"Hi Bill", was the message from the battlecruiser.

Slowly, guided by the old hands of a veteran, the Athena approached Galactica. The simple message had reached the CIC, and everybody was screaming and celebrating that a new colonial ship was found. There was a new feeling of hope that more survivors could be out there, trying to survive.

Tigh left the crew to celebrate, since good news these last days were scarce. Of course, the last battles where the cylons had been kicked in their groins were excellent news, but the auspicious fact about more survivors remained. So, this time, he allowed the people to vent their emotions.

Gal, always on guard duty, was talking to Maya and Alex. She will explain later to her commander what she learned.

After five minutes, Tigh ordered silence, and he saw the Old Man coming. "It's true? The Athena is here?," Adama asked with hope. "Believe or not, that old daggit of Baros brought that relic here in one piece, look," Tigh explained to Adama.

The main screen showed with detail the old battlecruiser, with the port side a bit scarred but in working condition. "Patch me through, Debin."

"Yes, Sir, ready."

Since the Athena lacked any refinements in her comm array, they had to use only the audio. "This is the Fleet Admiral Adama to the Battlecruiser Athena Actual. Please respond," Adama said and waited.

"Ha, you already are a Fleet Admiral?, nothing as a big war to be promoted, I suppose. Admiral Adama. Commander Giorgios Baros is reporting, a bit late however. "

"Welcome back, I'll visit your ship in ten minutes, Adama out," he said.

"Incredible. How is he here? ," Adama asked. "The heavy cruiser Maya was fishing colonial ships trying to escape from Cyrannus", Gal explained to her Admiral and Commander, "she and the submarines saved them from a couple of basestars and a small boarding action".

Both old friends winced from the news. "How many losses?" Tigh asked. Gal was happy to explain the good news, "None, Commander, Maya's mental model was visiting the Athena before the attack. She destroyed the centurions and captured a number Six named Lisa. She is actually under Maya's custody. "

"Ok, let's go to that ship. It looks like something interesting happened, " Adama said.

Battlecruiser Athena, landing bay, 30 minutes later.

The Galactica shuttle had to wait for two last-minute passengers, Maya and Gal. The last one had insisted on the danger of cylon infiltrators, even if Maya assured her that the ship was clean. Gal had discretely raised her shields, just in case a cylon used the old but still dangerous battlecruiser's guns.

At last, the shuttle was inside the Athena's landing bay. A small comitive was there to offer a proper reception to Admiral Adama. The shuttle doors opened, and two girls descended first, Maya and a tall girl in Navy blue and white.

Adama raised his right hand and stopped the formalities. He and Tigh looked for their old companion from the Fleet Academy. An old guy, with a small scar on his face on his right side, walked steadily to both officers. "Welcome to the Athena Admiral Adama...and that bald guy, Tigh is that you?" The three old men finnished into a big hug, almost crying from emotion. It was a scene from the old epic tales, where old warriors survived even in the worst circunstances.

When the three calmed down a bit, they separated, and Adama watched the crew around them. "First trip, guys?," he asked, smiling to the young ensigns around them.

"It was a trip to hell, but yes, sir!", a young female ensign working as sidegirl exclaimed proudly. Adama nodded to Baros while he said, "You had a bunch of good sailors and marines here, right?"

"Yes, the kids worked fine under the doomsday pressure, Admiral," Baros said with pride in his voice. "I recognize Maya, but who is the girl there?," he added. Maya winked an eye to the old sailor, but she kept silent.

Adama sighed a bit, and he said something surprising, "Well, let me introduce to the Battlestar Galactica Mental Model, she like to be called GAL for obvious reasons."

Baros gave Gal a fast looking and he said, "So the ship size determines the mental model apparent age?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander Baros, and yes, you are right. If the ship is bigger, the core is more powerful, and from a psychological point of view, a little girl being a battleship is quite ridiculous, right?" She left aside that Musashi looked as a little teenager, but it wasn't important right now.

The human beings exchanged looks, and they just nodded. Everything was so crazy lately that it was really important? No.

Focusing again on the present, Adama said, "we would like to listen your story, old friend."

"Of course, but my amenities are a bit limited. Please, follow me," said Baros.

Officers, old and young, and two mental models were reunited in Athena's CIC. Baros was telling the story about the weird explosion, cutting the baseship into two pieces. "We don't know what happened, but we were lucky, very lucky."

Maya explained the reason, "I think I can clarify that. Your ship was saved by the twin submarine sisters, Mia and Sia. They navigate inside a different space, so they can't be found by normal media. They usually attack hidden."

"Wow," the XO said, grinning to Baros, "So I was right. We were saved by the Thirteen Tribe."

"Smart ass," Baros said.

In the next two hours, they learned how the Athena had survived and about the cylon woman, Lisa. "Retirement, yes, nice dream," Baros ended his story. Adama and Tigh laughed heartily while the two girls watched and observed the crew. Gal had moved close to Adama slowly while she talked with Baros, and Maya was watching the consoles, looking so clueless. The three old men and the marines recognized that something was wrong, but they didn't know what.

It was a matter of a second, perhaps even less. Maya uppercutted a big woman in the jaw, with enough force to shatter her jaw and leave her knocked out on the floor. Everyone was on the edge now, even some marines had their weapons at hand, when Baros shouted, "Everybody stops, now, no weapons!" Every instint in Adama wanted to force him to shout orders, but it wasn't your ship and Gal had placed fastly her body between him and the cylon.

Maya looked at her new prisioner, and she said to Gal, "Gal, now that the resurrection Hub is out of commission, we can't detect their subspace personal beacons, but she was in the list of models. "Meaning we need to screen the crew to the last sailor," Gal said.

"Oh hell," Baros said, "what now?"

Alexandria Starbase, Detention Center.

As the Titanic sisters, Alex had thoundsands of mental models. The battle station was so big that just one body was insufficent and her core, one special model big as an old truck.

Maya had personally transfered, Lisa, the cylon captured in the Athena for obvious reasons. Right now, that prisoner was actually hosted in one room, so Lisa was really bored. One of the mental models was accompanying her, just in case she could access the doors remotely. The room has been remodeled, so the unusual physical strength of the cylon woman couldn't break through the door.

Lisa was currently talking to Alex-142. While Alex explained how her body was made, the poor girl couldn't start to estimate the computing power necessary to keep everything in place. In place and moving. Moving and interacting with humans. She concluded that it was impossible to calculate.

"What am I going to do when this body ceases to function?," Lisa asked. She really was afraid of permanent death. Alex felt a bit of simulated pity for the woman. "I can't answer to that, but we can solve your reproductive issues so you could have children. In this way, you can continue to exist through your children. At least, I think this is the way human beings face death. "

Lisa was considering what Alex said, trying to assimilate the facts around her. No Hub or Colony, no fleets. Taking into account what Alex told her about Zoe, she was mostly human. Her implants will not be passed to her children, but strength and intelligence, yes.

"Alex, do you know what the humans will do to me?," Lisa pondered finally. "I'm sorry, Lisa, but I don't know," Alex admitted while smiling, "but let me assure that while killing in battle is acceptable, we don't murder POWs. We have a very strict set of rules about POWs. "

Like many times lately, Lisa has adopted a fetal position and thought about her own life. Alex approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Lisa, you can see that Maya didn't kill you. She could have done it very easily, you know that. "

Lisa felt her poor skull, still sore due to certain mental model which crashed her head into the metallic floor. "I had never felt so powerless in my entire life," Lisa acknowledged. "Humans must feel in the same way with Cylons, right?," Alex said. Lisa looked back to Alex, understanding that the Earth's machines would always be loyal to the humans. "If more humanoids survived, will we be allowed to live on a planet?," Lisa asked.

"Maybe."

At the same time, happiness and anger will mix for the colonials. Britannic defolded close to Alexandria. It will be inevitable that Cain's victims will see the Pegasus. Alex agreed with the hospital ship that it would be better if she docked inside her. The excuse of a quarantine and a visit from Roslin will calm the people so the situation will be manageable.

Planet Forge. Presidential Office.

It was unusual that Adama was recalled urgently to the Big Office. He knew something was really wrong because Gal had explained him everything. The recorded confession was a complete deception for him, and he knew things would be nasty.

Tory Foster, Roslin's secretary, was there to receive him and accompany him to Roslin. She opened the door, and Adama could see that Yamato was there too. He sighed, knowing this meeting would be hard.

"Admiral Adama, it's a pleasure to meet you again," the Supreme Flagship of the Fleet greeted him. "Admiral," said Roslin. The obvious distress painted on her face was enough evidence that she already knew about Cain.

Yamato began the meeting by mentioning a simple fact, "since she is a Colonial officer, this matter relies under your jurisdiction, Ma'am, Admiral. However, we are in orbit around a Federation world, and Pegasus has a lot of dangerous weapons. I must warn you that Alex has Pegasus locked with her main beam weapons and the jump disruptor is active. If Cain turns violent or her crew reacts in the wrong way, Alex will destroy it."

Adama came into the meeting supposing something like that. The girls could look harmless and friendly, but they can change into a very lethal weapon in a second. Adama looked at Roslin and said, "Ma'am, so far we have contained the situation thanks to the quarantine inside Alexandria. After we destroy the Cylons' world, we can resolve this situation. I'm afraid we would need a military court, and it's not going to be pretty."

Roslin played with her now obsolete glasses, and she made a decision. "We can't delay this matter, Admiral. Call Cain to my office now." Adama nodded in acceptance and left.

Twenty minutes later, a Raptor landed with Admiral Cain and Lt. Shaw. Adama saluted Cain with a bit of coldness, and she understood that something was wrong. Cain and Shaw entered the Roslin office, and both had the unpleasant surprise to meet Yamato there.

After a brief exchange of formalities, Roslin sat comfortably on her wonderful chair - courtesy from Alex - and speak with a curious and atonal voice, "Admiral Cain, we found the ships you left stranded close to the Colonies. Right now, their crews are inside Alexandria."

Cain sat slowly on a chair near her desk. Her face was almost purple, and she looked close to having a stroke. Her chances not to face a firing squadron were almost none. She took her face among her hands, and she could only say, "I wanted to fight. I knew it was wrong, but I could not surrender. We couldn't disappear so easily. "

"You could have taken the crew with you, Helena," Adama said. "They opposed giving the spare parts Pegasus needed to jump. I didn't have a choice," Cain answered. In a matter of a second, she changed from victim to an angry, bitchy character. She didn't speak, just shouted, "Do you think after that bitch of Gina did to me I was going to forget them!". With her both hands clenched, almost crying in front of the President of the Colonies, she was a sorrowful sight.

"Rear Admiral Cain, as Admiral of the Fleet, I revoke your commission until a medical jury can examine whether you can be judged by a military tribunal for your acts," Adama recited the old phrase.

Everyone kept silent for a while, but Roslin broke it by saying, "There are crewmen accused of these charges, Admiral. They must be brought to the Colonial Justice, too."

Adama frowned. Laura and he exchanged looks, and Roslin added for the first time in this reunion, "Admiral Cain, I await a complete report about your actions with the civilian fleet. Pegasus's records will be handed over to a Fleet representative."

Cain seemed to relax. Adama felt he was close to a caged animal, waiting to free itself. The lack of response from Shaw, loyal to Cain to the bone, was weird, too. She knew this was going to happen, Adama thought. Right in that moment, the office door opened.

Two mental models, Roma and Montana, and Kara Thrace entered the room and waited. Cain turned to watch Adama, and she said, "Adama, what's the meaning of this! The machines are controlling you?!"

"Helena, I know you. If you go back to Pegasus, you will try to jump away from this planet. That is not a real problem, but if the cylons catch you, they will know about this planet. We can't allow that." Like Adama was afraid of, Shaw jumped against Adama with a gun in her hand and screaming , "Traitor!"

Cain didn't try to stop the girl. It was her plan from the beginning if everything went to hell. She tried to stand up, but the heavy, strong hand of Adama pushed her against the chair. He made a negative gesture with his head. Meanwhile, Roma jumped across the room and put her body in front of Shaw. She tried to backhand Roma with the gun, but it was useless. The battleship catched the gun and broke her wrist in one movement. The girl screamed because of the pain and fell on her knees.

Yamato had stood up a fraction of a second before Roma moved against Shaw. She covered Roslin while Montana and Kara did the same with Adama. Kara had a hand on her gun and made a negative gesture to Cain. No.

"Shaw, stop," Cain shouted a bit later. Shaw was on the floor, nursing a broken wrist with her still healthy hand. The high tension moment came and went in a second. Adama was fed up with this mess, and the old officer began to scream orders, "Lt. Thrace, take Admiral Cain and put her in the Galactica's brig." Then, looking at Shaw and Roma, said "can you call for medical attention for this asshole and put her in the brig too? " "Yes, Admiral. It's done", Roma said a flashing sigil later.

"What are you going to do with me?", Cain asked. She had regained her composure. Her sanity, of course, was an open debate.

"You will face a military tribunal, according to our laws," Adama said.

"Understood, " she said.

Five minutes, one of the Olympic mental models opened the door, "where is my patient?" Roma, who was still in guard duty nearby, said, "Here she is. I broke her wrist, sorry."

The girl, since she was still a girl, was crying silently because of the pain and the situation. Olympic kneeled down while she explained, "Hi, I'm your doctor. Please let me see your wrist." The senses of Olympic detected a crushed wrist bones and sent a nasty look at Roma, "what happened here? "She had a gun, and I had to stop her," Roma explained. "OK, Yamato, I need to rebuild her wrist bones inside my hull," Olympic said while she was helping Shaw to stand up.

"Understood, but she is under Colonial law right now, and she will be in the brig later," Yamato explained to Olympic. "In time, yes, but not now. Ok, come on, girl, come with me." She patted the girl on her back while she stimulated the endorphins secretion to stop the pain.

When Cain, Shaw, and Olympic left the room, Roslin only said, "more human than us."

Yamato looked at Roslin and Cain. "I know that the colonial law has precedence in this matter, but I can say she was under extreme stress. Not every human is a rock like Adama, Ma'am President. "

"You are right, but there is a very thin line that even in a war you can't cross, Yamato," Roslin said. Yamato nodded and asked Adama, "What are you going to do with the Pegasus and her crew?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I don't have the Fleet behind me to replace the guilty ones, " he said with a lost look. Thinking a moment, he said, "By now, I will put Baros in command of the Pegasus. He is a hard guy, and he can prevail in that snake nest."

"I know you are not going to like this, but a presidential pardon will be necessary," Adama said to Roslin. The President almost exploded, "Excuse me? They killed in cold blood colonial citizens."

Adama only said, "And what are you going to do. Because you are going to need a big firing squad. " Roslin understood the not so sutile reference. She pressed her hands on the desk and closed her eyes. She sighed, not wanting to cross looks with the mental model.

"Madam President, I know this is a painful matter. I will leave you alone so you can speak freely," Yamato said, and she left.

"Admiral Adama, I will extend a presidential pardon to the crew, but the marines responsible for the slaughter and the officers in the Pegasus's CIC will be prosecuted by Colonial Law," she said. "You must choose a permanent commander for the Pegasus." Adama said, "I am going to confirm Garos and her XO, Alexander, in charge of that ship. He must rebuild the command structure because I will remove all the superior officers. It will be a good chance to promote some veterans from Galactica to the Athena. I have the suspicion that the girls will try to fix the battlecruiser."

Pegasus, CIC.

The environment in the CIC was tense. A few new, young faces had appeared while the old ones were on Forge, in a jail inside the Marine's Barrack.

"Let's make a visit to hell, my friend," Baros said to his old comrade. "Well, I didn't expect this shit at my age," Alexander said, a bit wary of the venomous look of many crewmen on the landing deck. "These guys are Cain fans, ha," the XO said.

A Marine Sargeant, with two marines as escorts, walked to them. "Sir, I'm the Master Sargeant Philos. I will escort you to the Admiral Ready room.".

"Let's go Sargeant". They walked steadily through the usual maze of corridors inside a Battlestar and reached the room. "Hmm, this is an improvement, don't you think Alex?," Baros observed. "Yes, I want to find if I have a real bathroom," he commented happily.

"Sirs,?" the Sargeant asked. "Yes, son?, " Baros said to the marine. "What is going to happen to us and the Admiral?, " the man asked. They knew the crew was asking through this marine, so he answered.

"Sargeant, even if I know that you know the difference between legal and illegal orders, there are levels of responsibility. The President understood the level of stress this crew was suffering. Unfortunately, the admiral will be convicted by the killing of her captain and the civilians. She is not going to get out of this," Baros explained and added with a serious tone, "You are authorized to speak to your fellow marines but only to them, understood?

"Yes, Sir, I understand," he only said. "You are free to go, and please go to the CIC, find who is in charge there even if he or she is using diapers and bring it to me."

"Yes, Sir."

Five minutes later, a young officer with a third lieutenant pin on her shoulders asked for permission to enter. Alexander opened the hatch, finding the young officer and invited her to come in.

"Please, come in, we don't bite," Baros said in a friendly way. "Lt. Anthon, Sir," the girl said while she saluted her new superior officer. "Well, considering everything it happened, Fleet Admiral Adama put me in charge of this ship and... to rebuild this crew, " he said calmy. "Lt, when this kind of shit happens to a ship crew, you will see that everybody is a bit jumpy, scared, and distrustful of everybody and everything," he said.

Anthon felt surprised by the welcome. Well, this is not what I waited. I heard he had almost a school ship. "Yes, Commander, I understand. Are you going to rebuild the command structure?" she asked. "I will confirm some changes, and I will give field promotions and see how the things go," the Commander said. Now, bring the CIC new officers here, and let's talk. We are going to the last battle of this war in days, and we need to be ready. "

For the first time in this conversation, she showed a bit of hope in her eyes.

Akashi Repair Ship.

Local Tactical Network of Repair Ships.

Giorgios Baros didn't know why, but he felt a cold in his back. Around a round table inside a virtual workshop, ten mental models were conferencing about their new patient.

"It seems our abilities are needed again," Akashi said to her friends. "True, this an extreme case of...antiquity, " Vestal said. "We need to rebuild a lot of things, I think it will be safer for the crew if they leave the ship."

"Girls?," asked Vestal, "if we gave to Pegasus a mental model how it will be called?"

"Peggy, of course," Akashi said triumphantly.

"Ok, I will talk to Adama," Vestal said.