Collateral Damage
A Few Days After Cylon Attack
Asteroid belt near Tauron...
A badly damaged battlestar slowly moved through the asteroid belt, it had been hit so many times that it looked like could implode any second. The Battlestar Trinity, a Mercury class battlestar, believed to be destroyed, but she still survived. Trinity was one of the few modern ships that did not carry the CNP program on board, nor did her vipers. During the Cylon attack, three Baseships jumped directly on top of her and shelled the Trinity with nukes. She survived and destroyed two of the Basestars before she executed a blind jump into the asteroid belt near Tauron. In the process she hit an asteroid with her left flight pod.
Battlestar Trinity C.I.C
"Commander, the ship is still not in good shape sir, the chief says that we won't have jump capability for at least a few weeks, and even then it will be limited. Half of our guns were destroyed with several others damaged and out of commission and half of the ship is venting atmosphere," Colonel Sounders said.
"Casualties?" Commander Gerard asked.
"Over 950 so far, and almost every surviving member of the crew has some kind of wound sir. We also lost 43 vipers, and their pilots," Colonel Sounders reported sadly.
"Blast, we can't stay here. The Cylons will send more ships to find and finish us eventually," Commander Gerard said.
"True sir, but as they don't know where we jumped to we should have some time to make repairs and get ready for our next move," Colonel Sounders said confidently.
"But when they find only wrecks from two baseships from where they attacked us, they will know that we survived, and they will start hunting for us. The only saving grace is that the ship is already on minimal power, which will make detecting us very hard. Still, I want an ELINT raptor in the air and a few vipers patrolling. I also want us as close to the asteroids as possible, and I want to minimize all signs of our existence until we are ready to jump," Commander Gerard said.
"Can I ask where we will jump to after we repair the engines?" Colonel Sounders asked.
"The Destarious supply depot near Libra. We might find some spare parts and resources there, that is if the Cylons haven't destroyed it," Commander Gerard replied.
Cylon Occupied Caprica
There were many shelters built in the Caprican mountain ranges during the first cylon war a long time ago, many of them were now occupied by survivors, both military and civilians.
"Blast it all to hell! Without supplies we can't last for long," General O'Rilley said angrily.
"Sir, our last attack was a disaster, we lost 56 marines KIA plus 34 wounded. We failed to penetrate the Centurion perimeter," Major Brims said.
"What about Major Steele's forces?" General O'Rilley asked.
"Sir, they pushed 3km south west of Tyr base, but they lost half a dozen vehicles to get that far," Major Brims said.
"Tell Major Steele to push forward and take that base. Tyr has a lot of supplies, and there are those experimental vehicles stored there that will give us more firepower to use against the cylons," General O'Rilley said.
50 Days After Cylon Attack
En route to Home
Battlestar Atlantis Flag Suite
Admiral Stryker was working on some paperwork when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," Admiral Stryker said seeing Colonel Haller walk through the door, "colonel have a seat."
"Yes sir," Colonel Haller said after he entered the room.
"Now, let's skip to the important things first. I need a Commander for the Atlantis and since you are second in command, I'm promoting you to the rank of Commander," Admiral Stryker said.
"Sir?" Colonel Haller said in surprise, his eyes going wide.
"I need a Commander with guts and you are just the man for the job. Of course it is up to you to find a candidate for your executive officer and promote him or her to Colonel. I'm thinking that won't be a problem?" Admiral Stryker said.
As soon as Admiral Stryker said that, he opened a small box that was on his desk and he gave it to Commander Haller. Inside was the Insignia for the rank of Commander.
"I don't know what to say Admiral," Commander Haller said.
"A simple thank you will be enough, that and you proving me right," Admiral Stryker said with a laugh.
"Of course, thank you sir, and I will make you proud!" Commander Haller said with a salute.
"Now to other things, Chief Walker said that the ship is receiving too much stress during each jump?" Admiral Stryker asked.
"Sir, all three ships are showing the same stress fractures with the engines at 125%. The chief does not recommend more than a few more jumps or they will overload, and if that happens we will be stuck for many weeks to months doing repairs. He would like us to take a few days without jumping to make necessary repairs and give the ships a break before we continue," Commander Haller said.
"Hmm, we can't afford to wait. We can be in the colonies today if we continue to jump at 125% of the engines power for a few more jumps, and I want to get there as soon as possible," Admiral Stryker said.
"I understand sir, but if the engines overload we will not be going anywhere very fast," Commander Haller said.
"We are only about five jumps from home. I'm sending a scout raptor to Caprica to see what is there, when it returns to our projected jump coordinates 1 jump from Caprica; we will jump there at 125% on the engines. So tell the chief to get busy with whatever preparations are needed to make it happen," Admiral Stryker said.
"Yes sir!" Commander Haller said.
Five hours later
One jump away from the colonies
Battlestar Atlantis C.I.C.
"Sir the scout raptor just returned," Commander Haller reported.
"And?" Admiral Stryker asked.
"They picked up three baseships in orbit and they've given us the targeting information we'll need for a strike run at them," Commander Haller said.
"Alright, all ships make preparations for a combat jump. I want to hit them hard, so let's show those baseships what they will face when it's a surprise attack on them. All vipers to the launch tubes and have marines in raptors ready to go if they are needed," Admiral Stryker ordered.
"All stations ready sir," Commander Haller said.
"Good jump in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 jump," Admiral Stryker said.
All three ships disappeared in bright flashes, and reappeared moments later in orbit of Caprica within weapons range of the three Basestars.
Battlestar Atlantis C.I.C
"Commander, tell Pleiades to move back into a defensive position. Their anti-missile and anti-fighter capabilities will be needed; Argona is to engage baseship alpha, and we will deal with the remaining two," Admiral Stryker said.
Baseship 38
"Report!" Jack Cavil ordered.
"Three ships just jumped into orbit, they are Colonial, and they are moving to engage," one of the sixes replied.
"Identifications on those ships?" Cavil asked.
"One second, hmm…." One of the Sixes known as Terry said, "the Battlestars are the Pleiades, and an unknown Mercury (Atlantis), and oh my, the Warstar Argona."
"Warstar? Frak, launch all raiders, lock on the missiles and destroy them. These must be the missing ships that John is trying to find!" Cavil said.
Battlestar Atlantis C.I.C.
"They are launching raiders and missiles Sir!" Commander Haller said.
"Good, return the favor, tell Argona to fire at will," Admiral Stryker replied.
It was not long before Argona got in range and fired her main cannons into her designated baseship; it didn't have a chance and was destroyed after only two volleys hit the middle section, and the Basestar was blown into little pieces.
The Cylons launched a large number of missiles, almost half of them nukes. The Battlestar Pleiades did what she did best, and her defensive fire destroyed over half of the missiles before being joined together with those from Atlantis and Argona. They succeeded in destroying over 95% of the Cylon missiles, but even with all the defensive firepower of the three ships about half a dozen nukes passed through their defensive screen. All of the nukes took a heading towards the Battlestar Pleiades.
"Helm, move us in front of the Pleiades; 20 karem 3, all ahead full! Commander order for the Pleiades to break to port and intensify their defensive fire while we cover them," Admiral Stryker ordered.
The Atlantis passed directly in front of the Pleiades and just below her. The point defenses destroyed five nukes, but one slipped through.
"Hell, one of them slipped through sir, it's going to hit," Commander Haller said.
"All hands brace for impact," Admiral Stryker said.
The fifty megaton nuke hit, and caused the Battlestar Atlantis to shake violently, explosions went off all around the ship. In the blink of an eye, it seemed like the ship was vaporized. But in reality, the new armor kept out the explosion from the ship and 98% of the radiation.
Any other ship would have been extremely damaged, but Atlantis survived with only a scorched paint job.
Admiral Stryker broke his arm after hitting one of the consoles full force, and he slowly stood up again.
"Sir, are you ok?" Commander Heller asked, equally wounded.
"I'm fine. Damage report?" Admiral Stryker asked.
"Sections 12-14 are venting atmosphere, and several more sections have minor damage, but the armor managed to contain the blast. At least 25 wounded," Commander Heller said.
"Seal those sections and get damage control on it. Weapons officer, target the right baseship with all guns, fire when you're ready, and engage the one on the left with nukes. Nuke it to hell!" Admiral Sryker ordered.
"Right away sir," the weapons officer replied.
The Atlantis rolled towards the cylon baseships, firing her main cannons at one of the baseships and launching 6 nukes at the second one.
Baseship 38
"What it survived the nuke, blast, fire everything at it," Cavil said in panic.
The port baseship started cracking apart under so many direct hits from Atlantis' main guns, and the nukes fired from Atlantis moved toward the other baseship target at great speed.
Raiders took down two and defense fire from the baseship took out two, but the remaining two nukes hit the ship right in the central axis. The entire baseship exploded moments later in a great fiery explosion.
Battlestar Atlantis C.I.C.
"Good job people!" Admiral Stryker said.
"Major Morales reports, 9 vipers destroyed and only four managed to eject," Commander Haller reported.
"Good, send the SAR raptor to pick them up. Also, launch the search raptors to check all the wrecks in orbit, and the station. Scanners start searching the surface and try to locate survivors and Cylon bases. If you find any Cylon bases, destroy them with the main guns. Have the vipers land to refuel and rearm for missions to Caprica. The Cylons will be back soon, so let's be quick about it," Admiral Stryker said.
Cylon Occupied Caprica
"Sir you will not believe this, a satellite just picked up three ships that jumped into orbit. I turned the camera of the satellite on, and you will not believe it, but those are colonial fleet units. Sir, look!" Major Brims said excitedly.
"Colonial war ships, can you identify them?" General O'Rilley asked.
"Yes; the Battlestars are, Pleiades, a Mercury class with a transponder saying she is the Atlantis, and at first I did not believed it, but the Andraste class Warstar Argona," Major Brims said.
"Those must be some of the units sent on a special mission almost two years ago. Can you raise them on the line?" General O'Rilley asked.
"I will try, but the channels are still being jammed," Major Brims said.
"Get a distress signal out so that way they will know we are here," General O'Rilley said.
Battlestar Atlantis C.I.C.
"Sir, we are picking up a distress signal from Caprica. There must be survivors there!" Commander Haller said.
"Send two raptors down to the planet at the source of the signal, and have alpha viper squadron to cover them. I'm going to medical to get this arm fixed. The ship is yours Commander," Admiral Stryker said.
Half an hour later in Medical
"We found a group of survivors, actually a lot of them under the leadership of General O'Rilley. They're at an old decommissioned bunker complex built during the first cylon war," Commander Haller reported to Admiral Stryker over the communications line.
"How many?" Admiral Stryker asked.
"Thirty eight thousand sir, along with fifteen thousand of those being civilians that General O'Rilley is working to turn into solders. The General also said that there could be around 700,000 to one million survivors on the entire planet. Maybe even more," Commander Haller reported excitedly.
"Gods, if there are more survivors on other planets, we will not have the resources to save them all," Admiral Stryker said, "notify General O'Rilley that we will send down food and medicinal supplies, as well as small arms ammo, but he will have to hold out a little longer until I can get the ships needed to lift him and the survivors out. I can even give him a raptor and viper squadron, and 1,000 marines from these three ships if he has a place to hold them. I will also take the children, pregnant woman, and any critically injured. That should help to get up to 9,000 people off his hands. That is the best we can do at this time," Admiral Stryker said.
In the background, he heard the weapons officer calling out Cylon targets and then confirming that the heavy KEW had destroyed them. It was a bad day to be a Cylon target on Caprica.
Cylon Occupied Caprica
"Sir, we have a connection, it's Admiral Stryker from the Battlestar Atlantis. They're sending us supplies, but they will have to pick us later, there is something much more important for them to do right now," Major Brims said.
"What could possibly be more important?" General O'Rilley asked angrily.
"They said there are more colonial units out there, and they need to find them. This will allow them to get what they need to lift us out of Caprica and take the fight to the Cylons," Major Brims said.
"Frak, okay, we will hold, and then I will stick my boot in the Admirals ass when they finally arrive again," General O'Rilley said quietly.
"Sir, we are getting reports from the front line that the Atlantis is destroying Cylon bases from orbit, and raptors and vipers are attacking centurions anywhere they can be found. This should take the pressure off of us for a while. We have shuttles, raptors, and vipers inbound for the base. The shuttles are bringing in combat vehicles, supplies and the raptors are bringing in the marines and their supplies. We should be able to unload the materials and reload the evacuation personnel in just over an hour. This will let us get 8,541 non-combatants out of the way, which is no small gift to the medical teams. Also, the addition of the raptors and vipers will let us plan and accomplish a greater number of missions against the Cylons, such as the rescue of more of the civilians that are in areas that the Cylons control," Major Brims said.
Cylon Space, Baseship 01
In the large command room, all cylon models were assembled with John Cavil in the front of the room bursting with anger over the latest news.
"So we have three more colonial ships returned from a mission unknown to us? And one of them is a Warstar! A fracking Warstar," John Cavil said.
"We didn't know. The information was not in the defense mainframe, so we believed it to be an old battlestar or Gunstar at most," one of two Dorals in the room said.
"Didn't know, didn't know? Just as you didn't know about the survival of the Battlestars Prometheus, Eternal, Concordia and the other Battlestars and support ships? We don't even know where their ships are!" John Cavil said angrily.
"Actually, we might know the location soon," one of the number eights said.
"Really? Just as you did with the Battlestar Prometheus," John Cavil said.
"That was a mistake," the number eight continued, "They have two Nova class Battlestars Prometheus and Nova, the Mercury class Eternal, Odin class Celestial, and the first war Columbia Battlestar Ares - which we believed was lost. Still, we did badly damage the Celestial and that's enough for now."
"No, no it is not enough. There are five Battlestars under Admiral Turners command, a fully functional mobile space station, and over 600,000 survivors. Shall I continue?" John Cavil said, staring hatefully at the number eight like he would kill her that instant, "then we have Galactica and her fleet plus three Gunstars that she met at Ragnar. Plus the Battlestar Pegasus under that insane Admiral Cain, and Cain will ruin our plans if given even half a chance."
"True, but Pegasus is not here in the Cyrannus system anymore. There are indications that they are following our fleet that's chasing the Battlestar Galactica fleet," Doral interrupted.
"Yes, and finally we have a large amount of colonial warships at an unknown location with an unknown support structure. We don't know what they are doing as we have not heard from our agents, and none of them have resurrected. So what are they up to? We know nothing except that they have been successfully raiding us for the last few weeks. That fleet saved over 700,000 humans so far from the Colonies. And there's between fifty and two hundred million survivors spread out over the colonies. And to add to our troubles, we have dozens of captured colonial warships to gather up and move to the shipyard over Libra to keep them out of the enemies hands," John Cavil said.
"To add to this problem we have over 400,000 colonial military POWs in our camps. And our Centurions are fighting survivors wherever they find them. Their numbers are decreasing slowly, though the good news for us is that there's still the option of radiation poisoning - in a year or two there will be no human left alive. It will all go as planned," D'Anna Biers said.
"Those deep shelters, and bunkers they constructed during the last war will hold them for years, and they will continue their guerrilla attacks against us. And yet, we can't level the planet when we need them. To add a cherry on top, we now have three more colonial warships; the Battlestars Pleiades, Atlantis, and the fracking Warstar Argona. We can't allow those ships to join up with either of those groups. This entire plan was fracked from the start," John Cavil said.
"I told you!" Kathy said with a wide smile.
"You shut up, I can see that you are enjoying this," John Cavil said.
"Of course I am; from the start I said this was a major mistake. If we left the humans alone without this genocide we've done, everything would have been all right. Now you may have doomed us. You see Cavil, maybe the humans provoked us once or twice, but they didn't have any intention of attacking us. Now, thanks to your megalomaniacal stupidity, everything has been fracked up," Kathy said.
"No sister, it has not all failed. We still have the upper hand in this. We will find the colonials and wipe them all out. I'm departing with 20 additional baseships and several supply ships to join our fleet searching for Galactica, and I'm appointing my brother Jack to replace me while I'm gone. I will also take one of the two Resurrection hubs, one Resurrection ship, and the Colony with me," John Cavil said.
"The colony, are you mad!" Leoben said outraged.
"We can't build more ships if you take it, only the colony can produce hybrids!" Doral protested.
"You have more than enough ships to hold the colonies. Janice will take a few baseships to track down and destroy the Prometheus' fleet. All other ships will focus on tracking and destroying the main colonial group. Our main mobile facility can produce baseships without the colony in small numbers while we are gone. Doral, your brother has taken the Dreadstar; it's escorted by two heavy baseships and four standard ones, and I think he will enjoy hunting the colonial remnants with those ships," John Cavil said.
"What about those two Battlestars and the dozens of other colonial warships in orbit of the Aerelon moon? Why are we keeping them?" Doral asked.
"Jack has plans for those ships. I was against it, but he assured me that he can use them," John Cavil replied.
As soon as he finished talking, Cavil left the room.
"He is completely nuts," Kathy, who was the first to speak, said.
"I trust in his plans," Doral said.
"Of course you do, what else would you do without him? But look at the situation. We have lost half of our Basestars and support stars in the opening of the war, and a third of those that remain will be in the yard hands for many months to a year to be repaired. And now he wishes to split the remaining fleet to chase down the survivors which will only make us more vulnerable to attacks. Just think about that while you are kissing his boots," Kathy said contemptuously.
10 minutes later
Main Hangar Bay
"You know, if the Cavils find out about what we are doing, they will box us," Leoben said, "I put my brother in my place to go with Cavil."
"Don't worry, he will find out too late to do anything about it," Kathy said.
"What about the Battlestar Trinity? Why did you not report that she survived?" Leoben asked.
"Because I wanted her to survive; the colonials could use one more battlestar, and it will piss the Cavils off," Kathy said.
"Hmm, I don't know how much it will help them. She's a wreck, she was lucky destroying those two baseships, but she is a complete wreck – barely still alive. Maybe we can get her help?" Leoben said.
"But never mind the Trinity for now, we must get to the colonial ships," Kathy said.
"But we don't even know where they are?" Leoben said.
"Oh but we do. Do you know anything about the Olympia class stations?" Kathy asked.
"Yes, six stations were built 25 years ago, 4 were decommissioned and scrapped about five years ago, and two were destroyed in the opening of this war," Leoben said.
"Well two of those stations; the Olympia and Lobo Negro, still exist, Doral and Janice didn't succeed in stopping Lobo Negro from jumping into the Veil of Athena nebula. She's getting away to safety, but the second station is still here in colonial space," Kathy said.
"Yes but where?" Leoben asked.
"Only place possible is the Red Horse nebula; one of most violent nebulas at in region, it is dangerous for Cylons but not for humans. If they're anywhere, they are in that nebula hiding and it is only matter of time before some of our brothers and sisters die there from radiation poisoning and download again. They will give the location of the colonial units instantly," Kathy said.
"And what do you want to do Kathy, simply go there?" Leoben asked incredulously.
"Yes, since I need your heavy raider, you are coming with me," Kathy said shortly.
"Great and how will you explain our absence?" Leoben asked.
"Leave that to me. Does your raider still have stealth armor on it?" Kathy asked.
Leoben nodded.
"Good, we're leaving as soon as possible. Until then we'll gather supporters and intel the colonials can use," Kathy said.
Asteroid belt near Tauron...
Battlestar Trinity C.I.C.
"Colonel what is the status of the ship? Can we jump?" Commander Gerard asked as soon as he entered C.I.C..
"Well sir, we can. We fixed a majority of the holes and damaged sections with what supplies we have, but not the main energizer. We will have only one jump sir, as it takes too long to recharge the FTL with the secondarys," Colonel Sounders replied.
"After almost two months, all we have is one jump?" Commander Gerard asked dumbfounded.
"Sir that is all that we can do. We tried to get some supplies from nearby depots, but they're all crawling with raiders," Colonel Sounders said.
"Hmm, ok, we can jump only once before the main energizer dies again. Where do you have in mind to jump to Colonel?" Commander Gerard asked.
"Destarious supply depot sir," Colonel Sounders said, "there are resources that we could use, and even a Hephaestus class drydock that could fix most of our damage. The raptors say it hasn't been hit yet; probably because it is a small civilian scrapping yard and supply depot."
"Isn't that depot where that old pre-cylon war Dreadstar Henchantories is?" Commander Gerard asked.
"Yes sir," Colonel Sounders said.
"Alright, make preparations for the jump. But first, send a raptor to look around. I don't want Cylon raiders with nukes near my ship colonel," Commander Gerard said.
Red Horse Nebula Olympia Station Flag Suite
"So Commander, you have some reports for me?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"Yes, sir; so far there are no complaints about space, all the civilians and military personnel have enough food and water, and we are also doing our best as far as health care. Both shipyards are working in optimal conditions; since there were only 12,000 people on each shipyard instead of the standard 25,000, we are adding as many civilians into the shipyards as possible. As you know, each shipyard has space for over 50,000 people, and can also take as many as 100,000 if necessary. All recovered Battlestars are now in an operational condition. The Concordia is fully repaired and rearmed. Victorious is still docked to the shipyard, but she will be done within the week. Thanks to many of the military personal we rescued so far, from the wrecks and from the planets, we can man all our ships with full crew complements. Including the Warstar Daedalus and the Battlestar Theseus. As a side note, there are also a lot of civilians that want to enlist in the military, so we are not having a problem with personnel so far. The Battlestar Polaris is also being fixed and will be ready in a month," Commander Corgon reported.
"Now to the more important part of this report sir, we have almost 50 cases of radiation poisoning," Commander Corgon said.
"Radiation poisoning?" Admiral Thorn asked surprised.
"Yes sir but that is not all; after we started taking care of them, we realized that they're all almost the same exact people," Commander Corgon said uncomfortably.
"You are babbling Commander, what are you talking about?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"Sir, we found several copies of the same people. Look at these photos," Commander Corgon said, showing photos of all the people that were reported to have radiation poisoning.
"They look the same!" Admiral Thorn exclaimed.
"Yes sir, and one of the blondes, calls herself a six, says she wants to talk to you," Commander Corgon said.
"Me? Why?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"She said that all those that are sick, including herself, are Cylons sir. Human versions of Cylons," Commander Corgon said.
"Hmm, that helps explain the CNP virus and the sabotage in the fleet at the outbreak of this war. Bring her in with a full security detail," Admiral Thorn said.
Half an hour later, the Six entered the Admirals office to see the Admiral behind his desk, where he had a revolver in the desk.
"So, you wanted to talk with me?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"Yes Admiral," the tall blond woman replied.
"And you are?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"My name is Cally, or number six, whichever you prefer to call me," Cally said.
"And you are a Cylon?" Admiral Thorn asked, wanting to hear her say she was a Cylon so he could finally accept the truth for himself.
"Yes Admiral; myself and all those that you have found with radiation poisoning are Cylons," Cally said.
"And what do you want of me, and what is stopping me from throwing you and all those others out an airlock?" Admiral Thorn asked angrily.
"Well Admiral, I have data that you can use against the Cylons," Cally said.
"Why would you share this with me?" Admiral Thorn asked suspiciously.
"Admiral, not all Cylons wanted, or voted, to attack and destroy the twelve colonies of Kobol. Many of us were against it. But first, let me say that there are seven models of us. It was lucky that thanks to this nebula we all got sick and revealed ourselves, and this was unintentional of course," Cally said.
"You did not answer my question. Why do you want share your knowledge with me?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"Because Admiral, I want asylum. The ones started this foolish war, in your terms it is not even a war: it was genocide. And I admit, you have the right and good reason not to trust me. But you see, the Cylons have evolved and create a hive mind for their society. All seven models, or at least a majority, must vote for something to be done. Unfortunately, a majority of Cylons voted for the attack. But a smaller part voted against; we want to help, and we know that humans are not perfect, but we are not perfect either," Cally said, taking a deep breath before continuing, "Unfortunately there was one of the ones called John Cavil; he and his entire line were the masterminds of this attack. Admiral I know it is hard to listen but please."
"And if I refuse?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"If you refuse, you think we will die from the radiation? But that's not correct. You see, once our bodies die, our minds will be transferred into another body. We will live, and many of those you have here will report back to the ones about your location, the number of ships, and about this station. Sooner or later a Cylon fleet will come here in large numbers, no matter what the radiation will do to their forces in the short term. You know as well as I do, that you can't survive without supplies from the rest of the system very long here," Cally said.
"We have enough for 20 years," Admiral Thorn said bluffing. In truth the total fleet had only enough resources for 2 to 3 years.
"And then what? The Cylons can wait, can you Admiral?" Cally asked.
"And if I give you what you want, asylum for you, what would we do with the others?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"Put them in the brig if you must; put them somewhere where they will be safe, and where they can't hurt themselves. They are ready to kill themselves knowing they will not die, but they will reveal this location to the others," Cally said.
"Alright, I need to think about this," Admiral Thorn said.
"Think fast admiral, many of them will realize that you found out who they are, and they will become hostile, or they will try to harm themselves. You won't be able to stop them all, so you need to act fast," Cally said.
In that moment the doors opened and a Lieutenant entered the room.
"Sir, three ships just jumped into the entrance of the nebula, and they are colonial," the Lieutenant reported.
In Front Of Red Horse Nebula
Battlestar Atlantis and her escorts Pleiades and Argona had finally reached their destination. They jumped directly in front of the entrance to the hidden base in the Red Horse nebula.
Battlestar Atlantis C.I.C
"Jump complete sir," Commander Haller said.
"Good, move us in, and start transmitting our ID. I don't want to be shot at by our own units," Admiral Stryker replied.
Atlantis started moving forward, when suddenly six ships appeared.
"Sir, six ships just appeared. Identifications are Battlestars Caprica and Titan, and four Titan II Gunstars. Now that is some welcoming committee. Caprica is requesting our authorization," Commander Haller said.
"Good, send it," Admiral Stryker said.
"They confirmed our ID, we are free to pass sir," the communications officer reported a few moments later.
"Good, take us in," Admiral Stryker ordered.
Atlantis and her two escort ships started moving deeper into the nebula slowly. Caprica and her escort ships resumed their original posts in the shadows near the entrance. It took ten full minutes before Atlantis finally emerged from the cloud into what would be only described as a large city in space. Hundreds of ships were placed around an Olympia class Station and a Hera class Station, which should have been in the Hera scrapping junkyard. Then to the side there were two unknown mobile shipyards that floated near the stations. Each of them was like a gigantic space station even bigger than Picon HQ.
A full detail of security vipers and raptors stood in formation with the new trio of ships. In sign of respect and welcome, the civilians on the nearby ships stood in shock while observing the newcomers. They all had thought that the ships that were here were all that survived.
Battlestar Atlantis C.I.C
"Lieutenant, contact Olympia station, and request permission to dock," Admiral Stryker said.
"Yes sir," the communications officer replied.
A few minutes later, Atlantis was safely docked into one of the piers next to Battlestar Victorious. Argona and Pleiades stood near the station.
Olympia Station Flag Suite
"Welcome to Olympia Admiral," Admiral Thorn said.
"Thank you. Well, I must say that I'm surprised at just how many ships survived," Admiral Stryker said, "but if you don't have anything against it, I would like a report on all the ships currently here. I like reading."
"Of course. I think you will need a long time to read all of it. Are you up for a glass of ambrosia?" Admiral Thorn asked.
"That is something I will not pass up. Sure," Admiral Stryker said grinning.
"Well from ensign to admiral in 6 years, that is a record," Admiral Thorn said after he drank some ambrosia.
"Nagala did it in five years, so he still bears the record," Admiral Stryker said.
"True. I knew your father well. He was a fine man, and did not deserve to die in a car crash," Admiral Thorn said.
"Accidents happen, but it's better that way I suppose," Admiral Stryker said.
"Well, Admiral Nagala found a good man to lead the survivors to Avalon Mark, and that's you," Admiral Thorn said.
"I still don't understand why he chose me, I mean you have more experience than me, and if anyone deserves it, it's you," Admiral Stryker said.
"My post is here in R&D, luckily more than half survived the war and the best part at that. My duty is here with this station and those shipyards. But you are a natural leader and tactician, so do not doubt yourself. You are one of the youngest admirals in the history of the colonial fleet, and your aggressiveness and tactics will lead all these people here to their new home. When Admiral Nagala told me to wait for your arrival, he had a good reason. I am in the military and I'm an Admiral, but I am more of a scientist and engineer than a combat officer," Admiral Thorn said.
"Now you flatter me. Admiral Nagala was a good friend and good officer, I will carry out his orders, but after we get to Avalon I'm going to retire," Admiral Stryker said smiling.
"Retire? Are you mad, you have 35 years ahead of you? I don't want to hear about retirement, your father was a good friend, and you know how he would react if heard the word retirement," Admiral Thorn said.
"Yeah, I know. So shall we get to business?" Admiral Stryker asked.
"I will send you a report so you can see what we have, and how many people we have. We will have time to introduce you to everyone later. We will talk after you have had a chance to get some rest, you do look like hell Mark," Admiral Thorn said.
"I always look that way," Admiral Stryker said.
1 hour later
Battlestar Atlantis Meeting Room
Admiral Stryker was alone in his room, looking at portraits from various landscapes on the 12 colonies; once a beautiful place, but now the planets were in ruins.
A knocking on the door drew the Admirals attention.
"Come in," Admiral Stryker said.
Commander Haller entered the room.
"Sir, here is the full report on the current assets in the colonial fleet," Commander Haller said.
"Good, start with the military units first," Admiral Stryker replied, still watching the landscapes.
"Yes sir, I added our ships to this report with the exception of those in orbit of Avalon. We have two Mercury class Battlestars Atlantis and Polaris, the Polaris was supposed to be scrapped due to damage she suffered some time before the attack, and now she has been repaired to return her to active service. We have three Minerva class Battlestars the Minerva, Pleiades, and Hades, and two of these are from the reserve fleet. All three are in combat condition, with full crews. There are three Valkyrie class Battlestars the Valkyrie, Caprica, and Poseidon, also all three are fully operational and fully manned," Commander Haller reported.
"Commander you said Poseidon, she survived?" Admiral Stryker asked.
"Yes sir, she was orbiting Olympia station at the time of attack sir. I also checked about your sister Melinda, she survived and she's CAG on board the Poseidon. Unfortunately, your younger brother Matthew died when the Battlestar Mercury exploded in the battle over Virgon sir. Do you want me to re-assign your sister to Atlantis?" Commander Haller asked.
"No, let her stay where she is. She is an excellent pilot and they need her. I will visit her later. Continue," Admiral Stryker said.
"There are four Columbia II Battlestars in the fleet starting with the Titan, Athena, Cerberus and Rycon, all fully operational and crewed, and Rycon is one of the command versions. Battlestar Concordia is one of those new Skinfaxi class strike Battlestars and she is fully operational, the only downside is her crew has 2,200 instead of the standard 2,400 though that's more than enough for now. There is also Battlestar Victorious; she is the only Battlestar to build fully on the Durga specifications, so she's called the Durga class. She has four landing bays like the Mercury class instead of the standard two. She is fully operational with a full crew. There's the Daedalus class Warstar Daedalus which is operational and fully manned, and of course we have Argona. Then there's the Battlestar Theseus; she's an experimental version of the Nova class, with 8 pods instead of 4 and new weapons and armor. The final two Battlestars are not colonial navy, but Guard units belonging to the Aerelon and Virgon guard. They are the Battlestars Freedom and Independence, and they are both of the Geneva class. Only four were built and all four were decommissioned and made available to any guard unit that could afford the price tag. The Aerelon and Virgon guards got one each, and the other two were scrapped. Both ships went through a SLEP (service life extension program) and were brought up to modern standards about five years ago, but due to budget restrictions they could not get the CNP program. Thank the gods for small favors. They are fully manned and have a full viper wing," Commander Haller said.
"17 Battlestars, and 2 Warstars, my gods," Admiral Stryker said in shock.
"Yes sir and from the intelligence flights in the colonies, there could be as many as a dozen Battlestars that could be salvaged if we chose to go after them," Commander Haller said, "and that is not all sir, not even close. Those two shipyards we saw, there are mobile sir. Eternity and Unity are both capable of sustaining a fleet twice the size of this fleet for years and can build any new ship we need, from a Gunstar to a Warstar sir. There are also two Hephaestus class mobile docks from the Militech Corporation and they are fully functional sir. There are two Berzerk support ships Sandstorm and Tauron, two Harrier class Strikestars, Harrier and Crusher and a Vanguard class raptor Carrier Arakiel. Then for supporting ships; we have ten Titan II Gunstars (Stiletto, Thaddeus, Calamity, Sturgeon, Stargazer, Redeemer, Albatross, Resurgence, Avenger, and Aggressive), 2 Hoplite class Battle Cruisers (Hoplite and Venitrix), 4 Heavy Cruisers (Cataphract, Javelin, Aether and Adder), 5 Byzantine class Light Cruisers (Byzantine, Persia, Agamemnon, Ares and Argos), 5 Phalanx class Destroyers (Phalanx, Gauntlet, Gearing, Anubis and Archer), 9 Dagger class Patrolstars (Dagger, Hunter, Crossbow, Persy, Gimble, Artemis, Avenger, Baldr, and Ceros), 12 Defender class Gunstars (Tigris, Claw, Storm, Altair, Modesto, Hook, Taurus, Harpy, Raven, Tower, Bruiser and Fury), 2 Vigilant class Gunstars ( Sournier, and Hale), 3 Striker class heavy Gunstars (Striker, Avarice, and Starfury), and 1 Cygnus class heavy Gunstar Styx. There's also twelve Firestar class frigates, and four additional Fury class Strikestar, but these last 16 ships need to be put into the docks and refitted and crewed before we can use them."
"I be damned," Admiral Stryker said.
"That is main report sir; would you want to know about the civilians sir?" Commander Haller asked.
"No, I can read that for myself, this is too many surprises at once," Admiral Stryker said, happily shocked at the list of surviving colonial military.
"There are a few more things Admiral. Admiral Thorn sent a raptor to Ragnar to catch the Battlestar Galactica, but she was already gone. They found the wreck of a baseship at the entrance of the Ragnar nebula. Raptor crews tapped into the security computers of the station and Galactica has some 75 to 80 civilian ships with her, and three Defender class Gunstars. They are heading into the Promar sector. Then there's the Battlestar Pegasus, which also somehow survived the attack," Commander Haller said.
"Cain," Admiral Stryker said fuming silently.
"Yes sir, it appears Admiral Cain survived too. There are also more ships that survived the war. The Battlestars Prometheus, Nova, Eternal, and Celestial along with their escorts were last reported near the Veil of Athena where the Cylons lost two baseships, and those colonial units took Lobo Negro station. Admiral Thorn reported that they found the wreckage of the Battlestar Andromeda, sir, she was destroyed near Scorpia. They had thought she survived the attack, but it was not so. Also, there are last three sections sir. First, it's believed that 10 Gunstars that were supposed to establish a mining operation in the Taurus system may still be alive," Commander Haller said.
"Taurus system? But that is close to the Cylon border outside Cyrannus," Admiral Stryker said.
"Yes sir. Admiral Thorn believes those units are still alive; 7 Defender class Gunstars, 2 Striker class Gunstars, and 1 command Titan II Gunstar. Also, the Battlestar Trinity survived, or at least there are no reports in the Cylon broadcasts that it has been destroyed. Some of Admiral Thorns people tapped into the Cylon transmissions. And the final thing sir, there were two Battlestars still out there that survived; the Chimera and Vanguard, both Mercury class, and their current location is unknown. And that's it more or less," Commander Haller said.
"Thank you Commander, now I need to process this information to see what we will do next. Set up a meeting on Olympia station for 1800 tomorrow, and have all officers of Colonel rank or higher at the meeting and ready to talk about what we need to do next to get these people to safety and to look at saving those still on the colonies," Admiral Stryker said.
"Yes sir," Commander Haller said.
Commander Haller left the reports on the desk and left the room, leaving Admiral Stryker alone to his thoughts, and after a few moments Admiral Stryker took the reports and started reading them, looking intently at the full list.
Military section
BATTLESTARS (17)
Theseus Upgraded Nova class: Theseus (2150)
Mercury class: Polaris (2250), Atlantis (2410)
Minerva class: Minerva (2500), Pleiades (2500), Hades (2250)
Valkyrie class: Valkyrie (1520), Poseidon (1510), Caprica (1480)
Skinfaxi class: Concordia (2200)
Durga class: Victorious (2300)
Columbia II class: Titan (2305), Athena (2320), Cerberus (2200), Rycon (2400)
Geneva II class: Freedom (3500) Independence (3500)
Atlas class: Sword (1750)
WARSTARS (2)
Daedalus class: Daedalus (2700)
Andraste class: Argona (4000)
BATTLECRUISERS (2)
Hoplite class: Hoplite (1200), Venitrix (1200)
HEAVY CRUISERS (4)
Cataphract class: Cataphract (850), Javelin (850), Aether (850), Adder (850)
GUNSTARS (28)
Titan II class: Stiletto (800), Thaddeus (800), Calamity (744), Sturgeon (800), Stargazer (800), Redeemer (820), Albatross (802), Resurgence (800), Avenger (710), Aggressive (805).
Defender class: Tigris (550), Claw (550), Storm (550), Altair (459), Modesto (551), Hook (500), Taurus (550), Harpy (550), Raven (520), Tower (450), Brusser (500), Fury (502).
Vigilant class: Sournier (450), Hale (412).
Striker class: Striker (900), Avarice (900), Starfury (900).
Cygnus class: Styx (600).
LIGHT CRUISERS (5)
Byzantine class: Byzantine (500), Persia (500) Agamemnon (500), Ares (500), Argos (500).
STEALTHSTAR (1)
Banshee class: Banshee (800).
STRIKESTARS (3 + 4)
Harrier class: Harrier (800), Crasher (820).
Fury class: Aventine (400), (plus 4).
DESTROYERS
Phalanx class: Phalanx (400) Gauntlet (400), Gearing (400), Anubis (400), Archer (400).
FIRESTARS (2 +12)
Hawkeye class: Hawking (700), Star Rider (700), (Plus 12).
ESCORTSTARS and PARTOLSTARS (12)
Berzerk class: Sandstorm (1050), Tauron (1020).
Vanguard class: Arakiel (600).
Dagger class: Dagger (350), Hunter (350), Crossbow (350), Persy (350) Gimble (350), Artemis (350), Avenger (350), Baldr (350), Ceros (350).
MOBILE DOCKS AND SHIPYARDS
Hephaestus class: Hephaestus (3000), Forge (3015)
Unity class: Unity (12540), Eternity (12000)
Olympia class: Olympia (7000)
Hera class: Hera (3000)
ELINT SHIPS (5)
Searcher class: Everest (600), Star Chaser (600), Wisdom ( 700), Night Shadow (640), Vision (900).
Military Total: 126,350
Civilian Section
22 Mining ships; Calkota (450), Taranis (500), Echa (400), Stryd (400), Wind Fury (450), Black Elk (500), Mining Dreamer (490), Colar (400), Erbal (440), Tauron Miner 4 (500), Tauron Miner 7 (400), Carol (440), Dark Miner (440), Falk (400), Caprican Miner (540), Miner 7 (400), Miner 8 (400), Miner 15 (450), Miner 18 (400), Miner 20 (400), Howard (450), Blacken (340).
7 Refinery ships: Taren (600), Tylium Maker (509), Tylium Maker 8 (450), Batista (550), Saladin (800), Aventis (600), Fusilier (550).
5 Medical Transports: Miracle (980), Hiding Star (850), Wallace (900), Mercurial (850), Demonical (800).
3 Medical Ships: Mercy (900), Forgiveness (890), Brightstar (990).
29 Colonial Heavy transports (Different versions): 50,000
5 Mobile shipyards: 30,000
210 Freighters: 205,000
35 Cold Storage ships: 12,000
130 Luxury Liners: 150,000
10 Prison Ships: 20,000 (3,500 prisoners)
35 Agricultural Ships: 86,100
30 Research Ships: 60,000
9 Recycling ships: 1,000
50 Heavy Cargo ships: 100,000
40 Standard Passenger Lines: 40,000
12 Supply ships: 30,000
50 Colonial Mover transports: 90,000
4 former training ships: 40,000
15 Flattops: 30,000
42 Civilian transports: 56,000
45 Cloud type luxury liners: 90,000
14 Tanker ships: 7,000
Civilian Total: 1,117,909
Total both: 1,244,259
When Admiral Styrker read the last number, he just mumbled, "My gods, so many plus those on the colonies, I need a drink!"