Responses to Earlier Comments:
Hey Chronus - Roslin is with the Galactica at this point. It's funny Thrace is gone too, and I was writing her into a chance meeting with Cru aboard BSG. I saved it. I might use it later.
Hi Blaze - Yeah, not quite the same. Tarney comes up later in canon - it's the only reason he's still drawing breath (that, and Cru's fine charitable nature). :)
***Other comments are always welcome. Please leave a review.***
Disclaimer: Please note: I own no part or share in the Battlestar Galactica realm, either commercial or otherwise. This story is submitted for entertainment purposes only.
Reminder: I did not spend time making up non-earth names for BSG things - Reisling wine, blackberries, etc. They are in there for continuity. I wanted to avoid introducing new terms, explaining them, and potentially causing confusion when they are used later without explanations.
Chapter 19
Lost and Found
"I should probably apologize to Lieutenant Gaeta. I practically accused him of being part of a coup."
~Cru's journal, if he had time to keep one.
Bree's Twin
Day 51, Late
"At some point, we'll need to keep going with the people we have," said Cru. "We have no choice." He made some adjustments to the controls in front of him. "But for now, we stay here."
"Until the quorum decides otherwise," said John.
"Yeah," said Cru with a nod. "Still, we have the biggest share of the Tylium, so hopefully, my opinion holds some leverage - and my opinion is we stay put and we wait."
The loss of Galactica weighed on the minds of all. The radio was silent. Words were few in coming. Cru and John were alone on the bridge. It was quiet except for the hum of equipment. Evvie was aft in one of the storage bays, managing the gardens - it was what she did for a distraction. Cru never quite knew where the children were when they weren't doing their assigned work. Free time was a valuable commodity. Who could say where they went? Evvie could not, not always. Tanner was back in the machine shop. He had lost everyone he had ever known, which was not uncommon among the survivors. Every loss of life since then was a reminder of the morning he caught a flight off-planet on his way to a new job. He looked back to see Minos, a city on Tauron and the home to his wife and four children, incinerated under the flames of multiple nuclear detonations. The Galactica was gone, with all hands presumed dead. Like Evvie, Tanner found distraction in his work. It was the one true thing that kept his despair at bay. It was the one true thing that kept the cries of hopelessness, deep within him, from getting loose.
John shook his head. "How many did we lose?"
"From the Galactica? They have twenty-eight hundred souls plus the president and her people - if they are all indeed lost."
"It's been eight hours."
Cru nodded. "Yeah, that's a long time. But look, John, I haven't given up on the Galactica just yet…"
At that moment, the Galactica returned. It had been in another battle as evidenced by the many new craters in its armor. Bree's Twin was close, very close, because it had backed out of the Pyxis' way. It was peppered by battle wreckage that had been swept up with the great ship as it FTL jumped away.
Cru had turned Bree's Twin so it faced where Galactica was expected to return. The Galactica was before them now, huge, in all of its beautiful, battleship-gray, and war-scarred glory.
"They made it," breathed John. He leaned heavily on the console. It was as if a great weight was released from his shoulders and he was free to show his weariness. "I've never been so glad to see a ship in all my life."
Cru nodded. "I'm so with you, John," said Cru. "What a beautiful site."
"I'm telling the others," said John as he picked up a mic. "They'll want to know."
"Absolutely."
John announced the Galactica's return over the ship-wide speakers. Evvie was the first to join them - she ran the whole way from the crops in Storage Bay Two. She passed Emily and Fletcher, who were rolling out, bodily, from the shuttle, in brimming excitement.
"My gods!" shouted Evvie as she took in the sight. She clasped Cru in a strong embrace. She reached for John, who took her hand and joined them arm and arm. Cru and john had been reserved in their appreciation of the big ship, but Evvie's enthusiasm was infectious, and soon they were all smiling and cheering. Cru glanced at the DRADIS. Galactica was alone - none had followed her.
Emily and Fletcher arrived at a run. Emily went left and Fletcher went right, around the gathered adults, up to the windows, pressed their faces against them, and peered out. Fletcher pounded on the glass and shouted wildly.
Tanner was in the back, his arrival would take a bit longer, but he was jubilant as he quick-stepped the journey forward.
"I say we celebrate," said Evvie. "The blackberries are ripe for the picking and we'll open a bottle of the good Riesling." Evvie gestured to the children. "And, for the two of you," she said, "Emily, pop some popcorn."
The children cheered. Popcorn was a favorite, they were running low on it, and it was on the "Special Occasions Only" list.
"Blackberries?" said Cru.
"Fresh fruit?" said John. "That's a novel concept."
"Yes, blackberries," said Evvie with a smile. "We took possession of a large potted bush. It was from one of the cruise liners whose name shall remain unspoken. I've kept it hidden from the accursed food police."
"Okay," said Cru, "I don't want to know what you had to trade for that," He laughed openly.
"Yes, you do not," said Evvie. "But it may or may not have cost a four-pack of lightbulbs, a family-sized, unopened bag of Cool Ranch Tortilla Chips, a cup of sugar, and a pair of linesman's pliers."
"Wait, my linesman's pliers?"
"You had two pairs," said Evvie.
"Yes, but now I only have one."
"Also, we got a box of fudge browny mix with the trade - just add water."
"Oh…"
"And, a knife sharpener because we're done using your 3" table belt sander on the good cutlery."
"Wait, who had a knife sharpener? It's not something you grab when fleeing Cylons."
"Somebody did. I don't ask."
"Okay, nor will I," said Cru.
"Probably best," said Evvie.
"So, you're pretty good at this bartering business."
Evvie nodded and gave a smile. "We do alright."
John cleared his throat. "If you two are quite done with this back-and-forth business…" said John.
"We are," said Cru and Evvie together.
"Okay then, Cru - my orders this time - you get the wine and grab a bottle of the Orange Crush for the young ones."
"Yes, sir," said Cru with a smile and a salute.
Emily and Fletcher cheered.
Emily," John continued. "You get started on that popcorn - make enough for all of us, and Fletcher, you get some cups. My dear Mrs. Hawkins, I need to see this alleged 'blackberry bush' you claim." John smiled as he made quotation signs with his fingers. "When can we expect strawberries?" he added. "I love strawberries."
"Either six weeks or next year. I don't think strawberries bare fruit in the first season."
"My heart breaks, Mrs. Hawkins. Truly, I weep."
"Wait, something's not right," said Cru. His words cut the revelry to nothing but silence.
Cru noticed the Galactica's guns were out and not cycling back to standby - all of them, row upon row, big and small, from bow to stern. Galactica was still at war - guns were ready and hot for targets. Cru's smile failed him. It took John only a short moment to see what Cru was seeing.
"Prep for jump," said Cru. A cold feeling washed over him. The Galactica was eight hours delayed and its status was unknown. If the Cylons captured Galactica, this is what it would look like. "Alert the fleet."
"On it," said John.
"What's wrong?" said young Emily. The poor girl trembled. Whatever they had just been celebrating, it was lost in the utterance of Cru's four words.
"Emily Honey, take your brother back to the cabins," said Cru. His voice left no room for disagreement. "Secure in place."
"Gods, no," breathed Evvie. Her voice quaked as her shoulders fell. "They've been taken…"
"Don't know," said Cru as his hands flew over the controls to ready the ship. "It looks bad."
"The guns are always stowed when standing down, " said John. His voice was one of defeat - like the day he lost his beloved fiancé. He powered up the comm gear for a fleetwide radio broadcast. "They're not standing down," he added. "Gods, help us, they're not standing down."
"We're frakked," said Fletcher as he and her sister passed - his first use of the word in front of adults.
Cru set his finger over the FTL jump button. They were ready to run at the first hint of attack. They were the closest to the Galactica and would be the first destroyed. Bree's Twin was a behemoth, built in a time before labor efficiencies and lightweight construction replaced heavy impact steel, redundant layering, and double-braced fortifications. Bree's twin could take a beating like none of the other ships could, and had already done so in a debris field where twenty non-FTL ships were destroyed at point-blank proximity. But against the Galactica, and at close range, its defiance would be measured in a small number of seconds - less than ten and probably less than five. Cru was not going to wait for the others to blink away. Bree's Twin was not going to be the sacrificial shield as the others escaped.
John picked up the mic, but, his call-out was halted before it was started.
The voice of Lieutenant Gaeta, aboard the Galactica, broadcasted loud, in the open frequency, and drowned out the rest.
"Galactica to all ships. We have been boarded by a Cylon raiding party. Do not approach or attempt to dock with Galactica - keep a safe distance until we have secured the ship - I say again we have been boarded by a Cylon raid…"
A loud. high-pitched, squeal indicated the Cylons were jamming communications.
~~~~~/~~~~~
"John, find some way to get a message out. The fleet needs to get to safety while Galactica deals with this."
"Okay, I'm telling them all to jump."
"Yes, do it, please. Do whatever it takes."
"The fleet?" said Evvie almost absent-mindedly. She stared at the Galactica in near shock. She shook her head slowly. Her face was a vacant expression. They were celebrating. Celebrating. It was the first time since the escape from Caprica, that they had anything to cheer for, and a moment later they were thrust back into fear and uncertainty and the tight-line race for survival. "You said they need to get to safety," said Evvie. "Did you not mean us too?"
Cru's outstretched finger was poised over the FTL jump button. His steely eyes focused on the Galactica, watching for any movement from the gun emplacements. "We wait and we watch."
"...Because somebody needs to," added John. "If our people aboard the Galactica survive this, someone needs to bring them to the fleet."
Cru nodded. "And if Galactica comes at us with anything - if they lock on us with anything - we run. We run and we never look back."
John nodded.
Evvie did not reply. Her children were her greatest concern above all else. She could reach past Cru and push the FTL button before he could stop her. She wanted to end the fear of sitting defenseless before an armed ship-of-war, with weapons readied. She would wait too, but maybe not long.
"Fireworks!" shouted Emily as she ran back to the bridge. Tanner had come up from his work and arrived with Emily. "I see fireworks!" Emily repeated. She pointed aft and toward the port side.
"John, can you bring it up on a monitor? What is she seeing?" Cru didn't take his eyes from the Galactica.
John flipped a switch and swung a camera over in the direction Emily had pointed. The Adriatic was launching a broad fan of warning flare rockets. Several other ships were doing the same. Within moments, ships were jumping away.
"Is that the signal?" said John with a questioning tone. "It may have been handy for someone to tell us."
Ten seconds later, Bree's Twin and four other vessels were left with the Galactica. Colonial One was gone. T-Dog was still there with his big fleet-size maintenance rig. A single shuttle was caught in the open.
"Signal for what?" asked Tanner. He topped the stairs with a smile but it faded. A quick scan of the faces told him that the joyful event was not so joyful. "What has happened?"
"Galactica has been boarded by Cylons," said Evvie in a low voice.
"A raiding party," added John.
"Just one raiding party?" said Tanner. "It's a battlestar - these people are armed to the teeth."
"It takes only one of them - one of those 'centurions' - to change everything," said Evvie. Thoughts of her husband being murdered by a Cylon in front of her and the children flooded back to her. She thought of the location down the stairs, past the kitchen, onto the receiving deck, and just right of center where she held him while he took his last breaths.
Tanner fell silent. Cru had told him what had happened to Mark, Evvie's husband. He unwittingly blundered into it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hawkins," he whispered. "Forgive me."
Evvie looped her arm around his waist. He brought up his arm and held her on her far shoulder. Tanner had been a whither of skin and bones after the starvation conditions aboard the Pyxis cruise liner. Evvie and Emily brought him back to health. They cared for him, sometimes against his loud protests, until he was whole again. Evvie and Tanner shared a bond. She rested her head against his arm.
"We're watching them," said Evvie after a moment. "We'll take them back to the fleet when this is over."
"Cru," said John, "that shuttle is lining up with our landing bay." He tapped the monitor he was watching. "Do we let them in?"
"It's from the Rising Star," said Cru. "I heard someone clearing the way for a 'Doctor Cottle' on approach to Galactica."
John nodded his agreement. "I know the name. He's the only practicing surgeon in the fleet, or so I've heard."
"They're gonna need him," said Cru. "Yes, let them aboard
~~~~~/~~~~~
Bree's Twin
Communication with the Galactica's CIC
"Lieutenant, I don't give a frak about your situation," shouted Cru. He was hot. "You cannot produce the Commander, Colonel Tigh, the President, or your Deck Chief. If it's not the Cylons, it looks like a bloody frakking coup."
"Sir," begged Gaeta. "I promise you, we are in Colonial hands. We were attacked, but we beat them. Colonel Tigh is with the Commander. I'm running a man down to the brig with a radio. The President will tell you-"
"Tell me again, Lieutenant," interrupted Cru, "why the President of the Colonies is behind bars."
"Sedition, sir. She was ordered detained by the Commander, who is lying on a hospital bed, bleeding out. Please, Major, we need the Doctor."
Cru muted the mic. "Frak me!" he shouted as he whipped a nearby ledger across the bridge to slam into the far window.
"John, where is the Doctor now?"
"He's loaded and ready," said John. "He's got a box of our med gear."
Cru shook his head. "Alright, we're sending him. But, I'm going with."
John nodded. "My heart says their talking true."
"Mine, too, John, but if they're Cylons and they can take one of our ships, they'll dig out the jump numbers, they'll run down the fleet, and the human race - our race - is gone."
"I know," said John.
"Get the rest of the ships out of here, T-Dog too, all of them. Please."
"I will."
"Thanks."
~~~~~/~~~~~
TTRK-38 Short-Range Shuttlecraft (Commandeered by Dr. Cottle after being recalled to the Galactica)
Bree's Twin Landing Bay
"Doctor," said Cru, "have you been briefed on this?"
Dr. Cottle observed Cru from head to toe. Cru had John's rifle slung over a shoulder, the big .45 caliber pistol in a holster on his hip, and a long K-Bar fighting knife on the other hip.
"No," said Cottle, "but I take it, we're going into battle."
"I am, maybe. Commander Adama has been shot twice in the chest. Standard colonial rounds - pistol, at close range. That's where you're going."
Doctor Cottle was a crotchety, old, cigarette-smoking, glass-tipping, scalpel-wielding surgeon. His abrasive countenance was there, but he held it in check. "Standard rounds used?" said Cottle. "This was done by one of ours?"
"Looks that way. Others are wounded, too - Cylons got aboard. It could be a short trip - or not. You up for this?" Cru picked up a small tote and shouldered it with the rifle.
"You're joking, right?" said Cottle with blatant sarcasm. He let out an exhale. "Let's go."
~~~~~/~~~~~
Galactica
Cru got Cottle aboard. The Doctor was whisked away towards the sick bay and the dying Adama. Cru gathered up four marines and headed to the CIC for some much-needed intel. They passed through multiple barricades and fortified positions set up in covering layers, against attack. They were built in haste, but Cru noted the well-selected positions with their decent fields of fire against all the approaches.
"Good to see you, Major," called a Marine. It was Corporal Reed. He lead the team that landed on Bree's Twin back at the Ragnar Anchorage. Cylons had come aboard Bree's Twin and the Marines were sent in to give a thorough search and report. Cru's appearance had not changed since then, he was still long-haired and unshaven, which made him stick out among the crewmen and marines. It made him easy for Reed to recognize.
"Corporal Reed," Cru called back in acknowledgment. "What's the SitRep?"
"All quiet sir, from all positions. We took casualties. The wounded have been evac'd. Cleanup is underway."
Cru nodded. "Good to know."
"Sir, you want to trade up for a squad rifle?" Reed gestured to John's rifle on Cru's shoulder. "We have extra."
Cru smiled. "Thank you, no, Corporal. Mine wasn't built by the lowest bidder, if you take my meaning." Cru thought of John's rifle. It was an expensive weapon made with good steel and precision craft, but more important was the steel-jacketed rounds in its magazine. No, he would stick with the weapon he knew could punch holes in Cylon armor.
Reed smiled. "Copy that, sir."
~~~~~/~~~~~
CIC
Galactica
"Atten-hut, called the lead marine who was one of several guards in defense of the CIC. He had checked Cru's credentials and acknowledged Cru was the Marine Reserve officer others had talked about.
The CIC rustled with the sound of crewmembers standing and coming to attention. Out of the corners of their eyes, they searched for the arriving officer. The status of Commander Adama was unknown, but all knew that he was not capable of returning to command, not yet, perhaps not at all.
Everyone looked past Cru with his civilian appearance to see who was there - to see what officer required them all to pause their duties and stand. All were surprised when Cru called out, "As you were".
From the CIC, Cru asked Petty Officer Dualla to signal Evvie and John. He gave her a prearranged code word, which she used to authenticate with Bree's Twin. Evvie released the location of the fleet and John jumped Bree's Twin there.
Colonel Tigh arrived and gave the order to jump Galactica after Bree's Twin. A loud cheer rose up as colonial transponders lit up the DRADIS for a second time. Crewmembers embraced each other and hearty handshakes were given. Colonel Tigh was gone moments after, back down to the sick bay where Commander Adama lay recovering. Dr. Cottle had removed the bullets from Adama's chest, but the Commander remained in critical condition.
Cru joined him there hours later.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Sick Bay,
Galactica
"How is he, sir?" said Cru.
"He's fine," said Tigh. His tone declared that no other response was allowed. Commander Adama would be "Fine" if by nothing else than Tigh's willful resolve.
"Understood, sir," said Cru. Tigh's words implied his desire to be alone in his thoughts. Cru was an intrusion. He turned and made several steps toward the door.
"Major," said Tigh, calling him back. His eyes were fixed on Adama and stayed there.
"Sir?"
"He knows you, from the past."
"He does, sir, when he was a major and I was a Lieutenant."
"He got you drunk."
"Technically, sir, I thought I could out-drink him and got myself drunk in the attempt."
Colonel Tigh smiled, but only a little.
"In truth, it was the finest spirits I've ever had - top shelf only - the whole night," continued Cru. "It was expensive, even on a Major's pay."
The Colonel nodded.
"I have two bottles of '67 waiting and a '54, should the indomitable 'Husker' want to trade shots again. I expect, sir, that you'll join us if the Commander is so inclined."
"Count on it."
"Very good, sir."
This ends Chapter 19
What I was thinking while writing -
"I used "her" in referring to a ship despite social sensitivities. The term was used in the show and I expect Cru would stick with traditions.
I shrank the timeline to create the drama. We weren't given much info on what happened while Tigh talked to the unconscious Adama.
I wanted to get T-Dog involved. I need to get T-Dog involved for other upcoming material, but 3,500 words isn't a lot of room for extras.
