Battlestar Farscape
I do not own Farscape or Battlestar Galactica not making a profit writing this.
All power to Wikipedia and the Battlestar Galactica: Technical Manual for a lot of the Technical detail.
Thanks to andrewjameswilliams for pointing out a rather silly error on my part.
Chapter 2
Alpha 2 Patrol Group, Nike System.
Captain Susan "Char" Usen led her patrol of three Vipers and one Raptor around the perimeter of the Fleet.
Captain! the eighteen-year-old thought three months ago she and most of her fellow pilots had been cadets together on Picon, now she was one of the Fleets senior officers. Not one of the top decision-makers thank the Gods, they had the Commander and the other top brass for that, but still a hell of a jump. A beep from the flight computer had her checking the Viper's instruments.
"Okay people Waypoint in 30 seconds. I want a smooth course change stay in formation and watch the clearance between you and your wingmates."
Susan checked her own Heads up Display it would not be funny if she was the one to mess up. On her Vipers HUD the mission clock counted down when it reached zero she eased the control stick though the well-practiced motions to bring the Viper onto its new heading. Quickly checking the Dradis, Susan saw the rest of Alpha 2 follow her though the maneuver the three Viper's in a arrowhead formation one trailing a hundred meter's off each of her wings with the Raptor tucked into the center of the formation.
"Well Alpha 2 that's our excitement for the next 30 minutes, stay sharp this is a patrol not a cruise."
The four C.D.F. warcraft flew through space giving Susan a panoramic view of the Fleet. In the distance the reassuring form of the Battlestar Medusa bracketed on each side by her escorts the Battle Cruisers Hyperion and Helios. The Hyperion almost unrecognizable covered in gantries and with the repair ship parked right on its hull its arms extended to cover the top decks where she had taken the most damage. Then there was the Nike Anchorage where she and the rest of the people recused from Picon had been squeezed when the troop carriers had off loaded them to go back for more. Three of the four troop carriers were still docked at the small Anchorage. The fourth had been destroyed when they had gone back one time too many. Ripped apart by a Cylon Baseship's rail guns as it tried to take off from Picon with 2700 refugee's crammed onboard. Barely visible from this distance the five Nautilus class Frigates stationed around the Anchorage the 84-meter long ships appearing as oddly shaped dots at this range. On this side of the Fleet were the civilian ships that had joined up with them as they ran and dwarfing them all was the brooding presence of the Hades.
"Silver Eye's to Char we are
picking up a power spike bearing 260 degrees." The Raptors had much more powerful sensors than her Viper
Susan did not bother checking her own instuments automatically she looked to her
left at the ranks of two dozen odd civilian ships they were flying
parallel too, on this leg of the patrol route.
"Pin it down Silver Eye's Alpha 2 we are coming about 250 degrees off our currant heading. In 3 2 1 go." Susan "Char" Usen rolled her Viper and came back on the new heading, almost without thinking about it as she changed frequencies.
"This is lead Alpha 2 to Medusa repeat this is lead, patrol group Alpha 2 come in Medusa."
C.I.C Battlestar Medusa, Nike System
"Medusa here Captain, we receive you." Petty Officer Second Chis Mycen Medusa's communications officer on watch
"Alpha 2 is diverting to investigate an energy spike detected in the vicinity of the civilian squadron our Raptor is tracking down which one it came from now."
"Confirmed Captain have your Raptor relay sensor readings to CIC."
Chris turned to report to Major Dies but the Medusa's XO waved him back.
"I heard P.O. get the Alert Vipers out there to cover for Alpha 2, Lieutenant Perry what do we have on the civilian squadron."
Lieutenant Koine Perry the operations officer was already at the Dradis computer interface poring over the records from the ranks of stood down civilian ships that made up the squadron.
"The station keeping crew for the Planet Taxi, Sterling switched out an hour ago they reported to the Leading Star that the change over was complete, with no problems at 2300 that was 54 minutes ago no activity since then." The Leading Star was a luxury cruiser from the star line shipping consortium the Fleet used it as home base and living quarters for the crews that kept the civilian squadron in service for when they would be needed again.
Major Hal Dies looked over the command pit and for a second, wondered what he was doing here; he had never wanted a line command. He had been an administration coordinator with Colonial Fleet Science division before John Crichton had dragged him and a few others off of a crumbling Fleet Command, as the giant Achorage was nuked to scrap over Picon. Hal shook the wave of doubt off as he always did; he felt them less and less nowadays. He had been thrust into command positions since the first day after the holocaust, as one of the few surviving experienced officers and he knew in the last months he had earned the respect of his crew.
"Get the Sterling on the barker just do a routine check, sound them out P.O." he told Petty Officer Mycen.
"Aye Sir." Chris was already changing frequencies as he answered.
Hal watched him work for a second, planning, then looked to the other rating at the communication desk Specialist Michele Owens.
"Misty get me Colonel Torins on the Hades."
"Aye Sir." The young Libran girl was barely 15 she had just started at the Artemis Academy when the worlds had ended
"We are getting telemetry from Alpha 2s Raptor they picked up a second energy spike and have confirmed the origin, it's the Sterling." Lieutenant Perry reported
Dies took the COM's hand piece the specialist held out to him; Colonel Paula Torins was the XO of the Hades. The massive Hades class Cylon Baseship was a relic of the first Cylon war which the survivors were refitting for their own use as fast as they could. It was where most of the Fleets civilians now lived and worked.
Colonel Torins was also the Fleets senior marine.
"Paula its Hal, we have something brewing out in the civy squadron I would like to request your stand by dropship be readied for possible boarding action." He could send a troop of Medusa's own marines in Raptors but a dropship could carry more bodies and was built for hostile landings unlike the more all purpose Raptors.
"Sir Warbook has a 73 percent match on the energy spike as an attempt to cold start an old pre war fusion reactor."
"Damm" The civilian ships that were no longer needed for living quarters. Now that the life support on the Hades could handle the 20 odd thousand refugees plus the crew and the marines stationed there. Were powered for life support and station keeping only. Most of their reactors and energizers disabled, with jump keys and crucial parts under guard in a big safe on the Leading Star.
"Looks like we have some runners Paula I will have our telemetry relayed, Over." Major Dies handed the hand set back to Specialist Owens.
"Sir the Sterling crew say everything's fine and thanks for asking." Petty Officer Mycen reported "They sound pretty exited about it too." The native of Aquaria added wryly.
"Lieutenant Perry Alpha 2 is authorized to go live on weapons, they are to use what ever methods they have too, to stop our position being revealed to the enemy. P.O. let me talk to Commander Sun."
Commander Aeryn Sun's Cabin Battlestar Medusa, Nike System
Aeryn jerked away from shrill ringing of the COM's, coming it seemed from right next to her head, instantly awake and aware she grabbed the antiquated communications device.
"Sun!" getting up she switched the COM's to speaker and started getting dressed while her second in command explained the situation.
"Very good Major I will be there shortly, order the rest of the Civilian ships out of the area to give us some room to move. Sun out." Watching herself in the mirror as she straightened her uniform jacket and started doing up the numerous buttons and fastening's that made up the Colonial uniform. Aeryn Sun could not quite make herself believe how truly weird her life had become. Since the day 3 and a half years ago when she had been sucked along in starburst by an escaping Leviathan and found herself in the company of the crazed human scientist John Crichton.
They had run into Alien's with god like powers, been chased all over the Uncharted Territories. She now had Pilot DNA mixed with her own; she and Chiana were the godparents to a Leviathan Peacekeeper hybrid Gunship. They had been twined by that fahrbot Kaarvok then dragged along by the dying Leviathan Rovhu in his desperate starburst to some kind of Builders shipyard. Now they were in charge of a fleet of frelling humans, who being Human had of course built A.I.s who went mad and started killing everyone. To top it off, John was nearly convinced that the diseased Leviathan's starburst, while in a Peacekeeper control collar no less, something that should have been impossible, had been so dren that they were probably lost in time.
Again.
Alpha 2 Patrol Group, Nike System
"Frak, Medusa something's launched from the Sterling it looks old. Hades it looks ancient its fast though, maybe twice the size of a Raptor we are moving in Frak! The Frakkers armed." Char threw her Viper into a mad twist to avoid the stream of rounds streaking at her from the target just managing to pull out of the line of fire. The Raptor in formation behind her was not as maneuverable. Its pilot's reflexes not as good, it flew straight into the oncoming fire. The Raptors armored hull took most of the hits but the small spacecraft was knocked into a spin and started leaking atmosphere before straightening out and gamely heading back into the fight.
"Silver Eyes pull back. Strife, Bulldog move up to box him." Char jockeyed the controls trying to line up a shot while setting off her afterburner and still she and her wingmen were falling behind
"Silver Eye's to Char they're spinning up their FTL they are going to try for a jump." The Raptors co-pilots voice.
"Got-you." As the runners ship drifted into the cross hairs, her thumb pressed firmly down on her auto-canons firing button. Unlike the runners her rounds were armor piercing. Chunks exploded from the fleeing ship but after it had ducked out of the line of fire it was still going as fast as ever and leaving her patrol's MK VII's in its exhaust.
"Son of a gun. Switch to missiles Alpha 2. You tough fracker lets see how you like this." As Susan flipped up the series of switches arming the MK VII's missiles Strife racing along, on her port side let loose another stream of AC fire missing the franticly dodging target.
"Got tone, firing!" Char's Viper shuddered slightly as two of her four missiles streaked away, eating up the distance between her and the boxy slow looking but ridiculously fast ship she was chasing.
The first missile closed in and looked like it would make a clean strike when there was the familiar brilliant flash and the runner ship disappeared into a FTL jump the missile followed by its twin, diving through the same space less than a second later.
"Damm." Char punched her fist savagely into the canopy above her head
"Medusa this is Lead Alpha 2 I lost them the runners have jumped. Repeat the runners have jumped."
C.I.C Battlestar Medusa, Nike System
Aeryn reached the command deck in time to hear Captain Usen's report and the cursing it caused amongst her command staff. Aeryn felt like cursing herself but as John would say the cat was out of the bag now no use crying about it, or some other Erp saying. With two quick strides she was at the inter Fleet communication station. Her hand resting gently on Specialist Michele Owens shoulder the girl was shaken and looked about to faint, Misty knew as well as they all did what the escape of the runners meant. Their luck had run out.
"Get me Hades Actual, Specialist." The former Peacekeeper's voice was brisk and calmly authoritative in contrast to the hand that gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
"Aye Sir." Misty Owens hands shook slightly as they went through the familiar motions but her voice was steady as she talked to her opposite number on the Hades. She had watched a world burn as they were evacuated from the Academy. On the last of the troop carriers Commander Crichton and, the then Colonel Sun had used to save who they could. The week after had been a blur of shouted instructions as the Fleet had run and hid and twice fought. With no time to organize anything. Most of the cadets who weren't immediately needed on the ships they had managed to salvage had been moved from ship to ship without any Idea of what was going on.
"Hades Actual Sir."
"Colonel Torins what's the ETA for the return of Commander Crichton's expedition." Aeryn knew exactly when John was due back from his trip to check on Rovhu the Leviathan's was still healing even after nearly a year submerged in the planetoid sized ball of goo which was apparently the Builders idea of a shipyard.
"Nine Hours Forty minutes Sir."
"Send a Raptor after him I am authorizing you to disclose the position of Cauldron as needed. On my Authority as temporary Fleet commander I am initiating operation Bug Out." Not even the 1200 ex Xarai, that the healing powers of the Builders Goo had returned to something like Sebacean norm, knew where Cauldron was.
"Operations pull up the co-ordinates for the Xiphos meeting with Galactica's forces and replace the first option Bug Out co-ordinates with them, make sure everyone has got the updated orders."
Aeryn Looked around her command deck, at her people as they hurried to the task's she had set them with a smooth military discipline. She did not regret leaving the PeaceKeepers and had come to appreciate the freedom her life on Moya had given her. But she knew right down to her bones this is where she belonged on a Military ship working with those who shared her Duty. The PeaceKeepers had literally bred her for this and they had done their job well.
A/N
Xarai were the PeaceKeeper crew of Rovhu when the Leviathan served as a prison ship Kaarvok a prisoner onboard escaped during a attack and used his twinning beam on them over and over again making them devolve.
The Builders are the Leviathan Gods and creators
Gone a little AU here originally Aeryn stayed on Moya and never got twinned
