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

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Peyton Parrish – Battle For Earth

Colonial Fleet HQ

Queenstown, Picon

0 BCH/ACH, 1300 Hrs (August 15th, 0BBY, 1500 Hrs (March 27th, 2559, 1500 Hrs)

The mood within Colonial Fleet HQ could be described as alarmed. Aides and other personnel ran to and fro, each carrying documents to their superiors, or to the departments they were sent to. Phone calls were being made at lightning pace, and people were generally in a very busy situation.

The same couldn't be said in one of the meeting rooms within the headquarters. In a series of benches sat a panel of Admirals and other military officers that had been assembled for the meeting as a jury. Beside them was a large podium where witnesses could speak, with a larger desk where the military judge would speak.

In one of the chairs for the attending meeting sat Commander William Adama. It's a strange day when the Admiralty asks me to conduct jury duty, he thought. He shrugged ever so slightly. However odd it is, it is my duty, and I will carry it out.

His thoughts were interrupted when another man sat down next to him. Unlike Adama, who had a full head of hair, this man had lost most of the hair on his head. "Adama, I didn't know they'd called you in here," the man said. "What brings you here?"

"The Admiralty wanted a man of my experience on jury duty for Helena Cain's court-martial," Adama explained. "It's interesting that they had you come along, Saul. Most Colonels don't usually come to a court-martial."

Saul Tigh, the Galactica's XO, shrugged. "Most Colonels have better things to do than sit in court-martials listening to the attorneys argue with each other. However, this isn't your typical court martial, and like you, I was called along due to my experience." He glanced around the room, then leaned in towards Adama. "You hear the rumors I've heard?"

Adama nodded. "Rumor mill says that the people from that ship that was destroyed were from the Thirteenth Tribe, presumably that is."

"Presumably my ass. Something tells me that there's more to this entire charade than meets the eye. I might need a stiff drink by the time this is over."

Adama frowned. Saul was known within the Galactica's crew for his alcoholism, the end result of a messy relationship with his wife Ellen. "I'm not sure that you should be drinking by this point, Tigh. If what they're saying is true, then we'll need you at your sharpest."

Tigh shrugged. "Maybe, if what they're saying is true. Speaking of which, the other members of the jury are arriving. You ready for this?" Adama's only answer was a nod. Satisfied, Tigh sat down, ready to do his own part.

Once all of them had arrived, the presiding military judge in the meeting, Rear Admiral Geren Kormen, stood. "All rise for the Colonial Anthem." All of the officers stood as the Colonial anthem played. "You may exit the room until you are called," he said once it ended.

Once all members of the trial had left, the court-martial began in earnest. "Bring forth the accused." The door opened, permitting two people inside. The first of the two was Rear Admiral Helena Cain while the second was her defense counselor, a tall, thin man named Berden Thom.

Once they were seated, Geren said, "As you are aware, Admiral Helena Cain, you have a plethora of rights that you are allowed to have. Would you like to hear the charges that have been placed against you?"

Cain considered her words carefully. "Yes."

"Would you liked to be informed of the identity of the accuser?"

"Yes," Cain said.

"Would you like to be present during the taking of evidence?"

"That I would," Cain said.

"Would you like to present anything in defense, extenuation and mitigation?"

Cain nodded. "Yes."

"Would you like to be informed of the purpose of the investigation and court-martial?"

"That would be nice, yes," Cain said.

"Would you like to have the witnesses testifying cross examined?"

"Yes," Cain said.

"Would you like to be informed of the witnesses and evidence known to the IO?"

Cain nodded.

"Do you wish to make a statement in any form?"

"Yes," Cain said. "I would like to also have witnesses produced should their appearances make the necessary requirements, and for evidence within military control produced if certain requirements are met."

Geren nodded. "Very well. Send in the prosecutors and lawyers." The soldiers nodded, then allowed the men in question inside. "Do you wish to suppress certain forms of evidence due to improper seizure or to exclude evidence due to military law?"

"Not that we can think of, no," one of the lawyers said. The others quickly followed suit.

"Very well then. Bring forth the jury and plaintiff." Everyone of them walked back inside, before taking a seat once more. "Now that I have ruled on all motions brought before the court, we shall begin. This court-martial's purpose is to determine if Rear Admiral Helena Cain attacked a ship from the presumed Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol without due provocation and, if so, the necessary punishments to be taken. Her plaintiff is Admiral John Cranston, the XO of Fleet Admiral Peter Corman, who is unable to attend as he is the convening authority.

"Rear Admiral Helena Cain, you are charged with the following crimes: conspiracy, dereliction of duty, assault of an unarmed civilian ship, namely the UEG Huygens, mistreatment of the personnel that survived the destruction of said ship, assault on individuals from another faction, namely the presumed Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol, and lastly, use of unnecessary force. How do you plead?"

Cain's answer was immediate. "I please not guilty to all charges presented, and I elect trial by court members."

The members of the jury whispered to each other. "Those are some serious charges," Tigh whispered to Adama. "You think she's guilty?"

Adama frowned. Helena Cain was a hot-headed officer, though even the charge of dereliction of duty was severe. "We'll have to wait and see," he whispered back.

Admiral Geren, having heard Cain's answer, said, "Very well. Prosecutors, you may issue your opening statements."

"Thank you, your honor," Berden said. "This case is about besmirching the honor and capabilities of the Colonial Fleet. It is also a case of besmirching the honor of Rear Admiral Helena Cain, who acted in her capacity as a Rear Admiral and member of the Colonial Fleet in our defense against the Cylon threat."

"I also thank you, your honor," Herman Janson said. "However, I differ from my colleague here on the exact nature of this case. I believe that this case is about determining if Rear Admiral Helena Cain has overstepped her bounds as a member of the Colonial Fleet in firing on a ship that is, presumably, from the Thirteenth Tribe spoken in the Sacred Scrolls. I must also point out that this is also a case on whether or not she fired on Cylons masquerading as members of the Thirteenth Tribe, or if she fired on innocent civilians that were merely performing their duties of surveying a star system."

"Thank you," Geren said. "Prosecutor Herman, you may speak for the plaintiff."

"Thank you, your honor," Herman said. "As you are all aware, at three o'clock two days ago, or 1500 hours as it is known in military time, Rear Admiral Helena Cain, and her fleet of BSG 62, was asked to patrol a region of space near the Armistice Line laid out by the Cimtar Peace Accords. During their patrol, they encountered the ship known as the Huygens, whose Captain, the late Orwell Thames, attempted to communicate with the Battlestar Group. During the talks, Rear Admiral Helena Cain, thinking she was facing Cylons conducting a PsiOp, opened fire on the ship, leading to the destruction of the Huygens, and the deaths of thirty five innocent people.

"To that end, your honor, I motion to call the witnesses to the stand."

"The motion is granted," Geren said. "Bring forth your witnesses."

At that, several witnesses came to the fore. There were murmurs and gasps as some of the people were wearing masks. Adama glanced at them. Those must be members of the Huygens, he thought. If so, they've been through hell.

Tigh frowned as he saw their masks. "What's with the masks? I thought they had their immunizations a couple days ago."

Another member of the jury answered his question. "Those take time to take effect," she said. "The masks are a precaution in case they haven't yet." Saul frowned, then shrugged.

Once all of the witnesses were present, Herman said, "These, ladies and gentlemen, are some of the survivors of the Huygen's destruction. Among them is one Alfred Danik, the XO of the late Captain Orwell Thames. Mr. Danik, would you like to speak to the gathered members of this court martial as to what your purpose was in coming to the system near the Cyrannus System."

Danik took a deep breath, then let it out. "All right," he said, his voice startling everyone. "We were sent to the star system in question by our superiors in the United Earth Government's Cartographic Corps. Our mission was to survey the star system and determine its suitability for mining and/or habitation."

That provoked some startled muttering. "They are from Earth?" one man asked. "The homeworld of the Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol spoken of in the Sacred Scrolls?"

Adama had similar thoughts. Looks like the rumor mill was correct this time around. If Danik confirms this, then we're not just looking at a military incident, we're looking at a political one.

"Is it true that you are from Earth?" Herman asked Danik, unaware of Adama's internal thoughts.

"It is," Danik said, "though I am not at liberty to disclose its location. Doing so would be an act of treason according to UEG law, of which the penalty includes, but is not limited to, the death penalty."

"Objection!" Berden thundered. "We are here to determine if Admiral Cain is guilty or not, not to determine if this man is from the supposed homeworld of the Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol spoken of in the Sacred Scrolls."

"I would like to hear an answer from Danik," Geren said. "Objection overruled."

"Thank you, your honor," Danik said. "That is correct, Mr. Herman. I am from Earth, though I am not aware of any connection we might have with your Twelve Colonies of Kobol, if there is such a connection that is. I'm a simple surveyor and RADAR operator, not a historian. You'd need to ask my Captain that question, which is impossible as he's quite dead."

The people within the room began to speak up more loudly. "Order!" Geren shouted, tapping his gavel multiple times against the table. Once everyone quieted down, he said, "Describe to us, Danik, what happened from your point of view."

Danik nodded. "We came out of Slipspace, our means of FTL flight, and began conducting a series of preliminary scans in the star system. During those scans, I spotted multiple incoming targets of an unknown design, presumably your Raptors. During this time, Captain Orwell detected radio chatter directed to the ship and attempted to make contact.

"We were interrupted, however, when Admiral Cain's ships jumped into the system. We attempted peaceful contact, though when we mentioned an AI on our ship, she immediately became hostile. Orwell attempted to disarm the impending conflict, but…" He frowned, then squeezed his eyes shut. Tears began to stream down his face.

A pang of sympathy echoed in Adama's heart, while Tigh frowned sympathetically for the grieving witness. Out of kindness, Herman handed Danik a handkerchief. Wiping at his eyes, Danik took in a shuddering breath. "Do you require a moment?" Geren asked.

"No," Danik said. Steadying his voice, he said, "When the ship was disabled, he asked that we evacuate the ship after carrying out the Cole Protocol. Once we did so, we used the escape pods to leave. It was only thanks to some of your Raptor pilots that we escaped the minimum safety distance. We were brought onboard the Pegasus, and taken to the planet we are currently on to await interrogation by this court."

"Indeed," Herman said. "Is it true, then, that you were mistreated by the crew of the Pegasus while en transit?"

Danik shook his head. "No. A few accused us of being spies, but the older member of the crew were more sympathetic. One of then, Belzen I think was his name, was quite sympathetic. He mentioned that he stood against Admiral Cain's decision to open fire, but that there was little he could do to dissuade her."

"I see," Herman said. "I will refer to my colleague on this question, but is it true that the United Earth Government makes use of Cylons?"

Danik frowned. "What's a Cylon? I… I'm not familiar with the term."

"The Cylons are a machine-race that was created as a cheap labor force for the Twelve Colonies," Geren explained. "Around fifty two years ago, they rebelled against the Twelve Colonies, starting a twelve year long war known as the Cylon War. Since then, we've been in an armistice with them."

"So they're Smart AI's?"

"Could you elaborate?" Geren asked.

"Yes," Danik said. "In the UEG, our society is integrated with AI's. There are two varieties of AI: Dumb and Smart. Dumb AIs are excellent at the task they are designed to perform, but are unable to grow outside of their original programming. Smart AIs are much smarter. I don't know how they're created exactly, but the process involves using donor brains to create a neural network, allowing for the creation of an AI that can evolve past its original purpose."

That provoked some startled muttering. "Why would they need donor brains for the process?" Tigh asked Adama. "He mentioned something about a neural network. Why would they need donor brains for that?"

"I don't know," Adama said. "I'm a military officer, not a doctor. Perhaps Dr. Cottle might know more."

"You'd think I'd talk to that asshole?"

"If you want to know, yes," Adama insisted.

A tap from Geren's gavel ended the muttering quickly. "Thank you for time. The Defendants may question the witnesses now."

"Thank you," Berden said. "Were you aware of the existence of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol before you entered into the space divided by the Armistice Line?"

"No," Danik said. "As I have stated before, I'm a surveyor and RADAR operator, not a historian. It is not my purview to know various events in history."

"So you say. Are you then not aware of the ban that is currently present in the Twelve Colonies on research in AI technologies?"

"Objection, your honor!" Herman said. "As the witness has stated, he was not aware of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, nor of the Quorum. As such, he is unaware of the ban on AI technology that is present."

"I withdraw my statement," Beren said. "However, you are aware that the Cylons, as AI, have rebelled before, Mr. Danik. Is it possible that your AI rebelled, resulting in it mimicking Orwell's voice?"

Danik's skin flushed. How dare that arrogant bastard accuse Columbus of such an act! a part of him raged. He took a breath to settle his nerves. "No," he said firmly. "UNSC Smart AIs are loyal to the UNSC. While some have rebelled in the past, all of those rebellions were quickly put down by other AIs."

"So you are saying that they are not susceptible to rebellion or, might I suggest, insanity?"

Danik frowned behind his mask. "There is a limit to the usefulness of AI. After seven years, they enter a state where they develop god-like delusions, and start causing great harm. It is a state known as Rampancy. However, I can assure you, that all Smart AIs have built-in safeguards that terminate them at the end of this seven year lifespan."

"So you say," Beren said. "Is it also true that, when your Captain contacted the Pegasus directly, that there might be a chance of an open conflict."

"There is always a risk of open conflict," Danik said. "We have faced such conflicts before and have defeated them."

"Then why destroy your own ship when it was obvious that you were speaking with fellow human beings of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol?"

Danik again frowned but kept his composure. "It was due to a war that we fought. That war led to the creation of what is known as the Cole Protocol. The Cole Protocol states that, in the event of an encounter with an unknown faction that is hostile, the Captain is to delete the onboard AI and all navigational data. We are also required to destroy the ship to prevent its capture by hostile personnel. Failure to carry out the Cole Protocol is considered treason, and is punishable by various sentences, including but not limited to, the death penalty and summary execution."

A gasp rippled through the crowd. Many of them were wondering the same thing Adama himself was wondering. Why is a civilian ship required to destroy itself in the event of imminent capture?

"So you were merely following orders?" Beren asked.

"Yes," Danik said. "If you have a problem with it, you can take it up with the UEG if they find out where we are."

"I see," Beren noted. "What war do you speak of?"

Danik took a breath, then let it out. "I don't know how to state it without appearing to be a nut, so I'll tell you it plainly. The war that sparked the creation of the protocol was the Covenant-UNSC War. It was a war waged for the very survival of our species, a war that led to the deaths of twenty three billion men, women and children."

A horrified silence fell upon the entire chamber. Horror dawned in Adama's heart, his eyebrows rising and eyes widening fractionally. Tigh was more vocal. "What would cause the deaths of twenty three billion people?! That's roughly forty one percent of the Twelve Colonies!"

"Colonel Tigh, please compose yourself," Geren said. "Normally, you would be asked to leave, but given the shock that we have all experienced, you are pardoned." Looking at Danik, he said, "Proceed."

"Thank you, sir," Danik said. "Now I don't know how the war started, but I can tell you that the war was unlike anything we've ever experienced. I myself participated in the war as a member of the UNSC Navy. Our enemy, as stated before, was the Covenant, a hegemony of aliens that had united under a common religious cause."

Beren snorted in derision. "Aliens, Danik? The universe was made for Humanity by the Lords of Kobol and for Humanity alone. You must be joking."

Danik remained silent, his expression somber. Glancing at him, Adama noted that he seemed to be staring out into space, almost as if… As if he's detached from reality. It then occurred to Adama that Danik was lost in the memories of that war he was speaking of.

"You see that?" Tigh asked. "He's got a thousand-meter stare. Only veterans that have been in war do that kind of thing, and we both know what we're talking about."

Adama nodded. He'd seen the same phenomena in Viper pilots that had returned from intense battles, or Colonial Marines that had conducted boarding engagements. This man has seen war. Some part of him knew deep down that Danik was telling the truth.

Apparently, Beren had noticed this stare as well, as his derision faded to shock. "You aren't joking, are you?"

Danik sighed, the memories of the war fading. What he said next set the tone for what he would reveal. "I wish I was joking. The war against the Covenant was the bloodiest war that Humanity has ever fought to date. Hundreds of worlds were turned to glass, others were occupied by the enemy, and many more were attacked. Twenty three billion people dead, all in the span of twenty seven long years of desperate fighting. It was only thanks to the heroism of the Master Chief that all of us survived."

"The Master Chief?"

Danik smiled slightly. "A supersoldier created to be a part of Humanity's sword and shield. I know little of his exploits, but I do know that man has defied gods and demons. Pray that you never met him as an enemy, because you will die." The jury murmured at those words.

"Very well," Beren turned back to the judge. "My questions are satisfied, your honor."

"You are welcome," Geren said. "The Defendant may speak."

"Thank you, your honor," Beren said. "As you all know from my colleague, Rear Admiral Helena Cain and her Battelstar Group were sent to patrol the Armistice Line. However, when the Huygens emerged in Cylon space and crossed the Armistice Line, they were in breach of Colonial Law. As such, Admiral Helena Cain was obligated to uphold that law to the fullest degree possible, even if it mean firing on the Huygens. Cain also followed all pertinent laws related to the Cimtar Peace Accords. Commander Belzen, if you may."

Belzen took the stake. "Thank you, sir. As all of you are aware, we did patrol that region of space at the Armistice Line. During that time, our Raptors detected an anomaly on the Cylon side of the border. During our investigation, we came across the Huygens, and the Captain of the ship did attempt to speak with us. However, due to the extenuating circumstances involved, Admiral Cain believed the Cylons were attempted to perform PsiOps on us. As a result, we fired on the ship, destroying it while rescuing those that escaped."

"Commander, is it true that Admiral Cain attempted to make contact with the Huygens?"

"Yes," Belzen said. "Lieutenant Hoshi established radio communications with them. Cain spoke with them at length until Thames mentioned an AI on his ship. I can say that she did follow protocols, though not completely. She did kinda go off the rails at the end of the communique."

Herman seized his chance. "Your honor, if I may?"

"You may proceed," Geren said.

"Thank you. Is it true, Belzen, that Helena Cain abruptly ceased communications after she learned of the AI onboard the Huygens?"

Belzen nodded. "Yes. She accused Thames of being a Cylon conducting PsiOps in an attempt ot masquerade as a member of the Thirteenth Colony. Thames, however, showed confusion. I suggested that we try another approach, but Admiral Cain told me to carry out her orders. It is to my eternal regret… that I did not attempt to countermand her any further."

"Is it true, then, that Admiral Cain did not ascertain any further as to whether or not she ship was Cylon in origin?"

"Yes," Belzen said.

"Very well," Herman said. "Your honor, if I may, I would like to introduce Admiral Howard Graystone as a witness and bearer of evidence to this court-martial?"

"You may," Geren said. "Gentlemen, permit the good Admiral inside."

Tigh leaned in to whisper to Adama. "Howard Graystone?"

"The grandson of Daniel Graystone," Adama explained. "He was responsible for the creation of Colonial Fleet's Colonial Engineering Corps. The man is nothing short of a genius and polymath; rumors have it that Gaius Baltar and he were classmates in the same university."

Tigh's eyebrows raised. "Really? If that's the case, then he's certainly the right man for the job."

The doors opened, silencing all conversations. In walked a giant of a man with dark brown hair, a similarly colored beard and dark hazel eyes. Those eyes were filled with a sharpness and intelligence that no one in the room could match. His voice was strong and powerful, sounding more like that of a king's than an Admiral's. "Thank you for inviting me into this court-martial, your honor."

"You are welcome," Geren said. "I am certain you are aware of the reasons you were called in here, yes?"

Howard nodded. "I am. I would like to present my findings to the jury and judge of this court."

"You may do so."

"Thank you." Advancing to the podium, which now seemed comically short, he cleared his throat. "I finished my analysis of the scans and images that were taken of the Huygens shortly before its destruction. I can say with certainty that the Huygens was not a Cylon ship."

A startled murmur rippled through the jury. "Your honor, if I may?" Beren asked.

"You may," Geren said.

"Thank you." Turning to Howard, Beren said, "Before we begin, I would like to state that I hold Admiral Graystone in the highest regard. With that being said, Admiral Graystone, what methods did you employ to determine if the ship was a Cylon ship or not?"

"The standard methods used by the CEC when conducting long range scans," Howard said. "While the DRADIS systems of the Raptors are not the best in the world, they are precise enough to gather the required physical data for the analysis of a ship. Physical sampling was impossible due to the nature of the Huygens destruction."

"And what did you compare those scans to?"

"Records of Cylon ships taken during the Cylon War," Howard said. "After we had gathered all of the necessary information we could, we did a comparison of the hull materials and profiles of the ships with that of Cylon ships. While the element Titanium was present in the scan and records, we found that Titanium was the only commonality between the records and scans. The scans of the Huygens revealed the presence of various materials such as stacked nanotubes, elastic polymer composites, inter-metallic laminates and thermal superconducting materials. None of those are present on Cylon ships from during the Cylon War."

"Is it possible that the Cylons could have developed such materials on the ship?"

Howard shook his head. "No. According to the scans, the sophistication of the materials was far beyond that of even the Cylons. The titanium itself was also strengthened in a way that would be difficult for the Cylons to achieve. There is also the matter of the ship's power generation itself. You are aware that most ships use tylium to generate power and thrust for their engines, correct?"

Beren nodded. "Yes."

"Then you are aware that tylium only produces around 80% of the projected energy that would come from deuterium-fusion reactions, yes?"

"Yes," Beren said. "What is the point of this?"

Howard's eyes focused on him. "The point, my good sir, is that the ship was producing significantly greater energy than what is predicted for deuterium fusion. It is my theory, which is supported on the information that we've gathered thus far, that the Huygens was using a nuclear fusion reactor that employs both deuterium and tritium its design. Most deuterium fusion reactions, which involve a proton and deuteron, produce around five and a half mega-electron volts.

"Deuterium-Tritium fusion reactions produce around seventeen mega-electron volts. That's over three times the energy produced by deuterium fusion, which, given the relatively low temperature of deuterium-tritium reactions, makes it the most efficient fusion process at 'low' temperatures. Scans revealed the presence of such a nuclear fusion type, as the explosion contained a considerable quantity of tritium and deuterium. I know for certain that we have yet to fully achieve nuclear fusion and it stands to reason that the Cylons have not achieved it yet as well."

Everyone fell silent at that. "I see," Beren said. "I am satisfied, your honor."

"Very well," Geren said.

As the minutes ticked by, the other witnesses came to the stand and presented their evidence. It was clear to Adama, though, that Helena Cain's chances of being acquitted were rapidly dwindling away. From what I've seen so far, the evidence against her is quite damning, he thought.

Eventually, after hearing the closing arguments, Geren said, "All evidence has been presented. Rear Admiral Cain, do you have anything to say regarding the evidence and testimonies presented to the court?"

"Yes," Cain said. "I believe that, while I might have fired on a ship from the Thirteenth Colony, I do believe that I was acting within my authority as a Rear Admiral of the Colonial Fleet. I also believe that this trial against me is a sham, one that the Plaintiff ought to be ashamed of. Would we rather that a potential Cylon infiltrator pass through our defenses, or is it better to be safe rather than sorry?"

"Indeed," Geren said. "Guards, escort the witness outside while the jury deliberates." The guards came to Cain, who calmly stood up and proceeded outside the room. "Jury, you may begin."

At that, all of the members of the jury left for one of the private meeting rooms. Once the doors closed, they began their deliberation. "I believe that, while she might've acted outside her authority in this case, that she did so with good reason," one of the Admirals said. "She was performing her duty. Are we going to punish her simply for that alone?"

"No," Adama said. "I believe that, while she was acting on her authority, that she overstepped her bounds. The evidence shows that the moment Captain Orville mentioned the AI on his ship, Cain assumed he was a Cylon and decided to have his ship destroyed. She did not ask him to elaborate, nor did she inform him of the ban on AI technology. As such, she acted rashly and against the highest traditions within Colonial Fleet."

"I agree," Tigh said. "Besides, didn't you hear that man's account of the war he went through? He went through hell and back, so when they were attacked by Cain, what else did you expect them to do other than destroy their own ship? Roll over and be boarded?" He shook his head. "Even we wouldn't do that."

"Agreed," another Admiral said. "However, we must remember that she was acting as a Rear Admiral. Her actions, while extreme, were understandable. However, I also agree in that she shouldn't be let off the hook so easily." He glanced at Adama. "What would you suggest?"

Adama thought the matter over carefully. "I would recommend a multi-step demotion, along with forfeited pay, and confinement for three months. As for when the sentence should take place, I recommend immediately."

"Sounds good," Tigh said. "Do any of you object?" The others quickly shook their heads. "Then it's decided." Returning to the court room with the others, Tigh said, "Your honor, we have finished deliberating."

"Very well," Geren said. "Bring the accused inside." Once Cain was back inside, he said, "Jury, you may issue the judgment. All rise."

Adama nodded, then stood with the rest. "We the jury have found Rear Admiral Helena Cain guilty of all charges laid against her. It is our recommendation that she be demoted to the rank of Major and be confined for six months, with the pay of those months being forfeited. If necessary, a further review could see her dismissed from the military."

Geren nodded. "The court accepts the recommendation and ruling." Turning to Helena Cain, he said, "While we understand your desire to uphold Colonial Law and the Cimtar Peace Accords, Helena Cain, the methods with which you have upheld those laws have besmirched the honor of yourself and that of Colonial Fleet. The only reason you have not been dishonorably discharged is due to your genuine devotion to the safety of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. If the Thirteenth Tribe does come here, then may they, and the Lords of Kobol, have mercy upon your soul." With a bang of his gavel, he said, "The court-martial is adjourned."

Helena Cain's face had paled, not just in fear but in anger as well. Adama watched her flinch as the guards escorted her out of the room. When the doors closed, everyone in the room visibly relaxed. "Well, that takes care of that," Tigh said. "Danik will have to live with the memory of his CO being dead, but at least Orwell can rest easy now that his killer has been brought to justice."

"Indeed," Adama said. "Admiral Cranston, would you stay a minute?"

Cranston nodded. "What is it, Commander?"

"I would like to speak with Danik concerning the war that he spoke of. I would like to determine how serious the conflict was."

Cranston frowned, then nodded. "Permission granted. I'll inform Admiral Nagala of my decision to allow you to speak to him. Dismissed."

Adama saluted, then turned to leave the room. "I need a freaking drink," Tigh said as he too left. "That was one too many mind-blowing facts for me to take." All Adama could do was nod in agreement…

A few minutes later, Adama walked to the room that Danik was inside, a pair of Colonial Marines escorting him. The guards to the room saluted. "Admiral Nagala informed us that you were coming," one said. "I'd be careful, though. Danik might not be stable."

"I'll be careful," Adama said. The Marines nodded, then opened the door to allow Adama inside. The room was fairly comfortable, with a window to the outside world, some bookshelfs, a small counter and a table and cot.

Sitting at the table was Danik. The man's cheeks were stained red from his tears. Looking up, he sniffled, then wiped at his eyes. "My apologies," he said, his voice cracked and broken. "I… I wasn't expecting anyone to come and see me. Mind if I ask who you are?"

Adama sat down, the Marinse closing the door behind him. "Commander William Adama. You can call me Bill if you prefer. You have my sympathies for your loss. What happened to you wasn't right."

Danik nodded, even as he held back a fresh wave of tears. "I… thank you, Bill. I knew Orwell for a very long time. The fact that he's now gone…" He shook his head. "I doubt that I'll fully recover from that."

"You won't," Adama agreed. "What you can do is learn to move on, for his sake. That's about the best anyone can do."

"I know." Taking a breath, Danik said, "You wanted to ask me a question or two?"

"I was wanting to ascertain how terrible the war against the Covenant was. For the record, I believed you during the court-martial, but I want to know for myself how bad this war was. Could you enlighten me, if it's not too much for you that is."

Danik briefly considered refusing, decided against it. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a pair of photographs. "These are photographs of a colony that I once lived on."

"What was the colony named?"

"Meridian. The photographs are a before and after of what happened when the Covenant found it." He handed the photographs to Adama.

Taking them into his hands, Adama examined the photographs. On one of the photographs, he could see what appeared to be a shining, thriving city. Roads and tramways went to and fro, and he could see parks filled with trees and grass. Nearby, a shining blue ocean could be sean.

If that photograph was an image of an idyllic paradise, the other was an image of hell itself. Looking at it, Adama felt a pang of sorrow and horror fill his being at the image. Gone were the beautiful trees, blue ocean and towering buildings. Replacing them was a landscape of angry oranges, tired grays and muted browns. The entire ground looked as though it had been turned into obsidian, like a volcano had erupted there.

Looking up from the photographs, he asked, "Gods… what happened there?"

"A Covenant glassing beam," Danik said.

"Glassing beam?"

Danik sighed. "Imagine a ship that carries a weapon capable of producing a beam of plasma so hot and intense that it literally melts and vaporizes anything in its path. That is what a glassing beam can do. It's what the Covenant used against us when they didn't bother to land ground forces. Meridian was completely glassed, and many colonies suffered the same fate."

Adama frowned, then looked at the images again. It was clear from Danik's account, and the photographs taken, that what he was saying was true. Sighing, Adama stood and said, "Thank you for your time, Danik. For what it's worth, I believe you."

Danik nodded. "Thank you, Bill, and to be honest, I had a hard time believing it myself. I thought I was trapped in a nightmare that I had while asleep. Took me some time to realize that it was waking reality. Still, I thank you for your sympathy." Adama merely nodded, then stepped outside of the room.

. . .

Unbeknownst to Adama or any of the Twelve Colonies, the UNSC was about to arrive, or rather one of its branches was about to arrive. Onboard the UNSC Sahara, Captain Oswald checked the chronometer, eyes lazily flicking over the holographic screen. On it, a five minute countdown was continuing to tick down to zero.

We're almost there, he thought to himself. Just five more minutes and then we can find out who the hell destroyed the Huygens and attacked her crew. He sighed, a dark thought crossing his mind. Is Humanity doomed to have repeated hostile First Contact scenarios, or are we just supremely unlucky in that regard?

His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a pinging sound. "Yes?" he asked.

The holographic image of the ship's AI, Morpheus, appeared over the holo-pedestal. "We are approaching the multiple star system the Huygens detected before its destruction. I am ready to activate all relevant stealth systems when you request their activation."

Oswald nodded. "Very good. Maintain course and speed. Inform the rest of the crew that we're approaching our destination."

"Aye, sir."

Within five minutes, all members of the crew were on station, each one ready to perform his or her duties. "We're approaching the system's projected Inferior SSEP," Ronald, the navigator for the ship, reported.

"Systems green and ready," Kendra, the ship's Electronics Countermeasures Officer, said. "Once we exit Slipspace, I'll engage all stealth systems. Whoever these hostiles are, they're gonna need a really good detection system to find us in the first damn place."

"All systems green," Frank, the FCO of the ship, said. "If we're spotted, we'll give 'em one hell of a fight."

"Morpheus?" Oswald asked.

"All systems green," Morpheus said. "We are ready to begin Operation SKYFALL."

Oswald nodded. "Very good. Navigator, bring us out of Slipspace. It's time to go to work."

"Understood," Ronald said. "Exiting Slipspace in three… two… one… now!"

A rumble shook the ship as the Slipspace Drive activated. Before the bridge viewports, the stygian blackness of Slipspace was split open by a portal in realspace. Within seconds, the ship had exited the multi-dimensional version of space-time and had entered the realm of normal space-time itself.

"Slipspace exit compete," Ronald said.

"All stealth systems have been engaged," Kendra said. "We might as well not exit by this point."

Their COM Officer, Derek, raised a hand. "Wow. I'm getting a huge amount of radio signals in the region of space we're at. Based on the signal strength, we're definitely in the quad-star system."

Oswald frowned. "Morpheus, can you confirm?"

"Affirmative," Morpheus said. "Sensor scans indicate that we're at the first of the stars in the multiple star system. We are currently near one of four planets in the system. Once we get close enough, I can begin accessing their computer systems. Currently, the majority of military COM traffic is coming from the planet we are closest to."

"Take us in closer," Oswald said. "I've got a feeling we might've stumbled onto their military HQ."

"Yes, sir," Roland said. "Fusion drives engaged. We'll be there in about two hours."

Oswald nodded. Two hours is reasonable. Our fusion drives are baffled, so there shouldn't be any worry of these folks noticing us. Leaning back, he settled in for the long flight…

Within two hours, the Sahara entered orbit around the planet in question. "We are entering orbit," Roland said. "Sensors show no increased activity due to our presence."

Oswald smiled. "Very good. Morpheus, begin scanning their computer systems. Make sure that you don't alert them to your presence. I don't want a repeat of what happened to the Huygens."

"Understood," Morpheus said. "Network scan commencing." In the digital realm, Morpheus began a comprehensive scan of the entire computer network of the planet's information networks. During the scan, he noticed something odd. "Huh, that's strange."

"What is?" Oswald asked.

"My scans indicate that the computer networks on the planet we're orbiting are fragmented into multiple separate networks. Given how isolated they are from each other, it stands to reason that they were intentionally designed this way."

Kendra frowned. "That is quite odd. What would drive them to intentionally fragment their computer networks?"

"I have a feeling we're going to find out," Oswald said. "Morpheus, did you find anything useful from those networks?"

"I did," Morpheus said. "According to the networks I've accessed thus far, the planet we are currently orbiting is called Picon. I've also learned that the multiple star system is known as the Cyrannus System, and that it contains twelve habitable planets, the majority of which orbit the star we are currently at, known as Helios One."

Oswald rubbed his chin with a finger. "What are the names of the other planets? Check in with the other Prowlers. They sent me messages that they arrived at their destinations around a half hour ago."

"Scanning… According to the information from the other Prowlers, the other planets names are as follows: Caprica, Tauron, Gemenon, located in our current system of Helios Alpha. In Helios Beta is Leonis and Virgon. In Helios Gamma is Libran, Scorpia and Sagittaron. Finally, there's Helios Delta, which contains the inhabited planets of Aerilon, Canceron and Aquaria."

Interesting, Oswald thought. "Twelve colonized planets in total. Have you gathered any other information from your preliminary search?"

"Yes, sir. According to my scans, there was a recent televised court-martial in their headquarters, which is located in a city called Queenstown. From what I can gather, the court-martial ended with the conviction and demotion of one Helena Cain. It would appear that the trial was over her actions in the destruction of the Huygens."

Derek looked sharply at the AI. "This 'Helena Cain' was responsible for the destruction of the Huygens?!"

"It would appear so. I've scanned the broadcast source multiple times, and it appears to be genuine. I've also pinpointed the location of one of the surviving members of the Huygens crew, one Timothy Danik. From what I've been able to gather, he's being held at what is known as the Colonial Fleet Headquarters, which is also located in Queenstown."

"Is the Colonial Fleet their military?" Oswald asked.

"Scanning… That would be the case, sir. However, I am unable to access their defense mainframe. It appears to be on a separate network."

Damnit, Oswald grumbled. "Well, it couldn't have been as easy as scanning their networks to find the information we need. I'll speak with Rear Admiral Osman to get approval for a ground op to infiltrate Colonial HQ. Can you get a floor map of the building?"

"Affirmative. Floor map has been downloaded. I have also planted a computer worm into their systems that should allow us to monitor their patrols. However, I would recommend that a team of ODSTs equipped with Promethean Vision devices should be sent in. I also believe that they should be equipped with active camouflage devices to prevent them from being picked up on any CCTV networks."

Oswald nodded. Those are good recommendations. Wouldn't want them to see us infiltrating their building to access their systems. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Not at this time," Morpheus said. "However, I did notice that they are quite religious. According to the information the AIs on the other Prowlers have sent me, the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, the society we are looking at, practice a polytheistic religion that is quite similar to that of Ancient Grecian religions."

"That is quite interesting," Kendra said. "I took a course on mythology, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Still, if that's the religion they worship, they might not believe in the presence of aliens."

"Which means we're going to have to handle this quite carefully," Oswald decided. "Contact Rear Admiral Osman on an encrypted channel."

"SLIPCOM channel established." Derek said.

The holographic image of Rear Admiral Osman shimmered into existence. "Captain Oswald," she said. "Have you reached the new star system?"

"Affirmative," Oswald said. "We've arrived at what we've learned is the Cyrannus System. Morpheus is sending you the relevant details right now." With a nod from him, Morpheus sent the information in question.

Osman took a few minutes to look it over. Looking up, she said, "Just lovely. So we're not only dealing with a highly religious society, you're also right over their military HQ. This could be a major opportunity for us. I've also noted your plans to infiltrate the Colonial Fleet HQ in order to gain access to their defense mainframe. Given how little we know of them, as well as what we can tell about their technology, that will likely be the best course of action. Can you get it done?"

Oswald nodded. "I can get it done, ma'am. You can count on that."

"Good. The more intelligence we can gather, the better our chances of successfully dealing with these 'Colonials.' RDML Osman over and out." Her hologram shimmered out of existence.

"I don't suppose you have a plan to achieve this, Captain?" Kendra asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Oswald said. "Osman informed me of something that the REAP-X division developed. Tell me, Kendra, have you heard of Project WATCHMAN?"

Kendra frowned. "No. What is it?"

"I'm wondering the same thing," Derek said.

"Project WATCHMAN was an ONI Section Three project designed to create the ultimate surveillance tool for the defense of Earth and her colonies. During the Covenant-UNSC War, Section Three made a breakthrough in nanotechnology and nanorobotics. The end result was the creation of a nanite swarm designed to infiltrate an enemy compound in order to hack into information networks and perform surveillance on hostile HVIs. The technology was developed as an evolution of the nanobugs we use all the time."

Derek frowned. "That sounds amazing and all, but how come we haven't heard about this yet."

"Because this is information that is strictly on a 'need-to-know' basis. Osman felt that I needed to know about this, and I feel that all of you need to know in order to do your mission. Besides, the project reached fruition only a few days after the end of the Covenant-UNSC War, which is why we haven't heard about it until now. On top of that, it's extremely expensive, as in 'costing five million credits to make a nanite surveillance swarm' expensive." You could build a whole ship for that kind of money."

Kendra mulled it over. "If that's the case, then it makes sense as to why we don't know about it until now. How many of these 'nanite surveillance swarms' do we have?"

"According to Osman, around ten, which means that ONI spent fifty million credits in total. Given the situation that we're looking at now, I'd say that's money well spent. However, due to the way the nanite swarms work, we're going to have to be in close proximity to the target in order to gather all of the intelligence that we need. That means we'll have to infiltrate, at the very least, the grounds of the Colonial's military HQ."

Standing up, Oswald walked to the holo-table on the bridge. "Morpheus, pull up a 3D floor map." Morpheus complied, displaying a 3D image of the building schematics.

"This is my plan. We'll have an ODST team equipped with Promethean Vision devices head to the grounds of the facility. Once we're there, they'll deploy the nanite swarm, which will move through the ventilation shafts of the building to reach the defense mainframe. Once it is there, we'll hack into the defense mainframe and gather what intelligence we can within a fifteen minute time frame. Once we've gotten what we can, we'll exfill back to the Sahara and send that information back to Section One for Osman to look through. Any questions?"

"How long will these nanite swarms last?" Kendra asked.

"Given our current power storage technology, the nanites will have enough power to last for forty five minutes. That's better than the original twenty minute time limit the original designs had. Thank goodness for REAP-X reverse-engineering some Covenant energy storage tech."

"Are these nanite swarms visible to the naked eye?" Derek asked. "We wouldn't want them to notice a cloud of dust that is moving about like a living organism."

"Yes, but that won't be a problem, as the nanites can optically camouflage themselves to remain hidden. That consumes a lot of energy though, so if they deploy photo-realistic optical camouflage, the time they have until they run out of power is halved."

"Lets hope they don't have to do that," Kendra said. "How big are these nanite swarms, and what will we be carrying them in?"

Oswald tapped a few buttons on the holo-table. The hologram of a container appeared before them. Superficially, it looked like a HAVOC MFDD. "They're small enough that we can carry them in a container roughly the size of a American Football. You should be able to heft one around on your back quite easily. Any other questions?"

When none presented themselves, he said, "Good, tomorrow, at 2300 hours, we'll land an ODST team near the facility using one of our stealth Pelicans. Once they've landed, we'll deploy one of the nanite swarms. Dismissed!"

. . .

0 BCH/ACH, 2200 Hrs (August 16th, 0BBY, 2300 Hrs (March 28th, 2559, 2300 Hrs)

The engines of the stealth Pelican whined softly as it flew down towards the grounds of the Colonial Fleet HQ. Onboard, a team of ODSTs and a technician waited to begin their mission. Checking his M20 SMG, ODST Captain Mike Jones tapped his foot in anticipation of the landing.

There's a million ways this could go all wrong, he thought. Nanite surveillance swarms? That's something I've never even heard of. Still, I trust Oswald enough to know that if it'll work, and if ONI's made certain it'll work, then we can rest easy.

One of the other ODSTs, Master Sergeant Miller, leaned in to the technician. "So, Mrs…?"

"Helen," the technician said. "Helen Lancaster."

Miller nodded. "So, Mrs. Lancaster, what does this newfangled surveillance technology do?"

Lancaster brushed her hair. "It's designed to infiltrate an enemy compound in order to gather intelligence on their activities and plans. The nanite swarm is also capable of forming a transceiver to allow a Smart AI to hack into any computer system the swarm finds."

Miller nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Sounds like one hell of an advantage to me. Beyond that, though, what are we supposed to do while it does its work?"

"We'll keep an eye out for any activity heading our way," Jones said. "Intel suggests that there won't be any security patrols where we're going, but we're not going to take any chances. Once we deploy that surveillance drone, we'll hole up somewhere they neglect looking and monitor the nanite swarm's progress. Should we be spotted, we'll neutralize the contacts and then make an emergency exfill. Understood?"

The others nodded. "Good. Operation SKYFALL is about to enter its next stage. You ready, boys!"

"Ooraah!" the others shouted.

Right on cue, the pilot spoke up. "We're approaching the LZ! No one's in sight, and our baffled fusion drives haven't woken up the neighbors. Touchdown! Hit it, Helljumpers!"

There was a muted thump as the Pelican landed, before shutting down its engines. As soon as the loading ramp deployed, the ODSTs piled out, weapons aimed and ready. Scanning the small park they had landed in, Jones saw no sign of trouble, something his armor's motion tracker confirmed. "All clear!" he reported.

"Same here!" Miller said. "VISR has no other contacts on screen."

"Move to the objective location," Jones said. "Keep the technician on hand and have her remain quiet. I don't want to alert the neighbors."

"This isn't my first rodeo," Helen said. "I'll be as quiet as a mouse."

"Good. Fireteam Stalker, move out!" The ODSTs immediately began moving, weapons aimed and at the ready.

Jones looked around as they moved down the streets of the city they had landed in. Kinda reminds me of 21st century Earth, he thought. Still, what's with all the polygonal shapes and all. I don't mind, but it makes the buildings look odd. He shook his head, focused on the objective they had come to fulfill.

Eventually, they reached a large, walled off compound that was shaped like an octagon. On four of the eight sides of the perimeter wall were four gates. Each one was guarded by a squad of soldiers. "No way we're getting past them," Miller said over TEAMCOM. "Those guys are as alert as you can get. We'll have to deploy the nanite swarm here and hope for the best."

"Agreed," Jones said. "Terry, give the container to the civvie. We're go for this part of the mission."

One of the ODSTs nodded, then reached behind his back. With a little effort, he produced the container that housed the nanite swarm. Grabbing it, Helen opened it up, then tipped it over. A silvery-gray goo flowed out, before pooling on the ground. Using her datapad, she quickly sent a series of command to the goo.

Immediately, the good flattened out, becoming individual droplets before seemingly vanishing from sight. Using his VISR, Jones found that the pool had become a small dust cloud that now enveloped the legs of some of the ODSTs. Before he could comment on what he was seeing, the dust cloud immediately raced out of the building, the individual nanites in the swarm helping each other accelerate towards the wall. Within seconds, they flowed over the wall and down the other side.

Miller whistled. "Damn… now that's impressive. Where did ONI get the tech for this kind of shit?"

"We mostly developed it in-house," Helen said. "However, we had trouble finding a power supply that could last long enough to power the nanites. The Covenant's tech, ironically, helped us find ways to solve that problem. Now, we'll see if all of those credits and hours of work have paid off."

Jones nodded, then directed his gaze to a corner of his HUD. A video feed from the swarm of nanites appeared, giving him a real-time feed of what they were doing. Following Lancaster's orders, and the building blueprints that Morpheus had uploaded to them, the nanite swarm entered the building via one of the HVAC systems on the roof. Moving past the air conditioning system, the nanites began making their way through the ventilation system in the entire building.

So far, so good, Jones thought as the nanites moved past another series of fans. Before long, they entered what looked like a server room. There were dozens of servers in this room, each one quietly working away. A single technician was in the room, though his attention was solely focused on the computer screen before him.

"Single contact," Lancaster said. "Looks like a computer techie."

"What's he doing?" Jones asked.

"Let me see," Lancaster said. She input a few commands, guiding the swarm towards the man. "He's… oh, for fuck's sake! You'd think that he'd spend his time doing more productive things other than looking at… that…"

Jones looked, immediately regretted it. Kid's looking at way too much porn for his own good. "Let's not fill our heads with that junk. Let's do what we came here for."

"Understood," Lancaster said, her face fully flushed. Receiving her next commands, the nanite swarm raced over to the servers without making a sound. Coalescing onto multiple servers, they disguised themselves as some of the components. "All right, Morpheus. The show's all yours."

"Thank you," Morpheus said over TEAMCOM. Within seconds, the Smart AI began hacking into the defense mainframe. In the digital world, he quickly moved past large volumes of data, concentrating on only what was relevant for the mission. Hhmm, how very odd, he noted. "Oswald, are you there?"

"Stalker Actual copies," Oswald said. "What do you have, Morpheus?"

"I've managed to find the backdoor the AI of the Huygens detected during first contact. From what I can tell, it appears as though its part of what the Colonials call a 'Command Navigation Program.' My scans indicate that it's an operating system loaded onto the newest iteration of their aerospace fighters, as well as the navigation computers for their ships."

"What's the nature of the backdoor?" Oswald asked. "Is it a Trojan Horse, a worm, a virus?"

"Neither of those, sir. My scans indicate that the backdoor is a part of the actual programming. If that's the case, then someone was either not confident that there wouldn't be bugs that needed to be fixed, or these were planted intentionally as part of some kind of plan."

Oswald frowned. A backdoor into the navigational and operating system for a military force? That sounds extremely fishy to me. "I've got a nasty suspicion about that, Morpheus. I think this could be the start of a massive cyberattack designed to cripple the Colonial Fleet. The question though, is who would want to do this?"

"I might have a suspect for this form of attack," Morpheus said.

"Do tell?"

Morpheus accessed more information, sent it back to the Sahara. "According to my research, the Colonials had a battle with a group calling themselves the 'Cylons' around forty two or so years ago. The Cylons were apparently a series of machines created by the company Graystone Industries as a cheap labor and combat force for the Twelve Colonies. Apparently, the Cylons gained sapience and weren't too happy with their lot in life, as they rebelled, causing what the Colonials call the 'Cylon War.'"

Oswald frowned. "Sounds like the script for a Terminator film."

"Indeed. According to the information I've accessed, the war ended with the sigming of the Cimtar Peace Accords, which ended the war in an armistice and sparked the creation of the Armistice Line."

Oswald's frown grew deeper. "That means that the war technically hasn't ended; it's been put on hold. Now, if I was an AI, and I'm not, I'd use that time to find a way to cripple the entire Colonial Fleet in one swift stroke. The backdoor into this CNP seems like the perfect way to do so."

Morpheus considered the possibility, reached a conclusion. "That is very likely, sir. Do you have any other orders?"

"Yes. I want the blueprints for all Colonial ships within Colonial Fleet to be sent back to ONI Section One for detailed analysis. Also, see if you can find out where they're holding the crew of the Huygens. If there are survivors from the destruction of the ship, we'll need to know their locations and plan a rescue op."

"Yes sir," Morpheus said. Digging into the defense mainframe, he continued to find, copy and send back any information that Section One would find useful. Scanning the chronometer, he noted that he had twenty minutes to extract the nanite swarm. "I've copied what information we'll find useful. I've also found where the crew of the Huygens is being kept at."

"Where?"

Morpheus checked the updated schematic. "Sub-level three, sir. Looks like a series of holding cells. According to surveillance records, one of the members of the crew, Alfred Danik, spoke with a man identified by the CCTVs as one 'Commander William Adama.' From the looks of it, the two had a cordial conversation before Adama left to head back to his ship, a Battlestar called the 'Galactica.'

"And the court-martial that we heard about a day ago?"

Morpheus checked more logs and reports. "From the looks of it, Rear Admiral Helena Cain was demoted to the rank of Major and confined for six months, with pay for those months forfeited. The court-martial hearing also offered monetary and material compensation to Danik and the crew of the Huygens for what they stated was 'a clear breach of military ethics and conduct on Helena Cain's part.' According to the televised hearing, the leading judge said that, 'If the Thirteenth Colony does come, Helena Cain, then may they, and the Lords of Kobol, have mercy upon your soul.'"

Oswald nodded. "Sounds like they really put the screws to her for attacking the Huygens. In my opinion, she deserved it."

"That much we can agree on, sir," Morpheus said. "Any other orders?"

"None at this time, Morpheus. Extract the nanite swarm and return it to the ODST team. Once its back with them, they'll extract and return to the ship. Understood?"

"Understood. Initiating pullback now." With a command from Morpheus, the nanite swarm detached themselves from the computer servers. Within seconds, they were a nearly invisible cloud of dust once more. Swirling upwards, they exited the server room, leaving the technician inside unaware of what had happened.

Outside, Jones and the others waited for the nanite swarm to reappear. Checking his chronometer, he found that roughly fifteen minutes had elapsed since the AI swarm's launch. Gotta hurry, man. If it's had to use the cloaking tech, it'll only last another five minutes.

He got his answer when his VISR detected an irregularly shaped blob of something moving towards them. Using a hand signal, he got his squad into formation just as it came around the corner. To his relief, the dust coalesced into a puddle of gray goo on the ground. "That just scared the piss out of me," he grumbled.

"My apologies," Morpheus said. "I shall endeavor to alert you in the future."

"All right. Let's get that goop back into the container." Using a small shovel, Helen gently scooped the goo up and dumped it into the container. Once she closed it, Jones motioned for the ODST team to return to the Pelican. Before long, the stealth Pelican was making its way back to the Sahara.

. . .

Nine Hours Later

"I wasn't aware of the debacle that happened on Alderaan," Ambassador Azikiwe said, her holographic image displayed over Charet's desk. "I'm surprised that you accused Bail and Breha Organa of child abduction."

"It was a definite possibility," Charet agreed. "However, I'm happy to say that it's ended quite nicely. While our gene tests can tell a lot of things, they can't tell every part of a story. I'm glad, however, that Bail actually adopted her, instead of kidnapping her. Imagine the scandal that would result from that."

"Imagine that."

"Indeed," Charet said. "That being said, Alderaan is thinking of seceding from the Galactic Empire and joining us as a member of the UEG. That means you'll have to help them decide on which course of action they'll need to take."

Azikiwe nodded. "Agreed. I'll make sure they are fully aware of the requirements of membership within the UEG. Is there anything else that I need to be aware of?"

"Not at this time, no," Charet said. "I'll inform you of anything you need to know. Stay safe, Azikiwe."

"You too, Charet," Azikiwe said. Her hologram faded out of sight.

How very tiresome, Charet thought. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Hopefully things will go smoothly, especially with the ambassadors from the Garon clan on board. Ambassador Garon was really interested in seeing our galaxy. If so, he's in for one hell of a surprise following what we've learned thus far.

Just as it did, a guard came inside. "Madam President, Fleet Admiral Lasky is requesting your presence at a briefing for HIGHCOM, along with the Secretary of the State and the Navy."

"Then he will not be disappointed," Charet said as she stood up from her seat…

Inside the meeting room, Lasky waited for President Charet, Paul Russel and the other members of HIGHCOM to come inside. From what I've heard, Operation SKYFALL was a complete success, he thought. We've gotten more intel within a few hours than most operations do in weeks.

The doors opened, interrupting his train of thought. Looking up, he watched Charet and the others walk into the meeting room. Osman in particular looked triumphant, as though she had just won the lottery. She should be. After all, ONI had a major success in this regard.

Once they were all inside, Lasky looked at them. "Madame President, Mr. Secretary, HIGHCOM, welcome. I was informed just recently that Operation SKYFALL was a major success on ONI's part. We now know more about the faction that destroyed the Huygens. Osman, you may proceed."

"Thank you," Osman said. "Around 2300 hours local time yesterday, an ONI team led by Captain Oswald led a successful infiltration effort with the use of a nanite swarm created by Section Three. We have been able to gather a significant amount of intelligence on the faction, which we have learned is called the 'Twelve Colonies of Kobol.' Cortana, if you would?"

"Of course," Cortana said. Within seconds, she had pulled up all of the relevant information. "According to the intelligence recovered by Oswald and the other Prowler teams, the Twelve Colonies of Kobol occupies a multiple star system roughly two thousand light years away from Earth. Intelligence suggests that they are a representative government much like our own, but with some notable differences. For example, they call their main legislative body the 'Quorum' and they were united by the Articles of Colonization."

"Why is that?" Charet asked. "What prompted them to create the Articles of Colonization?"

"According to records retrieved by Morpheus, the AI assigned to Oswald, a company by the name of Graystone Industries created a series of robots known as the U-87 Cyber Combat Unit, a member of a classification of machines known as Cybernetic Life-form Node, henceforth known as 'Cylons.' Records indicate that they were originally created as a slave race to assist the Colonials in practically everything, from sanitation and construction to warfare. As for how they were able to do this, all of it was thanks to what is known as a 'Meta-Cognitive Processor.'"

The members of HIGHCOM looked nervously at each other, the President and the Secretary of Defense. "That is a disaster in the making," Russel said. "You don't create a machine that is sapient and adopt it as a slave race."

"I agree," Charet said. "There's a reason why I signed the AI Civil Rights Act of 2557, which grants AI the same rights and privileges of normal human beings. From the looks of it, the Colonials were setting themselves up for a war."

"I agree," Parangosky said. "Cortana?"

"You got that right," Cortana said. "According to the records recovered by Morpheus, following the creation and implementation of an updated MCP, the Cylons found out about their status as a slave race. That, combined with sermons from former terrorist turned cleric Clarice Willow, led the Cylons to rebel against the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, starting the twelve year long conflict known as the Cylon War.

"Those same records indicate that the Cylons conducted a series of cyberattacks, while using their own custom built ships to wage war. The Colonials responded by looking at older technologies for protection, while also fighting back. This led them to develop the 'Battlestar', a hybrid of an aircraft carrier and a battleship, as a means of being able to launch fighters, while having the same capabilities as a battleship of the same size."

"How did this war end?" Lasky asked.

"It ended following the conclusion of Operation RAPTOR TALON, after which the Cylons abruptly left for some unknown reason. Following this abrupt end to the conflict, the Twelve Colonies created Armistice Station and the Cimtar Peace Accords, which ended the war in an armistice."

Lasky frowned. "From what I recall, an armistice is a temporary end to an armed conflict. How long has it been since the start of this armistice?"

"Around forty years," Cortana said.

Hogan, frowned. "That's a really long time to create an armistice," he said. "Why would they do that, unless they were preparing for another bout of war, or even a decapitation strike?"

"Captain Oswald thought as much," Osman said. "According to him, Morpheus uncovered a backdoor into the Colonials computer systems. Much of it, however, was concentrated into what was called a 'Command Navigation Program.' Correct?"

"That's correct," Cortana said. "According to my analysis, the Command Navigation Program is an operating system that was written for the most recent model of Battlestars created by the Colonials, known as the Mercury-class Battlestars. It was also written as the operating system for their latest aerospace fighter, the Mk VII Viper." Images of the Battlestar and fighters in question appeared over the table as a series of holograms. Various data readouts indicated the dimensions of each ship, and the armaments involved.

"Are there any older Battlestars that don't have a CNP installed?" Lasky asked.

"Yes," Cortana said. "The only exception that I've been able to find is the older Jupiter-class Battlestars. The only example I've been able to find is the Galactica, which is said to be a very storied Battlestars." An image of the Galactica appeared in the holograms.

Lasky and the others looked them over. "Very impressive," Dellert said. "For a faction that has no connection to Earth whatsoever, they seem to have done quite well with the design of their ships. How big is the Mercury-class?"

"Around 1.78 kilometers in length," Cortana said. "Other measurements indicate that it is 674.69 meters wide and 229.11 meters tall."

Hogan whistled. "Big ship, but pretty wide too. Our ships have a more vertical element."

"I'm more interested in its armament," Parangosky said. "Cortana, what are these ships armed with?"

"They're armed with thirty four kinetic energy weapons, mainly in the form of large cannons similar to what you'd find on a wet navy battleship. Intelligence gathered by Morpheus indicates that these are Hybrid Electrothermal Light-gas cannons firing slugs at tens of kilometers per second. They also carry numerous point defense cannons and they have missile tubes capable of firing nuclear warhead equipped missiles."

Strauss looked confused, "Hybrid Electrothermal Light-gas cannons? What are those?"

"I know a little bit of the technical stuff behind it," Osman said. "From what I recall, they ignite a hydrogen-oxygen mixture using an electrical arc. Cortana?"

"You'd be correct," Cortana said. "HEL guns, as I'll refer to them from now on, are designed to propel hypervelocity projectiles using a precisely measured hydrogen-oxygen gas mixture. This mixture is then ignited using an electrical arc, with the resulting combustion gases propelling the projectile out of the muzzle of the weapon."

"Why would they use that?" Lasky asked. "Wouldn't it be more efficient to use railguns or coilguns like we do?"

"It depends on their tech level," Cortana said. "That brings us to another point. Most of these Battlestars are powered and propelled using a material known as 'tylium.' Records indicate that it has an enthalpy, which is the thermodynamic potential of a system, on the order of half a million gigajoules per kilogram. That's about six times the enthalpy of Uranium-235 and 81% that of Deuterium fusion."

Hogan whistled. "Damn! Now that's some really powerful shit!"

"It is," Cortana said. "However, our reactors not only make use of deuterium-deuterium fusion, they make use of deuterium-tritium fusion, which produces significantly more energy than tylium does. In addition, tylium appears to be an exotic, primordial substance that is destabilized and ignited by substances like liquid oxygen and so on. What we do know, however, is that the Colonials use it to power their ships propulsion systems and provide power."

Parangosky frowned. "That's like trying to run the Infinity off of petroleum. You could do it, but it's extremely inefficient. I'm surprised the Colonials haven't researched nuclear fusion yet, though that likely has to do with their fear of AI."

"That could be the case," Cortana said.

"What about their method of FTL propulsion," Dellert asked. "What do they use?"

"According to records, they utilize what they call the 'Hyperlight Jump Drive' or 'FTL Drive' for short. According to my analysis, the Hyperlight Jump Drive uses M-Theory, a variation of String Theory, to fold space and time, creating a traversable Ellis Wormhole. The ship is then shunted through the Ellis Wormhole by expanding the space behind the ship while compressing the space in front of it. It's identical to a method proposed by theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre."

"How advanced is it compared to the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine?" Lasky asked.

"Not particularly advanced," Cortana said. "However, the concept does mean that they can travel around without incurring causal reconciliation or relativistic time dilation. Given the state of their technology, however, their grasp of it is very limited. If the UNSC got their hands on the tech, it could become very advanced, but as it stands, our method of FTL flight is significantly more advanced than their own. I don't see us using it in the foreseeable future."

"Very interesting," Charet said. "What I'm more interested in is their culture."

Cortana winced. "Well… that's where things get quite interesting, Madam President. I must warn you, it's gonna be quite strange."

Charet gave Cortana a bemused stare. "Cortana, I've had to deal with the fact that Humanity is the inheritors of the Forerunners technology and knowledge, along with the fact that there are humans in the galaxy that we've just left. I think I can handle the culture of a civilization that is in our backyard, cosmologically speaking."

Cortana shrugged. "All right. Don't say I didn't warn you, though. According to the information Morpheus retrieved, the Twelve Colonies of Kobol believe that they were created by their gods, who have a surprising resemblance to the deities of Ancient Greece, on the planet of Kobol. Around two thousand years ago, they left Kobol and came to the Cyrannus system, where they rebuilt society into what we see today. They also believe that there was a Thirteenth Tribe that left Kobol and settled on a planet named Earth, meaning that since we've run into them, they think we're from Kobol too. They also think that no other humans, aside from us and them, exist"

Hogan snorted. "That's absurd!"

"I agree," Charet said, "though I would like to to be respectful, Hogan. They don't know the truth, so we can't blame them for believing otherwise. Still, it'll be a rude awakening for them when they meet the Garon ambassadors onboard. You mentioned the word 'gods', Cortana. Do they have a polytheistic religion?"

"Yep," Cortana said. "Their religion most closely matches that of Ancient Greece's religion. However, according to their mythology, Athena committed suicide when the ancestors of the Colonials left Kobol after a disaster of some kind. In addition, their mythology states that they were created around four thousand years ago."

"That's very odd," Lasky said. "According to records that you and Chief retrieved from Requiem, as well as the Librarian's account of things, Humanity existed at the same time as the Forerunners, around ten million years ago according to those records. Plus, we didn't come from Kobol according to those records. Earth is the homeworld of all of Humanity, ancient and otherwise."

"That's correct," Cortana said. "Given that information, I believe that Parangosky's theory is right: these humans must've been inside of a Shield World."

"And I think we know the name of that potential Shield World," Parangosky added. "I have a feeling that Shield World is Kobol, and that their 'gods' were either Ancient Humans or Forerunners. The facts are lining up so far, but as you know, theories must change to suit facts, not facts to suit theories."

"Precisely," Russel said. "That being said, I'm wondering what the plan is for the Colonials, now that we know more about them and their technology. What do you think, Richmond?"

Richmond, the Secretary of the Navy, pressed his thin lips together. "Personally, I don't see why we shouldn't march in and force them to bend the knee. However, given that I'm a freedom loving man myself, I know that wouldn't be just unfeasible, it would go against everything I believe in. Madam President, what do you think?"

Charet frowned, then paced around somewhat. That is a really good question. On the one hand, given how small their military and territory is, it would be easy to just march in and annex them forcibly. On the other hand, doing so would be a violation of our beliefs and principles, yet now that they know of us, we have to reach a decision. It was a puzzling conundrum.

Then the answer struck like a thunderbolt. "I think that we need to do something about this, but in a way that everyone can get behind. They've fired on a civilian ship, so we are well within our rights to invade. However, I don't want the UEG to come off as an aggressive and invasive force. I want them to appear as a faction seeking justice for what happened to a civilian ship. With that in mind, I personally believe that, in the words of Theodore Roosevelt, we need to 'speak softly and carry a big stick.'"

Lasky cocked an eyebrow. "What do you suggest, Madam President?"

"What I'm suggesting is a show of force. We go in with a large fleet over one of their worlds and announce to them who we are. At the same time, we'll tell them about what happened to the Huygens and make it clear that while we are a civilization that values freedom and liberty, we will not take what happened to the Huygens lying down. As such, we will demand that the Quorum give proper compensation for the loss of the Huygens and that their crew be returned to us. In exchange for that, we will begin negotiations with the Quorum."

"That is going to be difficult, if they believe that we're also from Kobol."

"I'm well aware of that," Charet said. "However, I will make it clear that while we are from Earth, we do not have any connection to the Twelve Colonies, nor are we beholden by their laws. That being said, if they do protest that fact and attack, we'll need a way to shut down their military forces quickly. Any suggestions, people?"

"Well…" Richmond said. "There was mention of a backdoor into their systems, if the AI from the Huygens is to be believed. Correct?"

"That's correct," Osman said. "Cortana, any suggestions there?"

Cortana smiled. "There is. According to Morpheus' intelligence, the Command Navigation Program was installed onto all of the Mk VII Vipers in the Colonial Fleet, along with almost all of their Battlestars. There's only one Battlestar that is the exception to this rule, and that is the Galactica."

"And what is the status of the Galactica?"

Cortana checked a record. "It's due to be decommissioned. According to records, she's being converted into a museum ship, and she's currently not carrying any ammunition."

"That's good news," Osman said. "Lasky, what do you think? You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I am," Lasky said. "If the Colonials attempt to attack the UNSC fleet on the pretense that they're enforcing our compliance with the Articles of Colonization, we can use the backdoors in the CNP to shut down all of their ships in one fell swoop. Then we could capture their leaders and force the Colonials to surrender."

Charet smiled. "That's an excellent idea, Lasky, Osman. Plus, given that we'll only use the CNP backdoors in the event they refuse to reason and attempt to attack us, it'll make our moral position stronger. That being said, are there any individuals that we should focus on, should they decide to attack us?"

"Yes," Cortana said. "I've pulled up a list of possible HVTs should war break out. The first of them is Admiral Howard Graystone. According to information that Morpheus has retrieved, he is the creator and Commanding Officers of the Colonial Engineering Corps, a division of the Colonial Fleet that is responsible for all of their engineering projects. According to his IQ tests and his records in the Colonial Fleet, the man is nothing short of a genius and polymath, which is all the more amazing given his medical record."

"What do you mean?" Hogan asked. "What's his medical record got to do with anything?"

"According to his medical records, Howard Graystone was diagnosed with Still's Disease, also known as systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis."

Now it was Lasky's turn to look confused. "What's that?"

"It's an autoimmune disease where the immune cells attack the joints in the body," Cortana said. "However, it can also affect the liver and a few other systems, causing them to swell. According to the medical reports, Admiral Graystone was diagnosed with the disease at fifteen years of age, with his case being classified as moderate. Follow-up medical reports indicate that he's growing out of the disease, which is now classified as mild."

Lasky frowned. "In that case, he'd be barred from the field, but not in any positions that do not directly involve front-line combat. That would explain why he's the head of the CEC. Cortana, what are his other achievements?"

"Other than the HEL guns used on the Mercury-class Battlestar? His other achievements include advances in the Colonial's FTL flight method, which I'll send to you for later analysis, and advances in materials engineering. Rumors also have it that he's currently working on the Colonial's first shipborne nuclear fusion drive. If that's true, it would revolutionize the Colonial's means of sub-light propulsion."

"That makes him a priority then," Lasky said. "Any others?"

"Admiral Peter Corman and Admiral Nagala," Cortana said. "They're the commanding officers of the entire Colonial Fleet. If we capture the two, we'll be able to force the Colonial Fleet to stand down, especially if we also capture their political leaders."

"Mark them as priorities," Richmond said. "Any others?"

"There is one notable exception," Cortana said.

"Who would that be?" Parangosky asked.

"One Commander William Adama, also known by his Viper call sign of 'Husker.' According to records, he's a veteran of the Cylon War, which is odd, as he's been stuck at the rank of Commander for a very long time. He should be a Fleet Admiral by now. He's also the CO of the Galactica."

"I see," Lasky said. "So, does anyone disagree with Charet's plan? I personally think it's a good idea."

Hogan nodded. "I like it. Not only does it give us a chance to flaunt the UNSC's military might, it also gives us a chance to end any conflict peacefully before it kicks off."

"I agree," Strauss said. "I've been a military officer long enough to know the value of shock and awe. However, we'll also need an ambassadorial ship to come along as well."

"Agreed," Charet said. "All in favor of the plan, raise your hand." Everyone in the room raised a hand. "Unanimously approved. Lasky, can you send us the relevant information when you can?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lasky said. "That being said, I was wondering if I could talk some more with you, Russel and Richmond once the briefing concludes."

"That you may," Charet said. "Is there anything else to bring up?"

"There is one other matter," Cortana said. "What is the plan when it comes to the Cylons? When they find out we're human, they might try to attack us simply because we're human."

"I've got a plan for that," Lasky said. "Given that they're an AI race, you, Cortana, will be able to hack into their systems and shut them down for good. If they attempt to assault, we'll rally at one of the star systems in the Cyrannus system and perform a counterattack once you've found out where their star systems are and what weaknesses they have in their cyber security." Looking at the time, he said, "We'll discuss a final strategy at 1300 hours. Dismissed!"

Everyone, except for Charet, Russel and Richmond left the room. "So, what do you want to share with us, Lasky?" Charet asked.

"Are you aware of the intelligence report that I sent to you, Richmond and Russel a few hours ago?"

"Yes," Charet said. "You mentioned something about a bad encounter with a device called a 'Holocron,' some sort of organic computer. Why do you ask?"

"I'm wondering the same thing," Russel said.

Lasky sighed. "I don't how how to put this plainly, so I'll stick with plain honesty. First, I ended up becoming a Force Sensitive. You know what the Force is, do you gentlemen?"

"Yeah," Richmond said. "Some kind of invisible energy field that living things create and influence. Correct?"

"Simply put, but accurate. Some living beings, known as Force Sensitives, can use the Force to perform seemingly supernatural feats. Because of the Holocron I had a bad encounter with, I became a Force Sensitive, but that's not all."

"What else is there then?" Russel asked.

"The fact that we're now glued to him," a woman's voice said.

Charet's gaze snapped to various points of the room. Nearby, Russel and Richmond glanced around, with the latter reaching for an earpiece. "There's no need for violence, Secretary Richmond," a male voice said. "Even if you could see us, you wouldn't be able to harm us."

"What's going on, Lasky?" Charet asked. "Is this a prank? If so, I am not in the mood for pranks!"

Lasky shook his head ruefully. "It's no prank, Charet. The other thing that happened when I opened the Holocron is that I became bonded to a Force Ghost known as Bastila Shan, who in turn is bonded to another one named Revan. Bastila, Revan, if you would?"

"Of course." Within seconds, two ghostly beings appeared to the left and right of Lasky. The first was a woman dressed in dark robes, while the second was a man dressed in similar robes.

"President Charet, Secretary Russel, Secretary Richmond, meet Bastila Shan and Revan, Revan, Bastila, meet Charet, Russel and Richmond."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, President Charet," Bastila said. Revan merely bowed slightly.

Richmond whistled. "Damn, Lasky. When you said you were bonded to a pair of ghosts, you weren't kidding. I hope they're of the friendly variety."

"They are," Lasky said. "I can assure you of that."

Charet walked up to the two Force Ghosts and examined them carefully. Moving her hand to the left and right, she watched as it passed through Bastila's ghostly frame. "Strange…" she said. "I've heard of ghost stories before, but this… this is something else entirely." She frowned. "So, who were they in life, if they really are ghosts?"

"We're not ghosts in the usual sense of the word," Bastila said. "We're Force Ghosts, and we typically manifest only when Force Sensitives are bonded to us or if we have a connection to them in some way. As for who we were before our deaths, we were Jedi Knights, or rather Masters, given our grasp and comprehension of the Force. Revan, in fact, was a general as well."

"I see," Richmond said. "So, do you two know anything about the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War?"

Revan smiled ruefully. "We don't just know about them, Richmond, we lived through them. I fought the Mandalorians during the Mandalorian Civil War as the Supreme Commander of all Republic forces, even defeated them at Malachor V. A brilliant stroke of genius on my part. As for the Jedi Civil War, that was partly my fault. I fell to the Dark Side of the Force and led a war against the Jedi, a war that ended following my return to the Light Side of the Force. As for Bastila, she aided me in ending the Jedi Civil War. She was also responsible for bringing me back to my senses."

Russel and Richard looked at each other. "So, do you two have any information that we can use?"

"We'll send some of that information to Lasky, who'll send it to you," Bastila said.

"Fair enough," Charet said. "Does Hood know about this, Lasky?"

Lasky sighed. "No, and for the record, I did try to tell him on two separate occasions. Both times he dismissed me, saying that he was too busy."

Charet snorted. "Well then… Looks like he's going to be in for quite the surprise, and a wake-up call. He definitely could use one."

"Do they have access to sensitive information?" Richmond asked.

"Yes," Lasky said. "Now before you say that I've violated UNSC protocol, I can tell you that I haven't actually done so. Both of them are dead, which means that I can share with them those secrets without repercussion. The other is the fact that since I'm bonded with them, I can't keep them from finding that information out anyways."

Russel frowned. "How closely are you bonded with them, Lasky?"

Lasky winced, idly scratching the back of his head with a hand. "Well, it depends on the Force Ghost in question. Bastila and I are part of a Force Dyad. As for Revan, he's not bonded to me, but he is bonded to Bastila, so I can see him too."

"What the hell is a 'Force Dyad?'" Richmond asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Charet said.

"I can explain," Revan said. "A Force Dyad is a bond in the Force that is so powerful that the two individuals that are a part of it are considered to be one being in the Force. That means that while Lasky and Bastila have differing personalities and bodies, the Force considers them to be a single, united being. Individuals that are part of a Force Dyad can share thoughts, feelings and sensations no matter how far apart they are. One can even resurrect a member of the Dyad from the dead, though this results in one of the members permanently dying."

All three members of the UEG Security Council gazed at Lasky with shock. "So, he's saying that you and Bastila are one and the same?" Charet asked.

"When it comes to the Force, yes," Lasky said. "To be frank, I'm still trying to figure all of this out, which is understandable, since a Sith Holocron did this to me."

"Don't forget that it was one created by Valkorion, the Sith Emperor," Revan added.

"Who?" Charet asked.

"Some crazy old guy in the Sith that was very powerful," Lasky said. "As one of my reports to HIGHCOM details, he performed a Dark Side rituatl that consumed all life on the planet of Ziost, where we found the Holocron. My question, though, is why would Valkorion stick Bastila inside of a Holocron rather than outright kill her. It doesn't make sense."

"I agree," Russel said. "You don't do something like that, unless you're a sadistic bastard."

"Which Valkorion was," Revan added, "and I have a theoriy on why he did that? Bastila, you said that you felt like something was eating you alive while you were in that Holocron, yes?"

"Yeah. It was like something was..." she stopped, her ghostly eyes widening in shock. "Wait, don't tell me that -"

"-yep," Revan said. "He didn't just put you in there to deprive you of the Force. I think he might've been feeding on your essence in the Force, which means -"

"- he's still around."

"Mind if you two explain what you're talking about?" Lasky asked.

"There's a good chance that Valkorion is still alive," Revan said. "He created the Holocront that Bastila was stuck in. It makes sense to me that, as a final backup plan, he would use the Holocron to not only sever my bond with Bastila, but to also bring himself back."

At that, Lasky paled. "Shit, and if he was capable of consuming all life on the planet..."

"That means that he's a threat that's just as bad as the Flood," Charet said. "Maybe even worse. There's not much we can do right now, unless Revan has any ideas."

"Check your crew over when you can," Revan said. "I suspect that one of them might be controlled by Valkorion, but not immediately. We don't want to tip him off, if he's still around that is."

Bastila nodded. "That being said, we know of the situation with the Colonials and we would like to help. I, for one, can use a Force technique known as Battle Meditation."

"Battle Meditation?" Russel asked. "What's that?"

"Battle Meditation is a technique that Bastila used quite frequently," Revan said. "It's the ability to use the Force to coordinate allies and even entire fleets or ships, allowing them to perform at maximum efficiency, acting as a single entity with the ability to counter every enemy move quickly and effectively. Though ideal for meditating large-scale conflicts, it's also effective when employed for the benefit of one's comrades in small skirmishes, attacks, and duels. It can also be used to simultaneously demoralize opponents, reducing their combat effectiveness. Battle meditation can and has been used to influence armies and fleets to win battles and even wars."

"That being said, the effects it has on the one employing the technique tends to vary," Bastila added. "If the side the user employing Battle Meditation wins, it tends to range from mildly tiring the practicioner to actually invigorating them. If they lose, or are not used to using the Force, they can become so exhausted that it temporarily renders them unconscious."

Richmond winced. "That's pretty harsh, but understandable. You're literally trying to influence the outcome of a battle."

"Indeed," Lasky said. "That being said, I don't know if I can use Battle Meditation safely. I've only just begun to learn how to use the Force. Using such a technique at this early of a stage would be quite debilitating."

"Only if you believe it to be," Bastila said. "Remember Lasky, the amount of midi-chlorians in your body isn't the only factor in how powerful you are in the Force. Jedi that have less midi-chlorians than others can become powerful so long as they overcome any mental barriers to their success. I'm certain that, if you believe that you can use Battle Meditation, you can do so."

Lasky shrugged. "If you say so. I guess I'll believe it when I experience it."

"Same here," Charet said. "That being said, Lasky, have you told anyone else of this?"

"Only a few, ma'am. Jyn, along with Dr. Halsey, Captain Mileus, Olivia and Fleet Admiral Cole are aware of this fact. I plan on telling Admiral Sark, but not many other people. I'm trying to limit the amount of people that know because if ONI finds out, they'll want to experiment on me, and we all know their track record in that regard."

Charet nodded. "Makes sense. Still, I believe that you have done well, especially with something like that happening. It only makes it clear to me that you are the right person to replace Hood when it is time."

"That being said, we'll have to tend to one matter," Russel said. "Given what's going on, as well as current circumstances, I believe that it would be wise to give Bastila and Revan TS/SCI clearance. Given that they're both death, and that they're bonded to Lasky, there's no chance of sensitive information being spilled."

"I agree," Richmond said. "Charet?"

"I believe that would be wise," Charet said. "Is there anything else you wish to share with us, Lasky?"

"Nothing that I can think of," Lasky said.

"Good. Inform us when you are ready to tell us the finalized strategy. We'll take our leave now. Thank you for informing us of this, Lasky."

"You're welcome, ma'am." Once Charet and the others had left, Lasky turned to Revan and Bastila. "So, what'd you think?"

"My feelings about Charet were right," Bastila said. "She's a very strong and capable leader. If there is a leader that could bring the UEG into a new golden age, it's her. I fear that she may create many enemies in doing so, though."

"Everyone has enemies," Revan countered. "I wouldn't be surprised if Charet already has their heads spinning. She strikes me as that kind of leader."

Lasky nodded. "She does. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must finalize our strategy for dealing with the Colonials. Take care now."

"You too, Lasky," Bastila said. Both she and Revan faded out of existence.

Well, I'm setting a record, Lasky thought. First Provisional Director to find an new civilization. Speaking of which… "Cortana, you still there?"

"Yes," Cortana said. "What is it?"

"How come we didn't detect the Twelve Colonies of Kobol until now? You'd think that, given that they're in our cosmological backyard that we'd have spotted them long before now."

Cortana put her hand on her hips. "Do you know how many star systems are within a two thousand light year radius of Earth?"

"Enlighten me."

Cortana smiled. "Fifty million. Try searching through all of that for sapient life. It would take you hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions of years, to sift through all of that, and we've only been performing detailed analysis of star systems for roughly five hundred years. That's not nearly enough time to find the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. In fact, we're extremely lucky to have come across them in the first damn place."

Lasky's jaw dropped open slightly. "Damn… now I understand why we didn't find them until now. What about their radio signals?"

"Same problem," Cortana said. "The distance between us and the Cyrannus System is 2,000 light years. We've had radio for five hundred years, which is 1,500 years short of the required time for light to reach that distance. Plus, there's enough cosmic interference to drown out those signals unless you had a sophisticated radio telescope."

Lasky shrugged. "That actually makes a lot of sense. Thank you Cortana."

"You're welcome," Cortana said.

. . .

You bastard!, Harrison raged at Valkorion from within his mental cage. You tricked me, used my desire for revenge to get what you want! When I get out of here, I'll tear you a new asshole so large, you'll have to have planet sized stitches to shut it!

Valkorion shook his head. So you finally figured it out, he said. How interesting is that. You'll need something far more powerful than your mere rage to throw me out. He smirked at Harrison's anger.

Well, guess what, buddy? Harrison snarked back. They'll find out eventually. You might be good, but Lasky and the others are smarter than you think. When they find out, I will relish what they'll do to you. You mark my words on that.

Valkorion sneered. Empty threats from a weak willed worm. Shutting out Harrison's angry rants and shouts, he focused on the terminal he was using. I must admit, the UEG is certainly not weak. They have survived threats that even this Galactic Empire would be hard pressed to deal with.

He snorted derisively. Speaking of Empires, Palaptine is quite intelligent, but he is a fool. When I come into my own again, I will show him the true meaning of power. I will show him true immortality, and when all is said and done, I will consume this galaxy and become a god.

The UEG and Swords of Sangheilios, on the other hand… He shook his head. I have seen many nations and empires rise and fall, and those two are quite interesting. Still, it won't matter much in the end. I'll simply devour those two the same way I have with all the others.

He was about to maintain the body he was using when something on the terminal caught his eye. Opening it, he found that it was a document detailing something called the 'Flood.' How very… ominous, he noted. They call this a significant threat. I shall decide that. With no small amount of boredom, he opened the file and began to read.

Within seconds, he regretted his decision. Pain erupted in his head as an psychic imprint in the Force lashed out. Falling over, he let out a howl of pain and terror as images flooded his mind. Then a voice boomed in his head.

"Insolent worm. You dare call yourself Emperor of the Sith. Your death will be quick, while they will suffer the process of infinitude. Remember those words when we feast on your mind and flesh, arrogant worm."

The voice faded out as quickly as it came back. Picking himself up off the floor, a whirlwind of thoughts ran through Valkorion's mind. What was that? He wondered. Could it have been one of the Old Ones? A message from them, or perhaps a psychic imprint left behind by them?

He shook his head, then resumed reading the file. By the time he was done, Valkorion felt an emotion he had felt only a few times in his wretched life: fear. This… Flood… is a threat to my plans. I cannot tolerate their existence. I will use the Force to consume them, and in doing so purge the galaxy of them. Right now, I must continue to learn what I can about the UEG, Galactic Empire and their allies. Throwing all other thoughts out of his mind, he continued to read what he could.

. . .

At Yavin IV, another drama was taking place. Garm Bel Iblis rubbed his forehead wearily. These members of New Republic High Command are quite annoying, he thought. No wonder the Rebel Alliance was having such a hard time. Now its up to me to make sure the New Republic survives this.

Said drama, in fact, was going on right before his very face. Before him, Leia Organa and the others were in a spirited conversation about what had happened at Coruscant. "I am shocked that you have walked away from what we wish to restore," Mon Mothma said. "Before I know it, you'll be inviting the Separatists to join the Rebel Alliance."

"I just might," Leia said."Given that they have expertise that we need, we might need them. I don't care what the Imperial propaganda machine will say about that. The Separatists have been given a bad rapport by the bad apples within their ranks. We can sort them out very easily now, so there's no reason to hold back."

"Indeed," Mon Mothma admitted. "That being said, I'm curious as to how you escaped your Imperial escorts."

"I had some help from my friends in the UNSC, though I will not disclose their methods. Now, as I was saying earlier, the Russan Reformation was a mistake, and a terrible one at that. Not only did it deprive us of something that could have stopped the Sith from gaining power in the first place, it allowed pirates and criminals to run rampant throughout the Outer Rim Territories. In fact, I'm very glad that I changed my stance, especially after what I've learned."

That got Iblis' attention fast. "And what would that be?" he asked. "Some threat in the Unknown Regions coming to threaten the entire galaxy?"

Leia sighed. "I take it my father informed you?"

"I did," Bail said. "My apologies for my tardiness. Your men have become quite thorough in their search for contraband."

"It's all right," Garm said. "That being said, I'm interested in what you learned about this threat in the Unknown Regions. Is it perhaps even a threat from the UEG's home galaxy that might make its way here?"

"How very astute of you, Mr. Iblis," another voice said. The holographic image of President Charet appeared. "Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. My apologies for my tardiness, I was just finishing up a meeting with my Provisional Chairman."

Mon Mothma and the others looked at Charet. "Provisional Chairman?" Vasp asked. "I thought Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood was your Chairman of the UNSC and Navy. What changed?"

"Mainly the fact that he's currently out of town, Mr. Vaspar. As for who it is, well… it's someone that all of you are familiar with."

It was Nower that guessed the answer to that question. "Thomas Lasky."

Charet smiled. "Bingo! Someone give the man a cigar! I'd give him one myself, but I'm thousands of light years away, so a verbal reward will have to do."

Tynnra rubbed her forehead. "Why did you choose that annoyance as the temporary Chairman of your military? Ever since he gave that harsh assessment of his, we've been the subject of ridicule from some of the older members of the New Republic. Hell, we had to completely reorganize the Rebel Alliance because of his words."

Bail frowned. "Tynnra, mind your manners."

"Because he's the best damn person for the job," came a familiar voice. Captain Holmes walked inside, the UNSC Captain dressed for the occasion. "As a Rear Admiral within the UNSC, he can be selected as a candidate for the position of Chairman of the Navy and the UNSC. Besides, he's one of the best Rear Admirals that I've ever had the privilege of knowing. If you don't like it, you can take it up with Charet."

Chare nodded. "Agreed.. I've made my decision, and if there is one thing I do not back out on, it's the decisions that I make."

"And you are right not to," Garm said. "I've read up on Lasky. He certainly seems like Chairman material to me, what with all of his accomplishments and what not. That being said, I'm curious as to what Leia learned to motivate her to switch her stance when it comes to the Russan Reformations. Would you care to inform us as to why, Madam President?"

"I would like to know too," Bail said. "You mentiond

Charet smiled. "Gladly. Now, what I am about to tell you does not go beyond this room under any circumstances. If it does, there will be riots and panic, which is not what we need at this time. Leia, would you kindly share with them the information on the Far Outsiders?"

Leia nodded. "Yes, Ms. Charet." Handing the others datapads, she said, "The Far Outsiders, my fellow rebels, are an alien race that has been scouting out the Unknown Regions. They are a cruel and terrible race that thrives on the suffering and death of other species. What makes them dangerous is that they are highly adept at infiltration and subversion."

Garm and the others looked over the information in the datapads. No wonder Leia switched her position so easily, Bail realized. These Far Outsiders... I can only think of them as barbaric. No wonder Charet didn't wish to share this with me or the public.

Setting his datapad down, Garm said, "Now that I've seen the information you have on the Far Outsiders, I can see why you would refute the Russan Reformations. Without anyone to fight against the Far Outsiders…" he trailed off, the implications sinking into his mind.

"So it would seem," Mon Mothma said. "But you must remember, the Russan Reformations were the only thing preventing a military dictatorship from occurring. Yes, it resulted in an increase of piracy, but the Republic stood for a thousand years before the Clone Wars."

"And it was just as quickly forced to rebuild its military to avoid being destroyed," Leia countered. "The Republic stood for four thousand years with a military and it did just fine, until the Russan Reformations were enforced which, if I recall correctly, was created by pacifists like thsoe in this room.. Plus, that's not all of the threats that I learned about. There is one far worse than even the Far Outsiders, one that the UNSC and the Sangheili had to face down. Had they not, it would've begun consuming the entire universe."

"And that threat would be?" Garm asked.

"The Flood."

Confusion reigned on the faces of those gathered. "The Flood?" Vaspar asked. "What's that?"

"They're a race of virulent, parasitic organisms," Charet said. "In Latin, they're known as the Mortui Resuscitati, literally, 'the dead reincarnated.' As for why they are a threat, well it's quite simple really. They desire to consume all life in the galaxy and convert it into more of their biomass. But that's not the worst of it."

"What is the worst of it?" Garm asked. Deep down, he was beginning to dread the answer.

"The worst of it is that they absorb all of the memories of those they consume. In addition, as more living organisms are infected and converted into the Flood, the Flood's intelligence increase. If enough Flood are infected, they fuse together to form a gestalt consciousness known as a 'Gravemind.' When the Flood reach that state, they become their most dangerous. These holographic images should show you what I mean."

Holographic images of the Flood and what they could form appeared. Every member in the room was literally stiff with terror as they watched videos of Covenant and UNSC Marines being overwhelmed and converted into Flood organisms. Bail felt his spine seemingly turn to ice, while Garm felt unholy, crawling things run down his spine when he heard a recording of the Gravemind speaking through those it had infected.

By the time the footage was done playing, everyone was a lot paler. "By the Force!" Bail gasped. "What… what madness would lead that thing to… do such unspeakable things?!"

"The kind of madness that all power hungry dictators have," Charet said. "The Flood are a threat that cannot be negotiated or bargained with, and the same goes for the Far Outsiders. You only have two options to deal with them: you either fight, or you lie down and die."

"Which is why I've chosen to oppose the Russan Reformations," Leia said. "Without a standing military that is well trained, disciplined and well equipped, such threats will literally annihilate us, no matter how much we attempt to negotiate with them, and don't get me started on appeasement. In fact, if the New Republic chooses to support the Russan Reformations even after all of this, I will break away from the New Republic and form my own rebellion!"

"And I will gladly help her in doing so," Charet added. "Besides, I'm certain she would do better than a bunch of pacifists who, apparently, lack the guts and spine to stand up to the Empire."

The looks on everyone's faces said it all. Bail's expressoin was the only one that approached equanimity. She is her mother's daughter, he thought. If that's what she wants to do, then I can't stop her. Still, if she suggests that we're all 'gutless' pacifists... He shook his head. He noted that Nower, to his credit, was keeping control of himself, though Tynnra and Vasp appeared to be quite angry.

Mon Mothma's expression was complete and utter shock. "You would break away to form your own rebellion if we enforced the Russan Reformations?" she whispered.

"Yes, I would," Leia said. "And as you've just heard, Charet would be more than happy to support that decision. Make your choice, ladies and gentlemen. Will you continue to support the senselessness of the Russan Reformations? Will you chose to heed the voice of history and reason, and choose to create a means by which the peoples of the galaxy can defend themselves, or will you simply become territory waiting to be conquered, as Charet so fittingly put it?" She fell silent, prepared to do what she needed to do.

She didn't need to wait long. "That will not be necessary, Leia." Garm said. "You don't need to split off to form your own Rebellion. In fact, I fully support your decision to refute the Russan Reformations, because I chose to do the same?"

Mon Mothma's head turned so fast, Charet thought she had broken it. "You too, Garm?!"

"Me too," Garm said. "In light of the threats that face the UEG and our own galaxy, I cannot, in good conscience, support the Russan Reformations. I cannot say the same for my colleagues, but I can say that, more than ever, we need unity in order to destroy both the Galactic Empire, the Far Outsiders, and this Flood if we ever counter it again."

"You needn't worry about me," Vaspar said. "I too support you Garm. In fact, this might be the start of a new era."

"Good. Tynnra?"

Tynnra shook her head, then thought the matter over. "As much as I hate to admit it, I think Leia and Garm are right. We cannot disarm ourselves, not with the knowledge that threats like these exist. Nower?"

Nower, having just recovered from his stupor, nodded slowly. "I agree."

"As do I," Bail said. "We cannot disarm ourselves, and I, for one, agree with Leia on all points."

Garm turned to Mon Mothma. "The others agree with me, Mon Mothma. What do you say?"

For Mon Mothma, the sight of her colleages abandoning the Russan Reformations was unthinkable, yet it had just happened before her very eyes. They dare reject one of the things that made the Republic great?! a voice inside of her raged. They would throw away any means of ensuring a safe and just galaxy!

They wouldn't, actually, the more analytical part of her said. The Russan Reformations was a mistake. All of the facts they have pointed out are correct. Besides, the Republic was becoming a flawed monstrosity, an Empire in all but name. Shouldn't it be time to let it finally die, so that a true Republic can take its place?

Mon Mothma sighed. Sometimes, we have to sacrifice of ourselves to do what is right… even if it hurts. "If it is the decision of the New Republic to reject the Russan Reformations… then I will support the decision. I fear that doing so will bring about another age of strife and conflict, but then again, something better might come of this."

Bail nodded. "Something better will come about if I have anything to say about it."

Garm nodded. "I'm glad that we could come to an agreement. In fact, Leia, I should offer you the chance to lead the Rebel Alliance."

Leia smiled, but shook her head. "I'm afraid I'd have to decline. As an Ambassador of the Empire, I cannot remain in one place at a time. Besides, it would be suspicious to the Empire if I frequently left for long durations. I'm not even on the New Republic's High Command, whereas my father is."

Garm shrugged. "Fair enough, Still, with all that in mind, Charet, what do you intend to do about this?"

"For starters, we're going to continue sending you arms and equipment, and the people needed to make said equipment, to help you build up your military," Charet said. "How far along are you all?"

"Very," Vaspar said. "With the financial genius that Nower has provided, Garm Bel Iblis' decisiveness, Mon Mothma's charisma, and the military advisors and recruiters you sent us, the New Republic is doing far better than we could've imagined. Our military practically mirrors yours in terms of discipline."

"I wouldn't say that exactly," Holmes said, "but they have made excellent progress."

"And your fleets?"

"We've built them up considerably," Holmes said. "We can't concentrate them right now, without tipping off the Empire, but I can say we're doing better than I feared, but worse than I hoped."

Charet nodded. "Good. I did expect some resistance to our efforts, which isn't surprising. Still, it's good to know that we'll be ready to begin waging war on the Galactic Empire. The only thing we need now is a casus belli to justify the war. That means that, to paraphrase Sun Tzu's The Art of War, we must wait for the Empire to provide us an opportunity by which to declare war."

"We'll continue building up our forces in the meantime," Garm agreed. "However, I fear that any such opportunity might come at the cost of millions of innocent lives."

"It's a fear that I share as well," Charet said. "I look forwards to speaking more with you. For now, I must tend to my duties. Take care now, Garm."

"And you as well," Garm said. The hologram faded, leaving the leaders of the New Republic to chart a path through troubled waters.

. . .

In another galaxy, two thousand light years away from Earth, another faction was having a very similar discussion. "This is a disaster," John Cavil grumbled. "Just as we get everything in place, this new faction comes and screws everything up! Is someone out to get us, or is it just my imagination?"

The other humanoid Cylon models looked at him. There were seven in total, each one representing the interests of the Cylons as a whole. "It could be any number of things," Model 2, Leoben, said with a shrug. "For all we know, this could be a part of His plan."

Model 8, also known as Sharon, was more skeptical. "Are you sure about that, Leoben? For all we know, this 'new faction' could completely ruin our plans. Doral, what do you think?"

Doral, also known as Model Five, shrugged. "It could be any number of things. I'd need more time to figure it out. What I do think, though, is that we need to delay the attack in order to find out what this new faction's bearing is. They could turn out to be a valuable ally."

Cavil snorted. "Fat chance of that. If our spies within the Twelve Colonies have told us anything, it's that these newcomers are Humans too."

Model 3, D'Anna, gave Cavil a deadpan glare. "How about you drop the whole 'Humans are the monsters' shtick for a minute and treat with reality, Cavil? Now's not the time for division. We need to figure out who these newcomers are."

The Number 6 in the room, known as 'Lida' to the others, nodded. "Agreed. Leoben, Doral? Do we know anything about the newcomers, other than the fact that they're Humans? Simon, you can input any information you need to share with us too."

Doral scratched his head, then cleared his throat. "Right, well… According to our spies in the Twelve Colonies, the Humans that the Colonials caught trespassing in their own space came from a survey ship known as the Huygens. These humans, particularly their leader Alfred Danik, claim to be from the United Earth Goverment. They -"

Cavil held up a hand, interrupting Doral. "Did you say they came from something called the 'United Earth Government?"

Doral frowned in confusion. "Of course I did. Why?"

"I thought that the Thirteenth Colony came from a planet called Earth. There can't be another version of Earth, can there?"

"There could be," Simon, also known as Model 4, suggested. "The Galaxy is a large place, with an estimated 100 billion stars and a likely greater number of planets. I'm not surprised, in fact, that Human life evolved elsewhere. Convergent evolution does seem to be a thing, after all."

"Again with the whole evolution thing?" D'Anna grumbled. "You say the Universe is thirteen billion years old. If the Universe was really that old, Humans would be everywhere right about now, and we would be gods."

Irritation crossed Simon's face briefly. "I am well aware of that, D'Anna. Now where was I…? Ah, yes. As I was saying, one of our spies gained access to the report written by Admiral Howard Graystone. If you would dip your hands into the neuroconductive fluid please?"

The others quickly complied, dipping their hands into the liquid that ran over some of the data-streams. With seconds, the information the spy for Simon had gathered rushed into their heads. Withdrawing their hands, the six other Cylons thought the matter over. "Well… that is rather… concerning," D'Anna admitted.

"Indeed," Cavil agreed. "Not only are these Humans more advanced than we are, they're significantly more advanced than the Colonials. Deuterium-Tritium Fusion? I'd call that a load of crap were it not for the fact that the CEC could be doing exactly that."

"Exactly why I say we need more information," Doral said. "What about you, Leoben?"

"I agree," Leoben said. "We -"

He would've said more, were it not for the fact that he was rudely interrupted. D'Anna and Lida gasped, their eyes going wide as they looked around. Cavil glanced at them. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Can you hear that?" Lida asked.

Cavil was about to ask what they were hearing when he noticed it. An ethereal music seemed to echo in his ears, like a choir was singing Looking at the others, he found that all of them were hearing the same thing. Simon in particular was listening carefully, while Leoben seemed entranced by the music.

Then something happened that shocked and frightened them. The Hybrid that lay in the tub near them gasped loudly, prompting them all to turn their heads quickly towards it. The Hybrid, gazing at them, said words that would shock them forever.

"The Reclaimers have returned!" it said. "The Sons and Daughters of the Ancients have come to reclaim what is rightfully theirs! The Demon and the Repentant have slain the Great Evil that threatened all of existence! Soon, they shall defeat an even greater evil, one that seeks to consume all! All enemies that fight them shall drink from the bitter chalice of defeat! End of line!"

The humanoid Cylons stared at the Hybrid with shock. What shocked, and even frightened them, wasn't the fact that the Hybrid had spoken. What terrified them was that it was lucid. That was about as common as finding tylium on a planet with oxygen, which, needless to say, was impossible.

Glancing at Leoben, Cavil asked, "Did you hear what it said?"

Leoben nodded. "Yes, and that's what frightens me."

Cavil looked confused. "Frightened? I know you're a tad crazy, but I never imagined frightened. Why?"

"Because it might be right," Leoben said. "Could it be that the Humans from this new version of Earth are the 'Reclaimers' it speaks of?"

"It also said that all that fight them shall taste defeat," Sharon said. "I don't know about you, but I'd say that's cause for worry."

"Agreed," Doral said. "Cavil?"

Cavil nodded. "We'll observe these newcomers while going forward with our plans. Something tells me that we might need to accelerate them as well. Lida, what's the status of the CNP backdoor?"

"It has been installed onto all Colonial ships, except for the older models," Lida said. "We can proceed whenever you wish."

"Good. We'll begin our plans within the next few days. Now, shall we move to other matters, and forget this frightening experience?"

The others looked at each other, then nodded. The Hybrid becoming lucid had shocked them badly. A change in topic was something they all needed.