CHAPTER 10—ANCIENT ENMITY

[LucianG]

Aliana

After finally getting things straightend out in crew quarters, Ensign Aliana headed off to report to Major Lucian's office, as per his request. As she walked, she thought she heard loud noises echoing down the corridors, but decided against investigating. She figured she had delayed long enough in reporting in to talk with the major.

In his office, Major Lucian held up the now two-page file and asked if the ensign could fill in the gaps. Here is her report:

I was born on the planet Caprica, in a small agro community called Umbra. At the time of the Destruction, I was 13-yahrens-old and lived with my family – parents and two brothers -- on a bovine operation. Mother and brothers had gone into Caprica City for the Peace celebrations. (I assume they perished there, because I could never find record of them in the Fleet.) I had remained with my father to help with the milking (bovines MUST be milked twice a day, or they quit producing), and we were planning to join them later. Later never happened. We were caught in the second wave that targeted the outlying areas. Father didn’t make it . . .
A neighbor found me the next day and literally dragged me with them, to the Exodus ship – a former cattle barge. Later, this ship became one of the Fleet’s livestock ships. After several sectons, I settled in with what remained of my neighbor’s family on an old, rickety passenger ship. My “new” family. I was devastated, though. I spent several sectars just barely existing, drowning in depression and despair.
What turned things around for me and gave me back my will to survive – and to do more! – was seeing an interview on the IFB’s program, “Warrior of the Centar.” The interview with Lieutenant Starbuck. I knew of him through the Fleet stories of our heroes – Capt. Apollo, Lt. Boomer, Lt. Starbuck, and the others. They were legends among the children of the Fleet, including the teens. But I had not paid much attention – until that program. I learned that Starbuck had been born in Umbra and had lost his parents in a Cylon raid. And he had never even known his parents. I saw how he remained positive, despite everything and how he was now devoted to defending others. Something just clicked. Well, if *he* could overcome the hardships that he had, then *I* could, too! It helped that he was – oh, so, handsome! – and visible in the rebroadcasts of Fleet triad games. He became my hero and inspiration. And like so many other teenage girls, I had a huge crush on him . . .
From that point on, I decided that I would do what I could to help the Fleet survive. I concentrated on my studies and eventually ended up working on the Livestock Ship as an agri-specialist. I also built upon a love of languages by learning Gemonese and developing a working knowledge of several other languages that still exist in the Fleet, beyond Colonial Standard (even with languatrons, you just don’t always get a valid translation. Computers don’t always interpret the implied meanings).
And then more tragedy. An accident, due to age and faulty maintenance, caused a hull breech on our passenger ship. I lost my second family. I decided I needed a change – a complete change. So I enlisted in the Colonial Service, and volunteered to be transferred to the Callisto for my training. I have had no military experience prior to this, but I am a very determined person, when I put my mind to something.
My interests/strengths are languages/linguistics, agri-knowledge, interest in science and technology.

For now, I would like to perfect my new acquired flying and combat skills, as a viper pilot, but in the future? Who knows? This is all very new to me.

Stadia

Stadia tossed on her bunk. She hated to be on standby so much. It gave her time to think about her life on Scorpius. The times she played with her brothers... She smiles as she pictures each of her brothers.

Then the picture fades into a dark abysmal night filled with the blue tinted light of lasers cutting across the landscape. She watches as the people she loves are mowed down. Her last memory of her father was of him running toward her and seeing the laser cut right thru him.

She jolts herself back to reality. She sits up on the edge of her bed. She felt so totally useless when not in her viper. She slipped her shoes on. Standing she heads to the door.

The doors to the barracks swosh as they open to let her out. She is walking down the corridor to the science labs. Maybe the scientists can use her training as an exobiologist.

She smiled as she noticed the black shirts moving down the corridor. She didnt want to give them any reason to come after her. She got past them without incident and continued on her way.

Charybdis

Upon my return to the bridge after meeting with Brie during the landing bay scuffle, who did I find waiting for me? None other than Cpt. Lazant.

Inwardly I realized that he was the last person I needed to see, what with the tribunal and all. I may have gotten past what happened, but I certainly did not forget.

"Colonel," he began. I acknowledged him coolly, "yes, Captain?"

"May I speak with you a moment please, if you have the time?" he seemed rather polite. I wondered what he was up to.

We stepped into the ready room adjacent to the rear of the bridge. He closed the door behind us.

He started, "Colonel, I need to speak with you about the feelings that have been making the rounds of the ship. I think that there is an unfair system in place and I wanted to bring it to your attention."

My mind immediately thought about the situation with the black shirts, but Lazant didn't really have anything to do with that, I wondered.

"Colonel, I believe that some very hard working and able Warriors are getting overlooked when it comes to their promotions." Aha!! So that's what this is all about.

I let him go on. "The new mandate from Core Command about the squadron leaders getting promoted to major makes no sense! Look at poor Cpt. Brie." He was obviously trying to use my close friendship with Brie as a selling point. In fact, if that was his strategy, I wondered what he thought about Brie not getting promoted even though she was my very close friend. It kind of poked a hole in his argument. Promotions are not just handed out every day, even to very capable Warriors.

He went on, "Wouldn't you agree that she is probably the one person on this ship that should have been promoted by now?"

"Captain, I hear what you are saying and I will tell you exactly what I have told everyone else when this topic comes up...Brie was offered her promotion. She chose not to accept it and to stay in the squadron. Core Command knew that a few Warriors would get caught in the transition from the old promotion structure to the new, unfortunately, Brie was one of those. But, don't worry. She will be promoted someday and you won't have to worry about her, will you?" My tone took a turn for the worse, Lazant could tell I was not too happy with him.

"Colonel, there are others who feel that Lucian's promotion from Lieutenant to Major was..." he searched for the proper word, if there was one, "undeserved." He waited for my response.

"Undeserved?" I replied. "Captain, regardless of what you think of Major Lucian's promotion, he was selected from among his peers as to who they thought could lead them best. If you blame the system, then blame each and every one of the members of Black squadron because they are the ones who really promoted him. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with Core Command through the proper channels, including Commander Sheba."

He seemed to back down a little, "Well, Colonel, your position as Personnel Officer and Callisto Operations Officer goes a long way with Core Command when you recommend someone for promotion," he went fishing.

"Yes, and what does that mean to you?" I replied.

"Well, Colonel, I have given many a yarhen of my skills and expertise to the Colonial Military. Now more than ever, I believe that what we need are good leaders to show command and earn respect from those new recruits who are coming in. In my position of training many of those new recruits, I believe that things would be much better, if I were promoted to Major."

I grew tired of this conversation. "Captain, every officer is reviewed once a yahren and determined whether circumstances warrant a promotion or not. They are not automatic." I finally figured to get him off my back I said, "But, if you wish, I will look over your service record once more."

His face lightened up immediately, "yes, sir! I would very much appreciate that. Thank you, Colonel."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Captain, we have two patrols out in unknown territory and the Cylons are chasing us, I must get back to important things," I closed the chat.

He saluted and left the room. I was left wondering why the frack he was assigned to this battlestar.

I rejoined the rest on the bridge to monitor the status of the Gold squadron patrols.

[LucianG]

Brie

Captain Brie was looking for Lt. Col. Charybdis. Someone had seen him enter the Ready Room. Brie was about to knock on the door when she heard her name mentioned. She didn't really mean to eavesdrop, but she had been trying to piece together the puzzle of what Lazant was up to, so she was sure that Charybdis wouldn't mind. It didn't take long for Lazant to turn the conversation from Brie's lack of a promotion to his own.


Less than a centar later Captain Lazant approached Brie while she was on the bridge. "Captain," he said, "I've been worried about you. I heard about the fight. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Captain," Brie informed him. "I was more surprised than anything."

Lazant lowered his voice. "I'm so relieved!" He paused. "I was wondering if you might consider joining me in my quarters for dinner?" The look on Brie's face must have said what she was thinking. "Strictly platonic, of course. I realized that you're a married woman. I just thought that after what happened, you might not want to eat in the Mess Hall."

Although she knew that Lazant was trying to use her, Brie was actually touched by the gesture. He was either a master manipulator, or maybe he actually had a heart buried somewhere deep inside. Brie figured that it was probably the former. "That's very nice of you, Lazant," she said, "but it's my jaw that is hurt, not my pride. Besides, with the patrol coming back I'll probably be stuck here for awhile."

"Oh, that's too bad," he said. He sounded disappointed. "I'm so hoping that we can become better friends. But I understand that you're busy. Maybe some other time?"

"If I ever have any free time," Brie said. She knew that was pretty safe, with all that was going on she wouldn't have free time anytime soon.

Holodoc2000

Dr Bkj & Nurse Holodoc worked for the longest time on Officer Sckutzi there on the scene to get him stabalized so that he could be moved to MedLab & they could finish working on him there. It took some doing but they were able to get him stabalized & once the crewmen arrived with the cart they got Officer Sckutzi loaded on it & rushed towards MedLab.

The doctor & Holodoc nearly lost Officer Sckutzi a couple of times along the way but he was still hanging on barely by the time they rushed into MedLab with their patient.

When they arrived back in MedLab, Holodoc took a quick look around & saw that it looked as though it was a war zone in there. Holodoc pushed the thought to the back of her mind until later, for she had a patient to work on at the moment.

Dr Bkj & Nurse Holodoc rushed on into surgery with Officer Sckutzi to finish treating the rest of his stab wounds. After about two & a half centars of being in surgery Dr Bkj & Nurse Holdoc were finally finished. They rolled their patient out into a private recovery area so that they could keep a close eye on him for awhile & also so that those that were hanging around MedLab wouldn't bother the patient.

Dr Bkj goes over to her desk so that she could make a few notes on Officer Sckutzi's medical file & Nurse Holodoc goes over to the comm link that she has at her desk & calls Capt Urdea to let him know about one of his Officer's being there in MedLab seriously injuried. Just then, Nurse Holodoc notices that there are two other Security Officer's there in MedLab laying on the floor knocked out. Uh.....Capt Urdea....there is a correction on that...I just noticed that there are two more of your Security Officer's here in MedLab & they have been knocked out. I think you should get down here as quickly as you can. With that Nurse Holodoc ends the call & rushes over to the two new patients. She calls out to the doctor to let her know about there are two more patients that need tending to & she starts working on the first one she reaches.

LucianG

Nurse Holodoc quickly patched up the first man, who was promptly carted away to the brig. She would have spent more time on him, but she had just realized that the other person lying on the floor was not a Security Officer, but rather, Ensign Anubis! He was actually conscious, but his ribs were hurting badly. He just smiled at her, despite the revived pain in his chest, as she complained about his stubborn determination.

Walksallroads

With a great amount of effort, and a bit of aid from Holodoc, Anubis made it back to his rack, where he was forced to lay down, and some painkillers given. After the edge was taken off, it was apparant that the scuffle had taken it's toll on the weakened warrior. He asked Holodoc for some water, and when he'd finished drinking it, he tolf her of what had happened. He told of the apparant plan, how he'd readied as best he could, and served as lookout, his senses being able to pick up on things more readily than anyone else's. He told of the surprise when the lights were suddenly turned on, and the trap was sprung. The prisoner will be taken by Captain Ureda into custody, and hopefully this may help in healing the rift between warrior and Fleet Security. As he spoke, his eyes had been getting heavier, as the adrenaline left him, and was soon fast asleep.

Holodoc2000

Holodoc quietly listened as Anubis explained what had happened their in MedLab. With the things that he was telling her she start piecing a few things together. For starters the reason for so many of the Gold Squadron Warriors being there in full gear & for the impromptu party for Lt Amy.

Holodoc noticed that Anubis couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, so when he drifted off to sleep, she went about working on trying to clean up some of the mess that had been created there in MedLab.

While she was cleaning up things, Holodoc noticed that MaraJade was over on her bed there in MedLab & was surprised that Skyler was not over there with her. She wonder if something may have happened between the two of them for Skyler not to be there with MaraJade.

Holodoc stopped what she was working on & walked over to where Mara was resting. Holodoc gently places her hand on Mara's shoulder to get her attention & so she wouldn't startle Mara to much. "Mara, are you alright? Do you want someone to talk to?, Holodoc ask quietly & gently.

MaraJadeJedi

Mara stirred as she heard someone talk to her. Turning over and grimacing thru the pain, she offered a smile.
"Hey there thanks for stopping by." Holodoc smiled, but Mara could tell something was bugging her.
"Mara are you ok? Wanna talk about it? Where's Skyler?" With that Mara looked around the room, she couldn't see him anywhere!! Her heart sank as she had hoped he would come by to see her and spend some time with her. Sighing in defeat, Mara just sunk back under her covers. She didn't know where he was or what was going on. She just wanted to see him again.
"I am fine just over did it that's all I promise. As for Skyler .... I don't know where he is or whats going on. If you see him will you let him know I looked for him?" It was all Mara could do to keep from crying.

Jarrynn

Jarrynn was in the party keeping an eye on Amy to make sure she didn't over do it. She looked around the room for Mara to make sure she was still ok. Remembering seeing that crash just didn't sit well with Jarrynn. Jarrynn went to the door and saw that Holodoc was talking with Mara so Jarrynn went back over to Amy. Jarrynn smiled at Kiwi as she caught him looking at her. Seeing so many new patients, Jarrynn knew her time alone with him will be awhile. She looked around the room, no Skyler? This was weird!

Holodoc2000

Holodoc could tell that there was something else that was bothering Mara, but she didn't press the issue. Holodoc made a mental note to herself to search for Skyler when she got the chance to see what was going on with him & Mara.

Mara, I am here for you if you need someone to discuss things & I am sure that Jarrynn & Kris would be willing to help out also, Holodoc says. I will let Skyler know that you are looking for him when I see him.

Holodoc gave her friends a comforting hug & smile before she headed back to her work there in MedLab.

Expatkiwi

Kiwi looked over at Jarryn, "Well, my dear, looks like there are a lot of patients and that mean's you'll be busy".
Jarryn nodded sadly, "I'm afraid so, Kiwi. I was so looking forward to this evening together".
Kiwi shrugged, "We'll get time together. Now, there are people here who need your attention", he reminded her.
Jarryn nodded. She quickly embraced Kiwi, gave him a kiss that spoke volumes about what that future time would be like, then went back to her job.
The other Gold Squadron warriors there all decided to hit the o-club and wind down a little before debriefing. Kiwi joined them. All in all, it was one hell of a way to end his fifty centare leave.

[LucianG]

Merak

Lt. Merak, relaxing having a drink, is happy to be off duty after his double security shift in the Science lab.

Sitting in the corner of the officers club, woundering what his next assignment will be, hoping to be back in his viper again.

Might as well go check on my ship, shes been getting an overhaul the last few cycles.

Lt. Merak gets up and leaves to go to the flight deck....

SiressEden

It has been some time now since Lt. Hawke returned to the ship after his arguement with Krissy. Lt. SiressEden had heard in some reports from the Callisto of a confrontation between Lt. Hawke and Captain Brie and of explosions. This concerned her greatly, but she had her own problems now. She and the rest of Flight 1 had stayed behind to continue monitoring around Epsilon Frodar. Those communication satilites that Lt. Hawke destroyed just before he left, seemed a bit unusual to her. Her suspicions were correct. When the sattilites were destroyed a deadly force was released that set a chain of events into motion that could very well cause a catastrophy for the Callisto. When she tryed to communicate with the Callisto she found that the transmissions were being blocked. She must return to the Callisto and warn them, she just hoped that she could even make it there herslf. "Attention Flight 1 patrol, we are returning to the Callisto immediately!"

Kellyn

Ensign Kellyn was glad to be heading back to the Callisto. This had been her first real mission since becoming a pilot and she had been in this viper too long.Everything that had happened with Lt. Hawke had bothered her as well. * Is this what being a pilot is going to be like?* Kellyn wondered. She was sure that once she got back and had some sleep and real food she wouls feel better about the situation. Now to get there with no problems.

LucianG

Major Lucian sat at his desk looking over the latest reports. It was already 10:40, well into Second Shift. His Black Squadron paperwork was complete for the moment, but he was reviewing the latest situation updates from around the ship.

Fleet Security Officers Modo and Lolly had attacked the MedLab, ostensibly to kill Lieutenant Amy. Modo had been killed attacking the Gold Squadron Warriors and Black Squadron’s own Lieutenant Randrius, and Lolly, like an idiot, had evidently stabbed himself with one of his own poison darts. Unless, of course, it wasn’t idiocy, but rather pre-meditated suicide. Doc was supposedly finishing the autopsy (how many was this for her recently? Too many, he was sure!) early in the next shift. She was going to have to match the poison, if the stuff on the darts had actually been poison.

Gold Squadron’s Viper Wing would be returning late in this shift or early in the next. Hopefully, they would have word of what was ahead. Latest word from Communications was that yet another battle had begun where the last one had ended.

They’d all be returning except for Lieutenant Hawke, he thought. That was a strange situation. He hoped Captain Brie’s jaw and her pride were okay. Hawke was sitting in the Brig, awaiting questioning of the other returning Gold Squadron pilots. From what he’d heard, Hawke would not be getting off easy.

The Callisto was still moving slowly across the Frodar system, using the cloaking mechanism. Repairs were proceeding, and Lieutenants Titon and Skyler were reportedly watching this closely, although it sounded as if Skyler had spent very little time in the Shops today. Hopefully, repairs would be complete in another cycle or two.

His discussion with Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis about promotions had gone well, but he didn’t expect any action any time soon. The Colonel had suggested that someone else was bucking for a promotion as well, but he hadn’t given any details, and Lucian hadn’t asked for any. From the tone, though, he suspected that that request was different that his. In the military, it seemed someone was always trying to get that next promotion, whether they deserved it or not.

The shortage of certain items had been verified by two other memos from Commander Sheba today. There would be a list of restricted items released shortly. Lieutenant Randrius and Ensign Aliana were scheduled to begin their survey of armaments and munitions in Beta Bay in less than 6 centars. He hoped that things wouldn’t be found to be nearly as critical as had been reported.

Next….

Before he could go any further, his head gently bobbed down, coming to rest on his crossed arms on his desk. He shook himself awake long enough to pull himself away from the desk, stumble to his bunk in the barracks, and fall on the bunk, taking just enough time to kick his boots under the bed. It had been another very long day.

* * *

Lt_Skyler

Skyler had just finished giving his statement to one of the Fleet Security Officers and went in to check on Mara. He had seen she was not harmed in the brief fight before he was pulled to oneside to make his statement. Skyler entered the patient area of med lab where Mara was resting.
He reached over and touched her on her shoulder and she turned to look at him.

"I am glad you are ok." Skyler smiled.

Mara's face lite up into a big smile and Skyler reached over and hugged her.

"I have missed you lots Mara, but they are keeping me busy in the shops, and then I thought I was going to get to see you at the party and those idiots pulled their daring plan, and I spent the next half centar talking to a security officer about what I saw. I need to be back in the shop watching the repair work, even though Gruber has everything under control. Those guys are outstanding. They way they can take a peice of raw metal and when they get done its a something, Its amazing."

Mara just smiled, Skyler was running on like a boy. She was glad to see him this excited. Skyler noticed the way she was looking at him. HE leaned over and pulled her to him. They interlocked in a kiss that seem to last forever.

"As soon as my shift in the shop is finished I will be right back. I love you, and Miss you...."

"Its ok Skyler, I understand, we both have a job to do, I just hate that mine is being stuck in this bed."

"Your job Mara is to get better so we can be sealed, okay, I gotta go before I get in trouble for not being in the shops." Skyler kissed her on last time, and they both said their goodbyes and he was off.

[LucianG]

Hawke14

I heard in my mind what Brie said. After she left I saw a nurse with a needle coming towards me. I start struggling against my bed ties. She called the 2 black shirts and had them restrain my arm. I felt the prick of the needle. "This will help you rest, Lieutenant." She pulls the needle out and the 2 black shirts release my arms. I start feeling very lightheaded. I try to struggle but to no avail. I black out.
===========================================================

I find myself in my parents' daggit shop on Caprica. I walk by a mirror. I'm 16 yahren old! My God. I thought this place was destroyed the night the Cylons attacked! "Hawke.. Can you start feeding the daggits please? It's meal time." I spin around and see my mother. "Mom?" "Hawke,honey quit your daydreaming and feed the daggits please." "Sure. Right away." "And after that come upstairs to help me with some dinner." A male voice told me. Dad! I spin around and look at him like he was a 3 eyed daggit. "Now hurry up with your chores." I start getting the supplies together to feed them. It's like I never forgot. The routine had become so asutomatic. But it was 18 yahren ago since I had done this and it seems like it was yesterday. How can it be? A sudden thought came to me: Kirk! By brother was coming home tomorrow for the Armastis! He had pleaded to his commander aboard the Columbia to spend Armastice Day with us! Oh no! I heard a rumbling in the sky. Oh dear God, not again! An explosion in the distance sets of the civil defense alarms. I dropped the bag of daggit food and ran outside. Cylon raider ships were in the sky. They were EVERYWHERE! One started firing at me as it came over the shop. I ran to a nearby alcove hoping it was enought to give me cover. Alot of screaming and yelling were going. on. I saw an elderly woman get gunned down in the streets by a Cylon raider. She didn't have a chance. My God, so much death and destruction. Oh no! Mom & Dad!! I run out of my alcove and got met with more Cylon fire. I crawl back in. I have to get accross the street and save them! Another Cylon raider opened fire. This time right into the shop! "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!" I cried out. It explodes into a hail of rubble.
===========================================================

I started awake breathing heavy. I sit up quickly and look around. The brig! Oh felgercarb! I lay back down on my cot and start crying. Suddenly I wanted my family.

I layed in my cot and cried myself to sleep.
============================================================

I find myself with 200 other people on a cargo ship. Many are wounded and dying. My clothes are in tatters. A Colonial Warrior comes by. People are screaming for medical aid and food and water. He seems to be ignoring these peiople. "Hawke?" he asks me. "Yes?" I reply. How did he know me? "I was asked to give you this personally." He hands me an envelope. It has a Colonial Warrior cymbol on it's front. I open up the envelope. I unfold the peice of paper. As I read I hear "Water,food and medical supplies will be delivered as soon as possible. You all will be taken care of."
I read the paper. It's from the Colonial Military.

"Dear Hawke,

We at the Colonial Military Services regret to inform you that your brother Kirk, Service # 6543245365, Viper Pilot Orange Squadron, Battlestar Columbia has been killed in action during the recent Cylon assault of the colonies. We are very sorry to inform you of your loss.

Sincerely,
Commander Adama
Battlestar Galactica "


Oh dear God. I'm orphaned again. Kirk was the only family I had left! This can't be happening...
============================================================

I bolt upright in bed again. This time in a cold sweat. Oh God, when is this going to end?

Holodoc2000

Seeing that things were under control for a little while, Holodoc wanted to head out of MedLab to run a quick errand.

Holodoc noticed that Jarrynn was doing rounds & she went over to talk to her for a moment. Jarrynn, I'm heading out just for a few moment. I am going to go out for a few minutes to do a quick errand & will be back soon. Jarrynn says alright & that she can look after things for the short time that she was out. Holodoc thanks Jarrynn & heads out on her little errand.

Holodoc heads down the hall towards the barracks for Black Sqaudron. Holodoc noticed some activity in the halls as she was walking along & tried to stay out of the way of those that were in a rush to get somewhere.

Holodoc finally makes it to the barracks for Black Squadron. She calls out to see if anyone were in there before walking into the barracks. She didn't want to embarrass anyone without them knowing she was there & about to come inside. Noticing that there was no answer, Holodoc walks on into the barracks.

It didn't take long for Holodoc to find Isis curled up on Anubis' bunk sleeping. Holodoc walks on over to Anubis' bunk where Isis is sleeping & gently sits on the edge of the bunk. When Holodoc sat down Isis woke up & looked up at her. Holodoc gently reaches over & pets Isis a little & when she does Isis gets up from where she was & walks over to Holodoc & climbs up onto her lap. Holodoc smiles & pets Isis for a little while longer. After a few centons, Holodoc gently sits Isis back down on Anubis' bunk so that she could change out the litter box & place some fresh food & water in the bowls that Anubis had for food & water for Isis. After that was completed, Holodoc picked up Isis & asked if she would like to go see Anubis. Isis' ears perked up & she nuzzled Holodoc's hand. Holodoc smiled down at Isis when she feels Isis nuzzling her hand. With Isis in her arms, Holodoc heads back to MedLab.

Holodoc walks into MedLab & heads over to Anubis' bunk there in MedLab. While on her way to Anubis' bed, Holodoc notices that Jarrynn is talking with MaraJade some.

Once she reached Anubis' bed there in MedLab, Holodoc notices that Anubis had his eyes closed & was resting some. Holodoc decides to sit in the chair there by his bed that she had pulled over earlier with Isis still in her arms.

While Holodoc was sitting in the chair next to Anubis' bed with Isis in her arms she starts petting Isis along her head & back. Holodoc starts thinking about earlier when she told Anubis about her family life before coming on board the Calliso & is glad that she was finally able to tell him.

It was starting to get late & Holodoc needed to get a little rest, but she wasn't ready to move from where she was sitting. Holodoc starts to drift off to sleep with Isis still in her arms.

Walksallroads

After what seemed an eternity, Anubis' eyes open to see Holodoc in a chair beside him, with Isis in her arms. The cat was mewing lightly, and as if sensing Anubis' waking state, leaped over to him. He sat up as best he could, noting that his ribs hurt significantly less than before. He held the purring feline in the crook of one arm while petting her with the other. She had grown some in the last few cycles. Her face was still kittenish, but was starting to become that which befits an adult feline.

Soon, Doc comes over, and wants to take an x-ray of his ribs, to see if any undue damage was caused by the scuffle in the medbay. She was taking a break from the autopsies, Holodoc was fast asleep, and Jarrynn was busy dealing with someone's eyes, techs by the look of it. Anubis nods to the worried one, as if to say that his friend will be alright. The x-rays are taken quickly, and Doc looks surprised at how well he's healing. At this rate, he should be able to shave a senton or two of recovery time off. His ribs are undamaged, though the stress that has been placed on the muscles surrounding them has been above normal. She gives gim leave to go on LIGHT active duty, no flying of vipers until the ribs are fully healed, which should be in the next three to four sentons. Anubis nods, and goes back to his med-rack, and gently wakes Holodoc up and tells her the news.

Holodoc2000

Holodoc slowly awakens to seeing Anubis standing next to her with Isis in his arms. "Anubis," Holodoc whispers, "what are you doing back out of bed? You should be resting." Anubis tells her about the good news that he had just received from Dr Bkj regarding his recovery. Holodoc's face lights up at the news & she quickly stands so that she could hug & kiss Anubis.

Holodoc kissed Anubis gently on the lips & hugged him to her. She then realized that his ribs weren't fully healed yet & pulls back. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you more pain, Holodoc says quietly as she starts to turn away.

"Anubis, would you like to go for a short walk & go to the Observation Lounge?," Holodoc quietly asks. You could leave Isis here with Jadzia, Abby Tabby, & BrieCORA who are all over in my sleeping area here in MedLab, or if you preferred we could take her with us on our walk.

[LucianG]

LucianG

At 15:88, just a few centons before the end of Second Shift, seven tired Gold Squadron Warriors landed their Vipers on the deck of Alpha Bay. With Lieutenant Siress Eden’s consent, Lieutenant Krissy stormed out of the landing bay in search of Captain Brie. The remainder of the Warriors went into their debriefing with Flight Officer Solan. Krissy almost literally ran into Captain Brie in the corridor just outside of the landing bay. As she started to complain, she saw the welt on Captain Brie’s face, and paused just long enough for Brie to say, “Lieutenant, I have a sneaking feeling I know what you are going to say. Let’s get back to the briefing, and we’ll talk about the situation there. I want to know everything that happened.”

* * *

A short time later, the briefing memo was on its way to the bridge.

MEMO, Gold Squadron Wing, Flights One and Two

RE: Frodar System Exploration

<There were descriptions of the outer planets and inner planets, but in general, the bulk of the report consisted of the description of Frodar Epsilon, its large satellite moon, and the “antics” of Lieutenant Hawke. A very brief version of the more interesting portions follows.>

Frodar Epsilon—The fifth planet from the star Frodar, the planet’s atmosphere is breathable by humans and appears to be of appropriate size for human colonization (see Appendix E for full survey information). Approximately 75 percent of its surface is covered with water, and of the land masses, approximately 40 percent of the area appears positioned in latitudes suitable for crop production. Another 20 percent appears marginal, while the remainder of the area is included in polar masses that are ice or snow covered. The survey found a single small settlement, which would appear to house no more than a few hundred to perhaps a couple of thousand people. This settlement at longitude 128 from the survey referenced standard, and latitute 32, is covered, according to the scans, by some type of force dome. This appears to be more powerful than our standard electronic shielding, and may even be a full-scale weapons screen. There was a launch facility detected for some type of small vessels, although there was no indication of facilities for ships than a standard shuttle. Communications (recording attached) were intercepted, including numerous messages to and from the satellite moon. It should be noted that, while there was no launch or attempt to intercept us, following the unexpected destruction of monitoring satellites by Lieutenant Hawke and his subsequent abrupt departure from the Wing. Following this, the Wing was scanned by ground based systems, although we are unsure if our presence was detected. There was significant communications between the planet and the satellite moon following the scans, and scans from the moon were then detected and avoided to the maximum extent possible.

Frodar Epsilon Alpha—The only satellite moon of the planet Frodar Epsilon has no breathable atmosphere, and is, for all intents and purposes, a dead planet. There was no sign that it ever contained water or life; however, there is a Cylon outpost on the moon, plus numerous small monitoring stations on the surface. No orbital satellites were detected. The Cylon outpost was enclosed in a force dome similar to that on the planet. Survey information is included in Appendix E-1.

Later in the report, there was a long section devoted to the actions of Lieutenant Hawke. Both Lieutenant Siress Eden and Lieutenant Krissy recommended that he be brought up on charges and be tested for psychological problems.

The report was signed by Lieutenant Siress Eden and the other members of the mission crew.

* * *

A short time later, Communications brought word that the tape had been deciphered, after some serious difficulties. Commander Sheba sat at her desk, holding the still unopened folder containing the manuscript. She was still wondering how to fill the gaping hole in the Callisto’s command structure left by the death of Chief Communications Officer Camrisian. The Captain had bravely volunteered to fly a Viper in the Battle of Shonada, despite the fact that it had been over three yahrens since he had left Blue Squadron as an active pilot. Once the Callisto rejoined the fleet, she could request one of several good candidates, but at the present time, her options were few. She opened the transcript and started to read.

<human> “Kron, I don’t know what the <expletive deleted> you are doing, but this violates our treaty! You have always been honorable in the past. You know you are not to launch without communicating intent to us. Why do you violate our agreement? Why did you destroy our satellites?”

<Cylon, assumed to be Kron> “Weee have not violated the treeeaty. None of our ships have left our base since our last combat with your podships. Why do you accuse meee of violations, human? Check your satellite monitoring system. It must be malfunctioning. In our experience, that is a freeequent problem with human technology.”

<human> “Kron, you old bastard, you’re not lying to me are you? Something just took out two of our monitoring satellites, and we’ve detected a high-speed streak across the sky. We felt it was too fast for your ships, but we couldn’t explain it otherwise.”

<Kron> “Weee will monitor from our positions. Weee will let you know if weee discover anything of importance to you. Do you have adequate materials to construct new satellites?”

<human> “I think we are covered on that, thank you.”

<Kron> “Weee will stay away from the affected areas until your replacement systems are completed. In the meantime, I am launching four fighters to attack your forces, human pond scum.”

<human> “We will respond with four as well, Cylon bucket of bolts. May the better side win!”

<Kron> “History has reeepeeeatedly shown that neither side has a significant advantage, but your point is noted. Weee will be ready to send yet another attack as soon as your satellites are back in place. Cylon Base, out.”

<human> “Understood, Kron. We’ll be ready as necessary. Gastonov Base, out.”

Sheba reread the transcript several times, including the limited transcript of the subsequent battle. Something didn’t sound right to her. She decided to have someone with a background in counseling take a look at it. Maybe Reverend Mars could make some sense out of the mess.

She began to formulate her plan. From what she could see, this was going to be tough.

Selene2001

Selene stood on the Observation Deck during her off hours as a warrior. She was new to being a warrior but when something was on her mind, she always came here to look at the stars and think about where Earth was, somewhere out there amongst the galaxies. She also always wondered how close the fleet was. She never could exactly get to sleep at nights, having been scarred by the Destruction of the Colonies so she sat here, watching and wondering what was next for her.

Charybdis

"Beautiful, aren't they?" I said. Ensign Selene had not noticed that I had entered the observation deck. She jumped a little, unprepared to see anyone there. There was no one else with us.

She turned and stood straight, "Lt. Col., How are you, sir?" she replied stiffly.

"At ease, Ensign, I had a few centons and thought I would come up here to look at the starry sky. It seems to be a popular spot for the Warriors. It reminds us of who we are and from whence we came."

She turned to look out the large windows. "They go on forever." She gazed almost in awe.

In some way, we all were so connected as humans. If we were still here and still alive, then we had a common purpose: to survive at all costs.

Ensign Selene was just a few yahrens younger than me. She had been on the Colonies during the destruction. It was sometimes nice to talk with someone from the homeworlds. Many of our young recruits were born in the fleet and have never called a planet home.

"Do you think we'll find Earth?" she asked. I smiled and shook my head. "I don't know for sure, but I truly believe we'll find someplace to settle down. A place where we can be safe from the Cylon threat. We've come this far, there's no sense in stopping now. Besides, we have to get away from these baseships that have been following us and then get back to the fleet. I can't wait for that to happen. We've been out here too long now. We shouldn't stay gone for too much longer."

Ensing Selene noticed a definite worry to that last sentence. She wondered what was up, but she didn't dare ask.

I broke the silence, "Well, I'd better get back. Duty calls." As I walked out, I turned to her one last time, "Ensign, don't ever lose that wonder about what's out there. For all the bad we've encountered, there's a whole of good out there too." She smiled and nodded ever so slightly.

I opened the door and exited. Ensign Selene turned back to the window and continued to smile.

Jarrynn

Jarrynn sat in the medbay and went over the paperwork on her desk. So much happened in one cycle and she hadn't had much time with Kiwi. She rubbed her tired eyes and leaned back in the chair as she looked at all the work in front of her. Sighing she jumped in to tackle the task in front of her. After she was done there, rubbing her eyes again, Jarrynn made her rounds. She smiled as she rememebered she is now a lieutenant. It seemed forever since she signed up for duty. She stretched and stood there and looked in the corridor and wondered where Kiwi was. Just thinking of him made her smile. Unconciously she brought her fingers to her lips as she remembered his kisses and she closed her eyes. She looked forward to the next chance she could be with him to see him smile, to hear his laugh and to hear that voice of his. Sighing she went back to her desk and worked on the eye care class.

[LucianG]

Expatkiwi

In the o-club, Kiwi was winding down from the excitement in Life Station. He was drinking sparking fruit juice while playing a quiet tune of the synthesiser.
He was thinking about Jarryn. With the foiling of the assasaination attempt and Jarryn's subsequent busy schedule, Kiwi never got a chance to congratulate her on her promotion (He'll have to call her Ma'am from now on!). Hopefully, she will contact him and let him know when she would be free. They still had some unfinished R & R to do, he thought with a smile.....

MedievalSong

Ensign Kris had to go give her sister Jarrynn congratulations on her promotion. Then she was going to go to the observation deck with Nat later.*****
I snuck in the sickbay and came up from behind Jarrynn and scared her. Seeing my twin jump like that was too much for me!! I laughed so hard as she tried to hit me for scaring her.
"Kris!! You are in major trouble!" Jarrynn squealed at me. I just smirked at her. Picking on her was way too much fun!
"Hey I heard you made Leiutanant!!!" Jarrynn proudly showed her new pins on her uniform. I rolled my eyes at her. "Yeah yeah be a show off!" I said as I playfully hit her arm.
"So Kris any news on your promotion?"
"Nope not sure when it will be, heard we have an inspection coming up soon. So not sure." I said as I shrugged. I was first born but she got promoted first. Hmph what dumb luck!
"You going out with Nat while you still can?" she said as I snapped from my thoughts.
"Well we are supposed to go to the observation deck later. I hope he will make it this time. Seems we always miss each other or something comes up." I sighed as I sat by my twin.
"I noticed you had a flower in your bunk area." Jarrynn asked with a smile. The flower. I smiled at that thought again of what all he went thru for that flower. Jarrynn bumped into my shoulder and smiled,
"uh huh you got it from him." Still smiling,
"Yeah and if you knew what he went thru just to get it...sigh...it was so sweet and ... and..." she interupted for me.
"romantic?"
"Yeah romantic." I just sat there and smiled at the thoughts again. The memory of seeing him standing there holding that flower as I got out of the debriefing room lit my eyes up. "I hope he makes it to the deck tonight."
"I know you do. And I will hope for you that he does too. Now go get ready!" She sent me to the barracks to freshen up to be my best to see him.

LucianG

Following his little talk, Lieutenant Nat looked as if he was in his element. The young ladies were looking on admiringly, and the young men had the “I’m-going-to-be-just-like-him” look on their faces.

“Now your teacher will be bringing you by the Callisto’s Training Academy in just a few cycles. While I can’t let you in a Viper,” Nat said, pausing for a chorus of loud “boos,” “I can let you climb in one of the most high-tech and most important toys on board: our Viper Simulator!” The chorus of “Yeahs!” came very close to matching that of the “boos” a few microns earlier, but not quite. Resonat stayed for a few centons after everything was done help tutor a couple of young students in math. As they worked through an exceedingly difficult problem, he heard giggling from directly ahead. He looked up to see two young ladies, each probably around ten yahrens in age, standing in front of him. They both seemed to be very uncomfortable, and were trying to make themselves as small as possible. Nat smiled and asked, “Is there something I can do for you young ladies?”

Another round of giggling and nervous gesturing followed, with Nat waiting patiently. “Uhm, Sir, uhm, we were, uhm, wondering if you have a, uhm, girlfriend?” the front child asked.

“Well, that’s a pretty personal question. I have been seeing someone recently, and I hope she’ll be my girlfriend someday,” Nat said, but on seeing the looks of disappointment on their faces, he added with a grin, “but I haven’t asked her to go steady or anything, so who knows, it might not work out.”

The smiles on the girls’ faces were enormous as they said thanks and ran away. Nat whispered to himself, “But I sure hope it does.” He left the classroom thinking of the planned date with Kris for later in the cycle.

LucianG

Nurse Jarrynn was about to take a break from her work on the eye care class when Mechanic Gataren rushed into the MedLab, shouting for help. He was escorting a crying Crewman McCanna. Both McCanna’s eyes were squeezed tightly closed, and he was obviously in pain.

“Lorna, get Doc, quickly,” Jarrynn said to the new medical clerk. “What happened? Was he wearing eye protection?” she asked Gataren and McCanna, hoping one would be able to answer.

“Yes, Ma’am—I mean Lieutenant,” said Gataren. “We were working in the engine compartment on the repairs, and McCanna was doing everything by the book until he raised his protective visor to wipe the sweat off of his brow. I think he got durasteel filings off his arm in his right eye when he did. As far as we can tell, the left one is clear, but it’s watering just like the right one.”

“Did you flush them?”

“No, Lieutenant. Since it wasn’t a chemical contaminant, we were afraid to do it in case moving the pieces around might scratch his eye even more.”

“Let’s see what I can do,” said Jarrynn.

Jarrynn

Lt Jarrynn rushed over to McCanna. She sat him down and rinsed the eyes out first. Then dawning on her goggles that made it easier to see any particles left in the eye. She could hear McCanna chuckle at the sight of her in it.
"Laugh while you can, I know I hear it all the time. I look bug eyed in them. But remember its only a way to help you." She as she smiled. After removing the splinters in the eye she patched up his right eye. The lights were brought up slowly giving him a chance to adjust.
"Ok McCanna you are set to go. Just be careful next time ok?" Opening his left eye he looked at Jarrynn as if puzzled.
“Excuse me, Lieutenant, I didn’t know you were a Warrior and a Nurse.” Jarrynn smiled, another mistaken identity.
"I am Jarrynn I am a nurse. The Warrior you are referring to is my twin sister, Kris. Don't worry it happens all the time."
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were twins. I was going to ask your sister, so I'll ask you a slightly rephrased question instead. What do you think of your sister dating Lieutenant Yellow Nat?”
"Who? Do you mean Lieutenant Resonat? Why do you call him that?"
“Gosh, Lieutenant, I thought you’d have heard by now about Lieutenant Nat. Don’t you know about his background? You know, he hadn’t flown a Viper on a real mission for nearly several yahrens prior to the Battle of Shonada, even though the Warriors in Blue Squadron said he was the best young pilot in the fleet when he was just a rookie? I think he was grounded about five or maybe even six yahrens ago, but I’m not sure. They used to call him Yellow Nat on the Galactica, even to his face, and as far as I know, he never corrected a single person who said it. I saw it personally on two or three occasions.”
"You would think someone would stand up for himself for being called such a horrible name. Why doesn't he?" Jarrynn sat there intently listening to him wondering if Kris knew this or if it was just fegercarb being thrown at her.
“Rumor was, he was grounded when he ran away on a patrol when the C’s showed, and his whole patrol was wiped out. He hid out on some deserted planet for a while until he could sneak back to the Galactica with his tail tucked between his legs like a whipped daggit. They said he wasn’t
to blame, but everyone could read between the lines. I’m telling you, if Ensign Kris was my sister, I sure wouldn’t want her dating such a coward.I’m sure sorry I got you mixed up. Thanks for the patch up.” He got up and left. Jarrynn walked back to her desk and pulled up the records to make her notes. Looking at the screen, the words were running thru her head. Seeing if anyone was around, she put in a request to get her hands on Nat's service record. She had to make sure that her twin wasn't in any danger.

[LucianG]

LucianG

A couple of centons later, Nurse Jarrynn was reviewing the schematic version of Lieutenant Nat's personnel file.

Name, Rank, & Ship: Resonat (Nat), Lieutenant, Battlestar Callisto

Current Assignment: Viper Trainer, Colonial Warrior Training Academy, Callisto Branch

Age: about 28 yahrens
Height: 1.82 meters
Weight: 84.1 kilograms
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Facial Hair: None
Distinguishing features/characteristics: Said to have a very nice smile. Generally quiet, reserved.
Dependent: [CLASSIFIED]
Birthplace: Unknown (no record was made of his arrival on board the orphan ship)

History:

He was orphaned during the Cylon attack, at about age 5. He didn’t speak for over a yahren, but finally adjusted. He grew up on the orphan ship Rothmar, doing well in school. He joined the Colonial Military at age 16 yahrens, serving aboard Forge Ship Beta for a time after his initial training. He became a Colonial Warrior at age 19 yahrens, and was promoted to lieutenant at age 21 yahrens. Fought valiantly in several battles with the Cylons, and was highly regarded for his skill in piloting Vipers.

At about 22.5 yahrens, he was assigned to a long-range patrol to investigate Cylon activity in a large system (Nagolis Eta) that the fleet had entered. In the system, the patrol was ambushed by Raiders, [CLASSIFIED]

Since the episode at Nagolis Eta, he has served with distinction as a member of the Training Academy, first on board the Infinity, and then on board the Callisto. His specialty is Viper training. His participation in the Battle of Shonada was his first action since Nagolis Eta.

Personal:

He spends his off time on the orphan ship Rothmar, but [CLASSIFIED]

He often spends time tutoring children in the Callisto’s small school. He does not smoke, and has NEVER been reported to have drunk to excess. His only known hobbies are reading and embroidery, although it has recently been reported that he has expressed some interest in horticulture.

Jarrynn

Jarrynn sat there puzzled by the information she just read. There were parts that were classified. Mainly when it talked about a dependent and the orphan ship. Jarrynn was more concerned that she saw he had an adopted child, yet Kris never mentioned meeting her let alone knowing about it. And the drinking heavily at times made her brow furrow. She wanted to talk and find out what was true and what was going on but if she did then she would be found out that she snuck a look at the personel records. She was getting too curious for her own good she thought. If he wants her to know anything I am sure he will tell her right? Jarrynn thought. A noise brought her attention quickly as she erased the screen real fast. She looked up there was a solemn Kris.
"Ok what's wrong?"
"Another doomed night...I just got informed that I am going on another mission. I have to get fitted for an enviro suit later." She leaned against the wall and looked up. Sighing, "It just seems like we never get a break anymore. I am beginning to wonder how Mara and Skyler do it! Let alone you and Kiwi. Well guess I ought to break the news to him if he hasn't already found out." She headed out to find Nat. My heart went to the poor girl. In all honesty I don't know how we found time either - me and kiwi. There was still much more to find out about this Nat.

Aliana

Ensign Aliana put the last of her effects back into her storage locker and nodded to herself. Yes, she as ready for the inspections. But then, having just come from the academy quarters, she had hardly had time to misplace anything.

She sat on the edge of her bunk and glanced at her chonometer. Almost time for her first assigment as an ensign -- taking inventory in Beta Bay with Lt. Randrius. Okay, not the most difficult of assigments. Should be easy, right? So why did she feel so nervous? Blast it! She had survived -- no, more than survived, had done well in! -- the academy training, enduring and learning a great deal from Captain Lazant. As harsh and demanding as he might be, she knew he was a good intructor.

Lords, it had not been easy at first, either. Unlike many of the crew on the Callisto, she had no previous military experience. Her parents had not been in the military. Nor had her foster family, after the Great Destruction. She had been an agri-specialist on one of the agro ships. So it had felt like jumping in over her head, at first. The "farm girl" in the midst of all these warriors. A part of her was still intimidated and felt out of place.

The idea of joining the Colonial service had been a (crazy?) desire, after her foster parents had been killed in an accident. She had needed a break, a change. A complete change. After watching on of those recruitment vids on the IFB, the thought had struck her -- why not? So she had enlisted before she could change her mind.

She was that way. A dichotomy of impulsive daring and confidence and deep insecurity. She had proven that she could perform well in a viper, was above average at the combat training, and had aced all of the exams and course work. In theroy and on paper, it was so easy. She had even mastered the simulators without too much trouble. But. A simulator was not the "real thing." How would she do under real combat conditions? She knew she was prepared, but could she actually handle it?

And would she fit into the Black Squadron group? She was not used to working so closely with other people. She had pretty much been on her own when she had been on the agro ship. She didn't have to be a part of the "group" then. She had adapted in the academy, though. She had learned to rely on her squadron mates and to function -- at least in the simulations -- not as an individual, but as a part of the whole. So she would adapt here. But now she was back to knowing no one. And until she had a chance to "feel" out a person, she tended to be quiet and reserved.

That's why, when a voice had called out earlier, asking if anyone was in the barracks, she had pulled the covers up and tried to disappear. She was trying to rest up, anyway, for her first assigment. She just didn't feel like dealing with the introductions with a new person, yet. Not yet.

Okay, she thought, it was almost time. For Sagan's sake, there was nothing to be nervous about! Just a routine supply inventory. Check it off on a list. Count endless items. Simple. But how would working with Lt. Randrius be? Oh, well . . . she would find out soon enough. Deep breath. She was ready. If she could handle dealing with Captain Lazant, she could handle anything! Bring it on!

LucianG

Lieutenant Randrius looked at the numbers on the sheet. He gave a low whistle, and said, "Wow! I hope Gold Squadron over in Alpha Bay is in better shape than we are. We're short on everything we've examined so far, and the fleet's no where in sight. Let's just hope the Cylons don't show up anytime soon until after we've resupplied."

Aliana asked, "Is it that bad?"

"Well, not really, but we're used to having such a large reserve for extended missions and trips. According to what I heard, the Callisto has never been fully stocked. They keep trying to build up the reserves, but anytime we miss a shipment or two of materials, our supplies drop in a hurry. That bomb in the engine room didn't help matters, and the Battle at Shonada sucked up lots of war materiel."

Randrius looked at the list: spare parts #V-1-45234, V-1-45235, and V-1-45236 for Viper laser generators. In his book, those were pretty critical supplies. The box should be in the compartment on the next aisle.

Aliana

Ensign Aliana moved on to look for the indicated parts. She scanned the compartment, counted, recounted, checked all of the surrounding compartments.

“What’s the count?” Randrius asked, coming up behind her.

Aliana turned to face him. “None. We have none of the listed parts.”

Brie

Captain Brie could tell that word had spread about her "incident" with Hawke. At first everyone had been asking her what had happened, but the current question everyone asked was, "Are you okay?" She had a rather large bruise, and it hurt more than she was letting on. She was still puzzled by the whole thing. Why would a dependable warrior like Hawke suddenly turn against everyone?

Brie walked to the Med Lab. She needed to talk to Doc Bkj about getting some of the Gold Squadron members released. She was hoping that Mara would be allowed to return to light duty soon, and that Najinn would be allowed to return to active duty. What good was a punsihment if he spent the whole time in Sick Bay? She also wanted to talk to Mara, there was a sealing to help plan!

Then there was the whole question of what to do with Amy. She was healing quickly, and Sick Bay wasn't the place to keep someone who's life might still be in danger. Brie had a plan, she wanted Amy to move in with her for awhile. She had talked with Major Joey, who had agreed, but she still needed to talk to Lt. Col. Charybdis about it.

[LucianG]

Charybdis

Since I had a little time on my hands before the Gold squadron flights returned to the Callisto, I thought that I would visit some of the injured troops in the MedLab.

I entered to see that newly promoted Lt. Jarrynn was working on an injured crewman. Looks like he is having trouble with his eyes.

I go over to where Ens. Anubis is lying on his bunk. "Ensign, how are you doing today?"

He sort of stiffened up as I approached, but he relaxed and answered, "I'm alright, Colonel. I just wish I could get out of here soon." He seemed eager to get out of the Med Lab.

"I know what you mean. We need every man to be ready. You did a great job in the last mission. I wanted to thank you for what you did in helping the rest complete their mission. I'll see what I can do to get you released soon."
I patted him on the shoulder very lightly. He smiled a bit and rested.

I moved over to where the newly promoted Lt. Mara lay. She was looking very well. "Lieutenant" I stated. (RPG note: this happens after Mara has spoken to Rev. Mars)

She sat up and saluted, "Sir," she replied after a second. I think that she didn't realize that I was speaking to her, she had to get used to the new rank.

"I can tell that you are itching to get back to work. Take it from me, get all the rest you can. It appears that you have some big plans coming up?" She smiled when I referred to her sealing ceremony. She was absolutely beaming. Her flowing red hair and green eyes really lit up a room. I secretly thought that Lt. Skyler was a lucky man. He was a good Warrior and one of the men that I had known the longest.

Mara answered, "Yes, sir. I was just talking with Reverend Mars about the ceremony. There's a lot to plan for. I hope that you will attend the ceremony?" she raised her eyebrows.

I smiled, "I wouldn't miss it for the world. You two will make a great pair. I would be proud to be there."
I patted her on the shoulder and moved on to the next Warrior. THe room was on the other side of Med Lab. I entered and saw Lt. Amy lying on her bed. She looked over and smiled, but it wasn't the happiest smile in the world.

I walked over and sat on the bed next to her. "Amy, you gotta stop trying to get yourself killed." She smiled more and broke the tension. I held her hand. It was still bandaged and I could see some of the burned flesh underneath. With treatment, the Doc said that the scars would fade soon, but they were still very painful.

"I don't want you to blame yourself, Charybdis." she said. "Don't do that to yourself. I don't know what is happening, or why,but don't kill yourself over it, or me."

I realized the irony of her statement. Hers was a figure of speech, but her situation was a case of life or death. "Amy, you're in this situation partly because of me, and now, no felgercarb is going to keep me out of it." I wondered if I should say what I wanted to. I hadn't that fateful time when we last met in my quarters and we said goodby to each other. This time, I had to...

"Amy, I still love you. Letting you go was the worst thing I have done and I have regretted it ever since. The distance between us is like a thousand endless voids. I need you to be a major part of my life. To hell with the tribunal, to hell with the rest of them, I need you Amy. Together, we can solve what is going on and finally be safe and secure." I caught myself, wondering what the frack was I doing? But I didn't care, those were my true feelings. I may have hidden them well, Amy always said that I did, but hidden or not, they were there and they were real. I had to tell her.

I didn't know how she'd respond, but I patiently waited...

Selene2001

The Ensign entered the MedLab and looked around to see everyone who was there she noticed the Lieutenant Col. and Captain Brie, "Lieutenant, Captain." She nodded to each in turn respectfully. "Everything going well?"

She looked around a little bit more, as if looking for someone.

Amy81

I sat there, propped up on the medlab bed, looking at Charybdis, and letting what he had said sink in. I didn't really expect such an outpouring of affection from him. From anyone aboard, really, but least of all from him.

We had our chance, I thought. It ended badly, in a way we both didn't expect, but I guess in the only way it could end. It hurt pretty bad, but lately it was just one more bruise, another internal one to go with all the external ones I had picked up lately.

I thought about the events of the past month or so, and what I could have done to make things turn out differently, for me and Charybdis, but for others as well. A zig here, a zag there, biting my tounge at the right moment, not being so foolhardy and curious at other moments... I could be a really dumb person sometimes, and I guess life is all about choices and the consequences thereof.

Which brought me back to the beginning again. I didn't expect anyone to reach out to me, least of all Charybdis. But I needed someone to do just that, and to have it happen was too much for me to resist.

I reached out for him, and he drew closer, and soon we were embracing. I closed my eyes and just held on tightly, warmly, and for a moment things were like they were not that long ago, but yet seemed like ages ago at the same time.

"I love you too, Charybdis" I whispered. "I always have." I pushed away a little to look him in the eyes. I was surprised to be able to read him. I usually never could. I could see to his very soul. "I still think that with a little time, maybe we can make it work. But right now I'm some sort of Black Widow Crawlon or something. I nearly brought you down. I caused a great deal of trouble for Najinn as well. I just don't know what it is about me that makes guys do things that can cause them such harm."

I sighed before continuing. "I'm really not to popular around here. And with someone seeming to want me dead, I'm having a really hard time just being on board. It's tough coming to terms with that. And it's hard for me, especially with my resignation. I just don't fit in, and I'm a real square peg to be around. I'm having a hard time dealing with relationships, and it's not only Najinn that's the problem. I just don't know what the future holds for me anymore." I laughed a weak little laugh. "I used to be okay with that, but the future looks pretty scary to me right now."

Well, I'd said too much. I usually do. I leaned back in the bed, looking at Charybdis, and then away, focusing on a speck on the ceiling. I breathed in deep, and let it out slow. I looked back at Charybdis. The future might be a question mark, but at this moment, it was good to have Charybdis near me.

Charybdis

Amy seemed so vulnerable, so unsure of herself. I felt the same way, maybe I was just better at covering it up.

"Amy, we all feel that way. Not just you and me, but everyone on this ship. Everyone with the fleet. Every human still alive on whatever planet they happen to inhabit. But, we must have the strength to keep on going. I promise you, that nothing will hurt you again. I will see to it personally. I will get to the bottom of what is going on. And you won't have anything to fear again." I tried with all my might and persuasive powers to let her know that.

"And it's going to start with getting you to more secure quarters. I talked with Brie about moving you into her quarters. You will be able to recuperate there and with Brie to watch over you, you'll be fine. And before you object, it was HER idea, not mine," I smiled. Amy smiled back. A face that would melt duridium with its radiant shine!

"I'll talk with Doc and Brie and you'll be out of here before you know it." That seemed to cheer her up. Brie had been out in the Med Lab before, I thought maybe she would like a turn at talking with Amy.

"I'd better get going. Duty on the bridge. New missions... seems to never end, huh?" Amy nodded. "Well, you get better fast." I leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss. I stared into her eyes, she stared back...

I smiled and let her hand go. I had to get to the bridge.

[LucianG]

LucianG

The order from Commander Sheba was short and to the point. A formal interview with Lieutenant Hawke would be held at 08:00 that evening at shift change. Failure to resolve the issue completely and in extremely short order (by either showing some really extenuating circumstances or by admittance of guilt) would result in Hawke being confined indefinitely in the brig. With the Callisto scheduled to arrive in the vicinity of Frodar Epsilon in less than two cycles, Sheba said to Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis that she saw no need for ridiculous activities such as this.

The much more important matter was what to do about contacting the human colony on Frodar Epsilon. Reverend Mars hadn’t been by yet to talk about the situation, but Sheba suspected that the colonists were suffering from one of those sympathetic disorders where the hostage begins to feel sorry for the captor. On reading the transcript for what had seemed to be the one hundredth time, Sheba had decided that it wasn’t just the humans, but the Cylons as well suffering from what she termed, in her thoughts as a layperson, the “we’re afraid to win syndrome.” If the descendants of the Gastonov’s crew had been there fighting the Cylons, and vice versa, for as long as thought, it was no wonder that their priorities were off.

She wrote the first order:

The Callisto is to move into position behind Frodar Gamma, and launch ships as noted below. They are to proceed to Frodar Epsilon under radio silence. The Callisto is then to move to Frodar Epsilon, and take a stationary orbital position at the equator, 180 degrees opposite the human colony. The ship is to remain cloaked and on medium alert, except when in view of the satellite moon, during which time, we will be on high alert.

The second order followed:

A landing party of seven (7) Gold Squadron Warriors are to land on Frodar Epsilon, at a secret location some distance from the Gastonov colony. Three Warriors are to arrive by shuttle, and the remainder are to go by Viper. Launch is to be from behind Frodar Gamma.

On the surface, the group is to split, with three (3) Warriors going to contact the Gastonov colonists, using a heavy LandRam for transport and protection. Captain Brie (or one of the senior bridge officers) should be with this group, since it is basically a ‘first contact’ situation. Said leader will be assigned the temporary rank of full “Colonel” to be capable of giving orders on the surface.

The landing party is to find out as much as possible from them. Explain the current war situation, but do not give out any information as to what our ship is or where it is. Explain that the Cylon Base-Star or Base-Stars will be arriving shortly, and when they do, their colony will be destroyed. We and they combined do not have enough firepower to stop them if they come in the numbers expected. Their colony must be evacuated to our ship immediately. Any quickly transportable resources that they have must be brought with them, since we are already stretched to the limit; however, we probably will not have a lot of time to disassemble fixed assets. These will need to be destroyed by the Gastonov colonists, or if they refuse, our second group of four Gold Squadron Warriors, who will serve as backup to the first group, will have to do it.

The third order followed:

Black Squadron will send six (6) Warriors to land on the satellite moon, infiltrate the Cylon Base, and bring down the shield-dome. They will launch from behind Frodar Gamma.

They will have to wear enviro-suits, since the moon is airless. Inside the shield-dome, we believe there is air, possibly even breathable by humans, but with the shield-dome’s collapse, that will be lost, possibly even explosively, so appropriate precautions must be taken by the group. These Warriors are to evacuate the Cylon base as soon as their job is complete. We suspect that infiltration may not be that difficult IF it is accomplished prior to them discovering our presence based on any of the actions noted above or by other means; however, escaping will be extremely difficult.

The next order was:

We will have a flight of four (4) Gold Squadron Vipers on standby alert. Based on our analysis of the two battles we have recorded, a group of four of our Warriors in our Vipers will be more than enough to turn the tide of battle if both sides are engaged. A second group of four (4) Gold Squadron Vipers will alternate with the first group. If at all possible, these will not be launched until the Black Squadron Warriors have brought down the shield-dome, since the Vipers’ presence will give us away immediately.

The final order in the set was:

Twelve (12) Silver Spar Squadron Warriors will pilot six of our Bombers to attack the Cylon Base from above, destroying their power generator. Six (6) Black Squadron Vipers will accompany them for defense or strafing of ground based defensive systems as needed. The Cylon Base must be destroyed quickly and completely. Note that this group will not launch until after the Black Squadron Warriors have brought down the shield-dome.

When she was done, she signed the order, and handed it to Lieutenant Colonel Charybdis.

“Please institute these immediately,” she said, “and impress on the Squadron Commanders how critical this action is. I would prefer to use qualified volunteers wherever possible, but with the time situation as it is, have them do the best they can. They will need to coordinate needed equipment and supplies with Mission Specialist Fenmarnis, since she has already reported some shortages. We will be in position behind Frodar Gamma in about 18 centars. We must launch the two groups quickly, and they must proceed immediately and silently to their objectives. Failure to accomplish this quickly could mean the end of us all.”

She thanked Charybdis as he left the Ready Room. She looked at her chrono. The Cylons could be arriving very, very shortly.

As she was picking up the next file, she received a call from Doc. She was on her way with what sounded to be a real emergency.

Bkj_99

Wiping her forehead with the back of her hand nonchalantly, Doc glanced down at her papers disaprovingly. Officer Lolly's autopsy results were not what she had expected. The autopsy showed that he had edema thoracic tissue lining his throat and a generalized streptococcus gas bacillus infection. The results concluded that he was killed by an unfamilar poison.

Glancing upward as she walked into Med Lab, Doc noticied that Brie and Lt. Col. Charybdis standing in the far corner speaking to the patients. Catching Brie's eye, Doc waved her hand towards herself. Walking over quickly, Brie asked, "What's up?"

"I thought you would like to know that I am releasing Najiin to complete active duty. I also think it would be a good idea to release Mara and Annibus but the two of them on light duty only."

"Oh! That is good news!" Brie replied zealously. "I have a question for you as well," she paused looking over at the patients. Turning her attention back to Doc, she queried,"For Amy's safety, I would like her to move into my quarters until we get this all settled. Would that be a problem for you?"

"I have no problem with that. As long as I would be able to make frequent checks on her recovery. I probably wouldn't need to do this on a daily basis; but at least every other day or so. If that's not a problem I see no reason to stop her from moving." Doc continued, "I am afraid you'll have to get back to me on your decision for I have to get a hold of Commander Sheba immediatly."

Doc spun on her heel and went into her office. Picking up her cel-com she called Commander Sheba to tell her to meet her in the Ready-Room in the next ten minutes. She did the same to Lt. Col. Charybdis and Capt. Urdea.

--------------------------

Doc was waiting in the Ready-Room when Capt. Urdea, the last person she had contacted, arrived.

"I want to thank you all for coming here on such short notice," Doc announced. "The reason we are here is to discuss the autopsy of Officer Lolly. He was undoubtly killed with a poison that is unknown to me. It seems to be a naturally synthesized venom not a manufactured poison. It effected his nervous system, coarsing throughout his body, and finally shutting down his brain," Doc sighed into the stillness of the room. "I believe this is a most serious situation because I was not able to gain any information regarding this poison. Since there was a limited sample left on the body it was literally impossible for me to gain any knowledge of the poison. Without a larger supply of this poison I am unable to produce an anti-venom," Doc paused again regaining composure. "If this poison is not contained we could have a very serious epidemic, which would be out of my control."

Commander Sheba, Lt. Col. Charybdis, and Capt. Urdea looked up at Doc blankly, not quite sure how to react.

MaraJadeJedi

MaraJade nearly jumped out of the bed when she heard the news that she was going to be released on light duty only. She had traded a dress for someones extra uniform jacket since she ruined hers in the crash. She had ripped off the sleeve to keep from crying out in the comm system as she tried to land with her broken wrist. She headed out to the hanger that her wrecked viper was in. Walking around it and running her hands on it, the images of it came back to her.
"Sorry ol girl, I banged you up bad. But thanks for keeping me alive. I hope someone can fix you back up." Sighing she left the hanger and headed back to the barracks. So much was on her mind. Now that she is released she hoped things would go the way she hoped for the sealing ceremony. Skyler! She needed to find him to let him know she was released.

[LucianG]

Lt_Skyler

Skyler was looking over Tech Gruber's lastest peice of work. He was amazed at the detail that they had accomplished. At this rate they would be finished in a little while. Pulling out the hand scanner and running it over the newly fabracated peice of metel it showed it to be above spec, as was all the work they were turning out. He didn't really need to be here, he felt in the way.

The Comm system beeped and Skyler picked it up.

"Lt. Skyler here."

The voice on the other end that crackled through the speaker belonged to Holodoc.

"Lt. thought you would want to know, Lt. Mara Jade has been released on light duty. I got to run, bye."

"Thanks Holodoc."

Skyler called the womans barracks and the Ensign that answered the comm told him that Mara hadn't gotten there yet, but she would tell her where he was, and to call him there. Skyler shut down the comm system, and went to look at the new peice Gruber was finishing up.

Charybdis

The following are needed ASAP by squadron leaders:

1. Operation First Contact -- ground mission to Frodar Epsilon

Gold Squadron (Cpt. Brie):

3 Warriors on shuttle (I suggest Cpt. Brie take command on surface and assume rank of "Field Colonel."
4 Warriors in vipers

8 Warriors on standby for Viper patrol missions as needed


2. Operation Black Ball -- ground demolitions mission to Cylon moon

Black Squadron (Maj. Lucian):

6 Warriors in Vipers/w enviro suits


Report ASAP!!!

Lt. Col. Charybdis
Bridge Ops Officer

Brie

"Colonel Brie." The sound of it made Brie laugh. Not too long ago she had been chewed out by Commander Sheba, who had threatened to remove Brie from command. Right after that Brie was attacked by a member of her own squadron. Now she was being made a colonel. She realized that it was only temporary, she would return to being "just" a captain the moment she returned to the Callisto. Brie still thought it was funny. She hoped that she would be able to tell Captain Lazant, she wanted to see the look on his face.

Captain Lazant would have to wait. Brie had a mission to plan. Although Brie would rather be in her viper, she decided to pilot the shuttle. She thought it best to keep the group to contact the colony together, so also in the shuttle would be Lt. Skyler and Lt. Najinn. Brie knew that Commander Sheba would question Najinn being assigned to the mission, and maybe Brie was doing it in part to keep him out of his duty working with the Black Shirts, but that didn't matter. She knew that she could use him on this mission. Once on the ground Lt. Skyler would operate the land ram.

The viper escorts would be Lt. Cain, who would be in command of the flight, also Ensigns Kiwi, Ariana and Serene. It was risky having three ensigns, but Kiwi had proven himself already. Brie knew that he would be glad that he was in a viper and not in the shuttle. She briefly considered switching Kiwi and Najinn, but she was still unsure of Najinn's state of mind and wanted to be able to keep an eye on him.

Choosing the two standby flights was more difficult. Brie knew how much everyone hated being on standby. There was nothing more boring than sitting in the Ready Room...waiting. The first flight would be Lt. Ben, in command of the flight, with Lt. Vulpa, Lt. Talon and Lt. Harley. The second flight would be commanded by Lt. SiressEden, with Lt. Talon, Lt. Worf and Ensign Kellyn.

Brie posted the orders, along with a warning that although the shuttle and viper escort were set, the standby flights were subject to change. She then decided to look for Captain Lazant.

Selene2001

Selene was both excited and somewhat scared but it was mostly excitement that showed. She looked at the orders and then went back to her quarters to prepare. She grabbed her Flight Jacket, which when off duty, she doesn't really wear. She also grabs a datapad, strangely and puts it in a pocket. But that is all, she then goes to Colonel Brie's office to report for duty..

LucianG

Major Lucian looked over the list of available candidates for Operation Black Ball. After studying the matrix, he began to fill out the form.

Mission Commander: Lt. BatGal
Second-in-Command: Lt. Merak (who would also double as the unit’s First Aider, with the training he had received in his earlier Security duties).
Other members:
Lt. Stadia
Lt. Wendy
Ens. Kris
Ens. Lusitan

Report to Mission Specialist Fenmarnis immediately for envirosuit fitting. They will have to make any modifications during Second Shift tonight. Finally he wrote, "Anyone who had a good reason not to be able to go was to report immediately so appropriate substitutions can be made. Good luck to all."

Figuring that a Viper Escort/Rescue team might be needed, he placed the following Warriors on that list:

Wing Leader: Lt. Randrius
Second-in-Command: Ensign Anubis (assuming that Doc would agree to place him back on Flight Status).
Lt. Grendyl
Ens. Zerrana
Ens. Aliana
Ens. Sonja

In the event that Anubis could not fly, Grendyl would move up to SIC, and Lt. SDavis would rotate onto the list.

He sent word to the members that the initial briefing would be held just after the upcoming shift change. That would allow everyone to get plenty of sleep before the start of the mission.

MedievalSong

Ensign Kris heard the assignments for the new mission and sighed. This was not good but she had no choice. ****
I hated this! I just got back and I wanted to see Nat! But I knew this was going to happen, so I didn't fight it. It the Major wants me along then I guess I oughta go. I headed down the halls after seeing Jarrynn. I still can't see how Mara and Skyler let alone Jarrynn and Kiwi can be together. Or is it that Fate just isn't my biggest fan? I thought. How was I going to tell Nat that I couldn't make it this time? More so after hearing what he went thru to get the flower for me. I stopped outside the training room, almost dreading having to tell him I was going again. The last thing I wanted him to think was that I was trying to avoid him. The Lords of Kobol knew that I wanted just to have one night to just have a planned date work out for once. So I opened the door and walked in.

LucianG

It was not long before the enviro-suit fitting when Ensign Kris entered Nat’s quarters to inform him that she would have to break their date. Nat was still living in relative luxury with more than adequate space, since no one had yet been assigned to the other bunk in the training officers’ quarters.

“Kris, have a seat. I’ll be with you in a moment,” he said from the small washroom. “How’s your day?”

She had sat down in one of the two chairs, and when she did, she noticed a paper that had fallen off the floor. Nat had told her that he liked to write long-hand whenever possible, since he was always typing and programming in front of the computers. She was about to answer Nat's question when she picked up the paper and sat it on the table. As she did, she could not help but see the first few words at the top. In the ensuing panic that seemed to sweep through her, she suddenly felt as if her chest was being squeezed as if she was in the training accelerator. The first line read:

My Dear Sharla,

I have missed you so very much in the time that we have been separated—