01 - Battlestar Galactica (34 page)

It was like a window opening in his mind, as he suddenly understood his
relationship to all of the Cylon models. He knew now that he should speak, without waiting for them to speak. “We have to get
out of this storm. The radiation… it affects our neural relays.” He stood up
to confer with them.

“Where did they go?” one of the Leoben models asked.

“I don’t know. They were preparing for a big Jump,” Doral answered.

“We can’t let them go,” said his identical model.

The first Number Six model, in a silken voice, agreed.

“If we do, they’ll return one day and seek revenge.” That was the second
Leoben. The remaining Cylons spoke in turn.

“It’s in their nature.”

“We have no choice, in any case. We must find them. The Mission, the Project,
require it.”

“If they’ve Jumped out of known space, it could take decades to track them
down.”

A new figure entered the room at that moment, emerging from the haze outside.
It was a female Cylon—brunette, petite, and beautiful. The easy smile on her
face revealed her utter confidence. “Don’t worry. We’ll find them. And it won’t
take
nearly
that long.”

It was the Sharon Valerii model. The Boomer model.

“By your command,” murmured a Number Six.

With that, they turned. And with the ailing Doral model, they walked out of
that place, followed by the steel warriors.

Minutes later, the base star detached from Ragnar Station. It rose, at once
majestic and malign, wheeling up through the swirling clouds. Once free of the
atmosphere, it accelerated at high speed into the dark emptiness of interstellar
space.

The hunt for the remnants of humanity had begun.

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