The end of our big battle on Aquaria happened last night. The characters had pushed into the industrial section of Kyros, much of which had been flattened by orbital bombardment, and found a “puppet factory”, as they were calling it — an installation where the Cylons were creating a new hybrid machine…the IL Series (after the “diplomat/leader” robots in the Old Series.) They found a charnel house of body parts — human and Seraph (what our humanoid Cylons are called) that had been used as parts to cover the robotic innards of this new series. It was a particularly gruesome scene that culminated with being attacked by a half-finished IL build out of a Six and a hand-to-hand fight with a “lamprey” — a 20 foot long machine lamprey with multiple sets of buzzsaw teeth.

The pilot PC, callsign Fists, got pretty banged up in the altercation, and Oscari, commander of Aegis, and another PC, had to jump in to save her. In the end, the Aquarian resistance, backed by the small battle group under Pegasus, managed to win the day and destroy the Cylon forces.

But there wasn’t much of a reprieve before the toasters jumped in in force. Three basestars, two captured battlestars, 60 large armed transports, and thousands of raiders jumped in, and the battle group was left on its back foot. Before the fight could commence, however, they got a call from a “Basestar Prime” that asked for a cease fire and parlay. For a moment, it looed like Cain’s hatred of the Cylons might lead them into a fight they could not win, but she got talked into hearing them out by the other commanders.

The meeting on Pegasus was tense and creepy, with the arrival of the Cylon delegate — IL-K, built out of a Two. She offered a truce to the Colonials: an immediate end to hostilities, except where they Cylons would have to defend themselves from the unruly resistance while the Cylons packed up over the space of a week, and then left the Colonies. They would retire to 3000 light years to antisinward. From that line starting at galactic center to the rim to 90 degrees, would be Cylon space; human space would be from that line to 270 degrees. They would agree not to interfere in each other’s space or the treaty would be rendered null.

The characters are suspicious — why? Why cut and run now? IL-K’s response: the costs now outweight the benefits of remaining in the Colonies. They have been fighting a proxy war for a God that is now dead. Their former masters (the Seraph) are no longer a threat. They do not need the biospheres the humans do, and… they have more important concerns than war; it is petty. Beneath them.

After a bunch of agonizing over the idea of signing, the Colonials agree, and to their surprise, over the course of a week, the Cylons either pack up, or destroy the facilities they are leaving behind, then they jump away!

The War is over and the Colonials…won? Tens of billions dead for nothing. An entire culture destroyed for nothing. Victory Day is declared, the characters get to take part in over-the-top revelry on Aquaria, but the hard part is ahead…waiting for the politics of the Twelve Worlds (really only eight now, not counting the worlds that have irreparable ecospheres…) to settle enough to start rebuilding.

The tag saw the admiral dispatch Aegis to find Galactica and tell them the good news. They can come home.

Next week will either be the return to the main campaign plot line, or a few weeks of Atomic Robo. I haven’t decided.