Usual disclosures: Much to my dismay, I do not own in whole or part the Battlestar Galactica Universe nor any of its characters. It is and remains the sole property of the Sci-fi Channel. Next, this story is an alternate universe and does not follow cannon. The first thing I have changed is that I never liked the concept that the 13th tribe was Cylon. I also decided that I did not like the story to take place in the year 150,000 BC, thus I have changed Earths time line (you will see).
I have read a few stories where the Colonial's (pre-fall) send a fleet to bring Earth into the Colonies by force. However, I thought what if instead, the Colonial Fleet was sent to aid us in our darkest hour...
Battlestars for Earth
Chapter 2
CIC (Combat Information Center)
Battlestar Pegasus
Picon Orbit
Helios Alpha System
Martius 25, YR98 (Colonial Calendar)
June 2, 2065 (Earth Calendar)
Rear Admiral Helena Cain looked at the task forces disputations on the plot table. She had a frown as she considered the hasty plan. Seventeen Battlestars with escorts. A total of 86 warships not counting the Marinestars. Impressive but Helena knew not to underestimate an enemy. If they could not bring the entire fleet, they should at least bring the Warstars. However with just two in active service with a third still being built, the President and Quorum where not about to let them leave the Colonies. When she tried to push the issue she was told to concentrate on her own command, BSG 62. Basically, she was told to mind her own business.
Her XO spoke up. "Admiral. Atlantia just jumped in system. Admiral Nagala is requesting you and the Admirals of BSG 49 and 79 to go aboard for a meeting."
Helena kelp her opinion to her self. "Very well Colonel Belzen. You are in command until I return."
"Yes sir."
Battlestar Atlantia
Picon Orbit
Helios Alpha System
Martius 25, YR98 (Colonial Calendar)
June 2, 2065 (Earth Calendar)
Cain stepped off the raptor and saw her fellow Admirals waiting for her, Rear Admiral Jason Conner of BSG 49 and Rear Admiral David Tenner of BSG 79. "Gentlemen. Shall we?"
The group of officers made there way to the Commanders quarters, where they were told Nagala was waiting. The trip was quick and they were soon saluting their superior officer. "Have a seat Admirals." Nagala pulled out a bottle and 4 glasses. "Ambrosia?"
Cain wanted to decline but one does not refuse an offered drink from a Fleet Admiral. After toasting one another and swallowing the alcohol, Cain asked. "Sir, is there any possibility we can get at least one Warstar?"
Nagala huffed. "You just don't quit do you Helena. I thought you were told to stop asking."
Cain shrugged. "Sure, by some flunky in Adar's office."
Nagala narrowed his eyes. "That flunky is the Secretary of Defense and our boss. You will show proper respect Admiral!"
Cain stiffened. "Yes Sir."
Conner came to the defense of his fellow Admiral. "Sir, I agree that Admiral Cain occasionally looks down on civilians but she has a point. We need more firepower and a Warstar…"
Nagala interrupted him. "We are not going to get a Warstar no matter how much we ask. Believe me I myself have pleaded with the Admiral of the Fleet and the Secretary until I was blue in the face. Hell I went to the President himself. So if the answer to me is still no, you can be damn sure its no to you three. So lets work with what we have."
The three responded. "Yes Sir."
"Good. Now then. The good news is that we are just the advance force until the main fleet can assemble. We will need to leave a good size force behind to secure the Colonies least the Cylons get any ideas, but we should still get at least half the fleet in a few weeks after we arrive. So our mission is to secure Earth space and hold it until the Fleet arrives. Questions?"
Cain asked. "When do we leave?"
Nagala looked up at the clock. "We shall make the first jump in a little less than 14 hours."
Admiral Tenner asked, "Why then? Our task force is already assembled. Why the delay?"
"We are waiting on BSG 75."
The others were astonished. Admiral Conner asked the question on everyone's mind. "Sir only Galactica is left of BSG 75."
"Not entirely true. Pacifica and Colombia were moved to the bone yards but have not been touched yet. As we speak, crews are boarding and bringing them online. Also, I have additional personnel searching the Bone yard for anything else that can be made operational in the next twelve hours. So far, they have successfully activated 3 Titan I Gunstars and a Pre Cylon War Misslestar. Last update mentioned the possibility of a few strikestars and I believe they found a Cylon War era Constructionstar. If they can get it and the others operational in time, they will all become part of BSG 75."
Cain was confused. "Why are we bringing these old ships back into service?"
Nagala leaned back. "As you know, it takes a minimum of a week to go from the Colonies to Earth. Not exactly easy for a rapid response from the fleet if the need should arrive and Earth currently has no space defense forces. BSG 75 is going to found the Earth Defense Force, or what ever they decide to call it, similar to the other Colonies home guard units. This will help Earth catch up with the Colonies and protect themselves long enough for the Colonial Fleet to reach them if the shit hits the fan."
Admiral Conner closed his eyes. "If I remember correctly, Galactica is missing most of its armor. Pacifica was retired because of electrical problems and Columbia had a fire in her engine room. I imagine the other ships are in worse shape. Will Earth have the time or ability to refit these ships?"
Nagala leaned back. "That is why I want that Constructionstar. It will give them the ability to start an Anchorage to address those issues. For Galactica, I have teams pulling armor plating from various ships in the bone yard to far gone to salvage. A fleet replenisher will bring the armor with other supplies with the main fleet. Pacifica can still make it to Earth and her KEW's are not electrically controlled, so she can defend herself. However she can't launch or receive Vipers until her electrical is redone. The bone yard has the electrical systems from the Battlestar Omega which has been scraped. I am told it is in excellent condition and can be installed in Pacifica with little difficulty. As for Columbia, repairs were made to her engine room and will suffice for now, however she does need a complete refit. The other ships will also need work but they will do in the short run."
"What about Vipers and Raptors?" Asked Cain.
"That is the good news. The Tauron Home Guard just recently replaced half of their squadrons with newer Viper V's and Raptor 4's. Their old squadrons are still fully operational and maintained. They are a mix of Viper II's, III's and even a few IV's. The Raptors are types II and III, also well maintained. We have enough to bring 2 Battlestars to full strength with spares to fill out the other ships. And Galactica is already carrying full wings, though they are mostly Viper V's, a few VI and one new VII."
"Are we going to let Earth have Galactica's more modern fighters?"
"Yes. We will have to make sure their pilots are brought up to speed but we were going to have to do that with the older vipers anyway." Nagala then changed the subject. "Lets talk deployment…"
CIC (Combat Information Center)
Battlestar Galactica
Fleet Bone Yard
Helios Delta System
Martius 26, YR98 (Colonial Calendar)
June 3, 2065 (Earth Calendar)
12 hours later
The fleet bone yard orbited the gas giant Hestia in the Helios Delta System. Ships that made it to the bone yard tended to be put in storage for a while in case the fleet changed its mind, while workers at the bone yard worked on dismantling older ships first. Parts that were still serviceable and of use to the fleet were put in storage, while obsolete parts, weapons armor and hulls where scraped and shipped out to various recycling companies. The oldest ship in the yard was a pre Cylon war Caprican Dreadnaught, the Delphi. She was 125 years old, commissioned when the Colonies still warred with one another. Most of her systems were already stripped out and her weapons were long gone. She didn't even have engines, not to mention jump drives. The only reason she had not been turned into scrap metal yet is because of talks of turning her into a Museum. Still, if the backers could not come up with the funds in the next few years, she was going to be turned into soda cans.
She did have one redeeming quality though. Her armor was intact and was of the grade used in the original Colombia class Battlestars. It was just a matter of removing it and prepping it for Galactica.
Unfortunately, there was no time for even one plate to be welded on Galactica. Adama's twelve hours were up. He looked at the list of the ships that made the cut for BSG 75. Three Battlestars, six Gunstars, four Strikestars, 1 Misslestar and 1 Constructionstar. All of the ships needed repairs of one sort or another, really they could all use a refit. Still, for twelve hours worth of work, it was impressive. "Dee, signal the fleet. We jump in ninety seconds. Mr. Gaeta, start the clock. "
"Yes Admiral. All ships, prepare for FTL in 90 seconds."
"Yes sir. All stations, FTL jump T minus 90 seconds."
Crew started to secure their stations for FTL as Gaeta started the process to jump the ship. "Setting jump for 0955. 4519. 3245 for Position Alfa. Coordinates set, syncing with fleet. FTL, T minus 60 seconds. Fleet syncing now. Three vipers still on approach, estimate landing in 15 seconds. FTL T minus 45 seconds. Final viper aboard and secured. Retract flight pods. FTL T minus 20 seconds. Fleet secured and ready for Jump. All stations FTL Jump in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 JUMP!"
CIC (Combat Information Center)
Battlestar Atlantia
Position Alfa
10 AU from the Cyrannus Star System.
Martius 26, YR98 (Colonial Calendar)
June 3, 2065 (Earth Calendar)
(Authors Note: The Cyrannus System is the home star system for the 12 Colonies in the 2003 series. It consists of 2 pairs binary stars that constitute Helios Alpha, Helios Beta, Helios Delta and Helios Gamma.)
The crew was working hard to make sure that all ships of the Task Force had made a successful jump. So far there had been no unexpected problems. Each ship had made its scheduled jump. They were just waiting the Galactica and company. "Admiral, except for BSG 75, all units of the Task Force are present and accounted for."
Nagala nodded. "Excellent. As soon as Galactica arrives, I will address the fleet."
A few minutes later new dradis contacts announced the arrival of BSG 75. "Dradis contact. Colonial IFF's confirmed. BSG 75 now present and accounted for."
Nagala turned to his coms officer. "Fleet wide." After a few minutes, he picked up a headset. "This is Atlantia Actual to all Colonial Units at Position Alfa. I will not waste time with needless speeches. We all know why we are here and what is at stake. We do not know when the enemy will attack Earth, so we will continue to jump until we reach the wormhole, resting only long enough till our jump engines are recharged and ready to make the next jump. We can not wait for any ship that falls behind. Should that happen to you, make what repairs you can and follow the fleet. We need each and everyone of you.
One last thing. Given that nature of our mission, the Admiralty has decided on a name for the task force. From this moment on, we will be Strike Fleet Earth. It is in our brothers name that we shall fight. Stand to your duties. The fleet will jump in 30 minutes. That is all."
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado
United States of America
Planet Earth, Sol System
Aprilis 2, YR98 (Colonial Calendar)
June 10, 2065 (Earth Calendar)
1300 hours GMT
They were getting their asses kicked. There was no other way of putting it. The battle was only 30 minutes old and already the United States had lost 40% of its fighter force. The Calimar fighters were faster, better armed and more maneuverable. Even the new F-30's were getting creamed. Losses to the World's other Air Forces were heavier.
"We just lost the Clinton Battle Group. Many sailors reported in the water. Navy is launching SAR's now."
General Patrick Fitzgerald could not even spare a second to grieve as he ran the battle. "What is the position of Air Force One?"
"Sir, Air Force One is crossing the Rockies now. Should we divert a fighter wing…."
"No colonel. That will just make them a target." He looked at a wall screen the showed the position of the Presidential Aircraft. "They are close to Area 51. Have it land there and get the President underground. What about the joint chiefs?"
"Still trapped in the Pentagon. The enemy ships are still bombarding the area from space. The Vice President…"
Another voice interrupted. "SIR! Enemy troop transports are landing at LAX!"
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles California
United States of America
Planet Earth, Sol System
Aprilis 2, YR98 (Colonial Calendar)
June 10, 2065 (Earth Calendar)
1415 hours GMT
Amy Wilkins was running for her life. Aliens had landed at her airport and immediately strange tanks started to attack anything that moved. She had barely escaped her Delta Airliner, were she had been a stewardess for the last three years, before it was hit with weapons fire. She turned and tripped over a body.
It was a soldier with a gaping hole in his chest. She quickly covered her mouth to hold in her gasp. It was then she heard children's pain filled screams. Not knowing what came over her, she picked up the rifle and followed where the screams were coming from.
Creatures from hell were surrounding about 17 kids ranging from 3 to 12 years old. Amy looked at them in horror. The aliens were about 6 foot tall, reddish brown skin, overly muscular, black eyes and wide mouths with razor sharp teeth. They were humanoid but looked like the descriptions of demons from the Bible. And they were torturing the children with some sort of box like device that shot an electrical charge at the kids. One of the demons grabbed a 12 year old boy by his throat and pulled him up. The boy managed to kick him, which pissed the alien off.
Amy threw up at what happened next. The alien roared and bit into the boys jugular, killing him instantly and then proceeded to eat the poor child. Other aliens were putting collar like devices on the other kids. Amy could not take it any more. She jumped up and started firing. "GO BACK TO HELL YOU BASTARDS!"
She was able to kill the one that had been eating before the others shot her in the chest. As she fell to the floor, dying she prayed. "Lord Jesus, please deliver us from this evil…"
Scenes like this would repeat themselves over and over all around the world in the next 10 hours. More prayers were raised for deliverance. Depending on whom you ask, either God or the Lords of Kobol were listening.
CIC (Combat Information Center)
Battlestar Atlantia
Outside the Wormhole
2 AU from Sol System
Aprilis 3, YR98 (Colonial Calendar)
June 11, 2065 (Earth Calendar)
0300 Hours GMT
The fleet finished the transition from the Wormhole to normal space. The jump engines were cooling and would be ready to jump to Earth in another 20 minutes. Nagala had sent Raptors ahead to scout the situation. His coms officer informed him, "Sir receiving report from Raptor 298. Enemy warships in orbit and are engaged in Planetary Bombardment and troop landings." The coms officer listened for a few seconds. "Sir, Raptor 298 is picking up on a transmission from Earth going over all stations."
"Engage translation software and relay to fleet." The software was a last minute addition from linguists from Caprica University. Nagala hopped it worked. There was a few minutes delay before he heard a strange language in the back ground and the software started to translate.
"…is General Fritzgerald of NORAD. It is my sad duty to report that President Henderson is missing and presumed dead. Others in the Presidential succession chain are either dead or similarly missing. Our NATO allies have experienced similar problems. As such, I am assuming command of all NATO forces.
Reports of Calimar landings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Paris, London, Bonn, Moscow, Beijing, Osaka and many other places are confirmed. The enemy fires on anything it sees as a treat. Worse, I can confirm that the enemy is targeting our children for enslavement. We were able to liberate one camp and the children had been horribly abused and a collar fitted around their necks. The purpose of this collar is to inflict pain. Attempts to remove this collar have not yet been successful, I am confident though we will find a way.
It has also rumored that the Calimar have engaged in killing humans for food. I wish to God that this was just a rumor, sadly it is not. In short we can expect only the very worse from the Calimar and in cases of capture, death would be a blessing.
It is true that our military forces are having a difficult time fighting this enemy but we can not let this lead us into despair. We must give our all. All of us must fight. Each man woman and child of Earth must fight. We must make the Calimar pay for every single soul and inch of earth of our planet. We must wage total war on them to make their victories hallowed and hopefully too costly to continue. We have no choice. If we do not fight this enemy with our all, the Human Race will end with us.
With this in mind, I am ordering the opening of all armory's to any human willing to wield a weapon. If you can, make your way to the closest Military Unit. They will welcome you and help you fight these abominations. May God be with you all."
The CIC was stone quiet until a crewmember broke the silence with a quiet prayer. "Lords of Kobol, save and protect your children of Earth. Send your strength against your enemies…"
Nagala raised his voice which was broadcasted to the rest of the Fleet. "SO SAY WE ALL!" He looked at the shocked faces of his crew. "SO SAY WE ALL!" The crew on Atlantis and across the fleet echoed back. "So Say We All." This was not good enough. Nagala narrowed his eyes. "Is this the might of the colonies? Are we to let our brothers suffer? Are we to allow these creatures who are worse than the Cylons destroy the Thirteenth tribe?"
"NO! No Sir!" Was said over and over again.
"No? Then say we go and show these monsters just whom they are fraking with?!"
"YES! We are with you Admiral."
Nagala listened as his crew and he assumed the rest of the fleet get pissed. "Then in the names of the Lords of Kobol, we will rescue our brothers on Earth and make these Aliens regret ever hearing the name Human! SO SAY WE ALL !"
On Atlantia and across the fleet, thousands of voices shouted. "SO SAY WE ALL!"
"Strike Fleet Earth, ACTION STATIONS!"