Rebels

Six months later…

Avalon System, Eternity Station

Fleet Admiral Stryker watched from the observation deck as two new Battlestars and several firestars passed in formation on slow flyby near the Eternity. Just days before those ships had been commissioned into the fleet. Many more were under construction as part of the fleet rebuild program.

Stryker was pleased; although they had done a tremendous job so far, it was not over yet. There was a lot to be done, and he knew it wouldn't be easy. Aside from Caprica City, several other sites had been chosen for new cities that would be named after famous cities from the colonies, and they were already under construction by combined efforts from both civilians and the military.

President Roslin and the quorum have continued to be a pain in the ass; most of them still believed that Stryker's plan for fleet buildup was pointless or excessive. Many in the quorum believed that the Cylons couldn't find them, but Stryker and the rest of military command knew better. Even if the Cylons were not a threat however, then the Harvesters are. Though convincing the civilian government of that when they hadn't seen the Harvesters and were mostly willing to laugh off reports the Admiralty had presented as fact, such as their history, even that reason for the military buildup was derided. Still, the Cylons would come: he could feel it. Wherever they are, they'll be looking for the last of the colonials to finish what they started and they would let nothing get in their way. Eventually they will find Avalon: he'd known this all along and had been preparing for this eventuality from the very beginning, the civilian government be damned if they refuse to see reason until the Cylons show up and start throwing nukes up their ass. Sooner or later the attack will come and when this happens, he must ensure that the Colonial fleet wins no matter the cost. The military buildup will be forced through no matter the backlash from the government and the growing naysayers that Tom Zarek seems to be growing more and more in control of.

Admiral Thorn, who had grown into being like a mentor to him, and a good friend besides, had advised Stryker wisely over this year: helping him with everything. His last advice was to find a woman, get married and have a family. Stryker's first response had been that he had too much to do and that didn't have time to look for and handle a marriage, and a family. Admiral Thorn was obstinate and stubborn in getting him to change his mind however.

"Do not throw your life and everything you have into just your work," Admiral Thorn told him, "I lost my wife and my children in the Cylon attack. Every person in the military lost someone; husbands, wives, children, brothers, sisters, parents. Do not let work get in your way; find yourself someone and get a family. You are smart and a brave man. You are still young and you have time still, and even with a few million people on the colony: we could use all the children we can get to repopulate our society with the next generation. Besides, as Fleet Admiral you have other Admirals, Commanders, and other officers to delegate, and rely on, to get work done."

Of course Thorn was right; he had always been alone since the Cylon attack, sitting and stewing in his office like an old man. Even his sister who was a ship Commander had a boyfriend, and no doubt it would not be long before the two of them married.

It didn't take long for Stryker to find the woman of his dreams. He found her after he went to one of Eternity's bars. At first everyone saluted him and treated him as a commanding officer, acting uneasily around him, but after a while they started relaxing around him and got used to his presence; they started to ignore him and began treating him like anyone else. Yes the shipyard's bar was no place for the Fleet Admiral, but he was human like everyone else; he could have his private time when not on duty. He found his love soon enough; she was playing a piano, one of several old ones that survived.

After an introduction and a chat, they slowly got closer. She was uncomfortable at the beginning because of his rank, and since she was 'just' one of the engineers working at keeping Eternity's engines running. At any glance she was low in military ranking, but in reality she was not even military. Liz had worked on Eternity since its launch from the colonies, as part of the civilians with necessary skills who were integrated into the ship's crew. It didn't take long before the two of them became more intimately involved. Liz was simply a good person, she didn't care about his rank, and she cared only for him as a person. She was two years younger than Stryker. Liz had lost her fiancé during the attack, as well as both of her brothers and all of her family. She was alone. She didn't get out much, except to the bar and back to work, and had previously had a small problem with alcohol during the first few months following the Cylon attack. It was normal, something many others had been doing; she had lost everything and she didn't care – she had just wanted to stop feeling her pain and loss. But after meeting Stryker, her life changed and she finally find someone to love and to care for. Despite the fact that person cared for every other human survivor, and helped bring them where they are now, so far away from Cryannus.

Stryker stood still, looking on at the ships that passed by and he smiled. For the first time he believed that they had a future. He had Liz now, not only his job. Although his job was one of the most important, he still needed to be human first; at the very least to keep him sane and happy, and to renew his sense of hope.

"I will never allow anyone to hurt Liz or anyone on Avalon," Admiral Stryker said quietly, and looked away from the ships to Avalon which glowed in the distance.

…..

Somewhere near Avalon system

A badly damaged Cylon basestar cruised slowly in the darkness of space, heavy damage apparent from the outside of the ship.

"The ship is in very bad shape Natalie. It took us six months to cross the distance that would usually take us two or three months. And how can you be sure that the colonial's colony is here somewhere?" one of the other number Sixes in the room asked.

"Because I know. I downloaded the data from Cavil's ship before I left it. One more jump and we will be within range of the colonials, even if we don't know their system's exact coordinates; we know they're close to here, and likely keeping track of the route to their colony - looking for signs of Cylon pursuit," Natalie Six said.

"Let's say that our ship survives another trip, what stops the Colonials, if they are in that system, from firing on us?" the only number Four in the room asked.

"Immediately as we jump we will broadcast our surrender. It's a risk, I know, but it's all we have. We can't go back and all of our resources are almost spent which means this last jump is our last hope or our doom. Whatever happens, it is our destiny and we can't run from it any longer," Natalie Six said.

"The ship is ready to jump," another number Six said shortly after she entered the bridge.

"Set coordinates and prepare to jump on my command," Natalie replied.

The other number six nodded, but gave a warning, "Target location has been entered, but we may miss it. There's some problems with the jump coordinates. "

"Never mind, just jump," Natalie Six said impatiently.

The baseship disappeared. Moments later, it appeared at the outskirts of the Avalon system, right in front of Warstar Argona.

Warstar Argona C.I.C.

"Admiral, a Cylon basestar just jumped in," the officer of the watch reported.

"Prepare all guns, fire on my mark," Admiral Thompson ordered quickly, heart pounding heavily in his chest and his adrenaline running.

"Sir, we are getting a message from the basestar. They are surrendering! They wish to speak with Admiral Stryker, they said it's urgent," the communications officer said.

Admiral Thompson was puzzled by this; he didn't intent to fall into some kind of Cylon trap, "Stand down. Weapons officer; if they make any move blast them to hell. Communications, send a message telling them to stand down and prepare to be boarded, after that inform command about this."

"Aye sir," the communications officer said.

Cylon Basestar

The Cylons watched in horror as they appeared right in front of a massive colonial warship. They recognized it as the Andraste class warstar Argona. Two Battlestars, the Titan and Polaris, and several Gunstars of an unknown type escorted the massive warship, which was scary enough on its own.

They watched as the massive cannons of Argona moved into combat position, and swarms of Vipers and Raptors were launched from all ships. But none of the ships fired; that was some relief.

"There is a message incoming," a number eight said, "Stand down and prepare to be boarded."

"What should we do?" one of the number sixes asked.

"We comply," Natalie Six said shortly.

Eternity

Admiral Stryker's private room

Stryker kissed Liz with passion, touching her lips and cheeks. He'd almost forgotten that he had feelings after so long in command, never having time for himself.

He was about to kiss Liz again when his phone rang. He looked at the desk with fury, "Oh for frak's sake, what now."

"Maybe it's something important," Liz said patiently.

The phone continued to ring, forcing Stryker to get out of bed and take the call, grabbing the phone to shut up the incessant ringing.

"Admiral Stryker here?" Admiral Stryker said with irritation clear in his voice.

"Marcus I am sorry for bothering you, but your presence is needed in Olympia's Command center," Admiral Thorn said.

Admiral Thorn sounds very serious Admiral Stryker thought to himself.

"I am on my way," Admiral Stryker said, hanging up the phone.

"Darling sorry, but something important came up, I must go and look into it," Admiral Stryker said and began starting to get his clothes on.

Minutes later after getting himself together, he kissed Liz and exited the room. Ten minutes later he was already in the fleet command center.

Eternity had become the temporary fleet command center now that Olympia was being reconfigured, elongated, and integrated into the new Heavy Construction Red Horse Shipyard. With the Arcadians assistance, the shipyard would be completed within a few more months. The command quarters that had been used on Olympia would soon enough be completed on the burgeoning shipyard, the soon to be jewel of the fleet when it was completed, and then fleet command would relocate there. R & D was likewise in a state of flux, receiving new and larger quarters aboard the new shipyard – the scientists there had been greatly excited by having more room and technology to work on their various projects more efficiently. It was all Stryker and Thorn could do to keep them quiet through the process.

Stryker entered Olympia's C.I.C. He was curious and angry at the same time. It was the first time in a week that he'd had time for himself and Liz, and now it was interrupted.

"I am sorry for interrupting your free time Admiral, but you need to see this," Admiral Thorn said, pointing to one of the large monitors above the C.I.C.'s plot table.

A forward mounted camera on board Argona showed the badly damaged Cylon basestar.

"Where the hell did that basestar come from?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"We don't know, but the Cylons on board want to talk with you. They said it's an urgent matter. Our marines have already boarded the ship. They secured every meter of it. In total there were 2700 of the human form Cylons, mainly composed of number fours, and around eight hundred centurions. I called in extra marine forces from the fleet so we could adequately guard such a large number. Strange enough, none of them was aggressive when our forces came in, they just opened the doors and waited," Admiral Thorn said.

"That's odd," Admiral Stryker remarked.

"Indeed, and that's not all. One of the Cylon model number Sixes, Natalie, appears to be their leader. She said that she explicitly needed to speak with you and with colonial high command. She claims that an attack from the rest of the Cylon forces is imminent and that they know the approximate location of Avalon," Admiral Thorn said.

"Blast," Admiral Stryker said, then turned to one of the lieutenants in C.I.C., "Lieutenant I want my Raptor to be ready in ten minutes."

"Yes Admiral," the Lieutenant replied and turned to relay the Admiral's orders.

"Admiral Thorn, contact Argona, I will meet this Natalie there," Admiral Stryker said.

"Sure, but is that wise? She may attack you. This could be a trap," Admiral Thorn said worriedly.

"I know, but don't worry; if she wants to talk then we will talk," Admiral Stryker said confidently.

45 minutes later…

Warstar Argona Conference room

The conference room on board Argona was full of guards. There were guards everywhere. Although some would say it was overkill having so many, it is not every day that the Fleet Admiral visits the ship, especially in the presence of an enemy.

Natalie Six was brought to the room and kept under heavy guard when Admiral Stryker finally entered the room.

Admiral Stryker sat behind the main table and asked, "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes Admiral we did," Natalie Six replied and continued, "I know that you do not have any reason to trust us, but we did come in peace, and we've come here to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"To explain I need to start from the beginning," She said, and paused to see if Admiral will allow her to tell her story.

"Make it fast," Admiral Stryker said warningly, impatient to get to the bottom of this situation.

"Seven months ago, a Cylon civil war started. At first it was quiet. It started with the death of John Cavil, the number one that orchestrated the attack on the twelve colonies. But it didn't start because of him; it started because the ones, fours, and fives crossed the line. We; the twos, sixes and eights, know that with John Cavil's death, his brother who was also a model one, Jack Cavil, will take over. And with that he will lead the entire Cylon race to its extinction.

The loss of the Colony means that we cannot grow new hybrids to pilot our ships. They serve as the central nervous system for our baseships. Jack executed John because of his failure to catch Galactica and because the entire attack on the twelve colonies was one big mistake. In Jack's eyes too many of your ships survived and you organized effective resistance which cost us too many of our ships.

We realized in time that what we had done to you was a mistake, it was never supposed to happen, we shouldn't have gone along with it. But most of us were blind, we believed in the number ones; believing that because they were the oldest of us, they were the most experienced. We were wrong. I must admit Admiral, many of us even enjoyed the destruction of the twelve colonies, believing that because you humans were not perfect, your nature would eventually destroy you; many of us believed it was god's will to put you out of your misery. Others believed that in order for our race to come into its own as humanity's children, our parents, the twelve colonies, had to die.

We made a mistake. If we had truly looked at the big picture, it would've been clear that you would never attack, or invade Cylon space. You were too occupied with your own problems and despite the hatred between our races; many of your people are honorable and would not have gone along with being the instigator of a renewed war with the Cylons.

However, the ones, threes, and fours saw the Battlestar Valkyrie incursion as the final straw. If you would send one fighter to cross our border, next time it could be an entire squadron; a prelude to invasion. For years before this, those number ones had been creating a plan of attacking you and used this incident to present their most updated plan; using spies to encourage the colonial fleet's disarmament, and hacking your navigation programs – specifically through creating and control the new CNP program.

But after the attack, we began to realize we had made a mistake. A number of our infiltrators had started making attachments with colonials and had started questioning our ways and whether humanity should die or not. Making matters worse in our society, the number one models were like dictators; ruthless, sarcastic and arrogant. But we couldn't do anything.

Then, Jack started lobotomizing the raiders once they refused to fight after encountering the final five Cylons in your fleet, we took action. We rallied all the members of our models and loyal Centurions that we could free from Cavil's control, and we fought back. We thought we could gather those who believed like we did and after giving the rest of the Cylon unity a chance to see reason, we would've left to find you and reunite with the final five. However, Cavil took advantage of our good will, using a peaceful meeting to find our fleet and lull is into a sense of security, before he attacked us in an all-out massacre. The resurrection ships were out of range as per his plan, and even if we'd resurrected we would've been boxed or killed there anyway. His fleet laid waste to our forces, mercilessly. One baseship of our forces survived, heavily damaged and falling apart as it is, and in an act of vengeance; we destroyed the last of resurrection ships while they were docked aboard the last resurrection hub.

Now, what you need to know is that Cavil knows approximately where your colony is. And at this very moment he is building his forces and will eventually attack you. He cannot build new baseships without the capability to produce more hybrids, but he built a new class of ships called the Adonis class that does not need hybrids and which is more heavily armed and armored in order to go toe to toe with your Battlestars.

He already has a dozen of them, if not more. Together with every surviving first war baseship and every remaining modern baseship and support ship, and finally his Dreadstar, he will attack; once he feels his fleet is ready. The Fours joined our forces, finally seeing reason, and in their escape they managed to disable many of his ships - and that is why he he's been delayed and hasn't attacked you yet. It would take him several months to recover, and by now I believe most of his fleet to be operational. He will be bringing his fleet to your location shortly, and continue readying his forces until he arrives," Natalie Six said.

"You said he knows where Avalon is, how so, how did he know?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"The patrolstar that you destroyed was a ruse. The whole time of your trip to your colony, you were shadowed by a baseship from an even longer distance. Even now, that baseship is somewhere close; I believe within one jump range. We also know of the other race that has ships in this sector of space. Although we don't know much as you do; we know that they are not organic," Natalie Six said.

"How did you find out about that?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"The same baseship that was spying on you had a small encounter with what had appeared to be unknown ships. It was contact from afar, our brothers and sisters on board that ship didn't dare to make contact while they were all alone in this sector of space," Natalie Six said.

"Hmm. One might think Cavil would give up his quest to destroy us, knowing that there's another enemy lurking just out of sight here," Admiral Stryker mused.

"Cavil doesn't care. He's coming to finish things personally. Nothing will get in his way, and experience has shown that logic is not truly his strong point," Natalie Six said.

Admiral Stryker chuckled slightly, then sighed loudly as he considered the situation. Frak if I want to be the one to have to deal with this madness. Admiral Stryker shook his head trying to focus away from unhelpful thoughts.

"Admiral, we destroyed your homes once; we won't do that again, and we did not come here to see your destruction become a reality but to help you, and reunite with our brothers and sisters already with your people. All we ask is to be given asylum. We will give you the full details of Cavil's fleet, the weaponry of his ships; we would give you everything we have, in exchange for a safe place to live out the rest of our days. And not in a cage, of course," Natalie Six said.

Admiral was confused by all of this, but they were not the first Cylons that changed sides, there were more that worked and lived on Avalon. Most people disliked them, but then again they'd done lots for Avalon so far and they deserved to live free on it no matter what they had done in the past.

"I will speak with the rest of military command and with the civilian government about this. I must ask however, will your group of Cylons fight with us? It will go a long way toward approving your request if the answer is yes, because if not then your people would basically be sitting pretty, doing nothing really, while our people fight, and bleed, to protect Avalon, to protect you, from the Cylons and, as you now know - from this other race known as the Harvesters," Admiral Stryker said.

"I understand Admiral. I will not see any of my people used as fodder in protecting Avalon, however we want to live free, and moreover to make up for all our sins and to seek a true peace with your people on equal terms. We want a true unity, and nothing else will truly be long lasting, which is what is needed unless we're going to just pick up and leave – with no safe destination among these stars, where these 'Harvesters' apparently are. So of course, we will fight with you, to protect ourselves as much as you," Natalie Six said fiercely.

Admiral Stryker eyed Natalie cautiously, "I will bring this before colonial fleet command and the government then. I will propose that your forces be integrated like the other Cylons that have joined with our people, in a fair alliance. Those among you willing to fight will be stationed aboard the Pallas of Athens, the captured baseship under joint Cylon/colonial control."

"Very well," Natalie Six said approvingly, then paused in confusion, "what about our baseship here?"

"Your people and useful materials will be offloaded onto Argona under armed guard, for now, and taken safely to Avalon while we process integrating your forces into the colonial fleet. Your baseship will be destroyed, never to see Avalon. I will not have such Cylon technology, uncontrollable by colonial hands and dangerous in any case, anywhere near Avalon," Admiral Stryker said sharply.

"But you have your own baseship?" Natalie Six said, confused and perplexed.

"That baseship is from the time of the first Cylon war; it was one of the original design by colonial hands, and could be piloted by colonial hands alone if need be. There is no organic technology or anything my people can't keep under control. I am uncomfortable enough with such technology, as are most others – which if I even suggested keeping such technology… The alliance with the Cylons would crumble. Moreover, having such technology could never be trusted – being at war with the Cylons, it's easy to imagine having such a thing as dangerous and having the potential to be used against us. Nothing you can say on the matter will change my mind, or any other colonials. It just is the way it is," Admiral Stryker said.

"This is preposterous Admiral. However, it seems a moot point given the damage on the baseship. She'll never jump again without serious modifications, and the hybrid herself stopped functioning. We'll do as you suggest," Natalie Six said.

"Then let's get underway. There is much to be done," Admiral Stryker said.

"Yes…" Natalie Six said, hesitating and then added, "sir."

Admiral Stryker nodded and left the room. Natalie didn't know what would happen next; she believed that what she did was right, after all she and the rest of her fellow Cylons would have died if they hadn't left. Sooner or later Cavil would've started his purge of the Cylon unity, destroying all rebellion and anyone who would get in the way of what he wanted.

Within a few hours the Cylons and their technology that was deemed necessary, including the dozens of Heavy raiders and raiders they had aboard their baseship, were offloaded to Argona and taken under guard to Avalon.

The rebel Cylon baseship was towed by an FTL capable fleet tug and moved until it reached the sun of a nearby star system. The baseship would be consumed and instantly incinerated, with the high intensity heat melting apart the weak and frail metal covering the ship until nothing was left.

Several hours later, Day 855 Since the Fall

Eternity Station, Admiral's Quarters

President Roslin sat still as a statue, staring at the Cylon number Six Natalie before her. She alternated between looking at her and Admiral Stryker, giving both looks of incredulity.

"The 'rebel' Cylons will be integrated with the fleet, and I think it best that they be placed aboard the Pallas of Athens with the rest of their people, under what has so far been a successful joint military command between colonial fleet officers and the Cylons led by fleet officer Athena," Admiral Stryker said again, repeating himself as the President continued wear her look of incredulity, frozen in shock.

"Are you insane Admiral? Just welcome back our former enemies, who only too recently were trying to kill us all, just like that?" President Roslin asked in indignation.

Admiral Stryker looked up and grabbed at his head, then said mockingly, "I believe my faculties are all sufficiently here and accounted for Madam President."

"This isn't a joke Admiral!" President Roslin said, incensed.

"The fact that Tom Zarek of all people is a member of the quorum of Twelve is a joke. The fact that so many people mocked the return of the Cylons and the need for a large scale military is a joke. No Madam President, welcoming back 'enemies', or people who we've been fighting and who've killed a number of our people and previously looked for our deaths, is not a joke. Sadly. That's just the fracked up, twisted reality we find ourselves in," Admiral Stryker said disdainfully.

"So you yourself don't agree with this. You know it's wrong too!" President Roslin accused.

"What I know is that forcing the Cylons to leave isn't an option because of the harvesters and the other Cylons – either way they'd become a liability then. Locking them up is inhumane and accomplishes nothing. Now that they've destroyed the resurrection hub, we could kill them. Say we did that for whatever 'justified' reasons, then what? They came to us seeking peace, an alliance, and to put the past to rest once and for all; what would that say about us, as a people, to turn around and kill them all?" Admiral Stryker said.

"They're Cylons! Give them half a chance and they'll betray us. Maybe those led by Athena could be managed, and being so few an agreement is acceptable considering that they've mostly been on our side from our first encounter with them, from the start! At the end of the day maybe they'll be like all Cylons, but what is certain is that these 'rebel' Cylons have already shown their true colors, already shown they can't be trusted," President Roslin said vehemently.

"So we're at war because of their race is that it?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"Yes!" President Roslin stated emphatically.

"There are so many details involved in why we are at war, it goes beyond just their race. We're fighting to protect our people at any cost Madam President. Any way we can, with what is arguably a ghost of our people and our fleet's former strength. Now, these people come to us offering a truce, quite actually offering a way to end the war for good if we take them in, and you just want to say no because they are Cylons? How can we refuse their offer, clearly made in good faith given all they've been through to get here, when this is an opportunity to continue the fight and to find a way to win the war - no matter what it takes? Or does that just apply as a justification for the loss of colonial lives in seeing this war finished?" Admiral Stryker asked.

President Roslin was at a loss for words, her mouth gaped open until she gathered herself and finally settled for glaring at Admiral Stryker.

"You can't just unilaterally declare something like this! " President Roslin said indignantly, changing tactics.

"I can. I did. It's done," Admiral Stryker said, gritting his teeth tightly in anger.

"The rest of the Admiralty-" President Roslin started to say before Admiral Stryker interjected.

"Made a large fuss, required a great deal of time and patience to listen to, with several clinging to their rage and anger at the Cylons, even though tactically most of them had the sense to see the logic to these actions. I had to sit through that, let them vent, because they are the leaders of our military fleets. I need their assistance, their compliance, and their loyalty. I even owe them such as brothers in arms. I owe you nothing, I need nothing from you. I will do whatever it takes to make Avalon safe, even if that means going around you as the head of the government," Admiral Stryker said darkly.

"No one has the right to go above the government, the will of the people-" President Roslin started to say before Admiral Stryker interrupted.

"I have the only right! I look to the safety of our people even if that means taking actions they don't agree with, and going against their government. I was given one job, to bring our people to safety and stop any threat that comes to them. Being the only thing that keeps our enemies from killing all of our people on Avalon gives me the authority to supersede all others. You will obey and go along with what is required with that in mind!" Admiral Stryker shouted furiously, giving the President no option number two.

President Roslin was silent for a long moment before saying anything, "Then you hand Zarek the only real ammunition he needs to bring all-out war to our people. Never mind the Cylons or Harvesters, our own people will start killing each other over this!"

"Not the issue we face today Madam President, but when we come to it we will be ready. It's coming no matter what. Maybe this decision is a lightning rod bringing it faster, but we'd face this issue anyway no matter what, so I will not see fear of Zarek and what he will do influence the greatest decision put before our people since the armistice with the Cylons!" Admiral Stryker said.

Realizing there would be no reasoning with the Admiral and she'd get nowhere trying, President Roslin turned to Natalie Six.

"So what say you? What could possibly motivate us to trust you now?" President Roslin asked.

"We're rebels of the Cylon race. We can't go back and we have nowhere else to go. What matters most to us is being with the Five, securing our people's future and safety, and if it's possible in this world – atoning for what we've done," Natalie Six said.

"And you think you can? That's all well and good, but utterly useless at being convincing that we should take you in," President Roslin said dismissively.

"If we join with you, we both survive. Our people are united and could survive, and yours can benefit in a peaceful alliance with us, particularly in finally bringing the Cylon threat to you to an end," Natalie Six said.

President Roslin nodded, "All well and good, reasons to go ahead with this yes. So long as you don't stab is in the back or end up lying later on."

"We can debate back and forth until the end of time and your distrust will not be lessened by one iota Madam President. You can take the offer or not, everything's already been laid on the table," Natalie Six said boldly, refusing to be cowed.

"Seems I have no choice then. Very well. I won't see the government being responsible for a schism among our people, by my own hand, by refusing this deal. No matter what you say Admiral, the people need to see the government and military working together cohesively, even if they end up not liking what we decide, or it'll mean a civil war for all intents and purposes, between supporting either of us," President Roslin said.

Admiral Stryker simply nodded, and having gotten what he needed and seeing the obvious need in Roslin to leave, he escorted her out of his quarters, abruptly ending their meeting.

Over the next few weeks, the rebel Cylons would be integrated among the fleet. Many of their number joined the crew on the Pallas of Athens, rounding off their crew compliment, along with the centurions and raiders they had brought with them. Others joined the protected, guarded, Cylon camp on Avalon, where they were developing their own place on the planet and slowly finding their place with the colonials. Officially the Cylons had asylum under the government and the military, the exact details remaining hazy to many in the civilian population.

Slowly, rumors spread among the population covering the inhabited areas of Avalon. Before long, the worst version of what had happened in recent events had spread among the people, with no official story on the matter released.

The embers of dissatisfaction and fear among the people, that had long been present and slowly had been in the process of being encouraged by the people's worst fears and seeing recent actions by the military and government, started growing. The fires of hatred and chaos had been stirred, and would not easily be put to rest.