Chapter 27: Six Centar Scramble

[BSC RPG]

Amy

Elsewhere in the depths of the huge basestar, silver centurions set about their tasks, pulling levers, pressing buttons, cold red lights trained on the monitors in front of them. This was nothing but another assignment, something to be carried out without question, like the regular maintenance duties for the basestar. So none of the centurions hesitated or even noticed the subject of their current task: the captured warrior in the cold cell in the center of the room.

Amy awoke, shaking the cobwebs from her head, trying to remember. The last thing she could recall was leaving the cruiser with Lazant. Then nothing. As her senses returned, she realized with a start where she was.

It was a confined space, not much room to move at all. It was very cold, and the frosted panels surrounding her kept her from seeing out. She pounded on them, the cold walls numbing her fists, yelling to try to get someone’s attention, but the only response was the vague, cloudy image of a cylon as it appeared next to her on the outside, it’s red eye focused directly at her through the misty walls. Amy jumped back in surprise, her back arching as it came in contact with the cold. She could do nothing but stand there, seemly expected to do nothing more than freeze to death.

Then it began to happen. Suddenly, without any warning, Amy was thinking about her parents. It wasn’t any wistful memory that had popped into her head, it was as if it had been called up like a computer file. Amy’s head began to pound as every detail she could recall came streaming up into her thoughts, and then just as quickly it all began to fade away. Amy let out a gasp as she realized that she wasn’t just not thinking about her parents anymore, she was forgetting them! Unable to stop it from happening, she began to cry until the last memory was gone, and her tears stopped as she forgot why she had been crying. She wiped at the wetness on her face before it had a chance to freeze on her skin, and began to worry about the cold again.

Suddenly she was thinking about Major Brie. The thoughts struck her mind so violently that Amy staggered, hands flying up to the sides of her head. Her friend, her mentor, her commander, her advisor, her… the memories began to fade and she cried out “Brie!” even as the last ones disappeared. Amy dropped to the floor of the cell this time, gasping for breath, her head pounding.

Now memories of Colonel Charybdis flooded into her brain. Amy rolled on the floor screaming, oblivious to the icy coldness that froze her to the floor. “Noooooo!!!” she howled as the thoughts poured in through her mind then began to recede somewhere out of reach. Amy was screaming until she couldn’t remember what it was she had been screaming about. Breathing hard, her breath forming misty clouds in front of her, she staggered slowly to her feet, her uniform ripping where it had froze to the floor.

Outside the cell, the centurions watched without emotion, satisfied that the system was working properly. Some prisoners got the cold cell, others didn’t. It was all part of the experimentation. IL series cylons concerned themselves with that; centurions just did as instructed. And now it was time to reach for more pertinent information. Levers were pulled, and inside the cell the warrior let out another scream…

Brie

With a centar until her appointment, Major Brie tried to quietly make her way through the halls of the Battlestar Galactica. She still remembered the ship well, in a lot of ways it was different than the mighty Callisto but she had lived on board the Galactica for many yarhens before her transfer to Gold Squadron and the ship’s layout was still second nature to her. She didn’t want to see anybody, and she also wanted to get cleaned up before her exam. She considered the possibility of returning to her assigned quarters, but didn’t want to take the chance that Justin would be there. Instead she headed to the Galactica’s fitness area and grabbed a turbowash in the women’s locker room.

She still had over half a centar. She didn’t want to eat anything, she felt extremely nauseous and remembered why she usually kept to a one drink limit. She decided to check on the wounded members of her team. She could kill time until her appointment, and since there were no members of Black Squadron among the injured she probably wouldn’t run into Justin.

Entering the medlab Brie took a quick look around. She was safe, no Justin, no Pierce, no cadets. She made her rounds, checking on everyone and seeing that they were all being well taken care of. The best news of all was Sergeant Brinfort, he was recovering better than expected and looked so much stronger than he had just a few centars earlier. With five centons until her exam, Brie started heading in the right direction when Corporal Breisis spotted her. “Major Brie!” Breisis called.

Brie knew that she couldn’t run. “Corporal, how are you? Are you doing alright?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Breisis replied. “Thanks to Agelastus and Killjoy, there’s no permanent damage.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Brie said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for an appointment.”

“Ma’am, just one thing,” Breisis said quickly. “I just want to say that they’re wrong, and that we support you, no matter what happens. We all do. Well, most of us anyway.”

Brie had no idea what Breisis was talking about, and didn’t really care. “Thank you,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Oh, one more thing,” Breisis added. “Did Major Justin find you last night? He was down here looking for you in the middle of the night. I told him you probably were asleep.”

“Thank you,” Brie said again, not answering Breisis’ question. She didn’t look back as she walked away.

Lucian

A centar later, Miri arose from the bunk. She’d tossed and turned, but could not fall asleep. She went to the comm display in the quarters and placed a call to the Security Office.

“Security. Sergeant Whitcher speaking,” came the response. Twenty centons later, Miri met Lieutenant Winnie in the Mess Hall.

“Fallel, were you able to contact the Forge ship?” Lucian asked. “What is the status on our parts requisition?”

The Frodarian Outlander replied, “Lucian, I reached them, but they said they’ll have to fabricate almost everything we need. They can scrounge up some sections of piping and a few other parts that will be delivered to us before we jump out of this system, but the rest of it won’t be ready until some time after we arrive in the Quarra system. Commander Sheba confirmed the order to get us what they had and get the rest of it into fabrication. She said she doesn't want a lot of shuttle traffic flying in this system though, so we're looking at a single supply run.”

“Very good, Fallel. And thanks for taking care of that. One shuttle with some supplies is better than no shuttle at all,” said a very tired Lucian. He looked over the system display. With the Callisto doing the slow crawl dictated by the speed of the slowest ship in the fleet, he was very relieved that the distance to the next jump point was so small. Since the Darjeelene system consisted only of the large orange star, and since Commander Apollo had had the system scouted some time before, he had been able to choose an appropriate jump point that minimized the time in the system. Still, Lucian knew the fleet needed to be dashing in this system rather than crawling if they were to have any chance of exiting prior to the arrival of the Cylons. He hoped all would go well. If there was anything unexpected in the system, or if anything went wrong on any of the ships, then the Cylons would be back on their heels once more….

[BSC RPG]

Skyler

"Bridge to Major Skyler, Bridge to Major Skyler."

Skyler jumped, he had been sitting in his "new" office in the ready room looking at the old Squadron Picture that was on Brie's desk, thinking about those that were lost, when the call came from the Bridge.

"Capt.... er Major Skyler here."

"The Commander wanted to know which Warriors are on the Gold Squadron Rear Guard duty?"

Sounding confused... "I sent that via electronic messenger a couple of centars ago...." checking his computer console..."I should have followed up on it with the systems being so fracked up.... Lt. Brik and Ensign Ike are on the rear guard detail. I have the rest of the Squadron that is in any kind of condition to fly in the ready room."

"Thanks Major, we will pass the word to the Commander and I will put in a work order to have your computer checked as soon as we get a tech free."

"Thanks Major, in the mean time I will follow up all communications with a runner and hard copy. I have a few volunteers that are off of flight status that are looking for things to do."

Brie

The psychological exam was really no big deal for Brie. She had been faking her way through them since Turner’s death. It was really just a matter of knowing what answer the doctor wanted to hear and putting some emotion into it. It didn’t take long until he was thoroughly satisfied that everything was normal for someone who had just gone through so much stress.

“I’ll immediately send my report to Major Pierce,” the doctor informed her.

Brie hoped that the doctor didn’t see her physically shudder at the mention of Pierce’s name. “So can I go?” Brie asked.

“Yes,” the doctor replied. “You’re to report to the bridge, Commander Apollo himself sent word that you were to head there as soon as we were done. I’ll let them know you’re coming.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Brie said. She walked out the door, wondering what else was about to go wrong.

On the way to the bridge Brie couldn’t help but notice how many people started to whisper as soon as she passed. At first she thought that word must have leaked out about her time with Justin, but then she remembered what Breisis had said. “I just want to say that they’re wrong, and that we support you, no matter what happens.” Something was up, and she was sure it had something to do with Pierce.

Upon arriving at the bridge Brie was immediately ushered into the same conference room where she had met earlier with Major Pierce and Commander Apollo. The door was shut behind her. Both men were already there, along with a third man that Brie didn’t recognize. Pierce glanced up from the papers in front of him to offer half a smirk to Brie, then returned to what he was reading.

“Commander,” Brie said, purposely ignoring Pierce’s presence.

“Brie, please, have a seat.” Apollo used the same sympathetic tone that he had used in her earlier meeting with Pierce. Brie sat down, wondering who the strange man already seated was.

There were several microns of silence. Pierce shuffled his papers one more time, then stood. A smile crossed his face. “Major Brie,” he spoke slowly and with great satisfaction, “it is my duty to inform you that you will be held for tribunal and court martial.

“Don’t you mean your pleasure?” Brie asked him dryly.

Pierce ignored her. “You won’t be officially arrested until we return to the Callisto,” he continued. “Our law states that tribunal must convene within ten centars of charges being filed, and there is information that we need that’s on your base ship. Once we rejoin the fleet we’ll shuttle to the Callisto, where you will be immediately taken to the brig to await tribunal. I will be the Chief Opposer. Do you have any questions?”

“Just one,” Brie said. “What will be the official charge?”

Pierce stared straight through her. “Gross negligence in the deaths of Captain Lazant and Captain Amy.”

Gross negligence in the deaths of Captain Lazant and Captain Amy. Brie took a micron to let that sink in. “Okay,” she said at last, “I have one more question. If you prosecute someone for returning from a mission, how are you going to ever get volunteers again?”

Pierce ignored the question. He stood and barely glanced at Brie. “If anyone needs me I’ll be in my office. I have a lot of work to do.” Without looking back he left.

“Major, there’s someone I want you to meet,” Commander Apollo said as the door closed behind Pierce. “This is Boleman. He’s a Protector. I’m not saying that you should use him, but I thought that someone should be here for this meeting with your best interest at heart. He’s very good at what he does.”

Boleman held out a hand towards Brie. He was probably in his early 60s, and very distinguished looking. “I’ve been a Protector since long before the Holocaust,” he said. “Lately it’s been mostly civil disputes, but I used to specialize in military law.”

Brie shook his hand with her left hand, her right arm was still in a sling. “Commander Apollo’s recommendation is good enough for me.”

“Okay,” Boleman said, writing something down. He handed the paper to Brie. “Here’s directions to my office, meet me there in one centar. I have some ideas that I want to check up on first, and then we’ll get working. Since you’re not to be arrested until we’re on the Callisto, that buys us some much needed extra time. Whoever came up with this ten centar law obviously wasn’t a protector!” He left, leaving Brie alone in the room with Apollo.

“Commander,” Brie started.

“Boleman asked me not to speak with you, Brie,” Apollo informed her, “until the tribunal is over. It’s a delicate line.”

“Sir,” Brie said quickly, “it’s not about that. It’s just that there was a mess-up with the housing arrangements, and Major JustinB and I were assigned the same room. I was just wondering if I could stay in different quarters.”

“Oh,” Apollo said. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll find you something. I’ll send your new assignment to Boleman’s office, since you’ll be meeting with him there.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Brie had one centar and knew exactly where she needed to go.

“Enter.” Pierce’s office door was partway open and he must have heard Brie coming. “I’ve obviously been expecting you. Please, Major Brie, close the door behind you and have a seat.”

Brie wasn’t used to Pierce being polite to her. Now that she was there she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to say to him. “Um,” she stated eloquently.

Pierce cut her off. “About last night. You and Major JustinB are both consenting adults, it’s really none of my business. I’ve spoken with the two cadets and the security officers, they won’t be telling anyone. So no one will ever find out.” He almost smiled.

“Thank you,” Brie said, stunned.

“We can’t discuss your case without your Protector present, you went with Boleman I presume.” Brie nodded. “He’s a good man, and a good choice for you. Of course that won’t change the outcome of your case...is there anything else?”

“No,” Brie said and started to stand.

“I took your advice last night,” Pierce said, seemingly out of the blue. “I was looking for Major JustinB, if you recall, and I stopped by the Officers’ Club. Justin wasn’t there, but I had a nice chat with a couple of members of Black Squadron. They told me to look for Captain Rose. They said that Rose and Justin would probably be together, they seemed to think that the two of them would be taking the seal sometime in the very near future.”

Brie wasn’t exactly sure where Pierce was going with this piece of information. “So?” she asked, sinking back into the chair.

Pierce smiled. “They seem very happy, she’s a lovely woman. I happened to see the two of them together, a public display of affection in the hallway probably less than a centar after you left. Such a nice, young couple.” He placed slight emphasis on the word “young.”

“So?” Brie repeated.

“So I’m sure that Major JustinB would hate to have these entered into evidence at the tribunal.” Pierce handed Brie a folder with several pictures in it. It suddenly dawned on her what the clicking noise the previous evening had been. “Of course if Justin doesn’t testify then I would have no reason whatsoever to show them. I’ll even destroy them once the case is over.”

“That’s blackmail,” Brie stated.

“Not at all,” Pierce said. “I’m just trying to save you a little bit of embarrassment. I’m actually making my own case weaker, because I could use any one of these images to show your bad decisions. They also prove how little you’re mourning your friends. I’m doing you a favor.”

“You’re a sick man, do you know that?”

“No at all,” Pierce said, pretending to be offended. “I had a report of a disturbance. I brought the image-taker for evidence. I NEVER expected to find you, well, you know what you were doing.”

Brie sighed. “Is there anything else?” She stood to leave.

“Just one more thing,” Pierce said with a smirk, “I’ll need you to surrender you sidearm.”

“I can’t do that,” Brie said a bit defiantly.

Pierce was surprised. “You HAVE to. We can’t have someone who knows they’re about to face life on the Prison Barge walking around armed.”

Although the words “life on the Prison Barge” hit Brie hard she didn’t let it show. “I can’t surrender it because I already gave it to Commander Apollo.” She walked out and closed the door behind her.

[BSC RPG]

Brie

Looking at the directions that Boleman gave her, Brie found herself in the civilian area of the Galactica. She knocked on a door. At first she thought it was the wrong one, she was greeted by an attractive woman in her fifties. “Major Brie?” the woman asked. Brie nodded. “Please, come in.” Brie entered what had to be the largest of the civilian quarters anywhere in the fleet. Very tastefully decorated, there was a large room and two doors in the back. On one side was a desk with a computer terminal, there was a sofa and several chairs, but the most surprising thing to Brie was that there was a stove and a refrigeration unit. She couldn’t remember ever having seen those in anyone’s quarters on a battlestar. “Boleman will be right out. I’m his wife, Trula.”

Brie held out her good hand to Trula. Her name sounded so familiar. “Nice to meet you.” A micron later it dawned on her where she had heard the name before. “You’re the Galactica’s head chef, aren’t you.”

Trula smiled. “Yes, I am. How did you know?”

“I was stationed here for several yarhens,” Brie explained. “Plus every time someone is transferred from the Galactica to the Callisto, we always get complaints about the food.”

One of the doors in the back opened, and Boleman walked out. “Major, you’re right on time. I just spoke with Commander Apollo. He told me about the housing mix-up, I told him that you’ll be staying with Trula and me until we rejoin the fleet.”

“That’s not necessary,” Brie said.

“Yes, it is,” Boleman told her. “We’ll be working very closely the next few cycles, plus I want to make sure you’re not approached by any members of your team. You can’t talk to any of them, Pierce will use it against us.”

“So I’ve already lost my freedom,” Brie said louder than she had meant to.

Boleman didn’t seem to mind the comment. “These charges are an abomination. I’ll do everything in my power to get you off. Come over to my office, let’s get started.” Brie followed her protector to the desk and took a seat opposite him. “Do you mind if we discuss this in front of my wife? I often bounce ideas off of her.”

“No, I don’t mind,” Brie said.

“I’m leaving for work in a centon anyway,” Trula said. She was over near the stove.

“Before we start there’s something I want to make clear,” Boleman informed Brie. “You have NO secrets from me. I need you to be open and honest about anything and everything. Understood?”

“Understood,” Brie replied.

“Good. Before we start, tell me, in hindsight is there ANYTHING that you would have done differently?”

“No,” Brie said honestly. “I’ve gone over it a million times. There was nothing different that I could have done without risking more lives. And from what her team told me, Amy, Lazant and Deke were probably dead before we left the base anyway.”

“That’s what I thought,” Boleman said. “I’ve been doing a little bit of digging. This isn’t the first time that you’ve dealt with Pierce.”

“No,” Brie said. “I had left the service for a little while, he didn’t want me to be reinstated. Medical problems after Turner died. Let me show you.” She typed in her security code, opening the classified section of her file.

“Turner?” Trula asked. She approached Brie and Boleman with two mugs of tea, which she gave them. “Tall, good-looking, extremely charismatic?”

“You knew Turner?” Brie was surprised.

“I only met him once,” Trula replied. “He came to ask me if he could have some hot sauce I think it was. If I remember correctly he wanted to play a practical joke on a friend. A Char...Char...”

“Charybdis?” Brie asked.

“Yeah, I think that’s it,” Trula replied. “Turner and I started talking. I’ll never forget that conversation. He had just taken the seal and was so happy. His wife was a very lucky woman.”

“Yes I was,” Brie said.

“Oh, I didn’t realize..." She smiled. "I’m late for work. Brie, make yourself at home.” She gave her husband a kiss. “Bye!” she said and was out the door.

Boleman quietly read the classified section of Brie’s file while Brie sipped her tea. The silence was driving her crazy. “Okay,” Boleman said at last. “This isn’t that bad. I think our best bet would be to show that Pierce is holding a personal vendetta against you because you were reinstated, you’re the only blot on his record, so to speak. But that would mean opening your file. Would you be alright with that?”

Brie sighed. “I’ve spend the last several yarhens trying to hide this information, but if it’s the best way to get me off than I guess we’ll go public.”

“We’ll also call character witnesses, people high-up who can vouch for you as a warrior or say that they would have done the same thing if they were in your situation,” Boleman continued. “I’ve made a list of possibilities, you tell me if they would make a good witness or not. The first person on my list is Commander Apollo. I have a feeling that Pierce is going to protest his serving on the tribunal. If he is thrown off we’ll call him as a witness. Let’s see, how about Major Jorlan?”

“No good. When I first met him he had taken me, along with two others as prisoners,” Brie explained. “I ended up shooting and killing a guard, a good friend of Jorlan’s. I was exonerated because it was self defense but Jorlan never forgave me.”

Boleman crossed Jorlan’s name off the list. “Major Lucian?”

“Maybe. I don’t really know Lucian all that well, I can’t really say what he would do one way or another. And before you ask my answer would be the same for Major BatGal.”

“How about Major JustinB?” Boleman asked.

“No,” Brie said quickly. She took another sip of her tea and looked at the floor. “Last night Justin and I, well, we got drunk and one thing led to another and...”

“Did you have inter...”

“No!” Brie said even more quickly. “But it doesn’t matter. Pierce came in. He claimed there had been a report of a disturbance.”

“And he saw you.”

Brie was hating this conversation. “Worse. He had an image-taker. He told me that if Justin testifies he’ll use the pictures as evidence of my bad decisions as of late.”

Boleman smiled. “I was wondering if you’d admit that you went to see Pierce.”

“Why wouldn’t I tell you...wait a centon, how did you know?”

“I saw the look he gave you,” Boleman explained, “when he said he’d be in his office. It’s my job to notice these things. How bad are the pictures?”

“Bad,” Brie said. “I wouldn’t want anyone to see them, plus Justin has a girlfriend.”

“You need to live an exemplary life until this is over. No more drinking, no swearing, and do what the doctors tell you. Are you involved with anyone?” Brie could tell that he wasn’t being nosy, just trying to piece together his case.

“No,” Brie replied. “Not really. Skyler and I have this thing that we do, we talk about wishing things could be different between us and he claims to be in love with me.”

“Are you in love with him?”

Brie paused for several microns. “Love is a complicated thing. Skyler is my second-in-command and he’s da..., excuse me, DARN good at it and I need an SIC more than I need a personal life. I know that doesn’t really answer your question, but it’s the best I can do.”

“Speaking of Captain Skyler,” Boleman continued, “he’s on my list. Would he make a good witness?”

“Well,” Brie said slowly, “last yarhen, when I asked Commander Sheba to change Turner’s status from missing to deceased, I sort of got drunk in Skyler’s room and passed out.” Boleman rolled his eyes. “I hardly ever drink, I promise!” Brie insisted. “And nothing happened between Skyler and me. But it is in my file because I told Doc Bkj about it, I didn’t want anyone to think I was going to lose it again.”

Boleman scratched Skyler’s name off the list. “Moving right along...” Boleman stared at the shrinking list in front of him. “How about Major Joey?”

“Joey would be great,” Brie replied. “We were roommates for awhile when she was leading Black Squadron. We’re not as close as we used to be, but I’m pretty sure I can count on her.”

Finally,” Boleman mumbled. “Oh, and no fumarellos.”

“Excuse me?”

“No drinking, no swearing, no smoking fumarellos,” Boleman restated.

“I don’t smoke, I’m allergic to smoke,” Brie said.

“Good,” Boleman replied. “Well, it’s not good that you’re allergic. But as I said, your life needs to be exemplary. Doc Bkj?”

“I don’t see why not,” Brie said. “She and I have been meeting a couple of times a yarhen, just to prove that everything is fine. If we’re opening my file I WANT for her to testify.”

Boleman’s face grew very serious. “I’ve got one more name on my list. I’ll admit that I have strong reservations already, but it’s someone you mentioned while talking to my wife.”

“Who?” Brie asked.

“Colonel Charybdis.”

“Charybdis?” Brie repeated. “Of course I’d want him to testify. I’ve known him longer than just about anyone. He’s like a brother to me.”

“Wasn’t Amy his girlfriend?” Boleman asked.

“Depends on which cycle you’re talking about,” was Brie’s answer. “They were very on again, off again.”

“Were they on or off when you left?”

Brie thought for a moment. “I thought they were off, otherwise I would never have assigned Amy to the mission. But apparently they made up right before we left. I gave Amy the opportunity to stay behind but she said her duty was more important than her relationship. It was the answer that I needed.”

Boleman’s concerned look still hadn’t changed. “How serious were they?”

“Again, it depends on which cycle you’re talking about. They were engaged for a while, but I never really thought they would take the seal. Amy tended to be,” she searched for the right words, “a bit immature. She once told me that she was in love with Charybdis and Lieutenant Najinn at the same time. But I do think that Charybdis really loved Amy.”

[BSC RPG]

Brie
“What about Astraea?” Boleman asked.

Brie looked at Boleman like he was insane. “Astraea? She can’t testify, she’s dead!”

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Boleman explained. “Do you think that Charybdis harbors any resentment towards you because of Astraea’s death?”

Brie shook her head. She wondered briefly how Boleman had found out this information, but decided not to ask. “No. Even he realized that Astraea was perfect for what that mission was supposed to be, and I lost some of my best warriors because I sent them on a mission they were over-qualified for just to protect Astraea. It was hard on him, but he knows the possible consequences if he dates a warrior.”

“I’m still not sure about him,” Boleman confided.

“As I said, Charybdis is family. Plus he owes me. Several yarhens ago Lazant had brought charges against Charybdis. His then ‘secret’ affair with Amy came out in the open. I was furious with him because he knows that I want to know everything that affects my squadron, and I could tell that something was bothering Amy. But I had some information that saved him, and my testimony was crucial in getting the charges dropped. So he owes me. Even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t betray me. Not even because of Amy.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Boleman said. “Because Charybdis' testimony could make or break our case.”

“I’ve been reading over the interviews and debriefings that Pierce had with your team members,” Boleman told Brie. “Most are on your side. We won’t be putting the entire team on the stand, just the members that will have the most impact. Sergeant Brinfort is a must.”

“Sergeant Brinfort will still be in the sick bay ten centars after we’re back on the Callisto,” Brie said.

“That’s even better,” Boleman informed her. “I hate to say it, but a trans-vid interview from the sick bay will be very effective. From what I’ve heard if you had waited any longer, Brinfort would be dead.”

“That’s what they told me,” Brie said.

“Can you think of anyone else?” Boleman asked. “Anyone who was fairly important to the mission?”

“How about Major Curemode?” Brie suggested. “He was my second-in-command this time around.”

Boleman stared at Brie in unbelief. “You didn’t know? Brie, Curemode is the one who Pierce got to officially file the charges.”

“Curemode? Are you sure?”

“It’s all right here in the report.” Boleman handed Brie a file, which Brie glanced at briefly. “Is there anything that Curemode might have against you? His file says that you beat him twice in the squadron leader elections.”

Brie shook her head. “He’s not like that. Besides, he’s better suited as Science Officer anyway. He still got the promotion, and a heck of a lot more respect than a squadron leader would ever get.”

“Why did you include him on the team?” Boleman asked.

“He volunteered,” Brie replied. “He was an obvious choice. He’s an expert on the Cylons, and we were entering a base that was almost prehistoric.” She remembered something. “The whole thing about setting the warhead on a ship and setting a timer to blow the airlock was Curemode’s idea.”

“Maybe that’s it,” Boleman said. “Pierce used Curemode’s own feelings of guilt against him, turned them around and made him blame you. Pierce can be very conniving.”

“Pierce can be a son of a daggit,” Brie mumbled. “He can also go to...” she stopped. “I know, I know, exemplary life.”

“Out of all the reports, besides Curemode’s, the one that is most damaging is from Lieutenant Kiwi,” Boleman informed Brie. “He wasn’t originally on your team. What happened?”

Brie sighed. “It was one of the STUPIDEST things that I’ve ever seen on a mission. We had been given the wrong filters, and someone decided to send Kiwi in a drone to land on our tanker and get what they thought were the correct filters to us. No one ever thought that having an extra person climbing down off of a supposedly unmanned tanker could cause some attention and jeopardize the entire mission. The ironic thing was that we didn’t need the filters after all.”

“So he wasn’t included beforehand,” Boleman commented.

“He not only wasn’t included in the volunteer meeting or the mission briefings, he wasn’t even around!” Brie exclaimed. “He had been moved out of the squadron and given busywork as a punishment for mouthing off at the wrong people. Why they chose Kiwi to bring us the stinking filters I’ll never understand.”

“Good, we can use this,” Boleman said. “I’ll have to do a little bit of digging once we reach the Callisto, those ten centars will come in handy.”

“Is there anyone else who might be useful to us?” Boleman asked. “Anyone at all?”

Brie thought for several microns. “How about Captain Hawke? He had nothing to do with the mission whatsoever, but he’s pretty tight with Commander Sheba. I’m assuming that she’ll be on the tribunal.”

“I am too. You and Hawke get along pretty well?”

Brie almost laughed. “We hate each other. But he owes me, and Hawke is the kind of person who will always pay his debts.”

“Why does he owe you?” Boleman almost hated to ask.

“Short version.” Brie took a breath. “It started when he assaulted me in the landing bay.”

“He hit you?”

“He got one good punch in, right in my jaw,” Brie informed her protector while instinctively rubbing the spot. “It hurt like crazy. So he was removed from the squadron and given a job with the blackshirts. It didn’t take him long to hook up with the wrong people and make plans to kill me. He blew up my quarters.” Boleman stared at her in disbelief. “He was on a special assignment for Commander Sheba,” Brie explained. “There were some renegade blackshirts for hire, and they were working together to put a stop to it. It would have been nice if they had let me in on their plans a bit earlier than they did.”

“A word of warning,” Boleman said. “They don’t like being called ‘blackshirts.’ They’ll be the ones guarding you once we’re on the Callisto.”

“Point taken.”

“So Hawke owes you for putting you in danger,” Boleman stated.

“No,” Brie corrected. “He owes me BECAUSE he tried to pay me back. Not long after my funeral...”

“Your funeral?”

“Yeah,” Brie said. “After they blew up my room Amy and I were hiding in Charybdis’ quarters. We saw the whole memorial service on the monitor. You really learn who your friends are when you hear them speaking at your funeral! Anyway, after the whole farce was over and we were alive again Hawke approached me and started asking me questions about Turner. He wanted to find out what happened on Turner’s final mission. I was perfectly happy keeping Turner as ‘missing.’ I thought that Hawke had decided to respect my wishes and drop the whole thing. Not too long after that he requested and received a leave of absence. He was gone for about a yarhen. When he got back he started asking me about the classified section in my file. I finally lied to him to get him off my back, but it didn’t work. Coincidently about the same time Killjoy developed a crush or something on me and tried to hack into my file as well. Hawke bugged my office and overheard me telling Skyler what is in that section. To make a long story short Hawke gave me information that I didn’t want to know even though he never found out what happened to Turner. All he learned was what had happened to Cal, Turner’s wingman. That was the night I had Turner’s file closed, and also the night I got drunk with Skyler. But Hawke handled the whole thing wrong, especially since I had asked him not to do it.”

“Okay,” Boleman said slowly. “That’s quite a story. I’ll put Hawke down, but I’ll want to talk to him first. I really don’t like the idea of having someone that you claim hates you testifying on your behalf.”

“I think we’ve done all we can for now,” Boleman told Brie. “I need to talk to a few people, plus I’m going to get something to eat. I’ll bring you back something. Anything special?” Brie shook her head. “I want you to stay here, I wouldn’t recommend you wandering around the Galactica for the time being. I doubt that anyone will find out that you’re here, but if they do you’re not to talk to any members of your team. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Brie said with a slight amount of sarcasm. She had almost called him Dad instead of sir, but wasn’t quite sure how much of a sense of humor Boleman had.

“I’ll be back in a couple of centars. Make yourself at home.” He opened the door.

“Boleman?” Brie called. He turned around. “Give Major Pierce my regards.”

He smiled. “That’s not recommended either.” He closed the door behind him.

For the first time since hearing about the charges that she was facing Brie was totally alone. The idea that she was being held responsible for Amy and Lazant’s deaths seemed surreal. It was one thing for her to blame herself, it was entirely different when the military was telling her that it was her fault. All she had ever known was military life, and she had always thought that she would die in battle with the Cylons. Now that wouldn’t happen. If Pierce had his way, she would die of old age on the prison barge.

Brie walked around the main room of Boleman and Trula’s spacious quarters. She didn’t touch anything, just walked. The only bigger living space that she had ever seen belonged to the battlestar commanders. She assumed that this living arrangement was to keep Trula on the Galactica, a good chief could stay on any ship in the fleet. After she tired of pacing Brie sat down on the sofa.

Long out of tears, Brie just sat and tried not to think. No matter what her career was over. Even if she won she couldn’t continue to run a squadron knowing that there were people who didn’t believe in her. Every decision from now on would be closely watched. That was the main reason she had wanted to keep her file classified, she didn’t want people judging her present based on her past. But now people who didn’t even know about her past were doubting her. Nothing would ever be the same again.

[BSC RPG]

Brie

Boleman walked quickly to Major Pierce’s office. All he wanted to do was get this conversation over with. He had a feeling that he would be getting very little sleep until the tribunal was over. He knocked on Pierce’s door.

“Enter.” Pierce’s voice was just as gruff as always. “Boleman, have a seat.”

Boleman continued to stand. He made sure the door was closed behind him. “I want those pictures,” he said in a quiet, but firm voice.

Pierce pressed a couple of buttons and his computer screen flashed off. “She told you, huh? I’m surprised, I didn’t think she had it in her.”

“The pictures, Pierce.”

Slowly Pierce picked up a file and handed it to Boleman. “These are copies. As I told Brie the originals will be destroyed as soon as the tribunal is over. I’m actually doing all of you a favor. Can you imagine if you called Major JustinB to the stand? I’d have to introduce these as evidence. They show his bias, especially in the third one.” Pierce laughed, pleased at his own joke.

Boleman never even opened the folder. “You’re a sick man, do you know that?”

“No at all,” Pierce said, pretending to be offended. “I had a report of a disturbance. I brought the image-taker for evidence. Now, is there anything else? Perhaps you’d like to discuss some sort of a settlement.”

“A settlement?” Boleman repeated. “These charges are ridiculous, as you very well know.”

Pierce grew very serious. “What I know is that Brie is responsible for the deaths of three people. I wanted to include poor Lieutenant Deke’s death as well, but from the reports he had been severely wounded and probably wouldn’t have survived. People like Brie abuse their power to save their own lives, which is exactly what she did. She ran, and I’m going to make sure that she pays for it. Life on the prison barge isn’t good enough for her.”

“Be careful,” Boleman warned, “because your own bias is showing.” Taking the folder with him, Boleman left.

Amy

Several centons had passed since Lazant and Amy had left the cruiser and met the cylon welcoming committee. Lazant rubbed his sore shoulder as he sat in the corner of a cylon cell, unfocused eyes staring ahead. The encounter hadn’t gone well. Was there any possible outcome aside from the one that had happened? Lazant may have thought so before, but now he saw how inevitable it all was.

The last he’d seen of Amy, as he lay pinned on the basestar landing deck by the weight of a centurion’s foot, was of her knocked senseless and being taken by the gold centurion’s order to a cold cell. Lazant could picture her waking up and finding herself there. He knew of the cold cell and the many variations of things that could be done to a person there. And here he sat, powerless, caged up.

There were other prisoners in his cage. He could make them out across the cell, some looking back at him, others not even aware that he was sitting with them. He’d have to get up, try to communicate, see if any of these other captives might have come from the Callisto, but not yet. Right now he preferred to rub his shoulder and think about Amy. And about how he failed the last warrior under his command.

Even as he stared blankly at the other captives, one of them seemed to be staring back...

Brie

Brie sat on the sofa and used her good arm to play with her hair. She was beginning to be used to wearing it down. The thought of cutting it briefly crossed her mind. She had always worn it long, the last time she had even trimmed it was right before she and Turner took the seal. She had always liked it long because of a very vague memory of her mother brushing it. Maybe it was time for a change. Or maybe not. Maybe there were too many changes already occurring in her life.

She wished more than anything that she could stop thinking. Then again, that was what got her in trouble with Justin the night before. The scenario kept running through her head. She wondered if Pierce was right, if Justin had really been with Rose less than a centar later. It was possible, Brie had seen Rose and she had been looking for him. It didn’t really bother Brie, it wasn’t like she and Justin had anything with each other. The main difference now was that if there had been a chance that they would become real friends instead of military acquaintances, that was gone. Brie didn’t know how she could ever look Justin in the eye again. She had used him and he had pitied her, it was as simple as that.

In a way she was grateful to Justin. He had certainly taken her mind off of Amy! Thinking of Amy and Lazant as dead was almost impossible to do. Her mind could wrap around the thought, but not her heart. If this was what being a warrior was about then maybe it was a good thing her career was over. Her one real regret from the mission was that she had let Lazant look for Amy instead of going herself. Broken bones shouldn’t have stopped her. She should be dead, and Lazant very much alive.

If it wasn’t for Pierce, Brie wondered if she would even fight the charges. She knew that for him it was personal. She needed to fight, not for herself but for everyone else out there who would be making life and death decisions. Holding someone responsible for deaths on a mission where EVERYONE was supposed to die just made no sense.

Major Curemode was another mystery to Brie. She was more than surprised that he was the one who was officially filing the charges. Why? She knew that he had been bothered by the fact that they had left without knowing Amy, Lazant and Deke’s fates, but filing charges seemed a bit excessive. For him she was sure it wasn’t personal, even though she had beaten him in two separate squadron elections. Brie was surprised when he volunteered, she had to ask for special permission to include Curemode since he was no longer a squadron member. Maybe that had something to do with it, he had spent so much time on the Callisto that he forgot what it could be like to work on the field. Or maybe he was just really good at hiding his feelings, and did in fact hold Brie responsible.

Brie couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be until they rejoined the fleet. Commander Apollo had told her that they had sent a message right before the Callisto jumped to let them know that there were survivors. No one on her base ship yet knew who made it and who died. Hope and fear didn’t mix well together, she knew that from experience. How would her friends react to her being held responsible for two deaths? What would they say about having left people behind? How was she ever going to get through the next few cycles? In less than a secton it would all be over, and she’d either be settling into civilian life, or trying to get used to the prison barge. It was that simple.

Astraea

She gave him a slow appraisal, as if taking stock of him. He would be flattered under normal circumstances even though she was a bit unkempt. Her hair was long and brushed back from her face and her plain white robe was anything but stylish.

"Come here often?" Lazant said flippantly to let her know he was aware of her interest.

She shook her head at his bravado. "You won't last 30 microns."

His brows drew together at the comment. "I suppose that I should be flattered you credit my stamina that highly."

She gave a small chuckled. "Make that 20 microns."

Lazant rose from his bench and slowly crossed the large cell. She obviously knew something that he didn’t. “I’ve got a feeling that you know what’s going on around here.”

She smiled slightly as she rose to her feet at his approach. “More or less.”

He glanced around at the others in their cell. Even though some stared in their direction, they seemed to be lost in their own little world. “I’ve been separated from my companion,” he explained as his gaze returned to hers. “She was taken to a cold cell. I’ve got to find a way to reach her and get off this ship. I’ve got information vital to the fleet.”

Her knowing smile turned to a frown before she sighed heavily and shook her head. “Not again,” she whispered. Her eyes were completely devoid of emotion as she gave his face another swift appraisal. “You’re not going to find out anything new so there’s not point in going through this charade.”

Lazant drew back slightly. This woman had an odd way of conversing. “All I want to know is how to get out of here and…” he gave an uncertain smile in an attempt to coax her, “perhaps your name?”

She frowned once more before an unfeeling mask dropped into place. “I’m Astraea.”

Amy

"Astraea", Lazant repeated. Then, "Astraea? I know that name! From the information I got from..." His voice had risen steadily as he grew excited, but then he stopped suddenly and forced himself to think. Anything, everything could be a cylon trick. His guard would have to stay up until, until what? His turn for the cold cell perhaps?

Astraea. He looked sharply at her. The face did look similar to the likeness he'd found on the disks he'd downloaded. His heart sank suddenly. He'd hidden them, rather well he thought, on the Imperial Cruiser before he and Amy had stepped out to meet the cylons. Had they found the disks? Were they even now using that information against him?

He asked more cautiously this time. "My friend. She was taken to a cold cell. Do you know where the cold cells are? Is there any way to reach them?"

Another prisoner had drifted close by. "Cold cell? If your friend is there", he said in a rough, dry voice, "you'll not find much left." He laughed bitterly and shuffled away slowly. Lazant followed him with his eyes until he was far enough away, then looked back at Astraea.

“Can you help me?” he asked. He nearly laughed, for he was only asking for help in breaking out of a cell, rescuing Amy, and escaping from the basestar! And not just in any ship. It had to be in the cruiser he’d flown in on so he could save the disks!

Still, he wasn’t giving up, and he had to start somewhere…

[BSC RPG]

Astraea

Astraea sighed heavily. Even a centar away from the detention level would be a blessing. Her cell mates were as predictable as an unstable worm hole. Some of them had turned to her for comfort while others had attacked her for being the only prisoner not to suffer the cold cell…yet. She just couldn’t allow herself to hope. Not this time. “Why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

She took a step closer to him. “But there is something you should know first. If we get caught…” she gestured to the others in the room, “this is your future.” She watched his face as he examined the others with them. The revulsion showed through even though he managed to keep his expression somewhat normal. “The Cylons wouldn’t hesitate to put you in the extractor for attempting to escape. That is, if you are who you say you are.”

“The extractor?” he repeated as he turned back to her.

Astraea folded her arms over her chest. “It’s a nasty little invention that the Cylons have contrived that can actually relieve you of your memories. They’re still fine tuning it, but they have already managed to isolate specific areas of thought.” She leaned a little closer. “They eliminate memories that they consider ‘irrelevant’ first such as your childhood, parents, friends, lovers.”

Lazant swallowed hard. “You still seem to have all your faculties.”

She gave him a slanted smile as she straightened. “The machine isn’t ready for me yet. You see, their ultimate goal is to be able to extract our memories and translate them into a digital form that they can understand. I made the mistake of letting it slip that I was a historian and they have been trying to probe me for information ever since. I’ll be one of the first in the extractor once it’s perfected.” She watched a myriad of emotions dance across his face. “So, unless you have information that they deem necessary, you will need someone to change your diaper by this time tomorrow.”

Lazant’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t sure if she was warning him or trying to deter him. “It sounds like I have a date with the extractor in either case so I’m willing to risk it.”

A logical response, Astraea thought. Just what I expect from the Cylons. Her expression became maniacal. “Let’s have a little fun then, shall we?”

Lazant stepped back as she brushed passed him to walk to the back corner of the cell. He glanced around at the other prisoners and wondered if Astraea was as sound of mind as she appeared. Trust wasn’t something that he gave easily, but he had little choice. Crazy or not, if Astraea could get him out of that cell, he’d find a way to get to Amy and those disks.

After kneeling down in the corner, Astraea waved him over and he cautiously complied. “Turn around,” she whispered to him as she twirled her hand in the air. “Block their view.”

Again he hesitantly followed her instructions, uneasily glancing back over his shoulder to see what she was doing. “Look at them, not me,” she ordered as she slipped out a thin, but sturdy piece of metal from the heel of her shoe. She gave him a passing glance as she went to work on one of the wall panels. “Take your jacket off and hold it out to give me a little more cover.

The corner of her mouth turned up as he slipped out of his jacket and held it in front of him. “No, no. Grab the cuffs and hold your arms straight out.”

She silently slid the false panel to the floor, then loosened the grid bolts with her makeshift tool before looking up at him and nearly chuckling. “Now jump up and down and sing the Caprican Anthem.” She couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping when Lazant finally turned to give her a withering look. “I went too far with the jumping thing, didn’t I?” she asked in mock seriousness.

Lazant shoved his arms back into his jacket. “Look, I’ve got no time for your games.”

She chuckled once more before quickly stifling it. Humor was one thing that completely baffled Cylon programming. “Oh lighten up, Lieutenant. It’s not like I can toy with these people.” She gestured around to their disinterested cell mates. “That would just be cruel.”

He scowled as she absently worked at the ventilating panel. “It’s Captain and…” His words trailed off as she lifted the grid away to reveal a wide shaft.

Astraea looked him up and down once more. “Captain huh?”

Lazant’s eyes narrowed once more when she shrugged her shoulders. “What’s that su…” he began, but Astraea had already climbed into the shaft. He growled low in his throat before shooting another look around at the prisoners. “Anyone else for getting out of here?” Several people stood and quickly walked away from him to huddle together at the opposite side of the cell. “We will get out of here,” he insisted.

One of the women in the group cackled while a hunched back man patted his hand against one of the benches. “I’ll keep this spot warm for ya.”

Charybdis

We landed on Forge Ship Alpha, not the teeming metropolis that is a battlestar. In fact, it was downright nasty. But again, it is a forge ship and it showed it...

I checked in with the captain to check over the parts list and he had most of what we needed to pick up. With some of the ships having to double up on the requests and the orders, Alpha ship did not have everything on the list. It appeared I might be headed for another ship if the commander wanted all the supplies...

I sat in the comfortable lounge while they began loading the shuttle...

Ike

The Scarlet Viper techs made solid repairs quickly and efficiently to Ike's fighter, Vera. Even after such hair-rasing events, it was still good to be at the stick of the war bird that has proved itself time and again for him.

A quick look at the scanner and all is well. Ike nods to Brik, flying off his port wing, as Both warriors are focused on looking over the heavens to make sure the fleet is safe.

Lucian

A little later, Captain Lucian’s reply regarding the equipment requisition was received and transcribed on the Bridge since no senior officer had been available to receive the call. Major Joey read the message, and approached Commander Sheba. “Commander, Captain Lucian said that with the load Colonel Charybdis will have aboard his shuttle from Forge Ship Alpha, and the time it would take to obtain and actually load the remaining parts from other ships, if the correct parts are actually available, he recommended getting the first group back to the Callisto and wait until we arrive in the Quarro system to obtain the rest. He said that some of the parts would definitely have to be fabricated anyway, so have the other things really wouldn’t help that much.” She handed Sheba the message.

Sheba glanced at the message’s text, then turned over the paper, glancing at it briefly. Handing it back to Joey, she said, “It’s nice to see it properly transcribed. Too bad this wasn’t done last time. Joey, send work to Charybdis to get back here as soon as possible. We have to be out of this system very soon.”

She moved over and asked Geenie, “What’s the status of that unauthorized shuttle from the Rising Star?”

“It’s coming around for approach on landing. It should be aboard in a few centons. And Commander, following the launch of that one, there have been at least two other unauthorized shuttle launches. Both ships appear to be heading between ships, but neither has filed a flight plan.”

“With our time as short as it is in this system, they better hope those shuttles don’t break down. If they do, Lords help them, they might just get left behind.”

Captain Hawke

I get back to the Celestial Chamber and put the cloaking device on it's charger. Isit down on the floor and eat a ration bar and try to get some sleep. I hear laughter. I get up and I draw my sidearm and point it around the room. "Hello? Is someone there?" I ask. I hear laughter again. "Show yourself..NOW!!!" "Very well." To my left I see the air shmmer revealing someone I recognize rather well. "Well, if it isn't a devil in a blue dress. what do you want Count Iblis?" I say. "Don't you act so flipant with me!! I made you and if you continue I will kill you where you stand!!" "I left your order yarhen ago. You don't have dominion over me any longer." I said. "Oh? Don't I? You are getting a bit too inependant for your own good Hawke." With that, he pulls out a silver box. "What's that?" I manage to ask and he speaks into it saying "Institute directive five nine two three." My mind goes blank and I hear myself saying "By your command." I'm powerless to do anything.
"That's better. Now my friend,I have a very special mission for you. The things you have been doing so far is childsplay compared to what I have planned. Let me ask you a question. How close are you and Commander Sheba?" "We have a working relationship that's all,Sire." I hear myself saying. "Alright. Your mission is to kill Commander Sheba. She and that wretched Apollo wronged me yarhen ago. I want you to make them pay for thier lack of vision. Your primary target is Sheba. But if the opprotunity presents itself kill Apollo also. Confirm." "By your command Sire." I say. "Yes. That's a good little pawn." he says and disappears.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I access the portable terminal that I brought with me and sent Commander Sheba a message.
"Commander Sheba:
Meet me in the Alpha landing bay at 2300 tonight.. If our relationship meant anything to you, you'll come alone. No blackshirts,no other warriors,NOBODY. Don't tell anyone about this. I will know. I need to explain what's happened to me. Don't bother tracing this message. I have it routed through every term on the ship.
See you then,
Captain Hawke"

I send the message and await the time to see Sheba.

[BSC RPG]

Skyler

Skyler left the ready room with two fresh out of the academy Ensign’s in tow. He wasn’t sure who he was meeting, but Sheba wanted them held in a secure area, they were getting held, if he had to shoot them and stuff them in a storage closet. He sure hoped the Ensign’s wouldn’t freak out if it came to that.

His comm unit beeped about the same time a runner from the bridge reached him with written orders from Sheba confirming the transmitted ones. “Skyler, the shuttle has just turned for final approach, stand by…” Skyler sent his reply, both by the comm unit and the runner that was on his way back to the bridge.

Charybdis

As I made my way through the various forge areas of Forge Ship Alpha, checking out their machines which fueled the Colonial effort, a flight officer came running up to me. He had a sense of urgency...

"Colonel," he said, "we've just received word from the Callisto that Commander Sheba wants your shuttle in the air and returning to the Battlestar as soon as possible."

"As soon as possible? I thought we might need to go to a couple of other ships to pick up supplies?"

"Not anymore, Colonel. They said something about not having enough time to collect everything. They want the shuttle back."

I breathed a sigh. It had been nice getting out to other ships in the fleet. But, the Callisto was my home and I guess it was time to get back. Anyway, there was no way I was going to get caught off the battlestar once we jumped to the next star system...

"Notify my pilot to request clearance for launch and have the final supplies loaded."

"Already done, Colonel!" the officer said with a bit of pride in his voice.

"Well, then, if you'll excuse me. I have a flight to catch."

I quickly made my way back to the shuttle where we immediately launched for the return trip back the Battlestar Callisto.

Lucian

Commander Sheba checked her chrono. Seeing Major Joey in a huddle with a couple of the Techs, she moved over to the group and asked, “Any word?”

“Something coming in now, Commander,” she replied. “It will be just a moment while we download it.”

“Let me know….”

* * *

Commander Apollo had had the Darjeelene system scouted in advance so the Fleet would be able to spend the shortest amount of time possible crossing the system from entry to exit point. In addition, the advance survey team had left a small package in accordance with his orders. A small sensor package was deposited in solar orbit between the jump entry point and the Darjeelene star. In the few sectars since it had been placed, it had moved only a short distance so it could still detect any ships entering the system. Due to its positioning, Colonial scientists had determined that the chance of detection by an arriving ship was near impossible.

Approximately 4 centars 70 centons after the Fleet arrived, the extreme long range sensor system, set on a relatively tight band for maximum range, detected the arrival of another ship. The sensors detected that it was large…dual saucered…Cylon. The sensor system sent a short microburst message, and then repeated it several times. Then, as programmed, the sensor system shut down, and its small engine ignited, accelerating the sensor array on a course toward the star.

* * *

“Commander, interpreted message received reads: ‘One Cylon BaseShip arrived at Darjeelene entry jump point at reference time +4:70:86. Ship was stationary for five centons after arrival.’ The sensor array terminated observation activity as planned at that point, without known detection by the Cylons, and it is now accelerating toward the star,” said Joey. “The leading ships of the Fleet will be to the jump point starting in about 30 centons.”

“We’ve got to be ready to jump as the ships arrive at the jump point. All Vipers are to be recalled at once, and all ships are to land immediately.” She glanced at the diagram of the fleet. Seeing a couple of unauthorized ships still in transit between ships, she said, “Send those rogue shuttles this message. If they don’t land immediately, they will be destroyed. We cannot take a chance of the Cylons finding or capturing them. They are to land on the nearest ship, at once.”

“Um, Commander," said one of the Techs, "that unauthorized shuttle from the Rising Star just arrived aboard the Callisto….”

[BSC RPG]

Astraea

Lazant pressed the sides of his boots against the walls of the ventilation shaft as he waited for Astraea to continue up. “What’s the problem?” he asked as the stress of holding his weight made his arms tremble.

Astraea shifted only slightly to look down at him and hold a finger to her lips then she peered back out a small opening.

Lazant grunted slightly, but tried to disguise it as a cough. “We’ve got a time issue here,” he told her in a whisper.

She gently pushed open the vent grating before looking down at him once more. “Then what are you waiting for?” She didn’t bother to wait for an answer and easily slipped out the opening. A moment later her head popped back inside. “You’d better take off your jacket.”

He looked at her as he continued to struggle up the vent. “You’re kidding, right?” It was taking all his strength just to keep from plummeting back down the shaft.

Astraea shrugged her shoulders. “Suit yourself, but there isn’t going to be much I can do if you get wedged in.”

When she disappeared, he eyed the opening a little more closely and realized that she was probably right. Lazant began to swear under his breath as he shrugged his jacket off of his shoulders. It took him a centon to get one of his arms out of the sleeves, but he was eventually able to toss his jacket out of the vent and wiggle himself out.

Lazant crouched for a moment as he grabbed his jacket. He looked up and down the corridors, but Astraea was nowhere to be seen. “Fine with me,” he mumbled. He could still use her help, but she was already starting to irritate him. Once Amy was with him, they would figure out how to get to the landing bay on their own.

At least his luck had changed. There wasn’t a centurion in sight as he went to work on the command console to find out which cell held Amy. He frowned as the information came up. All of the cold cells were off line except for one. “That makes my job easier,” he whispered. He triggered the cell door from the console then rushed down the hall.

By the time that Lazant reached her, the door had opened and Amy toppled over into his arms. “Amy. Amy!” He called out her name as he gently shook her. Her skin and uniform were ice cold and there was a dazed expression in her eyes. “By the Lords, tell me I’m not too late.”

“Great plan,” she hissed out.

His eyes closed for a micron, then he smiled in relief. “Will you ever cut me any slack?” He rubbed at her arms as he steadied her on her feet. “Can you walk?” he asked as he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders.

Laser fire cut off any answer she might have given and Lazant wrapped an arm around her waist. “Looks like you don’t have a choice,” he whispered and started back down the corridor. Amy was depending on him heavily for balance, but she managed to keep her feet under her. Lazant stopped at the command junction to peer cautiously around the corner.

“Going somewhere?” Astraea asked as she tipped a large Cylon laser rifle back to rest on her shoulder.

“Frack!” He shook his head. He had nearly jumped out of his skin. “Give me a little warning next time.”

“What would be the fun in that?” She gave Amy a curious glance. Her lips were tinged blue, but her eyes were already showing signs of life. “I see you found your friend. Next stop the sensor array.”

“What? No,” Lazant argued as he followed her. She held a stiff pace and he was hard pressed to keep up with Amy’s added weight. “We’ve got to get to the landing bay. We don’t have time for any side trips.”

Astraea stopped to look back at him. “And let the Cylons track us back to the fleet?” She made a clicking noise with her tongue as she shook her head. “Relax Captain,” she ordered as she let the rifle drop down onto her arm. “It’s on the way.”

Lazant grabbed her arm when she would have turned. “If you don’t mind,” he said, leaving the sentence hanging as he took hold of the rifle.

Astraea looked at him curiously. This wasn’t how the scenario generally played out. “Is this a macho thing?”

“No, it’s a crazy thing as in I think you may be.” He foisted Amy into Astraea’s arms as he relieved her of the weapon.

Skyler

“Major, we have confirmation that the shuttle has started landing procedures on the Callisto. Are your Warriors ready to intercept?"

“Yes ma’am, but we are in Alpha Bay as directed…. And there is no signs of anything landing…” Skyler switched channels on his comm unit “Skyler to Flight Control, status of the incoming Shuttle?”

“Flight Control to Major Skyler, Rising Star Shuttle has diverted from flight plan and is landing on Beta deck… repeat, they are landing on Beta Flight Deck.”

“Frack!” Skyler turned and headed to Beta Landing Bay at a full run, the two Ensign's close behind. He noticed Najinn talking to another Warrior he didn’t recognize and ordered that they follow. They were a full centon behind in this race because of the unexpected change if they didn’t hurry, they would miss the visitors and they would make it to the bridge or Lords know where before they could stop them.

Lucian

Soon after being informed of its arrival, Captain Lucian arrived in Alpha Bay to assist with unloading the shuttle. Fallel was already there, going over the manifest.

"We have received some of the critical items, but not all. Their message confirms the earlier conversation: they're going to have to manufacture some of the parts," said Fallel.

Lucian reached for the list as he replied, "'Some of the critical items' is far better than 'none of the critical items' in my book. I suspect they'll have everything else ready for us when we arrive in the Quarro system."

Fallel grinned and nodded, "It will be good to have her all back together again."

"Yep, real good," said Lucian. "Now, let's get this stuff unloaded so the Techs can clean up their shuttle." He looked over the list and started marking delivery locations. Handing it back to Fallel, he said, "Get the engineering crew to stage everything over there out of the way. We'll wait until start of second shift to begin moving it to the engine area. We'll be into the jump by then and we won't be as likely to block the corridors when there's less traffic."

"You heard the Captain," called out Fallel to the assembled group. "Let's unload, sort, and stash. Let's do it!"

* * *

On the bridge, Major Joey reported to Commander Sheba, "The Rising Star shuttle has landed in Beta Bay. Major Skyler's on his way there now."

Sheba looked at the countdown time. There were just over 15 centons before the Callisto began its jump. Several more of the leading ships reached the jump point at that time and disappeared from the monitor. They were too far forward to be seen from the Bridge.

"Any word on those rogue shuttles?" asked Sheba.

"We've only got one left and it's heading at top speed back to one of the Textile Ship Beta. We still don't know why it's mission was so important, because it never got to land on any of the other ships. There's been no response from it," said Lieutenant Aegina.

As she finished speaking, one of the Flight Controllers said, "What's that idiot pilot doing? He's coming in far too fast and off vector." Activating the comm unit, he said, "Callisto Control to Fleet Control, any word on that shuttlecraft?"

"Negative, Callisto. It's not responded to any of our hails. We never got a flight plan from it either."

"Callisto Control to Textile Beta. Your shuttlecraft is off course for landing. You must order correction immeadiately or your shuttle will crash. Respond...respond...Textile Beta, Respond!"

Even from the distance, on the Bridge of the Callisto the sudden fireball could be seen. Moments later, a voice said, "Uhm, Callisto, this is Textile Beta...uhh...we got a problem here. Our shuttlecraft just crashed into the side of our ship. Ya don't think there'd be any survivors on that shuttle, do ya?"

Commander Sheba approached the station, took the headset and said, "Textile Beta, in an explosion of that nature, there won't be any survivors. The real question is, how much damage has your ship sustained? You must jump in nine centons and there's no time to evacuate your ship without stopping at least a few ships. What is your status?"

Silence, followed by more silence....

Sheba said again, "Textile Beta, I repeat, what is your status?"

Another, more steady voice began to speak, "Commander Sheba, this is Captain Morgatto. Our ship has suffered some damage due to the unauthorized flight of our shuttlecraft. My engineer tells me that we'll be able to jump without any problem, but we'll need to make some repairs. We're initiating the jump generator sequence now. My presence is required. Morgatto, out."

Sheba replied, "Best wishes, Morgatto and Textile Beta. We'll see you in the Quarro system. Callisto, out."

[BSC RPG]

Astraea

Six stations. There were only six stations in the sensor control room, but Lazant had already been gone for ten centons. “All you’ve got to do is blast them and get out,” Astraea grumbled softly. Six stations, six centurions. “Even a cadet could take them out in a matter of microns. What’s taking so long?”

Astraea glanced down at the female warrior who had remained silent. Her shivers had become only small, sporadic tremors and the color had returned to her cheeks, but something just didn’t feel right about that entire situation. She squatted and the warrior looked up to her. “How are you doing?”

Amy opened her mouth slightly and her teeth started to chatter. Astraea smiled sardonically. “That good, huh?” She glanced around the storage area for anything that might be useful to warm her up. “The Cylons aren’t much for creature comforts and it looks like we’re housed in a recycling room. Pretty much everything in here will be sent to the disposal soon.” She dropped down onto her knees and started to vigorously rub at Amy’s legs to get the circulation going. “Let’s hope we’re not part of the pick up.”

She watched Amy’s expression while she spoke and was met with blank eyes. “What’s your name?” When her brows drew together, Astraea looked at her a little more closely. “Where are you from?” she tried once more.

Amy began to speak, then hesitated. Astraea could tell from the look in her eyes that it was something other than a physical problem keeping her silent. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Before Amy had the chance to answer, a claxon began to wail followed by several loud explosions. “Just perfect,” she mumbled as she reached out for Amy’s arms to pull her to her feet. “How did this guy make captain?”

Astraea and Amy had just stepped outside of their hiding place when Lazant ran up to them. “One of them was able to hit the alarm before I could get him,” he explained breathlessly.

“You don’t say,” Astraea returned sarcastically as they flanked Amy to speed her along and hurried down the hallway to the turbo lift.

Lazant kept his laser rifle trained down the hall until the lift doors closed, then he eyed Astraea suspiciously when he felt the lift ascending. “I thought the landing bay was below us?”

“It is, but we have a problem to take care of first,” she returned.

“What sort of problem?” Lazant growled back. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that this would be the first of many.

“Looks like your friend got to see the extractor up close and personal,” Astraea returned as she punched in the appropriate commands.

“What are you talking about?” He gave Amy a closer inspection. She looked tired and seemed incapable of standing entirely on her own, but those were merely side-effects of the cold cell. “She spoke to me when she fell out of the cold cell.”

“Yeah, well, hang onto that memory because it will probably be the last thing you hear from her for awhile.” She helped Amy ease over to the wall for support as she glanced over at Lazant. “Okay, when that door opens, you’re going to be confronted with either two or four centurions. You’re only going to have a micron to take them by surprise since the klaxon has them on alert. Hopefully they will have their backs turned and their scanners focused on the far end of the corridor.”

“What?” Lazant spat out as he back away from the door. “Let’s take another way in. There’s libel to be an entire squadron waiting for us out there!”

Astraea rolled her shoulders to relieve some of the stress caused by Amy’s added weight. “I thought you were in a hurry?”

“To get to the landing bay, yes! But not to fix these imaginary problems that you seem to come up with.”

“Look. If your friend has gone under the extractor, they have a disk with her stored memories. If the Cylons find a way to crack that code problem, what kind of vital information are they likely to discover?”

He paused for a moment. He didn’t think that Amy had access to the jump coordinates, but her close personal connection to the Callisto’s second in command could be detrimental enough. “Fine. We’ll get the disks.”

Astraea shook her head and sighed heavily. “The Cylons have been trying to assimilate those disks for yahrens. What good are they going to be to you? It’s not like you can play them and she will automatically get her memories back. It doesn’t work that way.”

“We take the disks!”

Lazant jumped back instinctively when the doors to the lift suddenly opened. As the microns ticked by, Astraea rubbed at the back of her neck then frowned. When the first laser blast exploded inside the turbo lift, her full attention was back on Lazant who pressed himself against the lift wall and firing blindly through the open door.

“Oh for Sagan’s sake. Let’s just get this over with,” Astraea stated as she efficiently disarmed Lazant in one swift move. Showing no signs of fear, Astraea walked directly out in front of the centurions and began firing with deadly accuracy. Microns later, the corridor was clear.

Astraea turned back to see Lazant’s stunned face as she rested the blaster on her shoulder. “Shall we go?”

Lazant watched Astraea stride down the hallway as he absently grabbed for Amy’s hands to pull her toward him. She’s certifiable, he thought. His eyes darted to each of the Cylons while stepping over sprawled silver limbs. Their face plates were mangled and charred. “Dead on,” he whispered, then glanced over at Amy. She didn’t seem to be having any trouble navigating around the centurions, but there was something almost mechanical in the way she was moving. “How are you doing Amy?”

He gave her a long moment to answer, but Amy remained silent. Lazant finally stopped outside the door where Astraea had disappeared and took Amy’s shoulders into his hands. “Now’s not the time to screw with me Captain,” he said sternly. Amy’s eyes darted around inquisitively, but she didn’t respond.

Lazant’s eyes closed as he sadly shook his head. Apparently Astraea hadn’t been joking about the extractor. “Come on. Let’s catch up.”

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps into the dark room when Amy suddenly tensed up. Lazant looked at her in confusion, then darted a glance around the room. Huge computer banks lined the walls encircling a jagged set of glowing rods jutting down from the tall ceiling. He spotted Astraea over at one of the terminals then felt Amy pulling back from him.

“So this is the extractor,” he mumbled before turning to assist Amy back out of the room. He helped her down to the floor just outside the door before returning to see what Astraea was up to.

“There’s your disks,” Astraea said with an accusatory tone while pointing to a rectangular box that ejected from one of the massive computers. She didn’t like the thought of saving any Cylon technology. She would prefer to destroy it all.

Lazant barely gave the black box a passing glance before fixing his stare on Astraea. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, but didn’t wait for a response. She was adjusting the voltons on the laser rifle and he knew instantly what her intentions were. “We can download some of the technology before we go.”

Astraea raised an eyebrow at him as she jostled the oversized weapon to get a better grip. “I thought you were in a hurry?” she returned sarcastically, then trained the Cylon laser on the heart of the extractor in the ceiling. She could see Lazant making a quick dash for the black box, but she didn’t pay any heed to his shouts to wait. “I don’t care if this is a dream,” she said ambiguously. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

Lazant pulled hard on the wide handle at the front of the box and nearly dropped it before he could catch it with his other arm. He hadn’t expected something only a little larger than a Colonial pistol to weigh so much, but he didn’t have time to dwell on the comparison. Astraea had opened fire on the extractor cells. Blue-white sparks flew in every direction as he raced for the door.

An explosion directly behind him pushed Lazant out into the hallway with Amy. He stumbled against the wall, then turned quickly when two more explosions resounded against the metal. He heard Astraea scream and took half a step in her direction when she yelled out “Yeah baby!”

He was stunned for an instant by the unexpected exuberance. Smoke billowed out through the door as Astraea strolled out a moment later with a satisfied smile. “That was fun.”

Lazant shook his head as Astraea brushed passed him. “You’re nuts!”

“Probably,” Astraea returned while she continued at a leisurely pace down the corridor.

“What kind of game are you playing?” he bellowed disregarding the fact that they were standing on a Cylon basestar attempting to escape.

She turned slowly to face him, hoisting the rifle back onto one of her shoulders. “Game? That’s an interesting choice of words.”

His brows drew together as he shook his head once more. He didn’t understand half of what she said. “That’s it,” he said with finality. “We’re getting out of here.”

“That’s the plan.”

“No. We…” he pointed between himself and Amy rapidly, “are getting out of here.”

[BSC RPG]

Astrea
Astraea’s head dropped to one side as she watched him grab one of the laser rifles from the floor. He hesitated for a moment trying to decide how to hold the rifle and the hefty box while he clumsily pulled Amy to her feet. Astraea gave half a smile as the rifle slipped out from under one arm while he tried to steady Amy with the other. “Before I forget, there will be a squad of centurions coming down that corridor in about,” she shrugged, “thirty microns.”

Lazant glanced up to see that she was pointing in the direction that they had come. The turbo lift was cut off and he didn’t have a clue how to get from there to the landing bay. “Fine,” he bit out. “We’ll follow you.” He jostled the rifle and the box a moment longer before sighing in exasperation. “I could use a little help here!”

Astraea dropped her weapon across her arm to adjust the voltons back down. “I guess you’ll have to leave something behind.” She looked back up at him with a sly smile. “If I were you, I’d leave the rifle. I’ve seen you shoot.”

An angry croak escaped his throat, but Astraea had turned and disappeared around a corner before he could respond. “Come on Amy! Snap out of it!” he insisted gruffly. The rifle dropped to the floor with a clatter, then he froze. He could hear the rhythmic march of centurions drawing closer. “Frack!” he bit out. He darted a glace down at the laser rifle, then grumbled angrily to himself before hurrying after Astraea with Amy on one arm and the box of memories tucked under the other.

His heart leapt into his throat when he rounded the corner and Astraea was nowhere to be seen, but he pressed on. Cylons would be swarming the corridors around them at any centon and he could only pray that Astraea hadn’t abandoned them. He rounded the next bend with more confidence than he felt, the monotone drone of centurions speaking behind them driving him on.

They moved as quickly as Amy would allow, but it was still agonizingly slow for Lazant. The awkward way he had to lean to get his arm under Amy’s shoulder unevenly counterbalanced by the box caused a dull throb to begin at the base of his spine.

“Where in Hades are you?” he growled when they reached a junction. All three directions were devoid of movement of any kind. He was just about to call out Astraea’s name when she stepped out into the hallway a hectar away and waved. He checked the other two corridors once more before hastily following.

Lazant was out of breath when they finally reached Astraea who was, once again, working on an access panel. “Thanks for the help,” he puffed.

A large door slid open beside her before she gave him her attention. “I was just preparing our transport.”

He took a couple of steps closer, eyeing the silver cage beyond skeptically. “What’s that suppose to be?”

“It’s the prisoner transport. It was automatically locked down when the alarms sounded, but I…”

“Bypassed the system,” he finished then gave her the same dubious look. “You seem to know an awful lot about Cylon basestars.”

“Well, you know. A girl gets around.” She stepped into the capsule-shaped conveyance then turned to see him waiting indecisively. “We can always walk, if you prefer,” she said flippantly. It was easy to see from the way he was swaying that Lazant was already struggling with his burden.

He continued to hesitate. He didn’t trust her, but he had few options available. He staggered as he guided Amy in with Astraea and had to stifle a relieved sigh as dropped the black box down onto cage floor. “How do you know that this thing will get us to the landing bay?” Lazant asked as he pressed his hands against the small of his back to ease the pain.

“Well, it only goes to three places,” she explained as the door slid closed. “The interrogation level, the landing bay and the basestar command chambers.” She smiled as she took hold of one of the bars circling the mobile cell. “Let’s hope I programmed in the right one.”

Lazant was forced to take a step to keep from falling as the cage began its sideways thrust. The open grate allowed the cool air to breeze by them and he lifted his face in welcome relief. He didn’t even mind the metallic smell that permeated every metron of the Cylon world. He was grateful for the respite.

He glanced down at Amy who was balled up under his flight jacket for warmth. The light wind that he enjoyed brought back the shivers for Amy. He could hear her teeth chattering over the whoosh of the prisoner transport. How would he ever explain what had happened to Amy? Or that it was his decision to surrender which served her up for Cylon experimentation? He wiped the perspiration from this face. Charybdis would be first in line to see him court-martialed.

He looked to the black box on the floor. He knew that it wasn’t exactly the find of the centuron, but he had to hope that the memories stored in the box would relieve some of the heat he was sure to face. Perhaps one day the disks…

“The disks!” He shot a look at Astraea who was leaning back against the cage as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “When we get to the landing bay, we have to get to the cruiser that Amy and I arrived on.”

Astraea slowly opened her eyes and gave him a disbelieving gaze. “You can’t be serious.”

“Deadly serious,” he stressed as he leaned toward her. “I’ve hidden disks on that particular cruiser which are imperative that I return to the fleet.” They would certainly save his neck if not keep him out of the prison barge. “Besides, we need that cruiser’s jump capabilities. I’m sure it’s repaired by now.”

“Repaired?” Astraea’s mouth dropped open. “You put your invaluable disks on a damaged Cylon cruiser which would be immediately sent to the maintenance bay for a complete scan?”

“I didn’t exactly have a lot of choice,” he snapped back, but he groaned inwardly. Having Cylons meticulously going over their transport wasn’t something that he had counted on. The disks just have to be there. “We need those disks and that cruiser or we’ll never catch up with the fleet.”

Astraea rubbed at the back of her neck then frowned. For once she didn’t look quite so self-assured, but that was hardly comforting for Lazant. “Can you get us to that specific cruiser?” he pressed.

She dropped her hand back down to the bar circling the capsule and studied him for a moment. “You know, there are other vehicles onboard that have jump capabilities. What could possibly be on those disks which would be so important?”

“Your name for one, Lieutenant.” He felt a moment of satisfaction at erasing the smug look from her face. When her hand flew up to the back of her neck once more, his eyes narrowed. She dug at the skin with her nails so hard that he checked her hand for blood when it finally dropped to her side. He shook his head when she began to mumble to herself. How could he be so desperate that he had to trust an escapee from the loony bin?

“You were on a mission,” Astraea said so softly that he almost missed it.

It had been more of a statement than a question, but Lazant responded anyway. “Yes.”

“The fleet…” She swallowed hard. “What ship were you from?”

He could sense something in her question, but didn’t probe. He wondered for a moment if she were testing him or trying to trick him somehow. “The Battlestar Callisto.”

Astraea squeezed her eyes shut. Could this really be happening? Could he still be alive? Her eyes blinked open when she felt the transport capsule begin to slow. They had arrived at the landing bay. She looked at Lazant with renewed determination. “I’ll get you to that cruiser.”

Charybdis

The comm unit crackled with the orders to land immmediately to begin the procedure for the jump.

Good thing my shuttle was already in landing approach mode.

"Shuttle 731 in final approach. Vector .001. Request landing clearance."

"Shuttle 731. You are clear to land. Callisto out..."

The shuttle made the slow descent and finally entered the landing bay of the Callisto. We came to a stop and the shuttle was manouvered into position.

I jumped out and immediately made my way back to the bridge to see Commander Sheba...it was good to be home.

I entered the bridge and saw Commander Sheba standing there. "Commander, reporting for duty," I said.

"Charybdis, glad you made it back. I'm sorry to have to send you on errands around the fleet, but we needed to get those supplies back here fast."

"It's alright, Commander. The Forge Ship crew were most accomodating. I hope we got enought to start some of the repairs."

"Well, we didn't get it all. But we need to collect all ships and begin our jump cycle...soon."

I knew that I was not on official duty, what with my injuries and all, but I figured I would stay on the bridge and watch until we got into the next jump.