Chapter 69: Stand off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGet raptors out to task force\nSaturn,\u201d Admiral Lawson barked. \u201cFigure out how we are going to\nfill in the gaps the Cylons just tore in this task force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have an encrypted communication from Cory Brooks of the Peoples Council.\u201d The comms officer looked down and read carefully. \u201cCylon ships in orbit of every outpost of the new Colonies. A model 1 has demanded that we surrender all armed forces in return for an immediate cease fire. Planetary defense fleets have been destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon’t answer,\u201d Lawson said\ncoarsely. \u201cHead Geek, come with us we need your hack to get some\nkind of edge here.\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCall me HG sir,\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHG you are promoted to the rank of \ncaptain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They marched out of CIC where crews\nwere already replacing the shattered CIC doors. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minutes later they were in a room with a massive theater sized screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHG show me the schematic of the\nCylon communications network,\u201d Lawson ordered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He clicked some buttons and a spider\nweb came up through much of known Colonial space. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do they use this network?\u201d the\nXO asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose communications relays we see\nare signal boosters. They use FTL technology to transmit burst\ncommunications across the network. Little communications devices,\nliterally FTL from point to point and upload information on these\nrelays.\u201d He zoomed and showed the relays which really did look like\ngiant can openers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow did we hack it?\u201d Lawson asked.\n\u201cLaymen terms please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we captured the Cylon supply depot there were millions of these data transfer nodes that FTL all over the place. I reprogrammed them to work for us on the side. We get all their data soon as they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo we get force deployments?\u201d\nLawson asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HG pressed another series of keys and\nred dots popped up all over the map. There was a legend showing ship\ntypes. \u201cAdmiral,\u201d he said \u201cthey are actually lightly deployed\nin the new Colonies. The bulk of their forces are in staging areas\nwhere they will wait for our deployment before setting up a cross\nfire,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few more keystrokes and what looked\nlike several bee hives full of ships appeared as big red blotches.\n\u201cHow many ships?\u201d asked the XO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwo hundred base stars overall. Nearly 900 support ships, gun ships and such,\u201d HG reported matter of factually with no emotion in his voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are those really big ships\nlarger than their base stars?\u201d Major Peterson asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The picture zoomed in on one.\n\u201cResurrection ships,\u201d he answered blandly. \u201cWhen any Cylon dies\ntheir consciousness, soul for lack of a better word downloads in a\ndifferent computer network and can be put in fresh bodies. Galactica\nran away so far this network could not be scaled. So these ships make\nup for the lack of network gear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay I have an idea.\u201d Lawson was\nbriefly distracted by hair flopping down into her vision. She brushed\nit aside. \u201cWe give them part of what they expect to see. We lead a\nnew task force to New Picon. Small groups of ships jump to positions\nwhere they can defend the Colonies. We build a task force around the\nother three Mercury class battlestars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She whispered to the CAG and the XO.\nThey nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan we use the Cylon communications\nnetwork to contact the civilian government safely?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes\u201d HG said. \u201cThey may\neventually detect the hack. For now their only solution is to bring\ndown the entire network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan we bring down the network?\u201d\nPeterson asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d HG answered, \u201cthey will\nfigure out it is us and we might stop getting all this cool tactical\ndata.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll right,\u201d Admiral Lawson said.\n\u201cGet the orders out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAdmiral,\u201d HG asked, \u201care we\ngoing to comply with the Cylon demand to demilitarize?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot while I have a pulse,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCory Brooks is demanding to speak\nwith you.\u201d A communications assistant walked in the room with a\nmessage, printed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat’s nice,\u201d Admiral Lawson said.\n\u201cWe will talk to here after we jump to New Picon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCavil, the model one wants your\nanswer immediately,\u201d the communications assistant said in a grave\nvoice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon’t worry,\u201d Lawson said. \u201cI am\ngoing to get a coffee. We jump in ten minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A weapons assistant came up to Lawson\nas she headed toward the mess hall and asked her to sign for a bunch\nof nuclear weapons that were being tasked to be sent out and used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll right people,\u201d Lawson said,\nwalking into the CIC. \u201cGive me your ears.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took nearly a minute before the room\nwas quiet and she was set up with fleet wide communications. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Cylons think they have us in a\ntough situation. They do. They are demanding that if we dismantle our\nfleet, they will let us live on the worlds of the New colonies. Life\nis tough there. Because we have seen more difficult times, I reject\nthat premise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo say we all,\u201d one young man said\nforcefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Cylons are demanding that we\njump all our forces to New Caprica for a surrender. We are not going\nto do that either. Launch the Assault raptors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few seconds passed by and the chatter\nwas low, but Lawson could still be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRaptors are requesting permission to\njump,\u201d a communications NCO informed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJump the raptors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFTL spooled. Jump key inserted. All\nships report ready to jump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJump!\u201d Lawson ordered. \u201cMay the\nLords of Kobols forgive me.\u201d She whispered to herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n