This is a short story i wrote for a Facebook group i helped create about the lives of the crew of the Battlestar Hermes. This particular story chronicles the day it left Picon almost a week before the Cylons attacked.
FRIAR'S HOTEL, PICON CITY
6 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ATTACK ON THE COLONIES
The Picon sun crept through the blinds that hung over the hotel room window casting several beams of light down onto the bed. The woman in the bed stirred as the light that was landing on her face faded as a figure stood in the way suddenly covering her in shadow. As she turned over onto her back her left arm subconsciously raised up above her dark haired head.
Suddenly and with very little warning she felt hands grab her wrists and forced them above her head. The woman woke with a fright as she stared her attacker in the face to find that it was none other than her own fiancée.
"Good morning baby" said the man softly. The corners of Chloe Burmeister's lips widened into a lazy smile as she leaned up and kissed him on the lips in a tender and loving fashion.
"What are you doing up so early?" she murmured.
"I always like to get up before you so I can wake you up like this" he teased as he began to kiss her neck softly which caused Chloe to moan in delight.
"Your mean" she said as she responded to his advances.
BATTLESTAR HERMES PICON ORBIT
The Jupiter-class Battlestar Hermes BSG-58 sat in a silent and elegant orbit over the planet Picon which sat below. Like one of the Gods the immense ship seemed to be watching over the people below from the heavens.
Sitting in his office aboard the mighty Battlestar Commander Bowman ran his finger across several reports from the civilian contractors regarding his vessel's status before signing them off and putting them into the 'out' tray he kept on the left side of his desk. With Hermes having been in dock for over six months Bowman felt a sense of relief to know that even though his ship was simply in orbit it was not tethered to Picon Fleet Headquarters anymore and was operating under its own power. Standard practice in the Colonial Fleet was for a ship to undertake a week of orbital tests following refit before it is allowed to begin its shakedown cruise. He was about to sign off yet another contractor's report when a small note caught his eye. It read 'unusual degree of wear and tare on valve No.23818. Believed to be caused by malfunction in Tillium output regulator. Have replaced both regulator and valve'. Bowman read it again before signing off at the bottom and placing the sheet of paper in the 'out' tray.
Bowman leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. Of all the tasks he hated most about commanding a Battlestar paperwork he despised the most. His mind suddenly cast back to when he was a young officer on the Battlestar Daedalus. His Commander then was named Gates. Gates was meticulous in his command believing that everything was a mathematical probability. This gave him excellent precognitive skills during battle drills and an ice cold exterior to boot. He was as much an enigma to his crew as the myth of the 13th colony of man and as such he invoked enormous confidence in his crew since he was not seen with human weakness. Even now with the benefit of his own experience as Commander, Bowman could not see Gates sitting behind a desk with paperwork. This often made him wonder what his own crew thought of him as Commander. It was coming upto a year exactly since he took command of Hermes. Hermes was his first command and it had gotten off to a shaky start. He was repeatedly coming into confrontation with his executive officer who continually questioned his decisions infront of the crew which undermined their confidence in him from the start which was something Bowman could not allow. While he never brought formal charges to Caleb Dytto, Bowman made sure that Dytto understood that this was Bowman's command despite his familiarity with the ship and its crew having served on Hermes for over five years.
Bowman's eyes cast over to the clock sitting beside his 'out' tray and he realised that it was time for the news. He swivelled around in his chair to face the screen on the wall adjacent to his desk. He picked up the small remote control and turned on the screen to channel 12. A young woman sat at a newsdesk on Caprica. She was an attractive woman with long silky blonde hair and she spoke with a firm yet feminine voice. The first story concerned the main headlines of the day. The teachers strike was still in effect and the screen changed from images of the angry teachers to President Adar and the Secretary for Education Laura Roslin. Both were saying the same things which centred on having the students return to their desks but neither seemed to offer any suggestion as to how to achieve that goal. At least not to the cameras.
The second story regarded a missing ship. As the newscaster read out –
"A container ship, the Hellenic Traveller, has been officially listed as missing. The ship and its crew of twenty four plus six passengers were due to arrive at the Holden Orbital Dockyards over Tauron yesterday morning. It is now thirty hours overdue. A search is being organised involving civilian rescue authorities and Colonial Fleet spacecraft."
Bowman watched the screen as scenes of Raptors engaging their FTL drives as they began their search for the ship flashed past before returning to the newscaster. The next story began with the words 'GALACTICA RETIREMENT CEREMONY'. This immediately caught Bowman's attention having served under the final Commander of the Galactica, William Adama, aboard the Battlestar Valkyrie. The newscaster read out –
"As the preparations for the retirement of the Battlestar Galactica continue many were shocked today when an aide to President Adar confirmed that the President would not be attending the ceremony as originally planned. The President's Office has issued a statement that given the current climate regarding the teacher's strike the President feels that his time would be better spent in his office on Caprica. The teacher's strike has however not deterred the Secretary for Education Laura Roslin from attending. The President's decision has sparked angry protest from Veterans of the Cylon War claiming that their sacrifice and the contribution of the Galactica to that war is going unappreciated something which the President's office has strongly denied. The Battlestar Galactica will become a museum dedicated to those who gave their lives during that tragic war."
Bowman lifted up the remote as the next story began and switched it off. He turned back to his desk and after convincing himself that there was no way out of it he continued his paperwork.