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Post by ajmarks on Oct 5, 2009 8:23:15 GMT -5
Troy walked into the rec room needing to unwind for a few minutes after the last couple of hours. Being the Colonel of a battlestar had a different set of rules. He'd been working even more since his promotion, but he also seemed to be able to get things done. He really was more like commander of the Argo, while Ares was fleet commander. He had a moment of relief now that the fleet had arrived back at the Colonies.
"There you are, thought for a second I was going to have to come up to the bridge," Bri's voice said.
Troy half smiled before flopping down next to his wife. "Ugh, command sucks sometimes. Too much paperwork."
"Hey, we've got paperwork as well," Nall replied.
"Yeah, but who do you think receives it, reviews it and write the condensed report for the commander," Troy said. "Though overall, we did pretty well, lost a dozen vipers, which was less than some of the other battlestars. And one destroyer, along with damage to two others, two cruisers, the Pegasus was damaged again, and the Richelieu took some damage. Her armor really held up well."
"I think we can take some credit for that," Nall said. "After all we're the ones who fired the first attack, damaging some of their weapon systems."
"Yeah, you did, probably saved several ships," Troy said. "The major mission was accomplished there, though I think Ares really wanted to destroy all the Cylon ships there."
"WE needed a better plan for that," Bri replied.
"No time, he wanted to take advantage of the situation at the Cylon homeworld," Troy said, suddenly remembering what he heard on the bridge from Commander Adama. "We know who the new Imperious Leader is."
"I've heard some rumors," Bri said. "One is really far-fetched, they are saying Baltar is the new Imperious Leader, how bizarre."
"Well, truth is stranger than fiction," Troy said with a small shrug. "Besides, that rumor is the right one."
He watched two jaws drop in shock at his statement.
"Hey, I guess you just told them," a new voice said. Troy looked up to see Rebecca sit down next to Nall. "Close your mouth dear, someone might think you're drooling."
Troy suddenly started laughing at that statement, especially when she pushed Nall's chin up.
"Very funny," Nall finally said, recovering enough to speak again.
"It's true then, Baltar is the Imperious Leader? But, um, how?" Bri said.
"No idea," Troy said. "The only thing Ares and I could come up with is the Cylons are crumbling, their narrow programming is faltering somehow."
"Have they ever had a civil war?" Rebecca asked.
"Well, um, don't know. Surveillance on the homeworld was hard to come by," Nall finally said.
"It's possible they've done it before and we've never noticed," Troy said.
"So this behavior of overturning the leader when losing might be programmed in somehow," Rebecca said. "We don't know, and I doubt you've captured an Imperious Leader to study his programming."
"She's right," Bri said. "We know only so much about that, and most of that comes from the Centurions, and a few captured IL series Cylons."
"This stealth metal has allowed us a big advantage that much is for sure. We've never had the advantage of knowing where the Cylons were, how many ships they had, or even what they were doing behind their lines," Troy said.
"That's the truth," another voice said. Troy noticed Jax and Boomer standing there. The group moved slightly allowing them in.
"Thought you were on the Galactica?" Troy said, to Boomer.
"Was, volunteered to pilot the commander's shuttle over," Boomer said.
Troy didn't have to wonder why he volunteered. He knew it had to be because of Jax. The two of them had rekindled their relationship and it appeared to be going quite strong.
"How are Starbuck and Apollo?" Troy asked, hearing a laugh.
"Well, Cassie, Starbuck's girlfriend, is pushing for a sealing ceremony, Starbuck is being his normal self, afraid of commitment. As for Apollo, he's his normal self, and Sheba appears to making progress with Apollo. I think after Serina he thought he was unlucky in love," Boomer said.
"Hey, you talking about us," Starbuck's voice said.
"Yes, you're not here, so why not," Boomer said.
"Ha-ha," Starbuck said sitting down. "I'll have you know that Cassie and I are just fine, and no pressure from her for a sealing ceremony."
"So her dropping about a hundred hints yesterday wasn't pressure," Boomer said, laughing.
"No, pressure is when Athena starts asking when we're going to be sealed," Starbuck stated.
"So you are being pressured," Nall said. "Taking it from someone who is probably very much like you, it will change your life."
"I wouldn't say very much like you," Jax said. "After all, I never heard any stories about Starbuck wanting to do a threesome with both Athena and Cassie."
"All right, you win," Nall said. "I couldn't help it."
"And now you know better, at least if you know what's good for you," Rebecca said, causing Troy to laugh again.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 7, 2009 8:45:47 GMT -5
Baltar looked out on his new empire. He had done it, something he knew no one else would have ever imagined. A human taking over the Cylon Empire, and he finally had the power for revenge on Adama.
"Report Lucifer," Baltar said. He had kept Lucifer in the position of advisor to him, elevating the IL series Cylon's position in the empire.
"By your command Imperious Leader," Lucifer said. "All commanders have recognized you as Imperious Leader."
"And the dockyard?" Baltar said.
"Unfortunately it was destroyed in the battle, along with the new improved basestar," Lucifer said.
"They knew, somehow they knew we were occupied," Baltar said. "What about the other dockyards?"
"All are operating as normal, though they are further away from the mines," Lucifer replied.
"Increase the patrols along the mine routes, that will be their next target," Baltar said.
"Are you sure, they might come after the other dockyards," Lucifer said.
"No, the dockyards are useless if there's no material," Baltar said.
"A wise decision, but leaving such facilities operational is logically dangerous," Lucifer said.
"And that's why I'm the Imperious Leader," Baltar replied. "What of the attack, anything unusual?"
"Reports are one battlestar took on the improved basestar and defeated it," Baltar said.
"It wasn't cloaked or anything like that?" Baltar asked.
"No."
"Interesting, what are you planning Adama," Baltar said. "Leave me, I have to think."
"By your command Imperious Leader," Lucifer said, bowing before leaving.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 8, 2009 8:11:20 GMT -5
Ares glanced around the group of commanders who listened in to the damage done to the fleet in the last battle. Even President Chin, along with the President-elect, Osla, a beady-eyed bald man who Ares hadn't met yet listened in on the conversation.
"The loss of the Sullivans doesn't affect our abilities that much," Ares said to the group.
"It may not affect that, but it does affect those families who lives were lost," Osla said.
"Senator Osla, what do you expect us to do, wave little flags and tell them to deactivate themselves," Ares said.
"Surely with this new, what did you call it, um, Imperious Leader, he might be willing to talk now," Osla said.
Ares opened his mouth to speak, but Commander Adama spoke up first with anger in his voice.
"That new leader betrayed twelve worlds to the Cylon senator," Adama said. "He will not negotiate in good faith. As far as the people from the Colonies are concerned he's responsible for billions of lives lost."
"Senator, the Cylons are not like any enemy you've ever faced," Ares said. "They will use any trick to win, from human shields, to bribes, to false promises. The only thing they care about is winning, they have no rules."
"Impossible, all sentient life follows some rules, even the Arbus did," Olsa said.
"They are machines, who only want to win sir," another voice said who Ares recognized as Uri. "We've been deceived by them twice now, there will be no peace as you know. There are only winners and losers. The Cylons have already eliminated several other intelligent races though force and trickery, they don't care."
"I just don't want any more loss of life, it's time to end it," Olsa said. "I don't see why we had to rush to this war without more information."
"Sir," General Otto said speaking up for the first time in a council meeting. "With due respect, are you that dense. The Cylons were already at the halfway point. We'd be fighting them right now anyways, and fighting a defensive war against such a group is a larger waste of lives and resources."
"Senator, if we don't beat them now, we'll be at war with them for a long time. The quicker we strike, the more likely it is we will win the war," Adama said. "I know the responsibility of lives, and how even one life lost is a huge loss. When you have less than a hundred thousand people, and an enemy following you, you understand things better."
Ares noticed Olsa had gone silent, thinking. Ares hoped the man understood soon, and wondered silently what had been promised to get the election. He seemed quite clueless in dealing with Cylons, surely he had read the reports as a senator about what had gone on.
"All right, the third fleet is on the way, but it does leave us a bit defenseless," Chin said.
"Good, the more badly damaged ships will start back when they are fit for travel," Ares said.
"The Skartians have a few ships they wish to send as well," Chin said.
"We'll welcome the support, any word from the Galactic Alliance?" Ares asked.
"Only petitions and such, we're keeping it a secret as to how big our fleet is, but if they learn how much of our fleet is away, it could damage the process," Chin said.
"If that happens, then you can tell them the Cylons have roughly twelve basestars, and another twenty older ships at the moment. If we don't defeat them now, by the time they arrive in Earth space their fleet will have doubled, with improved ships. They won't stand a chance," Ares said.
"T-that many?" Olsa said.
"Yes senator, that many," Ares said.
"Oh, um, well that, um, makes things very, um, different," Olsa said. "And they could, um, double you said."
"Easily, right now we're hitting their supply routes, making it difficult for them to build new ships and repair damage ships," Ares said.
"Senator, I know you ran your election on the fact that the current President, Chin, is never on Earth. The simple fact is forces in the universe sometimes make demands on people, in this case you're going to be running around all the time, between Earth and the bases, and maybe even the colonies," Uri said. "It's not going to be an easy position."
Ares noticed the man paled slightly at the knowledge. Ares had the feeling Olsa never read his security reports, and now he only hoped the man's oversight didn't lead Earth down a false path.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 9, 2009 8:08:42 GMT -5
Commander Gunther watched as the Enterprise slowly approached the target. The patrol had located a nearby group of Cylon ships patrolling the convoy route.
"Six tankers," his scanner operator said.
"Good, launch vipers, that's their targets, hit and run," Gunther said.
"Yes sir."
He watched as the vipers were launched to head into battle. He hoped they could destroy the supply ships quickly. It would be their second attack within the week. In the first attack they had destroyed three ships, along with an old Cylon destroyer and squad of raiders.
"Incoming message from the patrol, one Hades basestar headed this way."
"Inform all vipers to launch missiles at extreme range and return, we're not getting into this fight," Gunther said. He didn't think the Enterprise couldn't take on the basestar, he wanted to avoid that for the Warspite and Richelieu which were the hunters of the basestars. The Enterprise along with several of the stealth cruisers were in charge of destroying supply ships.
"Viper squadrons returning."
Gunther waited patiently glancing at the scanner. The missiles struck true, destroying three of the four tankers. The destroyer escorting the convoy also was damaged along with the older basestar. He watched a group of raiders launched, heading in the wrong direction.
"Basestar changing course."
Already the recovery of vipers was occurring. If it hadn't been for the incoming basestar he would have pressed the attack, but he had orders to avoid conflict, and damage.
"Once all vipers are back aboard, we'll head here then return to the convoy route," Gunther said.
"Yes sir."
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 10, 2009 10:14:04 GMT -5
"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.
"It is as you said, they are attacking the supply ships, and doing a good job Baltar," Lucifer said.
"I don't want excuses Lucifer, how many ships?" Baltar asked.
"Our losses so far are eleven tankers, two damaged, two escort ships, three more damaged, and we've lost two basestars in attacks," Lucifer said.
"Those invisible ships, they are ruining us, any word on why our scanner's can't see them?" Baltar said.
"An inspection of wreckage from the dockyard has provided something useful Baltar," Lucifer said. "It appears that they Colonials are using a form of metal that absorbs scans preventing all but high powered scans."
"How far away can we see them?" Baltar asked, finally getting some answers.
"That's the problem Baltar, our scanners are geared for low power, to prevent detection, however, if the colonial ships are producing a higher power scans to see each other, we can us that to our advantage," Lucifer said.
"Put it into effect then," Baltar said.
"By your command Baltar," Lucifer said.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 12, 2009 8:05:18 GMT -5
"Incoming message from the scout crew on the dockyard," Rebecca said.
Troy hesitated for a second before deciding to take the call himself. It took only a second before he saw the lieutenant's face on the screen.
"Colonel, Commander Ares wanted to know the condition of the dockyard here," he said.
"Yes," Troy said, remembering the conversation not long ago.
"Well, we've completed our scouting, and we can one dockyard up and operational within the day. Seems Jonas was a dockyard hand on vacation so he wasn't on it when the attack occurred. He's been a great help in getting the systems on-line," the lieutenant said.
"So we have one operational bay, which one?" Troy asked.
"Bay three, it's not the biggest, but it can fit a cruiser, or two destroyers," the reply came.
"All right, is Jonas there?" Troy asked.
"Not at the moment, I can get him though."
"Go ahead, I have a question for him," Troy stated. The lieutenant ended the call to find Jonas while Troy quickly placed a call to the supply ships. It didn't take long before the captain of the ship answered.
"Colonel, what can I do for you today?" the captain asked.
"Just a few questions, how many skilled dockworkers do you have on board?" Troy asked, forming a plan already.
"Hmm, well, we have about thirty, but the supply fleet has well over six hundred, most are on the repair ship Vestal," the captain said.
"Well, we have an operational dockyard, or at least one bay, I suspect your men would prefer to work there instead of from the ship," Troy said.
"So one of the docks is operational?" the man said. "I know we sent some men over there but I hadn't heard back yet."
"They contacted me not long ago, I wanted to get your approval for this, after all it's your field," Troy said.
"Well, I appreciate that colonel," the captain said. "Let me contact my team and see what they think and I'll give you my report then."
"Fair enough," Troy said, ending that call only to have Jonas' call come in. The man had changed slightly from the first time he met him. He seemed younger, more relaxed and willing to talk. Troy guessed that if he had been in Jonas' position he'd have done the same things.
"Ah, Colonel Troy, what can I do for you?" he asked.
"I received the update on the dockyard, and wanted your professional opinion," Troy said.
"My opinion, all we lack is personal," Jonas said.
"I think that can be taken care of," Troy replied, already knowing where the people were going to come from. "How many would you need?"
"Well, with only one dock open, anymore than one hundred and fifty would be too much," Jonas said.
"Hmm, I don't know about that many, but I can get you some crew workers. We have about six hundred, and I know the commander will want the Vestal to remain operational. But the dockyard is a top priority as well," Troy said.
"I think we can do with less, one fifty is the max, but less than seventy-five will be ineffective," Jonas said.
"All right, I'll work to get you at least seventy-five, I think that should work out," Troy said. "Also Commander Ares wanted to place you in charge of the dockyard, seeing as you're the highest ranking worker left."
Troy noticed a bit of surprise on the man's face. He hadn't been expecting that bit of news. Troy waited patiently for the man's reply.
"If you want me, I'll take it. Guess I know a bit more about responsibility now than a few yehrens ago," Jonas said. "Never really wanted it, actually looked forward to building deep space explorers that were planned after the peace treaty."
"You might still get that chance one day," Troy said.
"Perhaps," Jonas said.
"Colonel, I have Captain White requesting to talk to you," Rebecca said.
"Put it though, I'll be back in touch Jonas," Troy said. He ended that conversation and switched communications bringing up the captain.
"Colonel, I just finished talking with the boys, and everything looks good. The one dock is stable and with a bit of patchwork that should take at most a day it will be operational," Captain White said. "Also I think we can get about eighty men to work over there."
"That would be enough, I just finished talking with Jonas, who will be the dockyard captain and he says between seventy-five and one fifty," Troy said.
"One fifty would be stretching it," White said.
"Those numbers were the max and mins," Troy replied.
"Ah, then that's doable," White said.
"Okay, you're first ship will be the Leopard, let the captain know when he can dock. After that Commander Ares talked about servicing the destroyers," Troy said.
"Yes, we talked about that. I'll get things going right away," White said.
Troy ended that conversation and glanced over the rest of the progress on the Argo making sure everything ran smoothly. Not seeing anything he stood before excusing himself to report to the Commander's office. He knew that Commander Ares would want to know this bit of information.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 13, 2009 10:01:40 GMT -5
Ares gathered up the reports that came in. So far in the past week things were looking up. So far the raiders had destroyed over a dozen tankers, two old basestars, several destroyers and the hunter group had eliminated two basestars. The odds were slowly being whittled down to their favor. He also knew things were getting harder, as Baltar seemed to be consolidating his position and changing his tactics.
It seemed strange to him to think of the enemy leader now as a human. That changed his mindset slightly as the narrow-mindedness of the Cylons had been replaced. Now the game would be more of a chess match that he had played a few times back on Earth. Perhaps he'd buy a chess set one day after this war was over and he retired. He glanced back at the reports which he noted the change in tactics.
The Richelieu almost had run into an ambush, with a basestar near a planet, which held an additional three squadrons of Cylon raiders. A patrol of the planet had discovered it before the battlestar had engaged, and broke off before battle could start.
That had been close, the loss of a battlestar would hurt their efforts greatly. The Pegasus finally was back in fighting trim after round the clock repairs to it. Two destroyers and a cruiser had been sent back to Earth for more complete repairs. He glanced up as Troy walked into the office.
"Report of the dockyards," Troy said, handing Ares the paper. Ares read though it quickly. It seemed that a few of the survivors had helped out in getting one dockyard operational. With the additional personal from the last supply he had an advanced repair base operational for the war.
"Good news," Ares said.
"Yep, we put the Leopard in it, should be done in a couple of days," Troy said. "After that the destroyers are going to be put in for repairs. We have a tentative schedule of a week for it all."
"I don't think the reinforcements will arrive in time," Ares finally said.
"Sir?"
"We're heading to a final battle, the last battle," Ares said. "Whoever wins will win the war."
Ares noticed Troy had gone silent for several seconds.
"What's wrong?" Ares asked.
"Um, nothing much commander," Troy said.
"All right," Ares said. He watched Troy walk back out of the office before thinking about it. "Now why would he be acting that way?" he asked himself.
He read the reports a bit more before his mind provided him the answer.
"Well, that's what it is, well then, so be it."
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 14, 2009 8:15:57 GMT -5
And So It Begins
Ares walked into the war room on the Argo glancing at the dots which represented the Cylon fleet and the Earth fleet. He briefly thought that if the Colonials had this type of information during the war it might have gone differently, or at least the holocaust might have been prevented. He realized that also meant competent commanders got that information as well.
"This report just in commander," Troy said. Ares took the information wondering if it might clear the picture up slightly.
"Hmm, Baltar is sending more basestars retreating back into the core of Cylon territory," Ares said.
"We've managed to decrypt the latest messages to the outer part of the Cylon empire," Troy said. "Seems all warships are being recalled."
"We're that much of a threat it seems," Ares said, feeling both better and yet it disturbed him that so much firepower had been gathered by Baltar. He probably had some sort of plan, now it was Ares' turn to figure it out.
"The Enterprise is on track to engage the latest convoy, but there is a couple of small basestars nearby," Troy said. "Should the commander continue to engage?"
"Yes, reports from their dockyards indicate construction has been brought to a halt," Ares said. "Tell Richelieu to head to intercept that group."
"Okay, anything else?" Troy asked.
Ares glanced at where his battlestars were. Richelieu was close to Enterprise, Argo, Galactica and Pegasus were at the Colonies and the Warspite was in position to engage a group of small warships headed towards the Cylon homeworld. Scattered around were the cruisers doing hit and run raids all over causing damage to everything from Cylon cities to their fleet.
"No, rotate the Leopard and Moscow, they need a break," Ares said.
"I'll inform them."
"Oh, have the scout ships keep their patrol rounds, they are doing a good job. The standing order remains, avoid combat and contact if at all possible," Ares said.
The patrol ships had given him most of his information, and good information it had been. They had kept track of the Cylon fleet's movements enough to allow him to plan ahead to the next strike. However right now, he had a feeling events were about to move in a different direction.
"What I wouldn't wish for a spy in the Cylon Empire right now," Ares said.
"Well, one thing I've learned about Baltar is he's a coward," Adama's voice said interrupting Ares' train of thought. "He retreated when he had numbers against us at Gamoray, and if he thinks he has the advantage he'll use it, only after securing his safety."
Ares thought about that for a few seconds before realizing what he was seeing. "Everything's headed to the Cylon homeworld."
He stood there looking at the map before Adama spoke up. "Possible. Also seems like something he'd do."
"He's playing defense, still trying to figure out what he's up against," Ares said. It confirmed one thing for him, he had the Cylons on the defensive. Now he had to use that knowledge to form an attack plan.
"Seems like it," Adama said.
"Troy, tell all units to hold after they've completed their current missions. New orders will be coming in shortly," Ares said.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 15, 2009 9:52:50 GMT -5
Baltar watched Lucifer walk into the throne room on his basestar. He had returned there feeling more secure around those who he knew were loyal to him.
"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.
"By your command Imperious Leader," Lucifer replied. "Reports still come in on attacks on the supply ships. Our dockyards have no supplies for new construction. They can barely do repairs right now."
"d**n, are the warships staying with the supply ships?" Baltar asked.
"We are having some difficulty in convincing the commanders to do that," Lucifer said.
"It's not something to be discussed, it's an order, tell them either they either go along with it, or they are replaced for scrap," Baltar said.
"By your command," Lucifer said, hesitating.
"What is it Lucifer?"
"The fleet moves to our homeworld, several ships have been destroyed in the process though. There are also reports of several outlying cities being destroyed by Colonial ships. The outer governors are worried about this. The moving the fleet back leaves them venerable," Lucifer said.
"Tell the governors that if the ships were there they'd have been destroyed. No, they will attack here, where the power is. That's when we'll crush them once and for all," Baltar said.
"Are you sure Baltar," Lucifer asked.
"Of course I am, and remember who I am," Baltar said. "In smaller numbers our fleet has been devastated, now with the largest collection of Cylon ships in yehrens we finally have an advantage. Have the patrols picked up anything?"
"No, except for some odd spikes but that only occurred before battle, so it's not a way to track where they are," Lucifer said. "But that's only for the ships we can't see. We know they have at least one other battlestar besides the Galactica. It's the most powerful battestar we've ever come across. It seems to have an advanced armor as well that we can't penetrate."
Baltar sat back at that news. Now he wished he had an Improved Basestar, but that had been destroyed along with the dockyard not long ago.
"I want all scout ships to patrol at maximum range. If anything suspicious comes in report it that might be the information we need to destroy Adama once and for all," Baltar said.
"By your command," Lucifer said, then walked out of the room. Baltar thought about what had gone on and tried to figure out where Adama had received such a tremendous advantage. That question had bugged him since the appearance of the new ships. He had patrolled the nearby planets with no luck. It seemed that everything he thought of, or tried failed to produce an answer to that question.
A new thought entered his mind, perhaps this group was a group warriors, who found a high tech planet after being damaged in battle. Given a long enough time, they could have built a force this large. He would dig though the records of the Cylons to see if any fleet had managed to escape destruction.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 16, 2009 8:49:51 GMT -5
Nall glanced over at Bri who appeared slightly tired, not normal for her he thought.
"You all right?" Nall asked.
"Fine, guess I'm still getting used to Troy's schedule lately," Bri said.
"Yeah, I could see that, he's a lot more erratic now that's he a colonel," Nall said. "I'll never make it there."
"Yeah, they'd slap in the bridge for harassment," Bri said, with a chuckle.
"That's be after Rebecca get's though with me," Nall replied.
"True, she does keep your leash short," Bri said.
Nall opened his mouth before closing it realizing that Bri was right. Not that he minded at all. He'd found the one of his dreams and who understood him.
"Hear from Mary?" Bri asked.
"Yeah, Troy's parents are lifesavers. I think they're spoiling her too much," Nall said. "She told me about how they watched the construction of a nearby house. Every evening Troy's dad and her would go though it to see what changed. She's started classes, kindergarten, and so far she likes her teacher. That's good news."
"Funny how time flies," Bri said.
"Yeah," Nall replied.
"Hey, have you heard the latest?" Jax's voice said, as she sat down next to them.
"Nope, but I guess you're going to tell us," Nall replied.
"Seems Ares has stopped all missions lately," she said.
Nall frowned at that statement. "Sounds like he's got a new plan."
"Yeah," Bri said, suddenly going quiet, glancing around the room.
"Now what?" Nall said.
"Just looking around, Troy's vision still hasn't come true yet," Bri said.
"What vision," Nall asked. He hadn't heard anything of importance lately.
"No, we've kept it a secret, but he's seen the destruction of the Argo," Bri said.
"The Argo? Is he sure, I mean he's seen other visions, the Pegasus, Pacifica, is he sure it's the Argo," Nall replied, concerned over Rebecca suddenly.
"Ares orders everyone to abandon ship," Bri said.
"Anything else?" Nall asked, wanting to know more.
"Well, he has one vision of most of us, your there along with Rebecca, and me and Troy, I don't know about you Jax," Bri said.
"Eh," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Nall could see her try and be calm about it, but her face gave her away.
"Well, you might have been somewhere else, so I don't know," Bri said adding it quickly.
"Nah, you're too good," Nall said. "I think we'll all make it. Anyways, it could be some time from now, it might not even be a battle."
He waited for Bri to say something, but she remained silent. He hoped she thought about it, but from her face he knew the answer already.
"I suppose you're right, no sense thinking about it when it could be years from now," she finally said.
"I heard that the Cylons have consolidated their strength around their homeworld," Jax finally said.
"Hmm, seems like Baltar is scared," Nall finally said. "Doesn't know what's hitting him, or the fact we know what he's up to."
"It's a good situation then," Jax said. "We have the advantage, something I don't ever remember having. I hope we continue to the end of the war."
"I think that's the plan," Bri said. "I can't imagine the commander stopping halfway, or Adama allowing that to happen either. Too much has happened for us to stop now."
Nall realized Bri was right. They would end the war, finally after a thousand yehrens of war, it might finally be over.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 19, 2009 8:04:24 GMT -5
The Colonial Bound continued watching the Cylon homeworld for anything that might be unusual. So far the ship hadn't encountered anything strange, only the continued arrivals of ships.
"Well, the latest ship puts the Cylon fleet at eight Hades basestars, about two dozen smaller basestars, and about the same number of destroyers," his second in command said.
"Aye, that there are laddie," Scott said. He didn't like that at all, and the fact that not all the ships were there yet. The only thing Scott felt relieved about had to be the fact the Cylons had all their ships in one place.
"Patrol coming around," the scanner operator said.
"Pull us back then lad, we'll keep an eye on the patrol and return when they leave," Scott said. A general game they were playing with the Cylons. The one advantage they had, the Cylons kept a regular schedule for their patrols.
"Any word from the Fire Ant?" Scott asked.
"No."
"Prepare for a transmission back to the fleet then, we'll report in what little we've found out," Scott said. The only good thing about the patrol, it allowed them to report in quite regularly when they moved position.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 20, 2009 8:05:13 GMT -5
Gunther waited on the bridge of the Enterprise. The battlestar had finished another attack on a convoy destroying all the ships this time.
"Orders commander?" his second in command, Yvette asked.
"Back to position alpha," Gunther said. The position where the scanners could watch several supply routes at once. A couple of times a Cylon ship would be stationed there but lately there hadn't been anything. That worried him more than the easy attacks on the supply ships.
Then he also had to wait for the next mission from fleet command. He had the feeling something was up, but had no idea as to what.
"Any news from Commander Ares?" Gunther asked.
"Not yet commander," Yvette replied. "Any idea what's going on?"
Gunther seriously thought about the question knowing most of the bridge crew could listen in on the conversation.
"Not really, a few ideas and it has to do with the fact the Cylons are consolidating their forces in one area," Gunther said. "Beyond that I have no idea."
"Could be raids, to lure their fleet out?" Yvette said.
"Could be, but knowing Ares it'll be something either complex or very simple," Gunther replied.
"Yeah, simple, going in guns blazing," Yvette said
"I wouldn't put it past him," Gunther said. True he had the same thought, but he also knew Ares wouldn't go in just like that. The attack on the shipyard had been slightly different. Ares knew that the Cylons were gathering their forces for a while now, and the fact the Richelieu had done two such attacks already with no movement from the Cylons meant they were up to something as well.
"What were our losses?" Gunther asked, hoping for few losses.
"We lost four vipers, two more damaged, but the repair crews state they will be back up and running in a few hours," Yvette replied.
"Well, better than expected," Gunther said. He didn't like the loss of live, but he had the replacements on board and still had a full complement of fighters. Now they would wait.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 21, 2009 9:49:49 GMT -5
"Commander, Enterprise and Richelieu are done with their missions," Troy stated, relaying the message to Ares. He watched the commander nod at the information. He still appeared deep in thought.
"When will the last of the basestars arrive at the Cylon homeworld?" Ares asked.
Troy looked at his screen which had that information before replying. "Another day sir."
He watched Ares get up and walk over to the map staring at it for several seconds. Troy almost saw the light go on in Ares eyes, his entire appearance changed slightly and Troy knew that Ares had made his decision. Now everyone would wait to see what would happen next.
"Assemble all commanders in the war room, and inform the Richelieu and Enterprise, they'll have to link in," Ares said. "I'll be in the war room waiting."
Troy nodded before turning to Rebecca who started sending out the communications to the battlestars. He glanced once more back at Ares who strode off the bridge.
"Hey good looking," another voice said. Troy turned to see Bri approaching him. She had a smile on her face.
"Thought you were in the rec room relaxing with the others," Troy said.
"Was, but it gets boring in there without you," Bri said.
"I guess Nall's not enough company for you then," Troy replied.
"Nah, he is, but he's not my husband," Bri stated. "We haven't seen enough of each other lately."
"Things have been hectic on the bridge," Troy replied, knowing that he really should spend a little bit more time with her. But looking at her she appeared quite healthy, and even more beautiful than usual. Shaking his head he refocused his attention back to what she said.
"So, what's the next mission?" she asked.
"Don't know, but Ares called a war council with all the commanders," Troy replied.
"He's got a plan," Bri said.
"Looks like it, now we'll wait to hear it," Troy said. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was, what he and Ares had discussed a short time ago. The scene of Ares calling for the evacuation of the ship, and the other vision, the one on the hanger deck, he couldn't figure what they were doing, either celebrating or sorrow. Whatever the cause, he knew he'd find out soon enough.
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 22, 2009 9:25:26 GMT -5
"We've done it!" Tommy said with excitement and with good cause. All around him whoops of joy sounded at their success. He had found the mathematics on board the Orion, after looking at the strange engine alignment. He added a bit of several old Earth theories he had finally managed to do it.
"Sir, should we contact Commander Pratt?" Sally, his red haired assistant asked.
"By Kobal yes, he'll want to know for sure," Tommy said, walking to the communications screen. A few seconds later the bald commander's face appeared on the screen.
"Tommy, I assume you have news?" Pratt asked.
"You bet I do," Tommy said. "It works, it really does work. We just did it."
"Okay," Pratt said, drawing out the word. "Um, I haven't been keeping up with the reports from the Colonies things have been quite busy around here."
"Oh, we jumped!" Tommy explained.
"Jumped?"
"Yes, it's where you actually bend space, thought you're really not, the entire space is flexible, forever bending and folding…"
"Doctor, just tell me what you're saying?" Pratt said.
"Oh, sorry, well, we can control it, the bending and folding space as we want, we just did it."
"And, remember I haven't been reading the reports Tommy," Pratt said.
"Right, sorry, excited, we can use it to move ships from here to anywhere in the universe in mere seconds to hours depending on a few factors," Tommy said. He watched as Pratt opened and closed his mouth for several seconds in his shock.
"Are you saying we can use this to transport ships, people and supplies to the colonies in less than a day?" Pratt said.
"Yep, though the test engine wasn't that big, we're going to test it on the Orion, it seems like they were already working on it, and it's almost complete. Such a device would have given them a huge advantage over the Arbus," Tommy said. "However it was actually an Earth scientist, Einstein who, though a bit flawed, ironed out a bit of the mathematics I needed."
"How long would this take?" Pratt asked.
"Dunno, a couple of days, or months depends on how the engine goes," Tommy said.
"I'm giving you first priority, anything you need, get it working, we can use that," Pratt said.
"Okay," Tommy said, not expecting such a reaction.
"I also want a report on how quickly we can refit the fleet with such engines," Pratt said.
"Ah, there's a problem there, it's not so much modifying the engines, but adding another engine. You see it's separate from the regular engine. It takes both to do this, the time the trip takes depends on how fast the propulsion engine is," Tommy said.
"Could we use this to send other ships with it?" Pratt asked.
"No, the field is too localized for that," Tommy said.
"Okay, but the Orion is almost ready, I want the test as soon as possible, If need be take one the dock at yard one, I'll inform the dock commander you get first priority, twenty-four seven work, got me," Pratt said.
"Okay," Tommy said, ending the conversation. He then turned to the rest of his 'crew', mostly scientists and techs. The Orion had become a science ship in the past couple of years and had been Tommy's lab as well, in a way his command. Now he had orders to finish the engine. "I guess you all heard this, lets head for the dockyard and get working."
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Post by ajmarks on Oct 23, 2009 7:56:43 GMT -5
Sam Harvey sat back in the meeting room, the transition between the two Presidents had just occurred and he sat watching it along with many of the other advisers.
"Wonder if he'll keep us on or not?" one said.
"If he's half as smart as many think he is, he will," Sam said. "But I'm not counting on it."
"Incoming message," one said, sighing as the screen flickered over to Commander Pratt. Sam noticed he had a look on his face of almost joy, or something very close to it.
"Commander, what's the news?" Sam asked. He didn't know anything else that would require their attention.
"Thought I'd give you an update to a couple of things, both at the colonies, and in research," Pratt said.
"Something new in research?" Sam asked.
"Yep, Doctor Leaver is testing a new jump engine which would make the trip to the colonies less than a day," Pratt said.
Sam sat up at that news. Such speed was thought to be impossible. Now he was being told it was being tested. "Are you sure?"
"Yep, the Orion will be undergoing testing in the next day or so," Pratt said.
"Incredible," Sam replied.
"But, I fear by the time we put them on our warships it will be too late. Commander Ares informed me that he's going into battle against the main forces of the Cylons," Pratt said.
"We've heard nothing," Sam stated. Knowing that such a mission would endanger a lot of the warships already there.
"He's there, and he wants to attack before Baltar gets his plan working," Pratt said.
Sam looked at the others to gage their reactions. Most had worked with Ares before and now, it seemed they respected the man's decisions. "Can't say I'm pleased with the decision, but he's there with the information."
"I thought you'd say something like that, it's about how I feel," Pratt said. "Say, why are you not outside with the inauguration?"
"Too cold, and we were not invited," Sam said.
"He's keep you on, right?" Pratt asked.
"Haven't heard yet, but keeping our options open," Sam said.
"Well, you've been on board this since the beginning, so hopefully you'll be there at the end," Pratt said. "I'll let you know about the test results."
"All right," Sam said, sitting back thinking back to that day so long ago. His assistance, Rebecca worked for him in the old NASA, or what had been left of it. Then they saw a picture of a viper, of course they didn't know what it was, but it changed their lives. Then they met the pilots, or more importantly Rebecca had, and brought them to him.
Aside from being one of the first people to work with Commander Ares. Since then he'd also been a senator, and President for a short time of the new government. A shiver went down his spine with that realization that he'd be known in history. That of course understood that humans survived the war against the Cylons.
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