Chapter Nine: Line of Duty

Caprica, City of Tzorah:

"Come on and wake up, I didn't think you'd be such a lightweight," a woman's voice said.

"Just how much of the tranquilizer did you shoot him with?" another woman's voice asked.

"It was enough to make sure he got transported here without waking up," the other woman said.

Major Arthur Wallace of the Ministry of Intelligence stirred and began to come to life as his mind attempted to clear the mental fog that had enveloped it. "What happened?"

"The plan didn't quite go according to plan," the voice of the first woman he had heard said as she knelt down beside where Wallace was lying on the floor.

"I thought the plan was for you to use blanks when you shot at us," Wallace said as he sat up and felt the sore spot on his neck where he had been shot.

"Yeah about that; seems we used the tranquilizer rounds instead of the blanks. We were in a hurry and we grabbed the wrong ones. You were only supposed to be out for a couple of hours, but it appears you got the full dose," she said.

"Carmen, please tell me it was worth it," Wallace said wearily. Carmen Bayonet was a recent acquaintance but if he was to make the extraction of the Erebea agent from Tzorah work he would need her help.

Bayonet smirked at him. "Would you honestly expect any less of me? Especially in light of what you're offering me, there was no way my team wouldn't get the job done."

"Where are Tank and Heavy?" Wallace asked. Brothers Darrell and David Robinson were two of his most trusted associates. Darrell, known as Tank, was Wallace's friend, going all the way back to their high school days on their Aquaria. David had been given the nickname 'Heavy' and was as loyal to Wallace as Tank was.

"They're in the next room. The rest of my team is in the other room that adjoins this one. As for your two friends, they had a larger dose of the tranquilizer so there's still time before they wake up," Bayonet said.

"I hope you're right; they won't be too happy about being knocked out. Did you at least let Little Tank get away?" Wallace asked. Derrek 'Little Tank' Robinson was the youngest of the Robinson brothers and served as Wallace's Raptor pilot. He did not have the same loyalty as his brothers; instead focusing on the financial benefits that would come his way.

"That was part of the plan, wasn't it?" Bayonet asked.

"Yes it was, he's out ticket out of here," Wallace said. With Little Tank waiting to pick them up it was just a matter of sending him a message to let him know they were ready for extraction.

There was a loud banging on the wooden door and it shook violently with each hit. Both Wallace and Bayonet looked stunned as they heard a series of angry shouts.

"I take it your friends woke up," Bayonet said.

"They may not be in as good of a mood as I am," Wallace replied quickly as he got on his feet and started towards the door.

As the two rushed to the door there was a sudden loud crack as wood splintered and the heavy door broke apart and fell to the ground. Standing there were Tank and Heavy with looks on their faces that left little to no doubt about how angry they were.

"I knew I should have given them a heavier dose," Bayonet muttered.

"You're going to regret that!" Tank bellowed as he and his brothers began to advance.

"That's enough!" Wallace called out as he got in Tank's path.

"She tried to kill us!" Tank argued.

"Nonsense, we hit you with a heavy tranquilizer that put you in a deep sleep," one of the group of women said from the doorframe. The door that led to the other adjoining room had silently slid open in the commotion.

"She's right," Bayonet said before adding, "If we wanted to put an end to your lives we could have done it easily enough."

"Why did you even do it to begin with?" Heavy asked.

"If you would let go of your anger for even a second Carmen could explain it," the woman standing in the doorframe said.

"Who the frak is Carmen?" Heavy asked.

"That would be me," Bayonet said as she stepped from behind Wallace. "I'm Carmen Bayonet and the women you met are part of my group, the Furies, so now that you know that let me explain a few things to you."

"Good because I have a long list of questions for you," Tank said.

Bayonet did not seem too worried about his tone of voice as she continued, "We are a group of former members of the Tzorah Police Department. We realized that the corruption in the police ran too deep for any of us to make a difference while we wore a uniform so we resigned and became vigilantes. We go after the criminals that are protected by the Mayor or the Chief. During a raid against one of the minor gangsters in the city we apprehended a man by the name of Olen Noric. After some gentle questioning he confided that he was a member of the Erebea and was willing to give information on the group in exchange for his life."

Wallace jumped into the conversation. "My sources in Tzorah had already mentioned that Noric was a soft target that could be turned against the Erebea. When I heard he had been captured, I reached out to Carmen and made her a deal. She would hold onto Noric and keep him safe until I could arrange to transport both him and the Furies out of Tzorah."

Tank looked at Bayonet skeptically. "Now if you're so determined to clear your name why are you and your women so eager to get out of here?"

"Because the Mayor and the Chief of Police are both corrupt and in league together. The net is closing in on us and we have come close to being caught several times," Bayonet said.

"The incident at Fortuna Bay was a cover so that Mayor Bowers and Chief Palma would believe that the Furies had taken prisoners during a deal that had gone bad, something that they tend to do as vigilantes," Wallace said before adding, "The Furies were supposed to have used blanks when they fired at us but instead used tranquilizer darts and that caused some complications for the plan."

"Arthur, you knew about this?" Tank asked.

"We'll talk about it later," Wallace replied.

"Would you really do something like that?" Heavy asked.

"We'll talk about it later," Wallace repeated.

There was a noise upstairs of glass breaking and doors slamming open followed by muffled shouts.

"That can't be good," Wallace said.

Bayonet shook her head. "It's not good; it appears Bowers has tracked us down."

"Are we going to fight our way out?" Tank asked.

Bayonet shot him a sly grin. "No, but they're going to regret barging in like that."

"What crazy stunt do you have in mind?" Heavy asked.

"Alexis, we're initiating the Silas Protocol," Bayonet said to the woman standing in the doorframe.

Alexis Mariner immediately ran to a nearby cabinet and pressed a button. "We should have about ten minutes to get out of here."

"What's the Silas Protocol?" Wallace asked.

"This building wasn't always abandoned; it was a warehouse where Silas Chemicals stored products before they were shipped out to stores. We've set the building to explode if we were ever discovered. We can get Noric and ourselves out of here through a secret passage and come out near the docks," Bayonet said before she started giving orders to the other women in the group.

"When this is over we are going to have a talk about you knocking me out," Tank said to her.

Bayonet turned around and looked him in the eyes. "You and I can sort this out later but right now I'd rather get all of us out of here before those goons find us."

Minutes later Heavy and Tank were carrying a still unconscious Oren Noric through the secret passage.

"How do you plan to keep them from finding us?" Wallace asked.

"That door blends into the wall seamlessly, and I'm about to seal it shut," she said as she entered a number combination of a nearby keypad.

"What about the Carolina?" Tank asked.

"They have a note from Major Wallace telling them to wait for us; his signature was easier to forge than I thought it would have been," Bayonet said.

"You do realize that they were going to leave anyway," Wallace said before adding, "Little Tank was our actual way out of here. The Carolina's crew did not receive the password to stay so they left, which works to our advantage. I'm sure any spies would think we're trapped here even though we have a Raptor ready to take us away.

"You conveniently left that part of the plan out," Bayonet said.

"I'll schedule you in after I have my talk with Tank," Wallace quickly replied.

"This tunnel runs a long way, we have a long haul," Bayonet said after realizing that talking to Wallace would have to wait.

"Not necessarily," Wallace said before adding, "I suggested this building as your headquarters for a reason."

"Yes, you mentioned the secret passage that runs to the docks," Bayonet said.

"There's more to this than you realize. This warehouse was used by the Ha'la'tha during the days before the Cylon War, there's a transport train hidden further down that will take us to another section of the docks where there aren't many people to see us," Wallace said.

"If you can find that train then we'd be fools to not use it," Bayonet said as she stepped aside to let Wallace lead the group.

Wallace pulled out an encrypted mobile phone and quickly sent a message to Little Tank to meet them at their new location. "Let's get moving."

In the industrial section of Tzorah there was a large explosion of fire and debris as the former Silas Chemicals Warehouse was destroyed. Officially it would be blamed on trapped chemical vapor that had somehow ignited when the power to the building was turned back on. Unofficially, the Mayor and Chief of Police knew that it was a part of their ongoing war with the Furies.

Seventeen Minutes Later:

Tzorah, City Docks, A. D. Thomson Transport:

The old section of the Tzorah docks had belonged to the A. D. Thomson Transport Company. The company was out of business now, but the current owners refused to sell for less than they believed was the ideal price. As a result, the docks were now abandoned and free from prying eyes. It was here that Derrek Little Tank Robinson kept an eye on his civilian model Raptor and waited for the people he would be transporting.

"What kind of mess has Arthur gotten me into this time?" Little Tank said with disgust as he went through another series of checks to make sure that the Raptor was in optimal condition for flying. He looked out at the sea and saw the dark clouds of a storm on the horizon.

He knew his brothers would follow Arthur Wallace in whatever venture he was involved, no matter what was asked of them. He most certainly did not share their enthusiasm; in his eyes as long as the pay was good he would do what was needed and keep his opinions to himself. He was sure Wallace was aware of his feelings but must have figured that as long as his pilot did his job then there was nothing to worry about.

It did not mean he had to like where he was though. He had spent time on Caprica, but had never come to the city of Tzorah or the area of the continent where it was located. He had felt a sense of unease from the moment he stepped out of his Raptor and onto the ground, and he was not sure if it was some sort of instinctual response or the reports he had read on the city. He had the feeling of being watched and if this city's government and police department was as corrupt as the reports said then he was probably under surveillance. Being so exposed out here in the open sent a cold shiver down his spine.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not immediately notice the opening of a door at the far edge of one of the abandoned storehouses. The large metal door made a large clanking sound as it was rolled away to allow the people behind it to exit the building.

"Little Tank, fire up the Raptor!" Wallace called out as he walked out of the building at a casual pace.

"I'm on it!" Little Tank said as he turned to climb back into the Raptor. It was then that he heard a distinct sound of the ground where splintering as a bullet made impact where he had stood.

"Someone's shooting at me!" Little Tank yelled as he backed away more quickly towards the Raptor.

"Double time it people!" Wallace yelled as more bullets began to ping the ground near them.

Little Tank made it into the Raptor and began to start the engines, he had no intention of taking longer than he had to in order to get away from this gods-forsaken place.

He did not have to wait long as the group quickly jumped into the Raptor and crashed to the compartment floor.

"Get us out of here!" Wallace ordered.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Little Tank said as he got the Raptor off the ground and quickly ascended into the Caprican sky. He felt the Raptor's body take a decent amount of bullets that were fired into it, but felt thankful that it was not having any ill effects.

Erebea Transport Ship Isen:

The transport ship Isen was a relic from the days before the Cylon War, a ship that the Tauron military had used for transporting soldiers to whatever conflict they would be needed to take part in. Back when the Erebea first came into being, the Isen had been turned into what was essentially a personal yacht for the group's leader. Cinta Melati had inherited it from Admiral Pierre Renoir after his death when she had taken over as leader of the Erebea.

Melati's shuttle had abandoned the base and docked with the Isen. As Admiral of the Erebea Melati's word was law and she had insisted on keeping the Isen on the far edge of the system so she could witness the destruction of the group's base. She knew that there were Erebea soldiers staying behind. They would sacrifice their lives so that they could take down as many of the Colonial military personnel as they could. Now here she was in the starboard observation lounge watching as one battlestar, twelve faststars, and four troop transport vessels came into view. She knew some would argue with her reasons for staying to watch but she wanted to both honor the sacrifice of her people and keep the images of the Colonial Fleet destroying one of her stations burned into her mind to fuel the hatred in her heart.

"The Colonial Fleet has jumped into the system," Armas Lehtonen said.

"Admiral, may I suggest we leave right away," Madelyn Zsuzsi, her new second-in-command, recommended.

Melati shook her head. "No, I owe it to those brave souls on that base to watch their sacrifice."

"If I may interject, the longer we stay here the more likely we are to be seen. I'm sure we've got to be on their DRADIS by now," Lehtonen said.

"We'll be safe here; they're too concerned to worry about us," Melati countered.

"I have to agree with Armas," Zsuzsi said.

Melati shook her head. "It's an insult to them for me to not stay here and watch until the end."

"I'm your second-in-command, and you know I would never try to steer you wrong. You want to honor those sacrifices then the best thing you can do is jump away and prepare for the next confrontation. Otherwise, you could be killed and they could have died for nothing!" Zsuzsi pleaded.

"You may want to turn and run from the Colonial Fleet but I refuse to do so, if they want to come after me then I will stay right here and dare them to try!" Melati declared.

"Admiral, I know you don't want to do this but it's for the best. If you die here then who will take over the Erebea?" Lehtonen asked.

"Someone will take over, there will always be someone waiting in the wings to fill the vacuum left behind," Melati said.

"You know as well as I do, there is not one of the higher ups of Tauron blood who have what it takes to lead us," Zsuzsi said.

"There may be those who can inspire confidence in time," Melati retorted.

"Yes there could be, but right now the Colonial Fleet is trying to destroy us and time is not a luxury we can afford," Lehtonen said in hopes that he could get through to Melati.

"Damn them for putting me in this situation," she muttered under her breath as she saw the Colonial Fleet ships begin to get in what she assumed to be attack formation.

"There is no shame in leaving; at least you can be guaranteed to live to fight another day," Zsuzsi said.

There was a long pause as Melati's mind fought over what the next course of action would be. She realized that both Zsuzsi and Lehtonen were right and she was needlessly putting their lives in danger. Then the other part of her mind argued that what she wanted to do was the only correct and proper action and that as a leader she needed to set an example.

Finally she said in a resigned voice, "Jump the ship."

Faststar Palaiologos, CIC:

The small circular CIC of the Palaiologos looked claustrophobic in comparison to the CICs of larger warships, but none of the crew at their stations seemed too concerned about this. Ministry of Intelligence Captain Whitney Thompson thought this over as she walked across the back end of the CIC and entered a room that was designed for a flag officer. The Palaiologos and a select group of the Clemson class had been modified while under construction to serve as flagships for the faststar task groups that operated in packs during the Cylon War. Right now this room was where Commander Geoffrey Mandeville would command his twelve faststars during the battle.

Thompson entered the room and saw Mandeville in conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Constantine Pierozzi, the Commanding Officer of the Palaiologos.

"Am I interrupting something?" Thompson asked.

Mandeville quietly said something and Pierozzi turned and left the room without saying a word.

"No, Ms. Thompson, just doing some last-second logistical checks before we start the battle," Mandeville said.

"Are the faststars ready?" she asked.

Mandeville let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Do you really think I'd put my ships in harm's way if they weren't?"

"Fair enough, I guess I'm a little jumpy after what happened last time," Thompson said. The last time she had been on a faststar engaging the Erebea she had been on the Robert Smith when it had sustained serious damage. She was injured in the attack and in the back of her mind she was still nervous when she was on one of these types of ships.

"Understandable, there's been some last minute tweaking of the battle plan but it should all work," Mandeville said as he looked over one of the papers arranged in front of the desk where he was standing.

"Anything I need to worry about?" she asked.

Mandeville shook his head. "We're just going to split up the faststars into three groups. Two groups are going to form a pincer and attack from the sides while the Libran is going to go up the middle and use its guns and Vipers to hit the base head on."

"Will that pave the way for the Ministry transports to board the station?" she asked.

"That's the idea we're going with," Mandeville said before continuing, "The Vipers and faststars will provide enough cover for the transports to safely board. According to the intelligence reports your people gave us, the Erebea have a minimal amount of armament on this particular base so any damage we take should be minimal."

"You sound confident this is going to work," Thompson said.

Mandeville smiled at her. "I'm sure in every battle the planners on both sides did what they could to get the best result. We've planned as best we could; now it's just a matter of putting it into action and seeing what the fates have in mind for us."

"If I may ask, how many losses are you going to consider acceptable?"

"Ms. Thompson, I know that there will be losses and I'm prepared for that. However, if I had my way, this battle will go in such a way where we don't lose one person."

"You know as well as I do that it's the inevitable part of conflict," Thompson said.

Mandeville nodded, "Yes it is, and as the officer in charge of the faststars it weighs on me."

"You seem to be more negative than I imagined you would be. You have a battlestar and twelve faststars leading a team of ex-military MoI officers to take out a major Erebea base. When you think about it, you really do have the upper hand."

"Maybe it's just my instincts telling me that there's something wrong. By all rights this should be an easy victory for us, we should be able to knock out those defenses and take that base over. Something just tells me it's not going to be that easy."

Thompson wanted to argue more but simply said, "I hope you're not offended when I say that I want your instincts to be wrong."

Battlestar Libran, CIC:

"And away we go…" Commander Nicholas Tattnall said as he looked up at the DRADIS screen above Command and Control.

"We've talked about getting payback, now here's our chance," Colonel Susan Minerva observed.

The two officers' eyes were fixed on the movement of the twelve Clemson class faststars moving into the pincer formation that Commander Geoffrey Mandeville had envisioned during the strategy sessions leading up to the battle. The Libran and its Vipers would plow a way for the Ministry of Intelligence troop transports that were to come behind them.

"Commander, Major Shannon sends word that the Vipers are ready for launch on your orders," Lieutenant James Ward, the Libran's Communications Officer, announced from his station.

"Excellent; has Commander Mandeville sent word about his faststars?" Tattnall asked. Major Cynthia 'Heater' Shannon had recently taken over as CAG of the Libran and this would be her first real chance to lead the air group into combat.

"The faststars are reporting that they are in position and ready to begin the attack," replied Lieutenant Lancelot Freyburg, the Libran's Tactical Officer.

"Mr. Ward, send word to Major Shannon that the Vipers are cleared to launch and that I want a squadron held back in case of an emergency. Which one stays behind I leave to her discretion," Tattnall said.

"Sir, Commander Mandeville has sent over the revised plan of attack for the faststars," Freyburg said as he delivered a stack of papers detailing the finalized plan of attack that Mandeville had created for his group of faststars.

"Is there anything of interest?" Minerva asked.

"Some minor changes but nothing that really stands out," Tattnall said as he went through the plans.

"I guess there's only one thing left to do," Minerva said.

"Indeed, it's time we got this underway," Tattnall said before ordering that the battle against the Erebea base begin.

Three Weeks Later:

Caprica City, Chatham Hotel, Room 521:

"This whole thing is a load of crap," Captain John Ashe said as he looked out the window of his hotel room at the traffic moving on the street below. The commanding officer of the Gladiators, the Ministry of Intelligence's task force designated for engaging the Erebea, had traded in his combat fatigues for a custom tailored black suit.

"You won't hear me argue, but it seems Headquarters wants us to play nice with the Colonial Fleet," Lieutenant Shaylyn Rexana said. She too was a part of the Gladiators and had served as the explosives expert for the mission against the Erebea base.

"You did well out there, Shay," Ashe said as he turned his attention to the woman in the blue business dress that looked like she could have been a lawyer instead of a person who knew almost every type of explosive.

"I could have done better," she retorted.

"What happened to Garza, Selim, Lane, and Royal was not your fault," he shot back immediately.

"It feels like it but you don't need to beat yourself up over what happened," MoI Lieutenant Victoria Bryant said as she walked into the room, "I'm just hoping that the board of inquiry will feel the same way."

"Lieutenant Bryant, I'm glad you were able to join us," Ashe said.

Bryant walked over to where the two were standing, "Sergeant Wren and I were told that we would be needed here today instead of next week."

"Why would they do that?" Rexana asked.

"Because our employers want to get our questioning out of the way as quickly as possible," Sergeant Solomon Wren said as he and a familiar raven-haired woman came into the room.

"I can't argue with their decision, the sooner this is over with the sooner we can get on to more pressing matters," Darya Ravenscroft said.

"They got the rest of the surviving Gladiators questioned yesterday, so now it's our turn," Ashe said. The previous day Michael Lott, Clarissa Shaw, Sonya Rollins, and Rachel Haley had testified to what had taken place on the base during the boarding.

"I doubt any of you have to worry too much, I've been in contact with Gray and this all seems to be a formality," the distinctively rich Caprican accent of Major Evan Windsor announced.

"Major Windsor," Ashe said with a hint of surprise to his voice, "I wasn't expecting you to pay us a visit."

"Major Wallace is having his Q & A session at Headquarters today so it fell on me to oversee things here on Caprica," Windsor said as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

Rexana spoke up. "If this is a mere formality, then why are we even going through with it?"

"Because the Colonial Fleet was very insistent on doing so, and if we're going to continue this operation we need to play nice," Windsor said.

"Do you think we're going to be raked over the coals?" Wren asked.

"I'm sure the admirals and the directors are going to talk tough and give us the impression that we are the mother of all frak-ups, but it will blow over as it has always done. We all have the after-action reports and they have been read thoroughly," Windsor said.

"They aren't too upset about the losses we suffered?" Ashe asked.

"Headquarters knew that there would be losses. Granted, they would have preferred to have lost fewer people than we did but the Gladiators performed admirably. Director Shea also put in a commendation for Lieutenant Rexana for her quick thinking when the scuttling charges were ready to detonate," Windsor said.

Rexana spoke up. "I was still unable to save all of my team members."

"It's part of the job, a risk we all take and they knew that going in. If you want to blame somebody for that then blame the Erebea; they're our enemy in this fight and they jury rigged those explosives to go off like they did," Windsor said in what he thought would allay Rexana's guilt.

"When are we leaving for the inquiry?" Ravenscroft asked.

"A vehicle will arrive in approximately two and a half to three hours to take us to Second Fleet Headquarters. The plan is to interview a group of Colonial Fleet officers before they interview us, sort of the reverse of how the questioning went yesterday. Just keep making yourselves at home and when the time comes you can answer whatever questions are asked of you and get this whole messed up affair over with," Windsor said.

"Major, what's your opinion of the operation?" Ashe asked.

"I think you and the Gladiators did a damn fine job against circumstances you had no control over. I also hate losing people, and if the rumors are true and someone fed information to the Erebea than that person had better hope I never find out his or her identity," Windsor said before turning to leave the room.

As he left the room and headed down the hallway towards the elevator Windsor's mind was busy running down a mental list of names he suspected could have been responsible for what had taken place. As he pressed the button to summon the elevator he realized that there was only one logical explanation for what had happened…Arthur Wallace had betrayed the Ministry of Intelligence. The two had an intense personal and professional rivalry that had not cooled with time and at times seemed to border on an intense dislike that could easily be described as hatred. Even if there was a chance it was clouding his judgment the evidence in his mind was conclusive that Wallace was not to be trusted and was probably a traitor that had to be dealt with.

Caprica City, Caprica, Second Fleet Headquarters:

Snowden Building, Main Entrance:

"That's who this building was named after?" Commander Nicholas Tattnall asked as he gazed up at the large oil painting of a man in the dress uniform of a Caprican Navy admiral.

"Admiral Maurice Snowden, the man who turned back the Virgonian Fleet during one of the last attempts to invade Caprica. This used to be the headquarters for the Caprican Navy, now the Colonial Fleet uses it," Commander Geoffrey Mandeville said.

"Now we're here to answer the Admiralty's questions about our battle at the Erebea base," Colonel Susan Minerva said.

"I can't say I blame them for wanting to know all the facts, but it feels like a waste of time with the Erebea still out there," Tattnall said.

"Any word from our Ministry of Intelligence friends?" Tattnall asked.

"I think they are going to wrap up their hearings by the end of today or later on in the week. From what I heard is that Gray was not happy to have their people called into a Board of Inquiry," Mandeville said.

"Well Gray can take its concerns and get over it," Minerva said. Gray was the city on Picon where the Ministry of Intelligence was headquartered. Sometimes it was possible to use the city's name in place of the Ministry and have it understood.

"I just hope we're going on for an honest question and answer session," Mandeville said.

Tattnall nodded. "Me too, the last thing our careers need is to be blamed for what went wrong with the mission."

"We accomplished our goal but, sadly there were losses," Minerva said.

Mandeville pressed the button to summon the elevator. "That was to be expected. I don't think we were prepared for the Erebea to fight as hard as they did."

"I don't think we realized just how well armed that station was," Tattnall said.

"Not until it was too late," Minerva said as the arrows pointing 'Up' blinked on the elevator doors opened for the three to make their ascent to the Fifteenth Floor.

"The Erebea played their cards well in that game of Triad," Mandeville said.

"They were sneaky bastards, I don't know if the planners realized that they would go to the extremes that they went to," Tattnall said.

"I would love to find out how the Erebea got their hands on Excalibur defense guns. Those things did some serious damage to the faststars and even gave the Libran its fair share of bruises," Minerva said.

"That is something I have to wonder about," Tattnall said. The Excalibur guns were heavy guns designed to damage most types of ships. They were used on Colonial Fleet installations during the Cylon War but it was believed that all had been decommissioned and scrapped as a result of the latest rounds of defense cuts that had been approved by the Adar Administration.

"If Colonial Military Intelligence can't answer that question then perhaps the Ministry of Intelligence can do something useful and find out for us," Mandeville said.

Snowden Building, Fifteenth Floor, Main Conference Room:

"Commanders Tattnall and Mandeville are here along with Colonel Minerva," one of the aides announced to the three flag officers who had assembled to carry out the court of inquiry.

"They're early," Vice Admiral William Standley said with an amused smile on his face.

"If they had been on time they'd have been considered late," Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd said.

"I'm curious as to what they have to say," Rear Admiral George Darby said.

"They're the first ones we have today," Standley said before adding, "We still have the Libran's CAG and squadron commanders to question. Then there's the Marine and Ministry of Intelligence force that actually boarded the station."

"Did Admiral Wilson give any recommendations for how we should proceed?" Darby asked.

Standley shook his head. "He said he wants to make sure that we find out everything that we can. The losses we suffered were not acceptable in his eyes."

"If this is so important to him, then why isn't he here for this?" Kidd asked.

"He has a meeting with President Adar, and there was no way he could reschedule," Standley said.

A door on the side of the room opened and in walked the three directors from the Ministry of Intelligence that would be taking part in the inquiry. Hiram Waters, Michael Herron, and Marvin Schuler entered the room and it was clear by the stern look on their faces that the tone for this conference would not be pleasant on their end.

"Directors, we're glad you were able to make it for today's hearings," Standley said.

"Perhaps today's hearings will go better than yesterday," Waters said as he took the seat at the conference table that he had occupied yesterday.

"I personally thought yesterday went quite well," Kidd said.

"That's because yesterday involved our people in the operation and your insistence that we are somewhat to blame for what happened," Schuler said hotly.

"That's because there's a good case to be made that someone in your organization fed the Erebea classified documents involving the Libran and its faststar escorts," Darby said.

"If that's the game we're going to play then how come your people did not know that some of the Excalibur defense guns managed to elude the scrap yard?" Herron asked.

"Since you and your organization seem to know everything that every citizen in the Colonies is doing you should have no problem at all finding that out. Because believe me we would love to know!" Darby said heatedly.

"Is there really a reason for you being so angry?" Waters asked.

"One battlestar is going to be in the dockyard for three weeks for repairs and that has required us to change our maintenance schedule for our battlestars," Kidd said.

"So you're only upset because we are inconveniencing some yard workers?" Schuler asked incredulously.

"No, but there's more," Darby said as he pulled out a list of ship names for the three directors to look at, "We had twelve faststars that took part in the attack. Out of those there was severe damage done to the Robert Smith, Asturias, Velos, Chatham, Warrington, Gerhardt, Aspis, Asturias, and Psara were all seriously damaged in the attack and there are debates going on as to whether they are worth the effort needed to repair them and return them to service."

"That sounds like a problem for you and not something we should be concerned with," Herron said.

"That would be true but the problem is that your people discovered detailed deck plans for the Clemson class faststars as well as reports dating back to the Cylon War that showed a major structural weak spot on the ships that if hit in the right spot could seriously disable the ship," Standley said.

"So that is your proof that someone has been aiding the Erebea?" Waters asked.

"I think we need to leave our options open on this issue," Kidd said before adding, "The Libran and its mission is not exactly known to many people so it would make sense for someone in the Ministry of Intelligence to smuggle the plans to the Erebea," Kidd said.

"That should be the end of your list of complaints," Schuler said.

"There is one last thing that should be pointed out," Kidd said.

"There always is," Waters said.

"Commander Tattnall was incapacitated during the battle and Colonel Minerva had to assume command of the battlestar; she decided to call for assistance and nearby Colonial Fleet units answered her call. If one of your people passed on sensitive Fleet information to the Erebea then he or she managed to expose this joint operation of ours," Darby said.

"You may have a point," Herron reluctantly admitted.

"President Adar has assured me that he will do everything within his power to make sure the Libran and its mission will not be in danger of being called off," Standley said.

"It's been two years now since those bastards kidnapped his sister and niece. I can't blame the man for holding a grudge," Waters said. It was two years ago when the Erebea joined forces with the Sagittaron Liberation Army to kidnap Rachael and Renee Adar in order to force the independence of Tauron and Sagittaron.

"From what I've heard he won't be happy until the Erebea is wiped out and all of its members either dead or imprisoned," Kidd said. He thought of his eldest son, Ensign Walter Kidd, a Viper pilot on the Illustrious, and wondered if he would have to help in this vendetta the President was using the Colonial Fleet to carry out.

Standley finally said, "Let's worry about who may be feeding information to the Erebea after the inquiry is over. We don't want to keep our guests waiting."

An aide was sent to escort Tattnall, Mandeville, and Minerva into the room. The six members making up the board of inquiry each tried to mentally prepare for the upcoming round of questioning but in their minds they wondered who it could have been that gave the Erebea such valuable information, and just how much damage had this person caused…