Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the classic Battlestar Galactica Series and Tom Zarek in the Reimagined Series. You will be missed.
Battlestar Galactica: The Guiding Fire
Episode 2
Heritage: Part 4
With
Gideon Emery as Captain James Cutter
Faye Kingslee as Ellen Anders
Courtenay Taylor as Serina
Willem Dafoe as Major Vladimir Markov
Rob Mayes as Jerome-092
Christopher Eccleston as Lieutenant Colonel Christian McCullen
Zachary Quinto as Petty Officer Jonathan Green
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lieutenant Isaac Larson
Michael Peña as Petty Officer Lukas Blake
Jay Baruchel as Lieutenant Scott Travis
Sam Elliott as Chief Engineer Andrew Prescott
Karl Urban as Major Soren Heidegger
And Introducing Bruce Willis as Colonel Maxwell Shaw
APRIL 23 2534 / 1010 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR PEGASUS BS-62
PORTSIDE HANGAR DECK
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
49,561 SURVIVORS
"Commander Garner, what do you mean this is under the President's orders? Those were our allies you just had arrested." Lee asked, still shocked with disbelief and standing with the Commander behind the UNSC Pelican captured moments ago.
"I did this under her direct instructions, Major. It has become a priority concern of the President's that Captain Cutter will leave the Fleet behind the second he has the chance in order to keep the cylons from finding Earth. To ensure that doesn't happen, the President feels it will be necessary for us to take direct action to seize the Spirit of Fire and her navigational data."
"Does the Admiral know about this?" Lee questioned with his arm pointed in the general direction of the Galactica.
"I would assume so." Garner stated. "Now report to the CIC and set Condition One throughout the ship. I will stay here to brief the assault teams on their mission."
Lee lingered, as the sense of military duty and his own sense of personal justice battled inside him. "Do you understand your orders Major?" Garner asked with a hefty tone.
Lee shut his mouth into a deadpan expression that still did not quite hide the fire in his eyes as he gave the Commander a salute. "Sir," he returned before about-facing and departed.
Lee headed back at a brisk pace, seeing several Marines headed the opposite direction, including when he arrived at the top of the lift that ran between the flight pod and the rest of the battlestar. Shortly thereafter he came to one of the ship's maintenance storage lockers and ducked inside quietly, thankfully finding a wall mounted phone among the shelves of equipment. "CIC,"
"CIC?" Lieutenant Hoshi again answered.
"This is the XO," Lee said with urgency. "I need you to get me an emergency direct line to Galactica. I need to speak with the Admiral immediately."
"Sir…" Hoshi replied with reluctance. "You know I can't do that, senior-level communiques can only be exchanged in the CIC, that's basic protocol sir."
Lee let out a frustrated huff of air. "You want my authorization code, fine. Alpha-seven-niner-three-gamma-nebula-five-two-one-constellation. Now get me the Admiral!"
APRIL 23 2534 / 1010 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA BS-75
CIC
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
Entering the CIC with the Admiral, Cutter was impressed with vast layout of it all as he followed Adama to the tabled command station beneath the hanging tower of monitors at the center of the room where Colonel Tigh stood waiting.
"Captain," the executive officer greeted with welcome as they shook hands.
"Colonel," Cutter returned. "Good to see you again."
"So, what do you think of it all?" Tigh asked, curious as to the UNSC Captain's opinion
Cutter glanced about, seeing quite a bit of antiquated technology, coupled with the excess of personnel numbering in the dozens needed to accommodate the needs that old tech demanded. Admittingly, he felt a bit lost, not knowing where the 'front' of the room was without there being a view of the space ahead of the ship. It was a smart design the Colonials shared with the Covenant by locating the bridge as far inside the vessel as possible but for the slightly claustrophobic Captain it might have made him feel slightly disoriented were it not for the CIC's grandiose amphitheater-like design.
"Well, I can definitely say I have never been in a Bridge quite like this before, Colonel." He said, placing his hands on the underlit table covered with a small number of transparent maps of areas within the local system. "I take it this is where it all goes down?"
"Command and Control." Tigh said with a drawn-out tone that spoke to the pride he felt the ship.
"I notice there aren't any chairs, isn't that a safety issue?" Cutter observed.
"We've all taken our licks," Tigh admitted with a smirk. "But it's better for the crew to see their commanding officers being active to keep the lot from slacking off themselves."
"Admiral?" a young dark skinned woman sitting not far away at a station spoke up. "I have Apollo on the line for you, he said it's urgent."
Adama turned his head back toward Captain Cutter and Colonel Tigh and gave them a polite nod. "Excuse me." He said before he walked over to the woman's station.
"Well Colonel, care to show me around this flying bunker of yours?" Cutter prompted.
\\\\\\O
Adama stepped up to Dualla's station, removing the UNSC headset and replacing it with a spare Dualla kept for such occasions. "This is the Admiral," he said casually.
"Dad, please tell me this wasn't your idea." Bill heard his son speak in a stressed tone of voice much to his confusion.
Bill's brow pinched at the desperation painting Lee's voice. "Lee, what are you talking about, what's going on?"
"Commander Garner just arrested the UNSC pilots sent here to pick up the FTL drive and he's going to force two of them to fly a Marine strike force to seize control of the Spirit of Fire. He said it was under the President's orders!"
Adama's face tightened as he glanced over to Cutter on the other side of the room at the Tactical Station speaking with Lieutenant Gaeta who seemed to be borrowing Colonel Tigh's headset. Whatever was happening, Bill needed to handle this quick and quietly. If he could resolve this before things escalated he could play it down to Cutter later but right now Bill felt that involving the UNSC Captain might only make matters worse. The last thing this Fleet needed was another potential skirmish with the Spirit of Fire. "I never approved anything like that. Where are you now?"
"In a maintenance locker, it was the closest place with a phone I could find."
"Get to the CIC, take control of the situation and I'll get to the bottom of what's going on. Place Commander Garner under arrest if you have to, but those dropships do not leave the flight pod."
"Understood Admiral," a slightly more composed sounding Lee replied. "I'll contact you once I have the situation under control."
"Good. Galactica Actual out." Adama pressed the button to close the channel and looked back to Dualla who looked more than a little uneasy, overhearing the conversation. "Get me the President."
"She's already on the line for you sir." Dualla said ominously.
"Put her through." He ordered, waiting a second for the Petty Officer to switch him over. "Madam President?" he asked with his tone deadpan, not wanting to give away he knew anything to whomever was acting against Captain Cutter.
"Admiral, I'm sorry but I'll have to skip the pleasantries. Do you know where Captain Cutter is aboard your ship?" Adama heard Roslin ask.
"Yes," he answered to Roslin's ominous question. "He's currently here in the CIC, Colonel Tigh is giving him the tour around." Adama responded, looking back up to see a rather elated Lieutenant Gaeta apparently explaining the Fleet combat air patrol to the Captain using the transparent green Tactical Plot, the three men still unaware to the unfolding chain of events.
"I want you to place him under arrest immediately." Roslin said without hesitation.
Bill wasn't a spiritual man but right now in the back of his mind he prayed she wasn't really doing this, not now, but that didn't stop him from seeing all the pieces lining up to create an irreparable mess of a situation. "I must have not heard you correctly, can you repeat that?" he asked, knowing full well what she said.
At Laura's end on Colonial One, she spoke at a slow and deliberate pace as she kept her eyes locked on the whiteboard that held the listed survivor count, the people she was responsible for. "I want you to arrest Captain Cutter and his guards and do it immediately." she spelled it out clearly. "You will then select a command officer such as Colonel Tigh or Captain Kelly to join a Marine strike team and commandeer the dropship Captain Cutter used to come aboard the Galactica. Strike teams from the Pegasus have already captured the dropships of the flight sent to retrieve the first FTL drive and they will use them to assist in then boarding the Spirit of Fire to capture its Bridge as well as all of its navigational data. After we have control of the ship, we will put the majority of the crew back into cryogenic storage, leaving only a skeleton crew with Colonial Officers left in command."
Bill did his best to hide his emotions from the rest of the crew beneath his stony poker face as he leaned his arm on the top of the station to hide the growing irritation in his eyes. "Why am I only learning of this now?" he said with a barely suppressed growl.
Laura swiveled her chair back toward her desk to focus more on the conversation she wasn't sure Adama was buying in to. "I needed to keep my cards close to my chest. I couldn't be sure of the extent of the Spirit of Fire's information gathering capabilities. I apologize but it was a necessary precaution." Roslin excused, hoping he would see the logic in the steps she had taken.
"I don't think Cutter's men will take to kindly to us holding hostages, particularly their Captain. We don't even know how many troops Spirit has aboard. But I know for a fact they have three specific soldiers that can destroy an entire company of Centurions and not suffer a single casualty."
"I don't believe that will matter as long as we have their Captain and a half dozen of their men under armed guard." Roslin said with an even but serious tone of voice.
"Madam President… Laura, we can't do this." Bill said with weighted words. "What do you think their government will do to you when we get to Earth and find out we stole one of their ships?"
"I assume I'll be put on trial," Laura admitted, reclining back in her chair, pondering for a brief second what that moment would be like before she straightened herself. "Maybe we all will," she said. "But we will be at Earth and our people will be safe. That is what matters, and right now I cannot trust that man to not leave us behind to protect his own people from the cylons before all else. I cannot take that risk, not when we're this close." Laura emphasized.
At her end, she paused to brush the hair out of the corner of her face. "This is a Presidential Order Admiral and I need you to comply with it." she stated, switching tactics to try to force Bill into her plan.
Bill weighed his options, measuring them in kind with his own principles and pragmatic view Laura had taken on this. If Spirit of Fire did lead the Fleet to the UNSC, they would be bringing the war with the cylons along with them, no question about that. The Thirteenth Tribe had strong ships and advanced technology, but the Cylons were in equal parts cunning and vicious. Any war between them would be just as bloody as the First Cylon War. Did they the other twelve tribes, have the right to force that upon the Thirteenth? Was the Colonial civilization worth all the lives that would be shed? Bill didn't know, but it wasn't his decision to make.
"No."
Laura blinked as she processed Adama's response. "Excuse me?"
Bill spoke louder from the hushed tone he had held for the last few minutes. "I said 'no', it means I refuse."
Laura clutched her fist, not out of frustration but of the tension she was feeling. "Admiral if you do this you will be committing treason. I am trying to save our people." Laura said with equal weight and emphasis.
"And I am trying to keep the only alliance we have against the Cylons alive." Adama replied. "This is a military matter now and I'm exercising my authority on it. I am not going to let this happen." Bill said definitively.
With that, Bill pulled off the headset. "Close the channel." He quietly told his young Communications Officer, who then complied. Straightening himself, Bill then looked back to the Tactical Station where Captain Cutter and Lieutenant Gaeta were still locked in conversation. "Mr. Gaeta." Bill spoke with a raised but unstressed tone to catch the man's attention. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" he requested politely.
Gaeta paused mid-conversation unexpectedly, seemingly excused himself to Captain Cutter and handed Tigh back the headset before coming over while Tigh glanced over curiously, sensing something amiss but instead acted against his instincts and pointed Cutter over to the Helm Control Station to keep Bill's hands free for whatever was going on.
"Yes, Admiral." Gaeta said in an obviously upbeat mood that most of the crew shared when they learned the Spirit of Fire's commanding officer would be aboard.
"I just got off a call with the President. She wants me to arrest Captain Cutter and seize his ship." He said plainly, making Felix Gaeta's expression drop like a sack of flour. Before he could ask a question, Adama continued. "However, I am unconvinced as to the…validity of this order." Bill spoke looking back to the uneasy Dualla, making sure their eyes met so his message would get across. "Dee, did you hear anything abnormal about the President's transmission?" he asked her. "The sound on the wireless, it seemed off, strange, I can't exactly put my finger on it but my gut's telling me something's not right. Is there any way that transmission could have been falsified, some an act of sabotage?" Adama asked, trying to lay out his subtext as subtly as he could for the Petty Officer to pick up.
Dualla's eyes quickly moved around until she focused down on her station. "Um, it would be possible to create a computer modulated voice. Particularly for the cylons, I would guess." Dee said as she manufactured her explanation. "The President has been on the public wireless enough that it could potentially give them enough COM data to work with to create a program to emulate her voice. It seems plausible, Admiral."
Holding his deadpan expression, Adama turned back to Lieutenant Gaeta. "Mr. Gaeta, I need you to jam all of Colonial One's communications and do it quietly."
"Yes, Admiral."
"Also, I need a Raptor prepped with a Marine squad to escort an Engineer over to Colonial One to investigate for potential devices. Get Cally for it and have her meet me in my quarters in an hour. Get to it."
"Yes sir, Admiral." He said both solidly and quietly before returning to his station.
Bill had done all he could at the moment from Galactica, now it was just up to Lee to take care of matters on the Pegasus and pray to the Gods the officers on the Spirit of Fire didn't get jumpy when they start to notice something amiss.
APRIL 23 2534 / 1015 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
UNSC SPIRIT OF FIRE CFV-88
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
Such as it was, the Pelican flight's lengthy time aboard the Pegasus had not gone unnoticed by the recently promoted Lieutenant Commander Isaac Larson who wandered over to the starboard side arc of stations to look out at the bulwark of a starship the Spirit of Fire was cruising alongside. Leaning over Petty Officer Blake's station, his lips slid to the left as he pondered which was difficult for Blake not to take notice of given their proximity.
"Something wrong sir?" Luke asked nonchalantly as he continued performing sensor sweeps on the Pegasus to learn more about the obviously more modern ship. Well, modern when compared to Galactica. A tub was still a tub and Pegasus was nevertheless a couple centuries behind any UNSC ship in terms of propulsion and weapons systems.
"Major Heidegger is half an hour overdue of his arrival time." Larson said with a contemplative tone.
"Could be some holdup on the Colonials end." Luke offered with an assuming tone. "If the cargo storage is in the main body of the ship it could take some time moving anything to those stupid hangar pods, and then you got the fact those Colonial yahoos are the ones handling things."
Larson nodded but was still unconvinced. "Serina," he said turning back toward the open floor and the holotable where Serina appeared. "I want you to hail the Pegasus and ask them what's going on. And get me a sit-rep on the Captain's status from the ODSTs aboard Galactica."
"Feeling paranoid on your first day in command Mr. Larson?" Serina teased.
"Just cautious," he replied in a manner assuring he wasn't acting just like a stereotypical jumpy junior officer who just got promoted. "What's the status of Red Team?"
"Armory-One doing routine maintenance on their equipment." Serina stated. "Should I tell them not to get too comfortable?"
"Let's not cry havoc just yet, little lady. Any word yet from the ODSTs or Pegasus?"
Serina put on a smug smile as she wrapped her holographic arms behind her back. "ODSTs report the all-clear on Galactica, Captain even seems to be having a good time on the old museum piece. As for Pegasus, they said they were having issues getting the drive down the cargo elevators."
"And did you try to raise Major Heidegger or any of the other pilots.?" Larson asked with a raised eyebrow as he paced over to the other side while maintaining eye contact.
"I wasn't. When I asked Pegasus about that, they said the ship's more advanced internal security protocols jam any unauthorized signals to disrupt enemy boarding actions, which isn't that farfetched, we have similar systems in place aboard our own ships as standard operating procedure. If you want, I can access the Pelicans' external cameras to see if anything's off but our view will be limited to the hangar deck."
The Lieutenant Commander shook his head, perhaps he was being paranoid. "No, let's give them a bit more time for now. It won't do anyone good if we can't trust each other over simple issues."
APRIL 23 2534 / 1020 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR PEGASUS BS-62
CIC
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
With a hiss, the wall of glass doors collectively swiveled open as Commander Garner came storming in with a scowl directed at Lee who stood on the opposite side of the Command and Control Station, the underlit table making his brass insignias and buttons shine in the dim room.
"Major Adama, why isn't this ship at Condition One like I ordered?" Garner huffed, appearing as a balloon letting out hot air in that tight uniform of his over his stout body.
Lee held a neutral look on his face as he met Garner's angry eyes. "Because the Admiral just ordered Pegasus to stand down, sir."
"What?" Garner asked incredulously. "Lieutenant Hoshi get me Galactica!" he ordered as he paced around to the command phone line.
Lieutenant Hoshi, for his part had a very uneasy look in his eyes as he did as directed. "Connection established."
Garner took up the phone as did Lee on the opposite side. "Galactica, this is Pegasus Actual."
"This is Galactica Actual." Lee heard his father respond. "Pegasus Actual, you are to stand down immediately and release the captured UNSC pilots."
A look of confusion began twisting itself on Commander Garner's face. "Galactica Actual, I was given those orders by the President herself. Hasn't she contacted you?"
"She has and I am countermanding those orders on the basis that this may be in all possibility a plot by the cylons to incite chaos in the Fleet." The Admiral replied but seemingly did little to ease Garner's agitation.
"Admiral, that doesn't make sense, I spoke with her myself. The transmission came from Colonial One!"
"And I'm telling you, you heard wrong." Lee's father spoke solidly with just a hint of intimidation painted in at the end. "You have your orders Commander, stand down and release those pilots with the FTL Drive I promised them and do so immediately. If you do not comply, Major Adama has my permission to take command of the ship. Do you understand?"
"But Admiral-"
"You have your orders Commander." Lee's father interrupted. "Galactica Actual out."
The line went silent and Commander Garner hang up the phone now wearing a sour look. "Lieutenant Hoshi, get me Colonial One." Garner requested to Lee's surprise.
At his station, the Communications Officer shook his head. "I can't sir, they're being jammed."
"By who?" Garner demanded.
"It appears to be Galactica, sir." Hoshi replied.
The sour look soon changed to worry as Garner looked about the room nervously. "We know for a fact that Spirit of Fire's commander is aboard Galactica right now." Garner said with a long anxious breath. "We can only assume she's been captured by Cutter's forces and it's obvious he aims to take control of the rest of the Fleet, first by cutting off all communications with the President." Garner said, making Lee's mouth part open at his Commander's extraordinary leap in judgement.
"Sir, that doesn't make sense. My father would never surrender the Galactica and I can tell you, he would never cooperate willingly for anyone who would try to take it from him." Lee explained with logic in place of Garner's apparent lack thereof. "Why would Spirit of Fire even wait this long? Captain Cutter had his chance to take Galactica over a week ago, but instead he has agreed to an alliance with us. Why would they attack again now?"
"I don't pretend to understand the actions of the enemy." Garner replied stubbornly.
"Enemy? Commander Garner-" Lee tried to interrupt before he was cut off.
"What I do understand, Major, is that there is a rogue warship out there free to go and act as it pleases!" Lee stood with pressed lips as Commander Garner took a breath. While Lee reluctantly agreed on that last point, what Garner was doing was not the way to resolve the problem. "Do you know anything about engines?" He began somewhat confusingly to Lee but let Garner continue. "It's a work of art, each piece and part working together in perfect timing with every other element. Without an engine, a ship is nothing more than a collection of metal. Let me tell you, everyone looks down on snipes like me but there is no one who knows the necessity of order more than one. That's why Admiral Adama put me in command of Pegasus. Order is what this ship needs. And that's what this Fleet needs! You have just one random troublesome part causing a problem, the whole engine could fail. And that's what that ship out there will do if we can't reign it in and make sure our people survive long enough to get to Earth!"
"Commander, you're not making any sense! These are the Admiral's orders! You are-"
"Orders? I'm acting on the President's orders!" Garner tried to interrupt.
"-Bound by military law to follow his command or face the consequences!" Lee continued through Garner's outburst.
"I don't want to hear it Major! You are an officer aboard my ship and you will-"
Lee pressed through. "This is a strict breach of conduct for an officer of the Colonial Fleet! Admiral Adama has given-"
"-follow my command as I direct aboard my ship the same as every other officer and deckhand-" Garner continued.
"-you a direct order and by not complying you leave me no other choice but to RELIEVE YOU OF COMMAND!" Lee shouted over Garner's words, finally bringing this confrontation to a head. Lee turned to the deck sergeant standing guard over the CIC. "Sergeant, I have relieved Commander Garner of his duties under Admiral Adama's direct orders. Escort him to the brig."
But it seemed Garner wasn't going down without a fight as he stepped up and puffed out his chest. "Sergeant, I am giving you a direct order: You will take this man into custody and lock him up for insubordination and mutiny." Garner ordered, leaving the Marine Sergeant to look between the two opposing officers, the sweat glistening on his face betraying the stoic look he was wearing as he decided which officer to follow.
"Major, please come with me." He said at last.
APRIL 23 2534 / 1025 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA BS-75
CIC
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
BE-BEEP BE-BEEP BE-BEEP, the DRADIS alarm sounded, turning the mostly normal and even jovial mood in the CIC into one of fear and foreboding. "Admiral, Pegasus is activating weapons! Multiple nuclear activation signatures detected!" Lieutenant Gaeta alerted as Admiral Adama marched down to the Command and Control Station. "Wait, Pegasus is targeting Spirit of Fire?"
"Damn it Garner," Adama quietly swore as he soon found himself joined by Captain Cutter and Colonel Tigh.
"Admiral, what's going on?" Cutter asked with a concerned voice that Bill was thankful to hear free of the outrage he had expected.
"The Cylons are trying are trying to get us to shoot each other again." The Admiral said, sticking to his cover story. "Several minutes ago, I received a falsified message from the President calling for your arrest. The cylons were mimicking her voice and if it weren't for Miss Dualla who noticed the subtle difference, everyone would have thought it was a genuine order." Adama explained while glancing back to the busy young woman at her station.
"But that didn't stop Garner from being a paranoid idiot, did it?" Tigh commented bitterly.
Indeed, that bitterness was a shared feeling evident on Captain Cutter's face as he met Bill's eyes. "Why wasn't I informed of this plot sooner, Admiral?" he questioned.
"I didn't want to escalate the situation unnecessarily Captain. I apologize for that, but now it seems that Commander Garner has also received false orders, orders he wrongly believes to be genuine in spite of my efforts to clarify him on the issue. An officer aboard that ship, my son, has informed me that Garner has captured the members of the Pelican Flight sent to retrieve the first of your ship's FTL drives, I gave him a dir-"
"Admiral!" Dee called out, grabbing everyone's attention. "Pegasus is broadcasting a transmission on all channels!" she said, rousing the anger Bill had managed to suppress until now.
"Put it on." Adama replied with a small snarl in his voice.
"To the Colonial Fleet, this is Commander Garner of the Battlestar Pegasus. I am here to warn you all that Captain Cutter of the Spirit of Fire is making an attempt to overthrow the Colonial government and at this time may have control over the Battlestar Galactica as well. All communications with Colonial One are currently being jammed and I advise all ships initiate FTL jump to emergency rendezvous coordinates. To the Spirit of Fire and Captain Cutter, I have six of your pilots in my custody and firing solutions on Spirit of Fire with every nuke and gun on my ship's port side. Any action made against Pegasus or the ships in this fleet will result in the execution of your men and the immediate engagement of Pegasus. Your ship may be big but I doubt it can withstand a prolonged bombardment from a Mercury-class Battlestar at point-blank range." Garner spoke threateningly. "I am giving you ten minutes to relinquish your control on the Colonial Government and surrender your ship as well as yourself to face justice."
Colonel Tigh growled out his anger, matched by Bill's furious scowl etched upon his face. "Garner, you Gods damned fool." Tigh cursed.
"Prepare to broadcast a message on all channels!" Adama commanded to Lieutenant Dualla.
She immediately set to work to establish a broadcast signal but as the Admiral waited, she paused strangely, then began again at a more hectic pace but soon stopped again. "Admiral, I'm having some issues, I keep on getting interference on the wireless signal."
"It's the Pegasus sir," Lieutenant Gaeta called out. "Commander Garner is jamming our wireless transmissions, all we have left is the short-range directional laser transmitter to issue communications from." A beep from the DRADIS brought everyone's attention up to the hanging display of monitors as one marker blinked off of the screen followed shortly by another. "Fleet is initiating emergency jump!" Gaeta alerted.
"They'll be completely on their own out there if the cylons show up." The Colonel stated.
"Can you establish a link with my ship?" Cutter directed at Adama and Tigh as more and more ships followed suit.
Tigh had an uneasy look on his face at the prospect of the orders Cutter could potentially issue to Spirit of Fire. "I don't know what you can do, your ship so much as twitches wrong and she'll get a full broadside from Pegasus." Tigh reasoned out.
"Report: All civilian ships have jumped." Lieutenant Gaeta stated.
"Captain," Adama spoke with a tone of tact. "I would respectfully request that you order your ship not to take any aggressive actions at this time, we can't afford give the cylons what they want." Bill stated with such certainty, he almost believed the lie himself. "I'd ask that you please let me handle this, Pegasus is a Colonial ship and I was the one who put Garner in command, he's my responsibility."
Cutter stood, a foreigner in a foreign place and a Captain with no ship to command. He likely felt such a sense of helplessness as Adama would have were their positions reversed. The man took a breath before issuing his decision. "So be it Admiral, but I still want to be put in contact with my ship, they need to know what's going on."
Adama nodded back at his ally before addressing Ms. Dualla. "Dee get on it,"
"Yes Admiral, bringing the laser transmitter online now." She replied promptly.
"Mr. Gaeta," Adama spoke at a higher tone of authority. "I want every Raptor we have prepped for launch with Marine assault teams as soon as possible and inform Sergeant Hadrian I will be leading this mission personally to remove Garner from command of the Pegasus." Bill said, surprising Colonel Tigh along with everyone else with his words. "Colonel Tigh, you have the ship." Said the Old Man as he took off the UNSC headset, then quickly made his way out of the CIC.
Colonel Tigh's head followed his friend as he stormed out unexpectedly with an unsure expression suddenly befalling the Colonel's features as he found himself puzzled on what he should do. "Lieutenant Gaeta, you have the deck." He said with a lowered voice that matched the look on his face, before he too removed his headset and followed Bill out.
This left an equally hesitant Mr. Gaeta who now found himself in command of the venerable battlestar and the dozens of crewmembers now abruptly looking to him for direction. He looked about uneasily as a junior officer approached from his right to man the Tactical Station for him, momentarily shocking him into the reality of the situation. Felix handed off control of the station and then awkwardly made his way down to Command and Control. For a long moment, he looked around at the station and the DRADIS screen, unsure of what to do in the face of his past experiences and seeing Adama and Colonel Tigh act in command time after time.
Then from his right, Captain Cutter held out the Admiral's headset to him, his face one of calm and neutrality in the time of this crisis. He took the offered item and dawned the headset as his feelings of anxiety were assuaged by the presence of at least one seasoned commanding officer being with him.
Gaeta laughed nervously at himself and the emotions he was feeling. "It's funny," he began with a dry mouth. "I've lost count of the number of engagements I've been here for and seen Admiral Adama handle but now that it's me standing here, I don't have a clue what I'm doing." He confessed with an anxious breath to Cutter as their eyes met.
"Well, if it were me," Cutter began with a serious voice as he looked up at the DRADIS screen. "I'd move Galactica up out of the Pegasus' forward firing arcs and put the ventral batteries on standby. If Garner is as incompetent as recent events lead me to believe, we should be ready to take action."
"Captain Cutter," Dualla spoke up. "I've established a link with Spirit of Fire through the hard line when you're ready." She announced.
"Thank you," Cutter said out of habit, forgetting for a split second that she couldn't understand him without a headset, a problem that was beginning to annoy him.
"Okay," Felix said a little more relieved. "Helm, move us vertical to get out of the forward firing arcs of Pegasus' main battery. Weapons, warm up the fire control for batteries four and five." Gaeta ordered before looking back to Cutter. "What else should-um, would you do in my position sir?"
"Don't scramble the fighters yet." Cutter advised. "Place all squadrons on immediate standby and launch them if Pegasus tries to intercept the Admiral's boarding party. Pull back the combat air patrol and have them ready to escort the Raptors. Now if you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to contact my ship." The Captain said as he found and picked up the massive blocky phone that seemed straight out of the twentieth century.
"Yes sir," Gaeta replied, also out of habit. "I want all Viper squadrons in the tubes and ready for immediate launch if the Raptors come under attack. Withdraw the CAP and have them ready to provide escort."
"Spirit, this is the Cutter, authorization code: Zulu-foxtrot-three-five-three-one-alpha."
"Authorization code confirmed, it's good to hear from you sir." He heard Serina reply with thankfully less static versus the Colonials' choppy radio transmissions. "I'll get you Mr. Larson." She said before the line went silent for a second
"Captain, I'm glad to hear you're fine, do you know what's going on?" A slightly relieved Lieutenant Commander answered.
"A cylon trick and Pegasus' commander has fallen right for it." Cutter said as a hint of agitation filled his voice.
"What are your orders, sir?"
"Admiral Adama is going to lead a boarding operation to seize the Pegasus at this time and I don't want you to risk the Spirit unless we absolutely have to. Put all personnel on standby. If things go sideways, I want you to hit that thing with a HAVOK and tell Colonel Shaw he has my permission to initiate boarding operations, inform Major Markov and the Spartans that all targets will be considered as hostile."
"Yes sir," the Lieutenant Commander replied with a voice filled with hesitant acceptance.
"Now if you'll excuse me Isaac, I think I somehow just got put in charge of a battlestar."
\\\\\\O
"Bill what the Gods do you think you're doing?" a dismayed Colonel Tigh asked of his old friend as Bill marched down the halls with a pair of Marines in tow.
"I'm wondering if I should have Garner shot on the spot or arrested when I see him." Saul heard Bill say with a deadly serious voice.
"You can't lead the assault teams, you're the blasted Admiral! We need you here!"
Bill looked back over his shoulder at his XO. "With all the paranoia and mistrust circulating around, especially on the Pegasus. No one is going to believe a damn thing unless I'm standing on that ship." Bill growled out with an uncharacteristically raised voice.
"Yeah, and what if Garner decides to go out with a fight and you catch a bullet, who the hell is going to lead this fleet then?"
"I don't plan on dying Saul." Bill answered as they rounded a corner.
"No one does but that hasn't stopped it from happening."
Bill broke his thousand-yard stare, locking eyes with his Executive Officer. "Lee's still on Pegasus." Bill said, bringing a wave of realization upon Saul. Of course it was about Lee. "I'm not going to lose him like I lost Zak."
"Gods damn it all," Tigh muttered, knowing it was now all but impossible to stop him. It was a trait Bill shared with his son, a trait Saul prayed that damn kid could use to pull something out of his ass in time. For his sake, or for Bill's. Hell, for all their sakes.
APRIL 23 2534 / 1030 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR PEGASUS BS-62
BRIG
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
A harsh shove connected with the back of Lee's shoulder as he was shunted through the door into the brig by one of the two Marines assigned to escort him. Ahead he saw the six UNSC pilots separated into four individual cells, all were bereft of their helmets, displaying their very human faces that reinforced the notion inside Lee that they really were the Thirteenth Tribe and the Fleet's only hope of salvation. Two pairs of the Thirteenth Tribe pilots shared cells while the remaining two had ones all to themselves, one of them undoubtedly being Major Heidegger to keep him from rallying his men toward an escape attempt.
Lee met the eyes of one of the isolated pilots leaning up against the bars of his cell. A rugged man whose large, expressive eyes bled the energy of a senior officer, leading Lee to assume him to be the Major he'd spoken with earlier. To the left, the brig's single Marine guard leaned off the wall.
"One more?" the dark-skinned Marine asked.
"Yeah," replied the one who'd shoved Lee in the back. "Baby Adama here tried to start a mutiny against the Commander."
This elicited a cocked eyebrow from the guard who stepped on over with a slow, swaggering pace and a cocksure grin. "Admiral's son huh? Well guess what, that don't mean shit on Pegasus, daddy's boy. Here we pull our own weight."
"You idiots, don't you realize Garner's going to get us all killed if he starts a fight with them?" Lee asked, his own tensions still very high after his and Garner's war of words as he motioned his chin over at Heidegger.
"That's not for me to decide. See, here on this ship we actually know how to follow orders, it's how we survived out there by ourselves." The Marine sneered and Lee returned it in full.
"Yeah, and how many hundreds of people did you condemn to death following Cain's orders? You still think that was the right thing to do?"
"Like I said, 'orders'."
A shallow sigh sounded behind Lee from the Tauran Marine he'd tried to convince in the CIC. "Tapper, let's just lock him up. Commander needs us on those birds for the op."
'Tapper' said nothing in reply as he turned away. Lee took that second to glance right, spotting the Tauran Marine in his peripheral vision just a couple feet from where he stood before looking back ahead at Heidegger and giving the UNSC Major a meaningful look as Lee squared his jaw in preparation.
"Get back!" the second Marine on Lee's left flank shouted, stepping forward slightly with his rifle raised and within arm's reach of Lee. Heidegger stepped backward to the far wall just three meters from the opening door of his cell.
Then in a flash, Lee delivered his elbow into the nose of the Tauran Marine with enough force to knock him flat on the floor, an act that caught the attention of the other escort, breaking that Marine's aim on Heidegger long enough for Lee to clumsily tackle into him before the Marine could bring his rifle to bear.
The commotion caused the brig's guard to swing himself around to what was happening, an act he didn't realize left himself open until Major Heidegger tackled him to the ground outside the open cell. The Major pressed his advantage, bringing the hard composite of his knee guard hammering up into the Marine's groin, further knocking the wind out of the Colonial long enough for Heidegger to take hold of the Colonial rifle clipped to the Marine's vest and smash the rifle's scope into the man's face with enough force to break both the optic and the Marine's nose. On the opposite side of the brig, Lee hugged himself against the second Marine's back having just placed three good jabs into the side of his ribs. In response, the Marine managed to slam the former CAG against the wall and knocked his padded elbow straight into Lee's head. Staggered from the blow, he felt his grip loosen on the tactical vest. In a quick act of desperation his right hand shot to the Marine's sidearm a moment before he found himself thrown to the cold metal floor in a disoriented state. But now he saw a pistol now lay in the grip of his hand.
Lee's training guided his aim upon the man's leg barely quicker than the Marine could sight his rifle as Lee put a slug into his knee, leaving the Marine to tumble to the floor.
Lastly, the Tauran Marine began to rise, blood streaming from his nose and mouth with vicious anger in his eyes he undoubtedly wished to visit upon Lee but fortunately for the Colonial officer, Major Heidegger came into view bearing the guard's appropriated rifle down on the Marine.
The Marines now pinned down by Heidegger, Lee stood himself, blinking his eyes to shake disorientation. From behind, the UNSC pilots began shouting in their own language, probably about getting them out, to which Heidegger barked a few words out. When Lee didn't respond, he said it again to get Lee's attention before motioning his head back at his pilots with his rifle still trained on the subdued Marines. It didn't take long to open up the cells and relieve the Marines of their weapons after that. The three had been tossed in Heidegger's former cell battered and beaten.
With six of them armed with the rifles and sidearms of their captors, minus one pilot, and the brig secure for now, Lee felt at ease enough to address Major Heidegger and form a plan to somehow take command of a battlestar with only seven men. But hey, the Thirteenth Tribe had done it with just three before, so maybe the odds were on their side.
"Major do you know where they took your helmets?" Lee asked, receiving a look of confusion in response, reminding again that they couldn't understand a word either of them were saying. "Hel-met." Lee said, miming taking one on and off. "Do you know where they took them?"
A tense expression was on Heidegger's face as he shook his head. Well at least they understood some gestures but without any way to actually talk and understand one another, how the hell were they going to pull this off? What would Kara do if it was her in this situation? Lee thought, laughing at himself internally when he thought of who he was turning to for inspiration. If it were Starbuck, she'd probably charge ahead guns blazing and rely on her luck to hold out. No, Lee could never hope to be as crazy and stupid as her, he needed a plan, he needed help.
\\\\\\O
"CIC," Lieutenant Hoshi responded, pressing the button to answer the call, he could not have predicted who would have been on the other side.
"Hoshi," came a lowered voice. "It's Major Adama, please you have to listen to me." With much surprise, Hoshi heard while he attempted to keep a calm demeanor among the staff of the CIC. "Lieutenant, I know you're one of the smartest people on this ship and that you know Garner has lost his mind. He committing insubordination against the Admiral and if he starts a shooting war with Spirit of Fire, we're all going to die and no one is getting to Earth. Please, Louis…we need your help."
Hoshi licked his lips nervously as he glanced around for any eyes directed his way. "Copy that." He said with a calm but lowered voice.
A sigh of relief was heard through his headset. "Thank you." Major Adama replied with a great release of tension. "I'm with the Thirteenth Tribe pilots in the brig. We're armed, -most of us anyway, but we won't be able to shoot our way to the CIC, not with the ship at full alert. Is there anything you can do at your end?"
The Lieutenant thought for a second, trying to phrase how he could inform the Major while not drawing attention to himself. "Copy that Lieutenant Minth, I'll redirect the Marines on deck seven, corridor A-six to the boarding operation immediately, as well as the guards stationed at intersections B-seven and B-eight." He said, giving subtle direction to the Major.
"Thank you, Louis, we'll be up there soon." Hoshi closed the line and was about to contact the Marines Major Adama needed out of the way when the DRADIS went off.
BEE-BEEP BEE-BEEP BEE-BEEP
"DRADIS contacts!" Lieutenant Jex, the tactical officer called out. "Count-eight Raptors leaving Galactica and headed right for us!"
"Any action from Spirit of Fire?" Garner asked as he paced by the Command and Control station.
"Negative, no signs of activity."
Upon the screen of Hoshi's station, a message popped open, informing him they were being hailed. "Commander, we're being hailed by the Raptors, its Admiral Adama's personal authentication code."
Garner scoffed. "No doubt they're using Galactica's Raptors the same way we were gonna use their birds, nice try Cutter but you won't fool me as easy as you did Adama." The Commander said, sounding increasingly paranoid much to more than a few officers' worry.
"Launch all squadrons!" Garner ordered with certainty in his voice.
"Sir," Hoshi spoke up, half turned around in his chair to face Garner. "I think maybe we should answer the hail, sir. What if it is the cylons and-"
"No!" Garner cut him off. "I'm done with talking. Launch all squadrons! I want a five-to-six ratio of Raptors prepped for boarding operations, we're retaking the Galactica! All remaining Raptors will be configured for full nuclear payload. Frak capturing Spirit of Fire, we'll pull the navigational data from the wreckage if we have to!" It was an insane order and everyone knew it but with the loss of so many experienced officers, none of them had the nerve to stand up as Major Adama had.
Lieutenant Jex, who'd been present for when Admiral Cain executed Commander Belzen for refusing to enact her orders, he with what Hoshi assumed to be great reluctance, pressed the transmitter button on his station. "All Vipers launch. Repeat: all Vipers launch. Deck crews, prepare reserve Raptor squadron for full nuclear payload. All non-essential Marine personnel, report to the hangar decks."
Well, Hoshi reasoned to himself with black humor, at least it'd be easier to get those Marines out of the Major's way now, Hoshi just prayed he got here quick.
APRIL 23 2534 / 1041 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA BS-75
CIC
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
"DRADIS contacts!" Gaeta's replacement officer called out from the Tactical Station. "Pegasus is deploying its Vipers." Cutter clenched his jaw, hearing this as he leaned with his arms braced over the Command station map and an overlay of the Pegasus' blueprints. The situation had officially gone from bad to worse.
"Sir?" Lieutenant Gaeta asked as he stood on the station's opposite side, his hand clenched around the hardline phone.
"Launch all fighters." Cutter ordered with great reservation.
The phone practically jumped to the side of the Lieutenant's head. "Launch alert Vipers, set Condition One throughout the ship. Repeat: set Condition One."
"What the Gods is going on?" a familiar brusque voice cut in as Colonel Tigh reentered the CIC.
"Sir," Gaeta replied with a measure of relief but not as much as Cutter would have thought. "Pegasus just launched her whole Viper wing and they're moving to intercept our Raptors." Came the Lieutenant's explanation as Cutter handed off the spare headset to the Colonel.
"And what the Gods were you just doing, issuing orders on this ship?" Tigh questioned, looking at Captain Cutter.
Cutter's reply was succinct in attempt to keep focus on the real threat. "You left a junior officer in charge and he looked to me, simple as that."
"We'll talk about it later." Tigh replied, seeing his point but clearly not looking forward to that conversation, if it even happened. "Frak, this is bad," he added, looking up at the DRADIS screen. "We need a game plan."
Cutter looked up from the blueprints with a knowing, heavy look on his face. "I got one, but you won't like it."
"I already don't like it, so just tell me already." Colonel Tigh responded with a resigned acceptance as he moved to stand beside the UNSC Captain.
"I've been looking over these plans of the Pegasus, I noticed the CIC isn't in the bow section, its stuck here in the middle where there's a lot less mass between it and the outer hull."
"All Mercury classes are like that, I always thought it was a dumb idea to put it there but what's your point? We can't seriously be considering firing on Pegasus."
"We're running out of options, Colonel." Cutter replied with equal resignation. "Galactica will cut her engines and we let Pegasus pass underneath. While we're in its blind spot, we concentrate all fire with the ventral batteries right here." Cutter said, jamming his finger down on the blueprints right over the CIC.
Saul shook his head. "Even with all eight turrets, there's no way we could bore a hole through to the bridge, the superstructure's too damn strong."
"We don't have to, we just have to knock Garner off balance long enough for Spirit to hopefully get away and come back with her MAC charged. He'll be at a significant range disadvantage so he should stand down. Maybe it'll even give the Admiral the opportunity he needs to get aboard."
"Hope, should and maybe aren't exactly comforting words when it comes to strategy. Garner could still jump Pegasus back to the Fleet if he thinks he's gonna lose. You'd still be stuck out here and Galactica wouldn't have a snowball's chance of taking on Pegasus by herself." Tigh reasoned, pointing out the many flaws in Cutter's plan.
"Never said it was the best plan but it might be the only one we got that remotely guarantees Pegasus might survive this."
"Gods help us." Tigh prayed, with no better ideas himself. "Helm, standby to cut engines and engage reverse thrusters."
APRIL 23 2534 / 1043 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR PEGASUS BS-62
DECK 17 / CORRIDOR A-10
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
Lee waited in near motionlessness, closing his eyes to concentrate on listening for anyone coming around the corner. Hearing nothing but the sound of his own breath and the breathing of the UNSC airmen beside him, Lee tentatively peeked around the corner to the hallway running adjacent to the CIC. Garner had doubled-up the guard, two sets of Marines now stood against opposite walls from one another halfway down the corridor where the CIC's single entrance was. And with about twenty meters of bare metal walls between them and Lee's position, this wasn't going to be pretty if his group got bogged down in a firefight. But with no other access to the CIC, and as much as Lee didn't like the idea of killing his own, he had to make the assumption that the Marines' loyalties laid with Garner, or more accurately to Pegasus.
Lee turned back to Heidegger beside him, pointing to his eyes and then holding four fingers up followed with the sign for 'infantry', motioning an invisible rifle in his hands to make sure the message got across. Heidegger nodded and turned right to his men passing on the information with hushed tones in his foreign language, each man nodding as they received specific instructions from their commander. When Heidegger was done, he put a hand to Lee's shoulder and motioned his rifle, asking to swap places, having the more accurate weapon over the pistol in Lee's hands and so he let him take the lead. The other airmen readied themselves.
Heidegger spoke a single unrecognizable word that Lee guessed was analogous to 'go' as Heidegger turned the corner with his colonial rifle shouldered. Another pilot with a rifle threw himself into a prone position in the middle of the intersection while two others dashed ahead to the other side, taking up positions opposite Lee and Major Heidegger. One remaining pilot along with the single unarmed airman covered their rear from possible Marine reinforcements. Lee himself took a knee, edging around Heidegger and taking aim at the Marine on the right side of the corridor nearest to him. He wished there was another way, but he was out of options and time as well now that Garner had launched the alert Vipers for whatever senseless reason. Lee squeezed the trigger and missed, shattering a pane of glass. He corrected and then shot again, catching the unsuspecting guard in his side. Two more went down just as fast, not expecting to come under fire, certainly not right next to the CIC of all places. The last Marine got several rifle rounds off before a barrage of fire brought him tumbling down dead before he hit the floor. A cry of pain sounded from the prone pilot in the center of the hall, his leg leaking a steady trickle of crimson from the back of a torn legging where a lucky bullet from the Marine had caught him. Heidegger barked an order out at the two pilots guarding their rear to grab the wounded man before advancing quickly with Lee following immediately behind with two of the other airmen.
Heidegger shot out the remaining glass panes, triggering a panicked shout of a female officer from within. The Major turned the corner into the CIC first with Lee coming in half a second after with his pistol ready. In the dimly lit room the command officers were scattered about, either crouching in fear or stood stock-still as mannequins until the two Majors set eyes on Commander Garner, his back pressed up against the Command Station and looking back with a fusion of fear and incredulity upon seeing who was storming his CIC. Heidegger's face twisted into a scowl as the clomp of boots came in behind from the other airmen and Heidegger barked another order for the two to secure the room.
"Commander Garner," Lee spoke with agitation and yet a light air of oncoming satisfaction. "You are relieved of command." He finished, then giving Major Heidegger a signaling glance. Before Garner could question what this meant, Major Heidegger smashed the butt of his rifle dead on the bridge of Garner's nose with a loud, wet crack causing the portly man to topple backward onto the table unconscious.
"Any objections?" Lee asked, lowering his pistol. In contrary to his expectations, it was not a lasting silence until someone spoke up, that someone being Lieutenant Jex.
"What are your orders Major?"
"Recall the Vipers and take the ship off alert and whatever other orders Garner made. Mr. Hoshi, prepare a transmission."
\\\\\\O
"To all Colonial and UNSC ships, this is Major Adama. Commander Garner has been arrested and I have taken command of Pegasus." Lee's voice transmitted from Pegasus heard by all including every single Viper and Raptor in the air, each one containing some very relieved servicemen and women who had been having flashbacks to the first time Galactica and Pegasus had nearly slugged it out.
"Yeah Lee! Woohoo!" Starbuck celebrated in her cockpit, pumping her gloved fist with a happy smile while Lee kept talking.
"All Vipers are to return to Pegasus immediately and all personnel are to stand down as of this moment." Lee commanded, his first order as a ship's commander and a weighty one at that.
Within the cabin of Admiral Adama's Raptor, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief, hearing Lee's voice. "That's it!" Helo exclaimed in the pilot's seat next to the Admiral. "The Pegasus' Vipers, they're pulling back!"
"Good job, Lee." He spoke softly to himself where he was seated. "Helo. Order the strike force to advance, we're still hauling Garner's ass back for trial."
"You got it, Admiral." Helo confirmed before switching over to the wireless. "All STRIKE Elements, this is STRIKE Leader, we are continuing the operation. Stick to your designated instructions." Not long afterward, the Galactica strike force was cruising ahead all the while the Pegasus' squadrons began touching down in the four landing bays much to everyone's relief. Bill heard Saul's voice speak out over the wireless, calling back all Viper squadrons save for one to provide escort for Bill's Raptor strike force.
A beep from the DRADIS brought a curious glance upon Helo's face, highlighted by the internally lit helmet. "What the hell?" he asked to no one in particular. "Admiral, I'm detecting multiple contacts deploying from Spirit of Fire, definitely spacecraft. Shark, you getting this, copy? Over." Helo inquired, using Finnegan's callsign.
"I copy. From their DRADIS signature, I'd say without a shadow of a doubt they're launching Pelicans."
"They're gonna board Pegasus?" Helo asked looking to the Admiral.
"Nothing we can do about it right now." Bill said, not entirely surprised by the development given the circumstances.
\\\\\\O
Ten minutes later within the Pegasus' port flight pod the aircraft elevator was descending before a tense crowd of Colonial Marines and deck personnel, including the recently returned pilots. On the elevator sat a Raptor, it's engines emitting a steadily fading whine as they powered down. But it was what else was on the elevator that got everyone's attention. Practically all of them had seen the images taken from aboard the Galactica but none of those did the terrifying justice of actually seeing Spirit of Fire's towering Spartans in person. In each of their hands was held a weapon of unsettling capability. On the left, one bared a rotary HMG while the Spartan on the left hefted a four-barreled rocket launcher the assorted Colonials below found particularly terrifying. Between the stood their leader, wielding another shoulder-fired weapon, though smaller and unlike anything the Colonials had seen. It had no true barrel to show, evidence by the glint of the glass aperture at the end of the cylinder inside the weapon's strange open maw.
Many of the Colonial Marines looked to each other for reassurance, consumed with outright fear. Platoons of men, cowed by three soldiers who didn't look the least distressed with being severely outnumbered.
"Firing line!" Lieutenant Minth ordered with a frantic command. Around the deck crews and pilots retreated to the maintenance pits and anywhere else they could find as the Marines formed three ranks of fire twenty meters from the Raptor.
With a resounding thunk, the elevator touched down and the door of the Raptor hissed open. From it, a five-man squad of Colonial Marines disembarked and quickly took up positions beside the Spartans, shortly followed by the one man the Marines of Pegasus last expected to see.
"Marines!" Admiral Adama shouted out. "You have been ordered to stand down by your commanding officer!" again the Marines glanced to one another anxiously but stayed as they were. "You know who these soldiers are and what they can do." Adama spoke again. "If you open fire I will not be able to stop them. This is a direct order: lower your weapons and place them on the ground!"
At the far left of the rear firing line, a Sagittarian Marine lowered her rifle and then unclipped it from her vest, setting it on the ground. Two more near her followed suit, beginning a chain of the other Marines who disarmed themselves until all but Lieutenant Minth stood with his weapons. Faced alone against the Spartans with the Admiral himself and his men at their side, he begrudgingly disarmed himself as well, holding a sour look on his face while he did so.
Down the deck descended the other Raptors of Adama's strike force with the black armored soldiers of the Spirit of Fire teaming around them. Above in the landing bay Adama knew more Pelicans were coming in, deploying the squads of UNSC soldiers and then departing back for the Spirit, an action Adama found inspired a disquieting suspicion in the back of his mind.
"Senior Chief Petty Officer," Adama spoke up at the leader of Red Team, gaining the Spartan's attention. "What orders were you given?"
It took half a second for the Spartan to respond, being unused to joint operations with what was essentially, a separate nation. "We're on a search and rescue operation for Major Heidegger and his men." Jerome answered.
"I contacted my son on the way in. He's with your airmen in the CIC, which is where we're headed."
"Then we'll provide you an escort for you and your men." Jerome stated evenly.
Bill let out a long breath that subtly hinted at his uneasiness at having the Spartans again so close to him after they had stormed his CIC and nearly taken his own life. "This way." Bill said, disregarding his anxieties for the sake of the mission.
\\\\\\O
"Friendlies coming in!" Staff Sergeant Hadrian yelled around the corner, followed by Jerome 092 repeating approximately the same words in the Thirteenth Tribe's language.
Another shout was replied in the same tongue and the Spartans eased their stance. "All clear." Jerome confirmed and with that done, the group advanced around the corner and to the CIC.
Jerome and Alice were the first ones in while Douglas covered their rear, ducking their heads with the shattered glass crumbling into even finer fragments beneath their immense weight as they entered. As almost what seemed customary at this point, all the eyes of the CIC staff were drawn to them, including Lee's who almost failed to notice his father's presence initially.
"Dad-Admiral." Lee corrected. "It's good to see you're alright."
"I was about to say the same thing." Lee's father replied, shaking his son's hand with a strong grip as a subtle gesture of how worried he truly was for Lee. Not wanting to stretch this out longer than need be, Bill changed the subject. "So, Pegasus is secure? Where's Garner?"
Glancing back to the far-left corner of the CIC, Lee pointed to two of the UNSC airmen standing there next to a form leaning against the wall Bill realized was the soon to be former 'Commander' Garner, still unconscious and his hands bound by zip ties. "We have him back there. But as for the ship, I was hoping you could tell me. I'm getting reports from engineers all over that UNSC personnel are swarming up and down it, locking down armories and taking Marines into custody. And it's not like I could exactly ask the Major here." Lee said, motioning his hand to Major Heidegger.
"Senior Chief Petty Officer Jerome," Adama said, shifting around to the right to face the Olympian figured soldier. "I'd like an explanation."
"Our mission is to locate Major Heidegger and the crews of the captured Pelicans to extract them to Spirit of Fire. All other matters fall under the command of Colonel Shaw." The Spartan answered.
"And who's that?" Lee asked, stepping beside his father with emotions in between distress and irritation.
"That would be me." Called out an oddly accented voice from outside the CIC. A pale-skinned man soon came into sight, slightly taller than Bill and sporting a kind of deep-green greatcoat open at the front of his legs and similar in overall design to Captain Cutter's lightly armored tunic. On his head sat a fabric cap less ornate than Cutter's but marked with a shielded silver eagle grasping a bundle of arrows in its talons. He was flanked by a squad of the black armored soldiers escorting him, they took up guard positions around the entrance while the officer stepped through and halted before Bill and Lee. "Colonel Maxwell Shaw, UNSC Marine Corps." He said in flawed but understandable Caprican, much to the pair's surprise.
"Admiral Bill Adama," Bill said evenly. "This is my son, Major Lee Adama."
"A pleasure to meet you both, I wish it was under different circumstances." The Colonel returned with equal respectfulness.
"You can speak Caprican," Lee commented, a bit surprised given only a little more than a week had passed since first contact.
Colonel Shaw locked his hands behind his back, standing a little more at-ease as he addressed the younger of the two Adamas. "Languages are a kind of hobby for me, I speak several and given our circumstances, I thought it necessary to add one more."
"Then would you care to explain what your men are doing aboard a Colonial ship?" Bill asked with a slight indignant edge to his voice.
"This is the second time inside a month that a Colonial warship has threatened to open fire on the Spirit without provocation. It is my and the Captain's decision that for the time being, all security matters aboard Pegasus will be handled by myself and Major Markov with his unit of ODSTs. All Marines aboard will be restricted to quarters until further notice."
Lee's jaw dropped open, himself feeling incredulous at the Colonel's speech. "You don't have the authority to do that!"
"I don't but that is what's happening. So you best get used to seeing my face around."
APRIL 23 2534 / 1245 HOURS (UNSC TIME)
206 DAYS AFTER CYLON ATTACK
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA BS-75
CONFERENCE ROOM
UNKNOWN SYSTEM
Two hours later, the Fleet was back at its original position once Adama had one of his Raptors fetch the civilian ships. All personnel and planes were back aboard their respective ships save for Colonel Shaw and the soldiers occupying Pegasus revealed to Bill quite unsettlingly as the UNSC Marine Corps Orbital Drop Shock Troopers.
A shrill shriek of metal signaled the arrival of Admiral Adama as the hatch was opened by a Marine escorting him. Within the conference room Captain Cutter and Colonel Tigh stood not far apart as they had been awaiting Bill's arrival.
"Shut the door behind." Adama ordered to the Marine who then followed the Admiral's instructions while Bill again dawned the UNSC headset. The heavy mechanical locks loudly secured, making the following silence all the more prevalent. "Captain," Bill said stepping forward and offering his hand in respect. "I understand you were a great help to Mr. Gaeta in my and the Colonel's absence. You have my thanks and I apologize for putting you in that position."
Cutter accepted Bill's handshake. "No thanks necessary Admiral, I was just doing what I could to assist." He said with a friendly smile that perhaps was a bit forced.
"Gaeta wasn't ready to be put in command, I should have seen that." Saul ashamedly admitted.
"Let's just all agree it was a hectic situation and move on." Bill suggested and hearing no objection in reply. Returning his hand to his side, Bill dawned a more serious expression, his question not an easy one. "Captain, how long do you plan to have your men occupy the Pegasus?"
Cutter's face fell neutral and his jaw shifted left to right as something was pondered in his mind. He turned away, pacing slowly on the floor panels and looking to his feet. "This incident may have been the cylon's fault," Cutter began, thankfully buying Bill's ruse to shift blame to the Cylons in order to protect Laura, at least for the time being. "But I think we all know where the heart of the issue lies. Truth is: we don't know jack shit about each other. Yeah, we have each other's history but right now we're cooperating at arm's-length. I place the blame for that with the Spirit's repairs coupled with your government's absurd requests that stoked tensions between us and the Fleet." Cutter then turned about, looking at both Bill and Tigh in their respective positions.
"With the Cylon presence in the area at a minimum due to the lack of a resurrection ship, I suggest we begin a temporary crew exchange. I'm sure Chief Tyrol could use some additional hands and from what I understand, Pegasus is a bit of a problem child who doesn't play well with others. That needs to change if we're to escape the cylons and get to the UNSC. Lieutenant Gaeta was earlier explaining to me your combat air patrols and I had a few ideas on how Spirit could integrate her fighter wing, get your Vipers some local fire support with the Longswords."
Bill said nothing as of yet. It was a good suggestion but he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. "To do this, I want the overall authority to direct the crew exchanges and that means I want access to your personnel files. If I'm going to accept your crew aboard my ship and trust mine aboard yours, I expect the same amount of access you have."
"What about the language problem?" Bill asked, still not committing to anything as of yet.
"I'll have my senior crewmembers get to work on putting together a Caprican language teaching program the moment I get back. Spirit's still got a little over a week until repairs are complete, that should be adequate time to get at least a working base down to expand on."
Cutter took a few steps toward Bill, now just a little over two meters away. "You give me this Admiral and give me your public approval to mine the asteroid belt however I see fit and Spirit of Fire will spend extra time out there in the belt obtaining additional resources. In return I'll use those and all of Spirit of Fire's capability as a support ship to completely re-armor Galactica with full Titanium-A battleplate which I guarantee is a lot stronger than the alloy you're using. Maybe even equip Galactica with some more modern weaponry but I'll have to speak with my Chief Engineer about that. Then while you have my engineers aboard, I'll have them examine your ship for other ways to upgrade her systems. Pegasus too in time if we have the resources, but for now Galactica will have priority."
Colonel Tigh's mouth gaped slightly at Cutter's unexpected offer. A refit Galactica?!
"I suppose there is no other way is there?" Bill asked, slightly uneasy about the change to come, like an old sailor in uncharted waters.
"Not if you want to get to the UNSC in one piece." Cutter answered.
"Fine, we'll get you the files and keep the press off your back," Bill answered. "But I also want to know about all the things I know you aren't telling me. I don't like being kept in the dark."
"Why don't we wait a couple days for that," Cutter suggested in reply. "I think it's been a long enough day as it is."
"Agreed," Bill said, knowing his was far from over.
"No argument here." Tigh agreed.
"Captain if you would," Bill began again. "Go with Colonel Tigh back to the CIC for the time being, I have to meet with the President before we deal with Garner."
\\\\\\O
Bill entered his quarters, finding Laura sitting in front of his desk waiting. Her head turned his way, meeting his eyes for an awkward second before he shut the door behind and she followed him for the long uncomfortable quiet that permeated the room as he walked over and seated himself behind the desk opposite of her. From his hand, he gently tossed a white disc-like object smaller than a dinner plate in front of her that she had no idea what to do with. Laura watched Bill remove his glasses and fix her with an unsure look upon his face.
"What is this?" Laura asked, flipping the thick disc over on its flat side.
"It's the cylon device that Baltar discovered in Galactica's CIC shortly after the attack. I had one of my people find it aboard Colonial One as evidence the cylons were responsible for today's actions." Adama said.
"Bill, we both know that isn't true." Laura admitted.
"Yeah, it's not. But that's what everyone is going to think when you tell them that." Bill told her. "I'll be straight, what you did was stupid and reckless." Bill chastised. "Right now though, I can't afford you being put on trial and having Baltar as the President. And I'm not going to turn this fleet into a military dictatorship either. But do something like this again and I won't be there to shield you next time. Four men are dead because of what happened and there'll be one more before the day is over. That's all on you."
Laura nodded, accepting Bill's words, she wasn't in a position to argue or make deals anymore.
"Who else knows the truth of what happened today." Bill asked.
"No one else." Laura answered truthfully. "The official strategy I came up with in cooperation with the Quorum was a PR campaign to put public pressure on Spirit of Fire." Bill hummed in response.
"What else has happened?" she asked a bit timidly, wondering if Cutter had exacted any price for what had happened.
"Marine Shock Troopers from Spirit of Fire under a Colonel Shaw are occupying Pegasus and have taken over security measures aboard, meaning if he wanted to, Cutter could take over the ship at any time." Bill said, now resigned to that fact. "At Captain Cutter's request, I'm giving him the ability to additionally make personnel exchanges between the battlestars and Spirit of Fire as an attempt to build some cultural bridges between us. I don't like it but it's a necessary sacrifice if we're going to live with the Thirteenth Tribe, I just didn't expect it to be this direct or come this soon." Bill took in a pausing breath. "In exchange, he's going to have Spirit of Fire refit Galactica to better deal with the cylons, possibly Pegasus as well."
"If there's anything I can do to help…" Laura began, halted by an icy stare.
"I think you've done enough, Laura." Bill intercepted. "You've let these dogmatic beliefs that it's your sacred duty to protect every person in this fleet cloud your judgement. I don't care about prophecies or the Gods, the Thirteenth Tribe is here now Laura, now! Not in the scrolls, in reality. It's time you realize that and until I think you're able, I'll be handling all relations with Spirit of Fire from here on. We're heading down to the hangar deck." Bill said as he stood himself, placing his glasses back on as he did so. "I think you need to understand the consequences of the actions you made today."
\\\\\\O
Several minutes later, Laura and Bill arrived at the hangar deck under Marine escort. It was deserted of the yellow and orange jumpsuited deckhands normally populating the normally raucous lengthy space. It was almost eerie to experience it like this, so void of life. Bill lead her forward to a small crowd of people set before an open Viper launch tube. Five Marines stood with two of the black armored Thirteenth Tribe soldiers in a line apart from Colonel Tigh, Captain Cutter and Staff Sergeant Hadrian who were off to the side together, wearing solemn expressions. Bill lead Laura next to them, Laura now seeing Commander Garner seated on an aluminum folding chair inside the open airlock. His nose appeared to be broken, bent off to one side and a great deal of dried blood covered his mouth and the stained the chest of his uniform. His left eye was shadowed by a deep red and purple bruise running halfway around its rim. Garner didn't cry or snivel one bit while Adama read out his charges.
"Barry Garner, you have been found guilty of the crimes of treason, disobeying orders from a superior officer, attempt to incite war with another nation, gross negligence as well as numerous other criminal acts. For these crimes, I hereby sentence you to death by firing squad. Do you have any last words?"
Three long seconds passed before the former Commander spoke. "I thought I was doing the right thing." Garner said, his voice filled with a solemn acceptance.
"May the Gods have mercy on your soul." Bill said to Garner, the last words he would ever speak to him.
The final courtesy now given, Staff Sergeant Hadrian stepped forward.
"Rifles ready! Present arms!" she shouted marked with the simultaneous shouldering of Colonial and UNSC rifles that brought a sense of dread upon Laura.
"Aim!"
"Fire!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know everyone was expecting a huge bloody battle but I want to stick close to the rules of the show and I hope Adama being a clever badass and Lee taking control of Pegasus make up for that. Careful readers will notice in the last chapter I used Spirit of Fire's motto, "The Outcome Justifies the Deed" as foreshadowing for Roslin's justification. In the second scene, I switched from third person limited focusing on Adama to an expanded view to include Roslin's perspective on things to present a more even perspective on the conflict so it's less good versus evil and more morals versus pragmatism. I also subtly switched perspectives in the fifth scene where command of Galactica keeps getting handed down the chain of command until Cutter finds himself in the awkward position of being in pseudo-command of the Galactica. I know it might have been hard to catch but it's a damn sight more professional than writing out "_'s POV".
On the tech side, laser transmitters are a thing we're working on right now, so it's reasonable the Colonials and the UNSC would have them due to laser transmissions being incapable of being intercepted indirectly and therefore would be a tactical boon for any spacefaring military.
Other notes: Garner was killed by SEVEN bullets. Can you find the other "7" references? I hide them everywhere in my stories.