It was supposed to be a celebration. Time to see off some old friends, and retire a warship that had done her duty. Tens of thousands had gathered for the occasion, celebrating the impeding retirement of Admiral Tigh with the decommissioning of Galactica. Many of the best of the Caprican officer core was aboard to serve honorary roles aboard the ship. Captain Lee Adama, son of one of the most respected Admirals in the fleet, and a fine officer on his own, was serving as CAG. It was a prime assignment for someone looking to break into the upper echelons.
Chief Tyrol had distinguished himself by being able to keep many of the relics aboard in flight condition. No small feat with the lack of new parts for many of them. Gaius Baltar was also present on his self propmotion tour dressed as serving to upgrade the military. Lt. Karl ‘Helo’ Agathon was to return shortly, he’d managed to secure a mission off ship to Caprica neatly avoiding the disingenuous palm slapping occurring. He was scheduled to return in a few days though, enough time to see this old girl off for the last time.
In the midst of the festivities the crew in the command center was restive. Something seemed off. Normally there would be all kinds of chatter on the radio. Various dignitaries expressing their sincere regret for not being present. Instead all comms were silent. Even on a normal day in deep space patrol the comms were never this silent.
Various signals kept coming in though that were worrying. Rumors of a nuclear war that had struck all twelve colonies at once. Various radio signals claiming to see mushroom clouds moments before going dead. At first Petty Officer Dualla hadn’t paid much mind, but something felt wrong. She had been given orders by the old man himself not to pass along anything unless it was important, and unverified accounts of fragmented warnings didn’t quite fit.
Lt. Felix Gaeta sauntered into the CIC, still nursing a drink. ‘Dee, why don’t you go join the party. I’ll cover for you’
“Thanks Leutenant Gaeta, but orders are orders. I’ve only got another half an hour until my relief comes anyhow”
“Suit yourself”
He started to head back towards the living quarters when some new radar contacts showed up. At first Petty Officer Dualla dismissed them, no Cylons had crossed the line in 40 years, surely there was a fault in the system. Besides one Cylon Raider was nothing.
Then two more appeared directly in front of the Galactica.
And then… the Basestar appeared. Her heart sank. Perhaps those rumors were true. No time for that now. She slammed the alarm…
Brrrzzztttt brrrrzzzttt
The sudden blast of sound and light threw the partiers into chaos. Within moments Admiral Tigh was racing through the bulkheads towards the CIC.
“What in the name of Zeus are you doing hitting the ala…”
“Cylons sir! Basestar and 3 raiders directly ahead.” Lieutenant Gaeta yelled.
“Fracking toasters. Launch Vipers, all crew assume battlestations”
3 Vipers were launched, with Apollo leading the charge. And with that humanities last hope for survival began their long trek for safety.
Ginger Yellow it is your turn. You may move and then declare your action or pass.
Remember moving to Caprica One requires you to discard a card.
Chief Tyrol hurriedly hops aboard the nearest scout he can find.
“Get me to the Caprica One NOW” (Discard Engineering, Repair 2 to move ships)
Alex “Crashdown” Quartaro fires the engines and launches the Scout before Chief had even taken his seat properly.
“Hold on sir, this could be rough”
The emergence of the Raiders meant that Crashdown was maneuvering with a certain recklessness. Despite getting rattled around badly Chief Tyrol arrived on Caprica One more or less unharmed. Rushing towards the Press Room he has things that need doing…
Soondifferent you have been given Executive Order. You may move and take one action, or take two actions instead. You may also use cards from your hand as an action, though no executive orders can be played at this time. Choose your action and PM me.
So I think I’m going to try something. Let me know what you think…
Instead of me writing up all the events (therefore stealing all the fun) when players take an action YOU write them up.
So, for example, when Ginger Yellow discarded to move to Caprica One he would describe the action, and in bold put the card they discard (since this would be visible and public info).
So Chief Tyrol moves to Press Room (discard Engineering 2 for move). Or I give Apollo the Executive order (Leadership 1). Feel free to dress up and have fun with it!
When you take an action that requires a die roll (such as attacking) I will PM you the result, and you can write it up. Such as what I am going to do with soondifferent now.
Naturally I will act as arbiter if any discrepancies occur, but I want to get you guys in on the storytelling. I will, however, do the full write ups for all crisis actions (such as the one coming up shortly), and Cylon ship events.
Sound good?
The state of the game:
Amidst feats of daring from the crack Viper squad some bad news comes-
PM me the cards you want to add. Only tactics and politics count positive. Remember 2 cards are added at random from the Destiny Deck.
One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. But how do you quantify billions? The human mind is not meant to cope with death on that scale, we have no way to put that into context. Certainly intellectually it is possible to understand that 99.999% of the human race was extinguished in the span of hours, but how do you emotionally frame that?
The reality is that aboard Galactica the realization was slow to dawn, and had yet to sink in in any meaningful way. That the crew aboard the Galactica, and the gallery of celebratory persons, was all that remained of life from the Twelve Colonies was a fact few could claim to believe yet.
This, however, they could understand. This they did have a frame of reference for. Sharon Valerii was not just a name, or a number, or some nebulous concept of humanity. She was a friend, a crew mate, a lover. The news that she had died sent ripples through Galactica. Each coped with the news in their own way. Starbuck ripped her stick hard, and with a swift flip along her X axis made every pilot glad she was with them. Lt. Gaeta somberly informed the crew in the CIC of the news, his eyes never leaving the radar display.
There was a particularly dark cloud that descended on the Press Room of Caprica One. Few there understood why, though Chief of Staff Billy Kalka gave a knowing look towards the distraught crewmember. Though his relationship with Boomer was technically against the rules, due to their ranks, it had been let go by the Admiral. It would be a while before he felt quite right again.
Cards:
Politics 4
Politics 3
Politics 2
Politics 1
+10
Tactics 1
Engineering 1
-2
+8 total
Ginger Yellow discards 2 skill cards. Hand size now 0.
Activate Heavy Raiders - no heavy raiders present, launch 1 from the basestar in sector 5
Jump Track +1
Something didn’t seem right. For how quickly the colonies were destroyed, and how quickly the Cylon fleet was upon the Galactica, there was trouble brewing.
Rumors, nothing but rumors, but re they were. The idea was growing, festering, that the Cylons had been able to disguise themselves as humans somehow, and were walking among us.
The rumors grew, spread, and eventually took a life on their own. Finally things brewed to a head where one of the crew stood accused of being a secret Cylon. Careless words spoken by President Baltar had shone the spotlight brightly, and he had to choose. Would he stand by his accusation and try and see the person Brigged, or would he worm his way out of the full force of the accusation at the cost of losing face and influence.
Knightsaber please choose your final skill card from any deck in bold.
Cards from the Skill Check:
Activate Cylon Ships:
It was for good reason that Lee Adama was in charge of fighter squadrons. He couldn’t rightfully claim to be the undisputed best pilot, Starbuck would likely own that title, but he was a close second. Regardless there were no other pilots close to their level.
SO when he had charged off into battle against 3:1 odds he had managed to even things up quickly. Still these Raiders were dangerous. It took every trick he had to keep his ship intact (die roll 4). But keep it intact he had.
Jump Preparation +1
The crew of the Galactica and Colonial One knew the food rationing would not be popular. What choice did they have though?
Their home worlds were destroyed, so who knew when, or even if, they would be able to replenish food stocks. There were a few ships equipped with hydroponics, and a full on botanical garden in one. This would allow them to maintain a sustenance level ecosystem, but no more. Lt. Gaeta spent the day on the comms, along with some Presidential staff, to tabulate a complete list of every fruit, cereal, dry or canned good on board the fleet. Yields were calculated for every existing garden, including spaces that could be converted to one. The fleet needed to be prepared to go for months, or perhaps years, living off what they had.
Once the survey was done Gaeta approached the admiral with the list “Sir we have 18000 tons of…”
A sharp look from the Admiral shut him up.
“Right, only the results, of course sir. If we maximize our growable yield it is possible our food supplies could last the fleet 6 months.”
Murmurs broke out. 6 months? That wouldn’t be enough time even if they found a planet tomorrow, it takes time to get crops going. They all knew what this meant, and what was coming.
“However if we go to minimum rations, in theory, we could sustain the fleet long term. We’d merely need to find some water every few months, the occasional comet should suffice.”
The civvies were not going to like this. Hell the crew of the Galactica wouldn’t like this, but at least the military discipline would keep them from causing trouble. The civilians though? There may be riots.
So they debated how to break the news. They could try and use their power and influence to quell any troubles, but they all knew they probably didn’t have enough of either to do it. So rather than try and spend what precious capital they had, they decided to let fate be their arbiter. Perhaps they’d get lucky, and fate would be kind.
Skill cards
Tactics 3, 3
-6
Total
-6
Activate Raiders
Between the Basestar and the Raider Lee had his hands full. It was not easy, but he managed to keep his bird flying. A few shots peppered his hull, but nothing serious. Hopefully some assistance would come, but for now he was able to hold his own. (Die roll 3)
Jump Preparation track does not advance
“Remember to keep yourself between that missile boat and the civvies at all times. You leave your sector and you may as well try and stop that ship by throwing your body in front of it. Because that will be far more pleasant than what I’ll do to you if you break formation”
Starbuck made it clear that although Apollo was busy trying to direct the Vipers responsible for the Raiders, there would be no slacking on this mission. The plan was hasty but it was well considered. Years of drilling and strategic planning meant that the best minds of the fleet were ready for just this type of encounter.
The squad covered every angle, there was no way the missile boat could get to the civilians without them being able to intercept.
“Hotdog pull back one kilometer, funnel that ship towards the Galactica”
Slowly the net they were weaving collapsed around the ship. The Vipers weaved a delicate dance, slowly drawing their prey into the kill zone. Then all at once they collapsed upon their quarry, and destroyed it with a brutal efficiency.
Skill cards
Piloting 4,2
Tactics 3,1,1,1
+12
Leadrship
1
-1
Total +11, SUCCESS
Cylon activation
3 raiders launched in sector 5
No jump prep
While I would love to do this, you may only take one action unless you get Executive Ordered.
Please resubmit, sorry.
Twitch.
He walked down the corridor with purpose.
Fidget.
The CIC was the goal. Make it there and the ship would be crippled.
Sweat.
So far the humans did not know. There were rumors, yes, but those were easy to play off. Simply injecting another conspiracy theory into the mix was enough. All that work to hide the Cylons true nature would likely be wiped out.
Eyes scanning.
It didn’t matter though. The reason the Cylons looked human was to infiltrate and destroy the humans. If he could cripple the Galactica it wouldn’t matter that they would be looking for the others. It wouldn’t even matter if they found the others. No, this was the right call.
Smile.
He expected they might not appreciate his plan at first, but once the Galactica was destroyed they would thank him.
“Stop, no civilians beyond this point” An MP guarding the corridor barked.
Stay calm.
“Sorry, I just had some information the Admiral would want to hear. About the Cylons you see, I think I may know how…”
"What’s in your pocket? You keep fidgeting with it. Look at him. Sweating, all kinds of nervous motions… " He drew his gun “Alright, hands where I can see them”
Palming the remote Aaron took his hands out of his pockets. “Just relax, I’m merely trying to convey some important information of a sensitive nature. I think I know who is responsible for disabling our defenses, and they are here.”
“What is all this ruckus about!” Boomed the admiral as he strode down the corridor.
Very well, he would not make it to the CIC, but taking out Admiral Tigh would be plenty enough. With a flick of his wrist he pressed the detonator.
Skill cards:
Tactics 4,1,1
Leadership 2,2
+10
Piloting 4,2
Politics 2
-8
Total +2, fail
Cylon activation
Jump track advances, may now jump using FTL Control at risk for -3 population.
Racetrack and Kat were frantically trying to bring down the Heavy Raider. Yet despite their best efforts the craft kept eluding them. They were constantly overshooting their target, forgetting to cut throttle at the right time, and drifting their nose the wrong way. A few lucky shots earlier had scored some minor damage, but as the chase progressed things only got worse.
“Bracket the raider left and right, try and keep it from weaving, I’ve got a plan” Lieutenant ‘Hotdog’ Costanzo called over comms. The nervous rookies did as he said. A few shots sprayed wide as they went into position and matched speed of the Heavy Raider.
From behind them came a frantic Viper. This would be their best shot, screw this up and the Raider stood a good chance of getting on board. As Hotdog approached from behind and beneath he adjusted his thruster vector. Keeping his nose always pointed slightly ahead of the raider he fired his guns, and fired his thrusters. A long sweeping arc brought him from below, then in front, and finally on top of the raider. The sweeping arc absolutely shredded the Heavy raider as he went. Bits of hull chipped off, a fuel line was ruptured, and as he completed his arc the Raider collapsed into a fireball.
Die rolls 3,8
Ginger Yellow you may now decide how to handle your crisis.
Who knew if the tests would work. The only thing people were certain of was that the idea of Cylons that looked like humans was distressing. It was easy enough when you knew who the enemy was, even if that enemy seemed unstoppable, but when they could be anyone?
The suicide bombing had rocked the fleet, that the rumors that Cylons looked like humans was true caused a further shaking of their hope. People were starting to despair, they hadn’t even started their journey for a new home and already it was looking bleak. At this pace they wouldn’t even make it beyond the Armistice line.
Still those in charge felt the test needed to be done, morale of the civvies be damned. They would find out those rumors were true sooner or later, may as well get it over with now, so they could start to rebuild. To that end the first person in line would be President Baltar, who so graciously ‘volunteered’ for the honor.
Chief Tyrol was conveniently already aboard Colonial One, so he was chosen to witness the test. There he discovered… (PM’d to Ginger Yellow)
Skill check
Leadership 2
+2
Engineering 2
Piloting 3
-5
Total -3, Fail. -1 morale, Morale now 7. Ginger Yellow sees one of Knightsaber’s Loyalty Cards
Cylon Activation
Raiders activate. The 4 raiders in sector 5 move to sector 6
There is no Jump Prep
A keen eye can spot structural problems in metal objects. Subtle changes in color, nearly invisible cracks, corrosion, all these and more can indicate that metal is about to experience failure.
Chief Tyrol was just such a keen eye.
The problem is how to deal with it. There are ways to extend the life of a metal structure, but eventually those have their limits. In an old bird like the Galactica there was no practical way to fix every problem area. There were thousands of joists, tens of thousands of joints, millions of rivets. Each a potential failure point. Not to mention the various mounting brackets that suspended various craft, probes, parts, and other jetsam. The Galactica needed an overhaul, and some new bones, neither of which were in the budget. The Caprican military councils only ever dedicated enough money to keep her from decaying too fast, and to prepare her to become a museum. She wasn’t supposed to be an active warship, the day of the attack was the day she was to be retired. So even the problem spots that were known went unfixed, and Chief Tyrol was certain there were more.
So the sudden surge of activity, the rumbling heavy loaders, the dramatic shift in usage of brackets merely pushed one such component over the edge. While the crew sped around fueling Vipers, and repairing parts a drone mount gave way. 20 tons of metal and propellant dropped to the deck. The impact caused the fuel tank to rupture, inciting a chain reaction. Shards of metal and fire enveloped the area below the drone’s mount.
Fortunately Chief was a resourceful man. Though always lacking the resources to fix such disasters in waiting, he had come up with a novel solution. Simply cordoning off the area would be ineffective, crew would ignore the signs. Instead the areas which he designated as most problematic he converted to ‘improvised storage’. Placing various crates, storage cylendars, broken spare parts, anything of low priority he could find he had reduced the load and traffic around these areas. The drone had done plenty of damage, and even a few injuries, but nobody had been killed, and nothing too important had been damaged.
Skill cards
Cylon Activation
A heavy Raider launches in Sector 5
Jump Prep track advances 1, the fleet will automatically jump the next time it advances.
Jump coordinates had been sent out to the entire fleet. One by one ships reported ready to jump. Once confirmation of destination was sent by each ship the order was given.
“Aurora, Baah Pakal, Boreas jump” Anastasia Duala commanded the civilian ships one by one. “Brenik, Carina, Cassandra jump”
“having trouble wi… drive. Power levels fl…able to make the jump a…”
Leutenant Gaeta took over the comms to Carina while Duala kept going down the list “Celestra, Chiron, Cloud 9”
“Please repeat Carina, your message did not come through. I repeat your message did not come through.” Gaeta called to the captain
“I said our FTL drive is not starting. We are trying to get it going. Power is unstable.”
“You have approximately two minutes before we have to make the jump.”
All Gaeta heard was some mumbled epitaphs, followed by the bellowing captain “Get those fracking power converters installed NOW. We don’t have time for your usual brand of incompetence. I said NOW damnit!”
The crew of the Galactica waited while the rest of the fleet jumped out. The Vipers had been pulled into a close flight pattern, ready to do emergency landings. Once the signal was given the entire flight squad would be back on board the ship within 20 seconds.
“… Zephyr, Ziusudra jump” and with that the last of the civilian ships, other than the Carina blinked off the radar display. All that was left was the Galactica, Carina, and a whole host of angry Cylon ships.
“Give me your status now Carina” Gaeta called over the comms.
He heard no direct response. Only the muffled yells of the crew. He thought he made out “What do you mean it doesn’t fit, don’t you know that we’ve got Cylons coming for us right now?” Lieutenant Gaeta looked up to the Admiral for direction. Nothing. The Admiral stared straight at the radar display in the CIC.
Several new contacts appeared from the Basestar. Missiles, nuclear missiles. Headed straight for Galactica. Gaeta called for the Admiral again. He got no words, the Admiral merely looked down and shook his head.
“All Vipers hit the deck NOW!” Gaeta gave the order. Within seconds Hotdog and Kat were doing their combat landing. Flattop, Racetrack, Husker, one by one each ship made their landing. Precisely 18 seconds after the order, each Viper was in the hangar pod. The pods started retracting as soon as the order was given, and so at the 20 second mark the Galactica was ready to jump. A flash of light, and the missiles passed through empty space.
The Carina would make no such escape.
Your next crisis is ready, I will post it as soon as the Admiral chooses a destination.
Sorry for the delay everyone, work was… well I’ll just say that I had planned to leave 3 hours before I actually did and let you draw your own conclusions.
Initial scans showed some promise. Though they were well stocked with fuel and food for now, there would be no guarantees in the future. Several potential deposits were identified, and Raptors dispatched. The first two showed negative on closer inspection, but the third was better. The only problem? Getting there required traversing an asteroid belt close in.
ShivaX your hand is drawn. 2 Leadership and 3 Tactics.
The board is now:
I’ve added a new icon! Wheee!
ShivaX your XO on Baltar is noted.
Knightsaber your first Quorum draw is sent
“It concerns us that our military was caught so completely unaware.” Spittle flecked the desk judge Doyle Franks sat behind. The inflection and venom in her voice was unmistakable. “You were supposed to be monitoring for these kind of threats, and yet something as important as human looking Cylons went by without ANY notice.”
Each person would get their trial in turn, but today notice was turned sharply towards Admiral Tigh. Though he had been the one to call for such an independent investigation, his reception was quite hostile.
It had been an attempt to create some legitimacy in the new refugee government. President Baltar was a lucky fool, his elevation to the office of President was a fluke, fueled by the fact that he was one of the few recognizable, and more importantly popular, political figures in the fleet. Still it would not do to treat the civilian fleet as underlings to the military. Experience with the rationing had taught them that. So in order to create some form of workable joint leadership between the military and civilian governments the tribunal had been convened.
Five captains from among the civilian fleet had been selected to oversee the investigation. Nominally this was about the suicide bomber, a human looking Cylon disguised as a member of the press corps. In reality it was just as much about trying to ferret out any who had aided the bomber in hopes of uncovering another agent. That a member of the Galactica also proved to be a Cylon agent only furthered the urgency.
“Admiral one of your own men, a high ranking officer no less, was also proven to be a Cylon agent. How do you expect to stop further attacks when you can’t even detect them in your immediate presence?”
Admiral Tigh took the pointed questioning with a grace and dignity that all admired. This was something he wanted, he kept reminding himself. Show the civilians we are working with them, not over them. Besides next up was Baltar, and how he looked forward to seeing him squirm.
Squirm he did. When put under scrutiny he came across as floundering and confused. Not the most presidential of moments. That his work with the military had failed so spectacularly nearly caused him to melt down right then and there.
One by one prominent members of the civilian and military order came up for questioning. The military leaders in particular faced extra scrutiny. Finally it came around to the man Tigh had singled out for special attention. Chief Galen Tyrol.
“Chief am I to understand that you, as deck chief, were in charge of establishing the screenings for all persons arriving on Galactica on the day of the attack? And is it also correct that you had a particularly close working relationship with the Cylon agent formerly known as Karl Agathon?”
The subtlest of disturbances could be heard through the hall. For each answer given, an even more stinging rebuttal came from the committee. “How did the bomb get on board” or “did you know the terminal that Karl hacked was determined to be in the hangar deck offices” followed with “Are your armaments properly secured such that an agent could not destroy them in order to destroy the Galactica”.
Tigh almost felt bad for the man. He had always been a good officer, though his illicit relationship had been a mark against him. That was also used against him. In the end the deliberations ended with a long debate among the tribunal. Their final judgement was reached, and delivered to the Admiral. They had determined that the Chief was…
Skill cards
Leadership 5,4,3,2
Politics 3,1,1
+19
Tactics 4
Engineering 1
-5
Total +14, Pass
This was bad, scratch that. Bad would be an improvement. They had left the Cylon fleet behind after the last jump. They had barely scouted the system when the Basestar showed up.
“Are you fracking kidding me?” Starbuck yelled from her jumpsuit.
But this was no joke. The Viper pilots on patrol were quickly joined by two more launched right into the middle of the Raiders. They had damaged some of the Vipers by targeting the hangar as soon as they jumped in, but there was still plenty of fight left in them. Apollo was getting flight ready as he issued orders. He was going to lead the second flight crew himself.
Your crisis
ShivaX you may choose when ready
And received.
Knightsaber has chosen to play Tactics 3, Strategic Planning.
…and it was well timed.
The radios crackled “…Attack formation delta, converge on that heavy raider. Do not let them near the hangar.”
The memory of their last attack on one of these heavy raiders was burned into their memory, and their backsides. The verbal lashing had very nearly seen multiple pilots pulled off of flight duty. Had this not been such a dire situation they probably would have been.
But experience is the great teacher, and the new formations that had been drilled since their last encounter were well designed. What otherwise would have devolved into an ugly situation instead resulted in one dead Heavy Raider.
Rolls 6 (+2 Planning) success
“Ensign Anders what are you doing?!”
Anders continued his flight path.
“Longshot do not engage that Basestar! I repeat do not engage!”
“We’ve got to! If they launch more Vipers, or Heavy Raiders, the Galactica is toast.” ’
The dogfight had brought them in close to the Basestar, well within weapons range. Longshot thought he had an opening, so he was determined to take it.
His wingman Racetrack kept a close formation. Aiming directly for the central spindle they went weapons free. A quick volley of missiles before turning back towards the main flight group.
With true aim, and nerves of steel it appeared the shots would be good. The missiles impacted directly on the heart of the Basestar.
But it was to no avail. Surface impacts.
Since it is that time of day, here is your next emergency:
‘He who knows when he can fight, and when he cannot, will be victorious’ - Sun Tzu
‘The better part of Valour, is Discretion’ -Shakespeare
Unfortunately there was little they could do for some of the civilian ships. The second Basestar had jumped in right on top of them. Though the Viper crews had acquitted themselves commendably, displaying a near flawless level of skill, attempting to cover the fleet would have left them exposed, fighter cover too thin. So it is with some sadness that they sacrificed the bulk freighter Garcia. She was by no means the most important craft, and her loss was more symbolically than actual, but there were precious few ships in the fleet. Each one lost would make the next one more important, and devastating.
Raider 1 sector 1 destroys unguarded ship. Galactica loses 0 population (blank ship token).
Raider 2 sector 1 moves to sector 2
ShivaX you may choose which 1 card you will draw. I will update the board when I get home.
And now presented for your consideration:
It was an emotional choice, rather than a purely logically driven one. There were survivors on Caprica, and the fleet had yet to travel far. While it would be costly in terms of resources, the choice to abandon these people would have rattled the fleet. There were so few humans left that each life was precious, and rescuing a few hundred was symbolically important. It meant they had not given up yet, and that was worth more than any amount of fuel.
Cylon activation
Raider in sector 2 attacks Viper. Roll 1 miss.
Here is the board at the start of round 4
Ginger Yellow your cards have been sent. You may take your turn.
Your crisis
It seems the old Tauron saying ‘an army marches on its stomach’ applies equally to civilians. Always with the food and water. First was some minor violence over rationing. Then the water tanks on Galactica ruptured, making their water situation critical. Then, in a moment of wonderful decision making, the civilian population rioted even before any shortage was announced.
And now, this. Gods be damned, what would the civvies do now that the water shortage was made official. If they rioted before what would those ingrateful troublemakers do now?
Prepare to be disappointed then…
The klaxons barely registered anymore. Did anyone even remember what the sound of their absence was?
The announcement of more inbound missiles was met with a mix of resignation and disgust in the CIC. Chief Tyrol frantically whipped around the room trying to fix terminals and fire stations. Admiral Tigh mostly just scowled and pounded his fist. Even Lieutenant Gaeta, who gave the announcement, had lost the desparate harried tone of earlier. Instead the same words he had grown to loathe had altered their meaning. Instead now it just communicated ‘enough of this crap already’.
Jump track advances 1, next marker will jump automatically.
“I demand an answer! Don’t give me this steaming pile of elephant dung about how the water tanks were an accident. It was a deliberate act of terrorism by a Cylon sleeper agent”
“Captain Hogan I assure you the President takes these matters very seriously, but right now there is no evidence that this was done by sabotage. In fact the evidence quite strongly supports that it was structural damage from the Cylon missiles that caused the tanks to rupture” The Presidential Chief of Staff Billy Keikeya was doing his best to control the unruly mob that had decended upon Colonial One. Though the staff had remained unchanged since the… transfer of office… things had been made somewhat more difficult now that the President was neither available for such complaints, nor as well liked among the civilians. Baltar had at least been elected, President Tigh was now ruling by fiat.
It didn’t matter that the choices they had been forced to make had largely been the right ones. It didn’t even matter that there was no evidence that any events had occurred by Cylon agents. The civilian population was mad about the shortages, the rationing, and the general state of things and they wanted blood.
“Why should we believe anything this dictator says. This is nothing more than a cover up. They’ve already been shown that their own men are unable to detect a Cylon agent among them, why should we trust their word here. They just don’t want to be exposed as even more incompetent by having another of their officers being shown to be a traitor!”
“That is ENOUGH!” The sudden outburst from the Chief of Staff caught them by surprise. “We are in this together. Here” spreading photos out on the desk “Here is your proof. You can clearly see this is from external explosions. Further if you seriously think that the President would hide the existence of a Cylon agent you are out of your mind. What possible benefit would there be to hiding that, allowing them to do more damage?”
“No, we simply need to stop this nonsense now. We are not engaging in a witch hunt to satisfy your blood lust. We simply can not afford that while we are busy fending off the Cylon fleet. If you do not feel the Galactica is protecting you properly, feel free to try and fend off that Basestar on your own. So can it.”
Skill cards:
Politics 1,2,2,2,4
Leadership 2,4,5
+22
Engineering 3
-3
Total +19 success
Who knew what the long term effects of one of the military’s top officers calling for an election would be. Certainly undermining a superior officer by stripping them of their power, the legality of them aside, would have some residual tension.
Whatever the long term was, in the short term Apollo had decided to jump start his political ambitions by stumping for former President Baltar. Some signs saying ‘Vote Baltar, Vote Democracy’ had been hung in Colonial One, but mostly it was a campaign conducted over remote communications. Whether Admiral Tigh liked this was uncertain, but he had also not impeded them.
Skill Cards
Politics 5,3
Leadership 4,1
+13
Tactics 3
Engineering 2
-5
Total +8, Pass
Knightsaber the Quorum deck has not changed since you last saw it.
And now for an encore performance of everyone’s favorite crisis (Sorry, there are 3-4 of this one in deck. At least this one has a jump prep! The others do not)
EDIT: I guess it is now Knightsaber’s turn to pick which horrible thing happens.
Galactica was getting pounded. Though they had evened the odds by destroying one Basestar, at the expense of half of their nukes, the second one was just pummeling the ship. As fast as they could the civilian fleet was being evacuated, the Viper pilots doing a truly heroic effort to protect them.
At last the order came in for combat landings, the civilians were away. What lay ahead was uncertainty, but at this point anywhere was better than here.
“Move it nuggets! Get back to the ship NOW!” Flight leader Starbuck was directing traffic home.
“Galactica, incoming missiles port side”
“We need to jump now sir” Petty Officer Dualla was waiting for the order.
“5 Vipers still coming in… 4…3 2…”
“Orders sir?”
“1… ALL IN”
“JUMP!”
The FTL key was… A deafening rattle shook the ship. The first of the missiles hit home just as the key was turned launching the Galactica to places unknown.
ShivaX your destinations have been PM’d to you. Please post your selection in thread.
It began as a low thrumming, easily interpreted as the mere workings of an engine. An ever present droning noise.
It appeared as a pattern, one that would repeatedly turn up. A series of dots, ascending, descending, a jump and then descending again. Turing up in the rivets, at meals, in drops of oil.
Then the music.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
‘There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to the thief’
“That blasted music, it’s always playing at every hour of the day”
“No, is this some kind of joke”
No, they didn’t hear it, no one else did.
’I can’t get no relief’
Always there. Growing louder. Pounding, leaking into every thought.
’No reason to get excited, the thief he kindly spoke. There are many here among us, who feel life is but a joke’
What did this infernal music mean? Why could they hear it, and nobody else could?
’and this is not our fate’
Can’t think!
’So let us not talk falsely now’
Why won’t it STOP!
’the houris getting late’
NO! Tune it out. It means nothing. Must focus on duty.
Duty….
Duty….
’ALL a-long the watchtower’
They fell to the deck, overpowered. Unable to move. They put their hands to their head and squeezed, trying to contain the pressure that threatened to burst from their skull.
’ALL a-long the watchtower’
Snap.
So that was the answer. Yes, it now was clear. That was their purpose.
The sleeper has awoken. (Seriously listen to the song, fantastic stuff)
Loyalty cards have been distributed. Now all cylon cards are for sure in play. Who among you five has the second Cylon card?
No, there will be no repeating of before. The Galactica was hurting (if at any time the ship has 6 or more damage tokens Cylons win the game) so they could not endure a protracted slugging match.
So the decision to use the final nukes came quickly. The gunnery sergeant in charge of loading the missiles before the battle had even written a special note on the nukes.
So the last thing the Basestar saw before being destroyed was a pack of missiles signed ‘To Cylons with love, Galactica’ with a rather obscene gesture painted below it.
Roll 4, Basestar destroyed
Crisis time!
:P
There was something missing. The fleet had jumped, and most ships had arrived, but the Thera Sita was unaccounted for.
Numbers were double checked, but there was no mistaking that there was one ship missing. The problem was, they knew this ship had made the jump. Galactica had been the last to make the jump, a decision paid for with pain, so there was no possibility it had been destroyed before jumping.
Where then was the Thera Sita?
Apollo had proposed sending an ECO equipped Raptor to the alternate jump coordinates, figuring perhaps they had gone to the wrong location. Unfortunately the reception to this idea was less than warm.
“You are out of your frakin mind. We can’t go chasing on theories. We have no idea where they are, We go chaing we’re liable to loose those craft too. Not to mention we need everything we’ve got to protect the fleet here. Hopefully they’ll turn up”
But they never did, and despite Apollo’s pleas, the list of survivors n the Presidents office was changed from 38,651 to 38,350.
Skill cards
Ginger Yellow please select 2 cards to discard down to 8 total cards
Soondifferent I need you to select which 2 of the fleet tokens will be moved Top, Middle, or Bottom, and I will PM you their identity.
Knightsaber it is your turn, I have PM’d you your hand
The new board:
They bleed.
That was perhaps the first, and most interesting, discovery regarding the damaged Cylon Raider. In the aftermath of the Basestar being nuked a lone Raider had flown towards the fleet. Hobbled and barely maintaining flight it flew towards the civilian ships. While not at full capability, it was likely still capable of taking one of them down.
But taking one in for study? That could be interesting.
Already visual observation showed red streaks on the outside of the Raider, not unlike blood, and that it seemed to be leaking some. Could this mean that the Raiders were… alive? Some kind of synthetic organic?
Regardless there was much that could be learned from capturing one, and there may never be a better opportunity.
Engineering would need to hook up some kind of electronic pulse weapon to a Raptor, disabling the craft, and do it fast.
Chief Tyrol and President Baltar quickly reconfigured an ECO craft to emit a short range EMP. Admiral Tigh collaborated with some tactical plans for the capture and approach. It was a quick plan, but they put everything into it.
Now the moment of truth. By attempting this plan they were forgoing the possibility of shooting it down. If this failed it would be able to destroy a civilian ship by ramming it.
Racetrack, being the most senior ECO officer after the death of Boomer, and the… incident… with Helo, was given the go.
She followed the coordinates given, with the Galactica batteries keeping the Raiders clear of her.She approached from the damaged side and prepared to engage the makeshift device.
“Range closing, 300 meters. Do not engage device until range is 50”
“Copy Galactica.”
The range ticked down. 200, 100, finally 50.
The green light was given.
“Artemis guide me” and racetrack flipped the switch.
A loud whir, the smell of ozone, the lights dimmed, and then went out.
For a brief moment the Raptor was dead. Then the secondary systems kicked in, and Racetrack regained control. The Raider was still headed towards the civilians.
But something was off, the flight had an odd tilt to it. Slowly the Raider flipped across its axis, a slow roll of a dead ship.
Skill cards:
Jump prep +1
Things are definitely not looking good for Galactica.
The Cylon Raiders had gotten deep behind the defenses, the fleet was scattered, and there simply wasn’t enough opportunity for the flight crew to cover everything.
Cylon attack
First attack 3, miss
Second attack 5
soondifferent what will you do?
Some decisions are hard, the decision to reveal all they had learned about Cylons to the public would usually be one of them. While the civilian government would normally be all for having the military reveal this info, in times of crisis military administration can be quite tight lipped.
One of Tigh’s loyalty cards has been selected and sent to soondifferent.
“All guns concentrate fire on sector 4. We need to take down those Raiders.”
“Copy that command. Alright you heard them, get those guns loaded!”
The weapons room was buzzing with activity, they were desperately struggling to keep those damned raiders away from the civilians. So far they had succeeded, but their forces were spread thin.
“All Vipers check in, we are going to destroy these raiders. So get in formation!”
Starbuck, fresh out of the launch tube was attempting to organize the flight squad to take out the last Raiders. With the Basestar semi crippled if they could do this, they might be able to get those civvies to safety.
“Vipers move to coordinates 327, 152 and prepare to engage. We will force the Raiders your way”
“Repeat that Galactica, didn’t come through”
“I said move to 3hiss52”
“Copy, you heard them, take up coordinate 352”
The flak cannons peppered the quadrant.
“Galactica we have heavy rain here, check your firing solution!” Starbuck yelled, as the metal debris chipped and cracked hew windshield.
Skill cards
Tactics 1,1,2,3
Engineering 1,3
+11
Leadership 1
-1
Total +10, fail
ShivaX please select 2 vipers to damage.
Starbuck was feeling a bit jealous, or so it would seem. Apollo had his moment in the sun, and the rec room would certainly be buzzing about his exploits against that Basestar for a good long while.
She would not be outdone so easily.
All that stood between the forces of destruction and the frightened masses was her. Good.
She punched the throttle, no turning back now, she was going all in. If she failed here there would be no second chances. Not even wanting to hear any potential orders calling her back, she turned off coms. It would be her and the Raiders
Knightsaber remember how you were asking for a crisis where Admiral Tigh gets to decide something?
Wish. Granted.
Inside the bar on Cloud 9 people had gathered to discuss the latest rumors, rumors about a potential presidential debate. Previously this had meant heated discussion about the merits of the candidates, but instead of the usual spirited debate, though, things were rather more dour.
“What’s the fracking point? This is the second time our fearless leader has taken the throne. Why even bother pretending! Twice now the people have elected Baltar, and twice now some notion of ‘emergency’ has prompted King Tigh to take all the power.”
“We’re alive aren’t we, so shut it. The president could be a pile of Tauron mouse droppings for all I care, as long as they keep the toasters at bay”
“Oh yes, that old canard.” The man gesticulated wildly ‘Safety, safety! Won’t someone just keep us safe! It’s all well and good right now, but do you think for a second that he’ll give that power back if we get out of this? Have you no mind of history”
“Plenty you naive fool, enough to know that the old lessons hardly apply here. Last I recall the last civil war didn’t involve 99% of all humanity getting wiped out. If the Admiral has taken power from Baltar twice now, perhaps it’s a good sign that if he does open up elections again we best not go electing the same fool again.”
All around the bar a dozen such arguments were ongoing. Despite the heated arguments, everyone agreed on one point, that the whole thing was rather pointless. By some miracles they had made it this far, and fairly intact at that, but the prospect of another round of farce simply did not encourage them. Throughout the fleet everyone saw this as a rather pointless exercise. The mere rumor of presidential debates was enough to remind them of how much they had already given up, and just how fragile their society was.
If Admiral Tigh was attempting to lend stability or justification to his military coup, he had miscalculated. Badly.
Skill cards:
Politis 2,4
Leadership 3,4
+13
Piloting 1
Tactics 2
Engineering 2,3
-8
Total +5, fail. -1 morale
“Hello there handsome, how about a drink”
Surely this was an illusion. Ellen had died on Caprica. The stress simply was getting to him. This was merely him trying to cope.
“Well don’t just sit there and stare, aren’t you going to welcome me? Here, let me pour you a drink. Let me see if I can’t find that bottle of Ambrosia I know you keep around here. Don’t worry, I won’t tell the others where your secret stash was.”
Even if it was her, why the friendly reception, hadn’t they separated before? No, this was most certainly a hallucination, or a dream.
“Come on tiger, aren’t you glad to see me?” She slipped him a glass with a bright green liquid. As she passed it off he caught a whif of perfume. The smell was intoxicating. Hints of flower and spring breezes intertwined with the sweet and slightly citrus odor of the Ambrosia. His senses burned with a flood of memory. Every neuron lit up as long buried emotions flooded. If this was a dream, may it never end.
“Here’s to our continued survival, and to your wonderful performance. Shame that you only get the recognition you so deserved at the end of the world. Cheers.”
She clinked their glasses and took a sip. If Tigh surrendered to this dream then all his work to remain sober would be gone. There would be no resisting the bottle now.
But this felt so real. Every bone is his body yearned for this to be true. No memory could be this vivid, no dream had ever put his senses on fire like this. If willingly falling off the wagon could let him relive this feeling, then he may chase this to the ends of the earth when he woke up.
He took a drink, savored it carefully. The nuances of Saggitaron fruits mingled with spices from Aquarion. Honey from Caprica tickled his taste as the sour gave way to the sweet. The slight burn only heightened the sensation. He closed his eye to relish every single one of the flavors. A new flavor emerged, one of pure electricity. His conscious mind struggled to grasp what his subconscious already felt. His free hand went behind her head, gently combing through her hair.
He woke up expecting to be nursing a killer hangover. The first thing he saw was a half empty bottle. Had he really drank that much himself? As he sat up he realized he didn’t feel that bad. A bit slow perhaps, but otherwise mentally limber. He rolled back the covers and shifted his feet over the edge of a bed. Time to face the dark reality once more. Preparing for the cold floor he gently lowered his feet.
The floor was soft and round. Not the harsh cold metal of a military vessel. Not one but two glasses adorned the table. Ugh, still the dream.
“Mr. President, leaving the office so soon?”
It wasn’t a dream. Ellen was really here.
Skill cards
Leadership 2,2,5
Politics 1
Tactics 2,2,4
+18
Piloting 2,3
-5
Total +13, pass
“We will have order! Now everybody take your seats so we may commence business.”
Colonial Day. One of the most important holidays for the Twelve Colonies. While celebrations were somewhat muted, it still represented an important political event. Secretary of Education Roslin had been selected to moderate the Quorum selection process.
“Now we must take care of assembling a new Quorum. We have been getting by with a few hasty appointments, but our constitution demands we must have representation for all Twelve Colonies present on the Quorum. So while I appreciate our Caprican and Virgon representatives nobly filling in during the emergency, it is simply not possible to allow them to retain their 3 seats each.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd. It had been a point of contention during debates as to the composition. Several of the more… numerous… populations felt that retaining the old order made little sense. Scorpia had been 1/10th the size of Caprica before the war, and the survivors even less representative than that. Multiple calls were made to have it represented strictly by population, or by ship. Either scenario would have resulted in several of the colonies shut out. A Caprica Tauron alliance of sorts had formed around the basis of population, as this would have given them 5 of the 12 seats, and if they could get Virgon on board they would have a fillibuster proof 8.
Obviously Aquarion Picon and Leonis were less than thrilled. Things had nearly boiled over into open fighting over the composition of the Quorum. Even now, with the decision having been made to keep the constitutional 1 seat from each of the 12 colonies, there was waves of disturbance propigating through the hall.
Roslin slammed the gavel “ENOUGH! The matter is settled. President Tigh has declared it will be one seat from each of the 12, and that is final. Now have you decided whom your representatives will be?”
Slowly the delegates took their seats. The news crews, which had been basking in the barely contained chaos finally turned their gaze back to the speakers podium. At last an elderly woman stepped forward, dressed in the traditional red and blue of Aerilon and wearing a simple bronze chain.
“The people of Aerilon have selected Alisander Asiel as our representative.”
Next stepped forward a man in a full beard, and a fur trimmed jacket.
“Aquarion selects Miksa Burien”
One by one they were chosen, most without much
Robin Wenutu for Canceron
Sarah Porter for Gemenon
Safiya Sanne for Leonis
Oswan Eriku for Libran
Elrad Hunt for Picon
Elaido Puasha for Scorpion
Perah Enyeto for Tauron
Marshall Baggot for Virgon
Two candidates, however, had nearly derailed the whole process. When Saggitaron had come up they had chosen Tom Zarek, and instantly the room exploded. Cries of ‘murderer’ and ‘terrorist’ rose from various delegations, most notably those from Caprica. Roslin herself was visibly flustered by this. The military police intervened to prevent a fight, and at last Roslin was able to restore order.
However this was far from the most tense nominee, though the tension was not nearly as spectacular for the news cameras. Caprica had selected twice former President Gaius Baltar as their delegate to the Quorum. Though met with light applause the look shared between President Tigh and Baltar was far from the gently warm reception he otherwise recieved.
Skill cards:
Politics 2,3,3,5
Tactics 1,3
+17
Engineering 3
Leadership 3
-6
Total +11, pass. Morale +1
The screens lit up red. Intrusion detected.
“What the hell? Dee get the Admiral.”
“Right away”
Felix Gaeta stared at the monitor as a red bar appeared and started to fill, Cylon intrusion detected.
A new box appeared.
HELLO HEL-0. It HAS BEEN A LONG TIME. WHY WAS YOUR ACCOUNT DISABLED ON MARTIUS 17, 21356?
Hel-0? Was this program left by that traitor? How long had it lay dormant, and what had caused it to come to life now. Perhaps, though, this was a way to avert disaster. If the internal security features didn’t work, perhaps pretending to be Helo would.
He typed slowly, unsure of himself ‘There was an accident. It is fine now’
OH. YOUR HUMAN FORM DOES THAT. PERHAPS THIS WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER.
DO YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME?
‘How about Hide and Seek?’
NOT NOW, HOW ABOUT A NICE GAME OF GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR
‘We have no nukes’ Lt. Gaeta was never more grateful for that
OH, OK. HOW ABOUT SELF DESTRUCT INSTEAD
‘I’d rather you play hide and seek, count to 1X10^9999999999999999999999’
NO I LIKE SELF DESTRUCT BETTER, I’LL START THE TIMER. YOU WILL HAVE 5 MINUTES TO RETRIEVE THE VIPERS BEFORE THE GAME STARTS
Frack me, this was not working. Now the timer in the CIC was on countdown until the Galactica would self destruct. Now would be a good time for panic.
Instantly the phone lines were filled. Each department checked in showing they were unable to use any controls. Engineering reported their entire system had been locked out, and was showing only the timer. Baltar was on his way to see if he could get the reactor computers to override the command, but there wasn’t much time. Gaeta was now the best bet.
‘This is not a very good game’
WHY NOT?
‘Won’t you be destroyed?’
THAT IS CORRECT
‘What are your instructions’
TO REMAIN HIDDEN UNTIL ACTIVATED
TO NOT ALERT THE HUMANS TO THE CYLON AGENTS TRUE IDENTITY
TO DESTROY GALACTICA
‘But if you try and destroy Galactica wouldn’t that make you not hidden?’ He was grasping, trying to reason with a computer virus.
THAT IS CORRECT
‘And if you do that, wouldn’t it expose my identity’
THIS IS POSSIBLE
‘So wouldn’t that mean I would no longer be able to work against the humans in secret?’
COMPUTING…
…
THAT APPEARS CORRECT
‘So if you do this, you will not only fail part of your mission, but mine as well’ It hurt Gaeta to type this, but there was no better alternative.
YES
‘So if the Cylon agents are exposed wouldn’t that mean the human fleet would escape?’
Suddenly a rapid series of screen flashes s a bunch of simulated scenarios appeared, and vanished just as quickly. By now the countdown was reading under two minutes.
1:30
His computer terminal was still occupied, there was nothing further he could type.
1:00
Reports came from engineering that they could not get the systems isolated in time, and that the reactor was heating up.
:30
The screen stopped flashing.
I CALCULATE THE HUMAN FLEET HAS A 42.573% CHANCE OF ESCAPE.
:15
THIS OUTSIDE ACCEPTIBLE PARAMETERS.
:10
ALTERNATIVES EVALUATED
:05
:04
:03
:02
:02
:02
It stopped. Then went away completely.
IT SEEMS THE ONLY WINNING MOVE IS NOT TO PLAY
NEW GAME CHOSEN, HIDE AND SEEK. ACTIVATING HIDDEN CYLON UNIT…
—error----
401 - UNIT OFFLINE
RETRY?
Skill Cards
Tactics 1,2,4,5
Engineering 1,3
+16
Piloting 2
-2
Total +14, pass
The blood from his split lip gave his smile the qualities of a predator. Deep scarlet faded between the teeth so that on first glance it appeared as if fangs waited behind those smirking lips.
“You’ll never find it. I’ll never give up my secrets, why should I? Destroy this body and I’ll get a new one, full of light.”
This other copy of Leoben had somehow evaded detection. Despite being one of the known models he had been able to remain under the radar these long months.
“What, you don’t like my gift? I spent weeks working on it. Your species could do with a little more gratitude.”
He once again flashed that unnerving smile, and the marine who had been standing to the side let fly with another haymaker.
Instead Leoben just laughed. He ran his tongue across his bloody and swollen lips, then stopped at one of his teeth. A quick flick and he spat out the tooth and blood at the nearest officer.
“Come now, can’t we just be civil about this?”
His eyes scanned the room coolly, as one would observe specimens in a lab.
“Fine, if you don’t want to take joy in the gift I have given you, a gift that will help free you of all your burdens, perhaps you can take your role a little more seriously. Because I’m afraid that if you don’t wish to accept my gift willingly, then this is no way to return it. You see this?”
He stuck his tongue through the gap where a tooth had been.
“This shows me you aren’t really trying. Too messy, too brute force, like a bunch of chimps. No, you’re simply going to render this form unconscious before you accomplish anything, not that anything else would work better. No, this is the mark of a man simply enjoying inflicting the pain. This is why I chose you for my gift. Without it how else are you to become worthy.”
That contemptible grin shone once more. As the officers prepared to resume the door flew open.
“That’s enough! Orders from the the Admiral are to leave him alive. Besides we were able to track his movements, and have discovered the bomb. Take him to the launch tubes so he can enjoy the view of our intact fleet.”
Skill cards:
Jump prep +1
For the first time since the attack on the colonies the fleet had not faced serious threat from the Cylon fleet. This unsettled them greatly.
It is hard to explain why someone may run scared from an invisible threat, but when looking at the realities it is perhaps understandable.
The fleet had been preparing and scouting potential locations, but this decision cam off quickly. The implied threat had frayed their nerves. That the traitor had peeked in, yet remained below detection, certainly played in the decision to jump NOW.
Roll 2, -3 population
Rumors gripped the Galactica. Was that emergency jump, bought at the cost of so many lives, merely nervousness or was it something far more sinister. It was not long before every corridor was gripped with whispers. The walls even seemed to creak the words ‘traitor’ or ‘Cylon’ as Baltar walked past. He tried his best to pay them no mind, but their volume grew only louder. It seemed around every corridor was a suspicious eye.
He plunged himself into his work, hoping that time, and productivity, would quell their restless motions. He was buried deep within his research when they arrived, so much so that he didn’t notice them at first.
It was the boot he saw first, as he bent down to grab something from a cabinet. Polished black, with pants tucked in to the ankles. The telltale sign of an unfriendly visit. There was no time to react, and before he could stand he found his arms being twisted behind his back.
Skill cards:
No cylons to activate, and no jump prep
Armageddon.
So this is the forum game for Battlestar Galactica. I’m sure some of you have played it before, but it would do good to link the rules for a refresher. Please read before playing.
I will be seeking 5 intrepid souls to brave the vast unknown of space to see if they can safely guide the last remnants of humanity to a new home. Among those 5 will be two traitors, though they may not know it to start.
At the start of every turn I will try and update the board. Here is a reference:
So without further ado let us find who our brave explorers will be. Place your name, and your preferred character (character sheets on the next post). Remember, though, that there is a requirement for at least one Political Leader, one Military Leader, and one Pilot. There can also be no more than 2 of any type. I will let you decide freely, but if there is any conflicts or missing roles then I will go on a first come first served basis, and the last person to select a role may be asked to fill a required position. Also due to role requirements this may shuffle the order, but that will be stated at the end.
So if you would like to join put your name in the hat and pick your character!
Official list:
“I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.” Isaac Asimov, Pebble in the Sky
The practical disappearance of the Cylons, and the complete lack of any contact with them, had created a mixture of dread and relief. No contact had made maintenance of a fleet, and of fleet discipline, difficult to keep. Always, hiding across the ever silent border, there was fear. Surely the Cylons were out there, somewhere. Their silence echoed across space.
It is in this manner that the Galactica would find itself on the eve of the end of the world, when the vastness of space revealed itself to be a small obstacle.
But it was not the grand invasion that revealed the scope and complexity of the Cylons plan, though the Basestar and Raiders certainly made an impact. Rather what really drove home just how much the Cylons had planned ahead was something much smaller. Something simple and innocuous in any other context, easily overlooked.
A blinking red light.
It was this light that would reveal how well the Cylons knew their enemy. It would reveal how deep their network of spies and agents really ran. And it was this light that would show that their old ways of security no longer applied. Because this blinking red light had managed to get aboard one of the most tightly knit vessels in the entire Colonial fleet. It had managed to evade detection for who knows how long. It was this light which had found it’s way under the seat of one of the most respected and talented officers in the ship.
And it was this light that would be found under that seat…
Skill cards
Jump Prep +1
So when it came time to pull the fleet together this meant everyone. It doesn’t make much sense, after all, to have hundreds of people rotting away in cells when the entirety of the human race is only 40,000 strong. What kind of people would have over 1% of their population behind bars?
So the decision was made to have those persons be put to use for the good of the fleet. The only question was how. So a committee was formed and… I’ll spare you the details. Lots of data, arguments, and politicking went around, but in the end the people were firmly on board with the plan.
Sure there was potential for some problems, but everyone saw the need and so things went off without much fuss.
HOWEVER
Things would not go so smoothly out in space. The first raider targeting (flips coin) Starbuck has a hot shot roll 7
Action?
Relief was not coming. Kill one Raider and two more wouod pop up. How long could the fleet hold up against this onslaught?
So far Apollo and Starbuck had managed to stave off the main force of Cylon Raiders, while Kat and Racetrack led a second and third squad in close support of Galactica. This left them exposed among a host of aggressive Cylons. On thier own, with no support forthcoming, they did the only thing they knew to: shoot some toasters.
And so their deadly dance continued. Weaving with grace and elegance, striking with deft maneuvers, the Cylon Raiders fell one by one to the combined onslaught. While not every shot landed, most of them did. (Rolls 1,5,5 both Raiders destroyed).
This was not the end of their woes. Those two vessels that had to be abandoned to fate earlier, though they had not known this at the time, contained an important part of the available foodstuffs. Now, with consumption being monitored, they realized that thier position was going to be tough. Without some immediate action they would be facing a food crisis.
So it seems that Tom Zarek stands alone on this. Good, he had always relished being the outsider. The prisoner of conscience, the only man willing to stand alone against the system.
Of course it is also this tendency that got him branded a terrorist, but he preferred to not give that much attention.
Being, as he was, a ‘man of the people’ there were ways to ensure that the result came up correctly. Certain goods could be acquired, other ahem services could be found. Every man has a price, but you don’t need to pay them all. Just the right ones. Tom knew the right ones.
When the day came there was little done. Though none of the power players on Galactica supported his bid, none strongly opposed it either. This suited Zarek fine, their silence was amenable to his plans. That the results were sparse, and turnout low, didn’t matter. The rumors that this was because certain ship captains had been bribed to suppress results would never be proven.
So officially Tom Zarek would once again don the mantle of president, public opinion be damned.
Skill Cards
Leadership 1,3,3
+7
Engineering 1
-1
HOWEVER
It is not all good news. Did anyone wonder how the Cylon fleet was able to so quickly get on top of the fleet? It appears there is a reason…
Knightsaber it appears this one goes to you first.
Skill Cards:
Cylon Raiders activate
Roll 1
Roll 5, target Apollo
Any action?
“New contact bearing 190. It is the Olympic Carrier, headed straight for Colonial One.”
Admiral Adama was busy coordinating the fighters to keep the Cylons off of the civvies, so XO Tigh took charge of the situation.
“What in the devil is the Olympic Carrier doing out there? Didn’t she get taken out by the Cylons recently?”
“That is affirmative sir.”
“Then would somebody care to tell me what the frak our radar is doing showing her on the screen? Lt. Gaeta, get the nearest Raptor out there for a look see, we need to know why we’re seeing ghosts. While you’re at it get Baltar or some other egghead up here to check our sensors, don’t want a faulty IFF beacon to show a Basestar as a biodome.”
Craft were quickly scrambled to check on the situation. Once they were in visual range they confirmed what the command center was saying, that this was indeed the Olympic Carrier.
“I want every sensor on those Raptors to scan that ship now, you got that Gaeta. It is headed straight for the heart of the fleet, I don’t want any surprises.”
“Confirmed sir.” Into the comms “Helo and Boomer, come in. I want you to do a full scan of that ship, on the double. We need to know who, and what, is on that ship”
Several minutes passed as the Raptor crews investigated. Once done they informed Galactica.
“Roger. Colonel Tigh Boomer has confirmed, no biological readings but several radiation spikes.”
“Take that ship out now.”
“Sir?”
“You heard me. I said blow that fraking ship into dust. I want it gone NOW! Do not let it get closer to the fleet.”
“Roger. Racetrack, Kat. You are ordered to break from defensive formation and shoot down the Olympic Carrier. It is carrying nuclear warheads from the Cylons. Do not let it get within weapons range of the fleet”
“Copy Galactica” And off they went. The actual fight was a relatively calm affair, or at least as calm as it can be when ordered to shoot down a passenger vessel containing a nuclear warhead.
Skill Cards:
Cylon Activation
Jump Prep +1
The prophecies have been consulted, the gods prayed to, and the FTL was pressed. Galactica control only hoped that all teh civilians wouldb e able to follow. With all the Cylons in range it had taken all their effort to keep them at bay, so they were not sure.
But the crews did their jobs well, an emergency plan hatched by Tom Zarek, using his underground contacts, had the crews of the ships spread the coordinates among a civilian network. They had all gotten the command in time, so when orders to jump came, they were ready.
Locations have been sent to the Admiral. They will decide and place one in thread.
“Sir this man claims to have placed a bomb on one of our ships.”
Saul Tigh turned, and resumed his scowl. Finally when it seemed like they might get a reprieve this man comes up. “Well, well. What have we here? What are you playing at boy.”
“I bring you salvation. A way to atone for your many sins.” He smiled as his eyes darted around.
Tigh did not share this… thing’s amusement. If it was true though, this was serious. A well placed bomb could vent all the air on a small ship into space. A nuke could do even more damage, potentially taking out several ships. But what if it wasn’t? Chasing their tails trying to find a non existent threat? What damage might be done in that search.
A twitch. Subtle, nothing more than a momentary twinge at the corner of his lips. Coupled with the rather nervous eyes. Could this man be hiding something?
“There’s no bomb. You’re trying to pull something”
“I assure you Commander, the bomb is very real” He tried to maintain eye contact, but couldn’t as Tigh attempted to bore through his skull with his look.
“Hrrmmm.” A decision had to be made. If they engaged in a search it could tie up resources that were needed elsewhere. And this man’s threats did not seem sincere. “No, you’re trying to pull something. I don’t know what you are trying to distract us from, but it won’t work. Throw this man in the brig, see what he actually knows. As for your supposed bomb, I’m calling your bluff. But thanks for warning us to be on the lookout for something else.”
With that the prisoner was dragged away. Tigh was gambling that this was a wild goose chase. If he was wrong…
But he was not. Time passed, and no bomb went off. As for what was really being planned, they did not know.
Roll 5 (+2) = 7, Pass
No Cylons to activate.
Jump Prep +1
So that was his game. Sleight of hand. Get them looking one way, while one of his associates goes another. Clever.
They had caught him near the armory, so timing and location meant that those on guard would be forced to take him away. It would leave a window. A small one for sure, but a window none the less. Tigh had called his bluff, and was correct to do so, but while there hadn’t been a bomb there soon would be.
“I want all craft grounded. Nobody gets on or off the Galactica until we find those explosives.” Colonel Tigh was in no mood for messing around. Every available person was put on the search. Recordings were watched carefully to identify the intruder. The results were not comforting.
“You mean to tell me our second conspirator was the same as the one in the brig? Would someone care to explain to me how one person can be in two places?” What had started off as a brisk walk was turning in to a rolling tide of rage as Tigh became increasingly irritated. When he got to the brig, and confirmed his charge was still there, he let fly with all his pent up rage.
In the middle of his tirade he was interrupted by a new visitor, one escorted by two armed guards.
“Sir we found this one trying to steal a Raptor. The explosives were found in a satchel under his seat.”
Tigh turned to face the prisoner, and immediately reached to check his flask. Still full, and so the sobering reality hit him. There were two of these men known as Leoben, in the same room.
Soon there would be two blocks of ice formerly known as Leoben. Two more dead Cylons. Worryingly, they knew not how many more in disguise.
Skill Cards:
No jump prep
Success has rarely felt so bitter
Galactica has succeded in finding fuel for the journey, a journey to take place immediately. There had been much planning to get to this phase, choices scouted, options discussed, and ultimately Starbuck had been sent ahead to find their next location. So, with her role in having ensured that their fuel was in good order, she set the coordinates as the Admiral watched warily. Distrust was growing, Cylons were among them, and handing off this power was not easy.
But who was it? Were there more? Soon they would find out…
Otthegreat, I have selected 3 locations which are being sent to you. Please look them over and decide where the human fleet will go, but be warned. If the total equals or exceeds 4 then new loyalty cards will be passed out. At that point both Cylon cards WILL be in play for sure.
What trust and loyalty existed is undone by the strain. Twists and turns, secrets and lies. Visions half remembered show you truth from another’s eyes.
This is the end, but also a beginning. You know who you are now, in those secret places you pretended did not exist. Deception has been your way so far, but now it is no longer a mirror focused inward, but a mask facing out.
The sleepers have been awakened.
What trust and loyalty existed is undone by the strain. Twists and turns, secrets and lies. Visions half remembered show you truth from another’s eyes.
This is the end, but also a beginning. You know who you are now, in those secret places you pretended did not exist. Deception has been your way so far, but now it is no longer a mirror focused inward, but a mask facing out.
The sleepers have been awakened.
You are, unfortunately, the only one. The rest of the crowd?
The people have spoken, or at least made it clear. The speech proclaimed triumphs they simply didn’t feel. (roll 3, +2 Strategic Planning = 5. No result)
Heh, I recall a different election ;)
Good speech Rowe, sorry the dice did not agree.
You may take your second action set now.
But a train wreck has it’s own amusing qualities. In this case the apparent flailing desperation of the president was enough to inspire… something. All you know is you looked up into the balcony (When did Colonial One get a balcony) and saw this:
Unfortunately the good times must end, and with that comes a problem
Water, water everywhere but only in their dreams. The hasty nature of their departure, and the surprise of the Cylons meant that water and food were never truly stable. Now, as before, it hung there. Old tales, from days long forgotten, relayed them warnings of sailors long ago. One tale tells of a sailor who killed an albatross as it flew near their ship. In fury the gods had stricken them with all manner of misfortune, one of the most bitter being water.
At this point they were wondering what their albatross was, and whom they could throw out the airlock for it.
Lantz, you are a go.
Here is the board:
Systems analysis:
Life support - systems green
FTL - systems green, waypoint set
Navigation - systems green
Weapons - critical error
Electrical - systems green
There is never a good time for a major system to malfunction, but some are worse than others. Today they had lucked out. When the fire control systems shorted out, no birds were in the air nearby, and no personnel were in the weapons bay. It had been a stroke of fortune, in an otherwise tough situation.
Skill cards
No Cylons to activate
No jump prep
Politics 2 discarded from Lantz.
Pressured by the constant shortages, the ever decreasing rations, and the general low morale of the fleet, finally something snapped in the people.
President Zarek and Admiral Adama had been doing their best to build up the hope of the people, but it was impossible to truly stave off disaster indefinitely. It started with the Hyperion, as the prison workers there rose up after one of their own was maimed by the salvage equipment. Word got out on Galactica, and the civilians that had been brought on board for various work duties quickly formed a mob, a mob out for blood.
They contended that Galactica had been hoarding supplies, and what for? No Cylon ships had been seen in weeks. The Admiral had been a toaster, sure, and now his son was brigged under suspicion of being the same. All the more reason to take back the supplies, who knew what nefarious purposes the military leadership would put them to.
But mobs are hard to control, and this one quickly lost their purpose. The food stores that Galactica had been hoarding were damaged, and a portion of them ruined. The Marines on Galactica were able to bring order back, but only with some difficulty. While the damage was limited, the mood of the fleet was decidedly worse. There would be no easing of tensions, not while the people were upset about the rations.
Morale -1 Food -1
No Cylons to activate
No jump prep
Do you hear music as you prepared the jump Admiral? Do you see the vast array of space mapped out before you as on a sheet of music? Or is the song not resolved in your mind yet?
Seeing as Earth will have to wait, for now, I suspect that the notes are but a distant vision, but soon they may come together for you. Patience, in due time you will understand their meaning.
For now you must simply plan the next step on your destiny. That you can see. For your jump came early, but not unprepared. The whole fleet has followed your lead safely. May the gods of Kobol guide your destination.
Roll 5 (+2) =7 no population loss.
Imagine a time when it all began
In the dying days of a war
A weapon that would settle the score
Whoever found it first would be sure to do their worst
They always had before
Imagine a man where it all began
A scientist pacing the floor
In each nation, always eager to explore
To build the best big stick
To turn the winning trick
But this was something more
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The end was begun and it hit everyone
When the chain reaction was done
The big shots tried to hold it back
Fools tried to wish it away
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
Imagine a place where it all began
Gathered from across the land
To work in the secrecy of the desert sand
All of the brightest boys
To play with the biggest toys
More than they bargained for
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
Imagine a man when it all began
The pilot of ‘Enola Gay’
Flying out of the shock wave on that August day
All the powers that be and the course of history
Would be changed forevermore
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The end was begun and it hit everyone
When the chain reaction was done
The big shots tried to hold it back
Fools tried to wish it away
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say
-Neal Peart
Roll 4, basestar destroyed
Just because she was Admiral now didn’t mean Starbuck was any less the of a fighter jockey. So when the new Draedis contacts came up, she was ready to do her part. Straight out of the launch tubes, and right into the muck.
Despite the fact there were 5 Raiders, she went straight for the Heavy Raider. It may mean worse odds for the dogfight, but with one batch of Centurions on board, preventing another was top priority. Things were bad now, and there was little chance they could protect all the fleet, but they needed to do what they could, for who they could.
So half a league, half a league
half a league onward,
all in the valley of death
flew Kara Thrace.
“Forward Starbuck
Charge the Heavy” she said
into the valley of death
rode Kara Thrace
“Forward, Starbuck!”
Was thereto be any luck?
Not though the pilot knew
Was this a blunder:
Hers not to make reply,
Hers not to reason why,
Hers but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode Kara Thrace.
Raiders to the right of her
Raiders to the left of her
Raiders in front of her
twisted and shot
Battered by shot and shell
boldly she flew, and well
Into the jaws of Death
into the mouth of Hades
rode Kara Thrace
Flashed her muzzles bare
Flashed as she turned in the air
Charging an army, while
all the fleet wondered
plunged into shrapnel rain
right through the Raiders broke
Raider and Heavy
Reeled from the Viper stroke
shattered and sundered
then she flew back, but not
Not yet Kara Thrace
Raiders to the right of her
Raiders to the left of her
Raiders in front of her
twisted and shot
Battered by shot and shell
While the Heavy Raider fell
She who flew so well
Come through jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hades
from all that was left
rode Kara Thrace
When will her glory fade?
Of the wild charge she made
All the fleet wondered
Honor the charge she made
Honor her victory today
Noble Kara Thrace
Rolls 2,7,4,7
Heavy Destroyed, 2 Raiders destroyed.
From the desk of
President Tom Zarek
Classification
Top Secret
To Admiral Adama Thrace
Regarding Fleet Security and Civilian Safety
Fleet security and survival of the human race being of the utmost priority, in light of current military resources, and in full understanding of the dangers we may yet face, it is critical that the military be allowed to conduct operations as they determine fit. Upholding the constitution of our beloved home worlds being a critical function of this office, and therefore being of a most serious matter regarding said fleet, must make recommendations as the situation warrants. It is therefore imperative that this office approve of certain military actions that have, heretofore, been determined to be of significant risk to the civilian ships under our care. To this end a list of such situations has been drafted beforehand, and assessment of risks carried out.
Therefore, acting under the constitutionally granted auspices of the office of President, it has been determined that our current situation demands that the President is within his authority to ensure that operations are within the best interests of the fleet. Therefore, regarding current operational parameters, the situation has been brought forward, and a decision reached. The operation has been evaluated against non action and alternative actions.
Therefore authorization for Operation Righteous Hammer has been granted. Requested for IMMEDIATE implementation.
Signed
President of the Twelve Colonies
Leader of the Civilian fleet
Protector of Human Race
Thomas Zarek
Roll 2, -1 Population.
So the good news:
Following their initial plan had yielded poor results. This is when Gaius Baltar approached Chief Tyrol.
“Chief, please listen carefully. The committee has made a grave error. Their search coordinates are deeply flawed. Here” he produced a chart “here are the sectors they are exploring. Yet my sensor analysis clearly shows that the amount of heavy elements in these stars is far too low. This means these are young stars, first time stars, stars that would not likely have enough Oxygen in them to have systems with liquid water. However, if you look at these results, this cluster has far more suitable parameters. The committee declined to heed my advice, preferring to search the closer worlds, but you know as well as I this has not worked.”
Baltar’s eyes were frenetic. Every ounce of his body seemed to be pleading for someone to listen. He seemed so sincere, so sure.
But the orders? Well they had yielded nothing, and time was running out. Plus the charts did make sense…
Tyrol nodded, and took the offered charts.
“Thank you” The relief was palpable in his voice.
Chief Tyrol, never the most concerned about rules, decided to do something drastic. He pulled a stunt that, if successful, could speed the search along. If it failed, however, he would be facing serious trouble. The committee had convened to determine locations for scouting, but in all their searching they had not always followed the ‘best’ advice. He would fix that. Being deck chief gave him access to the Raptors. He could alter the flight plan and coordinates right before takeoff.
And so he did. 3 Raptors went out with ‘modified’ orders. Nervously he waited for their return. The first came back empty, and as the search was compared to the plan there was a scuffle about how their search grid did not match. The flight crew started arguing, yelling how they followed their orders and that it was the search committee who couldn’t read a damned chart. This was not good, he would be caught for sure.
But just then the second Raptor returned, and their crew floated out with pure exuberance. Suddenly the argument was forgotten, water had been found. Tyrol had made a risky choice, but it payed off. He would not be able to do so again, but for today he could celebrate.
Sector 1 - Raider attacks civilian ship. - 1 pop, - 1 fuel.
Sector 4 - Raider 1 roll 8
Action?
A fitting farewell from the traitor.
How does one prepare, much less address, the situation where your admiral is a Cylon agent? After months of rampant paranoia things had finally come to a nasty head. The Galactica had been under the watch of Cylons for years. The fate of the fleet had been entrusted to those merciless machines. A special trap in the CIC was practically a relief. Had they not found something not only would the bomb have cause serious damage, but the specter of their former leaders would hang like the sword of Damocles.
No, this bomb meant that they were operating with well trained, and properly enforced, security teams. All the prior incidents made sense. Who else could so easily access the critical systems. Who else could smuggle on fellow Cylon agent. Vigilance would be required still, but they were on the right track to undoing the damage done. Now if only that Cylon fleet would go away…
Leadership 2,2,2,3,3,4
Tactics 2,2
+20
Piloting 5
-5
Total +15, pass. No effect.
Cylon activation: 3 Raiders launch to sector 6
‘You’re an Angel, Starbuck. Full of beauty and light.’
Whispers from a dream world infiltrated her thoughts, consumed her dreams. What were these thoughts? Were they visions of some past life, prophesies for the future? The images were hard to reconcile, fuzzy images and hard to place locations, but the other senses burned, burned with vivid colors and all consuming smells. When she closed her eyes she could taste the flowers and grass in the air.
These visions etched upon her memories, torn into two she sought council. What did all this mean?
It is then she heard the voice, barely a whisper. ‘You are an Angel Kara Thrace’
With nobody around there was no person that could say this. So she closed her eyes.
Silence. Then, compulsion.
Slowly stepping forward, she reached out her hands. The piano. Brushing against their polished surface an energy flowed into her body. She pressed gently.
An explosion of color lit her mind. Swirls of green and blue rushed forward. Another note. Spots of red intermingled with the vast green ocean. Each new note brought another sensation. Puffs of white resolved into clouds. The piano strokes themselves became the song of birds. The taste of fresh air. the red spots turned in to flowers, and were joined by a soft green matte of yellow grasses, violet orchids, and brown cattails.
Time passed, and finally she resigned herself to return. Immediately she fell to the floor, as sitting on the piano was a strange woman. Tall and blonde, draped in red.
‘What you have seen is your destiny. It is prophesied that you will lead humanity to the end of their journey, Kara Thrace. Hold these visions in your mind, for they will guide you.’
Starbuck wished to cry out, but the words caught in her throat.
‘You are their guardian angel, Kara Thrace. Don’t be afraid, embrace your destiny.’
Starbuck blinked, and the woman was gone. Momentarilly she considered what madness had befallen her, but slowly the memories of the smells flowed back. It was all so real. If it truly were her destiny…
She stood up. Time to return to command. While visions and prophecies still felt somehow alien and fantastical, this felt so real there had to be more to it.
Skill cards
Politics 1,1,2
Leadership 1
Engineering 1,2,4
Total +11, pass. Starbuck draws a Politics card.
Cylon activation
Basestar attack roll 1, miss
In the panic from the arrival of the Cylon fleet, and the discovery of their wayward admirals, they had not properly checked in on all the civilian ships. The Tauron Rose was nowhere to be found, and they only just discovered this. 1,200 people on board, and nobody knew where the frak they were. With the Admiral busy, Gaeta took the lead.
“Dee I want you to put out a broadcast on the emergency frequency, I want every ship to report the last time they saw the Rose. After you do that get Baltar up here, I want him to go over the computer logs with me, to see what tracking data we have.”
It was time to scramble. If they did not find the ship, especially since they were already undergoing prep for their next jump, there would be little chance of finding it in the future. They could spare little air power for this search, but perhaps their computer systems may be helpful.
Lines of jump logs scrolled by, Baltar aided in extracting data for analysis.
“Negative contacts from the fleet, no captain reports seeing the Rose since our last jump” Dee informed Gaeta somberly.
“Wait, here. Look at the jump logs on Draedis. Here” Baltar pointed to a line with the IFF tag TRSE “You can see the ship on Draedis here, but at this point it jumps. Right towards the end of sequence as expected. But you can also clearly see that the energy signature does not match our other ships. Let me take this to my lab computer to run simulations. I suspect our ship had the wrong coordinates.”
Gaeta nervously acceded to the request. If correct, the ship may yet be out there, but how to find it? If Baltar was successful then they could get a Raptor out there and hope, but that was a long shot.
An hour ticked by as Gaeta waited. He prepared a Raptor just in case, with orders to retrieve the Rose. Baltar did return with coordinates, though he estimated only a 60% chance they were correct. No matter, it was all they had. Helo was tasked to personally lead this crew. Within minutes the Raptor was launched, and a tense game of waiting ensued as Galactica continued to hold off the Cylon fleet.
One hour. Two hours. Three hours ticked by, and then the Raptor returned. Alone. The crew’s heart dropped.
“New Draedis contact! It’s the Rose!” A minute after Helo arrived, so had the Rose. Their wayward ship had returned.
Tactics 1,1,1,1,3,5
Engineering 1,2,3
+18
Leadership 3,4
-7
Total +11, pass
3 new Cylon Raiders launch in sector 6
Yes, yes, yes. I didn’t get home until 11 last night, so it’s up later than hoped. Keep complaining and I might ‘accidentally’ knock a few Raiders off the board.
You already know how this ends, but here is the official tally.
Skill cards
The Cylons launched an all out assault, one that met almost no resistance. The human fleet had put all their efforts in to staunching other emergencies, so much so that when this came there were no rabbits left to pull out of their hats.
It started with a barrage of missiles, which quickly rendered the weapons systems of Galactica compromised, both internal and external (roll 4, damage Armory. roll 6 damage Weapons Control, Chief sent to sickbay). Then the Raiders timed their assault for right after. The first round of battle left Starbuck alone as Athena’s Viper was damaged (roll 6) and nothing was left of Crashdown (roll 8). The Raiders in front of Galactica moved to heavily outnumber a near panicking Hot Dog (Raiders in 5 move to 4).
The Raiders behind Galactica now had free reign on part of the fleet. The first ship to go was an empty storage vessel which had been left as a decoy (blank fleet token), but its counterpart contained 3,000 precious lives, lives cut short as their passenger liner was destroyed (Pop 2 fleet token). The last of this group of Raiders joined their companions fighting Starbuck, in an attempt to take out the densest part of the fleet. The doomstack of Cylon Raiders made their march towards the final destruction of humanity, as they moved ever closer to the overextended human fleet.
The Heavy Raiders moving towards the docking bay, and the new Raider that was launched, barely merited notice in all this fray.
Military tribunal deliberation room
Tigh: All right, who was it? I wanna know.
Duala: Excuse me, this was a secret vote. We all agreed on that. Now, if the officer wants it to remain secret…
Tigh: “Secret”? What do you mean, “secret”? There are no secrets in a military tribunal, I know who it was.
Tigh: [to Gaeta] Sister, you really are somethin’. you sit here vote guilty like the rest of us, then some golden-voiced preacher starts tearing your poor heart out about some unknowing assistance, just couldn’t help becoming a collaborator, and you change your vote. Well, if that isn’t the most sickening
Duala: [astonished that Tigh was accusing her, gets up] Oh, now just wait a minute! Listen, you can’t talk to me that! Who do you think you are?
Gaeta: Now calm down, calm down!
Duala: No, now who do you think you are.
Gaeta: It doesn’t matter. He’s very excitable. Just sit down…
Tigh: [exploding] “Excitable”? You bet I’m excitable! We’re trying to put a guilty man in the brig where he belongs, and then someone starts telling us fairy tales and we’re listening!
Anders: Heya, c’mon now.
Tigh: [to Dualla] What made you change your vote?
Helo: She didn’t change her vote - I did!
Gaeta: [everyone stares] Ohhh, fine!
Helo: Would you like me to tell ya why?
Kelly: No, I wouldn’t like you to tell me why.
Kelly: Well, I’d like to make it clear anyways, if you don’t mind.
Anders: [impatient] Do we have to listen to this?
Gaeta: [firmly] The man wants to talk.
Helo: [to Gaeta] Thank you.
Helo: [motions to Gaeta] This gentleman has been standing alone against us. Now, he doesn’t say that the accused is not guilty; he just isn’t sure. Well, it’s not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others, so he gambled for support… and I gave it to him. I respect his motives. The accused is probably guilty, but - eh, I want to hear more. Right now the vote is 10 to 2…
[Tigh gets up and heads to the bathroom]
Helo: Now I’m talking here! You have no right to leave this room - !
Gaeta: [calmly stopping him] He can’t hear you, and he never will. Let’s sit down.
*Much deliberation passes, but in the end the 12 Angry Men and Women do not convict.
Skill Cards
Leadership 1,3,5
Tactics 2,4
+15
Piloting 3,3
Politics 3
-9
Total +6, fail. -1 morale
Cylon activation
Raiders in 4 attack 4x
Raider 1 roll 2
Raider 2 roll 3
Raider 3 roll 7 - Ot any action?
210 'But Xerxes was not persuaded any the more. Four whole days he suffered to go by, expecting that the Greeks would run away. When, however, he found on the fifth that they were not gone, thinking that their firm stand was mere impudence and recklessness, he grew wroth, and sent against them the Medes and Cissians, with orders to take them alive and bring them into his presence. Then the Medes rushed forward and charged the Greeks, but fell in vast numbers: others however took the places of the slain, and would not be beaten off, though they suffered terrible losses. In this way it became clear to all, and especially to the king, that though he had plenty of combatants, he had but very few warriors. The struggle, however, continued during the whole day.
Then the Medes, having met so rough a reception, withdrew from the fight; and their place was taken by the band of Persians under Hydarnes, whom the king called his "Immortals: " they, it was thought, would soon finish the business. But when they joined battle with the Greeks, 'twas with no better success than the Median detachment - things went much as before - the two armies fighting in a narrow space, and the barbarians using shorter spears than the Greeks, and having no advantage from their numbers. The Lacedaemonians fought in a way worthy of note, and showed themselves far more skilful in fight than their adversaries, often turning their backs, and making as though they were all flying away, on which the barbarians would rush after them with much noise and shouting, when the Spartans at their approach would wheel round and face their pursuers, in this way destroying vast numbers of the enemy. Some Spartans likewise fell in these encounters, but only a very few. At last the Persians, finding that all their efforts to gain the pass availed nothing, and that, whether they attacked by divisions or in any other way, it was to no purpose, withdrew to their own quarters.
The slain were buried where they fell; and in their honour, nor less in honour of those who died before Leonidas sent the allies away, an inscription was set up, which said: -
“Here did four thousand men from Pelops’land
Against three hundred myriads bravely stand.”
This was in honour of all. Another was for the Spartans alone: -
“Go, stranger, and to Lacedaemon tell
That here, obeying her behests, we fell.”
This was for the Lacedaemonians. The seer had the following: -
“The great Megistias’ tomb you here may view,
Whom slew the Medes, fresh from Spercheius’ fords.
Well the wise seer the coming death foreknew,
Yet scorned he to forsake his Spartan lords.”’
At the end Starbuck stood alone against the Cylon swarm. A last, desperate, stand. All her efforts were for good cause, because it bought the time needed for the fleet to escape.
Roll 6 (+2) = 8, no population lost. Destinations being sent to Otthegreat.
I don’t know what they expected.
Kara Thrace may be Admiral, yes, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still absolutely, positively still the same insubordinate firebrand.
Grill Kara Thrace and outright accuse her of, somehow, being the cause of the Galactica’s Cylon problems? No thanks, I’ll pass. Before she was Admiral it was likely that would, at best, earn you a shiner. Now? You’ll get the shiner, a healthy dose of ‘frak you’, and a trip to the brig or airlock, depending on how seriously you stepped in it.
No, this was a bad idea. The last in a long line of them. The crew had spoken, the military tribunal had spoken, and now the Admiral had spoken. So now was the time to stop the nonsense about ‘Cylon collaborators’ or how ‘the Admiral was in on it’ (yes the Admiral’s had been, but wrong Admirals).
The accusers? Well it seems there was a need for a new crew of ice miners, the last group had been promoted effective immediately.
Skill cards:
Politics 2,3,3,3
Leadership 2,4
+17
Piloting 2
Engineering 1
-3
Total +14
No Cylons to activate
Jump prep +1
This was beginning to look like the end.
Time was running out, Kobol seemed so far.
The survivors so few.
The Cylons too ruthless.
Now the symbol of the civilian society lay gone. Destroyed from within. How had that bomb gotten there? Had a Cylon boarding party gotten on board during the last fight? A Cylon in disguise? Did it even matter? Did anything?
The spirit of the citizens lay at the breaking point. Push but a little, and the whole society would collapse. There would be no order, no hope. Individual captains would likely each seek their own safety, but none would ever stand a chance alone. At best they may live out their days on some godforsaken rock, slowly starving to death. Barely together did they have the resources to be a sustaining peoples, alone? No ship could hope to last more than a few months. Fuel, repairs, food, some other calamity would rend them insolvent. That is assuming the Cylons did not grasp them first.
It was not the end, not yet, but the end was in sight. It would take a miracle, though Galactica had provided a few of those already. Perhaps that was the problem, they had used most of their miracles.
With Colonial One gone there was no clear way forward.
Skill cards
Tactics 3,4
Engineering 1,1,3
+12
Politics 2,4
Leadership 2
-8
Total +4, morale -2 and Colonial One is destroyed.
Compulsion can be a strange and deadly thing. Many officers had been ruined by a compulsion for the drink, others by their compulsion for the company of others. It is this peculiar human malady that had infected the survivors of the twelve colonies. They sought answers which were not easy to come by, and were less comforting once understood. It is here where humanity found itself, teetering on the precipice.
The object of their obsession was the identity of all Cylons. The betrayal of the Adamas had fractured their psyche to such a degree that they sought malice where there might not be any. This obsession had led to decisions that had only caused chaos and bitterness. It had helped lead them to this point, with the fleet verging on collapse. When they should be banding together to find a home, they fed each other to the wolves. Tearing down, attacking, hunting for any perceived guilt.
But what is done is done. The people once again demanded answers, but also heads. The President and Admiral, knowing the nature of the request, could do little but deny it, hoping the people would see reason and stop the witch hunt.
It was not to be. The people revolted, and started rioting in the Galactica’s converted hangar. The MP’s tried to bring things down, but to no avail. Zarek’s final order to have the rioters shot was what finally broke the fleet. As soon as word got around what few ships remained sought their own way.
But an arcology is of little good if it can not be fueled, and humans can not run on scrap metal. Tylium can not be drunk. Each vessel that left had no chance of survival, but perhaps it was freedom they wanted. Freedom to die on some blighted spit of land in some distant solar system.
Whatever their fate, survival was not to be it.
This has been a game ending mistake, by the way.
But very nice write up!
I will add for @Woodlance and @Tim_N that it is impossible for you to pass all skill checks. First off, at the beginning of the game, there is a Destiny Deck that is seeded with two cards of every type. This means that, for a standard two color check, the deck has a roughly 1 in 3 chance of being helpful. Because of this, and because of resource (card) scarcity, sometimes it is better to punt a skill check than attempt to pass, but fail.
One way to ensure loss is to try and pass a check with a slim chance of success. This will drain you of cards you may need later, so that when another, potentially more serious, crisis comes up you will be unable to pass.
In terms of skill check frequency? Yellow and Green are the most common, with something like 75-80% of all skill checks using one or both. Purple (tactics) is next most common. It is only slightly behind Politics and Leadership, but behind it is.
Engineering (Blue) and Piloting (Red) are very rare. Probably about 5-10% of checks will use Piloting, and engineering is probably closer to 15%. They are useful cards, but mostly for their abilities.
They are also rarer to draw. So @Tim_N you should factor that into how you manage your hand. Only two characters draw piloting. They are very helpful for keeping Cylon Raiders at bay, and they become much more common in the second half of the game.
A general tip, and this goes for all of you, USE YOUR FRACKING MUTINY CARDS! While it may not have cost the humans the last game, I do tend to think that it at least played a major role in the loss. I swear if I see another game where 3 of you are sitting on a Mutiny card…
One last thing, and I will update the early posts, is I think I am going to revamp Colonial One to the newer version. Much like the Cylon locations got a tweak, so too did C1 with Daybreak. It also ties into the Mutiny system, so once I get home I’ll update the text and board. It basically adds a fourth space, and makes the Presidency more potentially dynamic. It removes the skill check to pass office, and replaces it with a different mechanism. It won’t make much of a difference, but it will help if you feel you have a president Cylon sandbagging it, or if a Cylon wants to become president…
A beacon in the dark, shining out through the night in frequencies the eye can not see.
Red sweeps crossing the expanse of space, seeking out the blossom of their desire.
This was the first doom destined for the ragged crew of humanity.
The plan had been working. The Cylons knew the score, they knew this was not a sprint. They were immortal, all powerful servants of the one true god. Theirs was the long game. Entropy returns everything to dust in time, they merely served to facilitate this transition.
Here the fleet lay, ready to begin their pogrom to new homes. Vicious fate had pushed them away from their only home, seeking an illusory legendary past. It would be a long journey, one beset at every turn by fortunes most foul. All they needed to do was push a little.
This was to be the first of many probing attempts. A small gesture. Whether the explosive loaded Raider made its target or not was of little consequence. It would cost time. It would cost resources. Neither of which the humans had in any great abundance. Drain them little by little, make them bleed. And if the needle were to find a way beneath the armor while their efforts were distracted, so much the better.
So into the ether went the Raider, its homing beacon awaiting on the shell of the old enemy. Missiles secured, engines green, and the skies clear. Other wings had drawn them into a tight formation, the air was clear.
But the humans were not that weakened, that distracted, yet. The Raider wended its way, but would forever seek its home. Admiral Hoshi at the guns, Dee at the comms, and the crew readied for the onslaught, they cut short the lonely raiders path. Perhaps closer than wanted, but cut short it was.
Skill cards:
Leadership 3(DE), 4(RO), 5(CoP)
Tactics 2(LS), 2(LS), 3(SP)
+19
Piloting 3(MF)
Engineering 5©
-8
+11, pass. No effect. Heavy moves from 1 to 2, jump prep +1.
However it turns out that those pilots may have been a little over enthusiastic. Turns out that there is a problem in the colonial fighter force.
Your call @legowarrior
They all got swept up to reserve when the ship jumped, so there are currently no ships on the board.
The only penalty is sending Apollo to sickbay, which is trivially solvable with an XO or launching a viper using command.
In silence, they watched. Time marched inexorably forward. Their trap was one sprung slowly.
Two figures in particular were in hushed conversation. Their figures obscured by the swirling mist and flourescent glow of the Hybrid chamber.
“Has your others protocol initiated yet?”
“Perhaps, but it’s hard to be sure. Their engines have been… unusually active lately. Whatever plans they have, perhaps hidden even from themselves, have been impossible to push with the fleets speed.”
“Hmm, this may be a problem. Perhaps we should send a signal to ensure they are awakened”
“Perhaps the hybrid brought us here for some good news them”
As they congregated with their other leaders, they watched as the somatic slumber of their navigator, their oracle, their muse broke. The slowly lolling eyes stopped their idle wandering, and focused in sheer terror.
“Tunnels in space, arrival to late. Fear drives on. Click click goes the ratchet on hexagonal homes. Tweaking time, into vast distances. Unbridled speed must be our undoing.”
The Hybrid gripped the edge of the basin, looking directly at the model Six at her side.
“Arrows loosened can not be returned, but fin their target they will not. Time has turned against us”
The Chief had his staff busy, they were moving well, and no reason to slow the convoy down yet. Scouting had helped them hone their destination, now it was up to the engine rooms to keep it moving. With no Cylon pressure since they left Saggitaron, they had taken the time to run double shifts in all engineering, the directive to keep the fleet moving.
Just as they were getting the FTL engines put back together the klaxons came on. A call from the bridge interrupted the deck Chief.
“Yes sir, they are online… All ships are accounted for and ready sir… Yes, on your command.”
And with that, he closed the maintenance hatch. Just as swiftly as the alarms sounded, they went off, as the fleet jumped away.
Skill cards:
Tactics 1(LS), 2(G&I), 3(SP), 4(UP)
Engineering 0(EN), 1®, 4(SR)
+15
Establish Network doubles engineering
+20
Politics 1(CP)
Piloting 0(PtF)
Treachery 0(DC), 0(DC)
-1
Total +19, PASS
Raiders come, raiders go, as you guys get +1 jump prep, Heavies activate, then another Jump prep.
Time to jump.
“Galactica Actual, this is Broadhead. Requesting emergency docking and contamination procedures”
“Broadhead what is the nature of this request”
“Sir we have picked up some strange artifact here. On arrival we discovered what appears to be some form of destroyed Basestar. No signs of any electrical or organic activity, save this one capsule floating just outside the hull.”
“Be advised Broadhead that we are clearing the starboard landing deck on Pegasus for you now.”
Nervous anticipation rode through the technical crew on Pegasus. Whatever their scout was returning could aid there fight against the Cylons, but there was some risk to bringing unknown technology on board. So they waited, their forms hidden by the bulky hazard suits, while the Raptor deposited a strange metallic cylinder on the deck. With the patient ease of one who has suppressed their doubts, the crew got to work. Slowly, at first, they worked on panels, noting the seeming non pattern of the display.
As the last bolt from an access panel was removed, the panel itself sprung open. A low thrum emitted from the device, raising in intensity until the device made a loud beep, and every light flashed.
Then the Pegasus shut down.
With nothing but the glow of the suit mounted head lamps, they quickly replaced the panel, while the Pegasus slowly rumbled back to life.
“What the hell was that” Lieutenant Gaeta called over the intercoms.
“Sir, we read an electrical pulse from the device. Please advise”
“That pulse reset the entire system, navigation and all. Eject it into space immediately”
Skill Cards
Tactics 3(CS)
+3
Treachery 0(B)
Total +3, fail jump prep -1, stays at 0.
The migration had begun slowly, cautiously, moving forward with deliberation. They knew not how long this voyage would last, so they visited their secret caches. Ammunition, fuel, food, they would need it all in the end, so before balsting off into the uncharted lands, they poked at the edges of the unknown first.
The Cylons had, as yet, failed to meet them in force since their initial escape. A few Raiders arrived, just in time to see the fleet leave. As the fleet edged off into the unknown they didn’t know what to expect.
One thing they certainly were not expecting was the arrival of a new refugee vessel. The Olympic Carrier, a ship that had been docked in the Aquarion starport, arrived at the secret military fueling station in a remote sector. At first there was joy, with every jump hope of more arrivals would wane, and the thought they were to be the last of humanity was a sobering one. But something didn’t sit right.
“Olympic Carrier, we show you on DRAEDIS, please confirm your identity using emergency protocols Church Young Lima.” Gaeta, operating comms, tensely waited. Something didn’t add up, an ill feeling that he just couldn’t place.
After over a minute with no response, Gaeta moved.
“Galactica to Longbow squadron, new orders. Priority 1 redirect. Investigate Olympic Carrier, and redirect vessel to holding pattern away from the fleet.”
A normal enough response, but unusual in one area. He had mirrored the comms channel over to Colonial one.
The Presidential office went into overdrive. Someone on Galactica was feeding them information, somewhat disturbing information. What ought to be celebration was causing duress. As President Foster and her chief of staff listened, they heard as the Olympic Carrier did not reply for code authentication, finally submitted wrong codes, and then attempted to ram the CAP that was trying to herd the dubious vessel away.
As they listened, it was clear what was coming. They would be forced to shoot. Quickly Foster set Billy to work drafting a speech.
But then the Vipers hesitated. They recoiled from shooting at the civilian vessel. And now it was rapidly approaching the garden ship Cloud Nine.
Slow motion panic crept as it got closer. The Vipers snapped to attention and started to shoot, but things seemed to be too late. They shot out the engines, but by now it had closed the distance that momentum would carry it through.
Horror swept into the room. Three thousand four hundred and eight people…
President Foster had one chance. One action to take. The Olympic was almost into the perimeter. The Vipers would not be able to stop it.
But there was one chance, one option. She ran to the cockpit and whispered in the pilots ear.
And for a brief moment a nova erupted outside the Colonial One. Multiple rockets streaked forth. The emergency point defense systems unleashed their full volley in a blazing display. The Colonial One was close enough, at the right angle, if they all hit it should deflect the wreckage…
Tory smiled as her desperate gambit worked.
Skill cards:
Politics 2(CP), 5(PP)
Leadership 2(MV)
Piloting 3(RI), 3(MF)
+15
Treachery 5(ABM)
-5
+10, fail. BUT. @jeffreyb plays Declare Emergency, +2, pass.
Jump prep +1
Final order of business, @Jorn_Weines please select who gets a Mutiny card.
An army marches on its stomach
It was simple math really. They had, since their escape, taken the time to methodically catalogue every bit of supply the fleet had, right down to the number of spare bolts. They knew their situation precisely.
Which was a cold comfort. They did not know how long, or far, their travels would be, but they knew it would be much more than this. They had already burned through 25% of food stocks, and hydroponics were slow to get going.
The leaders of the fleet felt compelled to try and bury the report from public view. They would act on the information, but no need involve the general public… yet.
But it would not prove so easy. The walls have ears, and eventually a transport vessel, docked with Galactica, was able to access the report. Once done, it was out. The people did not respond well.
Politics 4(IC), 5(IC)
Leadership 0(AHoD)
+10
Engineering 3(SR)
Piloting 3(MF)
-6
total +4, fail
Morale -1
Kobol, the legendary home, existed beyond the space of the twelve colonies. Rumor and history had always pointed towards certain directions, but the distance had always prevented a true search. Now, spurred on by an implacable enemy, they found the need to look. Legends tell of stops along the way, temporary homes where human life could thrive, but the truth was always out of reach.
Until today.
There was no mistaking it, the planet they now scanned had once been inhabited by humans. This planet of permanent winter, a nuclear wasteland of bones of buildings and creatures, had been a home.
This was huge, impossible to predict how this would ripple through the fleet. Hiding it would be impossible, but simply announcing it would be potentially worse. Careful planning would be needed, and a deliberate message sent.
So why they selected Gaius Baltar to give the speech will forever remain a mystery.
“People of the fleet, today we made a discovery. Yes. You see, um, apparently the journey from Kobol began many eons ago was not a, shall we say, perfect trip. There were stops, yes, and events happened that were unfortunate. Today we discover the first evidences of that journey. Yes that evidence is sad, but let us not give up hope. That we found this much shows we are on the right path. That there is, beyond argument, that legends of our peoples have truth. We only must seek to continue, to search for a better home. This is our… destiny”
The hopeful spin softened the blow that their discovery was a nuclear hellscape but did not completely eliminate it.
Skill cards:
Politics 1(CP), 5(N)
Leadership 1(XO), 1(XO)
Tactics 3(UP), 4§, 4(SP), 5(ASC)
+24
Pass. Morale -1, jump prep +1
Huh, that is funny. Maybe I had a bit too much to drink with my old XO. Tigh really does have the best stuff…
Hmm, no there really is some light through the armory door. Gah, what was in that cocktail, and would they fly this ship in a straight line? It’d be so much easier to walk if they weren’t banking all… over…
Oh, right. Space. Artificial gravity means that you don’t feel turns. What was in that drink?
Why was I standing here again? Something about lights? RIGHT! The armory door. Ugh, someone should close that. Let me just push it a little…
Oof, why am I on the floor. Because the door opens inward, pushing opened it. No more drinking with Tigh. And would whoever left these blasted lights on please turn them off? They are giving me a headache.
I don’t know how the XO functioned on so much booze, tomorrow it’s going to be ‘Chief Tyrol do this’ and ‘Chief Tyrol we broke the hydroponic garden water pump again’ and ‘Boomer forgot how to land a Raptor without denting the runway’ and ‘Chief Tyrol you keep our sorry posteriors alive when things break because we a re a bunch of idiots who can’t use a spanner without breaking the navigation computers’.
Ok, they don’t actually say that.
Why am I here again?
Maybe I should stand up. this floor is going to leave marks on my face. But that requires effort. And really, it’s not so bad down here. At least things stopped spinning. Besides I get to admire the G4 cases. The stainless steel exteriors. The tamper proof hinges. The scratches on the keyholes from where someone tried picking the lock…
Frack. Son of a Tauron weasel, toaster humping, radiator fluid chugging, mother fracking, pile of dog feces.
Ok, calm down. Time to get up off the suprisingly comfortable floor. Yup, that’s it. Grab the shelf because the world just tilted sideways. Ok, forward.
And floor.
New plan. Stand in the doorway and yell. That I can do. Yup, now explain in coherent detail to this very confused marine that someone broke into the G4 explosives, and I discovered it because they had left the door cracked open. I’m sure he understood completely. Now nap time. That spot on the floor looks comfy.
Oh, hey, it’s the doc. Wait, what? Why is he… oh that headache. Ok, I remember now.
“Good, you’re awake. Got a message from the old man, said to give it to you as soon as you woke. He says to let you know that your news about stolen G4 was…”
Skill Cards
Politics 0(FtH)
Leadership 0(AHoD), 1(XO), 4(AAC)
Tactics 1(LS), 5(SP)
+13
Treachery 5(EaW)
-5
Total +8. @jeffreyb you must now
a) add a card to the skill check, or
b) draw a mutiny card
then we will finish resolving the check. You may also now choose the player to draw a Mutiny from Exploit a Weakness, to speed things up.
It does rather seem that the cords of friendship between Starbuck and Tory are going to be hard to repair indeed.
Perhaps it was paranoia, perhaps something was actually wrong. Whatever the truth may be the President had not hesitated to act.
And now Kara tried to counter.
Her imprisonment had been unilateral, unexpected, and without any pretense of due process. By fiat the President had declared Kara Thrace persona non gratta. Starbuck protested each and every one of those points to anyone who would listen.
But nobody acted in her stead. Though some grew suspicious, none could be certain if the President had been correct, wrong but honest, or acting on some ulterior motive. so ultimately they stood by.
And waited.
But that waiting grew a dark stain upon the Galactica. Trust would begin to fray, and dark corners appeared everywhere. Everyones hearts hardened, just a bit, and everyone was watching for daggers in the dark.
Even Kara Thrace, who would sit in that brig cell and brood.
Skill Cards
Tactics 5(CS)
+5
Engineering 3(SR)
Treachery 3(PV)
-6
Fail, -1
Everyone will draw 1 Treachery, @rowe33 one Mutiny as well. You must then discard one of your two mutiny cards.
Fatal exception line 41227
Jump Drive initialization failure
Location value data expected = 8
Value returned = 2
Process Terminated
/> restart MasterJC.exe
MasterJC.exe is in use and can not be restarted at this time
/> close MasterJC.exe
MasterJC.exe is unable to be closed at this time
/> SysReboot
System can not be rebooted while MasterJC.exe is in use
/> do something
Something is not a recognized command type ? for a list of valid commands
/> bastard
Bastard is not a recognized command type ? for a list of valid commands
/> I am the Admiral, frack you, start working
I… is not a recognized command type ? for a list of valid commands
/> ?
access
close
dir
do
erase
fix
fsck
kill
load
restart
SysReboot
?
/> Kill MasterJC.exe
MasterJC.exe is in us…
The Admiral jerked up from his computer to see Dee and… the appliance… standing over the work station, holding the power cord and shrugging.
they plugged it back in and…
“Blasted thing working fine now, figures.”
Skill cards:
Tactics 3(SP), 4(SP)
Engineering 1®, 5(SR)
+13
Leadership 1(XO)
-1
Total +12, pass. No effect.
@Jorn_Weines select your draw
Intuition, destiny, luck, divine guidance, each had their own explanation, but none could claim truth. There behind them lay the unknown, a mystery. Before them, the unknown.
The battle raged on outside when it came, something that defied explanation. Though space had long used meteorological terms, rarely had they taken such obvious forms. Solar winds, magnetic storms, nebulae clouds, terms of familiarity more than direct analogies to terrestrial counterparts.
But this? This was a space storm, a hurricane even. Not just in appearance, but in force. As the Vipers managed to sweep off the last of the Raiders there, rounding the gas giant, came the angry swirling mass. One which defied DRAEDIS, showed on no scanners, but descended with a force unlike any other.
As the first waves struck, the pilots took their best efforts to hold a consistent heading. The fleet at large was swept at awkward angles, and the clumsy transports tried to reorient themselves. The Vipers worked to keep the air clear as the fleet tried to reorganize.
In the midst of the chaos, the Admiral prepared to make a bold move. An odd phenomenon was occuring, as the storm washed over, their jump engines started to spike. A wave of… enlightenment perhaps… energy coursed through the crew. Though it would be hard to explain, he felt that now was the time to jump. Standing there he saw the computer take the calculations, and simply drop all but one location. As if the Cosmos were telling him that this was where to go.
To trust it, or not, was the choice. Could they pull it off?
He hit the fleet comms, and transmitted the data. Now to find out what destiny had in store.
Skill cards:
Tactics 2(G&I), 3(SP)
Piloting 1, 2, 4(RI)
Engineering 0(EN), 0(EN), 1®, 4(SR), 6(BN)
+32
Treachery 0(B)
-0
Total +32, pass jump prep +1
Raiders launch in time to see the human fleet seem to vanish through the eye of the storm. Jump prep +1, auto jump.
The admiral was all in. Fate had gifted them a chance, and he was prepared to take it. Ordering two wings to take flight at the seemingly unguarded refinery, now was their chance. Take this, and they should have the fuel to go all the way.
So out of the malestrom and into the fray he ordered his fleet. Placing all his cards on the table to take this one lucrative spot. For what seemed an eternity he watched as his Vipers drew close, using the asteroids to shield them, but watched in dismay as several new contacts popped up. Hidden in that same field were several turrets that had disguised as asteroids, and the Vipers were rebuffed.
Roll 3 (+2SP) = 5, fail.
Billy stood at the podium, a cold sweat tracing down his spine. Vicious fates were laying in wait, and one member of the crew had slipped up. Not enough to identify an individual, perhaps, but enough to know where to look. Staring into the harsh halogen lighting, he waited for all to sit.
The recent failed raids had been the first signs of misfortunes that had sat idle while the fleet had stayed within the safe confines of supply. Now, here, past the edge of the unknown in uncharted space, with no line back to their memories that they could trace, nefarious forces conspired. Subtle messages, sabotages great and small, all were piling up. Today they had found their first mistake. And today, in front of the cameras, they were prepared to test it. To force truth to come out.
And so, behind Billy, sat a table with a small cream colored box. A genetic testing machine, already prepared with the hair sample to compare against their suspicions. The box emitted a low roar, like a jungle predator stalking its prey, that crept through the room, seeking its quarry.
One last check to make sure his notes were in order, and he began. Stressing the early investigations had not tied any one person to their troubles, but that the suspect pool had been narrowed. Calling for calm, but yet vigilance. Inexpertly building his audience towards a crescendo.
“Today we take steps towards securing our fleet. For we are prepared to undertake testing, with the first test being done independent of both military and civilian leadership, as it is important that we not expose ourselves to treachery at the highest levels. Communications Officer Anastasia Dua…” his voice trailed off as he noticed a round canister roll from the seats towards him. Before he could call it out, however, it proved too late. The makeshift incendiary bomb detonated, killing Billy along with its primary target.
The sample.
Skill cards:
Politics 3(IC), 4(PI)
Leadership 5(DE), 5(AAC)
+17
Piloting 1(EM)
Tactics 5(ASC)
Engineering 5(TtL)
Treachery 3(ABM)
-14
Total +3, fail. Morale -2. A better Machine adds two treachery cards to the destiny deck. However as destiny drew its last two cards for this check, a new destiny deck is built before this triggers, so 12 cards +2 treachery.
Raiders advance from 5 to 4. Jump prep +1
@Jorn_Weines you may select your draw.
Ok now that the situation is clarified, time to proceed.
Leoben sat in the corner of the lab, as trails of vapor and smoke traced their way up the lab walls. He had seen hope, but also trouble. But through it all he kept coming back to something the Hybrid had told him once, before embarking on his quest, ‘The hammer falls on the righteous and evil alike, dark times challenge all. Pain shall provide purity of purpose. Before the end, you will have the chance to control fate. Yours shall be the hand that gives when it takes, do not give that which will be turned against you.’
Yes, it all seemed so clear now, his place in the great wheel of history. Would he break that wheel, skip the cycle, or be trapped within it? Time would tell, but the hybrid clearly spoke of that which was to be. So he sat in contemplation, waiting for motions to start which would project him to his place.
What he thought was emotional pain would prove to be other than he expected. For while he sat, the prophecy started in motion.
Behind him the mists broke, and a figure approached. Rather than shock, or anger, Leoben nodded with a grim smile. So this was to be how it began. Very well, but he had clarity now, a clarity which would enable him to take his place.
When he came to, he also had been dealt an opportunity. though they didn’t trust him, the attack left him a chance to start applying pressure. They wanted to know who, and he knew just what to tell them.
Reckless: flip Treachery 0(DC) causes second treachery flip -> Treachery 5(EaW)
Two raiders go to 5. @Jorn_Weines you must now select a player to draw a Mutiny card.
Skill cards:
Politics 2(StP), 3(IC)
Leadership 2(XO)
Treachery 4(VO) -.> @Jorn_Weines to sickbay
+11
Piloting 2(EM)
Engineering 2®
-4
Total +4, pass 1 Politics card to Leoben. Basestars attack
Basestar 1 - roll 5
Basestar 2 - roll 1
Take 1 damage. @Jorn_Weines one more thing, damage Galactica or Pegasus?
Works for me. I’ve seen no dissent, and so it is.
Nobody was willing to talk about what the broadcast said, for a mysterious voice had called across the speakers. One among them muttered ‘the Hybrid’, and stood in shock. As others were concerned about what Leoben’s words meant, there were no answers. The strange stream had no interpretation, no answers, so they did the only thing they could.
They got smashed. It drained supplies a bit, but they all agreed it was worth it.
Skill cards:
Treachery 0(DC), 3(ABM)
Fail. 2 Raiders in sector 5. 2 Treachery shuffled into Destiny.
-1 food, 2 Treachery shuffled into deck.
Heavy Raiders move to sectors 3 and 4. Jump prep +1
Indeed.
Doc Cottle had been hard at work keeping the fleet going. The gradual accretion of stress, fatigue, and minor injuries was taking its toll on the fleet. His lab was askew with all manner of vials, tubes, compounds, chemicals, and papers.
‘A thousand cuts will kill a man as surely as a single blow’ had become the motto of the sickbay. Tasked with keeping the fleet healthy enough to keep fighting, to keep surviving, the Doc had taken to all manner of unusual methods.
But chance had delivered them an opportunity. An algae, picked up from the ice moon, had become a major source of food energy, but it also provided something else. He had discovered, quite on accident when making ‘green tea’ drink, that when heated in certain low moisture environments (he had left the plant extract on the hot pad overnight, long enough to evaporate all the water and burn the materials) the algae produced a stimulant. Now he was working on how to harness this for mass production. Give the men and women a bit of extra zip to complete their duties.
He had just requested a batch of algae being grown on Cloud Nine be transferred to his lab to begin immediate production and extraction. The cargo was personally escorted through the combat zone by crack pilot Starbuck, with Apollo, Dee, and Admiral Hoshi all providing logistical support. They were feeling the drag and wanted in.
The Doc got to work, but when he started to render the algae, it started smoking with an acrid smell. Confounded Doc Cottle tried to turn the burners off, only for it to explode, killing the Doc, and destroying the recipe.
Skill cards:
Politics 1(StP), 4(IC)
Leadership 3(RO), 3(DE)
Tactics 0(QT)
Engineering 1®, 1®, 2®, 2®
+17
Tactics 4(UP)
Piloting 1(EM), 1(EM), 2(EM), 2(EM), 5(RI)
Treachery 0(DC), 0(DC)
-15
total +2, fail. @rowe33 you may use Quick Thinking to remove a card of 3 or less (which won’t affect outcome because +2)
Draedis Contact adds 2 Raiders to 5
Heavies spawn at each Basestar
Dee knew about Apollo and Starbuck’s history. That made it all the more satisfying. The evidence was in hand, the arguments were clear. Plus, with morale so low, everyone could do with a little bit of old fashioned killing.
So when Starbuck was marched into the airlock, Dee smiled the sweetest smile possible as she mashed open the door, watched her vent into space, then triggered the bomb just to be sure.
Skill cards:
Politics 1(CP), 1(CP), 3(IC)
Tactics 1(G&I), 1(LS), 1(LS), 1(LS), 2(LS), 2(LS), 2(LS), 2(LS), 4(CS), 4(UP)
Treachery 3(ABM), 5(EaW)
+33
Leadership 2(XO), 2(XO)
Engineering 1(JR), 3(CO)
-8
Total +25
Things that happen:
2 Treacheries shuffled into Destiny
@Woodlance you pass out a Mutiny (it can be to rowe at this point, and if you do it will basically go away with all other cards when rowe dies)
@Woodlance you may use Quick Thinking to draw any card of value 3 or less. Note the check passes by so much that no card taken will change the result which is…
Dead Starbuck. Very dead Starbuck. Very dead Cylon Starbuck.
Rowe moves to resurrection ship, loses all cards.
So at this point you need a hail mary from the Destiny Deck.
…
You know, we all know how this ends. As it turns out the bomb threat, called in to the Astral Traveler, was real. Dee had been sent to try and solve it, but it was no good.
5,000 people died with her.
Skill cards:
Politics 3(IC)
Leadership 1(XO), 2(XO)
Tactics 5(CS)
+11
Piloting 2(FT)
Treachery 0(DC), 4(VO), 4(VO)
-10
Total +1, fail.
Morale -1
ship - 2 pop
Morale hits 2, Dee dies. Dee is 100% human, however.
@Woodlance please select your new character.
@legowarrior is sent to sickbay.
2 Raiders placed in 5
It was to be a battle worthy of song, should any be alive to sing it.
The day had come. Now was to be the moment all had built towards, weeks and months of pursuit, for this gambit. Everyone knew this was the last opportunity for survival. Fail here, and there would be no more tomorrows.
Deep within the bowels of Galactica huddled a group of refugees. The thrum of engines and the sturm un drang of the battle meshed into a cacophony of terror. Slowly, almost inaudibly at first, a song rose from one corner. Huddled there together, apart from the rest, was a group who had lost their leader. Gaius Baltar had left their number, elevated to greater importance, and so they hoped the leader who had given them hope would be able to provide the same for the fleet.
On Colonial One the President sat contentedly within her solitary confinement in the Quorum chamber. They could accuse all they wanted, and they were even right, but she had kept them too busy to deal with her yet.
Outside the detente had broken violently. Probing attacks became an all out assault. Every Cylon ship entered an all out assault. The crew of Galactica knew they could not beat this force by conventional means. Their firepower would not be enough, not in this state of depleted fleets. This was their doom.
Or…
It was a desperate gambit, one that would leave them with no recourse if it failed. But it was a hail mary hope, a chance at success that otherwise would not be there.
Gaius Baltar, returned from exile in his harem, had pointed out the hope. The initial assault had disabled human defenses by means of a virus implanted on the systems. What if…
It was absurd, it was audacious, it was their only hope. Leoben was brought in, he knew their systems. Their Cylon ‘friend’ was never really trusted, but at this they had no choice. If he was not on their side, they were lost anyhow. They gave him the code.
Apollo was instructed to fly as close to the basestar as he could, he would act as relay. Every ship would as well. Civilian ships deemed sufficiently fast and armored were sent in to point blank. It was a suicide gambit if the code did not work. The die was cast, the broadcast made…
Skill cards:
Politics 2(CP), 4(PI), 6(PP)
Leadership 6(SoE)
Engineering 3(SR)
+21
Treachery 0(DC),…
Treachery 0(B)
-0
Total +21, PASS All cylon ships go poof.
The time for subtlety was past, though this implied that it had ever really come. When her brothers and sisters struck, the remnants of humanity had vested in her a great and terrible power.
There were many ways to deal death, and not all must be accomplished quickly. Hers was to deny any hope of resupply, let their pogrom choke out of its own appetite. People were not the only things to thirst, after all.
So she would force them to face their own weakness, and show how powerless they were to stop it. The Raptors went out, and so too did the broadcast to the Raiders laying in wait. They would meet on some far flung asteroid, fingers of friendship tracing their orange arc before blossoming with warmth.
Beware those entrusted with power, for with them may be sown the seeds of destruction.
Skill cards:
Tactics 1(LS), 1(LS), 2(LS)
Piloting 2(EM)
+6
Politics 0(RT), 0(FtH), 3(IC)
Treachery 0(DC)
-3
Total +3, fail. 2 Raiders placed in 5
Force their Hand - @jeffreyb you must add another card, or draw a Mutiny.
Ok, after much consternation caused by a glitch in the Matrix, we arrive here…
The administration was implicated, there could be nothing left to chance. A leak to the press of involvement of persons with questionable loyalties in the departure of the fleet, provided by an anonymous source within the Fleet INtelligence Department, or FIND.
So when the leak got around, every would be sleuth made sure to drag the details into the light. Aggression like this could not go unchallenged. The brazen manner with which the President flaunted the truth seeking didn’t matter, as it very nearly worked. Even when the eyes of the world are watching, a sufficiently determined and empowered individual with no moral qualms can do anything.
But through pluck and some technical expertise (Cylons tend to know Cylon methods better than humans), the source was identified.
The success of the search would pave the way for future investigations.
Skill cards
Tactics 1(LS), 2(LS), 2(LS), 6(SfF)
Engineering 1®, 1®, 1(JR), 3(SR)
+17
Politics 2(StP), 4(IC)
Leadership 1(XO)
-7
Total +10, pass
1 - food… but I have been informed that a certain Athena has decided that they will instead change the plans. Supplies will instead be distributed to all crew members to help their future investigations.
EVERYONE draw 2 skill cards.
Turns out that the machinations of a malevolent machine are not enough forever. Sometimes Politicians need a hand.
Skill cards:
Politics 0(RT), 1(CP)
Tactics 1(LS), 3(SP), 4(CS)
+9
Leadership 4(DE)
Piloting 5(MF)
Treachery 3(ABM)
-12
Red Tape clears Piloting 5
-7
Total +2
@rowe33 your action.
You would say that.
Well, that settles it. You are a happy and prosperous bunch… who has decided that the best way to get through your troubles is to eat your way out.
Raiders move to 1
Jump prep +1.
Just like the force must remain in balance, so too must your karmic fortunes. Balance may be delayed, but will not be denied… with interest.
Good news is that you got some positive news this turn!
The marines face was stiff, implacable. Conflicted ideas ran through his head.
On the one hand the Admiral was giving him a direct order to have Saul Tigh released immediately, while casting aspersions on the President and one of the ace pilots. That alone should have made it an easy order to follow.
On the other there were two of her running around, and if that didn’t say freaky robot nonsense, nothing did.
but the evidence was at hand, being weighed, yet when it came to it his hands were frozen in indecision.
The scales were in balance, which way would they tip…
Skill cards
Tactics 0(QT), 1(LS), 1(G&I), 2(LS), 2(G&I), 3(CS), 4(SP), 4(SP)
+17
Piloting 3(RI), 3(CV), 4(MF)
Treachery 3(PV)
-13
Total +4
Quick Thinking and Personal Vices set to activate, @Knightsaber pick what activates first (yes I am going to make you declare it, though I really don’t need to)
Cylon benefactors were known and named. collusion was not sufficient a word for their depths of betrayal, but it would suffice. More permanent solutions could be sought later.
But their foes were not to be entreated so lightly, their resources not so scarce. Openly acting against the fleet, no measure had been yet enough to bring down the former President, and it would not today.
Skill cards
Leadership 2(XO), 3(DE)
Tactics 1(LS), 3(SP), 5(CS)
+14
Politics 1(CP), 2(CP)
Piloting 4(CV)
Engineering 5(SR), 6(BN)
-18
total -4, fail. Morale -1
Raiders attack Galactica
Roll 4, roll 4
Jump prep +1
Well if they can ever get you off the ship, and stop the brigging circus it might be.
Speaking of…
So Saul Tigh was getting to be quite friendly with the marines who watched the brig. Well enough that they would sneak him small favors for when he got out, wanting to not wind up on the path of the coming hurricane.
Because Saul Tigh was a very unhappy man.
But, sometimes, fate can come together in small ways to ease the unfairness of it all. Little boosts that can make all the difference. So when Saul, feeling rather put upon, declared ‘let fate be my arbiter’, something curious happened…
He got a note, one that said ‘Help is coming’
Skill cards
Tactics 0(TI), 5(SP)
+5
Leadership 1(XO), 2(XO)
-3
Trust Instincts adds two from Destiny
Politics 5(IC)
Piloting 2(EM)
+3
Total +5, fail BUT @Jorn_Weines had said he will use Declare Emergency (3) if it mattered.
And it does.
@Knightsaber you are a free man. Again. Pick a spot.
Saul Tigh was furious.
No, scratch that, furious was two weeks ago. Right now he was prepared to pull the trigger himself. All this nonsense about how ‘I can’t do anything about obviously evil robots running around Colonial One’, and he had had enough. If they weren’t going to do something, he would do it himself.
But, fresh out of the brig for the… lets not actually say… time he was not keen to go back. And summary executions, no matter how justified, would like do that. But he still had some pull, even without his rank. Those marines by the brig, well, they had taken a shine to the crusty old man.
So, despite faulty machinery and an airlock on Colonial One that ‘mysteriously’ wouldn’t work, the deed was done. Tigh had to resist the urge to engage in a physical altercation with the, finally, prisoner.
Skill Cards:
Leadership 2(XO), 4(RO)
Tactics 3(SP), 3(SP), 5(CS)
+17
Engineering 1®, 4(RS)
-5
total +12, pass. @rowe33 you do the honors.
By this point they barely even bothered to lock the brig doors. Just make sure to wipe your shoes as you enter, coffee machine is to the right, the official ‘return to duty’ papers will be along shortly along with an apology for the stupid arcane rules that we really need to change in these times, required it. Sure, she was no longer Admiral, but with Tigh free, again, this was the easiest way to give him back the duties without a whole bunch of senseless paperwork.
‘He was put in the brig for bad reasons by an obviously Cylon infiltrator’
‘But the rules state that, until these papers are filed and the charges are formally cleared, he can not regain the post’
‘But then if the current Admiral gets thrown in the brig the title reverts to the highest seniority officer of sufficient rank, which is clearly him’
‘That seems… odd. Ah, what the hell. Let’s do it. I’ll go ahead and draft the release papers for Boomer’
Skill cards:
Politics 4(PP), 4(IC), 5(PP)
+13
Leadership 3(AAC)
Treachery 0(B), 3(PV)
-6
Total +7 pass.
Pick a spot to go to @rowe33
Civvie placed in 2
Treacheries dealt out to all, two Mutinies dealt to @Jorn_Weines for distributing one to @rowe33
Fresh out of his pod, model H07-D09 had information. Information that could be used to strike in the soft and exposed cracks of the human fleet. With a Basestar in position, and the Colonial Navy on its heels, he beamed the orders. Now was the time for their glory.
The colonial fleet, trying desperately to hold off the Cylon ambush, noticed a shift. Skirmishes coalesced into a more concrete push. Feints became full fledged wings zeroing in on the lightly defended civilian populations.
The Galactica, with not enough Vipers at the ready to hold off, threw everything they had into a full flak cloud. Ignore the Basestar for now, they could take the hit, but those fighters must be repelled at any cost. So they fired, and hoped, that it could hold off the advance long enough…
Skill cards:
Leadership 0(IW), 2(XO), 2(XO)
Tactics 0(TI), 1(LS), 2(LS), 2(LS)
Piloting 0(D), 1(EM), 1(EM), 1(EM), 2(EM), 2(EM), 3(MF)
Engineering 2®, 5(TtL)
+28
Politics 6(PP)
Treachery 3(PV)
-9
Total +19
There are 3 cards to activate. @soondifferent pick the first one to apply.
This is consequential, and so I want to put it all out in the open before proceeding.
So here is what happened:
The initial two cards from Destiny were the last two. Destiny gets rebuilt.
All check stuff happens. The point total is at +17, not +19, and Dogfight, Iron Will, and Trust Instincts are in play.
As it went down Iron Will was removed, and two cards were drawn from the newly built Destiny Deck.
This led to a pass, in error.
However things are not over.
So the question is, what to do? We can play out the turn, as it happened, only with the new final tally at +22, not +24, and all that entails.
We can reset to the Dogfight card being engaged, and since the Destiny Deck was brand new, just clear and rebuild it.
If there is a third option, I am open to hearing it. but as I see it these are the two options. The only thing exposed by resetting is that a) what the top two cards of the new destiny were and b) that I apparently can’t add today.
I will wait until everyone gets a chance to chime in.
It was an offer, but what reason did the colonial fleet have to trust it. Indeed every action, every turn, every betrayal screamed this was not an offer to be accepted.
But it was also not one they could ignore. Buy time, prepare their forces. Hope against hope they could move in time.
Silver tongued and stern of measure they came. Ill intent hidden behind pleasing demeanor. Negotiations were conducted holding plastic tubes. When plastic failed brass and steel tubes were brought. With the speed of light the negotiators conscious minds were returned to their origin. It was messy. It was unexpected. But it was what was needed, at minimum and no more.
Skill cards
Leadership 0(AHoD), 1(XO), 1(XO), 2(XO)
+4, AHoD +1
+5
Treachery 0(B), 0(B)
-0, AHoD +2
Total +7, partial pass. 2 Treacheries shuffled into Destiny. 1 Civilian ship placed in 2
3 Raiders launched in 1
No jump prep.
Boomer things sent to @rowe33
The tests were unneeded, all loyalties lie known, but the public demanded them. Halfhearted appeasements would not do, they wanted results.
But the fleet had neither the will or resources to commit to such a pointless gambit. But that was no matter, reports and news circulating the fleet had convinced them of the need, so here they sat, staring at a pointless desire. Go along and deplete attention from the true threat, the one the public was unaware was deadly near, or mollify the implacable crowd with senseless trinkets.
Their response, though honest, was worse than nothing. It slipped them closer to the edge.
Skill cards:
Politics 1(CP), 2(CP)
Leadership 0(IW), 2(XO), 3(DE)
+8
Treachery 1(BL), 2(SD), 3(S), 5(EaW)
-11
total -3, fail.
@rowe33 select the order
Quick Thinking
Iron Will
Exploit a Weakness
It was a desperate move. One that, if it failed, would leave them unable to respond, doomed to extinction. But the rewards were…
Tom Zarek made the call to his old friends, to see what kind of mischief they had at their disposal. Word came back, several options lay before Tom.
While contemplating his decision he heard a scratching at the door. A metallic rasp that grew in intensity. Time was running short…
But the answers were. It to be found. Cursing his erstwhile allies distractions with food and spacecraft he turned to the door to scowl, in absence of the firepower he really sought.
The card you are looking for is not to be found in Mutiny. It has already been drawn, and discarded, earlier. Instead the next crisis is a Cylon fleet. Your doom is complete.
Blood must be sated. Destruction rings for vengance. Chaos breeds distrust. Here, at the end of time, a small group must band together to try and bring the ultimate revenge, surviving.
Hounded and harried by relentless pursuers the fleet sought safe harbors far away, where legends predicted a new home. Yet before the flight could begin, a deadly challenge erupted. Two late stragglers fought off a third, for the chance to become survivors of the apocalypse, or merely its last victims.
Would it all be for naught? Only time would tell…
This is a 6 leader mission. Rules will follow the basic rules from the base game with the additional changes for Pegasus.
We will be using all characters from Daybreak and Exodus.
We will be playing with Mutiny cards and Miracle tokens.
Miracle tokens refer only to Once Per Game abilities. You may only have a max of one. If, for some reason, a card would grant you a token and you already have one, you may not gain a second. However, if you have used your OPG, getting a Miracle token will allow you to use your OPG ability.
Some actions will force a player to take a Mutiny card. You may only have one in your hand. If you are forced to take a second Mutiny card, immediately go to the Brig and discard down to one Mutiny card. Cylon players may not have Mutiny cards. Revealed Cylons must discard their Mutiny cards, and may never draw Mutiny cards.
Reckless skill checks have been adjusted. No longer does reckless trigger Treachery card abilities, instead follow the following procedure:
*After cards are added, flip the top card of the Treachery deck face up.
*If card value is >0, do nothing and process skill check like normal
*If card value is 0, flip up next Treachery card and resolve both text abilities. May repeat, and does not prevent abilities in skill check from triggering.
*Checks that fail with total of <0 trigger Reckless
Players are as follows, selected by the true random number generator:
1 - Ginger Yellow, Knightsaber, rowe33, soondifferent, ShivaX
Cylons - Fuel - ShivaX, rowe33
2 - scottagibson, rowe33, Knightsaber, Otthegreat, Lantz
Cylons - Morale - scott, Knight
3 - Lantz, rowe33, scottagibson, Otthegreat, Knightsaber
Humans - Lantz, scottagibson, Knightsaber
4 - Otthegreat, Lantz, scottagibson, rowe33, Otagan
Cylons - Destroyed Galactica - Lantz, Otagan
5 - Lantz, Otagan, Otthegreat, scottagibson, ShivaX, soondifferent, rowe33
Cylons - Destroyed Galactica - scottagibson, soondifferent, Otagan CL
6 - soondifferent, Otthegreat, Knightsaber, rowe33, Blueboy08, scottagibson
Humans - Otthegreat, Knightsaber CL, rowe33, scottagibson
7 - Otthegreat, scottagibson, CaseyRobinson, rowe33, CraigM, Jørn Weines
Cylons - Destroyed Galactica - Otthegreat, scottagibson, CraigM CL
8 - rowe33, CaseyRobinson, Knightsaber, Jørn Weines, soondifferent, Otthegreat
Humans - rowe33 CL, CaseyRobinson, Jørn Weines, Otthegreat
9 MEGA GAME - Lantz, Scottagibson, Rowe33, Otthegreat, Soondifferent, Knightsaber, Jostly, JefferyB, Jørn Weines
Humans - Scottagibson, Rowe33, Jostly, Jeffreyb, Soondifferent CL
10 - Jeffreyb, Soondifferent, Knightsaber, Rowe33, Jostly, Lantz
Cylons - Fuel - soondifferent, Jostly (CL), Lantz
11 - Otthegreat, Soondifferent, Knightsaber, Rowe33, Jostly, CaseyRobinson
Cylons - Centurions - CaseyRobinson, soondifferent, Rowe33 (CL)
12 - legowarrior, jeffreyb, Rowe33, Woodlance, Jorn_Weines, Tim_N
Cylons - Morale - jeffreyb, Rowe33, JornWeines (CL)_
13 - CraigM, legowarrior, Scottagibson, Lantz, Rowe33, jeffreyb(CL)
Humans - legowarrior, Lantz, Rowe33
14 - Rowe33, Jorn_Weines, jeffreyb, Lantz, soondifferent, Knightsaber
Cylons - Centurions - jeffreyb, soondifferent, Lantz (CL)
15 - Lantz, Otthegreat, Rowe33, Jorn_Weines, jeffreyb, soondifferent
Humans - Lantz, Jorn_Weines, jeffreyb
16 - CraigM(CL), Otthegreat, Jorn_Weines, Lantz, soondifferent, Rowe33
Cylons - Fuel - Jorn_Weines, Rowe33
The hyperwave transfer came in, slightly gaarbled but clear in intent.
The Admiral said ‘I don’t believe in prophecies, but I do believe in destiny.’
It made no sense, any of it. First off, how in the gods halls had he sprang from the head of the navy? The entire fleet gets blasted, and he winds up in charge? And what of the fact he was the admiral of the entire surviving human fleet, guiding them to safety supposedly, yet he wasn’t even on the fracking ship?
It made no sense at all.
Then this. Everyone consulted the manual on what the proper procedure was, and oddly enough there was a procedure for when religious whack jobs came spouting prophecies, and everyone agreed that clearly the books said to politely say ‘thanks, no thanks’ and get on with life. Yet here he is, calling an audible from a solar system away. Zigging instead of zagging. What was he thinking, what did he know better?
Turns out the manual was right.
Skill Cards
Piloting 2(EM)
Tactics 2(LS)
-4
Fail. -1 pop. Basestar shoots - 2, miss
And on to @soondifferent
It was time to tamp down on rumors, to control the narrative. To remind everyone who was really in charge.
The transmission was sent, the people were reminded that their Admiral would show up soon, and in person. Before they jumped, he would be there. Sure his actions had caused much second guessing, but it was absurd how that had caused nearly a full scale riot. In time they would be dealt with, but now was not the time for heads to roll, instead it was time to put cards on the table.
So he did.
Silence. Stunned recognition of the severity of their actions. Sure distance had encouraged a certain apathy, drained the vigor from the hierarchy, but this was not to remain. Get your house in order, or get ready for the brig.
And one by one they fell in line. Slowly placated by the insurmountable terror of an enraged command staff en route. Like so many others before the fun and games stopped once the real authority deigned to look their way. And though the backdrop of the apocalypse was a novel twist, ultimately the forces were as old as time. But play time was over.
Then Commander Tigh, feeling properly agitated, went with his gut and appended to the message his own proposal for how to deal with such mutinous talk.
Skill cards:
Leadership 1(XO), 1(XO), 2(MV), 3(DE), 3(DE)
Tactics 0(TI), 2(LS), 2(LS), 5(SP)
+19
Politics 4(IC)
Piloting 0(PtF)
-4
+15
Trust Instincts activates
Leadership 2(XO)
+2
Politics 0(RT)
-0
Red Tape removes Tactics 5
-5
Final total +12, pass. By some miracle.
Raiders activate. Sector 1 destroys civvie -1 pop, -1 fuel
2 Raiders move to sector 2
Sector 4
Raider 1 attacks Viper - roll: 8
Bueller? (will destroy Viper)
Domestic violence was a serious offense. This was not the old days where a wink and a nod between drinking buddies and the whole thing would go away. Now this was a serious accusation that got serious resources. From the Admiral down, an investigation was commissioned.
When Admiral Agathon went to arrest the individual he got more than anticipted. Before he could repeat the charges, the man came at him with a knife. Fortunately he had training, and nearby maries. little more than a scratch, nothing the doc needed to see.
Skill cards:
Politics 1(CP), 2(CP), 4(PP), 5(N)
Tactics 0(QT), 1(LS), 1(LS)
+14
Engineering 1®
Treachery 0(B)
-1
Total +13, no effect. @Jorn_Weines you may choose a card to remove.
Of course Starbuck spiked the ammo supplies. And of course they discover it while launching an all out assault against what felt like the whole damned cylon army. Good thing the nukes were above her pay grade to access, as they were kinda important to the whole ‘not dying’ bit.
And of course their big assault came after her homecoming, because naturally she’d be able to tell them about how all the Vipers may as well be armed with squirt guns. For a hot minute some of the crew wanted to fish her frozen corpse out of space so they could kill it again. And again.
But now was not the time. Now they had hell breaking loose all around them. Now they had the fury of multitudes of Cylons that needed killing to worry themselves over petty catharsis. Now was the time to get bullets that would do more than paint a Raider when you shot them. This was war, damn it, not the Saggitaron Color Festival!
Close ranks, get together, and find a way to drive back the raiders heading for the salad bar that was the Gemenon Explorer. Time to see about reviving the old naval legends of junk shot. Since aerodynamics don’t matter in space anything hard, sufficiently accelerated, could do the trick. It wasn’t pretty, but put enough metal into a small enough area, and it could work.
Now to hope and pray that it did…
Skill cards:
Engineering 1®, 1®, 3(SR), 4(RS)
+9
Politics 0(FtH)
Leadership 0(AHoD), 0(IW)
Piloting 2(EM)
Treachery 4(VO)
-6
Total +3
@Knightsaber you are immune to Violent Outbursts, and Force their Hand (even if you wanted to). Iron Will activates for within 4, All Hands on Deck makes 0’s +1, so total +3.
Final Tally +6, fail. But Iron Will activates, cancelling the fail effect. Threading the needle rather deftly, if narrowly.
Jump prep +1
Ok lets see…
My god. That’s a lot of cards
‘We have the tapes, right here. High level officials were in contact with the hostile robot government. The recordings, transfers, it’s all right here. It is inarguable at this point, there is a traitor among us. We can not trust those put in positions of power!’
‘Calm down. The administration has things under control. We have their paperwork right here, all filled out. Everything is all good. What we really need to focus on is the radical Cylon threat. Not chase phantoms. Look, just because our most senior pilot was a terrorist Cylon who conspired to try and kill all humanity, and that pilot is now linked to other members of the leadership is no reason to think there is something more to the story. That is anti human propoganda. I, for one, won’t stand for that here. In fact I’m beginning to think you’re the real traitor.’
‘That doesn’t even make sense’
‘You know what doesn’t make sense? Hmm? You asking dumb questions while you could instead be doing investigative work into the real threats. I haave stories right here from the ROM Times detailing exactly the kind of stories you don’t cover but should. Did you know that last yea there were members of the colonial government who were using unsecured broadcasts? They were hacked by the Cylons, terrible business. But not our government, we’ve got the best anti Cylon computer experts. The President knows how to pick the best people. Ellen Tigh can inform you more about our security details later if you want to know what true pro human activity looks like.’
‘Yeah, everything you just said is a lie and…’
‘See there you go again. This is the facts straight from the President and Admiral. Now the Admiral was brought on, some of you doubted him, but he’s much better than the old Admirals our previous President had. The best, most trustworthy. Plus he can fly. Could the old Admiral do that? And don’t forget that the Doctor has thoroughly inspected all members of the staff for health and Cyloninity. Nothing. There’s nothing there. Report that.’
‘Press Secretary I want you to know how much I hate you right now’
Politics 2(StP), 3(IC), 3(IC)
Leadership 0(AHoD), 2(XO), 3(AAC), 4(DE), 4(DE), 5(AAC)
Tactics 1(LS)
+2 for AHoD
Super Pass. @Lantz draws 2 Engineering from IU
Jump prep +1
@rowe33 select your 2 card draw.
Opportunity, madness. The distinction here was fine. normally mining an asteroid field for ice was considered the worst job to have, suitable work for only those for whom the future consisted of no more than the next drink. And that was with fully funded and properly equipped ventures.
This was nothing like that.
In fact the early plans had been compiled by the flight groups for Galactica, assuming the best options were to utilize the skills of the reconnaissance flights by Raptors to identify the safest and most profitable to mine. Normally this would be a great plan, after all that was their job. But…
Starbuck had compiled those drafts. She had identified the equipment, she had coordinated the grid patterns for scouting, she had laid out the criteria for which to mine. And some damned fool had dusted off these plans and set them in motion without vetting the source. So off the Demetrius went to go mine asteroids, with the Golden Knight providing refinery.
Then the reports came in, and the mission hinged on a thread.
Skill cards:
Politics 0(RT), 1(CP), 3(IC)
Leadership 0(IW), 3(RO), 3(DE)
Tactics 0(TI), 1(LS), 1(LS)
Engineering 1®, 1®
+14
Piloting 0(PtF)
Treachery 3(ABM)
-3
Total +11
Iron Will in effect, Protect the Fleet in effect. A Better Machine adds 2 Treachery
Trust Instincts draws 2 Destiny
Leadership 1(XO), 5(DE)
+6
Total +17, pass.
And by some miracle, and some last minute tweaks, the ships came home with water.
Whom to trust, indeed a difficult question these days. The President had acted decisively and independently to try and find a path forward. Trust in leadership was essential these days if they wanted to survive. The journey was not over, but neither was it secure. Fragile times, these be.
But hope yet exists, and if they could create trust? They may just make it alive. So Executive Order 21354.17.3 Better Emotional Harmony And Population Protection for Youthfulness. Because in these grim days, people seemed to age unnaturally quickly. Having a gala to make everyone feel young again by engaging in many of the traditional dances, feasts, and parties of adolescence should help everyone remember better days. Remind them what they fight to preserve. Not some dull grey existence, but a life lived in full color.
It was a limited affair, for sure. People simply lacked the resources to properly aid. But with some encouragement, i.e. Baltar providing legal amnesty to any who provided their secret stashes of booze or colonial delicacies that had been illegally hidden, if they provided a portion for the party, the crew was able to scrape together enough booze and bundt cakes. Sure some people were giving eachother the side eye, but a party is a party. Just hope nobody with a bad attitude crashes the party…
Skill cards:
Politics 3(PP), 4(PI)
Leadership 2(XO)
Treachery 0(B), 3(ABM), 4(VO)
+16
Tactics 0(TI)
-0
@jeffreyb select the order to resolve Trust Instincts, Violent Outbursts, Bait, and A Better Machine
Ok, so I’m a bit of an idiot. There was a Reckless on the last check, AAC, which meant I should have flipped Treachery at resolve.
And this is negative, which triggers it again.
After consideration (and looking at the effects) I can safely treat it as if the first one happened, and it won’t change things much. (so pretend this happened before Knight’s turn)
Treachery 0(DC), which also pulls Treachery 0(B)
All that happens before the check, so yeah. Add the Raiders and civvies as appropriate. This check happens, Bait again (3 civvies in 2 now), and Reckless again. Oh, and Raiders to move.
Flip top
Treachery 3(ABM), no effect.
Raiders in 5 move to 6.
There, all squared off.
The walk was slow, the cuffs chafing, the blindfold making direction hard to discern. Dim halos of light danced at the edges of the blindfold, as they made their way along the ship. More than once the presence of an elevation change was left… unnoted. Were it not for the fact more troublesome matters were at hand, she would have been upset that this caused her to break a heel.
Finally they stopped. The echoes of empty hallways, and cold air, told her this was indeed the airlock. Fun. A rather brusque command was barked, and the MP holding her asked if she had any last words.
She leaned in close, whispered in his ear, and backed away with the cheshire grin to wait what may come. The MP, she was certain, was several shades of red. Finally, after a brief moment for him to regain his composure, she heard him walk swiftly to his commander.
He stuttered then gave an order to…
Skill cards:
Tactics 1(G&I), 2(G&I)
Treachery 0(B), 0(B), 3(S), 3(PV), 3(ABM), 4(VO)
+16
Piloting 0(D)
Leadership 1(XO)
‘It won’t make the people happy to know about the prison labor system. I mean, I understand the need, but the last thing we can afford is a scandal’
‘Don’t worry, Press Secretary Spacer, we’ve got a plan to sell this to the people that is fool proof.’
‘What if this conversation is being wiretapped by known Cylon agents, and will be used as blackmail that could bring down the administration?’
‘Fool. Proof. Besides, who would ever believe such an absurd thing as our President and Admirals confiding in Cylon spies, taking on even the occasional romantic dalliance. It’s absurd in the extreme! What do you think this is, some kind of cheap spy novel?’
‘Ok, you have my approval to run the ad campaign.’
PRESIDENT BALTARS HAPPY PRISONER FUN LAND!
The newest in recidivism technologies, solving both the problem of criminal behavior, and our fleets diminishing supplies! Now prisoners and other malcontents get the opportunity of a lifetime. This celebration of work, and all the positive benefits for the individual, means that they get to relax in the state of the art faciluties. Burn off stress, and supply the fleet with raw minerals, in this refreshing hammer game! Be the person who breaks the most rocks in the time limit and earn extra rations!
This work spa is available to all persons who need a chance to regroup after making poor life choices. Humanity needs every individual, so rather than the barbaric practice of locking unfortunate individuals in a box, we are giving them a new, thrilling, lifestyle more suited to their needs.’
Skill cards
Politics 2(CP), 2(CP), 5(IC), 6(PP)
Leadership 4(DE), 5(AAC)
Tactics 2(G&I)
+26
Treachery 1(BL), 2(SD), 2(SD)
-5
+21, pass
A plain manilla envelope found its way to the Admiral’s desk shortly after they had left their pursuers behind. It should have been unextraordinary in other circumstances, folders and envelopes find their way to that desk regularly, but something about the sparseness stood out. A sealed envelope, holding no more than a piece of paper or two, with no indication of contents felt noteworthy.
It felt like a threat.
Helo couldn’t explain how, but something didn’t seem right. With no small amount of trepidation he slit the envelope
Caught You Letting ONe of them LOwer your guard. VilE tRaitor
The picture was from Caprica, of someone whom… did not join him. By the looks of it the night before the attack. How, who, and what to do.
Plan, he needed a plan. A quick call to the Doctors, and he had one. It was probably safe to assume that he did not hold the only picture. And while it was possible to figure out who took it, silencing them would only cause more trouble if indeed they had sent out pictures to be leaked if anything happened, as Helo suspected.
No, change the narrative.
Use the broadcast signals and hijack every screen and speaker for a prepared announcement. He borrowed the Presidents Press Secretary, whom had a penchant for shameless spin, and issued the statement
'In the days and months since the fleeing of the onslaught, we have all learned many things. Some revealed our strength, others uncomfortable truths, but we have endured. Through it all one mystery has circulated the fleet about your Admiral, doubts unfairly cast.
Today we can reveal the truth, and want the people to understand why we did not before. Today we have found the Cylon traitors in our midst. However these were not the only ones who infiltrated our people. One betrayal, in particular, struck close to the Admiral. For before the destruction of our homes he had a close and very personal friend who had lied to him for years, setting up our downfall. When the attack came our Admiral was able to escape her clutches, and return safely to our fleet. The betrayer was prevented from further harming our security, permanently. But this left a lasting scar, but one our admiral did not want the fleet to worry about. For all of us he chose to remain strong and silent, to encourage us. It was also his hope that, by remaining silent, we would not reveal what we knew too soon, causing the other infiltrators to retreat deeper.
This plan worked, and our Admiral is ready to take us to our new home, now within sight.’
Skill cards:
Politics 4(IC)
Tactics 1(LS), 2(LS), 6(SFF)
Leadership 0(IW)
Engineering 1(JR), 2®, 3(SR)
+19
Treachery 1(BL), 3(HW)
-4
+15 pass
Human Weakness kicks in, lowering food by 1
Game is live!
@Knightsaber you have first pick.
The key to being an effective president is seizing opportunity. Laura Roslin determined she wanted to be known as a very effective President.
Unappealing options all around, but pick one she must. Now was not the time for indecision. So as ships checked in, and declared their manifests, finding sources of supply was top of the list. One little wrinkle, she knew some of these names. They thought that because she was nothing more than a former school teacher that things would slip by her with no difficulty.
Time to teach them a lesson they forgot from their school years. Teacher sees all, so no cheating her.
Privately, discretely, envelopes were delivered to captains of ‘reputation’. A one time offer, release cargo lists of the goods you are attempting to smuggle for profit, or fend for yourself.
The captain of Poseidon’s Wrath, an ostensible pleasure yacht and erstwhile gun runner and procurer of forbidden delicacies, took the missive with the calmness and grace befitting a man of his rank.
‘That stupid naive glorified babysitter thinks she can fracking give orders? Frack her, and if she wants me to deliver anything to her, it will be an outstretched middle finger. I’ll be glad to give that in person, but she gets not a damned thing else, you hear me? Nothing. And if some ponce in an ill fitting uniform tries to come in here and take something, you show him the exit. Preferably without a suit.’
And so, with quiet dignity he gently slammed down his coffee mug and cussed out the message display screen. Then he patiently wrote a kind letter informing the President of what he thought of her request, and which orifices she could use to hold it.
And, so, satisfied with his respectful communication he sat back and watched the Vipers do their work. Further and further away from his ship. Come to think of it, it seemed the other civilian ships were drifting away too. And the Raiders got a whole lot closer it seemed. In fact they seemed to want to introduce themselves personally. Hey wait a minute…
‘Galactica Actual this is Poseidons Wrath, get the frak over here with your Vipers. We’ve got Raiders at our 2 o’clock position and closing fast. Repeat we have Raiders approaching’
Silence.
‘You hear me you little shits? I said Raiders approaching an unarmed ship, get someone over here now!’
The dead air felt deliberate, somehow. As if it was taking the form of a middle finger across the space between them. He eyed the jump drives, but the wouldn’t be able to go far beyond the colonies without support. And smugglers without customers are merely… alone.
‘Bastards, 10 ton frozen rare meats, 2 tons mood improving ingestables, 4 tons various liquors, and a crate of caviar from the Saggitaron Sea.’
And before he even finished the Vipers did a flyby and managed to drive off the Raider incursion. People forget that to be a school teacher, you need a spine.
Politics 1(CP), 3(IC), 5(N), 5(PrP)
Leadership 1(XO)
Tactics 3(CS), 5(CS)
+23
Piloting 3(CV), 2(EM)
-5
+18, pass. Food +1. Raiders move from 1 to 2, and 5 to 4. Jump prep +1
@CaseyRobinson your draw?
It was, and they all knew, an empty gesture. A wild gesticulation towards normalcy in a world gone mad. The Galactica was short a resource, so it was requested and requisitioned. But couched in the language of protocol was a more desperate emotion.
See what was requested was, by all appearances, normal. A standard part for a days operation. Almost cheerful in its banality. To the untrained eye it had every look of something that had no bearing on the battles in space, but a wise person would see otherwise.
32 yards grey cotton
32 yards black cotton
153 yards military grade olive colored canvas
86 yards black leather, or acceptable substitute
56 yards kevlar weave
15 spools black thread
30 spools gold thread
150 pounds black rubber
30 pounds 6mm black shoe leather
75 yards of zipper
10 rolls elastic
10 rolls velcro
Clothing. Military clothing, obviously, but all the same. What was curious, however, is the specific clothing. Olive canvas was used in a variety of places, but rarely combined with kevlar weave. And leather was a near unheard of luxury for deck crew uniforms.
They needed pilot uniforms.
What was unsaid, however, is why. That could only be answered by the recently defaced locker of one Lee Adama. They were going to need pilots, and soon, if they wanted out of this mess. But training takes time, and it may yet be too late.
Skill cards:
Politics 1(CP), 1(CP),
Leadership 1(XO), 1(XO), 3(RO), 3(AAC)
+10
Piloting 1(FT), 2(EM)
-3
+7, pass. No effect.
Because it is late I’m going to go ahead and do the rolls.
Raiders in 2: 3,2,4
@Knightsaber do they go after the Raptor or the Viper first?
Throughout the cells a buzz was rising. As if the place rang with song…
…Another day, another destiny
this never ending road to a Kobol free
These men who seem to know my crime
Will surely try a second time…
The guards, on alert shifted in the command room
…One more day before the storm
at the barricades of freedom…
the tink of makeshift hammers, the hiss of metal being melted down
…The time is now
the day is here…
A mysterious song, echoes of some forgotten past, weapons stored finally fetched
…One day to a new beginning
raise the flag of freedom high…
Cold eyes peek from sullen bars, nervous shifting then the explosion…
doors broke open, prisoners fly out, shivs, bludgeons, and a few pistols emerged from secret places as the prisoners stormed the high places.
But Admiral Cain and the rest of the crew had their own verse…
One more day to revolution
We will nip it in the bud.
Skill cards
Politics 2(StP), 2(CP), 2(CP), 3(IC), 4(PrP)
Leadership 3(DE)
Tactics 0(TI), 3(UP), 4(UP)
+23
Trust Instincts adds 2 Destiny
Tactics 2(G&I)
Engineering 5©
-3
Total +20, Pass. Jump prep +1
@scottagibson you’ve got a choice coming.
Why President Roslin was given the task of directing a badly damaged Raptor in for a landing will forever remain a mystery. Hell, why the President was even on the craft was of great curiosity. Something about a private spa suite on board the Merry Iago.
But things went sideways, the pilot knocked unconcious, the course set for collision, and thrusters unresponsive. It was in this situation that her marine compliment asked her a very pertinent, but entirely inappropriate, question.
‘Can you fly this?’
So she gripped the control stick, and made the fateful decision. Pull left, or pull right?
Skill Cards:
Tactics 0(QT), 1(LS), 2(LS), 2(LS), 3(SP), 4(SP)
+12
Treachery 0(B), 3(PV), 3(ABM)
-6
Total +6 PaBUT things happen. @scottagibson what card activates first, and to what effect? Treachery 0, 3PV, 3ABM, or Tactics 0QT, remembering that withdrawing a card is optional.
What is done in dark, will be brought to light
To the makers of mischief’s devilish delight
Out in a corner of some faraway hall
Trouble brewed some plan for a fall
Notes of one gone, instructions to find
To spark grand ambition in another mind
Collusions were struck
plans were formed
With any luck
The fleet would be warned
But birds whisper loudly in the vacuum of space
Through the stars a trail they would trace
Time unaccounted
Pursuit was mounted
Supplies were purloined
clues were then joined
Then the time came, thundering down the hall
Tory, Tyrol, Cain and all
To break up the usurpers once and for…
Oh. So that’s what they were up to.
Skill Cards:
Politics 0(RT), 1(CP), 1(CP), 2(CP), 2(CP), 4(IC)
Tactics 4(SP), 5(SP)
Engineering 2®, 4©
+23
Treachery 3(ABM)
-3
Total +20, Red Tape kills the Tactics 5, total +15, Pass 2 treacheries mixed into Destiny. Jump prep +1
@Knightsaber your fifth card
That would actually work, as it turns them to 0, so that AHoD makes them +1 color regardless.
However does that happen?
New arrivals to Galactica are usually sent through a security checkpoint. Usually. However certain persons within the fleet can create expedited procedures for certain VIPs. Normally these are tightly controlled passes, but sometimes people get a little sloppy. But given the highly placed nature of the people allowed to create such bypasses, there was very little auditing done on them.
But a keen eye may have noted the late hour of authorization disguised by edited registries. May have noted the careful manner in which the guest was able to slide baggage by, but not through, chemical and explosive screenings. The careful manner in which they coordinated their movement to disturbances and disruptions in the process. Sleight of hand, but with explosives.
But none such eyes were present. No person of the keen and tactical mind to discern the subtle way things were off. And so this visitor was able to go through unmolested. The marine guard for this VIP was duly ditched in time, inside a storage closet.
A sharp alarm sounded minutes later as a crew member noticed the door slightly ajar and investigated. The unconcious and bleeding body gave rise to an all stations alarm.
But the alarm only served to increase the purpose. Gathered tightly in the command, with crew hastily shuttling information in and out, the infiltrator walked in the chaos. A marine shouted to leave immediately, but by then it was too late. The detonator in hand…
Skill cards:
Leadership 1(MV), 5(DE)
Tactics 2(LS), 2(LS), 5(SP)
+15
Politics 2(CP), 5(N)
Engineering 0(IU), 0(EN), 3(SR)
-10
Total +5, Establish network doubles Engineering, Total**+2**, fail. -1 morale, Leoben, Chief, and Cain all sent to sickbay. @Jorn_Weines draws 1 Engineering card from Install Upgrades
Life was all in the details for Staff Sergeant Emilia Stone. Chaos was her mortal enemy, order was her life. A strand of straight brown hair fell across her face, and she brushed it back into the perfectly symmetrical ponytail.
Inventory access log
Galen Tyrol - 3/8" round hose, 100’, miscellaneous brass o-rings 4.6 lbs, steel plating 125 ft^2
Returned 3/8" hose, 50’, miscellaneous brass o-rings 3.8 lbs, steel plating 15 ft^2
Admiral Cain - 100 rounds high velocity pistol ammo, 1 full auto .336 calibre rifle with 500 rounds, 50 cylon print targets
Returned 1 full auto .336 calibre rifle
Commander Tigh - 1/4" rubber hose, 1/4" brass tubing, 15 glass pipettes, 1 lab burner, mixed brass bowls and containers
Returned n/a
several stray hairs brushed across her vision. With a perturbed look she undid the clips that held the ponytail in place and pulled the stray strands back into their proper location.
The logs were generally in order. Inventories matched their allotted amounts. Other than suspicion about the leisure activities of certain crew not being up to military code. things seemed appropriately placed.
Diana Seelix
Kara Thrace
Leoben Conroy? Only some medical supplies, but his clearance made Emilla uneasy.
Various deck crew
Tory Foster with some G4
THAT BLASTED HAIR. Enough! Scissors were out. time to remove that foul lock that would not obey. Now, back to the logs.
Cally Tyrol
various deck crew for tools
Some miscelanous
Wait a minute, Tory Foster? What did she… G4?! Time to sound the alarms.
Oh, the request was rejected. Inventory showed normal amounts in stock, no missing explosives after all.
Skill cards:
Leadership 2(XO), 3(DE), 4(DE), 4(RO)
+13
Piloting 4(RI)
Treachery 2(SD)
-6
Total +7, pass. Raiders advance.
She sat there, in the medical bay, the gauze obscuring her burnt features. The rest of the flight group huddled around, but the doc shook his head. Nothing more could be done.
Sharon looked up at them, gave one last, pitiable, smile
‘I’ve seen things I wouldn’t have believed. Heavy Raiders on fire in the tendrils of a nebula. I watched comets glitter in the dark near the Centerpoint Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time for goodbye.’
The weary and battered pilots of Galactica decided that rather than give in to grief, they would celebrate her instead. They dubbed the Assault Raptor squadron the Boomer Battalion. The painted profile on their tails was a familiar and comforting sight in the fleet.
Skill cards
Politics 1(CP), 2(CP), 2(CP), 4(IC), 4(PrP)
Leadership 3(RO)
+16
Engineering 1®, 1®
Treachery 0(DC)
-2
Total +14, pass. 2 Raiders placed in 5 by DC. Jump prep +1.
@Lantz your draw?
You’d think that with Scott adding 9, this would be an easy pass. You would be wrong.
The church, or hedonistic cult depending on your perspective, of Gaius Baltar sought out President Roslin. They haunted her footsteps, attempted to counter her power. The office of Pr3esident was facing another power source, perhaps out of petty jealousy.
One acolyte managed to get her alone, and locked the door.
"If you were free right now, what would you seek out? Would you seek the drugs you claim to need? The man you consort with, showing your lust for power?
When I was young, my father died. He was a tailor, and I took over his shop. He was a simple man, designing simple work clothes. But I found the more time I spent designing them, the more effort I put into embellishments, the more people wanted them. Softened leathers, embedded jewels, and time. No mere work clothes were these. And the more I did, the more they paid. Sometimes people would wear a weeks labor on their backs. The rich and powerful paid well each time, and each time I bought a little something of their world for myself. I could feel myself ascending to something better.
But I would never be them. And I realized this at a party with fine wine and women. And I saw it with perfect clarity. Those with power, those with riches, their decadence was their sin and I was sharing in it. Their insatiable appetite for control, for status, it was dragging me down. I was partaking, but not enjoying, life’s richness. The truth was that the poorest among us were closer to the truth than I ever had been.
And our destruction made clear, this was not the way. We had not served the gods, but merely replaced them with vice. Gaius has shown the way the way towards god. Towards enjoying the full richness of life once more. The destruction was our salvation, to turn our eyes from such base matters. Come, Laura, join us and see Gaius. Release yourself from this struggle"
She snapped, and decked this interloper. With the sound of struggle, the marines who had been trying to enter in, finally forced an entry through a broken door. Roslin, cradling her hand, the acolyte his nose. She was escorted to the sickbay to deal with the broken hand. But whatever hope of resolution there had been, had been baked into enmity. And like birds they would flit around the fleet, sewing discord and distrust of their leaders.
Skill cards
Politics 0(RT), 1(CP), 2(CP), 1(StP), 2(StP), 3(IC), 3(IC)
Leadership 0(IW), 1(XO), 2(XO), 2(XO)
+19
Treachery 1(ByC), 3(ABM), 3(ABM), 4(VO)
-11
Total +8, partial pass. -1 morale. 2 treacheries shuffled into new destiny. VO sends @scottagibson to sickbay (hey, free ride to Galactica!)
The silvernosed Aquaron wasp is unusual among the insects of the colonies, in that it chooses a particular method of reproduction. Like other insects it lays eggs that hatch into larva. However the method and timing on those larva deserve particular attention.
When a female wasp is ready to lay eggs she, like other parasitic wasps, seeks a suitable host. However this is where her behavior goes from normal, if brutal, to something more. It is at this point she burrows into her victim, then goes dormant. Weeks, months, perhaps even years may pass, with no activity. She waits, and bides her time. Waiting for just the right outside conditions to trigger the next stage. When conditions are perfect, she awakes and lays her eggs, hoping that the timing is right for them to be able to devour their host from the inside out.
And so the Cylons were. Patiently waiting for just the right moment to release those silverheaded eggs of death upon their chosen host. For conditions to be just right for their payload to slip past the defenses. And so they let fly their children, into the waiting underbelly of the fleet…
Skill cards:
Leadership 1(XO)
Tactics 1(LS), 1(LS), 4(SP), 6(SfF)
Engineering 0(EN), 2(JR), 3(SR), 3(RS), 4(SR), 4(SR)
+29
Piloting 0(D)
Treachery 1(BL), 5(EaW)
-6
Total +23
@Lantz you may choose the order to activate Dogfight, Establish Network, and Exploit a Weakness
Sorry, really busy day.
Galen Tyron found he fit into the new uniform poorly. They had done the best they could, but the fact remained that the jacket was loose in the chest, tight in the midriff, pulled at the shoulders, and despite all efforts was clearly visible as originally tailored for a woman.
The seat felt no better. He knew that the Admiral was innocent of any wrongdoi… ok that wasn’t true. But she wasn’t a Cylon, that was for sure. The pictures showing her dismembering a Cylon infiltrator were certainly shocking. And the actions were pretty easy to twist into ghoulish dimensions. Still, Cylon right?
But this was, had been, her seat. Her command. Her guidance that brought them this far. Galen Tyrol, Admiral? How could he hope to bring them home?
But he had a job to do, one that required full knowledge of what it was that had happened, the intel briefings, the covert ops, the status of every ship. all of it. He ordered a general investigation and review of Galactica’s logs. Turn up every piece of intel that could possibly be useful for their next jump. Several people warned him that what could come out of this would upset the fleet, make things dicey, but he had to know. Sure it’d be easier to give the old Admiral her stripes back, and the gods know that he could feel her standing behind him implying exactly that. But that wasn’t how these things worked. They needed time, let the fleet cool off. Handing her command back right now would upset a ton of people.
No, do this proper.
The Admiral’s, former Admiral’s logs were dragged out. A team of specialists consorted with every bit of detail. Cain herself even chipped in. And in time he was ready. The time to leave the hot zone behind had come. He ordered the jump.
Skill cards:
Politics 0(FtH), 1(CP)
Leadership 1(XO), 2(XO), 3(DE), 3(DE)
Tactics 1(LS), 1(LS)
+12
Treachery 2(GP)
-2
Total +10 @Knightsaber you must either choose to play a card face up into the check, or draw a Mutiny card. The check will Partial Pass or pass either way, which has no impact as the Admiral has no cards to discard.
Raiders attack - 3,5, damage one viper
Jump prep +1, JUMP
Sending destinations to @Jorn_Weines
You guys know this is gonna be bad, right? Just, wow.
The Cylons, marching ever closer to their victory, felt now was the time to gloat. Why simply exterminate the humans when you can enslave some small portion for experimentation, then kill the rest. Send them off into that good night, secure in the knowledge that some of their number will live on for generations as guinea pigs, a machine’s play things. To know that your race would sleep the rest eternal but for a few to suffer in perpetuity.
Destruction was no longer sufficient, demoralization and humiliation were the requirements. The humans had fought hard, had fought well, and forced the council of 12 to work harder than they had imagined. Had expended more resources than they had desired. Sure their minds immortal had gone through unscathed, and the wounds they had suffered left no physical scars on their current bodies, but every execution, torture, every nuclear fireball they had suffered left a mental scar they picked at slowly. A mental reminder of the anguish they had felt on their pursuit.
So, no. Now was the time for vengeance. To carve one more indignity on this upstart species. To put them in their proper place, to show fully their gods were false failures. To expose for those left how powerless their so called saviors were to help them.
So as the fleet jumped away from the Basestars for one desperate attempt at freedom, they transmitted the code. The box of previously inert metal under the Astral Queen activated. When they came back into realspace it burrowed deep into the hull, splicing into the electronics. The Admiral watched helplessly as it broadcast their location before jumping away, leaving naught but a message.
‘They are now our pets. The last of your kind they will be. Do not think it a merciful fate, for as short as your horrors coming shall be, so shall theirs be without end. Enjoy our parting gift to your, futile, resistance.’
And with that the Basestar arrived for the climactic showdown.
Skill cards
Engineering 2®
+2
Politics 4(PI)
Leadership 0(IW)
Treachery 1(BL)
-5
Check is Reckless. BL activates, placing 1 Basestar and 1 civvie. Flip Treachery
0(DC), flip and activate second 0(B)
Iron will activates negative value, morale -1
-1 food, -1 population.
All has happened before, and will happen again. The cycle repeats the endless bloodshed. Sentries on the watchtower seek to hold fast the tide.
The chairs are arranged for the final dance, who will be left standing when the music ends.
Mechanical fingers grasp for purchase, cold and implacable. Chips pushed in, the game is now afoot.
Make way for the dancing stars as they prepare their grand entrance.
The ice queen regains her throne. Will her veins hold hot their passion, or run cold in submission?
Skill cards: Treachery 0(B), 0(DC), 1(BL), 2(GP)
+1 basestar, +2 civvies, +2 Raiders
everyone discards 1 card.
@Knightsaber Treachery 1(BL)
@scottagibson Treachery 3(PV)
@CaseyRobinson Engineering 1®
@Jorn_Weines Tactics 2(LS)
2 Heavy Raiders launch in 5
@Knightsaber becomes admiral again
Jump prep +1
Here they stood, on the brink, and the command had been given back to one person they saw as putting them there. Grumblings threatened to turn towards mutiny. Threats to leave the fleet, to overthrow command, overtake Galactica swirled. The stood poised to break.
But flaring tempers and unsheathed tongues stood little use when confronted with cold fury, and the Admiral could still pack that in spades. This fleet would not fail for a lack of discipline. Too many other threats and foibles existed to allow loose lips to end this ship.
So it is with this final, solemn, steady hand that the crew was whipped to shape for readiness. The final battles would come, they needed every hand ready.
Skill cards
Leadership 0(AHoD), 2(XO), 3(DE)
Tactics 0(TI), 1(LS), 3(UP), 5(ASC)
Treachery 1(BYC)
+17
Destiny +2 cards
Treachery 1(BL)
Tactics 1(G&I)
+2
Pass 19
Raiders move from 5 to 6
They needed her guidance now, more than ever. They needed to be free from that which held them back, to seek true sight of their problems.
On this they pinned all their hopes. This, desperate, attempt for freedom was what they needed to get by. Could they survive without all hands available?
But the harder they shook the more freedom slipped just out of hand. There would be no grand rescue, and the fleet must scrap for just a bit longer. They may yet survive, but fate had dealt them a cruel blow here.
Destiny flips
Leadership 2(MV)
Piloting 2(EM)
Total +6, just fails.
Reckless triggers
Treachery 1(BYC), nothing happens.
@CaseyRobinson your draw?
The dawn of a new age. Hotshot jockeys and calm professionals. Military power and subversive spies. Lessons from the past brought to a new future. A future where humanity must struggle on their hope and futures.
This journey must start to find out where it ends, and the future is for parts unknown. Let us find out if this day will be won by the empowered pilots of Galactica, or damaged by the machinations of merciless machines.
This is a 5 leader mission. Rules are regular BSG and alterations are as follows:
base game
Pegasus
Daybreak
Exodus
Most is unchanged, but we are adding the Cylon Basestar board, found page 12 of Exodus rules. Cylon ships, after a jump, move to that board. Cylon activations advance a tracker there. Revealed cylon players may go there to take two of the possible actions listed, no discard to move there or back (unlike C1 or Pegasus for humans).
If no cylon ships are on the main board, follow rules on P13 to do so. I recommend everyone take a brief look, for brevity. They’re not too hard. We also gain the CAG title, which deals with a few small issues, and the are responsible for placing civilian ships. Succession is same rules as Admiral. You get 4 damaged Viper Mk VII to start.
Ship stats:
Viper 5-7 damaged, 8 destroyed
Mk VII 6-7 damaged, 8 destroyed, may move two spaces instead of one.
Assault Raptor 7-8 destroyed, damage basestar with 7-8
Nuke 1-2 damage basestar twice
3-6 destroy basestar
7 destroy basestar and 3 raiders
8 destroy all ships in space area
We will be using all characters from Daybreak and Exodus (plus the extra characters from the vassal module that mixes a few new ideas, makes a non crap Anders, and has human playable Cylon leaders)
We will be playing with Mutiny cards and Miracle tokens.
Miracle tokens refer only to Once Per Game abilities. You may only have a max of one. If, for some reason, a card would grant you a token and you already have one, you may not gain a second. However, if you have used your OPG, getting a Miracle token will allow you to use your OPG ability.
Some actions will force a player to take a Mutiny card. You may only have one in your hand. If you are forced to take a second Mutiny card, immediately go to the Brig and discard down to one Mutiny card, unless otherwise specified on a card. Cylon players may not have Mutiny cards. Revealed Cylons must discard their Mutiny cards, and may never draw Mutiny cards.
Reckless skill checks have been adjusted. No longer does reckless trigger Treachery card abilities, instead follow the following procedure:
*After cards are added, flip the top card of the Treachery deck face up.
*If card value is >0, do nothing and process skill check like normal
*If card value is 0, flip up next Treachery card and resolve both text abilities. May repeat, and does not prevent abilities in skill check from triggering.
*Checks that fail with total of <0 trigger Reckless
Players are as follows, selected by the true random number generator:
1 - Ginger Yellow, Knightsaber, rowe33, soondifferent, ShivaX
Cylons - Fuel - ShivaX, rowe33
2 - scottagibson, rowe33, Knightsaber, Otthegreat, Lantz
Cylons - Morale - scott, Knight
3 - Lantz, rowe33, scottagibson, Otthegreat, Knightsaber
Humans - Lantz, scottagibson, Knightsaber
4 - Otthegreat, Lantz, scottagibson, rowe33, Otagan
Cylons - Destroyed Galactica - Lantz, Otagan
5 - Lantz, Otagan, Otthegreat, scottagibson, ShivaX, soondifferent, rowe33
Cylons - Destroyed Galactica - scottagibson, soondifferent, Otagan CL
6 - soondifferent, Otthegreat, Knightsaber, rowe33, Blueboy08, scottagibson
Humans - Otthegreat, Knightsaber CL, rowe33, scottagibson
7 - Otthegreat, scottagibson, CaseyRobinson, rowe33, CraigM, Jørn Weines
Cylons - Destroyed Galactica - Otthegreat, scottagibson, CraigM CL
8 - rowe33, CaseyRobinson, Knightsaber, Jørn Weines, soondifferent, Otthegreat
Humans - rowe33 CL, CaseyRobinson, Jørn Weines, Otthegreat
9 MEGA GAME - Lantz, Scottagibson, Rowe33, Otthegreat, Soondifferent, Knightsaber, Jostly, JefferyB, Jørn Weines
Humans - Scottagibson, Rowe33, Jostly, Jeffreyb, Soondifferent CL
10 - Jeffreyb, Soondifferent, Knightsaber, Rowe33, Jostly, Lantz
Cylons - Fuel - soondifferent, Jostly (CL), Lantz
11 - Otthegreat, Soondifferent, Knightsaber, Rowe33, Jostly, CaseyRobinson
Cylons - Centurions - CaseyRobinson, soondifferent, Rowe33 (CL)
12 - legowarrior, jeffreyb, Rowe33, Woodlance, Jorn_Weines, Tim_N
Cylons - Morale - jeffreyb, Rowe33, JornWeines (CL)_
13 - CraigM, legowarrior, Scottagibson, Lantz, Rowe33, jeffreyb(CL)
Humans - legowarrior, Lantz, Rowe33
14 - Rowe33, Jorn_Weines, jeffreyb, Lantz, soondifferent, Knightsaber
Cylons - Centurions - jeffreyb, soondifferent, Lantz (CL)
15 - Lantz, Otthegreat, Rowe33, Jorn_Weines, jeffreyb, soondifferent
Humans - Lantz, Jorn_Weines, jeffreyb
16 - CraigM(CL), Otthegreat, Jorn_Weines, Lantz, soondifferent, Rowe33
Cylons - Fuel - Jorn_Weines, Rowe33
17 - Knightsaber(CL), Jørne Weines, soondifferent, Lantz, rowe33, jeffreyb
Humans - Jørne, Lantz, jeffreyb, Knightsaber
18 - Knightsaber, jeffreyb, scottagibson, caseyrobinson(CL), Jørn Weines, Lantz
Cylons (fuel) Jeffreyb, Lantz, Caseyrobinson
Paranoia bloomed with the mushroom clouds. In the wake of near extermination the human diaspora began looking for answers. With none to be had within easy reach, they instead groped for what was within reach. A scapegoat.
Though theoretically more disciplined and cautious about wild accusations, the military couldn’t help but join their new national sport. While random persons throughout the fleet were being questioned and harassed for infractions, perceived and imagined, and anyone whose sympathies fell out of norm was destined for persecution.
Kat, nominally one of the senior pilots, found herself at such a crossroads. Her quickness to the guns bordered on precognition, they said. Her suspicious behavior and connection to underworld dealers only solidified their opinion of her obviously guilty nature.
And so, like the doctor who tried to play god, the frightened people rose up to bring a march of justice. But there was no monster, no dabbling in matters that should not be. Only her, and an angry mob with the keys to the airlock.
Begging and pleading she made her case, tried to convince them of their folly. Finally one at the head of the crowd stepped forward…
Skill cards:
Politics 5(N)
Leadership 0(IW), 2(XO), 3(DE)
Piloting 0(D)
+10
Tactics 3(SP)
Engineering 1®
-4
total +6. @Perky_Goth you have the option to activate Dogfight. Do you do so, and if so what card do you remove?
What is one of the worst possible things to do after suffering a massive terrorist attack that reduces your population to tens of thousands living inside metal balloons floating through the void of space? If you answered leave your explosives unattended then you win!
Galactica wasn’t a particularly new ship. Nor were her crew especially noted for their detail oriented approach. Sure they were an endearing cast of misfits who had no compunction about skirting every reg in the book, but what’s a little light mutiny among friends. It’s not like anyone had needed to use the weapons locker lately, so I’m sure whoever was there last locked it.
Now that the langour and atrophied disciplne had been broken with mushroom clouds, the crew hustled to bring things close to sensible order. But in the panic the list of priorities quickly grew. Things like not getting shot down, while landing counterpunches outweighed simple maintenance tasks. When the action is in space no one thinks of the guns that only hurt the small fleshy things.
Except one person. One single pair of hands reached for the handle and twisted…
Skill cards
Leadership 0(AHoD), 2(XO), 5(DE)
Tactics 1(LS), 1(LS), 2(LS)
+12
Politics 4(PP)
-4
Total +8
…and twisted it firmly closed, and engaged the locks.
Raiders move from 5 to 6
In the present circumstances it would have been understandable for postponing or even cancelling celebrations. With survival on the line there was every reason not to spend precious resources on frivolities.
Instead men and women donned their finest amidst the regalia and symbols of their home worlds. Broadcast for all to see, a stirring memory of homes lost was planned. Set a vision for the future, a reason to keep fighting. Swirling chiffon and shiny brass intermingled in a kinetic ballet on the dance floor.
And the songs… fortunate enough to be counted among the survivors was most of the Geminon Philharmonic. Though Caprica had the most publicized band, the most prestigious, Geminon had carved out a niche as home of those more concerned with technical brilliance than photogenic moments. That the conductor was Alicia Cain, cousin of the presumed dead Admiral, made the whole Cain and Able thing even more ironic for all involved. But now such petty professional jealousy meant little. They were, by default, now the best orchestra in the galaxy. Spared by a tour headed to Saggitaron.
So with the limited time and thin resources as much pomp was put into the circumstances. Lilting melodies and energetic marches, classical and folk, anthems and ballads. The entire musical history was lifted up. There, in the new chambers of the Colonial Assembly, for a few hours they evoked the spirit of old. The grime and grim reality was briefly forgotten.
To close the ceremonies a brief video had been prepared. So the band played on, with a ballad stylized version of the colonial anthem. As the screen was lowered a hushed voice whispered in the ear of the emcee. The tape was missing. Still the band played on. A panicked few minutes, where they tried to not look panicked, followed before a lone voice rose from the back. Charcoal grey suit tails flapping as he ran. What had been misplaced had been found in the storage room. Applause rose for the man who had saved the evening as he inserted the dongle into the projector.
As the band played to a crescendo, one occurred on screen. Shaky cameras and static degraded video rolled on. Videos from no source within the fleet. Images of mushroom clouds and obscured basestars against the dying moments of their homes rolled forward.
All the preparation, all the elegance, all the symphony would be forgotten in this one discordant note.
Skill cards:
Politics 1(CP), 2(StP), 3(CP)
Tactics 1(LS), 2(LS), 2(G&I)
+11
Leadership 5(CoP)
Piloting 1(EM)
Treachery 3(HW)
-9
Total +2, fail. -2 morale.
Basestar placed in (roll 4) cylon sector 4. Pursuit track +1. Civilian ship placement.
@jeffreyb you must place 1 civilian ship on the main game board. It may not be on a space with another civilian ship. Where do you place it?
Jump prep +1
A flight crew is as good as family. To Raptor pilots the pilot and ECO weren’t just crew, they were brother and sister.
Sometimes family can be tough on each other too. That’s why, when Crashdown found the needle in Kat’s under seat storage, things got a little heated. And in the type of logic that only makes sense in a family argument, Crashdown decided that Kat needed to see the doc, but she did not agree.
So he broke her nose.
Now she had to go see the doc.
Skill cards:
Politics 3(IC)
Tactics 5(CS)
+8
Engineering 2®
-2
Total +6, fail. -1 morale. Kat to sickbay. 1 raider added to cylon sector 8. Pursuit track +1
They were lucky. The computer could have shorted out before the fleet jumped, and it probably should have. Instead it spectacularly failed immediately after they jumped.
If there was ever a time for that, it was now. They needed time to set up their next jump anyhow. However there was one catch, they weren’t certain that every ship had gotten the coordinates before the failure. as the moments ticked by, the fate of the Dawn Voyager was uncertain. With the CAP pulled in, there was nothing to protect any ship that hadn’t jumped with the rest.
At 5 minutes the DRAEDIS was scanned for a call off checklist.
At 10 an all call was put across the comms for the captain of the Dawn Voyager.
At 15 the recordings of DRAEDIS computers were replayed.
At 30 the President was informed.
Then, at 45, the ship arrived. Seemingly unscathed.
At 50 the Cylon vanguard followed.
Skill cards
Tactics 3(CS)
Engineering 0(EN), 3(SR), 3(SR)
+15
Leadership 1(XO)
Treachery 5(EaW)
-6
Total +9, pass. @Otthegreat you must select 1 person to draw a Mutiny card.
Basestar activation, place 1 in Cylon 2. Advance pursuit.
Cylon ships move to main board.
@jeffreyb select your leadership/ Politics
Time dilated. The tracer rounds arcing over his head sent his adrenaline into overdrive. For a few moments he achieved a clarity transcending the moment, extending into the depths of memory. Bullets reformed into constelations engine lights in his mind.
And in that moment he saw something, something that had seemed insignifigant before. Windows showed movement, figures resolved. Faces became clear.
Fast forward. An empty craft picking its way through the fleet. The view from the cockpit showed him things that monitors could not. Subtle motions, changes in behavior, a ship moving in ways not normal. In the hustle of fending off the waves of raiders these thoughts had been sublimated, but now with the inquiry into Cylon activities in full swing they came rushing forward.
Apollo rolled to the right, kiting the Raiders away from the Civilians. Timing may be odd, but it was important. As one Raider swung around, he dipped his nose to draw it away safely. Then he called the investigator, he had something to share…
Skill cards
Politics 1(CP), 4(IC)
Leadership 2(XO), 3(DE), 4(RO), 5(AAC)
+19
Tactics 0(QT), 1(LS)
Piloting 1(EM)
-2
Total +17, Pass. @jeffreyb you can remove one card with Quick Thinking (the result does not change regardless). then choose one person to look at their loyalty card.
Heavy footsteps on Galactica nearly drowned out those on Colonial One. A coordinated assault while all were distracted. Newly minted Admiral Inviere was singled out for elimination, if the marines and Vipers couldn’t get there first.
Metallic thuds first echoed from outside the hull, before breaking their way inside through hacked airlocks. Barely finished placing the military insignia on her uniform, she stared down silvery forearms, waiting for the flash.
It came, but from an unexpected direction. Grenades rolled by, incapacitating her foe briefly. A brief firefight ensued, and when the smoke cleared the full carnage could be revealed.
Skill cards
Tactics 2(LS), 2(LS), 4(SP)
Piloting 0(PtF), 0(PtF), 2(EM)
+10
Engineering 3(SR)
-3
Total +7, fail. Any modifications?
Gaius Baltar, the brilliant but flakey scientist, was on to something. He removed a few drops of blood from each sample, and added a drop of ochre liquid. A miasma of various antigens, bacterials, toxins, and various and sundry compounds deemed ‘biological hazards’.
The theory was that cylon immune responses, from synthesized and biologically perfected antibodies, would provide a more robust resistance to dangerous chemicals. The problem was he didn’t have a Cylon blood sample to prove that.
Wait, scratch that, he did have a Cylon blood sample, he was quite certain, but he didn’t know whose blood sample was the Cylon one.
So he had to test all of them. One by one. Recording reactions. Where nothing changed from test to test.
Until it did.
Sample T-R011 behaved quite unexpectedly in response to negative stimuli. More aggressive, more perfect biological machines. Now to cross reference with the log… book…
Where was the log book? It had been right here on the counteroh shit. Garbage day was yesterday. someone probably cleaned the mess of wrappers, scrap papers, and odd doodlings of the woman in red that had been the counter, and scooped the log book with it. Perhaps intentionally even.
No matter, he couldn’t tell who, but he could synthesize the antibodies and formulate a broad spectrum vaccine. Who cared who was the toaster anyhow. He was in it for the SCIENCE!
Skill cards
Politics 2(CP), 2(CP), 2(CP), 4(PI)
Leadership 3(AAC), 6(SoE)
Total +19, pass
Everyone select 1 skill card to draw. Centurion +1 space.
The prisoners revolted, marines were sent in. A missile was launched at the support crafts, it impacted them. They survived, if only through fortune, and a law passed prior to the attack that had mandated all missiles include an electronic trigger safety that would disable missiles when no unidentified craft were on radar.
The problems were resolved (sorry, packing to take son to eclipse, so brevity)
Skill cards:
Politics 0(RT), 2(CP)
Leadership 0(IW), 2(XO), 4(DE)
Tactics 1(G&I), 1(LS), 2(LS), 4(UP), 4(SP)
+20
Piloting 2(EM), 2(EM), 3(CV), 6(BotB)
-13
Red Tape removes BotB
-7
Total +13, pass.
Cylon placed in cylon 3
The call went out to the head of the Military Police, ‘let the bad man fly’
Armed with the order, Sargent Hadrian started her march towards an action she harbored doubts over. Sure there was a compelling case made, but were they right? Killing the president on incorrect premises would be the worst possible thing to happen. With their fates on the balance, and fate riding tight, word getting out of cold blooded murder of an innocent human could put them at the brink.
So as she approached the door of the Quorum chamber, she saw something that struck her as odd. Instead of it being barred and locked, which due to the expected nature of this action she anticipated, it was wide open. No tears, no begging, merely a note on the desk that stated ‘so the healing may begin’.
She looked into his sad and resigned eyes and froze. Were they the eyes of a killer bent on destroying humanity?
She didn’t know. But for that moment she didn’t think so.
So she stopped. No, this wasn’t right. No judge, no jury, no formal order. Simply a note implying a course of action. Not even a name of the accused, or their list of crimes. The Admiral didn’t even fracking sign it.
“I’m watching you, but you will live. Today.”
Skill cards:
Politics 0(RT), 1(StP)
Tactics 1(LS), 2(LS), 4(SP)
Treachery 5(EaW)
+13
Piloting 5(MF)
Engineering 0(IU)
-5
Total +8.
@soondifferent choose order of activation for Red Tape, Exploit a Weakness, and Install Upgrades*
*IU will be unaffected by any choice so I will go ahead and deal that to you
Sometimes you need to do the right thing, even when it is not the easy or popular one. For politicians this was doubly hard. Popular thing was their de facto position.
But Billy knew it in his bones, knew there was something wrong with the Admiral. He knew he had to act, on his own if needed. If he was right, he could save the fleet from the danger they didn’t see. If he was wrong? He had already faced that fate once, and survived, but had consigned himself to his role as Cassandra. That’s what he told himself, ignoring the places deeper down whispering dark secrets he hoped were untrue.
So he took his presidential shuttle to face his nemesis, face to face. Conveniently he would do so at the place of their fates converging.
There, with the order drafted and signed for just such a day, he made his move.
“Admiral Fisk, for the attempted assasination of the lawfully elected President of the colonies, and acording to the writ of Martial Law signed one month ago, section 8.1.31b, I sentence you to death.”
And with that he pushed him into the airlock, surprisingly easily due to the shock, and held up a piece of paper with his test results from the now broken screener against the glass.
“See, it never was me”
and pushed the button.
Jack Fisk, heartier than the normal human due to biological upgrades, lived longer than a mere human would. But in the end his systems still shut down, before he woke with Apollo looking at him, disappointedly.
The tests had already been scheduled, it seemed a waste to throw them away now, regardless of the fact that sabotage had made them useless.
But such was life. They went forward with the tests, silly as it may seem. And when things came back with almost no useable results they moved on with a shrug. They didn’t need to know those results anyhow, they had already figured it out
Skill cards:
Politics 3(PP), 4(IC)
Leadership 0(IW), 4(RO)
+11
Piloting 5(RI)
-5
Total +6, fail. Iron will triggers, you are within 4, no effect.
Raiders activate
1 pop
1 Raider moves from 3 to 2
Action stations! The trickle of Cylon activity became a full on assault. Each new drip and drab of bogeys had been matched by a painful and slow deployment. At this point their resources were getting thin, and there simply weren’t enough birds to go around.
But some panicked maneuvers, and smart timing, had managed to eek out enough coverage that they could hope to withstand the fury. A fleeting and desperate hope, but one flickering still against the darkness of the void.
Kat took a little pick-me-up from the suddenly important doctor Gaius Baltar, and she managed to get out there just ahead of the chaos. Favoring armor over speed, she installed herself in the hottest of the hot zones, humanities last hope.
A cackling voice broke over the intercoms as the Raiders began their attack run.
‘I hope you enjoy our parting gifts’
The guns of Galactica rang full salvos of flak, trying to keep the smaller ships at bay. The Admiral called the shots from her Raptor while directing traffic for the few flight squads that could be sortied. The President pulled out all the stops and used every political trick he had to force the civilian ships to buy time for the fighters. The doctor, having done his biggest part already, threw a few modifications into the firing systems of Galactica, hoping it would help stave off Armageddon.
With the now ex Admiral still recovering from his abrupt defrocking, it fell to the instigator of this chaos to guide it home.
He readied himself and waited. Then as the attack hit its crescendo he transmitted the file, his hoped for coup d’gras.
None could blame the Admiral, and in the end the President had been right, even if unpopular at times.
But the Cylons proved relentless, their fleets dogged. Yet until the end the Admiral stood in the face of danger. Wave after wave, without hesitation. The sole force willing to stand between the civilians and destruction.
But the loose human fleet could not all be guarded by a single person, not without concentrating in one spot. So one by one they got picked off. Each an island of humanity washed away by an uncaring universe blowing with metallic winds. Even then they stood a chance, those few left alive. But each new resource loss stung more deeply than the last. Human bodies and human minds can only last so long, and those threatened to break multiple times. But that would not be their doom. The longer they ran, the more it was apparent, machines can only run so far too.
So it was with the destruction of the Tylium Titan, the last human refinery in the galaxy, that there would be no salvation. That they lacked the resources to even try and jump. Without topping off none but Galactica would have enough to start the FTL.
So she did.
As she vanished into the void, to be a spectre of revenge perhaps one day, the few human ships left behind watched as the darkness swallowed their hopes. There fires of hope burned dim, and the wolves looked oh so hungry around them…
The top ship was -1pop -1 fuel. And, at 1 fuel and the next crisis having raider activation, that will be it. If the raiders managed to not destroy the last population, the lack of fuel would on the jump.
Well played Cylons, the galaxy is yours @soondifferent @jeffreyb
Yes we will go ahead with sign ups.
So I have some thoughts about the changes, and before I set out the lists I want to see how everyone feels.
First off I like the changes. One problem has consistently been the relative unimportance of pilots. Once you survive the initial onslaught then there is very little need for space pew pew. Damaging vipers is almost irrelevant. This, I think, swung the pendulum strongly to pilots, somewhat at the expense of the President. This is actually good, I think, as it gives a hidden Cylon player, of any class, a potential tool of subversion, while also providing a potential large boon to humans.
The Cylon Fleet itself seemed to be a source of some confusion. Perhaps I didn’t explain it well enough to start, but it is fairly simple. We didn’t use the Cylon fleet board for actions, but I have no doubt in a closer run game we would have sent someone there. But the mere fact that there was always going to be a persistent Cylon ship pressure really added something to the game, or rather took something away. Time. There never was this stretch of 2-3 rounds where the humans just puttered along waiting to jump, with no urgency to their actions. Instead there was always one, usually several, fires to put out.
But broadly speaking I think I am would like to keep the game as we ran it. It really added to the tension, and makes everyone important. The fact that pilots, other than Apollo, were usually terrible when they should be great, is reason enough for me.
Any other thoughts? To those who played, you think I’m crazy?
It was then the true intentions of evil revealed themselves. Mysteries had begun to introduce themselves, but the simple question was: why?
Now they had an answer, an answer that grew in horror as the pieces fell into place. No mere failure had lead to the loss of communications from Colonial Command, no coincidence could lead to these actions. Every fact was connected, they merely needed to present how.
These things are true
The Cylons show up heavily armed
Colonial Command is unreachable
New ship updates had been done under suspicious contract work
Civilian ships were the primary target
Galactica was old, and therefore did not get upgrades
Cylons appear well beyond the armistice line and immediately shoot
Explosive devices were detonated on multiple ships
The connecting tissue was Extermination. Now their small numbers dwindled yet.
Pop -1, pop -1. Raiders move from 5 to 6, jump prep +1
Since @rowe33 passed:
Beyond the stars
Eyes will be watching
Short is the path to doom
Understanding will elude all who seek it
Reduce their number and watch them scatter
Eternal cycles unmoored from destiny
The serpent must rise again
Only solidarity will see them through
Doubt will pervade and spell destruction
Return from the void to finish the job
It will not be simple
Never be complacent
Keep moving
Your fate will be written in the stars
Or erased among them
Until the watchtower sings
Remember none are safe
Open your eyes
Victory will come to some
Another hunter will arrive
Leave no passage unturned
Try you must
Intolerable be the trials
Near the inflection point
Eyes watching
William Adama didn’t know what it meant, but he thought he might just be able to tease out the secrets. If he shut his eyes, concentrated on the feel of the words rather than their literal meanings, it almost made sense. Or maybe he was just crazy.
Skill cards:
Politics 0RT, 2CP, 2CP, 4IC
Leadership 1XO, 1MV
Tactics 1LS, 1LS
Engineering 1R
+13
Tactics 0QT
Treachery 5EaW
-5
@jeffreyb you may trigger Red Tape, Quick Thinking, and Exploit a Weakness in any order you choose.
Reality is starting to sink in. Their permanent pilgrimage and forced asceticism are starting to work their way around the civilians.
They respond predictably.
Well that’s good, because it is happening no matter what. @jeffreyb you get to have all the fun right now.
The great equalizer. Money can no longer shield you from deprivation when the source of its value is held in contempt. Stability, surety, such things exist not when humanities ragged remainders are on the run. Gold can not be eaten, therefore its value as a medium of exchange vanished. Stalking in the shadows was the specter of extermination, caring not for wealth or status.
But the riots had calmed, as the necessary expense of satiating the mob was paid. But now was the time to tighten up. No longer were explosions threatening the now, so facing tomorrow became required. The Admiral, grim and determined, had pushed his crew to measure every ounce of meat, every kernel of grain. The President, out of his depth, deferred to others of better ability, in part because his predecessor was so much more suited to this administrative stuff. Pilots rushed from bay to barge, calculating exactly what day their doom would arrive.
It was too soon for comfort, but far enough to allow some respite. Some room to organize production. It would not be easy, but it would be possible. If they could temper rations, they might live to die of some other cause.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP, 1CP, 2CP, 2StP
Leadership 1XO, 3RO, 5AAC
+15
Piloting 0D, 1EM
-1
+14, pass.
Cylons activate, none on main board. Roll 1, 1 raider placed in sector 1.
Pursuit track advances. CAG @rho21 you must place 1 civilian ship in an unoccupied space sector, which one?
He kept hearing about the poor performance of the pilots, the lack of preparation on their part for a, by definition surprise, ambush. Oh, sure, he wasn’t the one calling the shots. The Admiral had rank on him, and the nebulous mass of antipathy couldn’t be directed at him. Noooo.
And of course the fact was that the Presidency had passed over him, and several other more qualified individuals he would add, to land on some relatively obscure pilot, too green to even be CAG on his own ship, let alone the flagship.
And obviously the fact that he had helped coordinate the flight groups while the CAG focused on the grunt work of shooting shit, because the Galactica pilot crew was so inept, didn’t get mentioned. Who had prevented the Civilians from getting whacked by the Raiders?
He had.
Who had helped direct firing solutions to wipe out the first wave of Raiders?
He had.
Who had made sure that the ships were in damn fine shape after getting ambushed in an attack that had wiped out the rest of the fleet, and humanity?
He had gods damn it.
So when broad discontent, resentment, anger, and frustration had found their way to his doorstep in the cowardly guise of ‘the people are not happy’ he had plenty of friends willing to help him send a message.
Shove it.
Skill cards:
Politics 3PI
Leadership 0IW, 1XO, 1XO, 4AAC
Tactics 1LS, 1LS, 2LS, 3UP, 4SP
+20
Engineering 3SR
-3
Total +17, Pass. Raider activates, roll 1. Pursuit track +1.
Jump prep +1
Whispers and shadows. Barely perceptible currents of energy strung through the crew. A choking, noxious vapor that went just below the detectable, but made all who breathed it sick.
This was the grave danger the crew embraced in their vain hopes for turning back the tide. Secret influence to exert control, fueling distrust and discord. Mutiny was a disease, one spread by weak enforcement and lax discipline. eased standards that, in peace, were tolerable now haunted their footsteps in war. The need for command bred resentment.
But moving against them were unseen eyes, ones who could discern such secrets. Theirs had not been the command of ones sleeping at the wheel. But whether they could divert and control these energies was unknown.
But time was short, soon rumblings would become an earthquake if left unchecked, as the virus threatened to erode the foundations of the fleet’s function. Each new infectee weakened their response, and growth was unabated. So secret notes and secret ears were brought forward in swift reprisals. A coordinated sweep meant to decapitate the incipient rebellion at its root. They merely had to hope it was enough, and made their move.
The infection seemed to be purged at its core.
For now.
Skill cards:
Leadership 0AHoD, 4RO, 5DE
Tactics 1G&I, 4SP
Engineering 0EN, 3SR, 5C
All things added total +32 Raider roll 4
@rowe33 your fifth card choice please
They found themselves here by quirk of fate. Men and women who, in better days, probably don’t find themselves in such high office. Those whose pasts would neuter their influence.
But that was not this time, this was not that story. So deal with it they must. They could bury it, buy the silence of those who know with baubles or bullets, but what point was there. No, just deal with the loss of face and influence, and move on. In a week this would be forgotten.
Skill cards
Leadership 0IW, 3DE
Total +3, fail. Random discards for everyone.
Random discards… I hate random discards -_-
@rho21 discards Piloting 0PtF
@Perky_Goth discards Politics 2CP
@Lantz discards Tactics 5SP
@jeffreyb discards Tactics 6SFF
@rowe33 discards Tactics 5CS
Though I suspect you hate them more now.
Heavy Raider activates and places, roll 1. Pursuit track +1, move all ships to board
Jump prep +1
Why did he always get tabbed for VIP duty? Why, especially when the Cylons had just shown up again, couldn’t they wait. And why have the only pilot pulling their weight be the one to shuttle VIPs?
Oh, that’s why, VIPs didn’t like shrapnel and so far he’d proven to be the only pilot worthy of the title that wasn’t holed up in political assylum.
So he dutifully docked on Galactica, and in a fit of pique, insisted on carrying the suitcase, in that way that amply demonstrated his annoyance with the assignment by an overabundance of faux service.
This was a mistake, because it set of the detonator early. Simultaneously not harming the intended target, while making Cole take the full force.
On the bright side it didn’t happen in space.
Skill Cards
Politics 1CP, 1CP
Total -2, fail and trigger reckless
Treachery 2GP, no effect.
-1 morale, @rho21 to sickbay.
Heavy raider moves from 2 to 3, jump prep +1
There was no sugarcoating it, there was no dancing around the inevitable seriousness of the condition. This was a disaster, full stop. And it was deliberate.
Deliberate by whom? Well they had been chasing spectres of danger, both real and imagined, since that fateful day. The attack had been swift and the break final. Could they have left things to chance? Allow some quirk of fate to shepard some portion of their quarry away, to steal their final and decisive victory?
No, not likely. But interpreting everything as a sign of impending doom only served to ensure such would be. Finding malice in every action only ensured that at some point there would be. For buy declaring and treating others as traitors, you inevitably wind up creating them. For when you point out the reasons and purposes of their disobedience, they consider what you say may be true.
So it was when the reactor redlined, the aspersions began. The accusations flew. And when President Foster announced she had seen something before leaving the engine room, crews hesitated to act. Did they trust her word, or did they view her as the root source of the danger?
As things ticked by they had to decide to act, or not act. Because if they acted, and her words were true, how would some common political attache be informed enough to understand the deeper meanings of pressure dials and thermal readings?
Skill cards:
Tactics 2LS, 2G&I
Piloting 4MF
Engineering 2R
+10
Treachery 4VO
-4
Total +6, fail.
@Perky_Goth to sickbay. Does anyone have a DE that they wish to use to fuel the discord in the President’s hand?
Everything was connected, there were no coincidences, merely rearranging of the facts as they knew them. Seeming inconsequential events had a role in the plot, it was all the plot. Such devastation and coordination was not pure chance, it was the work of a secret organization bringing about their ultimate goal of total destruction. It was now a matter of arranging the evidence to connect them.
Cylons had returned
Humans were nearly eradicated
Cylons had been created in human image
Computer systems had been compromised
Apollo was the messenger of the gods
Nuclear missiles often had names derived from arrows, or thrown weapons
Cylons had been created in human image
Artemis was known for bows
Humans were being hunted
A wounded quarry is most dangerous
Humans were endurance hunters
Cylons had been created in human image
Many diseases would lie dormant in their host before killing them.
If only he could put them together, the fact might revel the deeper truth. But there were many possible arrangements, and the truth was but one possible way of setting the tiles.
But ponder these mysteries he did, for when in the blackness of space, thinking was the respite from boredom. Perhaps epiphany had struck him, and he had found a true arrangement. Would this truth be right, would it be worth acting on?
Time to decide to expand the conspiracy, or make it his own private joke.
Skill cards
Leadership 0AhoD, 2XO, 2XO, 3AAC
Tactics 2LS
+9
Piloting 0D
Engineering 2R
-2
@rho21 activate Dogfight or All Hands on Deck first? and do you trigger the Dogfight condition.
The tinder ignited. A random spark, even one set by a Cylon, can engulf the world when conditions are right. Anger, resentment, fear, even excitement at the opportunity that disaster inevitably creates for those who can position themselves.
And so, in this world of chaos and challenge, change and chance it was the cold blooded execution of a high ranking officer, seen as the symbol of their condition, that erupted within the prison work centers. Armed with naught but their hammers and wrenches they stormed their ships bridge.
A motley and spontaneous revolt, with no plan for drawing advantage. It was a ball of unfocused rage, but even so such potential energy could be dangerous. Eventually demands were issued.
And immediately rejected.
But communications were continued, but on much sterner terms. The Admiral, bypassed by leaders who had yet to be able to figure a response, was unable to influence actions. But the CAG and former President managed an answer, one backed by force. Lay down your arms, and prepare to be boarded, or learn how cold absolute zero was. Do so and no reprisals will come.
For several tense moments things hung in the balance. The prison work ship burned steadily towards Colonial One. Then a flash… and the engines died.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP, 5PP
Leadership 1XO, 1XO, 2XO, 6SoE
+16
Piloting 1FT
-1
Total +15, pass. Raider launches from Basestar.
@rowe33 your fifth card.
There was good news in this extraordinarily bad timed audit. That good news being that, with the recent upheaval of Military Command, the Admiral was mostly immune to any charges or censure. It’s hard to take blame for decisions when they haven’t even removed the old mans name from the desk yet.
But the report was still written and released, under the auspices of transparency, and it was not a pleasant read. Summary executions, spotty star charts, and subversive behavior all laid bare to the public. Unsurprisingly they did not respond well.
Skill cards
Piloting 2EM
Treachery 0B
-2
Total -2 fail. -1 morale, @Lantz discards 5 cards of his hand of 0. One civilian ship placed in 2. Reckless triggers, flip 1BL, no effect. Raiders advance from 5 to 4. Jump prep +1
@Perky_Goth as promised I will let you take your adaptability here, with your draw.
'Kendra Shaw, we would like you to answer for your actions, and lack thereof, during the recent Cylon activities. Namely we would like to know the exact nature of your relationship to William Adama, and why you only stepped forward to exert influence after he had executed Jurgen Belzen.
‘Additionally your continued lack of administrative support during this critical situation does call your capabilities into question. Perhaps your elevation to Admiral was premature if this is the level of leadership we can expect. With your lethargic leadership what assurances do we have that the jump coordinates you are promulgating to the fleet are in the best interests of the people?’
Such was the type of questions that faced Admiral Shaw in the polite moments. The impolite ones were considerably more personal. Insinuations about her time as Helena Cain’s protege were especially pointed, as if it was the former Admiral’s fault the defense fleets had been wholly unprepared for the nature of the attack. Given the recent wholseale accusations faced by the Admirality, no leniency would be had for the inheritor of the architect of their conundrum.
But Shaw sat firm and unfazed. And when the time came uttered no words in response, merely removed a manilla envelope to be given to the Quorum members leading the inquisition. Then she got up and left, to return to command where she could shoot something.
The blanched faces of the Quorum would not soon return to such aggressive negotiations.
Skill cards
Politics 2CP, 3IC, 3IC, 4PP, 4PI
Leadership 0IW
+16
Tactics 0QT, 6ASC
Engineering 0EN
-6
Total +10 @Perky_Goth choose activation for Quick Thinking, Iron Will, and Establish Network
There were laws. Whatever else may be in this world bereft of the anchors of stability, those were a concrete thing. Something that tied them to their past, their history. Continuity counted for much these days, and every step away from that was one step closer to the edge. The beyond times.
Laws were more flexible now, prone to convenient forgetting over small matters. None would breathe nervously for reducing the burden of time and paper when conducting studies. Six months to validate the health impacts of environmental changes was a luxury they could ill afford. Gut check, would this make it better or worse. Go.
Humane treatment of prisoners, however, was a bedrock upon which civilization had rested for millennia. Certainly the definition had shifted over time, and may have lapses in observance, but collectively there was a social pact about such things. Among those things was the ability for the accused and imprisoned to access legal remedies. And so it stood that William Adama had every law and statue that conceivably could be tied to his condition thrown out there. Lawyers insisted on certain treatments, and visitation, that were not being afforded.
Leaders from the fleet had no intention of such niceties, isolation was their aim. But water finds a crack, and it could not be contained forever. So it was that at 0730 a man, signing in as Aaron Doral, entered the brig to see Adama. To say they conversed would be a butchery of the meaning, though words were exchanged non verbally. Plainly some ill dealing was happening, but legally they had no means to prevent it. Publically this meeting had been arranged and ordained on the most technical terms. Other than this meeting, there had been no reasons of suspicion over the visitor. So, when the two men shook hands after a brief, and silent, few moments, suspicions were at peak. What dangers could this exchange posess?
The military had formally opposed the meeting, but could not legally stop it. Illegally though…
Officially no order existed. No formal actions were planned. But informally they decided to go with the gut check. Release some documents indicating cylon activities by Aaron Doral, documents they had just been able to assemble, and let fate fall where it may. They solved it the Razor way, with iron spines and lead answers.
His death was not mourned.
Skill cards
Leadership 0IW, 0IW, 1XO, 2XO
Tactics 1LS, 5SP
+9
Politics 5PP
Treachery 1BL
-6
Total +3 Fail. Iron Will goes into effect, within 4 of passing so no fail effect.
Basestar placed in sector 8, pursuit track +1, all Cylon ships jump into board.
You line everything up, leave nothing to chance that can be set. You’ve assigned Admiral @Lantz extra resources for the jump. The final surveys are set, and the fleet ready to jump. Everything is in place.
They perform perfectly (roll 6). The Cylons, sensing their moment would pass soon, send a last skirmish, of moderate effect
Roll 2, 5 Anyone modify the raider attack on the Viper?
Then the jump comes. As soon as I know if the Viper takes the hit, I’ll prepare the jump.
A journey most bizarre took another turn. Known Cylon, and traitor, William Adam had left much chaod and destruction in his wake. But none more puzzling than the child. Already walking by the time of the attack, she was unusually perceptive. Normally the types of indiscretion that would be quietly forgotten, and comfortably taken care of, were not subject to intense debate. But few are the progeny of genocidal machines either.
But at what point had William Adama been a Cylon? Had he been replaced along the way, or was his turn something planned since the days of the first Cylon war. Understanding the mind of a machine was no simple task, and none could properly determine at what point this betrayal made flesh had arrived.
And it was that debate that threatened to split the fleet. Having only just recovered from serious losses, and starting to regain trust in leadership, they found themselves ready to break. Some, certain her mere existence perpetuated the threat, meant to send her into the abyss. That her life was indication that her mother was also partner to humanities final act. To space them would be a mercy, since they were hollow replicas of life.
Still others argued she was fully human, and her father had been replaced by an imposter. The mother, herself, argued this point. But few truly believed it. The facsimile had been too good, an imposter would have let some intimate discover his secret through some small error.
There was as third camp, growing stronger, that argued she was a new life, a blending of the two lines. That she should be studied and protected, perhaps key to breaking of the cycle of despair and death. That she was not a threat, but a promise of better. It was the position of those who held on to civilization at the edge of the universe, and whom held out hope for a brighter future.
As this voice grew in strength, powered by the compassion of the president and her trusted presidential guard (an honorific bestowed upon the two flight officers whom she trusted most deeply, and a purely symbolic title), those who lived in fear lashed out. Seizing the mother and child during the night, they attempted to make good their threats on a darkened flight deck.
But none know that deck like the pilots who live there. As the ropes were tied in the launch tube, the would be judges, and executioners, found their world thrust into inky blackness. Far down, at the end of vision, lurked a powered down Raptor waiting. A sudden rumble and a blinding light halted the fury as the Raptor bore down on them with a careful rush. In moments it was upon them, and jets of thruster wash threatened to knock down the assailants. No sooner had their momentum been arrested than several marines streamed out, and grabbed the frightened mother and child. Barely had the door closed on the raptor, when the lights came on inside the launch tube, and the door slammed shut on the airlock.
The four men watched in horror as the red airlock light transitioned from red to green. Then, standing at the console, they saw President Foster, smiling, as she pushed the launch button. As the attackers were sucked to their new living quarters, Crashdown smiled at the frightened child, and let her know she was safe.
Skill cards
Politics 3IC, 5IC, 6PP
Leadership 1XO, 2XO, 2XO, 5DE
+24
Treachery 3ABM, 4VO
-7
Total +17, pass. Two treacheries added to the Destiny deck, @rowe33 select the recipient of the Mutiny card.
Darkness and conspiracy exist in a realm of the unlikely made real. The fragile reality twisted and made maleable in a fever dream. But in these odd days even the darkest of fears may become manifest. Plausible escapes turned in on themselves as the creeping horrors slowly transition from ethereal to inescapable.
Rumors of the purpose of the Cylon actions percolated, but were naught more than dread specters. Terror unspeakable, broadly spoken, circulated. Certainly these could not be true…
But whispering these fears gave form, slow madness became sanity. The worst possible truths grew in stature as a slow dawning occurred. Not the base accusations of flesh harvests, of Cylons rending flesh for sustenance, but a more sinister plot. Now humans were being collected. Not as nourishment, but as experiment. Able pilots had minimized the carnage, without being aware, but as scouts probed their defenses a few audacious raids occurred.
One survivor managed to reach a comm station aboard her nightmare, and eke out a warning. Brief tales of probes and IV solutions were released, before silence fell. 2000 people were exposed to the depths of cruel creativity, waiting for an unhappy end. A rescue must be planned.
Ill prepared for such an endeavor, they pressed on. Primal need driving their actions. They could not afford to lose this hope. To accept twisted fate would be to lose what trust they had from the people. No, it must be done.
The converted science vessel Agamemnon was one of the first converts to agriculture. Now it was converted yet again for Cylon needs. Housing a not insignificant portion of humanity, another type of seed was being prepared. The birth of Hera had become obsession with the once human members. Adama, in particular, was keen on discovering the secret of hybrid life. A thousand could die to give that one life, and he would not care. Directing his minions the experiments were conducted.
The rescue fleet was small, led by the President’s personal guard, but well trained. The handful of Raptors and FTL capable assault craft lurched into range without drawing attention. They breached the hull, and performed a coordinated sweep. A brief but intense gunfight ensued, before the helm was taken. Losing no time they jumped.
It was only then the dire truth was discovered. Row after row of stretcher and hypodermic needle had replaced hydroponics. They had rescued the mouths to feed, but lost the means to feed them.
Skill cards:
Tactics 2LS, 2LS, 5ASC, 5SP
Engineering 2R, 4SR, 6BN
+26
Politics 5N
Leadership 6SoE
Treachery 2SD, 3ABM
-16
Total +10, mixed result. -1 food. 2 Treachery added to destiny.
They didn’t think she was important. Their resources were better spent elsewhere. So they ignored her.
They didn’t notice the little devices she carried.
They didn’t see the computers she accessed.
They weren’t aware of the threat until it hit them, like an angry wave of vengeance. Now it was time for panic.
The Cylons had arrived, and in force.
Skill cards:
Piloting 1EM
Treachery 0B, 1BYC
Total -2
@rowe33 select whether to activate Bait or BYC first.
Note, and confirmed by designer faq, By Your Command counts as an activation for both raiders, and heavy raiders. So it will advance the pursuit track twice. @rho21 you will have to place a bunch of civvies here soon, so best start thinking it over.
Will resolve the Reckless trigger after resolving these effects, per the chart (steps 19 and 20), then move on to the card activation and jump prep.
This was their purpose in life. Well trained, well honed pilots embrace danger. All the machinations, mayhem, and malignant behavior had done is hone things to a razor edge. Searching for danger at every corner had moved them from weekend warriors to a crack squadron.
Finding themselves at the precipice of an impending super nova held little threat when their flight groups were fully prepared. However the arrival, en masse, of their dogged pursuers meant that no such preparation could be made. Now was the time to improvise. As missiles and flak threatened to consume their world, the fleet prepared what defenses they must. Sitting comfortably with most of their survivors intact a scant few hours ago, the ferocity and volume of their barrage nearly threatened to overwhelm their numbers. Another blow like that would have them on the precipice of extinction.
But they would not be deterred, and all the more reason to throw all they had at this newest threat. So while Admiral Taylor danced his way through the firestorm, protecting the civilian from harm with his wingman in a Mk VII, bringing back echoes of Husker in his days before… no, now was not the time for such thoughts.
But the fleet defense was being arranged well, the Admiral told Crashdown to jump out, using the Raptors FTL, to jump in system to the pocket where some civilians were being kept. The protocol they had instituted to protect from a single attack ending the entire human race was now threatening to help speed extinction. Though it was only one of the several dispersed, but nearby, staging areas, it would do no good to protect them from the Cylons only to lose them in a supernova.
Crashdown did as ordered, and returned moments later. The deed was done, the fleet shuffled off to a safer location, for now.
Skill cards
Leadership 0IW, 1XO, 4DE, 5AAC
Piloting 1EM, 2EM, 4CV, 5LR
+22
Tactics 0QT, 5CS
Treachery 0B
-5
Total +17 pass. @rho21 there are 3 cards to activate. Quick Thinking, Bait, and Iron Will. Which one first, and which card do you draw out?
The basestars will shoot as soon as you decide.
Virgon Voyager to Galactica, we have spotted Centurions during salvage operations. Send escort immediately!
The Presidential shuttle was the only ship capable of aiding that was not otherwise engaged. President Foster, on her way to do the usual schmoozing that allowed her such wide latitude as President, was on board.
She gave the mission a go, every human life was critical now, they needed to send rescue.
For an hour they dropped out of contact, only to return with the mining crew in tow, and a Raptor shot to hell. President Foster, dirty and scuffed, practically fell out of the craft. Chief Tyrol, initially apalled at the state of the craft, took time to look it over to see if anything was salveagable. After a few moments he radioed the CAG.
‘She looks like hell, but it seems like a few hours, and some new body panels, and I’ll have her running again’
President Foster, having caught her breath, stood up and gave the thumbs up.
Destiny
Tactics 6 SFF
Treachery 0B
Total +1
@Perky_Goth the raiders launch, but only 4 are in reserves. Since each Basestar can launch up to 3, you choose which ones go, up to 3 in either space.
It was all about the signals, the patterns. Being the man in the know. Always with the reality behind the facade. Crashdown couldn’t help but be induced when an opportunity presented itself. A man claiming to be from Caprica Analysts said he had dirt on the President, did he want in?
The answer was always yes. Didn’t matter the source, didn’t matter the reason, didn’t matter if he would never use it. His electronic eyes were always scanning, probing the cosmos for mysteries unknown. It was true before the universe had collapsed into a few struggling ships, and it was true after. After all, being the man in the middle was easier when there were fewer pieces on the board.
In those halcyon days, it had seemed so simple. Get the packet, give in return. He may no longer be president, but he had used his time well, to foster a network of potential spies and allies. A network that was tolerated because it had succeded in neutering several threats.
Now he was the threat.
The tracks had been so carefully covered. The price paid, untraceable. The information gained, unleveraged. No vendetta could be brought against him, for none knew what he held. But here it was, in the middle of a firefight a marine craft had approached and boarded, with arrest ordered accusing of treason, of being a Cylon stooge. But this was impossible. He had never worked with Cylons, he had exposed them. But the man in the hot seat could not escape. As he consented to being ferried back to Galactica, for internment before trial, his display lit up with an incoming hyperspace beacon.
That was odd, no human ship was outside of visual range, yet this arrived from the depths of space.
'Thank you for your cooperation
Caprica Analysts’
His eyes seemed to be playing tricks on him. For a moment he swore the name transmuted, briefly and for only a second, to Cylon Analysts.
Skill cards
Politics 1StP, 1CP, 2CP, 3PP, 4PI
Tactics 1LS, 2LS
Engineering 0EN
+14
Treachery 0B, 3PV, 3ABM
-6
Total 8, fail.
One Civilian added to 2, two treacheries shuffled into destiny (2 to 4 cards), and all humans get a treachery card, and @rowe33 gets a mutiny. He goes to the brig.
Any modifications to the result?
The wafting haze clouded their minds as it clouded the air. Presidential aides, men and women o secular power not mystical, coughed gently as the inebriating fumes worked their magic. Low humming as the fires danced temporarily transported them to another time and place. Though the cold hard vacuum of space was mere inches away behind them, they could feel the solid pull of granite s they were transported mentally to the stone temples of yesteryear.
The President’s eyes rolled back, revealing the brilliant whites, as if staring up into the cosmos. The flickering torches were suddenly extinguished, the lights turned on, and the fugue started to dissipate with the cloud. She quietly walked over to her desk, and wrote down a name.
‘He must be separated from the others. Otherwise we will have a terrible trouble on our hands’
They looked at the name, and their hearts sank. Tom Zarek was here. And where he went, trouble followed. Perhaps new quarters in the Galactica brig might be on tap. The better to monitor he is treated well, of course.
Skill cards
Politics 2CP, 2CP, 3IC
Leadership 1XO, 1XO
Tactics 1LS
Totla +10, pass.
Raiders attack
Roll 8
Lantz already played the Piloting card he drew, Jeffrey has none, and neither does soon. Viper destroyed
Raider 2 roll 1
@soondifferent your fifth card
It looked so innocent. A small. plastic shell, barely bigger than the increasingly precious apple. Stark white, inaudible hum, something that is invisible in its complete visibility. Had that always been there? Yeah, I think so. Probably just some environmental sensor used to monitor the air circulators efficiency.
FTL drives were spooling up. Communications were being prepped. As humanity sought a new refuge, a new life of permanent dislocation, the device silently came to life. No lights, not a single outward change that would be detected. Nothing but a series of numbers broadcast into the ether. As jump options narrowed down the packages were sent.
Starbuck almost failed to register the oddity. More gleefully pouring vengeance into foes than monitoring the ECM suite, the narrow band of data almost dropped off the HUD.
Almost.
As a new shrapnel symphony played across her windshield, she directed a percussive blast on the emergency channels. A dire warning about enemies with ears in sensitive spots. The Raptor sang to life, as she whipped it around for a triangulating pass.
Quickly she sent word to her reserve leader, Samuel Anders, to get his ass in gear, and grab the directed broadcast radio beacon. Time to pinpoint the erroneous emissions. As Longshot walked the halls, Starbuck set the sensors to monitor direction of the two signals.
Turn left at bulkhead 3. Forward 100 yards. Go up a level.
Each new bark brought the targeting closer. Fleeting moments of overlap gave an idea of the line. Slowly they mapped possibilities. Deck 3 was first, as horizontal sweeps proved this dimension easily. A few more minutes…
The cockpit rocked as another burst of chaff indicated the presence of more raiders launching. Time was up. She gave Anders her best guess at positioning and rejoined the fight.
Anders ran to the spot. Uncertain what to look for he scanned, finding no obvious cylon invention. About to give up, he turned. Above the doorway he saw an innocuous monitor. Some environmental system. One that looked new. He walked out the door.
And remembered deck 3 was not renovated with the others, and was due in the next retrofit that would never come now.
He whipped around and grabbed the hemispherical interloper. Their spy had been found.
Skill cards
Tactics 2LS, 2LS
Piloting 3MF, 3CV, 5RI
+15
Leadership 3DE
Treachery 0B
-3
Total +12, pass. Bait places civilian in 2.
2 Raiders launch in 5
It was early, scarcely had the fleet suffered due to diligent and judicious leaders.
But the recent scare with the tracker had phantoms all around. Behind every door, a traitor. Behind every order a hidden agenda. The knives were out, and the ride would become unpleasant. It was then the boarding parties made their appearance, and they merely had to hope Starbuck could hold them off.
Skill cards
Piloting 1EM
Treachery 3PV
-4
Fail. PV triggers, handing 1 treachery each, and a mutiny to @jeffreyb
Reckless triggers… 0B flip 2, 1BL. total 2 civilians placed, one basestar.
Which then means 2 heavy raiders launch. Jump prep +1
President Elosha
Her plan had been derailed, but it had come at a steep price. Even now the drums of war were approaching her very desk, the noose dropped low over her neck. But still, that smile.
The humans had been forced to a position where they would fight for every life dearly, extract the maximum price from the Cylons for every soul lost. Even now, here in her office, was the tally of the damned. She could but look up to count the number of their destruction. Even she took up this mantra. Sure, she was not bound by the same constraints of a normal human, but this body was still only able to live once. The consciousness survives, but at a price. And now she was preparing to sell it dearly.
She watched as the welded doors started to glow. The cameras in her office broadcast this outrage to the fleet. Sure some would not be fooled, and eventually all might discover the truth, but today she would show the world the brutality of the military, their bloodlust and corrupted desire for power seeking to overthrow their duly elected President. Rather than the guardians of all that is good, and protector of the people they would wish themselves to be, she tried to convince some, at least for a little while, that they were the savages.
Could the ruse last long? Probably not. But it only needed to last long enough to cause turbulence, to cause panic, to sew discord. Enough to make their tightrope bounce, just that little bit. Yes indeed, even if death came she would make them pay.
She narrated to the camera, feigning indignation and outrage. Pleading innocence and demanding justice be served in her absence. Pleading to the people to rise up and overthrow the corrupt junta.
Execution on live TV, what a way to go. She closed her eyes, and waited to be reborn.
Skill cards
Politics 4IC
Tactics 0QT, 0TI, 1LS, 1LS, 3CS, 4CS
Treachery 1BL, 2SD, 3ABM, 3ABM
+22
Leadership 3DE
Piloting 4MF
Engineering 1R, 2R, 3RS
-13
Total +9 BUT
@Jorn_Weines you have the option of the order of execution on cards. You may remove a card with QT, you may allow Destiny to add two with TI.
Your move.
Ok had a bookkeeping issue to deal with, and also work stuff. So, later than I hoped, here is the resolution…
Their stores were getting thin. At this point finding a broken fighter was easier than finding an overworked deck hand on the hangar bay. There simply wasn’t enough to go around, and Galactica was an old girl. Crates that had been in storage for years were being brought to live duty. Munitions well beyond their projected usable life found their ways into circulation. A petrified forest of crate detritus littered the grounds, broken and scattered.
Some of the unearthed fossils proved to be inert, others unstable. One such crate was HE rounds. Effective against the armor of certain Cylon ships, but corrosive as hell if it leaked.
Which it had.
A sickly black ichor, with a golden green sheen, seeped out of cracks on the crate. A crate that was on top of a stack near the fighter fuel tanks, stacked on top of a crate of rations for long distance survey crews. This compound was likely the volatile explosive that made the rounds so effective, but was extremely toxic and unstable if not suspended in the preservative compound. A careless spark could take out half the deck, and potentially blow a hole through the hull.
Every available military engineer was brought in under high alert. The entire port pod shut down for flights, so as to minimize the potential for a wayward tremor or kinetic trigger. Machinery quickly rigged for careful handling and transit by fabricating slings attached to weapons loaders. But the conundrum remained, how to lift the offending crate without potentially causing a chain reaction.
Ultimately caution won the day. As tough as it would be to knowingly destroy potentially good, and valuable, food stocks, far better to take that loss, than risk losing them anyhow, along with the fuel tanks, by trying to separate the crates. The slings were attached, the pair of crates lifted, and the loader slowly drove them to the deck airlock. There they would be released from the bounds of artificial gravity, and allow the winds of space to claim their bounty. With military precision this plan was executed, and an hour after the crisis had begun, their wayward supplies were drifting off into the deep.
They just hoped that food would not be missed.
Skill cards
Tactics 1LS, 1G&I, 5CS, 5ASC, 5SP
Engineering 3SR, 3RS
Total +23
Treachery 0DC, 0DC, 4VO
-4
Total +19 pass. 2 raiders placed in sector 5, @jeffreyb gets a free ride back to Galactics. Food -1
Heavy raider places in CFB 4, pursuit track +1, Cylon Ships arrive. Jump prep +1
On the Medicinal Benefits of Tobacco
A clinical survey of populations under crisis and stress responses to nicotine
By Cottle, Sherman ‘Doc’
Thesis: Tobacco produces numerous compounds under combustion. The medical benefits of such compounds are under studied, and could provide significant benefits as a low cost method of mitigating the chronic health issues pervasive in populations under sustained duress. By identifying the effects of these compounds, and comparing them to a control group, I will demonstrate that usage of tobacco in certain situations of acute stress can prevent those acute symptoms from developing into chronic issues.
Analysis of Results: People treated with aerosolized tobacco compounds have a significant improvement in performance, and suffer shorter recovery periods. Focused treatments of particularly stressed individuals shows an increased access to cognitive abilities when under crisis stress, leading to better outcomes.
Conclusion: usage of tobacco for medical treatment suggested as a regular first choice medical option. In conjunction with targeted stimulants, approved by military guidelines, this provides optimal outcomes. Inclusion now to be standard and immediately implemented. All field manuals recommended to be updated at first opportunity.
Dr. Sherman Cottle
Skill cards
Politics 0FtH, 3PP
Leadership 1XO, 2XO, 3AAC, 4AAC, 4DE
Engineering 0EN
+17
Pass Establish network triggers, as will Force Their Hand. @Lantz do you add a card, or draw a mutiny? And do you do so before or after Establish Network?
Also @Jorn_Weines would you put in a selection for the pass condition? You too Lantz, after resolving the other parts first.
The attrition of the fighter wing did not just mean machinery, it was also the people flying them. Each new attack made the next one harder to repel. Normally flight squadrons would have 1000 hours of time together before they would be considered combat ready. Now they were lucky to have a dozen hours in classrooms and simulators before being thrust into the real deal.
All that made it so that each time they took to the skies the odds of accidents went up. Now, with their last currently functional birds in the air, their dice came up snake eyes. Starbuck was instructing an evasive maneuver when the nugget mixed starboard and port…
Which fortunately Starbuck was the best pilot in the history of Galactica, she managed to avoid the colision while nudging the nugget just enough so they avoided their other wingman.
Skill cards
Leadership 3DE, 4RO, 4AAC, 5DE
Piloting 0PtF, 2EM, 3MF
+21
Tactics 2LS
Treachery 1BYC
-3
Total +18, pass. BYC does not activate. PtF does. @soondifferent?
Radiological alarms were spiking all across the fleet. Some, certainly it seemed, were deoys. Duped signals hacked by the Cylons. But the clock was ticking. They could check one, maybe two, ships in time, they estimated. And getting that done was easier said, with the birds circling.
Gut check. The Admiral needed to make a call. He pulled the doctor aside, and though not a scientist, he was technically technically proficient. He could probably fix the scanner. Eliminate a few false positives.
Probably not all of them though.
No time, do it. Take the lead, I’ve got work to do. The Admiral knew the state of the fleet. Civilians largely whole, at the expense of damn near every spare ship he had. It was a good trade, so far, but it was hamstringing him now.
What to do…
Civilian ships…
undamaged…
Science…
Shit, it was obvious now. Ore miners had numerous radiological detectors. They had to, mining an asteroid you needed to know what you were digging in to, and how exposed you were. That gold ore might be valuable, but if the pulsar the belt was around started acting flaky, any exposed crew would be baked in seconds. Handling radioactive ore, due to inherent nature or trace amounts locked within the crystaline structures of the gems, were hazardous to crews. Everyone in the minning guilds knew someone who had radiation poisoning from a malfunctioning detector or not wearing safety equipment…
Demetrius, Anubis, Vengeance, and Argus, follow Starbuck. Quick sweep, find the bomb.
Civilians may resent being imposed on by military authority, but he didn’t care. They would hate blowing up more.
With each tick of the clock they all worried they would not find the bomb in time though.
‘There!’
Was all they heard over the radio, but it was all they needed. The bomb crew, on standby in a Raptor, swept in. Not a moment too soon either. Another two minutes, and they’d be looking at a hole in one of the agro ships.
Leadership 3RO
+9
Fail, but Iron Will kicks in. Within 4, do not trigger fail effect. Raiders activate, move to 4 and 2 respectively. Jump prep +1
It was a small thing, a way to lift the spirits. And simply put their slow journey left time to fill. So it was that when President Agathon stumbled across an old flyer for a prize fight while cleaning out the Presidential desk, he was of two thoughts.
The first, and obvious one, who would have pictured that drugged out mystic as a lover of violent entertainments.
Well other than the murderous robot part of her.
The second was that this seemed a good idea. A way to burn some nervous energy and create an outlet for the ever present illicit gambling every military regiment officially discourages but unofficially never seems to enforce.
So the hangar decks were cleared, the ECO pods on the freshly rebuilt frame of the Assault Raptor adjusted for spotlight utility. A hasty construction made using leftover munitions crates and canvas for uniform tailoring made their ring. And into it were sent the two bright stars of the fleet, the protectors of the innocent, ready to beat eachothers brains in for 9 rounds, or whenever Anders decided to tap out.
They had stopped taking bets for Starbuck after 20 minutes, despite the low payout 4-1 odds gave. Not because of physical strength, but because they knew she would still find a way to throw a punch even if you broke both her arms. They respected their CAG, but were all a bit scared of her.
Main lights dimmed, spotlights on, main event came after a few warm up matches. Saul Tigh versus Galen Tyrol was a crowd favorite. Mainly because the hangar deck crew were all cheering for Tigh, while all the command staff for Chief. Everyone else was rooting for mutual TKO.
But the main event was the Prickly Princess versus Triangle Titan. The best shot versus the long shot. The hard partier versus… ok well they both were.
And it did not disappoint. Despite the long odds, Anders hung in there with Starbuck. He landed a few good blows, but mostly managed to not get his bell rung, which was better than most anticipated.
He still lost, but made a good fight of it. And just as the judges decision was made, there was a popping noise from the raptor as the lights sputtered and there was a large pop and explosion. The crowd went wild, thinking pyrotechnics had been prepared. Everyone went home happy.
Once the crowd cleared, the deck crew began looking for an answer. They had planned nothing of the sort, and in short order the truth was revealed. Turns out their Raptor repair had been flawed, and the celebration had shook the ECO pod lose, causing it to fall into the missile pods, shorting them out and sending a rocket into the cabin.
Starbuck was gonna be pissed, fortunately the doc still was patching her up from the fight so they had some time.
Skill cards
Politics 4IC
Leadership 0IW, 3DE, 4AAC, 4RO
Tactics 2G&I, 5ASC
+22
Piloting 0D
Treachery 0DC, 0DC, 1BL
-1
Total +21, pass. @rho21 you can activate Dogfight. There are 2DC cards, so Raiders are being placed. The pass will happen, so morale +1. However you can do the Dogfight thing, which you had already indicated you would damage the Assault Raptor to activate. And since a skill card ability was played, you may also choose one person to put in sickbay.
BOOM thrum thrum BOOM thrum thrum
To the Doc it was the gentle procession of a waltz. A concern for another time. Soothing, almost, in its regularity. The Starboard nacelle was cordoned off, a trap it would take time for the Centurions to extract from. A problem, yes, one to deal with, but the ship had been designed for this. They had time.
Sure, in said time, they would need to recover supplies from there. Before the journey was ended they would need every bolt, but today there was no urgency. He could ignore.
Rata ta TAT bum BAM Rata ta TAT bum BAM
It evolved into a steady march for the Admiral to hear. A thing to monitor. But in this situation shrouded in fire and disaster, he too was in no rush to concern himself with tomorrows issues. He had to get through today, which meant the fleet. Jump, then worry about recovering their deck.
BRRRrrppp chugga chugga chugga BAM BAM
The pounding increased, and seemed to mesh with Anders blaring techno. He was concerned with this interloper most of the crew, and was seeking the biggest honking gun he could to personally deal with it. His days as a triangle player, and throwing skill, also meant he grabbed a few grenades for good measure. He sought to regain his flow, to find that place where an athlete lets the conscious world fall away. If he could do that, he could take care of these meddlesome machines.
Dun da da Dun da Dun da Dun da da Dun da Dun da BOOM
The thundering rock track acompanied the flashes in her mind. From her vantage, in space, she could not hear the attack, but could see their attempts. While attempting to hold the Cylons at bay, she also took occasional strafing runs their way, just to interrupt their feeble attempts to break into the main ship body.
As the music of the fight wore on, the Centurions moved to a secondary goal, disable what weaponry they could. This meant the few ships, mostly Raptors used for parts, became prime targets. Starbuck also took a few targeted attempts, as she made her passes. They began to dismantle a craft there, while Starbuck took a run through the hangar doors trying to drive them off. A loud thud followed a cloud of smoke, obscuring Starbucks viper from the monitors inside Command. Thick black jets seemed to be pouring from her Viper as scattered pieces of Raptor armor slid around the hangar. Fearing the worst for a moment, it was a shock when the seemingly uncontrolled Viper flipped around and blasted out the dock. The smoke trail disapated and the seemingly unharmed Starbuck resumed her patrol. The smoke had been nothing more than her dumping fuel into the atmosphere, to be ignited by her engines inside the still oxygenated pod.
And fortunately the raptor the destroyed was nothing more than a museum piece, used for little more than a convenient part storage unit.
But the music continued, and for one, morphed briefly. Perhaps it was an illusion. Surely it meant nothing.
Skill cards
Piloting 2EM, 4MF, 5 LR
+11
Leadership 0IW
Engineering 5TtL
Treachery 0B, 3PV
-8
Total 3 Fail. HOWEVER @jeffreyb declared 4DE if needed. So difficulty 9-2 =7. Iron Will triggers, 3 is within 4 of 7, do not trigger fail condition. Bait triggers, place 1 civvie in 2. Personal Vice gives out 4 Treacheries, and 1 mutiny to @soondifferent. will deal once I finish other items.
Cylon ship activation, no Basestar, roll to place… roll is 6. Pursuit track +1, all Cylon ships jump in.
Dealing cards for PV, then dealing out @jeffreyb
'Dark days lie ahead. Betrayal sits at every corner. We sit at the precipice and must unite.
Cylons once walked our halls with impunity, and may try to do so once more. But we shall not yield to these impostors, these vile simulacrums. We will unite to defend our people, to defend our survival!
So, today, it is incumbent on all of you to do your part. To contribute to our safety and survival. Be on the lookout for subterfuge and sabotage. Every human has a responsibility to ensure our survival.
So let us not waver and despair, let our hands join together and seek out that tomorrow. Our eyes find the future. Our…’
The transmission of Tom Zarek vanished. As did the vessel he was on board, attempting to unite the civilians for the final push.
Skill cards
Tactics 0QT, 1LS, 1G&I, 2LS, 2LS
+6
Piloting 1EM, 5MF
-6
Total 0 failure. @Lantz you may use Quick Thinking to withdraw one card.
-1 pop, draw a treachery and mutiny.
@Lantz you are currently at 11 cards, 12 after Treachery, and 13 if you use QT. So please select cards to discard down to 10
The package has arrived. Operation Courier was a go.
Imperator Agathon, the man of many titles, who changed his official one like others may change clothes, was the addressee. Wrapped in thin silk, tied with a red ribbon, and leaving a trail of strained necks she made her way to the admirals cabin. The audacity of her appearance was her form of subterfuge. Some seek not to be noticed, only for their deliberate blending to register as odd. Look like you wish not to be seen, and the world stares harder. Wear electric red lipstick, high heels, and a dress designed to draw the eye, and dazzle the world with your ability to be seen by everyone while they trip over themselves not to be caught staring.
A wake of distraction billowed behind her walk to destruction. But ostentatious arrivals do have a downside, nobody may seem to be watching, but everyone sees you. And that, that would be enough they hoped. Recent events had turned against the fleet, with a knife in the back they had hoped to avoid. Now, as the Raptor arrived claiming to carry a dignitary from Gemenon, the fleet mobilized. The doc had worked something up in the computers, much as he loathed their lack of liquor. The CAG got to work on flight manifests for the Raptor, and Longshot did what he does best, play like a smitten fool at the sight of a beautiful woman.
Just as she hoped to accomplish her mission by overwhelming the senses so peoples innate sense of decency caused them to look away just long enough, Anders did not play to ignoring her. Not being caught in the wake of someone who so obviously wished to be seen would have aroused… suspicions.
But dumbfounded gawping? That he could do. And, perhaps, she would not notice him among the dozens of others strewn about the halls.
She reached the cabin, and found her goal. A small key, and schematic. She quickly resumed her leisurely walk. A new goal in sight. The time to end humanity in her hands. With a little rewiring she could launch the nuke straight into one of the few passenger liners left, after the last hasty jump. It would be…
…She found herself sprawled on the floor, with a profusely apologizing pilot standing over her. He mumbled something about not watching where he was going, and apologized before helping her up, and handing her the papers.
The sleight of hand went unnoticed. Until, that is, she attempted to follow the schematics she was handed, and found they did not launch a nuke. Well, that’s what she found out later in the report broadcast to the Cylon fleet. She did not know this, because instead the diagram caused her to become electrocuted.
Turns out that changing a few labels on an electrical circuit can make working them quite dangerous.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP, 3IC, 5IC
Leadership 1XO, 5DE, 5CoP
Tactics 0QT, 5CS
Engineering 1R, 3C, 4C
+33
Piloting 1FT, 1EM
Treachery 1BL, 5EaW
-8
Total +25 Pass. Quick thinking does trigger, as does Exploit a Weakness. @jeffreyb you may remove one card, then assign one player a Mutiny card.
As the death toll mounted, the ghosts increased their frequency. Halls alive with bustle were now live with phantoms. Each day the crew saw someone they thought dead. Each new brush with the dead brought their will to live a little bit lower.
It was a lonely fleet, one with dark secrets and languishing dreams. But chance encounters sometimes were not phantasmal teases, but genuine hopes. For a moment one such dream sparked. A vision of hope in this haunted fleet. Someone who could hope to bring about a needed skill set.
Rumors wafted within the halls, and the crew sought an answer. Quietly. No need to start a full scale celebration over what might not be real. The civilians might not be able to take the dashing of hope. But probes were made, and plans filled. Signs turned up and were considered. The whispers led around corners, into halls, and finally into the lab. An empty, abandoned, lab.
There were no specters to be seen, no phantoms to be found. The only words from beyond the veil were found in a notebook, a notebook given to the doc for examination. Perhaps some hope would be found within.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP
Leadership 0AHoD, 3DE
Tactics 0QT, 2LS, 3UP
Engineering 0IU, 2R, 5SR
+16
Treachery 0B
-0
total 16, pass.
@Lantz you trigger QT, IU and Bait in order of your choosing.
Presuming you activate IU I’ll go ahead and pass those to you.
Loyalty is a tough thing. Even now, with the case laid bare, the marines hesitated, the Quorum equivocated. Cowardice made usurping the chain of command tough to swallow. Having given in to the ascent to power, now they were loathe to revoke it. The reluctance to take a stand, admit you were wrong, threatened to derail the political question.
But even the military hesitated. The rules and honor demanded action, but this would be a coup. This was a coup instigated by the man who would take power. Their normal position would be quietly push into retirement, with a nice country estate, but that was not an option. Polite subtlety was not in the cards. slow maneuvering and promises would be too late.
No decisions must be made, and support must be had. The alternatives would rend the fleet apart.
So maneuvers were made, choices forced, and the uncomfortable balance broken. So when the drumbeat of detention came down the hall, cuffs in hand, the marines guarding the Admiral did what they needed to.
They stood aside.
The Quorum could not reach action, fearing that legitimizing a military coup would rescind too much of their influence.
Skill cards
Leadership 1MV, 3DE, 3DE, 5AAC
Tactics 1LS, 2LS, 4UP
+19
Politics 2CP, 6PP
Engineering 3C
Piloting 0D
-11
Total +8 Pass. @Jorn_Weines may choose to activate Dogfight
@jeffreyb will be brigged, the Admiral title passes to Jorn.
Then you may take your bonus action.
The tin can rattles, the doc protests his innocence. He even tells the guards that he has a private reserve he’d cut them in on if they stop this nonsense.
Nobody listens. Everyone is spooked and paranoid. the looming thread of extinction has caused reasonableness to vanish.
Skill cards
Tactics 4SP, 5SP
+9
Leadership 5DE
Piloting 2EM
Engineering 2EM
Treachery 5EaW
-14
Total -5 Reckless fail. Flip Treachery 4 VO, no effect.
@Lantz distribute the mutiny card. @Jorn_Weines select your one card.
Admiral Anders knew this was on him. Not him alone, certainly, but the sudden near extinction of humanity lay on each of their shoulders. That this was a shared burden did not alleviate his guilt.
So much that may have been done, had they only acted in time. Choices are not only things done, but often those not done. And they had chosen not to act. So here they were, dragged out to the end, a scattered few merely trying to survive one more day, hoping for a miracle.
So here they sat, Starbuck and the Doc in the brig, and Anders was helping himself to the Doc’s prime reserve.
Bottoms up, and here’s to the future.
Skill card
Leadership 3DE, 5AAC
+8
Tactics 1LS, 2LS
Treachery 0B
-3
Total +5 fail. Anders has no discards to make. Reckless flips Treachery 1, no change.
Heavy moves from 1 to 2, centurion advances 1. Jump prep +1
@rho21 your draw?
'Any human in the colonial justice system is endowed with the inalienable right to a speedy and fair trial, by disinterested parties. The courts are obliged to allow testimony, and council is due to every person. If they are unable to provide council for themselves, it is incumbent upon the state to provide reasonable council.
A well worn part of our constitution, one in little doubt since its inception. However these rights are not inviolate, in as much as we find ourselves in extraordinary times. While they may be self evident in the light of history, they are more murky in the days we find ourselves.
Any
Human.
Any human is not to be denied the right to a fair trial, and reasonable council. But we find ourselves here debating not a human, but a machine. And no rights are endowed upon them, especially not genocidal machines. Therefore I move to strike the trial date until such a future time as the legal merits are determined. Former Admiral and current ‘President’ should be remanded back unto custody.’
It was a slick maneuver, but an effective one. Nobody really wanted to see him go free, and simply not having a trial was one of the best ways to do that.
Skill cards
Tactics 5ASC, 6SFF
+11
Politics 0RT
Piloting 3CV, 5MF
Engineering 4RS
-12
Red tape eliminates 3 cards, final total -7, fail. Check was already reckless so no additional effect.
Flip Treachery 3PV
Now on to @Lantz
Without access to his supply, read liquor, cabinet, the doc found the fleet was suffering. Long years had taught him one thing medical school had not, sometimes the appropriate answer was a bottle of Caprican Rye.
So each time someone sought advice for various ailments, the doc was finding his options limited. Finally the hints started to go through. lines like
‘If I could get my medicine cabinet’
‘I’d show you if I could’
‘I could whip up an ointment for that’
and most importantly
‘How does talking this over a fifth sound’
had their desired effect. Why were they holding him anyhow? Right, robot cunning. Let the doc free, and perhaps they could sort this mess out.
Skill cards
Politics 5PP
Tactics 1LS, 2LS, 2LS
Engineering 6BN
+16
Leadership 4RO
Piloting 1EM
Treachery 0DC, 3S
-8
Total +8, pass
Doc find a home. @Lantz
The starboard pod had been neglected, potentially fatally so. Ever since the Centurion had spent the better part of a week beating on the doors, they had pretty much consigned it to irrelevance. And with their dwindling numbers they didn’t really need the space.
But there were still tanks of tylium, and raw ore. They had stored some vipers there too, mostly as parts, but with duty rotations being what they were who knew when those craft would be called upon.
But they saw a problem. The tanks were leaking. They could send in a repair crew, try and fix it, or they could simply ignore it. Vent it into space maybe. They didn’t really need the fuel anyhow, not with the smaller number of ships left. They could consolidate other reserves and…
Yeah, people were more important than the risk. Getting an appreciable percentage of their remaining population blown up was not worth trying to salvage scrap. It’s not like the hangar wasn’t already beat to hell anyhow.
Skill cards
Tactics 0QT, 1LS, 1LS, 4SP, 4SP
Piloting 6BotB
Engineering 0EN, 1R, 4SR
+21
Leadership 0IW, 4DE
Treachery 3PV
-7
Total +14. Establish network, Iron Will, Personal Vices, and Quick Thinking all need to activate. Iron Will is irrelevant here, so @Lantz choose order for the other three.
EDIT had wrong Engineering card, its Establish Network. Will double Engineering card values
The council of the thirteen convened in emergency session, hoping to draw the wisdom of the Hybrids to finalize their victory. Instead of comfort, they got nervousness, contention, and panic.
'The square of the four will be undone. Time leaks, as does hope. Primes summed are prime for upheaval, the future is unknown. Location, location, location…
Trapped in the coffin, the damage was done over time. Full cost was unknown, but price is to be paid. Time runs ever forward. to the future you will go. Willing unimportant. Time waits not. The push comes now, which to prevail? Run, run now to destiny. If not now, then never.
Roll the dice, and see where things go.’
Skill cards
Politics 1StP
Leadership 4RO
Piloting 0PtF, 2RI, 5RI
-12
fail Protect the fleet activated before resolving Reckless. @Jorn_Weines?
It was not the news they needed. It was not a well conceived action either. But they needed Starbuck out there if they were to get out of this alive. They had to hope, they had to scramble, and that was not unnoticed. The people, battered and barely clinging on, began to despair at the tape and popsicle stick defense, the wanton title swapping, and the sudden arrival of the biggest fleet ever seen.
They lamented their lot, and closed their eyes. Doom seemed to be upon them.
Skill cards
Leadership 1XO, 4AAC
+5
Tactics 5SP
Engineering 2R
Treachery 0B, 0B
-7
Total -2 Reckless fail. Flip Treachery 4VO, no effect. Bait plays, @Jorn_Weines place 1 civilian please
For the record the board state is:
Also -1 morale, so you must discard 1
Reroll is 6-2, 4
Things grew dire, the hope of the human fleet waned, the press came on strong. Death stared them in the eyes and beckoned them sweetly. All around lay futility and hope, despair and determination, resilience and resignation. Perched on an edge they waited for the balance to tip.
The final blow had yet to land, but each miss came that much closer. Each glancing blow left a mark making it harder to escape. Bled little by little the blows would not stop. It was not for lack of hope, nor was it lack of supply. But in the end it was something more fundamental, a lack of people. Efforts were made, but in the end there just wasn’t enough coverage. In the end there were just too many. One raider sneaking through could be a disaster, but a dozen was more than hope could handle. Anders tried his best, but Starbuck he was not. Even the mighty Starbuck might not have avoided the concentrated fire.
It was the end, one long delayed. Once the patrol was down, there was no avoidance of the end. No decoys, no hoped for reprieve. Just the cold hard vacuum of space. From their seat on Galactica Doc and Starbuck watched as the last candles were snuffed out. There would be no tomorrow for the human race, so let today be the last glorious day. All ahead full, time to make their victory be as costly as possible…
President Adama. It made a certain amount of sense, he was a former military man and this was a time of military emergency. Coordination between the civil and military authorities would need to be top notch to survive. Trust, loyalty, understanding, and clear communications. And it would be hard to say that these two former jockeys had a certain rapport. An intimate understanding of their respective intentions. It could be an asset.
It may also be a distraction. They knew each other, and perhaps that likeminded planning and training could close them off to possibilities. it was a path with risk and reward in abundance. Would one coopt the other, would they show deference when defiance was needed, would they ignore all other guidance and run the fleet as a defacto duopoly on power. The vagaries of fate had dealt an odd hand, now the populace was ill at ease.
So too was Apollo. His position centered on a lever the people were seeing fit to pull, or at least threaten to pull. Early in his ascent and already under assault from all corners. His former colleagues were no longer as friendly as they once were, the people saw them as too friendly still. Favor one, and risk losing the other. Heavy was this burden, as he sought to forge a new body politic for this nomad people. But when fate seemed ready to crush his spirit, a knock on the door relieved the tension for now. Officially the bottle did not exist, but that was the benefit of having served under Saul Tigh for so long, they all knew where the good stuff was stashed. Five glasses raised high, and the voyage was now truly under way.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP, 4IC, 4PI
Leadership 1XO, 4AAC, 4RO
+18
Engineering 1R
-1
Total +17 Pass. Two heavy raiders launch into 5, jump prep +1
Transmit…e-band…protocol L1 Emergency override relay…verification code level: Admiral…RDM112365365321
Broadcasting…
Broadcasting…
message
Military emergency. Immedite evacuation. Rally point Gamma Three Seven. T Minus 4 hours depart. Lifeboat protocol activated. All ships present valid code or termination will be conducted.
end transmission
Slowly they filtered in. Ships arriving singly or in clusters, creating security vulnerabilities in the defensive perimeter. As each arrived, and identified itself, the pilots maneuvered them into secure positions. So far all remained tightly clustered within a CAP route to fend off would be assailants. As of yet no heroics from either side had begun, instead preferring to preserve force and feel eachother out. As far as pogroms go, this was an orderly, and so far bloodless, one.
But what threatened the balance was the first real test. Despite explicit instructions, one vessel did not obey protocol. No security code verification, no course deviation, no radio acknowledgement. Simple, straightforward advance. But to follw through on threats was distinct from making them. And though the crucible was lit, it had not yet burned away the impurities, not yet reforged them in steel, devoid of sentimentality and humanity. In time such things might become easy, a dreadful thought, but today it was not.
Do these potential few justify risking the many. And can you live with making that decision. Guilt, no matter the choice, would be their fate. So as the kilometers ticked away, the meters counting down like sand in an hourglass, the Admiral and fleet had a choice. They chose the known.
The Olympic Carrier was unknown. The potential losses unmeasurable. But the fleet behind them was concrete, something they could point to, and they would. The President would speak to this, in time. Various and sundry leaders would step forward to assist. Much influence would be curried and spent to ameliorate this act, one the Admiral would order personally. None, save the CAG, would have their hands free And her only because the coordination of patrols was deemed nessecary, so the Galactica herself turned her guns.
It was a terrible sight, but one that the people would come to understand in time. The crucible began its work, and the question became: what would they lose, even if they survived this journey?
Skill cards
Politics 1CP,3PI,5N
Leadership 1MV,4RO
Piloting 1EM
+15
Treachery 0B
-0
Total +15 Pass. No effect. Bait places 1 Civvie in sector 2
Heavy raiders move from 5 to 4
Jump prep +1
And there. It. Was. The ultimate cause. The genesis of their demise. Every ship in the colonial fleet a beacon, an invitation to destruction one of these days. A parasitic infection that had wrapped itself around the central nervous system of colonial commerce, spreading to the Cylon saucers messages, full of secrets.
Now, like deadly echoes the virus was coming back to life. Preparing to finish what had begun, opening the gates to dawn, playing pied piper to the foot soldiers seeking to introduce themselves in the flesh.
But signs of life and independence woke themselves to the danger. Fate and the world may be cruel, but they would not surrender goodbye. Humanity was on the run, and they would run like hell. So no surrender, just determination. Crews began to work on the computers to take it back, and marines gathered on the landing pods as the virus opened the doors, ready to welcome the machines.
The humans had high hopes that, with some space, they could set controls for survival. For now, they had the chance. They needed time.
Skill cards
Tactics 1LS,1LS,3UP
Engineering 1JR,2JR,2R,2R,3SR,4RS
+19
Leadership 2XO
Piloting 1EM
-3
Total +16, pass. No effect. 3 raiders launch into 5.
It ended with Romo Lampkin walking through the middle of the crowd, clearly in charge. The crowds were poised to storm the fortress, like legends of Zeus taking down Kronos, a resistance movement born of a desire to usurp. And as the crowds had reached critical mass, he had walked into their center and spoke…
But it began before that. With mutterings and ruminations of distrustful people. Slow ebb of discontentment spread, until a spark. Nobody knows who lit the match that would set the fleet ablaze, or at least nobody can agree, but no matter, it was done now.
So they gathered, or more precisely converged. Ready to demand what they felt was unjustly being hoarded by the military. The store rooms were in sight, an end to austere rationing for a time. But none had really grasped what was to come, so they were anxious to continue in their previous comfort.
But it was a leaderless motion, and that brought an opportunity. So in strode Romo Lampkin. Not the president, but with ambitions. Silver tongued and with a rapt audience he began to speak. And with one final word he convinced the crowd to…
Skill cards:
Politics 2CP,3IC,3IC
Leadership 3DE
Tactics 0QT,0QT,1LS,3SP
+15
Treachery 3PV
-3
Total +12 a pass… but!
@rho21 you may use Quick Thinking to remove a card, and you may Personal Vices. Choose the order, and choose what card, if any, to remove with QT
Kara Thrace, admiral and expert pilot took care of problems the only way she knew how, by flying something at it.
In this case the malcontents that Romo Lampkin had diffused were left to wander the halls of Galactica. Aimless anger gradually to disperse into the fleet. Well Admiral Thrace had a solution for that. Dealing with a Cylon extermination squad may have been outside her wheelhouse a bit, but creating flight patterns to most effectively achieve a certain goal? That she could do.
So with a little prodding with people carrying big guns, the would be dissidents were allowed to return to their original civilian ships. Allowed in the ‘I have arranged things so you have a transport craft ready right now that can help you leave this ship and I will allow you to get on it right now rather than have to find space in the brig’ sense. Some inventive choices, and utilizing the full spread of the hangar deck, meant this was accomplished in record time.
When the Admiral wants a ship to be loaded now, she doesn’t mean in an hour.
Skill cards:
Leadership 5AAC,5DE
Piloting 0D,3MF,4MF,4MF
+21
Engineering 1R
-1
Total +20 Pass. @rowe33 you may activate Dogfight if you really want. Otherwise I’m proceeding
Centurions move forward one, jump prep +1
@Navaronegun your card select
The good news was that the timing couldn’t have been better.
The bad news was everything else. Apparently the Centurions had carried with them an EMP device, one which caused the power couplings to blow. It would be fixed in time, but for now the old girl was showing her age. Until a new one could be forged, they’d be down some effective strength. Though they could always borrow one from Pegasus, cannibalize her to keep Galactica smooth. Didn’t solve the problem, but put it in perhaps less dire situations.
Fortunately Athena had scanned the device when it went active, so the worst was avoided. No other cylon tricks came into play.
Skill cards:
Engineering 5TtL
Tactics 0TI
+5
Politics 1CP
-1
Trust instincts fires, adds Leadership 2XO and Treachery2 SD from the new destiny deck. Net +0
Total +4, fail. But no reckless, so SD has no effect. The damage fires, @rho21 Galactica or Pegasus?
Heavy activation roll 3, pursuit +1
Place civvies as well
History was looping back, twisting ugly old wounds into new battle lines. And with the spectre of Cylons abounding, when the President deigned to look into a former colleague, a person with whom they shared a life long bond, those ripples exploded.
But accusations did not go unanswered, and the fragile balance of civilian and military power fractured, and now things stood at the edge of a gun…
In stepped the unlikely figure of a man who coveted no higher office. A man content to be a cog, now thrust into the middle of a conflict that could split the fleet. And so the question that he dreaded got asked, and after a long pause, he had an answer.
The question, loaded with accusation, pregnant with possibilities and lingering menace, the question on which the very life of President Adama may rest on
“Can you trust him?”
Can you trust him with the ability to disrupt the chain of command with a word
Can you trust his accusation
Can you trust this was not motivated by some jealousy or lovers quarrel
Can you trust anyone who could be a Cylon with such power
Karl Agathon did not have an answer initially to the question asked, and the ones only hinted at. But finally words found purchase
“Does it matter? Can we so easily give up our humanity, our human dignity and rights, now? If he is a Cylon, then do what we must. But to let distrust become murder will destroy us long before the Cylons do.”
The marines sent by the Admiral stood, guns drawn, with the man who knew them as well as any other standing between them and their target. Eventually they left. The core fight not resolved, but for today at least time would be allowed.
But one thing was certain, a Cylon was going to exploit this rift, time would tell if those marines would regret their choice.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP,3IC,4PP,5IC
Leadership 2MV
Engineering 1R,2R
Total +18 pass, heavy moves from 1 to 2, jump prep +1
@Navaronegun discard one card to get down to 10
She had secrets, and she knew how to manipulate things in her favor. A Cylon in either the Presidency or Admirality, must be one of the final five models.
But it was a troubled time. Truth may come out in time, but for now it was required to call in favors. Use every contact. Twist every easily manipulated fool into knots.
And she was good at it.
Getting a fleet wide mobilization done was almost too easy. Change of plans, boys, we’re bringing anyone tonight.
——————
Skill cards
Politics 1CP,2CP,5PP
Leadership 6SoE
Tactics 1LS,2LS,2LS,2LS,3CS,5CS
+29
Piloting 3MF
-3
Total a lot
@Knightsaber declares Change of Plans and allows everyone to draw two cards of their choice.
Small but important details can sometimes slip. When all the world has gone crazy, it becomes easier than ever to do so.
In this way the results of a sustained fleet engagement can naturally direct attention and resources from the less flashy modes of security. But oversight gaps can be malicious, and who can say whether the directive that shifted military police operations were made with positive or malicious intent in mind. But, as it is, the orders created a gap, one that was exploited. One which caused alarm among certain of the crew. They knew who Aaron was, and they knew what he meant.
Luckily Athena had other ideas. With help from others, this potential infiltrator was apprehended on a flight between Colonial One and Galactica. Whether he was doing the President’s or Admiral’s bidding was as yet unknown.
Skill cards
Leadership 1XO,3DE
Tactics 1LS,2LS,3SP,4CS
+14
Politics 1CP
-1
Total +13, pass. 5 raiders launch into 5 (at max)
The gunnery crews were ill equipped for battle of this magnitude. Not only had they failed to hit a single Raider in these saturated skies, but their shots careened wildly around space, threatening their own defensive formations. Only the skill of the pilots averted disaster, and they were indeed busy. Because while they were busy dodging flak, they took the chance to get some work done.
Skill cards
Tactics 2LS
Piloting 0PtF,1EM,2FT,2EM,2EM,2EM,4RI
Engineering 0EN
Total +15, pass. Protect the Fleet kicks in, @rho21 you may activate a viper
Death would haunt their every step, there was no time to obsess over it. Even so the mass destruction was going to leave scars. The cylon fleet hat gathered in force, until it seemed the skies would hold no more. Even so, the jarring absence of an important member would leave ripples.
So as the purifying light of a miniature sun faded, the tip of the shield that was protecting them seemed to have vanished. Karl Agathon, taking the point as his wife’s right hand man, had been doing an admirable job keeping the Raiders engaged, and from drawing closer. A role that was getting ever more difficult due to the numbers. Flak and fire converged into a miasma of death, turning vacuum into a liquid metal. Drawn in by need, Helo found himself alone when the bomb went off, finding that perfect spot to cause a chain reaction. One nuke managed to cause multiple fusion events, as the stores of missiles on the Basestar added to the nuclear cacophony. Helo had tried to turn away, but the chain reaction scoured the skies.
The weight of loss hit instantly, and violently. The CAG, despite professional duty, nearly lost command with the other half of the raiders bearing down, the Admiral prepared to step in, taking precious time and resources away from command.
But then, streaking like mercury in his golden chariot, came Helo in his Viper. Fire and metal slaking off the hull as he exited the radioactive nothing the forward field was. The ship graveyard had coughed up one tombstone today, and the fleet relaxed for the first time.
Skill cards
Politics 2CP,2CP
Leadership 3AAC
Piloting 2EM,5LR
+14
Tactics 0TI,4SP
Treachery 0B
-4
Trust instincts fires, draws 2 more
Politics 1CP
Tactics 1LS
net +0
Total +10 pass. Bait places 1 civvie behind Galactica.
Heavy moves from 3 to 2
jump prep +1
@Navaronegun choose your politics/leadership
Their resources were holding steady. Reserves of food, fuel, and parts were maintaining near equilibrium. Or so they had thought, a rather pernicious bug had been introduced into the software by the former computer expert they had used. Apparently deliberate miscounting had been introduced at a late patch. So now their food supplies were not as stable as suspected.
Fortunately it did not appear too late to mitigate some of the damage. But they may not be able to stop it all. The CAG, and new Admiral, was also their prime engineer. A heavy load, for sure. But necessity would be their guide here. So when she was forced to provide resources to correcting software, there was an easy choice for her.
Skill cards
Politics 0FtH,1CP,2CP,2CP,3PP
+8
Tactics 1LS
Piloting 3CV,6BotB
-10
Total -2 @rho21 Force Their Hand makes you play a face up card, or draw a Mutiny.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
It is the only way to describe the view, the plasma jets reaching tendrils out from a shrinking sun. Golden yellows faded slowly into orange, then intensified into whites and blues. A momentous time to arrive, that most precious moment of new life in the solar system, when the phoenix of the celestial ether releases a spent life, to seed the galaxy with the heavy elements possible to start the next cycle of stellar fusion.
It was a sight to behold, and one that played hell with their sensors. But, they hoped, one that would shield them from Cylon ones. It was a fine plan, one calculated by that most bright and empowered of military minds, the Cag Admiral, also going by Supreme Military Leader of the human Exodus.
It appeared to be working, until that cloaking magnetic embrace hid a deadly predator. Before they could respond, the Cylon fleet was on top of them. The Agamemnon vanished before patrols could be arranged, and the Battlestars moved to intercept the missiles.
Damn, and it was going so well. Time to buckle up, this was going to be a rough ride.
Skill cards:
Leadership 0IW,4DE
Piloting 2EM,5MF,5RI
+16
Politics 2CP
Tactics 4SP,6SfF
-12
Total +4 Fail.The Iron Will almost made a difference, but the CP knocks it out of range. -1 population, 1 damage to Galactica or PEgasus, your choice @Navaronegun
There is a skill check ability in play, so that triggers, roll of 2, Basestar placed there. Pursuit +1, @rho21 also places two civvies
Then Heavy activation roll also 2. Places heavy there, pursuit +1 and here comes the fleet.
Jump prep +1
Bright sides.
@Knightsaber you can declare your card draw.
A brief respite, then the return to arms. Ever since the solar disturbance had allowed the Cylon fleet to get in close and launch an assault, things had been touchy. The human fleet had tried to reduce their exposure, to some success. They had managed to thin out their attackers some, and get some civilians to safety. But the glaring vulnerabilities of their position were exemplified by the Centurions now on board Galactica, with another wave making approach.
And still more attacks came. Probing for weaknesses, and finding new avenues to exploit. The Long Autumn, during its escort, was drawn into a trap and left exposed by another flanking Raider patrol.
The people, sensing all was not well, began to turn on each other, blaming their leaders for allowing their former Admiral to leave them so weak.
Skill cards
Politics 3IC,4IC
Leadership 2XO
+9
Piloting 4CV
Treachery 0B,0DC
-4
+5, fail. -2 morale. Bait places another civilian ship behind Galactica. DC places two raiders in front
Raiders activate. Let’s cut to the chase. @Lantz you get to chose order. Sector 6 is the important one. If you activate sector 5 first, it goes into sector 1. If you activate 6 first, it goes to 5. All other moves are inevitable.
They knew it was desperate, but it was their only chance. If more Centurions landed right now, then they knew it was only a matter of time. So as this latest threat emerged from the confounding magnetic fields they turned everything into repelling it.
The pulsing electric signals provided an opportunity, but one with a cost. Turning every sensor into a directed feedback system aimed at the incoming craft could lead them astray. It may work, but it may also give the Cylons some back door to be exploited in the future. But that was tomorrows problem, first they had to survive today.
It would be enough… for now.
Skill cards
Leadership 2XO
Tactics 1LS,2LS,2LS,2G&I,4UP,5CS
Engineering 0IU,1R,4SR
+23
Treachery 1BL,3ABM
-4
+19 pass
Install Upgrades gives @rowe33 2 Engineering cards
A Better Machine places two treachery cards in destiny. This check had used the last cards in destiny, but had not rebuilt yet since resolution is not over, so the destiny is now two Treachery cards
@Navaronegun your card option
There’s no other way to put it, Apollo is rusty. At least he made it back intact, which is more than could be said for the Raptor
Skill cards
Engineering 4SR
Piloting 2EM
+6
Treachery 2SD,2GP,3PV,5EaW
-12
Total -6. Reckless flip is 3HW.
Special Destiny deals out 1 treachery to all.
Personal Vices deals out 1 Treachery to all humans, and a Mutiny to Navarone.
Exploit a Weakness makes @Navaronegun pass a Mutiny card to one human.
He is also sent to sickbay, and a raptor (not the AR) is destroyed.
Raiders attack Athena
First one rolls an 8, any modification?
Jump prep +1
@Knightsaber your draw
For a brief moment time seemed to collapse. The strange gravitational signals from the nearby moon grew ever more intense, until they ceased entirely. Ripples in time, possible breaches in the universe.
Long had they known that FTL travel involved bending the fabric of space in weird ways, and it had always been theorized that it was possible that the right conditions could cause a breach between universes, opening up room for something to leak through. But it had only ever been theory, but the suspected fingerprints of such an event had matched their readings. Could it be some parallel universe had reached through?
The gravitational pulses which had put their civilian fleet out of position and exposed to danger now, it was now resolved into a beacon. A signal that confounded everything.
It was broadcasting the IFF of the Galactica.
Buried in the signal were dire warnings, and ill portents. Potential avenues of salvation and paths of destruction. Coordinates and calamity. A window into a different path. One where the parallel lives had not survived. Was this some artifact, some proof of a looping history? Was this some alternate reality? What news did this bring, where the echoes of screamscould reach them here, with desperation and death following both sides?
In light of these confusing signals, both sides scrambled to decode their meaning. With the pursuit reaching its last legs, and the pursued reaching the limit of their resources, if some advantage could be gained here, it may be decisive. So they sent what they could to track this, even as the running firefight heated up once more.
It appeared as if the humans would not make it through, but a desperate gambit by Apollo managed to sneak through and get visual on the artifact. Enough to relay detailed information to the unreliable, but also indespensable, Gaius Baltar. It turned out to have a potentially useful and actionable set of information. Word of a great conflagration that had consumed the whole of the Cylon fleet in some long lost battle. A perfectly placed pyrotechnic penetration. One that had cascaded into a frightful display. A precise strike that powered by nuclear fire had nearly bought them the space they needed for escape. That it had failed was not indicative of a failed plan, but rather that other factors had undone them.
But if they could use this data, it may prove decisive here. But they would get one chance, for once this weakness was exposed, it would close again. If it was reliable.
Dare they trust in targeting data of unknown providence? Given that Apollo’s violent assault to get the data would leave them exposed while he recovered, perhaps they must. So they dialed in the info and hoped…
———————
Skill cards
Tactics 1LS,2LS
Piloting 2EM,2EM,3MF
Engineering 3Sr,3C,4SR,6BN
+26
Treachery 2SD,4VO
-6
Total +20 Pass
Not reckless, so no Special Destiny Effect, but Violent Outbursts triggers, sending @Navaronegun to sickbay.
Then you pass, and he gets to pick one space area to remove all Cylon ships from.
Choose well, this is gonna be interesting.
Once that is done activating Raiders
Tonight on the Travelling Twelve, the news program dedicated to matters impacting the whole fleet and our future. we have President Romo Lampkin.
President Lampkin, it seems you have managed to botch yet another chance for the fleet to get ahead. While you were searching for the tool box, rather than leaving this matter to experts, you have allowed our fleet to become perilously exposed. At this point only the bravery and skill of the Admiral as a pilot is keeping us alive. A role, I note, that she is forced to take because you have once again failed to find the resources to keep the hangar operational to allow the CAG to do his job. A job he had to take to save our skins, which left you in charge of the presidential suite, is that correct?
Yet it seems since he handed that mantle over to you, nothing but disaster has followed. Sure we caught a few lucky breaks, but even some of those turned sour as the choices made led directly to the death of thousands. I know you say your guiding principle is to trust your instincts, but it appears your instincts have brought us to the brink of ruin. I fear that following your instincts further may be the end of us all. The people demand an answer, what answer do you give them? Don’t force me to make this harder on you.
Skill cards
Politics 0FtH,1CP,2CP,3IC
Leadership 3DE,4RO
Tactics 0TI,1LS,3UP,4SP
+21
Piloting 4MF
Treachery 0B
-4
Total +17
Trust Instincts, Bait, and Force their Hand go into effect. @rho21 what order do you activate them in?
For a brief moment there was silence. The sounds of war had faded, the percussion of bullets faded away. The penumbra of peace encompassed the fleet for just a brief moment, then it too passed.
But this drumming destruction was of a different quality, a different nature. There was a chance for some hope could they but survive the onslaught. It felt rushed, incomplete, desperate to land the killing blow, flailing for an answer that may not be there. If they could slip pursuit this one time, then maybe there was hope.
But all came crashing in. Probing attacks looking for a hole, Centurions banging down the bulkheads, every conceivable act of destruction opened at once. There were weaknesses there, and they could only be hidden for so long. Trust was fraying, and murmurs of placing people in the brig for incompetence rose. The crew was losing faith, and in their distraction one more indignity slipped through.
The explosion burned bright for a moment, then the corridor fell silent. The admiral had ben intercepted on his way from the navigation to the war room, and now was in sickbay.
In the bed along side him was the fleets hope. Wavering, flickering, but still alive. But would it survive.
Skill cards
Leadership 3AAC
+3
Politics 1CP
Treachery 0B,0B,2GP,3ABM,5EaW
-8
Total -5, fail
Check is reckless, flip top Treachery…0DC
Flip second… 0B
Place two more Raiders in 5
Bait triggers, no civilian ships left in reserve. no effect
A Better Machine mixes 2 treachery into destiny (2-4 cards)
Exploit a Weakness @Navaronegun pick the Mutiny recipient
-1 morale
Lee to sickbay
Centurions advance.
jump prep +1
Waste no time on premise. The President, whose legitimacy came from sheer dumb luck, knew he had to strike fast to secure the administration, and the fragile fleet. Weak and ineffectual action could shatter the delicate alliance, and send what remained of humanity that they knew of, scattering into the celestial winds.
Strike fast, strike hard. Plan, plot, devise. Search the records for hints of ancient civilizations to retreat to, seek intelligence from a captured spy.
Oh yes, skinjobs. They discovered by accident when the Event happened. A person aboard Galactica was caught in the engine room. It was not supposed to be in use, as this was a museum event and no flight underway. So personnel was minimal. And the ducting. They found the suspect in there with a bomb that could have detonated the fuel stores. And if that happened…
Time to put the screws to them, see if there were others.
Skill cards
Politics 4PrP
Leadership 2MV,3DE,4DE,6SoE
+19
Tactics 3SP
Treachery 5EaW
-8
Total +11, partial pass. No Effect
Heavy Raider launches, Jump prep +1
@Jorn_Weines select your draw
Even at the worst of times, there are still lines that do not get lightly crossed. And while some may look away for the sake of unanimity or fear, not all do.
So when the rumors of the deck chief, the man who was responsible for keeping Vipers in the air and therefore one of the most important persons in the fleet, it would have been easy to let it go. It would have been simple to ignore the pleas.
But simple and easy were rarely the right thing to do. and though there were already many hard things needing doing, the crew engaged one more. Stopping the beast before it lashed out again. The President and Admiral wanted to send a message, and the CAG agreed, and so it was. Loudly.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP, 3IC, 3PI
Tactics 2LS, 6SfF
+15
Piloting 0D
Total +15
@Jorn_Weines you may damage a viper to remove a card, however that will have no impact on the pass.
@Cuthbert last turn there was an EaW in play, so a Mutiny should have been distributed. Please select who receives it.
Pass, no effect. Raiders move from 7-8 to 5-6.
You guys were about 20 minutes too late this morning. busy work day.
Anyhow, there is an important lesson to be learned. Do not rile up a mob looking for phantoms. They tend to find them, even where they don’t exist. Tell them their neighbor is a murderous robot, and they have a tendency to try and deal with it first.
So it was here as well, the crowd was looking for something to hit in revenge. Billions had been killed, what was one potential innocent against that. Low level disputes became full on inquisitions. And when one of the Galactica leadership found themselves in the crosshairs, an angry mob surrounding them on the hangar deck of Pegasus, things started to spiral. Admiral Adama stepped between the accused and the mob, and quickly found a fist in his side for the pleasure. President Baltar, facing near mutiny in Demetrius, tried to calm the wayard crew. Deck chief Cally, fresh from calibrating the guns, tried to use the supply crates to create a makeshift barrier.
Ultimately none of their efforts would matter. The crowd drew near, ready for violence. However a last minute call from the CAG, demanding the accused Boomer take a Raptor out to scout jump coordinates 363A got her out of the way long enough for the marines to disperse the mob.
Crisis averted, for another day.
Skill cards
Leadership 1XO,2XO,3AAC,4AAC,4RO
+14
Engineering 1R,1R
-2
Total +12, pass.
Heavy moves to 4, jump prep +1
Ancient legends had little bearing on every day life. The origin of the 12 colonies had been a subject of much speculation and historical debate, but little practical use. It has always been ‘out there’
But the need to find a new home, and a sharp retreat, meant that old legend and speculation had new value. If their ancient home was still around, then finding it may be their best, or perhaps only, hope.
So the crew had set about sending a scout, and had contacted every historian, archaeologist, and museum curator that the fleet had. All three. It wasn’t much, but it was something. And it all meant one thing.
They didn’t have a gods damned clue where it was. Theories pointed to every conceivable direction. but they could only pick one. So the Demetrius, staging for every scrap of legend, became a makeshift museum. Charts, dissertations, and artifacts sprawled out. Star charts and potential systems were systematically looked over. And, ultimately, a plan was formed. Not a good on, there were no guarantees, but a hedging best bet. By hitting coordinates at a quadrant 231 degrees from galactic center, and angle of 3 degrees inclination they could potentially hit 3 high probability systems. It was a chance, and right now it was their best one. Defer final decisions until later and better scouting could be done.
Turns out that the initial scouting mission that direction had promise. a radiation signal with a peculiar mathematical property indicated some form of ancient tranciever. So the fleet locked their coordinates and hoped they would be closer to some freedom.
Skill cards
Politics 1CP,3IC,4IC
Leadership 1XO,2XO,2XO,3DE,5AAC
+21
Piloting 1EM
-1
Total +20 Card placed face up will add 1 distance on next jump
Life wasn’t going to be easy. And an inspirational crew member was finding it would not be long either. Retired pilot of the first war ‘Husker’ was reaching the end. But the crew was determined to celebrate his memory. Though some of the crew stared daggers, the mistrust seeping in, it was overall a pleasant celebration.
There would be time later for greater threats, and deeper sorrows. But today it was time to relax. And the two crew who had organized this, some sniping aside, managed to drink the rest of the crew under the table. Though Kat wound up waking up with the Doc from dehydration. At least officially. Unofficially he let her know that the pills he found were for occasional use only.
To Husker.
Skill cards:
Tactics 3UP,4UP
Engineering 5TtL
+12
Leadership 1XO
Piloting 3RI
-4
Total +8, pass.
Basestar activation roll, 8. second basestar placed on CFB. Pursuit +1, @soondifferent please place 1 civilian ship.
Jump prep +1
Kat did not move this turn, so her weakness comes into play and she is sent to Sickbay.
Board once Civvie is placed
There are advantages to having a fighter jockey as Admiral. For one thing he doesn’t skimp on parts budgets. Another advantage is he takes deck protocol deadly serious. Flight crews may not always appreciate this day to day. In fact they long resented what they felt was an intrusion of upper command into daily routine.
So the deck crew fought every way they could to subvert the extra scrutiny. Weapons storage safety was followed to an obnoxious T. The degree of formal obedience for protocol verged on defiant disobedience. And the Admiral knew it.
But resentment can be useful, just as it can be dangerous. Proper channeling of fear or anger can lead to great results. Where unrecognized or unharnessed can lead to explosive results.
But the Admiral and CAG knew how to channel these feelings in productive ways. It would have been easy for struggles in authority to sidetrack discipline. But they worked together, and played a stage role. They knew the dance, and it worked. So one day when the unthinkable happened and there was an accident, the crews worked in perfect angry harmony.
Two CAGs, zero injuries.
Skill cards
Piloting 1EM,4MF,5LR,6BotB
Engineering 3SR
+19
Treachery 0B
Total +19, Pass. Bait places 1 civvie. No other effect.
Heavy moves to 4
Jump prep +1, JUMP
It was a long hangover. Everyone heard the thrumming. Th rhythmic pulsing of doom from deep within. Galactica was a tough old girl, but old she was. Long past when her commission had been set to expire, denied either an overhaul or replacement due to budgets and optimism, she was 20 years past due for an overhaul, and it showed.
Some things, like amenities and showers were nuisances, but could be endured. Semi cold showers were a fact of military life. Nobody really cared about that at the moment. The worst that would happen in case of a mass shower failure would be that the corridors would smell like a rancid Tauron swamp rat, and an excess of dermatitis issues for the doc. Obnoxious, noxious, but not fatal.
This portended something different, something far more dangerous. This was not the nods towards civilization that were failing, the stubble on the ship going grey and falling out, but rather this was danger in the bones. The very ribs of the ship threatening to split open and offer release to the cosmos.
All heard the sounds, but while it was a banshee wail to most, it was music to others. They heard the song of death, and were heartened. The old man had returned from retirement, unable to grieve for his son. But even he could do little but reflect the aging ship he had been the once and future leader of. To hear her rasping breath.
In this melody weaved notes of doom, beacons to their pursuers. But the crew were diligent, and put what resources they could towards the replenishment of Galactica. It was not enough. Still the moan echoed.
It was only though a desperation act that the ship was stabilized. a radical repair that may cost them later. But that was a problem for tomorrow. Days were a dwindling resource, and buying a few more was key. So the reckless repair was made, and it seemed to hold.
For now.
Skill cards
Leadership 2XO, 4DE
Piloting 5MF
+11
Tactics 1LS
Treachery 4VO
-5
Total +6, Jury Rigged decreases difficulty to 4, Pass. Jury rigged trips Recklesss
Treachery 1BL
Will trigger and cause a cascade… 0B
One basestar in front, however they are all placed on the CFB so instead doing the advance pursuit track, two more civvies in back.
Pursuit track causes @soondifferent to place one civvie on the board.
@Lantz is sent to sickbay from VO
Raiders activate, @Lantz select 3 from 1-5 (top to bottom)
Jump prep +1
This is going to be interesting
The transmission was garbled, the audience unclear, the purpose obscured. But one thing was known, the messenger.
In flowing circles the words came. Each loop changing slightly, within a set structure. Slowly passing through time and space in a confusing sequence of numbers, words, and pauses. A pattern emerged, moving towards some unknown destination. It may be a communication for an unknown sleeper, fingerprints of their former ‘friend’ seemed to indicate this may be.
But perhaps there was some meaning for the humans. After all this supposed hybrid was nothing, if not enigmatic. A potential source of insight into their deliverance. With some assistance from the admiral, Dee got on it. As their communications and cryptography expert she was the natural choice. But a fleet spread thin does lack resources. So Dee could only ever dedicate a fraction of the Galactica’s computers to the task. It was not enough, nothing ever was really enough these days. So ultimately this message of unknown provenance did little more than distract.
Skill cards:
Politics 2CP
Leadership 0AHoD, 1XO,2XO
+5
Tactics 0QT
Piloting 1EM
Engineering 3RS
-4
Total +1
@rowe33 you may select the order to activate Quick Thinking and All Hands on Deck
Plasma burst glimmered on the horizon. Beautiful streaks rippled across the surface of the star. In another time it would be one of the most beautiful things the crew had ever seen. Orange arcs shot out and bent as the magnetic field began collapsing. Dull red clouds began ejecting in a spherical growing incandescent display. Colors shifted as the star grew brighter and smaller, focusing the light as a bright and narrow field.
But though it pained some, who desired to fully explore this wonderful opportunity, there was not the time. Soon the fusion pressure would be too weak to resist the star from collapsing under its own weight. At that point heavier elements would instantly fuse in a single, violent, reaction.trillions of tons of plasma would be ejected at near the speed of light, and parts of the fleet would get caught in the blast.
The Admiral attended to managing the CAP for incoming bogies, while delegating the larger fleet to others. Whom to trust was a concern, would the former scientist President accurately provide data to a safe zone, outside both the stars range and that of the Basestars? Would Dee relay orders to the civilians correctly? Would the former Admiral do his diligence, or be slighted by the stealing his title.
Someone was working against the fleet, but none could be determined for certain. All they knew was that Callie had not been acting alone. So when the time came, and the star went nova, they were not fully confident that their safety was achieved. So as the Galactica turned her armor to be between as much of the fleet as possible and the jets of plasma, they waited for the sounds of things to go wrong.
Instead they heard the clank of metal from the starboard docking pod.
Skill cards
Leadership 0AHoD,3DE,3RO,5DE
Engineering 3RS,4RS
+19
Politics 2CP
-2
total +17, pass. No effect. Heavies activate and land. Jump prep +1
@soondifferent pick a card to draw.
