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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:54:37 GMT -6
Raycer
"I wanted to get into combat, but Im shaking and sweating" Raycer thought to himself. "I gotta shake it off" Raycer clicked open his com, "Major, I been dying to get in to a real Viper and light up some Cylons but for some reason Im getting the jitters." Raycer takes a deep breath and lets it out to try and calm himself down. "Was it like this your first time." Before Major Lucian could even answer all the scanners in Black Squadron Vipers lit up say that they were almost on top of the Cylons.
LucianG
Lucian, upon hearing both Rose and Raycer talking about how close the Cylons were getting, laughed out loud for the first time this cycle.
"Yes Rose, I made my share of mistakes, but fortunately, I had the benefit of most of them being made in countless centars in the sim. Now, let's look at this one, you two," Lucian said to Rose and Raycer. "Look at your scanners again...closely this time. They're on long range, so naturally it looks like we're almost on top of them. Switch back to short range attack scans now..."
"Wow! We're still a long way away, aren't we?" said Ensign Rose.
"Therein lies the problem," replied Lucian. "We're still too far away to do anything about the Cylons until several centons AFTER they reach the shuttles...and that's with us already pushing 106% on turbos. You go any faster than that and you'll see an increasing chance that you'll never get there to help them. Just stay calm. I was just on the other channel with Colonel Brie, and she's moving her forces to protect the shuttles. She said for us to get there as soon as we can."
"Now, Black Ice," Lucian continued, "when we arrive, we streak straight through as a group, picking off any Raiders that come within your sights. Then, we come back around, break off in pairs, and hunt those daggits down so we can bring our people home. Stay with your wing, and let's all get home safely. Any questions?"
Holodoc2000
Holodoc couldn't help but giggle a little as Hawke left Life Station. She was happy that he had found someone special even though he wasn't sure how to go about asking her out on a date in order to get to know her better. Holodoc hope things worked out for Hawke & Rose. She could tell they would make a good match for each other.
Holodoc went about her normal rounds & making sure that Najinn was doing alright, along with her other patients. While she was doing her rounds, Holodoc starts thinking about Anubis & hoped that he was doing well & was safe. She hoped that he would be arriving back to her there on the Callisto soon & safely.
BSGRose
"Major Lucian," Rose says, "sorry about my screw up on reading my scanners. Guess I will have to learn to pay closer attention to them. I guess I still have a lot to learn from you and a few others in the Squadron. Maybe you can give me a few pointers when we get done kicking Cylon tail out here?"
Rose continued to stay close to Major Lucian as they continued to fly towards the incoming shuttles, vipers, and the Cylon fighters. She hoped that she would be able to do as good or better in protecting the Major's backside like she had done in the earlier battle.
Raycer
Upon reseting his scanners to short range Ensign Raycer still felt little uneasy about his mission. After thinking about it for alittle bit he realized that it really wasnt about his first combat mission but something else.
"Ensign Raycer to Major Lucian." He said into his com. "Sir I dont know why but Ive still got an uneasy feeling about this mission." still not sure why he's even bringing this up. " Sir, I thought it might be first mission jitters but now that I think it about its more like a feeling, somethings just not right. But I cant put my finger on it." Major Lucian told him to continue. "Sir I think we are being set up" Raycer told him flat out. "We had a mission like this in the sim. And while we were in route to the waypoint another group came from behind and attacked the Calypso, and we got caught in the crossfire of two Cylon squadrons." Major Lucian fell silent, contemplating what Raycer had just told him. "what do you think, Sir? Am I going crazy?"
LucianG
"Ensign, you're not going crazy. There's always that chance. For that reason, more experienced Warriors set their scanners to cycle between short and long range, even as we continue to close on the bad guys. That way, if they're sneaking up on you, they aren't right on top of you before you know it. You still have time to choose how to react, rather than being forced into one particular course of action. Having only one choice usually leads to someone getting killed...and unless that one choice is theirs, and that someone is them, I'd prefer that we just pass. Once we're close enough for them to be on short range scanners, just set your scanner to cycle, ten microns long range scan every half centar. That'll let you know if there's another group coming in. Once you're within 100 microns to intercept, you switch to strictly short range scan for attack," said Lucian, scanning the long range scan intently. "There, they're just coming up on the edge of the short range scan, and they're about to hit the shuttles. Our ETA is still six centars. Let's just hope they can hold out that long."
Lucian spent a moment considering their situation. It was all up to Brie, the shuttle gunners, a few Vipers, and some of those old Colonial pod fighters. He was worried about his squadron, especially the three newest Ensigns. He tried to never let on to the new Ensigns that he worried about them, but he always did, and was always concerned that he wouldn't be good enough to protect them as well as they were trying to protect him. Looking at the scans again, he thought, "Good luck to all!"
BSGNylah
Nylah could hear the uneasiness in his voice. He was her wing and they had been in the academy together. Truth be known she was nervous too. She switched her comm on hoping to smooth him over a bit. Maybe to also help smooth over herself too. "Come on Racer, I am nervous too! But we got into this remember? Just remember you got me for a wing!" "I am not sure that's such a good thing Nylah. I remember class!" "Yeah yeah rub it in! Seriously you watch my back I will watch yours!"
Brie
As the battle grew stronger Brie had to fight off the urge to take the controls of the shuttle from Anubis. He was doing a fine job, but she hated sitting back. She knew that she would remember this moment the next time Charybdis asked her about moving up to the bridge. She also considered taking over as gunner. She wasn't 100% sure Lt. Kris was physically up to it, although she knew that Jarrynn wouldn't have cleared her otherwise. No Raiders had been destroyed by their shuttle, but neither of the other Callisto shuttles had destroyed any either.
Brie received news from Major Lucian, news that she didn't want to hear. "This is Colonel Brie," she said over the comm. "Looks like we're not getting help for awhile, we'll have to hold them off. Cain, Amy, Arianna, and Sonja, fall back. I want you to try to stop any Raiders that get through. We'll do our best, but you know how manueverable a shuttle is."
Flying with unknown pilots in unarmed civilian shuttles, with help too far away. Brie knew that the situation couldn't be any worse. She wondered how many of them would actually make it back to the Callisto...if any.
Walksallroads
Anubis knew, from performing ambush runs, that the key is biding one's time, then letting one's enemy know just how sharp and deadly the teeth are when it's too late to help. He would rather be the gunner in this instance, but as a pilot, he still had tricks up his sleeve, aside from his arms. Watching the technitions work, and working with them for so long, he had been shown a few tricks. He just needs something to add a short burst of power to ride them through. But that would leave behind the other shuttles. The predicament, his inherent genetic code warring with his training, sits uncomfortably. He was designed as expendable. Ironic that he is one out of five that remain of a batch of eight. If there were other batches, they are unknown to him, but undoubtedly there are. His training is to defend to the last man, and should that occur, to do whatever it takes to cause the most damage to the enemy, including but not limited to a kamikazi run. In an instance such as this, he would gladly if he were in his viper, but his overall duty is to protect human life at all costs.
MedievalSong
"frack" I mused under my breath. I couldn't get the adjustment to the shuttle's guns down fast enough. I was so used to the guns from my viper that this was a little different and I kept missing. I could tell the Captain was getting restless and was about to kick me back to civilian duty but I was not ready to be releaved! I was a warrior and I was duty bound to protect the lives on that shuttle in one way or another. I tried again and anticipated the change in the guns and I saw a flash before me! I hit the raider! "YEEHAW! I got that son of a..." "Good now keep it up!" I heard from the Captain. "I just needed to adjust to the shuttle's guns." I focused again. I was bound and determined to keep going. But I knew it was really up to the Captain on what she wanted me to do.
Walksallroads
"Captain, might I suggest when we get back to the Callisto thae the squadrons participate in a rotational training involving the various functions of flying a shuttle? It would cut dramatically on acclimation time, and maximize efficiency, and thus, survival. Bombers would also be highly reccommended for the same reasons."
Brie
"Lt. Anubis, I'll pass your suggestions along to the Commander when we make it back to the Callisto," Brie said.
"IF we make it back," she muttered under her breath.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:55:07 GMT -6
Amy81
Arianna shot past me, heading back toward the shuttles. I fell in behind her, about to say something when Brie's voice came over my comlink, confirming my suspicions.
The Cylon strategy was to blow past us and go for the shuttles. Well, we'd see about that!
"Amy to shuttle one" I called out. "Captain Brie?"
After a moment I heard the familiar voice of my friend on the line. "Go ahead, Lieutenant" I heard her say.
"What's your status? Everything okay?"
"Just get back here. We're only a notch or two better than sitting ducks. We have to hold out until backup arrives, and holding out even a few microns is going to be like eternity."
"We're on the way, Captain. Hold tight." I laid the turbos on thick, but it seemed like the whole battle was heading for the shuttles in one thick group. Fireballs erupted here and there, and I couldn't give the Cylons my back the whole way. I was forced to give up pursuit of several Raiders in order to loop around and defend myself. I watched with a sinking feeling in my heart as a few Cylons put some distance between us and the shuttles.
"Heads up shuttle one!" I called out. "A few are getting through!" I completed my loop and grimaced as I scored a direct hit on a particularly pesky Raider. It burst apart in all directions, and my viper shook from several hits from debris. I held the control stick tightly, and gritted my teeth. I got through the debris, and sent out another volley that grazed a nearby raider. It sparked from the holes I had put in it, and then it started to come apart.
I watched momentarily with fascination as it seemed to undo rivet by rivet. The ship wavered like an animal in the grasp of death. A line of fire formed as the tears in the hull got bigger. Finally, it burst apart. Nearly too late,I swung my vision forward only to see a massive piece of debris directly in my flight path.
I pulled the stick to the right and tried to avoid it, but I felt the chunk impacting with my ship, and I began to roll uncontrolably. My turbos engaged, though I hadn't kicked them in. My cockpit lit up red as nearly every dial and screen cried out in emergency. Unable to pull out of it, I hit autopilot as a last resort, and was relieved as the ship steadied itself and the turbos shut down.
I fought disorientation for a moment, then did a systems check. As the ship went through the procedure, I looked around, but couldn't see anyone or anything. Where did the battle go? I must have shot off on a wild tangent. But in which direction? I tapped my comlink, but it was giving me only static.
With dismay, I watched the systems check results. Nearly every dial stayed in the red, and my navigation screen stayed dark. With a feeling of desperation, I punched in an order for a computer defrag and restart. I listened as my atmosphere cut out, the static in my comlink faded to silence, and all systems went dark. Patiently I waited for the onboard systems to reboot.
Brie
As Brie watched the scanner she realized that something was wrong. "Lt. Amy," she called into the comm. No answer. "LT. AMY," she said, as if by raising her voice her friend would answer.
"Capt...I mean Colonel Brie," Lt. Cain's voice answered. "I see her viper. Looks like she hit something. Damage doesn't look TOO bad. Let me get a bit closer." It seemed to take forever until Brie heard from Cain again. "She's giving me the thumbs up."
"Sorry, Captain," Amy's voice said. "I was waiting for the system to reboot. Seems okay now."
Brie breathed a sigh of relief, praying that THAT would be the worst that the battle got, although she knew better.
Arianna29
Arianna was holding her own in picking off the Cylon Raiders as they came towards the shuttles. She had a couple of close calls with a couple of the raiders where the weapon fire went right across the top of her viper or right across one of her wings.
Arianna had just finished taking out another Raider when she looped around and notices a couple more raiders were getting to close for comfort to one of the shuttles. As she starts lining the first raider into her sites to fire on it, she starts thinking on how she could take out the second raider. Frack! If only there was a way that I could take both of this fighters out at once, Arianna thinks to herself.
"Uh, Lt Amy?," Arianna says over the commlink, "there are a couple of Cylon Raiders getting to close to one of the shuttles. I am able to get one lined up into my sites to take out, but I won't have time to take out the other one before it gets even closer to the shuttle and starts firing on it." Arianna hears Amy over the commlink replying, "I'm taking care of a couple of others right now, but will get there as soon as I can."
Arianna finally gets the first raider lined up and fires on it taking it out. The seconded raider though has gotten even closer to the shuttle and was getting ready to fire on the shuttle. Arianna begins thinking again as to what she could to take out the second raider, for she knew that she couldn't fire on it with it being so close to the shuttle she didn't want to risk hitting the shuttle any.
An idea comes to Arianna. She can take out the raider by slamming her viper into it. She knew that it would mean her death, but she knew that if that is what it would take to save everyone on the shuttle then she would willingly give her life in order to save the others on the shuttle.
Arianna heads straight for the second fighter to ram into it to hopefully take it out. As she was flying straight towards the fighter, Arianna says a silent prayer for the Lords of Kobol to protect her. She reached the point of no return. It was either take out the raider by slamming into it or let the raider fire on the shuttle and she wasn't about to let that happen. Arianna slammed her viper right into the side of the raider. Upon impact flames begin filling the cockpit and Arianna screams out, "may the Lords of Kobol protect you!"
Brie
Brie was doing her best to watch all aspects of the battle on the scanner, cursing the raiders that made it through. They were badly outnumbered, as usual, and the Cylons were going for the shuttles. They must have known that they were unarmed.
One of the raiders was too close to one of the shuttles. It looked like the civilians aboard would all be killed. The only viper that was close was Ensign Arianna's, but she couldn't fire without hitting the shuttle. If Brie had been in the viper she knew what she would have done, but Arianna was young and inexperienced. As Brie watched the scanner she saw Arianna line up like a seasoned veteran and fly straight for the raider. Suddenly, they both disappeared from the scanner.
"Arianna!," Brie screamed into the comm. "Arianna, come in!" All that replied was static.
Walksallroads
"Curious. For me, that action is written into my genes. For her, it was an act of free will. Take heart, Captain. We will make it. We cannot let her willing sacerafice be in vain. Please advise everyone to prepare for a bumpy ride. Initiating evasive maneuvers." Anubis begins to push the limits of the shuttle, avoiding incoming fire like instinct, and making things more difficult for the Raiders to lock onto. Nothing fancy, but causing their weapons to constantly realign while moving to the Callisto.
Brie
Brie nodded to Anubis. She knew that he was trying to comfort her with his words, but death never grew easier. Arianna had died a hero, an act that Brie wouldn't let go unnoticed.
Although only a micron had gone by, it seemed like an eternity. Brie focused, the battle wasn't over yet!
LucianG
Major Lucian saw the congestion on the outer edge of his short-range attack scan. There were too many Raiders too close to the fourth Frodarian shuttle, with only one Viper to provide protection. He frowned, knowing that the shuttle, and possibly the ones in front of it would be useless debris long before they could arrive, almost two centons later. Suddenly, one of the Raiders winked out, and then, he watched for less than a micron as the Viper turned slightly and slid directly into the second Raider. Both winked out of existence.
“Ice Leader to Colonel Brie, do you detect an ejection cockpit on that Viper? We’re still about two centons out,” said Lucian.
“Negative, it was too fast. She’s gone,” said Brie, “Black Shuttle pull up, protect that middle group. Pod ships swing forward, you’ve got a pair coming in there,” feeding them the coordinates. “Amy, take that one to your left. Cain—”
Suddenly, another excited voice interrupted, “Shuttle 4, here. Another Cylon have we from back right high. Help!”
“It’s too far and out of line for us to get,” said Lieutenant Kris, on the laser in the lead shuttle. “What about our second shuttle?”
“Too far away, too. Cain, Sonja, get there, fast!” commanded Brie.
“Coming, Colonel,” said Cain, but a moment later, they saw it was too late. The Cylon, who’d already line up, began to fire. His blasts ripped into and through the thin skin of Shuttle 4. It decompressed explosively, blowing fragments in many directions, but the engines, remarkably continued to work for a few moments, carrying the doomed craft directly into the path of Shuttle 5, which dodged to the side to avoid the collision. A couple of microns later, the engines sputtered and died, leaving a dead hulk floating in space. Forty humans that Arianna had sacrificed her life to protect were now dead. As Lucian watched his monitor, his stomach clenched in frustration and sadness at the losses and the inability of his group to arrive in time.
Even as the engines died, the same Raider was aligning on Shuttle 3, preparing to fire.
“Oh-no-you-don’t,” gritted Cain as he fired three quick bursts, blasting the Raider to bits. There were still several more left in the group, and they were all working to obtain targets.
Major Lucian rechecked the ETA. They were still just over a centon away.
Brie
Arianna was dead, and the people she had died to save had died as well. It was unthinkable. "That's all they're going to get," Brie said to all who were listening. "Help is on the way, they'll be here in just over a centon. Protect the shuttles, we are NOT going to lose another one."
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:55:37 GMT -6
Amy81
I could taste the air growing stale as I waited for my onboard systems to fire back up. Things were really quiet, only the sound of my anxious breathing filled my ears. I looked around at the stars, and wondered if this might be it. I couldn’t suffocate though. I wouldn’t go like that. I reached out and touched the canopy release lightly. If the systems stayed dead…
Movement out of the corner of my eye! A viper was coming near! Just then I heard the beeping sounds of my systems firing up. With a rush I felt the atmospheric system restart. Ah, fresh old recycled air! I breathed it in deeply with relief. The approaching viper pulled up along side me. He was saying something, but I couldn’t hear. The comlink still gave only static, but it wasn’t as bad. Systems all over were waking back up, so I gave the pilot a thumbs up gesture. I could see that it was Lt.Cain.
The static diminished now, and I could hear Cain’s voice. “….. the thumbs up."
“Cain!” I said with relief. “Lords, I thought I was done.”
“Captain’s been trying to raise you. What’s your status?”
“Still checking. I think I’m okay.”
“Shuttles need help. Follow me in?”
“Y-yeah.” I was still eyeing up the readouts. Weapons looked good. Navigation okay. Turbos, well I’d best not unless I had to. They acted poorly after I struck the debris. I switched to Shuttle One’s frequency. "Sorry, Captain," I said. "I was waiting for the system to reboot. Seems okay now." Cain began to move, and I followed him. He kicked in his turbos and I fell behind pretty quick.
I flipped on my attack computer. What a mess! The shuttles were holding out, but without more help we wouldn’t make it.
As I got closer to the shuttles, I could see the Cylon strategy. They seemed to be pouring in from the convoy’s left, then breaking away with one or two fighters at a time to strike from the other side as we overcompensated. I watched Cain break for the heavy side, so since I was slower anyway I banked the other way, trying to anticipate the next time the Cylons would break for the lighter side.
Sure enough, four fighters pulled away in pairs of two, and came around underneath the convoy. They looped around from different angles, but their destination was the same. Instinctively I made a twitch for the turbo button, but backed off. I had a case of nerves about them. I’d be no good if they locked up and I shot off for nowhere again.
From my angle I had a pretty good line on where one pair of Cylons would go. I moved in that direction. I was slow but my position could make up for that. My comlink cackled, and I heard the familiar voice of Arianna. "Uh, Lt. Amy?" Arianna says over the comlink, "there are a couple of Cylon Raiders getting too close to one of the shuttles. I am able to get one lined up into my sites to take out, but I won't have time to take out the other one before it gets even closer to the shuttle and starts firing on it."
I could see what she was talking about. She had picked up on the Cylon game plan, and had moved to cut off the other pair of Raiders. I just couldn’t do anything at the moment to help her. With regret I called back to her. "I'm taking care of a couple of others right now, but will get there as soon as I can."
As the pair I was watching made their pass I fired on them. I caught one a little high, but it wavered and began to slow. I dropped in from behind and blasted away until the enemy ship broke apart. As the huge fireball dissipated, I couldn’t see the second one at all. I’d lost him.
Looking back toward Arianna, I could see that she was having the same trouble. She took out the first one with very neat precision, but I never expected to see what happened next. I felt like I had stepped from a bad dream into a full-blown nightmare. My heart climbed up and stuck in my throat as I watched Arianna ram the second ship, the only way she could have kept it from knocking out that shuttle.
My comlink blared with her dying words: "may the Lords of Kobol protect you!" And then she was gone. I could only gape at the fading explosion, tears welling up and blurring my vision. I heard myself whisper, “May the Lords bless you, Arianna.”
Hawke14
I was sitting on the bridge listening to the battlecalls coming over on the speakers. Suddenly I heard Arianna say "May the Lords of Kobol protect you." I looked up at the battle scanner and quickly located Arianna's ship. It was heading towards a Cylon Raider ship at full speed! I started fumbling around for a headphone when her ship suddenly winked out. My God. I located Rose's ship. I saw that the Cylons were baiting her with a pinwheel pincer attack. I quickly found the headphone. I punched in a code to access the comm frequencies. "Callisto to Rose.." "Rose here." "Rose,it's Hawke. I'm on the bridge." "On the bridge? How.." "No time to explain..The Cylons are baiting you for a pinwheel pincer attack. Your natural instinct is to blast the nearest fighter. DO NOT blast any of them. Is your wingman there?" "Yeah,he's here." "Good. Have him come around their flank and blast 2 of them on the pincer side of the attack. In the mayhem you get your tail out of there. The end result will be the raiders who were baiting you will collide into the pincer raiders when they are blinded by the explosion. Now go!" I keyed out and looked up at the scanner. I saw a viper come around to the pincer side and blast 2 raiders. Rose dove down and the Cylons all destroyed themselves. I breathed a sigh of relief.
BSGRose
Rose was glad that Hawke was feeling better and had gotten released from Life Station. She still wonder why he was on the bridge, but was glad that he had been there to see what they Cylon Raiders where trying to do to her and help her out of the jam that she was in right then.
Rose started thinking of various things right then as she was staying close to Major Lucian to make sure that none of the Cylons got onto his tail and get any kind of aim on him to try taking him out. That was one of the things that had been drilled into her head through out the time she was at the Academy and that was not to let anyone get a good shot off at your wingmate. While she was staying close to Major Lucian, Rose would take out any Cylon Raiders that she was able to get a good shot at and those that she couldn't get Major Lucian or one of the others within range got them.
Rose continued to think about Hawke some as she was flying along doing all that she could to help win this battle against the Cylons. She wondered to herself if there could actually be more than friendship between her and Hawke. She hoped that she got the chance to know him better and began thinking on how she could thank him for what he had done for her when she got to see him once she got back on the Callisto.
Lt_Skyler
Skyler checked his scanner again. Less than a Centon and they would be able to intercept the Raiders that had engaged the shuttles. Switching over to his targeting computer, waiting for it to lock on to the closest raider. The last few microns seemed to stand still as he was still out of range, and helpless to save his friends.
LucianG
Eight little blips. Eight evil little blips.
That was what Colonel Brie was watching on her tactical monitor. Those eight remaining blips each represented a Cylon Raider, with its robot crew intent on destroying unarmed civilian shuttles, as well as everything else between them and their goal: utter annihilation of the human race.
Brie’s game pieces amounted to three Vipers, and the three armed shuttles from the Callisto. Considering the degree of armament on the shuttles, and the number of unarmed ships being protected, the odds weren’t good. The only thing that gave her hope was that thirty Vipers were arriving in about one centon.
A mere one hundred microns would pass and they would be safe. With eight widespread evil little blips scampering across the monitor, she wasn’t sure if all of the shuttles would have the…ninety-five…microns remaining. She continued to feed information to Cain, Sonja, Amy, and the other shuttles, watching the approaching blips representing the incoming Vipers. If only they could be here faster….
* * *
The Warriors in thirty Vipers were almost holding their collective breaths as they closed the distance to firing range. Would they be in time?
Major Lucian, having taken Raycer’s comments seriously, had already calculated all probable vectors from which the Cylons were likely to approach. As long as there was not another hidden Base-Star, he was certain that they would have to come from the same general direction as the first group. With less than a centon until the battle would be joined, he flipped his scanner back to long range to verify that there was nothing sneaking into the fray. As he reached to switch it back to the short-range attack scanner, he hesitated for a moment. There, on the outer edge, well beyond the battle between Randrius’ little group and the remaining Raiders, he saw a number of new blips beginning to appear. He immediately went to comm.
“Black Squadron, orders change. We are to make a single pass by the shuttles. Blast anything Cylon, and then adjust to course 72 mark 353. Ensign Raycer’s intuition was correct. We’ve got another group of Raiders preparing to sweep in over our Squadron mates. Lieutenant Siress Eden, your group remains in charge of the cleanup of the Raiders at the shuttles. Take the Raiders out, and then accompany the shuttles to the Callisto. Lieutenant Skyler, unless Colonel Brie objects, Black Squadron would be pleased to have your wing join us in this little shindig with the rest of these bastards.”
“Yes, Sir,” said Skyler, with a series of echoes from Kellyn and the others with him. “Colonel Brie?”
Brie was currently too busy to answer. She had other problems at the moment.
BSGRose
Ensign Rose was following Major Lucians lead in the doing the pass by the shuttles and taking out what Cylon Raiders that she could and making sure she stayed close to Major Lucian so that none of them would get off any shots at him. She was so intently concentrating on those two things that she didn't notice that one of the Cylon Raiders had locked onto her until her warning buzzer went off in her cockpit.
"Major Lucian," Rose calls over the commlink, "I have a little problem back here. I have a Cylon Raider on my tail and I can't shake him." Rose hears Major Lucian come over the commlink & say, "remain calm Rose. I will swing back around and take care of him for you."
Moments later as she her Viper starts shaking on her and she gets knocked around a good bit. "Major!," Rose calls out over the commlink, "Help! I've been hit! I can't tell what the damage is done."
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:56:29 GMT -6
LucianG
They'd closed, but too late for those in another of the shuttles. It had gone up in a firey explosion just a few microns before they'd arrived.
Rose's call almost startled him with the speed with which the Cylons had pounced from behind the shuttles. Well, two could play that game, couldn't they?
He'd hit reverse thrusters four three microns, then immediately went to turbos after watching two streaks pass him by. A quick adjustment and a targeting lock followed, and then he stabbed the firing button three times. The Raider was no more.
"Rose, you've got damage. Once we clear this nest of creepy crawlies, you'll return with the shuttles to the ship for repairs," he said. "As fast as he came around, you did well to survive. Now tuck in parallel to the lead shuttle, and make it home in one piece. And no, don't start arguing. That's an order, and we don't have time to argue about it. Lieutenant Emjay, you're with Rose. Watch her back. Lieutenant Jumperdwg, that puts you with me. Lucian out."
BSGRose
Rose listened to Major Lucian orders over the commlink for her to return to the Callisto for repairs. "Major Lucian," Rose says, "thanks for taking care of the Cylon that had locked on to me and fired causing the damage. I just wished that I could do more to help in taking out these guys. I will follow your orders and return to the Callisto by flying along with the lead shuttle. I hope the repair bill on this Viper isn't taken out of my pay."
Rose with some work was able to finally pull up parallel with the lead shuttle and start working her way back towards the Callisto. The Viper she could tell was flying a little sluggish so she had to constantly work at keeping it level so that she wouldn't collid into any of the other Vipers or into the shuttle she was following in back to the Callisto.
Raycer
Raycer stuck close to his wingmate so that he could keep Nylah tail clear. When he checked his scanners on a whim he saw several blips behind them. "I knew it!" he yelled into his com. "I see them Ensign." Major Lucian told him back. He then gave them new orders to vape the area around the shuttles of Cylons on a fly-by and attack the next group. Nylah closed on one but could not get the shot line up fast enough as Raycer's warning klaxxon went off as two Cylons came in behind him. "Nylah take the shot I got two behind me.... they got a lock." he yelled as shot whizzed past him. "Thats it now Im pissed." he said. Raycer threw his Viper's nose down and the same time hit his retro rockets and turbo causing his Viper to littrally flip in the section of space he occupied. The Viper's structure moaned with protest of the manuver but complied. This gave Raycer a clean shot on both Raiders, Raycer fired, letting lose serveral volleys of blaster fire that ripped through the first ship. The Raider exploded showering his Viper with fragment of its short existance. The second Radier tried to pull up to avoid the blast only to colide with Raycer's other volleys. It too died in a firey death. "Yah, Thats two for me." Raycer quickly repositioned himself and check his scanner to locate Nylah. He found her still chasing the Raider and hit his turbos to rejoin his wingmate.
Brie
There was no time to dwell on the deaths of the civilians in the shuttle, or the seemingly needless sacrifice of Arianna. There were still several raiders flying about, and the unarmed shuttles were perfect for target practice. Brie knew that it was tricky for the viper pilots, trying to hit the Cylons without hitting the shuttles. The Cylons didn't care WHO they hit, they just wanted to destroy humans.
"Help is on the way," Brie told the viper pilots with her, "but they won't be here fast enough. There's a lone raider almost within striking distance of shuttle number 7. Can anyone do anything?"
"Negative," was Cain's reply. "I can see it, but can't get there in time."
Before either Amy or Sonya had a chance to respond, the raider began to fire. The Cylons made several hits to the shuttle before connecting with the engines. Shuttle number 7 exploded in a huge fireball. It would almost have been beautiful if it weren't so deadly.
"Frack!" Brie said, not caring who heard her. She had to blink a couple of times to get the dots out of her vision. She turned to her gunner. "Kris, are you okay? How are your eyes?"
"I'm okay," Lt. Kris replied. "When I realized what was about to happen, I closed my eyes so I wouldn't hurt them again."
"Anubis, are you okay?" Brie asked. Anubis nodded.
The vipers' blips on the screen grew closer. Help was almost there, but for shuttle number 7 it was too late.
* * *
Walksallroads
The backlighting barely registered in Anubis' mind as he gyrates the shuttle to give the gunner, Kris, a clear shot. The shuttles weren't designed for this kind of maneuvering, but is holding up. In one part of his mind, he has the design specs for the shuttle, and begins to push it to it's limits. He gives Kris several clear shots, at least enough to make the Raider think twice before continuing to occupy that particular space. Several times she's knocked a Raider off of the shuttle's trajectory, or that of one of the other shuttles. He cycles through long and short-range scanners to keep from being surprised. More enemy units coming in. This is not looking too good. The Viper pilots are battle-weary, but adrenaline keeps their senses and reflexes keen. "I'm fine, Captain."
Amy81
I couldn't believe we were losing shuttles. First Arianna, now civilians....
I picked up four Raiders making a loop around, heading for Shuttle One. "Amy to Shuttle One! Four coming from the left!"
I couldn't risk my faulty turbos. I'd need help taking them out. "Yo!" I called out. "Anybody! Shuttle One's in trouble!"
I laid down a blanket of laser fire, but from my distance it did little to scare away the Raiders. I continued toward them, hoping for a little help.
Walksallroads
Anubis catches the transmission, and bucks the shuttle in the direction, giving Kris as clear a view as possable. He keeps the scanners cycling through as he notes some of the Vipers flying to meet the inbound Raiders.
MedievalSong
I could feel my hands sweating and I wiped them on my leg. I bit my lip as I kept my eyes open and tried to pick off any raiders that dared to come near the shuttle. I didn't know Arianna but her loss was a blow to the whole fleet. I took control of the guns again and I could tell Lt Anubis was trying to help by lining up on them. I took a few shots and saw I hit one! I would close my eyes to shield them from the glare so not to hurt my eyes anymore. I looked at the vipers flying out there and wondered briefly if Nat was among them. I said a silent prayer in hopes that he was safe. Back my attention went to the raiders that never seemed to end. I was beginning to wonder if we would ever get rid of them all!
Brie
Brie was pleased with the way that Anubis and Kris were both reacting. They seemed to work well together, although in the little she knew of them their personalities were opposite each other.
She hated being in the shuttle. Being used to a viper, the shuttle seemed so sluggish. She wished that there was some way to boost the shuttle's power capacity, but that was a problem for the engineers on the Callisto deal with.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:57:01 GMT -6
LucianG
Within a couple of centons of the arrival of the Vipers from the Callisto, there were only two or three of the Raiders remaining. On seeing that the first Gold Squadron wing under Lieutenant Siress Eden and the remainder of the original escort would soon have the space cleared, Major Lucian executed the original order for most of the Vipers to proceed to reinforce Lieutenant Randrius' group. Major Lucian was glad to see that Ensign Rose was following orders and was moving into position to return to the Callisto. Warriors should always be brave, but going into battle with a badly damaged ship when you didn't have to do so wasn't Lucian's idea of bravery. Ensign Rose was demonstrating the willingness to follow orders as well as common sense. He broke a half smile. She'd be a good Warrior.
Colonel Brie breathed a sigh of relief. They had just cleared the last Raider from the vicinity of the shuttles. Within fifteen centons, the eight remaining Frodarian shuttles, the three shuttles from the Callisto, three pod ships, and the Viper escort would be landing on the Callisto. They would be home at last.
“Colonel Brie to escorts. On behalf of all of us, thank you!”
A chorus of somewhat strangely accented voices joined in saying, almost in unison, “Yes, thanks to you.” Brie heard clapping and shouts of joy coming over comm from the Frodarian shuttles. Doubtless, only the Frodarian shuttle crews knew that so many of their friends had died only a few short centons before.
With the arrival of the first twelve Vipers reinforcing Lieutenant Randrius’ group, the rear guard battle turned, however briefly, in favor of the Colonials. They would be able to hold off the Raiders so that the shuttles could make it safely to the Callisto. Another thirty Raiders streaking in a couple of centons later swung the odds back in favor of the Cylons.
“How many of these guys do we have to kill today?” asked Randrius, to no one in particular. “I’ve heard of coming out of the woodwork, but this is ridiculous! There, take that, tinhead!”
Another Raider exploded in a flash as Randrius dived to avoid the debris. “Are you still with me, Zerrana?”
“I’m right on you, L’oot,” said Zerrana, banking, and firing in one motion. Another Raider disintegrated. “Watch out coming in 45 degrees low, Sir.”
Kiwi and Selene, the two remaining Gold Squardron Warriors in the fray, were both perfectly happy to be surrounded by Black Squadron Warriors. They were twisting and firing as fast as they could line up another shot. A glance at his monitor showed a couple of Colonial ships and a Raider nearby, but Kiwi whistled in surprise a micron later when he saw a streak followed by a larger streak pass nearby, spiraling, lasers blasting forward. Moments later, the Raider vaporized in a flash, having fallen victim to one of the Colonial bombers!
Kiwi said, “Wow! I didn’t know you could do that with a bomber. Good shooting, Warrior!”
A smooth baritone voice that Kiwi recognized as that of Captain Buellah of Silver Spar Squadron said, “Neither did we, Warrior. We just do what we can with what we’ve got. Thanks, though. Ah, here comes another one. One good thing about fighting so many of these damn Cylons at once is that you don’t have to look very hard for a target.”
* * *
After leaving the shuttles and sending a short message to the Callisto, Lucian had given the ten Warriors in the last group a little pep talk. Concluding, he said, “Let’s see if we can surprise these guys. Maintain communications silence until we hit them. Skyler, take your group in from left 20 degrees, and we’ll go in from right 20. Meet you on the other side.”
The two groups separated slightly, flying in silence, while hoping for surprise.
BSGRose
Rose was still having to keep a tight rain on her navi hilt as she was flying back towards the Callisto. The Viper kept wanting to go a different way other than the way she needed to at the moment. She was still fly near the first shuttle and still trying to keep from colliding into it and causing more damage to her Viper or doing any damage to the shuttle itself.
Ensign Rose was getting closer to the Callisto now and she thought she better let them know what was going on with the Viper so that they could have repair crews on hand to take care of the viper.
"Ensign Rose to Callisto, Ensign Rose to Callisto," Rose says over the commlink. "Callisto here, go ahead Ensign Rose," Rose hears over the commlink. "Callisto, my Viper has been damaged and I am heading back in for repairs. The controls are sluggish and I am not sure as to how nice of a landing I will be able to make when I come in for a landing, so you will need to have a repair crew on hand to work on my viper," Rose says.
Once she had gotten clearance to land and being told that a repair crew would be standing by, Rose started working on making her approach towards the landing bay so that she could land.
As she was approaching the landing bay, Rose noticed that it was getting a little hard to keep her viper under control, so she had a feeling that her landing would be a rough one. She just hoped that she would make it in one piece and didn't do to much damage in her landing.
Rose was being knocked around there in her cockpit a good bit as she continued to struggle to keep things as level as possible as she continued to work her way into the landing bay of the Callisto. She would be glad when she would be able to finally land and climb out of the cockpit that was for sure.
While she was working on her approach towards the landing bay, Rose wondered if Hawke had over heard her incoming call to the Callisto and if he was still up on the bridge or if he was on his way towards the landing bay now to see her.
Rose flys her viper into the landing bay and unceramoniously lands on the floor of the landing bay and being knocked around even more during her landing. She remembered vaguely hitting her head against the canopy of the viper and one of her arms being smashed into the canopy also some at which point she blacked out.
Hawke14
I was monitoring battle calls when I looked up at the battle scanner. I located Rose's ship. She was returning for repairs. But she was coming in way too fast. She must have her throttle wide open. "Catastrophe Recovery Crews to Alpha landing bay! Holodoc we're going to need you and a doctor in Alpha bay ASAP! Rose is coming in hot!""May the Lords of Kobol protect you Rose." I muttered to myself. I threw down my headset and I started for the door. "Commander,permission to go down to Alpha bay?" "Go ahead Hawke. Be careful." I tore out of there like a bat out of Hades. It took me 2 centons to get to Alpha bay. I hit the bay floor before the elevator was half way down. A tech runs up to me and holds me back. "She could lose it at any time!" I see her viper coming in very fast. "She's coming in too low!" I heard myeslf saying. Her landing gears were down. As she entered the bay I saw the gears sheer off. Her viper started to turn sideways. Just as I thought that she was going to hit us, the barricade net came up bringing her viper to a screeching halt. I climb onto the wing and look in the cockpit. I see Rose knocked out with blood trickeling down her face. I tap on the cockpit trying to wake her. "Rose! Rose,it's me Hawke.. Wake up!" When that didn't work I mumbled "Aww hell..." I break her cockpit cover by punching it four times and reach in and hit the manual release. The cover pops up. I reach in and carefully remove Rose's helmet. I toss it over my shoulder. "Hey, watch where you throw that thing!" I hear. I look down and I see Holodoc and a doctor standing by the wing of the viper. "Sorry." I mumble. I grab Rose and take her out of the cockpit. I carry her down the wing and lay her down on the bay floor.
Holodoc2000
Holodoc rushed over to where Hawke had layed Rose down on the landing bay floor so that she could start treating Rose's injuries. Holodoc did a quick assesment of all visiable injuries. Once that was done, Holodoc opens up her medkit & begins treating Rose's head injury. She cleaned around the cut & places a couple bandages on the cut until she could finish up the treatment in Life Station. Holodoc then begins working on Rose's arm that had the bad bruise on it. She puts a splint on the arm until she could do a more detail exam in Life Station.
"Ok, I need to get Rose over to Life Station in order to finish treating her injuries," Holodoc says. Hawke had been quietly watching Holodoc work on Rose & he reaches over to pick her up so that he could carry her to Life Station himself. "Hawke," Holodoc says, "we can take Rose over to Life Station on the gurney." Hawke looks up at Holodoc, nods & says, "I know, but I would rather carry her myself. I feel that I owe it to her for all she did for me earlier before she had to go back out into battle." Holodoc nods & says, "ok Hawke, but please be careful. I don't want Rose bounced around any more than needed." Hawke nods & gently picks Rose up in his arms.
Holodoc, Hawke with Rose in his arms, & the emergency medical team head over to Life Station so that Holodoc could finish treating Rose's injuries. Once they reach Life Station, Holodoc shows Hawke over to one of the beds so that he could place Rose on the bed. Hawke continued to stand by Rose's bed as Holodoc worked on the cut on Rose's head. After awhile, Holodoc finished treating the cut on Rose's head & begins working on her arm.
"Holodoc," Hawke says, "is Rose going to be alright?" Holodoc looks up at Hawke & says, "she will be fine Hawke. Rose will need some time to rest & recover from her injuries, but she will be fine. Rose will have a headache for a couple of days & her arm will be sore for a little while also. Luckily she only sprained in & not broke it when she banged it like she had. I am going to wrap her arm to give it a little support."
BSGRose
Rose slowly starts to wake up a little. She is sore all over and can hardly move. Rose hears voices close by, but is having trouble making out what is being said. As she starts waking up a little more, Rose starts moving around some on the bed.
"Where am I? Where is Major Lucian? I must get back and continue to be his wingmate. He needs me and I can't let him down. Please! I need to get back out there!," Rose says horsely.
LucianG
On hearing Rose's comments, Lorna, the chief Medical Clerk, approached the bed and gently put her hand on Rose's shoulder, steering her back down on the bed.
"Ensign, there's a short message here for you from Major 'El.' He sent it before you crashed, because he said you took a pretty hard blow out there, but I think he'd be saying the same thing if he knew what had happened when you came in." She pulled a small pad from her pocket, and read, paraphrasing, "Hmm, he said for you to rest and take care of yourself. He and the rest of the squad will be back shortly as soon as they finish kicking the Cylons'...ahem...rears. Will be back shortly to check on you. Major L." She paused a moment, then continued, "I don't think he would have written it if he didn't mean it, so get some sleep so he can actually talk to you when he gets back." She kept a gentle hand on Rose's shoulder until the injured Ensign was once again lost in slumber.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:57:34 GMT -6
BSGRose
Rose drifted back off to sleep. The medications that Nurse Holodoc had given her earlier wouldn't let her keep her eyes open for long right now. Rose vaguely remembers someone coming to her bed and reading a message to her from Major Lucian. She only heard about half of the message as she drifted into sleep.
While she was sleeping, Rose started dreaming. As she was dreaming, many things went through her mind starting with when she had been burned, her recovery period, her years at the Academy, being assigned to the Callisto, meeting Hawke, going into battle as Major Lucian's wingmate, and finally her not so good landing down in the landing bay. While she was still dreaming some, Rose begins to moan and toss a little in her sleep.
LucianG
From her vantage point to the rear of the Callisto, Lieutenant Amy watched several of the Frodarian shuttles land after Lieutenant Rose. The Callisto's shuttles were forming a defensive perimeter, in case of a sneak Cylon attack, but nothing was showing up on the monitors. With Amy's Viper still having trouble, she finally said to Flight Control, "Control, this is Lieutenant Amy. I'm going to have to land this daggit soon. It's growing more sluggish by the centon."
"Understood, Lieutenant. You're cleared for Alpha Bay as soon as Frodarian Shuttle Six lands. Stand by."
Amy saw the shuttle entering the landing bay, and moments later, heard the Flight Specialist Geenie say, "Lieutenant Amy, you're cleared to land in Alpha Bay."
Moments later, she was climbing from her Viper, and she stood back as it was hauled away. At the far end of the bay, she saw the first few shuttles starting to be unloaded, with a number of black-shirted Fleet Security Officers keeping the refugees together, while a few crewmen were trying to record identification information and make temporary quarters assignments.
Amy was moving away when she saw a group of Techs working on the barely recognizable wreck of a Viper. For some reason, she was drawn to it. She began to walk toward it, as she felt her stomach begin to clench.
LucianG
“Have we relocated that Cylon Base-Star yet?” asked an increasingly concerned Commander Sheba.
“Negative, Commander,” replied Major Joey. “With the information provided by Colonel Brie and Major Lucian on the latest group of incoming Vipers, we’ve backtracked their projected courses, and think that it’s in the vicinity of Frodar Epsilon, but it’s still hiding for now.”
“Keep searching, Joey. With the damage we’ve taken, we don’t want any surprises. Have the updated damage and repair reports arrived? Good…good…uhmmm. Put a rush on this one. We’ve got to have that repaired immediately in case the first Base-Star returns, or if by chance another one suddenly shows up.” She scanned through the rest of the list, nodding occasionally, but otherwise making no further sounds. As she finished, she looked up and asked, “Joey, why hasn’t the Lieutenant Colonel shown up to take this over? Didn’t someone say that Lieutenant Skyler said Charybdis came in with him and Lieutenant Najinn?”
“I’m not sure, Commander,” said Joey, as she looked over the flight list. She was frowning by the time she reached the end. She looked at Sheba and said, “Commander, there must be some mistake. Charybdis’ Viper is not listed among those recovered, but that’s not such a surprise considering that over half of Black Squadron had to land in Alpha Bay due to the smoke in Beta Bay. There are still a few ships that haven’t been logged in, and Major Lucian’s already taken some of them back out on the current mission.”
Sheba nodded in understanding and said, “Send a couple of Ensigns to track him down. I need him here as soon as possible…and have Doc report on Lieutenant Najinn’s status.”
“Yes, Commander,” said Major Joey, immediately dispatching Ensign Aegina and another of the bridge crew on the mission. She returned to her station and began to issue updated orders for repairs.
Sheba looked out the front viewport, knowing that a short distance ahead, more of her crew was fighting and perhaps dying to protect humankind. Even more painful, she knew that somewhere beyond that, the Base-Star could be destroying the human colony on Frodar Epsilon. Unfortunately, the Callisto was too badly wounded at the moment to take on the Cylon capital ship again until repairs were completed. Tragically, this was most probably a sentence of death for those remaining on the planet, buy she knew they, as true Warriors, would gladly sacrifice themselves to give those who had left a chance to live.
She resumed monitoring the battles. The shuttle fleet was closing on the Callisto, and should arrive before too long. Already, reports of incoming damaged Vipers were being received.
MaraJadeJedi
Lt MaraJade looked at Commander Sheba, "Any new orders for me commander?" she waited to see if she was still to be used as a temp gunner for now.
Brie
Knowing that they would soon be finally back aboard the Callisto, Brie took time to breathe. Since help had arrived it looked like most of them would make it. Thinking of Arianna and the others who had lost their lives gave Brie a knot in her stomach. Although it was a miracle that ANY of them had survived, Brie had been in command of the mission and any losses they faced were on her conscience.
It was time to start thinking ahead. Brie had no idea how the shuttles would all land, especially since eight of the pilots had never landed anywhere but on a planet. She contacted the Callisto for instructions. She expected Lt. Col. Charybdis to answer, but heard Mara's voice instead. Brie was glad to hear that the young Lt. was feeling better and should be returning to full duty soon. As Mara checked with Commander Sheba for the preliminary landing instructions, a question started to gnaw at Brie's brain. Where was Charybdis?
LucianG
"Lieutenant MaraJade," said Sheba, "you look as if you've had a tough day, but if you're up to it, I've got another assignment for you. They are reporting that it's a real madhouse in Alpha Bay with the Frodarian Shuttles landing and people disembarking. We've got Fleet Security trying to maintain order, but there are only a couple of Ensigns down there to help get ID's and make temporary arrangements for our Frodarian friends. Can you take over that operation? If you are too tired...."
MaraJade could tell from the look and from the pause that Sheba was implying that if she was too tired, she should be in bed. Swennson, sitting next to her, nodded and flicked her a quick thumbs up, indicating that he had everything under control at the Tactical Station. MaraJade pulled herself up from the seat, trying to keep from showing how tired she was, but not feeling at all confident that she had succeeded. She turned to Commander Sheba.
MaraJadeJedi
Lt MaraJade pulled herself up and smiled at Sheba. She could tell that they all were watching to see if she was tired or not. She couldn't lie, she was, but she knew that if the others had to remain awake so did she. Like a trooper,
"Commander, I would love to take that assignment for you. I won't let you down." Mara headed to the flight decks after getting all the info from Sheba. Once a warrior always a warrior, she thought in her mind with a smile.
Lt_Skyler
Skyler's wing approached the group of shuttles. "Keep it tight. Watch each others wings. Stick together. Kellyn, you and Thunderhawk, Brik you are with me, and that leaves you other two together. One pass through, take out as many raiders as you can, and then we move to intercept the incoming raiders. Hopefully we can buy the shuttles enough time to get back to the Callisto..."
The other vipers checked in that they understood their orders, and moved into formation. Laser fire was so thick you could walk on it. Raiders were being blown to bits left and right. Dodging their way through, being carefull not to get fried by a stray blast, they picked up 3 raiders on an attack vector for one of the shuttles. The lead raider opened fire, Skyler laid down heavy laser fire between the shuttle and the raider. One of his laser blast stuck the raiders blast causing a huge explosion. Ensign Brik fired taking out the lead raider. The next two Vipers got a second raider. The third raider broke off, and moved out of their feild of fire. Keeping with orders, they did not give chase, they continued on course to the incoming raiders.
Kellyn
On Skyler's orders Kellyn moved in next to Thunderhawke and they all began to take down the approaching raiders.Noticing three raiders had broke through and were headed for the shuttle Kellyn and Thunderhawke peeled off and fell in behind Skyler and Brik. As Brik took out the first raider Kellyn closed in and disposed of the second.The thrird raider got away but atleast it was no longer a threat to the shuttle.Kellyn took a deep breath and prepared for the next wave headed towards them
ThunderHawk
Hearing Lt. Skyler's orders, ThunderHawk moved to fall in with Kellyn. Just before reaching Kellyn, two raiders were were breaking formation and splitting up. ThunderHawk lined up with the one on the right and opened fire. Laser blasts just caught the left side of the raider, blowing it in half. It somehow felt wrong not giving chase to the other raider but ThunderHawk fell in with Kellyn right behind Lt. Skyler and Brik. "That's ok...I'll get a shot at plenty more," ThunderHawk thought to himself as they moved towards a swarm of incoming raiders.
LucianG
The four Black Squadron ships slashed in from the right just moments after the six Gold Squadron Vipers had begun their sweep from the other side. The emptiness of space was quite full of Raiders at the moment, giving Lucian, Jumperdwg, Nylah, and Raycer plenty of targets. Almost immediately, a trio of Raiders picked up Nylah and Raycer, and the quintet began a dangerous dance. Nylah fired, narrowly missing, and had to jog hard to the right to avoid a pair of blasts from one of the Raiders.
Raycer called, "Nylah, I'm going into a twist to try to take that one. On my mark, hold straight for four microns....Now!"
Nylah centered the control stick, thinking that four microns when one is the target is an eternity....
At the same time, Lucian, who had shot off well ahead of Jumperdwg, suddenly came out of a spiral and then immediately hit his reverse thrusters. The ship slowed dramatically, causing the pair of Raiders chasing him to overshoot. Jumperdwg, closing quickly, fired and was happy to see the first one blow up in countless bits.
"Ya-HOO! Got you!" Jumperdwg called over the comm, just as Lucian hit his turbos again. A moment later, he was back in position, and blasted the second one, echoing Jumperdwg a moment later with a simple, "Got 'im."
There were more calls for help on the comm, as the battle continued.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:58:03 GMT -6
Raycer
"Nylah hold straight for four microns... Im gonna try my twist again." Raycer said. "This worked once, lets see if I can do it again." Raycer pitched the nose of his Viper down and at the same time hit his retros and turbo for a short burst. His Viper rolled on its axis til it was inverted and pointing at the Raider on his and Nylah's tails. His Viper moaned at the manuver worse that it did before and a crack appeared in his canopy. He ignored it and opened fire not that he cared where his shots went he just didnt want to lose a friend like Nylah. He got lucky several of his shots lanced off the first Raider turning it into a fireball the other two broke off to avoid the shots.
"Not bad Raycer, watch this." Nylah told him. Nylah had come around after the 4 microns seeing that Raycer nailed the first one.
"Watch what?" he replied. Nylah lined up the shot and fired. The shot caught one Raider in the wing causing it to roll over on to the other Raider. Both exploded into nothingness. "Okay mine was good but your was better. I guess I buy the Ambrosia when we get back."
Amy81
Although it seemed like ages since I had left the Callisto and headed out to Frodar Epsilon, it really hadn’t been that long. A few hours at best. It just felt like yahrens. I was happy to get the clearance to land. My borrowed viper had been giving me trouble, so I had contacted flight control as soon as I had a visual on our battlestar. "Control, this is Lieutenant Amy”, I had said, “ I'm going to have to land this daggit soon. It's growing more sluggish by the centon."
"Understood, Lieutenant. You're cleared for Alpha Bay as soon as Frodarian Shuttle Six lands. Stand by." So I stood by. My body was aching. Now that I was at the end of my mission, I felt myself gearing down. Having been in a heightened state and in a tiny cockpit for so long, I really couldn’t wait now to get out, stretch, and relax, if that was possible.
"Lieutenant Amy, you're cleared to land in Alpha Bay."
“Roger that”, I replied, “I’m coming in.” I guided my ship into the bay. The viper seemed ready for a rest too. Fuel levels were way down, and there were enough dials in the red to really make me start hating that color. I landed on the deck, and out of force of habit I parked in my usual reserved spot, even though the viper I was using wasn’t mine. I saw my flight attentant, Johnny, trotting over. I popped the lid on my canopy, and hoisted my weary body out of the viper.
I gratefully pulled off my helmet as he called out to me. “Hey Lieutenant, thank the lords you are safe!” I just gave him a funny look. “Of course I am.” Then I softened, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for the concern.”
“No, it’s not that” Johnny began. “You were missing. Off the screen. Bridge called down several times looking for information.” He paused. “Whatever happened, I think the commander isn’t happy.”
I sighed. “I guess I’m up to my neck in it again”, I said. Now he gave me a funny look. “Trouble”, I said. “I’m never far away from it, it seems.” I changed the subject. “Is Lt. Col. Charybdis on the bridge?”
Johnny’s face fell. “Well, Amy, he hasn’t been seen. Bridge has been calling about him too.”
A feeling came over me. A sense of dread. “Johnny, he was flying escort for Lt. Najinn’s medical emergency.” I reached out and grabbed his arm. “Remember that viper coming in? It landed just as I left.”
“Yeah, I remember. I hear Najinn’s going to make it. That’s the talk anyway.”
I felt relief at that news, but where was Charybdis? “Johnny, Charybdis would have come in, like right after Najinn. Do you remember anything?” I know I did. I could still see it in my mind. A viper, struggling to land, under heavy fire. I had watched it for a micron before I had climbed into a viper and launched. Could it be? My heart began to race, and sink, at once.
Johnny thought for a moment, then it looked like he recalled something. He glanced momentarily at something at the far end of the bay. A viper, or what was left of one, lay there in a crumpled mess. He had only looked at it for the briefest of microns, but I knew what it meant. I started walking toward the wreck.
Johnny called to me as I walked. “I’m not sure, Amy.” After a pause, he called again. “It might not be him!” Pause. “Lieutenant!” I stopped hearing him at that point. Everything had suddenly gone quiet. There was still a bustle of activity everywhere, but I heard or saw none of it. I was completely focused on the wreck I was walking towards. I knew. Deep inside, I just knew.
Techs were working on the wreck, but moving slowly as I approached. One of them turned to me. “Can I help you, Lieutenant?”
“What happened to the pilot?” I asked.
“Still in there, the poor devil”.
“What?!” I exploded, “get him out of there!”
“Easy, Lieutenant. There haven’t been lifesigns for several hours now. There’s no rush.”
“Like hades”, I replied. I grabbed a tool from him, and brushed aside several others in order to climb to where the cockpit of the wreck was. I was about to take a swing at the window of the canopy when that first tech grabbed my arm.
“Lieutenant” he said sternly as my head snapped around and I stared at him. “Engineering wants this thing salvaged for parts.”
“So bill me.” I shook my arm loose.
“I’m not taking responsibility for this,” he said, raising his voice. “Whatever happens will be on YOUR neck!”
I leaned closer to him, nose to nose in fact. “I’m in so much trouble that my neck is already spoken for.” I turned my back to him. “Pick another body part.” I hit the canopy window as hard as I could with the tool, but made no mark. The others stepped away as I swung again and again. I must have looked crazy.
That first tech spoke up again. “It’s true what they say about you, Lieutenant….”, and he went on. I tuned him out. Nothing that I haven’t heard before anyway. I kept hitting the canopy window. It was strong stuff, but finally it spiderwebbed, then began to buckle. Come on! Finally I had a hole. I dropped the tool, and reached in, groping for the canopy release on the inside. Finally, I had it.
It clicked and released, but didn’t raise up like usual. I climbed up a little higher to get some leverage, and pulled it up. Inside, I could see the pilot, his head turned away from me. I climbed back down and with shaking hands I felt cold skin as I turned the body so I could see the face. I knew what I was going to see, but my heart skipped a beat anyway and I struggled to find a breath.
My Charybdis was there. His handsome face was in my hands, serene and peaceful. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. If only I hadn’t launched when I did. If I had stayed a few more microns, I would have been here. I could have saved him. I began to shake. This was too much. Too much. I began to cry. Or worse. I was having a breakdown.
I rested my head on his, closed my eyes, and just let it out. I was beginning to feel lightheaded, like I was going to faint. I opened my eyes again. Was it me, or were things beginning to get brighter? The cockpit seemed to be almost glowing. Probably my imagination, and yet…
Charybdis
The last thing I remembered was a bright light. A bright place. It must have been a dream...
I felt as if I was floating on air or in space. No weight at all. No existence at all. I had felt this once before. But when? Why?
Then all went dark. Suddenly, I felt something. Pain, anguish, sadness, despair. But deep inside that pain there was a gentleness. Something or someone who cared more than anything else.
I could feel my eyeballs rolling in my head, I became aware of myself again. A very strange feeling, I assure you. As if you are aware of being born again!
I felt a strange pressure all around me, especially my head. I also felt a bit wetness on my face and there was a sound, like uncontrollable sobbing or crying.
I opened my eyes and for a micron could not see anything, but it was then that I realized that there was something in front of my face, it was another person grabbing me!!!
I took a deep breath and came to as best I could. I lifted my hands to grab hold of whoever was attacking me! As the person lifted their head, they shook with a fury I have never seen nor felt before. The person must have jumped two feet in the air when they felt me move.
My eyes focused and they came to rest on...Amy!!!!!!
She was sobbing, tears were streaming down her face with a sadness I have never seen on any face before. What had happened? She looked like Hades, I must admit, it took me a micron more to realize where I was and what condition I was in. I didn't look too good. My uniform was burned and blackened in spots and I wasn't wearing a helmet. My right leg hurt quite a bit, but at least it was still there. Black burnt metal was strewn about me and the cockpit, but that was the last thing on my mind. Amy....
She started shrieking when she saw me, she pawed at my head and face as if I wasn't real or something. She screamed out, "You're alive!! You're alive!" As she grabbed me and pulled me to her all the harder. I could feel the very essence of her being. I could feel her soul as she clutched at me.
I was a bit confused still. I knew I was in my viper and it was not in good shape. In fact, it had no shape at all practically. I must have been hit. I was hit. It came back to me. THe mission!! I took some hits as I was landing!!!! The landing must have knocked me out for awhile. That was it. Amy was helping to get me out of the viper. Oh boy. Was I relieved. I was OK.
I clutched back at Amy and held her for all I was worth. At this point, several med techs and viper technicians swarmed over us. They pulled at Amy to detach her from my arms and at least four or five of them lifted me out of the cockpit and placed me on a gurney. I could hear her screaming to leave her alone but they insisted that they look me over. I swear, why were they making such a fuss? I seemed to be OK. It was a bad landing apparently, but I was alright. It seemed as if they were looking at the second coming of the Lords of Kobol or something!
I was too weak to fight them, but I tried to hold on to Amy's hand as best as I could. Funny, she seemed rather cold to the touch...
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:58:34 GMT -6
Amy81
My heart raced with a mixture of shock and relief. Charybdis was alive! But a cold wave swept up my spine. He had been dead, I'd swear on it. He face felt cold, like death...
I shook my head. No. He was alive! I was wrong. Those stupid techs were wrong. Meds were all over him now, buzzing with activity and puzzlement. I held onto Charybdis's hand tightly, as I was nearly squeezed out of the way. I wasn't going to let go. Several times the meds looked back at me, almost suspiciously, as if I had done something to wake him up. I wonder, had I?
I ran my free hand through my hair, or tried to. It was a snarled mess. What the winds of the planet had started, a long viper ride with my head crammed in a helmet had finished. I must look horrible! I rubbed at my face, and I could feel the tear streaked mess I had made of myself. But I could feel Charybdis lightly squeezing my hand, and I forgot all about the way I looked.
I could hear bits and pieces of conversations, but I didn't really listen to any of them. Just pieces. "Signs are stabilizing..." "He was gone, I'd swear to it..." "The commander will want a full investigation..." "She was nuts, whacking on the glass like a lunatic..."
One of the meds on the fringe looked over at me. "What about you? Any injuries?" He looked at me like he expected me to start a long list. I shook my head.
"What happened?" he asked, turning his attention back to Charybdis after looking me up and down for a second or two.
I shrugged my shoulders. "He came back to me" I said lamely, my tone making me sound like a I had dropped a marble or two. I wormed my way between several of the meds, gaining Charybdis's attention. I smiled. I wasn't going to leave his side.
His mouth moved a little. Maybe he was attempting a smile. My smile grew. Tears started coming again and I brought my head down close to his ear. "Thought I'd lost you, you moldy old jackass" I whispered. From deep inside him, I thought I heard a little laugh.
Charybdis
I clutched Amy's hand and would not let it go. She was my lifeline during this difficult period. I wondered if she would get in trouble by leaving wherever it was she was supposed to be. I remembered that we were in the big battle with the 3 base ships and there were Cylons all around us. It was then that I took the hit and tried to land, when...
Things were still a bit fuzzy, but I knew that I was OK. Amy was by my side and that made me feel a lot better. She was in uniform, too. I wonder if she had decided to come back to the service?
I looked up at the metal ceilings of the corridors as they whisked me away to the med lab. I tried to say something to Amy but before I could, they jammed a tube into my mouth to give me fresh oxygen. I must admit, it felt kind of good when I started breathing it in. It was like I was growing into every nook and cranny of my body again. I was whole. I was back!
I still could not understand what all the fuss was over me, though. I guess they like their ol' Lt. Colonel and were glad to see me make it through.
That was a rough one. I had never been hit like that before. By the looks of it, I think my old viper was done for. Too bad, we had made it through a lot together. But, in the end, it did it's job -- and that was to get me back home safely.
I turned my head to look at Amy as she walked right by my side. I stared into her eyes and she had the strangest look on her face still. She was totally distraught but so passionate. She was almost radiant herself. I knew that she was the most special person I had ever known. I closed my eyes and remembered that we were to be sealed as soon as we found the fleet. I didn't want to wait that long anymore. A slight smile broke across my face, even through the tube in my mouth...
Amy81
I walked along side Charybdis as he was wheeled into a lift. The doors closed, and it was mighty cramped as the car rode toward the medical wing. I just stared down at Charybdis, and felt so happy, so at peace that I hadn't lost my fiancee.
We hustled out of the elevator, and down to medlab. The doors kicked open, and we all went in, one big unwieldy group. More meds from inside the lab moved in, and I finally had to give up my spot next to Charybdis. I slowed to a stop as the group kept moving, taking him into a room. Doors closed behind them, and I was by myself.
All the physical wear and emotional tear finally caught up to me at that moment. I glanced around and found a place to sit down. I could feel my energy draining out of me, like air from a balloon. I raised my legs up, and rested my head on my knees. I closed my eyes and gave in to the fatigue.
Holodoc2000
When Charybdis was wheeled into MedLab Holodoc rushes over to the gurney that he was on to start checking him over. The med techs that brought him in gave her his vital signs & other important information that they had gathered along the way on Charybdis. Holodoc thanks the & starts doing her on check on Charybdis.
During her checkover of Charybdis, Holodoc doesn't find a single thing wrong with him. There are no scratches, or other types of injuries one would normally receive when they crash land their viper. Holodoc knew that normally there would be some sort of trauma with what Charybdis went through, but there was nothing wrong with him. It is a miracle that he is alive & nothing is wrong with him.
Even though nothing was visibly wrong with him, Holodoc was still going to keep Charybdis there in MedLab for a little while longer just to be on the safe side. "Charybdis," Holodoc says, "you are fine, but I am going to keep you hear for awhile for oberservation to be on the safe side." Charybdis started trying to fight to get up to leave MedLab, but Holodoc wouldn't let him get anywhere. "Charybdis!," Holodoc says, "you are to stay put until either the Doctor or I release you from MedLab." "Holodoc," Charybdis says horsely, "I need to get back to work. I have things that I need to take care of either up on the bridge or down in one of the landing bays." Holodoc pushes Charybdis back down onto the bed & replies, "Charybdis, those up on the bridge & down in the landing bays can do without you for awhile. You may be one of the head honchos up on the bridge or out in battle, but right now you are on my turf. You will follow instructions of the medical staff & that is final." Charybdis reluctanly stayed put on the exam bed.
Holodoc walks over to where a couple of the med techs were waiting & talks to them for a few centons. After talking with them the med techs come over to the bed where Charybdis was & wheels him over one of the other beds to where he will stay for awhile there in MedLab until either the Doctor or Holodoc would give him clearance to leave. Holodoc goes out to where Amy has been waiting to hear something about Charybdis.
Holodoc walks out to the waiting are & see's Lt Amy sitting there with her head on her knees. Holodoc sits down in one of the chairs next to Lt Amy & places one of her hands on Amy's shoulder. "Lt Amy," Holodoc says quietly, "Charybdis is going to be just fine. He has no visible injuries, but we are going to keep him for a little while for observation just to be on the safe side to make sure there aren't any problems. If you want you can go over & visit with him for awhile."
Amy81
My brief grab at some rest had done me some good. I felt a little bit better, though I could have picked a better position to sit in. I stretched my legs back out, and sat up straight. Smoothing back my hair, I remembered that I was still a mess. A good cleaning up was in order.
I looked over at Holodoc, relieved at hearing that Charybdis was fine. I smiled as she spoke, but inside I still felt a little unnerved by it all. I needed to talk to somebody, to get some things out.
"Holodoc", I began with hesitation, "He's really alright? Nothing wrong with him?" Holodoc nodded with a reassuring look.
"I don't know whether to be happy, or spooked" I continued. I looked at her with a confused expression. "He was gone, Holodoc. I felt his face. He was cold." I shuddered at the memory, also remembering how frightened I was when he first moved. "Thank the lords, I'm happy he's back, but I... I've never felt so, so unnerved I guess you'd call it."
"Do you believe in miracles, Holodoc? I thought I did, but faced with one, why am I so afraid?" I sat back. Holodoc put a hand on my shoulder. I didn't know if Holodoc had any answers, but I'd take any opinions, anything to give me another view on what happened. I felt more secure with my legs up, so I pulled them in close and rested my head back on my knees. Holodoc's hand on my shoulder felt very comforting.
Holodoc2000
Holodoc smiled over at Amy when she asked about believing in miracles. "Amy," Holodoc says quietly, "yes, I believe in miracles. They are far & few between. So when one comes around the best thing to do is grab hold of it & hold onto it as tightly as possible."
Holodoc noticed that Amy pulled her legs back up close to her again & seemed a little unsure about things still. Holodoc places her arm around Amy's shoulder & pulls her close. "Come on now Amy," Holodoc begins, "cheer up. You & Charybdis are both very blessed. You both have received a miracle & in such a short amount of time. You received one when you surived what you went through what you did with some of the Security Personel & now Charybdis by not receiving any injuries from the battle he was in & his crash landing. It is rare that more than one person receives a miracle so close together in such a short time, & both of you have received one. Besides, you two still have a Sealing Ceramony to plan from what I understand."
Now how would you like to see Charybdis?, Holodoc asks.
Amy81
I lifted my head back up, and looked at Holodoc. I let her words go around in my mind, hoping they could chase away my fears. Who was I to doubt a miracle? Why would I want to? I was pretty confused. Too much happened too quickly, I guess. I needed to stop the ride and get off for a while.
"I guess you are right, Holodoc" I said, trying to put some conviction behind the words. "Maybe I just need some time, put a little space between me and all that's happened. It just seems so unnatural, you know?" I sighed. "Maybe that's not the right word. I was just so close when it happened. When he woke up. Like I was... I don't know." I sighed again.
"I suppose I should concentrate on the positive. He's back, and I should be thankful." Another sigh. "He's awake, huh? Maybe I will go in and see him." I stretched my legs out, and got my achy body on it's feet.
"Thanks Holodoc. You've been a great help." I hesitated for a moment. "Maybe I could talk to you later?" I shrugged, trying to act like I was alright. "You know, in case I still have some questions?"
Holodoc2000
"Amy," Holodoc says, "I'll be here to talk & listen should you need me. I don't think I will be going anywere anytime soon. It has been so long since I have left MedLab I wonder if I will even know where my own quarters are now when all this is over with & things start getting back to normal to some extent." Holodoc thinks back to when she brought Jadzia, Abby Tabby, & BrieCORA to MedLab when the recent battle started. "One thing is for sure," Holodoc begins again, "since I have been spending so much time here lately, I'm starting to think that Jadzia, Abby Tabby, & BrieCORA think that this is there new home. Plus, since Jarrynn, Kris, & Anubis are out on a mission, I have been looking after Isis, Furybdis, & Galen for them. I don't know who has been looking after Turbo for Kiwi, but who ever is looking after Turbo, I hope that they are doing a good job."
"Now you get in there & visit with that Fiance of yours," Holodoc says with a smile as Amy heads that way.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:59:09 GMT -6
Brie
Having been given landing instructions, Colonel Brie sat back. Colonel Brie. When she stepped foot on the Callisto, she would once again be "just" a Captain. That sounded so good to her! Her life would get back to normal, whatever that meant. This mission had changed her forever.
She went over in her mind a list of things she would have to do. After decontamination she wanted to check on Najinn. That was her first priority, she would defy orders if she had too. She had to thank him, if it wasn't for him she never would have returned. She would then need to report to Commander Sheba for a complete debriefing. She would also need to introduce Sheba to Captain Jorlan, since he was the leader of the new group of refugees. Considering Jorlan's disdain for women in authority it would probably be an interesting meeting. Brie hoped that she wouldn't have to help in getting everyone situated. She felt selfish thinking that, but she had spent too much time with the Frodarian people already.
One more thing that she needed to do, she needed to talk to Charybdis. She wasn't sure if she was going to chew him out for not contacting her like he had promised after he landed, or congratulate him on his engagement. She just needed to talk to him.
LucianG
As Brie's shuttle was entering Landing Bay Alpha, one of bay traffic controlers buzzed the comm. When there was an answer, he said, "Lieutenant, I think your quarry is landing now. Happy hunting!"
"Sergeant, you call her that again, and I will be forced to kick your rear, hard, understood? Good. Now, I'll be right there. And by the way, thanks!" came the reply.
The Control Sergeant ended the call with a snicker and a smile. He looked at his chrono, and said, "I'd give him about three centons," as he pressed the timer.
"He'll never make that says 10 cubits," said the other controller, placing the plate on the countertop. "From there, it'll take him at least four and a half."
"It's a wager!"
283 microns later, the first controller collected the 10 cubit piece from the second, as Lieutenant Nat came crashing into the landing bay, trying to catch his first glimpse of a certain young Lieutenant for the first time in several cycles.
MedievalSong
I sat there in the shuttle cockpit and took off the helmet. Jarrynn came over and looked at me and laughed. "You look like hades!" "I feel like it! I can't get over it Jarrynn. We lost Arianna and then that shuttle. If only I would have gotten a better hold of the guns sooner." I sighed as I slumped back in the chair. I looked at the faces of the refugees as they unloaded. Many of them looked sad others looked like they wanted to rip us apart. "I feel so bad for them." "I don't blame them. I mean we were supposed to protect them and we failed!" At this point I leaned forward into my hands. Jarrynn hugged me. "Quit blaming yourself! There are so many that are still alive because of you. Just think on that!" Jarrynn looked up and saw the shuttle was empty. "Come on, lets go!" I got up and leaned on Jarrynn. "How are your eyes?" "I am ok, it will wear off. Still looks bright, but getting better. Man I am exhuasted. My bunk is calling my name." We headed off and I saw Mara working on moving the refugees around. Jarrynn kept me walking towards the med lab with Wendy and Lusitan. She wanted to make sure we all checked out for more intensive check over when I felt her stop. "Why are we stopping?" Jarrynn's grip on my arm tightened. I looked up and saw him! A face I hadn't seen in ages it seemed! I just stood there and stared at him. I walked over and hugged him. "Just hold me Nat." I let the tears fall as I let him hold me.
Brie
Captain Brie saw that Mara was in charge of the refugees. "Good," she thought, "they're not going to ask me to do it." Brie started towards the medlab when she heard a voice calling from behind. "Captain Brie," Mara called, "Commander Sheba wants to see you immediately."
Brie nodded but didn't change her direction. She knew that Sheba wouldn't give her much leeway. She walked quickly to the medlab, too tired to run. Once she arrived she saw Doc Bkj. "Doc," Brie asked, "How's Najinn? Can I see him?"
"He's holding his own," was Doc's reply, "but he's resting, and I don't really want him disturbed. You could leave him a message if you'd like."
Doc handed Brie a piece of paper and pen. After thinking for a moment she wrote the words, "Najinn, we're all back safe...thanks to you. Eternally grateful, Brie."
Knowing that she couldn't keep the Commander waiting, Brie left. As she walked out the door she thought she saw Amy talking with Holodoc, but decided that it must be the lack of sleep catching up with her. Or else Amy, too, was checking on Najinn. Brie wondered how Charybdis would feel about that!
Charybdis
I was lying down on the bed in med lab. I felt just fine. I was a little tired, but seemed fine to return to duty. I called med tech over and asked him if he could at least send for a new uniform, a command blue one. I didn't have any plans to return to the cockpit anytime soon.
I checked my chrono, something didn't seem right. I checked the clock on the med lab wall and my watch was about 4 centars behind as if it had stopped. I guess with the crash it broke.
I also told the med tech to let Cmdr. Sheba know that I was back from my mission and to see if she could let me out to resume my duties. After all, we were in the midst of a huge battle with 3 Cylon baseships. I was needed on the bridge.
I also longed to see Amy again. Even though it was just a few centons since they took me in, I needed to see her, to know that she was there.
I needed to tell her what was on my mind...
Amy81
I stood in the doorway, hesitating for a moment. I glanced back at Holodoc, remembering her words of advice. I smiled briefly, then turned back. I caught a glimpse of myself in a reflection off vid-screen. Was it possible that I looked worse than Charybdis? I grabbed my clumpy hair and tried to pull it back behind my head. Once I let it go it poofed back out again. Only a good long shower would get me back to presentable again.
I walked in. And there he was, sitting up on his bed, looking ready to do a few laps around the launch bays. He looked great, just great! So what was the problem here? Was it me? I look for signs of faith, of a higher purpose, and when one presents itself I'm ready to run the other way. Maybe I need a shrink. Or a good whack in the head.
Charybdis smiled at me. I smiled back and walked in. Maybe once I was close to him again, my odd feelings would go away. I braced myself, praying that they would.
"Hey" I said as I walked up to the foot of Charybdis's bed. I looked up briefly, expecting to see maybe an angel or something. What has gotten into me? I looked at Charybdis, looked straight into those big wonderful eyes, and felt a little better. At least didn't see pitchforks or something in there. I shook my head to break that train of thought.
"I feel like I should bow down or something", I said with a shrug. "You know, since you returned from the dead and all." I smiled a little, trying hard to keep a cool exterior. His arms were extended, inviting me with the promise of a comforting embrace. I walked around the side of the bed slowly at first, then quicker as I got closer.
We wrapped arms around each other and I held on tightly. See Amy? It's still him. Nothing has changed. I kept that thought circling around and around in my head. I felt safe as long as I held on tightly.
After the longest time, we released each other and I sat back on the bed. I hated the long silences, so I started talking about the last few hours.
"Surprised to see me in uniform again?" I started. "Me too, a little. Weird. I just had to help somehow. I was going crazy from self-pity! I met this scared cadet who helped me see the light." I stopped there for the briefest of time, feeling like I had said something wrong. I had seen the light alright. Way up close and personal. Uh-oh, silence.
I went on, like some stupid chatty kid. "I got viper clearance and went out to find you. I heard things weren't going well. The trip took forever! I couldn't believe that you weren't there when I reached the planet!" I paused, remembering the rock I took. I pulled it from my pocket. "My first landfall! I took this as a parting gift." I laughed a little at the dumb rock I held like a piece of gold. I noticed a confused look cross Charybdis's face, like something wasn't adding up for him.
I continued, trying to keep filling those silences. "I saw you trying to land before I left. But I didn't know it was you. If I had only known..." I sighed. "Thank the lords that the basestar is destroyed. Maybe we can get on and find the fleet now."
I paused. Charybdis had seemed content to look at me, hear me talk. But he looked ready to say something now.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 30, 2005 3:59:54 GMT -6
Charybdis
Amy was talking about things that had recently happened to her on her mission and seeing me land, etc. but somehow it began to confuse me. I had no recollection of her launching or defeating base stars or any of that. As far as I was concerned, I had landed in the heat of the battle with the 3 basestars and we needed help in defeating them. But, her story seemed to indicate that a much longer time frame had elapsed.
She noticed that my brow furrowed as it didn't add up. "Charybdis, what's wrong?" Amy asked once she noticed.
"Uh, I don't know, Amy. I mean, I came in to land and I got hit by the Cylons, then I woke up in my cockpit and saw you there. I figured it was just a few centons..." my thoughts trailed away.
Amy looked around and realized that I was serious. She hesitated a bit, unsure of exactly what she should tell me, but she forged ahead. "Charybdis, during the heat of the battle, you did come in and crash landed, that was when I launched with the rest of Gold squadron, except...I didn't know it was you. We were in such a hurry, I never would have.."she caught herself in midsentence. The ever-present dilemma of being in the military, duty to cause or self? I didn't want her to have to struggle with it. We knew that the duty to the cause, the duty of survival came first. Without that, there would be nothing else.
She continued on, "during the battle, I left the area and went to help with the rescue mission and to see if Captain Brie needed extra help. Once there, we engaged the Cylons again and escorted the surviving shuttles of refugees back to the Callisto once she finished with the basestars. We are just about to leave the area right now." She looked at me hoping that it would make sense.
I looked down at my watch. Four centars behind but it was still working. It still didn't make sense. After all, we knew that it took several centars to travel back to the planet. "But Amy, if you did all that and it's four centars later, why in the twelve worlds was I still in the cockpit when you returned?" That was the big question and I wanted an answer.
Amy looked around and got really nervous. She wringed her hands together. Now I was getting nervous just watching her. "Amy, what's the matter? What's wrong?" I asked her.
"Charybdis...your viper was hit pretty badly. They were not sure if you even made it back at first. The ship was damaged so much they didn't even know it was you in there." She was dancing around something, but she didn't or couldn't say what it was.
"I returned from my mission and the med techs said.." she paused as if something had a stranglehold on her. "Charybdis, they told me that there were no lifesigns aboard your ship. They never opened your cockpit because you were dead." She looked down and began to get teary-eyed a little, remembering that horrible scene in the launch bay. "They just left you in there like some rotten daggit!!!" she began to cry.
Dead?? But I was fine and sitting right here! I could see that Amy was rather distraught. "Amy, I'm OK. I'm here. I'm fine." I tried to reassure her. "Maybe the equipment malfunctioned or something. I don't know, it seems rather strange but the fact is I'm here. I'm alive. There's no need to be afraid. Like I told you, I was just knocked out and, I guess they left me in there during all this time." I pulled her close and she responded. She clutched me tight as she nodded in silent assent. "I love you," I told her, hoping that it would calm her down. I could understand her fears. I still could not comprehend how they could leave me in my cockpit for four centars, but in the heat of battle, anything is possible.
She cried all the harder, "Charybdis, I was there! I was the one who opened your cockpit! You were dead!" she sobbed, barely getting the words out. "You were dead!" she lost it and buried her head in my chest.
Now I guess I knew why she was so distressed. She thought I was dead! Damn med techs, they probably scared the life out of her. But the funny thing was, the more I thought about it, something was still not right. I may have been knocked unconscious, but for some reason I knew deep down that it wasn't as simple as that. I had the feeling that I had been somewhere else. Someplace good and serene and not anywhere near a battle. I decided to keep that to my self for now. I may have just been suffering from battle fatigue for all I knew.
I held on to Amy and didn't let her go. I never wanted to leave this spot. I wanted her to know that I was alive and kicking and was here for her no matter what.
Amy81
It dawned on me that I had fallen asleep while being held by Charybdis. I was very tired. Very worn out. Confused. I hated the conflicting feelings that ran through me. I pulled away slowly.
“I’m not doing any good here,” I said. “Sleeping on you and all. I’ll catch up with you later.” I paused at the doorway, feeling I should add something more. “I’m glad you’re alright,” I said.
I turned away, head down. I left the room.
Holodoc2000
Once Amy had gone over to where she could visit with Charybdis for awhile, Holodoc went back to some of her other duties there in MedLab. While she was working on a few patient files, Holodoc started thinking to herself on how she would be glad when things started getting back to normal & to a regular routine around MedLab. She was going on very little sleep & could use some time to get more than two or three centares at a time of sleep.
Holodoc had just finished up up-dating a few patient files when several people started coming into MedLab all at once. They were being escorted by a couple of techs from down in one of the landing bays. One of the techs walks over & lets Holodoc know that these are the people that were rescued. While we were doing some of the processing down in the landing bay, we noticed that these women & children were in need of medical attention & made sure that they got here safely for medical treatemnt. Holodoc thanked the techs for seeing the Frodarians there to MedLab safely & she started working on sorting through the newly arrived patients there in MedLab. While working her way through the new set of patients to see who need treatment first & who could wait a little longer, Holodoc noticed that everyone was frightened, scared, & not sure what would be happening to them next. Holodoc noticed that there were a few of the ladies somewhat hysterical & that others were trying to comfort them as best as they could. Holodoc thought that it must be due to the fact that they were some place totally different to what they were accustomed to & the fact that they had to leave their husbands behind & don't know what has become of their husbands.
Holodoc had finished doing a quick check on all the new patients & she along with several other staff members there in MedLab staff starting working on treating each of the new patients one by one. Some of the children were a little frightened of the staff so their mothers would stay with them while being treated.
* * *
Brie
After leaving the MedLab Brie hurried to the bridge. She hoped that Commander Sheba wouldn't be upset that she had stopped to check on Najinn. She sent word to Mara to have Captain Jorlan sent to the bridge when he had a chance, she knew that Sheba would want to speak with him as well. She hoped that Jorlan would be awhile, the first part of Brie's story needed to be told without him.
Upon entering the bridge area, Brie looked around. It hadn't changed since she had last been there, but it seemed so different. Brie knew that she was the one who had changed. She spotted Sheba, whose back was turned to her. Brie held her head up and approached her commanding officer. "Captain Brie, reporting as ordered, ma'am."
Sheba turned to look at Brie. "You were supposed to report immediately, Captain."
"I know, ma'am," Brie said. "But I needed to check on Najinn."
"I would have been disappointed if you hadn't," was Sheba's unexpected response. She motioned towards a room on the side. "Let's talk in there." Brie followed the commander into the small room and sat down at a table opposite her.
"I accept full responsiblity for the failure of the mission, Commander," Brie said.
Sheba was obviously surprised. "The mission wasn't a failure," she told Brie. "Things may not have gone smoothly, but what ever does? Overall, the mission was a success. You've got to look at the bigger picture." Sheba reached over and patted Brie on the hand. The move surprised Brie slightly. She knew as well as anyone how hard it was for a woman to move up through the ranks in the military. Sometimes you had to have a cold exterior. "There are three things I need to know," Sheba continued. "Can the humans we left behind defend themselves against the Cylons? What happened with Najinn? And how did Lt. Amy end up with you group?"
Brie didn't waste any time in answering Sheba's first question. "I don't know how well they can hold the Cylons off," she said honestly. "They claim they can. Commander Tolar, their leader, showed me bits and pieces of what he called 'The Omega Plan.' He said that they've been working on if for 100 yarhens. It's a series of underground tunnels, fortresses, traps, things like that. They're well armed but their equipment is ancient. I don't think that they truly realize what the Cylons are capable of. I told them about the destruction of the colonies, but I they didn't believe me. I've sent word to Captain Jorlan to meet us here. He's the highest ranking officer who came with the refugees and is also Tolar's son. He can tell you more about the Omega Plan, although I don't know if he will."
"Why?" Sheba asked.
"Well," Brie said, trying to choose her words, "Jorlan has a bit of an attitude. He can't quite grasp the concept of a woman in a position of authority. We had tried to tell him that our commander is a woman, but I don't think that he believed us."
"Do you trust him?" Sheba inquired.
"Personally, no," Brie replied. "I do think he wants what is best for his people, so on a larger scale he MIGHT be trustworthy, although he does blame us for bringing the Cylons to his colony. But I myself wouldn't turn my back on him, since he hates me."
"How come? What happened?"
"That, ma'am, leads to your second question," Brie said.
Talking about what had happened proved more painful than Brie had expected. She tried to shut off her emotions. "They were tracking us while we were still outside the city," she started. "When we got to the shield dome there was a group of about 20 of their warriors. We were outnumbered and outarmed, and since our goal was to get them to trust us I decided that we should surrender our weapons. They blindfolded us and led us inside. We were brought to a room. At first it wasn't locked but then they locked us in. We somehow missed the listening device that they had planted in the wall. We were taken to Commander Tolar, who thought we were Cylon spies. They wouldn't believe anything else. So I thought that if that's what it would take to get them to evacuate, I'd let them think that we WERE spies. That was a critical mistake on my part. We were taken back to the room that they were using as a holding cell, and taken out one by one to question. So we had to go back to our original story, since that was the only way we would be giving the same answers. I was taken first, two armed guards were left with Skyler and Najinn. We had all realized by this point that the mission was a bust, we just wanted to get out with our lives. Najinn was questioned second. They roughed him up a little bit, but he wasn't hurt badly. He was brought back, and they took Skyler. That's when..." Brie stopped and looked down.
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