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Post by Amy81 on Aug 28, 2013 10:30:24 GMT -6
(Just an idea. Nothing planned here, so anyone could post anything they wanted to. How would this situation affect your character? Not exactly an original idea, but I'd been thinking about the game for a while now, so.... Oh yeah, sorry no chapter number! I don't think this qualifies as a chapter, not right now anyway! This is a very lite idea.)
* * * With a final look back at her baby girl, Captain Amy tugged at the jacket of her uniform and left the child care area of the Callisto. She glanced at her chrono and saw that there was still time to make the briefing.
She never thought she'd be an active pilot again, and still wasn't sure if she was up to it. It'd been so long since she'd done this, and wasn't sure what anyone would think when she joined the rest who were gathering for the briefing.
Illness had swept through the pilot's ranks before, and this time was no less serious. Not all the pilots had been affected, but enough that the Callisto's defenses were compromised just as the fleet was entering an area of space that defied long range scans.
The call had gone out for all able bodied pilots, casting a net for volunteers...
She wondered what Charybdis would say when she entered the briefing room. She wondered who among Gold had managed to avoid the sickness that spread among them, and who might be her wingman. Being away from it for so long, she'd need to lean on the active pilots until she got back into it all again.
She wondered what it would be like to sit in the pilot's seat again...
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Post by Col. Charybdis on Aug 28, 2013 12:29:05 GMT -6
Here we go again...Charybdis had felt this feeling a thousand times before, just before Commander Sheba had to order pilots out again to search into the black inkiness of space not knowing what lay beyond scanner range. The Callisto and life onboard her didn't change all that much since arriving. Such was the life of a Colonial Warrior.
The last several sectars had been very hectic indeed. After the fleet had found the habitable planet, nicknamed "Paradis" by some, most of the people of the fleet got to know what it was like to spend time planetside. Some, like the children or those under 35 yahrens of age, had never set foot on a hard piece of rock before!
The planet was beautiful. Green verdant valleys and pastures. Rivers of crystal clean water flowed down from massive mountains which were always covered in snow and ice, well, at least for the time the fleet spent there, not an entire yahren overall since first arriving at this oasis in space.
The ships were kept in orbit and skeleton repair crews worked on time shifts to get them fixed, just in case they were needed again. Many thought that this was it, this planet would be the start of a new Colonial civilization. Vigil was kept all the time. Pilots were always on alert and routine patrols buzzed around the system at all times watching for the Cylons and any activity that would usher an end to it all...again.
Civilian leaders took charge down on the planet and once most of them evacuated their metal ships, they began to clear large areas of the land and build basic domiciles in order to make a home...the first real home they had known since the destruction so long before.
It had been decided that one large area situated in a valley would be the best site to begin constructing the first city. A large river ran nearby and there was plenty of land for crops and food. Observation towers went up on the mountain ranges where radar scanning equipment kept an eye on the heavens for any sign.
Military posts were erected in short fashion and some lucky devils got to be stationed in those on the planet. A rude government was set up and things were progressing nicely.
Then, several sectars later, the sickness hit. People of all ages began to get sick. At first, a general malaise, some fever, chills. It then progressed to full-blown incapacitating illness. The elderly who got it began to die. Some who were already ill, succumbed quickly as well. The populace was frantic.
The scientists and doctors worked endlessly to isolate what it was but to no avail...
Then, a breakthrough. A pilot who had been on a deep space patrol had returned already showing signs of illness. Although everything checked out, he too came down with the malady. Every aspect of his mission was combed over and it was finally determined that he had set foot on a tiny asteroid made of some sort of strange substance. It appeared to be rock, but scans showed that it had a lot of metal ore in it and with a very strange molecular orientation, almost man-made and not occurring in any natural formation known to man.
Unfortunately, this particular pilot had been stationed planetside and it was determined that he might have spread any disease amongst the population. In a piece of good fortune, some of the Callisto pilots were permanently stationed onboard the ship so they were safe, but almost half the ranks had been rotated down to Paradis, so some of them had caught the infection and were out of action for now.
Commander Sheba had sent out the call for any available pilots to volunteer for a mission to find the asteroid and get samples for a possible way to find an antidote for the illness. Nobody from the planet was allowed onboard any of the orbiting ships, including the Callisto in order to keep the illness confined to the surface.
The mission was risky since the Callisto would be operating with just less than half of her ranks, but it was imperative that she find the source of the sickness.
Charybdis glanced at his chrono and centon advanced by one. It was time. Commander Sheba was already there in her command chair in the briefing room and I was sitting beside her in my usual place.
Pilots poured in, although not as many as usual. They began taking seats and at once I noticed one pilot in particular enter near the end of the line. It was Amy! What in the Twelve Colonies was she doing here? Where was our baby?
Amy had devoted herself fulltime to caring for our child which was born just after we reached the planet, but since that had happened, she had wanted to stay onboard the Callisto with me since I could not leave. I was glad since I could spend a lot of time with our baby girl. She looked just like her mother! A vibrant beautiful spirit! She was my pride and joy.
But I wondered where she was as Amy came in and sat with the rest of the pilots in the briefing room. Amy had obviously not told me about this move.
Commander Sheba rose and explained the situation. Two teams of pilots would travel to the last known location of the asteroid based upon the coordinates of the sick pilot and would seek out and find the asteroid. A special landing team would collect samples and return to a science ship that will be travelling with the Callisto in order to begin the analysis procedure prior to returning back to the planet. In that way, time would be saved in the hopes that we could find the antidote.
The first team would scout for the asteroid while the second team would cover just in case any hostile forces were encountered.
After Commander Sheba finished, she asked for a show of hands for any volunteers...
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Reaper
Viper Pilot
Extreme Warrior
Posts: 412
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Post by Reaper on Aug 30, 2013 5:29:30 GMT -6
Edan looked around the surprisingly empty room, He knew just how serious this had become. Granted the room was large and there was a decent showing of healthy Warriors, but nowhere near the full compliment he was used to prior to settlements being established on the planet below.
Then the request for Warriors to find the Astroid. Edan knew there was no choice, but it was still not an easy decision to risk the sickness. Not easy, but then again, it did seem like Edan was one of the first to step forward.
"I'm in Commander, whatever you need."
Edan resisted the urge to look around to see who else volunteered. he had no doubts that there would be more then enough Volunteers to get the mission done. Warriors, by nature did not shy away from danger. When friends and fellow warriors were in danger, you tended to risk even more. Add to that the Civilian population, well, Edan wouldn't be surprised to see 100% of the healthy Volunteers Volunteer here.
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bouriplwel
Viper Pilot
"Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All I Do"
Posts: 354
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Post by bouriplwel on Sept 10, 2013 9:42:20 GMT -6
Lt. Plwel walked into the meeting with the group of warriors....feeling a little awkward wearing his warrior jacket and sidearm again after so long. He received a few glances, but it didn't seem like anyone from Core Command or his own squadron really noticed he was there......with the exception of Col. Charybdis who gave him a reassuring glance as he entered. Bouri sat in the back of the briefing room listening to Commander Sheba as she spoke. A considerable amount of time had passed since the sabotage incident of his viper, the loss of his family and particularly the loss of Capt. Logan in his life. Col. Charybdis had temporarily grounded Plwel and he and Commander Sheba had mandated treatment and therapy for him to deal with everything that had been going on in his life since that incident, accept and deal with it and move on. As far as Logan was concerned, all Plwel wanted now was wish the very best for she and Hush and hope a universe of happiness for her.....even if it didn't end up being with him. Hopefully time had made it possible that they could continue to work together again professionally now that he had been returned to full active duty and flight status once again and returned to his squadron.
During his treatment, Lt Plwel had not logged any flight time in an actual viper although he was almost constantly spending time maintaining his flight skills in the simulators during his duty time....it was all that he had really for the longest time it seemed. But now that things were pretty much back to normal, he was understandably nervous, but excited to get back into the cockpit again and be what he was meant to be.....a Colonial Warrior again.
As Commander Sheba completed her briefing, Plwel saw his friend, Lt Edan stand up first to announce to everyone "I'm in Commander, whatever you need." He was happy to see Edan again...it had been so long as Edan didn't have a lot of opportunity to visit with Plwel while he was grounded due to extensive duty obligations and not much down time....although he did manage to visit from time to time for a pyramid game or two over some nice ambrosia. Lt. Plwel was inspired to stand with his fried and fellow squadron member as he rose in the back, walked forward, stood by Edan and said..."You can count me in as well Commander.....I am ready to serve!" All eyes focused on the two warriors standing there in that instant as Plwel noticed a slight grin appear on Col. Charybdis' face as he made his statement.......
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 10, 2013 11:35:24 GMT -6
Amy avoided making any eye contact with Charybdis. She'd had a history of surprising him with unexpected moves, and she regretted blindsiding him with this one. But if she'd gone to him, she knew he'd have either talked her out of volunteering or there would have been a very loud discussion that wouldn't have resolved anything if she'd stood firm.
She wasn't firm on this at all. She wanted nothing more than to raise their daughter in peace, but when had there ever really been any peace for anyone in the fleet? Still, she felt guilty leaving her daughter in someone else's care....
The commander finished her remarks by asking for volunteers. Lt. Edan was first to come forward. "I'm in Commander" he said, "whatever you need." Amy regretted not knowing him first hand. She'd heard a lot about him though. Being inactive and busy being a mother, she hadn't had much reason to visit with Gold Squadron.
Right behind him, Lt. Plwel stood and joined his fellow warrior. "You can count me in as well Commander.....I am ready to serve!" he said boldly and proudly. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a small smile on Charybdis's face. She wondered how long it would stay there.
Heart pounding, Amy stood and started forward. "Captain Amy requesting return to active duty, Commander."
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Reaper
Viper Pilot
Extreme Warrior
Posts: 412
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Post by Reaper on Sept 11, 2013 20:09:49 GMT -6
"You can count me in as well Commander.....I am ready to serve!" Lt Plwel stood up and Volunteered right after Edan did. Edan looked over to where the his friend was standing, offered a smile and a nod of respect. Despite everything that has happened, Edan was glad to have his friend with him on the mission.
That's when he heard another volunteer, "Captain Amy requesting return to active duty, Commander." Edan had never served with the Captain, but he knew of her, and her service record, even if a bit out of date. Out of Date or not, Edan had no doubts about her Skills. No a single Doubt. Looking at the Captain, Edan offered the respectful Nod to the Captain. And a smile that showed he was ready to serve under her command.
Edan turned his attention back to Commander Sheba, waiting for her to issue more orders.
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Post by Col. Charybdis on Sept 13, 2013 10:19:24 GMT -6
As I looked on, the entire room stood up!! It never amazed me, after so many yahrens of hardship, every one of our warriors were true heroes in my book. The fact that Amy stood up as well made my heart swell with pride, if not with some nervous tension since she was the mother of our child. I would have to see how that played out when I got the chance to talk with her. Everything had seemed normal just this morning when I last saw her and she never said a word.
I knew what Commander Sheba was planning, but I didn't think Amy would want to go on this mission. Sheba began to speak...
"Thank you to all of you. I know how hard this is, to keep vigil and keep sacrificing yourselves for our cause, but I don't have to tell you that freedom is not free. Not as long as the Cylons are out there. Now that I know we will have a full complement of warriors on this mission, I can breathe a little easier. I didn't want to have send a small contingent. If any of you have ground mission and technical expertise especially in the medical/science area, you will be placed on the landing team. I will let Col. Charybdis oversee the exact placement of our warriors on the two teams and which will ride with the experimental medical landing craft. Briefing will be tomorrow morning at 0700 standard planet time. I suggest getting your ships and affairs in order and get some sleep tonight. Unfortunately, due to the serious nature of this mission, the officer's lounge will be closed...until you return. Dismissed."
The commander turned and left through the rear door of the room while I stayed behind to begin the organization. "Alright, please line up on either side of the room to volunteer for placement on the mission. Those on the science/tech landing team to the left, cover team to the right..."
I waited to see who would go where...
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Reaper
Viper Pilot
Extreme Warrior
Posts: 412
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Post by Reaper on Sept 13, 2013 13:38:59 GMT -6
Edam had no science or medical training, well nothing besides the basics, but what he did have was ground combat training. A holdover from his time with Council Security. Whoever had the technical training would need on the site protection. This made Edan's choice easy. It's where he thought he could do the most good. He quietly and without the show he put into volunteering at first, walked to the side indicated for the ground mission.
Honestly, Edan didn't know how much ground training his fellow Warriors might have. Hades hole, this Generation of Warriors barely knew what living on a planet was like. The Holocaust having been almost 35 yarhen ago. The next Generation would have no clue.
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 17, 2013 13:04:35 GMT -6
Amy watched Edan move to the side of the room where the ground mission volunteers would assemble. In her mind she raced through her own options, and was conflicted on what to do.
She had been a pretty good pilot, but she hadn't seen a simulator in a long time, let alone actual flying time. She felt that even if she chose the cover team, that decision would be reversed by the Commander, if not at first, then after strong opinions were offered by Charybdis. She couldn't blame either of them if that's how it turned out. She probably would do the same if the roles were reversed. Yet, if there weren't enough pilots for the cover team, she would join that side in a micron.
What she did have was a lot of ground experience. She'd been on snow planets, and on space stations crawling with cylons and even Baltar himself, and she had more than held her own. In spite of a lack of science and med knowledge, the ground team was her best choice.
Still, she held back. She hoped it didn't make her look uncertain. She wanted to see how the cover team filled out. A lack of pilots on the cover team would make her decision for her....
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bouriplwel
Viper Pilot
"Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All I Do"
Posts: 354
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Post by bouriplwel on Sept 19, 2013 7:26:37 GMT -6
Bouri did not have to think very long about his decision after Col Charybdis announced who should go where for volunteering. Although the thought of being a part of the landing party sounded exciting in itself, and could contribute to the technical mission of the ground team, Lt. Plwel needed to get back into the cockpit again and fly. " I am a Colonial Warrior!" he thought to himself...." I was born to fly and protect this fleet." he said to himself under his breath as he stepped to the right to join the cover team. As he took his place in line, Plwel turned around to see Lt Edan on the other side of the room who nodded at him with a sign of encouragement and approval. He also looked at Capt. Amy, who he didn't know very well....really only in name and reputation....who still stood there looking between the two sides of the room, as if she couldn't make up her mind which team to join. Plwel wondered if he would have the opportunity to fly with her under her command. He waited patiently as the rest of the warriors in the room made their decisions....
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