I do not own Battlestar Galactica or any of its elements
Chapter 26 – Operation Return Part 2
The swirling mass of the cloud surrounding what had once been the Ragnar anchorage was the same as it had always been despite the explosions that that Cylons had caused to destroy the space station. But a small way off of the cloud a flash that was easily dwarfed by the gas cloud was the only announcement of the arrival of the Battlestar Telmaya.
On the CIC Commodore Seth Trakiss who had already had his crew at condition two started giving orders
"Right tactical confirm that Dradis is clear, navigation calculate emergency jump co-ordinates and launch close cap patrol" he told his bridge officers who immediately went to work
"Dradis is clear no sign of enemy contact sir" Lieutenant Amelia Adama reported to her superior officer. She had recently changed her name to that of her birth families as she bonded with them. They had told her that she should think hard before changing her name but although her adopted parents were great she had always felt a hole in her heart concerning her biological family. "Launching Cap" she then added
Down in the launch bay, Captain Serina Boxman sat in her Viper waiting with her squadron in the launch tubes. Signal came over their cockpit radios that the time was right to launch and she braced herself as the fighter suddenly started rocking down the tube into open space and she grasped the stick as she started getting her boys and girls into patrol formation. Given the extremely dangerous nature of this mission she glad that her younger brother was back in the fleet with their great aunt.
Meanwhile back on the CIC, Seth told Amelia "Get the reconnaissance raptors out there tell them not to engage the enemy. We need information" she nodded and started speaking into her headset to tell the pilots to launch. Seth then turned to Helo and gave him his orders "Brief the search and rescue pilots and the marine platoon leaders on their jobs and Lieutenant" he added sternly with his gaze as hard as granite "No unnecessary heroics" and Helo nodded not believing how intimidating this younger man could be
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In the fleet that was still located in the asteroid belt Starbuck was out of surgery. She had been lucky, aside from some scarring she would recover and keep her leg. But she still facing a few months of intensive physical therapy before she could walk properly again. She was annoyed that she was back on the crutches, the first time when she had captured that Cylon raider had been bad enough. But she was interrupted from her frustrations when Lee walked in looking at her concerned before speaking to the Doctor. She looked over at her CO and as he finally walked over and sat next to her, she told him with her trademark smirk
"So the great and powerful commander as deemed to visit little old me" she said with her custom swagger but the intense look in his eyes suddenly made her feel worried for a change and Lee told her
"Kara" he said this made her feel even more worried using her first name rather than her rank or call sign "The doctor told me that that piece of metal was just a short way off an artery. You nearly bought the farm this time" and he took a few moments to gather himself before continuing "Which is why and should probably do this now" he told her
"Do what Lee?" she asked suddenly breathless and was not expecting for him to suddenly lean over and press his lips against hers. Her surprise was immediately taken advantage of by Lee who deepened the kiss and took a firm hold of her hand squeezing it tightly. His tongue sought hers as she started to respond not even thinking at this point and her arms wrapped themselves around his neck
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Two hours later back with the Telmaya, the first reports from the recon raptors was coming in, in the situation room Seth looked at his second in command in complete surprise
"None at all?" he asked her and Colonel Sheba Cain repeated the information again, feeling his disbelief herself
"Yes sir no sign of any Cylon activity"
Seth looked at the reports again, this was perfect. They could look for survivors without having to worry about the Cylons. It was indeed perfect, too perfect. It felt like a trap but there was no way that the Cylons could have known that they were coming and with no evidence that there was actual danger he turned to Helo Agathon who was looking at him expectantly
"Right begin missions to look for survivors, if you find any bring them back immediately. Colonel Cain will debrief them and have Tyber use Cargo bays seven and eight to house them, set up some makeshift beds" he told them all around him referring to the cargo space that were at present empty
"Yes sir" Helo said eagerly and took off in the direction of the hanger bay. Quickly arriving he got dressed in marine gear and told the officers in charge of individual planets and moons their brief
"We do airborne search but be careful we have no idea what the Cylons might have left behind so watch your step. If you find any survivors report back to Telmaya and bring them ASAP. Check your profiles on all known Cylon models we do not need any of them trying to infiltrate the ship, alright everyone let's get going" and they all split up to join their individual raptor groups. All four flight decks of Telmaya began to launch the ships Raptors as they flew away from the ship and spun up the FTL drives to take them to their specific destination
Helo in the raptor group heading for Caprica was happy to be able to get back there to save Sam Anders and his group of Resistance fighters. He only wished that Kara was here to see the look on his face when they showed up. He looked at the approaching planet through the pilot's window and saw the orange of the poisoned atmosphere and sat back down as the raptors were buffeted by the turbulence as they arrived. After they passed through, most of the Raptors split up to investigate the rest of the planet while eight raptors led by him arrived headed for the Delphi High School.
The compound was still there when they arrived and Helo could see people on the surface and when he landed he got out and yelled at the massing crowd
"I'm looking for Samuel Anders" and the crowd parted as the man who Helo recognised walked forward
"You can tell Kara Thrace she's took her sweet time" Sam Anders told him, angry that they had taken so long to get back here but glad to at last being rescued but as he looked for Kara, Helo now disembarked from the raptor told him grimly
"She's not here Sam, she got hurt and couldn't come" walking over to stand face to face with the resistance leader who looked instantly concerned
"Is she going to be alright?" he asked and Helo said
"You know Kara, she'll be up and playing pyramid in no time. And speaking of time maybe we should be making tracks back to the ship, plenty of room" he said and the marines on the raptors started disembarking and mingled with the resistance fighters who eagerly rushed forward to embrace their brethren.
"My son I should remind you that the peace envoy is coming" an older man stepped forward to Anders and when Helo saw the old man's face he instantly went for his gun and shouted
"Cylon, code blue" and he pointed his rifle at the old man as did the rest of the marines and Sam took a step back from the old man and asked with a devastated look on his face
"Brother Cavil" his voice trembling with disbelief and the old man turned to Sam and told him
"I'm sorry Sam Anders but yes I indeed am a Cylon. But I have not passed on any information to the rest of my people in some time" he said trying to make some of his regret seem genuine to Sam who just stood there
"What peace envoy Sam?" Helo asked Sam keeping his weapon pointed at the Cylon
It took a moment for Sam to react but he then said hesitantly "Umm some Cylons apparently have had a change of heart and want to try and end the war. Their leaders are coming here in an hour" he told Helo and it was Helo's turn to look surprised but he managed to say
"We'd better contact the ship"
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Seth was in the situation room as the reports started coming in about the search for survivors. He had just heard back from the group assigned to Canceron. The news was grim, what had once been the most heavily populated planet in the colonies famous for its beaches and resorts had been well and truly devastated. A group of eighty seven survivors had been found in the ruins of a city, apparently staff that had worked in a nuclear shelter built during the first Cylon war and had since been turned into a museum but it had still saved their lives. The raptors had reported no other sign of survivors on the entire planet.
And the bad news didn't end there, many of the smaller sub colonies like the moon Pallas had been completely wiped off the map with no chance of any one surviving. Then he received the message from Lieutenant Agathon, his eye brows nearly disappeared into his hair. A peace envoy from the Cylons, that he hadn't been expecting but the confirmation that some Cylons were still in the Colonies had him send out notices to all units telling them to be on their guard. But still if the Cylons were serious about this it might be an opportunity they couldn't pass up.
He thought about it and sent his orders, evacuate most of the Caprica Resistance and a small group of volunteers stay to meet with them but to be ready to get out very fast if it was a trap. Meanwhile a second group of resistance fighters had been discovered on one of the southern continents bringing the number of survivors on Caprica up to one hundred and forty six.
After he sent the orders he turned his attention to the fresh reports coming in from Tauron. Apparently they had discovered two hundred and one local resistance fighters hiding out in a cave system on the northern continent.
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Speaking of Cylons back in the fleet D'anna Biers was sitting in a room opposite to Fleet Admiral who was giving her a very serious look
"You do realise the implications of what you're doing?" he asked her and she nodded before saying
"I do"
He gave a nod and past her a piece of paper and a pen which she looked at for a moment before she picked up the pen and signed her signature at the bottom. Adama gave her a small smile before telling her
"Congratulations Miss Biers you have just defected to the Colonial Fleet, Commander Miranda Colchester will be handling the debrief tonight" he said and D'anna nodded before the enormity of what she had just done sank in. True she had asked for this but actually doing it had taken all the courage she had and for a moment there she had been ready to back out. But this was the least she could do, the smallest contribution to the race she had wronged so that she might start the difficult task of getting back into god's grace. She had assisted in a genocide in his name and revelled in the murder of countless innocent souls, all of them god's children just like her. Weeks and weeks of soul searching had led her to this point. Betraying her own kind in the hope that one day, she might obtain god's forgiveness
In another part of the ship, Gina was enthralled in her newest project. She had been gifted with a digital painting computer and was making full use of it. Making deep and colourful images of whatever came into her mind. The nurse Islay came in with her meal and saw her current image, a recreation of a grand opera house like those on Caprica or Kobol
"What do you think?" Gina asked Islay who smiled in awe
"It's amazing Gina, so vivid and in perfect detail" she remarked and Gina basked in the nurse's praise
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On the hanger deck of Telmaya however things were not going so well. Two hundred and nine survivors from Aerilon had just arrived and their leader was being extremely difficult to handle
"I demand to meet with this ship's commander" he told the marines escorting him back who were gritting their teeth. The man had already started making demands from the moment they had met him and only the strict words of his mother and sisters seemed to have any effect on him.
"Oh shut up Walter, I'm sure that the commander has more important things to do than come all the way down here to pander to your every whim. You've had a rush of power in your belly and enjoy it far too much" his mother Leela told him as she and her daughters Saffy and Kelly all disembarked
Walter immediately fell silent at his mother's sharp words causing the marines to give a small grin. An old man who had followed Leela (who was her father) out of the raptor looked around and gave a slight chuckle
"Unbelievable, no change in the hanger deck design in forty years" and a marine looked over at the old man who appeared to be in his late sixties and asked
"You've been in the fleet sir?" he asked and the old man gave another chuckle before telling him
"Never known anyone to call me sir. I was a junior lieutenant that did ECO work in raptors. I did my two tours then got out. My name is Coker Fasjovik, just call me Coker" he said carefully getting down "But if I can ask, just who in charge?"
"Of the fleet, Fleet Admiral William Adama commanding the Battlestar Galactica" the marine told him and the reaction on Coker's face was instant, incredulous and then he laughed before saying
"So that husker did good, and of this ship?" he asked
"Commodore Seth Trakiss is in command the second highest officer in the fleet" the marine told him with pride. Again this caused a reaction but in all the family that had just disembarked
"Seth is alive?" Coker asked and the marine nodded and Leela started to exclaim
"He's alive, I knew it" and she hugged her daughters who were all squealing in delight, Walter however looked like he had swallowed a bug and turned his nose up like he's smelt something bad
"I take it you know the Commodore" the marine said and Leela told him with a huge smile on her face
"You bet we do, I'm his mother"
The marine was stunned, his CO's family were here. He swallowed and told them "I'll tell him you're here"
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On Caprica most of the resistance fighters were gone, only Sam, Jean Baroley, Helo, the captured Model One Cylon and a small company of marines remained with two raptors parked close by in case they needed to make a quick getaway. They waited and at the appointed time, two female and 6 and an 8 appeared at the gates of the compound and entered. Sam stepped forward to meet them and asked
"You're the leaders of this peace movement?" and they said in unison
"We are Sam Anders" then the Six known as 'Caprica 6' spoke on her own
"The war against humanity was wrong, we can't undo what has been done but maybe we can end hostilities" and Sam looked at them sceptically
"Do the other Cylons share this view?" he asked and the Six bit her lip and the Eight had an unsure look in her eye before the Eight spoke
"Enough to cause the Cylon race to stop the war"
Sam then asked another question "Will hostilities end against the fleet as well?" and the two women looked surprised at the question
"Yes" the Six answered "But we don't know how this matters to you, their a long way from here"
"That's what you think" Helo called out stepping out from behind a wall to face them and the two women gaped in surprise "We've come to bring them home" he added walking up to stand by Anders facing the Cylons
"Helo" the Eight exclaimed breathlessly and Helo saw the conflicted feelings in her expressive features and he realised that aside from his Sharon on Galactica only one other Cylon would have any such reaction to him
"Boomer" he said simply, unsure of what to say to his former co-pilot especially after he had started a relationship with her 'sister' who had been pretending to be her and that she had shot the Admiral.
"But regardless, if your people are genuine about wanting peace then we are interested" Sam said but before anymore could be said a chorus of shots rang out as Centurions suddenly starting rushing out of the forest around the school and all the humans began firing back. Sam and Helo took a moment to look at Caprica and Boomer in betrayal who looked around them in horror
"Stop" Caprica screamed horrified that the meeting was going to end like this when it had been going so well but the Centurions ignored her and then she felt a hand grab her arm and she felt herself being pulled into the compound. When she looked she saw Sam Anders had her and Helo had Boomer. Still in shock from the surprise assault they didn't resist as they were forced onto the raptors which took off carrying them all away
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Seth was facing a different kind of assault, namely the moment he had entered the room his family had waiting. His mother's bear hugs
"Seth, thank the gods" she said crying into his uniform while he put his arms around her awkwardly while his sisters piled in to give him their own hugs. His grandfather Coker held back laughing at Seth's discomfort and Walter his brother stood there scowling.
Seth had never really thought about his own family. He had been far too busy with running Telmaya and the fleet. But he was undeniably happy to see his mother and sisters again, she was overbearing at times but you could never say she was unloving, she lived for her children whereas his father had simply not cared or saw them as an inconvenience. His sisters followed their mother in temperament expressing their positive feelings very openly.
His older brother however was scowling openly which Seth evenly returned. They had never been close, Walter took after their father. He was a selfish, bad tempered, opinionated bastard who took pleasure in being king of the hill.
But their grandfather Coker was a different story, he was a confident man who had taught Seth to play the piano when he was younger and loved a good joke, he preferred not to talk about his experiences in the Cylon war despite whoever was pushing him. Finally his grandfather came to his rescue and told them
"Alright back up and let the kid get some air" and somewhat reluctantly his mother and sisters let go so Seth could finally get a decent breath and his grandfather came forward to give him a one armed hug which Seth eagerly returned and Coker took a step back to remark
"Well look at you, a Commodore with this monster of a ship" and Seth smiled
"I know, weird how it got this way but it wasn't easy" he said and then Walter made his presence felt
"You had it easy, flying about on this monstrosity running away like the coward me and dad always took you for" he sneered at Seth who walked towards him and then without warning punched him straight in the mouth, causing his family to gasp. Walter immediately held his jaw and Seth rounded on him verbally now
"Easy, being swarmed by Cylon raiders is not easy, being constantly harassed by baseships is not easy, protecting dozens of civilian ships is not easy and burying people whose lives you were responsible for is not easy you ungrateful buffoon" he said and he turned back his mother who was glaring at Walter for his insulting talk "But I do have someone I want you all to meet" Seth told them and went over to the door to admit Kendra who was holding this babies. The family's mouths all dropped when they saw her. Seth smiled before he told them
"This is Kendra, my wife and these are our children Marta and Alexander Trakiss"
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On Virgon, Tyber Jones was meeting the local resistance when he was surprised to see that their leader was a Colonial military officer. And not just any officer, General Hanna Rand of the Colonial Marine Corp. The tall woman was still attractive despite being in her late thirties with dark blonde hair and a gentle rounded face. But she had intense eyes that left you in no doubt that she could stand up for herself.
"At ease soldier" she said in a voice that was soft with amusement when he instinctively saluted "I'm not the sort of officer who demands that her every whim be met"
"Sorry sir" Tyber said and he asked "If I may, how many are you?"
"On Virgon, there are my own marines Crimson Company standing at three hundred strong with fifty seven civilian recruits in reserve" she told him and Tyber was forced to suppress a smile. The legend of Crimson Company had started back in the first Cylon war. A no-holes barred group of soldiers who undertook the hardest missions and nearly almost emerged victorious and even after the war and the original members had all gone the unit had retained the best record of all Colonial marine units. They were the elite, most of the cadets back at the academy had spoken of the unit in hushed whispers, and their ultimate dream to join their ranks were only the most skilled marines have a place. But the sad part was that marine units like Crimson Company were usually made up of seven hundred and fifty soldiers of various divisions. So four hundred and fifty of the best soldiers in the Colonies lost, Tyber noted grimly
"I'm based on the Battlestar Telmaya sir, we've been dispatched back to the colonies to rescue any survivors before the fleet moves on" he told her and she looked at him with a guarded look
"What fleet?" she asked
"The refugee fleet sir, currently about eighty six thousand strong mostly civilians. Fleet Admiral William Adama has command over the military units" Tyber told her and General Rand reacted with surprise
"Did you say Adama?" she asked, the stories that had been passed down from her grandmother, to her mother to her and which she was telling her own daughter Lacy, a private under her command sprang into her mind
"Yes sir. Is that a problem?" Tyber asked hoping that it was not so. They didn't need another power struggle especially in the military.
"No, not at all sergeant major. But I should probably introduce you to by benefactor" she said leading him to a young Asian man who nodded in greeting to Tyber. "This Sergeant Major Jones" General Rand introduced "is Agent Oyama of the Colonial Ministry of Intelligence and liaison from Haven Base"
"Delighted to meet you" Oyama said shaking Tyber's hand. Tyber himself was confused but well-practiced survival instincts started making him wary and had to ask
"With all due respect sir, what is Haven Base?"
Agent Oyama's previously friendly features hardened and he told him "You don't have clearance to access that kind of information Sergeant Major"
Tyber's hackles rose and his back straightened making him stand to his full height. The two men were about the same height but Tyber was the more physically intimidating with his muscles visibly tensing. But Oyama wouldn't man down matching his gaze all the way. Fortunately before either of them made a move towards each other, Hanna Rand interrupted with a compromise
"Let's arrange a meeting with your ship commander and Director Nash, the two of them can sort things out"
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Back on the Battlestar Telmaya things were getting a bit heated in the cargo bays that had been turned into temporary bunkrooms
One of the Caprica Resistance fighters was in the middle of wrestling an Aerilon resistance member. The Caprica man struggled to get the other man's throat as their arms still locked and said snarling
"You frakking take it back" but the Aerilon man just replied in the same tone
"Not a chance you stuck up bastard" and then the Aerilon man used his foot to kick out the other man's leg sending them tumbling to the ground where they started to roll about, still continuing their little fighter. On the side the other people cheered on caught up in the moment. The fight only stopped when the marines on security stepped in to break it up
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Meanwhile in the interrogation room, the three captured Cylons sat handcuffed to the desk with marines in all corners watching them intently. Caprica 6 and Boomer were going over and over what had happened in their minds, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. The Model One however was quietly contemplating the events of today and concluded that the attack was probably ordered by one of his brother Ones, to disrupt the peace negotiations. Obviously they had learned nothing in the time since the initial attack on the Colonies, the truth that he had discovered living with the Resistance fighters on Caprica was fascinating. But his brothers would no doubt shout his opinions down and box him so he pondered what to do
Commodore Seth Trakiss walked into the room looking rather harried. He had been busy all day co-ordinating search and rescue efforts over twelve worlds and having to deal with his family and running his ship. So he did the bureaucratic thing, he delegated. He had left his family in the hands of his wife Colonel Kendra Shaw. When he had left she and the twins had been subject to his mother's fussing and Kendra had sent him a look that promised retribution later. Sheba had taken over running the ship while they waited for the last group of survivors to be brought to the ship from Virgon.
But right now he had to deal with these three Cylons. Seeing the Six was confusing given that he saw Selena most days and the two of them seemed identical in every way but he shook himself and sat at the table
"There's an old saying; beware of Capricans baring gifts. Do you know that story?" he asked the three of them and they shook their heads confused at his quote
So he told them "It's a tale from Kobol. Supposedly the Capricorn tribe's leader's bride was stolen by the leader of the Taurus tribe who kept her behind the walls of his city. For ten years the Capricorn tribe camped outside the city fighting a vicious war till one morning the Taurus tribe woke up to find that the Capricorn tribe had disappeared and in their place was a giant wooden bull. On it there was a message from the Capricorn dedicating this gift to their valiant foes. So the Taurus wheel the massive bull inside the city walls and then go for an early night the following evening. Only did they discover too late that inside the bull was a small army of Capricorn soldiers who waited till the Taurus were asleep then flung open the gates of the city and the Capricorn army rushed in from out of the forest where they had been hiding. They slaughtered the entire city and nearly wiped out the Taurus tribe" he finished. He looked at them to assess their reactions, he could tell they didn't really get the meaning of his little story so he told them
"Now if you recast that tale with the Caprica resistance fighters as the Taurus tribe and the Cylons as the Capricorn tribe, what do you get? Nearly exactly what happened a few hours ago. We meet you to discuss peace only for you to stab us in the back and launch an ambush" he said sternly as the meaning suddenly dawned on them. Caprica 6 spoke up
"We don't know what happened there, we genuinely wanted peace. Someone must have betrayed us" she said bitterly and Boomer added
"The attack on the Colonies was wrong, spitting in the face of god" she said looking miserable
"Do all your people want peace or is it just you?" Seth asked seriously
"We the Sixes, the eights and the twos are dedicated to peace" Caprica 6 said proudly but Caprica 1 then said
"But the other models are not. The threes sit on the fence between the two sides while the Ones, Fours and Fives want humanity destroyed. This new division has emerged since the fall of the colonies and is unlikely to be reconciled because of the way our beliefs are changing" he told them who listened intently
"Well I don't know whether I should release you or keep you as prisoners" Seth said. On the one hand they could be an up to date source of information that could be vital in their war with Cylons. On the other hand if what he was hearing was actually true and not a Cylon constructed fantasy then kidnapping them like this might galvanise the Cylons against humanity again. Better to let the resentment grow to seed dissent in their enemies.
They all looked uneasy at the prospect but One proposed something
"I will willing aid your cause if I am allowed to remain and you let them go"
The other two Cylons looked at him surprised while Seth raised an eyebrow. This One certainly was acting different to how they had been described by their other Cylon prisoners
"Why?" Seth asked looking the One straight in the eye who returned the look
"What I have discovered, living with the rebels on Caprica is fascinating. The realization that the killing of humans was an irreparable error that had made us damned in the eyes of our parents. If I were to explain what I have discovered to the others I would surely be boxed and I must admit I have a slightly too strong sense of self-preservation to be a martyr" One told them
"Your parents?" Seth asked curious who he meant
"The Final Five, the original Organic models that created me and fellow models" he said and as Six and Boomer looked on confused he added "But I will say no-more on them. It is for their protection"
Seth looked at him, assessing every word and expression trying to decide on the best course of action. After a minute of thinking in silence he spoke
"I accept your terms John" he said referring to One by his human alias "When we are done here I will give your fellows here a raptor to leave the ship. I assume you still remember how to fly one Boomer?" he asked the Eight after looking at the file Helo had given him
Boomer however looked like she had swallowed a stone. She had been unfortunate as her human alias had come to dominate the Cylon part of her. Being with them, the Cylons she was always ready to get out of the room. Her skin crawling at them being close to her, with Caprica 6 it was easier to bare but still difficult.
But being here on a Battlestar, maybe not Galactica but a Battlestar nonetheless felt like coming home. The smells of gun oil and fuel that had been the hanger deck was making her feel more at home than any baseship. Her heart called to be here with the humans
With Galen Tyrol
She had tried to repress those memories, the liaisons in the workshop and his tender caresses, his gentle kisses still made her heart beat faster and yearn for him. He had still cared for her even after she had shot the old man and held her in his arms as she had died. She swallowed before asking
"Can I stay too?"
Seth looked genuinely surprised as did the One and Caprica 6 who asked her
"Boomer why? I thought you wanted to make peace"
Boomer looked her straight in the eye and told her
"Yes I want peace, but I don't belong with the Cylons anymore. Maybe I never did, I have to follow my heart Caprica and it tells me that my place is here with them"
"With Galen Tyrol" Caprica 6 added and Boomer nodded, neither noticed One react at the name. Caprica 6 smiled understandingly she still missed Gaius but from what she had heard the man she had loved was broken. Locked in a cell with a mind shattered beyond repair
"She has to follow her own path" a voice said off to her right, she knew who it was without looking. It was that vision of Gaius Baltar that no-one but her could see but when she did look he was gone
She was brought back to the moment when she saw Seth Trakiss tell Boomer
"You realise that it won't be easy for you. No-one will trust you after what happened with Admiral Adama" he said hoping to make her realise what she was getting into
"I do but I want to try" Boomer told him and he nodded
"Alright if you're sure. We will still provide raptor for you Six, if you're sure?" he said offering her the same right to stay but she shook her head sadly
"Someone has to go back and keep the peace movement going"
"I'll miss you" Boomer told her and she gave Caprica a hug that the blonde woman returned
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Immediately after Seth was called to his office where he had three visitors waiting for him. He first noticed his top marine Tyber Jones who he gave a nod to which was returned before he turned to see the newcomers.
The first was wearing the uniform of a colonial dress uniform for a general in the marine corp. There wasn't much different to the fleet dress uniform except that it was a dark shade of green as opposed to blue. The woman wearing it was in her later thirties with dirty blonde hair and a surprising soft looking face for a general. But her eyes held a hard glint in them that let you know she was not as sweet as her features portrayed.
The second was also a woman, this time wearing the blue uniform of a Colonial Fleet Colonel. She had much harder and lean features than the other woman had with wavy black hair tied up behind her head. She too had a hard glint in her eye and her chiselled face made you aware that this woman meant business.
The last of newcomers was a man, he wore a civilian suit rather than a uniform but it was a suit of the finest quality, made by the top tailors on Caprica before the Fall Seth would have bet. The man wore the suit well and his lack of hair only made his eyes more prominent on his face which Seth noticed were scanning everything in the room and everyone. Seth knew that he should watch himself around this man
"Commodore Seth Trakiss, may I introduce General Hanna Rand of the Colonial Marines, Colonel Maureen Epps of the Colonial Fleet and Director Tobias Nash of the Colonial Ministry of Intelligence" Tyber introduced them all
"Pleasure" General Rand said and held out her hand which Seth shook in a firm grip and then Seth shook Colonel Epps hand too. Both woman had a strong grip which he was able to match but when it came to shake Nash's hand, the Director didn't offer his. So Seth feeling slighted asked
"Can I ask the point of this meeting, my orders are to evacuate all remaining survivors and return to the Fleet and I will carry out those orders"
Director Nash just told him straight "We need your help to access the Black Archive"
Seth looked at him incredulously before saying dismissively "The Black Archive's just a myth"
Tyber however had to ask "What is the Black Archive?"
Seth took a breath before saying "Supposedly if rumour is to be believed when the Twelve Colonies joint government was founded in the early days of the first Cylon war, they built this survival chamber and filled it with ships, weapons, tools, everything so if the Colonies fell then the great and good could evacuate into deep space and start again" he said and Nash told him upfront
"It's no myth, the Archive does indeed exist. The contents was updated every five years so the equipment and supplies inside should still be usable to us. The Archive is part of the Judgement Day protocol, the worst case scenario. In event of the Colonies falling the Ministry of Intelligence is charged with evacuating the best and brightest of the colonies, get them to the Archive and leave the system in hope of starting a new civilisation elsewhere. But we never imagined that the Cylons would move so quickly we only managed to get a third of the people on our list and their families before the Cylons were finished" Nash explained
"So why haven't you gone to the Archive yet?" Tyber asked and this time Colonel Epps answered in her clipped tone
"That asshole Adar changed the access protocols, made it so only he could open the archive which is a bit of a problem when he was killed before Nash and his people could get to him so we have had to hole up at Haven Base, a hidden Ministry of Intelligence facility while we worked to decipher the access codes"
Nash looked annoyed that Epps had revealed that he had a secret base but moved on to say "We saved some Colonial Fleet personnel from the Heavy Cruisers Vanguard and Thermopylae including Colonel Epps here but when we learned that the Cylons had taken human form we made contact with General Rand and supported her resistance efforts as a means to identify the appearance of the organic Cylons and we've kept them in medically induced comas. Now however we have managed to break the access codes but we need you to try and access the archive"
"What do you need us for?" Seth asked suspiciously "You said that you already had the codes to get in"
"But the shuttles that we'd be using to move the roughly eleven thousand people to the archive are unarmed and unprotected. While we get inside the archive, you will have to defend us" General Rand explained and Seth thought there had to be more to this
"What's the catch?" he asked with eyes glaring daring them to bullshit him but none did, Nash told him straight up
"The archive is located very close to the old armistice line, while the Cylons have apparently abandoned the Colonies it's possible that they may still have a presence in the area"
"So there's a possibility that we might have to fight the Cylons" Seth summed up annoyed and had to ask "Can the people at your base actually handle the ships in the archive?"
Epps gave him a withering stare "What do you think we've been doing with them all these months, twiddling our thumbs?"
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After Seth explained the situation to Sheba she too had concerns
"If this place does exist then we wouldn't have to try and cram everyone on this ship but is it worth the risk of us getting our arses shot off?" Sheba summed up worried about this. She and Seth didn't doubt the crew's ability to stay cool under fire but they could quickly find themselves being overwhelmed and to honest the two didn't trust the Ministry of Intelligence
"The people we'd be working with certainly don't have the cleanest reputation" Seth said thinking about all the shady activities that the Ministry was rumoured to be involved in prior to the fall
"But for the sake of what might be inside the archive can we not do?" Sheba asked. The two of them felt trapped, risk Cylon attack and possibly being backstabbed by the Ministry of Intelligence or leave all the people at Haven Base behind. In the end the weight of the those human lives made the deciding factor
"I'll let Nash know we can go ahead but we keep our eyes open" Seth said with Sheba giving a hesitant nod
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Telmaya jumped straight to the meeting place where the large fleet of shuttles that were packed full of refugees arrived by FTL twenty minutes later. From there they jumped again close as they dared to the planetoid which concealed the Black Archive
The atmosphere in the CIC on Telmaya was tense, everyone just sat at their stations doing their jobs in complete silence. They were all listening for that Dradis alarm that would announce enemy contact. Seth was standing at the centre console with Sheba on the other side. He looked around the young faces that made up his crew and smiled easing his nerves. Many of them if not all had been with him since the beginning and he trusted them all completely. Sheba saw his smile and gave him one of her own she too was proud to be part of this crew how far they all come together and hopefully how far they might still have to go.
They soon arrived at the ravine where the doors to the Black Archive where concealed and the shuttles began to slowly and carefully descend down the deep crack in the surface of the barren planetoid. The CIC stayed silent apart from the noises of the dradis and other instruments working till they received a call from Director Nash
"Telmaya this is Zeus One" he called using his own call sign "We have managed to access the Black Archive and are moving to the landing area to start offloading people. Any sign of enemy contact?" Nash asked
Seth picked up the phone on the centre console and replied "Zeus One this is Telmaya Actual, so far no sign of enemy contact"
On the inside Nash took stock of what ships were docked in the Archive now that everyone had disembarked from the shuttles and there were two battlestars; one Columbia class and one Valkyrie class known as the Pallas and the Astoria. Aside from that there were four refitted Orion class Assault Ships also known as a pocket Battlestar. Very old but still operational and then there were five Anther class destroyers. That was just for defence
On the other side there were several old battlestars of various class that had been stripped down with the exception of their point defence weapons and retrofitted to serve as support ships. Two Seacole-class Battlestars had been converted into hospital ships, two Zelos class Battlestars had been fitted out as factory ships with processing and mining capabilities and two Coeus class Battlestars had been refitted into agro ships. But also there were two Shelter class mobile spacedocks that were large enough to hold even a Mercury class Battlestar.
He was just about to start dispatching people to various ships when he received an emergency signal from Telmaya. It was short but important
Enemy Contact
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On the outside a Cylon Baseship had just jumped in and started launching raiders. The CIC on Telmaya suddenly came alive with noise as the crew immediately went to Condition One.
"Launch vipers" Seth ordered "Bring us to a defensive position over the ravine, I don't want any raiders getting through" he told his crew and Sheba began repeating his orders as Seth watched the display and gave his next order "Commence firing solution all batteries execute, selective fire watch out for our birds" and Sheba repeated his instructions to the tactical station.
On the launch deck far below Vipers raced out of the launch tubes into open space, leading the formation was Captain Serina Boxman 'Siren'
"Right boys and girls our orders are clear, whatever happens do not let them get into the Black Archive" she gave her orders to her pilots as they steered around Telmaya's firing solution and met the incoming raiders head on, their cannons blazing and missiles streaming into the robotic fighters. Some of the raiders exploded before even getting into range but soon they returned fire striking several vipers which exploded. Then they met in a mid-space frenzy of dogfighting, Serina guided her viper through some very tight turns as she pursued one raider before blowing it out of the sky. She then selected her next target before moving to engage.
The Baseship started firing missiles at Telmaya, whose efficient anti-air defences shot down quickly and Telmaya started firing missiles back. The raiders so busy with fighting the Colonial vipers were unable to intercept the projectiles as they ripped into Baseship causing major damage.
During the fighter duel between the vipers and the raiders, some raiders had managed to get through the fighter screen and past Telmaya into the ravine. Serina noticed them descending and reacted quickly
"Jade" she called out on her radio to her second in command Lieutenant Alison Forest "Take charge up here, I'm going hunting, Frakker and Wings you with me" she called out to two of her pilots by their call signs who immediately followed orders and followed her down into the ravine.
Inside the archive, Director Nash had begun sending people to the ships. Colonel Epps was already with her people on the Astoria powering it up while the rest of the people were rushing to get the retrofitted Battlestars and destroyers working. He and his group were about to go for the Pallas and Orion class assault ships when he saw four raiders rushing into the archive followed by three colonial vipers. Before the vipers could catch up the Raiders fired their missiles.
They could only watch as the deadly projectiles slammed into the Pallas, the massive Columbia class ship shattering under dozens of missiles and then the fractured hull slammed into the berths were the Orion's were being held smashing them to pieces. He didn't see the Vipers destroying the Raiders with their own missiles or cannons, his eyes were fixated on the burning hulk of the Pallas as five of their new ships had just wrecked. His face became as hard as stone as he told his remaining people
"Right split yourselves into smaller groups and head to the remaining ships, I'll lead my group to the Astoria" he said
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Meanwhile out in space, the vipers were mopping up the last of the raiders and Telmaya was pounding the Baseship into a blazing hulk. Then the starfish shaped vessel exploded and Seth saw the last of the raiders being destroyed and told Amelia
"Recall our birds give me a rough casualty count" he asked, the young lieutenant who relayed the message to the pilots who all started combat landings to return to their mother ship.
"Initial casualty reports put twelve vipers destroyed"
Seth grimaced at the thought of those twelve pilots when Amelia told him
"Sir the archive is opening"
Out of the wide ravine ships started emerging, preceding the formation was the three vipers that had destroyed the raiders, but following was the Valkyrie class Battlestar Astoria with five Anther class destroyers, plus the mining, agro, factory and hospital ships.
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A week later the fleet almost ready to leave the asteroid field was getting concerned over the absence of Telmaya. The large Battlestar had been gone longer than the mission was supposed to last but as of yet no sign of them had appeared.
Hal Forest was a solemn man these days, it had been his urging that the mission went ahead and he felt that if those kids were dead that it was his fault. He spent a lot of his time when he wasn't working just staring at the picture of his daughter and his wife. He cried tears when he remembered that day and thought of his daughter. Was she safe or was her body drifting in deep space.
Admiral Adama was having similar thoughts, about his young daughter. He had only just met her and now he was confronted with the horrible thought that he might have sent her to her death. He looked over at one of the pictures on his desk before picking it up so he could see it more closely. This one had been taken just before she had left, it had him in the centre with his arms around his two children Lee and Amelia. He smiled at her wide and warm smile and rubbed the cold glass with his thumb. He thought about his son as well now commanding the Artemis. He had just started a relationship with Kara Thrace as he worked to help her recover from her injury. From what Lee had let slip the two of them were taking it slow and it brought a glimmer of hope that maybe his son might be happy.
He arrived at the CIC a few minutes later where Saul Tigh was waiting for him with the watch report
"So what's the news Saul?" he asked his long-time friend who told him with his normal no nonsense tone
"As before no sign of the frakking toasters just the usual reports about the rearming program" Saul said and then the Dradis alarm went off and his well-drilled crew acted immediately
The call went out across the ship as the crew jumped to action stations when Dee reported "I'm getting Colonial identity signals, confirmed their friendly sir" Dee told him
"Is it Telmaya?" he asked sternly trying to stay professional while in hopes for his daughter's return were rising
Dee looked over her instruments and smiled "Confirmed sir but she has escorts with her"
Admiral Adama frowned before picking up the hand held phone and told Dee "Patch me through"
Dee nodded and did as she was told
"Telmaya Actual this is Galactica Actual, your late Commodore" he said with a slight smirk
"Galactica Actual, sorry about that but we had to go slow because the new ships haven't had their FTL drives upgraded and we've been pushing them to the limit to get back here before you all left" Seth Trakiss said back with a amused tone to his voice
Adama smiled before saying "I see you have a story to tell Commodore"
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This has gone to be the longest chapter I have ever written
A bit late but to everyone I wish merry Christmas and a happy New Year