"We are coming upon the site now, Commander."

"Ensure our cloaking device is working properly. I don't want to ruin a peace conference." Jarock stated.

"Yes, commander. We are detecting Colonial ships in close proximity to the planet…Commander, there's something happening on far side of the planet. I don't think Colonial sensors are sophisticated enough to detect it."

"What is it?" Jarock asked.

"Weapons fire. Detecting disruptor and plasma signatures. It's on the other side of the planet where the fleet is. It's fortunate we can detect it."

"So this might not be a peace conference after all. Inform the taskforce and keep us out of scanning range." Jarock said, gripping her chair. "Go to full alert."

Raptor 356
Approaching Battlestar Galactica

"Galactica, Raptor 356, requesting permission to land." Adama waited as the pilot slowly brought the Raptor onto the Galactica's landing bay where it was lowered down to the hangar deck. "Admiral?"

He looked at the pilot, a young woman. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

Margaret Edmondson, better known as Racetrack held up her ear piece. "The Galactica just went on high alert."

Adama frowned as he stood up and walked up to the front of the cockpit. "Have they stated why?"

"No sir." Racetrack shook her head.

Adama turned back to the hatch as it opened and stepped out, not bothering with the honor detail that was waiting for him. He knew a civilian shuttle was following his shuttle in but he didn't have time if his ship was going on alert. He quickly made his way to the CIC where the XO, Colonel Tigh was waiting for him.

"Colonel, what the hell is going on?" Adama asked when he was at center.

"Abby picked some distorted transmissions from our patrol on the other end of Cimtar. She couldn't make out what it was because of some kind of interference but the best she could describe was that our patrol was under attack." Tigh quickly explained.

Adama briefly glanced at his daughter before looking at the comm officer. "Dee, get me an open line to Colonial One. I need to speak to the President. Put it on Lieutenant Adama's station."

"Yes sir." Dualla nodded and opened a channel.

Adama stood over the command station and waited for Adar to answer.

Colonial One
Dining Room

Adar was enjoying a last drink when he was called away to the council room to accept a call from the Galactica.

"Mr. President, our patrol is under attack. We don't know by whom. As a precautionary measure I would like to launch intercept fighters."

"Excuse me?" Adar looked over his shoulder and saw Cavil at the door. "If I may, Mr. President but I think that highly inadvisable in view of our delicate situation."

Adar nodded. "You are quite right, Brother Cavil." He turned back to face the screen with Adama's grim face staring at him. "Admiral, as a precautionary measure I insist upon restraint. If this turns out to be simple pirates we could jeopardize the whole cause of peace by displaying fighters when we are so close to rendezvous."

"Mr. President, three of my ships are under attack." Adama protested.

"By forces unknown. You are not to launch until we have a better understanding." Adar replied.

"May I at least bring the fleet to a state of alert?" Adama seemed to be getting angry but remained calm.

"I will consider that. Thank you, Admiral." Adar said and closed the channel.

()

"He'll consider it? He'll consider it? What the hell has he been drinking over there?" Tigh said, completely flabbergasted by Adar's attitude.

"Is everything all right?" Adama and Tigh turned to see Roslin and her aid standing a few feet away.

"Everything's fine, Madam Secretary." Adama stated. "We were just…preparing some battle drills. We were in discussion of running a few drills to keep our pilots in tip-top shape."

"I see…" Roslin trailed off, knowing she wouldn't get any answers. "If you'll excuse me I'd like to retire to the guest quarters until the conference."

"A marine will escort you." Adama nodded to a marine who quickly acted as Roslin's escort as she left the CIC.

Tigh sighed. "Adar's going to get us all frakked with this peace thing."

"That's the reason why we're having battle drills done. We will be ready for when things go south." Adama stated. "What's the status of our patrol?"

"We lost contact with them when they reached the other side of the planet." Tigh answered. "They were scanning it before their transmissions were cut off."

"Well, if they see anything they'll high tail it back to report it." Adama reasoned.

"Sir, the patrol is under the command of Captain Lee Adama." Tigh continued, making Adama freeze for a second. "Along with Boomer, Helo…and Zak."

Adama didn't visibly react but he was silent for a moment. "Sound the alert for battle stations drills."

Tigh nodded. "Yes sir."

()

"So you're telling me…" Gaius Baltar looked pale, standing across from the bed. "A machine?"

"I'm a person." Natasi stated, wrapping the covers around her body as she sat up. "A woman."

"A machine person…A synthetic woman…A robot? You? A new breed of Cylon?" Baltar said, trying to comprehend it all. "The Cylons have been nothing but walking chrome toasters!"

"Those models are still around. We all have our uses." The woman said gently.

"No…I don't believe any of this. Prove it. Prove you're a Cylon. Right now." Baltar demanded.

"All right." Natasi smiled as she stood up, dropping the covers and revealing her entire body. "Let's see what I could do…I could communicate with my brethren through the subspace transceivers in the positronic half of my brain and tell what they are thinking…I could turn off all the oxygen on the ship and keep on breathing through the recycler and the bio-synthetic glance system that keeps my organs safe from the vacuum of space…I could go on a rampage and brutally kill everyone on this ship while letting them shoot at me and let the bullets bounce off my hyper steel alloy exo-skeleton…Do I even need to explain when you already know the truth?"

"No. Stating something is true is not the same as making it true." Gaius snapped. "The truth is I don't believe a word you're saying-"

"I know you, Gaius. I know how you think and when you think it…" Natasi held up her hand and balled it into a fist and showed Baltar two protrusions from her index finger. "Nano-probe injectors which upon ejected into anyone or anything is instantly connected to the Cylon data network. Nanites, microscopic machines that can be used to treat disease, injuries, and possibly keep the body in prime condition for a very long time."

"Impossible…The science in creating machines the size of a microbe is theoretical!" Baltar was close to being hysterical at the thought of tiny machines living inside of him.

"For you maybe but not for me and not for my people who chose you, out of all the people on Caprica for my mission." Natasi continued to speak slowly and huskily. "But when it down to it I decided…that you would make a perfect addition to the collective."

"Your mission?" Baltar repeated, feeling numb.

"You knew I wanted access to the Colonial Defence Mainframe." Natasi simply said, watching as Baltar's eyes widened in horror. "My mission…was to compromise the Colonial Defenses on the eve of the peace conference."

"Oh my Gods…" The air in Baltar's lungs seemed to leave him.

"You never believed I really worked for some mysterious 'company'."Natasi looked ready to laugh. "But you didn't really care either. All that mattered was that you and you alone could give me that kind of access. You were special. You were powerful."

"How many people know about this?" Baltar shouted, gripped with terror. "That you chose me?"

"And even now," She continued. "As the fate of your entire world hangs in the balance; all you can think about is how this affects you. It won't matter. In a few hours there won't be anyone alive left to care."

"Wait… wait…. Wait!" Baltar stammered, trying to comprehend the situation. "Something doesn't make sense… you're still here. If this was really the end of the world, you wouldn't just be sitting here waiting to die with the rest of us."

She almost looked sad, for a second he wondered if that was sympathy he saw in her eyes.

"Gaius" The woman walked towards him, slowly she ran a hand over his trembling cheek and looked into his worried, tear rimmed eyes. "I can't die. When this body's destroyed, my memory and consciousness will be instantly transmitted to a new one. I'll just wake up somewhere else in an identical body."

"You mean there's more out there like you?" he whispered.

"There are twelve models…" she stated logically, "I'm number Six."

Just as her hand left his cheek an alarm rang out across the ship.

"It's begun…"

Battlestar Galatica
Rec Room

"Perfect pyramid boys." Kara Thrace grinned as she laid her cards down on the table. "Unless there's a better hand this pot's mine."

Fortunately for the players they were saved from losing their bet when the alarm sounded.

"Unfortunately we'll have to play another time!" One of the pilots said, jumping to their feet.

"Hey!" Kara watched as everyone picked up their cubits and ran out of the room. "You frakkers!"

"Duty calls, Starbuck!"

Kara grumbled as she picked up her own cubits and ran out of the pilot room.

()

"Admiral, our long rang scans are picking up a large number of ships emerging from the other side of the planet." Gaeta spoke up, seeing enemy icons appearing on the edge of the scanners.

"A single Viper is approaching, Admiral. ID signals confirm its Captain Adama." Abigail continued with a smile, happy to know her big brother was all right.

"Open a channel to Colonial One and have Captain Adama report to me as soon as he lands." Adama stated, looking at the sensor table.

"Captain Adama is signaling the fleet." Dualla called out.

"Let's hear it." Tigh replied.

"Galactica, Apollo. It's a trap! Cylon fighters, lots of them, coming out of the moon. They-" Lee was cut off by sudden static.

"What happened?" Adama turned to Dualla who looked frustrated.

"More interference." Dualla answered.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Tigh wondered.

"President Adar on Line One, Admiral." Abigail called as Adar's face appeared on her screen.

"What is it, Adama?"

"Mr. President, a large number of ships are emerging from the other side of planet." Adama answered.

"Possibly a Cylon welcoming committee." Adama had to keep himself from scowling at the image of Cavil standing next to the President.

"Sir, may I suggest we launch a welcoming committee of our own?" Adama asked.

"Mr. President, there is still hostile feelings amongst the military. We don't want an incident to occur at this time with all those pilots out there at once." Cavil objected.

"Quite right, Brother Cavil." Adar nodded and looked back at the screen. "Admiral?"

"Mr. President, did Cavil just suggest we remain completely defenceless?" Adama asked, struggling to stay calm.

"Adama, we are on a peace mission. The first peace the Colonies have known in half a century."

Battlestar Galactica
Port Flight-POo

"Starbuck, what's going on?" Tyrol asked as the pilots rushed onto the hangar deck. "The whole flight deck's on alert here."

"Probably some kind of aerial salute for the president while he signs the armistice. It sure ruined the best game I had in over a month." Kara grumbled as she found her Viper. "What's taking you so long to get the Vipers into the tubes?"

"We're moving." Tyrol grumbled as he moved to help the deckhands. "Come on, move it!"

R.R.W. Lleiset
Bridge

"Commander, sensors are detecting an energy surge from inside the planet." Selan reported. "A detailed scan has revealed that there are massive metallic readings below the surface. None of them are natural."

"The Cylons must have built a base deep within the planet. It's a trap." Jarock realized.

()

Zak Adama grunted as he tried to maintain his Viper, cursing himself for letting that Cylon get the better of him. The Viper he was piloting was designed to be safer for the pilot with an automatic ejection system designed by the Research and Development for Vipers and he was more than thankful for it. He had joined the military with his elder brother and sister, wanting to help their father protect the Colonies from the Cylons. He took Viper piloting with Lee while their sister had taken advanced computer systems, becoming a master in long range scanning equipment and had several other degrees in computer science that made people wonder if she was truly related to the Adamas. Of course while Abigail excelled in computer systems, his older brother Lee excelled in Viper piloting while Zak was barely an average.

He wasn't a bad pilot but he apparently lacked the feel for Viper piloting but was passed due to the fact that the advanced Vipers allowed less skilled pilots to fly them, especially when the Inertia Dampening Field system had been created and they needed all the bodies they could get. Zak looked over the designs and found ways to improve them, working on them with his sister and looked for ways for lesser qualified pilots to use Vipers. People were normally fearful of new and advanced technologies because of the Cylons but with the war going badly at times it was necessary to find ways to counter the machines before they regained the advantage. The new computer avionics made it easier for pilots to use without endearing the feel of G-forces that came from high speed turns and thrusts allowing for the Vipers to move faster which was essential in the kind of battles they faced.

Speed was everything.

Zak looked down at the scanner and saw the Cylons were catching up to him and Boomer. "Boomer, Zak, they're coming up very fast!"

"Just keep moving! By now the fleet should be close enough to be in orbit and when we come around they'll see us." Boomer replied, gripping her throttle tightly as the Cylons fired their disruptors. "Just keep moving."

"You should jump back to the fleet and warn them." Zak said.

"No fraking way, kid. I'm not leaving you alone!" Boomer retorted.

"You have to! By the time Lee makes it back to the fleet we'll be right on top of them with the Cylons." Zak urged Boomer to leave.

"Shut up and fly!' Boomer shouted. "It's not much farther!"

That was when things got worse as even when they reached the other side of the moon, seeing the fleet Helo's scanners beeped.

"Oh frak!"

"What is it?" Boomer looked over her shoulder.

"More ships coming out of the planet right below us!"

"What?!" Boomer shouted as her scanners detected more enemy fighters appearing, their numbers growing rapidly. "Oh frak!"

"What do we do?" Zak asked.

"It's not much farther now. Give it everything you've got!" Boomer said, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart. "Galactica, Boomer, we're in trouble. Request emergency approach."

()

"Mr. President-" Adama said, trying to urge Adar to change his mind.

"Admiral, our patrol ships are under attack from the ships approaching the fleet." Abigail watched as Boomer and Zak's ships approached the fleet, followed by a large number of enemy icons. 'Cylons.'

"Mr. President, your welcoming committee is firing at our patrol." Adama turned Gaeta. "Action stations, Condition One."

Gaeta nodded and a second later klaxons rang throughout the ship. "Action stations, action stations. Set Condition One throughout the ship."

"Cavil…" Adar said, trying to understand what was happening but when Cavil didn't answer he looked around the room. "Cavil?"

()

"We made it." Zak said, making it off the dead planet and the fleet was just in front of them.

"Colonial Fleet, this is Sharon Valeri. We are under attack. I repeat, we are under attack." Boomer said through the open channel.

"Patrol to fleet, patrol to fleet. We need help." Zak said, wanting to help spread the message.

That was when the Cylons had enough of playing with their prey and a Raider fired its disruptors, hitting Zak's engines and set off a chain reaction. Zak didn't have a chance to scream as he and his Viper were incinerated.

"NO!" Sharon shouted, watching as Zak's Viper was reduced to smoke and ashes.

()

Abigail's eyes widened as Zak's icon vanished from the scanner which confirmed it was destroyed by Cylon disruptor fire. Adama simply stared at the screen, looking a lot older than he was while Tigh glanced at the admiral in concern which was shared by Gaeta.

"What was that?" Adar asked once the pilot on Colonial One reported weapons fire.

"That…was my son, Mr. President." Adama answered dully.

"No…Oh Gods…" Abigail put a hand to her mouth, her eyes becoming watery and wide with horror and anguish.

The Cylons had claimed their first kill but it was not the last.

Caprica
Secret Residence

"Dad, it's happened." The young girl said as her computer screen blinked red.

"What's happened?" The man asked.

"I'm losing our PROVIDENCE satellites. It's happening all around the Colonies." The girl answered.

The man now looked and surrounded afraid. "That means they've surrounded us. It's happening so fast."

"We need to activate the Hades Protocols before they get into position." The other girl said.

The dark haired girl picked up a holoband and put it on. "I'm sending the signal out now."

The holoband flashed blue as the girl's eyes glazed over.

"Signal sent. Entire system will be configured in 178.67 seconds. The children of the Prince of Darkness move with great speed to consume us. The children of the children have come to save the makers of the makers." The girl said, her voice monotone and her face seemingly in a trance. "The Angels of Light have delivered the grandchildren to save us from the darkness, awakening the great Force of the Universe and brought forth the son of the dark and light who will become both destroyer and creator of worlds. Devices on alert. The Others have come. They will save those who will survive to bring forth life once again."

The man and his wife shared a concerned look. This had always happened when they used the interface, ever since they had upgraded to organic models. The daughter had theorized that the organic part of the brain was receiving so much information while at the same time, temporarily unlocking other parts of the brain and allowing them to understand so much for a short time.

"The dark devil will sense the grandchildren. His eyes and mind are set on them, hating and fear them. The children of Mephistopheles will turn their weapon of death to destroy all life. They fear what defies them. The Harbinger of Death will stand with the Child of Life created unintentionally by the schemer of the shadows. The followers of the great Force and the blade of the Klingon warrior shall cut the curtains and wheat from the fruit of the grain."