Disclaimer: I do not own Battlestar

Cerberus

The Scorpion Shipyards were busy these days. With the recent ambush on Cylon defences due to the Ghost Fleet Mission, there were always Battlestars of all sorts coming in and out of the shipyards, either to repair, refuel, reload or head back out into the field again.

It was the Scorpion Shipyards that afforded Wilma Mellor her first look at her new home.

Virtually gleaming in drydock was the Jupiter class Battlestar Cerberus. The newest ship in the fleet, the younger sister of the still virtually untested Galactica, this was the ship that was to be her new home, the ship where she would be spending the next three years of her service.

Wilma watched as she approached the shipyard, her shuttle heading to the flight pods to land. She and the others onboard were being transferred to the new ship for her inaugural flight. She was a slight woman, quite small and slim. She had piercing green eyes, and red hair, streaked with gold, fell to just beneath her shoulders. And a sense of excitement was filling her as the beautiful ship came into view.

Glittering in space, her name sparkling in the light, the ship was a hive of activity as she was loaded up with shuttles, Raptors and Vipers. Her four engines were idling nicely, her red stripes just completed and the colonial insignia marking the CIC and the centre of the ship. Cerberus was ready to go, and now all it needed was for it's crew to be complete.

Wilma smiled as her shuttle entered the port flight pod. She was here and now she wanted to get right down to it.

She couldn't wait.

XX

"They can't be serious." Commander Dorothy Mandell, the new commanding officer of the newly launched Battlestar Cerberus said in disdain as she looked over her orders.

"Apparently they are." Captain Grant Maine, her tactical officer and third in command said in his grim voice.

He looked at her, suppressing amusement as the shorter woman muttered under her breath. She was of medium height, her hair was pitch black and was pulled back into a tight bun. Her ice blue eyes and face were just as sharp as her mind, and she had been his commanding officer ever since the war had begun. Having served on Battlestars since her graduation, she had rarely been out of the CIC, and after starting out as a communications officer on the patrol ship Jupiter twenty years back, since then she had been given command of police vessels and interception vessels to help keep the peace of the Colonies. With the beginning of the Cylon War, she had been given command of the Orion class Battlestar Isis, which she had commanded masterfully for the last nine years.

Until the fateful mission last year.

After intercepting a transmission from a nearby damaged Cylon basestar, Mandell had jumped the Isis in to investigate. They had easily found the damaged ship, and had discovered that the ship had sustained heavy damage from another Battlestar, despite there being no reports of it. Mandell had had the Isis investigate, sensing no life from the Basestar and curious to know what had happened. They had found out all too soon.

Two Basestars had then dropped in, with a rather large gap in the middle. Mandell had ordered an immediate retreat, aiming the Isis up the middle of the two Basestars and leaving the damaged Basestar behind. As the Isis has been escaping, the damaged Basestar had opened fire to their alarm, damaging their launch capabilities on one side, meaning only half their Vipers could be launched. Raiders were swarming all around the ship, pounding at the ship as were three Basestars (their initial target was damaged yes, but apparently its weapons and engines still worked), and the Isis only had half their fighter force to defend it. Mandell had led her crew well, and had been about to order the ship to ram a Basestar when to her great relief and delight a Jupiter class Battlestar, named the Charbydis had appeared right in the centre of the enemy formation. Mandell had thought they were saved.

Until the Charbydis had fired a nuke right into the prow of the Isis.

The blast had caught the ship on the prow, right above the command section, blasting most of it off and venting most of the command crew into space. Mandell, barely surviving, had managed to get the survivors out of the room, just as the Cylons, seeing their peril, began sending suicide runs slamming into the already dead hulk of the Isis. One raider had slammed into the bridge just as the blast doors had closed, and it was an exploding round that had led to Maine's disfigurement. Carrying her screaming third in command, her second in command dead as were most her command crew, shrapnel in her side and bleeding everywhere, she and the three other survivors from the bridge had taken Maine to the blazing port flight pod, to try and find a ship as everything in the starboard one was out fighting.

Meeting up with Doctor Yeager, who grimly told them of the destruction of the starboard flight deck, they, the deck hands and various other crew members who were there made for the last remaining Raptors. The first Raptor had blasted a hole in the burning side of the ship, forcing itself into space as it took off, though failed to escape the attacks of Raiders. The other three Raptors had then followed it out, with a wounded Mandell ordering their last six Vipers to form up as they made their way away from the doomed Isis. They had then watched as the Isis detonated, and though the Vipers joined them, they were outnumbered, outgunned and outmatched. Another Raptor was destroyed as were two more of the Vipers before Yeager calculated the jump, and with the other Raptor and last four Vipers in tow, they had barely escaped with their lives, the hulk of the Isis burning behind them, destroyed by Cylon treachery.

And by the Charbydis.

Upon their return, they had all been debriefed, and Mandell had reported the treason of the Charbydis. A long process had followed, and the Admiralty were desperate to hide the fact that there was a rogue Battlestar working with the Cylons. And so, as was their response to a lot of things, their response was to pretend it wasn't happening. No reports were made. Though the president was informed about the betrayal of the Battlestar, no one else was, and so, the public remained unaware that the Charbydis had turned traitor, eager to hide the new that the war wasn't going their way despite what they told the public.

And then Mandell, who had lost her command, most of her crew and was sitting by Maine's bedside, had received a visit from the Admiral himself, who had given her a simple choice: never mention the Charbydis again, drop all investigations into it and cut out all mention of it from the report, and earn the same measure from her crew, or else, she would be given the blame for the destruction of the Isis, lost by her stubborn belief that her little ship, unable to combat even one Basestar, had arrogantly taken on three and had resulted in its destruction, which would result in court-martial, dishonourable discharge and death by firing squad.

Given no choice, Mandell had begrudgingly acquiesced, vowing to get to the bottom of the Charbydis affair no matter what it cost, and her crew had been split up or discharged, and now, only she, Maine and Yeager remained. In return for her cooperation, the admiral had given her command of the Cerberus and now she was eager to take command once again, with a Jupiter class Battlestar at her disposal. And she was eager to get to the bottom of what had led to the deaths of one hundred and forty two members of her crew, the destruction of her fine little ship and more importantly, why the Charbydis had turned rogue and what the hell the Admiralty were playing at hushing something like that up.

Maine knew her well enough to know her faith was shaken, in the system, in her own abilities and in the rightness of their cause. After all, what could possibly have caused the Charbydis, it's commander, and its crew of three and a half thousand to possibly turn traitor against the Colonies and attack those that were meant to be their allies?

Mandell sighed as she looked across at Maine, still seething about her orders, to his amusement. A well built man, grizzled and scarred by the war, the left side of his face was burned away, and his left eye was gone, instead replaced by a glowing red artificial eye, giving him some resemblance to a Cylon, much to the alarm of many of the younger crew. And in the absence of an XO, the two of them were now standing in Mandell's quarters, looking at the bizarre orders that the Cerberus had been given for its first mission.

Newly commissioned Battlestars were usually given easy missions, so they could break in the crew and get used to the ship. And while their mission did include the usual milk runs, the rest of it was hardly a task for a new Battlestar, it wasn't even a task for the entire fleet.

"Command can't really believe the Cylons want to sue for peace." Mandell said in disbelief, and Maine shrugged.

"Seems that they do. Personally I wouldn't trust the toasters as far as I could throw one, but this could change everything. If they mean it, the war could end within months." Maine pointed out, and Mandell frowned.

"You're right, it could. But by now we're used to Cylon double-dealing, this could easily be a trap. And who else would the Admiralty put in charge of such a mission other than us, who have the potential to embarrass them greatly, so why not shove us off somewhere and hope the Cylons get rid of us?" she asked derisively, and Maine frowned.

"What, you think this is some sort of plan by the Admiralty to get us out the way?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Not on the whole, I've seen the request, it does seem legit. But let's just say there's a good chance that this could turn into a one way trip and what better way to get us out of the road than by sending us on a mission like this?" she asked, and he had to admit, she had a point. Many a good commander who found out something they weren't meant to or did something they shouldn't have either found themselves on the receiving end of a bad mission, or forced into unimportant roles where they couldn't affect anyone. And after the mess with the Charbydis, it seemed like the Admiralty would be more than willing to make Mandell disappear. After all, now she had her new command, there was little keeping her to the deal she had been forced to make, so what was to say she wouldn't spill the beans now she had command of Cerberus? Either way, she suspected the Admiralty would never allow her to get away with anything she might try.

"So the Cylons are actually suing for peace. Are you the negotiator?" Maine queried, and she snorted.

"Me, lead the Colonies in a negotiation? No. We're to rendezvous with an ambassador and take him on his entourage aboard on Picon before we continue with the rest of the mission. Just what I need, a blasted civilian, and a politician at that, on my ship." She grumbled, and Maine chuckled.

"I'm sure you'll cope." He said and she gave him a grim smile.

"Ready to meet the crew?" she asked, and he nodded briskly, and waited for her to pick up her walking stick, which she didn't.

"Yeager will have your guts for garters, you know you're meant to use the stick." Maine chided, and she scowled impatiently.

"Stick be damned, I'm meeting my crew. They're getting first impressions today, and I will not use a stick. After today, I will use it, but appearances are important on a new crew. Shall we?" she asked, and he reluctantly preceded her from the cabin.

Due to a piece of shrapnel that was embedded in her leg which the doctors were unable to get out, she was meant to use a stick, but was far too stubborn to do so. But she was the commander of a new ship with a virtually entirely new crew and she refused to allow herself to have any form of weakness before her new crew.

Leaving the quarters, the two of them walked through the bustling halls of Cerberus, receiving salutes from those passing and cautious smiles. Both smartly responded to the salutes as they made their way to the CIC, the command centre of a Battlestar.

"So, any news of you know what?" Maine asked quietly, and Mandell shook her head.

"Nothing. Doesn't mean it isn't there, but if Charbydis is moving about somewhere we aren't going to find out about it unless we run across it. And I have every belief that we will. In fact I'll see to it." She growled, and Maine didn't doubt her for an instant.

They entered the CIC to salutes from the crew, and Mandell gave them a curt nod before heading over to the display stand, looking up at DRADIS. Above her, the readouts showed the busy Scorpion Shipyards, and beneath them, Scorpia itself. Around them were two more Galactica type Battlestars, several Pisces class Battlestars, their dual hulls confusing the readout slightly, a Valkyrie type Battlestar was passing overhead and a Gemini heavy cruiser was passing by leisurely.

"Sir?" a young voice asked, and Mandell turned to face her questioner, an irritated expression on her face.

"Lieutenant," she began, checking the girl's rank, "do I look like a man to you?" she asked, and the girl went pale and shook her head.

"No sir." She said in alarm, further irritating the commander.

"Then why are you addressing me as 'sir' when if anything I am quite clearly a ma'am?" she asked sharply, and the girl gulped.

"Sorry ma'am." She said nervously, and Mandell, deciding to ignore Maine who was trying hard to suppress laughter (he always had enjoyed watching her chewing out younger officers), she surveyed the newcomer.

A young girl, probably just out of the academy (the fact that she was a lieutenant made it quite clear that she had done well there), she was rather small, her blonde hair tied into bunches that flanked her face, and with wide blue, alert eyes, was staring at her, pale with trepidation.

"Name?" Mandell asked, and the girl swallowed anxiously.

"Um, Lieutenant Sylvia Rayden reporting for duty ma'am." She said smartly, saluting, and Mandell noted that the girl had obviously come straight from the hangar to report in.

Mandell then clicked up the name in her memory, Rayden did actually ring a bell. She had been recommended by fleet command due to higher than the highest average test scores, in fact she had aced several, and the young prodigy had been recommended for membership in the command crew of the new Battlestar.

"Well welcome aboard Lieutenant. I look forward to working with you. Stow your gear, then report back to the CIC to take up your first shift." Mandell said, and Rayden, smiling excitedly, saluted smartly, picked up her gear and left the command room.

"I do enjoy the young ones." Mandell said to the room at large and there was a small chorus of laughter, and Maine chuckled as he looked over the reports, nodding.

"I remember reading about her scores. You're making her CIC officer?" he asked, and Mandell nodded.

"You know me Grant, give anyone a chance until they mess up." She said, and Maine then frowned.

"What about those basically forced on us by politics?" he asked, looking significantly at the door, and Mandell turned to see who could only be her XO.

A tall young man, also clearly just out of the academy, he was well built, with blue eyes, and dirty blond hair swept up at the front. He too had clearly come straight here, and when he saw her he walked towards her and saluted.

"Colonel Ivan Sampson reporting for duty Commander." He said in a light voice, but his tone was still respectful, she assumed her just had a light soft voice.

"Welcome aboard Colonel, at ease." She said, shaking his hand.

"Commander, may I say..." he said, and she quickly cut across him.

"No you may not. Now, I am aware that your father's connections got you this position. I will warn you now, I do not appreciate being manipulated by politician's whims, so although you have this position, you will not use your father's contacts to interfere with any military affairs aboard my ship again. Understood?" she asked sharply, disdaining the entire process.

The military was full of people promoted well above their level, possibly like Sampson here, by politicians whether they were members of the Quorum, governors or cabinet ministers using their pull to push the Admiralty into doing it, and with the considerable lack of backbone in the military's highest echelons, the fleet had an infestation of such officers, and a lot of them were incompetent to boot.

"Yes ma'am. But may I say, I did not ask my father for any help to get this position. In fact I was a Lieutenant before he got involved, and was assigned to be join your CIC before he came along." He said, his tone hard but respectful, and Mandell struggled to contain her surprise as she saw no lie in the boy's eyes.

"Oh...very well Colonel, I apologise for judging you. May I ask why he felt it necessary to get involved?" she asked, and Sampson glowered slightly.

"My father was a press magnate before he became a Quorum member. He says appearances are everything, and he didn't want it being used against him that anyone in his family was anything less than a captain." He grumbled, and Mandell nodded slowly.

Some daddy issues clearly. And also, the boy's father was clearly an idiot. His son had joined the military and had been given a commission, any father would be proud, and she had read the boy's file, he was just as much a prodigy as Rayden was, good at all his scores and scenarios and could easily go far provided he coped well in the field. But his father had gotten involved, and made him a Colonel, which while an excellent rank for someone only a few months out of the academy (she suspected he was the youngest XO in the fleet as a result), would turn most commanders against him as they would see it as politics and not skill. But like with all her crew, she was willing to give him a chance. She was disturbed by her musings by the lad however.

"If you want ma'am, I'm willing to take another position, I don't want any special treatment." He said firmly, and she suppressed a smile, she had a feeling she was going to like this one.

"That won't be necessary Colonel. I will give you a shot as my XO, do well, you keep your job, if not, well I leave that to your imagination." She said crisply, and he nodded.

"Very well ma'am. I won't let you down." He said, and she nodded.

"I'm sure you won't Colonel. Stow your gear, then report back here so we can get the ship underway." She ordered, and he nodded, saluted Maine, and left.

"An XO with bite, you bit him and he bit back, I'm impressed." Maine said, and Mandell smirked, yes it had been a while since she'd had an XO who would fight back against her when they had to, her last one, rest his soul, had learned through years of experience just to sigh and let her get on with it.

As CIC buzzed around her, crewmen all at their posts, with she and Maine standing at the main display, she took a look around, breathing it in. A lot bigger than the cramped CIC of the Isis, she was looking forward to getting underway. Their mission was intriguing, she had a new ship, a new crew and the ones whose files she had read certainly made them sound good too, and she there a chance of perhaps encountering the Charbydis again. Yes, she thought as she looked around to see everyone at their posts, the various computer stations, and watched as Rayden entered and assumed her position at tactical while Sampson joined her and Maine at the command display, this could certainly work.

It was time to get underway. Suppressing the thrill she always felt when she ordered her ship out of drydock, she turned to Rayden.

"Rayden, please confirm all crew are aboard and that all birds are stored." She said, and Rayden nodded.

"Yes ma'am, all ships have boarded, no more reported, and all five squadrons of Vipers and all Raptors are on station. We are good to go." She reported, and Mandell nodded, and turned to Sampson, gesturing for him to take over.

"Engines?" he asked sharply, and received an affirmative.

"Weapons?" Sampson continued, and as he went through Navigation, Fuel, Engineering and all other sections, he received positives on all of them.

The Cerberus was ready to get underway on her maiden voyage.

"Excellent. We have our first mission, we are to travel to Picon to rendezvous with a high ranking ambassador and bring him onboard, where further information will be given. So, let's get this show on the road. Signal the Scorpion Shipyards, give them my compliments, and inform them that we are leaving drydock. Secure all hatches and bulkheads, secure all birds and prepare to disengage from the shipyard. Man all weapons and navigation, calculate me a jump to Picon, nothing extravagant, and bring us out a little while early so we can give the engines a good run through." Mandell ordered, and there was a flurry of activity as Cerberus was made ready to leave her birthplace.

"All systems are in the green ma'am." Sampson reported, and Mandell nodded, picking up the comm phone.

"This is Commander Mandell, set condition three throughout the ship, we are leaving drydock. All hands to your assigned posts and prepare for an FTL jump. Prepare to retract flight pods, let's get underway. Disengage docking clamps...now!" she ordered, and there was a loud clunk, and with a lurch, her ship came free of the shipyard, backing out slowly from its berth as Vipers zoomed around it in ceremony.

Cerberus dropped back slowly, engines blazing to life as it backed out. The helmsman was good, not a bump as the ship glided back, and Mandell had a small satisfied smile on her face. Around them, saluting shots were going off, and Sampson looked at her, and with a nod from her, he grinned.

"Signal all ships, fire!" he ordered, as blank rounds were fired in acknowledgement of their salute as Cerberus backed out, freeing itself of the shipyard.

"FTL is spooled up ma'am." The navigation officer said, entering the course to Picon eagerly.

"Good. Are we clear?" she asked, and received an affirmative.

"It's good to have a ship vibrating beneath my feet again." Mandell said, and Sampson and Maine both smiled.

"Ma'am, we're ready for our jump." The helmsman said, and she nodded.

"Very good. All hands prepare for jump. Let's see what Cerberus can do." She said in excitement as the Battlestar glided out of orbit of the shipyards, their escorting Vipers falling back as the ship prepared to jump.

"Flight pods retracted ma'am." Came the report, and she nodded.

"FTL is prepped and ready." Maine reported, and Mandell smiled slightly.

It was time to get underway.

"All stations report ready for jump Commander." Sampson said, and Mandell felt a thrill, they were ready.

"Very well. Prepare to jump the ship on my signal!" she ordered, and then to her surprise, just as she reached three, DRADIS started to blare red.

"Abort jump!" Sampson barked, eyes focused on the screen overhead, and Mandell frowned, as did Maine as they looked at the readouts, hearing the abort order being carried out.

"What is going on?" Maine asked, as DRADIS was blaring but nothing was appearing.

And then it did appear. A Cylon basestar had jumped right in front of them, and now hundreds of Raiders were coming their way. Another two basestars then appeared, flanking it, also deploying Raiders, and the enormity of what was happening sank in.

The Scorpion Shipyards were under attack.

And Cerberus was the only thing standing between the three basestars, all their Raiders and the shipyard they had just left, along with some of the most vulnerable ships in the fleet.

Mandell looked at Maine and Sampson, and gave them a grim nod.

It was definitely time to see what Cerberus could do.

Hello there!

This is my first foray into Battlestar fanfiction, I fancied giving something new a shot, what with Blood and Chrome finishing, so please be nice. I know not much happens this chapter, I'm setting the scene.

I have a full story planned, involving Cylons, the Charbydis and the mysterious Titan Command, all against the backdrop of this peace offer from the Cylons. So, should I continue? We still have some of the crew to meet, and an attack on the shipyards to deal with, and the secret of the Charbydis to discover, so do you want to know more?

Please read and review if you think I should go on!