Geitona Sector
Darkspace
Vigilant
Day 128
The more valuable ships (the larger passenger liners, the Sarek, and the food ships) were tucked in as close to the Shaitan as they could get. This left the Aphid protecting the "right" with the Vigilant protecting the "left" and the Zephyr in charge of the herd of cats that are it's ships. That's not fair at least the Pallas and the cargo ships that had been under the protection of the Lamia followed orders. The Sunliner (that had been renamed Swift T for some only known to Saggie "logic") and the two Saggie cargo ships the Apple and the Scarjoe were always drifting off. Listening to Captain Greer dealing with that mess made Major Gobi smile. He might be friends with Captain Greer now but listening to the infamous rebel trying to bring order to the least organized people in the Twelve Colonies warmed his black heart.
"Sir we just had 4 ships jump in" said LT Patrick. "It appears to be another Patrolstar with 3 mining ships."
This had to be the Rhea as there are unlikely to be any other surviving Patrolstars (there had only been around 30 before the Cylon attack) and they had found this fleet in a location where no one would ever look meant they had to get the coordinates from the Lamia or Orion. Still best to be sure "get whoever is in charge there on the line. All ships prepare for jump" said Major Gobi.
"Sir we got confirmation. It is the Rhea with LT Fletcher in command" said LT Patrick. "The Shaitan and Apis are in communication with them."
It took a few minutes but Fleet Commander Valdez contacted the Vigilant and requested a private line. "Major Gobi I am just going to come to the point. The Rhea had been forced to join the Perseus' fleet as we suspected. There are Guard members on that ship but all the officers and NCOs were removed and the Rhea is badly under crewed. I need your help getting that ship back up to operational ability." There were other things that there were around 70 prisoners (Marines and Aquarian SDF) and that the civilians on the mining ships had been used as slave labor. To put it mildly Major Gobi was pissed but realized that not only did they need to get the Rhea back to operational standard but that he would not have the objectivity to deal with the prisoners so this distraction might be good.
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Patrolstar Rhea
Captain Sheila Kinis arrived on the Rhea with 11 officers and NCOs. Hopefully the original officers of the Rhea (and the Leonis Patrolstar Spry) would be returned removing this headache from her but they needed the Rhea to be at least somewhat operational now. After talking to the crew original crew of the Rhea it was considered best to keep them together as they were no longer trusting of outsiders. They had not been the slave labor (or at least not been as abused) as on the mining ships but were treated in a way that would have caused an investigation with most of the officers being dismissed by any JAG presiding officer.
"LT Fletcher I need to ask that for now at least you remain on the Rhea" said Captain Kinis.
LT Fletcher knew this wasn't really a request but also knew this was a better fit of his skills than being the navigator of the Orion. He had been the navigator of a Tauron Escortstar and since he is the only as far as anyone knows the only living member of the Tauron Navy he was free to fill in as needed. Plus his orders from Commander Gabrielle could be read as this being an extended mission and if higher ranking officers made him switch ships well that's the military for you. "Yes sir" said LT Fletcher.
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Geitona Sector
Darkspace
Orion
Day 135
"Sir the Shaitan and Apis just jumped back and are reporting they were able to complete the prisoner exchange" said Captain Berkins.
Gabrielle had objected to both the Apis and Shaitan going to meet the Admiral Howard. There were legitimate reasons but they boiled down to sending two ships to contact the New Colonial Government ships would (hopefully) keep things friendlier. Gabrielle had also objected to letting Captain Karl and the Marines especially the ones who had been accused by name of rape and torture go. However he was willing to admit that with the current situation that a more diplomatic approach might be warranted.
"Commander I am requesting all senior officers to the Sarek in 15 minutes" said Fleet Commander Valdez. The Sarek was used for such things as the Apis was too small and using another ship would give the impression of seniority over others (the minor enmity from Commander Atwood to the Apis and her Commander was still being felt). "Also have your ship prepare to receive the crew members from the Rhea and Spry."
"Yes sir" said Commander Gabrielle. He got information from the Shaitan that made him frown. The Rhea and Spry should have had a total of 97 remaining crewmembers. The Shaitan reported 51." This would hopefully be explained in the upcoming briefing.
Geitona Sector
Darkspace
Sarek
Day 135
"Thank you all for coming. I will allow questions but not until after the briefing" said Fleet Commander Valdez. "First regarding the exchange of personnel" said Fleet Commander Valdez. (Gabrielle thought that was overly precise language but the reasons to avoid the term "prisoners" could be important.) "I am sure you have noticed the numbers of people returned to us is lower than expected" continued Valdez. "Unfortunately the Spry was destroyed by the Cylons 2 weeks ago."
The system that this happened in was the same system the Orion's 2 Raptors had found a group of Raiders looking for something. This could be a trick but the Guard and Leonis SDF personnel had shared that they were told before the Orion and Lamia were known about by the Perseus. Again not impossible it was a trick but "why" would be the question. Unfortunate.
"The remaining Leonis and Guard personnel have been sent to the Orion and will be debriefed in full" said Valdez with a look to Gabrielle and Major Gobi. "Now I am certain you are all wondering what the New Colonial Government is." Here there was some rustling but again no one said anything. "Admiral Howard did not share the location and specific fleet details but there is a fleet mainly composed of the Picon SDF under Admiral Storr with 70 civilian ships with a total of 150,000 people."
This was met with a shock. The Picon SDF had been small (comparatively) but an actual fleet with an actual admiral would be a godsend. Gabrielle would have to look at the exact compilation but he remembered their flagship was only an Adamant as the Picons had planned on escorting (or raiding) supply lines with the Gemenons and Capricans providing the heavier ships. Admiral Storr was a well respected officer who was known to care for his people. That someone under his command could commit such actions means that either he had changed or that Admiral Storr was unaware of Admiral Howard's actions. There being 150,000 people in 70 ships implies a high "passenger to resource" ship ratio that might explain Admiral Howard's mission if not his actions.
"The head of the New Colonial Government is Sire Uri" continued Fleet Commander Valdez. This was also a shock. Sire Uri was the Picon delegate to the Quorum of Twelve (and the main opponent to President Adar in the upcoming election). While the Executive Branch did outrank the Legislative Branch in order of succession a Quorum Member is in many ways a much higher ranking person in the government than the Secretary of Education who was somewhere around 40th in line after President Adar. The reasoning to form the New Colonial Government was (stated at least) because no one had any idea where President Roslin had gone with the Galactica and a leader was needed without the headaches of being subordinate to an absent or possibly dead leader.
"A planet has been found far outside the Red Line. With enough tyleum the ships could jump out to the location and the Cylons would never be able to find us" said Fleet Commander Valdez. Tyleum was expensive (and somewhat dangerous) so most civilian ships in the Cyrannus System would only keep enough for a dozen or so jumps. The plan (at least as Commander Valdez was telling them) was once they had enough tyleum they would jump away. The Apis/Shaitan fleet currently had enough to get the other fleet and themselves to this safe spot.
"Admiral Howard agreed to turn over the Thalia along with a number of Aquarian and Canceron personnel who are as he puts it 'tired of the discipline' as a show of good faith in 12 hours" said Fleet Commander Valdez. "If we show up to the rendezvous location he will then give us another 36 hours for discussions." Gabrielle did frown at this. While the Thalia was not as valuable as the Sarek which was not only much bigger but had around 100 times the abilities it was certainly useful. Also removing any personnel from Admiral Howard's direct control would be worth doing. However the actions of Admiral Howard was cold blooded but could almost be justified and he was not asking anything in exchange for the Thalia. What made him frown was the time limit. The 12 hours to coordinate made some sense but then the 36 hours? Maybe there is a reason or maybe it's a power play.
"No response was given to the location of the Minos, Ginger, or Oasis other than a 'they will rendezvous with us when we agree to join the NCG' " said Fleet Commander Valdez.
Gabrielle certainly wanted to object as the Minos was legally (well technically sort of) "his" and the Oasis belonged to the people from the Rhea's fleet. Still the offer to give the away was Thalia was a decent start to fixing the issues.
With the debriefing part of the speech done the discussion part was now open. Everyone saw the advantages. A safe location and more Colonials to join. Commander Gabrielle could not agree with leaving the fleet (few civilians even the people from the Scarab would agree with that choice) but putting himself under the command of someone who allowed their officers to run wild or even ordered such actions themselves did not appeal to Commander Gabrielle.
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Geitona Sector
Darkspace
Rhea
Day 135
Captain Sheila Kinis was still in command of the Rhea. The location or as likely fate of the commanding officers and XOs of the Rhea and Spry were unknown. The rumors were they were being held on the Priam, spaced, sent to the "secure fleet" (this seemed unlikely as if there was any contact with this fleet it was well hidden). The highest ranking officer from the Rhea was a LT JG (the Guard was officer low/NCO heavy in comparison to the SDFs or Colonial Fleet) and the Spry crew had a LT Dante as their senior officer. These people were not as badly treated as the Guard personnel left on the Rhea but had all been kept under heavy watch along with jobs/positions below their capabilities. For now it was decided to leave the personnel (as much of a mess as the Rhea currently was) "as is" because any more changes would cause confusion and possibly not matter.
"Sir we got a pair of Raptors and a Celestra Class repair ship" said LT Fletcher (who was her temporary XO).
Kinis took an inward sigh of relief. "Thank you XO" she replied.
Geitona Sector
Darkspace
Orion CIC
Day 137
For the last day and a half the fleet had been in a flurry of discussions. A few argued to not join this Picon fleet as there were concerns due to the actions of Admiral Howard. This had required dozens of jumps with the Raptors to Admiral Howard. Currently both of "his" Raptors were stowed away after several jumps for the last few hours with the Apis' Raptors taking over the communication. The treatment of the Rhea and Spry personnel and the slave like conditions the crew of the Scarab was forced into along with the CIF "rebels" were the biggest sticking points that required multiple Raptor trips to coordinate an agreement. Fleet Commander Valdez said she was able she get Admiral Howard to agree that the Orion would have the two Guard ships, the Zephyr, the Thalia, and the Sandpiper under his own separate "fleet" as a requirement.
Eventually all the details had either been agreed to or at least "we can turn this over to President Uri or Admiral Storr" being the answer with the Shatain's fleet agreeing to join (even if with some reservations) as realistically they had little other choice. "Orion please confirm jump location" he got from the communication officer from the Apis. All of the ships they were in command of (the ships under the Zephyr and Vigilant along with the Thalia and Rhea) all confirmed. The countdown was given and at the end all the ships jumped.
"Sir more than half the fleet is not here" said Major Dammers.
"LT Barnes get me the other commanding officers on a secure channel" said Commander Gabrielle. Colonel Lewis was the first to respond with a "this smells sir" which Gabrielle definitely agreed with. They had the Lamia, the Vigilant, the Rhea, and the Zephyr along with the ships that had been under their control. The two Raptors were sent to where the fleet had been just before just in case there was a mistake as this would be the most logical place to find the Shaitan.
"Captain Russell I need you to get ready to make a long jump" said Commander Gabrielle. The Sandpiper had not been their scout ship for a while due to them having Raptors but it did have a range advantage over the Raptors if they needed to make a long jump. "Everyone else tuck your ships in close and I want to make sure there are no problems." Gabrielle was worried mainly about the Thalia that had a new commanding officer and a large amount of crew with uncertain loyalties. After a few minutes everyone had their orders and the civilians had calmed down at least somewhat.
"Sir we just had Cartwheel come back and she requests a secure channel" said LT Barnes.
"Orion Actual this is Cartwheel" said LT Samantha "Cartwheel Taylor. "We didn't find any ships but there was a message drone."
The drone had been looked over and no radiological or other dangers could be found. It did have a lock out that required a command level authorization though. When it was opened there was a disc.
"Colonel Gabrielle" said Fleet Commander Valdez. "I know you don't care nor should you but I am sorry it had to come to this. The Picon Fleet would not take anyone they consider to be dangerous or disruptive and your alliance with the CIF and belligerence towards Admiral Howard means that if we kept you they would not allow us to join them. Find some other safe location and the Gods be with you."
Gabrielle wanted to yell or curse but he had a job to do.
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Current Fleet Information
Military Ships
Missilestar Orion
Faststar Lamia
Patrolstar Vigilant
Patrolstar Rhea (acquired from Perseus fleet)
Auxiliary Ships
Zephyr
Sandpiper
Thalia (Celestra Class Repair Ship acquired from Perseus fleet)
Passenger Ships
La Bellot
Pallas
Grand Adour
Cairns (Lamia fleet)
T Swift (Shaitan fleet)
Cargo Ships
Joshua
Ruth
Coral
Jetty
Yark
Indri
Apple (Shaitan Fleet) has a higher population than a standard cargo ship
Scarjoe (Shaitan Fleet) has a higher population than a standard cargo ship
Brazen (Lamia Fleet)
Tiger Shark (Lamia Fleet)
Lemon Shark (Lamia Fleet)
Thresher (Lamia Fleet)
Dusky (Lamia Fleet)
Botanical Garden Ship Dykstra
Mining Ships
Lucky Zenith
Elena acquired from Perseus fleet. Was originally part of La Bellot's fleet under Spry's protection.
Jellyfish acquired from Perseus fleet. Was originally part of La Bellot's fleet under Spry's protection.
Scarab acquired from Perseus fleet. Was originally part of Bream's fleet under Rhea's protection.
Population
Orion's fleet 3803
Lamia's fleet 1758
Apis' fleet "refugees" 706 ( 75 military transfers and the Sagittarons)
Perseus' "refugees" 162 with 72 civilians (slave labor used to mine tyleum). 90 military with 37 Guard Personnel. 24 Leonis. 19 Aquarian. 12 Canceron.
Total 6429
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Thank you all for reading. Any questions or comments are appreciated.