Wireless Broadcast by Daan Mathers, Free Press Coalition - Exodus +407

Fellow citizens of the fleet, this is Daan Mathers of the Free Press Coalition speaking to you from the Helios Refinery where, a short time ago, law and order were restored following the tumultuous and devastating events of the last few hours.

Who could have foreseen such a violent uprising of the religious extremes? Who now can see their way to a peaceful ongoing coexistence with fellow citizens who knowingly and deliberately endangered our lives? But before we even look towards a long term solution, we must take stock of those who will be choosing that solution and making the future a reality.

Two of our Captains, with us since we first came together at Origin-12, now lie dead. Dozens of our fellow survivors have been ejected into space in summary executions without trial. These events the Free Press Coalition deplores and condemns utterly. Though they have shown stupidity and blind faith to incredible degrees, the New Believers are still our siblings in survival and deserve to be treated better than this. The crimes perpetrated today shall linger in our memories and cannot be easily forgiven.

But were these not shocking enough, Commander Alexander Darius has himself committed suicide using one of the fleet’s dwindling stock of nuclear warheads. To some, this was an appropriately pyrrhic victory, to others, another senseless act of violence. Some look back on Commander Darius as a degenerate brute capable of as much evil as the Cylons themselves; others see him as a fearless leader willing to make the choices necessary to keep this fleet alive. History, as always, will render its own judgement, if any of us shall here remain to write it.

And whether we shall may well be determined by the choices made in the next few days. Many with whom I have spoken see Darius’ death as the final chapter in the military dominance of the fleet and believe the Myriad and her crew should now be subordinated to Governor Ward; many, however, particularly the military, see the actions of the New Believers as proof that civilian freedoms are being abused and that martial law should be implemented. We at the Free Press try to show to our mistaken friends on the Myriad that if more power is given to the military, events like those of the past few hours will only increase in frequency; let us not forget that, right or wrong, at the core of the New Believers’ demands was to know the truth of what the military has been up to all these months.

Governor Ward’s stance on these matters will no doubt be forthcoming. Even leaving aside her active press office and personal liaison, the civilian offices are used to information sharing and Governor Ward more than most. It is the military part of the equation that is steeped in more uncertainty as the figure of Major Eddard Stanton steps forward to fill the shoes of the late Commander. About him, there are fewer answers in a system where the rule of thumb is not to ask for explanations but simply to follow orders. So from whom should we take our guiding advice about the Major, our new leader? Perhaps from those who know him best, who have seen him in action?

The Free Press Coalition is therefore proud to broadcast comments directly from a senior member of the Myriad staff, speaking on the condition of anonymity. And we can see why; if even half of what we have been told about the Major is true, we might need to ask history to start rendering its judgement on us sooner rather than later.

I asked our source how they felt Stanton had handled the recent crisis and their response was less than laudatory. Our source indicated that Major Stanton witnessed Commander Darius execute the unconscious and disarmed Captain Duvali after the insurrection of the New Believers and did not try to stop him nor arrest him after the act, despite the presence of marines in the room. Our source indicates that no mention was made of war crimes, illegal actions or whether the Commander was fit for duty.

Major Stanton then allegedly permitted Commander Darius to ‘black bag’ another disarmed and unconscious prisoner, this time Nicteus Phileman, after using him as a human shield. According to our source, the Captain of the Augea was taken away to an undisclosed location on the Myriad and tortured to death by the Commander; Major Stanton was apparently aware this was happening and did not act to stop it.

Excepting the Commander, the Major was the senior officer present in both situations. His failure to act makes him, in the view of our source, complicit in a serious breach of human rights and an accessory to two counts of murder. I undertook extensive investigation and numerous interviews to establish the truth of the case; listeners, I am horrified to report that our source’s version of events is entirely consistent with those presented both by civilian authority figures and crew from the Myriad itself. For one, this reporter finds it remarkable that fellow humans have been treated in such a way while two Cylons rest alive and well in our cells.

Though it is hard to remain philosophical in the face of such inhuman allegations, I did comment that this was but one example; there are, let me assure you, a few broadcasts I’ve made that I don’t feel are representative of the gamut of my work. But our source made it quite plain that recent events were just the tip of the iceberg.

During the time that Commander Darius was in a coma, we were told that Major Stanton allowed not one but two Cylons, Nicholai Crane and Carol Sestus, to escape, after failing to make appropriate security arrangements. In the end, Crane was only recaptured after a valiant effort by Captain Furik. The other Cylon, however, committed suicide; because of the Cylon ability to resurrect, this allowed her to take information about us back to the Cylon fleet. Reports of these events tally exactly with our other source but I have been provided with reams of reports and hours of security footage to confirm that precisely these events transpired.

Major Stanton then, the senior member of Myriad staff reports, failed in his duty to protect the prisoner whilst undergoing interrogation and allowed him to be killed by person or persons unknown, though most likely another Cylon infiltrator. Once more, valuable information went to the Cylon fleet and intelligence we could have gained was lost.

Even more remarkably, our source suggests that Eddard Stanton himself was the mystery individual responsible for the poisoning of Commander Darius, Captain Furik and Nicholai Crane, the event which led to Crane’s revelation as a Cylon. Our source believes that Major Stanton was attempting to seize control of the Myriad by assassinating his Commanding Officer. The Major then purportedly lied to Governor Ward about the event to cover his tracks.

These allegations would be terrifying enough, but our source has told us that Eddard Stanton was himself named as a Cylon during the interrogation of one Cylon prisoner. I have seen the security footage myself. Given Commander Darius’ apparent effectiveness at extracting information during torture, this reporter wonders whether such a claim should be brushed off with the disregard it might normally warrant.

Let us not forget, as our source has not, that before he joined the Myriad, the then-Captain Stanton had been passed over for promotion on numerous occasions. The fleet, of course, lacks any of his records of his military career, but it is hard to believe this was without reason. Our source suggests that gross incompetence limited his career until the present time, when no evidence of it any longer existed; certainly, this reporter finds it all too easy to believe that the military knew something about Captain Stanton that we do not.

It is all too easy, after the departure of a much-criticised leader, to look forward with rose-tinted vision to the days ahead; to do so might be to ignore what little evidence we have about the calibre of our new commander. In view of this, I would invite you to join me in opposing the assumption of command by Major Eddard Stanton unless these very real concerns are addressed quickly and conclusively.

We cannot abide another tyrant; but would an incompetent be better or worse?

This is Daan Mathers, Free Press Coalition. Good night.