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Post by LucianG on Nov 19, 2006 22:03:43 GMT -6
The snowsled chugged along, and progress was slow. We seemed to be heading right into the teeth of the wind, and it was hard to keep up speed for extended lengths, even with the power of the turbo engine. It was cold, colder than anything I could imagine, and I hoped that the engine wasn't starting to falter due to the extreme temperature. "What are we doing here?" I screamed though only I could hear my voice. We had to maintain radio silence due to the Cylon activity we had encountered. Unless Stadia radioed in and stated things were clear, we couldn't take the chance. Why were we here? Because Apollo had to bury his cannister where the stupid Cylons wouldn't find it. Because the stupid Cylons were still dogging us, forcing us to make a course change Major Brie knew nothing about. And now, because of the stupid Cylons again, we'd been forced to change our approach to this lords-forsaken fracking ball of ice, missing our only chance to make contact with Brie. She was heading back to the wrong coordinates, and I was on a snow sled in the middle of a frozen-over hades hole. I'd failed my mission. Commander Sheba had faith in me and I let her down. Brie wasn't here anymore. A simple mission to make contact, assist, and lead her back to the proper coordinates had become a huge, overly complicated mess. If I didn't have reason enough to hate Cylons. I wondered briefly if Brie had somehow made it back. How long could the Callisto wait for my team to get back? With all the Cylons sniffing around, it wouldn't be for long. They'd have to move, use the information in the cannister and.... We'd be left behind. With all the distraction I'd been having with Artus, my thoughts turned to Charybdis. At least I'd kissed him goodbye. I'd had a promonition, an odd feeling that I might not see him again. What would he be thinking as the Commander gave the order to begin the jump? I'd better change my train of thought before my eyes tear up. I checked my scanner. We still had a long way to go to get back to the shuttle. And then what? Did Artus have the scanner fixed? What do we do then? Just head home and hope the Callisto was still there? That Brie had made it back somehow? And what if she hadn't? What then? I looked over, and could make Marcus out through the blowing snow. I wondered what he was thinking. He was asking a lot about Stadia. Was it just natural concern, or was there something I didn't know about? Was he as scared about how this mission was going as I was? I took a deep breath as the sled topped a small, snowy hill, and let it out slow, trying to calm myself. I hoped the Callisto wasn't too worried about us. I laughed to myself. It will all work out, sure it will. Then we'll all sit back and tip back a few and laugh about it all. I laughed again, but the feeling wasn't there anymore, and the smile died on my lips. * * * Najinn Najinn pulled back on the Vipers thrusters as he approached the ice planet. "Ok, lets see whats out here." It had taken him centons to get there, it seemed an age but he was finally at the planet. Where the team there he wondered, they had to be on the planet, no trace of them in the system, but the planet was heavily shrouded with a think atmosphere. His sensors wouldn't pick anything up this side of the planets surface. He burned his thrusters again and pulled a tight approach vector. His screens blipped at the sensors picking up a flight of three small little ships. "The Squadron. ??.ok no, the bad guys, at least its someone!" Najinn swung Aggi around on her side and swept around to skim the planets atmosphere. The three cylon raiders closed. "Lets see if you can do this!" Like a meteor the Aggi blazed just above the atmosphere and just skimmed the surface, the raiders tried to keep the angle but their wings began glowing. "Ha ha, catch me if you can you metalheads!" The raiders opened fire. "Ok, boys that isn't nice" Najinn pulled back on the joystick and his Viper climbed into a steep arch, in a 360 he pulled over the raiders who split in response. Najinn picked up one, as it struggled to get out of his way. He sighted his lasers, and fired. The raider distintergrated under Najinn's blaze of fire and then his Viper plummeted below the atmosphere. The raiders didn't follow. "Ok, Amy where are you." The scanners bleeped, a shuttle, it had to be Amy, he hoped. Najinn put his Viper into a decsent and made for the shuttle position, he flew over the shuttle, detecting it and seeing it. He then turned his Viper around and landed the other side of a ridge not too far from the Shuttle, as close as he could get. He wondered had anyone seen him fly over… * * * Artus Back in the shuttle Artus was trying to make heads or tails out of the scanner that was finally working. It took quite some time to pick up on anything else than methane snow. But after a while he did finally pick up on something metallic. It was however, not the cannister that Artus was looking for. The metallic things he picked up filled Artus with dread. A Cylon foot patrol. And from what Artus could determine, their path would lead them directly towards the shuttle. This caused some serious trouble. Not only would Artus have to fight them off for as long as it took the others to get back to the shuttle, it also ment that if if the Cylons took the shuttle, there would be no way off this planet for those left behind. "No way," Artus said to himself; "no way I'm going to let this happen. Not on another iceplanet." He turned around and looked at the snowram, and then sighed. Turning his eyes skyward he said; "I'm sorry mom, but there are just some things a warrior has to do. And this one is for dad." After those words he headed towards the snowram. * * * Amy It had taken plenty of time, but we'd finally gotten ourselves in range of the shuttle. As we topped another in an endless series of snowy hills, I saw Marcus skidding to a sudden stop ahead of me. I locked up the sled and slid to a stop next to him. He pointed, and as my gaze followed in the direction of his hand, my blood turned as icy as this frost-covered world. A Cylon foot patrol! So they were still in the area. No wonder we hadn't heard from Stadia. I tried to count, and it seemed more or less about a dozen centurians, headed in the same direction as we were: toward the shuttle. I came off my sled, and came up to Marcus. We put our heads together to speak. "Cylons" I said, pointing out the obvious. "No way to take them out with this methane" Marcus replied. I nodded, and we hunched down, our sleds were behind a ridge of snow, and we were out of sight. But what of Artus and the shuttle? Just then, as if in answer, I could see the snowram rumbling into view. What was Artus up to? He couldn't hope to take on the foot patrol. The problem was the same: The methane in the air made it impossible to shoot our pistols. Outnumbered 12 to 1, Artus stood no chance. But still the snowram pushed on, heading straight for the patrol. I tapped Marcus on the shoulder, and we touched helmets again. "What could he be up to?" I wondered aloud. Marcus could only shrug, "Whatever it is, we'll have to let it play out. No way to contact him without revealing ourselves." I nodded silently in reply. We watched as the snowram drew closer to the Cylons, and the centurians took positions gradually surrounding the giant vehicle. They had weapons drawn, but I didn't think they'd be foolish enough to use them. Slowly the snowram came to a stop. Artus, what are you up to? The centurians drew closer, looking like they intended to board the snowram. It was the last thing I saw clearly before the snowram suddenly exploded in a blinding flash, sending debris and ice chunks flying everywhere. I buried my head in the snow and could feel a great rumbling, as a wall of snow came loose from the higher ranges and came down in an avalanche. I looked up in time to see the wall of snow drown the dangerously flaming snowram and what was left of the patrol. I stood unsteadily to my feet, my voice screaming out though noone could hear. "ARTUS??! Noooooooo!" * * *
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Post by LucianG on Nov 19, 2006 22:04:28 GMT -6
Marcus As we watched, the snowram suddenly exploded in a blinding flash, sending debris and ice chunks flying everywhere. I buried my head in the snow as a wall of snow came down in an avalanche to drown the dangerously flaming snowram and what was left of the patrol.
Amy stood unsteadily to her feet and began to scream from what I could see. I grabbed her and put my head to hers to talk to her.” Amy we need to get to the shuttle and see if it was affect buy the blast or covered buy the snow. I know what Artus meant to you but where there is one foot patrol their may be others we need to get out of here and fast.” As I headed for the shuttle I could see a viper not to far off from the shuttle, but it wasn’t Stadia’s viper. Were was she at and what had happened to her. I know how Amy felt my mind was on Stadia’s situation and what had happened to her, was she alive or dead. No time for this I reminded my self we need to find out who that viper belonged to and check the shuttles situation. And get of this ball of ice. I looked back to see if Amy had begun to follow me . * * * Najinn Najinn climbed the ridge and movd slowly towards the shuttle, he noticed that it was partially buried in the snow.
He thought to himself, ok so it crash landed. But if Amy was piloting it had to have landed intact and they were alive.
He checked over its superstructure looking for the hatch and then something caught his vision, smoke.....
Rising to the east, smoke, christ and in this atmosphere! what the hell, he moved away from the shuttle and towards the direction of the smoke and two figures came into his sight.
He smiled, as he recognised one of them.......Amy.....
He ran towards her and picked her off the ground, swirled her around and put her down...
"My sweet sweet Amy, I am so glad your ok!"
He looked into her eyes... * * * Amy After I was put back down, I could make out that it was Najinn standing there. Still in a state of shock, I couldn't figure out if I was seeing things or not. I got closer, and touched my helmet to his so we could talk. He was saying something, but I couldn't hear since my comlink was turned off. We were under radio silence.
"Najinn?" I asked. "What are you doing here? What happened to Stadia?" A shudder came over me as Artus came flooding into my mind again. I looked over at the mound of snow that had completely buried the remains of the snowram and snuffed out the dangerous fire along with the Cylon foot patrol. I felt my knees going weak again. "By the lords, we've lost Artus! He's dead!" In my heavy envirosuit I sank to my knees and Najinn couldn't hold me up.
My head down, I knelt there and let the grief wash over me as Marcus and Najinn stood by. * * * Najinn Najinn, crouched, put his arms around Amy comforting her and holding her close, put his helmet next to hers;
"Hey sweetheart, I'm here to get you guys out of here.Its ok, we're ok, don't worry. As if I would ever leave you without your knight in a slightly tanned uniform!"
He helped Amy to her feet, nodded acknowledgement to Marcus.
"Well your in charge Amy, what next?"
Najinn wanted Amy to think and pull herself together, he knew making her be decisive would get her focused, she could grieve later, right now they needed to get off the planet.
"Amy, come on, we should get out of her sweetheart!"
Najinn helping Amy as she gathered her balance moved towards the shuttle. * * * Marcus As the three of us slowly moved towards the shuttle I motioned to Najinn that I would go ahead and check on the shuttles condition.
As I approached the shuttle trying to forget what had just happened to Artus I kept hoping it was all a trick. I needed to get my mind on the job at hand. First was the condition of the shuttle.
As far as I could tell it look in good condition no hole or damage on the out side of the shuttle. Next was to hope to the Lords of Kobal that Artus got that scanner fixed. I may be able to adjust them but I can’t fix them.
This was turning out to be one really bad day for all of us. Well time to get in and check on the condition of the shuttle and see if we can get it off this ball of ice. * * * Amy I wasn't in much shape to give orders, and had let myself be led along back toward the shuttle. Artus, gone? I still couldn't rectify it in my mind. But I was still in command, and there was a job to do. Although my actions were very much human, they weren't the actions of a good commanding officer.
I stopped walking, and gestured to Marcus and Najinn to come nearer so we could talk. I put my helmet to Najinn's first. "Najinn", I said, "Get to your viper, and get ready to lift off. I'm not sure what's happened to Stadia. She might have just lost us since we were so far off course when we landed. It's a miracle that you found us under these conditions." I paused for a moment. In my envirosuit, I couldn't wipe away the tears that still clouded my sight. Guess you weren't supposed to cry in an envirosuit. I blinked my eyes to try and clear them. "You'll be our escort. Cylon activity was pretty bad getting here, and if they are landing ground patrols, who knows what we're in the middle of."
I turned to Marcus, and we touched helmets. "Marcus, we've forgotten the sleds. We can't afford to leave them behind if we can help it." I looked beyond him at the shuttle, sitting in the snow some distance away. For a moment I thought I saw movement inside, but at this distance I could barely see the shuttle, let alone see inside clearly. "The shuttle took some bounces coming down, but only the scanner took a dump. We should be able to fly. We can only hope that Artus...", my voice wavered as I said his name. I blinked my eyes again, and could feel the tears on my cheeks. "Let's get the sleds. We'll use them to do a scan of the area. Make sure we're not walking into an ambush or something. Where there's one Cylon patrol, there will probably be more."
We walked back the way we came, back to where the sleds were parked behind a small ridge of ice and snow. The snow had built up on them, and we brushed them clean and fired them up. I turned mine so that we were facing in opposite directions, and tuned in the scanner. It seemed pretty clear to me. I looked off in the direction of where the snowram had taken out the Cylon patrol, and could see Najinn on his way to his viper. Good thing he was here. Without Stadia, Najinn was our only protection if we were to make it home.
I got off my sled and walked over to Marcus to see if he'd picked anything up. * * *
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Post by LucianG on Nov 19, 2006 22:05:25 GMT -6
Marcus Amy turned to me, and we touched helmets. Amy said "Marcus, we've forgotten the sleds. We can't afford to leave them behind if we can help it." I had completely forgotten them with ever thing else on my mind. We walked back the way we came, back to where the sleds were parked behind a small ridge of ice and snow. We brushed them clean and fired them up. We turned the sleds so that we were facing in opposite directions, and tuned in the scanner. Amy got off her sled and was walking over to me.
I was not picking any thing up at all on the scanner. As Amy came close I put my helmet close to hers “ Amy I do know what Artus meant to you even if you can’t see it I can I know how you feel I am beginning to see the same thing about my self and that I am worried about Stadia. I now it is going to be a stupid question but are you going to be ok? I need to know.” “And who is the other person I don’t know him.” * * * Amy I stood next to Marcus as he sat on the sled, looking questioningly at me. "Yes Marcus" I replied, "I'll be okay. Not much of a commanding officer, am I?" I sighed. "I've just never been in a position like this before. Losing someone before my very eyes. I just...." I let my voice trail off.
After a moment, I spoke again. "That other warrior is Najinn. He's a great officer, and a great person. We're lucky he's here. Too bad you two couldn't have met under better circumstances. We'll make up for that later in the O Club."
"Assuming we make it back" Marcus said with a wry grin.
"Yeah" I said with a smile of my own. "Let's get to work on that. Better get back to the shuttle and prepare to lift off." I sighed again. What a failure of a mission. We were leaving without anything we came for, plus we've lost a brave warrior. How could things have gone so wrong? * * * Satisfied that the scanner was clear, Marcus and I fired our turbos and buzzed back to the shuttle. It loomed larger and larger, a big grey bulk set into the pure white snow and ice. We swung around back, and opened the cargo hold, pushing the sleds inside. Following them in, we shut the cargo hold door behind us.
It took a few moments for our eyes to adjust, and with gratitude I twisted my helmet to unseal it, and pulled it off. I took grateful breaths and got used to hearing sounds again. I turned to Marcus.
"Seems so empty in here without the snowram. A lot of explosives are missing too."
"Yeah" Marcus replied. "He must have really packed that sucker good. And all for nothing. No Brie, no cannister. What a waste."
"Still hard to believe it happened" I said sadly. "There had to be a better way..." Peeling off the remains of the envirosuit, I walked to the door leading to the passenger area and flight controls. I stopped in mid-motion in the doorway as I looked inside. Behind me, Marcus almost bumped into me. "What's up?" he asked.
My mouth fell open in disbelief and joy. "ARTUS!!" I screamed, running past the seats to where he was standing near the scanner. I plowed into him, wrapping both arms around his neck and squeezing him with all my might.
"You fracking waste chute you" I whispered. "I'm so glad you're alright." I stepped back at last, but only a little. "How did you manage to pull it off?" I didn't notice the remote control unit dangling from his hand. * * * Artus Artus had been sitting in the shuttle feeling quite worried. Amy and Marcus had been gone for quite a while now. This radiosilence was killing him. He might have taken care of one Cylon foot patrol, but where there's one of those there always are more. Besides, he also knew he would be in trouble for the way he had taken out the foot patrol. The Callisto was already short on supplies and spare snowrams weren't easy to come by. "But then again, " he said to himself;"neither are spare Artusses."
He pulled out one of his home made fumarillos, but then thought the better of it. With all this methane in the atmosphere out there it probably wasn't a good idea. It would also be a waste of the oxygen in the shuttle. This was just one of these days where he just couldn't get a break. Nevertheless he just stuck it in the corner of his mouth. He found that just chewing on them soothed his nerves.
At tht moment he heard the cargo bay door open he felt like a hundred ton stone had just been lifted off his back. He quickly scanned around to find the chair that he would look the best in when his fellow warriors would walk in. It's always best to look cool when your getting your head chewed off for waisting valuable material. He descided to just stand next to the scanner he fixed. Always good to remind people of what you didn't break.
At that moment Amy walked in to the passerger part of the shuttle.
"Still hard to believe it happened" she said sadly. "There had to be a better way..." Peeling off the remains of the envirosuit, she walked to the door leading to the passenger area and flight controls. She stopped in mid-motion in the doorway as she looked inside.
As Artus looked at her he tried his most charming smile, but Amy looked like she had been crying. Perhaps she cared more about not waisting Callisto equipment than Artus had anticipated. Behind her, Marcus almost bumped into her. "What's up?" he asked.
Amy's mouth fell open in disbelief and joy. "ARTUS!!" she screamed, running past the seats to where he was standing near the scanner. She plowed into him, wrapping both arms around his neck and squeezing him with all her might.
"You fracking waste chute you" Amy whispered. "I'm so glad you're alright." She stepped back at last, but only a little. "How did you manage to pull it off?"
Amazed at her reaction, Artus just held out the remote control unit.
"Ehm, well, you see, I was controlling the snowram from here with this little remote control unit I rigged up right here. We didn't need to take a shower out here anyway did we?"
Amy's mouth fell open "Amazing!"
Marcus in his turn decided to go for stating the obvious ; "Artus, you're not dead!"
Now it was Artus' turn to look puzzled; "Eh, well no. See, I kinda promised my mom not to die in the snow. Otherwise she wouldn't let me enlist..." * * *
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Post by LucianG on Nov 19, 2006 22:06:10 GMT -6
Lucian Lieutenant Swensson had left his normal post and was standing in the communications cluster. Lucian found this a bit unusual, but not extraordinarily so. He looked back down at the Warrior assignment roster in front of him, continuing his work. With the pulsar cannon still out of service all of these sectars later, Swensson would be used primarily as a spotter of ship weaknesses IF the Callisto could see any ships they might encounter. Based on the simulations that he had seen, Lucian had grown to respect Swensson’s ability to take advantage of even the smallest weakness in an enemy ship’s defenses.
He was almost half way through the Black Squadron updated report from Major BatGal when he heard someone approach. It was Swensson and one of the communications officers, a young ensign that Lucian recognized as Anisstia. She was small of stature, but her bright smile, twinkling eyes, and short bob of blonde hair made her very alluring to many men around the ship.
“Major, Ensign Anisstia has discovered something that may be a problem, and Major Joey is on a break, so we’re bringing it to you.”
“What do you have, Lieutenant?” asked Lucian.
“Sir, we’ve known there are at least three or four Cylon Base-ships out there, but ‘Nisstia has picked up a whole series of non-standard signals between at least five ships. Based on what we’ve been able to discover, the signals aren’t originating in the usual communications center, but rather—” pointing to an image of a Base-ship on a nearby monitor “—from about here. From the little we know about those Base-ships, we believe this is roughly the equivalent of our science lab.”
“You said you picked up a signal from this ‘science lab?’”
Anisstia spoke. “Major, we’re getting very frequent communications directly between these ‘labs’ instead of between usual communications centers…”
Lucian looked at the young woman as she spoke, finding something about her…distracting…almost compelling. Her manner…look…something. It was all he could do to concentrate on the task at hand, but he struggled through the briefing, hoping he'd retained everything she'd said.
Moments later, Lucian with the other two bridge officers in tow approached Colonel Charybdis and Commander Sheba. “Colonel, Commander, we may have a big problem. He quickly told them about the communications traffic, and then asked Ensign Anisstia to explain the messages.
“…What’s really unusual about these is since they are not going through the normal communications centers, they’re not encrypted in the typical Cylon manner! We can interpret these messages. They’re about scanning technology. The labs on the Base-ships are designing a new system that will see through the radiation in this system, and from the way they’re discussing it, they’re planning to equip every Centurion with it. Even if they can’t see us now, they way they’re talking, they’ll be able to do so soon! I’ve got a transcript of what we’ve picked up so far.”
Sheba said, “Let’s get Curemode, Solon, and Fallel on this to be sure. I want their initial assessment in fifteen centons.”
Swennson and Anisstia returned to their posts, but as they did, Lucian deliberately looked away to keep from following her progress, and form, with his eyes. * * * Charybdis The news was not good. Possibly 5 Cylon base ships in the area? And, Major Brie, Captain Amy and Lt. Najinn's flights still out there and totally lost.
I hadn't said anything, but I thought that the rescue missions starting with Captain Amy and Lt. Najinn were totally uncalled for. I trusted Brie to pull through.
But, as second in command, I can't overrule a superior officer. I knew that many Warriors probably would have gone to the mat to object, but they don't know the rules once you get to the bridge. You do it by the rules or you're gone. Period. You don't second guess your commander.
I knew our Warriors were tough, but this game was getting more and more dangerous all the time...
I stared at the scanner on the bridge to see if anything showed up, but there was just this blank screen. Even though we knew there were many of our Warriors out there and possibly tons of cylons, not one fracking thing on that scanner. * * * Brie Brie climbed into her viper to inspect the canister. As she did, she looked up and noticed an orange colored blob hurtling toward the ground. “Major,” Granfury called, “there’s something on the scanner. Looks like a viper fast approaching.”
“I can see that,” Brie muttered to herself, then calling, “Thanks, Lieutenant,” as an afterthought. She returned the unopened canister to the storage area behind her viper’s seat and climbed back out.
Because of the low gravity, the viper appeared to bounced one or two times instead of a normal landing. Whoever it was would probably be pretty sore for a while! The viper was damaged, probably wouldn’t be able to fly it out of there. Brie ran as fast as she could. As she approached she saw the markings from Gold Squadron.
“Captain Skyler,” she yelled as loud as possible, “it’s one of ours. Bring the medical kit immediately.”
The still unknown pilot inside raised the viper’s canopy. At least the pilot was still alive. Brie was more than surprised when she saw that it was Stadia! “Captain,” Brie said as she climbed up to the cockpit, “don’t move. Are you okay? Did you hit your head?”
“I think my head is fine,” Stadia replied in a shaky voice, “but I think I broke a couple of ribs.”
“Skyler is bringing the medical kit,” Brie explained. Since Stadia didn’t appear to be seriously hurt Brie figured that her two main questions could wait a few centons. But soon she would need to know what Stadia was doing there, and if Stadia knew the Callisto’s new position. * * * Stadia The still unknown pilot inside raised the viper’s canopy. At least the pilot was still alive. Brie was more than surprised when she saw that it was Stadia! “Captain,” Brie said as she climbed up to the cockpit, “don’t move. Are you okay? Did you hit your head?”
“I think my head is fine,” Stadia replied in a shaky voice, “but I think I broke a couple of ribs.”
“Skyler is bringing the medical kit,” Brie explained. Since Stadia didn’t appear to be seriously hurt Brie figured that her two main questions could wait a few centons. But soon she would need to know what Stadia was doing there, and if Stadia knew the Callisto’s new position. ---------------------------------------------------------
Stadia struggled to get up and out of the viper only to held down by Major Brie "Stay put." Stadia continued to struggle to get out. She grimaced.
"You dont understand Major. We have to get out of here and warn the Callisto!"
"Warn them about what?"
"The cylons! I was patrolling the sector around the snowball when I picked up the signature of a viper. I went to get a visual id on it...."
"HOld on. A viper?"
"Not exactly. The scanners registered it as that of a viper ..." Stadia grimaces and struggles to catch her breath. "It was a cylon base star. Some how it was trans mitting a signal mimicing a viper." Stadia slumps back into the seat of her viper cabin, her breath coming in uneven strokes. * * *
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Post by LucianG on Nov 19, 2006 22:07:37 GMT -6
Brie It took a centon for what Stadia had just said to begin sinking into Brie’s mind. The Cylons were capable of that type of technology? Worse yet was the news that there were Cylons in the area. Brie had hoped that they had seen the last of them.
Skyler brought Brie the medical kit, and Brie did her best to tape Stadia’s ribs before allowing her to leave her viper. Brie had taken the medical course offered by Doc Bkj, but she somehow felt totally inadequate. “Stadia,” she asked once they were on the ground, “do you know the coordinates for the Callisto? They weren’t at the rendezvous point that we had been given.”
“I know where they are,” Stadia replied. “Commander Sheba had been getting worried about your team, so she sent a shuttle with Amy, Artus and Marcus down to the snowball. I was their viper accompaniment. When we ran into Cylons the shuttle landed, I think, and I stayed behind to take care of the tin heads. I knew you were probably near the old rendezvous point, so I came looking for you. My viper was damaged and I didn’t think I could make it back to the Callisto.”
“Good call, Captain,” Brie said. She was slightly upset that Sheba had sent out a rescue party, they hadn’t even been late! She thought for a moment, then called the rest of her group together. “I’ll need you to give us the coordinates, Captain,” she said to Stadia. “You’ll ride back with Lieutenant Thunderhawk, Lieutenant Granfury will tow your viper. Don’t want to leave it behind. Captain Skyler and I will run interference, in case we run into Cylons. I want everyone ready in no less than 30 centons.”
As Stadia got to work on the coordinates, Thunderhawk and Granfury hooked up the viper to be towed. Skyler made a general check on all the vipers and picked up any gear they had taken out. Brie set to work on that canister once again. With Cylons in the area she thought it was best that all four of them have a copy of the fleets coordinates, giving the Callisto the best chance of hooking up with them again. * * * The flight back to the Callisto was easier than Brie had expected it to be. They didn’t see any Cylons, but every now and then there was a blip on the edge of the scanner. Brie knew how important it was for Stadia to give her information to Commander Sheba. If a Cylon basestar was imitating the transmission signal from a viper...they could deal with it by placing marker beacons in all the vipers, but that would take time and the techs would need to get started right away.
Seeing the Callisto again Brie couldn’t help but smile. “This is Major Brie to the Battlestar Callisto, requesting permission for my flight to land.”
“Permission granted, Major,” came Lieutenant Finky’s voice.
“I also need to set up a meeting immediately with Commander Sheba,” Brie said. “We have Captain Stadia with us, and she has information that it’s vital the Commander hears. Also, have a med tech there, someone who has security clearance. Stadia is injured but not too badly.”
“I’ll pass this information along,” Finky replied.
As Brie landed her viper she was never so glad to feel the pull of gravity. She was relieved to be back on the Callisto, which she had been wondering if she would ever see again. * * * Stadia A short while later in medbay, stadia was laying quietly in a bed. She lifted her head up to see Col. Charybdis and Cmdr. Sheba enter her room.
"I would stand up and salute but I dont think you want to hear the expletives I would hurl."
They smiled at her. "Major Brie tells you have something to tell us." said Cmdr. Sheba.
"Yes. The Cylons are upto something. I was entering the atmosphere of the planetoid behind Capt.Amy when I detected the signal of a viper. Upon closer inspection, I came upon two cylon fighters.
When I approached the area, the signal on my scanner changed to the signal of a cylon fighter. Before I could get out of there, another fighter came up behind me and started firing it lasers at me....."
Stadia spent a good 45 minutes trying to fill them in on as much detail as possible but soon grew tired. * * * Charybdis The story Cpt. Stadia told was frightening. Not so much in that we had run into the dreaded Cylons again, but for what her information revealed about their technology.
A device that simulated a viper ID beacon to any scanner that picked it up. With any of our Warriors out there, they wouldn't even know it was the Cylons until they were in visual range and then, it might be too late to react and figure out what the frack was happening.
Sheba looked worried. This system was getting a little too dangerous. Major Brie's team had made it back safely with the canister that held the last coordinates of the location of our fleet, but Cpt. Amy's team was still out there unknowingly looking for Brie who had already returned!!! And to top it all off, Lt. Najinn had also been sent out all by himself to do who knows what! I wouldn't dare say it, but i think Sheba had made a critical mistake by OKing Amy's "rescue" mission.
Figure in the fact that the Cylons were also in the system and according to this new report, they had devices that hid their fighters behind a viper's ID beacon and we were all in big trouble.
The overall picture wasn't any better. If the cylons were hot on our tail again, even though we knew where the fleet had gone, we dare not lead the cylons right to them. We were going to have to veer off again to try and lose them. Problem was, we also had our own little fleet to care for, the CQ was tagging along with us.
What a mess... * * * Brie Major Brie waited until Captain Stadia was done with her report before approaching Sheba. “Commander, I’d like a word, please.”
“I’m on my way back to the bridge,” Sheba replied. “Walk with me.” Although Brie had something she wanted to speak to the commander about, it was Sheba who started first. “You weren’t supposed to open the canister with the coordinates, Major.”
Brie was taken back a bit. With all that was going on, Sheba was worried about the fracking canister? “With Captain Stadia’s report that there are Cylons in the area, I thought that it was best to make sure that all four vipers had a copy of the information. If we had run into trouble, there would be more of a chance that we’d still get the coordinates back here.”
“It was a good judgment call,” Sheba replied. “Now, what did you need to talk to me about?”
“I’d like to request permission to find Captain Amy and her crew,” Brie said.
“Permission denied,” Sheba replied quickly. “There are too many people out there already.”
“But Commander,” Brie argued, “Amy doesn’t know that we completed our mission. She’s searching for something that’s not there, and even if they realize that we’re gone they’re not going to know that we made it back to the Callisto. Plus with Stadia here they don’t have a viper escort...”
“Lieutenant Najinn can escort them,” Sheba replied. “Captain Amy’s orders were to locate you or the canister, and then come back here. She shouldn’t be out there looking for you. And with the threat of Cylons in the area, I need you here, Major. In fact, you should try to get some rest.”
“But Ma’am...”
“Permission denied, Major,” Sheba said sternly. “I don’t want to hear anything else on the subject.”
As Sheba returned to the bridge, Brie headed to her quarters. She had no idea how anyone expected her to rest.
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Post by LucianG on Mar 14, 2007 5:03:29 GMT -6
Stadia After resting a bit, stadia climbed out of bed. The exertion almost to much for her body. She had to get back out there and find amy and her group. You dont leave people behind.
Stadia slipped her uniform on and walked out of sick bay.
A short time later, she ended up in the flight bay. She looked up and noticed one of the vipers in flight mode. She carefully and quickly slipped into the seat. She slide her helmet on as the canopy closed.
She launched the viper into the cold vacumn of space. * * * Brie Sitting in her quarters, Brie received a call from the flight bay. “Major, just wanted to let you know that Captain Stadia has launched,” the flight tech said matter-of-factly.
Brie paused for a moment. “Captain Stadia? Are you sure?”
“Yes, Ma’am, I saw her myself. She took a different viper and she was very quiet, but I’m sure it was her.”
“Thank you,” Brie said. “Please alert the bridge. Stadia did NOT have clearance. Major Brie out.”
After doubling checking with the sick bay Brie knew exactly what Stadia was doing. She was going back to find the shuttle. Amy, Artus, Marcus, Najinn, and now Stadia, Brie couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever see any of them again. * * * Stadia Stadia heads back to the planetoid. Grimacing she scans the horizon around the planetoid for signs Cpt. Amy and her crew have launched off the planet.
Making a low level pass over the ice ball, she searches for the crew. She whistles in amazement as she see the cylons and the landram.
"What the frack happened here?" * * * JustinB After spending countless centars on patrol and the run ins with cylons it was time to get my patrol in. Breaking the booming silence, I requested permission to land my patrol. After receiving permission to land, I contacted my flight.
"Ok flight, we are going home. Meet up at my ship as soon as you land and go through Decontamination." ************* On the bridge, Major BatGal heard the request from Captain JustinB. As soon as they entered the outer marker, she made her way to the beta landing bay. Her warriors had performed well.
On the way to the landing bay, Major BatGal made a call to the Officers Club. When she arrived, JustinB had just landed. She saw that the other patrol members had gathered near his Viper. She waited just in earshot to see what was going on.
JustinB climbed out of the cockpit. He handed the crew chief his helmut and said for them to give his viper a good wash. He approached Killjoy, Randrius and RaycerX and they all went into the Decontamination chambers.
Once they were finished JustinB said,"Guys, that was one helluva adventure don't you think. But to be serious, it was a job well done. We aren't out of it yet though, so lets rest up and we will have a de-briefing in say six centars in the Ready Room. Dismissed!!" he said.
"Wait a micron gentlemen," Major BatGal said just as they were about to split up, "before you go, I want to let you know that I am proud of the job you performed out there. You hold true to the virtues of what it means to be a Black Squadron Warrior, remember that. Also, I have a little something for you. Go to the O'Club and have a few Ales on me."
Killjoy, RaycerX and Randrius couldn't wait and made their way to the O'Club as fast as they could. ******************* As soon as Killjoy, RaycerX and Randrius left, I went up to Major BatGal and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Ma'am," I said, "It s good to see you up and about. I was getting to be a little worried about you. Anyway, if you want I can give you the Report ASAP."
"No later on will do" she replied.
"Major, I have an idea. How would you like to join me for a drink and I will tell you about it?" * * * Randrius JustinB order to dock came as a relief, the same damn view forever tend to get boring after awhile. He was very good at focusing, but there was a limit. He goosed his engines and headed in towards the Callisto. After hearing Batgal offer for free drinks upon landing, he was overjoyed. As RaycerX and Killjoy headed off for the O club, Randrius paused for a moment. "It's nice to see you back on your feet, Major," Randrius said. "Thank you, Randrius. Now go get that drink before it gets warm," Randrius smiled and followed the path of the other two, leaving Justin and Batgal in the hangar. He stopped by his quarters to wash up and change out of his sweat-stained flight suit and back into his uniform. ****** Several minutes later, he entered the O club, spotting Killjoy and RaycerX, who waved him over to there table. "Ah...just what I need," he said to his waiting drink with a laugh. * * * JustinB "Major, I have an idea. How would you like to join me for a drink and I will tell you about it?" I said.
"I'll take you up on that Captain, but first let’s stop by my office," BatGal said.
As we made our way to her office, I explained in some detail about our encounter with the cylon patrol. Every so often, she asked questions and I gave her the answers. On arrival to her office, Major BatGal sat down in her seat and hit the communication button.
"Major BatGal to bridge," she said with authority.
"Major Lucian here BatGal, what can I do for you?" he asked.
"I still have a flight out there under Lieutenant Rose. I think they should be brought in so they can rest and have their vipers re-armed and re-fuelled. Can you run it by the Colonel to see if it can be done?"
"I will get onto it now Major. Lucian Out."
BatGal then reached into a compartment and pulled out a data pad.
"Now what idea did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Well, we need an edge and this is what could by us some time. But it has to remain secret, just in case someone tries and sabotage it." I said.
Fifteen microns later, the idea was explained in detail. I could see that BatGal understood what I had said and was taking it seriously.
"JustinB, I will talk to Major Lucian and get his opinion. Until then you are 'stood down' unless we get another alert. Remember to stop by the O'Club."
I exited the office and went straight to the O'Club. In the corner I saw that Killjoy, RaycerX and Randrius were having a good time. I got my ale and joined them. ********************* Back in the Black Squadron Office, Major BatGal Looked over the idea JustinB had told her. She flicked on the communications panel. "Major Lucian this is Major BatGal," she said.
"Go ahead Major," came the reply.
"Lucian, I am on my way to the bridge to see you. It’s quite important."
"I'll be here waiting," he said.
Major BatGal then made her way to the bridge in a hurry.
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Post by LucianG on Mar 14, 2007 5:04:02 GMT -6
Randrius Randrius spotted JustinB entering the O-club and he waved him over to their table. "so, what was that all about with the Major?" Raycer asked. Randrius lowered his mug, interested as well. "Oh, it's nothing," he replied, waving it off. Raycer shrugged and the conversation continued, a lot of it telling stories of battles in the past, many of them becoming more extravagent, unbelievable and, above all, amusing, every time they were told. * * * JustinB After a few ales and after listening to a couple of the stories, I decided that I needed some rest. I made my way back to the barracks and had a turbowash. After doing so I felt relaxed but awake.
I decided that I would go for a brief walk. Ten centons into the walk I passed Solon and Fallel. I stopped, turned around and made myself known to them.
"Hi there, I am Captain JustinB," I said.
"Yes captain, what can we do for you?" Solon said.
"I know that you are busy people, but I have an idea I would like to run by you. Major BatGal said I could if I ran into you before she did. It has to do with the situation we find ourselves in with this system and the cylons."
"Go on," Solon said.
"What we need I believe is a ship rigged with a device and use it as a counter measure device," Taking a big breath I continued, "That will make the ship mimic the electronic echo of the Callisto. Once it is completed, it can be flown away from our prospective jump point to draw the cylons away." * * * No sooner than I had I finished talking with Solon and Fallel, I started to yawn. I was finally ready for some sack time. Making my way back to the barracks my thoughts wandered to what Rose was doing at this moment. They should be aboard by now. It had been a while since I had seen her last and we had a lot of catching up too do. But all that could wait once I had some sleep. Or so I thought.
For as I was just about to enter the barracks when I heard a pretty familiar voice behind me say, "Where do you think you are going?"
"Well I was just going to look for a good looking med-tech to make my sleep much more enjoyable," I replied turning around then giving her a hug, "but you will do."
We laughed together for a few microns. "So are you up for something to eat, maybe a drink and the possibility for some extra curricular activities?" she asked.
"I would really love to Rose, but I am really sacked out. The Major and I have some plans to go over at the beginning of the next shift. On top of that, we have a new Ensign who has just graduated," I saw Rose was disappointed so I said, "I tell you what, I will ask the Major if we can put back the plan towards the end of shift. That way I can deal with our new member, and then spend some time with you."
I could tell that Rose loved the idea because she gave me the longest, most passionate kiss I had ever had.
"I will see you then, my dearest Captain," she said as she walked away and blew me a kiss.
Feeling as good as I did made the transition to sleep a lot more easier. But what we had planned to help evade the cylons was in my dreams. * * * Randrius Randrius had found Justin idea of sleep to be a good one and soon after he left, he followed him towards the barracks. On the way to his room, he spied Rose and Justin talking. He thought nothing of it, though he watched the two exchange a long kiss that made him raise an eyebrow. Shrugging, he headed towards the turbo-wash. A good, long shower was going to feel good. * * * Charybdis Core Command wishes to announce that Hornet Lady has joined the Colonial Military and is hereby commissioned with the rank of Ensign.
She will serve aboard the Battlestar Callisto. Squadron assignment is forthcoming. <chorus of welcomes!!!> * * * Amy I still couldn't believe Artus was standing there before me, alive and well. He was trying to explain just how he managed to use the snowram to take out the foot patrol.
"Ehm, well, you see, I was controlling the snowram from here with this little remote control unit I rigged up right here. We didn't need to take a shower out here anyway did we?"
My mouth fell open. "Amazing!"
Marcus in his turn decided to go for stating the obvious ; "Artus, you're not dead!"
Artus looked puzzled. He stammered, "Eh, well no. See, I kinda promised my mom not to die in the snow. Otherwise she wouldn't let me enlist..."
"Well" I replied, "no one is dying under my command." I gave Artus another un-commanderlike hug. "Thank the lords you are safe. And don't worry about the snowram. These things are just deducted from your pay, the way I understand it."
I turned to Marcus. "Pre-flight check, Marcus. See if we can get off this ice ball."
I turned back to Artus, my eyes still drinking in the sight of him. "I hate to ask for more miracles, but did you have any luck at all with the scanner? We came up empty out there. No cannister, and Major Brie and her team have left already. We're faced with either returning empty handed, or trying to find where she went."
I sighed. "The third possiblity is, Brie somehow made it back on her own. If the space the Callisto is in is crawling with as many Cylons as this snowball is, there's a very real possiblity that she may have already jumped."
"In which case" Marcus replied, "we have no home to return to." * * * Marcus Well at least Artus was still alive and we could finally get off this ball of ice and back to the Callisto. “ Amy pre flight checks complete were ready to go. All systems check out and with the repairs Artus made to the scanner we are ready to go. Stand by for launch. Everybody get strapped in.”
I still felt bad about not finding the canister or major Brie’s team. We did at least find out that they had been here and had left hopefully they got back to the Callisto along with Stadia. Well time to get us off this ball of ice. The shuttle launched and we were headed out of the atmosphere and back to the ship. With Najinn as our escort at least we will have him to watch our backs.
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Post by LucianG on Mar 14, 2007 5:04:32 GMT -6
Amy Concerned about the Cylon activity in the area, I kept my eyes glued to the patched up enchanced scanner. Artus seemed to have pulled off that second miracle, and got it functioning pretty much they way it was before. There was something pretty strange about some of the readings however. It appeared like an entire squadron of vipers had secured the area!
"Marcus" I said, as he achieved high orbit status and prepared to pull out into space, "am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"
"Seems that way" Marcus replied. "Guess the Callisto came in and locked the entire area down."
"Odd we haven't gotten any signals from them."
"Maybe they just hadn't been able to get through."
It seemed logical enough. Although I still had reservations, the scanner wasn't lying. Those were viper blips we were picking up. "I'm going to break radio silence", I decided.
I picked up the com unit. "Gold shuttle two to Lt. Najinn, come in. Najinn, have you reached high orbit status?"
As I waited for the reply, the readout on the scanner started to change. "Hey" Marcus said, "look at this! Looks like a whole unit is coming to escort us home."
I looked, and he was right. The viper blips had shifted positions and were heading our way. I looked out the window of the shuttle, but couldn't see anything with the murky space. We'd have to rely on the scanner, same way we did coming in.
"Still no radio contact though" I observed. "Well, we can't argue with what the scanner tells us. Looks like we're home free."
* * *
Out in the murkiness of what passed for space in this sector, the Gold Centurion observed his scanner with what would have amounted to delight, if he were capable of feeling it. One of his pilots spoke up.
"The deception has worked" he droned. "A colonial ship has broken radio silence. It thinks we are vipers. It is in orbit over the planet of ice."
The Gold Centurion wasted no time. "All raiders converge on the ice planet." * * * I watched the viper blips on the scanner, watching them coming nearer, even though out the window I couldn't see a thing. The com was still silent, and I wondered about that.
"Could it be the Callisto squadron is under radio silence?" I asked aloud.
"Maybe" Artus replied, "but if they'd secured this sector there wouldn't seem to be the need for that anymore."
"I know" I replied. "That's why I don't understand. If we're in control of this area, why hasn't anyone hailed us?" I walked toward Marcus, who was piloting the shuttle. "Any word from Najinn?"
"None, Captain" Marcus replied. "But that doesn't mean anything. If he's still in the planet's atmosphere, we're unlikely to make contact."
"Any chance this is Cylon jamming of some kind?" I asked.
"Not if we're in control of this sector" Marcus answered.
"Uh, ehm" Artus stammered as he stared at the scanner readout. "Since when do vipers fly in formations of 3?"
I looked at the scanner, and noticed Artus was right. The blips had broken off into groups of three, and I counted 16 distinct groups.
"Formations of three!" I exclaimed.
"Those aren't vipers, Captain" Artus shouted. "They're Cylons!"
"Evasive course, Marcus!" I called out. "Can we make the planet's atmosphere again?"
"They'll reach us before we can" he replied, his voice wavering with tension.
"Then head for open space" I said, picking up the comlink. I could only pray to the Lords of Kobol that the Callisto hadn't made that jump yet.
* * *
The Gold Centurian watched the scanner, satisfied that all was going well. "We'll overtake the Colonial shuttle in mere millicentons. Gunners, shoot to disable. We want to board her and find what was so valuable on such a desolate planet." He paused, then finished his commands. "Any Colonial vipers you encounter, shoot to destroy." * * * My hand froze on the comlink button. Do I dare send out a distress? Would I be compromising the Callisto if I did send the message? I tried to sort through what I did and didn't know as quickly as I could.
If Major Brie made it back, the Callisto might already be gone, or simply jump if I made the call and compromised their position.
If Major Brie didn't make it back, the Callisto could still remain silent, and simply not respond to our call. The end result would be the same as if I made no call at all.
The Cylons knew the Callisto was in the area. So calling wouldn't blow the secret. The fact that Cylons had encountered humans in this sector would prove to them that the Callisto was here, somewhere. Question was, was she still out there, already departed, or maybe even destroyed?
"Captain" Artus called out, "if we're going to phone home, now would be a good time!"
I nodded. It was our only hope. "Gold shuttle 2 to Callisto! Mayday Mayday...." The shuttle lurched as Marcus flew his evasive manuever, heading for open space away from the Callisto. If nothing else, we weren't going to lead the Cylons to her. * * * Stadia Stadia made out the eratic pattern of the shuttle trying to escape. She turned on her turbo and headed toward the shuttle.
After what seemed an enternity, she came up from underneath and blew one of the cylon fighters out of space. She banked her viper and tried to get her ship behind one of the remaining fighters. * * * Amy "What was that?" I asked as the shuttle shook. Something had occured nearby us. Very close by.
"Explosion" Marcus replied. "Either a Cylon took a shot at us, or Najinn is with us. Maybe he took one out."
"Scanner?"
Artus shook his head. "Still 16 groups of raiders. Without some serious help, we're in big daggit doo-doo!"
"Let's hope our mayday got through" I wished out loud as the shuttle shook again.
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Post by LucianG on Mar 14, 2007 5:05:17 GMT -6
Najinn Najinn banked up out of the atmosphere to see the shuttle in trouble!
"S**t"
Then as explosion as a Viper blew thru a Raider.....
"Well Hello Sweetie!, It's nice to see you Stadia!"
Najinn pulled his Viper around and straight onto the tail of one of the Raiders,
"And this is how you do it!" as he piled on the laser fire and the raider disintergrated.
Two or three more passes by Najinn and Stadia cleared a route for the Shuttle to pull out and away.
"Stadia take the 6 I'll take the 12, keep route one clear and I'll plough our way out of here."
It was actually some sight, two Vipers ducking and diving around the shuttle, picking off any stray raiders that got too close.
"Amy, sweetheart, put your foot down hun, blow those engines if you have too"
Amy & Marcus were really pulling that shuttle all over, it was doing things it really shouldn't, but then they were Viper pilots and well old habits are hard to ditch!
The three ships made there way out of the system towards the Callisto. * * * Amy More explosions rocked the shuttle, sending Artus and I scurring for our seats. Once more we lurched violently as I struggled to strap myself in.
"What's happening?" I shouted out.
"We've got some help, I think" Marcus shouted back. "Hard to tell since all the blips show viper, but it's got to be Najinn, and maybe Stadia is out there too."
"Any help or response from the Callisto?" I asked.
"None that I can see on screen. And nothing over the com. Maybe the message didn't get through."
"Ehm" Artus interrupted. "Let's stay on the bright side here. Vipers will be coming. They're just not here yet. The alternative isn't a pleasant thing to think about."
He was right. Just then the shuttle lurched again, and the engines went into a high pitched whine.
"Now what?" I called out, though I knew what had happened.
"We've been hit!" Marcus shouted. "I'm losing thrust!"
We all could feel the shuttle vibrating, the engines protesting as the whine increased.
"I've got to back off the power" Marcus called out. "We'll never make it without help! Where is that support?"
* * *
On the lead Cylon attack raider, the Gold Command Cylon surveyed the damage to his attack fleet.
"What is happening?" he asked.
A silver Cylon replied, "We are picking up more radio signals. Another colonial craft has broken silence."
"On speaker" the Gold Cylon commanded. In a moment, he listened as the signals were repeated. "Stadia take the 6 I'll take the 12, keep route one clear and I'll plough our way out of here." Then, after a moment, another message: "Amy, sweetheart, put your foot down hun, blow those engines if you have to."
"Vipers", the Gold Cylon said. "Call to the secondary forces. Tell them to join us in capturing the shuttle." The secondary forces were searching for signs of the battlestar Callisto. It was a certainty it was in the area, but it had eluded the search so far.
"Another 16 groups of raiders responding" the silver centurian reported. "The colonial vipers are but two, and their fuel will be exhausted soon. With an additional 48 raiders from the secondary forces, capturing the shuttle is a certainty."
"Sir" another Cylon reported in, "a raider is reporting a hit on the shuttle. It appears disabled though it is still moving at reduced speed."
"Then the shuttle will soon be ours. And a favorable report to the Imperious Leader for the raiders that destroy those two vipers." * * * Bridge tech Ensign Reed studied the screens intently, with a growing sense of concern and nervousness. With the somewhat increased capablity of the scanners, it was possible to make out the activity of Cylons in the area. With the knowledge that Cylons had the capability to mimic the scanner echo of Vipers, each blip that seemed to indicate the return of the second mission to Outer was met with hope, then disappointment when it was revealed to be a Cylon trick.
What concerned Ensign Reed the most, was that activity was increasing, and it was just a matter of time before a Cylon patrol stumbled upon the Callisto. Each micron they remained in the area just increased the danger.
Summoning the courage to speak his mind, he motioned for a bridge officer to come over.
"Yes Ensign" the officer asked.
"Sir", the ensign answered, "Cylon activity is increasing. The longer we stay here, the more likely we are going to be discovered."
"What would you suggest, Ensign?"
"Well sir, at the risk of sounding cold, someone has to say it. In my opinion as a scanner tech, we risk losing everyone while we wait for a mission that may already be lost."
The officer swallowed, his face revealing the tension beneath the surface. "The Commander and the Colonel are well aware of the facts, Ensign. Thank you for your report, but please return to monitoring your screens. Leave the commanding to the Commander."
"Yes sir" the ensign replied, returning his attention to his screens. * * * Charybdis "Who is in that viper?" I asked when the screens erupted with a viper leaving mothership.
Lt. Geenie replied sheepishly, "I don't know, sir."
It sounded incredulous. "You don't know? You don't know? HOw is it we have a viper launching and you are the launch specialist, Lt. Geenie?" My temperature was rising fast.
She looked nervous. "I'll check on it right away, Colonel." She quickly punched some buttons on the comm panel in front of her work station.
A call came in from the launch bay. "Sir, apparently it's Captain Stadia. She took an unauthorized viper when no one was looking."
Stadia. We had just seen her in Med Lab. What the frack was she doing? She couldn't have been releases already. Don't these people know we are in Cylon infested space with them having the ability to mimic viper recon signals? Have they all been smoking plant vapors?
Looks line another good warrior will have the book thrown at them. Maybe Major Brie was wrong in giving Stadia the promotion. In any event, she may not be a Captain for very much longer... * * * Charybdis Welcome aboard our newest member: Spacecityman! He is hereby commissioned with the rank of Ensign in the colonial military.
He will serve aboard the Battlestar Callisto with Black squadron under Major BatGal (acting leader Cpt. JustinB).
Congratulations!! <chorus of welcomes!!!>
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Post by LucianG on Mar 14, 2007 5:05:53 GMT -6
Brie Unable to rest, Major Brie headed to the bridge to see if there was any news about the Gold shuttle, Lieutenant Najinn or Captain Stadia. Besides confirming again that it was, indeed, Stadia who had launched without permission there didn’t seem to be anything going on. Then a voice, breaking radio silence, was heard, "Gold shuttle 2 to Callisto! Mayday Mayday."
In her rush to leave the bridge, Brie almost ran right into Commander Sheba. “Major, you still don’t have permission to launch,” Sheba said, reading Brie’s mind.
“Permission to have a flight or two ready, just in case?” Brie asked.
Sheba thought for only a micron. “That you can do. Make sure any vipers you might need have a transmitter already in place, so that when the red dot is seen we’ll know you’re not Cylons.”
“Thank you, Ma’am,” Brie said. She hurried out, the first several Gold Squadron members that she saw would be assigned to this possible mission. * * * Charybdis Mayday. It was Amy! She and her crew were still alive, but the Cylons had made their move.
Hearts began to race, minds flew through a myriad of considerations.
I turned to Commander Sheba. She was already on top of things.
"How long to jump?" she asked.
"Not long, Commander," I replied. "Just under once centar." We had extracted the coordinates from the canister, but they would do us no good. If we found the fleet now, we would lead the Cylons right to them. We also had to think about the CQ. She was tagging along with us and had minimal defenses. She had a few turbolaser batteries ready and we had received word that they were itching for a fight.
Sheba acted fast. "Launch Gold and Black squadrons! Have them deal with the Cylons and try to get everyone back here fast! Give them the coordinates of the jump point and rendezvouz at set time. It'll be cutting it close, anyone who doesn't make it will be left for the Cylons."
"Aye, Commander," I responded.
Sheba added, "Also, get the CQ to start ahead of us to the rendezvous point. We'll follow behind to make sure nothing follows us. When the vipers arrive and not one centon later, we leave."
The command was given. "Transferring control to Alpha and Beta bays. Gold and Black squadron, transferring control. Launch when ready." Geenie sent out the word and it was up the pilots now.
A short message had come across from Major Brie. She was saying something about a viper that had been readied for me and asked if I was to fly on this mission.
Sheba heard the message and I looked at her to see her reacton. "I'm sorry, Colonel. I know you'd want to be out there. But I need you on the bridge. We're going to cut it close with this jump and if you didn't make it back, we couldn't afford to lose you. We're already taking a great chance in losing more fine Warriors."
My heart dropped a little, but I knew my priorities had changed when I moved to the bridge. "Yes, Commander." I replied.
I turned to watch the screen light up with blips of light as the vipers began launching... * * * Brie Brie was disappointed that Charybdis wouldn’t be joining them. She understood the Commander’s decision, but sometimes experience in a viper was the only thing that would save a situation. Even Commander Apollo was known to join in a battle when needed. But experience on the bridge was also important. Since only a limited number of vipers were equipped with the “red dot” transmitters, Charybdis’ viper would be temporarily reassigned.
Surrounded by pilots with varying amounts of experience, Brie and Gold Squadron launched.
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