Hercules
By robspace54
Battlestar Galactica (2004) is owned by David Eick Productions, R&D TV, Universal Television, NBC Universal Television Studio, Universal Media Studios, and Universal Cable Productions.
This story is offered for the enjoyment of the show's fans and in no way attempts to infringe on any rights of the show's developers or copyright holders.
The setting is Helios Gamma, envisioned by the creators of the battlestarwiki.
Any errors playing in this sci-fi universe are entirely my own.
000
The events related here happened when it all went to frack…
0
"This is the news from Celeste City at noon today. The Scorpia Stingers will be hosting the women's zep-ball team from Themis Uni from Libran today and the central Government asks that all citizens show your support for the home team… what? Wait… wait, there's a… oh my Gods, ladies and gentlemen I've just been given a bulletin. The Twelve Colonies have been attacked! This is a flash alert! The Cylons…." The suave female announcer cleared her throat, and tossed her long red hair and what came next was nearly a croak. "The Cylons have broken the Treaty and are attacking the colonies!
"It is reported that Picon and Caprica, along with…what? Oh my Gods! Take cover! Get out! To the shelters! The orbital yards are reporting they are taking hits! Oh may the Lords of Kobol protect us! Take cover, take co…"
The signal ended in a harsh burst of static at roughly the same time that all system-wide comm feeds had gone down.
Archer Belmac sat stunned as he watched the message again and again. Delias Coverly, the attractive announcer of Celeste City News was likely vaporized by the blast that took out Celeste. Archer's grandfather had lived through the First Cylon War and he'd passed on his stories, so Archer guessed that all the capital cities had been nuked by the toasters. Goodbye Delias, he sighed inside, you were beautiful.
"Gods, Gods," muttered his first mate, who wiped her flowing eyes. She clutched at his shoulder in the zero-G of the cargo ship.
"Talia, if you can't control yourself then damp it down!" Archer yelled at her from where he was belted down in front of the comm panel.
Talia Rogers cuffed him on the shoulder. "Well what can we do other than pray? But I forgot! YOU don't pray!"
Archer rubbed his arm where her fist had thumped him. "You go right ahead." He looked at Talia and said seriously. "Maybe you can pray for both of us."
Talia made fists with her hands then moaned. "All those people, and you're, you're just watching it over and over."
Archer sighed. "Thinking."
She stared at the clock. "It was over an hour ago. Gods rest their souls. Surely the Colonial Fleet will go after them?"
"The war's over Talia. The Fleet's gone; I'm sure of it."
"Can't be. But we've been at peace for over fifty years!" she practically screamed.
He snapped his fingers. "I pulled in a packet from a relay sat. They jumped into the system at three points then went after the inhabited planets. It didn't take long."
The hatch into the command pod swung open and Danny Bergos floated in. "I've been looking at consumables…" he stopped when Talia pushed herself over to him and hugged him. "Oh babe, sorry," he muttered into her ear. "Not much we can..."
Talia kissed his lips and he returned the favor.
Archer sighed for he knew they were to be married next planet fall. "Shut that hatch," he told them.
"Sure Skipper," Danny answered and when he turned his head Archer could see he'd been crying as well.
Talia and Danny together closed the hatch then clung to one another forlornly.
After the satisfying clunk of latches being levered shut Archer faced his crew of two. "Passengers?"
"The doctor is holding her own but she had to trank her patient. You know he's related to the president of Celeste College and this cousin or whatever had been telling him that the Cylons were working on something out in the deep? The other six… well they're in shock."
"Well now we know," Talia sniffed. "Demons! Devils from Hades! We should have wiped each and every Cylon out fifty years ago!"
Archer sighed. "No argument." He looked at the plotting screen. "Hercules has a lot of delta-V. The question is what do we do with it?"
Talia and Danny exchanged glances. "Where should we go? Can we get away?"
Belmac chewed on a fingernail. "Have to think about it." Helios Gamma, their parent star, was surrounded by five planets and one major asteroid belt. He stared at the screen showing the current locations of planets and major moons.
Thanatos, the hell world, and the closest in, was tidally locked with the star. Next out was Ophion, a gas giant, and it bore rings and was five times larger than the three inhabited worlds of the system. A pulsing light at the outer edge of the Acheron Asteroid Belt showed the approximate location of the ship nearly thirty degrees angular spacing away from Scorpia, their home port.
Next out were the inhabited worlds of Scorpia, Libron, and Sagittaron. He'd seen the final broadcast too many times from Celeste City, the capital of Scorpia, and he winced at the thought of its destruction along with her one million residents. Scorpia had the most inhabitants of Helios Gamma system, plus the Scorpia Orbital yards were in orbit there so it had to be a prime target.
Libran the university world was next outward and on the far side of the system. He pushed a control and tiny screen winked on telling him comm with the central library nexus of University City was down, which was what he expected. Furthest out sat chilly Sagittaron and her people who were just as cold and unfeeling as what he imagined a Cylon must be like.
It was only because Helios Gamma was so energetic that the habitable zone was so wide here. A tidy little system all in all, Archer sighed. "Home's not in such good shape at the moment," he muttered.
"Arch?" Danny asked.
Archer bit down on a ragged fingernail and tore it away, wincing at the pain as blood leaked from his torn fingertip. "Here," he pointed to Ophion.
"Ophion the gas giant?" Talia said. "Nothing over there but the science base on Rufus the largest moon."
"I know, but that's not our destination." He tapped out commands on his rudimentary computer which chewed math for a few seconds.
A curved line appeared on the display screen stretching from the Belt across the gap to Ophion. It bent tightly around the planet, ducking inside the innermost ring gap then came back across the Gamma System.
"Skipper," Danny gulped, "that takes us…"
"Right into the sun. Oops." Archer tapped a few more keys and the computer altered the trajectory while pop-up windows floated at Ophion and above the sun. "But if we burn right here… deflection. Three burns in number. Starting where we are, then over here," he pointed to distant Ophion, "and then right here," and his finger touched the screen above the stellar mass. "Slingshot back across the system and right out to Scorpia."
Talia pulled herself to the screen, gulped hard and then shook her head. "Crazy. Totally."
"I know," Archer sighed.
"That would dump us on top of the Orbital Yard," Danny said after a long pause. "Right thru the orbital plane," he squinted at the tiny glowing numbers. "And at high velocity."
Archer frowned. "Yes."
Talia shook her head. "No."
He grimaced at her. "Yes. I think fifty metons of high grade ore travelling at zero point three ought to do some damage."
"How do you…" Danny's voice shook. "How do we…"
Archer shook his head. "They just killed our home. You got a better idea? Ought to be a couple of Cylon Basestars nearby. We might smack one of 'em, maybe two, if they're nestled up to the fuel stores at the orbital yards." He sighed. "I think they will be and if not then the fuel will be gone when we nail it." His fist struck the console making a solid thump.
Danny looked at the screen then at Talia. "Right down their throats."
Talia shook her head. "You just said the war is over."
"It is," Archer answered.
"But… that's that's…" she blubbered.
Danny grinned a very wicked grin. "Come nearly out of the sun and they'll think we're an asteroid."
Talia rubbed her arms. "No! No! Our home is dead and you want to join it?"
Archer looked at her. "Talia… I'm very sorry."
Her eyes were filled with horror. "Surely the toasters will want workers; slaves to rebuild?"
"Rebuild just what babe?" Danny sniffed. "It's all gone."
She stared at both her fiancé and captain in horror. "Frack."
"Yes," sighed Archer. "Frack indeed."
"What about our passengers?" Danny said.
Archer bit down on another fingernail. "Suggestions?"