Responses to Earlier Comments:
Hi Chronos - I agree, Cru and Evvie believe they can now survive being separated from the main fleet. They would not starve but there are many other ways that would ensure their demise.
Hi War Saga - I like the D'Anna Biers method of relaying info (when she was posing as a reporter). Any time the cylons are close, I figure the operatives in the fleet upload their latest info, including Adama's and Cru's promotions.
***All comments are welcome. I'll do my best to respond***
Disclaimer: Please note: I own no part or share in the Battlestar Galactica realm, commercial or otherwise. This story is submitted for entertainment purposes only. Oh, and any similarities to people present or past are purely coincidental.
Reminder: I did not spend time making up non-earth names for BSG things - cladding, warrants, jeans, etc. They are in there as is. I wanted to avoid introducing new terms, explaining them, and potentially causing confusion if/when they are used later without their explanations.
Impeccable Timing
"Note to self: Best to deal with Cylons in person - bring extra ammo."
~Cru's Journal if he had time to keep one.
Bree's Twin
Receiving Deck
Sixty-seven minutes later
"Your Galactica and Pegasus were destroyed," said Leoben. "I think I should start with that."
Three ships remained - Bree's Twin, T-Dog's Virgon Express, and the Argo Navis with its disabled FTL drive. Leoben broadcasted in the open frequency. Anyone listening could hear him. Many did.
Aboard Bree's Twin, Cru, John, Evvie, and Devina were on the bridge. They were all standing but Evvie slumped into her chair. It was as if the life was drawn out of not just her, but everyone present.
"Cru…" said John but could say no more.
"Was that on the open freq?" said Cru.
"It was," said Devina. "Everyone heard it - all of us left."
"I understand the pain you all must be feeling, I do," continued Leoben. "You may never truly understand, but it had to happen. Violence needed to be met with violence, which is so against what we wanted."
Cru picked up the handset for the ship-to-ship wireless with T-Dog.
"T-Dog, are you hearing this?"
"I am, Cru," said T-Dog. "Do you believe it?"
"No - not at all but we'll let him talk while your people fix the Argo Navis. What's the status on that?"
"The shock of impact messed up the data run from bridge to engine room. We're wiring in a direct-connect. We need at least 15 more minutes."
"Understood."
Leoben continued, unaware of the second conversation. "Your battlestars were a constant reminder of human readiness for war. Do you understand? Having an active military is in itself a predisposition for an inevitable outcome. You have it in your poetry - 'Live by war and die by it'. But here we are, People. I don't want to die and I pray that you do not either."
Cru's eyes flipped from Evvie's to John's, to Devina's, and then back outside where the two Cylon vessels were.
Cru clicked the mic. "If this is true-"
Leoben cut him off. "Not 'if' - I assure you it is true. Both battlestars and many of your civilian ships including the Demetrius, the Gemenon Traveler, the Zephyr, and the Cybele have been destroyed. I'm sorry."
Cru covered the mic. "Anyone see those ships jump away?" said Cru, "any of them?"
"Devina?" asked John. Devina knew most of the ships by sight.
"The Zepher was still there when we jumped - hard to miss its ring. The Gemenon Traveler was still there and maybe the Cybele. I don't know about the Demetrius."
"Did Colonial One get away?" asked Cru.
"It did," said Devina. "It was one of the first out. I'm sure Roslin had a fit."
Cru nodded an acknowledgment. "Not her choice in the matter, but I bet she did."
Cru uncovered the mic. "Okay, you want to talk? Fine," said Cru "Let's get this over with."
"I understand, Captain. I will 'get down to business' as you Capricans like to say."
"Yeah," growled Cru with sarcasm, "we say it all the time."
"Well then, without the battlestars, we can now truly discuss peace," said Leoben. "It would be an end to the running and the fear that has driven you for so long. Instead, what I offer is a return to your worlds for many of you; Caprica, Tauron, Virgon, all of them."
The unexpected comment caused a great stir across the three ships. Everyone wondered if peace were somehow negotiated and a return was possible, what would their worlds look like? Were they still habitable?
"A return to what?" said Cru with a dry laugh. "We saw our cities burning. You Cylons were thorough. There's nothing to return to."
"No Captain, there is. Some cities were lost, yes, but not many - not many at all."
Leoben sounded sincere but so did any computer voice-enabled customer service program back in the colonies.
"Cru," whispered John, "We know Caprica City was hit, and Delspar, Genova, and Pella-Alabaine. There were more than a dozen flashes on the horizons as we lifted off."
Cru nodded. "Yeah, this Cylon is working our emotions - playing on desperation."
"But what if he is telling the truth?" asked Evvie softly. "We were too busy escaping. I never got a look back. Maybe there weren't that many lost." Her voice was weak. Her comment was of hope, but she didn't have any, not really.
Davina shook her head as she placed a hand on Evvie's shoulder. "Ma'am, I was watching from 200,000 miles up. The whole planet's face was spotted with their explosions - there were hundreds." Devina paused as if reliving the moment. "It was a horrible thing to see. Every dot was a city and millions of people being wiped out."
Evvie nodded slowly. She might not have looked back at the time, but she had listened to the accounts of many, over and over, as they grieved the losses on that terrible day. She wanted Leoben's words to be true but she knew better. They all did.
"Captain? Colonel?" called Leoben when Cru did not reply. "You do not respond. I hope you are considering our offer of peace."
Cru gave a bemused smile. He was glad the other ships were gone. Some might have been taken by the Leoben but he was not.
Cru clicked on the mic. "Peace is what we had before fifty billion people were murdered."
"Captain let me stop you there," said Leoben. "There are more than 40 billion people left on the planets. The military fleet has been destroyed, yes, along with their ability to make war. Many of your cities - most of your cities - still stand and your populations are reestablishing themselves - the food chains, work, commerce, all of what is needed for civil rebirth."
"It's a load of crap," said Devina out loud. "I know what I saw."
Cru covered the mic. "So do we all," he said with a nod. "But, we need to let him string us along for a bit more - we need the Argo Navis running and able."
Devina gave a grudging nod of agreement.
Cru clicked the mic. "Look Cylon or Leoben or whatever you are…" called Cru.
"I am Leoben - one of many - you know how we are."
"I do," said Cru.
"Yeah, a whole lotta copies," said Devina out loud. She didn't care if the Cylon could hear her. "I'm sure family reunions are a gas."
"Leoben," continued Cru. "This little chat has no end-game. There's no way we'll ever trust you, so I don't see a way forward. I expect you're trying to hack into our systems and I suspect your raiders will be here at any moment, reloaded with weapons. That's the doubt you're up against in this conversation - my doubt. Tell me it's unfounded."
John leaned in close to Cru. "T-Dog gave an update - he says they are close on the Argo - maybe five more minutes."
"Captain, I understand," said Leoben. "Would you consider me coming aboard your ship? That's how important this is. And while you may not trust me, I trust you with my safety. Can we do this?"
Cru gave a light chuckle with the mic off. "There's a reason they don't like to give Marines guns. We shoot things."
John furrowed his brow. "Cru?"
Cru shook his head. "It's something Colonel Tigh jokes about. It's stale humor, to be sure, but there's always some truth in jest. If he comes aboard, I might just put a bullet in him."
"Perhaps Cylons aren't up on the finer points of military convention," said Evvie, "Marines notwithstanding."
The comment from Evvie caught everyone a little by surprise. She was recovering from Leoben's words. The fleet and its people were never out of harm's way and always they were fighting for their lives - and not just against Cylons. Evvie herself had been attacked in her room as she slept and in defense, she swung a knife and killed with it. The loss of the battlestars, whether true or not, fundamentally changed nothing. They remained desperate but it was not despair, and that was an important distinction.
"Perhaps they are not," replied Cru as he looked down at Evvie. "Evvie?"
"If you were to take one a captive," said Evvie. "I'd have something to say to them. In fact, I would have much to say."
~~~~~/~~~~~
In the next moment, Cylon raiders appeared between the three ships and the two Cylon transports. A flight of four sleek crescent fighters was running straight at Bree's Twin and the others. They were no more than 30 seconds away.
~~~~~/~~~~~~
The raiders launched a bevy of missiles - full complements of sidewhips and ship-killers.
"Everyone jump, now!" shouted Cru.
The Argo Navis needed a minute more while T-Dog's engineers finished wiring in the direct-connect panel, and yet would be left behind. It was war. There was no choice.
Wham!
The Pegusus dropped in, right on top of the raiders and their many missiles.
The enormous ship literally vaporized the Cylons and ordnance with a Battlestar-sized wave of fabric spacial distortion. The Pegasus was there, in a blink, and the Cylon raiders and their weapons in that same blink, ceased to exist at the molecular level.
The massive ship was in front of the Twin, facing right at them, filling up the entirety of the forward windows. Someone screamed in surprise. It might have been Devina or could have been John. Cru took a half step backward with an instinctual reaction before catching himself.
"Hang on everyone!" called Cru to the other ships. "Stand down. Stand down."
The Pegasus launched fighters against the remaining cylons but the two transports, one of which carried the Leoben, were long gone ere the first viper cleared the tube. The colonial vipers spun round the three ships and the Pegasus in a gauntleted sphere of protection.
Cru laughed "Pegasus, this is Lieutenant Colonel Richard Cru, Captain of the Bree's Twin. Your timing is impeccable."
"Lieutenant Colonel Cru, this is Pegasus Actual, Commander Garner. It appears you could use a hand."
The Twin's bridge erupted in loud cheers.
"Yes, Commander," said Cru over the shouts of joy, "both of your hands, if you can spare them."
"Right. Colonel, we'll do that in due process. You'll need to be boarded to make sure you are not compromised."
"Understood, Commander," said Cru. "We're ready to receive."
"Colonel, we're detecting a lot of debris here - colonial. You jumped away with six other ships. Tell me you've got the other four hidden away somewhere."
"We lost the Coronis, sir, with eighty-four souls. The others are not too far, but hidden as you say. We'll send you the coordinates when we've satisfied our identification protocols."
Cru had heard of Garner's often overzealous take on military process and procedure.
"Right,' said Garner. "By the book or not at all."
"Yes, sir."
"When we get you back to the fleet, you'll need to report to Admiral Adama. I'll need a copy of your after-action for the file."
"Yes, Commander," said Cru. "And sir?"
"What is it Colonel?" replied Garner.
"Thanks for showing up. We were caught in a no-win."
"That's what we do, Colonel, we get our people back. Garner out."
This ends Chapter 32
Author notes while writing:
I'm still bothered by the site's view counter not working. I've realized I depend on it to keep the enthusiasm going. I've appreciated the comments from Chronos, War Sage, Blaze, and others, but without the counter, it's more like an online journal. I can do the same with Google Docs. I hope they fix it soon.
It took a long time to get back to the fleet, which happens next. I thought it was fun to show the attitude that will get Garner into trouble when he goes after his raptors, against orders. "That's what we do, Colonel, we get our people back"
Sneak Peak - I stumbled onto a concept I want to explore. I assume that back on the planet there are plenty of places where humanity survives and there are cylons who get very very good at weeding them out and destroying them. Like the Scar episode but with one of the skin jobs. I've already written out his or her description and a confrontation. It might be a while before I can find a place to add it.
