The Devil You Know
Written by: Wes Imlay
"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't": A saying that means it is better to deal with a person or thing you know, even if you do not like them, than to deal with a new person or thing that could be even worse.
Chapter One: Good Intentions
Three Years before the fall of the Colonies:
Colonel Artimus Bowman, Executive Officer of the battlestar Cerberus, sat in the study of the Delphi house coming to terms with the events that had transpired three days ago. His grandfather, Archibald Bowman, had passed away at the age of seventy-two. The man who was more of a father to him than his actual father was no longer here. He had been granted emergency leave; and he had departed the Cerberus for what felt like the longest Raptor ride of his life. The house his grandparents lived in was crowded with family and friends, among them his parents. Steven and Eliza Bowman had come from their house in the small town of Oasis; and the moments between father and son felt as though there was a forced civility between the two.
Archibald Bowman's mind had been going for some time before his passing; even that light in his eyes had faded according to what information his grandmother had passed along. The Tolans had done what they could to help pay for the care required for a man in his condition, care that probably went a long way to helping Archibald Bowman survive longer than other people with this disease that robbed a person of their mind, their dignity, and ultimately their life.
His grandmother, Claire Bowman, was being looked after by three of the most important women in Artimus' life. His wife Brooke was doing all she could to make the situation easier on her grandmother-in-law; and providing further help were Emily and Lacey Tolan. Artimus knew Emily from his friendship with her husband, Rear Admiral Scott Tolan. Lacey, Scott Tolan's first-cousin, was like a niece to Artimus and Brooke. She was a senior at Conall High School in Clio, Canceron and had been excused from her classes to come to Caprica.
Brooke had insisted that he come to his grandfather's study, to have some time to reflect and collect his thoughts. He sat at the desk and looked at the volumes of book that lined a small bookshelf.
Instinctively, his hands reached for a brown leather-bound volume. In gold leaf lettering were the words 'Journal of Archibald Bowman' and beneath it read 'The Cylon War'. This was his grandfather's journal chronicling his time spent as a Search and Rescue Raptor pilot during his time in the Colonial Fleet during the war.
When Artimus wanted to enlist in the Colonial Fleet, his grandfather had brought him into this study and had him sit at this desk. He had removed the journal and handed it to him, telling him to take the time to read every page and know what it was life to serve in the military during the war with the Cylons. If he wanted to enlist after that, then he had his blessing.
Artimus opened the book and thumbed through the pages. He soon noticed that there was a break in the pages of the middle of the book. Something was squeezed inside and was dividing a section of the journal. He opened it up and found a small crumpled photograph that was clearly acting as a bookmark. The photograph was of a Colonial Raptor on the Hangar Deck of a Battlestar. Two men were standing infront of it one of whom he recognized as a much younger version of his own now deceased grandfather but he didn't recognize the man standing next to him who appeared to be his grandfather's ECO. There were very few pictures from those dark days that Archibald Bowman held onto since he preferred to keep images in his own memory; a tragedy in itself given the fate that befell the man's mind. Archibald 'Firefly' Bowman had numerous ECOs during his career so it was not easy for Artimus to simply place the man. Therefore he looked down at the page it was marking for an answer. Eventually an entry caught his eye; it read 'Mission to Canceron with Admiral Stryker.' From his friendship with Scott Tolan, Artimus had an idea of what life was like on Canceron. He had formed an opinion of both the colony and the Basileus Crime Syndicate by reading this one journal entry. When he had met Tolan during their mission to rescue President Adar's sister and niece, it had even colored his opinion of the man who would ultimately become one of his closest friends.
Without even realizing he was doing so his mind became enthralled in the entry on the pages before him. He had read it once before but his mind had largely cast out what had happened, replaced by events in his own life. Through his now more experienced eyes he read about this particular exploit during his grandfather's life as if it were for the first time. If anything it would give him a welcome diversion from the family storm that had encircled him.
Forty-Two Years before the fall:
The hangar deck of the Battlestar Columbia was filled with the frantic sounds of the usual activity of a ship at war. Vipers were being run through their diagnostics check; Raptors were being fueled to carry out their vital supporting role of providing Electronic Warfare support. Tankers sat ready to be launched to keep the air wing flying so as to not waste time landing to refuel. To the casual observer the entire deck seemed crowded and chaotic. This couldn't be further from the truth. The whole scene was actually conducted like an immense string orchestra with every one playing their part in the symphony that is a Battlestar.
Standing off to the side, a man in dress grays watched the hive of activity with eyes that resembled a proud father watching his children growing up to become adults and making their own life. This was a dream come true for him, the result of years of hard work as well as much trial and error. The Columbia, the lead ship of the class of twelve Battlestars, was serving as the flagship of Battlestar Division One. This division, also consisting of the Battlestars Galactica, Athena, and Courageous, garnered the title of the 'tip of the sword' by the higher-ups in the Colonial Fleet.
He checked his watch, knowing that in a minute or so his two pilots should be here. Fleet Admiral Jonas Ingram Stryker had a mission to complete today, a high-level negotiation with a group that most civilized people of the Twelve Colonies detested. The Basileus Crime Syndicate was the sole group that ran the organized crime on the colony of Canceron; and now it seemed they might be needed to fend off the Cylons on the colony. The news in the past week had been grim…
The cities of Romanos, Nicomedia, Smyrna, Viar, Tryavna, and Amarna had fallen to the Cylons, sending refugees into the rural interior country of the continents as the Cylons put captured soldiers and citizens to death. The only metropolis left was the city of Iopolis; and it was reported that the Cylons would head there next. Before this renewed Cylon offensive the Colonial forces had fought a bloody stalemate for five years. It seemed the toasters were finally turning the tide in what had been war of attrition.
The Basileus could be an asset in this case; just a matter of what type of deal could be negotiated. The President had ordered him to make concessions as long as they were not too unreasonable. Right now it was important to find a way to hold Canceron; none of the colonies had completely fallen to the Cylons and Stryker did not want to see that trend reversed. For over a year now he had pressured President Gwyneth Morrigan for approval to recruit the Basileus, but had been rebuffed each time. With the recent turn of fortune on the colony, the President felt it best to think 'outside the box' on certain issues.
Stryker saw two men walking towards him in their gold flight suits, he surmised that these must be the Raptor pilot and ECO accompanying him on this mission. The two flight crew had been selected for this mission by Stryker based on the reputation they had gained. These two men were part of a very special group of pilots within the fleet whose courage, which often bordered on sheer recklessness, had become both legendary and reassuring to their fellow pilots and air crew for these men were part of the Combat Search And Rescue force – a truly elite group. It was their job to fly in the face of enemy fire ranging from slingshots to Raiders and SAM missile batteries in order to bring downed pilots or wounded Marines back home safely.
The life expectancy of a CSAR pilot and ECO was understandably low.
The two men stood at attention and saluted, "Captain Archibald Bowman and Lieutenant Vincent Zeresi as ordered, sir!"
Stryker returned the salute, "At ease, men. So…You two are the pilots I've heard so much about. 'Firefly' and 'Govie' if I'm not mistaken?
"Yes sir!" said Bowman firmly.
"When someone drops the ball, we get the call, sir!" chanted Zeresi.
"Very good, Is your Raptor ready to depart?"
"The deck gang should have her fueled and ready for departure within the next fifteen minutes," Bowman said.
"Very well, I'm going to have a word with Commander Thane and then we'll leave for Canceron," Stryker said before turning away from the two men and leaving the hangar deck.
"That's the man himself; we are on a mission with Admiral Stryker…," Zeresi said with absolute awe.
"I imagined he'd be taller," Bowman said which drew a look from Zeresi. "What? I always thought he was ten feet tall and bulletproof."
The two of them turned and began to walk across the Hangar Deck towards their Raptor. Zeresi was particularly pleased about their assignment to Canceron and felt it necessary to voice his opinion.
"Wow, we're going to Canceron. Do you know how awesome the beaches there are?" Zeresi asked in an attempt to change the subject.
"No, can't say I do."
"Beaches and beautiful women… Gods I love wearing this uniform!"
Bowman shook his head, "I joined up to fight the Cylons and you joined up to get laid. You might not be doing the people of Virgon much of a service. Let's not forget how you earned your call sign 'Govie'."
"You're really going to go there? It wasn't that big of a deal!"
"We caught you having sex in a government vehicle… Did you even know the woman?"
Zeresi thought about it, "Actually, I don't remember her name. I just know she wanted to thank me for keeping us safe from the Cylons."
"You are so noble," Bowman said in a voice that dripped with sarcasm.
"It's as interesting as you ending up with 'Firefly' as your call sign?"
Bowman had been on Caprica for Raptor training when some tylium had spilled onto the runway. The spilt fuel accidentally lit during takeoff, giving the appearance of the Raptor leaving a trail of fire while flying off into the air.
"It's different for me I suppose, you have a family waiting for you back home."
The mention of his wife and son brought a familiar stab of pain to Bowman's heart. It was part of why he wanted this damn war over with. He knew Claire could handle things at home without him; but he worried the effect his absence was having on their son Steven.
"Yeah, and it's something I have to deal with every day."
"I do see a silver lining to this; all this time we've flown together you have been a great wingman when we're on the ground."
"That's right, and you still try to pawn the friends off on me so you can be alone with the girl."
"Yes, and I thank you for taking one for the team even if you always turn down the opportunity for the extra bit of fun."
The two men suddenly stopped before a rather unusual looking Raptor. It was not the familiar sandy brown colour of the standard Raptor but was a deep grey. Scabbed onto the angled nose just below the bulbous cockpit was the specialized DRADIS 'pimple'. This was a more advanced version of the standard Raptor's DRADIS array and it could detect a human shaped figure from low to medium orbit. Mounted just below that was a camera turret that was equipped with a plethora of visual sensors ranging from normal digital imagining to infra-red and ultra-violet. These sensors were powerful enough to distinguish between a human or Cylon even if they were in the dense vegetation of the Demeter Jungle on Scorpia. They could even tell if the person they were focusing on was alive or dead although this rarely made a difference since most CSAR crews would try to bring a body back for proper burial. The hull had several additional bulges each housing specialized equipment to help fulfill its primary role; this was a Combat Search And Rescue equipped Raptor – the mount of the heroic, the brave, and the foolish.
Stryker appeared before either man could say more. "Are we ready for departure?" he asked Bowman.
"We'll be ready in a minute; I just need to confirm that the maintenance scheduled for today has been completed." Bowman walked off and a few minutes later returned to confirm that they were in fact ready for departure.
"Excellent! When we take off I'll give you the coordinates we'll be going to on Canceron." Stryker followed the two pilots to the Raptor.
Bowman settled into his pilot's seat and Zeresi took his seat the Electronic Countermeasures Station in the rear of the Raptor. He could not help but feel a sense of apprehension began to form in the pit of his stomach. He had flown many search and rescue missions but this was different. Out there he knew what to expect when he was rescuing pilots. This time he was going on what felt like a cloak-and-dagger mission and not knowing what would happen did not sit well with him.
When the Raptor left Columbia Stryker pulled a piece of paper out of his uniform pocket and handed it to Bowman, "We're landing at Fort Nellis, and from there we are proceeding to Iopolis. There we will rendezvous with the Basileus and try to get them to help us with an upcoming operation."
"If I may ask, what does the military want the Basileus for?"
"We're planning to take troops from the more protected colonies and deploy them to Canceron and Tauron to help drive the Cylons out. It's been given the title 'Operation Dragoon' and the surge in troop numbers should be enough to make a difference. The Basileus can help move weapons and supplies; they know the terrain of Canceron better than anyone. "
"I hope you're right, sir; it just seems strange to trust one of the more powerful crime syndicates in the Colonies."
"I understand, Major Bowman; but we are living in strange times," Stryker said, his gaze staring out the window of the Raptor into the empty void of space.
None of the men spoke the rest of the trip to Canceron. The colony was renowned for its beautiful beaches and its charming rural country; however now it was a warzone and with the recent turn of events on the colony it was probably going to be a very dangerous place to be a human.
Stryker knew his mind would be on the upcoming meeting with Carl Tolan. He had taken so many steps to make sure the leader of the Basileus would trust him enough to meet face-to-face. There was also the need to keep the negotiations as under the table as possible, the general public knew the Colonial government was doing all it could to fight the Cylons but making deals with gangsters might cause a backlash.
He thought about the war and realized that this would be one of the few times he would actually be in a combat zone. Since his appointment as CINCCF, Commander In Chief of Colonial Fleet, he had spent most of his time away from the fighting in strategy meetings and other duties that came with the job.
Sitting beside him Archibald Bowman's mind went to his family, as it was prone to do whenever he had a moment of quiet. He had heard the saying that the truth was the first casualty in war, but he was wondering if family life was a close second. The letters he had received from his wife Claire were disheartening, especially when it came to their fourteen-year old son Steven. It seemed that he was starting to rebel, and it was not the average teenage rebellion that was to be expected.
The thought of doing business with the Basileus sent a chill down his spine. While he was from Caprica, the Canceron-based crime syndicate had earned a feared reputation for the way it went about its business. Murder, extortion, racketeering, gambling, and those were at the tip of the iceberg. Carl Tolan was not a man one did business with lightly, the man seemed to know how to work an angle to his advantage and something told him this would be no different. The only question was how much the Colonies would have to sacrifice of its collective soul to defeat the Cylons.
Zeresi looked over the various buttons and screens at his ECM station in the rear of the Raptor. He would never admit it, especially after the way he had talked earlier to Bowman about the mission, but he too had a feeling about this mission that he could not shake. He did not want to say that something was going to go wrong, but he felt that it was a definite possibility when it came to this particular mission. There was the danger from the Cylons on Canceron and then there was the danger that came from the Basileus. Perhaps his bravado and eagerness to have sex with as many women as possible on the colony was just something to cover up the concern he was actually dealing with.
Bowman punched in the coordinates and in a flash they were looking at Canceron. There was a large fleet of Colonial ships, including several battlestars, orbiting the planet. All of this must have been a part of the defense plan in case the Cylons decided to land more troops on the planet in order to secure it at last.
"Raptor Six Three One this is Kreios Actual," The voice of Admiral Thomas Hood said. He was the flag officer in charge of battlestar group eleven; the Kreios was the flagship of the group of six battlestars currently in orbit around Canceron to keep the colony safe from invasion.
"Actual this is Stryker, good to know we have you up there while we're on the planet."
"Good luck down there, we'll keep the toasters from sending reinforcements your way."
The connection was severed, and the Raptor entered the atmosphere and made its way towards Fort Nellis and from there would be the initial meeting with Carl Tolan.
The Raptor bucked hard as it was buffeted by the atmosphere of Canceron upon its entry. Bowman kept his focus on the controls and made sure he did not give either Stryker or Zeresi reason to panic. He had gone into battles where the Cylons were trying to shoot at him while he was undertaking a rescue, in a way his job was perhaps one of the most dangerous in the Colonial Fleet for a pilot. Eventually the clouds passed and beneath them were the blue seas of Canceron and the green countryside that marked the interior of the continents. Apart from Caprica Beach, Canceron had the finest beaches in all of the Colonies. Iopolis, their destination for meeting with Carl Tolan, was located along the north western continent, Niketas, which lay across the Abaris Ocean from the continent of Elara. He had heard Zeresi talk about Elara, it was the location of the famed Scythia Beach.
A few moments later the voice of the Air Traffic Controller from the Fort Nellis compound came on his frequency and directed him to the location on the air field where he would land the Raptor. Once they landed, Styrker exited the Raptor and told them to wait there since he would not be gone long.
"Welcome to Canceron, you may now grab your belongings and prepare to exit the cabin. Enjoy your stay and thank you once again for flying Air Bowman," Bowman said in an attempt to sound like a flight steward on a Colonial heavy transport ship.
"Well steward I just want to say that the in-flight movie was non-existent and the stewardesses on this flight were ugly enough to make me go celibate!" Zeresi declared as he stood up from his ECO station and stretched his legs.
"My apologies sir, allow me to fly you all the way back to Caprica and you can board another flight to return to this location. Perhaps you won't be such a bastard and complain about your service."
"Can I at least get a snack?"
Bowman made a show of looking around the area of his seat before throwing up his hands in defeat, "I am so sorry sir, and it seems our last bag of snacks was consumed prior to landing. I hope this won't discourage you from flying with us again."
Zeresi sat back down, "That settles it, worst flight of my life!"
The two pilots erupted in laughter before starting their basic pre-flight checks. They had done this before leaving Columbia, but it never hurt to go over it again now that they had landed…just in case.
Their initial checks finished the two went over more maintence checks in case something was knocked loose during the entry into Canceron's atmosphere. They finished that and waited for Stryker to return.
Stryker came out of the Administration Building followed by a man neither recognized. He wore the Colonial Fleet uniform, and looked to have the rank of Lieutenant.
"Gentlemen I would like to introduce you to Lieutenant Peter Corman, he will be accompanying us to Iopolis for the meeting with Carl Tolan," Stryker said as Corman exchanged a handshake with Zeresi and a salute with Bowman.
"With all due respect sir, why is he coming with us?" Bowman asked.
"Because Captain Bowman, I have been stationed here on Canceron for the past three years. I know plenty about the Basileus and how they operate. If you want to be able to successfully conclude this negotiation then you will need me there, "Corman stated matter-of-factly.
"Are we ready to leave for Iopolis?" Bowman asked.
"Yes, the sooner we get there the better. Just so you know Bowman, we'll be travelling over some Cylon held territory. Keep an eye out for any SAMs the toasters will want to shoot our way," Stryker cautioned.
"Not a problem sir, with my piloting and Govie's skills we'll be able to make it without a scratch."
"I have to ask, how did Mr. Zeresi acquire the nickname 'Govie'?" Stryker asked though Bowman could see that Corman was interested as well."
"Well Admiral it's a very long story but let's just say it involved a Caprica diplomat's car and a female acquaintance."
"I see, well let's hope Govie can stay on good behavior while we're here. This isn't the time to go acting like a drunken college student," Corman said.
"I'll make sure he stays on his best behavior," Bowman said.
"See to it Captain Bowman, he's your responsibility," Stryker said as he entered the Raptor followed by Corman.
"Lords of Kobol hear my prayers…" Bowman quietly said before entering the Raptor. Dealing with the Cylons trying to blow up his Raptor in space did not seem as daunting of a task as trying to keep Vincent 'Govie' Zeresi from sleeping with a woman and possibly causing trouble with the Basileus.