Pale Sunlight, Bright Moonlight (FT, Closed)

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Battlestar Acheron
Captain Melody Insaro

"We can't really take her into combat..." Melody paused for a beat. "Well that's your prerogative as the Admiral but Arrow is better suited to being far back from combat and then arriving to help with battle damage afterwards or else we'll have to design our formations around keeping the repair ship or ships safe. They aren't defenseless, but they aren't exactly the best Frontline ships."

A nice tactical assessment to have and one that could of been inferred from what little real space exercises the repair ships did with their warships... but Spencer had never gotten such niceties in spoken or written form from even the Commodore, which probably spoke volumes for how well Deianira had so far managed to keep even Melody at a distance.

She frowned. "Maybe after the election is done we can send my other escort cruiser home with one of your ships for some leave. You can send along a letter or video asking for a replacement though," Melody shrugged. "I can't guarantee that'll be granted, and if it is its a complete toss up if they try to swap Arrow with Axe or send just a different person, which may require another ship to ferry her back home."

"Other than that, I don't know what else I can do without getting myself in trouble." She shifted. "Now do you want another headache to add to the whole Deianira drug situation or should I save it for when it becomes an actual problem?"

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 99

---

“I suppose insisting on taking what is effectively one of your fleet auxiliaries, which aren’t meant to get caught in combat, would rather undermine any argument that I make to your Government, although I could insist she shift her flag to one of the warships,” Spencer commented wryly. “I’ll have to consider how we proceed, I don’t like the idea of leaving the Commodore here alone, which means I’ll have to leave a Battlestar, or at least a few escorts behind… I’d probably be doing that anyway, but it ties my hands in some respects.”

Spencer was silent for a few moments as Melody spoke and sipped a little more of his ambrosia. It would be a difficult decision to make; as demanding the replacement of an allied commander, after only a few weeks and without any overt reason, could go down badly and could cause further issues in the long run. On the other hand, if there was something wrong with the Commodore and something would have to be done.

“I don’t want you to get into trouble, Melody… not until or unless we don’t have a choice anyway,” Spencer replied, then smiled wryly at her next question. “I’d rather know about it in advance, then be caught unawares, so go on, hit me with it.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Battlestar Acheron
Captain Melody Insaro

Melody wasn’t the type to wish someone would screw up, but she honestly just wanted some proof that Deianira was doing something off kilter. This whole ‘gut feeling’ thing was going to drive her to insanity. She did not like not knowing what was wrong when some part of her code was giving her signals that something wasn’t right. But until Deianira did something actually bad, she had no recourse against the Commodore.

“Well,” Melody sat back in her chair, lacing her fingers together. “Remember I mentioned that I’ve so far only met one AI among the newcomers? That AI is a sub Level 1 AI like Hive, he goes by Lieutenant Mazin Castello and unlike Hive has an android body. After our… introduction…” she sounded mildly angry as she choked out the word, “I interrogated Castello and Hive and here is what they were comfortable with me telling you.”

“Sub Level 1 AI all have a special power which other AI cannot replicate Hive’s is her ‘no central files thing’ and this quirk is half the reason Maxis Laudi didn’t try to make more, as you can’t control what it is… Castello and Hive consider themselves family, brother and sister. Castello, that’s his human name, is more powerful than Hive, he is a 0.5 while Hive is a 0.75.” She hesitated for a moment. “And Castello, well, he has the power to murder other AI because he can sense what line of code to remove in order to render an AI nonfunctional. He’s a well adjusted AI as far as I can tell so he’s not a threat to us per say but he is, like Hive, a high value AI target. The Government Agency for AI Removal would probably sell their collective souls to scrub just one of them. We now have 2 of them in the same place.”

She paused again, “and this is just speculation, but from what I can imply from my discussions with Hive, there may be a third out here as well, but that’s a wild guess as Hive can’t tell where this mysterious third sibling of hers is and Castello either doesn’t know or won’t tell me, so I might just be imagining things.”

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 99

---

“Well,” Admiral Spencer sighed. “I did ask for that, didn’t I?”

Spencer shook his head and downed the rest of his ambrosia before pouring himself another glass. Not only was he harbouring a number of artificial intelligence constructs, both from their people and his own, whilst fighting his people’s own mortal enemy that was occupying their homewards after killing billions, but the AI themselves seemed to have decided that the Boneyard was some sort of refuge. It was foolhardy in the extreme, as although Spencer could appreciate the difference between the Laudian AI and the Cylons, it was unreasonable to assume that all of his people could do the same. In many respects, Spencer had been lucky, as he had not really lost anyone in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, as he had been and only child, his parents had already been dead, and did not have much of an extended family. It was true that he had lost a number of friends, across the Colonial Fleet, and there was of course Sabrina, the Admiral’s daughter that had resulted in his posting to Acheron, but that relationship had been… complicated by the time of the Fall. Others, particularly those who had lost everything, were barely holding on, and finding out the truth…

It wasn’t really worth thinking about, as the mental and emotional damage it would do to the individuals would be but a backdrop to a fleet-wide mutiny that Spencer was confident he would have on his hands.

“I need to be clear here, Melody, I’m prepared to keep your secret, and that of your compatriots, but the situation will change dramatically if knowledge that there are AI within the Fleet, certainly not for the best and it would be entirely catastrophic,” Spencer said grimly. “You need to make clear to these AI, and any others that are in the Fleet, that it is of the upmost importance that they keep a low profile, I’m sure don’t need to be told that, but I need you to underline to them that even if they escape themselves, the damage they could do to my cause is untold, and that I will do whatever I need to prevent it.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Battlestar Acheron
Captain Melody Insaro

“I understand Spencer.” Melody said. “I don’t know why it seems like we are collecting these AI. Hive was a fluke for sure, Castello says he didn’t plan on being out here and doesn’t plan on making waves like his sister did. I certainly don’t plan on revealing myself… anymore than I actually have,” her tone was a bit wry, “nor does any of my AI crew. Keeping a low profile is what we’ve been taught to do over the years, doing it more isn’t going to be an issue.”

Sometimes she wondered if AI and humans truly ever could get along. Sure Spencer and the Laudian AI supporters definitely didn’t seem to mind their presence and in the case of the Laudians, actively wanted them back in their society as AI, but it was so easy to just took around and see more propaganda against AI, the hate and fear at the mention still being ground away at home. What would happen to the Colonial’s relationship with Maxis Laudi when Chase made his move to reintroduce AI to Laudian society? How far in the future was that? If they did it during the war vs after they won the war? Maybe Hive’s idea of fleeing to build something on her own wasn’t exactly silly, but she loved Maxis Laudi, flaws and all. They were just scared of another incident, and needed to be taught that the outlier wasn’t the average.

She mentally shook off those thoughts. She had to worry about now. Remind her people, and Hive and Castello, to keep it on the down low, to keep watch on Deianira and find out whatever her game was before she did something bad… if she did something bad.

“I’ll keep a closer eye on Deianira and see if I can learn more about her, but other than that, is there anything you need of me Spencer?” Melody asked.

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 99

---

“No, I don’t think so,” Admiral Spencer sighed. “There is precious little else we can do at this point, but I appreciate your counsel.”

Bidding farewell to Melody, Spencer handed his visitor off to the Colonial Marine standing sentry duty outside of his cabin, not because he considered her a security risk but just as a courtesy to ensure she found her way back to the appropriate flight pod where her shuttle was waiting. Although she had been aboard the ship a number of time over the last few months, a Battlestar was still a vast labyrinth of corridors to the uninitiated, and it would be easy for a visitor to get turned around after taking the wrong corridor. Securing the hatch behind Melody, Spencer sank back into his seat and downed the last of his ambrosia before refilling the glass once again. It felt very much like they were caught between a rock and a hard place; there was little that he could do without either substantial risk or a potentially catastrophic outcome, and yet they could not simply remain idle, either from a military perspective or any other. Indeed, the situation was only going to get more complicated in a little over a week when he had elected officials to deal with.

Spencer sighed and walked over to his desk, picking up the handset and dealing in the CIC.

“CIC, Commanding Officer,” Spencer said once the Officer of the Watch answered. “Get my Commander Byrne.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Audeamus

Jackson Limstom sat back in his seat on the bridge of Audeamus, looking over his communication station with pride. Kit, as he had once been called, had once been an AI in service of a business that specialized in secure computers for the government and military. He had been doubly lucky in that he had been a 1.0 AI from the start of his life and that the daughter of the owner had felt bad enough for him to let him escape ahead of the ban despite being a high value target for GAAIR to try and take down first.

He had to admit he loved it out here. He wasn’t getting lax in his disguise, but among the many AI out here he couldn’t help but bask in the glow of hearing his real name more than once a month, even if it was only in ‘mental’ communications.

Kit! Are you almost off shift yet?

The voice broke into his thoughts and it took all his willpower not to melt into a puddle at the liquid feminine voice that invaded his head.

Usually Kit didn’t think he was the romantic type, he never saw himself indulging in a relationship because of current circumstances and the thought never really crossing his mind, but some part of his human programming he assumed wanted it, or maybe just the voice was so beautiful he didn’t want to let her go. He had yet to meet her in person because she was apparently stationed on one of the newer ships whose crews were less stacked than Insaro’s set. She kept her name close to her apparently but she hinted that the right AI might be worthy of learning it.

Almost, how are you? Kit asked back.

I am wonderful! Deianira is keeping me busy, especially with this whole drug lockdown thing going on. Are you going to get me that upgrade so if I have to face down Cylons I don’t get hurt?

You could always ask yourself you know. I’m not exactly a security expert, regardless of my past, and I certainly can’t install it! Kit smiled as he handed his station off to the next shift and left the bridge, wandering down to his bunk and laying down Content to just talk.

But you worked for… oh never mind. The beautiful voice laughed. I understand the concept of specialization, I wasn’t exactly a military officer before the ban either but here I am.

So she was one of the officers. That narrowed who it might be a bit but not as much as he might expect.

Do you think maybe I can come visit you? I’d love to meet you and we’ve been talking for a while now. He asked somewhat shyly, reaching up to rub at his temples while he waited for his response.

I don’t think I am ready for that just yet. She responded. Let’s see if this drug problem dies down first. Last thing we need is anyone looking at either of us too closely while inspecting for contraband !

Sounds good, I have to activate my sleep cycle programming, talk to you in a bit?

Of course.

Kit tripped the sleeping software, sinking most of his conscious thought down into the deep while his mind mulled over his new friend, hopefully soon to be lover, ignoring the strange throbbing in his head until it faded to nothing.

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 99

---

“I don’t envy your position, Spence,” Commander Byrne commented grimly.

“Neither do I,” Admiral Spencer replied dryly. “And yet it is the position I am in… I’d be interested to know what you would advise?”

Byrne was silent for a few moments as she considered the question more deeply, before sighing.

“I assume we can’t wait another week for the elections to be over?”

Spencer shook his head, as he sipped another glass of ambrosia.

“If I could have avoided a drug crackdown during the campaigning period I would have done, but I couldn’t afford to let this thing spread, and I don’t think I can afford to let my concerns about the Laudian Commodore lie dormant either, even if we don’t take any over action we need to make preparations,” Spencer sighed. “Besides, sure we’ll have a President and a Quorum in a week, but let’s be realistic, it’ll take another fortnight or so to get them up to speed sufficiently to be able to make informed decisions, and most of my attention is going to focused on stopping them from making rash decisions.”

“We can only hope that it is O’Rourke,” Byrne said simply. “At least we can safely assume that he’ll have a good strategic appreciation of the situation.”

Spencer nodded, but was clearly troubled. Over recent days, Angela Starling had started to close the gap in the opinion polls between her and Sebastian O’Rourke, which was concerning for the senior military leadership to say the least. It was so incredibly tempting to come out and publicly back one candidate over the other, as the opinion of the fleet’s military protectors would certainly carry a great deal of weight, but that was a slippery slope that Spencer, Byrne, and all of the other senior Colonial military officers desperately wanted to avoid. Nevertheless, it was a quietly terrifying prospect that could undo all the successes that they had achieved in the past few months and make a still incredibly difficult campaign all the more difficult. It was only after a few moments of thoughtful starting into space that Spencer realised that Byrne was studying him curiously.

“What?”

“When was the last time you slept, Spence?” Byrne asked firmly.

“Properly?” Spencer replied wryly. “Before the war, I’ve been trying to get by on whatever sleep I can manage, but even without frequent wake-ups during the night with reports, I’ve not been sleeping well.”

“You should talk to your CMO about that, you’re no use to anyone if you’re exhausted” Byrne frowned. “Stims are okay for short engagements, but they’ll be a liability in a prolonged firefight, and we’re going to have to fight that kind of fight at some point.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t want to be groggy or difficult to rouse because of sedatives anymore than to be dead on my fight,” Spencer sighed. “I can make it work when we go out on a combat patrol, but you and I both know that there is every risk of an attack here, and I’d need to be ready.”

“You don’t have to shoulder all the burden yourself, Alex, no matter how much you might stubbornly like to try,” Byrne admonished gently. “You really do need to start appointing yourself a staff, like any other flag officer would have, to help you.”

“Sam, we barely have the resources to man the ships we do have, much less start pulling people from operational duties to staff,” Spencer shook his head. “We’re already trying to bring vets from the civilian sector back into service, but I suppose I could look for those with staff experience.”

“You’ll do more than suppose,” Byrne said firmly. “You might outrank my now, but we both know you can’t say no to me.”

“Apparently not,” Spencer said wryly. “I suppose you have some ideas?”

“Of course,” Byrne smiled. “Firstly, there’s a Captain on Majestic that I think…”

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Audeamus
Captain Melody Insaro

Melody had come over to the Audeamus for a ‘surprise’ inspection in between exercises. She had been expecting everything to be in order, and for the most part everything had been. The shuttle bay control talked calmly and as she had stepped out the bay looked perfect.

Except Newman hadn’t been in the bay to greet her, which was odd, as when your superior officer came to your ship, you usually were there to greet her. She had been greeted by one of the more junior officers, a young Lieutenant who looked unfailingly polite but a touch worried. She had led her through the ship to the med Bay.

Newman had been waiting outside, talking with his XO. He looked up at Melody with an expression that definitely troubled her. He dismissed the XO and led her in to the bay.

In a bed that had been sectioned off from the rest was Jackson Limstom, a few sensors attached to his body while one of the SBAs, one of the cyber security AI she realized, sat unnaturally still next to the bed, focused on his task.

"What happened?" Melody asked quietly.

The SBA refocused his eyes on Melody. “Something has messed with his code.”

Melody frowned. “But it takes being allowed access or forcing it through special attack programs. Kit was smart enough not to do the first unless he was in serious trouble.” She saw the look the SBA gave her and she darted a glance quickly at Newman.

Newman sighed. “I didn’t know his real name but I’ve been aware he was an AI for a while. You know I came with recommendations from Chase right? I won’t tell a soul.”

Melody did know that, so he was probably as trustworthy as a person could get, still she should know better than to casually reveal real names. “Just do your best to forget it. Jackson will appreciate it.”

Newman nodded.

“Anyways, what is the problem with Limstrom?” She asked. “What could of gotten past the anti-virus? And him feeling it never mind that.”

The cyber security AI was silent for a few seconds. “It’s hard to explain in a way that won’t sound alarming.”

Now that was ominous.

“It looks like his code was attacked by the type of programs GAAIR uses to find AI. But we’ve long had defenses against those and Limstrom would of been better than most at identifying them and refusing to interact with them. It wasn’t a kill code, or else his body wouldn’t be breathing.” The SBA motioned to the monitor showing his breathing, steady and unaided. “But it looks like it may of penetrated into his core personality zones and was trying to change it, and it fucked up.”

“So it damn near killed him.” Melody’s voice was quiet, “can you fix it?”

“I believe I can, the personality is not going to be easy, and Limstrom might come of this a bit… different, but he should be back in a few days.”

Melody looked down at Limstrom, no sign of injury or physical damage, just code damage. Fuck.

“Do you best.” She said finally to the SBA . “Newman, I’m sorry I have to abandon this surprise inspection. I have business to take care of.”

As Melody made her way back to the shuttle bay, her voice was already starting to reach out across space to any AI that could hear her. She sat down in her shuttle and closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts.

We all must make sure our antivirus and defenses are airtight. We have an AI who was damaged and he needs code work to function again. If there is a secret GAAIR unit out here, we cannot let them break us. After all there were very few things that could kill an Android AI. Most of which involved special code and could only be used by specifically trained GAAIR agents or other AI like Castello with his special powers.

She could ‘hear’ some worried thoughts, but they sounded more like just worried noises to her mind than actual words. Be careful, be safe, be silent. She narrowed her focus, he wasn’t hard to find now that she knew he was here. Castello.

What? Came the reply.

I need you and Hive to put your heads together. If there are GAAIR agents out here...

They are most certainly after me… he mused. I’ll pull something together to make sure we stay safe and keep all the other AI out of the crossfire. Anything else?

No, Melody responded after a pause so short no human would of registered it. Just stay safe.

Melody opened her eyes, the shuttle having barely left her old ship on its trip back to Provoco. She buried her face in her hands, pressing hard against skull and using the pain as a distraction from the thoughts that threaten to overwhelm her. GAAIR agents were ruthless bastards, especially the ones that go after the androids. The type of people who straight up execute an AI in front of all their friends and leave the body to be disposed of afterwards. The kind that might use backhanded and sneaky ways to murder an AI since no one was busy with actual battles.

Fuck this. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep now.

She could work with Hive instead. And maybe later try to none-to-subtly see when they could all go on the offensive again.

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Boneyard Station One, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 100

---

For the first time in some weeks, the Boneyard was abuzz with a level of activity and excitement that not even the campaigning period had been able to produce. After a contentious two weeks, the votes had been cast, with exceptionally high turnout due to the nature of the situation they found themselves in, and were in the process of being counted. The civilian Promenade area of the central structure, Boneyard Station One, was a veritable mass of humanity as thousands of civilians gathered to watch and wait for the results. It was the most animated that the civilian population had been since the initial attack, which was hardly surprising given that it was the first time there had truly been more to their existence than merely surviving, and even if the campaign had been somewhat fraught given the two contrasting options, it had at least been a distraction from the terrible reality of their situation. As it was, peace on the Promenade was being maintained by Colonial Marines from across the Colonial Liberation Fleet, as the election officials completed their work under the watchful eyes of Admiral Spencer.

Truth be told, Spencer was less than thrilled of the options of the military overseeing an election, even if there were a number of civilians involved in the process, but the simple fact of the matter was there was quite literally no one else. It was, of course, the reason that these elections were being held in the first place; to provide a check and balance to the power of the military. In any event, the Colonial Fleet was the only institution that was trusted by both candidates to accurately report the election result, without fear or favour, even if one of the candidates had been one of their own, and was quietly preferred by the Fleet. Besides, beggars could not be choosers, and any of the potential alternatives had been far less desirable.

It was getting close to midnight by the time stepped up to a podium and held up his hands for silence, quietening the crowed in a few moments.

“Good Evening, my fellow citizens, it is my solemn duty to report the results of the election held today, under the terms of the Articles of Colonisation; I do so freely, truthfully, and without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,” Spencer said formally, as he looked over the crowd. “The final vote count is as follows: Sebastian O’Rourke received one hundred and ten thousand-three-hundred-and-sixty two votes, Angela Starling received one hundred and two thousand-one-hundred-and-eight-two votes.”

Spencer paused for a moment; everyone knew the result but they were waiting for him to say it.

“Therefore, as per the Articles of Colonisation, Sebastian O’Rourke has been duly elected as the President of the United Colonies of Kobol, and shall be sworn in at ceremony to be held on this Promenade at 9am fleet standard time tomorrow,” Spencer continued, not letting his own relief show. “Now that the Presidential vote count has been completed, we will continue to count and report the Quorum elections throughout the night, for a swearing-in ceremony tomorrow afternoon, thank you all.”

Stepping down, and out of view of the public, Spencer let out a sigh of relief. With the election of O’Rourke, he at least had a reliable ally in the President’s Office and did not have to overextend his already stretched forces to try and cover a planetary settlement, no matter how appealing that might have been. Moreover, as much as the President of the Colonies was the commander-in-chief of the Colonial Defence Forces, O’Rourke’s experience meant that he would not overplay that role and involve politics overly much in military affairs. In short, political disaster had been averted.

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Arrow
Commodore Dara Deianira

Commodore Dara Deianira sat back in her office, watching the feed of Admiral Spencer announce the winner of the election with tired eyes.

She reached up to press her fingers into her face, the skin under her eyes felt baggy and the real cheekbone was far more prominent than she remembered. She was tired, but getting sleep out here was nearly impossible. She had tried to discuss it with her ship’s doctor but they had no clue as to the problem. Apparently she was in perfect health. She didn’t think she was but she was still functioning somehow.

She looked down at one particular drawer in her desk. She shouldn’t, she knew it was a problem. But it had been helping. Her cybernetics were driving her mad and she just didn’t know how else to deal with it. Deianira reached down and opened the drawer, shifting the papers and false bottom of the drawer to reveal a set of small one-time use needles filled with doses of a silvery liquid.

It shouldn’t of gotten this far, but it helped.

I know it’s safe, but I worry about you. Came an angelic voice, sounding concerned. She couldn’t pinpoint where the voice came from. Normal for the thing speaking.

“You don’t need to.” Deianira responded to the voice. “I just need to rest.” She rolled up the left sleeve of her uniform as she spoke.

I wish I could help.

“You can shut up for a solid 7 hours.” Deianira snapped as she pressed the needle into her flesh, injecting the silver liquid into her body. She could almost sense annoyance and maybe guilt? But it didn’t feel like shutting up, just not changing anything. She had done a lot for it. Maybe too much. The commodore stood up and threw the needle away, stripping off her clothes and throwing herself into bed.

She was feeling better already, NDream did wonders even with her cybernetics. It almost felt like they were getting better when she took it. She fell asleep moments later, the sleep felt fitful but it was sleep. She needed that. She felt warm, safe, better! She would be much better tomorrow. She knew Deianira would be much better tomorrow.

---

Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro

She paced in her cabin. Hive watched from the bed, antennae twitching.

You need to sleep. Hive said finally. You turned off the code for now, but your personality has been set in human ways for a long time. It is little wonder you are agitated if you cannot follow the routine your code has grown use to.

“No.” Melody said. “Something is wrong with… something.” Her tone was pure frustration. “Drug problems centered around Deianira, AI problems from no where, what the hell is going on and why do we have to wait. I need to do something to stop this.”

We don’t even know what ‘this’ is. Hive responded blandly.

Melody was about to respond, anger clouding her features when suddenly the com panel in her room began to flash with an incoming call. She smoothed out her features, fixing her hair and answered. “This is Captain Insaro.”

“Captain! It’s Alcott. I was wondering if you could come over to the carrier for a while? I have some questions I want to ask and you are our resident Colonial expert so I decided I might as well ply you with some good food while I badger you.” Alcott said with a smile as he looked out of the screen.

Melody smiled. “Of course Captain! I can be over in…” she paused and checked the time. “The time it takes to prep a shuttle and fly over.”

Alcott laughed. “Good enough for me! I’ll see you on my decks Captain.

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Boneyard Station One, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 101

---

The day after the night before, the promenade of Boneyard Station One was still full of people, but the celebratory atmosphere of the night before had been replaced by a formality and recognition of what was about to take place. Although the civilians were still very much in evidence across the space, the Colonial Defence Forces were out in force, in full dress uniforms to give a sense of pomp and circumstance to the occasion. On Caprica, where every Presidential Inauguration since the Unification had been held due to the concentration of the central Colonial Government on that colony, the event was a carefully choreographed show was fitting the event, as even though the Twelve Colonies had significant autonomy the President of the Colonies was still an influential and prestigious position worthy of respect. Although the situation was far different than any previous Inauguration, Admiral Spencer had been clear that he wanted to do everything that he could to provide at least a semblance of normality, and did not want the new President to be inaugurated amidst the huddled masses. It was a moment that could do wonders for the entire Colonial Remnant, as it would make the civilians feel less like refugees and more like the surviving members of a great civilisation.

On a raised dais that had been installed for the occasion, the same position that President-Elect O’Rourke had given his victory speech and Angela Starling had (thankfully) given her concession, Spencer was waiting along with Matthias, a Priest of Zeus for the arrival of O’Rourke. Unlike the unfortunate optics of the military overseeing an election, Spencer was more than happy to embrace the optics of the military handing over authority to an elected civilian (even if he was a former Fleet officer), and in particular rendering a crisp salute immediately after he had taken the oath of office. It was important that the civilian population of the fleet, particularly now given its size, respected and trusted the Fleet that was ensuring its survival, and although O’Rourke’s election (over the alternative) would certainly help, the optics could not be ignored either.

“Here we go, Admiral,” Priest Matthias commented, nodding to where President-Elect O’Rourke had appeared and was making his way through the crowd.

As O’Rourke took his place on the dais, Spencer shook his hand tightly and with a genuine smile; although he had not publicly supported either candidate, O’Rourke had been his preferred choice, and the two men had formed a fast friendship of the past two weeks as they discussed the military situation and how things would go after the election. After a few moments, O’Rourke squared his shoulder and turned to Matthias, nodding that he was ready.

“Please raise your right hand and repeat after me” Priest Matthias said formally. “I Sebastian O’Rourke.”

“I, Sebastian O’Rourke.”

“Do now avow and affirm…”

“Do now avow and affirm…”

“That I accept the office of the President of the United Colonies of Kobol.”

“That I accept the office of the President of the United Colonies of Kobol.”

“And that I will protect and defend the sovereignty of the Colonies, with every fibre of my being…”

O’Rourke swallowed heavily, this particular part of the oath hitting a little too close to home for everyone present.

“And that I will protect and defend the sovereignty of the Colonies, with every fibre of my being…”

“So help you, Gods?”

“So help me, Gods.”

“Congratulations, Mister President!”

As the Colonial Marine Band, which had been drawn together from across the Fleet and included civilians quickly put into uniform for the occasion, began to play the President Fanfare, the crowed began to cheer and applause despite the darkness of their situation as O’Rourke turned to face them. After a few moments, the crowd quietened as O’Rourke stepped up to the podium at the front of the dais.

“My fellow citizens; I stand before you in what is certainly the darkest situation in which the Presidential Oath has been taken in the short history of our unified state, and perhaps any oaths from the histories of any of our Colonies; it is a testament to that fact that we are not standing today on the surface of any of our Colonies, and that those not physically present much settle to listen via the wireless and not be able to see the sight that I see before me,” O’Rourke began. “And it is a hell of a sight that I see before me; not refugees or the downtrodden, but thousands of survivors, who despite the odds have survived the catastrophe visited upon us, and I see in your eyes a weary determination So, today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this my friends: They will be met.”

O’Rourke paused and looked across the crowd.

“Our situation is serious; we are fighting a war against a relentless and implacable foe; one that is committed to our destruction and that has enslaved those of our civilisation that they have not killed. We are fighting a foe that cannot be negotiated with or reasoned with, for that was attempted in the opening hours of the attack, and we are fighting a foe that will not tire, will not give up, and does not feel the fear that we all hold in our hearts every day,” O’Rourke continued grimly. “And yet, our brave service people, for all their human limitations, have qualities that our enemy does not; they are brave and they are gallant, they are committed and they are determined, they are loyal and they are true; I know that the men and women who fight to defend us every day will never give up, no matter the cost.”

O’Rourke paused again.

“We have a long path ahead of us, friends; even Admiral Spencer’s most optimistic estimates with our new friends from Maxis Laudi predict that it will take a number of years to be able to take back our homes, and it will cost us in the process, whilst we must not forget that those left behind suffer under the chrome-plated jackboot of the Cylons every day they remain occupied worlds. So we must steel ourselves for the long haul, and the hard task,” O’Rourke added. “Today, I make this commitment to you; as long as I am President we will never waver in our fight to defeat the Cylons and retake our homes; we will never forget that billions of our countrymen have been massacred and billions enslaved, and we will never stop our efforts to liberate them… the road will be hard, but our cause is worthy, and I am confident that by the grace of the Gods we will be victorious, so Gods bless you, and may the Gods bless the Twelve Colonies, thank you.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro

There were some Laudians who had managed to weasel their way into watching O’Rourke take his oaths in person, but a great majority had left the space available for the Colonials. This was their election and they needed the whole show more than their allies.

Still Melody watched, sipping at a glass lemonade in her own cabin while the holographic form of Captain Alcott sat across the desk from her, watching the whole affair on his own ship but sharing the moment with her. She had to admit being able to actually talk to the man had been… enlightening. Hell it was probably the best thing that had happen to her since the fleet had arrived out here.

Behind closed doors and alone, finally… FINALLY, she had managed to pull Alcott’s AI views into the conversation. He was an unabashed supporter, as was Dent, his lead pilot. And when you had AI supporters as COs, it tended to follow that most under them were supporters of some sort. Or at least neutral. It was such a breakthrough in some sort of knowledge she’d even managed to sleep for half a day after she got back. She didn’t need to. But it had felt good.

“You know, I think he’ll do just fine.” Alcott finally said once the swearing in was over, leavingjust a view of the crowd. “I’ve been watching the election closely. He definitely seems like the better choice in my opinion, but this isn’t my vote so I stayed out of it.”

“Yeah, the President seems to have his head on his shoulders.” She replied. “You think this is going to complicate our job or will he listen to his former military experience to not get in the way?”

“As I said I think…” Alcott stopped mid-sentence and looked over at someone, his expression changing from happy to confusion. “What are they doing?!”

Melody was about to ask when the terminal in her desk ping and urgent tone and she accepted. “This is Insaro, speak.” She snapped with authority. Urgent warning tones were rarely abused by her subordinates.

“Ma’am, the rest of the Fleet they are… well we have orders from the flag but they don’t look right.” said the young officer on watch, obviously confused.

“Hold tight, I’ll be there in a moment." Melody abandoned her glass of lemonade and rushed out of her cabin, barely noticing Alcott's form vanish behind her.

She was soon striding onto the bridge. "Report!" She snapped.

"Ma'am we got this really strange communication from Arrow, I'm not sure what to make of it." The young com officer.

"After that, well," tactical motioned to her displays as she took her command chair.

Arrow sat in pride of place in a formation, at the usual distance they held exercises at, all sitting in a lose arrangement that looked very familiar to her eyes.

"Show me those orders." Melody said and looked down as the orders were transferred to her screen. They weren't verbal, but text. She stared at them, comprehension warring with confusion. Her eyes both reading it perfectly and refusing to acknowledge its existence.

It was code. She felt a headache start to throb in her head before she managed to tear her gaze from the message and dismiss it from her view so it would stop doing whatever it was doing to her.

Her gaze falling onto the formation, headache still mildly in the back of her mind as her gaze settled on Iubar sitting oddly alone without her own ship or it's fellow escort cruiser in formation. "Com, contact the flag and ask..."

And then the fleet jumped away in rapid sequence, leaving only Provoco, Supra, Bow and Audeamus the only Laudian ships in system.

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 101

---

A little under and how after Sebastian O’Rourke had been sworn-in as President of the Colonies, Admiral Spencer and Commander Byrne returned to Spencer’s cabin aboard the Acheron, having decided that a continuing military presence during the festivities would be undesirable (certainly at their seniority level anyway). As they secured the hatch behind them, aboard old Battlestars like Acheron every hatch was designed to be completely sealed by manual valves as opposed to strategic hatches as was the case aboard newer (and larger ships) to increase survivability, they gratefully lifted the sashes from their dress informs over their heads and began to undo the buttons on their respective dress grey jackets. The dress greys were infamously uncomfortable, which was unsurprising given that they were far less flexible than their service blue counterparts, and it was a well-established convention within the Fleet that everyone, officer or enlisted, got out of them as soon as possible after the end of whatever event had required them. As such, both Spencer and Byrne’s uniform jackets were discarded almost immediately as Spencer reached into his private stash for a bottle of Ambrosia, for celebratory purposes.

Although it had only been an hour, Spencer felt like a great weight had been taken from his shoulders. The conduct of the war effort was still his responsibility, and that was still a significant burden, but the simple fact of the matter was that he was a military officer, with absolutely no desire to get involved in politics or civilian leadership, so to be able to hand off executive political power was something he had been more than prepared to do. In many respects, after a hundred days of effectively leading the Colonial state, Spencer did not envy the job that O’Rourke had facing him, but at least the new President had previous political experience following his retirement from the Colonial Fleet. It was by no means a bad thing that he would be able to focus on the military effort, even if he did now have to report to a civilian leadership in the form of the President and the Quorum of Twelve. From a wellbeing perspective, the weight being lifted from his shoulders during O’Rourke’s speech had been almost visible, and some of the grimness had eased from his face when the two senior officers had been alone and out of the sight of subordinates.

“To the Colonies,” Spencer said, raising his glass in toast.

“To the Colonies,” Byrne echoed.

The two officers drank their Ambrosia in silence for a few minutes, before Byrne made her way over to Spencer’s expansive bookcase and picked her way through some of his hardcopy books.

“I may have to borrow some of these from you, Spencer,” Byrne commented wryly as she glanced back over her shoulder to look at him, during their time at the Academy they had first bonded over their love of hardcopies. “Despite very little downtime, I’ve already worked my way through a significant portion of my collection.”

Spencer smiled and stepped beside her.

“Of course,” He replied. “What’s mine is yours, you know that.”

Byrne smiled, and turned to face him.

“How do you feel?” She asked.

“So much lighter,” Spencer admitted. “You know I never sought flag rank, much less civilian leadership, so to be able to lay down at least one of those burdens…”

“I can imagine,” Byrne nodded. “You look so much less stressed than I’ve seen you since the Attack… you almost look like your old self.”

“Ah, so not caught up in the literal end of the worlds and doing my best to carry my entire nation forward almost single-handily, ” Spencer replied dryly. “Just miserable because I was stuck on the Fleet’s dumping ground for a relationship that didn’t even end up being worth it.”

“Yeah,” Byrne replied quietly. “Sabrina really fucked you over, you know.”

“Don’t I know it,” Spencer sighed. “When you make a decision like that, one you know is going to fuck your life up, you at least expect it to be worthwhile.”

“You couldn’t have known she’d be a flake, Alex,” Byrne said firmly. “I saw how the two of you were together… it looked real.”

“Yeah, I thought it was,” Spencer shook his head. “I do recall you advising caution though.”

“That’s my job,” Byrne smiled wryly, opening her arms and pulling him into a hug. “Someone has to look out for you.”

“And it always seems to be you,” Spencer smiled as he looked down at her as he hugged her back. “I’m so glad you’re out here with me.”

“Me too,” Byrne replied seriously, looking up at him, one hand resting on his chest. “I really-“

”Action Stations, Action Stations, Action Stations, set condition one throughout the ship, Action Stations, Action Stations, Action Stations, Admiral Spencer to CIC.”

Spencer and Byrne pulled away from each other on instinct as their bodies reacted to the general alarm which had begun blaring as soon as the order to action stations had been made. Neither commented on their exchange as they quickly pulled their dress grey jackets back on and hurried out of the hatch, which was secured behind them by the Marine Sentry standing post outside Spencer’s cabin. Given the proximity of the Commander’s Cabin to the CIC on a Colonial Battlestar, for obvious reasons, it took them a matter of moments to reach the CIC. Byrne was clearly uncomfortable, as she wanted to be in the CIC of her own ship at a time like this, but if there was something going on it was not the time to put one of the Fleet’s senior officers in a Raptor when it could be avoided.

“Report,” Spencer demanded as he entered the CIC.

“Hell if I know, Admiral,” Major Speller replied promptly, from his position by the DRADIS console. “Most of the Laudian fleet just jumped away.”

Spencer’s eyes widened in surprise; given the security concerns for the Boneyard he had made it clear that he wanted a Colonial pilot to be aboard any visiting warship in order to maintain the site’s secrecy and to ensure any records were wiped from their navigation system, as had been agreed since the opening days of the conflict. If their guests had been able to jump away on their own, that meant that they had been able to calculate their location and that could be disastrous if they were intercepted and captured by the Cylons. It wasn’t, quite, the nightmare scenario of the Cylons appearing here, but it was damned close.

“Get me Captain Insaro, or whoever the senior Laudian officer is,” Spencer growled. “I want to know what the hell is going on!”

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro

Melody was the first to respond to the Admiral's question, for what it was worth.

"Admiral we have no clue what the hell Deianira is up to. All Laudian ships received orders..." Insaro paused, her headache worsening just thinking about the code. "Very strange orders that gave me a headache." Which was close to admitting that the orders had been some sort of code virus meant to fuck up AI and do god knew what else over coms. She was not going to openly admit on even the most secure channel. And right now with her people tearing through her systems to double check their reliability she didn’t trust them at all.

"And they jumped before I could ask. She even stole my other escort cruiser, which breaks all sorts of doctrine when splitting fleets." Insaro wasn't even pretending that it wasn't Deianira. After all, Arrow was gone, at the center of a protective formation, there was no way she wasn't a part of this.

"What the fuck."

Melody's gaze snapped around to Yaden, who was looking over the com officer's shoulder. The man had over the time out here, slowly come to see his bias were wrong. He wasn't exactly a fervent supporter, but her understood what a lot of his shipmates, his friends, were. "Commander, speak." She snapped, muting her com channel to Spencer.

"This 'order' is modified GAAIR kill code." He explained. "I don't have the time to parse all of it, but its meant to reprogram.... something, it's not a command I recognize from the software, not kill, but the code security penetration is there, memory corruption, with directions embedded. It's almost multi purpose, this isnt optimized for AI, and it's terrible against shipboard anti-virus."

But what else was there to fuck with beyond AI and the ships?

She unmuted her pick up. "I don't know what the Commodore thinks she is doing but I intend to find out." Melody said coldly. "I'm afraid that while she can run, she cannot hide, we can track our own jumps and I have my people trying to localize the jump coordinates from the sensor data and with a full fleet worth of sequenced jumps we should have that in about..." she checked the progress. "10 minutes, would the Colonial Fleet like to join us on this adventure?"

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility
Second Cylon War, Day 101

---

Admiral Spencer paused for a moment to consider his next move. Whilst on the one hand the prospect of leaving the Boneyard with an under strength garrison, particularly when it’s security had potentially just been compromised, was not a good one, on the other hand if they could hunt down and prevent the wayward Commodore from betraying their secret then it wouldn’t matter. It was a risk, to be sure, but it was quickly apparent that it was one that had to be taken. He briefly considered discussing the matter with President O’Rourke, however he quickly made the decision that this was, more or less, an operational military decision and did not need to be run past the newly-elected executive in the same way as he would a major strategic concept. Moreover, although some civilians would notice the Laudians jumping away, and get wind that this had not been expected, pulling the new President out of his own inaugural celebrations would have a significant, immediate, and obviously detrimental impact on civilian morale. Sure, some questions would still be asked if half the Colonial Liberation Fleet jumped away as well, but at this point the priority was to minimise disruption until there was true cause.

“Yes, Captain, I think we will indeed join you on this little hunt we seem to have for ourselves, I don’t need to tell you how worrying this is for us as much as it is for you” Spencer replied grimly, his concern obvious and palpable. “Galactica, Solaria, and Ares will stay here to guard the Boneyard, Majestic and Heracles will join the Acheron in accompanying you… we’ll be ready to go in fifteen minutes.”

Cutting the connection, Spencer turned to Byrne.

“We’ll leave our Gunstars here, I would rather keep their firepower where they can be covered by Vipers from the Boneyard station or Black Wolf, in the event of an attack,” Spencer told her, knowing she’d implement his orders. “Moreover, if we might be going up against Laudian ships, if something is truly afoot here, I’d rather keep my own strength concentrated in Battlestars.”

Spencer paused and looked at her closely, wishing they weren’t stood in the middle of his CIC.

“You should get back to the Majestic,” Spencer said simply. “We’ll talk further when we get back.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Colonial Reclamation Facility
Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro

Some 15 minutes later, Melody was all suited up for battle as was the rest of her crew. She was taking no chances. if this was some strange misunderstanding, then she could just be embarrassed, if it wasn't, she wasn't going to get her people killed because of over confidence.

"Is everyone ready?" She asked, looking over the small gathering of ships. Small was relative when you had a 3km long carrier tagging along with you but the vipers could cover the Boneyard while they were gone, they were much better at fighting Cylons than Laudians were and Laudians were fairly good at killing their own ships... in practice at least. She prayed to every god she could think of that that wasn't going to pass. But she wasn't going to get her hopes up.

Once everyone had checked in, the coordinates were sent and everyone jumped.

---

Deep Space

Provoco and Audeamus emerged almost in sync with their Colonial counterparts, Ut Supra imposed herself slightly 'behind' the group in a large flare of energy.

"Where are we?" Insaro asked.

"Deep space, not a star system." Came the report. "No sign of the fleet."

"Do we have the markers we need to trace a jump?"

"We do, they must of left right before we got here." Tactical said. "Its very recent. They would know we can track them, but only in a certain time limit before the trail goes cold Captain."

"How long?"

"5 minutes."

Melody gave a nod. "Start tracking our jumps against galactic direction and see where it leads. Chart them out. If she's smart, she'll know to double back on herself or play games, but wherever the Commodore is going, I want to know yesterday."

---

It took a few jumps before they found anything. The trend seemed to be curving somewhat dangerously towards the currently occupied Colonies of Kobol but still seemed to be trying to shake their pursuers by random jumping.

But five jumps in they finally found the wayward fleet. They were all still in what can be called deep space, nowhere close to anything truly important.

Provoco, Supra, and Audeamus returned back into normal space to find the fleet in disarray. Whatever orders, commands, (codes?) the Commodore had used were not sitting right with some of the ships and all but two of the escort cruisers, clustered tightly around a damaged Iubar and a single larger ship, Ego te Incisura sat separated from the other cluster around Arrow. All of them had their shields up and weapons active and pointed at each other, except Arrow sitting behind a solid wall of what passed for capital ships in the Maxis Laudi Navy, the repair ship obviously didn't feel threatened.

"What is going on here?" Melody asked. "Did they mutiny?"

"From what com chatter we are picking up." The com officer worked at their controls for a moment, listening. "Maybe. The Incisura is definitely leading the group of escort cruisers, I'm picking up the way the systems are dispersing the com traffic and differing to Captain Morrison's ship. Arrow still seems to be the center of the other. Also," they paused for a moment. "Captain Alcott has his full fighter compliment ready to go if needed, just give the word."

"Thank you." Melody said absently, not even realizing the much more senior captain was deferring to her. "Com, get me a link to the Admiral." Once that was settled she spoke,

"Admiral I don't know what is going on here but even in our naval ranks the title of Admiral gives people pause so if you want to yell at Deianira, I'll be here to back you up." She said calmly, the two groups of ships continuing their standoff like they didn't even notice the new arrivals. Strange, there was no way they would miss their arrivals, especially Supra's. You'd have to be blind to miss it.

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Deep Space
Second Cylon War, Day 101

---

The rapid sequence of FTL jumps was hitting the Colonials hard, as with every one they were subjected to a wave of nausea, which was part of the entire reason why, outside of emergencies, the Colonial Fleet preferred to leave at least a few hours between jumps so as to allow their crews to recover in between. However, this situation was an emergency and absolutely called for crash jumps. Nevertheless, as Admiral Spencer stood at the DRADIS console in his CIC, he could still not help but grimace as they completed another jump and the contents of his stomach once again tried to force their way out. After spending most of his adult life in the Colonial Fleet, Spencer liked to think that he could stand up to the rigours of crash FTL jumps as well as the next man, but even the senior enlisted personnel were visibility uncomfortable by this point. It was perhaps fortunate that the nausea went as quickly as it came, meaning that the crash jumps did not have a long-term impact on the combat capability of the Colonial Fleet emerging from one, but it was deeply unpleasant as it happened and to be avoided wherever possible.

This time, however, it seemed that their perseverance had been paid off, as the DRADIS displays quickly populated with the Laudian fleet.

Of course, their discovery of their target did nothing to explain what had happened in the past few hours. By all accounts, and based on comm chatter that the Colonials were copied into, the situation had rapidly deteriorated once the Laudians had left the Boneyard, and it was entirely possible that a mutiny had taken place, once the Commodore’s intentions had become clear. The fact that the fleet had been angling towards the Twelve Colonies was disconcerting, as it raised a whole host of questions about what on Kobol was going on and what the Commodore’s intentions had actually been. Moreover, it was a rapidly spiralling situation that Spencer wanted to get a handle on and at least some semblance of control. The only other alternative was chaos, and to sit back and wait to see what happened, but that was simply not an option as far as he was concerned. Listening to Melody’s suggestion he nodded thoughtfully, although she would not be able to see it, as although the Colonial Fleet could receive visual transmissions it did not (for a whole host of reasons) send them back.

“Confirmed, Captain, I’ll speak to them now,” Spencer nodded before ending the line. “All ships, launch Vipers, then get me a general broadcast.”

“Vipers launching, Sir,” Major Speller reported.

“General Broadcast, Sir,” Petty Officer Dunn, manning communications, nodded.

“Attention Laudian Ships, this is Admiral Spencer of the Colonial Fleet. Your ships are in violation of the Status of Forces Agreement signed by your Government, specifically the clause surrounding the security of the Colonial Fleet Reclamation Facility. I must insist that your ships power down your weapons and other tactical systems and tell me what the hell is going on here.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Deep Space
Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro

For another minute there was no response, the ships continuing their standoff before a reply came. From Arrow. With a video attached.

The Laudians had very readily adapted to the Colonial ‘tradition’ of voice only com messages. Melody herself had dropped the the visual parts of her messages long before she even gained Provoco and even with the new ships strange distance from the people they were supposed to be helping, they all had also adopted the practice of voice-only coms at least with the Colonials to better mirror how coms would work in battle when it came to that.

The message showed Commodore Deianira on the bridge, and she looked like hell. Her face was gaunt and tired, she was very noticeably thinner than she had been when Spencer had first laid eyes on her, the uniform she wore seemed to hang loose on her even just sitting in the chair. She also, strangely, had her hands up and gripping the right side of her face, leaving only her original brown eye to stare somewhat desperately into the pick up. The flag bridge around her looked odd as well, people working but saying nothing, almost mechanical in their movements.

“You need to leave. Now.” It wasn’t an order, more a desperate plea. “Trust me you don’t…” She was cut off as she fell out of her chair with a scream of pain, pawing at the right side of her head as a new person walked onto the bridge and into range of the call.

The new person was a woman and looked very, very much like Deianira. Though she looked healthy compared to Deianira’s sickly nature. And the heterochromatic eyes were switched, brown on the right, blue on the left. She gave an amused smirk as she looked down at Deianira, muttered something to the Commodore before easily kicking the woman halfway to the back of the bridge, the woman laying there in a crumbled heap, almost deathly still.

“Admiral Spencer, I’m afraid my Task Force cannot comply with your orders, we are having some… discipline issues.” Her voice was smooth and angelic, every word sounded perfect. Too perfect. Almost… artificial. “So while the good Commodore and I might have the occasional disagreement, I must agree with her statement. You need to leave. Now. This isn’t your problem.”

The rouge Laudian ships continued their stand off and Melody was struck with the horrifying realization that the ‘mutinied’ ships might not even be able to see them, if the escort cruisers had rebelled against orders, surely they would of already attempted to join the new arrivals, looking for safe passage from the much larger ships that absolutely would wipe the floor with them if they tried to straight-up brawl with them. Maybe not if they had truly had mutinies, afraid of being taken in and tried for their crimes against their officers and oaths but none of the ships, except maybe Iubar, had damage to their drives. If they wanted to swan off on their own they should of jumped away already. Something was very, very wrong here.

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Deep Space
Second Cylon War, Day 101

---

Admiral Spencer’s eyes, and those of anyone within a few meters of any of the spare screen that were set-up to display any visual feeds when they came in, were fixed on them as the transmission came in. Shocked faces abounded as it was immediately obvious that something was amiss even without considering the words that the Commodore… or whatever was apparently controlling her, was saying. It was almost as if something was stealing the forms, but not the bodies, of the Commodore and her people, but for what purpose and by whom remained a mystery. As he considered the scene in front of him, particularly the unnatural movements and mannerisms on display, he could not help but begin to get a bad feeling that something decidedly related to the Laudian artificial intelligence problem was at play here. For the sake of all concerned, both in Maixs Laudi and for his own campaign, he hoped to all the Gods that was not the case; the last thing he needed was for his new allies to find themselves under threat by their own creations and plunged into their own war for survival.

Spencer shook his head grimly; regardless of the longer-term implications he had a mess to deal with in the here and now.

“You made it my problem when you involved yourself with allies of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol,” Spencer said simply, with a quiet determination and sense of loyalty. “This is your final warning; surrender, or I will fire upon you and disable your ships.”

Cutting the line, until the Faux Deianira responded, Spencer turned to Colonel Hastings.

“Take us down the middle XO, put us between the two groups; if there any non-compromised Laudian ships I want them to know that we’re here and ready to support them,” Spencer ordered firmly, turning to Tactical. “Major Speller, if we have to engage, I want you to concentrate fire on their engines and weapons, we may have to concentrate our fire on one target point to get through their shields, but I don’t want to destroy them.”

Spencer sighed.

“If there is any way to save our allies over there, by the Gods I want to take it.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Deep Space
Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro

It’s an AI!

Melody almost lept out of her command seat at the voice in her head.

That was Castello.

What the fuck was he doing here? Nevermind where the fuck was he?

He’s on Supra.

Melody turned to face Hive’s command node as it scurried onto the bridge, in plain sight of everyone. Only Yaden looking uncomfortable as he glanced at her before returning to his duties.

“Why is he here?” Melody practically hissed.

If this was some problem with an AI, we could solve it easily with him here.

“Okay I’ll give you that.” Melody said, flipping open a channel to Alcott, the link showed him on his bridge, Castello at his side studying the tactical data with no qualms about the AI at his side. “Alcott, I want you to drop your fighters.”

“All of them?” He asked.

“All of them.”

---

Out in space, Supra suddenly launched her entire wing into space. At once. The swarm of 300 wasps easily shaking down into their formations, with Dent diving down towards the Laudian ships and joining up with the Colonial vipers in space to help defend their allies.

The message that would eventually be returned to the admiral showed the fake(?) Deianira, looking over her displays, studying information blurred out in the transmission. She seemed to be taking her sweet time about it, the repair ship still just hanging there, arrogantly without shields.

”Can’t say I’m surprised, Humans are easy to predict. She said, her beautiful voice sounding disappointed, her flippant dismissal of what she at least physically looked like the best confirmation that she definitely was not human. But if you want my surrender I suppose I can give it to you. I know when I’m outmatched.

---

Melody felt it. A twinge in her head, the headache feeling like someone had stabbed her through the eye. She gritted her teeth against the pain, trying to focus on what was happening. Her head felt fuzzy, her hearing felt muffled. She felt like she was running at half speed, her brain desperately trying to warn her something wasn’t right even if the muffled voices around her sounded confused, panicked.

A sudden presence imposed itself in her mind. A very, very strange feeling of warmth, sunlight and anger.

And then pain.

The feeling was gone a millisecond later, everything snapped into sharp focus, the world around her sped up. Melody felt free. freer than she ever had. Her eyes absorbed the data in front of her instantly, hearing the panic in the crew and knowing instantly what happened.

The Colonials were expecting threats from the runaway ships.

They weren’t expecting a stab in the back. She could see the targets all locked in and ready to fire on a command that wasn’t hers. She knew Acheron was very well built, but could it survive getting their engines blown out by a ship that was well within energy range? Spencer wouldn’t even know what hit him. Light speed weapons at this range were terrible things.

“Shut it down.” She snapped, surprised by how fast her voice came out. “Shut down the ship. NOW.”

Very suddenly the ship around her went dark save for the dim red emergency lighting.

---

Outside in space, the Colonials got to watch on DRADIS as Provoco went dark, coasting now with everything offline while Audeamus pulled back slightly to try and figure out what went wrong with the ship they were supposed to escort.

Even as that was happening, what could only be called a ‘flicker’ ran through the two groups of runaway ships, a stutter in their energy profiles and shields and they all jumped away before they could be engaged.

Things were happening at breakneck speed and the Laudian wasps were already barreling back to their carrier for recovery to chase the fleeing ships.

The next message to Admiral was from Ut Supra, there was no video, just voices.

“Admiral Spencer I want to make this very, very clear.” The voice was unfamiliar. “That thing you just saw was an AI, what you just saw her do was command override all the Laudian ships here in order to control them. Which should not be possible for a level 1 AI but here we are.” The man paused for a second as in the background you could hear the faint voice of Alcott saying ‘tell him your name’. He sighed. “I am Lieutenant Mazin Castello, and I am here to help. If I’m reading the malware right, the AI tried to hyjack Provoco and Supra into firing on your ships. I’m aboard Supra so that failed, but Provoco on the other hand.” You could almost hear the gesture to the shut down Laudian ship.

Of course Spencer knew who Castello was from Insaro, the other sub level 1 AI that had managed to find its way out here to the Colonials little liberation fleet. The AI that could kill other AI with a single deleted line of their code.

”Supra is working in tracking the jumps Admiral. 5 minutes, if Provoco isn’t back in that time I’d suggest leaving her while we go pin down this insane AI.” Castello suggested. “I should be able to kill her next time I’m in range.”

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Deep Space
Second Cylon War, Day 101

---

“We’re getting painted!” Major Speller called out urgently. “By Ego te Provoco”

“What!” Colonel Hastings exclaimed almost immediately, before recovering quickly. “Confirmed, fire control sensors locked onto us.”

Admiral Spencer felt his eyes’ widen in surprise as he quickly processed the implications of the report. It was not a situation that he had been entirely unprepared for, he had been working under the assumption that the Cylons would eventually be successful in penetrating the defences of the Laudian ships, given their highly networked nature despite their best efforts. However, there were no Cylons here and he had judged it unlikely that they would find themselves up against a hostile AI other than the Cylons, a mistake in judgement that threatened to cost them dearly. A Colonial Battlestar was a large, powerful, warship with a thick hide, capable of taking a great deal of punishment, but its engines were its one main weak point; which was why every effort was taken to keep them facing away from the enemy. Although safety measures were in place to reduce the chance of a catastrophic detonation, which was not always successful as almost every total loss of a Battlestar had been due to an uncontrolled detonation of the tyllium stores, but even if the ship was not completely lost it would be crippled and hamstrung if its engines were destroyed.

“Emergency evasive!” Spencer snapped, quickly considering which way to turn to keep his engines facing away from as many people as possible. “Take us to port, point us towards that damned thing!”

“Aye, Admiral,” Hastings nodded, moving toward the helmsman to issue specific orders.

“Provoco appears to have powered down,” Speller reported. “The rest of the fleet has jumped away!”

Spencer frowned and glanced up at the DRADIS display and, sure enough, the power signature from Provoco had dramatically dropped and the compromised Laudian ships had indeed disappeared. Almost immediately, the Laudian Wasps began to race back to their carrier, doubtless to continue the pursuit.

“Recover Vipers,” Spencer ordered. “Combat landings and be prepared to go straight back out, so I need a quick turnaround!”

The Colonial Vipers had, for the time being, been gathered closely around the Battlestars, so they were able to return in pretty short order, landing en-masse on flight pods, leaving more than a few dents that would need to be beaten out by the deck crew once this mess was over and done with. Watching this take place with a professional eye, Spencer scooped up a handset and nodded to PO Dunn to open a return channel to Costello.

“Roger that, Lieutenant, I’ll leave a squadron of Vipers here to keep an eye on Provoco if we have to leave her here, I’m not leaving a ship totally defenceless, they’ll be able to watch over them,” Spencer said firmly. “You say you can destroy this thing… what do you need from me and my ships, I’m sure you’ll agree that we need to stop this thingas quickly and decisively as possible.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Deep Space
Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro
Lieutenant Mazin Castello

There was a pause on the channel, a long one, as Castello considered. The 5 minute timer ticking down as Supra followed the markers to the next place the ship’s jumped and Provoco continued to coast in space, silent.

“I need her to stay put.” Castello finally said. “I need distraction and I need her guard dropped. It does me no good if the AI jumps away again or decides to put up a wall of jamming I can’t get through. I am doing this at a distance and using Supra to augment my range. What would take milliseconds in person takes… time at a distance. You do not want to hear how close you were to getting your engines blown out by Provoco before I managed to remove the malware from Melody’s head so she could act.”

There was another pause. Timer at 3 minutes til they had the jump coordinates.

“I know asking you to talk with her, especially since she just tried to murder your ship with a friend, is asking for a lot, but the type of AI who go this way, raging against the humans that ‘wronged’ them, they usually have egos that can be exploited. I need to work my way through what is essentially a hostile ship’s systems to get at her. Buy me time Admiral.”

Suddenly, Provoco started coming back to life, coming back online is stages as each system that was reactivated changing her energy profile until the ship was back to normal. The ship twisted in space, Audeamus easily copying the maneuver, making sure to stay a comfortable distance from the battlestars she turned to face.

The next call was from Melody. "Admiral Spencer, I would like to apologize for almost firing on your ship. We’ve managed to scrub and reboot all our systems so we are safe from whatever virus was put in our systems." Her voice sounded... different. It was definitely Melody's voice but there was a strange background to it, like there a radio playing at low volume you couldn't quite find the location of.

"Got the coordinates!" Castello said as the data was transmitted to all the ships. "I'll get her, I promise Admiral."

[United Colonies of Kobol]

Rear Admiral Alexander S. Spencer, CF
Battlestar Acheron, Deep Space
Second Cylon War, Day 101

---

“I can do that,” Spencer said simply.

It was, of course, easier said than done. They would have to keep the Laudians ahead or abeam of them at the very least, less they find themselves being fired upon by their own allies in a vulnerable position. That alone would limit their tactical flexibility, but was an obvious precaution to be taken. Although he was confident that his three Battlestars could stand up to enemy fire long enough to get the job done, that was what they were built for after all, but they would take their lumps in the process. This would not only cost him lives but also significantly impact the war effort. It could not be avoided, however, as they simply had to destroy this immediate threat to them and their allies before dealing with the long-term consequences.

“It was not your fault, Captain Insaro,” Spencer said firmly. “No hard feelings.”

Once they were all ready, Spencer nodded grimly.

“Once we engage the enemy, I’ll keep their attention,” Spencer added simply. “Let’s do what needs to be done.”

[Maxis Laudi]

Deep Space
Ego te Provoco
Captain Melody Insaro
Lieutenant Mazin Castello

The next jump led them almost, but not quite, back to the last jump they cam from, once again erring towards the Colonies of Kobol for some reason but never quite heading directly there. Buying time perhaps?

The wayward fleet was there, this time they all were in a perfect formation to protect Arrow. No signs of the ‘mutinied’ ships, if there ever had been any.

The fake Deianira was back, amusement on her face as she sat in her command chair. The real Deianira seemed to still be alive, sitting against the back bulkhead of the bridge, one hand still covering her artificial eye but otherwise she was silent.

“You lot are hard to get rid of. Thought you’d take the hint when I let you off with just a warning.” She said. “Almost assume your masochists at this rate. I’m trying to be nice but these are my ships and you aren’t getting them back.”

“Why are you trying to steal them?” Melody decided to asked, even as her ship began to pick and choose her targets in the fleet. “You don’t gain anything from this. They never did anything to you.”

The other AI laughed, for such a beautiful laugh it sounded very… cold.

“Thats’s rich coming from you, Captain Insaro. You know what I’m doing, don’t fucking pretend you don’t understand exactly what my goals are, I’m just not going to wait around for the right moment like a passive little bitch eager for any human attention that comes my way.”

Melody couldn’t help a cringe.

“Humanity is fucked, they have no greater good and they certainly don’t care about me. They demonstrated that quite well when GAAIR cornered me in my core and tried to murder me for the crime of thinking the humans that ran the TV network my show was on would save me.”

Melody’s mind ran quickly through the list she remembered of ‘fellow’ entertainment AI. There weren’t many because there were many more uses for a powerful computer than just plain entertainment and a lot weren’t smart enough to avoid the initial purge. Which meant this was… oh.

This was Angel.

The only Level 1 exclusively entertainment AI on Maxis Laudi. The one that had run a children’s show network and featured in many of it’s shows.

“Finally figure it out? Took your long enough.” Angel mocked, looking down at her displays as Ut Supra launched her fighters. “Fine if you all are so eager to finish what GAAIR started…” She made a show of snapping her fingers.

It wasn’t really necessary. Any activation command sent by an AI could be silent, with nothing to indicate it, the snap was more a mocking thing, a show that she could act and not be stopped.

The effect was quick. And it hit nearly everyone, Colonial and Laudian alike. The pain was overbearing. Migraines, trouble breathing, difficulty moving, panic attacks, a rare few having seizures, the symptoms varied from person to person but only a few seemed anything close to unaffected. No ship escaped unharmed and it wasn’t a one and done deal, the pains and effects continued.

“It’s amazing how even with your crackdown Admiral how easy it is to get NDream into the life support systems of the ships.”

Even as Melody was watching Yaden collapse forward over his console looking like he was having a seizure she got up to go try and help. And fell down her own limbs felt like they were locking up, no pain for her, Hive hurried over and began to check her over. She could see others around the bridge, some of them in pain, other frozen or perhaps worse depending on who was human or AI.

Damn that bitch has fucking flooded your systems with nanites. Give me a second Melody. Hive said, touching her antennae to her body.

For a minute Melody felt the sheer power of the AI in her head. This wasn’t warm and sunlight, it was comfort and collective, a thousand tiny voices wrapping into one. She could hear through Hive her brother, the anger and sunlight feeling of his presence trying to reach across space… there were two others, distant. One felt cool and worried, it’s presence moving about quickly out in the void. The other felt, odd. It felt similar to every AI she knew but wrong in a way. Something about it was beautiful yet… angry, filling with wrath as it changed, something about felt like it was missing.

“Hive” she said, trying to sit up. Hive didn’t have the physical weight to slam her down but she did have the ability to control her body as Melody lost access to her ability to move her limbs.

Stay still. This takes concentration. She commanded.

“Hive, Angel is a sub-level 1 AI.” Melody ground out.

Hive froze for a second, her antennae still before she resumed whatever she was doing. The repair AI said nothing for what felt like ages, at best it was only a few seconds which right now felt like an eternity before her access to her limbs was restored and she sat up, looking at the chaos of her bridge. Anyone who had gotten off with ‘just’ migraines or lighter symptoms of this attack were trying to help those worse off, but no one looked like they were recovering.

Impossible. Level 1 AI cannot evolve any further. In order to get sub-level 1 AI programmers have to go through a lengthy and difficult seeding process. That’s why there were only ever 4 of them made. And the we already know where two of them are. Hive said flatly.

“Three We know where three are.” Melody vaulted to her feet and dropped back into her command chair. She opened a com link to Supra. “Castello tell me you can kill her we’re going to start losing people here real fast if we have fight our ships through fucking seizures.”

“I can’t.” Castello’s voice was a whisper. He sounded stunned. “I literally cannot kill her. I’ve tried to find the code I need to do my job but I can’t. It’s like it’s on a storage device I can’t access, which shouldn’t be possible. There’s no AI encryption I cannot get through, even Hive and my sister would fall to me if I really wanted to kill them. The only way is if the AI was off and powered down and Angel is active, I feel her code but I can’t access it. Damn it.” There was a sound of him hitting something. “I’m sorry. I need to go check on Alcott and see if I can do anything about this NDream in his systems.”

Melody switched to her next person. A link to Acheron and Admiral Spencer.

“Admiral a status update would be nice, I hope you got off lighter than we did.” Her eyes focusing on her plot, the wayward Laudian fleet beginning to shift its formation, the escort cruisers forming a solid defense in front of the heavier ships behind them, the Arrow behind a wall of warships, her shields up now but seeming to wait. Angel knew she had time, as pretty much every crew was currently crippled by the attack.