Chapter 1 – The Fall Begins

Disclaimer – I own nothing but my OC's.

Hey again guys! So I had a review that pointed out some pretty big plot holes that I had made in my rush to upload this chapter so I'm going to proofread and update it accordingly. I'm glad for the feedback, good and bad

Twenty four guns lined her spine. Eight were mounted on the bottom hull. Four were placed under the forward hull. Eight were under the sides of the forward hull, four on each side and four fixed guns were integrated into the forward hull. Alongside her six hundred point defence guns and four hundred Vipers, there was only one word that he believed fitted the Battlestar Minerva: Juggernaut.

Commander Declan MacRae smiled at the giant ship with fondness in his features. The last time he had served aboard this class of Battlestar, it was the famous Galactica when she was fully armed and capable of kicking the frak out of advanced vessels like the Mercury-class. Battlestar Minerva was the flagship of BSG 49, consisting of one other ship, known as the Kvasir, sister ship of the Valkyrie, Both ships were built for long distance deployments, with advanced hydroponics facilities. Commander Katrina Dearing was in charge of the Kvasir. She'd been here since the ships completion whilst the new Commander had been at Picon for meetings during Minerva's trials.

It was unusual to see a Battlestar on the surface of a planet. Several large Battlestars were taking up the official Colonial shipyards, all undergoing major refits. With the ship on the ground, the Colonial government oversaw the construction, ensuring that no corners were cut in the creation of both of the vessels. Boarding the ship, Declan headed to the CIC straight in.

"Attention on deck!" His XO, Colonel Stephen Everett said as he walked in.

"At ease…never thought I'd see a Mercury-style CIC on a Jupiter-class…" Declan said with a smile.

"Welcome aboard, Commander." Everett saluted him and he returned it.

"Glad to be aboard. I can see the shipyard's in a bit of an uproar. What's our supply situation at the moment?"

"We've just finished filling the water tanks and our hydroponics workers have begun preparing all of the facilities for eventual planting. We're waiting on the last of the food deliveries coming from Caprica City. The Kvasir is already fully armed and supplied."

"Good…" He noticed his XO examining him closely.

Declan knew why. As far as commanders go, he was rather young, in his early thirties. He kept his hair short, as per military regulation and though his eyes were a warm brown, his face was still quite stern. Lean from constant exercise, he was in no way a push over. His XO was older, perhaps, but he was the commander.

"Colonel Everett…I know you're concerned about my age. In fact that was one of the things that I'd discussed with Admiral Nagala in Picon. I've nothing to prove to you." He said bluntly. "I will command this ship…you will serve as my XO. My age does not mean anything. Understood?" He asked.

"Yes, sir…"

"Good." He approached a Lieutenant at the helm. Short dark hair like his own and handsome, Declan did hide a niggling feeling that he'd seen this man before. Someone who did the PR for both of the ships. Perhaps they were brothers or something. "Lieutenant Doral…" He smiled politely at the other who returned it. "Unfortunately I was stuck in Picon for Minerva's trials… how did she do?" he asked curiously.

"She did just fine, Commander…at a push, she can match the Kvasir's in speed…"

"No mean feat…she's smaller and of a more recent class."

"Yes, sir…but this is still one of the most advanced ships in the entirety of the fleet. We're trialling a fair amount of new technology that the Colonial Fleet intends to roll out on all vessels."

"New long range communications technology…more advanced sensors and faster sublight drives." Everett spoke up

"Well that explains how Minerva can match the Kvasir. As you were Lieutenant. I look forward to working with you."

"And I you, sir."

It was then that Petty Officer Claire Williams approached him with a piece of paper. It was note that was sent from the shipyard proper and it was addressed to him and him alone. Taking it, Declan had to smile ever so slightly as he read the note, before turning to the Petty Officer who had a very small polite smile.

"Shall I arrange for her to be escorted to your quarters?" She asked.

"Yes, please. Thank you, Petty Officer."

"Yes, sir."

"I will address all of you later today when the crew has finished loading the supplies. I thank you for the warm welcome." He addressed the whole of the CIC before heading out.

Declan's quarters were completely and utterly bare save for a bed, a modern corner sofa and a large modern oak desk with a computer, several neatly arranged pens and trays for paperwork. Suddenly, the prospect of redecorating didn't seem so daunting as he looked around. The hatch was knocked on several times then.

"Enter." He said with a small smile. Two marines walked in and saluted him to which he returned it as a third person, this one a young woman with brown eyes, long red-brown hair and she was quite a beautiful woman. Dressed in a red waistcoat that was open, with a white tank top and a pair of black skinny jeans and matching walking boots, he knew this woman well.

"Will you tell them to be at ease so they can go back to their duties?" She asked and he chuckled.

"As the lady says, gentlemen. Thank you."

"Sir!" They said before they departed the room.

"Look at you…Commander MacRae…" The woman smiled and have him a hug. "You think every once in a while, you can use this juggernaut to come visit your sister on Virgon?"

"Believe me, Kiera…I wish that I could." He smiled. "Gods I've missed my little sister…I heard you'd made captain of a Pan-Galactic passenger liner?"

"The Arcadia. One of the largest and most luxurious. Very new too. Guess we both ended up getting new ships."

"I guess we did."

"Yeah…so I'm here until tomorrow. And I know your ship will be taking off tomorrow…Would it be possible for me to stay here tonight? I can arrange for transport from the shipyard to the spaceport then."

"No need…I can arrange a raptor to transfer you to the spaceport."

"You don't have to, Declan…"

"I don't mind, Kiera…" He smiled slightly. "I've got a futon in my things. They're being brought up with the last of the supplies today."

'CIC to commander.' Petty Officer Williams called on the intercom and he picked up the phone, which was wireless.

"Go ahead, Petty Officer."

'Sir, Commander Dearing is requesting to come aboard. She'd like to meet with you before we launch tomorrow morning.'

"Permission granted. Have her escorted to my quarters as well."

'Right away, sir.'

"Her?" Kiera asked with a small grin.

"Not what you're thinking, Kiera. Commander Katrina Dearing is in charge of the Kvasir. She was also the one who advised me of some tips to commanding. She's a friend. Nothing more."

"Oh I know that. You swing the other way. I was just teasing." Kiera chuckled. "Well I look forward to meeting her." She said, taking a seat on the sofa and looking around. "Wow, Dec…you really need to decorate this place. It's so bare…"

"I know…had the same thought when I first walked in here."

"Yeah…"

The door was opened then and a woman dressed in a Colonial uniform stepped in. Her rather stern expression relaxed somewhat when the door closed, and she kept her long dirty blonde hair in a tight bun. They both saluted one another and then they both stood at ease.

"Commander…it's good to see you. We last met on the day of your promotion, correct?"

"Indeed we did…I believe it was you who advised me to stand up to Everett."

"Yeah…the old man's bark is worse than his bite unless you really frak him off." She chuckled. "And is this your sister?"

"How'd you guess?" Kiera smiled and shook her hand.

"You're brother told me all about you. You're a co-pilot for Pan-Galactic, right?"

"Formerly. Now I'm captain of the Arcadia. It's nice to meet you commander."

"Just thought I'd drop by so I can see your speech. Oh, and the Command Navigation Program for both ships is on the fritz. Frakking systems never work when you need them to. We do have a civ contractor coming out from Caprica City to help reinstall it properly."

"Well…we're off to a great start. Any clue as to why that's happened?"

"Kvasir's is corrupted…not sure how it could have happened. Yours is running oddly sluggish. Not even the whole 'turn it off, turn it back on' thing is working."

"What about the Vipers?" Declan asked with a small sigh.

"After the glitches started, we contacted the Ministry of Defence. They advised that we purge the program and they're going to send several contractors to fit it whilst we are on patrol for a few months. That way, they can see what the problems are and then rectify them on the fly.

"Good…let's hope we can get this working properly."

"New ship, new glitches. It happens from time to time."

"Very true."

When they got back to the CIC, Declan went to pick up the phone that could be used for ship-to-ship communication as well as for shipwide announcements. Not finding one, he was very surprised when he was handed a headset from Lieutenant Doral, who looked amused. Looping it in, he smiled gratefully at the Lieutenant.

"We're using the latest in communications technology. I can patch you in from here." Petty Officer Williams explained.

"Give me BSG wide."

"Yes, sir." She tapped a few commands into her console. "You're on to both Minerva and Kvasir."

"Can I everyone's attention please?" He began as the rest of the crew stood silently. "This is Declan MacRae, commander of Minerva and by extension, BSG 49. When I spoke with Admiral Nagala at Picon, he reassured me that the best and brightest that the Colonial Fleet had to offer were going to be working under my command. Looking at the sophistication of these vessels and the effort that's gone into preparing them…it's clear to me that I am indeed fortunate enough to be able to lead the best. I'd just like to say that I'm really grateful for being that fortunate to lead you, and that I look forward to working with each and every soul that is on board these ships. You've all put a lot of effort into making sure that these Battlestars are ready to go. Rest up…for tomorrow we take flight in the defence of our homes. So say we all!"

"So say we all!" He heard the resounding response on the headset and in his own CIC.

"That is all." Declan smiled and Williams cut the communication as they applauded.

"Back to work." Everett ordered sternly. "A nice speech, Commander."

"Thank you, Colonel. I'll be in my quarters should anyone need me. Get some rest when you can. We are up early tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir…goodnight, sir." Stephen nodded and went back to overseeing the officers in the CIC.

"Very good, Commander." Katrina smiled. "Well, I'm going back to Kvasir. All the best." She saluted and he returned it.

"You as well, Commander Dearing."

Back in his quarters, Declan was relieved to find his stuff piled neatly in the corner as well as a bottle of vintage whiskey with a small note. 'Glad to have you with us, Commander. So say we all!' Smiling as he put the bottle to one side, he fished around and pulled out the futon to set up for himself, earning a raised brow from Kiera.

"What the frak are you doing?"

"Bed's yours." He explained simply.

"Dec…really I don't mind. You've already organised a Raptor for me. I can't pinch your bed as well." She said, looking somewhat concerned.

"Kiera, it's fine…really." He smiled. "Besides, it's just for one night."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure…" He set the alarm for 6AM. "Early to bed, early to rise. Make sure that you get plenty of sleep because not only do you have a flight to catch, but I have a ship to send into space." He smiled and made himself comfortable. "Goodnight, Kiera…"

"Declan…you'll be careful? Right?" She asked softly, taking his hand before she lay down to go to sleep.

"Minerva will protect me as well as the women and men of this ship."

"The ship? Or the goddess?"

"Both…we're in a peacetime anyway…we will be fine. I promise."

"Okay…"

"Get some sleep." Declan smiled softly and drifted off himself. Kiera turned and curled up in the bed before closing her eyes and drifting off.

No less than two hours later, a loud alarm woke them up, a light flashing red in the room. They both scrambled out of their beds and pulled on their clothes immediately, heading out as personnel began to run to their stations.

'Action stations! Action stations! Set condition one throughout the ship!' Lieutenant Doral said over the PA as they both made it to the CIC.

"I know I set an alarm for early but this is ridiculous…report." Declan said, looking up at a large monitor with the DRADIS feed on it.

"Multiple large vessels have appeared in orbit over the planet. Several commanders have already positioned their ships in a defensive perimeter around Caprica."

"Any idea who these vessels belong to?" Declan asked, looking at the screen.

"Cylons…they spotted several Raiders."

"Dear gods…" Kiera muttered softly.

"Petty Officer Williams, can you please put me in touch with the lead vessel of the defending fleet?" Declan looped a headset in.

"Yes, sir…Battlestar Valkyrie actual, this is Minerva…commander Declan MacRae wishes to speak with you." She said and there was a small pause before she turned to the commander. "Go ahead, sir."

"What's the situation and where do you need us?" Declan asked instantly.

'We need you up here, commander…there are a whole frakking lot of them…wait…what the hell is going on? We've lost pow-' The transmission cut out suddenly.

"Valkyrie actual, come in. Valkyrie actual, please come in." Declan asked before he watched the dot that represented the ship disappear. "Where'd they go?"

"Sensors are detecting hard radiation…Valkyrie and her squadrons are gone, sir…"

'Minerva! This is Battlestar Yashuman, come in!'

"This is Minerva actual...report."

'I don't know what the frak happened! It was as if a switch had been flicked. She just lost power and they obliterated her…the Vipers too!'

"Any idea as to what could have caused it?" He asked in concern.

'Your guess is as good as mine, commander…oh frak…they're scanning us...com-' The transmission all of a sudden cut for the Yashuman as well and soon another blip dropped off of DRADIS. And then a third, and then a fourth.

"Oh my gods…" Declan said, horrified as one after another, the ships were destroyed.

"Whatever took out the first two must be happening on all of the ships." Everett said.

"Are there any reports coming in from the fleet?" He turned to the Petty Officer.

"Multiple, sir…a whole load of confused chatter. All of the reports mentioned Battlestars just all of a sudden shutting down…a few of them have noticed that the Cylons are scanning them just before they lose total power." She explained, looking over all of the reports.

"I want a full diagnostics report on all of our systems…these systems are built to withstand things like this after the First Cylon War." Declan said as he watched the surviving ships bunch up on DRADIS, obviously not affected.

'Minerva, this is Orion actual. Come in.'

"Go ahead, Orion actual."

'Isolate your Command Navigation Program immediately. When we lost the first vessels, we ran a full diagnostic on our networked systems. The CNP has several well-hidden back doors that we believe the Cylons are using to access and shut down all of our systems.'

"Petty Officer…"

"Already on it, sir. Switching to old navigational program."

'They're launching nukes…' The commander of the Orion sounded resigned. 'May the gods be with you, Minerva…'

Several loud explosions could be heard before the Orion disappeared off of DRADIS. Whilst they'd managed to take out several Basestars, there were just too many and the Raiders were tearing up hundreds upon hundreds of Vipers with very few losses themselves. A siren went off in the CIC then.

"Radiological alarm!" Colonel Everett said and Declan weighed the options for a few moments.

"Prepare all anti-fighter batteries to fire the moment those missiles enter weapons range. Copy that order to the Kvasir.' The commander said, regaining some calm. "I want all fighters no longer using the CNP moved to the launch tubes."

"Yes, sir." Doral said.

Another large screen came online with a camera feed of Commander Dearing, her hair down and uniform in slight disarray. Her crew were also typing into their consoles as alarms went off in the CIC. She looked stern as usual, but she also had a look of concern on her face.

'All weapons are armed and prepared to fire, Commander. We've been monitoring the chatter and have already isolated and purged the ship of the CNP. Our techs have some Vipers ready for use.'

"Good…we're going to hold our positions here until we have had time to evacuate the remaining staff on the shipyards."

"Declan…" Kiera called. "The spaceport…it's isolated from the main population centres and loaded with civilians and several passenger ships. We should evacuate as many as we possibly can."

'President Adar has given an order to stop ships from leaving the Colonies.' Katrina pointed out. 'We should get into the fight…'

"Are you really prepared to sacrifice thousands of lives that could otherwise be saved based on that frakking order?! Because I am not!" Kiera shouted. "We should evacuate civilians. We don't really have the luxury of time to debate this order."

'Commander…it's your call.' Katrina said and Declan gave a small sigh.

"The Cylons are tearing the fleet to shreds…what makes you think we'll fare any better?" Kiera pointed out. "This planet is about to be nuked…millions are going to die. We should evacuate as many people as possible."

"Kiera is right…if we engage them now, we risk losing the fight and the people at the spaceport will still die…I know it seems like cowardice to run…but we should regroup before we take a run at the Cylons." Colonel Everett said. "This ship is known as Minerva for a reason…strategy is important." He said and Declan sighed.

"Right…" He said finally. "We should focus on evacuating as many civilians as we can. Get the staff of the shipyard on board.

"Yes, sir." Colonel Everett tapped his earpiece. "All Marines, head down to the shipyard and begin evacuating as many people as you possibly can."

"Nuclear missiles are within weapons range." Lieutenant Grey reported.

"All batteries commence firing."

Six hundred railguns began firing at the missiles, the wall of rounds destroying several missiles around the shipyard. Several other missiles impacted the surface, a shockwave slamming into the vessels. The lights flickered inside and an alarm went off.

"Damage report." Commander MacRae said.

"No damage to report sir…the armour has blunted the hit. Kvasir is reporting minor damage to one of its sublight thrusters." Grey reported. "Shipyard is still standing. All nukes have made impact across the planet's surface. The Cylons have stopped firing and are focusing on the remaining Battlestars in orbit."

"Send out a message to the surviving Fleet. Message begins: Engaged in civilian rescue operations. Will make a strategic retreat, regroup and then join the fight. Message ends."

"What about the spaceport?" Keira asked.

"Still intact. Port authorities can confirm survivors are still pouring into the port." Williams said.

"Have them start loading the civilian liners with passengers and when all of the seats are full, they are to fill in cargo bays. We're getting as many people off of this planet as we can. Helm, get us to that port."

"Yes, sir."

"Katrina…may the gods watch over you."

'You as well, Declan.'

"Are all shipyard personnel on board?"

"Yes, sir. Disengaging docking clamps, firing up manoeuvring thrusters." Lieutenant Doral said.

The sublight engines on both ships roared as they moved away from the damaged shipyards. Declan took a moment to give a long sigh as the rest of the crew also took in the fact that the Cylons had returned and had launched an attack on their worlds. Kiera was wiping tears from her eyes as she looked at the DRADIS monitor.

"Why'd they break the armistice?" Williams gasped out.

"Why it happened doesn't matter at the moment…" A shaken Doral said. "For now…we need to focus on evacuating survivors and getting the hell out of here."

"Colonel…once we've evacuated and moved the civilians to a safe location, we are going to need to get back into the fight." Declan said. "That said…I'd rather not go into this guns blazing. This ship is known as Minerva. We need a strategy before we engage them. We may just be two Battlestars but we are advanced, heavily armed and well protected."

"Yes, sir…Kvasir may be able to fight in her own right, but she is not capable of engaging multiple baseships at once. If we do engage, Commander Dearing will hang back and provide long range missile fire…or she can draw Raiders away and engage them whilst Minerva takes on much larger vessels. Of course we will need to coordinate with Commander Dearing before we can do so."

"Okay…good…we'll evac the civilians, regroup and see if we can get any other Battlestars around us. We'll launch a counterattack then."

"Yes, sir…"

"Sir! Caprica Interplanetary Spaceport is in view."

"Commence docking procedures. Have personnel posted on the path from the entrance to the cargo bays."

"Yes, sir."

"Prepare anti-fighter batteries for close-in air defence. Can you put me in contact with the civilian ships?" He asked Petty Officer Williams, who nodded. "Do so." He ordered and she did so.

"Go ahead, sir."

"To all civilian ships…this is Commander Declan MacRae, commander of Battlestar Group 49 on the Battlestar Minerva. Concentrate on evacuating civilians. My ships have this entire port covered from missiles."

'This is the Amadea…thank the Lords of Kobol you're here. We copy that order.'

"I'm going to the Arcadia." Kiera said, heading out. "I'll see you out there."

"For the love of the gods, Kiera, please be careful. Get those people off the ground."

"You got it Declan."

"Before you go…" He turned to three marines at the doors. "You three, escort her to the ship. Help facilitate the evacuation."

"Sir!" They nodded, following her.

"Alright…let's go!"

"Commander, we have seven squadrons of inbound Raiders." Lieutenant James Grey reported.

"Launch Vipers to intercept and destroy. We have to buy time for the civilian ships to fill up and get off of the ground. Set topside anti-aircraft batteries to proximity fire." He ordered and the others complied.

'Minerva? This is Kiera on the Arcadia. We're taking on passengers now. Good hunting.' She said and he gave a small smile.

"Copy that, Kiera. We'll keep those fighters off of you."

'Commander MacRae.' Katrina spoke over the comms. 'We've taken on as many passengers as we can. We're disengaging the docking mechanisms and increasing our altitude to shield the passenger ships.'

"Copy that, Commander. We'll be joining you shortly. We're almost at maximum capacity."

"Cylon Raiders have entered Minerva's firing solution."

The lights in the CIC flickered ever slightly as several Raiders strafed the ship, doing very little, if any damage to the vessel. As the point defence guns began to fire, most of the Raiders began to back off to avoid been hit by the rounds. The Vipers pursued them, getting into dogfights with the Colonial fighters holding the advantage.

"Lieutenant Tombs is reporting that we've reached capacity. Marines are redirecting passengers to the civilian ships." Lieutenant Doral reported.

"Disengage docking mechanisms and increase altitude to match the Kvasir. Set underside anti-fighter batteries to proximity fire." Colonel Everett said and the Lieutenant Grey gave an affirmative. "Helm, position us above the spaceport."

"Nav, get us a safe location to jump to. Adamea has disengaged its docking mechanism and is ready to launch as is the Tria and the Empress of Caprica."

"Yes, sir."

"Arcadia, status report." He tapped his headset.

'Passenger capacity has been reached, disengaging docking mechanisms.'

"Copy that. Recall all fighters and spool up the FTL drives. Relay the order to the Kvasir. Time to get the frak out of here." Declan said as another alarm went off.

"Radiological alarm!"

"Nav, do we have a safe place to jump to?"

"Yes, sir. Coordinates have been relayed to all civilian ships and the Kvasir.'

"Spool up the FTL drives so we can get out of here."

The small convoy of six vessels rose above the ruins of the spaceport then and disappeared in a flash of bright light, obliterating what remained of the structure. Seconds later, a missile hit what used to be the docking area, irradiating the area and causing further destruction to the doomed colony of Caprica.

In unoccupied space, the small fleet reappeared, drifting in space. The civilian ships clustered close together whilst the Kvasir approached the larger Battlestar's starboard side. On board Minerva, the shaken crew let out shaky sigh of relief before some of them broke down entirely into tears. Even Everett was shaky as he took off his glasses. Declan was propped up by his elbows on the central table.

"Alright then…" Declan said shakily. "Lets get our bearings…find out what's going on out there and see where we are needed."

"We're needed back on Caprica, sir…" Doral said softly.

"Caprica is gone, Lieutenant." Everett said gruffly. "They nuked the entire frakking planet. There is no Caprica to go back to!"

"Colonel…now is not the time to start shouting. Petty Officer Williams, can you transmit a message to all Colonial units, see if we can reach an Admiral?" He asked and she nodded. "Message begins: This is Battlestar Minerva, flagship of BSG 49. Situation report. Where can we help? Message ends."

"What if the rest of the fleet has been incapacitated?"

"We'll take every possibility into account, Colonel…If we're going to fight the Cylons with limited manpower, we need to plan every single move we intend to make.

I hope I was able to address some plot holes here. Keep me posted!