Chapter Seven: The Hunters and The Hunted
Baylor System:
Patrol Frigate Moultrie:
Patrol Group 58 was one of the task forces based out of Nassau Station, not far from where the group was currently deployed, tasked with keeping an eye out for any activity in regards to either the Erebea or the Eastern Alliance.
The group was composed of four Sirocco class patrol ships and one Kopis class patrol frigate, with the frigate serving as the command ship for the task force.
Major Darren Ellsworth looked over the orders that had been given to him from the task force commander and sighed.
Lieutenant Colonel Jerrod Stokes had been tight-lipped since they had departed from Nassau Station three days ago.
All Ellsworth had been told was that there had been reliable information discovered that pointed to pirate activity in the area.
So far, there had been little to comment on and Ellsworth began to wonder if the intelligence Stokes had mentioned was really anything of substance.
"Anything to report, sir?" Captain Dominica Labuan, Ellsworth's Executive Officer, said as she entered the CIC as part of the upcoming watch turnover.
"Nothing new, this whole system seems to be quiet," Ellsworth said as he put the report down.
"I heard that Stokes may send the patrol ships to the outer edges of the system."
Ellsworth thought that would be a more logical idea than keeping the task force in one cluster in the middle of the system.
Perhaps the Sirocco, Oroshi, Zephyr, or Shamal would have better luck that way
"Sir, there's multiple DRADIS contacts," the tactical officer announced suddenly.
"Mister Stafford, I want you to inform Colonel Stokes that we have possible DRADIS contacts," Ellsworth said to Ensign Michael Stafford.
The young officer promptly relayed the message to Stokes' quarters.
It was not long after that Stokes entered the CIC. "Have you identified the vessels?"
"They've identified themselves as the heavy transport vessels Carib, Seneca, Tawasa, Tekesta, and Cusabo. They're carrying a large scrap delivery to Verona's salvage facility in the Brigantia System," Ellsworth said.
Stokes was quiet for a moment before he said, "That may be the case, but I want us to go in for a closer look. We don't want to take any chances of them smuggling weapons to either the Erebea or the Eastern Alliance."
"I agree with you, sir."
Stokes turned his attention to Stafford, "Alert the vessels that they are to come to a complete stop and prepare to be boarded."
Stafford complied and sent out the message.
When a reply came in he said, "The captains of the vessels have replied that they will comply with your request and come to a stop to be boarded."
"That's promising," Stokes said.
Suddenly the lights in the CIC flickered and went off all over the patrol frigate and the patrol ships that made up the task force; it was as though someone had simply flipped a switch to turn off the power.
Heavy Transport Ship Carib:
"Remind me to thank Savedge for the EMP weapons," Cinta Melati said as she watched the Colonial Fleet vessels lose power and begin to drift.
William Savedge was a weapons dealer who had been very generous in his business relationship with her and the Erebea.
The terms for his services were not outrageous and he had never once failed to deliver on his promises.
Their relationship was both professional and at times physical; despite her not wanting to admit it…she really did enjoy the sex.
It had especially been the case the night his people had freed him from the custody of the Ministry of Intelligence and brought him to her.
Eventually, the power to the ships would be restored, but by then her ships would have spooled up their FTL drives and jumped away.
"I trust the money has been put in my account," David Morian said.
He was the harbormaster of Verona's main shipyard and had arranged the transfer of fifteen of the old Colonial Fleet patrol frigates to the Erebea.
The five ships would be scuttled and the loss blamed on some unfortunate accident.
"Your cubits will be there as soon as we take delivery of our new ships," Melati said as she did her best to hide her irritation at the man's greed.
"I don't doubt that it's just that I took a huge risk for you and I want to make sure that my risk is well-compensated."
'You did it for your own greed, you bastard,' Melati thought before saying, "I appreciate the risk you took for me, Mister Morian and I can assure you the money should be there for you even as we speak."
"I had no idea the Erebea had EMP weapons. How were you able to get your hands on those?"
Melati smirked, "I have friends who have friends who are able to get their hands on these kinds of things."
"If you want to brush me off like that it's your choice. Just as long as I get my money you won't have to worry about me for the time being."
"I would prefer that. The last thing I want is for our business arrangement to come to an unfortunate end."
"I don't know who does a better job of threatening people, you or Lydia Zeresi," he said referring to the leader of the Basileus Crime Syndicate on Canceron.
Melati turned on him. "Lydia Zeresi is a crime boss who would sell her own children out for a cubit, and I am a freedom fighter trying to liberate my home colony from an oppressive government. You would be wise to not make that mistake again."
Seeing the look in her eyes he quickly felt his throat tighten with fear, "You don't need me here anymore, I'm going to go to my cabin and take care of some personal matters."
Melati did not notice him leave the ship's bridge. Her thoughts were on the fifteen decommissioned frigates she had acquired and the weaponry that William Savedge could provide to ensure that they were up and running.
One Week Later:
Genesis Orbital Facility, Orbit of Aerilon:
Battlestar Gemenon, Commanding Officers Quarters:
Major Arthur Wallace of the Ministry of Intelligence took a drink from his glass and set it down on the desk.
On the large viewing screen in front of him was Captain Leonard Harmon.
He was a fellow MoI officer and one of the people tasked with the Libran mission.
Officially, it was supposed to be Major Evan Windsor delivering the briefing but he had unexpectedly become ill from the food served in the Libran's mess; and for once, it was not Wallace's doing. It appeared as though Windsor had come down with an acute case of food poisoning. Wallace was at least glad that it kept him from having to fake being polite to the man; the two had an antagonistic relationship that showed no signs of moving towards reconciliation.
"I'm glad you could step in for Major Windsor on this debriefing," Wallace said amiably.
While he did have his issues with Windsor, he had no such feelings towards Harmon.
"Glad to be able to, Arthur," Harmon said.
He had worked with Wallace before and was aware of Wallace's preference for people to use his first name.
"Excellent! With that being said, how are things on the task force now that the ships have been repaired?"
"The Libran looks as though she's been upgraded considerably from the last time I was on here; the shipyard workers did a fine job. As for the faststars, I have yet to be on them so I can't comment. I can tell you that there has been a shakeup with the faststar task groups. Colonel Baines has been reassigned and has been replaced with a Lieutenant Colonel by the name of Ari Herev. Colonel Mandeville has been promoted to a special rank of Lieutenant Commander and will take overall command of the faststar group."
Wallace saw the hatch to his quarters open and watched silently as a man and a woman entered the room, "Captain Harmon, I need to disconnect the call, but contact me again in forty-five minutes."
"Understood," Harmon said before disconnecting.
"Do you have any updates from Zsuzsi?" Wallace asked the two people who had walked in.
Lieutenants Amado Ramirez and Tasha McKenzie walked up to the desk where Wallace had taken a seat.
McKenzie placed a folder marked "Classified" on the desk.
Wallace began leafing through the folder. "Madelyn Zsuzsi's report. I think that's going to make for a fun read."
"Are you sure you can trust her?" McKenzie asked.
"She did come all the way to Libran to offer us information on the Erebea in exchange for our protection," Wallace said.
Zsuzsi had walked into the MoI building in the city of Crommelin asking for their help.
Wallace had a different plan. If she agreed to stay with the Erebea and take over as Cinta Melati's top lieutenant then, when the mission was over she would be given a new identity and a better life than the one she had on Tauron.
"Looks like the Erebea has something big planned," Ramirez said.
"Yes I was reading that just now, seems she managed to get her hands on fifteen of the old Ryedale class frigates," Wallace said as he scanned the list of ships that were supposed to have been sold for scrap.
The frigates Kesgrave, Brigham, Leyburn, Kendray, Westberg, Durik, Halsted, Ramsden, Hubbard, Loring, Narbrough, Waldegrave, Balan, Sigsbee, and Olwen had been sold to the Verona Salvage Company for scrap.
Yet it appeared the ships only arrived on paper if the intelligence reports were to be believed.
The hatch to the room opened again and in stepped Captain Curtis Bond and an older gentleman in the uniform of a Colonial Army general.
"The two of you should go with Captain Bond to the mess for a meal, we can discuss what's in this report later on today," Wallace said to Ramirez and McKenzie.
The two MoI officers promptly left the room with Bond.
Wallace walked over and shook hands with the officer. "It's always good to see you, General Hannibal."
"You as well, Arthur," General Joshua Hannibal of the Colonial Army said.
"I suppose you're here because of the Erebea, I'm getting the pieces in place to take them down."
Hannibal took a seat. "I know you are; I couldn't help but want to see how things are progressing."
"Cinta trusts me and she's accepted my recommendation to replace her recently deceased top lieutenant. The Libran is back in service and soon will start attacking the Erebea. The Gemenon is starting to look like it could pass for a front-line battlestar again. I'd say our work is paying off."
"Stryker always talked about the potential you had; he thought you were capable of great things."
"I know you and he had worked together in the past, and I haven't forgotten why you're involved in this project."
Hannibal nodded, "I lost my family to those pirate bastards, any project that involved eliminating them once and for all is one I'm all for."
Wallace understood how Hannibal felt towards the Erebea.
His wife and kids had been on a transport that been attacked and boarded by Admiral Pierre Renoir and his pirates.
During the initial scuffle, the pirates had fired off their weapons killing most of the people in the passenger cabin.
Since then Hannibal had swore to do everything he could to destroy the organization he held responsible for the deaths of this loved ones.
"The best part was convincing Cinta Melati that her top lieutenant was a traitor, I enjoyed taking down that smug son of a bitch."
"Just how did you pull that off?"
"I created a paper trail and a money trail that both led to certain outposts that the Ministry of Intelligence operates. Granted, Cinta would have been too clever to believe such a thing so you create photographic 'proof' that James Thorn was meeting with MoI officials. We have someone who used to work in the movie industry and he does a great job of making two people appear to be identical twins."
"Very impressive, now is there anything you need me to supply to you?"
Wallace was thankful for having Hannibal on his side.
The general was the head of the Colonial Army Bureau of Weapons Research and Development.
"If you could take some of those old weapons and make them look like they're top of the line experimental technology, I'd be grateful to you."
"I think my people can spruce up those old Cylon War era pieces of junk and make them look like brand new. I take it they're going in the armory onboard this ship."
"That's exactly where they're heading. I want to be able to show Cinta that not only did I get her a fully functional battlestar but I got her some top-of-the-line weaponry for her people to use."
Hannibal nodded, "That would go a long way towards selling your cover story of being a weapons smuggler."
"It beats having to go to the Basileus for help, especially since we turned on them after that rescue mission three years ago."
"You won't hear me complain about that. I was stationed on Canceron near the end of the Cylon War. I'd have rather kept my posting at Fort Hawkins back on Aquaria."
"You're a good soldier, General, and that's what good soldiers do; they follow their orders regardless."
"Normally that's true but if it's a frakwood like Adar giving the orders I'd rather disobey them and be relieved of command like Admiral Kronus."
Hannibal is friend with both Admiral Kronus and Major General Charon 'Hawk' Macgrory; partly because they are all from Leonis.
The nearby console chirped a sound, announcing an incoming video call.
"If you'll excuse me, General, I need to take this call."
Hannibal stood up. "Of course, Arthur. It was good talking with you, I'll head back to Virgon and get started on those weapons you need."
When Hannibal had closed the hatch Wallace hit the 'Accept' button and watched as the video screen came to life.
"I see you decided to change ships," Wallace said to the woman on the screen.
"Commander Mandeville decided to make the Palaiologos his flagship and Major Windsor decided that I should be assigned here as well," Captain Whitney Thompson, Wallace's fiancée and fellow MoI officer, said.
The Palaiologos was one of twelve Clemson class faststars from the Cylon War that had been brought back into service in order to protect the Libran from any weaponry that might be used against it in its shadow war with the Erebea.
Wallace saw that she was in her personal quarters instead of the office space that had been provided on the faststars.
Going by the boxes that were sitting on the mattress behind her it appeared as though she had yet to settle into her new quarters.
"That was awfully nice of Windbag," Wallace grumbled.
He and Evan Windsor had never gotten along in the time that they had known each other, hence why he always referred to the man as 'Windbag' whenever he was having a private conversation with Thompson.
"You know if he ever hears you call him that it's going to escalate to a boxing match."
Wallace's eyes lit up. "Gods, I hope so!"
"I wasn't too upset at being moved to a different ship, the Robert Smith brought back too many memories."
Wallace nodded. "I understand it wasn't that long ago for you. At least you can get settled in and have a better experience on the Palaiologos."
"That's what I'm hoping for; did I call you at a bad time?"
"There's never a bad time when it's you calling me. I actually got back here today after taking care of some business on Aquaria. Have you heard anything about your next destination?"
Thompson looked over a report that was lying on her desk, "We're heading to the Nassau System to have a word with a Lieutenant Colonel Jerrod Stokes. His patrol group encountered five cargo ships that they were about to boarded when his task force lost power due to what it believed to be an EMP weapon. If it's the Erebea then there's a chance we can head in that direction and find out where they're hiding."
"Sounds like a good plan, I'm assuming it was Commander Tattnall that came up with it."
"He did, why do you say that?" Thompson asked though she knew the answer.
"Strategy like that is far above Windbag's capacity for thinking."
"You are incorrigible; I'll talk to you later once I'm settled in." Thompson said as she disconnected the call.
Battlestar Gemenon, Hangar Deck:
Wallace stepped onto the hangar deck and was surprised by how bright it looked with the newly installed lights.
That, along with the fresh coat of paint applied to the walls, gave it the look of a newly commissioned battlestar. To him it almost seemed a waste that it was all for show.
The Viper Mark IVs were arranged on the hangar also looking as though they had just come off the assembly line.
He saw a man wearing the uniform of a Colonial Fleet officer running his hand alongside one of the Vipers.
"You look like you're admiring the work," Wallace said as he walked up to where the man was standing.
"The last time I saw Mark IVs they were rusting away on Aerilon," the man said and realized he had not introduced himself. "I'm Major Alexander Mason. I was told to report here by Admiral Jennings."
"Major Arthur Wallace of the MoI, I requested you be pulled from the Libran to assist us here on the Gemenon."
"I hated giving up my air group; I had worked hard to make CAG."
"I read your service record and believe me I wouldn't have done it if it weren't necessary. You know the Libran's mission is hunting down the Erebea but the Gemenon is another part of that overall plan," Wallace said as he motioned for Mason to follow him.
"The plan is to get the Gemenon back in working order to present it to the Erebea. It's all an elaborate trap though, when they take possession of the ship it's wired to blow up when a signal is sent. The fact is that I need to make sure that the Vipers and Raptors on board are able to fly enough so that they can pass the Erebea's inspection. It's been promised that the Vipers and Raptors, models that have been plagued by handling issues, do not have any problems and can be used right away. I need a pilot to demonstrate such a thing and since you have experience with both and have experience landing on a Gemenon class battlestar, then you'll do perfectly."
"So I've gone from being the CAG of the Libran to the test pilot for the Gemenon?"
"In so many words…yes, but I can assure you that when this is over you'll either get the chance to be CAG of another battlestar air wing or you'll get promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and get posted to an assignment most would be envious of."
"Will I need to get that in writing?" Mason joked.
"Nonsense, if I say it will be done then I'll make sure of it."
"I'll take your word on that. It feels strange being here, like I stepped onto a ghost ship version of the Libran."
"I imagine it does, I think when we're done with our work she'll look as good as any commissioned battlestar in the fleet."
"I think you're off to good start so far," Mason admitted as he took in the sight of the lifeless hangar deck.
It had Vipers and Raptors but without the deck crew, it just seemed so empty.
"Get yourself settled in and introduce yourself to the crew; I think you'll fit in here nicely Mason. Just so you know, you can call me Arthur; there's no need to be formal onboard the Gemenon."
Mason nodded and excused himself.
Wallace stayed on the hangar and went to one of the nearby offices that the Chief would have used had the Gemenon been in commission.
He had converted it into a private office for him to use whenever he wanted to be near the hangar.
He closed the hatch behind him and secured it so that no one could walk in on him.
There was a large gun cabinet that he had used as a safe; it had been designed so that hardly anything could break into it.
To improve safety, the cabinet had two locks and each had a different method of being opened.
One was a keypad that required a four-digit access code.
Wallace entered the numbers '1-9-0-8' and saw the red light on the display change to green to show that the combination had been successfully entered.
He then put his hand on the large numbered wheel and spun it to the three numbers to unlock the main lock.
With a clank, the door swung open slightly and Wallace opened it all the way.
He reached into his pocket and produced a small key before opening a small panel that he had built into the bottom of the cabinet.
"There you are," Wallace said quietly as he pulled a large brown folder out of the secret compartment.
This was something he wanted to look over if for no other reason than to remind himself of what his real purpose was for being in the Ministry of Intelligence.
He pulled the document out and began leafing through his pages.
He went back to the first page of the document and began to read it, remembering a promise he had made to Fleet Admiral Jonas Stryker.
To the untrained eye, the document had the innocuous title of 'Operation From this wall, we do not retreat! ' and in it explained, in detail, plans to take artifacts of the original Battlestar Leonidas, Admiral Stryker's now-scrapped flagship during the Cylon War, and arrange to create a special section of the Stryker Museum on Picon devoted exclusively to the memory of the Leonidas.
Operation Every Day was taken from one of the quotes that Admiral Stryker was famous for having said during the Cylon War, 'Every day we stand is another day for Colonies.' It was perfect for a cover and would therefore not create any suspicion in the mind of someone who happened to read the document.
If one delved deeper into the pages of the report, either he or she would discover the plans in place not only to destroy the Ministry of Intelligence but also the eventual overthrow of the Colonial Government.
Wallace had promised Admiral Stryker that he would rid the Colonial Government of the inherent corruption that could lead to its destruction if Adar continued with his plans to weaken the Colonial military.
It was a promise that he would keep no matter who or what got in his way, but if proof of it ever got out he would face the death penalty for treason.
Nassau System, Nassau Station:
Battlestar Libran, CIC:
"Jump completed, we are at Nassau Station," Lieutenant Lancelot Freyburg, the Libran's Tactical Officer, announced.
"Excellent, send word to the Palaiologos for Commander Mandeville to meet me onboard Nassau Station," Commander Nicholas Tattnall said to Lieutenant James Ward.
"You're coming with me," Tattnall said to Colonel Susan Minerva, the XO of the Libran.
"I don't have an issue with going, but is there a reason why you need me?" she asked. In truth, she was expecting to take command of the ship while he was away.
"I haven't worked with Mandeville that much since this operation began and I'd rather have someone with me whom I trust, and I think having you there will add another pair of eyes that can go over the information."
"In that case I'll be happy to accompany you. Have you heard anything about the new CAG?" Minerva asked.
"We've spoken briefly. With all of the work being done to get both the ship and the air group back up to where they were before the attack there hasn't been much time to sit down and get to know Major Cynthia Shannon."
"I heard good things about her when I talked to my friends on the Illustrious."
"When this is over and we have more of an idea about what's going on we'll sit down and get to know her better. I'm eager to see if this is going to lead us to another Erebea outpost. They've been quiet lately."
"We go from having the Erebea trying to kill us to having the New Green Army taking shots at us," Minerva said before adding dryly, "You'd think somebody out there might want us dead."
"Gods help us if the Erebea and the New Green Army ever allied up, there's no telling what kind of havoc they'd inflict on us."
"Let's not think about that too much, at least out here in space we only have to worry about one of the threats. The moment we turned over Tift Fleet Air Station to its new commander, the New Green Army become even less of a concern for us," Minerva said and knew deep down she was glad to be rid of Tift once and for all.
The New Green Army would continue to be a nuisance to the people stationed there. In time, the Colonial Military would bring its power to bear on them and that would be the end of that problem.
"I agree," Tattnall said as he turned from the Command and Control Station, "Let's get on Nassau and talk to Stokes."
"Couldn't agree more," Minerva said as she turned to follow him. As she was catching up to Tattnall, she heard him turn command of the Libran over to Lieutenant Freyburg.
The docked battlestar was his to command until the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer were back onboard.
Twenty-Eight Minutes Later:
Nassau Station, Conference Room 08-D:
Lieutenant Colonel Jerrod Stokes stood to attention when the hatch opened and Tattnall entered with Minerva following not far behind.
"At ease," Tattnall said and the Colonel relaxed his stance.
"I'm Commander Nicholas Tattnall and with me is Colonel Susan Minerva, my Executive Officer on the Battlestar Libran," Tattnall said to get the introductions out of the way and proceed to the point of their meeting.
"It was about a week ago when we encountered something odd out in the Baylor System. We had heard whispers of Erebea activity in the area and the rumors suggested that they were either going to start raiding convoys or that there were going to be weapons smuggled to them by ships passing through the system."
The door to the conference room opened and in walked Lieutenant Imani Farai and Agent Victor Ashfield of the Ministry of Intelligence.
"We apologize for interrupting you but we wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything important."
"I promise we'd have brought you plenty of notes to study," Minerva teased.
"It's not that we don't trust you, but Major Windsor prefers we make our own notes," Farai said almost apologetically.
"I see, and where is Captain Harmon?" Tattnall asked.
"He's in a briefing with Headquarters right now so it fell to us to sit in on this meeting," Farai said and was relieved that it seemed to satisfy both Tattnall and Minerva.
"As you were saying," Tattnall said to Stokes to get the conversation moving again.
"For the longest time there was nothing to report. There was no traffic at all coming through the Baylor System, and for a while there I was beginning to suspect that the reports of Erebea activity were exaggerated."
"That all changed a week ago," Minerva stated.
Stokes nodded, "The DRADIS on the Moultrie picked up five large contacts. At first, I was content to let them pass through, but then it dawned on me that there was a chance these vessels could be smuggling weapons to the Erebea or even the Eastern Alliance. I had messaged the ships my intention to board and search them. They had complied and we started to move in and board. That was when we suddenly lost power. Not only the Moultrie, but also the other ships in the patrol group went dark. By the time we got power restored the ships had long-since jumped away."
"That sounds like an EMP weapon was deployed against you," Farai interjected.
"Could the Erebea get their hands on weaponry like that?" Tattnall asked.
"The Erebea does have some financial backing by various people on Tauron," Ashfield added.
"If you are aware of this, is there any way for you to find out who these benefactors are?" Minerva asked.
"Tauron has banking laws in place that are tough to get past, and they have the computer technology to keep our people from trying to break through to the information," Farai said even though she hated having to admit that there were some fields where the MoI fell short.
"Colonel, we're going to leave you to talk with our friends from the MoI," Tattnall said as he and Minerva stood up and left the room.
"Thank you, Commander, we'll let you know when we are ready to head back to the Libran," Farai said.
As Tattnall and Minvera headed down the corridor to the ladder to the deck below, they were met by Commander Raleigh Williams, the Commanding Officer of Nassau Station, who apparently seemed interested in their meeting.
"Did you find out anything from talking with Colonel Stokes?" he asked.
"We found out some information, but it's nothing we can share right now," Tattnall said.
"One of my patrol groups lost power after encountering what could be either the Erebea or the Eastern Alliance, I think it's something that should be shared," Williams protested.
"Not that I'm going to tell you what you should do, but you should take some extra precautions just in case. I don't want to start a panic and have you and your people thinking that you're going to be attacked. Truth is we don't know enough about what's going on just yet. For now, our orders are to stay close to here so that we can come to the aid of anyone who needs help," Tattnall said hoping it would be enough to keep Williams satisfied.
"That makes sense; if you'll excuse me I need to meet with my senior staff and go over any precautions we may need to take," Williams said before using a nearby ladder to go up to the deck above.
"I take it we need to have a chat with Fleet Command," Minerva said.
"That's exactly what I intend to do. I get the feeling we're on the trail of the Erebea. When the MoI gives us more information, we can use that to decide where we're going to hit them," Tattnall replied.
"The sooner the better, I've spent the past few months wanting to get a little payback for damaging our ship."
"Come on it wasn't that bad, you did get to spend time with your family while they were fixing up the old girl."
Minerva smiled, "Yes that was true and I enjoyed every minute I spent with them. You had it nice too, from what I recall; you got to go to your place on Picon and even started dating that reporter. Are you and her still together?"
Tattnall nodded, "Yes we are, and I'll probably take her to meet my family whenever we get our next shore leave."
Twenty-Seven Minutes Later:
Battlestar Libran, War Room:
The image of Rear Admiral John Jennings took up most of the screen on the far side of the Libran's war room. He had been in command of Battlestar Group 87 and was based out of Leonis. When it came time for him to rotate to shore duty, he had been selected by Admiral Peter Corman to serve as a liaison between the Colonial Fleet and the Ministry of Intelligence.
"I have just finished looking over your report, Tattnall," he said as he took one last look at the paper on his desk, "You believe that the patrol group was attacked by the Erebea?"
Tattnall nodded. "This has all the hallmarks of the Erebea and it in no way goes with what we know about the Eastern Alliance."
"I take it the Ministry of Intelligence shares your views?"
"Major Windsor is currently sick with food poisoning so Captain Leonard Harmon has stepped in to take charge of the MoI personnel on this mission. He has read the reports and believes that the Erebea are behind the attack on the patrol group in the Baylor System."
"Have you received anything official from Gray about this?" Jennings asked. Gray was the city on Picon where the Ministry of Intelligence was headquartered.
"Nothing yet, but I believe we should be hearing something from them within the hour."
"When you do hear from them you will have the green light to launch an attack against the Erebea. Good hunting, Commander Tattnall," Jennings said.
"Thank you, Admiral," Tattnall said and then the screen went black as the connection was severed.
"This is it, we're about to attack the Erebea," a woman's voice said behind him.
Tattnall turned to see a female officer with Viper wings on her jacket standing at the entrance to the room. He immediately recognized her. Major Cynthia Shannon was the newly assigned CAG for the Libran and had spent the time since coming on getting a feel for the pilots that composed the Battlestar's air wing.
"We have the green light from the Fleet, now we just have to get word from the MoI that everything is in place for us to launch our attack," Tattnall said.
"I admit I didn't expect us to be in battle so soon," she said.
"Not something you learned at Abry?" he asked.
"They drilled a lot of tactics and strategies into our heads, but I don't know if it ever prepares you for actual combat."
Tattnall was quiet for a moment, "Have you ever seen combat before?"
Shannon shook her head, "It's kind of hard to do when you're in peacetime, and this ship is sort of the exception with it being in this shadow war against the Erebea."
"I have faith in your skills, Major; when you're out in battle you'll do fine."
"Thank you, Commander; it's nice to know my CO isn't trying to stab me in the back."
"Did your last CO try to do that to you?"
Shannon turned to leave the room. "Perhaps one day I'll tell you that story."
Battlestar Gemenon, Commanding Officer's Quarters:
Wallace looked at the report and at the person on the video screen, "Lieutenant Farai, I take it that this report is your doing?"
Farai nodded, "Captain Harmon gave me the lead on it while he was busy conferencing with the directors."
He smiled at her, "You did well on it, Farai, I must say that if you keep up with work like this I can see you having a promising future."
The flattery seemed to do the trick on her, "Thank you, Major Wallace, I appreciate the vote of confidence."
"Please call me Arthur; I've never been a big fan of protocol."
"Very well then Arthur, do you agree with my findings?"
"Yes I do, the Erebea has become bolder lately and it seems our people on Tauron have discovered shipping manifests that would hint that caches of weapons have found their way into the Erebea's hands. They may have been on the ropes but at the rate things are going, they won't be for long."
"It is a possibility, have our people heard anything that might point to the Eastern Alliance?"
Farai shook her head, "It seemed a possibility but the Eastern Alliance have been quiet lately and they tend to attack large convoys that are of higher value than the ones the Erebea have targeted."
"Looking at the information you sent, I believe you should advise Commander Tattnall to search the Centaurus System for the Erebea. They may very well have a base there that will need to be hit and destroyed."
"I'll let him know right away."
"Excellent, and how is Major Windsor?"
"He's still in sickbay. Doctor Lawson is still not sure when he will be released to return to normal duty. Do you have any messages you want me to give to Captain Harmon?"
"Yes, tell him that he has my utmost faith in commanding the team assigned to the Libran and its task force."
"That won't be a problem, Farai…out," she said and ended the call.
Wallace walked over to a nearby table and fixed a glass of ice water. He slowly drank the clear liquid and enjoyed the refreshing feeling it gave him. His mouth and throat were starting to feel a little dry and the water was just what he needed.
With that done, he set down the glass and walked over to his desk where he entered a number that connected him to a certain person through a secure line.
"Hello, William," Cinta Melati said.
"Hello, Cinta," Wallace said, after this time he had gotten used to the fact that she knew him as 'William Savedge' and not by his real name.
"I hope this is a social call," she said but quickly realized by the look on his face that it was not.
"I wish it were but I have friends in the government who gave me some information that I thought you should know."
The look on her face had changed now and she was all business, "Tell me what you know."
"The Colonial Fleet has figured out where your base is located. I don't know how long you have to clear out but you need to move your forces to one of your backup locations."
"How reliable are your sources?"
"They're reliable enough for me to call and warn you. By this time you should know I wouldn't lead you on with false information."
There was a pause, "I'll contact you once I've reached a backup location."
The call was severed and Wallace pictured her giving rapid-fire orders to her people. Some of them would be left behind or unable to escape before the Libran got there to destroy the base, but at least she would be alive. She would live long enough until the time came for him to kill her and the Erebea.