CHAPTER XVI

Book II

Cylons vs Aliens

Basestar V108:

Gregor was in agony. Having always lived on the Hive or on ships, he'd never really felt pain before and now that he did experience it for the first time, he didn't like it one bit. Not only was he in pain but everything around him was falling apart. His command was effectively gone and his own ship, damage and helpless was falling apart at the seams. The shape of the crew was in just as bad.

"They all have those energy shields. Our nukes can't even touch them! This is wrong!"

"Catherine, stop vomiting and do something!" someone yelled.

"I feel sick. They're doing something to us," she moaned.

Catherine wasn't alone. What was happening to them was more than just fear and the fog of battle. He could barely think because of the pain but he also felt physically sick and it had nothing to do with his shattered hip. Whatever it was that was currently happening to their physical bodies was rapidly presenting itself as a problem that could very well doom whomever had survive the sneak attack. Illness was something that none of them ever imagined would play a factor in the mission until right now.

The Cylons were sick, there was no denying it now. Headaches, weakness, irritable, sweating, nausea were the obvious symptoms. Some of the uninjured ones like Catherine were at the edge of passing out. All of the symptoms began the moment they contacted the aliens and had grown worse since then. Just before the attack he felt as horrible as everyone else which confirmed to him that this was indeed some form of attack whether intentional or not. Idly, he wished that 'The Plan' against the Colonials could have included something like this. The humans wouldn't have had a chance then.

As far as he could tell it had to be a cybernetic viral attack of some kind. Surprisingly, it was Mercedes Eight who had figured out the problem.

Her next words Confirmed his theory. "Their sensors!" Mercedes yelled from her console. "Their EM transmissions or DRADIS emissions are interfering with our implants that use subspace connections. We can't download now even if the resurrection ship was safe! "It's affecting us, making us sick!"

Gregor's head snapped up in spite of the pain. They could all die for real! Slowly he crawled to what was left of the command console.

One of the Doral models, his head experiencing a screaming migraine managed to confirm what Mercedes was saying. "She's right! Our own subspace emissions are being interfered with. Even if we had a spare resurrection ship, we would have died at worst or suffered permanent brain damage at best! Whatever they are using would have cut us off from resurrecting if the ship hadn't already been destroyed! The longer they're using their EM, the worse it's getting. We can't operate effectively under these conditions!" A large explosion rocked the ship. Instantly the damage report came in. One of the arms have been blown off. The Doral was wide-eyed on the verge of panicking. "We have to surrender or run now, or we die!"

Ravinia was the first one to speak the unspeakable. "We can't run, there's too much damage! We can't resurrect!" She swooned for a second before catching herself. "I don't want to die. We have to surrender and…take our chances."

Samnar, whose hand was partially torn off from the explosion inside the Command Center, looked at the model Six as if she were mad. "You forget what we are! We can't die," he wailed in his agony, "not really. We can only be destroyed. We cease to exist and there's nothing wrong with that. Better to be destroyed by the enemy in battle rather than living in shame and slavery!"

"Shut up!" Gregor shrieked over the increasing din. He was sweating profusely, and in pain but in better shape than his brother who was laying on the floor dead. Death, real death was something he did not want to think about. There was no coming back for him or any of the others who were lost or about to die. Real death was breathing down their necks and for the first time he was terrified and that fear forced him to seriously state weighing his options.

Of the twelve top-of-the-line basestars, nine were destroyed and the others suffered various degrees of damage. The surprise attack destroyed their support ships and their most critical asset. If they ran, only one ship had the capability to jump maybe three times before they systems would fail utterly. That would leave the survivors to fend for themselves against a cruel and unknown enemy. It was obvious that the aliens were now trying to damage, not detroy the remaining ships.

That silent acknowledgement brought about a fresh wave of terror to the surviving cylons.

Would the aliens allow them to surrender? If they did, would these aliens dissect them or make slaves of the survivors, brutalization or torture without hope of rescue? Would they be experimented on or perhaps turned over to the Colonial fleet…to those monsters? "John!" he screamed after more damage rocked the ship. Gravity systems flickered… things were breaking apart. What was he supposed to?

"Gregor…Gregor!" Mercedes yelled. "They're demanding our surrender." He stared at her not quite understanding what she'd just told him. She looked terrible and terrified. "That last hit, we can't jump, none of our ships can."

Ravinia looked confused. "They'll give us to the Humans!" she screamed and her horror at the very idea was real. A raw, primal instinct was coming to the forefront. "Gregor, I don't want to die, not like this."

"Better to cease to exist now," a nauseous and pain racked Samnar huffed out.

"You don't know that," Catherine hissed back.

Ravinia hurt, and like everyone else she was frightened out of her mind not just for herself but for her people. She needed to be advised by someone. Gregor was in no condition to lead and the others were injured or the attacks on their cybernetic systems were incapacitating them.

"They're contacting us again…they're demanding our surrender for the last time," Mercedes quietly told those left in the command center. She then added: "I don't want to die, either."

Gregor stared at Randall's corpse. It was amazing how they looked to him, a One, to make the decision now, when they chaffed at everything his models usually suggested. "Let's hear what they have to say." That was the last thing he managed to say before the pain took him.

Ravinia looked at Catherine shared a look. Ravinia nodded at her sister and focused on the transmission. The enemy had stopped firing. "As if we could defend themselves. They have nothing to fear from us, not anymore." She turned to Mercedes. "Transmit this: we receive you."

"This is Shiplord Straha to the Cylon fleet. You have initiated hostilities in United Coalition of Worlds territory. We have responded. Your fleet is wrecked. Smashed beyond your ability to repair or escape. Surrender and you will be treated fairly according to our laws. If you do not, we will remove you from our space permanently."

"You destroyed most of our fleet and crippled the rest. You've killed thousands of us! What guarantees do you offer us if we surrender you will not kill the rest of us? Your Human allies will certainly kill us," said Catherine as she answered before Ravinia could.

"Such an interesting opinion," answered Commander Ling Chen Lee. Her sudden presence on the screen shocked and frightened the female cylons. There were humans on those ships, not just aliens. "You attacked us first and now your fleet is destroyed and you ask for guarantees. You cannot flee. You cannot fight back."

Both women were surprised as the alien seemed to defer to this older human woman. "You have no choice," she coldly informed them, pausing for a moment to let that sink in. "We have a policy against torture because we don't need it. You will be interrogated and incarcerated. Our superiors will determine what will be done with you, but you will not be executed. You are designated POWs. We are at war and have little time for interference of you aliens. You distract us and we will not be distracted."

"The members of the Race do not treat our prisoners adversely," Straha jumped back in. "The continued slaughter of your crew is unnecessary. Surrender and live. the UCW will confer with your people and if an agreement is reached, you will be returned to your people. If your leaders choose not to open talks or choose war, then we will look at other options. We designate your people as prisoners of war. Be comforted by the fact that we do not designate you as terrorists."

Ravinia looked stricken. Opening talks with John was tantamount to nothing less than total war. she could see him underestimating these humans and trying a sneak attack without any understanding of what he was doing. These people would join the Colonials. Then the Cylon people were doomed. Logically, if they committed suicide, then these humans and aliens would assume the worst and again the Cylon race was doomed to fight the united tribes with no path to victory, this time without knowledge of this UCW. What were they supposed to do? Ravinia looked around the Command Center at the desperate and frightened people looking at her for guidance.

"Ravinia, tell them if they want us to surrender, then please lower their sensor scans. Tell them they're killing us!" pleaded Mercedes, who had sunk to the floor. "Their DRADIS is killing us."

"Turn off your DRADIS systems," the cylon woman begged. "It is tearing us apart."

"We are not currently attacking to your people," Ling Chen Lee answered. "Clarify the term DRADIS."

"Your ship's scanning systems! They're killing us. We are not Human, we are Cylons, machinal creations, artificial intelligence. You are killing us."

Straha's mind whirled at those words. These Cylons were claiming to be mechanical entities. His scan of the self-proclaimed artificial intelligences indicated that they were baseline humans with artificial implants, not machines as they claimed. But if true, they were artificial constructs imitating Tosevite humans. Very advanced. How interesting. The shiplord was unsure of their claims, but he saw the signs of illness and distress on the faces of the Cylon Big Uglies who claimed to be mechanisms. If the sensors were somehow affecting them now that the fighting had ceased, he would lower the power of the sensors. He didn't want to be accused of being insensitive to the prisoners. "Sensor officer, change the sensors to passive scans."

"It is done, Superior sir."

Straha was pleased. At least some of his crew remembered their training from the old times enough to add 'superior', an honorific that was quickly becoming extinct in the military branches of the Race. The male in charge of the sensors switched and Straha saw an immediate improvement on the faces of the Cylons. The other UCW ships followed his example as there was little danger of counterattack by the defeated enemy when all four UCW ships were alert and covering the enemy's crippled vessels.

A less flushed Catherine looked at the male in relief. As frightened as she was, she and Ravinia had a decision to make. Her sister nodded in agreement at the unspoken decision they both came to. The words were harsh and full of pain. "We will surrender to you Straha, not to the Humans. We'll never be slaves to them again."

Straha thumped his tail in triumph although he was momentarily confused about them expecting the UCW humans forcing them into slavery. Civilized people simply didn't do things like that. The Empire believed that the strong controlled the weak; control yes, slavery no. How could a civilization grow in peace and prosperity if their underlings weren't given at least most of the rights the strong had? hundreds of thousands of years of imperial culture shaped his mind and its influences was strong. The Terrans had changed the Race but that change was slow filtering through the Empire and its three species. But he did admit to himself that the former servants of the Empire had embraces the Terran prophecy perhaps a little too eagerly. And the hatchings! For the first time in the long history of the Race, only the Emperors past knew what they were thinking and how they would shape the future of the Race.

The way the Cylons said the word 'slavery', and the terror he saw in their eyes, however stopped him abruptly. Tosevite or human biology was still somewhat difficult to interpret in his eye turrets but there was more than just defeatism happening here. These Cylon Tosevites not only distained but feared humanity. The Colonial and Cylon tosevite factions must truly hate one another. He believed this fear was the reason why the look of terror was evident on their faces when the mere thought of surrendering to the humans was a possibility. The Cylon's concerns meant little to him but he did decide to show some mercy.

Straha was a member of the Race and he was civilized. Unnecessary torture whether physical or mental was not what the Race did. "As long as you surrender now. To relieve some of the stress you have Cylons, the UCW does not condone slavery. Our prisoners have rights under the laws of our united government. End this."

"Under the conditions that my people will be surrendered fairly, we surrender."

"It shall be done. Disable your remain weapons systems and power down what is left of your ships engines. You are now prisoners of the UCW with all of the responsibilities and consequences established by law. Resistance will not be tolerated. If you follow these rules, I give my pledge that you will not be harmed. Your injured will be taken care of. Your ships will be confiscated and sent to a secured area within the UCW.

Battlestar Radiance

Admiral Frankus C. Kunningham had expected something like this during the mission to find Earth. Without a doubt, the Cylons would certainly had sent a fleet to trail his own and the fact that they never detected said fleet didn't change his belief one bit. His superiors as well as most in the defense force assumed that the Cylons wanted to find the location of Earth and make sure that his mission would fail either by causing conflict between the tribes or try to savage Earth's population, eliminating a threat. Cylons hated humans whatever their origin. The Thirteenth Tribe was no exception to that rule.

The Colonial military and the Quorum civilian authorities made every effort to conceal the actual route from their enemies even as the expedition fleet left with a huge amount of fanfare. Space was large and difficult to navigate as the near brush with that black hole brutally attested to. The cylons were known to have the ability to track Colonial fleets, but they didn't know exactly in which direction the fleet had taken. It was hoped that the fleet would remain undetected long enough that their trail would be lost in the vastness of space. The plan had an excellent chance of succeeding.

Apparently, it wasn't successful enough and the Cylons had found the general pathway to Earth.

Although all of the precautions, scans and patrols found nothing during the year-long trip, he could feel them following his fleet. That was why his particular Squadron was selected. His Mercury, the Minoans, and cruisers were the state-of-the-Colonial-Art war machines in the Colonial arsenal. Every transport, civilian liner, and even the mining ship, were equipped with the latest offensive and defensive systems available. The vipers were the latest state-of-the-art the SF-29 Raptor gunships were rated raider-killers. His ship, the Radiance was rated to stand against three basestars on its own and win. The Minoan class battlestars, two-to-one easily. His expedition fleet was considered by the Colonials as the most powerful in the galaxy. The Cylons would have to have sent an armada to stop him and that wasn't likely since the Colonial military had significantly raised the numbers of ships patrolling at the border.

The Cylons couldn't use large numbers of ships to track and kill his expedition when their borders were so threatened. And he knew that his people were just itching to invade Cylon space under any pretense since there were still very harsh feelings since the virus incident.

They Cylons were a clear and present danger. The Quorum knew that the Thirteenth Tribe had no idea of the danger they represented.

"Doctor Jackson, we are pleased and honored to serve as representatives to the fabled Thirteenth Colony known to us as the Apellai, known by you as Terra Earth," said a very excited Ambassador Isahan. "Finding and reuniting of your tribe has long been a goal of our people for thousands of years. To be honest, before our original First Contact, we weren't sure if your tribe existed. Much of our history has been lost during our journey from Kobol and many of our people believe you to be myths. Despite our unfortunate first meeting, we are glad that we were wrong. My government sent us to correct that very regrettable offense. As tradition and honor demands, we have brought several gifts representing the best we have to offer as well as asking that you accept our most profound apologies. My government, the Colonial people and I personally, wish to start again, this time us coming together in peace with the hopes that we can join together and bring a new golden age to the Thirteen Tribes of Kobol."

The ambassador continued, but she turned more sober as she changed subjects to address a darker issue. "We are most concerned however that your forces encountered hostile Cylon forces, forces that have apparently followed us despite our best efforts to remain undetected. We were unable to confirm their presence during our journey, but we suspected that they were tracking us. Sadly, we didn't know that they were this close to us. To be clear, they had the same information that we did at the general whereabouts of Earth's location. So, it was decided by the Quorum to find you first and warn you of the danger. It was a gamble sending our fleet to find you so that you would be warned and somewhat prepared when they discovered you. It was our intention to support you and aid in protect your world from the machines." She sighed heavily. "It appeared that we were too late, and you've already encountered them according to your reports. We are sorry very for your losses incurred by your alien allies and our fellow humans. If there is any positive note to this sad affair, it is that the Cylons decided to follow us instead making this a race to find your world first. May I ask what losses you have incurred? Our medical facilities are excellent and will be made available if you require them."

"About that," Jackson started. "We are pleased that you have come to our territories in peace and good will. And to be honest with you, we were made aware of your disagreements with your creations during our first contact with your people. We were aware of the Cylon hostility towards humanity and we are concerned with the possibility of conflict with them, however that hasn't been our main priority. You've been made aware that we are engaged with our own conflict and are preparing for war against an unidentified and unknown enemy. We thank you for your support in defense against the Cylons, but I believe your fleet is safe from them for the moment. Our forces encountered the hostiles and disabled or destroyed them. There were no loss of ships or personnel on our side."

The ambassador was surprised by Jackson's pronouncement while the Admiral standing next to her looked equally stricken. Kunningham was caught by surprise and was more than a bit skeptical. In fact, Daniel was surprised that the man hadn't called him a liar right then and there.

"Cylon elements are in the sector. Set Condition One throughout the fleet," the admiral ordered.

They were at condition two during the start of the talks but the announcements of Cylons in the area changed everything. He wouldn't be caught unaware. The Cylons were a threat and he would do what was necessary and protect Earth no matter what those aliens and that naïve Earther told them. These people thought they were ready. That thought made him smile ruefully. Until this UCW fought the Cylons, they no idea what war was really like…

TBC