"Well, that's something we need to pass up the line," Shinobu mused…
…as alarms started echoing through Pegasus' hull. "Action stations! Action stations! All personnel, man your battle stations! All pilots, report to launch bays for immediate deployment! Admiral Cain, Colonel Tigh, to CIC please! I say again, action stations! Action stations! All personnel…!" Anastasia Dualla's voice echoed over the room as Kara and her friends raced out of the room.
Helena ran over to what appeared to be a wall-mounted telephone, taking the headset off the cradle as she tapped controls. "CIC, this is the Admiral. What is it?" she asked.
"DRADIS contact, Admiral Cain!" Anastasia replied. "It's a battlestar, Atlantia-class but not one of ours. Just jumped into the system, bearing off the starboard bow at a range of sixty thousand kilometres. CAP Vipers identify her as Columbia!"
The admiral sighed. "Frack! That's one of the ship's Apollo reported were still in commission," she hissed out. "Launch all Vipers and Raiders! I want a solid block between the Earth ships and Columbia. Ready all ship's weapons!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
As Helena was doing that, Shinobu had her own personal communicator out…
H.M.C.S. Fort Erie (Welland time: 2:39 PM)…
"The new contact appears to be an older version of Pegasus, Commodore," Suzuki Miho stated as the corvette manoeuvred around to bring her broadside on the battlestar that was now just a dull beacon of light in space, bearing parallel to the line of the asteroid belt. "It's got the same type of ordinance, but its air group appears to be only about double-squadron strength. They're on the catapults now, but not launching."
"We're picking up wide- and narrow-beam scans from it," Nishina Kurumi added. "It's scanning the local neighbourhood. Chances are there that it's spotted us as well as Pegasus. Unknown if the new arrival has detected any close battle groups."
Such as the combined battleship and carrier forces of the French, Nanase Yū mused to herself as she relaxed in her chair by the main plotting board. "Hiromi?"
Tamachi Hiromi looked over. "Yes, Commodore?"
"Open channel to the new arrival. I want to talk to them."
"Aye, ma'am."
"Pegasus is now launching her fighters," Miho added…
Battlestar Columbia…
"It's Pegasus, Admiral. She's launching fight-…"
Silence fell over the CIC as people turned to gaze on the man at the main DRADIS station. "What?!" Peter Corman demanded from his position at the plotting table.
"Sir, she's launching both Vipers and Cylon Raiders!"
Silence.
"My gods…" executive officer Colonel Jack Fisk breathed out before he turned to stare wide-eyed at his current commander. "I'd never believe Cain…"
"Relax, Jack," the admiral stated. "We knew what would happen if the damned Cylons got their hands on those bleeding-heart lunatics that were willing to listen to any of that garbage Wakefield brought back with him from Armi-…"
"Admiral Corman, signal coming in," the communications officer called out.
"Pegasus?"
"Negative, sir. She identifies herself as Commodore Yū Nanase of the…"
People were quick to see that the young man was staring at his control board in disbelief. "Spit it out, man!" Fisk barked out. "What is it?!"
The younger officer blinked before turning to gaze wide-eyed at the colonel and the admiral. "Sir, she identifies herself as being part of the United Nations Earth Defence Force," he then declared in a voice full of disbelief.
More silence.
"Here," Corman ordered.
"Yes, sir."
The admiral reached over for his personal handset and pulled it out of the cradle, clicking the control to open the link. "This is Vice-Admiral Peter Corman of the Loyal Colonial Alliance, currently aboard battlestar Columbia, calling Commodore Nanase of the United Nations Earth Defence Force. Please respond."
"This is Yū Nanase," a young woman's voice called back, which surprised the experienced deep space combat officer. While he didn't understand what actual rank this person had, the traditional title 'commodore' in Colonial Naval tradition normally indicated a flag officer that commanded a group of the same or similar models of ships. "Welcome to our solar system, Admiral Corman. May I inquire as to what you're doing here?"
A deep breath. "Commodore, the vessel that looks very much like our own is a ship full of traitors and enemies of the Alliance. No doubt, they're here to tell you what they believe is the truth concerning what happened to our people over the last five decades. However, be assured, whatever they've told you are a bunch of lies. We do not and will not stand by while our cousins in the Thirteenth Tribe are deceived into allowing the Cylons to have free will and sway over your people and planet."
A hum. "Well, sir, I appreciate your government's concern about our safety. However, while I have not been totally briefed on what my squadron's away team have learned in their meeting with Rear-Admiral Cain and the members of the Council of Advisors to the Head-of-State of the Free Planet of Cylonia and her peoples, Her Excellency, the First Citizen, Jewel Warrior and Elder Mother of her people, the Lady Zoe Greystone."
Corman gaped. "You actually would address a frackin' TOASTER as THAT?!"
Pegasus…
"Commander Miyake?"
Shinobu, now standing beside Helena, perked. "Yes, Councilman?"
"The First doesn't really care for those sorts of titles," John Cavil advised.
"Those are titles WE as Avalonians would bestow her given what you've told us about the First, Elder Father," Narumi said with a sparkle in her eyes.
The other members of the Council of Advisors all blinked as John found himself blushing; HE sure as hell wasn't a father…!
Fort Erie…
Yū's deep chestnut eyes flashed. "Admiral, if you wish to keep this conversation civil and not turn it into something you will later regret, I suggest you keep such insults to yourself," she icily warned as the temperature in the operations room seemed to chill ten degrees all at once. As he watched her from his position nearby, Ranma was quick to note that the commodore was holding back her anger with very shaky hands. "I will not stand here and allow people to insult sentient beings just because they were not born of natural processes." Her eyes then narrowed. "If you wish to know, sir, most of the people serving in the Earth Defence Forces are artificial intelligences as well, though possessing full-organic bodies, which is not what the humanoid Cylon cyber-bioroids possess. I myself am one of them. We ourselves were slaves as well to a people who would a total mockery of ANY sort of set religious doctrine since it pleased the ruling elites and ended up nearly destroying their society in the long term. The Cylons and the members of the Free Colonial Alliance came here in peace and with a desire to see us also safe, ironically from YOU. So what am I to believe?"
A sputter came over the speakers. "Gods…y-you-you're a SKINJOB?!"
Yū's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"That was stupid, Peter."
Silence.
"Helena?" Corman gasped.
Pegasus…
"That's right," Helena stated as she held the headset close to her ear. All the people in CIC were listening to this thanks to bulkhead-mounted loudspeakers. "How the hell did you get promoted to vice-admiral, Corman? And who are you REALLY working for?! The Gemenese?! I doubt it's the Sagittarons since they really don't particularly care for the military whatsoever! So what's this REALLY all about?! The people of the Colonies are proving too tough for you to put down without using nukes?!"
"I work for humanity as a whole!" Corman snapped. "Which is more than what I could say for YOU, Cain!" He took a deep breath. "Of all the people I know, why YOU, Helena?! The frackin' toasters murdered your whole family during the First War…!"
"No, they did not," Helena stated. "Zoe Greystone personally saved my sister."
"And what the hell did they do to her to 'save' her?! Turn her into a skinjob, too?! Just like I hear Tigh wanted to do to Bill Adama?!" Corman spat out, and then he took a deep breath. "WHY, Helena?! Why the frack did you betray HUMANITY?!"
Helena blinked. "I didn't betray humanity, Peter. I accepted that there were more types of 'humanity' than what I previously believed."
"Oh, you mean that 'gift' that skinjob used to make Adar turn against the wishes of the people he was SWORN to protect?!" Corman derisively snarled. "Yeah, I saw all that had been written in that message, too! I wouldn't call any of them 'human!'"
"So what does your government intend to do about that, Admiral?" Yū then challenged. "Go out and try to conquer neighbouring races? That's not a very civilised thing to do. And be assured, there are races in this galaxy that would be even LESS tolerant of your attitudes than we are right now. And some of them are WAY more advanced than even WE are. If you think you can get away with that sort of childish behaviour to races such as the Vosians, the Yehisrites, the Zephyrites or the Noukiites, think again."
"Not to mention other races," a growling man's voice echoed over the line.
"Who the HELL is this?!" Corman cried out in shock.
Shinobu sighed. "Captain…"
Columbia…
"DRADIS contact!" the sensory officer cried out. "Large vessel now directly ahead of us, range twenty thousand kilometres. Type unknown…"
"This is Captain Invader of the United Tribes of the planet Uru," that thundering voice echoed over the speakers as all the screens suddenly flicked over to reveal a scowling visage with very large and sharp lower canine teeth, angry eyes and a pair of horn-buds sticking out of a mass of shaggy green hair from behind the temples. As all the people in the CIC gaped in shock and technicians immediately moved to try to find out how this was happening, those dark eyes seemed to bore directly into Peter Corman's soul to find what lurked there severely wanting. "Listen up, you pathetic little tailless monkeys!" he snarled in a voice that made even the most battle-hardened warrior there quake in terror. "The Terrans and the Avalonians are being rather too nice in my eyes when it comes to blind idiots like you! I'm not in the mood to BE nice since two of those 'skinjobs' you like to spit on happen to be my DAUGHTERS!"
Corman shuddered. "What are you…?!"
"Me?!" Invader asked, and then he cackled. "Believe it or not, I can be the nicest guy around!" The look on his face then morphed into a burning rage that made Corman's knees buckle. "But on other occasions, I can be someone's worst nightmare!"
"Maybe if your government is contemplating a new tag race, Captain, you might want to consider the admiral's home colonies," Yū then added. "I don't think their technology would slow you down THAT much, at least from what our scans show us."
A smirk. "I agree to that, Commodore. But since this is YOUR solar system, I'll defer to you when it comes to dealing with these rude relav'sh!"
Fort Erie…
"For that, I thank you, sir," Yū stated as she tapped a control to mute the feed going out to Columbia before tapping another control to open a secure channel. "Fort Erie to Ontario and Québec. Do you have targeting solutions on the bandit?"
"Affirmative, Commodore," came from the commanders of both slipstream boats, William Grant on Ontario and Jean-Marc Leville on Québec.
"Very well." Yū then tapped controls before taking a plastic card out of her shirt pocket to load into a reader. "Authorisation for using specials is coming now."
"Standing by," Grant replied…
Ontario…
"Bridge, Radio!"
Grant tapped a control. "Go, Radio!"
"Flash traffic from Bytown on the secure frequency. Code Nine."
"Bring it to me!" the captain ordered.
Within seconds, the communications officer was in the operations room, handing a PADD over to the captain. As Ron Hunter moved to glance over the older man's shoulder, Grant allowed the biometric scanners to identify him (including a DNA scan and retina print), and then he flicked on the message. Reading the short lines there, he then handed the PADD to the American officer serving as his XO. "Commander?"
Hunter took it, allowing the device to read his own biometrics, and then he nodded. "Captain, I confirm this as being a direct authorisation for release of special weapons in the execution of the current patrol mission by the Governor-General-in-Council, authorising CANCOMSPACECENT as local command authority," he then reported — despite the inner turmoil he now felt, he kept calm; missile drills using "specials" had to be authorised directly by the Canadian counterpart of what he knew of as "National Command Authority," the President of the United States of America — before handing it off to the combat officer, who had come up to join his superiors, along with the chief engineer and the coxswain. All five people — using the same traditional rule of five that stemmed from regulations that governed the use of SLBMs on missile submarines in service with the U.S. Navy and the Russian Navy — served as the "special activities confirmation group" for anything transmitted from H.M.C.S. Bytown on Code Nine.
Sure enough, the other three officers were quick to confirm the orders. "I concur," Grant then said as he took the PADD back from the coxswain, and then he looked over to the combat officer. "Targeting solution on Columbia. Load Tubes One through Four and Sixteen through Twenty with antimatter anti-ship warheads, standard yield."
"Aye, sir!" the younger officer said…
Columbia…
Corman's jaw then set itself. "You will surrender Pegasus to us."
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Yū stated. "You really are in no position to demand anything from us, Admiral Corman. Right now, you are facing not just a more advanced model of your own ship with TWENTY times the air group size of what you can muster, you are also facing a star battleship with over TEN times your firepower and an air wing TRIPLE the size of what you have. Atop that, seven escort ships, plus there's a battleship, aircraft carrier with an air division HALF the size of what Pegasus could put into the air, all within close hailing distance. And also…"
Fort Erie…
She cut the link, and then tapped a control. "Ontario, one shot across the bow."
"Firing now," came from the hidden slipstream boat…
Space in front of Columbia suddenly exploded in a blinding burst of energy, sending a rocking wave of energy to smash into the battlestar's bow. Inside, the inertia dampeners failed as people were propelled into bulkheads and knocked over tables by the jarring near impact of several grams of anti-hydrogen colliding head-on with the same amount of its positive counterpart. Fortunately for Kashin, which was the closest ship to the old battlestar, the explosive wave barely rocked the battlewagon as it passed by them, the crew not even noticing the motion as the bridge windows automatically tinted darkly to reduce the hurtful glare from harming anyone.
"WHAT THE FRACK WAS THAT?!" Jack Fisk cried out.
"I don't know, sir!" the sensory officer, who had just managed to get back into his chair, gasped as he stared at the sparking DRADIS screen before him. "We didn't even get any sort of radiological alarm or targeting warning that it was coming in, WHATEVER it was!" He then turned to stare at the colonel…
…and then he gasped, which made Fisk blink before he turned around…
"Hello."
…to stare into what he would, at first, admit was a very pretty young woman with rich red hair and dressed quite nicely in a flowing two-piece robe. That quickly vanished as his eyes then fixed on the bony ridges branching out from the bridge of her nose, not to mention the rather BIG polearm-like weapon in her hand. "Who…?"
Immediately, a Marine on sentry duty on the bridge drew out his automatic weapon and sent a burst right at the alien woman, who seemed to blink as those shots ricocheted off her body to slam into places all over the bridge, including Fisk and Corman. "CEASE FIRE!" the sensory officer cried out on seeing the admiral and the colonel go down, and then he gasped as a pair of glowing eyes seemed to focus on him.
The Marine paused, his eyes wide on seeing that none of his bullets had ANY effect on this strange being that had just appeared amongst them. As others went immediately to the aid of the fallen Corman and Fisk, she then calmly walked around the plotting table to stand right before the sensory officer, who shrank back as those deeply glowing eyes seemed to bore right into his soul. Another officer moved to draw his weapon, but a companion reached over to slap it down. "Don't! You'll hit Felix!"
Silence then reigned for a moment as Felix Gaeta found himself staring into the burning eyes of She-Who-Speaks-To-Dragons, and then the Noukiite free warrior seemed to relax. "You have been asked very politely to leave this system," she calmly stated before her eyes glowed again as her voice rumbled with something that was beyond anything Felix could understand as "human." "I am now telling you! Leave now or ALL our races will come to your colonies, rip down your so-called 'Loyal Alliance' around your ears and see to it that the PROPER government of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol — that under the leadership of the Lady President Laura Roslin — will be restored." Her voice then turned back to normal as she seemed to smile at him. "Be thankful that I was more than willing to be nice to you all today. If I wanted, I could have easily gone aft and detonated your main fuel tanks and power dynamos. Now go!"
And with a flash, she was gone, leaving behind a badly shaking officer. Nearby, the second officer took a deep breath. "Set course back for the Colonies!"
"N-no…!"
The man scowled at the feebly struggling Peter Corman. "Admiral, you are not in any condition to command this ship! And I will not see us destroyed when we have NO idea what we're ultimately up against here!" he spat out before gazing at the other people there, all of whom were gaping in shock at his orders. "MOVE!" he barked out. "DO YOU WANT THAT DEVIL TO COME BACK AND DO WHAT SHE SAID SHE WOULD?!"
The others immediately sprang into action…
Pegasus…
"What the frack just happened?" Saul Tigh demanded as they watched 'Columbia' turn about and jump out the system on the DRADIS screens.
Tariko sighed, shaking her head. That made her companions all stare knowingly at her. "Tariko, don't tell me that it was…!" Shinobu began.
A flash of light then caused everyone there to gape.
"…her!" the commander finished as Kyech calmly walked up to join them, the Noukiite ignoring the gaping looks and dropped jaws of everyone else gazed at her. Shinobu put fists to hips as she glared at Tariko. "Did you call Kyech-san here?!"
"Actually, it was Onē-san's friends who asked her to visit Earth," Tariko noted before she shook her head. "Please don't ask me why…"
"Indeed, Shinobu. Tariko had no need to summon me directly," Kyech stated as she willed her polearm back to wherever she stored it when she didn't need it, and then she turned to gaze on the still-gaping Cylons. With a smile, she then stood to attention, bowed her head and made a left first-to-right open palm salute to them. "Heaven's most sincere blessings upon you all," she solemnly declared as she smiled at them.
Silence fell as they processed that, and then Gaius Baltar smiled as he walked over to stand before her, and then he calmly mirrored her greetings. "And to you as well."
As people exchanged looks, we now…
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