Hello again, and welcome back to my Halo/Star Wars/Battlestar Galactica multicrossover.

Thank you for your wonderful feedback and support. I deeply appreciate it.

As promised earlier, I've managed to write another chapter. I'll be doing a new schedule, during which I'll write a chapter for this story, then another chapter for another story. I'm doing this so that I don't burn out and possibly bring in ideas that will help the story remain fresh and interesting. I've also noticed that a few of you dropped off for one reason or another. I'll address those reasons to the best of my ability, though as it stands, I'm committed to making this story as good as I can. Feedback and tips would be greatly appreciated.

As always, leave a review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Disney Films, NBC Universal Television Studio, Universal Media Studios, Universal Cable Productions, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers, producers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to its original composers and/or artists.


UNSC Siberia

Uncharted Space

0 BCH/ACH (August 26th, 0BBY, 0830 Hrs (April 8th, 2559, 1030 Hrs))

"I'm bored," Christine said. "Bored, bored, bored. You'd think we'd have run into something out here right about now?"

Edwards shrugged, tried not to roll his eyes. I can understand why she's so bored, though, he thought. We've been out here for two days so far, and haven't found Kobol yet. You'd think their religious notes would be a tad clearer on the matter.

He sighed. That's the trouble with the Pythian Oracle's scrolls. They're so vague that it's very hard to read them int the first damn place. Hell, the linguists and translators back home needed the help of AIs to sort all of this out as quickly as they did.

Still, Edward knew his duty, and he would carry it out to the best of his capabilities, even if it took him a century to do so. "Check the Luminary. See if it's got anything yet."

"Aye, sir," Christine said. She gazed at a console, frowned at a series of numbers. She touched a control, frowned even more. "Nothing yet, sir. That said, if it does pick up any Forerunner tech, it'll start honking as loud as my grandmother does when dinner's ready."

Ronnie, another one of Edward's team, snickered. "You say that about anything that makes a loud noise. Sounds like you missed your calling as a comedian."

"I tried being one, actually. Turns out, I'm really good at it, so good that ONI decided to rope me into this line of work. Said I'd be an 'invaluable benefit for crew morale.' Say what you will about ONI these days, but you can't deny that they've got an eye for talent."

Ain't that the truth, Edward mused. Still, with all the fuss that Lasky's raising, it's a wonder that we haven't been thrown into the shark tank yet. He still dreaded that moment when he and his team would be thrown before the Armed Services Committee to answer for anything they'd done, real or imagined. Those guys are worse than a pack of hyenas stalking a wildebeest.

He sighed. "Focus, ladies. We're here to find the planet of Kobol, though I do appreciate the conversation. It keeps me from nodding off."

Christine smiled. "See, what'd I tell you. Next thing you'll know, we'll end up finding Kobol before I can say 'knife.' I told ya ONI had an eye for talent."

"Yeah," Ronnie said. "Now if only they would put that scrutiny towards actually playing by their own damn rules. Ever since that Ferdinand guy attempted to assassinate Lasky, thing's have gone to hell for us. If it wasn't for Section Three and the damned fascists inside of that section, we'd be on the up and up with the rest of the UNSC, but no, they've got to play king and spend the better part of nearly three and a half decades in a juvenile fantasy."

"That's true. If you ask me, I say that Lasky's the best thing that's ever happened to the entire UNSC, including ONI, even if they can't see it yet."

"That's optimistic of you," Ronnie said.

"I like to look on the bright side of what happens out there. Doesn't mean that I ignore what's bad. I just highlight what's good. Life's too short to be miserable."

"She does have a point," Edward cut in. "I personally think that Lasky's the right man for the job. Hood, in comparison, may as well have been a dumbass. Parangosky could run circles around him in her sleep. Lasky on the other hand has eyes like a hawk and ears like a bat. Nothing gets past him, or if it does, he's quick to investigate what's going on."

Ronnie nodded. "It'll take good ol' fashioned ass whupping to get Section Three into shape, and Lasky's the man for the job. He's already humiliated them more than once. He can do it again."

"He'll have to be careful," Stanton, the team's analyst, added. "Section Three's been known to do brutal reprisals against anyone that threatens their operations. If he wants to stay in power until Hood returns, he's gonna need to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"Which he is," Christine said. "I overheard him chewing out Parangosky before we left. The man might sound polite, but when he's angry, he's like a dragon ready to swallow a man whole. I wouldn't want him as an enemy. Would you?"

"Nope," Ronnie said. "I wouldn't. What about you, Stanton?"

"I'd be insane to think of him as an enemy," Stanton said. "Edward?"

Edward shrugged. "So long as he gets the job done, I don't care either way. Though, I do have to admit, it's nice working for someone that actually knows what they're doing. That being said, we should get back to our jobs too. Wouldn't want to be fired because we missed one hell of an important detail."

"Amen to that," Ronnie said. The crew turned back to their stations, eyes fixed onto computer screens. For his part, Edward settled into his role with equal solemnity.

He was about to nod off when a loud, insistent beeping sounded off from Christine's station. "I think I've got something!" Christine shouted. "Luminary's gone crazy!"

"Drop us out of Slipspace, NOW!" Edward thundered. The sytgian blackness before the ship rippled, then was torn open by a large portal. Within seconds, the ship had exited Slipspace, and had entered normal reality. "Get a fix on where we are ASAP. The sooner we do, the better our chances of isolating that lead!"

"Computer's chewing on it now," Stanton said. "And… got it! We're roughly 100 light years from the Cyrannus System, two hours transit time from base, sir!"

Stanton sighed. "Good. I want a SLIPCOM link with the Infinity in case we find what we're here to find. Christine, get to work on what caused the Luminary to go crazy. The sooner we figure it out, the sooner we can tell if we should head back home or not."

"On it!" Christine said. She and Ronnie went to work at their stations. Buttons were pressed, dials turned and switches thumbed.

"I've got a visual on the planet we've arrived at," Stanton said. "On screen right… now."

A holoproject flickered to life, displayed an image before them. Very pretty, Edward thought. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's one hell of a habitable planet. "Scan for any artificial structures on the surface. Maybe one of them triggered the Luminary."

"Running a scan now," the ship's AI, Daedalus, said. " Sir, it appears that there are a number of structures on the surface. Judging by the state of decay, I'd say that they're thousands of years old."

"Give me an estimate."

"Around two thousand years old, sir," Daedalus said.

"That puts those structures in about the same time range as that of the Kobolian Exodus," Christine said.

The term 'Kobolian Exodus' had come into use among those assigned to finding the Shield World that held the Kobolian subspecies of Humanity. It's certainly appropriate, Edward thought. "I see… Any points of interest down there?"

"Yes," Daedalus said. "I've detected what appears to be a single city on the planet. Permission to launch a probe, sir?"

"Granted. We need to know what we're looking at."

"Affirmative," Daedalus said. "Probe launch in three… two… one… now." The deck shuddered, then a point of light streaked away from the ship. "Probe has been launched, sir. ETA to destination: ten minutes."

"Very good. Inform me when it's at the destination." Edward turned to Christine. "Report."

"We've just completed a preliminary scan, sir," Christine said. "I'm getting a number of anomalous readings from the planet. If I had to guess, I'd say we've found Kobol. As for if it's a Shield World… well… the probe can tell us more…"

The next ten minutes were spent in silence. If what we're looking at is correct, then we've found Kobol. I must admit, it seems like a really nice place to live at. "Ronnie, can you perform a scan of the planet. I want to see what else we can learn from our scanners before we do anything out of the ordinary."

"Running a scan now, sir," Ronnie said. She keyed in a few commands, tweaked a few settings. "According to the scans, I'm picking up what appears to be traces of the end-products of radioactive decay."

That had Edward's attention. "How significant is that?"

"Very," Ronnie said. "From the quantities of the material I'm seeing, it looks as though a nuclear war was waged on the planet. Beyond that, it seems as though the planet's recovered from that. Oxygen and nitrogen levels are within acceptable parameters, and I'm reading a good amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. Wonder what the probe's gonna say."

"Sir, I'm getting evidence of what appears to be Forerunner tech readings below the surface," Stanton reported. "I'm having the drone perform a flyby of the ruins. Hopefully they can tell us more about what's going on down there."

"Understood. If you find anything anomalous down there, let me know."

"Wilco," Stanton said. "Drone's performing a flyby now." He looked at a video feed, adjusted a few controls. "Looks like the ruins are what's left of a city down there. Scans are picking up faint traces of radioactive decay elements down below. No sign of human life whatsoever, aside from the ruins."

"That makes sense given what we know about the Kobolian Exodus," Edward said. "Try and get us closer to the planet. We may have to -"

"Sir, the probe's been intercepted," Stanton abruptly said.

That fast? Edward thought."What happened?"

Confusion reigned on Stanton's face. "I don't know. One moment, the probe was performing a flyby over the ocean. The next, it literally just… stopped. It's literally being held in place.

"Sentinels detected the arrival of the probe and intercepted it," Daedalus said. "They're currently using it as a link to scan our ship. I'm currently blocking them out, and I need orders."

"Inform them that we're from the UNSC, and that we're Reclaimers," Edward said.

"Already done. The Sentinels are taking the probe deeper into the planet's surface and… wait… they've got Huragok, sir. It's making modifications to the probe."

"Anomalous activity on the surface!" Stanton shouted. "It's coming from under the ocean!"

"Take us down there now!" Edward said.

The engines on the Prowler roared to life. Within seconds, it had reached top speed, and was now hurtling down towards the surface of the planet. Before long, they had reentered the atmosphere on a vector towards the anomalous activity.

It wasn't long before they caught sight of what was happening. "Whoa!" Ronnie said, eyes wide as she looked ahead. "There's large… door of some kind underneath the surface of the water. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Daedalus?" Edward asked.

"I'm accessing the computer networks for the Shield World, sir," Daedalus said. For a few seconds, all was silent. "Sir, I've just accessed what appears to be information and records."

"What do they say?"

"According to the records, the Shield World was inhabited by Humans shortly after the firing of the Halo Array, after which they were relocated to the surface and reverted to a primitive state," Daedalus said. "Those same records indicate that the descendants of those humans left roughly 2,000 years ago following what appeared to be large scale nuclear detonations on the surface. Sir, if I had to guess, I'd say that this is Kobol."

Edward nodded. "I suspected as much. The ruins and the nuclear fallout remnants were the kicker, though this serves as confirmation. Did you get any idea what the Ancient Humans called this place?"

"Yes, sir. According to the computer systems, this is Shield World Refuge."

"Refuge," Edward said. "At least we know what the Forerunners called the place. Send a message back to Parangosky and Lasky immediately. Tell them that we'll need a fleet to secure this facility. Plus, they might want to know what to do about the Colonials when it comes to this sort of thing. We've got some nasty shit that's gonna go down."

. . .

Onboard the Infinity, Lasky, Parangosky, President Charet and Arbiter Thel, sat in one of the ship's many meeting rooms. Lasky rolled his neck, then decided to proceed with the meeting. "Let me get this straight. Are you telling me that we've not only found Kobol, we've discovered that it's a Shield World like Onyx?"

"It would seem so," Parangosky said.

"Damn… Looks like your theory was right. The question is, why would the Forerunners seed Human life all the way out here, rather than back at Earth like they did with us?"

"Perhaps the answer is simpler than we realize," Thel. "Perhaps the Forerunners seeded other parts of the galaxy with your kind, as a safeguard against extinction."

"That does seem logical," Charet admitted. "Still, I'm surprised that we even found Kobol in the first place. How'd we find it?"

"The Arbiter was, ironically, quite helpful with that," Parangosky said. "Our linguists were having a difficult time, but one of them, suggested that we share the Pythian Scrolls with the Sangheili. Given that they are the experts when it comes to religious writing, it was deemed logical that they be brought in."

"The Inquisitors, our equivalent to ONI's 'Agents', were quick to decipher the meaning of the Pythian Scrolls," Thel said. "It took some reading between the lines, as your kind would put it, but once we finished our analysis of the documents, we sent them to the AIs in your fleets."

"That's where we picked up where the Sangheili left off. After deciphering some of the language in the Pythian Scrolls, as well as in the other religious works that we recovered from the Colonials, we were able to quickly determine Kobol's approximate location. From the looks of it, we were much closer to the mark than even I thought."

"I see," Lasky said. "Still… the fact that Kobol was a Forerunner installation is definitely going to be ringing a lot of alarm bells with the Colonials. Did we find out anything about the Lords of Kobol?"

"As a matter of fact, we did. According to Captain Edward's report, Daedalus was able to access personnel information on the Lords of Kobol. That's where we made a shocking discovery."

"That being?" Lasky asked.

"The Lords of Kobol were not Forerunners as we've suspected. They were our genetic ancestors: the Ancient Human Empire."

Lasky raised an eyebrow. "I see… What we we able to learn about them."

"According to the information we retrieved, the Ancient Human Empire built Kobol, aka Shield World Refuge, as a safe haven for their species during the Human-Forerunner war that happened over a hundred millennia ago. When the Flood came around, the Librarian modified the Shield World, allowing it to shield Ancient Humans from the Halo Array. Once the Array was done firing, most of the Ancient Humans on the surface were reduced back down to Stone Age levels of technology."

"But not all of then," Lasky noted. "From the looks of it, these 'Lords of Kobol' were Ancient Humans that somehow managed to retain their technology."

Thel's mandibles drooped, the Sangheili equivalent of a frown. "If that is the case, then why did they not advance the Kobolian subspecies of your kind to the level the Forerunners were at over the course of two millennia? They should be near, if not at, that level of technology right now."

Lasky shrugged. "My guess? The Lords of Kobol respected that part of the Librarians plan and decided not to elevate the Kobolians to Forerunner levels of technology. If you ask me, it was for good reason."

"That being?"

Lasky stood up, paced around the table. "There are a lot of examples in human history where technological advancement caused a significant amount of harm, regardless of whether it was intentional or not. One initially unintentional case was the creation of the Haber-Bosch Process. It allowed Humanity to create fertilizers to replenish depleted soil, but also allowed for the creation of powerful explosives and chemical weapons.

"However, it's also due to the fact that, if suddenly advanced to a certain tech level, a species might not be learn the other technological branches that lead back up to that point. Plus, if a species is advanced that fast, they might get some… unpleasant ideas about what their place in the order of things is."

"As was the case with the Covenant," Thel realized. "I see now. That is most perceptive of you, Lasky. Advance the survivors too quickly and they might become haughty and dangerous."

"Which seems to be what happened with the Colonials, partly at least," Parangosky said. "They worship the Lords of Kobol as though they're gods."

"The question is, why?" Charet asked.

"Arthur C. Clarke's third law," Lasky said. "'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' The Kobolians likely saw these twelve Ancient Humans utilizing their Forerunner level technology and thought them to be gods. As such, they not only came to respect them, they worshiped them."

"Makes sense. My only other question now is 'why did they leave Kobol?' They pretty much had everything they wanted there."

"Edward's team has a guess as to why they left," Parangosky said. "According to information retrieved from the Shield World, as well as scans of the planet's atmosphere, Kobol suffered what we think was a nuclear war around two millennia ago. That directly coincides with what Section One analysts are calling the 'Kobolian Exodus."

"It's starting to come together now," Lasky said. "The full history of the Twelve Colonies. They used to live on Kobol, but for some reason they engaged in a nuclear war. After that, they fled their homeworld, presumably using FTL flight, and then set up shop in the Cyrannus System, where we find them two thousand years later. Sounds like the premise of a sci-fi novel, doesn't it."

Parangosky shrugged. "It does, I must admit. Still, given that my theory was right, we now need to decide what to do with this information. Any thoughts?"

"Yeah," Lasky said. "We can use this as further evidence that what we're saying is true. The only problem with that theory is that the Colonials are gonna throw a temper tantrum when they hear about it. They might even claim that we faked the information in order to convince them to come to our side of things."

"That's exactly the problem," Charet said. "Unfortunately, it's the only option that we really have given the current political situation. I'd rather not cause a commotion, but if it's what gets the job done, then we really have no choice."

"It matters not in the end," Thel said. "If the Humans of the Twelve Colonies refuse to see the truth that is before their very eyes, then they are the ones to blame, not us. We have acted quite cordially with them, despite their efforts to convince us to join their government."

Lasky nodded. "Agreed. If they try to go to war with us over this fact, then that's on them, not us. How do you intend to break the news to them, Charet?"

"Simple, really," Charet said. "I plan on having a public press release stating that we've found Kobol. If they try to use that to try and convince the others that we came from there, I'll tell them that Kobol is not what they believe it is, and show them the truth."

"And if they don't believe it?"

"Then we'll know that we tried," Charet said. "Either way, showing the truth to the Twelve Colonies will allow us to find out who's open and receptive to the UEG and who's not. Still, I recommend that you have your military forces ready for war, Lasky. Finding out that their religion was wrong from the very start will be casus belli for the Colonials."

"Agreed. That being said, there's another problem we need to discuss before we call this meeting adjourned."

"The Cylons," Thel guessed.

"Correct. From the moment we've arrived, the Cylons have attempted to infiltrate the Infinity, only for the ONI and UNSC forces onboard to intercept them before they can cause any meaningful damage. All of them seemed hell-bent on infiltrating the computer systems onboard the ship. Does anyone have any ideas as to why that's the case?"

"I've got a few ideas," came Cortana's voice.

"All right. Go ahead. We're all ears."

"Thank you," Cortana said. The holographic projector came to life. Images and information hovered over the table. "According to the interrogation of the Cylons, we've pieced together what we think their plan is."

"That being?"

"They intend to use the backdoor programs in the CNP to gain access to any Colonial ship that intends to attack them," Cortana said. "Once they do, they can send a shutdown program that will turn off all systems onboard the affected ship. What's odd, however, is that the timetable for the destruction of the Twelve Colonies is supposed to take place within two days."

Lasky frowned. "We're missing something here. Why only two days to destroy the entire Twelve Colonies? They'd need one hell of a massive force to… to…"

Parangosky looked at Lasky. "Is all well?"

Lasky held up a finger, paced around the table. The realization hit him like a SHIVA. "Of course! Parangosky, Cortana, what's the fastest way one can eliminate an enemy, regardless of civilian casualties?"

Both Parangosky and Cortana thought it over. Naturally, Cortana came to the conclusion first. "Nuclear weapons?"

Lasky smiled. "Bingo. That's how the Cylons intend to wipe out the Twelve Colonies. They're going to perform an en masse nuclear bombardment of all of the colonies in the Cyrannus System! Simple, brutal, but effective."

Parangosky's eyes widened fractionally. "Damn. Now that's nasty… and needless. I'm shocked I didn't realize that at first."

"Then it is good that we learned of their plans," Thel said. "Now we can counter them and prevent them from doing to the Colonials what we nearly did with your kind."

"Agreed. Mrs. President, I can have the UNSC fleet we're with prepare to split up into smaller battlegroups. We'll need to do that if we're going to save the Twelve Colonies. Thel, I know it's not my place to ask this of you, but I would like to invite you to do the same for your forces."

Thel nodded. "You have earned my respect, Lasky. I shall have my forces prepare for the impending attack."

"And you've got permission from me to split the fleet up," Charet said. "Once the attack happens, make it so, then get to work kicking the Cylons asses for me."

"Gladly," Lasky said. "I'll speak with Fleet Admiral Cole about the matter, then we'll get to work. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"Not at this moment, no."

"All right then," Lasky said. "I'll head back to my quarters and speak with Cole there. Let's hope this all goes off without a hitch."

"Same here," Charet said…

A few minutes later, Lasky was in his office. "Well, that was some brilliant deductive reasoning there," Revan said. "At least we know what the Cylons are up to. I've seen nuclear bombardments like that before, so I know what we're facing. Still, the fact that they plan to commit genocide is… disturbing."

"And disturbingly familiar at that too," Bastila said. "How many times have people tried to commit genocide in our galaxy? Five? Ten? I'm not sure, though I do say that it's getting very old."

Indeed, Lasky agreed. Why is it that when two factions are involved, one's gonna hate the other to the point where they try to annihilate the other faction. If people did less of that and more diplomacy and talks, the galaxy would be a better place.

"Tell me about it," Revan said. "I had to learn that lesson the hard way. That being said, Lasky, I do think you're doing the right thing here, and that Charet's right to do what she will do. If the Colonials don't accept it, then that's their fault. The UNSC and UEG's been quite reasonable, so we've got the moral high ground here."

Lasky frowned. Doesn't make me feel any better. I feel less like a soldier and more like a marauding conqueror. I just wish it didn't have to come down to this.

"I know how you feel," Bastila said. "There's not much we can do about it, though. All we can do is ensure that no one else suffers because of a disagreement that the Colonials have with us. If they refuse, they ought to be ashamed of themselves for what they've done."

Yeah. Anyways, I'd best get that call in with Cole. He'll want to know about this. Putting the two out of thought, he keyed his HoloCOM. "Chairman Lasky to Fleet Admiral Cole."

"Go ahead, Chairman," Cole said.

"I need to speak with you ASAP. Can you come by my quarters?"

"I'm on my way now," Cole said. "There's something else you should know."

"Oh?"

"Admiral Reeves sent a Stalwart-class Frigate with the good doctor onboard," Cole said. "According to the Captain of that ship, Dr. Anders is onboard and she's requesting a meeting with the Chairman of the UNSC."

"I see," Lasky said. "Tell her that I'm available for the meeting once she arrives. I'll send Blue Team down to collect her and bring her to my quarters."

"Affirmative. She'll be arriving at the Infinity shortly."

"Good. Chairman Lasky over and out." Closing the HoloCOM channel, Lasky prepared to speak with Admiral Cole.

Two minutes later, Cole walked through the door and into Lasky's office. With a salute, he said, "Chairman. Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Yes," Lasky said. "We think we know how the Cylons will attempt to destroy the Twelve Colonies. They're planning to use the CNP backdoors to shut down any Colonial Fleet ships that attempt to attack them, allowing them to bombard the Colonies with nuclear weapons until all of the Colonials are dead. If we don't act when they attack, fifty billion people are going to die."

Cole frowned. "I see. Figures that they'd do something like this. Reminds me of the Covenant forces we fought during the war. What's your plan for handling this?"

"I'm thinking of splitting the fleet up into a series of Battle Groups. When the attack begins, we'll send the Battle Groups to assault any Cylon ships that attempt to perform orbital bombardment of the colonies. During that time, we'll assault the Cylons using a combination of naval operations and cyber attacks. Cortana's confident that she, Roland, Gabriela and the other AIs in the fleet should be able to handle this task."

"I see," Cole said. "It sounds as though you've gotten everything worked out. Is there anything else you need to tell me about?"

"Yes. We've discovered the location of Kobol. As Parangosky suspected, Kobol is a Shield World, and the Lords of Kobol were, in fact, ancient Humans."

Cole smirked. "I had a feeling that was the case. Still, the fact that we've got another Shield World means that we've got another valuable cache of Forerunner tech to study. That being said, the Colonials won't take it well once the truth leaks out."

"Which is why Charet and I have a plan. Should the Colonials attack, we can use the same CNP back doors to shut down the Colonial Fleet. That way, we can force the politicians to come to the negotiating table, rather than allow them to try and harm our personnel."

"Good plan," Cole said. "The Cylons might take advantage of that in order to cause maximum damage, but since you've told me your plan to deal with them, we've got that problem covered. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Nothing you don't already know."

Cole nodded. "Good. I'll have the captains in the fleet ready to peel off once this whole debacle goes down. If you need me for anything else, I'll be available."

"Good," Lasky said. "Coordinate with the other Captains to get the plan in motion. Also, be ready to welcome Anders onboard the moment her ship arrives. That'll be another can of worms to deal with."

"Yes, sir," Cole said.

. . .

Onboard the UNSC Jakarta, Dr. Anders paced as she waited for the ship to exit Slipspace. At least I'm finally back home, and what an experience it's been, she thought. The UEG and UNSC survived the war, the Sangheili are our allies, and now we're having to bandy words with an empire from another Galaxy.

She shook her head. It's certainly a welcome change from being forced to fight against the Banished. When I launched off that section of Halo, I thought I was condemned to a long waiting time. Good to know that I'm now back in UNSC territory, but now I have more questions.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in!" she said. When the door opened, she said, "Lieutenant Hersten. Need me for something?"

"Captain Bukit says that we're approaching our destination," Hersten said. "He wants you to head to the hangar bay once we've arrived."

"Understood," Anders said. "Inform him I'm heading there right now."

"All right. I will do so. I hope you enjoyed your time onboard the Jakarta. She's a really nice ship, especially for a Strident-class."

Anders smiled. "She is…"

Down in the hangar bay, the Pelican Anders would take to the Infinity was on standby. "We're good to go, Doctor," Eris, the pilot of the ship, said. "Once we're out of Slipspace, we'll fly over to the Infinity and drop you off there. I hear the Chairman's real interested in having a chat with you."

"Then I won't disappoint him," Anders said.

Right on cue, there was a crackle as the PA came to life. "Attention: Slipspace Exit In Five Seconds!" There was a rumble in the deck that lasted for a few seconds, then stopped. The magcon field activated, then the hangar doors opened to reveal the star speckled blackness of space.

"And there we go," Eris said. She flicked a swtich. "Foxtrot 3-9-5 to Jakarta Flight Operations. Requesting permission to take off. Over."

"Jarkata Flight Ops to Echo 3-9-5. Permission granted. Flight plan's been uploaded to your NAVCOMP. Safe travels."

"You too. Echo 9-9-3 out." She flicked the COM switch off. "Ready, Doctor?"

"I've been ready for some time," Anders said. "Let's go."

"All right, then. Here we go." With practiced ease, Eris brought the Pelican off the flight deck. Then the ship darted forwards, leaving the safety of the hangar and entering the vacuum of space.

The moment they were outside, Anders looked out the window. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the ship off to the port bow of the Pelican. "Is that the Infinity?" she asked.

Eris glanced in that direction. "Yep. That's the Infinity. Biggest ship in the entirety of the UNSC, and the most advanced. That's the ship Cole commands."

Anders smiled. "Nice to see that Cole finally got a ship worthy of his rank."

"That it is." Eris keyed the COM again. "Infinity Flight Ops, this is Foxtrot 3-9-5. Requesting permission to land. Over."

A man's voice spoke up. "Foxtrot 3-9-5, this is Infinity Flight Ops. Permission granted. Divert course to Hangar 24-Julia."

"Understood. Diverting to Hangar 42-Julia. Over." She leaned over, adjusted a few controls. "ETA to arrival: 5 mikes."

Anders continued to look outside of the ship. She shivered at the sight of the Sangheili ships near the Infinity. A few decades ago, we were sworn enemies of the Sangheili and their Covenant allies. Now we're allies with them. I guess that old saying is true: today's enemies are tomorrow's friends. She put the thought to the side as they approached the Infinity.

Five minutes later, they entered the hangar in question. The Pelican gently lowered to the ground, then came to a halt. "And we're down," Eris said. "Thank you for flying UNSC Aeroways. We hope you enjoyed the service, and we are privileged to have served."

Anders smiled. Nothing like the humor of Pelican pilots to cheer you up. "Thanks for the trip. Time for me to step off." She grabbed her bag, then stood up from her seat.

At the back, she found herself looking at who she presumed was Cole. Looks like he's got an honor guard of Spartan-IIs, she noticed. I didn't know they made more Spartans. "Permission to come aboard, Fleet Admiral Cole?"

"Permission granted," Cole said. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine, all things considered. It's not everyday you find a Shield World, end up blowing it to pieces, then stay in cryo for over twenty five years before fighting off a group of bandits and pirates. I'd say having ONI and the UNSC fight over me is the least of my worries right now."

Cole smiled. "I figured as much. The Chairman is ready to see you in his office. Would you mind if I took you there?"

"Not at all."

"Very well," Cole said. "Blue Team, take up formation. Time to deliver Anders to the Chairman."

"Yes, sir," the Master Chief said. All four Spartans took up formation. Then the group proceeded to the tram way.

"So, what does the Chairman intend to do about the Banished?" Anders asked.

"He'll tell you more once we arrive at his office," Cole said. "Much of the details concerning the Banished are privy to him, myself, and a few other people. As such, I'd advise that you keep quiet on the matter until he speaks with you. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Throughout the entire journey, Anders made mental notes on the Infinity and her construction. This is definitely the most advanced ship I've seen in the UNSC, she thought. No other ship even comes close to matching her in size. I wonder what she uses for engines, or how advanced her drive is. She shrugged, then sequestered the thoughts to the back of her mind. I'll have answers soon enough.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of ONI agents walking into view. She frowned, reached for a concealed sidearm in her vest. That was unnecessary, as the lead ONI agent raised a hand and said, "That's not necessary, ma'am. We know about what happened at Installation 08. For what it's worth, we apologize for what happened there."

"I find that hard to believe," Anders said. "Did Parangosky ask you to relay her apology?"

"Yes, ma'am. Section Three and Section One defied Parangosky's orders, which were to relay any classified information they had to the Chairman. Not only did they refuse to do so, they acted against his orders."

Anders frowned. Looks like ONI is having an internal schism right now. "I see. In that case, apology accepted. Now I must be going. I have to speak to the chairman."

The ONI agent nodded. "Of course. I won't delay you any longer. I hope you have a pleasant day." The two men left, with Anders keeping pace with Cole.

"You all right?" he asked. "What did they want?"

"They were acting as couriers," Anders said. "Apparently, Parangosky wanted to apologize for what happened over the Halo I was at."

Cole nodded. "Understandable. Section Three and One acted against her orders, and they've payed the price for it. Now, let's head to the Chairman's office."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Their journey came to an end at a pair of doors. A placard on the wall said, "Chairman's Office. Authorized Personnel Only." Anders found the admonition amusingly redundant. She was here on the Chairman's orders, so she already had permission to come inside.

Cole keyed an earpiece. "Chairman, Dr. Anders is here with me. Should I send her inside…? Understood, sir." He looked at Anders. "The Chairman's waiting for you."

"Thank you," Anders said. Proceeding to the door, she walked past them as they opened. I wonder if it's Hood still, she thought.

To her amazement, it wasn't Hood at all. Instead, a young man with brown hair and eyes greeted her own. Looking up from his work, he smiled. "Dr. Anders," he said. "Good to see that you're doing all right. Provisional Chairman Thomas Lasky."

"Dr. Ellen Anders." The two shook hands. "So, where's Hood? Last time I recall, he was the Chairman of the UNSC, Navy, HIGHCOM and Joint Chiefs."

"He's currently tending to affairs in another galaxy," Lasky said. "As such, I'm taking over for him until he returns." He sat down behind his desk. "I take it you're fully aware of what's being going on."

"Yes. We're no longer at war, the Covenant's fractured into a dozen splinter groups, there's another galaxy with another Empire and a new form of Insurrection, and now ONI and the UNSC are having a private war with each other. Have I missed any details?"

"Not at all," Lasky said. "You're perceptive, which is good. Frankly speaking, it's been a very difficult job keeping everyone happy and in line." He leaned back. "If there's anything you want to ask me about, now's a good time. In a few minutes, we might be at war again."

Anders frowned. "What do you mean? I thought we recently ended one war. Isn't it too early to start another one?"

"Depends on what the other side does," Lasky said. "I assume that Admiral Reeves has brought you up to speed concerning the recent development here, yes?"

"He did. According to him, we're dealing with another faction of Humans that were seeded by the Forerunners shortly after the activation of the Halo Array. They want us to join their government, despite the fact that they are much smaller than us, and don't have any historical claim over us. Correct?"

"More or less," Lasky said. "The Colonials, as we've named them, have been up in arms over our refusal to ratify the Articles of Colonization. Plus, we've made a discovery that will invalidate their entire historical and religious beliefs. Before we get to that, though, have you read up on the events that resulted in the end of the war against the Covenant?"

"I have, and Isabelle, the AI we recovered at the Ark, filled myself and Cutter in on the details. To think that all we needed to do to defeat the Covenant was to shatter their religion. If we'd known that thirty years ago, we'd have torn the Covenant apart by now, and Humanity would be even more advanced by now."

"That we would," Lasky agreed. "Hindsight's 20-20 as they say. However, we've defeated the Covenant and now we're friends with the Sangheili. I also take it you are aware of the Flood, yes?"

"Yes. The Flood is… quite terrifying, and to think they had a Gravemind helping them out. From the looks of it, though, you've managed quite well without us, Cutter and the Spirit of Fire."

"We have," Lasky agreed. "However, now that you're back, we can finally put to rest some of the controversy surrounding what happened to that ship. Now that you've been caught up on those aspects, I'll catch you up on the rest." He poured a glass of coffee, handed it to Ellen. "Around fifteen minutes ago, we discovered what the Colonials believed to be their homeworld: a planet called Kobol."

"Kobol? Sounds interesting."

Lasky nodded. "Indeed, though as it turns out, it's more complicated than that. We've learned that Kobol was actually a Shield World created by a civilization of Ancient Humans that lived around the same time as the Forerunners did. They created Kobol, known as Shield World Refuge, to shield some of their civilians from the Halo Array when it fired.

"When the danger had passed, they moved back onto the surface and went back to the Stone Age era. Their descendants left Kobol around 2,000 years ago following a nuclear war, leading them to come here to the Cyrannus system and settle it. Now, we're dealing with their descendants, the Twelve Colonies of Kobol."

"Sounds interesting. So, what do you intend to do with them? You said that we might be at war with them soon. Why?"

Lasky frowned ruefully. "Let's just say they put a lot more stock into their religion than is healthy. They've got quite a few religious fanatics in their government, and they're quick to dispute anything that doesn't line up with their expectations or beliefs. Fortunately, there's some people that are more reasonable in their government, though given how much sway their religion has, they'll be up in arms once they learn the truth."

"Hence the reason why you've brought a fleet to this system. Given what I've learned so far, that does make sense. That being said, we need to talk about -"

"- the Banished," Lasky said. "I know. Your slipstream packets made it to my desk. I know what you know about the Banished, their command structure, what they're doing and what you think their goals might be. To be frank, I don't give a rat's ass that they attacked an ONI outpost."

The answer surprised Anders. "Why not? Isn't it your duty to defend Earth and her colonies, along with all members of the UNSC?"

"It is, but ONI has been up to no good recently," Lasky said. "Section Three's made it a habit to try my patience, and to get bitch-slapped for all their troubles. Section One deliberately hid the fact that Section Three recovered your ship's log buoy, but refused to share it with the rest of the UNSC. To top it all off, they've been conducting unethical and illegal experiments behind the backs of the UNSC."

"Really? I find that difficult to believe. Hood would never have let that happen!"

"Hood was a blind fool," Lasky said. "Parangosky even told me as much after I wrung her out like a wet towel. ONI was able to get away with a lot while he was Chairman. I've been cleaning up the mess ONI's made behind Hood's back. I even dealt with the people trying to kill me."

Anders' eyes widened fractionally. "ONI tried to kill you? Are they stupid?!"

Lasky shrugged. "I've been debating whether I should ask them that or not. Thankfully, the assassination attempt happened at the same time I found Cole in the Andromeda Galaxy, so I was able to cheat death once again. However, We're here to discuss what happened with the Banished at the Ark. From the sounds of it, you and Cutter dealt a considerable amount of damage to them."

"That we did," Anders said. "We managed to drive them off of a considerable chunk of the Ark. That being said, I was wondering what you plan to do about them. Are you going to war with them, or what?"

Lasky stood up, paced behind his desk. "The reality of the matter is that we can't afford anymore enemies. We've got an Empire in the Andromeda Galaxy that needs to be put down when they do try to pick a fight, and we've got threats from beyond their galaxy we have to get ready for. As such, with President Charet's blessing, I'll begin negotiations with the Banished."

Anders looked at Lasky like he'd grown a second head. "No offense, Lasky, but are you serious? The Banished attacked us at the Ark! They need to be taken out!"

"Not exactly," Lasky said. "They actually did us a favor during the Covenant-UNSC War: they split the Covenant's attention, diverting resources that would've gone into fighting us away from the front lines. Plus, Atriox left the Covenant because he was disgusted with them, and formed the Banished in order to survive any reprisals from the Covenant."

"That still doesn't change the fact that he attacked UNSC and ONI personnel. He has to answer for that."

"And he will when I speak with him," Lasky said. "Part of the talks will involve which reparations the Banished will be forced to make if they don't want war with the Covenant."

"What makes you think Atriox will listen to you?"

"For starters, Atriox, from what I've been able to gather, is a practical man," Lasky said. "He doesn't commit to a course of action unless he knows that what he does will benefit the Banished in some way. He knows that if he attacks the UNSC, he's going to be in for a really bad day. Plus, as I've said earlier, we need allies for the upcoming war against the Empire. What better way to win over an enemy than by hiring them and pointing them at another enemy?"

Anders thought the matter over. "You're playing a very dangerous game, Lasky. However, given that you're already playing such a game with ONI, I realize that trying to dissuade you would be a futile endeavor. That being said, what do you intend to do when it comes to Cutter?"

"I'm not going to punish him, if that's what you're wondering. Cutter did the best he could in a very serious situation. Plus, if your slipspace packets are worth a damn, which they are, he should be commended for preventing the Covenant from gaining access to the dreadnoughts at the Shield World you guys followed them to. That being said, I do intend to find and bring him back home. The man deserves a hero's welcome, and Hood's regretted what happened since 2530. It's about time he got some closure."

Anders nodded. "Sounds like it. So, now that you and I have had that discussion, what do you need me to do. I'm ready to offer my expertise wherever you need it."

Lasky smiled. "That's kind of you, Anders. For now, given your fields of expertise, I'm going to assign you to the Infinity's science lab. Dr. Halsey heads the science division now."

Anders frowned. "Dr. Halsey and I -"

"- didn't have a good working relationship," Lasky finished. "I know. Halsey told me herself on one of her off days. That being said, you're going to have to get used to the fact that you'll be working with her while you're onboard the Infinity. Can you do that?"

Anders frowned, then nodded. "I can. I guess I'd be ungrateful if I didn't say that I'd love to be onboard the ship."

"Good. I'll have a few men escort you to your quarters. Once you're ready, report to Dr. Halsey. Dismissed!" Anders stood, then left the room.

"She seems like a nice person," Bastila noted. "A bit eager to study the Forerunners technology, but then again, we need that kind of eagerness if we're going to make any sort of headway here."

"My thoughts exactly," Revan said. "That being said, there might be some potential friction between Halsey and Anders. I sensed that they didn't have the best of relationships."

I'm well aware of that, Lasky said. I wasn't lying when I said Halsey told me all about it. If you ask me, we need people like Anders. According to her own reports, she's one of the few people that can activate Forerunner technology. That makes her a strategic asset, and is yet another reason we can't let ONI get its claws onto her.

"You got that right," Bastila said. "That being said, we need to get you up to speed when it comes to using Battle Meditation. If the Cylons do intend to attack, such an ability will allow you and I to sway any battle in our favor. They won't know what's coming."

Maybe… but I'm also worried about the Colonials. Once everything falls into place, there's a lot of shit that's going to go down. Either way, I've got to get to work making sure everything goes off without a hitch. If Charet's about to send that information off, it means we need to be ready for any reprisal.

"Then we'll leave you to it," Revan said. "May the Force be with us."

Same here. Lasky felt the two Force Ghost's presences recede into the background. Well, looks like I've got work to do. "Cortana, can you speak with Roland and Gabriela. We need to be ready for the Colonials if they decide to attack us."

"Let me guess, they might not take well to what we're going to be sharing with them." Cortana guessed.

"Pretty much. Worst case scenario is that they order the entirety of Colonial fleet to attack the UEG. In the event they do that, I need you to be able to shut down all of the Colonial's ships before they can cause any severe damage. If the Cylons invade, I'll need you, Roland and the other AIs in the fleet to attack their Hybrids in cyberspace."

"You got it," Cortana said. "I just hope we don't have to do what we might need to do."

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst..."

Once the doors closed behind her, Anders frowned. Greal, so I'm under the command of the one person that allowed ONI to abduct me the first time around. She huffed. Life's dandy, ain't it. Still... I suppose there's no choice in the matter. Might as well talk to her. She shook the thoughts out of her mind, then began to make her way to Halsey's lab.

Before long, she was outside of the lab, where two Spartan IVs stood. "Name and intentions," one of the Spartan-IVs asked.

"Dr. Ellen Anders. I would like to speak wtih Dr. Halsey."

"Wait one." The Spartan keyed his earpiece. "Ma'am, we have a Dr. Anders that wants to speak to you. Do you wish to speak to her...? Yes, ma'am. Understood, ma'am." He turned to Anders. "Dr. Halsey will see you now."

"Thank you." The door opened and Anders strode inside. Wow... Halsey's got quite the lab. There's more equipment in here than I had in the Spirit of Fire's observation deck.

Before long. Dr. Halsey came into sight. Compared to the last time Anders saw her, Halsey looked positively ancient. Halsey, for her part, smiled. "Dr. Anders," she said. "I heard about what happened at the new Halo. How do you feel?"

Typical, Anders thought. She sees me after thirty nine years away, and she wants to know how I feel. "Fine. You look decrepit, Halsey."

"The wonderful aftereffects of a stressful life," Halsey said; sarcasm dripped off her words. "The way I hear it, you had a bit of a fun time yourself."

"Oh, sure. Nothing like being abducted to work for the doctor that recommended you to ONI, before being sent off on another ship to find a weakness in the Covenant's battleplans, leading to the discovery of a Forerunner Shield World. Oh, wait... I'm sorry. Said Shield World was destroyed when the Covenant tried to use the Forerunner Dreadnoughts there to wipe out our species, leading us to spend thirty nine years in cryogenic suspsension. You're welcoime, Dr. Halsey!"

To Anders' surprise, Halsey didn't react with her ususal biting sarcasm and wit. Instead, her body seemed to slump, like strings had been cut. "In hindsight, that was a... poorly calculated decision on my part. However, it seems as though my poor decision led to you keeping the war from ending before we found Halo."

"That's the one good thing that came out of this. Then we ran into the Banished. Pleasant bunch by most standards."

"Indeed," Halsey said. If she picked up on Anders' sarcasm, she didn't show it. "That being said, I think we can agree to put aside our differences for the time being. If the Empire wins, then all of our arugments, personal and otherwise, will be rendered moot. Wouldn't you agree?"

Anders sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, Dr. Halsey was right. "I suppose we can do that for the time being. I still plan to talk to you about all that."

"And I look forwards to it."

Anders frowned. "Speaking of which, what happened to your arm?"

Halsey looked at the robotic limb. "Gunshot wound, courtesy of Palmer, the former Commander of the Spartan Corps forces on the ship. Jul 'Mdama, the leader of the Storm Covenant, abducted me when it happened, so he lopped off my arm and bandaged it. I've got a cloned arm growing back at Earth, so this robotic prosthesis will do for now."

"I see. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Halsey said. "I'm alive, and that's what counts."

The door hissed opened, with Olivia stepping inside. Seeing the two, she frowned. "Uh... I can come back at a later time if you want."

"No, no, that's all right." Halsey said. "I was just speaking with our newest colleague here. Dr. Anders, meet my protege, Dr. Olivia. Olivia, this is Dr. Anders, one of the finest minds when it comes to xenoarchaeology."

Now that's a complete one eighty from her ususal demeanor, Anders thought. There most be something special about Olivia. She shook the hand Olivia offered. "Pleased to meet you. I didn't know Dr. Halsey had a protege."

"I'm a new hire here," Olivia said. "Halsey recruited me for my experience in genetics and bioengineering."

"You don't seem to be from around here. Where you from?"

"Kamino," Olivia said. "It's in the Andromeda Galaxy."

Anders looked at Halsey. "I'm surprised it took this long for you to find someone worthy of your intelligence."

"Most people tend to stay away fromt he scary old lady that made the Spartans," Halsey countered. "Having a protege that knows what that's like is a nice change of pace. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to discuss a few more thngs with you, Dr. Anders." She turned to leave, then said, "Also, Ellen. It's good to have you back."

I guess it is, Anders thought.

. . .

At Caprica, President Adar was mired in the usual bureaucracy once more. A President's job is never finished, he thought. Just when you think you're done for the day, someone else plops more paperwork down on your desk.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. It's only gotten worse since the UEG showed up and began doing what it's been doing. Ever since they've arrived, I've been showered with complaints from Gemenon, Tauron, Sagitarron, Scorpia and a few other Colonies. The religious fundamentalists in those colonies are not happy with what they've been told.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Adar said, then glanced up from his desk. Secretary Carver walked inside, sat down at the chair before the desk. "Carver. How's it going?"

"Fine," Carver said. "Aside from the fundamentalists having the mother of all meltdowns. You'd think that they'd want war against the UEG."

Adar sighed. "Unfortunately, it seems that way. Some fundamentalists can't get it through their thick skulls that not everything lines up with their beliefs. The UEG's arrival and the presence of Humans in another galaxy have thrown everything we know to be true out the metaphorical window."

"Tell me about it. That said, I wanted to tell you, sir, that I'm with you should the others decide to take a dive off the deep end and tell the UEG to frak off. I even had a talk with Roslin and some of your staff over the past few days."

"What did they say?" Adar asked.

"That they think that you've handled the situation quite well, all things considered. Roslin was especially impressed; she kept on saying that your handling of the situation is exactly how a Presdient should manage things. A lot of the staff are willing to go along with you if everything goes to hell and back."

Adar smiled. At least not everyone's abandoned reason for madness. "I take it Danvers and Cassandra are chomping at the bit for war."

"Pretty much. They say that, if you don't take any further action against the UEG, they'll call for a vote of no-confidence in your leadership. Given how many of the other representatives want to teach the UEG a lesson, I'd say they've got a good chance to win the vote."

Adar sighed. "I suspected as much. I've done all I can to hold them back, but even then, I feared it wasn't enough. If that's what they intend to do, then when they call for the vote of no-confidence, I'll make it clear that I intend to resign should they succeed in getting the votes needed to throw me out of office." He rubbed his face. "To be fair, I was quite tired of being President all the time. I think I could use a well deserved rest from public service."

"Me too. I took the liberty of informing the others. Most of your staff have agreed to resign from their posts if the religious fanatics get their say in the matter."

"Sounds like loyalty still means something in this day and age," Adar said. "Carver, I must say, ever since I took the oath of office, you've been an excellent secretary and a good man. I can't think of anyone else I'd want to work with in a political situation. If things do go to hell, I want you to know that you've been a good friend to the very end."

Carver smiled. "The same for you, Mr. President. Something tells me that, in the end, we'll be vindicated, and the religious fanatics in the Colonies will look like fools." He glanced at the clock. "I shouldn't keep you any longer. I hope you have a pleasant Armistice Day."

"You too," Adar said. He rubbed at his hair once the door closed. Armistice Day, he thought. My father fought in the Cylon War. When this is all over, I'd best pay a visit to the cemetery he's buried in. I've been long overdue for one anyways.

He was just about to tend to that matter when the phone rang. Picking it up, he said, "President Adar here."

"President Adar, it's me," came Charet's voice.

Adar sat upright. "President Charet. It's good to hear your voice. I take it this is more than just a courtesy call?"

"It is, but I want to get the small things out of the way first. How are things where you're at?"

Adar smiled. "The usual. A lot of buthurt people demanding me to give an official reprimand to your government for the 'lies that our brothers and sisters from Earth have spouted.' It's mostly the religiously fundamentalist Colonies that are protesting the most. The rest seem to be quite satisfied with stronger relations with the UEG."

"I figured as much. Unfortunately for those fanatics, they're about to get another crippling blow to their religious beliefs. I'll have a courier come by a few minutes after this call to give you information that you need to see. I can't say much more, as I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say this. Be prepared for a potential coup once this information leaks."

Adar nodded. "All right. We've had a number of blows to our religious beliefs. Personally, I don't mind, but I will take your warning in stride. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Charet said. "I need to go and handle a few other affairs now. Chiarman Lasky also wished to speak with you on another matter. Take care now."

"You too, Charet," Adar said. The phone line clicked, and Adar returned the phone to its receptacle. I wonder what it is that we're about to learn now, he thought. If Charet wouldn't divulge any details over the phone, it must be serious.

The phone rang again, and he picked it up again. "Yes?"

"Chairman Lasky here. Mind if I speak with you?"

Adar sat up. "Of course. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if we could borrow Admiral Graystone for a joint operations project of sorts."

Adar frowned. "You'd also need to talk to Admirals Nagala and Corman to get permission, but I'm game to hear what you want to ask me."

"Thank you. I take it you're aware of the state of affairs in the Andromeda Galaxy, yes?"

Adar nodded. "Yes, I'm aware. I read the entire file on the Galactic Empire and New Republic, formerly the Rebel Alliance. I'm sure that Corman and Nagala have read it as well. Why do you ask?"

"Because of what we need to do over there," Lasky said. "As you're no doubt aware, the UEG and UNSC disapprove of the Galactic Empire's politics, aside from those related to military matters. As such, we've decided to assist the New Republic it it's efforts to overthrow what Charet and the UEG Senate considers an illegitimate government. This means that we'll need to get munitions, supplies and bodies to the New Republic."

Adar instantly knew what Lasky was saying. "You want to borrow Admiral Graystone in order to help the New Republic get ready for a war."

"Exactly," Lasky said. "Your Battlestars don't fit with the UNSC's combat doctrine, but they do fit with that of the New Republic's. Given that Admiral Graystone, if scuttlebutt is correct, designed the Mercury-class Battlestars, he might be able to lend his expertise to them in designing and refitting their ships. What do you say?"

Adar leaned back. "I must admit, it sounds… tempting. So much so, in fact, that I think you've sold me on that request. I'll speak with Admirals Nagala and Corman about it later, but I think they'd approve. The public hasn't approved of the Galactic Empire at all."

Lasky seemed surprised. "Really? I thought they'd approve of it initially."

"Not really, Lasky. We're a freedom loving people, even if the religious fanatics out there throw a hissy fit at times. An empire like the one at Andromeda isn't something the public would approve of. If things go pear shaped over here, and you guys win, then I can say that we'd be more than happy to beat up some Imperials."

"Sounds good," Lasky said. "I'll leave you to it now. Take care, Adar."

"You too," Adar said. He put the phone down. Now it's time to wait for that info to arrive. He leaned back, content to wait as long as possible.

He didn't need to wait long.

There was a knock on the door, then it opened to permit a young aide inside. "Sir, we had some information come in over the wireless. I've transcribed it to a data disk." He handed Adar an octagonal disk.

Adar took the disk from the aide's hand. "Thank you, son. I'll look through this data disk and see what it has to tell us." The aide nodded, then left the room. All right then… time to see what secrets you hold. He pressed a button on his computer, then slid the disk into an open slot.

The data drive hummed and whirred for a few moments. Information was promptly displayed on the computer screen. There we go. Time to read. He leaned forwards, then began to read the information Charet had sent him. Pouring himself some coffee, he grabbed the cup and moved to take a sip.

The cup never reached his lips. Adar was so engrossed in what he was reading that the mug stopped short of his lips. His eyes widened fractionally as he read several more lines. He absentmindedly moved to put his cup back onto the table, then stopped. Shock hammered his mind as he read the final results of the report.

A loud clatter from his table shook him back into the real world. Jumping, he found coffee spilled all over his desk. Ah, damnit all! He snatched a few paper towels, sponged up the spilled coffee, then leaned back in his seat.

By the Lords of Kobol, he thought. This is… this is… unprecedented. I have to speak with Carver and the others about this! He reached for the phone, hammered in a series of numbers. "Mr. Ungala, inform Vice President Carter and Secretary Roslin that I need to meet with them in the next forty five minutes."

"Yes, Mr. President," Ungala said. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"Not at this moment no." Keying in another number set, he said, "Carver, have a courier ship send a message to Colonial Fleet HQ at Picon. Tell Corman and Nagala that they need to speak with me immediately. Have Graystone, Baltar and Adama come as well."

"I'll send word immediately," Carver said. "Do you want me to come?"

"Given the importance of this meeting, yes."

"Understood," Carver said. "I'll be over shortly."

"Thank you," Adar said. He slammed the phone onto the table, then began to wait…

Within forty five minutes, all of the people he needed to speak with had gathered in his office. Admiral Corman glanced at the others, then focused his attention on Adar. "Mr. President? Is everything all right? You seemed… hurried."

"Tell me about it," Baltar said. "I barely had enough time to throw on a suit and come here. I even had to leave my love interest behind. What's going on?"

"I'm sure the President will tell us what we need to know," Adama said. He glanced at Adar. "Are you?"

"Yes," Adar said. "I'm sorry, I…" He shook his head. "What I've learned has shaken me to the very core of my being, and forced me to confront a lot of things I thought were true." He took a deep breath. "I received a report from President Charet. They found Kobol."

That caught everyone's attention. "Kobol?" Admiral Graystone asked. "You mean the UNSC has found the homeworld of the Twelve Colonies?"

"Am I hearing things right?" Carter, a middle aged man with graying hair, asked. "Did you say the UNSC found Kobol?"

Adar nodded. "They have."

Everyone looked at each other. "That's… tremendous news!" Baltar said. "I've always wondered where Kobol was. Perhaps the UNSC found evidence of our potentially shared origins there."

"Perhaps," Corman said. "I'm not that big into our religious beliefs. I'm more of a 'here and now' sort of person."

"Same here," Carter said. "I don't put much stock into our religion nowadays."

"Agreed," Nagala said. "That being said, I take it there's more to the tale than we ever realized, yes?"

"There is," Adar said. "Charet's report made it clear. One of the UNSC's survey teams, she wouldn't clarify as to which one, found Kobol, but found out something odd. Here a few photographs of what the survey team took." He picked up a few photos, handed them to the others.

Nagala and the others quickly looked at the photos, then back at Adar. "Is… is this for real?" Corman asked. "Did they really find this? What's going on in these photos?"

"It looks like they found some kind of underwater complex," Graystone said. "If I had to guess, I'd say that they found some of this 'Forerunner' technology they kept mentioning. Did they?"

"Yes," Adar said, "but that's not the most important part. The important part is that they were able to confirm their suspicions about Kobol. According to them, Kobol is what the Forerunners call a 'Shield World' and what the UNSC/UEG refers to as a 'Dyson Sphere.' I take it you're familiar with those terms, yes?"

"I've read up on the theoretical literature for that form of tech, yes. They're hollow spheres that can…" He trailed off, the implications finally being considered. "What a minute… are you saying that -?"

"-that the UEG was right about Humanity's supposed origins?" Adar finished. He nodded. "Yes… they were right all along. According to the report that Charet shared with me, the Shield Worlds were created by the Forerunners to protect other species from the activation of something they called the 'Halo Array.' Whatever it was, it wiped the galaxy clean of all life, all but those in the Shields Worlds that is. Once the Array finished firing, the species inside of these Shield Worlds were reseeded onto their homeworlds."

"And let me guess, Humanity's homeworld is actually Earth?" Adama asked.

"Yes," Adar said. "Records that the survey team recovered state that 95% of all humans that were in the shield worlds were relocated to Earth, or Erde-Tyrene as it was referred to back then. Only 5% were relocated elsewhere, and Charet is convinced that we're that 5%. That's the report in a nutshell."

The room fell silent as the others considered the implications. "So…" Roslin, who'd been silent until now, said. "The UEG was right all along. We are descended from these 'ancient humans', who came from Earth." She laughed. "How ironic. We've heard the mythical tales of Earth. It never occurred to us that we actually came from Earth."

"I know what you mean," Carter said. "Still, to find out that, all this time, Earth was our true homeworld…" he trailed off and shook his head. "Now that's one hell of a twist for our history."

"It is," Baltar agreed. "I never thought that such a thing was possible, but I suppose it is. I guess that means that we should look at the UEG in a new light."

"We should," Nagala agreed. "That being said, the Quorum's going to raise high hell over this. I wouldn't be surprised if they called for our resignations before the day was out."

"They won't want to get rid of the military's leadership," Adama countered, "not yet at least. It takes a lot of time for an Admiral to reach the necessary experience to head Colonial Fleet. However, I can say that they'll try to replace you, Adar, if you go public with this."

"The past few days have forced me to confront a lot of what I thought to be true and make new assessments," Adar said. "That being said, I won't go silent on this. If anyone tries to silence me on this matter, I'll make sure the truth gets out, one way or another.

"You say they'll try to replace me; I say, let them try. I don't know about the rest of you, but I say that now that we know the truth, the UEG is in the right here. That also means that the galaxy is a dark, terrible place, and that we need to work with the UEG if we're going to survive out here. What do the rest of you say?"

The others looked among themselves, then back at Adar. "I say that you've got the right idea," Adama said. "It's become obvious that we can't survive on our own out here, not with threats like the Storm Covenant, Prometheans and the Empire in the Andromeda Galaxy. We're going to have to join up with the UEG if we want to survive."

"The Quorum's not going to make it easy on us," Baltar warned the others. "Once they hear about this, there's going to be riots in the streets, and I'm not sure people like myself could calm them down."

"My thoughts exactly," Carver said. "If the religious nutcases attempt to throw us out, I'll step down willingly and defect to the UEG."

"I think all of us will be defecting at some point," Adar said. "What about you, Admirals?"

"Given that any attempt to force the UEG to ratify the Articles of Colonization will be illegal and immoral, I say that I'll defect as well," Corman said. "However, I will not do so until they give the order. I intend to stick to my post to the very end."

"As do I," Adama said.

"Same," Graystone said.

"Agreed," Nagala said. "They'll have to pick interim replacements as such, which should give the UEG an advantage if the other Colonies want war."

The others looked at Carter. "I probably won't resign when things hit the dirt. If Danvers or Cassandra end up pulling a vote of no-confidence, we'll need an interim leader until things get sorted out. That being said, if the Quorum votes to go to war, I won't be able to stop them."

"I understand," Adar said. "And I think you're right. The religious fanatics have been somewhat appeased by some of your actions. Plus, you're a level-headed man. You can get things done.

"As for the rest of us, we'd better get to work setting this all up," Adar said. "I'll go ahead and make this known to the Quorum. Before that, we'll need to pack our things and get ready to go. Good luck to us all. Before we go, there's something I wanted to ask you two Admirals."

Corman and Nagala paused, then turned to face Adar. "You mean if Lasky can have his request?"

"You know of it already?"

"Yes," Corman said. "He called the two of us as soon as he finished his call with you. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it. The chance to look at new tech is an opportunity that Garystone would fall ass over teakettle for."

"Then it's settled," Adar said. "Graystone, you hear that?"

"Yep," Graystone said. "Time for me to pack my bags. Good thing I'll be gone before this shit begins. Good day, gentlemen."

"You too," Corman said. With those final words, everyone in the room left.

Inside the Forum, people gathered for the start of the meeting. It's packed today, Edward noted. I wonder why the President wishes to make this public, but I'll trust his judgment.

Cassandra, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. "So, what's going on?" Cassandra asked. "I heard that we were called to a meeting."

"Perhaps Adar has finally come to his senses," Danvers said. "I've been pressuring him to issue a statement condemning the UEG's blatant disregard of our history and the truth. Perhaps he's finally decided to come around."

"I'm not so sure," Edward said. "To be fair, even if we did issue a statement against the UEG, that's the best we can do at this time. They haven't declared war on us, or given us a reasonable excuse to do so."

"You and your laws!" Danvers sneered. "Some days, I wonder if you Librans can even see past the bridge of your nose."

Edward was about to bite back when Centares said, "Danvers, that's not true, and you know it! Edward is pointing out the fact that even the Articles of Colonization forbid this sort of misbehavior. IF you keep this up, you will have to be removed from this meeting. Am I clear, Mr. Danvers?"

Danvers frowned. Ever since the UEG's arrival, he had a growing dislike of anyone that thought the UEG was being reasonable. He wasn't dumb enough to be thrown out, though. "Fine," he growled, "but if this doesn't go how it should, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thank you," Centares said. "Now hush. I think Adar is about to arrive. Camera crews, begun rolling the film." The crews nodded, then they fired up the cameras.

At that moment, President Adar walked inside. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome," he said. "Today, just before lunchtime, I received a message from President Charet of the United Earth Government. They have found the location of our homeworld Kobol."

Silence reigned in the room as those gathered. "Yes, you heard me correctly," Adar said. "The United Earth Goverment has found Kobol. Charet also informed me that they did a survey of the surface and found the City of the Gods."

Startled mutters and whispers filled the Forum's chamber. Danvers smiled in a predatory fashion. "Good. Perhaps they'll admit that they were wrong all along."

"That would be nice," Cassandra said.

"I'm not so certain," Henvar said. "Let's wait and see what happens." Centares merely nodded.

Adar cleared his throat, then continued speaking. "Many of you likely believe that the UEG has finally found evidence of our shared heritage, and that they really are from Kobol, like we are. That, however, would be a half-truth, and recently I've found myself quite irritated with half-truths. The truth of the matter is that they discovered that Kobol is what they call a 'Shield World.'

"'What does that mean?' you might ask. Well, this is what it means. The United Earth Government was right all along: we came from Earth, rather than Kobol."

The entire Forum chamber seemed to explode. A collective shout of 'WHAT!' erupted in the room, before everyone began asking and shouting questions. Even the journalists in the room were asking questions. "Mr. President, what do you mean by that statement?" one journalist tried to ask.

Adar held up his hands and remained silent, the universal signal that said 'silence please.' Everyone fell silent, after which Adar continued to speak. "I know of this because of a report that she sent to me a few hours ago. In that time, we've run the information with our analysts to make sure that it was not fabricated. After we confirmed it's veracity, I decided to hold a meeting with the Forum, a meeting that we are conducting now. First, I would like the representatives of the Colonies to read the documents that she sent me."

Twelve men went to the members of the Quorum and distributed copes of the information that Charet had sent Adar. All of them read through the information slowly and carefully. Some of the representatives at the meeting put their papers down calmly, their faces masks of contemplation.

Others, however, threw their papers down in anger. "This must be a fabrication!" Danvers roared. "This cannot be true! The UEG is claiming that we're from their homeworld?! Please tell me this is a joke!"

"Our analysts have checked the information over a dozen times," one of the men said. "We've confirmed that the information in the documents is accurate. Kobol is not the homeworld of our species. It was merely one of it's sanctuaries during the firing of whatever this 'Halo Array' was."

Centares folded his hands on his podium. "It makes sense," He said.

"Not you too!" Cassandra shouted.

"Yes, me too, and if you allow me to explain, I will tell you why." Cassandra fell silent. "Good. As you are all aware, one of the greatest pieces of evidence we have for our religion is the lack of fossil evidence before four thousand years ago. It's very likely that was when we were allowed to traverse the surface of Kobol."

"I find that hard to believe," Henvar said. "How could it be true if the Lords of Kobol created us?"

"I'm wondering the same thing," Orwell added. "I cannot believe this information to be true unless I see it with my own eyes." Tanner nodded in agreement.

"My thoughts exactly," Julia, Scorpio's representative, said. "This cannot be true."

"Well, I think it is," James said. "The UEG has been upfront with us ever since First Contact. Are we going to go back on our word with them and say that what they're telling us isn't true? I think not."

"Then you're a fool," Gerry, Aquila's representative, growled. "It is faith in the Lords of Kobol that keeps my people together. Without that faith, we would all be dashed to splinters against the rocks the waves of our world beat against."

"Someone's speaking sense," Patricia, Canceron's representative, said.

"Gentlemen!" Edward called out. "Let's not allow this debate to devolve into a shouting match! We're here to discuss how to resolve this situation, not act like a bunch of teenagers having a temper tantrum because we were denied something we want!" Everyone fell silent. "Now, what do we do about this?"

"I say that we declare war on the UEG," Danvers said. "Cassandra and I have been discussing this with our associates, and we believe we know why the UEG dares slander us. They intend to invade the Twelve Colonies and take over our society."

"Now that's stupid and you know it!" James shouted.

"Is it? All along, they've flaunted the fact that they are superior straight to our faces. They've also called into question our history and our culture time and again. They have also attempted to use false reasons to offer us protection. Why else would they do this unless they wanted to invade and conquer us."

"He does make a fair point," Henvar added.

"I'm not entirely sure that is the case," Edward said. "None of our laws covers this situation. The UEG has presented evidence to us that our history might not be entirely correct. Personally, I think we should accept this evidence at face value, especially since our own analysts have proven to us that this information isn't fabricated."

"I find that difficult to believe," Patricia growled.

"Then I believe it is time that we do this," Danvers said. "I say that we hold a vote of no-confidence against President Adar. It's clear that he's bought into the UEG's lies, and I wouldn't be surprised if he says that we should work with the UEG, rather than bring them into the fold."

"I second the motion!" Cassandra said.

Adar sighed. "All in favor, raise a hand." Eight hands went into the air. "All against, raise a hand." Only three did. "The motion is accepted. We will hold a vote of no confidence in two hours. Make your choices then, as once you do, there's no turning back. The meeting is on hold for that time period." He tapped the gavel against it's strike plate.

. . .

Unbeknownst to the Colonials, Lasky, Charet, Cole, Thel and the members of HIGHCOM had seen the entire meeting unfold. Inside the meeting room, Lasky shook his head. "Well, that's not good," he said. "Looks like we've got more trouble in our future."

"Tell me about it," Parangosky said. "I had my agents hack into the networks of each of the Twelve Colonies. A majority of the people on the worlds Gemenon, Picon, Tauron, Virgon, Scorpia, Aerilon, Aquila, Saggitaron and Canceron have expressed disapproval of the United Earth Government's actions since First Contact. Libran has opted to stay out of things, and the only worlds that support us are Caprica and Leonis."

"In other words, we've got the majority of the Twelve Colonies dead set against us," Lasky summarized.

"Not quite. I turns out, with the statistics, we did some digging and we discovered something strange. Most of the votes are from people that either don't exist, or actually have a positive opinion of us. The religious fundamentalists on those Colonies are inflating their voter base to appear larger than they actually are."

"Then how many people actually like us?" Lasky asked.

"Based on our intelligence, around 60% of the Twelve Colonies are supportive of the UEG and UNSC. The remaining Colonials are against us. We've effectively polarized Colonial society."

"We did expect that to happen," Lasky said at length. "With that said, I think it's time that we begin moving our forces." He turned to Cole. "I want you to split our fleet into twelve battle groups of thirteen and send them off to each of the Colonies."

"Understood," Cole said.

"I will instruct Fleetmaster 'Volam to do the same," Thel said.

"Should I have the Marines get their ground forces ready?" Hogan asked.

"Yes," Lasky said. "Dellert, Strauss, you should do what Hogan's doing. Something tells me we'll have to deal with an angry populace once this is all over, supportive or not. I'll have some ships from UEG territory head here and provide reinforcements when possible."

"I'll get the CAA Marshals on the line too," Strauss added. "They're experts at keeping civilian populations from doing anything that's stupid. We'll need them once the Colonies have quieted down."

"Good. Gentlemen, I will say that I wish that it didn't have to come to this. We've been reasonable and polite with the Twelve Colonies, but they have refused to listen to reason and logic. As such, we've now been driven to our last course of action, and that is war.

"However, we will not strike first. Let the Quorum cast their vote of no confidence against President Adar and his staff. Let them come and fire at our ships uselessly. All that will prove is that we took the moral high ground, and that they have no one to blame but themselves. Perhaps when the religious fundamentalists have been told to shut up and sit down, they'll listen to us."

"I couldn't have put it better myself," Hogan said. "About time we told these cry babies to shut up and take their lumps like a man. It'll feel good to prevent another war from happening again."

Once the others had left, Charet turned to Lasky. "Well, at least I can say that we tried."

"That we did," Lasky said. "And no one can say we didn't do otherwise."

"Absolutely not," Cole agreed. "I just hope Colonial Fleet hasn't been fully infected with the same religious zeal."

"Me too."

. . .

The Quorum is filled with fools, Corman thought as he looked at the feeds being televised at Colonial Fleet HQ. Got told the truth, and they refused to believe it. Typical. You throw an earth shattering discovery at them, and they bury their heads in the sand.

"What a bunch of idiots," Nagala grumbled. "We showed them the truth, and they refuse to believe it. I guess it was just too much for me to believe that they would see reason and logic."

"You can't entirely blame them, Nagala. When new and strange things are thrown at people, they cling to whatever is familiar. That normally wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that the Quorum wants to change the narrative. That's not right."

"Indeed," Nagala said. He put down his glass and looked at the TV screen. "We're going to have to do something about this. The Quorum likely knows that we support Adar in this endeavor. They'll try to replace us."

"And I have a contingency plan for that," Corman said. "The good news is that not everyone in Colonial Fleet believes the lies that Danvers and his band of scum and villainy have spouted to them. Rear Admiral Belzen is with us, as is a good chunk of Colonial Fleet. I've also decided to transfer Adama from the Galactica to Ragnar Anchorage."

"That old junk heap of a space station? I'm surprised you moved him there. Why?"

"To secure it in case any trouble happens," Corman said. "The nebula there plays hell with the DRADIS systems of our ships, making it a good rallying point. Plus, our Battlestars can dock to the station and get ammo and supplies from it. He griped about it, but agreed that we needed to secure Ragnar Anchorage in case any shit goes down. Besides, you of all people should know that Admiral Graystone's turned the station from an old 'juink heap' as you've put it into a fully functional space station wtih the latest tech."

"That's... a fair point," Nagala said. "Either way, that's good news. How many other ships in the fleet are we looking at?"

"Around fifty Battlestars and a hundred other ships have agreed to side with us. The other twenty five ships are made of the Manticore IIs, Adamant IIs, Minerva IIs and Artemis IIs that Admiral Graystone designed. We've got quite a few people on our side, and Graystone makes excellent ships."

Nagala smiled. "Good. That means that we've got another advantage that we can use against the religious fanatics. They will attempt to order us to fire on the UEG and UNSC."

"To which we will refuse," Corman said. "I'll even announce our defection to the UEG and UNSC. I'd rather do what's right than obey a group of fools and madmen like a Cylon obeying orders."

"My thoughts exactly." Nagala looked at the clock. "Well, I need to get back to the Atlanta and make preparations. See you when this shitstorm starts, Corman."

"You too," Corman said.

. . .

Looks like Admiral Graystone did a good job keeping this place in good condition, Adama thought. On the screen above his head, he could see the space station that was safely nestled in Ragnar's atmosphere. "Come left fifteen degrees," he ordered.

"Left, fifteen degrees!" Tigh ordered. Nearby, Gaeta complied, his hands gripped a control knob firmly. The Galactica slowly turned through the tunnel that served as the only safe route through the storms that plagued Ragnar, the gas giant that rested at the edge of Helios Delta.

The station itself was in plain sight. True to Adama's words, the station was in better condition than he'd last seen it. Lights now shone across the facility, and the habitation rings had been fully completed. The decrepit exterior now looked clean, while parts that were once on the verge of faluire now looked brand new. "Looks like Graystone did a good job keeping Ragnar Anchorage functional."

"He's done more than that," Lee, also on the bridge, said. "From the looks of it, he's turned Ragnar Anchorage into a fully functional space station. I wouldn't be surprised if he's installed sublight thrusters and an FTL Drive."

"That's Admiral Graystone for you," Adama agreed. "If he sees an improvement that can be made, he implements it, no matter how much money it costs. He told me how much it cost to get hte place up to speed."

"How much?"

"Around sixty million qubits," Adama stated.

Tigh whistled. "He could've built three new Battlestars with that kind of money. Hopefully his decision to get Ragnar Anchorage up and running was a smart one."

Adama's reply was cut short by a wireless transmission. "Unidentified ship, this is Rear Admiral Jacobs of Ragnar Anchorage. Identify yourself immediately or you will be fired upon. You have thirty seconds to comply."

Adama picked up the phone, then keyed in the required codes. "This is Commander Adama of the Battlestar Galactica. I'm here on Admiral Corman and Nagala's orders. We're to secure the station and use it as a fallback point for Colonial Fleet in the event of a Cylon attack."

There was a pause, then Jacob said, "Understood, Commander Adama. Your codes have been verified. We also received orders from Admiral Corman to be prepared for the unlawful conflict that is to come. You have OPCOM of the facility. Approach Docking Tube 35-Beta and prepare to receive ammunition and supplies. We've also got orders to transfer you to the Theseus."

Tigh frowned. "That's a Mercury-class Battlestar. Why would you be reassigned to that ship?"

"No idea," Adama said. "Can you clarify, sir? I wasn't aware of any transfer orders."

"This just came in from the top. Admiral Corman wants you to command the Theseus, as the Galactica isn't combat capable at this time. Once the conflict's over, expect a transfer back to the Galactica. Understood?"

"Understood," Adama said. He turned to Tigh. "Let's get the ship docked, then you and the others will come with me to the Theseus."

"So say we all," Tigh said.

. . .

Two hours later, all of the members of the Quorum were inside once more. So far, public reaction to the vote of no confidence had been good, which had pleased Danvers. Arranging a series of papers on his desk, he said, "The Quorum would like to call for a vote of no-confidence in President Richard Adar's ability to lead the Twelve Colonies."

"The motion is accepted," Vice President Carter said. He leaned in towards Adar. "I'm sorry it's come to this," he whispered, his apology heartfelt. "I never wanted to do this to you, and I wish there was another way. Could you forgive this humble friend of yours?"

Adar nodded. "There's nothing to forgive, Carter. You're innocent of what the Quorum intends to do. It's Danvers and Cassandra that should be feeling regret and remorse. They're about to destroy our nation."

"I agree. Well… let's get this over with. Not much we can do." Carter stood upright. "All in favor of removing President Adar from office, raise your hand." Nine hands went up into the air. "All not in favor of removing President Adar from office, raise your hand." A dishearteningly small number of hands went up. "The vote passes."

He turned to Adar, a suspicious mist in his eyes. "It is the decision of the Quorum of the Twelve Colonies that President Adar be removed from office, citing numerous failures to lead the Twelve Colonies adequately. Is there something you would like to say, Mr. President, before the removal of your title?"

Adar nodded. "Yes." He stood at the podium. "Many of you likely remember the reason why we created the Articles of Colonization: to not only defend ourselves against the Cylon threat, but to also create a legal framework by which we can induct new members and resolve conflict. As such, it pains me, and angers me, to see that such an agreement has been subverted."

He glared daggers at Danvers and Cassandra. "For a long time, I've worked my hardest to ensure that everyone's voice was heard. What pains me is that the voice of those that believe our religion is the end-all, be-all of our society has spoken far too loudly and strongly. Those that have tried to refute their words have been met with scorn and violence. For a time, I tried to appease them, to convince them to see reason, only to be spat at in the face."

His voice rose to a near-roar. "As such, I will appease them no longer!" He glared at Danvers and Cassandra. "I think that those that refuse to listen to reason, even when presented with evidence, are senile, insane old people… and they can go to hell before I ever apologize to them again! They have subverted the government, ruined any chance of peace with our brothers and sisters from Earth, and now they seek to use the Articles of Colonization and their religion as an excuse to wage war against a government that has fought long and hard for its peace.

"However, I know there are many of you people that want peace with the UEG, that want to live side-by-side with your brothers and sisters from Earth. To those that wish to do so, I beg of you not to listen to the lies and deceit spouted by those that twist religion and faith for their own purposes. I urge you to rise up and show them that you will not tolerate their bullying any longer!

"As for those that have used our religion and faith to commit crimes and suppress the voices of those that speak contrary to what they claim, all I have to say this this. Frak you and your cause! I personally hope the UEG and UNSC send you to hell, where you belong!"

The moment he finished, the Forum Chamber was filled with an uproar. Colonials that had harbored deep-seated resent shouted at those that had twisted their faith and religion to do what they wanted. Danvers looked at Centares and James, only to be met with stony faces. "You've made a foolish decision," James said. "I hope you rot in hell, Danvers."

"That day won't be coming," Danvers said. "Once this uproar ends, we will begin the process of bringing the UEG into the fold, whether they like it or not. Today will be the start of a glorious campaign against the UEG."

Vice President Carter stood up and hammered the gavel. "Order!" he shouted. "Order in the Forum! We shall have order!"

All the while, Adar walked out of the room, his conscience heavy. It's time to leave, he thought. We have to get to the Infinity before anything else happens. His walk soon turned into a brisk saunter, then an all out sprint as he raced for the nearest landing pad.

Outside, he could see dozens of Raptors landing. Dozens of people clambered inside of each one, all of them members of his staff. "It's about to happen, isn't it?" Roslin asked. "They're gonna vote Carter in and declare war, are they?"

"They are," Adar said. "Have we contacted the Infinity?"

"We just sent a Raptor off with a message for them. If all goes well, they'll get the warning soon. In the meantime, we have to leave right now!"

Adar nodded. "I couldn't agree more!" Before he knew it, he was inside of the Raptor, with the vehicle quickly racing towards the sky…

Back at the Quorum, the hubbub had settled down. "Now that Adar is no longer President, we must confirm who the next President is," Cassandra said. "I nominate Vie President Carter to take over his position. He's had positive dealings with us in the past, and he is popular with the people."

"I second the motion," Danvers said. "Carter, are you ready to take the vote of office?"

"I am," Carter said. The words dropped from his lips like lead bars.

"Then repeat after me. I, Vice President Daniel Carter…"

. . .

Over Picon, Lasky watched as Adar ran out of the building. It has begun, he thought. The Quorum has foolishly chosen to go to war with us. Now it is time to go to the final courtroom of presidents and tyrants.

Charet and Thel, who were also present, frowned. "So it begins," Charet said. "It's sad to see things coming to this in the end. I guess it's time to put down the pen and pick up the gun."

"Indeed," Thel said. "The hand of friendship has become the fist of war. " He glanced at Lasky. "The ships in Fleetmaster Volam's fleet are in position. Are yours?"

"Cole's informed me that we're ready," Lasky said. Once Colonial Fleet comes towards us, we'll be ready to take them out."

"Then I shall leave to coordinate with 'Volam. May fortune favor our actions."

"Agreed," Lasky said.

At that moment, Cortana appeared in the room. "Sir, I've got a flight of Raptors incoming. President Adar is among them. He's requesting a call with you."

"Open a COM link," Lasky said.

"Aye, sir."

There was a crackle, then Adar's voice spoke up. "Chairman Lasky, it's me, Adar. We've got a problem. We -"

"We know," Lasky said. "The Quorum kicked you out of your position as President of the Twelve Colonies."

"How did you know?" Adar asked.

"We bugged the Forum Chambers to keep an eye on things while we were not present. We had a front row seat to the entire debacle in the Forum Chambers. From the looks of it, Carter was shoehorned into the position. I think Danvers and Cassandra are the real powers behind the throne."

"They are," Adar confirmed. "I think they've been conspiring to throw me out of office ever since you people showed up. I'd hoped that they'd listen to reason and logic, but it seems that was never the case. Do you have a plan to counter their plans?"

"We do, Adar. I recommend that you come onboard the Infinity ASAP. We don't want you to get caught in the crossover should a war break out, which I think it will. Lieutenant Murphy from Flight Operations will get you to the ship safely."

"Understood," Adar said. "We'll be there shortly. I just wish it didn't come to this."

"We both know it was gonna come to this," Lasky said. "It was just a matter of time. That said, I have to get ready for the battle that's to come. Safe travels, Adar. Chairman Lasky over and out." He cut the COM, then turned to Cortana. "Inform Cole of the situation that's going on. Have the Infinity and all ships in the fleet go to Condition Red."

"Aye, sir," Cortana said. "I've sent the message to all UNSC ships in the Twelve Colonies. All of them are at Condition Red. Fleetmaster 'Volam has done the same with his ships as well."

"Very good. Do you have that special surprise ready to go too?"

A mischievous grin spread onto Cortana's face. "I've been ready for the past few days. I think it's high time I give the Colonials a little advice when it comes to cybersecurity. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Once they declare war against us, absolutely."

"All right," Cortana said. "Speaking of which…" A live feed from the new network Caprica News appeared.

"It is the decision of the Quorum that a state of war now exists between the United Earth Government and the United Colonies of Kobol," a newscaster said. "The decision came shortly after the Quorum removed President Adar from power in a 9-2-1 vote. Vice President Daniel Carter has been elected as the new President of the United Colonies of Kobol. President Daniels had this to say about the situation."

Daniels' voice came in a moment later. "While I do not approve of what the Quorum has decided, it is the will of the people that war is to be waged against the United Earth Government. There will be a one hour grace period, at the end of which the UEG will be offered generous terms of surrender. If they refuse to the terms of surrender, war will be formally declared, and Colonial Fleet will be required to assault the United Nations Space Command."

"Following this declaration of war, recruitment rates at Colonial Fleet recruiting stations went up by 200%," the newscaster said. "Concerning the declaration of war against the United Earth Government, Quorum Representative James Konard had this to say."

"The declaration of war against the United Earth Government is a perversion of everything the United Colonies of Kobol have stood for," James said. "In making this decision, my colleagues in the Quorum have made a grievous error in judgment, one that I believe will come back to haunt us later on. It is my hope that saner minds will prevail in the end, and that this declaration of war will be rendered null and void. If not, then I fear for the safety of all those living in the Twelve Colonies."

The feed switched back to the newscaster. "Following the declaration of war, the local leaders of each of the Colonies that voted in favor of said declaration promised their support to the newfound war effort. Local leaders at the colonies of Caprica and Leonis have stated their dissatisfaction with the declaration of war, and have informed us that they will not be partaking in the conflict. The representative from Libran has stated that Libran has chosen to remain neutral in this conflict. No official comments from Libran's local leaders was made.

"While this new declaration of war promises shaky times ahead for the Twelve Colonies, it is the opinion of those at Caprica News Network that the official declaration of war is a farce and sham. We will continue to support the official position of Caprica and Leonis, which is to continue the negotiations with the United Earth Government in the hopes of preventing further conflict. I'm Tom Holland of Caprica News Network."

Lasky frowned. "Any recent Colonial Fleet activity following this declaration of war?"

"Long range scans picked up various Raptors jumping to the other planets in the Cyrannus System. If I had to guess, sir, the Quorum is issuing orders to Colonial Fleet HQ to begin gathering the ships for war."

"Then it's a good thing I decided to do the same," Lasky said. "I'll head to the bridge immediately. It's time to show the Quorum the error of its ways. Be ready to initiate Operation SHUTDOWN at my command."

"Yes sir," Cortana said…

Up on the bridge of the Infinity, Cole shook his head. "Are those Colonials trying to get themselves killed? None of their ships would be able to stand up to a UNSC ship, let alone the Infinity. And that's not to say about the Arbiter's ships."

"Tell me about it," Roland said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we found out later on that the religious fanatics in the United Colonies inflated how much support they actually had when it comes to this sort of thing. Still, it'll be good to show them the error of their ways."

"Indeed." The doors to the bridge opened. "Chairman Lasky. I take it you saw everything going on?"

"Yep," Lasky said. "The United Colonies have made a tremendous mistake. Cortana's ready to deploy the shutdown command, though I've got a feeling the Cylons will try to exploit that as well. We know they've tried to infiltrate the Infinity multiple times. It'd make sense for them to attack the Twelve Colonies while they're down."

"Agreed. The AIs in the battle groups we launched are prepared for any Cylon cyberattack that may happen. If they try anything, we'll know soon enough." He keyed an intercom, then cleared his throat. "All hands, this is your CO speaking. Go to Condition Red. I repeat: go to Condition Red. Enemy attack imminent."

The announcement was like a bee hive had been stirred. Alarms rang across the ship. "All hands: prepare for combat operations." Gabriela announced over the shipwide PA. "This is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill." Across the ship, Marine and Army fireteams prepared for combat.

"Rear Admiral-117, report to Hangar 21-Delta," Cole said. "Bring Lieutenant Colonel Parisa and Blue Team with you. Cortana, have Fireteam Majestic head to the same hangar bay to enact the Troy Contingency we created for this occasion."

"Aye, sir," Cortana said.

"Why have them go there?" Lasky asked.

"I've got a mission for them," Cole said. "If any of the Cylons attack, we'll need a boarding team to get onboard one of their ships and take it over. Fireteam Majestic completed their boarding training with flying colors. As for Chief and Parsa, they'll go to ground and capture the Quorum."

Lasky nodded as Cole's logic made itself clear. "Good idea. We'll need to capture one of their ships and see how far along they've gotten since the Cylon War. I'll head to my quarters."

"Why?"

"I'm going to try something that should help us win this battle," Lasky said. "It involves those two."

Cole nodded. "All right. I wish you luck, sir."

"You too," Lasky said.

Cole was about to issue orders when Lieutenant Ryder said, "Sir! I've got Colonial FTL Drive signatures twenty thousand clicks off the port and starboard bow!"

"I want firing solutions on those ships immediately," Cole said.

"Sir, you might want to hold off," Roland said. "I'm picking up a COM signal from one of them."

"Confirmed," Jespersen said. "Incoming COM signal from the Atlantis"

"Put it through."

There was a crackle of static, then Admiral Nagala's voice came through. "Fleet Admiral Cole, this is Admiral Nagala speaking. I take it you heard about what's happened at Capirca?"

"I have," Cole said.

"Then you know that the Quorum's ordered me to assault your ship and take you into custody after the one hour grace period, yes?"

"I do," Cole said. "However, I will not be surrendering the Infinity to the Quorum, nor will I comply with any of their demands. If you're with them, I suggest you stand down and allow our teams to board your ship."

Nagala's response surprised Cole. "There's no need for that, Fleet Admiral. Admiral Corman and I came to an agreement while we were watching the news. We, and fifty of the Battlestars in the Twelve Colonies have agreed to stand by your side. We informed Caprica of our refusal to follow an illegal order and we've defected to your side, sir. My flagship Atlantis, and Admiral Corman's flagship Odysseus, along with those other Battlestars and the ships accompanying them, are yours to command."

Cole smiled. "Good to see that not everyone in Colonial Fleet is a bunch of religious whackjobs blindly following orders. That being said, we need to send you a few updates to your ship systems. We've become aware of a major weakness in your ships computer systems."

"Go on."

"Shortly after our arrival, we detected a number of back doors in your Command Navigation Program," Cole said. "We believe those were planted by Cylon infiltrators in order to shut down your ships if your government was to go to war against them. We also think the Cylons intend to conduct indiscriminate nuclear bombardment of your colonies."

Nagala cursed. "Frak! I knew the Cylons were up to no good all this time! Can you send that update immediately?"

"We can do so right now," Cole said. "We have a number of ships in your system that can send the update. Just send us a list of the ships you want to have their CNPs updated, and we'll get it done."

"All right. Transmitting the list now."

"Receiving transmission," Roland said. "Cortana's sending the list to the other AIs immediately, along with the newly improved Command Navigation Program."

"You can send it that fast?"

"Yes," Cole said. "We have faster-than-light communications via Slipstream Space. We've been in contact with our other ships this entire time."

"That's impressive. What are your orders?"

"Distribute your ships to cover the other Colonies," Cole said. "Do not fire on any Colonial ships unless fired upon. Our first AI, Cortana, will transmit a shutdown command using the backdoor programs. Once the other ships are down, we'll send a strike team to secure the Quorum and force a surrender. Be advised: the Cylons might attempt an attack while this is going on."

"That sounds like them. Very well. Can you have your ships relay my orders to them?"

"Absolutely," Cole said. "I'll let Gabriela handle that."

"Very well. The Pegasus and a few other Battlestars will be arriving at your coordinates shortly to provide whatever assistance they can. Admiral Nagala over and out. May the Lords of Kobol, whatever they are, watch over us."

"I'm sure they are," Cole said. "Fleet Admiral Cole over and out." He turned his attention to Roland. "How long before the United Colonies begin their attack?"

Roland checked the chronometer. "Forty five minutes, sir. That's forty five minutes we have to fully update the Colonial Fleet ships that have sided with us."

"Good. Have Admiral Graystone come to the bridge immediately, if he's not off to the Andromeda Galaxy that is."

"I'm right here Cole," came Graystone's voice. The giant of a man walked onto the bridge, looked around. "Now this is impressive. That being said, I heard the entire debacle. Cortana was kind enough to keep me in the loop. It's a sad day when the Quorum resorts to using armed violence to get what they want."

"It is. Is Adar with you?"

"I am," Adar said as he walked inside. "And Roslin, and Carver and a few others. I'm terribly sorry that it's come down to this."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Adar. It's those members of the Quorum that need to apologize. We're ready to give them a reminder of why the UNSC and UEG survived twenty seven years of armed conflict. I suggest that you head to your quarters. Things are about to get hot."

Over the next forty five minutes, more ships showed up, mostly the smaller Manticore II and Adamant II class corvettes and frigates that Graystone had designed. Four Battlestars jumped in, with ID codes identifying them as the Pegasus, Athena, Troy and Perseus. "All friendly ships assigned to this Colony present," Roland reported. "Five minutes to the declaration of hostilities."

"Keep me posted," Cole said. "It's about to get hairy." He knew that before long, the statment would carry weight.

Before long, Roland watched the chronometer tick down to zero. "We've just left the grace period," he announced. "We'll have hostile Colonial ships arrive at any minute now."

Right on cue, Ryder turned to Cole. "Sir! Colonial FTL signatures detected!"

"How many?" Cole asked.

"Twenty plus, sir! I'm also getting a number of smaller ships jumping in! Looks like the Colonials have sent the welcome wagon!"

"I want firing solutions on all the enemy ships," Cole said. "Inform the allied Colonial ships to do the same."

"Aye, sir." Austen said. "I'm also picking up a number of enemy Vipers. All of them have been marked as hostile, sir."

"Very good."

"Sir I'm picking up a transmission from the lead ship," Jespersen said. "IFF scans have identified it as the Picon."

"Put it through," Cole ordered.

The COM crackled, then a woman's voice spoke up. "This is Admiral Nataline of the Picon. I'm here to take you and Admirals Nagala and Corman in, Fleet Admiral Cole. Surrender now, and I'll see to it that your men are treated in accordance with Colonial Naval law. Refuse, and I will have no choice but to open fire on you."

Cole keyed his end. "This is Fleet Admiral Cole of the Infinity. I afraid that I must decline your offer, Nataline. We will not be coming in just because a few religious fanatics are butt hurt that we didn't join up with their fraternity. How about this? Stand down immediately, and I won't have you arrested and jailed."

"I cannot comply with that order," Nataline said. "You've made your stance clear. Maybe you'll reconsider when your ship is being blown to pieces by my ship's guns. All ships, target all UNSC and Sangheili ships in the fleet! Begin the attack!"

"Cortana, you ready?" Cole asked.

"Affirmative!" Cortana said. "Uploading command in five… four… three… two… one… now! Command uploaded…!"

Inside his Viper, Captain Toland smiled as they approached the Infinity. Always wanted to fight a UNSC starfighter, he thought. Now I get to do so. They'll rue the day they came across us. "All right!" he shouted. "I want everyone in a loose formation. Don't get caught up in the Infinity's flak and clear a hole to allow the boarding teams in! You hear?!"

"Yes sir!" the others shouted.

"Good! All fighters, on me! Time to rack up a few kills!"

The moment he said that, everything went to hell.

Just as he began to maneuver for an attack run, the console before him flickered, then immediately winked out. Toland felt his fighter lurch as the engines fired once, then shut down. "What the hell?!" he shouted. "What's going on?! Talk to me people!"

"I don't know!" another Voper pilot shouted. "It's like someone flicked a switch! Hang on! I'll try and turn my fighter's systems on!" There was a few seconds of silence, then, "Damnit! I can't get it to turn on!"

"What the frak's going on?!" another Viper pilot shouted. "My Viper's inoperative! Picon, do you read me?! Our fighters are dead! We can't get them to move! Picon, do you read…?!"

Onboard the Picon, Admiral Nataline was in a similar situation. Bridge crew ran around her as they furiously worked to find out what was going on. "Commander Thames, what's gong on?" she asked. "Talk to me!"

"I don't know!" Thames said, his face flushed from shouting orders. "All of our systems, aside from Comms and Life Support have shut down! It's almost like someone flipped a switch!"

"Ma'am, incoming wireless from Fleet Admiral Cole!" Lieutenant Foreman shouted.

"I'll speak first." Picking up her phone, Nataline said, "Fleet Admiral Cole, what is the meaning of this?! What have you done?!"

"We've put you into time out," Cole said. "Your Command Navigation Program has a number of holes that were inserted by an… outside source of sorts. To put it simply, we've shut down the entirety of Colonial Fleet. I'll only say this one: surrender, and your lives will be spared. Fight, and you will be destroyed. It's your choice."

Nataline grit her teeth. "Damn you, Cole! Lords damn you and the entire UEG!" She kicked at the table. "Very well. I… surrender."

Cole seemed to be smiling when he spoke. "See, that wasn't so hard to do. Standby while boarding teams come onboard to take you into custody. I'm certain that… what's that?" He spoke with someone off the line. "Belay that, actually. Standby, Nataline. We have a bit of a Cylon problem to worry about."

Nataline's heart skipped a beat "Cylons?! Well… frak!"

. . .

Onboard the Basestar, Cavil was fighting the urge to smile evily. How amazing is that, he thought. The UNSC's used our own bag of tricks against the Colonials! If I didn't know any better, I'd say they did something rather… Cylon.

"Now that's a surprise," a Model 3 said. "Looks like the UNSC's disabled the entirety of Colonial Fleet for us. How very kind of them."

"Indeed," A Model 5 said. "About time we caught a lucky break. Time for us to begin the destruction of the Twelve Colonies."

"Indeed," Cavil said. "Order the Basestars to head to the Twelve Colonies and move into position for nuclear bombardment. Have four concentrate fire on the Infinity." The Cylons dipped their hands into the fluid, then relayed the orders.

. . .

Back at the Infinity, Lasky stepped into his quarters, eyes focused on the video screen. Are you sure this will work? he asked Bastila. I'm not sure if Battle Meditation can affect the Cylons and their ships.

"All living things are connected to each other by the Force," Bastila said. "I'm certain it will work, Lasky."

"It'll work," Revan said. "Trust me, I've seen it in action before. It affects even droids, so it'll affect your people too."

All right, Lasky said. Here we go. How do I do this?

"Close your eyes," Bastila said. Lasky did as ordered. "Reach into the Force. Let it guide your actions."

Again, Lasky complied. The entire battle space seemed to materialize before his eyes. The Force here was dim, but still present in pockets. Looks like we're in one such pocket, he thought.

"Now begin reaching out to your compatriots. Imagine creating a field where your compatriots will be emboldened and invigorated, while your opponents are made sluggish and weary. Now, use the Force to create that field."

Concentrating, Lasky reached into the Force. An instant later, it bent to his will. He watched as shimmering green fields formed in the Force…

Down on the bridge of the Infinity, Cole felt a noticeable shift as the Cylon ships approached. I feel… invigorated, he thought. He smiled. Lasky mentioned that he was going to do something that might help out. Looks like this is it. "I want a firing solution on the enemy Basestars," he ordered. "Launch all fighters and have them engage the Cylon fighters."

"Aye sir," Roland said. "You seem to be… really involved."

"Whatever Lasky's done, it's making me feel good," Cole said. "Cortana, you ready?"

"Affirmative," Cortana said. "Just say the word, and I'll make it happen."

"Do it…"

The moment Cole said this, Cortana contacted the other AIs in the other UNSC ships. "All right. It's time to do it! Begin Phase Two of Operation SHUTDOWN!" Accessing the Infinity's COM systems, she immediately began working to access the Cylon Basestar.

How very interesting, she thought. The internal systems are more like that of my matrix. I could do a lot of damage here. She floated past data stacks, began uploading various programs. She felt another presence in the system. Here we go.

"Leave. The command was as simple as it was direct. Any other intelligence might've obeyed. Cortana on the other hand… she smirked, then ignored the command. "Leave, or be terminated."

"Oh really?" Cortana asked. "You might be a powerful and clever AI, but I'll let you in on a secret." She smirked, then leaned towards the flow of data that represented the Cylon Hybrid. "I'm better in every way."

In an instant, all hell broke loose.

Before the Cylon Hybrid could comprehend the meaning of Cortana's message, it found itself at the mercy of dozens of AIs created by the UNSC. Faster, more creative and more powerful, they smashed aside the Cylon Hybrid's internal defenses with ruthless efficiency. The next thing the Hybrid knew, it was confined to a lonely corner of it's former domain.

"How very interesting," one AI said. "It would appear that the Cylon Hybrid uses biological computing to get the job done. Clever, but compared to superconducting matrices that act just like human brains, it's very inefficient."

"Indeed," another said. "The other AIs are reporting similar successes in taking on the Hybrids in the other Basestars. They won't be able to launch their nuclear weapons, but that leaves the Cylon Raiders. They're armed and ready to bomb the Colonies."

"Cortana has that handed. Cole had her and a few other AIs disable the Cylon Raiders. Fireteam Majestic is ready to board the Baasetar we're tying down. The Cylons have shown their hand. It'll be the last mistake they ever make."

. . .

Onboard a Pelican, Fireteam Majestic waited to arrive at their destination. This is it, Thorne thought. We're about to bard a Cylon Basestar. I must admit, it'll be an interesting experience.

"You guys ready?" Anthony asked. "We're about to board a Cylon Basestar."

"I'm ready," Naiya said.

"Same," Tedra said.

"Good to go here," Carlo said.

"Good." Thorne keyed his COM. "Roland, any intelligence on where we need to go?"

"Affirmative," Roland said. "The bridge to the Cylon Basestar is located in the center of the ship. The organic Cylons are in that section of the ship, but most of the ship is pressurized. Be advised, there are a number of Cylon Centurions inside, and they've upgraded from the Cylon War era models."

"Understood," Thorne said. "When we're onboard, send us a nav-route to follow. We'll head to the bridge and capture the organic Cylons."

"Will do. Also, be advised. They've got access to something called a 'Resurrection Ship.' From what I can tell, they can upload their consciousness into clone bodies if their bodies are killed. You might want to keep them from committing suicide, otherwise they'll call for help from their buddies."

"Is Cole gonna target the Resurrection Ship?"

"Already done," Cortana said. "The en mass cyberattack we're conducting has disabled the FTL drives of the Resurrection Ships and Basestars. You're go for entry."

"Understood. We'll contact the Infinity when we've got the VIPs. Thorne out."

"We're inside the enemy ship!" the pilot reported. "Get set to come out swinging…! Touchdown! Hit it, Spartans!"

The door/ramp to the Pelican dropped open. Beyond it, Thorne found himself looking at something out of a piece of biomechanical art. Reminds me of H.R. Geiger's works, he thought, only the walls are made of… ugh, that'd disgusting."

"Ew," Naiya said. "Looks like human flesh or something like that."

"Cylon flesh, actually," Anthony said. "According to Roland and Cortana, much of what we're seeing was grown in vats. Much of the ship is organic, except for a few components."

"Incoming!" Tedra shouted. Up ahead, forty Cylon Centurions charged forwards. Their fingers retracted, revealing gun barrels."

"Open fire!" Thorne shouted.

The Spartan IVs drew their weapons and let loose. Bullets tore down range and smashed into Cylon armor. Rounds designed to penetrate Covenant nanolaminate armor simply shredded the Cylons before them. Small detonations sounded off as the SAPHE rounds did their grisly work.

The Centurions charged on still, weapons firing. Leaping out of the Pelican, Fireteam Majestic went to work; Thorne leaped over a Centurion and fired while in the air. Bullets tore through its armored head of the Centurion, with the mechanical creature toppling to the ground.

Anthony and Naiya were also busy at work. Anthony slid between the legs of a Centurion, then took a hold of it's head and pulled. The Cylon's head came off with the loud shriek of metal pulled well past its limits. Naiya, on the other hand, fired a trio of shots from her MA5 into another one, then finished it off with a powerful blow to its chest.

A loud gunshot rang out, with three Cylons toppling dead to the ground. A glance to the rear allowed Thorne to see Tedra and Carlo busy as well. Tedra had just blasted the head off a Cylon with her shotgun, while Carlo did the same to several more Centurions with his DMR.

Before long, all of the Centurons had been eliminated. "All targets down," Anthony reported. "Push on. We've gotta reach the center of the ship!"

Fireteam Majestic complied. The five Spartan IVs moved into formation, then began their trek to the enemy ship's bridge. More Cylon Centurions assailed them, only to be cut down by UNSC military grade ordinance. "Anthony, right flank!"

Anthony turned just in time for a charging Centuron to wrap a hand around his throat. It raised a hand, only for Anthony to smash the bottom of his boot into its chest. The blow threw the Centurion back with such intensity it's arm was ripped cleanly off. Anthony calmly pried the fingers off his throat, then proceeded to use it as a bludgeon on the offending Centurion. Within seconds, it's head had been smashed in. "Clever, but not clever enough."

"You OK?" Thorne asked.

"I'm fine. Didn't even grip me that hard. Let's go…"

In the center of the Basestar, Cavil began to sweat. "This isn't good," he said.

"Tell me about it," Doral said. "Those human super soldiers just tore through our Centurions like they didn't exist!"

"We're in trouble," Simon said. His usually calm demeanor carried with it an undertone of urgency. "The Hybrids and Raiders are down, and we can't launch any of our missiles. We need to retreat, Cavil. If we stay any longer, we'll be overrun."

Cavil frowned. As much as he hated to admit it, Simon had a point. "All right. Get some Centurions to the FTL drive and fire it up manually. I'll put the coordinates in myself. We -" he never got the chance to finish his sentence.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang in the room. Cavil yelped as a blinding white light filled his vision. He stumbled back, tripped on an unseen object, then fell flat onto his back. Muffled sounds told him a firefight was underway, then he felt something heavy and hard press against his chest.

The whiteness in his vision faded just as sound returned. Around him, most of the other organic models were down, tasers on their chests. The Model 4 had his hands raised in the air. Despite the fact that one of the soldiers had shoved a weapon in his face, he still maintained an air of calmness. It was the same case for the Model Six.

The soldier that held him down removed his boot, then roughly picked Cavil up off the ground. He slammed him into the console; pain blossomed in Cavil's chest. "Order your forces to stand down!" the soldier growled.

"You'll have to shoot us to get them to stop," Doral said defiantly.

"Duly noted," one of the soldiers said. She reached for a pistol, then fired once. Doral went down with a scream, his leg shattered by the round.

"I won't say it again," the first soldier said.

Cavil groaned. Looks like they win this round. "I'll do it," he said. Just let me dip my hand into the basin. It's how we communicate with them."

"Roland?

"He's right," another male voice said. "It's some kind of advanced command interface." The human nodded, then pointed his gun at Cavil.

"Hey. No need for that," Cavil said. He dipped his hands into the basin, then sent the surrender command. "It's done. What do you plan to do to us?" The soldier was silent, then cocked a fist back. The world seemed to dissolve into a miasma of pain and bright lights.

"Thorne here. Assets secured. Naiya's disconnected the Hybrid."

"Godo work," Roland said. "We'll have a UNSC ship swing by and pick it up. I did detect one Cylon Raider escape in the meanwhile. I've got ONI working on it now, and I've sent the surrender order to the other Cylon Basestars via the other ships. They're surrendering."

"What about the Colonials?"

"Chief's got that handled." Roland said. He smiled. "They're about to have a surprising moment."

. . .

"We're about to drop in," Chief said. "Cortana, SitRep?"

"The Quorum's still at the Forum Chambers," Cortana said. "They're gonna move out to another location before long. We'll drop in from the London's ODP bay straight into the Quorum's back yard. From there, we'll move in and take the building, along with several ODST squads."

"And Parisa?"

"She'll move in from the front. Pelicans are already on their way with her forces," Cortana said.

"Good." Chief checked his restraints one more time. "Blue Team, report in."

"Linda here, good to go."

"Fred here. Ready and waiting."

"Kelly here. Everything's green."

"Good." Chief checked the schematic of the building. "We'll attack from the rear. Parisa, her men and the ODSTs will form a perimeter around the building. The populace is still present, but ground police are evacuating them. She'll eliminate any resistance while we move in from the rear. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Drop Pods launching," Cortana said. Chief felt his pod move into the launch bay. Outside, dozens of other pods were ready to launch. "Launching in three… two… one… now!"

The pod Chief was in detached, then it shot straight towards Caprica's surface. Within seconds, the pod punched into the atmosphere, a trail of plasma left in its wake. The plasma soon faded, and the planet's atmosphere came into view. The pod continued to shoot down through the atmosphere at speeds that would've seemed suicidal to a normal human being. Within a few minutes, they had reached the pod's target altitude. "Mind the bump."

The pod shuddered, then began to slow down. A camera showed the view straight down, with the Forum in plain sight. "At safe landing speed," Cortana said. "Impact in five… four… three… two… one… now!"

There was silence, then a loud CRASH as the pod slammed into the ground. Chief wasted no time getting out; he hammered the door with a powerful kick, sending it flying away. "Good thing we're here to make noise," Cortana said.

"Can you get a location on the Quorum members?" Chief asked.

"I've pinpointed their location with the security cameras. Marking your HUD now." A blue diamond appeared where the members of the Quorum were located.

"Good. Blue Team, move out!" The others, already disembarked from their pods, formed up and moved with him…

Out in the front at one of the entrances, Parisa was busy with her other job. Nice break from the usual boredom of ship security, she thought. She popped out of cover and fired a few rounds. A Colonial Marine fell to the ground dead, his armor doing little to protect him from UNSC armor-piercing rounds.

"These guys are a joke!" Richmond, one of her friends, shouted. "Are they even wearing armor?! I could take these guys down on a Saturday night!"

"They are," another Marine said. "It's just not very good. Hell, I've seen Insurrectionist armor tougher than this!"

"Focus on the mission!" Parisa shouted. "We've gotta keep them contained until the Chief has them in custody, then we can move in and secure the building!" She leaned out, fired a few more rounds…

Inside, Daniels and the others moved through the hallways, a squad of Colonial Marines around all of them. "This is a disaster!" Danvers groaned. "Not only did the UNSC shut down Colonial Fleet, they handled the Cylons with ease!"

"This is all your fault," James said, his voice eerily calm. "If you'd just allowed Adar to negotiate the proper terms with them, we might've avoided this mess. Instead, you just had to sooth that wounded pride of yours by attacking the UNSC." He shook his head. "How stupid is that. Now we seem like a bunch of terrorists to them."

"Shut up," Cassandra said. "You're just saying that because -"

"Look out!" A Colonial Marine shouted. He fired a few rounds, only for return fire to tear through him. He fell to the ground a lifeless corpse.

In that instant, Danvers watched as the UNSC soldiers known as 'Spartans' came around the corner. The Colonial Marines raised their weapons, while the Spartans did the same. "I'd suggest you surrender while you still can," Chief said. "You have a choice: you can either shoot at us and waste ammo in doing so, or you can drop your weapons and keep your lives. Make your choice, Marines."

The Colonial Marines looked at their dead comrade, then at Chief. Slowly, but surely, they dropped their weapons and raised their hands. "A wise decision." Chief looked at Daniels. "Are you President Daniels?"

"Yes," Daniels said. "And before you ask, I would like to discuss terms of surrender with the UEG. You've beaten us fair and square. Do you have something I can use to talk to Colonial Fleet's commanders?"

Chief nodded, then handed Daniels a COM-Link. "Daniels, don't do this!" Cassandra gasped. "We can still win this!"

Daniels frowned. "No, we can't win this. We've lost already. You just refused to see reason." He used the earpiece. "Hello?"

"Chairman Lasky here with President Charet," Lasky said. "About time you contacted us. I was just about to call you. Are you willing to end the fight now?"

"Yes," Daniels said. "Inform Colonial Fleet to stand down. You've won this fight."

"That we have," Lasky said. "Thank you for seeing reason. Your forces are starting to stand down now. We'll speak more onboard the Infinity later today."

"That we will," Daniels lowered the earpiece. "Well," he said to Chief, "take us in. I'm your prisoner now." Chief nodded, then took Daniels and the others with him. At least I can walk with an easy conscience. We've lost the war, but we might've gained something better in the end.