DISCLAIMER: The following is fan fiction using some events and characters from BSG: The Re-Imagined Series. It is fan fiction only... there is no intent here to collect income or infringe on the trademarks, copyrights, or patented work of others. Please DO NOT use this material for anything other than pure reading enjoyment. If you absolutely can't get enough of Battlestar Galactica, then this is the place to come.

Battlestar Galactica: The Pathfinder Project

Fleeing the Cylon tyranny, a group of humans take command of a new, experimental prototype vessel and begin a journey that may lead them to the edge of our known universe, or leave them stranded millions of light years from home. Here tonight, another story of our relentless human spirit, determination, and the will to survive begins…

Chapter I: Armageddon

---

He was on the moon's surface when the first reports began trickling in. Once again he had decided to take the time for a personal recon hike to look for the best spot to land the Pathfinder. At first the crackle of his helmet transceiver annoyed him slightly, until he heard the tone of voice on the other end.

"Denny… I mean, uhm, Captain Kaufield?" The voice was faint but filled with emotion.

"This is Kaufield," Dennis responded, stopping to rest against the dusty side of a small lunar hill. "What's the problem, Mary? You sound stressed." He chuckled a little bit while adjusting the O2 setting on his standard issue flight suit. "I know the revised schedule for our next test was moved up two weeks, but I'm sure we'll get the work done in plenty of time. We always do."

"It's not that, sir," his communications specialist responded. "You're not going to believe this. We're receiving reports that the 12 Colonies are under attack!"

"What?" Kaufield asked with surprise. "Are you sure? By who?"

"It sounds like it's the Cylons, sir. And the news feeds are calling it an all out attack!"

Kaufield stood, stunned, for a moment. His eyes were still surveying the lunar surface, but his thoughts were racing wildly. "I'm on my way back," he decided suddenly. "Have the base go to full alert, and post armed guards around the Pathfinder." A sudden rush of anger caused him to take too large of a step and he stumbled, landing awkwardly on his back. "Damned low gravity environments," he growled, leaping to his feet. "And damn the Cylons. 40 years we don't hear from you, and NOW you decide to show up again." He ran as fast as the moon's conditions allowed, kicking up clouds of dust in his wake that would take some time to settle.

"It's confirmed sir," Mary's voice crackled a bit from static, but cleared almost immediately. "The Cylons are launching an all out attack against our home worlds."

"May the Gods help us!" he said, adjusting his transmitter frequency as fast as his gloved fingers would allow. "Attention all base personnelY I repeatY Attention all base personnel. This is Captain Dennis Kaufield. At this time I am ordering an immediate suspension of all incoming and outgoing ship launches. If there's anybody in the air get on the comm system and order them back. After that, initiate a communications blackout and shut down all non essential systems base wide."

"Captain, this is Thomas cutting in," said a new voice in his ear. "We've got several seriously critical tests in progress on the Pathfinder 's CAS upgrade. I don't think you want..."

"Shut everything down, dammit!" Kaufield repeated. "If there are hostile Cylons in the system then they'll be coming here too. I don't want bulls eyes painted on the key areas of our complex when they get here."

He reached the base of one of the larger hills. A large niche was carved in its side with a hatchway located in the center. Kaufield quickly activated the door's entry mechanism and stepped into an airlock.

"I'm in," he said, waiting impatiently for oxygen to flood the inner compartment. "I'll be up in Central Operations momentarily."

---

Khyber Base was only ten years old but built to last on Cassiopeia… the only moon orbiting the solar system's outer planet. Kaufield had been stationed here for seven of those years, making sure that the Pathfinder project stayed on schedule. Most of the specific details were just a dream when he was a kid, but now – at age 39 – the revolutionary new science vessel had become his one and only focus in life. He had been lucky, because his Father had always supported his decision and admired his determination to get to space.

And the brand new ship was almost ready for testing! He cussed again as he ran through the corridors of the base, descending gradually into its underground maze of corridors. Just a few more weeks and all they'd have left to correct were the minor glitches. That's what frustrated him the most at the moment – the fact that the "bells and whistles" stage of the project was so close at hand. No longer limited by the moon's outside low gravity, Kaufield blew through the nearest door to the Operations Center.

"Take a look at this, sir," Lieutenant Mary Hastings reported quietly, without looking up. Her short, brunette hairstyle always caught him by surprise. She was a very pretty woman but chose to look professional first, especially while on duty. That was the way she always did her job, too.

On the main monitors at the center of the room were pictures of some of the Colony planets. Massive glowing explosions covered most of them, with more blast points sprouting up as quickly as the others faded.

"Gods forgive!" someone across the room said in astonishment. Several of the technicians next to her were in tears.

"Is the planet on the right monitor Caprica?" Kaufield asked.

"Yes," Mary replied. "These images were recorded earlier. Since then we've lost all contact with the Colony planets. But there's lots of civilian and military chatter. We're receiving distress calls and lots of reports regarding malfunctioning equipment."

"Malfunctions?" queried Kaufield. "What kind?"

"Well, for one thing our supply shuttle just called in, sir." She stated matter of factly. "They were on their way back to rendezvous with the Colonial Supply convoy. Most of their computer systems just shut down. When they tried to reactivate, all they got was static and erratic monitor displays – nothing works for them. They contacted us with an emergency wireless transmitter someone had on board. I was just about to send a Raptor to help them out when you ordered a halt on launches." She shrugged. "It's the same with the military vessels, too. Everything just suddenly shuts down."

"Confirm base blackout," Kaufield ordered, "With the exception of that shuttle. Try opening communications with their Commander. I want to know what's wrong." Standing next to Mary, the Captain activated another of the Comm links that lined her console. "Thomas," he stated firmly, "If you have everything on Pathfinder shut down I'd like you to get up here and help Mary monitor communications."

"For what?" Thomas responded.

"Don't know yet, Tom," Kaufield said, "That's what I need you to find out. It sounds like there's a Cylon attack underway and they have some way to jam our systems. I want you and your specialists on this right now. Find out how they're doing it." Behind him, a door opened and a military officer walked into the room.

"I heard, Denny," he said tensely. "How bad is it?"

"I need you to place the base on military alert, Colonel Neeland," Kaufield replied. "I may be head of this project, but you and your troops are the ones assigned to protect us. Be ready for anything – the Cylons are attacking both military and civilian targets. They also have some way to shut down our electronics."

"Then I suggest we implement our disaster contingency plan," the Colonel replied.

"Deactivate key systems and evacuate our personnel underground. If they're using nukes then we can expect to get hit, too."

"Agreed," Dennis replied, switching his Comm to a base wide frequency. "This is Captain Dennis Kaufield," he stated firmly. "We are declaring an emergency disaster situation. Will everyone please gather together all the supplies and equipment you can carry and evacuate to the Pathfinder 's hanger bay. It's deep enough underground that we'll be safe for the time being. Everyone, and I mean everyone, assemble there in thirty minutes."

The Operations Center suddenly became a flurry of activity as on duty personnel began packing their essentials and shutting down consoles. Within minutes only the Colonel, Dennis, and Mary remained. As the last of the technicians left, Thomas Roh entered the room. The tall, spindly computer technician was shaking his head.

"The Cylons are NOT jamming us, sir. It's something else," he said confidently. "We had all our systems on the Pathfinder up and running and there was absolutely nothing interfering with our tests – not even the smallest glitch."

"Yes, but the Pathfinder has new, state of the art systems," Dennis replied. "They've never been officially used yet. Perhaps their hardware isn't as vulnerable."

"It's got to be something else," Mary objected. "The signals from the Colonies are gone because of the massive bombing." She listened closely for a moment. "But the local wireless traffic is full of ship in distress calls. If they were electronically jamming everyone's systems we wouldn't be able to hear those."

"If you'll excuse me," the Colonel said solemnly, "I'm going to go see about assembling the Marines. Don't stay too long, folks." he warned as he headed for the closest exit.

"Have you been able to raise the Commander of the supply ship?" Kaufield asked.

"No, sir. If they're still alive then they're not transmitting from their end."

Thomas had put on a set of headphones and was listening intently. "We're getting creamed," he said, whistling softly. "They've lost entire Battlestars already."

"Could it be some sort of EMP weapon?"

"No way, sir," Thomas replied. "You could blow up the biggest nuke we've got right next door to one of those newer Battlestars and its electronics would still work. The people on board would fry before the systems would. He continued listening intently for several minutes, and the Operations room became totally silent.

"Can you continue monitoring from the hangar bay?" wondered Kaufield.

"Affirmative," Thomas responded. "Most of our fancier stuff is either on or around the Pathfinder anyway.

"Then let's shut this stuff off and get down there, too. That thirty minutes will be up soon."

---

The underground hangar bay was huge… and it had to be. In its center sat the Pathfinder, the most advanced long term Colonial exploratory vessel ever built. Its central fuselage was lengthy and massive, designed to accommodate a large population numbering near a thousand. Sprouting from its dorsal hull at 45 degree angles were the top two "wings". The port wing, called the "Garden", was so named due to the entire, self contained farm within it. The starboard "Livestock" wing was more like a space ranch – holding all kinds of small animals and livestock. The two were connected along the top of the fuselage, allowing insects and other small creatures to move from one wing to the other.

Two smaller wings sprouted similarly from the bottom of the fuselage. One housed a complete electronics "Laboratory", while the other was filled with telescopes and all kinds of other "Observatory" equipment. Nestled neatly between the two lower wings was a small launch bay, containing a half dozen Raptors and nearly a dozen Mark VII Viper fighter craft.

Along the entire port side of the starship was a series of open hatchways. Hundreds of people were streaming through the doorways and into the Pathfinder, responding as quickly as possible to the unexpected evacuation notice. Stationed just in front of the bow of the large vessel was an armed Marine squad led by Colonel Murray Neeland. Next to him stood Captain Kaufield, Mary Hastings, and Thomas Roh. In front of them was just one of many science stations designed to monitor the Pathfinder 's systems. Currently it was capturing wireless traffic from the vast depth of the solar system surrounding the Cassiopeia moon.

"It looks like we're going to have to test your new ship sooner than expected," Murray commented, surveying the organized crowds of people moving aboard.

"Quite possible," replied Kaufield. "What's the word, Thomas?"

"Like I said, we're getting creamed," he replied. "At least half the fleet is gone, including the Battlestar Atlantia. Commander Adama of the Battlestar Galactica has taken command of the surviving fleet." Thomas paused, listening closely. "He's ordering all ships to rendezvous at Ragnar Anchorage, where they're planning to organize a counter strike."

"When do we lift off?" the Colonel asked cautiously. "Do we wait and see if the Cylons know about us?"

"They know about us!" Mary said sharply from beside Thomas. "I have multiple Dradis contacts overhead, and one of them is the biggestsignal I've ever seen. It has to be a Base Star."

As she spoke, the hangar bay rumbled ominously around them. As soon as the sound began to die down, another rumble – louder – rocked the complex. Sounds of metal fatigue filled the hangar, and equipment setting on the ground began to vibrate.

"So I guess they're nuking the Operations Center," decided Thomas wryly.

"Bombing us, definitely," Kaufield replied, as more nearby explosions sounded. "If they were standard thermonuclear bombs, youd know it." He thought carefully for a moment, then came to a decision. "Colonel, get your troops ready… as soon as an opportunity presents itself we're evacuating in the Pathfinder."

"One problem, sir," pointed out Thomas. "We can't go to Ragnar. The Anchorage base is sitting right in the center of a radiation cloud that will fry our new CAS drive if we're not careful.

You have to know the way through the cloud in order to get in there… that's why the Military picked it. Because, tactically it's perfect for a hidden base.

"They included the route through the cloud in Adama's transmission," Mary pointed out.

"No way," responded Thomas. "The CAS drive's main software is still being fine tuned. That's why I wanted to land her on the surface. So we could make direct adjustments to the hardware and software in a non atmospheric environment.

"Then we don't go to Ragnar," decided Kaufield. "We'll find another location, and hook up with the Military later." He turned his attention to Mary. "How many enemy ships are we dealing with?"

"Just one now," she reported. "The Base Star has completed its attack on the complex and has jumped away. I've got one enemy transport ship on its way down – everything else has left the system."

"I suppose they know about us, too," Thomas said nervously.

"Affirmative," Mary responded. "The transport is setting down less than 100 meters from the edge of our overhead hangar doors."

"Looks like it's time for me to find the Colonel," Kaufield said. "Everyone else get into the ship. And have the command crew prep the ship for liftoff."

"We're nowhere near ready to use the CAS drive," Thomas objected, "We could really damage our systems if we don't make our adjustments to the software first."

"Don't worry," Kaufield replied, patting the nervous computer specialist on his shoulder. "We'll use the standard FTL drive for now. You'll get your chance to complete the work, it'll just have to be done elsewhere."

---

"Those look like walking toasters to me," Colonel Neeland said flatly. He and Kaufield were at one of the airlock entrances that opened out onto Cassiopeias surface. On one of the monitors they watched a squadron of forty-eight robotic Centurions marching directly toward them, closely following a space-suited humanoid. Approximately fifty meters from the door the Cylons halted their approach. The person leading them continued forward and stopped just outside the airlock. There was no other signal of any kind… whoever it was just stood there patiently waiting.

"Do we let him in?" asked Kaufield, glancing uncertainly at the Colonel.

"As long as his troops stay right where they are, yes," replied Murray. "You did say you wanted us to stall them as long as possible?"

"That's an affirmative," the Captain replied. "As far as intelligence goes, unless they've directly interrogated our President they should think our project is way behind schedule. They also shouldn't know that the Pathfinder has a backup FTL drive, in addition to the brand new CAS system." He looked quickly at his watch. "However, Thomas and the others will need a few more minutes to complete the pre-flight process. We've been planning to land the ship on the moon's surface soon anyway, so it shouldn't take him long."

The Colonel motioned to the two marines on either side of him. Both immediately took up defensive postures and raised their weapons cautiously. Murray then turned back to Kaufield and nodded.

There was a loud hiss audible as Kaufield released the lock on the outer door. They heard it open and close – followed by a long pause as the airlock repressurized. Glancing cautiously at the Marines, the Captain shook his head in frustration and released the lock on the inner door. It opened slowly, and the space-suited figure entered the inner corridor. As soon as the airlock door closed tightly shut, the newcomer unlocked and removed the suits helmet.

The man in the space suit had blond hair and handsome features. He was extremely well muscled, and smiled slightly at the look of astonishment on the men surrounding him. "My name is Leoben," he stated matter-of-factly, "And I'm here to demand your unconditional surrender."

"My name is Dennis Kaufield," replied the Captain. "I hope you dont mind if we ask you a few questions first."

"Not at all," Leoben replied, inhaling a deep breath of fresh air. "Just understand that I am authorized to spare your lives if you surrender unconditionally. Resistance of any kind will result in the recall of my Base Ship and your immediate execution."

"Are you a Cylon?" asked Murray. The look on his face was one of astonishment.

"Yes, I am," replied Leoben. "I represent humanity's children – your offspring – and today we are returning home. Your planets and their resources are ours, now. As I stated before, surrender yourselves to me without resistance and your lives will be spared."

"How can you do this?" Kaufield demanded, his face reddening. "My Mother and Father live on Caprica for Gods sake. Is there anything left of it?"

"You are wasting my time," Leoben said casually. "Please allow my troops to enter. I will continue to answer your questions as they secure the base. He smiled again and held out his hands. "Please… think of your comrades," he said. "We know you have almost eight hundred people – mostly civilians – stationed at this base."

"We're prepared to evacuate," Kaufield replied firmly. "All I have to do is say the word and the Pathfinder will be out of here before you can blink twice."

"That's a bluff and you know it," Leoben replied. He stepped forward and looked Kaufield right in the eyes. "Your CAS system remains un-perfected. Without jump capability, you're just a duck in our shooting gallery. My people will complete the enhancements to your new ship. Now step aside – I will not ASK you again."

Murray nodded at his two Marines and they turned to take Leoben into custody. The Cylon spun so quickly that no one had time to react. He lifted one of the Marines effortlessly into the air and tossed him across the corridor and into the wall. Then his left hand closed just as fast around Colonel Neeland's throat and lifted him into the air. The Colonel began gasping for breath, and Leoben smiled again – a look of total arrogance.

Kaufield turned to attack Leoben but the second Marine beat him to the punch. Several shots rang out, and Leoben's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. He dropped the Colonel and staggered forward, trying to get at the remaining guard. The Marine fired twice more, and Leoben toppled backward.

"Thats blood!" Neeland gasped, staring at the stains on the floor. He stood up slowly then cautiously checked Leoben's unmoving form for signs of life. "I thought he said he was a frakking Cylon."

"I don't know WHAT he is," Kaufield replied, looking over at the monitor. Its image still showed the motionless Centurions, waiting for orders. "But I think our course is clear. We've got to get the hell out of here while we still can!"