Sire Gellar, Virgon's original representative on the Quorum of Twelve, was horrified with any dealings with the Cartel. "They should all be locked up on the Proteus penal colony not controlling our fate. You should have forced them to comply or had them arrested." The surviving councilor stood in front of Vinn's desk. His presence, regardless of his senior government position, was not required. "What do you plan on doing about this?"
"The Columbia is going to be repaired at Cimtar station." Vinn controlled his temper and placed both hands, palm down, on his desk to prevent any unforeseen action on his part.
"There must be better alternatives? Really, Commander, I would have expected you of all people to understand."
"I do understand, Sire. Cimtar is the only facility available to us now that the Cylons have destroyed Gaelatu station. I'm sure you would have preferred the Scorpian Shipyards but they don't exist anymore. We have to take whatever comes our way, regardless of any personal reservations we may have."
"Mark my words, Commander, this is a very bad decision you have made on our behalf." The councilor stormed out of the office.
"That went well." Athena smirked. "I hate to be remotely sympathetic to Gellar but dealing with the Cartel, especially after they tried to kill you, is going to get messy."
"I imagine there will be difficulties ahead but I'm sure we can manage. Cimtar, as I've said a million times already, is our only option. We need the Columbia fully functional if we expect any chance against the Cylons. We certainly can't stay in the Void for all of eternity with our tail between our knees, licking our wounds."
"But as one battlestar, you can't expect us to go up against the Cylons. That would be suicide." She reiterated.
"I'm well aware of our current status, Colonel."
Athena looked at the starchart. Beyond their sphere of influence, were millions of possible sanctuaries but no one rightly knew how large the Cylon's own sphere was and how far one had to go to get beyond it. "We should retreat to the outer rim, beyond Equellus and Sectar."
"Going beyond known space has its own set of problems. We have no idea what we could be facing."
"True, but we know what we're facing here, nothing short of a massacre." Athena shot back.
"What about heading for Borallus? We would have no problem shoring up our supplies." Jolly had been included in this meeting.
"The Cylons would certainly realize that fact as well." Vinn was feeling fatigue. No rest since the invasion and it didn't look like any would come soon. He was 67 yahrens old and been ready to retire had it not been for the Cylons. He had asked William Adama whether his niece was up to the challenge of replacing him as commander. It was a mute point now since the current events had never even been considered at the Academy and his five decades of experience would be more valuable that the spectre of the youthful and inexperienced Athena in command. "For now, we'll deal with getting repaired at Cimtar station."
"I want Green Squadron ready to go at a moment's notice. If this cop and Ensign Rigelian can't put the ion cannon out of commission, they'll be our only hope of knocking it our ourselves." Athena suggested then glanced back at the star map.
"Green Squadron is the only one refitted with the Monotronics so far." Added Jolly. "But my pilots have not had a chance to fly them yet. I've been putting them through the simulators but realistically, there is no experience except out there. If we run into the Cylons, we could lose a lot more than Blue Squadron." A reference to the squadron destroyed during the attack at Caprica.
"A couple of Vipers should be enough to knock out the cannon if it comes to that." He picked up the phone, as the telecom was finally operational. "Lieutenant Vega, begin the countdown to jump. Plot coordinates have already been computed on the navcom." After hanging up, he looked to his two officers. "That gives Ensign Rigelian and the policeman 33 centons. In the event they are not successful, I want you Captain to be ready to go out the launch tubes at a moment's notice. The Marines will have to secure the Station if Mr. Sagremor is not inclined to help." He rubbed his eyes knowing what laid in store could become a complete mess if not handled properly.
Jolly nodded. "Aye Sir." There was little more he could contribute and as he was leaving, Dr. Sorrel Antos was coming in. She had the most serious expression he could imagine a human to wear.
"Final death toll so far, 570. Some in ICU will require long term therapy or reassigned to duties that are more manageable." She passed him the list of the KIA.
He gazed at it. Some were familiar names. As a result of the invasion, there was likely no one to write home to concerning the deaths of these brave souls which irony would have it, spared him that agonizing task. "570." He knew it could have been far worse, less than an eighth of his crew, but some of these people were irreplaceable.
"You look tired. It couldn't hurt to get some sleep."
"Sleep is a commodity I can ill afford right now." He sat back in his seat. "Bet you haven't slept either. You should take your own advice."
"If you want to get some rest Commander, I-"
Vinn cut off his XO. "No, I'll be fine, Colonel. See that the ship is ready for the jump." When he was alone with the doctor, he sighed. "You came up here to tell me this? No offence, but the telecom would have been more expedient." He didn't mean to sound so harsh.
"Among the dead are members of my medical staff which hampered my abilities to treat the wounded…"
He came around and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're carrying a heavy burden but the responsibility for those killed is ultimately mine, as commander of this vessel. You did all you could considering the restraints you were under." He helped her sit down for she looked more exhausted than he felt. "You have been injecting yourself with Dexid?"
She looked up at him. "I've been in the OR almost non stop since the attack. No time for rest and practically no relief. I had to give me something to keep me going, to get the job done."
Vinn was sympathetic. "I want you to get some rest."
"My cabin has been trashed." She replied with a smile.
"No excuse. Sleep on my sofa." He motioned to it. "I've used it plenty of times."
If she was going to argue, her fatigue simply wouldn't let her. He helped her over and perhaps not surprisingly, she was out almost instantaneously.
He watched her a moment, how peaceful she looked dressed in the optional uniform skirt. Her black afro had gone gray but she was still quite stunning for a woman in her fifties. Like him, a regular old war horse who didn't know when to quit and gracefully go into the night.
Making sure she was comfortable, he draped his service overcoat, he wasn't sure what it was doing in here, over her and headed out onto the Bridge.
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Aaron Dorel played his role as the stranded survivor quite well. The humans aboard the Columbia had not yet learned of the Humano-Cylon constructs which gave him a reprieve from detention. Technicians were more numerous in the damaged corridors than Marines so his movements were, more or less, unchallenged. Sometimes, a diligent DC tech would warn him that this or that area was too dangerous and he would give the correct responses.
He realized that he would have to help his brethren if they expected to find the Columbia at all. He located the comm relay. Sending a standard message would be picked up on the CIC and probably distorted by the Void anyway. What he needed to do was send a pulse. It would allow for their location to be triangulated and in the end, that is what he wanted.
"What are you doing in here?" Came a voice from behind him. Dorel sighed and released the wires before he could make the adjustments. He turned to see a young Marine who just happened to be patrolling in this area.
"Maintenance."
The Marine was puzzled since Doral was obviously not in uniform. "Let's see some identification."
"Relax." Dorel put on a smile as he turned completely around to face the Marine. He put his hand in his pocket as if to get his ID. "I have it right here." His other hand moved so quickly that the Marine didn't have time to react as Dorel's hand clamped around the man's neck and with a slight twist and the snapping of bone, the Marine was dead.
Dorel stepped out into the corridor to see if there would be any other intrusions but he saw no one. He stepped back inside and began work on the wires. The pulse would be set on such a low frequency that the CIC's instruments were not calibrated to detect it and thus could not prevent it either.
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In Landing Bay Alpha, Jolly watched as the flight deck crew finished up with Green Squadron. Each machine gun was fully loaded but what made the difference was their avionics. The CAG looked into the cockpit of the nearest Viper. He was expecting dials, levers and switches as they gutted these state-of-the-art fighters and turned them retro. There were differences, of course and his frown was noticed by Master Chief Kessler.
"It'll take some getting use to." Kessler had probably been in the service long enough to have serviced the old Mark II. A slim man, bald except for short white hair that seemed to orbit his head along the sides.
"I know what the Cylons are capable of; I just wish the techs had come up with something less radical, like a firewall or something." Jolly looked over at the wall where pictures of Lieutenant Stinger and the rest of Blue Squadron had been posted as a memorial since the Flight Group Ready Room had been damaged.
Kessler chuckled. "Sorry. Trust me, you'll prefer this setup when you're head-to-head with the Toasters and know they can't simply flip your power switch off." He grew serious. A dozen warriors died just that way. Neither spoke for a few centons.
Brie was walking toward them accompanied by three other pilots. "So what now Captain?"
"We're going to Cimtar. If the ion cannon isn't knocked out, it'll be up to us. Maverick, Iceman, Goose, I want the three of you doing recon once we're on the other side."
"In these? I don't know Captain but they're not going to be easy to fly, not with Monotronics. If we do run into Toasters, we could find ourselves pretty decent targets for them." Goose said. None of the warriors had been particularly happy with the refit.
"That's why we use the simulators, get a feel for it because that's just the way its got to be. Blue Squadron isn't with us because their comp got zapped, remember that." Jolly motioned Brie away from the others. "We're on standby to take out the cannon so stick around."
"What has the Old Man said about Sparky? Are we a go for a rescue mission or what?"
Jolly smirked. "Wildcat is missing too." Ortega was not one of the most popular warriors on the ship. "The XO has nixed any idea and the Old Man has so far agreed. I'll bring it up again once we're at the Cimtar Station."
"She can be such a bitch." Brie snapped, referring to their beloved Colonel Athena Adama.
Jolly didn't comment.
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"Twelve centons until jump. So far, there have been no problems with the navcom." Vega had been monitoring it closely.
"Major Objo, how's it going down there?" Athena was on the telecom as anxious faces surrounded her on the CIC.
"So far, the turbodynes are holding up but if you're religious at all Colonel, I'd start praying. If they don't reach 85,000 ergons, we won't be going anywhere."
Athena looked over at Vinn. "Keep a close eye on it, Major." She hung up the telecom and looked up at the Dradis console. The Void made long-range scans ineffective.
"It won't be long now." Commented Vinn, attempting to reassure his crew. "What's our weapons status?"
"Seventy percent of our batteries are still off line. DC crews are still working on them. None of the missile launchers are operational." Reported Vega.
"I see." The Commander stood with his arms behind his back. "Inform Jolly that Green Squadron is to be put on standby. They may be our only effective line of defense if we encounter more than an ion cannon when we arrive Cimtar."
The telecom beside Athena signaled.
"We're losing power. The only thing I can suggest is reducing over all output through out the ship and diverting it for the jump."
Athena told Vinn who picked up the intercom. "Attention all hands, this is the Commander. We will be diverting nonessential power towards the jump. The Gods willing, we will be jumping in ten centons." He then addressed his XO. "Inform Objo, he can have his extra power."
"Sir, Dradis is picking up multiple CBDR!" A few microns later and Vega added, "It's confirmed. Cylon raiders bearing 241 carom 127."
"Condition One, Lieutenant." Vinn looked at the overhead Dradis console.
"Action stations, action stations. Condition One throughout the ship." Came Vega's voice as the klaxons started.