Chapter 13: Rendezvous

In Space

One FTL Jump away From New Caprica/Cylon Homeworld

Eight Super Vipers from USS Yorktown fightersquadron VF-18 came out of a FTL jump. Commander "Deuce" Handler squadron commander was leading the flight.

Waiting for the fighters was a single ship, USS Geromino, the ship sent to recon the Cylons on New Caprica.

"USS Geromino this is VF-18 Actual. Request your authentication code now." Commander Handler sent a code via encrypted e-mail from his Viper.

"Roger VF-18 Actual sending code now. Request your authentication code." A voice replied from Geromino.

"Geromino sending my code now and awaiting your reply".

Commander Handler received an encrypted message that appeared on his HUD (Heads up display): RMZ418. Handler glanced at a piece of paper with the same characters written it.

"Geromino your code has been received and acknowledged. Request permission for a flyby".

"VF-18 your code has been acknowledged. Request for flyby approved. It's good to see you friends again."

Cmdr Handler closed in on the special operations ship. The purpose of the flyby was to check for hull damage or any sign that perhaps the ship had been compromised by the Cylons. The flyby also gave the Geromino a chance to visually inspect the fighters to confirm they weren't Cylons.

"Looks good to me so far. I don't detect anything out of the unusual." Handler told his wingman Lt. "Ladybug" McIntyre.

"Right Skipper, I'm not getting any readings of nukes. But I've never seen a ship that looks like that before." Ladybug replied.

The commander then ordered two fighters to return to the fleet letting them know rendezvous with Geromino was made. The Admiral wanted minimum FTL communication to avoid possibly alerting the Cylons.

Half an hour later the two fighters returned and reported BSG-12 was started to jump in near their present location. The Battlestars and their escorts would remain out of visual range to help maintain Geronimo's secret status. VF-18 would be the only squadron flying CAP while the ship was in the area since now the pilots in the squadron had seen the top secret ship.

USS Hornet

Admiral Edmondson's Quarters

Admiral Edmondson was alone in her office with the intelligence officer (S2) for her staff Commander Matthew Ford.

"Commander Ford, ensure the Recon Marines understand this part of their mission. This is the true reason why they are going to the surface. If we receive a positive confirmation from them then we go to our revised attack plan." The Admiral told Cmdr. Ford.

"Aye Aye Admiral" was all the Commander said.

Cmdr. Ford left the Admiral's quarters and headed down to the hanger deck where he boarded a Raptor sent over from Yorktown flew him over to Geromino.

Female Pilot's Quarters

USS Hornet

Hera Agathon lay in her bunk having a dream.

In the dream Hera was in a large building that looked like a museum or theater to her. It also seemed somewhat familiar to her.

Hera was walking through this dream building dressed in a flight suit.

She walked through a doorway and then she saw her. It was a Number Six Cylon with platinum blonde hair dressed in a blood red cocktail dress and high heels. Actually it was a young Number six wearing a red cocktail dress. The same Cylon Hera saw on the hanger deck days ago.

Being the daughter of a Cylon, Hera inherited the ability to tell different versions of the same model of Cylon apart. She was positive she had never seen this Cylon before in Roslin City Texas. Hera had also never seen a young full blooded Six before except in photographs or home movies. This Six looked like her model did twenty five years ago.

"What are you?" Hera asked the Cylon in her dream.

"You don't remember me do you? I watched over you when you were a little girl. You used to draw pictures of me a long time ago until your mother made you stop." The Six replied with a smile.

"My mother told me I was drawing Mrs. Baltar who used to babysit me. I don't know who or what you are." Hera heard herself saying in the dream. She felt a bit annoyed having to explain herself to someone in her own dream.

The Six walked up to Hera and put her hand on her shoulder. "Hera, Mrs. Baltar and all of her sisters look like me. I am the inspiration for them you could say."

Suddenly Hera remembered everything. She had seen this Six as a small child. She never spoke to Hera. She was always standing in the room watching. No grown up could see her, even Mrs. Baltar another Six. When Hera started school the Cylon disappeared.

"I'm not dreaming this am I" Hera said to the Cylon.

"Yes and no my child but that is unimportant now. What is important is that you know that the war is going to end between man and Cylon. The Cylons will be no more after this. You will all truly be the children of man." The Six told Hera then disappeared.

Hera suddenly woke up back in her bunk aboard Hornet in the female quarters. She was dressed in her naval academy t-shirt and shorts the same clothes she went to bed in.

"Agathon, you okay up there?" It was Eva Lopez Hera's buddy sleeping in the bunk under her. "You were talking in your sleep girl".

"Yeah I'm okay sorry I woke you up." Hera said.

Admiral Edmondson's Quarters

Racetrack Edmondson was also dreaming. In her dream Louanne "Kat" Katraine came to visit her.

Dreaming about the dead was nothing new for Racetrack. She couldn't always remember their names but the faces you never forgot.

Usually her dream involved her walking into the ready room aboard the old Galactica and seeing all the dead pilots sitting in their seats: Crash drown, Beano, Stepchild, Chuckles, even Duck who blew himself up on New Caprica as a suicide bomber. Later on Starbuck appeared. Some Earth pilots began to appear too, nuggets Racetrack had commanded who got themselves killed by the Cylons. They never spoke to her; they just gave her a nod or wave and carried on talking and about whatever the dead talked about.

Tonight Kat was in the ready room by herself. She was dressed in an old Colonial flight suit with her hair tied in a bun. For the first time in all the years of having this dream Kat spoke.

"Well Admiral looks like this is going to be the end of the line. The ferryman is waiting for you Racetrack." The ghost of Kat told Racetrack.

"You came to tell me I'm going to die tonight Kat?" Racetrack told the ghost. She still believed in the old ways. When someone from the underworld came to talk to you it best to get straight to the point because they didn't stay in the living world for long.

"You are not going to die tonight. You have one last battle to fight. Over New Caprica the last time and you will do a better job this time but you won't be going back home this time. This will be your last fight against the Cylons. All this has happened before but it will not happen again."

Racetrack woke up to the sound of her computer buzzing. She had an incoming e-mail. Commander Ford had returned from Geromino which had jumped away to carry out its mission to New Caprica.

"And so it begins" Racetrack said to herself.