Current location:	Rhoose, South Wales
Current mood:	aggravated
Current music:	Harry Potter Goblet Of Fire Soundtrack

Fic: 12Battlegroup 10&11
Ten

“Reports leaked to us from the Royal Space Service indicate that an assassination attempt against Thundersdawn station Commander and chief of Earth’s defences Commodore Peters was narrowly averted this week despite heightened security surrounding the station since Disclosure.

How, or even why this assassination occurred is not yet know, what is know for certain is that this is not the first of the disturbing reports coming out of the station to have reached our ears. Overwork, staffing difficulties and even sabotage, all of which have a severe knock-on effect on the security and safety of our world.

The Royal Space Service has yet to respond publicly to these reports, but is rumoured to be taking the situation extremely seriously indeed”

-----

“The Second Great Fire of London is now over, the devastated city smoulders today as the weary but jubilant fire-fighters, auxiliaries and volunteers began the time consuming task of making the city safe. Joined by military and civilian engineers and work crews from, so far seven nations, the task of now cooling down the smouldering ruins, bulldozing the wreckage and assessing what can be saved and what needs to go had begun.

It’s estimated that about two thirds of the city lie in ruins, the damage enough to make the insurance industry collectively weep. Rebuilding here will take years.

But years the government doesn’t have. The cities population exceeded 7 million years before the events of Disclosure and the evacuation. Whilst it is certainly true that between the Goa’uld attacks on the city and the fire that many are dead, there are still untold millions crowding in makeshift camps surrounding the city, desperate for food, water, basic sanitation and in many areas, a heavy police presence.

All of these they are looking to an increasingly battered and besieged government for, but the aid they need is being slow to appear and time is running out”

-----

“Stargate Command, currently housed at an unidentified location, has confirmed the arrival through the Stargate of food and medical supplies from several of our off-world allies, believed to include the Orbanians, the Edorans and the Land of the Light. The Land of the Light is noteworthy here as Stargate Command has increasingly and with the co-operation of the natives, used the planet as an off-world medical facility”

-----

“The trials began in closed courts today of the Military personnel and civilian conspirators arrested for treason and attempting to subvert the constitutional Government in the immediate aftermath of disclosure.

The largest group ever arrested by the American government for such crimes, these individuals are under constant watchful guard, not just to prevent their escape, but to prevent their murder. We know attempts have been made on their lives, at least one of which was by the original Guard detail themselves and one has to wonder, even if found not guilty, how long do these people truly have left to live?

Mud has been thrown, and this kind does not ever wash off.”

-----

“Stargate Command and the Royal Star Service have today issued a call for qualified individuals to apply for Colonisation rights on Alpha Prime. Such individuals will undergo a security check but the positions these services are looking to fill range from structural engineers to teachers, covering the whole range of jobs a virgin colony will need. The websites of both agencies currently have a list of five thousand positions they wish to fill for this second wave of colonisation, and both specifically state that preference will be given to family groupings”

-----

“Both the Royal Star Service and Stargate Command websites went down earlier today after a record surge of visitors overloaded the capacity of the servers following the announcement of Colonisation opportunities on Alpha Prime in the Alpha Centauri system.

A statement issued by Stargate Command indicates that both agencies are currently working to add capacity to their servers and intend to have the sites back up before tomorrow however gives no guarantee as to when the sites will be live again.

It is perhaps fortunate that both agencies use separate server farms for their Operational, as opposed to Public Relations duties”

-----

“A cylon attack on the Alpha Centauri system was rebuffed earlier today after the attacking basestars were successfully caught between the systems small defence fleet, ably supported by the Colonial Battlestar Galactica and the massed guns of Ravenbright station. The station, still incomplete, is the most heavily fortified position currently available to our space forces”

-----

“Akin perhaps to the British Spitfire Funds of the Second World War, a wave of extra moneys is being donated to the Royal Space service and Stargate Command by the general public. This money is intended solely the purchase of fixed emplacements such as the Type I, Type II and the upcoming Type III to reinforce Earth’s weakened and paltry defence grid.

This idea, revived by a Senator from Iowa, has so far raised enough money in America alone to fund an additional thirty satellites, enough we are told, to provide adequate cover for one city. This is despite inadequate advertising of the program in the rush to get this idea running”
-----


“A Military Coup has occurred within China.

In the Early hours of this morning, troops of the Chinese army moved into the Government buildings in Beijing and seized control. Details are sketchy at this point, the situation extremely confused, but we have reason to believe the Premier has been arrested but is still alive.

At this point in time, we do not know why this coup occurred or how it managed to take the Chinese government so completely by surprise but rumours are reaching us that it is related to the recent more aggressive policy taken by China with regards not just to Taiwan, but with their relations with the US and the other starfaring nations”

--------------------------------------

Eleven

“Captain Jones,” Weir commented, walking into the briefing room, “I heard you had a fun trip.”

Snorting, the Captain of the Britannica bit back a startled laugh as he replied, “you could say that. Two major scuffles on route, both Invincible and Overseer requiring repairs and munitions severely depleted. Luckily, we lost no ships. We did lose a good few people though.”

“Personnel I can’t help you with,” Weir shrugged, sliding into the seat opposite the Captain, “as far as repairs go, well the local shipyards are getting better at repairing Earth built and captured Goa’uld vessels but security implications make it troublesome and frankly, they still aren’t set up for it. If any major work is required, I would suggest you send them home.”

“We would have to escort them home,” Jones noted, “Anubis seems intent on blocking off reinforcements and supplys from Tau’ri space, not that there is going to be too many of them given the recent situations.”

“Indeed, but the Tau’ri vessels in the area are the most powerful of the Alliance ships, I can see why he wouldn’t want more arriving.”

“True enough perhaps,” Jones nodded, “but the battlegroup is reduced to three operational hulls already, I’m afraid your reinforcements might just have to turn and head back home.”

Grimacing, Weir leaned back in the alien seat, “can I interest you in a party before you go?”

Jones raised an interested eyebrow.

“Anubis has a major resupply base he is launching the brunt of his attacks from,” Weir held Jones’s eyes, “it’s heavily guarded, but the Minbari warrior sect believe that if the base is knocked out, that Anubis will be forced to either replace it, buying us time, or to launch his assaults from further back. None of the facilities and resupply points behind this main facility, code-named Poseidon, are anywhere near as extensive.”

“We can’t launch a major assault with three operational hulls,” Jones pointed out.

“You won’t be,” Weir grinned, “the Alliance is assembling a major taskforce not far from the front. Prometheus and Independence have already joined the fleet, but three extra hulls would not be complained about.”

“Are your Dauntless class vessels, the Indomitable and the Interrogator I believe, joining the assault?”

“No,” the Tau’ri Ambassador to the Alliance shook her head, “They, along with the Dawn of Valour are standing guard over Babylon 3.”

Jones glanced up sharply, “they’ve started work on a replacement?”

“The keel plate had been laid, but little more then that.”

“I don’t think command is aware of that fact,” Jones pointed out.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Weir replied, “the distance makes communication difficult, and the lingering remnant of the hyper barrier doesn’t help either,”

Jones nodded, accepting that, “still, it is perhaps fortunate that you kept the Dauntless’es out of the assault, if our experience en-route is anything to go by, their stamina and protection is insufficient for wall duties.”

Weir raised an eyebrow questioningly, “wall duties?”

Captain Jones glanced up startled, then frowned, “sorry, forgot for the moment that you aren’t a naval officer. It’s an old term, holdover from the days of sail and wooden hulled warships. A ship of the wall in basic terms is just a ship capable of holding its own in a major multi-ship engagement. The Dauntless class, whilst exceptional at rapid reaction, raiding and scouting duties, appears inadequate as fair as ‘ship of the wall’ or ‘ship of the line’ duties are concerned but Command already suspected that. The issue was actually part of my briefing packet when I assumed temporary command of the Battlegroup.”

“I see,”

“So, I think you had best tell me more about this assault…”

-----

“Could you repeat that please?” Admiral of the Fleet Thomas asked, dangerously calmly, “Because it sounded to me dangerously like you said that RSS security has been compromised by the Cylons.”

“I’m afraid so,” Commander Joan Williams replied darkly, “the clincher was of course finding a Cylon inside the logistics department and confirming that the assassin who attacked the Commodore was a Cylon but in both instances the Cylons used models not previously seen,”

“How the hell did they manage to get two Cylons past our security?”

“At this point in time, its not as difficult as any of us would like,” Joan replied, knowing that the information she had just had pointed out to her by security would not be welcomed here, “phase one of a background check involves a records check, but everyone has their records online nowadays and these can be and have been hacked by humans, let alone beings that can directly hook themselves up to the internet. That’s not mentioning the backbone satellites, at which point all it takes is a raider getting close enough for a sufficient length of time to do some subtle reprogramming…”

The Admirals face was stony, granite like.

“The records issue has always been a problem and why Phase two, a discreet check amongst neighbours, old school photos etc has been a part of the security check for many years,” Jones continued, “but there are also ways around this, and for certain agencies it is practically SOP. Not to mention, there are legitimate reasons why a phase two check might not be possible,”

“That explains infiltration perhaps,” Thomas replied, making a mental note to have a very long ‘discussion’ with security, “but Cylons were screened for specifically.”

“And according to the records, both known Cylons were screened on at least three occasions,” she replied, “the first check was of course visual identification of known models which found none, but the latter checks were hidden as part of the standard yearly medicals. The records being suspect whenever Cylons are concerned, I interviewed the Doctors listed as having carried out the checks on the off chance and hit the jack-pot. Doctor Jones-Somersby who carried out the last recorded medical on our assassin has a photographic memory; she knows that she has never done a medical on our assassin though interestingly she has seen him, or at least a copy of him, on a visit to Ravenbright station, a place our assassin has never been. That is of course, according to the records.”

Thomas turned the air blue.

“I’m afraid that I suspect I’ve only touched the surface as far as the infiltration goes Admiral,” Joans replied evenly, “we may have underestimated the cylons, greatly.”