Chapter 23 - The Fall part 6

TN:- There might be a delay of a few days for the next part as work is taking up a lot of my time in the next few days so might delay the release of the next part so please be a bit patient

Picon - Underneath in What's Left of Fleet Command Bunker - 14 Hours Into Attack

Admiral Corman was just informed about the discovery of a rescue team at the entrance to the emergency tunnel. He knew who was likely to have sent them but decided to wait on making any decisions till he had met with the team leader who was being escorted in at the moment.

He is still stuck in bed at the moment as he tried standing but he became dizzy so he decided to listen to the nurse and wait but he was still working as officers and staff came in and out looking for his decision about what to do. It was because of this that the nurse requested (Told him) for him to move to a room nearby where she can still monitor him but he wouldn't disturb the other patients.

So he was lying on his bed when there was a knock on the door. "Yes." He answered. The door opened and in walked 5 people, Major Lewis was leading the group and he was joined by 2 marine guards and the Sergeant that Corman knew led the top side scouting mission. The last person was someone he didn't know and going by how he is dressed he must be the Leader of the team they encountered top side as he was equipped like a standard marine but looking closer you would notice a few differences such as he had a more streamlined body armor which looked easier to move in that what the marines were wearing.

"Sir, I'd like to introduce Staff Sergeant Clemens from Kronus security." Major Lewis indicated to the Sergeant who snapped to attention and saluted. "He was sent by your daughter to see if anyone survived the attack on Picon HQ and was given directions to the exit hidden in the mountains."

Admiral Corman looked between the Major and Sergeant and said. "Well not that I'm not happy you're here but how did Louise know where the exit was?" He was worried that the location had leaked and would later lead the Cylons here.

Sergeant Clemens answered. "From what I understand Admiral Kosta had several contingencies put into place if certain things happened and the location of the exit was sealed into one of them at waypoint Alpha in the case that the HQ was attacked and destroyed." He then decided to add some more information. "As of 6 hours ago your daughter was safe at Waypoint Alpha directing efforts across the colonies and asked us to come here after securing the VIP we were sent to extract."

Admiral Corman looked at him and asked. "What VIPs are you on about?"

Sgt Clemens replied. "Well I cant for certain say for sure who all the targets were for extraction but from my understanding they were experts in their area of knowledge and are crucial for the future of the colonies and their chances at rebuilding and progressing as a people." He didn't want to give out too much information as he wasn't sure who to trust.

Admiral Corman nodded and agreed with Leo's decision about saving those special people as he knew Leo wasn't planning to stay with the colonials and that he already had his own specialists on his colony so for Leo to commit people to save the colonials experts said a lot about who he is as a person. "Ok well you're here and found survivors. What is the plan going forward as I imagine it's going to be difficult to evacuate the planet."

They all looked to Sgt Clemens when that question was asked as none of them wanted to stay here long term. "Well first of all we need to know how many people and what medical aid is needed. Then we need to work out what we are taking with us and what we are leaving." He then paused and looked at the Admiral. "Lastly we need to work out how we are going to distract the Cylons as we do have stealth craft but even stealth craft leave trails when entering the atmosphere and the Cylons won't miss that unless their attention is drawn somewhere else."

They all listened intently as he spoke and when he was done they realized this wasn't going to be easy so Admiral Corman took charge and started to assign orders. "Ok so we have a lot of work to do. Sgt Clemens I would like for you and your team to secure the cabin and the area around it as that is our only way out and the fact that you got here without getting caught means you know what you're doing so that would be where your skills would be best used." Sgt Clemens nodded and left to do what was asked followed by one of the marine guards. "Major, I want you to get a confirmed list of survivors and any medical needs we have ready to be sent during the next transmission. Once that is done I want you to gather the server hard drives and pack them safely and securely to be moved with us as they have all our collected military knowledge including experimental designs."

The Major saluted and when dismissed left the room with the marine sergeant to get to work and the marine guard went back to guarding the room while the Admiral went back to going over plans in his head and making notes of what they would need to take and what they could leave.

Ragnar Anchorage Conference Room - 15 Hours Into Attack

Leo was just entering the meeting room with the President as they needed to have a real discussion on what they were going to do. "Good evening Madam President."

"Good evening Admiral." She replied politely.

Leo sat down opposite her and pulled out a file and handed it to the President. "That file contains a list of ships and an estimate of how many people are on each ship. At the moment we have a preliminary estimate of 150,000 survivors and that number is likely to grow as we save others and meet up with other surviving ships. Also you need to take into account the 250,000 people currently in the colonial colony of New Haven."

Laura Roslin was not what you would call a politician as she was secretary of education and accepted the post as she was dedicated to improving the education system of the colonies and the welfare of the teachers. "So at best estimate we have close to half a million people from a population of 17 billion."

Leo decided that to keep things cordial with the colonials when they leave in a few days and meet up with the Alteran ships she needed to know now so that she can be prepared. "Also there is something else you should know. This is something Admiral Corman knows and is part of what has made it possible for the fleet to build the colony so far away." He waited a few seconds to let that comment settle. "The colonial colony was built a few dozen light years away from New Altera. New Altera is a colony that was built by me and my family that would be independent from the colonial Government and would not answer to you or any future president. What you need to know is that as soon as we rescue Admiral Corman and his staff and we have made it outside the colonial system I will be leaving colonial service to take up command of my colony's forces going forward."

To say the President was shocked was an understatement of epic proportions. "So you're telling me that you were planning to rebel against the colonial government." She said with heat in her voice.

Leo looked at her and didn't flinch from her anger and replied. "New Altera has never been or will ever be under the purview of the colonial government as without my ships you would never get anywhere near my colony without spending half a decade making jumps and that is even if you knew where it was." He then took a breath and continued. "Now if you are willing to listen I will explain how this colony came about."

She took a breath and nodded although you could see she still wasn't happy so Leo continued anyway. "New Altera came about as both myself and my family was fed up with both the discrimination and corruption that has seeped into the colonies since the Cylon war and we decided that we would leave and take those with the same mind set with us to start a fresh and build something our ancestors would be proud of." Leo slipped in a mention of their ancestors without actually explaining what he meant. "The plan was that I would serve until I reached 40 years old and then retire and go and lead the colony and we would build up a civilisation of inclusivity that would judge people on their achievements rather than their race or where they are from."

At that explanation Laura started to calm down and he decided to add in a few titbits of information to help. "What you don't know is that Admiral Corman and Nagala knew about my plans and agreed with them. Their support is what led to me helping them set up New Haven as a fall back as they predicted this especially after the whole Valkyrie debacle. What they did not predict was it would happen so soon as plans were for them to spend the next 5 years moving a few million people to New Haven along with infrastructure to build fleet ships and defenses."

President Roslin looked Leo in the eye and then looked away and remained silent for a good ten minutes before she said something. "Well I guess I can't do anything that will stop you and the last thing we need is another enemy which I imagine will happen if I have you arrested." Leo nodded at that. "Ok then let's get down to what we are going to do to save more people."

"Well I have some good news. One of my scout ships has spotted a marine expeditionary fleet which we have matched with the 5th division who number at around 10,000 marines and another 10-15,000 crew for the ships that are with them. They were apparently doing zero-g training and were in empty space between the colonies when the attacks happened and managed to avoid being caught by any Cylon forces."

Laura was glad she had some good nest to go with all the shocks she has received in this meeting so far. "Where are they and can we get them here?" She was desperate to save more people and improve the morale of the people of the fleet.

Leo smiled and answered. "They were a few jumps away and from what my scout said they looked to be heading in this direction. If they follow on and don't encounter any trouble they could be here in the next 2 hours at the earliest as that would involve overclocking the jump drives like everyone else has been doing to escape the Cylons." After saying that Leo was reminded of a crucial piece of info he hasn't mentioned yet. "That reminds me, I will have my tech's and mechanics go through the fleet to assess their jump drives before we even think of leaving as they have all been over taxed and I wouldn't want them to fail when they are needed most."

Laura agreed with that as she understands that everyone has been pushing their limits and the limits of their ships just to survive the last 12 hours and they can't afford to lose anyone else going forward. "That's fine and while some may be unhappy with having their ships boarded they would rather survive what's coming."

Leo nodded and they spent the next 30 minutes going over the small details of what they needed to do to get away safely and not have to worry about being followed by the Cylons. They even broached the subject of Leo declaring martial law but Roslin agreed that for at least the immediate future the needs of the whole outweigh the needs of the individual. After 30 minutes they both left to go back to their duties.

Marine Expeditionary Force - 1 Jump From Ragnar Anchorage - 18 Hours Into Attack

General was tired and stressed but couldn't afford to rest as he directed his forces on their journey to Ragnar. They have already had to abandon one of the supply ships after transferring the crew and as much of the supplies starting with the essentials as possible. When it happened he cursed up a storm as they didn't know when they would be able to resupply and they couldn't afford to abandon a ship that they wouldn't be able to replace easily. The problem that happened was that the primary energizer of the ship overheated and pretty much melted in its housing.

He was just thinking over if they would have time to send a ship back to get the rest of the supplies once they make it to Ragnar and find the Galactica. "Sir, Raptors report the area is clear and it's safe to jump." Reported the Comm officer.

General Ferguson looked at the dradis screen then picked up the receiver and spoke. "Raptor 233, Are you certain there is no activity in the area?" He hated second guessing his men but he needed to make sure as they were so close to finding other survivors.

"Yes, Sir there was no signs of activity in the area but sensors couldn't penetrate the radiation of Ragnar itself." Replied the Raptor ECO.

Once he heard the reply General Ferguson took a minute to think about their options but decided they didn't really have a choice. "Raptor 233, I want you to jump back to our target coordinates and maintain minimum electronic emissions and watch the area and if anything happens then jump back and warn us as we will be jumping in 20 minutes."

"Roger that, Raptor 233 out" Then the channel went dead as the raptor cut the line and jumped out a few minutes later.

The General then turned to his ship's Colonel and started giving orders. "Colonel, I want all ships FTL's spun up and ready to jump in 20 minutes, I also want all ships to have coordinates for an emergency rendezvous just as a precaution."

"Yes, Sir, I will get right on it." Replied the Colonel.

20 Minutes Later

Outside Ragnar just short of 2 dozen ships appeared in a flash of light and vipers were launched from the Gunstars and took up position to defend the convoy from anything that could appear.

"Sir, Area is confirmed clear and reports from Raptor 233 have confirmed no activity in the last 20 minutes." Reported the Colonel.

The Admiral was about to reply when more than a dozen new contacts appeared on the dradis. He picked up the receiver and issued orders to the fleet. "Set Condition one, Launch alert vipers."

It was a long half a minute when the dradis officer reported. "Getting friendly IFF's, Contacts registered under Kronus security." He was relieved to see friendly forces even if they weren't Colonial fleet.

The General turned to the comms officer. "Get me ship to ship to whoever is leading that fleet."

"Yes, Sir" The comm officer then spent a few minutes getting in touch with the other fleet and confirming identities and such. "Sir, Admiral Stokes of Kronus security fleet operations on the line."

"Thank you Lieutenant." He then picked up a headset and put it on and started talking into the mic. "Admiral Stokes, this is General Ferguson of Colonial Marines. It's good to know where not all that's left."

There was a little static before he heard a reply. "That it is general, Though i think you would be glad to hear that more than just us have survived the clash over Virgon." His words confused the general. "I think we should enter the tunnel before any enemy scouts spot us. If you go first with our civilians we will cover your rear."

The General thought it over and realized that the admiral was in a better position to defend them if the enemy turned up and replied. "Yes, that is acceptable. we will take the lead just have your civilians follow in our wake."

They then spent the next 10 minutes moving towards the tunnel and forming a line of ships to enter the tunnel when the comm officer spoke up. "Sir we are receiving a Friend or foe challenge from inside the tunnel."

The general thought it over and figured Adama left a raptor at the entrance to keep an eye on the space outside Ragnar. "Send the proper response." He didn't want to mess around as they were lucky that they had not been set upon until now so didn't want to tempt fate more than necessary.

It was a minute or two and the comm officer reported. "They have accepted our identification and have directed us down the tunnel to receive orders on the other end."

The general nodded and ordered the helm to follow the directions. It took them 10 minutes to traverse the tunnel and he was shocked to see so many ships floating in the area around the station that he had to be asked twice for orders from his comm officer. "Sir, We are receiving directions to anchor our ships and you have received a request to go to the station to meet the President and Admiral Kosta of the fleet."

The General recovered and nodded and ordered. "Follow the instructions and prepare a raptor for me to go to the station." He then started walking to the hatch of the CIC. "Colonel you have command, Stand the men down and rotate the crew as we have had a long 12 hours and they need some rest."

"Yes, Sir and good luck." The colonel replied.

Outside Ragnar Anchorage

Just as the last Cruiser entered the tunnel a Cylon fleet jumped in composed of 8 Base ships and started launching raiders. They didn't follow the fleet down the tunnel but took up station around the exit and waited as they knew that there was no other way out.

Aboard The Secondary Command Base Ship

John was not happy that he had to resurrect again and lost his main Command ship in a battle that should have been easier and more in their own favor. "What do we have on dradis?"

The Three that was operating the sensors through the Gel interface replied. "Well we can confirm there are some ships in there but all we caught was a signal from a single cruiser when we jumped in."

John was fuming that they again missed their targets after several missed opportunities to hit other leftover ships from the initial attacks. Plus there were those reports of ghost contacts that just disappeared before they could close in on them as they didn't know what they were seeing as there was no energy spike suggesting they jumped away they just disappeared.

He then turned to the Four who stood next to him. "What about of agents in the fleet of civilians and Galactica."

The Four looked around as it was looking for a way to escape and realized there wasn't anyway to get through this unscathed. "We have lost all contact with them and the Two that were on the station but we expected that from the interference of the radiation. I am more worried that the radiation might have interfered with their ability to resurrect which is troubling in itself."

John stared at the Four before he looked back towards the screen showing outside and said. "Well there is only one way in or out so we stay here and wait for them."

Just as he finished saying that a Five walked in and said. "John we have received reports from the colony that there have been attacks on our shipyards and tylium mines."

John stopped what he was doing and shouted. "WHAT!"

The Five looked at him and continued. "According to reports two battlegroups of battlestars attacked both our primary shipyard and our main tylium production base and destroyed both." He then paused for a minute before continuing while oblivious to John staring at him with enough hate and anger that it would scare off a Crazed Lion. "The shipyards are severely damaged and will take months if not years to get back to the same production levels as before. The Tylium Facility is a total loss as the One commanding the reinforcement fleet launched a wave of nukes at the colonial ships but they jumped and the nukes hit the planet destroying it as well as the fleet of ships sent there to help."

At this point John was all but growling and you could almost see the waves of anger radiating from him. "So we lost our production facility and our reserve's of tylium. How many ships did we lose." He asked.

The Five looked at him and answered. "We lost 6 Base ships with the Tylium Facility and have 4 more severely damaged." He then walked up to the Gel and placed his hands in there as he received an alert of another report. After 5 minutes in which John stared a hole into his head. "We just got a report from Steven, According to this Kronus security fleet and the people on the mining site have escaped but not before destroying 3 and damaging another base ship."

That was the last straw for John and he pulled out a pistol and shot the five in the back of the head and started screaming. "WHY IS EVERYONE SO INCOMPETENT, CAN THEY DO ANYTHING RIGHT." He spent the next 30 minutes screaming murder before he calmed down enough to give out orders. "Leave 2 Base ships here and the rest will follow us and secure what's left of our supply line. Have 2 base ships stationed above each colony while the rest will hunt down any ships reported by the raiders and find out where those battlestar groups came from or so help me I will box every one of your models." He then stormed out of the CIC and down the hallway.