"So Dragon got in touch", Hunter said after getting briefed by Syke. Hunter, Sims, and Dutch were in Syke's office. The door was closed and no one else was present.
"We're heading out very soon to make initial contact. But this could be a trap. Under these circumstances, I can't order you to go, but the Peregrine is the only thing we have - apart from the PEGASUS itself - that can make the rendezvous", Syke stated.
"In that case, there's nothing else to be said", Hunter answered, "I'm in". The others nodded their agreement.
"Thank you all", Syke replied, "Well, we will have to get everything ready for launch. As you can see by the message, we don't have too much time, so let's make sure that the Peregrine is ready and we'll meet down in the bay in forty-four hours. Captain Sanders will have his documentation ready for you to take charge of, Razor".
Dutch nodded. He knew that there would have to be a common protocol in order to maintain communications should this initial contact be successful. He was looking forward to seeing his old acquaintances again - just like Hunter and Sims.
"If there's no other questions, then I'll give Chief Krag the word and you guys can start making preparations. I'm taking you off your schedules so that we can concentrate on getting everything ready", Syke said.
No one answered. Syke stood. Following his lead, the others stood and headed out. All were happy at being on this mission, but they had to keep this quiet. Not knowing if there were any other Cylon operatives made this necessary. In two days, they would be on their way.
Two days later, they were all set. It was time to make a rendezvous. Syke had left Silver Spar Wing in the hands of Tricia, Sanders had provided the documents to be handed over if the rendezvous was successful, and just before Syke had headed down to the launch bay to board the Peregrine, Cain dropped in and told him more about the sealed envelope he had given him earlier.
"The disk inside the envelope is a personal message from me to the commander of the other forces. Be sure to hand it to their representative and to inform him or her that it is eyes only commander-to-commander", Cain instructed. Syke nodded and placed the envelope in his jacket pocket.
"Just make sure that it does not fall into the wrong hands, Captain", Cain said to him as he left his office.
The message, which now lay sealed in the envelope marked CEO, read:
From: G. Cain, Commander, Battlestar PEGASUS (BSG-89)
To: Commander, Colonial Contingent in the field.
Classification: Commander's Eyes Only. No permanent record.
Commander,
Forgive the rather vague title of the addressee, but at this time of writing, your identity is unknown to me. But you now know who I am, and from what fleet ship I'm writing to you from.
I had this letter entrusted to my representative, Captain Eugene Syke - the CAG of Silver Spar Wing - and instructed him to hand it to your representative. If you are reading this, then the initial contact was a success. I must stress that the information in this letter must not be made public to any but your closest confidants, for reasons which will be made apparent.
The Battlestar PEGASUS is the only survivor of Task Force Five, which was destroyed over Caprica. We are alone, but we are intact and fully battleworthy - as a number of tin-heads have already found out to their cost - without so far revealing our identity. In addition to Silver Spar Wing, the Battlestar PACIFICA's Black Knight Wing is now based on the PEGASUS, along with Peregrine Five.
At this moment, we are currently on a mission to locate the Battlestar GALACTICA and the civilian vessels she is escorting - though for now our precise location cannot be disclosed. It is my intention to get Commander Adama to quickly convey the civilian ships to the nearest suitable planet, then to have the GALACTICA accompany the PEGASUS back into battle as this is the only way to ensure the protection of those survivors. Running from the Cylons is futile. The only way for our race to survive is to defeat them.
Unfortunately, there has been a discovery of humanoid Cylon agents, which was - I believe - what the tin-heads used in order to compromise the colonies and therefore enable the Cylons to defeat us so quickly. One of these agents was among some survivors we rescued from Caprica before we left the Cyrannus System. This agent nearly succeeded in alerting the tin-heads to our presence on several occasions and only the fact that a sensor disc planted in the shoulder patch of a flight suit was discovered, enabled us to eventually identify it. I strongly advise you to check carefully those around you as they could either be Cylon, or be carrying one of those discs. The disc can be easily located by means of sensor radiation of the type that the Cylons use: It will react to the radiation by amplifying a reflective 'echo'.
Regardless, their presence makes such security matters a high priority, which is why you must ensure that this information becomes compartmentalized. In addition, a recent communications intercept indicates that several of these agents may be posing as survivors in disabled ships, so be very wary of any distress calls until a definite means to identify the agents can be made.
I have included a data disk of extracts from our battle log with this letter. This will give you an idea of what we have encountered since the destruction of Task Force Five. Also, Captain Syke will have passed to you new code protocols, code cipher pads, and co-ordinates for your probes to jump to in order to communicate with us. Needless to say, all of this must be kept confidential.
I am glad that the tin-heads are not having a pleasant stay on our home worlds, and hopefully soon, when the PEGASUS returns with the GALACTICA, then we can work together in order to start taking back what we have lost. May the Lords of Kobol protect you all. Garris Cain.
Now, Syke was sitting in the co-pilot's seat with Hunter while Dutch was back aft with Sims. They went through the pre-flight check list after boarding. By the time that they had finished, the Bay Nine lift had raised the Peregrine up to the level of the flight deck. Now, sitting in the vacuum of space, Hunter gave the readiness status of the gunship to Core Control.
"Core Command transferring control of Peregrine Five to pilot. Launch when ready", the wireless said.
With those words, Hunter powered up the engines and manipulated the primary lift-off thrusters. The Peregrine gracefully lifted off the Port Bay Flight Deck and headed out of the forward bay entry port. It was fully fueled and armed.
Syke was impressed with Hunter's deft handling of the gunship. Despite the large size, the Peregrine handled more like a viper than a raptor. It was regrettable that the PEGASUS had only this one, he thought ruefully.
"Jump co-ordinates punched in, Hondo", Sims reported from his station, "Rendezvous time in ten minutes...mark!".
Hunter looked at Syke. Syke understood the gesture, but he had to reassure Hunter.
"I know that I'm the mission commander, Hondo", Syke said, "but you're the pilot-in-command. Until we make the rendezvous, you are in command of the ship and crew. It's your baby".
"Thanks, Bojay", Hunter replied.
Syke smiled and relaxed in his seat, nodding at Hunter's using call-signs for addressing. He already noticed that the Peregrine's auto-destruct had been placed in STANDBY mode, and that the satchel in Dutch's hands (that contained the new code ciphers, new TAC frequency rotation settings, and co-ordinates sheets for future probe jump points) also had an explosive device primed to go off if it was improperly handled.
"Jumping in 5...4...3...2...1...jump!", Hunter said, activating the FTL drive.
With a flash, the Peregrine made it's lengthy jump from the Promar Sector to the Mandahar System.
"Contact Recon Probe have made the jump", Sanders reported to Cain from Core Command.
Cain nodded. The battlestar was now going to wait until the return of the Peregrine, but just in case something else came back...
"Comms, bring the PEGASUS to Condition Two", he ordered.
Peregrine Five exited it's jump in the Mandahar System approximately fifty clicks out from the precise co-ordinates that had been given to them by the probe earlier. Following set procedure, the Peregrine powered down it's active systems. They were now relying on their passive sensors.
Mandahar was a lifeless system with two gas giants, three small rocky planetoids, and a large asteroid field. It was in the latter that the co-ordinates for rendezvous were located. Both Dutch and Sims used the passive sensor array to see if they could 'hear' any wireless or other EM emissions. After a couple of minutes, Dutch shook his head at Sims, who also shook his head. Sims thumbed his communicator.
"It's quiet as a grave, Hondo", Sims reported, "nothing but natural EM emissions".
"What do you think, Bojay?", Hunter asked.
"We've got that improvised TAC-channel rotation they gave us already programmed in, Hondo", Syke replied, "so why don't we use it - short range omnidirectional with the first message", he suggested.
Hunter thought about it. True, the passive sensors showed nothing, but that did not mean that there wasn't anyone - or anything - out there waiting. A sweep with the active sensors would be more definitive, but that would be a pretty loud announcement to anyone listening that they were here. A short-range communication though would be less obtrusive. He nodded.
Syke keyed his communicator, "Power up the weapons platform and the wireless transmitter only, Coffin. Razor, send out the first message on the TAC setting we were given - text format only".
As Sims powered up the missile launchers and the targeting/acquisition array, Dutch started sending out the indicated message on the improvised TAC frequency rotation - made out of the first half of the TAC-2 rotation, and the second half of the TAC-1 rotation, then put into reverse to form the new frequency rotation setting.
The message read 'B to D, B to D. STILL ANNOYED AT S?'. It was sent out three times. After the third transmission, a reply came back: 'D to B, D to B. ANNOYED AT HER FOR BEING CLEANED OUT. HOW ABOUT HER DARE?'
Syke chuckled at that. He remembered precisely what that message meant. He switched to audio.
"I'm not that crazy, Dragon", Syke said into the wireless, "Her type of flying qualifies as either gifted or insane. Take your pick".
"Well, well, Bojay", a familiar voice replied over the wireless, "fancy meeting you out here. I guess we can take you off our targeting computer now. You can't be too careful these days".
"You're right about that, Dragon", Syke replied, "So where are you?"
"Head into the field at a heading of two-niner-three", Masters ordered, "Once you enter the field, we'll come to you. But keep your active sensors off-line. The tin-heads are doing patrols even in this system".
"That I can believe", Syke replied.
Hunter expertly brought his Peregrine onto the new course. Using his thrusters, he steered the gunship into the asteroid field. Nimbly, Hunter maneuvered the Peregrine around several clumps of asteroidal debris. At last, they came into a 'clearing' of sorts.
"Dragon to Hondo, stop right there", Masters ordered over the wireless. Hunter brought the gunship to a stop. Sims noticed something on his screen.
"We're being scanned by a LIDAR, Hondo", he reported.
"From where, Coffin?", Hunter asked.
"Look up!", Masters' voice replied, momentarily startling him, but quickly remembering that his internal communications could be picked up by Peregrine One at close range - which was part of the original test and evaluation protocols.
He looked out of his cockpit window in order to see another Peregrine heading towards his position from above. His IFF confirmed that it was indeed Peregrine One. He thumbed his communicator.
"Great to see you again, Dragon", Hunter said.
"Don't forget me", another voice chimed in. Sever was looking down waving as their cockpit lined up over theirs, barely two meters apart. Hunter smiled more broadly.
"How can I forget your voice, Witch?", he said cheerfully.
"We'll have enough time for the reunion", Syke gently admonished, "but first, we'd better dock".
Hunter nodded, and noted that Syke had kept his hand on the auto-destruct panel the entire time. He knew that Syke had not forgotten anything, despite the initial ship-to-ship communications. That kind of thinking was what must have made him a CAG, he thought to himself.
"We rigged our bird with a docking collar over the dorsal hatch, Bojay. Hold still and we'll lock on", Masters sent.
"Thrusters are at station keeping, Dragon", Syke sent, "but are you going to make your docking approach direct, or are you going to come in from behind?".
"We'll be coming in directly, Bojay", Masters sent, "Just like our landing approaches at VTT, eh?".
Syke knew what Masters was trying to do. He keyed his communicator.
"Direct approaches at VTT were not allowed as that would have taken us over a part of the base that was in a prohibited no-fly-zone, Dragon", he admonished, "We both knew that, though that didn't stop us".
"No question about it, Bojay. You are who you say you are", Masters replied with a chuckle.
Their approaches really annoyed the hell out of the brass. He continued, "Very well, our docking collar is ready to latch, which will be in about twenty seconds".
The twenty seconds was quite a slow time by the standards of most pilots, but both Syke and Masters realized that they could not afford any mess-ups with this docking, but it took no more skill than they had and Masters expertly docked Peregrine One onto Peregrine Five.
On Sims' status panel, a light turned green. He thumbed his communicator.
"We have a secure lock. It's pressurized", he said to Hunter and Syke.
Hunter turned to Syke and said, "Now you're the commander, Bojay". Syke nodded, looking up at the other cockpit - where he saw both Masters and Sever looking at him.
"You wanna come to us, or shall we come to you?", Syke asked Masters over the communicator.
"There's still a security issue, Bojay, so I think it best that we come down to you first. Okay?", Masters replied.
Syke gestured to Masters with a thumbs-up gesture. Masters waved back, then got up out of his seat. As he did so, Syke noticed the stamped kill-markings along the base of Peregrine One's cockpit. And the stylized name of 'DRAGON'S LAIR' painted on the other. Four Frakking Base Stars!, Syke thought to himself.
For his part, Masters looked with satisfaction at the nickname painted on Peregrine Five. 'FLEET AVENGER' was an apt title, Masters thought.