Chapter 26—Jump to Darjeelene

[LucianG]

NOTE: Chapter 26, taken from our former board, follows. The order of a few posts has been reversed to better match the continuity of the storyline. The name of the writer begins each section.

* * *

LucianG

The centons had passed quickly, and Vipers began to land. Major BatGal’s little wing was one of the first, having been relieved by Captain Skyler and the Gold Squadron Warriors. Numerous Bronze Squadron Warriors began to land in Beta Bay moments later, and then, the Gold Squadron Warriors started landing in Alpha Bay.

* * *

Hawke
The battle was very costly, but I made sure the Cylons paid for all the destruction that they had caused this day. As I was lining up another Cylon a voice came into my head. "Destruct sequense Alpha three nine two. Initiate." The voice droned and sounded like a Cylon! That was the last thing I remember clearly. Suddenly everything was like a dream. I saw myself pulling off of the Cylon and targeting a viper! "No! This can't be happening!!! Move out of the way!!!!" I screamed. I saw myself fire on the viper. The viper veered out of the way just in time. "Hawke what in hades do you think you're doing??" he demanded. "Can't.... control....what I'm doing..." I said.I came around for another pass. I fired and hit the viper's high engine... "Gold twelve to Callisto!! Gold Twelve to Callisto... Emergency!! Captain Hawke's gone nuts!!! He is firing on my ship. Repeat, he is firing on my ship!!! Please help!!! My high engine has been hit!!" I close my eyes and fire again. I knew I destroyed the viper. I heard the pilot's screams in my earpeice in my helmet. I opened my eyes and saw the debris field in front of me. "My god. What have I done?" I thought. I had thought I heard....laughing?
What in hades is hapening to me? That same Cylon voice says to me in my head "Destruct sequense Beta Two Nine. Initiate." I quickly looked around. I couldn't remember anything that happened in the last five centons.
I get hit from behind from a Cylon raider and everything in the ship goes dark. Another hit and my control panel explodes. My last thought before I black out is strangely of Rose.
Suddenly everything was like a dream. I saw myself pulling off of the Cylon and targeting a viper! "No! This can't be happening!!! Move out of the way!!!!" I screamed. I saw myself fire on the viper. The viper veered out of the way just in time. "Hawke what in hades do you think you're doing??" he demanded. "Can't.... control....what I'm doing..." I said.I came around for another pass. I fired and hit the viper's high engine... "Gold twelve to Callisto!! Gold Twelve to Callisto... Emergency!! Captain Hawke's gone nuts!!! He is firing on my ship. Repeat, he is firing on my ship!!! Please help!!! My high engine has been hit!!" I close my eyes and fire again. I knew I destroyed the viper. I heard the pilot's screams in my earpeice in my helmet. I opened my eyes and saw the debris field in front of me. "My god. What have I done?" I thought. I had thought I heard....laughing?

* * *

LucianG

Damage control teams were working throughout the ship, including on the bridge. Colonel Charybdis had been rescued from the debris, and had been whisked from the bridge toward the Med Lab, with Lieutenant Finky going along to assist the rescue workers. So far, she had not reported on his status.

In his absence, Major Joey was dealing with more than usual. Commander Sheba said, “Major, please get me an update on the Colonel’s condition as soon as possible.”

Joey replied, and then began to try to reach the Med Lab on the damaged comm system.

* * *

As the remaining recalled Warriors were landing, the Cylons in BaseShip Three finally succeeded in launching the last of its remaining ships, and then began to move once more toward the Callisto, which was limping toward the jump point.

As the last of the detected survivors was boarding, strange reports were starting to arrive from various parts of the ship, and from the flight controllers. CORA ships were busy picking up escape pods that had been blasted free of Vipers as they had been destroyed. Already, the landing bay Techs had discovered one escape pod that had been destroyed in the initial Cylon laser attack. They were reportedly removing the few remains of a brave Warrior who had given his or her all. Unfortunately, due to the damage, they weren’t even sure whose ship they were examining.

“All aboard, Commander. Landing bay doors are sealed. All stations reporting ready for jump,” reported Major Joey.

Knowing that they would be cycles sorting out the mess and the real stories of everything that had happened over the past few centars, Sheba looked around the remains of the Bridge.

“Well done, everyone. We have succeeded in saving the fleet once more. Well done,” she said. To herself, she wondered about the status of the rest of her Warriors. Had they survived? What was the real cost?

She turned to Karia and gave the order to jump. Moments later, the Callisto was following most of the rest of the fleet toward the distant system known as Darjeelene.

* * *

Stargazor

As he was unloaded from the ship and the med. team rushed him over to the med lab he was still not responding to any one who talked to him. The a med person flashed a light in the eyes of Lt. Stargazor, but there was no response,

“Lt. Stargazor, if you see the light blink give us a sign”! But Stargazor didn’t blink he didn’t move at all.

As the landing bay officer was passed he asked “What is the name and severity of injuries”?

Med person “Lt. Stargazor, black squadron! Injuries critical, low chance of survival!”

The Officer wrote down Lt. Stargazor’s name on the data pad and included the type of injuries.

Stargazor was brought into the Med lab, Holodoc recognized Lt. Stargazor immediately and directed him to a critical section of the med lab witch was beginning to get crowded from injured personnel.

In the lowly light room Lt. Stargazor was flat on a medical bed and some machine was monitoring his vital signs witch wore slowly fading away.

When Holodoc came by to check on his status she looked at the machine. A med person joined her and said “He’s not going to make it! His injuries are just to great, he went trough hell!”

“With the wounds he has, it’s a miracle he’s still alive”!

But as the words from the med person come out the machine shows the vital signs are dropping again to a level very critical and the machine starts to flash a warning sign.

Holodoc “He’s given up the fight!” Then al vital signs are going flat.

Med Person “He’s gone”, “May the lords guide his soul!”

The Eyes of Lt. Stargazor turn from red to total blackness.

Holodoc “Mark it, Lt. Stargazor Deceased from wounds”, “ and send it to the bridge along with the rest of the report!”

* * *

[LucianG]

Logan
Logan was lost. She was wandering the corridors of a dark ship. The emergency overhead lights were flickering and smoke was thick in the air. She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. Several times she had to stop and remove debris from her path to... Where? Her destination eluded her. She thought that she had been looking for someone, but couldn't recall who? And her head hurt. 'What the frack is going on?', she thought. She stopped and leaned against the wall to rest, closing her eyes against the burning smoke. A wave of helplessness washed over her at that moment, threatening to engulf her. She fought against it with all her strength and started creeping down the corridor again, her hand outstretched, using the wall as a guide. A face started forming in her mind's eye, a face with familiar and comforting gray eyes that stared at her with intent emotion. She heard someone calling her name and felt a warm hand touch hers. A word, a name, formed on her lips, "Wraith."
* * *

'Logan! Logan, can you hear me? I think she said something." It was Ike's voice breaking through as she regained consciousness. She opened her eyes, her vision blurry, and became a little dizzy. her vision slowly cleared and she saw Ike and Lt. Brik hovering over her, concern on their faces. She was in the launch bay of the Callisto, still strapped into the thingypit of her Viper. Fried circuitry and smoke filled her senses. "What happened?", she managed to get out between coughs.
"What happened?", Ike repeated, glancing at Brik in astonishment and then turning to look at her again. "By the Lords, girl, what were you thinking? I know you're a good pilot, but I've never seen a ship come so close to a BaseShip's landing bay unless it was a Raider actually going in for a landing", Ike admonished, but the gleam in his eye was evident. "What a story! You really gave 'em hell with that run!"
It was coming back to her now. She and Wraith had gone in for a final strafing run as the recall order came in. Logan was hesitant to leave the battle without one more opportunity to inflict as much damage as possible. Since the landing bays had been targeted and demolished for the most part, she wanted to make sure that no more Raiders were capable of launching from that BaseShip to follow them back to the Fleet. She had come in as close as she could, actually able to see the figures of the Cylons in the bay scrambling to get out of the way of what they assumed was a kamikaze run by a desperate Colonial Warrior. At the last possible moment she had lit up her lasers right down their thraots and pulled up and out. She must have been hit in the retreat. And her head hurt. She reached her hand up to her temple and it came away bloody. "Frack", she muttered.
"We need to get you to the Med Lab. That blast sealed your canopy and we just now got you cut out. Can you stand?", Brik said. The whole time he spoke, he efficiently unstrapped her harness and effortlessly lifted her out of the thingypit, lowering her to the deck. When her feet hit the deck, she swayed but Ike and Brik were there, on either side, for support. As she regained her footing, her head cleared and she blurted out, "Where's Wraith?", scanning past Ike and Brik to search the bay. It was in chaos. A layer of smoke hung in the air and Warriors and techs alike were running around checking on ships, wounded crewmen and the like. A fire suppression team was just finishing putting out on a blaze on a nearby Viper. Makeshift stretchers were coming in to transport the injured to the Med Lab. She saw Skyler deep in conversation with a Warrior she didn't recognize halfway across the bay. His uniform was dirty, but he looked uninjured. She had never seen him looking so grim.
Logan shook off Ike and Brik's hands and stood on her own. Her head throbbed dully, but she wasn't dizzy anymore. She looked Ike squarely in the eye and repeated her question, "Where's Wraith?"
"Haven't seen him. Think his comm was damaged in that wild run you two made. Last I heard he was helping guide in a Viper with a wounded pilot. But, I haven't had a chance to look for him. We've been too busy cutting up your ship trying to get to you. Don't worry. You know Wraith, flair for the dramatic if you ask me. He's in this mess of a bay somewhere.", Ike said, without a trace of doubt.
Logan glanced around the bay again and took in the mayhem. He was here somewhere. She could feel it.
* * *
Wraith
..."MEDIC!!--OVER HERE!!" Wraith shouted over the mayhem that reigned in the shattered landing bay. The pilot whom he'd escorted in severely injured, he would stay with him until the med-techs made it to him. "Here, guys! This man is hurt bad, get him to Med-Lab ASAP!"
"Beggin' your pardon, sir, but there are people here who are barely hanging on, they need..."
"And I'm telling you HE'S not doing much better! His Viper took multiple hits and he got cooked in the thingypit!" Wraith gestured to the young pilots legs and torso, nearly charred black from the fire that nearly consumed him, reminding him painfully, as he winced in rememberance, of his own excruciating ordeal only months earlier. He shot back: "Now don't give me excuses, just get him the help he needs NOW, that's an order!"
"Uh, yes Sir...right away, sir." The tone in the Ensigns voice made it clear to the young techs that arguing was not a good idea. "We'll see to him right away."
"Thanks guys." Wraith felt sure the young pilot was in good hands now, so he turned back to the most pressing issue on his mind, which was finding his friends, Cpt. Skyler, Ike, Brik, and above all, his beloved, Logan...
Not knowing where they were, how they were, was eating him up inside...he had to find them...he had to find her.
* * *
Logan
"Are you sure you don't want a medtech to take a look at your head? It's still bleeding, you know?'
Logan shifted the piece of debris she was helping another Warrior move that was blocking a secondary exit from Alpha Bay. She paused briefly to glare at the Warrior, Lt. Teman, she remembered someone calling him. He didn't ask again. But Logan knew she would eventually have to get checked. Her head was throbbing and the gash was deeper than she had originally thought. But that was later. At the micron, she was too busy to worry about herself. There were people here in far worse shape than her. She had to help who she could.
And then, her mind kept going back to Wraith. 'Where is he?', she wondered. She had searched the whole bay. His ship wasn't there and neither was he. No one had seen him or heard from him, but considering that most of the Callisto's comm system was down that wasn't surprising. She knew he was on the Callisto and after considering the situation, had deducted that he must have had to land in Beta Bay. Her connection to Wraith was strong and she hoped that he could feel her presence as well. It was something they had often joked about, how they seemed to be so in tune to each other. He had known to find her in this very bay after he had discovered he was to be her wingman. He'd be able to find her again, unless she found him first.
Logan lost her grip on the heavy beam she and Teman were lifting and they both went down. Teman scrambled up again, unhurt, as the beam had missed him. Logan wasn't as lucky. By some small act of fate, the beam hadn't landed on her, but she was on the deck, gripping her thigh where the jagged metal had sliced her in the fall. Teman immediately called for a medtech, removed his uniform jacket and pressed hard on the wound. "Are you ok?" he asked her.
Logan was having trouble focusing on him. His features seemed to swim in front of her. She shook her head to clear the blur, but the pain in her head only increased.
"Lt. Logan! Logan, just hang on. The tech's coming." Teman saw the tech running over and helped him remove Logan's jacket. The tech had run out of bandages long ago and told Teman to rip the jacket into long pieces. As the tech checked on her leg, Teman took a good look at the gash on Logan's temple. He only had rudimentary first aid training, but he'd seen his share of action in battle. It didn't look too bad to him, but he didn't like the amount of blood he saw there. He realized that the Lt. was looking at him then. "Are you ok?", he asked her. "The tech's taking care of you now. How's your head feeling?"
Logan fought through the pain that was radiating through her, biting her lip in frustration. She wanted to answer Teman, but couldn't get the words out. She felt the tech explore the wound on her thigh and nearly cried out. The only thing that stopped her was that she had blacked out.

* * *

IkeRapier

Vera rolled hard to port, as Ike brought her in hot from clearing the heavens and opening the gates of mechanized hell for those flying toasters. As the Scarlet-class Viper sped into the bay, it did an emergency breaking flame and then gently came to rest. As the canopy began to rise, he caught the image of Skyler's ship coming in hard. The skill it took to bring it in at all was an amazing feat just in itself.

Then came insult, as "Vera" was scorched heavily on the starboard exhaust and stabalizer. Seems that the battle left a scar. Then to hear this hot-headed "Sarge" yelling at Skyler. Ike was glad he had his own mech/tech after seeing that near rumble happen. As Brik offered to make good on the "milk and cookies," Ike sounded back that he would meet him in the OC.

In the mad dash to board the Callisto prior to her jump, he had lost sight of Logan and Wraith. He had to check on his comrades before anything would settle on his stomach.
* * *

[LucianG]

Skyler

Captain Skyler was the last viper to land on the Callisto before she made her jump. He waited till the last of his squadron was safe on board first. His viper hit the deck hard, the engines were missing so bad he had a hard time keeping it level, power levels had dropped so bad he had to come in at twice the recommended throttle settings or risk falling out of the sky. Once on the deck, he popped the canopy and jumped out of the thingypit. He threw his helm back into the open hatch and turned to come face to face with his crew chief, Micklin. The old grunt had long ago took over as the Squadron Crew Chief and appeared to take great pleasure in making the life of pilots a living hell. The stubby fumarello was hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

“Well FLYBOY!!! By the way those engines sounded, you have blown the number one engine, lost the injectors in the one and two engines and cracked a manifold in three, you knew I have scrounged parts from 4 different crashed viper engines to even get that tub in the air. What part of take it easy on it did you not understand?” Micklin stood poking his finger into Skyler’s chest.

“Micklin, I don’t have time for this felgercarb now!” Skyler said knocking the chief finger away from him.

“You academy boys are all the same, you fly em, you bust em and you want me to fix em. You think I have an endless supply of spare parts and enough time to waste fixing your goof ups?”

“Just get it back up ASAP.” Skyler shoot back and he went to walk by him to check on the squadron.

“I hope ASAP means about 3 sentons, cause that’s your best chance. Going to have to do a complete engine rebuild, and with all the other birds you Flyboys trashed out there, you might be lucky to get it then. Unless you feel like rolling up your sleeves and getting your cute little uniform dirty?”

“We will be in the next system before then Micklin, what do you think I am going to fly for recon or if the cylons are there?”

Micklin pointed across the bay to Major Brie’s viper, the same one Micklin wanted him to take before he launched into battle. “Until I get your bird fixed, that’s your new ride now Captain, the Major didn’t make it back.” The anger boiled in Skyler. He wanted to knock Micklin on his duff, but bit his lip and refrained.

“Anytime you ready for it Captain, just let me know. I enjoy knocking Flyboys back to the ground. Gives em a reality check.”

“Oh, don’t worry, when the time gets here I will pull these Captains insignia off and give you what you keep asking for, in the mean time, I have duties to attend to. Get these fighters ready for action, and ready now. I want a full report by the end of the cycle on what we have launch ready and what we have down and what needs what. Is that understood.”

“Understood Captain, the ones that can be ready will be. I always get em ready, just like you always tear them up.” Before Skyler could respond the old chief bellowed for his lead mechanic “HUTCH!!!” Out of nowhere Hutch is right beside Micklin.

“Yes Sarge” using his old infantry rank

“Will you quit popping up like that, get this heap pushed over to number four repair bay, its last on the list.” pointing over his shoulder to Skyler’s battered viper, he next pointed to Logan’s scared bird. “Move that one into number three now that the pilot is out and then find two more to get into one and two. If they have cosmetic damage rearm and refuel and put them back on the line, were will do beauty touch ups later.”

Skyler left to go check in with the bridge. Despite Micklin’s clashes with authority he was the best mechanic this side of Caprica, and had been keeping the Vipers in the air for yahrens with no parts but what he could scrounge...

* * *

Brik

As the sturdy yet beaten vipers of the Callisto landed in the bay, Brik was careful to utter a small thanks for coming home in one piece...and a small prayer of loss for those that never will.

But now is the time to rejoice and celebrate living!

Jumping out of his ship, he crosses the bay in time to catch Ike as he's opening his canopy...
"Hey, Wingman! You did pretty good out there! So look...it seems that the Capt. is having another run-in with old Micklin," he began, pointing over his shoulder
"So I thought that maybe we'd grab him and I can pay up on that offer of milk and cookies! What do ya say?" asked Brik with a smile on his face. As Ike looked about to answer, Brik spoke again.
"On second thought, I'LL get the Captain and I'll meet you. Set 'em up for us!' and walked away smiling and assuming a positive answer.

Brik walked over to where Micklin and Skyler were "discussing" things, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the hatch with the words "Don't Ask!"

* * *

Hawke

I screamed and tried to sit straight up. It WAS a dream!!! Oh lords,it was a dream!!! I started crying into my pillow. I started laughing uncontrollably. "It was only a dream...." I said. I stopped laughing and looked around. First thing I saw was the nurse on duty calling the bridge. "Bridge here, we're a little busy." The nurse said "He's awake." "We'll be up there as soon as we can." A blackshirt was stationed on either side of my bed. I was in the mad bay again. Great. This is getting monotonous. I looked closer and I discovered I was in the security room of the Med Bay that was reserved for criminals. I was still in a hospital gown. I tried to move my hands & feet and found they were bound with security ties. "What the...." I mumbled. "Nurse...." I managed to get out. "Shaddup!" one of the blackshirts says and promptly slugs me in the mouth knocking me out.
* * *

LucianG

Major Joey intercepted the call from Lieutenant Finky in the Med Lab. She said, “Finky! Slow down! Take a breath and repeat that, slowly.”

“SorryMajor justalittlenervous!” she said, hardly slowing at all. “The Doc said the Colonel is conscious, but he’s going to need to stay in the Med Lab for observation for a while. He’s got a big knot on his head from where that thing hit him.”

“Any word on injuries?” asked Joey.

“Tons! All the stations are full, and there are gurneys lined up in the hall. Lot’s of burns and stuff! And I ain’t never seen so many dead people, either! Doc said the morgue is full, and overflowing! She said something about commandeering one of the landing bays to lay people out just to make more space,” said Finky, sounding as if she was fighting back a tear. “It’s gruesome, I tell you!”

Joey checked assignments, and said, “Tell Doc we can’t spare a landing bay, but she can set up a temporary morgue in the Main Rec Room, if she really needs it. I’ll make the arrangements, just in case.”

“I’d do it, Major,” Finky replied, “another dead one just rolled up.”

* * *

A short time later, a “real” report arrived from the Med Lab, confirming Finky’s report. So far, twenty-seven dead bodies had been recovered, and there were some areas that had not been cleared. Already, there were nearly a hundred injuries reported, some of them quite serious. In addition, many people were working with minor injuries.

“Thanks for the report, Doc,” said Sheba. “Keep me informed.”

She turned to Major Joey and asked, “Do we have a handle on damage yet?”

“Reports are coming in from all over the ship, many from rather distant comm units. The comm system is down over half the ship, and there aren’t enough Techs capable of repairing everything at once.”

“What about the engines? Has Captain Lucian reported yet?” she asked.

“Just a preliminary report that things are a, quote, disaster,” said Joey.

“Joey, get him up here. I want a full report, in person, and I can’t afford to leave the bridge right now,” said the Commander. Looking across the Bridge, she wondered how major the disaster really was.

* * *

At the same time, in an envirosuit, Captain Lucian was in the decompressed engine compartments, evaluating the damage. So far, based on what he'd seen, "terrible" seemed a really mild term.

* * *

[LucianG]

Ninety centons later, Commander Sheba walked into her Ready Room, where Captain Lucian had been placed upon entry to the Bridge. Lucian had his foot propped up, trying to help his aching knee. As soon as the door closed, her pent up anger was released when Lucian didn’t rise to acknowledge her, though he did a quick salute from the sitting position.

“Captain, when I ask for an update on the status of my ship, I don’t mean for it to be a centar later,” said Commander Sheba quite sternly. “Your recent languid attitude resulted in your demotion. I can’t allow it to endanger my ship or the attitude of my crew. Stand to attention!”

Lucian had never seen her so angry. Gingerly, he lifted his knee, placed his foot on the ground, and rose unsteadily. Sheba looked at him questioningly. “Permission to speak freely, Ma’am?”

“Granted.”

“First, since the comm system was down and since I was in the decompressed engine compartments, I only received your summons a half centar ago. By the time we were able to seal and pressurize for reentry, that didn’t leave a lot of time for getting up here, especially since the people mover system appears to be down, at least in the area near where I was. Second, my demotion didn’t result from laziness, but rather from a message not being delivered as expected. I’ll get to the bottom of that one soon. There are bigger problems at the moment. Finally, any perceived languidness exhibited on my part might be attributed directly to exhaustion rather than laziness. I’ve only had a few centars of rest, in the Med Lab with my knee injury while Doc had me under observation, since well before we left to steal the tanker. Pardon me, but I’m sitting back down.” He did, and then lifted his foot back up, cradling his knee as he did. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a well-worn paper, which he held out to the Commander. “This may be what you are seeking. I’ve been carrying it for a while, just in case.”

She took the paper and asked, “Knee injury?”

“On the platform. Hurts like hades, too.”

She unfolded the paper, glanced at it briefly, and then ripped it in half. “Lucian, I’m sorry, I didn’t know. As for this, I don’t want to transfer you off my ship. I want your full attention on fixing it. Now, tell me, what’s our status?”

* * *

Stargazor

Stargazor’s body was transferred to the main rec. room, and placed next to all the other death crewmembers witch wore already in a body bag and placed into a space box for the funeral.

Some warriors walk by the rows of deceased warriors and their emotions are very low.
There’s a woman walking also between them her hair is flaming red and her beauty is unmatched yet her face shows a deep concern and walks, looking at the names on the bag. She stops as she comes across Lt. Stargazor’s body.

She looks a moment at his body in the bag when she kneels down. She opens the bag and unveils his head and torso. She doesn’t see much wounds on his body. As she wants to touch him an assigned deck member walks up to her and stops her. “Hey you can’t open the bags!”

She turns her head to him and he can see tears running down her cheeks.

“Did you know Lt. Stargazor?”

Woman “I watched him from the day he came onboard! He always seemed sad, about something. I often wanted to speak to him, but didn’t had the courage to just walk up to him and talk!”

Crewmember “You loved him?”

Woman “Yes, he was always kind to others and would have done anything for his fellow warriors! Somehow the sadness and kind eyes, made me fall for him!” Her face turns again toward his body, “But now its to late, and I lost him forever!”

Crewmember “From what I gather he died being tortured by the cylons, yet when they found him there was no cylon left alive in the room! They all wore fried to a crisp!”

The woman bends over Stargazor’s body to kiss him farewell when a tear from her cheeks falls down on his eyes. A small reaction of the eyelid astonishes both the woman and the crewmember. Crewmember “By the lords, he aint dead”! Shouting “Medic, we need a medic”, “He’s still alive”!

The woman can’t say another word, she just sits on her knees beside Stargazor and holding him in her arms. A med team with Holodoc come rushing in the main rec. room.

* * *

LucianG

Following the rocky start, it had been a good meeting. Lucian had given the Commander a rundown on the status and recommendations on repairs. In the end, she had placed him in charge of the repair effort, and had been on the verge of restoring his rank when Lucian had stopped her.

“Commander, if you restore my rank, I may never solve the mystery of who broke the chain of command and allowed my message to be lost in transit. I’d rather you appear to stay upset with me, to give me some time to investigate this without tipping off the guilty party. A rumor to the effect that I’ll be leaving the ship as soon as you can find a skilled engineer to take over the repairs might also help,” said Lucian. “A mention to someone on the Bridge, and it will be all over the ship in no time flat.”

“As you wish, Captain Lucian,” said the Commander with a smile. “However you wish to handle it, but get my ship in working order, quickly. When we arrive at Darjeelene, we must be operational.”

* * *

A few centars later, repairs were underway, and Lucian lied down to take a nap. Even as tired as he was, he could not keep from thinking of the repair effort as he drifted into sleep. With large numbers of the ships crew assigned to assist with the work, Lucian hoped that he’d lined it out well enough for the crew chiefs to understand and follow through.

Bulkhead doors around the ship were removed from a number of locations considered to be noncritical, and were transported on trolleys to the engine area where they were reinstalled to re-compartmentalize the engine area. Some of the bulkheads had been warped so badly in the fire that it was not possible to reinstall a door, so Lucian had a crew fabricating cut-to-fit vestibule-like extensions, which allowed the bulkheads to be installed about a quarter meter behind their original positions. Other crews were removing duplicative connective piping, and were using it to rebuild the damaged system. Overall, as he fell asleep, he thought things were going as well as could be expected, but with the repairs that were required, he knew he needed several sectons rather than several cycles....

* * *

Brie

The blast was even stronger than Brie had expected. For a micron she thought that the ship would be torn apart in the explosion, but suddenly, it was over, and they had a way out. Curemode and Kiwi quickly piloted the Pylos out of the base, the darkness of space had never seemed quite so welcoming before.

Checking her scanner, Brie realized instantly that something was wrong. “The Callisto’s gone,” she said matter-of-factly. “The fleet too.” She hadn’t yet picked up the Galactica on the scanner. “Dozens of raiders coming at us, they must know that we’ve taken over the Pylos.”

“Permission to pilot one of the raiders in the docking bay,” Captain Agelastus said. “They’d never expect one of their own ships to be firing at them.”

“Denied,” Brie said quickly. “Our gunners wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between you and the Cylons. Hold on a centon.” A new set of blips appeared on her scanner. They were unmistakable...Colonial vipers.

“Looks like someone didn’t expect this mission to be one way after all,” Curemode observed.

“But they’re expecting us in the tanker,” Brie reminded him. “And all we have is gamma to try to reach them by. Ever hear of a viper being able to pick up a gamma frequency?” Both Curemode and Briseis shook their heads. “Okay, we’ll have to get their attention some other way. Curemode, Kiwi, it’s up to you.” Brie looked back at the scanner. Where there were vipers there HAD to be a battlestar.

* * *

[LucianG]

Expatkiwi

Brie's comments really brought Kiwi back to cold reality. Just when he thought for a micron they just might make it......

"Oh Frack!", Kiwi suddenly exclaimed, "We've got a viper incoming.....and I don't think it's for an aerobatic display".

"Save the funnies!", Brie snapped back, "Use the Gamma Frequency and try to call him off!".

"I've been doing that, Major!", Kiwi replied, "and evidently, he's not getting the message".

Corporal Lannis had just entered the bridge area. "We're going to have to shoot him then", Lannis said.

"Are you crazy?", Kiwi said, "Not only would we be killing a fellow human, it's going to confirm to others out there that we must be hostile".

"But it's him or us!", Lannis screamed.

Brie interrupted. "Corporal, when we signed on for this mission, we all knew we weren't expected to survive. So if it's him or us, he wins. Lieutenant Kiwi, increase to maximum the power to all shields. This baby should be strong enough to take a few viper hits".

Muttering "the operative word in that sentence is 'should', Major", Kiwi complied with Brie's instructions.

There were a couple of blasts from the viper, but no real damage to the PYLOS. Thanks to Brie’s instructions, no one was allowed to fire at the viper, hoping that the lack of aggression would show who they were. Sitting in the co-pilot's chair Kiwi suddenly saw something extra come on the screen and realized that maybe there was a way to let them know that they were friendly.

The pilot in the viper, his sights still set on the PYLOS, didn't notice a Cylon raider slipping in behind him. The raider was preparing to shoot. Kiwi had noticed the appearance of the raider. "Major?", Kiwi asked.

Knowing what he was thinking, Brie simply replied, "Do it".

"Frack", Kiwi muttered, "this is going to be close". The targeting computer had not fully acquired but if he didn't shoot now, the viper would be blasted by
the raider.... He fired.

The pilot instinctively rolled his viper out of the way of the incoming laser beams. The beams missed the viper......and hit the raider dead on. The raider disintegrated. The pilot suddenly realized what had happened. Why would a Cylon ship shoot another Cylon.
Could it be an accident? He knew though that Cylon weaponry had discrimination circuits designed to avoid accidental shoot-downs. If those circuits had been over-ridden, then there could really be only one explanation. He keyed his communicator.

"Get a scan on that ship. Check for human lifesigns."

* * *

Brie
There was an audible sigh of relief on the Pylos' bridge as the viper retreated. "Good thinking, Lieutenant," Brie said to Kiwi. Run the checks for damage, but I think we're okay." She turned and looked directly at Corporal Lannis. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but if you EVER again suggest taking the life of someone who is only doing their job, you'll be on report and on your way to the brig to await your court martial hearing before you'll know what happened."

"Yes, Ma'am," Lannis said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Looks like all the vipers are leaving us alone," Brie observed. "Hopefully they realize who we are. Any signs yet of the Callisto?"

"I thought you said they had left," Briseis said.

"I thought they had," Brie replied, "but according to the markers those vipers are from Black Squadron. The Callisto wouldn't have left without them."

"Switching to long range, narrow beam scan," Curemode said. "There she is!"

"That's not the Callisto," Brie said slowly. "That's the Galactica." She sighed. "Okay here goes nothing." She pressed a few buttons and using the hopelessly outdated Gamma Frequency she started, "This is Major Brie, commanding officer of Gold Squadron, to the Battlestar Galactica. Come in, please." After several microns of silence she started again, "This is Major Brie, commanding officer of Gold Squadron, to the Battlestar Galactica....."
* * *
JustinB
The fight was getting easier. We had destroyed countless raiders and the cylon structers were easy picking.
I flew past the launch bay we had fired at earlier and wondered what lay inside. No sooner had I thought that, when the launch bay door erupted in a huge explosion.

"What the Frack was that," I heard Rose say.

Not wanting to take any chances, I got on the Comm. "Black Flights on me. Just in case something comes out of that launch bay."

Once the debris and smoke cleared I got my first good look into the cylon base.
* * *

What came flying out surprised the Frack out of me. A huge ship came busting out with a purpose. It wasn't a basestar, but it had cylon modifications and markings on it. I was by myself as the rest of my Squadron were finishing off the remaining raiders.

"Black flight, this is Black Lead. I need reinforcements to combat a cylon vessel which has launched from the moon base." I called out as I flew away from the vessel.

I had to slow it down, as who knows who or what was on this ship. Once out of weapons range, I hit the IM button and slammed the navi-hilt hard to port. Now facing the ships nose, I accelerated and began to lock onto the bridge. If I only had some missiles I thought to myself. My reinforcements were thirty to forty microns away.

At extreme range, I began to pepper away at the bridge. Hopefully after a few passes, the shields to the bridge would be destroyed. As I got closer, I could see a laser turret activate and start to track me. Microns later it fired and as it did so I rolled my viper. Expecting at least so more scorch marks on my viper I heard an explosion behind me. I realised that the laser from the unknown ship had missed me by metrons. Were these cylons incompetent or was something else in the works. I had known that from the beginning of this war, cylon weapons had discrimination circuits to avoid accidental shoot downs.

As I flew past the ship, I flew as close as I could to scan the ship for life forms. While it was scanning, I noticed that the laser turrets were powered up, but not following as I passed them. Something was seriously wrong. I completed my scan and it came up with multiple life forms which were all human.

It clicked, just as the reinforcements were about to start their strafing run, "Black Flight Black Lead, Abort strafing run, I say again Abort Strafing run. The insertion team has control of this vessel. All vipers, take up position around vessel."

As they did so, on the extreme edges of my scanner, I spotted more incoming ships. Running it though Warbook, they were identified as Colonial Vipers. These would have to be from the Galactica.

I had to get aboard the ship so they could make some kind of contact.
* * *
I had to get aboard the ship so they could make some kind of contact.
* * *
As I flew the length of the ship, I saw its name in big red letters, THE PYLOS..

As I went around the Pylos, I saw the landing bay doors open up. Deciding to take a risk I contacted Captain Kris.
"Kris, I am going to land on the Pylos, so until otherwise relieved by me, you are in command. We need to get some kind of comms up and running."

"Major, as your third in command, I must object. Let me land and get things sorted out." she replied. But she was too late. I had already entered the Pylos. As I came to a stop, I popped the canopy and drew my laser pistol, just in case I was wrong. I could hear footsteps approaching my position and doors opening and closing. I jumped down and hid behind a pile of crates.

Between some cracks, I saw the door to the bay open.
* * *
Brie
“Brie,” Curemode said with surprise, accidentally ignoring the chain of command, “the viper that was shooting at us appears to want to land.”

“Open the bay doors,” Brie commanded.

“Are you sure?” Corporal Lannis asked. “It might be a trick. Maybe he didn’t get the message before.”

“Open the bay doors,” Brie repeated, ignoring Lannis. “Allow the viper to land. Lieutenant Kiwi, continue to try to raise the Galactica. I’m going to greet our guest.”

Although she knew it would take a centon or two for the pilot to land she headed to the bay at a run. She had never expected to see anyone from the Callisto again, and she was so excited that she even momentarily forgot about the pain in her arm. She knew that unless the viper had been reassigned it belonged to someone from Black Squadron because of the marker that had shown up on the scanners. She was pretty sure she knew who it was, but it didn’t really matter. She wouldn’t even have minded seeing Major Jorlan at that micron!

The door to the bay opened but no pilot was in sight. Smart move, the ship had just blasted out of a Cylon base. “You can come out,” she called. “There are no Cylons here, I promise.” There was a movement from behind some crates, and soon someone emerged, holstering his laser. Brie smiled, she had been right. She knew that only squadron leaders would be crazy enough to voluntarily board a Cylon vessel. “Major JustinB,” she said with a smile. “Welcome aboard the Pylos. You know, trying to blow us up like you did before is taking this squadron rivalry thing a little bit too far.”

[LucianG]

JustinB
The door to the bay finally opened. Looking through the crates I saw who it was.
“You can come out, There are no Cylons here, I promise.” came the voice I only knew to well.

I emerged from behind the crates holstering my laser. Major Brie smiled at me as if she knew I'd be crazy enough to voluntarily board a Cylon vessel.

“Major JustinB,” she said with a smile. “Welcome aboard the Pylos. You know, trying to blow us up like you did before is taking this squadron rivalry thing a little bit too far.” I took her arm in a warriors handshake.

"We will talk about rivalry later Major. Also it's Justin to you." I said as I guided her to my viper. I climbed up and grabbed a disc out of one of the compartments. When I climbed down, I handed it to her. "

"This is a copy of last minute orders I have received. We will be rendezvousing with the Battlestar Galactica. The Callisto should have jumped with the fleet by now. Once we are within range of the Galactica, I will launch and land on her for re-fuelling and re-arming." I once again climbed into the thingypit and hit the scrambler. "Captain Kris, Black Lead. I am sending you the information of our rendezvous co-ordinates. I will be staying on the Pylos until we reach our destination."

I turned to Major Brie, "This is one fine ship you have. Had enough of flying vipers now you have your own ship eh?" I asked with a smile. "This ship should have some valuable information if it was in cylon hands. Oh yes before I forget, did you have any casualties?"

By the look in Brie's eyes, I could tell something was really wrong.
* * *
Brie
"This ship should have some valuable information if it was in Cylon hands. Oh yes before I forget, did you have any casualties?"

Brie looked down towards the floor, not wanting to admit the reality of the situation. “We lost five Infantry members, several more are seriously wounded. Killjoy made it, though, which is no surprise.” She paused, then continued with as little emotion as possible. “And we had to leave Deke, Lazant and Amy behind.”

“What?” It was the only thing that came to Justin’s mind.

“I’ve been leading this squadron for going on, what, five yarhens now,” Brie continued, “and I’ve never had to do anything like that before. We had broken into two teams. Amy was in charge of the second team, they were supposed to rescue Martinzi and find us transport, because that shuttle that you found for us wasn’t exactly the best ride I’ve ever had.”

Justin interrupted. “Excuse me, rescue Martinzi? Lieutenant Martinzi? Didn’t he die a couple of yarhens ago?”

“That’s what we thought,” Brie explained. “We were wrong. We overheard that there was a human being held prisoner on the base, turns out it was Martinzi. He’s in the Captain’s Quarters right now. Physically he seems okay, mentally he’s in bad shape, fracking Cylons. Anyway, we blew up the reactor core and eventually discovered this beautiful vessel, but Amy’s team wasn’t anywhere to be found. Using the Pylos’ computer we discovered their location. Lazant took a couple of men with him to look for them. Apparently Amy’s team had run across some type of ‘Super-Cylon,’ with deadly accuracy and a purple eye instead of the red one that we’re used to. Deke was injured, from what I’ve been told pretty badly. He, Amy, and Lazant laid down cover so the rest of the team could escape. We waited as long as we could before leaving. Lazant knew how much time he had, and we even gave him a few extra centons.” Brie shook her head. “I should have gone myself. I would have, but I think I’ve broken my arm. Lazant, there wasn’t a scratch on him. I didn’t think he had even got any dirt on his uniform.”

“You did the right thing, Brie,” Justin said quietly. “There wasn’t anything else you could have done.”

“Tell that to Charybdis when I have to tell him that yet another woman that he’s in love with is officially missing.”
* * *
JustinB
“You did the right thing, Brie,” Justin said quietly. “There wasn’t anything else you could have done.”

“Tell that to Charybdis when I have to tell him that yet another woman that he’s in love with is officially missing.”

I felt bad and walked a few steps away, then turned and faced Brie. "Major, Brie, I volunteer my services to go and bring back you missing warriors, whatever the risk."
I said. "I will leave my squadron with you while I try and find them."

Without a thought I turned around and headed for my viper. Just as I was to reach the door, Brie shouted "WAIT!!"

Brie
Just as Justin was to reach the door, Brie shouted, "WAIT!!"

“What’s wrong?” a surprised Justin asked.

“If you go flying into that base, who’s going to go looking for you, Major?” She purposely used his rank, even after he had told her not to. She didn’t know why, but his suggestion that he could do something when she couldn’t really bugged her. “You haven’t been inside. There were three major explosions that we set off, and several secondary explosions. The base is in shambles. If I thought there was any way possible to rescue them from the outside we would have flown one of the raiders here in to look for them. If they’re still alive, they’ll have to find their own way out. I know that Lazant can be a pompous jerk, but he’s also one of the most clever people that I’ve ever known. And Amy, her survival instinct is incredibly strong. We need to buy them as much time as possible, but we can’t put any more lives in danger. They knew the risks going in. But there is something I need for you to do.”

“What?” Justin wanted to know.

“Contact the Galactica,” Brie said. “We only have our Gamma Frequency working, and I doubt they’ll pick us up on that. They need to know about the Pylos, and to keep an eye on any raiders that are coming close but not firing. They could be the missing members of my team.”

[LucianG]

JustinB
"But there is something I need for you to do."

"What?" I asked wanting to know.

"Contact the Galactica," Brie said. "We only have our Gamma Frequency working, and I doubt they’ll pick us up on that. They need to know about the Pylos, and to keep an eye on any raiders that are coming close but not firing. They could be the missing members of my team."

Looking a little dismayed, I realised what I proposed was foolish. Looking back at Brie I said, "I guess you are right Brie. We have been flying so long, I wasn't thinking straight. I will make preparations to go to the Galactica."

I turned and walked to my viper slowly. How could I be so foolish? I went the same way I came. I looked over my viper for a little while then hopped into the thingypit. I looked over towards the bay door. After about a centon, I closed the thingypit and prepared to launch. The launch bay opened and I launched.

"Captain Kris, this is JustinB. Get to the Galactica; let them know about the Pylos and their ability to only use the Gamma frequency. Also for them to keep an eye on any raiders that are coming close but not firing cause it might be the missing insertion team members. Take Rose and BrotherJoe with you." Once they took off towards the Galactica I positioned my viper above the bridge of the Pylos.
* * *
At about the same time—
Amy
Lazant, Amy, and Deke worked their way carefully through the ruins of the base, trying to be as quiet as possible to avoid being detected. They weren’t too sure exactly how much of the base was still active or how many centurions survived, but they did not want to learn that answer the hard way. Their goal was to return to the tanker that brought them here, and hopefully use it to get off the base and, if they dared dream it, return home.

“Ever wonder why there’s so much oxygen on a cylon base?” Amy asked quietly as they crept down still another dimly lit corridor.

“That’s easy” Deke whispered. “Some of this feldgercarb won’t function without air. It’s the laws of science.” He grunted, shifting the weight of the centurion rifle he insisted on scavenging from a deactivated cylon.

“And they don’t use much of it” Lazant offered. “Like those raiders—only one airlock instead of two like we’d have had.” He shook his head slightly. Amy had become slightly more tolerable, but her dumb statements wondering about oxygen levels were starting to irritate him. Of course, normally he’d have just spouted off at her, and the fact that he hadn’t was something in itself.

Amy shook her head, continuing her line of thought. “Just seems like there’s more here than there should have been. Seems excessive to me.”

“They were keeping human prisoners here”, Deke reminded her.

“I suppose” Amy replied. “It’s just that…” A sudden sound from up ahead froze all three of them. They ducked down in different directions, trying to find suitable cover. Again the sound came to them, a rustling from the darkness somewhere in the direction they were headed.

Lazant was next to Amy, his mouth so close to her ear that she could feel his breath as he whispered, “No cylon sound… No light…”

She nodded, and pulled her head around enough to whisper back. “No PURPLE light…” Still, neither she nor Lazant dared move a muscle. A sudden panic swept over Amy as she wondered where Deke had ducked off to. A familiar voice from ahead of them answered her fears. He’d gone around a different way, and come up behind the source of the noise.

“By all that’s UN-holy” Deke said aloud. “It’s clear, caps. And you won’t believe it…”

Lazant and Amy slowly stood, weapons still trained ahead of them. From the shadows Deke slowly emerged, prodding a shadowy figure with the end of his rifle. Lazant and Amy stood slack-jawed as the figure stepped from the shadows, his expression one of exasperation and fright. Amy’s heart pounded and she could not find the words, but Lazant hissed the name of the traitor that stood before them.

“Baltar”.

After a moment, Amy found her voice. “Now there’s a good reason to have more oxygen around…”
* * *
Lazant seemed to totally lose his mind for a micron. He muttered Baltar’s name again, then charged him without warning. Caught unaware, Baltar took the full blow and landed hard with Lazant on top of him. Lazant got several good punches in before Amy grabbed his arm and Deke was able to knock him to the floor. Baltar sat up, dazed and breathing hard.

Lazant struggled to get free before finally regaining his senses, and at last he began to settle down. Deke patted his shoulder soothingly. “It’s how we all feel, cap”, he said. Lazant looked at him, nodded, and slowly his breathing steadied. He turned toward Amy, who’d been knocked unceremoniously to the floor in the scuffle. Her expression revealed nothing, but her eyes held tears from the pain in her injured back. He reached out his hand as he stood up, and after a moment Amy reached out slowly and took it, rising gently.

Satisfied that she was okay, Lazant turned his attention back to Baltar. He reached down suddenly and hoisted him up by the collar and slammed him up against the wall. Deke moved in to interfere again but Lazant thrust his hands up suddenly and took a step back.

“You fool” Baltar hissed. “You could have killed me…”

“It be a blessing if I had” Lazant snapped. “Now talk”.

“Certainly” Baltar said, a greasy smile appearing momentarily as he seemed to sense something.

“Aw frack it!” Lazant said suddenly, bringing up his weapon.

“No no! Okay!” Baltar spat out, nervous and defensive again. He took a breath.

“What in hades are you doing here?” Lazant asked.

“I-I’d come over, from m-my baseship…” he began.

“YOUR baseship?” Amy said suddenly. Her weapon was coming up now. “You were right the first time, Lazant. Let’s…” But Lazant put up a hand.

“No” Lazant said. “Let him talk.”

Baltar took several nervous breaths. “I-I came over. T-to oversee the victory first hand. I-I’d just gotten into the airlock when the place went up.” His eyes shifted between the three of them. “My raider was buried in the bay. My personal guards destroyed. I-I went to find another ship. B-but… but, what in hades are those purple monstrosities out there?” His eyes now showed the full fear he was feeling. “They came from nowhere. Wouldn’t listen to me. I ran…” He reached out and grabbed Lazant in desperation. “I need to get out of here! I-I…”

Lazant regarded him with disgust. Amy and Deke, on the other hand, didn’t know what to make of him. Surely this sniveling, weak mess of a man couldn’t have been the one that, that…

“I say we take him with us” Amy said after watching Baltar try to remain somewhat composed for a while. “He could be useful.”

Baltar’s face twitched. “Yes. Yes I could. I mean I am. Useful! How did you plan to get off this base?”

“Tanker” Lazant said. “The one we came in on.”

Baltar shook his head. “It won’t work.”

“And why is that?” Lazant demanded, grabbing Baltar’s collar again.

Baltar said nothing, preferring to let Lazant draw his own conclusions. Lazant studied Baltar’s expression, trying to add it up. “Back up a micron” he said. “You said the bay you landed in collapsed? If Brie blew up Alpha bay to escape, and we just left Beta bay...” He shook his head. “That means that the bay you landed in was Delta bay…?”

“Completely useless” Baltar said. “I assure you.”

“No wonder our plan won’t work” Amy said to Lazant. “You said the tanker was in Delta bay, didn’t you?” Lazant nodded silently, realizing that their escape ship no longer existed. Again he lapsed into thought, mulling their options. Amy sighed and gingerly sat down next to Deke, who’d lowered his rifle and looked positively pale.

“You want out too, Baltar, so what’s your plan for getting out of here?” Lazant asked, not believing that he’d be so desperate to listen. But he did anyway.

“We’d have to return to my basestar” he began. “We’d return, with you supposedly as my prisoners…”

“I don’t like it already” Lazant interrupted. Could Baltar think he could be that gullible?

“Sounds like the feldgercarb you tried to foist on Commander Adama yahren’s ago”, Amy added.

“And what would you know of those yahrens, my dear?” Baltar asked, looking Amy over from head to toe. “A little young, aren’t we?”

“Forget it Baltar”, Lazant said. “There’s got to be another way.” His head snapped around suddenly at a noise, somewhere nearby.

“I think we aught to discuss this someplace else, cap,” Deke said nervously, his rifle coming up. In the distance, the alien hum of the enhanced purple cylons was just coming into earshot.
* * *

[LucianG]

Lazant led the way, with Baltar right behind, prodded along by Amy, who held the cylon rifle now. The rifle had simply gotten too heavy for Deke, who followed them, blaster in hand, looking over his shoulder for signs of the telltale purple light of the enhanced cylons.

“This isn’t the way to Beta bay” Baltar whispered, breathing heavily from all the creeping around darkened corridors. Lazant ignored him and kept going, and when he felt it safe he stopped to allow everyone a chance to rest. It was then that he answered Baltar.

“I’m not about to head straight to Beta bay with those purple cylons tracking us” Lazant said. “We have to avoid them at all costs. I don’t think we’d survive another battle with them.”

Baltar nodded. “I don’t want to tangle with them again. But they might not be tracking us.”

“He’s right, cap” Deke said as he sat heavily to the floor. Even in the dim light his face was plainly pale, and coated with sweat. “Based on what we’ve seen, if those guys were tracking us, we’d be found by now.”

“You” Baltar observed to Deke, “don’t look very good at all.”

“Nevermind” Amy said, sitting down between them to break Baltar’s stare. She tried to keep her expression neutral to hide the fact that her back felt horrible, but it didn’t work. As much as she wanted to lean back and rest, her injury wouldn’t let her. She sat as comfortably as she could.

“You my dear” Baltar said, “look even worse.” Although a bunch of colorful replies came to mind, Amy stayed silent, riding out the pain.

“Enough”, Lazant said. “Baltar, even if we get back to Beta bay, I can’t see how we’ll be able to get those doors open.”

“You’ll just have to trust me” Baltar replied, smiling a sickly, don’t trust this guy type of smile. Amy rolled her eyes, and Deke shook his head.

“Well, if we get into space” Lazant said, “we aren’t going to your basestar.”

Baltar just shrugged. “So tell me something, Captain Lazant. What do you know of these so called purple cylons? Hmm? Having some knowledge of them, I’ve never seen centurions like these.” Lazant coughed, and Amy fidgeted noticibly. Baltar looked over at her. “Something somebody is not saying, hmm? Tell me, is the fleet that desperate to make a captain out of a lady so young? Unless”, he chuckled with a smirk, “the, ah, reward system has changed some?”

“Not you too” Amy sighed. “I’m not going to listen to that from you.”

“You’d barely have been an ensign in the old days”, Baltar observed.

“The old days don’t exist anymore, thanks to you” Amy replied with bitterness.

“And judging by the looks of you, you didn’t exist back in the old days. So don’t go talking about what you have no knowledge of.” Amy just looked at him, saving her strength, although her eyes betrayed the hatred that was flaring inside her. “Can I just shoot him?” Amy asked Lazant in a flat voice.

Lazant changed the subject. “Who’s making repairs around here? Lights go on and off. Things fire up, then turn off.”

“I don’t know” Baltar admitted. “Things are going on around here that I don’t understand. But we’d better hope things stay like this until we get out of here.”

“Why?” Lazant asked. “Without power we can’t get the bay doors open.”

“Just let me worry about the doors” Baltar replied. “If this station comes back on line, we’ll be tracked for sure. And there won’t be any question of where we go. It’ll be to a baseship, and you’d better pray that it is mine.”

“Best keep moving then, cap?” Deke said, the words coming out in a big sigh of breath. Amy looked over at him and smiled. “Always the voice of reason”, she replied.

Lazant nodded. This was not good. Heading back to a bay that was already written off as hopeless, having to trust the most untrustworthy of men, and in all likelihood ending up having escaped a cylon base only to end up on a baseship…

No, this was not good.
* * *
They were taking an out of the way path back to Beta bay, in hopes that if they were being tracked, the enhanced cylons wouldn’t be able to guess where they were headed. They were now going through a series of rooms, the nature of which wasn’t hard to guess. Baltar saw the expressions on the others faces.

“Instruments of persuasion” he said, without looking at any of the hideous devices. He walked past a chair that contained straps to hold down its occupant. “Come on now” he said with irritation, “it’s war after all”.

“You allowed this to happen?” Amy asked. “To fellow humans?”

“Information was required. Certain plans needed to be carried out.” Baltar seemed genuinely surprised at the silence he was being greeted with. “Well surely you realize I didn’t want to end up in one of these! It’s a matter of survival!” When noone replied, he stopped talking. It was useless to try and explain.

Amy was at a row of lockers. Next to them was a counter with a row of computer screens. She looked over the set up, then opened up a locker. Inside were the belongings of a warrior. As she looked, she realized it was not just one warrior’s gear. It was bits and pieces, items from many different warriors. She shook her head, wondering who these warriors had been.

“Did you torture Martinzi here? Captain Turner?” Lazant was getting worked up.

“Not me personally” Baltar replied incrediously. “It’s the fortunes of war!”

Lazant had his blaster aimed at Baltar. “Well, your fortune is waiting for you on the Callisto.”

Baltar actually was able to smile in the face of the blaster. “Keep it up, Captain”, he said coolly. “I just might prefer to take my chances here. And if I decide to stay, we all stay.” Lazant said nothing, but lowered the weapon back down.

Amy had put on a warriors jacket. It was a little big for her, but having a jacket again felt good. With the base power down, the air had gotten noticeably cooler. She wondered who had worn it into this room, and what had happened to him.

“Let’s keep moving” Lazant said. “Beta bay isn’t far from here.”

“Are you sure you aren’t just lost?” Baltar asked.

“Shut up” Lazant replied wearily. “Just fracking shut up for a change.” Baltar just smiled, chuckling to himself, until he felt the end of Amy’s rifle in his back. He winced, then fell into line behind Lazant.
* * *
Beta bay was just as they had left it. The pile of centurions still lay to one side, crushed and lifeless under a pile of rubble. The rows of undamaged raiders sat silently in the darkness. Every so often the lights sparked, giving the effect of lightening inside the cavernous room, but mostly it was dark and gloomy.

“So” Baltar said, standing near the dead cylons, “this is what happened to the missing base squadron.” He looked up toward the roof, but was unable to see it clearly. “It’s a wonder this bay didn’t collapse too. It still may, come to think of it.”

“Must you always look at the negative side?” Amy asked with a heavy sigh. Baltar just looked back over his shoulder and smiled.

“Wooh” Lazant said suddenly, bending down near the centurions. He came up holding a centurion’s sword. He holstered his blaster and expertly waved the sword around. Being an expert swordsman, he was momentarily lost in the joy of his find, but he stopped when he felt the eyes of the others on him. “Ahem” he said, “doesn’t hurt to have a back up weapon, should it come to that.”

“I’d prefer a blaster myself” Deke observed.

“Yeah, well…” Lazant started, then trailed off. “Okay Baltar, you said you could handle the doors. So, go handle them.” Baltar nodded, but made no move for the far end of the bay. Instead he was peering through the mound of centurions, as if looking for something. When Lazant started to speak again, Baltar put up a hand and kept looking, until he found what he wanted.

“Over here, Captain” Baltar said. He pointed to a gold limb sticking out from the pile. “I’ll need the head of that gold centurion.”

“What exactly do you have in mind?” Lazant asked.

“Just do it!” Baltar snapped. “Must you question me at every turn?”

“Must be your reputation” Amy said.

Baltar sighed. “I need that head. And a power source. A module from one of the raiders, if you would please.”

Deke looked at Lazant, and when Lazant nodded he made for the nearest raider to get a power module. With Amy and Lazant doing most of the work, the Gold centurion was unburied until its head was clear. “It’s just a robot, Captain” Baltar said. Lazant nodded, and with a mighty swing did the deed. “See Captain” Baltar said. “It’s really not so hard when you look at it. To you, it’s just a robot. To them, you’re just a human.”

“Go to hades” Lazant said. As Baltar picked up the head, Deke returned with the module.

“Good” Baltar said with that greasy grin. They proceeded to go to the far side of the bay. But instead of going to the control panel for the doors, Baltar stopped at a different panel some distance away. He examined the head, which was leaking an oily substance, then he placed it near the panel. Taking the module, he hooked its wires up to various parts of the head.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Lazant asked, getting a little nervous.

“There is some risk. Electrocution mostly”, he said as he continued working. “And, if it works, it might bring our purple friends here in a hurry.” Lazant took a step toward him, and Baltar hastily added, “Might! I said might! Don’t you want to be prepared? I’m being truthful here!”

“Maybe that’s the part that’s so shocking” Deke said. Then to Lazant he added, “It’s taking a while here, cap. We might see those purple cylons soon anyway.”

[LucianG]

Amy

Amy sat down on a counter near Baltar. She’d noticed how Baltar mainly addressed Lazant, even though she too was a captain. She felt foolish for being upset about it, especially since their odds of survival were so low, but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. And Lazant didn’t help matters, accepting the leader’s role like it was his to take. She shook her head, and kept her eyes trained on the darkness, looking for movement.

A metallic voice startled them all. “By… by… by your command” It came from the head of the gold cylon. Baltar looked up at them, satisfaction plainly in his expression. “By your command” the head repeated, it’s red light flashing back and forth, bathing them all in it’s glow.

Lazant was still nervous. “Can’t you keep it down?” he asked, referring to the cylon’s voice.

“Cylons don’t whisper, Captain”, Baltar replied. “Now, if this works, we’ll be out of here soon.” He fiddled some more with the head and it’s wires. Then held the head up to a sort of screen. The screen seemed dead, but something lit up as the head was brought into view. “Hold this steady” Baltar said to Amy, and she reached out to take the oily thing. Baltar found what seemed to be a keyboard of sorts, and ran wires to the head. Oil dripped and started to run down the wires. Everything seemed to be covered in that creepy oil. Baltar tapped rapidly on the keyboard, looking over at the head several times while he worked.

The light on the gold cylon suddenly stopped dead center. Amy jumped but quickly steadied herself, keeping the head in front of the screen. Suddenly the head spoke. “Open access 179 beta 354”, then after a moment added, “by your command”.

A portion of the floor nearby began to sink. “Hurry!” Baltar said, dropping the keyboard and jumping on the descending piece of floor. Amy dropped the head and followed, Deke and Lazant right behind. They stood with Baltar on what seemed to be a secret elevator of some kind. It was lowering them down, but not fast enough.

Just as Baltar had feared, purple cylons appeared at the far end of the bay.
* * *
As the elevator platform was lowering them down, they could see the enchanced cylons come into view at the far end of the bay. Instinctively everyone ducked down as low as possible, and as they descended beneath floor level they were amazed that no shots were fired.

“They didn’t see us?” Deke asked in a low voice. “Nah, we can’t be that lucky. Can we?”

Lazant, slowly getting up from his crouch position, shook his head. “Could we actually have caught a break for once?” he asked in reply.

Baltar snickered. “It seems we will have a clean get away.”

“I’m for that,” Amy said. “But just where are we headed?” The lift had continued downward through a darkened shaft, and was only now emerging into a new room. It was a smaller bay, with a single ship in its berth.

“To an Imperial Cruiser” Baltar said, waving his hand grandly at the ship that lay before them. He stepped off the elevator and onto a raised platform as the lift carried the rest of them to the bottom. Baltar descended by the stairs. “Every base has one”, he said. “For official ceremony and inspections by our Imperious Leader. Judging by the looks of it, this cruiser has very little space miles.”

“What about the doors to this bay?” Lazant asked. “Can we get them open?”

“Everything in this tiny bay is on it’s own power systems” Baltar replied proudly with a smile. “Self contained. Secure. Reinforced.” He walked up to the side of the glistening craft. “And it has defenses.”

The others gathered around Baltar at the door to the cruiser. Suddenly it seemed that the purple cylons were no longer a threat, just something now in the past. The future lay before them. And they were getting off the base! This traitor to all humanity was actually making good on his word!

“Give me the head” Baltar said, holding out a hand without turning around, as he looked at the controls to the hatch.

“The head?” Amy asked. “I dropped it up there!” she said, pointing upwards.

“You fool!” Baltar snapped as he spun around. “I didn’t tell you to drop it!”

“And you didn’t tell me to bring it, either!” Amy shouted back. Baltar took a step toward her, but Amy stood her ground, unflinching. Lazant got between them.

“Of all the ignorant, foolish…” Baltar sputtered, “Without that head we can’t get inside. The centurion who activates the lift must be the one to open the hatch.” Amy took a step toward Baltar, but Lazant was right there. Deke had moved in too, and helped keep them apart. After a moment Amy took a step back. Baltar still glared at her.

“I’ll have to go get it then” Amy said, unslinging the cylon rifle, her voice still agitated. “Can I get back up there?”

Baltar nodded immediately. “Yes. I can send the lift back up.”

“Amy, that’s suicide” Lazant said simply. “Those enhanced centurions are bound to see you this time.”

“This whole mission’s been suicide” Amy said matter-of-factly. “Said so on the sign up sheet.” She turned and walked toward the elevator. Deke hustled up behind her.

“Can’t go without back up” Deke said. As Amy turned to object, Deke looked at Lazant. “Someone’s got to cover her. It’s some distance to that panel if our purple friends spot her.” Amy held up, mouth open to speak, but said nothing. Lazant just nodded. It made sense.

Baltar walked over to some controls that operated the elevator, as Amy and Deke climbed onto it. As he worked the controls, Baltar spoke. “Now I won’t be able to hold the lift at the top. It will lock in place if I bring it all the way up. I’ll have to stop a foot or so from the top and start bringing it right back down. It won’t leave you much time.”

“We’re wasting time talking about it” Amy said. She stood, looking up the shaft into the darkness. Deke stood next to her. “Once more into the darkness…” he said with a sigh.

The elevator began its ascent.
* * *
Brie
As he watched the elevator Captain Lazant suddenly realized that he was alone with the greatest traitor that the human race had ever known. A million thoughts passed through his brain, millions of memories. Things that could have been if it weren't for that terrible night...saving his beloved Prisca only to lose her at Carillon. Now, suddenly, his life was in Baltar's hands. He was tempted to just get rid of the treacherous beast once and for all, even if Baltar was his last chance at survival. It would be so easy...

But then what about Amy? Lazant almost hated himself for thinking about her. He still detested her, sort of. Well, maybe it was just strong dislike. Or maybe she was starting to earn just a small amount of his respect. A very small amount.

His thoughts turned to the Pylos. They should be nearing the Callisto by now, unless it was another manipulation. Lazant turned to look the traitor in the face. "One question," he started. "I want to know about the Pylos. Is it a trap?"

Baltar looked at Lazant, a small amount of fear on his face. He knew that Lazant could kill him easily. "No," he replied. "I never thought you'd make it that far."

"That's what I thought," Lazant replied.
* * *
Amy
The elevator cleared the second level platform, the one Baltar had stepped off onto, and continued upward into the shaft, plunging Amy and Deke into darkness. The only light was from way above, from the lightning-like flashings in Beta bay. Having successfully fled from the bay, they had to go back into it, facing whatever perils awaited them there.

Amy could feel the vibration of the elevator. Funny she had not noticed it on the way down. It rumbled and shook slightly, sending pulses up through her legs and into the center of pain in her back. She could hear Deke’s slightly labored breathing over the pounding of her own heart. More so now than ever, even more than she’d felt on the ride to the base in that tanker, she could feel death reaching out its icy-cold fingers, seeking her out amidst the darkness of the elevator shaft.

They were getting close now. Amy gripped the rifle with both hands, and slowly the elevator pushed them up, back into the danger zone. Amy scaled up the last three feet and scampered into the bay, followed moments later by Deke. He remained at the edge of the shaft as the elevator shifted gears and began to descend again.

Amy got five steps into the bay when she hit the oil that seemed to be all over everything in that area-- oil from the head of the gold cylon. She skidded and went down, crashing into several pieces of equipment that sent even more clattering around. She paused, staying as still as she could, listening. She could feel the oil begin to soak through her uniform as she lay on her side. She slowly brought her rifle around, and cursed softly more than once as she tried to get her feet back under her, the oil making it extremely difficult to get any traction.

Deke was suddenly at her side. He’d moved slowly, more cautiously in light of Amy’s slide, and crouched next to her. “Lift’s gone back down again. Looks like we’ll have to catch it on the next trip up” he whispered.

Amy nodded but said nothing. She was looking into the darkness, trying to find any trace of the purple cylons, or any centurions for that matter. Satisfied that things seemed safe enough, she began to work her way over to the control panel where she’d dropped the head. She looked around the floor, but couldn’t see it. Where could it have gone, she thought. With her free hand she felt around in the puddles of oil.

“Amy” a voice whispered, “hold still!” Amy froze at the sound of Deke’s voice, and a moment later saw what he’d seen. Around the bay, all around, the purple cylons were there. They’d been there all along, standing sentinel still, waiting for their prey to stray in too far, and now they were coming to life. Purple beams of light began lashing out in all directions, as if Amy had set off some sort of security system.

[LucianG]

Amy

Knowing she’d have only microns before she was targeted, Amy sprung to life, arms flailing in all directions, trying to locate the… got it! Her hand brushed against the head, then felt the wires that attached it to the battery module. As it moved, the head spoke in a clear, mechanical voice: “By your command!”

“Frack!” Amy muttered, trying to grab the oily thing before finally just grabbing the keyboard that was still attached to it. It was as oily as the rest, but of a shape easier to hold onto.

Several purple cylons turned in her direction, and Deke hit them both directly with blaster fire. They staggered backward, but did not fall. It did, however, buy Amy some time to try and get moving. Skidding around on the floor, she tried to head toward the elevator shaft. She panicked, for she couldn’t hear the elevator—was it even coming back up again?

Deke got off more shots, staggering several more of the purple cylons, but then the return fire started. The table he’d been hiding behind erupted in a shower of sparks as the blasts hit it, knocking it down and twisting it in explosions of fire. He got off more blasts, then turned to head for the elevator himself.

Amy finally got to her feet, and was heading across the floor when the head detached from the keyboard she was holding. “Frack!” she shouted, changing course and trying to dive on the gold head a split micron before enemy fire would have shot her dead if she’d gone straight. Amidst all the blaster fire, Amy suddenly had a mental image, a flash clear as day, of old vid-discs she’d seen from the days of the colonies, of a sport consisting of an odd shaped ball which bounced crazily as it hit the grass…

Amy had the head again, and shouted to Deke, “Is the lift coming back?” as she spun around and fired the rifle, spraying the area with blaster fire one-handed.

“I don’t know!” Deke replied. And then he screamed as several enemy shots tore into him. Amy couldn’t see him, but suddenly felt that she was alone. Enemy fire burst in all around her, pinning her behind a large piece of machinery.

The elevator shaft was close by, but would the elevator be there? The hole in the floor held nothing but darkness. Could she make it? And if she did, what then? A dive of faith into the shaft? Onto the safety of the lift, or into a death plunge to the bottom?

The blaster fire continued to rain in.
* * *
LucianG
“Thank the Lords for redundancy,” said Lucian as he clicked on the diagram on the screen. He dragged the blinking outline to the “big hole,” the area of the engines where major repairs were underway. Double clicking, the assembly replaced part of the system blasted into near nothingness by the Cylons. “As long as we monitor both systems carefully, that should take care of that part for a while until we can get a new system fabricated and delivered.”

“But our safety factor falls to 1.0,” said Fallel, cradling a cup of tea. “Are you comfortable with that?”

“Don’t know about Lucian, but I’d kill for an SF of one compared to what we have now,” cracked Solon, who stood resting against the table, his teacup sitting nearby.

“You’re both right,” replied Lucian. “I hate dropping to such a low safety factor, but considering that we have no power on Three now, the effective SF for One and Two is actually less than you see, and it reduces overall ship’s effectiveness to below the critical effectiveness. If we run into Cylons when we come out of this jump, without all three engines, we’d be sitting ducks. The key is to get these systems replaced as soon as things can be manufactured after we come out of the jump. Let's get a team there to start the disassembly and move to its new home.”

“That’s why we’ve got that list,” said Solon, taking a short sip of his tea. His wizened face contorted as he said, “Yuck! This stuff is cold!”

* * *

And repairs moved forward. Crews around the Callisto were disassembling some redundant systems and moving them to replace those lost to Cylon fire. With each move, the ship’s “as-built” diagram was carefully updated, and the replacement orders were drafted. The list would be forwarded to the forge ships as soon as the jump to Darjeelene ended. With things seemingly going well, Lucian limped toward the Security Office for an appointment with Captain Urdea of Fleet Security.
* * *
At about the same time repairs were starting on the Callisto, repairs were also underway on Lord Baltar’s BaseShip, except it was now no longer under Baltar’s command. Instead, when he had detected the impending explosion in Baltar's absence, Lucifer had ordered the ship out of the base, leaving Baltar to his fate. The ship had escaped just as the blast occurred, exiting the base by another passage. It had been being retrofitted with some new technology, so some of the equipment aboard ship was in position but still not connected. While the blast had not damaged the actual ship, it had rocked it, leading to some equipment being knocked over and made useless. Cylon Technicians were working to affect repairs and restore complete operation.

“Commander, we were quite lucky your sense of self-preservation activated when it did,” said the Gold Centurion who stood before Lucifer in the command chamber. “Otherwise, our ship might have been much more severely damaged than it is. However, we have lost most of our pilots and Raiders who had been moved off our ship during the landing bay upgrade that was underway.”

“Loss of our pilots and Raiders is quite disappointing, but survival and completion of our mission are our top priorities, as the late Lord Baltar might have said,” said Lucifer, stressing the "might" as if he doubted the statement. His colors scintillating brightly at the thought. “It is—too bad—that he insisted on being there for the capture of the humans.”

The Gold Centurion stood silent, not understanding the sarcasm allowed by Lucifer's second brain.

Lucifer glanced at the system map for a few moments and then said, “We are in no condition to fight, so order all four of the other BaseShips to converge on the Galactica. There will be no way the Galactica can take on four BaseShips.”

“By your Command,” said the Gold Centurion and the two flanking Centurions exited to carry out the orders.

Moments later, the Gold Centurion returned and said, “Commander, already, IL-4 Smedelac’s BaseShip,” which the Colonials had code-named ‘Three,’ “is preparing to follow the fleet from their jump point. They are badly damaged but he has repairs underway. He is expecting to have the jump calculations completed in the next few centars, and has requested four communications relay ships. He has been closely following the Colonials for several yahrens, and has exhausted his supply of relay ships.”

Lucifer mused, “Yes, that is a problem with not having an efficient faster-than-light communications system. Unfortunately, Lord Baltar’s assistance in correcting this matter has been—less successful—than originally planned. But, no, order this Smedelac to complete his jump calculations, but have him close on the Galactica with the others. As soon as the Galactica is destroyed, we will all use his calculations to pursue the fleet and we will get him a communications relay ship then. With our greater speed, we will be able to finish them well before they can find and then get to their next jump point, IF they have not already scouted the next system. Unfortunately, Baltar’s delay in moving in on the fleet may have given them time to do just that. Quite unfortunate.”

The Gold Centurion replied, “Preliminary calculations show that the fleet may be going to a system called Darjeelene, but there are two other possibilities that are within a small fraction of a degree away. It could be any of the three.”

“It appears that the Colonials have chosen well in giving us a difficult calculation, giving them more time to escape. However, first things first: confirm the original order. Order all four BaseShips to attack the Galactica.”

“By your command,” said the Gold Centurion once more as he exited from the command chamber.

Lucifer glanced over the control panels surrounding his command station. With his sensor system and second brain, he could instantly understand much of what was occurring around the ship, yet the damage and renovation work left a number of important holes in the data. Therefore, he was somewhat surprised when the Gold Centurion returned to say, "Commander, it seems that IL-4 Smedelac’s communications system has developed a peculiar problem. When he was informed of the order to attack the Galactica instead of following the fleet, and that no communications relay ships would be available until after the Galactica was destroyed, he reported that he was having difficulty receiving the first part of the message. Now, it appears that he is closing on the Colonial jump point, evidently preparing to jump to follow their fleet. The communications problem appears to have gotten worse, since we are now getting no response at all from continuing messages.”

“Yes, quite peculiar,” said Lucifer, knowing that if he had been in Smedelac’s position, his communications system would have developed the exact same problem. Still, turning to the real problem at hand, three ships should be plenty…