"Gunny!"
I just can't catch a break, can I?
"Yes, sir?"
Saul Tigh advanced on Gunnery Sergeant Craig Sims as he sat there, gearing up for another shift as constable on the Geminon Traveler. He hated that shit- it was always crowded and claustrophobic, packed to the gills with people. It housed many refugees, and was the site of most of the brawls and thefts on record. If they were willing to pull a vet like Sims off such a garbage duty, odds are he was being sent somewhere much, much worse.
"Get geared up, grab one of your men. Nothing more than your usual duty gear, this won't take long. You're to escort the Vice President on assignment. Have fun with the egghead, Sims."
Frack, I was right.
000000000000
The Raptor felt exceptionally crowded to Sims. Every seat was filled, mostly with support personnel. The marines dwarfed everyone in their heavy gear. Baltar sat up front, with the pilot. Sulivan was flanked by two scientists, and beside Sims sat the two mechanics. Specialists Callie and Socinus sat with Tyrol and a third egghead sat closer to Crashdown. Sims grumbled and stared at Sullivan, obviously unhappy with the situation. Sullivan merely shrugged, as if to say, beats cleaning the latrines.
Everything was fine, everything was normal. All three Raptors left the hangar without a hitch, carrying their complement of civilians. A few mechanics and support personnel dotted the three ships- men and women like Socinus and Callie- but they were it. Sixty percent of the entire expedition was civilian, and at least half the non-civilians were on Sims' ship.The only combat-trained men on the entire mission were Sims and Sullivan. Sure, the marines trusted the navy guys, but still felt uncomfortable herding the civvies around an unexplored planet.
The Raptor took off with a hiss, chatter between the crafts sounding to Sims like his old Aunt and her sewing circle.
"I say we find Kobol, we count our blessings and stay there."
"Yeah, but the sacred scrolls tell us that this could guide us to Earth, right, El-Tee?"
"Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, cut the chatter. Raptors two and three, on me..."
Fraking pilots talk too much.
F.L.T. Spun up and ready," called out Crashdown. Callie was looking nervous, maybe a little green-the poor kid. Tyrol reached out, gave her a pat.
"Callie, hold onto your lunch," he joked as Crashdown counted down. She smiled a little, stared at her feet.
The jump went smoothly, and that was the first sign that something was wrong. The radio chatter started off as soon as they arrived.
"Bring the nose down, we should see the planet directly ahead."
"What the hell is that? Oh, my gods!"
Sims saw what was wrong as pieces of Raptor Three and a raider spun past the cockpit. A dozen more Cylon ships barely missed his craft, and Sims had that sinking feeling once again.
Frack. Just not my day.
The panic began to rise, everyone screaming. Tracers flew past the windshield. The pilot somehow managed to weave his way through a Cylon fighter wing, ducking fire. Everyone was screaming, most of it simply noise.
"They're everywhere--"
"Get us out of here!"
"C'mon, we got a fire in the turbine!"
The Raptor shuddered and tilted oddly. The pilot was screaming over everyone now.
"Shutting it down!"
There was a sickening thud, and there was blood all over the windshield. Thick white lines led away from the impact site of the heavy slug. Baltar simply sat there a moment, shocked. Sims could hear the whine of air passing out the hole the Cylon bullet had made.
"Pilot down, pilot down!" Baltar screeched. Sims had half a mind to put him out of his misery. Crashdown shoved his way to the front as the crew chief slammed a magnetic seal on the hole in the floor plating. Tyrol was trying to take charge. Crashdown dragged the Vice President out of his chair, and struggled to regain control of the craft.
"Everybody, hang on... hang on, hang on!" he called out.
"Can you jump us out?"
"No, F.T.L. Drive's been hit!"
Tyrol was screaming over the civvies. The marines held on tight, silent. They knew there was little they could do inside the box. The crew chief shoved a petty officer into the the ECO seat.
"Socinus, get on the horn now and tell raptor two to jump back to Galactica! Like, right now! Get us out of here!"
Everyone was yelling, but Sims had to admit the calm demeanor of Tyrol was impressive. The petty officer - Socinus, or so his patches read- was trying to yell into the mike, but the civvies were making too much noise. Sims came out of his daze.
"Shut UP!" he bellowed in his range-voice, meant to be heard over shots in confined spaces.
"Raptor two, Raptor two... you are ordered to jump back to Galactica, over. You are ordered to jump back to Galactica!"
Baltar was panicking. He was screaming, trying to push his way to the front. Sims unbuckled himself, held his charge against the back of the ship. He looked over his shoulder, saw streaks of friction-heat start to cross the windshield. The planet was looking uncomfortably close, and the ride was getting too shaky for Sims' taste.
Tyrol turned to him, yelling, "What the hell are you doing!"
"Oh, god!" Baltar was cursing, going out of his mind.
"Hang on, hang on..."
The Vice President was flailing, acting extremely un-vice-presidential. Sims kept him restrained, though the temptation to give him a beating grew with each passing moment. The look in Baltar's eyes was unsettling at best.
"Look!"
Tyrol was pointing at the cracks spread through the glass on the front screen. A high pitched whine - air being forced through the cracks - rose over the screams.
"Everybody hit the deck!"
Sims shielded the VP with his body, hearing the cracks audibly now. Impacts on his vest and helmet followed the shattering sound of the glass. He hoped everyone was okay, turning around to check. There was a lot of blood, and he couldn't tell whose it all was. Sims forced the VP into his seat and buckled him down, fighting the airstream to get to safety himself. He buckled himself in beside the terrified, crying Callie.
"I can't see!" Crashdown cried over the wind. Sims thought he had been blinded by the glass. Tyrol stared through the shattered glass, shouted orders.
"Pull it up, pull it up! Watch the hill! Watch it!"
Sims looked up, and saw a wall of green shooting up to meet them. He grabbed Callie, ducked her down and shielded her face and upper body with his own. He screwed his eyes shut until he felt the massive, shuddering impact with the ground.