Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica is a property of Glenn Larson and Universal Pictures. Firefox, both novel and film are the property of Craig Thomas and Warner Brothers. No profit is sought by the author. This story is solely intended for the enjoyment of the readers. All characters not original to Battlestar Galactica or Firefox are from the imagination of the author and are not meant to resemble real persons. Ships and technologies not original to Battlestar Galactica and Firefox are also from the imagination of the author and are not meant to resemble those from other stories or real situations.
Note: for clarity and the sanity of the author, the narrative use of dimensions are in the metric (SI) system.
Final Flight
by BobDL and Senmut
"This is the final struggle,
Let us group together, and tomorrow,
The Internationale,
Will be the human race."
The Internationale
By Eugene Pottier
Chapter 1 – Exodus Yahren 1 – Friday, 4 May 1979
Adama's Journal: With the recent detection and destruction of the lone Cylon base ship last secton, I am both relieved and worried. Relieved that maybe the Cylon menace is now finally behind us, and worried that the Cylons will somehow use the loss of their ship as another point of reference in their pursuit of the Fleet. However, we are so far away from Cylon that it will take sectons for them to notice the loss and react. By that time, we will be far from here. I have ordered a circuitous course as we depart as a further measure to prevent Cylon pursuit, should it happen. Further analysis of Apollo's discovery of transmissions on the Gamma frequency has not led us to any conclusions. Are the transmissions from Earth or from some other civilization? Are they old or new? We don't know. Doctor Wilker is continuing to investigate after the signal booster was installed in the Celestial Dome. In the meantime, Baltar, per our agreement, has been exiled on one of the habitable planets in a nearby system. If the Cylons ever come this way again I hope that he will not be able to contact them and again become a threat to us. The course to Earth that the beings on the Ship of Lights gave to us via Apollo leads us out of our galaxy. Ahead of us is a small expanse of empty space, after which we will enter another, much larger, galaxy. We have spent the last secton on the worlds of this system gathering fuel and supplies to sustain us until after we are across the void. We even salvaged some of the remains of the Cylon ships. How much longer our voyage will last I don't know.
After finishing his log entry Adama glanced at the time readout on his computer. I have to get to the Bridge, he said to himself after noting that only a few minutes remained on the countdown for departure. He rose from his desk, exited his quarters and walked the short distance from there to the bridge. Once there, he saw Colonel Tigh standing next to Omega's command console and walked over to join him.
"Commander," Tigh began when he noticed Adama approaching, "you are here just in time. There is only a centon and a half left until departure."
"Thank you, Tigh" he replied. "What's the status of the Fleet?"
"All ships are in formation and are counting down to the departure time. I was concerned that the mining ship would not make it back, but they have just rendezvoused with the foundry ship."
"Thirty microns, Commander," Omega announced.
Tigh and Adama stood silently as Omega continued the countdown.
"Ten microns, Commander," Omega reported, "Nine...Eight...Seven..."
"All ships are powering up their drives, Commander," Tigh announced while looking over Omega's shoulder at the command console's instruments.
"Five..."
"Thank you, Tigh"
"Three...Two..."
"Ahead Slow," Adama ordered.
"All ships answering, ahead slow, and are on course," Omega reported after checking his instruments. "Fleet formation is holding."
"Very well," Adama replied. "Accelerate to fleet standard speed when ready."
0
Two hundred and twenty lights flared in the darkness as the Colonial Fleet departed from their stay in the unnamed solar system. The flaring drives could not be seen by the lone resident of one of the planets, but he knew that the Fleet was departing. He was told of the time by his last visitors, the Colonial Security Force members and Warriors that guarded him while a small dwelling was built for him by some technicians the week before.
"One day, Adama," Baltar said as he looked towards the evening sky in the general direction of the Fleet, "I will hold your fate in my hand and I will crush you! I'll not be here forever!"
0
"Tigh," Adama began, "we'll be entering the void space soon and there will not be any spatial bodies to help conceal us for several sectares. I want extra patrols sent out to our trailing sectors."
"Yes, sir, let me check the duty roster." Tigh walked over to a computer terminal, pulled up the patrol duty roster, and studied it for a moment. "Commander, I can shuffle this a bit and have extra patrols sent out."
"Send them out immediately," Adama ordered. "We have stayed in this system too long for my comfort. The Cylons could have a baseship on their way here at this moment."
"I'll alert the pilots," Tigh replied.
A short time later, Tigh entered Blue squadron's ready room. "Attention!" one of the warriors there yelled. The rest of the warriors jumped to their feet and stood at attention.
"At ease," Tigh ordered. "The Commander has ordered increased patrols until further notice. Here is the revised roster." Tigh handed the roster sheets to one of the warriors. "As you were," Tigh ordered and then left the room.
Most of the warriors scrambled to get a look at the new roster. "Starbuck, you just lost your day off!" one pilot said before another posted the sheets on the bulletin board.
"Frack," Starbuck exclaimed while trying look at the roster over the other pilot's shoulders.
"Starbuck, you are flying with Apollo again," another warrior said. "He just lost his day off too!"
"You better get ready in a hurry," Boomer said. "You're scheduled to launch in a centar."
Just then Apollo entered the ready room. "Let's go Starbuck." All business as usual, Apollo grabbed his flight gear from his locker and left the room. Starbuck gave everyone a flabbergasted look, raced to his locker, grabbed his flight gear, and ran out the door.
In the Alpha launch bay Apollo and Starbuck were sitting in their Vipers following their preflight checklist with the bridge flight controller.
"External Power...Check."
"Instrumentation Test...Check."
"Fuel status...Full."
"Life Support...Check."
"Energizer Start...Engaged. All energizers are active."
"Switch to internal power...Switching...Internal power on."
"Transmitting vector coordinates...Received and recorded."
Apollo and Starbuck then waved at their respective ground crewmen who disconnected the external power and fueling lines and made their way to the launch crew shelter.
"Viper probe, you may launch when ready."
"Launch!" Apollo ordered.
Apollo and Starbuck then pressed the turbo buttons on their control sticks. With their engines blazing in full power, they rocketed down their launch tubes into the vacuum of space. After clearing the fleet vicinity, the two pilots changed course to follow their first vector and accelerated to one-fourth light speed.
"Starbuck," Apollo began, "this is a long mission. We'll need to conserve our support systems. Activate your cryo-sleep systems and set it to release you in six centares."
"Activating cryo-sleep systems," Starbuck replied. "See you in six." The cryo-sleep systems on both ships released their knockout gasses and then reduced the temperatures on board the two Vipers to a few degrees above absolute zero.
Six hours later, the life support system in Apollo's Viper activated its wake up cycle. A few minutes later Apollo was aware enough to look out his window. He looked towards where Starbuck's ship should be and did not see it.
"What the...?" Apollo muttered.
He looked down at his scanner. It did not show Starbucks Viper. "Starbuck, what is your location," he called out over the radio. There was no answer.
"Starbuck, this is not funny! Where are you?"
The gentle whisper of the radio is all he heard. Apollo ran his engines up to maneuvering power and slewed his fighter around so that the powerful forward arc of his scanners could search in all directions. It showed nothing in range that could be Starbuck's fighter.
Frack, Starbuck, Apollo thought to himself. Now I have to abort the mission to look for your sorry astrum. Apollo reached down to activate his tight-beam radio and coded a message back to the Galactica. "Sleep cycle ended - Starbuck missing - no enemy detected - aborting mission - will search reverse vectors." After he transmitted the message Apollo reversed course to make his way back to the Galactica.
The Galactica flight controllers received Apollo's message a short while later. Rigel was on duty now and forwarded the message to Flight Officer Omega. Since both Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh were asleep he chose to wake Colonel Tigh.
"Athena, take over here. Starbuck is missing. I'm going to inform Colonel Tigh."
"Yes sir." Athena sat down at Omega's station and reviewed the message from Apollo. Her romance with Starbuck was long over, yet she felt her chest tightening up. May the Lord protect you, Starbuck, she silently prayed.
"Colonel Tigh, this is Omega. One of our pilots is missing." Omega said loudly to the door to Tigh's quarters.
"What's that?" Tigh sleepily replied.
"Starbuck went missing while on patrol," Omega said a bit louder. He then repeated Apollo's message.
"Go back to the bridge and put a rescue shuttle on standby," Tigh said. "I'll be there in a few centons. I'll also inform the Commander."
"Yes sir."
After Tigh dressed he went down the hall to the Commander's quarters and repeated Omegas message. "Commander, this is Tigh."
"Tigh?" Adama replied through the closed door. "Come in.."
Tigh opened the door slightly and saw Adama lying on his bed with a small light on rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Sir, Apollo reported that Starbuck has gone missing while on patrol. No Cylons were detected in his area. I'm assuming some mechanical failure. I'm going to the bridge to organize a search. You sleep. I'll let you know if we find anything."
"Very well, Tigh, find him." Adama returned to bed fully knowing that he could trust Colonel Tigh to conduct the search. He knew that he would not sleep much knowing that one of his most accomplished, yet somewhat troublesome, pilots was missing, but he resolved himself to at least rest a few more hours before relieving Tigh on the bridge.
"Good night, Sir."
Tigh arrived on the bridge a few minutes later. "Omega, what is the status of Apollo's patrol?"
"Apollo has aborted his mission and is returning on his departure vector. He is searching for Starbuck on his way back. I have alerted a rescue shuttle crew per your order."
"Very well, detail six pilots from the alert force for search and patrol duties. Have them leave immediately. Two are to search Apollo's original patrol vectors and the other four are to search the parallel vectors. The central two are to continue to his patrol area. The rest are to return. Then call up six more pilots to join the alert force. As soon as any hint of Starbuck is detected, dispatch the rescue shuttle to that location. What is Apollo's time of return?"
Omega checked his computer terminal for Apollo's telemetry. "He should be back in eight centares. He is returning at a slower speed due to his search activity."
"Adama should be up by then," Tigh said to himself. Tigh then sat in the Commander's bridge chair and began to monitor the search activity. Within minutes, six more Vipers were speeding through space.
A few hours later, Apollo rendezvoused with the central two members of the search team near the halfway point of his return. "Did you find anything?"
"No, Apollo," Greenbean replied. "We scanned a pretty wide area on the way here while following your ion trails. One of the trails just stopped 2000 metrics from here. We searched that area and found nothing. Jolly and I are taking over your patrol area. The other guys are continuing to search this area. If they find anything they'll call it in."
"Very well, transmit your vectors to me," Apollo ordered. "I'll search outside the zone you scanned as I return."
At ship's morning a weary Adama got up, dressed, and made his way to the bridge for his shift at about the same time Apollo was returning. "Tigh, what is the status of the search?" Adama asked.
"The search team was able to follow Apollo's and Starbuck's ion trails. Starbuck's ended abruptly, about 4 million metrics from here. That area has been searched but they found nothing. Not even debris."
"That is odd," Adama remarked. "Starbuck might have turned off his energizers and drifted for a few centons, reactivated them and flown somewhere. But why would he do so and even if he did, the search teams would have detected his new ion trail. Tigh, were there any reports of a lone Viper landing on one of the other ships of the Fleet?"
"No, Sir."
"Apollo is landing now, Commander," the current flight officer said.
"Have him report here immediately," Adama ordered.
Apollo landed his fighter and made his way to the bridge to make his report. "...I don't know what happened to him father," Apollo finished.
"Indeed it is a mystery," Adama replied.
"I would like to go back out there and continue the search," Apollo asked hopefully.
"No, the initial search would have found him if they could have. Also, his life support systems will be depleted before you could find him. The safety of the Fleet demands that we accept his loss and move on before the Cylons track us down."
"Yes, father," Apollo said with a downcast look.
"It pains me too. Starbuck was a good man. He will be sorely missed." Athena, sitting quietly at her station began to slowly cry. Adama walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "I know," he said softly to her.
"Father," Apollo said. "Cassiopeia needs to be told."
"Where is she now?"
"She should be on duty in the Life Center," Apollo said.
"I'll talk to her. Come with me, son."
"Yes, father."
A few minutes later, Adama and Apollo entered the Life Center and asked for Cassiopeia. A medical crew member told them that she is in one of the offices studying and pointed them toward a door. Apollo knocked and opened the door. "Hi Cassie," Apollo said with a dejected look on his face.
Cassiopeia stood up with a surprised look on her face, then saw Apollo's and Adama's expressions. "Commander Adama, please come in," she began as her heart began to sink. What can I do for you?"
"Son, please close the door." Apollo closed the door and they both sat facing Cassiopeia.
"Cassiopeia, we came here to tell you grave news," Adama began. "Starbuck is missing and this time I am not sure he will be returning to us."
"What," Cassie exclaimed with shock
"When we were on patrol we went into cryo-sleep. When I woke up Starbuck was not within scanner range. Half of Blue squadron was called up last night to look for him. We found where his ion trail ended but there wasn't anything; no Starbuck, no debris, no Cylons, nothing."
As Apollo was saying this Cassie became more horrified with each word. "Sir, are you going to continue looking for him?"
"No, Cassie, by now his life systems will have run out. When our patrol in that area returns, I'll have them make one more sweep through that area, but I doubt they will find him. Though, I pray they will at least find out what happened," Adama said.
"Starbuck..." Cassie said and then started to cry.