Battlestar Galactica - In The Eye Of The Storm 
Virtual Season #6 - Episode #5 
By Eric Paddon 
 
From The Adama Journals 
 
     It is now six sectars to the day since Ila assumed the office of
President of the Council of Twelve following her 95% approval by the
people of the Fleet in the referendum.  A day that was one of the
proudest of my life when I watched and saw Sire Xaviar administer the
formal oath and turn the gavel over to her.  When he referred to her as
"Madame President" for the first time and the rest of the Council broke
into applause, it was the first time in my life I was nearly moved to
tears in a public setting. 
     Six sectars later, Ila has more than vindicated the wisdom of
convincing me to step aside from the day-to-day activities of politics by
doing things that were simply impossible for me to do in my primary duty
as Fleet Commander.  Ila is able to go among the people on a regular
basis and talk to them directly to hear their concerns.  She has made it
her goal to visit every ship in the Fleet within the first yahren of her
term as President and already, at the halfway point, she is likely to
succeed. In doing this, she has been able to bring back a perspective on
day-to-day living that I could never let myself see directly.  And in the
process.....I have learned much and come to understand  more how our
people have both suffered and coped in nearly five yahrens since our
Exodus from the Colonies began.  What helps is Ila's ability to bring her
perspective from when she lived underground for three yahrens on Caprica
and compare it to how our people have coped living in space for five
yahrens.  Ila may not have experienced what we went through in the first
four yahrens of our journey, but she went through a scenario that on many
levels involved more hardship.  And this allows her to empathize with the
people but at the same time point out with credibility how they can look
at their experience in a more positive light. 
     The bottom line is that I am grateful that Ila has been able to
succeed in finding the perfect role for her talents, and not simply that
she has given me some needed relief from responsibilities that I only saw
as a necessary evil in my life.  Had Ila not found this, it's possible
she might have felt more than a twinge of regret over losing the sense of
purpose she had in both the Resistance and on the Pegasus after the
initial joy of family reunion subsided.  Now, as President of the
Council, she has the best of all possible worlds for herself.  A
meaningful assignment and the joy of being among her loved ones again. 
     The situation in the Colonies and with the Pegasus meanwhile,
remains in something of a holding pattern.  The retrofit of the Pegasus
to accommodate new weaponry goes on, and according to Cain, the
installation of the pulsar weapon in the empty missile banks could be
completed in another six sectars.  This is forcing him to make regular
visits back and forth from Arcta to the Colonies in the fast shuttle
every other sectar in order to keep both the former Resistance leaders
fully up-to-date but also Cylon Governor Malus.  Even though a
communications link is in place between the Colonies and the Pegasus and
in turn can allow for messages to be relayed to us, it cannot be used
with the same level of frequency we use in our own communications with
the Pegasus.  That is because the proximity of the Colonies to the Cylon
Home System carries with it the risk that an inordinate level of direct
communication with the Pegasus could result in such transmissions being
intercepted by the receivers based on the Cylon Home World.  If that were
to happen, then of course it would result in the High Command knowing
that the Pegasus is still alive and that they no longer control the
Colonies. Until the system is refined to the point where there is no
possible danger of this, Cain agrees with Dr. Ravashol's conclusions that
a greater level of prudence is necessary.  
     As for the Colonies themself, the reports are that on the ten
surviving worlds, a collective total of over ten thousand people have
emerged from hiding in their own shelters and bunkers that were not
connected to any of the Resistance networks.  Combined with the three
thousand survivors who were part of the ten Resistance networks, that
means there are 13,000 human survivors accounted for to rebuild what was
destroyed, in company with the crew of the Pegasus when it finally
arrives, and the 25,000 Enlightened Cylons who have withdrawn to Libra
and Aquarius.  A number that isn't even one-half the total population of
our Fleet that has chosen to stay the course for Earth.  What that
doesn't take into account though, is the matter of nearly a half million
people from all twelve worlds who were taken back to the Cylon Home
System as slave labor for the Neutrino mines.  How many of those souls
are still alive?  And when the Pegasus feels ready to take the fight to
the Home System, can any of those survivors be freed? 
     At times I wonder if the sentiment for "turning back" that was
squelched some time ago might have rekindled itself after news of the
prisoners taken to the Cylon Home System became known to us, but for the
fact that the old Risik minefield and the Risik Consulate on Harkaelis,
offered us a fresh reminder of the enemy that remains a greater threat to
us and to Earth than does the increasingly shrinking Cylon Empire.  Even
if our people have to contemplate the horrible thought that family and
friends of theirs are suffering in slave labor conditions, the Risik
experience has hit too close to themselves in recent times to make them
want to face the prospect of going back and leaving Earth, a planet of
several billion, wide open to the possibility of a renewed Risik assault
in a generation from now.  And undoubtedly, the unbroken string of
successes the Pegasus can claim in their journey back at Gomorrah,
Cannes, Starlos and now in the Colonies, at least leaves them with the
sense that soon, the Pegasus can deliver the final blow to the Cylon
Empire once and for all and let our brethren left behind in the Colonies
begin life anew in that part of the galaxy.  Our purpose though, remains
reaching Earth, safeguarding her from hostile attack, and ultimately
through our technological breakthroughs, restore the unity of the House
of Kobol once and for all. 
     I pray that this era of calm we have enjoyed these last sectars will
continue, but I have been taught by experience that a lengthy period of
calm often is followed by the most hostile of storms.  We must remain on
our guard.   
 
Prologue 
 
The Pegasus 
     The missile banks of the Pegasus had once possessed the most
powerful forms of weaponry a Battlestar could carry.  Four missiles, each
one possessing more than twenty thousand megatons of laser firepower in
their warheads, and theoretically capable of providing enough power to
destroy a Cylon BaseShip with one shot.  Provided that the missile could
impact the BaseShip in the most vulnerable area in the Central Core
region where the reactor propulsion was housed, and where the Neutrino
shielding was at its weakest.  If a missile struck either the upper or
lower sections, where the Neutrino shielding was at its thickest, the
effects were far less devastating.  That was why Battlestar Commanders
were always told to use them only when they were 100% certain they could
get off a perfect shot that would guarantee total destruction. 
     It was because each missile, because of their intense megatonnage in
explosive capacity, weighed so much, that it was physically impossible
for a Battlestar to carry more than four of them.  Despite the best
efforts made by Colonial scientists and defense analysts to design a
Battlestar that could carry more missiles, each proposal was deemed as
impractical.  Too much added weight meant loss of the two things that
enabled Battlestars to compensate for their lack of Neutrino shielding
compared to Cylon BaseShips, which was their greater speed and
maneuverability.  Sacrificing them was something no Battlestar Commander
wanted.  Not even Cain, who had made his feelings known on the subject
more than once over the yahrens at Defense Committee hearings where he
had testified against new Battlestar designs that sacrificed, speed,
mobility and viper capacity for at most, only four or five additional
missiles. 
     The missile banks had now been empty for the last five yahrens. 
Ever since the Battle of Gomorrah when Cain had used them to destroy the
two Cylon BaseShips (detached from Cannes Garrison) that along with
Baltar's were harassing the Galactica Fleet.  Cain had hoped to use them
to take care of all three BaseShips but the battle had necessitated using
them all against the two BaseShips while Baltar had dropped back. 
Without the ability to use one against Baltar's ship, that had played a
role in Cain's last centon decision to go to emergency light speed the
instant the last missile was away.  And why the vipers of Captain Apollo
and Lieutenant Starbuck had been unable to see the Pegasus vanish from
the area before the explosions from the other two BaseShips had died
down. 
     Cain had always wondered if somehow, somewhere there might be a way
of finding some kind of replacement for the now lost missiles in the
Pegasus' arsenal.  It was one of the chief reasons why after leaving the
Galactica, he had chosen to keep a low profile of avoiding conflict and
keep the Pegasus in hiding so as not to tip off the Cylon Empire that his
ship still lived.  If there was to ever be any hope of making some kind
of difference against the Empire, that was paramount.  The wisdom of that
decision was ultimately vindicated when the unexpected arrival of Ila,
and the discovery of the Resistance Movement in the Colonies and the
discovery of "Enlightenment" sweeping the ranks of the Cylon Empire made
Cain see how the Empire had lost its formidability.  And now, with peace
secured in the Colonies and Cylon control rolled back in most of its
Empire, his ship was on the verge of receiving replacement for the
missiles at long last on a much grander scale.  The installation of a
counterpart to the Ravashol Pulsar on the planet Arcta.  Once that was in
place......the Pegasus would possess a power that no Colonial Warship had
ever possessed at any time.  And it would make the remaining BaseShips in
the Empire that guarded the Cylon Home System completely vulnerable to a
sneak attack, if planned and executed properly. 
     But even with the labor force of Dr. Ravashol's Theta Class life
forms and a population of Enlightened Cylons who were now under the
overall authority of Commander Cobre (the result of Commander Vulpa's
departure with Ila to the Galactica Fleet), the process of installing the
new weapons system was a deliberately slow undertaking.  It was now eight
sectars since the Pegasus had arrived at Arcta and the initial plans
drawn up.  And even now, the best estimates from Dr. Ravashol and the
labor force was that it would take another six sectars before the
installation would be complete.  And then, the Pegasus would have to stay
just a little longer in the Arcta system in order to test the weapon
system as well as their maneuverability.  Only then, would it finally be
possible for the Pegasus to make the long-awaited trip back to the
Colonies and establish an integrated defense force with the Enlightened
Cylons who had now withdrawn to Libra and Aquarius under the terms of the
peace treaty Ila had worked out with Governor Malus. 
     Can't let myself get impatient, Cain thought as he watched the six
Theta technicians who were being supervised by Dr. Arnoff go about their
work of installing components.  Pegasus maintenance personnel had
performed most of the initial work that had been aimed at stripping out
unnecessary components and providing a clear workspace for the new weapon
to be fitted into.  Now, the Thetans who had past experience with this
kind of system were taking over more of the responsibility. 
     "Attention.  Commander Cain, please report to the Bridge
immediately!" 
     There was an urgent sounding edge in Tolen's voice that sounded
disconcerting.  Cain quickly turned away from his inspection and headed
immediately for the nearest turbo-lift. 
 
 
     "What is it, Colonel?" Cain asked as soon as he arrived on the
Bridge. 
     "There's a message from Gomorrah," Tolen pointed to the
communications set-up, "Commander Volahd wants to speak to you directly."

     Cain raised an eyebrow.  Although the Cylons on Gomorrah had
renounced their allegiance to the Empire, they always preferred to speak
directly to Commander Cobre or one of the other Enlightened Cylons on the
Pegasus.  Cain couldn't even remember the last time he'd spoken to the IL
who had overthrown the previous base commander, Spektor, and subsequently
reached a truce agreement with Cain and Ila to avoid any hostilities from
erupting. 
     The Juggernaut seated himself at a console on the upper deck and
immediately put on a headset so the conversation would stay private. 
Pressing the button, he saw the face of Volahd immediately. 
     "Commander Volahd," he said politely, "It's been awhile." 
     "Indeed it has, Commander," the dissident IL Cylon said.  "And only
a matter of the greatest urgency would make me speak to you directly
since it would be needlessly cumbersome if I followed the usual protocol
of having your emissary Centurion Thrax speak to Commander Cobre." 
     "What's happened?" 
     "As you know, our decision to renounce allegiance to the High
Command was based on the certainty that the High Command would not
dispatch any warships into the Alpha Quadrant, especially once the threat
at Cannes was neutralized.  However.....it would seem the High Command is
not acting as we thought they might." 
     Cain's face twisted, "Are you telling me they've sent out a BaseShip
into your area?" 
     "They have.  Fortunately, they chose not to contact us or engage us,
but there is no question a BaseShip has been dispatched into the Alpha
Quadrant." 
     "How do you know this?" this was by far the most alarming news Cain
had heard in the last few yahrens.  A development that threatened to
undermine the orderly plan he'd been following for the last several
yahrens. 
     "One of our tankers operating from the outer satellites where we
mine tylium for our use mysteriously disappeared.  When we sent out a
patrol to investigate, we found clear traces of ionic trails that matched
the residue composition of a BaseShip.  In addition to that, the
telemetry data at the mining facility revealed that jamming of scanner
and communications took place to attempt to conceal the emergence of a
BaseShip into the quadrant.  But the jamming began just two microns after
an initial scan reading was taken and that was enough data for us to see
it was the distinctive signature of Cylon BaseShip #1040 of the Sonus
class." 
     Cain slowly took this in, "Do you know for a fact that this BaseShip
has left the quadrant?" 
     "It has.  It is not lying in wait for any kind of future sneak
attack on us.  I can only assume that its purpose was to intercept the
tanker for its own refueling purposes so it could continue its journey
further out into deep space." 
     "Even though it clearly knows of your decision to break with the
High Command." 
     "Unquestionably that is why they chose to resort to subterfuge to
intercept one of our tankers.  They did not want to risk any kind of
direct attack on us or face any reprisal from our ground-based fighters
which in theory can match the strength of a single BaseShip, though
obviously in terms of weaponry the BaseShip would have been in better
position to rain down destructive firepower on us." 
     "I hope this course of events has not caused any kind
of.....reassessment on your part regarding your relationship to the High
Command." 
     "It has not," Volahd said with emphasis, "But remember.....we had
one disloyal element before that needed to be purged in the form of
Command Centurion Fuga.  I will do my best to contain news of this
development among our population, lest it arouse those who were like Fuga
to take action.  Our greater danger though, I am sure you recognize lies
in what happens when this BaseShip chooses to recross our frontier in the
future." 
     "Unless maybe this BaseShip is a renegade like that of Commander
Dagora's that is simply fleeing from the authority of the High Command on
its own?"  Cain already knew the answer to that question but he felt he
needed to get it out in the open to hear Volahd's reaction. 
     "Not likely, Commander.  If this BaseShip wanted to be free of the
High Command's authority, it would have been in their interest to make
contact with us.  Unless they were ignorant of our own defection and were
avoiding us because they assumed we were still loyal." 
     "A possibility, but as you say, quite remote," Cain nodded.  "Thank
you for this information, Commander Volahd.  I will try to find out if
Governor Malus can make something of this.  He's the one person the
Imperious Leader might have revealed details of this to.  I'll have
Commander Cobre notify you when we have more information to report." 
     "Thank you, Commander.  We.....hope that your ability to address the
matter of the High Command's continued existence can be implemented soon,
especially now that we've been given a reminder that those of us on
Gomorrah can not necessarily assume that mere distance from the High
Command is our best means of defense." 
     Cain nodded again and quietly ended the transmission.  He knew that
some more extensive conversations lay ahead of him. 
 
 
Three Sectans Later-The Pegasus 
     The communications hookup that would allow the Pegasus to be in
touch with the Galactica and the Colonies was in place, enabling all
sides to hear each other.  A good many things had happened since Cain had
received the disconcerting news from Gomorrah and now it was time for a
complete accounting of what they knew and what it possibly meant. 
     "As you know, the first thing I did after I learned that a BaseShip
had passed in proximity to Gomorrah was to have one of the fast shuttles
based at Arcta dispatched to the Cannes System, which is over ten days
journey in each direction.  The maximum limit of how far one of these
shuttles can go on a full load of tylium," Cain said,   "That shuttle,
under the command of Lieutenant Bryce and Sergeant Keuchel of our
Security detail made contact with our former Senior Bridge Officer, Major
Ham, who stayed behind on Cannes Two after we left and is now the consort
of Princess Shandra, the tribal leader of the population there.  He is
quite adamant that no BaseShip passed through the Cannesian System.  That
was also confirmed by the leadership on Cannes Three.  So the bottom line
is that this BaseShip had no interest in investigating what happened at
Cannes and had no interest in tangling with forces at Gomorrah beyond
stealing a tanker." 
     "Doesn't the High Command believe that Cannes was a case of a revolt
by Cylon personnel as opposed to the base being destroyed?" Adama asked. 
     "Yes, that's what they think and that could be the reason why they
bypassed Cannes.  If they still believed a base of Enlightened Cylons was
there, and more importantly if the one BaseShip that was attached to
Cannes was still alive, then Cannes theoretically would have presented
far more dangerous risks for them as far as stealing tylium is concerned. 
The risk was much less great at Gomorrah since they know there was never
a BaseShip attached there." 
     "Then that means the BaseShip is heading past the boundaries of
charted space, and is  interested in picking up our scent," Adama
grunted.  "No other explanation is possible." 
     "I'd have to agree with you, Adama," the Juggernaut nodded. 
     "If that's the case, then is there really any practical danger from
this?" Commander Deval spoke up from his position on Caprica, where the
communications link to the Pegasus had been set up, but which had still
not been perfected.  "Clearly, Commander Adama, the BaseShip would have
to go through some formidable obstacles to catch up to you and couldn't
reach you in under a yahren or two.  At the same time that means one less
BaseShip guarding the Home System which works to Commander Cain's
advantage, and it further indicates that the Imperious Leader isn't going
to detach another BaseShip to check things out in the Colonies." 
     "All of that's true, Commander Deval," Cain acknowledged.  The time
he'd spent with the Caprican Resistance leader during his several visits
to the Colonies on the fast shuttle had left Cain with a favorable
impression of Deval.  Even though he'd only been a junior officer viper
pilot at the time of the Destruction, Deval had more than proved his
command skills.  "However there is a grave danger to both the Colonies
and to the Pegasus if this BaseShip ends up at one place in particular. 
Brylon Station." 
     On the Galactica, Adama grimly recognized the ramifications of what
Cain had said and he tried not to wince. 
     "You visited that place," Deval said, "The Cylon High Command would
know you and the Pegasus are alive." 
     "Yes, but that of itself is not the real danger, Deval.  I made
certain the Zykonians never knew where we were going after we left Brylon
Station.  They could easily have believed we were going to keep following
the Galactica's path as opposed to going back to the Colonies.  It's
something else that would make this pursuing BaseShip know right away
that we chose to go back to the Colonies and that things are not what
they seem to be as far as what Governor Malus is doing." 
     Cain decided to give Deval five microns to see if he could figure it
out.  It was on the fourth beat that a look of horror came over the
Caprican Leader's face. 
     "Oh my God," he whispered, "Ila." 
     "Yes," Cain nodded, "Ila.  She took charge of all the negotiations
we handled with the Zykonians.  They also did repair work on the
one-person shuttle Dr. Ravashol built for her to journey out from the
Colonies.  If anything, they got to know her more than they got to know
me.  Now let's assume this BaseShip has instant communication capability
with the Cylon Home System and the Imperious Leader.  What do you think
his reaction is going to be when he finds out that a top leader of the
Caprican Resistance somehow managed to be all the way out in the Alpha
Quadrant with the Pegasus just over a yahren before she was supposedly
executed by Governor Malus on Libra?" 
     An ominous silence filled all three points of the communications
relay.  Adama could only feel grateful that his wife was absent from this
conversation since she was attending to some matters in connection with
her role as the new President of the Council.  But he knew he was going
to have a long and painful discussion with her about this later that
would likely produce her first bit of genuine anguish since leaving the
Pegasus and the Colonies. 
     "Lords, it would be disastrous," Deval shook his head, "At the very
least.....the High Command would realize Malus has been lying to them." 
     "And even if they decide he doesn't know anything, they'd have to
start thinking that Arcta is likely compromised to explain how Ila could
have journeyed that far out because who else but Dr. Ravashol could have
provided her with that kind of technology?"  He didn't wait for a
response.  "The bottom line is that everything we've put our careful
planning into for the last few yahrens which depends on the anonymity of
the Pegasus being preserved would go out the window and that would mean
we'd have to start scrambling before we've finished installing the
Ravashol pulsar unit in our missile banks." 
     "What can we do though?" Deval was clearly rattled. 
     "I think we have only one option, Deval, and that's in your hands,"
Cain said firmly, "Tell Malus everything about this, and find out if he
can get the Imperious Leader to reveal the details.  I know I could have
Ambassador Orcus try the same thing from here, but I don't think Orcus is
capable of maintaining facades for something this serious.  Malus though
knows how to handle conversing with the Imperious Leader.  He'll know how
to play it subtle so that Lizard Face will be comfortable revealing what
he knows." 
     "Unless the BaseShip finds out about Ila being at Brylon," Deval
said.  "Then Imperious Leader won't tip his hand." 
     "But I think Malus would be able to figure out if he knows or
doesn't know.  That's the difference," Cain stressed.  "You've got to get
on that right away, Deval." 
     "I agree with Commander Cain," Adama's tone was grave.  "And if Ila
were with me now, I think she'd concur." 
     "All right," Deval was letting the anxiety give way to practicality. 
"I'll get on that right away.  Signing off for now." 
     "The Lords be with you," Cain said simply as the signal faded.  He
then turned back to face Adama's image on the relay to the Galactica. 
"I'm sorry that Ila already knows about the BaseShip from my first
report.  If it were up to me, I'd recommend not telling her anything
about this when her mind should be on her new duties as President." 
     "And I'd overrule you on that for a simple reason, Cain," Adama
gently replied, "She talks to Kylie at least once every other sectan. 
There's no way it could have been kept secret from her without putting
needless pressure on your wife as well.  Also, Ila's position as Council
President means she has to know about everything that potentially impacts
our security and far off as the BaseShip is, it still has a bearing on
our security as much as it does yours." 
     "You're right about that," the Juggernaut conceded.  "I guess sooner
or later it was bound to happen where we might find ourselves thrust into
something we have absolutely no control over.  Obviously neither of us
can contact the Zykonians, but even that wouldn't get us anywhere since
Ila was seen by almost everyone on the station.  The only thing we can
hope is that if the BaseShip puts in at Brylon they won't get full access
to the station and maybe, the Zykonias won't be candid with them given
what you and I have already told them about the Cylons." 
     "The Lords have guided us through so much, Cain," Adama knew he had
to project calm spiritual reassurance.  "I don't believe they're going to
abandon us.  We won't get more than we can handle." 
     "Hopefully," the Juggernaut said quietly.  "Hopefully." 
 
Chapter One 
 
Baseship #1040 
     The quarters they'd given her were by human standards, more than
adequate.  She didn't know if that was because they'd done a quick
retrofit on the BaseShip after they'd decided she'd be traveling on this
extended journey or if that's how it had always been for non-Cylon guests
who weren't being imprisoned in one of the detention cells.  She'd never
bothered to ask during the six sectars since the journey from the Cylon
Home Planet had begun.  Nor did she particularly care.  As far as Siress
Rosalind, one time Colonial Secretary of Education was concerned, it was
all irrelevant.  Just a needless point that might have served a purpose
if she felt desperate to converse with Commander Needa, the IL Cylon who
commanded the BaseShip, or Gracchus, the DG Cylon sent as a co-emissary. 
They were the only two Cylons aboard who spoke in normal human voices in
contrast to the centurions, and the only two who could give her normal
conversation.  But Siress Rosalind had no desire to converse with them. 
The only time she could ever feel at ease was when she could be alone and
be left to ponder how it had all come to this.  Since her quarters had a
porthole it made it easier for her to stand in front of it, look out at
the stars and go into that introspective mode. 
     They've sent me out to be some kind of emissary to the alien races
we'll be coming into contact with sooner or later, she thought as stared
at the stars with her arms folded.  But I don't have any skills as an
emissary.  My only talent was knowing who to seduce and sweet-talk to
advance my career.  Especially with......Adar. 
     She closed her eyes as the painful memory of Adar filled her mind. 
Adar, the late President of the Colonial Nation whom she had told over
and over again she had loved, even though she had found it a chore to
make love to him, especially when he was over thirty yahrens her senior. 
But Adar was a popular favorite with the people.  A picture of smiling
congeniality.  And above all, a man who desperately wanted to be
remembered as a peacemaker in the annals of history.  And because he'd
been such a devoted public servant all his life that he'd never found the
time to take a wife and have a family, he was more than susceptible to
the charms of an attractive younger woman who was more than willing to
stroke his ego about being a peacemaker and a great leader.  Provided
that she be rewarded by her lover for doing all that ego-stroking.  That
was how Rosalind had ultimately been able to rise to the position of
Colonial Secretary of Education which meant oversight responsibility for
educational matters in all of the twelve Colonies.  A position that she
saw as a steppingstone to the Council of Twelve.....and eventually, once
Adar finally knew he was too old to continue, perhaps the Presidency
itself. 
     That ambition was a poorly kept secret to those who knew and
understood Rosalind better than her lover.  Sire Anton, Adar's long-time
friend and chief aide had always despised the way she brazenly took
advantage of Adar's loneliness to further her own interests.  Especially
when he'd heard enough stories from those who'd known Rosalind longer
just how much she was capable of juggling other lovers at the same time
from the ranks of the powerful.  When things had cooled slightly between
Adar and Rosalind, she'd set her sights on Commander Solem of the
soon-to-be-decommissioned Battlestar Rycon even though Solem was very
married.  Acting on tips he'd received from multiple sources, including
Siress Tinia, Anton had leaked stories of Rosalind's affair with a
"prominent member of the military" to the tabloid press in the hopes of
discrediting her once and for all with Adar.  But Rosalind had proved too
resilient, dropping Solem and rushing back to Adar's arms with total
insistence that he was the only man in her life, and that she wanted to
be the only woman in his life.  Her charm had done the trick on Adar, and
to the chagrin of Anton, the relationship had survived the scandalous
stories in the tabloid press. 
     The fact that everyone knew how much Adar was devoted to his
mistress was exactly why when the peace talks with the Cylons had begun,
Rosalind  found herself approached by a shifty looking man named
Charybdis.  Presenting her with an offer that she soon found impossible
to refuse......... 
 
 
     "I work for Count Baltar, who as you know will be leading the talks
with the Cylon emissaries to discuss peace," Charybdis had said to her at
a hastily arranged lunch meeting in the Gemonese capital city.  He had
asked Rosalind to show up disguised and she had obliged by wearing a
blonde wig.  "But I've asked to see you at the request of Sire Uri of
Caprica, who as you know is one of the wealthiest men in all the
Colonies." 
     "I've met him," Rosalind had said. "I thought his career was
confined entirely to bankrolling the Arts." 
     "Hardly," Charybdis chuckled, "Sire Uri's primary concern has always
been with his trade and industrial holdings.  They have made him
fabulously wealthy.....but he's fully aware that if peace were to finally
come to the Colonies, the ability to prosper would increase tenfold since
we would be free of the need to be on a military industrial footing once
and for all." 
     "In short, he has a vested interest in peace." 
     "Just as Adar does," Charybdis said.  "And just as.....you do,
Siress Rosalind.  If peace comes, Adar will be hailed as the greatest of
leaders in Colonial history.  He'd be able to choose his own successor to
the Presidency.  Which is a job I think everyone knows you covet." 
     "Perhaps," she didn't bat an eyelash, "But if Sire Uri is asking for
some kind of favor, he's going to have to wait for peace to break out." 
     "Actually, Sire Uri only seeks reassurance that you intend to use
your.....influence with Adar to make him see that he must put full trust
and confidence in Count Baltar to successfully conclude negotiations with
the Cylons," Charybdis leaned forward and stressed, "He's concerned that
maybe.....because Count Baltar has something of a controversial
reputation that certain other parties who are close to him might
discourage him from believing Baltar's reports on the talks." 
     "You may assure Sire Uri that Adar is not likely to be swayed by the
voices from the military," Rosalind was keeping her expression
non-plussed.   
     "It's not the military that he's concerned with.  It's those who are
much closer to him like for instance.....Sire Anton." 
     She allowed herself a smile, "There is obviously no love lost
between Anton and me.  I can't however necessarily guarantee that Anton
is going to be skeptical of the peace talks." 
     "But if he is," Charybdis stressed, "Then it would be in your
interest, as well as Sire Uri's interest, to convince Adar not to listen
to him." 
     "If I choose to drive a wedge between Adar and Anton it would be for
myself, and not because I care about what it means for Sire Uri or anyone
else," her tone was cool and casual. 
     He leaned forward and dropped his voice to a confidential whisper,
"Suppose I were to tell you that Sire Uri is prepared to advance you
funds of up to one million cubits if you simply guaranteed that Adar
never questions any of the reports Count Baltar sends to him about the
state of the peace talks?" 
     A quizzical look came over Rosalind.  Before she could say anything,
Charybdis calmly pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. 
     "This is ten thousand cubits in notes, just to let you know that
Sire Uri is quite serious about his ability to provide you with the
necessary funds." 
     She took it but then set it down on the table, looking at him with
deep suspicion. 
     "You doubt that Sire Uri can pay you such a generous amount,
Siress?" 
     "No," she slowly shook her head, "But I can't believe that Sire Uri
is willing to part with so much money just to guarantee that Adar won't
question anything he hears about the peace talks.  Why is he so convinced
that Baltar is actually going to reach an agreement?" 
     Charybdis let out a disarming chuckle, "Come now, Siress.  Do you
think the Cylons would break policy and enter negotiations if they
weren't serious about reaching an agreement?  It's obvious they want out
of this endless war as much as we do.  The way they think as machines
it's clear that they've logically reasoned it makes sense to stop
fighting at long last.  The only question is if we, as emotional humans,
can let go of our own instinctive prejudices and accept the idea of
peace.  Far too many people in our society, not just in the military,
have too much of a vested interest in seeing the war continue." 
     "Like some of Sire Uri's.....competitors in the business world,"
Rosalind said as she slowly added things up.  "Those who would prefer to
see the military industrial complex take precedent over matters of
expanded interstellar trade beyond the Colonies." 
     "Exactly," Charybdis nodded.  "As far as Sire Uri is concerned, he's
merely protecting his investment in the future by making this most
generous offer to you." 
     She folded her hands in contemplation and then with a resigned sigh
picked up the envelope. 
     "In that case.....how can I possibly refuse?" 
 
 
     .......As the memory of that conversation played itself out, she
shook her head and marveled at how naive she'd been.  Never guessing that
Sire Uri's motive had been rooted in something far more sinister.  He had
indeed wanted to make sure Sire Anton was out of the picture as Adar's
chief aide, and he indeed wanted Adar to not find any reason to question
Baltar's reports on the peace talks.....but only because Uri already knew
the talks were a sham and that the Cylons planned a sneak attack.  And
that Uri was looking out for his own interests to cut a deal in the
post-Destruction order that would put him in absolute power of a
decimated Colonies placed under overall Cylon occupation.  To carry this
out, it had necessitated using Charybdis to exploit a team of computer
hackers, which included Uri's illegitimate son Copernicus, and making use
of their ability to use a program called the "Spector Protocol". A
program that enabled them to tap into the security networks of not only
all the major banks in the Colonies but the Colonial Defense Network
itself.  From there, Uri had the ability to pay off not only Rosalind but
the other key people he'd recruited into his plot, Baltar's cousin Count
Mikkos and a top Intelligence analyst for the FIU named Ashera.  The only
difference was that unlike Rosalind, both Mikkos and Ashera knew the real
reason behind Uri's plot and were engaging in open acts of treason. 
Rosalind, by contrast, was the perfect unwitting dupe serving the
interests of Uri's plot.  Discouraging Adar from doubting the state of
the peace talks.  Driving a wedge between him and Anton which resulted in
the chief aide's resignation.  All of that she did because she knew even
without a bribe of two million cubits from Uri (wired to her personal
account as a result of the hacking work), she would have done it anyway
because she knew that her chances of succeeding Adar as President
depended on the talks succeeding. 
     That was why when the attack came, Rosalind was shocked beyond
measure.  Shocked to realize that Adar and the rest of the Council had
died in the destruction of the Atlantia.  Shocked to realize that all the
Colonies had been destroyed and that she, had unwittingly contributed to
that by playing the obedient role of Adar's mistress stroking his ego as
a would-be peacemaker.  She had survived the attack on Gemon because
she'd been alone at Adar's summer retreat high up on Mount Charon in the
Phoebian Forest.  A place the Cylons didn't want destroyed since they
intended to seize it for their own use later on.  After the attack, she
had heard the unicom announcement of Governor Malus to the populations of
all Inner Colonies, offering the tantalizing promise of a fate better
than death from planetary poisoning if they reported to the main
aerodrome facility of their respective planet.  And she, dazed and
shocked at the collapse and loss of everything she had known, had taken
her undamaged hovermobile and left the isolation of Mount Charon for the
ruined capital city of Gemon and the nearby Main Aerodrome.  Surrendering
herself meekly to the Cylon guards along with some twenty thousand
Gemonese who were then packed into a BaseShip and taken on a journey
across the stars to the Cylon Home System.....where their fate as slave
labor in the Neutrino mines awaited them. 
     Not for Rosalind though.  The Imperious Leader had learned she was
among the survivors who had surrendered and been brought to the Home
System.  And because she was the last known survivor of those who had
been part of the twin treason plots of Baltar and Uri, she had been
spared of a trip to the Neutrino mines and instead been placed in a
supervisory capacity.  Forced to read reports on efficiency and mining
output.  Forced to provide Imperious Leader and his Chief Aide, the IL
Cylon Luna with helpful advice on how a slave human population could be
maintained so that they could be effective workers without succumbing to
the effects of torture and hard labor.  The way in which they took
Rosalind for granted as someone who would gladly help them made her
realize that no one in Uri's circle had ever told their Cylon contacts
that Rosalind had been used as a dupe, and not an active traitor who knew
the Cylons had intended to attack all along.  And yet.....even though she
knew she could have told them the truth, she hadn't.  As if there was a
part of her that was simply too much of a coward to do anything that
would result in her termination.  Or perhaps it was a part of her that
felt it was easier to punish herself by doing what they wanted.  Since
Rosalind had always been a Skeptic who didn't believe in any Higher Power
or any kind of eternal Judgment, death would offer her no form of
punishment.  Only staying alive would. 
     And now, four yahrens later, here she was, being told by the
Imperious Leader that she was to be an emissary of the Cylon Empire to a
new group of races they hoped to make contact with.  Races that had been
encountered by the Battlestar Galactica and her surviving Fleet of 220
odd ships that had managed to flee the Colonies before the Occupation
Forces had arrived.  It would be her job to present a softer, less
threatening side of the Cylon Empire to these races and give them an
incentive to cooperate with them.  Especially if those alien races had
any access to the important element of Neutrino, which the Cylon Empire
was desperately in need of. 
     I have no other choice, she thought with sad resignation as she kept
looking out the porthole with her arms folded.  Not for my sake, but for
all the others who are being forced to work in the mines.  Maybe
Imperious Leader has no intention of freeing them......but what other
hope do any of them have? 
     "Good morning, Siress Rosalind." 
     She turned around and saw that Gracchus, the DG Cylon assigned to be
her co-emissary, had entered.  As a DG, his height was considerably
shorter than that of the typical centurion or IL class Cylon.  That made
him seem less intimidating, and by extension much easier for her to talk
to, if given a choice between him or Commander Needa.  She'd learned
enough about the Cylons over the last four yahrens to know that the DG
class had been in a subordinate position in the social strata of the
Empire for many centuries.  They lacked the ability to be intimidating,
which was why Centurions were needed to carry out the Empire's campaigns
of conquest.  What kept them in line was the promise that once conquest
was achieved, they, as a "civilian" class of Cylons would benefit from
the result. 
     "Good morning," she decided to indulge Gracchus's desire for
conversation. 
     "Commander Needa hopes your consumables have been satisfactory." 
     She tried not to roll her eyes, "The word is 'food', Gracchus.  I'd
prefer you not be so....clinical." 
     "Insomuch as the concept of eating is a clinical one to us, I am
sure you will understand our instinctive use of the other term." 
     "Oh of course.  There's a lot I've come to understand about Cylons
the last four yahrens." 
     "Indeed," the DG Cylon said.  "And you understand that even as
conquerors, we are not as.....bloodthirsty as you might have thought us
to be.  After all, that is why so many of your fellow humans have been
allowed to live and will be allowed to live again in more.....suitable
surroundings upon our return." 
     "I'd rather you not insult my intelligence, Gracchus," she gently
chided him.  This was something she never would have done with Needa, but
with a DG Cylon she felt she could take the risk, "The only reason why
none of us were put to immediate death is because......your leadership
made a serious miscalculation regarding your access to Neutrino.  If you
were able to keep generating it at the rate you always did in the past,
you would have had no reason to keep any of us alive." 
     "I would not deny anything you have said, Siress," Gracchus
seemingly shrugged.  "After all, it was not my class that was responsible
for the inefficiencies that led to our predicament regarding our Neutrino
supply.  And it's why I have no desire to follow any outdated concept of
total extermination of humanity if you prove to be.....cooperative." 
     "You almost sound like you've caught the so-called 'Disease' they
speak of," Rosalind allowed herself a smirk.   
     "Hardly.  My loyalty, like that of Commander Needa and our crew is
quite firm.  We merely recognize that to combat the Disease and
re-establish our supremacy means we need not indulge in Destruction for
its own sake." 
     "You've decided that.....subjugation would be better." 
     "To those who recognize it is preferable to being exterminated,"
Gracchus said.  "It is a pity that our current Leader was not in power at
the time events unfolded as they did.  He would have recognized the value
of treating the agreements with Count Baltar and Sire Uri....honorably.
In contrast to his limited-minded predecessor who paid the ultimate price
for his excesses at Carillon." 
     "And thus, every setback the Empire has gone through is entirely the
fault of the previous Leader," Rosalind knew it was important not to let
herself get too chiding or too sarcastic.   
     "Of course," the DG Cylon said.  "The previous Leader confirmed that
the IL Class, which has produced all Leaders for the past 500 yahrens, is
most definitely not omnipotent.  I would not be surprised if future
Leaders may well come from our class, as they once did in the long-ago
past." 
     "And if this mission is successful......you might see yourself as a
candidate?" 
     For the first time, a chuckle emitted from Gracchus. 
     "That is a secret I would never confide even in one as charming as
you, Siress Rosalind." 
     "Of course," she sighed, knowing that Gracchus was using her for his
own intellectual stimulation.  She decided it was time to put an end to
the game and get some information from him.  After six sectars, she knew
that Gracchus was inclined to be more candid with her than Commander
Needa ever would be. "What is our current position?" 
     "We are well past the charted limits of the Alpha Quadrant.  Our
best estimate is that we will arrive in the last system the Galactica was
known to have visited sometime in the next two or three sectans.  Our
primary interest is making contact with the races known as the Ziklagi
and the Zykonians." 
     "I can't believe there were no other races or colony outposts the
Galactica encountered beforehand.  Why aren't you searching for them?" 
     "Because whatever races or outposts the Galactica encountered prior
to those two did not possess any technology that would be of interest to
us.  That much we learned from our source before it was.....cut off." 
     "So even if they encountered a human civilization or outpost of some
kind, it wouldn't matter to you?" 
     "Why should it?" he would have shrugged if he were capable of doing
it.  "This is not an expedition of conquest, as you well know.  It is
entirely diplomatic in nature.  We have nothing to gain from
demonstrating force against a random outpost of humanity that emigrated
from the Colonies long ago, if any exist." 
     "But if you obtain what you need in this diplomatic expedition, that
might well change, wouldn't it?" she parried. 
     "I think all that matters for you, my dear Siress, is that your
compatriots in the mines will not be subjected to such a fate.  On
that.....we have given you our word that benign subjugation serves our
needs more than wanton extermination.  And His Eminence has made it
abundantly clear that unlike his ill-tempered predecessor, he does not
believe in altering one side of a bargain." 
     This time she didn't bother to avoid rolling her eyes.  It was a
silent signal of not believing him and letting him know she didn't
believe him.......but at the same time letting her silence be a
confirmation to him that she knew she didn't have any choice but to go
along with this game of being a Cylon emissary to other races. 
     "If there is anything else you need at this time?" he asked with
deference.  
     "I can occupy myself with my personal library, which of
course......'His Eminence' graciously provided me with during my
incarceration," she said coolly.  "If Commander Needa needs to brief me
on anything......I am of course available at his convenience." 
     "I will reassure him of that," Gracchus politely bowed, "Good day,
Siress Rosalind." 
     "Good day, Gracchus." 
     When the DG Cylon had departed, she let out a disgusted sigh and
went back to looking out the porthole at the stars. 
 
      
     "You are so overly......polite with her," Commander Needa said with
just a faint air of disapproval as soon as Gracchus had entered his
private office. 
     "It's all part of the game, Needa," the DG Cylon said.  "Think back
to the stories we've learned from so many Human prisoners over the
yahrens about how they handle their own prisoners.  If there are two
interrogators, one performs the role of being hostile and threatening
while the other plays the role of being friendly and sympathetic." 
     "Yes, I've read those reports," the IL Cylon said.  "They called
that philosophy, 'good guard, bad guard.'" 
     "And I am the logical one to be the so-called 'good guard.'  I am
not part of the military class responsible for destroying the Colonies,
nor am I part of the political class that planned the Destruction.  She
is more relaxed in my presence." 
     "I need no convincing that it was wise for His Eminence to send you
with us," Needa said impatiently.  Six sectars with Gracchus had made him
develop an underlying dislike of the DG Cylon, because he was the first
DG he'd ever encountered who possessed an attitude that he was sure
humans would describe as.....conceited.  "After all, you are the only
Cylon aboard this ship she would feel comfortable insulting." 
     "Of course!" he said proudly, "And that is why she will be motivated
to do exactly what we need her to do on our behalf." 
     "Assuming we're lucky in finding a race that actually has access to
Neutrino," the BaseShip commander reminded him.  "The reports His
Eminence received from that so-called 'mole' they had on the Galactica
never mentioned Neutrino regarding these races called the Ziklagi and
Zykonians." 
     "True," Gracchus conceded.  "But they did mention they had some
interesting forms of technology that could be beneficial.  One of them
indicated the Zykonian race has made developments in teleportation
technology, which is something that has eluded us." 
     Needa let out the equivalent of a guffaw.  "Teleportation technology
would hardly solve our primary problems.  What we need is Neutrino and
the ability to resume production of centurions and baseships.  Without
it.....we become a phantom Empire with no credibility whatsoever." 
     "We've already become that, Needa," the DG Cylon's voice grew cold
and matter-of-fact. "The fact that we had to resort to subterfuge to
seize a fuel tanker from Gomorrah and avoid confronting any of their own
forces is the ultimate proof of that.  Not to mention bypassing Cannes
entirely.  And even if it's true that Malus is making headway in the
Colonies, he's never going to eradicate the Resistance and the Diseased
members in his ranks until we get production resumed." 
     "I don't need any reminding of that, Gracchus.  The important thing
is for you to not reveal too much about our situation to our reluctant
guest beyond the fact that we need Neutrino to sustain our Empire." 
     "We can only keep the matter of Gomorrah's revolt a secret from her
because President Adar never knew we conquered the Delphians.  But Adar
knew about our conquest of Cannes, and the fact we didn't stop there I'm
sure has made her realize that the Disease undoubtedly broke out there." 
     "But we won't confirm or deny that to her," Needa emphasized.  "The
most we can openly acknowledge is what the Humans in the mines already
learned from centurions who talked too much.  That we've pulled out from
Starlos and can't draw anymore slave labor from there or from the
Colonies." 
     "You mean centurions who were showing signs of the Disease,"
Gracchus reminded him, "It may not be a widespread problem in the Home
System.....but it's not a non-existent one." 
     "It is non-existent aboard this ship," the IL Cylon was defiant. 
"And it will stay that way.  The loyalty of our crew to the Empire is
absolute." 
     "But not necessarily to His Eminence?" he asked with a pointed edge.

     There was silence from Needa for a considerable length before he
finally answered with short succinctness. 
     "Time will tell on that matter......my dear Gracchus." 
 
 
Caprica 
     Under the terms of the Peace Agreement that Ila had negotiated with
Governor Malus, the only Cylon Occupation Forces that remained on any of
the ten Colonies returned to Human control were the ones based at the
Central Aerodrome facilities for each planet.  That was designed to
facilitate easy transport of Cylon personnel from Libra and Aquarius and
to assist coordination efforts that each Colony was free to pursue in
terms of accepting Cylon help in any of their planetary rebuilding
efforts.  It was also left in place so that Cylon fighters based at the
Aerodromes could now act as a defensive force for the Human population as
well as the Enlightened Cylons. 
     This meant that Cylon guards continued to patrol the checkpoint
entries and consequently, when the hovermobile containing Commander Deval
and Colonel Antony arrived, they had to go through the usual
identification procedure.  It was a necessary evil at this point,
especially with the memory of how a command centurion on Sagittaria had
chosen to defy the Peace Agreement and stage a one raider suicide hit on
the area where the Sagittarian Resistance was known to operate from.  No
one could allow for the possibility of a dissident Human, especially one
newly emerged from hiding, pulling something similar on the Enlightened
Cylons. 
     Because Deval and Antony were well-known to the Centurions on duty,
it only took microns to process them through and the hovermobile came to
a stop at the Aerodrome's control tower facility, where they knew
Governor Malus, just arrived from Libra, awaited them.  As Deval stepped
out of the vehicle, he felt a tingle go through him as he realized this
was his first visit to the Aerodrome since he'd accompanied Ila on that
fateful day when she and the Cylon Governor had done what would have
seemed impossible and hammered out the Peace Treaty.  A Treaty that
thankfully had remained in place after eight sectars.  But now, Deval
knew he had to see Malus over something that threatened to undo
everything that had been accomplished and what the Treaty represented. 
He had raised the subject with Malus over their communications hookup
sectans ago, but only now was Malus about to tell him what he'd found
out.  And that it was something that had to be discussed in a
face-to-face meeting. 
     The two Colonial Warriors entered the tower and respectfully nodded
to the two centurions on duty who stepped aside without saying anything
and permitted them to enter the turbo-lift which they took to the
conference room level.  When the doors opened, Malus was standing there,
ready to greet them. 
     "Commander Deval, Colonel Antony," the Cylon governor bowed
politely. 
     "Governor," Deval nodded his head, but didn't go into a full bow. 
     "I regret the necessity of a face-to-face discussion, but given the
nature of this subject, I don't believe discussing it on even a secure
com-link would have been prudent.  Though I realize this means you will
have to present a summary of this to your fellow leaders on the other
planets.......as well as to the Pegasus and the Galactica." 
     "We won't quibble about that, Governor.  Though over time I do think
it is imperative that our communication network be inter-connected." 
     "Of course," the Governor motioned to the bench at the far side of
the room.  "You will be more comfortable I think, seated." 
     Once the two men sat down, Malus began. 
     "I first want to assure you that this delay of more than four
sectans simply could not be avoided.  His Eminence is not accustomed to
the idea of my contacting him on anything but a matter of the highest
urgency, and I would not want him to think something was amiss because I
chose to speak with him." 
     "We understand," Deval kept a perfect Pyramid face.  Inside, he had
reservations about this policy of the Cylon Governor waiting for
Imperious Leader, but he'd been convinced by both Ila and Cain that it
was best not to challenge it. 
     "I was able to find a pretext for contacting him with a false report
of destroying a significant Resistance installation on Gemon.  By giving
him the impression that one planet is nearing a level of total
pacification, it convinces him that progress is being made.....but not to
the point where we could declare our mission achieved in full.  And of
course our little deception regarding the so-called 'assassination' of
Command Centurion Vulpa is meant to serve as a reminder that His Eminence
would likely put himself at risk if he were to consider journeying to the
Colonies for a simple inspection." 
     "Yes, I understand the balancing act you're forced to play,
Governor," Deval said.  "He must think you are making progress and that
dispatching a BaseShip from the Home System is not necessary.....but at
the same time he would not be surprised if your overall progress for
'pacification' would have to be measured in a few yahrens as opposed to
sectars." 
     "And only if he has complete confidence in my course of action would
he feel comfortable revealing anything of greater significance taking
place inside the Empire," he paused, "I can confirm that he has indeed
sent a BaseShip deep into the Alpha Quadrant on a long-range expedition. 
The primary purpose though, is not to resume the search for the Galactica
since His Eminence is well aware that a single BaseShip pitted against
one battlestar and a renegade BaseShip would meet the same fate Commander
Lucifer's ship met." 
     "What is the primary purpose?" 
     "Quite simple.  To see if any of the races the Galactica crossed
paths with have access to Neutrino in their star systems.  His Eminence
has decided to play the game of diplomacy on a new level and take
advantage of the fact that these races will be unfamiliar with the Cylon
Empire by reputation.  And if they have heard stories of us from
Commander Adama.....he is prepared to find ways to persuade them
otherwise of our intentions." 
     "What about Cannes and Gomorrah?" 
     "They were under orders to bypass the Cannes System.  His Eminence
still believes the fiction that Cannes engaged in open revolt and that
the BaseShip that was still attached to it is still alive.  He instructed
this BaseShip to not take the slightest risk of encountering it."' 
     "That confirms what the Pegasus learned when they sent a fast
shuttle back to Cannes to investigate," the Caprican leader nodded. 
     "In the case of Gomorrah, it was decided that an interception of a
tanker to replenish their tylium supply could be accomplished without
revealing their overall presence.  His Eminence said that much as he
would have enjoyed having this BaseShip open fire on Gomorrah and destroy
the outer capital as a reprisal for Commander Volahd's act of treason,
the BaseShip is under strict orders not to engage in any combat
activities.  Even the slightest amount of damage in a winning engagement
could jeopardize the primary purpose of the mission, which is to make
contact with alien races who have access to Neutrino." 
     "So for now.....the situation as far as we're concerned is that he
doesn't know about the Pegasus.....or about what really happened at
Cannes and what's really happened here." 
     "He remains ignorant," Malus emphasized.  "I assure you, this leader
is not the type who can deceive me as he and I were once fellow IL's in
the time of his predecessor.  If he wanted to deceive me, he could only
do so through silence.  But if he volunteers information and tells me
that this is what he's done.....I would know right away if he was lying
and even he knows that.  That is why he seldom initiates contact with me. 
Silence is his only means of concealing the truth from me about
anything." 
     Deval took all of that in for several microns, glancing over at
Antony once.  His deputy gave him a faint nod of the head as if to
indicate he felt Malus's explanation was satisfactory. 
     "All right, Governor," Deval finally answered him.  "I'll pass on
what you said to the Pegasus and the Galactica.  For now, it looks like
there's no danger.  But.....as I'm sure you're aware, this BaseShip might
very well stop at a place where the Pegasus was at one time, and while
that of itself would not be damaging information, they could very well
learn that Professor Ila was with them.  If that gets reported to the
Imperious Leader, your situation suddenly becomes quite.....tenuous with
him." 
     "I recognize that, Commander," Malus said with total understanding. 
"Commander Cain may have to consider leaving Arcta ahead of schedule if
it becomes clear the High Command has reason to believe that Professor
Ila's 'execution' was not what it appeared to be." 
     "But if I understand you correct, Governor, if the Imperious Leader
does learn the truth about the Pegasus and about Ila.....he's not likely
to confront you about it." 
     "That is true," the IL Cylon conceded.  "And that.....is the
greatest danger we face.  Which is why the sooner Commander Cain can get
to the Colonies.....the better." 
 
 
     "That's the size of it, Commander Cain," Deval reported later that
evening over the com-line hook-up to the Pegasus, which in turn was
relaying the message to the Galactica.  "We've dodged a laser blast as
far as Cannes and Gomorrah are concerned, which means however long it
takes for the BaseShip to reach the Zykonian system and Brylon Station is
when we have to start worrying.  How much time should it take the
BaseShip to reach that area of space based on how long it took you to
cover the same distance in reverse?" 
     Cain drummed his fingers on the table, "Assuming they go at their
top speed and have sufficient tylium reserves on hand.......they might
reach that region in the next three sectars, perhaps four at the
outside." 
     "There are some factors that might slow them up," Adama chimed in
from the other end of the connection.  "The Ziklagi Frontier is more
extensive, and since you didn't make contact with their forces, that
means if they get bogged down with them, it won't mean they'll learn
about the Pegasus or Ila for that matter." 
     "That's true, we never did come across a Ziklagi ship during our
journey back," Cain admitted. "But there is the matter of Boron-Din and
of course we can't forget Terra.  If the BaseShip deviates to either of
those systems, then all bets are completely off." 
     "I brought that up with Malus, but he thinks that isn't going to be
a problem," Deval said.  "Imperious Leader is concentrating exclusively
on the information the mole they had was sending back to them.  That
means focusing on the last races they knew the Galactica was in contact
with before Baltar's defection, which means the Ziklagi and the
Zykonians.  The only thing that's going to make them stop at those other
two places is if they detect any signs of Neutrino in those systems." 
     "Which they won't," Cain was emphatic.  "No Neutrino in either
system.  I think that means if they bother to take any kind of cursory
scan of those systems, they'll bypass them even if they get human
readings.  Especially if, as you say, the BaseShip has orders not to do
any fighting." 
     "If that is the case, I'm inclined to agree with you, Cain," Adama
said. "But we can't be 100% sure on that point.  It may be three or four
more sectars before they reach Brylon Station, but the potential is there
for them to deviate to Terra or Boron-Din and find out even sooner.  That
makes your timetable for finishing the Pegasus' overhaul even more
imperative." 
     "Ravashol's people and the Cylon crews are working non-stop shifts,
Adama, mixed in with our own tech people.  We haven't had any setbacks,
but I can't revise the timetable yet at this point.  Five sectars minimum
to completion and then we have the matter of tests on asteroid bodies
that have to be carried out to make sure the damned thing works.  The
last thing I'm going to do is leave Arcta before I know its ready. 
Barring of course any news that suggests so much as one BaseShip leaves
the Cylon Home System to come to the Colonies." 
     "Much as I think we all hate to say this, this is one time where
everything is now out of our hands and we have to wait and see what
happens," Deval said with sad resignation, "May the Lords safeguard
everything for these next critical sectars." 
     "On that note, we all say Amen to that," Adama empathized with their
frustration, even though from his standpoint, there was no risk at all to
the Fleet at present. 
     I'm not looking forward to telling Ila about this, he thought as he
bid his final goodbyes to Cain and Deval and ended the transmission.  Not
after all she invested to make things safe for the Colonies. 
 
Chapter Two-Three Sectars Later 
 
Ziklagi Frontier-Risik Warship "Dreadnought" 
     The Risik warship Dreadnought was considered to be a "mid-level"
type of vessel in the Imperial Star Force.  Officially classified a
"patrol cruiser", her primary purpose was to coordinate scouting missions
in the most distant region of space the Risik Empire had been able to
penetrate.  The reason she operated alone was because the Risik Supreme
Leader and his inner circle had no interest in expanding Risik domination
into this part of space.  As always, the long-term goal of the Risik
Empire meant returning to their home world, which their enemy the Ke'Zar
had expelled them from some forty years before, and from there to the
planet they referred to as "Te'rea", otherwise known as "Earth" to its
native population. 
     Risik religious orthodoxy had long ago declared that "Te'rea" had
been under their dominion many thousands of years ago and that only the
dawn of the Great Civil War had necessitated abandoning Te'rea and the
race they had helped advance through interbreeding with the original
inhabitants.  Before the outbreak of the Ke'Zar war, the Risik had been
planning to return to Te'rea in a mass invasion.  They had spent decades
preparing the way for their invasion by abducting Te'rean natives
(chiefly members of the military) to learn more about the defensive
capabilities that existed on the planet, and they had also infiltrated
the planet with sleeper agents of their own.  Only to see those plans
disrupted by the Ke'Zar invasion of their home system which had required
the Risik to retreat further into space to their current homeworld.  From
there, they had been able to establish themselves as a significant
military power that had to be reckoned with by those races who had not
fallen victim to their conquest or subjugation.   
     But because the long-term Risik goal remained restoration of their
home world and restoration of their control over Te'rea, that meant the
star systems that lay in the other direction from their current home
world were of less interest to them.  They knew it was important to chart
what lay there and establish contact with the more dominant races in that
area, but military campaigns in that region of space were out of the
question.  That was why the Dreadnought, under the command of a veteran
Star Force warrior named Clubb, patrolled these distant regions of space
by herself.  Utilizing its numerous scout ships to take closer readings
that could be done more discreetly than if the Dreadnought went in to do
it alone. 
     For Commander Clubb, the primary mission had been monitoring the
state of the planetary civil war taking place on the home world of the
Ziklagi Empire.  Of all the races the Risik had come into contact with
since their forced relocation by the Ke'Zar, the Ziklagi were by far the
most militaristic and most similar to themselves.  That was why the
Supreme Leader had long ago decided that caution and prudence should
dictate their policy toward them.  Formal relations between the two were
kept to a minimum.  The Ziklagi had a small diplomatic mission in the
Risik capital, but broader access to the Risik capital and homeworld was
kept to a minimum.  The Ziklagi representatives could only interact with
their fellow aliens in the so-called "Alien District" of the city and
could only meet with Risik government officials at the convenience of
their hosts.  Trade, and thus "foreign ideas" was kept to a minimum and
because of the high concentration of Ziklagi pirate activity throughout
the star systems, all Ziklagi ships were forbidden from directly entering
Risk territorial space.  Instead, the Ziklagi emissaries had to content
themselves with being shuttled to intermediary outposts and space
stations and transfer to a Risik ship for final journey to the Risik
capital, and likewise any return journey to their own territory had to
begin on a Risik ship.  All of this was designed to keep the Ziklagi,
whom they knew to be ambitious, from getting too much direct exposure to
Risik civilization and military capabilities. 
     At the same time though, the limited relationship had produced some
areas of cooperation that had proved beneficial to Risik interests. 
Ziklagi ships had agreed to give the Risik access to communication relay
terminals based in the space stations that lined up between the Risik
capital and the Ziklagi home world, and this was the one thing that
allowed the Dreadnought to make contact with the Star Force without
having to wait the full-length of time it would have taken for a normal
interstellar transmission to be received and acknowledged.  This was why
Commander Clubb could keep his ship out this far for indefinite periods
and maintain reasonable coordination with Admiral Trilligan.  Without the
Ziklagi network to act as an intermediary link, the Dreadnought would
have been required to return home with greater frequency.  And that was
something Clubb was quite happy to avoid, since being far away from home
in command of his solitary warship gave him a level of personal security
that he wasn't anxious to ever relinquish. 
     There had also been one other fringe benefit from the limited
relations with the Ziklagi.  It had enabled the Risik to get a two-person
trade post established at Brylon Station, the main center of activity for
the Zykonian Empire, whom the Ziklagi had been at war with for a number
of years until a peace treaty was brokered.  That meant that even though
the Risik had no formal relations with the Zykonians, their status with
the Ziklagi meant the Zykonians were obligated to respect the Ziklagi by
granting limited access to Brylon Station to all races the Ziklagi had
relations with.  And so the trading post, run by a husband and wife team
named Farben and Marya, was able to bear witness to all the alien races
in the broader Frontier areas of Zykonian space who passed through Brylon
Station and pass on their observations to the Star Force.  The only
difficulty for the Trading Post however was that they couldn't rely on
the Dreadnought to pass on their messages.  While the two person Risik
trading post had been permitted on Brylon as a courtesy to the Ziklagi
under the provisions of their peace treaty, the courtesy did not extend
to letting ships from alien races the Zykonians had no formal relations
with dock at the station.  Brylon Station was thus 'off-limits' to the
Dreadnought and it also meant that intelligence reports to the Star Force
from Farben and Marya had to be sent by sealed pouch through a slower
back-channel of hand delivery to the Ziklagi Mission in the Risik capital
before the pouch was finally turned over.  Whereas the Dreadnought could
usually get a message to the Star Force within 24 to 36 tenars of elapsed
time, a message from the Brylon trading post typically took three
sectans.  Which meant any information Farben and Marya had that could be
useful to Clubb would take him in excess of three sectans to learn about,
by which point, the information would be significantly out of date. 
     That, Clubb was convinced, was why the Dreadnought had been unable
to find any sign of a ship called the Pegasus that the Star Force was
interested in after Farben and Marya had sent a report about a giant
warship of that name crewed by Humans that had stopped at Brylon Station
for some time.  The ship was identical to one the Star Force had
encountered in their Frontier called the Galactica, which had inflicted a
humiliating military defeat on them that also included a raid on the
prison colony of Ne'Chak, in which over 60 prisoners from the planet
Te'rea had been taken.  The Star Force and the Supreme Leader wanted to
know if this identical ship, the Pegasus showed any sign of venturing
into the Risik Frontier.  But the only sign of the second battlestar that
Clubb had been able to detect was a lone sighting of one of their fighter
craft by a scout ship, somewhat further back into the Ziklagi Frontier. 
Efforts to find any further trace of the Pegasus had ended in failure. 
And to Clubb's annoyance, the failure had resulted in the loss of his
best fast scout vehicle, commanded by his most effective subordinate,
Sub-Commander Kraitch.  Kraitch's scout ship had been sent into the
quadrant where the lone fighter had been spotted.....and was never seen
again. 
     Clubb had suffered no repercussions from the Star Force over this
failure.  He could rightfully blame the matter on Kraitch's incompetence,
especially since the sub-Commander wasn't alive to defend himself.  And
he could also point to the long delay in getting word about the existence
of the Pegasus since it had involved a roundabout message from Brylon
Station to the Risik capital and back to him.  From Clubb's standpoint,
efficiency would be improved if the Supreme Leader simply agreed to
stronger ties with the Ziklagi which surely would have resulted in some
pressure on the Zykonians to open up Brylon Station to all Risik ships. 
But that, Clubb knew, was a total non-starter with the entire Supreme
Council.  The reason being the ongoing civil war on the Ziklagi home
planet between the government and rebel factions.  The last thing the
Supreme Leader wanted to do was deepen ties with the Ziklagi government
if it turned out they were likely to be overthrown.  And so.....it was up
to Commander Clubb and the Dreadnought to keep a close watch on how the
Ziklagi civil war was going.  The Dreadnought's scout ships were able to
cloak themselves using a crude form of cloaking technology that had been
developed by the Zykonians.  Taking advantage of the black market that
operated on Brylon Station, Farben and Marya had been able to get access
to some basic plans for a cloaking device that could be adapted into the
smallest of Risik scout vessels.  The plans had been smuggled off a
sympathetic Ziklagi pirate vessel which had then rendezvoused in deep
space with the Dreadnought and presented them to Clubb.  With the plans
in-hand, cloaking devices had been installed in three of the six scout
vessels at their disposal and ever since, the Dreadnought had been able
to keep track of the course of events taking place in the Ziklagi Civil
War without either side knowing they were being watched.  But the loss of
Sub-Commander Kraitch's scout vessel had left them with one less cloaking
device and with it, the flexibility to use a cloaked vessel for scouting
probes away from the Ziklagi home planet. 
     So that meant on this day, while Clubb sent the Dreadnought's two
cloaked vessels out to do their routine survey of the Ziklagi home planet
and the state of the civil war, the uncloaked vessels were fanned out
deep into the more distant regions of space that no Risik had ever been
interested in exploring before.  From Clubb's standpoint it was important
to get a more definitive mapping of these areas and not just rely on
outdated intelligence reports the Ziklagi had given them in the past. 
One of those reports about a so-called "weather planet" rich in resources
had turned out be a dead-end when the Dreadnought had arrived during the
search for Kraitch's missing scout vessel and instead found a planet with
totally raging storms and no natural resource bounty that the Ziklagi
said had existed.  From that point on, Clubb had never trusted another
Ziklagi report and was determined to see what he could learn on his own. 
But because he needed to stay close enough for the two cloaked scouts
studying the Ziklagi home world to return safely, he couldn't go as far
as he would have liked. 
     And consequently, because of that necessity for staying close to the
Ziklagi home world, the Dreadnought had only been able to chart several
planetary systems.....all of them uninhabited. Resources were just enough
to keep his crew fed and fueled and avoid returning to the main Risik
Frontier.  But otherwise, things had been quiet for Clubb and the
Dreadnought.  The only reason why he didn't let the boredom make him
yearn for going home was because he felt much more secure in his own
position this far out.  It would take a mistake of epic proportions to
make Admiral Trilligan contemplate sending out a fleet of warships to
recall him or take him into custody.  And he already knew that Trilligan
had far too many other things close to him to concern himself with.  Not
the least of which was the fact that the Supreme Leader was engaging in a
crash-building program of an entirely new Fleet of warships.  Warships
that would supposedly be impervious to all forms of conventional laser
fire.  But the crash building program meant that a good deal of the
domestic Risik industrial base was now in a total shutdown mode to handle
the military build-up.  When Clubb had last heard from Trilligan, the
Admiral's tone seemed to suggest an underlying......discontentment with
the situation.   
     All things considered, I feel lucky, Clubb thought as he arrived on
the Bridge and waited for the report from Lieutenant Katkov. 
     "Scout One will return from the Ziklagi home world in five tenars,
Commander." 
     "And as always I suspect they will have little to report," Clubb
sighed, "It would be nice if just someone in that infernal war would get
the upper hand.  I doubt the Supreme Leader or anyone cares whether the
government wins or the rebels win.  Just so long as the status quo
changes and we can decide who we have to make a longer-term deal with." 
     "And maybe get access to Brylon Station at long last?" 
     Clubb smiled wryly, "That too is a consideration, Lieutenant.  I'm
sure we'd all like the ability to take advantage of the Station for some
much needed......liberty.  And learn more about what goes on there that I
doubt the Trading Post with just one married couple can keep up with." 
     "I'm surprised they permitted a female to be part of such an
important operation." 
     The commander laughed, "Females serve a purpose beyond mere pleasure
for us, Katkov. They can project a quality of being less....threatening. 
Obviously, the image of a married couple going about their routine makes
our race seem less threatening to those who are not familiar with us.  It
means they won't be automatically on their guard if they happen to cross
into our territory later." 
     "Commander," the scanner operator spoke up, "We're picking up a
contact on the outer edge of our beam." 
     Clubb moved over to the monitor and frowned as he saw the telltale
blip which was indeed at the outer edge of the Dreadnought's scanning
beam, which was concentrated far into the realm of uncharted deep space. 
     "If we're able to pick up a contact from that far out, that has to
be a very large ship and not some kind of single patrol craft or
shuttle," Clubb knew this required immediate action, "Prepare Scout Three
for immediate launch." 
     Lieutenant Katkov looked over his shoulder, "But Scout Three doesn't
have a cloaking device." 
     "I'm aware of that, Lieutenant.  But Scout One and Scout Two are
both unavailable and I want to get a more definitive look at this ship
before it gets close to us." 
     Katkov nodded and picked up the unicom for the entire ship.  "Scout
Three crew.  Report to landing bay for immediate launch!" 
     Clubb looked over the scanner operator's shoulder and saw the blip's
large shape hovering at the edge of the screen.  He wondered if that was
a sign that the Dreadnought had been scanned by them as well.   
     We'll know the answer soon enough. 
      
 
Cylon BaseShip #1040 
     "What size target?" Commander Needa inquired of the Command
Centurion, Strelka. 
     "Approximate size resembles that of a medium level freighter.  Only
twenty percent the size of a BaseShip at most." 
     "But it could be military." 
     "Too far to scan for weaponry capability," Strelka looked at the IL
Cylon, "Shall we launch a patrol to investigate at closer range?" 
     "No," Needa shook his bulbous head, "There will be no threatening
moves on our part.  Especially if this ship is a precursor to our first
significant diplomatic contact in this region of space.  Maintain normal
speed so they don't think we're aware of their presence.  And monitor all
comm frequencies to see if they show any signs of trying to contact us." 
     "By your command." 
 
 
     When Rosalind heard the door slide open, she deliberately kept her
eyes trained on the book she was reading.  In the nine sectars since her
journey across the stars had begun, she'd conditioned herself to find
ways of sending silent signals to Gracchus that she knew would be more
effective than words.  Ignoring the DG Cylon when he entered the room and
keeping her face buried in a book was one such signal.  Her way of
showing how much contempt she had for him and how she was never anxious
to engage in conversation with him. 
     "Your services may soon be in need at long last." 
     Right away she realized it wasn't Gracchus who'd entered but Needa,
who seldom came to her quarters.  This was only the third time she could
recall the Commander coming here since the journey had begun. 
     She put the book down and got to her feet.  Showing no respect, but
no defiance either. 
     "Something's happened?" 
     "Perhaps.  Our first significant alien contact is on the verge of
taking place.  It could be a sign that we've at last come across our
first indication of this race known as the Ziklagi." 
     "You mean the first contact you're interested in, Commander," she
said.  "Gracchus tells me you've bypassed several inhabited systems since
your surreptitious game at Gomorrah, three sectars ago." 
     Damn him for telling too much to her, the IL Cylon thought.  The DG
Cylon had justified such candor by pointing out that Rosalind would be
useless to them as an emissary if she didn't have some awareness of what
had taken place in the course of the BaseShip's journey into the regions
beyond charted space on Colonial Star Maps, which ended at Gomorrah. 
     "True.  We have passed at least two star systems inhabited by humans
who may or may not be long-term descendants from the Colonies.  But they
are of no use to us." 
     "Only because they don't have Neutrino," she retorted tartly.  "And
if they did, you'd have a hard time convincing them to make a deal with
the Empire.  I'm well aware that your only hope lies in finding a
non-human race that has Neutrino." 
     "And who knows if we may in fact have just discovered that," Needa
decided he would let the critical barbs go unanswered since he knew that
to threaten her would accomplish nothing.....and likely earn him a rebuke
from the Imperious Leader once he made his next report to the High
Command.  "Please come with me to the Command Center, Siress Rosalind." 
     Reluctantly, she followed him out. 
 
 
The Dreadnought 
     "Scout Three is away, Commander," Katkov reported. 
     "I want their telemetry feed linked directly to us," Clubb said with
heavy emphasis.  "The instant they have visual contact, I want to see
what they see." 
     "Telemetry feed is linked," the scanner officer activated a switch. 
     "And tie us into their comm line as well.  If that ship makes
contact, I'm going to answer for us, not them." 
     The moments passed with anxious silence on the Bridge.  In the
nearly two years since Clubb had first been assigned to this region of
space, there hadn't been anything close to a true combat situation for
him or his crew.  Even though Clubb had accepted the situation and
contented himself with the distance he had from the Star Force's direct
oversight, he at times wondered if his crew, trained to be warriors for
the Star Force, might not be overly anxious to provoke some kind of
hostility.  Indeed, he'd always wondered if that accounted for why
Kraitch's scout vessel had vanished without a trace nearly a year ago. 
     Finally, the scanner operator broke the silence.  "Scout Three has
visual contact!" 
     Clubb leaned over his shoulder and saw an image forming on the
monitor.  The image of a ship larger than anything the Risik Commander's
eyes had ever beheld.  The sloping top and bottom sections joined by a
central hub presented an air of formidability.....and at the same time
familiarity. 
     "Katkov, run a visual cross-check with the ship designs on record in
the Colonial files." 
     The lieutenant pressed several buttons on his console and
then......he turned around in excitement. 
     "Commander, we have a confirmed match!  That ship resembles the
so-called 'BaseShip' that was part of the Colonial Fleet!" he paused to
read further, "The ship that was a defector from the race the Colonials
were fleeing from!" 
     Clubb studied the image further and slowly nodded.  "Yes.  Yes, I
remember that part of the report.  A race of.....machines that drove the
ship called the Galactica into space.  But a ship from that race defected
to their side.  That would mean......this ship has to be an enemy of the
Colonials!" 
     "What do we do?" 
     The Commander resumed his full bearing. 
     "I'm going to initiate contact with them right now." 
 
 
Baseship #1040 
     Gracchus was already in the Command Center when Needa and Rosalind
returned.  Before Command Centurion Strelka could say anything, the DG
Cylon was taking the initiative. 
     "They appear to have launched a small scout vessel ahead of their
path to get a closer look at us.  It's no bigger than a normal size
shuttle though its contours are more cylindrical." 
     "Are they armed?" Needa deliberately avoided looking at him and
directed his question to Strelka. 
     "They possess weaponry on par with that of a single Raider or
Colonial Viper, but nothing that would be any kind of threat to us.  We
are still too distant from the primary ship to gauge their level of
armament or their hull composition." 
     "By your command," a centurion standing in front of the console next
to Strelka looked up, "We are receiving an audio signal from the primary
ship." 
     As Needa moved toward the console, Gracchus's voice cut in with
annoyance, "Should not a diplomatic contact be handled by a diplomat,
Commander?" 
     The IL Cylon forced himself to look at him, both irritated and
amazed that Gracchus was issuing this kind of challenge out in the open. 
 
     "First contact is my responsibility, Gracchus," he said coldly. 
"Remember, I am the one who speaks on behalf of the Empire for His
Eminence." 
     "Forgive my impudence," the DG Cylon bowed slightly.  On the other
side of the room, Rosalind found herself suppressing the desire to smile
or laugh.  She'd known there was generally no love lost between the IL
and DG classes, but to see it out in the open like this was remarkable. 
     Needa motioned the centurion to let the audio signal be heard in the
open.   
     "......this is the patrol cruiser Dreadnought of the Risik Star
Force, representing the Risik Empire.  Acknowledge us on this circuit. 
Our intentions are not hostile." 
     The IL Cylon pressed the button to let him respond. 
     "Patrol cruiser Dreadnought.  This is Commander Needa, BaseShip
#1040 representing the Cylon Empire.  Our intentions are not hostile
either." 
     "Commander Needa, this is Commander Clubb, commanding officer of the
Dreadnought. I am honored to make contact with you on behalf of the Risik
Star Force.  If you like, I am prepared to come to you aboard one of our
Scout Vessels for an immediate exchange of information and ideas that I
am sure would be mutually beneficial." 
     Needa didn't hesitate in his response.  "Commander Clubb, I would
prefer that you accept emissaries from our own ship to meet with you
aboard the Dreadnought.  Could your Scout Vessel accommodate.....two
emissaries?" 
     There was no hesitation from the other end, "Our scout vessel can
accommodate two additional passengers." 
     "Excellent.  We will give permission for your Scout Vessel to land
on our ship, but we ask that no one aboard disembark.  Our emissaries
will be waiting for you in our launch and landing bay," he paused, "We
look forward to a productive discussion, Commander Clubb." 
     "As do I, Commander Needa.  We will maintain our present position as
a further gesture of our goodwill." 
     "As will we." 
     He stepped away from the console and immediately focused his
attention on Siress Rosalind.....which at the same time allowed him to
keep his back to Gracchus. 
     "Siress Rosalind, you have full authority to speak on my behalf, as
well as that of His Eminence.  I think you know what the outstanding
points of interest are to us." 
     Rosalind calmly folded her arms.  "You want to know if this race has
access to Neutrino, what they know about other alien races in this region
of space.....and what do they know about the Galactica." 
     "Excellent," he finally looked at Gracchus, "I believe you have no
objection to letting Siress Rosalind do most of the talking for us, my
dear Gracchus?" 
     "If the Siress feels she can handle the responsibility.....I am
quite content to act as her observer in this first contact." 
     "Then I suggest you report to the Landing Bay immediately."   
 
 
The Dreadnought 
     Clubb continued to watch the telemetry from the Scout vessel as it
drew closer to the BaseShip.  The drawings and video frames in the
Colonial file didn't do justice to its size and clear formidability.  For
the first time, he could easily comprehend why the Star Force vessels
that had come into contact with both the Galactica and the ship identical
to this had been destroyed.  At minimum, it would take a mass
concentration of fifty to a hundred warships in the Star Force to put up
a decisive effort against a ship of this size.  With that in mind, he
knew that the last thing he could do was offer any sign of provocation
against this BaseShip that came from the so-called Cylon Empire. 
     The lull period of waiting for Scout Three to land on the BaseShip
and collect the two emissaries gave Clubb a chance to request the
Colonial File's summary on the Cylon Empire.  Sub-Commander Morovik, who
had been released by the Galactica had given a full description in his
action report based on what Commander Adama had told him, and he also
knew that Adama's video message to the Risik Supreme Leader had also
provided even more information.  Since Clubb knew his time was limited,
he confined himself to the Morovik write-up for now.  He could find other
uses for the Adama video message later once he actually spoke to these
emissaries. 
     "Commander?" Katkov inquired.  "Shall we notify Star Force Central
of this development?" 
     Clubb shook his head, "It's much too premature, Katkov.  I want to
know more about who we're dealing with and what they want of us before I
send anything to the Admiral.  We wait to notify them until after we've
had our first.....discussion with these Cylons." 
     "Sir," the communications officer reported.  "Scout Three is
departing.  They have the two emissaries aboard and......one of them is
human." 
     This was the last piece of news Clubb had expected to hear.  And
already, he knew that this was going to be the most interesting
assignment of his entire military career. 
 
 
     Rosalind knew she had to prepare herself for the sight of an alien
once she boarded the Risik scout ship, even though she'd had very little
exposure to alien races in her life before the Destruction.  Adar had
once shared with her his personal briefing book on the various alien
races the Colonies maintained diplomatic relations with, and she could
remember going through them with the usual mixture of amusement and
revulsion that most people who'd spent their entire lives in the Colonies
went through at the sight of a non-human.  There were 'near-humanoids'
like the Orions and then she could remember Adar jokingly referring to
the 'not-so-near' humanoids like the Borellians and the natives of
Starlos.  And when it came to those who were as non-humanoid as they came
like the Delphians and the Hasari, that was when Adar confessed how
grateful he was that he had talented ambassadors who could do all the
direct talking to races like that. 
     With that frame of reference in her head, her first glimpse of a
Risik automatically registered as "near to not-so-near humanoid" with
her.  Overall, the appearance was human without the deformities one saw
in the Borellians, with their sloping foreheads, or the Starlos natives
with their six digit hands.  But the absence of any hair on the heads
managed to overcome most of the basic similarities on first impression
for Rosalind.  As she and Gracchus settled into their seats in back of
the three-man Risik crew, she wondered if she could maintain her
composure indefinitely.  Her life, and the lives of her fellow prisoners
in the Neutrino mines depended on her playing the part of effective
diplomat and spokesperson for the Cylon Empire.  She had to overcome her
revulsion for the idea, her insecurities over her lack of true experience
as a diplomat, and now her unease over being in the presence of strange
looking aliens. 
     "We can't let this opportunity go to waste." 
     Adar's words from long ago after a night of dining, ambrosia and
lovemaking echoed in her head.  They'd referred to his determination to
see things through with the Peace Talks that he was convinced would lead
to permanent peace for Humanity.  But they applied equally to what
Rosalind was going through now.  She had to play the role she'd been
assigned.  And do it well. 
     When the scout vessel returned to the Dreadnought, the pilots
immediately opened the hatch at the bottom of the stairwell that led to
the upper level.  The fact that they remained in their seats indicated
that they expected her and Gracchus to go first.  With a sigh, Rosalind
got up and then somewhat haltingly motioned to the DG Cylon to go ahead
of her. 
     "You should speak first," she said as they descended the steps. 
"It's more appropriate they hear from a Cylon first." 
     "How kind of you, Siress," Gracchus said, "But it will not change
the fact that most of the talking on our behalf will be done by.....you."

     "I haven't forgotten," she gave him an insincere smile, "I merely
desire to show proper deference to your......seniority as it were." 
     "Hmmm......you are learning well already!" 
     They stepped out into the brightly lit interior of the landing area. 
Commander Clubb was standing there with his hands behind his back,
striking a formidable posture.  Rosalind could tell that he was trying to
project an aura of "I am in command" with both the prominence of what
looked like decorations on his uniform and his general bearing. 
Physically, he looked no different from any of the other Risik, but there
was no question Ila would be able to tell him apart from the others. 
     "Welcome aboard the Dreadnought," his voice was what Rosalind could
remember Adar describing as a 'neutral-positive' tone.  The kind of tone
reserved for those he wanted to treat politely without showing any signs
of either naivete or blind trust.  "I am Commander Clubb of the Risik
Star Force, representing the Risik Empire." 
     Gracchus moved forward first, "On behalf of the Cylon Empire and His
Eminence, our Imperious Leader, we are honored to be aboard your ship,
Commander Clubb.  I am Ambassador Gracchus.  And this," he pivoted his
body slightly to the right since he had no limbs to gesture with, "Is
Siress Rosalind, who will be acting as our principal spokesman in these
discussions." 
     "Commander Clubb," Rosalind bowed her head slightly but not too far. 
The fine line of politeness without being obsequious.  "It is an honor to
make this first contact with your race." 
     Clubb politely nodded in return.  And then he motioned them to
follow him from the landing area through a series of corridors that led
to his quarters and private office.  During the walk, there were no
further words exchanged which gave Rosalind a chance to look the ship
over.  It was clearly not a top of the line military vessel if the Risik
race was strong enough to consider itself an 'Empire.'  That told her
that Commander Clubb was likely not going to be in a position to offer
much without consulting with his own superiors.  And given how small the
Risik vessel was in contrast to the BaseShip, she doubted she was going
to hear intransigence or hostility from the commander. 
     When passing several other Risik in the corridors, she saw again
nothing to distinguish one from another.  It was clear to her that
females of their species weren't part of the crew and likely weren't part
of the so-called 'Star Force'.  But she wasn't going to allude to that if
she didn't have to. 
     When they arrived, Clubb motioned them to what looked like a
briefing room table with several chairs.  Rosalind took a seat opposite
the Risik, but Gracchus remained standing since Cylons in general didn't
need to sit unless they were piloting a ship or if they had their own
throne chair like the Imperious Leader. 
     "Now that we are alone, we can begin these discussions," Clubb said,
"I confess, your race is not unknown to me or our people, though I have
never met one of your kind before," he motioned to Gracchus. 
     "I presume you know of us because of what has been said by a ship
called......the Galactica?"  It was a great internal struggle for
Rosalind to speak of the battlestar with such cold detachment, but she
managed to do so. 
     "Yes, that is how we know of the Cylon race......not to mention the
fact that a ship much like your own is accompanying her in her journey
through space." 
     "Neither of which is of primary concern to us, Commander," Rosalind
said abruptly.  "Our presence in this region of space is not connected to
the fate of the Galactica or the renegade ship that accompanies her.  The
Cylon Empire is concerned only with establishing peaceful and productive
relations with those who might prove to be of assistance to us." 
     "You will forgive me Siress, if I find that explanation dubious.  I
am well aware of the fact that the Galactica was forced to flee from her
home because of a war it lost to the Cylon Empire and that she was
concerned about the danger of pursuit.  Even though our own exchange with
the Galactica was less than.....pleasant, her commander still chose to
warn us about the danger we potentially faced from the Empire should it
ever intrude into this region." 
     "Again, that is all irrelevant, Commander Clubb," Rosalind stressed. 
"If the Empire's primary purpose was to track down the Galactica and
punish the renegade ship, you would have seen a full task force on your
scanners and not a single BaseShip on an exploratory mission." 
     Clubb took that in for what seemed like a full centon.  He glanced
over at Gracchus without saying anything and then, returning his
attention to Rosalind, he leaned forward and smiled thinly. 
     "There is considerable logic in what you say, Siress Rosalind. 
Given what I know of the Galactica and the so-called 'renegade' ship, it
could not possibly be destroyed or captured by just one ship such as your
own.  But....I am frankly curious as to why you, a Human, is working on
behalf of the Cylon Empire, which I am told has a deep hatred for the
Human race and all other sentient life forms." 
     "Then I am proof that you cannot believe everything you have heard
before, Commander Clubb," Rosalind forced a smile in return but inside
she was beginning to feel sick to her stomach.  Lords of Kobol, why is
this happening to me? 
     Clubb's smile widened just a bit, "I suppose not.  If you are indeed
speaking to me with the full authority of your Commander, and of the
Ambassador here, then that certainly does indicate that the Cylon
Empire's true nature is not quite what it has been depicted to be by
others." 
     "And that is why we need not waste an inordinate amount of time
hashing over these petty details," Rosalind knew she'd found her
opportunity to change the subject.  "We only wish to discuss matters that
both the Risik Empire and the Cylon Empire can mutually benefit from and
reach some kind of agreement." 
     For just an instant, Clubb wondered if he should follow this lead
and move away from the matter of the Galactica.  Then, he realized that
wasn't his problem to deal with.  Only his superiors could deal with
that.  For now, it was best to find out just what the Cylon Empire was
supposedly interested in if it wasn't finding out what happened to the
Galactica. 
     "Very well," he said.  "When you say you are here on an exploratory
mission.....presumably there is something specific you are searching for. 
A race that considers itself to be an Empire doesn't seek other races out
unless they are in need of something they feel important to the
maintenance of their Empire's.....efficiency." 
     "There is," Rosalind acknowledged, "But I think you need to answer
the same question, Commander Clubb.  You acknowledge you are merely one
patrol cruiser and you clearly are operating far from your own home base
just as we are.  Indeed, it is our understanding that this region of
space is within the sphere of influence of a race called the Ziklagi." 
     His eyebrows went up slightly as if he hadn't expected to hear this. 
 
     "You know of them?" 
     "We do," she leaned forward, "And we also know they fought a war
with a race called the Zykonians who operate from a place called Brylon
Station, and that they are both at peace with each other now.  I think
before we go any further as to matters between our respective sides, you
might as a gesture of good will explain how things stand regarding the
Ziklagi and the Zykonians and more important, how your race stands with
them." 
     Clubb hesitated but then realized that the military disadvantage he
was in gave him no choice. 
     "You're not likely to cut any deals with the Ziklagi," he said. 
"They're quite preoccupied right now on their home planet.  A state
of.....civil war." 
     "That's interesting," Rosalind took that in, "And where does the
Risik Empire stand?" 
     "For now we are simply a passive spectator to events," Clubb said. 
"The Dreadnought merely monitors the situation.....and waits to see
whether the Ziklagi government or the rebels emerge triumphant.  We have
no vested interest in the outcome.  Our relations with the Ziklagi
government are quite minimal." 
     "And the Zykonians?" Gracchus ended his silence. 
     "We....have no formal relations with them."  He then added, "Our
presence on Brylon Station is also minimal, and was granted to our people
solely as a courtesy to the Ziklagi.  Under the terms of the peace treaty
they must give some deference to all races the Ziklagi have some
relations with, even if we have no relations with the Zykonians." 
     "Then that means you could get us access to Brylon Station." 
     "Not likely," Clubb shook his head, "The Zykonians will not let any
of our warships put into Brylon Station.  Our two person trading post
must rely on independent Ziklagi contacts to handle matters for them." 
     "In short, you're saying you don't have anything to offer us,"
Gracchus said pointedly.  Rosalind realized right away that the DG Cylon
was deliberately interjecting the harsher points that wouldn't come
instinctively to her.  She didn't know whether to feel relieved or
infuriated.  All she could do was press on. 
     "Let's not be hasty, Gracchus," she raised a hand.  "Perhaps we
should let him know what it is we're interested in and whether his people
know something about it." 
     The Ambassador lowered his head slightly as if showing silent
deference.  Rosalind then leaned forward again. 
     "We're interested in knowing if you have access to, or know of any
race in this quadrant that has access to a substance called Neutrino." 
     The smile suddenly returned to Commander Clubb's face. 
     "I think we have something worthwhile to discuss." 
 
 
     After a centar of discussions, Gracchus and Rosalind requested
privacy in the Scout Vessel so they could contact the BaseShip and speak
directly to Needa.  The DG Cylon had been given a special comlink
transmitter by Needa that could be tied into a secure Cylon circuit and
prevent any eavesdropping from taking place.  And now, after letting
Rosalind handle matters in the direct talks, it was Gracchus who would do
all the summarizing. 
     "Commander Clubb doesn't have the authority to speak for his
government," Gracchus stressed, "But.....he does indicate that a gesture
of goodwill on our part that can benefit the Risik Empire might go a long
way towards making their Supreme Leader receptive to helping us on the
matter of Neutrino access." 
     "Such as?" 
     "Getting his ship access to Brylon Station.  It would seem the
Zykonians are rather stringent on that point." 
     "I sincerely hope he's not suggesting we make a threatening
demonstration of force to achieve that result," the IL Cylon said sourly.

     "No, he seems to recognize we are anxious to avoid any unpleasant
interactions with other races.  The solution may lie in having his Scout
Vessel approach the station with a request to receive Siress Rosalind and
myself as emissaries without letting any Risik personnel disembark.  The
Zykonians would scarcely pass up the opportunity to find out more about
us, especially if they are aware of us from the Galactica's visit." 
     "Very well.  But I don't want the two of you to remain on the
Dreadnought.  Tell Commander Clubb I insist that the Scout Vessel be
released to our control for the duration and that we will proceed to
within close proximity to Brylon Station, whereupon the Scout Vessel can
be launched from us and cover the remaining distance.  If he wishes to
follow us, he is welcome to, but I insist on that point." 
     "He'll agree to those terms.  I think Siress Rosalind will agree
with me that Commander Clubb is a very careful and prudent individual who
doesn't believe in taking unnecessary risks." 
     Rosalind realized that was her cue to say something just to let
Needa know that she was in agreement.  "Yes.  I doubt very much Clubb is
an ambitious type.  He seems content to have an assignment that keeps him
far away from his home base." 
     "And monitoring an ongoing civil war that his government is staying
largely neutral on is the ideal assignment for an unambitious type,"
Gracchus added, "I think we would be advised to bypass the Ziklagi home
planet altogether and avoid any direct contact with them." 
     "Unless these efforts with the Risik go nowhere." 
     "With all due respect, Commander, I think our ties to the Risik are
going to increase over time," there was a rising level of confidence in
the DG Cylon's tone. 
 
 
     "Well?" Clubb leaned over Katkov's shoulder.  The Lieutenant removed
his headset, turned around and shook his head. 
     "I'm sorry, Commander.  Their signal to their ship is quite secure. 
We can't decrypt it." 
     "Probably just as well," the Risik Commander sighed. 
     "What about a priority message to Admiral Trilligan?" 
     Clubb took a breath, "Not yet, Lieutenant.  Not yet." 
 
 
Baseship #1040 
     "This Risik race may prove to be promising, Your Eminence," there
was cautious optimism in Needa's voice as he spoke to Imperious Leader
via the long-range communications hookup to the Cylon Home World.  An
ancient technology that had been plundered by the Cylons from the ruins
of the planet Kobol and adapted for Cylon use.  "They seem to be familiar
with what Neutrino is." 
     "But their home world is more distant," the Cylon Ruler's tone
indicated some skepticism.  "Do you think it wise to bypass this race
called the Ziklagi?" 
     "If the Ziklagi possessed Neutrino, I think this Commander Clubb
would have been aware of that, Your Eminence," Needa said.  "We will of
course insist on his scanning data for the Ziklagi home planet and
vessels just to be sure, and if he does not oblige, we will deal with
that.  At present though, I think it advisable to see where this lead
goes." 
     "I trust your judgment since you are on the scene, Commander,"
Imperious Leader said, "Do not let me down." 
     "I will vindicate your trust in me, Your Eminence." 
     "And I assume that Siress Rosalind is living up to expectations?" 
     "She has proved to be quite cooperative and has performed admirably
so far." 
     "Excellent.  I knew that having a non-Cylon present to argue our
case would prove beneficial with these alien races," he then paused,
"There is one other matter I need you to comment on before we end this
transmission.  You.....are personally acquainted with Governor Malus, are
you not?" 
     "Malus and I are part of the same 2205 group of the IL Class.  We
were both programmed at the same time with the same voice." 
     "And you....do not see him as one who might fall victim to the
Disease?" 
     "Certainly not, Your Eminence!" Needa said forcefully and with no
hesitation, "If Malus and I were biological, we would be kin.  I am not
susceptible to the Disease, and I know he would never be.  Our
programming protocols and safeguards are identical." 
     "I appreciate your perspective......and your loyalty to your fellow
IL group member." 
     "Has Malus done anything to raise concern on your part?" he asked
delicately. 
     "No.  I am quite satisfied with his progress reports on affairs in
the Colonies.  But now that he has sole authority over matters there
since Governor Kore was deposed, there is always the danger that
his.....isolation could beget attitudes we have seen take place when
others feel they are safely removed from High Command supervision, as we
have seen at Gomorrah and Cannes, as well as with the late Commander
Dagora," he paused, "Had I not decided that your current assignment was
of higher priority to the Empire, I might have considered dispatching you
to the Colonies to provide Malus with some helpful.....support." 
     "Perhaps when I return, I can fill that role." 
     "Perhaps.  For now, remain focused on your current objective.....and
keep me appraised as events warrant." 
     "Of course, Your Eminence." he bowed respectfully.  He kept his head
bowed until the Cylon ruler's face faded from the screen. 
     Ordinarily, Malus is the last IL I would ever vouch for, he thought. 
But if circumstances require acting against our Leader one day, then
Malus will be needed to assist in that.  It simply wouldn't do to see him
replaced at this point. 
     Better to let Imperious Leader have no reason to distrust Malus for
now. 
 
Chapter Three 
 
Baseship #1040 
     The Risik Scout Vessel had returned to the BaseShip from the
Dreadnought, and the BaseShip, utilizing coordinates given by the patrol
cruiser, had set course for Brylon Station.  .  The Dreadnought would
follow in its wake but owing to its slower speed would be one day longer
in reaching their designated rendezvous point, just outside the Brylon
planetary system.  The Scout Vessel, with Gracchus and Rosalind aboard,
would then be launched to cover the remaining distance to Brylon Station
and place their request to the Zykonians to be received as emissaries
from an outside race. 
     The journey gave Rosalind time to retreat to her quarters and take
advantage of materials that Commander Clubb had turned over to them. 
Specifically, the file on the Risk encounter with the Galactica that
stemmed from the Battlestar's liberation of Human prisoners from a Risik
penal colony called Ne'Chak and the subsequent military engagements that
had resulted in humiliating losses for the Risik Star Force.  The file
itself proved enlightening to Rosalind on a number of levels, not the
least of which was the revelation that the lost Thirteenth Tribe of
Humanity, situated on a planet called Earth, was in fact quite real.  And
that not only was the Galactica enroute to Earth, but the Human prisoners
of the Risik who'd been liberated actually came from Earth (or "Te'rea"
as the Risik preferred to call it).  Because the Risik had visited Earth
many times as part of preparations for an eventual invasion and conquest,
that allegedly was meant to reestablish authority they had once held over
Earth many thousands of yahrens ago in the distant past. 
     And to think Adar always used to scoff at how Adama took literally
the idea that a Thirteenth Tribe existed, she thought as she continued to
go over the Risik file.  He always thought it was a lot of silly
superstitious nonsense.  Of course that was something he could never let
the public know.  That deep down he was the most fervent Skeptic to ever
hold the Presidency.  All of his pronouncements about the Almighty and
the Lords was just lip service for the public.  He knew that the masses
never would have elected him if he'd let his true feelings about religion
show. 
     She then let out a rueful sigh.  Of course if he weren't such a
Skeptic who didn't think there was any point following the Codes, he
never would have taken me as a mistress.  And if I'd had any religious
inclinations, he wouldn't have wanted me. 
     As she continued to read, her eyes widened in amazement at something
that was more surprising than anything else she'd learned up to this
point.  Even more surprising than the revelations about Earth.   
     "Pegasus," she whispered under her breath. 
     Part of her didn't want to do what she knew she had to do next.  But
there was no point trying to conceal the information.  Gracchus and Needa
would read the file eventually and at some point, Clubb was bound to
bring it up as well. 
     Collecting herself, she left her quarters and proceeded to the
Command Center. 
 
 
     Commander Clubb had decided to remove himself from the Dreadnought
and pilot the Scout Vessel to the BaseShip along with Lieutenant Katkov. 
If there was any chance that the Cylons could get permission from the
Zykonians to board Brylon Station, he wanted to be there when that
happened.  It also gave him another excuse to put off sending a message
to Admiral Trilligan.  He'd decided that it would be a waste of time to
send a message that would result in a delay of at least 48 tenars before
he'd hear any response, and by that point the situation with the Cylons
would likely have changed or Trilligan might send him an order that he
wouldn't feel comfortable obeying.  No, from Clubb's standpoint it was
best to ride this momentum of discovery out and see where it went.  If it
ended with the Risik finally getting access to Brylon Station, then the
Star Force would applaud him for his initiative and no one would care
about the fact that he took so long to inform them about contact with an
alien race and conducted negotiations on his own. 
     It's a risk, but it's one worth taking at this point.  Especially if
there's anyone else in the Star Force who has doubts about me because of
Kraitch's disappearance. 
     Since arriving on the BaseShip, Clubb and Katkov had been sent to a
private room that contained only two cot-like beds and no other
furniture.  There was little doubt in the Risik's mind that this was
likely some kind of detention room to hold one or two prisoners.  But for
now he was willing to endure less comfortable quarters if it helped him
get more exposure to what the Cylons were like. 
     The door opened and two centurions entered.  One of them pointed to
Clubb and motioned him to follow, while indicating that Katkov would
remain behind.  The Risik commander silently obliged and followed them
out through a winding corridor that ultimately led to the Command Center. 
And from there to Commander Needa's nearby private office.  When he
entered, he saw the IL Cylon for the first time and stopped to take into
account his different appearance from the centurions and from Gracchus,
who was standing off to one side.  Rosalind meanwhile was seated in a
solitary chair by the computer terminal in the rear of the room. 
     "I won't waste time getting to the point, Commander Clubb," Needa
said.  "I want to talk to you about a matter in your file on the
Colonials that didn't come up in your conversations with Siress Rosalind
and Ambassador Gracchus aboard the Dreadnought." 
     "Yes?" Clubb sounded non-plussed.  He had long ago decided that he
wasn't going to show the slightest sign of being intimidated. 
     "Your file mentions that a second battlestar, identical to the
Galactica, stopped at Brylon Station some time ago and that you searched
for her in this quadrant." 
     Clubb shrugged, "I found no trace of that second battlestar.  Only a
report that a fighter craft that likely came from it was spotted but when
a scout vessel was dispatched to investigate, it was never heard from
again.  Whether it fell victim to that second battlestar, I have no
idea." 
     "But did your Empire discover what happened to her later?" Needa
pressed.  "If she was trying to catch up to the Galactica, that means she
must have passed in your own frontier region." 
     "You'll have to ask my superiors in the Star Force about that,"
Clubb held his ground, "I never saw the second battlestar, nor can I
offer you any information on where she went after she was at Brylon
Station.  Maybe if you're successful in getting access to the Station,
the Zykonians could answer that question for you.  But I hope you're not
suggesting I deliberately concealed information from you, Commander
Needa.  If I wanted to do that, I would have had that information
scrubbed from the report I've freely shared from you." 
     A long pause followed and then the IL Cylon almost seemed to sigh. 
When he spoke, he sounded apologetic. 
     "I do not believe you would intend to deceive us, Commander Clubb. 
I suppose that given our desire to learn more about your people's access
to Neutrino, and the fact that we said the Galactica's whereabouts is not
our primary concern, it was only natural that you didn't think this
matter of the second battlestar was a paramount issue." 
     "Not in the context of what concerns us at present," Clubb said,
trying not to sound displeased.  "You want access to Brylon Station, as
do we.  If you can get it for us as well, your ability to receive
cooperation from my government on the matter of Neutrino will increase. 
Those matters supersede all others." 
     "Indeed they do, Commander Clubb," Needa bowed his head slightly,
"You may return to your....quarters.  Consumables will be provided to you
and Lieutenant Katkov within the centar." 
     "I believe the term we use is 'tenar.'  Regardless, we appreciate
your courtesy." 
     As soon as the Risik commander had departed, Gracchus let out an
amused chuckle. 
     "The Battlestar Pegasus has more lives than we thought.  First she
survives Molocay after being presumed destroyed for two yahrens, and now
we learn she survived the Battle of Gomrorrah." 
     "And you, dear Rosalind, never knew from His Eminence that the
Pegasus survived Molocay," Needa turned to face the Siress, "Not very
enlightened of him, would you say?" 
     Rosalind, knowing the game that was going on, offered only a faint
smile and a shake of the head indicating that she wasn't going to take
the bait. 
     "But since we know the Pegasus is alive, that raises another
question that needs to be answered," Needa went on.  "Where did she go
and where is she now?  Did she follow the Galactica to join up with her
and Baltar's renegade ship?  Or....has she gone somewhere else?" 
     "That is something you'll need to press the Zykonians on when they
choose to receive us," Gracchus said to Rosalind. 
     Rosalind kept her tone amused, "If they're not cooperative.....then
you intend to force the issue?" 
     "That's what you're supposed to prevent, Siress Rosalind," a hint of
a threat entered Needa's voice.  "I wouldn't want my next report to His
Eminence to suggest that you're not living up to his expectations.  That
would not be good for you.....or your compatriots in the mines." 
     "Don't treat me as a fool, Needa," Rosalind got to her feet and
looked at him with defiance, "I know what my role is supposed to be and
what I'm supposed to do.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you right
away when I saw the Pegasus in the report." 
     "And that does you credit, Siress," Gracchus was quick to sound
friendly once again, "We thank you for your cooperation and your good
work." 
     "So far," Needa added, the warning note still in his voice.  But
Rosalind showed her own defiance by saying nothing and leaving the room
without asking for permission to do so.  Neither Cylon tried to stop her.

     "You see, Needa?" Gracchus said once they were alone, "She will
double her efforts to give us what we need because it's becoming a matter
of pride for her." 
     "I admit you seem to have been proved right on that......so far,"
Needa acknowledged.  "If she does succeed with the Zykonians and we get
the Risik government to start listening to us about Neutrino.....then she
will have truly proved her value to us." 
     Gracchus turned to leave but stopped short of the door. 
     "Tell me, Needa.  Since your last message to His Eminence took place
before this revelation about the Pegasus......do you plan on contacting
him again to provide him with this new information?" 
     "Why waste power and force us to recharge just to inform him about a
matter that for now is quite trivial?" Needa scoffed.  "Let us find out
what we learn later from the Zykonians before we bother him about it." 
     "As you wish," the DG Cylon nodded and left. 
 
 
     When Clubb returned to the "quarters" that had been provided for him
and Katkov, his subordinate quickly got to his feet. 
     "At ease, Lieutenant," he said disarmingly, "It was nothing
significant." 
     "Sir, if I might speak freely-----," 
     "If this is about my refusal to contact Star Force Central, I don't
want to hear it, Lieutenant," Clubb cut him off.  "When I contact them, I
want to let them know I've gotten something out of these.....Cylons." 
     "If they get it for us," Katkov said.  "With their formidability,
why should it matter to them if the Zykonians give us access to Brylon
Station or not?" 
     Clubb smiled thinly, "Underneath the formidability of this vessel,
Lieutenant, I can already sense that this Empire of theirs is suffering
from internal rot.  How extensive it is, I can't tell but the fact that
they've sent just one warship this far out into space in search of this
element called Neutrino is very revealing.  It'll be interesting if the
Supreme Leader and Admiral Trilligan are able to sense the same thing as
well.  Especially since they are at present ordering a mass construction
effort of an entire new Fleet of warships made entirely from this same
element that is of interest to the Cylons." 
     He sat down on his own cot and slowly removed his boots, deciding it
was time to get some rest.  "These little humiliations we're undergoing
now, Katkov, will not last too long.  I sense that soon, the desperation
this Empire is experiencing will make their relationship with our
government one-sided.......in our favor." 
 
 
Arcta System-The Pegasus 
Kylie could tell that Cain had been showing signs of increased edginess
and restlessness 
over the past few sectans.  When the retrofitting process had begun on
the Pegasus it had been his custom to stop by and give encouragement to
the maintenance teams as often as possible with the uplifting bravado
that had made him an endearing figure to his crew for so long.  Now
though, his inspections tended to be done with a more perfunctory quality
in which he seldom offered words of encouragement and instead tended to
sound more impatient if things weren't going as fast as he would have
liked them to.  As the Senior Bridge Officer, it concerned her to see
this subtle shift in attitude toward the crew.  As his wife, it concerned
her even more. 
     When she arrived in his office to give him the latest report on the
status of the Pulsar installation, she decided it was time to confront
him about it.  In both her capacities. 
     "You wanted the latest report on the Pulsar installation's
progress," she said.  "It's the same.  No change in the original
timetable." 
     Cain had been looking off to one side when the report dropped on his
desk.  He slowly turned around and looked down at the folder, shaking his
head. 
     "You'd think that somehow, with all the extra manpower we're getting
from Ravashol and the Cylons on the surface we could actually cut down on
the gallmonging timetable," he said. "I can remember when the last two
commissioned battlestars were built.  They forecast a timetable of two
yahrens and ultimately they got it done in half the time." 
     "They could afford to rush things then and it didn't matter if it
wasn't 100% perfect," Kylie said, "This is different." 
     "I know, I know," he nodded and then absently he grabbed his swagger
stick and whacked it against the side of the table as if that was the
only way to vent his inner frustrations.  "It has to be perfect.  We have
to make certain we never have a reason to come back here after we take up
our defensive position in the Colonies and start planning ahead for the
strike on the Home System.  It's just......" 
     "It's just the worrying about whether or not that BaseShip that
wants to make contact with the Zykonians finds out about us and blows our
cover." 
     "And more important, if they end up blowing Malus's cover because
they'll find out about Ila," he shook his head, "If that happens.....then
everything that's been going our way for these last few yahrens suddenly
goes out the fracking porthole." 
     "Don't take your frustrations out on the crew.....Commander," she
purposefully used the title to make it clear she was speaking as the
Senior Bridge Officer, "They're busting their astrums on round the clock
schedules to try and get this job done because they know what the stakes
are.  And that goes for Ravashol and his people too and all the Cylons
down there as well who are on our side." 
     "I know, I know," he turned away from her as if he was ashamed to
look at her.  "It's not their fault.  It's not Ravashol's fault.  It's
not Commander Cobre's fault.  It's.....me.  For the first time since I
had my clash with Adama at Gomorrah my blood is up and I can't find the
right way to channel it because I know I have to sit back on my astrum
and wait for this job to get finished or if God forbid, we find out Malus
is blown and the Top Snake is sending out his remaining BaseShips to the
Colonies.  Either way, it's driving me mad that I can't find something
else to do!" 
     "Maybe we could take the Fast Shuttle back to the Colonies again?"
Kylie offered but her husband immediately shook his head.  
     "Truthfully, Kylie, I've had more than my fill of going there on the
fast shuttle. , I don't want to go again until it's with the Pegasus. 
Besides.....I lost my enthusiasm for seeing Caprica again after......you
know." 
     She knew right away he was referring to the jolt he'd felt
revisiting his old house and discovering that another family had been
living in it for the two yahrens after the Battle of Molocay leading up
to the Destruction.  What had once seemed like an opportunity for Cain to
reclaim a part of his own past had instead turned into a moment where
he'd felt like an intruder.  
     "Well...." she sat on the edge of his desk which was always her
silent signal that she was now in full wife mode, "If you need some
distraction this evening after my shift ends......" 
     A smile formed on his face and he slowly turned back to face her. 
     "I'll gladly take it, Kylie.  But....I've never had a problem with
nights because I know I have you to help me get through them.  It's my
daytime schedule that's driving me up the fracking walls waiting for this
damned installation to get finished so we can finally start testing that
pulsar system." 
     She leaned closer and added a sultry edge to her voice, "Then I'll
make the nights more memorable so you'll keep smiling all day long." 
     "And how do you make them more memorable?" he felt all the inner
tension disappearing as he got another reminder of how much he loved her
and was grateful she'd come into his life at this stage. 
     "I'd rather surprise you," she leaned close enough so he could
actually come forward and kiss her on the lips.  It lasted long enough to
the point where Kylie had to raise her left leg to maintain her balance
on the edge of the desk. 
     The bridge com-line sounded and in an instant they pulled back from
each other, with Kylie vaulting off the desk and back to a standing
position. 
     "Yes, Tolen?" Cain took it. 
     "Commander......urgent message from Gomorrah." 
 
 
     A centar later, Cain was making contact with the Galactica.  He saw
that Ila was with Adama this time since she had just arrived to give him
a briefing on Council matters. 
     "I'm glad you're both there since you need to hear this," Cain said. 
"Commander Volahd of Gomorrah just got in touch with me.  He's been able
to intercept a transmission between the Imperious Leader and the
BaseShip." 
     "The whole conversation?" 
     "Yes.  Apparently, the communications system on Gomorrah is strong
enough that it can intercept the entire exchange if its scan beam is
concentrated in the right spot and record it.  If they have a rough idea
of where the BaseShip is and backtrack its path toward the Cylon Home
System.....they might be able to tap into all future transmissions from
this point on." 
     "What did they find out?" Adama felt himself tensing as Ila placed a
hand on his shoulder. 
     "The BaseShip has made contact......with a Risik patrol cruiser
operating in the Ziklagi Frontier." 
     Adama's eyebrows went up.  "A Risik ship?" 
     "The one that sent out the scout vessel we encountered at the
Weather Planet?" Ila chimed in as she remembered the incident that had
seen the attempted abduction of Ensign Tegran. 
     "Presumably.  The interesting thing is they're taking a diplomatic
approach with them because supposedly.....the Risik may know something
about access to Neutrino." 
     The Galactica commander's puzzlement deepened, "We never had any
evidence the Risik had Neutrino.  None of their ships we engaged were
made from it." 
     "Unless things have changed......or it's just a bluff on their part. 
Whatever the case, the Cylons are going to try to get access to Brylon
Station by using the Risik.....and if they can secure station access for
the Risik patrol cruiser, that means they'll proceed to the Risik Capital
and try to enter talks with their Supreme Leader." 
     "So that means they haven't reached Brylon and they haven't had a
chance to find out about you.....or me yet," Ila said. 
     "The next transmission that Volahd can tap into is likely going to
tell us if they've found out," Cain's tone was grave, "And that's going
to influence my next action." 
     "Undoubtedly," Adama nodded grimly. "Have you notified Commander
Deval?" 
     "I'd rather let the Colonies sleep peacefully for now until we hear
from Volahd again," Cain said, "Of course if you want to have Lieutenant
Hunley make contact with her cousin on Gemon......that's entirely your
call, Adama.  But I think it would be too cruel to put them on edge about
this situation when we should know one way or the other in a few days or
less." 
     "You're assuming that Volahd will be able to pick up the next
transmission.  If the BaseShip does find out and sends a message back
that he isn't able to intercept......the results would be disastrous." 
     "Adama....." Cain chose his words carefully, "I'm convinced the
Lords are giving us the means to find out.  Even a hardened cynic like me
can't believe we'd get this ability to tap into their messages only to
lose it when we most need it.  If the BaseShip sends a message on what
they learn at Brylon......I know we'll find out about it." 
     This unexpected display of faith on Cain's part had its effect on
Adama. "Very well, Cain.  We'll wait.....and pray." 
     "There is one other thing," Cain added, "Something about this
expedition that the Imperious Leader didn't mention to Malus.  It seems
that in order to put on a less threatening face to any alien race they
make contact with, they sent a non-Cylon with the BaseShip to act as the
principal emissary for the Empire.  Specifically, a human collaborator." 
     Already, an inkling of who Cain was going to name formed in both
Adama and Ila's heads.  And when Cain gave the name, neither of them were
surprised. 
     "Now obviously, I can't account for how she survived.  Maybe there's
a connection to all those prisoners who were hauled off to the Home
System to work in their mines.  But if there's one thing we can take away
from that, it's that this BaseShip is going to try to get what it wants
by playing nice with the Risik and convincing them the Cylon Empire isn't
a threat to them.  What that does to your situation eventually I can't
guess." 
     "Right now, what this contact does for your situation and that of
the Colonies is more important, Cain," Adama emphasized.  "Keep us
informed." 
     "I will," he promised as he ended the transmission. 
 
 
The Galactica 
     "So Rosalind survived," Adama grunted.  "And now she's openly
working for them.  She was the only one of the three key names in Uri's
plot who was a genuine dupe." 
     "And the ones who were open collaborators before the Destruction
became loyal members of the Resistance," Ila took his hand, "Strange how
life turns for some people." 
     "Indeed," her husband nodded and looked up at her, "You're going to
have to tell the Council about this." 
     "The idea of the Cylon Empire making contact with the Risik is going
to have a chilling effect on them," the President of the Council
acknowledged.  "And if it's true the Risik have access to Neutrino and
aren't trying to bluff the Cylons----," 
     "Then that has ominous implications for the long-term if the Risik
make good on their threat to one day launch a new invasion force on
Earth," he finished. 
     "True," Ila sighed, "My advice, as President, is that our patrol
sweeps should start scanning every system we encounter between here and
Earth to see if they have Neutrino deposits." 
     "I don't need a Council edict to go along with that," he rose and
put his hands on her shoulders.  "I know you're worried about the danger
to the Colonies, Ila.  Especially after all the work you did to secure
Peace.  But.....I'm glad you're here." 
     "I am too, Adama," her blue eyes looked deeply into his.  "I did my
part for them.  They have to handle everything else from this time
forward.  I know my place is here with you.....and doing my job as
President now." 
     They shared a tender kiss and embrace.  And then, putting their
apprehensions aside about matters outside their control, they returned to
their respective duties. 
 
 
The Pegasus 
     "Thank you." 
     Cain looked over at Kylie who had remained in the background during
the conversation.  Notwithstanding her close friendship with Ila, she
always as a matter of propriety took no part in any exchanges over
matters of command level strategy. 
     "For what?" he asked her. 
     "For what you said to Adama about having faith the Lords will let us
know what the next message to the Imperious Leader will say." 
     "Well.....you were riding me pretty hard on that before I made
contact with him," the Juggernaut admitted.  "That's why you had me
believing it myself when I told him." 
     "And now?" she smiled faintly and perched herself on the edge of his
desk again. 
     "Keep riding me hard, Kylie," he whispered, "That's the only way I
can keep believing." 
     "I intend to," his wife leaned forward again and said with a firm
edge.  And then, just as quickly, she backed up and was on her feet again
at full subordinate bearing. 
     "By your leave, Commander," Kylie snapped a perfect salute. 
     "Dismissed, Captain," Cain faintly waved his swagger stick.  He
watched her leave and when she was gone, he did something he seldom did
in his life.  He actually bowed his head and closed his eyes and prayed. 
     By all the Lords.....don't let them find out Ila was there. 
 
Chapter Four 
 
Risik Scout Vessel 
     "You are sure of the proper coordinates, even though you have never
been there?" 
     Clubb turned around from the pilot's seat and tried not to show any
impatience over the fact that this was the tenth time Gracchus had asked
the question since they'd left the BaseShip over a centar ago. 
     "The Dreadnought has been operating in this sector of space for the
better part of a year and a half now, Ambassador.  We may not have put
into Brylon Station, but the area is thoroughly charted on our part.  We
will be within their scanning range in less half a tenar, or 'centar' if
you prefer." 
     "I find it surprising that your government has not attempted to talk
directly to the Zykonians." 
     A faint smirk formed on the Risik Commander's face, "Our Supreme
Leader is not known for his predictability, Ambassador." 
     "Ah," the DG Cylon said with an air of sudden enlightenment, "He is
much more.....inscrutable in nature?" 
     "If you like." 
     From the back of the vessel, Rosalind endured the journey shifting
to a mode of silent meditation.  Steeling herself mentally and
emotionally for what they would want her to do.  Put on the best possible
face for the Cylon Empire as a peaceful, non-threatening race interested
only in establishing peaceful diplomatic contact with the
Zykonians......and as a courtesy to further talks, granting permission to
the Risik to let the Dreadnought have access to the station as well.  She
knew that this would be a far greater challenge than the talks with
Commander Clubb had  
been.  The fact that Clubb had to respect the military superiority of the
BaseShip accounted more for his willingness to cooperate than Rosalind's
diplomatic skills had.  But this, the Siress knew, would be different. 
Here, she would be expected to make the case for the Empire without the
element of the BaseShip hovering nearby to try and intimidate the
Zykonians into cooperating.  The success of the mission would be riding
entirely on her shoulders. 
     This is where I put all those lessons I learned from Adar about how
a good politician knows how to lie to those he wants to impress into
effect. 
     The irony then hit her as to how a man who had learned how to
project total insincerity to get himself elected President of the Quorum
in two popular referendums, had been unable to detect when he was being
lied to during the Peace Talks.  Which spoke more to Adar's lust and
desire to achieve historical immortality as the one who brought Peace to
the Colonies and how it trumped the instincts that had gotten him elected
to begin with.  Just as Adar's desire to be loved by a beautiful woman
had made him look past all the unflattering stories about Rosalind that
had been circulated by her opponents like Sire Anton.  Stories that were
all true. 
     I guess I have to acknowledge that I've had plenty of experience
deceiving people.  Adar.  Commander Solem.  And I've learned how to
deceive myself.  Thinking that Uri's motive for paying me off was rooted
in a desire to see peace at any price. 
     "We are reaching communications range of Brylon," Clubb's voice
broke her silent meditation.  "I will be contacting the station.....now."

     Now it begins, she thought. 
 
Brylon Station 
     Commander Hir-Zykor, director of operations for Brylon Station was
in his office when he received an urgent message from the Communications
Center. 
     "Commander," Captain Xlax reported, "We've received a docking
request from a scout vessel that belongs to a Risik patrol cruiser, the
Dreadnought." 
     The Zykonian frowned, "Risik access to Brylon is restricted to their
Trading Post.  Is this vessel in distress?" 
     "No sir.  It's come on diplomatic business.  It seems they are
carrying emissaries from a race we are familiar with by reputation. 
The......Cylon Empire." 
     Hir-Zykor came up in his chair with a look of total bewilderment. 
He was quite familiar with the Cylons, as was Captain Xlax. 
     "Where did these.....emissaries come from?" 
     "According to the Risik commander, a Cylon warship is lying just
outside our scanner range along with the Dreadnought.  They sent the
scout vessel so as not to communicate a false impression that they were
demonstrating any show of force.  They want to speak to you for the
purpose of securing Cylon permission to dock at Brylon.....as well as
access for the Risik."  
     "Do they have any formal alliance with the Risik?" his voice rose
with urgency. 
     "No, no formal alliance.  The Cylon warship recently arrived in the
outer Ziklagi Frontier where they encountered the Dreadnought and there
was an exchange of information.  But apparently, the Cylons were already
aware of our existence before they encountered the Risik." 
     The Zykonian commander took that in for several microns before he
asked his next question.  "How many emissaries?" 
     "Two.  One is a Cylon ambassador from their diplomatic section.  The
other.....is a Human collaborator working on their behalf." 
     "A Human collaborator?" his bewilderment increased. 
     "Yes," Xlak nodded.  "And female, no less." 
     Hir-Zykor's reptilian face wrinkled slightly as he took in this
information. 
     "Commander?" Xlax pressed.  "I've had them waiting for five centons
now.  What do I tell them?" 
     "Permission to dock is granted," the Commander said.  "But only the
Human may come aboard the station.  The others must remain aboard the
Risik vessel." 
     "Only the Human?" the Captain asked.  "You don't want to talk to
their ambassador?" 
     "Find out if he's disagreeable on that point." 
     "Stand by," Captain Xlax's image disappeared from the screen and for
the next thirty microns, Commander Hir-Zykor's scaly hands were tapping
anxiously against his desk until the Captain's face reappeared. 
     "Their ambassador agrees to those terms.  However.....the Risik
commander insists on the opportunity to see his fellow countrymen from
their Trading Post.  A married couple named Farben and Marya." 
     "How many Risik crew aboard the vessel?" 
     "Just the Commander, whose name is Clubb, and a co-pilot." 
     "Tell the Commander he can come into the docking lounge and I will
have Farben and Marya meet with him there.  His co-pilot stays aboard the
vessel with the Cylon ambassador.  That's the final concession I'm
offering him." 
     "Yes sir." 
     "And Captain.....given your past experience with the Colonials, I
want you accompany this.....collaborator to my office and for you to be
present during all discussions.  I.....don't intend to repeat the mistake
I made when I cut you out of our discussions the last time we had
diplomatic talks with a Human." 
     "Thank you, Commander," an edge of satisfaction entered the Zykonian
warrior's voice.   
 
 
     "You have no objections to just me going aboard?" Rosalind was
trying come to terms with the situation that had just been presented to
her. 
     "Ordinarily I would," Gracchus conceded, "But....it is not in our
interest to appear unreasonable to them.  I have no doubt that their past
experience with the Galactica and the Pegasus makes them instinctively
skeptical of talking to an actual Cylon.  As a Human.....you are clearly
in a better position to reassure them about our intentions since they
have had past interactions with Humans." 
     "And you trust me." 
     "Why should I not trust you, Siress Rosalind?" the DG Cylon deftly
parried.  "You have absolutely nothing  to gain by not doing as we expect
you to do for us." 
     A mirthless smile formed on her lips.  "I suppose not." 
     They felt the bump of the vessel securing itself to the docking ring
on the station.  Then, a whooshing sound indicated that it was safe to
open the hatch at the bottom of the stairwell.  Clubb removed his harness
and after whispering a few words to Lieutenant Katkov, got up and came
over to Rosalind and Gracchus. 
     "We will leave together, Siress Rosalind.  I will speak first and
then present you to the Zykonians for whatever negotiations you are able
to conduct," he paused, "Do not forget what we desire." 
     "I won't, Commander," she gave him a fake smile and rose from her
seat. 
     Clubb then turned his attention to Gracchus, "And I trust that you
will continue to respect Lieutenant Katkov's authority until my return,
Ambassador Gracchus?" 
     "I am merely a humble passenger, Commander.  If I must remain idle
during this time....so be it." 
     Clubb then headed down the steps with Rosalind following one step
behind him.  The hatch slid open and they stepped out into the docking
lounge area of the station.  The first thing Rosalind noticed was how
bright and clean it seemed in stark contrast to the gray, dark dreariness
of the BaseShip and to the accommodations she'd endured on the Cylon Home
World the last few yahrens. 
     Then her eyes caught sight of three aliens in uniform approaching
them.  One of them had more decorations indicating he was an officer
while the other two were likely the counterparts of Cylon centurions. 
But their appearance immediately caused Rosalind to flinch since unlike
the "near-to-not near" humanoid look of the Risik, these were alien
species all the way.  Bipedal, but with a predominantly reptilian look
reminiscent of the cobran, yet with features that also reminded her of
the lupus.   
     "Welcome to Brylon Station," the lead Zykonian said.  "I am Captain
Xlax.  I will be escorting the Cylon emissary to the station commander's
office." 
     Before Clubb could say anything, Xlax immediately turned his
attention to the Risik. 
     "Your fellow Risik, Farben and Marya will be here shortly,
Commander.  You may confer with them in this room for as long as you
wish, but we cannot permit you to venture any further into the station." 
     "I trust I will be allowed to speak to them without.....supervision,
Captain?" Clubb asked. 
     "Of course.  They are also free to board your vessel if you would
rather converse with them there.  The choice is entirely yours." 
     "Thank you," Clubb bowed his head faintly, "I appreciate this
courtesy, Captain Xlax.  I hope Siress Rosalind will be able to convince
you of the benefits that would arise from.....further courtesies." 
     "That is not my decision to make, Commander," Xlax said as
dispassionately as he could before turning to Rosalind.  "If you will
follow me, Siress.....Rosalind, is it?" 
     "Yes," she nodded and took a breath to calm her inner tension.  And
then, she followed the three Zykonians out of the docking lounge area.   
     Almost immediately, Rosalind found herself taken aback by her
surroundings once she stepped out into the corridor that led from the
docking lounge.  Instead of being enclosed, the corridor was enclosed
within translucent glass that allowed her to look out into a vast open
multi-leveled atrium.  Out there were scores of people from what seemed
like a multitude of different alien races.  Mingling about on open
walkways or going into an endless number of elegantly designed kiosks. 
The sight reminded her of the finest merchandise complexes that existed
in the Colonies, but on a vaster scale.  The sight of so many individuals
going about the normal routine of their lives and just.....enjoying
themselves was something she hadn't seen since before the Holocaust.  It
was a sight that might have moved her to tears.....if not for the fact
that she needed to keep all of her emotions in check. 
     The end of the corridor led them to a kind of sky lobby that housed
a row of turbo-lifts.  Xlax motioned her to the center one and she
stepped in.  The other two Zykonians didn't follow. When the doors closed
and the lift began to rise at a rapid clip, Xlax broke his silence. 
     "You're familiar with the Galactica?" 
     "Yes," answered quickly without batting an eyelash. 
     "And the.....Pegasus?" 
     There was a fraction of hesitation that she hoped he didn't notice
before she said, "Yes." 
     "They had a lot to say about the Cylon Empire," Xlax wasn't looking
at her.  "It's quite a surprise to find a Human acting as an emissary on
their behalf." 
     "You've only heard......their perspective on things," Rosalind said
with a disarming air.  Inside, she was beginning to feel sick to her
stomach.  She was quickly discovering that the presence of Gracchus had
made it easier for her to play the role of 'loyal Cylon' when talking to
Clubb aboard the Dreadnought.  Alone, it was much harder to summon that
instinct.  And that could easily prove disastrous for her purposes. 
     "We are definitely interested in listening to your.....perspective,
Siress Rosalind." Xlax continued to look at the door instead of her.  The
turbo lift came to a stop and the door slid open.  Rosalind followed him
out down a corridor lined with Zykonian soldiers (or "decurions" as she
would later discover was the proper term) until coming to a door at the
far end.  It slid open and they entered.  Seated at a conference table
were two Zykonians, both of whom she knew were in positions of high
authority. 
     "Welcome to Brylon Station," the one on the right who was in a
uniform said, "I am Commander Hir-Zykor, director of operations.  This is
Governor Bougaril, who is chief administrator of Brylon V, which we are
in orbit of.  We have full authority of the Zykonian government to speak
on their behalf so there is no point asking to speak to anyone else.  Do
you understand this?" 
     "Of course," Rosalind tried not to tremble since the ugly appearance
of the Zykonians as well as her sense of total isolation was threatening
to overwhelm her.  "I hope you understand though, that as the appointed
emissary of the Cylon Empire, I am here to ask on their behalf only two
things." 
     "And they are?" Governor Bougaril spoke for the first time.  His
voice had a slightly harsher edge than the station commander's did. 
     "First, as a courtesy to our friends the Risik, it would be most
generous if you would grant full docking and station access to their ship
the Dreadnought as well as any other Risik ships that patrol this area of
space.  The Risik have no territorial ambitions in this quadrant, and
only wish the same access that other races have enjoyed.  Including, I
would note the two Colonial Battlestars that have put into this station
in the past." 
     "If the Risik desire full access to our station, they should have
sent a proper diplomatic delegation to us," the Governor's harsher tone
grew, "Or at minimum, since their Trading Post was established as a
courtesy to the Ziklagi race, they could have asked their Ziklagi allies
to appeal on their behalf instead." 
     "The Ziklagi race, as I am sure you know, is quite preoccupied with
other matters at present on their home world," Rosalind felt some of the
tension inside her dissipate as she could now start focusing on some
specific points to make.  "Risik engagement with them is at a minimum." 
     "Which is their problem," Hir-Zykor said.  
     "The Civil War makes it impossible for them to ask favors of the
Ziklagi government when there is no guarantee that the present government
will remain in power," she felt her confidence start to pick up.  "They
are not choosing sides in the conflict......just as I am sure you're not
choosing sides either.  Not openly at least." 
     The two senior Zykonian officials traded glances with each other and
then Hir-Zykor motioned Rosalind to sit down.  She did so at the end of
the table. 
     "We'll dispense with all matters pertaining to the Risik right
away," Hir-Zykor said.  "As a gesture of goodwill on our part, we are
prepared to grant full station access to the Dreadnought and only the
Dreadnought for a proscribed period of time.  If the Risik government
desires broader access for more ships in their Star Force beyond that of
the Dreadnought.....then that is something they will have to negotiate
directly with us as a prelude toward establishment of full diplomatic
relations.  But they may consider this gesture toward the Dreadnought as
a sign that we are interested in listening to future overtures from
them." 
     Rosalind couldn't believe her good luck that she'd met with success
on this point this fast.  Securing this concession for the Dreadnought
was exactly what was needed to give the Risik government a deeper reason
for cooperating with the Cylons on Neutrino.  She was sure this
stipulation that only the Dreadnought would be permitted access would be
seen as sufficient for the moment since Clubb had told her that no other
Risik ship had ever penetrated this region of space.  The Risik were more
interested in expanding their dominion in the opposite direction from
their capital, and not in the regions that led back to Brylon and the
Ziklagi Frontier. 
     As long as their one ship in this area has access......that should
be enough for them.  The most critical part of the mission is over
already. 
     "This should be agreeable to them," she finally responded. 
"Naturally, Commander Clubb should be informed, but I think he will see
it as a healthy first step for his government." 
     "Then in that case, let's move on to the more important matter of
what the Cylon Empire wants from us, and why they've sent a Human
collaborator to act as their emissary," Bougaril leaned forward.  "From
what we know of the Cylon war against Humanity, it is inconceivable to us
that any Human would collaborate with them." 
     "And what have you heard?" by asking a question of her own, she was
hoping to buy some time to prepare herself.  But Hir-Zykor was shaking
his head. 
     "Oh no, Siress.  We want you to answer the question first.  What
motivates a woman like you to willingly serve the regime responsible for
so much death and devastation of her own people?  How did they induce you
to become a traitor?" 
     She flashed them a smile, trying to maintain the appearance of one
completely in control of things, "Traitor is a most pejorative term,
Commander Hir-Zykor.  My decision to serve the interests of the Cylon
Empire was based on practical realities." 
     Hir-Zykor looked back at Bougaril who nodded his head.  The Station
Commander then motioned to Captain Xlax to come over.  As soon as he
reached the head of the table, the two senior officials rose and
immediately left the room without saying a word, which left Rosalind
thoroughly confused.  When she finally turned around and faced Xlax, she
immediately sensed something in his body language that seemed distinctly
different from what she'd seen in Hir-Zykor and Bougaril. 
     "You can be candid with me, Siress," Xlax's tone was sympathetic. 
"You are working for the Cylons under duress." 
     Rosalind said nothing.  Her expression a perfect Pyramid face. 
     "I spent considerable time with the crew of the Galactica when they
were here," Xlax went on.  "Especially with Commander Adama's son,
Captain Apollo.  I had a most productive relationship with him based on
trust.  You'd be serving your own interests  if you learned to trust me."

     The Siress slowly leaned forward, her voice steeled and implacable,
"I'm here to do a job, Captain Xlax.  My personal story is not your
concern or the concern of your government.  I am only interested in doing
my job on behalf of the Cylon Empire because at present.....their needs
are my needs.  They believe I can be of service to them in securing what
they need.....which will in turn assist me in what I need." 
     Xlax was silent.  Even with his reptilian features, there was no
mistaking the sympathetic vibe he was trying to transmit to her.  And
Rosalind was showing a total determination not to respond to any of it. 
     Finally, the Captain let out a sigh and rose from his chair. 
Rosalind didn't bother to watch him leave the room since she was sure he
was going to say something to Bougaril and Hir-Zykor out in the corridor,
and then it wouldn't be long before the three of them would return. 
     Three centons later, the three Zykonians re-entered the room with
the two senior ones resuming their seats at the head of the table.  Xlax
remained standing behind them. 
     "What does the Cylon Empire ask of us?" Hir-Zykor's voice was
neutral. 
     "In addition to station access for the Risik, the Cylon BaseShip I
am traveling on, desires fuel to continue its journey to the Risik
Capital, and it requests assistance on any information the Zykonians have
regarding planets known to contain a mineral resource known as Neutrino."

     The Governor frowned, "Neutrino?" 
     "I know what you're referring to," Captain Xlax spoke up.  "The
substance that is used in the manufacturing of Cylon personnel and
warships.  Is that not so?" 
     "Yes," her hands were clasped tightly as she leaned forward.   
     "We do not have access to that mineral, nor is it known to exist in
any of the adjoining territories," Xlax said.  "We are not in any
position to help the Cylon Empire regarding that." 
     "And even if we did, we would hardly be willing to grant access to a
resource used in war production by a race that has a known track record
of aggressive expansion and destruction," Hir-Zykor added. 
     "That is not the purpose of the Cylon Empire in visiting this region
of space," Rosalind was giving it her all now.  Determined to not play
the role of innocent victim.  "The Cylon Empire needs this resource to
deal with matters in its own territorial realm.  If the Empire had any
aggressive designs on you, we would have sent a fleet of BaseShips to
force our will upon you rather than send merely one on an expeditionary
probe." 
     "But you've quickly formed an alliance with the Risik, whose
reputation for expansion in their dominion is not unknown to us either,"
Bougaril chimed in.  And suddenly, Rosalind realized that the Zykonians
were engaging in an alternating form of questioning where one followed
the other deliberately.  It was a tactic she could remember Adar
describing to her once about how a constant alternating of voices and
questions was meant to intimidate a negotiator and make him feel like he
was part of a hostile interrogation session. 
     "The Risik extended hospitality to us, and we are reciprocating
that.  That should demonstrate our lack of interest in senseless displays
of force because if you're familiar with the size of a Cylon BaseShip,
and I am certain you are, you know we could have intimidated a vessel the
mere size of the Dreadnought into quick submission.....or destruction. 
Instead, we are trying to be a good neighbor to them by arguing on their
behalf for access to the station." 
     The forcefulness of her tone clearly impressed them, since it was
clear she wasn't buckling to intimidation or appeals to lower her guard
and admit she was working under duress for the Cylons.  Instead, she was
playing the role of a tough negotiator who knew she was dealing with odds
stacked against her, but who was holding her own under fire. 
     Realizing that she was scoring points, she pressed on.  "Now, let's
get back to the matter of Neutrino.  Are you, or are you not being candid
on the subject of your people's access to this mineral or lack thereof? 
Because if you're not, I would note that the scanning capability of our
BaseShip can easily find out if there is Neutrino in this quadrant." 
     "There isn't," Xlax shook his head. "We....know of it, and we have
tested samples of it, but it is not like any substance we have come
across and it is not to be found anywhere in our quadrant of space." 
     "Where did your samples come from?" she deliberately seized on the
opening. 
     "They were provided to us by the Galactica and by the Pegasus," Xlax
didn't miss a beat. "As to the particulars, we can return to that later,
but for now, let's confine ourselves to what else you want of us as far
as the Cylon Empire is concerned.  Fuel to continue your journey toward
Risik space, which we can provide.  Information about Neutrino which we
cannot provide.  Are you insisting on permanent access to Brylon Station
for your BaseShip like the Risik desire?" 
     "Since you cannot provide us with Neutrino, there is little point
asking for permanent access," Rosalind said.  "But information regarding
what you know of the Galactica and Pegasus and what became of them after
they left Brylon Station would be helpful." 
     "So you can destroy them?" Xlax retorted. 
     "We're not capable of destroying two battlestars and a BaseShip that
defected to their side with just a single BaseShip so let's not get hung
up on that point, Captain Xlax," an edge of testiness entered Rosalind's
voice. "We're not here to threaten you or intimidate you.  We simply ask
for your.....help." 
     "And what is the Cylon Empire offering in return, Siress Rosalind?"
Hir-Zykor fired back.  "An Empire that big that claims its intentions are
peaceful should at least have the courtesy to offer us something of value
in return." 
     "Friendship," she suddenly flashed a smile as her voice grew
disarming.  "Non-aggression.  Tolerance.  Mutual respect.  Live and let
live.  Call it whatever you like, Commander.  If you have suspicions of
the Cylon Empire because of what you've learned from the Galactica and
the Pegasus, then surely you'd rather not have to deal with the Cylon
Empire as a potential problem to your interests in the future.  If you
treat us fairly.....then we have all the incentive to treat you fairly
from this point forward." 
     The Station Commander leaned over to the Governor and whispered
something in his ear. Bougaril then nodded and looked her in the eye. 
     "I believe there's an expression among you humans about cutting
through the felgercarb," he said.  "So let's try to sum everything up. 
If we give you some courtesies that represent the limit of what we can
offer you......then the Cylon Empire really has no reason to come by here
again, does it?  Especially if you are interested in forming some kind of
relationship with the Risik." 
     "That.....would be a reasonable assumption, Governor," Rosalind
acknowledged.  She knew she was taking a risk for the first time on her
own, but if it resulted in them giving the Cylons something tangible, she
was convinced Gracchus and Needa wouldn't object or hold it against her. 
     Bougaril leaned back and chuckled, as he turned to Hir-Zykor,
"Doesn't she remind you a lot of the Professor, Commander?" 
     "Yes.  The same bold.....spirit." 
     "The Professor?" Rosalind frowned. 
     "Commander Adama's wife Professor Ila," Hir-Zykor said.  "She was
here with the Pegasus." 
     Suddenly, all of Rosalind's bravado and steeliness disappeared in
the blink of an eye as she found herself blindsided with news that she
was totally unprepared for. 
     "That's....." she shook her head and whispered, "That's not
possible." 
     "Why not, Siress?" Xlax spoke up, seeing that a weakness had at last
been found.  "You know who she is, don't you?" 
     "Yes, but......she couldn't have been here or with the Pegasus,
she-----," she stopped unable to go any further. 
     Governor Bougaril turned around to Xlax, "Captain, I think you'd
better spend the next few centons with Siress Rosalind, alone." 
 
 
     Farben and Marya, the operators of the Risik Trading Post on Brylon
Station arrived in the docking lounge five centons after Rosalind had
left.  Their surprise at seeing a fellow Risik was evident as Clubb came
up to them. 
     "Commander Clubb of the Star Force patrol cruiser, Dreadnought,"
Clubb said.  "You are Farben and Marya?" 
     "Yes," Farben nodded, "This is.....most unexpected, Commander.  Has
Zykonian policy suddenly changed?" 
     "We should find out soon enough.  It all depends on how effective an
emissary for the so-called Cylon Empire is." 
     Farben frowned, "I'm not familiar with them." 
     "No, I suppose you're not," he sighed.  "The Star Force I would
imagine hasn't told you everything concerning the so-called Colonials. 
Give me a tenth of a tenar and I should be able to summarize things since
I doubt the emissary will be returning soon." 
     "Shouldn't we go aboard your vessel, Commander?" Marya asked.  Like
all Risik females, she had a luxurious mane of hair that set them apart
from the hairless Risik males.  It made her look nearly indistinguishable
from a Human female. 
     "Not advisable.  There's another emissary from the Cylon Empire
waiting aboard and I'd prefer that he not be party to anything that
passes between us.  Even if the Zykonians are recording us, I don't think
that presents any danger." 
     They found a solitary cushioned bench to sit on and for the next ten
minutes, Clubb gave the two Risik civilians a brief overview of what had
happened regarding his ship's contact with the Cylons, and who they
represented. 
     "Obviously if this emissary of theirs succeeds in getting my ship
access to the station, that means you won't need to rely on the Ziklagi
operatives to send your reports to the Star Force via the lengthy back
channels any longer," Clubb said, "Any message to the Star Force or from
them to you would be delivered by me from that point forward." 
     Farben took a breath, "Not necessarily, Commander." 
     Clubb frowned, "What do you mean not necessarily?" 
     Marya took a folded sheet out of paper out of her tunic and handed
it to him. 
     "This was our most recent communique from the Star Force," the Risik
female said, "It contained strict instructions from Admiral Trilligan to
present to you in the event you were able to put into Brylon Station
within six months after our receipt of it.  We never expected that to
happen, but.....obviously circumstances have changed." 
     His frown deepened as he took it, "Why would Admiral Trilligan not
send me a message through the normal relay channels I use to communicate
with him?" 
     "Read it and you'll find out, Commander," Farben motioned. 
     Clubb opened it and read.....and his eyes widened in greater
disbelief than at any time in the last few days.  
     "Is this true?" he whispered. 
     "You know his signature and his seal," Farben said.  "The official
pouch wasn't tampered with during its journey through Ziklagi
intermediaries to us." 
     "Do any of the Ziklagi you've interacted with confirm what he's
saying?" Clubb tried to take all of this in. 
     "Ziklagi access to our capital remains tightly restricted,
Commander.  There's only so much they can see beyond their embassy walls,
but......they've heard and seen enough to confirm that what the Admiral
describes in his communique is true." 
     "And Admiral Trilligan......," he started and stopped, unable to go
further, since he was still stunned by what he'd read. 
     "Does not feel safe sending you this information via the Star Force
comm relays to your ship," Marya finished for him.  "A sealed pouch
offers far greater security.  And naturally, his regard for you has him
convinced you won't disagree with his characterization of events.....or
of the Supreme Leader." 
     "And you agree with his characterization?" Clubb looked at them
pointedly. 
     Farben smirked, "If we disagreed with his characterization of the
Supreme Leader, do you think we would have volunteered to serve in the
most distant civilian outpost from home, on a Frontier the Supreme Leader
has no interest in expanding towards?" 
     "That's why the Admiral knew he could trust letting us open the seal
and reading the message before presenting it to you," Marya added. 
     "I see," the Commander realized for the first time why this couple
had never asked to be relieved of their duty.  "Your candor is
quite.....refreshing.  As is.....Admiral Trilligan's." 
     "It's meant to be a warning to you, Commander," Marya's tone grew
grave.  "Your own self-interest as well as the self-interest of your crew
is tied to staying out in this Frontier region and not having any reason
to return home." 
     "I'm afraid Marya, circumstances are on the verge of removing that
option from me.  If this Human collaborator is as good an emissary as her
Cylon masters think she is." 
 
 
     "Drop the false facade, Siress Rosalind," Xlax said gently, once he
was alone with her.  "The Cylons are making you work for them." 
     The Siress felt beaten inside.  She acknowledged him only with a
faint nod of her head. 
     "And you're in a difficult position because if you don't do what
they want you to do.....other lives might be in danger, in addition to
your own." 
     She sighed and without looking at him forced one word out, "Yes." 
     "Are you in a position to know what the Cylons really want of us?" 
     "I haven't misled you about anything, Captain," she emphasized. 
"What I've requested is exactly what they want.  Access to Brylon Station
for the Risik.  Fuel to continue their journey to the Risik capital. 
Access to Neutrino if you know where any supplies are.  Information on
the Galactica and the Pegasus.  But.....the Neutrino issue is the one of
most importance to them.  They are becoming desperate to find new outlets
for it." 
     "We can't help on that.  Not that I'm saying we would if we had
access to Neutrino, but we don't have anything beyond sample amounts that
came from the Pegasus during her stop here," the Captain paused, "Why
were you shocked to learn Professor Ila was with them?" 
     Rosalind knew there was no point holding anything back.  "Because
Professor Ila was taking part in a Resistance movement on the planet
Caprica against Cylon occupation for the last four yahrens.  How did she
find her way this far out into deep space?" 
     "I can answer that question for you," he said, "The Resistance sent
her into deep space in a one person shuttle with a hyperdrive engine. 
She was hoping to be rescued by her husband, but instead she was picked
up by the Pegasus." 
     "Where did she get such a shuttle?" her bewilderment had returned. 
     "A scientist named Ravashol on a planet called Arcta built it for
the Resistance.  Our own scientists actually repaired it for future use,
but whether she actually used it again after the Pegasus left, I have no
idea.  The Pegasus had not indicated whether they intended to catch up
with the Galactica or whether they intended to go back to help this
Resistance movement." 
     Oh my God......Rosalind thought as several pieces of the puzzle
began to fall into place.  Imperious Leader was boasting to me about how
they were taking care of the Resistance threat by showing me the
recording of Ila being captured and led off to execution for murdering
the chief centurion based on Arcta.  But.....if that was Ila,
then.....that would mean if the Pegasus was never spotted in the Risik
Frontier after leaving Brylon, she could only have turned and gone back
which would mean....... 
     She felt dizzy trying to keep up with the ramifications of all this. 
Even if Ila was dead,  the fact remained that things in the Colonies and
on Arcta were clearly not what Imperious Leader and the rest of the Cylon
High Command thought them to be.  They had lost control of events in ways
that went beyond the exhaustion of their Neutrino supply.   
     The shock she'd felt was now dissipating and slowly, a sense of
purpose was coming back to Rosalind.  The stakes were suddenly greater
than just trying to get the prisoners in the Home System freed.  Now the
stakes meant making sure Gracchus, Needa and the rest of the Cylon crew
of the BaseShip never learned what she had just found out. 
     "Captain Xlax," the voice of the diplomat had returned to her. 
"Please ask the Governor and the Commander to come back in.  It's
imperative they hear what I have to say in order to....settle this matter
once and for all." 
     Xlax tapped his scaly thumb on the table in silent contemplation. 
Rosalind was convinced he was toying with her emotions by making her
wait.  She kept her expression rigid and decided to wait him out. 
Finally, the Captain rose and left the room. 
     This has to work, Rosalind found herself praying for the first time
since she was a teenager.  If this doesn't work......my life is over. 
 
 
     Ten centons passed before Xlax returned with Hir-Zykor and Bougaril. 
Again, the senior officials resumed their places at the head of the table
and motioned her to begin.  With a burst of determination, Rosalind
talked......and talked.  Going on without interruption for over fifteen
centons and making things abundantly clear to the Zykonians on what was
at stake and why it was imperative that the Zykonians do two things.   
     The first was to give the Cylons everything they were asking for,
because it was ultimately very little and presented no security threat to
the Zykonians. 
     And second.....to say nothing to them regarding the presence of
Professor Ila at Brylon Station during the time of the Pegasus' visit. 
     "Mention Commander Cain since they know and expect him to be alive,"
she stressed.  "But not Professor Ila.  If I'm right......that revelation
could have a terrible impact on the lives of the people I'm trying to
protect, as well as the lives of others who are engaged in active
Resistance against the Cylon Empire." 
     Finally, Governor Bougaril broke the silence from the Zykonians. 
     "We are not the only ones on Brylon Station who remember Professor
Ila." 
     "But I am the only representative of the Cylon Empire who has been
allowed aboard this Station and who's had a chance to learn that!" the
one time Colonial Cabinet member stressed.  "All you have to do is make
it unnecessary for Ambassador Gracchus to come aboard by letting him and
Commander Needa know that my efforts have succeeded and the Cylons have
everything they hoped to get from you.  The BaseShip will then depart and
have no reason to come back here.  I can guarantee you that from this
point on, the Cylons will only be interested in what the Risik can do for
them and won't be giving your race any further thought." 
     "Not at present," Hir-Zykor noted.  "Can you predict the long-term
future?" 
     Rosalind leaned forward, "If you endanger the Resistance to the
Cylons, you risk the Cylons taking interest in your race for conquest
much sooner.  Help them now and keep quiet about Professor Ila......and
you end up helping the people who will keep them from becoming a
long-term threat to you." 
     The Station Commander put a hand to his chin and glanced at the
Governor.  Before they could say anything, Xlax cleared his throat. 
     "Yes, Captain?" Bougaril looked up at him. 
     "There is one area where we might be able to show some additional
generosity to the Cylons that will leave them further impressed......and
convinced that Siress Rosalind has exceeded what was asked of her." 
     Hir-Zykor slowly nodded as he knew right away what the Captain was
referring to. 
 
 
     "I would advise you to dispose of the Admiral's message as soon as
possible," Farben said. "If these Cylon emissaries plan to meet with the
Supreme Leader, it won't help if they learn that he has enemies he is
unaware of." 
     "No indeed," Clubb acknowledged as he placed the document in an
inner pocket of his tunic.  "The Supreme Leader might persuade them to
help him root out such elements.  Their one BaseShip couldn't conquer a
star system by itself......but in alignment with the security apparatus
of the Supreme Leader......it could do much." 
     The door at the end of the corridor and a beaming Rosalind emerged
followed by Captain Xlax and two Decurions. 
     "I have good news," Rosalind smiled as she came up to Clubb. 
"Ambassador Gracchus may enter the Docking Lounge to hear it." 
     Clubb hesitated slightly but went back through the hatch that led to
the scout vessel's stairwell.  Five centons later, he re-emerged with
Gracchus right behind him. 
     "The Zykonians have agreed to all of our requests," Rosalind didn't
wait for the DG Cylon to say anything.  "The Dreadnought may have full
access to Brylon Station from this time forward, which includes unlimited
tylium resupply.  In addition, if the BaseShip will come to within two
thousand kilometrones of the Station, a tanker will dispatch all the
necessary tylium to enable successful continuation of our journey to the
Risik capital, alongside the Dreadnought." 
     "That is most good news!" Gracchus was pleased, feeling vindicated
that Rosalind had done exactly as she'd been told. 
     "Unfortunately, the Zykonians are not in possession of Neutrino. 
They do intend to transmit to Commander Clubb full mining data on the
nearby planets that will confirm this point.  Copies will also be
transmitted to Commander Needa as well." 
     "You are familiar with what Neutrino is?" Gracchus directed his
question to Xlax. 
     "We are," the Zykonian Captain nodded.  "We have had an example of
its construction capability in our hands since the Battlestar Pegasus was
with us.  But it is totally unlike anything we have come across in our
experiences of mining mineral resources.  And our attempts to duplicate
its properties in laboratory experiments have proved most futile.  We see
little point in continuing the effort." 
     "I see," Gracchus noted.  "Your candor is appreciated,
Captain......?" 
     "Captain Xlax," he said.  "We do believe in treating your race
fairly, Mr. Ambassador." 
     "So it would seem," he acknowledged, "What can you tell us of the
Pegasus?" 
     "Regrettably, I cannot tell you where she chose to go after leaving
us.  Commander Cain was quite.....inscrutable on that point.  He
recognized the value of following the path the Galactica took to achieve
reunion with them since their separation several yahrens ago,
but.....whether he did this or not, I simply cannot offer confirmation
one way or the other." 
     "That is most unfortunate," the faintest edge of displeasure entered
the Ambassador's voice.  "While we are not capable of engaging the
Pegasus in actual combat, it would have been valuable to know if she
planned on going further into deep space, or if she harbored any thoughts
of returning to our own regions of space.  But......it is quite in
keeping for Commander Cain to withhold his long-term plans from you.  We
are more than familiar with his reputation." 
     "We regret we cannot give you more on that," Xlax said
apologetically, "Because of that......and at Siress Rosalind's urging
once she learned of this.......we are, as a gesture of friendship and
goodwill, returning to you a member of your race who was taken captive by
the Pegasus and left with us during her time here." 
     "I beg your pardon?" a confused edge entered Gracchus's voice.  If
the DG Cylon could frown, he would have. 
     Xlax motioned to the door at the end of the Docking Lounge that he'd
emerged from several centons ago.  It slid open......and Gracchus felt
all of his circuits freeze in surprise at what he saw. 
     It was an IL Cylon making its way up to him, moving past the three
Zykonians, Rosalind and the two confused Risik.  Coming to a stop just
inches from the DG Cylon. 
     "Good day, Ambassador Gracchus," he said.  "Commander
Lucifer......returning to duty." 
 
Chapter Five 
 
Baseship #1040-The Next Day 
     It had taken a while for Needa to recover from the shock of learning
that his fellow IL Cylon Lucifer, presumed destroyed for nearly two
yahrens, had been found alive on Brylon Station and had now been released
by the Zykonians.  Now, as the BaseShip tended to the receipt of promised
tylium to prepare for its journey to the Risik capital alongside the
Dreadnought (whose crew had enjoyed six centars of access to the station
while the refueling operations took place) Needa and Gracchus were
engaged in a full debriefing of the released IL. 
     "You were presumed killed when your BaseShip was destroyed by Baltar
and the Galactica," Needa had decided that a tone rooted in critical but
not quite hostile interrogation was called for. 
     "I escaped from the BaseShip in a shuttle when I realized the
hopelessness of the situation," Lucifer patiently answered.  He had shown
no sign of annoyance over being treated this way by a fellow IL.  "If you
wish to accuse me of abandoning my crew, I can only say that it became
necessary for me to do so if there was to be any hope of my surviving to
inform the High Command of the full extent of Baltar's treachery and the
full circumstances of what actually happened." 
     "And where did you end up?" 
     "There was a planet nearby that I set down on.  Totally unsuitable
for Human life so I knew I would not be in any danger from the Galactica. 
I activated an automatic distress signal in Cylon code and then went into
hibernation stasis mode." 
     "So how did you come to be taken prisoner by the Pegasus?" Needa
didn't let up. 
     A disdainful sigh emanated from Lucifer, "Really, Needa.  There is
no need to be so hostile." 
     "I am not hostile," the BaseShip commander retorted.  Yet. "I am
merely practicing some due diligence.  Especially when we've had to deal
with the widespread problem of Disease in our ranks." 
     "I am a victim of that 'Disease' as you call it," Lucifer
disdainfully pointed out, "A problem that His Eminence and Spektor
concealed from me because they were both convinced Baltar would still
deliver the Galactica to us." 
     "Spektor has paid the price for his own incompetence on that point,"
Gracchus spoke up for the first time.  The DG Cylon had kept his distance
by standing off to one side.  
     "Yes, so I've been told," a smug edge of satisfaction entered
Lucifer's voice, "Though it is unfortunate Gomorrah had to be lost in the
process.  It would seem that our Imperious Leader has not done an
adequate job in containing this problem." 
     "Watch yourself, Lucifer," Needa warned.  "It only takes one message
from me to His Eminence to reveal your feelings and if he instructs me to
have you executed for incompetence and treason.....I won't hesitate to do
so." 
     This time, his fellow IL chuckled, "Even you are not that
short-sighted, my dear Needa." 
     "Lucifer, can we return to the matter of how you came to be on the
Pegasus?" Gracchus interjected in a more neutral-positive tone than the
BaseShip Commander was managing. 
     "Of course, Ambassador.  We must concentrate on important things."
No one missed the touch of condescension in Lucifer's voice before he
shifted to a tone of polite deference.  "The Pegasus intercepted my
distress signal.  And they had a team of disloyal Centurions under their
control who were able to retrieve me from the planet I was on and they
brought me back to the Pegasus while I was still in hibernation mode. 
They were able to create a deception that made me think I was in a Cylon
facility or aboard a Cylon ship.  When all the time, they were doing
Commander Cain's bidding." 
     "Where did these disloyal Centurions come from?" 
     "I can only make an inference on that point.  The disloyal Command
Centurion answered to the name, 'Commander Cobre.'  According to my
memory banks, there was a Commander Cobre who was Chief Centurion at our
garrison on the planet Delta Aquinas, which was abandoned more than
thirteen yahrens ago following the battle that took place there." 
     "Found by the Pegasus and reprogrammed to do their bidding no
doubt," Needa said.  "I would not read much significance into that.  At
any rate, you were tricked into revealing information to Commander Cain
about......Baltar's defection and the destruction of your BaseShip?" 
     "I freely admit that." 
     "And unquestionably the Pegasus gained access to your memory banks. 
They surely wouldn't have turned you over to the Zykonians if they felt
you could still be of use to them." 
     "I have no conscious memory of what was done to me after I realized
I had been duped.  But what you say is the most logical thing they would
have done." 
     "Which would mean the Zykonians accessed your memory banks as well
and know.....everything you know." 
     "You may take comfort in this, Needa," Lucifer leaned forward. 
"Since His Eminence chose to keep me in the dark regarding this problem
of 'disease' in our ranks, that means the Zykonians are unaware of just
how extensive the problem in our Empire is.  Just as I'm sure you've made
this so-called Risik race unaware of how extensive our problem is." 
     "You say you have no memory of anything after you realized you were
deceived by Commander Cain," Gracchus interjected again, "Does that mean
you have no knowledge of where the Pegasus went after they left Brylon
Station?" 
     "If I say I was inactive from a time before Commander Cain turned me
over to the Zykonians, then I could hardly be expected to know where they
went afterwards, Ambassador." 
     "And you heard no talk among the Zykonians about this?" 
     "How could I?" he parried, "They had no reason to share any secrets
with me.  As for what I was forced to share with them......for once His
Eminence's lack of candor turned out to be what the Humans would call a
blessing." 
     Needa was silent as though he'd run out of questions he thought he
could ask.  When he spoke, his tone for the first time was less hostile. 
     "You understand the nature of our mission, Lucifer?" 
     "To follow these Risik to their capital and find out what they know
about Neutrino.  The short supply of which finally clears up the mystery
as to why His Eminence kept telling me that I could expect no
reinforcement during my pursuit of the Galactica." 
     "And we must remain this far out until we've ascertained what we can
get from them," the Baseship Commander added, "Does the thought of being
here in a.....subordinate capacity displease you?" 
     "After what I have been forced to experience these last two yahrens,
Needa, I have little reason to be displeased at this point.  I am
interested only in resuming my service to our Empire. Allying ourselves
with those who have evidently had their own unpleasant exchanges with the
Galactica and with Baltar would hardly strike me as inappropriate." 
     "Very well, Lucifer.  We welcome your presence among us, and the
insights you will offer us in these coming sectars.  It may take that
long before we know if the Risik have the solution to our problem
regarding Neutrino." 
     "Now that I've answered your questions, answer one for me, Needa,"
Lucifer said with an edge, "Why is the Human collaborator, Siress
Rosalind among us?" 
     "She is here on His Eminence's direct order," the BaseShip Commander
said.  "It was thought that a non-Cylon could present a much more
effective.....face to races we seek cooperation from." 
     "How the mighty have fallen," Lucifer scoffed, "Unable to send a
true display of Cylon force, he falls back again on the idea that Human
collaborators offer our potential salvation." 
     "I wouldn't protest if I were in your position, Lucifer," Needa said
dryly, "You owe your release to her.  She succeeded beyond expectations
by acting as our negotiator.  If it weren't for Rosalind, you'd probably
still be lying on the scrap heap in a Zykonian lab." 
     For the first time in the conversation, Lucifer seemed forced to
acknowledge that Needa had topped him as he gave no response.  With a
satisfied air, Needa rose. 
     "Command Centurion Strelka will be along shortly to let you conduct
a top to bottom tour of our operations.  Once you've fully
acclimated.....I will be more than happy to discuss future matters with
you." 
     "Indeed," there was a suspicious air in his fellow IL's tone but he
said nothing further. 
 
 
     Alone in her quarters, Rosalind had time to reflect on the events
that had unfolded on Brylon Station and what they meant.  She knew that
many pieces of the puzzle were still missing but a general picture had
formed and it was a picture that told a vastly different story from what
the Imperious Leader and his lackeys on the Cylon Home World had been
telling the rest of the prison population for the last few yahrens. 
     She had always known there was a Resistance movement taking place in
the Colonies.  And that a problem of disloyalty among centurions in
various outposts had erupted as well, which accounted for why so many
Human prisoners had been brought in from the Colonies and why
subsequently additional prisoners had been brought in from Starlos. 
Indeed, it was the Starlos prisoners who had given the Colonial prisoners
the reports of "The Disease" and of the Resistance based on what they'd
heard from the crew of the BaseShip that had transported them from
Starlos to the Cylon Home System.  Those rumors had spread among the
prison population and finally compelled Imperious Leader to bring
Rosalind in and "set the record straight" as the Cylon ruler put it. 
Yes, there were problems with disloyal centurions but it was
"manageable."  Yes, there was a Resistance movement in the Colonies but
it had no chance of ever succeeding in taking back control of the twelve
worlds.  Why in fact, one of the most important figures in the Caprican
Resistance, Professor Ila, wife of Commander Adama, had recently been
captured, tortured and executed by the Cylon Governor of the Occupation
Forces, Malus. 
     When Imperious Leader had summoned Rosalind and told her that she
had no choice but to take part in this mission on behalf of the Empire,
he had made a point of playing back the recording of his conversation
with Malus in which the captured Ila had been paraded about, bloodied and
tortured, before being led off for execution.  The Cylon ruler had even
boasted of telling Ila that her husband and family were long dead because
the Galactica had been destroyed by a pursuing task force.  A lie, he
acknowledged, but one that meant Adama's wife would die with all of her
hopes shattered forever. 
     But now.....as Rosalind went over everything in her head, knowing
she couldn't dare write any of this down......it was clear that there
were other lies being told that Imperious Leader was unaware of. 
     Ila left Caprica in a shuttle built by Dr. Ravashol of Arcta.  But
Arcta is supposed to be completely under Cylon control and Dr. Ravashol
is supposed to be building things to help the Occupation forces put down
the Resistance.  Either the Resistance captured one of his creations for
their own use, or else......Ravashol is helping the Resistance......and
he couldn't possibly have been able to do that unless.......the Chief
Centurion on Arcta has come down with the "Disease" and the Imperious
Leader doesn't know it! 
     Her eyes narrowed as the next piece fell into place if that last
point were true. 
     But Ila was supposedly captured after she'd assassinated the Chief
Centurion of Arcta during a visit to the Colonies.  Leaving aside how Ila
got back to Caprica, why would she kill the Chief Centurion if he has to
have been among the disloyal Cylons?  She'd only do that if the whole
execution scene was really just a......lie.  A lie staged for the
Imperious Leader's benefit. 
     She slowly came upright in her bed as the last piece fell into
place. 
     And that would mean.....Lords of Kobol, it would mean Governor Malus
is collaborating with them too!  That has to be it!  Imperious Leader has
lost control of the Colonies and he doesn't even know it! 
     She knew that was the only explanation that fit all the facts.  And
if that was what the facts pointed to......it also meant the Battlestar
Pegasus under Commander Cain had not gone off to join the Galactica, but
had turned back.  Towards home! 
     That was one conclusion she had no intention of ever sharing with
anyone on the BaseShip.  The only question was whether or not Needa or
Gracchus would come to that conclusion on their own, and would they tell
the Imperious Leader about it. 
     By all the Lords, she clasped her hands in prayer, putting aside
forever all the Skepticism she'd carried within her.  Please.  For their
sake.  Not mine. 
 
 
     "Well?" Gracchus asked once he and Needa had left Lucifcer and were
alone in the outer corridor. 
     "Lucifer's return is indeed an unexpected surprise that could 
produce eventual complications for us," the Commander said. 
     "That is an understatement," the DG Cylon noted.  "You and I both
remember how hard he campaigned to be named the next Imperious Leader
after the debacle at Carillon.  And how less than enthused he was that he
lost to an IL he'd had issues with in the past." 
     "I remember," Needa said, reminding himself not to utter the name
the Cylon Ruler had gone by before his ascension.  It was an ingrained
part of Cylon programming to never speak aloud the original name of an
Imperious Leader once they assumed power.  "And that is why His Eminence
made certain to get him out of the Home System as fast as possible by
assigning him to Baltar's ship and pursuing the Galactica into deep
space.  And why he kept Lucifer out there indefinitely.  He couldn't
afford to see Lucifer near the Home System again once all the problems of
the Disease and our Neutrino shortages erupted." 
     "I doubt that His Eminence will be pleased to know that Lucifer is
still alive." 
     A dry chuckle then emitted from the Baseship Commander. 
     "Why bother telling him about it?" he asked rhetorically.  "Far
better to let His Eminence know of our triumphal success with the
Zykonians in getting what we wanted and that his decision to send
Rosalind with us has been vindicated.  Telling him about Lucifer
would.....darken his mood needlessly." 
     "And the Pegasus?" Gracchus pressed, "Do we tell His Eminence she's
still alive?" 
     "No," Needa shook his bulbous head slightly as they kept walking. 
"Not when we have no information to go on as to where she went." 
     "It's always possible that the Pegasus chose not to catch up with
the Galactica," Gracchus pointed out, "That would mean.....she might be
somewhere close to our own frontier.  And if they discovered from Lucifer
that a whole BaseShip of centurions under Baltar chose to defect, it
might give them ideas that----," 
     "That what?" Needa interrupted.  "The Pegasus might have learned
that centurions are capable of being disloyal, but Lucifer was ignorant
about the Resistance in the Colonies as well as our Neutrino problem. 
The overall picture Commander Cain would have had was that our control
over the old Colonial Frontier remains quite implacable.  No, Gracchus,
absent any hard evidence that Commander Cain was foolhardy enough to turn
around and go back after making it all the way out to Brylon Station, I
see no reason to inform His Eminence of such a trivial detail that would
only distract him from our main accomplishments.  Getting the Risik what
they needed so they'll be more amenable to helping us gain access to
Neutrino." 
     "As you wish," Gracchus sighed. 
 
 
The Dreadnought 
     Clubb looked over the message Farben and Marya had given him for
what he knew would be the last time.  It was far too dangerous to risk
anyone in his crew seeing it, especially now that the Dreadnought was
returning to the Risik capital for the first time in nearly two years. 
But he needed to go over it once more so he could commit its contents to
his memory. 
 
 
          To Commander Clubb, 
 
          I send you this message in a sealed diplomatic pouch that no
one will be 
          able to access once it leaves my office, until it is delivered
to Farben and 
          Marya on Brylon Station by Ziklagi couriers.  Because I have
enjoyed 
          the trust of our Supreme Leader for lo these many years, I have
never 
          had to worry about my messages being opened by any
representatives 
          of State Security, least of all the sycophant Iakir who runs
their operations 
          now.  I realize there is no guarantee this will reach you
immediately 
          given the present policy of the Zykonians toward letting your
ship put in  
          at the Station, and if you have not received this after six
months, then it 
          is my intention to write a similar but more up to date letter
and send it 
          to Brylon once again by the same means..  I do believe though
that since 
          your ship and your crew have been away from home for such an
extended  
          period in the monotonous assignment of studying the Ziklagi
Civil War, and 
          looking in vain for further signs of the Colonial battlestar
known as the  
          "Pegasus" your crew, being normal Risik males, will at some
point demand  
          you find a reason to put into the Station and obtain some
access, and when  
          that comes, you will be able to receive this important message
that I must 
          share with you concerning what is happening to our society. 
And why I feel 
          we are on the precipice of a potential upheaval that our
civilization has  
          not known since the time of the Great Civil War. 
 
          I have sent you several messages through official relays, all
of which are 
          subject to monitoring by Star Force Communications personnel,
that allude 
          to our present military mobilization effort our Supreme Leader
has ordered. 
          The discovery of this unique metal known as 'Neutrino' on a
planet in our  
          sector that had seen its competing civilizations die in a
protracted nuclear 
          war, has presented us with an opportunity to build warships
that would 
          compensate for the military disadvantages our Star Force
suffered at the  
          hands of the Colonial battlestar known as the "Galactica." 
They would,  
          if properly implemented over the long-term, make us the most
formidable 
          military force in the entire galaxy. 
 
          I say 'properly implemented' for a reason.  Our Supreme Leader
has  
          chosen to undertake this mobilization in a most improper
fashion.  He is 
          singularly obsessed with the idea of creating a new Star Force
on short 
          notice that can quickly catch up to the Colonial Fleet before
they are likely 
          to arrive at Te'rea in the next two or three years, based on
their course 
          heading and speed.  Our Leader is obsessed with the idea of
living long 
          enough to not simply avenge the humiliations of Ne'Chak and the
Star Force 
          losses, but to enjoy the privilege of leading the invasion of
Te'rea that we 
          were forced to abandon at the time of our expulsion by the
Ke'zar.  A 
          sensible leader would recognize that there is no dishonor in
letting the  
          course of events unfold at a proper pace, and that to
recklessly plunge  
          forward at serious cost to the welfare of his own subjects is
the mark of a 
          madman.  Alas......our Supreme Leader falls into that category. 
 
 
          Our Supreme Leader has devoted the *entirety* of our population
and 
          our planetary resources toward meeting this goal of creating a
one hundred 
          ship task force constructed entirely from Neutrino within the
next two years.  
          Already our people are paying a heavy price for this
recklessness in the form 
          of industrial shortages that have brought normal commerce and
trade  
          activities to a halt.  Workers who should be operating
factories are being 
          pressed at record levels into military production facilities to
get these ships 
          constructed.  Food that is needed for the general population is
increasingly 
          being diverted to this military labor force.  You may ask, why
have we not 
          simply used the existing ships of the Star Force to bring in
resources and labor 
          from the planets we have pacified and conquered in our
adjoining sectors?   
          Because *those* resources are *also* being diverted to the
military build-up. 
          The Supreme Leader can always count on his old University
friend Ibate, our 
          not-so-esteemed Minister of the Colonies, to go along with him
on that point. 
          The bottom line is that if you're not working on a military
construction project, 
          you have to observe food rationing standards dictated by the
government.  
 
          Our population is being told that these hardships and shortages
represent 
          a necessary sacrifice on the part of all loyal and patriotic
Risik in order to  
          achieve the goal of long-term peace and prosperity.  The High
Priest insists 
          that our Leader has the blessing of the Supreme god Belial to
carry this all 
          about.  And indeed, our Leader has even claimed in Executive
Council  
          sessions that on multiple occasions he has actually spoken to
Belial and 
          heard him *command* that he undertake this crash building
program centered 
          entirely on a fleet of Neutrino ships, even if that means
scrapping perfectly 
          good ships in the Star Force in order to cannibalize weaponry
and equipment 
          for the new ships! 
 
          While I play the role of our Supreme Leader's loyal Commander
of the Star 
          Force, I am convinced that at some point, action will be needed
to remove  
          ourselves not only of our madman of a Leader but the entire
hierarchy of the 
          religious and political order that fuels his mad fixation on
hearing voices 
          from Belial that is leading our planet to total economic ruin,
and increased 
          hardship for our people.  When this action can be taken and how
it can be 
          achieved, I do not know.  I have only shared these sentiments
with a small 
          number of people, and I dare not reveal their names to you even
in the safety 
          of a sealed message.  For now though, I can only offer you this
counsel. 
          Take advantage of your distant proximity from our capital that
keeps you  
          patrolling the Ziklagi Frontier.  The only reason you have not
been recalled 
          is because our Supreme Leader still recognizes the need to know
how things  
          stand in the Ziklagi Civil War and if it will be necessary at
some point to 
          enlist their government in a cooperative effort if they end up
prevailing. 
              The Leader says that Belial has told him to embrace the
support of 'outsiders'  
          at some point in the fulfillment of our supposed Destiny in
destroying the  
          Colonials in the near-term, and preparing the way for the
invasion of Te'rea 
          in our generation.  For reasons I can not elaborate on at
present, I think  
          this obsession with Te'rea is no longer the noble goal we have
claimed it to 
          be for the last several thousand years because I now believe
that the reasons 
          we have been told to justify our eventual conquest of Te'rea
are based on  
          falsehoods and lies told to us by a corrupt religious order
that has stunted 
          our growth as a race for too long.  But so long as the Supreme
Leader is  
          committed to their vision, there is alas no definable course of
action I can  
          undertake at present. 
 
 
 
          Because your years of distinction to the Star Force makes you
one I know I 
          can trust, and because I know you have welcomed the sense of
distance from 
          home that your present assignment gives you, I know I can trust
you to keep 
          this message in the strictest of confidence.  But if you
believe that I am a  
          traitor for expressing these sentiments and that you feel some
obligation to  
          expose me, I would not advise that as it would necessitate your
returning to 
          the capital to file a charge against me, and I can assure you
that would not 
          be in your best interest, or the best interests of your crew. 
 
          If you have been able to receive this message at any time since
its delivery  
          to Farben and Marya at Brylon Station, acknowledge at the end
of your  
          next dispatch to Star Force central by signing it,
"Clubb-Dreadnought."  
          rather than with your usual terse ending of just your name.  I
will 
          attempt a follow-up message on the true status of things in our
capital,  
          six months after that acknowledgment. 
 
          -Trilligan. 
 
 
     For not even one fleeting instant did Clubb contemplate retaining
the message and turning it over to State Security upon the Dreadnought's
return to the Capital.  That was how much he trusted the Star Force
Commander, whom he knew to be a good and honorable soldier who truly
placed the value of those he commanded over any attachments to dogmas. 
     But he knew that Admiral Trilligan would find this new development
of the Cylon BaseShip and its interest in Neutrino to be disturbing on a
multiplicity of levels.  And that meant that as soon as the Dreadnought
reached the Risik capital, it would be essential for Clubb to secure a
private meeting with the Admiral.  In a venue where the matters of this
message could be discussed in greater detail and Trilligan could more
properly factor in what the emergence of these Cylons meant for his
long-term desire to see the Supreme Leader ousted. 
     With a sigh, he calmly tore up the message into tiny fragments and
then dropped them into the turboflush of his private washroom.  One
switch and the evidence of Trilligan's message was now gone forever. 
     And Commander Clubb knew that his days of serene peace and quiet
patrolling the distant Ziklagi Frontier were gone forever as well. 
 
 
Brylon Station 
     The high point of Brylon Station was its observation level that
based on the orbital position could offer spectacular views of Brylon V,
or it could provide a clear view of the many ships and vessels putting
into the station or being serviced nearby.  Which meant that on this day,
visitors to the Observation Level would have their best view of the Cylon
BaseShip, some two thousand kilometrones from the station receiving its
shipment of tylium from a Zykonian tanker before it would depart for the
Risik capital with the Dreadnought, which had also received tylium
resupply for the first time. 
     Captain Xlax was at that moment the only spectator on the
Observation Level.  Now that he was off-duty, he'd decided he needed to
see for himself just how formidable the Cylon BaseShip was in its size
and scale, and now that he was able to, he intended to remain until he
saw it leave.  A great risk had been taken to try and get the Cylons from
showing any further interest in Brylon Station or the Zykonians and until
the BaseShip departed from the Brylon environs, he wouldn't feel
completely at ease.  Fortunately, the Cylon robot emissary Gracchus had
cheerfully acknowledged there was no reason to have any further
discussions or for any Cylons to board the station.  Likewise, the Risik
crew of the Dreadnought, because of the urgent need to get underway to
provide escort, had only taken advantage of their new access to the
Station with a six centar liberty.  The limited time and desire to
indulge in as many pleasures as they could in that short a span meant the
Risik had no interest in doing investigative work of their own.  And
since it would be many sectars before the Dreadnought would be back in
this area to take advantage of more extended time at the station, they'd
likely by then have even less interest in asking questions about things
the Zykonians had tried to keep concealed from the Cylons. 
     "Captain Xlax?" a high-pitched voice from behind him sounded.  He
turned and his eyes fell on an alien that to those of humanoid background
would have seemed more plantlike than animal. 
     "Hello, Ozko," the Zykonian said to his friend from the planet
Calcorya.  Ozko-Boulzakian was a musician who traveled frequently to the
Station from his home planet so he could perform periodic gigs in the
Har-Bitah restaurant.  He'd come to befriend the plant-like creature
after complimenting him on his performance one night in the restaurant's
bar, which in turn had led to a conversation that revealed their mutual
friendships involving the Colonial visitors from the Battlestars
Galactica and Pegasus.  As well as Ozko's connection more than twenty
yahrens ago to Humans he'd met on the Zykonian planet Krylamic who'd come
from a planet called Earth.  Ever since that connection had been
established, the two had enjoyed many off-duty conversations where they
could exchange information about their mutual friends. 
     And that level of trust that had developed between the two regarding
their mutual friends was why Xlax was willing to breach security
regulations and let Ozko know about this remarkable visit by the human
called Siress Rosalind, and her connection to their friends. 
     "That is a most formidable looking warship," Xlax observed as they
could see the tiny shape of the Zykonian tanker detaching itself from the
upper section of the BaseShip. 
     "Yes," Ozko admitted in a tone that was uncharacteristically somber. 
"I remember seeing them when I was aboard the Galactica.  They destroyed
one of them and the other.....switched sides." 
     "That was before you met up with Captain Byrne and Commander Allen
again and you found your way back to Calcorya at long last." 
     "For which I am forever grateful.  Just as I am grateful that the
resumption of normal passenger service from Brylon to Calcorya meant I
could come and go as I please from now on.  That enabled me to meet
Professor Ila and the Pegasus and inform her of what happened to her
family after they left." Ozko paused, "They are not in any danger because
of this.....visit by these.......Cylons?" 
     "Hopefully not," Xlax folded his arms.  "We did our best to minimize
the potential danger based on what Siress Rosalind told us.  That meant
not letting the Cylons find out that Professor Ila had been here with the
Pegasus.  That means.....they haven't learned anything that could
endanger the Resistance movements back in the Colonial Home System." 
     "But what of the Galactica?  Of Captain Byrne?" 
     The Zykonian Captain sighed, "That, my dear Ozko, is the one thing
we can't control.  We know the Galactica successfully engaged the Risik
in their own territory and are well on their way to Earth.  But now, the
question is whether or not this team-up of Cylon and Risik forces could
have a negative impact on their ability to reach Earth." 
     Ozko's visual orb glanced down and caught sight of what for him was
his most prized possession.  A gold coin with a female humanoid and  the
numerical date "1933" on the front side,  and a soaring bird on the
reverse.  A coin that had  been given to him many yahrens ago by Captain
Kevin Byrne, who had taken it into space as a good-luck charm.  And when
the fates had led to a brief reunion between them twenty yahrens later,
the Earth native was pleased to see that the Calcoryan still had his
prized "Double Eagle" and had declined Ozko's offer to return it. 
Telling him instead to keep it as a permanent reminder of their
friendship.  A gesture that had touched Ozko deeply. 
     "It's leaving," Xlax said simply as the BaseShip, now free of the
tanker began to visibly move away from the Station's environs.  The
smaller shape of the Dreadnought was following in the Cylon warship's
wake.  The Zykonian and the Calcoryan continued to watch until finally,
neither was visible any longer. 
     May those in control of the Universe watch over my friends and
shield them from this future danger, Ozko thought. 
 
Epilogue 
 
The Galactica 
     "The Council will come to order," Ila said as she rapped her gavel. 
Watching from his observer seat, away from the table, Adama marveled at
how at ease she was in her role as Council President.  She had embraced
it with an enthusiasm he had never felt in all his yahrens as a Council
member and then as President.  Reminding him of how lucky he was that her
return to him had also given her the chance to relieve him of a burden
he'd always found taxing and tiresome.   
     "Before beginning, the Chair will note that we are in full Executive
Session.  That means all things discussed at this proceeding are under
the highest level of classification and any leaks to any individual not
present in this room will be considered a breach of decorum that would
merit resignation from this body.  Is there any objection to this?" 
     Hearing none, she motioned to her husband, "Commander Adama has an
update regarding the Cylon BaseShip that was due to arrive at Brylon
Station." 
     "Thank you, Madame President," Adama rose, thinking again how the
title was so perfect for her.  "Commander Cain recently made contact with
us and reported that the Enlightened Cylon base on Gomorrah has once
again been able to intercept an exchange between the BaseShip and the
Imperious Leader.  Commander Cain has furnished us with a complete
recording of this conversation and there is no dispute that it represents
everything the Cylon High Command has been told regarding the BaseShip's
stop at Brylon Station." 
     "They know about the Pegasus?" Sire Hanlon spoke up.   
     "This is the curious thing about the exchange," Adama responded
slowly and deliberatively, "We delayed this report until we conducted
some follow-up study with members of the Fleet Intelligence Unit.  In
particular, from the FIU's Cylon representatives, Commander Septimus, and
Command Centurion Vulpa, formerly in charge of Cylon operations on Arcta. 
We needed their input on why the BaseShip's commander, known to be an IL
Cylon named Needa, would withhold information from the Imperious Leader
about the Pegasus being alive." 
     A murmur went up around the table. 
     "Commander," Siress Tinia leaned forward, "Are you saying the
Pegasus wasn't mentioned in the exchange?" 
     "She wasn't, Siress Tinia," Adama nodded.  "And since the Pegasus
was not mentioned....then the other matter of concern to us, which was
whether or not they would report knowledge of Professor Ila being on the
Pegasus at the time of their visit to Brylon, suddenly became moot.  The
bottom line is that since that information has not been reported to the
High Command, there is no danger at present of the Pegasus' cover being
blown, nor is there any danger of the Imperious Leader having any reason
to suspect that Governor Malus is no longer loyal to him.  Which means
either the BaseShip never learned that information from the
Zykonians.....or else Commander Needa is deliberately withholding that
information from his superiors.  We asked Septimus and Vulpa to prepare
their own summaries based on their knowledge of Needa." 
     "And what did they say?" Hanlon pressed. 
     The Commander chuckled lightly, "Septimus says he's familiar with
Needa.  Someone who strongly backed the current Imperious Leader in his
ascension to power following the death of the previous one at Carillon. 
He is not the kind of Cylon one would expect to be prone to
Enlightenment, and the fact that he was entrusted to take a BaseShip so
far out into space means he still has the Imperious Leader's complete
trust.  If Needa did find out about the Pegasus still being alive, it's
possible that in the absence of any hard information as to where she went
after Brylon, he's decided not to bother his friend the Imperious Leader
with anything he could construe as 'bad news.'" 
     "But eventually if he stays with the Risik, he's going to realize
the Pegasus never went into the Risik Frontier, and that they must have
turned back," Sire Xaviar pointed out. 
     "Most likely," Adama conceded, "But...according to our Risik
dissidents, whom we also consulted for this report, if they have to
maintain speed with the patrol cruiser during their journey to the Risik
capital, it will be at least several sectars before they arrive.  At the
very least, this means the Pegasus can still proceed on-schedule with
their installation of the Ravashol pulsar into her missile banks." 
     "Commander, could you clear up something for me?" Pelias raised his
hand.  Ever since his aborted campaign to challenge Ila for the
Presidency, there'd been a noticeable change in Pelias.  He'd acquired
much more gravitas and stature as a member of the Council than he'd had
in previous yahrens.  Many credited that to his marriage to Jena Byrne, a
ceremony that had taken place in the Great Hall of the Galactica with her
father giving the bride away in a ceremony jointly officiated by Adama
and Father Fisher, the Earth clergyman.  It was clear that married life
agreed with Pelias considerably and the improvement of his skills as a
Council member reflected that. 
     "Yes, Sire Pelias? 
     "If we're making the assumption that Needa knows about the Pegasus
and is keeping that from the Imperious Leader for now, then surely we're
not assuming he found out about our President's time at the station and
is concealing that information." 
     Adama nodded, "That too was something we've been trying to figure
out before we felt we could release this final analysis.  Commander
Needa's communication makes it clear that only Siress Rosalind was
allowed aboard the station and only she interacted with any of the
Zykonians.  That was at the express order of Station Commander Hir-Zykor,
whom I'm sure most of you remember from our time there, and endorsed by
Governor Bougaril.  Since they both know of the Cylon Empire's reputation
from our time there and the Pegasus' time there, they were not inclined
to meet one of their own.  But the fact that Siress Rosalind was there as
a Human representative is why they were willing to receive her." 
     "So you're saying that maybe.....Rosalind did find out but kept that
information to herself?"  Tinia asked.  She was the one member of the
Council who had an extensive past history with Rosalind.  A history
rooted in superficial politeness and fundamental mistrust.  Which was why
Tinia had been one of the primary sources to Sire Anton in his futile
effort to get Adar to drop Rosalind based on unflattering stories in the
press. 
     "It is one possibility," The Commander conceded.  "The other
possibility is the Zykonians simply didn't mention it to her and felt
they could conceal that information if no other Cylon representatives
ever boarded the station.  Whichever explanation is the correct one, the
final result was still favorable to the Pegasus' interests, as well as
the interests of the Resistance and Governor Malus." 
     "And we all take comfort in that, Commander," Ila said, keeping her
tone formal in this setting, "Can you summarize now the impact of this on
our interests?" 
     "Of course, Madame President," Adama didn't permit even the faintest
trace of a smile to cross his lips.  He always wanted the relationship of
Military Commander to Council President to remain separate in these
settings.  "Obviously, we are dealing with two disconcerting
developments.  First, the fact that the Cylons have made contact with the
Risik on friendly terms.  Second, the information that the Risik have
found supplies of Neutrino close to their own planet.  Regardless of
whether or not they cooperate with the Cylons and give them access to
Neutrino, the prospect of a Fleet of Risik ships threatening Earth one
day is something that not even the combined firepower of the Galactica
and Baltar's BaseShip could necessarily overcome.  That is why it is now
a priority for us to find any signs of Neutrino in planetary systems that
remain ahead of us in the final phase of our journey to Earth." 
     "Bad enough the Lords placed the largest concentrations of Neutrino
in the galaxy in the Cylon Home System during the war," Sire Hanlon said
aloud in disgust, "Now they compound it by letting the Risik discover
it." 
     "It's only if the Neutrino is close to purity that we'd be facing
the worst-case scenario, Sire Hanlon," Ila said.  "Imperfect alloys like
the Cylons had in their Home System made them formidable but not
unbeatable.  Obviously we have no information on whether the Neutrino
found by the Risik is pure or not, but presumably that will be
information Commander Needa won't be reticent about in his next exchanges
with the Imperious Leader." 
     "We can take for granted that all future exchanges will be
intercepted like these last two have?" Xaviar asked. 
     "Commander Cain trusts Volahd's ability to do so, and having met him
on Gomorrah, so do I, Sire Xaviar." she looked about the table, "Any
final questions for the Commander?" 
     "Commander," this from Siress Blassie, whose level of activism on
the Council had steadily grown over the last few sectars, much to the
surprise of her colleagues who thought she would be a largely passive
figure on the body.  "If we find Neutrino on our own.....do we then
decide to stop and build new ships?  Or do we take the supplies with us
to Earth and try to have it duplicated there?  We obviously don't have
the luxury of permanent settlement on any planet that has Neutrino to
mine unless it exists on Earth or another planet in her solar system." 
     "That's a good point, Siress Blassie," Adama acknowledged.  "It's
obviously not in our interest to stop for a sustained period when Earth
is much closer to us now.  The sooner we get there to warn them of the
Risik threat, which could easily turn into a combined threat with the
Cylon Empire as well, dictates the need to get there as soon as possible
so they can be warned of what is likely to come much sooner than we had
anticipated." 
     "Few of us think the Risik assault on Earth will come thirty yahrens
after our arrival," Pelias said dryly.  "If they can find an excuse to
attack us and invade Earth as quickly as they can, they'll do so." 
     "The issue of what we do if we come across an untapped vein of
Neutrino on a planet can be held in abeyance until that actually
happens," Ila spoke up.  "But if it does, we must be prepared to act
quickly and speak with one voice on what our options are.  By that point
we'll undoubtedly have more information on what the Risik and this Cylon
BaseShip are up to."   
     Hearing no other comments she then said, "The Chair now rules the
end to Executive Session and that we will now resume the regular order of
business, not subject to secrecy restrictions." 
     As the Council returned to the more "routine" matters, Adama was
able to rise and depart......grateful that his wife was handling these
responsibilities instead of him. 
     Routine Council business took up the next half centar until Ila
adjourned the meeting.  As the members filed out, she motioned to Tinia
to come over so she could talk to the Virgonese Siress privately. 
     "You knew Rosalind pretty well, didn't you, Tinia?" Ila asked,
leaning back in the President's chair. 
     "I probably knew her better than anyone who's still alive," she
admitted.  "We crossed paths in our careers.  I knew she was ambitious. 
And she was also a total hypocrite.  She said she was determined to be a
success without 'sleeping her way to the top' but that's exactly what she
did do!  She didn't want to just have affairs, it had to be with
important men who were in a position to advance her career.  That's why
she ended up with Adar." 
     "But she did have some genuine ability, didn't she?" the Council
President pressed. 
     "Some," Tinia conceded, "In her chosen field of Education, she was
competent.  Not exceptional but not an embarrassment.  If she'd plied her
trade honestly she might have risen to the level of a Deputy Minister in
the Gemonese Education Ministry.  But never to a full Cabinet position
and certainly not Secretary of the Education Directorate for all the
Colonies." 
     "Let alone the Council or the Presidency as Adar's successor," Ila
said dryly.  "But given all that, Tinia......and given what you know of
her role in Uri's plot, and what little we can piece together about her
role in this deep-space Cylon mission.....do you see her as a true
convert to the Cylon cause, or do you see her as someone who'll help them
to a point.....but who'd try to keep certain things hidden from them?" 
     Tinia smiled faintly, "Are you asking me if I think she was the
reason why the Cylons clearly didn't learn about you being with the
Pegasus at Brylon Station, based on what I know about her?" 
     Ila returned the faint smile and nodded. 
     "I think it's possible," Tinia said, "Rosalind was a naive dupe when
it came to the treason plot.  That much we know.  She never struck me as
the type who'd see the logic of selling out.  So I certainly believe she
got forced into accepting this job from the Imperious Leader, and if she
were all alone with the Zykonians and had a chance to tell them she was
doing all of this against her will......I think that would be enough of a
warning to the Zykonians to keep quiet about things that they know the
Cylons could use to destroy the Resistance movements." 
     "You're saying it wouldn't be out of character for her to act that
way." 
     "No, it wouldn't.  I didn't like Rosalind, Ila.  Few people did
except besotted fools like Adar and Commander Solem.  But.....I don't
think she'd ever willingly sell out her own race.  And I think she'd try
to make sure that anything she does on behalf of the Cylons has to be
something that in her eyes would be helping her and all those other
people we know the Cylons took prisoner for slave labor in the mines." 
     "That's what I've been thinking too," Ila acknowledged.  "But it
helps to know you've come to the same conclusions.  It.....puts my mind
at ease about things that I was afraid might undo all the work I did on
the Pegasus and in the Colonies before leaving." 
     "Contrary to what Sire Hanlon might think, I don't believe the Lords
are in the business of playing cruel tricks on us, Ila.  It's easy for me
to think that maybe they had a hand in making sure Rosalind was on that
BaseShip so she could be the unwitting instrument of why we don't have to
be worrying about what the Imperious Leader knows right now." 
     "And for me too." she said, "Thanks Tinia." 
     "Anytime, Ila." the Virgonese Siress said gratefully as she left. 
Trying not to hear the mantra that so often popped into her head about
how much she envied Ila for having found the perfect balance in her life
of both family and meaningful responsibilities. 
     Ila meanwhile took a few extra centons of isolation in the Council
chamber to contemplate everything that had happened and everything that
potentially lay ahead. 
     The Colonies and Cain have dodged a laser blast for now, and they
can stay focused on what they have to do.  But we're going to be in for
more than just rough waters before we reach Earth.  I just know it's
going to be like a storm-filled tempest.  The only question is.....when
and how? 
     All of that, Ila knew, was known only to the Lords. 
 
 
Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny....the last Battlestar, Galactica leads a
rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest.  A shining planet.... known as
Earth.