The Hunted (nBSG)

[Slacker]

I agree with the general opinion on Zarek over at SB-I did not like the track his character arc took in season 4. He redeemed himself over New Caprica and it should've stayed that way.

[Flameblade]

“Payment,” Mathias said in a flat voice. “We are talking about the survival of humanity and you are concerned with payment.”

“Everything and everyone has a price, Commander. That is how the universe works. To make this work you would need my freighter—but, you are liable to get her destroyed. And she is my means to leave Charon behind if I must. So, I am afraid you have nothing that I desire.”

“You know real life Admiral—everything is for sale. Everyone is for sale. The Company can offer you your own world, colonization equipment, provisions and medical supplies, education materials . . .,” he snapped his fingers, “a line of credit. And in exchange, we would only ask that we be allowed to have the exclusive rights to . . . distribute your technology. You win—you get a planet to settle, along with the protection of Weyland-Yutani and our friends in the UAA; and we win—we get a chance to get a leg up on our competitors and turn a profit, that will incidentally enough make you people rich beyond all dreams of avarice. I did mention that we would be willing to offer a royalty to you as well? Yes?”

Amusing parallel there. On the whole, I'm enjoying this fic. Before the surprise crossover, I'd have said I was enjoying it unreservedly. Now, though, the already crowded story has exploded at the seams. Plus, you've removed one of the more compelling aspects of BSG's plots, that they're the last survivors of humanity; now there's dozens of billions.

[masterarminas]

Episode 16: A New Dawn

Mathias stood as Admiral Adama came through the hatch of the brig aboard Pegasus. He saluted, but Adama just glared at him, and then turned to the guards. “Out,” he ordered.

The two guards left quietly and closed the hatch behind them and the two men—one inside the locked cell and the other outside—stood there.

“You’ve put me between a rock and a hard place, Commander Lorne,” Adama growled. “What you did was unacceptable—and by all rights I should have you stripped of your rank, your commission, and sentenced to hard labor.”

“I wonder how that will play among the Fleet—the guilty parties aboard Pegasus get a pass for their crimes, while I am broken for punching the President who kidnapped a child,” Mathias said with a narrow smile on his face.

“By the Gods, you just want to push this don’t you?”

“What I want, Admiral, is justice,” answered Mathias.

“What you want will tear this Fleet apart—and with the Guardians out there chasing us down, and the Thirteenth Tribe being so very different than some had hoped,” Adama said, “I cannot let that happen.”

Adama walked up to the control board and he unlocked the cell. Mathias raised an eyebrow and he stood there.

“So that’s it? No trial, no real punishment; just everything swept under the rug again?”

“Oh, you are going to receive a sentence, Commander Lorne—one that you will despise. Lee has given me his resignation—apparently because you put the idea in his head that he might make a good politician. That means that I need a Commander for Pegasus . . . Commander.”

“Now, just a damn minute, Admiral,” Mathias snarled.

“Save it. You don’t like how I’ve handled Pegasus and her crew? Fine. She’s yours. I am putting you in command of her effective today. Since you are likely to jettison Major Shaw from an airlock, I am sending Samantha Caldwell aboard as your XO with a promotion to Colonel, and transferring over the remaining three hundred and fifty-five officers and men from Cerberus Anchorage—you will still be undermanned, but not quite as much. You have a problem with Pegasus and her crew, Commander? Now it will be your responsibility to solve that problem.”

“What about Anubis and Scorpia?”

“I am promoting Colonel Jayne to Commander,” Adama smiled grimly. “I thought of giving him Shaw as his XO, but then he wasn’t the one who punched the President in the jaw . . . and Shaw is likely to suffer an accident onboard either Scorpia or Anubis; she’s going to Galactica. Instead, I am putting Elias Thorean in as the commanding officer aboard Anubis.”

“And if I refuse this transfer?” asked Mathias?

“Then you can rot in this cell, Commander!” Adama snapped. Then he released a deep exhale of air and his shoulders fell. “Mathias, I need you here—we may have done the Thirteenth Tribe a grave disservice by leading the Guardians to their doorstep. And for the moment, I need my best officers leading—not sitting on their ass in hack.”

“Permission to make a few transfers from Scorpia—with Commander Jayne’s approval—of course?”

“Within reason, Commander,” Adama answered.

“And I will have a free hand in ridding this Battlestar of the shame she has brought upon herself?”

“Once again, within reason, Commander,” Adama said with a sigh. “Now, if you will come with me to CIC, Commander Adama and Colonel Caldwell are waiting for the hand-over. I had Jayne box up and ship over all of your belongings, so you can start your job on this ship immediately.”

[Crayz9000]

...

This oughtta be interesting.

[Themightytom]

That is... utterly fair all things considered. Adama needed someone more experienced for Pegasus than he had available, so he made due with Lee.

Cue one year later to numbnuts plowing the Pegasus into a base star...

But in this scenario, he's got a proven competent commander who is so independent he's actually a threat to Adama's authority. Take his power base away, and bring him back in line, while resolving a troubled ship. Take the pariah who is competent but ran afoul of politics and out her somewhere that her skills can be put to use, on a ship full of people who really can't fault her for running with Zarek's movement. Put the war hero on the smaller ship to rebuild his confidence while showing faith... I love this solution, Adama wasn't that clever in the show at all

If he had been he wouldn't have let Roslin get so out of control, but you know, I think he had some blinders on with regards to her, even at the beginning.

Where's Helo going, is he staying on Galactica? What about Sharon, how does this affect fleet regs for fraternization, I feel like Sidewinder is probably going over to Pegasus too but that kind of turns Scorpia from the Center Of Action Cool New Ship, to That Other Battlestar Over There with Aurora.

[masterarminas]

Laura Roslin stepped forward to the podium on Cloud Nine. She smiled at the reporters (and the members of the Quorum who stood in the audience), but the smile did not reach her eyes. The guests from the Thirteenth Tribe had managed to repair her jaws (over the objections of Doctor Cottle!) and remove the wires that had kept her silent—their ‘bone-fusing’ gear had repaired the fractures, but she was still in desperate pain. And she was beginning to feel the first symptoms of withdrawal from the chamalla.

She and High Justice Lampkin had met earlier, along with Admiral Adama and Lee; together, the four of them had come up with a solution. Not a good solution—and she cursed Baltar, Zarek, and Lorne again silently. She had done her best . . . despite what anyone else might think of her actions, it had always been for the Fleet. But she was so tired, so very, very tired, and this solution would give her a chance to lay down her burdens for a short while.

“Thank you for coming,” she told the journalists and spectators. “Before the Quorum convenes, I have a number of announcements to make. First, as you are already aware, Vice-President Baltar has resigned from the government and withdrawn his nomination for President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. His reasons are personal, and he will address them later. I have already accepted his resignation and informed the Quorum thereof. He is present today,” she smiled at Gaius, who nodded back and gave a half-hearted smile, “and will answer your questions on that subject later.”

And he had best stick with the cover story—the Fleet will tear him apart if the truth that he let a nuclear weapon slip out of his hands and into those of terrorists emerges, she thought.

“Second, I have decided against continuing my campaign for President,” she said. And immediately the flash-bulbs began popping and reporters jumped to their feet shouting questions. Laura held out her hands and slowly, the shouted questions and exclamations of shock faded, and she smiled. “As all of you know, I have cancer. It is in remission, but for reasons of health, I—and my physicians—feel that I should concentrate on recovery, not subject to the stresses of my current post.”

And that was the second part of the solution, she thought bitterly. Lampkin had given her a choice—a way to retire in honor or publication of the entire Hera affair, along with criminal charges. The Agathon’s were furious—but between the Adamas and that meddling Lorne, they had agreed to bury the issue, if she stepped aside. Which led to the third point.

“While the elections are fast approaching, we must have a Vice-President in place. Today, I will be submitting the name of a candidate to the Quorum and ask that they confirm him as my Vice-President. Upon his being sworn into office, I will be resigning the office of the President and stepping aside.”

Utter shock resounded through the crowd—even the journalists were stunned. Laura nodded. “I have given this much thought, and selected a man whom I believe will be able to lead this Fleet. He has shown in the past principle of character, leadership ability, and the dedication to our laws to stand against Admiral Adama and Colonel Tigh when those officers have been in the wrong. He is a decorated and highly-skilled veteran of the Colonial Fleet, who earlier today resigned his commission in order to seek this office. I endorse him, not only for the post of Vice-President, but as a candidate for President in the up-coming election. His name is Lee Adama.”

The curtains to one side of the stage parted, and Lee—dressed in a business suit—marched out onto the stage and waved at the reporters with a wide smile on his face. Laura turned to face him and she took his hand, and then kissed him on the cheek. But Lee could see the cold fury in her eyes, even as she anointed him in front of the media and the Fleet.

“He will be speaking to you and the Quorum later today,” Laura continued. “But there is a fourth announcement which must be delivered at this time. I promised you—Admiral Adama promised you—a very long time ago that we would find Earth. Discover the Thirteenth Tribe. It is with relief and joy such as I cannot express in words, that today I inform you we have established contact with men and women of the Thirteenth Tribe.”

Absolute silence fell over the crowd as they literally gawked at Laura and she nodded.

“We are but one jump away from a major colony of Earth. And when we arrive there, we will be beginning negotiations with our long-lost cousins to find for the Fleet a new home. I cannot tell you everything we know at this time—but the end of our journey is drawing to a close. I have kept my promise to you; I have brought this Fleet, our family, home to Earth.”

And the resounding thunder from the crowd was as if a bomb had just gone off.

[Eternal_Freedom]

It would seem Lorne has got everything he wanted. He now has a nearly free hand to deal with Pegasus, a core of competent crew, a staunch ally in command of Scorpia and an honest man in the President's office. Decking Roslin has worked out nicely.

[Themightytom]

...a bunch of marines can heal a broken jaw with whatever portable medical supplies they had on hand, and the President is still worried about her cancer??

[Eternal_Freedom]

...a bunch of marines can heal a broken jaw with whatever portable medical supplies they had on hand, and the President is still worried about her cancer??

Her cancer was the "official" reason for stepping down. Lampkin made it clear it was that or face charges over Hera.

[Diverball]

...a bunch of marines can heal a broken jaw with whatever portable medical supplies they had on hand, and the President is still worried about her cancer??

Not exactly a fair comparison. If there were one piece of advanced medical technology that a military organisation would be willing to invest a lot of money into making highly portable, it would be a bone fuser. Besides, they went back to Sulaco to pick up the flash-teaching units - whose to say what else they packed?

[MondoMage]

If there were one piece of advanced medical technology that a military organisation would be willing to invest a lot of money into making highly portable, it would be a bone fuser. Besides, they went back to Sulaco to pick up the flash-teaching units - whose to say what else they packed?

I'm sure Burke probably had at least something to do with it... more negotiating power if they can show off their nifty little "field hospital in a box" unit. While the Marines would have heard the scuttlebutt about how bad the civilians had it, and brought the unit along to see if it would be helpful for anyone.

[masterarminas]

“This is not a happy ship, Commander,” Sam said as she took the bottle of Necrosia that Mathias offered her in his quarters.

He snorted. His quarters. The incredibly spacious suite of compartments had been designed intentionally to accommodate a Flag officer, not a ‘mere’ Commander, and his belongings had not come close to filling up the bulkheads and space. The décor was far . . . darker . . . than Mathias preferred. And he wondered: had Helena Cain had expressed here, in her private space, the darkness that lay within her soul? And did no one notice?

He sat down and took a sip from his own bottle. “No, Sam, she is most definitely not a happy ship,” he answered, and then he smiled grimly as he rubbed his aching left arm and hand. “But on the bright side, you made XO on a Mercury-class Battlestar after all, Colonel Caldwell.”

“At the tender age of thirty-one,” she answered with a smile of her own. “Only things wrong with the world at the moment are that I couldn’t kill Adar myself and this crew is seriously fracked,” and she clinked her bottle against his.

“We will get to that,” Mathis said in a grim tone. “Material status?”

“The main magazines are at sixty-five percent of capacity—point defense is at sixty-two. We have eighteen Hades in the dorsal silos, and eight-seven Hydras—eleven of them with nuclear warheads—for the four missile launchers. Fuel stores at fifty-two percent on all tanks, we have plenty of water, reserve air, and provisions. Medical is fairly well stocked and we have a good supply of spare parts,” and both of them winced as she said that because they knew where some of those parts had come from.

Sam paused, and then she continued. “Current air wing strength is eighty-four Mark VII Vipers and twenty-three Raptors—with trained pilots and ECOs. The flight crew includes almost every single trained pilot in her crew—Cain transferred as many, if not more, trained flight crew from deck assignments to the air wing to make up for her losses. In addition,” Sam continued, “there are forty of the older Mk VI Vipers and ten Raptors that we do not have pilots for—even after the raiding that Admiral Cain did of the roster.”

Mathias winced. Normally, at full-load, a Mercury-class ship carried two hundred Vipers in eight combat and two reserve squadrons, plus fifty Raptors. And at full strength she would have an additional eighty flight trained personnel assigned to various ship-board operations. Right now, his Flight Operations and LSO (Landing Signals Officers) were at the bare minimum.

“I’ve heard rumors that Admiral Adama is reorganizing the fighter squadrons,” Sam continued. And Mathias nodded.

“That one is true. Right now, across the Fleet, we have one hundred and twenty-four Mk VIIs, ninety Mk VIs, sixteen Mk IIs, sixteen Thunder Mk Is, and seventy-one Raptors; with enough pilots and ECOs to man one hundred and sixty fighters and forty Raptors,” and he shook his head.

“We—Admiral Adama and I—have sat down and there will be a complete reorganization, including revamping our fighters into sixteen-vessel squadrons. Scorpia will have two squadrons of Mk VI Vipers—the Green Goblins and the Red Arrows. Galactica will have one squadron each of Mk VII, Mk VI, and Mk II Vipers—the Gold Dragons, the Silver Shields, and the Bronze Lancers. Pegasus will have six squadrons—the Scorpia’s Blues, the Yellow Shrikes, the Orange Blazers, the White Angels, the Grey Wolves and the Blackhearts with a mix of Mk VIs, Mk VIIs, and Thunders. Aurora will carry a single squadron of Mk VIIs—the Purple Knights.”

Sam nodded. “That will give use one hundred and ninety-two fighters—we are short thirty-two pilots. And you had to tack on those names to squadrons, didn’t you?”

“Would you rather have plain names like Blue and Yellow and Orange?” Mathias said with a grin. “Adama signed off on it. As for pilots,” Mathias said with another sigh. “We are going to get them by raiding the decks of Aurora, Galactica, and Scorpia, along with survivors from Cerberus. I don’t like it, but we are going to cut the LSO and Flight Ops down to a bare minimum. We are also reorganizing the Raptors. Anubis and Aurora get four each, Scorpia and Galactica eight each, and Pegasus sixteen. That will give us fifty-four spare fighters and thirty-one spare Raptors we do not have flight crews for at this time, and will also spread out our assets across the Fleet.”

Sam nodded her agreement. “With the personnel from Cerberus, we will be at around eight-three percent of full complement—just over ninety percent outside of the air wing.”

“Good enough,” Mathias snorted. “What is your opinion of Stinger?”

“Captain Taylor?” Sam said with a wince. “He’s got a chip on his shoulder, Mat,” she answered softly. “And he is angry. Man had just made squadron commander when the attack happened, and Cain promoted him to CAG when their attack on the comm station when south. Then she sacked him, and put Thrace in command—then he went back to CAG, and then Garner sacked him, and then Lee Adama reinstated him.” She shook her head. “He’s pissed.”

“I know,” whispered Mathias. “And I can’t afford a CAG like that. He’s getting a transfer to Aurora to take command of the Purple Knights and be her CAG. Smaller ship, fewer responsibilities, and Mark has just the temperament that I think Stinger needs in a CO right now. I don’t.”

And Sam snorted her agreement. “Who are you bumping to CAG then?”

“I’m promoting Digger to Major and putting her in command. Saint will command the Blues until Hope is back up to speed with that shoulder. Hunter will be Digger’s deputy,” and Mathias shook his head. “And I’ve already spoken with Tom and Liam. We are integrating the Marine details throughout the Fleet—and formally incorporating your SMF buddies and the former army person from Caprica, Tauron, and Virgon. That will allow us to post four short companies—one each on Aurora, Galactica, Pegasus, and Scorpia, with one platoon on Anubis,” he smiled. “Liam is getting a promotion to Major and will serve as the overall Fleet Marine commander. His HQ team will be posted here on Pegasus.”

Sam smiled. “And that will let you—just by coincidence—spread out the bad apples away from Pegasus?”

“Exactly. With Liam here, I don’t think you and I have to worry about someone deciding to frag our asses late one night.”

“What about Chief Laird? And the other people that Cain impressed?” Sam asked sourly.

Mathias took a deep pull of his beer. “I spoke to Laird and the others—I let them know that we gave their loved ones a proper funeral service,” he said quietly. “This is all they have left, Sam. If they want to stay—they are welcome. I’m not going to throw them overboard with the trash.”

“So what are we going to do about the trash? Sir?” Sam asked just as quietly.

“We are going to roll up our sleeves and kick this Battlestar in the ass until they start behaving like the Colonial Fleet again, Sam,” he slid a note pad across the table. “That should be a good start. Right?” and he smiled.

Sam scanned over the piece of paper and she snorted.

“Action stations drill at 0215? Two hours of PT for all off-watch personnel at 0500? Full shipboard inspection beginning at 0800? Commander, they are going to hate you.”

“It comes with the job, XO. Are you up to kicking some ass and taking names?”

“Damn straight, Sir.”

[masterarminas]

“Thank you for coming here, Madame Ripley,” said Admiral Adama and he waved a hand at one of the stuffed chairs in his quarters.

“Just Ripley, Admiral,” Ellen said with a laugh as she took a seat. “What do you want?”

Adama sat down and he examined her. And then he nodded. “You are the one that I cannot fathom. Burke, I know well his kind. Newt is a child that you rescued. The rest are Marines—there is little difference at their core between them and my own. But you? What is your story? Why are you here?”

“Oh, Admiral. Do you have a few hours? Long story short, I was on a ship that was diverted to LV-426 by the Company—under the excuse of a distress signal. We were the first ones who found the xenomorphs—and everyone except me died. My escape pod malfunctioned and I spent fifty-seven years in cold sleep. To find out that they had put a colony there and no one believed my story. Except Burke, who sent out a message for the colonists to investigate “abnormal mineral core samples” from the location of the derelict ship. He sent them there, he didn’t warn them, he didn’t tell what to expect—and when they lost contact with Acheron, he came to me for help as a consultant.”

“I am aware of that—but the Marines seem to defer to you: why?” Adama growled.

Ripley paused, and she stared at Adama for a moment. “I was the second-officer on the freight—a certified pilot. I took charge when someone had to—they respect that.”

Adama nodded. “So do I, Ripley. I’ve got a problem with your Mister Burke. The man is trying to make deals with ships in this Fleet—trying to basically steal our technology and keep all but a small fraction of us from ever benefiting.” He paused. “I am not going to let that happen.”

Her eyes turned flashed with heat and then turned ice-cold. And then she sighed. “He sees dollar signs and profit margins, and nothing else matters to him. I’ll make sure he isn’t a problem.”

“I don’t want him dead, Ripley,” Adama said quietly—suddenly realizing that this woman was probably the most dangerous of his guests.

“No, that would be bad for all of us. I will make certain he isn’t a problem.”

Adama nodded again. “Will that make a problem for you?”

Ripley laughed. “My life is nothing but problems, Admiral. I’ll live.”

[MondoMage]

I really like how Ripley is coming across. Not quite the badass she was in the later movies, but she didn't go through the whole "saving Newt" operation. But there's still that iron in her... Burke better watch out. Lots of accidents can happen, accidents that might not be deadly, but still more than capable of putting him out of commission for quite a long time. Add to that the fact that Adama is aware of what he's up to, and even Zarek is unhappy about it, and Burke has put himself in a bad position and probably doesn't even realize it.

Of course, it may be as simple as letting people know that he essentially got an entire colony killed due to his greed. They might not be quite so open to his offer if they think that they might be next on the chopping block.

[masterarminas]

Tamara Mayne looked up as the visitor to the surgery stopped at her bed. And she smiled. “Hello, Hamish,” she said.

“Leftenant Mayne,” he replied as he clicked his heels together and gave a slight bow. And then he looked over his shoulder and leaned close to the bed. “Doctor Bako wouldn’t approve—medical diet and all that nonsense—but since your wounds are on your legs, here,” he whispered and held out a box.

Tamara cocked an eyebrow and she cracked it open—and she grinned. Virgon confectioneries! “How?”

“I had a couple of boxes stashed away, Leftenant. Speaking of those legs of yours, how are they?”

Her grin vanished, but then she nodded. “With all the morpha as they have pumped into me, I can’t feel a thing. But Jester got the acid neutralizer on me quick enough that I still have legs,” she whispered. “Burns will heal, but at least I still have flesh and skin to heal,” and a look of sadness passed over her face. “They won’t be pretty to look at anymore, but I’ll have them. And that’s something.”

Hamish nodded and he sat down on the edge of her bed. “That it is, Leftenant. So, you will remain able to stay in the Corps?”

“Captain—Major!,” she corrected with a grin, “Aisne has already told me that he wants me in command of a platoon on Pegasus.”

The Prince smiled. “Pegasus, eh? That means we are no longer officers aboard the same ship, Leftenant Mayne.”

She leaned back and smiled. “No, I reckon we’re not.”

“Good. I was willing to go to the brig for your affection, but now I do not have to,” and he leaned down and kissed her—a kiss that she returned.

****************************************************

Carter J. Burke opened the hatch and stepped into the berth on Galactica that had been cleared to make space for Terrans.

“Man o man, this stuff is great!” said Hudson as he held a steaming cup in his hands, lowering it from his lips. “What do they call it?”

“Damn if I know,” Hicks said after he took a sip of his own and made a sigh of pleasure. “Damn, that is good.”

“What’s that?” asked Burke as he caught the strong scent that was faintly reminiscent of a sweetened coffee—with caramel?

“Just one of their native drinks,” said Gorman. “That pilot was telling me they have the seeds to these trees in storage—this will be a major sensation,” and he took a long pull from his cup.

“Want to try one, Burke?” asked Ripley, holding her own mug.

“Sure,” the exec said. Ripley unscrewed a thermos and steam rose and she poured a dark and milky liquid into a cup.

Burke took it and he inhaled and it was heaven—sweet, hot, and with just the right amount of bitters. And a sizeable caffeine load, that immediately satisfied his need for coffee. He took an exploratory sip and he sighed. “This is . . . they have the seeds to grow what goes in this?”

Vasquez snorted. “Just like Gorman said, man; the Corps is going to ape over this if we can get a contract.”

“The Corps might not be able to afford this—this is the type of product that becomes a luxury good real fast. You know,” he said as he took another sip, “I think this whole expedition is going to be extremely profitable.”

“You would think about that, Burke. And not about the lives of these people fleeing before rampaging monsters that are about to overrun your colonies,” said Ripley.

“We took insurance on them,” Burke answered with a laugh and then he staggered. “Whoa, this packs a punch too,” he swayed and dropped the mug and then smashed face-first to the deck.

“How long will he be out, Hicks?” Ripley asked.

“With that dose? Burke-the-Jerk will be sleeping for the next seventy-two hours,” Hicks answered as he poured the doped liquid down the drain—and brought out the clean thermos. “Refill?”

“Sure,” said Vasquez.

“Right on,” answered Hudson.

“I think I will,” laughed Gorman.

“Aren’t we going to get him in his bunk?” asked Ripley. “I mean, I don’t mind leaving him passed out on the floor—but he is a trip hazard.”

“Give me a hand, Hudson,” Hicks ordered and the two of them picked up Burke and threw him into his bunk.

“Seventy-two long enough, Ripley?”

“I hope so,” she said. “At least it will slow things down. And can I get another cup?”

[MondoMage]

Ha! I love it! Trip hazard, indeed.

[masterarminas]

Rear Admiral Jenna Hayes pursed her lips as she considered the extremely large fleet of ships centered in the projection. Seventy-five ships in total. She shook her head in disbelief—it was unprecedented. There had been no warning, no hyper-space distortion, just a gamma-ray burst when each ship had arrived in the star system named Beowulf.

And then she grimaced at the other icons. Beowulf was a divided system, after all. Her own United Americas Alliance held claim to one continent, the Three Worlds Empire to the second, and the China-Asia Congress to the third. And none exactly trusted the other—which was why all three had a naval station here and complied with the long-standing tradition of limiting the ships on station.

Like the UAA and TWE, Rear Admiral Zheng Bao of the CAC had five ships under his command—including the single largest in Beowulf at the moment, the Wanli Changcheng-class Battleship Changzheng. One of the oldest ships in the CAC fleet, Changzheng was still one of the largest dedicated warships ever constructed—and her four escorting Mutsu-class Destroyers were all modern designs, even if they were far smaller. Chakri Narubet, Dae Jo-yeong, Martadinata, and Nagato were excellent ships, although they were too small to carry strike craft or Marines. Of course, the CAC didn’t rely on strike craft nearly as much as the UAA—or even the TWE.

Commodore Sir Edward Morton commanded the Royal Space Command detachement for the Three Worlds Empire. As usual for the TWE, they hadn’t sent any especially large ships, but Morton had at his disposal the Warrior-class Heavy Cruisers Rodney and Southern Cross, escorted by the Indomitable-class Frigates Courageous and Dauntless and the lonely Cape Town-class Destroyer Montreal. As was TWE practice, each of the cruisers and frigates carries a single squadron of strike fighters, giving Morton’s Force B excellent reach and striking power—and while smaller in scale than the CAC’s Changzheng, Rodney and Southern Cross packed in their hulls a punch that could not be ignored.

And that left only Jenna’s own Task Group 23, built around her flagship—the America-class Strike Carrier Constellation. Nearly as large as the Changzheng, Constellation was no heavily armored and gunned dreadnought, but instead carried six squadrons of strike craft in her massive bays. For close and distant escort, she relied on her escorting cruisers—the Simon Bolivar-class Franklin and Randolph—and destroyers—the Helena class Asuncion and New Orleans.

Now, all three of the naval detachments had hastily undocked from their respective stations and closed up—weapons manned and strike craft crewed. Which, Jenna thought with a sigh, means that they probably weren’t expecting this either.

“Admiral?”

“Yes,” Jenna turned to face the comm officer.

“Sir Edward is asking to speak with you,” he answered.

“On speaker,” she ordered. Unofficially, the UAA and TWE often worked together—but they had fought two wars in recent memory over the Dominion of Canada. Short wars, almost immediately forgotten save by those who fought and the families of those who died.

“Admiral Hayes,” the crisp accented voice came over the speaker. “This is certainly exciting—or were you expecting such a convoy? Bao assures me that he was not.”

“Nor am I, Sir Edward,” she answered. “Were you?”

“My dear, if the Empire had seventy plus additional ships at our disposal we would be Thirty Worlds Empire,” and she could see that aristocratic twits mustache twitch with his smile in her mind’s eyes.

“Well, they aren’t mine, they aren’t Bao’s, and they aren’t yours—so who are they?”

“Whom, my dear. Whom are they, indeed? I believe that perhaps we should work togeth- . . .,” but he was interrupted in mid-word.

“Ma’am! We are receiving a transmission from the unknown vessels!”

“On speaker,” she barked and took her seat on the command deck of her flagship.

“Earth vessels, this is Admiral William Adama of the Battlestar Galactica. We are escorting a fleet of civilian vessels that represent the sole survivors of our civilization—a human civilization long separate from Earth. We wish to negotiate with your governments for a world where we may settle—our enemies pursue us and they will soon find you. I will hold my current position until your reply. We mean you no harm and wish to begin negotiations as soon as possible. Adama out.”

Hayes squinted her eyes at the display. “Are they holding position?”

“Yes, Admiral,” an officer answered, and then he looked back up. “Ma’am, we confirm the presence of the alien vessel Sulaco encountered in their formation.”

“Same class?”

“Same vessel, Admiral—all emissions match 100%,” the officer replied in disbelief.

A disbelief that Jenna Hayes shared. She had reviewed the report of Lieutenant Gorman—but there had been no answer to her follow-up request; indeed, they had received a second report even as her request was en route, that they were under attack and taking refuge on the alien fleet, sending back Sulaco on automatics. For that same ship—no two vessels had identical emissions—to be here was flatly impossible. Unless . . . Gorman’s report had mentioned a claim of exceptional FTL capabilities; and he had insisted that his hosts were human.

“Comm. Send a reply,” she said.

“Galactica, this is United Americas Alliance Ship Constellation. Hold your position and we will inform our governments. Do you have one of my officers onboard?”

There was a pause. And then a voice came over the comm. “Lieutenant William Gorman, reporting Admiral Hayes,” and he recited his serial number and the proper authentication code.

“I cannot wait for this report, Lieutenant,” Jenna broadcast. “Inform your host that he is to hold his position. We will contact you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Admiral,” the harried comm officer said as he looked up. “Both Admiral Bao and Sir Edward are hailing us—and they have charged weapons.”

Jenna winced. “Tie both of them in—let’s defuse this while we can,” she said and she carefully thought about just how to do that.

[declan]

I think I would have liked to have one of those viper squadrons named silver spar squadron

Declan

[MondoMage]

Looks like the Cylons are going to experience more of a welcoming committee than they're probably expecting, should they choose to arrive in-system. We've seen how the Sulaco faired... now we get to see how the Earth warships do. Assuming they don't start shooting at each other first. Which, of course, would be a wonderful time for the Cylons to show up!

[masterarminas]

This is the basic breakdown of the Earth nations (in my view of the Aliens-verse for this story, not canon):

United Americas Alliance: All of South America (except Brazil), Central America, Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, and North America south of Canada.

Three Worlds Empire: England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Falkland/South Georgia Islands, Maldives Islands

China-Asian Congress: China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Philippine Islands, all Asian/Pacific Island nations not previously mentioned.

Soviet Pact: Russia, Ukraine, Modolva, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Alaska

Federated European Union: Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iceland, Greenland, Brazil, Azores Islands, Canary Islands

Pan-African Assembly: All of Africa not previously mentioned (including Egypt and the arab north coast).

Persian-Arabian Caliphate: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Yemen, Syria

MA

[Crayz9000]

Is there any reason it's the Three Worlds Empire instead of just The Commonwealth? After all, that's what it's known as today, and adding more planets and/or continents to that wouldn't force them to change the name every time they add territory...

[Eternal_Freedom]

Three Worlds Empire sounds better, plus it implies the constituent nations are much more closely linked than the Commonwealth of today. Presumably they have significant holdings on two other worlds and numerous minor colines elsewhere.

How did the Soviet Pact manage to swipe Alaska?

[Vianca]

Nice clusterfuck.

Does the Colonial RTF contain the BioCylons theirs ships as well?
Would be funny if another RTF jumps in, one with a anchorage or some other (big) station.

[LadyTevar]

Nice to see Burke is going to miss all the excitement.

[masterarminas]

Just an update: I may not be so prolific in the days to come. I have an interview for a new job on Friday morning which I found out about earlier today. So no writing so far today as I am getting my stuff in order and preparing for the meeting.

But I will have an update soon.

MA