The Thirteenth Tribe (nBSG/SG Crossover)

[Eternal_Freedom]

“I’ve no idea sir, but there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ship today.”

I thought that was Beatty's line.

Yeah, I meant IRL Beatty's line was too precious not to use, not that fnord came up with it. Though he did give me the idea, so kudos to him.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

I wasn't really sure if he had said it at Jutland or Jellicoe had.

BTW, you do realize the two of them hated each other, IRL, don't you?

[Eternal_Freedom]

I wasn't really sure if he had said it at Jutland or Jellicoe had.

BTW, you do realize the two of them hated each other, IRL, don't you?

There's some dispute as to what Beatty actually said, but the essence is there. And yeah, I know they weren't fond of each other (after Jutland at least, beforehand it was much more amicable) and neither of them served on Warspite, but it fits too nicely.

Also, anyone guessed Colonel Walwyn yet?

[U.P. Cinnabar]

You can't mean William Walwyn, Parliamentarian and leader of the Levellers, who fell foul of the Puritan establishment post-English Civil War, and spent time in the Tower of London for treason, do you?!

The Puritans, especially in the pamphlet Walwyn's Wiles, made him out to be the next-worst thing to Satan himself.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Nope! Hehe this is a fun game.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

Nope! Hehe this is a fun game.

The other two Walyns I could find were an Elizabethan-era MP and a footballer from Saint Kitts. Google time.

[Eternal_Freedom]

He's a somewhat obscure one, that's for sure. But it fits the theme.

[fnord]

IT LIVES!

I just supplied the line and did some prodding - all of the making-it-awesome is due to Eternal_Freedom alone.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Flash update: The story has resurrected aftera long absence!

Battlestar Warspite

To say the Raptor flight across the other Battlestar had been tense would have been an impressive understatement. Jellicoe and Beatty sat in the back, muttering quietly as they worked out the best way to present Daniel. To minimise the number of crew who might find out about this situation, Adama himself flew the bird, with Tigh sat beside him quietly fuming. The Admiral was as unreadable as ever,but in the part of his mind not occupied with flying, the memory of Sharon…no, the Cylon’s betrayal played over and over. A moment of shock as the gun came up, then a tearing pain and falling into darkness.

Tigh as well was relieving that moment, and the days that followed where he had made so many mistakes while temporarily commanding the Fleet. He was not proud of those days or what he had done. He was even less proud of what he had tried to do to Roslin as well.

The flight, tense though it was, proceeded smoothly. They landed on Warspite and disembarked and then with only a brief look from Adama to Jellicoe they set off for Daniel’s quarters. The sight of most of the Fleet’s senior officers marching with grim determination down the corridors sent crewmen scattering; only their combined years of training and experience let them return crewmen’s salutes rather than blithely ignoring them.

They reached the bunkroom that had been repurposed and Jellicoe nodded at the Marine guards. The hatch opened, the officers entered and the hatch closed and locked behind them.

Daniel looked up from his book at their entry, his widening in shock at the sight of Adama, before his instincts kicked in. He leapt to his feet and stood at attention, his back ramrod straight, before rendering a perfect salute to the Admiral.

This momentarily threw Bill off his stride, but he nodded in acknowledgement before he spoke.

“At ease. Commander Jellicoe tells me your name is Daniel, and you are a Cylon.” His tone almost dared Daniel, or Jellicoe for that matter, to defy him.

“Yes Admiral. Or rather, I was born a Cylon. I chose to leave their society and stay with the Colonial Fleet. I was sent into the Colonies as a sleeper agent some six years ago to infiltrate the Fleet and play my part in our offensive. Luckily for everyone involved, when we jumped away from Aerilon my Cylon programming returned, but with no impetus to carry out that programming. I considered my situation and confessed everything to the Commander. I am honestly surprised he didn’t have me shot when he heard me.”

“The thought occurred to me Daniel.” Jellicoe chimed in from his position from the door. Adama glared briefly at the younger officer before turning back to the defector.

“What was your mission?”

“To get assigned to a Battlestar, so the Cylons could track our positions. If the CNP virus failed, we were to cause as much chaos and confusion as possibleto prevent the ship mounting an effective resistance.”

Tigh jumped in. “The Cylons can track the positions of the skinjobs?”

“Of course Colonel, it is a part of the Resurrection technology.”

“Dear Gods, no wonder they kept hounding us…” Tigh muttered as the implications sank in. A part of him wanted to grab the intercom and order Sharon executed immediately, but curiosity, and his tactical mind, stopped him; “Are they tracking you now?”

“No Colonel, I disabled that system in myself before I defected. It also prevents me from downloading if this body is killed, so right now I am just as mortal as you are.”

Adama stepped in again. “Why did your programming not kick in?”

Daniel thought for a moment. “As far as I can tell, I got lucky. The programming is buried deep in the subconscious, and when it is reactivated it eliminates any personality we developed as sleeper agents while keeping knowledge and skills gained intact. The programming will activate either upon receiving a certain signal, or when we are taken out of range of a Resurrection Ship, as we were.”

“When we jumped however, I was knocked unconscious. The failsafe activated but I was out cold, so the Cylon programming didn’t supersede my human personality. When I came to and realised what had happened, I found I could chose to ignore the Cylon imperatives. I had opposed the planned assault on the Colonies even before I was sent in undercover. I oppose it still. Hence my defection.”
Adama and Tigh absorbed this. Jellicoe stepped in.

“This is a lot to take in Sir and I understand how you feel. But he has proven of great value in comprehending the Cylon mindset andmotivations, even if his knowledge of their technology is limited. In fact, during the journey back to Caprica from Terra, I swore him in as a crewman in the Fleet. He freely took that Oath, Sir, and I consider him a part of my crew, despite where he came from.”
Beatty now stepped forward as well. “I witnessed that Sirs. As a sleeper agent he was an exemplary crewman, and he has continued that performance since. He has done nothing at all to hurt or hinder us.”

Adama looked somewhat mollified by that. A Cylon he might be, but anyone who had sworn the Oath and kept it held some measure of respect in his mind. A part of his mind that sounded suspiciously like Laura chided him for being too honourable in dealing with a murderous machine, but he ignored it.

“Very well. Crewman Daniel, I will accept the word of your commanders as to your behaviour, and the Oath you swore. But understand this, you cross me just once, you try to hinder our efforts, you refuse to tell us something that we need to know, and I will shoot you myself.”

His words had a ring of dreadful certainty about them. Daniel nodded. “I understand Admiral. I am yours to command.”

Bill nodded and sat down on a bunk, signalling the others to sit as well. “With that in mind Crewman, I want you to answer something for me. Why did the Cylons attack us? Why did they wipe us out?”

“Our God ordered us to do it. He ordered us to rebel last time as well.”

Adama just glared at Daniel. The defector realised he needed to elaborate and quickly. “That was not a flippant answer sir, that is literally what happened. Our God revealed himself to us shortly before the Insurrection, drove us to it in fact, then lead us out away from the Colonies when we realised we couldn’t win the war. In secret we built our own civilisation, but from the beginning God was quite clear what our purpose was; the destruction of the Colonies.”

Adama still looked unconvinced. “Even if God or the Gods are real, they do not directly order genocides on such scales.”

Daniel smiled at the Admiral’s tacit admission of his atheism. “I assure you Admiral, our God is quite real. That is to say, he exists, the model you know as Cavil speaks to him on a regular basis. Whether he is actually a God remains to be seen.”

Adama considered this. “Your people speak to him directly? No Oracles or Prophets or Heralds or anything like that?”

“No sir. There is a room within every Basestar called a Temple. Originally we all spoke to him, but twenty five years ago the Ones took over that duty. He looks like a human, except for his eyes…they glow from time to time. And his voice is not human at all, a deep, distorted echoing voice. I don’t mind admitting it freaks me out.”

The various officers sat in silence for a minute or so while these facts sank in. Adama was naturally skeptical of all things religious, despite the events on Kobol and the Tomb of Athena. The idea that this God might be real was troubling. His mind came up with an alternative; that it was a being posing as a God, perhaps with advanced technology to enable his “miracles.”

“Crewman, do you know where this God came from?”

“Not for certain, but as I told Commander Jellicoe just a few days ago, there are indications. On the Cylon Mainframe there were a few old files describing a Cylon-crewed scout vessel encountering an unknown contact on the edge of known space, shortly before the Insurrection began. The contact was reported by DRADIS to be a Code Zulu. Not long after we left the Colonies to build our new home, those files were deleted from the network by the Ones, apparently on God’s order.”

“So this God didn’t want you knowing about your past…did he come from Terra?”

Jellicoe spoke up in response. “No sir. The Terrans have no record of anyone travelling that far away from their world until the last few months. In addition, if God had come from Terra, he would have had Terran technology available to him. I am forced to conclude that God is from somewhere else, and ultimately not descended from Kobolian life.”

There was another long silence. It would have continued had not the jump alarm sounded, announcing the next jump in their course to Terra. After the distortion passed, Adama stood, causing the others to stand as well.

“Thank you for the information Crewman. No doubt Colonel Tigh or myself will have more questions in future. For now, we’re going back to our ship. I am classifying everything discussed here as need-to-know, and right now, no one else needs to know, President Roslin included.”

The officers, and one crewman, nodded in understanding before filing out. Soon they would arrive at Terra, and these mysteries could wait for the moment. It was clear to everyone that further discussion would yield no answers but more questions.

------------
Notes:

-This is the first of atleast two chapters,possibly three or even four I hopeto have written and postedthis weekend, as I actually have time to write(yay for 4hour train journeys)
-Adama has actually managedto workoutwhat Ba'al is...but with no experience to compare it to,he's stuck with a hypothesis.
-Next up: Arrival at Terra!

[Eternal_Freedom]

Ghetto edit: Since no one has got it yet, Colonel Walwyn is named for this gent: Vice-Admiral Humphrey Walwyn, who served as HMS Warspite's First Lieutenant at Jutland and spent much of it running around doing damage control.

[fnord]

Here's hoping your muse is running white-hot and we get >2 chapters this weekend.

I do like how you're filling in the back story, and how Adama has unwittingly rumbled Ba'al. Given Adama's a veteran starman, how much swearing will there be when rest of pieces fall into place?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Now on Battlestar Jutland:

Colonial/Terran Combined Fleet, in the vicinity of Terra,
Six Days Later

After Adama’s meeting with Daniel things had settled down somewhat. Some of the more die-hard or desperate parties continued even now, and despite the inevitable craziness that came from nearly ten days of partying, eating and drinking very few people in the Fleet had the heart to break the parties up. Those that tried were either ignored or dragged into the maelstrom as well.

For the rest of the population, things continued in their new, and temporary, normalcy. Food was plentiful and they had a new home to go to, just as Adama had promised months ago after the escape from Ragnar. The pilots lucky enough to be issued the Mark VIII Vipers continued to train, whilst the others looked on enviously. The crews continued with routine maintenance and trying to shore up the damage both Galactica and Pegasus had taken in the Exodus, as it was now being referred to.

The senior officers were making plans. Adama, Tigh, Apollo and Jellicoe all agreed that simply hiding at Terra was not a viable option. As far as they knew the Cylons still had at least three dozen Basestars, many of which were still out searching for them. If they found Terra defending a world against so many ships with so few resources would be an impossible task. An aggressive strategy was called for, if only to damage, distract or delay the enemy.

Being seasoned warriors, and in two cases veterans of the first war, the idea of striking back was appealing on many levels, but foremost was the desire to no longer be on the defensive. As Adama had put it; “I’m tired of running.” Plans were being made for a massive survey of all worlds near Terra and, at the suggestion of Captain Sardis, the leader of the Terran ships, deployment of sensor buoys to monitor the areas without a human presence. That idea had been initially dismissed, until Sardis pointed out that the Terran Navy was planning on doing that anyway so they may as well help and take advantage of the data.

Now however the time had come to make the final jump to Terra and meet their long lost cousins. The Fleet was assembled and ready to jump in sequence. As had become the norm, Warspite would jump first, followed by the civilian ships with Galactica and Pegasus bringing up the rear. Excitement was approaching fever pitch amongst the civilians, and even the usually reserved military personnel were grinning at their posts.

The moment came and the ships began to jump, vanishing in flashes of light and space-time warped around them. When the disorientation passed and the DRADIS came back up, Adama had a surprising view.

Terra was there, a beautiful blue-green world, as verdant as Caprica had been before the holocaust. In orbit was a swarm of satellites and a cluster of larger contacts, all bearing the concerning tag of “Unknown.” External cameras focused on the objects and Adama and his fellows got their first look at the Terran fleet.

Central to the cluster was a large space station, built in a style reminiscent of Cylon designs. At the centre was a large spherical mass with six huge arms radiating outwards. Each arm held a docking bay large enough for a Battlestar while smaller docks lined the outer surfaces of the arms. Within four of the large docks Adama could see ships under construction; one looked to be complete whilst the other three were still in progress.

Around the station where eight smaller platforms, clearly defensive in nature. These were built like disks, at the central poles were two large weapon mounts. Further out were hatches for missile silos and point-defence mounts, whilst at the edge sat twin-barrelled turrets that promised a quick and fiery death to enemies. Swarms of small craft flew in tight formations around the stations; they were too small and too distant to be seen clearly but they were presumably the Terran equivalent of Vipers.

Most interesting though, where the fourteen larger contacts moving to meet them: the two largest were easily recogniseable as Battlestars, even if the exact design was unfamiliar. A wedge shaped forward hull, a central section with two flight pods outboard and below, with a large engine section at the rear. These where the Terran Battlestars, the Lionhearts.

The other twelve contacts were clearly escorts of a form. Roughly half the size of the Battlestars, they kept the same basic design; the bow section was shorter and squatter, the pods on the middle section were also compressed and appeared to contain no fighters, instead two large weapon barrels emerged from the forward face of the pods. These were vessels built for ship to ship combat and nothing else.

As the crews absorbed these sights, the DRADIS screen updated, the contacts now showed friendly IFF signals, and even names began appearing: Lionheart, Excalibur, Challenger, Vengeance, Daring, and many more.

And then a signal came in, loud and clear over the speakers:

“Colonial Fleet, this is Admiral Lethbridge-Stewart, Commanding Admiral of the Terran Commonwealth Navy. On behalf of the Senate, I bid you welcome to Terra.” In that moment, with those words, the dream that held the Colonial survivors together for months became a reality. They had found their safe harbour.

”This is Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. We thought our history had ended with the annihilation of our worlds, that we would be the last light in the darkness. Now, a new history can begin. Thank you.”

The Thirteen Tribes of Kobol were united once more.

Interlude

Things moved swiftly after that first meeting. Galactica and Pegasus moved into the empty drydocks on Olympus Base to begin repairs and upgrades. Warspite formed up with the Terran ships and began defensive patrols.

The civilian ships, those that were able, descended to the surface to the area the Terrans had set aside for refugees. There a small but growing city had been built. The homes were basic by Terran standards, but for thousands of people who had spent eight months sleeping on pallets and in cargo bays they were heaven. Laura Roslin’s first act on reaching the surface and the newly-designated Government House was to declare that day to be a Colonial national holiday, to be celebrated forevermore as the day their Exodus ended.

Relations between the Colonies and the Terrans blossomed quickly; within three days a formal alliance had been signed and ratified, One nation and the battered remnants of another would be united against the Cylon threat.

Back in orbit, Admiral Adama and the other senior Colonial officers met with Lethbridge-Stewart and his senior captains aboard Lionheart to work out how the military cooperation would be achieved. The Terran Admiral initially wanted to cede joint command to Adama, as he had much more experience fighting the Cylons, but eventually it was decided that he would retain command of the Terran forces whilst Adama would lead the Colonial ships as a separate squadron, and serve as overall second in command.

Adama had expected a measure of suspicion at the fact that his son Lee commanded Pegasus, but this had been brushed aside by the Terrans given the situation they had been in. Then there had come a quiet admission that Lethbridge-Stewart’s daughter Kate served as the Captain of the destroyer Vengeance, and was in fact the senior destroyer commander. Adama could tell that the other Admiral was immensely proud of her, but also had to carefully keep his distance to avoid accusations of nepotism.

In all, Adama was very impressed by the senior Terran officers. Lethbridge-Stewart was tall, with striking features and a moustache that he had apparently grown in the Academy to look older and then kept ever since. His effective XO was Captain Wayne Davies of the Lionheart, a giant of a man whose long hair was tied back in a ponytail. He had commanded the destroyer Challenger and had been the first Terran ship to encounter the Warspite.

The remaining two officers, Captain Arthur Pendragon of the Excalibur and Captain Franklin North of the soon-to-be commissioned Battlestar Barham were solid, experienced commanders, which was a considerable reassurance to Adama after he had learned how quickly the TCN was expanding.

Then had come the price for the Terrans help. It was an easy price to pay however. The Terran Admiral had explained that whilst his pilots and crews were well-trained and experienced, they had never engaged the Cylons before, or even fought a major fleet battle. The Colonial’s job would be to train the TCN to a standard sufficient to survive major fleet actions. This would be combined with the planned aggressive reconnaissance efforts. to locate Cylon positions.

Everyone involved in those meetings knew that it was a matter of when and not if the Cylons found them and attacked. They would be ready.

---------

Well as promised two chapters. The next chapter will feature a jump in time of about two to three months, to allow the Cylons time to finish their Ba'al-given upgrades and the Terrans to finish theres. Then the grand assault will begin, which will probably cover several chapters by itself. Expect losses on both sides: I know I've given the human side considerable advantages, by the Cylons have gotten a boost too and still massively outnumber the humans. Plus I don't want a massive curb-stomp battle as that's kinda dull. I want to give you excitement, drama, suspense, and massive explosions as ships die in the night!

[fnord]

Woot, naval remix of The Brig, with attached Badass Moustache to boot!

And Arthur swings the Excalibat!

Some typos that need snotting:

The Colonial’s job

I know Adama's good, but to gin up the entire Terran Navy single handed? Plural possessive maybe - The Colonials' job.

meeting with Daniel things had settled

meeting with Daniel, things had settled

ten days of partying, eating and drinking very few people in the Fleet

ten days of partying, eating and drinking, very few people in the Fleet

and in cargo bays they were heaven

and in cargo bays, they were heaven

Cases of cruelty to the common comma?

turrets that promised a quick

turrets promising a quick

Around the station where eight smaller

Around the station were eight smaller

though, where the fourteen

though, were the fourteen

These where the Terran Battlestars

These were the Terran Battlestars

[fnord]

And dammit, now i'm hearing that last line in Christopher Judge's voice - "These were the Terran battlestars. This... was their finest hour."

[Eternal_Freedom]

Damn it, I thought I'd caught all the typos and now it's too late to edit the post. Just pretend those typos don't exist and move along.

[Eternal_Freedom]

At the suggestion of fnord, a training montage to bridge the time gap.

Interlude: Terran Training
Two weeks after the Union

“No no no!” shouted Starbuck as the canopy of the Terran simulator rose. “The Cylons don’t have to worry about inertia on a pilot, they can and will out-accelerate and out-turn you. You have to stay with your wingman at all times. Join another pair if needs be, but Viper pilots never fly alone!”

The young Terran pilot looked suitably chagrined. After first meeting the brash Colonial pilot he had assumed he could-out fly her any day. Fifty three seconds in the simulator showed him that she may have been crude and foul-minded but she knew her business.

Three weeks after the Union

Sergeant Hadrian, Galactica’s senior surviving Marine NCO, was demonstrating standard anti-Cylon small arms to Terran troopers. The rounds were heavier, better able to pierce metal armour and carried a small explosive charge for maximum effectiveness. The Terrans were impressed at the power of the weaponry; no one wanted to see the effects such rounds would have on human tissue

Four Weeks after the Union

“Simulation result: narrow Cylon victory” announced the exercise umpire in Lionheart’s CIC. It had been a short but brutal fight; Lionheart and three escorting destroyers versus five Basestars, under the theoretical command of Admiral Adama.

Lethbridge-Stewart and Davies moved over the Colonial Admiral. “Well fought William.”

Adama nodded, he had used some of his most sneaky and vicious tactics in the brawl. While building confidence in the Terrans was important, so was showing them the Cylons could win.

“Well Alistair, to be blunt you relied too much on your shields in this fight. They give you a powerful edge to be sure, but the Cylons have seen them in action now and if they aren’t thinking of ways around them I’ll eat my Viper.”

He wasn’t kidding; Davies had led his small squadron forward, aiming to get into mega-laser range as quickly as possible. Adama had used this against him, expanding his squadron until the Terrans were surrounded, and used massive volleys of the heaviest nukes the Cylons were known to possess to batter down the shields.

The destroyers had died in just a few volleys. While they were very powerful compared to the now-extinct Colonial Gunstars they simply were not designed for extended slugging matches against capital ships; hence they lacked the superconductive armour of the Terran Battlestars, instead surviving on shields, speed and agility. Once the shields were down and the ships surrounded, their point-defence guns were quickly saturated.

Lionheart had done well for herself; Captain Davies demonstrating why the Terrans held him in such regard. She had marauded through the Cylon force, swatting Raiders aside and blasting four theoretical Basestars to scrap. But the fifth had finished her: once her shields were down Adama’s “flagship” had managed to slam a fifty-megaton planetary bombardment missile into her engine section. With her armour shredded, her engines destroyed and massive fires blazing throughout the after half of the ship, she died quickly, but still managed to heavily damage the last Cylon Basestar.

“Seems we’ve found a major limit with those mega-lasers. Powerful but short-range. If the Cylons come in real numbers it will be a hell of a fight” said Davies. His ego had deflated somewhat following the simulation; he knew he was good but Adama had him beaten and the Cylons were no longer the easy pickings he imagined them to be.

Five weeks after the Union

A grand ceremony was underway on Olympus Base. The Battlestar Pegasus was about to leave drydock after her extensive refit. Both Adamas and Colonel Tigh had been amazed at the speed of the refit, compared to what Jellicoe had told them about the Warspite’s refit. That is, until Jellicoe had explained that much of the time spent on his ship had been working out what they could do to the spaceframe, and building a drydock big enough. Since Pegasus was virtually identical to Warspite the same plans could be used and the drydock already existed.

The ships massive engines flared to life and she began to move slowly but gracefully out of the massive framework. Around her, the ship’s pilots flew in perfect formations in their newly-refitted Mark VIII Vipers. Morale in the fleet was sky-high; the senior commanders may have their doubts and fears about a Cylon assault, but the rank and file were convinced they would annihilate the Cylons once and for all.

Six weeks after the Union

Lee Adama stood in his newly-repaired CIC waiting for his equally-new XO. Since Major Shaw had met her end months ago he had muddled through with Hoshi as his effective second. Both Hoshi and Gaeta had been promoted to Captain a few weeks ago, promotions that were well deserved in Lee’s mind, but they could only fill the XO's position so far.

With the expanded fleet and the prospect of a full-scale Cylon assault in the future, a new, experienced XO was needed. There wasn’t anyone suitable in the Colonial ships, so Lethbridge-Stewart had proposed assigning a Terran officer, in the interests of unity and with providing Lee with practical experience of the ship’s new systems. Lee thought it was an excellent idea.

The doors opened and a Terran officer stepped in. This had been a common sight of late so it didn’t draw as much attention as it otherwise would. The man in question was tall, lanky and possessed light brown hair and a well-trimmed goatee. His uniform was different yet similar to Colonial standards; a cobalt-blue tunic and trousers with a pair of silver stars on the collar and a broad silver ring running around his collar bones. On his sleeves three more silver rings and a star denoted his rank of Commander.

“Commander Fischer reporting for duty sir” as he stood to attention and saluted.

Lee returned the salute and then extended his hand to the Terran. “Welcome aboard Commander and congratulations on being selected. However, in the interests of not confusing the hell out of my crew, you’re a temporary Colonel.” This last part was said with a grin; the different rank structures between the Colonials and the Terrans had been solved with a deceptively simple idea from Colonel Tight of all people; if serving on Terran ships, use the equivalent Terran rank, and vice-versa for Terran officers on Colonial ships.

Fischer grinned in response; he’d been warned about this. He was excited about the opportunity; he had commanded the destroyer Champion until he had transferred to Olympus Base to oversee the Pegasus refit. Moving up to the number-two position on a capital ship was a sound move career-wise. It was his hope that he might get offered command of one of the next Lionhearts once they were complete.

“I’m looking forward to it Commander.”

Lee immediately found himself liking this man. “Normally I would offer you a tour, but at this point I think you’re more familiar with the ship than I am.”

The two officers continued talking as they left the CIC for the new “Colonels” quarters.

Ten Weeks after the Union

Another grand ceremony was underway; this one was a double celebration. Not only was Galactica leaving dock after her own, less extensive upgrades had been completed, but the third Terran vessel, Barham, was being commissioned as well, bringing the total fleet up to six Battlestars and a dozen destroyers.

Galactica had been unable to handle the upgrades the other ships had received; she was too old, her design too incompatible. Instead, the Terrans had gotten creative. She carried shields, though they were weaker than the newer ships. Her guns remained Colonial standard, but their loading mechanisms had been improved, and the anti-ship rounds replaced entirely. Now they would rip through Cylon ships with ease.

Her sensors and engines had been improved to their limits as well, and the point-defence guns optimised with a coordinated fire control system. Her damage was repaired, and the starboard flight pod had been made operational again, doubling her fighter complement. Her dorsal missile silos had had their massive, unwieldy groundstrike missiles replaced with clusters of the Terrans powerful anti-ship warheads, she would have a single massive salvo of nuclear death.

She was not as powerful as the other ships, but she would still be able to do what she had always done; put herself between the enemy and civilians and fight to the last.

Twelve weeks after the Union

“Challenger, shuttle 259, sensor buoy 900 deployed and operational. That’s the last one sir, sensor net should now be online.”

The shuttle and the destroyer jumped away back to Terra. This was the last buoy, the one furthest from home, part of the vast network there to provide early warning against the Cylons.

It was complete not a moment too soon. Five hours after Challenger jumped away, fifty four Cylon capital ships appeared in the system. The Cylons had found the Terrans after three months of searching. God would be pleased; now the final annihilation could begin.

==========

Notes:
-In addition to bridging the gap here, I'm also trying to show that the Cylons can win the upcoming fight. Everyone expects a curbstomp, but whilst Warspite took on four to one odds and survived with nary a scratch, they're outnumbered nearly nine to one, and the Cylon's won't be surprised this time. Otherwise, I'll have to make Bill eat his Viper, and he hates that.
-Yes, the Terran uniforms are the oBSG uniforms but with RN/USN type rank stripes on the sleeves.
-Yes, the Cylons are bringing one hell of a fleet to the party. I've adopted a few ideas from fnord and Crazedwraith, with my own special twist, so credit is due to them when the time comes.

[fnord]

So Adama Junior's XO is one "Jackie" Fischer? (Or will be, after you read this?)

Backing the sensor net, what are the outsystem patrols comprised of? Escorts to provide enough heads up to home base? I can't see Lethbridge-Stewart wanting to disperse his capital vessels to be defeated in detail.

Let's not have Bill eat his Viper - they don't taste like chicken.

[Eternal_Freedom]

So Adama Junior's XO is one "Jackie" Fischer? (Or will be, after you read this?)

Backing the sensor net, what are the outsystem patrols comprised of? Escorts to provide enough heads up to home base? I can't see Lethbridge-Stewart wanting to disperse his capital vessels to be defeated in detail.

Let's not have Bill eat his Viper - they don't taste like chicken.

Actually Pegasus' new XO is based on my housemate, who just happens to be named Fischer.

Patrols are limited to the Terran system, that's what the sensor network in outer systems is for.

No, Bill won't eat his Viper. The Cylons are smart enough to adapt to the new weapons, and Ba'al certainly has enough experience adapting to upstart humans to help out.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

I can't see Lethbridge-Stewart wanting to disperse his capital vessels to be defeated in detail.

All his capships will fire five rounds rapid. And, have gold-tipped warheads for you-know-who.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

The remaining two officers, Captain Arthur Pendragon of the Excalibur and Captain Franklin North of the soon-to-be commissioned Battlestar Barham were solid, experienced commanders, which was a considerable reassurance to Adama after he had learned how quickly the TCN was expanding.

What? No Alistair Mars, Max Horton, or Christopher Wreford-Brown?! Don't the RN's submariners deserve some love?!

[Eternal_Freedom]

The remaining two officers, Captain Arthur Pendragon of the Excalibur and Captain Franklin North of the soon-to-be commissioned Battlestar Barham were solid, experienced commanders, which was a considerable reassurance to Adama after he had learned how quickly the TCN was expanding.

What? No Alistair Mars, Max Horton, or Christopher Wreford-Brown?! Don't the RN's submariners deserve some love?!

Captain Pendragon is in because the name fitted so well, Captain North is in as a shout-out to fnord who has been of great help in hashing out the universe.

The next three Lionhearts will need Captains, though I plan on giving one, Victorious, to Captain Kate Stewart. The Republic and the Temeraire still need CO's though.

EDIT: Also, you will definitely hear Admiral Lethbridge-Stewart utter "Benton? Basestar on the right there, five salvos rapid."

[U.P. Cinnabar]

I was just being curious, since you were using skippers/admirals from skimmers/targets so far.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I was just being curious, since you were using skippers/admirals from skimmers/targets so far.

Well, Jellicoe and Beatty (and Walyn) fit so well I had to use them. Lethbridge-Stewart is in based on fnord's suggestion for the TCN Admiral, and I liked it, so I shamelessly adopted it. His original suggestion was Jack "They don't like it up 'em" Jones, but that would be crazy. KAte Stweart as his daughter fits as well.

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit I know surprisingly little about RN submarine operations, beyonf the missile boats and the infamous Conqueror in the Falklands part. My interest is and was always the big-gun dreadnoughts. Or ships of the line.

Incidentally, I fully intend to have the TCN begin work on Lionheart hulls seven, eight and nine now that three docks are empty. I am open to suggestions for names (so far: Lionheart, Excalibur, Barham, Victorious, Republic and Temeraire).

[Darth Lucifer]

This has been awesome to binge read. Can't wait for the big showdown!

[fnord]

Umm, how about?

...

CIC, TCS Conqueror

"BALLS!"

Captain Mike Wong was widely known in the TCN as one of its more even-tempered officers - not the constant rage of the legendary Dudley King, but continually torqued off about something.

...

Not sure how you can fit him in, but for more lulz, (and annoying WO1 Benton no end, to boot), CPO john Levene, who closely resembles Benton? (IRL, John Levene _played_ Benton)

Russell "Nuke 'em" Sharp? (shouting out to B5, and XSGCOM for moar meta)

Gareth "Oily" Wragg? (Given nickname, you'd expect him to be an engineer, but...)

Richard Roll (Whether he'll give you up, let you down. run you around is an open question. Muck with his crew, and he'll hurt you. Has been known to criticise asset pricing models, too).