Alliances: Civil War II Chapter Forty-Nine

As Vader stood in the main control room of the Death Star, he stared out of the main viewport, towards the planet Wayland. He had been here only once before, and the Emperor only chose to let other high-ranking Imperial officials here on very special occasions. Today was one of those occasions, as Palpatine sought to display his most powerful weapon before the cosmos, and those who would join his Empire.

Vader's thoughts were not on the conference as a low-ranking officer tentatively approached him. Others who had just barged in on his private thoughts before had lost their voices when their vocal cords had been crushed by some unseen hand. The young officer did not want to meet the same fate.

"Lord Vader," he said, a slight fear in his voice. "The Cylon battle cruiser we were expecting has just arrived."

"Good," Vader said without averting his gaze. "Have the cruiser's commander and his party escorted to the conference room. Tell them I will join them shortly."

"Yes, sir," the officer bowed, and then moved away as quickly as possible.

It was ten minutes later when Vader arrived in the conference room, greeted by the sight of what appeared to be five heavily armored men. At first glance, one would have thought they resembled Vader in some way, but in others, they did not. While Vader still had a human element under all of his armor, there was virtually no human element in a Cylon warrior. The only human element the Cylons had to speak of came in the form of one man, a man who was formerly a colonial governor, but now known throughout several star systems as the man who betrayed his entire species—Baltarr.

As soon as he saw Vader, Baltarr got to his feet. Although Vader towered over him, Baltarr did not seem intimidated by the mighty Dark Lord. If anything, Baltarr held a similar position within the Cylon Empire that Vader held with the Imperials.

"It's about time you showed up," said Baltarr. "We've been left waiting here for ten minutes. If we are to join your alliance then..."

"If you are to join our alliance then you will have to learn to live by our rules," Vader boomed. "Your treachery to your own people is known the quadrant over, and if you were to ever consider such a thing with the Galactic Empire, then you would be very foolish, and the price you would have to pay would be too high for you and the Cylons."

For the first time in ages, Baltarr was dumbstruck. The Cylon warriors watched as he was firmly put in his place. Moments later, Vader left, and Baltarr slumped into his chair. He had considered this conference one of his greatest triumphs. Now he was beginning to wonder if it could have been one of his biggest mistakes.

 

It was a day Connor MacCleod had waited for a long time. Although he had been pleased with the position James Watt had given him in his government prior to his 'accident', he didn't entirely feel comfortable. First and foremost, he was a warrior, and he longed to be among the stars again. Now, he had that chance.

With Jeffrey Sinclair's reassignment as the Free Federation ambassador to Minbar, he had been given command of the Lohengrin. However, it wasn't the Lohengrin he had served on. The first one had been destroyed after it was captured by Armand Theophilus, and the second was destroyed during testing. This Lohengrin, the Lohengrin-B, was much similar to the Valkyrie in design, both internal and external.

The turbo-lift doors opened, and for the first time, Connor saw the bridge, and his crew, for the first time as their new commanding officer. Although they were in orbit around the Time of Legends, all the senior officers were at their posts. Simon Terses stood at Tactical, and he was the first to notice Connor's arrival.

"Captain on the bridge," he announced.

Those who were seated stood up to acknowledge Connor's presence.

"At ease," Connor said. "About your duties."

Connor walked down the ramp and approached the command chair. It looked different, somehow, from his original command chair on the original Lohengrin. Slowly, Connor seated himself in the chair.

From beside him, Shelby watched him survey his new surroundings.

"Is everything alright, Commodore?" she asked.

"Fine. Just fine, Commander."

"Then may I speak with you in your Ready Room?"

"Certainly."

Connor rose, and with Shelby not far behind him, he entered the Ready Room. As he entered the room, it struck him how empty it was. Apart from a desk and a sofa, the room was bare. Sinclair had taken all of his belongings with him to Minbar. Connor had yet to make this room his own.

He walked over to his desk, and seated himself. Shelby seated herself at the opposite side.

"So what can I do for you, Commander?" Connor asked.

"I would just like to go on record as saying I think Admiral MacCleod has made a mistake appointing you as the Lohengrin's new commander. By all rights, the position should have been mine."

"And under normal circumstances, it would have been, but these are hardly normal circumstances."

"But sir, I..."

"I was appointed to this position because of my experience, nothing more, nothing less. If none of this war had ever happened then I would have put your name forward for this post. But we've all had to make sacrifices, and now, you're going to have to make one. Now if you'll excuse me, Commander, I have much to do."

With the proverbial flea in her ear, Shelby left, leaving Connor thinking that he could have a possible problem on his hands.