|
Post by Amy81 on Nov 10, 2008 14:39:04 GMT -6
Lt. Dolet strolled onto the flight deck, helmet tucked under his arm. On the Black Squadron side, where vipers stood side by side facing their respective launch tubes, he found a deck hand standing by. Dolet walked up to him and put a foot on the portable stairway that led up to his viper.
"Prepped and ready" the deckhand said.
Dolet looked around the bay. "Slow day?"
The deckhand nodded. "Yeah. Been this way for a while. I guess most of the crew is at the 10th anniversary bash."
"Yeah" Dolet replied. "Leave it to me to pull recon." The deckhand laughed as Dolet mounted the stairs and climbed into his ship.
"Routine patrol then?" the deckhand asked.
Dolet pulled on his helmet and nodded. He gave a thumbs up and hit the switch to lower the canopy. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the deckhand pulling the stairs away. The canopy clicked shut, leaving him in silence.
But the silence didn't last.
He hit the engine buttons and heard the roar as the ship came to life. He grabbed the stick firmly, and waited for clearance.
"Core systems transferring control to probe craft" a voice said into his com system. "Launch when ready."
Dolet's viper roared down the launch tube and into space....
|
|
|
Post by Col. Charybdis on Nov 11, 2008 12:32:36 GMT -6
I stood on the bridge looking out the view screen. A few of the Black Squadron vipers were making their way out in front of the Callisto. Commander Sheba approached from behind, "Colonel, did you send the message?" she asked.
"Yes, Commander. Gold Squadron should be returning from their search mission soon. Black has just launced to cover their return should anything happen." I paused a moment. "Commander..." I never finished my sentence. Sheba was thinking the same thing. We had to get going. We had to leave Brie behind and Amy was still missing. The entire fleet depended on us moving away from this sector.
Sheba put her hand on my arm. She gave a half-hearted smile and walked back to the war room.
I turned to follow my gaze out the window. Two faces were all I could see: Brie and Amy. I suddenly realized how similar they seemed...and it suddenly dawned on me that I would never be seeing Brie again...no one would...and I wasnt' too sure about Amy either. I sat down in the chair and looked blankly out into space...
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Nov 11, 2008 16:27:38 GMT -6
Dolet eased off the turbos once he'd achieved a position up in front of the fleet. He passed a number of vipers that were on return approaches along the way, and it was only after he was assured of their safe return he had continued on his way.
He thought about the loss of Brie, one of the most courageous warriors ever to wear the uniform. Though he served in Black Squadron, Dolet wished he'd had a chance to serve under her. It was an opportunity forever lost now....
He thought about Captain Amy, an oddly irratic warrior whose great achievements were countered by strange behavior and decidedly mixed results. She was missing now. Was it more strange behavior? He'd known her enough to know that when it came to Amy anything was possible.
A blip on his control board brought him back to attention. He was at the edge of the fleet's scanner capacity. He set his own scanners to full ahead. The fleet needed to get moving soon, and needed to know what lie ahead.
"Well then, let's see what we can see" he said to himself as he peered ahead into the starfield in front of him.....
|
|
|
Post by Col. Charybdis on Nov 12, 2008 8:44:42 GMT -6
The last of the Gold Squadron patrols landed onboard and flight operations returned to normal. All hands were to prepare to get moving once again. The fleet captains were notified and began to prepare their ships for the continuation of the voyage.
The Galactica began to move and with her, the Callisto followed...we were resuming our search for Earth!
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Nov 12, 2008 13:59:45 GMT -6
Dolet's eyes were tired from looking at the screens. Scan after scan picked up nothing but starfield in all directions. His ship coasting, the silence was beginning to get to him as well. He shifted in his seat for the hundredth time and began a new scan.
This time the screen flashed with a new display. A system of planets showed up to his left. "A change of scenery" Dolet said out loud, a tinge of excitement in his voice. "Let's go see..." He sent the data back toward the fleet, knowing a reply would be a little while in coming.
With the excitement of facing the unknown spreading through his body, he hit his turbos and swung left toward the planetary system. He couldn't see it with his naked eye, but it was clear as Kobol on the scanner....
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Nov 17, 2008 19:28:29 GMT -6
The system of planets grew larger and larger on Dolet's scanner until at last the nearest planet and it's moons were visible through his cockpit window. As he drew nearer his viper began to shake, slightly at first, then more noticably.
"What the frack" he said as he grip his joystick tighter and flipped various switches on his control panels. The vibrations continued, harder than before. On top of that, things began to get brighter, making it hard for Dolet to see.
"Got to turn around..." he muttered, yet no matter how he pulled on the stick he couldn't get the viper to change course. He hit the com, but got greeted with a shrieking feedback that he quickly shut off.
His viper was shaking apart. He knew it, knew he only had moments left, and was never going to know what it was that...
The viper suddenly smoothed out, the difference so surprising to Dolet that his iron grip on the joystick caused the viper to sharply veer to the right. He quickly easied off and allowed the ship to coast.
"What in the lords was that?" he wondered. He checked back through his scans, but nothing showed up. "It was there" he said. "Something...." He tried the com again but only got the shrieking static. "Well that proves I wasn't imagining it" he said to himself. "Only now what? Go on or turn back...."
He looked at the planet ahead. It seemed to be calling to him, beckoning him to come closer. Dolet didn't fight the feeling.....
|
|
|
Post by Col. Charybdis on Nov 19, 2008 9:09:19 GMT -6
Flt. Specialist Geenie turned to face me. "Colonel. Our patrol is flying in the vicinity of a group of planets in sector 325. We are getting some strange telemetry readings from Ens. Dolet's viper."
"Send it to the bridge," I responded. In a flash, the readouts appeared on my monitor. SHe was right. "Tell the patrol to check it out, but to keep their distance. Full scans on that system and report back."
"Yes, sir," Geenie replied. The message was sent to the patrol craft...
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Nov 19, 2008 18:06:04 GMT -6
Dolet set course for the planet, running a new set of scans as he moved forward. He tried the com again, but the jarring static again filled his ears. What ever it was that he'd passed through had cut him off from the fleet. He slowed his viper down, contemplating turning back....
...When he noticed the errors in the scan before the screen lit up to point them out. He left the current scan on the screen, then overlaid his previous scan done before he'd encountered whatever it was he'd passed through. He couldn't believe his eyes at the differences....
First off, the two scans were of the same planet, but there were differences now. Mountain ranges on the first scan weren't as tall on the new one. Water masses were different, and there were structures there now that hadn't appeared on the first scan. And the stars, they were wrong. Dolet had no other description for what he was seeing. They weren't what they were. They were... wrong.
He ran the starfield he was looking at through the records, checking for a match though not expecting one. But with things so strange, anything was possible....
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Nov 26, 2008 15:12:52 GMT -6
Dolet was so absorbed in the records search on starfield data that he didn't pick up the approaching interceptors until they were nearly upon him.
"Alien craft" a voice came over his com, "stand down and prepare to be escorted in. Respond."
Dolet gripped the joystick, his mind racing through various options. Then the voice came over his com again: "Be advised that we have locked onto your position. Stand down or be destroyed. Respond."
Dolet swallowed hard. Took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "This is Lt. Dolet of the Battlestar Callisto. I am not hostile. I mean you no harm."
"Then stand down and prepare to be escorted in" came the reply.
Dolet nodded though no one could see the gesture. "Lead the way" he said simply. He could see no other option, and couldn't believe he'd let himself get into such a predicament. Just like a first orbit cadet, he thought to himself.
The interceptors took up escorting positions around the viper and Dolet kept in formation as they headed down into the atmosphere. He checked his com again for a feed from the fleet, but the static still remained. Yet the interceptors spoke to him without a problem.... Dolet puzzled over this as he emerged from the clouds and got a good view of the surface of the planet....
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Dec 8, 2008 13:49:13 GMT -6
Bulk-up and Janey jumped from the elevator before it had a chance to reach the deck. They moved quickly to the row of vipers in the Bronze section of the bay.
"What do you think it is?" Janey was asking.
Bulk-up shrugged. "Could be anything, but I can't think this is nothing more than a serious solium leak somewhere..."
Janey whacked him on the shoulder. "There's Jorlan by our vipers. Sure doesn't look like more of the usual to me."
Major Jorlan was waiting by the vipers, glancing at his chrono. Despite his disapproving expression, nonetheless he said "Thank you for your promptness in getting down here."
Janey nodded, her face slightly red as she thought about the great hand of pyramid she'd been forced to reluctantly abandon when the call came through. "We got here as soon as we could, sir."
"No doubt" Jorlan replied.
"What's the mission, sir?" Bulk-up asked.
"Viper scout has gone silent" Jorlan informed them. "Major Dolet of Black Squadron was up ahead of the fleet, informed command of a system of planets he was going to investigate, then nothing but static. He is now overdue to check in." He looked again at his chrono, then looked up with surprise to see them still standing there. "His flight path has been fed to your vipers."
Janey and Bulk-up looked at each other, then ran past Jorlan to their vipers. "This another one-way thing or do you think we've moved up in the respectibility standings?" Bulk-up called over to Janey as he hit the small set of stairs leading to his viper.
"Give it a rest" Janey shouted back. Anything further she had to say was drowned out as she settled into her seat and the canopy clicked shut. She fired up her engines, the pulsing sound matching the vibrations she felt as the viper powered up. She looked over at Bulk-up, who gave her a thumbs up in return.
"Core systems transferring control to Bronze flight team..." came the voice in her ear. Janey's heart raced faster as she waited for the rest of it. Finally it came: "....Launch when ready."
At once the pair of vipers soared down their launch tubes and into space. Following behind Bulk-up, Janey did a roll-over as they banked left and flew off in the direction Dolet had gone.
|
|