Battlestar Galactica

Past, Present, Future.

Chapter 36

Battle for the Colonies

Aboard the Centurion Baseship orbiting high above the planet Pisceria, the gold command Centurion, Kronos, was monitoring the departure of the last of the garrison troops from that planet. It had once been one of the homeworlds of his kind's greatest enemies, the biological species known as "humans". Kronos was one of fifty Baseship commanders tasked by the Imperious Leader of the Cylon Empire to carry out what had been deemed by the Imperious Leader as "The Final Solution". The end of the dreaded human menace once and for all! The orders received were quite simple ….. evacuate all Cylon garrison troops from the former home planets of the humans, then fifty Baseships under the overall command of the Centurion Commander, Talus, were to position themselves around each of the ten remaining planets, two planets, Sagitaria and Scorpia, having been destroyed thirty eight yahren ago, locate the weakest points on the surface of each planet, and when the human fleets were detected returning to the system, either on scanners or from what was termed, "a shimmering in space", they were to launch every missile in their arsenals against the planets! This the Imperious Leader said should destroy the planets and most, if not all of the two groups of humans that had plagued the Cylons for the past several sectars. Or that is what was hoped would happen. Kronos was not so sure of this.

He did not question the orders. His programming did not allow for such. He also did not ask what his orders were once they launched their missiles. Was he supposed to pull his Baseship out of the system after they launched their attack? Was he to engage the human fleet? The orders did not say! So, with no specific orders to follow, Kronos made no plans regarding what to do once they had launched their missiles. He would follow his orders as they were and leave it at that.

This would prove to be the undoing of many a Baseship that cycle!

In a positon well outside of the scanning range of the Centurion Baseships, The Galactica and her fleet readied themselves for the battle to end all battles!

This battle would decide the fate of the human species in this region of space for the rest of time!

There would be no second chance.

"Galactica to Mahthildia"

"Go ahead Apollo." Came the reply of Commander Leonitus, Commanding Officer of the Scorpion Warstar, Mahthildia, the entire Scorpion fleet and the Lord King of the Scorpion people.

"I just got the word from Commander Verga. We'll make our jumps as needed once they launch from the planets." Apollo said. "The Commander will give the order for them to launch in about five centons. Are your people ready?"

"My friend, we've been ready for over four hundred yahren!" joked Commander Leonitus. "Not to worry Apollo, we have all Warstars, Battlestars and Gunstars in position and ready to make the jump as soon as your people planet side start shooting."

"Outstanding!" Apollo said with a smile. "I'll pass the word on to Commander Verga."

"Apollo, are you sure we shouldn't make the jump to the Colonies before the planets fire their weapons, instead of waiting to see what those tin plated rust buckets do?" asked Leonitus.

He was not sure if he liked Commander Verga's idea to wait and see how the Centurions reacted to the planetary attacks. He preferred to press the attack right from the start.

"I understand your position Commander, That was how I presented the plan to Commander Verga, but he doesn't want to risk losing any ships if we don't have to. So far, all of our scans show the Centurion Baseships are only scanning the space around the Colonies, not the planets themselves. That being the case, the planetary missiles should be able to take out most, if not all of those Baseships….. If they go undetected!"

"That's a big "IF" Apollo!" Leonitus said. "And Verga might be right Apollo, but it galls me to sit by and do nothing!" Leonitus said perturbedly!

Apollo chuckled a bit at his friend's frustration. He too wanted to go in, lasers blazing and finish off the Centurions. But Commander Verga had brought up a very valid point regarding that. He said that while the planetary defense missiles could very well take out the Centurion Baseships, they might also destroy many of their own vessels! Those missiles had been sitting for nearly forty yahren without any sort of maintenance or programming updates, so there was a good chance the onboard "IFF" computers would not distinguish them from the Centurions. With all the different types of vessels and the unknown designs of many, the missile IFF, or Identify Friend or Foe systems might not be able to tell the difference. Verga didn't want to risk it.

"I'm with you on that one Commander, but we both know the reasons for the orders. But just be ready to make your jumps if need be. This could all go sideways in a hurry!"

"Agreed! I'll pass the word to all of my people. I'll see you when this is all over my friend! Mahthildia out!"

Apollo changed over to the Genesis' channel and reported to Commander Verga that all units were ready and standing by. Commander Verga had assumed the role of overall Fleet Commander when the two fleets joined forces. They had both heard that another group was giving the Centurions fits, but had no idea who the other group was.

Then they were contacted by an old friend of Apollo's from his academy days, Saxton. Saxton had been the strike leader aboard the Battlestar Atlantia, which at the time of the Holocaust had been the "Presidential Battlestar", and on which the then President of the Council of the Twelve, Adar was killed along with the entire council and the entire Colonial fleet, except the Galactica, at the "peace conference" ambush near the moon called "Cimtar". Saxton and his entire strike wing had been ordered to stand down, so Saxton had taken advantage of this and went home to Caprica.

It was the reason he was still alive.

He and a group of Warriors from the Planetary Defense Command (P.D.C.) had stumbled upon a plot to destroy the Colonies defense grid and leave the Colonies defenseless. Unfortunately, they were too late to stop the plot of the Piserian saboteurs before the Centurions attack.

In the aftermath of the attacks, Saxton and his group from the P.D.C. helped organize the evacuation of as many civilians as they could on whatever ships they could get off the ground. These would join with other ships from around the Colonies to make up a rag tag convoy the Galactica's commanding officer, Commander Adama would lead away from the Colonies, hopefully to safety.

But time had run out as the Centurions approached the Colonies with a large number of Baseships to finish what they had started. The Galactica left the system with some two hundred eighteen ships in tow while Saxton and his people worked feverishly to repair several more vessels with which they could save a few thousand more people. Saxton's group was able to get four more ships into space before the Centurions arrived, but as his own ship was launching, they picked up a number of Centurion fighters closing in on them. Saxton made the decision to lead them away from the slow moving and defenseless vessels, giving them a chance to make their escape. When it became apparent that they could not outrun the Centurions, they decided to turn and fight in the ancient Orion Warship they had repaired.

Thou the battle that ensued was short, it was sufficiently successful to allow the other ships to make good their escape. Unfortunately, the old Orion Warship was severely damaged in the fighting and had to make a crash landing back on Caprica.

With the aid of a young Warrior officer, Saxton led a group of survivors to an ultra-secret base under the capital city of Caprica and from there had stayed hidden while rescuing hundreds of people from the Centurions. They spent the next thirty eight yahren forging a strong, vibrant community right under the Centurions feet.

Saxton and his people had also been able over the yahren to establish a communications network across the colonies with other bands of survivors, expanding on their knowledge of what was happening on the surface above. His people had built a huge communications suite and were able to break most of the Centurions codes, thus allowing them to monitor the goings on of the Centurions on the ten remaining planets of the colonies. He and his people had done an amazing job!

When they became aware of the two approaching battle fleets activities, Saxton began planning and organizing his people to take advantage of whatever possibilities might arise. He had no idea who the two entities were that were fighting with the Centurions; he only knew that they were beating the pogees out of the enemy of humanity!

And what was the old saying, "The enemy of my enemy, is my ally."

He was hoping that this would be the case with these new foes of the Centurions.

In time, they figured out who the new arrivals were and made contact with the Galactica and Phantom battle fleets and began working as an intermediary between the two groups to coordinate an offensive strike with the two fleets, his people and the other colonies.

Now that the wheels of inevitability had been set in motion!

The battle for the colonies was about to begin.

"Galactica to Genesis" Apollo called over the Fleet Comm Line Alpha.

"Go ahead Galactica!" came the voice of Commander Verga.

"I just confirmed with Commander Saxton on Caprica. His people are in position and ready to go. They're awaiting your orders."

"Excellent! Are your people ready Commander?" Verga said.

"The Galactican fleet is in position and standing by sir. All units have been grappled and are ready for Trans-Spacial jump if needed."

"Good. The ships for the Scorpian fleet arrived as expected and they have grappled all of our attack groups as well." Verga said, and then added. "I didn't realize just how big those Scorpian Warstars really were until they popped out of nowhere and started positioning themselves above us! Those thing are as big as a dozen Battlestars!"

"Actually Commander, they are bigger than three dozen Battlestars. Each one can carry a dozen Battlestars grappled the their bellies!" Apollo told him with a chuckle.

"Amazing!"

"Don't forget to remind your people that there will be some disorientation if they have to make a jump. "When they start moving and when they come out of Trans-Space it can be a little rough." Apollo reminded Verga. "It shouldn't be too bad, but the first time is the worst."

"Are you sure we'll be able to operate our weapons immediately Commander? I don't want to come thru that "Trans-Space" thing and not be able to strike at the Centurions immediately if need be."

"You should be fine as long as you activate that micro-wavelon system as soon as you get thru the portal. At the range we're going to be dropping out of Trans-Space, the effects should be instantaneous. Those Baseships won't be able to get a shot off." Apollo assured him. "From what you sent me about that system, the Centurions won't know we're even there until we've destroyed them."

"I hope you're right Commander." Verga said.

"I'm sure sir!"

"Very well then. I'm going to contact Commander Saxton on Caprica and have him give the order to launch in seven centons." Verga said. "Once we confirm his people were successful in deploying their planetary defense missiles, we'll monitor their progress using those "Super Scanners" of yours. With any luck, the Centurions will continue having their scanners concentrating on the space around them, looking for us and not watching the planets."

"My people have been monitoring those Baseships continuously and report that they have all their scans aimed away from the planets. They shouldn't be aware of our missiles until they impact those Baseships. I just hope that doesn't change Commander!" Apollo said.

"Agreed. I'll give Saxton the orders to launch in six centons." Verga said. "Once the order is given, there's no turning back. It's all or nothing. Let's make those goll monging rust buckets regret the cycle they started this damned war!"

"Yes Sir!" Apollo agreed.

"Wait for my signal Commander. If we need to deploy, have all units proceed to their designated targets and rain Hades on those bastards!"

Apollo was a little shocked at the use of language by Commander Verga. He'd never heard even the slightest profanity from him before. He knew just how deeply the Commander felt from his recent vernacular.

He felt the same way.

Just over a centon had passed when the chime for Fleet Comm Line Alpha sounded. The time had finally come.

"All units, this is Commander Verga. I have just given the order to our friends on the homeworlds to begin launching their weapons at the Centurion Baseships currently in orbit around our worlds. The flight time of those missiles is approximately fifteen centons. With any luck, the Centurions will never detect them. They are sure we are the only true threat, thus will be watching for us to attack from the space around them and not the planets below. They probably believe that there are no weapons left on any of the planets that could do them any harm and no people there to use them anyway. They are wrong!

"The best case scenario would be the missiles from the planets will destroy all the Baseships." Verga continued. "However, as we all know, the best case scenario is rarely the one that transpires. We'll be monitoring each of the Baseships orbiting the colonies very closely, watching for any slightest sign that the Centurions have become aware of the planet based attack. If we detect any hint that they have detected our attack, we will immediately deploy units from the fleet and attack the Baseships, utilizing the Trans-Spacial abilities of our friends from Scorpius and the micro-wavelon devices we have on our ships. In this way, we will be able to incapacitate them and hit them quickly while their attention is diverted toward the planets. Either way, we must destroy each and every one of those Baseships before they have a chance to launch their own weapons at the planets. Whatever it takes, we must not allow them to fire on our homes."

Verga paused for a moment and then continued.

"Once we engage the Baseships, I doubt they will stick around and fight. We will have them outnumbered five to one and with our micro-wavelon technology, we should be able to disable them within a few microns and have no problem destroying them. But if they somehow do get there missiles away or make a run for it, do not pursue them! I repeat, do not pursue! They will undoubtedly make a run straight back to their home space, where they will find the way blocked by our Cylon allies. The Cylons can handle any escaping Baseships. Our concern will be to destroy the remaining Baseships and stop any and all missiles fired at the Colonies."

"I don't have to tell you that if we lose this battle, the human race is finished. You already know this. This is the battle that will decide the fate of humanity. So let us be sure we win the day! Verga out!"

Verga turned to his executive officer, Colonel Leon, "Time to impact?"

"Colonel Leon, the short, stout, fiery ex construction battalion commander that some forty yahren before had built the greatest military shipyard and refinery in human history checked the chronometer and replied. " Ten centons and counting down sir. No sign that those tin plated refuse receptacles have spotted the missiles as yet. As you thought, they seem to have all their scanners looking out into space, watching for us there."

Verga nodded. He wasn't sure if the Centurions would continue to be so myopic in their watch, but evidently, they were so far. If only their luck held.

"Keep a close eye on those Baseships Colonel. If there is even the slightest change in their aspect, let me know."

"I've already passed the word to all those ships in the Galactica's fleet that are doing the scanning. Those scanners of theirs are amazing Commander! They can detect the slightest changes in the Baseships missile launchers from five million kilometrons away. Our scanners couldn't do that from five hundred!"

Verga couldn't help but smile at his exec's enthusiasm about the Galactica's "Super Scanners" as they were called. They were a very impressive piece of technology. One he hoped to incorporate into every ship in the fleet ….. if they survived that is!

"Commander, report coming in from one of the scanning ships." Captain Dawn announced. "They report that the missiles launched from Pisceria are running about forty microns behind the rest."

Colonel Leon looked at Verga questioningly.

"Do you think that could be a problem sir?"

Verga thought for a moment on this, then replied. "It could be a very significant problem Colonel. If the missiles start to impact the Baseships around the other planets, those Baseships around Pisceria may have time to launch their attack and flee! Why are those missiles running so far behind? Did the crews not get the orders?"

"Pisceria was one of the two planets that Commander Saxton couldn't get anyone to respond to his calls. The missiles that were launched from there and Aquaria were all launched using the old Colonial Defense Network from the ruins of the P.D.C. on Caprica. The signal must have taken longer to reach the silos on Pisceria due to the distance."

"Damn! This could be huge if the Centurions have an extra few microns to react." Verga said to no one inpaticular. "Have the scanner ship tracking those missiles watch those Baseships extra carefully Colonel. If they as much as twitch, we send our Pisceria strike force in to action. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Leon replied and passed the new instructions on to the ship scanning the Baseships in orbit around Pisceria.

Aboard the old Colonial Destroyer, Gyes, Major Brie was acknowledging her new orders.

"Walton, I need you to tighten up your scans of those Baseships out there. The Commander is worried that the missiles lagging behind the others could cause a serious problem. He wants us to specifically look for any changes in their scanning direction, missile launcher readiness or propulsion systems. Even the slightest change is to be reported immediately."

Ensign Walton nodded and adjusted her scanners to a much tighter setting. She could now see the slightest changes in temperature and electrical flow to the Baseships scanning system, weapons and propulsion systems. If that Baseship was getting ready to do anything, she'd know it as soon as it happened.

Ten centons had passed since the launch of the Colonial missiles and the Centurions were none the wiser. Their scanners were all focused on the outlying space around the Colonies, watching for the arrival of the dreaded enemy of the Cylons, the creatures known as, "Humans". Kronos was at the command position, monitoring the reports from the other forty nine Baseships that comprised the strike group he was a part of. Kronos's orders were simple, take up position around one of the ten remaining planets the humans had once called home, and when they arrived to try and take them back, he was to launch his entire arsenal of missiles on the planet below, destroying it and, with any luck, the human fleets as well. Kronos did not understand the concept of "Luck", but the orders came from the Imperious Leader directly, so it had to be important. Kronos switched from one report to the next without the slightest concern. They had been in position now for over a centar and nothing anywhere around them had changed. Every ship of the task force reported the same thing, no contact with any vessels in that sector. If Kronos had the ability to "feel" anything, boredom would be the most likely emotion he'd experience at that moment.

Very shortly however, a plethora of emotions would pass by him without the ability to feel them.

"By your command." One of the many silver armored Centurions droned.

Kronos turned to the subordinate and replied. "Speak."

"I have detected numerous objects approaching."

Kronos paused for a moment.

"From which direction are these objects approaching?"

"They are coming from the planet."

"Which planet?"

"The planet we are currently in orbit of."

"Can you identify the objects?"

"They appear to be missiles."

This statement caught Kronos's attention.

"That is impossible. There are no active missile launch sites on the planet. Recheck you readings"

"By your command."

The silver Centurion did as it was commanded and after a few microns reported the same thing.

"The objects approaching this Baseship are solinite missiles of the standard Colonial design."

Kronos ran this information thru its two computerized "brains". It had not been around during the war with the humans, having been constructed twenty yahren after the war had ended, but Kronos knew from searching the records that all the humans planetary weapon systems had been destroyed during the attack on the human homeworlds over thirty eight yahren ago. It was impossible for the objects to be Colonial missiles.

"How many of the objects are there?" Kronos asked, still not convinced that they were missiles.

"I am tracking sixteen missiles on course for this Baseship."

"Sixteen? Impossible."

"It is confirmed."

"How long before they reach this Baseship?" Kronos asked.

"Impact will occur in one point two centons."

This definitely caught the command Centurions attention. Even if it was not convinced of the validity of the report, Kronos could not take the chance of having his Baseship destroyed.

"Signal Commander Talus. Report your findings to him. Request instructions." Kronos ordered.

But before the order could be carried out, another Centurion broke in.

"By your command."

"Speak." Kronos replied automatically.

We are receiving reports from the other Baseships. They are under attack and taking fire from the planets surfaces. Over half the fleet has been destroyed already and all ships have been damaged."

Without saying another word, Kronos hit the helm controls for the giant Baseship, sending thousands of Centurions flying across the decks as the ship lurched away from the planet and the inbound missiles. Kronos was still not certain those missiles came from the planet, but it was for sure they were real and were aimed at his ship.

The missiles missed the Baseship by mere metrons as the giant vessel veered away.

While the Baseship was moving away, another Centurion called out to Kronos almost at the same instant they started moving.

"By your command."

"Speak."

"An anomaly matching the description of the human gateways has appeared directly in the path of this Baseship."

Not waiting to give another order, Kronos himself took control of the mega pulsar cannons, located the anomaly and began firing into the shimmering hole in space. He knew that other Baseship commanders had encountered these anomalies and were able damage or destroy the human vessels by firing into those shimmering holes in space. He hoped to have a similar result.

Commander Verga watched the missiles rising from the Colonial homeworlds by the score! He had not expected the people on the planets to be able to get so many airborne, but they had! All had left their silos in perfect sequence. All except those from the planet Pisceria. Those had launched nearly a full centon after the others, thereby trailing the rest of the missiles and possibly giving the Baseships around that planet a chance to launch their missiles at the planet and make good their escape.

"Commander, reports coming in from scanning vessels one thru six." reported Captain Dawn. "They confirm mass numbers of direct hits on every Baseship around the planets in their sectors! Over thirty Baseships destroyed and another dozen severely damaged."

"Outstanding! Anything from scanner ship seven?"

Captain Dawn tried to contact scanner ship seven, the Destroyer Gyes. She listened intently for a moment and was visibly shaken by what she heard.

"Scanning ship seven reports aspect change to one of the Baseships in their sector. Dawn started. "They say one of the Baseships in orbit around Pisceria has altered its scanners toward the planet. They believe they have spotted the missile attack from the planet."

"Damn!" Verga swore. "I knew that delay would cause us problems. Has the Baseship launched against the planet?"

"Not as yet sir! They have detected the missiles coming toward them, but have yet to react."

"Time to impact Colonel?"

"Thirty two microns Commander!"

Then came the report he dreaded.

"Commander, long range scanners report that Baseship has started moving away from the planet and is powering up its weapons. Looks like the felius is out of the sack now!" Colonel Leon reported.

"Damn! Genesis to Aniketos. Do you copy?"

"Aniketos here, Commander Alcibiades speaking." Came the stern reply of the Scorpion commander.

"Commander, the missiles from Pisceria didn't lift off in sequence with the others. They were about a centon behind the rest. Telemetry shows one of the Baseships in orbit around that planet has detected our missiles and they are getting ready to launch their own strike against the planet. I need you and your group to move in immediately and stop them from launching."

"We'll get underway immediately Commander!" Alcibiades replied.

"Very good Commander! Commence your attack as you were briefed. Get the Maru off your belly as soon as you clear the portal and have Major Hack hit them with their micro-wavelons. That will disable the Centurions and their Baseship, making em an easy target."

"We'll take care of it Commander. Aniketos out!"

Verga watched his scanners, which were receiving direct feeds from the scanner ships of the Galactican fleet. He was amazed at the range and clarity of the images he was receiving. He couldn't wait to have these "Super Scanners" installed on every ship! But for now, he was just glad to have them as they were.

He watched as the behemoth of a Warstar stared moving forward at an incredible rate of speed, the five ships of its attack group, the Battlestar Alphosnia, Gunstar Medeia, Destroyers Maru, Zepher, and the Destroyer Torrent attached to the underside of the ship. It was a site to behold.

The Torrent Verga recalled was the lone survivor of the ill-fated Fifth Colonial Fleet, which had been commanded by his long time friend and commanding officer, the Living Legend, Commander Cain. The Torrent had made it to Phantom Base forty yahren ago, half the crew, including its commanding officer dead, a gravely wounded junior officer, the then Lieutenant Kerr, having taken command and guiding the ship to the ultra-secret shipyard. Now that same young officer was in command of it! That was just one of the many stories of great heroics that were to be told if ….. WHEN they won this battle and reclaimed their homeworlds! But right now, they had to win the battle first!

Verga noticed the opening of the Trans-Spacial portal created by the Aniketos. Verga was fascinated by this as the giant Warstar headed for the shimmering hole in space and started to disappear. Then, just before it had fully entered the portal, several extremely bright flashes were seen. Then the Aniketos was gone and the portal closed.

What in Hades were those flashes from Verga wondered?

The answer to Verga's question was a horrifying one. The flashes were caused by the impact of a barrage of pulsar fire coming from the Baseship that Command Centurion Kronos was now piloting away from the planet. When he had finally realized that there were in fact a large number of missiles rising up from the planet surface right for them and with only microns to act, Kronos took control of the Baseship and steered it away from the planet at the highest velocity the behemoth could muster. The Baseship lurched violently, sending many of the crew flying off their feet, but that could not be helped. Kronos took a quick look at the scanners and was able to see nearly a dozen missiles flying past his Baseship. He might not understand the concept of "luck", but he had been very lucky to have avoided those missiles.

It was at that moment a Centurion reported an anomaly dead ahead. Kronos check his scanner and noticed something appearing right in front of them. It was a large, shimmering area of space that had not been there before. Kronos recalled the data on similar occurrences happening just before the appearance of the human ships that had been attacking the Cylons for the past few sectons. He also recalled data stating that the best way to deal with those incursions was to immediately begin firing all pulsar cannons into the shimmering area. So without a microns delay, Kronos activated the pulse cannons of the Baseship, targeted the shimmering spot, and unleashed an endless barrage of laser fire upon it.

The Aniketos opened a Trans-Spacial portal as soon as they were moving, Commander Alcibiades wanting to get to his attack point as quickly as possible to prevent the Baseship from launching its attack on the planet Pisceria.

Unfortunately, Alcibiades had miscalculated his speed and the fact that his target was now moving as well. So when the Trans-Spacial portal opened, it was in the wrong position!

And so was he!

Instead of the Aniketos and her charges coming out behind the Baseship, they appeared in front of it. They were now sitting avions!

Before he realized his mistake, Alcibiades felt the first of the pulse cannons shots rip into his Warstar. The first two shot hit the forward weapons section, destroying the Warstars main batteries and targeting scanners. The next shot hit the bridge of the Aniketos, ripping it open. Alcibiades and his entire bridge crew died before the Aniketos had fully exited the portal.

When the bridge was destroyed, the ships systems automatically shut down the portal, thus cutting off any chance of the Centurions being able to fire thru it.

As the now crippled Aniketos drifted forward, Kronos was able to target the ship more efficiently. He began firing at the huge landing bays of the Warstar, destroying its ability to launch what had to have been thousands of fighters. Then Kronos noticed something very strange!

There were several other Colonial war ships attached to the underside of the monstrous Warstar. Kronos maneuvered the Baseship into a more favorable position to have a look at these ships. Kronos was able to identify a Colonial Battlestar, thou it was a type of unknown configuration, an older Colonial Gunstar, and three Colonial Destroyers. All seemed to be attached to the huge ship by massive grapples, and it seemed they were stuck where they were.

With this realization, Kronos begin firing on the apparently helpless craft.

Aboard the Medeia, Commander Jared was franticly trying to release his ship from the dying Warstar. Unfortunately, the grapple release mechanism on the Aniketos had malfunctioned, trapping the Medeia and the other ships on the belly of the crippled Aniketos.

"Colonel, we need to get the Medeia detached immediately. If we don't, we are all dead! Any ideas?" Jared asked his exec, Colonel Polyimides.

"No sir. Unless the Aniketos releases us, we're stuck here."

"Can we blast ourselves free?" asked Colonel Telemann. "We can try blasting thru the grapples!"

"Possible, but it would take half a centar. I doubt we have more the a few centons before that Baseship finishes off the Aniketos and us with it! There has to be a way to release the Medeia!"

"There is a way Commander!"

The three senior officers turned to see Major Seleukos looking at them from his tactical station.

"What was that you said Seleukos? Do you know how to release the grapples?" Jared asked.

"Yes sir, I believe I do." Seleukos said as he stepped toward the senior officers.

"How is it you know how to do it Major?" asked Colonel Telemann.

"Because I use to command a Warstar and know how every system on them works!" Seleukos said with a bit of anger in his voice.

"Tell us how to do it Seleukos!" said Commander Jared, ignoring his operations officer. "What do we need to do?"

Seleukos moved swiftly back to the weapons station on the bridge and activated the main laser cannons and targeting scanners. As he worked the controls, he explained what he was about to do.

"The grappling system of a Warstar is designed to lock in all grappled ships so that they can't inadvertently release themselves while traveling thru Trans-Space. If a ship accidentally did release itself while traveling thru Trans-Space, it would be torn to shreds and most likely take any other ships close by with it. So the grappling system was designed so only the Warstar was able to release its charges. And it can only do it at space normal speed."

"Well that's great Major, but how does that help us now?" Telemon challenged.

"Very simple Colonel, I happen to know where the systems main release actuator is located. If we can destroy that, the system will automatically release all grappled ships. And we just happen to be in the perfect position to disable the actuator!"

Seleukos worked on getting the large laser cannons locked onto the spot where the actuator was. After only a few microns, he smiled at Commander Jared and said. "With your permission Commander?"

Commander Jared nodded, "Do it!"

Seleukos flipped open the cover on the fire button and pressed it.

The roar of the four powerful laser cannons was almost deafening as they unleashed more firepower then even a Battlestar could muster!

Seleukos's aim was true. The laser blast struck in just the right spot, for as he had said, the actuator control was annihilated with one volley and all five vessels that had been trapped under the Aniketos suddenly dropped away from its belly. Commander Jared was about to congratulate Seleukos when the Medeia shook so violently, everyone on the bridge was thrown clear across the bridge! The Medeia was knocked hard against the hull of the Aniketos by a direct hit from the Baseship. Only its extra durable hull plating saved it from being destroyed.

Seleukos had been fortunate enough to be holding on to the fire control station when the Medeia was hit squarely by a double blast of pulsar cannon fire from the Baseship. He looked at the scanner on the station and saw that the Baseship they had come to destroy was lining them up to do the same to them. Without thinking, relying totally on the instincts of his Warriors training and yahren as a Warstar commander, Seleukos grabbed the firing toggles and returned fire.

His first shots missed his target, but it did seem to let the Centurion ship know that the Medeia was no easy target! Seleukos fired again! And again! The follow up volleys were much better placed and made direct hits on the outer portion of the lower saucer section of the Baseship.

Aboard the Baseship, Kronos opened fire on the trapped Colonial vessels. First he targeted what looked to be a Battlestar. It was of the same general configuration as the older Battlestars that Kronos had studied, but this one was much larger and sported a greater number of laser turrets and missile launchers. Kronos believed this was the greatest threat at that time, so he targeted it with all its weapons.

The Baseship scored several direct hits on the Battlestar, including destroying one of it landing bays and heavily damaging the other. Kronos fired on and scored direct hits on two of the Destroyers, destroying one and disabling the other. Kronos was about to finish off the strange Battlestar when the Gunstar fired its weapons into the gigantic ship they were attached to. A huge explosion under the giant ship made everything shake violently.

Kronos focused his scanners on the Gunstar and found that it was no longer attached to the giant ship above it. Once more, Kronos reassessed the situation and began to attack this new threat! He fired a full volley from the large pulsar cannons, scoring a direct hit on the forward section of the ship, sending it bouncing off the underside of the large vessel. Almost immediately however, the new threat returned fire, striking the Baseships lower section. Kronos made the decision that his lone Baseship was now outnumbered and possibly outgunned, so the only option left was to complete his mission and try to make his escape.

So Kronos fired every pulsar it had at the new threat, which Kronos had identified as what looked to be a modified Colonial Gunstar. He scored a number of direct hits to the forward section again and to the port side landing bay. This seemed to slow the ship down for a moment, so Kronos moved away from the badly damaged behemoth and positioned itself to launch its full complement of missiles. He was no longer in optimal firing position to wreak the maximum damage to the planet, but with twenty solinite missiles hitting the surface, there was little doubt that it would cause serious damage to the planet.

Kronos activated the Baseships missile launch system, adjusted the aim point to what looked to be a weak spot in the surface, adjusted the flight path of the missiles to the tightest possible formation and without another microns hesitation, unleashed twenty solinite missiles at the planet Pisceria.

With his primary mission completed, Kronos steered the Baseship away from the planet and the Colonial warships and headed for home. In twenty five centons, the planet and those humans would all be nothing but a memory.

Onboard the Medeia, Seleukos was trying to get another shot at the Baseship when it fired a full barrage at the Gunstar. Several of the blast hit the mighty ship, causing it to shake violently and tilt somewhat to starboard. Seleukos held onto the fire control station tightly, so as to keep from tumbling around like most of the others on the bridge. Most of the lights on the bridge were out and what lights still functioning flickered, causing the bridge to be bathed in eerie shadows. Fires and smoke had started to fill the bridge making it hard to see. Seleukos checked the targeting scanners to see where the Baseship was. He saw that it was moving away from them and out of range. He called out thru the smoke and flames, "Commander, the Baseship is making a run for it. I can't get a shot on it from here. We need to move out from under the Aniketos sir!"

There was no response.

"Commander!" Seleukos called out again. "Commander Jared! Where are you?"

Still no answer.

The smoke was heavy throughout the bridge and flames flared up from a dozen places. Seleukos could barely see three metrons in front of himself; the smoke had become so thick. He left the fire control station and began searching to see what had happened to Commander Jared and the other members of the bridge crew. He soon found his answer!

As Seleukos made his way to the command podium, his foot hit the body of Commander Jared. He was lying on the deck, just below the command podium. He must have fallen over the railing when the Baseship fired its last volley at the Medeia. Seleukos could tell from the way Jared was laying that his neck was broken.

Seleukos then made his way further around the base of the command podium and found Colonel Telemon lying on top of one of the control consoles. He too had been thrown from the command podium it seemed, landing on the flight deck controllers station, his back broken. Seleukos checked him for life signs, and found none.

He then reached the steps to the command podium and climbed to find Colonel Polemides and the bridge officer, Captain Chessen, under part the collapsed overhead, a large piece of metal pierced Polemides' chest while Chessen's head had been crushed. With the entire command crew dead, Seleukos did the only thing he could.

He assumed command of the stricken vessel and started to fight his ship!

"Helmsman! Are you there?" Seleukos called out thru the smoke.

"Here sir!" came the slightly disoriented reply. "Orders sir?"

Seleukos was proud of this young man for being so professional, even though it was apparent he was injured and in pain. He stayed his post and was ready for action. A true Scorpian Warrior!

"Ahead one quarter speed. Get us clear of the Aniketos so we can destroy that Baseship." Seleukos ordered.

"Yes sir!" the helmsman replied as he did as he was bid.

The Medeia started to move slowly forward past the heavily damaged Battlestar Alphosina and out from under the massive Warstar Aniketos. The Gunstar began picking up speed as it cleared the Alphosina and the helmsman steered toward the last known position of the Baseship.

Seleukos worked intently to remove the debris from the bridge officer's station so he could use it to conduct his attack. He was happy to see that the damage to the station was minimal, only one of the monitors had been crushed it seemed. The rest of the controls were fully functional. The Medeia was back in action!

"Sir, we're almost clear of the Aniketos!" called out the helmsman.

Seleukos looked toward the forward view screen and could see the edge of the giant Warstar approaching above them. He knew he had to be ready to fire as soon as they cleared the Aniketos, just in case that Baseship was still lurking nearby. He brought up the fire control system controls at the bridge officer's station and began charging all weapons. He would send those golmonging Centurions to Hades as soon as he was in firing position.

"Clearing the Aniketos in ten microns sir!" the helmsman announced.

"Very good helm. As soon as we spot that Baseship, turn our nose to it and proceed at half speed. I've got a very warm greeting to send them!"

Seleukos heard a bit of a chuckle from the helmsman and a more robust, "Yes Sir!" from him. Seleukos took a quick glance at the man steering the Medeia and was shocked to see how badly injured the man was. Blood cover his head and shoulders, a massive gash evident on the top of his head and his left arm hung limply at his side, obviously broken in several places. Seleukos marveled at this Warriors dedication and professionalism. He swore he'd put the man if for the highest award possible once this was over ….. If they survived that is!

"We are clear of the Aniketos sir! Beginning search for the Base ….. wait, there it is sir! Just above us!" the helmsman called out. "Altering course sir!"

"Outstanding work helm!" Seleukos commended. "Let's take that garbage from our space!"

Seleukos released the safeties on all of his weapons and took careful aim. He wanted this to take just one shot! The target lock flashed on and Seleukos pressed the buttons to fire all of the weapons of the powerful Gunstar!

But nothing happened!

Seleukos looked at the readouts on his screen. It was now filled with all manner of alarms and failure warnings! The entire weapons system was gone. Destroyed by the last round of fire from the Baseship most likely!

"FRAK!" yelled Seleukos as he realized he had no weapons. Then he nodded his head, realizing there was only one course of action left to him.

"Helmsman, full speed ahead. Ram that bastard!" Seleukos ordered!

"Yes sir!" came the nervous reply to the command, with only a slight hesitation.

Seleukos opened up the ship wide intercom system and said, "All hands, brace for ramming! I repeat, brace for ramming!"

"You will not escape us old enemy!"

But then the unexpected happened.

Just as the Medeia started to gain speed, the view screen flashed brilliant and there was nothing but bright light and fire! Seleukos threw his arm up instinctively the cover his eyes from the bright flash of light and fire! The flash momentarily blinded and disoriented him. Had he not been holding onto the console, he'd have tumbled to the deck! What in Hades had just happened? Did the Baseship just fire on them again? Did it blow itself to smithereens?

No, it was far worse than that!

Just as the Medeia started toward the Baseship, Kronos fired his full complement of missiles at the planet below. The Baseship shook with the release of so many missiles all at once. Kronos watched his scanner, insuring that all weapons were away and on course. Granted, he was far from his designated firing position, this caused by the unexpected appearance of a large number of planet launched missiles and the untimely arrival of the human war ships, but Kronos figured that even if his missiles didn't hit their primary targets, impacting the planet with so many missiles in a concentrated area would have the desired effect ….. the complete destruction of the planet!

As Kronos watched the missiles begin their twenty five centon journey to the planet, he noticed movement on the edge of his screen. Kronos recentered the scanners and found that the movement was one of the human warships. They must have been able to get underway and were attempting to pursue his Baseship. It would serve them no purpose however. Kronos had completed his part of the mission. Granted, most, if not all of the other Baseships had been destroyed or were so heavily damaged they would not survive the unexpected missile attacks from the human colonies, but he had carried out his mission. Now he must make good his escape.

Kronos took control of the helm for the giant Baseship and set course towards his homeworld.

Seleukos' vision was just starting to clear when he looked out the forward view screen and watched as the Baseship started moving away from them at high speed. His first instinct was to pursue and destroy the enemy vessel, but then he remembered the bright flashes.

He switched his control programs from the failed weapons system to the scanner program. The blood drained from his face as he watched a score of missiles sailing toward the planet Pisceria! He had to try and stop them, but without weapons, there was nothing he could do!

Or was there something he could do?

He opened up the ship wide intercom system again.

"Attention all hands! This is Major Seleukos. Commander Jared, Colonel Polemides and Colonel Telemon are all dead. I have assumed command of the Medeia. Our situation is grave. We currently are tracking a score of missiles launched by the Centurion Baseship. They are heading for the planet Pisceria as I speak. Our weapons systems have been destroyed and both launch bays are out of commission, so we have no way of shooting them down. There for, at this time I am ordering the immediate evacuation of all wounded personnel to the life pods and all hands are to prepare to abandon ship on my signal! I repeat, all hands prepare to abandon ship! Stand by!"

Seleukos switched off the ship wide intercom and opened up the ultra-secure Fleet Comline Alpha.

"Medeia to the Battlestar Galactica and Warstar Mahthildia. Come in please. This is Gunstar Medeia calling Galactica and Mahthildia. Do you read me?"

A few microns passed, then came the responses. The faces of the two commanding officers appeared on the screen.

"Medeia, this is Mahthildia, Commander Leonitus speaking. Report!"

"My Lord King! It is good to hear from you. This is Major Seleukos. Commander Jared is dead, as is Colonel Polemides and Colonel Telemon. I have assumed command of the Medeia."

"Understood Major! What's your situation there?" Leonitus asked.

"All weapons systems have been destroyed. Both launch bays are likewise out of commission. The Centurion Baseship somehow became aware of the attack from the planet and was able to avoid those missiles. We made the jump with the Aniketos and were immediately fired upon. The Aniketos has been completely disabled and is adrift. The Battlestar Alphosina is in even worse shape. She is adrift with one of her bays blown completely away and the other in flames. I've not been able to raise either ship, nor the three destroyers that were with us. I can only assume we are the only warship left."

"Understood Major. Location of the Baseship?"

"It has retreated sir. But not before it was able to launch a score of missiles at the planet Pisceria!" Seleukos reported dejectedly.

"You said your weapons are gone, is that correct Major?" Commander Apollo asked. He joined the conversation and listened to Seleukos' report.

"That would be correct sir." Seleukos replied. "But I do have a plan to stop those missiles."

"Let's hear it Major!" Leonitus said.

"With your permission sir, I will position the Medeia in the path of the missiles, in between them and the planet. I'll channel all power to the shielding and take the impact on the Medeia!"

"Are you kidding? That would be suicide Major!" Apollo protested. "You and your crew will all be killed."

"Not if I can help it Commander. I've already started evacuating my wounded from the Medeia and will order a full scale abandon ship once I have everything in order to position the Medeia. Once the Medeia is in position, the remainder of the crew will abandon ship as well."

"How can you be sure you can stop all of those missiles Major?" Leonitus asked.

"They're in a very tight formation sir. The Baseship commander must have wanted to concentrate their effect by having them all hit in close proximity. I believe I can take most, if not all of them out with the Medeia! All I need your permission to proceed?"

Apollo and Leonitus were both silent for a few moments, than Leonitus spoke.

"If Commander Apollo has no objections, I give you my permission to carry out your plan! And I send all of my hopes and blessings with you and your crew!"

Seleukos turned his attention to the screen where Apollo's stern face was.

"I was hoping to save this for after the battle, but in light of what you're about to do, I think I'll have to move up my timeline." Apollo said. "Major Seleukos, I have decided that, effective immediately, I'm reinstating you to the rank of Commander! With Commander Leonitus's approval of course!

Leonitus smiled broadly!

"You have my full approval Commander! Congratulations Commander Seleukos!"

"Your first act is to assume full command of the Scorpion Gunstar Medeia." Leonitus said. "Do whatever you have to in order to stop those missiles from hitting the planet."

Seleukos was astonished! He and Apollo had never liked one another, but he had learned to respect the Caprican as a good and effective leader over the past few sectons. For him to do this for him was amazing!

"Thank you my Lord! And my thanks to you Commander Apollo!'

"You've more than earned it Seleukos" Apollo said with a smile. "I hope you survive this mission of yours so that we can celebrate properly when this is all over!"

"As do I Commander." Seleukos said. "I'm going to begin the evacuation of my crew immediately sir. I'll have the life pods set course to rendezvous with the Aniketos and the other ships. Here's to success! Medeia out!"

Seleukos closed the channel and switched back to the ship wide channel. He had to get everyone off the Medeia quickly as time was running short.

"Attention all hands! This is Commander Seleukos. I am ordering the immediate abandonment of the Medeia. All crew members are to report to your abandon ship stations immediately and are to launch life pods as soon as all hands assigned to each pod are accounted for. You have five centons to board your pods and depart the ship. There will be no further warnings. Seleukos out!"

Giving the crew five centons to get off the ship should be more than sufficient he thought. Most crews can do it in less time, but that was during controlled drills. This was the real thing. There was smoke and fire everywhere. Major damage and mass casualties to numerous systems throughout the ship.

And of course ….. the injured and dead!

Most of the injured had been moved to the life pods already. Some had even launched to reach better medical facilities on the other ships of the fleet. Now the remaining crew had to leave. Once they were gone, Seleukos figured to steer the Medeia directly into the path of those missiles, ramp up the power to the shields, and then use one of the remaining life pods on the bridge to make his own escape. It all sounded so easy.

"Commander!" a weak voice from the smoke called.

Seleukos made his way to where the voice came from on the lower deck. He made his way around the base of the command podium to where the helm was and found the Medeia's helmsman lying on his side, a pool of blood spreading out from the wound Seleukos had noticed earlier. It was far worse then he had suspected, but the man had stayed at his post throughout the attack, and had finally had succumbed to the loss of blood and was not able to reach his abandon ship station.

"I'm here crewman. How are you doing Warrior? Can you make it to your abandon ship station?"

"I don't think so sir." The man replied weakly!

"Where's your station son?"

"Life pod forty seven sir. Two decks down."

Seleukos thought about taking the injured man down there himself or having someone come get him, but realized that would take too long. He glanced to the bank of life pods on the bridge. All four were still there as everyone that was stationed on the bridge was now dead except the two of them. Seleukos made his decision and grabbed the crewman by the front of his tunic, pulling him to his feet. He dropped to a knee allowing the nearly unconscious man to lay across his shoulder. Seleukos rose to his feet and carried the crewman to the closest life pod. He hit the door release and placed the man inside the pod, securing him to one of the seats. Then he punched in the coordinates to the Aniketos and stepped back onto the bridge. He closed the door on the life pod and launched it. Seleukos hoped the man would be safe and that they would find him before it was too late.

On every deck ….. in every section ….. the crew of the Scorpion Gunstar Medeia made their way calmly to their abandon ship stations. There was no panic. No pushing or shoving. As a matter of fact, people went out of their way to help the injured. The calm professionalism of the crew was astounding! One after the another, the life pods were boarded and when all personnel for that pod was accounted for, they were launched and headed for the rendezvous point with the Aniketos, which had been able to restore some of its systems, but had been damaged beyond continuing the fight. With its thrusters unable to go at more than one quarter speed, she could only serve as the rally point for the survivors of the Medeia and Alphosina. The one surviving destroyer, the Torrent, had recovered its functionality and was escorting the life pods to the Aniketos. The fate of Pisceria was squarely on Seleukos and the Medeia.

"Talbert to Seleukos." Came a call over the ships intercom system. Seleukos was working feverishly to ready the mighty Gunstar for its final mission. He hit the switch for the intercom.

"This is Seleukos. Go ahead Talbert."

"I've made a sweep of the ship and have rounded up all our stragglers Commander. The last few life pods will be launching within a centon!" he reported!

"Outstanding Captain. Let me know when you're ready to launch so I can move this old girl into position."

"Are you sure you don't need an extra hand Commander?" asked Captain Talbert, who was the wing commander for the Medeia.

"No Captain, I'll be able to handle this one solo. No sense risking any more people than is necessary. Thanks thou."

"As you wish sir. Anything you'd like me to tell Selina? Just in case."

Seleukos thought on this for a moment. There were many things he'd like to say to his wife, but none he could voice to anyone but her.

"No Captain, but thanks for asking." Seleukos said softly. "You best get out of here. I only have seven centons to get between the planet and those missiles."

"Yes sir! The last life pods just launched. I'll follow them now. Good luck Commander! It was an honor serving with you!"

"The honor was mine Captain."

The channel went silent as Captain Talbert ended the call and boarded the life pod. Once he was strapped in, the pod launched.

Seleukos was now the only living being on the Medeia.

He turned his mind back to the task at hand. All was in readiness it seemed.

"Let's get this over with!" he whispered to himself.

Seleukos had everything rigged to be operated from the bridge officer's station. He settled into the seat and pulled up the helmsman's controls on his screens. He started entering commands into the computer and suddenly the Medeia started moving forward, slowly at first, but then it picked up speed more rapidly. He altered his course so as to swing around in front of the on rushing Centurion missiles.

Seleukos had picked a point five thousand kilometrons above the planet as his intercept point. He was sure that would be of sufficient distance above the planet's surface to keep the damage to an absolute minimum. He checked the flight paths and trajectory of the missiles and was happy to see that they were still in a very tight formation. The Centurion commander that fired them must have been trying to cause the maximum amount of damage by trying to split the planet in half. This helped Seleukos more than could be imagined.

He watched his scanner screen to see where he was in relation to the missiles. From the reading he had, he was just passing the missiles position and would be in position to intercept them in less than two centons. If his calculations were correct, he'd have about two and a half centons bring the ships shields up to maximum power, get to his life pod and launch before the missiles impacted with the Medeia. No pressure!

Seleukos began angling the Medeia towards the path of the missiles. He was now well ahead of them and would be bringing the Media directly into their path in just a few microns. He couldn't help be feel a little scared at that point. Not of dying, for as a Warrior, he'd always know and accepted that he could die at any moment. No, his fear was that he'd fail to stop the missiles! That he'd miscalculated somehow and the missiles would get by him and destroy the planet. The fear of failure was what leeched into his mind.

He shook the thought away and made his move!

For such a large vessel, the Gunstar Medeia was quite maneuverable and quick handling. Seleukos, being one of the finest ship handlers in the Scorpion fleet had no problem swinging the Medeia into perfect position, right in the path of the twenty Centurion missiles meant to destroy the planet Pisceria. He was not going to let that happen!

Seleukos brought the Medeia to a full stop right where he wanted. He fired up ever energizer on the ship and channeled every ergon of power to the Medeia's shielding system. He hoped that it would be strong enough to take the impact of all the missiles, but there was some doubt in his mind that it would be able to. Too late for doubts now.

He watched the missiles approach and the power levels of the shields. The shields were at seventy two percent and rising slower then he'd anticipated. By his figures, the shields would only be at around ninety two percent at impact. Seleukos thought on that for a moment and realized there was nothing more he could do. It would have to be enough!

Time for him to go!

Seleukos punched on the auto pilot and set it to "Station Hold", thus the computer would hold the Medeia in place within just a few metrons of where it was. Once that was done, he raced over to the three remaining life pods on the bridge. He popped the door on the first one only to find that it had been severely damaged in the Centurion Baseships attack. He wasn't going to be leaving in that pod.

He went to the one next to it and it looked to be in good order. He stepped in and secured himself to the control seat. These pods were designed to hold up to a dozen individuals with one pilot. Once he was secured, he closed the hatch and hit the launch button.

Nothing happened!

He hit the launch button again, but the result was the same. This pod had malfunctioned and was useless.

Seleukos looked at his chronometer and saw that he only had one centon to impact! He quickly undid the securing straps and popped the hatch. He jumped out and looked around the bridge, locating the last life pod on the bridge. He ran to it and popped the hatch on it. He leaped into the pod and immediately hit the button to close the hatch.

It didn't close!

"What in Hades!" he exclaimed loudly as he hit the button again. And again, the hatch started to close and then slide open. Why was it not closing? That is when he noticed a small piece of ruble from the collapsed overhead in the door track. He reached down and pulled the troublesome piece of metal out of the track. He hit the button and the hatch finally slide shut. He checked his chronometer again.

Forty microns!

Seleukos jumped into the pilots seat strapped in quickly and hit the launch button!

Nothing happened!

He hit it again with the same result. Nothing! Seleukos was beside himself! How could he die because a damn life pod would not launch! It was madness! He hit the button again and again.

That is when the first missile hit the Medeia!

Seleukos felt the impact as the ship was rocked violently. It was followed by another! And another! The ship was being torn asunder by multiple missile strikes. Seleukos glanced out the window of the life pod that faced the bridge. He could see the giant view screen at the front of the bridge and saw one explosion after another reflected in the space outside. At that moment, Seleukos realized he was not going to make it off the Medeia. He'd done everything he could, but the fates it seemed were against him. He watched as the first missile to break thru the shields tore open the front of the bridge. There was a huge fireball from the solinite warhead that he saw consuming the bridge, rushing right at him. Seleukos slammed his fist down on the control panel and defiantly yelled at his impending doom!

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Then there was nothing but darkness as Seleukos mind faded to black.

Aboard the Galactica, Commander Apollo was monitoring the battle. Things had worked out much better than he ever could have imagined. The planet launched missiles had gone undetected by most of the Centurion Baseships right up until they were hit! Thirty eight of the fifty Baseships were destroyed outright and eleven others were severely damaged by those missiles launched by Commander Saxton's troops. Those were being cleaned up by forces from the Galactica and Phantom fleets.

What surprised Apollo was that they had detected launches from all ten planets! The two planets that Commander Saxton and his team were unable to reach, Pisceria and Aquaria, somehow were able to get a large number of missiles airborne as well. Apollo later found out that Commander Saxton's exec., a Colonel Nader had lead a small team of technicians to the old P.D.C. complex and hacked into the Colonial Defense Missile System and were able to launch hundreds of missiles from there.

Of the fifty Baseships assigned to the Centurion strike force, only one was able to launch its missiles at its target. That was the one that Commander Seleukos and the Medeia had battled. How that battle ended was not good.

"Anything from Commander Seleukos Sheba?" Apollo asked his second in command, who just happened to be his wife as well.

"Nothing yet Apollo. Jolly is taking the Chimaera into that area to see what is going on." She reported.

"Why didn't we have someone scanning that area more thoroughly during the battle?' Apollo asked.

"We just didn't have enough ships to cover every Baseship around every planet." Sheba said half-heartedly. "We had almost all of our ships committed to the strike forces, so we only had seven ships avalible for long range scanner duty."

"Damn! That kind of oversite is inexcusable!" Apollo said angrily. "How could I have over looked such an important detail?"

"It's not your fault Apollo!" She tried to comfort him.

"Yes it is my fault Sheba! I was the one that came up with the battle plan! This falls directly on me and no one else!"

Just then the communications officer called to Apollo.

"Commander, Message coming in from the Chimaera."

"I'll take it here Winrich." Apollo said, still angry with himself. "Galactica to Chimaera, go ahead Jolly! What did you find?"

"Well skipper, looks like Seleukos' plan worked. From what my reading are telling me, he took out all but three of those missiles. And the ones that got thru hit unpopulated areas. Minimal damage to the planet."

"That's great news Jolly. Any sign of Commander Seleukos?"

Jolly's face turned sad on the viewer.

"Afraid not Apollo. There was nothing left of the Medeia. From what the survivors have said, he was the only one left on there, and we've not found any life pods in the area"

"Understood. Keep searching, just in case he made it off somehow. Let me know if you find anything."

"Will do skipper. Chimaera out!"

"Winrich, get Commander Leonitus for me please." Apollo said to the comms officer. "I need to let him know about Seleukos and the Medeia."

A few moments later, Apollo was informing Leonitus about the destruction of the Medeia and the death of Commander Seleukos. The Scorpion King listens intently, nodding as Apollo explained what he knew from the scanning ship reports. When Apollo was finished, Leonitus spoke.

"It is as I thought it would be." He said softly. "I didn't think there was much chance that Seleukos would survive such a daring and dangerous maneuver. But, like a true Scorpion Warrior, he died in battle facing overwhelming odds against a sworn enemy! It is the kind of death all we Scorpions hope for. He will be remembered."

"I'll remember him as well Commander." Apollo said.

Leonitus cocked his head to the side and looked at Apollo for a moment, than nodded his head.

"I know you two didn't hit it off when first you met, but I think there at the end, there was a mutual respect for each other."

"Yes, I believe there was Commander." Apollo agreed.

"Well my friend, if you will excuse me, I have to go find Seleukos' wife and tell her the bad news."

"I don't envy you that task Commander."

"No, but it is best it comes from me. She and her children will be well taken care of, that I promise you!" Leonitus said somberly.

"I have no doubt! Good luck Commander."

"And to you. Mahthildia out."

Apollo stood staring at the blank screen thinking about Leonitus and how he would have to tell Seleukos' widow he was gone. He had done the same for his people in the past, and no matter how many times you had to do it, it never got easier.

He felt the soft touch of a hand on his shoulder. When he turned, he saw Sheba standing there with tears in her eyes, but a slight smile on her face. He turned to her, confussed by her expression.

"What is it Sheba? What's happened?" he asked nervously.

"I just received word from the Gyes. Major Brie reports that the Baseship that fired on Pisceria ran into a swarm of Cylon fighters and was destroyed."

"That's great news." Apollo said nodding his head.

"And I've got updates from all the other scanner ships and attack groups." Sheba continued. "All units report that they have successfully engaged and defeated the remaining Centurions in their areas without a single Baseship firing on the planets. They also report minimal casualties."

Apollo looked at her a bit confused.

"What are you saying Sheba?"

"What I'm saying Apollo is that all targets have been neutralized. The wars over! We've won!"

Apollo just starred at her for long microns, unable to fully comprehend what it was she had just said. He dropped his eyes to the floor and grabbed hold of the railing next to the bridge officer's station, his legs suddenly unable to fully support him. Sheba grabbed hold of him and held him upright as the bridge officer; Captain Dolan lent a hand and helped lower their commander into the bridge officer's seat. Apollo, still unable to speak looked up into their worried faces.

"Did you just say what I thought you did?" he finally asked Sheba weakly.

She dropped to her knees in front of him, holding his hands in hers and said to him, "Yes my love. We've defeated the Centurions on all fronts. The war is over Apollo! The Colonies are ours!"

He was overtaken by emotions at that instant and started to weep softly. He could not comprehend the magnitude of the moment. The war with the enemy of all mankind that had waged for well over a thousand yahren had finally come to an end! An end that found the human race victorious!

He pulled Sheba to him in a crushing embrace. Everything they had dedicated their lives to, defending the Colonies and protecting the human race had been achieved.

Apollo released his grip on Sheba and smiled brightly at her.

"We have to pass the word to the entire fleet!' Apollo said excitedly! "Everyone needs to know right away!"

"Then let's get to it "Commander"!" Sheba said playfully!

And so, Apollo made the announcement over the fleet wide channel. The elation of the people on every ship could not be matched! Every emotion was seen manifesting amongst the people of the fleet. It would take several centons for the commanders of each ship to get their crews under control and back to focusing on their duties. The war may be over, but there was still a thousand things to do!

As soon as Apollo made the announcement to the fleet, he switched over to the frequency he'd been using to contact Commander Saxton on Caprica. Saxton was on the other end of the connection almost immediately.

"Are you frakking kidding me Apollo?" Sexton said excitedly! "You're totally serious?"

"That I am old friend!" Apollo replied with a huge grin. "Your people in those missile silos and Colonel Nader's crew are the real hero's. The missiles they launched took out over two thirds of the Baseships for us. They never saw em coming it seems!"

"No kidding!" Saxton said in amazement.

"Yep! And the few Baseships your people didn't get, our crews handled with relative ease. Only one Baseship was able to launch any missiles and all but three of those were destroyed before they could hit!"

Saxton's face sobered a bit hearing that three Centurion missiles had gotten thru.

"Which planet did they hit Apollo?"

"Pisceria." Apollo told him. "But from our scans, they all impacted in totally unpopulated areas."

"Oh. That's good I guess." Saxton said with little emotion.

Apollo looked at his old friend and wondered what was going on with him. He'd have to delve into that when they were alone together.

"So what do we do now Apollo? Now that the Cylons …. I mean, Centurions have been defeated, what's our next step?"

"Well the first thing we need to do up here is take care of our wounded and begin repairs on the ships that were damaged in the fighting."

"How many ships did you lose Apollo?"

"Thankfully, only three!" Apollo said somberly. "The Scorpion Gunstar Medeia was destroyed defending Pisceria from those missiles I told you about. We also lost the Maru and the Zepher from the same attack group. That group suffered most of our casualties, but three of the six ships are salvageable. We had a few ships in other attack groups take some minor damage. Nothing too serious"

"Glad to hear it. What do you need me and my people to do down here?"

"First thing is to pass the word about our victory! Let everyone know that we've beat the pogees out of the Centurions and that the Colonies are ours once again."

"With pleasure!" Saxton said happily. "What else?"

"Tell the people to start gathering together and get some sort of head count going so we can see how many survivors we have and who they are. I'm sure there are tens of thousands of people in small pockets out there on each and every planet. I'm willing to bet that most are not even aware of what's been happening the past few sectons. We have to let everyone know that they are safe and we will be starting to rebuild our worlds."

"I'll have my people start spreading the word to all the other colonies. I'll also advise everyone to be extremely careful when returning to the surface and the cities. There might still be a few leftover Centurions traipsing around on the surface as well as booby traps. I wouldn't put anything past those tin plated rust buckets!"

Apollo laughed at the nickname Saxton used for the Centurions.

"Good idea. Make sure you get a count of who you're in contact with and their locations. We'll start sending down supplies and medical assistance as soon as we're secured up here."

"Will do Apollo. I'll get my people right on it." Saxton said. "I'm looking forward to seeing you again old buddy. We have a lot to talk about!'

Apollo looked at him questioningly for a moment, wondering what he meant by that.

"I'll get back to you shortly Apollo. DreamWorks out!"

Apollo was still smiling when Sheba told him Commander Verga was on the line. He nodded to her and motioned for her to forward the signal to his station.

"Commander Verga, I was just getting ready to contact you sir."

"Not to worry Commander, your lovely wife was kind enough to forward your report to me here. Looks like your plan was a complete success! Congratulations Commander! Job well done!"

"Thank you sir, but everyone had a hand in this one. "Apollo said smiling. "I only wish we hadn't lost so many good people."

"Agreed, but in any battle, casualties will happen. All we can do is plan and hope that there are as few as possible." Verga told him. "We'll go over the casualty lists and damage reports later. Right now we need to prepare our people for their return to the surfaces of their homeworlds and get whatever aid we can down to those in need."

"Yes sir. I've already taken the liberty of instructing Commander Saxton on Caprica to start passing the word thru his network of survivors." Apollo told him. "He'll have them start organizing and gathering together in more localized places so we can get supplies and medical care to them."

Verga nodded his approval. "Well done Commander. I'll start organizing the fleet into patrol sections. I don't trust the Centurions any further then I could throw em. They might try some sort of counterattack when we least expect it."

"I concur sir!" Apollo agreed. "My fleet is at your disposal Commander."

"Good, I'll need some of your ships with those "Super Scanners" of yours. Two or three of them can cover the entire quadrant I'll bet." Verga chuckled.

"That they can sir." Apollo agreed.

"I'll let you know what ships I'll need as soon as I get things organized." Verga said. "But for now, let's get the word out that the Colonies are back in our hands and let's start preparing for the future!"