Chapter Two: Pipes and Pipe Dreams
Inside a pocket of vacuum the size of a solar system, a mass of jump points opened. The Colonial Exploration Battlegroup, with two attached battlegroups of Alliance vessels, exited hyperspace. The Colonial battlegroup had discovered the nebula on the voyage to Alliance space the previous year. A pocket of empty space was located inside the nebula; it was a perfect place to hide. The gas and dust of the nebula distorted sensors from the outside.
The first wave of ships to exit hyperspace was a small, independent squadron headed by the EAS Titans. Her captain, Susan Ivanova, had trained the squadron mercilessly together for three months above the skies of Centauri Prime. Group Commander Starbuck instantly realized that they were the tip of his sword. Just in case there was Cylon resistance in the pocket, he wanted Ivanova's squadron there to deal with them.
"All vessels, red alert. Lieutenant Stuart, report." Captain Ivanova addressed her sensor officer, a young lieutenant on his first assignment. She felt he was turning out well thus far.
"No hostiles spotted Captain."
"Captain, fighter control operator here, all vessels report ready to launch fighters." Ivanova had done something unique with her squadron; all flight operations were conducted from the Titans instead of independently on each ship. It made sense in her situation: the two Vorchans and the three White Stars only carried four fighters each, while the Warlock class destroyer held 42 Starfuries of various classes. Additionally, the Vorchans weren't designed to carry fighters (she had had them manually attached to the hull) and their captains had no experience utilizing them.
"Thank you Lieutenant Commander, all fighters launch."
The six ships unloaded their fighters. The eight Centauri Sentris sped from the squadron and began to scout the pocket. The twelve Minbari Nials formed up as a space superiority squadron. From the Warlock, twelve old model Starfuries were designated as defensive fighters for the squadron. The sixteen newer Thunderbolt class Starfuries flew in front of the squadron to engage enemy capital ships. Then, six special model Thunderbolts left the fighter bay. These Starfuries had been enhanced with Minbari and Colonial technology. They moved behind the Sentris, ready to support them if they encountered resistance.
"Captain, jump points forming behind us."
"Identify, Lieutenant." Ivanova, as well as every member of her squadron, knew they would be the rest of the fleet, but she never let them put their guard down.
"First vessels emerging, captain, it's the rest of the fleet." The sensor officer gave no emotion to the statement. He was all business while on duty.
Just like his captain.
"Commander, stand the squadron down from red alert."
"Aye Captain." Commander Alexander Mauder was as thorough as his captain, but more carefree. He was the perfect counterbalance to the VERY professional Ivanova.
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"Alpha Squadron, launch.Beta Squadron, launch.Gamma Squadron, launch."
Jack Tyver missed out on the last two statements as his squadron launched from Apollo. Gamma Squadron, which was composed of the older Aurora Starfuries, hung back with the destroyer. Alpha and Beta Squadrons moved out to join up with Silver Spar Gamma Squadron from Traitor's Bane. The Vipers were to escort the Thunderbolts, which were configured for capital ship strikes.
"Apollo Alpha Squadron to Silver Spar Gamma, where are you?" Commander Jinsu, head of the Apollo's fighter wing, tried to contact Traitor's Bane's fighters.
"Silver Spar Gamma, to Apollo Alpha, we're in Grid 62 by 3 by 19. Traitor's Bane had to commence evasive maneuvers; there was a Cylon fighter attack. We're trying to reach you, ETA, six minutes."
"Roger that, we'll fall back till you.belay that, fighters inbound. Thunderbolts, go evasive!"
Alpha Squadron hit their new afterburners and dove while Beta Squadron went right. Vipers from Caprican Avenger, which was simulating as a Cylon basestar, tore into the Thunderbolts.
"Early, there's a fighter on your tail."
"Thanks Jack."
The two fighters used their thrusters to make an 180ยบ turn, which put the tailing Viper right in front of them. The Thunderbolts pulse cannons fired low powered shots and the Viper was registered as 'dead'. Before the two pilots could celebrate, however, three more Vipers appeared from behind the first one. The quick change in direction had cut the Thunderbolts' velocity to nearly nothing; the Vipers made quick work of them.
"Alpha Five, Alpha Six, return to base."
"Roger Commander." The connection to Apollo ended. "Sorry Sam. My mistake."
"No problem Jack. Hey, there's our escort." The two pilots watched as the fighters of Silver Spar Gamma Squadron raced to defend the rapidly dwindling bomber group.
"Sam, when's our month up?"
"Fourteen days, three hours, twelve minutes, and six seconds."
"God, I can't wait to get out of that room. I haven't slept well since we moved in."
"Apollo to Tyver, you're cleared for landing."
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Group Commander Starbuck reviewed the results of the day's exercises. The different navies were working better with each other and learning how the others acted and reacted. Overall, the fleet was shaping up. There were some bad experiences of course; Caprican Avenger had destroyed Apollo and Traitor's Bane in their exercise. But, they lost more because of the ingenuity of the Caprican Avenger's commander than through any fault of there own. Commander Boomer displayed the same skill with a battlestar as he had with a Viper. Starbuck placed orders for the fleet to leave the pocket in forty hours. Those forty hours would be filled with exercises and maintenance though.
"Group Commander, Captain Ivanova and I are here."
"Come in Rigel. I'm ready for you two now." The two officers entered Starbuck's ready room, neither aware why he had called for them. "The fleet will leave in forty hours. I've decided to forgo our original plan; Cylon forces will be patrolling the whole region after the destruction of their basestar. If we follow our original route back, we're going to face ambushes every other day. So, instead, we're going to ambush the Cylons."
"Sir, is that wise? We're going to suffer more losses against a large number of basestars than against one."
"It doesn't matter how many ships we have though if we arrive too late back at the Colonies. They can't hold out too much longer Commander." Rigel nodded to that statement, although reluctantly. "Your opinion Captain?"
"I say go for it sir. The fleet has improved drastically since we arrived; we can take them. Plus, we need some real practice before we face the real resistance in the next month or so."
"Excellent. I wanted to use you two as a sounding board for my ideas before I present it to the battlegroup commanders. Captain, I recommend you return to ship now, you have an.interesting.exercise tomorrow."
The two officers left the room and the Group Commander returned to his work. He would be up late that night, like so many nights before.
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_Clange_
"AAAAHHHHHH! That damn pipe again!"
Jack Tyver tried not to laugh at his wingman's display. _Bang_ His friend had always overreacted when he was in The Room of No Hope; known in the logs as Pilot's Quarters Three (Repairs forthcoming). _CLANGE_ Ever since the Battle of Mars and the telepath incident, a pipe that passed through the room had been.malfunctioning. It shook and slammed into the metal encasing it. Which meant that the two pilots assigned to that room got very little sleep.
_CLANGE CLANGE CLANGE_
Jack Tyver tensed, but calmed down after there was no reaction from his wingman. Then he heard the distinctive whine of a PPG being armed. With an inaudible groan he tackled Sam before he could fire. The PPG was flying and Sam crashed into the floor hard. Jack felt him beginning to calm down again, when _CLANGE_. He knew it would be a long night.
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In the empty, dark halls of Caprican Avenger, a man slowly walked while muttering to himself. He had been a member of the battlestar for over a yahren. His mind rebelled at what he was about to do, but the voice in his head insisted. That voice was too strong for him to resist, as it had been too strong at the recent battle with the Cylon basestar. He placed the device in the conduit and walked towards the commander's quarters; he had one more mission to accomplish.
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She sat in the observatory of the battlestar, looking at the red and black mists of hyperspace. She could see several other ships of the battlegroup en route to the rendezvous point of the Cylon forces. Lyta Alexander could have been on the transport ship with the other telepaths, but something had drawn her to Traitor's Bane.
"May I come in, Miss Alexander?" Shocked out of her reverie, Lyta spun around to view the intruder.
"Of course Group Commander. I didn't expect you would be up at this hour." Starbuck quietly entered the dome, never taking his eyes off the incredible view.
"I shouldn't, but I couldn't sleep. I was getting back to some unfinished paperwork, when I heard that you had come aboard the battlestar."
"Is there a problem with that Group Commander? I'm sorry, but there hasn't been any problem with me coming aboard before now." Starbuck's attention drifted from hyperspace for the first time in the conversation.
"No problem Miss Alexander, I was simply surprised. I assumed that you would be with the other telepaths onboard Star Clipper." Lyta didn't answer the question; she didn't know why she kept returning to the battlestar. She just.did. "When I was on Babylon 5 I had a conversation with Dr. Franklin. He said that if anyone knew how my people ended up so far from Earth, it would be the Vorlons. A little later I learned of your.relationship with the Vorlons."
"And you would like to know if I know anything? Right Group Commander?"
"Yes I would, I imagine we all would like to know, whether on Earth or New Caprica."
Lyta Alexander was quiet for several seconds. She searched the vast corridors of her mind, trying to navigate through a maze of information she could not hope to comprehend or even express into words. As she approached the 'file' that held the information the Group Commander desired, she realized it was the same as the rest. She could not decipher the information held within. The time is not right came a voice in her mind. Soon, soon they will have to understand his.our mistake. One of our many mistakes. So many mistakes
"I'm sorry Group Commander, I can't tell you anything."
"Can't, or won't Miss Alexander?"
"Neither.both.I don't know." The conversation ended there; Starbuck returned to his quarters, finding himself suddenly exhausted. Lyta's gaze returned to hyperspace as the fleet continued on.
Inside a pocket of vacuum the size of a solar system, a mass of jump points opened. The Colonial Exploration Battlegroup, with two attached battlegroups of Alliance vessels, exited hyperspace. The Colonial battlegroup had discovered the nebula on the voyage to Alliance space the previous year. A pocket of empty space was located inside the nebula; it was a perfect place to hide. The gas and dust of the nebula distorted sensors from the outside.
The first wave of ships to exit hyperspace was a small, independent squadron headed by the EAS Titans. Her captain, Susan Ivanova, had trained the squadron mercilessly together for three months above the skies of Centauri Prime. Group Commander Starbuck instantly realized that they were the tip of his sword. Just in case there was Cylon resistance in the pocket, he wanted Ivanova's squadron there to deal with them.
"All vessels, red alert. Lieutenant Stuart, report." Captain Ivanova addressed her sensor officer, a young lieutenant on his first assignment. She felt he was turning out well thus far.
"No hostiles spotted Captain."
"Captain, fighter control operator here, all vessels report ready to launch fighters." Ivanova had done something unique with her squadron; all flight operations were conducted from the Titans instead of independently on each ship. It made sense in her situation: the two Vorchans and the three White Stars only carried four fighters each, while the Warlock class destroyer held 42 Starfuries of various classes. Additionally, the Vorchans weren't designed to carry fighters (she had had them manually attached to the hull) and their captains had no experience utilizing them.
"Thank you Lieutenant Commander, all fighters launch."
The six ships unloaded their fighters. The eight Centauri Sentris sped from the squadron and began to scout the pocket. The twelve Minbari Nials formed up as a space superiority squadron. From the Warlock, twelve old model Starfuries were designated as defensive fighters for the squadron. The sixteen newer Thunderbolt class Starfuries flew in front of the squadron to engage enemy capital ships. Then, six special model Thunderbolts left the fighter bay. These Starfuries had been enhanced with Minbari and Colonial technology. They moved behind the Sentris, ready to support them if they encountered resistance.
"Captain, jump points forming behind us."
"Identify, Lieutenant." Ivanova, as well as every member of her squadron, knew they would be the rest of the fleet, but she never let them put their guard down.
"First vessels emerging, captain, it's the rest of the fleet." The sensor officer gave no emotion to the statement. He was all business while on duty.
Just like his captain.
"Commander, stand the squadron down from red alert."
"Aye Captain." Commander Alexander Mauder was as thorough as his captain, but more carefree. He was the perfect counterbalance to the VERY professional Ivanova.
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"Alpha Squadron, launch.Beta Squadron, launch.Gamma Squadron, launch."
Jack Tyver missed out on the last two statements as his squadron launched from Apollo. Gamma Squadron, which was composed of the older Aurora Starfuries, hung back with the destroyer. Alpha and Beta Squadrons moved out to join up with Silver Spar Gamma Squadron from Traitor's Bane. The Vipers were to escort the Thunderbolts, which were configured for capital ship strikes.
"Apollo Alpha Squadron to Silver Spar Gamma, where are you?" Commander Jinsu, head of the Apollo's fighter wing, tried to contact Traitor's Bane's fighters.
"Silver Spar Gamma, to Apollo Alpha, we're in Grid 62 by 3 by 19. Traitor's Bane had to commence evasive maneuvers; there was a Cylon fighter attack. We're trying to reach you, ETA, six minutes."
"Roger that, we'll fall back till you.belay that, fighters inbound. Thunderbolts, go evasive!"
Alpha Squadron hit their new afterburners and dove while Beta Squadron went right. Vipers from Caprican Avenger, which was simulating as a Cylon basestar, tore into the Thunderbolts.
"Early, there's a fighter on your tail."
"Thanks Jack."
The two fighters used their thrusters to make an 180ยบ turn, which put the tailing Viper right in front of them. The Thunderbolts pulse cannons fired low powered shots and the Viper was registered as 'dead'. Before the two pilots could celebrate, however, three more Vipers appeared from behind the first one. The quick change in direction had cut the Thunderbolts' velocity to nearly nothing; the Vipers made quick work of them.
"Alpha Five, Alpha Six, return to base."
"Roger Commander." The connection to Apollo ended. "Sorry Sam. My mistake."
"No problem Jack. Hey, there's our escort." The two pilots watched as the fighters of Silver Spar Gamma Squadron raced to defend the rapidly dwindling bomber group.
"Sam, when's our month up?"
"Fourteen days, three hours, twelve minutes, and six seconds."
"God, I can't wait to get out of that room. I haven't slept well since we moved in."
"Apollo to Tyver, you're cleared for landing."
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Group Commander Starbuck reviewed the results of the day's exercises. The different navies were working better with each other and learning how the others acted and reacted. Overall, the fleet was shaping up. There were some bad experiences of course; Caprican Avenger had destroyed Apollo and Traitor's Bane in their exercise. But, they lost more because of the ingenuity of the Caprican Avenger's commander than through any fault of there own. Commander Boomer displayed the same skill with a battlestar as he had with a Viper. Starbuck placed orders for the fleet to leave the pocket in forty hours. Those forty hours would be filled with exercises and maintenance though.
"Group Commander, Captain Ivanova and I are here."
"Come in Rigel. I'm ready for you two now." The two officers entered Starbuck's ready room, neither aware why he had called for them. "The fleet will leave in forty hours. I've decided to forgo our original plan; Cylon forces will be patrolling the whole region after the destruction of their basestar. If we follow our original route back, we're going to face ambushes every other day. So, instead, we're going to ambush the Cylons."
"Sir, is that wise? We're going to suffer more losses against a large number of basestars than against one."
"It doesn't matter how many ships we have though if we arrive too late back at the Colonies. They can't hold out too much longer Commander." Rigel nodded to that statement, although reluctantly. "Your opinion Captain?"
"I say go for it sir. The fleet has improved drastically since we arrived; we can take them. Plus, we need some real practice before we face the real resistance in the next month or so."
"Excellent. I wanted to use you two as a sounding board for my ideas before I present it to the battlegroup commanders. Captain, I recommend you return to ship now, you have an.interesting.exercise tomorrow."
The two officers left the room and the Group Commander returned to his work. He would be up late that night, like so many nights before.
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_Clange_
"AAAAHHHHHH! That damn pipe again!"
Jack Tyver tried not to laugh at his wingman's display. _Bang_ His friend had always overreacted when he was in The Room of No Hope; known in the logs as Pilot's Quarters Three (Repairs forthcoming). _CLANGE_ Ever since the Battle of Mars and the telepath incident, a pipe that passed through the room had been.malfunctioning. It shook and slammed into the metal encasing it. Which meant that the two pilots assigned to that room got very little sleep.
_CLANGE CLANGE CLANGE_
Jack Tyver tensed, but calmed down after there was no reaction from his wingman. Then he heard the distinctive whine of a PPG being armed. With an inaudible groan he tackled Sam before he could fire. The PPG was flying and Sam crashed into the floor hard. Jack felt him beginning to calm down again, when _CLANGE_. He knew it would be a long night.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
In the empty, dark halls of Caprican Avenger, a man slowly walked while muttering to himself. He had been a member of the battlestar for over a yahren. His mind rebelled at what he was about to do, but the voice in his head insisted. That voice was too strong for him to resist, as it had been too strong at the recent battle with the Cylon basestar. He placed the device in the conduit and walked towards the commander's quarters; he had one more mission to accomplish.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
She sat in the observatory of the battlestar, looking at the red and black mists of hyperspace. She could see several other ships of the battlegroup en route to the rendezvous point of the Cylon forces. Lyta Alexander could have been on the transport ship with the other telepaths, but something had drawn her to Traitor's Bane.
"May I come in, Miss Alexander?" Shocked out of her reverie, Lyta spun around to view the intruder.
"Of course Group Commander. I didn't expect you would be up at this hour." Starbuck quietly entered the dome, never taking his eyes off the incredible view.
"I shouldn't, but I couldn't sleep. I was getting back to some unfinished paperwork, when I heard that you had come aboard the battlestar."
"Is there a problem with that Group Commander? I'm sorry, but there hasn't been any problem with me coming aboard before now." Starbuck's attention drifted from hyperspace for the first time in the conversation.
"No problem Miss Alexander, I was simply surprised. I assumed that you would be with the other telepaths onboard Star Clipper." Lyta didn't answer the question; she didn't know why she kept returning to the battlestar. She just.did. "When I was on Babylon 5 I had a conversation with Dr. Franklin. He said that if anyone knew how my people ended up so far from Earth, it would be the Vorlons. A little later I learned of your.relationship with the Vorlons."
"And you would like to know if I know anything? Right Group Commander?"
"Yes I would, I imagine we all would like to know, whether on Earth or New Caprica."
Lyta Alexander was quiet for several seconds. She searched the vast corridors of her mind, trying to navigate through a maze of information she could not hope to comprehend or even express into words. As she approached the 'file' that held the information the Group Commander desired, she realized it was the same as the rest. She could not decipher the information held within. The time is not right came a voice in her mind. Soon, soon they will have to understand his.our mistake. One of our many mistakes. So many mistakes
"I'm sorry Group Commander, I can't tell you anything."
"Can't, or won't Miss Alexander?"
"Neither.both.I don't know." The conversation ended there; Starbuck returned to his quarters, finding himself suddenly exhausted. Lyta's gaze returned to hyperspace as the fleet continued on.