shouted, "Idiot!", Jantienne, with a look of unbridled admiration for her close friend on her handsome face pronounced, "Admiral Amato, Undersecretary Alfano, and Senior Captain Czmbor, both the President of the Colonies and their fleet admiral expounded on the gallantry and conspicuous conduct of Senior Captain Jackson and his party during his time with them. I believe it is appropriate to submit the good captain for consideration of the Fleet Cross at this time."

Fortunately for him, Jackson's dark complexion hid the furious blush on his face. In the meantime, Amato regarded him soberly for a brief moment. Then the other man shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Always the hero," the elder man declared.

Jackson shrugged and gave his friend a wry smile. "Right back at you," he quipped. Years ago, the smaller man who was still half Jackson's size had miraculously managed to drag his unconscious body off the burning bridge of their destroyer after their ship had been nearly lost defeating a powerful pirate cruiser after a pitched battle.

Amato simply nodded, their secret shared only between the two men. "Jantienne, your recommendation is noted and will be submitted. Also, I think it is appropriate for me to add that this action further reinforces the Alliance President and Joint Chiefs decision that I will discuss with you upon the conclusion of this briefing. Malcolm, would you please continue with your presentation?"

Jackson fought to rein in his curiosity and said, "Of course, Admiral. As I had said, although the crew of the Galactica had its challenges, it stepped up to protect the refugees. The other ship, the Pegasus, was an entirely different story. That vessel's commanding officer had managed to escape from the Cylon attack despite the fact the infiltrator on board had sabotaged the ship's computer systems. This same infiltrator had managed to seduce the C.O. and when the infiltrator was discovered and captured, the C.O. apparently lost all sense of perspective. She ordered the members of her crew to sexually assault and brutally torture the prisoner repeatedly."

Alex gulped deeply. "Dear God…" she whispered.

"Additionally, after the fall of their colonies, this C.O. had ordered her crew to strip a number of civilian refugee ships the battlestar had encountered of their FTL drive components and of any personnel she deemed to be useful to her cause. Then she abandoned the survivors in their inoperable vessels to the cold depths of deep space."

De Ruyter's face turned beet red at that. "Why…why that cold-hearted bitch! To betray her oath to defend her people so callously!"

Even a cool operator like Czmbor was shaken by the horrible story. "Even if she's rotting in Hell, it's still too good for the likes of her!"

"The reason I laid all of this out for you all is that after going through these trials, the Colonials aren't going to be thrilled with giving the infiltrators to us if we don't guarantee that we would space them after all of their intelligence value has been extracted from them. Suffice it to say, if they knew we intend to return any willing Cylon back to their people, the Colonials would likely consider that a serious betrayal to our mutual war effort against their implacable foe."

Alfano gave him a look of disbelief. "Wait one freaking minute! Are you saying these people expect us to take up their war with the Cylons for them?"

Lena nodded fervently. "That's exactly what they want us to do, Mr. Alfano. They believe we're their brethren from their long lost Thirteenth Colony, a tribe they say had left Kobol for greener pastures several millennia before the exodus of the other twelve tribes. They believe Earth is the home of their lost tribe and, even though we all know that simply isn't true, it's going to be a titanic struggle to get them to accept the reality of the situation."

Amato glanced at Stenger then Jackson. "Recommendations?"

"Well," Jackson said, "we recommend that Jantienne contact the Colonial president and tell her that we insist that every person in their fleet must undergo the medical scans by our personnel before they will be allowed to enter Alliance space. If they refuse, we will have no choice but to turn them away, either toward unexplored space, and possibly into arms of the Sakqua, or to return back the way they came."

Alfano glared at him. "Essentially, you're not giving them any choice in the matter."

"Precisely," Lena agreed.

"Very well," Jantienne uttered with a sigh. "Do I reveal our concerns about the Cylon infiltrators in thieir midst to President Roslin?"

"I don't see why we shouldn't," he said. "However, I would only tell Admiral Adama and her about our plan and caution them not to share it with anyone."

"Agreed," de Ruyter acknowledged. "I'll also tell her they must surrender the infiltrators currently in custody to us immediately. Moreover, we need to have her bring her people up to speed about the fact that there are trillions of nonhuman citizens in our Alliance, too."

Jackson paused for a moment to reflect on Jantienne's points before an idea flashed into his mind. "How about this, Jantienne? Tell her after she informs her people about our nonhuman citizens, you'd be happy to invite her, their Quorum, and their media representatives to the Hermes for a press conference that you'll give. At the conference, we'll have the President tell her people about the medical scans and why they must undergo the scans for the safety of both them and us. Then you invite everyone in attendance to undergo a medical scan that will be conducted under Dr. Dalle's supervision to show the people in her fleet the process is harmless. And, if we happen to uncover an infiltrator during the press conference, we can isolate that individual later in the least intrusive manner possible and take them into protective custody. Now, I prefer we take that person alive if possible to gain further insight into the Cylon's society and uncover its strengths and weaknesses through intensive interrogation."

"Once we have them all in custody, the rest of the fleet can proceed to Xanadu. Meanwhile, Witchcraft can join the Huntress in orbit above the planet in the nebula where we'd met the Colonial scout craft. Then we develop a plan to confront the pursuing Cylons on our terms. I believe the approach we will craft must be multi-faceted. We should be prepared to demonstrate our technological and military supremacy during our first engagement to demonstrate our resolve. However, this should not be our main thrust since we must preserve most of our capability to prosecute the war against the Sakqua. Additionally, I propose we use diplomacy to establish a dialog with them and to set the stage for the introduction of seditious elements into their society that we can exploit if necessary."

Amato glanced at everyone around the table to see if anyone else had something to say. When no one had said another word, he nodded and declared, "It's a great plan, Malcolm. We'll play it your way, although, I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised with the resources we'll provide you after I've had my say."

He grinned at his old friend. "Admiral, our briefing is completed. The floor is your's, sir."

The Admiral smiled enigmatically at each person, virtual or otherwise, in the room before he began to speak.

#