Operation Exodus

2:5 Second Frontier

Unity Shipyard

Admiral Stryker sat in his chair on board the Unity, personally overseeing the repairs of his ship as well as construction of one of the two new Battlestars. There were more than enough volunteers in the fleet to man the new ships once they were finished. They had begun training new pilots and fleet personnel from civilian volunteers and would have their training completed before their arrival at Avalon, and many would go onto the salvaged warships from Picon in addition to the new ships on Unity and Eternity. He looked through the new ship's schematics and quietly murmured to himself. The communications station near him started blinking, interrupting his line of thought.

Admiral Stryker pushed the button to respond, "Yes?"

"Sir, Admiral Thorn is on board. He just received a message from Avalon and he wishes to speak with you," the communications officer said.

"Send him in," Admiral Stryker said shortly.

"He is already on his way to you sir!" the communications officer said.

"Good. Thank you lieutenant," Admiral Stryker said.

A few minutes later he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Admiral Stryker said.

Admiral Thorn entered the room and slowly closed the doors behind him.

"Well good friend, I didn't expect to see you for approximately two hours. What news do you have for me?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"I'm afraid it's bad and two pieces of news actually. First, Commander Krasner said that governor Miral ordered the Battlestar Sword to explore systems around Avalon," Admiral Thorn said.

"He did what?!" Admiral Stryker exclaimed in shock.

"The Sword is somewhere out around Avalon mapping out nearby systems under the Governor's direct orders," Admiral Thorn said.

"My god, we put an idiot in charge of the colony. Is he aware of the danger the threat of the Harvesters represent?" Admiral Stryker asked heatedly.

"He is, but he said it was for the good of the colony. In case the Cylons or Harvesters overrun and defeat us at Avalon, he wanted to find another planet to make a secondary colony there," Admiral Thorn said.

"And what did Krasner do?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"He protested, but he couldn't do anything. Of course with all radio and other forms of communication forbidden, he didn't try to call the Sword back," Admiral Thorn said.

"Did he at least try to send a raptor to find the Sword?" Admiral Stryker asked.

"No, Sword's last message was from the Coronet system, and was heading to Stonecrest nebula. However, Krasner doesn't have the exact coordinates of the ship so he can't afford the risk of sending a raptor to find it," Admiral Thorn replied.

"Hmm, I am sure the governor didn't mean anything to do anything stupid, but he disobeyed my orders. If he thinks what he's done is safe then he's mad: it could lure every single Harvester ship to Avalon," Admiral Stryker said.

"I agree, but I think he is right in a way," Admiral Thorn said thoughtfully.

"How so?" Admiral Stryker asked, watching Admiral Thorn carefully.

"We are coming there with an enormous fleet. It's good to know what lies around the colony. No matter how big a defensive fleet we have, defeat is a possibility and if we are defeated at Avalon then we need a fallback position. One ship missing won't risk the colony's safety too much in the short time it's gone while also giving us a good look at what's around Avalon," Admiral Thorn said.