Chapter 77
The band contest concluded with Mr. Hinckley's class winning first place much to their own surprise. Ralph stood on stage with the class and accepted the trophy on their behalf. He briefly spoke to the audience and to the judges.
"On behalf of my class and the band, Warp Drive we would like to thank everyone who supported us and made winning this trophy possible. A special thanks to Santini-Hawke Air for allowing the band to use the hangar to practice in and for sponsoring the band." Ralph stated at the microphone. He beamed very so proud and then motioned towards the class, "Take a bow. You earned it."
The band took their bow and waved back to the cheering audience. Sam stood in shock that actually won thus concluding her assessment must have been off. She smiled and waved as flashing lights struck her eyes from the pictures being taken by the staff for the yearbook. Soon they were off stage and being congratulated by friends and family.
Caitlin grinned wide and gave Sam a hug as she stepped down from the stage, "And you thought you would lose." she mentioned rather cheerful.
Karl over heard and asked, "Wait! You thought we would lose, Sam?"
She confessed, "I figured our chances of winner were low."
"Why?" he asked.
"We weren't able to practice as much as I thought we would need to in order to win." she explained. "It was jut a miscalculation in my assessment." She noticed the boy didn't seem to have any family at the school for the contest. She asked, "Where are your folks?"
"They don't care about me." he waved it off.
Sam then spied Rhonda with her cousin, Julie Parrish who came to support her for the contest. She smiled knowing the young doctor would not be forced to lead a resistance against an alien invasion in her home reality.
She then spied Jose with his grandmother as she raised the boy and was there for support. Though she had String and Caitlin at the school in support she really missed her parents and wished they were there as well. She simply observed as those around her and felt grateful to have a chance to simply enjoy the moment.
Later
Sam had returned to the hangar and had just laid down for bed. She had a long day and simply wanted to sleep. Soon after closing her eyes she heard a buzz.
Upon opening her eyes she found was back in the same brown and gold painted room. She sat up and discovered she was back in the brown uniform again. She went to the sliding door as she figured the buzzing was some kind of doorbell.
The door slid open to reveal Starbuck standing before her once more. He stated, "You're late, Cadet Sam."
Her shoulder's slunk, "I just got to bed."
He replied, "You just got to bed! What were you doing for the last twelve centars?"
Sam asked, "What's a centar?"
He blinked and cocked his head, "Made up of sixty centrons."
She grew wide-eyed, "Oh' I get it! Centron would be minutes and centars would be hours."
He asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Time." she figured. "Training today!"
"Viper training." he told her.
"Let's go!" she grinned.
As the pair walked the hallways towards the Viper bay they chatted. Starbuck mentioned, "Once you complete your training you will be assigned to my squadron, Blue Squadron."
"How many fighters in a squadron?" she wondered.
"Fighters?" he asked. "You mean Vipers!" he laughed. "Fighters! I kind of like that name. There are four to each squadron."
"How many active squadrons?" she asked assuming there must be many.
"Three." he told her.
She gasped, "Wait! You guys only got twelve fighter pilots for the whole damn fleet?"
He agreed, "It's a little low. Viper fuel is low so don't screw around out there. We need water and parts for the environmental systems of the ships. We fabricate as much as we can but resources are an issue when you don't have a home planet."
She asked, "How much time do you guys think you got before you at the end of your rope?"
He smirked, "We're long past the end of our rope, Cadet Sam."
"Just call me 'Sam'." she requested as she realized the fleet was in far worse shape than she assumed.
He replied, "You need to earn that privilege, Cadet." In the old days he easily would have called any female by her requested name but now he was the squadron leader and he wasn't about to get close enough to get hurt again. After losing Apollo, Starbuck felt as if he lost himself as well.
"I will." she assured.
They soon arrived to the Viper bay and found two Viper's being readied for the practice run. Sam had been given a crash course on the Viper itself the day before but had to actually fly it. She figured it would be similar to flying a fighter jet. She slid down in the seat and was handed the helmet. She looked at the article and asked herself, "Was the Pharaoh a fighter pilot?" she noticed the similarity to Ancient Egypt. She then placed the helmet on her head and found it was much like a helmet from Earth. She then heard Starbuck's voice over the helmet's communication system.
"You settled in there, Cadet Sam?" he asked.
"I'm okie-dokie." she replied getting familiar with the systems.
He confessed, "You come up with the strangest words as times."
"Me! How about you? What does Frack mean anyways?" she wondered.
Starbuck assumed, "I see you were sheltered growing up. Your parents would not let you hear any cursing words."
She figured, "Oh! It's a curse word. Like fuck! I know curse words. I know a shit load of curse words."
"I'm going to give you a fair warning. You are a cadet. You do not use curse words until you are an officer." Starbuck stated. "Then you can say Frack like the rest of us. And that's a fair warning because the former squad leader would have written you up."
"You mean Captain Apollo!" she figured.
"Yes," he confirmed in sorrow.
She reiterated, "He's alive! He made it to Earth."
"I hope you're right." was all he could say. "Okay, you completed your check?"
She agreed, "Check completed."
"Let's go for that run." he instructed.
She pressed the ignition button on the yolk and then felt gravitational force as the Viper launched down the tube and out the side of the vessel. She didn't feel weightless at all for Vipers also had an artificial gravity thus making piloting the vessel feel more like a jet fighter.
She remarked, "This is like flying a F-18."
Starbuck asked, "What craft is that?"
"A jet fighter on Earth." she explained.
Starbuck advised, "I know you are fascinated with all things Earth, Cadet Sam but you might to lay off of it. You are beginning to sound like you have been there."
"I have." she told him. "I'm from Earth."
Unbeknownst to Sam, her conversation over the radio with Starbuck was being monitored by the bridge of the vessel. A tall black man, Colonel Tigh was near the communications station listening and acting as command for the training. He perked up at the claim.
Starbuck asked, "What do you mean you are from Earth, Cadet Sam?"
"I'm from Earth. I met Captain Apollo before I was sent here. He crashed landed after taking out the Cylon but he was badly injured. He could not remember who he was for two whole years. He's better! We fixed his amnesia." she told him.
"If what you say is true, Cadet Sam then who sent you here?" he asked. He wished deep inside she was telling the truth but logic told him she was likely crazy or at worst a Cylon spy.
"I don't know who sent me here. I haven't met them yet. They are called 'Peacekeepers'. They use nano technology." she explained. "I'm not really here. I'm a hologram! I'm still on Earth. I figure that if I can figure out where you guys are than I can give you the coordinates to Earth. I'm pretty sure we are in the same galaxy."
Colonel Tigh quickly approached Commander Adama sitting in the command chair. He began, "Sir! I think you should listen to this." He handed Adama the ear piece.
Alerted he placed the piece to his ear. He heard the conversation.
Starbuck asked, "The Peacekeepers is nothing more than some old legend, a tale, Cadet Sam. If they did exist they died out long, long ago."
"Oh no! They are alive and we have one on Earth. His name is Ralph. They gave him the red suit." she explained. "They just buzzed me with a ball of light. Thing went through my head and now all sort of weird shit happens to me. When I'm awake, I'm on Earth. When I got to sleep I come here." she explained. "I'm not really here. I'm a hologram." she insisted.
Commander Adama looked to the Colonel, "A Peacekeeper!"
He nodded, "A Peacekeeper can appear in the form of a hologram, sir."
Starbuck laughed over the radio, "Okay! You got me, Cadet Sam. That's a heck of a jest. Now, let's get down to business. The Galactica is going to launch a target and you have to hit it."
"Alright." she agreed.
Starbuck gave the order, "Galactica, we're ready for practice maneuvers."
Commander Adama looked to Colonel Tigh. "If she's a Peacekeeper then she should be able to hit every single target we launch. Launch them all."
The Colonel agreed, "Launching all targets."
Starbuck was most surprised when he spied nearly a dozen targets erupt from the Galactica at once. He figured it was a malfunction. "See if you can hit any of those targets, Cadet Sam."
With the aid of the nanites, Sam essentially had a highly advanced targeting computer in her head. It was with relative ease that she took out every single target and in record time. She found the task rather easy to do.
"Hey! I got them all." she cheered surprised.
"I see that." Starbuck gasped at the feat.
Colonel Tigh's voice came over the radio, "Captain Starbuck. Commander Adama would like to see you and the Cadet on the bridge right away."
"We will be right there." Starbuck assured.
Short Time Later
Starbuck escorted Sam to the bridge of the Galactica.
Upon stepping onto the bridge she noticed the uniforms chanced to a navy blue color. She mentioned, "I like the blue color better."
Starbuck stated, "Just let me do the talking." He feared she would start making outlandish claims to the Commander who was reeling from the loss of Apollo.
Colonel Tigh approached the pair. He spoke to Sam, "I'm Colonel Tigh. Your skills as a Viper pilot are impressive." he congratulated her.
She began, "Thank you, Colonel. Can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?" he asked curious.
She started to ramble, "When we get to Earth can you tell my uncle that I can fly Airwolf in combat. That I can hit a target. He won't let me fly her in combat. He will let Cait fly her but not me. He tosses me back into the jump seat and that's irritating."
"Airwolf?" he asked confused.
"My dad's chopper." she told him. "They will let me fly her in air shows but not combat."
He asked unsure what she was even talking about. "Um…" He looked to Starbuck.
"I have no idea what she's talking about either." he shrugged.
Colonel Tigh gathered himself, "This way, Cadet." He led the pair to Adama's office off the bridge.
Upon entering they found the Commander sitting at his desk in deep thought. Sam looked upon the man who held the fate of the fleet in his hands. She could see the pain in his eyes and noticed the pictures on his desk. She recognized Apollo. It was evident that he was a family man.
The Commander stood up and his eyes settled on Sam. He took a deep breath hoping against all odds that his son survived the collapsing wormhole and she was telling the truth. He introduced himself, "I'm Commander Adama. And you are?" he looked to Sam.
"When I'm here I'm, Cadet Sam." she explained. "But my full name is Dr. Samantha Hawke. I'm an inventor."
"And a Peacekeeper." he informed. "Only a Peacekeeper could have taken all of the targets we launched out in record time."
"I don't know if I am a Peacekeeper. They sent a bright white glowing orb through my head and now I have these tiny robots in my blood called nanites." she explained. "It's nanites that made taking those targets out possible though I think I could have taken most of them myself to be honest. I'm a Hawke after all. Fighter Aces are in my blood line." She then added, "Both sides too. Santini side and Hawke side."
Starbuck assumed Sam was going insane. He spoke up, "I'm sorry, Sir. I'll take her to the infirmary myself."
"No need." the Commander stated. "Peacekeepers will state their linage if they can." He gave a small smile to Sam, "Peacekeepers were once prevalent amongst the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. They arose from Kobol itself. They came from an ancient civilization called Atlantis which according to legend led the Thirteenth Colonel to Earth."
"Holy fuck! You have a legend of Atlantis too?" she gasped.
Adama looked to Starbuck rather surprised.
"Could be worse. It could be Frack." he excused. "She's censoring herself." he assumed.
Adama addressed Sam, "We have a legend of Atlantis too." He found her amusing. "Colonel Tigh and myself were listening to your conversation with Captain Starbuck. You claim that you are from Earth and my son survived a crash and is on Earth."
"That's right." she nodded.
He sucked in a deep breath and tried to not visibly shake before her. He gathered his thoughts, "Is my son okay?"
"He's better." she nodded. "Had a bad head injury but the nanites fixed him. He remembered everything up until impact. His Viper was taken to some top secret military base. I asked to come with them but they wouldn't let me. I don't think it's flight worthy. At best the government is trying to reverse engineer it and make our own. Least, that's my best guess. He wanted to get back to the Galactica. They said it was impossible. So, the nanites brought me here as a hologram. I'm still on Earth right now."
Starbuck stated, "You seem pretty solid for a hologram."
"Nanites can do that." she told him. Then she held out her hand and pushed it right through him and brought her hand back. "See…I'm an image. The nanites can make me solid so I don't walk through walls. It's kind of freaky walking through walls." she explained. "I'm only here part of the time. The nanites can only bring my conscious mind here when I am asleep. Right now, on Earth, I'm sleeping in my bed. When my alarm goes off or someone wakes me up, I instantly go back to Earth. The nanites must have the coordinates or they would not be able to bring my mind and my image here to you. I just don't know how to get those coordinates out of the nanites yet." She glanced about the office and spied a star chart. "Is that a star chart?" she pointed.
"It is!" Adama confirmed. He led her over to the glass display. "The Galactica is here." he pointed to an area of the chart being displayed. "The question is where in these billions of possible systems is Earth located?"
"I don't know on this chart but I can describe the star system and maybe that will help narrow it down for you." she offered.
Adama stated, "Any information would help."
Sam described, "We have one star, it's not huge. There are thirteen planets. One of the planets is surrounded by rings. There is an asteroid belt half way through the solar system. Next to the belt is the largest planet of the system. Next to that is Saturn, the planet with the rings. Earth is the third planet from the sun. We are located on the Orion arm of the galaxy." She then asked, "Can you bring up a map of the entire galaxy on this screen, Commander? One with all four arms and the galactic bar in the middle?"
"Certainly." he agreed.
The chart the displayed the entire galaxy. Sam's finger found the galactic bar in the center of the galaxy. She then traced from memory where NASA stated earth was located. Her finger stopped and she stated, "Earth is here!"
Adama took a marker and made a note on the display. He then stated, "The fleet is here."
"We call that the Sagittarius arm." she informed. "If you travel around the long bar in a half circle you will be there."
The men gathered around the display. Colonel Tigh stated, "We're not that far. We could be there in about three or four jumps." A smile crept across his face as he realized they were much closer to Earth then they assumed.
Starbuck rubbed his chin in thought, "We could be there in a secton or less."
She asked, "What's a secton?"
"Seven cycles." he replied.
She asked, "Is that a day? So, you guys could find earth in a week."
Starbuck gave a nod, "I think we can."
She asked, "What about these Cylon dudes? Will they follow you guys?"
Colonel Tigh stated, "They don't need to follow us. If what you say is true then they already know where Earth is. That Cylon that Captain Apollo took down would have sent a homing signal. They could trace it. The Cylons may already be on their way to Earth."
Adama stated alarmed, "Earth could be under Cylon surveillance right now."
"So…we're fucked." Sam concluded. She then heard the distant buzzing of her alarm clock, "Not now!" She then disappeared as her conscious mind was jolted awake.