A/N: Hello. This is my first BSG fic and I've set myself quite a challenge. I had the idea of doing a fic about a ship that's part of the fleet that we don't see on the show. Each chapter will accompany an episode of the proper series and show the events that occur on that ship during that time, some of which will interact with the show itself (although never too much, I'm not changing the actual story). Hope you guys like it. This chapter might seem a little clunky and it was very hard to work out how it should start off. Please review and tell me if you like it.

Tales From The Caerus

Miniseries, Night 1

Sneaking into the hustle and bustle of the market, Dean Cryda made his way towards the Lamia space port. This was his chance, his moment to get off of this lousy planet. He had lived on Leonis all of his life and he felt he needed to get out, see the rest of the colonies, if he was ever going to be successful in his life. He didn't yet know if he was under the Gods' favours, but he knew that Lamia probably wasn't one of their main priorities.

"Accepting any passengers?" he asked one of the ships captains. The captain laughed in response.

"Even if I was I wouldn't accept the likes of you."

Dean scowled and walked back into the crowd. His parents had never made that much money and it probably showed in his appearance. He was never going to able to afford high Caprican fashion...heck, he couldn't even afford the clothes people wore on Virgon. If he ever made anything for himself, he would send money back to them. Probably wouldn't make up for not telling them he was going somewhere but at least it was something

"Hey!"

Dean looked around. Had someone just called him? People rushed past him as he stood on his toes to see any likely suspects but before he had a chance to think, his face hit the sand on the ground with a loud thump. He sat up quickly as people ignored him as they walked past. He saw a red patch where his face had been, followed by his fingertips turning a similar colour as he touched his nose.

"Great."

"Hey...you there...need any help?"

Looking up, Dean saw the sillouette of a man, holding out his hand. Dean quickly took it, hoisting himself back up. He barely had time to claim his bag before he was pulled towards the outskirts of the crowd.

"Important life tip...don't stand on tippy-toes in the middle of a space port." Dean looked round to finally catch a glimpse of the man who had helped him. He seemed to be much older than him, 35 to 40 years old maybe. They shook hands.

"I'm Dean...Dean Cryda."

"Marcus Talon."

"Well...it was nice to meet you Marcus."

Dean began to walk off but Marcus placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him back around.

"I overheard you needed a ship."

Dean looked round. "I don't...Wait, was you the guy who called out to me."

Marcus held up his hands. "Guilty as charged. My ships round back. Not exactly what you'd call lap of luxury but...to be honest, I don't think you're gonna get much better. It will get you from A to B which something tells me is all you need."

"Where you headed?"

"Caprica City. Don't get much fancier than that, huh?" Dean's face lit up.

"How much?"

Marcus seemed to be thinking. "About...70 cubits seems fair."

Dean couldn't believe his luck. "70? Sure you don't mean 700?" If he was offering it that cheap, the ship must be a hell-hole.

"I'm sure. You wanna see her? She's just round back."

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"What's she called?"

"The Caerus. Named after the God of opportunity and luck. Feels a fitting name with all the close scrapes she's had. What do you think of her?"

Dean just nodded his head. It could have been worse he supposed. The ship did look quite old but, he was only expecting to make one trip on there. He thought he could stomach it.

"Let me show you inside."

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Inside, the ship wasn't so bad. There was a massive cargo hold, possibly a bit too big seeing how the bedrooms were kinda small. The dining area was a decent size though. The ship was...cosy. Comforting to Dean...reminded him of his own home with his parents.

"What do you say?" Dean handed over the money and Marcus smiled. "Good, that's everybody then. Rest of the crew and passengers went to the market for a few hours. Should be able to meet them soon."

Suddenly Dean heard footsteps enter the cargo hold. A woman's voice cried out "This the last passenger?"

Marcus raised his head to speak over Dean. "Yep. Dean I'd like you to meet Violet, my trusty co-pilot." Dean held out his hand for a hand-shake to which Violet obliged.

"Nice to meet you, Dean."

"You too, Violet." Dean had to admit, Violet was quite pretty...in an unusual sort of way. She turned her attention back to Marcus.

"Logan managed to finally get some replacement thrusters. Quite cheap too. About a quarter of the price they were charging in Leonis City." Leonis was renowned for having a big rich-poor divide. At the establishment of the Colonies, certain areas of the planet had been rich with Tylium, making certain families very rich while other suffered in the harsh conditions. Nowadays, the tylium had pretty much dried up but the barons kept their wealth while the poor still suffered.

"That's good to hear. Saves us worries of not being able to start again." Suddenly Marcus noticed Dean was still listening. "...not that it happens a lot..of course." He laughed nervously and quickly walked off towards the cockpit. Violet turned back to Dean. "I'll probably see you at dinner. Was nice to meet you Dean."

"Yeah, you too."

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Dinner was an...interesting experience. Dean was able to meet the rest of the crew. First, there was Logan.

"So...what do you do around here?"

Logan replied with a mouthful of food. "I...rum the...emgine. Keep her...running...dandy." He had a strong Aerolon accent and was hard enough to understand with his mouth empty...let alone now. His parents had probably been farmers, which would explain why he was good with machinery. Probably also explained his bad manners...not that Dean was stereotyping or anything.

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Then there was Max.

"I'm the brawn. Keep these little motherfrakkers from getting their frakking asses blown off. Some of these territories can be really frakking dangerous which we travel to. Have to make sure everyones in one piece. Make sure we don't get frakked." And Dean thought his Grandpa had a potty mouth. He had to admit though, Max looked pretty tough. Must have had military training. He could probably keep people safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dean also learnt that the Caerus was taking some other passengers.

"I'm Krista."

"Dean." The both shook hands across the table. She had long blonde hair and seems to be in her late 20s. "So, what brings you on the Caerus?"

"Oh, erm...I'm going to visit my son. He lives there with his father...they moved away a few years ago and...I haven't been able to afford a ticket." Dean noticed that Krista seemed a bit upset. "So...how about you?"

"Oh, I'm hoping that Caprica can offer me more opportunities than I have here. Plus, I couldn't wait to get away from my parents, I mean..." Sudeenly, Dean realises his comments may have been inappropriate seeing on what Krista had just told him.

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Finally, there was Mason.

"I'm a doctor. Well...training to be one anyway."

"How come your taking the Caerus then? Can't you afford to travel on a better ship?"

"I suppose, but, you meet better people this way."

Dinner was just winding down Mason left to return to his room and Marcus turned his attention to Dean. "Did you hear about the Galactica? One of the best ships there ever was in the fleet and they're turning it into a frakking museum. It's a disgrace."

Violet sat down next to Marcus. "But, I mean, it's not actually like it's needed in the military any more. Why not let it pay tribute to our history. It would just be destroyed anyway if it wasn't. Dean, what do you think?"

Dean shrugged. "Doesn't bother me I suppose but...I can see where Mr. Talon..."

A hand was held up in protest. "Please, call me Marcus."

"Right...I can see where Marcus is coming from."

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The ride was smooth. Dean relaxed as he felt the smooth sway of the ship. However, this mood was ruined when a frantic voice came across the intercom.

"Oh frak, everybody, report to the cockpit immediately! Immediately!"

Marcus sounded panicked and Dean became worried. He quickly got dressed and walked out his temporary quarters where he met with Krista.

"Any idea what this is about?"

She shook her head. "Whatever it is...it sounds important." Suddenly there was a sudden lurch as they felt the ship make an FTL jump. It didn't feel like the ship was used to such an activity.

They both walked into the cockpit where Marcus and Violet sat. Everyone else was already there. Max spoke up. "Now are you gonna tell us what the frak is going on?"

Marcus stood up. "OK, everybody, don't panic but...I think the colonies have come under attack." Shock seemed to fill the room as people began to panic and ask questions.

"Is it the Cylons?"

"C'mon, don't be serious..."

"What kind of attack?"

"Are we safe here?"

"I need to call my..."

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Marcus stood up. "Everybody needs to stay calm. I jumped into an area between Leonis and Canceron. It's pretty hidden. We should wait here until we form a plan. For now...er...Violet...go check supplies, you...er...Mason was it?"

"Yes sir."

"I told you before, call me Marcus...and...you said you was a doctor right?" Mason nodded in agreement. "Good...go to the make-shift infirmary, check medical supplies. Logan...if you haven't changed the thrusters yet do so immediately...we can't afford to get stuck, and check for other faults. Max, check weapons." Marcus then turned to his final two passengers.

"You two...the size of the FTL jump just knocked out the radio...find anything you could that can pick up a signal, so we can find out what the frak is going on." With that, the crew split up each going their separate ways. Dean and Krista began checking each room for some sort of radio equipment.

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"Need a hand?" Dean held up his arm as Krista grabbed it, thus helping her to climb down the ladder. She wasn't really wearing the best clothes for exploring the ships basement but, in all fairness, no-one would have expected she would have to. She finally reached the bottom and looked around the dingy room. It was full of old equipment. The amount of dust showed the people didn't come down here often.

Dean looked behind as Krista seemed to rub her eyes. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I...was...I was just thinking about my son."

"Do you want to sit down."

Krista shook her head. "Better to keep my mind off it." She walked ahead of Dean and began rummaging through the boxes. Dean soon joined her, looking at equipment that he had no idea how to use. After about 20 minutes, Krista called Dean over. "I found a radio." She flicked a switch and static came over. "Still has power."

"Good, now let's try and find a signal."

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"This it?" Marcus had finished reading over the list Violet had made. "This all our supplies?"

"Unfortunately Marcus, it is. We had planned to do a major re-stock when we got to Caprica. Maybe, in hindsight, we should have stocked up as we went. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologise...how was we to know?" Marcus sighed. "Hopefully, we'll run into somebody who can help us soon."

"Do you reckon other colonies have been attacked?"

"I really don't know Vi, I really don't."

Suddenly, the DRADIS began to beep.

"What's that?"

Marcus checked the screen.

"Shit, incoming!"

"What do we do?"

Marcus thought for a moment. "Only thing we can do. We jump!"

"We jump less than an hour ago. The ship might not be able to take it."

"She may surprise us. Set us up. And tell Logan to do the same" Reluctantly Violet began inputting commands as Marcus looked out, hiding his emotions as best he could.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I think we're getting a signal."

"Go...oran...All..."

Suddenly the ship lurched as it had done before and the radio returned to static.

Krista looked confused "Was that another jump?"

"Yeah...let's find out what's going on."

Marcus and Krista made their way back towards the cockpit, where the rest of the crew was assembled. Max spoke up. "What the frak just happened?"

"We had an incoming Cylon missile. We had to jump. The biggest the ships ever done."

"Where are we now?" asked Logan.

"Quite near Caprica. Hopefully we'll have more chance of rescue around the richer colonies."

Max scoffed. "Yeah, and more chance of attack."

"Let's hope we find help before then. Dean, Krista, did you find a radio?"

"Yeah...er...we left it down in the basement...but I don't think I remember how to get back."

"Max, you go get it. Hopefully someone knows what's going on?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Max dropped down the ladder and immediately found the radio on the ground. He prepares to climb back up when her heard a noise in dark back area. He pulled out his gun and cautiously made his way forward.

"Who's there?"

He moved away some containers. Hiding behind them was a woman. She looked up at Max.

"Are you alive?"

Max seemed confused. "Who the hell are you?"