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Post by LucianG on Apr 26, 2005 11:57:28 GMT -6
<Note: Many thanks to Astraea for her help in collecting this chapter from its original home on the SciFi board.>
LucianG
About three kilometers from the Cylon colony, Lieutenant Merak gave the order to bring the LandRam to a halt. Lieutenant Stadia obliged, pulling it into a shadow in a small ravine. The team disembarked after sealing their envirosuits. They had already assembled their weapons, spare air tanks, and other supplies, so it was a quick exit. In the light gravity, they would be able to carry a large amount of material; however, bulk and inertial effects limited this significantly. After firing the camo netting (which was specially produced to match the anticipated colors of Alpha, the group began to trace the path that Wendy and Kris had plotted. Hopefully, if all was as expected, it was the best route from their current location to what would be their base camp just outside the colony.
Merak wished that they could be doing this in darkness, but then again, their lights might give them away, so they’d really be no better off than trotting across the barren landscape in the light. So far, the terrain had been rugged but passable. Hopefully that would continue as they continued their slight descent to the Cylon colony.
Coming in from the high side, the six Warriors halted when they found a crevice that appeared to be a suitable hiding place for their extra equipment. When the spare tanks and other limited supplies were stashed, Merak climbed up to the top of the small bluff, and began to view the Cylon colony in detail through his field glasses. A short time later, he issued the orders to begin penetration of the Cylon forceshield-dome.
MedievalSong
Lt Kris crept along with the others.
I really didn't being out here like this but I knew it needed to be done. We all did. And this is one of the job hazards they forgot to tell you about while signing up. We crept along till we got to the point to set off the explosives. One wrong move and we all would be stuck out there forever. "Ok get the charges set and get back. No offense guys but I don't want to get stuck out here so let's do it right the first time." Lt Merak said. I looked at Wendy and she looked up too. I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was that we both did not want to stay here. We got busy getting the charges set and headed back to the ridge. Once up there, Lt Merak hit the charges. Hearing the explosion, I hoped we got it right cuz if not we just announced we were there.
LucianG
It was a low “klumph” sound that just carried through the thin atmosphere of Frodar Epsilon Alpha. The explosive, planted near the top of the small bluff that overlooked the polar northwestern side of the Cylon colony, cause a few rocks to begin to tumble down the hill toward the Cylons’ forceshield-dome. As the rocks tumbled downward, the quantity and mass of the slide grew, along with the resulting dust and the associated noise level. As they reached the bottom of the hill, they started to crash against the side of the dome, causing major fluctuations in the shield’s ‘lighting’ and showers of sparks. Under cover of the dust cloud, the Black Ball Warriors scampered down the hill, taking their position some meters away in what was believed to still be within the same shield sector. If the shield came down as a result of the slide, or more likely, was brought down to allow the Cylons to remove the debris (reducing their energy expenditure accordingly), the Warriors would be ready to move. If not, it was going to be a long wait (on the order of about twenty-eight centars) for darkness to cover their withdrawal.
* * *
The old Praetorian Series III Cylon robot Kron stood in the center his circular command post, monitoring reports and giving commands about the activities that affected the life of the Cylon colony called Khalorra. He had just received a report of a most unusual rockslide just outside the colony. Considering that there had never been any seismic activity recorded on the moon, he ordered two units of six Centurions to investigate. In addition, on seeing the dome’s sudden spike in energy consumption, he ordered a repair crew to immediately begin work, shutting down the shield in Sectors 7 and 8. Now, with the orders given, he turned to more pressing needs, as he had done countless times in the last 124 yahrens since the colony had been established.
His purple replacement cloak drifted softly across the console as a result of his near twirl. One of the few regrets that he’d had during his stay on this rock was that he’d not been able to replace the original sensor enhanced cloak that had been lost in the crash. Of course, if it had survived, it would have been likely that the IL series robot in command of the Cylon vessel would have survived as well. Therefore, Kron had never been too concerned about the loss of his sensor ability. Without the IL to protect, it would have served little funcion anyway. The gold armor glistened under the lights of the console, but his black face piece was as expressionless as always.
A few centons later, the first Cylon work party arrived, and the shield was lowered across the northwestern quadrant of the Cylon base. A Cylon excavator appeared a few centons after the arrival of the first group. Soon, the excavator was scooping up the rocky debris, causing new clouds of dust to form in the area and be swept into the colony.
The Cylon colony was situated in a rough circle under the forceshield-dome. There were several narrow roads which, as viewed from the overhead recon shots, appeared as a series of generally concentric circles crossed by eight other, much wider roads (straight lines, each about 30 meters wide) which intersect another ring near the middle, dividing the colony to a pie. The straight “roads” were aligned on the cardinal points (north, south, east, and west) of the moon’s orbital axis, and the secondary points (NE, SW, NW, & SE). At the center of the center ring sat the largest building in the colony, an octagonally shaped building about 100 meters in “diameter.” Based on the latticed domelike antenna that covered the building, Intelligence and Science Departments had agreed that this was the shield generator building. In addition, there were eight large doors in the building, each in line with one of the straight, radial roads. Each of these doors were about 20 meters across and about 10 meters high. These were believed, by those still safe aboard the Callisto, to be the launch bays for the Cylon colony’s fighter forces.
As Merak continued to watch the clearing operation, he estimated that the growing dust cloud would cover their position in about another centon. He silently signaled to the rest of the team to be ready for the dash into the colony through the dome breach. He tightened his grip on the heavy assault rifle he carried. Each of the Warriors also carried a bulky pack which was made transportable only by the moon’s light gravity.
Merak continued his last micron review of the layout of the Cylon city. There were short towers with lights on each side of the radial roads near the outside of the colony. About half way to the center along each radial road, there were two slightly taller ones, one on each side, and near the center ring, there were two more. These were roughly half as tall as the center building. According to the Intelligence reports, each of these most likely contained multiple laser batteries as well as lookout guards. Merak pointed to the first building to the right of the first set of towers along the Northwest Road. Anubis nodded, and past the hand signal on to the others. Just before the dust cloud arrived, Merak looked down at his envirosuit boots. He just hoped that the odd-shaped tread added by Fenny and her team would be good enough to fool any Cylons who might discover the footprints they would leave as they entered the colony. If not, their presence would be discovered long before he hoped it would.
As the dust cloud rolled over them, Merak yanked his upturned forearm and fist downward in a sharp vertical motion. The team began to move.
Stadia
Stadia slowly mad her way along the excavator. She kept an eye. The others followed her closly. They were all on edge. She climbed quickly and quietly over the debris. She entered the colony and hid with the rest of the crew.
They paused only a minute and then they started to make their way to the main buildings. Stadia looked at Lt. Merak and noticed the intensity on his face.
Stadia
They stopped long enought to scan for energy signature of the shields. Lt Kris pointed off to our right. We moved to the right and to the shield generator. She scanned once more. Indicating this was the target, she pulled her pack off and removed some stuff from her pack.
We each took a explosive pack. We were to place them at key points aroud the building. In pairs we made our way aroud the building placing the packs. I took absloute glee in arming the devices. We headed back to where Lt. Merak and Lt. Kris were waiting with the triggering device.
All of a sudden, we heard the familar tap of Cylon worriors marching. We scrambled to hide, hoping none of us were seen. Our luck held. They marched pass us.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:00:00 GMT -6
LucianG
In the Cylon control center, Kron ended the transmission to the human colony on the planet below. His challenge would be accepted. Both sides were sending up six ships, supposedly. Considering the sneak attack by the humans, which had just been confirmed by the Centurions on the site of landslide based on the presence of the explosive residue, the long-standing treaty was now at an end. Kron ordered a full-scale attack. All of their twenty-eight Mark VI Raiders would be launched. The order was given, and the crews scrambled. They would destroy the human craft then begin bombing the human colony's dome. All were equipped with high yield directional nukes that had recently been perfected after fifty yahrens of development. With enough of them hitting at once, the dome might be weakened enough to allow the human city to be destroyed.
Kron certainly hoped they'd been perfected, anyway. If not...
* * *
The Black Squadron Warriors were about to blow the shield generator building when the large doors started opening; however, the group didn’t see this from their vantage point, since another Cylon squad of eight was marching by their location just inside the nearby automated manufacturing facility. This group was different, however, in that there were four smaller humanoid-type figures in the group, each wearing what appeared to be a type of envirosuit. As one turned toward them, a human face was visible through the glare of the faceplate. Merak signaled a halt to the planned destruction. There were humans, likely slaves of the Cylons, on Alpha!
On the short-range comm, Merak said, “Stop! We rescue these guys before we blow this place. There may be more humans inside. We’ve got to find out. Let’s get those tin-cans in here where we can take them out without attracting every one in the who-”
At that moment, old-style Cylon Raiders blasted off through the now open doors. The quickly rushed through the forceshield-dome, which dropped for a few short microns. The Black Ball Warriors knew that they would be dealt with by those above. There job was here. Merak nodded and their job began in earnest.
* * *
On the Callisto, word came that the Cylons were launching twenty-eight ships from their moon. The humans, surprisingly, were only launching six from the colony on the planet. The dome on the moon still appeared to be holding, so Sheba said to wait. If they launched prior to that dome falling, it might never be penetrated.
* * *
Randrius3473
Randrius disliked doing nothing. So, naturally, he hated sitting in the ready-room ready to be back-up for the mission. He sighed and propped his feet on one of the other nearby benches like the one he was sitting on and leaned back against the wall. He wished something would happen.
LucianG
Major Lucian stopped by the squadron ready room in Beta Bay to check on his squadron mates. If everything was proceeding according to plan on the planet, the Black Ball team should be bringing that shield down before too much longer. Then, it would be a hot time over the old Cylon colony as the Silver Spar manned bombers and the Black Squadron Vipers made mincemeat of it.
"Randrius, get some rest. We don't know exactly when you'll be launching, but when you do, you're going to have to deal with the thickest anti-ship fire you've ever faced," reminded Lucian. He pulled Gold Squadron's original recon photos, and spread them on the counter in front of them. "There, there, there, there...and there. We think they are all laser batteries. Based on that density in that small area, there will be a tremendous number of them down there. You won't have the option of dodging as easily as you do in deep space, since there's a big rock right next to you."
Randrius nodded, pointing out at least two other sites that Lucian had not even noted. Lucian knew that he and his team had been well briefed on what they were likely to face, but a little last centon review never hurt anyone. Randrius called his wing over and they began to study the map once more, trying to come up with alternate flight paths that might take them more safely through the Cylon defenses. Each battery encountered would have to be destroyed to give the bombers their best chance of doing the most damage.
Lucian wished the team well again, then headed on to the next stop on his rounds.
Randrius3473
After Lucian left, Randrius took his advice and treated himself to a light doze in the same place he had been the whole time. He was glad Lucian had stopped by, as he slept, he reviewed the charts Lucian had shown him in his head. He would be prepared.
Najinn
Najinn sat across the room from Skyler and Brie as they searched up and down the walls for the listening device.
The door was locked and there was no visible means of escape.
"Colonel, we have to decide if we are going to persist with this or make an attempt to escape and get back to the Callisto."
"Najin, I am not giving up, we have all been in much worse positions than this."
Najin smiled, he knew she was meaning him and his experiences on the Aggi and as a Cylon prisoner of war.
He sat thinking to himself that he must control his outbursts more. He was an impulsive character and that wasn't always good. Ok he was good at thinking on his feet and taking action, but he wasn't exactly subtle.
As he sat thinking he felt a shiver down his spine. Just as if someone had walked over his grave. He shook his head but he couldn't shake this feeling that something bad was happening back on the Callisto, it was a feeling of upset, of losing something and it was focused on the Callisto. It was a very strange feeling, he thought of Amy. It wasn't a pleasant feeling it was an alarming emotion, a distrubing emotion as if a pattern had been broken in someway. Something was up with Amy, and he couldn't tell what, but he just knew, just felt, something was wrong.
He shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on the mission. They had to find the listening device and they had to find a way to get through to Tolar and soon, before the Cylons tried to get through to him in their own way.
The three warriors searched the room as they heard footsteps approaching outside the room.....
Brie
The three warriors searched the room as they heard footsteps approaching outside the room.....
The door opened, and Commander Tolar walked in, along with Jorlan and another guard. "Here," he said, as he handed Brie her boot. "I thought you might want it back. Of course, the transmitter has been destroyed. I also thought you might want to know that the Medician has proven that you're not Outlanders. Of course I already knew that. That means that you're Cylon spies. It's too bad." He looked right at Brie. "You would have fit right in here for breeding purposes."
Brie ignored the comment. It was time to get serious. She had an idea, she just hoped that Najinn and Skyler would pick up on it and play along. "Enough of the felgercarb, Tolar," she said. You want to know who we really are?" She paused, making sure that Tolar would have to respond.
"Yes," he said at last.
"We're not Cylon spies," she said. "Well, at the moment we are working for the Cylons, but that can change easily enough."
Skyler picked up on where Brie was headed. "We're mercenaries," he said calmly.
"You're right about us working for Kron," Brie continued. "He sent us here to try to find out about your defenses. He is planning an attack. That's why he had your satellites destroyed."
Tolar was intrigued, but not quite believing it. "Tell me about Kron. What does he look like?"
It was time for an educated guess. "He's one of those Gold ones." Brie figured that the moon was an all but forgotten outpost, so there wouldn't be an IL series running it. "All Cylons pretty much look the same if you ask me."
"What about the inside of their base?" Tolar asked.
Now it was Najinn's turn. Having been a Cylon prisoner, he knew a lot about what their base would probably be like. He was able to give a good general description that would fit most any Cylon base. His response seemed to satisfy Tolar.
"So how is it that you ended up with uniforms and military equipment?" Tolar wondered.
Brie rolled her eyes. "We USED to be in the military," she told him. "I was a Captain, and Skyler and Najinn both were lieutenants. That much is true." She paused again. "This pays better."
Tolar thought for a moment. "Why should I believe you now?"
"I don't really give a frack if you do," Brie replied. "This mission has obviously failed. I don't give a frack if the Cylons kill each and every one of you. Which, by the way, they're planning on doing."
"How do you know this?" Tolar asked.
"We've been on Khalorra," Brie lied. "We overheard quite a bit. They destroyed your satellites, remember? We weren't supposed to know about that. Now, there's more that we could tell you, but I'm not going to say a thing until we have your word that we'll get off of this forsaken planet with our lives."
"I'll have to think this over," Tolar said. "Wait here."
"Like we have anywhere else to go," Brie commented as the door was closed and locked. Looking at Najinn she mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." Then she said a silent prayer that her plan, which she was still forming in her head, would work.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:00:39 GMT -6
Brie
Brie, Skyler and Najinn didn't dare speak above a whisper, knowing that they were being monitored. "Captain," Skyler whispered, "what's your plan?"
"Depends on them," Brie answered. "If they keep us together, we'll stick to this story. If they seperate us, though, we'll go back to the truth. Tell them that we had to make something up to get their attention, since they wouldn't listen to us otherwise. Either way, we've got to convince them of the danger they're in."
"That we're ALL in," Najinn answered.
"You okay?" Brie asked him.
"Colonel," Najinn said, "don't worry about me. I'll keep it under control."
Brie decided to speak to Commander Sheba about reducing Najinn's probation...if they ever made it back to the Callisto.
LucianG
Commander Sheba was on the bridge looking over the latest reports. Several of the senior officers had gathered around to discuss the latest news.
First, the good news was that Titon's teams had finalized the repairs in the engine compartment. The ship was restored to full power. Replacement of the destroyed turbo laser battery was next on the priority list. Titon had agreed to gear up for that work immediately.
The neither good nor bad news was delivered by a Communications Ensign. Communications indicated that the two local sides had agreed to meet for another of their purposeless little battles in their purposeless little private war according to thier purposeless little local treaty. Both sides were sending up six fighters to wage their little battle between the planet and its moon. Since they were obviously evenly matched, it was doubtful that either side would gain an advantage, unless luck just had it that way. Sheba shook her head in frustration. Did this local human leader not know what the Cylons were capable of doing? How could he, that unknown voice on the transmissions, not know--"
Then the bad news arrived.
"Commander Sheba," reported Major CureMode, "Telemetry reports that the ships have launched from the planet. There are a total of six. Also, ships have gone up from its moon. There are six on a direct intercept course, PLUS 22 more on a spiral course which will most likely intersect with the human colony. Based on what we can tell, the human colony is not aware of this second attack wing. The ships in this wing appear to be moving more sluggishly than the six fighters."
"What do you think, Major? Bombers?" she asked. "And if so, why would they launch them now when bombs obviously haven't worked in the past?" He nodded, but didn't have a good answer as to why. She turned back to the Communications Ensign. "Please have Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis report to the bridge. Also, any word from our Black Ball team?"
"No Commander," said the Ensign.
Curemode said, "They should be entering the Cylon colony any time now, if they haven't already. Still, if we launch ships prior to their destruction of the dome, we'll give away our position to both them and those on the Base-Star."
"I understand, Doctor," she replied. "We won't give away our position just yet, and we don't want to let them know of our cloaking capability, so we hold for now. Black Ball must succeed, since we don't know if our weapons, short of those on the Callisto, will breach their shield. We don't want to have to take the Callisto in since this would leave us quite vulnerable to an attack by the Base-Star."
"What about our Gold Squadron support Vipers on the planet?" asked Major Lucian. "They are so close to the human colony that it might be possible to get them up without the Cylons realizing they aren't coming out of the dome. We keep the speed down until just before we close with them, blast them out of existence, then bring them back down to the planet. The humans would then know we're here to help, and if we do it right, the Cylons on the Base-Star would never know for sure that they were our ships."
"We'd have to communicate on a very tight beam since we're all on comm silence," said CureMode.
"Whatever we're going to do needs to be done pretty quickly," said Titon, handing over the latest photos from the recon buoy located not too far from the Cylon Base-Star. "Their repairs aren't going to take too much longer, then they're going to come hunting us. When that happens, we're going to need all the Vipers flying that we can get."
Charybdis arrived on the bridge, and Sheba led him to the Ready Room for a quick discussion of the situation. There was very little time if the Gold Squadron escort crew was going to be put into play.
Brie
A short time later the door opened again. Commander Tolar and Captain Jorlan entered, along with a third man that they had yet to be introduced to. There were also two armed guards. "There's only one way that I can think of to find out if you're telling the truth," Tolar said. "We'll speak to you, one at a time. The other two will remain here with the guards, sitting apart. Captain Jorlan will be conducting the interviews."
"Excuse me, Commander," Brie spoke up, "but considering his obvious disdain, Jorlan will have me executed within a centar."
"Believe it or not, I've thought of that," Tolar said. Jorlan looked surprised. "That's why Colonel Supprell will be with him." Tolar pointed to the other man who had entered the room with them.
"Why not you?" Brie asked.
"With the possibility of a Cylon attack, I have other things that I need to take care of," Tolar said. "Now Captain, Colonel, whatever, Captain Jorlan will speak with you first."
Brie stood up and walked towards the door. As Jorlan roughly grabbed her by the arm, she glanced back at Skyler and Najinn. Would they try something? She couldn't help but wonder if the two armed guards would stand a chance against a couple of unarmed Colonial warriors.
Brie
"Tell me everything you know about the Cylon base on Khalorra," Captain Jorlan said. He and Colonel Supprell had taken Brie into a small room, and once again the door was locked.
"I know nothing about Khalorra," Brie replied. "I've never been there."
"Liar!" Jorlan almost spit the word at her.
""You want to know the truth?" Brie asked. She wasn't about to be intimidated by him. "We told you the truth when we first got here, but you wouldn't believe us. There are Cylon base-stars coming, and they'll kill every man, woman, and child here, all because of your stupidity."
"If you've never been to Khalorra," Colonel Supprell started, "how do you know so much about it?"
Brie had quickly realized that Supprell wasn't much better than Jorlan. "Lt. Najinn had once been held prisoner by the Cylons. All of their bases are pretty much the same, so he faked it."
"You knew about Kron," Supprell pointed out.
"That was easy to figure out," Brie said. "A base run by an IL series would have been better protected."
"I don't believe a word of this," Jorlan said. "You're a Cylon spy!"
"I'm a Colonial warrior," Brie said, "from the Battlestar Callisto. My rank is Captain, and I'm the leader of Gold Squadron. We've been seperated from our fleet, and we're being followed by at least two base-stars. Lt. Skyler, Lt. Najinn and I were sent here to warn you."
"If you're from a battlestar, tell me about it," Jorlan said.
Brie smiled. "You'd like our commander. SHE has one of the greatest military minds that I've ever seen." Brie hoped that she hadn't hurt her cause by letting Jorlan know that their commander was a woman, but she couldn't resist the dig.
"Since we can't pick it up on ou scanners, where is this Callisto located?" Jorlan inquired.
"You want me to give away our position? Who sounds like a Cylon spy now?" Brie said.
"What about the 12 colonies?" Supprell asked.
"They were destroyed by the Cylons over 20 yarhens ago," Brie told them.
"Commander Tolar told you that," Jorlan said.
"I was there," Brie said calmly. "We were betrayed by a man named Baltar, who helped the Cylons set up a fake 'peace' conference. The only reason that anyone from the colonies survived was because of a man named Commander Adama. He was one of the greatest men who ever lived."
Jorlan and Supprell continued to ask Brie questions about the colonies, the Callisto, the fleet. Brie answered most of their questions, being careful to not give away any military secrets. If they asked the same questions to Najinn and Skyler, maybe the people of Gastonovia would stand a chance of surviving. Problem was, it was obvious that Jorlan and Supprell still thought that she was a Cylon spy. One thing that Brie knew...time was running out.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:01:39 GMT -6
Lt_Skyler
Brie stood up and walked towards the door. As Jorlan roughly grabbed her by the arm, she glanced back at Skyler and Najinn. Would they try something? She couldn't help but wonder if the two armed guards would stand a chance against a couple of unarmed Colonial warriors?
Skyler was ready to rip Jolan's head off and use it for a Triad Ball. No one did that to a friend of his. As Skyler started moving in that direction, Brie signaled him to stand down. As Brie was escorted from the room Skyler turned and punched the cell wall hard enought to crack a Cylon Helmet open and mumbled under his breath. "When this is over, I am going to turn them into daggit food and feed them to Muffit!"
Brie
Brie returned to "the room" and Najinn was taken out to be questioned. She wasn't allowed to sit near Skyler, but to her suprise she could at least see him. The two guards stood in the corner, talking to each other. They pretty much ignored Brie and Skyler. Brie tried to think. She had all but given up on the idea of helping the people of Gastonovia, she wanted to make sure that she, Skyler and Najinn all got away with their lives. If the mission failed and Commander Sheba took away the squadron, fine, but she wouldn't fail Najinn and Skyler.
She figured the best way to escape would be to overtake the guards. She knew that Skyler and Najinn would have realized the same thing. The question was the timing. Should they try now, while Najinn was being questioned? Or should they wait until Skyler was the one who was gone? The longer they waited, the more confident the guards would probably be. She and Najinn could overpower the two guards, disarm them, and wait for Skyler behind the door. When Jorlan and Supprell brought Skyler back she hoped that she would be the one who would be able to knock out Jorlan, show him what a woman could do.
But what if Tolar started to believe them? She knew that it was unlikely. They had been sent to help, if there was a way that they could help they still should. There had to come a time, though, when she accepted that the mission had failed. She felt that the time had probably come. She made some subtle signs to Skyler, trying to explain that they were going to wait until he was gone, and to be prepared for anything when he came back. He seemed to understand.
MaraJadeJedi
Mara paced in the observation deck. She looked at the ring on her hand. She remembered the night Skyler asked her to take the seal with him. She sighed at the thought of him. This being onboard and waiting for him to get back was enough to drive her insane. Mara loved Skyler and she just wanted him home safely so they could finally have the ceremony that she was working so hard on getting finished and prepared. Mara went back to her bunk and laid down and pulled out her picture of Skyler and looked at the ring again. "Please Skyler, come home soon. I miss you and love you with all my heart!"
* * *
LucianG
In the reaches of space, between the planet and its moon, six human ships and six Cylon ships came together in mortal combat. As had happened seemingly countless times before, neither side had an advantage, and the battle raged fruitlessly for both sides.
Far away, on a separate path, a group of 22 even slower moving ships were arcing their way toward the human colony on Frodar Epsilon. Armed with the latest in Frodarian Cylon technology, the high yield directional nuclear devices were guaranteed to blow holes in the human's forceshield-dome on Epsilon. Kron, the Praetorian class Cylon leader who had assumed leadership of the Cylon colony on the death of the IL series Commander of the original ship, had carefully calculated this attack over many yahrens. Nothing could go wrong. The humans would be exterminated this day.
* * *
On the Callisto, Commander Sheba saw the danger. With few options available short of revealing the position of the Callisto, she said to Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis, "It looks like the Cylons are trying to end this private little war. I think we need to have some say in this as well, since our 'friends' on the planet don't seem to have a clue. Dispatch the Gold Squadron Mission Escort Vipers to deal with this, quickly and discretely. Use a narrow band comm signal to minimize the chance of the Cylons intercepting it. Destroy the enemy, and be on the lookout for tricks. We don't know why they think they can attack now. The Vipers are to return to their original coordinates and their original mission as soon as they can."
Charybdis
I went over to one of the Comm specialists on the bridge and had her send the narrow band message to the waiting Warriors on Frodar. They were to launch immediately. The only problem with this strategy is that Colonel Brie, Skyler and Najinn were to be left totally alone on the planet, at least for awhile. Not only that, but the landram and the shuttle were to be unprotected for the time being. That is, if they weren't already captured by the group on the surface.
As if the pilots weren't in enough danger already, now they have to battle nuclear weapons and not let their position be known to the Cylons.
This mission is getting worse all the time.
Starbuck123
Lt. Ben was sitting in the ready room, waiting for something to happen. There is nothing more boring and tensing than waiting in the ready room for something -- anything -- to happen. Ben needed rest. He walked over to a bench and laid his head back against the wall. Perhaps, just MAYBE, he could could get some sleep before it was time to launch. But, then, just as he closed his eyes, he heard footsteps approaching. It looked like his chances of sleep were about over with. The talkative Lt. Talon walked over and plopped down next to Ben. But he wasn't here just to gab. "Hey, Ben. Look, I know you're probably trying to get some sleep, but I have a problem I need to discuss with you." Ben opened his eyes. He wasn't much on advice-giving. But Talon was a good friend, and he'd help in any way he could. "Yeah, Talon? What's going on?" Talon opened his mouth to speak...
Najinn
Jorlan paced behind, as the guard shone the only light in the room right in Najin’s face.
“You are a Cylon spy, you are a Cylon spy!” Jorlan repeated.
“No, I am not a Cylon Spy, and you my dear boy are an idiot if you think so.”
Jorlan went to strike Najin, but he held back, Najin realised he wasn’t the superior in the room.
“Tolar?” Najin asked.
“Yes, warrior, I am here.” Tolar stepped out from the dark back of the room.
Najin sat in the middle of the room on the only chair, the only piece of furniture in a dark black room with one light.
“I am here warrior. I want you to know that we do not believe you, you have deceived us and now you are working towards our destruction, you have colluded with the Cylons and sold your humanity.”
Tolar would never know how much that grated Najin, he wanted to jump and put Tolar’s face through the nearest wall, but he held his counsel. Najin knew he had to get through to them.
“I don’t care if you want to believe me or not, but the bottom line is that you have too. If you care for the people you have around you, for your colony, then for Kobol’s sake listen and understand.”
Najin was taking this slowly; “I am from the Battlestar Callisto, we are part of what remains of the 12 Colonies. Destroyed by the Cylons. We and the Galactica are protecting the last of our worlds, the last of humanity as we know it, searching for the Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol. We are being pursued by the Cylons, and they have one single agenda to destroy us and any living human they come across. So you need to get it through your thick skull that they are coming in force, they are going to sweep through here like a plague of Genoan Locusts and they will wipe you out. We have gone out of our way to offer to help, to warn you and you have just stuck your head in the sand. There is a real universe out there you know and we are trying to survive it. So, either get real and listen to us, or let us go and we’ll, well, leave you to your fate.”
“You spin an interesting yarn warrior, but it is all lies.” Jolan was dismissive, Najin lost his cool and jumped out of the chair and pushed Jolan against the wall.
“You halfwit, if you don’t get it you and everyone here is going to die!”
The guards pulled Najinn off of Jolan and beat Najinn back to the ground, kicking and punching him. Jolan took great pleasure in kicking Najinn.
“Enough, bring me the third one.” Tolar intervened just in time.
Najin was carried back to the cell. The guards opened the door and threw him to the floor. Jolan stood outside, and smiled; "Your next warrior, bring him."
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:02:25 GMT -6
Najinn Brie and Skyler went to help Najin, but the guards took Skyler and led him away. The door was shut and locked as the two guards stood oblivious to Najinn on the floor. “Najinn, are you ok.” Brie was very concerned. “I’ve been better, Cap, been better. I think we should blow this joint.” Najinn shot her a smile. She realised and smiled back. He wasn’t as badly hurt as he made out, but he was still not doing good, she could see the bruises and under his shirt as she looked she saw the wounds and blood. “Are you sure?” “Now or never!” Brie looked up, “Will you two help me, he is in a great deal of pain.” The guards looked at each other, thinking. Perhaps they shared a brain cell she thought, but in what took an eternity one of them walked over. Almost in slow motion Brie and Najin made their move. He took Najinn's arm as he helped lift him. Najin calmly and subtly brought his other arms fist to connect with the guards jaw. The guard went flying to the ground and Najinn now stood, planted his boot in the back of his head. The other guard drew his weapon and pointed it at Brie, as she lunged for the downed guards blaster, she grabbed the weapons turned, only to see the remaining guard loose off a shot. Najin had jumped in the way as he took the shot full on. Brie fired and hit the guard square in the chest, he dropped, dead. Najin lay on the floor, silent, motionless. Brie panicked, “Najinn,” she screamed, “Oh, the Lords of Kobol, NO!” She rolled Najin onto his back and looked at the wound. It had struck his midrift, to the right, near his kidney’s. It looked a mess, bleeding badly and he was in a lot of pain. Najinn was fighting losing consciousness. “Brie, you have to get out of here, leave me. Get Skyler, get out, warn the others, do what you have to do, you know you have to. You can always come back for me after this. Just do it!” “No, we aren’t leaving you!” “Cap, you know you have to, look if you don’t and try and take me you’ll never make it, you need to move now. Please tell Amy, I love her, tell I will always love her and.” He coughed, he was coughing up blood now. “Tell her she was always my love and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, she…..” Najin coughed, he wrenched and he passed out… LucianG Tolar had stepped out of the interrogation room while Skyler was being brought into the room. He hated to be in the room during the interrogation of Najin, but Supprell had argued that he thought the prisoners might be telling the truth, and Tolar had to see for himself. So far, he wasn't convinced either way, but the chance of them being Cylon spies was just too great. In the Communications Center, he took the call from Lieutenant Estoban, who had been backtracking to find where the group's ground car had originated. "Have you found it, Lieutenant?" asked Tolar. "No, Sir," replied Estoban. "We're about 18 klicks out of town, and it's still going but it's been slow. Got other news, though. We just saw four streaks take off a few klicks from here, on heading 277 from 133.7W/42.1N. They were like meteors heading up OUT of the atmosphere." "Quickly, Ensign, did you get those coordinates? Track it now! These must be their ships! If we can find out what they're doing, we might have a chance of determining if they are telling the truth. Just in case, put the Base on Maximum Alert! All pilots to Pod Ships! They may be attacking us shortly!" Tolar commanded in a torrent. "Lieutenant Estoban, you must find their base. Are there any of these people left, or have their friends deserted them? Our survival may depend on what you find. Tolar, out." Turning to the Communications Ensign, Tolar said, "Track those ships. See where they go. I'm going back to the interview with the third visitor. Maybe we'll get the truth this time now that we 'know' their friends have left them." Brie Najin coughed, he wrenched and he passed out… "Frack," Brie said. She looked around the room, hoping to find something to stop the bleeding with. She noticed that the listening device had somehow been dislodged from it's hiding place, it was shattered. She didn't care. She checked the two guards. The first one was unconscious but breathing. The second one was dead. It was the first time that she had taken a human life, feelings of guilt overwhelmed her. Her mission and even her whole life had been about the survival of the human race. Now it was one member smaller, because of her. Ripping part of the arm off of the dead guard's shirt, Brie went back to Najinn. He had saved her life and might die because of it. She applied pressure to the wound, hoping the bleeding would stop. If they ever made it back to the Callisto those classes that Doc Bkj kept talking about would become first priority. Back to the Callisto. Brie knew that would never happen. When Jorlan and Supprell saw the dead guard she would probably be executed. Even if they didn't, they were all about to die at the hands of the Cylons, and there wasn't a fracking thing that she could do about it. No! Her thoughts were unacceptable. She had to help Najinn, and when Skyler returned they were all going to get off of this hades' hole of a planet. Somehow she had to give Najinn the will to live. She remembered that Doc had once told her that sometimes people could hear things even though they were unconscious. Najinn's last words had been about Amy. Maybe that would do it. Breaking a confidence, she would share what she knew. "Najinn, you've got to hold on. Otherwise, Amy will end up with Charybdis. He told me that before we left for the mission. While we're here, he's back on the Callisto making his move. If you want her, my friend, you've got to fight for her!" Najinn moved slightly, but didn't open his eyes. "Think about all the problems that Charybdis caused her before! When Amy was with you, she was always safe and happy. Charybdis caused her nothing but misery. Her life was constantly in danger because of him. You need to hang on if Amy will ever be happy. You've got to live...for her." No movement, nothing. Brie tore more material from the dead guard's shirt. The bleeding was slowing down, but hadn't yet stopped. There were footsteps coming from the hallway. The door swung open but no one came in. "CAPTAIN Brie," Jorlan called, "before you try to attack me, I think you should know that I have your lieutenant here. If you try ANYTHING, your party will be one member smaller." Jorlan walked into the room, using Skyler as a shield. He had an arm around Skyler's neck and he was holding Brie's blaster at his temple. "Make a move and he's dead." "Jorlan, I surrender," Brie said. "Let Skyler go. We need medical attention here." "WHAT THE FRACK HAPPENED!!! " Jorlan exclaimed. He loosened up his grip on Skyler, but then tightened it again. "The blasters, Captain." Brie kicked both guards' weapons across the floor. She still leaned on Najinn's wound. "One is dead, the other is unconscious but he'll be okay." Jorlan let go of Skyler and pushed him across the room. He stood near the two blasters on the floor, but made no move to pick them up. Instead, he pointed the one he was holding at Brie. "I should kill you right now." Brie stared him down. "Go ahead," she told him. While neither of them moved, Jorlan didn't seem to notice that Skyler was slowly inching closer. Amy81 I was in the gold barracks, checking myself out in the mirror, having just put on my uniform again for the first time in what seemed like ages...when suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my side. I went down to my knees, gasping for air. What the hell? I closed my eyes, fighting to get back my breath. I got unsteadily to my knees, then to my feet. I stepped back a couple of paces and sat heavily on my bunk. The pain subsided pretty quickly, but I could still feel it. What in hades was that? My breathing back to normal, I chalked it up to overdoing things a little. Doc had prescribed rest, and I had been doing anything but. That must be it. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, somewhere. I couldn't pin down the feeling, but it kept nagging at me. As I glanced around the room, I noticed something on the floor. Reaching down, I picked up the engagement necklace that Charybdis had given to me. I held it gingerly, lovingly. I had been wearing it, so how in the world had it fallen to the floor?
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:03:12 GMT -6
LucianG
Lieutenant Pakana continued to track the four small blips on the screen. Cylon spies or not, their ships were much faster than the pod ships used on Frodar Epsilon. Where were they going? Commander Tolar had said it was vital that this be discover--
"What in Hades is that?" he wondered. The four blips suddenly closed on a large number...22...blips, and just as suddenly, the number of small blips in the larger group started decreasing. Pakana hit the alert! If those were Cylon spies in those four ships, their ships were eating their own ships. Commander Tolar had to know about this.
Brie
Jorlan let go of Skyler and pushed him across the room. He stood near the two blasters on the floor, but made no move to pick them up. Instead, he pointed the one he was holding at Brie. "I should kill you right now."
Brie stared him down. "Go ahead," she told him. While neither of them moved, Jorlan didn't seem to notice that Skyler was slowly inching closer.
"Don't think that I won't," Jorlan said. "Hands up. I don't know what you're planning but it's not going to work."
Brie didn't doubt that Jorlan would kill her, but shooting her head on would take a lot of guts and she didn't think that he had them. She slowly removed her blood-covered hands from Najinn's wound. The bleeding had stopped, but for how long? He had lost a lot of blood, and the chance of infection was growing by the centon. She wasn't going to leave Najinn behind, and she wasn't going to make a choice for Skyler. If he could get away, back to the Callisto and back to Mara, she would help him however she could. She doubted that he would go, but the decision had to be his. She held up her hands as Jorlan had requested and slowly stood up, staring at him the whole time. "At least it will say 'Colonel' on my death certificate."
"Give up that story!" Jorlan exclaimed. "You might have had a chance of getting out of here alive, but only if you had told us the truth about being Cylon spies from the start!"
'That's it, make him mad,' Brie thought to herself. "We're not Cylons spies," she said to Jorlan, "and you are just TOO STUPID to realize that. We came here to try to help you, but you've just treated us like criminals. So finally we told you what you wanted to hear, just because I thought that was the only way you would listen and defend yourselves. But you STILL wouldn't."
"I don't care if you're spies or not," Jorlan yelled. "You came in here and disrupted everything. The Cylons have violated our treaty due to your meddling. Everything ran smoothly for yarhens, but no more, and it's all your fault."
"Anyone foolish enough to make a treaty with the Cylons deserves whatever they get," Brie said with a slightly raised voice. "You're not upset about the Cylons, it's the fact that a WOMAN is the only one who can save your people!"
That was enough for Jorlan. He aimed the blaster again at Brie, but before he could shoot Skyler jumped him. A shot hit the wall as Skyler wrestled the weapon away from him. Holding Jorlan the same way that Jorlan has previously held him, he pointed the blaster at Jorlan's temple. "How do YOU like it?" Skyler asked calmly.
Jorlan didn't answer. Sweat was pouring down his face. "Lieutenant," Brie said, "take him and find your way back to the shuttle. Go back to the Callisto and to Mara. No sense in all three of us dying here."
"Captain," Skyler said with a bit of surprise in his voice, "you know me better than that."
"I had to offer," Brie told him. "I guess now we have to figure out how the three of us are going to get out of here."
LucianG
Tolar was about to reenter the interrogation room when the call came. On hearing of the battle in space, he commanded, "Quickly! Jamb all transmissions on all frequencies! If they are helping us, there is no reason to tip our, or their, hand."
"Yes, Sir," came the reply. "Jambing on all frequencies."
"I'll be back shortly," Tolar said, and to himself he thought, "as soon as I can track down Jorlan."
Looking into the interrogation room, he saw that it was empty, so he headed to the holding room. If the humans were indeed telling the truth, as it now appeared possible, the colony would not have much time. That Colonel, or Captain, or whatever she was, needed to tell him the truth, and quickly. If she was being truthful, Plan Omega had to be activated immediately in order for them to save what they could.
Tolar neared the holding cell. He pressed the button and started into the room.
Lt_Skyler
Skyler stood with Brie's blaster muzzle pressed into the back of Jolan's head. Skyler really wanted to return the treatment to Jolan that he had inflicted on Brie and Najinn. Jolan shifted his weight and Skyler used the muzzle of the blaster to slam his face into the wall. He heard bone crack as blood began to run down from his nose.
"You just be still and be a good little warrior, and I won't have to hurt you..... too much."
Charybdis
No word from Brie. Her transmitter had been shut off a long time ago by now. They were all alone on the planet and we had no idea what was happening.
"Commander," I got Sheba's attendtion. She looked up from the chart she was reading.
"Commander, the mission is not looking good. Colonel Brie has not been heard from ever since the beacon went off and I think that the time has come to effect a rescue attempt."
Sheba pondered how exactly that would take place. "Any ideas?" she asked.
"I personally volunteer to lead a small group of Warriors on the fortress. We may have to blow their shields as well. Give me the word and we can get started in a centon."
Sheba thought about the consequences of sending out more Warriors, and worse yet, actually sending me out into the battle...
LucianG
"Commander Sheba! The colony is jambing transmissions in space in the vicinity of a battle that just started. Our escort squadron just cut into the Cylon attack force, and the colony started jambing on all frequencies."
"Hopefully, that means THEY know we're friendly. Any word from Black Ball? Has the forceshield-dome on Alpha dropped?" Sheba asked.
"No, Commander," came the reply, "but our attack forces are ready to launch at a moment's notice."
"A short time more, then, Colonel," came Sheba's reply to Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis' request. "Before you go, let's bounce a pulse off one of their sat's. Send them a message while they're jambing. That should keep the Cylons from picking it up. Tell them that--"
"Commander, the second Base-Star just arrived!"
"Frack!" came the simultaneous response from several members of the bridge crew.
"Well," said Sheba, "just tell them that." To herself she thought, "If it wasn't before, their time is up now."
Charybdis
"Commander, the arrival of the second base star changes things!!!" I yelled above the sirens and klaxons.
"May I suggest uncloaking the Callisto and launching all remaining vipers to protect the colony? Right now, the best we can hope for is a fast evacuation and a holding action against the Cylons, just long enough to make our getaway!"
Things were beginning to get chaotic.
Najinn
"Brie..", Najinn spluttered as he choked on his own blood, "Brie, you have to get out of here, you have to complete the mission."
Najinn wrenched as his wound started to bleed badly again, he was in a lot of pain, and honestly he didn't have a lot of time left.
"Stop it, lt, I am not leaving you." Brie was very emotional.
"Look here bud, if you don't stop it I'll shoot you myself." Skyler was always the serious one.
"Serious, you two, the mission must...." Najinn coughed up yet more blood, "has to come first, you know that. We all accept this job and it's dangers, well I've had my time, now get the hell out of here and complete our mission. I heard what you said about Amy, it doesn't change how I feel...." He wrenched in pain, "Look, just get on with the mission it comes first....." Najin closed his eyes and rolled on his back, he was motionless.
Brie fell down beside him, "Najin!, Najin!"
"Now listen here you warrior, don't you go dying on me now."
Najin didn't move, Brie felt his pulse, it was faint and very weak.
"He's alive but not for much longer."
This was the hardest choice she had ever made, the mission over one of her comrades. She knew she couldn't really get him out alive, she knew he wouldn't survive the journey, but she wasn't going to leave him, but then the mission?
She had to make a decision....
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:03:42 GMT -6
Brie
Brie took a deep breath. She had learned early in life to control her emotions, but at times like this it was next to impossible. She looked at Jorlan and then at Najinn. It wasn't a hard decision after all. She wasn't leaving Najinn as long as his heart was still beating. She knew that Skyler felt the same way. The mission had failed anyway, they had come to help the people of Gastonovia but no one wanted their help. Not knowing if Najinn could hear her she said, "We're not leaving you, and you're not to even mention it again. That's an order, Lieutenant."
"What is going on?" Commander Tolar had entered the holding cell, catching Brie off-guard. She pointed one of the guard's blasters at him. Skyler was still holding Jorlan, he didn't seem to be tiring. "Hold on, Colonel," Tolar said. "I think we need to talk."
"Hasn't the time for talking long past?" Brie asked.
"Maybe it's listening that I need to start doing," Tolar said. "I've finally realized that you've been telling us the truth." Jorlan looked at Tolar, surprised. With the commander there Jorlan didn't seem quite as nervous. "Please, tell me what you came to tell me."
"Why should I?" Brie wanted to know. "Why should I believe one word of this? You would say just about anything to get us to release Captain Jorlan. I'm sorry it's come to this, because we really did come here to try to help your people."
Tolar looked at Najinn. "Your lieutenant obviously doesn't have much time left. I'd like to bring in medical help, as a sign of good faith."
Brie nodded. Tolar, hands held up, backed out of the room. "He's going to come back here with the whole army," Skyler said.
"I don't know," Brie said. "If the Cylons are closing in, Commander Sheba has probably launched all vipers by now. Some of it must be showing up on the radar here."
Soon Tolar returned with a doctor, who immediately went to Najinn. Tolar had something behind his back. Although Brie didn't raise the blaster she was holding, she gripped it a little more tightly. "To show you that I know you're telling the truth..." Tolar brought Skyler and Najinns' sidearms from behind his back. Instead of pointing them, he handed them to her.
Brie pointed one of the blasters at a clear wall and fired. "It still works," she said to Skyler. "Let him go."
After a moment's hesitation Skyler let go of Jorlan. "You'll pay for this!" Jorlan said. "You'll ALL pay for this!"
"Captain Jorlan," Tolar said, "any actions that these warriors have taken have been because of the way that we've treated them. There will be no retribution."
"But they killed Dexter!" Jorlan exclaimed.
Dexter. It was the first time that Brie had heard the name of the man that she had killed. She now had a name to put with the face, a face that she would never forget.
"NO retribution." Tolar said. "Do you understand?" Jorlan nodded but didn't say another word.
"Commander," the doctor said, "this man is still alive, but barely. I need to get him to sick bay right away."
"One micron," Brie told the doctor. She bent down to Najinn. "Remember, fight for Amy. She needs you." She hated that they would be separated, but knew that there was nothing she could do to help him. As he was wheeled out of the room, Brie came closer to crying than she had in a long time. She took another deep breath.
"Colonel Brie, Lieutentant Skyler," Tolar said, "I think it's about time I tell you about our Omega Plan."
LucianG
It had been a hectic time! On discovering that humans were being held as slaves by the Cylons on Alpha, the Black Ball team had ambushed a small group of Cylons, successfully freeing three humans who claimed they had been captured on the planet some yahrens before. The Cylons kept them alive so they could do dangerous work in areas that might be dangerous to the Cylons' mechanical systems.
It had taken some effort to invade the Cylon Command Complex and rescue several of the human slaves. The human leader had helped the group steal one of the Cylons' computer drives and led them to a ground car. Now, the ground car, crowded with the fourteen surviving members of the group, were fleeing down on of the radial "streets," being pursued by two other groups.
"Anubis," said Merak, operating the unfamiliar controls as best he could, "now would be a good time to blow that place!"
"Affirmative, Lieutenant," said Anubis calmly. "Two, one..."
CLICK!
Fortunately, there was no significant differential pressure between the inside and outside surfaces of the dome, so there was no explosive depressurization. Still, the resulting boom was heard through the thin atmosphere and felt through the ground. The Cylon ground car exited the Cylon colony moments later, as a series of secondary explosions continued to occur. Within microns, there was no sign of pursuit.
"Black Ball to Base, mission accomplished!" yelled Stadia into the comm system over the cheers of the others in the car. "Repeat, mission accomplished!"
"Let's get our LandRam and get out of here!" said Merak.
* * *
"Commander, the forceshield-dome is blown, and the Gold Squadron escort wing has destroyed the incoming Cylon attack force."
Sheba acted immediately, since the Battlestar was out of view of the colony and the Base-Stars.
"Decloak immediately. Launch the attack force on the moon. Destroy that Cylon colony. We cannot allow them to have contact with the Base-Stars. The Base-Stars haven't moved yet, but they will shortly. All Warriors are to proceed immediately to their Vipers. Bring our escort Vipers on board, and refuel them now. Set the Callisto on a course to intersect them here," she said, pointing to the outer planets. "We launch in one centar."
"Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis, see if you can contact that human colony again. If not, and if you're still volunteering, take a shuttle, two other Warriors, an infantry squad of six, and a MedTech or Nurse. Get to that planet, get our people back. Tell the humans we will pick up as many as we can when we get back. Any help they can give us would be appreciated."
MedievalSong
Lt Kris looked at all the faces of the people that they freed. *** I looked at them wondering what life they lived and how long were they prisoners to the Cylons. I just knew deep down inside that what they went thru must have been the hardest thing to put upon anyone. I tried to smile to them to let them know everything will be ok as we headed for the Land Rams. I turned to Lt Merak, "Sir what do we do from here? The people? What are we going to do?"
EnsignWendy
"We will give them TLC, Kris they certainly looked beaten up," Merak said as he tried to glide around a crater, he was fighting the controls, Wendy stared at the computer trying to get the right coordinates of the land rams,
she looked round to get a closer look at the freed humans , they certainly do look beaten up, they can't even interact properly they are just staring at the ground no eye contact and no response to any verbal stimulus, boy were they in need of a lot of psychological care, she thought to herself.
Blip! "we have found the land ram it is just around that small incline Merak, we are nearly there", said Wendy.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:04:07 GMT -6
LucianG
Fallel, the leader of the surviving humans, was much more alert than all but a couple of the others. Most of the former slaves seemed to be in pretty poor condition. He climbed forward to speak with Merak. He still clutched the disk drive the group had taken from the Cylon computer prior to their demolition of the building.
“Lieutenant Merak, no matter whether we make it, it is imperative that we get this to your ship,” said Fallel, showing him the box. “The Cylon base-star that pursued the Gastonov had been on a deep space seeding expedition, planting automated manufacturing facilities throughout this sector of space, but from what we were told as children, we don't think this information was ever returned to the Cylon homeworld due to them chasing our forefathers. According to all we ever heard during our imprisonment here, most of the items produced on this moon were never activated due to a severe shortage of fuel. The same situation may have been true on the other worlds as well, so there may be vast Cylon storehouses nearby just waiting to be activated,” Fallel said. “Those of us on this moon, who were Outlanders on the planet before we were captured, discovered this yahrens ago, and rather than commit suicide, we waited hoping that someday, we would be able to use this information to damage the Cylons.”
“We’re all going to make if it I have anything to do about it, Sir,” Merak replied. “Anubis, how are you coming with that Cylon laser battery?”
Anubis flipped another set of switches, trying again, but again, had no success. “Lieutenant, I have discovered how to fire this system; however, targeting is another matter entirely,” he said. “Despite my genetically engineered visual acuity, it appears to be no match for the advanced spectral range enjoyed by the Cylons. I have adjusted their readout as much as possible, and even attempted to use our night vision goggles, all without success. If we run into anything and I do have to shoot, I will basically be doing it by trial and error, with only my eyes and reflexes to correct any inaccuracies. Unfortunately, I cannot even “sight” down the laser, so my effectiveness may be somewhat limited.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Anubis.” Swerving slightly to the right to avoid a rock outcropping, Merak continued, “We are almost to our LandRam. Stadia, you’re driving it, and Lusitan, you’re on top with the turbo laser. Wendy and Kris, get the rest of this group into the LandRam, then Wendy, you’re navigating for the group. Kris, you’re on comm, relaying coordinates and targeting info to us, since we can’t even read most of the instruments in this thing.”
“Mr. Merak, that leaves you without a backup,” said Fallel. To the other former slaves he said, “Everyone, in a few moments, you’re going to transfer with our rescuers to their land car. I will remain with this car to assist Mr. Merak and Mr. Anubis.”
The humans didn’t look too happy about this, but Fallel’s second, a young woman named Ritane, clapped her gloved hands immediately after the door of the Cylon ground car began to open. Lusitan jumped out first, with his heavy rifle in hand, followed by the others. They were quickly herded into the LandRam, and within one centon, both vehicles began to move out toward the shuttle many kilometers in the distance.
* * *
Captain Buellah was on the comm with his Silver Spar Warriors flying the bombers toward Alpha. A short distance ahead, six Black Squadron Vipers were leading the way.
“Quicksilver wing, we must destroy everything possible. We cannot leave them anything useful. This is the first time these new ships have been used in a mission setting, so let’s make every bomb count and show those other squadrons what they can do!”
Buellah smiled as he heard a volume damped shout over his system. He just hoped these ships were really as tough as he’d been promised.
* * *
Black Night Wing Leader Lieutenant Randrius looked over to his left to see Ensign Zerrana properly in position. Randrius’ Second-in-Command on the mission, Lieutenant ShebaApolloSun and her wing Ensign Sonja, were just to the right, and Lieutenant Grendyl and Ensign Aliana were just beyond them. On the scanner, Randrius saw six relatively slow moving Cylon attack craft returning to the Cylon base from their battle with the human colonists’ pod ships. Rather than leave the ships as an unknown that might come up behind them during their attack on the colony, Randrius dispatched ShebaApolloSun and Sonja to take them out. “Get back to us as quick as you can, Lieutenant. When we hit them, we want to do it as a group, so any firepower they bring against us will be as dispersed as possible.”
“Yes Sir!!!” said ShebaApolloSun. “Let’s go get them, Ensign Sonja!!!”
* * *
The ground car followed the LandRam. Suddenly, Kris’ voice broke over the comm. “We’ve got multiple ground based targets, Lieutenant Merak. Three to the front, and two have been coming up rapidly from behind. They appear to be Cylon ground cars just like you’re driving.”
“How’d they get in front of us?” Merak asked.
“Probably a patrol that found your tracks and were following you toward Cylontown. They don’t send out too many patrols, but the one’s they do send don’t have too much trouble noticing anything out of the ordinary,” Fallel said. "It takes a while for the thin breeze to cover any tracks."
“Okay everyone, make sure your suits are fully charged and your air bottles full. Stay suited up. Stadia, depressurize that cabin, just in case you take a hit. There’s a thin atmosphere out there, but remember, you can’t breathe it. Lusitan, Anubis, stay alert on those guns!”
Just as he completed his statement, the first explosion occurred just a few meters away from the Cylon ground car. Anubis swung the laser battery around and began to fire periodically in a seemingly erratic pattern. A few microns later, the car was shaken by a hit, swinging it sideways. Merak jerked the control sideways, and Fallel slid onto the bench to help with the now damaged steering.
Charybdis
The entire battlestar erupted in organized chaos. It was no drill this time (as if it ever was!).
With the failed response from the planet to the latest round of messages, the course had been set for me. The colony was probably in chaos too as their forces scrambled to make sense of what was going on. We didn't have much time and we had to get going. The rescue mission was on!
"Commander!" I yelled toward Sheba. She looked over at me surprised to still find me on the bridge. "It's a go. I'm going down with a shuttle and two vipers as escort. If you can give us any cover when we come out of there, I'd appreciate it!!!" With that I took off at a sprint. The call had been sent for an infantry squad of six along with Nurse Jarrynn to come along as MedTech. I picked out Lieutenants Boomerang and Bishop to accompany me on the mission. They had been around a long time and were good pilots.
I needed to change into my battle uniform before the mission. I hadn't worn the old brown tunic and jacket for quite awhile, ever since I had transferred to the bridge. It felt good to don the familiar jacket and combat boots. As I made my way to the launch bay, I passed by Gold Barracks. I almost ran over my recently betrothed Amy!
"Charybdis!" she was surprised. "What are you doing? What's going on? And why are you in your combat uniform?" There were many questions raging in that pretty head of hers.
"Amy, the Cylon baseships have appeared in the system and we're launching all vipers. I'm going down to the surface to see if we can pull Brie, Najinn and Skyler out of there!"
"Why, what has happened to them?" she asked nervously.
"There's been no contact for at least a cycle and now there's no time since those Cylons are coming in fast. And besides, we need to get our shuttle back as well!! I'm leading the rescue mission."
She looked at me with as hopeless a look as one can have. She knew that we were all Warriors and had to lay it on the line, herself included, but maybe she was unprepared for me to go out into the thick of it. The bridge was a whole lot more comfortable than in the sights of a Cylon fighter!
"But why you?" she asked.
"I volunteered, Amy. We need all the help we can get. And those people down there are the best we've got. Brie and Skyler are probably the closest people I have on this ship, besides you, of course." It seemed corny to say something like that at a moment like this, but it was true.
She realized it. "You'd better come back to me, you!" she grabbed me and kissed me on the lips. I hated to do this to her, but there was no choice.
"I'll be back. I have a lot to live for now!" I winked at her to remind her of our upcoming sealing. I turned and ran off to the launch bays.
I decided that I was going to go in my viper and let Boomerang pilot the shuttle. Lt. Bishop would be in the other Viper. The bridge personnel vipers (those who had previous experience as pilots) were kept in a special section of the launch bays in pristine condition just for emergencies such as this. Cmdr. Sheba's viper was kept here as well as mine and a few others such as Maj. Joey's.
The mission was simple: fly straight in and find their aero/space port. It was probably the best place to find our shuttle. If it was there, we'd have more room to get others to safety, and if not, then we had our own shuttle to get them out of there.
The team assembled and met in the launch bay. The infantry squad climbed aboard in full battle gear. Lt. Boomerang was already in preflight checks aboard the shuttle along with Nurse Jarrynn. Vulpa ran to his viper and I to mine. It had been a long time since I piloted her. I didn't get to use her at Shonada because time was so short and I had not planned on going out into the battle, but this time, I was ready!
I climbed in and pushed the familiar buttons to power up the turbos and donned my helmet. I thumbed the navihilt and gave the mission specs to the bridge.
Geenie gave the response: "Transferring control...launch when ready."
"That's it, everyone. Let's go get 'em!" I yelled into the comm as I hit the turbo button. The engines came alive as I went roaring down the launch tube out into space. The others launched and we were away.
I only hoped that we would find someone to rescue once we got there...
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:04:32 GMT -6
LucianG
The Callisto was making flank speed toward the outer part of the Frodar system. The latest transmissions from the buoy showed that the second Base-Star had experienced damage similar to that originally exhibited by the first, but repairs were already underway. There was no visible damage to the Raider launch bays, so despite the damage, the Base-Star would still have much of its sting. The Callisto should arrive well before its repairs were completed, and with a proper angle of attack, it could be kept between the Callisto and the more maneuverable Base-Star.
“We will use ALL available weapons to destroy that Base-Star while it is vulnerable,” Sheba had said in the meeting a little earlier. Both will continue to chase us just like one must have chased the Gastonov to this system so long ago. If we can destroy at least one of them, then the odds will turn in our favor. So far, we don’t think they know of our cloaking capability. Now would be a very good time to use that to our advantage. If we come out of cloak and start our weapons blazing, we can destroy it before they even know we are there. We launch Vipers at the same instant, and they deal with the Raiders from the second one. The Callisto then slugs it out one on one with the other Base-Star, which we know from experience that we can do.”
The debate had been intense, but in the end, everyone had agreed that Sheba’s plan had merit. It was really too late anyway, since she’d already ordered the ship forward as soon as it had recloaked after the launch of the Silver Spar bomber group, the Black Squadron escort group, and Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis’ rescue team. Sheba hated to have so many of their best Warriors involved in other missions, but in this case, it couldn't be helped.
Warriors around the ship had rushed to their Vipers on the initial call. Now, they would have a couple more centars to wait while the Callisto moved into position. To the Warriors, however, that wouldn’t be so bad considering the potential payoff.
Major Lucian visited with the members of the Black Squadron’s flight Wings. With about a third of the squadron on missions to the Alpha moon, Black Squadron would be seriously understaffed for this attack. Lucian prayed that all of the recent training exercises would make up for that disadvantage.
He looked at his chrono. It wouldn’t be that long now.
LucianG
No matter whether you called it Frodar Epsilon Alpha or Khalorra, the moon was equally unhospitable. The Cylon welcoming committee, now consisting of only four Cylon ground cars, was even less friendly, firing at both of the Black Ball team’s vehicles. The fifth Cylon ground car was now a smoking hulk in the distance. It had taken Anubis several shots to home in on the target, but once he had hit it the first time and partially disabled it, Lusitan was able to pump in two more shots that caused it to explode, briefly, into flames.
The Cylons took their shots as well. The captured Cylon ground car had suffered two hits, the second damaging the guidance system. Lieutenant Merak, with the help of Fallel, was now able to turn in a circle to the left, but could not proceed forward in a straight line. He was jerking the vehicle forward intermittently, changing the radius of the turning circle, all the while struggling to regain control.
On top of the LandRam, Lusitan had succeeded in firing off enough shots to cause the Cylons to be more cautious. He’d hit a couple of the cars, which had proved surprisingly tough considering their apparent age. Stadia was generally maneuvering the LandRam in a clockwise direction, covering for Merak and the problem he was experiencing with his car. Kris and Wendy, each armed with a heavy assault rifle and some explosives, had hopped out of the LandRam and were trying to secretly position themselves to hit one or more of the Cylon vehicles. They knew they would probably get only a single chance, since once their position was exposed, the Cylons would most likely make them a prime target.
Additional shots rank out from both sides. The duel continued.
* * *
Now only a few hundred kilometers away, the Black Squadron Viper force led by Lieutenant Randrius entered the thin atmosphere of the Alpha moon.
“Targeting scans on. Here we go. Make your shots count. Those Silver guys are counting on us,” he said, almost laughingly, while thinking to himself, “Need a tough job done, they call Black Squadron!”
A few centons later, the Vipers began firing on laser batteries positioned around the Cylon colony. The Cylons started returning fire moments later.
Najinn
Najin lay on the med bay surgical table in the colonies med lab.
The doctor busy around him, the nurses running around the doctor.
He kept slipping in and out of consciousness. He kept drifting deep into his mind, in pain, in agony, in absolute confusion, was he alive, was he dead?
It was as if he had every dream he ever experienced printed on his mind right at the very moment of the shot that tore into him.
He could hear the voices of people screaming and shouting about plasma, blood transfusions, internal organs, his life was hanging in the balance and he was helpless.
His mind drifted to the happiest thought he had, Amy. She had come to mean the universe to him, and once before he had been in a serious situation, life threatening, and desiring to get back to the Callisto to be with her. Right now she knew nothing of his plight, if he was going to die then it would be alone.
he had always thought he would die alone, a cold death, but then his life experiences were such that to hold something as precious as Amy, only led to heartbreak eventually. Everything he had ever loved he had lost. Amy was real, she was so real to him and he hoped that this time things would be different. He hoped, he dreamed, he needed to survive to find out.
The will to live was there, the question was could his body respond.
The doctor worked to patch up the wounds, stop the bleeding and attempt to prevent infection.
As Najin came round the doctor tried to explain;
"Lt, you are badly injured, your internal organs on that side of your body have been badly damaged. Your kidney, your splean. The muscles have been severely damaged, and the loss of blood is serious. I have patched you up as best as I can, but I fear for infection and blood poisoning. You need to be back onboard your Battlestar, no doubt their medical facilities are far in advance of ours."
"Ok, doc, what I am I looking at."
"I can keep you alive Lt, but not indefinitely, we have to get you back to your ship. But in moving you, we risk opening the wounds again, more internal bleeding and a greater risk infection. Either way your chances of pulling through this.... Look I won't lie... their fifty fifty."
"Thanks, doc, thanks for being honest. Now do you think you could let my Colonel know, I'd like to get back to the Callisto please!"
"I don't think it's time to be joking like that Lt, but I will tell your Colonel."
Najin closed his eyes, his mind drifted. Amy if you can hear me he thought, if I don't make it please know I do love you, and will always love you.....
Charybdis
"Hit the turbos and keep 'em burning!" I told Lt. Bishop in the other viper and Lt. Boomerang piloting the shuttle.
We didn't have much time before a massive amount of Cylons could be approaching the old Colonial colony and we had to get down to the ground as fast as possible...fuel be damned.
I vectored us in to the straightest possible angle thereby eliminating any wasted time. Time...I only hoped that Brie, Najinn and Skyler had a little bit left. But I was going to do my damnedest to make sure if we did have some, we were using it to its maximum potential.
At the current rate of approach, it would less than a centar when we'd arrive at the colony...I never knew that a centar could last so long...
Brie
Commander Tolar had taken Brie and Skyler to his command center. Brie was still covered with Najinn's blood. It was on her skin, on her clothes, in her hair, the smell was so strong that she could almost taste it. She had cleaned up some, but they were running out of time. Tolar had been explaining their equipment and was about to tell them about his Omega Plan when the doctor hurried in. "Colonel," he said to Brie, "your warrior is still alive, but I need to be honest. He needs more than I can give him. I'm sure there is better equipment on your battlestar. That's where he needs to be. He may not survive the journey, but if he stays here he WON'T survive."
Brie looked at Skyler. "Go back and get the shuttle. You fly Najinn out of here, back to the Callisto."
"Captain," Skyler protested, "what about you?"
"I'll stay and finish up here. Just don't let them make the jump without me." Skyler was about to say something but Brie wouldn't let him. "That's an order, Lieutenant."
The last thing that Brie had wanted was for her group to be separated, but that was about to happen. Brie would soon be alone among people who not long ago didn't trust her, without a way to get home.
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Post by LucianG on Jun 29, 2005 5:04:57 GMT -6
Lt_Skyler
Skyler left Brie in the Command center. He was lead thru the force sheilds to his Land Ram. He powered up, and started back for the Drop Ship. Not having to worry about passangers he kicked it into high gear. It would still take 30 centons to get to the shuttle. Time seemed to stand still as he bounced along thru the landscape. The Ram slammed into a hole half hidden by brush. Skyler was slammed hard inside the cockpit. "Thats gonna leave a mark." was all he mumbled as he progressed towards the hidden Shuttle. His mind was on Capt Brie, and Lt Najinn. He hated leaving them in that colony. Just a few centons ago they were being held against their will. If anything happened to them, he was going to drive this Ram right thru that force sheild, and level the colony.
Rounding a corner, he spotted the area where the shuttle was hidden. Punching in a code in the Rams computer keypad, the camo netting released revealing the shuttle. Climbing out of the Ram, Skyler lowered the ramp on the Shuttle, and them piloted the Ram into it cargo hold. Strapping it down Skyler went into the Cockpit, and preformed his pre flight, and fired up the engines. It took a few centons to bring everything up to operating specs, and he lifted off. Setting course for the colony he engaged his forward thursters. He should be there in about 15 centons.
Charybdis
As our small band approached the upper atmosphere of Frodar, a small blip appeared on our scanners. Lt. Bishop quickly performed a scan check and yelled, "It's ours!! Scanners says it our shuttle! Heading 090 toward the colony."
"Fix on it!" I ordered back. We were going to swoop right down on top of it if we had to.
As we dropped into atmospheric flight, the winds in the atmosphere buffeted our ships. We came in behind the shuttle where we attempted to make contact:
"This is Callisto Command flight #1 to Callisto shuttle, respond. Callisto shuttle respond.."
"Colonel, is that you?" came the surprised response over the comm line. "It's Lt. Skyler, boy am I glad to see you!"
"Skyler, what's going on down here?" I wanted to find out the reason behind the lost beacon and the deafening silence ever since.
"Our mission didn't go too well, Colonel," came Skyler's response. "They thought we were Cylon spies and interrogated us. Najinn has been shot and they've finally released us. I'm taking the shuttle to the colony to get Najinn back to the Callisto. But Brie says she is not going."
I thought a moment. "Then that is a real problem. The Callisto has left the area to engage two baseships that have appeared at the edge of the system. I'm afraid we're on our own until they can reach us. But I do have Nurse Jarrynn onboard. She may be able to help. Vector us in and we'll follow you down. Our only hope is that we can get out of here once the Callisto returns and is ready to jump out of the system. Until then, we're stuck on this rock for a little while longer."
The shields deactivated and our group of ships floated down to the landing port.
Brie
"You see, Colonel, although we've had a treaty with the Cylons, we've never trusted them," Tolar was telling Brie. "We've spent 130 years to prepare for this moment. We have underground tunnels and bases coving a good part of the planet. We call it Omega Plan. When the Cylons get here, we'll be ready for them."
"To be honest, Commander, our mission here had nothing to do with fighting the Cylons," Brie informed him. "Our orders are to try to get you to evacuate."
"That's part of our plan," Tolar said. "Everyone who wants to will be allowed to leave. Tell me, what are your plans for our people?"
"They'll be offered a choice," Brie explained. "We could either take them to a habititable planet, or they could continue with us on our quest."
"You've never told me," Tolar said, "what is your quest?"
"We're looking for the planet Earth."
Tolar paused. "Earth? You really think it exists?"
"My commander does, and that's all that's important," Brie said. There was another pause. "You and your people are welcome with us."
"Some will choose to stay," Tolar said. "I'll give the evacuation order." He turned to Jorlan, who Brie hadn't realized was standing in the back of the room. "Captain, you'll be in charge of the evacuation. Sound the alarm."
"Commander..." Jorlan said, but didn't finish.
There was a blip on the radar screen. Brie could tell that Skyler had made it to the shuttle. There was another blip. Brie stared at it, it looked like another shuttle. "Commander Tolar," Brie said, "this is another one of ours. I suggest allowing them to land."
Lt_Skyler (post missing)
LucianG (post missing)
Jarrynn
Jarrynn heard what Skyler said about Lt Najinn, and she got ready for a major trauma. Jarrynn got her gear ready for what she needed. The fact of hearing about all the blood made her stomach turn. At this moment Jarrynn questioned Lt Col Charybdis' choice in medtechs but she would take care of Najinn. She was extremely nervous at this point. It was her first time on a mission and dealing with a massive trauma like this. And she didn't want to lose Najinn. She knew how important he was to the crew and he was her friend. She walked up to where Charybdis was, "No offense sir, but I really wish you would have taken Holodoc or Doc." She tried to smile but this was not time to joke. Time was of the essense.
Brie
Brie watched on the scanner as two shuttles and two vipers were allowed to land. Seeing the extra shuttle and the vipers, she realized that it was a rescue mission. It was ironic, when they were in trouble there was no rescue, but now that everyone was working together someone was sent to save them. Things were finally looking up, except of course for Najinn. Najinn. He needed to get back to the Callisto if he were to have any chance to survive. With Skyler returning with the shuttle he'd be able to get the help he needed.
A voice came over the comm. It was a familiar voice, one that surprised Brie. "Colonel Brie, Colonel Brie, come in."
"Charybdis?" Immediately she tried to correct the breach of military etiquette. "Lieutenant Colonel, sir, what are you doing here?"
"It had been so long since we had heard from you," Charybdis replied, "that we got worried."
Suddenly what Brie had said to Najinn about Charybdis and Amy ran through her head. She hadn't meant what she had said, she would have said just about anything to get Najinn to hold on a little bit longer. Still, she was glad that Charybdis hadn't heard. "Things are under control here now, sir, except..."
"Except for Najinn," Charybdis interrupted. "Skyler filled me in. How's he doing?"
"Not good," Brie said. "You didn't by any chance bring Doc Bkj with you?"
"No," Charybdis replied. "But Jarrynn is here."
Brie remembered that Jarrynn didn't like the sight of blood. "You'd better prepare her, he's lost a lot of blood. He needs to get back to the Callisto."
"That could be a problem," Charybdis informed her. "I'll fill you in when I see you. Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis out."
Brie
Brie watched on the scanner as two shuttles and two vipers were allowed to land. Seeing the extra shuttle and the vipers, she realized that it was a rescue mission. It was ironic, when they were in trouble there was no rescue, but now that everyone was working together someone was sent to save them. Things were finally looking up, except of course for Najinn. Najinn. He needed to get back to the Callisto if he were to have any chance to survive. With Skyler returning with the shuttle he'd be able to get the help he needed.
A voice came over the comm. It was a familiar voice, one that surprised Brie. "Colonel Brie, Colonel Brie, come in."
"Charybdis?" Immediately she tried to correct the breach of military etiquette. "Lieutenant Colonel, sir, what are you doing here?"
"It had been so long since we had heard from you," Charybdis replied, "that we got worried."
Suddenly what Brie had said to Najinn about Charybdis and Amy ran through her head. She hadn't meant what she had said, she would have said just about anything to get Najinn to hold on a little bit longer. Still, she was glad that Charybdis hadn't heard. "Things are under control here now, sir, except..."
"Except for Najinn," Charybdis interrupted. "Skyler filled me in. How's he doing?"
"Not good," Brie said. "You didn't by any chance bring Doc Bkj with you?"
"No," Charybdis replied. "But Jarrynn is here."
Brie remembered that Jarrynn didn't like the sight of blood. "You'd better prepare her, he's lost a lot of blood. He needs to get back to the Callisto."
"That could be a problem," Charybdis informed her. "I'll fill you in when I see you. Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis out."
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