Battlestar Galactica

Past, Present, Future

Chapter Six

Death of the Colonies

The streets of Caprica City were alive with activity, even at that late centar. Thousands of revelers filled the avenues laughing, singing, dancing…… celebrating the coming armistice. Throughout the twelve colonies of man, celebrations were underway to commemorate what many thought was the greatest event in the history of mankind, the end of the thousand yahren war with the Cylons. The war had been a part of their lives centuries, billions upon billions of humans had died in what many had believed was a "no win" situation. Now it seemed that an end was finally within their grasp.

Among the celebrants, Major Saxton made his way thru the never ending flow of people in the streets. Normally, he would have been aboard his ship, the Presidential Battlestar Atlantia. But on this, the most important night in history, he was walking the streets of the capital city on his way to one of his favorite drinking establishments. He and his entire squadron had been given furlon while the fleet was off to meet with the representatives from the Cylon Empire to sign the treaty that would put an end to the war. He was surprised by the orders, not because he and his entire squadron had been ordered to stand down, but that the order had come from the president himself. President Adar had given the order that all squadrons were to stand down and that only "A reasonable number" of Viper pilots was to be kept on board for patrols and reconnaissance. The Commander had of course protested this, but the President, on the advice of one of his advisors, a Piscerian by the name of Baltar, had overruled the Commander. Thus, here he was.

Saxton arrived at the establishment he wanted a short time later. It was a popular place for warriors to go because the proprietor always went out of his way to accommodate them. He had been a warrior long ago, but was injured in the Battle of Cosmaro Archipelago as a Viper pilot with the Forth Fleet. The proprietor, the former Captain Lester, loved to tell how he nearly won the war with the Cylons single handed, and would have if not for a lucky shot by one of those "goll-monging rust pots" as he called them, tore the front section of his Viper off. The way he tells the story, he was found drifting in space after the battle, both of his legs shattered and was forced into retirement.

Those warriors that came there knew they would most likely be "honored" with the telling of the tale, even if they had been there a hundred times before. It was a small price to pay thou.

As Saxton entered the main room, he was surprised at the number of people that filled the room. It seemed that every square metron was occupied. He was about to turn around and leave when he saw a familiar face at a table near the back wall. He wore a dark blue warrior's uniform with Captains rank insignia. The man was waving to him to come over, so Saxton made his way thru the crowd toward the table.

The man met him half way, a huge smile on his face.

"Hey Sax, how you doin!" the man yelled to be heard over the crowd.

"I'm doing alright Nader, how about you?" Saxton answered.

"I'm doin great! How could I be otherwise pal, with the war about to end and all?" Nader said enthusiastically.

"It's not over yet buddy, anything could still happen." Saxton said more subdued then his friend.

"True….very true! So what are you doing here Sax? I thought you were a squadron commander on the Atlantia or something? How come you're not out there with the rest of the fleet?" Nader asked.

"The President ordered all squadrons to stand down and sent us all on extended furlons." Saxton said.

"Really! That's strange, who's going to protect the fleet if the armistice goes bad?" Nader asked.

"I don't know! The Atlantia only had twenty Viper pilots aboard when they pulled out, and most of them were fresh out of pilot training. Most all the experienced pilots were left behind." Saxton told him.

"That is strange, but if the President ordered it, then who are we to argue?" Nader said.

I guess, but from what I heard from some of the other ships, several of the other Battlestars left with all there squadrons aboard, like the Galactica." Saxton said.

"That's Commander Adama's ship, isn't it?" Nader asked.

"Sure is, from what I heard from one of the spacedock workers that was on the Galactica, they had a full compliment of Vipers aboard and all four squadrons were still there." Saxton told him.

"Sounds like Adama is expecting trouble." Nader remarked.

"Maybe he is, he's one of the best for a reason. If he thinks there's going to be trouble, orders or not, he'll do what's best for his ship and the fleet." Saxton said.

"What about you Sax, you think there's going to be trouble?" Nader asked his friend.

"I don't know." Saxton said thoughtfully. "I'll tell you something, I have a feeling that something big is going to happen, and I don't just mean the armistice. I have a feeling this war is far from over.

Hey Sax, why don't you come and join us? There's plenty of room." Nader said, gesturing at the table. "That's if you don't mind drinking with junior officers."

Saxton looked at the faces of the others for the first time. All were very young, perhaps no more then twenty two or three yahren of age. All wore the rank insignia of Ensigns and the shoulder patches of the Planetary Defense Command.

"I take it you all work together at the P.D.C." Saxton asked as they made their way back to the table.

"Yep! This is part of my watch section. We all came over here to celebrate the armistice after we secured over at the P.D.C." Nader told him.

"So you just got off duty?" Saxton asked a bit confused.

"Yeah, well sort of anyway." Nader said.

"What do you mean "sort of" Nader? How do you get "sort of" off duty?" Saxton asked, an uneasy feeling growing in the back of his mind.

"Well, I guess that was a little strange, but everything checked out. You see it's like this." Nader began as Saxton took a sip of the ale the drink server had brought over.

"We were on duty and everything seemed to be perfectly normal. Of course none of us wanted to be there with the armistice about to take place and all, but as the junior watch commander, I was the one the pulled the duty tonight. Well, we were about three centars into the shift when this Commander wearing the sash of a Presidential Aid came into the control room and orders us to switch all our systems to standby and to secure for the evening."

Saxton sat his cup down as he listened to his friend's story. A tingling began at the base of his skull just then, the same kind of tingle he got every time Cylons were around.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Well, I told him I couldn't do that without orders from the P.D.C.'s commanding officer, Admiral Peltier. That's when he pulls out this!" Nader said as he reached inside his warriors' cape and produces a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Saxton asked as he took it from Nader.

"That my friend is a Presidential Order!" Nader answered. "That Commander gave it to me, said that by the order of the President of the Twelve Colonies, I was to shut down all active weapons systems and secure them until further notice. The order also placed him in command of the P.D.C. until further notice."

Saxton read the order as if it were written in some kind of foreign language. He looked at Nader for a moment, then back at the document.

"Did you verify this order? Did you run it thru an authenticator?" Saxton asked, dumbfounded by what the order said. "This can't be real!"

"That's what I thought too, but I ran it thru the authenticator three times! It's legit!" Nader said shaking his head. "I still can't believe that it's real."

The tingle at the back of Saxton's skull went up a few notches.

"Did you try and contact Admiral Peltier and get his verification?" Saxton asked.

"I tried, but there was no answer at his office or his residence. He didn't even answer his personal comunit, and he never goes anywhere without that thing."

The tingle jumped higher.

"Who's the exec at the P.D.C.?" Saxton asked.

"That would be Commander Loch, but I wasn't able to contact him either." Nader said.

Saxton sat for a moment and thought about what he had just been told. Something seemed wrong with this situation, but was it just him or was there a real problem. He had to find out.

"Look Nader, I got a feeling that something isn't right here. I think we need to go back over to the P.D.C. headquarters and find out what the Hades is going on." Saxton said.

"You think there's a problem?" Nader asked.

Saxton nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I think that something is very wrong and we need to check into it." He said.

Saxton looked at the other four warriors, who had been sitting there, quietly listening to the two senior officers as they discussed the events of earlier that evening. He looked at a young blond woman of about twenty two yahren and asked, "What's your name?"

"Ensign Leia sir." She said nervously.

"Do you know where Admiral Peltier and Commander Loch live?" Saxton asked.

"Yes sir!" she answered.

"Good, I want you to go to there homes and inform them of what we've been talking about. You were listening, weren't you Ensign?" Saxton said.

"Yes sir." The Ensign said sheepishly.

"Good, tell the Admiral and the Commander that Captain Nader and I are going back to the P.D.C. and ask this Commander why he wants the weapons systems turned off." He said. He then looked at a dark haired woman of no more then twenty yahren and said, "What's your name?"

"Ensign Keitha sir." She responded.

"I need you to contact Colonial Security and have them send some people over to the P.D.C., just in case there is trouble. Tell them what we've been discussing and let them know that we're heading over there now."

"Yes sir!" she said.

Saxton looked at the last two, a female warrior of about twenty four and a male of no more then twenty. Both looked a bit worried.

"You two will come with us. There shouldn't be any trouble, but if there is, we may need the help." Saxton said.

The two young warriors just nodded and rose from their seats.

"Alright people, you know what you need to do. Take care of business and then hightail it back to the P.D.C., everyone clear?" Saxton asked.

All of them confirmed they understood.

"Alright, let's move. And let's hope that I'm wrong!"

The group of six warriors made their way to the exit and once outside, split up to carry out their different tasks. As they left the building, another person, wearing a dark, hooded cloak followed them out and watched them separate. He then pulled out a small personal comunit and punched in a few numbers. He was connected a few microns later.

"You're about to have visitors Commander. It seems that the watch commander you "relieved" has some reservations about your story and is coming back to check things out again." The cloaked figure said.

The voice on the end of the signal said calmly, "Not to worry my friend, I've taken care of everything here and will have a very warm welcome waiting for that nosey little snitrad and his friends."

"Good! Good! While you take care of them, I'll dispose of the two that left on other tasks. We only have to stay undetected for a few more centars. Don't fail my friend or we won't live long enough to regret our failure." The cloaked figure said.

"I know." The other said. Then the signal ended.

The cloaked figure began to walk at a brisk pace along the same way that the dark haired young warrior had went off on, blending into the crowd.

The hovermobile came to a halt at the main entrance to the P.D.C. and the four Colonial Warriors inside piled out. They were surprised when they arrived to find that the gate to the facility was unmanned and unsecured, no sign of the guards was evident. They proceeded to the command center were once again, they were not challenged by the usual Warrior security detachment that was always present. This raised the alarm in the three Warriors that only a few centars ago had left the facility.

"Where in Hades is everyone?" said Captain Nader asked nobody unparticular. "There was a full security detachment here when we left. Presidential order or not, I know Captain Rola would not leave the place unguarded."

"Maybe he didn't!" Saxton said as he looked toward a cluster of hedges near the door. Saxton and the others moved toward the plants, where they found the bodies of over twenty Warrior security personnel thrown haphazardly behind them.

"Lords of Kobol! What happened to them?" asked the female Warrior that had accompanied them to the P.D.C.

Saxton moved closer and pulled the small hand lamp he always carried from his pocket. He shinned the beam into the face of one of the Warriors.

It was Captain Rola.

Saxton squatted down next to the Captain and examined his face for a moment, then reached down and looked at his hands. After a moment, he stood and nodded to himself.

"What is it Sax? You know what killed them?" Nader asked.

"I'm no Med tech, but even I know the signs of Phosogen V poisoning." He told them.

"Phosogen V, whats that?" asked the female Warrior.

Saxton looked toward the building as if expecting to see someone or something watching them. Then he began to answer.

"Phosogen V is a chemical weapon used by the Cylons. It gets into the blood stream and causes all kinds of problems. First it hits the nervous system, paralyzing the muscles, then it causes the blood in your veins to turn to an acid when it reaches your lungs, so the blood vessels burst and you drowned in your own blood. You can tell if someone died from it by checking their fingernails and skin color."

"And this Phosogen V is what killed them?" asked Nader.

"Yeah." Saxton said still staring at the building.

"Who do you think did it? Cylons?" asked the male Ensign that was with them.

"I'd say it was that "Commander" that showed up and sent everyone home. What I can't understand is why." Saxton said.

"You said this stuff was used by the Cylons, how would a human get their hands on that stuff?" Nader asked.

"I don't know! But I intend to find out!" Saxton said.

He turned to the two Warriors with Nader and asked their names.

"I'm Rentner, this is Britt." The male Warrior said, hiking a thumb in the direction of the young woman.

"Alright, I'm Major Saxton." He said nodding to them. "We need to go in there and find out what's going on. I need one of you to stay here and contact Colonial Security. Let them know what we've found and have them send at least a cohort of Warriors to secure the area."

Ensign Britt raised her hand. "I'll stay."

Saxton nodded his head at her. He could see the fear in her eyes. He knew if she went in the building with them, she could freeze at the wrong moment and get herself killed. It would be better for her to stay behind and help secure the area when the security forces arrived.

Saxton went back to the pile of bodies and began gathering up their lasers. He gave one to Ensign Britt, and two each to Nader and Rentner. Saxton sent Britt back down to the front gate to send for help, then he and the other two Warriors made their way to the front entrance. There were no visible guards anywhere inside, so the three men made there way to the large glass doors. The doors slide open immediately when the Warriors approached, which was odd since they should have been locked at that centar. Saxton, Nader, and Rentner raced inside and took up covered position inside the large rotunda of the P.D.C. They listened intently for any sound that might tell of a hidden enemy. All that could be heard was the sound of the air cooling units thru the vents. Satisfied that they would not be attacked from anyone in the rotunda, the three men moved toward the elevators.

As they approached the elevators, Nader's foot hit something on the floor. It slid across the floor stopping next to where Rentner was. He looked down at the object and bent as if to pick it up.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT THING!" yelled Saxton.

Rentner snatched his hand away as if he had just pulled it from a container full of serpents.

"What is it?" Nader asked, looking at the strange object.

"It's a Cylon Agent Release Device. That's probably what killed all the security people out there." Saxton said. "There might still be some residue of the Phosogen V on it."

"Thanks for the warning sir!" Rentner said, cold sweat dripping from his brow.

Saxton chuckled, "No problem, you can buy me a drink some time. Right now, let's see if we can find out who's behind all this."

With that, they made their way to the elevator and headed for the Command Center. Nader placed his identification card into the key pad and entered his access code. The elevator began it's decent to the Command Center, deep beneath the P.D.C. main building.

"Does this thing stop at any other levels?" Saxton asked.

"Yeah, there's three levels in the Command Center, why?" Nader asked.

"What level would you be getting off at?" Saxton asked.

"Alpha Level, the top most. Why, whats wrong." Nader asked worriedly.

"Take us to the bottom level." Saxton said.

"Alright." Nader said and pressed the button for the lowest level of the Command Center. "Mind telling me why?"

"If you knew someone was one the way down and wanted to stop them, were would be the easiest place to do it?" Saxton asked.

Nader nodded his head, understanding what his friend was doing.

"You shoot them as they come off the elevator."

"Right! I'm hoping that by going to the lowest level, whoever is doing all this won't be able to get an easy shot at us." Saxton told them. "What's the layout outside the elevator on the lower level?"

"It's in a small alcove, out of site of the rest of the Command Center. We should be able to get off clean and find cover before anyone can start shooting at us." Nader told him.

"How many ways are there to go from one level to the next?" Saxton asked.

Nader thought for a moment. "There are four staircases and six ladders, plus one other elevator besides this one."

"Where will the closest stairs be from the elevator doors?" he asked.

"To the right, there's a door labeled "STAIRS". We can climb all the way to the top level thru there." Nader said.

"Good, then as soon as we stop, we hit those stairs and as quite as possible, we get to the top. Then we wait and see if I'm right about something." Saxton said. "And I pray that I'm wrong he added."

Just then, the elevator slowed. Saxton looked at his two comrades and nodded to them. Both gave faint smiles as they moved to the sides of the elevator car, away from doors. The elevator came to a halt and after a brief pause, the door swished open. Saxton leaped thru first, lasers leveled and ready to fire. Nader was right behind him, facing the opposite way. Rentner moved out behind the other two Warriors and stopped with his back to the wall opposite the elevator, lasers pointing in each direction. They were happy to find nobody waiting for them outside the elevator.

Saxton looked at Rentner and nodded toward the door to the stairs. Rentner nodded and moved across the open area to a place next to the door. Nader moved up behind Saxton on the other side of the door. Saxton motioned for Rentner to open the door. He reached for the handle and pulled the door open, allowing Saxton and Nader to rush thru and take up cover fire positions in the stair well. Rentner followed them thru the door and quietly closed the door behind them.

Then they made their way up the stairs to the next level. They halted there for a moment, listening to the sounds outside. Hearing nothing, Saxton cracked the door open just enough to peer out. He could see nothing, but heard what sounded like quick footsteps coming from the next level up. Obviously they were not alone in the Command Center. He listened for a moment, hearing a voice giving orders.

"Remember, stay out of site until they get all the way into the Command Center, then move in quickly and kill them. I don't want them to have a chance to get back on the elevator and escaping."

"Not a problem Commander, we've done this kind of thing before. Besides, there's only three of them and they don't know we're here." Someone else responded. "What's taking them so long to get here?"

"They most likely are looking for the guards that you disposed of. You did hide the bodies, didn't you?" said the first person.

Of course we did! We threw them into the foliage outside, someone would have to step on one them to find them." The second voice said.

Saxton closed the door and turned to Nader and Rentner.

"We have a big problem, there's a bunch of them up on the next level waiting for us. We need to find a way to get behind them. Is there a way to get to the other end of the Command Center without being seen?"

Nader and Rentner exchanged a glance, then Nader spoke.

"Not really! We can get to the rear stair well easy enough, but they'd be able see us from Alpha Level. We need a diversion, something to get their attention focused away from Beta Level long enough for us to get to the rear stairs."

Saxton thought for a moment, then looked at the other two.

"Alright, here's what we'll do." He said. And he began to explain his plan.

On the Alpha Level, seven men, all wearing Colonial Warrior uniforms were hiding behind desks and computer consoles, waiting for their intended victims. The leader of the group, wearing the uniform of a Colonial Commander with the sash of a Presidential Aid, sat at a desk near the wall farthest from the alcove that held the elevator. He stayed in plain site so as to draw the three Warriors that they had seen on the security monitor into the Command Center so his comrades could take them down in a cross fire. All of them were very calm, having been in situations like this before. All were professional mercenaries, selling their allegiances to the highest bidder. In this case, a tall, dark haired man calling himself Karibdis.

Their patience was wearing thin when they heard the elevator doors open up in the alcove. Now they only had to wait until their intended victims moved into position and then close the trap on them.

They waited silently for several centons, but no sign of anyone having exited the elevator was seen. This was the third time the elevator had moved without anyone getting off at their level. Something wasn't right. The mercenary leader stood up and silently moved forward toward the alcove, laser leveled. He stopped just outside the alcove and peered around the corner as far as he could.

He saw nothing.

He then looked back at his men and signaled for two of them to move up closer to the alcove entry. Using hand signals, he told the two men to rush the alcove. They nodded and they started a silent countdown from three. As they all hit one at the same time, all three men moved as one and charged thru the entry to the elevator alcove. With their weapons held waist high in front of them, they fanned back and forth, looking for their prey, but there was none to be had.

The alcove was empty!

The three merc's lowered their weapons in disappointment. They had been hoping to find the three Warriors there and blast them.

"FRAK!" the leader said as he turned to go back to The Command Center.

Just then, the door to the stairs burst open, laser blasts pouring out. One of the mercs was hit square in the chest while the other took a hit in the back. The merc leader, partially protected by one of his men's body, had just enough time to dive for cover and avoid being hit directly by the assault of laser fire. A glancing shot hit his right leg just above the ankle; causing a great deal of pain and making his foot go numb. He rolled behind a console and returned fire as best he could.

"That son of a daggit is good!" he thought to himself, having been caught so off guard.

Saxton had made his move at just the right moment. The intruders had done just as he had thought they would. They moved into the alcove ready for anything and when they found nobody there, they dropped their guard for just a micron. That was all he needed to kick open the door to the stairs and start firing. When the door flew open, he saw three targets right in front of him. He was able to get solid hits on the first two, putting them down without any problems. But the third one had reflexes like a serpent. He dove behind some equipment so fast; it was as if he had seen him coming out the door before he had kicked it open.

"That daggit spawn is good!" Saxton thought to himself.

Now there was an all out fire fight, and Saxton was very much out numbered. All he could really do was to fire into the Command Center randomly since trying to take aim would mean exposing himself, and he couldn't afford to do that. He was only trying to draw their attention anyway so Nader and Rentner could make it to the rear stairs and take them from behind. He just hoped they would get a move on and make their move quick, before the bad guy's could regroup and counterattack.

On Beta Level, Nader and Rentner sat in the alcove and waited. Saxton had told them to sit tight until all Hades broke loose up above, then the were to haul ass to the rear stairs and come up quick and out flank the intruders. A simple plan if Saxton didn't get himself blasted before they had the chance to help. Right now though, they had to wait. Nader took a quick peek around the corner to see if he could spot anyone on Alpha Level. From his vantage point, he was unable to see anyone. He then cast a glance toward the stairwell door at the far end of Beta Level. It was a straight shot, about fifty metrons long, with no real obstructions to dodge. They should be able to cover the distance in less then ten microns and be up on Beta Level within twenty. He only hoped Saxton could hold out that long.

At that moment, the sound of laser fire broke the near silence of the Command Center. Yells and screams of pain could be heard from above. Nader nudged Rentner, who was staring up at Alpha Level, and motioned for him to follow. With that, the two Warriors sprinted for the far stairwell.

In the alcove on Alpha Level, Saxton was making a good show of it. His wild firing had been rewarded with at least one sure hit on an intruder and a possible second hit on another. He might have been excited about this had he known how many intruders he was facing, but without any idea of their numbers, he couldn't begin to celebrate. Saxton stopped firing for a moment and listened. He was hoping to hear laser fire from the other end of the level, but heard none. He hoped that Nader and Rentner hadn't been spotted or worse, killed. Then he heard a voice calling to him.

"Warrior! Throw down your weapon and come out with your hands raised. You can't win Warrior. There's too many of us. Give up now, and we'll let you walk out of here unharmed. What do you say?"

Saxton leaned against the wall for a moment and laughed. Was this guy serious?

"I have a counter proposal, why don't you and all your friends throw down your weapons and surrender. There's no way you're going to get away. Give up now and I'll see to it they go easy on you!" Saxton yelled back.

The laughter from the Command Center was unmistakable.

"A very generous offer Warrior, but I'm afraid my colleagues and I will have to decline. You see, our business here is not yet complete." Came the reply.

"And what might that be?" Saxton challenged.

"Since it's doubtful that you'll be around much longer anyway, I think it's safe to tell you. We've turned off all the planetary defense systems, all the weapons, all the long range scanners, all the communications systems to the defense squadrons, everything has been shut down!"

"Why would you want to do that? What could you possibly gain by this?" Saxton yelled, not understanding what they hoped to gain by such actions.

"It's very simple Warrior, we have some "friends" arriving very shortly, and we wouldn't want them to be attacked before they had the chance to take care of their business."

Saxton instantly knew what they meant by "friends".

The Cylons!

"Are you all crazy? Do you know what the Cylons will do if they're allowed to come to the Colonies undetected? They'll destroy everything and everyone on all our planets!" Saxton yelled, not believing what these maniac's were doing.

"Not every planet, we made a deal with them. They'll spare our world, Pisceria if we help them destroy the rest of the colonies." The merc leader said.

"And you actually believe that felgercarb? How can you possibly believe the Cylons will honor any bargain?" Saxton yelled.

"Why wouldn't they honor the agreement, we're giving them what they want, victory over the Colonies. All we're asking for is for our planet to be spared. It's perfectly logical. We're no threat to them; Pisceria is a peaceful planet, not like Scorpio or Sagittara….. or Caprica!" the merc said.

Saxton couldn't believe what he was hearing. These people, whoever they were, had infiltrated one of the highest security area's in the Colonies and had, in effect, turned the entire Colonial defense network off. Now the Warriors of the Colonial Service were blind and deaf with who knows how many Cylons heading toward them. He had to stop this, and stop it NOW!

Just then, the sound of lasers was heard from the far end of the Alpha Level. Nader and Rentner had finally arrived. Saxton took a quick peek around the corner without exposing himself. He could see three men wearing Warrior uniforms, scrambling to gain cover from the laser fire coming from the other end of Alpha Level. This caused them to expose themselves to Saxton, who wasted no time in firing off several shots of his own. He found his mark twice as he was able to set up a crossfire with Nader and Rentner. The third man dove for cover away from Saxton's fire and found himself right in the line of fire from Nader, who hit the man square in the chest.

The merc leader could see now that they had been outflanked and now were out gunned. There would be no escaping from there now, no chance to enjoy the fruits of their labors of that night. There was only one thing he needed to do now, and that was to finish the job.

Saxton was attempting to move across to a better vantage point from where he hoped he could get a shot on the mercenary leader, when the man yelled out to him.

"HEY! Warrior! I want to make deal!" the merc said.

"No deals! Throw down your weapons and step out where I can see you. Do it now!" Saxton yelled.

"O.K., fine! Here comes my laser." The merc said.

A loud thump was heard as the laser hit the floor near the doorway to the alcove.

"Alright, now step out in the walkway with your hands on top of your head. Do it now!" Saxton ordered as he moved up to a position were he could see the whole Command Center. Saxton could see the man begin to stand up from behind a bank of computer terminals, his Commanders uniform ripped and torn in places and an ugly wound on his right leg. He moved gingerly toward the walkway, having to step over the body of one of his men, one that he had not known was even there. When the merc leader reached the walkway, he turned toward Saxton and smiled.

"That was kind of good shootin you did there Major. You'd make one Hades of a good mercenary if you ever wanted to give up being a Warrior."

Saxton couldn't help but smile back and said, "I don't think so, I'm picky as to where my pay vouchers come from."

"Cubit's are cubits. They all spend the same Major. Only difference is, there are a whole lot more of them to spend when you freelance." The merc said, still smiling as Nader and Rentner moved up from the other end of Alpha Level.

"Nice of you to join us." Saxton said with a smirk on his face.

"Seemed to me you had everything well in hand." Nader said with his own grin.

"Looks like we stopped them before they could do too much damage, though it might take a couple of sectons to put some of these work stations back together." Rentner said as he looked around.

That statement brought on a gale of laughter from the captured merc. All three Warriors stared at the man as one would stare at a lunatic.

"What in Sagen's name are you laughing at?" Nader asked, thinking the fellow had gone mad.

"Oh you might think we didn't do much, but we did much more then meets the eye." The merc said, still laughing. "See!"

That said, the man took his hands down from his head slowly and revealed a small device. It was little bit larger then a cubit and seemed to be made of a dark, synthetic material with what looked like two small lights on one side, one green, one red.

All three Warriors raised their weapons at the same time and backed off a few steps.

"What's that?" Saxton asked suspiciously.

"What, this little thing! It's nothing too important, just a detonator." He said ever so matter-a-factly.

"A detonator, what are you planning on doing? Blowing the Command Center up?" Nader asked.

The mercenary looked at Nader with a sly little smile that sent a chill up and down his spine.

"Not exactly!" he said.

"Then WHAT exactly do you want to blow up?" Saxton said, his laser leveled at the mans chest.

"You'll see!" he said, still smirking.

"I don't think so pal, I think you need to drop that thing right now!" Nader said as he raised his laser and took aim on the mans head.

"As you wish!" the merc said, still smiling.

"NO!" Saxton yelled.

The merc opened his hand and turned it palm down so as to let the small device slide from his hand. It fell to the floor and bounced a short distance. All three Warriors followed the device with their eyes as it came to a stop with the two lights on top. But something was different now. Where the green light had been on before, now the red light was on.

And it was flashing!

Saxton realized what the thing was now, a thermogenic detonator. They were activated by temperature, as long as they stayed within the pre-set temperature range, they were harmless, but once they went beyond those pre-sets, they automatically sent out their pulse signals to trigger any kind of device conceivable. And this one had just hit one of those pre-sets.

"You're going to tell me where those charges are and how long before those things blow?" Saxton yelled as he grabbed the merc by the front of his uniform and jamming the business end of his laser up under the mans chin, "or else!"

The merc laughed nervously, knowing that his next words could very well cost him his life.

"There on Delta Level, packed inside all the defense and communications control computers. They have a five centon delay. If you leave now, you might just make it out before the charges go off." He told Saxton.

"Holy frak! I don't believe this mong!" Nader said.

Saxton glanced at his friend then back to the merc.

"How can we stop this?" He asked.

The merc shook his head and with a resigned smile said, "There is no way to stop them. Once the signal is sent and received, it becomes automatic."

"What do we do Sax?" Nadir asked.

Saxton looked at his two comrades and without any hesitation tells them, "We get our asses out of here!"

"What about him?" Rentner asked, pointing at the merc, who Saxton hadn't realized that he had slammed him into a wall, nearly knocking him unconscious.

Saxton looked down on the groggy merc and was unsure wither or not to take him with them to face tribuneral, or leave him there to suffer the same fate he and his men had given the guards of the P.D.C.

"Take him with us. If we live thru this, he might be able to tell us who all the conspirators are. And I for one will be happy to hunt them down and bring them to justice!"

Cutting a piece of a power cord to bind the merc's hands behind him, Nader got the still wobbly man to his feet and moved him to the elevator alcove. The elevator arrived and the four men boarded. It rose quickly to the street level, where when the doors opened; the four men came face to face with a full squad of Colonial Security.

"Nobody move!" yelled the officer in charge, a man of about forty yahren wearing the rank insignia of a Captain. "Raise your hands and place them on top of your heads! Do it now!"

Saxton, Nader, and Rentner complied with the order while the merc was unable to do so because of his restraints. Saxton began to identify himself and his men, but was told to remain silent, an order punctuated by the muzzle of a laser rifle being forcefully jammed into his temple.

The security officers moved the four out of the elevator and out into the open area of the lobby. There, the Captain of the security team moved in front of them.

"On your knee's, ankles crossed and keep your hands on top of your heads." He ordered.

Saxton and the others did as they were told. Saxton again tried to explain what was going on.

"Captain, my name is Saxton, Major Saxton. I'm a squadron leader from the Battlestar Atlantia. These two men……."

"I said be quite!" the Captain ordered.

"NO, you be quite!" Saxton yelled, his anger having reached the boiling point. "You need shut up and listen! I'm trying to tell you there are bombs down in the Command Center and their about to go off. Now get these people out of here, NOW!"

The Captain was about to strike Saxton with his laser rifle, but the word bombs stopped him in his tracks.

"What do you mean there's bombs in the Command Center?"

Saxton took a breath, then began to explain.

"That's right Captain, bombs! That man, he said indicating the mercenary in the Commanders uniform, and his group took over the P.D.C. and set a bunch of bombs down on the Delta Level. Their set to go off in less then two centons! You have to get every one out of this building."

The Captain stared at Saxton for a moment, trying to gage wither or not he was telling the truth. If he was, then it was imperative that they clear the building at once.

The Captain nodded slowly, then turned to his Sergeant, "Sergeant Reeb, recall all personnel and clear the building. There are bombs down on Delta Level about to go off. Lieutenant Hahn, move these men out and hold them for questioning, especially that one!" he said indicating the merc.

The Lieutenant cut the power cord from the merc's wrists and replaced it with a set of binders. Then he and several other men escorted the four out of the building and down to a Colonial Security Mobil Command Post. The Captain and Sergeant Reeb waited by the elevator for the men that had gone down to the Command Center to look for more of the reported terrorist. It seemed to take forever before the elevator finally made it back to the main level. As soon as the doors opened, the Captain ordered his men to run for the exits and clear the area. The six man search team, Sergeant Reeb and the Captain all ran for their lives.

The eight men had just reached the doors to the building when the ground began to shake violently and a loud rumbling could be heard coming from the building. They continued to run as the ground beneath their feet seemed to come to life and rise up behind them, sending them sprawling head first. The Captain turned and looked back at the P.D.C. building; there he saw a horrific site. The entire building was shaking violently, causing every glass window and door in the place to shatter.

Then the building seemed to sink!

It was as if a huge hammer had just hit the building on the top and drove it thirty metrons into the ground, then it began to lean to one side. Exterior walls began to crumble as the buildings own weight began to tear it apart. The amount of lean increased with each passing micron, until finally, gravity took over and the once majestic building that had housed the P.D.C. came tumbling down.

Everyone who was there and had just witnessed what had happened stood there in shock. The P.D.C. building, which had stood well over a hundred metrons high, was now nothing more then a pile of rubble some forty metrons high and seventy metrons long. Only the fact that it had stood within a large, fenced security area had kept it from crushing any other buildings.

Sergeant Reeb made his way over to where the Captain still sat on the ground, looking at what had once been one of the most important buildings in the Colonies.

"Captain, are you alright? Are you injured? Do you need any medical assistance sir?" Reeb asked.

The Captain shook his head slowly, unable to take his eyes off the pile of rubble that sat less then TEN METRONS from where he now sat.

"Two microns!" he whispered. "Just two more microns and I wouldn't have made it."

The Sergeant could see that his squad leader was in shock, and with good reason. He motioned for the medtechs to come and assist the Captain. Then he went back to the command post.

At the mobile command post, Saxton, Nader, and Rentner had all been witness to the destruction of the P.D.C. building.

"Good Lords of Kobol! Did you see that?" Nader exclaimed.

"I saw it. By the Gods, I saw it!" Saxton said in a shocked voice.

Saxton turned at the sound of someone laughing to find the mercenary, now fully conscious, standing and staring at the ruins of the P.D.C. building laughing. Many of those standing near by also heard this and moved closer to see if this man was going mad or just a sadistic piece of daggit mong. The words that the merc spoke next told everyone there that both were correct.

"Beautiful! Simply beautiful! That couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it that way." He said with a look of sheer glee on his face. Then he turned to Saxton and asked, "What do you think Major? Was that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your life or what?"

Saxton had reached the end of his rope with that traitor. With the speed of a man driven by pure rage, Saxton charged the merc and struck him in the face with a fist to the mans jaw. One could hear the jawbone snap as the punch landed from ten metrons away.

"You traitorous piece of mong! You stand there laughing after you murdered all those people and help destroy our defenses for the Cylons!" Saxton yelled as he pounded the mercenary with his fists.

Several of the Colonial Security officers, shaken from the horror of the P.D.C.'s destruction, moved quickly to pull the enraged Warrior off the lunatic that had been laughing before.

Lieutenant Hahn fired a blast from his sidearm into the air, getting the attention of all those present and restoring some semblance of order.

"What's going on here?" Hahn asked angrily.

"Ask him! Ask him why he killed all of those security people. Ask him why he and his men blew up the P.D.C. Go ahead, ask him!" Saxton challenged.

Hahn looked from Saxton to the merc, who was being held upright by two of the security officers, bleeding from the nose and mouth, his jaw clearly broken and dislocated.

"Is what he says true? Did you kill all those security officers and set those bombs? Are you working for the Cylons?" Hahn asked.

The merc stared at the young security officer thru eyes that were beginning to swell shut from the beating he received from Saxton. He smiled at the young man and again, began to laugh. Though he could hardly speak, the merc still managed to answer.

"Yes, I did all that….. and more." He slurred out, blood dripping from his shattered jaw.

Hahn was shocked. This man had just admitted to being in league with the Cylons and committing heinous crimes against the Colonies and mankind. Hahn wondered how such evil could manifest itself in a human being. Anger began to build in him at the admission of these crimes, but he kept a calm, professional demeanor on the outside.

"Why would you betray humanity to the Cylons? What could they possibly have promised you to sell out your entire species?" Hahn asked.

The merc tried to stand up straight, but was unable to. He glared at those around him with a hatred in his eyes that none of them had ever seen before.

"You want to know why? I'll tell you why, because the people of Pisceria are tired of being treated like the slaves of the Colonies. We have always been treated as second class citizens by the other colonies. Sure, we're not one of the cultural giants of the colonies like Caprica, or a military power like Sagittara or Scorpio. We don't have the great shipyards like Virgon. We don't have anything that sets us apart from the rest of the colonies except that we're the closest colony to Cylon space and we're the colony that has taken the biggest losses during this war! Over thirty percent of the casualties in this war have come from Pisceria. And yet, we are one of the poorest and technologically deprived of the colonies. Oh yes, I know the standard government story, "We can't afford to give Pisceria the more advanced weapons and defense systems because the chances are far too great that the Cylons might be able to capture them and use the technology against us." Well, by doing that, you just made it easier for them to convince us that we'd be better off without you. So a group of us have made a deal with the Cylons. We help them destroy all of you, and we stay safe and sound and become the new masters of the colonies."

The Captain of the security team walked up next to Hahn and placed a hand on the young officer's arm.

"He's totally mad! I want you to take him back to the prison unit and hold him there until a psychological evaluation can be made on him."

Yes sir, what do you want to do with the other three that were on the elevator?" said Hahn.

"I'll want them to answer some questions. I want to know……do you hear that? The Captain said as the distant sound of space craft engines was heard.

"Holy frak!" exclaimed Nader as he stared off in the distance where wave upon wave of Cylon fighters could be seen sweeping down out of the night sky over Caprica City. Huge explosions could be seen where the Cylons were making strafing runs and dropping thermite bombs on the capital city of the colonies. Every eye was transfixed on the horror that was unfolding before them.

The Colonies were under direct attack by the Cylons!

Major Saxton was the first to regain is composure and began giving orders.

"Alright listen up people! We need to get some kind of defense started. Captain, how many men do you have with you?"

The Captain was caught off guard by the question by someone he considered his prisoner, but answered it anyway.

"I have two score with me here on scene and another three score at our division headquarters."

"Good, get them all mobilized and have them go to the aerodrome near the industrial section and set up a defensive perimeter. Do they have access to any anti- fighter weapons?" Saxton asked.

"Some, but nothing heavy enough to beat back an all out attack. Just a few shoulder fired Solonite missiles."

"Frak! Well take all of them you can. Are there any anti-fighter laser turrets around here?" Saxton asked.

"Yeah, I know where some are." Nader said.

"Good, you and Rentner come with me." Saxton said, then he turned to the Captain and said. "Captain, I need a couple of your people to come with me."

"What for?" he asked.

"We're going to try and knock down a few of those Cylons."

The Captain looked at him somewhat confused.

"I may not be a genius, but didn't that maniac just blow up the entire defense system in there?" he said, pointing at the fallen building.

"He only destroyed the central command and control system. The anti-fighter laser turrets are still there and can be operated manually." Nader said, looking at Saxton with a smile as he realized what he was wanting to do.

"Sergeant, take charge here. Get everyone over to the aerodrome, secure the area and set up a defensive perimeter. Have Lieutenant Hahn move the division to the aerodrome as soon as he gets rid of that traitor." The Captain ordered.

"Yes sir." Reeb acknowledged.

"Alright Major, let's go!" he said.

Saxton nodded and they all took off toward one of the Security hovermobiles. The four of them took off toward the city as the attack seemed to be intensifying over the city. Nader pulled the hovermobile up to a tall building at the edge of the city. The four men piled out and followed Nader to a hatch near where they had parked. He quickly punched in a security code on the key pad next to the hatch and the light on the pad changed from red to green. Nader grabbed the handle and pulled the hatch open. The four men climbed thru and Nader secured the hatch behind them. They went down a short passageway to an elevator and boarded it. They rose very fast and soon exited into a small room with four passageways leading off in different directions.

"Alright, this is the main control room for this turret group. Each of those passageways leads to one of the laser turrets. Take your pick and climb in, I'll talk you thru the start up and operations from mine." Nader said.

The four men split up and ran down the passageways. At the end of the passageway, Saxton found a ladder which he climbed up to a hatch, which he opened and climbed inside. There he found a small room loaded with equipment all centered around a chair in the middle of the room. He climbed in to the chair and began looking things over. He quickly found a headset hanging from a hook and placed it on his head. He immediately heard Nader on the other end.

"Do you all hear me? Talk to me people."

"I hear ya Nader, what do we do now?" Saxton said.

"Let me get the other two online Sax and I'll run thru the startup."

Nader said.

A micron later, the other two came online. Nader began to run thru the startup sequence for manual operation of the laser turrets.

"Alright, first look directly in front of you. You have a large monitor." Nader began. "Under that, there's a panel with a bunch of toggles. Switch all of those toggles to the "ON" position. This will turn on the energizers for your turret."

Saxton found the toggles and began flipping them on. As each toggle was flipped, bank after bank of lights came on all around him. The sound of powerful energizers powering up could be felt more then heard thru the seat of the turret.

"Now, flip the toggles on the right hand panel of your gunnery chair, this will activate the turrets tracking and fire control systems. Next, flip the toggles on the left hand panel, that will activate your gunnery scanners and the targeting systems. Now you need to activate your monitors, press the two buttons on the low corners of the screen."

Saxton did this and slowly the screen came to life. The middle of the screen had a grid pattern similar to that found in a Viper, only much larger. Along the edges of the monitor, several readouts could be seen. Those on the left side showed the gunnery positions: direction and elevation of the guns. The right side readouts showed power levels and operational systems status.

"Alright, you should have your screens up and power to all systems. Now place your feet on the pedals of the gunnery chair and pull the weapons control column towards you. There should be a release lever just under the handles, pull that down and lock it in."

Saxton did this. He wasn't sure if he liked the way this felt, not being able to see what he was shooting at. He would much rather be in his Viper at that moment.

"Alright, now the fun begins. On the top of the control column, there's two toggles marked turret release and weapons release. Flip the "TURRET" release toggle only. This will let you rotate the turret and raise and lower the guns. To rotate, press lightly on one of the foot pedals, left to turn left, right to turn right."

Saxton flipped the toggle and lightly pressed on the right pedal. The turret began to turn to the right, slowly at first then quicker as more pressure was applied. A quick tap on the left pedal slowed the turret to a stop. On the monitor, the numbers on the screen changed quickly as he moved. These numbers let him know which way he was facing, a very helpful tool.

"Now take hold of the two handles on the side of the column. By rotating them forward and back, you control the elevation of the guns, or the angle you're firing at. You'll be able to fire in almost every direction; there are however safety stops that keep the guns from being able to fire at each other, so don't worry about hitting one of the other turrets. It might take a few centons to get the hang of using these controls so run thru a few movements."

Saxton ran thru a few turns back and forth and raised and lowered the guns several times. The reaction time for these turrets was phenomenal, but he still preferred his Viper.

"Alright, this is the last step. Flip the other toggle, the one marked "WEAPONS RELEASE". Once you do that, your guns are hot! To fire, all you have to do is squeeze the trigger. So, aim your guns in a safe direction and fire off a test round or two."

Saxton squeezed the trigger and instantly, two bolts of laser fire erupted from the guns of his turret. They flew out to a range of over five thousand metrons before exploding. The power levels on one of the readout showed that the energy released was fifty times that of his Viper. He never knew that the ground fire units had so much fire power.

Nader ask if everyone was up and running. He got confirmations from each one and then told them, "Good thing you're all ready, because here come our first customers now!"

Saxton checked his display. Sure enough, two full phalanxes of Cylon fighters were heading their way. He swung his guns around so he could begin firing as soon as they were in range. Just then a question came to him.

"Hey Nader, what do we do if we get hit?"

Nader's voice was filled with laughter as he answered his friend.

"Don't worry; these turrets can take a few direct hits without any real problems. But if you do have a problem, like you lose power or you don't have full mobility to the turret, then you do this. First, unlock your control column and push it away from you to the original position you found it in. Then tighten down your safety harnesses and remove your headsets. There are two handles on the top of your seats, you'll reach up and pull those handles down to your waist. This will release a safety shroud to protect you. You'll want to brace yourself and hold on to those handles because three microns after you pull those handles, you get "turboflushed" out of there and down to the ground level escape area. Understand?"

"Sounds like fun!" Saxton said unenthusiastically.

"On your toes people, here they come!" the security Captain said as the Cylon fighters descended toward them.

"Hold your fire until your range finder has them within three thousand metrons, otherwise they might not come within range. Make them come to you for the easy shot." Nader called out on the gunnery headsets.

Sweat began the form on Saxton's brow as he watched the readout on the range finder wind down. He tried to calm himself by taking deep, controlled breaths. It seemed to help. He glanced at the range finder again. It was down to eight thousand metrons and dropping fast. He squirmed in his seat a bit, trying to get more comfortable, but couldn't find a comfortable way to sit, just like his Viper.

"Five thousand metrons people, get ready." Nader said. "Remember to lead your targets a little bit and fire in spurts, otherwise you can overheat the guns. Just relax guys and have fun!"

"Have fun he say's" the Security Captain grumbled.

"Hey Captain, do you have a name? I mean something besides Captain?" Saxton asked.

"Yeah, names Sauer." He said.

"Nice to meet you Captain Sauer, I'm Major Saxton. The other two are Captain Nader and Ensign Rentner. Just thought it would be nice to know who I was going into battle with."

"Standby guys, four thousand metrons and closing." Nader said, the excitement beginning to show in his voice. Nader began to count down the distance as the Cylons continued to close.

"Thirty five hundred and closing!"

Saxton tightened his grip a bit on the control handles.

"Thirty four hundred!"

Saxton watched his monitor as it filled with targets.

"Thirty three hundred!"

Now individual ships could be distinguished.

"Thirty two hundred!"

Saxton closed his eyes for a moment of silent prayer.

"Thirty one hundred!"

Saxton's eyes opened with the same intensity that he always had when he went into battle in his Viper.

"Three thousand metrons, open fire!" Nader yelled into the headsets.

A roar of unimagined volume rang out as all four turrets opened fire at the same instant. An eruption of laser fire rose skyward to meet the oncoming Cylons. Tremendous explosions appeared all across the sky as dozens of fighters were destroyed by the torrent of laser fire coming from the four Warriors. And yet, they continued to come on. For every ten they shot out of the sky, two dozen more seemed to appear from thin air. For nearly five centons it went this way, then the attacking ships veered off and climbed away, out of range of the menacing guns.

"Alright! We did it! We beat them!" yelled Rentner over the headsets.

"Don't bet on it kid! They're not done yet, not by a long shot. They're regrouping, getting ready for another run at us, only this time they'll be coming in from multiple vectors." Nader said, "Be ready to cover your sectors when they come back."

"Looks like they're on their way back now. I have them approaching from three different vectors." Sauer said.

"Alright, their coming in right at you Sax. Sauer, their going to try and sweep by you on your right side, then swing around and take us between you and me. Rentner, their going to try and come in between you and Sax. You'll have to protect his flank while I watch Sauer's. Everyone understand?" Nader asked.

All three acknowledged and prepared for the next round of attacks.

As soon as the attacking Cylons came into range, Saxton and Sauer began sweeping the sky with laser fire. Scores of Cylon fighters were destroyed as they continued on course toward their antagonists. Once they had reached their own weapons range, the Cylons opened fire. At the same moment, groups of fighters spilt off from the main body and tried to come in on the flanks of the human gunners.

This was exactly what Nader said would happen!

As soon as these groups split off, Nader and Rentner opened up with a vengeance, sending a hailstorm of laser fire skyward. Dozens of fighters were blown to pieces by the intense firepower of the four human gunners. It took only a few centons for the Cylon pilots to realize that they would not be able to overcome the fierce firepower of these defenders. The flight leader for the Cylons ordered his few remaining fighters to retreat. With the order given, all the remaining fighters turned away and rose high into the sky, away from the guns of the humans.

Nader checked his scanners for more targets, then switched his display to long range scan, he found that most of the Cylon fighters in the area were in fact returning to space. He wondered if they had beaten them back or if they were just regrouping for an even more deadly attack. His thoughts were interrupted by Saxton's voice.

"Hey Nader, you alright over there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was checking the long range scanners. Looks like their pulling out for the time being. Wish I knew what they were up to." Nader said thoughtfully.

"Who cares, as long as their gone!" Rentner said tiredly.

"Can you pick up their baseships?" Sauer asked.

"Normally I could, but it looks like the Cylons knocked out a good portion of our orbital scanner satellites. There's a few large gaps in the scans I'm getting here." Nader told them. "Too bad the P.D.C. building was destroyed; I could have linked to the Colonial Defense Network from there and used every satellite in orbit anywhere in Colonial space."

"You could do that?" Sauer asked amazedly.

"You'd have been surprised at the things we could do from the P.D.C. Captain." Nader said with a touch of mischief in his voice.

Just then something came up on Nader's screen. He made a few adjustments to try and identify the contact, but the scanner equipment in the laser turrets just wasn't made for that kind of work. After a few microns though, he didn't need anymore fine tuning to identify the incoming ship.

It was a Battlestar!

"Hey guys! Help has just arrived. We have a Battlestar heading this way." Nader told them.

"I guess that explains why the Cylons left in such a hurry." Saxton said. "Can you tell which Battlestar it is?"

"Not with this equipment. I might be able to raise them on one of the military frequencies though." Nader said as he tried to tap in to the proper frequencies. After a few centons, he finally made contact with the Battlestar.

"Incoming Battlestar, this is Captain Nader of the Planetary Defense Command. Please identify yourself."

"Captain Nader, this is Colonel Tigh, executive officer of the Battlestar Galactica. What is your situation there and status?"

"We've spent the past few centars under heavy Cylon attack Colonel. Saboteurs have destroyed the P.D.C. Command Center, so we have no defensive abilities at this time." Nader responded.

"Understood Captain, what is your present location?" Colonel Tigh asked.

"I and three others are in Defense Tower Omega Four sir." Nader told him.

"Are you the senior officer there Captain?" the Colonel asked.

"Negative sir, that would be Major Saxton."

"Saxton! From the Atlantia?" Tigh asked with an astonished tone.

"Yes sir, it's me Colonel!" Saxton cut in.

"How can that be? You were with the Atlantia last I heard. What happened Major?" Tigh asked.

"It's a long story Colonel; needless to say, I'm here and ready to get back in the fight sir!"

"With what's happened Major, we'll need you. You and all those you have there with you." Tigh said sadly.

"What's happened Colonel? Tell me this was just a one time attack!" Saxton said.

"I wish I could Major, but this could very well be the beginning of the end for us all. All of the other colonies have come under attack. Nearly every planetary defense system has been destroyed; billions of our people have been killed or injured in the attacks." Tigh told him.

"What about the fleet Colonel? Where are they? Where's the Atlantia? The Solaria? The Pacifica? Where's the Council of the Twelve Colonel." Saxton asked, fearing that he already knew the answer.

"The council and the fleet are gone Major! All destroyed at the "peace conference"."

Saxton sat in stunned silence, the fleet…..gone! The council…..gone! The Atlantia…..All Gone! It was unbelievable!

"Major, I need you to make your way to the nearest aerodrome and secure a landing field for our shuttles and Vipers. We'll be needing someplace for a staging area cleared. Can you do that Major?" Tigh asked.

Saxton was unable to speak, the emotions of losing so many good friends had silenced him for the time.

"Colonel, this is Captain Sauer, Colonial Security. I've already sent my unit to secure the aerodrome in the industrial section of the city. They should be there now if you think that will fill your needs sir?"

"I think it'll do just fine Captain. Alert them to standby to receive shuttles and Vipers within the next centar. See if you and those with you can rendezvous with our teams there. Galactica out!"

The comline went silent as the Galactica terminated the transmission. Nobody said a word for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts. It was sexton that broke the silence.

"Alright everyone, you all heard the Colonel. Let's get moving. Nader, is there some way to put these guns on automatic?" He asked.

"Yeah, I can set them up for localized control from the main control room. The computer will be able to operate this tower." He said.

"Good, go ahead and set that up. Sauer, you, Rentner and I will head back down to ground level and see if the hovermobile is still in one piece."

Several centons later, Nader emerged from the hatch. He made his way over to the hovermobile, where the other three were already inside. He climbed into the front seat and turned to face Saxton, who was sitting in the rear seat.

"All set! That tower will continue to operate as long as it has power."

"Good, let's hope that it won't be necessary. We've been listening to the com signals from the other colonies; it sounds like the Cylons did a number on all the other planets, including Pisceria!" Saxton said, adding the last with a bit of a chuckle.

"Serves them right! Bunch of damn traitors is all they are anyway." Rentner said.

"I doubt that more then a few dozen people were in on this conspiracy." Sauer said.

"We may never know how far this conspiracy went, or who was involved. All we can do is hope to survive and live to fight another day." Saxton said.

All four men sat silent for a few moments, then Saxton said, "Let's get going Sauer. We have to get to the aerodrome before the Galactica's shuttles start landing."

"Right, I wonder what we'll do now?" Sauer said to no one unparticular.

With that said, the hovermobile pulled away from the laser defense tower and headed for the aerodrome, and an uncertain future.