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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:07:21 GMT -6
Amy
I floated easily on the astral winds, contemplating what I should do next. I wondered why I was resisting this new type of existence so much. Maybe I had evolved somehow into a higher form of life? I could go anywhere in all of space and time, so what was wrong with that? Actually the more I thought about it, I couldn’t think of a thing wrong with it, except that it wasn’t where I belonged. I wasn’t ready to give up the life I knew. I had struggled hard to regain that life, and I wasn’t ready yet to walk away from it. To some, to most probably, to be like I am now would be a dream, but for me it was a nightmare. Just seeing the pain on the faces of Brie and Charybdis made me that much more determined to find a way home.
I thought things through. What I really needed was the leader of the underground tribe on Axces Gamma. He was the one who had first taken me on a journey like this. He would know what to do now, but where to find him? I set course for Axces Gamma, trying to project outward with my thoughts, trying to feel the leader’s presence. Axces Gamma loomed up ahead, growing bigger and brighter.
It was a big world, and the underground tribe had survived by not being easily found. I floated gently through the atmosphere, trying to make contact. I found the area where I had been chased by Brie and Teri, and found it to be eerily quiet and desolate. I felt alone, and started thinking that maybe I should have stayed on the Callisto, where at least I could see my friends and feel somewhat at home.
That’s when I first felt it. A tingle in the back of my mind. Then suddenly I began to feel shooting pains through my head! In this form I had forgotten what pain felt like, but it was there now, shooting through me, causing me to lose control of myself. I floated there, twisting and turning, holding my head in agony. What…was…causing…this? I couldn’t think anymore. My eyes rolled up, and things began to black out all around me.
* * *
I weakly opened my eyes, and tried to focus on what was before me. I couldn’t at first. I had a killer headache, and I struggled to sit up. Wait! I WAS struggling to sit up! I had weight again! I felt the pull of gravity on my body! My head hurt too much and I flopped back down onto something hard. I had become physical again, but where was I?
I felt a hand stroke at my hair, and again I tried to open my eyes. In a weak voice I asked the usual question one asks at a time like this: “Where am I?” The response I heard, if it indeed was a response, was in a language I could not understand, but I did recognize the sound of it. “Leader?” I asked in a whispered voice. This time there was no answer. I got my eyes open, and propped myself on one elbow as I tried again to focus.
I was in a huge cave, back among the underground tribe! As things became less bleary, I saw the leader also lying on a huge slab. He did not look too good, like he had been through the same hell that I went through. And maybe he did. I’d bet my last cubits that he risked his life to bring me back.
They propped him up, and he sipped from a bowl of water. Several of the tribe came over to me with a bowl of water as well. “Oh no,” I said flatly. “No more of that stuff for me!” As I held out a hand to stop them, my gesture brought more of the tribe over. Since they could not communicate, they turned to other means to get me to drink. They grabbed hold of me by the arms, legs, and head, and held me as I struggled. I couldn’t muster up much strength, and most of the water seemed to go down my shirt, but I did drink some. Then they immediately let me go.
I lay there coughing, breathing hard. “What in hades did you do that for?” I shouted between gasps, but already I could feel the pain in my head subsiding. I even felt good enough now to sit up. I swung my legs over the side of the slab. That’s when I saw two more approaching with another bowl. This one held that strange make-up that still clung to my face and arms. “Oh no, I said again. I felt good enough to battle this time, but just then the leader shouted out a grunt and everyone froze.
He motioned for me to come to him. The others in the tribe stood aside for me, and I got hesitantly to my feet. It felt so strange to have weight! I shuffled slowly over to the leader, and when I reached his side he smiled at me. He offered his hand, and I took it. It felt weak, not at all like the powerful grip I had come to know earlier. He said several things, and the fact that I could not understand him seemed to please him. He reached up to smooth my hair, and caress the side of my face. Then he turned and shouted out several times, and several of the tribe came to my side. The leader looked at them, then at me, nodding that it was okay. I took his hand and kissed it, then reluctantly let it go. I owed him so much, but it was time to say goodbye.
I took one look back as I walked with the two tribe members, and soon I was out of the leader’s sight. We walked through a long, narrow passageway, ending up in another large cave. My eyes grew wide as the tribe people stopped, gesturing ahead at what lay before us. “Hell-ooo!” I said with a grin, stepping between the two and on ahead. The room was filled with items: blasters, medkits, bits and pieces of electronics and machinery, radios, a lifetime of items picked up here and there and stored here like treasure. I looked back at the tribe members, and they just nodded. I was being allowed to take what it was I wanted.
I poked around, finding a real nice blaster of a type I had never seen, but it had no charge. Most of the things here had no charge it turned out, since they had just been lying here for lords-know-how-long. I found a smaller one, still of unknown design, but at least it held a half-charge. I poked around some more, and at last I happily discovered a working transmitter. What kind of range it had, I couldn’t tell, but it too had a half-charge, so I picked it up. I also found a medkit that seemed to be fairly new.
Walking back to the tribe members, I nodded that I was ready. They nodded in return, and we walked back the way we came; though we ended up in a totally different area. The leader was nowhere in sight. As the tribe members stopped walking I walked on ahead of them, puzzled. This did not seem like a way out to me. I was just about to turn around to ask when all hades broke loose.
* * *
Everywhere were clouds of dust. I coughed and blinked, trying to keep the dirt out of my eyes. I was on the surface! I remembered back to when I had the power to raise that viper from underground. This must have been the same trick! I got to my feet, dusting off my arms and legs. What was left of my uniform was filled with dirt. I shook my head, freeing it from all sorts of dust and dirt. These beads have got to go, I decided, after getting whacked in the face with them several times.
I picked up my belongings, the blaster, transmitter, and medkit, and headed for higher ground. At the top of a good-sized hill, I set the items down and looked around. I wasn’t at all familiar with this area, but it looked like one hell of a battle had taken place here. The pale twilight gave the whole area a spookiness that unsettled me. The sooner I could get off this planet, the better.
I worked at the transmitter, setting the dials and levers as best I could. I didn’t know how long I could transmit, but it was my only shot at getting home. First I set it for short range, and sent out a call, hoping that the water mission was still here somewhere. But all I got was static in reply. After a second try, I set it for long range, hoping that I could reach the Callisto.
“Callisto, this is Lt. Amy, over.” After a pause, I spoke again. “Lt. Amy calling Callisto, come in.” I knew that I was too far away for an immediate answer, if I would even reach them at all. “Callisto, I’m on Axces Gamma, requiring rescue team. Please lock in on these coordinates. I’ll transmit as long as I can.” I set back against a rock, wondering if I was doomed to be stranded here. Now that’s real irony- I might never EVER see home again now. “Lt. Amy, switching to beacon, out.”
* * *
The transmitter quit after barely a half-hour. I fiddled with it, and contemplated tapping into the blaster’s charge to give it another shot, but I decided I’d wait until morning light. This nighttime sky was casting all sorts of weird shadows, and despite myself, I felt a little spooked by it. To busy myself, I poked around the medkit, finding a mirror and some cleaning solution. I took a good look in the mirror, and was happy to see a reflection, but not too happy at what my face looked like. My hair was all dark and matted, and my face was totally smeared with paints of different colors! I worked at cleaning myself as best I could with the solution.
I stopped suddenly at the sound of something, a chill running up my spine. I grabbed the pistol out of reflex. Man was I jumpy! “Hello?” I called out, thinking it might be a member of the tribe. But no one was there, or at least no one answered. I was just about to sit back down and chalk it up to nerves when I heard the noise again. Several times. And then I saw it in the distance.
I got a chill right through me at the sight of the creature. It had four legs, with smaller arms in the front. It looked slightly reptilish to me, slightly insectoid. Another appeared to the right of him. Whipping around, I saw two more coming from the other way. I still had room to move, so I picked up my other items, and fired the blaster several times as I scrambled for higher ground.
* * *
Brie
The sleep Brie longed for came quickly, but it unmercifully brought the dreams she dreaded with it. One by one the people she cared about disappeared before her eyes. It started when she was a child, with her parents, then all of her childhood friends, her husband, Amy, then finally Charybdis. Brie awoke with the last part of the dream. Everyone in her dream had either died or was missing, everyone but Charybdis. That bothered her when she woke up, but then she remembered that she had lost her mind so her dream shouldn’t be overly analyzed. She fell back to sleep.
”Callisto, this is Lt. Amy, over.” Pause. “Lt. Amy calling Callisto, come in.” Another pause. “Callisto, I’m on Axces Gamma, requiring rescue team. Please lock in on these coordinates. I’ll transmit as long as I can. Lt. Amy, switching to beacon, out”. Brie woke again. What a dream! It was almost as if she had actually heard Amy trying to contact the Callisto. Strange. Deciding that it was just more proof of her ever-growing insanity, she fell asleep once again.
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:08:48 GMT -6
Charybdis
Lt. Aegina sat at her control console and listened intently. Very few people were on the bridge at this time since it was the middle of the "night" shift. She had quickly punched the recorder button on transmissions that came to the bridge.
She pushed her headset a bit tighter to her ear. The static made it hard to hear, but it was there and could be made out, "Callisto, this is Lt. Amy, over.” Pause. “Lt. Amy calling Callisto, come in.” Another pause. “Callisto, I’m on Axces Gamma, requiring rescue team. Please lock in on these coordinates. I’ll transmit as long as I can. Lt. Amy, switching to beacon, out”
Once over, a faint beacon could be read by the navitron computer. "Commander!" was all she could muster at the moment.
Sheba had come out of the war room. She had been on the bridge for some time now and badly needed rest, but during missions, Sheba was one of the most staunchly stubborn people to maintain her post, almost to a fault.
"Commander, we've just received a message from Axces Gamma. It's from Lt. Amy!"
Sheba furrowed her brow. "Play it."
"Callisto, this is Lt. Amy, over.” Pause. “Lt. Amy calling Callisto, come in.” Another pause. “Callisto, I’m on Axces Gamma, requiring rescue team. Please lock in on these coordinates. I’ll transmit as long as I can. Lt. Amy, switching to beacon, out.”
Lt. Aegina showed her the location from where it emanated from. "Beacon is weak, but we can pick it up and pinpoint location. It appears to be coming from the location of the fight that our ground troops had with those reptiles."
Sheba could not refute the message. It was Amy, it was a Colonial beacon set on long range. It was weak, but it was there.
"Get me Lt. Col. Charybdis, now!" Sheba said.
* * *
I had finished my turbowash and had gotten into bed for the shift. I had not planned on sleeping too long, since at first shift I needed to be present at the meeting with the CQ leaders and Commander Sheba. I had trouble going to sleep. The decision I had made to quit the service weighed heavily on my mind. Amy weighed heavily on my mind.
I turned over to try and close my eyes when my comm unit buzzed. It was from the bridge. In the darkness, I activated it. It was Lt. Aegina requesting my immediate presence on the bridge to confer with the Commander. This could not be good. Or could it?
I couldn't sleep anyway, so I quickly got dressed and made my way to the bridge.
When I got there, Lt. Aegina and Commander Sheba wanted to see me in the War Room. "Sit down, colonel," Sheba said.
"We just received this via long range beacon. It came from the planet from a Colonial comm unit."
Lt. Aegina pushed the button on a small console and I heard a crackle of static, then a voice..."Callisto, this is Lt. Amy, over.” Pause. “Lt. Amy calling Callisto, come in.” Another pause. “Callisto, I’m on Axces Gamma, requiring rescue team. Please lock in on these coordinates. I’ll transmit as long as I can. Lt. Amy, switching to beacon, out.”
As soon as I heard the first words, my heart almost jumped out of my chest! It was Amy!!! and she was on the planet!!
But then, I realized the cruel irony in this. What if it is a fake transmission?
"Colonel, I believe that to be Lt. Amy, but as well as you know her, do you believe that that voice is Amy's?" Sheba wanted to know.
"That's her, Commander. I'd know her voice anywhere. The way she talks. The way her inflection and tone of voice. That's her. She's on the planet." I answered.
Sheba continued, "the only thing we don't know is if the transmission was live or possibly recorded earlier. If Amy is still down there, she could need our help. However, if that's a recording, it could be someone or something else is trying to get us back down there."
"You think it could be those reptiles?" I asked.
"Well, they've had time to study humans for about a yahren. That we know from our friends from the CQ. The creatures had been using the stolen Colonial technology and if they learned how to use it, they could be setting some kind of trap."
"Yes, Commander, but if there's a chance that it's Amy..."
Sheba could see where I was going with my statement. She knew that I would want to try to at least follow up on a search for her or where the beacon came from.
"I know, Colonel. That's why I want to send a small team under cover of darkness to the planet surface to check this out. You will be in command of the mission. Pick a couple of others who will serve you well and at the first sign of trouble, get the frack out!"
My heart skipped a beat. Not only were we going to go in search for Amy (again) but the Commander had picked ME to lead the mission!!!!
"Aye, Commander. I'll be ready to launch in 10 centons!" I moved quickly toward the door.
Before I got there, Sheba yelled out, "Colonel, may the Lords protect you!"
I stopped and nodded. I quickly headed out to the control console where I put in an emergency red alert call to two people who would be accompanying me on this trip. The two people I would most trust with my life: Cpt. Cain and Major Brie.
Their orders were strictly confidential and had a deadline of 6 centons to be in the launch bay ready to go...details to be filled in once we were underway.
* * *
Brie
Brie was dreaming again. She was about ten yarhens old, the military orphan ship that she had grown up on had stopped on Taura. A group of her friends had found a small daggit. They snuck it back onto the ship. In the dream, Brie was playing with the daggit when it just disappeared in front of her.
Awakening with a start, Brie was called to a red alert. She dressed quickly, she would be launching in 6 centons. She hurried to the launch bay, wondering what the frack was going on.
* * *
Stadia
Stadia dressesin her best casual clothes. She grabbed her uniform and hung it up in her locker.
Stadia heads out of the barracks and starts heading down the corridor. SHe enters the Med Bay and moves into the room she occupied. She laughs as she watches Connor while he sleeps. He is having quite a conversation with himself.
She walks up to his bend. She bends over and starts whispering to him in his ear.
"Connor. Connor." He twist his head."Just a minute longer mom." SHe laughs.
She reaches down and begins to shake him awake. He starts swatting her hands. Suddenly he sits straight up and looks at her. Stadia is just rolling. She cant help but laugh.
"Funny. I hope I didnt tell you to many of my secrets."
"NO but you were having a nice conversation with yourself."
Connor walks over to her taking her in his arms and slowly kisses her. Stadia pushes herself away from. "Hold on. This is going a bit to fast for me. We just met. Lets take time to get to know each other."
* * *
Amy
After firing off a few shots, I put a little distance between myself and these creatures. In the dim light I couldn’t make them out all that much, and I wasn’t exactly sure how many there were or what exactly I was up against. And I really didn’t want to find any of that out.
As I ran along the uneven ground I stumbled several times. I was still getting used to being back in the physical state of being, and being forced wasn’t helping any either. I put a nice scrape down my leg as I hit the ground about as ungracefully as I could. My uniform would have protected me easily but all I was wearing was tattered remnants of it, and not much at that. And that was the strange part-- I had my full memory, yet parts pertaining to how my uniform got so ripped up and how my hair turned black, well, these details were a little sketchy and seemed to be fading the more I tried to think about them.
None of that really mattered now as I found a high spot where it looked like I could dig in and defend myself. I didn’t want to get too far from my transmission coordinates, just in case the Callisto had picked up my message, but it couldn’t be helped. And as much as I hated to think about it, the chances were really slim that they were coming for me. The radio was now out of power, so a retransmission wasn’t possible. I had to start thinking of my long term survival.
As I peered up over my makeshift fortress, the area around me suddenly exploded with incoming weapons fire! I ducked down and covered my head as the whole area shook. Great! These creatures had weapons! “You rotten fracking daggit faced feldgercarb eating…” I continued my cursing at the top of my lungs though I couldn’t even hear my own voice above the noise. When it stopped I gripped my blaster tightly and popped up, but couldn’t see any of the creatures. Then the fire started coming in again. I ducked down just in time, trying to think of what to do. Long term survival? I was beginning to think I’d be lucky to make it until morning light.
The rocks I was hiding behind suddenly gave out and split apart, and in an instant I was down the backside of my “secure spot” and on the run again. Several shots hit close forcing me to change direction, and the thought crossed my mind that these creatures, obviously intelligent, might be trying to herd me in a particular direction. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to dig in somewhere. Another shot came in from my left, and I had a good idea of where it had come from. I dropped my radio and medkit, rolled and came up facing that way. I fired once, twice, and on the third shot I heard a scream. “Gotcha!” I hissed as I lay down a blanket of fire all along the path I had taken.
Suddenly the fire started coming in again, and I was forced to abandon the medkit and radio and try to find cover somewhere. It looked like there was a cave up ahead. I could barely make it out in the darkness, but I was sure I could find some cover there. In the glow of my blaster’s energy readout, I could see I was down to a third of a charge. Yes, seeing the sunrise was looking less likely by the micron.
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:10:01 GMT -6
Amy
I reached the area around the cage and stopped, looking for a defensible spot to dig in. I regretted loosing the medkit-- the scrape on my leg seemed worse than I had first thought. It was bleeding fairly freely. Not that I had the time to fuss with it. No sooner had I ducked for cover when incoming fire rained in again.
I ducked my head and got down low, covering myself as bits of rock and other debris rained down on me. I stared at the power level on my blaster and it's one-third charge read-out. I'd have to make every shot count, but in the end I couldn't see a way out of this.
The fire ceased for a moment, and I sprung up, laying down a spread of fire of my own. In the light of the explosions I could make out several of the creatures. I wished I could see them more clearly so I could understand what I'm up against. From what I could tell, they were no longer advancing on me. They seemed content to hold position where they were.
I ducked before another round rained in on me. I landed hard on my wounded leg, and bit my lip as the pain reached up through me. I brushed back a clump of matted hair, swung the bad leg under me, and got ready to fire back. My leg was starting to grow numb on me, and I found it to be nearly dead weight as my chance came and I tried to pop up. I just flopped forward instead, not reaching the rim of my little sanctuary.
As I struggled to swing my legs back under me for another try, a chill ran through me as I felt something brush up against my back. Preoccupied with the frontal assault, I had let my back go unprotected. I gripped the gun with both hands, and began to spin around when something crashed down on me hard, then again. I struggled to keep focused and tried to roll with the blows.
* * *
I was getting a little tired of waking up in strange places, but it was happening again. I opened my eyes, but couldn’t see anything. This place I was in was completely dark. I didn’t try to move at first, instead just taking inventory of my aches and pains. My head hurt incredibly. I had never known or even thought about just how much abuse the human head could endure. I was thankful that I could still think straight after all that had happened. My body felt bruised and very sore. What I wouldn’t give for a nice turbo shower and my old bunk on the Callisto. I pushed that last thought from my mind.” I had resigned myself to the fact that no rescue was coming.
My injured leg still seemed the worst of my injuries. I could feel the slick spot under it as I lay in the dark. Still must be bleeding somewhat. Probably infected by now too. I thought about my lost medkit, lying out there somewhere among those—
I sat bolt upright. Those creatures! The last thing I remember was getting jumped from behind by one of them! I sat totally still, listening in the dark for any sign of them. I could see them in my mind, and imagined them lurking just out of reach in the darkness, silent and staring. I curled myself up, tucking my legs in close, then I began to realize it: those monsters took my clothes! A quick inventory confirmed it. I was completely naked. If trying to make me feel very vulnerable was what they were after, they were succeeding. But how? Where those reptilian THINGS that intelligent?
After trying my best to push the fear back down, I began to uncoil and get up the nerve to feel around, to try and determine where I was. I reached out, sliding my hands ahead of me, hoping to feel something but at the same time not wanting to touch anything. My mind imagined all sorts of evil things lying just out of reach.
That’s when the lights snapped on. Blinded completely, I froze, blinking madly and covering my eyes until I could gradually get used to the brightness. My headache was brutal now. It throbbed and made my head feel like it would explode. As my vision cleared I struggled to get to my feet, swaying a little. In the darkness I had felt vulnerable, but now standing in the light, stripped of everything, I felt worse than that. Totally defenseless.
I could see now I was in a cell. Prisoner of these freaks. Before me, outside the cell, I could see my stuff. Everything was there, clothes, blaster, even the radio and medkit. And right next to them stood one of the creatures. My skin crawled at the sight of him, and I shivered slightly. I swallowed slowly, noticing for the first time how dry my mouth was. I just stood there, staring back at the creature, resisting the urge to show fear, or embarrassment over being naked.
I didn’t notice the langutron in the creature’s hand, and was surprised to hear a voice as the thing hissed and made other creepy sounds. “You are not like the others,” he said.
“Amy, lieutenant, serial number 73933,” I said in an uneven, tired voice. It was all I intended to give him.
“You come from a different place,” he said, the words coming less like a question than a statement.
“Amy, lieutenant, serial numb—”
He waved what I took to be an arm to silence my response. “There is no need for that. We only wish to understand.” I stood silent, staring, wanting to blurt out a dozen things but saying nothing. The creature went on. “Great experiment here. Many plans. Great failure also. Now you and your people destroyed it.” I stayed silent, not understanding any of what he was talking about. I swallowed again, a lump catching in my throat.
“You are thirsty. And injured. We can work out a deal,” he said, lifting my medkit slightly. “We can make you more comfortable.”
“Amy, lieutenant, seria—”
“No need to make your last hours alive uncomfortable ones.”
I stopped rattling off numbers. I knew that this was the end, and he just confirmed it. I swallowed again, hating the vulnerable feeling that was taking me over. I knew it was what they wanted me to feel, but I was tired, hurt, and it was just so hard to resist.
The creature broke the silence. “You are female of your kind. Great breeding program was here. But that’s over now. Destroyed by you. Tell us who you are, where it is you are from.” He was trying to lure me out by offering bits of information. My mind raced as I thought of what must have occurred here. “Tell us about your kind,” the creature continued, “for failure came before you did.” So, the people who were here must have resisted the efforts to be bred like animals. And the Callisto must have been here to rescue them! My heart sank. They must be far away by now.
The creature began to move around. Pacing? It seemed almost comical if it weren’t for the seriousness of it all. He stopped. “You are an uncooperative kind,” he said flatly. “Program now over. We may move in other directions now. We have nothing to lose.” He paused. “Perhaps a mixed species breeding project.”
“You just try it,” I snapped, immediately regretting the outburst.
“So, a nerve is touched. Why does your kind resist breeding so? You are female, are you not? Your purpose is to breed.”
“Amy, lieutenant,” I hissed back at him.
He ignored me, gesturing to my pile of clothes. “Why do you wear such things? They serve as no protection. We only wear things when a purpose is to be served, such as armor for battle. To look at you is to see that your clothing fails in this purpose.”
I was getting tired. I wanted to sit, but willed myself to keep standing. I looked at the small puddle of blood that had formed at the foot of my injured leg and felt like I would pass out.
“You think some,” the creature said. “I will return. You must know you will never rejoin your people. Your only hope of continuing is to cooperate.” He picked up the medkit, tossing it into my cell. “To help you continue,” he said. And then he left, shutting the lights off, leaving me in total darkness. I immediately dropped to the floor, tears forming in my eyes as I groped for the medkit.
* * *
Charybdis
I had quickly put on my brown battle jacket, which looked strange over my blue bridge uniform, but there wasn't any time to spare.
I had commandeered the two-seat viper and was pushing the engine start buttons when Cain and Brie made their appearance in the launch bay.
"Charybdis, what's going on?" were the first words out of Brie's mouth.
"I'll explain once we launch. Get to your ships now and follow me!" I yelled back over the noise of the engines.
They quickly ran to their vipers as fast as they could and began the launch sequence.
I punched the turbo button and I was off! Brie and Cain followed suit and we formed up for the short trip back to that horrid planet...
* * *
Brie
Brie jumped into her viper. She hated flying without having checked it out first, but obviously there wasn’t time. She was more than curious about what was going on. It felt like old times, back in the days when Charybdis was leading Gold Squadron. She was flattered, whatever was happening it must be important, and Charybdis was trusting her with it. Maybe she wasn’t as insane as she had first thought. Or maybe he was losing it too.
* * *
Charybdis
Core Command wishes to announce that Cadet Granfury has graduated from the Callisto Training Academy and has been commissioned an Ensign in the Colonial Military. He has chosen to serve under Major Brie in Gold squadron.
Also, since Ensign Finky has been on such good behavior since her recent confinement to quarters, Core Command has approved her promotion to the rank of Lieutenant. She is also hereby released from confinement and is back on duty on the bridge.
<chorus of welcomes and congratulations>
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:10:43 GMT -6
Stargazor
Stargazor looked around he then asked the nurse to contact Major Batgal again. The nurse was calming down and some medics came to look at Stargazor. They tested him. It turned out that Stargazor was altered end could see things better then any one. Yet was this only a temporally effect or was he complete altered. His straps wore undone sind’s he seems to be calm. He kept asking for the Major Batgal or some one in charge. He knew he had done something wrong by taking the viper, and disobeying, and he understood he had to take responsibility for his actions. Yet something else also was going on, people could notice he had this sad face most of the time as if something was troubling his mind. But no one dared to ask him what was wrong. Stargazor was doing push ups when the door was opening.
* * *
BatGal
BatGal had accompanied the medtechs (transporting one of the civilians who had fainted at the sight of the dead body in the observation lounge) to MedLab.
Jarrynn met her at the nurses station. "BatGal, Ensign Stargazor is conscious and is asking for you or someone in charge again."
"Thanks, Jarrynn." said BatGal. She had to get the new flight sim training program scheduled ASAP, but first she would check in on Stargazor, just for a millicenton.
BatGal knocked on Stargazor's door and entered the room.
Stargazor was obviously feeling better. He was doing pushups as she walked in.
* * *
"Ensign Stargazor?" BatGal repeated for the third time.
Stargazor had been doing pushups when BatGal walked in his room. That was ten centons ago. He had continued with his pushup regimen without so much as breaking a sweat or even stopping to catch his breath...or to even acknowledge BatGal's presence. It was as if he didn't know she was there. His motions were consistent, methodical and disturbingly mechanical...
BatGal watched him closely. She wanted to get Major Lucian in here to see this and knew he was somewhere on the Callisto, probably on the bridge. She tried her comm-link, but there was some sort of interference and it wouldn't work. FRACK!
BatGal had to get back to her office. She left Stargazor's room and reported his strange behavior to Doc and Jarrynn.
***
As BatGal hurried back to her office, she made a mental note to have her communicator checked ASAP.
* * *
Stargazor
Stargazor was doing push ups at a fast rate, yet he didn’t seem to get tired, he felt an energy inside of him like nothing before. He stopped to get dressed into a proper uniform he found in a locker next to his bed. Then he sat on his bed and looked in a mirror next to him on the wall. Now he could see his eyes with the white turned bleu. He traced around his eyes, what was going on with him. He waited for some one to come to him, somehow the medics avoided him. He felt a tense mixed re action to him. Yet he didn’t want to frighten any one, so he kept calm and sat down.
* * *
Lucian
Commander Sheba said, “As you were informed, Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis was scheduled to assist with this meeting, but at the moment, he is engaged elsewhere and will not be able to attend. Major Joey and Major Lucian are here in his stead, and Lieutenant Aegina will be our aide for the meeting.”
A look of something, possibly disappointment briefly flared on the face of the young woman named Ari’. She had been the person to discover the body in the observation lounge, and had witnessed the “crawling skin” that was as yet unexplained. The dampers in the nearby sections of air system ducts had been activated shortly after the incident, but when Warriors and Fleet Security Officers had searched them, nothing was found. Ari’ was now being very quiet, sitting next to her adopted mom
They had already been introduced, so she asked several questions about the CQ and its operation. Third Officer Frazeer jumped to take charge, saying, “As the highest ranking surviving officer aboard the ship, I know more about her than anyone. Our day to day routine was pretty standard, but over the yahrens, we had a number of interesting encounters and adventures.” Sheba wasn’t quite sure, but she thought she saw Ari’ roll her eyes briefly. “We tried to always obtain plenty of supplies, parts, and weapons from others as we encountered them, but a single ship on its own…well, I’m sure you can imagine the difficulty as your crisis was what led you to discover us in the first place. Multiply that by the fact that our ship’s shop would fit into this room, twice.” He continued at some length. “When we got pounded at Pauvwell—”
“And just whose fault was that?” asked Ari’. Demetra gave her a disapproving stare, but Frazeer took up the challenge.
“Our dearly departed First Officer made the recommendation on the course, and our Captain accepted it,” Frazeer said.
“Yes, I’m sure he passed along the course recommendation…like always,” Ari’ replied.
“Don’t even think about trying to deflect blame from your mom’s boyfriend to me or anyone else, you little witch!”
Commander Sheba had allowed it to go on this far to gain insight into the parties, but now, it was time to move on. “Mr. Frazeer, I do not know the circumstances, which you will go over with Major Lucian after this part of the meeting is over, but you WILL refrain from that type of abusive language, UNDERSTOOD?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Sorry. Anyway, we just didn’t have the parts or the capability to continue onward aboard the CQ after that…”
* * *
The meeting was over. Each of the participants had contributed to some degree. Sheba suspected that she wasn’t getting the whole story, but she knew enough to make her decision. She wouldn’t trust Mr. Frazeer to be in charge of a garbage scow, much less a converted freighter like the CQ. None of the other leaders of the CQ’s survivors had the skill to run the ship properly, so at least until they rejoined the fleet, someone from the Callisto would have to do it. She looked over the list of four names that she had been considering. She’d have to give this more thought and go over it with Charybdis when he returned.
She turned her thoughts to other matters. Colonel Charybdis, Major Brie, and the rest of their party should be landing on the planet by now, if they weren’t already there….
* * *
Amy
In the darkness I did my best to tend to my injured leg. After fumbling around I found where the reptiloid had tossed the medkit. I found some gauze but couldn’t identify any of the medicines because of the darkness. I gingerly wrapped my leg up until the gauze was used up.
Suddenly the light snapped on again. I had no idea how much time had passed since he had last been here, but the reptiloid once more stood before me, staring into my cell. I got uncomfortable as I just sat there, waiting for him to speak. I used the time to sneak peeks at the various medicines, and I set them out before me in a row, remembering what each one was as I set each down.
“Feeling better?” the creature asked. I just stared at him. “Silence will do you no good. Fail to cooperate and we will be forced to cut you apart to learn your secrets.”
“Sure!” I snapped. “Go ahead, and lose your last specimen.”
“This does not have to be so antagonistic,” the lizard said. “Here. A show of faith since you seem to value worthless, useless things.” He reached out and tossed in a small box.
“No thanks,” I said, not moving though curious as to what it held.
“Why?”
“I don’t want to owe you anything,” I replied. “So just quit trying to be a friend. If you really wanted to be one, open up this cage.”
“We only wish information.”
“And you aren’t going to get it.”
“Then you can rot in here if you wish. We have other means still available.”
I wanted to ask but held my tongue. What other means did he mean? The lizard held out a small device, as if to answer my unspoken question. He pressed something on it, and I heard my own voice coming from it. “Lt. Amy to Callisto.” It was my radio message! They must have intercepted it!
I leaped to my feet. “You bastard!” I screamed, my heart pounding.
The lizard just turned and walked toward the door. “I think it’s time for you to retransmit your message, from coordinates more favorable to our purposes. If indeed your friends are coming, we’d like to prepare a proper welcome.”
I kept screaming at him as he left, the door closing behind him. He left the light on, and I couldn’t be sure if it was on purpose or not. I figured I should take advantage of the possible oversight, and I sat down by the box he had tossed into the cell. In it I discovered a jacket. It was oversized, with “CQ” emblazoned on the chest. Resignedly, I stood up and slipped the jacket on, regretting to have accepted the token offering, but happy to have something to wear. I went over to the medicines and prepared to treat my injured leg, my mind more concerned about my friends maybe walking into a trap. I found myself beginning to hope that they weren’t coming. Or if they were, that they somehow could see through the deception of the message the lizard was preparing to send.
* * *
Charybdis
Brie and Cain settled in behind my viper and Brie finally managed to ask the question," Charybdis, what's this all about?"
"Here, listen to this." I responded. I punched the comm button and out came Amy's message that we had received on the Callisto. With that, I knew that Brie and Cain knew exactly where we're going.
"Amy" Brie exclaimed. Secretly, she knew that it must have been the water or something with that planet that had made her believe that she had indeed brought Amy back. She was relieved to know the truth.
Cain spoke up, "so we're going in and getting her out, huh?"
"That's the plan. Cain, you know the area well from your overhead observation and from the fact you flew over it during the battle. I'm sending over the exact coordinates of Amy's message. Let's hope she's still in the vicinity or if it was even her. First sign of trouble, we have to leave."
We entered the atmosphere and began our quick descent to the surface. It was not fun since it was already dark on that side of the planet. What did Amy do now to get us into all this?
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:11:20 GMT -6
Brie
As she prepared to land two things were bothering Brie. First, if it had been the water, why couldn’t she remember spilling it? She still felt in her heart that she had brought Amy back, she had been there with her in the viper. Lazant had thought that it had been Amy as well. The story that Brie had come up with made sense and everyone seemed to believe it, everyone but her. She decided to stop listening to her feelings and listen instead to what seemed to be the most logical explanation. If everyone else thought that it had been the water, she would have to believe that as well.
The second thing that bothered Brie was the message that Charybdis had played for her. She had heard it before, but where? It suddenly dawned on her...the dream! How could she have dreamed Amy’s transmission? She decided that since she had spent time on Axces Gamma and knew many of the coordinates that she had somehow in her mind guessed where Amy might me. She decided to chalk it up to wishful thinking and a lucky guess.
She decided not to share her concerns with Charybdis or Cain. It didn’t matter in the long run. She wasn’t going crazy after all, and thinking about things that didn’t make sense wouldn’t help them find Amy.
* * *
Amy
From the foreboding world of Axces Gamma, another transmission reached out across the heavens in search of the Battlestar Callisto. Though the voice was a friendly one pleading for a rescue, the purpose behind it was deception. The reptiloid played back the recorded message, transmitting it from coordinates that would compromise anyone who happened to be homing in on the signal.
“Lt. Amy calling the Callisto.” The recorded message played out until it was finished.
The creature looked skeptically towards the stars, doubting that anyone was even in listening range.
* * *
I knew this was going to hurt, but I had to do it. My leg wasn’t looking too good. It had the beginnings of an infection, and a sort of puss-like fluid was gathering even as the bleeding finally stopped. I pulled one arm out of the “CQ” jacket I was wearing, balled up the sleeve, and jammed it as much as I could into my mouth. I didn’t want to scream out and draw attention. I didn’t want them to know my threshold of pain.
I opened the anti-bacterial fluid, breaking out in a cold sweat as I did so. This was really going to hurt. I was almost feeling nauseous as I held the open bottle over my wounded leg. Suddenly I tipped the bottle, letting the contents spill out. On contact I felt the searing pain of the sterile fluid hitting infected skin and I screamed out as I bit down on the rolled up cloth. The sleeve did it’s job, muffling my cries as I gripped my leg just above the wound and rolled into a ball, feeling like I was on fire.
* * * Gradually the pain subsided, and numbness took over my injured leg. Gasping for air, I spat out the rolled up sleeve of my jacket and sat up, looking at my leg. It looked worse, red and angry looking, but it must be somewhat better after being cleansed. I wished Holodoc were here. She’d know right off what to do. Despite having passed the first aid courses, this was a little beyond my experiences. I had some smaller pieces of unused gauze in the medkit, so I used them to bandage up the leg. Even this I was unsure of- should I wrap it tightly, or let it air out? In the end, would it even matter?
While fussing over my injury, I did not notice the reptile creature come back into the room. He moved very quietly, for I had no idea just how long he had been observing me. I froze when I saw him, and noticed him studying me, noting that I was wearing the jacket he had given me. I had sworn I did not want it, but was desperate for something to wear to make me feel less vulnerable. I felt like a traitor wearing it in his presence.
He just stood there, not saying anything. I knew this was another trick to get me to talk, but as I held out I couldn’t take it any longer. Besides, maybe I should start talking. The Callisto wasn’t coming. They were out of range. I wouldn’t really be betraying anyone by talking. I had to think of my future, such as it was. I’d have to try to get along, at least until I could get away. One topic was burning on my mind, and I had to know, just in the small chance someone had heard my call for help. But I didn’t ask directly, so he wouldn’t know my concern.
“It’s not going to work,” I began. “They’ll see through your phony message.”
“Why would anyone even come back?” the creature asked through the languatron. “We would not. There is no military purpose to be gained by going back for one soldier. The risk does not equal the reward.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t know,” I replied. “You really don’t know anything about my kind, do you?”
The reptile paused before replying. “It’s a shame really. We had so many of you, but were so single-minded in our experiments.” I thought I could detect a trace of laughter in his voice. He continued, “Now we only have you. Through you we can learn from our mistakes. Add to our knowledge.”
I struggled to my feet, trying to hide the pain I was feeling. I slid my arm back into the sleeve of the jacket and jammed my hands into the pockets. I tried to push down on it, trying to get it to hang as low as it would go. Even so, it barely hung down to mid-thigh. “And what if I did cooperate, tell you things?” I asked. “What is in it for me?”
“You are in no position to bargain,” the creature stated flatly.
“Then you’ll just cut me up or whatever anyway, and you’ll learn nothing.” My voice was quivering a little as I laid on the false bravado. I wondered if he even knew what a wavering voice meant.
“What is it you want?” he asked curiously.
I laughed in spite of myself. “My freedom for one. Where am I going to go? If I’m the last one, where in hades could I possibly go?”
The lizard hissed a laugh this time. “We prefer to keep you here,” he said. “For your own protection.”
Time to gamble. “You know something?” I said, suddenly walking toward him, trying to surprise him by being aggressive, “I’ve only seen you since I’ve been here. You know what I think? I don’t think there’s anybody else here. I think my shipmates kicked all of your tails, and there’s nothing left of your facility. I saw maybe a couple of you before you caught me, so maybe that’s all there is, huh? So let’s just cut the games and let me out of here!” I was shaking, surprised at myself but pleased that I had turned things back on him. Or had I? I was still locked up.
The lizard said nothing. He backed up toward the wall, and pressed something that I had hardly noticed was there. He looked squarely at me. “Just so we understand each other,” he said cryptically.
And then the door opened, and in they came. My jaw dropped and my heart sank even lower as they entered the room. Five, six, seven, and still more. They advanced toward my cell, and I backed away even though the cell door was still shut. Still they were filling the room, making a weird breathing noise as they shuffled in. Above the din I could hear the languatron. “Just so we understand each other,” the creature repeated. “We are very much alive and functioning. But we don’t appreciate what your kind did.” The cell door popped open suddenly, and I backed away as they began to enter my cell. “We’d like to thank all of your kind personally, but since you are the only one in sight….” The rest got lost in the commotion as I was backed into a corner of the cell, my eyes wide and full of fear.
* * *
Charybdis
Lt. Aegina listened intently. "Commander!" she quickly called.
Sheba came over and knew that something was up. The Lt. spoke up, "Commander, we're getting another message. It appears to be from Lt. Amy...again."
Sheba noticed something with Aegina's voice. "What is it?"
"It's not making sense. Frequency analysis says that it's the exact same message as before, but this time it's in another location a short distance away from the first. Since the beacon faded very fast from the first contact, she either got a new power pack or..."
"Frack" muttered Sheba. She knew what this meant. "Send a signal to Lt. Col. Charybdis. Tell him it's a message that has been recorded. Abort the mission, repeat, abort the mission. It could be a trap!"
"Aye, Commander..."
* * *
"Abort the mission, repeat, abort the mission!" came the crackled message over the comm unit in each of the three vipers that had been sent to rescue Lt. Amy.
However, the message would fall on deaf ears. The three vipers of Charybdis, Brie and Cain had already landed and all three of us were already trying to locate the exact coordinates of the first message.
Blasters drawn and approaching a small sandy hill, there were signs of struggle and laser hits all around the area. Proof that the message was real. Amy was here somewhere, but where???
* * *
Brie
“Colonel, look,” Brie said, holding up a small piece of cloth. It looked like torn uniform. Brie had a strange sense of deja-vous. It had been only a couple of cycles since she had been on the same planet with Captain Lazant and Ensign Stargazor, looking for the same type of clues. She hoped that this time the results would be better. Brie hated the feeling of failure that she had after returning the last time. Stargazor had been badly injured, Lazant had hurt his ankle, and Brie had seemingly suffered from hallucinations. The problem was that they still didn’t seem like hallucinations. She still felt in her heart that she had returned with Amy and that Amy had somehow disappeared.
Promising herself that she would stay away from any water, Brie pushed her last visit to Axces Gamma out of her mind.
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:12:14 GMT -6
Amy
I was wild, nearly beyond rational with fright as the reptile creatures advanced on me. It was one thing to study, and to sim different scenarios and encounters, but it is entirely something else again to cornered, unarmed and defenseless against aliens moving in on you for lords-know-what purpose. Well, I knew what the purpose was. Revenge.
I lashed out as they came near, but didn't know their weakness and exactly where to strike at them. I concentrated mainly on trying to land head blows, but these were the most difficult of all. I moved like a maniac, trying to hold them off with the sheer furiousness of my defense.
But it didn't work.
They struck back with their front arms, using their back legs to move at impossible angles to avoid my punches. Very quickly they had me on the defensive, trying more to block blows than to land any. I needed to kick out as well, but I couldn't put too much weight on my bad leg, not could I strike out with it. It was hopeless.
They crowded me, striking at me, and I tried to protect my head as much as possible. Thankfully the jacket was keeping them from breaking open my skin as they landed blow after blow to my body. I was losing the ability to catch a breath, and started to go down. They grabbed ahold of me at this point, seizing my arms first, and then my legs, pulling me down to the floor of the cell. Still they took shots at me, and my vision began to dim as I gasped for even the smallest breath of air.
Helplessly I looked up with blurry vision at the sea of reptile faces as they finally stopped hitting me. They stood over me, studying me. One reached down to rip at the jacket I had on. I squirmed but could do nothing. This was it. I knew at this moment my life was over.
Then just as suddenly as the attack had begun, the lizards became distracted and turned to go. They let go of my arms and legs, and as I raised myself up a little one of them kicked me hard in the side. I let out a wheeze, and lay there gasping as I watched them leave the cell, and then the room.
"What..wh..what's hap..." I tried to question the lizard that still held the languatron. He said nothing, turning to leave. He paused at the door as if he did have something to say, but only shut off the lights and left me in total darkness again.
I breathed heavily, thankful for having been spared, yet wondering what had happened to distract the reptiles. I could only guess. Could it be that maybe the Callisto had come for me? I prayed to the lords that they hadn't followed the phony second message, if indeed that's what was happening. All I knew for sure was that even though I was in total darkness, the reptile hadn't locked my cell door. If I could find it, I could get out of here. I had to. I just had to.
My life depended on it.
* * *
I got unsteadily to my knees, trying to keep my bearings as I tried to breath normally. Gradually I calmed down to the point where I could try to make for the cell door opening. I was pretty sure I knew where it was, and if I could find it, I would know from there where the door to the hallway was.
Every movement was painful. Each time I've thought I could not take any more punishment, I took still more. If this whole experience doesn't kill me, I'm going to be one strong lady. I smiled at the thought, though the prospects of surviving still weren't too great. I needed to get out of here and find out what distracted the reptile creatures from attacking me. I needed to know if the Callisto had come.
I crawled, since standing might bring about a dizzy spell that would disorient me. My head still hurt like crazy, but thanks to the dozen or so other painful parts of my body, I wasn't so conscious of my pounding head. I groped forward, reaching out, hoping to make contact with the bars of my cell. Slowly, slowly, reaching out...
My hands touched metal.
I let out a sigh of relief. I began reaching out to the sides, trying to determine where the opening was. In a moment I found it, and began crawling through. Just a few paces away was the door, the hallway, and the freedom that lay beyond.
I was half-way across the floor, still on my hands and knees, when a sound startled me. I sucked in a breath and froze as I felt something press up against my aching head. There was no mistaking it, the sound was a blaster, my blaster, being activated. I began to sweat, cursing myself for not remembering my belongings that still sat on a table somewhere in the darkness.
"Hold still right there", a voice spoke through the languatron. It wasn't the same voice as the one that had been my keeper, I knew that much. But where had this reptile alien come from? I had thought the room was empty. I could picture this freak staring at me through the darkness. I wondered what kind of nightvision he possessed. Must be pretty good.
"I'm holding" I whispered, daring not move another inch. The blaster was pointed at my temple. I could almost feel the heat of it as it pulsed slightly with the third-charge it still possessed.
"Down", the thing hissed. "Down." He pressed the blaster to the back of my head, and pushed at me, and I just got down flat to the floor, and lay there face down.
"Okay, okay" I said. "I'm down. You caught me. You want me back in the cell?"
"Roll yourself over." The thing kicked at me, and I rolled before it trampled on me. I held my hands outward in a show of cooperation. I wished I had the tiniest bit of vision, but it was pitch dark, save for the tiny light that glowed on the pistol.
"You creatures resist", the reptile hissed. "You fought us, uncooperative even when you seemed to cooperate. And then you came in greater numbers and destroyed our facility. Everything lost, ruined." I watched the pistol, and could see that it was very close, still aimed at my head. My heart was pounding, and I said nothing. Twice in a matter of microns now I'm facing the end of my life.
"Yet we have studied enough to know that it is possible", the thing continued. "It can be done. And now, before it is too late, I must PROVE that it can be done."
And then he struck, landing hard on me. The air left my lungs in an instant, and I felt like I was suffocating. I kicked back and struck out, trying to defend myself, not being able to see anything...
Except the blaster. Inches away. I brought my legs up, and with great effort got them underneath the alien and pushed out with every bit of strength I had left. He hissed something unintelligible and I screamed out as my injured leg buckled, but I had gotten him just far enough away. I rolled once, scooping up the blaster, and as I completed the roll I fired upward in a series of sweeping blasts.
One of them made contact, and I felt the spattering of fluids moments before the body landed next to me with a thud. I instinctively rolled again to get away, but the thing wasn't making a sound. The only sounds were my deep breaths as I struggled again to get myself under control.
I was still breathing hard as I found the door, and getting shakily to my feet, I pressed on the light switch. As my eyes focused I looked at the mess on the floor. Yes, strike one alien.
I turned, opened the door, and using the wall for support began to make my way down the corridor, holding the blaster outward, ready for anything. With the things that happen on this world, I had to be ready for anything.
* * *
Charybdis
"I hate to do this, but those vipers are the last means of escape for us. Cain, you stay and guard the ships. If it seems like there's no choice, get the frack back to the Callisto." I gave Cain my orders. He didn't want to do it, but with so many alien creatures around, we couldn't risk losing the ships.
Brie and I continued following the coordinates set by the first message Amy had sent. I didn't like the situation, and we didn't even know if Amy was still alive…
* * *
Amy
I crept silently down the corridor, leaning on the wall to keep me standing. Though the walls were smooth, the floor was rough and uneven. These aliens, these lizards, reptiles, insectiods, whatever they were, they were a strange combination of primative and advanced culture. I stopped, feeling my feet ache. I wished I had boots, but they were long lost. They weren't even with the stuff I had left back in my cell room. I thought about going back for my tattered uniform, but I'd be damned if I got captured again while getting back some shredded clothing. It was just a matter of time before the alien I killed would be discovered.
Alien. I laughed at the thought. Just who were the aliens here? These creatures were unfamiliar, but here on this planet they were hardly the aliens. It was humans who were invaders here, it seemed to me. I wished I knew more about the people who had been here. And this "CQ" emblazoned on the jacket the 'alien' had given me: what did "CQ" mean? I tugged at the ends of the jacket, wishing it hung a little lower than it did.
At the sounds of something approaching I blindly ducked into a doorway and shut it behind me. I put an ear to the door and listened. I heard hissing and other sounds of the lizard language, but without a languatron I couldn't tell what was being said. They seemed excited though, if I could read what they were feeling by how they made their sounds. After a bit I couldn't hear anything, but was afraid to open the door.
I fumbled for a light switch, and flipped it on. I was in a very tiny room. It seemed built for one alien. I looked up, and saw that it stretched upward as far as the eye could see. I looked at the strange bar things protruding from the wall before me. Was this some kind of access tube? I put the blaster into a pocket of the jacket as deep as I could, and checked to see if I could climb up.
I struggled, but managed to get up onto the first bar. The range was just enough where I could reach the second bar if I stretched as far as I could while standing on the first. My injured leg ached. This would be a tough climb. But it might keep me away from getting caught while I searched for a way out. I began to climb.
I was sweating in no time. The air in the vent was horrible. Very stale, without much circulation at all. I wondered how much air these lizard people needed. At the third bar I unbuttoned the jacket so my legs could move more freely. I cursed my lack of clothes, still enduring the lingering feelings of vulnerability. Yet I had defended myself well- I'd even killed one of the creatures in close combat. I pushed those vulnerable feelings down deep and continued climbing.
At the seventh or eighth bar I was near the top. I'd climbed a little more than eight times my height, and found I was near the top of the tube. I felt up and could feel a ledge above me, but no bar to grab firmly on to. I swallowed hard and resisted the urge to look down. I reached into my pocket and took the blaster out, reaching up and sliding it onto the ledge. I didn't want it falling out. Then I grabbed the edge of the ledge and pulled myself up off of the bar.
Grunting, I felt my aching arms crying out in protest over still more abuse as I got up high enough to hook my elbows onto the ledge, then up enough to throw the upper half of my body onto the ledge. I lay there, my legs and feet dangling off the edge, breathing very hard.
Thats when I felt something grab hold of my foot from below.
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:12:58 GMT -6
Amy
Something had me by the foot, pulling me back toward the edge. It must be one of the aliens. Again I had let one get the drop on me. I reached out for something to grab hold of but nothing was there. Nearing the edge, my hand brushed up against the blaster. I gripped it tightly as I slid toward the edge, and as I was pulled out into the tube I pointed the gun downward, firing point blank at the reptile. His face exploded in a mass of pulp and his grip on my foot slackened.
I reached out, grabbing the bar with my other hand before I fell, and kicking outwardly I shook the alien loose and he fell to the bottom of the shaft. I hung on, panting crazily. My heart raced and my lungs strained to take in a good breath in this stale access tube.
Suddenly something had me by the hair. I screamed out as I was pulled up, my hand slipping off the bar and grabbing my head where this new lizard had grabbed me. I felt like my scalp was being pulled from my head. My dead weight as I dangled in the open space made the pain even worse. He brought me up to his eye level, and he shook me as I tried to bring up the blaster that I still held in my other hand.
I looked at this thing, tears starting to blur my vision. Again the thing shook me, and tried to grab the blaster with his free hand. I twisted and held the gun away. I couldn't shoot him or I'd drop to my death, but I couldn't... stand... it...
If I was going to go, I'd be taking him with me. Blinking the tears away, I forced my expression blank as I stared into the freak's eyes. He was momentarily distracted, and noticed too late the blaster pointed at his head. He suddenly twisted and let me go as I squeezed the trigger, blowing off the top part of his head. I began to drop instantly, falling at an angle, since the alien had jerked me to the side as he let me go. I bounced off the side and caught on something. At the very last moment I reached out and grabbed hold of the bar. I held on with all my might, relief spreading through me as I somehow survived again. I looked up suddenly, fearful of another lizard, but there was none. I looked below me too, but it was all clear.
With a final struggling effort, I got back up onto the ledge, now smeared with the lizards blood. I pulled my feet in this time, and just sat there as the tears came again.
* * *
It took a long while to calm down this time. Things were happening way too fast. It was too much to process all at once. My life had literally hung in the balance three times lately, and pardoning the pun I was tired of living on the edge.
I wiped my eyes, smoothed the hair away from my face, and gathered myself together. I stood up slowly, buttoning the jacket back up again. It was now smeared and spattered, and I looked like something out of a vid-show horror story. Seeing that the hall I was in seemed deserted, I began to shuffle down it, my blaster ready. I noticed the charge indicator was blinking red. I was just about out of power.
As I reached the end of the hall, I found that it emptied out into an observation area. I walked to the edge, and looked out over the alien landscape. I was up pretty high, but could see fairly clearly even in the meager moonlight.
I could see the creatures down there, deploying themselves, fanning outward. I looked further out to see what might be out there, but could not make it out. I needed a scope or something! I looked around, finding some supplies in a storing area. Surely these freaks couldn't see so far out without equipment!
I found what I needed. It was a scope of some kind, and as I held it up I couldn't see a thing no matter how I twisted it. Cursing the lords, I twisted it the other way, opening it up. I took the various lenses out, trying to put back just the ones that looked like the old ones I'd seen as a kid back in the fleet. Putting it back together, I again held it up, and after some twisting I had a sharp image.
I scanned around, and soon found what had distracted the freaks when they were on the verge of beating me to death: colonial warriors! My heart began to pound again. I tried to make out who they were, but couldn't. All I could see was that they were slowly walking toward a trap. I had to warn them!
I put down the scope, and knew my voice would never reach them. I reached for the blaster, setting it to full distance. It would use up the rest of the power cell, and so doing would leave me defenseless, but I had no choice. Holding the gun with both hands, I targeted the area near where the warriors were heading. I could make out two of them as I squeezed the trigger. A split second later the area near the warriors exploded with fire, and they froze, alert, then they scrambled for cover.
Retargeting, I lined up the aliens nearest to the warriors and fired again and again until the blaster quit. Though useless, I tucked it back into my jacket and ran back for the tube. I was trapped up here, and needed to get back out before they came for me.
But it was worth it. The warriors were alerted to the danger near to them. I could hear gunfire as I headed away from the obseravation area. As I ran I thought back- had one of the warriors been wearing a brown jacket over a blue uniform? I reached the edge of the tube, climbing over the dead alien there as I reached for the first bar and gingerly began the slow climb down.
* * *
Charybdis
It was crazy. Blaster fire erupted all over the place it seemed in one fraction of a micron. Brie and I jumped for cover.
I had noticed that the first shot had come from way above. It was probably a sentry who spotted us. Frack! Now what?
They've been alerted to our presence and no sign of Amy. It had been quite awhile since I had actually been in a firefight on the ground with blasters. Most of my action as of late had been in vipers. It certainly sets your heart racing when it's dark out, alien creatured are all around which you can't see and the night air is punctuated by brilliant beams of red light. Kind of beautiful in a way.
But this was no time for beauty. All around us was death and destruction and the intent to kill.
I noticed some movement to the left of us, so I motioned for Brie to come with me over to the right. We held our fire so they could not get a beat on us. In this darkness, if we fired a shot, we'd be instantly identified.
We stole away in the darkness and crept around corners, just hoping for any clue that would lead us to Amy, if she was still alive...
* * *
Brie
With what Brie knew about these creatures, this could very well be their last mission. She was actually surprised that Commander Sheba had let Charybdis go, he was too important to the Callisto. If none of them made it back Sheba would loose her right hand, and Gold Squadron their leader and SIC. What a thought.
Following Charybdis was familiar and awkward at the same time. It had been so long! Brie had become used to being the leader, it was hard to give that up. But there wasn’t a person that she would trust more with her life. And somehow the two of them dying together would be almost appropriate.
The first shot that had been fired was on Brie’s mind. There was something different about it. It had probably been from a sentry, a lookout of some kind. But what were they looking out for? Surely the creatures would have thought the Callisto long gone, since they knew nothing about the food situation. Maybe they were looking for Amy. That was the only thing that made sense. Brie was glad that the sentry was a bad shot.
* * *
granfuryviper
need to see med tech holodoc for flight duty status ensign damon
* * *
Holodoc
Holodoc had been staying busy with one thing or another since getting back from the mission she had gone on. It seemed a never ending process of having patients now on a more regular basis since the mission before this most recent one. If she wasn't working on the ever growing pile of paperwork, Holodoc spent the majority of her time with Jarrynn tending to their growing patient load. Both of them were currently running on very little sleep & neither one had any idea of when they would actually be able to get a full sleep period in at the rate things were going currently.
Holodoc had just finished checking over one of her patients & was walking back towards the front section of MedLab where her desk was located to see if anyone had come in while she was with a patient. She notices an Ensign waiting that she hadn't seen before. Checking the schedule for any checks up, Holodoc notices that there is an Ensign Damon listed to come by for his flight statis check up.
"You must be Ensing Damon," Holodoc says. "Yes ma'am," replies Damon, "I am waiting for med tech Holodoc." Holodoc smiles a tired smile & replys, "well you have found her. Now lets see about getting your check up done so that will be one less thing for you to have to worry about."
Holodoc leads Ensign Damon over to one of the exam rooms to start his check up. Once in the exam room, Ensign Damon settles in onto the exam table & Holodoc brings over the items she needed for the examination. During the check up, Holodoc tried to be as painless as possible to that Ensign Damon would be able to relax around her.
{35 centons later...}
"Alright Ensign," Holdoc says, "I am done & you are cleared for active flight statis. I will complete the needed report & get a copy of it over to your Squadron CO." Ensign Damon gets down from the exam table & thanks Holodoc as he heads out of Medlab heading towards his next destination.
* * *
JustinB
After getting the necessary sleep, I woke up totally relaxed. The mission on Axces Gamma took a lot out of me. The intimate time I spent with Rose afterwards was the icing on the cake. But laying in my bed with my eyes open, I knew inside it was all up to Rose and her decision.
For now though, it was time to start another cycle and there was work to be done. Most importantly, was to help out on a Flight Sim Program for the new warriors. As I put on a fresh uniform, I could not help thinking of Rose. As soon as I was done I headed to the mess for a snack. I grabbed a few K Biscuits and made my way to Major BatGal's Office. When I got there, Major BatGal was not there. I waited for about ten centons before I decided to leave. As I did, I left a note for her on her desk.
Major BatGal, Came to discuss the Flight Sim Program. Waited for ten centons for you, so I assume you are busy. Will be in Beta Launch Bay checking squadrons vipers and making sure the ground crews are kept on their toes. Will be there for the next centar should you be back by then. Also have other things to discuss with you in relation to our last mission.
Captain JustinB.
With that I made my way down to the Beta Launch Bay.
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:13:40 GMT -6
BatGal
BatGal walked into her office. She couldn't shake the eerie feeling she got from watching Stargazor...it was like he was a stranger, no, more like she was watching something foreign, alien...almost robotic...
Anyway, she removed her communicator and put it on her desk. She saw a note next to her mini-book:
***
Major BatGal,
Came to discuss the Flight Sim Program. Waited for ten centons for you, so I assume you are busy. Will be in Beta Launch Bay checking squadrons vipers and making sure the ground crews are kept on their toes. Will be there for the next centar should you be back by then. Also have other things to discuss with you in relation to our last mission.
Captain JustinB
***
Arrrghh! She must have just missed JustinB. They needed to discuss the new flight sim program and she was eager to talk about the last mission, but also, BatGal wanted to remind JustinB about the mysterious droplets she had seen in the launch bay a few cycles ago...
* * *
JustinB
As I arrived at the beta launch bay, I could see some techs working on the vipers. 'Before I take a look, I should see if Major BatGal is in her office' I thought to myself. After finding the nearest comm panel, I contacted Major BatGal.
"Major BatGal" she said with authority in her voice.
"Major, Captain JustinB here. I am glad I caught you." I said.
"Yes, so am I. I got your note and I need to see you, as soon as you have finished in the launch bay. We have a lot to discuss."
"Then by your leave Ma'am, I will finish here as soon as I can."
I then shut down the comm panel and headed towards the nearest Black Squadron viper. Starting with the cockpit I popped it open, then I sat myself inside it. 'What I would give for some action now'. Looking around and having tested a few switches I climbed out. There were a few dents here and there, but with the lack of resources the crews had done a pretty good job.
It wasn't to I got the fifth viper that I saw something of concern. On the port wing and on the floor there was what looked like drops of oil. I grabbed a tech from the next viper and asked for him to come over to me. As he stood next I asked, "Why in Hades is there oil on the viper and floor crewman?"
"I don't know sir, but I will get on it right away." He replied.
"Well make sure it’s done." I ordered. As the crewman left to get the cleaning gear, I looked back at the oil spill. When I did, it was gone all except for one spot. I placed my boot on it to check it out and heard a small cracking noise. Having a feeling something was wrong, I grabbed a cloth from the returning crewman.
"Captain, did someone else clean it up?" He asked. Without replying I wiped the black goo off the floor and my boot and started making my way to the Med-Lab.
'I have to get this analysed' I thought to myself.
Five centons later, I was at the Med-Lab. Holodoc was just coming out from seeing Ensign Stargazor. I explained to Holodoc what had happened and she agreed to analyse the sample of whatever the substance was.
Finally, I arrived at Major BatGal's Office. It will be interesting to see what she say in regards to what I have to say about the mysterious substance.
* * *
BatGal
Capt. JustinB entered the Black Squadron office just as Maj. BatGal was completing the sim schedule.
BatGal looked up from her clipboard. "Hello JustinB. How were things in the launch bay?" she said.
He replied, "The vipers are all up to par, but I did see something strange --- those oil droplets you told me about --- I saw some. I mean, I saw a lot of them. But when I went back to gather samples, they were all gone...except for one. I took that sample to MedLab to be analyzed."
"It's a good thing you were able to get a sample. When I saw those strange droplets, they had apparently disappeared before anyone else could see them." BatGal said.
JustinB said, "That IS strange. Oh, by the way, Holodoc and Jarrynn wanted me to let you know that Ensign Stargazor has been released from MedLab and is awaiting orders."
"Let's stop there on the way to the sim station. I just want to check with the doctors to make sure that he can safely participate in the training session, since this one is mandatory for all new recruits. And I think I'll ask Jarrynn to accompany us to keep an eye on Stargazor during the session, just in case."
"These exercises are for EVERYONE, not just Black Squadron, right?" Justin asked.
"Yes." BatGal replied. "Even though the sessions will combine the squadrons, I'm going to try to pair up the senior warriors with the newer ensigns from their own squadrons as their wingmen. The ensigns have to get used to flying in different formations. And only eight warriors can participate in each session, so your first run will have four warriors from Black Squadron and four from Gold."
They walked out of the office and continued their discussion on the way to MedLab and the sim station.
* * *
BatGal
From her office laptop, Major BatGal sent the following comm-link text message to all officers, warriors and crew that were currently aboard the Callisto:
***
ATTENTION ALL SQUADRONS/CREW MEMBERS:
Please respond to this message via comm-link text and report your current location and assignment (if applicable).
Thank you, Maj. BatGal Black Squadron
<chorus of responses>
* * *
BatGal also posted the notice on the squadron bulletin boards, just in case any of the other communicators were malfunctioning.
A micron later, BatGal heard a tiny 'bleep' from her communicator lying on her desk...and the text message appeared on the display. She thought to herself, "That's strange...it's working now. I guess I don't have to get this thing checked after all."
She decided to reply to her own message via comm-link to see if the 'reply' mode also was working properly.
* * *
Stargazor
Stargazor was doing push ups at a fast rate, yet he didn’t seem to get tired, he felt an energy inside of him like nothing before. He stopped to get dressed into a proper uniform he found in a locker next to his bed. Then he sat on his bed and looked in a mirror next to him on the wall. Now he could see his eyes with the white turned bleu. He traced around his eyes, what was going on with him. He waited for some one to come to him, somehow the medics avoided him. He felt a tense mixed re action to him. Yet he didn’t want to frighten any one, so he kept calm and sat down.
* * *
Lucian
Lieutenant Resonat, on temporary assignment to assist the Warrior Corps with the training exercise, didn’t even bother to look up from his programming when the door to the darkened Control Room opened. He was so used to having to carry on during the regular sessions with the Cadets of the Training Academy that he’d trained himself to resist the temptation. If he looked around, it would temporarily ruin his vision. Besides, if the person entering had important business, he or she would either announce himself or herself and impress on Nat the urgency of the situation or he or she would leave. If the person left, it was obviously unimportant in the first place, so allowing himself to be distracted would have been a waste of both Nat’s and the other person’s time.
However, Captain Kris, his assistant for a few more cycles, still wasn’t used to being in the darkened room for extended periods, so she immediately glanced around on hearing the door open. She was surprised to see Major Lucian enter the darkened Control Room, and was about to express her surprise when she saw Lucian press his index finger to his lips. He smiled at her and then moved to the side where he could observe the proceedings but remain unobserved.
In the room, Lucian saw that a number of Warriors had gathered. There were obviously far too many there to all participate at once since there were only eight simulation Viper craft, so he wasn’t surprised when he heard Major BatGal making assignments for the first group. The others were to move to one of the Training Academy classrooms where the action would be shown on the projection screen. They’d get their turns shortly.
Stepping forward, Lucian glanced at the program to be run. It was a variation on a program that he and several of the other Warriors had worked on some sectars ago when he was still assigned to Black Squadron. Since most of the better SIM programs were an amalgamation of many different authors and contributors since they were constantly being rewritten, updated, and made more difficult, he was glad to see that Major BatGal had been working on this one to give both the newbies and the more senior Warriors a real run for their credits. He stepped back to stay out of Nat’s way. As he did, he heard a small, almost inaudible, crunch under his boot. He carefully raised his boot, and on one foot, moved around where he could see in the light from one of the monitors. There, on the bottom of his boot was a blackish purple smear and what appeared to be close to two dozen short hairs approximately equally distributed around it. Not recognizing it, he took a small piece of notepaper from his pocket and carefully scraped the mess from his boot. He folded it up and set the paper on top of the console where it would be out of the way. He wanted to get a better look at that thing, whatever it was, under good light when the session was over.
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:14:22 GMT -6
BatGal
Major BatGal assigned the following pairs to GROUP ONE:
***
Capt. JustinB, Mission Leader -- Ensign Stargazor, Wing
Lt. Stadia -- Ensign Granfury, Wing
Lt. Rose -- Ensign Ursaion, Wing
Lt. Teri -- Ensign Artus, Wing
***
The rest of the warriors moved into the training room. Those in Group One got into their "vipers".
JustinB looked over at Rose while the exterior lights were still on. She was as beautiful as ever, and the lights shining on her face from the control panel made her even more radiant. Justin knew that this squadron formation would never happen in real combat, he would probably never be able to fly with Rose -- because of something that happened in the past to another couple. Was it Major Brie when she lost her husband? Did she actually see him die? He couldn't remember...he shuddered and shook his head. He had other things to think about right now.
BatGal and Jarrynn went to the observation deck. BatGal wasn't sure if Maj. Lucian would explain the new program from the control room, or if he would come down to do a "walk-through".
* * *
Lucian
Nat announced over the comm, "Warriors, your objective is to explore an region of an asteroid belt where the Cylons are suspected to have a listening post. No! NO! We're not talking Pauvwell here! In this scenario, we have a more traditionally defined asteroid belt, more like what we feel the tinheads would be likely to use for a facility of this nature. Your primary goal is to avoid detection and locate and destroy the listening post before they can call for reinforcements. Your secondary goal is to destroy any Raiders encountered after the listening post has been located and return safely to the Callisto before any reinforcements arrive.
"As your Flight Officer for this mission, I'll warn you about the following:
1. Location of the listening post is unknown; however, there is a good chance that the Cylons would not place it on an asteroid that was so small that it would not have an appreciable gravity. They've been known to be tricky bastards, though, so be careful and diligent.
2. Cylons often post a Raider support squad at their listening posts. We've seen between 15 and 75 Raiders depending on the size of the system and its relative importance. In this case, Captain Kotsalof of Colonial INTEL has rated this system at about 5 to 7 on a 10 point scale. The presence of Raiders is a good sign that they will not have their base on a very small asteroid.
3. In this scenario, the Callisto is traveling on communications silence, so there will be no long range communications once you leave the ship. You will be allowed to use a minimum of short range ship to ship communications, but this may leave you open to early exposure allowing the Cylons to get a drop on you. Please recall your primary and secondary goals of the mission.
4. Finally, based on recent contacts, Core Command aboard the Callisto suspects that there are three or four Base-Stars approaching the system. If the listening post successfully sends a message...well...we don't want that to happen, do we?"
He turned to Captain Kris and nodded.
She adopted a soft voice and said, "This is Launch Control. All mission Vipers, launch when ready."
* * *
JustinB
As I got comfortable, I wondered how everyone would go in the simulation. I came back to reality, when I heard Kris's soft voice saying, "This is Launch Control. All mission Vipers, launch when ready."
"Launch Control, Mission Leader Launching" and with that I hit the turbo's. In microns I was flying again, even if it was a simulation.
Once all the Vipers were launched, I opened up a comm to all of them, "You know the drill and what we are looking for. Lets take up a spearhead formation. From here no unnecessary communication unless you think you have that cylon listening post. Most of all, don't leave your wingman. Lets go."
With that I took up tip of the spearhead formation, with Ensign Stargazor off to my right. Lieutenant Stadia and Ensign Granfury went to the right of Stargazor. Lieutenants Teri and Rose and their wings were on my left.
* * *
Artus
Artus was shifting around in his seat. This was his first break. His first chance to show the others what he was worth. Too bad it was only in a simulator, but that was a chance same as any other. He tried to keep his nerves cool as he was listening to the briefing. He was to be Lieutenant Teri's wingman. Ok. Great. Wonderfull. Wich one is lieutenant Teri? Nevermind. He hoped he would find out as he went along. Then he heard someting mentioned about Pauvwell. That didn't mean anything to him. Maybe he should have paid better attention in military-history class. Another one to find out as he went along. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to try this stuff in a simulator first. So when the signal came to launch, Artus pressed his turbo's with great anticipation. He left the simulated launch tube (Boy this stuff looks real!) and casually banked to the left. A message came in over the radio from captain Justin B. "Ensign Artus, I think you'll find that both the asteroids and the cylons are on the other side." As Artus looked at his screen, he saw all the other vipers flying in perfect formation, in the opposite direction. "Sorry sir, I'll be right with you." Artus executed a perfect 180 degree turn and pressed his turbos again. "Ensign Artus, don't waste your fuel and keep the chatter to a minimum." was the swift reply from Justin B. As Artus fell into formation next to what he thought, or more precisely hoped, was Teri's viper, he wondered if he should respond to that......
* * *
BatGal
From the observation deck, Maj. BatGal watched the sim session currently in progress. Things were going well, except maybe for that rough start when Ensign Artus fell out of formation -- just for a millicenton or two. But now things were going smoothly. Capt. Justin was doing a superior job leading the ‘mission’.
Just then, two very soft ‘bleeps’ came through her comm-link, letting her know that a silent text message was forthcoming on her portable. It was a message from the bridge -- from Maj. Lucian???. (But wait, wasn’t he just in the control room with Resonat and Kris, evaluating the sessions?):
"To: Major BatGal, Black Squadron
From: Major Lucian, Flight Operations and Training Officer
RE: Support Mission
INTEL had reason to believe that a message received from the planet Axces Gamma, supposedly from Lieutenant Amy, was faked, and was most likely a recording of a previous message, that may or may not have been faked as well. A rescue team has been dispatched to rescue her, but we have lost contact with them.
Please have two Warriors report to Beta Bay immediately for Viper launch. They are to proceed to the planet, locate the rescue party, and provide aerial cover and air support. Under no circumstances are they to land or attempt ground based contact with the enemy or with Callisto personnel. Based on previous encounters with the enemy, the Support Team is to be ready for ground fire.
Team is to maintain communications silence and to approach from vector charlie alpha 240 (approximate) to provide maximum hope of surprise since it is believed that the enemy may have long range detection equipment. This should bring them in from far enough away and at a low enough angle that they should be able to achieve initial surprise.
May the Lords be with them."
BatGal left Jarrynn on the observation deck and walked around to the control room’s main entrance. She entered the room and looked around. Resonat and Kris were the only ones there.
“Kris, I’m going to have to pull you off this assignment early. I’m sending you and another warrior down to Axces Gamma in your vipers.” said BatGal.
Kris, trying to not look as disappointed as she felt, said, “Who’s going with me?”
Just then, Maj. BatGal heard another soft ‘bleep’, then a voice over her comm-link:
"this is ensign brotherjoe. i think i'm back somewhere by engineering. i hear the engines where i'm at, so i'll start heading the otherway and hope to find someone who can show me where the cafateria is. after all it has been a few cycles since i had something from my rations."
BatGal spoke into her comm. “Ensign Brotherjoe, this is Major BatGal. Please report to Beta Bay in ten centons for prepping and briefing. You and Capt. Kris are going on a mission down to Axces Gamma.”
* * *
MedievalSong
Kris giggled in the control room in the darkness as she had fun with the controls. Nat shook his head as he listened to her giggling. "Kris honey you gotta give them a chance." "Aww but this is so much fun Nat!" Looks at his face and then softens. "Ok I will let them have a moment before I go cylon on them again. Nat, I really have enjoyed this time getting to be with you. There are times I hate being away from you so much." "It's ok Kris, it's part of our jobs. But I miss you too. Believe me these past cycles have been great having you in here with me. Sometimes I wish I could keep you with me." "Me too Nat, me too." As she leaned on his shoulder.
"Ok they are getting too complacent out there, shake them up a bit." he said still keeping his eyes on the screens but had his hand on Kris'. She smiled and to tease him she tried her best at a monotone voice. "By your command." Nat looked over at her with a frown. "That's not funny." "I am sorry, I was just trying to... sorry Nat." She said with a frown. She punched in a few programs and soon the vipers were becoming targets. The door opened and Major BatGal stepped in. "Captain Kris, I am releaving you from this duty. I need you to go meet Brotherjoe in the launch bay immediately!" Kris jumped up and started to leave then at the door stopped and ran back and hugged Nat tightly. "Why does it seem when I get to be with you I have to leave again?" "Because its what you do. You better get. Go get Brotherjoe ok?" Kris kissed him and hung to him a little longer. "I will be back I promise!" she whispered in his ear.
She ran to the main sim room and stopped the simm viper that had JustinB in it.
"Hey! I was flying here!" "We have other orders. We need to go now! Major wants us ready to launch now!" "No need to tell me twice!" He jumped out of his simm and took off with Kris. They grabbed their gear and climbed in their vipers. She gave him a thumbs up and smiled. Once they were in, she radioed him. "Well looks like its you and me! Lets go see what's up! Core command permission to launch."
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Post by LucianG on Apr 1, 2007 7:15:07 GMT -6
JustinB
We had been flying for about fifteen centons and there was no sign of the cylon listening post. The scans so far had been concentrated on the larger asteroids. I began to scan the smaller asteroids, who knows what we come up with.
'At least asteroid field wasn't as bad as the one in the Pauvwell system. We would miss the listening post entirely if it was as thick as that.' I thought to myself.
With everyone sticking in formation we pressed on. I had a nagging feeling we were close. I got readings of some tylium in the asteroids but no listening post as of yet. A quick scan also revealed no cylon raiders, yet.
* * *
Artus
After scanning the asteroids for what seemed like an eternity Artus started to wonder if they were going about this in the right way. Naturally, captain Justin B must be a very experienced colonial warrior, so he surely must know what he was doing. And then again, Artus could imagine real missions being somewhat like this, lots of flying and not encountering anything. Space is big after all. But still he had hoped for something to happen. This was going to be a training exersize after all. And what good is training without anything to shoot. He could have just as easily waited this long in his bed. But then suddenly he noticed a small glitch just on the edge of his scanner. Could this be the proverbial it?
* * *
Lucian
The door to the Control Room opened again. A silent figure entered and went straight to the control console and took a seat without a word. Lieutenant Nat glanced sideways, and nodded in recognition and salutation. The mission would go on and be just as intense as intended. He'd been a little concerned about his ability to run the entire simulation by himself when Kris had been pulled away, but now he put a new smile on his face. He thought to himself, "Kris, please be careful...", and said aloud, "Lieutenant, it's good to have you aboard. Check out the section I'm bringing up on your screen now. You see the potential problem?"
Lieutenant Anubis replied, "That will not be a problem...except for the Warriors in the SIM."
Nat smiled again, despite his worry for Kris. Leave it to Anubis to put things in perspective!
* * *
Rose
Rose woke up with light heart. Just thinking of the special moment she had with JustinB, made her body quiver in delight. She had just placed on a new uniform, when she saw the orders for her to report to the Simulator Room for a training exercise. Once her hair was done she made her way to the mess. She grabbed a few K biscuits to eat on the way. When she entered the Simulator Room, she felt all quivery again. JustinB was standing in the middle of the room talking to Stargazor. The way he stood in the light just made her heart skip a beat. How she would love to be his wingman, but she knew it would not be permitted. Just flying with him was enough. Rose could see herself falling big time for JustinB. While she slept she even dreamed of them getting sealed, but she wasn't about to reveal that information anytime soon. At least not to JustinB or the others until she knew for sure herself on what she would be doing about the situation she was currently in at the moment.
When she saw JustinB jump into the cockpit she did the same. As she did she knew she would have to let Hawke know one way or the other of how she felt. Rose knew that more than likely with the way things were going right now with Hawke he would not like what she needed to tell him, but he had to be told.
Settling into her Sim Viper, Rose prepared to get ready for the word to launch & when it came she hit the turbo & took up formation where she needed to be with her wing not far behind her. Rose knew that this simulation was important for not only the seasoned warriors participating, but also the newer ones that had only just joined the Squadron.
Rose kept alert to anything that might spring up on her or the others. She didn't want anything to happen to any of them during this run.
* * *
JustinB
After scanning the asteroids for what seemed like an eternity Artus started to wonder if they were going about this in the right way. Naturally, captain JustinB must be a very experienced colonial warrior, so he surely must know what he was doing. And then again, Artus could imagine real missions being somewhat like this, lots of flying and not encountering anything. Space is big after all. But still he had hoped for something to happen. This was going to be a training exersize after all. And what good is training without anything to shoot. He could have just as easily waited this long in his bed. But then suddenly he noticed a small glitch just on the edge of his scanner. Could this be the proverbial it?
There it was again, the glitch was there for a micron and just as quickly it's gone. Artus thought it important enough to contact Captain JustinB.
*****************
I stayed as relaxed as I could, for I had a feeling we would have some company very soon. Just as I checked the status of the flight group, a nervous voice came over the uni-com. "Captain JustinB, this is Ensign Artus. I think I have something Sir. Whatever it is, they are only about five hundred metrons ahead of us and slowly closing."
'I have to check out what Artus has found, without the risk of tipping off the Listening Post' I thought to myself. "Flight, this is JustinB, continue on this course. Ensign Stargazor and myself are going to check out the sighting. Be on your guard and we will be back in half a flash."
I was about to kick in my Turbo's, when from thin air twelve Cylon Raiders appeared before us. So this is their little surprise is it, as I looked to where the control room would be. "Flight, engage all targets, but be mindful of any cylon transmissions."
Turning on my attack computer, I set about bagging myself a Cylon Raider. I got one locked on and as I was about to fire, when it did a high G manoeuvre to get behind me. On the Uni-Com, I heard a lot of chatter coming from the newer warriors. If the raiders didn't kill us, the chatter would with the Listening Post sending out warnings.
I hit the IM button and released maximum braking flaps. The raider then flew right by me. One of it laser shots scoured the side of my port wing, but there was no damage. Finally, I got off a shot and as I was about to let out a cheer, my jaw dropped. I caught the raider square on with two laser shot and it only did minor damage.
The raiders hull were reinforced in this simulation. I once again glance at where the control room would be and as I did I smiled. 'If action is what they want, action they shall receive.'
* * *
Artus
The order came in from captain Justin B; "Flight, engage all targets, but be mindfull of any cylon transmissions." Artus was getting really exited now. Without hesitation he pressed his turbos and went after the enemy, when suddenly he heard lieutenant Teri over the comm; "Ensign Artus, what do you think you're doing? Your supposed to be my wingman." Now Artus really felt like a fool. Never leave your point behind you idiot. He tried to slap himself in the face for being such a fool, but since he was wearing a helmet he only succeded in hurting his hand. "Ouch!" He quickly pushed his IM button to slow down and pulled up his nose to make a perfect loop to return to the rest. "No you idiot!" Lieutenant Teri called over the comm; "Never turn your back on them!" Artus was making one mistake after another. If he could only get himself out of this felgercarb. And to make it all worse he now had three cylon raiders in spearpoint formation on his tail. Now this was a situation Artus remembered training for. He hit his IM button again and let the raiders fly by him, after wich he opened up on the lead ship. He hit the cylon dead in the middle of the hull, but nothing happened. What the frack was going on?
* * *
JustinB
Finally, I got off a shot and as I was about to let out a cheer, my jaw dropped. I caught the raider square on with two laser shot and it only did minor damage.
The raiders hull were reinforced in this simulation. I once again glance at where the control room would be and as I did I smiled. 'If action is what they want, action they shall receive.'
*************** Staying with the slightly damaged Raider, I got him back in my sights. I squeezed of two more laser shots. Finally I got the result I was after, nothing but a exploding fireball.
As I looked at my scanner, only a few of the Raiders had been destroyed. We had to finish this quickly, or the mission will be blown.
Stargazor however picked up one on his tail. He was doing a good job dodging the cylon fire, but he wouldn't last much longer. I kicked in my turbos and flew straight ahead for five microns. I then executed a hard one hundred and eighty degree turn, so I was going head to head with Stargazor.
"Stargazor, on the count of three, bank hard right and kick in your turbos, One,Two, Three, bank right" As he did I snapped off four volleys of laser fire. The first volley misssed, but the second and third hit straight into their fuel cell as they tried to follow Stargazor.
Now the odds were a little better.
* * *
Artus
While preventing hinself from flying into the cylon he thought he would have just destoyed Artus thought long and hard on the current situation. He just hit the cylon ship allright, but it didn't exlode. So he supposed that this SIM mission was not just dogfight training, but an exercise in cleverness as well. All right Artus, think. And think hard. You aced basic tech back in training, so you should be able to come up with some kind of solution. Maybe there's a way to transfer the engine power to the laser cannons? Could be woth a try. Just as Artus was about to start ripping open a few panels, he suddenly remembered he was just in a simulator. What if everything in here was not the same as in a real viper? Oh well, he'd find that out along the way. He drew his knife from his boot and started picking away at the control panels......
Over in the SIM control room they noticed all sorts of eratic signals coming from the simulator ensign Artus was in. "What the hell does he think he's doing?"
* * *
Lucian
Nat looked around questioningly at Anubis, "What's he doing? If he screws up my Viper simulator..."
"I've modified the programming to make these Raiders similar to those we faced at Shonada, without the forward shield generator pods. Our Warriors there had to solve this mystery, and this group needs to show that they can think as they fly as well," said Anubis.
Nat made a brief adjustment on the board, and said, "As for Ensign Artus, if he's trying to mess with the panel wiring as it appears, I think he'll soon find he needs to be concentrating on other things."
* * *
In his cockpit, a warning beep sounded, bringing Ensign Artus' attention back to the immediate problem of the swarming Raiders. On his scanner, he saw three Raiders had locked in behind him in a two-one shift pattern, making a reverse move much more difficult and dangerous.
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