Battlestar Galactica

Past, Present, Future

Chapter 38

Reunions and Rebuilding

Bannon and Raylac stood near the back of the Genesis Bridge quietly talking with the other senior commanders of the Phantom Fleet, Commanders Sachs, Goff and Hawley. They were waiting for their commanding officer, Commander Verga to join them. Verga had asked them to meet him aboard the Genesis so they could all fly down together to the Palladium complex on Caprica to begin what they all knew would be a very long and drawn out process ….. sorting out from the thousands of potential candidates, the best possible representatives to fill out a new Council of the Twelve! The people that would hopefully steer the colonies into the future.

Verga had enlisted the assistance of his most of the senior officers, not only from the Phantom Fleet, but also from the Scorpion Fleet, the Galactican Fleet, as well as many of the members on the Galactica's Council of the Twelve. He'd also asked several people from the various colonies that were recommended by Commander Saxton from Caprica and Prime Minister Ja' Tel from Aquaria. Thus far, they had assembled a group of about thirty people to conduct the "interviews" of the potential candidates for the upcoming colonies wide election. It was a huge undertaking to be sure, but one Verga knew was necessary.

It was the general consensus that this was going to be a very long and boring evolution, but they figured that the sooner they could turn over governing back to a civilian authority, the sooner they could get back to rebuilding the Colonial Fleets. Electing a new council would set the colonies back onto the path it had been on for centuries, one that had, before and during the centuries of the war, brought prosperity and great advancements in many areas to the colonies. But first, they had to find the best people to place on the ballots. The interviews with the myriad of potential candidates would hopefully weed out those less qualified individuals.

At least, that was the plan!

After what seemed like an eternity, Commander Verga and Colonel Leon appeared, having just exited his private offices just off the bridge.

"My apologize friends, but the Colonel and I were finishing up a few matters before we leave. I didn't want to leave Colonel Eller with any unfinished items while we were on the planet."

"Is Colonel Eller taking over the fleet while were on Caprica Commander?" asked Commander Sachs.

"That's correct Commander. Colonel Leon will be accompanying us to Caprica, so that leaves Colonel Eller as the most senior and experienced officer in the fleet. He's more than capable of handling things here while we're engaged in trying to rebuild the council."

"My offer still holds Commander!" Bannon said with a slight smile. "I'll gladly stay up here and see to things for you!"

Verga gave him a sideways grin and said, "You're not getting out of this so easily old friend! If I have to deal with all those pretenders and want to be's, so do you!"

They all chuckled at this until Major Verner interrupted the jocularity.

"Commander Verga, message coming in from the Cylon fleet. I believe it's from the Cylon Imperium."

Everyone went silent immediately, exchanging surprised looks. This was the first they had heard from their Cylon allies since the defeat of the Centurions nearly two sectons ago. Everyone wondered what had happened to wake them up.

Verga's expression did not reveal his concern with this unexpected message. He simply looked over at the Major and nodded.

"Transfer the signal to my office if you please Major. I'll take it there." Verga told his Operations officer. Then he turned to the group around him and said. "Well folks, this might take a while, so I'd like you all, with the exception of Commanders Bannon and Raylac to go ahead and head down to the surface and help Commanders Apollo and Saxton get things in order. We'll join you as soon as we can. Dismissed."

The three officers not asked to stay nodded and left for the hanger deck, where they would board a shuttle and head down to Caprica. Verga led Bannon, Raylac, and Colonel Leon back down the short passageway to his office. Not a word was spoken until the four officers were inside and the hatch had slid shut.

"So what do you think the Cylons want Commander?" Raylac asked.

"I have no idea Commander." Verga answered calmly, walking behind his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out three small devices and tossed them on the desk.

"Use these to listen in gentlemen. They're miniature versions of the "Languatron" Doctors Grego and Haley developed." Verga told them. "You'll be able to understand the Cylons instantaneously with those."

Each man picked up one of the small devices and looked it over. The devices looked like small earphones similar to the ones used to help those that were hard of hearing.

"How do you turn it on?" Raylac asked, looking at the small device.

"They activate when placed in your ear" Verga told him. "I want you all to stand over there off camera, he said indicating the far end of his office. "I don't want the Imperium to know you're here. He and his people are not the trusting type. He might not be fully open about what's bothering them if they know you're here, so stay out of site and stay quiet."

"Will do!" Bannon said.

Verga nodded to the three and sat down behind his desk. He opened a panel on the desk and pulled out his headset and opened the channel for the Cylon Imperium. The small screen on the desk came to life and revealed the face of the Imperium of the Cylon species. He still had the hood of this robe over his head, but Verga knew the face in the shadow. The visage of a great reptile. Scaly green-grey skin, a protruding face, a mouth full of sharp teeth with a forked tongue flicking out every so often. The face of a thousand nightmares.

A face Verga had become very familiar with.

"Greetings Imperium!" Verga said in the native language of the Cylon's. He had over the course of their alliance spent a great deal of time listening to the Cylon language and learning it so as to become better acquainted with the major forms of the tongue as well as several of the lesser dialects. By this time he'd become quite fluent in the guttural hissing, growling, and clicking's of the Cylon tongue. "To what do I owe the honor of this communication?"

The Imperium answered immediately.

"Your Cylon has greatly improved Commander Verga. I am impressed!"

"I've taken a little time recently to practice." Verga said with a smile.

"I am honored by your efforts Commander Verga."

Verga inclined his head slightly.

"So how might I be of service to you Imperium?"

"I wish to speak about the Centurions." The Imperium said.

Here it was. The moment Verga knew would be coming but hoped would not come so soon.

"Yes, the Centurions." Verga said with a nod. "We still plan to assist you and your people against them Imperium. We are only waiting until we can stabilize the people on our colony world's first. Once that has been achieved, we will gladly help you with the final battle against the Centurions."

"I understand your dilemma Commander Verga." The Imperium said, his cold, black eyes never blinking. "We have monitored your transmissions and know you have been overwhelmed by the situation you found. Your resources have been stretched extremely thin by number of survivors you found it seems."

"Yes, it has been a rather daunting task thus far, but we are getting things in order as fast as we can." Verga assured the Imperium. "We should be ready to begin a campaign against the Centurions in another sectar or two."

The imperium looked down towards the floor and shook his head slowly. Then he looked back into the camera replied.

"I'm afraid that is not going to work for us Commander Verga." said the Imperium. "My people are becoming quite restless waiting. They crave action. They want to end this now! I want to end this now! Therefore we are going to move forward with the attack on the Centurions."

Verga cast a quick glance at his officers, all of whom had expressions of shock on their faces. Then to the Cylon Imperium, he said, "I would highly advise against that Imperium. We stand a much better chance of victory if we do this together."

"That may be true Commander Verga, but you and your people have far too much work needing to be done in your own solar system. It will be many yahren before your colonies are stable again I think. I and my people have waited as long as we can. We wish to finish that which we set in motion long ago, and we dare not delay any longer."

"I'm sure you and your people want to end the Centurion threat as badly as we do Imperium, but without our help, the Centurions might be able to hold your forces off indefinitely. They still have a significant number of warships at their disposal and have held that space for over a millennium! There's no telling what kinds of defenses they have in place."

"That is true Commander Verga. But we feel with our superior numbers and the advanced weapons you have provided us with, we have the advantage. And even thou we did eliminate a large portion of their forces, every centar we delay allows the Centurions to strengthen their position. I'm afraid we cannot afford to delay any longer."

Verga's eyes dropped to his desktop. He wanted to change the mind of the Cylon leader, but knew that was not going to happen. The Imperium was right; every moment they delayed allowed the Centurions to fortify their positions.

"I see your point Imperium. To delay our attack works to their favor. I'll contact my commanders and have them ready their ships for departure. The colonies will just have to take care of themselves for a while longer."

Bannon, Raylac, and Leon all took a step forward at this statement, but stopped at a hand gesture from Verga. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. Would Commander Verga abandon the colonies at this very precarious time to go off and help the Cylons? One had to wonder.

"No Commander Verga, your place is there." The Imperium said. "Your people need you now more than ever. Stay there and rebuild your civilization. The Centurions are my people's responsibility. We built the Centurions. We allowed them to destroy your colonies while we stayed hidden away. This is our responsibility Commander Verga. We will do what must be done."

Verga stared long and hard at the Imperium, looking for any outward hint of what the Cylon leader was thinking, but his expression, as always, never changed.

"Very well Imperium. We won't interfere. If you deem this an internal matter of the Cylon people, we will respect your decision."

"I thank you Commander Verga. You and your people have done more than enough. Your involvement in this conflict has come to an end. From here on out, we Cylons will deal with the Centurions. We will end their threat for all time. This I swear!"

"As you wish than. But know that if you do find yourselves in need of assistance, you need only to ask and we will be there to assist you."

"I thank you for all you've done Commander Verga. And know that when we have finished with the Centurions, we will be in contact with you. We will return."

"I look forward to the cycle Imperium. Fair you well."

The Cylon leader bowed his head slightly and the screen went blank. Verga leaned back in his seat, removed his headset and tossed it onto his desk. He then slowly rubbed his face. The three officers that were in the room all stepped forward and watched their commanding officer. It was Raylac that broke the silence.

"Well I say good riddance! I never liked those creatures to begin with, and since they attacked the Revenge, I haven't trusted em either! Maybe them and the Centurions will wipe each other out, like there Imperium said they did back when they started using that battle armor. Maybe they will fight until there are none of them left on either side?"

'Hmmm, an interesting thought my friend" Verga said, leaning back in his chair, his hands now behind his head with his fingers laced together. "But I highly doubt that will be the outcome of their battle. I think the Cylons have the clear advantage, not only in sheer numbers, but with the high tech missiles we gave them and the upgraded laser cannons, they should make short work of the Centurions."

"So what is it you're worried about Commander?" Bannon asked.

"Something the Imperium said just now. He said he'd contact us when they defeated the Centurions" Verga said thoughtfully. "Then he added, "We will return."

The three officers exchanged looks of confusion, then Raylac asked, "So what do you think he meant by that?"

Verga looked at the giant officer for a moment before answering.

"I'm not sure Commander. Perhaps nothing. Then again …"

"Do you think we'll be having problems with the Cylons sir?" Leon asked.

"I don't know Colonel. I wish I did, but I do know one thing. We will be encountering the Cylons again in the future. Whether it's as allies or enemies, I can't say."

All four men remained silent for many microns, lost in their own thoughts. Then Verga broke the silence.

"Well gentleman, that is something we shall ponder another cycle! Right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to on Caprica. Shall we make our way down to the launch bay and board our shuttle? I'm sure the others will be anxious to get this felgercarb started!

Everyone agreed and followed Verga out of the office.

It took nearly twenty centons for Commander Verga's shuttle to arrive at the landing area next to the Palladium. The sky around the plaza was full of shuttles landing and taking off. Verga was amazed at how well the controllers were able to handle so much traffic in such a small area. He made yet another mental note to congratulate Commander Saxton on his coordination of the flight operations team.

Their shuttle finally landed in the area reserved for members of the fleets, the four senior officers were escorted into the main auditorium. They were all amazed at how large the interior was, and surprised that it was in such pristine condition after nearly forty yahren of non-use and neglect. Saxton did a magnificent job in readying this venue.

Another thing that surprised all of them was how many people already filled the place!

From what Saxton has told them, the main auditorium could hold twenty five thousand people, with over fifteen thousand of those on the main floor level. From what Verga could see, most of that level was getting filled quickly. He also noticed that Commander Apollo had already sectioned off areas for each of the various tribes so that each group could stay together. That would make things much easier.

As Verga, Bannon, Raylac, and Leon stood on the stage looking around the massive arena, Commanders Sachs, Goff, and Hawley walked up to them and saluted. Verga returned the salute automatically.

"Pretty impressive place, wouldn't you say Commander Verga?" Goff said.

"It most certainly is. I'd seen it from the outside many times, but never from inside! I had no idea it was this big."

"From what I understand, it can seat over twenty five thousand people, and none of the seats are more than fifty metrons from the stage. With the near perfect acoustics they have in here, you can hear someone talking in a normal voice anywhere in the place."

"I believe it!" Raylac said. "The noise in here is deafening with all these people talking at once."

"True, which means the sooner we can get started the better!" Verga said. "Have you seen Commander Apollo yet?"

"Not yet sir." answered Sachs. "I did find one of his people, a Commander Boomer, who said he'd let Apollo know you were on the way down."

"Good, and what about Commander Saxton? Have we seen him here abouts?"

"Not yet sir" Sachs said.

"That's because you're looking in the wrong direction!" came a voice from behind the group of Phantom Fleet officers!

Saxton was walking toward them from behind, having just emerged from the huge curtains at the rear of the stage with a big smile on his face. He approached the group and stopped a few metrons away, where he gave them a proper Warriors salute!

"Welcome to Caprica! I'm Commander Saxton, formerly Major Saxton of the Battlestar Atlantia, now Commanding officer of the DreamWorks and of course ….. your host!"

Verga returned the salute and then grasped wrists with Saxton in the traditional Warriors' handshake.

"Well met Commander! I'm Commander Verga, formerly of the Fifth Colonial Fleet under Commander Cain, now commander of the Phantom Fleet. These are my senior officers, Commander Bannon, Commander Raylac, Commander Sachs, Commander Hawley, Commander Goff and Colonel Leon."

"The Fifth Fleet?" Saxton said a bit confused. "I thought the Fifth Fleet was wiped out at Molocay?"

"That is a long story Commander." Verga said.

"One I'd like to hear sometime Commander."

"Perhaps once we deal with the matters at hand, we can all gather together and retrace the happenings of the last forty yahren! But for now, let us do what we came here to do, shall we?"

"Agreed." Saxton said.

"So, let me introduce you to my senior officers. This is Commander Bannon, Commander Raylac, Commander Sachs, Commander Hawley, Commander Goff and Colonel Leon."

Saxton went down the line, shaking hands with each officer as they were introduced. Saxton was awestruck when he shook hands with Commander Raylac. He'd never seen a man so large in his life. After the introductions were done, Verga asked how Saxton had been able to get so much done in such a short time.

"It wasn't easy sir, but with a lot of hard work from my people and the survivors here in the city and of course a lot of Apollo's people, we were able to get things back in order and cleaned up for your arrival."

"Well you've done a magnificent job Commander." Verga said. "If things go this smoothly in clearing these candidates for the council, we should be able to get them in place and return to normal operations in no time."

"Well that is the goal sir." Saxton said.

"So have you had any contact with Commander Apollo yet?" Verga asked Saxton.

"Not face to face as yet, but I did talk to one of his guys a while ago and he said Apollo would be down shortly. He was waiting for Commander Leonitus and his people to arrive onboard the Galactica so they could all shuttle down together."

"Oh yes, our Scorpion friends." Verga said thoughtfully. "I wonder how they are doing after learning the fate of their home colony?"

"From what Apollo told me, they're handling it pretty well, considering." Saxton told him. "It had to hard for them, even if none of them had ever been to Scorpia, having lived for generations on another world, in another star system. Perhaps they didn't have as deep an attachment for Scorpia as one might think."

"You'd be incorrect in that assumption Commander!" came a strong, resonate voice from one end of the stage.

From the left side of the stage, a large group of officers and civilians approached. Some wore the uniforms of Colonial Warriors while others wore uniforms that were vaguely familiar to Verga. As they got closer, Verga saw a familiar face leading the group.

"Commander Apollo! Good to see you again." Verga said in a loud voice.

"You as well Commander." Apollo said as he saluted the senior Commander. They shook hands and then Apollo looked over to Saxton, who was smiling at his old friend.

"Long time no see old buddy!" Saxton said, and then he stepped forward and embraced his old friend. "Glad you made it."

"You too." Apollo said. "When you didn't rejoin the fleet, we thought you'd been killed."

"It was close there for a bit, but we made it."

Apollo remembered he was not alone just then and started introducing his party to the others. Verga was especially interested in meeting Leonitus.

"I've never met a "King" before Commander. It's a great honor." Verga said, saluting with a slight bow.

"At this moment and time, I am just the Commander of the Scorpion fleet. I'm here to serve the greater good of the colonies and all mankind. When I return to Scorpius, I'll resume the mantel of a King."

"Well, it's still a great honor sir!" Verga said with a bow.

"Commander Leonitus, I'd like to apologize for my comment a few moments ago. I meant no disrespect to you or your people!" Saxton said, bowing his head in shame for his earlier comment.

"Think nothing of it Commander" Leonitus said with a slight smile. "As it is true, none of my people had the privilege of treading the soil of Scorpia; we all have a strong connection to the home world of our ancestors. And even thou the planet is no more, we, the Scorpion people will live on and so will the memories of those that lived there before us."

"So when should get this party started?" Bannon said to redirect the conversation. "What are we waiting for?"

"We have one more group coming in from Pisceria Commander." Said Starbuck, as he and Boomer approached from the floor.

"Pisceria?" Saxton said, the distaste obvious in his voice. "Can't we start without them?"

Verga looked at Saxton for a moment, then asked, "How long will they need to get here Commander?"

"Jolly said they should be here in about ten centons or so." Starbuck told them. "He was just getting ready to leave orbit around Pisceria when he got a signal on one of the emergency frequencies asking them to send a shuttle down for a special envoy"

"A "Special Envoy"?" Verga said confused. "Did they say who this "envoy" was?"

"No, just that whoever they are was very insistent on being picked up as soon as possible."

"Hmmm, well I guess since this "Envoy" has been picked up by your Commander Jolly and is already in route, we can delay things for a little while longer." Verga said, none too happy with the delay. "I guess until then, we can start dividing up into groups and get ready to start the interviews. I figure with those of us here, we should ….."

"Excuse Me!" came a loud voice from the area in front of the stage. "Where am I and my staff to set up operations?"

Everyone on the stage looked to the source of the voice to find an older man in what had once been very fine robes, leaning with both hands on the stage, looking very exasperated at the group of Warriors.

When none of the Warriors answer immediately, the man went on, "Well! Are you going to answer me or do I have to find my own place to start getting things in order?"

Again, no one said anything, too shocked to say a word, until Commander Bannon broke the silence.

"And just who in Hades are you?"

The man stood straight and took a step back as if he'd just been slapped across the face.

"Who am I!" he said with amazed indignation. "I am President Amabo. "President of the Council of the Twelve. I'm here to begin reforming our government and get things moving forward again. Who are you?"

Again, the Warriors of the Colonial Fleets stood in stock amazement. Again it was Bannon that spoke first. He walked slowly over to the edge of the stage, where Amabo stood with a group of about twenty or so others. He squatted down and started speaking to them in a low and somewhat amused voice.

"Is that so?"

"Yes! Now if none of you "Warriors" Amabo said with great disdain, has the sense to tell me where I and my council are to set up, I'll just figure it out myself."

Bannon turned to the others with a slight smile on his face. Several of the others in the group of Warriors were chuckling quietly to themselves. Verga stood watching this with a look of amused interest.

"Well I'll tell ya, if you look over your shoulders, you'll see that there are areas for each member of your council, according to which tribe they belong to. You and your "council" can go join your respective tribes and when the time comes, you'll be called up to be interviewed for eligibility."

"Eligibility?" Amabo said confused. "Eligibility for what?"

"For the elections of course."

"What elections?" Amabo said, his voice rising with anger and confusion. "I didn't call for any elections! What are these elections for?"

Bannon dropped his head down and shook it slightly. He was both amused and frustrated by this man's inability to grasp the situation.

"We are going to hold an election to form a new Council of the Twelve. We're here to interview and qualify potential candidates for an open election!"

"What in the worlds do we need elections for?" Amabo demanded. "We already have a council! They stand here before you! Are you blind?"

Bannon, to his credit did not unleash his volcanic temper at this, but rather chuckled and said. "Well, that's all fine and good, but there are about fifteen thousand people here, in this building that are looking to be on the new council. How do you think they'd feel after coming all the way here from all over the colonies, just to find out that you and your ….. "council" have decided to just arbitrarily take charge?"

"That is not my concern!" Amabo said. "My only concern is to get our government back up and running!"

"And that is exactly what we are here to do!" Bannon said.

"Then quit being a nuisance and help us get started!" Amabo said hotly!

"I see!" Bannon said. "Tell me, why should we allow you and your group here to just walk in and take over? What makes you and your people the best option?"

"We have led our people ever since the holocaust!" Amabo said. "We are the most experienced people in the colonies and we shall lead our people into a bright new future! Now, are you going to tell me where to go or not?"

Bannon looked back at the group of senior Warrior officers, many of whom were now laughing outright and simply shook his head. It would have too easy to answer this presumptuous old fools question with a rather off color remark, but Bannon restrained himself.

It was then that Verga, Apollo, Saxton and Leonitus stepped forward and stood around Bannon. Bannon stood up and said to Verga, "Maybe you can explain it to him Commander?"

Verga placed a hand on Bannon's shoulder as he stepped away from the edge of the stage and stood next to Apollo. Verga looked at the man and realized he was familiar.

"Didn't you use to be one of Sire Adar's aides?"

"Yes, yes I was, back before the holocaust, I served as his chief of staff. That is why, when the colonies fell, I formed this new council to keep our government intact. So there is no need to hold elections for a new council as we already have one!"

"Hmmmm! I can see your point Sire Amabo, but if you look around the auditorium, you'll see that there are thousands of people from all over the colonies, that like you, formed their own councils. I think we have over a thousand different councils already formed and wanting the same thing you want. To get our people taken care of and move them back to where we once were. I don't think it would be fair to all of them if we were to just let you and your ….. council just show up and take over. Do you?"

"What is or isn't fair is irrelevant!" Amabo said. "All that matters is that we get our government up and running again as soon as possible. And that is precisely what I intend on doing! Now, are you and your people going to help us, or will we have to go about this without you?"

Verga stared long and hard at Amabo. His facial expression never changed, nor did the tone of his voice rise in the slightest, but the intent of his next statement was unmistakable!

"Sire Amabo. I have done my level best to explain to you, as did my colleague, what we are doing here. We are going to conduct interviews to find the best possible candidates for the new council. Now, you and your people can either stop being a nuisance and join in the process or you can leave! Either way, we are going to continue as planned! And if you and your associates try and take it upon yourselves to unilaterally set yourselves up as the ruling body of the colonies, you will find yourselves placed under arrest, taken into custody, and face charges of sedition. Do I make myself clear?"

The color drained from Amabo's face as he listened to Verga. Evidently he'd never been spoken to in such a manner. He was about to say something, but Verga cut him off.

"And before you open your mouth and dig the hole you're in any deeper then you already have, let me remind you that the colonies are now and have been since the Cylon attacks thirty eight yahren ago under martial law. That means the leadership of the colonies falls to the most senior member of the Colonial Service. That just happens to be me, which means I am in charge here and can pretty much do whatever I believe is in the best interest and safety of the colonies. And at this time, I have concluded that the election of a new Council of the Twelve is in the best interest of the colonies. Therefore, we are going to make that happen! And anyone that attempts to upset this process in any way, shape or form, will find themselves placed in prison until such time as we can rebuild the court system, which I'm sure will take several yahren. Do you understand what I'm telling you Sire Amabo?"

Amabo was furious! His face at first drained of all color from shock, having never been spoke to as he had just been. But then the old fool let his own arrogance and self-importance come to the fore. All reason had left him!

"How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" He spouted, loud enough to nearly silence everyone in the huge auditorium! "I am the President of the Council of the Twelve! You people have no authority here! You think you're going to arrest me! You think you're going to put ME in prison! The only ones going to prison here are you! Traitors!"

Amabo turned to the group behind him and yelled, "Arrest these traitors!"

Verga and the other Warriors looked at those standing behind the enraged buratician, their hands instinctively drifting to their lasers. They watched to see who would respond to the old fool's orders! There were several people that wore the black uniforms of council security, but none of them made any move to do his bidding! They saw for themselves that the man they had followed for the last four decades had become totally unhinged.

Verga looked back at the other Warriors and shook his head sadly.

"Commander Starbuck, would you and Commander Boomer call for an ….. "Escort" of Warriors to take Sire Amabo to a secure area please? Be sure he is not harmed in any way and that he is not left alone until we can ….. help him."

"Will do sir." Starbuck said softly as Boomer called for a Warrior score to come and assist with removing the former buratician and his followers. One of the men in the group stepped off to the side, motioning to Commander Verga. Verga stepped over to the new speaker, leery of his intentions. Bannon and Apollo followed at a short distance to protect Verga if the need arised.

"Commander, a word if I may?" the new speaker said. Verga motioned for the man to speak.

"I wish to apologize for Sire Amabo's … outburst. He has been under an extraordinary amount of pressure over the yahren, seeing to the needs and safety of our group. He had, up until now, not had anyone challenge him and his decisions."

"What of this "council" of yours, Sire …..?"

"Dale. Sire Dale from the third district of Aeries."

Verga gave a nod of acknowledgement, than continued.

"Didn't your council have any input on things?"

"Sadly, no." Dale said with an expression of sadness. "At first, we all worked together, made decisions as a group, worked together to solve problems, but after a few yahren, Amabo began ignoring the other members of the council. He would unilaterally decide on what would be done. And anyone that opposed him would be removed from the council. He had become quite the dictator the last thirty yahren."

Verga shook his head sadly, casting a glance at Apollo and Bannon, who had been listening.

"Well, Sire Amabo will not be giving anyone orders any longer, that I promise you. He'll be placed in protective custody and given a full psychological evaluation as soon as we can arrange it."

"Thank you Commander. He was a very good man before, but the pressure of the last thirty eight yahren were just too much for him."

"It's been rough on everyone Sire Dale." Verga said softly. "So, are you and the other members of your group looking to be placed on the ballot for Aeries?"

Dale looked a bit confused for a moment. He'd not really considered becoming a part of the election process, Amabo having assured them that he would be running everything as soon as he arrived at the gathering of leaders.

"I think I would like to be a part of the process commander." He said with a growing smile. "And I'm sure several of my colleagues would like the opportunity to help rebuild the council."

"Good! Glad to hear it." Verga said with a smile. "The contingent from Aeries is just over there." Verga said pointing to a small group of people seated and standing under a sign with the colonies name.

"You and your people can join them."

"My thanks to you commander. I look forward to seeing the colonies restored to the glory they once held." Dale said with a smile. He bowed to Verga and the other two Warriors, then returned to his colleagues, who had been standing in a tight group surrounded by Warriors. They were not sure if they would be taken away like Amabo had been just moments before. When Dale told them they were free to join their colony representatives and go thru the process of ballot selection, they were thrilled. Boomer dismissed the Warriors that had been standing by and returned to the stage.

"Another crisis averted." He said with a long exhale. "That could have been ugly."

"Perhaps Commander, but I could see in the faces of most of those poor souls that they were not going to be a problem. Only Amabo had the look of a trouble maker."

"So what now Commander?" Bannon asked. "Should we get this party started?"

"Well, we are still waiting for that "special envoy" from Pisceria to arrive, but I'm sure we can start interviewing those from the other colonies now and when they arrive we'll start on sorting them out."

All were in agreement, then Leonitus asked a very important question.

"Commander Verga, I agree that it is important to sort thru all of these fine folks to assess who amongst them would make the best candidates for a new council, but I have to ask ….. once you have narrowed the field down to whatever number you decide, how do you plan on holding this election?"

"Come again?" Raylac said.

"I mean, how are you going to get the ballots out to the people? Will you distribute paper ballots to what could be over Twenty Billion adult survivors? That would take sectons at the very least. And how long would it take to count that many ballots? It might be over a yahren before you get your results."

Every member of the senior staff stood there dumbstruck! How could they have not planned out the most important step of the entire election?

"Well that does present a problem, doesn't it?" Bannon said.

"Perhaps I can help with that gentlemen?" Came a voice from the steps leading to the stage.

The group of senior officers all turned to see a man approaching wearing the uniform of a member of the old P.D.C. and the rank insignia of a Colonel.

"Well that would be great if you have a solution to this dilemma!" Verga said looking at the new arrival. "And you are ….?"

"Sorry Commander." Saxton chimed in. "Let me introduce my executive officer, Colonel Nader."

"Colonel Nader, we owe you a huge debt of gratitude. As I understand it, it was you who organized all the planetary defense commands and made it possible for them to launch their defense missiles." Verga said, shaking hands with Nader. "You'll have to debrief me on how you were able to accomplish that."

"It'll be a pleasure sir."

"You said something about a solution to our voting dilemma Colonel?" Bannon interjected.

"Right, I think I have the perfect solution." Nader continued with his original thought. "When I first heard about this election felgercarb, my first thought was how do we get it where everyone can vote? I mean we have ten planets with gawd only knows how many survivors on them, so how do we make it possible to get ballots to all of them? We can barely get food and medicines to them. Then it hit me. Why not see if the old voting system was still intact?"

"You mean the electronic system the colonies used to vote on everything before the holocaust?" Bannon said.

"The very same Commander!" Nader said. "When the Cylons attacked the colonies, they went after mostly military targets. They did hit a lot of civilian areas as well, but it seems they concentrated their attacks on civilians to the areas where the people had gathered to celebrate the so called "peace conference."!

This statement brought many somber and sad expressions to everyone's face as they remembered the downfall of the colonies.

"But most of the areas where the government offices were located were left alone." Nader continued. "I figure they wanted to go thru all of our files and databases to see what they could use in the future. Anywho, one of the buildings that survived untouched was the offices of the Minister of Colonial Affairs. That's the bunch that ran the elections and oversaw all the balloting machines throughout the colonies."

Everyone nodded their heads, understanding what Nader was telling them.

"So I headed over to those offices with a few people that had actually worked there and found that most of the voting and accounting system was still working!"

"Amazing!" Verga said. "Is the entire network operational Colonel?"

"I'm not sure sir. According to the people that worked in those offices, they said everything looked to be in perfect condition. We fired up the system here on Caprica and it showed connectivity to over sixty percent of all balloting stations planet wide."

"Sixty percent? Is that all?" Sachs asked. "We'll need better than that if we're going to get the election results in less than a yahren."

"True, but I think a lot of those down locations are in areas that we haven't restored power to as yet." Nader said. "Once we get power to the rest of the planet, we should be well over ninety percent operational."

"That's fine for Caprica Colonel, but what about the rest of the colonies?" asked Hawley.

"We tried sending the activation signal to the other colonies and we got about thirty eight percent activation returns. I know that's a low percentage, but most of the other colonies are still working on getting their power grids back online." Nader told them. "Once they have power restored, we should get a lot more balloting stations up and running. I've already dispatched teams to each colonies elections offices to see how badly the systems are and to repair what they can. If all goes well, we should have the entire system up and ready to go by the time you get your candidates assembled."

Everyone stood quietly thinking about what Nader had just told them. If the voting system could be restored, it would expedite the election process a hundred fold! It was almost too good to be true.

"Having that system up and running would be great, but does anyone know how to operate it amongst your group Colonel?" Bannon asked.

"Once again Commander, luck was with us." Nader said with a smile. "It just so happens that one of the people that has been working with me on this was the chief computer control operator for the balloting system. She knows everything about the system including how to input all the names and backgrounds of the candidates. So the people will have a little more to go on besides just a name on a sheet of paper when they vote!"

"Outstanding Colonel!" Verga said with no small degree of adulation. "You've just saved the entire election!"

"I don't know about that sir, but I do think it will make things a Hades of a lot easier."

"No doubt." Verga said. "How long do you figure it will be before your people can have the system up and running on all the colonies Colonel?"

"Hard to say for sure Commander. I have people working on restoring power to the balloting system, but with less than half the colonies having power of any type, it's impossible to say for sure when things will be ready."

Verga nodded, knowing the situation all too well. At last report, only about fifty percent of the colonies had electrical power. Even Caprica was only at about seventy percent thus far.

"Well keep after it Colonel. If you need more people, get with my exec, Colonel Leon here and he'll help get you what you need."

"Will do sir."

"Hey Apollo!" came a loud call in the unmistakable voice of Commander Jolly! Everyone turned to see the portly Warrior walking quickly towards the group from the left side of the stage. Following along behind him were several people that Apollo didn't recognize, including one large individual in a wheeled chair.

"Hey there skipper. Sorry it took so long to get here, but it's a madhouse out there trying to get a place to land a shuttle." Jolly told his old friend and commanding officer.

"No worries Jolly. Is this the special envoy you told us about?" Apollo asked.

"It sure is, and I think they'll be of very special interest to Commander Leonitus!" Jolly said with a smile.

"Interest to me Commander?" Leonitus said as he watched the strangers approach. "Why would you think that?"

"Perhaps it's due to my presence Lord King?" came a familiar voice from the person in the wheeled chair.

Everyone turned to the occupant of the chair and realized who it was that was seated therein.

"Seleukos! Is that truly you?" Leonitus said in a voice hushed by shock and awe!

"It is Lord King. Or at least what is left of me!" he replied in a voice filled with emotion.

"By all the Lords and Gods!" Leonitus exclaimed as he approached the injured Warrior. "We thought you dead Seleukos! We didn't find your escape pod or any locator beacons anywhere near the Medeia's wreckage. How did you escape? What happened?"

"In truth Lord King, I nearly was killed when the Medeia exploded, but it seems the fates have other business for me." Seleukos said. "When I had positioned the Medeia to intercept the Centurion missiles, I made my way to the last of the escape pods. The first two pods were damaged and would not operate, so I climbed into the last one. Unfortunately, it too decided that was the moment to malfunction! I tried everything to get it to launch, but nothing worked. That is when I started feeling the Centurion missiles tearing into the Medeia. As I watched thru the small portal in the life pod, I saw the Medeia being torn apart. I knew I was not going to make it out of there, and readied myself for death. I have no other recollections until these good people found me on the planet. They took me back to their home and tended to my injuries."

"Amazing!" Leonitus said softly. He turned to the people that had brought Seleukos to Caprica, "I am deeply in your debt my friends! You've brought back one that is like a son to me. I can never repay your kindness!"

"The eldest man of the group stepped forward and bowed. Thou it was hard to say for sure, he looked to be of Scorpion heritage.

"Lord King Leonitus, it is an honor to be of service to you and yours! No debt is owed to us. Your return to the colonies and your freeing them from the Cylons is more thanks then we could ever dream of."

Leonitus bowed to the older man.

"As you wish, but know that you and your family are always welcome at my table."

"Our thanks Lord King."

"Are you here for the interviewing process friend?" Verga asked the elder.

"No Commander, we are not." He said with a slight smile. "Our only reason for being here is to reunite Commander Seleukos with our Lord King and all of you. With that done, we will return to our home on Pisceria as soon as we can arrange transportation."

"I believe I can help with that. Commander Jolly, would you be so kind as to take these good people back to Pisceria and be sure to give them any supplies they may need?"

Jolly looked to Apollo instinctively. Apollo gave him a smile and nod, so Jolly replied, "Will do Commander." With that, Jolly led the small group away to reboard the shuttle they had just arrived in.

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse us, I think there are some people aboard the Mahthildia that I'm sure will be overjoyed to welcome Commander Seleukos back from the dead!"

"Of course Commander. I'm sure his family will be beyond thrilled to have him back!" Verga said. "We'll see you whenever you're ready sir."

After a few more greetings, including a somewhat awkward moment between Seleukos and Apollo, Leonitus and several of his ministers escorted Seleukos to their shuttle for the journey back to their fleet and his family.

"Well that was an unexpected surprise!" Verga said to the group of smiling officers. "I wish the task at hand would be so pleasant, but I doubt it will be. I think we should start processing all these people and get it over with. What say you all?"

Everyone nodded their approval of this, none wanting to deal with what was to come any longer then was necessary.

"Good. You've all been given your assignments and copies of the questions we need answered, so let's get this adventure started."

The group of senior officers began to move to their assigned areas to begin the interviewing process. There would be eleven groups in all, each with three senior officers or civilian delegates that were found to have superior knowledge and skills in the field of conducting interviews. Each group would deal with one tribe, thus they would be able to compare the answers given for the same set of circumstances, as each colony had very diverse cultural and social structures that needed to be considered.

Apollo, Starbuck, and Boomer were all assigned to do the interviews with the delegates from their own homeworld, Caprica. Apollo had thought that Commander Verga would have taken the lead of the Caprica interviews, but instead had opted to be a floating supervisor, moving between groups to get a better feel for those looking to become members of the new council. Apollo was fine with this and with the fact that he was assigned his two closest friends. Perhaps this would not be such a horrid task after all?

"Hey Apollo, you have a centon?" called Saxton from the back of the stage near the huge curtains. Apollo looked at Starbuck and Boomer, who both nodded.

"I'll be right back." Apollo told them as he got up from his chair and walked to the rear of the stage. He didn't know what Saxton could want that was necessary to call him away just as they were about to begin, but he knew it had to be important.

Verga was wondering the far end of the stage speaking to Colonel Leon when he heard Commander Saxton call to Apollo. The two of them watched as Apollo left his seat and walked to where Saxton was. He saw them speak for a moment, and then the two of them disappeared behind the large curtains. Finding this rather odd, Verga and Leon began heading to the place where Apollo and Saxton had left the stage.

Behind the curtained area, it was a lot darker then the stage and auditorium. There were deep pockets of shadows on all sides. Apollo would have been nervous if not for his old friend Saxton being there.

"So what is it you needed Sax?" Apollo asked. "We're about to start the interviews."

"I know! I know! But this couldn't wait any longer." Saxton told him, the excitement in his voice obvious. "Remember I told you I had someone that was dying to meet you, well here she is!"

Saxton stepped aside and out of the shadows moved a smallish figure. A woman to be sure, her fine blue and silver dress and robes showed little of her. She stopped a few metrons from where Apollo stood and pushed back the hood of her robe. Apollo could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"Hello Apollo!" the women said softly with great emotion. "Hello my son!"

"M …. M…. Mother?" Apollo stammered, hardly able to speak. "Is that really you? Are you really here, or am I dreaming this?"

"It's true Apollo! I am truly here!" Illya said to her first born. "I can't tell you how long I've dreamed of this moment, especially since Commander Saxton told me you and the Galactica had returned."

Apollo was so overtaken with emotions, his legs gave way and he dropped to his knees, sobbing openly! Illya move quickly to her son and knelt with him, the two locked in each other's arms.

"By the Lords of Kobol, how is this possible? Apollo finally asked. "Father and I went to the house. We saw the destruction. Father saw ….. your body in the ruble! We thought you were dead!"

"I don't know who it was your father saw in the ruble of our home, but it wasn't me Apollo! I'd travelled to Cardia to celebrate the armistice with friends. When the Cylons attacked, I tried to make my way back to the capital, but was captured. If not for the courage of Commander Saxton and his people, I would have been taken somewhere to be executed I'm sure."

Apollo turned to Saxton and with tears in his eyes, extended his hand to his old friend.

"Thank you!" Apollo managed thru the emotions. "I'll never be able to repay you!"

Saxton grasped Apollo's wrist in a Warriors hand shake.

"All in a cycles work old buddy!"

Apollo stood up finally, helping his mother to her feet as well.

"I take it since you are in command of the Galactica now, your father is no longer with us?" Illya said somberly.

"I'm afraid not mother." Apollo told her. "He died many yahren ago, on a planet we'd hoped we could start over on. But the Centurions had continued to follow us and picked the perfect time to attack. They nearly wiped out the entire fleet that cycle and probably would have if not for father's foreplaning!"

Illya nodded her head in understanding. She had known for many yahren that Adama was gone. She felt his passing long ago, but never said a word of it.

"So what of your sister, Athena, and your brother Zac?" She asked. "Tell me they are both alive and well!"

Several emotions played out on Apollo's face that moment. How was he to tell his mother about this?

"Athena is alive and doing quite well. She commands her own ship in our fleet, an old Scorpion Destroyer called the Cetus. She is sealed to a former member of the Pegasus strike wing, Bojay, and they have two children, who are both Warriors now."

"And Zac?" Illya asked, not sure she wanted to hear what Apollo would tell her.

"Unfortunately, Zac was the first person killed at the false peace conference. He and I had gone on a routine patrol and discovered the ruse. We were attacked while trying to warn the fleet and his Viper was damaged. He never made it back."

Illya stood silently for a moment. It was hard to realize that half of her family was gone forever. But then she realized that she still had Apollo and Athena! And grandchildren!

"So what of you Apollo? Are you sealed? Any children?"

"As a matter of fact, yes to both questions." Apollo told her. "I was sealed to the Caprican News Service reporter, Serena, shortly after the holocaust. I adopted her young son, Boxey when she was killed on the Planet Kobol about a yahren after we left the colonies."

"Oh Apollo, I'm so sorry!" Illya said. "I remember her. She was a beautiful lady."

"Yes …. Yes she was. And a fine Warrior as well." Apollo said, remembering his first wife.

"She was a Warrior?"

"Yes, she became a Warrior. It's a long story mother." Apollo said.

"Well I for one would like to hear that story Commander!" a voice from behind them said. Commander Verga emerged from the shadows, followed by Colonel Leon.

Apollo began to speak, but was cut off by a gesture from Verga. He stepped up closer to the two of them and looked at Illya closely!

"Siress Illya! It is you!" Verga said with a surprised tone. "It has been what, forty five yahren since the last time we spoke?"

"At the very least Commander Verga." Illya said. "It was at Apollo's graduation from the academy when last we seen each other."

"I am glad to see you survived Siress. When I seen Apollo leaving the stage, I had to follow to find out what could be so important. I guess now I know."

"I'm sorry about that Commander." Apollo said. "Saxton said he had someone very important that needed to speak to me."

"Seems the good Commander Saxton was right!" Verga said. "Perhaps you should take some time and get reacquainted with your mother. I'm sure Commanders Starbuck and Boomer can handle the interviews for a while."

Starbuck and Boomer are here?" Illya said excitedly. I'd love to see them!"

"Well then, why don't you escort your mother out to the stage so she can say hello Apollo?"

Apollo smiled at Verga and nodded. "Yes sir!"

Apollo took his mother by the hand and led her to the stage. She was amazed at the number of people there were in the auditorium. She never thought she'd see more than the four or five thousand that lived in the DreamWorks complex. There were at least four times that number in this one building.

Then she looked toward one of the tables sitting on the stage and instantly recognized the blond haired man with his back to her and the dark skinned man standing next to him.

"Starbuck! Boomer! I have someone that wants to say hello to you!"

Both men turned to see what Apollo was talking about and their expressions told of their utter surprise!

"Siress Illya?" Boomer said softly. "Is that really you?"

"That it is Boomer! I can't tell you how great it is to see you again!" She told him as she moved to embrace him.

Starbuck was still in his chair, his body had forgotten how to stand for several moments.

"By all that's holy!" was all he could mutter!

"Don't tell me you've gotten religion after all these yahren Starbuck!" Illya joked.

He nearly flew out of his chair, his body finally able to move again and hugged Illya tightly!

"I know you all have a thousand questions to ask me and I have as many for each of you, but right now you have a very important task to take care of. We'll have time to get reacquainted when you're done I'm sure." Illya said with an air of command in her voice that none of them ever remembered hearing from her. She then turned to Commander Verga, who was standing close by.

"Commander Verga, I'm not sure if Commander Saxton has told you, but I have been the President of our council for most of the past thirty eight yahren. I and my newly elected successor, Sire Bawel, are here and at your disposal. We would like to offer our assistance in any way you might find us useful."

Verga was a bit shocked at this. Here were two people with what he was sure were superior leadership skills offering to assist in the interview process and not circumvent it and try to take over. He was quick to accept their offer of assistance.

Over the course of the next three cycles, the Warriors and civilians entrusted with doing the interviews worked diligently to find the best people possible for the upcoming election. Most of the candidates were excused for their lack of leadership ability or knowledge of how to work within a group without the use of ….. Intimidation. Still others were dismissed because they simply didn't have the skill set necessary for the job. But after three cycles, they had come up with no more than ten candidates for each of the eleven tribes; the only tribe they did not interview for was the place on the council for the Scorpion representative, which would be selected by King Leonitus himself. In all, eighty six names would be on the ballots. Now it was up to Colonel Nader and his team to get the voting machine network up and working.

Verga, Bannon, Apollo, Leonitus, and Saxton were sitting at one of the tables on the stage, going over the people that had been selected for placement on the ballots when Colonel Nader wandered into the auditorium. He looked as if he'd been up for a secton without any rest.

"Nader, are you alright?" Saxton said, rising from his seat.

Nader waved him to stay put and made his way over to the table. Leonitus pulled a chair out and guided the exhausted man down into it while Apollo slide a drink cup over to him. He downed the contents of the cup in record time and everyone thought he was on the verge of collapse. They might not have been far from the truth.

"Are you okay Colonel?" Verga asked concerned at the condition of the man.

"I'm fine sir. Just tired is all." Nader said weakly. "We've been working non-stop on that balloting machine system for the last four cycles, but we got that gall-monging thing working!"

"Excellent work Colonel!" Verga said happily. "You and your people had done it again."

"Thank you sir. We have over ninety percent of all stations responding on all ten colonies and one hundred percent on seven colonies. We should be getting the rest online in the next few centars. All you have to do is enter the names and bios of the candidates into the system and it will distribute the ballots to the colonies they are intended for."

"And how do we do that?" Bannon asked. "Enter all the names and bios?"

"Oh, not to worry Commander. Just give all that felgercarb to Siress Jadaira. She use to do it before the Cylons destroyed the colonies. She'll take care of everything." Nader said, his fatigue now more obvious than ever.

"Again, good work Colonel. As of this moment, you are officially off duty for the next three cycles! Get yourself some rest and something to eat. I don't want you doing anything for the next three cycles! Do I make myself clear?"

Nader stood up at attention the best he could and saluted. "Yes sir! With pleasure sir!"

"Commander, would you see that the Colonel makes it back to his quarters safely please?" Verga asked Saxton, who was already taking hold of Nader's arm to support the exhausted man.

"I'll put him to bed sir." Saxton replied. "Come on you workaholic. Time to go night night!

Everyone chuckled as the two of them made their way to the living quarters across the mall from the auditorium that the Warriors had taken over while getting things in order for the election interviews. Nader had been assigned a room on the second level. Saxton got him to his quarters and Nader fell onto the bed face first and was out cold, the exertions from the past four cycles having taken their toll on him. Saxton smiled and laughed a little at his friend. He knew all too well how dedicated Nader was to doing whatever task he was given, and that he'd push himself to the limits of endurance to complete every task.

Saxton swung Nader onto the bed and pulled his boots off, tossing them aside. He grabbed a blanket and covered Nader then turned the lights down. He walked to the door and glanced back at hi sleeping friend.

"Thanks for everything you've done my friend. We wouldn't have made it without you!"

Saxton closed the door and returned to the auditorium.

Upon returning to the auditorium, Saxton found a group of women had joined Commander Verga and the others. Thou he didn't know any of them; he'd seen them inside the DreamWorks on a number of occasions. The had been given duties in one of the areas dealing with personnel inside the base. He wondered what they were doing here now.

"Ah, welcome back Commander Saxton." Verga said when Saxton walked up. "Do you know Siress Jadaira and her team? They come from your base here on Caprica."

Saxton nodded to the group of ladies and replied, "I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of a formal introduction, but I do remember seeing them many times over the yahren. Greetings ladies."

"And a good cycle to you too Commander Saxton." Said a tall, elegant dark skinned woman who's age one could not say. She could have been thirty yahren old or a hundred and thirty! Saxton felt it was in his best interest not to broach the topic. "It's nice to finally get the chance to speak with you. And to thank you!"

"Thank me? For what?"

"My girls and I were among the people you rescued from the Cylons a few cycles after the attacks. You and your people ambushed the Cylons that were taking us away to the Lords only know where! I doubt any of us would be here today had it not been for you!"

Saxton remembered the large group of survivors that his Warriors and Sergeant Kelso's security forces had rescued in the early cycles after the holocaust. He didn't remember seeing any of these ladies then, but was glad they made it.

"So, Colonel Nader tells us you are the experts on the operation of those election machines?" Bannon cut in, noticing Saxton's slight discomfort. "Do you know how to run those blasted things, because I doubt anyone else can!"

The woman named Jadaira turned to Bannon and with a slight smile said, "Young fella, I was running those damn machines before you were born."

This got laughs from most everyone there.

"I started working in the Colonial Affairs offices over a hundred and fifty yahren ago and one of my first jobs was entering all the data into the system for the elections. I could do that stuff blindfolded."

"Well, we won't ask you to do that, but if you could help us enter the candidates for the new council into the system, we'd be mighty grateful." Verga said.

"It will be an honor Commander." Jadaira said. "My girls and I will set everything up and monitor the system for you. You just tell me when you want to start the polls!"

Verga exchanged surprised looks with the other senior officers at the table. They had thought it would take sectons, if not sectars to get things in place. And here they were, looking at possibly having the elections in perhaps a few cycles.

"The sooner the better I'd say!" Verga told her.

"Give us two cycles Commander. That will give us time to enter all your candidates into the system and run a few system wide checks to be sure everything takes. Once we're sure everything is up and running, you'll just have to open the door to the polling stations and wait for the results."

"Excellent! But how do we insure there is no cheating?" Verga asked. "How do you verify each person only votes once?"

"That's easy Commander." Jadaira told him. "Just before the Cylon attacks, we'd just installed an entirely new system to prevent people from voting more than once. It involves the use of hand and retinal scanners to register to vote. Once you've registered, you can only vote one time. If someone tries to vote again, it send a warning to the Colonial Affairs office and we can locate, identify, and apprehend the person."

"And this is already in the system?" Bannon asked.

"It sure is." Jadaira said. "So how does three cycles from now sound Commander? Will that be soon enough for you?"

"That will be perfect." Verga said. "We'll have to spread the word about the time and date of the election. We'll have to give everyone ample time to make it to a balloting office. How long should we allow people to vote?"

"Most of the elections we held gave people three cycles to get their votes in." Jadaira said. "But with our present situation, I'd give the people at least a secton."

"Hmmmm! That long huh?" Verga mused. He wanted to get the whole election over with and the new council in place sooner, but Jadaira was the expert in this matter, so he would defer to her judgement.

"Very well then!" Verga said. "We'll give the people one full secton, starting three cycles from today. Let us hope that this gives everyone ample time to vote."

"Sounds to me like they will have more than enough time Commander." Bannon said.

"I guess we'll see." Verga replied. "How long will it take to get the results Siress Jadaira?"

"We'll have the final tallies within a centar of the polls closing. The system keeps a running tabulation the entire time." She told him. "Once the polls close, the system does a recount and reverification of all ballots to ensure there were no malfunctions and no cheating. When the system is done with that, it posts the results to the secure computer in the Colonial Affairs office. Once we got the results, we'd make the announcement of the results public."

The senior officers exchanged glances. They all couldn't believe it could be so easy.

"Then let us get this over with!" Verga said.