Title-
A Brave New World
Chapter-
11/?
Author-
Dekardkain
Date-
11/09/06
Rating-
NC-17
Category-
Very AU, L/K romance, action.
Archiving-
Would be an honor, just ask.
Warnings-
Violence/consensual sex
Disclaimers-
I don't own this, no money, yadda yadda. Sue me,
it's
not like I have any money anyways.
Summary-
What if things had taken a very different turn
after
they returned from Kobol? What if instead of finding
the Peg they found Earth?
Or if Earth found them?
"I wish I could say that story wasn't true. My father always managed to find the perfect words for any occasion, and you might think that would rub off just a little. Looking back, I wish I would have realized people were going to remember the next words out of my mouth. Had I known, I might have thought of something a little more appropriate than 'I can't believe that frakking worked.' "
-Lee
"Apollo" Adama
Interview
for the New Caprican Times
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Mission Clock T-1:15
Kara Thrace knew she had an effect on men, and was never afraid to use it to her advantage. Currently, she was enjoying a nice comfortable seat in the briefing room while Captain Kinkaid was running both his pilots and hers through the last minute details before launch. It had only taken a little convincing on her part before he had agreed it was a waste of time for them to run through the same briefing twice for two separate groups, rather than all at once.
The animosity between Terran and Colonial pilots had, thankfully, faded almost as soon as it had arrived. It had been getting better slowly until Lee and Tyler had been spotted laughing and playing triad over a bottle of the Captain's now infamous scotch whiskey. It was an unwritten rule that once your commanding officers were making nice, you fell into line, or found your ass in a sling.
Kinkaid was still wearing his Terran uniform, as the rest of his pilots did, but had replaced the patches on it with those of Galactica and his capacity as a Viper pilot. The only change was a small beaded rosary hanging from his pocket. His XO, Rachel Gruber, had explained to Kara earlier that it was his good luck charm, and the only thing he had left of his wife.
At first Kara had been disappointed when the Captain had called an end to their short courtship but the more she thought about it, the more she saw the inevitability of this outcome. She couldn't, and wouldn't, compete with a ghost.
The sound of Kinkaid shuffling papers on the podium brought her back from her thoughts. She hadn't noticed how long she'd zoned out untill she saw that the cigar he'd 'just lit' was now down to smoldering nub.
"... first two waves. Squadrons six through ten will approach from the far side of our defensive perimeter. You'll climb and wait for engagement, at which point I want you to drop onto that dog-pile and try to get as many of them to break off as you can. With any luck, all the EM traffic in-system will mask your approach, and you'll achieve total surprise. Just don't wait too long to get the drop on them, or there won't be any of us left to bail out." He paused to grab a drink of water.
"We need to buy seven to ten minutes for the bulk of their fighters to enter the kill zone. Once our reinforcements make the jump, all even numbered squadrons break for the vertical terminus, all odd squadrons head for the deck. When fighter superiority is gained, we'll launch our bomber squadrons. The first wave will be responsible for neutralizing these planetary defense platforms.
Starbuck will be heading up the bomber escort and will dispatch assignments in the air, three tactical wings will be hitting the shipyard, and the rest will focus on the remaining Basestars. Now the atmosphere on this rock is riddled with nasty elements, a few of which like to absorb our sensor signals. We'll be relying on a group of Raptors to establish locks for our bombers to use, so I can't stress this enough people, you need to keep the enemy off their asses so they can do their jobs! Kat and Scooter, I want you two to coordinate the Raptor escort once we move on to the primary engagement.
Our capital ships will keep up a suppressive fire with tactical missile barrages, but until those Raptors are in position, they will have to eye-ball it and won't be terribly effective. Those of you who haven't seen what a Terran pulse torpedo can do, trust me, you want to stay at least two hundred meters away or you'll fry every piece of electronics in your bird and end up a sitting duck for those Raiders. ECO's need to keep an eye out for late launches, and keep our fighters apprised of the situation. The Cylons sometimes hold a few wings in reserve to throw out and suprise us when we get in close. Once those spinies are out of commission, do a complete sweep for ejected pilots.
I want constant updates on munitions and fuel expenditure. If this fight lasts long enough, we'll be rotating in a squadron every four minutes to reload and refuel. Combat landings, so watch your spacing! And for fuck's sake people, I don't want to have to remind anyone that when wave two arrives the space between our Cap. ships is gonna be hot as hell, so bug out and let them engage the raiders. I promise, there will be plenty left for the rest of us.
That about covers it, stay sharp and don't be afraid to call for backup. I know you Galactica pilots are used to slugging it out alone up here, but you've got cover now, so use it. Godspeed, and good hunting. Padre."
Most of the Galactica pilots had moved to leave but reseated themselves as Kinkaid's XO, Rachel 'Firefly' Gruber, made her way to the podium. When she got there she removed a small leather-bound book from a cargo pocket on her fatigues, all of the Terran pilots stood and bowed their heads. Rachel cleared her throat while finding the appropriate page, then began reading.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
"Amen." Came the reply from the pilots. Which Kara assumed was the Terran equivalent of 'so say we all'. There was something to be said for a shorter reply, would cut down on those long services.
All of the Terrans remained standing, and Lt. Gruber made her way around the podium to stand before them. The loud shout that came next sent most of the already combat twitchy nuggets behind her jumping in their seats.
"What is your name!?" Rachel called out, sending all of the pilots to attention.
"Death, sir!."
"Where are you from!?" Every question was louder, and every reply seemed to ring from the bulkheads.
"Hell, sir!"
"Why do you live!?"
"To kill Cylons, sir!"
"When do you stop!?"
"Never, sir!"
Rachel smiled and looked over her shoulder to Kinkaid. "I almost feel sorry for those metal minded shits. Dismissed!"
Kara stood with the rest of her pilots and made her way down the steps to the podium with a wry grin splitting her face nearly in two. "Little melodramatic, don't you think Captain?"
Tyler was putting his papers away and retrieving his flight suit from the table beside them. "Rachel and a few others came up with that when I was still aboard the Aggressor. We'd lost two planets and more than half the fleet in a matter of days, morale was low. It's been six years now and I bet it'll be around long after i'm gone. I've even heard that a few other squadrons in the fleet have picked up on it."
"Well, a few of the nuggets seemed impressed with that macho bullshit, but i'll stomp that out quick enough." Kara followed Kinkaid out the hatch and down the hall towards his ready-room.
"Macho bullshit? For a woman, you seem to dish out an inordinate amount yourself Buck."
Kara stopped dead in her tracks, glaring. "I am going to frakking kill Helo."
Tyler had stopped dead in the hall and turned to face her, grinning wide around his cigar. "Don't change the subject. I'll bet a bottle of my whiskey against a bottle of your ambrosia that my boys bring home more kills today."
"Well we don't usually keep track... under that whole macho bullshit category again. And that whiskey of yours tastes like Sagitaran yak piss." Kara was grinning wide around her stogie in a near mirror image of the man across from her. "But if you really wanna be that stupid, far be it from me to stop you, you're on." Kara shook his hand to seal the bet.
"Good hunting, Lieutenant."
Starbuck laughed. "I'm sure you've heard that I don't let anyone do it, but it's alright if you still call me Kara. In private... when i'm in a good mood."
Tyler broke into a smile before turning into the pilot's ready-room. "Alright. Good hunting, Kara."
"Good hunting, Tyler. And don't worry, if you get into trouble, Starbuck is just a call away!" Her grin was wicked.
Moving past the door, Kara made the short walk down to her quarters to change. The idea of being stuck in the uniform she'd already been wearing for nine hours during a long and intense space flight wasn't appetizing. She tossed her jacket onto her bunk and just opened her locker, but stopped short at something that hadn't been there when she'd gotten dressed that morning.
There was a small package, folded with almost compulsive neatness, in plain brown paper at the bottom of her locker. A small note was peaking out from one corner of the wrapping, folded over the top. She didn't have much time before she was due for pre-launch, but curiosity got the better of her. Kara grabbed the package from her locker and hurried to a nearby table, tossing the light item down onto the flat surface. In typical Starbuck fashion, she popped the note off and tore into the package, slightly disappointed at first to find a plain sweatshirt neatly folded inside. A used sweatshirt from the looks of it. It took a moment to realize it was Lee's, the one she was forever 'procuring' from his locker.
Deciding to test her theory, she pulled the garment to her nose and inhaled deeply of Lee and just the slightest tinge of his aftershave. Remembering the note almost as an afterthought, she picked up the small envelope and removed the card. Lee's clean, flowing script was immediately recognizable when she opened it and read the single line.
Kara, thanks for the shave.
Love,
Lee
It shocked her the effect those few short words had on her. She had to wipe tears from her cheeks before hanging the sweatshirt up in her locker and replacing the note reverently into it's envelope. While placing the note into her locker, her eyes froze on the picture still wedged into the corner of the door. Kara ran her fingers over it slowly, finally settling on Lee. Two words repeating themselves over and over.
Love, Lee. Now that was something to come home for.
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Mission Clock T-00:02
Commander Adama was standing in front of the tactical board with an old friend at his left, and for the first time, his son at his right. To say he was feeling pride would be an understatement as his Apollo rattled off orders like he'd been doing this for years. As good a pilot as he was, William had always known Lee was born for command. A little rough around the edges, and still too impulsive at times, but he had a sound tactical head on his shoulders and a fighter's spirit. Most comforting of all was the ever present moral compass he represented. The Commander could still remember that day on Colonial One, when Lee had told his commanding officer, his father, and the President, to go straight to hell. It had been that moment that Adama had made his decision about Lee, Galactica would be his one day.
Tigh checked the clock and glanced over his shoulder. "Mr. Gaeta, FTL status?"
"Ready to jump on your command, sir."
"Lieutenant Thorn, report." Tigh turned to Dee's replacement.
"All ships report ready, sir."
"And our pilots?"
Lt. Thorn pressed a button on the console in front of her before continuing. "Starbuck, this is Galactica Actual, what is your status?"
Kara's voice came back over the speakers, echoing across CIC. "Just finished loading, we're in the tubes and ready for launch."
"Archangel, this is Galactica Actual, what is your status?"
"Locked, cocked, and ready to rock Galactica." Kinkaid replied, sounding more alive than he had in weeks.
Lee chuckled as he turned to face his father. "I'll assume that means he's ready to go. Would you care to address the troops Commander?"
Adama took the offered handset with a nod of appreciation and CIC was suddenly silent. He walked to the center of the room, looking around at the anxious faces of his crew one by one before depressing the contact.
"This is the Commander. As we go into battle today, there are questions we need to ask ourselves about the future. For too long we've focused on the horrors of the past. Who here has not lost something to the Cylons? Who here would not give their final breath to make them pay? Our worlds, our families, and our futures are gone. We have been driven from our homes and nearly to extinction by our own creations. But hate is easy, and anger is self destructive. So I ask you now, will you continue to fight for revenge? Or will you struggle on... in hope?"
"We are about to take the first step into a new future, a new hope for our peoples. This path will not be easy, and it will by no means be bloodless. No one here has forgotten that we are at war and that in war we are called upon to make sacrifices in the name of victory, but those sacrifices will no longer be in vain! We have a new goal now... a new home. I want you to remember that as we head into the fight. We have a chance to strike a blow that will help secure that future, and protect our new home. I have faith that we'll see this through; i've come to expect nothing less. Now lets turn the tide!"
The Commander handed the headset back to Lee. The wild cheers and applause were only quieted after a stern look from Tigh.
"We have work to do people. Lets get it done."
Lee checked the mission clock and nodded to Lt. Thorn, who opened the ship-wide channel again. "All crew prepare for jump, in ten..nine..eight...seven..."
Lee's heart was pounding so fast that the thudding in his ears blocked out Thorn's voice. Something felt very wrong about all this, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. It was that gut reaction you learn to trust in combat, it's what tells you to duck two seconds before the enemy opens fire, or swing right instead of left just in time to avoid that missile. It wasn't, however, a good enough reason to halt the mission. Not that he could have, the tell-tale pull of the FTL engaging gripped him by the spine, and the fight was on.
Mission Clock T+00:01
Lieutenant Gaeta's voice rang across CIC and sent everyone into motion. "All ships have completed the jump and are in formation, awaiting your command sir."
"Weapons grid to full power, stand by enemy suppression barrage." Lee was pouring over the data streaming onto the tactical display in front of him. "Mr. Gaeta, enemy contacts?"
"Reading ten... no, eleven Basestars and six weapons platforms. Radiological warning, they're arming weapons."
Commander Adama glanced over to Lt. Thorn. "Pass the word to the Dreadnaughts Bismark and Yamato, they are to commence primary bombardment."
Thorn pressed the pickup further into her ear. "This is Galactica actual, group two is to commence primary bombardment on my mark. Mark."
The Commander joined Lee and Tigh at the tactical board, all three men were transfixed on the thin lines streaming from the ships on their flanks towards the waiting enemy fleet. At around twelve seconds to contact Felix broke the bated silence. "We have Raiders! They're launching from all Basestars and the shipyard, but the interferance is preventing an exact count."
A large number of the lines stretching into oblivion winked out as the Raiders began picking them off. Seven of the lines turned green however, indicating an impact. A few moments later a mass of red lines were on their way towards the fleet as the Cylons returned fire.
"All batteries - commence firing! Lt. Gaeta, any idea how many we managed to remove with that first barrage?" Commander Adama hung up the handset and moved to stand behind the young officer. The reassuring sound of their defensive batteries engaging echoed throughout the ship.
"It's hard to tell sir, but two Basestars are drifting towards the planet and at least one more isn't returning fire." Gaeta smacked the screen. "I can't see anything through all this static! Commander, we need those Raptors."
"I agree. Lieutenant Thorn, give the order."
"All fighters launch! Good luck out there." A few moments later she nodded. "All birds report away Commander."
A series of green ID tags appeared from the fleet's carriers as the fighters formed up. Tigh let out a low whistle as he appraised the tactical readout. "Look at that, there's so many Raiders out there it looks like one giant reading."
"Just makes it harder to miss, Colonel." Adama smiled grimly. "I've learned not to underestimate our pilots. Start the clock, our reinforcments will be here in exactly seven minutes."
"The first wave will reach the Point of Engagement in forty seconds, sir." Lee called over his shoulder, trying not to focus on that one very important blip, which as always was right at the front of the pack.
"Open the comm Lieutenant, I want to hear the chatter."
Static blared from the speakers for a few seconds before Thorn manged to filter out most of the distortion. It still amazed Lee how energized Kara sounded from the cockpit.
"Diamond formation, keep it tight people! Break off as soon as we hit the POE and for frak's sake, keep an eye on your wingman! Eagle one, are you in position?"
Kinkaid's voice crackled from the comm next. "High and dry, we'll drop on your mark blue leader."
As the clock ticked by with an excruciating slowness, Lee could only listen and wait as the two groups moved inevitably towards the other. Lee couldn't help but wonder how his father had manged this. Watching his 'children' going into battle time after time, not knowing if they would ever make it back. Sure, they had pulled off some miracles in their day, but they'd always been together. Together they were invincible. Like the heroes in the stories Lee's mother had told him when he was a child, who had seemed blessed by the Gods in all things.
Blessed or not though, all Lee could do was hope. The feeling of dread still hadn't left the pit of his stomach. He tried desperately to remember that prayer he'd caught Kara reciting a few times before bed, when she thought no one was looking, but in the end he settled for something a little more practical. "Bring her home Captain."
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Mission Clock T+00:04
Kara let out a loud whoop of triumph as she passed through the Cylon formation for the second time. That one had been close, she'd nearly lost a wing while passing through the wreckage of an exploding raider. "Eagle one, mark!"
"Acknowledged Starbuck. Squadrons six through ten, break formation and engage at will!" At Kinkaid's command, more than a hundred fighters dropped from their circling pattern high above the fight like starving vultures descending on dying prey. The first warning the Cylons had was a wave of Terran missiles, followed milliseconds later by a steady rain of projectile fire tearing into their vulnerable targets. Complete surprise was gained, and it had the desired effect, the Cylons broke formation and scattered.
"Alright people, regroup! We need to draw them back in and hold them in the kill zone. Archangel to Actual, I need a time-check."
"Two minutes twenty seconds Archangel." Lee's voice called out over the comm.
"Draw them in, but stick to short bursts, you'll need the ammo when we make our run on those Basestars. Squadrons four through six, break starboard and swing for their flank. Use that planetoid for cover as long as you can and don't engage until they're past you. Starbuck, what do you see?"
"They've reformed and are circling around now Archangel. Advise we move to engage."
"Agreed. All fighters, engage targets of opportunity, but keep an ear open for the bug-out order!"
The two massive waves of fighters collided again and began swarming around each other like angry hornets. The Cylon numerical superiority was starting to show as the Alliance pilots started to lose the momentum of surprise.
Kat's voice rang out, frantic over the comm. "Will someone get these frakkers off my ass!?"
"Hotdog and Reaper, see what you can do about that. The rest of you, form up on me, we should be able to get one more pass in!" Starbuck's reply was punctuated by a loud explosion as she scratched another raider.
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Mission Time T+00:08
Lee glanced up from the unfolding battle to check the clock, and felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Forty-five seconds untill they enter the system. Sir, we're losing too many fighters out there!"
Commander Adama nodded gravely. "Yes we are. But we've managed to disable or destroy six of those Basestars and concentrated the majority of their fighters in the kill zone. They just need to hold a little longer."
"They may not have a little longer!"
"We stick to the plan Lee." The tone in his voice said there would be no argument. After a moment though, his face softened and he leaned closer to his son. "I'm worried about her too, but she knows how to do her job son."
"Fifteen seconds." Tigh called from behind them.
Lee lifted the handset and pressed the contact. "All fighters, prepare to break off on my mark."
The clock seemed to slow down as the weight of every eye in CIC was trained on it. Fourteen, thirteen, twelve...
"Come on... come on!" Apollo could feel his fingers digging into the handset with such force his knuckles were turning white.
Gaeta began the count out loud. "Seven, six, five, four, three, two..."
Lee activated the contact and practically screamed the order. "Mark! Break now!"
The order to break off was music to Kara's ears, and not just because it had come from Lee. Every Alliance fighter scattered at once, half diving for the deck and the other half climbing for the ceiling. If those Raiders actually had faces, Kara would have loved to see the look on them.
A series of five bright flashes were visible through her canopy as the Beowulf and it's destroyer escorts appeared in-system. Their guns were already targeted, and unleashed a barrage almost as soon as they finished the jump. The Cylon Raiders were now pinned between two lines of Alliance capital ships, which were currently raking the entire formation with intense fire from both sides. With all guns now trained on the fighters, the destroyer escorts let loose a full barrage of 'scatterpack' torpedoes. Each one locking onto a seperate radiological signature and racing towards it. Once the torpedoes hit a predetermined range, they detonated, throwing depleted uranium slugs in every direction and literally tearing out the innards of any missile or fighter unlucky enough to be within range.
The entire scene was one of beauty to Starbuck, Cylons dropping in every direction. "Thank the Gods for Terran punctuality! Everyone regroup and prepare for bomber escort. Keep an eye on the Raptors people, don't let them..."
"Starbuck, what's wrong?" Kinkaid had swung his Viper in beside her, preparing for the next assault.
Kara couldn't seem to get her voice past the lump forming in her throat. Four Basestars had suddenly sprung into existence behind their carriers, effectively boxing them in. That ,however, wasn't what frightened her, nor was it the cloud of missiles now racing towards the fleet. It was what she saw towering behind the Basestars. Nearly dwarfing them with it's immensity, was a ship so large that Galactica could most likely fit into one of it's pylons. The silvery spines jutting from it's core were unmistakable though. "Galactica, you have incoming!"
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"Galactica, you have incoming!" Kara had no sooner said the words than all of CIC seemed to explode at once.
Lee was tossed backwards into the strategy table, rolling over the low top and landing on the other side in a painful heap on his injured arm. Glass was raining down from everywhere, and he could feel a sharp pain in his palm as he tried to lever himself off the floor. Sounds seemed impossibly distant as the explosion echoed through his ears, temporarily frying his auditory nerves. "What the frak just happened?"
The view was grim when Apollo finally managed to pull himself up by the edge of the table. At least four crewman were slumped over their stations, lying deathly still, and there were small fires all over the place. From the collapsed bulkhead, and massive accompanying dent, he guessed the impact must have been right above them. Tigh was bent over someone to his left, but Lee was distracted by Gaeta's reply before he could examine any further.
"Five enemy ships have just entered the system directly behind us!" He had to pause long enough to clear the blood from his eyes before continuing. "We've managed to reestablish our defensive perimeter, but we've lost the carrier Hercules and it appears the Bismark is dead in space."
"Order all fighters to land immediately, we're in the middle of a frakking ambush! All ships are to jump as soon as their birds are home, prime the FTL!" Lee was starting to wonder why he was the only one barking orders, until his eyes settled on Tigh. The man was slumped back against the wall, one hand checking his father's pulse and the other covering his right eye. Lee bolted the few steps to his father's side and kneeled down, ignoring the sharp pain and sickening wetness spreading down his side. "What happened?"
It seemed to take Tigh a moment to realize someone was talking to him. "Bulkhead came down right in front of us.. he's got a pulse." Blood began to seep from in between the fingers of the hand covering what was left of the Colonel's eye.
Lee could feel the fluttering of his father's pulse and thought back to the conversation he'd had the other day. "He's having a heart attack, get him down to Cottle!"
"You don't tell me.."
Lee growled and grabbed Tigh by the front of his uniform. "I don't have time for this Colonel! Neither of you are any good to me here. If you can walk you get his ass down there now, and if he dies, you die!"
Storming away, Lee turned back to Gaeta, forcing himself to put aside the terror threatening to overwhelm him. "Whats the status on that jump?"
"Sir... I can't explain it, the FTL won't initialize. That ship is producing some kind of massive gravitational field."
"Have the Cylons launched fighters?"
"No fighters yet sir, but we've just received word that four heavy Raiders have boarded the Bismark!"
Lee pulled up the massive ship's display on what remained of the tactical board. A bright red light was flashing on it's ventral hull, about a third of the way back from the port launchers. "This doesn't make any sense, they haven't landed near any vital systems. Patch me through to Kinkaid!."
Lt. Thorn punched a few buttons and nodded to Lee who spoke into his handset. "This is Galactica Actual to Archangel, respond."
Kinkaid's voice was strained when he finally managed a reply, four Raiders had just fallen into formation behind him, guns blazing. "Little busy right now!"
"The Cylons have boarded the Bismark, but they're acting very strange."
"Just get the fleet out of here Major! We'll land as many as we can, and the rest of us will do our best to hold off those fighters!" Tucking his Viper into a tight vertical dive, he managed to slip through a wave of incoming Raptors, but two of his persuers weren't as lucky and slammed head-long into their camarades.
"That's a no-go on evac. Archangel, they're jamming our FTL. The bulk of their fighters aren't attacking. They seem to be focusing on protecting their boarding operation."
"What's so strange about that? Fuck! Reaper! You've got three on your tail, bug out! Rachel, pick up his slack!"
"It's strange because they landed above the frakking mess hall! Somehow I doubt they're there to sample the food." Lee was frantically scanning the readout before him, but none of this made any sense.
"The mess hall?" Even Kinkaid sounded at a loss, trying to make sense of this new information. "That's six decks from the engines... halfway across the ship from the life support systems. The only thing near there is the comput... oh shit! Thats why they don't want us to leave... they're trying to find Earth! They're going to pull it's location from the Bismark's computer core!"
"What does that have to do with us leaving? They have the ship!"
"They don't want anyone to be able to warn Earth that they're coming. Major, they're going for a check-mate here!"
Lee looked at the faces of the crew in CIC, and witnessing their grim determination, he wouldn't accept any less from himself. "I don't intend to give them the opportunity."
Apollo walked over to the comm board and switched to the fleet-wide band. "All Alliance ships, form up. The Cylons are jamming our FTL drives, leaving us stranded in this system. I don't intend to sit in their trap and let them destroy us. Fighters are to break and attack anything those new ships send our way, but be sure to stay out of our firing solutions! Bomber wings one through four, take out those defense platforms. Wings five through ten, focus on those last five Basestars around the shipyard. All capital ships are to head for the planet, flank speed!"
"But sir," Gaeta called from behind him. "We'll arrive well before the bombers finish with those ships and platforms! We'll be flying right into a hail of enemy ordnance!"
Donning a grim smile to match his resolve, Apollo nodded to the junior officer. "I realize that Mr. Gaeta. Arm all batteries, we're going in hot."
T.B.C.
Hope everyone enjoyed the change of pace in this chapter. The feedback has been great as always, hope to hear what everyone thinks of this one.
-Scott
